Even Bu Qianfan, who was ranked first on the Earth Board, could only exchange three blows with him before being defeated.
Di Yi was curious, how many attacks could Zhang Ruochen take?
Di Yi steadied himself and raised his hands. He placed his palms face down and curled his fingers, making them into claw-shaped.
SNAP!
The claws of the Blackdragon Ghost Claw Gloves were as sharp as dragon claws.
He stopped battling Zhang Ruochen with his palms and switched to using claw techniques.
“Hell Ghost King Claw.”
Di Yi charged forward. His speed was twice that of before; it was close to approaching the speed velocity.
The Hell Ghost King Claw was a martial technique which was not completely understood. It originated from the Universe Dragon Claw of the Thousand Buddhas Sect. It was later modified by Saints in the Black Market and used as a martial technique of the Black Market.
The Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm was the most powerful palm technique of the Thousand Buddhas Sect; the Universe Dragon Claw was the most powerful claw technique.
The Universe Dragon Claw had nine attacks, and the Hell Ghost King Claw, which was derived from it, had 36 attacks.
Comparing the two, the latter was slightly less dominating and powerful than the former.
However, the latter was also more evil and sinister. With the additional changes, the latter was a much darker technique than the former.
Di Yi struck out his claws. A sinister wind picked up. The temperature plummeted.
The water in the surrounding environment froze.
WOOSH!
Countless claw-prints flew back and forth in the freezing air. One minute they were hands; the next dragon claws. They gave off a ghostly cry.
Zhang Ruochen, had one arm around the unconscious Huang Yanchen. Gradually he slowed his speed.
BOOM!
Caught off guard, Di Yi scratched his chest with a claw. Even with the Flying Fish Armor, he still felt a deep pain in his chest, like his internal organs had been clawed at.
Another long howl came from the foot of the hill.
Zhang Tiangui flew a chariot a meter off the ground. It parted the waters and soared up the hill.
The power of the Feiyuan Chariot was shocking. As it passed rocks were crushed into fine powder.
Dozens of Black Market warriors followed. Weapons in hand, they arranged in a battle formation. They looked like a black tide swarming towards the stone gate.
“Zhang Ruochen, the day of your death has arrived!”
Zhang Tiangui stood proudly on the Feiyuan Chariot. He raised his hands and transformed his Genuine Qi into a beam of light that flew up from his head. He summoned a vision of heaven and earth.
Thousand Mile Lightning Sea.
CLAP!
With Zhang Tiangui’s body at the center, all the Spiritual Qi within 333-kilometer surrounding area gathered together. It coalesced into rods of purple lightning. The lightning crossed and darted back and forth like a lightning sea below the water.
Zhang Ruochen’s heart sank. He knew that Zhang Tiangui had broken into the Heaven Realm.
Such a powerful vision of heaven and the earth could only be summoned if one had broken into the Heaven Realm.
Even before Zhang Tiangui had broken into the Heaven Realm, he’d been a rare prodigy. Now his strength had increased exponentially; people like Si Xingkong and Chen Xier stood no chance against him.
However, Zhang Ruochen was more worried about the dragon soul in the hill. Once the dragon soul awakened, the future did not bear thinking about. It was likely that everyone here would die.
Just as Zhang Tiangui was executing the vision of Thousand Mile Thunder Sea, Zi Qian, who had the weakest cultivation, was struck by a streak of lightning. She flew back with a scream.
More than half of her body turned a charred black. Countless tiny threads of lightning flashed across her body. She was heavily injured.
Zhang Tiangui saw that Zi Qian was wearing the clothes of the Hades Department. He assumed that she was a warrior of the Black Market. The strike had not been purposely aimed at her.
If Zhang Tiangui had wanted to kill her, his strike would have incinerated her into ash.
Chang Qiqi and Si Xingkong rushed to stop Zhang Tiangui from two different directions.
“Go away!”
Zhang Tiangui waved his arm and moved his Genuine Qi. Two thick rods of purple lightning flashed towards them. They fell back.
Zhang Tiangui only had one enemy, and that was Zhang Ruochen.
He knew that this was his only chance to kill Zhang Ruochen. Once Zhang Ruochen broke into the Heaven Realm, he would not have a chance.
Chang Qiqi and Si Xingkong activated the defensive inscriptions on their Spatial Rings. Although they had been sent flying, they were not hurt.
They climbed to their feet and charged towards Zhang Tiangui again.
“We can’t let Zhang Tiangui join Di Yi. If they join forces, it will not be good for Zhang Ruochen.”
“Embattle!”
Si Xingkong leaped upwards. He landed on a high point on the hill. He took out a jade stone and immersed his Genuine Qi into it, activating the inscriptions.
Chen Xier, Duanmu Xingling, and Chang Qiqi did the same, activating the Inscriptions of Array. They created a Combined Attack.
Together they formed a Combined Attack.
SWOOSH!
A half-meter column of light burst out from their Combined Attack and struck towards Zhang Tiangui’s Feiyuan Chariot.
The chariot was an eighth level Genuine Martial Arms, but under their combined attack, it flipped over and rolled down the hill.
Zhang Tiangui looked quite pathetic as he followed his chariot down the hill.
The four’s Combined Attack clashed with the array laid down by the Black Market warriors. They quickly destroyed the enemies’ array.
More than half of the Black Market warriors were killed or injured. The remaining people quickly escaped to the bottom of the hill.
Zhang Ruochen and Di Yi were engaged in an intense battle.
“Ghost king’s Anger!”
Di Yi executed the seventh attack of the Devil’s Claw. His body grew half a meter, his muscles expanded, his bones stretched, and his fingers doubled in length.
He dissolved into a ghostly shadow and struck with a claw towards Zhang Ruochen’s neck.
He planned to use this attack to pierce through Zhang Ruochen’s Flying Fish Armor and completely finish him off.
“Blood-condensed Nine Swords.”
Zhang Ruochen spread his hands. The Spiritual Blood in his body flowed out. It transformed into blood fog and created a Blood Wave beneath his feet.
Nine sword shadows circled his body before combining into one and flying out.
Zhang Ruochen pushed out the sword Qi with both hands.
BAM!
The sword Qi gushed out. Countless streaks of sword Qi flew towards Di Yi forcing him to retreat.
Si Xingkong, Chen Xier, Duanmu Xingling, and Chang Qiqi rushed up the hill. They arrived at the stone gate and stood with Zhang Ruochen.
Duanmu Xingling held the injured Zi Qian in her arms.
Zhang Ruochen turned and placed the dragon horn into the hole in the stone gate.
The gate opened. A golden light shot out from within.
“SWOOSH!”
Not just the Dragon Palace but the entire river for thousands of kilometers was completely bathed in golden light. The indistinct sound of Buddhist music could be heard.
“The Buddha Sarira must be the heart of the hill.”
Light flashed through Di Yi’s eyes. He drew on all the power of his body. With his body as the center, water flowed out in all directions, sending all the Black Market warriors flying back.
Di Yi once again rushed towards the stone gate.
Si Xingkong, Duanmu Xingling, and the others had already entered. Zhang Ruochen pulled out the dragon horn and the stone gate began to close slowly.
Zhang Ruochen stood in the middle of the gate with his legs apart in a horse stance. The Genuine Qi in his body circulated rapidly and flowed towards his right arm, turning it golden.
“Zhang Ruochen, I was only using half of my power earlier. Do you really think I can’t kill you? If you try to stop me from taking the Dragon Sarira, you’re looking for death.”
A 33-meter human shape saint figure rose behind Di Yi. Its body radiated multi-colored light and its eyes burned like fire balls.
He appeared to be attaching himself to a Saint’s body. The power he displayed was indeed far more than before.
“Nine-folds of Elephant Power!”
Zhang Ruochen raised his right arm. He struck out nine handprints in a row. They overlapped resulting in a nine-fold increase in power.
“Human King Pushing Mountain.”
The holy light surrounding Di Yi flowed towards his fist. He brought it down like a mountain.
BAM!
Zhang Ruochen flew back.
He flew back more than 33 meters and landed on the ground. He felt like a mountain had crashed into him, his bones almost shattered. The skin of his right arm was cracked and bloody. He could see fresh blood, flesh and Blood Meridians.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen had also forced Di Yi to retreat. He could not get through the stone gate.
By the time Di Yi struck again, the gate had already closed.
“BANG!”
Di Yi’s fist slammed into the stone gate but was blocked by golden Lines. The strike rebounded and forced him back once again.
The entire hill shook.
“Damn.”
Di Yi retreated down the hill with his fists clenched tightly. He was furious.
Zhang Tiangui approached, bowed and asked, “Young master, what should we do now?”
Di Yi’s expression was dark. “Even if Zhang Ruochen manages to retrieve the Dragon Sarira, he has to come out. We can take it from him then.”
Zhang Tiangui was hesitant. “I’m worried that once Zhang Ruochen breaks into the Heaven Realm, it will be very difficult for us to defeat him.”
Di Yi’s eyes were cold, and his hands were clenched tightly, “So what if he reaches the Heaven Realm? As long as I reach the Heaven Realm, I will still defeat him. It is only a pity that if I do so, I will not be able to reach the Ultimate Realm of the Earth Realm.”
Since ancient time, very few people had been able to reach the Ultimate Realm. Even with the aid of the Buddha Sarira, success was not guaranteed. Although Di Yi felt a slight regret, he did not dwell on it.
Furthermore, he believed that if he wasn’t able to reach the Ultimate Realm, Zhang Ruochen had even less chance of reaching it. Thus, even if Zhang Ruochen broke into the Heaven Realm, he was still confident that he would be able to defeat him.
He had never failed, and he never would.