Chapter 2364: Massacre
Snow Stone Ancient City was originally a desolate city among ancient ruins.
After countless years of weathering, it had given birth to a spiritual intelligence, which then condensed a true soul. Guided by a Stone Clan deity, it embarked on the path of cultivation.
It was called Lei.
The Stone Clan deity had high hopes for Lei, wishing for him to cultivate to the Divine Realm and transform Snow Stone Ancient City into a divine city, to support the Stone Clan's greatest temple.
Lei did not disappoint their expectations, displaying exceptional talent and becoming one of the leading figures of this era.
After reaching the Great Saint Realm, he was titled Emperor Lei.
Who could have imagined that Emperor Lei would meet his end on the Heaven Hunting Battlefield?
Within Snow Stone Ancient City, specks of saintly light like fireflies were scattered about. These were densely packed Heaven Slaves sitting cross-legged on the ground, the weakest among them being Half-Saints, their numbers incalculable.
The city walls were covered in blood patterns.
It was the power unleashed by these blood patterns that formed a formation light membrane, blocking the dual-monarch sacred artifact war sword Zhang Ruochen had struck.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
After a series of piercing sword cries, the dual-monarch sacred artifact war sword developed cracks like a spiderweb on its blade.
Bang!
The war sword shattered.
Dozens of sword fragments flew backward, hurtling toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized Space Rules to form a Space True Domain spanning a thousand zhang. All the sword fragments flying toward him had their trajectories twisted, bypassing his body and flying past him.
"What a strong defensive formation," Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
Suddenly, within Snow Stone Ancient City, countless stone swords rose up, their tips pointing upward and hilts downward.
"Not good!"
Luo Sha frowned deeply, holding the Yin Shen Lotus as she flew swiftly toward Snow Stone Ancient City.
"Why so many stone swords?"
Blade Prison Emperor, even from a thousand li away, sensed danger and instinctively wanted to flee.
But thinking that the Undying Blood Clan's hundreds of Great Saints were still in Zhang Ruochen's gourd, they could block any number of stone swords.
What was there to fear?
Blade Prison Emperor stayed put, glaring at the Saint King Heaven Slave. "Lowly thing, is this your trap?"
The Saint King Heaven Slave trembled under the Great Saint aura emanating from Blade Prison Emperor, prostrating in the void. "I wouldn't dare, absolutely wouldn't dare..."
"I thought as much."
Blade Prison Emperor stared at the blood vessels on the Heaven Slave's neck. If not for fear of Zhang Ruochen's reproach, he would have already drained his blood.
In his view, no matter how strong a Heaven Slave was, they were merely food.
...
Zhang Ruochen acted decisively, releasing both his Time Saint Aspect and Space Saint Aspect simultaneously, extracting a drop of Dark Time-Space Substance from each.
The two drops of Dark Time-Space Substance spun around each other, releasing strands of black light that twisted together.
Releasing two drops of Dark Time-Space Substance at once was extremely dangerous. Zhang Ruochen had never attempted it before, but at this moment, he had no choice but to do so.
"Boom."
The moment they collided with the blood-colored formation light membrane, the two drops of Dark Time-Space Substance exploded, turning into a massive black cloud that enveloped the entire ancient city.
From afar, it looked as if it had been swallowed by darkness.
Chaotic time and space forces spread in all directions, forcing Luo Sha, who was trying to approach, to stop and immediately deploy defensive measures.
Within a radius of five hundred li, it became a forbidden zone that even Great Saints dared not approach.
Only Zhang Ruochen, with his profound mastery of time and space, avoided the most intense impact of the Dark Time-Space Substance and charged again toward Snow Stone Ancient City.
This was the moment.
With one surge of momentum, he would break in.
The blood-colored formation light curtain had been inscribed by tens of thousands of Saint Realm cultivators working together. Even the simultaneous explosion of two drops of Dark Time-Space Substance could not break it.
Snow Stone Ancient City trembled violently, and all the Heaven Slaves were shocked.
The sky turned pitch black, and nothing could be seen.
Worse still, the formation light curtain was corroded by the dark power, becoming much dimmer.
Countless stone swords floated in midair, but they did not know where to strike.
All the Heaven Slaves turned their gazes toward the high platform at the center of the stone city.
One of the five Thousand Questions Realm Heaven Slaves, Qi Die, stood on the platform. She was a white-haired old woman, her back bent as if a divine mountain were pressing down on her, her body hunched so low it nearly touched the ground.
Qi Die's eyes were blood-red. She looked up and said hoarsely, "He's here. Strike him down."
"Bang!"
At the spot where the two drops of Dark Time-Space Substance had struck, a sharp sword light pierced through the formation light membrane and plunged straight down toward the stone city.
It was Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen's body was wrapped in thirty-six Space Swords as he flew downward.
Hundreds of thousands of stone swords suspended in midair turned into a rain of swords, flying toward him.
"Space True Domain."
"Space Distortion."
"Space Freeze."
...
Zhang Ruochen pushed his space power to the limit, blocking and dodging the incoming stone swords.
At the same time, the thirty-six Space Swords danced wildly, producing a dense clatter of metal collisions, shattering all the stone swords that came near him into stone powder.
He fought his way from the sky to the ground.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen landed in the city, causing the hundred-li-long ancient city to sink several zhang. The force erupting from his feet shook the dozens of Saint Realm Heaven Slaves closest to him, separating their bones and blood, turning them into blood mist and skeletons.
More than three hundred Saint Realm Heaven Slaves were sent flying, severely injured, unable to get up from the ground.
Divine flames surged from under Zhang Ruochen's feet, his aura soaring. He struck upward with his palm, scattering a stream of a thousand stone swords.
"Stop!"
Qi Die stood on the high platform, her voice low and drawn out.
In midair, hundreds of thousands of stone swords ceased their attack, floating like stars in the sky above Zhang Ruochen's head.
Fearless, Zhang Ruochen, as a master of time and space, was least afraid of being surrounded. Such a scene did not intimidate him.
His gaze fell on Qi Die, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "I didn't expect to find a Thousand Questions Realm Heaven Slave."
"Zhang Ruochen, I come from the Demon God Realm. My name is Qi Die. I have been cultivating in the Great Saint Realm for nine thousand years," Qi Die said.
"Nine thousand years of cultivation, and you've only reached the early stage of the Thousand Questions Realm? Your talent is mediocre. You'll never reach the Divine Realm. No, you won't even touch the edge of being a Demi-God," Zhang Ruochen said.
"I don't want to argue with you, because you've already fallen into a death trap. I'm just letting you die with clarity, knowing who killed you," Qi Die said, her voice weak and weary, looking old and decrepit.
Zhang Ruochen was noncommittal. "Is that so?"
"It seems you don't believe me."
Qi Die let out a strange laugh, like a ghost weeping.
"Bring them up," she said.
Thirteen Heaven Slaves, including the Sword South Realm Realm Lord, were brought forward by an elite group of Nine-Step Saint King Heaven Slaves. They were all suppressed, forced to kneel below the high platform.
Qi Die said, "You used them to gather intelligence for you, but you didn't know that with their meager cultivation, how could they escape my notice? Do you really think there are no capable people among the Heaven Slaves?"
Zhang Ruochen's gaze swept over the thirteen Heaven Slaves from Sword South Realm.
He saw that they bore countless new wounds. Two of them had their flesh sliced off piece by piece, leaving only their heads with flesh, their bodies reduced to white bones.
Clearly, they had been tortured.
"This is what happens when you side with the Hell Realm," Qi Die said.
Qi Die waved her arm, and thirteen streams of blood mist flew from her palm, landing on the thirteen Sword South Realm Heaven Slaves.
Immediately, the thirteen Heaven Slaves let out agonizing screams as their bones gradually melted, unable to support their bodies, collapsing limply.
The blood mist Qi Die released had bone-eroding power.
Once invaded by the blood mist, the stronger the life force of the being, the longer they suffered. The bone-eroding pain would persist until their death.
Zhang Ruochen's expression turned icy cold.
He was about to act, but as soon as he moved his foot, countless blood patterns appeared beneath him, like tens of thousands of tentacles pulling at his leg.
A total of thirty thousand blood patterns, controlled by thirty thousand Saint Realm cultivators.
Among them were Half-Saints, Saints, and Saint Kings.
"Rustle."
Zhang Ruochen lifted his foot slightly.
The blood patterns triggered increased to a hundred thousand, controlled by a hundred thousand Saint Realm cultivators.
A Great Saint's cultivation and combat power indeed far surpassed other Saint Realm cultivators.
But too many ants could also bite an elephant to death.
Moreover, Saint Realm cultivators were far stronger than ants—they were scorpions, wasps, centipedes... Not to mention a hundred thousand, even ten thousand, if well-prepared, could kill a Great Saint.
The trap Qi Die had set in Snow Stone Ancient City involved far more than a hundred thousand Saint Realm cultivators—it was a million.
"Don't move recklessly. The more you move, the more blood patterns you'll trigger," Qi Die said, revealing her yellow-brown teeth with a smile.
Zhang Ruochen realized that Qi Die was the center of all this arrangement. "You broke through the spiritual power seal?"
"The fact that you can see that means you're not as stupid as I thought."
Qi Die released her Spiritual Power Saint Aspect, and behind her appeared hundreds of blood rivers converging into a blood-red butterfly dozens of zhang long.
The butterfly's body was in the form of a qilin.
Zhang Ruochen said, "To see through the Sword South Realm Heaven Slaves working for me, you would need strong spiritual power. To set up blood pattern formations and traps, you would also need strong spiritual power as a foundation. Guessing that you broke through the spiritual power seal isn't difficult. I'm just curious how you did it."
"My spiritual power has reached the sixty-sixth rank, but I've always hidden it, only showing the strength of the sixtieth rank. The gods of your Hell Realm are too foolish to have noticed this. So, the spiritual power seal placed on me was easily broken," Qi Die said, a contemptuous smile in her eyes.
Zhang Ruochen frowned deeply. "Tasks like sealing Heaven Slaves are usually done by Demi-Gods and False Gods. Their spiritual power is mostly below the seventieth rank, so it's indeed possible for you to deceive them."
In the void, Blade Prison Emperor grabbed the Saint King Heaven Slave and lifted him up, furious. "Damn thing, you dared to collude with those Heaven Slaves to deceive me. Do you believe I'll drain your blood right now? After the Heaven Hunting Battle ends, I'll lead the Undying Blood Clan's army to drain all the blood of every living being in Sword South Realm."
"This matter should have nothing to do with him. Qi Die tampered with his memories. Blade Prison Emperor, don't waste time on him. Join me, the princess, in breaking the blood pattern formation first to save Zhang Ruochen."
Luo Sha threw out the Seven-Cornered Palace, releasing dozens of Rakshasa women at the Great Saint Realm.
They quickly formed a formation, standing with Luo Sha at the center, releasing their spiritual power into the Yin Shen Lotus.
"Swoosh—"
Luo Sha gently pushed her hand.
The Yin Shen Lotus flew out, scattering like beans to form soldiers, producing a boundless army of the dead that simultaneously launched a fierce attack on the blood pattern formation light membrane.
Luo Sha had full confidence in Zhang Ruochen. A mere group of Heaven Slaves below the Great Saint Realm could not possibly harm him.
But Qi Die was a huge variable. Her spiritual power was too strong, enough to pose a fatal threat to Zhang Ruochen.
Only by breaking through this defensive light membrane could Zhang Ruochen move freely and avoid being trapped inside.
"This Rakshasa princess is quite formidable."
Blade Prison Emperor, having shed his contempt, raised his war blade and joined the offensive.
"Bang, bang."
Dense explosions came from all directions around Snow Stone Ancient City.
Qi Die looked up, her expression changing slightly. "Act now. Refine and kill Zhang Ruochen as fast as possible."
Within the ancient city, the blood light on the ground flared up.
A million blood patterns, like countless venomous snakes, rapidly spread toward Zhang Ruochen at the center.
"You're about to die, and you don't even know it."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head gently and slapped the gourd.
The Purple Gold Gourd flew up, and Undying Blood Clan Great Saints flew out one by one, each unleashing awe-inspiring saintly might, like divine soldiers descending from heaven, charging in all directions.
There were over six hundred Great Saints.
Among them were Great Sen Luo Emperor, Yue Tinghai, Yi Xuan Great Saint, Gu Chenzi, and other Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection experts.
In Snow Stone Ancient City, aside from Qi Die, all were cultivators below the Great Saint Realm.
If the Undying Blood Clan's Great Saints had not broken through the blood pattern formation light membrane, the Heaven Slaves could have used their arrangements in the stone city to resist.
But Qi Die, in her cleverness, had outsmarted herself. She wanted to trap and kill Zhang Ruochen but ended up bringing the Undying Blood Clan's Great Saint army into the city.
"So many Saint Realm Heaven Slaves, excellent."
"All points! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"A few blood patterns want to stop me? How naive."
...
An army of over six hundred Great Saints was a terrifying force anywhere.
The Heaven Slaves in Snow Stone Ancient City were slaughtered, routed, and broken.
It was a massacre and a harvest. Qi Die and the Heaven Slaves had indeed prepared various measures, but they were not facing a single Great Saint—they were facing an army of Great Saints.
Qi Die's teeth chattered, and her eyes gleamed with murderous intent. She let out a piercing sonic wave.
Where the sonic wave spread, Undying Blood Clan Great Saints immediately clutched their heads in pain, falling from midair and rolling on the ground, their spiritual power and saint souls severely damaged.
"Swoosh—"
Suddenly, a spatial barrier formed around Qi Die's position, blocking all the outward-spreading sonic waves.
The sonic waves surged back, striking Qi Die herself.
"Space power."
Qi Die realized this and immediately stopped her sonic wave and spiritual power attacks, retreating into her Spiritual Power Saint Aspect, merging with it.
The blood-red butterfly Spiritual Power Saint Aspect let out a long howl: "Zhang Ruochen, I'll make sure you die without a burial place."
Zhang Ruochen had already broken free from the blood patterns and appeared not far from Qi Die, below the high platform, looking at the thirteen Sword South Realm Heaven Slaves whose bones were dissolving. Not only were their bones turning into pus, but their flesh was also corroding.
They were all screaming, enduring unbearable pain.
The Sword South Realm Realm Lord trembled as he spoke: "Zhang... Zhang Ruochen, don't... don't forget... forget... your promise to us..."
"Although you didn't do a perfect job, you still helped me find them. If the Undying Blood Clan takes first place among the ten clans, you'll have a share of the credit. Go in peace. I've taken care of the matter of Sword South Realm."
Hearing this, the thirteen Heaven Slaves, despite their agony, showed a hint of a smile at the corners of their mouths.
"Sizzle."
Zhang Ruochen waved his arm, unleashing Purifying Divine Flame, burning the thirteen of them to ashes.
Saving them was no longer possible.
Rather than letting them continue to suffer, it was better to give them a quick end.
As for preserving their saint souls or anything like that, Zhang Ruochen didn't even consider it. Because the gods of the Hell Realm wanted him to be a blade.
If a blade was too soft, too dull, and couldn't even kill Heaven Slaves, how could it serve as the gods' blade?
To gain more resources, to grow stronger quickly, to walk the path of the First-Rank Sacred Intent, at this stage, he had to be that blade.
Zhang Ruochen raised his head, looking at the blood-red butterfly in midair, his eyes filled with murderous intent.
"Shua!"
Spreading his ten wings, he soared into the air. His left arm formed a palm seal, and the shadows of ten swastika-patterned azure dragons appeared, unleashing a deafening dragon roar as he struck with his palm.