Chapter 1661: Leaving the Restricted Zone
Nie Zhan was extremely formidable. As the spatial rift flew past, his body rapidly shrank, turning into a blood-red speck of light. His pair of blood wings flapped once as he swiftly dodged to the side.
After flying several dozen zhang away, the blood-red speck of light released a halo of light, expanding continuously, and once again transformed into a four-winged scarlet angel.
Although he dodged quickly, the spatial rift still slashed across his arm, leaving a long, bloody gash. A seal imprint from the Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi had heavily injured him, cracking the sacred armor on his chest, and his face alternated between green and purple.
Before Nie Zhan could steady himself, a demonic, surging gale swept in.
Within the gale, an iron hammer as huge as a small mountain crashed down, appearing above his head. The distance was too close, the speed too fast; there was no way to avoid it.
Behind the hammer, Xiang Chunan shouted, "Take a hammer from your Grandpa Xiang!"
Hatred flashed in Nie Zhan's eyes. He produced a talisman, held it between two fingers, and pressed it upward: "One Infernal Talisman, sending you all to the inferno together!"
"Boom."
The talisman exploded, and sixteen blood-red chains as thick as water barrels condensed, shooting out in all directions like sixteen steel dragons roaming through this heaven and earth.
Xiang Chunan's hammer strike hit the sixteen chains. With a loud crash, vast amounts of demonic qi and blood light surged outward.
"Where did these chains come from, able to block my full-force strike?" Xiang Chunan said in astonishment.
"Clatter, clatter."
The sixteen blood-red chains formed a massive blood-red sphere a hundred zhang in diameter, enveloping Zhang Ruochen, Xiang Chunan, and the Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi. It continuously contracted, the blood-red sphere growing smaller and smaller.
Nie Zhan stood beneath the blood-red sphere, a cold look in his eyes: "The Infernal Talisman was refined by a talisman path saint master at the Great Saint realm. It contains a strand of Great Saint's divine power, with terrifying might. Just wait in there to die!"
The Infernal Talisman was even more powerful than the Hundred-Step No-Life Talisman, its value immeasurable in sacred stones. As a four-winged scarlet angel, Nie Zhan only possessed one such talisman, meant specifically for dealing with irresistible enemies.
Using the Infernal Talisman on Zhang Ruochen and the others was a last resort for Nie Zhan. He felt it was a waste, but had no other choice.
The blood-red sphere shrank to only about ten zhang in diameter, then suddenly trembled violently. One of the chains was broken, and a surge of fierce demonic qi flew out from the break.
"How is this possible?"
Nie Zhan couldn't believe his eyes. He quickly took out a delicate jade bottle and swallowed the blood-red liquid inside.
His injuries healed instantly, returning him to his peak state.
Nie Zhan stared fixedly at the blood-red sphere, gripping his sacred sword tightly as he continuously infused sacred qi into the blade. Soon, four layers of sacred power light waves appeared on the sword, unleashing a four-fold perfect power.
"Boom."
The metal demon crown smashed the blood-red sphere to pieces. Zhang Ruochen, Xiang Chunan, and the Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi broke free, flying out from the thick blood qi.
Nie Zhan struck swiftly. His sacred sword slashed out, unleashing the four-fold perfect power. The sword qi fell like a long river from the sky, emitting a piercing howl.
"Still daring to strike? Do you really think Grandpa Xiang can't suppress you?"
Xiang Chunan launched the metal demon crown, followed by Zhang Ruochen and the Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi, who each sent a pillar of sacred qi into the crown.
From the crown, a supreme power erupted, piercing through the sword qi and colliding with the sacred sword in Nie Zhan's hand. With a "bang," that four-fold ten-thousand-mark sacred artifact-level sword was shattered, breaking into pieces.
"You actually have a supreme sacred artifact..."
Terrified, Nie Zhan knew it was too late to flee, so he desperately activated the protective talismans on his body.
"Bang, bang."
The power from the metal demon crown shattered all the protective light shields on Nie Zhan's body.
The four-winged scarlet angel's body was extremely tough, but before the supreme power, it was like tofu, constantly breaking apart, becoming riddled with holes.
Nie Zhan lay on the ground, roaring, "You can't kill me! Kill me, and the Heavenly Realm will make you suffer eternal damnation, with no place to be buried!"
"Is that so? Grandpa Xiang doesn't believe it..."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Put away the crown. Don't kill him."
Xiang Chunan hesitated for a moment, then finally put away the metal demon crown, asking somewhat puzzledly, "Brother, you're not really afraid of that damn Heavenly Realm, are you?"
Zhang Ruochen said solemnly, "Even if we don't kill him, the Heavenly Realm will do everything to kill me. But killing him would drag you into this. I know you don't care, but as your brother, I do."
Xiang Chunan stared blankly at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen crouched down and interrogated Nie Zhan, "There should be another cultivator who escaped from the palace complex. Where did he go?"
Nie Zhan's body was broken and tattered, lying on the ground unable to move. He let out a dry laugh: "He's already left this restricted zone. If you dare kill me, the Heavenly Realm will surely find out you're the killers. Do I need to explain the consequences?"
"You're quite arrogant," Zhang Ruochen said coldly.
Nie Zhan retorted, "As a four-winged scarlet angel of the Heavenly Realm, shouldn't I be arrogant? Ah..."
Zhang Ruochen stomped on Nie Zhan's head, making it creak.
After a long moment, Zhang Ruochen withdrew his foot, bound Nie Zhan with Saint-Binding Chains, and said, "This underground tunnel leads straight into the restricted zone. The Heavenly Realm will surely send cultivators to occupy it. We must leave quickly, before we're trapped here by a large force from the Heavenly Realm."
Through the underground tunnel, Zhang Ruochen and Xiang Chunan soon left the restricted zone, returning to the sacred spring river at the border between the Outer South Garden and Outer East Garden.
They hid in the dense forest, looking from afar at the tunnel entrance.
There, a large number of cultivators had gathered around that section of the river, including many from the Angel Clan. Two angels with four scarlet wings were the most conspicuous; all the other cultivators followed their lead.
Zhang Ruochen and Xiang Chunan didn't linger there and quickly left.
The Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi followed behind them, coughing twice, "Shouldn't you return half of my sacred soul?"
Zhang Ruochen glanced at it, then took out a ball of light and tossed it out.
Zhang Ruochen and Xiang Chunan continued forward, ignoring the Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi.
Xiang Chunan asked, "What are you going to do with those suppressed saint kings? Can't kill them, can't release them. Are you going to send them back to the Heavenly Realm? How frustrating would that be?"
Zhang Ruochen rubbed his chin, "How about selling them?"
"Selling? How? To whom?" Xiang Chunan asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "By my reckoning, the free trade zone at the Sealing God Platform should already be open. Most of the cultivators attending the assembly have gathered there. If we just set them out on a stall with a clear price, are you afraid the high-ranking figures of the Heavenly Realm won't come to buy? This will definitely anger the Heavenly Realm, so you'd better not show your face."
"No, no. Such an interesting thing, I have to be part of it," Xiang Chunan said with a laugh.
The Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi poked its head out, laughing, "Wonderful, wonderful. This humble Daoist also finds it interesting."
Xiang Chunan's eyes darkened, and he roared, "Old thing, I've returned your sacred soul. Why aren't you leaving? Do you want to be suppressed again?"
The Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi chuckled, "This humble Daoist thinks you're trustworthy people, so I'd like to cooperate with you again."
"How?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"If you take this humble Daoist out of the Sealing God Platform, I'll go pick all the True Marvel Sacred Fruits for you. How about that?" The Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi said expectantly.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The cultivation environment here is so good. Why do you want to leave? Besides, can't you leave the Sealing God Platform on your own?"
The Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi sighed deeply, "This humble Daoist has hit a bottleneck in cultivation. My realm hasn't advanced in centuries. According to the books, I must undergo tribulations in the mortal world to have hope of breaking through and eventually charging into the Great Saint realm."
Xiang Chunan said contemptuously, "What a freak. A sacred zhi going through mortal tribulations."
The Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi ignored Xiang Chunan and continued, "The Truth Divine Temple has set up a seal on the Sealing God Platform. No living being here can escape. I need your help to leave."
Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment, then said, "Fine. If you go pick the True Marvel Sacred Fruits, I'll consider taking you out of the Sealing God Platform. But that tunnel is already occupied by the Heavenly Realm faction's experts. How will you get back?"
"Don't worry. This humble Daoist is no ordinary being. I can come and go freely in the restricted zone."
Having said that, the Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi didn't leave but chuckled, "Young hero, that tortoise shell fragment is useless to you. Can you return it to me?"
"I found that tortoise shell fragment. Why should I return it to you?" Zhang Ruochen said righteously.
The Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi said, "It was clearly placed in my Daoist temple."
"I didn't break into your Daoist temple. I picked it up from a pile of rubble and ruins."
Then Zhang Ruochen smiled again, "Don't rush. Go pick the True Marvel Sacred Fruits first. As for that tortoise shell fragment, it's not that I can't return it."
"Fine. I'll trust you one more time."
The Spirit-Connected Sacred Zhi's expression softened a bit, then it turned into a purple light and plunged into the ground.
Zhang Ruochen and Xiang Chunan continued toward the free trade zone. On the way, Xiang Chunan was still a bit worried, "There should be some top-tier experts from the Heavenly Court realm. What if they forcefully snatch them? Before I left, my master's wife gave me a token, telling me that if I encounter an invincible enemy, I can take it out to intimidate them. Should I use it?"
Zhang Ruochen hadn't expected Xiang Chunan to have such a trump card. It seemed his master and master's wife were no ordinary people, which made him a bit more at ease. He said, "No need. The Truth Divine Temple has rules: in the free trade zone, no cultivator is allowed to attack. The ten divine transmission disciples are stationed there. Who would dare to act recklessly?"
"Besides, many cultivators saw that it was the Heavenly Realm faction's experts who attacked us first, and we only suppressed them. We didn't kill them; we're just putting them up for sale. That's already the height of benevolence."
As they spoke, the two had already arrived outside the free trade zone.
(Chapter End)