Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
The nine-headed bird flew 14,000 miles continuously and entered the middle of Whale River Territory. The river here was broad and the water current was slow. Steep mountains rose up on either side of the river.
Not long ago, there had been a saint battle here. A portion of the mountains had melted from the saintly flames and became broken. The lava still hadn’t hardened completely.
The entire land was tattered and broken, like a wasteland. Luosha Princess sat cross-legged on the nine-headed bird. She took out a mask made from blue feathers and put it on her face. She covered her foxy and overly-beautiful face. Only her enticing eyes remained.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her. He had suspicious eyes, but he didn’t ask.
With her attainments in Spiritual Power, not many cultivators could see her true appearance even without a mask.
“If we go further,” the Luosha Princess said, “we will be where the Phoenix Nest is. It will be filled with unknown dangers. Everyone should be more careful.”
The god of Zuling Field had personally buried the Ice and Fire Phoenix in the Phoenix Nest. A god could leave any random thing behind and destroy a Saint.
Otherwise, with the Luosha Princess’s abilities, she wouldn’t want to cooperate with Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen used his Spiritual Power to search in all directions. He sensed a strong fiery force being nurtured underground. It was slightly different from the rules elsewhere.
The Phoenix Nest may very well be nearby.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen looked down. There were two very strong beams of evil Qi in a red-yellow mountainous forest.
Whoosh!
A fierce windstorm rose up in one of the thousand-foot-tall mountains. Densely packed wind blades formed and swirled around it. They flew toward the nine-headed bird in the sky.
“How dare they attack us!”
Luosha Princess’s eyes darkened and she huffed lightly.
Flames appeared in the nine-headed bird’s eyes at the same time. It flapped its wings, producing an even stronger windstorm. It flooded out. Even the mountain shook as if it would collapse soon.
The nine-headed bird wasn’t weak. It was even stronger than the typical second marquis.
In the red mountain below, two female third marquises stood behind a dozen-foot-tall boulder. The windstorm was a wind saint spell that they’d cast with their Spiritual Power.
Seeing the nine-headed bird destroy the wind saint spell, they immediately spread their wings and flew into the distance to escape.
“You want to leave?”
Zhang Ruochen pulled out the Clear Sky Bow and Shining Sun Arrow. He pulled back on the bow. Instantly, a gust of wind and thunder condensed around him.
Boom.
The Shining Sun Arrow transformed into a streak of white light. It flew toward one of the female third marquises.
Just as the female Luosha was about to get killed, a golden saint arrow flew from the other direction. It crashed against the Shining Sun Arrow, producing an ear-splitting boom.
The golden arrow and the Shining Sun Arrow both went off course. They hit the ground, leaving two bottomless ditches. Soil and rock flew everywhere.
“An expert in the Arrow Way.”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes narrowed. He extended a hand and grabbed the air, calling the Shining Sun Arrow back.
Whoosh!
The golden saint arrow also flew out of the ground and back into the hand of a Luosha marquis.
That marquis wore golden armor. He was around 3.5 meters tall, had broad shoulders, and a long horse-like face. He grasped a golden dragon-bone bow that was close to three meters long. Other than the arrow in his hand, he had nine other arrows on his back.
“Greetings, Saint Arrow Marquis.”
The two third marquises bowed down to the man with the golden dragon-bone bow.
Saint Arrow Marquis nodded softly. Then he looked at Zhang Ruochen, Luosha Princess, and Qing Mo on the nine-headed bird. “The Phoenix Nest belongs to the Luosha,” he said arrogantly. “Anyone who dares to approach will be killed.”
Then he shot an arrow again. An explosive boom sounded on the ground.
Boom.
A golden arrow flew 600 miles out like a golden streak. It pierced a Saint who’d wanted to sneak in.
The Saint’s body exploded into a bloody cloud.
It was clear that other than Zhang Ruochen’s group, there were other Saints hiding in the shadows too. They all wanted to take over the Phoenix Nest and Merits Records Wall.
Saint Arrow Marquis kept firing his bow. In an instant, he killed seven Saints who’d gotten within 1,000 miles. Then the cultivators that tried to approach the Phoenix Nest all retreated to more than 1,000 miles away.
The Luosha Princess stood up and said to Zhang Ruochen, “The Saint Arrow Marquis is one of the top first marquises. He studies the Arrow Way, so he can be called the Saint Arrow. His golden dragon bone bow and ten destructive arrows are all unusual saint weapons. They have the mysterious power to kill Saints.”
Zhang Ruochen hadn’t specifically studied the Arrow Way before, but he could also see that the Saint Arrow Marquis was much more advanced than him.
“I heard that first marquises can go against Saint Kings,” Zhang Ruochen said. “Is that true?”
“First marquises have different levels too,” Luosha Princess said. “But even the weakest first marquises can exchange a few blows with a Saint King and can even survive. The strong marquises can even kill some weaker Saint Kings.”
Just then, Zhang Ruochen felt something dangerous. He saw that the Saint Arrow Marquis on the ground was aiming at his forehead with a golden arrow.
Kaboom!
The Saint Arrow Marquis cracked his mouth open and loosened his fingers. The golden arrow flew out. The sky and earth within hundreds of miles shook violently.
Zhang Ruochen immediately took the Monument Shield out and pressed forward. Immediately, a large mass of thunder and fire flooded out, crashing against the golden arrow.
The power contained in the golden arrow was huge. It even sent Zhang Ruochen back, falling off of the nine-headed bird.
Boom.
The Saint Arrow Marquis immediately shot his second arrow. It flew at Qing Mo like a golden streak.
Qing Mo immediately activated her defensive rune scroll. Layers of light and shield prints emerged, wrapping around her tightly.
Boom, boom.
A string of explosions sounded.
Twenty-three defensive runes exploded in a row and finally dissolved the arrow’s power.
However, the arrow’s force still sent her flying to the ground.
The Saint Arrow Marquis was obviously a bit disappointed and annoyed at failing to kill his enemy two times in a row. He quickly pulled his bow back and fired five arrows continuously. They were all aimed at the Luosha Princess and nine-headed bird.
The Luosha Princess and nine-headed bird didn’t go straight up against him. They voluntarily flew to the ground and met up with Zhang Ruochen.
“Condense.”
The Luosha Princess pressed forward with one hand. She released spatial power.
Instantly, the space before her finger froze and solidified. It wanted to seal the five arrows.
Crack, crack.
It only blocked the arrows for a second. The strong power inside the arrows broke apart the frozen space and continued flying toward them.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes hardened. He appeared beside the Luosha Princess and pressed forward with both hands. He also struck with spatial power. Combined with the Luosha Princess’s spatial power, they finally sealed the five arrows.
“Drat.”
The Saint Arrow Marquis’s expression changed slightly. He quickly formed a print technique with his hands to collect the five arrows.
Zhang Ruochen stepped forward. Divine Fire Jingmie poured out of his hands. He started refining the five arrows while stopping them from flying back.
One thousand miles away, many cultivators were hidden, observing the battle.
Sword Saint Jiuyou’s long hair fell down on either side of his face. He stood under a bare tree and looked in the direction of the Phoenix Nest. “He can actually fight the Saint Arrow Marquis now. That Zhang Ruochen has matured terrifyingly fast. Xuanji really had a good disciple. It’s enviable.”
Sword Saint Jiuyou’s three main disciples, Wang Su, Yan Yulong, and Chen Fang were behind him. They had unnatural expressions. They didn’t feel good inside, but they had to be impressed.
Zhang Ruochen was indeed strong. They couldn’t fight him.
Wang Su, first disciple of Jiuyou, looked to be in his thirties. He had a cold Yin aura. “It doesn’t matter how strong Zhang Ruochen is,” he said in a low voice. “He’s already joined Guanghan Field. He’s only a traitor of Kunlun’s Field. Even if Sword Saint Xuanji hasn’t died, he would die from anger.”
“A large group of Luosha has sealed the way into Phoenix Nest,” Yan Yulong said. “We can’t go in at all. Now that Zhang Ruochen is opening up the path before us, it’s good news for us.”
Chen Fang carried a broadsword. He looked quite young. “The four top first marquises have all gathered at the Phoenix Nest. In addition, there’s a large group of second and third marquises. There are countless more lower marquises too. Even Zhang Ruochen can’t open the seal by himself!”
Sword Saint Jiuyou had a sharp expression. “Let’s keep waiting! A group of strong cultivators from Kunlun’s Field is also hurrying over. It won’t be easy for the Luosha to keep control of the Phoenix Nest.”
Just as Zhang Ruochen was collecting the five arrows, a mass of evil clouds poured out behind the Saint Arrow Marquis. One could make out thousands of Luosha marquises flying in the clouds, screaming.
Luosha Princess’s expression changed. “Retreat.”
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the dark red cloud. He didn’t feel fear, but it was clear to him that there were many strong figures from the Shatuo Seven Fields nearby. None of them were attacking. Why should he do all the work?
They could first learn how many strong figures the Luosha had and then think of a way to enter the Phoenix Nest.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen grabbed the five arrows and used the Great Spatial Move. He brought Qing Mo out of the Phoenix Nest’s area.
It was strange that the Saint Arrow Marquis had lost five arrows but didn’t pursue him.
When he was 2,000 miles away, Zhang Ruochen sensed Mu Lingxi’s aura. Bu Ji and Su Qingling were with her too. The three quickly appeared in Zhang Ruochen’s sights.
