Chapter 2429: Dark Fragrance
Stepping into Phoenix Cry Pavilion, the air turned much colder, as if falling into an ice cavern.
Zhang Ruochen swept his gaze across the room. There was an ancient bronze-colored long table. Ling, Cang Baizi, and Huo Xing were already seated in the north, west, and east positions. Three stunning women attended them—two were Half-Saints from the Undying Blood Clan, and one was a Half-Saint from the human race.
On the table, besides fine wine and delicacies, there were dishes cooked from human flesh and blood, and soul food refined from human souls.
A colored glaze lamp sat in the center of the table.
The lamp oil was clear and transparent, the wick like a bean. As it burned, it emitted rippling patterns and a fragrance like sandalwood, giving a sense of tranquility and distance.
"Haha! Brother Ruochen, I've been waiting for you for a long time. Why are you only arriving now? I think you'll have to punish yourself with three cups." Ling laughed familiarly, as if greeting an old friend he hadn't seen in ages.
This fifth son of the Ghost Lord had his ghostly aura concealed within. His ghost body was no different from a flesh-and-blood body. He looked to be in his thirties, with a pale, beardless face and a completely bald head—not a single hair.
Cang Baizi and Huo Xing each secretly sized up Zhang Ruochen, saying nothing.
Zhang Ruochen sat down on the south side of the table, facing Ling. His gaze fixed on the colored glaze lamp on the table. "Buddha oil lamp?"
"Exactly, a Buddha oil lamp," Ling said.
Buddha oil was rendered from the corpse of a Buddha, refined into lamp oil.
Once lit, it could suppress a cultivator's spiritual power from leaving their body, and also suppress their spiritual perception.
Just from this arrangement, Zhang Ruochen realized that the three before him had murderous intentions toward him today.
Cang Baizi had changed into a clean Daoist robe, showing none of the disheveled appearance he had in the Peacock Palace. "The ancestors of the Longevity Hall once went to the Western Buddha Realm, dug up a Buddha corpse, and refined quite a bit of Buddha oil. If Brother Ruochen is interested, I can give you some."
A Buddha was a god.
Zhang Ruochen covered his nose, speaking bluntly, "It stinks. Where is such a foul corpse smell coming from? Even the Buddha incense can't cover it."
Cang Baizi's stiff and pale face turned cold and fierce, as if he was about to explode.
Ling held him back.
Cang Baizi let out a deep snort, venting his anger on the human Half-Saint woman sitting on his lap, squeezing her until her pretty face twitched and her body trembled slightly.
Ling's gaze fell on the human female saint named Lian Rou. "Why aren't you pouring wine for Brother Ruochen?"
Lian Rou, full of charm, picked up the wine jug and filled a cup. Her delicate body leaned against Zhang Ruochen, her breath like orchid. "Young Master, please drink."
Zhang Ruochen extended two fingers to block the cup, meeting Ling's gaze. "There's no need for such formalities between us. I came here for only one purpose: the Sword South Realm."
Ling narrowed his eyes, setting down the raised cup. "With Brother Ruochen's status, why are you so interested in a barren, weak realm?"
"Aren't you also interested in it?"
Zhang Ruochen continued, "What exactly did Knife Prison Emperor tell you?"
"This has nothing to do with Knife Prison Emperor. Buying the Sword South Realm is just to expand our power and nurture more clansmen," Cang Baizi said.
Ling shook his head slightly. Cang Baizi was truly a fool.
Zhang Ruochen couldn't be certain that Knife Prison Emperor had leaked the information. Asking that question was clearly a test. By answering that way, Cang Baizi was denying it, but what difference was there from admitting it?
Knife Prison Emperor was in for a hard time.
However, Ling felt this might not be a bad thing.
They had promised Knife Prison Emperor they would never reveal it to anyone.
They kept their word—they hadn't deliberately leaked it.
Now, with Zhang Ruochen furious, he would surely go after Knife Prison Emperor. But once Knife Prison Emperor broke through to the Thousand Questions Realm, his cultivation would skyrocket, making him a formidable opponent for Zhang Ruochen.
Even if Knife Prison Emperor still couldn't defeat Zhang Ruochen and died at his hands,
would the forces behind Knife Prison Emperor let it go?
No matter how you calculated it, they wouldn't lose.
Of course, it all depended on whether Zhang Ruochen could leave alive today.
Zhang Ruochen said, "There's no need for the three of you to lie through your teeth. I'll tell you plainly: I am determined to have the Sword South Realm."
Ling smiled. "Since Brother Ruochen is so interested in the Sword South Realm, we can reluctantly part with it. However, purchasing a realm cost our three major forces a great deal. I wonder, Ruochen... what price can you offer to buy it back?"
Zhang Ruochen was straightforward. "Three Divine Stones."
As the three strong ones froze,
Zhang Ruochen took three Divine Stones from his Space Ring and tossed them out, shooting toward Ling, Cang Baizi, and Huo Xing respectively.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Cang Baizi grabbed the Divine Stone flying toward him. Unable to suppress his anger any longer, he stood up abruptly, his yin qi surging. "You're asking for trouble, Zhang Ruochen. Don't be so arrogant. I'll tell you the truth: the Longevity Hall wants the Ten-Thousand Curse Heavenly Bead on you. Otherwise, with one command from me, the entire Sword South Realm will turn into a dead zone in an instant, and billions of living beings will die because of you."
Huo Xing, clad in armor, said, "The Hidden Bone Sea only wants the remains of Saint Yan Hong."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head with a cold smile, looking at Ling. "If I'm not mistaken, the Earth Fiend Ghost City wants the Seven Star Ghost Lotus, right?"
"Ruochen truly understands me," Ling said.
Zhang Ruochen took the wine cup from Lian Rou's hand, sniffed it. "A single Sword South Realm, and you want to sell it for three Supreme Sacred Artifacts? Do you think I'm bound to be your fool?"
The Hidden Bone Sea wanted the remains of Saint Yan Hong, but the ring on her finger was a Supreme Sacred Artifact.
The ring couldn't be removed from her finger.
Ling, Cang Baizi, and Huo Xing all wore smiles.
Their smiles were different.
Ling's smile was warm, Cang Baizi's was stiff, and Huo Xing's was like the bone fire in his eye sockets, flickering with excitement.
Zhang Ruochen ultimately didn't drink the wine in the cup. "I'll tell you the truth: I never intended to buy the Sword South Realm from you."
Ling, Cang Baizi, and Huo Xing still smiled, but their smiles all turned stiff.
Zhang Ruochen continued, "A long time ago, someone told me that the Hell Realm is a place where the weak are prey to the strong. Since that's the case, why use Divine Stones to buy something you can take?"
The entire room turned murderous.
"You want to take the Sword South Realm from the hands of our three major forces? You must be dreaming," Cang Baizi said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "In this world, there are some people who just love to dream."
Hearing this, Cang Baizi's expression shifted slightly.
Ling remained calm, maintaining his composure. "Brother Ruochen has just arrived in the Hell Realm, so you probably don't understand the rules here. The law of the jungle is true, but there are also some basic rules."
"If you dare to forcibly take the Sword South Realm, you're essentially starting a large-scale civil war between divine-level forces. If everyone acted like you, the Hell Realm would have long been in chaos. You've crossed the line. Even if we let you off, the Destiny Temple won't."
He then drank a cup of wine and said slowly, "Over the years, the Judgment Division has killed quite a few disobedient Divine Sons, Divine Daughters, and Divine Disciples. Brother Ruochen must think twice before acting."
Zhang Ruochen stood up, his killing intent spilling out. "Don't try to pressure me with the Destiny Temple. This battle, I am determined to fight. If you know what's good for you, hand over the Sword South Realm voluntarily. Otherwise, the Sword South Realm will be your burial ground. Farewell!"
Ling's gaze turned cold and frosty in an instant. The corner of his eye fell on the human female saint named Lian Rou.
"Bang."
The wine cup shattered on the ground, breaking into pieces.
"Boom!"
Ling, Cang Baizi, and Huo Xing simultaneously released their Dao Domains.
In Ling's Dao Domain stood a majestic yin mountain, its body stretching for a thousand miles, peaks layered upon each other. Millions of ghost souls surged through the mountains like a tsunami, rushing toward Zhang Ruochen.
Cang Baizi's Dao Domain consisted of seven Dao Palaces.
Huo Xing's Dao Domain was a gray bone sea, faintly visible with bone bodies as large as mountains, bone fire burning within.
Three Dao Domains, layer upon layer, pressed down on Zhang Ruochen.
"Rise!"
Zhang Ruochen roared. The Immovable Bright King Saint Image burst out from his body, propping up a patch of heaven and earth to resist the suppression of the three Dao Domains.
Lian Rou, standing beside Zhang Ruochen, had her tenderness vanish instantly. Unbeknownst to him, a black dagger appeared in her hand, stabbing like lightning toward Zhang Ruochen's temple.
At this moment, she was no longer like a Saint. The aura she erupted had clearly reached the Thousand Questions Realm.
At such close range, with her unparalleled speed, she had essentially sentenced Zhang Ruochen to death.
Zhang Ruochen's protective Saint Qi was pierced layer by layer by the black dagger, as if made of paper. The moment it was drawn, the three women sitting beside Ling, Cang Baizi, and Huo Xing had their souls and blood sucked away, turning into three withered skeletons.
Its extreme evil and malice caused thousands of voices to sound throughout the room—some crying, some begging, some laughing wildly...
The foot-long dagger contained countless evil spirits.
Just as the black dagger was about to pierce Zhang Ruochen's temple, he, as if expecting it, struck her chest with a palm.
"Bang!"
Lian Rou's eyes widened, filled with disbelief as her body flew backward.
Her once full chest was blasted open by Zhang Ruochen's palm, caving inward. Her sternum shattered, and her internal organs turned into bloody mud. Before she could fly out, her left wrist was grabbed by Zhang Ruochen and pulled back.
Zhang Ruochen showed no mercy. He struck her on the head.
"Bang!"
Lian Rou's head exploded. Her once alluring body turned into a bloody, headless mess of flesh, falling to the ground.
She was still not dead. Her fingers and legs writhed.
Zhang Ruochen suppressed her within his Space True Domain, preventing her body from regenerating.
"Break for me."
The Immovable Bright King Saint Image tore apart the three Dao Domains. The surrounding scene returned to normal. Still in Phoenix Cry Pavilion, Ling, Cang Baizi, and Huo Xing remained seated at the three sides of the table.
The difference was that the three women beside them had turned into ferocious gray-black skeletons.
Lian Rou's Great Saint blood splattered all over the room.
Zhang Ruochen paid them no heed. He picked up the wine cup on the table and drained it in one gulp. Then he crouched down, took the black dagger from Lian Rou's hand, examined it, and said, "A Curse Dagger! As far as I know, it has been passed down for over two hundred thousand years, absorbing countless evil spirits and blood. It's a cursed weapon capable of killing a Demigod. You're not a cultivator of the Hell Realm. You're from the Heaven Slayer Organization?"
From Lian Rou's broken body came a chilling, icy voice: "Zhang Ruochen, you are indeed strong, but I don't understand how you knew in advance that I was the real assassin?"
"Your aura-concealing technique is exquisite, hiding your cultivation at the Saint realm. But even if you could fool a Demigod, you can't fool me." Zhang Ruochen naturally wouldn't reveal his secret of having the Truth Heart.
If Zhang Ruochen hadn't sensed it in advance and been prepared, in that situation, even a Supreme Realm Great Saint would have had a ten to twenty percent chance of being assassinated and falling.
First, they brought in women from the human race and Undying Blood Clan to accompany them, and prepared various dishes made from human flesh and blood, all to disturb Zhang Ruochen's mind.
At the moment of action, three Dao Domains pressed down on him, diverting his attention to the three nonexistent cultivators. Then Lian Rou approached for a close-range assassination, using the Curse Dagger to take Zhang Ruochen's life.
This killing setup was intricately linked, laid out from the very beginning.
"Haha, Zhang Ruochen, you've become a target in both the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm. You're one of the most valuable cultivators on the 'Great Saint Bounty Ranking.' Countless assassin emperors want your life. You won't live long," Lian Rou laughed almost maniacally.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Heaven Slayer Organization is actually cooperating with the Earth Fiend Rules, Longevity Hall, and Hidden Bone Sea. I wonder how the Destiny Temple will deal with them once they find out?"
"You won't have the chance."
"Why?"
"Because you have no evidence."
Lian Rou's body began to burn on its own.
In the flames, her calm voice rang out: "Dark Fragrance is just the prelude. The shadow of death will cover every corner of heaven and earth. When the peach blossoms bloom, you too will become like me, turning into a hundred thousand specks of dust."
Zhang Ruochen tried to stop Lian Rou, but it was too late. As soon as her voice faded, she burned to ashes, leaving only a pile of embers.
Even the Great Saint blood scattered around the room burned away.
"I could stop her from self-destructing her Saint Source, but I couldn't stop her from using the Self-Immolation Secret Art. The assassins of the Heaven Slayer Organization are too terrifying. She didn't seem like a person at all, more like a weapon for killing. With her Thousand Questions Realm cultivation, she chose suicide so decisively. Was she really not afraid of death at all?"
Zhang Ruochen carefully recalled the words she spoke before her death.
"Dark Fragrance is just the prelude... When the peach blossoms bloom, you too will become like me..."
"Dark Fragrance, Peach Blossom."
"Chi!"
On the table, the Buddha oil in the colored glaze lamp burned out.
The lamp went out, plunging the entire room into darkness. Only the whispers of countless yin spirits from the Curse Dagger could be heard.
Without the suppression of the Buddha oil lamp, Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power could finally leave his body.
Ling, Cang Baizi, and Huo Xing were still seated at the three sides of the table, but Zhang Ruochen couldn't sense their presence. He snorted lightly, "It seems you still don't dare to make a move openly."
A cold wind blew in from the window. Ling, Cang Baizi, and Huo Xing's bodies disintegrated, turning into three piles of yellow sand.
They were all just puppet avatars.
...
Ling, Cang Baizi, and Huo Xing stood in Guiyan Pavilion, gazing toward Phoenix Cry Pavilion.
Cang Baizi said in confusion, "Is Zhang Ruochen really a lecher? Even with Dark Fragrance's beauty, she couldn't seduce him."
"Far from being a lecher, he's a ruthless flower-crusher," Huo Xing said.
Despite the failed assassination, Ling remained calm and composed, a smile on his face. "Lan Ying, Yan Huangtu, Wu Jiang—all of them are top-tier heroes of this era, yet they all lost to Zhang Ruochen on the Heaven Hunting Battlefield. For someone like that, even if he were a lecher, a beauty trap wouldn't kill him."
Huo Xing said, "Dark Fragrance is not only a beauty but also a top-tier emperor-level assassin of the Heaven Slayer Organization. We have to admit, Zhang Ruochen is harder to deal with than we imagined."
"If he weren't strong enough, it wouldn't be interesting," Ling said with a smile.
"You can still laugh? Zhang Ruochen already knows Dark Fragrance's identity. If he reports it to the Destiny Temple, we'll be in big trouble," Cang Baizi said with concern.
Huo Xing said, "I'm not worried about that. Zhang Ruochen's background in the Destiny Temple is the Fortune Divine Palace, but the Fortune Divine Palace doesn't oversee this area. As for the Judgment Division... heh, with our influence in the Judgment Division, if Zhang Ruochen doesn't have absolute evidence, the Judgment Division won't even bother with him."