Chapter 1787: On the Tongming River
Zhang Ruochen nodded lightly and said, "This precious land must be kept in our hands. Unfortunately, Xiao Hei is not here; if he were, he could inscribe the formation runes and hide King Mountain."
Zhenmiao Little Daoist showed a disdainful expression, patted his chest, and said, "This humble Daoist's mastery of formations is by no means inferior to that owl."
"Oh?"
Zhang Ruochen was somewhat skeptical.
"It seems I must show off a special skill for you to know who the true formation saint master is." Zhenmiao Little Daoist was full of confidence and immediately wrote down a list of materials.
"As long as you can gather all these materials, I can set up a ninth-rank grand formation for you."
Zhang Ruochen took the material list and said, "A ninth-rank grand formation?"
A ninth-rank grand formation could block beings at the Great Saint level, and only formation saint masters of the Earth Master level could set it up. To be honest, Zhang Ruochen really didn't believe Zhenmiao Little Daoist had that ability.
Zhenmiao Little Daoist coughed dryly twice and said, "Of course... it's just a prototype of a ninth-rank grand formation. There's still some gap compared to a real ninth-rank grand formation."
Zhang Ruochen hadn't studied formations much, but as a Spiritual Power Saint King, he found that the list Zhenmiao Little Daoist wrote was somewhat reliable and not fabricated.
"I have most of the materials on the list. However, about a third of them will need to be purchased."
Zhang Ruochen put away the list and then went to the outskirts of King Mountain, using spatial distortion techniques to set up a large spatial maze formation.
Protected by this spatial maze formation, even a Nine-Step Saint King would find it difficult to break into King Mountain.
Of course, a spatial maze formation alone was far from enough. If a spatial cultivator came to Yunwu Commandery, they could break it quickly. So, Zhang Ruochen spent a great deal of time setting up a time formation.
Afterward, he took the Seven-Step Saint King level Shi Shenghua and headed to the Tongming River, while Zhenmiao Little Daoist stayed behind to guard Yunwu Royal City.
Yunwu Royal City was only tens of thousands of miles from the Tongming River, not a great distance for Saint King realm cultivators. The experts of the Underworld Divine Hall couldn't possibly be unaware that Yuan Che and the others had fallen.
But why hadn't they immediately rushed to Yunwu Royal City to deal with Zhang Ruochen?
Zhang Ruochen could only think of one possibility: they had already breached the Dragon Tomb at the bottom of the Tongming River.
He absolutely couldn't let them dig up the Golden Dragon's remains. Zhang Ruochen was heading to the Tongming River not to fight the Underworld Divine Hall cultivators head-on. First, he wanted to scout the situation.
Second, if the Underworld Divine Hall cultivators had indeed broken into the Dragon Tomb, Zhang Ruochen could launch covert attacks.
At the very least, he needed to stall them.
As long as the Evil Spirit refined the Saint Souls of Yuan Che and the others, its power would greatly increase. Then, Zhang Ruochen could gather forces from all sides and might be able to fight them.
Time.
Every minute, every second was so urgent. Zhang Ruochen had no time to prepare a perfect plan; he could only take it step by step.
At dusk.
The sky burned with crimson clouds, reflecting off the Tongming River like flames.
Zhang Ruochen used the Thirty-Six Transformations to become a bearded man, riding a ship downstream toward the underwater Dragon Palace.
Mo Yin wore an antique pink palace dress, revealing two delicate, jade-like sexy shoulders and a large expanse of snow-white chest. She knelt beside the couch, pouring wine for Zhang Ruochen.
As her cultivation improved, Mo Yin's appearance and temperament grew more alluring and seductive. In terms of beauty alone, she was not inferior to Mu Lingxi. In any major world, she would be a femme fatale capable of making Great Saints fight over her.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged, channeling Saint Qi into his left leg.
"Boom."
The blood in his left leg boiled like lava.
Mysterious rules, like crimson dragons and snakes, shuttled through his blood, bones, and skin.
Suddenly, three crimson rules surged out of his left leg, like three ferocious fire dragons, entering Zhang Ruochen's Saint Meridians and rushing toward his brow's Qi Sea.
Zhang Ruochen tensed his nerves, mobilizing his Spiritual Power, Saint Qi, and Saint Dao rules, going all out to resist those three crimson rules.
It took an unknown amount of time before Zhang Ruochen refined the three crimson rules and forced them back into his left leg.
"Whoosh."
Zhang Ruochen let out a long breath and found that his sacred robe was soaked with sweat.
The previous moment had been quite dangerous, but it had yielded great gains.
Zhang Ruochen detected that there were nearly a hundred thousand crimson rules in his left leg. Those rules were far more powerful than the Saint Dao rules cultivated by Saint Kings; they should be the Divine Rules cultivated by the Blazing God.
Only by refining all hundred thousand crimson rules could Zhang Ruochen freely use the power of the Divine Left Leg.
However, Zhang Ruochen had just mobilized over four hundred thousand Saint Dao rules from his entire body and gone all out to refine just three crimson rules. To refine all hundred thousand, he clearly had a long way to go.
"Master, there's a situation."
As Mo Yin poured wine for Zhang Ruochen, her eyelashes slightly lifted, and she softly transmitted a message to him.
Zhang Ruochen immediately released his Space Domain, covering an area of dozens of miles.
Within the domain's range, no movement could escape his perception. Soon, he sensed two extremely powerful Saint Dao auras on the shore.
Two Seven-Step Saint Kings from the Underworld Divine Hall, Liao Yijun and He Yuan, stood in a shadow by the Tongming River, watching the distant ship.
Liao Yijun's eyes narrowed sharply, and a flying knife appeared in his palm, with tens of thousands of black lines flowing on its blade.
"Wait."
He Yuan pressed down on Liao Yijun's wrist, his gaze fixed on the enchanting woman on the ship, his eyes gleaming.
Liao Yijun frowned and said, "The master ordered us to stay here and prevent any idle people from approaching that stretch of water. We absolutely cannot let anything go wrong."
"With our cultivation levels, how could anything go wrong? Kill the man directly. That woman is a rare beauty. In the Underworld Divine Hall, besides Senior Sister Ruan Ling, who else has such beauty, figure, and temperament? Are you not tempted at all?" He Yuan laughed.
Liao Yijun had to admit that the woman in the pink palace dress on the ship was indeed a beauty comparable to Senior Sister Ruan Ling.
Senior Sister Ruan Ling was a disciple of the Underworld God, with unparalleled talent and countless suitors. Liao Yijun and He Yuan could only fantasize about her; even speaking a single sentence with her was no easy feat.
Now, a beauty of the same level as Senior Sister Ruan Ling had appeared, and Liao Yijun couldn't help but let his imagination run wild.
Liao Yijun was quite cautious and said, "The bearded man on the ship is no small fry. His cultivation has reached the Five-Step Saint King level. You'd better be careful when you make your move."
"Don't worry. If I can't even take down a mere Five-Step Saint King, wouldn't I become a laughingstock throughout the Underworld Divine Hall?" He Yuan laughed contemptuously, quite arrogant.
Zhang Ruochen sat on the ship, holding a small bronze cauldron, drinking heavily.
"Rustle."
A gentle breeze passed by.
He Yuan, dressed in white, appeared silently on the ship, standing across from Zhang Ruochen, staring at Mo Yin with a smile, not hiding his intentions at all.
"Master, someone has boarded the ship."
Mo Yin deliberately acted shy and frightened, leaning toward Zhang Ruochen.
Seeing this, He Yuan's mood soured. How could such a delicate, stunning beauty be wasted on such a rough, uncouth man?
Zhang Ruochen glared, pretending to be furious, and roared, "Who are you? Without my permission, who allowed you to board this ship?"
He Yuan sneered mockingly, sat down directly across from Zhang Ruochen, and released his powerful Saint Might.
Mo Yin seemed unable to withstand that Saint Might, let out a cry, and collapsed onto the deck.
He Yuan exuded the aura of a superior, saying, "Speak, which major world are you from?"
Zhang Ruochen didn't answer He Yuan. He glanced at Mo Yin on the ground and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"It doesn't matter if you don't speak; you're still a dead man." He Yuan activated his Saint Qi, weaving over ten thousand Sword Dao rules in his palm, preparing to use sword power to strike Zhang Ruochen down like thunder.
"A dead man? Are you talking about yourself?" Zhang Ruochen laughed.
Seeing the bearded man so calm, He Yuan sensed something was wrong and immediately unleashed the power gathered in his palm. But from beneath the table, dozens of sharp roots shot out, piercing through his sacred body, turning him into a sieve.
"Chi chi."
The Saint Qi and Saint Dao rules within He Yuan's body were absorbed by those roots.
"Shi Shenghua..."
Horror filled He Yuan's pupils, and his rather handsome face twisted instantly.
"Hehe, that's right, it's Shi Shenghua. Didn't you want to devour me? Too bad your cultivation isn't strong enough, so I'll be the one devouring you." Mo Yin had long since gotten up from the ground, her red lips slightly upturned, looking quite seductive.
"Gah gah."
He Yuan struggled desperately, roaring in pain, but he couldn't escape. His body gradually shriveled, turning into a dried corpse. After falling onto the deck, it directly turned into a pile of bone ash.
Zhang Ruochen sighed, "If only you had waited a bit longer before making your move."
"I couldn't wait any longer," Mo Yin said, putting on a pitiful look, somewhat innocently.
On the shore, Liao Yijun sensed something was wrong and quickly transmitted a message to He Yuan, but received no response.
"Shua."
Liao Yijun acted decisively, throwing the Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact-level flying knife.
The sacred power unleashed by the flying knife caused the waters of the Tongming River to churn violently. With a single slash, "Boom," the ship was split in two.
Liao Yijun stared intently at the water surface, watching the ship slowly sink to the bottom, but he saw no one emerge from it.
"Not good."
Just as Liao Yijun turned to flee, dense silver roots burst from the soil, entangling his body.
Zhang Ruochen stepped out of the void, appearing above and behind Liao Yijun, and struck down with a palm, directly smashing Liao Yijun's head down into his own belly.
As Shi Shenghua absorbed Liao Yijun, Zhang Ruochen transformed, taking on He Yuan's appearance.
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen hadn't immediately killed He Yuan because he wanted to observe his behavior and mannerisms, allowing him to imitate them accurately.