Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Under the leaders.h.i.+p of the muscular Banner Lord, the two walked deep into the Cangtian Canyon. They arrived at the bank of the Yan River.
Whoosh.
Red mist floated over the surface of the river and formed the apparition of a divine Saint. It was dozens of feet tall and had a human body. However, it had two heads and looked a bit menacing.
"Greetings, Vice Palace Ruler Yao." The huge Banner Lord lowered onto one knee and kowtowed to the divine apparition in the river.
Zhang Ruochen was weighed down by the Dragon Chains, but he still kowtowed as well.
The Nether Heavenly Palace had two vice Palace Rulers. They rarely showed themselves and were the true important figures of the Blood G.o.d Palace.
Yao Sheng was one of the two.
The huge apparition was one of Yao Sheng's saint soul bodies. It floated above the water, exhaling fog.
Sinister dark purple light shot out of its four eyes. It pa.s.sed across the river and landed on Zhang Ruochen at once. The vast and majestic saintly might flooded through the world as if wanting to force Zhang Ruochen to the ground.
This kind of might terrified Zhang Ruochen's saint soul. If he was guilty, he wouldn't be able to lie due to his fear. Even if he lied, he would have flaws.
Vice Palace Ruler Yao started asking questions. "The day the Deity died, you led a group of Banner Fighters to Mount Luofeng?"
"What…the Deity died?" Zhang Ruochen pretended not to know anything. He also pretended to be very weak. His legs kept trembling.
"You need not know about this. Reply to my questions." His voice was powerful.
As if suffering from the saintly might's repression, Zhang Ruochen shuddered. "Yes, I indeed went to Mount Luofeng."
"Why did you go?"
"Banner King Wuliang ordered me to kill the blood beasts in Mount Luofeng. I heard that it was an order from the vice Palace Rulers."
The huge two-headed saintly figure in the river fell silent for a moment. Then he huffed coldly. "Neither of the two vice Palace Rulers had issued an order like that."
"How is that possible?" Zhang Ruochen acted extremely shocked. "Vice Palace Ruler, I most definitely did not lie. If you don't believe me, you can ask Banner King Wuliang."
"The day you went to Mount Luofeng," Vice Palace Ruler Yao said, "Zhao Wuliang also went missing. He still hasn't reappeared."
Zhang Ruochen looked even more confused. Fearful, he hurriedly said, "Vice Palace Ruler, please check this! I have nothing to do with the death of the Deity!"
"As long as you answer my questions truthfully, I won't wrong an innocent man."
The other head of the two-headed saint figure opened its mouth. A moving female voice streamed out. "Gu Linfeng, since you went to Mount Luofeng to kill blood beasts, how come your Banner Fighters all died while you disappeared for countless days? Where did you go during this time?"
"When I arrived at Mount Luofeng, I was attacked," Zhang Ruochen said. "All the Banner Fighters were killed by a formation. I also risked my life to break through the formation and escape deep into the Ancient Snow Mountain. While escaping, I was hurt gravely and didn't even know where I ran to. In the end, I fell unconscious."
"When I woke up, I didn't know how many days had pa.s.sed. I healed myself and immediately returned to Cangtian Canyon. I was about to report to Banner Lord Wuliang, but I didn't think that…so many things had happened to the Nether Heavenly Palace."
The four beams of dark purple light were trained on Zhang Ruochen the entire time, giving him pressure.
The surroundings fell silent again. Not even Vice Palace Ruler Yao continued asking questions.
"Vice Palace Ruler, do you have more questions?" Zhang Ruochen asked tentatively.
"None for now." His voice was still cold. "We will continue to check this and verify your words. Even if you have nothing to do with the Deity's death, you can still be punished gravely if your Banner Fighters have all died."
The other head said, "Banner Lord Shufeng, take Gu Linfeng into the Iron Dungeon."
"Yes." The burly Banner Lord stared coldly at Zhang Ruochen. "Banner Lord Gu, follow me!"
Banner Lord Shufeng brought Zhang Ruochen away. The two heads of the saintly figure in the river started talking to each other.
The left spoke with a male voice. "What do you think?"
The right spoke with a female voice. "I don't think Gu Linfeng is lying. This may possibly have been orchestrated by Zhao Wuliang. Gu Linfeng is at most just a scapegoat. Unfortunately, Zhao Wuliang's plan didn't succeed. An accident happened. Otherwise, Gu Linfeng wouldn't have been able to return alive."
"When Zhao s.h.i.+qi brought half of the Deity's body back," the left head said, "he said that they'd gone against a horrifying blood beast. Zhao Wuliang's plan failing probably had something to do with that blood beast."
"Zhao Wuliang has gone missing for so long," the right head said. "He might be dead in the belly of a blood beast now."
Vice Palace Ruler Yao obviously didn't believe that a mere third-level Half-Saint would dare to a.s.sa.s.sinate the Deity of the Blood G.o.d Sect. Even if he had the guts, he didn't have the abilities.
To him, only Zhao Wuliang had the abilities and guts. Everything pointed to Zhao Wuliang too.
The Iron Dungeon was hundreds of feet underground in the Cangtian Canyon. It was completely wrought with iron. Some of the prison bars were thicker than one's arm.
The dungeon was covered in formation runes and was guarded by the Nether Heavenly Palace's third camp. Even a Saint would find it hard to escape, let alone a Half-Saint.
Apparently, all the disciples who committed serious crimes were imprisoned here.
Gu Linfeng's cultivation was in the Half-Saint Realm. He was also a Banner Lord. In the Blood G.o.d Sect, he had a bit of importance and was now an important criminal. Thus, he was imprisoned in the fourth level—the lowest level of the dungeon.
Boom!
Zhang Ruochen slammed his hand against the metal wall. Dozens of thick black lightning bolts instantly flew out of the wall. They hit Zhang Ruochen like dozens of black dragons.
Zhang Ruochen immediately activated his saint soul territory to block the lightning. Despite that, he still suffered some internal injuries.
Such a powerful formation. It's even difficult for spatial power to break through. I can't escape at all.
He gradually calmed down. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he thought carefully.
If I insist that I didn't kill Mei Lanzhu, Discipline King Haiming will definitely find a way to save me. I'm still a quite important chess piece to that old man.
He stopped thinking. Composing himself, he began cultivating.
Around three days later, metal boots clattered through the fourth floor of the dungeon. The sound was extremely sharp.
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes. He saw a burly figure standing outside the metal bars. He was dressed in armor like an unbeatable war G.o.d.
It was Banner Lord Shufeng, top Banner Lord of the Nether Heavenly Palace's third camp.
Banner Lord Shufeng opened the formation of the prison cell and walked in. Looking down on Zhang Ruochen, he said with a resounding voice, "Discipline King Haiming personally vouched for you. You're lucky. Go! You can leave now!"
Zhang Ruochen stood up and patted the dust off of him. "Thank you."
After leaving the dungeon, Banner Lord Shufeng led Zhang Ruochen out of the Cangtian Canyon. They walked into the Ancient Snow Mountain, getting further and further away from the main camp.
Zhang Ruochen grew cautious. He silently began moving his Holy Qi.
Banner Lord Shufeng's cultivation was very high. He was a high-level Half-Saint and was very sensitive. He noticed the Holy Qi movement within Zhang Ruochen.
He huffed coldly. "If I wanted to kill you, you think you could stop me with your cultivation?"
Zhang Ruochen chuckled and put away his Holy Qi. "Banner Lord Shufeng, where are you taking me?"
"You'll see when we get there."
The two kept walking, picking up speed. They were already hundreds of miles from Cangtian Canyon.
Finally, Banner Lord Shufeng stopped. "We're here!"
There was a cliff in the distance. Red plum blossoms bloomed on it. When the cold wind blew, vibrant petals fluttered down.
Blue Night, 13th disciple of Discipline King Haiming, stood below the cliff, arms behind his back. He wore a black robe and looked very sharp. He bowed slightly to Banner Lord Shufeng.
"Thank you, Brother Shufeng."
"It's nothing. You two chat. I must return to the Nether Heavenly Palace immediately."
With that, Banner Lord Shufeng transformed into a gust of wind. He swept up the snow and disappeared from the snowy peaks.
Blue Night's eyes were cold and heavy. He stared at Zhang Ruochen. "You really do know how to make trouble. If not for Master, you'd be dead right now."
"The Deity's death has nothing to do with me." Zhang Ruochen's att.i.tude was quite powerful.
"Talking back to me?" Blue Night's eyes shone with cold light. Cold Qi gathered in his right hand and he hit it toward Zhang Ruochen's heart.
Blue Night wanted to punish Zhang Ruochen and make him suffer a bit. Then he would be more obedient in the future.
This was what Discipline King Haiming said.
Just as Blue Night produced his palm, the temperature within hundreds of miles plummeted. Even the s.p.a.ce froze.
Zhang Ruochen didn't surrender. He formed a print technique with his hands. Activating the Holy Qi within him, he opened the sixth aperture of his hands. Two b.l.o.o.d.y clouds surged out of his palms into the shape of hands.
"Seventh Aperture Blood Palm."
The two palms struck out at once, clas.h.i.+ng against Blue Night's palms.
Kaboom. The powerful palm force cracked the cliff beside them. Some of the cracks were dozens of feet wide. Even more strange was that the plum blossom tree on the cliff was unharmed. Only blood-red petals fluttered in the air.
Discipline King Haiming must be nearby. He loves plum blossoms. He must have used his Holy Qi to protect the tree.
Realizing this, Zhang Ruochen immediately retracted half of the power from his palm. He immediately flew backward, tumbled in the air, and finally landed.
Zhang Ruochen let out a m.u.f.fled grunt. Blood seeped out of the corner of his lips.
Blue Night also took a step back. He stared at his palm and then at Zhang Ruochen in shock.
He'd only used ten percent of his power, but it wasn't something a third-level Half-Saint could block.
"How is your Seven-Aperture Blood Palm so powerful? No, you seem to have opened up the sixth aperture."
