Chapter 2024: Defeating the Enemy with One Move
Seeing that Mu Lingxi and Yinsu Saint King were about to go to war, the demonic cultivators gathered together and simultaneously restrained their demonic qi.
Threads of golden sunlight pierced through the black clouds, spilling down from beyond the sky like Buddha's light shining everywhere, causing the black clouds that had shrouded the Blood God Sect to rapidly dissipate.
All the demonic cultivators fell into silence. The atmosphere was exceptionally oppressive. Facing Zhang Ruochen, they could no longer muster the will to resist, leaving only despair.
Zhang Ruochen stepped across the Heavenly River, walking step by step to the front of Infant Lord Peak, then appearing on the wide plaza outside the Return Origin Divine Palace.
"Greetings, Sect Leader."
Led by the five Saint Kings—Sun Dadi, Elder Yuanxing, Hai Lingyin, Tianji Dharma King, and Jie Wuji—the saints of the Blood God Sect all bowed to Zhang Ruochen.
As for the disciples below the Saint realm, they all knelt down.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "Rise."
"Thank you, Sect Leader."
The saints of the Blood God Sect immediately straightened their bodies, and the non-Saint disciples also stood up.
At this moment, everyone in the Blood God Sect turned their gaze to Zhang Ruochen, their eyes burning with reverence, awe, and excitement.
At the moment when they were nearly in despair, Zhang Ruochen stepped back on the Heavenly River, suppressing the demons. In their eyes, Zhang Ruochen was like a god descending to earth, turning the tide and restoring their hope.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze swept across everyone on the plaza, and he said in a clear voice, "Although the Blood God Sect has suffered a great calamity, with you here, the sect will surely regain its former glory."
Then, Zhang Ruochen waved his hand, releasing the four Dharma Kings, including Haiming, and said, "Elder Yuanxing, how should those who betray the Blood God Sect be dealt with?"
Elder Yuanxing glanced at the four Dharma Kings, a terrifying killing intent flashing in his eyes. His voice became extremely low as he said, "Reporting to the Sect Leader, traitors to the sect are to be killed without mercy."
Hearing this, the four Dharma Kings were immediately terrified and quickly begged for mercy, "Sect Leader, spare our lives! Give us another chance!"
"Since you dared to betray the sect, you should have known the consequences. Making the wrong choice means you have to pay the price," Zhang Ruochen said coldly.
He never showed leniency to traitors.
"Sect Leader..."
The four Dharma Kings wanted to say more, but they had no chance.
Zhang Ruochen casually struck out with a palm, and the bodies of the four Dharma Kings exploded into four clouds of blood mist, leaving only four Saint Sources intact.
When he was in Star Luo City, he hadn't killed them because he wanted to execute them in front of all the Blood God Sect disciples, making it clear to everyone that anyone who dared to betray the sect would face death, no matter who they were.
Seeing this, the group of traitors led by the Palace Lord of the Shang Heavenly Palace turned pale instantly. Some even collapsed to the ground, fainting from fear.
If even the four Dharma Kings were dead, did they still have any hope of surviving?
"Shua."
Zhang Ruochen suddenly turned around, looking at the traitors who had surrendered to the Black Demon Realm, a terrifying cold light flashing in his eyes.
He not only hated their betrayal but also hated that they had helped the Black Demon Realm slaughter the disciples of the Blood God Sect. This was absolutely unforgivable.
"Spare..."
Before the Palace Lord of the Shang Heavenly Palace could finish speaking, an invisible spatial fluctuation spread out, and his body shattered into pieces.
Then, the other traitors followed the same fate, without any power to resist.
Zhang Ruochen waved his hand, collecting more than ten Saint Sources.
Currently, the Blood God Sect had over two hundred and eighty Half-Saints, thanks to the revival of the Kunlun Realm.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Ruochen took out over two hundred and sixty Saint Sources, including those obtained from killing the traitors, and distributed them to the over two hundred and eighty Half-Saints.
After a series of battles, Zhang Ruochen had obtained a large number of Saint Sources, even having a pile of Nine-Step Saint King Saint Sources.
Unfortunately, the Blood God Sect had too few Half-Saints; otherwise, he could have cultivated a large number of Saints.
Receiving the Saint Sources, all the Half-Saint disciples were extremely excited. "Thank you, Sect Leader, for the reward."
"This is what you deserve," Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
Betrayal must be punished, and loyalty to the Blood God Sect naturally deserves reward.
Once these over two hundred and eighty Half-Saints broke through to become Saints, the Blood God Sect's strength would greatly increase, preventing it from falling into decline due to this calamity.
Turning his gaze, Zhang Ruochen looked at Mu Lingxi and Yinsu Saint King.
In the short time he had dealt with the traitors, the auras of both Mu Lingxi and Yinsu Saint King had already reached their peak.
Behind Yinsu Saint King, black clouds surged, and yin qi spread, covering an area of several hundred li. A thousand-zhang-long ferocious bird perched within the black clouds, its body burning with dark brown flames that emitted no heat but were instead bone-chillingly cold.
"Gu."
The black ferocious bird let out an extremely sharp cry, and invisible sound waves spread in all directions.
Zhang Ruochen unfolded his Space Domain, covering the entire Infant Lord Peak, so that the Blood God Sect members were unaffected.
However, the demonic cultivators were not so lucky.
"Ah."
Some demonic cultivators with weaker cultivation let out painful screams and fell straight from midair.
The cry of the black ferocious bird was extremely terrifying, capable of seizing souls and attacking the Saint Soul directly, something ordinary people could not withstand.
"What kind of ferocious bird is that? How can it be so terrifying?"
He Yuan asked in surprise.
The middle-aged man with a bloody mouth said in a deep voice, "That is the Netherworld Yin Sparrow, a ferocious bird as famous as the Phoenix Clan in ancient times. It is said to have originated in the Underworld, condensed from a vast amount of yin-sha qi, symbolizing death."
"Originally, the Netherworld Yin Sparrow clan lived in the Kunlun Realm but later moved entirely to the Black Demon Realm. Yinsu possesses the bloodline of the Netherworld Yin Sparrow and has successfully awakened it, making her not much weaker than a true Netherworld Yin Sparrow."
"Moreover, Yinsu cultivates the Heavenly Demon Netherworld Diagram, which perfectly matches the Netherworld Yin Sparrow bloodline. Even a true Netherworld Yin Sparrow might not be her match in a battle of the same level."
Hearing this, He Yuan and the other demonic cultivators were shocked, clearly not expecting Yinsu Saint King to possess such a terrifying ferocious bird bloodline.
"It seems Yinsu Saint King has a chance to survive. Sigh." He Yuan sighed, his eyes full of envy.
Unfortunately, this opportunity did not belong to him.
He could only say that he did not have the same boldness as Yinsu Saint King to challenge Zhang Ruochen, so naturally, he could not obtain such an opportunity.
Yinsu Saint King looked coldly at Mu Lingxi and said, "I will make you understand that the Netherworld Yin Sparrow is stronger than the Phoenix. Our clan is the true overlord of the birds."
"Is that so? Then I would very much like to see it," Mu Lingxi said with a faint smile.
Behind Mu Lingxi, sacred light bloomed, and the Ice Phoenix's body became more solid, releasing a vast majesty that made all birds submit.
Countless snowflakes fell, turning into various birds that danced around the Ice Phoenix, forming a stunning phenomenon of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix, beautiful and magnificent.
Seeing Mu Lingxi's calm demeanor, Yinsu Saint King sneered and said, "You will soon know the gap between us."
With that, Yinsu Saint King formed hand seals, and the ferocious bird in the black clouds behind her opened its mouth, spitting out a stream of Netherworld Yin Fire that swept toward Mu Lingxi.
Netherworld Yin Fire could directly burn the Saint Soul and damage a cultivator's foundation. It was extremely poisonous, and once it touched the body, anyone would be in big trouble.
Mu Lingxi showed no panic. She casually waved her hand, and the Ice Phoenix behind her flapped its wings, forming a terrifying gale.
"Bang."
The Netherworld Yin Fire was instantly torn apart by the gale, turning into countless sparks that scattered in all directions.
"Boom."
Although the sparks were small, when they fell to the ground, they immediately blasted huge craters.
In an instant, the ground was covered with tens of thousands of craters of varying sizes, the smallest only a few zhang wide, the largest reaching a hundred zhang, as if struck by countless meteorites.
The demonic cultivators nearby quickly retreated, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
Zhang Ruochen had not yet killed them, and if they died from the battle between Mu Lingxi and Yinsu Saint King, it would be too unjust.
"Little Junior Brother, that woman from the Black Demon Realm has reached the peak of the Dao Domain realm. Will Sister-in-Law be okay?" Bao Lie asked in a low voice.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "Don't worry. Yinsu Saint King's cultivation is indeed higher than Lingxi's, but her strength may not necessarily surpass Lingxi's."
"Even if Lingxi can't defeat Yinsu Saint King, with me here, she won't suffer any harm."
Bao Lie shook his head and said, "I really don't understand what Sister-in-Law is thinking. Why not just wipe out these demon brats directly? Why make it so complicated?"
He didn't take any of the demonic cultivators present seriously. In his opinion, he should just slap them all to death.
"It's fine. Let Lingxi stretch her muscles," Zhang Ruochen said.
As long as it was something Mu Lingxi wanted to do, Zhang Ruochen would support her as long as there was no danger.
In the field, Yinsu Saint King continued her attack, sending over a hundred streams of Netherworld Yin Fire flying simultaneously, like dancing spirit snakes attacking from different angles, making it hard to defend.
Mu Lingxi remained very calm. She waved her hand gracefully, and a vast amount of icy power surged, gathering toward her to form a transparent ice shield.
At this moment, Mu Lingxi was like an ice goddess, controlling all the icy power in the world.
The Blood God Sect was covered in ice and snow, gathering an immense amount of icy power, making this place her absolute home ground.
"Bang."
Streams of Netherworld Yin Fire continuously struck the ice shield but could not damage it at all.
In the blink of an eye, Yinsu Saint King had launched hundreds of fierce attacks against Mu Lingxi. If it were any other Dao Domain realm expert, they would have been killed many times over.
However, no matter how fierce Yinsu Saint King's attacks were, she could not break the ice shield protecting Mu Lingxi.
The middle-aged man with the bloody mouth from the Black Demon Realm frowned. Although Yinsu Saint King seemed to have the upper hand, she couldn't even break through Mu Lingxi's defense, which was not a good sign.
"Can you only defend?"
Seeing her attacks fail repeatedly, Yinsu Saint King's face grew uglier and uglier.
Mu Lingxi's defense was too strong, giving her no opportunity to exploit, leaving her powerless.
"I just wanted to see how strong you really are. It turns out the Netherworld Yin Sparrow's methods are nothing special. I'm quite disappointed," Mu Lingxi said, shaking her head lightly.
A flash of anger appeared in Yinsu Saint King's eyes, and she shouted, "Arrogant! Daring to look down on the Netherworld Yin Sparrow, you will pay the price."
Yinsu Saint King's long hair flew up, and a vast amount of sacred qi surged from her body, combining with nearly twenty million sacred dao rules to form a powerful Dao Domain. The heaven and earth rules and power within several hundred li were drawn in, gathering around her.
With Yinsu Saint King at the center, a vast amount of yin-sha qi rapidly spread outward, as if turning the area within several hundred li into a yin land.
In the black clouds, the Netherworld Yin Sparrow grew even larger, slowly rising from the yin land, its body covered with thick, ink-like demonic qi.
"Heavenly Demon Netherworld, Fallen God Extinguish Spirit."
Yinsu Saint King let out a cold shout.
The Netherworld Yin Sparrow flew out from the yin land behind Yinsu Saint King and appeared beneath Mu Lingxi.
Dark light bloomed, instantly forming a strange, deep space that enveloped Mu Lingxi and the Ice Phoenix behind her.
This strange space seemed to be the Netherworld itself, the final destination of all souls.
The Netherworld Yin Sparrow raised its head, opened its mouth, and released a terrifying suction force.
In an instant, Mu Lingxi and the Ice Phoenix were both sucked into the Netherworld Yin Sparrow's mouth.
Seeing this, a brilliant smile appeared on Yinsu Saint King's face. No matter how strong Mu Lingxi's defense was, she couldn't withstand her "Netherworld Fallen God."
Inside the Netherworld Yin Sparrow's body was a true Netherworld yin land, where Netherworld Yin Fire burned fiercely. Any living being swallowed would inevitably suffer and die.
In the distant past, experts of the Netherworld Yin Sparrow clan had swallowed gods into their bellies and refined them.
Thus, the Netherworld Fallen God was not just an empty boast.
"Little Junior Brother, Sister-in-Law is in danger!" Bao Lie's face changed drastically, and he was about to act.
Zhang Ruochen stopped Bao Lie, shaking his head. "Wait a moment. Lingxi is not that weak."
After all, Mu Lingxi was a disciple of the Moon God and had received half of the Ice-Fire Phoenix's inheritance in the Ancestral Spirit Realm, so Zhang Ruochen had confidence in her.
"Sect Leader Zhang, the outcome is..."
Before Yinsu Saint King could finish speaking, her face suddenly changed drastically.
"Boom."
The massive body of the Netherworld Yin Sparrow exploded, and countless ice crystals burst out from within.
The Ice Phoenix reappeared, completely unharmed.
"Is this your strongest move? Since you've shown me yours, let me show you mine." Mu Lingxi said indifferently.
She quickly formed hand seals, and a vast amount of Extreme Yin Nether Ice power rapidly gathered on one wing of the Ice Phoenix.
That wing of the Ice Phoenix was like a sharp heavenly blade, swinging violently and slashing at Yinsu Saint King from a distance.
A peerless sharpness flew out, continuously gathering the icy power of heaven and earth, forming countless smaller sharpnesses that filled the sky, as if about to sweep through the entire area.
"Boom, boom, boom."
The moment the sharpness was unleashed, the continuous mountain range below split apart, cut in two.
If Zhang Ruochen hadn't used his Space Domain to protect Infant Lord Peak, even the peak would have been affected.
At this moment, Yinsu Saint King's gaze sharpened, and she felt a fatal danger.
Without hesitation, Yinsu Saint King activated her demonic art, and a Netherworld Yin Sparrow flew out from the yin land behind her.
Biting her tongue, Yinsu Saint King spat out a mouthful of essence blood, which merged with the flying Netherworld Yin Sparrow.
Instantly, the Netherworld Yin Sparrow became more lifelike, as if it had gained a soul, emitting a terrifying shriek that caused the split mountain range below to collapse.
"Block it!"
Yinsu Saint King roared.
A deep black vortex appeared in front of the Netherworld Yin Sparrow, as if it could shred everything in the world.
Anyone could sense that the black vortex was extremely terrifying. If sucked in, even a Nine-Step Saint King would find it hard to escape and would be mercilessly shredded.
"Fall back!"
All the demonic cultivators showed expressions of terror and retreated rapidly.
Both the peerless sharpness slashed by the Ice Phoenix and the black vortex formed by the Netherworld Yin Sparrow posed a fatal threat to them.
If they were caught in the collision between the two, few would survive.
Barring any surprises, this strike would decide the outcome between Mu Lingxi and Yinsu Saint King.
Under the watchful eyes of all parties, the sharpnesses formed by the Extreme Yin Nether Ice power collided with the black vortex.
The black vortex spun violently, continuously crushing the incoming sharpnesses.
However, there were too many sharpnesses formed by the Extreme Yin Nether Ice power. No matter how powerful the black vortex was, it couldn't contain them all.
"Puff, puff, puff, puff."
The black vortex was finally split open by the strongest peerless sharpness, and then the Netherworld Yin Sparrow's body was also cut in two, split in half.
The strongest peerless sharpness continued to strike Yinsu Saint King's sacred body.
"Bang."
Yinsu Saint King spat blood, her entire body flying backward and crashing heavily into the steep cliff of Infant Lord Peak.
Only then did the peerless sharpness dissipate into nothingness.
Mu Lingxi's clothes fluttered, and a faint smile appeared on her face. In a very pleasant voice, she said, "It seems I overestimated the Netherworld Yin Sparrow's bloodline. After moving to the Black Demon Realm, the bloodline of the Netherworld Yin Sparrow clan has degenerated and is no longer worthy of being an enemy of the Phoenix Clan."
With that, Mu Lingxi retracted the Ice Phoenix into her body, lightly tapped her foot, and appeared at the top of Infant Lord Peak.
Mu Lingxi gave Zhang Ruochen a playful smile and said, "Sect Leader, I have not failed your trust. Is there any reward?"
Zhang Ruochen reached out and wrapped his arm around Mu Lingxi's slender waist, smiling. "How about making you the Sect Leader's wife?"
"Great, you said it yourself. No backing out," Mu Lingxi said with a charming laugh.
Bao Lie gave a thumbs-up and said, "Sister-in-Law, impressive! Winning with one move—no wonder you're the one Little Junior Brother has his eye on."
"The Sect Leader's wife is mighty!"
Sun Dadi immediately shouted.
"The Sect Leader's wife is mighty!"
Immediately, the entire Blood God Sect followed suit.
A blush appeared on Mu Lingxi's face, as if she were a little shy, but a hint of joy flashed in her eyes, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
...
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