Chapter 707: Undead Fiends
A flicker of killing intent flashed deep within Shengshu Cainü's starry eyes, and she said, "Regarding the Qi Clan matter, you should stop getting involved. The imperial court and the Liangyi Sect will deal with them. With your current level of cultivation, the Qi Clan could kill you as easily as crushing an ant."
Xiao Hei curled his lip in disdain and muttered, "Acting like you're so great, putting on airs. If Zhang Ruochen hadn't stepped in to save you, you'd have been crushed like an ant by Qi Hong too. Maybe even worse than crushed."
Shengshu Cainü's forehead darkened with veins. If she hadn't lost all her cultivation, she would definitely have taught that cat a harsh lesson.
"Shut up."
Zhang Ruochen scolded, then turned to Shengshu Cainü with a smile, saying, "Please forgive me, Saint. This cat just has a sharp tongue and often acts foolishly. Don't take it to heart."
Now that Shengshu Cainü had lost all her cultivation, she had to rely on Zhang Ruochen's protection to have any chance of escape, so she didn't pursue the matter further.
Shengshu Cainü said, "If we return to the Liangyi Sect now, we'll likely be intercepted on the way. That would be walking straight into death."
Zhang Ruochen's expression grew serious. "Saint, do you truly believe what Qi Hong said before he died?"
He continued, "This ancient ruin is quite eerie. It seals off all aura, and even message light talismans can't get through. I don't think Qi Hong could have sent word back to the Liangyi Sect."
Shengshu Cainü glanced at Zhang Ruochen and said, "You haven't reached the Half-Saint realm, so you can't understand some of a Half-Saint's methods. What message light talismans can't do, a Half-Saint's sacred thought can."
"Right now, our only chance of survival is to hide within this ancient ruin and wait for rescue from the imperial court and the Liangyi Sect."
"You're right—this ruin is indeed strange, sealing off all aura, which works against us."
"But think of it this way: because of this environment, even if a Saint from the Qi Clan breaks in, finding us won't be easy."
Zhang Ruochen nodded, finding her analysis reasonable.
Then, Zhang Ruochen stripped the Meteor Invisibility Cloak from Qi Hong's body and put it back on. Aside from that, he found nothing else of value.
Shengshu Cainü stood nearby, elegant and pure in demeanor. After Zhang Ruochen finished his search, she said flatly, "You're really desperate for wealth, aren't you? Taking things from the dead."
Zhang Ruochen looked at her. "Why not? Do you think every cultivator grows up lacking nothing in resources like you do?"
"For instance, I took Qi Hong's Half-Saint light and refined it. That alone can help me break through a realm in a short time. Without that Half-Saint light, who knows how long I'd have to cultivate to advance one realm."
"But for you, getting a mass of Half-Saint light is as simple as saying a word, and someone will buy it from an auction for you."
"You don't want dead people's things, but countless people across the Kunlun Realm are lining up to fight over them."
Shengshu Cainü dropped her smile, suddenly realizing she had indeed been too pampered before. Perhaps that was why she had suffered this calamity.
"You're right. I've learned something. If we manage to escape, I'll give you a great opportunity to repay the favor I owe you."
Lin Yue's displayed strength had earned Shengshu Cainü's recognition. In her heart, she had already decided to designate Lin Yue as one of the nine Realm Sons.
Zhang Ruochen just shook his head with a smile, uninterested in her so-called opportunity. Since the existence of the Heaven and Earth Altar was now essentially confirmed, he had no real reason to stay at the Liangyi Sect.
Whether Lin Yue would continue to exist was also uncertain.
Of course, if his identity wasn't exposed, Zhang Ruochen planned to stay until the Sword Discussion Conference ended. After all, he had gained much and learned a lot at the Liangyi Sect; he at least owed them some repayment.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen sensed an unusual movement from underground. He stopped immediately, grabbed Shengshu Cainü's wrist, and pulled her behind him.
"What... are you doing?"
Shengshu Cainü glared at Zhang Ruochen, trying to shake off his hand.
But Zhang Ruochen tightened his grip, his face wary. "Don't move. Something's wrong."
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen wasn't deliberately trying to take liberties, Shengshu Cainü stopped struggling and began observing their surroundings, wondering what he had detected.
Though she had lost all her cultivation and her perception was now no better than an ordinary person's, she still had keen insight. Soon, she noticed something off.
"Could it be undead?"
Shengshu Cainü's face paled. "Lin Yue, open your heavenly eye quickly. You might see something interesting."
A white light emerged from Zhang Ruochen's brow, forming a vertical eye. As he looked around, he saw a terrifying scene he had never witnessed before.
From the surrounding graves, humanoid shadowy figures surged upward, standing before the tombstones. Their faces were twisted, exuding a chilling, sinister aura.
The closest undead to Zhang Ruochen stood about thirty meters to his left—a hunched, white-haired old woman with a stooped back, looking utterly eerie.
He had long heard that the heavenly eye could see ghosts, and Zhang Ruochen had mentally prepared himself, but actually seeing them still made his scalp crawl.
Martial souls and ghost souls were distinctly different.
Martial souls were "living souls," helping cultivators channel heaven and earth's spiritual energy into attack power.
Ghost souls were "undead," unable to channel spiritual energy but capable of devouring other ghosts, even living souls and martial souls, to grow stronger.
If a ghost soul reached a certain level, it could not only devour martial souls but also launch physical attacks.
Encountering an ordinary ghost, a Mysterious Extreme Realm martial artist's true qi could blast it into oblivion.
But if they ran into ghost soldiers or ghost generals, they'd be in serious trouble.
Clearly, the ghosts emerging from the graves were no ordinary ones. Each exuded powerful yin energy, making it feel like they were in a Shura hell.
"Why are so many undead appearing all of a sudden?" Xiao Hei could also see the ghostly figures, his eyes darting around nervously.
The white-haired old woman closest to Zhang Ruochen suddenly lifted her head. Beneath her white hair was utter darkness—no face at all, only two green ghost fires where her eyes should be.
"Rustle, rustle."
The old woman cackled, turning into a black blur as she lunged at Zhang Ruochen.
Cultivators who hadn't opened their heavenly eye would see nothing but a strong gust of yin wind rushing toward him.
Zhang Ruochen channeled his true qi, gathering power in his palm, and struck forward.
The vortex below his dantian spun rapidly, releasing a surge of yang energy that flowed from his palm, forming a crimson fire cloud.
The old woman shrieked in agony as the palm strike hit her, her ghostly body rapidly disintegrating into wisps of black ghostly qi.
Yang energy was indeed highly effective against ghosts, but the old woman was no ordinary ghost. She didn't dissipate completely from Zhang Ruochen's strike.
The black ghostly qi pierced through the palm force and reformed into a ghostly body before him.
Though her form had dimmed, she remained fiercely aggressive.
"She didn't die." Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised.
In the blink of an eye, Zhang Ruochen adapted his strategy, infusing sacred qi into the Meteor Invisibility Cloak. A white radiance emanated from it.
"Sizzle!"
The old woman's claw struck Zhang Ruochen's chest, meeting the cloak's light, creating faint ripples of energy.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen struck out with both palms, bringing his arms together to trap the old woman between two palm prints.
With a bang, the old woman's ghostly body exploded again.
This time, even the ghostly qi was completely dispersed by the palm force—truly obliterated.
Zhang Ruochen grunted softly, stepping back, his chest aching slightly. The old woman's claw had left him lightly injured.
"Are you alright?" Shengshu Cainü asked.
"It's nothing."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "I was too careless. I didn't expect that undead to be so powerful. Even after its ghostly body was shattered, the qi could recombine, so I was caught off guard."
Shengshu Cainü was sharp-witted. Though Lin Yue didn't say it, she knew that in that moment, he could have dodged the undead's attack if he wanted to.
He hadn't dodged because she was standing behind him.
This showed that the guy had some backbone—not a coward who feared death.
Shengshu Cainü analyzed, "That undead you fought was likely a ghost general."
"Ghost generals are divided into three levels: Yin Sha, Xiong Sha, and Wu Chang."
"Yin Sha's strength is comparable to cultivators from Fish-Dragon First Transformation to Fish-Dragon Seventh Transformation."
"Xiong Sha's strength ranges from at least Fish-Dragon Seventh Transformation, with the strongest able to contend with a First-Step Half-Saint."
"As for Wu Chang, they possess Half-Saint-level power and can even form a physical body, making them hard to detect even in a crowd."
"That undead just now, I estimate, was at the Xiong Sha level."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned cold as he looked at the ghosts closing in around them. "So it seems they're all Xiong Sha. Let's hope no Wu Chang shows up."
"If I could recover even a tenth of my cultivation, a single burst of righteous qi would reduce them all to ashes," Shengshu Cainü said.
Zhang Ruochen raised the Void Sword in his hand, his aura sharpening. "Let's go. Xiao Hei, you protect the Saint. I'll clear the way. We have to fight our way out no matter what."
Zhang Ruochen still needed Shengshu Cainü's power to deal with the Qi Clan. If she died here, even if he escaped this ancient ruin, his future would be grim.
So, no matter how dangerous, he couldn't abandon her now.
Zhang Ruochen strode forward, fully releasing the yang energy within him, merging it with his sacred qi. A crimson fire cloud surrounded his body.
Having cultivated the seventh palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, Zhang Ruochen's yang energy was ten times that of an ordinary person.
When yang energy combined with sacred qi, it became relatively lethal against ghosts.