Chapter 888: The Fox's Tail
One of the space rifts struck the chest of that Undying Blood Clan half-saint, instantly piercing through his protective saintly aura.
The armor on his body was covered with dense inscription patterns, forming a seven-zhang-tall shadow of a Bi Fang beast, attempting to block the attack of the space rift.
His armor was an extremely precious sacred armor called the "Bi Fang Blood King Armor," capable of neutralizing seventy percent of physical attacks and fifty percent of spiritual power attacks—truly invaluable.
"Pfft."
However, even the sacred armor only slightly delayed the blow, and the next moment, it shattered into a bowl-sized hole.
A large amount of sacred blood surged from within that Undying Blood Clan half-saint's body, his bones, muscles, and lung lobes all pierced through.
"The power of space is actually this... terrifying..."
He stared at Zhang Ruochen in great astonishment, suppressed his injuries, bent his legs like a drawn "bow," and with a *bang*, shot backward at an extremely fast speed.
The vitality of an Undying Blood Clan half-saint was quite formidable; even if their body was severed in two, as long as they could absorb enough blood, they could revive.
Therefore, even though he was severely wounded, he still had the strength to retreat.
Moreover, before making his move, he had already estimated Zhang Ruochen's spatial abilities and made some preparations, so he was not caught off guard.
However, the destructive power of space still exceeded his expectations.
"Once hit by a spatial attack, one cannot defend—only evade." That Undying Blood Clan half-saint thought to himself, gaining some experience from this lesson.
"Great Space Teleportation."
Zhang Ruochen pursued him, leaped up, and as soon as he jumped, he vanished instantly.
The surrounding space trembled slightly.
A moment later, Zhang Ruochen spread his arms like a great black eagle, appearing above that Undying Blood Clan member.
A powerful sword intent surged from Zhang Ruochen's body, gathering at his fingertips. He pointed downward and silently uttered, "Sword Three."
*Whoosh*, the Sky-Soaring Sword flew out of its sheath, forming a white streak of light that shot downward.
"How can a first-order half-saint move so fast? No, that's the power of space—Zhang Ruochen performed a spatial jump."
That Undying Blood Clan half-saint widened his eyes, immediately mobilized all his sacred qi, thrust his spear forward, and clashed with the Sky-Soaring Sword.
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen did not activate the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force, but relying solely on the power of the Sky-Soaring Sword, he still shattered the blood-red spear into over a dozen pieces of scrap metal, scattering them.
"Ah... Zhang Ruo... chen..."
The powerful sword qi blasted the Undying Blood Clan half-saint's arms into a bloody mess, even revealing the two thick arm bones beneath the flesh.
"Boom."
The Undying Blood Clan half-saint fell downward, crashing into the ground, with nine sword holes all over his body, as if he had been pierced like a sieve.
Only at this moment did he realize how terrifying the combat power of the Heir of Time and Space truly was.
Zhang Ruochen's strength was clearly far weaker than his, and he had trapped him in the cave dwelling, seemingly ensuring certain death.
Yet, Zhang Ruochen, using spatial power combined with his profound sword dao realm, unleashed a strength that was difficult for him to withstand.
Even if Zhang Ruochen fought an ordinary seventh-order half-saint, he probably wouldn't lose.
The other two Undying Blood Clan half-saints, who were controlling the formation, saw Wu Yun half-saint flying back and were shocked.
"How could this be?"
They had never expected that Wu Yun half-saint would be unable to defeat Zhang Ruochen.
"Zhang Ruochen has only just reached first-order half-saint, and he's already this powerful?"
"Since even Wu Yun half-saint can't defeat him, we're even less of a match. Let's get out of here quickly."
The two Undying Blood Clan half-saints did not hesitate, immediately withdrew from the formation, spread their wings like two giant blood bats, flew out of North Gazing Mountain, and headed into the night sky to escape.
Zhang Ruochen retracted the Sky-Soaring Sword and was about to give chase.
Just then, a vast sword intent surged from one of the cave dwellings of North Gazing Mountain, driving a flying sword like a meteor, quickly catching up to the two Undying Blood Clan half-saints.
The figure standing on the flying sword was none other than the wielder of the Heaven-Punishing Sword, Xiang Zhengfeng.
Xiang Zhengfeng stabilized himself in midair at the same height as North Gazing Mountain and roared, "How dare you Undying Blood Clan trespass into the Nether Sword Burial Grounds?"
"Leave them alive," Zhang Ruochen said.
Unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen was too late. Xiang Zhengfeng activated the Heaven-Punishing Sword, unleashed the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force, swung it out, and slashed a sword qi like a long river.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Two explosive sounds came from the distant sky.
The two Undying Blood Clan half-saints turned into two clouds of blood mist, their saint souls shattered, leaving only some broken bones that fell to the ground.
The power of the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force was extremely fierce. Even though Xiang Zhengfeng had already sheathed the Heaven-Punishing Sword, chaotic sword qi still flew within a hundred miles of the North Gazing Mountain area.
Zhang Ruochen felt a surge of anger, took a deep breath, and looked up at Xiang Zhengfeng standing in midair with a puzzled expression.
The identities of the two Undying Blood Clan half-saints had already been exposed, and even if they tried to escape, it would be difficult to flee the Nether Sword Burial Grounds.
If they were captured alive, it was very likely that more infiltrators could be interrogated. By rooting out all the infiltrators, the Undying Blood Clan would have almost no chance of breaking into the Nether Sword Burial Grounds.
Yet, Xiang Zhengfeng had killed both half-saints with a single sword strike.
Was he truly filled with hatred for the Undying Blood Clan, or did he deliberately kill the two Undying Blood Clan half-saints?
As a sword wielder, Xiang Zhengfeng's status and position were extraordinary. Even if Zhang Ruochen had his suspicions, it was not easy to openly confront him.
Zhang Ruochen retreated back to the entrance of the cave dwelling, intending to check on Wu Yun half-saint's injuries.
Wu Yun half-saint was the only survivor and the key to finding the Undying Blood Clan infiltrators within the Nether Sword Burial Grounds.
"Not good."
As soon as Zhang Ruochen approached, he immediately sensed a powerful and chaotic force surging within Wu Yun half-saint's body. Blood-red saintly light burst from his skull.
That was a sign of an impending self-detonation of his qi sea.
Clearly, Wu Yun half-saint knew he could not escape and was preparing to take Zhang Ruochen down with him.
A first-order half-saint self-detonating their qi sea could unleash enough energy to kill a sixth-order half-saint.
A sixth-order half-saint self-detonating their qi sea would release even more devastating power. If one was too close, even a ninth-order half-saint could be annihilated.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was too close to either stop Wu Yun half-saint or retreat.
So, Zhang Ruochen immediately released both his Space Domain and Saint Soul Domain, holding the Sky-Soaring Sword horizontally in front of him.
"Boom!"
From within Wu Yun half-saint's skull, his vast qi sea and surging sacred qi were fully released, forming a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering aura of destruction.
All the formations within North Gazing Mountain activated instantly, forming pillars of light and circular formation patterns.
Yet, even so, they could not withstand the destructive force of a sixth-order half-saint's self-detonation.
The formations shattered, the cave dwelling collapsed.
Most of the massive mountain body broke apart and collapsed, producing a continuous roar. The earth shook violently, and black smoke and dust rose from below.
"Swish, swish."
The strong warriors of the Town Prison Ancient Clan arrived one after another.
The half-saint-level elders naturally flew into the air, looking down. They saw that North Gazing Mountain, once towering into the clouds, had been reduced to flat ground, covered in black mud and dust.
Cultivators of slightly lower realms used their movement techniques, producing sounds of breaking wind, and arrived at the outskirts of what was once North Gazing Mountain.
Seeing the scene before them, they all gasped in shock.
Everyone's gaze turned to Xiang Zhengfeng, wanting to know what had happened.
After all, North Gazing Mountain housed over a dozen honored guests of the Town Prison Ancient Clan. It was likely that all those guests had met with misfortune.
When Shi Ren arrived, he was also slightly startled by the sight. However, his mind was steady, and he quickly calmed down, asking, "Young Master Xiang, what exactly happened just now?"
Xiang Zhengfeng snorted coldly and said, "A good question, Young Patriarch. This is all because of Zhang Ruochen."
"Zhang Ruochen?"
Shi Ren frowned and looked around but did not see any trace of Zhang Ruochen.
Xiang Zhengfeng, appearing upright and righteous, said, "Within the Town Prison Ancient Clan, Undying Blood Clan half-saints have infiltrated, and not just one."
"Just now, Zhang Ruochen joined forces with three Undying Blood Clan half-saints to sneak into my cultivation cave dwelling, attempting to assassinate me and seize the Heaven-Punishing Sword."
Xiang Zhengfeng's words were like a drop of cold water falling into boiling oil, causing all the Town Prison Ancient Clan cultivators to erupt in an uproar.
"Just as I expected—when Zhang Ruochen entered the Nether Sword Burial Grounds, I knew something was wrong with him."
"How utterly insane! To dare assassinate a sword wielder in the Nether Sword Burial Grounds—how could Zhang Ruochen be so bold?"
"Tonight, three Undying Blood Clan half-saints appeared in succession. How many more Undying Blood Clan infiltrators are there in the Nether Sword Burial Grounds?"
...
From among the Wang Clan cultivators, a man in his late twenties stepped forward, carrying a black sacred sword on his back. He looked toward North Gazing Mountain and snorted, "North Gazing Mountain housed fourteen honored guests of the Town Prison Ancient Clan, and now they have all died tragically. If we had known, we should never have brought Zhang Ruochen back to the Nether Sword Burial Grounds. He is nothing but a disaster."
As he said this, his gaze also glanced at Shi Ren.
The crowd's anger began to turn toward Shi Ren, with a hint of blame.
If Shi Ren had not brought Zhang Ruochen back to the Nether Sword Burial Grounds, tonight's events would never have happened.