1176 Tenth Emperor, Yan Liren

Liao Teng and Saint Hongyuan's names were on the list. However, there was a small red cross on their names.

Elder Yuan Zhou quickly calmed down. Gripping the list, he asked seriously, "How did you know that they were Vampire infiltrators?"

This was very important. Once the list was published, it would cause an uproar. Elder Yuan Zhou was being careful.

Zhang Ruochen sat across from him and said nonchalantly, "I met Taishang Elder. He gave me something that helps me see through their disguises."

"Taishang Elder has always been at Qianyuan Mountain, contemplating the Blood God Map. He never interacts with any disciples…oh?"

He split a beam of his Spiritual Power to look at Qianyuan Mountain and discovered that Taishang Elder had left long ago. Only a stone statue sat on the peak.

"Where did Taishang Elder go?" Elder Yuan Zhou was shocked.

Taishang Elder's cultivation had already reached a very advanced state. Other than for contemplating the Blood God Map, he rarely ever opened his eyes.

Probably only the survival of the Blood God Sect could alarm him. Since he'd already left Qianyuan Mountain, it meant that a shocking change had occurred.

"The second tier of the Bottomless Abyss," Zhang Ruochen said.

Elder Yuan Zhou's heart jumped. He thought of some things. "Is it related to the disappearance of the Hierarch?"

Zhang Ruochen nodded. He told Elder Yuan Zhou about the Hierarch working with the Immortal Vampires, raising blood beasts in the Bottomless Abyss, and everything.

Hearing these descriptions, Elder Yuan Zhou's forehead was covered in sweat. He could no longer keep calm. Rolling up the list, he stood up immediately to leave the Hidden Dragon Palace.

Zhang Ruochen stopped him. "Elder Yuan Zhou, where are you taking the list?"

Elder Yuan Zhou was impatient. "Naturally taking it to the Elder Pavilion. We must check each and every name. If one is confirmed to be an Immortal Vampire, he will be killed. Oh, you will come with me to confirm their identities."

As he spoke, he grabbed Zhang Ruochen to drag him away forcefully.

"Don't be in such a hurry," Zhang Ruochen said.

"The Blood God Sect is at the brink of death. How can I not be in a hurry? How can billions of years of heritage be destroyed in our hands?"

Elder Yuan Zhou was very strong. He forcefully dragged Zhang Ruochen all the way to the door. Even though Zhang Ruochen's body would soon become a Saint, he still couldn't fight back.

"Isn't bringing the list back to the Elder Pavilion letting it fall into a trap?" Zhang Ruochen asked. "Do you think that Yu Huacheng escaping is a coincidence, or that he didn't receive help from the Elder Pavilion?"

Hearing this, Elder Yuan Zhou calmed down. He let go of Zhang Ruochen and thought carefully.

"That makes sense," he said with a serious voice. "Even the Hierarch is working with the Immortal Vampires. There must be an Immortal Vampire in the Elder Pavilion too."

He looked at Zhang Ruochen with suspicion but then shook his head. "Even if I don't believe you, I must believe Taishang Elder. You've cultivated your body to this state. Did you receive Taishang Elder's true inheritance? Did you comprehend the truth of the Blood God Map?"

Elder Yuan Zhou seemed to respect Taishang Elder very much. This made Zhang Ruochen curious.

After all, Elder Yuan Zhou was one of the six Saint Elders too. His status was second only to the Hierarch. He didn't have to look up to anyone.

"Who exactly is Taishang Elder?" Zhang Ruochen asked curiously.

Today, Zhang Ruochen had revealed many great secrets that had shocked Elder Yuan Zhou. This made him act like an ignorant fool before the junior. Now, he finally felt better.

His eyebrows arched as he laughed inside. So there are things that even you don't know.

"You don't even know who Taishang Elder is?" Elder Yuan Zhou mused, combing his beard. "As expected of a young man with limited knowledge. I can understand."

Zhang Ruochen frowned. He felt that Elder Yuan Zhou was teasing him, so he said, "You don't have to tell me. I must continue cultivating and reach the Saint Realm for my physical body."

"Wait." Elder Yuan Zhou caught up to Zhang Ruochen. "You're still young and have a great amount of time to cultivate, but the Blood God Sect can't continue for much longer. It may break apart and be destroyed at any time. I would like to know what exactly your plan is."

Seeing that Zhang Ruochen didn't have any plans of stopping, he immediately added, "Taishang Elder is that miracle man from 1,000 years ago. People call him the Tenth Emperor."

Zhang Ruochen stopped and turned around in surprise. "The Tenth Emperor, Yan Liren?"

Eight hundred years ago, there were only nine emperors in the human race. However, Yan Liren of the Blood God Sect was only a step away from cultivating his body to the Supreme Saint Realm. He was the strongest man under the Nine Emperors, so he was known as the Tenth Emperor.

"I heard that something happened when Yan Liren tried for the Supreme Saint Realm," Zhang Ruochen said. "Not only did he fail to reach it, he also had an incurable injury and died. How can he be alive after 800 years?"

"What 800 years?" Elder Yuan Zhou asked.

"Nothing." Zhang Ruochen shook his head. Not wanting Elder Yuan Zhou to continue asking, he said, "I do have some plans against the Immortal Vampire infiltrators. We can discuss it a bit."

Elder Yuan Zhou's own cultivation was very advanced and he had a lot of forces under his control. With him joining, Zhang Ruochen could act more easily.

The two discussed for four whole hours and finally reached a consensus.

"So this means," Elder Yuan Zhou said, "we do not have to worry about finding them all right now. We can go slowly and rid ourselves of them one by one. So, according to your plan, what is the next step?"

Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed. "The Blood God Sect will take at least four or five days to clear out the infiltrators under Saint Hongyuan and Liao Teng. During these days, our main focus should be on clearing out the Half-Saint spies."

"Alright. I will find the Half-Saints on this list and send their souls flying." With anger in his heart, Elder Yuan Zhou's murderous intent consolidated into a black cloud.

Zhang Ruochen stopped him again. "Your every move is under the eyes of the Immortal Vampires," he said. "You must not alarm them. Plus, you do not need to do it yourself. I've already sent two strong cultivators to them. I believe they will have results soon. I will cultivate in seclusion these next days. When I come out, we will go do something major."

Zhang Ruochen stood up and walked into a red pavilion. His confidence and stability made Elder Yuan Zhou ashamed. He had to lament that Elder Yuan Xing and Taishang Elder's visions were precise. This man was truly extraordinary.

Elder Yuan Zhou called Shangguan Xianyan to his side. "Do you see? You are both young geniuses, but there's still distance between you and Gu Linfeng. Learn from him."

He still wasn't assured, so he had Shangguan Xianyan check the Half-Saints on the list. She would work with Zhang Ruochen's people to clear them all out. Not a single one could be allowed to escape.

After Shangguan Xianyan left, he sank into deep thought again. He wondered if he should send a message to the Elder Pavilion to remind the elders he was close to.

In the end, he shook his head. He didn't dare leak the news lest something worse happened.

…

Zhang Ruochen entered the pavilion and set up a defensive formation. Then he entered the scroll world. He refined the white tiger divine dew to try and open the remaining eight apertures.

The 36 on the head were the hardest and most dangerous. Any mishap could damage the Sea of Qi and destroy all his cultivation.

It was said that Yan Liren had hurt his Sea of Qi when trying to reach the Supreme Saint Realm and almost disabled his cultivation.

"Taishang Elder's body is too frail. He really doesn't look like he has a saint body or is close to the Supreme Saint Realm. Could it be that his injuries still haven't healed after 800 years?"

Zhang Ruochen had to be more careful during the following cultivation.

There were only eight more apertures, but they were like eight trials. Each one was as difficult as stepping into the sky. Of course, the physical body would also improve after saintifying one aperture.

Zhang Ruochen swallowed a small bottle of white tiger divine dew. The medicine seeped into his veins and combined with the blood.

Next, Zhang Ruochen used ten Blood Spiritual Meridians to move Blood Qi to his head with all his might.

Boom.

Two hours later, the 137th aperture opened.

Six hours later, the 138th aperture opened.

Half a day later, the 139th aperture opened.

…

The further he went, the more time he used. It also grew more difficult and dangerous.

By the time he reached the 142nd aperture, he actually took seven whole days before succeeding.

"Two more apertures. Once they are saintified, my body will become a Saint."

Zhang Ruochen's eyes were bloodshot and his black hair was standing up straight. His veins all bulged. In a crazed state, he tried for the 143rd aperture with all his might.

Whoosh—

A blue figure glowing with saintly light flew over and landed below the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree. It consolidated into Huang Yanchen's slender figure.

Qing Mo came behind her and whispered, "Princess, I feel like something's wrong with Lord Zhang. Should we stop him? What if something—"

Huang Yanchen shook her head. Staring at the cultivating Zhang Ruochen, she said, "His will is stronger than you think. I'm confident in him."