# Chapter 1698: Eliminating Empress Lian
After the purple light pierced through Empress Lian's abdomen, it struck the ground, and dozens of zhang away, a deafening explosion rang out, causing the palace buildings in the surrounding area to tremble slightly.
Empress Lian's legs could no longer support her, and she knelt on one knee, her hand touching the bloody hole in her abdomen, her eyes filled with terror: "Supreme power... it's a Supreme Sacred Artifact..."
"Wonderful, truly wonderful! Haha! That's right, it's a Supreme Sacred Artifact. Now you know how formidable I am, don't you?"
True Wonder Little Daoist held one hand behind his back, while the other hand supported the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror. With an air of arrogance, he walked out of True Wonder Temple, pointed the mirror at Empress Lian, and added, "There are some beings in this world that you simply cannot afford to provoke. Zhang Ruochen, what do you think we should do with her?"
Zhang Ruochen rolled his eyes and said, "Who told you to shout out my name?"
True Wonder Little Daoist was slightly startled and quickly covered his mouth: "Right, I can't reveal your identity. What now? Kill her to silence her?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded and said, "That's the only way."
Although Empress Lian had already suspected as much, she was still extremely shocked to confirm that the man before her was indeed Zhang Ruochen. How much time had passed? Zhang Ruochen had grown from a Half-Saint King to a level where he could contend with her.
She finally began to understand why Shang Zihong had gone to such great lengths to deal with Zhang Ruochen.
This kid was indeed a dangerous figure who should be eliminated as early as possible.
"Chi chi."
True Wonder Little Daoist mobilized Saint Qi, continuously pouring it into the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror.
On the mirror's surface, a virtual Bagua imprint appeared, slowly rotating.
Knowing she couldn't withstand the Supreme Sacred Artifact, Empress Lian quickly said, "Wait, don't you want to save Heavenly Beginning Fairy? She has surely fallen into the hands of our people by now. Killing me would mean losing a bargaining chip to negotiate with Death Heaven and Flame King."
True Wonder Little Daoist nodded and looked at Zhang Ruochen, saying, "What she says... seems to have some merit."
Zhang Ruochen was mobilizing Purifying Divine Flame to refine the Harmony Pill poison within his body. However, the poison acted on the Sacred Soul. As soon as the Purifying Divine Flame approached, before the poison could be refined, the Sacred Soul began to disintegrate.
"Heavenly Beginning Fairy said she has a way to neutralize the Harmony Pill poison. It seems I need to hurry back and rescue her," Zhang Ruochen thought. Just as this idea formed in his mind, a sharp, sinister wind rushed toward his face.
Zhang Ruochen immediately tensed his nerves and stared ahead.
He saw that Empress Lian, who had been kneeling on the ground with serious injuries, suddenly exploded with lightning speed, charging at True Wonder Little Daoist. Her arms elongated, becoming like two several-zhang-long white silk ribbons, her ten fingers forming claw shapes, clearly aiming to seize the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror.
"Not good... be careful."
Zhang Ruochen was well aware that True Wonder Little Daoist lacked combat experience. In close-quarters combat, he was no match for Empress Lian.
If Empress Lian managed to snatch the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror, forget about rescuing anyone—whether he and True Wonder could even leave alive today was uncertain.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized his spatial power to the fullest, bringing his hands together and slashing toward Empress Lian's back.
A zhang-long spatial rift appeared, slicing straight toward Empress Lian.
Empress Lian glanced back with her peripheral vision, a cold gleam in her eyes. "Zhang Ruochen, once I seize the Supreme Sacred Artifact, I'll first cripple all your meridians and see how you can still use spatial power."
"Star-Plucking Hand, seize."
Empress Lian reached True Wonder Little Daoist, thousands of Sacred Dao rules flowing around her palms, weaving into an invisible net that enveloped True Wonder Little Daoist.
At that moment, the spatial rift was still three zhang away from her.
"Last time, I wasn't prepared, so that so-called king knocked me unconscious with one punch. But now, I'm at my peak—not so easy to bully."
True Wonder Little Daoist sidestepped, turning into a streak of purple light, evading Empress Lian's capturing Sacred Art. Then, he appeared above and to the right of Empress Lian, raised the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror, and slammed it down with all his might.
"Boom."
Empress Lian's right arm exploded into a cloud of blood mist, and she let out a scream of agony.
At the same time, the spatial rift from behind was closing in, about to strike her body. Empress Lian had no choice but to twist her slender waist and dodge to the left. Fortunately, she had cultivated a mid-rank Sacred Art movement technique. With a mere thought, her body vanished from the spot, barely avoiding the spatial rift.
"I'm already severely injured. There's no way I can deal with Zhang Ruochen and that hundred-thousand-year ancient sacred medicine."
Both the hole through her abdomen and the disappearance of her right arm caused Empress Lian immense pain. Though filled with grievance and resentment, she had no choice but to flee with all her might.
If she didn't escape, she might die here today.
The leader of the Yin-Yang Realm, the Empress Lian who made even evil path cultivators tremble at the mention of her name, was being forced to flee for her life by a rising star and a hundred-thousand-year ancient sacred medicine. This was an enormous loss of face.
"Thinking of fleeing now? Too late."
A spatial fluctuation appeared before Empress Lian.
A blazing iron fist shot out from the center of the spatial fluctuation, forming a ring of fiery clouds. It struck Empress Lian, sending her flying backward. With a thunderous crash, she slammed into the wall of True Wonder Temple.
Dozens of bloody cracks appeared on Empress Lian's body, like a piece of white porcelain about to shatter.
Blood droplets continuously rolled down from the cracks on Empress Lian's body. Lying on the ground, she trembled as she spoke: "Zhang Ruo... Ruochen, killing me will do you no good. Spare my life... I can become your... servant... at your command..."
"Not needed."
Zhang Ruochen was very cold. He walked up to Empress Lian, a large patch of Purifying Divine Flame appearing in his palm, and struck her body.
"Chi chi."
In the span of a single breath, Empress Lian's body was burned to ashes.
"Clap! Clap! Clap..."
True Wonder Little Daoist clapped his hands and said, "You're ruthless enough, kid. You didn't hesitate at all to destroy a beauty. To be honest, when Empress Lian offered to submit just now, I was a bit tempted. Actually, I'm seriously wondering now—are you really poisoned by the Harmony Pill?"
The sharpness in Zhang Ruochen's eyes faded, and his gaze became somewhat chaotic. He quickly rubbed his temples before regaining composure.
True Wonder Little Daoist quickly retreated to a distance and said, "Can you hold on? I hope the poison doesn't flare up and make you do something inappropriate to me."
"I can hold on. Let's go rescue people."
Zhang Ruochen shook his somewhat dizzy head, forced his eyes open, and dragged True Wonder Little Daoist with him as he charged back up the ancient mountain.
When Zhang Ruochen arrived at the place where he had parted ways with Heavenly Beginning Fairy, it had already become a wasteland of rubble and broken walls, with a large area of palace buildings destroyed.
"Too late? Has the battle already ended?"
Zhang Ruochen's heart sank slightly.
True Wonder Little Daoist sniffed the ground, then dug a bloody arm out from a pile of rubble.
"Flame King's arm."
Zhang Ruochen picked up the severed arm, examined the cut, and said, "It was severed by Heavenly Beginning Fairy's Rain Silk Divine Sword."
"There are wheel tracks from the White Feather Peacock Sacred Chariot on the ground. That Heavenly Beginning Fairy must have escaped," True Wonder Little Daoist made another discovery.
"Let's follow and see."
Zhang Ruochen's legs manifested phantom images of a Luan bird, turning into a series of afterimages as he rushed forward.
After chasing for about seventy li, Zhang Ruochen detected the auras of Flame King and Death Heaven. He quickly slowed down and activated the power of the Buddha Emperor Relic to conceal his aura.
This place was a valley within the ancient mountain. The valley was filled with purple-black rocks, their surfaces flowing with a metallic luster.
On the steepest rock wall in the valley, there was a cave entrance about seven or eight meters high.
From inside the cave, hurricane-force winds continuously blew out, the wind force turning into righteous energy, sharp enough to rival the Sword Dao profound energy unleashed by a Sword Saint. If it were just one or two strands of righteous energy, Flame King and Death Heaven could withstand them with their cultivation. But every moment, over a hundred strands of righteous energy flew out of the cave. Even with their many treasures, they couldn't withstand more than a few waves, so naturally, they didn't dare to recklessly enter the cave.
In the valley, Flame King flexed his newly regenerated right arm and asked, "Have you figured out a way to enter the cave?"
Death Heaven's face was as stiff as iron. He shook his head and said, "I just used a Four-Shining Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact to clear a path. After advancing just over ten steps, the artifact was destroyed. Unless there's a Supreme Sacred Artifact to lead the way, no being below the Great Saint level can enter this cave and come out alive."
Flame King said, "So, that bitch Luo Ji is probably dead inside?"
Death Heaven shook his head again. "Luo Ji's White Feather Peacock Sacred Chariot is an Eight-Shining Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact. Even the righteous energy would find it hard to pierce through. However, the wind force inside the cave is very strange—some whirl in spirals, some fly in reverse. With just an Eight-Shining Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact, she can't escape. Hiding in this cave is her seeking her own death."
Flame King gritted his teeth, showing extreme frustration. "I really don't know how that bitch avoided the Six Desire Ring Gu. She almost killed me with her Rain Silk Divine Sword."
Earlier, after Flame King activated the Six Desire Ring Gu and heard the sound of Heavenly Beginning Fairy falling inside the sacred chariot, he immediately tried to board it.
But the moment he pulled open the carriage curtain, he was shocked to find Heavenly Beginning Fairy still sitting inside, not appearing to be affected by the Gu at all.
Flame King sensed danger, cursed "drama queen" under his breath, and shot backward. Even so, the Rain Silk Divine Sword that flew out from the sacred chariot severed one of his arms.
Then, from the White Feather Peacock Sacred Chariot, one attack talisman after another flew out, forming a powerful assault that kept Flame King and Death Heaven at bay.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Heavenly Beginning Fairy drove the White Feather Peacock Sacred Chariot all the way here and rushed into the cave.
At the top of the valley, Zhang Ruochen stood behind a large boulder, looking at Flame King and Death Heaven below, puzzled: "Why are only the two of them here? Where did Mo Xiaogu go?"
Relatively speaking, Zhang Ruochen felt that Mo Xiaogu, who could control the Great Saint-level malevolent creature, was a greater threat.
True Wonder Little Daoist rubbed his hands together and grinned. "Who cares where she went? We have the Supreme Sacred Artifact in hand—what's there to fear? I'm already itching to take care of these two first."
The Harmony Pill poison in Zhang Ruochen's body was erupting more and more violently, and his spiritual will was growing weaker. He truly had no time to wait any longer. His eyes darkened. "Let's activate the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror together. First, kill Death Heaven, then deal with Flame King."