God Emperor

Following the assassin, Zhang Ruochen, Ji Fanxin, and Xie Chengzi reached a weaponsmithing building within the tomb.

This building was four levels high, and was made out of jet black metal. Every inch of it was covered with Formation inscriptions.

From within the windows, there was some black mist spewing out.

Ji Fanxin was doubtful, and said, “From what I know, this is not the location for making the down payment.”

The black-robed assassin said, “You are VIP who have made orders worth over one hundred million. Your information must be protected, so Elder Qi will personally attend to you.”

After this, he looked at Zhang Ruochen and said, “Please follow me in.”

Ji Fanxin was even more suspicious, and asked, “We came together, why do we not go in together?”

The black-robed assassin bowed to Ji Fanxin, and apologized. “Sorry, this is one of the rules. We must attend to our VIPs one-to-one.”

Ji Fanxin had come to God of Death Palace no more than three times, so she was not that familiar with the rules either.

Hearing that, she did not want to break any rules, and thus did not speak further.

Ji Fanxin quietly transmitted a thought to Zhang Ruochen, and said, “This seems suspicious. You must be careful.”

“Thanks for your reminder.”

Bold as he was, Zhang Ruochen walked into the building without hesitation.

Creak.

As the door closed, the assassin did not enter the building. He stood guard outside the door, looking at Ji Fanxin calmly.

Within the building, there were sixteen bronze lamps that were at about the same height as an adult man. It was like sixteen eyes floating in the misty room, seeming oddly sinister.

In the air, there was a light touch of fragrance.

That fragrance was all too familiar to Zhang Ruochen. It was the smell of Honghua vine.

Even then, Zhang Ruochen still held his breath and closed all his pores. He was particularly cautious.

One must understand that being a top-tiered assassin organization, they must be experts at using poison, so he must stay on guard.

Sitting on a Xuan Ice Saint Jade bed, Elder Qi breathed in deeply, and instantly all the poisonous mist was sucked into him. It was as though his organs were the size of an entire world, being able to hold massive amounts of substances.

The space within the building immediately became clear.

Opening his eyes, Elder Qi smiled. “I just heard that someone made a big order worth a massive amount of Saint Stones. I thought it was one of the godly disciples. Never did I think that it was such a young master.”

Zhang Ruochen stood with his hands behind his back, and asked, “So did Elder think that only the ten godly disciples could have so much money?”

“Haha! You’re right! It seems like this old man has underestimated you youngsters. Even us who have lived for over a millennium seem so poor compared to you guys.” Elder Qi bitterly smiled.

Elder Qi must have been a rather talented individual. Given the density of the black mist just now, one could guess that he was at least a Seven-step Saint King.

Such an old person could be more dangerous than a genius.

Elder Qi seemed to be an easygoing man, and he smiled. “Given the huge amount of Saint Stones, we have two options for you.”

“Which two?” Zhang Ruochen inquired.

Elder Qi said, “First would be for you to give us the full payment. If you do not have so many Saint Stones, you could also use equipment as payment. If within one year, the target has still not been assassinated, we would return the amount in full.

Zhang Ruochen asked, “What about the second type?”

Elder Qi said, “The second is to pay a certain ratio of the down payment. When our assassins have killed the target, you shall pay the remainder.”

“What is the ratio you require?” Zhang Ruochen asked.

Elder Qi replied, “At least ten percent.”

Zhang Ruochen nodded. “Alright, I will go with the second payment method.”

To kill Shang Ziyan, Gong Ziyan, Lian Xi, and Xun Ya would be no easy feat. The main purpose of ordering their assassination here was to give them some trouble such that they would not spend all their efforts on him.

Of course, for that price, if some of them could really be assassinated, Zhang Ruochen would feel that it was worth it too.

In this situation, of course, Zhang Ruochen would select the second payment method.

Moreover, Zhang Ruochen did not have so many Saint Stones on him anyway, and he would definitely not use the Golden Dragon Carriage as collateral.

Elder Qi then explained, “However, to use the second method of payment, we need certain conditions to be fulfilled.”

“What conditions?”

Elder Qi replied, “We must know your true identity, and thus we can estimate if you have the capabilities of paying the remaining amount.”

“I see.”

Zhang Ruochen thought about it for a while and asked, “So I heard that the God of Death Palace views their reputation very highly, and would never reveal their customer’s information?”

“Indeed, that is how we run this place.”

Zhang Ruochen removed his mask, and his facial features changed, revealing his real face. “So I wonder if the Priest of Guanghan Field, Zhang Ruochen, is a good enough identity?”

Elder Qi’s old eyes focused on Zhang Ruochen and he said, “So you are the famous Time and Space descendant. No wonder you could order such a huge amount. Please give me a moment to read your information and make an estimate of your credit.”

Taking out a magic cube, Elder Qi inserted large amounts of Qi within. Immediately after, countless words appeared on the surface of the cube.

Following which, Elder Qi smiled. “Seems like Young Master Ruochen is also the Crown Prince of the Kunlun’s Field Sacred Central Empire. With two Supreme Saint level masters, and controlling a world, it is not impossible for you to pay up this huge sum.”

“Seems like your information is quite up-to-date!”

Zhang Ruochen knew that the two Supreme Saints that Elder Qi was referring to were the two Divine Beasts from the Guarding Dragon Pavillion. They had appeared when attacking the Moon Worship Demonic Sect.

“As an assassination organization, information is of the utmost importance. If young master Ruochen wishes to purchase information, you could also cooperate with us.”

With that said, Elder Qi continued, “However, the Saint Stones in question are a huge amount, so we still need to verify your identity to prevent anyone from pretending to be you.”

“How are you going to verify that?”Zhang Ruochen asked.

Elder Qi replied. “We just need one droplet of your blood. No matter how you can change your appearance, your blood remains the same.”

Clang!

From the stone wall behind Elder Qi, a lanky lady walked out. She was like a humanoid blob of water, as she seemed semi-transparent. However, Zhang Ruochen could feel signs of life from her.

She carried a plate.

On the plate, there was a silver dagger and a cup.

The lady’s face gradually solidified and her skin seemed almost metallic. She said, “Mister, please.”

Zhang Ruochen grabbed the dagger, and was just about to prick his finger with it when he realized something. For the sake of safety, he put the dagger back onto the plate.

Whish!

One of his right-hand fingers lightly swiped on the index finger of his left hand, and a light line of blood could be seen.

Drip!

A single drop of blood dripped into the cup.

Just as this happened, Zhang Ruochen felt a pain coming from the wound.

Normally it was natural to feel pain when the skin was being cut.

However, Zhang Ruochen realized that the pain he felt was definitely more than usual.

This was unnatural!

Zhang Ruochen’s face changed, and he quickly activated his Qi to block his blood from flowing out from his hand.

At this very moment, that lanky lady suddenly turned murderous, and condensed into a silvery sword, slicing straight at Zhang Ruochen’s forehead.

With his reaction speed, Zhang Ruochen jumped back and retreated.

Boom!

His body was unable to break through the door of the building. On the door, a large amount of inscriptions surfaced, and turned into a gust of Saint Qi, blowing him away.

Just as he was about to be stabbed by the silver sword, Zhang Ruochen’s figure disappeared. He had teleported to a corner of the building.

The sword flew back to Elder Qi’s hands as he stood up. With a friendly smile, Elder Qi praised, “It is rare that a youngster like you could be so cautious. Just as you entered this building, you stopped your breathing and closed your pores. That rendered my hypnotic fragrance useless.

“Just now, there was poison on the dagger. As long as you even lightly cut your skin with it, you would have died within seconds. Not using the dagger made me disappointed too.

“However, no matter how cautious you are, you would fall victim eventually to someone who tries to kill you.

Zhang Ruochen realized that his entire left arm had lost sensation, and was turning transparent. His skin seemed to have turned transparent, as his blood vessels, meridians, and bones were all visible.

That numbing sensation started to spread to the rest of his body.

He’d been poisoned!

“What.. is this? What did you do?”

Zhang Ruochen started exercising the Emperor Ming Nine-sky Scripture to suppress the poison.

Elder Qi walked slowly towards Zhang Ruochen, with the smile that had now turned treacherous, and proudly told him, “It’s useless. This is a special poison from the God of Death Palace: Mirage Venom.

“It is tasteless and odorless, impossible for you to detect.

“Even if it was floating in front of you, any creatures below the cultivation level of a Supreme Saint would find it impossible to detect. The moment you cut your skin, the poison penetrated through Saint Qi protecting you and invaded your body.

“Are you feeling numb? That you are gradually losing your senses?

“Look at your arm, it is gradually turning transparent. Haha, soon your entire body, including your consciousness and Saint Soul, will turn translucent. Just like a mirage.

“Of course, even if you turn translucent, you are still valuable. I will forge you into my sword, and my Sword Spirit’s power will surely increase by leaps and bounds.”