Chapter 1733: The List
Zhang Ruochen was somewhat curious and asked, "As a fringe assassin, how can you know so many secrets of the Death God Temple?"
A Le said, "That's a long story. In short, although I am a fringe assassin of the Death God Temple, the secrets I can access and the authority I can wield are even greater than those of the core assassin elders."
Zhang Ruochen thought to himself that it might be related to the Death God Temple Master's desire to take him as a disciple, so he didn't ask further.
Immediately after, A Le added, "This temporary contact point is jointly controlled by the Ten Elders. Although I, Han Qiu, and Brother Qin Kai also have a significant say, we cannot directly clear your name. We still need evidence."
Zhang Ruochen could understand their position and said, "Shouldn't the evidence be easy to find? Elder Qi's forging pavilion must have left some traces. Besides, doesn't the Death God Temple already know that Elder Qi had issues?"
Qin Kai said, "A deceased elder is a major matter, and it's not that simple. There must be irrefutable evidence for you to walk out of this Death Tomb alive."
"What counts as irrefutable evidence?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Qin Kai said, "That depends on how Han Qiu handles it."
Over the next half hour, a considerable disturbance occurred in the space within the Death Tomb.
When the disturbance ended, Han Qiu, reeking of blood, her black hair flowing like a bloodthirsty demoness, strode quickly into the stone cave.
"Bang!"
A cultivator in a Death God black robe was thrown out by her, rolling like a dead dog to Zhang Ruochen's feet.
Just by sensing his aura, Zhang Ruochen recognized him—it was the assassin king who had led him and Ji Fanxin to see Elder Qi, presumably Elder Qi's trusted subordinate.
Han Qiu's black sacred garment was soaked through with blood, turning a dark red. A thick killing aura still coiled around her curvaceous figure as she said coldly, "All of Elder Qi's people, except for him, have been dealt with by me."
Then, Han Qiu's gaze fell on Zhang Ruochen. All the killing intent and coldness dissipated, replaced by a joyful light, and she quickly walked over.
Approaching Zhang Ruochen, she noticed his extremely pale face and his left arm, which was sometimes solid and sometimes transparent. She said softly, "You've been poisoned?"
She immediately grabbed Zhang Ruochen's wrist, her expression shifting unpredictably. "Damn that Qi Yunfeng. If he weren't already dead, I would have extracted his sacred soul and subjected it to the torment of ten thousand ghosts devouring it. Senior Brother Qin Kai, you should have the antidote for Mirror Flower Water Moon Poison, right?"
Qin Kai said indifferently, "I do have the antidote for Mirror Flower Water Moon Poison. However, I can't give it to him yet, as it's also evidence. Zhang Ruochen, can you still hold on?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "Suppressing the poison isn't a big deal."
Han Qiu also knew that now wasn't the time to give Zhang Ruochen the antidote, so she kicked the assassin king on the ground hard, waking him up.
That assassin king, named Qi Yunhai, was a member of Elder Qi's clan and had reached the Second-Step Saint King realm.
Qi Yunhai was clearly severely injured. After waking up, he coughed violently. Lifting his head, he saw Qin Kai, A Le, Han Qiu, and Zhang Ruochen in the stone cave and immediately understood what was happening.
Qi Yunhai's form transformed into a flock of black vultures, flying toward the cave entrance.
"Looking for death."
Han Qiu's body surged with dark force, and a massive black vortex formed, sweeping all the black vultures into it.
Qi Yunhai's voice rang out from within the black vortex: "Han Qiu... today... you've killed so many core assassins and committed a grave sin. If you kill me, the nine elders will never let... you... go..."
Han Qiu sneered and grabbed through the air.
The next moment, Qi Yunhai's head was caught in her five fingers, pressed to the ground, with his knees kneeling before Zhang Ruochen.
Qi Yunhai, worthy of being a Saint King, was quite decisive. Knowing he couldn't escape, he immediately mobilized all his sacred Qi toward his Qi Sea, preparing to self-destruct his sacred source.
"Pfft."
Han Qiu's five fingers dug into Qi Yunhai's scalp, piercing through his skull. Five streams of dark force surged into Qi Yunhai's body.
Instantly, a miserable scream erupted from Qi Yunhai's mouth. Sacred blood flowed from his eyes, and his pupils grew increasingly vacant.
"His sacred soul has been locked by me, and his spiritual will has been eroded by dark force until it's extinguished. Whatever I ask, he will answer. Now, let's go see the nine elders," Han Qiu said coldly.
The ten elders who governed this Death Tomb were all extraordinary figures.
The deceased Elder Qi was only one of the weaker ones.
With such a major incident, the nine elders had long been alerted and appeared together outside the stone cave. However, seeing Qin Kai emerge from the cave, even the nine elders restrained their anger and didn't immediately demand an explanation.
In terms of strength, even the nine of them combined might not be a match for Qin Kai.
The subsequent matters were handled by Qin Kai, A Le, and Han Qiu. Zhang Ruochen and Mo Yin stood at a distance, waiting quietly.
"How could I forget it? It might be able to neutralize the Mirror Flower Water Moon Poison."
Zhang Ruochen took out a green lotus seed, pinched it in his left hand, and infused sacred Qi into it. A layer of green light emanated, spreading from his palm to his wrist, arm, shoulder, and then his entire body.
After a moment, the Mirror Flower Water Moon Poison inside him vanished without a trace.
"As expected of a treasure left by Xumi Saint Monk—so miraculous."
Zhang Ruochen circulated his sacred Qi through a full cycle, fully recovering. He twirled the green lotus seed between two fingers, revealing a faint smile.
After a while, the nine elders all retreated. Qin Kai and A Le walked over to Zhang Ruochen.
Qin Kai took out a small white bottle and tossed it to Zhang Ruochen. "Qi Yunhai has confessed everything. The nine elders won't probe the Mirror Flower Water Moon Poison inside you anymore. Take this antidote."
Zhang Ruochen caught the small white bottle, smiled, and returned it to Qin Kai. "No need. I've already neutralized the poison."
"How is that possible?"
Qin Kai stared intently at Zhang Ruochen and found that he was indeed full of vitality, showing no signs of poisoning.
Qin Kai thought to himself that even if he were poisoned with Mirror Flower Water Moon Poison, he could only suppress it temporarily and would need the antidote to fully eliminate it. How had this little Fourth-Step Saint King managed it?
A Le and Han Qiu were already rare anomalies. Had another one just appeared?
"Ah..."
Qi Yunhai, still kneeling on the ground, let out a agonizing scream, his face twisted beyond recognition.
Han Qiu used dark force to continuously absorb the demonic Qi and heaven and earth rules from Qi Yunhai's body, converting them into her own power. After a moment, Qi Yunhai turned into a black, dried-up corpse and fell to the ground.
Han Qiu's body was enveloped by a powerful black force.
After an hour of refinement, the black force flowed into her body. As a result, Han Qiu's cultivation level increased once again.
Cultivating the Dark Path, one of the Nine Eternal Paths, required constant devouring.
Qin Kai said, "You three must have a lot to discuss. I need to leave first and study the Bounty Ranking List to see who is worth my personal attention."
Back in the stone cave, Zhang Ruochen asked A Le and Han Qiu about their experiences in the Death God Temple.
For them to have achieved their current powerful cultivation, they must have paid a tremendous price and endured many trials. Who knew how many untold stories had unfolded?
Through their exchange, Zhang Ruochen learned many things.
Besides joining the Death God Temple, A Le and Han Qiu had also used the temple's power to obtain another identity—cultivators from the top-ten major world, "Yuan World."
It was because they had obtained Yuan World's quotas that they could come to Truth Heaven Domain to cultivate the Way of Truth.
If they had stayed in Kunlun Realm, it would have been nearly impossible for them to come to Truth Heaven Domain for cultivation. The imperial court would never have allocated two quotas to them.
Han Qiu said, "Your Highness, spending only 1.4 billion sacred stones to buy the lives of Shang Zi and his four companions is far too merciful. Back then, Shang Zi hired the Tian Sha Organization to buy the lives of everyone connected to Your Highness. Who knows how many half-saints of the Sacred Bright Central Empire were assassinated, ending up as headless corpses? This is a blood feud. We must retaliate tooth for tooth, making Shang Zi taste the pain of losing family and friends."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze shifted to A Le. "What do you think?"
"You are the prince. Whatever decision you make, I stand by your side," A Le said.
Han Qiu knew Zhang Ruochen very well, knowing he never violated his principles and certainly wouldn't do as she suggested. So, before Zhang Ruochen could speak, she took out a booklet and handed it to him.
"I know Your Highness doesn't want to kill indiscriminately, so I secretly infiltrated the Death God Temple's intelligence organization and uncovered many classified pieces of information. This booklet contains a list of all cultivators connected to Shang Zi. The names marked with a red check are either those who have committed heinous crimes or participated in that assassination operation. They are all worthy of death."
Zhang Ruochen opened the booklet and flipped through it.
After reading it, he closed the booklet and stared deeply at Han Qiu. "Compiling this list must have involved considerable risk, right?"
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's approving gaze, Han Qiu felt a slight joy inside. "Because I know that the deaths of Bai Su and Zhu Hongtao must have been an unhealable wound for you. How could you not want to avenge them? But you are destined to be an emperor. An emperor's hands are not meant for killing; excessive killing only makes a tyrant. Leave the killing to me from now on."
"Count me in."
A Le hugged his iron sword, expressionless.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the two of them and was silent for a long time. Then he said, "Then do as you say. Not a single cultivator marked with a red check on this list will be spared."
...
I just realized today that I miscalculated the number of sacred stones. In the previous chapters, I wrote 1.6 billion sacred stones, but it should have been 1.4 billion sacred stones.
Sigh! After all, this isn't addition within ten; it's addition above a billion. The numbers are too large, making calculation very difficult. Making a mistake is understandable, and I hope everyone can understand.