Chapter 2109: The Court Sends People
The Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror shook violently, countless intricate demonic patterns emerging on its surface as it released an even stronger suction force, greedily devouring the vast ocean of divine blood energy.
Zhang Ruochen showed a hint of surprise. He had intended to retrieve the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, but had not expected this situation to occur.
He could sense that the artifact spirit of the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror had awakened on its own, driven by an insatiable craving for divine blood energy.
With a thought, Zhang Ruochen roughly guessed that the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror wanted to devour the divine blood energy to repair the damage it had sustained.
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Ruochen put away the God-Defying Stele and turned his attention back to the Divine Envoy Wooden Staff.
The collision of the spiritual wills of three deities, though occurring inside the Divine Envoy Wooden Staff, had still caused significant effects on the outside world.
Centered on the Divine Envoy Wooden Staff, a terrifying spiritual storm had formed within a radius of a hundred zhang. Even a Great Saint caught within it would have their spiritual will ground to pieces.
Dragon Fiend Emperor had already retreated far enough with Zhang Ruochen to avoid being affected. Its eyes were filled with wariness; it had narrowly escaped total annihilation.
On the other side, the shattered body of Sword Emperor had re-coalesced, appearing unharmed, but his aura was noticeably weaker.
Unlike ordinary beings, Sword Emperor's foundation was the remnant sword intent of a Sword God from the Middle Ages. He had condensed various energies to forge his body, which could gather and disperse at will, similar to Dragon Fiend Emperor and not much different from a Great Saint's physical form.
As long as the core sword intent was not destroyed, Sword Emperor could re-form his body, though it would need to be tempered anew to regain its former strength.
Clearly, Sword Emperor had suffered severe damage; otherwise, he would not have waited so long to re-form his body.
In contrast, Stone Emperor was in much better shape. His Xuanhuang Stone Body had greatly weakened both the divine blood energy and the spiritual will attacks.
Now, Stone Emperor and Sword Emperor also turned their gazes to the Divine Envoy Wooden Staff, their expressions somewhat solemn.
After half an hour of tense observation, the Divine Envoy Wooden Staff finally calmed down, and the spiritual storm subsided.
Zhang Ruochen did not approach recklessly. Instead, he first released a strand of spiritual power to probe into the Divine Envoy Wooden Staff.
"Hmm? The spiritual will of the Hell Realm deity was not erased but has merged into the Divine Envoy Wooden Staff," Zhang Ruochen said, his expression shifting slightly.
He reached out and drew the Divine Envoy Wooden Staff to him, grasping it in his hand.
He could clearly sense that the Divine Envoy Wooden Staff had changed, now exuding a faint, sinister aura.
The spiritual will of this Hell Realm deity was simply too powerful. The spiritual wills left by Moon God and Tree God in the staff could only counterbalance it, mutually canceling out and leaving behind the most fundamental forces, which then fused together.
Still, for Zhang Ruochen, this was the best possible outcome, at least resolving a major problem.
The current Divine Envoy Wooden Staff contained immense spiritual power, but it was filled with malevolence. On the staff's surface, a faint, blurry demon god imprint appeared, as if it possessed life. Any spiritual power that approached would be devoured.
As the master of the Divine Envoy Wooden Staff, Zhang Ruochen had several strands of his probing spiritual power devoured in succession, unable to accurately ascertain the staff's internal condition.
After scrutinizing the Divine Envoy Wooden Staff for a moment, Zhang Ruochen's mind stirred, and he murmured, "If I were to refine the true form of the Ancestral Mother into the Divine Envoy Wooden Staff, it might become a powerful spiritual sacred artifact."
Spiritual sacred artifacts were extremely rare, and high-grade ones were even more precious. Despite slaying many powerful beings, Zhang Ruochen had obtained few high-grade spiritual sacred artifacts, and only the Golden Flame Thunder Pearl was usable.
With Zhang Ruochen's formidable spiritual power, if he possessed a top-tier spiritual sacred artifact, he might be able to annihilate top-tier Saint King realm experts using only his spiritual power.
"Not good. The power Ancestral Mother just released was too strong, triggering the incomplete divine formation in the Dragon God Temple."
Just as Zhang Ruochen was pondering, Stone Emperor suddenly spoke gravely.
Zhang Ruochen immediately reacted. Turning his gaze, he saw that the main structure of the Dragon God Temple not far away was showing signs of activity. A faint divine light burst forth, and a terrifying aura spread out.
Countless intricate formation patterns emerged from the ground, spreading in all directions.
The divine formation was immensely powerful. Even the divine battles of the past had only damaged it, not completely destroyed it.
After lying dormant for a hundred thousand years, the impact of the Hell Realm deity's power had finally reactivated the divine formation.
Dragon Fiend Emperor said urgently, "Master, with the divine formation awakening, Dragon Island will inevitably undergo a great upheaval. It may annihilate everything. We must leave immediately."
Even an incomplete divine formation possessed enough power to kill most Great Saint realm experts and even trouble deities.
"The Kunlun Realm has become a merit battlefield. For now, Great Saint realm experts are not allowed to appear. If you go out like this, the Hell Realm's patrol envoys will likely immediately descend with divine punishment and kill you. So, you can only hide," Zhang Ruochen said sternly.
The escaped Hell Realm experts had likely already spread the news of Great Saint realm beings on Dragon Island. The Hell Realm's patrol envoys would certainly be watching closely.
Fortunately, Dragon Island was isolated from the world, and even the power of deities could not penetrate it, allowing Stone Emperor and the others to remain safe.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Space-Time Secret Scripture, intending to store Stone Emperor and the others inside, but then stopped and instead tried to open the Qiankun Realm.
He was worried about detection by Hell Realm deities. Even the Space-Time Secret Scripture might not be safe.
Perhaps because Zhang Ruochen's mastery of the Way of Space had greatly improved, and Dragon Island was currently unstable, he succeeded in opening the Qiankun Realm.
Dragon Fiend Emperor was the most eager, entering the Qiankun Realm first.
Stone Emperor turned to look at Sword Emperor and said, "Sword Emperor, let's go. Staying on Dragon Island, it will be hard for us to make further breakthroughs. The vast worlds of Hell and Heavenly Court are where we can soar to the nine heavens."
Hearing this, Sword Emperor said nothing. He only gazed deeply at the main structure of the Dragon God Temple for a moment, a hint of reluctance in his eyes. After all, this was where he had been born.
Then, Sword Emperor moved, stepping with Stone Emperor into the spatial gate Zhang Ruochen had temporarily constructed, leaving their homeland behind, uncertain when they would return.
Zhang Ruochen immediately sealed the spatial gate and retrieved the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, which had devoured a large amount of divine blood energy. Without any hesitation, he performed a spatial displacement, speeding toward the island's edge at the fastest possible pace. He had no intention of remaining on Dragon Island.
As for Ao Xinyan and the others, they had already left Dragon Island ahead of him, so there was no need to worry about them.
As time passed, more and more divine formation patterns emerged from the ground, spreading rapidly, filling Zhang Ruochen with a strong sense of urgency.
Finally, Zhang Ruochen reached the edge of Dragon Island. Before him, dense formation patterns interwove into a net, and the divine formation was nearly complete.
A gleam of light flashed in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. He merged his body with space, turning into a streak of light that flashed through the gaps between the divine formation patterns.
"Rumble."
In the sea area around Dragon Island, violent energy fluctuations erupted, emitting billions of divine lights, as if some extraordinary divine object had appeared.
But in just a moment, the divine light converged, and all energy fluctuations vanished. Only the waves on the sea surface continued to churn, taking a long time to calm.
Zhang Ruochen stood on the sea surface ten thousand miles away, gazing into the distance, but could no longer see Dragon Island.
The incomplete divine formation had been activated, sealing Dragon Island once more, isolating it from the world.
Thus, perhaps only a Hell Realm deity in person could reopen Dragon Island.
"The divine formation has sealed Dragon Island. I hope it will make the various factions of Hell and Heavenly Court give up on seizing the World Gate Key," Zhang Ruochen murmured.
But he also had some concerns. After all, the Darkness Temple had previously calculated that the World Gate Key would appear on Dragon Island. Could they also calculate that the World Gate Key was no longer there?
Of course, with his current strength, as long as Hell Realm did not send experts above the Great Saint level, he was confident he could protect the World Gate Key.
At this moment, many cultivators still remained in the sea area near Dragon Island, both from Hell Realm and Heavenly Court. Most were unwilling to give up on the World Gate Key.
Although they had all been driven away, no one believed Zhang Ruochen would remain stationed on Dragon Island forever. As for the Great Saint realm monsters on the island, there were ways to deal with them.
But now, the experts from all sides couldn't help but widen their eyes, completely taken aback that Dragon Island had been resealed, and the new seal was a hundred times stronger than before.
"What did Zhang Ruochen do? How was a divine formation activated? Damn it!" The Hell Realm experts were all furious.
The Seven Absolute Kill Gods of the Nether Hall and the Three Emperors and Five Venerables of the Bone Clan gathered together, watching helplessly as Dragon Island was sealed by the divine formation. The atmosphere was heavy to the point of suffocation.
Xuanming Wushang's face was dark as he said, "With the divine formation in place, we can no longer enter Dragon Island. Just one Zhang Ruochen has made us Hell Realm suffer such a loss. We cannot let him go."
"Indeed, Zhang Ruochen must die," Shi Ling Emperor said coldly.
The five surviving Bone Clan Venerables, including the Eight-Armed Venerable, needed no further urging. Each harbored a deep hatred for Zhang Ruochen, wishing they could grind his bones to dust.
Just as Xuanming Wushang and the others were about to act, a divine thought swept over, delivering a message ordering them to retreat immediately.
The reason was simple: the World Gate Key was in the Yin-Yang Sea, and this was no longer a secret. All sides were moving in response. To stay any longer risked even greater upheaval.
"Let Zhang Ruochen live a little longer. When I truly enter the Kunlun Realm merit battlefield, I will come to kill him."
Though Xuanming Wushang and the others were extremely unwilling, they dared not defy the deity's command and quickly withdrew.
In another sea area, four massive warships were hidden within the mist, belonging to the Thousand Star Civilization, Giant Spirit Civilization, Big Dipper Civilization, and the Heavenly Dragon Realm.
"Zhang Ruochen is indeed formidable. He actually managed to activate a divine formation, cutting off everyone's hopes at the root," Giant Spirit King said, narrowing his eyes.
Nether Tiger True Lord sighed, "Who would have thought that Zhang Ruochen, by himself, could sweep through Dragon Island? He is the biggest winner. I wonder if he obtained the World Gate Key."
Hearing this, the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden's mind stirred. She had once told Zhang Ruochen that the short, thin old man might know the location of the World Gate Key. But given the old man's slipperiness and the many events that followed, had Zhang Ruochen managed to capture him?
"Perhaps letting the World Gate Key remain sealed on Dragon Island is the best outcome," the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden thought to herself.
Ao Xukong laughed, "As long as Hell Realm didn't gain the advantage, that's a good thing. Now that Dragon Island is resealed, staying here any longer is meaningless. Everyone, let's go."
Hearing this, many experts couldn't help but smile bitterly. None of them had anticipated this outcome.
Seeing the Heavenly Dragon Realm's warship set sail, the Thousand Star Civilization, Giant Spirit Civilization, and Big Dipper Civilization also stopped lingering, urging their warships into the distance.
Sensing that the hidden experts from all sides were quietly retreating, Zhang Ruochen also moved, heading toward the sea area where Silver Dragon Island was located.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen stopped, his gaze fixed on the misty sea ahead.
Even with the mist blocking his view, he could clearly see a small boat slowly sailing toward him from a thousand miles away.
On the green boat stood two figures, a man and a woman.
The woman appeared very young, with a celestial beauty that could topple kingdoms. She wore white robes, her black hair cascading like a waterfall, her delicate body soft and slender. Her eyes were bright and deep, exuding a sacred radiance, filled with an ethereal aura. Her demeanor was refined and quiet, giving the impression of a divine maiden descending from the nine heavens, untouched by worldly dust.
Zhang Ruochen was very familiar with this stunning beauty. She was the Sacred Book Talent of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden—Nalan Danqing.
Looking at the Sacred Book Talent, Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up. He could clearly sense her transformation. The mysterious Confucian Dao aura within her seemed to contain thousands of years of knowledge and cultivation—elegant, natural, and unfathomably deep. Had the Confucian Ancestor's Sacred Book merged with her?
With the Sacred Book Talent's current Confucian Dao cultivation, even Shangguan Que might not be able to surpass her.
As for the man, black mist swirled around him, obscuring his features, but his blood-red robe was particularly striking.
"The Night North Kill Exhaust King, the Night Black Kill Exhaust Man." Zhang Ruochen's gaze locked onto the blood-robed man.
Through the blood robe, he identified the man's identity. He was the number one killing god of the Ministry of War—the Kill Exhaust King.
Zhang Ruochen's impression of this blood robe was too deep. Back in the Yin-Yang Sea, just one glance at the Kill Exhaust King's blood robe had sent chills down his spine.
He still remembered how Bu Qianfan, Wan Huayu, and others had shown intense fear when they saw the Kill Exhaust King.
In a single night, he had massacred nineteen commanderies in the Southern Region, leaving no survivors. Just thinking about it was terrifying.
In the hearts of the billions of beings in the Kunlun Realm, the Kill Exhaust King was the embodiment of fear, a powerful deterrent ensuring the court's long-term stability.
In terms of the number of lives taken, no one in the entire Kunlun Realm could compare to the Kill Exhaust King.
Among the people Zhang Ruochen had met, no one had a stronger killing aura than the Kill Exhaust King.
Engaging him in battle, if one's spiritual will was not strong enough, they would easily be affected, allowing fear to take over their heart.
Before the Kunlun Realm's revival, the Kill Exhaust King was already a top-tier Saint King realm expert. Now, he was even more unfathomable, having slaughtered countless Shura Clan experts in the Southern Region.
Gazing at the Sacred Book Talent and the Kill Exhaust King, Zhang Ruochen's mind stirred, and he already guessed the purpose of their visit to the Yin-Yang Sea.
"Whoosh."
Suddenly, the Kill Exhaust King leaped off the small boat, gathering terrifying killing intent, and threw a punch directly at Zhang Ruochen.
A fearsome fist imprint, brimming with killing intent, appeared, faintly carrying the mournful cries of countless beings. Though it was a fist technique, it also carried an attack on the spiritual will.
Seeing the Kill Exhaust King make his move, Zhang Ruochen let out a heavy snort and threw a punch in return.
A divine shadow and a ghostly shadow appeared simultaneously, walking side by side. The sea surface trembled, sending up waves ten thousand zhang high.
Having refined a top-tier water-type divine object, and being on the Yin-Yang Sea, Zhang Ruochen's Luo Water Fist Art was undoubtedly doubled in power.
"Boom."
The fist imprint thrown by the Kill Exhaust King was instantly annihilated.
The ghostly and divine shadows continued to tread the waves, charging down at the Kill Exhaust King from above.
"Clang."
The Kill Exhaust King did not move. He reached back and drew the sacred blade strapped to his back.
The sacred blade was incredibly sharp, its blade blood-red, its killing intent overwhelming. It had been stained with countless amounts of blood.
This blade had an extraordinary origin. When the Kill Exhaust King massacred the nineteen commanderies of the Southern Region, a strange phenomenon occurred in the sky. Blood-red lightning pierced heaven and earth, splitting open an ancient tomb underground. The sacred blade flew out from the tomb and voluntarily acknowledged the Kill Exhaust King as its master.
Legend had it that the blood-red sacred blade belonged to a top-tier Great Saint from tens of thousands of years ago who had slaughtered countless beings. Known as the "Human Butcher," he had killed billions in his lifetime. The blood-red sacred blade was forged from endless blood and killing intent, and ordinary people could not control it.
Although the blood-red sacred blade was only a monarch-level war weapon, its offensive power was not much weaker than an ordinary supreme sacred artifact.
In the hands of the Kill Exhaust King, it could unleash even greater power than an ordinary supreme sacred artifact.
The Kill Exhaust King held the blood-red sacred blade and struck out like lightning.
A ten-thousand-zhang-long blade light slashed out, indestructible, cutting through the giant waves and shattering the ghostly and divine shadows.
In response, the ten-thousand-zhang blade light also shattered inch by inch, worn down by the soft fist intent of the Luo Water Fist Art.
Zhang Ruochen looked deeply at the Kill Exhaust King and thought to himself, "It seems the Kill Exhaust King has indeed inherited the legacy of that Human Butcher. Using the slaughter blade technique, with man and blade as one, his combat power is quite astonishing, almost on par with the Bone Clan's Venerables."
Walking the path of slaughter, the more one killed, the stronger one became.
The Kunlun Realm becoming a merit battlefield had benefited the Kill Exhaust King.
With a rapid shift in thought, Zhang Ruochen instantly changed his fist technique, mobilizing water dao rules and fist dao rules to stir up even more turbulent waves on the sea surface, condensing them into a giant sword that slashed down from the sky.
The Kill Exhaust King quickly changed his blade technique, slashing upward from below, trying to block the giant sword formed from water.
"Rumble."
Before the giant sword even descended, the sea surface had already split open, forming a thousand-mile-long chasm.
The blade light the Kill Exhaust King slashed out shattered directly. The giant sword continued to descend, unstoppable.
"Roar."
The Kill Exhaust King let out a long howl, raising the blood-red sacred blade high above his head.
At this moment, the Kill Exhaust King unleashed his restraints, releasing his killing intent without reservation, dyeing the entire sky and earth blood-red. He became the protagonist of this domain, with billions of corpses at his feet.
But as the giant sword descended, the terrifying vision formed by the killing intent collapsed with a bang.
Though the Kill Exhaust King resisted with all his might, his body kept sinking, completely submerged into the seawater chasm.
"Spare him."
Just as the Kill Exhaust King was about to be overwhelmed, the Sacred Book Talent's voice suddenly rang out.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the Sacred Book Talent, then withdrew his fist intent, allowing the giant sword to dissipate on its own.
"Boom."
The Kill Exhaust King broke through the water, rising into the air, and returned to the small boat.
Seeing this, the Sacred Book Talent breathed a sigh of relief, steering the small boat quickly toward Zhang Ruochen.
"I didn't expect your strength to have reached such a level. It seems the Dark Son was indeed defeated by you," the Kill Exhaust King said solemnly.
Clearly, he had heard about what happened on Dragon Island and had made a move to test Zhang Ruochen's true strength.
Zhang Ruochen said coldly, "I suggest you never make a move against me again. Otherwise, no matter who you are, I will not show mercy."
He had no interest in dealing with tests. Anyone who attacked him was an enemy, and he never showed leniency to enemies.
Sensing that Zhang Ruochen was somewhat angry, the Sacred Book Talent quickly said, "Zhang Ruochen, don't be angry. The Kill Exhaust King meant no harm."
After a pause, the Sacred Book Talent continued, "The court learned of Hell Realm's scheme and immediately sent the Kill Exhaust King and me here, but unfortunately, we were too late."
"This time, Hell Realm deployed the Dark Son, the Seven Absolute Kill Gods of the Nether Hall, and the Three Emperors and Twelve Venerables of the Bone Clan, along with tens of thousands of Saint King troops. The court only sent the two of you. Early or late, it makes no difference," Zhang Ruochen said.
The Sacred Book Talent sighed, "Facing Hell Realm's frenzied assault, the court's forces are already stretched thin. We simply couldn't spare too many experts to send to the Yin-Yang Sea."
"The Kunlun Realm has only recently revived, which has greatly increased the number of Saints and Saint Kings. But top-tier experts are still scarce, and even fewer are willing to follow the court's orders. Without the Blood Drop Lord, the court's situation would be even more dire."
The court's power was indeed formidable, but compared to Hell Realm, it was nothing. That it had held out this long was already remarkable.
If not for the great importance placed on the World Gate Key, the court would not have specifically recalled the Kill Exhaust King from the Southern Region merit battlefield and sent him to the Yin-Yang Sea.
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This chapter is nearly six thousand words, equivalent to two chapters. Pretty generous, right! So, Little Fish wants to promote the new book "The Legend of the Heavenly Emperor," hehe, hope you all can support it.
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