Of course, Zhang Ruochen wasn’t an ordinary man, leaving Qianshui Royal City, he steadied his emotions, burying everything deep within.
More pressing matters awaited.
Lifting his head, he took a deep breath, sensing something unusual.
“Qianshui Commandery is just a remote corner of the Eastern Domain, yet the spiritual qi here is so dense, there’s even a trace of sacred qi flowing in the air.”
“It seems the Kunlun Realm is truly reviving!”
Before, Qianshui Commandery’s spiritual qi was less than a fifth of this.
One could infer that the sacred lands of the Kunlun Realm’s top sects and factions now brimmed with even richer spiritual and sacred qi.
Next, Zhang Ruochen probed further.
He found the Kunlun Realm’s spatial structure and material density had risen several-fold, still far from the Heavenly Realm, but rivaling the top thousand worlds on the Merit List of Ten Thousand Realms.
The soil itself seemed infused with spiritual essence, even common weeds growing like emerald jade.
“I’m curious to see how far the Kunlun Realm will go once fully revived.”
Zhang Ruochen sent out his spiritual power, summoning Zhenmiao Little Taoist, Tunxiang Rabbit, and the Demonic Ape from the royal city, then drove the Golden Dragon Carriage towards Yunwu Commandery.
Yunwu Commandery lay about a hundred thousand li from Qianshui Royal City, at the carriage’s current speed, it took less than an hour to reach its borders.
Outside the royal city.
“I’m finally back!”
Zhang Ruochen leapt from the carriage, gazing at the familiar city in the distance, his mood lifting.
Soon, he’d see his mother, fourth brother, and ninth sister, a simple family meal together would be pure bliss.
These past two years in the Heavenly Realm, embroiled in bloodshed daily, facing life-or-death stakes, had wearied his heart.
This time, returning to Yunwu Commandery, he planned to bring them all into the Qiankun Realm.
If possible, he’d even relocate every citizen of Yunwu Commandery.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, detecting multiple potent auras within the city, though masked by breath-concealing techniques, they couldn’t evade his senses.
“Four Saint Kings, thirteen Saints, so many powerhouses gathered in little Yunwu Royal City.”
It wasn’t far from the Thirteenth Merit Sub-Station, so a influx of cultivators wasn’t odd, but with his many enemies, caution was vital.
Moreover, Saint Kings from both Heavenly and Hell Realms wielded aura-hiding treasures, he might not sense them all—stronger figures could lurk within.
“Please, let nothing have happened.”
Unwilling to alert anyone, he refrained from probing with spiritual power, lest a master detect it.
Leaving Zhenmiao Little Taoist, Tunxiang Rabbit, and the Demonic Ape outside, he activated the Buddha Emperor’s prayer beads to cloak his aura, slipping silently into the city.
A breath later, he stood in the royal palace.
Failing to find his mother Lin Fei, fourth brother Zhang Shaochu, or ninth sister Zhang Yuxi, his heart tightened—had his worst fears come true?
Leaving the palace, his gaze icy, he prepared to reveal himself, forcing out the city’s Saints and Saint Kings, perhaps extracting answers from them.
Abruptly, he paused, glancing aside at a grand mansion, its gold-edged plaque bearing two bold characters: “Lin Residence.”
A flicker of saint light in his pupils revealed something amiss, he approached the gate.
“Clang, clang.”
He grasped the knocker, rapping it.
After a long wait, light footsteps sounded, the heavy door creaked open, revealing a beautiful woman in her early twenties.
Lin Ningshan.
His cousin.
The girl who’d once scorned him stood before him again, yet as before, his heart remained unruffled, devoid of emotion.
Lin Ningshan’s eyes seemed dazed, then recognition sparked, joy flashing across her pretty face, only to morph into tension, her expression odd.
Over the years, she’d matured, shedding her former naivety and arrogance.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen, a hint of inferiority crossed her face, followed by anxious blinking, as if signaling something.
Ignoring her hints, he said, “It’s been years, won’t you invite me in?”
Her neck stiffened, she shook her head slightly, but her face paled instantly, nodding jerkily, “C-come… come in…”
Zhang Ruochen followed calmly, limping into the Lin Residence, covering a dozen zhang.
A sudden gust of sinister wind surged from above.
Lin Ningshan spun, crying, “Watch out!”
No need for her warning—he’d sensed it, lifting his head slowly.
The wind above coalesced into a dark, ferocious ghost figure, exuding a potent saintly aura, instantly pressing Lin Ningshan to the ground, her eyes wide with terror.
But then, she witnessed something even more shocking.
Zhang Ruochen stood still, exhaling a breath, the ghost shrieked, disintegrating under the force.
He raised an arm, grabbing towards the artificial pond.
A black-robed man appeared—a spiritual Saint, the one controlling the ghost king to kill him.
Realizing he’d provoked the wrong foe, the man cast a saint technique, fleeing deeper into the residence.
Zhang Ruochen pointed, a sword qi streaking from his fingertip.
“Boom.”
The man’s body burst into a bloody mist.
A long moment passed, Lin Ningshan still reeling, that black-robed man had been godlike, his saintly might forcing the Lin family to kneel.
Yet before Zhang Ruochen, he was an ant, felled by a finger.
Looking at him again, awe filled her eyes, she knelt, “Cousin… please… save Grandpa and Father… please…”
Zhang Ruochen glanced deeper into the residence, “Get up, lead the way.”
He held no fondness for the Lin Residence.
Were it not for seeking his mother’s whereabouts, he wouldn’t have entered.
Of course, Lin Ningshan’s grandfather—his maternal grandfather—was a decent man, if in danger, Zhang Ruochen wouldn’t mind lending aid.
…
Lin Family Ancestral Hall.
The Lin clan and servants knelt together, including Lin Ningshan’s grandfather Lin Jingye, her father Lin Fengxian, and her brother Lin Chenyu.
A bewitching black-robed woman stood among them, long legs, short hem revealing a snowy waist and seductive navel, a constant smile on her face.
A mesmerizing beauty, yet none dared harbor improper thoughts, trembling in fear instead.
“Soul Search Technique.”
Her fingers clawed the air, black mist surging.
Lin Chenyu’s body rose, wrapped in the mist, tendrils burrowing into his skull.
“Ah…”
His face contorted, he screamed.
Lin Jingye, summoning unknown strength, broke the saintly pressure, standing with red eyes, “Let Chenyu go, come at me!”
The woman turned, smiling at him, “Fine! Tell me where Zhang Ruochen is.”
“I don’t know,” Lin Jingye said.
“Knew you’d say that, so I didn’t bother asking, soul searching gets me what I want, though my method’s harsh—recipients turn into drooling idiots, hehe,” she giggled seductively.
“I’ll fight you to the death!”
Lin Jingye charged, but three steps in, a bald giant flashed out, swinging an iron rod at his knees.
“Crack.”
His legs shattered like porcelain, blood and flesh scattering.
“Thud,” half his body crashed down, drenched in blood, a pitiful sight.
“Grandpa!”
Lin Ningshan rushed in, crouching to cradle his face, tears streaming.
The bald man licked his bloody rod, grinning, “Girl, who was knocking outside? Did Xie Hong’s ghost king eat them?”
Terrified of him, her eyes darted involuntarily towards the corridor.
Sensing something, the bald man looked, seeing a young man limping over.
“Where’d this cripple come from? Where’s Xie Hong?” he barked.
On this cripple, he felt a dangerous aura.
“Cripple?”
The woman glanced over, her black-pearl eyes widening in shock, “Zhang… Zhang Ruochen…”
The air trembled, Zhang Ruochen appeared before her.
Her beauty drained of colour, she thrust both palms, spiritual power turning to lightning, dozens of electric dragons striking at him.
“A spiritual Saint King, no less.”
Zhang Ruochen pressed a palm forward, a vortex forming, redirecting the lightning back at her, blasting her through a wall into the ancestral hall.
“Swish, swish.”
Over a dozen black-robed saint realm cultivators burst in, surrounding Zhang Ruochen with gusts of wind.
