Chapter 2292: A Dire Situation Hard to Break, Chapter 2
The figures of Yuan Fei Great Saint and Huo Mei Yin Ji turned ethereal, first becoming semi-transparent, then completely vanishing into the void.
Formless, shadowless, traceless.
The two of them stealthily made their way toward the Ghost Clan’s home planet, secretly dismantling the formation.
Bore and Da Sen Luo Huang remained standing in place.
“Rustle!”
The space trembled slightly, and a handsome man with flowing silver hair stepped out from the star mist.
He was tall and lean, with delicate features, pointed ears, and eyes that emitted a strange radiance. Though clad only in tattered cloth, he could not conceal his noble bearing.
He was an Elf Clan man.
“Who goes there?”
Da Sen Luo Huang immediately summoned the Ice Wood Divine Bow, drew it back, and aimed it at the Elf Clan man.
The Elf Clan belonged to the Paradise Realm, meaning this person was a Heavenly Slave.
Bore remained calm and composed, casting a glance at the man. She gently waved her hand, signaling Da Sen Luo Huang to lower his bow, and asked, “So, what’s the situation on the Heavenly Slave side now?”
“Haha, it can fool Da Sen Luo Huang but not Your Highness Bore. It seems my illusion art is still far from perfect.”
The Elf Clan man let out a long laugh, his form dissolving into specks of light that scattered away.
Then, the specks of light recondensed into a shadowy figure clad in armor.
It was the second-strongest of the Underworld Clan, Que Fei.
Que Fei’s mission had been to go to the star region near the Third Dark Star to contact the Heavenly Slaves, using their power to deal with Zhang Ruochen.
Da Sen Luo Huang put away the Ice Wood Divine Bow, feeling rather frustrated. After all, he was a Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Great Saint, yet he had failed to see through Que Fei’s illusion.
But Bore, only at the Immortal Realm, had seen through it.
Bore’s cold face showed no trace of emotion as she said, “Your illusion is indeed very perfect, but no matter how perfect an illusion, it cannot change one fact.”
“What?” Que Fei asked.
“The rules of heaven and earth.”
Bore continued, “The rules of heaven and earth in the Hell Realm would, to some extent, reject an Elf. Yet, the rules of heaven and earth did not reject you.”
Que Fei said, “True, that is indeed a flaw.”
“Among the Heavenly Slaves, there are surely cultivators who can notice this,” Da Sen Luo Huang said.
But as soon as he finished speaking, his old face flushed red, and he felt a bit awkward.
Que Fei said, “You can rest assured about my work. I would never leave such a flaw. To detect the traces the rules of heaven and earth left on me, one would need to be at least a Spiritual Power Great Saint to have a chance.”
“After I killed that Saint King Realm Elf man, I transformed into his likeness and only had close contact with Heavenly Slaves below the Great Saint level. That should be enough to fool everyone.”
Bore asked, “How many Heavenly Slaves have come?”
“There are twelve Great Saint-level Heavenly Slaves, all at the Hundred Shackles Realm. Besides that, there are Saint Realm scouts like me. Though numerous, they can be ignored,” Que Fei said.
Bore frowned slightly and asked, “What about the Thousand Questions Realm Heavenly Slaves?”
Que Fei shook his head. “I’m not sure about that. I didn’t dare get too close to the Great Saint-level experts, so I couldn’t access some secrets.”
“Since they’re here to kill Zhang Ruochen, the Thousand Questions Realm Heavenly Slaves will definitely make a move. They’re just hiding in the shadows, and we must guard against them,” Bore said with certainty.
Da Sen Luo Huang sneered, “So what if there are Thousand Questions Realm Heavenly Slaves? A Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint without a battle weapon—I can handle him myself.”
“How do you know he doesn’t have a battle weapon? And what if it’s a Thousand Questions Realm Middle Stage or Late Stage Great Saint?” Bore said.
Que Fei said, “If there are Thousand Questions Realm Great Saints, that’s actually a good thing. It makes the blade sharper.”
Bore said, “The plan has changed. The forces Yan Hong Great Saint has mobilized are far stronger than we imagined. Moreover, Zhang Ruochen is utterly foolish to have entered the Ghost Clan’s home planet to fight them. He’s as good as dead.”
“So, I’ve devised a second plan: kill Yan Hong Great Saint and destroy the Ghost Clan’s soul spirits.”
Que Fei was silent for a moment, then asked in confusion, “I have two questions. First, with so many experts from the Ghost Clan, Bone Clan, Corpse Clan, Undying Blood Clan, and the Upper Three Clans gathered, the Heavenly Slaves absolutely cannot get involved. How do we use their power?”
Bore shook her head and said, “The Heavenly Slaves will make a move, but only after we’ve fought to a mutual defeat on the Ghost Clan’s home planet and are leaving it. They want to reap the benefits as well.”
Que Fei said, “That brings me to my second question. Even if we kill Yan Hong Great Saint and Zhang Ruochen on the Ghost Clan’s home planet, we’ll still suffer some losses. What do we do if the Heavenly Slaves attack us then?”
Before Bore could answer, Da Sen Luo Huang laughed first. “The Heavenly Slaves are just prey. How strong can they be? Que Fei, you need to understand that on the Heaven Hunting Battlefield, our opponents are the Lower Three Clans, the Middle Three Clans, and the Yama Clan.”
“You can’t underestimate the enemy like that.”
Bore then added, “No matter what happens, Que Fei, you must not join the battle. Your purpose is this: if we fail to kill Zhang Ruochen and Yan Hong Great Saint, you can ambush them alongside the Heavenly Slaves.”
“Additionally, if the Heavenly Slaves try to ambush us, you need to hold them off. With your combat power, even if you can’t defeat a Thousand Questions Realm Heavenly Slave, a surprise attack can definitely severely wound them.”
Que Fei nodded. “There are only five Thousand Questions Realm Heavenly Slaves in total, and most of them aren’t at a high level. With my strength, even in a direct fight, I might not lose.”
Bore added, “Let me tell you another secret. Yuan Fei Great Saint has brought the Death Clan’s Supreme Sacred Artifact, the ‘Virtual and Real Word Scroll.’ If we want to leave, no matter how many Heavenly Slaves there are, they won’t be able to find us.”
“If that’s the case, then it’s truly foolproof,” Que Fei said with a smile.
The Death Clan’s secret, strictly speaking, should not be shared with the Underworld Clan’s cultivators.
But in this Heaven Hunting Battle, the Underworld Clan’s strength far surpassed the Death Clan’s, so there was no competition between them. Besides, the fact that the Supreme Sacred Artifact was in Yuan Fei Great Saint’s hands wasn’t hard to guess.
Thus, Bore decided to treat it as a secret and told Que Fei.
This way, Que Fei would feel closer to her and trust her more.
Bore’s identity was also very special. She could be considered part of both the Death Clan and the Underworld Clan, so cultivators from both clans wouldn’t be too wary of her.
…
The dried-up sea area was once again covered by seawater.
Streams of ghostly qi, clusters of bone flowers, and pillars of water all spread toward Zhang Ruochen at the center, filling the area within a thousand miles with killing intent.
Though the four obvious experts were formidable, what made Zhang Ruochen more cautious were the Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints hidden in the shadows. With his Heart of Truth, he could sense a fifth aura.
Despite being surrounded, Zhang Ruochen remained calm. He said, “Four-Eyed Ghost Emperor, ranked forty-ninth on the Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Ranking. Winged Ghost King, ranked fifty-fourth. Xu and Pink Skeleton, you can still exchange moves with me. The two of you coming here—are you here to die? Didn’t White Jade Mad Lion tell you how he was defeated by me?”
Four-Eyed Ghost Emperor’s massive ghostly body was hidden within a cloud of black mist, and his voice boomed, “You are indeed very powerful. I am no match for you. But you must understand, this is not a one-on-one duel. Four Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Great Saints are here to kill you. Today, you will surely be annihilated in both form and spirit.”
Zhang Ruochen’s ten golden wings swayed gently in the wind. “Are there really only four Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Great Saints? Isn’t there a fifth? Night Changzai of Wuchang Ghost City is said to be a ghost formed from an earth soul, without a ghostly body. In this world, there is only a shadow, known as the Soul-Snatching Earth Demon, ranked eighteenth on the Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Ranking. Whose shadow are you hiding in?”
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze swept over the shadows of Xu, Yan Hong Great Saint, Winged Ghost King, and Four-Eyed Ghost Emperor, searching for traces of Night Changzai.
Both Xu and Yan Hong Great Saint were inwardly shaken.
Night Changzai was their hidden trump card, the key to easily killing Zhang Ruochen. But Zhang Ruochen was far more perceptive than they had imagined, able to guess that Night Changzai was lurking nearby.
Among Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Great Saints, just like Nine-Step Saint Kings, there were clear differences in strength.
But from the sixth-ranked Stone Clan’s “Lei Emperor” to the eighteenth-ranked “Night Changzai,” these dozen or so Great Saints were considered by many cultivators to have little difference in strength. Any of them had the possibility of defeating another, with only the odds varying.
Thus, Night Changzai, Xu, and Yan Hong Great Saint were all on the same level.
If Zhang Ruochen went all out against the four Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection cultivators, and Night Changzai suddenly attacked, the consequences would be unpredictable.
With his Heart of Truth, Zhang Ruochen could only faintly sense Night Changzai’s presence nearby but couldn’t pinpoint him.
“An earth soul ghost is indeed eerie. Fortunately, Night Changzai’s most terrifying aspect is his unpredictability. His power and talent aren’t that strong. Otherwise, he would be on the level of Wujiang and Luo Shengtian, making him much harder to deal with.”
Zhang Ruochen didn’t want to clash head-on with them. Fighting recklessly like this would surely lead to defeat. So, he looked up at the sky again, but the planet-protecting formation still showed no signs of being broken.
Suddenly, an image of the Ghost Clan’s home planet’s underground appeared in Zhang Ruochen’s mind.
If going up wasn’t an option… then he could only go down.
“Perhaps the underground of the Ghost Clan’s home planet is another path to survival. The extreme metal element substance can’t possibly exist on a large scale inside a planet,” Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
“Zhang Ruochen, try taking this move from me first.”
From the black mist where Four-Eyed Ghost Emperor was, four blood-red eyes emerged, each as massive as a mountain, releasing immense deathly power.
From the four ghostly eyes, four ghostly, sinister worlds flew out, transforming into four ghost prisons.
The first ghost prison hung a mirror of sin, densely covered with ghost patterns.
The second ghost prison had bronze pillars as thick as mountain peaks, radiating astonishing heat, thrust into the sea and reaching up to the clouds.
The third ghost prison was composed of a hundred thousand stone tablets, each weighing three hundred million jin.
The fourth ghost prison was a crimson blood pool, surrounded by endless white bones.
Seeing the four ghost prisons bearing down on him, a look of surprise appeared in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes. He thought, “Manifesting the Sin Mirror Ghost Prison, Bronze Pillar Ghost Prison, Stone Crushing Ghost Prison, and Blood Pool Ghost Prison all at once. Four-Eyed Ghost Emperor’s strength is greater than the records suggest. He must be just one step away from breaking through to the Thousand Questions Realm.”
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to break the four prisons, Yan Hong Great Saint and Xu simultaneously advanced.
At the same time, Winged Ghost King summoned a thousand-mile-long Ghost Head Whip, holding it like a river, ready to lash out at him at any moment.
…
The little fish will try this for a few days to see if it can keep it up.
If I update two chapters, each chapter will be 3000 words. If I have to write the Heavenly Emperor’s Biography, I can only update one chapter, which will be 4000 words.
Trying… sweat, let’s see how long I can last. Shouldn’t everyone support with some votes?