God Emperor

“Lightning Fire Vortex.”

Zhang Ruochen completely released his power, extended his arms, and flattened his hands to his chest.

“Swoosh!”

In an instant, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi shook violently and turned into a vortex of power swirling around him.

The airflow only appeared for a moment, and then it suddenly dissipated.

He failed!

It was really not so smooth to practice the third level spell.

He frowned slightly and read the contents of the lizard skin again, carefully searching for what he must have just missed. After studying for a long time, he started practicing again.

“Swoosh!”

The Spiritual Qi formed a vortex once again, like a layer of wind walls, tightly enveloping his body.

Then, he carefully controlled the spiritual power and lifted it up. All the Spiritual Qi suddenly converged over his head.

Gradually, the Spiritual Qi transformed into a thunderbolt and began to condense.

Boom!

He had almost done it when the thunderbolt suddenly burst out with a powerful force. He had no time to dodge, and the power injured him.

Fortunately, he had a Dragon Pearl to protect himself, so his injury was not serious.

The difficulty of practicing the third-level spell far exceeded his expectations. Even a slight distraction, would make it impossible to control the thunderbolt.

He was not discouraged, and he tried hard to adjust his attitude to practice it again.

After failing repeatedly, he still practiced again and again.

After 30 days and over 380 failures, Zhang Ruochen was scarred and injured, but he had successfully mastered the “Lightning Fire Vortex” technique.

He practiced spell for concealing his true identity. Actually, he was still majoring in Martial Arts.

He had improved his strength greatly by practicing a third-level spell like “Lightning Fire Vortex.”

With his Spiritual Power at level 44, plus the Thunder Pearl, his third-level spell would be powerful enough to scare off common monks of the Ninth Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm.

When he was practicing the third-level spell, the power of the peak of the Third Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm was thoroughly consolidated. Thus, he could flexibly control “Lightning Fire Vortex.”

He could now open up his first holy meridian with a 30％ chance of success.

He roughly estimated the time. This period of secluded training had taken five months in the Scroll World.

What has happened in the real world during the last two weeks?

Now was a critical period, so he did not dare to seclude himself in training for too long. Therefore, he stopped practicing.

He exited the Scroll World and left for Sacred Willow Hall immediately.

On the way, he felt that a great change had occurred in Red Willow Heights during the last two weeks. First, the number of evil cultivators had increased a lot. Second, the atmosphere of the entire Red Willow Heights had become very heavy. Everyone seemed subdued and repressed.

Had there been some misfortune during his seclusion?

“Greetings, Great Guardian.”

Outside Sacred Willow Hall, two maids saluted Zhang Ruochen.

He nodded and went straight through the door.

The Red Wish Emissary, who was sitting in the top position, saw him, stopped what she was doing, and said, “Great Guardian, you released yourself from refining! How about it? Did you master the Lightning Fire Vortex?”

“I would never let Your Excellency down.”

Zhang Ruochen extended his hand and slowly spread out it.

The palm was like a thick and heavy land. Above it, many streaks of lightning formed into small, crackling vortexes.

The Red Wish Emissary already knew about his rapid practicing speed. Although she was surprised, she did not show it.

The Red Wish Emissary nodded and said seriously, “During this period, a lot of things have happened in Cyan Cloud County. I knew you were training in seclusion, so I did not send anyone to disturb you.”

Zhang Ruochen could see from the Red Wish Emissary’s furrowed brow that the trouble had been great.

As he put his five fingers together, the Lightning Vortex automatically dispersed. He asked, “Has Di Yi arrived in Cyan Cloud County yet?”

“Di Yi is still hidden in the shadows, and his whereabouts are secret. So, I do not know whether he has reached Cyan Cloud County yet. However, the Cyan-Robed Emissary and Ice Demon arrived already. They broke into Red Willow Heights at once. They killed two masters of the Seventh Change in the Fish-Dragon Realm who were loyal to me,” the Red Wish Emissary said angrily.

Actually, the Red Wish Emissary was not angry at the two masters’ tragic death, but rather, she was angry that someone was a spy. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for the Cyan-Robed Emissary and Ice Demon to break into Red Willow Heights and escape safely.

The Red Wish Emissary seemed to be depressed. She said,”Now, in Cyan Cloud County, those who are loyal to me are murdered almost every day, so everyone feels like they are in danger.”

Zhang Ruochen asked, “Why not withdraw your people to Red Willow Heights?”

The Red Wish Emissary laughed at herself. She said, “Three days ago, I withdrew most of my people to Red Willow Heights. But what can I do now? If someone walks out of Red Willow Heights, they will be killed immediately.”

“I suspect that it’s not just the Cyan-Robed Emissary and Ice Demon who came to Cyan Cloud County. It is quite possible that the best killer of the Blood Cloud Sect, ´Hunter,´ is also hidden in the vicinity of the Red Willow Heights. Only he can kill people secretly.”

“If you continue to hide out inside Red Willow Heights, you will be like fish in a barrel for Di Yi. When the time is ripe, he will destroy you.”

The Red Wish Emissary was still calm, but Zhang Ruochen could feel her helplessness and loss, and even her unwillingness.

In just two weeks, the ambitious Red Wish Emissary seemed to have become a weak woman in need of care and help.

In fact, after careful thought, it was a normal reaction.

Di Yi had not appeared personally, but he had dispatched two or three subordinates. He had already broken the Red Wish Emissary’s carefully honed forces, and she could only remain trapped inside Red Willow Heights.

If the situation continued to worsen, Red Willow Heights would collapse into chaos, especially if they had to endure a final battle with Di Yi.

The Red Wish Emissary had been wanting to talk with Zhang Ruochen to discuss countermeasures.

She did not know why she thought of Zhang Ruochen whenever she had unsolved difficulties.

At this moment, the Red Wish Emissary stared at Zhang Ruochen with her beautiful eyes.

Zhang Ruochen looked very calm and said,”Di Yi arranged two groups: One was in the open and the other was undercover. The Cyan-Robed Emissary leads the former. He has overtly disturbed and weakened us to provoke a retreat to Red Willow Heights.”

“Di Yi is quietly observing in secret. Once he finds a weakness in Red Willow Heights, it will be impossible to stop him from destroying it completely.”

The Red Wish Emissary said, “I certainly know Di Yi’s purpose, but how can we change the current situation?”

Zhang Ruochen said,”Now, we only have one choice: to take the initiative. If we can kill the Cyan-Robed Emissary and Ice Demon, we can not only inspire morale, but also drive Di Yi out. As soon as Di Yi is forced to show up in person, we are likely to win.”

The disparity in strength between the two parties was too great. In fact, Zhang Ruochen did not have a good approach.

The Red Wish Emissary gently knitted her brows and carefully thought, saying, “The Cyan-Robed Emissary and Ice Demon are top masters. In all of Red Willow Heights, only I, Master of the Blood Cloud Sect, and you can fight with them. If we want to kill them, we will need at least six masters like you. And apart from them, there is a top-class killer ‘Hunter’, who is probably hiding.”

“If we take the initiative to attack, it will be a loss to both sides. Then, Di Yi will come out again, and we won’t even have a chance to escape.”

“Do you want to give up?” Zhang Ruochen asked.

The Red Wish Emissary shook her head and said, “If I leave now, I have a 50-50 chance of escaping unscathed. But my loyal followers in Red Willow Heights will be slaughtered. I am responsible for them. Therefore, even if I die, I will persist until the last moment.”

“So, why don’t we plan carefully? Maybe we can find a way to live through this desperate situation.” Zhang Ruochen said.

The Red Wish Emissary still hesitated. She thought that his suggestion was too risky.

If they stayed in Red Willow Heights and drew support from their array, they would have at least one chance to fight with Di Yi.

On the contrary, once they took the initiative to attack, they would definitely lose the advantage of their position. How could they fight a stronger enemy?

Just then, a streak of white light appeared outside the gate.

“Phew!”

A Signal Flare flew in.

The Red Wish Emissary extended one hand to grab it.

After reading it, the Red Wish Emissary kept cool and put it away.

Zhang Ruochen asked,”What happened?”

“It’s not a big deal,” said the Red Wish Emissary, “I just did not expect Di Yi to be in league with the Demonic Saintess.”

Zhang Ruochen, who had remained calm, suddenly radiated a powerful wave of energy. He took a step forward and asked,”Why is Di Yi dealing with her? What’s the matter?”

The Red Wish Emissary looked at Zhang Ruochen with surprise and curiously asked, “Why are you concerned for the Demonic Saintess’ safety?”

Zhang Ruochen tried to restrain herself and said, “Never mind, I just met her once.”

He paused and said, “I think that since Di Yi is in cahoots with the Demonic Saintess, we can take advantage of her to deal with him.”

Red Wish Emissary shook her head and said, “Unfortunately, it’s too late. According to the message, the Cyan-Robed Emissary and Ice Demon have broken into a stronghold of the Demonic Sect. They smashed it up and severely wounded the Demonic Saintess. It appears that she has escaped from Cyan Cloud County and run to God Falling Ridge.”