In Lanxi’s eyes, the carriages approaching from both directions grew increasingly massive, first like palaces, then like mountains, and finally as if they were two planets, radiating immense, overwhelming pressure.
The sound of the wheels was louder than thunder, causing ripples in the space.
She and the Nine-Dragon Carriage beside her seemed utterly insignificant.
Despite her Great Saint-level cultivation, hailed as a sovereign among saints, she felt suffocated, as if her body were about to be crushed into fragments.
Saint Xueqi, with his profound cultivation, was not intimidated by the aura of the two carriages. Unwilling to sit idly by, he gritted his teeth, unfurled his blood wings, and drew a curved, king-grade sacred weapon blade from his brow, activating its royal inscriptions.
“Break!”
Gripping the handle with both hands, he unleashed a surge of blood qi clouds, slashing with full force.
A blood-river-like blade light tore through the pink charming mist, hovering above Saint Yanhong’s carriage before swiftly descending.
The blade’s edge bathed the world in blood-red light.
Yet, this earth-shattering strike was blocked by a layer of light mist emanating from the carriage, unable to harm it in the slightest.
“Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.”
With Saint Yanhong’s cold voice, thousands of clawing bone birds flew from the light mist, emitting dense, piercing cries as they charged toward the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
Saint Xueqi raised his blade horizontally, stepping back. Billions of rule patterns appeared beneath his feet, invoking the blade’s defensive power.
The bone birds were terrifyingly powerful, each collision causing him to tremble slightly.
After only a brief resistance, his defence collapsed. His battle robe tore, his arms bled profusely, and his body slammed heavily into the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
Saint Yanhong hadn’t even acted personally; the bone birds conjured by her charming mist alone had severely injured a Great Saint who had broken seventy-two shackles.
It wasn’t that Saint Xueqi was weak, but his opponent was too formidable.
Gravely wounded, he knelt on one knee, watching the overwhelming swarm of bone birds. Though he knew Saint Yanhong wouldn’t dare kill him, a despairing thought arose: “Today, I am doomed.”
Against other Hundred-Shackle Realm Great Perfection experts, Saint Xueqi was confident he could hold his own or at least retreat calmly. But against someone like Saint Yanhong, he lost even the confidence to escape.
“Too powerful! This is the strength of the eighth-ranked expert on the Hundred-Shackle Realm Great Perfection list, the Pink Skeleton.” Saint Xueqi bowed his head, his confidence shattered.
Undoubtedly, Saint Yanhong would henceforth be his inner demon, an insurmountable obstacle.
As the bone birds neared the Nine-Dragon Carriage, a massive dragon soul flew out from within, its body as vast as a mountain ridge. It opened a mouth like a deep abyss, swallowing all the birds.
“Roar!”
The dragon soul coiled around the Nine-Dragon Carriage, letting out a heaven-shaking roar.
“A Qianwen Realm dragon soul.”
Saint Xueqi looked up, astonishment in his eyes.
“Roar!”
“Growl!”
Two more Qianwen Realm dragon souls and three Qianwen Realm elephant souls rushed out, surrounding the carriage.
With fierce glares and skyward roars, they held the two approaching carriages at bay, preventing them from advancing further.
Zhang Ruochen sat inside, slowly spreading his arms.
The power of the three dragons and three elephants erupted, forcing the two carriages to retreat. The spatial inscriptions forming their barriers snapped one by one.
Lanxi’s eyes filled with disbelief.
Only now did she truly grasp how powerful Zhang Ruochen was. With her cultivation and talent, killing him was a pipe dream.
Not now.
And even less likely in the future.
“Quite surprising. As expected of a demigod body, able to withstand six Qianwen Realm beast souls in the Immortality Realm. Still, it’s far from enough.”
From the rear carriage, Xu spoke.
The next moment, the wails of countless ghosts echoed from his carriage.
Dense ghost shadows poured out—humans, beasts, birds—numbering not just ten thousand, but over a hundred thousand, even a million.
The countless ghosts formed six storm vortices.
Each vortex condensed into a Qianwen Realm-level Ghost Emperor soul, including a hundred-zhang-tall giant, a Rakshasa with black wings, and a demon bull with twin horns.
Saint Xueqi’s face darkened. “Xu seized the Chaos Spring, forging an Immortal Chaos Ghost Emperor body. With it and his Hundred-Shackle Realm Great Perfection cultivation, he can endlessly absorb ghosts into his body. He just released at least six million ghost souls.”
Six million ghosts formed six Qianwen Realm Ghost Emperor souls, their power rivalling Zhang Ruochen’s three dragons and three elephants.
More unsettling was that six million ghosts were not Xu’s full strength. No one knew how many Qianwen Realm Ghost Emperor souls he could summon at full power.
The six Ghost Emperor souls countered the three dragons and three elephants.
The two carriages resumed their advance, pressing toward the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
“No monk who reaches Hundred-Shackle Realm Great Perfection within a thousand years is simple. Those in the top ten are unfathomably deep. Even Qianwen Realm Great Saints are no match for you.”
Zhang Ruochen spoke, retrieving the Hidden Mountain Demonic Mirror.
Sensing the aura of a Supreme Sacred Artifact, Saint Yanhong’s voice rang out: “Is this the extent of a so-called Eon-level genius? We’ve only used half our strength, and you’re already forced to use a Supreme Sacred Artifact?”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Using a Supreme Sacred Artifact in a fight in the Fate God Domain will get it confiscated by the temple,” Xu said.
Though Saint Yanhong and Xu targeted Zhang Ruochen, they hadn’t truly acted or left their carriages, only driving along the same street.
This was a loophole in the Temple of Fate’s rules!
Like Xu, who summoned six Ghost Emperor souls but didn’t control them to attack, merely advancing to counter the three dragons and three elephants.
In contrast, Saint Xueqi’s preemptive strike with a weapon violated the rules.
Even if Zhang Ruochen were gravely injured today, they could claim they were merely driving and accidentally encountered him.
An absurd excuse, but one that skirted the rules.
Zhang Ruochen knew they were testing his strength and wouldn’t dare go too far. Their real goal was to use their king-grade sacred artifact carriages to crush the Nine-Dragon Carriage in a pincer movement.
Other tactics, like the six Ghost Emperor souls and charming mist illusions, were only to suppress his power.
“They want to force me to act first, giving them a reason to strike.”
Zhang Ruochen stowed the Hidden Mountain Demonic Mirror, gazing at Saint Yanhong’s approaching carriage.
If Xu and Saint Yanhong’s carriages overturned his, even without injury, it would severely damage his prestige in the Xuetian Tribe and Undying Blood Clan.
A major loss of face.
He’d lose any chance to wield a Supreme Sacred Artifact for the Undying Blood Clan.
But if he overcame this challenge, his reputation would soar, greatly aiding Blood Absolute War God’s negotiations with the Undying Blood Clan’s gods.
No matter how great your talent, you need real combat results.
This clash tested not only Zhang Ruochen’s strength but also his wisdom and ability to handle crises.
“How to break their suppression within the rules?”
After a moment’s thought, Zhang Ruochen released millions of time imprint light dots.
Xu and Saint Yanhong grew wary. They feared his time manipulation most, and though prepared, they remained on high alert.
Dozens of time-imprint-infused talismans appeared on both carriages.
Zhang Ruochen’s time imprint dots were repelled by the talismans’ power, unable to reach the carriages.
Inside the Nine-Dragon Carriage, Zhang Ruochen clapped his hands.
The millions of light dots flew back, forming a Time Bell that enveloped the carriage. Saint Xueqi and Lanxi hurriedly boarded, standing to his left and right.
They knew even Xu and Saint Yanhong wouldn’t dare touch the Time Bell lightly.
Its interior was the safest place.
Zhang Ruochen conjured six spatial chains, linking the three dragon and three elephant souls, controlling them to pull the carriage.
“You want to leave, Zhang Ruochen? Not so easy,” Xu said, lifting his curtain with a refined smile.
The six Ghost Emperor souls clashed fiercely with the three dragons and three elephants, vying for dominance.
“If I want to leave, you can’t stop me.”
Zhang Ruochen pointed forward, and the space around the six Ghost Emperor souls rapidly collapsed. Despite their efforts, the space shrank into a fist-sized sphere.
The six souls were trapped within, unable to resist the three dragons and three elephants.
The carriage’s wheels rolled.
As the Time Bell-wrapped Nine-Dragon Carriage moved past, the spherical space shattered, and the Ghost Emperor souls expanded to their original size.
The figures in the two carriages watched the Nine-Dragon Carriage drive away, not pursuing.
On a floating island nearby, Xu and Saint Yanhong’s true bodies stood side by side, overlooking the city. They exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in the other’s eyes.
They hadn’t dared use their true bodies to confront Zhang Ruochen, a divine son with a special status, in the Fate God Domain.
Though the carriages held only their avatars, their true bodies had controlled everything. With their cultivation and countermeasures against space and time, they were stunned that Zhang Ruochen escaped unscathed.
“Trapping a Time-Space Controller is indeed like climbing to the heavens,” Saint Yanhong sighed, feeling helpless.
With Zhang Ruochen’s many enemies in the Infernal Realm, killing him would gain her support from major forces, easing her path to becoming a goddess of the Temple of Fate.
But this test showed that, even if her combat power surpassed his, if he didn’t want to fight, he could escape anytime.
Impossible to trap, impossible to kill.
Xu’s gaze was deep. “Together, we couldn’t probe his full strength. Since his battle with Emperor Moro, his power has grown more than double.”
“At least we confirmed he’s reached the peak of the Immortality Realm,” Saint Yanhong said.
Xu added, “Before he breaks his first shackle, he’s not a threat. But the problem is, no one knows when he’ll do it.”
Breaking the first shackle would mark Zhang Ruochen’s entry into the Hundred-Shackle Realm, fully unleashing his demigod body’s power.
Even top-ten Great Perfection experts like Xu and Saint Yanhong would then fear him.
This was the outcome they least wanted.
“Don’t you hold a key trump card? Use it at the Hunting Heaven Banquet, and Zhang Ruochen won’t escape so easily,” Saint Yanhong said, her eyes cold as frost.
Though a pink skeleton, her surface was a stunningly beautiful facade, indistinguishable from a breathtaking beauty.
She added, “The Shadowless Fairy by his side could be refined into my next century’s skin. Perfect, the more I look, the more beautiful she seems.”
…
The Nine-Dragon Carriage, heavily damaged and cracked, rolled down the empty street, fading into the distance.
Wujiang stood in the night, blending with the six-coloured rain, having witnessed the entire clash.
He didn’t act.
If Xu and Saint Yanhong together couldn’t stop Zhang Ruochen, his intervention would likely yield the same result.
But as he prepared to leave, he was shocked to see a figure appear ahead of the Nine-Dragon Carriage, standing in the street’s centre.
A black figure.
The figure, thin as a bamboo pole yet upright, walked toward the carriage as if deaf and blind, oblivious to it being Zhang Ruochen’s or the Qianwen Realm beast souls pulling it.
But could a monk in Hanye City truly be deaf and blind?
“Who is he? What does he want?”
Wujiang probed with his mental power, but it was swallowed by an invisible force, vanishing without a trace.
As the fifth-ranked on the Hundred-Shackle Realm Great Perfection list, stronger than Xu and Saint Yanhong, he was alarmed.
How could such a strange monk appear in Hanye City, possibly stronger than him?
Inside the carriage, Zhang Ruochen, unaware of the black figure, reflected on the recent clash, calm outwardly but turbulent within.
Though only a probing skirmish, it made him deeply aware of the prowess of top-ten Hundred-Shackle Realm Great Perfection experts. Both Xu and Saint Yanhong were like bottomless abysses.
Even the current Emperor Yu was slightly or half a step behind them.
The gap was clear.
After stabilising his injuries, Saint Xueqi asked, “Xu is seventh, Saint Yanhong eighth on the Hundred-Shackle Realm Great Perfection list. With your current cultivation, can you defeat them?”
Zhang Ruochen didn’t answer, only shaking his head slightly.
It was unclear if he meant “I don’t know,” “I’m not confident,” or “I’m not their match.”
Saint Xueqi lowered his head, thinking, “Xu and Saint Yanhong are invincible in their realm. Zhang Ruochen, only at Immortality Realm, can’t win against them, no matter how strong. Escaping their combined assault is already remarkable, enough to shock the ten tribes.”
“Who are you?”
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen sensed something, his eyes sharpening like swords, staring ahead.
His reaction was swift, but as his arm rose three inches, a black shadow passed through the three dragons and three elephants, through the carriage’s walls, and entered. Its finger, moving dozens of times faster than Zhang Ruochen, grazed his neck, severing a strand of hair and taking it.
By the time Zhang Ruochen raised his arm, the shadow had passed through the carriage, appearing on the street behind, holding the hair and walking away.
With a flash, Zhang Ruochen used spatial teleportation, appearing on the street, staring at the bamboo-thin black figure with uncertainty and shock.
“A so-called Eon-level genius, nothing more.”
The black figure spoke, then vanished as it walked, leaving no trace.
As if nothing had happened, like an illusion.
Saint Xueqi leapt from the carriage, looking where Zhang Ruochen stared. “What’s wrong?”
“Did you see it?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“See what? What happened?” Saint Xueqi asked.
“Of course, his speed was too fast. With your cultivation, how could you see? Is this the power of nothingness?” Zhang Ruochen touched his hair, one strand cut to an inch long.
Coming and going without a trace.
Even with Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation, he only saw the shadow, unable to stop it from cutting his hair.
If it could cut his hair, it could kill him.
With such speed, how could Saint Xueqi see?
Perhaps only by preemptively using time and space powers could Zhang Ruochen have a slim chance to match its speed. But the figure’s body was like nothingness, undetectable in advance. How could he prepare?
“Was this a test of my strength or a show of force? Who are you?” Zhang Ruochen’s pupils narrowed.
From afar, Wujiang, witnessing it all, held his breath, feeling a chill.
Even with his cultivation, he couldn’t see how the figure appeared or vanished—terrifying beyond measure.
“To appear here, he must be a monk attending the Hunting Heaven Banquet, likely a Qianwen or Life-Death Realm guest. If he’s Hundred-Shackle Realm… I’m likely no match.”
Wujiang speculated but shook his head.
Even the third-ranked Yan Huangtu or second-ranked Lanying couldn’t be this strong. Could it be the first-ranked?
