Chapter 796: Heaven and Earth Overturned
One must understand that back when he was still in the Fourth Realm of Martial Arts, if Zhang Ruochen wanted to obtain a single drop of Sacred Liquid, he had to spend a large sum to purchase it. A single drop of Sacred Liquid was extremely precious to a martial artist.
Yet now, a rain of Sacred Liquid was falling here—an incomparably magnificent sight.
"Master's Sacred Source."
Zhang Ruochen stared at that ball of light. At its center, he could see a fist-sized crystal suspended, appearing extremely smooth, bright, and spiritual.
Qingxiao Saint said, "Master's Sacred Source contains the knowledge and Sacred Dao of his entire life. It is a crystal formed from the condensation of all his sacred power, representing Master's legacy. Little Junior Brother, that is what Master left for you. Quickly put it away."
Qingxiao Saint had already become a saint and had long since cultivated his own Sacred Source and Sacred Dao. Therefore, he had no desire for his master's Sacred Source.
Zhang Ruochen quickly took the Sacred Source, held it in his hands, retrieved a jade box, and carefully placed it inside.
As soon as he closed the jade box, the surrounding sacred energy slowly dissipated, and the rain of Sacred Liquid in the sky also stopped.
His master's Sacred Source was indeed extremely precious, but to Zhang Ruochen, it held no great significance.
If he refined his master's Sacred Source, Zhang Ruochen would only be able to continue walking the path of the Sword Dao. In the future, the Way of Time and the Way of Space would never reach great completion, becoming merely an auxiliary to the Sword Dao.
Zhang Ruochen was naturally unwilling to accept this. He still harbored a strong longing for the Way of Time and the Way of Space.
In the Fish-Dragon Realm, the reason Zhang Ruochen primarily cultivated the Sword Dao was that the Way of Space and the Way of Time were too profound, complex, and obscure. They required great perseverance and great wisdom to maintain a clear state of mind.
Previously, the spatial and temporal powers Zhang Ruochen had learned were merely superficial.
If his realm was insufficient and he forcibly delved deeper, he would surely become lost within space and time. At that point, it would be like a person trapped in a dream, completely unable to distinguish reality from illusion.
If Zhang Ruochen had dared to deeply study space and time while in the Fish-Dragon Realm, he would certainly have been unable to tell which was real space, which was illusory space, which was real time, and which was accelerated time.
Thus, only by reaching the Saint realm, cultivating his spiritual power and cultivation to an extremely high level, accumulating vast experience, and attaining great wisdom, would Zhang Ruochen have enough foundation to comprehend the true mysteries of space and time.
Of course, with his current spiritual power at the forty-fifth rank, equivalent to a Half-Saint in spiritual power, Zhang Ruochen could already begin to comprehend some relatively simple Time Rules and Space Rules, laying a foundation for future cultivation of the Way of Space and the Way of Time.
For now, Zhang Ruochen temporarily put away his master's Sacred Source. He would find a suitable person in the future to inherit his master's legacy.
"Something's wrong."
Qingxiao Saint seemed to sense something. His figure moved, and he rushed out.
The next moment, he landed on the peak of the nearest mountain. His two eyes emitted starlike sacred light as he gazed toward the southeast.
What happened?
Zhang Ruochen immediately put away his master's remains, then used his movement technique to fly to the mountain peak, standing beside Qingxiao Saint.
Opening his Heavenly Eye, Zhang Ruochen looked in the direction Qingxiao Saint was observing.
"Whoosh!"
In the distance, a patch of black yin clouds spread across the sky, rolling mightily toward the direction of the Liangyi Sect. The form of the yin clouds was quite strange, exuding an extremely evil aura.
Part of the black yin clouds even flew over the heads of Zhang Ruochen and Qingxiao Saint.
To ordinary eyes, they might only see a sky full of black clouds, thinking a storm was coming, and thus pay no attention.
But with his Heavenly Eye, Zhang Ruochen could clearly see that what flew overhead was not yin clouds at all, but densely packed undead spirits and ghosts.
The undead army stretched from above Zhang Ruochen and Qingxiao Saint all the way to the horizon, with no end in sight, giving the feeling that the gates of hell had opened.
Zhang Ruochen sucked in a breath of cold air. "I feel like the end of days has arrived."
Qingxiao Saint's expression was extremely grave. "It must be that something has happened in the Fallen God Tomb Forest. The undead and evil spirits of the Underworld have all escaped. I finally understand what Dixue Saint meant earlier. Tonight, the entire Eastern Domain might truly become a hell on earth."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned icy. "This is definitely related to the Undying Blood Clan."
"Not good. The undead and evil spirits of the Underworld are all flying toward the Liangyi Sect."
Qingxiao Saint's expression changed. He immediately soared into the air, about to rush to the Liangyi Sect.
Suddenly, he stopped, hovering in midair, and looked at Zhang Ruochen. "Little Junior Brother, tonight, the Liangyi Sect will surely be turned upside down. Your cultivation is too low—do not go there. If possible, you should immediately flee to the Central Domain. That might give you a chance to survive."
The Fallen God Tomb Forest was closest to the Liangyi Sect. After the undead and evil spirits escaped, they would first attack the Liangyi Sect.
Next, the Liangyi Sect would surely face a earth-shattering battle. If even the Liangyi Sect was destroyed, the entire Eastern Domain might collapse.
Qingxiao Saint naturally did not want Zhang Ruochen to return to the Liangyi Sect, to avoid any accidents.
Zhang Ruochen fell into thought. Suddenly, he remembered what his master had once said: "If one day the undead of the Underworld truly escape, the only solution is to bring the Void Sword back to the Fallen God Tomb Forest and find Qiangu Nüdi. If you can find her, you might be able to avert a disaster."
Xuanji Sword Saint was one of the three great sword saints of the Eastern Domain. He must have known some secrets. For him to say such a thing, there must be a reason.
Thinking of this, Zhang Ruochen immediately looked up and said to Qingxiao Saint, "Senior Brother, please help me rescue Princess Huang Yan. She cannot die."
Having said this, without waiting for Qingxiao Saint's response, Zhang Ruochen activated the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, turning into a streak of light and flying toward the horizon.
Qingxiao Saint stared deeply in the direction Zhang Ruochen had left. Seeing him flee, for some reason, a strong sense of disappointment surged in his heart.
How could his little junior brother be such a coward?
"No, that's the direction of the Fallen God Tomb Forest. What is he going there for?" Qingxiao Saint realized he had misunderstood Zhang Ruochen. He immediately turned around, wanting to catch up and stop him.
But Zhang Ruochen, wearing the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, had already flown far away, vanishing without a trace. Even Qingxiao Saint could not detect his whereabouts.
Qingxiao Saint sighed and ultimately flew toward the Liangyi Sect. No matter how dangerous the Liangyi Sect was, as the senior brother, he had to rush over and rescue his junior brothers and sisters.
Between the Fallen God Tomb Forest and the Liangyi Sect, there were over a dozen cities and some ancient sects.
"Haha! Finally escaped from the Underworld. I want to taste a living soul—how delicious could it be?"
A Wuchang, dressed in a long black robe, led a group of undead and evil spirits. They turned into a black cloud and swooped down from midair, appearing above one of the cities.
The cultivators in the city naturally sensed the dangerous aura.
"What evil dares to come to Silver Snow City? Don't you know that Silver Snow City is an external force of the Liangyi Sect?" In the city, an old man at the ninth transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm soared up and landed on the city gate.
The Wuchang, within the rolling black clouds, condensed a physical form with a human shape, three zhang tall. He extended a ghostly hand, grabbed the old man like pinching an ant, and threw him into his mouth.
"Delicious, truly delicious. The taste of a living soul is just that good."
In Silver Snow City, all the cultivators watched this scene in terror. A ninth-transformation Fish-Dragon Realm expert had been eaten alive.
One cowardly person even knelt on the ground, trembling all over.
"Boom!"
The Wuchang then threw a fist imprint, shattering the city-protecting grand formation of Silver Snow City.
Tens of thousands of undead and evil spirits surged into Silver Snow City, beginning to devour the souls of the human cultivators inside.
After a moment, the Wuchang let out a long string of laughter, led his group of undead and evil spirits out of Silver Snow City, and continued chasing the main undead army toward the Liangyi Sect.
"Whoosh!"
Qingxiao Saint turned into a green sacred light and landed in Silver Snow City. The scene before him was utterly tragic. The ground was covered with corpses, and not a single living person could be found.
Silver Snow City, with a population of over a hundred thousand, had become a dead city. All around was silent, with only the rustling sound of the wind.
"Damn it."
Even though Qingxiao Saint had long grown accustomed to life and death from years of fighting on the Ruins Realm battlefields, seeing this scene still filled him with immense rage.
It wasn't just Silver Snow City. The cities around the Liangyi Sect had all become dead cities. Even some small sects had been destroyed, leaving only corpses scattered across the mountains.
The undead and evil spirits mainly absorbed human souls to strengthen themselves, making their cultivation increasingly powerful.
If they could cultivate to the level of a Wuchang, the undead could condense a solid ghost body and take on human form. The combat power of a Wuchang was comparable to a Half-Saint among humans.
If they could cultivate to the level of a Ghost King, they could contend with human saints.
After the undead army left, cultivators of the Undying Blood Clan also appeared, entering the cities that had been swept by the undead army to collect the blood from the corpses.
The undead and evil spirits only needed human souls, while the Undying Blood Clan wanted human blood. Thus, their interests did not conflict, and they could join forces.
In one city, an old man of the Undying Blood Clan, holding a six-inch-tall red ancient cauldron with a withered hand, stood at the center of the street. He collected the blood from over a hundred thousand human corpses into the cauldron.
The light emitted by the red ancient cauldron grew brighter and brighter. Streams of blood, like small rivers, flowed around it, making a "gurgling" sound.
After completely collecting the blood, the corpses on the ground had turned into black mummies.
The old man put away the red ancient cauldron, looked into the distance, and let out a sinister laugh: "The undead of the Underworld should have started attacking the Liangyi Sect by now. How long can the Liangyi Sect hold out?"
The Third Prince of the Undying Blood Clan stood behind the old man and snorted coldly, "Master, I believe that after tonight, there will be no Liangyi Sect in the Eastern Domain. It's time for us to head to the Liangyi Sect and collect some saint blood. If we delay too long, all the benefits will be snatched by the people of the First Prince and Second Prince. And the Dead Zen Sect will probably take advantage of the chaos as well."
The old man nodded and squinted with a smile. "The Liangyi Sect has a very long heritage. There are countless precious treasures in the sect. We should indeed go and claim a share."