Chapter 505: Return
“Captain Ye, you…”
The other patrol soldiers were utterly shocked, all eyes fixed on Ye Chuan. Some veterans who had survived countless life-and-death battles immediately grabbed their war spears, their gazes wary as they went on the defensive, having already sensed Ye Chuan’s danger.
“What are you staring at? Never seen a Moon-Worshipping Cult expert kill before?”
Ye Chuan let out a disdainful laugh, a murderous gleam flashing in his eyes. With a bang, his body burst apart, transforming into a mass of black qi. From within the black qi, eighteen phantom figures flew out, each charging at one of the eighteen patrol soldiers.
In the blink of an eye, the eighteen phantoms flew back and merged together.
Ye Chuan still stood atop the back of the savage beast, holding his long spear, his gaze sweeping arrogantly, as if he had never moved at all.
“Bang! Bang!”
A thick scent of blood lingered in the air.
“Pathetically weak.”
Ye Chuan stood atop the Purple-Scaled Bi King Beast’s head, glanced in the direction Zhang Ruochen had left, then gave chase.
“Someone’s catching up. It should be the patrol force sensing something’s wrong and trying to eliminate us,” Xiao Hei said coldly.
Black light radiated from Xiao Hei’s body as he began gathering power, ready for battle.
Zhang Ruochen remained very calm. “No, he’s from the Moon-Worship Demon Sect. Stop first. Senior Sister Duanmu probably instructed him to do something.”
With Zhang Ruochen’s current spiritual power intensity, even without activating his Heavenly Eye, he could perceive things a hundred miles away. He had been releasing his spiritual power to observe every move of the patrol force, so he knew exactly what had happened.
Ye Chuan caught up and was somewhat surprised to see Zhang Ruochen had already stopped. “You didn’t flee when you saw me chasing you?”
Zhang Ruochen smiled. “You killed Fang Li and the eighteen patrol soldiers, so clearly we’re friends, not foes. Why would I flee?”
“Is that so?”
Ye Chuan wanted to test Zhang Ruochen’s strength, so he secretly mobilized his true qi, letting it circulate rapidly through his meridians. In a sudden move, he leaped up from the beast’s back.
He executed a profound movement martial technique, stepping on the void as if on solid ground. In a flash of lightning, he reached Zhang Ruochen and thrust his spear forward.
Against a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist, Ye Chuan didn’t use his full power—only one-tenth of his strength.
Even one-tenth was still terrifying, not much weaker than the full-force strike of the Tree Ancestor.
Facing such a powerful opponent, Zhang Ruochen dared not be careless. Without hesitation, he gripped his sword hilt, raised his arm, and swung a single slash.
It was the first sword of the Time Sword Art: Instant Trace.
Instant Trace might seem like just one slash, but it contained countless variations, forming the foundation of the Time Sword Art.
Currently, Zhang Ruochen had only preliminarily grasped the “instant” aspect of time, learning just one move among thousands of variations.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen preferred to call the first sword of the Time Sword Art a complete sword technique, named the Instant Sword Technique.
One move, one instant. One move, one change.
“Whoosh!”
Zhang Ruochen’s sword speed was as fast as flowing light, sweeping over Ye Chuan’s head, leaving behind an arc-shaped sword light.
With a crack, the crown on Ye Chuan’s head was severed by the sword light, and his black hair fell loose, draping over both sides of his face.
Ye Chuan quickly retreated, landing back on the beast’s back, staring in shock at Zhang Ruochen across from him. “Such fast swordplay! If that slash of yours had been aimed at my neck, I probably wouldn’t have been able to dodge it.”
Zhang Ruochen sheathed his sword. “If you had used your full power, that slash of mine might not have even cut off your crown.”
“No need to be modest. With the speed of that slash, even if I had used all my cultivation, I almost certainly couldn’t have dodged it,” Ye Chuan said.
Ye Chuan didn’t know that Zhang Ruochen’s sword path contained the power of time. He simply felt that Zhang Ruochen’s sword speed was incredibly fast—frighteningly so. Even now, cold sweat was still pouring down his body.
In that instant, he felt he had come extremely close to death.
In reality, the power of time was even more intangible than the power of space, harder to perceive. The power of space at least left traces, but the power of time left no shadow or sign.
Unless one was a Half-Saint, whose perception of the laws of heaven, earth, and all things had reached a certain level, they could only sense that faint fluctuation of time.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen’s Time Sword Art also had major flaws. It could only be executed at very close range to achieve a one-hit kill effect.
Moreover, the sword technique lacked continuity; each move was independent of the others.
If this one slash failed to kill the opponent, the sword technique would stall, creating an opening.
If Ye Chuan were to fight Zhang Ruochen again, he would certainly not easily approach within three zhang of him. Even if Zhang Ruochen’s sword speed was faster, he wouldn’t be able to harm him.
This move, Instant Trace, was Zhang Ruochen’s trump card, but it would inevitably be exposed sooner or later. Using it now was just an early test of its power.
The result proved that even the most basic Time Sword Art was still immensely powerful. If used unexpectedly, even an expert like Ye Chuan could be killed.
Ye Chuan stared deeply at Zhang Ruochen. “Are you really a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist?”
Zhang Ruochen smiled. “Of course.”
It was no wonder Ye Chuan was suspicious. After all, he was a top-tier genius of the Moon-Worship Demon Sect, having entered the Heavenly Ranking at the Heavenly Extreme Realm.
Now, with his cultivation at the fourth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, he had almost died under the sword of a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist. Even if he told others, no one would believe him.
Ye Chuan put away his long spear. “No wonder the Saintess has her eye on you. You’re truly a peerless prodigy—one can’t help but admire you.”
Zhang Ruochen wasn’t sure if Ye Chuan knew Duanmu Xingling’s public identity, so he feigned curiosity. “Who is the Saintess?”
Ye Chuan laughed. “The Saintess didn’t tell you her identity, so the time must not be right yet. However, the Saintess ordered me to assist you in the Wood Essence Ruins Realm, and I will do my utmost.”
After a moment of thought, Ye Chuan’s expression turned serious. “Based on my investigation, the depths of Black Wood Plain hide a great secret. You’ve been there—did you find anything?”
Clearly, Ye Chuan was also probing the secrets of Black Wood Plain, intending to report them to the Moon-Worship Demon Sect.
Perhaps that was why he had been lurking in the Wood Essence Ruins Realm.
The secret of Black Wood Plain was of great importance.
After careful consideration, Zhang Ruochen decided it was appropriate to reveal some information.
Because once Zhang Ruochen left the Wood Essence Ruins Realm, the realm’s origin qi would also disappear, and the entire world would begin to decline.
Such a major event would surely alarm the high-ranking officials of the Ministry of War. They would order a thorough investigation, and with their intelligence network, even if Zhang Ruochen had entered the Wood Essence Ruins Realm illegally, they would eventually trace it back to him.
The best approach was to let the Moon-Worship Demon Sect occupy the Ministry of War’s attention.
So Zhang Ruochen said, “Deep in Black Wood Plain, there’s an altar with extremely complex inscriptions carved on it. Preliminary estimates suggest it was the work of a Half-Saint of spiritual power.”
Ye Chuan was indeed drawn in by Zhang Ruochen’s words, his expression grave. “I’ve also been to the depths of Black Wood Plain and observed that altar from afar. It’s indeed extraordinary—not something ordinary people could build.”
Zhang Ruochen continued, “I infiltrated that altar and discovered an even more shocking secret.”
“What secret?” Ye Chuan asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, “The origin qi of the Wood Essence Ruins Realm is suppressed beneath that altar.”
“What!” Ye Chuan was greatly shocked.
His expression shifted constantly, already realizing the severity of the situation. Such a critical matter had to be reported immediately to the high-ranking members of the Moon-Worship Demon Sect.
Ye Chuan’s gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen again. “Why would the Ministry of War do this? What is their purpose?”
Zhang Ruochen smiled. “If Captain Ye, a member of the Ministry of War, doesn’t know, how could I possibly know? Besides, that origin qi is incredibly powerful—I didn’t even dare get close.”
Ye Chuan nodded.
It never occurred to Ye Chuan that Zhang Ruochen had already taken the Wood Essence Ruins Realm’s origin qi. After all, the power of origin qi was immense. Even the origin qi of a lower-level realm could only be suppressed by a Half-Saint-level existence.
No matter how brilliant Zhang Ruochen’s sword technique was, he was still just a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist. Before origin qi, he was like an ant.
Zhang Ruochen said seriously, “I need to return to the Chaotic Myriad Realms Mountain immediately. Captain Ye, do you have a way?”
Ye Chuan collected his thoughts. “The Saintess has already made arrangements. I’ll take you to board a realm ship now.”
Zhang Ruochen thought to himself, As expected of the Demon Sect’s Saintess—the power she can mobilize is truly beyond ordinary imagination.
The Wood Essence Ruins Realm was among the top-tier lower-level realms. Even though the Ministry of War had issued a ban, many young nobles with titles still came here every year to train.
Under Ye Chuan’s guidance, Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei quickly boarded a ship bound for the Chaotic Myriad Realms Mountain. On the ship, there were also some other young nobles.
Standing on the deck, Zhang Ruochen looked down and asked, “Captain Ye, aren’t you returning to the Chaotic Myriad Realms Mountain together?”
Ye Chuan smiled. “I still have some matters to handle. Once they’re taken care of, I’ll naturally return.”
Zhang Ruochen nodded, understanding the implication in Ye Chuan’s words.
The brutal deaths of Fang Li and the eighteen patrol soldiers would require an explanation. Without properly handling these matters, Ye Chuan couldn’t leave the Wood Essence Ruins Realm.
Ye Chuan stood on the ground, watching the ship fly away, his gaze gradually turning sharp and cold. “What is the Ministry of War plotting? The origin qi of the Wood Essence Ruins Realm is suppressed beneath an altar. This means I must immediately report this to Copper Beard Half-Saint.”
Since it involved the origin qi of an entire realm, Ye Chuan dared not act recklessly. He had to notify the Demon Sect’s Half-Saint to handle it.
(I have some matters tonight, so just one chapter. Will update tomorrow afternoon. Sorry.)