Chapter 915: Nine Calamity Town Saint Talisman
Zhang Ruochen sat on the back of the Swallowing Elephant Rabbit, turning his head to look back. He saw that the area where the manor was located had erupted with dense blood mist, taking on a clawing, menacing form.
At the same time, figures with fleshy wings flew out from within the blood mist.
"Not good, cultivators of the Undying Blood Clan are about to launch an attack on the Shi family soldiers." Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed.
At this moment, dozens of miles away, the vast majority of the Shi family soldiers were still attacking the city-protecting grand formation of Golden Sparrow City. Only a few Half-Saint realm clan elders sensed the powerful killing intent from behind and became alert.
However, the Undying Blood Clan within the manor were all top-tier experts, capable of bursting forth at several times the speed of sound, or even ten times the speed of sound. In an instant, they could reach the outskirts of Golden Sparrow City.
By then, even if the Shi family's strong ones formulated a counter-strategy, a large number of soldiers would already have been slaughtered.
A determined look appeared in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. "Intercept them."
The Swallowing Elephant Rabbit's round eyes widened. While refining the Half-Saint light, it revealed a shocked expression. "Master Chen, you've lost your mind! Those Undying Blood Clan members are powerful and numerous. Just the two of us going to intercept them is like smashing eggs against rocks. And... that's two eggs."
"As long as we act, at least fewer Shi family soldiers will die."
Zhang Ruochen pressed a palm against the Swallowing Elephant Rabbit's head, spun his body around, and leaped up. His gaze locked onto the rolling blood mist behind him as he let out a soft shout: "Abyssal."
"Swoosh."
The Abyssal Ancient Sword shot out as a streak of dark light, hovering above Zhang Ruochen's head.
Zhang Ruochen's palms continuously channeled Saint Qi, pouring it into the sword body, causing it to emit a pitch-black, icy radiance.
The dark light spread outward, quickly enveloping the vast region between Golden Sparrow City and the manor, as if instantly turning day into night.
The sword spirit of the Abyssal Ancient Sword flew out from the blade, condensing into a man with a pair of black light wings.
The immense Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force erupted, causing both the Shi family soldiers and the Undying Blood Clan cultivators to tremble involuntarily.
"Zhang Ruochen wants to use a Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifact. Everyone attack together and repel his strike." The Second Prince of the Undying Blood Clan spoke with a cold, deep voice.
Within the rolling blood clouds, fifteen Half-Saints of the Undying Blood Clan each unleashed a Sacred Artifact. Some were giant swords over ten zhang long, others were blood-red rotating wheels, and there was even a dragon-whip stretching dozens of miles...
Fifteen Sacred Artifacts emitted dazzling light, like fifteen meteors streaking across the sky, crossing dozens of miles to simultaneously crash toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Blue Sea Azure Sky." The Abyssal Ancient Sword didn't just unleash the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force; Zhang Ruochen also executed a move from the Nine Life Sword Technique, slashing it out and dragging a long river of sword energy.
Having advanced to a Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifact, the Abyssal Ancient Sword's power had greatly increased. How could a Hundred-Mark Sacred Artifact withstand it?
"Bang, bang."
All fifteen Sacred Artifacts shattered, forming clusters of chaotic energy that emitted fifteen bright bursts of firelight before falling from midair.
The powerful sword energy flew into the blood clouds.
In the next moment, a chorus of screams rang out from within the blood clouds. Hundreds of Undying Blood Clan corpses rained down to the ground like falling rain. Among them were even the bodies of three Undying Blood Clan Half-Saints.
Seeing the corpses of the Undying Blood Clan Half-Saints, the Swallowing Elephant Rabbit's round eyes grew very bright, and it immediately charged forward.
Three Undying Blood Clan Half-Saint corpses represented three clusters of Half-Saint light.
"Don't go over there."
Zhang Ruochen fell from midair, landing on the Swallowing Elephant Rabbit's back, and called it to a halt.
At this moment, the Saint Qi within Zhang Ruochen's body was nearly depleted, leaving him extremely weak and unable to fight anyone.
The Swallowing Elephant Rabbit also sensed Zhang Ruochen's poor condition, so it restrained its greed and immediately turned around, charging toward the Shi family army's camp.
Zhang Ruochen's full-powered strike had created a tremendous spectacle, not only delaying the Undying Blood Clan for a moment but also jolting all the Shi family soldiers awake, making them aware of the attackers from behind.
The Shi family soldiers, seeing Zhang Ruochen riding on the Swallowing Elephant Rabbit's back, all recognized him.
"That's... Zhang Ruochen, the sword-bearer of the Skyward Sword. He just killed hundreds of Undying Blood Clan experts with a single sword strike."
"The Undying Blood Clan actually had a hidden force stationed outside the city. If Zhang Ruochen hadn't discovered them in time, our Shi family would have suffered heavy losses."
"I used to think Zhang Ruochen was an infiltrator for the Undying Blood Clan, but I never expected he was genuinely helping our Zhenyu Ancient Clan. I feel like slapping myself twice."
"If not for Zhang Ruochen, we might not even know how we died today."
...
Shi Yunzong, the Saint realm ancestor of the Shi family, stood at the edge of a Half-Saint-level warship's deck. He glanced at the distant blood clouds flying over and let out a fierce roar.
"Whoosh!"
The powerful sound waves formed ripples of energy, surging forward with the force of heaven and earth destruction toward that blood cloud.
The sound wave attack unleashed by a Saint was terrifying. If it charged into the Undying Blood Clan's ranks, who knew how many of them would be shaken to death.
Just then, a massive figure flew out from within the blood mist.
His body was ten times larger than other Undying Blood Clan members, with a pair of silver wings. When fully spread, the wings spanned over thirty zhang.
He laughed loudly, flapped his wings, and stirred up a fierce red wind that surged toward the Half-Saint-level warship.
The sound waves and the red wind collided, producing a rumbling noise.
Most of the two forces canceled each other out, with only a small amount of sound waves and wind shooting out, scattering the Shi family soldiers and Undying Blood Clan cultivators in all directions.
Shi Yunzong stared at that massive figure and let out a slight exclamation: "Wang Jinsuo?"
"Haha! Wang Jinsuo was killed by me a hundred years ago, his blood drained dry. I am Xianlan Wang, serving under the Azure Heaven Blood Emperor of the Undying Blood Clan."
The arrogant laughter came from Xianlan Wang's mouth.
In the next moment, Xianlan Wang's wings flapped once, instantly crossing dozens of miles to appear above the Half-Saint-level warship. He struck out with a large handprint, pressing it downward.
It should be noted that two Half-Saint-level warships were suspended above Golden Sparrow City. Besides the one occupied by Shi Yunzong, a middle-aged man in his thirties sat on the deck of the other warship.
That middle-aged man appeared very weak, somewhat sickly, giving off a rather refined impression.
If Zhang Ruochen were also on that Half-Saint-level warship, he would surely recognize this man, for he was Shi Ren's father, Shi Kunqian.
The moment Xianlan Wang struck, a sharp look flashed in Shi Kunqian's eyes. He pinched a yellow talisman between two fingers and shot it upward.
"Yin and Yang coexist, the Five Elements alternate."
Shi Kunqian chanted a talisman incantation.
At the same time, a powerful spiritual power erupted from within his body, plunging the entire Half-Saint-level warship into a state of chaos.
The talisman collided with Xianlan Wang's handprint, immediately exploding.
"Boom."
The destructive force unleashed by the talisman was too much even for Xianlan Wang, who possessed Saint realm cultivation, to withstand.
His right hand became drenched in blood, and beneath the flesh, crystalline holy bones like blood jade were exposed.
"One Calamity Town Saint Talisman."
Xianlan Wang's gaze fixed on Shi Kunqian, and he let out a sharp, piercing voice: "Shi Kunqian, how dare you come to besiege Golden Sparrow City? I know you've been poisoned by Nether King Blood Poison and Death Evil Qi. Do you think you've recovered so easily?"
Shi Kunqian remained seated in his chair, appearing calm and composed. "You seem to know quite a bit. Could it be that you personally administered the poison?"
Shi Kunqian cultivated both spiritual power and martial arts, making him a dual practitioner of spirit and martial arts.
Thus, even though he used all his Saint Qi to suppress the toxicity of the Nether King Blood Poison, he could still mobilize his spiritual power to execute talisman techniques.
For the direct descendants of the Shi family, talisman techniques were stronger than martial arts.
Shi Kunqian's cultivation was quite profound. If not for the poison that had clouded his mind, he would likely have become the clan leader of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan long ago.
Xianlan Wang laughed. "That's right, I personally administered the poison, but it was Wang Beilie who gave the order. He feared that once you became a Saint, you would threaten his position as clan leader, so he did this. Are you satisfied now?"
"Of course, I am satisfied."
Shi Kunqian picked up another talisman, pinching it between two fingers of his right hand.
At the same time, his left hand traced along the edge of the talisman, cutting a small bloody gash.
He used his Saint blood to quickly inscribe on the talisman.
Gradually, the talisman emitted an increasingly bright light.
Seeing the talisman in Shi Kunqian's hand, Xianlan Wang's expression changed. He immediately spread his wings and fled into the distance at top speed.
Having lurked in the Zhenyu Ancient Clan for nearly a hundred years, Xianlan Wang naturally knew how terrifying the Shi family's Nine Calamity Town Saint Talisman was.
Earlier, Shi Kunqian had only used a One Calamity Town Saint Talisman and had already injured him.
Now, Shi Kunqian was using his Saint blood to inscribe a talisman. That would be at least a Three Calamity Town Saint Talisman, dozens of times more powerful than the One Calamity Town Saint Talisman.
Shi Kunqian glanced in the direction Xianlan Wang had fled, his eyes narrowing slightly. "He runs fast."
"I will deal with him."
Shi Yunzong soared up from the Half-Saint-level warship, wielding the Profound Dragon Sword as he chased after Xianlan Wang.
Since Shi Yunzong had already taken action, Shi Kunqian did not unleash the Three Calamity Town Saint Talisman. Instead, he simply tossed it toward Golden Sparrow City.
It was just a simple piece of talisman paper, but when it came into contact with Golden Sparrow City's city-protecting grand formation, it unleashed power even greater than the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force.
"Rumble."
The talisman's power shattered the city-protecting grand formation of Golden Sparrow City.
At the same time, the residual energy from the talisman wiped out all the low-realm Undying Blood Clan members within the city, turning them into clouds of blood mist.
"Kill, leave no one alive."
"Exterminate all the Undying Blood Clan in Golden Sparrow City and avenge our fallen clansmen."
...
Under Shi Ren's leadership, seventy percent of the Shi family's hundred-thousand-strong army charged into Golden Sparrow City, beginning to encircle and eliminate the Undying Blood Clan within.
The remaining thirty thousand soldiers engaged in fierce combat with the Undying Blood Clan outside the city. A brutal battle had officially erupted. (To be continued.)