Chapter 1885: Shi Ren?
Dozens of talismans arranged into a wall of talismans, burning in midair. From the ground, they looked like a sea of flaming stars, rapidly attacking Bao Lie below.
"Looking for death."
Bao Lie's entire body muscles bulged, becoming even more robust. He spat out a mouthful of flame.
That flame was dark red, its temperature comparable to the Purifying Divine Flame Zhang Ruochen cultivated. Moreover, the flame contained a powerful impact force, shattering all the talismans, causing them to vanish like smoke.
"So strong, has he already reached the Reaching Heaven realm?"
Shi Ren realized he had underestimated Bao Lie's strength. His eyes rolled, and then his body sank, hiding behind Zhang Ruochen again, intending to use Zhang Ruochen to deal with Bao Lie.
Unexpectedly, the moment he retreated behind Zhang Ruochen, he felt a bone-chilling cold.
Zhang Ruochen glanced back, his gaze sharp, and said, "You are not Shi Ren. Who are you?"
"Identifying my identity so quickly?"
Shi Ren was somewhat surprised, but his actions were very decisive.
From his Qi Sea, 160,000 Sacred Dao Rules surged out, flowing to the index finger of his right hand, swirling around it, then condensing into a powerful finger force, striking towards the back of Zhang Ruochen's head.
Zhang Ruochen was prepared. His form became blurry and disappeared from the spot.
"Damn it, space power again." Shi Ren cursed inwardly.
The finger force Shi Ren unleashed pierced through Zhang Ruochen's afterimage, flying straight towards Bao Lie opposite him.
At the same time, the beams of light shooting from Bao Lie's pupils also struck him.
"Boom."
The two forces clashed. Shi Ren flew backward like a paper doll, spitting Sacred Blood in midair.
"How can he be this strong?"
Shi Ren had already estimated Bao Lie's strength quite highly, but after just one exchange in their actual fight, he was severely injured. This was hard for him to accept.
"Storm Heaven Strike Fist."
Crackling sounds erupted from Bao Lie's entire body. He punched a fist imprint through the air, carrying a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering sound of wind and thunder.
The fist imprint transformed into a galloping divine leopard.
"Swoosh——"
Shi Ren had already witnessed Bao Lie's power and dared not take this punch head-on. A vortex appeared around his body, and he seemed to merge with it, disappearing.
The punch hit nothing. Bao Lie's eyes narrowed, and he muttered, "Is it an illusion technique?"
In the distance, Shi Qiankun frowned deeply, unable to understand what he was seeing. Even he felt his son was somewhat unfamiliar. How could Shi Ren's martial cultivation be so strong?
What exactly had happened?
Only Zhang Ruochen understood what was happening. Using his Space Domain, which covered several hundred miles, he located Shi Ren's hiding spot and snorted lightly: "Bai Huan Divine Son, get the hell out here."
Zhang Ruochen reached out and grabbed the void.
"Boom."
Thirty miles away, a large section of the void collapsed, forming a spatial hole ten zhang in diameter.
Shi Ren was forced to reappear, fleeing rapidly into the distance, letting out a laugh completely different from Shi Ren's voice: "Quite capable, aren't you? Heir of Time and Space, Zhang Ruochen."
"Aren't you quite capable too? Worthy of being the Bai Huan Divine Son with a danger index of seven. I underestimated you earlier. Where is Shi Ren? When did you transform into him?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Hehe, since I transformed into him, he must have been drained of blood by me and turned into a dead man."
Since his identity was exposed, Bai Huan Divine Son no longer bothered to disguise himself. His muscles and bones shifted, changing back to his own appearance. Silver fleshy wings grew from his back, and he hovered in midair, dozens of zhang above the ground.
Both Zhang Ruochen and Shi Qiankun showed expressions of anger.
"Those who kill my friends and brothers never end well."
Zhang Ruochen's Sacred Qi circulated rapidly, surging out from the seven orifices in his palm, continuously pouring into the Azure Sky Floating Tower. The tower grew larger and larger, spinning as it flew up.
A powerful Supreme power swept across a thousand miles.
The crystals on the ground all flew up, spinning around the Azure Sky Floating Tower.
Although Bai Huan Divine Son possessed bizarre and unpredictable methods and ever-changing illusion techniques, encountering a Supreme Sacred Artifact still instilled some fear in him.
Since he had already arrived at the Execution Prison Realm and achieved his goal, there was no need to continue fighting Zhang Ruochen. He should first attend to his main business.
"Rustle."
Bai Huan Divine Son's body disintegrated, turning into tens of thousands of blood-red specks of light. Bursting with extreme speed, like countless rays of light, they flew into the distance.
Leave.
"A creature of the Undying Blood Clan appears before this king, and you still think you can escape?"
Bao Lie had once followed the Ming Emperor on a campaign against the Undying Blood Clan. Countless comrades had died at the hands of the Undying Blood Clan. Naturally, he harbored a deep hatred for them.
Bao Lie's claws struck out simultaneously, forming two fiery clouds dozens of miles away. They swept up all the blood-red specks of light and violently pressed them down.
"Bang, bang."
The blood-red specks of light were continuously annihilated, dissipating into the air.
However, some specks of light escaped and recondensed into Bai Huan Divine Son's body.
Bai Huan Divine Son's form was panicked, his aura somewhat weakened, clearly having suffered significant injuries. He continued to flee towards the horizon.
Bai Huan Divine Son was already regretting his actions. He should have continued his disguise and not exposed himself so early.
In the end, it was because he had underestimated Bao Lie's strength and Zhang Ruochen's intelligence. He hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen to see through his true identity so quickly.
"Boom."
The Azure Sky Floating Tower, carrying a patch of cyan clouds, flew over and appeared above Bai Huan Divine Son's head.
"Not good."
Bai Huan Divine Son unleashed a shield-shaped protective treasure, suspending it above his head.
The tower didn't fall; it only sent out a stream of Supreme power. It pierced through the shield-shaped protective treasure, struck Bai Huan Divine Son, and blasted a small half of his body into a bloody mess, nearly shattering his physical form.
"If this Divine Son escapes and releases Lord Underworld King, the first to be dealt with will be Zhang Ruochen and that guy named Bao Lie. I'll drain their Sacred Blood."
Bai Huan Divine Son was furious, his face twisted with rage.
He took out a Phantom Gem, cast an illusion technique, and his form disappeared again.
Unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen had his Space Domain and easily saw through the illusion, finding him again.
"Pfft."
Another stream of Supreme power descended, striking Bai Huan Divine Son's back, piercing through his body, and blasting him to the ground.
"This ends now."
Zhang Ruochen controlled the Azure Sky Floating Tower from a distance, pressing it down towards Bai Huan Divine Son.
"If I die, your friend dies too."
Bai Huan Divine Son took out a blood diagram and released Shi Ren from it.
Shi Ren's face was pale, his eyes dazed. The blood Qi in his body had been severely depleted, but he was not dead.
Bai Huan Divine Son's palm grabbed Shi Ren's head. His five fingers were as sharp as spikes, piercing into his scalp, and crimson blood continuously flowed out.
Bai Huan Divine Son hadn't killed Shi Ren; he had kept him as a trump card.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed. He quickly controlled the Azure Sky Floating Tower to stop in midair, not pressing it down.
"Release Shi Ren, and I'll let you live." Zhang Ruochen said.
Bai Huan Divine Son laughed, "Do you think I'm stupid? If I release him, your Supreme Sacred Artifact will probably land on me immediately."
Shi Qiankun, anxious and tense, flew down beside Zhang Ruochen. Just as he was about to say something to Zhang Ruochen, he heard Zhang Ruochen's voice in his ear: "Clan Leader, rest assured. Shi Ren is my friend, and I will do my utmost to save him."
Shi Qiankun cast a grateful look at him.
Zhang Ruochen stared at Bai Huan Divine Son and said, "Name your terms. We can negotiate slowly."
Bai Huan Divine Son laughed, "If this Divine Son wants the Supreme Sacred Artifact in your hand, would you be willing to trade it for your friend's life?"
"Fine, no problem."
Zhang Ruochen agreed almost without hesitation.
Bai Huan Divine Son, Shi Qiankun, and even Bao Lie, standing in the distance, were all stunned by Zhang Ruochen's words.
Was there actually someone willing to give up a Supreme Sacred Artifact to save a friend's life?
Bai Huan Divine Son laughed, "Refreshing. I didn't expect the Heir of Time and Space, Zhang Ruochen, to be such an emotional person. I like dealing with people like you. But don't try any tricks. This Divine Son only needs a thought, and your friend's head will explode."
"Rest assured. Compared to a Supreme Sacred Artifact, I value my friend's life more." Zhang Ruochen said.
Bai Huan Divine Son was overjoyed. Regardless of whether Zhang Ruochen was genuinely willing to trade Shi Ren, he now had a great opportunity to obtain a Supreme Sacred Artifact.
Zhang Ruochen, having lost his Supreme Sacred Artifact, would be a tiger without claws and fangs.
With the Supreme Sacred Artifact, he would be like a tiger with wings, fully capable of turning the tables and killing Zhang Ruochen and Bao Lie. Moreover, with the Supreme Sacred Artifact, he might even be able to rescue Lord Underworld King, which would be a great achievement.
Zhang Ruochen retracted the Azure Sky Floating Tower, making it only nine inches tall, holding it in his palm as he walked towards Bai Huan Divine Son.
"Stop."
Bai Huan Divine Son was wary of Zhang Ruochen and said, "Hand that Supreme Sacred Artifact to Clan Leader Shi and have him bring it to this Divine Son."
Although Shi Qiankun was eager to save Shi Ren, he could see the situation clearly and quickly shook his head, saying, "No. I am only a fifty-seventh-rank Spiritual Power cultivator, far from your match. What if you get the Azure Sky Floating Tower but don't release Ren'er?"
"You have no right to bargain."
Bai Huan Divine Son laughed, then applied force with his fingers, piercing deeper into Shi Ren's scalp, deforming his skull, which was on the verge of shattering.
Shi Ren woke up, letting out a scream of pain.
Zhang Ruochen forcefully shoved the Azure Sky Floating Tower into Shi Qiankun's hand and said, "Clan Leader, take it and give it to him. If he dares to go back on his word, the Execution Prison Realm will be his burial ground."
Since Zhang Ruochen said so, and Shi Qiankun, eager to save his son, had no other choice, he could only take the Azure Sky Floating Tower and walk towards Bai Huan Divine Son.
Bai Huan Divine Son took the Azure Sky Floating Tower from Shi Qiankun's hand, his eyes shining with excitement and agitation. The hand gripping Shi Ren's head unconsciously loosened slightly.
That was the moment. Zhang Ruochen used Great Space Teleportation, appearing right in front of Bai Huan Divine Son.
"Do you want to get your friend killed?"
Seeing Zhang Ruochen so close, Bai Huan Divine Son's eyes darkened. He applied force with his fingers, intending to continue threatening Zhang Ruochen with Shi Ren's life.
But his arm had lost all sensation.
Bai Huan Divine Son looked down and saw that the arm holding Shi Ren's head had been severed by a Space Rift, separated from his body.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen's palm, burning with fierce flames, struck solidly against Bai Huan Divine Son's forehead, blasting his head into a cloud of blood mist.
"Those who dare to harm my friends will never have a good end."