Chapter 81

Reaching the middle stage of the Profound Apex Realm, Zhang Ruochen's Qi Lake capacity expanded tenfold, allowing him to store much more True Qi.

The True Qi, which had been rapidly consumed in his body, quickly recovered and became even more substantial, flowing swiftly through the thirty-six meridians. In a short while, it completed a full circulation.

"Whoosh—"

Zhang Ruochen released his martial soul, using it to manifest a spatial domain.

At the early stage of the Profound Apex Realm, the spatial domain could only cover a ten-meter radius. At the middle stage, the spatial domain expanded to a thirty-meter radius.

At the same time, Zhang Ruochen's control over the spatial domain became more proficient.

A Phantom Poison Bee flew into the spatial domain and attacked Zhang Ruochen. With just a thought, Zhang Ruochen immediately created a spatial distortion, altering the bee's flight path.

With his current control over the spatial domain, even if he stood still, ten Phantom Poison Bees attacking him simultaneously would be unable to harm him.

"Whoosh!"

Zhang Ruochen swung his sword, cutting the Phantom Poison Bee in half, and it fell to the ground.

Qing You stood nearby, a look of disdain on his face, and said, "So what if you've broken through to a higher realm? It won't change the outcome."

"Is that so?" Zhang Ruochen replied.

"Blood Qi like a Rainbow!"

A faint blood-colored rainbow surrounded Zhang Ruochen. Stimulated by the blood rainbow, he charged forward, bursting with a speed of thirty-eight meters per second, attacking Qing You.

With his current speed, Zhang Ruochen had surpassed the majority of martial artists at the Lesser Apex stage of the Profound Apex Realm.

"Rushing Elephant on the Ground!"

All the True Qi in Zhang Ruochen's body surged to his arm, completely enveloping his palm. Even the air currents in the space followed the movement of his palm.

"Green Devil Hand!"

Qing You showed no fear. Even if Zhang Ruochen had reached the middle stage of the Profound Apex Realm, he would still be dead when facing him.

"Bang!"

The two powerful forces collided, producing a loud sound.

A strong gust of wind surged out from the two of them, causing the surrounding trees to sway and leaves to fall.

"Pfft!"

Qing You spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, feeling a powerful force travel through his arm, shaking his internal organs.

Zhang Ruochen's palm pressed against Qing You's palm, the force growing stronger, pushing Qing You back.

"Bang!"

Qing You retreated over ten meters, his body colliding with a tree trunk, and he spat out another mouthful of fresh blood.

"Your strength is actually stronger than mine! You will surely die today!" Qing You's face twisted in a hideous manner, and he roared, "Blood Qi Condensing Beast!"

The blood in Qing You's body seemed to ignite, and a large blood mist appeared behind him. Within the blood mist, a two-meter-tall giant wolf shadow condensed.

The mark of the Lesser Apex stage of the Profound Apex Realm was the Blood Qi Condensing Beast.

Blood Qi boiling, Blood Qi like a Rainbow, Blood Qi surging to the sky, Blood Qi Condensing Beast...

For martial artists in the Profound Apex Realm, each time they advanced to a higher stage, their Blood Qi would significantly increase, undergoing different levels of miraculous changes.

For example, martial artists at the early stage of the Profound Apex Realm, when their Blood Qi burst forth, reached "Blood Qi Boiling," increasing their combat power by ten percent.

Martial artists at the middle stage of the Profound Apex Realm, when their Blood Qi burst forth, reached "Blood Qi like a Rainbow," increasing their combat power by thirty percent.

Martial artists at the late stage of the Profound Apex Realm, when their Blood Qi burst forth, reached "Blood Qi surging to the sky," increasing their combat power by fifty percent.

Reaching the Lesser Apex stage of the Profound Apex Realm, the Blood Qi in a martial artist's body could condense into a beast shadow, making their strength even more violent. Once the Blood Qi burst forth, the martial artist's combat power could double in a short time.

Therefore, martial artists at the late stage of the Profound Apex Realm, even if they had exceptional talent, would find it difficult to defeat martial artists at the Lesser Apex stage of the Profound Apex Realm.

It was said that reaching the Great Perfection stage of the Profound Apex Realm, "Blood Qi Transforming into a Deity," when the Blood Qi burst forth, the martial artist's combat power could double in a short time.

At this moment, Qing You's strength had doubled, his blood vessels bulging. With one palm, he sent Zhang Ruochen flying seven zhang away.

"Whoosh!"

Qing You didn't give Zhang Ruochen a chance to catch his breath, drawing out a sharp scythe. His speed was even faster, and in an instant, he rushed to Zhang Ruochen's front.

The inscriptions on the scythe were activated, emitting a blinding blood light, and a sharp blade aura cut towards Zhang Ruochen's neck.

"Space Distortion!"

Space distorted again, and the scythe swung over Zhang Ruochen's head.

This time, Qing You finally sensed something was wrong, his face changing. "How is this possible? What kind of movement technique did you use? No, it wasn't you escaping the scythe's attack, but the space that distorted."

"Finally, you've noticed! Unfortunately, it's too late!"

Zhang Ruochen thrust his sword backward, the tip piercing through Qing You's throat, impaling his body.

Qing You's eyes widened, unwilling, his body trembling violently, and fresh blood gushed from his mouth.

With a "bang," he fell to the ground.

The most outstanding genius of the Qing family in a hundred years had thus fallen.

If not for encountering Zhang Ruochen, with Qing You's talent, he would have surely reached the Heaven Apex Realm in twenty years, becoming a martial legend.

Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen had broken through to the middle stage of the Profound Apex Realm; otherwise, it would be uncertain who would live or die.

After killing Qing You, Zhang Ruochen finally let out a long sigh of relief, a sense of weakness coming over him, his vision slightly darkening, almost fainting.

"I'm still too injured, and I've lost too much blood."

Zhang Ruochen knelt on the ground, using his palm to support himself, striving to stay conscious.

He took a healing Saint Nirvana Pill and sat cross-legged, circulating the True Qi in his body to refine the pill's energy.

In a quarter of an hour, Zhang Ruochen's injuries had recovered by twenty percent, but he was still very weak.

If he encountered another martial artist or a savage beast at this moment, it would be very dangerous.

Suddenly, a sound of breaking wind came from above.

A large black shadow swooped down from the sky, landing in front of Zhang Ruochen.

Upon closer inspection, it was a black giant cat as big as a lion, with a pair of black wings on its back.

"Meow!"

Xiao Hei let out a cat's meow, his body gradually shrinking to the size of a normal cat, and he spoke in a human voice, "I'm exhausted! That guy's cultivation was extraordinary; he was a Beast Tamer, summoning a large group of carrion crows. Otherwise, I would have definitely taken him down."

Seeing it was Xiao Hei, Zhang Ruochen also let out a sigh of relief and said, "Prince Huoxing escaped?"

"Yes!"

Xiao Hei said, "Fighting him almost drained the little True Qi I had left. Young man, give me a Spirit Crystal to recover my True Qi."

Zhang Ruochen took out a Spirit Crystal and threw it to Xiao Hei, curious, "How did your cultivation increase so much?"

When Zhang Ruochen was at the middle stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, Xiao Hei's combat power was also at the middle stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, slightly weaker than Zhang Ruochen.

However, the combat power Xiao Hei displayed just now could rival a martial artist at the Lesser Apex stage of the Profound Apex Realm, even forcing Prince Huoxing to flee.

Xiao Hei said, "I've told you before, all my power is sealed in the Qiankun Divine Wood Map, and only you can unlock the seal. The stronger your cultivation, the more seals you can unlock, and the stronger my power will be."

Zhang Ruochen said, "What if the seal is completely unlocked?"

Xiao Hei raised his large head and said, "That will be the time when I return to the world, slaughtering all, with no one to match me. You just need to follow me and be my servant, and I guarantee you will walk with pride in the Kunlun World."

Then, Xiao Hei sighed, "Unfortunately, the old bald monk Xumi had already planned this. With your cultivation, it's impossible to unlock all the seals. I'll go to the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal to recover my True Qi. Young man, give me a Spirit Crystal."

Zhang Ruochen said, "The inner space of the Time-Space Crystal stores a large number of Spirit Crystals. You can take them yourself. How long will it take for you to recover your True Qi?"

"With the help of Spirit Crystals, it will only take half a day to recover!" Xiao Hei said.

Zhang Ruochen put Xiao Hei into the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal and stood up to clean up the battlefield. He had already figured out that Xiao Hei could not escape the seal of the Qiankun Divine Wood Map.

Moreover, Xiao Hei absolutely dared not harm Zhang Ruochen. If Zhang Ruochen died, Xiao Hei would be sealed back into the Qiankun Divine Wood Map.

Qing You was dead, and the other seven martial artists from the Four Directions Kingdom were also dead, with only Prince Huoxing escaping.

Zhang Ruochen searched Qing You's body and found eighteen beast eyes, equivalent to hunting nine second-tier lower savage beasts.

Qing You also had a two-star noble card, thirty-eight Spirit Crystals, and three hundred silver coins.

Zhang Ruochen didn't have much hope for the two-star noble card. If he couldn't find the blood of Qing You's direct relatives, he wouldn't be able to withdraw the silver coins stored on the card.

Zhang Ruochen picked up the Death Scythe from Qing You's hand, infused True Qi into it, and discovered that it had twenty-three inscriptions, making it a fifth-tier True Martial Treasure, worth at least ten thousand silver coins.

The Death Scythe was a valuable item, worth a fortune. Once sold, it would bring a significant amount of wealth.

Subsequently, Zhang Ruochen collected the beast eyes, weapons, Spirit Crystals, and silver coins from the other seven young martial artists and stored them in the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal.

Now was not the time to count the treasures. Prince Huoxing could return at any moment, and with Zhang Ruochen's current heavily injured state, he would definitely not be a match for him.

He had to leave immediately and find a safe place to slowly count the spoils of this battle.

Zhang Ruochen suddenly thought of Zi Qian and immediately entered the dense forest where he had fought Qing You to search for her.

"Hmm... Ah... Hmm..."

Not long after, Zhang Ruochen heard a woman's rapid breathing, seemingly accompanied by enticing moans.

Zhang Ruochen parted the dense grass and saw Zi Qian lying on the ground, her hands clasped over her chest, her whole body trembling. Upon seeing Zhang Ruochen, a blush appeared on her beautiful face, and she said in a trembling voice, "I... I'm poisoned... Save... Save... me..."

It didn't seem like she was asking for help; the enticing sound was more like a coquettish moan!

Her condition was very unusual, her eyes dazed, her eyelashes fluttering, her lips slightly parted, her white skin tinged with a rosy hue, and beads of sweat trickling down.

"Poisoned? What kind of poison?"

Zhang Ruochen saw a green-black palm print on Zi Qian's right shoulder, the mark of being hit by Qing You's Green Devil Hand.

The poison from the Green Devil Hand!

"Something's not right, it seems to be more than just the poison from the Green Devil Hand!"

Zhang Ruochen found a bloodstain on Zi Qian's lower abdomen, the mark of being stung by a Phantom Poison Bee's tail.

Zi Qian had three puncture marks on her body, one on her neck, one