“Your Highness the Crown Prince, I arrived late to protect you. Please forgive me,” Murong Yefeng said.
The palm strike Murong Yefeng had just unleashed caused Crown Prince Dizu, Shiqing Shenzi, and Yue Gongming, watching from a distance, to feel a jolt of shock.
Who was this newcomer?
Why would such a peerless powerhouse bow to Zhang Ruochen?
The Butcher, overjoyed, let out a wild laugh. “With a strong ally arriving, today, whether it’s the Asuras of the Infernal Realm or the traitors of the Heavenly Realm, they’ll all die!”
The Butcher charged out of the divine river, slashing horizontally with his blade. With a ripping sound, he left a foot-long gash across Yue Gongming’s abdomen.
In another direction, Qu Xingzhe caught sight of Murong Yefeng, and his scalp tingled with dread, a sense of impending doom washing over him.
His gaze shifted to Master Shenya, hovering in midair. Sweat beaded on Master Shenya’s forehead, his face twitching uncontrollably—his spiritual duel seemed to be faltering.
“The situation’s turning bad. I need to escape.”
Qu Xingzhe pulled out a talisman and pressed it to his chest. The next moment, he burst forth at a thousand times the speed of sound, aiming to break through the Battle Soul Star’s atmosphere.
“I’ll leave this to you!”
Zhang Ruochen gave Murong Yefeng a quick order before rushing out of the blood mist. Using a grand spatial shift, he caught up to Qu Xingzhe from behind.
“Still trying to flee?”
Hearing Zhang Ruochen’s voice from behind, Qu Xingzhe was momentarily startled.
But he quickly regained his composure, believing there might still be a chance to turn defeat into victory.
That chance lay in capturing Zhang Ruochen.
A sinister look crossed Qu Xingzhe’s face as he spun around, still moving at a thousand times the speed of sound, charging straight at Zhang Ruochen.
Dense Sanskrit inscriptions appeared on Qu Xingzhe’s skin, his body turning golden, a halo of divine Buddha light encircling his head.
At that moment, his physical body reached an extreme level of power. Combined with a thousandfold speed of sound, the sheer momentum alone could wreak catastrophic destruction.
The speed was too great. Zhang Ruochen had no choice but to summon his spatial domain, employing spatial distortion techniques.
As Qu Xingzhe reached him, his trajectory bent, veering off to Zhang Ruochen’s right and crashing into the ground.
“Boom.”
Even the sturdy surface of the Battle Soul Star was gouged by Qu Xingzhe, leaving a crater dozens of metres wide.
Zhang Ruochen floated down to the crater’s edge, releasing his spiritual power to peer below, where thick smoke billowed.
Suddenly, his eyelids twitched. He unleashed the Qingtian Pagoda, raising it before him.
“Bang.”
Qu Xingzhe shot out of the crater, slamming into the Qingtian Pagoda. The impact sent Zhang Ruochen flying backwards at a thousand times the speed of sound. While airborne, he channelled holy qi into the pagoda, its surface radiating Supreme Power.
Zhang Ruochen struck the pagoda with a palm, producing a buzzing sound. A translucent wave of energy rebounded, sending Qu Xingzhe flying diagonally like a scarecrow, crashing to the ground.
Immediately after, the Qingtian Pagoda slammed down, smashing into Qu Xingzhe’s body.
“Crack, crack.”
Qu Xingzhe’s organs shattered, more than a dozen of his holy bones snapped, and even his holy soul nearly split apart.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t kill Qu Xingzhe outright. Instead, he took out a Saint-Binding Chain, tied him up, and stored him in the Qiankun Realm.
On the other side, Murong Yefeng and the Blood Bee Asura King stood in a tense standoff, neither making a move.
Crown Prince Dizu, Yue Gongming, and Shiqing Shenzi had been subdued by the Tianchu Civilisation cultivators, all gravely injured and stripped of combat ability. The Blood Emperor Bees were restrained by the *Red Sun Divine River Scroll*.
The situation now heavily favoured Zhang Ruochen’s side.
Zhang Ruochen summoned the Chenyuan Ancient Sword, intending to aid Ji Fanxin and strike down Master Shenya.
Showing mercy to an enemy like Master Shenya was mere foolishness—when the chance to kill arose, it had to be taken.
Before Zhang Ruochen could act, the spiritual duel between Master Shenya and Ji Fanxin reached its conclusion.
“Pfft.”
Master Shenya spat blood, plummeting from the sky.
Ji Fanxin, too, seemed gravely injured. Her graceful, alluring figure was flung backwards.
“Swish.”
Fairy Tianchu sent out a long silk ribbon, stretching over a dozen li to catch Ji Fanxin.
But beside Ji Fanxin, ripples of spatial energy appeared. Zhang Ruochen stepped through, catching her by the waist.
The two descended slowly to the ground, petals raining down around them.
Fairy Tianchu quickly retracted her ribbon, her eyes fixed intently on the pair.
Beside her, the Butcher laughed heartily. “Thank goodness the Hundred Flower Fairy arrived in time, or we’d have suffered a heavy loss today.”
“Master Shenya was forced to spit blood by the Hundred Flower Fairy. This battle will surely shift how the world’s cultivators view her—she’s not just an ethereal fairy but a top-tier powerhouse below the Great Saint level,” an elder of the Tianchu Civilisation remarked.
Dai Zi nudged the elder with his elbow, cautioning him against praising another woman of equal renown in front of their goddess. How would that make Her Highness feel?
Dai Zi changed the subject with a chuckle. “Have you noticed? The Hundred Flower Fairy and Zhang Ruochen share an unusual bond. It seems she truly is his confidante.”
The elder caught on and quickly chimed in, “Yes, yes, without an extraordinary connection, why would the Hundred Flower Fairy oppose Master Shenya for his sake?”
The Butcher’s booming voice rang out. “I’ve said it before—Hundred Flower Fairy and Zhang Ruochen are a perfect match, a golden boy and jade girl. Who knows, after the Kunlun Realm’s Merit War ends, the Moon Goddess might head to the Qianrui Realm to propose on his behalf. Haha!”
At that moment, everyone was in high spirits, chatting and laughing.
Yet they failed to notice that Fairy Tianchu didn’t share their joy. Instead, it felt as though her heart had been stabbed repeatedly. Her slender jade fingers clenched tightly, a bitter taste rising within her.
She considered herself magnanimous, rarely vying with other women, but at this moment, deep down, she felt a subtle rejection towards Ji Fanxin.
Once on the ground, Ji Fanxin shook her head lightly at Zhang Ruochen. “It’s just excessive spiritual power consumption—nothing serious.”
“I have a holy medicine for restoring spiritual power.”
Zhang Ruochen took out a vial and handed it to her.
Ji Fanxin naturally had her own spiritual recovery medicine, but she didn’t refuse Zhang Ruochen’s offer. She accepted the vial, poured a drop onto her fingertip, and swallowed it past her red lips.
On the other side, with a “swish,” Fairy Tianchu’s Rain Silk Divine Sword shot forth, piercing Master Shenya’s holy heart in a single strike.
Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin both looked over, surprise flickering in their eyes.
Fairy Tianchu had only subdued Crown Prince Dizu, Shiqing Shenzi, and Yue Gongming—why had she suddenly killed Master Shenya with a single sword?
Catching Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin’s questioning gazes, Fairy Tianchu seemed eager to cover something up. She swung the Rain Silk Divine Sword again, and three bloodied heads flew into the air.
Crown Prince Dizu, Shiqing Shenzi, and Yue Gongming were all dead.
Even the Butcher, Dai Zi, Li Miaohan, and others who had long followed Fairy Tianchu were taken aback. After all, Her Highness had previously instructed them to send Crown Prince Dizu, Shiqing Shenzi, and Yue Gongming to the Heavenly Palace for punishment.
Why the sudden change of heart?
A woman’s mood could indeed flip faster than a book’s pages.
Seeing everyone staring at her with puzzled expressions, Fairy Tianchu offered an explanation. “Master Shenya was a Grandmaster. Even if sent to the Heavenly Palace, they wouldn’t execute him. If he lived, he’d be an endless threat to us.”
“Since we killed Master Shenya, as witnesses, those three had to die too.”
The logic held. Even if Fairy Tianchu hadn’t acted, Zhang Ruochen would have.
Still, for an immaculate fairy to personally kill—was that really appropriate? A simple command, and the Butcher or Dai Zi would have gladly handled such dirty work.
Ji Fanxin glanced at Zhang Ruochen beside her, seemingly piecing something together. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, “What’s your relationship with Fairy Tianchu?”
Zhang Ruochen’s heart skipped a beat. Had Ji Fanxin noticed something? He transmitted back, “At the God-Sealing Platform, I helped the Tianchu Goddess with a major favour. But in the Eastern Region’s Holy City, she repaid that debt.”
His history with Fairy Tianchu involved her honour—how could Zhang Ruochen speak carelessly?
“Is that all?” Ji Fanxin asked.
Zhang Ruochen replied, “Don’t you trust me, Fairy?”
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. It’s just that we’re getting too close, and the Tianchu Goddess seems a bit displeased,” Ji Fanxin said with a faint smile, adding, “Haven’t you noticed? Even when we’re transmitting secretly, her gaze keeps drifting towards us.”
Zhang Ruochen was meticulous when observing enemies but rarely paid close attention to a woman’s subtle expressions.
Ji Fanxin continued, “It seems the pure and noble Fairy Tianchu has developed mortal feelings but doesn’t dare express them. Zhang Ruochen, want to become the Tianchu Civilisation’s prince consort? I could lend you a hand.”
“No, please don’t meddle in our affairs. It’s complicated,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Ji Fanxin pressed, “What’s complicated? You’re definitely hiding something from me.”
Zhang Ruochen made a pleading gesture for mercy. Ji Fanxin was too clever—lying to a woman like her was exhausting.
To stop her probing, Zhang Ruochen quickly asked, “Your spiritual power is so formidable. Why, back in the Truth Heavenly Domain, did you still fear King Yan and Empress Lian?”
“In the Truth Heavenly Domain, my spiritual power was sealed and unusable. Even now, in the Kunlun Realm, it’s still mostly sealed—I’ve only unlocked a portion,” Ji Fanxin explained.
Still sealed?
If unsealed, how powerful would her spiritual power be? A Great Saint of Spiritual Power?
The Blood Bee Asura King, seasoned in countless battles, remained composed despite the dire situation. He summoned his Great Saint holy soul, his body radiating blinding blood-red light, and charged towards Fairy Tianchu.
Victory was now impossible.
Escaping was as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
His only chance of survival lay in capturing a key figure to secure his escape.
The Blood Bee Asura King had considered Zhang Ruochen and Fairy Tianchu as targets. But with Ji Fanxin standing beside Zhang Ruochen, he hesitated, opting instead to seize Fairy Tianchu.
“You dare!”
The three elders of the Tianchu Civilisation leapt forward simultaneously, each unleashing their holy artefacts.
…
