As the lightning gradually subsided, Shi Kai crawled out.
Its stone body was scorched black, still smoking.
Had it not been protected by Greater Saint inscriptions, Shi Kai would likely have perished in the sea of lightning.
Watching the cripple approach step by step, Shi Kai said, “You’re indeed a peerless prodigy groomed by Heaven Realm, to have cultivated the Dao of Truth to such a level, but without the boost from truth rules, in pure combat strength, you’d never be my match.”
“The Dao of Truth is part of my strength,” Zhang Ruochen replied.
Defeated by a Sixth-Step Saint King, Shi Kai felt stifled, deeply unwilling, “If you’ve got the guts, give me your name, once I break through to Ninth-Step Saint King, I’ll come calling.”
“You won’t get that chance.”
Zhang Ruochen summoned the Chenyuan Ancient Sword, its blade gathering sword dao mysteries.
“You beat me fair and square, that’s your skill, but to kill me, you’re still far off,” Shi Kai retorted.
Its body sank into the ground, merging with the earth, its form and aura vanishing without a trace.
Stone Clan beings excelled at earth-escape saint arts, blending with soil, their presence disappearing, able to flee hundreds of li in an instant.
This made killing Stone Clan beings on land extremely difficult.
“Burning Heaven and Refining Earth Array.”
Zhang Ruochen deployed all eighteen array flags, planting them across a three-hundred-li radius, forming an array.
Instantly, the area was sealed.
Then, he unleashed his spatial domain, searching for Shi Kai’s traces.
The Stone Clan’s earth-escape arts could evade mental power and the Heavenly Eye, but they still operated within space, leaving subtle clues.
“Boom.”
The Chenyuan Ancient Sword flew from his hand, a black beam piercing into the ground.
A scream echoed from below.
Shi Kai burst out, its body battered, ignoring its wounds, fleeing towards the array’s edge.
Zhang Ruochen recalled the sword, “It’s yours now—don’t let it escape.”
“Yes, Master.”
The Saint-Devouring Flower emerged from his back, forming Mo Yin’s alluring figure, swiftly pursuing Shi Kai.
From Mo Yin’s palms, dozens of lightning-charged vines shot out, binding Shi Kai, then sharp roots pierced its body, treating it as nourishment.
Zhang Ruochen entered the mine shaft, cautiously avoiding ancient inscriptions, descending deeper.
The shaft was filled with swirling mists and dense saint qi.
The ancient stone walls sparkled with various ores, mostly spirit crystals.
The mine was vast, like an underground network, Zhang Ruochen walked hundreds of li without reaching its end, it had indeed been mined before, long ago divided into dozens of zones, its structure so complex that even his mental strength nearly got lost.
In one zone, he found a saint jade vein.
Within it, he sensed life—saint jade spirits.
He didn’t disturb them, bypassing quietly.
Hours later, he reached the heart of the mine—the convergence of a thousand veins, streams of varied energies intertwined, forming a nest dozens of li wide.
Each stream flowed like a river, in and out of the nest.
At the nest’s edge, Zhang Ruochen found masses of saint qi crystals—saint stones, coveted by countless cultivators.
Some formed stalactite-like pillars, towering high, others embedded in ore, creating shimmering crystal walls.
It was his first time seeing such a bounty of natural saint stones.
But he didn’t dig yet, focusing on the convergence nest, then used a spatial shift to enter.
Inside, he detected traces of divine heaven-and-earth qi, his mood lifting, he rushed to the centre.
Sure enough, the centre brimmed with dense divine qi, dozens of glowing points flickered within, each pulsing with immense power.
Divine stones.
His hand trembled as he reached for them.
But he realised they weren’t fully formed—most were gaseous, over a dozen had liquid cores, only one had solidified.
He collected the sole solid divine stone, examining it in his palm before stowing it.
With a mix of excitement and slight disappointment, he left the shaft to rejoin Ji Fanxin and Mo Yin.
Ji Fanxin asked, “Any gains?”
Zhang Ruochen nodded, glancing at Mo Yin.
Having absorbed Shi Kai, Mo Yin’s cultivation had risen, seeing his look, she asked, “What does Master command?”
“Stay here, guard this vein, let no saint-realm beings near.”
He then summoned a group of Heaven Extreme and Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators from the Qiankun Realm, ordering them to mine under Mo Yin’s command.
The vein’s dense saint qi would greatly aid their cultivation.
This ancient vein held staggering value—control it, and Zhang Ruochen would have endless resources and wealth.
More crucially, it could nurture divine stones—his current top need.
Leaving the vein, he had Qi Sheng and Ying Huo lead him to Qi Xiaotian’s hideout.
Subconsciously, he’d claimed Yunwu Commandery and the Xuanhuang Territory as his domain, Qi Xiaotian was a major threat.
To refine the Thousand-Life and Ten-Thousand-Life Blood Pills, Qi Xiaotian would slaughter countless innocents—Zhang Ruochen couldn’t let him live.
On Luoshui’s east bank, mountains rose in layers.
At sunrise, the Golden-Stepped Dragon Carriage stopped beneath a mist-shrouded peak, the scenery was picturesque, with clear winds and waters, only the roars of wild beasts hinted at danger—no sign of an Undying Blood Clan lair.
Qi Sheng and Ying Huo exchanged a sly glance, smirking subtly.
Qi Xiaotian wasn’t Shi Kai—he was an emperor’s son, a Ninth-Step Saint King at the Major Rule Heaven level, leagues beyond Shi Kai.
Plus, the mountain housed over a dozen arrays.
With Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation, challenging Qi Xiaotian was like an egg against a rock, the only variable was the woman with him.
Could she match Qi Xiaotian?
Ji Fanxin stood at the base, gazing up, discerning something, “There’s likely an array saint master in the mountain.”
Using his Heavenly Eye, Zhang Ruochen saw array inscription traces, “Three eighth-grade arrays, fourteen seventh-grade ones—definitely an array saint master’s work, and a skilled one.”
“Can you break them?” Ji Fanxin asked.
“I can try.”
He first planted eighteen array flags around the mountain’s eighteen points, sealing it to trap any fleeing Blood Clan members.
Then, he channelled all his power into the Fire God Gauntlet, the sky shifted, black clouds rolled in, fierce winds swept the ground.
Like a fire god incarnate, he glowed red.
A mighty divine aura surged from the gauntlet.
“Boom.”
He struck, a three-hundred-metre flaming palm print shattering the mountain’s mist, slamming into its side.
“Bang, bang.”
Three array barriers shattered under his force.
From the mountain, twelve blood eyes emerged, each as large as a blood pool, hovering and linking into one, thousands of array inscriptions weaving across them, blocking the palm print.
Brilliant firelight illuminated the world.
Undying Blood Clan members flew from the mountain’s core, wings flapping, hovering as they looked outward.
Their gazes fixed on Qi Sheng and Ying Huo.
An Eighth-Step Saint King Blood Clan member barked, “Qi Sheng, you dare bring Heaven Realm cultivators here—are you betraying Lord Emperor Qi Xiaotian?”
Ying Huo said, “Lord Qi Zeng, we had no choice, we were forced.”
Qi Zeng ignored their excuses, snorting, “Two mere Heaven Realm cultivators dare attack Wanwu Mountain, perfect—kill them, take their saint blood for Lord Emperor’s Thousand-Life Blood Pill.”
The mountain’s arrays fully activated.
From an eighth-grade attack array, ice crystal mountains soared out, crashing towards Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin, pocking the ground with craters.
The surrounding dozens of li froze instantly.
…
Five hundred li away, Daizi and Tufu stood by a small lake, gazing towards Wanwu Mountain.
“Your Highness, seems we won’t need to act—someone’s already dealing with Qi Xiaotian,” Daizi grinned.
Tufu noticed the array flags around Wanwu Mountain, rubbing his chin, “That cripple’s got guts, taking on Qi Xiaotian, their cultivation gap’s no small thing.”
Daizi said, “The cripple brought a helper, didn’t he?”
Tufu shook his head, “Qi Xiaotian’s among the strongest Ninth-Step Saint Kings at Major Rule Heaven, if the cripple misjudged him, he’s in for a rough time.”
A woman stood by the lake, her delicate form haloed with saint qi rings, her face veiled, obscuring her features, only a vertical eye faintly visible at her brow.
“Who’s the cripple?” she asked.
“Just a meddling cripple, but he’s unusual—a rare spatial cultivator,” Tufu replied, then recounted their encounters with the cripple, Black Phoenix, and White Vermilion Bird to the Heavenly Maiden.
