Chapter 1984: The Crisis of Shengming City
Qiu Yichi’s sudden appearance on the secret grounds of Lake Phoenix had indeed surprised Zhang Ruochen and caused some anxiety in his heart.
Zhang Ruochen had always been wary of Qiu Yichi. This wife of the Sect of the Blood G.o.d’s former leader had extremely terrifying abilities. Besides, she had almost completely destroyed the Sect of the Blood G.o.d.
More importantly, Qiu Yichi had some vague relation to the Blood Empress, and that intrigued Zhang Ruochen the most.
Zhang Ruochen wanted to take Qiu Yichi down this time, but he dared not act rashly for fear that Concubine Lin and Kong Xuan would be harmed.
Of course, if Qiu Yichi dared to touch Concubine Lin and Kong Xuan, then he will make her pay a blood price for it.
Secretly, he had slowly released his spatial domain, covering the entirety of the small courtyard.
“Zhang Ruochen, why the fury, I had only just accidentally discovered this awakened land, so I came in to have a look. I’ve not harmed anyone at all. You need to know; we are not enemies.” Qiu Yichi smiled charmingly.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze was icy cold as he said, “But we are not friends either. So, are you going to surrender yourself, or should I make you?”
“Zhang Ruochen, it won’t make any sense for you to act against me. On the contrary, I think you should go to Shengming City now,” Qiu Yichi said calmly.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze sank. “What do you mean?”
“Many of your enemies have already rushed over to Shengming City. If you are late, Shengming City may very well be reduced into ruins.” Qiu Yichi said faintly.
Hearing that, Zhang Ruochen was stunned. If what Qiu Yichi said was true, that meant things were undoubtedly serious.
At this moment, Qiu Yichi turned around and left.
“Don’t even think of leaving.”
Zhang Ruochen reacted extremely quickly and struck immediately.
In any case, he did not plan to let Qiu Yichi leave. Only by capturing her will he be more confident in his journey to the Endless Abyss.
“Chen’er.”
Concubine Lin let out a gentle cry before fainting under the sycamore tree.
Seeing this, Zhang Ruochen’s expression changed drastically. He could no longer be bothered to chase after Qiu Yichi as he rushed into the small courtyard.
Taking advantage of this, Qiu Yichi promptly fled and left Lake Phoenix before disappearing into the unknown.
Zhang Ruochen appeared beneath the sycamore tree and held Concubine Lin up.
What made him felt a little relieved was that Concubine Lin was only a little surprised and was not harmed.
Looking around, Zhang Ruochen saw the pavilion by the side and Kong Xuan had collapsed unconscious inside it.
Kong Xuan was just a One-step Saint King, and the gulf between her and Qiu Yichi was just too great. Against Qiu Yichi, she had no means to fight back.
Zhang Ruochen released a spiritual power and penetrated into Kong Xuan’s body.
The next moment, Kong Xuan slowly woke up and quickly got up and ran over, as she said nervously. “Master, what’s wrong with milady? It’s my fault, I did not take good care of milady.”
Between words, Kong Xuan knelt fearfully on the ground, thinking she had made a grave mistake.
“Get up. This has nothing to do with you. Please take good care of my mother for me.” Zhang Ruochen said as gently as he could.
Kong Xuan got up and held Concubine Lin with her hands.
Zhang Ruochen then used Dimensional s.h.i.+ft and appeared on the small island they had been secluded on.
“Zhang Ruochen, what happened?”
Seeing Zhang Ruochen’s rather anxious look, Gu Songzi could not help but ask.
He had been refining elixirs for the past ten years and had not been immersed in the state of cultivation like the rest.
A grim look appeared on Zhang Ruochen’s face as he said, “I need to go to Shengming City, and I’m not sure when I can return. Earlier on, Qiu Yichi the Beguiler sneaked into Lake Phoenix. That means Lake Phoenix is no longer hidden. You need to be on your guard.”
Hearing this, Gu Songzi let out a look of surprise. The surroundings of Lake Phoenix had formation arrays he had personally deployed, and for Qiu Yichi to be able to sneak in without being noticed, that meant she was quite capable.
“Leave this to me. I will change the formation structure of Lake Phoenix.” Gu Songzi nodded.
At that moment, Mu Lingxi suddenly stood up and spoke seriously. “I will accompany you to Shengming City.”
Although she did not exactly know what had happened, she a.s.sumed that trouble was upon Shengming City. Right then, she needed to be by Zhang Ruochen’s side.
Seeing Mu Lingxi’s determined eyes, Zhang Ruochen knew that no matter what he said, there was no stopping Mu Lingxi.
Zhang Ruochen could only nod and say, “All right, let’s rush over together.”
Just as the two were about to leave, Gu Songzi took out two jasper-colored pills and said, “These are Heaven’s Reach Elixirs I’ve refined. Take them with you, they may be of use.”
Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi did not dither and took one pill each from Gu Songzi’s hands.
Immediately after, they took off into the air and left Lake Phoenix at top speed.
To get to Shengming City, going through the Merit Sub-terminal’s teleportation array was undoubtedly the fastest.
Zhang Ruochen put on the Meritorious Armor of Flowing Light, and with Mu Lingxi in tow, they traveled at a thousand times the speed of sound. A moment later, they arrived at the 62nd Merit Sub-terminal.
Using the teleportation array, Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi soon appeared at the 54th Merit Sub-terminal. This Merit Sub-terminal was just ten thousand miles away from Shengming City.
“Zhang Ruochen had come, there’s something exciting to see now!”
“I heard that Zhang Ruochen was the crown prince of Shengming Central Empire in the past, and Shengming City is the imperial city of the Shengming Central Empire. Most of the old Shengming cadres are all inside the city, and now that crisis is upon it, it’s normal for Zhang Ruochen to come.”
“Zhang Ruochen should not have come. He should choose forbearance at this moment instead.”
“That’s not necessarily true. Since Zhang Ruochen dared to come, that means he must have something up his sleeve. Let’s follow him and see.”
…
At the 54th Merit Sub-terminal, many cultivators were discussing as they all had the mind of watching the drama unfold.
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen’s heart sank.
It seems like Qiu Yichi had not lied to him; something had indeed happened to Shengming City.
Ever since the Lingxiao Heavenly Lord Manor was destroyed, Shengming City had been the basecamp for the old Shengming cadres, and even Empress Chi Yao had never disturbed them since.
For the First Central Empire, placing all of the old Shengming cadres in Shengming city aided in governing them and removing many procedural obstacles.
In any case, as long as Empress Chi Yao was around, the old Shengming cadre will not be able to kick off anything major in Kunlun Realm.
Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi did not tarry at the 54th Merit Sub-terminal and immediately rushed toward Shengming City at the fastest speed possible.
Those old Shengming cadres had always been loyal to the Shengming Central Empire, and be it at any moment, it was impossible for Zhang Ruochen to ignore them.
Outside Shengming City, many elites from all over had gathered, and they noticed Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingx’s arrival at the first moment.
“I never thought that Zhang Ruochen would rush over like this.”
“It’s no use even if he had rushed over. The destruction of Shengming City is a foregone conclusion, and no one can change anything about it!”
“You have a point. The Heavenly Realm faction has sent out so many elites and is determined to destroy Shengming City. Major realms like the Soul Realm, Ruiya Realm, Cloud Realm, Cha Realm, Yinyang Realm, Hongyang Realm, Tiangui Realm, and the like have acted together. Their forces are ma.s.sive; it’s just impossible for Zhang Ruochen to resist alone.”
“Zhang Ruochen should have known this long ago, but he still rushed over without hesitation. He really treasures his bond and relations.h.i.+p, no wonder those old Shengming cadres were willing to follow him to the death.”
“I think Zhang Ruochen is foolish. He knows that he is powerless to do anything, yet he still insists on it. Him rus.h.i.+ng over now is just rus.h.i.+ng to his death.”
…
Seeing Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi rus.h.i.+ng over to Shengming City, many of the observers outside the city could not help but to shake their heads, feeling that Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi were like moths to the flame.
Since the Heavenly Realm faction had made such a big move, even if some of them had good feelings about Zhang Ruochen, they dared not get involved in this time. No one wanted to offend the Heavenly Realm.
“Zhang Ruochen, don’t go there. This is a setup by Shang Ziyan. The destruction of Shengming City is just a facade. Dealing with you is their true goal.”
A voice suddenly entered Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, trying to stop him from entering the city.
Zhang Ruochen was very familiar with this voice. It was the daughter of the Greater Demonic Realm’s First Heaven Lord, Lady Lingyan. He had no idea why she would appear outside Shengming City.
Zhang Ruochen immediately responded with his spiritual power. “Thank you for the warning, but even if this is a trap, I must still jump into it.”
He had thought about this long ago, but could he just turn a blind eye to the plight of the old Shengming cadres? Obviously, he could not.
Lady Lingyan stood on the branch on a towering ancient tree, shaking her head as she looked at Zhang Ruochen’s departing figure and sighed.
During the battlefield of merit on Zuling Realm, she had formed some friends.h.i.+p with Zhang Ruochen, so she naturally did not want to see him charge headlong to his death, but unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen did not heed her advice.
What’s more, she could not aid him either. After all, she was a representative of the Greater Demonic Realm, and could not afford to court trouble for her realm.
“Zhang Ruochen, I hope you can survive this. It will be an absolute pity if you die here.” Lady Lingyan whispered to herself.
Inside Shengming City was a scene of destruction. Half of the city had been reduced to rubble with an unknown number of deaths.
The elites of the Heavenly Realm faction had all turned into butchers as they slaughtered everyone inside Shengming City, be it cultivators or mere mortals, without any hesitation or remorse.
In mid-air, Cang Long had a menacing expression as his body radiated a terrible murderous aura.
It was actually because of him that the Heavenly Realm faction had attacked the city so quickly. He was the one who had persuaded Shang Ziyan to act as soon as possible, to severe Zhang Ruochen’s link to the Kunlun Realm.
“Zhang Ruochen, you forced my hand. You dared to touch my woman, and I’ll make you regret it!” Cang Long said viciously.
Killing everyone that was related to Zhang Ruochen inside Shengming City with wanton abandon made him felt good. Zhang Ruochen and Ruan Ling had got together to deceive him, and he will exact a blood toll on Zhang Ruochen.
Moreover, this was also a mission arranged by Youshen, to kill everyone a.s.sociated with Zhang Ruochen, and cause Zhang Ruochen untold pain and sorrow.
This time Cang Long had gathered all of the Fane of Youshen elites that had entered Kunlun Realm for the full a.s.sault on Shengming City.
It was a pity that the Six Fatals of the Fane of Youshen were dead, and only a few Precept Dominion level elites were left. Especially now when Ruan Ling was not of one mind with him any longer, compared to the other factions in the Heavenly Realm, the Fane of Youshen was undoubtedly very weak now.
However, all of these were immaterial. As long as his goal was achieved, so what if the other factions got to stand out?