After Yueshen’s phantom went away, Zhang Ruochen fell into silence. The situation was getting more complicated to deal with.
The soon-approaching six Emissaries Vigilant were not amenable, especially the one from Infernal Court. He was expected to get to the bottom of the case and do everything he could to unearth the secrets of the Sect of the Blood God.
If these secrets were unearthed, it would be very detrimental to the entire Kunlun Realm.
For the time being, Zhang Ruochen had not figured out how to deal with them. So he collected his thoughts and shifted his attention to another matter.
Now that Yueshen had an agreement with Heaven Realm, that meant he would have to release Zhou Yu and Mosheng soon. Before that happened, he would get the Canon of Truth from Zhou Yu.
After sealing off Zhou Yu’s saint Qi, Zhang Ruochen took out the Exquisite Dimensional Orb and brought Zhou Yu into it.
“Zhang Ruochen, take my Canon of Truth only if you can beat me!” Zhang Yu snapped with a killer look in his eyes.
The defeat of Mosheng at the hands of Zhang Ruochen was putting tremendous pressure on him. But he was confident in his physical strength. Besides, he had made a divine vow. It was too late to regret. His only way was to fight with all this strength.
If he could fight his way out of the Sect of the Blood God, it would at least save his face, and he could still have a chance to redeem himself for today’s humiliation.
With this thought in mind, Zhou Yu held nothing back as he made the first strike. Saint light instantly shone out of his acupoints as blood was surging in his body.
The illumination of saint light made Zhou Yu’s body appear pure and flawless, almost perfect. His arms, legs, and chest were exuding strong immortal energy.
“Fist of Light!”
Zhou Yu bellowed as he punched Zhang Ruochen with his immortalized fists.
An invisible Qi force had first approached before the punch.
Fist of Light was an advanced saint technique of the Fane of Light. With the powerful physique of Zhou Yu, even if it does not rely on the holy energy and the rules of the holy way, this powerful move could knock a sacred mountain apart, using no saint Qi and Precepts.
Taking no chances, Zhang Ruochen immediately performed a Luoshui Fist Technique.
A faint Celestial River emerged around him.
Zhang Ruochen could tell that Zhou Yu’s physical strength was much higher than that of Mosheng. He would have to eat humble pie if he was not careful.
Bump!
Both Zhang Ruochen and Zhou Yu’s fists stopped a few yards apart with an invisible Qi force collided between them.
Zhang Ruochen was a master of time and space. He had incorporated the power of time and space into his body. Time and space contorted when he struck out a punch.
As a master of Light, the Power of Light had been infused in his bone marrow. So his power could still penetrate the distorted time and space.
Both of them were masters of the Path of the Ancients, possessing powers that no ordinary people could imagine. It was hard to tell who was better than the other.
Relying on their powerful physiques, both Zhang Ruochen and Zhou Yu had elevated their speed to the extreme, allowing them to push their physiques to the limit.
Bump! Bump! Bump!
After successive collisions, the dimension inside the Exquisite Dimensional Orb cracked and was on the verge of collapse.
The two moved so quickly that the bursts of bright light with each successive collision prevented people from seeing their moves.
After exchanging blows for hundreds of rounds and still neck to neck, both Zhang Ruochen and Zhou Yu could not help but tacitly fall back.
It came as a shock to Zhang Ruochen. He never expected that Zhou Yu would be this strong. He had gone all out, but still could not get the slightest advantage.
On the other hand, Zhou Yu was just as surprised. He had long attained Path’s Anterior in his cultivation base, his body strengthened with the power of heaven and earth. Not only that, his arms, legs, and chest were immortalized. Yet he still could not defeat Zhang Ruochen.
Would Zhang Ruochen not be stronger than he was if Zhang Ruochen were at his current level of cultivation with a partially immortalized physique?
Zhou Yu’s expression turned grave spontaneously. He performed an arcane technique, his acupoints glowing with intense saint light as he pushed his physical potential to the limit.
The saint light became substantive, as if a piece of armor on Zhou Yu’s body. It made him look stately, like a god descending from heaven.
Zhang Ruochen performed a technique with no hesitation. His body shuddered as chaotic energy and light with five brilliant colors burst out of his body. Mixing with surging blood, they shot up into the sky.
Based on the chaotic energy, layers of colorful and bizarre heavens rapidly evolved above his head.
Seven layers of heaven evolved above Zhang Ruochen in the blink of an eye. It was so vivid, as if it was real.
There were two more layers hidden above the seven-layer heavens. But they were faint and not revealed.
“Let’s get it over with!”
A light gleamed in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes as he stuck out a hand, as if five ancient sacred mountains falling on Zhou Yu.
At that moment, the seven-layer heavens fell and overlapped with Zhang Ruochen’s palm strike.
Pow!
When the palm met the fist, the armor of Light on Zhou Yu’s body shattered in an instant. The seven-layer heavens fell on and immobilized him completely.
Woom!
The Exquisite Dimensional Orb vibrated violently, its internal dimension becoming unstable and was about to collapse.
Even stars and planets might not withstand the clash at such a level of force.
“You lost, Zhou Yu. Hand over the Canon of Truth now,” said Zhang Ruochen calmly.
Zhou Yu stared dead at Zhang Ruochen. As much as he did not want to concede defeat, there was nothing he could do.
He never expected that Zhang Ruochen’s physique could evolve into such a terrifying vision to crush him.
Such a level of power was probably comparable to an ordinary immortal saint body.
Because of the divine oath he had made, Zhou Yu had no choice but to give up the Canon of Truth.
“Wow, I didn’t know that he has ten thousandths of the Canon of Truth!” Zhang Ruochen was surprised when he received the Canon of Truth from Zhou Yu.
He now possessed 39/10,000th of the Canon of Truth, which would undoubtedly help in his subsequent self-cultivation greatly.
These 39/10,000th of the Canon of Truth could definitely make the Armor of the Fire God perform better.
The Armor of the Fire God differed from ordinary armor. Except for Fire God and Wutong Qiuyu, anyone who wanted to activate the Armor of the Fire God would have to rely on the Canon of Truth.
“I will become an Envoy of Truth and be capable of challenging the immortals once I possess one hundredth of the Canon of Truth. The thing is, it is too difficult to achieve that.” Zhang Ruochen sighed and shook his head.
Zhang Ruochen was eager to become an Envoy of Truth. But the level of difficulty was simply too great. From where could he find the remaining 61/10,000th of the Canon of Truth?
The usual way of becoming an Envoy of Truth was by taking the Canon of Truth from others. But that was difficult.
Those who possessed the Canon of Truth were anything but mediocre. They often had strong backgrounds and were not easy targets.
Shaking these distracting thoughts from his mind, Zhang Ruochen brought Zhou Yu out of the Exquisite Dimensional Orb and held him on the Blood God Altar again.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Ruochen decided to release his spiritual power into the Blood God Altar.
“Six Emissaries Vigilant will be here to investigate the Blood God Altar soon, Xue Lingxian. I know what to do, but could probably not hold them back. Do you have any idea?”
He had to seek Xue Lingxian’s advice to make sure nothing would go wrong.
But there was no response from Xue Lingxian even after a long while. It seemed that his sacred will was in hibernation.
Zhang Ruochen spontaneously frowned at seeing this attitude of Xue Lingxian. There was nothing he could do about it.
So it seemed that he could not depend on Xue Lingxian now. He had to think of a foolproof plan on his own.
…
In Anning Village, on the edge of Darkmourn Mountains.
There was a strange look in Yan Wushen’s eyes as he picked up a wineglass. “Interesting. Someone is after me.”
“Who? The Four Heavenly Kings?” asked Chi Kunlun curiously.
Chi Kunlun knew that the reason Yan Wushen ran around with him after spending some time with him. He was running away from the Four Heavenly Kings of Celestial Palace.
Some days you get the bear, other days the bear gets you. As powerful as Yan Wushen was, he was outnumbered. The Four Heavenly Kings did not get where they were for nothing. So far, no one could beat them in battles when they joined hands.
Yan Wushen quaffed the wine in one gulp and shook his head. “No, but he is a powerful being. I am really keen to meet him.”
Yan Wushen had nothing to worry about as long as it was not the Four Heavenly Kings. He was curious to know what this someone was up to.
Putting down the wineglass, he brought Chi Kunlun leaving the tavern without telling Pan Ruo.
Pan Ruo looked toward the southeast of the town with a strange look in her eyes. She then left in a flash and vanished from the street.
Meanwhile, Yan Wushen and Chi Kunlun appeared out of thin air on a mountain thousands of miles away from Anning Village.
This place was also within the range of Darkmourn Mountains. Chilly energy permeated the air. It felt cold even though it was high noon. This chilly energy could freeze the souls of those with low strength.
Caw!
A large group of crows were making a harsh cry as they flew across the sky.
Their cries sounded ghastly, as if they were the dead souls of this battlefield. They hovered over Darkmourn Mountains all day long with creepy caws.
Yan Wushen looked into the depths of Darkmourn Mountains with a grave expression on his face. He felt danger everywhere in this strange place. He would not have come if not absolutely necessary.
Swoosh!
Three beams of light shot from the horizon onto a mountain peak hundreds of miles away. The light beams turned about to be three figures, and they stared at Yan Wushen from a distance.
“Two very special Immortal Vampires, and a weird cultivator of physique. Interesting.”
Yan Wushen could not have been more familiar with the Immortal Vampires. So he could tell at a glance that these two Immortal Vampires were unusual. But he could not tell what it was.
The three figures were none other than Xuemo, Yan Liren, and Qiu Yich, who came to rescue Chi Kunlun under the order of the Blood Empress.
Qiu Yichi studied Chi Kunlun for a while and breathed a sigh of relief after knowing he was fine.
She could not answer to the Blood Empress if something were to happen to Chi Kunlun.
Chi Kunlun’s heart skipped a beat when Qiu Yichi stared at him. He had a feeling that Pan Ruo had come for her earlier. So could these three people also come for him?
But why? He did not recall that he and these people had ever crossed paths.
He looked at the leading figure, Xuemo, and was shocked. Xuemo was giving him tremendous pressure, as if waves from an ocean of blood surging toward him.
He could have collapsed to the ground if it were not for his tough mind.
Yan Wushen was also studying Xuemo. “Who are you? I have never heard of someone like you in the Immortal Vampires.”
Yan Wushen was familiar with the powerhouses of the Immortal Vampires, the five powerhouses that included Xuetu.
But Xuemo was not one of them. Yet Yan Wushen had got the feeling that Xuemo could be stronger than the five Immortal Vampire powerhouses.
Such a powerful figure could not have been nameless if he were born in Infernal Court.
There was only one possibility: Xuemo was not an Immortal Vampire born in Infernal Court.
Xuemo was also studying Yan Wushen at this moment, his eyes blazing with hostility.
“The Blood Empress did not lie; Yan Wushen is indeed qualified to be my opponent.” Xuemo was rubbing his hands with excitement.
The strong are eager to meet strong opponents. Especially a combat maniac like Xuemo.
The days without rivals could be very lonely.
“I am Xuemo,” he said in a deep voice, in excitement.
Yan Wushen’s heart missed a beat. No one except for the extreme powerhouse from a thousand years ago dared to claim to be Xuemo.
Thinking of this, Yan Wushen couldn’t help but let out a smile. “I can’t believe that it is you, the freak who practiced nine Demonstone Engravings at the same time a thousand years ago. People say that you are dead. Now it seems that the rumor cannot be true.”
“Many times, what you see might not be true, more so what you hear,” said Xuemo in a faint voice.
Yan Wushen nodded. “You have a point. Then why did you come to see me?”
“I just came out from a thousand-year hiatus. Then I heard that the most powerful non-Supreme Saint cultivator has appeared in Kunlun Realm. So I couldn’t help myself wanting to have a friendly match with you.”
A light gleamed in Xuemo’s eyes.
His focus was on a powerful opponent like Yan Wushen only. Everyone else was not important to him right now.
Yan Wushen burst into laughter. “Okay, I see. I am also eager to know the strength of a cultivator who practiced nine Demonstone Engravings at the same time. Apart from the Four Heavenly Kings, you are the only one who can arouse my fighting will.”
“Very well. Very well,” said Xuemo.
While speaking, he and Yan Wushen had eye to eye. An invisible energy collided and caused ripples in the air.
Where their gazes met, the dimension contorted. The Precepts of heaven and earth appeared. They were chaotic as a vortex started to form and devour the power of heaven and earth.
The cold energy that gathered in this area surged. The dark earth burst open as skeletons buried in the ground were swept into the terrifying vortex.
Kaboom!
Unable to withstand the intense forces, the vortex exploded, annihilating everything—including the gazes of Xuemo and Yan Wushen—that it had swallowed.
The ground burst open under this powerful blast. A massive gully hundreds of miles long formed, exposing the buried skeletons and bones.
