# Chapter 1844: Mad Crushing and Killing
Eastern Domain King Chen Yin, holding a blood-dripping war halberd in one hand, stood straight atop a collapsed sacred mountain. His body was covered in wounds, having fought a brutal battle.
His gaze swept around.
Before him lay mountains of corpses and seas of blood, a scene of utter desolation.
Most of the half-saints and saints of the Eastern Domain Sacred King Manor who were still alive had suffered severe injuries. Among them, several half-saints had sacred bodies on the verge of shattering.
The saint realm cultivators led by Lai Wangren and Qu Xingzhe all wore black robes, their bodies shrouded in black mist that concealed their forms and features.
Clearly, they dared not reveal their identities, worried about leaving evidence that could be reported to the Heavenly Palace and Merit Divine Temple.
Figures in black robes stood at the foot of the sacred mountain, not continuing their attack.
Instead, a hint of wariness appeared in their eyes.
Because earlier, Chen Yin had used a talisman, condensing it into a beam of slaughter light that had slain a Nine-Step Saint King.
That slaughter light was quite terrifying. Even powerful figures like Lai Wangren and Qu Xingzhe were not entirely confident they could block it.
That was a talisman left by an ancestor of the Chen Clan from the Middle Ages, one of the Chen Clan's hidden foundations.
Such foundations diminished with each use.
Hua Cangying gently waved his white bone fan, standing gracefully in midair, his voice melodious: "Chen Yin, if you continue to resist stubbornly, you will only bring destruction upon the entire Chen Clan. Why not hand over the Forty-Nine Mystical Arts willingly? Then we might spare you and the Chen Clan disciples a path to survival?"
Chen Yin let out a long laugh: "A path to survival? Do you really take me for a three-year-old child? Let me tell you the truth—you cannot destroy the Chen Clan. Even if I die in battle here, someone will surely come to avenge us and settle this blood debt in the future."
"Stubborn and unrepentant."
A bald-headed being, three zhang tall, snorted coldly: "Bring the direct-line disciples of the Chen Clan here. I want to devour them before the eyes of this Eastern Domain King."
Dozens of Chen Clan direct-line disciples were driven to the bald-headed being's side.
The bald-headed being's cultivation was no lower than Lai Wangren's or Qu Xingzhe's. He released his saintly might, suppressing all those Chen Clan direct-line disciples, forcing them to kneel on the ground.
"Roar!"
The bald-headed being let out a long howl. Ugly horn-like protrusions grew from his head, transforming into a beast's head the size of a millstone.
The beast's head extended above those Chen Clan direct-line disciples, revealing fangs sharp as knives, emitting a pungent bloody stench from its mouth.
A young Chen Clan disciple, unable to suppress the fear in his heart, trembled and wailed: "Great-grandfather Saint King... save Xun'er... Xun'er doesn't want... doesn't want to die..."
Chen Yin's eyes blazed with fury as flames seemed to shoot forth. He roared: "You will all die a miserable death!"
This counterattack seemed utterly feeble and powerless.
"Crunch."
The three-zhang-tall human-headed beast-bodied creature bit down on the head of that Chen Clan cultivator called "Xun'er," twisted its neck, and with a gulp, swallowed him down its throat.
The scene was extremely bloody.
"Kill!"
A Chen Clan saint, ignoring Chen Yin's attempts to stop him, charged desperately toward that human-headed beast-bodied creature.
As he flew through the air, his body began to burn, golden cracks appearing on his skin.
"A mere Lower Realm Saint dares to try destroying himself along with me by self-detonating his sacred source? How utterly overestimating yourself."
The human-headed beast-bodied creature sneered, summoning a silver-white bracelet and striking out with it. The bracelet hit that Chen Clan saint, shattering his sacred body.
But the energy released from the shattered sacred body shifted direction, striking the group of Chen Clan direct-line disciples.
"Boom, boom."
A series of explosive sounds.
All those Chen Clan direct-line disciples were annihilated, body and soul, turning into a mist of blood.
Thick blood energy drifted through the air.
Hua Cangying shook his head with a smile, sighing: "Tragic, truly tragic. Why bother?"
Chen Yin's eyes were bloodshot, blood dripping from his clenched fists. Since becoming Eastern Domain King, this was the first time he had felt such rage. He would pay any price to slaughter all the enemies before him.
But he lacked such power—the enemies were too strong!
"Rumble."
Suddenly, the sacred energy and rules between heaven and earth trembled violently.
Ancient inscription patterns emerged from beneath the Eastern Domain Sacred King Manor, spreading like a spider's web, crisscrossing in all directions.
Lai Wangren, Qu Xingzhe, the human-headed beast-bodied creature, Hua Cangying, and the others were all greatly startled, quickly activating their saint armor and saint robes to protect themselves.
Soon, Hua Cangying laughed aloud: "Everyone, there's no need to panic. The one activating the ancient inscription patterns must be Divine Cliff Master. The Eastern Domain Sacred King City has already fallen into... our..."
"Boom."
A bolt of lightning descended from the sky, striking Hua Cangying's head, reducing him to a pile of ashes.
This powerful Nine-Step Saint King died instantly, even his protective saint robe turning to ash.
The white bone fan that had been in Hua Cangying's hand became tattered, smoking as it fell to the ground.
All the cultivators present were stunned.
How had such an unexpected turn of events occurred?
"Could it be that the one controlling the ancient inscription patterns is not Divine Cliff Master at all?" Thinking this, the saint realm cultivators attacking the Eastern Domain Sacred King Manor felt their hearts turn cold, sensing something was wrong.
The cultivators of the Eastern Domain Sacred King Manor, on the other hand, were overjoyed and excited.
"It must be Yuhua Ancestor who activated the Flame Tower, triggering the ancient inscription patterns... Excellent, kill them, kill them all..."
"With the ancient inscription patterns activated, all enemies will be reduced to ashes."
...
...
Just then, a tall and majestic sacred tower appeared above the Eastern Domain Sacred King City.
Zhang Ruochen stood atop the sacred tower, looking down at the vast, boundless land below. The mountains, rivers, and geography of the Eastern Domain Sacred King City unfolded before him like a map.
At this moment, he seemed to tower above all living beings.
The cultivators on the ground, seeing the figure standing atop the sacred tower like a tiny black dot, were all startled.
"It's... it's Zhang Ruochen."
A cultivator with keen eyesight recognized Zhang Ruochen's appearance and exclaimed in shock.
"It really is Zhang Ruochen. The sacred tower beneath his feet—could it be the legendary Flame Tower?"
"Zhang Ruochen is a cultivator from our Kunlun Realm. Since he has appeared, he will certainly not allow cultivators from other realms to continue running rampant in the Eastern Domain Sacred King City."
"Zhang Ruochen was once a student of our Eastern Domain Sacred Academy. I was in the same department as him."
Lai Wangren and Qu Xingzhe exchanged glances.
Both attacked simultaneously.
From Lai Wangren's mouth came a puff of purple mist, within which a shuttle-shaped sacred artifact was wrapped.
"Whoosh! Whoosh..."
From the surface of the shuttle-shaped sacred artifact, layer after layer of sacred power light waves surged forth.
After three breaths, the number of light waves reached seven layers, and the shuttle-shaped sacred artifact erupted with Sevenfold Perfect Power.
Qu Xingzhe, meanwhile, pressed his palms together, forming a finger technique, and pointed out from a distance.
He was executing a mid-rank sacred art from the Buddhist tradition, the Small Kun Tun Finger, with over a hundred thousand finger technique rules integrated into the sacred art.
"Boom."
The power of the ancient inscription patterns condensed in the void, forming two seven-li-long golden python projections. The two golden pythons flew out, colliding with the shuttle-shaped sacred artifact and the Buddhist finger light.
The shuttle-shaped sacred artifact trembled, all seven layers of sacred power light waves shattering as it fell toward the ground.
The finger light of the mid-rank sacred art level dissolved into golden specks.
But the two golden python projections did not dissipate. They charged down from the sky, attacking Lai Wangren and Qu Xingzhe respectively.
"Zhang Ruochen can actually control the ancient inscription patterns?"
"The ancient inscription patterns are unstoppable. Retreat quickly!"
Lai Wangren and Qu Xingzhe's expressions changed drastically. They activated their strongest defensive measures and unleashed their fastest movement techniques, trying to evade the two golden python projections.
"Boom."
"Boom."
From within the main city of the Eastern Domain Sacred King Manor came two earth-shaking explosions. Then, two mushroom clouds rose up, and a violent storm of sacred power raged between heaven and earth.
Lai Wangren's right half of his body had vanished. Fortunately, his head was unharmed, so he managed to save his life.
Qu Xingzhe's lower body was struck, and everything below his waist turned into bloody mud.
"Zhang Ruochen has taken control of the ancient inscription patterns. Get rid of him immediately, or else all of us will die in the Eastern Domain Sacred King City." Lai Wangren shouted as he fled outside the Eastern Domain Sacred King Manor.
"Whoosh!"
Above the Eastern Domain Sacred King Manor, the ancient inscription patterns rapidly converged, forming a storm vortex composed of gale winds.
Each gale wind was sharper than a sacred blade.
"Crash."
The gale vortex plunged downward, striking that human-headed beast-bodied Nine-Step Saint King. He used his silver-white bracelet to form a silver light barrier, protecting his entire body.
But the silver light barrier only lasted an instant before being pierced by the gale winds.
"Ah... how is this possible... can't block it..."
That human-headed beast-bodied creature's sacred body shattered, turning into a cloud of crimson blood mist, even his bones reduced to powder.
The gale vortex continued charging forward, attacking other saint realm cultivators. Anyone caught in the vortex, regardless of their cultivation level, would be reduced to nothing.
In an instant, over a dozen saint realm cultivators died in the gale vortex.
"How dare you!"
A blood handprint over thirty zhang long struck out from a patch of blood clouds, shattering the gale vortex.
It was a mysterious expert comparable to the Dao Domain realm making a move.
That person stood within the blood clouds, his form and features unclear, only four enormous blood wings faintly visible.
With each gentle flap of those blood wings, hurricanes would arise.
Zhang Ruochen asked: "Who is he?"
Da Xi Wang bit her lip, not answering Zhang Ruochen.
"Is it really that difficult to work for me? You've already killed so many saint realm cultivators of the Heavenly Realm Faction. What secrets are left that you can't reveal?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Da Xi Wang clenched her teeth tightly, her almond-shaped eyes glaring at Zhang Ruochen.
She felt that Zhang Ruochen was a demon, step by step dragging her into the abyss.
Just now, the scene of her controlling the ancient inscription patterns to kill a large number of Heavenly Realm Faction saint realm experts had surely been recorded by Zhang Ruochen. Even if she escaped now, it would be hard to break free from Zhang Ruochen's control.
Zhang Ruochen held a scroll in his hand, opening it.
Da Xi Wang guessed correctly—Zhang Ruochen had indeed recorded everything that had just happened.
Da Xi Wang's full, rounded chest heaved violently. Finally, she relented and answered: "He is Tian Chen, the previous generation Four-Winged Scarlet Angel of the Blood Battle Divine Temple. His cultivation has already reached the Rule Grand Heaven realm."
"You have fought against this generation's Four-Winged Scarlet Angel, so you should know how formidable a Four-Winged Scarlet Angel is."
"Although Tian Chen's cultivation has not reached the Dao Domain realm, Xie Canghai, who is at the Dao Domain realm, once lost to him. Zhang Ruochen, someone like this is not someone you can afford to provoke right now."
(Chapter End)