Chapter 173: Demon Sect Prisoners
Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen used their fastest speed, and moments later, they arrived at the spot where Zi Qian had just been standing.
But they were too late. Zi Qian had already vanished. Within a radius of three hundred feet, there was only gray, hazy mist, and no sign of her at all.
"Who is it?"
Zhang Ruochen drew the Snow Dragon Sword, his gaze sharp, staring intently in one direction.
His powerful spiritual power had already sensed the other party's location.
In the distance, footsteps sounded from within the miasma and mist.
A group of ragged martial artists walked out. Among them were old men over seventy, middle-aged men with full beards, and both male and female martial artists.
There were about seventy or more of them. Although they were dressed in tatters and looked extremely disheveled, every single one of them had exceptionally sharp eyes, full of energy, and a fierce killing intent. They were undoubtedly top-tier martial arts experts.
Within the crowd, a white-haired old man stood beside Zi Qian, his fingers tightly gripping her shoulder.
His five fingers were like five iron nails, locking onto Zi Qian's shoulder, piercing through to create bloody wounds from which drops of blood flowed.
Zi Qian bit her lip, staring at Zhang Ruochen standing opposite her, and shook her head at him, signaling for him to flee quickly.
Zhang Ruochen saw Zi Qian's expression, but he did not run away.
If he fled, what would happen to Zi Qian?
A young man in a white martial arts robe, carrying two swords on his back, stepped out from the group of martial artists, cupped his hands, and bowed to Huang Yanchen. "Greetings, Senior Sister Huang, Senior Brother Zhang."
Huang Yanchen's gaze was cold and heavy as she stared at the young man standing opposite. "Mo Qinglong, I never expected you to be an undercover agent in the Black Market. You hid it quite well."
The young man standing opposite, carrying two swords on his back, was none other than the seventh-ranked student of the Western Academy, named Mo Qinglong.
During the Western Academy's quarterly assessment, Zhang Ruochen had seen Mo Qinglong fight other students.
At that time, Zhang Ruochen had already seen that Mo Qinglong was hiding his strength and was definitely a young expert who kept his abilities concealed.
He just hadn't expected that Mo Qinglong was also an undercover agent.
Mo Qinglong shook his head. "We are not from the Black Market, Senior Sister. You misunderstand."
"Moon-Worshipping Cult."
The prisoners locked up in the Chi Kong Secret Mansion were either evil people from the Black Market or members of the Moon-Worshipping Cult. As for the other prisoners, they were mostly scattered stragglers, nothing to worry about.
Huang Yanchen's expression grew serious as she stared at the more than seventy prisoners standing behind Mo Qinglong. It seemed they were all experts from the Moon-Worshipping Cult.
The Moon-Worshipping Cult was even more terrifying than the Black Market.
Zhang Ruochen said, "We have no grudge against the Moon-Worshipping Cult. If you want to leave, we will not stop you. But why are you capturing Junior Sister Zi?"
Mo Qinglong's face was stiff. "The various seniors of the Divine Cult have been imprisoned in the Chi Kong Secret Mansion for many years. They have neither weapons nor armor, and their physical constitutions have deteriorated greatly. Even if they break out of the Chi Kong Secret Mansion, they still won't be able to escape. They will definitely be suppressed by the experts of the Martial Market Academy. There is only one way for us to escape."
Mo Qinglong's gaze shifted to Huang Yanchen. "We need Senior Sister Huang's help to safely escape the Demon Ridge."
Huang Yanchen said, "I'm afraid I can't help you."
Mo Qinglong shook his head. "Senior Sister Huang is the Princess of the Thousand Water Commandery. As long as we use Senior Sister Huang as a hostage, those experts from the Martial Market Academy will have to back down. Senior Sister Huang, are you willing to save Junior Sister Zi? If you agree to be our hostage and help us escape the Demon Ridge, we will release her right now."
Huang Yanchen glanced at Zi Qian. "I'm not very familiar with her. Even if you kill her, what does it have to do with me?"
Mo Qinglong pondered for a moment, then looked at Zhang Ruochen. "Senior Brother Zhang, given your relationship with Junior Sister Zi, are you going to watch her die at our hands?"
Zhang Ruochen squinted his eyes. "How do you know that Junior Sister Zi and I have a good relationship?"
Zhang Ruochen and Zi Qian did indeed have a good relationship, but very few people knew about it.
How did Mo Qinglong know?
"Zhang Ruochen is indeed formidable. He spotted this flaw right away. No wonder the Little Saintess told me to be careful with him," Mo Qinglong thought to himself.
The reason the Moon-Worshipping Cult prisoners had come to capture Huang Yanchen was also a plan devised by that Little Saintess.
Before entering the Chi Kong Secret Mansion, Mo Qinglong had received a secret letter from the Little Saintess.
In the secret letter, the Little Saintess mentioned that to rescue the Divine Cult prisoners from the Chi Kong Secret Mansion, they had to capture Huang Yanchen and use her as a hostage to escape the pursuit of the Martial Market Academy's experts.
Mo Qinglong didn't know the Little Saintess's identity, but he was certain that the Little Saintess was also hiding in the Martial Market Academy.
Mo Qinglong calmed his mind, unaffected by Zhang Ruochen's words, and continued, "Zhang Ruochen, if you can persuade Senior Sister Huang to be our hostage, we will release Junior Sister Zi right now. Once we leave the Demon Ridge, we will immediately let Senior Sister Huang go. We will not break our word."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "I can't persuade her."
Mo Qinglong sighed. "The Moon-Worshipping Cult is different from the Black Market. Once we make a promise, we will not go back on it. You should trust us. Besides, with so many experts from the Divine Cult here, if it really comes to a fight, you and Senior Sister Huang might not be able to escape."
"Why waste so many words with them? Kill this girl now, then capture Yanchen Princess!"
The white-haired old man who was gripping Zi Qian's shoulder had a violent look in his eyes. He raised his arm and struck down toward the top of Zi Qian's head.
His strike was extremely vicious, as if he intended to shatter Zi Qian's skull.
Zhang Ruochen's expression changed. He immediately released his Space Domain, covering a radius of ninety meters.
Pure Jade True Qi surged from Zhang Ruochen's palm, merging into the Space Domain, creating a space-freezing force that halted the white-haired old man's arm mid-air, preventing it from falling.
That white-haired old man was only at the Mysterious Extreme Realm Great Perfection and couldn't break through the suppression of the Space Domain.
"Shua!"
Zhang Ruochen channeled his true qi into the meridians of his legs, using his footwork to turn into a blurry afterimage. Moving as fast as a gust of wind, he rushed to Zi Qian's side, intending to take her away.
"Hehe, kid, you're still too green to try and snatch someone from our Moon-Worshipping Cult!"
A bald, burly man over two meters tall leaped up and landed to Zhang Ruochen's right. He mobilized the little true qi remaining in his body and punched toward Zhang Ruochen's waist.
The bald man's cultivation had reached the Earth Extreme Realm Middle Stage. He had once been a branch leader of the Moon-Worshipping Cult and had cultivated a powerful technique called the "Great Vajra Martial Code."
When he activated his true qi, a layer of golden light covered his skin, making his body look as if it were forged from gold and bronze.
Zhang Ruochen used one hand to undo the restraints on Zi Qian while rapidly raising his other hand, swinging his sword toward the bald man.
"Shua!"
A freezing sword energy over ten meters long flew out from the sword body, like a white line passing across the bald man's chest.
With a tearing sound, the sharp sword energy split open the bald man's chest, leaving a bloody gash over a foot long. Several ribs were also severed.
The bald man flew backward, crashing to the ground. Blood gushed from his chest, and he was severely injured.
"Attack together. Take them all down."
Han Sanfu stood among the many demon cult experts, his expression calm, his gaze icy cold. His body was like a mountain, exuding a powerful martial aura.
He had once been a chief branch leader of the Moon-Worshipping Cult, with a cultivation at the Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection, and held great prestige among the cult's followers.
Every word from Han Sanfu's mouth was like a clap of thunder, exploding beside Zhang Ruochen's ears, shaking him so much that he kept retreating. The meridians and blood vessels in his body felt as if they were about to shatter.
At Han Sanfu's command, twelve experts from the Moon-Worshipping Cult simultaneously attacked Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen took out the battle diagram that Luo Shuihan had given him. He unfurled the diagram and continuously infused his true qi into the scroll.
The surface of the battle diagram emitted a blood-red glow.
"Hua!"
Dozens of huge, leopard-headed blood bats flew out from the scroll, baring their sharp, bloody fangs and flapping their leathery wings as they charged toward the twelve Moon-Worshipping Cult experts.
...
This chapter counts as the 29th's. There is still one more chapter.