The rain, it had stopped.
The overcast clouds hadn’t dispersed, and the sky was still dim with a slight coolness.
Zhang Ruochen’s power was rapidly dissipating, and the Buddha’s light was gradually becoming thin, quickly falling back to the realm of a Fourth Order Half-Saint.
Not only that, a strong sense of weakness swept through his entire body from the inside out, and the Saint Qi in his Qi Sea and meridians disappeared in an instant.
“Swish.”
Zhang Ruochen was unable to continue flying and carried Shi Beauty on his back as he slowly descended downward from mid-air, landing on the edge of a wide ancient river.
That ancient river, with its misty smoke and waves, had a gentle current, and at a glance one couldn’t even see the other side of the river, as if they were standing on the seashore.
Zhang Ruochen’s legs, slightly trembling, were already hard to support.
That feeling of weakness, coupled with the injuries on his body, made him, almost about to fall to the ground.
At this moment, not to mention a Saint realm giant, even a Heavenly Extremity realm martial artist could possibly knock him down.
Luckily, the Evil Dao Saints from the Black Market hadn’t chased after him, otherwise, it would be very difficult for Zhang Ruochen to escape from Heaven today.
“There are no Saint realm powerhouses catching up, put me down! You’re in a poor state, if you don’t heal your wounds in time, I’m afraid you’ll be left with a lifelong dark disease that’s hard to heal.”Stone Beauty’s expression was focused as she said in a gentle voice, tinged with some concern.
Zhang Ruochen was a bit surprised and set Beauty Stone down, staring at her pair of eyes from a close distance.
Her eyes, no longer so dark and empty, had a little more human flavor, like a living, breathing, beautiful woman, not a humanoid stone sculpture.
To be exact, as early as when they escaped from the black market, the stone beauty had undergone some subtle changes and was no longer so dull.
It was only that Zhang Ruochen was too busy dealing with the Demon Sect Elder with the surname Qi and the Evil Sage of the Black Market at that time to have the chance to inquire.
“You’ve regained your will again?”Zhang Ruochen revealed a joyful expression.
Stone Beauty’s eyes were like two gulfs of shear water, staring straight at Zhang Ruochen as she shook her head and fell into silence, pondering something and as if she was sensing something, her eyes gradually becoming a bit wooden.
Zhang Ruochen was worried that she would turn into a cold and silent stone beauty again, and immediately said, “I always feel that I’m not completely out of the crisis yet, so I must continue to hurry and escape as far away as possible.”
Stone Beauty stared over toward Zhang Ruochen, quite worried, and said, “Your injuries are very serious, it’s best to stop and recuperate.”
Zhang Ruochen’s injuries were, indeed, very serious, without a trace of blood on his face, like an ordinary person who was terminally ill.
Moreover, because he had used the power of the third layer of the Sherri Son’s seal, his body had become extraordinarily weak, and he was somewhat unable to support himself and fell downwards.
However, Shi Beauty held him up so that he didn’t fall to the ground.
Zhang Ruochen immediately took a Withered Wood Pill, and before he had time to refine it, he violently raised his head and looked out into the distant sky, revealing a sullen expression as he said, “That’s the army of the …… Immortal Blood Race ……”
In the sky, a bright red color appeared, and a blood cloud was rolling in, carrying an intimidating and terrifying aura.
There was definitely more than one Immortal Blood Race, it must be a large army, most likely coming for the Monstrous Sky Sword.
Zhang Ruochen had been prepared to summon the Elephant Swallowing Rabbit in the Scroll World to take them away, but now it seemed that it was no longer necessary.
There was more than one Saint realm Blood King in the Immortal Blood Race’s army.
The speed of the Swallowing Elephant Rabbit was top-notch amongst the Half-Saints, however, compared to a Saint realm Blood King, it was a hundred thousand miles short.
Even if he hid in the Scroll World, the Saint Realm Blood King was able to find the Qiankun Divine Wood Diagram based on Zhang Ruochen’s residual scent.
Once the Qiankun Divine Wood Diagram fell into the hands of the Immortal Blood Race, it would cause an even greater disaster.
Zhang Ruochen thought that he had never experienced a desperate situation before, and that when he encountered even the greatest danger, he would always have a way to neutralize it. Now, however, it was in a desperate situation.
Zhang Ruochen appeared to be very open, revealing a smirk as he stared towards the stone beauty and said, “Today, no matter what, we will die, so why don’t we do a big job before we die?”
“What do you mean?”Beauty Shi revealed a curious expression.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Although you have lost all your cultivation, the Sacred Source is still in your body. I can help you out by detonating the Saint Source and dying with those Immortal Blood Clans. The power generated by a Sword Saint’s Saint Origin exploding is truly something to look forward to.”
A warm look appeared in the eyes of the Stone Beauty, who unexpectedly nodded gently in agreement.
However, right at this moment, not far away from the riverbank, there was a clear and elegant woman’s voice: “Senior Brother Zhang, is it possible to come to the boat for a moment?”
Zhang Ruochen looked in the direction of the ancient river, only to see a ten-odd feet long green-colored wooden boat docked at the shore.
On the bow of the boat, there stood a clear and elegant white-clothed woman, just like the Ling Wave Fairy, giving off a very dusty feeling.
Zhang Ruochen was both a bit bewildered and surprised, saying, “Senior Sister Luo, how did you come to the Central Region?”
The woman on the boat, named Luo Shuihan, was in the West Courtyard of the Martial City Palace of the Heavenly Demon Ridge, along with Huang Yichen and Mu Lingshi, known as the “Three Demons of the West Courtyard”.
It was only that Zhang Ruochen had later left the Eastern Region Holy Academy and embarked on a different path of the Holy Dao, so he and Luo Shuihan hadn’t seen each other for a long time.
It was originally thought that it would be impossible for them to have any more encounters in their entire lives, but he did not expect that they would meet once again under such circumstances.
Unexpectedly to Zhang Ruochen, Luo Shuihan’s cultivation level, which had already stepped into the Half-Saint realm, had not fallen behind.
When she was in the Western Academy, Luo Shuihan was the most outstanding student, with her qualifications still above Huang Yichen and Mu Lingshi.
Moreover, like Zhang Ruochen, her physique had always been getting stronger and progressing, and she seemed to have endless potential.
The wondrous encounters she had received in these recent years might not necessarily lose out to the duo of Mu Lingshi and Huang Yichen. Crossing over into the Half-Saint realm at such a young age was a perfect proof.
Luo Shuihan still had a poetic and picturesque aura as she said, “I originally came here for the two of you, to be exact, it’s actually the other person on the ship that wants to see you.”
“Us?”
Zhang Ruochen was really a bit curious, what kind of person was it that had crossed paths with both him and Ling Fei Yu?
Zhang Ruochen was tempted to tell Luo Shuihan that there was an army of Immortal Blood Race coming in this direction, and that he should flee immediately.
However, in his current state, he was able to see that an army of Immortal Blood Race was on its way, would Luo Shuihan not see it?
Why did she remain calm and collected?
Could it be that ……
Zhang Ruochen glanced towards the interior of the green-colored wooden boat, and his heart stirred, giving birth to a bold guess.
Could it be that the person was in the boat?
Zhang Ruochen and Shi Beauty boarded the green-colored wooden boat and walked into the cabin under Luo Shuihan’s leadership.
In the cabin, there was a green-clothed scholar in his thirties and an old man with half white hair and half black hair respectively.
On top of the table in front of the two of them, there was a scroll of paintings, outlined in ink and water, and it was impossible to tell what exactly was being painted.
The green-clothed showman’s appearance could only be considered medium, however, the entire person gave off a clean and tidy appearance, even every hair was neat and tidy.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen and Shi Beauty walk into the cabin, the two stopped talking about the painting on the tabletop and raised their heads at the same time.
The difference was that the green-clothed showman’s first glance was fixed on Zhang Ruochen’s body.
The old man with half white hair and half black hair, however, was the first to stare at the stone beauty, revealing a very curious look.
The green-clothed showman smiled and said, ”I had long heard Shuihan mention that the Cloud Martial County Kingdom of the Heavenly Demon Ridge had produced a marvelous genius in the Eastern Domain Sacred Courtyard, so I wanted to see you, but I was worried that the Xuan Gui Courtyard Master would misunderstand that I was going to snatch his disciple, and so, I waited for a while. Yet, I didn’t realize that so many things had happened since then, and it wasn’t until today that I actually met you.”
Zhang Ruochen had some guesses about the identity of the green-clothed showman, so he clasped his hands together and bowed slightly, saying, “Greetings, senior.”
That old man, at this moment, also fixed his gaze, on Zhang Ruochen’s body, saying, “No wonder the Empress has ordered you to be arrested, you brat, you are indeed bold, to dare to kill the two Saints of the Demon Sect in a row. By you continuing to make trouble, I’m afraid that the Kunlun Realm, which is already on the verge of being turned upside down, will add some unpredictable variables.”
It was not until this moment that Zhang Ruochen began to take a serious look at, the old man with half white hair and half black hair.
The old man appeared to be in high spirits, with a torch-like gaze, and was probably in his fifties, not that old.
The most crucial point, on his body, he was actually wearing clothes that represented the identity of the Confucian Way.
One must know that the relationship between the Confucian Way and the imperial court was quite close, and many of the outstanding students of the Confucian Way were civil officials of the imperial court. Those great and holy Confucians were even in high positions, and could even enter the six ministries and the cabinet to formulate the state policy of the First Central Empire.
If this person, indeed, was a high-ranking official of the imperial court, Zhang Ruochen had to be a bit wary of him.
When the Confucian-clothed old man saw Zhang Ruochen showing a wary look, he was a bit displeased, blowing his beard and eyes out as he snapped, ”What are you defending against the old man for? It’s not like the old man is a member of the court, he’s just a painter who paints.”
The green-clothed showman stared at Zhang Ruochen and calmly said, “It’s true that he’s not an official of the imperial court and won’t strike at you. You sit down first, don’t pay any attention to him.”
Before Zhang Ruochen could sit down, the Confucian-clothed old man tilted his chin and said rather smugly, “Although, I am not an official of the imperial court, one of my disciples is the state pastor of Tiantai Prefecture. One of Old Husband’s disciples’ grandson is this year’s top scorer in the new examination.”
Zhang Ruochen straightened his brows and was a bit curious, how old was this old man, why was he still fooling around in front of a young man? Was there a point to it?
Zhang Ruochen lazily ignored him and sat straight down.
When the Confucian-clothed old man saw Zhang Ruochen sitting across from him, he started blowing his beard and eyes again, as if he felt that Zhang Ruochen’s status was too low and he was not worthy to sit on equal footing with him.
It was degrading, messed up the seniority, and had no etiquette ……
If it wasn’t for the green-clothed Xiushi sitting on the sidelines, it was not certain that the Confucian-clothed old man would have already lifted the table and walked away.
At this moment, the green-clothed showman’s gaze, however, was fixed on Beauty Shi’s body, revealing a complex expression, saying, “Palace Master Ling, in fact, I came here this time specifically for you.”
With some bitter smiles, Beauty Shi said, “Like her, you have also come to avenge the revenge of that year?”
Not far away, Zhang Ruochen revealed a curious expression, curious to know what kind of grudges these two figures in front of him, who represented the two eras of the Kunlun Realm respectively, had back then.
The Confucian-clothed old man also perked up his two ears and listened attentively with a very interested look.
The green-clothed showman shook his head and said, ”I know that she has been holding a grudge against you, venting all her grievances on you. You were already severely traumatized in your state of mind from your battle with the Cyan Sky Blood Emperor. And I’m afraid that she found you and used what happened back then to attack your state of mind, wanting to completely destroy your will so that she could take revenge on you and make you pay for what you did back then.”
He added, “I came to the Central Region to stop her, and I also wanted to tell you. I never blamed you for what happened back then. You didn’t have to do anything wrong, so you don’t have to blame yourself too much.”
Upon hearing this sentence, Beauty Stone’s eyes, obviously changed a bit.
