Chapter 419: Self-Inflicted Chaos
Inside the Evil Wood Palace, Skeletal Dharma King was in a thunderous rage.
The mages he had sent out to gather information had returned. Someone had discovered over a hundred corpses of Evil Wood Palace mages on the battlefield, including even Green Wood Dharma King, who had also met a violent death.
Even if the other mages had died, it might have been tolerable. But how could Green Wood Dharma King have fallen as well?
The Evil Wood Palace had only four Dharma Kings, each a pillar of support. Losing one meant the foundation of the Evil Wood Palace would become unstable, and its strength would be greatly diminished.
Moreover, Ancestral Heart Dharma King, who had been sent to rescue them, had also lost contact, filling Skeletal Dharma King with a foreboding sense of dread.
"Damn it! Who is it?"
Skeletal Dharma King's eyes were sharp, his anger consuming him. He slammed his palm against the bronze pillar in front of him, and with a bang, the pillar was dented inward.
In the hall, the other mages were terrified into silence, all lowering their heads, none daring to speak.
From outside, hurried footsteps approached.
"Palace Master... Palace Master... terrible news..."
Wuteng Mage, clutching two wooden boxes, stumbled and crawled in from outside.
"What is so urgent?" Skeletal Dharma King said coldly.
Seeing Skeletal Dharma King sitting above like a demon king, Wuteng Mage was immediately frightened into kneeling. He held the wooden boxes forward with both hands and said tremblingly, "Reporting to the Palace Master, Green Wood Dharma King and Ancestral Heart Dharma King were killed by a man named Zhang Ruochen. The wooden boxes contain their crystal divine staves."
"What?"
The veins on Skeletal Dharma King's face bulged prominently. He waved his arm, sending a surge of magical power outward, flipping the lids of the two wooden boxes.
Two broken crystal divine staves fell out of the boxes.
It really was the staves of Green Wood Dharma King and Ancestral Heart Dharma King.
In a single day, two Dharma Kings had fallen. Skeletal Dharma King flew into a rage, his immense magical power erupting from his body, nearly tearing the entire Evil Wood Palace apart.
"Where is Zhang Ruochen? I will tear him limb from limb!"
Skeletal Dharma King let out a fierce roar, condensing a giant hand of magical power and lifting Wuteng Mage into the air from a distance.
Wuteng Mage hung in midair, feeling his body being violently pulled by an invisible force, as if he were being torn apart by five horses. Terrified and panicked, he quickly said, "Palace Master, spare me... He said... ten days from now, he will wait for you in New Moon City for a fair battle."
"Chi!"
Skeletal Dharma King twisted his five fingers, mobilizing his magical power, and directly tore Wuteng Mage's body into pieces, turning it into a cloud of blood mist.
"Hua!"
Skeletal Dharma King rushed out of the Evil Wood Palace, intending to head straight for New Moon City.
Nie Wenlong immediately stepped forward to block Skeletal Dharma King, saying, "Even if you go to New Moon City now, you definitely won't find Zhang Ruochen. Since he has arranged to fight you in ten days, why not wait a little longer?"
Skeletal Dharma King snorted coldly, "The Evil Wood Palace has lost two Dharma Kings in a row. How can I swallow this anger? I can't wait even a moment."
Nie Wenlong shook his head, "It's just the death of two Dharma Kings. Why have you lost your composure? If you fall for Zhang Ruochen's scheme to lure you away, the entire Evil Wood Palace will be in danger."
"What do you know? The reason Zhang Ruochen wants to wait ten days before fighting me is definitely because he doesn't have the confidence to defeat me now. In the next ten days, he will surely set up a heaven-and-earth net in New Moon City to deal with me. So I must strike now, before he is fully prepared, and capture him in one fell swoop."
Nie Wenlong was speechless, silently cursing him an idiot. If Zhang Ruochen hadn't prepared thoroughly, why would he announce his challenge so early?
Nie Wenlong still needed the Evil Wood Palace's forces to deal with Zhang Ruochen. The deeper the hatred between the Evil Wood Palace and Zhang Ruochen, the more beneficial it was for him. So he didn't voice those thoughts.
He said, "Since the Palace Master insists on going to New Moon City now, the Evil Wood Palace cannot be left unguarded. I am willing to stay and help the Palace Master guard the Evil Wood Palace."
No matter what, Nie Wenlong was still an outsider, and Skeletal Dharma King didn't trust him.
So before leaving, Skeletal Dharma King summoned another Dharma King of the Evil Wood Palace, Hemp Life Dharma King, who had been in seclusion, to counterbalance Nie Wenlong.
Seven days later, Skeletal Dharma King returned to the Evil Wood Palace. Just as Nie Wenlong had said, he hadn't found Zhang Ruochen in New Moon City.
"During the seven days I was away, was the Evil Wood Palace attacked?"
After returning, Skeletal Dharma King immediately asked Nie Wenlong.
Because he feared he had truly fallen for the scheme to lure him away, worried that the Evil Wood Palace might be lost, he had hurried back.
Nie Wenlong said, "Everything was normal. Although a few students came to provoke, they were all killed by me."
On the road to and from New Moon City, Skeletal Dharma King had already calmed down. He said with confusion, "What is Zhang Ruochen planning? He neither attacked the Evil Wood Palace nor set up any traps in New Moon City. Is he really that confident, wanting to fight me head-on?"
Nie Wenlong also showed a puzzled expression.
In the past, he absolutely wouldn't have believed that Zhang Ruochen could challenge Skeletal Dharma King.
But if Zhang Ruochen could kill Green Wood Dharma King and Ancestral Heart Dharma King, then his strength had probably reached an unimaginable level, making it possible for him to contend with Skeletal Dharma King.
Now even Nie Wenlong was a bit confused, feeling he couldn't fathom what Zhang Ruochen was planning.
"Could Zhang Ruochen really just want to kill Skeletal Dharma King to gain a huge amount of military merit?"
Skeletal Dharma King was a Fish-Dragon Second Transformation, Heaven Extreme Realm martial artist. As long as he could kill him, he would gain ten thousand military merit points, directly entering the "Heavenly Ranking."
Of course, it was almost impossible for a Heaven Extreme Realm martial artist to kill a Fish-Dragon Second Transformation cultivator.
Fish-Dragon Second Transformation was called "Refining Skin into Gold," meaning the skin was cultivated to be like metal and stone, unbreakable by knives, uncuttable by swords, and even standing in a fire would leave one unharmed.
Only by using a sacred artifact could a Heaven Extreme Realm martial artist break through the defenses of a Fish-Dragon Second Transformation cultivator.
And even if you wielded a sacred artifact, a Fish-Dragon Second Transformation cultivator wouldn't just stand still and let you strike.
Nie Wenlong said, "Three days from now is the time Zhang Ruochen agreed upon. What does the Palace Master plan to do? Will you go to New Moon City for the appointment?"
"Go, why not go."
Skeletal Dharma King's face was cold and dark, "Zhang Ruochen killed two Dharma Kings of the Evil Wood Palace. If I don't grind his bones to dust, I won't be able to quell the hatred in my heart."
"But what if Zhang Ruochen attacks the Evil Wood Palace during that time?" Nie Wenlong said.
Skeletal Dharma King said, "If Zhang Ruochen really wanted to lure me away, he would have attacked the Evil Wood Palace by now. Since he hasn't, it means he truly wants to fight me."
A smile of having figured out Zhang Ruochen's intentions appeared on Skeletal Dharma King's face. "Zhang Ruochen must have become overconfident after killing Green Wood Dharma King and Ancestral Heart Dharma King, wanting to continue and kill me for more military merit. But he's afraid of the Evil Wood Palace's formations and doesn't dare challenge me openly, so he can only arrange a battle in New Moon City."
"He doesn't know that there is an essential difference between Fish-Dragon First Transformation and Second Transformation, something he can't even imagine. Just wait and see. In three days, I will cut off Zhang Ruochen's head."
Nie Wenlong frowned slightly, displeased.
His purpose in coming to the Five Elements Ruins Realm was to kill Zhang Ruochen.
Now, before killing Zhang Ruochen, Xu Qing, the heir of the Xu Holy Clan, had already been killed by Zhang Ruochen.
If he couldn't return with Zhang Ruochen's head, the Three Knife Half-Saint would definitely not let him off.
"No, Zhang Ruochen must die by my hand. I can't let Skeletal Dharma King take the credit." Nie Wenlong thought to himself.
Nie Wenlong said with righteous indignation, "To be safe, I will go to New Moon City with the Palace Master."
Skeletal Dharma King glanced at him and nodded slightly. "Alright then. Since that's the case, come with me to New Moon City. Anyway, the Evil Wood Palace has the sacred formation left by the founder. Even if more experts come to attack the mountain, they will only find death."
Skeletal Dharma King also had reservations about Nie Wenlong.
Nie Wenlong's willingness to go to New Moon City with him suited his intentions.
The Evil Wood Palace would be guarded by Hemp Life Dharma King, and the sacred formation would be activated, enough to ensure everything was safe.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen had not gone to New Moon City. Instead, he was in Wind Spirit City, only five hundred miles from the Evil Wood Palace.
These past few days, he had been studying the first three layers of the "Kunpeng Martial Code," absorbing the essence of its martial arts.
"Any secret manual has its limits when cultivated to the end. Only by comprehending the martial arts of a hundred schools and creating one's own martial path can one find the true meaning of the Dao."
Although the "Kunpeng Martial Code" was a King-level manual, it was only the first three layers. Zhang Ruochen had spent about twenty days in the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal, already extracting its essence.
He then spent several more days practicing martial arts, integrating the "Kunpeng Martial Code" into his own martial path.
Although his realm hadn't broken through, his martial path had become more complete.
"Outside, nearly ten days should have passed. It's time to go out and launch an attack on the Evil Wood Palace."
Zhang Ruochen stood up, lightly tapped his finger forward, causing space to twist. He took a step forward and walked out of the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal.
During this time, Si Xingkong had refined two jin of Black Water Liuli Crystal, saving two years of bitter cultivation, reaching the peak of the Heaven Extreme Realm late stage, on the verge of stepping into the Heaven Extreme Realm Minor Extreme Position.
Chang Qiqi had refined one jin of Black Water Liuli Crystal, saving one year of cultivation, and his martial arts had also made considerable progress.
Huang Yanchen, because she had broken through to the Heaven Extreme Realm Minor Extreme Position during cultivation, had refined three jin of Black Water Liuli Crystal, saving three years of bitter cultivation. Although she hadn't cultivated the Water Spirit Treasure Body, her strength had greatly increased.
"Why can I only refine one jin of Black Water Liuli Crystal? My body seems to have reached saturation." Chang Qiqi held the remaining Black Water Liuli Crystal and let out a long sigh.
Having a peerless spiritual treasure in hand but being unable to refine it was truly frustrating.
Zhang Ruochen smiled, "Once you break through to the Heaven Extreme Realm Minor Extreme Position, you can naturally refine more Black Water Liuli Crystal, improving your physique and increasing your cultivation."