# Chapter 1884: Senior Brother Baolie
"Boom!"
The power unleashed by the leopard claw, like a ten-thousand-mile meteor falling from the sky, struck Zhang Ruochen, causing his entire body to tremble and uncontrollably retreat backward at great speed.
After retreating over six hundred zhang, Zhang Ruochen lowered his center of gravity and steadied himself.
That several-hundred-meter-long leopard claw gradually dissipated, turning into a stream of qi that rushed toward the ground and merged into the body of a burly figure.
That burly figure stood at the center of the flaming lake. In human form, he was two and a half meters tall. Due to the obstruction of the flames, his body flickered in and out of view, twisting and indistinct.
At the edge of the flaming lake, Bao Xinghun saw Zhang Ruochen repelled, a delighted expression appearing on his face as he raised his voice: "Father, kill him."
That burly figure walked out of the flaming lake, revealing his true appearance.
However, he did not continue attacking. Instead, his emotions seemed stirred as he stared at Zhang Ruochen and asked, "How long have you been imprisoned in the Nether Prison, and where did you learn the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm?"
Hearing his father ask such an inexplicable question, Bao Xinghun was momentarily stunned.
Zhang Ruochen clearly saw the face of that burly figure, and an indescribable excitement surged within him like overturning rivers and seas. This person... this person was indeed Senior Brother Baolie.
"Senior..."
Just as Zhang Ruochen opened his mouth, a blood-red storm surged from behind the flaming lake. In an instant, it plunged the entire area into extreme darkness, with nothing but blood-red before his eyes.
A strange force affected Zhang Ruochen's state of mind.
His usually calm heart became slightly agitated.
One must know that Zhang Ruochen's mental state was exceptional among those below the Great Saint realm, yet even he was affected. Bao Xinghun, who was at the Five-Step Saint King realm, naturally fared even worse.
The moment the blood-red storm swept over him, Bao Xinghun's pupils turned blood-red, his mind became chaotic, and a painful roar escaped his lips.
"Roar!"
The next moment, he transformed back into his original form, becoming a hundred-zhang-tall star cloud leopard, radiating a violent and ferocious aura.
"What is happening?"
The blood-red storm arrived too strangely, giving Zhang Ruochen a strong sense of crisis.
"Damn it, here it comes again!"
Baolie's eyes flashed with anger. Then, with a flicker of his form, he appeared beside Bao Xinghun, summoned a dragon-tail hook war spear, and warily watched the surging blood-red storm.
Seeing Senior Brother Baolie's cautious demeanor, Zhang Ruochen became even more certain that great danger lurked within the blood-red storm.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen immediately activated his Space Domain.
The Space Domain had only just expanded to four zhang outward when a fierce spiritual power storm surged from within the blood-red storm. The spiritual power storm was formed by countless blades of spiritual power converging into waves dozens of zhang high.
An unknown creature was launching a spiritual power attack against him.
Fortunately, he had activated the Space Domain, or the spiritual power storm would have struck him instantly. Now, at least he had some buffer time.
Zhang Ruochen's current spiritual power was not weak, so he felt no fear. He shot out six Illusory Pearls, arranging them in a circle to form a shield seal that clashed against the spiritual power storm.
On the other side, Baolie was also attacked by the spiritual power storm.
He remained composed, thrusting his war spear into the ground and activating his Dao Domain to resist the spiritual power storm.
Perhaps because Zhang Ruochen was skilled in the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, Baolie, though meeting him for the first time, did not harbor much hostility. He spoke up to warn him: "Be careful. That monster is not just skilled in spiritual power attacks."
"What monster?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"Ssss."
Strange sounds emerged from the blood-red storm.
Threads of white silk flew out, each thousands of zhang long. One of them brushed past Zhang Ruochen's right arm, colliding with the Flame God Arm Guard and sending sparks flying.
Too sharp!
If it touched his skin, even with his powerful physical defense, he would likely be injured.
Not daring to let the white silk touch him, Zhang Ruochen used the power of his Space Domain to continuously dodge, evading the attacks. There were too many white silk threads. Even with spatial power assisting him, Zhang Ruochen found himself in constant danger, nearly being struck several times.
"What kind of monster is this?"
Zhang Ruochen unleashed Purifying Divine Flame, condensing it into a divine flame qilin that charged toward the source of the white silk.
Even the minister-level Purifying Divine Flame could not burn through the white silk. Instead, from within the white silk, mysterious red patterns flew out, striking the divine flame qilin and shattering it into pieces.
"Those... those are talisman patterns. That monster can actually inscribe such powerful talisman patterns." Zhang Ruochen found it hard to believe.
The several red talisman patterns that had just flown out each possessed the power to kill a Nine-Step Saint King. They were not to be underestimated.
Zhang Ruochen was about to summon the evil spirit to fight the monster.
On the other side, a long roar sounded. Baolie, standing beside Bao Xinghun, swung his war spear through the air.
From the war spear surged an ancient and sacred power, radiating golden light that dispersed the blood-red storm.
From the center of the white silk, red talisman patterns flew out again.
This time, there were over a hundred talisman patterns, interweaving to form a mysterious seal that clashed with the war spear.
"Boom!"
The two forces were evenly matched, locked in a stalemate. Neither could gain the upper hand for the moment.
However, the white silk threads flying through the air bypassed Baolie and slashed toward Bao Xinghun behind him.
"Not good."
Baolie's expression changed. He was about to withdraw his war spear and activate a defensive measure.
Doing so would put him at a disadvantage, but he had no choice. He could not just watch his son be killed by that monster.
"Oh?"
Baolie turned around and found that Bao Xinghun had already retreated a hundred miles away.
Standing beside Bao Xinghun was a figure—the same young human man who had used the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm earlier.
"He is a space cultivator."
Baolie sensed spatial fluctuations. Clearly, that human man had used spatial power to rescue Bao Xinghun.
Regardless, with no more worries behind him, Baolie stopped hesitating and focused all his strength on attacking the monster.
Having arrived at Zhe Xing Prison Realm, Baolie had fought that monster several times and knew its weakness. He raised his war spear and turned into a beam of light, charging into the dense white silk threads.
That monster's greatest fear was close combat.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
After a series of explosions, the monster let out a scream and fled rapidly into the distance.
It had lost!
"Where do you think you're going?"
Baolie raised his left hand, his palm transforming into a sharp claw. He reached through the air toward the monster, trying to capture it.
The monster was completely wrapped in white silk. From within the silk came a sharp sonic wave.
Even though Zhang Ruochen was a hundred miles away, his eardrums instantly ruptured, blood flowing out. His body slid backward, his vision darkening, and he swayed unsteadily.
Zhang Ruochen quickly activated his technique to protect his entire body.
No one knew how much time passed before Zhang Ruochen recovered and opened his eyes again.
The monster was long gone.
Baolie's tall, burly figure stood opposite Zhang Ruochen, staring at him intently with a puzzled expression. Not far away, Bao Xinghun, in his original form, lay on the ground, covered in bloody wounds—clearly severely injured.
Baolie did not go to heal his son. Instead, he raised his war spear, pointing it at Zhang Ruochen's brow. Gritting his teeth, he asked coldly, "The technique you cultivate is the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture. Where did you steal it from?"
Zhang Ruochen stared into Baolie's large, bell-like eyes. His own eyes were moist, but he forced a smile: "Third Senior Brother, I am Ruochen... Long time no see."
"Ruochen?"
The war spear in Baolie's hand trembled slightly.
Zhang Ruochen knew very well that making Senior Brother Baolie believe him would not be easy.
So, he took out the Abyssal Ancient Sword and handed it over.
Baolie recognized this sword, forged from Creation Divine Iron. He murmured, "Abyssal... How did Abyssal come into your hands? It was Little Junior Brother's sword! No, no, Little Junior Brother was already killed by Princess Chi Yao. You are not him. You must be someone sent by Emperor Qing and Princess Chi Yao. What is your purpose?"
Although Baolie had not felt much hostility toward Zhang Ruochen before, now that this brat dared to impersonate his deceased Little Junior Brother, how could he not be furious?
Seeing Baolie's agitation, Zhang Ruochen carefully recalled the past, wanting to recount some old events from eight hundred years ago.
Just then, Shi Ren and Shi Qiankun arrived at Zhe Xing Prison Realm, landing not far from Zhang Ruochen and Baolie.
Baolie's gaze shifted sideways, and he asked warily, "And who are you?"
Seeing Baolie's war spear pointed at Zhang Ruochen's brow, Shi Ren grew nervous. He immediately took out three talismans and shot them toward Baolie.
"Stop!" Zhang Ruochen shouted.
But it was too late.
From Baolie's pupils, two beams of red light flew out, piercing through the three talismans.
The red beams did not diminish in power, continuing toward Shi Ren behind him.
With Shi Ren's cultivation, how could he withstand Baolie's attack?
What Baolie had used was not just a simple glare but a sacred art. Even Zhang Ruochen would not dare to take it head-on.
But now, Zhang Ruochen had no time to explain. He had to use Space Displacement to appear before Shi Ren, summon the Azure Sky Floating Pagoda, activate its supreme power, and block the two red beams from Baolie's pupils.
Seeing the Azure Sky Floating Pagoda seemed to confirm his suspicions. Baolie's hair stood on end as he roared, "You really were sent by Emperor Qing and Princess Chi Yao! Die!"
"Third Senior Brother, can you at least listen to my explanation?" Zhang Ruochen said while defending.
In his subconscious, Baolie actually wanted to believe that this person was his Little Junior Brother. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Fine, I'll give you a chance to speak. If you dare deceive me, I'll tear you into a thousand pieces."
Standing behind Zhang Ruochen, Shi Ren's eyes flashed with a strange light. It seemed he did not want Zhang Ruochen and Baolie to have a proper conversation. His hands took out dozens of talismans from his body and shot them all at Baolie.
"Beast, die!" Shi Ren said.