The pitch-black cosmos, devoid of any light, was cold, hollow, and silent.
Suddenly.
A blinding radiance flared, shattering the darkness.
“Dragon-Elephant World Annihilation.”
The roar of dragons thundered through the heavens, causing ripples in the fabric of this cosmic space.
Ten azure dragons, wreathed in divine flames, surged forward like ten celestial rivers, crashing into a black demonic tree tens of thousands of metres tall on the opposite side.
Each branch of the black demonic tree moved like a hand, stirring up immense, boundless energy in a desperate attempt to resist.
It was one of the five Thousand Questions realm celestial slaves, the Heaven-Devouring Tree.
“Zhang Ruochen, you, a cultivator of the Heavenly Realm, willingly serve as a pawn of the Hell Realm. You… you will meet a terrible end… end…”
Roaring in fury, the Heaven-Devouring Tree unleashed hundreds of billions of Saint Path rules from its body, transforming them into a majestic, sinister demonic city to confront the ten azure dragons.
“Boom.”
The demonic city shattered.
Immediately after, the massive tree body exploded.
Under the burning divine flames, the Heaven-Devouring Tree’s vitality rapidly drained, turning to scattered ashes.
In the cosmic void, only a Saint Source brimming with demonic energy remained.
Zhang Ruochen retrieved it from a distance, murmuring to himself, “A Great Saint in the early Thousand Questions realm, so fragile, so easy to kill.”
The other Hundred Shackles realm peak Great Saints who had joined in hunting the Heaven-Devouring Tree overheard this, their mouths twitching.
Too perverse!
Though they had helped by cutting off the Heaven-Devouring Tree’s escape routes, Zhang Ruochen’s ability to obliterate a Thousand Questions realm Great Saint with a single palm, body and soul destroyed, still sent chills through them.
Didn’t that mean Zhang Ruochen could kill them with one palm as well?
Before the conquest of the Dark Star, Zhang Ruochen had refined the dragon souls of ten azure dragons into his left arm.
For reasons unknown, when the ten azure dragon souls were integrated, they devoured the three Thousand Questions realm dragon souls already in his arm, as if refusing to coexist with others.
Thus, though it seemed Zhang Ruochen’s palm unleashed only ten dragon souls, it actually carried the power of thirteen Thousand Questions realm dragon souls. Even without using Saint Techniques, a casual strike matched the full force of an early Thousand Questions realm Great Saint.
Or perhaps surpassed it.
Just now, Zhang Ruochen had struck with full force, infusing divine flames and the Saint Intent of the Fire Path into his palm. How could the Heaven-Devouring Tree withstand it?
Though Zhang Ruochen had not yet perfected the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm to the level of a high-tier Thousand Questions realm Saint Technique, its unleashed power far exceeded many such techniques.
“These ten dragon souls are extremely precious. With my nurturing, they may grow to the Ten Thousand Deaths realm, or even the Supreme realm. If I could obtain ten equally potent elephant souls, how could my Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm not reach its pinnacle?” Zhang Ruochen mused to himself.
Guchenzi, holding a diamond-shaped mirror, approached Zhang Ruochen with reverence and said, “Great Saint, after these days of relentless campaigns against the First and Second Dark Stars, we have hunted 307 Great Saint-level celestial slaves, 17,000 Saint King-level celestial slaves, and countless Saint and Half-Saint-level celestial slaves.”
“Currently, the Immortal Blood Clan’s total points have reached 71 million, firmly holding the top spot among the ten clans.”
Zhang Ruochen sank into deep thought. Once, Half-Saints and Saints were figures he could only look up to. Saint Kings and Great Saints were legendary existences.
Yet now, they had become prey, targets for him to hunt, powerless against him.
Over 300 Great Saints, 17,000 Saint Kings—what terrifying numbers. Some great worlds couldn’t even cultivate this many top-tier Saint realm experts.
So many Saint realm powerhouses, driven to the battlefield, reduced to hunted prey—it was no wonder the Hell Realm placed such importance on the Hunting Heaven War.
Zhang Ruochen couldn’t help but ponder: in this dog-eat-dog universe, what kind of powerhouse was a true powerhouse?
What kind of great world was a truly thriving one?
In the past, during the Kunlun Realm’s golden age, with gods standing tall and ten thousand Saints paying homage, what kind of grandeur was that?
Snapping out of his reverie, Zhang Ruochen asked, “What are my personal points?”
“28 million,” Guchenzi replied.
Zhang Ruochen frowned, saying, “Only that much?”
Guchenzi gave a wry smile, saying, “Excluding the Immortal Blood Clan, Asura Clan, and Yama Clan, the total points of any other clan don’t match yours, Great Saint. In this Hunting Heaven War, the top individual points will undoubtedly be yours.”
The cultivators present had witnessed Zhang Ruochen’s ruthless slaughter, showing no mercy to any celestial slave.
If these scenes were fully projected by the Ten Thousand Realms Divine Eye and broadcast, Zhang Ruochen would surely be branded a “Killing Demon King.”
The beings of the Heavenly Realms, seeing such scenes, would likely tremble in fear.
Now, they wouldn’t believe for a moment that Zhang Ruochen would betray the Hell Realm, convinced he had fully embraced his role as a member of the Immortal Blood Clan.
Even if Zhang Ruochen returned to the Heavenly Realm now, no cultivator would accept him. They would see him as an outsider and execute him.
It could be said that Zhang Ruochen had passed the first test set by the gods of the Hell Realm. Blood Absolute War God, Blood Empress, and Nether King all breathed a sigh of relief, nodding in satisfaction.
Zhang Ruochen had reached this point through immense resolve, enduring hardships beyond ordinary comprehension.
His expression calm, Zhang Ruochen asked, “What about the Immortal Blood Clan’s casualties?”
Guchenzi said, “Three Great Saints perished when celestial slaves detonated their Saint Sources, unable to retreat in time. Other Great Saints, though some were gravely injured, have all been saved.”
This time, Zhang Ruochen had led over 600 Immortal Blood Clan Great Saints into battle, holding an absolute advantage.
When pushed to a life-or-death struggle, those Great Saint celestial slaves would naturally detonate their Saint Sources.
However, with their spiritual power sealed, their mental will would be instantly suppressed when attempting to detonate. Only in rare cases could some Great Saints succeed, causing casualties to the Immortal Blood Clan.
Otherwise, hunting over 300 Great Saint celestial slaves with only three Immortal Blood Clan Great Saint losses would have been impossible—300 losses would have been more likely.
It had to be said: celestial slaves were, after all, celestial slaves; prey were, after all, prey.
Their fate was sealed the moment they entered the Hunting Heaven Battlefield.
This was a game of hunters and deer, unfair from the start.
The over 600 Immortal Blood Clan Great Saints, like divine beings of the heavens, stood on the surface of a massive purple-gold gourd, flying out of the dark star domain enveloping the Second Dark Star.
“Swish—”
A communication talisman flew from afar, landing in Guchenzi’s hand.
After reading its contents, Guchenzi’s eyes widened, and he reported to Zhang Ruochen, “It’s news from Xueqi. Yan Wushen stormed the Asura Clan’s home star, wiping out ninety-nine percent of their clansmen, and has now rushed to the Fifth Dark Star to join Yan Huangtu.”
Completely annihilating a clan’s members was nearly impossible.
Every clan’s Great Saints would surely carry a few clansmen with them to ensure their total points wouldn’t be halved.
Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised, saying, “He’s truly ruthless, actually pulling it off!”
The Asura Clan, knowing Yan Wushen would come, must have made thorough preparations, setting up an inescapable net with countless experts lying in wait.
In such circumstances, even Zhang Ruochen would hesitate to storm the Asura Clan’s home star.
Yet Yan Wushen not only went alone but also succeeded in wiping out most of the Asura Clan’s members and escaped unscathed.
Such prowess was godlike.
Guchenzi, equally shocked, said, “Yan Wushen is indeed a top-tier figure. Perhaps only you, Great Saint, can rival him in this era.”
“Yan Wushen is remarkable, but Yan Huangtu is no ordinary figure either. With Yan Huangtu present, he can significantly restrain Yan Wushen,” Zhang Ruochen said thoughtfully.
Guchenzi looked puzzled, not fully grasping Zhang Ruochen’s meaning.
In the past, Zhang Ruochen hadn’t taken Yan Huangtu too seriously, never seeing him as a threat. To him, Yan Huangtu’s rigid personality and imposing aura made him an easy target.
But this time, Yan Huangtu exceeded Zhang Ruochen’s expectations.
Instead of rashly storming the Immortal Blood Clan’s home star alone, Yan Huangtu, like Zhang Ruochen, led the Yama Clan’s Great Saints to conquer the Dark Stars, amassing points.
As a result, though nearly half of the Yama Clan’s members were killed, their points had rapidly climbed to 60 million, not far behind the Immortal Blood Clan.
This showed Yan Huangtu wasn’t as simple as he appeared. Neither hatred nor shame swayed his emotions or judgment. He was adaptable, strategic, and deeply calculating.
Such a person was the most terrifying.
Unreadable, unpredictable.
His outward demeanor was a deliberate facade to lull others.
Even his displayed strength might not reflect his true power.
“What a pity. If Yan Huangtu were truly stubborn and overbearing, he would have stormed the Immortal Blood Clan’s home star. Without a leader, the Yama Clan’s points reaching 30 million would have been impressive,” Zhang Ruochen sighed inwardly.
Recently, the Immortal Blood Clan’s points had surged too quickly, pressuring the other ten clans to halt infighting and focus entirely on hunting celestial slaves.
Under Yan Huangtu’s leadership, the Yama Clan eradicated the celestial slaves near the Fourth Dark Star and began advancing toward the star domain of the Fifth Dark Star.
The points race had reached a fever pitch.
“We must take at least one more Dark Star to push our points to 100 million, securing the top spot among the ten clans,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Not all celestial slaves were gathered near the seven Dark Stars.
However, the star domains around the seven Dark Stars were ideal for hiding, making celestial slaves more concentrated there. Conquering these areas allowed for rapid point accumulation.
Guchenzi unfurled a star map before Zhang Ruochen, pointing to a black orb, saying, “Yan Huangtu and Yan Wushen are at the Fifth Dark Star. We can’t interfere there.”
“Now, only the Sixth and Seventh Dark Stars remain.”
“The Sixth Dark Star is occupied by the middle three clans. They claimed it long ago, and most of the celestial slaves there have been cleared.”
“If we go now, we might fall into a trap set by the middle three clans. Getting stuck there could affect the entire battle.”
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly, saying, “Though the middle three clans lack top-tier experts, their combined strength is still formidable. There’s no need to compete with them for those remaining points. What’s the situation with the Seventh Dark Star?”
Guchenzi took a deep breath, his expression grave, saying, “The Seventh Dark Star is unique, the largest Dark Star in the Hunting Heaven Battlefield, spanning a star domain six million miles in diameter.”
“It’s both a deathly abyss and a forbidden zone.”
“Hell Realm Great Saints who ventured deep inside never returned. Seventy-three Great Saints have vanished there.”
“No one knows if it’s the environment inside the Dark Star or something else causing this.”
“Many speculate Chi Di might be there. Thus, no faction dares to enter lightly. Meanwhile, countless celestial slaves have taken refuge there.”
“The Seventh Dark Star is likely where the most celestial slaves are gathered. Whichever faction conquers it will see their points skyrocket.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at the massive dark orb on the star map.
Guchenzi added, “However, I’ve received news that Prajna, Yuan Fei Great Saint, and Que Fei are leading the upper three clans’ Great Saints to the Seventh Dark Star in droves. It seems the upper three clans plan to tackle this tough challenge.”
Dao Yuhuang sneered, “Wujiang was gravely injured by Great Saint Ruochen and hasn’t appeared since. Without top-tier experts, the upper three clans entering such a complex environment will suffer heavy losses if they encounter Chi Di.”
“Why don’t we wait? Let the upper three clans take the lead. Once they return defeated, we can make our move,” Guchenzi suggested.
All eyes turned to Zhang Ruochen, awaiting his decision.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze sharpened, saying, “I hope Chi Di is indeed at the Seventh Dark Star. After all, his points alone are worth ten million.”
At that moment, two thoughts crossed Zhang Ruochen’s mind.
First, the test from the Burial Gold White Tiger.
Only by passing it could he access the opportunity on the Ghost Clan’s home star, potentially elevating his cultivation significantly in a short time.
Second, Chi Di was a member of the Wujian Pavilion, whose leader was the Thousand-Bone Empress.
Since the top spot in the Hunting Heaven War was so important to the Empress, could Chi Di’s presence in the battlefield be a piece she had strategically placed?
