Chapter 2303: Hunters and Heaven Slaves
Ye Changzai, ranked eighteenth on the Hundred Shackles Great Perfection List, was naturally not comparable to ordinary Great Saints. The Amo Divine Sword in his hand was an extremely ancient cursed sword.
At such close range, with his power fully gathered, his intent was to decide the outcome with a single strike.
"Zhang Ruochen, with this sword, I will pierce you through. The power of the curse will penetrate deep into your marrow, seep into your blood, and ultimately kill you through the curse."
In that split second, Ye Changzai naturally would not waste time speaking. The words just spoken were not uttered from his mouth but transmitted directly into Zhang Ruochen's ears through spiritual power.
"Chi chi."
The Amo Divine Sword clashed with the Immovable Bright King Saintly Image.
Although the Immovable Bright King Saintly Image was a phantom, it was harder than real metal and iron. However, the Amo Divine Sword was even sharper, easily piercing through metal as well.
The moment the sword broke through the saintly image, a sky full of golden energy burst forth.
"You really think I would fall into the same trap twice at the hands of an enemy?" Zhang Ruochen said expressionlessly.
Before the Amo Divine Sword even reached Zhang Ruochen, the fist he had thrown suddenly erupted with layers of invisible spatial shockwaves.
"This... impossible..."
Ye Changzai was struck, his black figure flying backward.
Although he had "become a ghost through the Earth Soul," and his ghostly body was formless and intangible, it still existed within space. Spatial power was the best means to deal with him.
The spatial shockwaves came one after another, sending Ye Changzai's shadow flying seven times in succession.
By the eighth time, the shadow actually shattered apart.
"This fist was always prepared for you. Do you know why you can only rank eighteenth? Your concealment is meaningless to a Great Saint with a spiritual power level of sixty-four." Zhang Ruochen said.
In truth, Ye Changzai was a natural assassin. Even with a spiritual power of sixty-four, Zhang Ruochen could only vaguely sense his presence. It was only by adding the Heart of Truth that Zhang Ruochen clearly perceived him hiding in the shadow of Wing Ghost Emperor.
Saying those words was meant to shatter Ye Changzai's confidence.
Five hundred miles away.
Ye Changzai re-formed his ghostly shadow, glanced at Zhang Ruochen and Wing Ghost Emperor, who were already engaged in battle, and without a moment's hesitation, immediately fled far away.
Zhang Ruochen was too terrifying. Even with such severe injuries and surrounded by so many Great Saints, he still maintained clear combat thinking, his mind calm to the extreme, completely watertight, impossible to ambush.
His power was terrifying, but even more terrifying was... the one controlling this power was a man without flaws.
The Earth Soul Ghost Body was the hardest to shatter, but once shattered, it was also very difficult to recover. Ye Changzai had lost the strength to continue fighting. It could be said that during the Heaven Hunting Battle, it would be impossible for him to return to his peak state.
Wing Ghost Emperor was no match for Zhang Ruochen. After three consecutive clashes, his ghostly body developed numerous cracks, and he then used a life-saving secret technique to flee into the distance.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Zhang Ruochen used Great Space Teleportation to catch up to him and, with a single kick, stomped his ghostly body into pieces.
"Boom."
Wing Ghost Emperor let out a miserable cry as his ghostly body exploded like a balloon, turning into a sky full of ghostly energy.
Zhang Ruochen did not give him a chance to re-form his ghostly body. Spreading his hands, countless vines of the Devouring Saint Flower surged from his back, frantically absorbing the ghostly energy scattered in all directions.
Zhang Ruochen's injuries grew even more severe, but his entire body shimmered with golden light. His eyes sharp, he fixed his gaze on the various saints of the Ghost Clan and said, "Who else wants to fight?"
This stretch of void had gathered a large number of Ghost Clan Great Saints, nearly a hundred in number.
But at this moment, they had lost the will to continue fighting, frozen in place, with no one daring to be the first to strike at Zhang Ruochen.
There was no choice. After Xu died, the Ghost Clan's various saints had already lost their backbone.
Just now, Full Moon Bull Emperor and Tianque Divine Bone had already fled with Pink Skeleton, whose life or death was unknown. Add to that Ye Changzai and Wing Ghost Emperor's successive defeats—one fleeing, the other being refined and absorbed—even the most determined Ghost Clan Great Saints had to weigh the pros and cons.
If they continued fighting, even if they exhausted Zhang Ruochen to death, many among them would likely be buried with him.
What was the point of that?
The Ghost Clan still had to continue participating in the Heaven Hunting Battle; they could not afford greater casualties.
Four-Eyed Ghost Emperor, accompanied by Man Sword Great Saint, stepped forward on behalf of the Ghost Clan's various saints to speak with Zhang Ruochen. "This battle, the Ghost Clan admits defeat, completely defeated. Zhang Ruochen, as long as you spare Wing Ghost Emperor's life, I will release Man Sword Great Saint right now."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Are you trying to threaten me too?"
Four-Eyed Ghost Emperor met Zhang Ruochen's gaze, his heart suddenly leaping. He thought of Pink Skeleton from earlier and softened his tone. "Those who wanted to kill you were Xu, Yanhong Great Saint, and White Jade Mad Lion. We were merely invited by Xu to lend a hand. Surely we don't deserve death?"
"Besides, if you insist on killing Wing Ghost Emperor, we, for the sake of the Ghost Clan's dignity, will have no choice but to fight you to the death. Wouldn't that benefit the cultivators of the Upper Three Clans hiding nearby?"
The Devouring Saint Flower's voice rang in Zhang Ruochen's mind: "Master, my Dao Fruit has matured."
Zhang Ruochen nodded, retracted the vines of the Devouring Saint Flower into his body, and said to Four-Eyed Ghost Emperor, "Today, I will give you, Four-Eyed Ghost Emperor, face and spare his life."
A hint of joy appeared on Four-Eyed Ghost Emperor's face. He glanced at Man Sword Great Saint, not expecting that a crippled Great Saint would hold such weight in Zhang Ruochen's heart.
Still, this was a good thing.
Zhang Ruochen had fought against cultivators from the Hell Realm to save a Great Saint from the Guanghan Realm. Even if he succeeded in rescuing him, what of it?
The gods were watching.
The cultivators of the Hell Realm were also watching.
In this battle, Zhang Ruochen had indeed won, but he had also lost.
Where in the Hell Realm was there still a place for him?
"Hua hua."
The remaining ghostly energy in this stretch of void rapidly converged, forming Wing Ghost Emperor's figure.
Although Wing Ghost Emperor was not dead, most of his ghostly energy had been absorbed by the Devouring Saint Flower. It would be impossible for him to recover in a short time.
"Ghost Head Whip, I'm taking it. You have no objections, do you?"
Zhang Ruochen, ignoring whether Wing Ghost Emperor agreed or not, immediately began refining the Ghost Head Whip with Purifying Divine Flame.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Wing Ghost Emperor let out a long sigh. The fall they had taken today was truly too severe.
Why had the Ghost Clan become enemies with Zhang Ruochen?
Standing within the "Virtual and Real Character Scroll," the cultivators of the Upper Three Clans all furrowed their brows.
"The Ghost Clan suffered such a great loss, and they're just going to settle it like this?" White Jade Mad Lion said, somewhat disappointed.
Yuanfei Great Saint said, "If they don't settle, what else can they do? Keep fighting Zhang Ruochen to the death? In this Heaven Hunting Battle, the Ghost Clan would have no hope of turning things around."
White Jade Mad Lion's eyes flashed with killing intent. "Zhang Ruochen is already at the end of his rope. Next, we'll make our move and finish him off completely."
"Are you sure Zhang Ruochen is at the end of his rope? He just defeated Pink Skeleton, Full Moon Bull Emperor, Tianque Divine Bone, Ye Changzai, and Wing Ghost Emperor in succession. Does that look like someone who's exhausted?" Bore said.
Huo Mei Yin Ji looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Is Prince Bore being too cautious? Today is the best opportunity to kill Zhang Ruochen."
Bore said, "I'm not saying we shouldn't kill him. I'm just saying we don't need to be as foolish as the Ghost Clan and Bone Clan Great Saints, recklessly charging at the unfathomable Zhang Ruochen. Don't forget, we still have a backup plan. Let Que Fei use the power of the Heaven Slaves to kill Zhang Ruochen. That would be foolproof."
Great Sen Luo Huang asked, "Should we use the Hidden Arrow Technique to ambush Zhang Ruochen first?"
"Forget it."
Bore let out a somewhat regretful sigh. "We've already missed our chance. Using the Hidden Arrow Technique now would have too low a probability of successfully ambushing Zhang Ruochen. Earlier, I misjudged."
Yuanfei Great Saint shook his head. "You can't blame yourself. No one expected Zhang Ruochen to be able to crush five Hundred Shackles Great Perfection Great Saints in succession with overwhelming force, scaring the Ghost Clan into not daring to continue fighting. Besides, even if Great Sen Luo Huang had used the Hidden Arrow Technique earlier, the chance of success would have been very low."
Great Sen Luo Huang showed a disapproving expression. "How is that possible?"
"Even Ye Changzai's ambush failed," Yuanfei Great Saint said.
Great Sen Luo Huang fell silent, unable to refute.
When it came to ambushes and assassinations, Ye Changzai was clearly far more skilled than him.
...
Man Sword Great Saint was covered in wounds, especially where the five ice pillars had pierced him. Ice shards still remained in his flesh and blood. With deathly energy eroding his physical body, even the energy contained in a Great Saint's sacred blood could not heal the wounds.
Of course, despite being covered in scars, Man Sword Great Saint's burly body remained straight and upright.
After refining the Ghost Head Whip, Zhang Ruochen's gaze fell on Man Sword Great Saint, who stood five steps away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the Ghost Clan's various saints had all retreated ten thousand miles away.
The two looked at each other, but neither could force a smile.
Because this was the Hell Realm, the Heaven Hunting Battlefield.
One was a hunter, the other a Heaven Slave.
"Life is truly strange. Back when you returned to Moon God Mountain with the Moon God, I could see you were extraordinary, but I never imagined the two of us would end up in such a situation."
Man Sword Great Saint was the first to break the silence, forcing a smile onto his face.
Zhang Ruochen looked him straight in the eyes. "Perhaps this is the arrangement of fate."
"Do you believe in fate?" Man Sword Great Saint asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I didn't used to, but today, I'm starting to believe. If it weren't for fate's arrangement, how could we be standing here, at this time, in this place, in such a manner?"
The two fell silent again.
After a long while, Zhang Ruochen waved his hand, and space solidified, forming an invisible table.
From the Purple Gold Gourd, Zhang Ruochen took out a wine flask and a divine bone three-legged cup. "During the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet, I secretly kept half a flask of Divine Jade Nectar brewed by the Wine God Temple, specially reserved for you."
Food from the grand banquet could be brought into the battlefield.
"Brother is truly a brother. I've only ever heard of such good things before. I never thought I'd get a chance to drink it. It seems there's nothing left to regret."
As Zhang Ruochen was about to pour him a cup, Man Sword Great Saint snatched the wine flask from his hand and tilted his head back, pouring it directly into his mouth.
Zhang Ruochen watched him quietly. "Brother Man Sword, do you know why I had to come to the Ghost Clan's home planet?"
Man Sword Great Saint continued drinking without stopping.
Zhang Ruochen continued, "Because I know you would never be willing to die at the hands of Ghost Clan cultivators, nor would you be willing to be refined into a ghost slave. So, even knowing that both of us might die here, I still came to accompany you. Either we die together, or I see you off."
"I'll give you one hour. Run, anywhere you want. After one hour, I'll come to kill you. If I catch up, I'll give you a quick death."
...
Started writing at four in the morning, finally finished one chapter.