Chapter 2122: Someone from the Imperial Court
Zangshan Demonic Mirror shook violently. Countless profound demonic inscriptions appeared on the surface of the mirror. It unleashed an even stronger suction force to devour the vast divine Blood Qi
There was a hint of surprise on Zhang Ruochen’s face. Initially, he had wanted to retrieve Zangshan Demonic Mirror. Never had he expected this to happen.
He could sense that the implement spirit of Zangshan Demonic Mirror had awakened. It was craving the divine Blood Qi.
Zhang Ruochen believed that Zangshan Demonic Mirror tried to devour the divine Blood Qi to heal its damage.
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Ruochen put away G.o.d-Defiance Stele. He then looked at the Staff of the Divine Envoy again.
Although the crash between the spiritual wills of the three deities only happened inside the Staff of the Divine Envoy, it had caused a big impact on the outside world.
With the Staff of the Divine Envoy as the center, a terrifying spiritual storm formed within a 300-meter radius. It was so powerful that it could even tear a Supreme Saint’s will to pieces.
Dragon Phantom Lord had already retreated far enough with Zhang Ruochen to avoid getting dragged into it. Its eyes were filled with fear. It had almost been killed.
On the other side, Lord of Sword’s shattered body coalesced back together. It looked fine on the surface, but its aura became much weaker.
Lord of Sword was different from ordinary creatures. It was the Swordwill left behind by a sword G.o.d from the Middle Ages. It had cultivated a body with all kinds of vital Qi it had gathered. Similar to Dragon Phantom’s body, its body could coalesce back together after it dispersed. On top of that, it was not so different from a Supreme Saint’s body.
As long as the core of the Swordwill was not destroyed, Lord of Sword would be able to rea.s.semble its body. However, It would need to refine its body again to restore its condition to its prime.
It was obvious that Lord of Sword had suffered great injuries. Otherwise, it would not have taken long to rea.s.semble its body.
On the other hand, Lord of Stone was in a much better condition. With its AzureTerra Stone body, it greatly weakened the attack from divine Blood Qi and spiritual power.
At this moment, Lord of Stone and Lord of Sword looked at the Staff of the Divine Envoy with grave expressions.
After an hour of long stare, the Staff of the Divine Envoy finally calmed down. Everything, including the spiritual storm, was restored to its peace.
Despite that, Zhang Ruochen did not approach the Staff of the Divine rashly. Instead, he released a wisp of spiritual power to probe into it.
“Huh? The spiritual will of Infernal Court’s deity has yet been destroyed. Instead, it was integrated into the Staff of the Divine Envoy.” There was a slight change in Zhang Ruochen’s expression.
He reached out and took the Staff of the Divine Envoy, holding it in his hand.
He could clearly feel that the Staff of the Divine Envoy had become different. It faintly emitted an evil aura.
One could only conclude that this spiritual will of the Infernal Court’s deity was strong. The spiritual wills of Yueshen and Tree G.o.d left in the Staff of the Divine Envoy could only restrict it mutually. They sort of neutralizing each other. Their most fundamental forces fused with each other.
However, for Zhang Ruochen, this was the best result. At least he had solved a big problem.
The current Staff of the Divine Envoy contained powerful spiritual power, but it was full of sinister aura. On the surface of the staff, a vague devil mark appeared faintly. It seemed to have a life. The staff would devour any approaching spiritual power.
Zhang Ruochen—the owner of Staff of the Divine Envoy—had his spiritual power devoured by it several times, so he could not accurately figure the situation inside the staff.
After carefully sizing up the staff for a moment, Zhang Ruochen suddenly had a thought. He whispered, “If the true body of Mojo is smelted into the staff, the staff may become a powerful spiritual power Saint Artifact.”
Spiritual power Saint Artifacts were very rare, and high-level ones were even more precious. Zhang Ruochen had killed many elites, but he had not obtained much high-level spiritual power Saint Artifacts. The only one he could use was Golden Thunder Orb.
With Zhang Ruochen’s powerful spiritual power, if he had a top-level spiritual power Saint Artifact, he might be able to kill a top Saint King with just his spiritual power.
“Oh no. The power that Mojo released just now is too strong. It has triggered the incomplete divine array in Dragon Temple.”
When Zhang Ruochen was deep in his thought, Lord of Stone suddenly spoke in a deep voice.
Zhang Ruochen immediately reacted. He turned his eyes and noticed a strange movement in Dragon Temple’s main building not far away. A faint divine light burst out, and a terrible aura spread out.
Complicated array patterns emerged from the ground and spread in all directions.
The divine array was extremely powerful. Even the war of G.o.ds in the past had only crippled it, not completely destroyed it.
It had stayed silent for 100,000 years. Under the impact of the divine power of the Infernal Court’s deity, the divine array was finally activated again.
Dragon Phantom Lord said anxiously, “Master, if the divine array is revived, there will definitely be a huge change on True Dragon Island. It might destroy everything. We have to leave immediately.”
The divine array—despite its incomplete state—was powerful enough to slay most Supreme Saints and even cause deities some damages.
“Kunlun has become a Battlefield of Merits. At this stage, Supreme Saints are forbidden to join the battle. If you go out like this, the Emissaries Vigilants from Infernal Court will throw you a tribulation that kills you. So, you can only hide,” said Zhang Ruochen with a grim look.
Those powerhouses from Infernal Court must have spread the news about the presence of Supreme-Saint level elites on True Dragon Island. Therefore, the Emissaries Vigilants of Infernal Court would certainly keep their eyes on them.
Fortunately, True Dragon Island was isolated from the world. Even the power of deities could not penetrate it, so Lord of Stone and the others had been safe and sound.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Secret Tome of Time and s.p.a.ce and wanted to send them inside. However, he changed his mind later and tried opening the gateway to Qiankun Realm instead.
He was worried the Secret Tome of Time and s.p.a.ce would not slip under the radar of deities from Infernal Court.
It was likely because Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation of the Path of Dimension had improved greatly, and True Dragon Island was unstable. He could successfully open the gateway.
The Dragon Phantom Lord was the most proactive. He was the first to enter Qiankun Realm.
Lord of Stone turned to look at Lord of Sword and said, “Swordie, let’s go. If we stay on True Dragon Island, it will be hard for us to make breakthrough in our cultivation. We can make great progress in our cultivation in the vast heaven and earth in Infernal Court and Celestial Court.”
Hearing this, Lord of Sword did not say a word. Its gaze landed on the main building of Dragon Temple for a moment. Apparently, it was reluctant to leave. After all, this was its homeland.
Then, along with Lord of Stone, Lord of Sword stepped into the temporary dimensional gate Zhang Ruochen had built. They bid farewell to their homeland and did not know when they could return.
Zhang Ruochen immediately closed the gateway. At the same time, he retrieved and tucked Zangshan Demonic Mirror—that had swallowed a large amount of divine Blood Qi—away. He immediately rushed out of the island at the highest speed after performing Dimensional s.h.i.+ft with no hesitation. He did not want to stay on True Dragon Island.
Ao Xinyan and the others had already left the island before him. He did not have to worry about them.
As time pa.s.sed, more and more divine array patterns emerged from the ground. They spread very quickly. Zhang Ruochen could not help but feel a strong sense of urgency.
Finally, Zhang Ruochen came to the edge of True Dragon Island. All he could see were dense array patterns interweaving into a net. The divine array was almost complete.
A brilliant light flashed in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes. He merged with s.p.a.ce and turned into a stream of light. He flashed through the gaps of the divine array patterns.
Rumble.
The sea where True Dragon Island was located was experiencing violent power fluctuations. Billions of divine lights burst out. It was as if an incredible divine artifact had descended.
However, in just a moment, the divine lights became dim. All the power fluctuations disappeared without a trace. Only the surface of the sea was still surging. The phenomenon lasted for a long time.
Zhang Ruochen stood on the surface of the sea thousands of miles away. Looking from afar, he could no longer see True Dragon Island.
The incomplete divine array was activated, so True Dragon Island was once again sealed and isolated from the world.
Perhaps only the deities of Infernal Court could reopen True Dragon Island.
“The divine array sealed off True Dragon Island. Let’s hope that all parties, be it Infernal Court or Celestial Court, will give up the idea of taking the key to the World Gate for themselves,” Zhang Ruochen whispered.
However, he was also a little worried. After all, the Fane of Darkness had predicted that the key to the World Gate would appear on True Dragon Island. In other words, it could also predict that it was no longer on the island.
Of course, with his current strength, as long as Infernal Court did not send anyone with cultivation rank higher than a Supreme Saint, he was confident that he could protect the key to the World Gate.
At this moment, there were still many cultivators, from both Celestial Court and Infernal Court, in the waters near True Dragon Island. Most of them were unwilling to give up on the key to the World Gate.
Even though they had all been expelled, none of them believed that Zhang Ruochen would stay on True Dragon Island for a long time. As for the Supreme-Saint level monsters on the island, they could still find a way to deal with them.
But now, all the powerful figures could not help but widen their eyes. Never had they expected True Dragon Island to be sealed again; the seal was a hundred times stronger than the previous one.
“What did Zhang Ruochen do? How could a divine array be activated? D*mn it.” The powerful figures in Infernal Court were furious.
The Seven Top Killers from Nether Hall and the three Emperors and five Reverends of the Bone Clan gathered together. They could only watch as the divine array sealed true Dragon Island. The atmosphere was extremely heavy.
Xuanming Wushang’s face was gloomy. “The divine array forbids us to enter True Dragon Island.from now on. Zhang Ruochen alone has made Infernal Court suffer so much. We can’t let him go.”
“Yes, Zhang Ruochen must die,” Emperor s.h.i.+ling said coldly.
Five surviving Reverends of Bone Clan, including the Either-armed Reverend, hated Zhang Ruochen to his core. They wanted nothing more than to burn Zhang Ruochen into ashes.
Just as Xuanming Wushang and the others were about to attack, a spiritual sense swept over them and sent them a message, telling them to retreat immediately.
There was only one reason—it was no longer a secret that the key to the World Gate was in Ying Yang Sea. Everyone had heard the news and moved. If they continued to stay, they were afraid of even greater changes.
“Let Zhang Ruochen live a little longer. When I attended the Battlefield of Merits in Kunlun, I’ll come and kill him.”
Although Xuanming Wushang and the others showed reluctance, they didn’t dare to disobey a deity’s order. They quickly retreated.
In other waters, four huge wars.h.i.+ps were hidden in the fog. They belonged to Thousand-Star Civilization, Giant Spirit Civilization, Beidou Civilization, and Celestial Dragon Realm.
“Zhang Ruochen is indeed powerful. He can activate a divine array and cut off everyone’s plan from a root.” Great Spirit King squinted.
Immortal Minghu sighed. “Who would have thought that Zhang Ruochen could sweep True Dragon Island by himself? He’s the biggest winner. I wonder if he got the key to the World Gate.”
The Maiden of a Thousand Stars was struck by the words she heard. She had told Zhang Ruochen that the short, skinny old man might know where the key to the World Gate was. However, the old man was elusive, and some events had happened. Did Zhang Ruochen succeed in catching the old man?
‘Perhaps the best outcome is to keep the key to the World Gate sealed on True Dragon Island,’ the Maiden of a Thousand Stars thought to herself.
Ao Xukong smiled and said, “As long as Infernal Court is not advantaged, it’s a good thing. Now that True Dragon Island has been re-sealed, it’s meaningless to stay here. Everyone, Let’s go.”
Hearing this, many elites could not help but smile bitterly. Never had they expected things to turn out this way.
Seeing the battles.h.i.+ps of Celestial Dragon Realm set sail, the battles.h.i.+ps from Thousand-Star Civilization, Giant Spirit Civilization, and Beidou Civilization didn’t stay any longer. They urged their battles.h.i.+ps to leave.
Sensing that the elites hiding in the dark were quietly retreating, Zhang Ruochen also set off toward the sea area where Silver Dragon Island was located.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen stopped and looked at the hazy sea area ahead.
Even though a dense fog was blocking him, he could still clearly see a canoe slowly approaching him from thousands of miles away.
There were two figures standing on the green boat, a man and a woman.
The young woman in white was a peerless beauty. Her black hair was as long as a waterfall, her body delicate. Her eyes were bright and deep, emitting a holy light. She was full of grace. With a refined and quiet temperament, she was like an ethereal G.o.ddess descending from the heavens.
The beauty was someone Zhang Ruochen knew very well. She was Nalan Danqing, the Divine Scripture Maiden who was a part of the Nine-heavens Maiden.
As he gave her a once over, his eyes lit up. He could clearly sense the changes in her. She was emitting a mysterious aura of Confucianism of ten million years of knowledge and cultivation. It was elegant, natural, and unfathomable. Could it be that Sacred Confucian Tome had merged with her?
With the Divine Scripture Maiden’s current cultivation level in Path of Confucianism, even Shangguan Que might not be able to beat her.
As for the man, he was shrouded in black fog. Zhang Ruochen could not see his appearance clearly, but the blood-red robe on his body was particularly eye-catching.
“Ye Bei, the Exterminator who slay the lands at nightfall.” Zhang Ruochen’s gaze was fixed on the man in the blood-red robe.
Judging from the man’s robe, Zhang Ruochen could tell his ident.i.ty. He was the number one killing machine of the Imperial Court’s Ministry of War—the Exterminator.
It was mainly because the blood-red robe had left Zhang Ruochen a deep impression. Back then, at the same location—Ying Yang Sea—he had seen it before. A glimpse of it had sent him s.h.i.+vers.
He could still recall that Bu Qianfan, Wan Huayu, and the others had shown great fear when they saw the Exterminator.
Ye Bei, the Exterminator, had slain 19 counties of Southern Region in one night, leaving no one alive. It was terrifying to even think about it.
In the hearts of the billions of living beings in Kunlun, the Exterminator was the embodiment of fear. He had a strong deterrent effect on all beings in Kunlun, which had contributed to the long-term stability under the rule of Imperial Court.
In terms of the number of lives killed, no one in Kunlun could surpa.s.s the Exterminator.
Among the people Zhang Ruochen had met, no one had a murderous intent stronger than the Exterminator.
If one’s spiritual will was not strong enough, they could get affected by the Exterminator’s presence easily, letting fear take over their minds.
Before Kunlun was revived, the Exterminator was already a top elite at Saint Kinghood. Now, he was even more unfathomable. He had slaughtered countless Ashuran powerhouses in Southern Region.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes were fixed on Divine Scripture Maiden and the Exterminator. He had already figured their purpose of coming to Ying Yang Sea.
Swoosh.
Suddenly, the Exterminator rushed out of the canoe. He condensed a terrifying killing intent and shot a punch strike at Zhang Ruochen directly.
A terrifying fist print filled with killing intent appeared along with faint wailing cries of countless creatures. It was clearly a fist technique, but it carried an attack targetting spiritual will.
Seeing the Exterminator’s attack, Zhang Ruochen could not help but let out a cold snort. He also launched a strike with his fist.
A divine shadow and a phantom shadow appeared at the same time. As the shadows walked side by side, the surface of the sea shook, huge waves surging.
Zhang Ruochen had refined a top-tier aquatic divine object. On top of that, he was currently at Ying Yang Sea. Hence, Zhang Ruochen could unleash a more powerful move from Luoshui Fist Technique.
BANG!
The Exterminator’s fist print was instantly destroyed.
The divine and phantom shadows continued to walk on the waves. Looking down from above, they charged at the Exterminator.
Clang.
The Exterminator’s body was different. He reached out and pulled out the Saint blade on his back.
The Saint blade was extremely sharp. The blade was blood-red in color, and it was filled with killing intent. No one knew how much blood it had been stained with.
This blade had an extraordinary origin. When the Exterminator had slain the 19 counties of Southern Region, a strange phenomenon occurred in the sky. Blood-red lightning pierced through heaven and earth, splitting open an ancient tomb. This Saint blade flew out from the ancient tomb and acknowledged the Exterminator as its master.
It was rumored that the blood-red Saint blade belonged to a Supreme Saint who had ma.s.sacred countless people tens of thousands of years ago. In his lifetime, he had slain hundreds of millions of lives. He was known as the “Mortal Slayer.” The blood-red Saint blade was forged with endless blood and killing intent. Ordinary people simply could not wield it.
Although the blood-red Saint blade was only a regal weapon, it was not much weaker than an ordinary Supreme Artifact in terms of attack power.
In the hands of the Exterminator, it could be even more powerful than an ordinary Supreme Artifact.
The Exterminator wielded the blood-red Saint blade and slashed out with lightning speed.
A 30,000-meter-long blade light slashed out. It was indestructible, cutting through the huge waves. At the same time, it shattered the divine and phantom shadows.
As a result, the 30,000-meter-long blade light, too, shattered inch by inch. It was obliterated by the gentle Fistwill contained in the Luoshui Fist technique.
Zhang Ruochen took a deep look at the Exterminator and thought to himself, ‘It seems that the Exterminator has indeed inherited techniques from that Mortal Slayer. He has displayed the slaying blade technique that slaughters, and he has merged with the blade. His combat strength is amazing, and he is almost as powerful as a Reverend of the Bone clan.”
When one practiced cultivation on the Path of Slaughter, the more cultivators they killed, the stronger they became.
Kunlun had become a Battlefield of Merits, which had given the Exterminator the advantage.
Zhang Ruochen changed his fist movement in an instant. He mobilized the Precepts of Water and Precepts of Fist, causing more turbulent waves on the sea’s surface. The waves condensed into a giant sword and slashed down in the air.
The Exterminator immediately changed his blade move. He slashed from bottom to top, trying to block the giant sword formed by the waves.
Rumble.
Before the giant sword fell, a crack was formed at the sea’s surface, revealing a huge gully that was thousands of miles long.
The blade light that the Exterminator sent out shattered, and the huge sword continued to slash down with unstoppable momentum.
RAAAWRRR!
The Exterminator let out a long roar and raised the blood-colored Saint blade high above his head.
At this moment, the Exterminator freed his restraints and unleashed his murderous intent without reservation, dyeing the entire realm blood-colored. He became the main character of this world, and there were billions of corpses beneath his feet.
However, as the giant sword slashed down, the terrifying vision formed by the murderous intent collapsed.
The Exterminator tried his best to resist, but his body kept falling. He completely sank into the sea gully.
“Please stop.”
Seeing that the Exterminator was about to lose his resistance, Divine Scripture Maiden’s voice suddenly sounded.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her. He withdrew his Fistwill and let the giant sword dissipate.
BOOM.
The Exterminator broke through the water current and rose into the air. He returned to the canoe.
Seeing this, Divine Scripture Maiden couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. She steered the canoe and sped toward Zhang Ruochen.
“I didn’t expect your strength to be so strong. It seems that Son of Darkness has indeed been defeated by you,” the Exterminator said solemnly.
Obviously, he had heard about what happened on True Dragon Island, so he was trying to test Zhang Ruochen’s strength.
Zhang Ruochen said indifferently, “You’d better don’t make a move against me from now on. Otherwise, I won’t show mercy no matter who you are.”
He did not bother whether the Exterminator’s aim was to test him. As long as he attacked him, he would be an enemy. Zhang Ruochen would never show mercy to an enemy.
When she saw that Zhang Ruochen was angry, Divine Scripture Maiden quickly said, “Zhang Ruochen, don’t be angry. Ye Bei didn’t mean any harm.”
After a pause, Divine Scripture Maiden continued, “When Imperial court found out about Infernal Court’s plot, they immediately sent me and Ye Bei. Unfortunately, we were too late.”
“Infernal Court sent Son of Darkness, the Seven Top Killers from Nether Hall, the three emperors and twelve Reverands of the Bone Clan, and tens of thousands of Saint King troops. Contrary, Imperial Court only deployed the two of you. It doesn’t matter whether it’s early or late, the outcome would be the same,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Divine Scripture Maiden sighed. “Imperial Court is under relentless attacks from Infernal Court, our force is already stretched thin. There’s no way to send large number of elites to Ying Yang Sea.”
“Kunlun has only been recovering for a short time. Although the number of Saints and Saint Kings has increased in Kunlun, we are still a lack of top powerhouses. There are even fewer who listen to Imperial Court’s orders. If it weren’t Blood Dripper[1], Imperial Court would be in even worse situation.”
Imperial Court in Kunlun was indeed very powerful, but its strength could not hold a candle to Infernal Court’s. It was not easy for them to be able to hold on until now.
If it were not for the key to the World Gate—which was deemed highly important, Imperial Court would not have purposely recalled the Exterminator from the Battlefield of Merits at Southern Region and deployed him to Ying Yang Sea instead.
[1] The Swordsoul of Chi Yao’s Blood Dripper.