Chapter 1880: Arriving Again at the Sword Grave
"Bang."
The Daylight Arrow flew out, transforming into a dazzling white beam of light, chasing after the fleeing Baihuan Divine Son.
Baihuan Divine Son stopped in his tracks, turned his head back, and clearly saw the arrow's form, muttering to himself, "The Daylight Arrow of Daylight Heavenly Lord—how could it be in the hands of a human?"
"A hundred mountains rise from the earth."
Baihuan Divine Son formed a finger seal, holding a gemstone, and pressed it toward the ground.
Instantly, the land before him shook violently, as mountain after mountain rose up.
The mountains were at least a thousand meters high, composed of rock as hard as iron.
Explosive sounds rang out continuously.
The Daylight Arrow pierced through the rocky mountains one by one, closing in on Baihuan Divine Son, seemingly about to strike him.
Baihuan Divine Son's figure blurred, then vanished.
The Daylight Arrow slammed into the ground, leaving a trench dozens of miles long on the earth.
"Swoosh—"
Baihuan Divine Son reappeared, spreading his three pairs of silver fleshy wings, holding a blood-red millstone, and appeared above the Daylight Arrow.
"Retrieve."
The blood-red millstone was covered in countless inscriptions, forming a powerful vortex that pulled at the Daylight Arrow.
"Daylight Heavenly Lord was once the number one war god among the Great Saints of the Azure Heaven Tribe. His Azure Heaven Bow and Daylight Arrow are treasures surpassing Ten-Yao Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifacts. If I, the Divine Son, can obtain the Daylight Arrow, I can command the Undying Blood Clan of Daylight Star, and from now on, I will be the king of Daylight Star."
Baihuan Divine Son was well aware of the Daylight Arrow's value, so his heart raced with excitement as he exerted all his strength to seize it.
Zhang Ruochen sensed Baihuan Divine Son trying to claim the Daylight Arrow, so he channeled all his Saint Qi into the Azure Heaven Bow, using the connection between the bow and arrow to retrieve it.
One tried to retrieve, the other to seize—the two clashed fiercely.
"Big Brother, let me help you."
Xiang Chunan took out the Metal Demon Crown, activated its supreme power, and raised his arm, sending the crown flying.
Moments later, the Metal Demon Crown flew above Baihuan Divine Son, forming a thick demon cloud that pressed down. In the area where Baihuan Divine Son stood, the air grew denser, and the space seemed about to solidify.
At the same time, the Green Light Blunt Moon Slash from Murong Yue and the Bloodthirsty Ring from Xie Chengzi attacked Baihuan Divine Son from two other directions.
Baihuan Divine Son looked up and muttered, "Supreme Sacred Artifact."
Then, glancing at the Green Light Blunt Moon Slash, his expression darkened again. "A Divine Relic Ancient Artifact. What kind of cultivators are these, to have so many top-tier war weapons?"
Baihuan Divine Son gave up on retrieving the Daylight Arrow and clasped his hands together.
His body then shrank smaller and smaller, until it turned into a speck of light and vanished.
"Boom."
The Metal Demon Crown, Green Light Blunt Moon Slash, and Bloodthirsty Ring struck in succession, shattering the ground, sending dust soaring into the sky, and filling the area with chaotic waves of power.
Zhang Ruochen used his Space Domain to protect himself, arriving first at the edge of the shattered land. With a flick of his sleeve, he retrieved the Daylight Arrow with a swoosh.
"Sure enough, he escaped again." Zhang Ruochen frowned.
Baihuan Divine Son's combat power might be slightly weaker than Blood Bee Shura King, but his illusionary arts were extraordinary. Killing him would be even harder than killing Blood Bee Shura King.
What was even more troubling was that Baihuan Divine Son could change his appearance and form, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, with countless transformations. If he were determined to assassinate a cultivator, that cultivator would likely face a near-certain death.
"Letting Baihuan Divine Son escape this time will bring endless trouble. We must be extremely careful from now on," Murong Yue said with concern.
"He won't get away."
Xiang Chunan snorted, then activated his Thousand-Mile Eye to search for traces of Baihuan Divine Son.
On the other side, Ji Fanxin used a spiritual power technique to subdue the Blood Camel Nether Beast. She stood gracefully on its back and came before Zhang Ruochen.
Shi Ren clenched his fists tightly, rushed beneath the Blood Camel Nether Beast, and took out a Seven Calamity Saint-Suppressing Talisman, holding it between two fingers. "Fairy, this beast devoured my clansmen. I must kill it to avenge them."
Ji Fanxin wore a veil, giving her a mysterious, hazy beauty. Her voice was melodious as she said, "I just asked the Blood Camel Nether Beast. It did not devour your clansmen. In fact, the cultivators of Zhenyu Ancient Clan only briefly clashed with Baihuan Divine Son before retreating deep into the ancient clan's black wilderness."
Shi Ren was stunned, then showed a delighted expression. "They must have retreated to the Sword Grave."
Deep within Zhenyu Ancient Clan lay a black wilderness, perpetually shrouded by dark clouds.
That wilderness was extremely cold; ordinary people would freeze to death within an hour. Yet, in this frigid place, there were many active volcanoes, and the areas near them were scorching hot.
On this land of ice and fire, countless swords and the corpses of sword cultivators were buried.
Zhang Ruochen and the others arrived at the edge of the black wilderness, stopping without proceeding further.
Xiang Chunan flew to the edge of a volcano and looked into the distance. "I'm certain Baihuan Divine Son entered the Sword Grave from here. However, the Sword Grave's Heavenly and Earthly Rules are unique. My Thousand-Mile Eye is disrupted by a mysterious force; I can only see traces left by Baihuan Divine Son, not his true form."
Zhang Ruochen had been to the Sword Grave before and knew its special environment.
"The Heavenly and Earthly Rules of the Sword Grave differ from elsewhere. It's filled with a vast number of Sword Dao Rules, pushing other rules out. Sword cultivators can increase their combat power several times here. Cultivators who aren't sword cultivators will have their power reduced several times when entering the Sword Grave," Zhang Ruochen said.
Murong Yue said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince is a sword cultivator. In the Sword Grave, killing Baihuan Divine Son should be easy. Should we pursue him now and eliminate this great enemy first?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head gently. "If it were only Baihuan Divine Son, he wouldn't be a threat. But I'm worried that more Undying Blood Clan experts have already entered the Sword Grave."
"Killing Baihuan Divine Son is secondary. The more important thing is to prevent them from releasing the Underworld King from the Nether Prison."
"First, let's rendezvous with the cultivators of Zhenyu Ancient Clan. Once we refine the Blood-Suppressing Talisman, dealing with the Undying Blood Clan will be much easier."
Shi Ren agreed with Zhang Ruochen's decision and nodded. "I have a secret method to contact my clansmen."
Shi Ren took out a talisman paper, cut his index finger, and used his Sacred Blood to draw a strange mark on the paper.
He lit the talisman paper, burning it to ashes.
"Is this the secret method you mentioned?"
Xiang Chunan scratched his head, puzzled.
Shi Ren clasped his hands behind his back and smiled, nodding. "That's right. We just need to wait here. The elders of Zhenyu Ancient Clan should soon come to welcome us."
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, two old men in black robes emerged from the ground not far from Zhang Ruochen and the others.
Seeing Shi Ren, the two old men were overjoyed and hurried over. "Excellent! Young Patriarch, is it really you? You've finally returned!"
"Elder Xuanfeng, Elder Xuanhai."
Although Shi Ren's cultivation had surpassed that of the two elders, he still took the initiative to bow to them with clasped hands.
Elder Xuanfeng had a black mole on his forehead and looked warily at Xiang Chunan and the others. "Young Patriarch, who are they?"
"Elder Xuanfeng, long time no see." Zhang Ruochen stepped forward.
Elder Xuanfeng recognized Zhang Ruochen immediately and said in surprise, "Zhang Ruochen."
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "As one of the six sword bearers of Zhenyu Ancient Clan, is it so surprising for me to appear at the Sword Grave?"
Zhang Ruochen's cultivation and strength were now vastly different from before. Even though Elder Xuanfeng lived in seclusion in Zhenyu Ancient Clan, he had heard of him and no longer treated him as a junior.
Standing before Zhang Ruochen, the two elders even felt a bit nervous, sensing considerable pressure.
Shi Ren said, "Elders, there's no need to be suspicious. They are all friends of mine and Zhang Ruochen, and naturally, they are also friends of Zhenyu Ancient Clan."
"Young Patriarch, you may not know this, but the Undying Blood Clan is skilled in transformation arts and can hide among familiar cultivators, making them hard to guard against. Not long ago, a top expert from the Undying Blood Clan infiltrated Zhenyu Ancient Clan. If the Patriarch hadn't seen through his identity in time, the entire clan would have been wiped out," Elder Xuanhai said with lingering fear.
Shi Ren said, "That top expert from the Undying Blood Clan has already been driven back by us."
"How is that possible?"
Elder Xuanfeng and Elder Xuanhai exclaimed simultaneously.
Then, Elder Xuanfeng said, "I saw that Undying Blood Clan expert's methods with my own eyes. They were utterly unfathomable, not much weaker than the Azure Heaven Blood Emperor of old."
"But he was indeed defeated by Zhang Ruochen," Shi Ren said.
Hearing this, Elder Xuanfeng and Elder Xuanhai exchanged glances, their eyes filled with wild joy.
To them, Baihuan Divine Son was like a nightmare. The entire Zhenyu Ancient Clan was helpless and had to flee into the Sword Grave for refuge. That Zhang Ruochen could defeat him was, for their terrified clan, a tremendous blessing.
Elder Xuanfeng and Elder Xuanhai looked at Zhang Ruochen again, their expressions now filled with respect. They both bowed and said in unison, "We implore the Sword Bearer to protect Zhenyu Ancient Clan."
"Elders, there's no need for such formality. Take us to see the Patriarch."
Zhang Ruochen raised his hand slightly, and the two elders straightened up.
The Sword Grave Palace was not just a palace; it was also a powerful sacred artifact.
The Patriarch of Zhenyu Ancient Clan, Shi Qiankun, had used the Sword Grave Palace to gather all the clan members, fly into the Sword Grave, and hide, thus avoiding extermination by Baihuan Divine Son.
Inside the Sword Grave Palace.
The cultivators of Zhenyu Ancient Clan sat on the right, led by Shi Qiankun.
Zhang Ruochen, Ji Fanxin, Xiang Chunan, and the others sat on the left side of the palace.
Zhang Ruochen took out the diagram of the "Saint King-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman" and handed it to Shi Qiankun. "With this talisman, we should be able to resolve the crisis of Zhenyu Ancient Clan."
Zhang Ruochen had previously asked Shi Qiankun to refine Half-Saint-level and Saint-level Blood-Suppressing Talismans, so Shi Qiankun was familiar with them.
Taking the diagram, Shi Qiankun studied it carefully, his eyes growing brighter.
However, after a moment, Shi Qiankun frowned deeply. "The Saint King-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman can certainly overcome Undying Blood Clan cultivators below the Seven-Step Saint King. But against those above the Seven-Step Saint King, it might still fall short."
Xiang Chunan was bold and said, "If one isn't enough, use ten, or dozens, and throw them all at once."
Shi Qiankun shook his head. "Even if dozens of Saint King-level Blood-Suppressing Talismans are used simultaneously, they can at most suppress an Eight-Step Saint King. They would have little effect on a Nine-Step Saint King. Unless there is a higher-level Blood-Suppressing Talisman."
(End of Chapter)