Chapter 588: The Red Desire Star Envoy Appears
In the Kunlun Realm, Spiritual Power Masters were indeed highly esteemed. Some excelled in artifact forging, others in alchemy, some could tame beasts, and still others were masters of esoteric arts like the Mystic Gate and Hidden Armor.
As long as one possessed sufficient spiritual power, any faction would go to great lengths to recruit them, including the Black Market and the Demon Sect.
Zhang Ruochen remained perfectly calm, fixing his gaze on Fang Jie and Cao Ying. He said flatly, "If the two of you can leave within three breaths, I will spare your lives."
"Even a Spiritual Power Master dares to oppose the Blood Cloud Sect? That's a death sentence."
Fang Jie circulated his true qi once, suppressing his injuries. Abandoning Mu Lingxi, he grabbed his Twin Soul-Severing Spears and attacked Zhang Ruochen.
The two short spears spun rapidly, one radiating freezing cold and the other blazing with scorching flames. Ice and fire, two opposing forces, whirled together to form a massive vortex.
"Overestimating yourself."
Zhang Ruochen mobilized his spiritual power and raised one hand.
Instantly, a patch of purple thunderclouds condensed in the air before his palm. Bolts of lightning, like electric serpents, darted through the clouds with a crackling sound.
"Nine-Strike Electric Blade."
Zhang Ruochen swung his arm, slashing toward Fang Jie.
The purple thunderclouds instantly coalesced into an electric blade, which crashed into Fang Jie with overwhelming force.
With just the first strike of the electric blade, Fang Jie was sent flying backward, tumbling three zhang away.
The Nine-Strike Electric Blade was a first-level spell, delivering nine consecutive strikes, each stronger than the last.
When the second electric blade fell, it broke through Fang Jie's defenses, leaving a foot-long gash on his chest.
"Pfft!"
With the third strike, Fang Jie's body was cleaved in two by the electric blade.
His bloody corpse flew apart in opposite directions.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his arm and ceased his attack.
Duanmu Ya's beautiful eyes fixed intently on the mysterious man sitting calmly by the pond. She thought to herself, "What a formidable Spiritual Power Master. Fang Jie didn't even get within ten zhang of him before being effortlessly killed. For someone so young to possess such strength, he can't be an unknown figure."
Even if Duanmu Ya hadn't been poisoned, she could at best have defeated Fang Jie, not killed him.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen display such overwhelming power, Cao Ying immediately retreated, fleeing from Qingxuan Pavilion and racing toward the outskirts of Liyuan City.
"Run? Can you escape?"
Zhang Ruochen released his spiritual power, locking onto Cao Ying completely. He raised a finger and pointed at the sky.
A thunderous roar echoed from above.
A bolt of lightning as thick as a bowl streaked across the heavens, like a purple blade connecting heaven and earth, crashing down.
"Boom!"
The entire city of Liyuan trembled slightly.
At the city gate, a charred black crater ten zhang in diameter appeared. The surrounding streets were covered in dense, fine electric patterns, writhing like lightning earthworms on the ground.
Inside the crater lay a blackened corpse.
It was Cao Ying, who had just fled.
In Qingxuan Pavilion, Zhang Ruochen stood up, collected Fang Jie's Twin Soul-Severing Spears, and walked out. "Proprietress, in three days, I'll find you at the Fearless Inn in the prefectural city. I hope you won't disappoint me."
By the time his words faded, he had already vanished from Qingxuan Pavilion, reappearing at the city gate beside the charred crater.
Zhang Ruochen picked up Cao Ying's sword, stored it away, and strode out of the city, leaving without a backward glance.
Fang Jie and Cao Ying's weapons were both top-tier True Martial Treasures, which could be used to upgrade the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
Cao Ying's death by lightning strike caused a massive uproar in Liyuan City.
Cao Ying and Fang Jie were notorious evil path overlords, veritable demons in the eyes of Liyuan's martial artists.
For such top-tier experts to be killed by a mysterious young man—it was easy to imagine that once the news spread, it would shake the entire Qingyun Commandery.
In Qingxuan Pavilion.
Mu Lingxi stared in the direction the mysterious man had left, her eyes blazing with fervor. "He's Zhang Ruochen, he must be Zhang Ruochen..."
She immediately tried to chase after him, but Duanmu Ya stopped her.
"Lingxi, Zhang Ruochen died under the sword of the Nine Nether Sword Saint. He's not Zhang Ruochen. Are you losing your mind?" Duanmu Ya said.
Mu Lingxi shook her head frantically, unwavering. "He's definitely Zhang Ruochen. Even if he's wearing a mask, I recognize his silhouette. Even if he turned to ashes, I'd still know him. Auntie, let's go after him. Make him take off his mask. He's definitely Zhang Ruochen."
Duanmu Ya swallowed a detoxification pill, circulating her true qi to heal as she sighed. "That man is a Spiritual Power Master, while Zhang Ruochen primarily cultivates the sword. They can't be the same person."
"Zhang Ruochen is also a Spiritual Power Master," Mu Lingxi insisted.
Seeing Mu Lingxi's excitement, eagerness, and agitation, Duanmu Ya suddenly changed her mind.
Letting her believe Zhang Ruochen was still alive might at least help her recover faster. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Duanmu Ya smiled. "Alright. Maybe he really is Zhang Ruochen. In three days, come with me to the Fearless Inn. We can verify his identity then."
"For now, we must return to the prefectural city immediately and contact the branch leaders across the region. Have them go into hiding and stay vigilant against the Blood Cloud Sect."
"At the same time, we need to report this to the higher-ups as soon as possible, so the High Priest can prepare countermeasures."
"Since the Blood Cloud Sect has already struck at us, other commandery branches have likely been attacked too. No matter what, we must hold off this wave and establish a foothold in the Eastern Domain's evil lands."
Mu Lingxi, firmly convinced that the masked man was Zhang Ruochen, felt much lighter. She began analyzing the situation seriously. "Auntie, although Fang Jie and Cao Ying were first-rate evil path experts, they only rank eighth and ninth among the Blood Cloud Sect's assassins. There are several more formidable figures above them."
"With the Blood Cloud Sect losing two experts this time, they won't let it go. Their next move will surely send even stronger killers."
Duanmu Ya said, "The reason we fell into danger this time is that someone leaked information about our whereabouts. That means there's a Black Market spy among us. First, we root out the traitor, then we'll deal with the Blood Cloud Sect slowly."
"I believe the Black Market won't dare to push us too hard right now. This is likely just a small-scale probe to test the Cult's limits."
"Besides, the Underworld Gate has already pledged allegiance to the Cult. If the Blood Cloud Sect truly wants war, we might not lose. The Underworld Gate card, which we've kept hidden, is finally time to play."
The Underworld Gate was once a faction under the Black Market, hailed as the number one evil path overlord of the Demon Ridge. However, after offending Di Yi, they were forced to defect to the Moon-Worshipping Cult.
Now, they were under Duanmu Ya's command, serving as her hidden trump card.
Mu Lingxi nodded. "In that case, let's return to the prefectural city and wait for developments."
That very day, Mu Lingxi and Duanmu Ya returned to the prefectural city of Qingyun Commandery.
...
...
The Blood Cloud Sect's mountain gate was built on the outskirts of the Fallen God Mountain Range, hidden among the peaks. Without a guide, outsiders would find it nearly impossible to locate the path into the mountains.
At that moment, a squad of Glazed Knights rode along the steep mountain road, arriving at the sect's entrance.
In front of the Glazed Knights, two Phantom Ant Beasts pulled an ornate carriage, which also came to a halt.
The Red Desire Star Envoy, dressed in a long robe inlaid with red gems and draped in a wide, jujube-red hooded fur cloak, lifted the carriage curtain and stepped out.
Her figure was graceful and slender, her skin as white as jade. A cloud of red mist surrounded her body, adding a layer of hazy, mysterious beauty.
The Red Desire Star Envoy walked barefoot, her snow-white feet adorned with a blue-gold anklet. She stepped through the air on red clouds, like a pink demon in the night, entering the Blood Cloud Sect's gate.
"Greetings, Red Desire Star Envoy."
Seeing the Red Desire Star Envoy and the Glazed Knights, the Blood Cloud Sect's martial artists all knelt in reverence, not daring to breathe too loudly.
"Where is Xu Hong?" the Red Desire Star Envoy asked from her lofty position.
"The Sect Leader is in the main hall."
"Lead the way."
The Blood Cloud Sect martial artist guided the Red Desire Star Envoy to the outside of the main hall, then respectfully withdrew.
Blood Cloud Sect Leader Xu Hong sat on a throne built from piled skulls at the top of the hall. He slammed his palm forward, and with a bang, the bronze table before him dented inward, leaving a half-meter-long handprint.
"Useless! Two men sent to assassinate Duanmu Ya, and they still failed. They deserved to die, utterly deserved to die."
Xu Hong was furious, his eyes bloodshot.
At the same time, a powerful aura erupted from him, filling the entire hall.
All the Blood Cloud Sect disciples below knelt.
Their bodies trembled uncontrollably, terrified that Xu Hong, in his rage, would unleash his Absorption True Hundred Refining Art and drain them all into dried corpses.
"Patriarch Xu, what's happened to make you so angry?"
The Red Desire Star Envoy stepped through the air from outside the gate, landing in the center of the hall.
Seeing the Red Desire Star Envoy, Xu Hong immediately suppressed his anger, rose from his seat, descended the steps, and bowed deeply before her. "Greetings, Red Desire Star Envoy."
Though Xu Hong was a sect leader with cultivation far surpassing the Red Desire Star Envoy's—reaching the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm—he dared not act arrogantly in her presence.
This was because the Red Desire Star Envoy was not only a Star Envoy selected by the Black Market First Class Hall but also a disciple of Huan Saint.
The Blood Cloud Sect might rule Qingyun Commandery, but in the eyes of Huan Saint, it was nothing more than a fourth-rate sect, as insignificant as a sesame seed or a mung bean. Huan Saint could annihilate the Blood Cloud Sect with a single finger.