Chapter 2651: Secrets of the Killer World
Green Pear Garden.
Three corpses lay scattered on the ground, each belonging to a top-tier Great Saint-level expert. Zhang Ruochen had pulled them out from hiding and killed them all. The entire process was completed in the span of a single flash.
Zhang Ruochen could not recognize which realm they came from, but he knew they were all assassins.
The aura on assassins was unique.
In the distance, Shang Zihong stood atop a lantern tower, witnessing all of this.
The lantern tower was a hundred zhang tall, hung with one thousand three hundred and thirteen lanterns. The lanterns contained Radiant Matter, and at night, their light could illuminate the entire island, reflecting across hundreds of li of seawater. During the day, the soft white glow emitted by the tower formed a unique field.
The entire lantern tower was a powerful Radiant-type sacred artifact.
The six sect leaders of the Confucian Realm stood behind Shang Zihong, each one ancient and sacred, with unusual expressions on their faces—some astonished, some silent, some horrified.
The leader of the Heavenly Rite Sect, Yunzhongsheng, said, "These assassins were all top-tier killer emperors, yet Shu Qianchi killed them with a single finger each. His cultivation must have reached the peak of the Demigod realm."
"What, are you afraid?" Shang Zihong said.
It must be noted that a thousand years ago, Zhuo Yunong, who was hailed as the number one expert of the Destiny Temple, was only at the peak of the Demigod realm.
This showed the deterrent power of a peak Demigod expert.
Yunzhongsheng snorted coldly: "Of course not. Since Young Master Shang has bestowed upon us the 'Six Arts Battle Diagram' left behind by the Confucian Ancestor, with this diagram, combining the strength of us six sect leaders, we can contend even against a peak Demigod."
Although his words were tough, the wariness in his eyes never disappeared.
Shang Zihong smiled and said, "Our goal is to avenge Gongyang Mu. The Confucian Realm is the best ally of the Paradise Realm, so how could the Paradise Realm stand idly by? The cultivators of the Book Realm must pay the price. If Shu Qianchi dares to interfere, tonight will be his death."
The six sect leaders exchanged glances, bowed to Shang Zihong, and said in unison, "Thank you, Young Master Shang, for upholding justice for our Confucian Realm."
"Enough!"
Shang Zihong stared again at Green Pear Garden, only to find that Shu Qianchi, who had been standing in the courtyard, had vanished. No matter what method he used, he could no longer locate him.
...
Han Qiu had originally been ordered by Zhang Ruochen to guard the Eastern Domain and protect the Ming Sect.
With the rescue of Yunshen Daozhu and the end of the Merit War, the Kunlun Realm had entered an unprecedented period of peace and prosperity. However, cultivators of the Path of Darkness preferred chaos and slaughter; only by constantly challenging themselves could they improve their cultivation faster.
Thus, Han Qiu left the Ming Sect and returned to the Death God Temple.
The Death God Temple was not a temple of the Death Clan in the Hell Realm, but one of the three major killer organizations of the Heavenly Court, on par with the Heavenly Assassin Organization.
Over a thousand years of cultivation, she had killed countless enemies stronger than herself and devoured their cultivation, rapidly advancing her realm. Now, in the world of assassins, she had earned the title "Sun-Moon Dark Consort."
Sun and Moon together meant "Ming" (bright).
In the last hundred years, her killings had been unstoppable, never failing, never making a mistake. She had even, through careful planning, killed a Supreme Realm Great Saint while she herself was at the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life realm.
But today, she knew she had made a grave mistake, nearly losing her life.
For an assassin, besides killing, the most important thing was intelligence—they must thoroughly understand all information about their target.
But today, lured by a high bounty, she rashly attempted to assassinate Shu Qianchi. The moment she struck with her sword, she regretted it. Because she realized that the other party showed no fear, as if he could see through her strike and had anticipated it all along.
Such an expert was definitely not just a Demigod.
He was very likely at the peak of the Demigod realm, standing at the pinnacle of the mortal world, entering the ranks of the peerless.
To kill an expert of this level, in the entire killer world, there were no more than ten who would dare take the job and had a certain chance of success.
She was not there yet. She was too young to break into the top ten assassins.
At this moment, she had been injured by a single finger strike from the opponent, with most of her internal meridians and saintly meridians shattered. She was hiding underground on an uninhabited small island to heal.
Suddenly, Han Qiu heard footsteps from above, dozens of zhang of thick earth. The Red Dust Archipelago was crowded with too many experts, so she dared not release her spiritual power to probe. She immediately suppressed her aura, merging with the surrounding mud and stone.
Even so, she was still discovered.
"Hua!"
A massive void hand grabbed her from deep within the earth and dragged her back to the surface.
Han Qiu fell to the ground, staring in horror at the Confucian-robed man standing on the reef with his hands behind his back. He stood there silently, yet gave her the feeling that he controlled this entire world.
Trying to escape from an expert of this level was nothing but a fool's dream.
Han Qiu was severely injured, barely able to muster the strength to fight. She closed her eyes and said, "Go ahead, do it."
"Aren't you afraid of death?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Han Qiu said, "Who in this world isn't afraid of death? But from the day I became an assassin, I was mentally prepared to be killed. You are strong; I cannot kill you. The fact that you could track me here means I cannot escape."
Zhang Ruochen walked toward her and said, "I know you. You are a cultivator from the Kunlun Realm."
Seeing that the other party had not attacked, Han Qiu was slightly surprised. She opened her eyes again and looked at Shu Qianchi, who was right in front of her. A flash of realization crossed her mind, and she said, "Are you an Awakener from the Kunlun Realm?"
"You know nothing about me, yet you dared to come and kill me?" Zhang Ruochen's Confucian robe fluttered in the wind.
In his memory, Han Qiu was not such an impulsive person.
Han Qiu said, "Because the bounty on your head is too high. Every assassin who came to the Red Dust Archipelago was tempted. There are even rumors that you carry at least one hundred thousand divine stones on you."
"That is not a rumor," Zhang Ruochen said.
Han Qiu showed a hint of surprise, then calmed down and said, "One hundred thousand divine stones can buy countless cultivation resources, enough to save me four hundred years of cultivation time at the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life realm. One hundred thousand divine stones can even hire a False God to make a move. The temptation for an assassin is fatal."
"You are very short on divine stones?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Han Qiu said, "Any cultivator who wants to become stronger will definitely be short on divine stones. Are you going to kill me or not? If not, I'll leave."
She did not think that just because they came from the same great world, the other party would go easy on her. In fact, in the Heavenly Court, cultivators from the same great world often fought fiercely against each other.
"Answer a few of my questions, and I will let you leave," Zhang Ruochen said.
Han Qiu sneered, "An assassin's life is worthless. But if you want an assassin to do something, you must pay divine stones, including having an assassin answer questions."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her and said, "Fine, you have principles."
"One question, at least ten divine stones."
"Your price is really not low."
"Who told you that you are rich enough? Ten divine stones should mean nothing to you," Han Qiu said.
Zhang Ruochen deliberately threatened, his voice cold: "Aren't you afraid that after I finish asking, I'll kill you, and you won't be able to take a single divine stone with you?"
The fact that the other party could track her here and drag her out from underground had indeed shocked Han Qiu.
Now, Han Qiu had recovered from her earlier shock and said, "Since you are an Awakener from the Kunlun Realm, wearing Confucian robes, and with such profound cultivation, you must be a Confucian sage from the Middle Ages. How could you be a person who speaks one way and acts another, who doesn't keep his word?"
Zhang Ruochen took out ten divine stones and tossed them to her, saying, "Why did you want to kill me?"
"Because the six ancient sect leaders of the Confucian Realm jointly issued a bounty in the Red Dust Sea Market. That's not a secret. Ten divine stones, I'll take them first," Han Qiu said.
"No wonder so many assassins suddenly appeared wanting to kill me."
Zhang Ruochen tossed out another ten divine stones and said, "Where is A Le?"
Han Qiu's eyes narrowed slightly as she carefully examined the Confucian-robed man across from her, saying, "Why are you asking that?"
"When an employer hires you to kill someone, do you ask why?"
Zhang Ruochen added, "Or is it that you cannot answer this question?"
"No! I can answer, but the price is wrong. For this question, I want one hundred divine stones," Han Qiu said.
Zhang Ruochen gave her another ninety divine stones.
Han Qiu received the divine stones, showing a smile, and said, "A Le disappeared without a trace a thousand years ago."
"Why did he disappear?" Zhang Ruochen's expression turned serious.
Han Qiu said, "That's the next question."
Zhang Ruochen was about to take out ten divine stones for her.
But she smiled and said, "This question is very complicated, even involving a great secret in the killer world. Since you come from the Kunlun Realm, you should know the backgrounds of A Le and me. So, besides me, very few cultivators know the reason."
"Name your price."
"Two hundred divine stones."
"Not expensive."
Zhang Ruochen tossed her two hundred divine stones.
"Earning divine stones can be this easy."
Han Qiu stored all the divine stones into her spatial storage vessel and said, "A thousand years ago, A Le disappeared together with the number one assassin of the Heavenly Assassin Organization, Peach Blossom. There are legends that they became lovers and went into hiding. There are also legends that Peach Blossom was executed by a god for defying the Heavenly Assassin Organization's orders, and A Le died in the process."
"Then, is he alive or dead?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Han Qiu said, "That, I don't know."
Zhang Ruochen could tell that Han Qiu was not telling the whole truth; she was hiding something. Clearly, regarding A Le's matter, she did not intend to sell everything to a stranger.
What she said was evasive and downplayed the key points.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Since Peach Blossom disappeared, why did she reappear last night?"
"Peach blossoms bloom every year; does each bloom look the same?"
"What do you mean?"
"The Peach Blossom of a thousand years ago and the Peach Blossom of now are not the same person. Where are your divine stones?" Han Qiu said.
Zhang Ruochen took out twenty divine stones, handed them to her, and asked the next question: "I want to know the information about this current Peach Blossom."
Han Qiu said, "This current Peach Blossom has only appeared in the last few decades, taking only seven jobs in total. But in the killer world, it has caused a sensational stir. Her strength is definitely not inferior to the Peach Blossom of a thousand years ago."
"Who did she kill in these seven jobs?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Han Qiu said, "The weakest was Yao Bing from the 'Red Dust Peerless List.'"
"And the strongest?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Han Qiu said, "A False God."
"Peach Blossom can kill a False God?" Zhang Ruochen's heart finally stirred.
Han Qiu said, "No one knows how she did it, but she definitely succeeded. It must be noted that even the Peach Blossom of a thousand years ago could not achieve the feat of killing a god."
Zhang Ruochen had personally witnessed the combat power unleashed by a False God. Even someone as strong as Bai Qinger could only confront a False God head-on for a short time.
For an assassin to assassinate a False God, even with every advantage of time and place, even carrying special treasures for killing gods—such as divine talismans, ancient god-killing inscriptions, and so on—their cultivation would at least need to reach the level of Wuma Jiuxing during his Saint realm days to have a chance of success. And the probability of failing and dying at the hands of the False God was even greater.
"Could it be that Peach Blossom herself is a False God?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Han Qiu said, "All I know is that this Peach Blossom is very likely a man. Beyond that, I know nothing."
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a long time, then suddenly looked at her and said, "If I were to hire you to kill someone, how many divine stones would it cost?"
"I can't kill anyone right now. I'm too badly injured. It will take several years of recuperation to return to my peak state," she said.
"Who said it would take several years to recuperate?"
Zhang Ruochen extended his right hand and grabbed at the void. The sacred qi of heaven and earth and the essence of the plants and trees on the island converged toward him, forming a massive storm.
Zhang Ruochen struck out with a palm, and the power within the storm turned into streams that poured into Han Qiu's body.
In an instant, the damaged meridians and saintly meridians in Han Qiu's body recovered, and her injuries were completely healed.
This move by Zhang Ruochen secretly shocked her, making her feel it was unbelievable.
How could there be such a miraculous method in the world?
Han Qiu was also an extraordinary person. She quickly calmed down and asked, "Who do you want to kill?"
"Didn't you just say that the six sect leaders of the Confucian Realm put a bounty on my head? Then go and kill them first. As for the price, it's negotiable," Zhang Ruochen said.
The eyes beneath Han Qiu's black veil showed a strange color. She said frankly, "The six sect leaders are the six most powerful giants under Gongyang Mu of the Confucian Realm, each having lived for over ten thousand years. With my current cultivation, I cannot kill them. Your cultivation is unfathomable; why don't you do it yourself?"
"They are not worthy to be my opponents, and I don't want to be distracted by them."
Zhang Ruochen thought of something and said, "With your current cultivation, it is indeed too much to kill the six sect leaders. How about this: since we are both cultivators from the Kunlun Realm, I will give you a chance at fortune."
Zhang Ruochen did not want to reveal his identity to Han Qiu for now, but he did want to nurture her a bit, because she had the potential to grow. In the future, she might help him cultivate a hidden force.
So, he took her into the Qiankun Realm and threw her into the Sword Mountain.
With Zhang Ruochen's concealment, with Han Qiu's spiritual power, she naturally could not discover that she was inside the Qiankun Realm.
The Sword Realm contained countless inheritances left by three thousand Sword Gods, and the Sword Mountain held an unknown number of Sword Dao Essences. If Han Qiu could obtain even one or two of them, Zhang Ruochen would both fulfill his promise to promote the Sword Dao and strengthen his own forces.
...
One chapter today, 4000 words.