Huff!
Zhang Ruochen exhaled deeply, scattering the Sword Intent on him. The leaves that were flying quickly instantly lost their power. They floated down from the sky, scattering on the ground.
Whoosh!
Zhang Ruochen waved his sleeve, raising a gust of wind. The thick leaves were blown away, revealing Half-Saint Tai Xi below.
Half-Saint Tai Xi lay on the ground with countless slashes on his body. He'd become a bloody mess and was completely unrecognizable. The bone was visible under the bloody flesh in some places.
"Now do you believe that leaves can kill?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Half-Saint Tai Xi's entire body trembled as he rasped out, "I…won't…surrender…"
"Even if you don't want to, you have to."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were frigid. Dragons and elephants roared from his right arm. He slammed down with a gust of strong wind and crushed Half-Saint Tai Xi's head into mush.
When he lifted his hand, his palm had a ball of blood-red Half-Saint Light. It was blinding, lighting the entire night sky with eerie redness.
"The third Half-Saint Light." Zhang Ruochen put it into the Ruyi Treasure Bottle.
The three Half-Saints all had a lot of powerful weapons and treasures. However, Zhang Ruochen didn't have the time to look through them, so he put the three bodies directly into his Spatial Ring.
Half-Saint Tai Xi's Ancient Jade Disc was the only one Zhang Ruochen held and studied. Then he poured his Holy Qi into it.
Poof, poof!
Wisps of blood-red inscriptions surged out of the center of the Ancient Jade Disc and stretched into the air.
The World Locking Formation is indeed a powerful battle formation. Thankfully, I've cultivated my Tao of Sword to the Human Sword state and first injured Half-Saint Tai Xi, causing the Ancient Jade Disc to lose control. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to break open the battle formation. It's highly possible I would be trapped here until death.
The Ancient Jade Disc was a very powerful battle formation saint weapon. Zhang Ruochen stored it in his arms. Then he looked in the direction that Feng Han had left in.
"You can't escape so easily."
Putting Sword Saint Xuanji's body into the Universe Spiritual Map, Zhang Ruochen took out the decree that Sword Saint Xuanji had given him. Gripping it, he poured his Holy Qi into the saint decree.
Powerful saintly power surged from it, wrapping around Zhang Ruochen.
Whoosh!
He transformed into a ray of white light. With speed that only a Saint could have, he rushed into the sky and chased after Feng Han.
A while later, Zhang Ruochen had flown thousands of miles. He caught up with Feng Han and Half-Saint Xin Yu.
The Fallen-gods Mountain Rage was very vast. A miasma covered the sky above the forest. It gave off a boundless feeling. Looking about, one couldn't see any signs of life.
This was a massive primitive forest. Feng Han stopped and opened his blood-red eyes. Turning around, he looked to the sky, surprised. "He caught up this quickly? Even Half-Saint Tai Xi couldn't stop him?"
Half-Saint Xin Yu looked back too. She pulled a long blood sword from the bone of her left arm. Spreading her wings, she flew 300 feet into the sky. "Sixth Prince, go on. I'll stop him."
Thick bloody fog emanated from the long blood sword. It spread, covering the entire primitive forest. All the savage beasts in the forest sensed the dangerous aura and sprawled on the ground, trembling in fear. Some more powerful beasts turned and ran immediately.
Whoosh!
A beam of white light hit Half-Saint Xin Yu's body like a shooting star. A spot of white light grew brighter and brighter in her eyes. Finally, it covered her entire vision. Just as she raised the blood sword, she was already thrown back. She dropped to the ground.
Kaboom.
A huge crater opened up on the ground. Dozens of big cracks appeared in the surrounding dirt. It was as if a meteorite had fallen.
At the bottom of the crater, Zhang Ruochen stood with the Abyss Ancient Sword stabbed through Half-Saint Xin Yu's chest. She was nailed onto the ground. The strong power contained in the sword had shattered Half-Saint Xin Yu's Saint Soul. It was reduced to specks of light that scattered in the air.
This one strike had scattered a Half-Saint's soul.
Whoosh.
His expression cold, Zhang Ruochen pulled out the bloody sword without even looking at Half-Saint Xin Yu's body. He walked out of the crater. Standing elevated, he looked down at Feng Han in the near distance.
"You're the only one left!" he called.
Feng Han stared at Zhang Ruochen across from him. "Did Half-Saint Tai Xi die by your hands?" he asked, his expression not changing.
"Did you think he could still be alive?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"You killed five Half-Saint Vampires in one night," Feng Han said. "Merely this is an unforgivable sin. Even a human Saint can only pay for this crime with death."
"You poisoning Master is an even more unforgivable sin," Zhang Ruochen said firmly. "Even if you become a Saint, you won't be able to escape."
Feng Han grasped the Taotian Sword. He raised it and studied the blade. Then shaking his head, he smiled. "Actually, you're the one that killed Master, not I. If not for you, he probably wouldn't have gone to fight with the Nine Serenity Sword Saint. If not for your appearance, I would be his best disciple. He would have given me the Taotian Sword long ago.
"My goal is only the Taotian Sword. If I had it, I wouldn't have had to kill him. To be honest, he's not a bad guy. At least, I never hated him."
Zhang Ruochen's anger gradually cooled. Instead, he felt depressed. He felt that injustice had befallen his teacher. Everyone said that kindness would be repaid, but sometimes, people take advantage of your kindness and hurt you instead. And instead of feeling any guilt after hurting you, they put all the blame on someone else.
His teacher must have been incomparably sad when he died.
Feng Han glanced back at Zhang Ruochen and wiped his smile away. "But, I truly hate you," he said coldly. "Since you've followed me, I'll send you on your way. This way, that old guy won't be lonely on his way to the afterlife."
Whoosh!
He instantly activated his Saint Soul Territory. At the same time, he brought the Taotian Sword down toward Zhang Ruochen. Both his own speed and the sword's speed were impossibly fast. He didn't give Zhang Ruochen any chance to dodge.
Expressionless, Zhang Ruochen gripped his Abyss Ancient Sword. Using all his might, he swept it horizontally.
Boom!
A tidal wave of power flooded out of the Taotian Sword. In that instant, the web between Zhang Ruochen's thumb and forefinger split open. The skin on his arms couldn't withstand this power. It cracked and turned into a bloody mess.
The Abyss Ancient Sword flew out of his hand. It landed hundreds of feet away, burying into the side of a cliff. At the same time, Zhang Ruochen also flew back. He crashed through dozens of ancient trees, leaving a deep trench on the ground.
His headpiece cracked and his hair came loose. Half-kneeling on the ground, he pressed against it. Blood flowed endlessly out of his lips.
The earth was dyed red.
Holding the Taotian Sword, Feng Han walked towards Zhang Ruochen. Laughing, he said, "Sixth Junior Brother, you think that I'd retreated because I fear you? You are talented, but unfortunately, you're too young. Your cultivation is still too far from mine."
Zhang Ruochen chuckled dryly. "You think that…I'll pursue you…alone…"
"What?" Feng Han's eyes darkened.
Zhang Ruochen stood up slowly. His bloodshot eyes stared at Feng Han. "You're smart. You should understand what I mean."
"You told First Senior Brother?" Feng Han clenched his jaw. His eyes shone with murderous desire.
"You killed our Master and bit the hand that fed you. Any senior brother would kill you, not only First Senior Brother," Zhang Ruochen said.
"You're looking for death."
Feng Han grasped his sword and gathered all his power. Raising the Taotian Sword above his hand, he created a 100-foot-long beam of white light and brought the sword down.
The powerful Sword Qi brought great pressure to Zhang Ruochen. He closed his eyes and used his fastest speed to manipulate spatial power. He cast the Spatial Move and disappeared.
Kaboom.
Powerful Sword Qi cut down on where Zhang Ruochen had been standing, gouging a two-foot-wide trench in the ground. The huge slash was like a fissure in the earth. It stretched miles long, cutting the primitive forest in half.
The attack was powerful, but Feng Han could feel that he hadn't killed Zhang Ruochen. Gradually, the Sword Qi dissipated.
Only a soft breeze remained in the air. Feng Han activated his Blood Sky Eye. He couldn't find Zhang Ruochen at all, but he was sure that Zhang Ruochen was close. However, he was wearing the Shooting Star Invisible Cloak and was aided by spatial power, so he could be traceless.
Feng Han had worried about this, so he didn't attack Zhang Ruochen. He was afraid Zhang Ruochen would latch onto him, making it hard to escape. He wasn't actually afraid of Zhang Ruochen's combat ability.
Feng Han stood in place, not daring to move. He didn't want to provoke Zhang Ruochen's sneak attack. "If you're so powerful, come out and fight me face to face," he roared.
His words didn't result in Zhang Ruochen's response. The sound waves just shook some yellow leaves loose.
Right now, Feng Han had gotten himself into a situation that he couldn't extract himself from.
If Zhang Ruochen continued stalling, the other senior brother apprentices could catch up. At that time, Feng Han wouldn't have the chance to escape anymore. If he retreated now, he would reveal a flaw and suffer Zhang Ruochen's secret attack. Even with his cultivation, Feng Han wasn't completely sure that he could block Zhang Ruochen's spatial attacks.
If he couldn't block it, he would die.