# Chapter 483: Encounter
Inside the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal, after cultivating continuously for six days, Zhang Ruochen's martial arts cultivation had already broken through to the Heavenly Extreme Stage Great Extreme Position, greatly increasing his strength.
With his current strength, even without using the power of space, defeating Pei Ji would not be a difficult task.
"First, I'll find Xiao Hei and Ao Xinyan."
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and carefully sensed.
The Cosmic Divine Wood Map had an extraordinary connection with Xiao Hei. Within a certain distance, as long as he relied on the resonance of the Cosmic Divine Wood Map, he could find Xiao Hei.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen locked onto Xiao Hei's location and rushed over.
Zhang Ruochen had cultivated for six days in the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal, but only two days had passed in the outside world.
Two days earlier, Red Desire Star Envoy had taken Ao Xinyan and joined forces with Orange Moon Star Envoy.
Xiao Hei had originally been chasing behind Red Desire Star Envoy, but had been ambushed by Orange Moon Star Envoy and eighteen glazed knights. After a fierce battle, Xiao Hei was ultimately outnumbered and suppressed.
"This emperor is such an extraordinary existence, roaming the world with few opponents. Yet I never thought I would be suppressed by a group of mortals. My illustrious reputation is completely ruined."
Xiao Hei let out a long sigh.
"Clatter, clatter!"
The sound of chains colliding rang out.
Xiao Hei's body was wrapped in a crimson red iron chain, connected to its four legs and head, making it impossible to escape no matter what.
On the chain were carved dragon patterns and phoenix seal scripts, with streaks of electric light flowing through them.
This was the "Dragon Locking Chain," a fearsome sacred artifact.
It was said that a saint from the Black Market had a flying dragon as a mount. The Dragon Locking Chain was used to lock that flying dragon. Later, when the flying dragon died of old age, the chain was passed down.
Even later, Orange Moon Star Envoy's master passed the Dragon Locking Chain to her, making it her strongest battle weapon.
"Stop talking nonsense. Hurry up and take us to find Zhang Ruochen."
Orange Moon Star Envoy shook her arm, injecting a stream of true qi into the Dragon Locking Chain.
Immediately, the Dragon Locking Chain surged with blinding electric light, crackling and popping. All the electric light struck Xiao Hei's body.
Xiao Hei screamed in pain, its fur standing on end, even its tail sticking straight up. It thought to itself, "Little girl, just wait. Sooner or later, I'll make you taste the Dragon Locking Chain too."
But it would never say that out loud.
It repeatedly begged, "Granny, what's the hurry? We'll be there soon, very soon! It's right ahead, not far now."
Half an hour later, Xiao Hei led the Black Market First Class Hall people to the outskirts of the Black Wood Plain.
Looking ahead, black giant trees filled the view, forming a primeval dense forest. Each giant tree was entwined with dense vines, with green moss growing on the roots and a thick layer of fallen leaves covering the ground.
Orange Moon Star Envoy had long seen the map of the Wood Essence Ruins Realm, so she naturally knew what this place was.
The Black Wood Plain.
"What a cunning cat. You actually want to lead us into a death forbidden zone like the Black Wood Plain. You're asking for death."
Her expression darkened as she quickly retracted the Dragon Locking Chain, dragging Xiao Hei over.
Xiao Hei's four claws dug into the ground, but trapped by the Dragon Locking Chain, how could it resist Orange Moon Star Envoy?
"Squeak, squeak!"
Four long claw marks were left on the ground. In the end, Xiao Hei was still dragged over by Orange Moon Star Envoy.
Orange Moon Star Envoy channeled true qi to her palm, about to strike Xiao Hei's head.
"Wait."
Red Desire Star Envoy walked up from behind, smiling sweetly. "Little cat, if you still won't tell the truth, this elder sister here might just kill you. Why bother?"
Xiao Hei glared at her. "What status does this emperor have? Why would I need to deceive you mortals? What this emperor says is the truth. Zhang Ruochen's purpose in coming to the Wood Essence Ruins Realm lies deep within this Black Wood Plain."
"Still spouting nonsense. You want to lead us into a death trap. Do you think we're that easy to fool?"
Orange Moon Star Envoy's eyes flashed with a cold light. She once again channeled qi to her palm, with wisps of cold air swirling around her hand.
"Foolish humans. This emperor has long cultivated an indestructible body. Never mind a single palm strike from you, even if the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations were upon me, they couldn't kill me. One palm from you would at most just scratch an itch for me," Xiao Hei said.
Seeing Xiao Hei's lawless attitude, even Red Desire Star Envoy found it extremely irritating and no longer stopped Orange Moon Star Envoy.
"Bang!"
Orange Moon Star Envoy struck Xiao Hei's head with her palm.
Xiao Hei screamed in agony, crashing heavily to the ground, smashing a deep pit into the earth. Its four legs stretched out, and it became completely motionless.
"Dead?"
Red Desire Star Envoy walked over, extended a finger, and pressed it against Xiao Hei's neck. She found that the blood inside Xiao Hei's body had stopped flowing, and it had lost all signs of life.
To be honest, Red Desire Star Envoy quite liked this amusing cat. Seeing it die on the spot, she let out a soft sigh.
Orange Moon Star Envoy, however, simply regarded Xiao Hei as a barbarian beast. Having killed it, she showed no emotional reaction at all. She said coldly, "That cat was quite formidable. Not only was it highly intelligent, but its strength was also considerable. If the glazed knights hadn't used the Nine Star Formation Flag, they wouldn't have been able to suppress it. If it were allowed to grow, it would surely become a major asset to Zhang Ruochen. Killing it now is actually a good thing."
Red Desire Star Envoy said, "Having killed it, where do we go to find Zhang Ruochen?"
"Since Ao Xinyan is in our hands, Zhang Ruochen will show up sooner or later," Orange Moon Star Envoy said.
Orange Moon Star Envoy glanced at Xiao Hei's corpse. With a flick of her arm, the Dragon Locking Chain wrapped around Xiao Hei immediately retracted with a *shua* sound, flying back into Orange Moon Star Envoy's sleeve and transforming into a string of bracelets.
Suddenly, Orange Moon Star Envoy's ears twitched, as if hearing some unusual sound.
She channeled true qi to her eyes and gazed into the distance.
Then, Orange Moon Star Envoy sneered, "Zhang Ruochen has already arrived. Glazed knights, hear my command. Be ready to activate the Nine Star Formation Flag at any moment to jointly attack Zhang Ruochen."
The eighteen glazed knights, riding barbarian beasts, stood in a row, divided into two teams of nine, standing behind Orange Moon Star Envoy and Red Desire Star Envoy respectively.
They wore glazed bone armor, holding dragon bone spears in one hand and formation flags in the other, presenting an imposing and fierce appearance.
Before long, Zhang Ruochen indeed arrived, stopping opposite Orange Moon Star Envoy and Red Desire Star Envoy.
Red Desire Star Envoy had one hand gripping Ao Xinyan's neck. "Zhang Ruochen, you've finally arrived. We've been waiting for you for some time. If you submit to the Black Market, we'll release your beloved."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Red Desire Star Envoy. "Who told you she is my beloved?"
Red Desire Star Envoy smiled. "Don't men all like beautiful women? In terms of appearance, she is truly a national beauty. Moreover, you've saved her more than once. If you didn't like her, who would believe it?"
Hearing this, even Ao Xinyan felt a bit shy, a blush appearing on her face.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Aren't you also a national beauty? Does that mean I like you too?"
Red Desire Star Envoy revealed a row of snow-white teeth and said coquettishly, "If you really like me, I'll just give myself to you, won't I?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, his gaze turning sharp. "Red Desire Star Envoy, release Ao Xinyan, and I'll spare your life. Don't force me to kill you."
Orange Moon Star Envoy said coldly, "Zhang Ruochen, you're far too arrogant. Do you really think that being rated as a king among the younger generation makes you truly invincible? Your battle pet has already been killed by me. Next, it's your turn. Today, you only have one path to survival: surrender to the Black Market. From now on, we'll be comrades."
"Battle pet? Xiao Hei?" Zhang Ruochen said with some confusion.
Even Xumi Saint Monk back in the day couldn't kill Xiao Hei and could only seal it.
Could Orange Moon Star Envoy kill it?
Just as Orange Moon Star Envoy was sneering, suddenly, her neck turned cold.
An icy claw had silently placed itself on her neck.
Orange Moon Star Envoy's expression changed, and she was about to turn around, but as soon as she moved, a sharp pain came from her neck.
Xiao Hei's claw had cut through the skin on Orange Moon Star Envoy's neck, with drops of blood seeping out.
"Don't move. Otherwise, this emperor will cut your head off with one claw," Xiao Hei said coldly.
Orange Moon Star Envoy was both shocked and terrified.
Shocked that the dead barbarian beast battle pet had come back to life.
Terrified that she was experiencing being so close to death for the first time. Without a doubt, if she dared to move, the next moment would be her death.
Not far away, Red Desire Star Envoy saw Xiao Hei lying on Orange Moon Star Envoy's back, and her eyes lit up.
Unbelievable. That cat wasn't dead.
"Bold beast, release Lord Orange Moon Star Envoy immediately."
A glazed knight charged forward, channeling all his strength, thrusting his dragon bone spear toward Xiao Hei's back.
Zhang Ruochen waved his arm. The Abyssal Ancient Sword flew out, turning into a streak of light. With a *puchi* sound, the sword blade pierced through that glazed knight's chest and flew out from his back.
That glazed knight's entire body trembled, blood gushing from his mouth.
He struggled to lower his head and look at his chest.
There, a bowl-sized bloody hole had appeared.
"How... how is this... possible..."
The glazed knight made choking sounds from his mouth, then fell from the barbarian beast's back with a *bang*.
Even Red Desire Star Envoy and Orange Moon Star Envoy were shocked. The glazed bone armor was refined from the bones of cultivators at the Fish-Dragon Ninth Transformation. How could it be so hard? How could it not withstand a single sword strike from Zhang Ruochen?
They didn't know that the Abyssal Ancient Sword was forged from Creation Divine Iron and was at the sacred artifact level. It was incredibly sharp, and breaking through a layer of glazed bone armor was not difficult.
"Whoosh!"
The Abyssal Ancient Sword flew in a circle through the air before returning to Zhang Ruochen's hand.
Blood was still dripping from the sword.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Do you want to live or die? Now, you make the choice."
Red Desire Star Envoy smiled. "Zhang Ruochen lives up to his reputation. How about this: I release Ao Xinyan, and you have that cat release Orange Moon Star Envoy. From now on, we'll no longer be enemies and go our separate ways."
Zhang Ruochen's figure flickered, silently appearing beside Red Desire Star Envoy. He quickly extended two fingers, grabbing Red Desire Star Envoy's wrist and pressing down on the meridians there. "You have no bargaining chips with me."
Red Desire Star Envoy was greatly shocked. Just now, she hadn't even had time to react before Zhang Ruochen had appeared before her and grabbed her wrist.
How had Zhang Ruochen's strength grown to such a level?
At this moment, her wrist was tightly held by Zhang Ruochen's two fingers. A powerful force transmitted from his two fingers, causing her entire arm to lose sensation.
Red Desire Star Envoy's hand, which had been holding Ao Xinyan, was gradually moved aside under the pull of Zhang Ruochen's arm, losing control over Ao Xinyan.
The current Zhang Ruochen was simply not someone she could contend with. Clearly, Zhang Ruochen had broken through to another realm.
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