Chapter 1609: Luo Xu and Li Xian
Wang Xu was severely injured, his face pale as paper.
This was the second major defeat he had suffered in his life, and both were at the hands of the same person. His mood was extremely cold and heavy.
In truth, Wang Xu did not want to retreat. He still had two or three killing moves in his grasp. If he used them, he might be able to severely wound Zhang Ruochen and turn defeat into victory.
However, the heretical path cultivators in the Yin-Yang Hall did not believe he had such strength.
Thus, two Saint King-level heretical path experts, "Green Ghost Fiend" and "Yin Feng," personally escorted him out of the Yin-Yang Hall.
As long as they left the Yin-Yang Hall, they would escape the suppression of the special environment of "All Beings Equal." Even if Zhang Ruochen pursued them, with the three-step Saint King cultivation of Green Ghost Fiend and Yin Feng, they could easily deal with him.
Regardless, safety came first.
"Release me. I have a top-grade healing sacred pill on me. If I take it, I can recover to my peak state in a quarter of an hour."
Wang Xu's gaze was cold and fierce. He did not want to flee like a beaten dog. He wanted to return to the Yin-Yang Hall and personally capture Zhang Ruochen to salvage the face he had lost tonight.
If Zhang Ruochen had not used the Hundred-Step No-Life Talisman, how could he have been defeated so miserably?
He also had an offensive talisman, though its power was inferior to the Hundred-Step No-Life Talisman. It would have been more than enough to kill Zhang Ruochen, but he simply hadn't had time to use it.
Green Ghost Fiend shook his head and said, "With Lord Qiong Lin, King Yan, Empress Lian, and Xie Chengzi presiding over the Yin-Yang Hall, Zhang Ruochen can't stir up much trouble. Divine Son Wang Xu, let's leave this place first."
Wang Xu felt helpless and could only take out a green sacred pill, swallow it, and focus all his energy on healing.
However, just as the three of them stepped out of the Yin-Yang Hall, a "clattering" sound rang out from the night, as if countless metal scales were colliding.
"Not good. There's an enemy hiding in the shadows."
Yin Feng's vigilance was high. With a flick of her wrist, a triangular golden small shield appeared in her hand.
A large amount of sacred qi surged into the small shield, causing the light it emitted to grow brighter and brighter.
In the darkness, specks of silver light emerged, resembling a Milky Way.
As the Milky Way drew closer, Yin Feng, Green Ghost Fiend, and Wang Xu finally saw that it was composed of countless silver scales. These scales exuded an ancient aura, their silver light flowing, appearing extremely sharp.
The "clattering" sound grew louder as the Milky Way of silver scales descended upon them.
Yin Feng's gaze darkened. The triangular small shield in her hand split into two, then two into four... until it transformed into sixty-four golden triangular shields, blocking all sixty-four directions around them. The defense was airtight, completely stopping the silver scales.
Green Ghost Fiend's eyes blazed with ghost fire as he roared, "Which world's friend dares to oppose the Yin-Yang Hall?"
A laugh echoed from the darkness: "Since your Yin-Yang Hall dares to kill Kunlun Realm saints, why shouldn't we dare to oppose you?"
"Kunlun Realm?"
Green Ghost Fiend and Yin Feng exchanged strange glances.
The being controlling the silver scales was quite powerful, not much weaker than Yin Feng. Did Kunlun Realm have such a formidable figure?
With a series of whooshing sounds, over a dozen figures rushed out from the darkness, surrounding the three of them.
Among them, an ordinary-looking woman extended an arm and gently beckoned to the silver scales in the sky. The scales all flew back, forming a silver-scale robe that draped over her shoulders.
This woman was indeed a being from Kunlun Realm, but not a human cultivator. She was a primordial relic from the superpower "Nine Li Palace" in the barbaric secret realm.
She belonged to the Dragon Li Cat Clan, one of the Nine Li, and her name was Li Xian.
Li Xian, White Li Prince, and White Li Princess had all been unearthed from an ancient divine mountain by the Nine Li Palace. However, Li Xian had hatched earlier than the other two, and her bloodline was stronger, allowing her to reach the Saint King realm much earlier.
Of course, after the White Li Princess consumed a divine medicine and underwent the baptism of the world's creation, her bloodline power was now likely even slightly stronger than Li Xian's.
At this moment, the White Li Princess and White Li Prince stood behind Li Xian. Also present were three descendants of the four great ancient ferocious beasts of Kunlun Realm: the Vermilion Bird Fairy, the Devouring Demon Dragon, and the Kun Clan Prince.
On the human side, the one standing at the forefront wore a simple blue cloth robe, resembling a scholar. It was Luo Xu.
The five figures from the "Heroes' Ode"—Wan Zhaoyi, Pei Yutian, Heart Technique Buddhist Master, Chen Wutian, and Wu Fa—were also there, along with Empress Chi Yao's disciples: Xue Wuye, Li Di Monk, and Gai Tianjiao.
Clearly, Kunlun Realm was worried that sending only Saint-level cultivators to the Truth Heaven Domain would lead to bullying.
Thus, they had selected one Saint King-level expert from both the human race and the barbaric beasts to lead the team.
Not just any Saint King-level cultivator was qualified to enter the Truth Divine Temple for cultivation. The Truth Divine Temple had extremely strict age restrictions.
This single rule was enough to eliminate ninety-nine percent of Kunlun Realm's Saint Kings, leaving fewer than ten who met the requirements.
Moreover, Kunlun Realm was now under the rule of the First Central Empire. As a result, those prioritized for cultivation in the Truth Divine Temple were inevitably members of the imperial court or forces allied with it.
Thus, the chosen human leader was Luo Xu of the Martial Market Bank, not Ling Feiyu, the foremost saintess of the rebellious Moon Worship Demon Sect.
These cultivators from Kunlun Realm were all extraordinary individuals. Even under the incomplete heavenly path rules, they had managed to cultivate to the Saint realm, becoming the pinnacle existences of their era.
Now, in the Heavenly Court Realm, with the thirtyfold time acceleration of the Reincarnation Seal and the abundant resources from the divine corpse, their cultivation speed had skyrocketed.
Luo Xu had not been in the Saint King realm for long, but he had already reached the three-step Saint King level. It could be said that, given his talent, becoming a Great Saint was only a matter of time.
"You Kunlun Realm cultivators should be hiding away and cultivating quietly. How dare you meddle in tonight's affairs? Are you tired of living?" Green Ghost Fiend sneered.
Luo Xu's expression was solemn. "Back when Kunlun Realm shook the Heavenly Court, how dare petty scoundrels like you speak to Kunlun Realm cultivators like that? Though Kunlun Realm has declined, its cultivators are not cowards. If you kill our Kunlun Realm cultivators, we will repay blood with blood and tooth for tooth."
"Hehe. At the same three-step Saint King level, I can suppress you with one hand."
Green Ghost Fiend raised his left hand, and vast demonic qi surged forth, turning his palm into a vast five-finger heaven and earth.
With a flip of his palm, the five-finger heaven and earth descended upon Luo Xu.
Luo Xu's gaze remained calm. He withdrew his hand into a fist and raised both arms. Instantly, all the water vapor from Mount Tian Du converged toward him, accompanied by the sound of surging rivers.
The next moment, a rolling torrent materialized, flying out alongside Luo Xu's fist seal.
"Boom, rumble."
The torrent collided with the five-finger heaven and earth, tearing it apart instantly and striking Green Ghost Fiend.
"Bang."
A loud metallic clash rang out.
The sacred armor on Green Ghost Fiend's body was dented by the fist seal. His tall frame flew backward, crashing into the light curtain of the Warp and Weft Heavenly Net Formation.
With just one punch, he had defeated a top expert from the Black Demon Realm.
The strength Luo Xu displayed shocked cultivators from all realms. Moreover, the Luo Water Fist Art he used was recognized by some knowledgeable individuals.
"That fist technique's artistic conception is somewhat similar to the Heavenly River Divine Fist created by Luo Shen."
"The Heavenly River Divine Fist? Impossible. Luo Shen fell hundreds of years ago. The Heavenly River Divine Fist he comprehended from the Heavenly River was never passed on. It should be lost."
"It's probably just a similar fist technique."
...
In the night, Ling Feiyu was also slightly surprised.
She had reached the Saint King realm before Luo Xu and had a deeper accumulation at the Saint realm. Yet, judging by the strength Luo Xu had just displayed, his cultivation was clearly no weaker than hers.
This was unavoidable. After all, Luo Xu belonged to the Martial Market Bank, which was allied with the imperial court. He could freely access Kunlun Realm's core cultivation resources, such as training in the Reincarnation Seal or inside the divine corpse.
However, the entire Kunlun Realm knew that Ling Feiyu had a good relationship with Zhang Ruochen. How could the imperial court give her the best cultivation resources?
Moreover, Luo Xu's talent, comprehension, and will were no less than hers. With external assistance, his cultivation speed naturally surpassed hers.
As the granddaughter of the Demon Emperor and the daughter of a Spiritual Power Great Saint, Ling Feiyu knew many secrets unknown to ordinary people.
In truth, Kunlun Realm's cultivation environment had been slowly changing for eight hundred years, as if an invisible force was gradually repairing the incomplete heaven and earth rules.
Thus, from eight hundred years ago, Kunlun Realm's cultivation environment had been improving bit by bit.
Outsiders only knew that she and Luo Xu had reached the supreme extreme realm of the Heavenly Extreme realm. In reality, both of them had achieved the supreme extreme realm in all four martial arts realms, but they had kept it secret.
For eight hundred years, the five most top-tier prodigies of Kunlun Realm—Dead Zen Ancestor, Ling Feiyu, Luo Xu, Wan Zhaoyi, and Zhang Ruochen—had all kept the secret of achieving the four supreme extreme realms.
Green Ghost Fiend and Yin Feng did not hold out long against Luo Xu and Li Xian. They were soon severely injured and pinned to the ground.
Of course, in the Tian Du Sacred Market, Luo Xu and Li Xian did not dare to kill. They merely used Saint-Binding Chains to restrain the two.
Standing behind Li Xian, the White Li Princess said, "Later, we'll just throw them into the Yin-Yang Hall and let Zhang Ruochen execute them."
Li Xian nodded lightly.
The Yin-Yang Hall was Moon God's domain. Inside, only cultivators from the Guanghan Realm had the authority to kill without punishment.
Then, Li Xian frowned slightly and said, "I'm still a bit uneasy. After all, Zhang Ruochen was driven out of Kunlun Realm by the Empress. Their hatred runs deep. Now that we're helping him, will he really help us attack Kunlun Realm's domain in the future?"
Luo Xu replied, "You can rest assured on this point. Zhang Ruochen has always been clear about gratitude and grudges. His hatred for the Empress generally won't extend to other Kunlun Realm cultivators. Of course, if we want him to help us, we'll probably need to make some concessions in terms of benefits."
"First, capture Wang Xu. Then, we'll use the 'Ten Thousand Lamps Illumination Diagram' to break through the Yin-Yang Hall's Warp and Weft Heavenly Net Formation and charge in." Li Xian's demeanor was heroic, her killing intent boiling.