Daqin Zhentiansi

When breaking through the domain of law, all methods merge into a single thought...

Just as Zhang Yuan was immersed in his enlightenment, the cooperation among the disciples of Qingyuan Immortal Sect finally reached its peak.

Zhao Xuanfeng's eyes gleamed, and his aura suddenly surged to its limit.

"Now! Ice Soul Severing Slash—Sever!"

"Om-!"

The azure sword behind him suddenly rose into the air.

The sword light transformed into a streak of icy blue light that pierced through the heavens and earth, carrying an extreme cold sword intent that could freeze the soul. It pierced through the gap in the neck that had been severely injured by the golden hammer earlier with perfect precision!

"Roar—woo..."

The massive body of the three-headed Xuanxue Turtle suddenly stiffened, and the roar of the lizard head in the middle abruptly stopped.

Immediately, all three heads drooped down, their fierce glint completely extinguished.

The enormous demonic body collapsed with a crash, splashing up a towering wave of blood, and a rich and powerful essence of blood and vital energy spread out.

"It's done!"

The disciples of Qingyuan Immortal Sect erupted in thunderous cheers, their faces filled with excitement and joy after exhaustion.

Zhao Xuanfeng breathed a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face. He commanded, "Quickly retrieve the blood crystals and vital organs; we cannot linger here..."

A disciple responsible for picking it up excitedly held the magnificent blood crystal, about the size of a head, with what appeared to be flowing crimson ice inside, and was about to approach Zhao Xuanfeng.

Zhao Xuanfeng, however, subconsciously glanced at Zhang Yuan, who was watching the battle from the sidelines. His gaze was calm as he prepared to distribute some of the spoils of war as agreed.

The disciple holding the blood crystal also noticed Zhang Yuan. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to follow his senior brother's instructions and walk towards Zhang Yuan first.

In that instant when Zhao Xuanfeng was distracted, and just as the disciple approached Zhang Yuan with the blood crystal—

A sudden change occurred!

Behind the reef where Zhang Yuan stood, the viscous blood waves silently cracked open a fissure.

A slender, serpentine monster, as if carved from blood jade and covered in slippery scales, moved with terrifying speed beyond that of an ordinary early-stage Free and Unfettered Realm cultivator, like a bolt of blood lightning, directly devouring the back of the unsuspecting disciple holding the crystal!

This monster exuded a chilling and eerie aura, clearly having been plotting for a long time, waiting for the moment when its prey relaxed its guard or celebrated its victory to deliver a fatal blow!
Its aura had clearly reached the level of a Grandmaster in the Free and Unfettered Realm. Its attacks were fast, accurate, and ruthless, carrying a vicious power that could penetrate even the strongest qi!

"Watch your back!"

Zhao Xuanfeng's pupils shrank drastically, utterly horrified. It was too late for him to come to his rescue.

The smiles on the other disciples' faces froze instantly, and they only had time to cry out in surprise.

Just as his disciple's life hung by a thread, Zhang Yuan, who had been standing as still as a rock, did not even use the "Broken Waves" he carried.

He simply turned slightly to the side, and with his left arm, he swung it backward at an extremely simple yet exquisite angle, his five fingers spread wide.

"Sizzle—Boom!"

That wasn't an arm, but a thunderbolt wrapped with a thick, dark gold dragon-patterned chain, triggering divine punishment from the heavens!

Azure Dragon Rope.

The moment his arm swung out, countless fine, dark gold dragon-shaped runes instantly covered his left arm.

The phantom of the azure dragon roared and vanished in a flash, stirring up the violent power of the Great Dao.

It is neither fire nor ice, but the most explosive and powerful heavenly thunder!

Zhang Yuan's path of thunder has already reached a state of perfection.

His five fingers were spread out like dragon claws, and his palm seemed to be holding a thunder core that was compressed to the extreme and about to explode!

Blinding purple lightning gathered wildly between his fingers, illuminating that area in a ghastly white light!
There was no complicated trajectory, only a punch that was as fast as lightning!
The fist struck with unparalleled precision, meeting the sharp fangs of the crimson lightning head-on!

“Crackle—!!!”

A blinding purple bolt of lightning, like a raging thunder dragon, burst forth from Zhang Yuan's fist!

With an aura of destruction that judges everything, it instantly devoured the head and most of the body of the blood-red serpentine monster!
The monster didn't even utter a mournful cry.

"Bam—"

The skull, which was as sturdy as a spiritual weapon, shattered instantly before the lightning containing the power of the Heavenly Dao, like a cheap terracotta tile!

Under the extremely powerful and yang force of thunder, the condensed flesh and blood were like ice and snow thrown into a furnace, rapidly charring, decomposing, and annihilating!
The violent shockwave, carrying the scorching smell of burning, spread out, pushing the still-shaken Qingyuan Immortal Sect disciple back several steps.

He almost dropped the demon turtle blood crystal in his hand, but was fortunately caught by his fellow disciples who caught up from behind.

Only a few charred remains, emitting black smoke, remained on the spot, quickly swallowed up by the churning sea of ​​blood.

The air was filled with the unique smell of burning demon flesh.

Dead!

The joy and fear on the faces of the Qingyuan Immortal Sect members froze, turning into extreme shock and disbelief, their mouths agape enough to fit an egg.

They watched as their fellow disciples exerted all their efforts to kill the Cave Mystic Demon Turtle, and then looked at the suddenly appearing, instantly killed with a single punch, reduced to ashes, great demon of the Free and Unfettered Realm...

The stark contrast left their minds blank, and their thoughts ceased to function.

Zhao Xuanfeng was deeply shaken, staring intently at Zhang Yuan's left hand, which was slowly retracting and wrapped with a barely perceptible golden dragon pattern phantom. A few faint purple lightning bolts still lingered in the palm of his hand.

The power of that punch, the awe-inspiring might it unleashed...

It was beyond his comprehension!
This person is no ordinary grandmaster!
His earlier thought of "getting a share" now seems utterly ridiculous.

In the midst of this deathly silence and shock, the monitoring jade token at Zhao Xuanfeng's waist trembled slightly.

He glanced down instinctively; the leaderboard had been updated.

Ninth place, Zhang Qingyang of the Great River Sword Sect – 16,328 points!

It surged by five thousand in an instant!

Zhao Xuanfeng suddenly looked up and gazed once more at the figure in black robes carrying a ruler, whose expression remained indifferent.

His horror and awe reached their peak, and a name exploded in his mind like a thunderclap!

He suddenly clasped his hands in a fist and, with all his might, bowed deeply towards Zhang Yuan, his voice filled with heartfelt gratitude and unprecedented respect.

"Zhao Xuanfeng of Qingyuan Immortal Sect, along with his fellow disciples, expresses our deepest gratitude to Senior Brother Zhang Qingyang for saving our lives! We were blind to your greatness just now and have offended you greatly. Please forgive us, Senior Brother Zhang!"

"We will never forget your great kindness! If there is any need for us in the future, Qingyuan Immortal Sect will certainly do our best!"

He revealed Zhang Yuan's identity while subtly explaining it to his shocked fellow disciples.

The other disciples seemed to awaken from a dream, and followed their senior brother in bowing respectfully, their gazes towards Zhang Yuan filled with awe and lingering fear.

If it weren't for this person, one of them would have died!
The way the other party resolved this dangerous situation was even more astonishing.

Zhang Yuan looked away from his clenched fist, as if he had just crushed a trivial mosquito.

He glanced at Zhao Xuanfeng, who was bowing deeply, and then at the disciple who was still in shock while holding the blood crystal, and nodded lightly.

"Easy to do."

After saying that, he didn't look at the priceless three-headed Xuanxue Turtle corpse again, nor did he mention anything about "everyone who sees it gets a share".

Turning around, carrying the seemingly weightless, dark ruler on his back, his steps remained steady as always. He stepped over the turbid, surging waves of blood and silently merged into the denser mist deep within the sea of ​​blood.

Zhang Yuan's figure was quickly swallowed by the dark red, leaving only the Qingyuan Immortal Sect members panting as if they had survived a calamity and staring longingly at that unfathomable back.

Above the sea of ​​blood, Zhang Qingyang's name, as if branded with thunder, once again hung high on the leaderboard, and was also quietly imprinted in the hearts of the Qingyuan Immortal Sect disciples who witnessed all of this.

Deep within the abyss of blood and filth, turmoil surges.

Zhang Yuan rode the waves, his eyes sharp as he surveyed this dangerous land filled with bloodshed and chaos.

He was not aimless; the fragments of Blood River Ancestor's memories were like a precise navigation map, guiding him to avoid unnecessary waste and point directly to those places that truly contained opportunities.

Suddenly, the blood in front of them boiled, and a fierce and violent aura soared into the sky. It was a ferocious monster that resembled a giant dragon crocodile, with its body covered in thick, dark gold armor and a long tail like a steel whip. Its size was as large as a small mountain, and its surging aura showed that it was a genuine Grandmaster-level Blood Sea Overlord.

Blood Armored Dragon Crocodile!
Ordinary masters who encounter this beast have no choice but to either detour or fight it to the death.

But Zhang Yuan raised his eyes slightly, did not stop walking, and went straight to meet him.

"Roar--!"

Sensing the provocation of its tiny "prey," the Blood-Armored Crocodile let out a roar that shattered the blood waves, and its massive tail, covered in barbs, whipped up a sky-ripping gale that swept fiercely toward Zhang Yuan.

The dragon claws beneath its feet tore through the filth and pressed down on its head!

Zhang Yuan's expression remained calm and composed.

He didn't use the heavy ruler; he simply turned his body slightly to the side and clenched his right fist.

An unparalleled force, capable of suppressing the heavens and earth and shaking the deep sea, condensed at the fist's edge!
His boundless blood and energy awakened like a dragon and an elephant, instantly triggering his own vast, star-like power to suppress evil!

This punch wasn't a technique; it was simply the purest and most brute force unleashed!
"Boom——!!!"

Like a mountain collapsing and crashing into the deep sea!

The fist struck precisely at the hardest bone armor at the end of the sweeping dragon tail!

"Crack!"

A teeth-grinding, explosive sound rang out!

The bone armor, as hard as refined gold, shattered instantly, and the entire dragon tail exploded inch by inch from the middle!
Blood and bone fragments splattered everywhere!
The dragon-crocodile roared in agony, and its massive claws, which were about to strike, froze and trembled due to the intense pain.

Zhang Yuan's figure appeared like a ghost beside its huge head. His left hand, with its five fingers spread wide, carried a heavy, watery aura that suppressed all things, and he pressed it hard on the center of its forehead, which was covered with bumpy scales.

"Canglang! Suppress the Soul!"

"Om-!"

The deep, abyss-like water energy, mixed with a trace of the Soul-Devouring Wheel's suppressive power condensed to the extreme, instantly enveloped the Blood-Armored Dragon Crocodile's raging ferocious soul like an invisible giant net!

Its bloodthirsty and ferocious vertical pupils suddenly blurred, and its overwhelming ferocity aura shrank and submitted like a flame that had been extinguished, replaced by a fear and subjugation that came from the depths of its soul.

Its massive body trembled violently a few times before finally collapsing onto the churning sea of ​​blood, its enormous head bowed, emitting a low whimper in submission.

surrender!

Zhang Yuan withdrew his hand and landed lightly on the giant crocodile's broad, platform-like back.

The Blood Armored Dragon Crocodile beneath his feet glided obediently, carrying him steadily forward.

With this "riding beast" that was familiar with the Blood Sea environment and far faster than the Wave Rider, Zhang Yuan's actions suddenly became easy and comfortable.

He began to focus on the "treasure" in the memories of the Blood River Ancestor.

In the following days, several hidden places deep within the Blood Sea became Zhang Yuan's targets.

The Blood Cave of Ten Thousand Burials is located deep within a dark cavern where countless ancient corpses and bones are piled up like mountains.

Using the Soul Devouring Wheel secret technique, Zhang Yuan easily avoided the entrenched vengeful spirits and corpse demons, and remotely extracted a "Beast Blood Marrow Bead" the size of an infant's fist, perfectly round, and radiating pure blood essence.

This bead has a remarkable effect on tempering qi and blood and enhancing physical strength, and it is also a great tonic for Zhang Yuan.

A swirling blood vortex.

At the bottom of a massive, blood-red vortex that was spinning wildly and almost tearing space apart, Zhang Yuan ordered the Blood Armored Dragon Crocodile to dive in.

Using the heavy ruler "Broken Waves" as an anchor point, he forcefully resisted the suction of the vortex and, with one hand, precisely retrieved a wondrous object born from destruction—the Blood Sea Jade Lotus—from the turbulent core of the vortex.

This treasure is crystal clear, like blood-red glass, and exudes a tranquil and gentle life force.

It can not only cure all poisons and nourish the soul, but it is also a supreme material for refining top-grade elixirs.

The rarity of this item surprised and delighted Zhang Yuan.

Ancient formation of broken ships.

Deep within the wreckage of an incredibly massive, decaying ancient ship, half-buried in a sea of ​​blood and silt.

In the center of a broken spirit-gathering array that had long since failed but still retained faint fluctuations, Zhang Yuan broke through the restrictions and took in three drops of crystal-clear "Water Cloud Crystal Soul" that had condensed at the array's core.

The pure water essence contained within it has immeasurable benefits for Zhang Yuan in comprehending the endless true meaning of Canglang.

A series of treasure hunts left Zhang Yuan completely satisfied.

Although he encountered a few monsters during this time, the Blood Armored Dragon Crocodile took action, so he hardly needed to do anything.

He paused his active hunting, focusing on processing his catch and finding a direction.

On the points crystal tablet at the entrance to the Demon Abyss, the dazzling name "Zhang Qingyang" fell like a shooting star.

It plummeted from tenth place to the top 200...

Ultimately, it settled outside the top 300, its brilliance dimmed.

The discussion on the platform has intensified once again.

"Hmph! You've finally shown your fear! You only got lucky and stumbled upon a great opportunity before, but now you're too scared to go any further, aren't you?"

"I knew it! How could a mere, unknown disciple of the Great River Sword Sect possibly stay in the top ten? This is the real level!"

"The standings are all about stamina and sustained fighting ability! What kind of skill is it to be a flash in the pan? That's what it means to show your true colors!"

"Ultimately, they lack the necessary foundation. They're probably hiding somewhere, trembling with fear, waiting for the trials to end so they can scavenge for scraps..."

The woman from Xuan Yin Valley curled her lips into a mocking smile: "It seems the 'pillar' of the Great River Sword Sect has collapsed quite quickly."

Only the white-robed youth from the Taixu Sword Pavilion and the elder from the Wanjie Talisman Sect harbored a deep suspicion in their eyes.

Such a dramatic and precipitous drop is rather unusual.

Deep within the Blood Sea lies a basin region formed by countless enormous crimson corals.

At the center of the coral reef, a strange plant called "Ice Heart Blood Jade Mushroom," which emits a hazy blue light and resembles a lotus flower, is about to bloom.

A broken ancient halberd was half-inserted to its side, its blade covered with mysterious and obscure runes.

This ancient broken halberd is suspected to be a fragment of a divine weapon.

Guarding this place is a nine-headed venomous python that has reached the peak of the first level of the Grandmaster realm, its nine snake heads exuding a terrifying aura.

At this moment, the three forces are fiercely fighting around the basin, their targets being Bingxin Xueyuzhi and the broken halberd.

On one side, there were more than a dozen disciples of the Great River Sword Sect led by Ling Hao.

They formed a wave-like sword formation, struggling to hold on, their sword light appearing rather disheveled amidst the mist and poisonous miasma.

On the other side were several disciples of the Taixu Sword Pavilion. Their swords flashed with a cold, aloof, sharp, and cunning light, clearly indicating that they were a cut above the rest.

The third party consists of cultivators from Xuan Yin Valley who wield bone banner demonic artifacts, spewing poisonous insects and malevolent energy, employing unpredictable and ruthless methods.

The struggle has reached a fever pitch.

Just as the nine-headed venomous python was frantically attacking the Xuan Yin Valley cultivators, a disciple of the Tai Xu Sword Pavilion flashed a cold light in his eyes and made a secret hand gesture almost simultaneously with a female cultivator from Xuan Yin Valley whose face was covered by a light veil!
"Parting the waves and drawing in the tide!" A disciple of the Taixu Sword Pavilion shouted softly, his sword light skillfully guiding and leading the way!
"Mysterious Yin Blood Hand, Seize!" The female cultivators from Mysterious Yin Valley unleashed several foul, bloody hand seals in coordination!

The two men were not attacking the venomous python, but rather Ling Hao and his fellow disciples who were struggling to defend themselves from being bitten by another snake head!

A powerful and mysterious force acted on the sword formation of the Great River Sword Sect disciples, as if the driftwood under their feet had been suddenly removed in a raging storm!
"puff--!"

"Wow!"

Several core disciples were caught off guard, and their sword formation was broken in an instant.

The fierce backlash, mixed with the vicious soul-devouring power of Xuan Yin Valley, caused them to cough up blood and fly backward.

Two of them were propelled by this clever force directly into the stench-filled maw of the nine-headed venomous python! (End of Chapter)