Chapter 448: Killing Blood Spirit King
Each of Blood Spirit King's fingers was extremely sharp and pointed, like five iron hooks forged from divine metal. Between her fingers, strands of blood-colored mist swirled and flowed.
Before her hand claws even struck Zhang Ruochen's body, they formed a powerful killing force that pierced through his protective celestial armor, leaving five holes in his robe.
Zhang Ruochen immediately grabbed Blood Spirit King's wrist, channeled his true qi into his hand meridian, twisted his arm, and flung Blood Spirit King into the air.
At the same time, he fiercely struck upward with a palm.
"Dragon-Elephant Returns to the Field."
With a bang, Blood Spirit King was hit by Zhang Ruochen's palm force and sent flying upward.
After she landed on the ground, she retreated seventeen steps before she could neutralize the palm force.
However, Blood Spirit King was still severely injured. Drops of blood dripped from her chest, soaking her clothes.
Around the palm print, blood-red cracks appeared. Her body seemed on the verge of shattering.
Blood Spirit King immediately grabbed a warrior from the Silver Sky Mercenary Corps, drained his blood dry. As the blood entered her throat, it flowed like nourishment toward her wounds.
Soon, her injuries healed at a visible speed, restoring her to her original state.
"With the blessing of the Sarira, Zhang Ruochen's power has become truly terrifying. Just now, he nearly killed me with a single palm strike."
Blood Spirit King looked into the distance. Zhang Ruochen and Youlan Star Envoy were locked in battle.
She saw Zhang Ruochen take a small step forward, slash with his sword, and without using any sword technique, unleash a heaven-toppling wave of sword qi.
The sword qi surged forward, leaving four bloody sword wounds on the body of Youlan Star Envoy, who ranked second among the Seven Fiend Star Envoys.
Those were injuries from the sword qi.
With a whoosh, Zhang Ruochen turned into a blurry shadow and charged out again. Using his finger as a sword, he extended a golden index finger toward Youlan Star Envoy's brow.
Youlan Star Envoy's expression changed drastically. He immediately raised his great sword horizontally to block in front of him, extended his left hand, and struck the sword blade with a palm strike.
He intended to use both palm force and sword force to simultaneously block Zhang Ruochen's finger sword.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen's finger struck the sword blade, immediately producing a piercing, resonant sound.
Ripples of sword qi, like water patterns, spread outward in all directions from the tip of Zhang Ruochen's finger.
"Pfft!"
Youlan Star Envoy spat out a mouthful of blood. The armor on his body burst apart, his skin was pierced by sword qi, and his entire body became a bloody mess.
Especially his right hand that held the sword. From wrist to fingers, the skin, flesh, and meridians all turned into bloody pulp, leaving only a skeletal hand.
That great sword fell from his hand and stuck upside down in the ground, its blade sinking half a meter into the earth.
The warriors of the Silver Sky Mercenary Corps were all extremely excited. After all, Zhang Ruochen was facing Youlan Star Envoy of the Black Market First Class Hall. Zhang Ruochen had defeated him with just one move and severely injured him with two moves.
Could Youlan Star Envoy block Zhang Ruochen's third move?
Zhang Ruochen didn't give Youlan Star Envoy a chance to escape. He immediately condensed his true qi, channeled it into his left thumb, and executed the third move.
"Solar Meridian Sword Wave."
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the entire Langhuan Golden Bell seemed to be completely drained by Zhang Ruochen in an instant, transforming into a powerful sword path that shot out like a blazing sun erupting.
Youlan Star Envoy was about to be killed by the sword wave.
"How dare you kill a Star Envoy of the Black Market First Class Hall? Zhang Ruochen, you have quite the nerve."
Suddenly, Zifeng Star Envoy rushed in front of Youlan Star Envoy and struck the ground with his Purple Imperial Spear. From beneath the earth, a layer of flames surged up, forming an arc-shaped wall of purple fire that blocked the sword wave.
"Boom!"
The two forces collided, erupting with red and purple intense light that sent all the warriors standing nearby flying.
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes and said, "A ghost-level mid-grade martial technique, Earth Essence Cold Fire."
Zifeng Star Envoy pulled the Purple Imperial Spear out of the ground, stood with the spear horizontally, and said coldly, "That's right, it's Earth Essence Cold Fire."
Earth Essence Cold Fire was a martial technique. It required a cultivator to stay deep underground for a long time, absorbing the yin-cold essence of the earth to gather flames, only then could the technique be successfully cultivated.
Legend had it that the earth's essence was the qi of hell. If one cultivated Earth Essence Cold Fire to a certain level, there was even a chance it could transform into Hell Sacred Flame.
Just as Zhang Ruochen and Zifeng Star Envoy stood facing each other, a strand of blood qi silently emerged from the ground behind Zhang Ruochen, forming into Blood Spirit King's body.
A cruel smile appeared on Blood Spirit King's face. She joined her hands together, gathered all her strength, and struck at Zhang Ruochen's back.
"Zhang Ruochen, watch your back!"
Yinyue Linkong stared at the direction behind Zhang Ruochen, was the first to see Blood Spirit King, and quickly warned Zhang Ruochen.
Now, only Zhang Ruochen could save the Silver Sky Mercenary Corps.
If Zhang Ruochen were seriously injured by the sneak attack, then today, the Silver Sky Mercenary Corps would truly be doomed.
Yinyue Linkong wanted to rush up and stop Blood Spirit King, but she was severely injured and also had to deal with the sound wave attacks from the Langhuan Golden Bell underground. She was stretched thin.
Everyone thought Zhang Ruochen would be killed by Blood Spirit King, but they didn't know that Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power was strong, and he had long sensed Blood Spirit King behind him.
Zhang Ruochen spread his legs apart and executed his movement technique. Suddenly, his body seemed to split into three.
One figure flew upward; one figure crouched down; one figure quickly turned around.
The three figures each struck out with a palm technique.
"Wild Elephant Tramples the Ground."
"Soaring Dragon in the Sky."
"Elephant Force Ninefold."
The three palm strikes almost simultaneously hit Blood Spirit King's body, landing on her head, lower abdomen, and chest, sending her flying backward and upward.
"I said before, today I will settle the grudge with you. Now, it's all over."
Zhang Ruochen charged forward, his feet constantly shifting positions.
With each step he moved, another shadow appeared on the ground. At the same time, he would strike out another blow, hitting Blood Spirit King's body.
"Bam! Bam!"
In about the time of one breath, Zhang Ruochen struck out seventy-two palms in succession. Seventy-two shadows remained on the ground. Finally, all the shadows merged into one, and Zhang Ruochen withdrew his palm.
A moment later, Blood Spirit King fell from midair. Her feet landed on the ground, standing three steps away from Zhang Ruochen.
Blood Spirit King's body, like porcelain, developed fine blood-red cracks, and then, with a bang, exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
"Is it all over?"
Zhang Ruochen stared at that cloud of blood mist, his spirit not relaxed. He always felt that Blood Spirit King's life force hadn't completely dissipated.
She was originally a blood spirit, not so easy to kill.
"Zhang Ruochen, let me help you. Hehe."
Hongyu Star Envoy flew over, draped in a thin veil, and gave Zhang Ruochen a charming smile. She took out a cloth pouch covered in runes and completely collected that cloud of blood qi into the bag.
"Refine for me."
Hongyu Star Envoy was seductively beautiful, every movement full of soul-stealing charm. She poured that cloud of blood qi from the bag into a four-inch-tall medicine cauldron.
From within the cauldron came a series of miserable screams.
After a moment, the sound disappeared.
The blood qi in the cauldron transformed into a thumb-sized, red, lustrous pill.
"Using a blood spirit at the Fish-Dragon Sixth Change to refine a blood qi pill is definitely a great tonic for increasing cultivation. Zhang Ruochen, no matter how strong your strength, you're just making a wedding dress for me."
A smile curled at the corner of Hongyu Star Envoy's mouth. She used two snow-white, jade-like fingers to pick up that blood qi pill and swallowed it into her mouth.
"Although a Blood Spirit Pill is a rare find, the side effects are too great."
Zhang Ruochen didn't try to snatch that Blood Spirit Pill. He still stood calmly in place, protecting Yinyue Linkong, Nie Honglou, Tuming, and the other warriors of the Silver Sky Mercenary Corps behind him.
Having already killed Blood Spirit King, Zhang Ruochen could have withdrawn with success, but he didn't leave just yet.
Since he chose to help the Silver Sky Mercenary Corps, he naturally had to see it through to the end.
The main function of a Blood Spirit Pill was to help a warrior quickly increase their blood qi and martial soul.
Increasing blood qi essentially meant strengthening one's own physique and rapidly advancing one's martial cultivation.
Of course, a Blood Spirit Pill could also enhance the consumer's martial soul, but it could also affect the martial soul, producing powerful side effects.
Hongyu Star Envoy was only at the Heavenly Extreme Stage Small Extreme Position, yet she dared to swallow a Blood Spirit Pill refined from a Fish-Dragon Sixth Change blood spirit. It would inevitably have a great impact on her martial soul.
The martial soul was the soul.
If the martial soul were affected, her future state of mind would naturally become distorted, which might not be a good thing for her sacred path cultivation.
That was why Zhang Ruochen didn't try to snatch the Blood Spirit Pill.
Although Blood Spirit King was dead, Zhang Ruochen realized that the Black Market experts he was about to face were even more terrifying than Blood Spirit King. None of them were simple characters.
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(Finally finished with work, can start...