Chapter 343: A Battle That Must Be Fought
"Boom!"
The light seal formed by the power of the Eight Trigrams Cloud-Sealing Disk finally shattered completely, dissolving into wisps of true qi light mist.
Countless ice swords converged together, and the mere sword aura they emitted was like ten thousand beams of light, engulfing Red Desire Star Envoy's delicate figure.
Standing within the sword light, Red Desire Star Envoy's expression shifted slightly. Her blood and true qi were pushed to their limits, and an ancient, sacred power began to awaken within her body.
Her arm turned as white as jade, and specks of light seeped out from her skin, forming a powerful sacred force.
Raising her right arm, she struck a palm forward.
"Boom!"
White sacred light surged from her palm, like a storm that could destroy everything in the world.
All the ice swords shattered completely, turning into fragments of ice.
Although Red Desire Star Envoy had not cultivated a sacred body, sacred blood still awakened within her. Her right arm was fully sanctified, allowing her to unleash a trace of sacred power.
Just as the ice swords shattered, Zhang Ruochen had already charged in front of Red Desire Star Envoy and struck out with a palm.
"Wild Elephant Stomps the Ground."
Red Desire Star Envoy retreated two steps, freezing the river water beneath her feet to steady herself. She once again unleashed her sacred hand, erupting with sacred power to meet the attack.
The two palm forces collided, splitting the water surface apart. Two layers of waves surged in opposite directions.
Red Desire Star Envoy let out a muffled groan, her face turning pale. Under the force of Zhang Ruochen's palm, she kept retreating, struggling to defend herself.
Zhang Ruochen's palm force did not weaken; instead, it grew stronger.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen stopped in his tracks and released a hidden force from his palm, sending Red Desire Star Envoy flying backward.
"Ugh!"
Red Desire Star Envoy's internal organs suffered severe damage, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.
"If I'm not mistaken, Red Desire Star Envoy just used the power of her sacred hand. How could she still be injured by Zhang Ruochen?" On the Duanmu family's warship, an old man with graying hair narrowed his eyes, a contemplative look on his face.
This old man, named Hua Shenyi, was outwardly a guest elder of the Duanmu family but was actually an elder of the Moon Worship Demon Sect.
Since Red Desire Star Envoy possessed a sacred hand, even if she wasn't a sacred body, she could be considered a half-sacred body.
Zhang Ruochen was not a sacred body, yet his palm force was even stronger than Red Desire Star Envoy's. Even this demon sect elder was shocked.
Qin Ya stood beside Hua Shenyi, gazing at Zhang Ruochen in the distance. A hint of confusion appeared in her eyes. "Could Zhang Ruochen also have some kind of sacred body?"
"Impossible."
"Only descendants of saints possess diluted sacred blood and have a chance to cultivate a sacred body. The ancestors of the Zhang family in Yunwu Commandery didn't even have a single half-saint. How could a descendant give birth to a sacred body?"
Hua Shenyi frowned deeply. "Regardless, Zhang Ruochen is indeed an extraordinary talent. Though he hasn't fully grown yet, it's foreseeable that he will achieve great things in the future. If we can't recruit him into the sect, we must eliminate him."
Qin Ya said, "There's no need to rush this. Leave it to the Holy Maiden to handle."
Hua Shenyi nodded.
On the water, the battle continued, but it had become a one-sided slaughter.
As time passed, Zhang Ruochen fully adapted to the power of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, growing stronger with each exchange, forcing Red Desire Star Envoy into constant retreat.
Although Red Desire Star Envoy was weaker than Zhang Ruochen, her movement technique was extremely subtle. For a time, Zhang Ruochen couldn't completely subdue her.
"This ends now."
"Elephant Force Ninefold Stack."
Zhang Ruochen struck out nine palms in succession, each palm imprint condensing into a massive phantom of a divine elephant. The nine divine elephants connected as one, striking out together with Zhang Ruochen's palm.
Nine times the power surged forth in an instant.
Facing the oncoming palm force, Red Desire Star Envoy felt a stabbing pain all over her body. She could imagine that if that palm struck her, she would be torn apart.
"What a Zhang Ruochen, showing no mercy to a lady. Is he trying to kill me?"
A cold glint flashed in Red Desire Star Envoy's eyes. A red light appeared on her brow, like a bright vermilion beauty mark.
She prepared to use the sacred artifact in her Qi Sea.
Only by using a sacred artifact could she save her life.
Generally, only half-saint families and top-tier sects possessed sacred artifacts. Each sacred artifact was a world-destroying war weapon, unleashing power beyond the imagination of ordinary martial artists.
At the same time, only sacred artifacts could be stored in the Qi Sea.
At her current realm, she would need to burn a large amount of blood to unleash the power of a sacred artifact.
Using a sacred artifact once would severely deplete her vitality, leaving her weak for a long time before she could recover.
Just as Red Desire Star Envoy was about to activate the sacred artifact in her Qi Sea, a mass of orange light surged up from her left side. Within that light was a veiled woman.
She landed in front of Red Desire Star Envoy and said, "Put away the sacred artifact. Leave Zhang Ruochen to me."
It was one of the Seven Evil Star Envoys, Orange Moon Star Envoy.
Orange Moon Star Envoy hovered in midair, her long hair cascading straight down like a waterfall into the water. Her body was wrapped in a layer of light mist, revealing only a hazy silhouette, giving her a mysterious and ethereal beauty.
Also one of the Seven Evil Star Envoys, Orange Moon Star Envoy had a higher martial cultivation, having reached the late stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm.
Her palm struck forward.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen's ninefold power palm struck as if hitting an iron mountain. Not only did it fail to shake her, but it also numbed his arm with pain.
Orange Moon Star Envoy's body swayed slightly but eventually steadied. She twisted her five fingers into a fist and struck toward Zhang Ruochen's palm.
Her fist was like a shooting star, unleashing an unknown tens of thousands of pounds of force in an instant.
"Not good."
Zhang Ruochen immediately activated his movement technique, kicking off the water surface and retreating like the wind.
Although martial artists' speed grew slowly after reaching the Heavenly Extreme Realm,
Zhang Ruochen had already reached the speed of sound in the Earth Extreme Realm. Breaking through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm gave him a significant advantage in speed.
If only speed were compared, Zhang Ruochen was even faster than Orange Moon Star Envoy.
Orange Moon Star Envoy's fist wind struck in front of Zhang Ruochen but was blocked by the protective heavenly shield formed by Azure Void True Qi.
Zhang Ruochen steadied himself, staring at Orange Moon Star Envoy and Red Desire Star Envoy across from him. "Could it be that Orange Moon Star Envoy also wants to fight me?"
"If I strike, do you have any chance of winning?" Orange Moon Star Envoy's voice was ethereal, giving off an unfathomable aura.
Zhang Ruochen said, "How would I know without trying?"
"Then I'll grant your wish. Even if you die by my hand, you'll have made a name for yourself in the Eastern Domain."
Orange Moon Star Envoy's fingertips gathered wisps of flame, forming a fireball in her palm. Tiny streaks of lightning darted through the fireball, crackling with a sizzling sound.
The fireball, seemingly only the size of a fist, contained immense heat. The temperature it emitted caused the water within a hundred zhang to boil, bubbling up.
"The Seven Evil Star Envoys of the Black Market First Class Hall are planning to gang up on an inner palace student of our Martial Market Academy. If word gets out, it might tarnish the reputation of the Seven Evil Star Envoys."
In the distance, Lei Jing and Chen Ying soared into the air. In an instant, they landed on either side of Zhang Ruochen, shielding him in the center.
Lei Jing and Chen Ying were both Fish-Dragon Realm experts, renowned in the Demon Ridge and standing at the very peak.
Almost instantly, the Seven Evil Star Envoys rushed out simultaneously, on high alert, fully activating their true qi. They also feared that Lei Jing and Chen Ying might suddenly strike and kill Di Yi.
The Seven Evil Star Envoys stood in seven different positions, seemingly casual, but they had already formed a formation, linking their powers together.
Lei Jing laughed loudly. "Are we going to fight? Good. I've long wanted to weigh the Seven Evil Star Envoys to see how much they're worth."
"I'm afraid you can't handle it." Purple Wind Star Envoy said coldly.
Purple Wind Star Envoy, the eldest among the Seven Evil Star Envoys and the strongest, was naturally extremely assertive.
The Seven Evil Star Envoys were renowned throughout the world, each a dragon among men. Naturally, they wouldn't take a martial artist from the Demon Ridge seriously.
Even a Fish-Dragon Realm martial artist was just a slightly stronger ant in their eyes.
Lei Jing's gaze locked onto Purple Wind Star Envoy, his aura surging. "Then I'll have to weigh you today."
In an instant, blood light surged from Lei Jing's body, condensing into a nine-zhang-tall phantom of an ox-headed giant god.
"Whoosh——"
The entire water area turned blood-red. An overwhelming power erupted from Lei Jing's body, shooting into the sky and scattering the clouds above.
"This man is formidable, more than ten times stronger than the chief of the Poison Spider Merchant Guild. No wonder the Black Market has been suppressed by the Martial Market Bank in the Demon Ridge."
"Purple Huang Spear."
Purple Wind Star Envoy's expression turned serious, shedding his contempt.
The long spear on his back flew up into his hand.
Purple Wind Star Envoy raised his arm, pointing the spear at the sky. A stream of true qi shot from the spear tip, turning into a purple pillar of light.
In an instant, countless lightning bolts gathered in the sky, converging at the spear tip.
Purple Wind Star Envoy charged forward, thrusting his spear at Lei Jing.
At the same time, Lei Jing struck out with a fist, carrying the power of the blood god phantom, aimed at Purple Wind Star Envoy below.
"Boom!"
With one clash, Purple Wind Star Envoy was sent flying backward by the blood god phantom's fist.
However, Purple Wind Star Envoy was not injured. Instead, the light of the Purple Huang Spear in his hand grew even more dazzling. His battle intent blazed.
Lei Jing was surprised. "Impressive. No wonder you're the leader of the Seven Evil Star Envoys. At less than fifty years old, you possess such strength."
Purple Wind Star Envoy said, "Your strength truly surprises me."
Purple Wind Star Envoy had just used his full power, yet he was still driven back by Lei Jing's strike. If the battle continued, the outcome would be hard to predict.
"Purple Wind Star Envoy, you may not know this, but the Pavilion Master Lei before you was once a proud figure in the Holy Academy. Being driven back by him in one move is no disgrace."
Di Yi stepped forward, appearing calm and composed, raising a hand to stop Purple Wind Star Envoy, who was about to continue attacking.
Di Yi said, "Today, this is a battle between me and Zhang Ruochen. All of you, stand down."
The Seven Evil Star Envoys all retreated.
Red Desire Star Envoy, with a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth, stared at Zhang Ruochen across from her, unwilling to give in. "I still have ultimate techniques I haven't used. If we fought again, I might not lose."
Zhang Ruochen just smiled faintly, not arguing.
Ultimate techniques? Who didn't have them?
Lei Jing frowned slightly, looking at Zhang Ruochen. "Do you really have to fight Di Yi?"
"I promised a friend I would avenge her, so I have to fight." Zhang Ruochen's voice was firm, his gaze growing sharper.
"Di Yi is no ordinary man. He is the most talented martial artist the Black Market First Class Hall has produced in the last hundred years. You must not underestimate him," Lei Jing said.
If he hadn't witnessed Zhang Ruochen's battle with Red Desire Star Envoy, Lei Jing would never have agreed to a duel between Zhang Ruochen and Di Yi.
As it was, although Lei Jing still didn't think Zhang Ruochen was a match for Di Yi, he believed the gap between them wasn't large. Even if Zhang Ruochen couldn't defeat Di Yi, he had the ability to protect himself.