Ye Honglei’s charming face lit up with joy as if she had seen a savior. She transformed into a red shadow and swiftly moved behind Zhang Ruochen.
If it had been someone else who arrived, even if it were Wan Zhaoyi or Xue Wuye, the situation might not have changed. But with Zhang Ruochen here, there was a chance he could stand against that terrifying blade-wielding man. At the very least, escaping with him shouldn’t be too difficult.
Ye Honglei had heard many legends about Zhang Ruochen in the Truth Heavenly Domain.
“These cultivators are all extremely powerful, especially that man leading them. At the same level, he seems almost invincible. We must head to the spatial teleportation array to have a chance to escape,” Ye Honglei transmitted her voice to Zhang Ruochen.
However, Zhang Ruochen showed no intention of fleeing. His eyes were sharp, and he seemed to be locking horns with the blade-wielding man.
Ye Honglei grew anxious and added, “The Tianluo Dojo is already destroyed. That’s an unchangeable fact. The enemy has the advantage in numbers and strength. There’s no need to fight them head-on.”
But then, to her surprise, Ye Honglei noticed that the seemingly invincible blade-wielding man and the dozen or so black-clad cultivators were all on high alert, gathering together.
Wang Xu’s Xuanyue Blade released a surge of blade energy, forming a blade domain that tightly enveloped his body. The other black-clad cultivators took out their saint artifacts, saint staffs, or talismans.
What were they afraid of?
Were they afraid of Zhang Ruochen?
With the defensive layer formed by the blade domain, Wang Xu calmed down slightly and said, “Zhang Ruochen, weren’t you expelled by that god from the Kunlun Realm? Why are you appearing in the Kunlun Realm’s dojo?”
Zhang Ruochen replied, “And why are you appearing in the Kunlun Realm’s dojo? Don’t you know that killing people in another world’s dojo, according to the rules of the Truth Temple, requires paying with your life?”
“What evidence do you have that we killed these people?” Wang Xu retorted.
Zhang Ruochen pointed at Ye Honglei and said, “Right in front of you is a witness. Collecting battle traces as evidence isn’t difficult either.”
“Destroying another world’s dojo is already a serious crime, let alone breaking in and killing people,” Ye Honglei said as she took out a scroll and unfurled it.
A mirror image projected onto the scroll:
The shattered Tianluo Dojo, with Wang Xu leading a dozen or so powerful cultivators from the Ruiya Realm standing opposite her, and several bloodied saint corpses on the ground.
“With this mirror image scroll, we have enough to convict you.”
After a pause, Ye Honglei added, “However, we can still negotiate. If you leave the Tianluo Dojo immediately, this scroll might not have to be handed over.”
In the end, Ye Honglei was still quite wary of the group of black-clad cultivators and worried about not being able to escape today. Recording the mirror image was solely for self-preservation.
Wang Xu treated Ye Honglei’s words as a joke, sneering without responding. How could Zhang Ruochen possibly let them leave?
The saint aura emanating from the Ruiya Realm cultivators grew stronger as they gathered their power.
In the night sky, a owl saint beast flew in, its claws gripping a strange-looking creature.
“Thud.”
The creature was dropped to the ground by the owl saint beast.
Wang Xu’s eyes narrowed sharply. “Yu Tu.”
The strange creature named “Yu Tu” lay on the ground, barely alive, and said, “Young Master… that owl… is extremely…”
Before he could finish, the creature died, its body turning into a gaseous state.
Only a pile of black soil remained on the ground.
The owl saint beast folded its wings and landed beside Zhang Ruochen, proudly saying, “A mere earth spirit can’t escape this emperor’s eyes.”
“What exactly happened?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
The little black cat explained, “That creature is a rare earth spirit. Earth spirits are special types of soil or ores from underground that gain sentience and cultivate into spirits.”
“That earth spirit was quite powerful, having reached the Saint King level. It can travel swiftly through mountains and rivers, ignoring formation patterns underground. Moreover, its aura is extremely faint. Only those with a spiritual power close to that of a Great Saint could detect it.”
“Meeting this emperor was its misfortune. This emperor’s eyes are those of a Great Saint. Even if it hid thousands of meters underground, it couldn’t escape detection.”
Zhang Ruochen pondered and said, “The Kunlun Realm cultivators just left through the teleportation array, and the Tianluo Dojo was immediately attacked. It seems this earth spirit was hiding in the dojo, transmitting information to Wang Xu… This is bad. The Kunlun Realm cultivators might truly be walking into a trap set by the Heaven Realm.”
“Haha, tonight, the Kunlun Realm cultivators will surely be annihilated.”
Wang Xu gripped the hilt of his blade with both hands, and four layers of saint power ripples appeared on the blade’s edge as he slashed towards Zhang Ruochen.
The blade energy was not only extremely fierce but also incredibly fast.
Ye Honglei was forced to retreat continuously under the pressure, only now realizing that the man hadn’t been using his full strength earlier. This was his true power!
Was this still the power of a First-Step Saint King?
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and fearless. The Fire God Armguard and Fire God Gauntlet on his right arm emitted sparks.
“Boom.”
He threw a punch.
From a distance, it looked like a fiery star had condensed in front of Zhang Ruochen.
The full-force slash from Wang Xu was completely shattered, and he had to retreat rapidly to avoid the incoming wave of fire.
“How has Zhang Ruochen become so powerful?”
Wang Xu roared, “What are you all standing around for? Attack together!”
The dozen or so black-clad cultivators from the Ruiya Realm launched their attacks. Some unleashed saint artifacts, others used saint techniques and spells, and some directly threw talismans.
The sheer force of their attacks was like a divine punishment.
The sky above the Tianluo Dojo was covered in the light of saint techniques and spells.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t retreat. He shook his head slightly and used spatial teleportation to counterattack.
“Zhang Ruochen.”
Ye Honglei called out, preparing to use her illusion techniques to assist him.
After all, if Zhang Ruochen died in battle, she wouldn’t escape either.
The little black cat stopped her and smiled, “No need to worry about him. They’re just a bunch of small fry. Zhang Ruochen can handle them alone.”
“Small fry?”
Ye Honglei felt the little black cat was being overconfident. That blade-wielding man alone was definitely not a small fry. It would be hard to find anyone in the entire Kunlun Realm who could match him at the same level.
But then, Ye Honglei witnessed a scene she would never forget.
Zhang Ruochen, like a god of slaughter, charged into the midst of the dozen or so black-clad cultivators. With a single punch, a blinding burst of fiery energy erupted, sending them all flying.
Those who hadn’t reached the Saint King level had their saint bodies shattered like sand, turning into sparks.
Even those at the Saint King level didn’t fare well. Despite using defensive measures, they were still sent flying, vomiting blood, and falling to the ground like straw dummies.
Only two or three managed to stand up.
This was because their own cultivation was strong, at least at the Fifth-Step Saint King level, allowing them to withstand the blow.
Knowing time was tight, Zhang Ruochen acted decisively. Using spatial teleportation, he appeared in front of a Fifth-Step Saint King and struck with his palm.
The Fifth-Step Saint King’s pupils reflected the growing fiery palm imprint.
“Boom.”
The palm imprint landed, and before the Fifth-Step Saint King could escape, he was crushed into a pool of blood.
Zhang Ruochen then attacked a Sixth-Step Saint King. Realizing the vast gap between them, the Sixth-Step Saint King, in a moment of crisis, blurted out, “Zhang Ruochen, this is the Kunlun Realm’s dojo. You can’t kill me…”
Zhang Ruochen’s punch shattered the ten-thousand-pattern saint artifact armor, piercing through the man’s body. The physical wounds weren’t fatal, but the punch also shattered his saint soul.
As the Sixth-Step Saint King’s corpse slowly fell to the ground, the last remaining Fifth-Step Saint King was so terrified that his face turned pale, and his legs trembled uncontrollably.
His gaze turned to Wang Xu.
Now, he could only hope that Wang Xu could hold off Zhang Ruochen for a while, giving him a chance to escape.
Ye Honglei was so shocked that she couldn’t close her mouth. The group of black-clad cultivators, who had seemed like gods of death earlier, were as fragile as children in front of Zhang Ruochen.
When she first arrived in the Truth Heavenly Domain, she had heard many legends about Zhang Ruochen, knowing he was formidable, but she never imagined he was this powerful.
When Ye Honglei first met Zhang Ruochen, she saw him as a talented young man, not even considering him superior to herself.
Now, Ye Honglei had achieved her dream of becoming a dominant figure in the邪道, while that young man had reached heights she could only look up to.
There’s always a higher mountain.
The little black cat smiled and said, “See? At the same level, few can match Zhang Ruochen. Only world leaders like Wang Xu can exchange a few moves with him.”
“Zhang Ruochen has made up for his shortcomings in the Path of Truth. At the same level, I’m no longer his match.”
Wang Xu’s mood was extremely bitter, filled with a strong sense of defeat.
However, he didn’t flee, remaining quite composed. With one hand gripping the Xuanyue Blade and the other holding a talisman, he declared, “Zhang Ruochen, we’ve fought twice before, and both times I suffered crushing defeats. This time, I won’t lose again.”
Zhang Ruochen walked towards him and said, “With your strength, you can only withstand five of my moves at most. If you want to defeat me, you’ll need more than just that.”
Wang Xu activated the Light Flow Rule, enhancing his legs.
“Whoosh—”
His figure turned into a beam of light, instantly appearing above Zhang Ruochen. He threw the talisman in his hand.
Wang Xu formed a hand seal and pointed downwards. The talisman released a demonic blade, unleashing an unparalleled force that tore through the air, slashing towards Zhang Ruochen’s head.
“This Blade Emperor Talisman can unleash a force strong enough to kill a Seventh-Step Saint King with a single strike. Even if you were at your peak, you’d be doomed, let alone now when your cultivation is suppressed to the First-Step Saint King level,” Wang Xu said, a cold smile in his eyes, confident of his victory.
Last time at the Yin-Yang Palace, Wang Xu was severely injured by Zhang Ruochen’s Hundred-Step Death Talisman, which had always haunted him.
Thus, he spent nearly half of his savings to buy this Blade Emperor Talisman, specifically to deal with Zhang Ruochen.
