Chapter 479: Fierce Battle
Zuo Qiuling’s mouth emitted a strange sound.
Immediately afterward, a "hissing" noise arose from underground and within the jungle.
Suddenly, the ground split open, and bizarre-shaped barbarian beasts crawled out one after another. From the forest came the howling of beasts.
Most of these barbarian beasts were low-level, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming, surging toward Zhang Ruochen like a beast tide.
"So, you’re a beast tamer. I underestimated you."
Zhang Ruochen activated his protective celestial shield, forming a green sphere around himself.
With the shield guarding him, he ignored the low-level beasts, channeled his true qi, and extended a finger, pointing it at Zuo Qiuling through the void.
"Whoosh!"
A sword ripple shot from Zhang Ruochen’s fingertip, forming an icy sword path that flew toward Zuo Qiuling.
"Hiss!"
The sword ripple carried an extreme cold, leaving a thick layer of ice on the ground wherever it passed, freezing countless low-level beasts.
Zuo Qiuling swung his arm, and a triangular shield flew from his sleeve.
A green light radiated from the shield’s center, forming an eight-meter-tall triangular shield of light.
This was a defensive tenth-rank True Martial Treasure. Under Zuo Qiuling’s full activation, its inscriptions were awakened, unleashing powerful defenses.
"Boom!"
The sword ripple struck the triangular shield, denting the light shield.
Under the impact of that immense force, Zuo Qiuling’s entire body shook, and he staggered back over ten zhang before steadying himself.
A layer of crystalline ice formed on the triangular shield, and white frost covered his arm as well. Still, he managed to block Zhang Ruochen’s sword ripple.
Zuo Qiuling laughed loudly, "Zhang Ruochen, what can you do to me?"
Suddenly, a black shadow darted past Zuo Qiuling, coalescing into the form of a black cat.
The black cat swiftly extended a claw, swiping it across Zuo Qiuling’s neck.
Caught off guard, three long bloody lines appeared on Zuo Qiuling’s neck.
Zuo Qiuling shuddered, coughing dryly. The three bloody lines on his neck turned into gashes, gushing blood that stained his clothes red.
"Thud!"
Zuo Qiuling’s body went limp, collapsing to the ground. His head, like a ball, separated from his neck and rolled away.
"This emperor hates beast tamers the most."
Xiao Hei stood on Zuo Qiuling’s corpse, baring two white fangs and letting out a long roar.
Hearing Xiao Hei’s cry, the low-level barbarian beasts were terrified and retreated like a receding tide.
The heir of the Zuo Holy Clan had been killed by a cat.
Everyone present, except Zhang Ruochen, was stunned.
Pei Ji was the first to react, his eyes darkening. "How dare you! A mere beast dares to kill the heir of a saintly clan."
He lunged forward, reaching Xiao Hei in an instant, and struck out with a palm.
Xiao Hei grabbed the triangular shield and raised it to block, meeting Pei Ji’s palm strike.
The two powerful forces collided with a deafening roar.
Xiao Hei was sent flying backward, letting out a strange cry. "Such powerful strength!"
Pei Ji pursued, striking a second palm, still using the "Flame Beast Force." The palm power turned into flames, coalescing into the form of a barbarian beast, as if intending to crush Xiao Hei with one blow.
"Whoosh!"
The Abyssal Ancient Sword shot out from Zhang Ruochen’s back as a streak of sword light, aimed at Pei Ji’s wrist.
If Pei Ji continued his palm strike, his hand would be crippled by the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
Pei Ji frowned, quickly withdrew his palm, and leaped backward.
As Pei Ji retreated, Xiao Hei charged forward again, leaping into the air. Lightning radiance flickered from his claws as he aimed for Pei Ji’s eyes.
"Courting death!"
Pei Ji pushed both palms forward simultaneously.
Two torrents of fiery palm force surged from his palms, transforming into two massive flame pythons.
With a whoosh, Xiao Hei’s form flickered, slipping between the two flame pythons.
Pei Ji let out a soft exclamation, then extended two fingers, shooting out a finger force aimed at Xiao Hei’s belly.
"Boom!"
Xiao Hei blocked again with the triangular shield, but was sent flying, leaving two long cat-claw marks on the ground.
"Zhang Ruochen, this guy is battle-hardened and incredibly strong. Even if we join forces, we’re no match for him. Let’s flee!" Xiao Hei said.
"Agreed."
Zhang Ruochen recalled the Abyssal Ancient Sword, turned around, and dashed into the distance.
"Zhang Ruochen, where do you think you’re going?"
Pei Ji kicked off the ground, using the recoil to launch himself into the air and pursue Zhang Ruochen.
But the moment he landed, formation inscriptions lit up on the ground, enveloping him in a formation.
"Swish, swish!"
Wind blades flew from the formation, raining down on him from all directions.
The formation beneath Pei Ji’s feet was the Wind-Splitting Cloud-Rolling Formation that Xiao Hei had set up earlier.
Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei had pretended to flee, but their real goal was to lure Pei Ji into the formation.
The Wind-Splitting Cloud-Rolling Formation could only trap Pei Ji temporarily, not kill him. With his cultivation, he would break free soon.
If they didn’t leave now, when would they?
"Let’s go," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xi Yunxi’s eyes turned cold. "You’re not getting away. Form the formation!"
The eighteen Heaven’s Extreme Grand Perfection experts each took out a jade stone, infused it with true qi, and activated the formation inscriptions, creating a combined attack formation.
Zhang Ruochen raised the Abyssal Ancient Sword and charged forward.
"Zhang Ruochen, you’re overestimating yourself. Do you think you can fight eighteen Heaven’s Extreme Grand Perfection experts alone?" Xi Yunxi’s face showed contempt.
Zhang Ruochen activated the inscriptions within the Abyssal Ancient Sword, unleashing the power of the sacred sword, and slashed at one of the Heaven’s Extreme Grand Perfection martial artists.
This was Zhang Ruochen’s full-strength strike, amplified by the sacred sword’s power, enough to overpower a cultivator at the second transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
The vast sword qi Zhang Ruochen summoned radiated ten thousand zhang of light, forming a massive sphere of sword energy.
Even Xi Yunxi, standing behind the eighteen experts, felt the surge of powerful sword qi and a flicker of fear.
"Is this Zhang Ruochen’s true strength? Can eighteen Heaven’s Extreme Grand Perfection experts really stop him?" Xi Yunxi couldn’t help but take a step back.
The foremost Heaven’s Extreme Grand Perfection expert gathered the power of all eighteen, his body radiating silver light as if forged from silver. He threw a punch.
A massive silver fist imprint collided with the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
"Boom!"
Circular ripples of true qi spread from the point of impact, surging outward.
Within dozens of zhang, all plants and trees were reduced to sawdust, leaving only a barren patch of ground.
The powerful shockwave from the fist force slammed into Zhang Ruochen.
His expression changed, and he immediately activated the power of the Dragon Pearl to protect his body, flying backward before landing back on the ground.
"Impressive."
Zhang Ruochen’s blood and qi churned, and his internal organs ached faintly.
If not for the Dragon Pearl’s protection, that blow might have severely injured him.
Seeing the combined attack formation of the eighteen Heaven’s Extreme Grand Perfection experts repel Zhang Ruochen, Xi Yunxi breathed a sigh of relief and regained her confidence. She laughed, "Zhang Ruochen, how do you plan to escape today?"
Though the combined attack formation was powerful, it had a major weakness: it couldn’t last long. Once the true qi of the eighteen experts was depleted, the formation would collapse on its own.
But Zhang Ruochen couldn’t afford to wait.
Pei Ji could break free from the Wind-Splitting Cloud-Rolling Formation at any moment, and his strength was far more terrifying than all eighteen experts combined.
"It’s just a combined attack formation."
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and began to channel his spiritual power.
Suddenly, a mass of leaden clouds gathered in the sky, growing thicker and wider, blotting out the two moons.
The entire world turned pitch black, so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.
"Crack!"
A bowl-thick purple lightning bolt shot from the dark clouds, splitting the sky and striking above the heads of the eighteen Heaven’s Extreme Grand Perfection experts.
They immediately pooled their power, striking upward to block the lightning.
Lightning bolts fell one after another, like sharp heavenly blades descending from the sky, throwing the eighteen experts into disarray.
"What? He’s a spiritual power master, able to summon lightning?" Xi Yunxi was stunned again, staring at Zhang Ruochen in disbelief.
Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual power had reached the forty-first rank. Using only spiritual attacks, he was comparable to a peak cultivator at the second transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
If he could absorb the source qi of the Wood Essence Ruins Realm, his spiritual power might rise another rank to the forty-second.
At that point, his spiritual attacks would rival a cultivator at the fourth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
The lightning from the sky pinned down the eighteen Heaven’s Extreme Grand Perfection experts, and Zhang Ruochen seized the opportunity to execute his sword technique again, slashing at them.
Using only martial arts, Zhang Ruochen’s power was equivalent to a peak second-transformation Fish-Dragon cultivator. Using only spiritual power, he was the same.
When he combined both spiritual and martial power, it was like having two peak second-transformation Fish-Dragon cultivators.
Could the combined attack formation of eighteen Heaven’s Extreme Grand Perfection experts withstand one such cultivator, let alone two?
"Whoosh!"
The Abyssal Ancient Sword pierced through the formation’s light, dragging a trail of sword qi that struck the Heaven’s Extreme Grand Perfection experts.
With a boom, the combined attack formation shattered instantly, and all eighteen experts were sent flying.
Seven of them bore the brunt of the attack, their bodies cut in two by the sword qi, spilling blood everywhere.
The remaining eleven were also hit by the sword qi, suffering varying degrees of injury.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen break the formation, Xi Yunxi immediately used her movement technique and turned to flee.
"Where do you think you’re going?"
Ao Xinyan pursued, swinging her sword to cut off Xi Yunxi’s escape route.
Xi Yunxi was no match for Ao Xinyan. After a few exchanges, Ao Xinyan struck her in the back with a palm, sending her spitting blood to the ground.
"Zhang Ruochen, what should we do with her?" Ao Xinyan asked.
Zhang Ruochen’s face showed no emotion. "Keeping her alive will only cause trouble. Kill her."
Ao Xinyan hesitated, her fingers tightening, but in the end, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. "I... I’ve never killed anyone... Besides, she’s a saint of the Holy Academy, in the same group as us. How about we take her back and let the Enforcement Hall handle it?"
Xi Yunxi, who had thought she was doomed, now saw a glimmer of hope at Ao Xinyan’s words. "Yes, you can’t kill me. If you want to punish me, you must hand me over to the Enforcement Hall. Killing me would be murdering a fellow disciple."
If she could return to the Eastern Domain Sacred City, the Xi Holy Clan’s influence would surely save her.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen swung his arm, and a sword light flashed. Xi Yunxi’s head flew off, and a three-foot-long column of blood spurted from her neck.
A stunningly beautiful heir of a saintly clan had perished like this.
"The Wood Essence Ruins Realm has no Enforcement Hall."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Xi Yunxi’s corpse and said calmly.
Ao Xinyan stood frozen, Xi Yunxi’s blood splattering her face, leaving droplets of red.
Zhang Ruochen was usually gentle and refined, as if he could laugh off any offense. But when he killed, he was so cold, as if devoid of emotion.
For the first time, she felt how terrifying Zhang Ruochen could be.
At the same time, Ao Xinyan felt a deep fear, grateful that Zhang Ruochen hadn’t held her responsible for revealing his whereabouts, or she might have met the same fate.
"You... you don’t even show mercy to a beautiful woman..." Ao Xinyan stared at Zhang Ruochen, her legs trembling.
Zhang Ruochen said, "In my eyes, there are only those who deserve to die and those who don’t. Let’s go quickly. The Wind-Splitting Cloud-Rolling Formation won’t hold Pei Ji for long..."
Before he could finish, a loud boom echoed from afar.
Pei Ji had unleashed his Blood Demon Dharma Form, manifesting a massive three-headed, six-armed blood shadow, breaking the formation and charging toward them from a distance.
"Zhang Ruochen, if you won’t give me the Dragon Pearl, I’ll take it myself."
Pei Ji let out a long roar, his hair standing on end, like a domineering blood demon.
(Thanks to reader "July" for becoming the fourth alliance leader of "Eternal God Emperor." Today’s bonus chapters are complete.)