# Chapter 626: Recognized
"Whoosh!"
The moment the golden sacred sword descended, a layer of holy light emerged on Di Yi's body, causing his skin to become radiant and lustrous, as hard as sacred stone.
He was actually wearing a sacred skin soft armor.
The sacred skin soft armor was a sacred artifact-level defensive treasure refined from the skin and bones of a Saint. Once worn, it would perfectly fuse with the cultivator's skin.
Only when attacked would the sacred skin soft armor manifest, unleashing powerful defensive force.
The golden sacred sword clashed with the sacred skin soft armor on Di Yi's body, then slid down from his shoulder, ultimately striking the Snowman Prince's neck.
"Plop."
The sharpness of the sacred sword was far beyond what a twelfth-rank True Martial Treasure could match. The golden sacred sword pierced through the Snowman Prince's flesh and severed a blood vessel in his neck.
Instantly, blood gushed out wildly, staining half of the Snowman Prince's body red.
The Snowman Prince let out a muffled groan, staggered back two steps, and quickly circulated true qi to seal the blood vessels in his neck. Only then did the surging blood gradually stop.
Because sword qi had surged into the Snowman Prince's body, destroying his flesh, blood, and meridians, even with his powerful physical constitution, he couldn't heal the wound anytime soon.
Sealing the blood vessels stopped the blood loss, but it made the Snowman Prince's neck stiff, making it extremely difficult to move his head.
"Who? Who dares to ambush me, the Prince?"
The Snowman Prince roared, his eyes bloodshot, exuding intense killing intent.
Only Di Yi knew that the attacker's target wasn't the Snowman Prince but himself. It was only because he wore the sacred skin soft armor that he had escaped death.
Otherwise, that single strike would have killed him.
Although the sacred skin soft armor possessed powerful defensive capabilities and blocked Zhang Ruochen's golden sacred sword, a shockwave still penetrated the armor and struck Di Yi's body.
At this moment, Di Yi's left arm was completely immobile, and the left half of his body felt painful and numb.
"So he's also a sword dao expert. Red Desire Star Envoy, who exactly is this great protector of yours?" Di Yi began circulating true qi to heal his injuries.
At the same time, Di Yi became more cautious, on high alert, determined not to give the opponent another chance to ambush him.
Red Desire Star Envoy was also quite shocked, finding it extremely unbelievable. She had never expected that the great protector she had appointed was not only a forty-fourth-level spiritual power master but also a sword dao expert capable of injuring the Snowman Prince.
Who exactly was he?
Only now did Red Desire Star Envoy realize that even though she had already greatly overestimated Zhang Ruochen's strength, she had still underestimated him.
Recalling the scene just now, Red Desire Star Envoy realized that the golden sacred sword Zhang Ruochen used seemed familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before.
Suddenly, her entire body trembled as she remembered.
Wasn't that golden sacred sword one of the six sacred swords that Yellow God Star Envoy had obtained at the Xuanwu Inheritance Ground? After Yellow God's strange death, the six sacred swords had been taken by Zhang Ruochen.
Now, how could one of those sacred swords appear in the great protector's hands?
A terrifying conjecture arose in Red Desire Star Envoy's heart... but quickly, she shook her head, not daring to continue thinking, telling herself that person was already dead and couldn't possibly still be alive.
Even if she had suspicions now, she immediately suppressed her doubts. Killing Di Yi was the top priority.
"Xu Hong, I'll hold off the Snowman Prince. You go kill Di Yi."
Red Desire Star Envoy swung her crystal sacred staff, once again casting an illusion technique, forming a red light mist that enveloped the Snowman Prince.
On the crown atop the Snowman Prince's head was set a white gem the size of a normal human head.
Just as Red Desire Star Envoy cast her illusion technique, a stream of icy air surged from the gem into the Snowman Prince's brow, keeping his consciousness clear.
The white gem was a sacred object of the Snowman Clan, said to be an Ice Soul Sacred Jade. It could not only preserve corpses for ten thousand years but also protect a cultivator's consciousness and soul.
The Snowman Prince cultivated the "Giant Spirit Wrath Heart Technique," which, though powerful, easily caused him to lose reason due to rage, even leading to heart fire.
Therefore, he wore the Ice Soul Sacred Jade on his person, never expecting it would become Red Desire Star Envoy's nemesis.
The illusion technique Red Desire Star Envoy cast had no effect on the Snowman Prince at all.
However, Xu Hong's attacks greatly occupied the Snowman Prince.
Di Yi knew there was still a formidable figure hidden in the shadows, ready to deliver a fatal blow at any moment. Thus, he no longer hesitated and crushed a jade talisman.
The shattered jade talisman transformed into a pillar of light, shooting straight into the sky, connecting earth and heaven, appearing especially dazzling in the pitch-black night.
Red Desire Star Envoy sneered coldly: "Di Yi, I never thought I'd see you so flustered. Have you already sent out a signal, hoping Infant Half-Saint will come to save you?"
Di Yi remained quite composed, snorting coldly: "Ye Honglei, you've allied with the traitor Silver Moon Lingkong to harm the Star Envoys and Young Master of Black Market First Class Hall. If the Elder Council finds out, do you know how you'll die?"
Red Desire Star Envoy smiled: "As long as you die, even if the Elder Council knows I used some unsavory methods, the Ye family and my master can still protect my life. In the end, I'll still be the new Young Master. So you see, the victor is king, and the dead have no right to speak."
Di Yi felt a surge of intense anger. If Zhang Ruochen weren't hidden in the shadows, constantly threatening him, he would have charged out immediately to grind Red Desire Star Envoy to dust.
Red Desire Star Envoy raised her delicate brows slightly and smiled: "Di Yi, you don't need to wait any longer. Before I prepared to act, I had already sent word to our Ye family's Half-Saint to restrain Infant Half-Saint."
Di Yi's protector was Infant Half-Saint, while Red Desire Star Envoy's protector was a Half-Saint from the Ye family.
Theoretically, Half-Saint-level figures couldn't interfere in the struggle between Red Desire Star Envoy and Di Yi, but Half-Saints could check each other.
The Ye family was also a behemoth-like aristocratic clan in the Black Market, possessing tremendous influence. That was precisely why Red Desire Star Envoy's ambition had swelled, wanting to seize the position of Young Master.
If Red Desire Star Envoy could leverage the Ye family's power, she could also mobilize a large number of Fish-Dragon Realm experts for her own use.
Unfortunately, in the struggle for the Young Master position, family power couldn't directly intervene. One could only rely on the charm and means of the younger generation's talents to recruit troops, deploy formations, and engage in a contest of wisdom and strength.
Only the ultimate victor would qualify to become the Young Master.
"Swish!"
In the darkness, the golden sword light appeared again, even more powerful, dragging a sword light over ten meters long as it stabbed toward Di Yi's spine.
Although he wore sacred skin soft armor that could block the sword tip from piercing his body, a powerful impact striking the Heavenly Heart Meridian in his spine could still severely injure him.
Di Yi had been on guard all along. The moment the sword light shot out, he kicked off from the Snowman Prince's shoulder and charged down.
The golden sacred sword grazed his neck, colliding with the sacred skin soft armor, sending sparks flying.
"Bang!"
Di Yi landed on both feet and immediately executed a movement technique, fleeing rapidly into the night.
Zhang Ruochen's body materialized, unleashing extreme speed. He quickly caught up to Di Yi and swung the golden sacred sword again, dragging a long golden sword light.
Di Yi sensed the dangerous aura, quickly turned around, formed his hands into claw shapes, and executed the Hell Ghost King Claw.
As the claw technique was unleashed, the sound of yin wind howling echoed for a thousand zhang, like the wailing of vengeful spirits.
The Hell Ghost King Claw consisted of thirty-six moves, a rather profound claw-type martial technique.
At this moment, Di Yi's long hair was disheveled, his fingers had lengthened twofold, and each fingernail was exceptionally sharp, as if he had transformed into a true ghost king.
"Bang! Bang!"
The claw marks clashed rapidly with the golden sacred sword, forming ripples of energy, kicking up sand and stones, with ghost winds howling and sword qi crisscrossing.
Suddenly, the power of Zhang Ruochen's sword technique surged dramatically, piercing through Di Yi's double claws and striking his throat.
Even with the defense of the sacred skin soft armor, Di Yi's throat couldn't withstand the sacred sword's power. With a cracking sound, it shattered, and a strong bloody taste surged into Di Yi's mouth.
Di Yi's double claws tightly gripped the sword body, trying to stop the sacred sword from thrusting deeper.
At the same time, his body rapidly retreated backward, trying to neutralize the sacred sword's impact.
But Zhang Ruochen was faster, keeping his arm and the sacred sword balanced, pressing against Di Yi's neck. The sword tip kept sinking deeper, and even the sacred skin soft armor couldn't withstand the sacred sword's assault.
"Di Yi, even sacred skin soft armor can't save your life." Zhang Ruochen's eyes were sharp, exuding intense killing intent.
Seeing the eyes beneath the mask, Di Yi's expression froze, as if witnessing something unbelievable. Then, his voice came out hoarse and broken: "I... I know... who... you... are..."
Di Yi's legs sank, and he stopped retreating, stabilizing his body as he let the sacred sword thrust deeper.
"Swish!"
Di Yi swung both arms simultaneously, unleashing two sharp claw marks, aimed at Zhang Ruochen's head and abdomen respectively.
He was now using a mutual destruction technique.
Zhang Ruochen knew Di Yi possessed the Heartless Sacred Body, essentially an undying body, so he didn't fight to the death. He immediately withdrew his sword and quickly retreated.
Although Di Yi had forced Zhang Ruochen back, the golden sacred sword had still left a deep indentation on his throat.
Beneath the sacred skin soft armor, a deep bloody hole had actually appeared on Di Yi's neck.
If it were any other cultivator, even if not dead, they would certainly be unable to continue fighting.
But Di Yi remained quite calm, standing in place, staring straight at Zhang Ruochen across from him, revealing a strange smile, his voice carrying a sense of fragmentation: "Zhang... Ruo... Chen..."
...
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