Chapter 422: Facing the Enemy Alone
Under the assault of forty-six trainees, the Evil Wood Palace, one of the five great master sacred lands, was reduced to ashes overnight. The native mages within the palace were nearly all killed or wounded.
This battle allowed the vast majority of trainees to accumulate enough military merit points to reach one hundred.
Of course, two trainees also died from severe injuries during the native mages' counterattack, losing their lives forever in the Evil Wood Palace.
On the Ruins Realm battlefield, casualties were always unavoidable.
If Zhang Ruochen had not broken the sacred formation and killed three Dharma Kings of the Evil Wood Palace in succession, relying solely on the strength of those forty-six trainees to wipe out the Evil Wood Palace would have resulted in total annihilation.
Losing only two genius trainees was already a very low casualty rate.
After the great battle, the Evil Wood Palace was completely reduced to ruins, nearly leveled to the ground. Even the highly skilled Huang Yanchen and Si Xingkong had sustained some minor injuries.
Although many were injured, everyone also obtained a great number of treasures. The thousand-year accumulation of treasures from the Evil Wood Palace was divided and taken by the group, with each person reaping enormous gains.
Among them, Chang Qiqi even found a Half-Saint staff left behind, which nearly sparked a scramble. Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen emerged from the underground palace in time to suppress those trainees who intended to snatch it.
In the end, those trainees cared more about personal gain. Treasures like a Half-Saint staff were enough to make them fight desperately to seize it.
But since Zhang Ruochen stepped in, no matter how much they wanted the staff, they had to obediently back down.
Who would dare provoke the king of the new generation?
"This staff is carved from Purple Cloud Agarwood, and there is still residual Half-Saint power within it. Before using it, just inject true qi, and it can unleash formidable might. Although it cannot compare to a sacred artifact, it is equivalent to an eleventh-rank True Martial Treasure."
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly, said this, and then returned the Half-Saint staff to Chang Qiqi.
That staff should have been a relic of one of the Evil Wood Palace's founding masters.
Because of its great age, much of the sacred power within the staff had been lost; otherwise, it would have been a treasure close to a sacred artifact.
"Equivalent to an eleventh-rank True Martial Treasure? Really? Am I going to be rich?"
Chang Qiqi was overjoyed, clutching the staff tightly as if it were his lifeline.
It should be noted that Zhang Ruochen had spent 370,000 spirit crystals to purchase a tenth-rank True Martial Treasure-level Purple Thunder Sword.
The power of this Half-Saint staff was comparable to an eleventh-rank True Martial Treasure—how astonishing would its value be?
At the very least, with the spirit crystals Zhang Ruochen currently had, he could not afford an eleventh-rank True Martial Treasure.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen possessed things even more precious than eleventh-rank True Martial Treasures, such as Golden Divine Mushroom, Black Water Liuli Crystal, and Purple Cloud Agarwood. Selling any one of them would make him instantly wealthy overnight.
Si Xingkong had also obtained some valuable treasures, but he showed neither joy nor sorrow, his expression rather grave. "The most formidable person in the Evil Wood Palace is Skeleton Dharma King. Once he realizes he has been tricked, he will definitely return as fast as possible. With Skeleton Dharma King's cultivation, he could kill us all with his own strength alone. Zhang Ruochen, we need to leave."
Huang Yanchen asked, "Can't we use our combined strength to deploy a joint attack formation and deal with Skeleton Dharma King?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "It would be very difficult. Skeleton Dharma King's cultivation should be at the second transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, 'Skin Refined to Gold.' His own defense is terrifying, as if he has cultivated an indestructible golden body. Even with a joint attack formation, if we could defeat him, he could still retreat calmly."
"Moreover, joint attack formations consume a great deal of true qi and cannot be sustained for long. Once the formation collapses, he could pick us off one by one, and we would all die here."
Although Zhang Ruochen had the ability to pose some threat to Skeleton Dharma King and could even join forces with the demon ape to counterbalance him, he still had to make the worst-case estimate first.
Si Xingkong nodded. "Also, I suspect Skeleton Dharma King may have cultivated the Wood Spirit Treasure Body. If so, we would have even less of a chance."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Senior Brother, take everyone and leave first. I will hold the rear."
"Just you alone? No, let me stay and help you. I have a sacred sword; perhaps it can break through Skeleton Dharma King's defense." Huang Yanchen's aura was sharp, her beautiful eyes like two blue cold stars, filled with unwavering determination.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "You can lend me that sacred sword for now, but you must leave. Even if I am no match for Skeleton Dharma King, I am absolutely certain I can escape."
Huang Yanchen finally agreed. She took a white jade hairpin from her head and handed it to Zhang Ruochen.
A sacred sword was extremely precious, enough to provoke Half-Saints to fight over it, yet she did not hesitate to take it out and lend it to Zhang Ruochen, without a trace of reluctance in her heart.
Huang Yanchen and Si Xingkong led the group away, leaving Zhang Ruochen alone on Cracked Yin Mountain.
As one of the five great master sacred lands, the Evil Wood Palace had once been a place with many experts. Every year, countless people came to seek apprenticeship. Now, all its splendor was destroyed in a single blaze, leaving it utterly desolate.
Zhang Ruochen strolled through the mountains, unconsciously arriving at the eye of the sacred formation.
The formation eye had been torn apart by sword qi, revealing a massive sword-mark crack over twenty meters long, severing the four main formation inscription patterns of the sacred formation.
Zhang Ruochen sighed. "If Xiao Hei were here, with his skill in formations, he could surely reconnect the four formation inscription patterns and restore the sacred formation to operation. With the power of the sacred formation, dealing with Skeleton Dharma King would be a piece of cake."
Since Xiao Hei was not here, he would have to do it himself.
Zhang Ruochen began recalling some formation books he had read, attempting to repair the four formation inscription patterns of the sacred formation.
Although Zhang Ruochen had not studied formation inscription patterns, he was now a Spiritual Power Grandmaster and had some skill in inscriptions.
As soon as he touched the sacred formation, Zhang Ruochen discovered that the Half-Saint who had set up the formation had not used very sophisticated techniques for carving the inscriptions; his spiritual power probably had not reached the fortieth rank.
The reason the sacred formation was so powerful was mainly due to the sacred power left in the formation by the Half-Saint, which played a key role.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen was not a formation master, so repairing the inscriptions was still quite difficult. He failed three times in a row, completely ruining three of the sacred formation's inscription patterns.
But persistence paid off. When he tried to repair the fourth formation inscription pattern, Zhang Ruochen finally succeeded.
Zhang Ruochen stood up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and smiled. "I finally managed to repair one sacred formation inscription pattern. It should allow a corner of the sacred formation to operate."
Zhang Ruochen pressed his palm onto the formation eye and injected true qi into it.
Sure enough, a corner of the sacred formation lit up with formation inscription patterns and resumed operation, covering only the area around the mountainside, roughly one-tenth of the entire sacred formation.
Moreover, the power of this corner of the sacred formation had also diminished significantly.
"It probably has only one-tenth of the sacred formation's original power. It should be enough to suppress and kill Skeleton Dharma King. The key is how to lure him into the range of that corner of the sacred formation."
Zhang Ruochen rested his chin on his hand, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Roar."
A long howl came from underground.
The demon ape had broken through to the second transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm. It burst through the rock layers, broke out of the ground, flew high into the air, then crashed down heavily, leaving a huge crater in the ground.
After its breakthrough, the demon ape's aura had changed dramatically. Its body had grown another meter taller, and every strand of hair was like a steel needle forged from metal.
It seemed to be showing off its power. It lifted a hard, ten-thousand-jin boulder from the ground, opened its wide mouth, revealing sharp teeth, bit the boulder into pieces, and swallowed them as if eating a piece of tofu.
It could even digest stones—just how powerful had its physical body become?
"Incredible."
Zhang Ruochen beckoned to the demon ape.
"Boom!"
The demon ape immediately leaped with all its strength, landing in front of Zhang Ruochen, its spine bending as it bowed to him.
Zhang Ruochen examined the demon ape up close, nodded, and took out a ten-jin piece of Purple Cloud Agarwood from his storage ring, tossing it to the ape.
The demon ape swung its neck, swallowed the piece of Purple Cloud Agarwood, and began to refine it.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I don't expect you to cultivate the Dual Spirit Treasure Body right now, but the stronger you become, the more help you will be to me."
The demon ape remained motionless, focusing all its energy on refining the Purple Cloud Agarwood.
For every jin it refined, it gained the equivalent of a year's cultivation, greatly increasing its strength.
One could say the demon ape's power was surging rapidly with every passing moment.
Zhang Ruochen stood at the edge of a cliff on Cracked Yin Mountain, gazing at the red sun rising on the horizon, and murmured to himself, "Skeleton Dharma King should be back soon."
...
At that moment, Skeleton Dharma King and Nie Wenlong were indeed on their way back to the Evil Wood Palace. As powerful experts, they were moving at twice the speed of sound.
Although Nie Wenlong had not yet reached the Fish-Dragon Realm, his talent was exceptional, and his strength alone was enough to rival the top thousand experts on the Heavenly Ranking.
"Damn it! That bastard Zhang Ruochen dared to toy with me, the Palace Master. If I ever see him, I will tear him into a thousand pieces." Skeleton Dharma King's old face twisted, his eyes full of murderous intent.
Nie Wenlong said, "If he had been a bit slower, we might have run into him when we returned to the Evil Wood Palace."
"What are you saying? With that brat's strength, even if he dared to attack the Evil Wood Palace, he couldn't break through the sacred formation. With Dharma King Masheng guarding the palace, everything should be safe."
Although Skeleton Dharma King was also worried, he could only try to think positively. After all, with the sacred formation's defense, even if Zhang Ruochen had three heads and six arms, he could not break in.
Nie Wenlong frowned. "I hope it is as you say."
Half an hour later, Skeleton Dharma King and Nie Wenlong finally arrived at the foot of Cracked Yin Mountain. Just one glance at the mountaintop, and their hearts sank to the bottom.
The entire Evil Wood Palace, a thousand-year legacy, had been reduced to ruins. The halls were still billowing with flames, and wisps of black smoke filled the air, carrying a choking smell.
...
(Flying Fish's WeChat public account has been launched. Everyone can search for "5" to find it. I believe everyone has WeChat, right? I hope brothers and sisters will add a follow. After this busy period, Xiaoyu plans to write some side stories, such as tales mentioned in the book that will be written separately and posted on the WeChat public account.
Finally, thank you all for your support. Now, "Eternal God Emperor" is the number one in popularity in the fantasy genre. After the wedding, I will definitely speed up updates. Right now, there are too many miscellaneous matters, and I really can't keep up. Thank you! WeChat public account: 5)