The entire southern cliff of Xianji Mountain was engulfed in fire. Other than those who joined the battle, other creatures were all burnt into ashes.
The entire world became dead.
Qing Xiao wiped away the blood on his lips and said, "Situ Fengcheng is a great enemy. What a pity that I couldn't fight him till the end."
"This is an era of heroes. Only a small number of us can actually grow to become someone. There'll be more people falling in the future," Zhang Ruochen said.
The battle ended with all the immortal vampires being killed except Sword Saint Mingdong and Ying Huo, which was a huge victory to human beings.
However, Zhang Ruochen wasn't as pleased as he ought to be, and instead, he felt a great sense of danger.
What kind of secrets were hiding in Xianji Mountain?
Where had the death race come from?
A mere bony hand was already that powerful. Would there be a skull? A leg? Or even a complete great being of the death race?
Perhaps there would be a greater danger in the future, and this battle was only the beginning.
Zhang Ruochen realized more than ever that he really needed to work harder to improve himself, otherwise, he wouldn't survive.
Martial Saint Canglan retracted her wings, landed on the ground and said, "Ying Huo ran away! What just happened here? Which human supreme saint stopped the bony hand from Xianji Mountain?"
Martial Saint Canglan went to chase Ying Huo before, so she didn't know what had happened.
Pei Yutian and Qing Xiao just learned that there was a huge secret behind Zhang Ruochen, and that secret couldn't be leaked to others. Otherwise, it would only lead to chaos.
Everyone stayed silent for a while, and then, Pei Yutian turned around and started to leave. He said, "I have something else to attend to. Qing Xiao, is the bet still on?"
"Of course, it's still on," Qing Xiao said.
Pei Yutian didn't turn his head around. He said, "I've reached the level of half-truth and half-virtual one saint way rules. I'll definitely become a true saint before you do. You'd better prepare the two saint medicines I require."
Pei Yutian vanished right after he finished his last word.
"He's so poor and desperate!" Qing Xiao smiled and shook his head.
Martial Saint Canglan frowned, looked to Qing Xiao and Zhang Ruochen and said, "Did you hear what I said?"
Qing Xiao shook his head and said, "A great being like that, we won't be able to see his real body even if he shows up."
Martial Saint Canglan looked to Zhang Ruochen and said, "You didn't see it either?"
"No." Zhang Ruochen shook his head as he didn't want to be questioned by Martial Saint Canglan anymore. He pointed at the fire behind and said, "Situ Fengcheng blew up his saint source and was burnt into ashes with Zhu Qingyi. Do you want to go look for your Fentian Sword?"
Martial Saint Canglan looked at them suspiciously as she reckoned they were definitely hiding something. She hummed, flapped her wings and rushed into the fire.
Qing Xiao turned to Zhang Ruochen with caution after Martial Saint Canglan had left and said, "I know you have lots of great beings helping you, and that you've established your power. Your secret is thrilling and terrifying. However, the imperial government is a very complicated organization, much more complicated than you think. Please don't flaunt yourself, and don't make yourself the target before everything's clear."
Zhang Ruochen sensed that Qing Xiao was hiding something. He asked, "When will everything bel clear?"
"When the ten blood emperors have conquered the central region and the First Central Empire, or when all the blood emperors have been slaughtered."
Qing Xiao knew something, but he wasn't sure about it, so he could only be subtle.
Whoever jumped up before everything was clear would fall instantly.
Obviously, Qing Xiao saw that Zhang Ruochen was displaying his power too much, so he warned him, as he was worried.
Zhang Ruochen nodded as he understood what Qing Xiao meant. He said, "I'll keep a low-profile for a while."
"What're you going to do?" Qing Xiao asked.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "I'll recruit people to make my sect stronger until everything's clear."
Martial Saint Canglan walked out of the fire, holding her Fentian Sword. She stroked the sword and couldn't contain her joy. Suddenly, she stopped smiling and said, "Recruit people to make your sect stronger? Are you planning a coup?"
"I just want a sect for my own, and I need enough power to deal with the possible turbulence," Zhang Ruochen said.
Martial Saint Canglan nodded and said, "Good for you. Remember, you'll never end well if you go against the imperial government. However, you've done well this time and have made great contributions. I'll definitely report your merits, and perhaps it'll cancel out your crimes in the future, or even get you crowned."
Although Martial Saint Canglan had said it in an aloof way, Qing Xiao could still tell something different from that. He found it surprising that the head of the heavenly maidens who disdained everyone was willing to help Zhang Ruochen.
Even Qing Xiao knew that Zhang Ruochen was a person wanted by the empress, and there must be some deep reasons for it. Whoever pleaded on his behalf would be risking his or her life. There was no way Martial Saint Canglan didn't know the dangers of it.
However, what the head of the heavenly maidens said confused Qing Xiao.
Martial Saint Canglan and Qing Xiao left and headed to the headquarters of the Ministry of War.
"How complicated is the imperial government now?" Zhang Ruochen mumbled as he watched them leave, and then, he departed as well.
Sword Saint Mingdong and Ying Huo met up with each other at the border of Hongchuan Mansion after they fled.
The battle in Xianji Mountain was horrific, as if heaven and earth were being shattered. Ying Huo couldn't be more curious. She asked, "What happened after I fled?"
When the Sun-moon Crystal Coffin flew out of Zhang Ruochen's body, it moved very quickly, and besides, Sword Saint Mingdong stood very far away, so he didn't see who had made the attack.
Sword Saint Mingdong still had some lingering fear. He said, "A sun and a moon flew to the sky at the same time, which crushed the bony hand. They must be two emperor-level beings."
"A sun and a moon? Were they the martial lord from Martial Market Bank and the leader of the demonic sect?"
Ying Huo looked confused, mumbling.
Sword Saint Mingdong couldn't be sure, so he didn't answer that question directly. He said, "Anyway, some emperors made an attack, so we can't be blamed for the failure."
Ying Huo couldn't figure out the reasons behind it. She said, "Let's go back to the temple now. Perhaps our leader knows the answer."
…
The Sun-moon Crystal Coffin was still floating under the Divine Sky-connecting Tree, thirty feet above the ground. It was transparent and gleaming with light. There was an exquisite-looking female corpse lying inside, which seemed to be sleeping instead of dead.
There were thirty-four fragmented bones floating around the Sun-moon Crystal Coffin, and each bone contained great devil death Qi.
Every time they tried to gather together, a trace of light would be shot out of the coffin and break them.
Zhang Ruochen and Ghost King Bloodmoon stood under the Sun-moon Crystal Coffin. They tried everything to communicate with the female corpse in the coffin, but all their efforts were in vain.
She was still and silent. Only the sun mark and the moon mark kept absorbing the holy Qi from the Divine Sky-connecting Tree, forming two saint Qi bridges.
"Who is she?"
Even Ghost King Bloodmoon was confused.
Zhang Ruochen noticed that even Ghost King Bloodmoon wasn't able to communicate with her, so he released a trace of mind power and asked the Divine Sky-connecting Tree, hoping it might know something.
The Divine Sky-connecting Tree was indeed knowledgeable, however, the new seedling had only inherited a small part of the memories of the original tree, so it wasn't sure who that female corpse was either.
"We can confirm that the Sun-moon Crystal Coffin is a divine weapon of Moon Worship Demonic Sect, so perhaps we can find something about it on the ancient records of the demonic sect." White Li Princess walked forward, showing up behind Zhang Ruochen and Ghost King Bloodmoon.
Zhang Ruochen agreed with what White Li Princess said. He mumbled, "Perhaps the Crazy Alcoholic and Gu Songzi know something about it."
The Crazy Alcoholic and Gu Songzi had been chased by Ye Xiaoxiang to the deep of Xianji Mountain, and Zhang Ruochen wasn't sure whether they had survived that or not.
The Crazy Alcoholic knew how to make Six Saints to the Sky Wine, and Gu Songzi had the Hua Divine Pill. If he managed to recruit them into Secret Sect, it would quickly rise to a top-tier power in Kunlun's Field.
Unlike the demonic sect, Zhang Ruochen wanted this kind of talent more than anything.
Since that bony hand had been crushed, the deep area of Xianji Mountain wasn't as dangerous as before, so Zhang Ruochen decided to go there by himself.
Before departing, Zhang Ruochen asked the Divine Sky-connecting Tree a second question. "Why can I only mobilize the power of Kunlun's Field temporarily?"
"It's because your body hasn't integrated with Kunlun's Field perfectly yet, so your saintly way rules haven't integrated with those of Kunlun's Field. It'll take you a long time before you can utilize the power of Kunlun's Field with ease," the Divine Sky-connecting Tree answered.
"I understand."
Zhang Ruochen wasn't disappointed at all. He didn't care whether he could utilize the power at ease or not as he wouldn't utilize that power unless he was in a desperate situation.
The best power to rely on was his own power.
Zhang Ruochen brought Guoguo, monster ape and White Li Princess out of the Universe World. He brought them to Yuan Hu, smiled and said, "See that island at the center of that island? There's an herb garden on the island which is filled with divine medicine. And now, it's time for you to make up for your wrongdoings. Whoever gets more saint medicine will be rewarded instead of being penalized."
"Really? Full of divine medicines?"
Guoguo's eyes gleamed. It licked its lips.
Zhang Ruochen knew what Guoguo was talking about. He said, "You don't need to go get the divine medicines, White Li. Just make sure they don't take them again."
White Li Princess was much steadier than Guoguo and Monster Ape. She asked, "How about you? Where are you going?"
"I'll go to the deeper area of Xianji Mountain, but I'll be back soon."
Zhang Ruochen flew to Xianji Mountain immediately. He not only wanted to look for the Crazy Alcoholic and Go Songzi, but also wanted to figure out the secrets as well."
After arriving at the top of a mountain, Zhang Ruochen took a look behind him. He saw Guoguo and Monster Ape roar at the same time as they rushed to Wuyuan Island.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and shook his head. He transmitted a message to White Li Princess through his mind power, telling her that there was a supreme saint formation left around Yuan Lake and Wuyuan Island, and that she was supposed to let them suffer a bit instead of being killed.