Chapter 2259: The Road Ahead Is Difficult, Void and Untraceable
In Lianxi’s eyes, the carriages approaching from both the front and rear grew increasingly massive—first like palaces, then like mountains, and finally like two planets, releasing an awe-inspiring pressure of the highest order.
The sound of their wheels was louder than thunder, and ripples spread through space.
She and the Nine-Dragon Carriage beside her seemed utterly insignificant.
Despite her Great Saint-level cultivation, hailed as a sovereign among saintly realms, she felt an overwhelming terror, as if her body would be crushed into fragments.
Blood Cry Great Saint, with his profound cultivation, was not intimidated by the pressure released by the two carriages. Unwilling to wait for death, he gritted his teeth, spread the blood wings on his back, and drew a hooked Monarch Sacred Artifact war blade from his brow, activating the king-level inscriptions within.
“Break for me!”
Gripping the blade’s handle with both hands, he surged with clouds of blood qi and slashed out with all his might.
“Swish!”
A blade light like a river of blood tore through the pink enchanting mist, hovering above Bright Red Great Saint’s carriage before pressing down rapidly.
The blade’s edge dyed heaven and earth in a bloody glow.
Yet this heaven-splitting, earth-cleaving strike was blocked by a layer of light mist emitted by the carriage, failing to harm it in the slightest.
“A mantis trying to stop a chariot.”
Bright Red Great Saint’s cold, sharp voice rang out. From the light mist, tens of thousands of clawing bone birds emerged, screeching densely and piercingly as they charged toward the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
Blood Cry Great Saint withdrew his blade, holding it horizontally, and stepped back. Beneath his feet, billions of rule patterns emerged, activating the war blade’s defensive power.
Those bone birds possessed astonishing combat strength. Each collision against him made him tremble slightly.
After only a brief moment of resistance, Blood Cry Great Saint’s defense was shattered. His battle robe cracked, his arms dripped with blood, and his body slammed heavily into the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
Bright Red Great Saint had not even acted personally; merely using the enchanting mist to conjure bone birds had severely wounded a Great Saint who had broken seventy-two shackles.
This was not to say Blood Cry Great Saint was weak, but rather that his opponent was too terrifying.
Blood Cry Great Saint was gravely injured, kneeling on one knee as he watched the overwhelming tide of bone birds. Even knowing Bright Red Great Saint dared not kill him, a desperate thought arose in his heart: “Today, I will surely die.”
Against other Hundred Shackle Great Perfection cultivators, Blood Cry Great Saint was confident he could contend with them or at least retreat calmly. But facing a powerhouse of Bright Red Great Saint’s caliber, he lost even the confidence to flee.
“Too strong! This is the eighth-ranked expert on the Hundred Shackle Great Perfection Ranking—a fine pink skeleton.” Blood Cry Great Saint lowered his head, his confidence utterly shattered.
Undoubtedly, from now on, Bright Red Great Saint would become his inner demon, an insurmountable obstacle.
Just as the swarm of bone birds neared the Nine-Dragon Carriage, a massive dragon soul flew out from within, its body as vast as a mountain range. Opening a mouth like a deep pool, it swallowed them all into its belly.
“Roar!”
The dragon soul coiled around the Nine-Dragon Carriage, letting out a heaven-shaking roar.
“A Thousand Questions realm dragon soul.”
Blood Cry Great Saint looked up sharply, astonishment flashing in his eyes.
“Roar!”
“Bellow!”
…
Soon after, two more Thousand Questions realm dragon souls and three Thousand Questions realm elephant souls burst forth, coiling around the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
With ferocious, glaring eyes, they roared at the sky, blocking the two approaching carriages, preventing them from advancing even a single zhang.
Zhang Ruochen sat inside the Nine-Dragon Carriage, slowly spreading his arms.
Instantly, the power of the three dragons and three elephants erupted, forcing the front and rear carriages to slowly retreat. The spatial walls formed by the space inscriptions on the two carriages were stretched until they snapped one by one.
Lianxi’s eyes showed an expression of disbelief.
At this moment, she truly understood just how powerful Zhang Ruochen had become. With her cultivation and talent, wanting to kill him was nearly a fantasy.
Impossible now.
In the future… even more impossible.
“Quite surprising. As expected of a half-god body—at the Immortal Realm, your physical body can withstand six Thousand Questions realm beast souls. But you’re still far off.”
From the rear carriage, Xu spoke these words.
The next moment, the wails of ten thousand ghosts echoed from his carriage.
Countless ghostly figures flew out—some human, some beasts, some birds… their numbers far exceeding ten thousand, even surpassing a hundred thousand, a million.
These innumerable ghosts coalesced into six storm vortexes.
From each vortex, a Thousand Questions realm Ghost Emperor soul formed: a hundred-zhang-tall giant, a Rakshasa with black wings on its back, a demon bull with horns on its head.
Blood Cry Great Saint’s face turned extremely grim. “Xu once seized the Chaos Spring, forging an Immortal Chaos Ghost Emperor Body. With that body and his Hundred Shackle Great Perfection cultivation, he can endlessly absorb ghosts into his body. The ghosts he just released number at least six million.”
Six million ghosts, condensed into six Thousand Questions realm Ghost Emperor souls, unleashed power no less than Zhang Ruochen’s three dragons and three elephants.
More unsettling was that six million ghosts were not Xu’s full strength. No one knew how many Thousand Questions realm Ghost Emperor souls he could summon at his peak.
The six Ghost Emperor souls balanced the three dragons and three elephants.
The front and rear carriages began moving again, pressing toward the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
“Those who can reach Hundred Shackle Great Perfection within a thousand years are indeed no simple characters. Those ranked in the top ten are each unfathomably deep—even Thousand Questions realm Great Saints are no match for them.”
Zhang Ruochen said this, then took out the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror.
Sensing the aura of a Supreme Sacred Artifact, Bright Red Great Saint’s voice rang out: “Is this all the so-called Eon-level genius can do? We’ve only used half our strength, and you’re already forced to use a Supreme Sacred Artifact?”
“Don’t say we didn’t warn you—using a Supreme Sacred Artifact to fight in the Fate Divine Domain will have it forcibly taken by the temple,” Xu said.
Though Bright Red Great Saint and Xu were targeting Zhang Ruochen, they had not truly attacked or stepped out of their carriages. They were merely driving, coincidentally traveling on the same street as Zhang Ruochen.
This was a loophole in the Fate Temple’s laws.
For instance, Xu had condensed six Ghost Emperor souls but did not command them to attack; they only walked slowly forward, balancing the three dragons and three elephants.
Conversely, someone like Blood Cry Great Saint, who first used a war weapon to attack, had violated the law.
Even if Zhang Ruochen were severely injured today, they could claim it was an accident—they had merely bumped into him while driving.
An absurd excuse, but one that could bypass the law.
Zhang Ruochen knew well that Bright Red Great Saint and Xu were only testing his strength and dared not truly harm him. Their real goal was to use two Monarch Sacred Artifact-level carriages, charging from front and back, to crush the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
Other methods, like the six Ghost Emperor souls and the enchanting mist illusions, were only suppressing the power Zhang Ruochen had unleashed.
“They want to force me to strike first, giving them a reason to act.”
Zhang Ruochen put away the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, his gaze fixed ahead on Bright Red Great Saint’s carriage, now mere inches away.
If his carriage were truly overturned by Xu and Bright Red Great Saint, even without injury, it would severely damage Zhang Ruochen’s prestige among the Blood Heaven Tribe and the Undying Blood Clan.
It would be a great loss of face.
He would have no chance to represent the Undying Blood Clan in wielding the Supreme Sacred Artifact.
But if Zhang Ruochen could overcome Xu and Bright Red Great Saint’s challenge, his reputation would soar to its peak, greatly aiding Blood Absolute War God in negotiations with the Undying Blood Clan’s gods.
No matter how high your talent, you still need practical combat results to back it up.
Moreover, this contest tested not only Zhang Ruochen’s strength but also his wisdom and ability to handle crises.
“How can I break Xu and Bright Red Great Saint’s suppression within the bounds of the law?”
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment, then released millions of time imprint light points from his body—over ten million.
Xu and Bright Red Great Saint grew alert. They feared Zhang Ruochen’s time techniques most and, despite their preparations, remained on high alert.
“Sizzle.”
On the front and rear carriages, dozens of runes containing time imprints appeared.
The time imprint light points Zhang Ruochen released were repelled by the runes’ power as they neared the carriages, unable to enter.
Zhang Ruochen sat in the Nine-Dragon Carriage, clasping his hands together.
The millions of light points flew back, coalescing into a Time Bell that enveloped the carriage. Blood Cry Great Saint and Lianxi quickly boarded, taking positions on Zhang Ruochen’s left and right.
They knew that no matter how powerful Xu and Bright Red Great Saint were, they would not dare touch the Time Bell lightly.
Inside the bell was the safest place.
“Clatter.”
Zhang Ruochen then condensed six space chains, connecting to the three dragon souls and three elephant souls, controlling them to pull the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
“Zhang Ruochen, leaving won’t be so easy.” Xu reached out a hand, lifting the carriage curtain, smiling with refined elegance.
“Rumble.”
The six Ghost Emperor souls firmly resisted the three dragons and three elephants, their powers clashing fiercely.
“If I wish to leave, you cannot stop me.”
Zhang Ruochen pointed a finger forward, and the space where the six Ghost Emperor souls stood rapidly contracted and collapsed. Even as they strained to support it, the space shrank smaller and smaller, like a rapidly diminishing ball.
A space hundreds of zhang in diameter soon became the size of a fist.
The six Ghost Emperor souls were compressed into this fist-sized spherical space, unable to block the three dragons and three elephants.
“Clatter.”
The wheels turned.
After the three dragons and three elephants pulled the Time Bell-enveloped Nine-Dragon Carriage past, the spherical space was shattered by the six Ghost Emperor souls, their ghostly forms expanding back to their original size.
The figures in the two carriages watched the Nine-Dragon Carriage drive away without pursuing.
On a floating island not far from this street, Xu and Bright Red Great Saint’s true bodies stood side by side, looking down at the city below. They exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in each other’s eyes.
Openly targeting Zhang Ruochen, a divine son with special status, in the Fate Divine Domain—they dared not use their true forms.
Though the two carriages contained only their avatars, their true bodies had been controlling everything. With their cultivation and preparations to suppress space and time, yet Zhang Ruochen had escaped unscathed—how could they not be shocked?
“Trying to hold onto a Time-Space Controller is indeed as hard as reaching heaven.” Bright Red Great Saint sighed, a sense of helplessness rising within her.
Zhang Ruochen had too many enemies in the Hell Realm. If Bright Red Great Saint could kill him, she would gain support from various major powers. Becoming the Fate Temple’s Divine Maiden would then be much easier.
But after this test, she realized that even if her combat power surpassed Zhang Ruochen’s, if he didn’t want to fight, he could leave at any time.
If she couldn’t hold him, how could she kill him?
Xu’s eyes were deep. “The two of us joined forces and still couldn’t gauge his depth. His strength has more than doubled since his battle with Moluo War Emperor.”
“At least we’ve confirmed his cultivation has reached the peak of the Immortal Realm,” Bright Red Great Saint said.
Xu said, “Before he breaks his first shackle, he’s not yet a threat. But what’s troubling is that no one knows when he’ll manage it.”
Breaking the first shackle would mark Zhang Ruochen’s official entry into the Hundred Shackle Realm, fully unleashing the power of his half-god body.
At that point, even top-ten Hundred Shackle Great Perfection cultivators like Xu and Bright Red Great Saint would have to treat him with caution.
This was the scenario they least wanted to see.
“Don’t you have an important trump card? Use it during the Hunting Heaven Banquet, and Zhang Ruochen won’t escape so easily again.” Bright Red Great Saint’s eyes gleamed with frosty light.
Though a pink skeleton, its surface was covered in a beautiful skin, appearing as a stunningly gorgeous woman, indistinguishable from a peerless beauty.
Bright Red Great Saint added, “That Shadowless Immortal by Zhang Ruochen’s side could be refined into my next century’s skin. Perfect—the more I look, the more beautiful she is.”
…
The Nine-Dragon Carriage was severely damaged, covered in cracks, as it traveled down an empty street, gradually fading into the distance.
Wujiang stood in the night, his body merging with the six-colored rain, having clearly witnessed the entire exchange.
He did not intervene.
Since Xu and Bright Red Great Saint together could not hold Zhang Ruochen, his own intervention would likely yield the same result.
But just as he was about to leave, he was startled to see a figure appear ahead of the Nine-Dragon Carriage, walking down the middle of the street.
A black figure.
That figure was like a bamboo pole, thin and gaunt, yet standing straight as an arrow.
He walked toward the carriage, as if deaf and blind, unaware it was Zhang Ruochen’s vehicle or that the three dragons and three elephants pulling it were Thousand Questions realm beast souls.
Yet could anyone appearing in Hanye City Domain truly be deaf and blind?
“Who is he? What does he want?”
Wujiang probed with his spiritual power, but as it neared, it was swallowed by an invisible force, vanishing without a trace.
Wujiang was ranked fifth on the Hundred Shackle Great Perfection Ranking, stronger than both Xu and Bright Red Great Saint.
How could such an odd cultivator appear in Hanye City Domain? Was his cultivation even greater?
Inside the carriage.
Zhang Ruochen did not sense the black figure’s aura. He was still replaying the earlier exchange in his mind, his expression calm but his heart churning.
Though only a probing clash, it deeply impressed upon him the terrifying strength of the top-ten Hundred Shackle Great Perfection cultivators. Both Xu and Bright Red Great Saint were like bottomless abysses.
Even Yu Huang, at her current level, was still a step—or half a step—behind them.
The gap was evident.
After Blood Cry Great Saint stabilized his injuries, he asked, “Xu is ranked seventh on the Hundred Shackle Great Perfection Ranking, and Bright Red Great Saint eighth. Against them with your current cultivation, do you have any chance of victory?”
Zhang Ruochen did not answer, only shook his head slightly.
Was it “I don’t know,” “no confidence,” or “I’m no match for them”?
Blood Cry Great Saint lowered his head in dismay, thinking to himself, “Xu and Bright Red Great Saint are undefeated at the same cultivation level. Zhang Ruochen is only at the Immortal Realm—no matter how strong, he can’t win against them. Escaping their combined attack is already extraordinary, enough to shake the Ten Clans of Hell.”
“Who are you?”
Just then, Zhang Ruochen sensed something. His eyes sharpened like swords, staring straight ahead.
His reaction was swift, but before his arm could rise three inches, a black shadow passed through the three dragons and three elephants, through the carriage wall, and entered the vehicle. A finger, dozens of times faster than Zhang Ruochen’s, swept past his neck, cutting off a lock of hair and grabbing it.
By the time Zhang Ruochen raised his arm, the black shadow had already passed through the carriage and appeared on the street behind, holding the strand of hair as it walked away from the vehicle.
“Whoosh!”
Zhang Ruochen used Space Teleportation to appear outside, standing on the street, staring at the bamboo-like black figure with eyes full of shock and uncertainty.
“So this is the so-called Eon-level genius? Nothing special.”
The black figure said this, then, as it walked, its body vanished without a trace.
As if nothing had happened—just an illusion.
Blood Cry Great Saint jumped off the carriage, following Zhang Ruochen’s gaze. “What’s wrong?”
“Did you see that?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Blood Cry Great Saint asked, “See what? What happened?”
“Right. His speed was too fast—with your cultivation, how could you have seen it? Is this the power of nothingness?” Zhang Ruochen smoothed the hair behind his ear, one lock now severed, only an inch long.
Coming without a trace, leaving without a shadow.
With Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation, he could only see the figure’s shadow, unable to stop it from cutting his hair.
If it could cut his hair, it could kill him.
At such speed, how could Blood Cry Great Saint have seen it?
Only with advance preparation and the use of time and space power might Zhang Ruochen have a chance to match its speed. But the figure’s body was indistinguishable from nothingness—how could he sense it in advance to prepare?
“Was this a test of my strength, or a show of force? Who are you?” Zhang Ruochen’s pupils contracted sharply.
In the distance, Wujiang, who had witnessed everything, held his breath, his entire body numb.
With his cultivation, he couldn’t even see how the figure appeared or disappeared—truly terrifying to the extreme.
“To appear here, it must be a participant in the Hunting Heaven Banquet. I hope it’s a Thousand Questions or Ten Thousand Deaths One Life realm guest. If it’s a Hundred Shackle realm… I’m nine out of ten no match for it.”
Wujiang calculated and guessed, but kept shaking his head.
Even Yan Huangtu, ranked third on the Hundred Shackle Great Perfection Ranking, or Lan Ying, ranked second, could not be this strong. Could it be the one ranked first?