Chapter 485: Sword in Hand, Overwhelming Rout
"Whoever dares to kill a Star Envoy will pay a heavy price."
A tall glazed knight leaped from the top of a barbarian beast, channeling all his strength as he thrust a dragon bone spear toward Zhang Ruochen's chest. Enhanced by the glazed bone armor, this glazed knight unleashed power at the level of a Fish-Dragon First Transformation cultivator.
Zhang Ruochen shifted his body slightly to the side, grabbed the dragon bone spear, and swiftly struck out with his other palm, hitting the glazed knight's chest.
With a bang, the glazed knight was sent flying.
Zhang Ruochen took the dragon bone spear in his hand, examined it for a moment, and nodded. "Perfect, I'll refine it to upgrade the Abyssal Ancient Sword's rank."
The Abyssal Ancient Sword flew out, and under the control of its sword spirit, it autonomously refined the dragon bone spear, quickly absorbing it completely.
Afterward, Zhang Ruochen inspected it again and found that an additional basic inscription pattern had appeared in the sword's body. The total number of basic inscription patterns had reached two hundred and eleven.
Clearly, the Abyssal Ancient Sword's power had grown a bit stronger.
The glazed knight stood up from the ground, clutching his aching chest, and stared in shock at the sword in Zhang Ruochen's hand. A sword that could devour a dragon bone spear.
Orange Moon Star Envoy frowned and said, "You are no match for Zhang Ruochen. Leave this place now; don't worry about me."
Orange Moon Star Envoy had originally led a squad of glazed knights. One had been killed earlier by Zhang Ruochen, leaving eight remaining.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Xiao Hei and said, "Why haven't you acted yet?"
Xiao Hei licked his lips with his tongue and said, "Killing her outright would be letting her off too easy. Besides, her talent isn't bad—this Emperor might as well take her as a pet."
Hearing this, Orange Moon Star Envoy ground her teeth in fury.
A mere cat dared to be so arrogant? She was a Star Envoy of the Black Market First Class Hall. Becoming a cat's pet would be worse than death.
"The dignified Orange Moon Star Envoy, reduced to such a state—truly pitiful and lamentable."
Pei Ji walked over from a distance, followed by eleven Heaven Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artists.
Originally, Pei Ji had planned to wait until Zhang Ruochen and the Black Market forces had worn each other down before revealing himself. But he hadn't expected Red Desire Star Envoy to leave first with nine glazed knights. This had ruined his plan, so he decided to act personally.
Zhang Ruochen turned around and said, "Pei Ji, you've finally shown yourself. I thought you'd keep hiding."
"Hiding? Why would I hide? You're just my defeated opponent. If anyone should hide, it's you," Pei Ji said.
With Pei Ji's appearance, Orange Moon Star Envoy felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps she could use Pei Ji's hand to eliminate Zhang Ruochen, giving her a chance to escape.
Orange Moon Star Envoy quickly said, "Pei Ji, I'll place the eight glazed knights at your command. If you can kill Zhang Ruochen, I'll grant you the Dragon-Locking Chain."
"Grant it to me?"
A disdainful look flashed in Pei Ji's eyes. He squinted and scanned Orange Moon Star Envoy from head to toe, saying, "After I kill Zhang Ruochen, you'll be mine too."
Orange Moon Star Envoy wasn't angered at all. Instead, she gave him a seductive look and said softly, "If you truly can kill Zhang Ruochen, then I'll be yours."
It had to be said, Orange Moon Star Envoy was indeed very beautiful, and she had the air of an ice-cold beauty. An ice-cold beauty giving a tempting look was enough to make anyone's blood boil.
Seeing Orange Moon Star Envoy deliberately trying to seduce a man, even Pei Ji's willpower felt a surge of burning desire.
Suppressing the fire within him, Pei Ji rapidly circulated his true qi, quickly entering a combat state. Even if he wanted to possess Orange Moon Star Envoy's body, he had to deal with Zhang Ruochen first.
True qi surged endlessly into the five Blood Hand Golden Rings, activating the inscription patterns within them. The blood-colored light radiating from the rings completely enveloped Pei Ji's entire arm.
"Boom!"
Pei Ji threw a full-powered punch.
His arm exploded with swift speed, and the powerful true qi swirling around it produced a deafening air blast.
Even though Zhang Ruochen had broken through to the Heaven Extreme Realm Great Extreme Position, he didn't underestimate Pei Ji.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes carefully observed every subtle change in Pei Ji's attack. Just as Pei Ji's fist was three meters away from him—
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen tightened his five fingers, gripping the Abyssal Ancient Sword, and struck after Pei Ji's move but arrived first. He swung the sword in a slash, accurately hitting Pei Ji's fist.
"Crack!"
The five Blood Hand Golden Rings on Pei Ji's right fingers all shattered, splitting in half.
The broken rings, as if drawn by an invisible force, flew toward the Abyssal Ancient Sword. They collided with the sword like hitting water, sinking in, and were instantly devoured by the sword.
After refining the five Blood Hand Golden Rings, the Abyssal Ancient Sword gained five more basic inscription patterns in moments.
Pei Ji retreated, his right hand's five fingers severed cleanly, now a bloody mess.
His entire arm trembled as he gritted his teeth and said, "How... how is this possible? Even if he broke through a realm, he shouldn't be this much stronger."
It wasn't just Pei Ji who couldn't accept this fact; Orange Moon Star Envoy was also stunned.
Pei Ji was a renowned expert ranked forty-first on the Heavenly Ranking, one of the strongest Heaven Extreme Realm cultivators in the entire Kunlun Realm, with limitless potential.
Zhang Ruochen had severely wounded him with a single move—did that mean he had the strength to enter the top ten of the Heavenly Ranking?
Pei Ji grabbed a Heaven Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artist standing behind him, bit into the artery on his neck, and began to drink heavily.
"Gulp! Gulp!"
As Pei Ji absorbed the blood into his belly, his severed fingers quickly grew back.
After three breaths, the Heaven Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artist's blood was completely drained, turning him into a withered, yellowish-brown corpse.
Pei Ji tossed the corpse aside, spread his arms, and his entire body emitted cracking sounds.
In moments, he revealed his Undying Blood Clan true form. His body grew three feet taller, a pair of massive blood wings sprouted from his back, and his face became ferocious and twisted.
Seeing Pei Ji's drastic transformation, the remaining ten Heaven Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artists were terrified. They kept retreating, looking at Pei Ji as if he were a demon.
Pei Ji turned around, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes, and roared, "Where do you think you're going? Form a combined attack formation immediately and join me in dealing with Zhang Ruochen."
The ten Heaven Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artists dared not defy Pei Ji's orders. Each took out a formation jade, setting up a combined attack formation. They controlled the formation and slowly moved toward Zhang Ruochen.
The eight glazed knights also held eight formation flags, forming another formation, and approached Zhang Ruochen from a different direction.
Neither formation was simple. Either one had the power to easily suppress and kill a Fish-Dragon First Transformation cultivator.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head lightly. He kicked off the ground, soared into the air, channeled all his true qi, and slashed downward with his sword.
"Boom!"
The formation set up by the ten Heaven Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artists was torn in two by the Abyssal Ancient Sword in an instant.
"Whoosh!"
The Abyssal Ancient Sword flew out, turning into a streak of sword-light shuttle. It circled once among the ten Heaven Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artists before flying back into Zhang Ruochen's hand.
All ten Heaven Extreme Realm Great Perfection martial artists fell straight to the ground.
From the other direction, the eight glazed knights thrust their dragon bone spears simultaneously. A beam of light shot out from the center of the formation, striking at Zhang Ruochen, who was suspended in midair.
Zhang Ruochen executed a Space Displacement, vanishing from midair in a flash.
The next moment, he appeared at the center of the formation set up by the eight glazed knights. He struck out eight palm prints in succession, sending all eight glazed knights flying.
Just then, Zhang Ruochen smelled a strong blood aura at the tip of his nose. Without guessing, he knew it was Pei Ji.
Earlier, while Zhang Ruochen was breaking the two formations, Pei Ji had been standing aside, waiting for the right moment to strike.
When Zhang Ruochen sent the fourth glazed knight flying, Pei Ji had already made his move.
By the time Zhang Ruochen sent the eighth glazed knight flying, Pei Ji's sword had already slashed down to above Zhang Ruochen's head. It could be said that this strike had been carefully calculated by Pei Ji, who was certain Zhang Ruochen couldn't dodge it.
...
These two chapters are a bit short. Tomorrow at noon, an extra chapter will be added.