Chapter 826: Yin Xuanji
"No, if we don't take it down, we'll be surrounded and killed by the bloodworms in this stone forest."
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen halted his steps, sinking his legs downward until half of his calves were buried in the ground. The next moment, an immensely bright golden Buddhist light radiated from within him, and at the center of that light, a pearl hovered.
"Roar!"
A low, powerful dragon's roar emerged from the pearl.
Immediately afterward, the dragon pearl released an incredibly strong aura of a sacred dragon, flying forth to strike the enormous bloodworm.
Wherever the dragon pearl passed, pillars of stone shattered one after another, turning into stone dust, and a long, deep groove was left on the ground.
With a "bang," the dragon pearl struck the giant bloodworm's abdomen, causing it to let out a pained cry as it was sent flying and tumbled to the ground. On its abdomen, scales were shattered, and a large amount of blood gushed out.
However, the bloodworm immediately rolled back up, lashing its tail and sending the dragon pearl flying, which in turn smashed through a long line of stone pillars.
"Such strong defense. No wonder that Undying Blood Clan half-saint earlier was devoured by it." Zhang Ruochen was secretly astonished.
The power of the dragon pearl was immense. If it struck a third-order half-saint, even if they didn't die, they would be crippled. Yet, the bloodworm wasn't heavily injured and instead launched a counterattack at lightning speed.
Its speed and defense were both top-tier, coupled with a deathly evil aura a hundred times denser than that of ordinary bloodworms. This giant bloodworm's strength would be a major headache even for a fourth-order half-saint.
"Master Chen, let me help you!"
The Devouring Rabbit's body swelled continuously, growing to over ten meters tall. It opened its massive mouth and bit down on the bloodworm's tail, leaving two deep tooth marks.
But the bloodworm's counterattack severely battered the Devouring Rabbit as well. Sharp barbs slashed across its abdomen, nearly tearing its body in two.
At the critical moment, Zhang Ruochen struck again with the dragon pearl, hitting the bloodworm's head and sending it flying.
The bloodworm's skull was shattered, blood streaming down, and it suffered significant injury.
Of course, the Devouring Rabbit's attack also played a major role in allowing Zhang Ruochen to hit the bloodworm's vital point.
While Zhang Ruochen was locked in a standoff with the bloodworm, the mummy-like man quietly crept back, concealing his aura and hiding behind a stone pillar.
"The aura emanating from that dragon pearl is truly formidable. It can even pierce the scales of a bloodworm king. It must be a golden dragon's pearl. This means that even if he's not the Heir of Time and Space, he must have obtained all the treasures of the Heir of Time and Space." The mummy-like man's gaze was as sharp as a viper's.
For now, he didn't act, continuing to observe, waiting for a better opportunity to strike with a single, fatal blow.
More and more bloodworms gathered at Zhang Ruochen's feet, and some even lunged at the Devouring Rabbit lying on the ground, eager to devour its flesh.
"It seems I'll need to use some methods to deal with you all."
Zhang Ruochen took out the Cosmic Divine Wood Map, first storing the Devouring Rabbit into the Scroll World. Then, he injected his sacred Qi into it at maximum speed.
On the scroll, countless time-space inscriptions emerged, radiating golden light.
The next moment, a golden sacred tree, over ten zhang tall, materialized from the scroll, emitting an extremely dazzling radiance that purified all the surrounding deathly evil aura.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen swung the golden sacred tree forward, stirring up a powerful storm that swept away all the bloodworms and stone pillars on the ground.
The power of the golden sacred tree had a tremendous suppressive effect on the deathly evil aura and the bloodworms.
The bloodworms that were sent flying exploded into lifeless corpses.
Only the giant bloodworm withstood the golden sacred tree's power, turning into a blood shadow that lunged at Zhang Ruochen's neck, its sharp teeth bared for a bite.
Zhang Ruochen swung the golden sacred tree again, and golden light particles flew from its leaves, clearing all the ghostly aura within several li.
The giant bloodworm, struck by the golden sacred tree, emitted a sizzling sound. Its flesh flew in all directions, and it was severed in two, crashing heavily to the ground.
"The power of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree has such a strong suppression over deathly evil aura."
Even Zhang Ruochen hadn't expected the golden sacred tree's power to be so terrifying—one strike was enough to kill the most formidable bloodworm.
Just as Zhang Ruochen and the bloodworm were locked in their final clash, the mummy-like man seized the moment. He pressed his hands to the ground, and the two strips of white cloth wrapped around his arms burrowed into the earth, rushing toward Zhang Ruochen.
As Zhang Ruochen defeated the bloodworm, the two strips of white cloth shot up from the ground, wrapping around his legs and spreading upward to his knees and waist.
That white cloth was no ordinary material; it was stained with the blood of a Great Saint.
To be precise, the white cloth on the mummy-like man had once been used to wrap the corpse of a Great Saint, imbuing it with immensely powerful sacred energy.
Zhang Ruochen had long sensed the mummy-like man hiding nearby, but he had been preoccupied with the bloodworm and hadn't dealt with him. This man struck with remarkable decisiveness, choosing the most critical moment, catching Zhang Ruochen off guard.
"Great Space Teleportation."
Zhang Ruochen's body suddenly vanished from within the white cloth, reappearing above the mummy-like man's head.
He swung the golden sacred tree downward again.
Having witnessed the golden sacred tree's immense power, the mummy-like man immediately retracted the two strips of white cloth, wrapping them around his arms, and then thrust his hands upward.
At that moment, the white cloth on the mummy-like man emitted a faint glow, revealing a three-meter-tall black humanoid silhouette, like a war god incarnate, merging with the mummy-like man's aura.
"Could this be the shadow of some Great Saint?"
Seeing that black silhouette, Zhang Ruochen felt a chill run down his spine, as if a single glance from the other party could kill him.
The black silhouette collided with the golden sacred tree, unleashing an incredibly powerful wave of energy that swept away all the surrounding stone pillars, leaving an open space.
The mummy-like man slid backward, still exuding an immensely strong aura, completely unharmed.
Zhang Ruochen landed back on the ground, holding the golden sacred tree, cracking the earth beneath his feet.
Once again, they were evenly matched.
Just then, a palm-sized black talisman flew through the air and struck the mummy-like man's chest.
"Break!"
The talisman burst into brilliant light, exploding and sending the mummy-like man flying, crashing to the ground over ten zhang away.
The mummy-like man stood up, dusted himself off, and glanced toward the stone forest in the distance, a wary look in his eyes. He muttered to himself, "Meddlesome."
With that, he turned into a gust of yin wind, displaying astonishing speed, and vanished from Zhang Ruochen's sight in the blink of an eye.
"Such incredible speed," Zhang Ruochen remarked.
Even if he fully activated the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, Zhang Ruochen couldn't match that speed.
Of course, the mummy-like man couldn't maintain that speed at all times. If he could unleash it during battle, few would be able to defend against his attacks.
Zhang Ruochen looked toward the direction from which the talisman had come, seeing a tall, thin figure in a yellow robe emerge from the stone forest.
The man's eyes were also fixed on Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly. "Shi Ren."
This was the talisman master who had fought alongside Zhang Ruochen when they first entered the Underworld.
Shi Ren remained stern-faced. "Zhang Ruochen, you're too slow. I've been here for five days already."
"Something came up on the way that delayed me. Do you know who that man was?"
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his sacred Qi, and the golden sacred tree turned into inscriptions that sank back into the Cosmic Divine Wood Map, disappearing.
Shi Ren said, "That man is a prodigy of the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan, named Yin Xuanji. He once broke into a Great Saint's tomb and escaped alive, making him a highly sought-after inheritor of the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan. Rumor has it he gained incredible opportunities in that tomb. In any case, he's a formidable figure, no ordinary person."
The Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan was one of Kunlun Realm's most mysterious ancient clans. At its peak, it produced an emperor and could rival the Undying Blood Clan.
Earlier, when Yin Xuanji fought Zhang Ruochen, he hadn't even unleashed his battle corpses, relying solely on his own strength. This showed he hadn't used his full power.
Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised and asked curiously, "Brother Shi, why are you so knowledgeable about the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan?"
"Because I also come from an ancient clan, and perhaps I should be..."
Shi Ren seemed about to say something but held back, quickly adding, "Just now, the two of us appeared together, putting pressure on Yin Xuanji, forcing him to retreat. However, the battle corpses he has refined are terrifying, even stronger than his own power. If he summons them, it will be a huge threat. We'd better leave this place first."
Zhang Ruochen knew a bit about the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan. "I've heard that the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan and the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan are closely allied. Since a Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan inheritor has appeared in the Ghost Spirit Valley, it's likely that a Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan inheritor is nearby too."
"Exactly. The princess of the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan is Yin Xuanji's fiancée. She has indeed entered the Ghost Spirit Valley. I once met her and nearly died at her hands," Shi Ren said.
After Zhang Ruochen and Shi Ren left, not long after, the sound of bells rang through the stone forest.
Yin Xuanji reappeared in the battle area, holding a golden bell and shaking it gently. Behind him stood three half-saint battle corpses.
The three half-saint battle corpses each exuded an immensely powerful aura: a golden corpse, a dragon corpse, and a three-headed, six-armed war god corpse.
"They fled quickly enough."
Yin Xuanji snorted coldly, his cyan eyes blazing with two flames.
A faint, ethereal female voice echoed from the stone forest, as if coming from the void: "Are you sure he's the Heir of Time and Space?"
"It should be correct. I saw him use Great Space Teleportation with my own eyes." Yin Xuanji's voice was deep. "He took my Divine Firmness Fruit. I'll make him pay a painful price sooner or later."
With that, Yin Xuanji leaped onto the dragon corpse's back and led the other two battle corpses away from the area.