The small starry realm grew increasingly unstable, with Primordial Hell Yama Qi forming terrifying streams, surging in all directions.
Each stream was like a brilliant comet, capable of shattering even a top Nine-Step Saint King to pieces.
Yin Yuanchen retreated as far as he could, keeping his distance from Yan Wushen while dodging relentlessly. Even with his strength, being hit by multiple streams would be disastrous.
“Too powerful, how can a Saint King be this strong? This is the true Yan Wushen, peerless and invincible,” Yin Yuanchen thought, shaken to his core.
He no longer dared to consider capturing or killing Yan Wushen, only how to escape.
Facing the unified Yan Wushen, the sheer aura he exuded crushed any will to resist.
In Yin Yuanchen’s view, even if he and Zhang Ruochen teamed up, they’d struggle to withstand Yan Wushen, and one misstep could cost both their lives.
On the blood cloud, Chi Kunlun was frantic, his eyes bloodshot, yet powerless to act.
“I told you to leave, why don’t you listen? I don’t need saving, just go!” Chi Kunlun roared.
He believed Zhang Ruochen’s skills could break free from this starry realm.
If Zhang Ruochen stayed to fight Yan Wushen at his peak, the outcome was unpredictable. Above all, Chi Kunlun refused to let Zhang Ruochen die here for his sake.
That would leave him in lifelong guilt.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen had no time for distractions, his focus entirely on Yan Wushen.
The stronger one was, the more one could sense Yan Wushen’s terror.
A casual wisp of his aura could shatter stars and rend the heavens.
“A billion Saint Path rules, ten paths perfected. I never imagined the fusion of good and evil selves would trigger such a staggering transformation. Has anyone in history at Saint King surpassed Yan Wushen’s brilliance?” Zhang Ruochen thought.
At Saint King, reaching a billion Saint Path rules unlocks unimaginable changes, a dream for all cultivators.
But this step is a chasm, even one rule short is nearly insurmountable.
Everyone knows crossing it lays the strongest Saint Path foundation, profoundly impacting future cultivation, even key to mastering mysteries as a god.
“Clang.”
Drawn by a powerful force, all Primordial Hell Yama Qi rapidly converged, the river of Saint Path rules flowing back.
When calm returned, Yan Wushen’s figure reappeared.
His good and evil selves were gone, replaced by his complete true self.
This Yan Wushen’s aura shifted unpredictably, at times divine, at times evil, both godlike and demonic, exuding extreme danger and instability.
Violent power swirled around him, shattering nearby space into a vacuum zone.
As expected, having just merged his dual selves, Yan Wushen couldn’t yet fully control this new power.
Standing in the dark void, he seemed an ancient god-demon crossing time, his gaze cold, dominating the heavens.
“Zhang Ruochen, show me your full strength and fight me,” Yan Wushen said icily.
As he spoke, he pointed, releasing origin power.
Instantly, countless tiny particles coalesced, their original forms altered, transforming into dark golden metallic liquid, surging toward Zhang Ruochen.
As Zhang Ruochen tried to evade, the liquid sealed all escape routes, rapidly solidifying into a giant sphere.
The sphere compressed swiftly, its structure growing denser.
The internal pressure was terrifying, capable of crushing even an Immortal Saint Body.
This technique combined origin and spatial power perfectly, enough to easily kill an ordinary Immortal Great Saint.
At this moment, Yin Yuanchen drew a silver-white longsword, pouring Saint Qi into it, unleashing vast divine power, forming a ten-thousand-zhang sword light aimed at Yan Wushen.
He could no longer stand by, if Zhang Ruochen was suppressed, his own fate would be grim.
Yan Wushen glanced at Yin Yuanchen, flicking his sleeve.
A surge of Primordial Hell Yama Qi shot out, forming a billion-zhang ink-green ribbon, sweeping with the might to dominate the heavens.
“Crack.”
The sword light shattered instantly, divine power dissipating.
Yin Yuanchen’s face paled, urgently channeling power into his sword while forming dozens of defensive light shields.
“Bang.”
The ink-green ribbon was unstoppable, breaking all defenses and blasting Yin Yuanchen away.
“Pfft.”
Yin Yuanchen coughed blood, saved only by his exceptional Saint Armor and numerous divine inscriptions, or his body would have shattered.
A few more such attacks would kill him.
Whether he liked it or not, Yin Yuanchen had to accept his strength was no match for Yan Wushen’s.
“Too strong, with Yan Wushen’s current power, even the Heavenly Palace’s four heavenly kings combined might not be his match,” Yin Yuanchen thought, shaken.
“Below Great Saint, few can survive my strike. Your strength is impressive,” Yan Wushen said, not attacking further.
“Boom.”
At that moment, billions of sharp sword qi erupted, slicing the metallic sphere to fragments from within.
Countless translucent flower buds appeared, blooming slowly.
Flowers blossoming in the void were breathtakingly beautiful.
But as they bloomed, they released devastating destructive power, turning all metal fragments to ash, swallowed by the void, leaving not even basic particles.
Zhang Ruochen’s figure reappeared, surrounded by translucent sword lotuses, unharmed.
Seeing this, Yin Yuanchen realized, “This is Brother Zhang’s true strength, he was holding back before.”
It dawned on him, Zhang Ruochen knew of Yan Wushen’s dual selves yet dared to fight, how could he only match the good self?
This was great news, the stronger Zhang Ruochen, the better their chances of escape.
Holding his divine sword, Zhang Ruochen mobilized millions of Saint Path rules, primarily a million sword path rules, supplemented by related rules, including truth rules, and even the Mystery of Truth.
The sword hilt from the Sword Tomb was extraordinary, hiding many secrets, and using the Mystery of Truth could forcibly unleash part of its power.
With a solemn expression, Zhang Ruochen merged with his sword soul, entering a state of human-sword unity, slashing without reservation.
“Clang—”
This was his strongest strike, embodying all his sword path insights and sincerity.
The divine light forming the blade scattered into thousands of light swords, carrying an indescribable terrifying momentum, slashing at Yan Wushen.
“Well done.”
Yan Wushen, fearless, was thrilled.
Vast Primordial Hell Yama Qi surged from his body, pouring into his gauntlets.
Simultaneously, a ten-thousand-mile-tall figure appeared behind him, head touching the heavens, feet in hell, radiating majesty.
“Yan God’s wrath, blood flows like rivers,” Yan Wushen roared.
The Yan God shadow moved, throwing a punch with him.
A massive fist imprint filled the heavens, as if to bring down all stars.
With this fist, astonishing visions appeared in the starry realm, billions of beings perished, countless gods and demons bled, falling from the skies.
The vision alone could shake hearts and inspire fear.
“Clang…”
Zhang Ruochen’s thousands of light swords, each with peerless sharpness, shattered the visions and the vast fist imprint.
Yet all light swords also fragmented, reverting to divine light, merging back into the ancient hilt.
“Strong swordsmanship, but not enough,” Yan Wushen said.
Zhang Ruochen’s heart sank, even his strongest strike couldn’t threaten Yan Wushen, troubling news.
Though he had many trump cards, few could truly challenge Yan Wushen, including the Sundial, which Yan Wushen likely had countermeasures for.
Yan Wushen extended a hand, casually flipping it.
Instantly, the space around Zhang Ruochen shifted, heavens and earth inverted, dozens of blood-red stars appearing around him.
Centered on Zhang Ruochen, a vast area of space distorted, compressing and folding repeatedly, forming a cage trapping him.
“Space Path Great Perfection, truly terrifying, completely suppressing my space path,” Zhang Ruochen thought, alarmed.
His space path, one rule short of perfection, was vastly outmatched by this single gap.
Without hesitation, Zhang Ruochen stowed the hilt, his thoughts shifting as his Temporal and Spatial Saint Aspects appeared at his sides, hands forming a strange seal.
His left hand gathered time power, his right spatial power, colliding to create profound changes.
Incredibly, the two Eternal Path powers fused rapidly, forming a new force.
“Spacetime Annihilation.”
Zhang Ruochen murmured, releasing the spacetime power instantly.
With his current cultivation, controlling spacetime power was barely manageable, sustainable only briefly, risking self-injury if mishandled.
In the void, the River of Time’s shadow appeared, flowing slowly, endless and eternal.
Countless time marks flew from it, making the realm’s time flow chaotic.
“Boom.”
The dozens of blood-red stars exploded, the layered space tearing apart, forming a massive spatial fault, like a dark abyss swallowing all.
Zhang Ruochen unleashed a vision, guarding himself with the Five Elements Chaos World, escaping the fault with great effort.
The vision was shattered, his blood qi roiling, nearly spilling from his mouth.
Thanks to the Fire God Armor and divine inscriptions, plus his perfected Five Elements Chaos Body, he endured.
Yan Wushen stared at Zhang Ruochen, “Join the Hell Realm, one last chance.”
He genuinely admired Zhang Ruochen’s peerless talent, hoping to recruit him.
But if Zhang Ruochen refused, he’d have to kill this genius.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm, suppressing his churning blood qi, his resolute gaze speaking for him.
“Such a pity,” Yan Wushen shook his head.
His aura surged, black hair flying, an ancient book emerging from his body, hovering above, slowly opening.
Beams of life-and-death mysterious light poured from the book, embodying the ultimate mysteries of life and death.
Seeing the *Book of Death*, Chi Kunlun bit his lip, nearly drawing blood, shouting, “Yan Wushen, I’ll take you as my master, let Zhang Ruochen go.”
Yan Wushen showed a trace of surprise, not expecting Chi Kunlun’s stubborn nature to yield.
Then he shook his head, “Kid, you’re too naive. Do you think this battle can stop now? Zhang Ruochen and I represent this era, we must settle who’s superior, even if it means life or death. An era can only have one invincible.”
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze calmly met Chi Kunlun’s, “Yan Wushen will be my defeated foe, why take him as master? Just watch.”
His words brimmed with confidence.
“Hahaha, bold enough, Zhang Ruochen, let’s see what else you’ve got.”
Yan Wushen was about to launch a fierce attack when he sensed something, looking up.
“Boom.”
One black, one red, two sword lights streaked like meteors, piercing the starry realm.
“Swish.”
The lights descended beside Zhang Ruochen, forming two ancient swords, one black and broad, one blood-red and slender.
The swords hovered, embodying yin-yang and life-death, as if seizing the universe’s creation.
They were the Shen Yuan Sword and Drip Blood Sword.
Zhang Ruochen shared a deep bond with the Shen Yuan Sword, unbreakable even by this starry realm.
Summoned by him, the swords flew from the Ziwei Imperial Palace, arriving just in time.
Resonating with their intent, Zhang Ruochen’s hair flew, his presence razor-sharp, radiating five-coloured chaos light, like an unrivaled sword god.
With a sleeve flick, the Shen Yuan and Drip Blood Swords soared, entwining like lovers, radiating affection, forming a yin-yang Taiji pattern, covering the starry realm, touching the world’s edge.
Since the Sword Tomb battle, the swords finally had a chance to unleash the Liangyi Sect’s strongest dual-sword array—Yin-Yang Liangyi Sword Array.
Compared to then, Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation had soared, his sword path reaching Great Perfection, and Shen Yuan had become a King’s Weapon.
Only extreme emotion enables extreme swordsmanship.
This emotion wasn’t between him and Chi Yao, but between the Shen Yuan and Drip Blood Swords.
“Buzz.”
At that moment, every sword in the imperial city trembled, drawn by a powerful force, struggling to fly free.
Instantly, countless cultivators were alerted.
“What’s happening? Why are all sword path rules converging in one direction?”
“Such strong power fluctuations, who’s fighting in the imperial city?”
“This aura… far beyond Saint King, could a Great Saint have descended?”
