Seeing the seven divine throne planets and Lord Shenya flying towards him, Zhang Ruochen’s heart sank slightly.
Originally, he had planned to resolve the crisis of the Eastern Domain Saint King Mansion quickly, first dealing with the danger there to prevent Jueyan Hu and the others from mastering the Zhou Tian Grand Formation, before assisting Murong Yefeng and Jiang Yunchong to suppress and kill Lord Shenya.
However, Lord Shenya’s strength exceeded Zhang Ruochen’s expectations. Even with the combat power of Murong Yefeng and Jiang Yunchong, they couldn’t hold him down.
A flash of joy passed through the eyes of King Daxiwang.
“The ancient inscriptions of the Eastern Domain Saint City were repaired by Lord Shenya, leading a group of saint masters. So, if he breaks those ancient inscriptions, don’t blame me for not trying hard enough,” King Daxiwang said.
“Don’t think Lord Shenya can save you. Whether he can even reach the薪火塔 (Firewood Tower) is still uncertain.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at the city below and saw a saintly blade rise into the air. Its dazzling blade light streaked like a waterfall, slashing horizontally towards Lord Shenya.
That blade was the Butcher’s cleaver.
This blade radiated a fierce and formidable aura, exuding the overwhelming might of a great saint, as if it could split heaven and earth in two.
“There’s still a Dao Domain realm expert in the Kunlun Realm?”
Lord Shenya’s face darkened as he saw the blade light rushing towards him. He manipulated one of his divine throne planets and sent it crashing towards the attack.
Daizi formed a massive handprint, over 300 metres long, interwoven with the rules of the saintly path. It transformed into a five-fingered mountain of palm imprints, pressing down on Lord Shenya from above.
“It’s not the Kunlun Realm making a move, it’s them. The Tianchu Civilization dares to meddle in this affair—they’re courting death.”
Lord Shenya could no longer maintain his composure, his heart blazing with fury. He hurled another divine throne planet, shattering the five-fingered mountain above, then launched two more planets, targeting the Firewood Tower and the location of the three Tianchu Fairies.
The surface of the Firewood Tower shimmered with layer upon layer of defensive light screens, intricate inscriptions flowing across them.
“Rumble.”
The force unleashed by the divine throne planet was no different from an asteroid striking the earth. The defensive light screens were as fragile as paper before it.
“Lord Shenya is truly terrifying.”
Zhang Ruochen summoned the Qingtian Pagoda, activating it with all his strength.
He wasn’t afraid that the divine throne planet would destroy the Firewood Tower, but rather that such a powerful impact might disrupt its normal operation. Even a momentary pause in the tower’s function could lead to catastrophic consequences.
The Qingtian Pagoda spun slowly, growing as large as a mountain, colliding with the incoming divine throne planet.
The clash of the two forces caused the buildings on the ground below to collapse entirely.
The Qingtian Pagoda flew back, landing in Zhang Ruochen’s hands. As soon as he caught it, his body was flung uncontrollably, crashing heavily into the wall of the Firewood Tower.
King Daxiwang, who had been secretly observing Zhang Ruochen, saw that he had only sustained minor injuries and immediately revealed a look of disappointment.
With this strike, Zhang Ruochen successfully blocked the divine throne planet, buying precious time.
Murong Yefeng and Jiang Yunchong caught up, once again intercepting Lord Shenya.
“Heaven and Earth in Six Directions, Saintly Brilliance in Eight Realms.”
Jiang Yunchong was giving it his all, releasing his saintly source outside his body, suspending it above his head.
The saintly energy and rules within the saintly source surged towards the six saint cities, merging with the six great saint corpses within them, suppressing six of Lord Shenya’s seven divine throne planets.
Jiang Yunchong was clearly struggling, his face growing paler by the moment, unable to hold on much longer.
“Nine Phoenixes Emerge from Chaos.”
Murong Yefeng also went all out. With two loud “booms,” both of his arms exploded, leaving only the white bones of his forearms.
The blood and energy from his arms turned into two clouds of blood mist, pouring into the Nine Phoenix Cauldron.
Instantly, the sky darkened, clouds swirled, and only the Nine Phoenix Cauldron remained suspended at the centre of the heavens and earth, radiating a supreme power fluctuation that even saint kings found suffocating.
Lord Shenya’s expression changed dramatically. He threw out thirteen talismans in rapid succession.
Each talisman was priceless, capable of withstanding a great saint’s strike, and only used in life-or-death situations.
To force Lord Shenya to use all thirteen of his life-saving talismans showed just how terrified he was at this moment, as if he were being hunted by a great saint.
Nine phoenixes flew out of the Nine Phoenix Cauldron, circling its body before attacking Lord Shenya.
The first talisman shattered, transforming into a shield imprint 100 metres long and 7 metres thick, clashing with the Nine Phoenix Cauldron.
“Boom, boom.”
After three consecutive collisions, the shield imprint exploded into pieces.
Lord Shenya immediately activated the second talisman, forming another shield imprint.
“Kill Zhang Ruochen now and break the ancient inscriptions!” Lord Shenya roared.
Sihan, Jueyan Hu, and the other saint realm cultivators all realised the gravity of the situation. Now, only by killing Zhang Ruochen and eliminating the threat of the ancient inscriptions did they have a chance to turn defeat into victory.
Sihan, standing at the centre of the chain sphere, rushed towards the Firewood Tower.
Zhang Ruochen fired the White Sun Arrow, but before it could reach Sihan, it was knocked away by a chain.
Jueyan Hu, wielding a fragment of a supreme saintly weapon, attacked from another direction, also nearing the Firewood Tower.
However, he was badly injured, and the combat power he could muster was only slightly stronger than a Nine-Step Saint King of the Rule Great Heaven. Breaking through the resistance of the ancient inscriptions was no easy task.
“Swish—”
From the ground, a thread of light as fine as a hair shot into the sky, twisting upwards and piercing through the bodies of five saint realm cultivators in succession.
The thread trembled, and the five saint realm cultivators screamed in agony as their saintly bodies turned into palm-sized chunks of flesh and blood, falling to the ground.
That thread of light was, in fact, a sword.
“The Rain Silk Divine Sword! Luo Ji, you dare interfere in today’s affairs—aren’t you afraid of bringing catastrophic trouble upon yourself?” Jueyan Hu recognised the sword, as thin as a thread of light, and naturally knew its owner.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve meddled in the affairs of your Paradise Realm faction. What’s there to fear?”
The Tianchu Fairy, holding the Rain Silk Divine Sword, attacked Jueyan Hu directly. Her sword energy wove into a net, tightly ensnaring Jueyan Hu, preventing him from diverting his attention to attack the Firewood Tower.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze lingered on the Tianchu Fairy for a moment, a slight smile curving his lips.
He had to admit, this Tianchu Fairy was truly bold, daring to openly oppose the Paradise Realm faction. Moreover, she was loyal and righteous—her intervention was likely, in large part, to repay a debt of gratitude.
As for whether she harboured even a hint of affection for Zhang Ruochen, that was unknown.
Zhang Ruochen was well aware that, with his current cultivation, he was no match for Sihan. Thus, he decisively took out the *Secret Tome of Time and Space* and flipped it open.
A multidimensional space emerged, enveloping the Firewood Tower.
“Spatial Rift.”
“Spatial Collapse.”
“Spatial Vortex.”
…
Using the *Secret Tome of Time and Space*, Zhang Ruochen unleashed a barrage of spatial techniques, frantically attacking Sihan.
Even if he couldn’t stop him, he had to delay him as much as possible.
As long as Murong Yefeng and Jiang Yunchong could deal with Lord Shenya, victory would be assured. Right now, both sides were fighting desperately—it was a matter of who could hold out longer.
“Boom, boom.”
Sihan’s combat power far surpassed that of an ordinary Dao Domain realm saint king. He dodged the dense spatial attacks and reached the edge of the multidimensional space.
“Break for me.”
From the chain sphere, thirty-six chains flew out, intertwining into a steel dragon that forcibly tore through the multidimensional space with sheer power, reaching towards Zhang Ruochen.
“Not good.”
Zhang Ruochen immediately used spatial teleportation to dodge to the side.
He was still a step too late.
The shockwave from the chains struck Zhang Ruochen, leaving a shocking wound across his abdomen. The text armour he had been wearing was blasted into his flesh.
In the end, the defensive power of the text armour was too weak. Against a Dao Domain realm powerhouse, it was no longer sufficient.
“Fortunately, the divine patterns protected me, dissipating ninety percent of Sihan’s force. Otherwise, my body would’ve been severed in two.”
Zhang Ruochen quickly stood up, preparing to counterattack, only to discover that the thirty-six chains had wrapped around King Daxiwang, rescuing her from the Firewood Tower.
King Daxiwang’s gaze met Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, the distance between them growing ever greater.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen could have triggered the fireflies within King Daxiwang’s body, burning her to ashes. In that split second, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but in the end, he refrained from doing so.
Letting King Daxiwang escape might not be a bad thing.
Firstly, the fireflies in her body weren’t something she could easily neutralise. This was Zhang Ruochen’s first means of controlling her.
Secondly, Zhang Ruochen had recorded every Paradise Realm faction cultivator she had killed using the ancient inscriptions. This was his second means of control.
Moreover, all the treasures on King Daxiwang’s person had been taken by Zhang Ruochen.
Among those treasures were several items of great importance to her.
If she wanted them back, she would have to compromise with Zhang Ruochen.
Did she think escaping would settle everything?
Escape was only a temporary reprieve. Once Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation advanced further, and he could crush her with his true strength, she would understand what despair truly meant.
For now, Zhang Ruochen would become her nightmare.
As long as he lived, she would never know peace.
With King Daxiwang no longer in control, the firewood began to wane.
The ancient inscriptions covering the Eastern Domain Saint City grew increasingly dim.
Sihan’s true appearance was revealed—strikingly handsome, with sharp features and cold eyes. He said, “Your Highness, the Goddess, how do you want Zhang Ruochen to die?”
Before King Daxiwang could respond, a deafening boom echoed from the distance.
It turned out that, under Murong Yefeng’s desperate assault, the Nine Phoenix Cauldron had shattered all thirteen of Lord Shenya’s life-saving talismans. Lord Shenya was gravely wounded, and his seven divine throne planets crashed to the ground.
The tide of the battle shifted dramatically.
Murong Yefeng, drenched in blood, wielded the blazing Nine Phoenix Cauldron and charged towards the Firewood Tower at full speed, roaring, “Dare to harm His Highness the Crown Prince? You’ll have to get past me, Murong Yefeng, first. Whoever makes a move, I’ll annihilate them!”
Murong Yefeng’s cultivation realm far surpassed Sihan’s, and with a supreme saintly weapon in hand, his might was such that, below the level of a great saint, he could kill whoever he pleased.
With Lord Shenya’s crushing defeat, their side had lost all momentum. How could Sihan dare to linger here?
Forget killing Zhang Ruochen—now, he needed to focus on preserving his own life and escaping the Eastern Domain Saint City.
