Chapter 2305: Twelve Heavenly Slaves
The Heaven Hunting Battlefield was vast and boundless, with six-colored star mists scattered brilliantly, evoking infinite reverie.
"Whoosh—"
In a patch of red star mist as thick as blood plasma, an angel clan elder stood atop a cosmic rock over two hundred meters long. Saintly light flowed in his pupils as he gazed into the distance.
He was extremely old, his face covered in dense wrinkles, his figure quite stooped. The angel wings on his back were tattered and worn, clearly having suffered much torment in the Hell Realm.
This place was the only path back to the Undying Blood Clan's home star.
From afar, a golden speck of light appeared in this stretch of starry sky.
It was a person.
His figure radiated golden light as he walked through the void. With each step, he could leap a considerable distance. This was Zhang Ruochen, who, having failed to find Yu Huang, was preparing to return to the Undying Blood Clan's home star.
This angel clan elder was named Ci Haikong.
He turned and rushed into the red star mist, reporting to the Heavenly Slave Great Saint hidden within: "That traitor Zhang Ruochen is coming!"
Inside the red star mist, a Great Saint had used his own saint blood to inscribe formation runes, concealing their auras.
Including the angel clan elder Ci Haikong, a total of twelve Hundred Shackles Realm Heavenly Slaves were gathered in the red star mist. Among them were a demon clan Great Saint with a lizard-like form, a bald-headed man with a full beard, a plant lifeform growing within a water vortex...
Upon hearing the name "Zhang Ruochen," they all released intense killing intent.
The plant lifeform growing within the water vortex emitted specks of light, transforming into a white-haired old woman.
Her eyes were fierce, and she said, "Zhang Ruochen was originally a peerless talent nurtured by the Heavenly Court with countless resources, yet he willingly defected to the Hell Realm. Such a great traitor must be cut into a thousand pieces."
Ci Haikong said, "Although Zhang Ruochen escaped from the Ghost Clan's home star, he was covered in bloodstains and should be severely injured. Today is an excellent opportunity to eliminate this traitor."
A dwarf, so thin he was nothing but skin and bones, sat on a crystalline rock within the star mist and muttered, "In the Saint Prison, I heard that Zhang Ruochen slaughtered a large number of Heavenly Court young prodigies on the Kunlun Realm Merit Battlefield, thereby earning the qualification to join the Hell Realm."
"I've been imprisoned in the Hell Realm for six hundred years. I must kill a valuable Hell Realm cultivator to return to the Heavenly Court and be valued again. Zhang Ruochen is the best candidate."
This dwarf was named Zhi Shang, and he was the only Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Great Saint present.
What was surprising was that he actually held a battle weapon in his hands.
It was a silver axe, its handle taller than his body. On the axe head, one side bore a sun pattern and the other a moon pattern. King-level inscriptions flowed along the axe's edge.
This three-element Monarch Sacred Artifact battle axe was a weapon Zhi Shang had seized after killing a Stone Clan Great Saint.
Ci Haikong sneered, "With so many of us Great Saints gathered together, it would be strange if we couldn't kill Zhang Ruochen. Let's now..."
"Boom."
A thunderous sound rang out.
The space covered by the saint blood formation trembled violently from an unknown attack.
"Since you're all here, what's the point of hiding?"
Zhang Ruochen's voice spread as sound wave ripples, penetrating the saint blood formation and reaching their ears.
The expressions of the twelve Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints all changed.
The dwarf Zhi Shang stood up abruptly, saintly light radiating from his body, and the battle axe in his hand emitted a blinding silver glow.
"Not good. Zhang Ruochen is actually attacking us proactively. How did he know we were hiding here?"
Ci Haikong's expression turned grave, a look of guilt appearing on his face. "It must have been when I observed him just now. He detected me. This kid's perception and mental strength must be terrifying."
"Boom!"
Another attack came from outside.
Space trembled once more, and many of the saint blood formation runes grew dim.
The surrounding temperature rose sharply, as if the area had turned into a furnace.
The twelve Hundred Shackles Realm Heavenly Slave Great Saints were alarmed and uncertain. One of them noticed clumps of white Purifying Divine Flame burning through the formation runes and drifting inside.
"Imperial Flame Purifying Divine Flame."
A bald-headed man with a full beard had his right arm touched by the Purifying Divine Flame. His sleeve immediately caught fire, and his Great Saint skin, thousands of times tougher than black iron, turned red-hot as if about to melt.
With the same Imperial Flame, the higher the cultivator's realm and the more fire path rules they incorporated, the greater the flame's power.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen's Purifying Divine Flame already possessed the terrifying power to burn a Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saint to death.
Zhang Ruochen spread his ten golden wings on his back, hovering above the red star mist. He continuously released Purifying Divine Flame, covering the red star mist with a diameter of three hundred li, turning it into a sea of white fire.
The stability of the entire starry sky was rapidly intensifying.
"Zhang Ruochen wants to refine us all to death here. Break out immediately and fight him outside."
The white-haired old woman let out a long cry. Her white hair stood on end, transforming into jade-like vines that twisted and grew wildly, piercing through the layer of Purifying Divine Flame to strike at Zhang Ruochen hovering above.
Although she was a plant lifeform and feared fire, her cultivation was deep enough to withstand the Purifying Divine Flame's refining for a short time.
"Spirit Wind Vine."
Zhang Ruochen murmured softly, ignoring the incoming white vines. However, the Devouring Saint Flower burst out from his back, transforming into purple vines wrapped in lightning that spread downward.
"Master, this Spirit Wind Vine is mine."
Mo Yin's enchanting and seductive figure emerged from behind Zhang Ruochen. Her jade legs were slender, her waist as soft as a willow, and the black lace at her chest revealed glimpses of snow-white skin.
Hundreds of lightning-wrapped purple vines shot out from the five snow-white fingers of her right hand.
The two waves of vines, one above and one below, clashed.
Lightning and hurricane collided.
"Bang, bang."
The white Spirit Wind Vine didn't last long before being struck by lightning and reduced to black smoke.
The Devouring Saint Flower had devoured too many prodigies and was nurtured by Zhang Ruochen's half-divine body, gaining immense benefits. Now that its dao fruit had matured, its combat power was enough to contend with top-tier Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection experts.
A mere Spirit Wind Vine was no match for it.
"It's the Devouring Saint Flower!"
The white-haired old woman was injured by the lightning and let out a muffled sound.
Suddenly sensing something, she looked up. She saw hundreds of lightning-wrapped purple vines from the Devouring Saint Flower raining down, piercing through the Purifying Divine Flame layer, wrapping around and entangling her body.
"Not good."
Before the white-haired old woman could dodge, the flower buds at the tips of the lightning vines pierced through her undying sacred body.
In an instant, thousands of lightning bolts struck her.
"Ah..."
A scream of agony escaped the white-haired old woman's lips, and she nearly fainted.
The moment the lightning vines rushed into the Purifying Divine Flame layer, the other eleven Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints instinctively stepped back.
Seeing the white-haired old woman's plight, they wanted to rescue her, but the lightning vines dragged her body out of the space covered by the saint blood formation in an instant.
"Chase!"
Ci Haikong spread his tattered angel wings and shot up like a beam of white light.
"Crack."
A lightning vine a meter thick lashed out like a whip from above the Purifying Divine Flame layer, striking Ci Haikong's body. He was sent flying back, spitting blood.
The remaining ten Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints looked even more grim.
Even if Zhang Ruochen was injured, he still seemed very powerful, and he had the Devouring Saint Flower as an ally.
In an instant, he had captured the Hundred Shackles Realm Spirit Wind Vine. The Devouring Saint Flower on Zhang Ruochen's body was at least at the Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection level.
This battle would not be as easy as they had imagined.
"The saint blood formation can only hold for ten more breaths. We can't just wait to die. Attack together and break out."
The dwarf Zhi Shang grabbed his silver battle axe with both hands, channeling the saint qi from his body into the axe.
The silver light radiating from the battle axe grew even more dazzling. Each beam of light was like a blade, capable of killing cultivators below the Saint realm.
"Break for me."
The silver battle axe swung upward, forming a hundred-li-long axe shadow that split the red star mist in two. With irresistible force, it tore a crack through the Purifying Divine Flame layer.
The axe shadow seemed to possess the power to split heaven and earth, heading straight for Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen, who was controlling the Purifying Divine Flame, merely glanced indifferently at the axe shadow before closing his eyes.
"Whoosh."
Tens of millions of space rules flew out from between his brows, freezing the space before him into a kilometer-thick space shield.
The axe shadow struck the space shield, shattering the frozen space layer by layer, sinking more than five hundred meters deep.
"Too weak. Far from enough to hurt me," Zhang Ruochen said indifferently.
The dwarf Zhi Shang roared, releasing red light from his two thick arms, his power surging. With a "boom," he shattered the entire kilometer-thick space shield.
Just as the axe shadow was about to land on Zhang Ruochen's head, two space cracks flew out from his pupils, cutting the axe shadow into three segments, which then dissipated in the void.
With his current cultivation, Zhang Ruochen could wield space power as he pleased.
"How can he be this powerful?"
The dwarf Zhi Shang found it hard to believe. Hadn't they said Zhang Ruochen had only broken through to the Great Saint realm in the past year?
Even if he could fight across realms, how could he reach the Thousand Questions realm level?
The information the Heavenly Slaves possessed was severely outdated, and Zhang Ruochen's progress was too fast. Not just the dwarf Zhi Shang, but all the other Heavenly Slaves were stunned.
On the other side, after the white-haired old woman was dragged out of the Purifying Divine Flame layer by the lightning vines, she reverted to her original form, becoming a white Spirit Wind Vine.
Before long, Mo Yin used hundreds of lightning vines to absorb the Spirit Wind Vine completely.
"Master, my injuries are healed. Now, let me have some fun with them." A soft, alluring voice came from Mo Yin's lips, a charming smile on her face.
When Xu had used the Light of an Instant to self-destruct, Mo Yin had also suffered considerable injuries.
Now that her injuries were healed, her combat power had risen to another level.
"Crack! Crack! Crack..."
Mo Yin controlled hundreds of lightning vines, covering an area of three hundred li. Any Heavenly Slave trying to break out of the Purifying Divine Flame was struck back, none able to escape.
The Heavenly Slaves trapped in the Purifying Divine Flame were all filled with regret.
Why had they gathered together in the first place?
It was like weaving their own shroud.
Now, even trying to scatter and flee had become extremely difficult.
The Purifying Divine Flame layer rapidly contracted, compressing the Heavenly Slaves' space to move and making the flames more concentrated.
Que Fei, a Death Clan powerhouse disguised as an Elf Clan Saint King, revealed himself in a patch of white star mist about five hundred li from Zhang Ruochen. He said in surprise, "Zhang Ruochen is truly ruthless. He shows no mercy to Heavenly Court Great Saints and actually wants to refine them all to death."
At this moment, probably no cultivator would dare claim that Zhang Ruochen still had ties to the Heavenly Court.
Whether by design or not, the Myriad Realm Divine Eye quickly projected this scene to various places in the Hell Realm and the Merit Battlefield, once again causing an uproar.
Even more cultivators called for Zhang Ruochen's punishment.
"Sizzle, sizzle."
The area covered by the Purifying Divine Flame shrank to a diameter of about fifty meters. The eleven Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints fought with all their might to break out, but even with Mo Yin's powerful cultivation, she couldn't completely stop them.
The dwarf Zhi Shang was the first to break free, flying in an arc to appear a hundred li away.
Then, he let out a roar, raised his silver battle axe with both hands, and swung it at the hundreds of lightning vines controlled by Mo Yin. Only by cutting these vines could the Heavenly Slaves trapped in the Purifying Divine Flame escape.
Then, combining the strength of eleven Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints, they would have a chance to fight Zhang Ruochen and the Devouring Saint Flower.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the dwarf Zhi Shang from the corner of his eye. He controlled the Purifying Divine Flame with one hand while grabbing the Ghost Head Whip he had taken from Yi Gui Huang with the other.
"Whoosh—"
The Ghost Head Whip shot out like a sinister black dragon, wrapping around the battle axe in the dwarf Zhi Shang's hands.
At the tip of the whip, a palace-sized skull emerged. Its eyes burned with bone fire, and two sharp fangs were exposed in its mouth. It bit down on the dwarf Zhi Shang in one gulp.
The dwarf Zhi Shang held his axe with one hand and propped up the skull's teeth with the other, struggling to hold on.
Although he was a Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Great Saint, being imprisoned in the Saint Prison for six hundred years had severely drained his blood qi. After entering the Heaven Hunting Battlefield, his mental power was sealed, greatly reducing his combat power.
Even Yi Gui Huang, who ranked fifty-fourth on the Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Ranking, was stronger than him.
Que Fei hovered above the white star mist, a contemptuous smile on his handsome face. "These Heavenly Slaves are truly useless. Over a dozen Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints, and they're about to be wiped out by Zhang Ruochen in one fell swoop. Tsk, tsk. Looks like I'll have to help them."
He pressed two fingers together, forming a sword seal, and drew a circle in front of him.
At the center of the circle, a large amount of heaven and earth saint qi gathered, condensing into a three-foot-long black sword.
Que Fei struck out with his palm, hitting the center of the circle. The black sword shot out like a beam of light, instantly striking the skull at the tip of the Ghost Head Whip, sending it flying.
The dwarf Zhi Shang seized the opportunity to break free. He spun his arm like a windmill and hurled the silver battle axe.
The silver axe spun through the air, cutting through a large swath of lightning vines.
"Damn it! Who's helping them?" Mo Yin stepped back two paces, her enchanting eyes turning cold. She released her mental power to search for the person who had just struck with the sword.
Zhang Ruochen had a good idea who it was and remained calm. He took a deep breath, activating ten million divine patterns on his left leg, and stomped down violently.
Since he couldn't refine them to death directly, he would have to end the battle another way.
"Blazing God Leg."
Zhang Ruochen's leg burst into blazing flames. As he stomped down, a giant flaming divine leg manifested, its sole covering a hundred li.
"Boom, rumble."
The Purifying Divine Flame cloud was split apart by the Blazing God Leg. The immense destructive force landed on the ten Hundred Shackles Realm Heavenly Slaves, sending them flying in all directions.
Three of the weaker Hundred Shackles Realm Heavenly Slaves couldn't withstand the power of the Blazing God Leg. Their undying sacred bodies shattered, their divine forms annihilated, and they died on the spot.