Chapter 416: Senior Sister Yanchen
A thousand miles away.
The master of the Evil Wood Palace, Skeleton Bone Dharma King, stood at the edge of a cliff, gazing into the distance. He spotted the purple light pillar shooting up into the sky in the southeast direction.
Skeleton Bone Dharma King's pupils contracted, and he muttered to himself, "How could this be?"
Nie Wenlong sat on a stone platform not far away. He also glanced toward the light pillar, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Skeleton Bone Dharma King, it seems Green Wood Dharma King has run into some trouble. Do you need me to intervene?"
Skeleton Bone Dharma King's expression turned cold and grim. "It's just a minor matter. Lord Nie need not concern himself. I'll send someone to assist immediately."
A moment later, another Dharma King of the Evil Wood Palace received Skeleton Bone Dharma King's orders and promptly headed toward the direction of the light pillar.
Nie Wenlong was somewhat curious. "Logically speaking, with the young elites of the Kunlun Realm descending en masse on the Five Elements Ruins Realm, the major powers here should be on full defensive. Who would dare to provoke the Evil Wood Palace?"
Skeleton Bone Dharma King also looked puzzled. "Lord Nie, do you think it could be experts from the Kunlun Realm?"
Nie Wenlong immediately shook his head. "Impossible. Those who came to the Five Elements Ruins Realm this time are all junior disciples. Aside from me, there isn't a single true expert among them. No one could threaten a Dharma King-level powerhouse. Unless... several dozen disciples gathered together to form a combined attack formation, that might force Green Wood Dharma King to send a distress signal. But that possibility is even less likely."
Nie Wenlong had trained at the Holy Academy for ten years to reach his current level.
The other disciples hadn't even entered the Holy Academy yet. Even if some had slightly higher cultivation bases, they were still far behind him.
Ten years of training didn't just increase one's cultivation—it also honed advanced martial techniques, accumulated combat experience, and deepened one's understanding of the martial path.
Even if some people forcibly elevated their cultivation using heavenly treasures and earthly rarities, they wouldn't have enough time to master martial techniques. Such martial artists would likely be inferior in practical combat to those at lower realms.
Thus, Nie Wenlong was certain that none of the disciples could threaten Green Wood Dharma King. Not even the Buddha Emperor's heir, Zhang Ruochen, or the Golden Light Sacred Body, Luo Shuihan, had that capability.
"Chi chi!"
Nie Wenlong took a deep breath, and a purple light ring surged from the top of his head. The wood-element spiritual energy of heaven and earth frantically converged toward him.
The ground around the stone platform rustled as emerald-green grass blades sprouted, growing at a hundred times the normal speed. Soon, they reached over ten inches in height.
Skeleton Bone Dharma King's face showed shock. "Impressive! In just a few days, he's already mastered the Wood Spirit Treasure Body."
Skeleton Bone Dharma King himself had only succeeded in cultivating the Wood Spirit Treasure Body after breaking through to the Dharma King realm (Fish-Dragon Realm).
This Lord Nie clearly hadn't reached the Dharma King realm, yet he had effortlessly mastered the Wood Spirit Treasure Body. Were all cultivators from the Kunlun Realm this formidable?
What he didn't know was that Nie Wenlong, as a Holy Disciple ranked in the top ten thousand of the Heavenly Ranking, was a peerless genius. Mastering a treasure body was no difficult feat for him.
Nie Wenlong stood up, took a deep breath, and a faint smile appeared on his face. "Truly, it saved me ten years of bitter cultivation. My martial cultivation seems to have advanced again. I've already touched the threshold of the Fish-Dragon Realm. I believe I'll break through soon."
Not only that, but with the Wood Spirit Treasure Body mastered, Nie Wenlong's strength had taken a significant leap. He should now be able to contend with experts ranked in the top thousand of the Heavenly Ranking.
In other words, at the same cultivation level, Nie Wenlong was now among the top-tier experts below the Sacred Body level.
After all, across the entire Kunlun Realm, not many young martial artists could cultivate a treasure body.
"Skeleton Bone Dharma King, thank you for the Purple Cloud Sinking Incense Wood. You'd best prepare more of such treasures. If you can present them to the Half-Saint Ancestor of the Xu Holy Clan, your future prospects will be even brighter," Nie Wenlong said.
Skeleton Bone Dharma King gave a bitter smile. "Purple Cloud Sinking Incense Wood takes ten thousand years to accumulate a single jin. The entire Evil Wood Palace has gathered it for over a thousand years, yet we've only collected a meager stock. With consumption across generations, the palace's supply is now less than a hundred jin."
Nie Wenlong didn't believe Skeleton Bone Dharma King's words at all. The Evil Wood Palace's stock of Purple Cloud Sinking Incense Wood was definitely more than a hundred jin—Skeleton Bone Dharma King was simply unwilling to offer it up.
Of course, Nie Wenlong couldn't be bothered to pursue the matter. He had already mastered the Wood Spirit Treasure Body and had a bright future ahead. He wouldn't stay in a small place like the Five Elements Ruins Realm.
If he could also kill Zhang Ruochen, that would be another great merit.
...
The battle between the Demon Ape and Green Wood Dharma King lasted only a quarter of an hour before Green Wood Dharma King was struck in the body by the Demon Ape's fist, suffering severe injuries.
He had initially tried to flee, but Zhang Ruochen held him back with the Sacred Sword, and the Demon Ape quickly caught up.
Green Wood Dharma King, with disheveled hair and a face smeared with blood, kept waving his Crystal Divine Staff. He thought that if he could stall for just a moment longer, reinforcements might arrive, turning the tide.
Zhang Ruochen, of course, saw that Green Wood Dharma King was stalling for time, so he didn't give him a chance to prolong the fight.
"It's about time. Time to send him on his way."
Zhang Ruochen, wielding the Sacred Sword, charged to Green Wood Dharma King's left side and executed the move "Soul-Suppressing Shadow Stand."
How could Green Wood Dharma King, severely wounded and exhausted, possibly block the Sacred Sword?
"No—!"
Green Wood Dharma King let out a shrill scream.
The Sacred Sword severed the Crystal Divine Staff. The cold blade fell upon Green Wood Dharma King's head, splitting his body in two.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew the sword. Not a single drop of blood stained the blade.
"Green Wood Dharma King was roughly at the first transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm. Killing him should earn me a thousand military merit points."
Zhang Ruochen picked up the broken staff, now in two pieces. Embedded inside the staff was a strip of purple cloud-patterned wood.
He pinched that small strip of wood in his hand and caught a faint, subtle fragrance.
Just one sniff left his body and mind incredibly refreshed.
Zhang Ruochen activated his Heavenly Eye and saw strands of wood-element spiritual energy continuously emanating from the wood strip.
"This should be Purple Cloud Sinking Incense Wood. Unfortunately, it's only half a jin—far from enough to cultivate the Wood Spirit Treasure Body."
Zhang Ruochen stored the wood strip away, stood up, and returned the Sacred Sword to Huang Yanchen. "Experts from the Evil Wood Palace should arrive soon. Senior Sister Huang, we need to leave immediately."
Huang Yanchen took back the Sacred Sword, casting a cold, sharp glance at Zhang Ruochen. "You haven't answered my earlier question. Were you deliberately watching me get chased, intending to stand by and do nothing?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "If I truly intended to stand by, why would I have intervened just now? Senior Sister Huang—"
"Call me Huang Yanchen," she interrupted.
Zhang Ruochen's smile faded, and he fell silent for a moment. "The three-year deadline... it should be coming up soon, shouldn't it?"
Huang Yanchen nodded, unable to meet Zhang Ruochen's eyes. She lowered her head slightly. "It should be soon. Once the third round of assessment ends, preparations for the marriage will likely begin."
"Mm," Zhang Ruochen replied.
Huang Yanchen lifted her head, her gaze turning somewhat cold. "If you truly don't want this, I won't force you. It's not like I lack suitors. Xu Qing of the Xu Holy Clan has been pursuing me, but I haven't even acknowledged him."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I've already killed him."
Huang Yanchen's eyes widened, a mix of joy and curiosity flashing across her face. She asked tentatively, "It couldn't be... because he was pursuing me, so you killed him?"
Zhang Ruochen replied, "How could that be? He tried to kill me first. Even if I hadn't killed him, he would have sent stronger people after me later."
Huang Yanchen looked disappointed. "So that's how it is."
Zhang Ruochen added, "Of course, you were also a factor. Since he allied with the Evil Wood Palace to target you, I couldn't let him live—to prevent him from scheming against you in the future."
Hearing this, Huang Yanchen's heart felt sweet, as if she had drunk honey.
For the first time, she felt that talking about killing could be so romantic.
In truth, Zhang Ruochen did have some feelings for Huang Yanchen—it wasn't as if he felt nothing at all.
But he still couldn't accurately determine whether what he liked was Huang Yanchen herself or merely a shadow of Chi Yao.
The Chi Yao of those days was just as cold and proud, just as aloof and willful. In many aspects of personality, the two shared numerous similarities.
However, while Chi Yao was cold and proud, looking down on all men, she was very gentle with Zhang Ruochen. They had grown up together, childhood sweethearts, their hearts connected. She was undoubtedly Zhang Ruochen's ideal celestial companion.
That was precisely why, when Chi Yao struck to kill Zhang Ruochen, he still couldn't believe it was really her.
When Zhang Ruochen was reborn, he had considered countless possibilities—perhaps someone had impersonated Chi Yao, or perhaps his vision had blurred in that final moment.
But in the end, he rejected all of them.
Zhang Ruochen could only think that perhaps he had never truly understood Chi Yao.
Shaking off his thoughts, Zhang Ruochen let out a long breath. Gazing into Huang Yanchen's cold, beautiful eyes, he said, "Senior Sister Yanchen, we really need to leave now."
Hearing the address "Senior Sister Yanchen," Huang Yanchen was still somewhat dissatisfied, but she didn't push him. She understood that getting Zhang Ruochen to change his address immediately was truly difficult.
That he could call her "Senior Sister Yanchen" was already a big step forward, at least proving that she had a place in his heart.
If Zhang Ruochen had no feelings for her at all, given his personality, he would never have changed how he addressed her.
"I'll listen to you."
Huang Yanchen tried to speak softly.
But after saying it, she still found it very awkward and couldn't help pressing her red lips together tightly.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen seemed to sense something. He lifted his head and looked into the distance.
The Heavenly Eye on his brow flashed open with a "whoosh."
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's expression turn grim, Huang Yanchen asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Earlier, I told you to leave, but you wouldn't. Now, leaving might not be so easy. Another Fish-Dragon Realm expert is approaching, and their strength surpasses Green Wood Dharma King's. They should also be a master from the Evil Wood Palace."