Chapter 721: The Demon Son Arrives, Weighing the Eastern Domain
Luo Xu had an extraordinary friendship with Ning Xuan Dao, the sect leader of Liangyi Sect. As long as Qi Fei Yu’s identity as a Holy Maiden of the Demon Sect had not been exposed, Luo Xu stepping forward might indeed make it possible to rescue her.
Now, Luo Xu was incomparable to who he was two hundred years ago, both in cultivation and status.
If Zhang Ruochen’s guess was correct, and Luo Xu was truly going to Liangyi Sect to rescue someone, it meant his feelings for Lin Su Xian remained deep.
If so, how much pain must Senior Luo Xu have endured over these two hundred years?
Zhang Ruochen let out a soft sigh. For some reason, he saw a bit of himself in Luo Xu.
Two people who clearly loved each other, yet could not be together.
The enemy standing before Luo Xu was the sect leader of the Demon Sect.
The enemy standing before Zhang Ruochen was the even more terrifying Empress Chi Yao.
Zhang Ruochen silently vowed in his heart that he would never become a second Luo Xu. He had to train hard and make himself stronger.
Only by defeating Chi Yao could he dispel all darkness and usher in light.
"Boom!"
A loud crash came from the direction of the main entrance, jolting Zhang Ruochen from his thoughts.
What was happening?
"Bang!"
The door of the central stone chamber was shattered by a punch from a man with eight arms and eight legs, breaking into over a dozen pieces of rubble that fell to the ground.
With the explosion of the loud noise, a powerful surge of air rushed in from outside, emitting a "whoosh" sound.
Ao Xinyan flicked her sleeve, releasing a burst of sacred energy that struck the incoming airwave, sending it flying back.
"Who dares to cause trouble at Wan Kong Cliff?" A descendant of the Xi Holy Clan stood up and shouted in reprimand.
Inside the stone chamber, all the geniuses and outstanding talents of the Eastern Domain showed cold expressions, clearly displeased by the sudden intrusion.
Who was so bold as to cause trouble here?
"Clatter, clatter!"
From the direction of the entrance, four figures walked in side by side.
Although they were humanoid, they exuded a very powerful barbaric beast aura, and their physical forms were vastly different from normal humans.
The cultivators present could naturally tell that they were not humans but barbaric beasts that had taken human form.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the four, his gaze locking onto the man with eight arms and eight legs. He recognized him—one of the thirty-six Guardian Beast Generals of the Demon Sect, the Thousand-Legged Thunder Centipede.
Wu Ba.
From this, it could be inferred that the other three were also Guardian Beast Generals.
"Demon Son, Ouyang Huan." A startled voice rang out from the crowd.
Sure enough, Ouyang Huan stepped out from behind the four Guardian Beast Generals, wearing a cyan robe that made him appear quite refined, his gaze also very gentle.
However, the aura he emitted suppressed everyone present. He simply stood there, yet it was as if he had become the center of the entire world.
"Why is it him?"
"Aren't the people from the Central Domain at Bei Long City? How did they come to Wan Kong Cliff?"
...
Ouyang Huan's name was like thunder in the ears. In his presence, any genius or outstanding talent would pale in comparison.
The crowd retreated, all the way to the depths of the stone chamber, leaving a wide open space.
The four Guardian Beast Generals wore mocking expressions.
Wu Ba laughed loudly and said, "The Divine Son has heard that the top young experts of the Eastern Domain are all gathered here, so he came out of admiration, wanting to weigh whether the talents of the Eastern Domain are worthy of participating in this Sword Discussion Conference."
Hearing this, the geniuses and outstanding talents of the Eastern Domain all showed anger and dissatisfaction.
"Such arrogance! Does he really think he's invincible under heaven?"
"One man wants to weigh the entire Eastern Domain cultivation world? Shouldn't he first assess his own worth?"
Before every Sword Discussion Conference, cultivators from the five domains would inevitably spar with each other.
This was an opportunity to probe the top experts of each domain and prepare in advance to avoid unexpected defeats during the conference.
Ouyang Huan walked over to a table, sat down, and swept his gaze across the crowd before closing his eyes.
A palm-sized winged dragon crawled out from his sleeve, looked around, then extended its two claws to pick up a wine cup from the table and began drinking noisily.
"Ouyang Huan, aren't you being too arrogant? Do you really think you alone can suppress the entire Eastern Domain cultivation world?"
The Purple Wind Star Envoy of the Black Market First Class Hall snorted coldly, lifted his dragon-headed spear, and walked toward Ouyang Huan with unhurried steps.
Even within the Black Market, there was open and covert strife among the evil path geniuses of different domains, none willing to submit to the other.
Moreover, the Demon Son of the Demon Sect dared to come alone to weigh the entire Eastern Domain cultivation world. Any Eastern Domain cultivator would find it hard to accept such humiliation.
Ouyang Huan still kept his eyes closed, not even lifting his eyelids, and asked calmly, "Who are you?"
"Purple Wind Star Envoy of the Eastern Domain Black Market First Class Hall," the Purple Wind Star Envoy said coldly.
Ouyang Huan said, "If the young master of the Eastern Domain Black Market First Class Hall, Di Yi, were still alive and had trained for another ten years, he might be able to spar with me. As for you, you're far from it—you're only worthy of fighting Dragon Three."
The Purple Wind Star Envoy's face bulged with veins, and fury burned in his heart.
In the Eastern Domain, who dared to look down on him like this among those below the Half-Saint level?
"Whoosh!"
The Purple Wind Star Envoy gripped the spear shaft, and an immensely powerful purple cold aura burst forth, enveloping the entire stone chamber. In an instant, a dragon roar echoed from within the dragon-headed spear.
A purple dragon shadow, dozens of feet long, materialized, coiling around the spear at its center.
Everyone in the stone chamber changed color, immediately releasing protective energy to block the surging purple cold aura. Those who were slow to react were encased in a layer of frost and fainted on the spot.
"What formidable cultivation! It's said that the Purple Wind Star Envoy's cultivation is extremely close to the Half-Saint level."
"Although the Purple Wind Star Envoy is not a Sacred Body, he's not much weaker than one. Even if he reaches the Half-Saint realm, he could probably challenge opponents across realms."
"To become a Star Envoy of the Eastern Domain Black Market First Class Hall, how could he be ordinary?"
...
"Whoosh!"
The Purple Wind Star Envoy's arm shook, and the dragon-headed spear spun rapidly, forming a massive vortex as it thrust toward Ouyang Huan's brow.
From start to finish, Ouyang Huan remained expressionless, sitting steadily in place.
Just as the spear was about to pierce Ouyang Huan's head, a figure flashed out from beside him. The person reached out and firmly grabbed the spear that the Purple Wind Star Envoy had thrust.
How fast was the Purple Wind Star Envoy? How powerful was the force he unleashed?
And yet, someone caught it with one hand?
"How is that possible?"
Gasps of cold air echoed through the stone chamber. Many couldn't believe their eyes.
The one who caught the dragon-headed spear was a man in his thirties, with three-inch-long black dragon horns on his head, wearing a black robe with a silver crescent moon emblem embroidered on the back.
His arms were completely covered in black dragon scales, each scale flowing with ink-black light, and the cold aura he emitted suppressed even that of the Purple Wind Star Envoy.
This man was Dragon Three, ranked third among the thirty-six Guardian Beast Generals, with cultivation at the peak of the Fish-Dragon Ninth Transformation, and the blood of a divine dragon flowing within him.
If he revealed his true form, his body would be over a thousand meters long, a true world-shaking ferocious beast.
"It's said that the Star Envoys and young master of the Eastern Domain Black Market First Class Hall were almost all killed. I found it hard to believe at first. But seeing you today, I realize the real reason—it's not that the enemy is too strong, but that you are too weak." Dragon Three sneered.
Not far away, Wu Ba laughed loudly: "The Eastern Domain Black Market First Class Hall is far inferior to the Central Domain Black Market First Class Hall."
At this moment, the tip of the dragon-headed spear was only half a foot from Ouyang Huan's brow.
"Bang!"
The Purple Wind Star Envoy immediately channeled his sacred energy, condensed palm force, and struck the tail of the spear shaft, driving the spear forward again.
Dragon Three's eyes darkened. A surge of dragon energy flowed from his body. He released the spear, leaped forward, and struck the Purple Wind Star Envoy's chest with a palm.
Before the spear could reach Ouyang Huan's brow, Dragon Three's palm had already landed on the Purple Wind Star Envoy.
"Boom!"
The Purple Wind Star Envoy's chest caved in, ribs breaking in a large area. His body flew backward, crashing into a stone pillar, then fell to the ground with a "bang."
The stone chamber was equipped with defensive formations, so even Half-Saint-level attacks would struggle to collapse it.
Thus, the stone pillar only shook slightly before quickly returning to stillness.
Dragon Three's afterimages merged, his form solidifying again. He looked at his palm and smiled faintly: "A man like you dares to challenge the Divine Son?"
The geniuses and outstanding talents of the Eastern Domain were all stunned, staring at Dragon Three, many showing fear.
The Purple Wind Star Envoy's talent was indeed not top-tier among the seven Star Envoys. However, he was a peak existence at the Fish-Dragon Ninth Transformation, with many impressive battle records. How could he be severely injured in one move?
How terrifying was Dragon Three's strength?
Chang Qiqi and Si Xingkong both drew in cold breaths. They had witnessed the Purple Wind Star Envoy's terrifying combat power and couldn't imagine someone defeating such a monstrous figure with just one move.
The few Fish-Dragon Ninth Transformation sacred disciples of the Sacred Academy had extremely grim expressions. Dragon Three's displayed power exceeded their imagination.
If one of Ouyang Huan's subordinates was already this strong, how much more terrifying must Ouyang Huan himself be?
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes slightly, seeing some clues.
The Purple Wind Star Envoy's strength was indeed inferior to Dragon Three's, but he shouldn't have lost so quickly.
The reason was that the artifact spirit of the Purple Wind Star Envoy's weapon was a dragon soul. When Dragon Three grabbed the spear, a black dragon energy flowed from his hand into the spear, suppressing the dragon soul artifact spirit within.
Because the Purple Wind Star Envoy failed to notice in time, he was struck heavily by Dragon Three.
At most, only three people in the entire stone chamber could see this.
Dragon Three chuckled and said, "Today, we're here to tell you a fact: the Eastern Domain is only the size of three prefectures in the Central Domain. The so-called talents of the Eastern Domain are nothing but a joke in the Central Domain."
"But as far as I know, in recent decades, only Zhang Ruochen and Di Yi of the Eastern Domain have reached the Unrivaled Extreme Realm of the Heavenly Extreme Realm. I haven't seen any such young heroes from the Central Domain or the Demon Sect." A cold voice rang out, clearly disdainful.
Zhang Ruochen looked toward the source of the voice and fixed his gaze on Huang Yanchen.
That sentence had come from her.
(Note: Many readers have asked about this, so here's an explanation. Those within the sect call it the Divine Sect; outsiders call it the Demon Sect. The terms "Divine Son" and "Demon Son" follow this distinction.)