The Nine-Eyed Heavenly King’s face darkened, all nine of his eyes opening wide and fixing on Zhang Ruochen, sending a shiver down one’s spine.
“Boom.”
A torrent of holy path rules surged from his body, spreading across this expanse of sky, an overwhelming pressure radiating in all directions. Those with weaker cultivation couldn’t help but feel compelled to kneel in reverence.
“Near-Path.”
Zhang Ruochen’s expression shifted slightly, his gaze growing far more serious.
He could tell that the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King was breaking through, truly stepping into the Near-Path realm.
A Great Saint was an emperor among saints, and reaching the Near-Path realm made one a quasi-Great Saint, exuding a pressure that ordinary people could scarcely withstand.
Undoubtedly, the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King had already been at the peak of Heaven-Connecting, just a step away from Near-Path.
Under immense pressure, he had finally taken that step.
In a way, Zhang Ruochen had inadvertently helped him.
Now, he was no longer merely comparable to a Near-Path realm powerhouse—he was a genuine one, with combat strength far exceeding that of typical Near-Path experts.
He opened his mouth and inhaled, drawing the blood energy from the corpses strewn across the black plains toward him. It swirled into a vortex, which he swallowed whole.
Centred on him, a massive whirlpool of bloodthirsty energy formed, radiating a world-destroying might. The black plains cracked apart, resembling the end of days.
“Retreat.”
Realising he could no longer stop the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King, Zhang Ruochen immediately ordered everyone to fall back.
Once caught in that bloodthirsty vortex, even a Saint King would have their blood energy drained in an instant, becoming nourishment for the Heavenly King’s breakthrough.
“Spatial Collapse.”
Zhang Ruochen raised a hand, unleashing a spatial secret technique.
“Boom.”
The designated area of space collapsed instantly, but before it could expand, it was engulfed by the bloodthirsty vortex and vanished without a trace.
Seeing this, Zhang Ruochen’s eyes narrowed. The Nine-Eyed Heavenly King’s power exceeded his expectations.
Moreover, this man was ruthless—unsatisfied with insufficient energy, he targeted not only the ancient prison-guarding clan cultivators but even his own warriors.
With a gesture, the Blue Sky Pagoda appeared, its surface rapidly lighting up with countless inscriptions, releasing an increasingly potent wave of power.
With a “whoosh,” a layer of blue light surged forth, striking the bloodthirsty vortex directly.
This was supreme power. Even with the vortex’s immense gathered force, it couldn’t resist and was torn apart.
The blue light then crashed into the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King’s body.
Though the supreme power had weakened, it still dealt a significant blow, causing more cracks to appear in his Hundred Saints Blood Armour, nearly shattering it.
Next, the Blue Sky Pagoda unleashed wave after wave of supreme power, targeting both the Heavenly King and the Undying Blood Clan army.
“Damn it!” the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King roared, nearly driven to madness.
For Zhang Ruochen to interfere during his breakthrough was utterly infuriating.
Yet the supreme sacred artifact was truly fearsome—its might was something even he struggled to endure.
Had he been an ordinary Near-Path realm expert, that strike might not have killed him, but it would have left him grievously wounded beyond imagination.
The Undying Blood Clan army suffered even greater losses; anyone within a hundred li was instantly reduced to blood mist, Saint Kings included.
Back in Saint Ming City, Heavenly King Lingxiao had used the Blue Sky Pagoda to devastate the Saint Ming remnants, nearly sinking the entire city. The power of a supreme divine artifact was no mere boast.
“You think you can handle me with just a supreme sacred artifact? I’ll show you the consequences of enraging me,” the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King declared, spreading his wings and flapping them to create a terrifying storm.
A beam of bloodlight shot from his brow, transforming into an ancient mirror.
Inscriptions appeared on the mirror’s surface, and a blood-red halo surged forth, creating ripples so powerful that space itself developed faint cracks.
Incredibly, the blood-red halo from the mirror managed to withstand the Blue Sky Pagoda’s assault.
“A supreme sacred artifact.”
A glint of surprise flashed in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes as he instantly recognised the mirror’s nature.
Without a doubt, it was a supreme sacred artifact. That the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King possessed one was beyond his expectations.
Studying the mirror, he soon noticed several cracks on its surface and a small missing piece.
Clearly, this mirror was damaged—not a fully intact supreme sacred artifact.
Even so, a flawed supreme artifact could still unleash terrifying power, especially in the hands of someone below the Great Saint realm, where the difference was negligible.
After all, only a top-tier Great Saint or a god could fully unleash a supreme sacred artifact’s might.
“Retreat quickly.”
Without hesitation, Zhang Ruochen ordered his side to fall back.
The clash of supreme sacred artifacts could devastate heaven and earth, and in such a situation, he couldn’t protect everyone.
“Too late.”
The Nine-Eyed Heavenly King’s eyes gleamed coldly as he fully activated the mirror.
All nine of his eyes opened, emitting a terrifying light that converged onto the mirror.
The next moment, ninety beams of light burst forth from the mirror, each as powerful as the initial nine.
Born with nine eyes, they weren’t mere decoration but possessed various fearsome abilities.
Normally, he kept only two open, the rest closed. When all nine opened, it signalled his fury and that he was holding nothing back.
“Spatial Rift.”
Zhang Ruochen swiftly unleashed a spatial secret technique, causing large swathes of surrounding space to crack.
At the same time, he deployed the Blue Sky Pagoda, pushing its supreme power to the limit.
“Boom.”
The pagoda transformed into a blue mountain, blocking most of the beams.
Some were swallowed by the spatial rifts, but a few slipped through, targeting the ancient prison-guarding clan cultivators.
“Hey, stop your rampage!”
Zhenmiao Little Taoist let out a shout, quickly summoning the Purple-Gold Eight Trigrams Mirror.
Though far more damaged than the Heavenly King’s mirror, in Zhenmiao’s hands, it still erupted with astonishing supreme power.
After years of seclusion, Zhenmiao’s cultivation had broken through to the Greater World of Rules, allowing better control over the mirror.
Da Sikong and Er Sikong also acted, jointly unleashing a black-and-white blended strike that barely blocked one beam.
Elsewhere, Ji Fanxin intervened, her jade-white finger pointing upward.
“Water Moon Heavenly Light Mirror.”
Countless holy path rules wove together with holy energy, forming a white sacred mirror that resembled a moon dozens of zhang in diameter.
The mirror’s light barrier, though seemingly thin, boasted formidable defensive power.
“Boom.”
The remaining two beams struck the light barrier.
Cracks spiderwebbed across it, and it soon shattered, but the beams dissipated as well, their energy exhausted by the barrier.
Seeing this, the ancient prison-guarding clan cultivators collectively sighed in relief—the threat was temporarily averted.
It was only temporary because the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King remained, and no one knew what other terrifying moves he might unleash.
Without hesitation, they retreated at top speed, clearing the battlefield for Zhang Ruochen and the Heavenly King.
The ancient mirror hovered above the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King’s head, countless bloodlights converging to form a blood-red vertical eye on its surface.
The next moment, a massive eye appeared in the sky above the clan, as if a god were gazing down on the mortal world.
The black plains turned blood-red in an instant, an eerie force spreading, oppressive to the extreme.
“Ahh!”
Some clan cultivators screamed, their faces twisting as they suddenly attacked those beside them.
Like a plague, this chaos spread rapidly.
Within moments, the clan’s ranks descended into disarray.
“What a strange ability—it can disrupt the mind and affect such a wide area.”
Zhang Ruochen’s expression shifted dramatically; even he felt a faint influence.
This power was too potent—those with weaker mental fortitude couldn’t resist it, falling under its control involuntarily.
The Nine-Eyed Heavenly King’s innate abilities were already formidable, and amplified by the mirror, they became even more terrifying.
With this move, facing ten thousand foes alone wouldn’t be difficult for him.
“I have to stop him. Break!”
Zhang Ruochen reached out, drawing the Blue Sky Bow and White Sun Arrow, firing a shot with full force.
The bow and arrow, once treasures of Kunlun Realm’s Undying Blood Clan Blue Sky Tribe, surpassed the Ten-Yao Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact rank.
In the hands of a truly powerful being, they could slay a Great Saint.
“Swish.”
The White Sun Arrow shot forth at unimaginable speed, locked onto the Nine-Eyed Heavenly King.
Blood energy surged around him, swiftly forming a shield to protect himself.
“Bang.”
The shield shattered, unable to withstand the arrow.
But breaking the shield consumed much of the arrow’s power, and with the Hundred Saints Blood Armour blocking further, it couldn’t harm the Heavenly King at all.
Seeing the arrow strike, Zhang Ruochen’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“Not good.”
The Nine-Eyed Heavenly King’s face changed drastically as he realised Zhang Ruochen’s true intent.
The White Sun Arrow bore time seals that could sever lifespan.
When it hit, a time seal landed on him.
A sudden wave of weakness washed over him, spreading through his body, leaving him trembling and drenched in cold sweat.
In this state, he could no longer control the mirror. The giant demonic eye in the sky vanished, and the eerie force dissipated.
Seizing the chance, Zhang Ruochen urged the Blue Sky Pagoda forward, crashing toward the Heavenly King.
A direct hit from the pagoda, even with his immense power, would leave him badly injured if not dead.
“Bang.”
A massive cross, a hundred zhang long, appeared out of nowhere, clashing with the Blue Sky Pagoda.
The pagoda was sent flying back, unable to strike the Heavenly King as intended.
The cross embedded itself in the shattered ground, bathing the surrounding thousands of li in blood-red light.
Divine runes flowed across it, faintly revealing a god nailed to it, divine blood streaming down in a scene of utter brutality.
