Chapter 2163: Domineering Authority
In Welkin Lounge, Emperor Yi’s Evil Spirit released a surge of divine force enveloping Gu Xin’ao’s body. Immediately, a white token flew out. There were ten sword patterns on the token. It was the Seal of Ten Swords that Xue Wuye had been robbed of.
Then, Emperor Yi’s Evil Spirit looked at Saber Empyrean cultivators and said coldly, “All of you should be punished for obstructing the law enforcement. Go guard the city gate and make up for your mistakes.”
The cultivators of Saber Empyrean felt indignant after hearing what Emperor Yi’s Evil Spirit said. But at the same time, they secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Their lives were spared and did not end up the same fate as Gu Xin’ao.
Emperor Yi’s Evil Spirit raised his head and said in an extremely deep voice, “Gu Xin’ao has been executed as he violated the laws. This serves as a warning and I hope that all the cultivators from all realms will not repeat the same mistake.”
As the saying goes, a tossed stone raises a thousand ripples. As soon as Emperor Yi’s Evil Spirit’s voiced, the entire imperial city was shaken like a big storm.
Many Saber Empyrean cultivators felt anxious as their leader had been killed. If they had also violated the laws set by Zhang Ruochen, would they still be alive?
No doubt, the warning was very effective and it shocked many of them.
It was foreseeable that the news of Gu Xin’ao’s death would spread to all realms at a shocking speed. Who knew what kind of commotion it would cause? Many G.o.ds would probably be unable to sit still.
On the quaint street, a burly man who was more than three meters tall suddenly stopped. His gaze was locked on the Blood Decree in the sky.
“Hmph, Zhang Ruochen must be crazy. He wants to restrain the cultivators of all realms with just a Blood Decree. Does he think he’s invincible?” The burly man snorted.
After that, the burly man’s big hand turned into sharp claws and suddenly swung out a claw.
Crash.
Five 10,000-meter-long claw energy appeared. They tore through the s.p.a.ce and arrived at the location of the Blood Decree in an instant.
“Insolent fool!”
Emperor Yi’s Evil Spirit let out a violent roar.
Just as it was about to stop the burly man, there was a stream of spiritual force entering his mind.
A dazzling sword slashed out from the Ziwei Palace and met with the sharp claw energy.
Crack
The five claw energy was shattered the moment they came into contact.
The sword was unscathed. It tore through s.p.a.ce and slashed toward the source of the claw energy.
The burly man stared intensively. He hurriedly waved his sharp claws to block the incoming sword.
A large number of Precepts appeared. With it as the center, the precepts and Saint Qi of heaven and earth gathered together frantically.
The sword was indestructible and directly cut through all obstacles.
Pfft
The burly man’s defense broke through and he splattered out bright red blood.
“So strong.” The burly man was shocked.
On a lake more than a hundred miles away from the burly man, a boat quietly floated. Inside the boat sat a handsome man who looked like an immortal, who was playing the zither.
All of a sudden, the handsome man’s body emitted a fierce aura. With a wave of his hand, a mysterious sound wave flew out.
The sound wave fluctuated. It was originally intangible, but at this moment, it transformed into a ferocious tiger that seemed to have corporeal form. It roared and pounced toward the Blood Decree.
At the same time, by the crystal clear river, an ordinary-looking fis.h.i.+ng man swung his fis.h.i.+ng rod and released a fis.h.i.+ng line thousands of feet long.
The fis.h.i.+ng line was very thin. It was almost invisible to the naked eye, but it was extremely sharp. It cut through s.p.a.ce and created an extremely long crack. It was unstoppable.
A peerless deity’s daughter also made a move. She raised her hand and a streak of divine flame flew out. It ignited the Saint Qi of heavens and earth, turning the entire sky crimson as if it burned everything on sight.
…
In the Ziwei Palace, Zhang Ruochen stood in front of the Fane of Zichen, staring in the direction of the Welkin Lounge.
He had sensed the Qi dynamics of many top-notch cultivators and they all shared the same goal. They all wanted to destroy his Blood Decree.
These elites did not recognize the laws he made and wanted to destroy them forcibly.
Everyone who attacked was a top-tier elite below the Supreme Saint. They had a great reputation in the Celestial and Infernal Courts.
Only they dared to challenge Zhang Ruochen’s authority at this time.
“Just the right time.”
Zhang Ruochen had an idea. He raised his hand, and nearly a million Precepts of Dimension emerged and merged into the s.p.a.ce.
Suddenly, a hand that was between reality and illusory appeared above the Blood Decree. It carried with it the power to crush everything and pressed down.
No matter how powerful the attacks were, they were all suppressed.
“How is this possible?”
The cultivators who attacked were all shocked.
Involuntarily, they no longer hold back. They tried their best to release their Saint Qi and make their attacks the strongest.
Zhang Ruochen’s spatial hand was in sync with the Blood Decree and controlled a large area of s.p.a.ce.
Boom
The s.p.a.ce with a radius of thousands of feet surrounding the Blood Decree collapsed instantly and was annihilated.
The fierce tiger formed by the zither music burst into pieces.
The fis.h.i.+ng line broke inch by inch.
The divine flame in the sky was quickly extinguished.
…
With Zhang Ruochen’s current attainments in the Path of Dimension, he displayed the second level of Dimensional Annihilation. It was powerful enough to make a Neverwither Supreme Saint retreat.
Not only that, the powerful destructive power penetrated the s.p.a.ce and impacted all the powerful elites who attacked.
Pfft
Affected by this attack, nearly half of the powerful elites were injured, spouting blood, and a look of horror appeared in their eyes.
“Zhang Ruochen’s strength has increased greatly compared to the Battle of Luoshui previously. What’s going on? Could it be that even Yan Wushen has fallen far behind too?”
They had thought that Zhang Ruochen’s strength had reached its limit since he had defeated Yan Wushen in Luoshui. They hadn’t expected him to continue improving.
It was hard to accept that the difference in strength between them, who were both top-notch elites below the first level of the Supreme Saint, could be so great.
In Ziwei Palace, Zhang Ruochen displayed the Saint Aspect of the Immovable King. He was thousands of miles tall and standing on the ground. He was overlooking the entire imperial city like a G.o.d.
“If anyone is dissatisfied, feel free to attack. However, you must bear the consequences.” Zhang Ruochen’s voice echoed in the imperial city and reached everyone’s ears.
Anyone could hear the strong threat in his words.
The first-level powerhouses were all defeated one after another. They could not destroy the Blood Decree and even suffered injuries in the fight through the air.
Who still dared to make a move?
For a moment, the entire world fell silent.
At this moment, Gai Tianjiao and the others looked at Zhang Ruochen in a completely different way. In their eyes, Zhang Ruochen’s figure had become extremely stalwart, and they could only look up to him.
Once, they were the top geniuses of their generation. But now, they have been left far behind by Zhang Ruochen.
They had no hope of achieving what Zhang Ruochen had achieved in the Saint King realm, even if they spent another thousand years.
Chi Wansui had mixed feelings. He and Zhang Ruochen have a deep blood feud for the extermination of the clan. He had longed to kill Zhang Ruochen and even kill Chi Kunlun and Chi Kongyue.
Even now, he hadn’t forgotten his hatred. But he knew that he couldn’t take revenge. The gap between him and Zhang Ruochen is already a world of difference.
At the same time, Chi Wansui knew very well how much Zhang Ruochen meant to Kunlun.
When Kunlun had attacked the Xumi Dojo but was ambushed by the Heavenly Realm and nearly annihilated. It was all thanks to Zhang Ruochen that they had turned the tide.
But now, the internal and external affairs of Kunlun were also relying on Zhang Ruochen to support the situation. He alone was able to suppress the Celestial and Infernal Court.
For Kunlun at this stage, Zhang Ruochen was like a stabilizing pillar, and there must be no shortage of it.
‘This is Zhang Ruochen’s true strength.’
Zhou Zhen’s heart sank to the bottom.
He was right below the Blood Decree and he could feel the collision of power the most clearly.
The power Zhang Ruochen displayed made Zhou Zhen feel suffocated and he simply lost the courage to fight back.
Swoosh
A huge Primordial Demonic Serpent suddenly appeared outside the Ziwei Palace, exuding an extremely powerful demonic aura.
Above the Primordial Demonic Serpent stood an elegant middle-aged man. He wore a five-elements Taoist robe, combed in a Taoist bun, and held a whisk. His body exuded a Taoist aura of inaction.
He was none other than Lu Baiming, the most outstanding genius of the Five-Elements Temple.
“Brother Lu, it’s been a long time since I saw you.”
Zhang Ruochen appeared out of thin air and greeted Lu Baiming with a smile.
Zhang Ruochen had a good impression of Lu Baiming from his contacts in the Northern Region. He was also very impressed by his attainments in array formations.
Lu Baiming’s spiritual power was extremely powerful. Even if Zhang Ruochen had refined his spiritual power to the extreme with the Imperial Ruler, he was still a little impenetrable.
Of all the people Zhang Ruochen had come into contact with, only Ji Fanxin’s spiritual power was comparable to Lu Baiming’s.
With such powerful spiritual power, he didn’t know if Lu Baiming had reached the second level of High-Saint Array Master.
Normally, becoming the Lord of Mountains and Rivers was already the limit of the Saint Kinghood. However, Lu Baiming was a rare genius in array formations. He might be able to break this limit and become the King of Sea and Land.
Lu Baiming smiled warmly and said, “After parting in the Northern Region, I’m really surprised that you had grown to such a level in such a short time. The Scion of Time and s.p.a.ce really can’t be judged by common sense.”
“Brother Lu, you’re overpraising me! When you come here, you’re not just here to compliment me, right?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen was so direct, Lu Baiming did not waste time and said, “I’m here to hope that you can show mercy to Zhou Zhen. At this time, don’t touch him.”
“Why?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Lu Baiming’s figure flashed and appeared in front of Zhang Ruochen, and said, “Zhou Zhen is the subject of the Formation Sect. He has the potential to become an Archsaint Array Master. As a sacred ground of Array Masters, the Formation Sect is very powerful, and not many people are willing to provoke it.
“Of course, you may not care about this, but Zhou Zhen is here on the order of the Celestial Palace. If you kill him, it will be tantamount to fight against Celestial Palace. Even a G.o.d can not bear the consequences.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen’s heart skipped a beat. Zhou Zhen was so close to Gu Xin’ao. Even if they were not from the sect of Heavenly Realm, they must have a deep relations.h.i.+p. He did want to take the opportunity to get rid of them.
However, after hearing what Lu Baiming said, Zhou Zhen was a troublesome person.
“Thank you for your reminder, Brother Lu. I’ll know what to do.”
Zhang Ruochen knew that Lu Baiming must be well aware of the seriousness of this matter. He was worried that Zhang Ruochen would kill Zhou Zhen to establish his prestige, so he came to the Ziwei Palace personally.
Perhaps this was also the att.i.tude of the Five-Elements Temple.
Zhang Ruochen’s Blood Decree had so much influence that even the upper-cla.s.s figures may not be able to sit still. They were afraid that he would be too aggressive and cause unpredictable consequences.
Lu Baiming said, “The celestial law enforcers have arrived in the imperial city. They are led by Jin Hong, The Reaper. You need to be careful. It’s best not to conflict with them.”
“As long as they don’t come looking for trouble, I won’t provoke them,” Zhang Ruochen said indifferently.
So what if it was the celestial law enforcers?’ Zhang Ruochen thought.
It wasn’t enough to subdue him.
Lu Baiming knew that Zhang Ruochen was also a smart person and not a reckless person, so he didn’t say anything more.
“Brother Lu, you must have just arrived in the Central Imperial City, right? Let me call a few friends to welcome you,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Lu Baiming waved his hand and said, “Don’t bother. I’ve already made appointments with several Array Masters to discuss ways to deal with the ten High-Saint Array Masters of the Infernal Court. We can’t afford to delay.”
“Also, I want to go and meet the array geniuses of the Infernal Court as soon as possible.”
It was obvious that Lu Baiming was happy to see Zhang Ruochen. Only those in the same attainments from the Infernal Court could arouse his interest.
After chatting for a while more, Lu Baiming took his leave. He looked quite anxious.
In Welkin Lounge, Zhou Zhen looked calm on the surface, but he was panicking in his heart. Gu Xin’ao died in front of him. He didn’t know what would happen to him.
He had done his best to activate the Ninth Stratum Array formation to protect himself, but he knew in his heart that if Zhang Ruochen wanted to deal with him, no matter how strong the array formation was, it would be useless.
Just when Zhou Zhen was upset, a giant hand suddenly appeared above the Welkin Lounge and grabbed him.
“This is not good.”
Zhou Zhen was shocked and immediately activated the array to resist despite everything.
However, his resistance was futile. The giant hand easily penetrated the array and grabbed him.
Seeing this, all the cultivators gathered around the Welkin Lounge were shocked.
Of course, they all knew that Zhang Ruochen had taken action!
“Zhang Ruochen took Zhou Zhen away. What exactly did he want to do?”
“Zhou Zhen is a High-Saint Array Master trained by the Formation Sect and his ident.i.ty is very special. Does Zhang Ruochen dare to attack him?”
“Is there anything in this world that Zhang Ruochen dares not to do? Killing the leader of Fane of Dimension, the leader of Fane of Merit, the Suns.h.i.+ne Tianzi, and the leader of the Saber Empyrean. Zhou Zhen is probably in danger this time!”
…
Many people thought that since Zhou Zhen was captured by Zhang Ruochen, his life was most likely in danger.
Bang
In the Ziwei Palace, Zhou Zhen fell from the sky and fell to the ground in embarra.s.sment.
“Zhang… Zhang Ruochen.”
Seeing Zhang Ruochen, Zhou Zhen’s pupils couldn’t help but shrink.
At this moment, the person he didn’t want to face the most was undoubtedly Zhang Ruochen.
After all, no one who fell into Zhang Ruochen’s hands would have a good ending.
Zhang Ruochen stood in front of Zhou Zhen and said calmly, “Someone came to me just now and asked me to spare your life. Do you think I should spare your life?”
Hearing this, Zhou Zhen’s eyes could not help but change slightly and he secretly wondered who would come forward.
At the same time, Zhou Zhen was also very frightened. Zhang Ruochen wanted his life and he was unscrupulous.
“You should know the reason why Gu Xin’ao was killed, right?”
“Tell me, what is Gu Xin’ao’s true purpose in dealing with Xue Wuye? I don’t believe it. It’s just for a mere sword attendant or to kill a Realm Bearer of Kunlun. How could a leader of the Saber Empyrean do such a degrading thing?”
Zhang Ruochen looked straight at Zhou Zhen and said unhurriedly.
As he spoke, an invisible pressure was released and enveloped Zhou Zhen.
Zhou Zhen’s mind trembled as if he was being pressed down by a divine mountain. He bent his knees slightly and was about to kneel involuntarily.
This was not only the suppression of Saint Power but also the impact of spiritual will.
As a High-Saint Array Master, Zhou Zhen’s spiritual will was already extremely powerful and he was even superior to many Neverwither Supreme Saints.
However, he was much weaker than Zhang Ruochen.
Gritting his teeth, he endured the immense pressure, Zhou Zhen thought in his heart, ‘It seems that Zhang Ruochen doesn’t know the uniqueness of Kunlun’s Realm Bearers. These Realm Bearers have all eaten the Saturn peaches from the Saturn peach tree. They’re the true fruit of the G.o.ds. With their current strength, they can’t completely refine them. The saint blood still contains the aura of the Saturn peach tree, so I can find the approximate location of the Saturn peach tree.
After this incident, it will be very difficult to get the Realm Bearer’s saint blood again. No matter what, I can’t let Zhang Ruochen know this secret.’
It was because this matter was too important that Gu Xin’ao had acted personally, and even taken the Seal of Ten Swords to cover it up.
But no one had expected Zhang Ruochen to interfere, and Gu Xin’ao had lost his life in vain.
His thought turned quickly, and Zhou Zhen said with difficulty, “I don’t know what Gu Xin’ao wants to do. I only heard from him that he is very interested in the Wordless Sword Manual. He also wants to get a glimpse of the mysteries of the manual through the Flying Fairy Sword Technique of Wanxiang City.”
Zhang Ruochen could not help but take three steps forward and approach Zhou Zhen, he said, “Do you think I’m easy to deceive? There are two paths in front of you now. One is to live, and the other is a dead end. If you want to live, answer the question obediently, and don’t think of hiding anything; If you want to die, I can help you now.”
Hearing this, Zhou Zhen couldn’t help but take a step back. Of course, he wanted to live, but there were some things he couldn’t tell Zhang Ruochen.