# Chapter 1616: Balancing Grace with Authority
Yu Wenjing was proficient in a spiritual power secret technique, and even in the "All Beings Equal" environment, he could hear that female Saint King transmitting sound to Zhang Ruochen.
Immediately, a piercing gaze shot toward the female Saint King.
"Boom."
That female Saint King was as if struck by lightning, her entire body trembling violently as she staggered back three steps. It seemed her spiritual power had suffered severe trauma, her expression becoming listless, the fear in her eyes even more intense.
Yu Wenjing had only warned her, not continuing his attack.
"Truly domineering. However, this person's strength is indeed formidable, with high attainments in both martial arts and spiritual power."
Zhang Ruochen remained expressionless, saying, "I want to ask, is this the intention of the Truth Divine Temple, or your personal intention?"
Yu Wenjing stared deeply at Zhang Ruochen, saying, "I am merely giving you a serious suggestion. After all, enough people have died today. Creating more slaughter will only breed greater enmity."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen found it somewhat amusing.
Today, he had already killed a large number of cultivators from three major worlds. Was he still afraid of creating greater enmity?
Releasing a tiger back to the mountains was something Zhang Ruochen would not do.
However...
Now was indeed not the time to kill those evil path cultivators.
Zhang Ruochen deliberately showed a contemplative expression, then turned his gaze toward Xiao Hei and Mo Yin, saying, "First, lock these evil path cultivators in the Extreme Pleasure Underground Palace. I need to consider for a few more days before deciding how to deal with them."
A satisfied smile appeared on Yu Wenjing's face as he said in a slightly threatening tone, "A wise man knows when to adapt. I hope you don't make the wrong decision, harming both yourself and others."
With these words, Yu Wenjing clasped his hands behind his back and left the Moon God Dao Field.
In Yu Wenjing's view, since Zhang Ruochen hadn't killed these evil path cultivators today, once Zhang Ruochen thought through the stakes and interests involved, he would surely follow his advice obediently.
"Zhang Ruochen is somewhat reckless, capable of any impulsive action. I need to warn him again."
Yu Wenjing was still uneasy, thinking to himself, "I need to notify those two from the Black Demon Realm and the Ten Thousand Evil Realm. Let them also come out to warn Zhang Ruochen."
The Black Demon Realm and Ten Thousand Evil Realm also had cultivators who had entered the Truth Heaven Domain, and two of them had become Divine Inheritor Disciples.
In Yu Wenjing's view, facing warnings from three Divine Inheritor Disciples, Zhang Ruochen should know how to measure his actions and assess the situation.
After rescuing the cultivators from the three worlds, he would slowly deal with Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen watched Yu Wenjing's departing back, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes. "This Yu Wenjing's strength is terrifying, but unfortunately, he's too arrogant and looks down on everyone. First, use a delaying tactic to stabilize him."
The avengers present were all uneasy, and several cultivators came forward to urge Zhang Ruochen to immediately execute those evil path cultivators, but Zhang Ruochen fobbed them off.
Not far away, a Half-Saint King creature flickered, rushed to the side of an evil path cultivator's corpse, and fumbled around, pulling out a storage pouch, his face showing ecstasy.
"Someone really dares to fish in troubled waters."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes turned cold. His figure vanished from where he stood and appeared beside that Half-Saint King, striking out with a palm.
"Roar!"
A deafening dragon roar came from his palm.
That Half-Saint King creature's face changed drastically as he prepared to block.
Zhang Ruochen's palm force was extremely fierce. His hand radiated ten thousand feet of golden light, sending the creature flying sideways, crashing to the ground.
Zhang Ruochen's body erupted with a powerful Saintly Might as he declared loudly, "This is the Moon God Dao Field. Every blade of grass and tree belongs to the Guanghan Realm. Don't force me to kill."
Although there were many cultivators present, they came from different worlds, scattered like loose sand. Even if they had greed in their hearts, none dared to be the first to strike at Zhang Ruochen.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen had just killed dozens of Yin-Yang Hall cultivators in succession, and even Lian Hou and Yan Wang together couldn't do anything to him. Who would dare to snatch food from a tiger's mouth?
Zhang Ruochen strode toward the Half-Saint King lying on the ground.
That Half-Saint King's eyes showed terror. He was genuinely afraid Zhang Ruochen would kill him. He quickly scrambled up, extending two clawed hands covered in scales, actively presenting the storage pouch, saying, "Young Master Ruochen... this is... this is your storage pouch."
"Of course it's mine."
Zhang Ruochen took the storage pouch.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen hadn't killed him, that Half-Saint King breathed a sigh of relief, suppressed his injuries, turned around, and fled out of the Moon God Dao Field.
Zhang Ruochen didn't pursue, thinking to himself, "I've only been in the Truth Heaven Domain for two months and have killed nearly a hundred top-tier experts. It seems I've scared quite a few cultivators. In their eyes, I'm probably no different from a murderous demon."
In some situations, making others fear you is a good thing, avoiding many unnecessary troubles.
Since the Yin-Yang Hall had already been destroyed, some cultivators who didn't dare to provoke Zhang Ruochen quietly withdrew, leaving the Moon God Dao Field.
Once the first left, there was a second, a third...
Although the treasures and wealth of the Yin-Yang Hall were abundant, there was no need to offend Zhang Ruochen at this time and bring death upon themselves. More and more cultivators left.
In the end, only a hundred or so cultivators remained in the Moon God Dao Field.
These cultivators looked at each other, both somewhat wary and uneasy, communicating through sound transmission.
After a while, they selected two powerful creatures to approach Zhang Ruochen.
These two creatures weren't as strong as Yan Wang and Lian Hou, but they could compare with Golden Roc Prince, definitely figures standing at the pinnacle of a major world.
Ling Feiyu carried the Sky-Burying Sword and walked toward Zhang Ruochen, alert to the two creatures opposite, her powerful Sword Intent enveloping the entire Moon God Dao Field.
Clearly, if those two creatures dared to sneak attack Zhang Ruochen, her sword would undoubtedly pierce through their bodies without hesitation.
Zhang Ruochen released his Space Domain, a one-inch-long Space Rift floating above his right palm.
The creature standing on the left was shrouded in white mist, his form appearing indistinct, saying, "Zhang Ruochen, you destroyed the Yin-Yang Hall. We are all grateful and naturally won't plunder the treasures and wealth here."
"However, in our home worlds, there are some female cultivators captured by evil path cultivators from the three major worlds and taken into the Yin-Yang Hall. We intend to pay Sacred Stones to redeem them."
The creature on the right also seemed intelligent, adding, "We hope, considering we helped destroy the Yin-Yang Hall, you could make the price somewhat reasonable."
Zhang Ruochen didn't relax his vigilance. After a moment of thought, he said, "Fine. First, withdraw from the Moon God Dao Field. Come back in three days to redeem them. With so many strong cultivators gathered here, I feel great pressure. If something unpleasant happens, it won't benefit anyone."
The cultivators present all showed hesitant expressions.
Zhang Ruochen snorted lightly, "I, Zhang Ruochen, still need to stay in the Truth Heaven Domain. I won't go back on my word. Can't you trust me?"
Those masked cultivators began communicating with spiritual power again.
After a while, the creature on the right said cautiously, "Young Master Ruochen is a Divine Envoy appointed by Lady Moon God. We naturally trust you. Then, we'll meet again in three days."
"Wait." Zhang Ruochen walked to Zhan Yu's corpse.
After Zhan Yu died, his body had become a seven-to-eight-zhang-long golden dragon lying on the ground, radiating brilliant golden light as if forged from gold.
Zhang Ruochen used the Abyssal Ancient Sword to knock off more than a hundred dragon scales from the Golden Sacred Dragon corpse, then waved his hand, scattering them to the cultivators present.
Each person received a golden dragon scale.
They all showed puzzled expressions, not understanding Zhang Ruochen's intention.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Destroying the Yin-Yang Hall and retaking the Moon God Dao Field—each of you contributed greatly, and I am grateful. In three days, use this dragon scale to enter the Moon God Dao Field and directly take away the female cultivators from your respective worlds. No need to pay me Sacred Stones."
Originally, the cultivators present were quite worried that Zhang Ruochen would raise the price and set excessive conditions, driving up the ransom.
Hearing this, they were overjoyed. They never expected such good fortune. They all tightly gripped the golden dragon scales in their hands and stored them away carefully.
"Since Young Master Ruochen is so generous, we will leave the Moon God Dao Field now."
"We hope Young Master Ruochen will keep his promise."
"Thank you, Young Master Ruochen. We hope that in three days, we can complete the handover as pleasantly as now. Farewell."
...
Zhang Ruochen did this naturally with his own purpose.
Now, the Guanghan Realm was weak and isolated in the Truth Heaven Domain, facing retaliation from Shang Zi and the Yin-Yang Hall. He couldn't keep making enemies; he needed to forge alliances.
These cultivators dared to attack the Yin-Yang Hall, which showed at least two things:
First, they were almost certainly not members of the dark forces.
Second, they must have a deep hatred for the Yin-Yang Hall, otherwise they wouldn't have acted rashly.
This was a perfect opportunity to win them over, binding them firmly to Zhang Ruochen's chariot. Perhaps any single major world among them was relatively weak, but together, they formed a force powerful enough to destroy the Yin-Yang Hall.
In the future, when contending with Shang Zi, Zhang Ruochen would have more resources to utilize.
Of course, alliances were cultivated slowly. Having them deal with Shang Zi now was impossible, but with common enemies and common interests, the alliance would naturally grow stronger over time.
What did earning fewer Sacred Stones matter? Winning over these cultivators had far more profound significance.
Right now, these cultivators were merely top geniuses of their major worlds, but in the future, they would become the rulers of those worlds.
As for those major worlds that hadn't attacked the Yin-Yang Hall, Zhang Ruochen would naturally treat them differently. If they wanted to redeem people, they would have to pay Sacred Stones.
After all cultivators had withdrawn from the Moon God Dao Field, Zhang Ruochen immediately sent out the eighteen Heaven-Burning Earth-Refining Formation Flags, inserting them in eighteen directions around the Dao Field.
Next, Zhang Ruochen began setting up a Space Maze Formation and a Time Formation, to prevent the Yin-Yang Hall cultivators from counterattacking.
After completing both formations, Zhang Ruochen finally went to interact with the Kunlun Realm cultivators.
Zhang Ruochen was very clear that the Kunlun Realm cultivators wouldn't help him attack the Yin-Yang Hall for no reason.
For instance, the Devouring Demon Dragon.
If it would help Zhang Ruochen, that would be strange. As for other cultivators, apart from White Li Princess and Luo Xu and a few others, no one seemed to have a good relationship with Zhang Ruochen.