Chapter 417: Indulgence and Intoxication
Zhang Ruochen took out the Half-Saint Bone Pearl and handed it to Huang Yanchen, just in case.
He possessed the Dragon Pearl, which provided him with extremely strong defensive capabilities. Although the Half-Saint Bone Pearl also had formidable defensive power, it was dispensable to him.
"I'll lend you the Sacred Sword."
Huang Yanchen reached into her blue long hair, took out the white jade hairpin, and handed it to Zhang Ruochen.
"No need. Using the Purple Thunder Sword is enough to deal with him."
Zhang Ruochen displayed exceptional confidence, remaining calm and composed, as if he had already formulated a strategy long ago.
"Swish!"
Ancestral Heart Dharma King, riding a mass of wood-attribute spiritual energy, flew through the air and arrived above Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen. Seeing the corpses of Green Wood Dharma King and the Evil Wood Palace mages, a surge of rage erupted from his heart.
"Who exactly are you people? Do you not know the consequences of opposing Evil Wood Palace?"
Ancestral Heart Dharma King infused his voice with dharma power, each word striking like a thunderclap, causing the world's spiritual energy to tremble incessantly.
Especially Huang Yanchen, who felt her eardrums ache as if a divine drum were beating inside her ears, causing her blood and qi to churn violently.
In truth, Huang Yanchen's strength was not weak; she was fully capable of contending with martial artists at the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection. It was just that Ancestral Heart Dharma King's cultivation was too powerful, so she was injured by the force of his voice.
Zhang Ruochen looked at Ancestral Heart Dharma King, who was flying ten zhang above the ground, showing no fear. A protective Heavenly Gang aura naturally blocked the sound wave's power. He said, "With your level of cultivation, you can actually fly through the air? I understand. You have cultivated the Wood Spirit Treasure Body, enabling you to control wood-attribute spiritual energy. That's why, even without reaching the Half-Saint realm, you can still fly off the ground."
Under normal circumstances, only those who reached the Half-Saint realm could mobilize saint qi and fly through the air.
However, some exceptionally gifted cultivators, having refined special physiques, could manipulate heaven and earth's spiritual energy and also soar through the skies and burrow into the earth.
Both Green Wood Dharma King and Ancestral Heart Dharma King were at the first transformation of the Fish-Dragon realm, but since Ancestral Heart Dharma King had cultivated the Wood Spirit Treasure Body, his strength far surpassed that of Green Wood Dharma King.
Zhang Ruochen held the Purple Thunder Sword, flicked it to form a sword flower, and pointed it at Ancestral Heart Dharma King. "Enough talk. Let's fight!"
Ancestral Heart Dharma King sneered, "Junior, don't think that just because you killed Green Wood Dharma King, you can contend with me. Let me tell you the truth: with my strength, killing Green Wood Dharma King is a trivial matter. Killing you will naturally be the same."
"Root of Heaven and Earth."
Ancestral Heart Dharma King mobilized wood-attribute spiritual energy, gathering it at the tip of his crystal divine staff. He pointed it at the ground, and in an instant, a green tree grew out from beneath the earth.
The tree's trunk, branches, and roots grew thicker and thicker, becoming a towering ancient tree a hundred meters tall.
"Swish, swish."
Leaves, razor-sharp like blades, flew from all directions, attacking Zhang Ruochen ferociously.
A blood array nine meters in diameter appeared beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet. Within the array, nine blood swords, one dragon, and one elephant flew, continuously shattering the incoming branches and leaves into pieces.
"Boom!"
Ancestral Heart Dharma King swung his crystal staff, instantly forming a giant log as thick as a millstone, weighing who knows how many tens of thousands of jin, and struck it at Zhang Ruochen.
A cracking sound rang out as the giant log shattered the blood array beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet, causing the blood swords, blood dragon, and blood elephant to completely dissipate into mist.
Zhang Ruochen immediately swung the Purple Thunder Sword, slashing straight down to cut the giant log in half. However, he was still sent flying backward by the powerful impact, landing twenty zhang away.
"Such formidable power. If I don't use the power of my Martial Soul, I definitely won't last ten moves against him."
Zhang Ruochen felt his arm ache as if it were splitting, and the tiger's mouth of his hand was torn open by the force, continuously oozing blood.
"So that's all you've got."
Ancestral Heart Dharma King let out a cold, contemptuous laugh, gaining a bit more disdain. He stomped the ground and chased after Zhang Ruochen.
Wherever his foot stepped, a metallic-colored vine would burst forth from the soil, transforming into a war whip that lashed toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Crack!"
The war whip snapped through the air, producing a shower of sparks.
If it struck a person, one could imagine the tremendous damage it would cause.
"Among the hundred schools of weapons, the whip technique specifically counters sword techniques. Kid, where do you think you're running?"
Ancestral Heart Dharma King controlled eighteen war whips, simultaneously lashing at Zhang Ruochen, sealing off all his escape routes. No matter which direction he dodged, he would be hit by the whips.
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen cut through three war whips in succession but ultimately failed to evade.
With two sharp cracks, two war whips struck his chest, piercing through his protective Heavenly Gang aura.
Zhang Ruochen was sent flying, about to fall into the river. Suddenly, a surge of true qi transformed into wind force, expelled from the pores all over his body, gently supporting him.
His body, like a leaf, drifted lightly onto the river's surface. The tips of his feet touched the water, creating ripples that spread outward.
Zhang Ruochen looked down at his chest. The specially refined silver martial robe he wore had been pierced by the war whips, leaving two whip marks through which his skin was clearly visible.
However, protected by the Dragon Pearl, Zhang Ruochen was not injured.
"Haha! Kid, die!"
Ancestral Heart Dharma King pressed his advantage, leaping up and charging at Zhang Ruochen, who stood on the water's surface, aiming to deliver a fatal blow.
Little did he know, Zhang Ruochen had deliberately refrained from using his Martial Soul's power precisely to lure him to this spot.
Seeing Ancestral Heart Dharma King pouncing toward him, the corners of Zhang Ruochen's mouth curled slightly as he began to mobilize his spiritual power.
"Boom!"
Just as Ancestral Heart Dharma King reached the midpoint of his flight, a massive bubble surged from the water surface beneath him and burst open. The Demon Ape shot out from the water, punching Ancestral Heart Dharma King square in the chest.
"Pfft!"
Ancestral Heart Dharma King spat blood, half of his bones broken, emitting a cracking sound.
The Demon Ape's strength was immense. With one punch, it sent Ancestral Heart Dharma King flying two hundred meters into the sky.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen, standing on the water's surface, had fully mobilized his spiritual power. He extended a finger and pointed at the sky.
A bolt of purple lightning, like an electric dragon, streaked across the sky and struck Ancestral Heart Dharma King.
"Bang!"
In an instant, the lightning pierced through Ancestral Heart Dharma King's body.
Ancestral Heart Dharma King burned like a lantern. By the time he fell to the ground, he had turned into charred, burning chunks of blackened flesh and blood.
"Roar!"
The Demon Ape stood by the great river, letting out a thunderous roar that churned the entire river's surface into waves.
Zhang Ruochen extended his arm, catching the crystal divine staff as it fell from midair. He channeled his qi with both hands, and with a crack, snapped the staff in two.
Inside this crystal divine staff, there was indeed a small piece of Purple Cloud Sinking Incense Wood, weighing about half a jin.
After collecting the Purple Cloud Sinking Incense Wood, Zhang Ruochen walked on the waves, returning to the shore to rejoin Huang Yanchen.
"Evil Wood Palace has lost two Dharma Kings in a row; they will definitely not let this go. It's said that the Palace Lord of Evil Wood Palace is an extremely formidable figure, certainly not just at the first transformation of the Fish-Dragon realm. We should leave this place quickly," Huang Yanchen said with some concern.
Both Green Wood Dharma King and Ancestral Heart Dharma King were only at the first transformation of the Fish-Dragon realm, so their strength was not exceptionally great.
Of course, Ancestral Heart Dharma King had cultivated the Wood Spirit Treasure Body, so even against cultivators at the second or third transformation of the Fish-Dragon realm, he would not be at a disadvantage.
The reason Zhang Ruochen was able to kill him was that he and the Demon Ape had launched a surprise attack first, securing success in one fell swoop.
Without that, even if Zhang Ruochen used his Martial Soul's power and joined forces with the Demon Ape, they might not have been able to keep him there.
The Palace Lord of Evil Wood Palace was definitely not as simple as being at the first transformation of the Fish-Dragon realm, and he had certainly also cultivated the Wood Spirit Treasure Body.
A single realm higher meant a multiple-fold difference in strength.
Even if the Evil Wood Palace Lord was only at the second transformation of the Fish-Dragon realm, Zhang Ruochen would not be able to withstand him now.
A glint of wisdom shone in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. "We indeed don't have to clash head-on with the Evil Wood Palace Lord. However, we must obtain the Purple Cloud Sinking Incense Wood from Evil Wood Palace. I have an idea in mind; it's worth a try."
"What idea?" Huang Yanchen asked.
A smile appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face as he took out the two broken crystal divine staves from Green Wood Dharma King and Ancestral Heart Dharma King. "If we can lure the Evil Wood Palace Lord out of Evil Wood Palace with a diversionary tactic, won't we have a chance to seize the Purple Cloud Sinking Incense Wood?"
Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen sat on the Demon Ape's shoulder and arrived at Wind Spirit City, a city five hundred li from Evil Wood Palace.
In Wind Spirit City, the native strong ones who had reached the Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection or above had almost all been killed off by the genius students of the Martial Market Academy.
With these strong ones gone, the entire Wind Spirit City had become a chaotic city, devoid of law, order, and morality. Incidents of murder and arson could be seen everywhere.
Of course, some people lived quite comfortably, like local emperors, eating the best meat, drinking the finest wine, and holding the most beautiful women.
For example, Chang Qiqi and Si Xingkong.
When Zhang Ruochen arrived at the City Lord's Mansion and saw Chang Qiqi and Si Xingkong, the two were living a life of indulgence and intoxication.
Surrounding Chang Qiqi was a large group of servants, most of whom were young and beautiful women. Some sat in his lap, offering kisses with playful laughter; some knelt on either side, continuously handing him wine cups; and others with perfect figures danced gracefully in colorful, seductive attire.
Si Xingkong sat on the other side, surrounded by thirty-six massive wine jars, savoring various fine wines with indescribable enjoyment.
As strong individuals, no one dared to disrespect them, and no one dared to provoke them.
"Boom!"
The Demon Ape punched the City Lord's Mansion's main gate, sending it flying like two large iron sheets, crashing to the ground in front of Chang Qiqi with a loud clatter, startling the beautiful women around him into screams.
"Who is it?"
Chang Qiqi released a surge of powerful true qi, blasting the women away. His hand pressed on his saber hilt as he stood up abruptly.
Zhang Ruochen, with his hands behind his back, walked in from outside the gate, smiling. "You two sure know how to enjoy yourselves. Are you planning to stay in the Five Elements Ruins Realm for the rest of your lives?"