Chapter 475: Seeking Death
Zhang Ruochen pressed one hand against Ao Xinyan's body, while with the other hand, he extended two fingers.
Under the influence of the Saint Dragon Qi, tiny golden dragon scales grew on the skin of those two fingers. They extended rapidly and clamped down on the tip of the Dragon Pattern Emerald Water Sword.
Then, he flicked his fingers.
A powerful surge of energy traveled from his fingertips to the sword blade, and from the blade to the arm of the Wei Family's eldest brother.
"Chi!"
The tiger's mouth of the Wei Family eldest brother's right hand split open. All five fingers felt as if they had been broken, and the Dragon Pattern Emerald Water Sword slipped from his grasp.
However, the Wei Family eldest brother was worthy of being a martial artist listed on the *Heavenly Ranking*. With rich combat experience, he did not pause after being repelled. Instead, he quickly fired the Falling Phoenix Needle, aiming it at Zhang Ruochen's back.
Zhang Ruochen used his true qi to swirl and lift the Dragon Pattern Emerald Water Sword from the ground. Gripping it in his hand, he swung his arm, sending a sword energy flying outward.
"Slap!"
The sword energy struck the Falling Phoenix Needle, sending it flying back. It struck the Wei Family eldest brother right between the eyebrows, leaving a tiny bloody hole, then flew out through the back of his head and lodged into a wooden pillar.
Blood was still dripping from the needle's tip.
The Wei Family eldest brother clutched his head with both hands, knelt on the ground, and let out a pained roar.
Before long, his head turned blue, blood flowed from his seven orifices, and he died on the spot.
Seeing the terrifying appearance of the Wei Family eldest brother's death, Ao Xinyan sucked in a breath of cold air. She secretly felt relieved that Zhang Ruochen had helped her refine the poison; otherwise, she would be the one lying on the ground now.
Although Ao Xinyan still wore an ungrateful expression on her face,
she felt a bit of gratitude toward Zhang Ruochen in her heart.
The Saint Dragon Qi had refined most of the poison within Ao Xinyan's body before Zhang Ruochen withdrew his hand.
"Big Brother! Big Brother..."
The Wei Family's second and fourth brothers, seeing their dead eldest brother, turned pale with fright. They immediately knelt before Red Desire Star Envoy and pleaded bitterly, "Lord Red Desire Star Envoy, you must avenge our big brother!"
Red Desire Star Envoy curled her red lips and smiled seductively, saying, "That was an enemy the Wei Family's four brothers provoked themselves. What does it have to do with me? Since Wei the eldest is dead, now it's your turn to step up! If you kill Zhang Ruochen, the sacred sword and the beauty will both be yours."
Having witnessed Zhang Ruochen's terrifying strength, the Wei Family's second and fourth brothers no longer dared to fight him.
With mournful faces, they said, "My lord, Zhang Ruochen's strength is too great. How is going after him any different from seeking death?"
Red Desire Star Envoy's smile vanished, and her face turned cold. "In that case, what use are you two useless wastes?"
Red Desire Star Envoy extended a slender jade hand, waved it before the eyes of the Wei Family's second and fourth brothers, then raised it upward.
"Ugh... ah... help..."
The Wei Family's second and fourth brothers suddenly went mad, frantically strangling each other's necks.
In the end, both their necks became as thin as a wine glass. Blood trickled from the corners of their mouths, and they collapsed to the ground together.
The deaths of the Wei Family's second and fourth brothers were too bizarre—they had actually strangled each other to death. This sent chills down the spines of all the martial artists in the Star Cloud Hall, who stared at Red Desire Star Envoy in terror.
This demoness was even more terrifying than a devil.
Zhang Ruochen knew that Red Desire Star Envoy had used an illusion technique, causing the Wei Family's second and fourth brothers to hallucinate, which drove them mad enough to strangle each other.
He had to admit, those who cultivated illusion techniques were indeed extremely dangerous.
No matter how high one's cultivation level was, if their spiritual power was weaker than Red Desire Star Envoy's, they would be in grave danger once caught in her illusion.
Zhang Ruochen could tell that Red Desire Star Envoy's spiritual power was already very close to the fortieth rank.
Even many cultivators at the Fish-Dragon Realm were far inferior to her in terms of spiritual power.
A loud shout rang out in the Star Cloud Hall, "How dare you! The Ministry of War of the imperial court has a clear decree: anyone who dares to kill within the Chaos Myriad Realms Mountain will face severe punishment."
"Tap, tap!"
A series of footsteps sounded.
Following that, Manager Qi of the Myriad Realms Tavern, leading four warriors clad in military armor, walked in from outside.
"Manager Qi is here!"
"Manager Qi has finally arrived!"
...
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Manager Qi. The man appeared to be around forty years old, wore military armor, had sword-like brows and eagle-like eyes, and a sturdy build—clearly a formidable figure.
Then, Zhang Ruochen looked at the four armored warriors following Manager Qi and thought to himself, *No wonder Manager Qi can help martial artists smuggle themselves into the Wood Essence Ruins Realm—he himself is a high-ranking official in the Ministry of War.*
Red Desire Star Envoy stood up, letting out a silvery laugh, and said, "Everyone saw it: Wei the second was strangled by Wei the fourth, and Wei the fourth was strangled by Wei the second. It has nothing to do with me. Manager Qi, don't wrong me. I am a very rule-abiding person."
Manager Qi glanced at Red Desire Star Envoy, then at the eighteen Crystal Knights, and cursed his bad luck inwardly. *Why are people from the Black Market First Class Hall also trying to smuggle themselves into the Wood Essence Ruins Realm?*
Although the imperial court had always supported the Martial Market Bank and suppressed the Black Market, that was in the Kunlun Realm. Here, in the Chaos Myriad Realms Mountain, things were different.
Empress Chi Yao had decreed: as long as one was willing to go to the Ruins Realm battlefield to expand territory for humanity, whether they were martial artists from the Black Market or the Moon Worship Demon Sect, they could come to the Chaos Myriad Realms Mountain, and the Ministry of War would not make things difficult for them.
Although Manager Qi was not afraid of Red Desire Star Envoy, he did not dare to offend the Black Market First Class Hall too much. So, he only made a brief remark and said no more.
Then, his gaze shifted to the corpse of the Wei Family's eldest brother, and he asked, "Who killed Wei the eldest?"
Zhang Ruochen replied calmly, "Wei the eldest died from his own Falling Phoenix Needle."
Manager Qi's gaze turned toward Zhang Ruochen.
Before entering the door, Manager Qi had already roughly understood what had happened inside. So, he also knew Zhang Ruochen's identity: a saint disciple of the Saint Academy and a disciple of Xuanji Sword Saint.
Although Manager Qi was an official of the Ministry of War with the imperial court as his backing, he still had to be courteous to a disciple of a Sword Saint. There was no need to offend such a person over a dead man.
In the end, Manager Qi could only order people to carry out the bodies of the Wei Family's three brothers. Of course, the Wei Family's third brother, who had fainted earlier, was also taken away.
Manager Qi's expression was somewhat gloomy, clearly in a bad mood. He said, "This is the Myriad Realms Tavern. Since you've come here, you should understand the identity of our boss and how much influence he wields."
"Whether you are a saint disciple of the Saint Academy or a heretical martial artist from the Black Market First Class Hall, once you come to the Chaos Myriad Realms Mountain and enter the Myriad Realms Tavern, you must follow the rules of our establishment. If anyone deliberately breaks the rules, no matter who they are, they will not end well."
At this moment, even Red Desire Star Envoy looked serious and did not say a word.
Clearly, even someone of her status did not dare to offend the Myriad Realms Tavern too much.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen sensed a faint fragrance drifting from afar. He turned his gaze toward the window.
A slender orange-white figure flew in through the window, coalescing into a veiled woman—none other than the Orange Moon Star Envoy of the Black Market First Class Hall.
Orange Moon Star Envoy's beautiful eyes were visible outside her veil, and they met Zhang Ruochen's gaze for a moment.
Then, she walked over to Red Desire Star Envoy and joined her.
"Red Desire Star Envoy and Orange Moon Star Envoy, along with eighteen Crystal Knights, have all come to the Chaos Myriad Realms Mountain at the same time. It seems their target really is me."
Zhang Ruochen became alert.
Dealing with just Red Desire Star Envoy was manageable for Zhang Ruochen. But if Orange Moon Star Envoy joined in, things would become troublesome.
The main issue was that Zhang Ruochen didn't know how many experts the Black Market First Class Hall had dispatched.
Were only Red Desire Star Envoy and Orange Moon Star Envoy here?
Manager Qi continued, "The warship heading to the Wood Essence Ruins Realm will depart tomorrow morning. Cultivators who have reached the Fish-Dragon Realm, please leave on your own. Although our Myriad Realms Tavern can help you smuggle yourselves in, we will not break the rules of the First Central Empire."
The Myriad Realms Tavern could help martial artists smuggle themselves into certain protected Ruins Realms or Ruins Realms controlled by certain saintly clans, as long as they didn't go too far. Even if the Ministry of War found out, they would turn a blind eye.
However, smuggling Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators into the Wood Essence Ruins Realm was a different matter.
If a Fish-Dragon Realm cultivator caused massive destruction in the Wood Essence Ruins Realm, it would definitely be discovered by the high-ranking officials of the Ministry of War, and even the Myriad Realms Tavern would suffer the consequences.
Manager Qi continued, "Once you go to the Wood Essence Ruins Realm, you can stay there as long as you like, or even remain there forever. At the beginning of each month, the Myriad Realms Tavern's ships will arrive at a specific location in the Wood Essence Ruins Realm at a set time. Those who wish to leave the Wood Essence Ruins Realm only need to wait at that specific location, and the ships will bring you back."
"Now, those who want to go to the Wood Essence Ruins Realm can come to me to buy a ticket. One ticket costs ten thousand spirit crystals."
As soon as Manager Qi finished speaking, someone exclaimed, "Ten thousand spirit crystals for one ticket? That's way too expensive!"
Manager Qi raised his voice and said, "If you can't afford it, get out."
Ten thousand spirit crystals for a one-way ticket was indeed outrageously expensive.
Many people had originally wanted to take risks in the Wood Essence Ruins Realm, but upon hearing the price, they began to back out. After weighing the pros and cons, some of them left.
"I'll buy three tickets. Keep the change."
Ao Xinyan walked over, took out a piece of emerald-green high-grade spirit crystal, and handed it to Manager Qi.
That piece of high-grade water-attributed spirit crystal was worth at least fifty thousand ordinary spirit crystals.
A smile appeared on Manager Qi's face. He gladly accepted the spirit crystal and then handed three tickets to Ao Xinyan.
After returning, Ao Xinyan placed two of the tickets on the table and said to Zhang Ruochen, "You helped me refine the poison earlier, so I helped you buy the tickets. Now we're even!"