Chapter 2133: Fierce Battle at Luoshui
Zhang Ruochen set off from Royal Mountain. Traveling at his current speed, he managed to arrive at the bay of Luoshui in no time.
Luoshui was still mysterious as ever. Its water surface was covered with layers and layers of white mist clouding one’s vision. No matter how sharp one’s eyesight was, one could barely see through the deep waters.
Since Kunlun’s revival, Luoshui had undergone an enormous change. Its water was as vast as an ancient ocean; its dimensional structure was profoundly complex, that even the floating celestial bodies looked like specks in the vast.
Compared to Royal Mountain, Luoshui was much more dangerous. Nevertheless, it was also more attractive. The sacred medicinal herbs growing here were similar to those found at Divinity Bestowment Altar. These herbs could help cultivators to boost the number of Precepts within a cultivator’s body.
Standing by the riverbank, Zhang Ruochen could clearly sense many powerful auras in Luoshui. Apparently, many elites were looking for fortuitous encounters here.
Luoshui had long been recognized as an awakened sacred ground. The fortuitous encounters within the region were beyond imagination. It was so great that even a Supreme Saint would yearn for it.
‘Few hundred years ago, when Luoshui had descended from the sky, nothing unusual was found.
‘It was until 300 years ago, Luo Xu gained a fortuitous encounter; he developed insights on the 36 moves of Luoshui Fist and gained fame that shook the entire Omen Ridge.
‘He was even dubbed a genius back then. Just how amazing was his encounter.’ Zhang Ruochen stood before Luoshui and couldn’t help but sigh.
Luo Xu had been a great help to Zhang Ruochen. Not only had he taught him Luoshui Fist, but he had also helped him on several desperate occasions. Zhang Ruochen highly respected Luo Xu and felt grateful for him.
Zhang Ruochen believed in Luo Xu. His intuition told him that Luo Xu would not get killed easily, even if Great Prince Mara severely injured him.
Unfortunately, Chu Siyuan—the Art Saint—had been brutally killed by Great Prince Mara. He’s forever gone, ashes to ashes and dust to dust.
“Are you looking for me, Zhang Ruochen?”
Suddenly, a faint voice sounded.
The voice struck Zhang Ruochen. He looked at the vast Luoshui.
In the thick white fog, a tall figure slowly emerged. With a ferocious smile on his face, the man looked at Zhang Ruochen.
This man was nearly seven meters tall. He had a pair of huge jade wings on his back and big eyes that looked like lanterns; his nose was caved in, like those of gorillas; his mouth was filled with jagged fangs and canine teeth. To sum up, he was very ugly.
However, the aura he exuded was potent. Tens of millions of Precepts appeared around him, sinful blood light wrapping around his body. The energy was so dense that it didn’t seem to be dissolvable. It was hard to imagine just how many lives he had taken.
“Mara.”
A murderous intent flashed in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes.
Zhang Ruochen had thought that Great Prince Mara was still on the way, so he did not expect to see him this early at Luoshui. And somehow, Great Prince Mara knew he would come.
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes and said, “Did you lure me here on purpose?”
“Yes. All Kunlun cultivators know about your close relations.h.i.+p with Art Saint and Luo Xu. One of them died at my hands, and I severely wounded the other,
“You must be outraged, Zhang Ruochen.
“Do you want to tear me into pieces? Hahahaha!” Great Prince Mara laughed impudently.
Great Prince Mara continued after pausing for a second, “That old geezer was a fool. He had overestimated himself, trying to stop me.
“But he was somewhat impressive. I cut him 3,000 times, raking off all his flesh, and even ate some in front of him. Yet, he did not utter the slightest groan. It was annoying.”
What disappointed Great Prince Mara was that he saw no anger in Zhang Ruochen despite telling him much. Zhang Ruochen still looked calm, as if he did not feel bothered at all.
Zhang Ruochen looked at Great Prince Mara calmly and said indifferently, “Any last words? This is your last chance.”
According to the intel he got, Great Prince Mara was indeed very powerful. However, although his cultivation had reached the first tier below the Supreme-Saint level, his attainment was considered the weakest within that realm. His level of strength was about the same as that of Jinyang Twin Kings, so Zhang Ruochen had never taken him seriously.
However, all signs showed that things were not as simple as that.
Great Prince Mara knew that Zhang Ruochen had defeated Son of Darkness, but he still dared to show himself and provoked him. Moreover, he looked fearless. Something was fishy.
Nevertheless, no matter what Great Prince Mara was plotting, he was doomed to die.
“The one who should leave last words is you, Zhang Ruochen. Just how ignorant you are for not knowing that you gonna die.” Great Prince Mara sneered.
Zhang Ruochen said no word, his indifferent gaze looking past Great Prince Mara.
Under the influence of Luoshui, he could sense someone else’s presence even though they had restrained their aura very well.
“Rumors say that you, Zhang Ruochen, value loyalty. It seems to be true, but this is also your biggest weakness.” A magnetic voice suddenly sounded.
Two figures—one tall and one short—slowly emerged from the white fog behind Great Prince Mara.
The one who spoke was a tall and handsome man in red. He had phoenix eyes and a high nose bridge. His facial features were more perfect than those of most women. With a jade fan in his hand, he looked elegant and gave off a demonic feel.
The man beside him had a chubby face. He was relatively shorter than him but with a st.u.r.dy build. His chest was bare, revealing a j.a.pamala around his neck, and there was another one in his hand. He looked like a monk.
‘It’s Nether Demon and Nether Buddha from Nether Clan who are as famous as Son of Darkness.’
Zhang Ruochen knew the duo’s ident.i.ties from a glance.
After he saw the duo, he instantly understood everything.
Great Prince Mara dared to swagger to Eastern Region and head straight to Luoshui because Nether Demon and Nether Buddha backed him.
Apparently, Nether Demon and Nether Buddha had planned to use Great Prince Mara as bait to lure Zhang Ruochen out.
Their motive was to settle score with him because Nether Clan had suffered great defeat on True Dragon Island. Not only had they lost Son of Darkness, but many Netherkin elites were also ma.s.sacred. It was a great humiliation for Nether Clan.
As someone who was as famous as Son of Darkness in Nether Clan, how could Nether Demon and Nether Buddha not make a move at this time?
Nether Demon gently waved the jade fan in his hand and said in a cold voice, “Zhang Ruochen, the stupidest thing you’ve done is to provoke Nether Clan. Now, you must pay the price.”
“I heard that Zhang Ruochen is somewhat related to Myriad Buddha Sect of Kunlun. Let me grant him an eternal rest.” Nether Buddha touched his big belly and stepped forward.
Nether Demon’s eyes were cold. “Zhang Ruochen is my prey. No one can s.n.a.t.c.h him away from me.”
“It’s been a long time since you’ve fought, Nether Demon. Just give Zhang Ruochen to me! ” Nether Buddha did not back down.
It was obvious that Nether Demon and Nether Buddha were both very confident in their own strength. Even though Zhang Ruochen had defeated Son of Darkness, they still believed that they could kill him alone.
Zhang Ruochen said lightly, “Do you really think you can defeat me? I don’t want to waste time. If you want to fight me, you can come at me together.”
“I can kill you alone,” Nether Demon growled.
Nether Demon suddenly fanned the jade fan in his hand. Eighteen solid-looking Curse runes flew out and turned into eighteen ferocious beasts in various forms. They all gave off evil and ominous aura.
Roar!
The eighteen ferocious beasts were like actual living beings. They let out earth-shattering roars. The monstrous power of Curse surged out of their bodies, trying to drown Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes were calm and unperturbed. He casually threw a punch.
The Saint Aspect of Fist, condensed from 870,000 Precepts, appeared like a smaller version of Luoshui.
Zhang Ruochen had only cultivated 770,000 Precepts of Fist. After refining dew of Saint Fruit, they had been increased by 100,000.
Similarly, the Precepts of the other cultivation paths he practiced had also increased a lot.
Rumble–
Affected by the Fistwill, Luoshui began to shake violently, stirring up huge waves.
BANG!
Both the eighteen ferocious beasts and the power of their curses collapsed in an instant.
Nether Demon’s eyes changed slightly. He had already predicted that fighting with Zhang Ruochen in Luoshui would be disadvantageous to him.
SWOOs.h.!.+
Nether Demon moved and left Luoshui. He came to a high mountain near the riverbank.
Zhang Ruochen preferred to initiate an attack instead of countering a strike.
Zhang Ruochen would not hold back when dealing with a top elite like Nether Demon. He immediately used his dimensional technique. With a raise of his hand, dozens of huge Dimensional Rifts appeared, charging at Nether Demon from all directions.
As his attainment level in the Path of Dimension became higher, the power of any dimensional techniques he performed had increased correspondingly.
A powerful Dark power emerged from Nether Demon’s body and instantly covered all the Dimensional Rifts.
Almost all top Netherkin elites would develop insights on the Path of Darkness, and Nether Demon was no exception. He had cultivated the Path of Darkness to an extremely high level and could devour everything, including the Dimensional Rifts.
Then, Nether Demon immediately formed a hand seal at unbelievable speed. He combined the Power of Curse and the Power of Darkness to condense them into a terrifying palm strike, shattering a large area of s.p.a.ce.
“Take a speck of dust from me.”
Zhang Ruochen stretched out two fingers. He picked up a grain of dust in the air and flicked it out.
Incredibly, under the effect of the Precepts, the speck of dust turned into a huge rock sphere the size of a mountain that carried immense power like a small star. It collided with the palm strike formed by Nether Demon.
BANG!
The rock sphere and the palm strike met and exploded simultaneously, releasing a terrifying impact force. The ground within a radius of one thousand miles shattered in an instant. The tall mountains were razed to the ground. Fortunately, no humans were living in Luoshui valley. Otherwise, who knew how many casualties it would cause.
Great Prince Mara’s face became very grim. “He could open up a mountain-sized dimension within a speck of dust,
“which is something even most Supreme Saints practicing the Path of Dimension cannot achieve.
“Zhang Ruochen’s attainments in the Path of Dimension have reached such a terrifying level.”
Zhang Ruochen’s move had certainly given Great Prince Mara a huge impact.
“Below Supreme Sainthood, the only people who can surpa.s.s Zhang Ruochen in the Path of Dimension are Yan Wushen and Shentu Yunkong from the Fane of Dimension,” Nether Buddha whispered.
Upon hearing these two names, Great Prince Mara’s pupils constricted. Even though he was very proud of himself, he had to admit that these two people were not someone he could afford to mess with.
There was certainly no doubt about Yan Wushen, who was top one elite below Supreme Sainthood in Infernal Court. He would need to join forces with the Four Heavenly Kings of the Celestial Palace to suppress him.
As for Shentu Yunkong, he was the most outstanding successor that the Fane of Dimension had nurtured since myriad years ago. He had outstanding talent in the Path of Dimension. Ever since he joined the Fane of Dimension, Shentu Yunkong rarely went out. He had flung himself at cultivating the Path of Dimension since then. He was practically madly indulged in the cultivation of the Path of Dimension.
After so many years, no one knew what level Shentu Yunkong had reached in the Path of Dimension.
However, many people believed that even Yan Wushen might not be able to beat Shentu Yunkong in the Path of Dimension alone.
At this moment, Luoshui showed a strange sign of activity. Many cultivators rushed out one after another.
They were cultivators from different macroworlds, looking for fortuitous encounters at Luoshui. At this moment, they were all alarmed by the fight between Zhang Ruochen and Nether Demon.
“That is…Zhang Ruochen. Who is the opponent?” a cultivator asked curiously.
Nether Demon’s threat level was Ultraten, so his name was not recorded in the Maleficent Records of the Infernal Court’s Ten Clans. In addition, he rarely appeared on a Battlefield of Merits. Therefore, ordinary cultivators failed to recognize him.
A cultivator who recognized Nether Demon said fearfully, “It’s Nether Demon of Nether Clan. He’s one of the three strongest elites below Supreme Sainthood in Nether Clan. He is as famous as Nether Buddha and Son of Darkness. It’s a surprise to see him in Kunlun.”
The next moment, when he saw Nether Buddha and Great Prince Mara standing on Luoshui, his pupils constricted. “Nether Buddha and Great Prince Mara are here too. They must be here to kill Zhang Ruochen.”
Upon hearing this, all the cultivators present were shocked. Although Nether Demon and Nether Buddha were not familiar names, being regarded as prominent elites below Supreme Sainthood was enough to show how powerful they were.
Hence, everyone immediately retreated, keeping a distance from Nether Buddha and Great Prince Mara to avoid getting implicated.
Splas.h.!.+
Luoshui suddenly parted on its own. A graceful and beautiful silhouette emerged from it. Beneath her feet was a sacred golden fog. She looked like a G.o.ddess descending from heaven. She was none other than Fairy Tianchu.
After receiving the inheritance of the G.o.d of Luoshui, Fairy Tianchu became even more extraordinary, giving off an otherworldly feel.
Behind Fairy Tianchu, there were three people—Li Miaohan, the Fool, and the Butcher. They were all Zhang Ruochen’s acquaintances.
“Master, it looks like Zhang Ruochen is in trouble!” Li Miaohan frowned slightly.
The Fool’s eyes were grim. “Nether Demon and Nether Buddha charge at him together. And besides them, there’s Great Prince Mara. It seems like they’re determined to get rid of Zhang Ruochen. I wonder if he can handle it?”
“Zhang Ruochen is getting stronger. He even defeated Son of Darkness. It’s not a surprise that his existence alerted Nether Demon and Nether Buddha. Unfortunately, the level of this battle is not something we can intervene.” The Butcher shook his head.
Fairy Tianchu did not say anything. She just looked at Zhang Ruochen. At the same time, she unconsciously reached out and touched the necklace resembling the shape of Celestial River around her neck.[1]
[1] The necklace that Zhang Ruochen gave her.