“Alright, that’s a good suggestion,” Wuma Jiuxing said.
The cultivators of the Death God Temple stared at Zhang Ruochen and the others, all showing cold smiles.
Xue Tu and Master Yeyou’s faces turned pale, and even Gu Shejing, who had been smiling all along, now became serious and focused.
Wuma Jiuxing and Yuan Qianmo joining forces would undoubtedly be an overwhelming force. Under the divine realm, who could stand against them?
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and said, “Yuan Qianmo, aren’t you curious why Wuma Jiuxing is here ambushing you instead of heading to the top of the altar?”
Yuan Qianmo’s brows twitched slightly, and he fell into deep thought.
Wuma Jiuxing stood atop the dragon’s head, raising his arm above his head, using his hand as a blade, and slashed through the air.
“Swish!”
A crescent-shaped blade light, dozens of zhang long, flew towards the Seven-Star Emperor Palace.
It was pure blade rule, condensed into blade light. The piercing blade sound alone could shatter the eardrums of any being below the Great Saint level, and its speed was as fast as light or shadow.
“Boom, boom.”
The layered defensive arrays and Great Saint inscriptions of the Seven-Star Emperor Palace were shattered by a single slash.
The blade’s momentum reached within a zhang of Zhang Ruochen before being blocked by the divine inscriptions carved by the Blood Absolute War God on the steps. However, the impact of the blade’s energy still sent the entire Seven-Star Emperor Palace crashing down from the giant stone altar.
From start to finish, those inside the Seven-Star Emperor Palace couldn’t even muster a single holy technique or holy artifact to counter the blade light.
“What terrifying blade work. One more strike, and the Seven-Star Emperor Palace’s defences will likely be broken,” the Seven-Handed Elder said, his face drastically changing, sweat beading on his forehead.
Wuma Jiuxing did not deliver a second strike but instead drove the Silver Cloud War Chariot, speeding towards the top of the altar.
Because, when he had struck earlier, Yuan Qianmo and the Death God Temple cultivators had already started ascending.
“Wuma Jiuxing’s presence here is no coincidence. You all go ahead, I’ll stop him.”
Yuan Qianmo gave this command, soaring like a white crane with wings spread, then diving towards the oncoming Silver Cloud War Chariot.
“Roar!”
The sound of a rushing river echoed.
At Yuan Qianmo’s feet, a grey river of death energy appeared. The death energy was so dense it turned liquid, with golden blades flying within the river of death energy.
“Boom.”
The river of death energy collided with the Silver Cloud War Chariot, unleashing a shockwave that vaporised all the water in the nearby sea, creating a waterless space.
The holy rules surging from their bodies were chaotic, enveloping all directions. Even the Seven-Star Emperor Palace below the altar was spun like a top by the force.
The arrays propped up by Master Yeyou and Master Kailuo were struck by the residual power of Yuan Qianmo and Wuma Jiuxing, resounding with booming noises, seemingly on the verge of breaking.
“Are these two still in the Saint realm?” Xue Tu felt his holy soul trembling, his eardrums nearly shattered by the immense sound.
“Stabilise!”
Gu Shejing spread her arms, and a red demonic energy imbued with intense death aura enveloped the Seven-Star Emperor Palace, steadying the trembling structure.
She said, “Great, Wuma Jiuxing and Yuan Qianmo are fighting. Let’s go around the left side of the altar.”
“No need for such trouble.”
Zhang Ruochen released his True Domain of Space, enveloping the Seven-Star Emperor Palace, and shouted, “Spatial Shift.”
The massive Seven-Star Emperor Palace suddenly lifted off the ground, rapidly shrinking in size until it became a speck of light and vanished into space.
“Swish!”
When the Seven-Star Emperor Palace reappeared, it was halfway up the altar, thousands of zhang above the sea floor.
Zhang Ruochen had intended to shift directly to the top of the giant stone altar, but here, he collided with a spatial barrier.
A three-foot-tall jade turtle stood behind the spatial barrier, holding an iron staff, and snorted, “To… to… to go up, you… you must… must first…”
Xue Tu listened intently for a while, then roared, “What does ‘must first’ mean?”
“You must first pass this Turtle Lord,” the Turtle Lord said fluently, feeling extremely satisfied.
Seeing the Turtle Lord, Zhang Ruochen became more certain of his suspicions. Indeed, Bai Qing’er had already reached the altar. Wuma Jiuxing’s presence here was no longer surprising.
In another direction, the Death God Temple cultivators were intercepted by an array set up in advance by Duan Lingfeng, the World Hand of the Twelve Goddess Towers.
Zhang Ruochen looked up and said, “We must break through quickly. Yeyou, join me in breaking its spatial barrier and array. This turtle is quite extraordinary, so be cautious.”
Zhang Ruochen flew out of the Seven-Star Emperor Palace, pushing both palms forward, unleashing a spatial storm formed by thousands of spatial cracks, continuously striking the spatial barrier.
Hearing Zhang Ruochen’s earlier words, “be cautious,” Master Yeyou’s eyes showed a hint of surprise. How many years had it been since someone genuinely cared for him?
Even if it was just a casual reminder from Zhang Ruochen.
But precisely because it was a casual reminder, it showed genuine sincerity.
Before this, whether Zhang Ruochen gave him the Fountain of Life to drink or promised to teach him the Way of Space, Yeyou saw these as mere tactics to win him over, to tempt him with benefits.
Such tactics, such behaviour, Master Yeyou had seen countless times, so he only submitted on the surface while inwardly scoffing.
Yet this offhand word of concern touched the heart of this solitary ghost who had lived for over twenty thousand years.
“Master, I’m here!”
Master Yeyou stepped on a cloud of ghostly mist, flying out, his white bone staff striking heavily.
The staff unleashed a penetrating spatial force condensed from billions of spatial rules, shattering a hole in the thin spatial barrier.
Zhang Ruochen’s spatial storm followed the hole, completely breaking the barrier.
“Swish!”
With a shift of his form, Zhang Ruochen appeared above the Turtle Lord, flying straight towards the top of the altar.
Suddenly, everything darkened as a house-sized stone handprint pressed down. Sensing the terrifying power erupting from it, Zhang Ruochen immediately mobilised the power of the Qiankun Realm, striking with the Dragon-Tiger Prajna Palm.
As the two palms collided, Zhang Ruochen heard his bones crackle with a “pop, pop, pop,” and his body uncontrollably plummeted downward.
“Indeed, I still can’t contend with a true Supreme Saint.”
Zhang Ruochen’s body ached and numbed, staring at the rapidly descending stone handprint. He sprang away, landing on another giant stone, dodging the blow.
The one who attacked was General Zhu, another of Bai Qing’er’s powerful subordinates.
General Zhu’s body was massive, entirely stone. Having missed the first strike, he immediately launched a second handprint, his arm extending dozens of zhang, carrying billions of holy rules as it swung with the stone arm.
Before the arm reached, the gusting force nearly blew Zhang Ruochen away.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before him, striking seven palms in succession, neutralising General Zhu’s attack. It was the Seven-Handed Elder, with his seven hands.
The Seven-Handed Elder turned to Zhang Ruochen and said, “Leave it to me.”
Before his words faded, the Seven-Handed Elder transformed into his true form and flew out.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the Seven-Handed Elder fighting General Zhu and at Master Yeyou battling the Turtle Lord in the spatial array, a gentle smile appearing on his face.
The Seven-Star Emperor Palace flew into Zhang Ruochen’s hand, and A Le, Blood Wolf, and Master Kailuo stepped out, standing beside him.
Xue Tu and Gu Shejing, however, were not among them.
Gu Shejing was easy to spot, as she had already transformed into a red shadow of demonic energy, speeding towards the top of the giant stone altar. As for Xue Tu, it was possible Gu Shejing had casually crushed him to dust.
“Follow me.”
Zhang Ruochen dared not use spatial shift recklessly, as the Turtle Lord, having set up one spatial barrier, might have prepared more spatial traps above.
Falling into its spatial trap would mean big trouble.
Zhang Ruochen, A Le, Master Kailuo, and Blood Wolf leapt from one giant stone to another, rapidly climbing.
On the other side of the altar, Xue Tu’s body had shrunk to the size of a mosquito, cautiously flying upward, wary of making too much noise and being noticed by the battling powerhouses.
He was too weak; any cultivator could kill him.
He had to be cautious, even more cautious, and avoid the central battle zone.
The Death God Temple cultivators bypassed the array set by Duan Lingfeng, rushing through the breach Zhang Ruochen and the others had created.
Yuan Shu True Emperor was the fastest, leading the charge, catching up to Gu Shejing. A red phoenix mark appeared at her fair brow.
“Swish!”
The phoenix mark vanished, transforming into a phoenix tail needle, shooting through the air towards Gu Shejing.
This was a Seven-Yuan Monarch Holy Artifact, its tail surging with seven layers of flame power, growing fiercer, breaking through the necrotic demonic energy guarding Gu Shejing, aiming straight for her back.
It seemed Gu Shejing was about to be pierced by the phoenix tail needle.
Suddenly, Gu Shejing turned, reaching out to grab it.
Her slender jade hand created layers of illusory shadows.
The next moment, the Seven-Yuan Monarch Holy Artifact was in her hand, held between two fingers.
“How is this possible?” Yuan Shu True Emperor’s face changed drastically, unable to believe her eyes.
Her strongest weapon had been seized barehanded by Gu Shejing.
Even a top powerhouse like Yuan Qianmo might not have been fully confident in catching the phoenix tail needle barehanded in such a situation.
Zhang Ruochen naturally saw this scene, his eyelids twitching, thinking to himself, “Has she been hiding her strength? Or is it simply another… Gu Shejing…”
“A treasure worth a fortune,” Gu Shejing said to herself, standing at the edge of a giant stone.
At this moment, she stood tall, her robes fluttering, exuding immense presence, with rolling demonic clouds above her head, her eyes sharp and cold.
Compared to before, she seemed like a completely different person, radiating overwhelming battle intent and demonic energy, her pupils weaving a blood-red sea of stars with demonic patterns.
She gripped the phoenix tail needle, easily suppressing its trembling spirit.
Raising her hands, she tied up her dark hair, using the phoenix tail needle as a hairpin.
In an instant, the previously playful, smiling woman transformed into a cold-faced scholar dressed as a man.
