Chapter 1800: Blazing God Leg
Feng Chengdao stood atop densely packed sacred dao rules beneath his feet. Those rules stirred the air currents of heaven and earth, forming a circular millstone-like cloud that rolled down with crushing force.
On the other side, the disheveled Zangxin Venerable let out a long roar and charged out from the forest.
With a wave of his arm, a swarm of corpse insects with silver light wings flew toward Zhang Ruochen.
Where the corpse insects passed, the vegetation on the ground was devoured clean, and even the stones became riddled with dense holes.
Facing two Nine-Step Saint King level senior experts from the Darkness Temple, Zhang Ruochen showed no fear. He summoned the Yi Emperor Bone Staff and gripped it in his hand.
Instantly, a sinister ghostly mist spread out, sweeping across the sky and earth.
"Roar!"
Within the ghostly mist, the silhouette of a black skeleton emerged.
The black skeleton shot into the sky and punched the circular millstone-like cloud, shattering it.
The power of the bone fist did not diminish, clashing with Feng Chengdao's finger technique. It actually sent Feng Chengdao's body flying into the sky.
Seeing this, countless cultivators were stunned. Wasn't that a Nine-Step Saint King whose cultivation was close to the Rule Grand Heaven? How could a skeleton punch him away with a single blow?
During Zhang Ruochen's two years in seclusion, he had fed all the collected remnant souls to the evil spirit.
Additionally, the evil spirit had refined two percent of Qing Jin's soul mist. Having such strength was not surprising.
In truth, Zhang Ruochen worried that his own cultivation was too low to control the evil spirit, so he had been feeding it slowly, keeping its power below the Rule Grand Heaven level.
"Sizzle sizzle."
The corpse insects unleashed by Zangxin Venerable were all burned to ashes by Zhang Ruochen using Purifying Divine Flame.
Just as Zangxin Venerable was stunned, Zhang Ruochen rushed before him, swung the Abyssal Ancient Sword, and slashed at him. The Sword Dao Profound Gang clashed with the white bone armor on Zangxin Venerable's body, producing a harsh grating sound.
Zangxin Venerable flew backward, crashing into a cliff with a thunderous boom, causing nearly half the mountain to collapse.
Piercing cold air surged from within the collapsed mountain, instantly freezing a thousand miles.
"Boom."
Zangxin Venerable flew out from underground, and behind him, a several-thousand-meter-tall iceberg rose up as well.
"Zhang Ruochen, today I'll show you the true power of a Nine-Step Saint King."
"Profound Snow Ice Phoenix."
The several-thousand-meter-tall iceberg exploded, and all the ice crystals gathered together like snowflakes, condensing into an ice phoenix dozens of miles long that swooped toward Zhang Ruochen.
With a light flap of the ice phoenix's wings, the ground beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet sank in large patches.
The "Profound Snow Ice Phoenix" that Zangxin Venerable had unleashed was a mid-rank sacred art he had spent over four hundred years cultivating to great completion. Its power was extraordinary, ranking among the top ten of all mid-rank sacred arts collected by the Darkness Temple.
The eleventh palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm that Zhang Ruochen cultivated was superior to the "Profound Snow Ice Phoenix" among mid-rank sacred arts.
However, the ice rules that Zangxin Venerable had integrated into the "Profound Snow Ice Phoenix" numbered as many as one hundred and sixty thousand. The palm dao rules Zhang Ruochen had cultivated were only a little over eight thousand.
If Zhang Ruochen used a sacred art to clash head-on with Zangxin Venerable, he would be seeking death.
Zangxin Venerable stood atop the ice phoenix, his expression somewhat ferocious. "Junior, you've only cultivated for a few years. You still have a long way to go."
As the ice phoenix drew closer, the surrounding air grew colder and colder, and even Zhang Ruochen's body was frozen by the cold. His protective sacred qi could not withstand that chill.
"Snap."
Purifying Divine Flame burst forth, breaking the ice.
Zhang Ruochen raised his left leg and roared, "Blazing God Leg."
"Boom."
His left leg manifested countless crimson patterns, and terrifying divine power radiated outward, shattering the dozens-of-miles-long ice phoenix into pieces.
A miserable scream came from Zangxin Venerable's mouth as his body ignited and flew backward.
In the process of flying backward, Zangxin Venerable's body disintegrated, turning into grains of crimson ash.
This kick was terrifyingly powerful. Even its residual force had shaken a Nine-Step Saint King into ashes. Uninformed cultivators might think this was a strike from a Great Saint.
In the distance, the black skeleton and Feng Chengdao, who were still fighting, were shaken by the power fluctuation, unable to steady themselves as they stumbled backward.
Feng Chengdao sensed the vast divine power at the center of the force fluctuation and felt a chill in his heart. "Could it be that Zhang Ruochen really possesses a Divine Relic Ancient Artifact? By using divine stones to activate it, he can unleash unparalleled destructive power?"
Only a Divine Relic Ancient Artifact powered by divine stones could allow a Saint King to unleash such terrifying divine power.
Feng Chengdao had no way of knowing that Zhang Ruochen had a divine leg.
At the same time, within the King Mountain, the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror erupted with supreme power, firing a purple light pillar that struck the black altar.
"Boom."
The formation flags on the black altar all fluttered, forming a ninth-rank formation that actually blocked the supreme power.
The black altar continued flying toward the depths of King Mountain, about to break through the space maze and time formation.
The Faceless Man stood on the altar, laughing. "The power of a Supreme Sacred Artifact is nothing more than this."
Zhenmiao Little Daoist felt very embarrassed, grinding his teeth. "If the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror weren't damaged, I would destroy you in an instant."
The Faceless Man's laughter rang out again. "Big talk. Once I descend here, I'll capture you first. A hundred-thousand-year-old sacred medicine can be refined into a top-grade sacred pill."
Hearing this, Zhenmiao Little Daoist grew even angrier. "Isn't that altar of yours just a simple ninth-rank formation? It's not even a complete ninth-rank formation. Do you really think I can't break through it?"
Zhenmiao Little Daoist suddenly flew up, landed on the mirror surface of the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror, and sat cross-legged.
The mirror surface seemed to turn liquid, allowing Zhenmiao Little Daoist's body to slowly sink down and merge with the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror.
"Whoosh."
Instantly, the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror emitted vast, boundless purple qi, covering three thousand miles of the King Mountain region.
Zhang Ruochen looked up at this scene, feeling extremely astonished. "The Purple Gold Bagua Mirror is the sacred artifact of Luotian Zhenjun. Zhenmiao is just a sacred medicine. How can he merge with the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror? What secrets does this guy have hidden?"
The supreme power emanating from the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror grew even stronger as it flew toward the black altar. The two collided, unleashing a wave of power that dimmed even the sun in the sky.
That ninth-rank formation was pierced through, and the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror's power did not diminish, directly colliding with the altar.
"Bang."
The black altar was torn in two by the purple light, falling from midair.
With this strike, most of the Darkness Temple cultivators on the altar died. Even those who survived were severely injured.
But...
The Faceless Man had a protective treasure and was actually unharmed. He turned into a bolt of lightning and rushed toward where the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror had fallen.
Zhenmiao Little Daoist had clearly exhausted all his strength to unleash that attack. He fell into King Mountain together with the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror and was now at his weakest. How could he possibly block the Faceless Man?
After using the Blazing God Leg, Zhang Ruochen had consumed ninety percent of his sacred qi, and his combat power was less than half of his peak. At this moment, he could only desperately charge into King Mountain. No matter what, he could not let Zhenmiao Little Daoist and the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror fall into the Faceless Man's hands.
Swallowing Elephant Rabbit, Demon Ape, and Xie Chengzi all rushed out to intercept the Faceless Man.
"Roar."
Swallowing Elephant Rabbit activated the power of the "Heaven-Swallowing Art," transforming into a Devouring Demon Dragon dozens of miles long, with the momentum to swallow mountains and rivers.
Demon Ape's body kept expanding, turning into a giant ape as tall as a mountain, swinging its iron fists to attack the Faceless Man.
After two years in seclusion and consuming large amounts of sacred medicine in King Mountain, their cultivations had both reached the peak of the Seven-Step Saint King realm. The sacred might they unleashed was naturally quite formidable.
The Faceless Man waved the sacred staff in his hand, creating a thunderstorm that sent Swallowing Elephant Rabbit and Demon Ape flying. Their massive bodies crashed heavily into the deep mountains.
"Heh, I am a fifty-ninth-level spiritual power Saint King. One more breakthrough and I'll be a spiritual power Great Saint. How could two beasts like you stop me?" The Faceless Man was very disdainful.
The Bloodthirsty Ring unleashed by Xie Chengzi finally managed to block the Faceless Man, forcing him back a step.
Xie Chengzi's cultivation had also broken through to the Seven-Step Saint King realm.
However, he had once been the leader of the younger generation in the Ten Thousand Evil Realm, known as the number one heavenly proud son of that realm. Naturally, he was far stronger than Swallowing Elephant Rabbit and Demon Ape.
A figure like him, at the Seven-Step Saint King realm, could contend with a Nine-Step Saint King.
Of course, he could only contend with a Nine-Step Saint King. To defeat one, Xie Chengzi's strength was still somewhat lacking.
Thus, in his fight with the Faceless Man, Xie Chengzi fell into absolute disadvantage. After only ten exchanges, a deep bloody gash was torn in his abdomen, and his body was nearly split in two.
The Faceless Man ignored Xie Chengzi and flew straight toward Zhenmiao Little Daoist and the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror. Both the hundred-thousand-year-old sacred medicine and the Supreme Sacred Artifact drove him wild with desire.
As long as he obtained these two items, this trip would not have been in vain.
Suddenly, a faint floral fragrance appeared in the forest.
Petals drifted down from the sky.
On the ground, colorful flowers bloomed. In an instant, the ruined mountains and ridges turned into a sea of flowers.
The Faceless Man sensed something was wrong and mobilized his powerful spiritual power, condensing it into a spiritual power defense tower that wrapped around his body.
Protected by the spiritual power defense tower, even a Nine-Step Saint King could not harm him.
"Who's there, hiding and skulking? Show yourself!" The Faceless Man said warily.
"Whoosh."
A breathtakingly beautiful figure stepped out from the sea of flowers as if tearing through a sheet of paper, breaking through the Faceless Man's spiritual power defense tower.
The next moment, the Faceless Man fell straight to the ground. A bloody hole had appeared in his chest, and sacred blood gushed out, soaking a large area of his robe.
Zhang Ruochen arrived just in time. Seeing the ethereal figure standing beside the corpse, the tension on his face vanished, and he smiled slightly.
"A fifty-ninth-level initial stage spiritual power Saint King, and he thought he was invincible under heaven." That beautiful woman, like a flower fairy, said lightly.
Even though she had just killed someone, she remained so elegant, pure, and otherworldly.
Zhang Ruochen walked over. "Fairy, you managed to silently break through the space maze and time formation I set up. Your spiritual power level must be even higher than that Faceless Man's, right?"
As a Divine Illumination Lotus that had lived since the Ancient Era, Ji Fanxin's spiritual power could reach any level, and Zhang Ruochen would not be surprised.