Chapter 1843: The Blazing Tower Lights Up
The courtyard was located at the center of the Blazing Tower. It was unclear what material it was forged from, appearing a verdant green and covered in ancient markings. The shapes of the markings included strange beasts, blades and weapons, spiritual medicines, and so on.
On the three hundred and thirty-third floor of the Blazing Tower, the courtyard was sealed by a divine pearl.
The divine pearl was irregular in shape, like a rough stone about a zhang in diameter, with golden metal embedded within it, forming winding patterns that gave a sense of profound mystery.
Arriving beneath the divine pearl, the space became quite solidified, making it somewhat difficult to move.
Great Xi King stood behind Zhang Ruochen, a hint of surprise appearing in her beautiful eyes: "A Divine Core Pearl! This tower actually stores such a supreme treasure."
Chen Liuli stood to the side and asked, "What is a Divine Core Pearl?"
Great Xi King remained silent.
After all, she was the renowned Shadowless Fairy of the Heavenly Court Myriad Realms. Even as a prisoner, her pride remained high. How could she possibly answer a question posed by a Saint?
Zhang Ruochen was able to make her yield because he possessed the strength to defeat her.
Zhang Ruochen said, "A Divine Core Pearl is excavated from deep underground, containing dense divine power. Numerous profound rules are born within the pearl, making it a heaven-and-earth supreme treasure."
"Some great wisdom holders speculate that Divine Core Pearls are formed from the corpses of ancient true gods buried deep in the earth for billions of years, continuously compressed by the earth, tempered by earthly fire over long ages, and nourished by heaven and earth's spiritual energy, sunlight, moonlight, and starlight. Their hardness is comparable to a Supreme Sacred Artifact."
"Of course, there is also a theory that Divine Core Pearls are lifeforms nurtured by the earth itself, and that one day, an innate sacred being will break out of the pearl and dominate the world."
"This Divine Core Pearl should be the central hub of the Blazing Tower... or rather, the ancient inscriptions of the entire Eastern Region Sacred City."
On the Divine Core Pearl, Zhang Ruochen found a depression exactly matching the outline of the Blazing Order. He then took out the Blazing Order and placed it inside.
It fit perfectly.
In the courtyard, the blazing fire gradually became active.
Zhang Ruochen stepped back three paces, looked at Great Xi King beside him, and said, "Next, you will follow my instructions. If you try any tricks, I will make you regret it."
Great Xi King was quite intelligent and naturally understood what Zhang Ruochen wanted her to do.
Yet she had no choice but to comply, as she could not bear the cost of defying Zhang Ruochen's orders.
For now, she could only take it one step at a time. Of course, Great Xi King was also thinking of ways to turn defeat into victory and strategies for escape. She did not believe that after helping Zhang Ruochen activate the Blazing Tower, he would actually let her go.
Zhang Ruochen had already instructed Chen Liuli to search Great Xi King for all her items and had used a secret technique to seal her sacred meridians and channels.
Relying only on her spiritual power, it was clearly impossible for Great Xi King to escape from Zhang Ruochen's grasp.
Zhang Ruochen unsealed Great Xi King's spiritual power seal and said, "Inject your spiritual power into the Divine Core Pearl, activate the Blazing Tower, and control the ancient inscriptions."
Great Xi King's sacred heart became clear and transparent once more, allowing her to clearly perceive the material structure and heaven and earth rules around her.
She gently flexed her slender jade fingers and said, "Zhang Ruochen, are you too confident? Do you really think that with only my spiritual power, I am completely helpless against you?"
"You can try," Zhang Ruochen said.
After all, he had fought Great Xi King more than once and had a good understanding of her strength.
Only her Eight-Step Saint King realm martial cultivation was somewhat unexpected to Zhang Ruochen.
Relying solely on martial arts, Great Xi King could probably briefly contend with a Nine-Step Saint King of the Rule Grand Heaven. If Zhang Ruochen had not made a major breakthrough in the Way of Space and used spatial capture techniques, he might not have been able to subdue her in one strike.
As for spiritual power, although Great Xi King's spiritual power was quite formidable, her main methods were attacking the sacred soul and controlling ghosts. As long as Zhang Ruochen killed all the Ghost Kings around her and relied on his own powerful sacred soul, he no longer feared her.
Just like Gu Songzi, who also had powerful spiritual power but specialized in alchemy. Any random One-Step Saint King could chase him to the ends of the earth with no escape.
If Great Xi King had not encountered Zhang Ruochen, she would have been able to fight even against a Dao Domain realm expert.
Spiritual power cultivators ultimately had weaknesses. This was also why Zhang Ruochen had originally focused on martial cultivation rather than spiritual power.
Great Xi King hesitated for a long time but ultimately did not make a move. Following Zhang Ruochen's orders, she pressed her right hand's five fingers toward the Divine Core Pearl from a distance, unleashing a surge of powerful spiritual power.
"Chi chi."
The golden metal inside the Divine Core Pearl emitted a dazzling golden light.
Immediately after, a large number of secret patterns emerged, floating and flowing on the surface of the Divine Core Pearl like tadpole script.
The blazing fire in the courtyard became more active, continuously surging upward.
The first floor of the Blazing Tower was lit by the blazing fire.
Then, the second floor was also lit.
When the third floor of the Blazing Tower also showed light, a large number of ancient inscriptions appeared on the walls of the courtyard.
"Hua—"
With the Blazing Tower as the center, the ancient inscriptions were continuously activated, spreading into the distance, soon enveloping the entire Eastern Region Sacred City.
The cultivators of Eastern Region Sacred City looked up into the sky.
They saw a net of light appear above the clouds.
Phantom images of divine beasts condensed in the clouds, emitting powerful auras—winged dragons, gray wolves, golden pythons... The cultivators of the entire Eastern Region Sacred City felt as if they had returned to ancient times.
Soon after, the fourth, fifth, and sixth floors of the Blazing Tower were also lit.
More ancient inscriptions were activated, and the might of those divine beast phantoms became even more terrifying.
On the sea, Shenya Xiansheng, Murong Yefeng, and Jiang Yunchong stopped fighting, retreating to three different positions.
It had to be said that the Array Master was terrifyingly powerful. Even with Murong Yefeng borrowing the Nine Phoenix Cauldron, he still had to join forces with Jiang Yunchong to barely contend with him.
"The ancient inscriptions have finally been activated. It seems Great Xi King has succeeded. Haha, excellent. Eastern Region Sacred City is now under our control. Why don't you two hurry and flee for your lives?" Shenya Xiansheng stroked his long beard, his gloomy mood swept away.
Facing the frenzied attacks of Murong Yefeng and Jiang Yunchong, Shenya Xiansheng had used every means at his disposal just to barely hold them off.
If the battle continued, the outcome was uncertain.
But now, the overall situation was decided. Shenya Xiansheng began to think about how to eliminate Murong Yefeng and Jiang Yunchong, plunging the Kunlun Realm into an irredeemable abyss.
Murong Yefeng said, "Are you so sure that it is your people who have taken control of the ancient inscriptions?"
Shenya Xiansheng revealed a rather smug smile: "To activate the ancient inscriptions of Eastern Region Sacred City requires at least a fifty-ninth level spiritual power."
"Currently in Eastern Region Sacred City, besides myself and Great Xi King, where is there a third cultivator with fifty-ninth level spiritual power? Even if there were, they might not know where to go to activate the ancient inscriptions."
"This is bad!" Both Murong Yefeng and Jiang Yunchong's hearts sank.
...
...
The main city of the Eastern Region Sacred King Manor was garrisoned by two hundred thousand elite troops and protected by a ninth-rank formation left by the Chen Clan's ancestors, making it one of the most heavily defended places in the entire Eastern Region.
Yet this city, which even a Great Saint would find difficult to breach, was now reduced to ruins, with corpses everywhere and rivers of blood.
Splendid palaces were burning, emitting flames and black smoke.
Some Chen Clan disciples were suppressed, kneeling on the ground, unable to move. Others were impaled on walls, blood splattered like cinnabar ink. Still others had formed combined attack formations and were barely holding on, resisting the invading Saint realm experts.
Shenya Xiansheng and his group had planned for a long time. Before the Chen Clan could learn of the news, they had already sent experts to infiltrate the Eastern Region Sacred King Manor. Using this inside-outside coordination, they had broken an opening in the ninth-rank formation protecting the city.
The sounds of slaughter, screams, and pleas for mercy interwove into a symphony of blood and tears.
As many as three Dao Domain realm experts were attacking the main city of the Eastern Region Sacred King Manor, each like a god or demon. They hid in the shadows, not revealing their true forms.
Clearly, their identities were extraordinary, and they did not want to be recognized.
But with just a palm strike from a distance, they could overturn the heavens, killing a large swath of cultivators.
Many forces from Eastern Region Sacred City came to the rescue, but they were routed by the Dao Domain realm experts hidden in the shadows, suffering countless casualties, with corpses piled thickly.
Besides the three Dao Domain realm experts, there were also experts among the Nine-Step Saint Kings, such as the Traveler and the Walker.
In fact, in the eyes of many cultivators, without the protection of the Zhou Tian Grand Formation and the ninth-rank formation, any Nine-Step Saint King had the strength to sweep through the Chen Clan.
But Shenya Xiansheng was cautious, dispatching over a dozen Nine-Step Saint Kings. Moreover, three mysterious Dao Domain realm experts were there to ensure the destruction of the Eastern Region Sacred King Manor.
About two hundred li from the main city of the Eastern Region Sacred King Manor, there was a spiritual mountain.
At this moment, Tianchu Xianzi, the Butcher, and the Fool stood atop the spiritual mountain, gazing at the distant battlefield.
The Fool shook his head and sighed, "What a tragedy. Is there no one to uphold justice? Where are the Patrol Envoys?"
Tianchu Xianzi's gaze was deep, showing no fluctuation. She said calmly, "Shenya Xiansheng has a strong background in the Heavenly Court. Since he decided to take Eastern Region Sacred City, he must have already informed the Patrol Envoys. And the Patrol Envoys will likely get a share of the benefits."
The Butcher said, "What justice can a weak realm talk about? Power is justice. In the end, it's because the Kunlun Realm is too weak, lacking an expert who can deter all sides."
"Think about it. If Yan Wushen were a cultivator of the Kunlun Realm, these guys probably wouldn't even dare to set foot in the Kunlun Realm, let alone act so recklessly."
The Fool quickly clutched his chest and said, "Don't mention Yan Wushen. My heart can't take it. If it weren't for the Four Heavenly Kings of the Heavenly Court already going to deal with him, I wouldn't dare to come to the Kunlun Realm."
Tianchu Xianzi's lips moved slightly, and she said, "It's a pity that the Kunlun Realm's merit battle came too early. If it could wait a few more years, perhaps he could..."
She stopped mid-sentence, sensing the trembling of the sacred qi in heaven and earth. She immediately stopped and raised her head to look upward.