Chapter 954: The Power of a Sacred Art
"Boom!"
From afar came a deafening explosion, a wave of air spreading outward, tearing apart the Divine Hurricane Formation with irresistible force.
The ground shook violently, and seven snow-capped mountains collapsed one after another, fragile as seven piles of sand, leveling the earth.
Zhang Ruochen shot straight out from the layer of snow mist, a massive blood dragon coiling around his body. He hovered in midair, his aura imposing, his jet-black eyes carrying a look of disdain as he fixed his gaze on Mei Lanzhu and the four Banner Masters.
"How is this possible?" Qi Feng Banner Master exclaimed in shock.
"Bang!"
Struck by the shockwave of air, Qi Feng Banner Master was sent flying backward, crashing into an ice wall on a snowy mountain, shattering it entirely.
Qi Feng Banner Master was merely a formation master, his body quite fragile. After such an impact, his head split open, blood streaming, his limbs broken and twisted, and he fell unconscious.
Mei Lanzhu remained remarkably calm, still standing in place, an invisible force effortlessly neutralizing the air wave.
He glanced at Qi Feng Banner Master and snorted coldly, "To be able to break the Divine Hurricane Formation, your strength is not weak."
Zhang Ruochen stood at the same height as Mei Lanzhu, streams of blood energy swirling around him. He raised his voice, "Shouldn't the Divine Son explain why he ambushed this Banner Master?"
"What need is there to explain to a dead man?"
A faint smile hung on Mei Lanzhu's face, as if mocking Zhang Ruochen's ignorance.
Zhang Ruochen also smiled, "Is the Divine Son so confident he can kill this Banner Master?"
Mei Lanzhu glanced back at Zhao Shiqi, Mingkong Banner Master, and Yaodao Banner Master, then sneered, "Heh! Gu Linfeng, you may have some strength by borrowing the power of the Blood God Gu, but you still need to read the situation. Do you truly believe you have a chance to escape today?"
"Whoosh!"
Behind Mei Lanzhu, Mingkong Banner Master and Yaodao Banner Master simultaneously unleashed their Saint Souls, manifesting two Saint Soul Domains covering dozens of miles, drawing in all the spiritual energy of the surroundings.
Both of them were at the peak of the Sixth-Step Half-Saint realm.
Mingkong Banner Master's palms flared with purple demonic flames, issuing a final warning to Zhang Ruochen: "Gu Linfeng, if you surrender obediently, the Divine Son might just spare you a whole corpse."
Yaodao Banner Master, on the other hand, looked at Zhang Ruochen with a playful gaze, a slight curl to his lips, like an unparalleled saint gazing down at an ant on the ground.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head lightly, "Let's begin."
Just as Mei Lanzhu, Mingkong Banner Master, and Yaodao Banner Master showed expressions of confusion, Zhao Shiqi behind them let out a dry laugh. He swung both hands, hurling two vortices he had long condensed in his palms toward Mingkong Banner Master and Yaodao Banner Master simultaneously.
This was a Sixth-Level Wind Elemental Spell called "Qi Breaks the Universe Art," which continuously compressed wind force into the palm, forming what appeared to be mere vortices but contained immense destructive power.
A Spiritual Power Half-Saint like Zhao Shiqi, executing the Seven Breaks Universe Art, could toss out such vortices and level an entire city in an instant.
Of course, that assumed the city had no protective formation.
"Shushu!"
The two vortices flew out, then exploded into a dense storm of wind blades, striking the two Banner Masters.
Given the close proximity, Mingkong Banner Master and Yaodao Banner Master had no time to deploy any defensive measures. Their bodies were hacked into pieces, scattering into a mess of dismembered flesh.
The surrounding space was filled with blood mist.
"Zhao Shiqi, why?"
A head-sized mass of white Saint Mist flew out, emitting a furious roar from within.
It was Mingkong Banner Master's Saint Soul.
With their cultivation levels, Mingkong Banner Master and Yaodao Banner Master had powerful Saint Souls. Even with their physical bodies destroyed, their Saint Souls' consciousness would not dissipate for a short time.
"To oppose the Young Master is already a capital offense."
Zhao Shiqi released his Spiritual Power again, his withered hands reaching forward, condensing two massive palms to suppress the Saint Souls of Mingkong Banner Master and Yaodao Banner Master.
Mei Lanzhu had never anticipated such a drastic turn of events. Enraged, he roared, "Zhao Shiqi, you were actually one of Haiming Fawang's men! Die!"
Zhao Shiqi did not bother to explain. He immediately activated a speed spell.
"Whoosh!"
A swirling wind wrapped around his body, turning him into a blur as he shot toward the base of the ice waterfall.
Mei Lanzhu extended his arm, and a serpent-shaped spear, one zhang and eight chi long, flew out from the Qi Sea at his brow.
"Trying to escape?"
The serpent spear emitted a dazzling golden light, illuminating dozens of miles in a golden world, melting all the snowflakes.
The spear thrust forward.
A beam of golden light, as thick as a bowl, pierced through the void, striking at the fleeing Zhao Shiqi.
"Your opponent is me."
Zhang Ruochen shifted his body horizontally, appearing in front of the golden beam. He twisted his wrist and struck out with a palm.
"Boom!"
The entire space shook violently.
The golden beam shattered into countless golden specks, falling like rain to the ground.
Mei Lanzhu saw Gu Linfeng casually neutralize his attack and felt a slight chill. A sense of foreboding crept in, and he gritted his teeth, "You've been hiding your cultivation?"
"That's right, I have indeed hidden my cultivation."
Zhang Ruochen placed his left hand behind his back and extended his right hand forward, "Even if I fight with one hand, you are no match for me. So-called Divine Son, you're nothing but a reputation built on air."
Zhang Ruochen deliberately provoked Mei Lanzhu, hoping to anger him and prevent him from using the Sacred Edict to escape.
"Gu Linfeng, you are far too arrogant!"
Mei Lanzhu was furious, his handsome face twisting into a grimace. With one hand gripping the Seven Saints Serpent Spear, he formed a hand seal with the other and placed it over his brow.
Slowly, the closed vertical eye at the center of Mei Lanzhu's brow cracked open, emitting a golden radiance.
At that moment, even Zhang Ruochen sensed a hint of danger.
Within Mei Lanzhu's third eye, it seemed as if an ancient divine beast was awakening, releasing a terrifying power that shook the soul.
Zhao Shiqi, who had fled far away, saw this and was secretly alarmed. He immediately warned, "Young Master, be careful! Mei Lanzhu's Dharma Eye contains a strand of Sacred Power bestowed by the Sect Leader. Once the Dharma Eye fully opens, the consequences will be dire."
Zhang Ruochen's brows furrowed, and he immediately activated his movement technique.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared before Mei Lanzhu, pressing both palms downward, unleashing two ten-zhang-long blood dragons.
Opening the Dharma Eye did not seem to be an easy task for Mei Lanzhu.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's palm strike descending, Mei Lanzhu gritted his teeth and thrust the Seven Saints Serpent Spear upward. From the spear, seven golden pythons shot out, colliding with the two blood dragons.
"Bang!"
In an instant, all seven golden pythons shattered, unable to withstand Zhang Ruochen's palm force.
Zhang Ruochen's two palms struck the Seven Saints Serpent Spear, and the immense force drove Mei Lanzhu deep into the ground.
Despite taking Zhang Ruochen's full-force strike, Mei Lanzhu's powerful physique allowed him to survive, though he was not dead.
With a rumble, Mei Lanzhu burst out from the earth, his entire body radiating golden light.
Especially at his head, three eyes simultaneously shot out beams of light, extending hundreds of miles away.
Mei Lanzhu's physique was extraordinary, known as the "Three-Eyed Dharma Body." In ancient times, those with this constitution often became titans capable of contending with Great Saints.
If Mei Lanzhu could cultivate the Three-Eyed Dharma Body to its peak, he would undoubtedly become a dominant figure among saints.
"Gu Linfeng, I will make you die without a burial place!"
Mei Lanzhu roared, immediately channeling the power of his Dharma Eye. In midair, he condensed a golden phantom hundreds of meters tall.
It was merely a shadow, yet it exuded a terrifying divine power, like a giant standing at the center of heaven and earth, splitting the sky and earth.
It was a strand of Sacred Power from the Blood God Sect Leader, condensed into a phantom.
Zhang Ruochen's expression hardened. He retreated dozens of miles in an instant, while simultaneously channeling all the Saint Qi in his body into his arms and palms.
"Running now? Isn't it a bit too late?"
Mei Lanzhu snorted coldly, gripping the Seven Saints Serpent Spear with both hands and thrusting it forward.
The massive golden phantom merged with the Seven Saints Serpent Spear, unleashing power ten times greater than Mei Lanzhu's own cultivation.
In an instant, the spear reached Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen's hands opened six major acupoints simultaneously, connecting his body with heaven and earth, erupting with a force as powerful as the golden phantom.
"Is that... a Sacred Art?"
Zhao Shiqi's eyes widened in disbelief. At Zhang Ruochen's level, he had actually mastered a Sacred Art to perfection.
Moreover, the power fluctuations emanating from Zhang Ruochen were several times stronger than when Zhao Shiqi and Su Bai had ambushed him yesterday.
"Now, this must be his true strength."
Zhao Shiqi secretly rejoiced that he had wisely chosen to follow Zhang Ruochen; otherwise, he wouldn't be standing here.
In midair, the palm force of a Sacred Art clashed with that strand of the Blood God Sect Leader's Sacred Power.
Both forces annihilated each other.
Zhang Ruochen flew backward over a hundred meters, crashing to the ground with a bang, creating a pit several zhang deep.
"The explosive power of a Sacred Art is truly extraordinary, able to block even a trace of the Blood God Sect Leader's power."
For the first time, Zhang Ruochen had fully unleashed the power of the Six Acupoints of the Seven Acupoints Blood Nether Palm, and the result was highly satisfying.
From another direction, Mei Lanzhu spat blood, flying backward and crashing into the body of a snowy mountain once again.
He had never dreamed that the person he had always looked down upon the most possessed such formidable strength. (To be continued.)