Chapter 2272: The Difficult Road Ahead and The Traceless Oblivion
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lian Xi saw the carriages that were coming from the front and back become bigger and bigger. First, it was like a palace, and then it was like a mountain. Finally, it seemed to have transformed into two planets, releasing an extremely imposing pressure.
The sound of the wheels was even more ear-splitting than the sound of thunder, and ripples appeared in space.
Lian Xi and the Nine-Dragon Carriage beside her appeared extremely small.
Lian Xi was known as the king of Sainthood with her attained Supreme Saint cultivation. However, she felt as if she could not breathe and her body was about to be crushed into pieces.
Supreme Saint Xueqi’s cultivation was very high. He was not intimidated by the aura of the two carriages. He did not want to just sit there and wait for death. Hence, He gritted his teeth and spread the blood wings on his back. He pulled out a Regal Artifact from between his brows and activated the Regal Inscriptions on the blade.
“Break it.”
Supreme Saint Xueqi grabbed the handle of the blade with both hands. Blood clouds surged out of his body as he slashed out with all his might.
Crash
A blade ray that was like a river of blood tore apart the scarlet mist. It floated above Supreme Saint Yanhong’s red carriage and pressed down rapidly.
The sharp blade shone the entire world in blood-red light.
However, this heaven-splitting blade was blocked by a layer of light fog from the frame of the chariot. It could not hurt the chariot at all.
“Futile attempt,” said Supreme Saint Yanhong.
After that, tens of thousands of bone birds that bared their fangs and brandished their claws flew out from the layer of light fog. They let out a dense and ear-piercing cry as they charged towards the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
Supreme Saint Xueqi sheathed his blade and raised it horizontally. He took a step back and billions of precept ley lines appeared under his feet. They activated the defensive power of the blade.
The power of those bone birds was shocking. Every time one of them charged at Supreme Saint Xueqi, it would cause him to tremble slightly.
In just a few moments, Supreme Saint Xueqi’s defense was broken. His armor was torn apart and his arms were drenched in blood. His body slammed heavily into the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
Supreme Saint Yanhong did not attack with her own hands. Instead, she used the bone birds created by the scarlet mist to heavily injure a Supreme Saint who had severed 72 shackles.
It was not that Supreme Saint Xueqi was not powerful enough. It was just that his opponent was too terrifying.
Supreme Saint Xueqi was severely injured. He knelt on one knee on the ground and looked at the bone birds that were swarming towards him. Even though he knew that Supreme Saint Yanhong did not dare to kill him, he still felt a sense of despair and thought, ‘Today, I will definitely die.’
When Supreme Saint Xueqi encountered other cultivators who were in the Great Perfection stage of the Hundred-Shackle Realm, he was very confident that he could fight them head-on. No matter how weak Supreme Saint Xueqi was, he still had the power to retreat. However, when he encountered someone at the level of the Supreme Saint Yanhong, he lost all confidence in escaping.
“Such power! This is the eighth-ranked cultivator at the Great Perfection stage of the Hundred-Shackle Realm. That is one hell of a Pink Skull.” said Supreme Saint Xueqi as lowered his head and his confidence was completely crushed.
Without a doubt, Supreme Saint Yanhong would be Supreme Saint Xueqi’s inner demon from now on. He would not be able to overcome this obstacle.
Just as the bone birds approached the Nine-Dragon Carriage, a huge dragon soul flew out from the carriage. Its body was as big as a mountain ridge. It opened its mouth like a deep pool and swallowed all the bone birds into its stomach.
ROAR!
The body of the dragon soul coiled around the Nine-Dragon Carriage and let out an earth-shattering roar.
“A Thousand-Koan Realm dragon soul.”
Supreme Saint Xueqi raised his head abruptly and was shocked by what he saw.
ROAR! ROAR!
Immediately after, two dragon souls and three elephant souls of the Thousand-Koan Realm rushed out and coiled around the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
They glared ferociously and roared toward the sky. They blocked the two carriages that were crushing toward them and were unable to advance any further.
Zhang Ruochen sat in the Nine-Dragon Carriage and slowly spread out his arms.
Instantly, the power of the three dragons and three elephants erupted. The two carriages in front and behind were pushed back slowly. The Dimensional Inscriptions wall on the two carriages was also broken.
Lian Xi could not believe her eyes.
At that moment, Lian Xi finally understood how powerful Zhang Ruochen was. It was almost impossible for her to kill him with her cultivation and talent.
Now, it was impossible.
In the future… it would be even more impossible.
“What a surprise. That truly is a Demigod-level physique. Zhang Ruochen’s only in the Neverwilt Realm and his body can withstand six Thousand-Koan Realm beast souls. However, he’s still far from it.” said Xu, who was at the back of the carriage.
The next moment, the sound of ten thousand ghosts came from the carriage.
Countless ghosts flew out. Some were humans, some were beasts, and some were birds… There were so many of them. There were more than ten thousand or even more than a hundred thousand.
The ghosts formed six storm vortexes.
In each of the vortexes, a few Thousand-Koan Realm Ghost Emperor’s Souls were formed. A few thousand meters tall giant, a Rakshasa with black wings on its back, and a demon ox that had two horns on its head.
Supreme Saint Xueqi’s face turned bitter and he said, “Xu once seized the Spring of Chaos and formed the Primordial Ghost Emperor-Level Neverwilt Physique. He can absorb ghosts and refine them into his body endlessly with the Primordial Ghost Emperor-Level Physique and his attained Great Perfection stage of the Hundred-Shackle Realm. Earlier, he released at least six million ghosts.”
Six million ghosts formed the Thousand-Koan Realm Ghost Emperor Soul. The power it released was no less than Zhang Ruochen’s three dragons and three elephants.
What was even more disturbing was that six million ghosts were not all of Xu. No one knew how many Thousand-Koan Realm Ghost Emperor’s Souls he could form after he went all out.
The six Ghost Emperor Souls balanced the three dragons and three elephants.
The two carriages drove forward again, crushing the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
“Cultivators who attained the Great Perfection of the Hundred-Shackle Realm within a thousand years are indeed not simple. Those who can enter the top ten are all unfathomable. Even the Thousand-Koan Realm Supreme Saint is no match for you.” Zhang Ruochen said this and took out the Zangshan Demonic Mirror.
After Supreme Saint Yanhong sensed the aura of the Supreme Artifact, she said, “The so-called Yuanhui level geniuses only have this much ability? We’ve only used half of our power, and you’re already forced to use the Supreme Artifact?”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you use the Supreme Artifact in a battle in the Divine Domain of Destiny, you’ll be taken away by the fane,” Xu said.
Even though Supreme Saint Yanhong and Xu were targeting Zhang Ruochen, they didn’t really attack him. They didn’t get out of the carriage. They just drove on the same street as Zhang Ruochen.
This was a loophole in the laws of the Fane of Destiny!
Just like Xu, he had condensed six Ghost Emperor Souls. He didn’t control them to attack. He just walked forward slowly to balance the three dragons and three elephants.
On the contrary, it was against the law for Supreme Saint Xueqi to use his weapons to attack first.
Even if Zhang Ruochen was seriously injured today, they could still say that they had just driven the carriage and accidentally barged into him.
It was a ridiculous excuse, but it was an excuse to avoid the law.
Zhang Ruochen knew very well that Supreme Saint Yanhong and Xu were here to test his strength. They didn’t dare to do anything to him. They just wanted to use two Regal Artifact level carriages to crush the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
Other techniques, such as the six Ghost Emperor Souls and the illusory scarlet mist, were just to suppress Zhang Ruochen’s power.
‘They want to force me to act first. That way, they’ll have a reason to act as well,’ Zhang Ruochen wondered.
Zhang Ruochen put away the Zangshan Demonic Mirror and looked ahead. Supreme Saint Yanhong’s carriage was right in front of him.
If Zhang Ruochen was knocked down by Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong’s carriage, it would severely damage Zhang Ruochen’s prestige in the Bloodysky Clan and the Immortal Vampires.
Even if Zhang Ruochen wasn’t injured. It will be a huge loss of face.
After that, Zhang Ruochen will have no chance to represent the Immortal Vampires and wield the Supreme Artifact.
However, if Zhang Ruochen could beat Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong, his reputation would definitely rise to its peak. It would be of great help to Wargod Bloodximius to negotiate with the gods of Immortal Vampires.
No matter how talented you were, you still had to show results in actual combat.
Moreover, this challenge was to test Zhang Ruochen’s strength and also his ability to handle a crisis.
‘How can I break the suppression of Supreme Saint Yanhong within the scope of the law?’ Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment. Then, a large number of Marks of Time light spots flew out of his body. There were tens of millions of them.
Both Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong became alert. They were most afraid of Zhang Ruochen’s Time techniques. Although they had prepared for it, they still did not drop their guard.
Whoosh
Dozens of Marks of Time appeared on the front and the back of the carriages.
The Mark of Time light spots released by Zhang Ruochen were bounced back by the power of the talismans as soon as they approached the carriage. They could not enter the carriage.
Zhang Ruochen sat in the Nine-Dragon Carriage and put his hands together.
Tens of millions of light spots flew back and gathered together. They turned into a Bell of Time and enveloped the Nine-Dragon Carriage. Supreme Saint Xueqi and Lian Xi quickly boarded the carriage and hid behind Zhang Ruochen.
Supreme Saint Xueqi and Lian Xi knew that no matter how powerful Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong were, they would not dare to touch the Bell of Time.
The safest place will be the inside of the bell.
Crash
Zhang Ruochen condensed six dimensional chains to connect with the three dragon souls and three elephant souls. He controlled them to pull the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
“Zhang Ruochen, you won’t get away easily.” Xu reached out a hand, pulled open the curtain, and said with a gentle smile.
Rumble
The six Ghost Emperor Souls resisted the three dragons and three elephants. The two sides competed in power and collided fiercely.
“If I want to leave, you can’t hold me back,” said Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen pointed forward. Immediately, the space where the six Ghost Emperor Souls were was shrinking and collapsing rapidly. Even though they tried their best to hold on, the space still shrank smaller and smaller, like a rapidly shrinking ball.
The huge space with a diameter of hundreds of feet quickly became only the size of a fist.
The six Ghost Emperor Souls were all suppressed into the fist-sized spherical space. They could no longer resist the three dragons and three elephants.
Crash
The wheels turned.
The three dragons and three elephants pulled the Nine-Dragon Carriage that was wrapped in the Bell of Time over. The six Ghost Emperor Souls shattered the spherical space and they returned to their original size.
Supreme Saint Yanhong and Xu watched the Nine-Dragon Carriage drive away. They didn’t chase after it.
Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong’s true bodies were on a floating island not far from this street, standing side by side. They looked down at the city and they looked at each other and could see the shock in each other’s eyes.
Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong didn’t dare to use their true bodies to deal with Zhang Ruochen, the Scion with a special identity, openly in the Divine Domain of Destiny.
Although the two figures in the carriages were only their shadow clones, their true bodies had been controlling everything. With their cultivation and the means they had prepared to suppress space and time, they still let Zhang Ruochen escape unscathed. How could they not be shocked?
“It is indeed as difficult as ascending to heaven to keep the Master of Time and Space.” Supreme Saint Yanhong let out a long sigh, feeling helpless in her heart.
Zhang Ruochen had too many enemies in the Infernal Court. If Supreme Saint Yanhong could kill him, she could gain the support of all the major forces. That way, it would be much easier for her to become the Scioness of the Fane of Destiny.
However, Supreme Saint Yanhong realized at the test earlier. Although her combat strength was stronger than Zhang Ruochen’s, Zhang Ruochen could leave at any time if he did not want to fight with her.
If they couldn’t keep him, how could they kill him?
Xu’s gaze deepened and he said, “We couldn’t find out his strength even if we worked together. His strength has been doubled compared to when he fought with Warlord Mara.”
“At least we found out that his cultivation has reached the peak of the Neverwilt Realm,” said Supreme Saint Yanhong.
Xu said, “Before Zhang Ruochen broke his first shackle, he won’t be a threat. But what’s troubling is that no one knows when he’ll do it.”
If Zhang Ruochen broke his first shackle, then he would officially enter the Hundred-Shackle Realm. The power of the Demigod-level physique’s body would be fully unleashed.
At that time, even the top 10 cultivators at the Great Perfection stage of the Hundred-Shackle Realm like Xu and Supreme Saint Yan Hong would be wary of him.
This was the situation Xu and Supreme Saint Yan Hong would want to avoid most.
“Don’t you have an important trump card in your hand? If you use it in the Celestial-Hunting Festival, Zhang Ruochen won’t be able to escape as easily as he did today,” said Supreme Saint Yan Hong with cold as frost eyes.
Although Supreme Saint Yan Hong was a pink-colored skull, the surface of the skeleton was beautiful skin. It looked beautiful and was no different from a beauty that could topple a nation.
Supreme Saint Yanhong said again, “Fairy Shadowless beside Zhang Ruochen can be refined as a skin for me for the next 100 years. It’s perfect. The more I look at it, the more beautiful it becomes.”
The Nine-Dragon Carriage was badly damaged and full of cracks. It traveled on the empty street and gradually disappeared into the distance.
Wujiang stood in the darkness of the night. His body and the six-colored rain merged into one. He could clearly see the fight just now.
He didn’t attack.
Since Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong couldn’t stop Zhang Ruochen when they worked together, if Wujiang attacked again, the result would most likely be the same.
However, just as Wujiang was about to leave, he was surprised to find a figure walking in the middle of the street in front of the Nine-Dragon Carriage.
A black figure.
The black figure was like a bamboo pole. Its body was as thin as firewood, but straight like a pencil.
The black figure walked toward the Nine-Dragon Carriage like a deaf and blind man. He couldn’t see that it was Zhang Ruochen’s carriage, and he couldn’t see that the three dragons and three elephants pulling the carriage were Thousand-Koan Realm beast souls.
But could a cultivator in the Winterpage City really be deaf and blind?
‘Who is he? What is he trying to do?’ Wujiang wondered.
Wujiang used his spiritual power to investigate. However, as soon as his spiritual power approached, it was swallowed by an invisible force and disappeared without a trace.
Wujiang was ranked fifth on the list of those who attained the Great Perfection stage of Hundred-Shackle Realm. His strength was above that of Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong.
How could such a strange cultivator appear in Winterpage City? Was his cultivation even stronger than Wujiang?
In the carriage.
Zhang Ruochen did not sense the aura of the black figure. He was still recalling the battle just now. His expression was calm and composed, but his heart was in turmoil.
Although it was only a test battle, Zhang Ruochen deeply felt the power of the top ten powerhouses who attained the Greater Perfection stage of the Hundred-Shackle Realm. Whether it was Xu or Supreme Saint Yanhong, they were like two bottomless abysses.
Even the current Lord Xia Yu was still inferior to them.
This difference was very obvious.
Supreme Saint Xueqi mend his injuries and he asked, “Lord Xia Yu is ranked seventh on the list of those at Greater Perfection stage of the Hundred-Shackle Realm, and Supreme Saint Yanhong is ranked eighth. With your current cultivation, are you confident of winning against them?”
Zhang Ruochen did not answer. He only shook his head lightly.
It was unknown whether he was saying “I don’t know,” or “I’m not confident,” or “I’m not their match.”.
Supreme Saint Xueqi lowered his head dejectedly and thought to himself, ‘Xu and Supreme Saint Yanhong are invincible existences in the same realm. Zhang Ruochen is only in the Neverwilt Realm. No matter how strong he is, he can’t win against them. It’s already amazing that he could escape from their combined attack. It’s enough to shake the ten clans of the Infernal Court.’
“Who are you?” asked Zhang Ruochen.
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen sensed something. His eyes became as sharp as a sword as he looked straight ahead.
Zhang Ruochen’s reflex was fast. However, he had only raised his arm three inches when a black shadow passed through the three dragons, three elephants, and the wall of the Nine-Dragon Carriage. It entered the carriage, its fingers moving dozens of times faster than Zhang Ruochen, it cut off a strand of long hair from his neck and pinched it in his hand.
When Zhang Ruochen raised his arm again, the black shadow had already passed through the Nine-Dragon Carriage and appeared on the street behind the carriage. He clutched the strand of hair in his hand and walked away from the carriage.
SWOOSH!
Zhang Ruochen used the Great Dimensional Shift and he appeared outside the carriage. He stood on the street and stared at the bamboo-like black shadow. His eyes were filled with shock and doubt.
“The so-called Yuanhui level genius was just ordinary.” said the black shadow.
His body disappeared without a trace as he walked.
It was as if nothing had happened. It was just an illusion.
Supreme Saint Xueqi jumped off the Nine-Dragon Carriage. He looked in the direction Zhang Ruochen was looking and asked, “What’s Wrong?”
“Did you see it just now?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Supreme Saint Xueqi asked, “See what? What Happened?”
“That’s right. He’s too fast. With your cultivation, how can you see him? Is this the Power of Oblivion?” Zhang Ruochen smoothed the hair behind his ear. One strand had been broken and was only an inch long.
It came and went without a trace.
With Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation, he could only see his opponent’s shadow. He couldn’t stop him from breaking his hair.
If he could cut off Zhang Ruochen’s hair, he could kill him.
With such speed, how could Supreme Saint Xueqi see him?
Perhaps only by being prepared and using the Power of Time and Space could Zhang Ruochen have a chance to compete with him in speed. However, his opponent’s body was no different from oblivion. He couldn’t sense it in advance. How could he be prepared?
“Are you testing my strength or showing off? Who are you?” Zhang Ruochen asked as his pupils constricted.
In the distance, Wujiang, who had witnessed everything, held his breath. He felt numb all over.
With Wujiang’s cultivation, he couldn’t see how the opponent appeared or disappeared. It was terrifying to the extreme.
“For him to appear here, he must be a cultivator participating in the Celestial-Hunting Festival. I hope he’s a Thousand-Koan Realm or Banshi Isshou Realm cultivator. If he’s in the Hundred-Shackle Realm… I’m probably not his match.”
Wujiang was calculating and guessing in his heart, but he kept shaking his head.
Even the third-ranked Yan Huangtu, the second-ranked Lan Ying, could not be so strong. Could the black shadow be the first-ranked one?