Chapter 1755: Soul Refining
“The Elf Clan kings are launching a joint attack to stop Zhang Ruochen—we cannot let him kill Gongzi Yan. Update fastest.” An Elf Clan spiritual power saint king, holding a blue jade gem scepter, pointed toward Zhang Ruochen’s location.
Instantly, the wood-element spiritual energy of heaven and earth converged toward her, condensing into tens of thousands of black vines.
The vines, like flood dragons burrowing through the ground, surged wildly toward Zhang Ruochen.
Behind that spiritual power saint king, fourteen handsome elves drew white jade war bows of the ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifact level. Around each war bow, powerful energy fluctuations formed hurricane-like force currents.
The Elf Clan’s research in the path of archery could be said to be unrivaled under heaven.
When elves at the Saint King realm unleashed certain formidable arrow techniques, they could bring down stars and bury the moon.
The fourteen ten-thousand-pattern sacred arrows shot forth, and even from a thousand miles away, they could unleash unparalleled destructive power—truly capable of annihilating a star.
“Whoosh!”
Out of nowhere, a dark black shadow appeared beside the fourteen Elf Clan saint kings.
His figure was gaunt, holding a rust-covered iron sword, like a ghost—silent and soundless, able to evade the perception of lower-realm saint kings.
The spiritual power saint king standing at the front had her spiritual power covering an area of several hundred zhang, so when the black figure appeared, she sensed it immediately, her expression shifting.
Who was this person? How could he appear near her without a sound?
“Everyone be care…ful…”
Just as the spiritual power saint king tried to warn the others, she found the black figure had appeared behind her.
Then, a freezing sword aura shot straight toward the back of her head.
She was also a battle-hardened expert. Facing danger, her reaction speed was astonishing. In the blink of an eye, she activated a protective talisman on her body, forming a thick shield of light behind her.
“Boom.”
The iron sword broke through like a splitting bamboo, shattering the light shield and piercing through the spiritual power saint king’s head, the sword tip protruding from her brow.
“How is this possible… The Golden Light Shield Talisman couldn’t block it…”
With a thud, the spiritual power saint king fell heavily to the ground.
“Swish, swish.”
The black figure’s form flickered, as if using a doppelganger technique, splitting into dozens of shadows that charged into the midst of the fourteen Elf Clan saint kings. Then, streaks of icy sword energy lashed out—some thrusting, some slicing, some chopping…
By the time the dozens of afterimages merged back into one, only a pile of corpses remained on the ground.
In less than three breaths, all fifteen saint kings had fallen.
The Heavenly Realm saint kings watching from afar all drew in cold breaths, feeling as if a god of death had arrived, stirring a hint of fear within them.
Zhang Ruochen, seated on the Golden Step Dragon Carriage, glanced toward the direction of the black figure and said, “A Le’s sword path has been honed even sharper. Even I, without using the power of space and time, might not be able to withstand it. That is a sword path cultivated solely for killing.”
A Le’s gaze swept toward Zhang Ruochen in the distance, then his figure vanished.
When his figure reappeared, several miles away, another saint king fell beneath his sword.
At the same time, a black sphere nearly a hundred zhang in diameter appeared above the island.
Han Qiu stood at the center of the black sphere, her figure graceful, her long hair flying, as she condensed the dark power within her into fine black threads, releasing them endlessly.
The fallen Heavenly Realm saint kings, like puppets on strings, rose again, carrying dense killing intent as they attacked the surviving Heavenly Realm kings.
The Kunlun Realm cultivators, seeing reinforcements arriving, were overjoyed, and their morale soared.
“Controlling the dead—could this be a cultivator of the path of darkness?”
Shang Zi’s eyes darkened as he took out the Five-Colored Merit Stele and sent it flying.
Five-colored light burst forth, and the power of merit enveloped the six Nine-Step Saint Kings surrounding Shang Zi. Then, a vast, formless force pressed down on them, causing the six Nine-Step Saint Kings to change color.
“It’s the power of merit—retreat quickly.”
“What a formidable junior—only at the Seven-Step Saint King realm, yet so hard to deal with.”
By unleashing the Five-Colored Merit Stele, even the six Nine-Step Saint Kings had to avoid its edge, not daring to confront Shang Zi directly.
They fled rapidly, trying to distance themselves from the Five-Colored Merit Stele, but Shang Zi had murderous intent. He controlled the massive stele, smashing it into two of the Nine-Step Saint Kings.
“Boom, boom.”
The two Nine-Step Saint Kings each threw out dozens of sacred artifacts.
But as soon as they touched the Five-Colored Merit Stele, those sacred artifacts shattered like porcelain, unable to block the stele for even a moment. In the end, the two Nine-Step Saint Kings’ sacred bodies were blasted apart, turning into two pools of bloody mud.
The other Nine-Step Saint Kings retreated even farther, drenched in cold sweat, feeling the threat of death.
Facing only a Seven-Step Saint King, the pressure they felt was like confronting a Great Saint.
The palace-dressed woman’s expression grew extremely grave. She had never imagined Shang Zi could be so terrifying, easily crushing even Nine-Step Saint Kings. At the same cultivation level, finding someone who could withstand even one of his moves would likely be as hard as reaching the heavens.
A peerless heavenly prodigy like Shang Zi was even more dazzling than the gods in their youth. Once he grew up, he would become a benchmark for an era.
Shang Zi spoke in a warning tone, “I don’t care who you really are, nor do I care who sent you. If you dare interfere in today’s matters again, today will be your day of death.”
His voice was as sharp and cold as his gaze, causing even the palace-dressed woman to feel a tremor in her heart.
Of course, such a tremor lasted only a moment before she recovered.
The three-colored precious armor on Shang Zi emitted light that condensed into a three-colored cloud beneath his feet.
With a leap, Shang Zi rode the three-colored cloud, instantly appearing over a hundred miles away. Holding a crimson sword, he looked down at Zhang Ruochen below.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen had already beaten Gongzi Yan severely, his mouth full of blood and filth, both hands and feet severed, and was stepping on him firmly.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword pointed at Gongzi Yan’s brow. Zhang Ruochen looked up, meeting Shang Zi’s gaze, and said, “Weren’t you always calm and composed? Today, I finally sense emotional fluctuation in you. You are very angry.”
Shang Zi suppressed the fury in his heart, trying to appear calm, and said, “I admit, I already held you in high regard, but today I realize I still underestimated you. Release Gongzi Yan, and name your terms.”
“Release him?”
Zhang Ruochen said coldly, “I’m afraid my senior brother and sister, buried beneath the thick earth, would not agree. Bai Su would not agree. The brothers of the Holy Bright Central Empire would not agree even more.”
“Swish, swish.”
Shi Shenghua, Zhen Miao, and Xie Chengzi flew over, appearing behind Zhang Ruochen.
At the same time, the Heavenly Realm kings gathered, their numbers growing rapidly, soon exceeding a hundred. Not only did they form attack formations, but they also used divine bones to stabilize the space.
Zhang Ruochen’s expression remained unchanged, showing no sign of panic.
Shang Zi was silent for a moment, then said, “The dead cannot be brought back to life. Haven’t you killed enough of the Heavenly Realm Faction’s cultivators? If you kill Gongzi Yan, you will die here too. You are a clever man; you should understand that doing this benefits no one.”
“How about this: release Gongzi Yan, Wang Xu, Yan Ni, and the Heavenly Realm saint kings in the temple, and I will release you and the Kunlun Realm cultivators. Let each side take a step back—what do you say?”
Zhang Ruochen scanned the surrounding Heavenly Realm saint kings and said, “With just them, I’m afraid they can’t keep me here. You need to understand that all the bargaining chips are in my hands now. Everything must be done my way.”
Zhang Ruochen took out the Yi Emperor Bone Staff and, with a squelch, drove it into Gongzi Yan’s brow.
“Ah…”
Gongzi Yan convulsed all over, letting out a heart-rending scream.
At the same time, the evil spirit within the bone staff let out joyful laughter, continuously extracting the soul power from Gongzi Yan’s saint soul through the staff’s patterns.
After refining the second part of Qing Jue’s soul mist, the evil spirit’s power was already comparable to an Eight-Step Saint King.
Absorbing Gongzi Yan’s soul power, the evil spirit’s aura grew stronger and stronger, reaching the peak of the Eight-Step Saint King and surging toward the Nine-Step Saint King.
“Despicable! You are courting death!” a Heavenly Realm saint king roared in fury.
Another Dwarf Clan saint king swung his two battle axes, revealing two rows of white teeth, and said, “Even daring to kill the leader of the Space Divine Temple—your day of death is not far off.”
Never before had Heavenly Realm cultivators been bullied like this. This was the first time someone dared to kill right before their eyes, and even refine the soul.
On the scene, perhaps only Shang Zi could remain calm, but even his eyes were unprecedentedly cold and fierce.
Wang Xu and Yan Ni were pinned under the feet of Shi Shenghua and Xie Chengzi respectively, preventing Shang Zi from acting rashly.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Now do you know what it feels like to have a friend killed before your eyes?”
After a long while, Gongzi Yan’s screams grew weaker and weaker until he fell silent.
Having absorbed Gongzi Yan’s saint soul, the evil spirit’s power finally reached the Nine-Step Saint King realm, emitting an extremely dense aura. The evil energy spread out, turning most of the island into a sinister, gloomy land of evil.
“Truly calm. Shang Zi’s scheming runs deep. On the surface, he and Gongzi Yan laughed and talked like close friends, but in truth, he may not have truly regarded Gongzi Yan as a friend.” Zhang Ruochen found Shang Zi increasingly terrifying—a man whose innermost thoughts no one could guess.
Shang Zi said in a deep voice, “Zhang Ruochen, have you vented your anger? Now, isn’t it time to have a proper talk with me? Don’t think that holding the bargaining chips gives you the upper hand. The traps laid on this island are deeper than you imagine. If we truly fight, you and the Kunlun Realm cultivators will all die.”
“Boom!”
As soon as Shang Zi finished speaking, a thunderous roar echoed above the island, like a heavenly drum.
“What’s happening now?”
The Heavenly Realm saint kings’ expressions changed as they all looked up.
They saw that the illusion array covering the entire island had developed dozens of cracks.
Those cracks spread rapidly outward, and gradually, all illusions vanished, revealing the true scene of the island. Who had broken the illusion array?