Chapter 922: Maha Dragon Claw Hand
The sword qi tore apart the Suanni's phantom and reached the Second Prince in an instant.
"Puchi."
A large splash of blood flew as half of the Second Prince's body, including his right arm, right leg, and a third of his head, was severed.
After unleashing this sword strike, Zhang Ruochen had exhausted all of his Saint Qi. He then fell from midair, landing heavily on the open ground outside the Sikong Zen Temple. He propped himself up with one palm on the ground, panting heavily.
The Second Prince also landed on the ground, covered in blood, and uttered a venomous voice: "This prince has never... never... suffered such a great loss. Today, I will definitely drain your blood and grind your bones to ashes."
That sword strike just now was meant to kill the Second Prince completely. However, the Second Prince's cultivation was too high, allowing him to escape death and only suffer severe injuries.
It must be said that the vitality of the Undying Blood Clan was truly formidable.
"If you want to fight, then fight! Who's afraid of who?"
Although Zhang Ruochen had exhausted all of his Saint Qi, he still possessed powerful spiritual power and was not completely without the strength to fight.
"Chi chi."
Centered on Zhang Ruochen's body, dense electric patterns condensed, shuttling through the sky and rapidly gathering.
"Wrath of the Thunder General." Behind Zhang Ruochen, a giant figure condensed, woven from lightning—a ten-zhang-tall armored divine general wielding a thunder hammer and a lightning halberd.
In an instant, the mountain where the Sikong Zen Temple was located was completely covered by lightning, turning into a sea of electricity.
With a bang, the Second Prince's hand seal collided with the spell Zhang Ruochen had cast, and his body immediately retreated backward.
Zhang Ruochen pressed the advantage, unleashing over a dozen spells in succession, forcing the Second Prince from the mountainside all the way down to the foot of the mountain.
No matter how strong the Second Prince's cultivation was, he had still suffered severe injuries. Most of his meridians were crippled, greatly reducing his combat power. It was already quite a feat that he could still fight.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen had exhausted his Saint Qi and was extremely weak, barely holding on through sheer willpower. He could collapse at any moment.
It all came down to who could last until the end—him or the Second Prince.
Just then, in the distant night sky, another rolling blood cloud surged forward with overwhelming force.
The dark red blood energy filled the entire sky, casting a faint red glow over the ground, creating a world like a hellish underworld.
Within the blood cloud, there was a surging, immense power that was awe-inspiring. Faintly, one could even see a hundred-zhang-wide blood river cutting through the blood cloud, stretching from the horizon all the way to the sky above the Sikong Zen Temple.
Below, the barbarian beasts in the forest trembled in fear, feeling a terror that reached into their souls.
"Second Prince, this general will lend you a hand." From within the blood cloud, Blood General Kong Yi spread a pair of blood wings over ten zhang long, holding a cyan bone spike as he charged down toward Zhang Ruochen.
The cyan bone spike was not made from ordinary bone but was a powerful sacred artifact.
Its name was "Azure Dragon Spike," six zhang long, forged from the dragon bone of a Saint-level Azure Dragon. Inside, nine hundred and twenty-three inscriptions were carved.
"Haha! Blood General Kong Yi has arrived just in time. Quickly kill Zhang Ruochen for this prince and seize the Sky-Soaring Sword. As long as you deliver the Sky-Soaring Sword to the Sword Grave and rescue the Underworld King, you will be the greatest contributor." The Second Prince immediately retreated, no longer engaging Zhang Ruochen in battle.
The earlier fight had worsened his injuries.
If Blood General Kong Yi had not arrived in time, the Second Prince might not have been able to hold on any longer. After retreating, he immediately took out a beast-skin pouch and drank the blood inside to heal his wounds.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Blood General Kong Yi and saw through his cultivation level—he had already reached the Eighth-Step Half-Saint realm, a true high-ranking Half-Saint.
Those who could reach the high-ranking Half-Saint level were all outstanding figures, one in ten thousand among Half-Saints, each with a chance to assault the Saint realm.
Even if their chances were slim, they were still far superior to low-ranking Half-Saints.
In his current state, Zhang Ruochen was no match for Blood General Kong Yi.
He glared coldly at the Second Prince, feeling a deep hatred, but could only retreat.
If he had a little more time, he would have been able to kill the Second Prince.
"Guo Guo!"
Zhang Ruochen called out.
The Swallowing Elephant Rabbit burst out from Zhang Ruochen's pocket, transforming into a massive crimson rabbit. It carried the extremely weak Zhang Ruochen on its back and immediately charged toward the Sikong Zen Temple.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Blood General Kong Yi extended his arm and launched the Azure Dragon Spike, aiming it at Zhang Ruochen's back.
The Azure Dragon Spike emitted a "hua hua" sound, splitting into nineteen segments and continuously extending until it was several li long, like a snake spitting its tongue, forming a winding curve.
The sharp tip of the spike emitted a dazzling cold light, enough to blind a person's eyes.
Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power could clearly sense that he was completely locked onto by the Azure Dragon Spike, with no way to dodge.
Even though the spike had not yet landed, a sharp pain shot through his back.
It was the force emitted by the Azure Dragon Spike, striking Zhang Ruochen's body and surging into him.
Just as he was about to unseal the third layer of the Sarira, a dark figure rushed out from the Sikong Zen Temple.
That figure exploded with astonishing speed, like a black bolt of lightning.
"Spare others when you can; why must you go so far as to kill them all?"
The dark figure had already reached behind Zhang Ruochen and extended a hand to grab the Azure Dragon Spike.
His five fingers manifested the phantoms of five black dragons, emitting a low, resounding dragon roar.
With a sudden burst of force from his arm, he yanked Blood General Kong Yi into the air, sending him crashing into a nearby cliff wall with a thunderous boom.
Blood General Kong Yi's body was buried directly into the earth.
"His strength is even greater than an Eighth-Step Half-Saint?"
Zhang Ruochen fixed his gaze on the dark figure and saw that it was a monk with pitch-black skin, which even had a faint metallic sheen.
It was Er Sikong.
However, the Er Sikong before him now was completely different from the one Zhang Ruochen had first met.
Back then, Er Sikong had seemed dull and wooden, with no energy fluctuations at all—just an ordinary monk.
But now, Er Sikong was emitting an extremely dense Buddhist Qi, and his physical strength and energy were far superior to Blood General Kong Yi's.
Even Zhang Ruochen's keen eyesight could not see through him, which could only mean two things:
Either Er Sikong's own cultivation was extremely high, and he had mastered some profound technique to conceal his cultivation, fooling Zhang Ruochen. Or, behind Er Sikong, there was a powerful figure who had sealed his cultivation.
Either way, it showed that the Sikong Zen Temple was definitely not simple.
"Hua la!"
Blood General Kong Yi flew back out of the earth, shaking his body, and said, "Such great brute strength! I didn't expect a mere wild temple to have such a powerful expert."
The Second Prince, who was healing his wounds, also saw the technique Er Sikong had just used and fell into deep thought.
After a moment, he seemed to realize something, and his expression changed slightly. He immediately warned, "The move he just used is the supreme martial art of the Ten Thousand Buddha Path—the Maha Dragon Claw Hand, known as the number one claw technique of the Ten Thousand Buddha Path."
The Maha Dragon Claw Hand and the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm were both among the top eighteen martial techniques of the Ten Thousand Buddha Path. In a sense, they even surpassed sacred arts, representing the pinnacle of claw and palm techniques.
Any one of the eighteen techniques was profound and mysterious, enough for a cultivator to spend a lifetime studying and mastering.
Once cultivated to the extreme, one could split mountains, slay dragons, burn the seas, and become a top-tier expert of the world.
"The Maha Dragon Claw Hand."
Blood General Kong Yi was also quite shocked. He looked at Er Sikong again, and his expression grew serious.
Er Sikong, however, remained dull and wooden, speaking as if reciting a script: "The Sikong Zen Temple does not wish to get involved in worldly conflicts. We only want to cultivate in peace deep in the mountains. If you cultivators of the Undying Blood Clan retreat now, it is not too late."
Er Sikong could actually say something like that?
Zhang Ruochen felt that someone must have taught him those words. So, he turned his gaze toward the gate of the Sikong Zen Temple and saw Da Sikong's figure.
Zhang Ruochen immediately understood and smiled faintly.
Blood General Kong Yi stared at Er Sikong and sneered, "Monk, our Undying Blood Clan's target is Zhang Ruochen. We have no intention of being enemies with the Sikong Zen Temple. Hand over Zhang Ruochen to this general, and I will leave immediately."
"Is that so?"
Er Sikong looked toward the Sikong Zen Temple, seeking Da Sikong's advice.
Da Sikong stood inside the temple gate, opening it just a crack. He shook his head at Er Sikong and mouthed a sentence.
Er Sikong nodded, turned back to Blood General Kong Yi, and said, "No. Senior Brother just said that Zhang Ruochen is a guest of the Sikong Zen Temple and the first guest to offer incense money. Our temple has a responsibility to protect his safety."
Inside the gate, Da Sikong slapped his forehead and muttered, "Idiot! Idiot! How could you just blurt out something about the incense money?"
Blood General Kong Yi's eyes turned icy cold. He felt that the dark-faced monk was deliberately mocking him.
"Since you refuse to show respect, don't blame this general for being rude. I'll kill you first, then raze the Sikong Zen Temple to the ground. Let's see how you can continue your cultivation in peace."
Blood General Kong Yi fully activated his Saint Qi, channeling it into his arm and into the Azure Dragon Spike.
The surface of the Azure Dragon Spike glowed with a faint cyan light, condensing into a massive Azure Dragon phantom.
"Hua!"
The Azure Dragon Spike transformed into a cyan coiled dragon, spinning continuously as it thrust straight toward Er Sikong's heart.
(Note: Sorry, I was a bit busy the past two days, so the updates were a bit slow. Starting tonight, I'll try to get back on track.
Let's set a schedule: every night at midnight, two chapters will be updated (starting tonight).
If everyone thinks it's too late, we can adjust it later.) (To be continued.)