Zhang Ruochen took the Tunxiang Rabbit and flew out of the Eastern Domain Holy City, arriving at a vast, open plain.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen pulled out a Disordered Space Scroll, unfurled it, and waved it towards the Tunxiang Rabbit.
“Master Chen, what’s this little favour you want? Just… tell me… my goodness… what in the world is this thing…”
The Tunxiang Rabbit jumped in fright as it saw the scroll flying towards it, its fur standing on end. It retreated like a bolt of lightning.
Whoosh—
From the scroll surged thousands upon thousands of spatial inscriptions, merging with the laws of heaven and earth. Instantly, the spatial structure shifted, and the earth’s plates began to move ceaselessly.
Moments later, a disordered space formed within a hundred-mile radius.
The sudden change caught the Tunxiang Rabbit off guard, leaving it somewhat panicked.
Bursting forth with extreme speed, the Tunxiang Rabbit dashed wildly through the disordered space, desperate to escape this bizarre place.
But it was futile. Even running in a straight line, it found itself circling back to the same spot.
Thud.
The Tunxiang Rabbit plunged into the ground, burrowing deep beneath the earth. Yet, after a few breaths, it burst back out onto the surface.
It was as if, at some point underground, the space had abruptly reversed.
“Master Chen, can we stop playing now? I don’t want the 100,000-year-old ancient saint herb anymore!” the Tunxiang Rabbit pleaded.
Zhang Ruochen rested his fingers on his chin and smiled, “If you can escape this disordered space, not only will I give you a 100,000-year-old ancient saint herb, but I’ll also give you this scroll.”
“Really?”
The Tunxiang Rabbit wasn’t foolish. It quickly realised that Zhang Ruochen was using it to test the scroll’s power.
“Roar!”
The Tunxiang Rabbit’s body swelled, becoming ferocious and radiating overwhelming demonic qi. It transformed into an enormous magic dragon.
In its dragon form, the Tunxiang Rabbit exuded an aura comparable to a cultivator of the Precept Heaven.
Boom.
The magic dragon charged towards Zhang Ruochen’s position, attempting a direct assault. But when it was still over ten miles away, it veered uncontrollably to the right, circling in place once more.
It possessed immense strength but couldn’t bring it to bear.
The dragon tried spitting demonic flames to attack Zhang Ruochen from a distance, but the flames turned midair, landing back on itself instead.
“Ahh…”
After struggling for over half an hour, the exhausted magic dragon reverted to the Tunxiang Rabbit, panting heavily.
Bruised and battered, with patches of fur scorched off, the Tunxiang Rabbit looked utterly dishevelled.
“No more, no more, Master Chen, let me out! I don’t want anything anymore!” it whimpered pitifully.
Zhang Ruochen could see that the Tunxiang Rabbit had truly given its all, yet it couldn’t overcome the disordered space. This demonstrated that with a Disordered Space Scroll, trapping a Nine-Step Saint King of the Precept Heaven should pose no difficulty.
Whether it would work against a Dao Domain realm powerhouse remained uncertain for now.
The greatest advantage of the Disordered Space Scroll was its ability to instantly create a disordered space.
In contrast, setting up a disordered space array manually would take Zhang Ruochen a significant amount of time. In a battle, no enemy would give him the chance to do so.
With a grasp of his five fingers through the air, Zhang Ruochen retrieved the Disordered Space Scroll hovering above.
The surrounding spatial structure returned to normal.
The spatial inscriptions on the Disordered Space Scroll had faded slightly. It could likely be used two more times before the inscriptions vanished completely.
“A Disordered Space Scroll’s lifespan is roughly three uses,” Zhang Ruochen noted to himself.
He beckoned to the Tunxiang Rabbit, saying, “I’ve got two more types of scrolls here. Come help me test them.”
“No, no, Master Chen, you’d better find someone else. My cultivation’s too low to test the full power of these peerless scrolls you’ve crafted,” the Tunxiang Rabbit replied, backing away.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head lightly.
The Spatial Collapse Scroll and Spatial Teleportation Scroll both carried significant risks, and he didn’t dare recklessly test them on the Tunxiang Rabbit.
He took out a Spatial Collapse Scroll, activated it, and sent it soaring ten thousand feet into the sky.
Boom.
The scroll shattered, releasing a torrent of spatial inscriptions.
Each inscription could tear open a spatial rift. Soon, a massive black hole appeared in the sky, causing the space within hundreds of miles to tremble.
From its hiding spot in the grass, the Tunxiang Rabbit peered at the dark void in the sky, shivering uncontrollably, “Good thing I didn’t agree, otherwise… otherwise… I’d be dead! Does Master Chen think I’ve eaten too many saint herbs and wants to get rid of me? No way, I’ve got to prove to him I’m not just a freeloader!”
Zhang Ruochen gazed at the lingering spatial hole in the sky, a faint smile on his lips, “Triggered unexpectedly, a Spatial Collapse Scroll could pose a significant threat to a Dao Domain realm powerhouse, perhaps even kill them.”
The intense spatial fluctuations drew several saint-level cultivators from nearby.
Mistaking it for the emergence of a rare treasure, they hid in the distance, watching and waiting for a chance to strike.
Releasing his spiritual power, Zhang Ruochen unexpectedly detected a familiar aura. His eyes narrowed sharply, and with a spatial shift, he vanished from the spot.
Three hundred miles away.
Xue Liehongdong, the young palace master of the Warhammer Palace, hid behind a rocky hill, staring at Zhang Ruochen from afar. Gritting his teeth, his eyes burned with intense killing intent.
“Enemies really do cross paths on a narrow road.”
Xue Liehongdong knew full well that Zhang Ruochen controlled the ancient inscriptions of the Eastern Domain Holy City. As long as he stayed within the city, Xue Liehongdong would never get a chance for revenge.
Yet here was Zhang Ruochen, alone, outside the Eastern Domain Holy City—and he’d run right into him.
This was a heaven-sent opportunity!
Xue Liehongdong pulled out a half-foot-long bronze flying sword, clutching it in his palm and infusing it with saint qi.
Sizzle.
Flame patterns emerged on the sword’s surface.
The bronze flying sword was a Seven-Yao Ten-Thousand Patterns Saint Artefact.
Even more impressive, it was inscribed with Flowing Light Inscriptions. While its speed didn’t reach the speed of light, it could achieve five hundred times the speed of sound.
In a surprise attack, even a Nine-Step Saint King of the Precept Heaven would struggle to dodge, with an eight or nine out of ten chance of being gravely injured.
Xue Liehongdong had clashed with Zhang Ruochen at the Divine Sword Sacred Land and knew his strength fell slightly short of a Nine-Step Saint King of the Precept Heaven. It was only with a supreme saint artefact that Zhang Ruochen had defeated him.
“Not good.”
Xue Liehongdong sensed a wave of spiritual power sweep over him. At the same time, Zhang Ruochen vanished from the distance.
“He must have spotted me!”
Xue Liehongdong turned to flee, only to see Zhang Ruochen standing behind him, hands clasped behind his back.
He froze in place, his gaze turning icy, “We meet again! This time, you’re not wearing a mask?”
“It seems you’ve figured out who I am,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Xue Liehongdong replied, “Back at the Eastern Domain Saint King Mansion, when you used that supreme saint artefact, I knew it was you who attacked me at the Divine Sword Sacred Land.”
“Since you know my identity, you should understand my connection to the Divine Sword Sacred Land. What you did there demands a reckoning,” Zhang Ruochen said calmly.
Xue Liehongdong didn’t fear Zhang Ruochen himself—only the supreme saint artefact he wielded. Not giving Zhang Ruochen a chance to draw it, he swung his arm, sending the bronze flying sword hurtling forth.
The sword moved at incredible speed, but Zhang Ruochen’s reaction was faster than Xue Liehongdong had anticipated.
Zhang Ruochen threw a punch, unleashing a brilliant cloud of fire that collided with the bronze flying sword.
Boom.
Zhang Ruochen took three steps back, then sank his left leg into the ground, redirecting all the force from the sword into the earth.
Beneath his left foot, the ground collapsed into a massive crater.
The bronze flying sword was sent flying off course.
“How is this possible?”
Xue Liehongdong’s face twisted in disbelief. At such close range, with such speed and power, Zhang Ruochen had effortlessly neutralised it.
Even he himself might not have managed that.
While Xue Liehongdong was still reeling in shock, Zhang Ruochen closed within ten zhang (about 33 metres) of him and struck with a palm strike from afar. A palm print dozens of metres long surged towards him in an instant.
“Tongjie Fist.”
Xue Liehongdong summoned all his saint qi and fist-path precepts, throwing both fists forward to meet Zhang Ruochen’s palm strike, hoping to overpower him with sheer strength.
Bang.
A ferocious, searing force slammed into Xue Liehongdong. Zhang Ruochen’s palm strength was more than double what he’d expected.
His expression shifted dramatically as he stumbled back. With each step, the ground beneath him crumbled. He retreated hundreds of zhang (about 1 kilometre) before dissipating the palm force.
Blood spurted from his mouth.
“Your… your cultivation has broken through?”
Fear crept into Xue Liehongdong’s eyes.
The last time they’d clashed with raw power, Xue Liehongdong had held the upper hand, dominating Zhang Ruochen. But now, with a single palm, Zhang Ruochen had injured him.
In just a few days, even without his supreme saint artefact, Zhang Ruochen’s combat strength had far surpassed his own.
Xue Liehongdong didn’t dare continue the fight. He pulled out a talisman, slapped it onto himself, and transformed into a streak of light, soaring into the clouds to escape.
“Running again?”
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly, preparing to use a grand spatial shift to pursue. But then he sensed a surge of dragon might from the clouds and paused, a smile spreading across his face.
Boom.
From the clouds emerged a magic dragon as massive as a mountain ridge, letting out a long roar. It lashed out with a sharp dragon claw, striking Xue Liehongdong and sending him flying backwards.
“Kid, Master Chen wants you to stay, and you dare run?”
Determined to prove to Zhang Ruochen that it wasn’t just a freeloader, Guoguo attacked with full force, relentlessly driving back the young palace master of the Warhammer Palace.
Xue Liehongdong’s talisman granted him incredible speed.
But in its magic dragon form, Guoguo’s body stretched over twenty li (about 10 kilometres) long, its speed terrifyingly fast. No matter how Xue Liehongdong fled, he couldn’t escape its grasp.
The saint-level cultivators watching from afar trembled with fear.
“With so many experts by Zhang Ruochen’s side, and him holding down the Eastern Domain, our days here are going to get tougher.”
“Even someone as powerful as Xue Liehongdong is being chased with no way out. If we want to run rampant in the Eastern Domain from now on, we’ll have to weigh whether we can handle Zhang Ruochen first.”
A deafening roar echoed from the clouds, shaking the heavens and earth.
“Get down!”
A pitch-black dragon claw pressed Xue Liehongdong from the sky, slamming him into the ground and driving him deep into the earth. Thick dust billowed around the impact site.
