Chapter 1897: Utterly Defeated
Outside the Sword Grave, a massive army of the Undying Blood Clan had gathered. Overwhelming blood fiend aura emanated from their bodies, forming rolling blood clouds that blotted out the sun and sky, shrouding the entire Sword Grave as if doomsday had arrived.
The Nether Immortal was already in the final stages of deciphering the ancient divine patterns.
Although the ancient divine patterns guarding the Sword Grave were profound and mysterious, they were severely damaged. Without a formation earth master to repair them, the Nether Immortal had eventually found some flaws within them.
The Nether Immortal quickly hurled out thirty-six ancient formation flags. A vast number of profound formation patterns emerged, giving rise to dense Nether Mist, as if the gates of the Netherworld had been opened.
Under the effect of the formation flags, it could be clearly seen that the ancient divine patterns began to disintegrate.
In the blink of an eye, the ancient divine patterns were torn open, revealing a path leading into the Sword Grave.
"Now, it's up to you."
The Nether Immortal looked at Xia Wenxin and the others, speaking calmly.
This time, he had come alone, so the task of attacking the Sword Grave needed to be completed by the Undying Blood Clan.
The Sword Grave was mysterious and unpredictable. Once the Undying Blood Clan breached it and scouted the situation, he would enter to search for the Star Chart without delay.
The Nine-Eyed Heavenly King immediately raised his arm and shouted, "Breach the Sword Grave, release the Nether King, kill!"
"Kill!"
Instantly, the Undying Blood Clan army surged forward, flooding in through the torn opening like a tide.
Despite knowing that the Sword Grave contained many dangers, they charged in without hesitation. Sucking the blood of the Prison Suppressing Ancient Clan cultivators would make them stronger, and releasing the Nether King would be a monumental achievement. The risk was entirely worth it.
The Undying Blood Clan had prepared thoroughly this time, mobilizing hundreds of thousands of troops, determined to take the Sword Grave.
Meanwhile, the other forces of the Kunlun Realm were too preoccupied with their own troubles to send aid, leaving the Prison Suppressing Ancient Clan to fight alone.
As soon as they breached the entrance, the Undying Blood Clan army encountered resistance. A powerful formation was activated, stirring up killing intent that slaughtered large numbers of Undying Blood Clan warriors.
Clearly, the Prison Suppressing Ancient Clan had anticipated that the ancient divine patterns would not hold back the Undying Blood Clan and had made some preparations in advance.
The Shen family cultivators had already set up an ambush, acting as the vanguard and using the formation to launch attacks.
Apart from the outer ancient divine patterns, the territory of the Prison Suppressing Ancient Clan was filled with numerous formation patterns, laid down by generations of the Shen family.
Unfortunately, the Shen family had declined. They no longer even had a formation saint master. Otherwise, with the Shen family's formation heritage, how could the Undying Blood Clan have broken through?
Following closely, the Shi family cultivators moved out, unleashing a large number of talismans. Lightning, flames, ice, wind blades—all kinds of forces erupted, releasing destructive energy that engulfed the Undying Blood Clan army.
"Facing my Undying Blood Clan army, you still dare to struggle," the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King sneered, his eyes filled with cold disdain.
The Martial Realm Imperial Son stepped forward and said coldly, "Let me lead the attack on the Sword Grave."
Having suffered consecutive defeats earlier, he felt humiliated and was eager to redeem himself.
If he could capture the Sword Grave, who would dare mock him?
"Relying on you alone is not enough. All seven of you will move together and annihilate the Prison Suppressing Ancient Clan as quickly as possible," Xia Wenxin said calmly, his tone carrying an undeniable authority.
"Very well."
The Cloud Imperial Son and the others nodded in agreement.
Since Xia Wenxin had spoken, they could not refuse.
"I'll go deal with that mysterious strong one," the Third Divine Son said.
Before his words faded, he had already vanished, as if afraid the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King would compete with him.
Based on what was known so far, the threat posed by that mysterious strong one was undoubtedly the greatest.
If he were not restrained, the Undying Blood Clan army would surely suffer heavy losses.
A strong one of that caliber could not be dealt with by sheer numbers alone.
"What do we do next?" the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King asked, looking at Xia Wenxin.
This time, their attack on the Sword Grave was led by the three divine sons, but Xia Wenxin was in command, overseeing the overall situation.
Xia Wenxin's eyes were calm as he said indifferently, "Wait and see."
On the surface, their victory seemed all but certain, but he had a faint feeling that things might not be so simple.
However, no matter what peculiarities the Sword Grave held, they had to rescue the Nether King this time.
Outside the Cold Volcano, Bao Lie stood up, holding a golden war spear, his body radiating intense battle intent.
"Little junior brother, the Undying Blood Clan has already breached the Sword Grave. It's time for you to come out of seclusion," Bao Lie said, his deep voice clearly penetrating into the Cold Volcano.
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen's figure appeared, and he sighed, "They came faster than expected. If I had a little more time, I might have been able to master the Soul Return to Nothingness."
Though unwilling, with the situation critical, he had no choice but to end his seclusion early.
A gleam of light flashed in Bao Lie's eyes. "Little junior brother, I'll go deal with a formidable opponent. Take care of yourself."
"Also, Luo Yi has disappeared."
"Hmm? Luo Yi is gone?" Zhang Ruochen's expression shifted slightly.
As he had suspected, Luo Yi was indeed problematic. His disappearance at this moment was concerning, raising fears that he might have some larger scheme in mind.
Luo Yi had better not play any tricks, or Zhang Ruochen would make him regret it.
Watching Bao Lie leave, Zhang Ruochen summoned everyone who had been in seclusion in the Cold Volcano. The great battle had already begun, and they could no longer continue their cultivation here.
Only the Abyssal Ancient Sword remained in the Cold Volcano, as the refinement of its Dao body had reached a critical stage and could not be interrupted.
If interrupted, the four ultimate materials—the King-grade Sacred Jade Essence, the Heavenly Dao Blood Stone, the Rootless Heavenly Crane Flower, and the Void Universe Tears—would be wasted.
For instance, the Heavenly Dao Blood Stone was extremely rare, almost exclusively found by Great Saints, and its value was immeasurable.
If these materials were ruined, he could not guarantee that he could gather them again in the short term.
From a distance, he could already feel the terrifying killing intent and saw the thick blood clouds hanging in the sky, oppressive to the extreme.
A bloody battle was inevitable, and no one knew how many would die in this conflict.
"Follow me to meet the enemy, block the Undying Blood Clan army, and defend the Sword Grave!" Zhang Ruochen roared, his powerful aura bursting forth.
A phantom of a Luan bird appeared beneath one of his feet, and a phantom of a phoenix beneath the other. He soared into the air, charging forward as the vanguard.
Seeing this, everyone followed without hesitation, including Ji Fanxin.
She was still waiting for Zhang Ruochen to take her to collect the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree trunk. At a time like this, she naturally had to stand with Zhang Ruochen and show her sincerity.
At that moment, the Prison Suppressing Ancient Clan was being overwhelmed by the Undying Blood Clan army. Though the battle had not lasted long, they had already suffered heavy casualties and were being pushed back step by step.
Seeing the Undying Blood Clan army slaughtering wantonly and drinking the blood of the Prison Suppressing Ancient Clan cultivators, Zhang Ruochen was filled with rage.
Before even reaching the battlefield, he formed hand seals with both hands and unleashed the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
"Dragon-Elephant Piercing the Heavens."
Countless dragon and elephant phantoms flew out, attacking the Undying Blood Clan army.
"Boom!"
The bodies of a large number of Undying Blood Clan warriors exploded. No matter how strong their vitality, they could not survive that palm strike.
In an instant, Zhang Ruochen appeared on the battlefield. A dragon phantom coiled around one arm, and an elephant phantom around the other, as he struck out palm after palm.
"Bang! Bang!"
With every palm strike, many Undying Blood Clan warriors were torn apart. Almost no one could withstand a single palm from Zhang Ruochen and survive.
Zhang Ruochen pushed forward like this, slaughtering a vast swath, leaving behind a field of bloody bones and remains.
He never showed mercy to the Undying Blood Clan.
"Zhang Ruochen, don't get too cocky!"
The Martial Realm Imperial Son roared, charging in from a distance to block Zhang Ruochen's path.
His body radiated an extremely sharp aura, and his eyes were filled with intense killing intent. He was clearly still bitter about his previous defeat at Zhang Ruochen's hands.
As the descendant of a Great Saint, he had never suffered such a humiliating defeat since he began his cultivation—especially at the hands of someone with a much lower cultivation level. It was a disgrace beyond measure.
Only by killing Zhang Ruochen and bathing in his blood could he wash away this shame.
Soon after, the Long-Faced Imperial Daughter and the Cloud Imperial Son also arrived. Both had traces of blood at the corners of their mouths, not from injury, but from having drunk the blood of many Prison Suppressing Ancient Clan cultivators.
In their eyes, the Prison Suppressing Ancient Clan cultivators were nothing but food. The more blood they drank, the stronger their cultivation and power would become.
The Martial Realm Imperial Son had drunk a large amount of blood on the battlefield, allowing his cultivation to rapidly break through from the Eight-Step Saint King realm to the Dao Domain realm.
"Human blood is truly delicious. If I absorb a bit more, my cultivation will reach the peak of the Dao Domain," the Long-Faced Imperial Daughter said with a cold laugh.
The Cloud Imperial Son snorted, "This time, I will definitely break through to the Heaven-Connecting realm. Zhang Ruochen, I look forward to tasting your blood."
Facing the three imperial sons and daughters of the Undying Blood Clan, Zhang Ruochen showed no fear. He said coldly, "You've come to my home ground and still think you can leave alive?"
"Arrogant! I'll kill you myself!"
The Martial Realm Imperial Son's eyes blazed with cold light as he released an extremely thick blood aura.
Though arrogant, he had become noticeably more cautious this time. As soon as he made his move, he condensed a Gate of Destiny.
He knew that Zhang Ruochen's understanding of the Way of Truth was profound, allowing him to unleash several times his normal combat power, enough to threaten him.
Only by using the Gate of Destiny could he suppress Zhang Ruochen's Way of Truth.
"Gate of Destiny? Do you think the same trick will work on me?" Zhang Ruochen sneered.
As he spoke, he struck out forcefully, using the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm to attack the Martial Realm Imperial Son's chest.
"Try it and see. Fate will inevitably overcome Truth," the Martial Realm Imperial Son said with utmost confidence.
Last time, he had been too careless and suffered a loss at Zhang Ruochen's hands.
This time, he would not make the same mistake.
A mass of blood light condensed, and the Martial Realm Imperial Son punched out, unleashing a terrifying fist force. Overwhelming fist wind swept toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Bang!"
The Martial Realm Imperial Son's figure shot backward rapidly. The Gate of Destiny behind him trembled, nearly collapsing.
"How can this be..."
Incredulity flashed in the Martial Realm Imperial Son's eyes.
He had just activated the Gate of Destiny with all his strength to suppress Zhang Ruochen's power, but the effect was clearly poor, far from what he had expected.
"Has your cultivation broken through?" the Martial Realm Imperial Son finally realized.
In just a few days, Zhang Ruochen had gone from the Eight-Step Saint King to the Nine-Step Saint King. What terrifying cultivation speed was this?
What was even more unacceptable was that even with this breakthrough, Zhang Ruochen had only reached the Rule Small World realm, while he was at the Dao Domain realm. There were still two minor realms between them, yet he was no match for Zhang Ruochen.
"Attack together," the Cloud Imperial Son said, signaling the Long-Faced Imperial Daughter to join in.
The Long-Faced Imperial Daughter said nothing and struck out decisively, unleashing a blood seal.
The blood seal was an Eight-Yao Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact. She had already activated its full power, aiming to severely injure or even kill Zhang Ruochen with a single blow.
Meanwhile, the Cloud Imperial Son used a secret technique. Silver secret patterns bloomed with dazzling light on his forehead, as if they would dye the entire Sword Grave silver.
The silver secret patterns extended, turning into countless threads that coiled toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Since you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish." Zhang Ruochen's eyes turned icy cold, and a fierce killing intent burst forth from him.
He executed the Luo Water Fist Art. A river faintly appeared, spanning the void, like a heavenly river falling into the mortal world.
"Bang!"
The blood seal was blocked and then sent flying.
The threads formed by the silver secret patterns were also entangled by the river and shattered, never getting close to Zhang Ruochen.
Both the Long-Faced Imperial Daughter and the Cloud Imperial Son let out muffled groans, clearly having suffered some losses.
"How did he become so strong?" Neither of them could calm down.
Their cultivations were both two minor realms higher than Zhang Ruochen's, and they both possessed Great Saint bloodlines. Even working together, they could not defeat Zhang Ruochen.
If Zhang Ruochen had used time and space techniques, that would be one thing. But he had used nothing of the sort, relying solely on his own power to overpower them.
Zhang Ruochen did not stop. He struck out with another palm, unleashing Purifying Divine Flame at the minister-level power level. It swept toward the Undying Blood Clan army with overwhelming force.
With his own cultivation breakthrough, the power of the Purifying Divine Flame had naturally increased dramatically, possessing the might to burn the seas and boil the oceans.
Under the burning of the Purifying Divine Flame, the earth quickly melted, turning into boiling, sticky magma.
"Ah!"
Screams rose one after another as many Undying Blood Clan warriors fell into the magma.
"Whoosh!"
Very abruptly, Zhang Ruochen appeared above the Martial Realm Imperial Son and struck down with a palm.
The Martial Realm Imperial Son sensed it instantly and raised his chains to block, fusing a large number of sacred dao rules into them to form nine layers of whirlpools.
"Boom!"
Taking Zhang Ruochen's palm strike, the nine layers of whirlpools immediately collapsed, and a vast cold energy spread in all directions.
Then, Zhang Ruochen's palm struck the Martial Realm Imperial Son's head, smashing him into the magma.
The force of this palm was considerable. Even though the Martial Realm Imperial Son's physical body was extremely strong, his skull cracked open, nearly spilling his brain matter.
Last time, Zhang Ruochen had wanted to kill the Martial Realm Imperial Son but was stopped by Xia Wenxin.
This time, he wanted to see who could save the Martial Realm Imperial Son from his hands.
Seeing the Martial Realm Imperial Son at a disadvantage, the Cloud Imperial Son and the Long-Faced Imperial Daughter both wanted to help. They flapped their silver wings, displaying incredible speed, and attacked from left and right.
"Seven Orifices Blood Nether Palm."
Zhang Ruochen roared, suddenly opening the fourteen acupoints on his hands and striking out to both sides simultaneously.
A torrent of blood energy surged from his body, forming an unmatched palm force.
Vaguely, an extremely tall blood shadow appeared behind him, like an invincible emperor pressing down on the world.
The Seven Orifices Blood Nether Palm was a supreme technique created by the Nether King. It was profound and powerful. Having cultivated it to his current level, Zhang Ruochen had finally truly grasped its essence.
At this moment, he seemed to transform into the Nether King, standing tall between heaven and earth, ready to turn the mortal world into hell.
Using a supreme technique created by the Undying Blood Clan to fight against the Undying Blood Clan—this was truly fascinating.