# Chapter 554: Battle Against the Jiao King
"How did this human kid's cultivation suddenly become so much stronger?"
Just now, in order to block Zhang Ruochen's sword energy, Wu Hai Jiao King had struck out with his Blazing Flame War Hammer twelve times in succession. Yet not only did he fail to block Zhang Ruochen's sword energy, he was instead knocked back twelve steps himself.
At this moment, his arm ached with numbness, and even the Blazing Flame War Hammer in his hand was trembling incessantly.
With such powerful strength, even if Wu Hai Jiao King had not been injured and was at his peak, he might not have been able to fight Zhang Ruochen to a draw.
Actually, it was quite normal for Zhang Ruochen to be able to repel Wu Hai Jiao King. One must understand that they were now tens of thousands of meters deep at the bottom of the sea, where Wu Hai Jiao King's power was suppressed to an extremely low point.
Zhang Ruochen, however, had broken through to the Fish-Dragon Realm, advancing an entire major realm, and his cultivation had surged dramatically.
With one side rising and the other falling, Wu Hai Jiao King naturally was no longer a match for Zhang Ruochen.
"Shua!"
Zhang Ruochen pressed his advantage, executing a Space Displacement and appearing above Wu Hai Jiao King's head. Holding his sword with both hands, he slashed out a long sword light.
Wu Hai Jiao King refused to admit defeat and once again struck out with his Blazing Flame War Hammer to meet the attack.
"Boom!"
A powerful shockwave surged outward from between the Abyssal Ancient Sword and the Blazing Flame War Hammer.
Wu Hai Jiao King was forced backward again. He raised his Blazing Flame War Hammer to look at it and saw that a white crack had actually appeared on the hammer's surface.
One must know that the Blazing Flame War Hammer was a Sacred Artifact.
To be able to cut a crack into a Sacred Artifact showed that the sword in that human kid's hand was definitely a divine weapon.
If he were struck by that sword, even the Jiao scales on his body might not be able to defend against it.
"If we were on the surface, this king could blow you to ashes with just one breath," Wu Hai Jiao King said coldly.
"Unfortunately, we are not on the surface right now," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, the body of the Azure Flame Black Tortoise shook violently.
Wu Hai Jiao King and Zhang Ruochen, losing their balance, also began to sway.
What was happening?
Zhang Ruochen looked toward Jin Huang Wang and saw that Jin Huang Wang had placed both hands on the iron pillar and was slowly lifting it upward.
It wasn't the Azure Flame Black Tortoise shaking, but rather the iron pillar that had pierced through the tortoise's body that was shaking.
Not good.
Jin Huang Wang was about to subdue the iron pillar and turn it into his own battle weapon.
Once he succeeded, he would gain wings like a tiger, and who could stand against him?
"Human kid, your opponent is me."
Just as Zhang Ruochen looked toward Jin Huang Wang, Wu Hai Jiao King seized the opportunity to strike out with his Blazing Flame War Hammer, using a technique of controlling the weapon to strike at Zhang Ruochen's head.
Sensing the danger, Zhang Ruochen quickly mobilized his spatial power and once again executed Space Displacement, appearing behind Wu Hai Jiao King.
"Instant Sword Technique."
The sword light flashed quickly, and the Abyssal Ancient Sword, carrying the power of time, slashed across Wu Hai Jiao King's head.
Wu Hai Jiao King hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen's sword speed to be so fast. His heart pounded with alarm as he immediately used the Jiao clan's movement technique to dodge to the left.
Sensing that he wasn't injured, Wu Hai Jiao King calmed down.
"Your sword speed is fast enough, but it lacks a bit of accuracy," Wu Hai Jiao King said.
Zhang Ruochen replied, "Is that so?"
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, the fleshy crown on top of Wu Hai Jiao King's head split open with a crack.
Crimson blood flowed out from the crack.
That sword just now had actually cut off Wu Hai Jiao King's fleshy crown. It was just that the sword technique was so fast that only now did the crown separate from Wu Hai Jiao King's body.
The fleshy crown of the Jiao clan, also known as the "Red Crown Fleshy Mushroom," condensed the Jiao clan's entire spirit and wisdom. Once damaged, it would greatly deplete their vitality.
"Human kid... you... you're asking for death... ah..."
Wu Hai Jiao King went completely berserk and let out a scream.
Red scales grew out from within his skin. His body continuously expanded, his hands spread open and transformed into sharp claws, his legs morphed into a Jiao tail, and he became a huge red Jiao.
"Bang!"
Wu Hai Jiao King charged upward, actually carrying the Azure Flame Black Tortoise's body as he slowly flew upward.
Although his fleshy crown had been cut off, making Wu Hai Jiao King extremely angry, he was still a Jiao king with profound wisdom. He was well aware that fighting Zhang Ruochen at the bottom of the sea trench would put him at a great disadvantage.
Only by returning to the sea surface could he unleash his true power and crush Zhang Ruochen to death.
Wu Hai Jiao King was a sixth-rank savage beast. After transforming into his true form, his physical strength was extremely formidable, and he actually managed to lift the Azure Flame Black Tortoise's body.
At the same time, under Jin Huang Wang's control, that iron pillar was also flying upward.
Combining their strength, Wu Hai Jiao King and Jin Huang Wang surged upward more than ten thousand meters in an instant, reaching the middle of the Blood Spring Sea Trench.
"No, I must kill Wu Hai Jiao King as quickly as possible. If we return to the sea surface, I'll be put in a passive position."
Zhang Ruochen stomped his foot, leaped up, gathered all his strength, and swung his war sword, slashing at Wu Hai Jiao King's neck.
"Pfft!"
With the first strike, the Abyssal Ancient Sword split open the first layer of scales on Wu Hai Jiao King's neck, cut through the Jiao skin, and left a bloody wound.
Wu Hai Jiao King's physical body was extremely powerful. Even the Abyssal Ancient Sword couldn't cut off his head with a single strike.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to strike a second time, Wu Hai Jiao King spat out a mouthful of Golden Blazing Flame from his mouth, condensing it into a huge pillar of fire that shot toward Zhang Ruochen.
Golden Blazing Flame was an extremely high-grade beast flame. Only sixth-rank savage beasts that had absorbed large amounts of metal and fire attribute spiritual energy could condense such a flame within their bodies.
Wu Hai Jiao King was already able to unleash Golden Blazing Flame, which showed that the seawater's suppression on him had already weakened significantly.
As long as they returned to the shallow water area, Wu Hai Jiao King could unleash even more powerful attack techniques.
Zhang Ruochen didn't dare to easily touch the Golden Blazing Flame. He immediately contracted his Space Domain inward until it was only three meters in diameter, wrapping around the outside of his body.
The range covered by the Space Domain became smaller, but the power of the Space Domain increased several times over.
Protected by the Space Domain, Zhang Ruochen passed through the Golden Blazing Flame, swung his sword, and struck Wu Hai Jiao King's neck again.
"Pfft!"
A deep gash appeared on Wu Hai Jiao King's neck, and blood gushed out from his blood vessels like a red spring.
He only needed one more strike to sever Wu Hai Jiao King's neck and cut off his head.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to strike a third time, the power on Wu Hai Jiao King's body surged dramatically.
A layer of crimson sacred light emerged from within his body, wrapping around his form.
"Bang!"
The Abyssal Ancient Sword struck Wu Hai Jiao King's neck but was blocked by that layer of sacred light, only causing it to tremble slightly and form ripples.
"Roar!"
Wu Hai Jiao King swung his claw, pressing it down toward Zhang Ruochen's head.
At this moment, Wu Hai Jiao King was carrying the Azure Flame Black Tortoise's body, and they were less than ten thousand meters from the sea surface.
A mass of Golden Blazing Flame wrapped around his claw, as if it had turned into a cloud of fire.
Before the Jiao claw even descended, a powerful gust of wind surged from all directions, enveloping Zhang Ruochen's body and suppressing him so that he couldn't move at all.
"Shua!"
Zhang Ruochen executed Space Displacement, passing through the claw and landing above Wu Hai Jiao King's head. He pointed a finger and struck toward Wu Hai Jiao King's skull.
"Space Collapse."
A surge of spatial power erupted and rushed toward Wu Hai Jiao King.
Wherever the spatial power passed, space cracked inch by inch, revealing dense fissures that continuously shattered. Behind the cracks, the dark and chaotic Void Space was exposed.
Wu Hai Jiao King immediately mobilized his sacred qi, forming seven layers of defensive light that he struck forward, trying to block the spatial power Zhang Ruochen had unleashed.
A series of explosive sounds rang out as the collapsing space tore through the seven layers of defensive light and impacted Wu Hai Jiao King's head.
Crack, crack!
As space split apart, Wu Hai Jiao King's head also continuously shattered, cracking with spiderweb-like blood-red lines.
At the same time, they finally entered the shallow water area.
"Roar!"
Wu Hai Jiao King's power grew even stronger.
He let out a great roar, swung his claw, and a massive sheet of flame struck Zhang Ruochen's body, sending him flying dozens of zhang away. With a bang, he crashed into a distant bone wall.
With Zhang Ruochen losing control, the previously collapsing space immediately returned to calm.
Zhang Ruochen climbed up from the ground, spat out a mouthful of blood, and thought to himself, "Wu Hai Jiao King was first severely injured by Jin Huang Wang, then had his fleshy crown cut off by me, and even his neck was almost severed by the Abyssal Ancient Sword. But after returning to the shallow sea area, he can still unleash incomparably powerful strength."
"Can it be that cultivators in the Fish-Dragon Realm truly cannot contend with Half-Saints? Even a dying Half-Saint can easily crush a strong cultivator in the Fish-Dragon Realm?"
The earlier Space Collapse had torn apart half of Wu Hai Jiao King's head, revealing pieces of white skull and teeth.
But supported by sacred qi, he still stubbornly clung to life.
The power radiating from Wu Hai Jiao King's body was like a towering mountain, forcing others to look up to him. Every time he moved his claw, he could unleash earth-shattering, massive power.
"Hoo!"
Wu Hai Jiao King blew out a breath, instantly condensing over a thousand wind blades. They made a whooshing sound as they gathered into a torrent of wind blades that flew toward Zhang Ruochen.
For an existence at the Half-Saint level, even a single breath was more terrifying than any storm.
"Shua, shua!"
Zhang Ruochen swung his sword rapidly, and countless sword energies interwove together, forming a dense sword net in front of his body.
"Bang!"
In just an instant, the wind blade torrent shattered the sword net and crashed into Zhang Ruochen's body, sending him flying.
Under the impact of the wind blade torrent, Zhang Ruochen flew out of the Azure Flame Black Tortoise's body and landed on the sea surface.
Dozens of bloody wounds appeared on Zhang Ruochen's body. Among them, the deepest wound had cut through two of Zhang Ruochen's ribs and had nearly damaged his internal organs.
Back on the sea surface, the sunlight was especially dazzling, making it hard to open his eyes.
"Boom!"
In the distance, Jin Huang Wang pulled out the iron pillar that had been embedded in the Azure Flame Black Tortoise's body and flew into the clouds.
Lead-black Death Evil Qi flowed around his body, condensing into a cloud. At this moment, Jin Huang Wang seemed to have transformed into a world-dominating demon king. He rested the iron pillar on his shoulder, glanced down at Zhang Ruochen, and revealed a mocking expression. "Wu Hai Jiao King, I'll leave Zhang Ruochen to you. After you kill him, remember to bring the Azure Flame Black Tortoise's corpse back to Huang Yu Island for this king."
Having said this, Jin Huang Wang stepped on a black cloud and flew off into the distance.
"Jin Huang Wang, leave behind the Black Tortoise Sacred Source..."
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to give chase, a deafening roar sounded. Wu Hai Jiao King flew out from the left eye socket of the Azure Flame Black Tortoise, hovering in midair with bared fangs and brandished claws.
His body had completely reverted to its true size, like a red mountain range suspended in the air, blocking Zhang Ruochen's path.
Wu Hai Jiao King stared down at Zhang Ruochen below and said, "Human kid, back on the sea surface, you're nothing but an ant. This king only needs one breath to blow you into a cloud of blood mist."
Seeing that Jin Huang Wang had already disappeared beyond the horizon, Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but clench his fists. He glared back at Wu Hai Jiao King and said, "Is that so? It seems that today I must unlock the second seal of the Sarira to obtain the Black Tortoise Sacred Source."
"It's useless. Any resistance you put up is just a deathbed struggle."
Wu Hai Jiao King swung his massive tail, lashing it toward Zhang Ruochen. In his view, this single strike would be enough to completely kill Zhang Ruochen.
But after his tail struck out, it was caught by Zhang Ruochen with one hand.
"How... how is this possible..."