Chapter 2230: The Princess Is Very Angry
The sealing power of the life-and-death platform was deactivated, and the black light barriers on all four sides vanished.
Luo Sha was clearly very confident, believing that Zhang Ruochen would definitely follow. Thus, without looking back, she led her sacred servant Yao Li away from the life-and-death platform.
Luo Shengtian still stood majestically on the platform, like a stabilizing pillar, utterly motionless, his eyes locked onto Zhang Ruochen.
After regaining his freedom, Xue Butcher acted decisively, immediately retreating from the life-and-death platform.
Compared to gods who might not be seen even once in centuries, a contemporary overlord like Divine Prince Luo Shengtian inspired more fear in him. At the very least, with his current cultivation, Xue Butcher could only bow his head and act like a Great Saint in Luo Shengtian's presence.
Yi Xuan Great Saint and Gu Chenzi were experts in the Hundred Shackles Realm, slightly better off than Xue Butcher, and they remained on the life-and-death platform. Without divine pattern restrictions, with their cultivation, even if they couldn't defeat Luo Shengtian, they were confident they could escape the platform.
Xue Butcher's cultivation was too low, so he could retreat. But the two of them absolutely could not.
If they chose to step down from the life-and-death platform now, leaving Zhang Ruochen alone to face Luo Shengtian, how would other cultivators view them? How would they view the Blood Heaven Tribe?
They had to tough it out.
They had to let other cultivators know that the Blood Heaven Tribe was a solid, united front.
The auras of Luo Shengtian, Zhang Ruochen, Yi Xuan Great Saint, and Gu Chenzi intertwined, clashing fiercely, causing the black light barriers around the life-and-death platform to seem ready to rise again.
Below the platform.
Many cultivators wore smiles on their faces.
Especially those with grudges against Zhang Ruochen, who eagerly hoped he would act even more recklessly. That would surely force Luo Shengtian to kill him.
After a long stalemate, Zhang Ruochen suddenly withdrew his aura and let out a laugh: "Earlier, Divine Prince said that if I killed the six Great Saints of the Moro Clan on the life-and-death platform, you wouldn't interfere. Right?"
A strange expression flickered across Luo Shengtian's face.
Deep down, he simply didn't believe that Zhang Ruochen would truly dare to go on a killing spree.
"I'll give Divine Prince face—I won't humiliate them, I'll just... kill them."
Zhang Ruochen flicked his arm, and the six Great Saints of the Moro Clan flew up from the White Bone Whip, suspended in midair.
With his other hand, he pressed outward through the air.
A powerful spatial force crushed down on the six Great Saints of the Moro Clan, causing their bodies to crackle and pop. Then, the sacred blood within them turned into six long streams of blood, flowing into Zhang Ruochen's palm and condensing into a blood-red sphere.
The undying sacred bodies of the six Great Saints rapidly shriveled.
The blood sphere in Zhang Ruochen's hand grew larger and brighter, containing immense energy. If it fell to the ground, it could smash through the earth.
"You dare!"
Luo Shengtian's eyes flashed with divine light, and his anger condensed into a pillar of energy shooting straight into the sky.
"Bang, bang."
Zhang Ruochen put away the White Bone Whip, and the six Great Saints of the Moro Clan turned into six dried-up corpses, crashing to the ground.
"Divine Prince holds a noble status—your words must count. Don't be a man who breaks his promises."
Zhang Ruochen, holding the massive blood sphere with one hand, vanished from the life-and-death platform and reappeared beside Blood Demon, handing the sphere over to him.
The deal was done.
Yi Xuan Great Saint and Gu Chenzi, seeing that Luo Shengtian hadn't acted, breathed a long sigh of relief. They no longer dared to stay on the life-and-death platform and fled like they were escaping.
Once off the platform, Yi Xuan Great Saint realized he was drenched in cold sweat. He quickly asked Xue Butcher, "Where did Zhang Ruochen go?"
Xue Butcher was badly shaken, his gaze a bit dazed as he stared at Blood Demon's location. "Just now, he was still trading with Blood Demon. Where is he? How did he suddenly disappear?"
"Could it be that after killing them, he ran away? Leaving this mess for us?" Yi Xuan Great Saint slapped his head, feeling like he had the worst luck imaginable to be stuck with such a leader.
Gu Chenzi looked worried. "Killing six Great Saints of the Moro Clan is no small matter. It might trigger a war between the Moro Clan and the Blood Absolute Clan. Zhang Ruochen acts too extremely, without considering the consequences—this is going to cause big trouble."
Suddenly, gasps erupted around them.
"They're alive... not dead... still alive..."
Gu Chenzi, Yi Xuan Great Saint, and Xue Butcher all turned their gazes to the life-and-death platform.
They saw Divine Prince Luo Shengtian channeling evil energy, splitting it into six streams and injecting it into the six Great Saints of the Moro Clan. Slowly, the six Great Saints stood up.
Though their bodies were still shriveled and their sacred light dim, they were, after all, still alive.
Seeing this, Gu Chenzi, Yi Xuan Great Saint, and Xue Butcher all showed joy. They finally understood why Luo Shengtian hadn't acted earlier. Zhang Ruochen had only drained the sacred blood from the six Great Saints, not actually killed them.
Xue Butcher laughed. "Now do you see what kind of person Zhang Ruochen is? With a little trick, he took the sacred blood of six Great Saints and kept Divine Prince Luo Shengtian from interfering. If you think he's just reckless and foolish, you're dead wrong."
Around the life-and-death platform, many cultivators showed disappointment.
Zhang Ruochen always acted beyond their expectations, never following the rules, making him hard to predict.
They thought he wouldn't dare humiliate the six Great Saints of the Moro Clan—but he did.
They thought he would kill them—but he didn't.
...
Zhang Ruochen arrived at the bank of the Blood River, his gaze fixed on a sacred ship in the water.
The ship was a hundred zhang long, forged from white jade crystal, inlaid with various sacred stones and fine jade, radiating opulence. It had a three-story pavilion, with carved railings, golden pillars entwined with dragons, both exquisite and grand.
At the bow stood a large banner embroidered with the character "Sha."
On the ship's bow, a female Saint King of the Rakshasa Clan, clad in a red sacred robe, looked toward the shore and said with a smile, "Great Saint Ruochen, my princess has been waiting for you for some time. She invites you to tour the Present Life River together and enjoy the scenery of the Hanye City Domain."
With a wave of her sleeve, the ship's defensive light opened a gap over ten meters long.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen passed through the gap in the defensive light and appeared on the ship. He released his spiritual power to probe and asked, "Where is Luo Sha?"
The red-robed Rakshasa woman placed her hands on her waist, bowed to Zhang Ruochen, and smiled. "The princess is bathing and changing. Please wait a moment, Great Saint. Tea brought back from the Kunlun Realm has been prepared and is being warmed."
"Great Saint, this way, please."
The sacred ship was inscribed with numerous divine patterns.
Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power was blocked, and he couldn't detect Luo Sha's aura.
The red-robed Rakshasa woman, named Han Ying, was at the Nine-Step Saint King realm.
With such cultivation, she could be a regional overlord in the Kunlun Realm or the Guanghan Realm. Yet she was merely a female official beside Luo Sha, managing all the maids in the princess's residence.
On the third floor of the ship's pavilion, a red jade agate low couch was set up, the floor covered with snow-white sacred beast fur.
One by one, graceful Rakshasa sacred maids walked in an orderly manner to the third floor. Some held silver pots of fine wine, some carried fragrant sacred fruits, and others wore seductive dance attire...
Zhang Ruochen felt as if he had stepped into a den of enchantment, every one of them a bewitching female demon.
He walked to the low couch and sat cross-legged.
On the couch, a purple clay pot was warming a pot of tea.
"Gurgle, gurgle."
The tea aroma was pure and rich, turning into wisps of spiritual mist that enveloped the entire ship. Just a light sniff calmed Zhang Ruochen's anxious mind.
The ship set off, drifting downstream toward the river market district.
Sixteen sacred maids in dance attire walked up gracefully, exuding a faint fragrance, and began to dance before Zhang Ruochen.
Every one of them was a beauty picked from ten thousand, with cultivation at the Saint realm—far from ordinary, tempting to any man.
Zhang Ruochen gradually lost patience. "If Luo Sha doesn't come out soon, even if she's really bathing, I'll barge in."
Mu Lingxi's safety was at stake, and Zhang Ruochen couldn't calm down.
"Tap, tap."
Just as Zhang Ruochen stood up, footsteps sounded from behind a screen.
The next moment, a woman in green robes walked out from behind the screen.
The moment he saw her, Zhang Ruochen froze, his gaze locked onto her peerlessly beautiful immortal face. He held his breath, unable to look away.
On the green-robed woman's brow was a red phoenix mark, radiating icy power.
Her crystalline jade body was shrouded in sacred mist, full of mystery and ethereal charm, like a moonlit celestial maiden.
"Lingxi."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes showed both surprise and delight. He was about to step forward and embrace her.
Meeting Mu Lingxi in the Hell Realm was an unexpected joy.
But just as he took a step, Zhang Ruochen stopped immediately, carefully examining the woman before him. His gaze turned cold. "You're not Lingxi! Luo Sha, who told you to take her form?"
The woman before him was almost identical to Mu Lingxi, even her clothes and accessories belonged to Mu Lingxi, carrying her aura.
Luo Sha's Thousand Illusion Art was indeed powerful. If she had transformed into someone else, Zhang Ruochen might not have seen through it.
But he was too familiar with Mu Lingxi.
He could tell at a glance whether it was really her.
"Found out so quickly—no fun at all. And I put so much effort into disguising myself." Mu Lingxi shook her head, her slender body sitting down on the white sacred beast fur, hands propping up her cheeks, looking very deflated.
Han Ying waved her hand, and the sixteen dancing sacred maids withdrew.
Zhang Ruochen's aura was like a sword, his gaze sharp. "Change back now!"
"I like this look, and I won't change back. What can you do about it?" Mu Lingxi tilted her snow-white chin, her big eyes smiling as she stared at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Where did you get Lingxi's clothes and accessories?"
"What I want, I always get." Luo Sha blinked, her eyelashes long and curved.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You'd better tell me what I want to know right now, or else..."
"Or else what? I'm so scared, I'm trembling!" Mu Lingxi's voice was sweet and delicate, pretending to be weak, her jade arms gently crossed over her chest.
Zhang Ruochen didn't bother with more words. He acted decisively, his fingers forming a claw shape as he shot toward her jade neck like lightning.
Mu Lingxi snorted lightly, pressing her hands on the table. The space before her split open, revealing a deep, pitch-black spatial hole about a meter long.
Zhang Ruochen's hand struck the hole, failing to capture her.
"Trying spatial tricks with me? Your cultivation is still far off." Zhang Ruochen's arm surged with spatial rules, sealing the spatial hole.
Mu Lingxi's lips curled into a playful smile. Her snow-white right hand opened, revealing a black lotus. With the index finger of her left hand, she lightly tapped the lotus.
"Rip."
A pair of enormous black hands tore open the spatial hole before her, turning it into an even larger spatial void, ten zhang in diameter.
The owner of those hands was a massive Great Saint corpse, carrying a heavy sword on its back.
The corpse stood within that space, its pupils burning with flames, exuding a powerful aura. In life, it must have been a supreme powerhouse.
Luo Sha spoke with confidence, "Zhang Ruochen, this isn't the Ancestral Spirit Realm, the Truth Heaven Domain, or the Kunlun Realm. There aren't so many rules here. I have plenty of tricks up my sleeve."
"This war corpse, in life, was a Supreme Realm Great Saint from the Demon God Realm. Even now, its combat power is no less than a Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint."
"With the power of the Yin God Lotus, with your current cultivation, you're no match for it."
"Is that so?"
Zhang Ruochen's voice sounded behind Luo Sha.
Luo Sha's expression changed. Just as she was about to mobilize the Yin God Lotus to control the corpse, Zhang Ruochen grabbed her snow-white wrist, and it went numb.
"It hurts... it hurts so much..."
...
"Let go, Zhang Ruochen, let go! Believe me, I'll have my brother beat your soul to pieces."
...
Zhang Ruochen's grip was heavy, causing Luo Sha's delicate body to convulse, tears streaming from her eyes.
Looking at Mu Lingxi's face up close, and the pained expression on it, Zhang Ruochen forgot for a moment that she was Luo Sha. His heart softened, and he withdrew the strength from his hand.
"Whoosh!"
Luo Sha turned into wisps of smoke, dispersing before Zhang Ruochen.
"Hmm?"
Knowing he had been tricked, Zhang Ruochen immediately released his spatial domain, pressing out with both hands to grab the wisps of smoke slipping past him.
"Ah!"
The smoke condensed into a curvaceous, tall figure with long jade legs.
No longer in Mu Lingxi's form, it was now the face of Rakshasa Princess Luo Sha—still breathtakingly beautiful, but with a different temperament: seductive yet sexy, sexy yet noble, noble yet alluring.
Zhang Ruochen's two hands happened to be gripping Luo Sha's chest, nearly pulling out her undergarment.
Luo Sha's body leaned sideways, her gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen. Instead of showing anger or coldness, she looked pitiful and tearful. "Zhang Ruochen, why do you always bully me? In the Ancestral Spirit Realm, you not only injured me but also stole the Sundial."
"In the Truth Heaven Domain, you had to expose my identity, forcing me to leave the Truth Divine Temple and stop comprehending the Way of Truth."
"In the Kunlun Realm, you captured me and stole my divine sword hilt."
"Think about it—have I ever harmed you? You're nothing but a nemesis. Once you put on your clothes, you turn ruthless. You've probably already forgotten that we once dual-cultivated spiritually, but I still remember it."
The more Zhang Ruochen listened, the deeper his frown became.
If an uninformed cultivator heard her words, they'd think Zhang Ruochen was a fickle, heartless man who abandoned his lover. Especially if her brother were nearby, he'd probably draw his sword and chop Zhang Ruochen.
But in truth, back then, Zhang Ruochen taking off her Ten Thousand Saint Plain Garment was a complete accident.
Their later spiritual dual cultivation was also forced by circumstances.
Zhang Ruochen released his grip on her chest, turned his back, and said, "Tell me now—where is Mu Lingxi? You should understand how much she means to me. You're clever, and you know I respond to softness, not hardness. But if anything happens to Mu Lingxi, I'll make you pay a heavy price."
The tears in Luo Sha's eyes vanished instantly. She straightened her clothes, rubbed her aching chest, and a flash of annoyance crossed her eyes.
She sat back on the sacred beast fur and said, "I don't like the way you're talking to me. I'm very angry now, and... a little jealous! If you really want to know where Mu Lingxi is, you'd better find a way to please me first."
Luo Sha knew very well that Zhang Ruochen wouldn't dare kill her.
Mu Lingxi was one of Zhang Ruochen's greatest weaknesses. Seizing that gave her absolute control. She had always been at a disadvantage with him—it was time for this detestable man to pay some price.