Chapter 1839: King of the Eastern Domain
“Impressive, Jiang Yunchong. The Nine-Eyed Wind Alignment Formation couldn’t even trap him.”
Shenya Xiansheng was secretly astonished. Below the Great Saint realm, he rarely encountered a formidable expert as troublesome as Jiang Yunchong.
To put it in perspective, an ordinary Nine-Step Saint King would be killed by a single glare from Shenya Xiansheng.
“Nine-Eyed Windstorm.”
A massive surge of spiritual power flowed from Shenya Xiansheng’s brow, rushing into the nine formation flags. Instantly, the Nine-Eyed Wind Alignment Formation transformed again, its formation disk expanding a hundredfold, enveloping Jiang Yunchong within the array.
“Hmm… Yunchong…”
Yinruo couldn’t withstand the spiritual power impact within the Nine-Eyed Wind Alignment Formation. Her translucent, delicate body grew fainter, as if a single gust of fierce wind could scatter her soul to oblivion.
“Yinruo, it’s too dangerous here. Enter the Soul-Containing Vial first.”
Jiang Yunchong’s eyes were filled with concern. He produced a dark purple porcelain bottle and absorbed Yinruo into it.
At that moment, the countless gales within the Nine-Eyed Wind Alignment Formation converged, coalescing into nine ferocious, snarling dragons. Their serpentine bodies twisted as they charged toward Jiang Yunchong.
Inside each dragon were millions of wind blades.
Every single wind blade possessed the power to split a mountain.
“Six Gates: Dao, Principle, Qian, Kun, Hope, Extinction. Six Gates Unleashed, Void Severed Horizontally.”
Jiang Yunchong unleashed all six light gates, sending them crashing against the nine charging dragons.
The dragons shattered piece by piece, while the light gates grew increasingly dim.
As the rumbling continued unabated, the nine storm dragons and six light gates simultaneously disintegrated and vanished.
Remnants of the storm’s force struck Jiang Yunchong, leaving over a dozen bloody gashes on his body and sending him flying backward.
Jiang Yunchong landed on one knee, his right hand bracing against the ground. A bloody gash on his cheek dripped crimson. “As expected of an Earth Master. Engaging him with my current cultivation is indeed a stretch.”
Shenya Xiansheng stood at the center of the Nine-Eyed Wind Alignment Formation, looking down at Jiang Yunchong below. “Leave now. Today, I’ll spare your life.”
Jiang Yunchong laughed, rising to his feet again, and declared loudly, “I won’t leave.”
Shenya Xiansheng’s gaze darkened sharply.
If he weren’t trying to free up his hands to attack the Eastern Domain Saint King Manor, why would Shenya Xiansheng ever consider letting Jiang Yunchong go?
Now it seemed Jiang Yunchong was determined to hold him back at all costs.
No…
Shenya Xiansheng sensed something off. Why would Jiang Yunchong sacrifice himself to stall him?
Even if he wanted to prevent Shenya Xiansheng from seizing control of the Eastern Domain Saint City, it shouldn’t come to risking his own life, should it?
“Are you a cultivator from the Kunlun Realm?”
Shenya Xiansheng’s eyes turned sharp.
He finally remembered where he had seen records of the “Six Gates Method”—it was in an ancient text documenting the Kunlun Realm.
The Six Gates Method was a high-rank sacred art of the Jiang Clan, one of the eighteen ancient clans of the Kunlun Realm.
“It seems I can’t hide it any longer. Yes, I am indeed a Kunlun cultivator.”
Jiang Yunchong’s body flashed with sacred light, and all his injuries healed completely.
“Then you must die.”
Shenya Xiansheng’s eyes blazed with intense killing intent, condensing into a blood-red sea of murderous aura.
“Killing me won’t be that easy.”
Jiang Yunchong once again activated the Six Gates Method, facing off against Shenya Xiansheng.
Before they even moved, the forces of the Six Gates Method and the Nine-Eyed Wind Alignment Formation clashed, producing thunderous explosions.
Shenya Xiansheng’s expression suddenly softened, and he even broke into a smile. “If this were elsewhere, killing you would indeed take some effort. But here in the Eastern Domain Saint City, slaying you is as easy as butchering a pig or a dog.”
Shenya Xiansheng had been responsible for repairing the ancient inscriptions of the Eastern Domain Saint City, so naturally, he had left behind some contingencies.
With those means, even without controlling the Xinhuo Tower, he could still mobilize part of the ancient inscriptions, unleashing unparalleled power.
The nine formation flags surrounding him flew out. Some plunged into the sea, while others shot into the perilous mountains and deep valleys of the Golden Rainbow Continent.
From Shenya Xiansheng’s body surged nine rivers of spiritual power, connecting to the nine formation flags.
The next moment, the nine formation flags activated the ancient inscriptions, causing the sky and ground of the entire Eastern Domain Saint City to be covered with countless spiderweb-like light patterns, dense and innumerable.
Leveraging the ancient inscriptions, Shenya Xiansheng drew upon the power of the entire Eastern Domain Saint City, gathering it into his palm.
In an instant, the wind and clouds changed for thousands of miles. A suffocating pressure descended upon every cultivator, making it hard to breathe.
“Die.”
Shenya Xiansheng unleashed the energy orb in his hand, shattering the Six Gates Method into pieces.
Jiang Yunchong was struck by the energy orb, sent flying like a broken kite. His body was mangled and bloody, with copious amounts of sacred blood spilling into the sea. The sacred blood, brimming with immense energy, ignited the waters around him.
An Earth Master, combined with ancient inscriptions—such power could rival a Great Saint.
No matter how skilled the opponent, trying to stop him was like a mantis trying to block a chariot.
Shenya Xiansheng stood above the sea like a god, declaring loudly, “From now on, I am the master of the Eastern Domain. Anyone who blocks me will be killed without mercy.”
…
At that very moment, the bottom three layers of the Xinhuo Tower suddenly flared with brilliant light. Those radiance transformed into countless threads of light, shooting in all directions.
This change occurred without the Xinhuo Token being used to activate it, all because Shenya Xiansheng had employed special means to awaken part of the ancient inscriptions.
The brighter the Xinhuo burned within the Xinhuo Tower, the stronger the power unleashed by the ancient inscriptions.
“Zhang Ruochen, don’t hesitate any longer. The fate of the Eastern Domain rests entirely on your shoulders… cough, cough…” Chen Yuhua said.
Zhang Ruochen released his spiritual power, covering the Sixth District.
The once bustling and prosperous district was now in utter chaos.
The flames of war had yet to spread here, but every cultivator was panicked, as if the apocalypse had arrived, with fear gripping their hearts.
“Boom.”
A fireball flew in from another district, crashing onto a street and forming a crater dozens of zhang wide, collapsing all surrounding buildings.
The district’s defensive formation activated, but against attacks from Saint King-level experts, such a formation was far too fragile to hold.
In the main city of the Eastern Domain Saint King Manor, Eastern Domain King Chen Yin activated the Zhou Tian Grand Formation.
The eighty-one Eastern Domain Saint King Manors scattered across the Eastern Domain Saint City each activated their formations, linking them into a whole. Then, from every manor, a thick pillar of light shot up, piercing the clouds and reaching beyond the heavens.
But before the Zhou Tian Grand Formation could fully activate, some manors had their formations disrupted, and their light pillars vanished.
Soon, the Zhou Tian Grand Formation ceased operation and collapsed.
The chaos in the Eastern Domain Saint City grew fiercer, with sounds of slaughter everywhere.
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fists, his heart torn by inner conflict.
He didn’t refuse the Xinhuo Token because he feared opposing Shenya Xiansheng and his ilk, nor because he was afraid of taking responsibility.
Rather, accepting the Xinhuo Token and becoming the master of the Eastern Domain meant returning to the Kunlun Realm and rejoining its ranks. As long as Chi Yao remained the Empress of the Kunlun Realm, Zhang Ruochen was repulsed by the idea of going back.
After a long pause, Zhang Ruochen reached out and took the Xinhuo Token. “Fine. For now, I’ll act as the Eastern Domain King. If I find a suitable candidate in the Chen Clan in the future, I’ll pass the Xinhuo Token to him.”
A gleam of approval shone in Chen Yuhua’s eyes. “Even with the Xinhuo Token, your spiritual power must reach the fifty-ninth rank to initially control the Xinhuo Tower.”
“Why didn’t you say that earlier?”
Zhang Ruochen was speechless, tempted to smack the Xinhuo Token onto Chen Yuhua’s head.
Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual power had only recently reached the fifty-eighth rank. The fifty-ninth rank was a world away. In other words, the Xinhuo Token was now no different from a piece of iron.
Chen Yuhua collapsed to the ground, staring up at the sky, speaking as much to Zhang Ruochen as to himself. “I spent my life cultivating spiritual power, which delayed my sacred path. I never reached the Great Saint realm, leaving it a lifelong regret. If I had another chance, I would never have become the Eastern Domain King… Zhang Ruochen… from now on, the Eastern Domain is yours…”
The life force within Chen Yuhua rapidly drained away. Zhang Ruochen tried to revive him with the Spring of Life, but it was too late.
In the end, everyone must die. A higher cultivation only lets one live a little longer.
Zhang Ruochen reached out and closed Chen Yuhua’s eyes, his heart heavy, as if a mountain had been placed on his shoulders that he could not avoid carrying.
“When the lives of billions rest on your decision, can you still run away?” A voice from someone who had once spoken to him echoed in Zhang Ruochen’s ears.
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly, muttering to himself, “Some things truly cannot be escaped.”
“A fifty-ninth-rank spiritual power… where am I supposed to find a fifty-ninth-rank spiritual power Saint King now?”
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze fell on the Formation-Suppressing Pearl floating in midair. A spark of inspiration lit up in his eyes. Perhaps he could use it to counter Shenya Xiansheng.
Zhang Ruochen stored the Formation-Suppressing Pearl and then used the Xinhuo Token to open the Xinhuo Tower’s door, charging inside.
From both palms, he released a steady stream of sacred energy, pouring it into the Formation-Suppressing Pearl.
The light emitted by the Formation-Suppressing Pearl grew stronger and stronger, rapidly absorbing the sacred energy within the Xinhuo Tower. At the same time, the inscriptions inside the tower were held in place by a mysterious force.
As a result, the three layers of the Xinhuo Tower that had been blazing with light gradually dimmed.
“What’s going on?”
Unable to mobilize the ancient inscriptions, Shenya Xiansheng’s eyes flickered with surprise. Finally, his gaze swept toward the direction of the Sixth District, and he muttered to himself, “Could something have happened to Xie Canghai?”
Jiang Yunchong crawled up from the pool of blood, laughing. “Xie Canghai is most likely dead. Your scheme has lost its most critical piece. As for your plan to take over the Eastern Domain Saint City, I declare it a failure right now.”
“Hmph! Even if something went wrong on Xie Canghai’s end, it won’t affect the overall situation. I alone can annihilate all of you. And you, Jiang Yunchong, will be the first to die.”
Shenya Xiansheng recalled his nine formation flags and once again formed the Nine-Eyed Wind Alignment Formation. Nine massive black vortexes materialized, spinning rapidly as they hurtled toward Jiang Yunchong.
Jiang Yunchong was already gravely wounded, and Shenya Xiansheng was confident this strike would claim his life.
“Such arrogance! Do you really think you can destroy all of us?”
A thunderous voice boomed from the clouds, shaking the sea for thousands of miles and churning up waves.
A tall, burly man clad in thick iron armor, riding a beast resembling a fiery lion, stepped out of the sea of clouds. He struck out with a palm from afar, colliding with the Nine-Eyed Wind Alignment Formation.
With a deafening roar, the nine formation flags were sent flying, scattering haphazardly into the sea.
“And who are you?” Shenya Xiansheng demanded in a deep voice.
The man on the fiery lion beast rode forward on patches of fire clouds, heading toward Shenya Xiansheng, and declared loudly, “Captain of the Imperial Guard to the Crown Prince of the Sacred Bright Central Empire, Murong Yefeng, here to test your skills.”