# Chapter 1728: A Pen That Kills
"Why isn't there any Great Saint on the Bounty Ranking List?" Zhang Ruochen asked, quite curious.
Ji Fanxin said, "Without a bounty of at least ten billion sacred stones, you don't even qualify to place an order to kill a Great Saint. Even for a ten-thousand-year dynasty, it's extremely difficult to come up with ten billion sacred stones. Besides, even if there were a Bounty Ranking List for Great Saints, it wouldn't be something we could see."
At that moment, a slender woman dressed in a black robe approached Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin, carrying a metal tray.
On the tray lay a thick stack of talisman paper and a bronze pen.
Life-Death Talismans!
A single talisman paper determined life and death.
Ji Fanxin extended two fingers, picked up a talisman paper, and began writing on it.
After a moment, she gracefully set down the bronze pen, held up the talisman paper, and sent it flying toward the Life-Death Cliff.
"Boom."
The talisman paper exploded as it neared the Life-Death Cliff, scattering into countless specks of light.
Immediately, in a relatively forward area of the Life-Death Cliff, a name appeared—Liancheng Baili.
Behind the name "Liancheng Baili" was a long string of introductory text:
Liancheng Baili, affiliated with the Heaven-Slaughter Organization, cultivation at the Eighth-Step Saint King level, ranked eighty-fourth on the Assassin Heavenly King List. He has accepted fourteen thousand six hundred missions and successfully completed fourteen thousand five hundred and ninety-five of them.
Liancheng Baili possesses three Death Envoys. The first Death Envoy is called "Realm Power Stone King," a Seventh-Step Saint King of the Stone Clan.
The second Death Envoy...
...
There was a great deal of introductory text, quite detailed, even including the sacred artifacts Liancheng Baili used, the techniques he cultivated, and his sacred arts.
After reading through all this information, Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up, and he muttered to himself, "So, the Assassin Heavenly King who joined Shang Zihong and the others to surround and kill me was him. Being able to make it onto the Assassin Heavenly King List, he's definitely a formidable figure."
Not only that, but the assassin who had previously infiltrated the Hundred Flowers Palace to assassinate Danling King turned out to be Liancheng Baili's third Death Envoy.
It seemed Ji Fanxin had already thoroughly investigated the matter, which was why she placed the order to kill Liancheng Baili.
The price Ji Fanxin offered was one hundred million sacred stones.
Before Ji Fanxin placed her order, there were already two prices listed below Liancheng Baili's name—thirty-five million sacred stones and fifty million sacred stones. Clearly, there were other cultivators who also wanted to buy Liancheng Baili's life.
Thus, Liancheng Baili's life was now worth one hundred and eighty-five million sacred stones, ranking him sixty-seventh on the Bounty Ranking List.
Such a price was already quite tempting. Many Ninth-Step Saint Kings would be interested, and some of them would definitely take action to kill Liancheng Baili.
"She actually offered one hundred million sacred stones to kill Liancheng Baili? Who is she?"
"Someone who can come up with one hundred million sacred stones must have a major background. We'd better not provoke her."
...
Below the Life-Death Cliff, many cultivators turned their gazes toward Ji Fanxin. Their expressions varied—some were puzzled, some wary, and some contemplative.
Although Ji Fanxin had been reminding Zhang Ruochen to keep a low profile before they arrived, her actions were anything but low-key.
Ji Fanxin glanced at Zhang Ruochen and smiled slightly. "Your turn! Whoever you want to kill, write their name and price on the Life-Death Talisman."
"Once you send the Life-Death Talisman out, the information will be recorded on the Life-Death Cliff. It will appear on the Life-Death Cliffs at all Death God Temple contact points."
Zhang Ruochen picked up a Life-Death Talisman from the tray and began writing.
After finishing, he flicked his wrist, and the Life-Death Talisman flew out.
"Boom."
The talisman shattered, and a new change appeared on the Bounty Ranking List on the Life-Death Cliff. A brand-new name emerged.
Bounty Ranking List, Tenth Place: Space Divine Temple Leader Gongzi Yan, Bounty: Three Hundred Million.
Below the Life-Death Cliff, which had been quite quiet, now erupted with murmurs and noise.
"Three hundred million sacred stones! Heavens, if I had that many sacred stones, I could already go conquer a ruin realm and establish a prosperous empire."
"Gongzi Yan has always had good relationships with everyone, and many forces have favors to ask of him. Who would offer such a sky-high price of three hundred million sacred stones to kill him?"
"Gongzi Yan has really gotten himself into trouble this time. He must have offended some superpower."
Countless eyes turned toward Zhang Ruochen.
Some cultivators activated their spiritual power, trying to see through the mask to Zhang Ruochen's true face.
Others had very dark expressions, cracking their knuckles. If this weren't the Death God Temple's territory, they might have already attacked Zhang Ruochen.
This wasn't surprising, given the many cultivators present. Some of them were surely friends with Gongzi Yan. It was even possible that Gongzi Yan's true body was right here in the crowd.
But Zhang Ruochen remained calm and composed. He picked up another Life-Death Talisman and began writing.
"Boom."
The Life-Death Talisman flew out, and another name appeared on the Bounty Ranking List.
Bounty Ranking List, Tenth Place: Soul Realm Leader Lianxi, Bounty: Three Hundred Million.
"Boom!"
This time, the cultivators below the Life-Death Cliff were completely stirred up. Countless cultivators stared at Zhang Ruochen with icy gazes.
"This is outrageous! Someone actually wants to kill Fairy Lianxi, and they're offering three hundred million sacred stones? If word of this gets out, the entire Paradise Realm will be shaken."
"Fairy Lianxi is so beautiful and ethereal. Even the most cold-blooded assassin probably couldn't bring themselves to lay a hand on her."
"If you have the guts, show your true face! Anyone who wants to kill Fairy Lianxi has to get through me first."
A handsome man in a yellow robe, one of Lianxi's suitors, charged straight at Zhang Ruochen, his hands turning the color of silver.
But when he was still ten steps away from Zhang Ruochen, a core assassin of the Death God Temple appeared.
This core assassin was somewhat special. On his black Death God robe was embroidered a six-winged flying dragon. The killing intent emanating from him caused the temperature inside the great tomb to plummet sharply.
Just that killing intent alone was enough to make the yellow-robed man stop in his tracks.
"This is a Death God Temple contact point. Anyone who dares to cause trouble here, I, Qin Kai, will send you on your way for free." The man, completely shrouded in a black robe, spoke in a flat tone.
The yellow-robed man's face instantly turned pale as paper, and his lips trembled. "Qin... Kai, the twenty-first on the Assassin Heavenly King List... Qin Kai..."
In an instant, the spot where the black-robed man Qin Kai stood became the absolute center of attention.
The cultivators present looked at him with some fear and trembling.
Even Zhang Ruochen was somewhat moved. After all, someone as powerful as Liancheng Baili was only ranked eighty-fourth on the Assassin Heavenly King List.
The entire Assassin Heavenly King List only recorded one hundred Saint King-level assassins. Each one was an incredibly powerful existence, and the higher the ranking, the more terrifying the strength.
After intimidating the yellow-robed man, Qin Kai's figure disappeared, as if he had melted away.
"Impressive. Even with my current cultivation, I couldn't see how he left." Zhang Ruochen said in a low voice.
Ji Fanxin said, "Now you know there's always a sky above the sky and people beyond people, right? With your current cultivation, there are countless people below the Great Saint realm who can crush you. What you encountered in the Truth Heaven Domain were just the younger generation's experts. The older generation of Saint King-level powerhouses has even more ruthless characters."
Zhang Ruochen shrugged, looking quite unconcerned. After all, he had obtained Xumi Saint Monk's long beard, and his cultivation realm would soon advance by leaps and bounds.
Once his cultivation improved by two or three more realms, who below the Great Saint realm could still control him?
Then, Zhang Ruochen reached out and picked up another Life-Death Talisman from the tray.
Ji Fanxin's eyes widened in surprise. "You're placing another order? Do you even have that many sacred stones?"
Even one hundred million sacred stones was a considerable sum for a world leader like Ji Fanxin. But Zhang Ruochen had already spent six hundred million sacred stones and was still placing more orders. How could that not be shocking?
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "My Golden Step Dragon Chariot is worth no less than one billion sacred stones, isn't it?"
With that, Zhang Ruochen wrote another name on the Life-Death Talisman.
A moment later, at the tenth position on the Bounty Ranking List, another name appeared: Blood Battle Divine Temple Leader Xunya, Bounty: Three Hundred Million Sacred Stones.
Ignoring the stunned gazes around him, Zhang Ruochen continued writing a fourth Life-Death Talisman.
"Boom."
The Life-Death Talisman flew out and collided with the Life-Death Cliff, turning into a rain of light.
Immediately, at the seventh position on the Bounty Ranking List, the name "Shang Zihong" appeared, with a bounty of five hundred million sacred stones.
Zhang Ruochen hesitated for a moment but ultimately did not reach for another Life-Death Talisman from the tray. He let out a soft sigh.
Bai Su, Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, Fifth Senior Sister... Their deaths had always been a pain in Zhang Ruochen's heart.
Originally, Zhang Ruochen had wanted to use an eye-for-an-eye approach, hiring assassins from the Death God Temple to kill Shang Zihong's relatives, friends, and fellow disciples. He would pay the reward for each one killed.
But...
When it actually came time to decide their fates, Zhang Ruochen chose to hold back. He couldn't bring himself to indiscriminately kill the innocent.
Shang Zihong's relatives, friends, and fellow disciples weren't necessarily all evil. Not all of them were targeting Zhang Ruochen. Some of them might even be kind-hearted cultivators who stayed out of worldly conflicts.
"What are you thinking about?" Ji Fanxin asked.
"Nothing."
Zhang Ruochen tightly gripped the bronze pen in his hand, then slowly set it down on the tray.
This was a pen that killed. It had to be used with caution!
Ji Fanxin said, "We need to leave quickly. The four people you placed orders to kill all belong to the Heavenly Realm Faction. And the Heavenly Realm Faction's power is vast. There are bound to be many of their people here."
"Let's go."
Just as Zhang Ruochen turned around, a cultivator in a black Death God robe blocked his and Ji Fanxin's path.
The faint ripples at the collar and cuffs of this person's robe marked him as an Assassin Heavenly King.
His voice was somewhat sharp. "You two guests cannot leave just yet. Elder Qi just sent word for me to bring you both to see him."
Zhang Ruochen sensed a faint, elusive killing intent from this black-robed cultivator and became alert. "Why do we need to see Elder Qi?"
"Because you both placed orders. You must go to Elder Qi to pay the deposit." The killing intent on the black-robed cultivator vanished, replaced by a faint smile.
(End of Chapter)