Chapter 811: Interrogating the Ghost King
Having cultivated the eighth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm to great perfection, Zhang Ruochen's masculine yang aura immediately increased tenfold, reaching a hundred times that of an ordinary person.
Such a powerful masculine yang aura had little effect on living beings.
However, in the eyes of undead beings, Zhang Ruochen was no longer a human but a blazing furnace. An ordinary ghost soldier, if encountering Zhang Ruochen, would likely have their soul scattered before even entering within ten zhang of him.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen fully mobilized all the sacred qi in his body. His thirty-six meridians and five sacred veins rumbled loudly as a vast amount of sacred qi converged toward his palms, emitting an intensely scorching radiance.
"Thousand-Hand Dragon-Elephant."
Even the Beautiful Ghost King, with her level of cultivation, felt immense pressure facing this palm strike.
Her ghostly body felt as if it were about to melt.
"Boom!"
The palm imprint Zhang Ruochen unleashed formed thousands of marks, striking the Beautiful Ghost King in rapid succession, sending her flying backward.
Her ghostly body crashed into a one-zhang-tall boulder at the center of the island, shattering it into pieces.
The Beautiful Ghost King's ghostly body shattered once again, turning into a mass of ghostly mist.
After a long moment, the black ghostly mist condensed into a beautiful, delicate female form. However, this time, she could only lie on the ground, her aura extremely weak.
It was clear that shattering her ghostly body one more time would completely kill her.
Zhang Ruochen landed on the ground, looked at his palms, and revealed a rather pleased expression.
"Not only have I cultivated the eighth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, but I've also comprehended a palm technique rule in one go."
Zhang Ruochen slowly moved his palms, the trajectory of his arms becoming mysterious and unfathomable. He casually struck out with a palm.
"Slap!"
A loud air explosion sounded in the air.
The power of that casual palm strike could probably shake back a first-rank Half-Saint.
The Way of Palm Technique was one of the three thousand great paths, even more profound than the Way of Speed. Being able to comprehend it so quickly was beyond Zhang Ruochen's expectations.
"It must be the power of the Great Saint Heavenly Connection Tea beginning to take effect gradually."
At the Realm Son Banquet, Zhang Ruochen had consumed a large amount of Great Saint Heavenly Connection Tea, which had been accumulating deep within his body.
The Great Saint Heavenly Connection Tea was even more precious than a sacred source, a true unparalleled treasure, no less than the inheritance of a Great Saint. With its help, Zhang Ruochen's speed in cultivating martial techniques and comprehending the sacred path had increased tenfold, even a hundredfold.
Even the eighth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm could be cultivated with great ease.
Even the three thousand great paths and the one hundred thousand minor paths could be effortlessly comprehended in battle.
The Great Saint Heavenly Connection Tea was far more than just this bit of power; there were countless other benefits waiting for Zhang Ruochen to discover.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen raised his arm, and the Abyssal Ancient Sword, stuck in the ground, turned into a streak of black light and flew back into his hand.
Holding the sword, Zhang Ruochen walked toward the Beautiful Ghost King, pointing the sword tip at her brow. "Answer my questions, and I will spare your life."
The Beautiful Ghost King slowly sat up, leaning against a blood-colored stone. She merely rolled her eyes and said indifferently, "Spare my life? Heh."
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly and said, "Killing you does me no good, but it also does no harm. So, you'd better think carefully. Will you answer my questions, or choose to have your soul scattered?"
A powerful surge of masculine yang aura flowed from Zhang Ruochen's palm, wrapping around the Abyssal Ancient Sword. Even if a single sword strike couldn't kill her, it could cleave her ghostly body in two.
The Beautiful Ghost King's gaze was sharp and fierce, full of heroic spirit, as she glared at Zhang Ruochen.
If not for being at her weakest point, she would have taught this human man a harsh lesson, making him know what fear meant and what it meant to wish for death but not find it. Killing him would be too merciful.
However, she knew that her life was now in his hands. She had to stabilize him first, then slowly deal with him later.
"Ask away."
The Beautiful Ghost King closed her eyes, revealing two rows of long eyelashes, looking very aloof.
Being able to become a Ghost King and rule a region meant she was undoubtedly a proud figure. Seeing her yield to a weaker human still made Zhang Ruochen breathe a slight sigh of relief.
At the same time, it put Zhang Ruochen on guard. Since she knew how to assess the situation and chose to endure, her intelligence was certainly high. Once she recovered her cultivation, the first person she would kill would likely be him.
Zhang Ruochen put away his sword and instead quietly released his Space Domain, enveloping the entire island.
Then, he crouched down, staring at the Beautiful Ghost King's crystalline, smooth face, and said, "What is your name?"
"Name?"
The Beautiful Ghost King slowly opened her eyes, gazing at the blood moon above the island. "My first soul was born in this Blood Moon Lake. The other Ghost Kings and Wuchangs call me 'Blood Moon Ghost King.'"
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "This place belongs to the territory of the Divine Beginning Ghost King. So, you are a Ghost King under his command?"
"Something like that," she said.
"In that case, you should know the location where the deity fell?" Zhang Ruochen asked solemnly.
This time, a hint of surprise finally appeared on Blood Moon Ghost King's face. She looked at Zhang Ruochen with a sneer. "Human boy, so you entered the underworld to get your hands on the divine corpse. Unfortunately, your cultivation is too low. You'll probably die without a complete corpse before even entering the Ghost God Valley."
"Ghost God Valley."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up. "Is the deity's fall site in Ghost God Valley? Where is Ghost God Valley? What dangers are there in Ghost God Valley?"
Blood Moon Ghost King rolled her eyes. "If I tell you everything, won't you kill me immediately?"
The Ghost King's intelligence was indeed high. Even at this moment, she spoke only half the truth, holding back the rest, not only piquing Zhang Ruochen's curiosity but also buying herself a better chance of survival.
"I said, as long as you answer my questions honestly, I will definitely not kill you," Zhang Ruochen said.
Blood Moon Ghost King revealed a mocking smile. "Do you think I believe you? Even if you don't kill me, you'll probably imprison me, making sure my injuries never heal."
"You might even use human techniques to control my soul. In any case, you will absolutely not let me go. Because you know very well that once my injuries heal, the one who dies will be you. Am I right?"
Zhang Ruochen lightly licked his lips and smiled. "Alright, let's change the question. Is there a resurrection medicine at the deity's fall site?"
"No, I've never heard of such a thing," Blood Moon Ghost King said.
"Indeed, this is a conspiracy," Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
Zhang Ruochen didn't doubt Blood Moon Ghost King's words. After all, she had no reason to lie to him. Even if there were a resurrection medicine, it would be useless to her.
Zhang Ruochen continued, "One last question. Given your status in the underworld, you must have lived for a very long time. I wonder if you've heard of a certain person."
"Who?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Qiangu Nüdi."
Hearing those four words, Blood Moon Ghost King's usually calm eyes revealed an unprecedented strange light. She suddenly sat up straight, her beautiful eyes staring at Zhang Ruochen from close range. "Why are you asking about this?"
Originally, Zhang Ruochen was very close to her. Suddenly, she sat up, and her full, plump chest almost pressed against Zhang Ruochen's fingers, exuding astonishing elasticity.
However, Blood Moon Ghost King didn't notice anything amiss.
In her consciousness, there might be no concept of shame, intimacy, or lust. Even when her chest touched Zhang Ruochen's body, she didn't find it inappropriate.
Although Zhang Ruochen's state of mind was very stable, he couldn't completely ignore it.
If not for Blood Moon Ghost King's gaze being extremely cold, devoid of any human emotion, and even her chest being incredibly cold, Zhang Ruochen might have thought she was using a beauty trap to seduce him deliberately.
Zhang Ruochen coughed dryly and immediately stepped back.
Just then, two faint ripples came from the edge of the Space Domain, putting Zhang Ruochen on alert. He thought to himself, "Someone is sneaking toward the island."
Blood Moon Ghost King, unaware of this, leaned toward Zhang Ruochen again and asked, "What is your true purpose for entering the underworld? Are you the human who wields the Void Sword?"
Hearing Zhang Ruochen mention Qiangu Nüdi, Blood Moon Ghost King had thought of this.
It was precisely because one of her subordinates, a Wuchang, had reported to her that someone had brought the Void Sword into the underworld that she had rushed back immediately.
"Stay where you are."
Zhang Ruochen couldn't stand Blood Moon Ghost King's mature, seductive body anymore. He averted his gaze, pushed out a palm, and struck Blood Moon Ghost King, sending her crashing back to the ground.
Blood Moon Ghost King was momentarily stunned, then anger flashed in her eyes. She gritted her teeth, wanting to pounce and bite Zhang Ruochen to death.
Such a weak human dared to treat her like this—it was utterly unbearable.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his palm, flexed his fingers, and let out a long breath. He turned around and looked at the calm lake surface. "Who is it? Why not show yourself immediately?"
"There's another human?"
Blood Moon Ghost King had been gathering ghostly qi, intending to die together with Zhang Ruochen, but upon hearing his words, she temporarily stopped.
Her severe injuries had not only reduced her power to its lowest point but also weakened her perception considerably. That was why she hadn't noticed someone sneaking toward the island.
On the surface of the blood lake, wisps of red mist floated.
From within the mist came a hoarse laugh. "Truly, the younger generation is formidable. The power of the Heir of Time and Space lives up to its reputation. Still at the Fish-Dragon Realm, and you've already defeated a Ghost King. I'm afraid even the nine Realm Sons selected by Empress Chi Yao can't compare to you."