# Chapter 784: Blood Clan Reappears
It was precisely because of the Saint Soul Domain that even a Saint Body at the peak of the Fish-Dragon Ninth Transformation could not contend with a First-Stage Half-Saint.
This was not only true when Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators fought Half-Saints, where the Saint Soul Domain had an absolute suppressive effect. The same applied when Half-Saints fought each other—as long as one was a single realm higher, their Saint Soul Domain would exert absolute suppression over the lower-realm cultivator.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was enduring a thousandfold gravity suppression. Moreover, the power of the Saint Soul Domain restrained his hearing, vision, and spiritual power to a certain extent.
It was as if he had suddenly fallen into a quagmire. His hands and arms could barely move freely, and even breathing had become extremely difficult.
Xuanlong Half-Saint's body emitted crackling sounds as it rapidly expanded, soon returning to its original height. He said coldly, "Junior, the fact that you can force me to unleash my Saint Soul Domain means your strength is truly extraordinary."
Zhang Ruochen, however, appeared quite calm. "Is that so? Now do you believe that I defeated Shao Lin with my own power?"
"Hmph! You can ask that question after you defeat me," Xuanlong Half-Saint said.
Zhang Ruochen once again straightened the strand of hair between his fingers, making it as rigid as a sword. "It seems that today, I can only prove myself by defeating you."
Xuanlong Half-Saint laughed heartily. "You've already entered my Saint Soul Domain, yet you still delusionally think you can defeat me? A thousandfold gravity pressing down on you—it shouldn't feel too pleasant, should it?"
Zhang Ruochen stared at Xuanlong Half-Saint as if looking at an idiot. "Don't you know that some special physiques can manifest Dharma Forms that can contend with a Half-Saint's Saint Soul Domain?"
An ordinary Saint Body, when manifesting a Dharma Form, could only barely survive against a First-Stage Half-Saint.
However, some powerful physiques could manifest Dharma Forms that could rival a Saint Soul Domain.
"Five Elements Dharma Form."
Zhang Ruochen unleashed the Five Elements Dharma Form. Five different forces immediately surged outward in all directions, transforming into a multicolored auspicious cloud.
The incomplete Five Elements Dharma Form was far more powerful than a First-Stage Half-Saint's Saint Soul Domain, but compared to a Second-Stage Half-Saint's Saint Soul Domain, it was still somewhat lacking.
Nevertheless, the pressure on Zhang Ruochen's body was greatly reduced.
"Break for me."
Zhang Ruochen took the initiative to attack, pouring all his sword intent into the strand of hair at his fingertip. A powerful sword qi surged out from the hair.
The formidable sword qi collided with Xuanlong Half-Saint's Saint Soul Domain, tearing open a rift that extended toward Xuanlong Half-Saint's heart.
"Well done."
Xuanlong Half-Saint once again raised the azure sacred sword, gripping the hilt with both hands and lifting it above his head. Dragging a long trail of sword qi, he slashed downward.
At that moment, the outcome was about to be decided.
Just as the azure sacred sword was about to strike Zhang Ruochen's head, Zhang Ruochen suddenly sank downward, then kicked off with his right leg and dashed to the left.
Zhang Ruochen poured all his sacred qi into the strand of hair and slashed it toward Xuanlong Half-Saint's back.
"Pfft!"
"Shing!"
Two sword sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
One of the sword qi streams from the azure sacred sword landed on Zhang Ruochen's right leg, leaving a two-inch-deep bloody gash.
Blood gushed from the wound like a spring.
It was only by a hair's breadth that Zhang Ruochen's right leg was completely severed.
On the other side, the strand of hair slashed across Xuanlong Half-Saint's back, leaving a blood-red line that flew out from his chest.
With a bang, Xuanlong Half-Saint fell directly to the ground, his body severed at the chest into two halves.
The sound of Xuanlong Half-Saint falling stunned many people present.
Even when Lin Yue had used the Void Sword to pin Shao Lin to death, it hadn't been as shocking as this. How could a Half-Saint be so weak?
Or was Lin Yue simply terrifyingly strong?
"A strand of hair killed a Half-Saint... I must be dreaming..."
The young sword cultivators present were all dumbfounded, finding it hard to accept this fact.
Looking at Xuanlong Half-Saint lying in a pool of blood, Xuanyi Saint of the Four Symbols Sect trembled all over. Pointing at Zhang Ruochen, he said angrily, "Lin Yue, Xuanlong Half-Saint only wanted to spar with you. How could you strike so viciously? I, this Saint, see that you are nothing but a bloodthirsty little demon."
Zhang Ruochen ignored Xuanyi Saint, enduring the sharp pain from his right leg. His eyes were fixed tightly on Xuanlong Half-Saint's two severed halves, his expression turning grave.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen hadn't even glanced at him from start to finish, Xuanyi Saint's gaze turned icy cold. "First you pinned Shao Lin to death, then you killed Xuanlong Half-Saint. This is clearly deliberate murder. The purpose of the Sword Discussion Assembly is to exchange sword techniques, not to cultivate murderous demons. The Liangyi Sect must hand over the culprit."
The cultivators of the Liangyi Sect all sneered.
"Senior Brother Lin Yue killed a Second-Stage Half-Saint of the Four Symbols Sect with just a single strand of hair. How can you blame Senior Brother Lin Yue? It can only be said that Xuanlong Half-Saint was too weak and fragile."
"As I see it, Xuanlong Half-Saint got exactly what he deserved. What kind of figure is Senior Brother Lin Yue? How could he be slandered by the likes of him?"
...
Zhang Ruochen, however, paid no attention to the exchange of curses between the young sword cultivators of the Liangyi Sect and the Four Symbols Sect. His eyes remained fixed on Xuanlong Half-Saint's corpse as he began to go on guard.
The blood on the ground quickly flowed back into the two severed halves.
Then, a dazzling blood light enveloped not only Xuanlong Half-Saint's corpse but also swept up Shao Lin's body, producing a "squelch squelch" sound, as if some creature was drinking blood.
The next moment, a winged monster flew out from the blood-colored light.
Its mouth was filled with fangs, and its pupils were blood-red.
Although its form and appearance had undergone tremendous changes, one could roughly discern that the aura emanating from its body was quite similar to Xuanlong Half-Saint's.
Everyone was stunned by this scene, including the cultivators of the Four Symbols Sect, who widened their eyes, finding it extremely unbelievable.
"Wasn't Xuanlong Half-Saint already dead? How did he come back to life? And he turned into a monster."
"Look quickly, Shao Lin's corpse has completely turned into a dried corpse. Could it be... Xuanlong Half-Saint is an Undying Blood Clan member who sucked the blood from Shao Lin's body?"
Indeed, Shao Lin's corpse had become completely withered, leaving only a skeleton and a layer of brown skin, like a dried corpse that had been dead for centuries.
"Xuanlong Half-Saint must be an Undying Blood Clan member. Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived being cut in two. He absorbed Shao Lin's blood and thus recovered from his injuries."
Xuanlong Half-Saint, holding the Vermilion Bird Sword, had already charged to Zhang Ruochen's front. A hoarse roar came from his mouth: "Die."
He swung the Vermilion Bird Sword, slashing it toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen had already grasped the Void Sword in his hand and was about to strike back.
"Demon, how dare you!"
Just then, a deafening roar sounded.
In an instant, Zangyue Sword Saint's figure appeared before Zhang Ruochen. Without even making a move, a vast sword qi erupted from his body, sending Xuanlong Half-Saint flying backward.
"Pfft!"
Countless powerful sword qi struck Xuanlong Half-Saint's body, leaving dozens of bloody holes, turning his body into a sieve.
If Zangyue Sword Saint hadn't wanted to take him alive, Xuanlong Half-Saint wouldn't have had any chance of survival.
Zangyue Sword Saint walked over and appeared beside Xuanlong Half-Saint. His powerful saintly might radiated outward, pressing down on him. "Speak! Why did you want to kill Lin Yue? Who sent you to cause trouble at the Sword Discussion Assembly?"
Xuanlong Half-Saint was covered in blood, but a loud laugh came from his mouth: "Haha! All of you will die, all of you will die..."
Suddenly, dense blood patterns appeared on Xuanlong Half-Saint's body, and his form rapidly swelled. Each blood pattern emitted powerful sacred qi, like a leather ball about to burst.
Zangyue Sword Saint's eyes narrowed. He could naturally tell that Xuanlong Half-Saint intended to self-destruct and take him down with him.
"Overestimating yourself."
Zangyue Sword Saint immediately released his Saint Soul Domain, pressing it down upon Xuanlong Half-Saint, shattering his body into a cloud of blood mist first.
On the ground, only a mass of blood-colored qi cloud remained, emitting a strong stench of blood.
Aside from that, not even a single bone of Xuanlong Half-Saint was left.
Everything that had just happened was truly a twist and turn. Who could have expected that Xuanlong Half-Saint of the Four Symbols Sect was actually a Blood Clan member?
The Undying Blood Clan was the common enemy of humanity, to be killed by all.
At this moment, everyone's gaze turned toward Xuanyi Saint of the Four Symbols Sect.
Some of the more radical sword cultivators had already summoned their sacred swords, ready to deal with the cultivators of the Four Symbols Sect.
Zangyue Sword Saint's eyes were extremely sharp. He said coldly, "Xuanyi, you brought an Undying Blood Clan member to the Liangyi Sect. What is your scheme? Did the Four Symbols Sect deliberately intend to sabotage the Sword Discussion Assembly, or do you have another purpose?"
A Kusheng Saint from the Eight Trigrams Sect sneered. "Perhaps the Four Symbols Sect already has some unusual relationship with the Undying Blood Clan. Otherwise, why would an Undying Blood Clan Half-Saint suddenly appear out of nowhere?"
Xuanyi Saint snorted coldly. "Kusheng Saint, you are slandering us. Our Four Symbols Sect is pure and clean. How could we collude with the Undying Blood Clan? Don't you all know that the Undying Blood Clan can control the blood in their bodies, change their bodily structure, and ultimately transform to look exactly like humans? Even Saints find it difficult to detect their flaws."
"In that war eight hundred years ago, the Undying Blood Clan used this method to infiltrate the major powers of the Kunlun Realm, assassinating countless Saints and Half-Saints. The senior Saints of the Eight Trigrams Sect and the Liangyi Sect who were killed should not be few in number, should they?"
"I, this Saint, am instead curious—Lin Yue is merely a cultivator at the Fish-Dragon Eighth Transformation. How could he see through Xuanlong Half-Saint as an Undying Blood Clan member?"
One had to admit that Xuanyi Saint's words were indeed factual.
The disguise of the Undying Blood Clan was indeed quite sophisticated.
After all, none of the Saints present had seen through Xuanlong Half-Saint's disguise. If that was the case, it wouldn't have been difficult for Xuanlong Half-Saint to deceive the Saints of the Four Symbols Sect.
Everyone's gaze once again turned toward Zhang Ruochen, their eyes filled with inquiry. (To be continued.)