# Chapter 1628: Death Envoy
"Swish!"
Before the thin man could stand up, the cold black sword in Zhang Ruochen's hand was already pointed at his brow.
Dan Ling Wang's peerlessly beautiful face showed a delighted expression as she immediately walked over to Zhang Ruochen, saying, "First seal his cultivation. I have a secret technique that can search his memories. Perhaps we can find out who wants to kill me."
A strange expression appeared in the thin man's eyes as the sacred Qi within his body began to churn violently.
"Not good, he's going to self-destruct his Qi Sea and Sacred Source."
"Pfft."
Zhang Ruochen thrust his sword downward, piercing through the thin man's brow.
However, this thrust sent a chill through Zhang Ruochen's heart.
Because the thin man's Qi Sea did not seem to be located beneath his brow.
Without any hesitation, Zhang Ruochen grabbed Dan Ling Wang beside him and rapidly retreated backward while channeling sacred Qi into the Seven-Level Pagoda Talisman.
The next moment, from the thin man's heart position, blinding rays of intense light shot out. His sacred body was instantly torn apart, disintegrating into particles. At the same time, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering destructive force erupted, sweeping outward in all directions.
"Boom!"
The No-Life Blood Prison that had been confining the VIP room automatically disappeared as the thin man perished.
The formation inscriptions engraved on the walls, floor, and ceiling held for only a single instant before the terrifying destructive force shattered the VIP room into pieces.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Within the Hundred Flowers Palace, the ground shook and mountains trembled. All the formation inscriptions were activated, sending up dazzling pillars of light. Dozens of circular formation seals appeared on the ground and in midair, spinning rapidly.
Even so, with the VIP room at the center, an area dozens of zhang in radius was reduced to a dusty ruin.
All the cultivators of Thousand Stamen Realm were alarmed and rushed over rapidly. Staring at the massive crater before them, they couldn't help but draw in cold breaths.
...
...
An hour later.
Dan Ling Wang explained what had happened to the various cultivators of Thousand Stamen Realm before coming to the Swallow Palace Cave Heaven to meet with Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen sat on a stone stool, looking at the Seven-Level Pagoda Talisman in his palm. Seven cracks had appeared on the talisman.
It was clear that this expensive defensive talisman would completely shatter after one more use.
A faint fragrance of peony flowers wafted over.
Zhang Ruochen put away the Seven-Level Pagoda Talisman and looked at the beautiful female Saint King standing across from him.
Dan Ling Wang wore a slight smile and bowed slightly, saying, "Thank you, Young Master Ruochen, for saving me twice. This debt of gratitude, I owe more and more."
Knowing that the other party had recognized his identity, Zhang Ruochen gently shook his body and transformed back to his original appearance. He sighed, "To be honest, you really do have to repay this favor. Last time, to save you, I nearly became Lian Hou's yang medicine. And this time, it's even more innocent—I nearly lost my life for no reason."
Dan Ling Wang gracefully sat down across from Zhang Ruochen. Her full, voluptuous chest seemed to tremble slightly as her apricot eyes gazed at him. Her bright red lips moved as she said, "Then how do you want me to repay you?"
Hearing such words from a peerless beauty would surely make any man's imagination run wild.
Zhang Ruochen rested his chin on his fingers, staring at Dan Ling Wang's beautiful face with a thoughtful expression.
Just when his gaze had made Dan Ling Wang feel a bit uncomfortable, he finally spoke, "I'm very interested in the puppet assassins refined by the Heavenly Kill Organization. How about giving me those two puppet assassins you collected?"
Dan Ling Wang breathed a slight sigh of relief and laughed, "I thought you wanted me to offer myself to you, but it turns out you want those two puppet assassins."
Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly, "It seems Dan Ling Wang is a bit disappointed."
"Don't talk nonsense."
Dan Ling Wang's expression turned serious. She then took out two silver iron balls and placed them on the stone table.
Just as Zhang Ruochen reached out to take them, Dan Ling Wang pressed down on the two silver iron balls and pulled them back.
Zhang Ruochen frowned, "Dan Ling Wang, what is the meaning of this?"
Dan Ling Wang said, "Puppet assassins comparable to Three-Step Saint Kings can't be bought on the open market. But their value can still be roughly estimated. One puppet assassin of this level is probably worth at least twenty million sacred stones."
Zhang Ruochen didn't deny this. Puppet assassins were indeed worth that price.
"So, giving you these two puppet assassins means I no longer owe you," Dan Ling Wang said.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, "I think two puppet assassins are still far from matching Dan Ling Wang's life. How about adding one more thing?"
A hint of resentment appeared in Dan Ling Wang's phoenix eyes as she said, "As the leader of a realm, why are you so calculating? Can't you be a bit more generous in front of a beauty? Isn't it better to let me owe you a favor?"
Zhang Ruochen shrugged, "Repaying favors can't be forced. If Dan Ling Wang doesn't want to repay, there's nothing I can do."
Other cultivators tried every possible way to please Dan Ling Wang, and she might not even give them a second glance. But Zhang Ruochen, instead of using this opportunity to curry favor with her, acted as if she owed him a lot of money.
Dan Ling Wang rolled her eyes. This was the first time someone had kept talking about "repaying favors." She said, "What else do you need?"
"One Six Desires Ancient Pill," Zhang Ruochen said.
Dan Ling Wang immediately shook her head, "The Six Desires Ancient Pill belongs to the Hundred Flowers Palace. Not only is it expensive, but it's also scarce. I can't give it to you."
After a pause, she added, "Actually, I also wanted to buy a Six Desires Ancient Pill to increase my spiritual power. But after being attacked by the evil cultivators of the Yin Yang Hall last time, I lost all the treasures on me. With my current financial situation, I can't afford a Six Desires Ancient Pill for now. How about you change the condition?"
Zhang Ruochen thought carefully for a moment, then smiled, "I've thought it over. Having a powerful and beautiful female Saint King owe me a favor doesn't seem like a bad thing either."
Dan Ling Wang rolled her eyes again, feeling that Zhang Ruochen only said that because he saw she was too poor now and couldn't extort any valuable treasures from her.
"Six Desires Ancient Pills are eighteen million sacred stones each, right?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"Correct. But given your relationship with our Hundred Flowers Palace, I can take the liberty of reducing the price by another five hundred thousand sacred stones," Dan Ling Wang said.
Zhang Ruochen nodded, then asked, "How many Six Desires Ancient Pills does the Hundred Flowers Palace have in total?"
"Three."
"Good, I'll take them all."
Dan Ling Wang had long known that after Zhang Ruochen conquered the Yin Yang Hall, he would have become rich overnight. But seeing him spend so lavishly still made her sigh with emotion. Compared to this guy, she, the imperial daughter of the Peony Clan, was practically a poor child.
Dan Ling Wang said seriously, "I must warn you. The medicinal power of the Six Desires Ancient Pill is quite fierce. Even if your spiritual power has reached the fifty-fifth rank, there is still some danger when taking it."
Zhang Ruochen had already experienced this.
But he was still somewhat confident in subduing the Six Desires Ancient Pill.
Dan Ling Wang continued, "Secondly, after taking the second Six Desires Ancient Pill, the medicinal power will be halved. After taking the third, it will be halved again. So buying all three at once is quite a waste."
"Then are there any other sacred pills of the same level as the Six Desires Ancient Pill that can increase spiritual power?" Zhang Ruochen asked seriously.
Dan Ling Wang said, "There are a few such sacred pills, but they are all quite rare. Their formulas are not circulated outside and are generally held by the top sects of the Hundred-Strength Worlds. Moreover, those sacred pills are difficult to refine, and those top sects don't have enough for themselves, so they won't sell them."
"In that case, I'll still buy the three Six Desires Ancient Pills."
After a pause, Zhang Ruochen added, "Does the Hundred Flowers Palace have any Seven Emotions Ancient Pills?"
Dan Ling Wang gave Zhang Ruochen a deep look, "The Seven Emotions Ancient Pill is a Heavenly Grade sacred pill, priced more than ten times higher than the Six Desires Ancient Pill. And you should know that generally, spiritual power cultivators only take the Seven Emotions Ancient Pill when breaking through to the Great Saint realm. So even if you could afford it, with your current spiritual power level, you wouldn't be able to refine it."
"Then forget it."
Zhang Ruochen was well aware of the benefits of sacred stones. In the Heavenly Court realm, as long as one had enough sacred stones, they could quickly improve their cultivation. Therefore, he decided not to buy the Seven Emotions Ancient Pill for now and to use the sacred stones where they were most needed.
After leaving for about half an hour, Dan Ling Wang returned, bringing not only three Six Desires Ancient Pills but also a book.
Zhang Ruochen handed a storage bag containing fifty-two million five hundred thousand sacred stones to Dan Ling Wang, put away the three Six Desires Ancient Pills, and then picked up the somewhat yellowed book. Curiously, he asked, "What's this?"
"The Thousand Stamen Realm has been dealing with the Heavenly Kill Organization for quite some time, so we've collected some information about puppet assassins. It might be helpful to you," Dan Ling Wang said.
A delighted expression appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face. He roughly flipped through the book before putting it away, saying, "Being Dan Ling Wang's benefactor is truly a pleasant experience. Thank you."
"Hearing you say the word 'thank you' is also a pleasant experience."
Dan Ling Wang gave a wry smile, then immediately adopted a serious expression, "There's something I need to warn you about. The assassin who tried to kill me today was probably not an Assassin Heavenly King, but rather a Death Envoy refined by an Assassin Heavenly King."
"Death Envoy?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Dan Ling Wang said, "A Death Envoy is created when an Assassin Heavenly King subdues another Saint King realm being, uses a secret technique to erase the Saint King's spiritual will, then injects a wisp of their own sacred soul and a killing intent into it, cultivating it into a being that fears no death. They can also be called half-living, half-dead beings."
Zhang Ruochen said, "The spiritual will of a Saint King is incredibly powerful. How could it be so easily erased?"
Dan Ling Wang seemed to think of something terrible. Her face turned pale as she said bitterly, "Before, I also thought that a Saint King's spiritual will had reached an unerasable level. But in the Yin Yang Hall... even I nearly had my spiritual will collapse..."
Zhang Ruochen knew that Dan Ling Wang must be thinking of herself, thinking of her hellish experience in the Yin Yang Hall. Her heart must be in great pain.
Zhang Ruochen immediately changed the subject, "I think Death Envoys can't be that easy to refine. Otherwise, after accumulating for a hundred thousand years, how powerful would the Heavenly Kill Organization's forces be?"
Dan Ling Wang nodded, "That's right. The mortality rate for refining Death Envoys is very high, and Saint King realm beings aren't so easy to capture. Only top-tier Assassin Heavenly Kings can refine Death Envoys. If the assassin we encountered was a Death Envoy, given his strength, his master is probably someone on the list."
"What list?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Dan Ling Wang said, "The Assassin Heavenly King Ranking."
Dan Ling Wang had her reasons for suspecting the thin man was a "Death Envoy."
Although the thin man was very powerful, when Dan Ling Wang was at her peak, she could still fight him. An Assassin Heavenly King of this level shouldn't have been able to possess three "puppet assassins" comparable to Three-Step Saint Kings and a "Three-Legged Corpse-Eating Insect."
This could only mean that behind the thin man was an even more terrifying expert.