Chapter 2354: Plan Before Acting
In the pitch-black cosmic space, no light could be seen, only cold, emptiness, and silence.
Suddenly.
A dazzling light flared up, burning through the darkness.
"Dragon-Elephant World Annihilation."
A dragon roar shook heaven and earth, causing ripples in the space of this cosmic region.
Ten azure dragons, their bodies wrapped in divine flames, surged forward like ten heavenly rivers, crashing into a black demon tree tens of thousands of meters tall on the opposite side.
Every branch of the black demon tree was like a hand, stirring up a vast and boundless surge of energy as it desperately resisted.
It was one of the five Thousand-Question Realm Heavenly Slaves, the Devouring Heaven Tree.
"Zhang Ruochen, you are a cultivator of the Heavenly Court, yet you willingly serve as a pawn for the Hell Realm. You... you will surely die a miserable death... die..."
As the Devouring Heaven Tree roared, it released tens of billions of sacred dao rules from its body, transforming them into a majestic and sinister demon city that clashed with the ten dragons.
"Boom."
The demon city shattered.
Immediately after, the massive tree body exploded.
Under the burning of divine flames, the Devouring Heaven Tree's life force rapidly drained away, turning into scattered ashes.
In the cosmic void, only a sacred source churning with demonic energy remained.
Zhang Ruochen reached through the void, grabbed the sacred source, and muttered to himself, "A Thousand-Question Realm initial stage Great Saint, yet so fragile. Killing him was too easy."
The other Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Great Saints who had participated in hunting the Devouring Heaven Tree heard this and couldn't help but twitch their mouths.
Too monstrous.
Although they had helped seal off the Devouring Heaven Tree's escape routes, the fact that Zhang Ruochen could annihilate a Thousand-Question Realm Great Saint with a single palm strike still sent chills down their spines.
Didn't that mean Zhang Ruochen could kill them with just one palm as well?
Before the campaign on the Dark Star, Zhang Ruochen had refined all ten dragon souls of the Swastika Azure Dragons into his left arm.
For some unknown reason, when Zhang Ruochen refined the ten Swastika Azure Dragon souls into his arm, they devoured the three Thousand-Question Realm dragon souls that had been in his arm. It was as if they refused to coexist with any other dragon souls.
Thus, although Zhang Ruochen's palm strike seemed to only unleash ten dragon souls.
In reality, the strike contained the power of thirteen Thousand-Question-level dragon souls. Even without using sacred arts to amplify it, a casual palm strike was comparable to the full-force attack of a Thousand-Question Realm initial stage Great Saint.
And even surpassed it.
Just now, Zhang Ruochen had struck with full force, infusing divine flames and the sacred intent of the Fire Path into the palm strike. How could the Devouring Heaven Tree possibly withstand it?
Although Zhang Ruochen had not yet fully mastered the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm to the level of a Thousand-Question-level high-rank sacred art, the power it unleashed far surpassed many Thousand-Question-level high-rank sacred arts.
"These ten dragon souls are extremely precious. With my nurturing, they might one day grow to the level of the Ten-Thousand Deaths One Life Realm, or even the Supreme Realm. If I could obtain ten equally growth-capable elephant souls, why would I worry about not reaching the pinnacle of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm?" Zhang Ruochen sighed inwardly.
Gu Chenzi, holding a rhomboid mirror, walked to Zhang Ruochen's side with a reverent expression. "Great Saint, after consecutive campaigns against Dark Star One and Dark Star Two over these past days, we have hunted three hundred and seven Great Saint-level Heavenly Slaves, seventeen thousand Saint King-level Heavenly Slaves, and countless Saint-level and Half-Saint-level Heavenly Slaves."
"Currently, the Undying Blood Clan's total points have reached seventy-one million, firmly holding first place among the ten clans."
Zhang Ruochen fell into deep thought. Once upon a time, Half-Saints and Saints were powerful beings he could only look up to. Saint Kings and Great Saints were legendary figures.
But now, they had become prey, targets for him to hunt, utterly powerless against him.
Three hundred-plus Great Saints and seventeen thousand Saint Kings—what a terrifying number. Some major worlds couldn't even cultivate that many top-tier Saint-level experts.
So many Saint-level experts driven to the battlefield, reduced to hunted prey—no wonder the Hell Realm placed such importance on the Heaven Hunting Battle.
Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but ponder: In this universe of the strong devouring the weak, what kind of expert truly qualifies as a strong one?
What kind of major world is truly prosperous and powerful?
In the past, during Kunlun Realm's most glorious era, when gods stood like forests and ten thousand saints paid homage, what kind of grand spectacle was that?
Zhang Ruochen collected his thoughts and asked, "What are my personal points?"
"Twenty-eight million," Gu Chenzi replied.
Zhang Ruochen frowned. "That's all?"
Gu Chenzi smiled bitterly. "Except for the Undying Blood Clan, the Shura Clan, and the Yama Clan, the total points of any of the other seven clans combined don't match yours. Great Saint, in this Heaven Hunting Battle, the top individual points are undoubtedly yours."
The cultivators present had all witnessed Zhang Ruochen's ruthless killing methods; he showed no mercy to any Heavenly Slave.
If these mirrored images were all projected by the Myriad Realm Divine Eye and transmitted outside, Zhang Ruochen would surely earn the title of "Murderous Demon King."
When the beings of the Heavenly Court's various realms saw such scenes, they would likely tremble in fear.
Now, they would rather die than believe Zhang Ruochen would still betray the Hell Realm, convinced that he had fully integrated himself as a member of the Undying Blood Clan.
Even if Zhang Ruochen returned to the Heavenly Court now, no cultivator would accept him. They would only see him as an alien and execute him.
It could be said that Zhang Ruochen had already passed the first test set by the gods of the Hell Realm. Blood Absolute War God, Xue Hou, and the Underworld King all breathed a sigh of relief and nodded in satisfaction.
For Zhang Ruochen to go this far required great determination and the endurance of hardships beyond ordinary understanding.
Zhang Ruochen's expression remained calm. "What about the Undying Blood Clan's casualties?"
Gu Chenzi said, "Three Great Saints failed to retreat in time when a Heavenly Slave self-detonated their sacred source and fell here. Although other Great Saints were severely injured, they were all treated."
This time, Zhang Ruochen led over six hundred Undying Blood Clan Great Saints on the campaign, holding an absolute advantage.
When pushed to a desperate point, those Great Saint Heavenly Slaves would naturally self-detonate their sacred sources.
However, their spiritual power was sealed, so when they tried to self-detonate, their spiritual will would instantly suppress them. Only in rare cases could some Great Saints successfully self-detonate, causing casualties to the Undying Blood Clan.
Otherwise, if they had hunted over three hundred Great Saint Heavenly Slaves, the Undying Blood Clan would have lost far more than three Great Saints—perhaps over three hundred.
It had to be said, Heavenly Slaves were ultimately Heavenly Slaves, prey was ultimately prey.
From the moment they entered the Heaven Hunting Battlefield, this was already determined.
This was a game between hunters and sheep, unfair from the start.
The six hundred-plus Great Saints of the Undying Blood Clan stood like gods on the surface of a massive Purple Gold Gourd, flying out of the dark star domain shrouded by Dark Star Two.
"Whoosh."
A message light talisman flew from afar and landed in Gu Chenzi's hand.
After reading the contents of the light talisman, Gu Chenzi's eyes widened. He reported to Zhang Ruochen, "It's a message from Blood Qi. Yan Wushen broke into the Shura Clan's home star, annihilated ninety-nine percent of the Shura Clan members, and has already rushed to Dark Star Five without stopping to join forces with Yan Huangtu."
To completely annihilate a clan's members was nearly impossible.
Every clan's Great Saints would surely collect a few clan members and carry them on their persons. Only then could they ensure their total points wouldn't be halved.
Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised. "He's really that ruthless? He actually did it."
It was worth noting that the Shura Clan knew Yan Wushen would come, so they must have prepared thoroughly, setting up a heaven-and-earth net with countless experts lying in wait for him.
Under such circumstances, even Zhang Ruochen would have to think twice before charging into the Shura Clan's home star.
Not only did Yan Wushen go alone, but he also annihilated the vast majority of the Shura Clan's members. More importantly, he escaped unscathed.
Such skill was like that of a celestial being.
Gu Chenzi was also deeply shaken. "Yan Wushen is indeed a top-tier figure. I'm afraid only you, Great Saint, can contend with him for supremacy."
"Yan Wushen is indeed remarkable, but Yan Huangtu is no ordinary character either. With Yan Huangtu around, he can impose considerable constraints on Yan Wushen," Zhang Ruochen said thoughtfully.
Gu Chenzi showed a puzzled expression, not quite understanding Zhang Ruochen's meaning.
In truth, Zhang Ruochen hadn't particularly regarded Yan Huangtu as a threat before, never seeing him as a danger. In his view, Yan Huangtu's personality was too rigid and imposing, making him easy to deal with.
But this time, it defied Zhang Ruochen's expectations.
Yan Huangtu had restrained his anger and didn't rashly charge into the Undying Blood Clan's home star alone. Instead, like Zhang Ruochen, he led the Yama Clan's Great Saints to campaign on various dark stars, competing for points.
As a result, although nearly half of the Yama Clan's members had been wiped out, their points had rapidly climbed to sixty million in recent days, not too far behind the Undying Blood Clan.
This showed that Yan Huangtu wasn't as simple as he appeared on the surface. Hatred and humiliation couldn't sway his emotions or judgment. He was someone who could bend and stretch, knew how to assess the situation, and possessed deep cunning.
Such people were the most terrifying.
You couldn't see through them or guess their intentions.
The image they projected was deliberately meant to lull you into complacency.
Even the strength they displayed might not be their true power.
"What a pity. If Yan Huangtu were truly arrogant and headstrong, he would definitely have charged into the Undying Blood Clan's home star. Then, with the Yama Clan leaderless, their points reaching three thousand would have been impressive," Zhang Ruochen sighed inwardly.
Recently, the Undying Blood Clan's points had grown too fast. The cultivators of the ten clans all felt the pressure, stopping their infighting and focusing entirely on hunting Heavenly Slaves.
Under Yan Huangtu's leadership, the Yama Clan had wiped out the Heavenly Slaves gathered near Dark Star Four and began attacking the star domain where Dark Star Five was located.
This points competition had reached a fever pitch.
"We need to capture at least one more dark star, pushing our points to one hundred million, to ensure victory and lock in first place among the ten clans," Zhang Ruochen said.
Not all Heavenly Slaves were gathered near the seven dark stars.
However, the starry skies around the seven dark stars were very suitable for hiding, so the Heavenly Slaves were more concentrated there. Campaigning in these seven places could quickly gather a large number of points.
Gu Chenzi opened a star map and floated it before Zhang Ruochen, pointing to one of the black circular masses. "Both Yan Huangtu and Yan Wushen are at Dark Star Five. We can't interfere there."
"Now, only Dark Star Six and Dark Star Seven remain."
"Dark Star Six is being campaigned by the Middle Three Clans. They occupied it long ago, and most of the Heavenly Slaves hiding there have already been swept away."
"If we go now, we might fall into a trap set by the Middle Three Clans. Getting stuck there would affect the entire battle situation."
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly. "The Middle Three Clans lack top-tier experts, but united, their strength is still formidable. There's no need to compete with them for the remaining scraps of points. What about Dark Star Seven?"
Gu Chenzi took a deep breath, his expression grave. "Dark Star Seven is quite special. It's the largest dark star on the Heaven Hunting Battlefield, covering a starry sky six million miles in diameter."
"It's like both a deathly abyss and a forbidden zone."
"Any Hell Realm Great Saint participating in the Heaven Hunting Battle who ventures deep into it never returns. Seventy-three Great Saints have already gone missing there."
"No one knows whether it's the dark star's environment causing this or human factors."
"Many cultivators speculate that Chi Di might be there. So, no faction dares to enter recklessly. In contrast, a steady stream of Heavenly Slaves has taken refuge inside."
"Dark Star Seven is arguably the place where the most Heavenly Slaves are gathered. Whichever faction can conquer it will see their points skyrocket."
Zhang Ruochen looked at the massive dark circular mass on the star map.
Gu Chenzi added, "However, I've received information that, led by Bore, Source Non-Great Saint, and Que Fei, the Great Saints of the Upper Three Clans are steadily heading toward Dark Star Seven. It seems the Upper Three Clans plan to forcefully bite this hard bone."
Blade Prison Emperor sneered. "Wu Jiang was severely injured by Ruochen Great Saint and hasn't shown up. Without top-tier experts, the Upper Three Clans will suffer heavy losses if they encounter Chi Di in the complex environment of the dark star domain."
"How about we wait a bit, let the Upper Three Clans take the lead? After they retreat in defeat, we can make our move?" Gu Chenzi suggested.
Everyone's gaze turned to Zhang Ruochen, waiting for his decision.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were sharp. "I actually hope Chi Di is really at Dark Star Seven. After all, his individual points alone are ten million."
At this moment, two thoughts crossed Zhang Ruochen's mind.
First, the test from Zangjin Baihu.
Only by passing the test could he obtain the opportunity at the Ghost Clan's home star, potentially allowing his cultivation to advance further in a short time.
Second, Chi Di was a cultivator of the Wujian Pavilion, whose pavilion master was Qiangu Nüdi.
Since the top spot in the Heaven Hunting Battle was so important to the Nüdi, could Chi Di's appearance on the battlefield be a chess piece arranged by her?