Chapter 912: Army at the Gates
"If Brother Zhang is willing to set out with the main army, at least ten thousand fewer members of the Shi Clan would die."
Shi Ren was naturally overjoyed and deeply moved that Zhang Ruochen would accompany the army to Golden Sparrow City to help the Shi Clan deal with the Undying Blood Clan. A true friend is one who, when you need him, stands by your side without hesitation to fight alongside you, even unto death.
It must be understood that Zhang Ruochen's strength might not match that of a Seventh-Step Half-Saint. However, an Undying Blood Clan member that a Seventh-Step Half-Saint could not kill, Zhang Ruochen could. For instance, even if a First-Step Half-Saint of the Undying Blood Clan could not defeat a human Seventh-Step Half-Saint, they could use a Sacred Edict to flee immediately.
Once a First-Step Half-Saint-level Undying Blood Clan member escaped, the destruction they could cause would be terrifying. If not promptly suppressed and killed, ordinary people in several cities might lose their lives.
Yet Zhang Ruochen was different. Not only did he possess the Meteor Invisibility Cloak, allowing him to stealthily approach an Undying Blood Clan Half-Saint and assassinate them without a trace, but even if the Undying Blood Clan Half-Saint sensed danger and tried to escape using a Sacred Edict, Zhang Ruochen could use spatial power to intercept them. Therefore, once war broke out with the Undying Blood Clan, Zhang Ruochen's value was even greater than that of a Seventh-Step Half-Saint, or even a Ninth-Step Half-Saint.
Shi Ren's brow furrowed, and he said in a low voice, "I am naturally very grateful that Brother Zhang is willing to help the Shi Clan besiege the Undying Blood Clan in Golden Sparrow City. However, Brother Zhang must also be careful. In this attack on Golden Sparrow City, besides the cultivators of the Shi Clan, the Elephant Army of the Ministry of War will also assist from the side. If a prince of the Ministry of War learns that Brother Zhang is in Golden Sparrow City, they might use some underhanded methods against you."
Zhang Ruochen said, "This time when I go to Golden Sparrow City, I will conceal my form and focus solely on assassinating Half-Saint-level figures of the Undying Blood Clan. I will not easily reveal my identity unless absolutely necessary."
"Haha! With Brother Zhang taking the lead, the Undying Blood Clan Half-Saints in Golden Sparrow City will certainly have a headache," Shi Ren laughed heartily.
The Undying Blood Clan fed on human blood, treating humans like pigs, dogs, cattle, and sheep—as if they were born to exterminate humanity. Zhang Ruochen had no goodwill toward the Undying Blood Clan. Every Undying Blood Clan member he could kill meant more humans who could survive.
That very night, the Shi Clan's army assembled and camped in tents outside the ancestral estate. Zhang Ruochen stood atop a pavilion by the Spirit Lake, gazing toward the camp and making a rough estimate. There were probably about a hundred thousand cultivators living in the military tents, all trained in the way of the sword. They were the private army raised by the Shi Clan, each one a top-tier warrior.
Above the military tents, streaks of rosy qi surged into the sky, connecting with the dark blue clouds. From a distance, it looked like a colorful waterfall pouring down from the heavens, forming a magnificent scene.
"As expected of an ancient clan passed down from the Middle Ages. With just this army, the Shi Clan could sweep through the thirty-six commanderies of the prefecture and become its overlord. The Shi Clan probably has many hidden forces as well."
Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze to another direction, a relatively smaller area. In those tents were all talisman masters, the true core force of the Shi Clan. After all, the Shi Clan's most powerful inheritance was the Talisman Path. Even across the entire Kunlun Realm, with its three paths, nine schools, ten thousand sects, and various families, each had some research into the Talisman Path. Yet the Shi Clan's Talisman Path could still rank in the top five.
Zhang Ruochen extended a strand of spiritual power, slowly probing toward the tents where the talisman masters resided. However, as soon as his spiritual power approached the tents, it was immediately detected by several other, more powerful spiritual forces. To avoid causing misunderstandings, Zhang Ruochen quickly withdrew his spiritual power.
"It seems the Zhenyu Ancient Clan is truly determined to wipe out the Undying Blood Clan. They have indeed mobilized their real foundation."
Zhang Ruochen stopped probing the Shi Clan's strength. He sat cross-legged on the pavilion roof, circulating the sixth-layer technique of the "Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture," and continued cultivating. The deeper his cultivation, the higher the success rate of breaking through to the Second-Step Half-Saint after taking the Saint Origin Pill.
The next day, the armies of the three great families of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan—the Shi Clan, the Wang Clan, and the Shen Clan—set out simultaneously. Some rode barbarian beasts, others boarded Half-Saint-level warships from the Ministry of War, arranged in square formations, and marched out of the Netherworld Sword Burial Ground with great momentum to besiege the Undying Blood Clan's stronghold.
Zhang Ruochen, carrying the Sky-Soaring Sword on his back, rode on the back of the Devouring Elephant Rabbit, following behind the Shi Clan's main army as they headed toward Golden Sparrow City. After Xiang Zhengfeng had escaped from the Nether Prison, it proved that he was definitely an Undying Blood Clan infiltrator. At the same time, Zhang Ruochen's identity was no longer in question, and Ling Feiyu naturally returned the Sky-Soaring Sword to him.
"Master Chen, I've completely refined that ball of Half-Saint Light you gave me, and my cultivation is about to break through to the Fifth-Step Half-Saint. Can you give me another one?"
The Devouring Elephant Rabbit licked its lips as it sprinted at full speed. Recently, the Devouring Elephant Rabbit and the Demon Ape had been cultivating in the Scroll World. Moreover, Zhang Ruochen had given them all the Half-Saint Light he had obtained from killing Half-Saints to refine. Naturally, the Devouring Elephant Rabbit and the Demon Ape's cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds.
"I've given all the Half-Saint Light I collected to you and the Demon Ape. Not a single ball is left. If you want more Half-Saint Light, you'll have to rely on this battle. The more Undying Blood Clan Half-Saints we kill, the more Half-Saint Light we'll get," Zhang Ruochen said.
Refining Half-Saint Light was arguably the fastest way for a Half-Saint to improve their cultivation. It was essentially plundering others and converting it into one's own power. However, for human cultivators, refining Half-Saint Light had too many side effects. That was why Zhang Ruochen chose to refine Divine Blood instead. Not only could it raise his realm, but it could also temper his physical body. Although the speed of cultivation improvement was slightly slower, it was more stable and had endless benefits for the future.
Of course, refining Half-Saint Light was not too harmful to barbarian beasts. For this reason, some evil-path saints would often hunt Half-Saints and use the Half-Saint Light to feed their mounts and battle pets. Zhang Ruochen giving the Half-Saint Light to the Devouring Elephant Rabbit and the Demon Ape served the same purpose as those evil-path saints. After all, two fists are no match for four hands. As long as the two beasts' strength could grow quickly, they could become Zhang Ruochen's right and left hands, enhancing his overall combat power.
As they drew closer to Golden Sparrow City, Zhang Ruochen stood atop a black mountain ridge and could already see the towering city wall in the distance. Originally, a mountain range lay across the front of Golden Sparrow City, but a Saint-level ancestor of the Shi Clan had used a Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifact to cleave it open with a single sword strike, forcibly creating a passage.
"Rumble."
The Shi Clan's army of a hundred thousand sword cultivators, riding massive barbarian beasts and holding war banners, completely surrounded Golden Sparrow City. Above the army, two black iron mountains, a hundred zhang tall, hovered in the shape of warships, casting two huge black shadows on the ground. These were two Half-Saint-level warships, forbidden weapons of the Ministry of War. To besiege the Undying Blood Clan, the Ministry of War had temporarily lent seven Half-Saint-level warships to the Zhenyu Ancient Clan, with the Shi Clan receiving two of them.