Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Returning to the foot of Poluo Mountain, Zhang Ruochen walked towards Blue Night and Ji Shui. Bowing slightly, he smiled and said, "Senior Uncles, I've already taken a spot as the Banner Lord. Now, can we go back and report to Grandmaster? I've completed such a difficult task. I should get a lot of rewards, right?"
Blue Night's expression didn't have any joy. Instead, he said coldly and seriously, "Gu Linfeng, you're too c.o.c.ky. Shouldn't you control your greedy and l.u.s.tful personality? Do you think that every girl can be yours to flirt with?"
Zhang Ruochen jutted his chin out. "Senior Uncle Lan, for some reason, I can't understand you."
"You better stay away from the Saintess in the future," Blue Night said straightforwardly. "Don't try to get someone out of your league, so you don't attract danger."
Zhang Ruochen's expression instantly darkened. He clearly didn't agree with Blue Night's words.
Gu Linfeng would definitely react like this to Blue Night. Since Zhang Ruochen was pretending to be Gu Linfeng now, he obviously couldn't let his personality have any flaws. He should be angry when necessary, cruel when necessary, and pretend to be flirty when suitable too.
Blue Night glared at Zhang Ruochen, hands trembling. If he didn't know how important this man was to his master, he wouldn't bother reminding him at all.
Ji Shui wore a long blood-red robe. Standing inside a cloud of b.l.o.o.d.y mist, he said in an ethereal voice, "Your Senior Uncle Blue wants the best for you. The Saintess will marry the Deity in the future. If you get too close to the Saintess, the Deity definitely won't forgive you."
"Thank you Senior Uncle Ji for reminding me." Zhang Ruochen immediately changed his att.i.tude. He took off the Saint Raven Fistgloves and returned them to Ji Shui. "I couldn't have gotten the Banner Lord position if not for the Saint Raven Fistgloves. Thank you once again."
Ji Shui didn't say anything. He just nodded lightly and put the gloves away.
The trio returned to the Spiritual Void Sea. Once again, Zhang Ruochen saw Discipline King Haiming's saint soul in the Discipline King's Hall.
After learning that Zhang Ruochen had defeated Bai Yu, Ning Guihai, and Yan Kongming by himself, thus becoming a Banner Lord of the Nether Heavenly Palace, Haiming was naturally overjoyed.
"Linfeng, you've truly surprised me this time," Discipline King Haiming said, smiling. "Even with the Deity and Saintess in the compet.i.tion, you could still sweep the other Half-Saints and s.n.a.t.c.h the last spot. You are practically the third young king of the Blood G.o.d Sect. You've really made me proud."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Ji Shui. Smiling, he said, "It's all thanks to Senior Uncle Ji Shui. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been so successful."
Discipline King Haiming nodded. He took out a blood-red crystal ball and a small bronze box. With a wave of his sleeve, the two objects flew towards Zhang Ruochen at once.
"This is a drop of the Blood G.o.d's divine blood and a Third Grade Divine Origin Pill. It's your reward. In the future, if you complete my tasks for me, you will receive many more rewards." Discipline King Haiming shot an encouraging look at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen accepted the crystal ball and box. Acting very excited, he immediately bowed. "Thank you, Grandmaster, for your reward."
He really wanted both the Blood G.o.d's blood and the Third Grade Divine Origin Pill. Especially with the latter, Zhang Ruochen was now confident that he could reach the third level of the Half-Saint Realm.
Discipline King Haiming nodded in satisfaction. Then his expression grew serious and his voice deepened. "Your two Senior Uncles must have told you why I'm sending you to the Nether Heavenly Palace, correct?"
"I indeed know some of it now," Zhang Ruochen said. "But I'm not familiar with the specifics."
Discipline King Haiming walked down from the top seat. The Holy Qi on him tossed like violent waves. He stared deeply at somewhere outside the hall.
"The monks of the outer world have always thought that the Bottomless Abyss is an unapproachable place of death. They don't even wish to speak of it. However, very few people know that it actually contains many secrets. These secrets may even be related to the Immortal Vampires."
As he spoke, he arrived before Zhang Ruochen. The power radiating from him was like a towering saintly mountain. It created huge pressure for Zhang Ruochen, Blue Night and Ji Shui. None of them dared to raise their heads and meet his eyes.
Head lowered, Zhang Ruochen trembled slightly and asked, "How…how can…it be related to the Vampires?"
Seeing how terrified Zhang Ruochen was, Discipline King Haiming was very satisfied. "I wasn't sure before, but the saintly battle that erupted at the Bottomless Abyss recently confirmed it for me."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen immediately thought about how the Saint Lady had died at the Bottomless Abyss. That news had shaken the Kunlun's Field.
Apparently, the Confucius Way had already sent many elite scholars to the north for an all-out war with the Immortal Vampires because of this. Some important figures of the imperial court and Confucius Way also wished to visit the Bottomless Abyss and investigate the fate of the Saint Lady. However, they'd all been stopped by the Blood G.o.d Sect.
No one could approach the Bottomless Abyss.
Without waiting for Zhang Ruochen to ask about it, Discipline King Haiming continued, "About a month ago, the Saint Lady, one of the Empress' Nine Heavenly Maidens, went to the Shangguan Clan for the Vampire Secrets. She wished to visit Shangguan Que.
"No one knows if she received the Vampire Secrets. Not long after she left the Shangguan Clan, the news was somehow leaked and she was stopped by countless Vampire Saints.
"That battle involved all the top forces of Tiantai State. Most of them had gone to save the Saint Lady. However, the Vampires were very well-prepared. They'd set up some formations and a.s.sa.s.sination tactics, resulting in great losses for the imperial court and Confucius Way.
"From what I know, the Saint Lady had left the Shangguan Clan and was headed for the Bottomless Abyss. Why did she go there? Is it because she received the Vampire Secrets, learned of some secret, and wished to investigate at the Bottomless Abyss?"
Zhang Ruochen also had a thoughtful expression. "Grandmaster, do you mean that the Saint Lady was attacked and killed because of the secret hidden in the Bottomless Abyss?"
Discipline King Haiming nodded. "I suspect that the secret of the Bottomless Abyss has something to do with how the Blood Empress had fallen into it back then."
"Do you suspect that the Blood Empress hasn't died?" Zhang Ruochen was shocked inwardly.
Discipline King Haiming shook his head. "If the Blood Empress wasn't dead, she could have upended Kunlun's Field long ago with her cultivation. She wouldn't have let it be in peace for 500 years."
"I suspect that the Blood Empress left something behind in the Bottomless Abyss. That's why the Saint Lady hurried over to investigate. In fact, the Vampires might know that that thing is in the abyss too. Otherwise, why would they try to stop her?"
There was something else that Discipline King Haiming didn't say. He suspected that the founder of the Blood G.o.d Sect had something to do with the Immortal Vampires too.
"Something? The Blood Empress left something behind?"
Zhang Ruochen's pupils constricted immediately. He thought of a legendary and unparalleled saint weapon—the Blood Sea Demonic Mirror.
In the legends, the Blood Sea Demonic Mirror was used by the Blood Empress and contained extremely strong Demonic Power. Even a Saint would lose all his blood and instantly become a mummy if reflected by the mirror. The Saint's blood would then automatically fly into the mirror to be stored.
The Blood Sea Demonic Mirror had a long history. After a long pa.s.sage of time, it had absorbed the blood of millions of organisms. The world in the mirror had long become a vast sea of blood.
Any Immortal Vampire dreamed about finding the Blood Sea Demonic Mirror. If they got it, it meant that they could receive unlimited blood. Their cultivation could skyrocket too.
It was said that the mirror also had another special power. It could see through a Vampire's disguise and make them revert to their original appearance.
This was a saint weapon that could both help and defeat a Vampire. Whose hand it fell into was the most critical factor.
However, after the Blood Empress fell into the Bottomless Abyss, the Blood Sea Demonic Mirror also disappeared from Kunlun's Field, never to be seen again.
"Grandmaster, do you wish for me to find that object in the Bottomless Abyss?" Zhang Ruochen asked. "But in the legends, the Bottomless Abyss is a place of no return."
Discipline King Haiming stared at Zhang Ruochen and chuckled. "If it really is so, why would I send you to your death? Two days later, you'll report to the Nether Heavenly Palace. When you arrive, you'll understand what I said."
"In addition, ingest the Third Grade Divine Origin Pill as soon as possible after you arrive. Try to reach the third level quickly. The Nether Heavenly Palace is a dangerous place. You won't survive for long without a strong cultivation."
After all that, Discipline King Haiming's saint soul dissipated and disappeared from the Discipline King's Hall.
Zhang Ruochen would report to the Nether Heavenly Palace in two days. Two short days wasn't even enough for a Monk to go from the second level of the Half-Saint Realm to the third, even with the Divine Origin Pill's help.
This was why Discipline King Haiming told him to try it after arriving at the Nether Heavenly Palace. However, Zhang Ruochen didn't want to wait that long. It was two days for other people. To him, it was 20 days. It was more than enough to enter a new level.
After returning to w.a.n.gchu Island, Zhang Ruochen immediately entered the Universe Spiritual Map.
He used a day's time to adjust himself. Then he took out the Third Grade Divine Origin Pill. After checking it, he swallowed it. Putting his hands together, he activated the Emperor Ming Nine-sky Scripture's sixth level and started for the third level with all his might.
