Chapter 910: Framing
The humanoid monster’s earlier strike had severely wounded Zhang Ruochen, even though he had forcibly blocked it with the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force. Now, he could only stand steady with Li Min’s support.
Upon hearing Zhang Ruochen’s words, the half-saint elders of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan, surrounded by clusters of saintly mist, all showed displeased expressions, their auras churning violently.
A half-saint realm old man, standing on the back of a three-legged golden giant bird, snorted, “Zhang Ruochen, do you know what terrible things this person has done? You still want to spare his life? If he loses control, he could crush you with just one hand.”
“Heh, young people don’t know right from wrong. You’ve been hurt so badly, yet you haven’t learned your lesson,” another voice, belonging to a man carrying a heavy sword on his back, chimed in with a sarcastic tone.
Most of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan’s elders resisted Zhang Ruochen’s words and refused to believe him.
Zhang Ruochen coughed twice, standing amidst the powerful saintly mists, his expression unchanged. “It’s not that I, a junior, want to save his life, but the clan leader wants to. I’m just trying to share the clan leader’s burden.”
Wang Beilie’s towering figure stood under the moonlight like an unshakable sacred mountain, forcing all cultivators present to look up to him.
Though the half-saint elders were all unmatched in power, they paled in comparison to Wang Beilie.
Now, Wang Beilie turned back around, his pitch-black eyes, like divine stones, carrying a powerful saintly might as he stared at Zhang Ruochen. His voice was calm. “What do you mean?”
Zhang Ruochen stood opposite Wang Beilie, showing no emotional fluctuation. He raised a finger, pointing at the humanoid monster suppressed beneath the Burial Heaven Sword. “That senior should be poisoned…”
Before Zhang Ruochen could finish, an old man in a black robe behind Wang Beilie interrupted him coldly, “Ridiculous! The Zhenyu Ancient Clan has several alchemy masters with Gaochao medical skills and powerful spiritual power. They personally examined Shi Kunqian’s body and found no poison. Young man, how long have you known him? Are you an alchemy master? Do you think you can spout nonsense without paying a price?”
Shi Ren’s father’s name was indeed Shi Kunqian.
Zhang Ruochen said, “They couldn’t detect the poison in that senior’s body, not because their medical skills were insufficient, but because they had never encountered that kind of poison before.”
Although Zhang Ruochen’s words were shocking, some cultivators showed doubtful expressions.
For instance, the elders of the Shi family and Ling Feiyu.
The Shi family elders didn’t fully believe Zhang Ruochen, as they had all examined Shi Kunqian’s condition and it didn’t seem like poisoning. However, they had always found Shi Kunqian’s situation too suspicious, so Zhang Ruochen’s bold claim made them start to wonder.
As for Ling Feiyu, she knew Zhang Ruochen well. This young man wouldn’t speak carelessly; he must have some basis.
A Shi family elder, stepping on a long bridge formed by saintly mist, walked over and stood to Zhang Ruochen’s upper left. “Zhang Ruochen, do you know what poison Kunqian has been afflicted with?”
Zhang Ruochen scanned the crowd and said, “Nether King Blood Poison.”
“Nether King Blood Poison?”
“Never heard of it.”
“Zhang Ruochen, did you just make that up to deceive us? What’s your real motive?”
“Are you trying to cause internal strife in the Zhenyu Ancient Clan so the Undying Blood Clan can take advantage?”
If not for everyone knowing Ling Feiyu was Zhang Ruochen’s backing, some might have already used talismans to imprison Zhang Ruochen.
They all thought Zhang Ruochen was exaggerating or had ulterior motives.
Saints had already transcended the mundane and were considered immune to all poisons. Could there really be a poison that could affect a saint?
If such a poison existed in the world, it would be terrifying.
Zhang Ruochen continued, “Nether King Blood Poison is a deadly toxin refined by the Nether King using his own blood. It’s colorless and odorless. Not even you saints can detect it.”
The name “Nether King” was known to all, and anything associated with him was certainly extraordinary.
“With my experience, I’ve never heard of Nether King Blood Poison. How do you know about such a toxin?” Wang Beilie asked.
Zhang Ruochen replied, “Because my master, Xuanji Sword Saint, was once poisoned by it and paid with his life.”
He added, “Nether King Blood Poison can indeed kill a saint, but the amount in this senior’s body is extremely Weiliang, mixed with another evil qi that drives one to kill. That’s why he didn’t die but became a bloodthirsty monster, similar to a state of demonic possession.”
Hearing this, some who had been skeptical grew more convinced, feeling Zhang Ruochen wasn’t just talking nonsense.
“Bang.”
Shi Ren broke through the talisman formation, rushing out and landing before Zhang Ruochen, trembling all over. “Brother Zhang, is my father really poisoned?”
Zhang Ruochen nodded, then took a black pill from his space ring, pinching it between his thumb and forefinger. “This pill contains death evil qi, very similar to the evil qi on your father. The only difference is that your father’s body also has Nether King Blood Poison.”
The pill in Zhang Ruochen’s hand was condensed from death evil qi.
Shi Ren took the pill, channeled a strand of spiritual power into it, and found that the death evil qi inside was indeed identical to his father’s.
Shi Ren’s five fingers clenched the pill tightly, flames flickering in his pupils as a powerful saintly qi surged from his body, forcing all the elders present to step back repeatedly.
Zhang Ruochen, being closest to Shi Ren, could clearly sense his fury.
Having one’s father framed and imprisoned as a monster for decades would make anyone lose their composure.
However, the power fluctuation Shi Ren released secretly startled Zhang Ruochen.
That wasn’t the aura of a second-step half-saint; it was at least at the sixth-step half-saint level.
The elders of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan clearly hadn’t expected Shi Ren’s strength to be so great.
“The young clan leader has been hiding his cultivation all along. His true cultivation should be at the sixth-step half-saint level.”
Wang Beilie’s mouth twitched slightly, and his right hand unconsciously clenched. Shi Ren had hidden himself too deeply; even he hadn’t noticed before.
Gradually, the atmosphere grew quiet and somewhat eerie.
Some people’s eyes flickered, sometimes fixed on Wang Beilie, sometimes on Shi Ren.
Everyone knew that if someone in the Zhenyu Ancient Clan wanted to harm Shi Kunqian, Wang Beilie was the most suspicious.
Wang Beilie remained quite calm, but the elders of the Wang family couldn’t wait to jump out.
“It must be the Undying Blood Clan’s infiltrators who poisoned him. Only they have Nether King Blood Poison,” a Wang family elder said.
Another Wang family elder pointed the finger at Zhang Ruochen. “Zhang Ruochen, how do you know about Nether King Blood Poison? And how did you get this evil qi pill? Shouldn’t you explain yourself?”
Zhang Ruochen knowing about Nether King Blood Poison was understandable, given that Xuanji Sword Saint had been poisoned by it. But how did he explain the death evil qi?
“How ridiculous. Why should I explain to you?”
Zhang Ruochen smiled and continued, “You people, the previous young clan leader was poisoned, and instead of trying to save him, you only think about clearing someone’s name. What’s the point? The Zhenyu Ancient Clan’s decline isn’t without reason. Your generation is truly a fallen one.”
Zhang Ruochen’s words were clear enough, directly pointing at the current clan leader, Wang Beilie.
Wang Beilie was furious inside, wanting to crush Zhang Ruochen into a bloody pulp with one palm.
But he absolutely couldn’t do that. If he lost control of his emotions, wouldn’t that be an admission of guilt?
In the current Zhenyu Ancient Clan, he couldn’t yet dominate everything.
Ling Feiyu glanced at Zhang Ruochen, a strange light flashing in her eyes. *What a bold fellow. At just a first-step half-saint, he dares to offend a sword saint. Does he really think Wang Beilie is someone to mess with?*
Still, she admired Zhang Ruochen’s character, as she herself was someone who feared nothing.
Suddenly, Shi Ren knelt on one knee. “Brother Zhang, since you know about Nether King Blood Poison and death evil qi, you must have a way to neutralize them. Please save my father. Our Shi family will remember this debt forever.”
Besides Shi Ren, the Shi family cultivators also knelt on one knee.
Zhang Ruochen quickly helped Shi Ren up. “Brother Shi, no need for such a grand gesture. I do have some methods that might neutralize Nether King Blood Poison and death evil qi. But… I’m not absolutely certain. I can only try.”
Hearing this, Shi Ren and the Shi family elders were overjoyed.
“Whether you succeed or not, Brother Zhang, our Shi family owes you a huge favor. From now on, if you ever need anything, even if it means walking through fire and water, I will come to help,” Shi Ren said firmly. (To be continued.)