Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Inside Xumi Dojo, the Saints of the Kunlun Realm looked at the almost divine-like Zhang Ruochen, and they had a compulsion to kneel and bow before him.
Such a thought only ever came to mind when they met Empress Chi Yao.
At that moment, the name “Zhang Ruochen” was synonymous with invincibility.
By mastering the lotus, he could sweep every foe with just the flick of his fingers.
Shang Ziyan’s Three Corpses merged into one and looked at the bodies of the dead Saint Kings that littered the ground. His gaze extended to Zhang Ruochen, and suddenly, flames appeared in one eye while frost appeared in the other.
Ever since he was born, he had been the proud son of Heaven. Everything he did was perfect in comparison to any of his peers, and no one was better than him. How could he suffer such a massive defeat?
Resentment, hatred, shame… all kinds of emotions were intertwined in his heart.
In the end, Shang Ziyan’s reason overcame his emotions, and he yelled, “Let’s go.”
The remnants of the Heavenly Realm withdrew like the receding tide.
Soon after, Zhang Ruochen flew down from the top of the Buddha statue.
The Nine-heavens Maiden raised her Heaven’s Sear Blade and shouted, “Now is the time to chase them down. Follow me and slay them all!”
“Wait,” Zhang Ruochen said.
The Kunlun Realm cultivators did not rush out of Xumi Dojo but looked at Zhang Ruochen.
It was clear that Zhang Ruochen’s influence on them had climbed above The Nine-heavens Maiden’s.
“The Heavenly Realm’s Saint Kings may have escaped, but they are still a lot stronger than all of you. With Equality, all of you were still no match for them. That is point number one,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Number two, the Kunlun Realm has suffered grievous casualties from this battle, and everyone is injured, so just stay behind and heal up. Do not get anyone else killed!
“Number three, hundreds of the Heavenly Realm’s proud scions have died in battle, and each and every one of them has a considerable background. All of them had the potential of a Saint, so this would undoubtedly cause another terrible upheaval.
“Although this has yet to cause a breaking gap in the Heavenly Realm’s cultivation ranks, after such a major defeat, Shang Ziyan’s days will not be pleasant once he is back there.
“Everyone should know that our main priority is to immediately lay out defensive formations around Xumi Dojo. The Heavenly Realm is extremely powerful in the Celestial Domain of Truth, and they can make a comeback at any time.”
After they listened to Zhang Ruochen’s words, the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm stared at the bodies on the ground and fell silent.
There were not only bodies of the Heavenly Realm’s Saint Kings but also bodies of the Kunlun Realm’s cultivators.
At least half of the Kunlun Realm’s Saints and Saint Kings died in the aftermath of the battle, and they should really be licking their wounds.
If the Heavenly Realm’s Saint Kings had not wanted to interrogate the Kunlun Realm’s cultivators about their skills and Saint techniques, they would have long been wiped out.
The green lotus seed that Saint Monk Xumi left behind had allowed the cultivators to quickly heal their wounds, and without it, the Kunlun cultivators would have suffered far greater casualties.
Seeing that everyone had lost their will to fight, The Nine-heavens Maiden slowly put down her sword.
In actuality, she also found Zhang Ruochen’s words reasonable. The Kunlun Realm had suffered a big blow, and if they were to fight on, they would simply drive themselves into the ground.
However, after seeing Wan Zhaoyi burn his own life force and perish before her, as well as seeing another Kunlun Realm cultivator lay in a pool of blood, the flames of hatred and fury in her heart could not be quelled.
Yet, in the end, the Kunlun Realm was not in any condition to clash head-on with the Heavenly Realm. Even if every other factor were to fall into place, it would still be impossible.
The gulf between their powers was just too great!
Zhang Ruochen walked to Chi Kunlun and Chi Kongyue’s side and looked at the wound on their abdomen. Frowning, he turned his eyes to the Buddha statue’s brows and reached out to pull the lotus back.
The lotus had completely lost its luster and withered.
With some force and a snap later, the lotus seed broke open and turned into pieces of lifeless fragments, falling to the ground.
“The life essence of the lotus seed has been transferred to the lotus. Does this flower have the power to heal injuries?”
As he thought of that, Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath and pressed his palm against the lotus, mobilizing what little that remained of his Saint Qi and infusing the lotus with it. Immediately, a burst of life essence rose from the lotus and entered Chi Kunlun as well as Chi Kongyue’s body.
A moment later, the slash wound on both Chi Kunlun and Chi Kongyue’s abdomens were healed, and the dark energies left behind by Bloodbairn were also dispelled.
Luo Xu came to Zhang Ruochen’s side with a solemn expression and said, “Zhang Ruochen, over a dozen Kunlun Saints have been seriously injured, and they are not getting better even after they have swallowed the healing sacred pills. Will you save them… What is happening?”
Out of the blue, Zhang Ruochen’s body fell straight forward.
Right then, Chi Kongyue had just awoken and gotten to her feet. She was facing Zhang Ruochen, so she immediately stepped forward and held him up. “Zhang… Zhang… What’s the matter?” she asked rather anxiously.
1
All of the Kunlun cultivators were taken aback.
They only noticed that Zhang Ruochen’s brows were furrowed, and his face was quite pale. It also appeared that he had no strength left to even stand.
How could Zhang Ruochen—who had been killing left, right, and center to the point that he scared off the Saint Kings of the Heavenly Realm—suddenly become so weak?
There was no such thing as power without a source in this world.
In fact, it was not an easy task, trying to control and manipulate the Inscription of Dimensions left behind by Saint Monk Xumi. It was particularly draining on one’s Saint Qi.
But, it consumed even more spiritual power.
It was impossible to control an inscription left behind by a god so easily.
Even though he had only activated the Inscription of Dimensions for the length of a breath, it had drained Zhang Ruochen’s entire spiritual strength. Nevertheless, he held on fiercely and managed to scare the Heavenly Realm’s Saint Kings away.
Now, in order to save Chi Kunlun and Chi Kongyue, Zhang Ruochen had once again activated the lotus.
As a result, he could no longer hold on.
Saint Devourer, Blackie, Xie Chengzi, and Awesome rushed over immediately, fearing that Chi Kongyue would kill Zhang Ruochen. They snatched him from her hands before they took him into the ancient temple.
Saint Devourer stood outside the ancient temple and glanced down at the Kunlun cultivators as she said, “From now on, this temple is forbidden ground. Anyone who dares to set foot here will be killed, no questions asked.”
Inside the temple, Blackie stretched out a paw and pressed it against Zhang Ruochen’s wrist. “He merely overused his spiritual powers. Thank goodness,” he said after he checked.
Whoosh…
Blackie’s spiritual powers were extremely powerful, and he focused part of them into Zhang Ruochen’s heart, infusing them into his Saint heart.
Awesome’s gaze was fixed on the lotus in Zhang Ruochen’s hands as he constantly licked his lips. After a moment of hesitation, he quietly stretched out his tiny hand, wanting to steal it.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen curled up his fingers tightly as he raised his arm and stared at Awesome. “What are you trying to do?”
Awesome’s hand stopped in midair, and he was a little startled as he said, “Nothing. I just wanted to take a closer look at this wonderful treasure. I have no other thoughts. No, no, how can a cultivator have avaricious thoughts about such worldly items? Indeed not, indeed not.”
While Awesome spoke, he turned around in a hurry and muttered in a whisper, “Why did he wake up so soon? My movements are just too slow.”
Zhang Ruochen’s brain was still hurting a lot. His vision was dim, and his body was extremely weak, but he needed to force himself to stay conscious through sheer willpower. There were also some orders that he needed to give.
“A large number of Saint Kings from the Heavenly Realm have fallen in this battle, and they must have left many precious treasures behind. Xie Chengzi, try to collect them immediately with Moyin. Remember, while collecting, try not to come into conflict with the Kunlun cultivators.”
Right after that, Zhang Ruochen pulled out a black soul sphere and handed it to Blackie. “Emperor Yi’s Evil Spirit has absorbed Gong Ziyan’s Saint Soul, and his strength has greatly increased. He can challenge a Nine-step Saint King now. With the soul sphere I currently possess, I am afraid that I have only accounted for one-fifth of his soul power. I can just contain him at most, and it will no longer be possible to kill him.”
“Blackie, you and Awesome take this soul sphere and suppress it. If he dares to attempt an escape, kill him. You can take him back only if he voluntarily gives up half of his soul power.”
Blackie then asked, “If we all leave, who will tend to you? Your current state…”
“Do not worry. While a few of the Kunlun cultivators covet the lotus in my hand or even want to take my life, my senior and Princess Bai Li are here. They will ensure my safety,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Blackie, Awesome, Xie Chengzi, and Saint Devourer all rushed out of the ancient temple, one after the other before they disappeared into the night.
Zhang Ruochen, who was now alone in the temple, lowered his head. It was not after a long while that he spoke. “Are you here to kill me?”
A petite figure leaped down from the top of the ancient temple and appeared in front of Zhang Ruochen, seemingly quite surprised. “How did you notice me? Are your spiritual powers not… spent?”
The petite figure was Chi Kongyue who shared at least a seventy-percent similarity to him.
Her figure cast a long shadow under the copper lamp, and her pretty face exuded a fair layer of brilliance. She held a Saint sword in her hand, which looked like a short sword made out of carved jade.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. “You were probably wearing Buddhist beads refined by the Bodhi Emperor. The Buddhist beads can conceal the aura from your body, hence you can even hide from Blackie and the rest. However, the Bodhi Emperor’s Buddhist beads respond to each other.”
Zhang Ruochen raised his arm, revealing a string of ten Buddhist beads.
Chi Kongyue’s neck was covered with silver silk. When she lifted it, five round and immaculate Buddhist beads appeared in her hands. They had been hidden under her Saint robe.
Zhang Ruochen continued, “The Saint Qi within my body is almost gone, and even my spirit powers are almost spent. I am very weak now. You just need to deliver a single slash… to kill me…”
All of a sudden, Zhang Ruochen’s gaze zoned in on the five Buddhist beads around Chi Kongyue’s neck.
To be precise, he had zoned in on the jade pendant between the five Buddhist beads. It was a swallow-shaped pendant.
“The Jade Swallow Pendant!”
That jade pendant attracted Zhang Ruochen’s eyes like a magnet, and the look in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes became extremely complicated as he got to his feet in his weakened state.
Chi Kongyue was taken aback for a moment, and she asked, “How do you know that it is called the Jade Swallow Pendant?”
“Not only do I know that it is the Jade Swallow Pendant, but I also know that it comes in a pair.”
Zhang Ruochen walked to Chi Kongyue’s side and clasped the pendant with his fingers as he smiled bitterly. His eyes were a little wet as if he was reminiscing about something.
In his mind, a playful teenage voice from eight hundred years ago rang out. “I gift you this Jade Swallow Pendant, and we shall never be separated until death takes us. Yaoyao, do not lose it. This pair of jade pendants have extraordinary origins. A pair for a pair, this is a token of our love!”
Immediately after, a young girl’s voice echoed, “I shall give thee the Sword of Creation, and we shall be together forever, in life and death. Brother Chen, catch! The sword in your hand and mine were forged out of the Iron of Creation and made as a pair. Let us continue training. Perhaps by using these two swords, we may be able to enhance the power of the Yinyang Sword Formation.”
