Yin Yuanchen’s sudden betrayal cut Zhang Ruochen deeply, confirming they were never truly aligned.
Zhang Ruochen believed many of Yin Yuanchen’s past words were genuine, heartfelt, and had fooled even him. Yet, in the end, Yin Yuanchen chose a different path.
As the talisman neared Zhang Ruochen’s body, time and space froze, a momentary pause.
In that instant, Zhang Ruochen reached out, seizing Yin Yuanchen’s arm with fingers like divine iron, glowing with five-colored chaotic light, nearly pinning him in place.
Then, Zhang Ruochen forced the talisman back toward Yin Yuanchen.
“Hm? Something’s wrong.”
Zhang Ruochen’s expression shifted, sensing something amiss.
Instinctively, he released the arm, and Yin Yuanchen swiftly retreated, putting distance between them.
Yin Yuanchen’s face contorted in pain, using a secret technique to rip the talisman off his body at top speed.
Fortunately, he had prepared countermeasures for talismans, having anticipated such a scenario.
However, in that brief moment, some of the talisman’s power had seeped into his body, impossible to fully expel immediately, ensuring he’d suffer for it.
Yin Yuanchen still managed a smile, believing he had outmaneuvered Zhang Ruochen despite his prowess.
Zhang Ruochen stood unmoving, staring at his once pristine hand, now blackened with eerie patterns faintly pulsing, voraciously draining his vitality.
Le said, “You’re poisoned, it’s the ‘Death God’s Decree’ from the Heavenly Slaughter Organization.”
The Heavenly Slaughter Organization, one of the Heavenly Court’s three most feared assassin groups, originated from the Paradise Realm.
The “Death God’s Decree” was their signature poison, a decree from death itself, lethal to Great Saints.
For cultivators below Great Saint, it was nearly incurable, a certain death sentence.
Since its founding, countless powerhouses had fallen to this poison.
Its fearsome reputation owed much to the “Death God’s Decree.”
Zhang Ruochen hadn’t expected Yin Yuanchen to coat his body with it, poisoning anyone who touched him.
Yin Yuanchen’s cunning was profound, his schemes layered and relentless.
Suppressing the talisman’s power, Yin Yuanchen shed his gentle demeanor, his aura sharp and unrestrained, staring at Zhang Ruochen with piercing eyes, saying, “We are alike, I genuinely didn’t want to kill you, but you’ve opposed the Paradise Realm at every turn, your fate was sealed long ago.”
“You may not know, from the start, the Paradise Realm chose me as your adversary, I’ve been waiting for this day.”
As he spoke, Yin Yuanchen unleashed a vast, primal aura, like a chaotic world embodied, far surpassing his display against Yan Wushen, even outstripping Archangel King Michael’s presence.
“I underestimated how much the Paradise Realm values me,” Zhang Ruochen sighed inwardly.
The Paradise Realm had gone to great lengths, concealing Yin Yuanchen’s true strength, orchestrating his approach to gain Zhang Ruochen’s trust.
Clearly, they saw him as a threat.
And Yin Yuanchen was indeed a perfect blade.
“Crafting all those lies must have been exhausting,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Yin Yuanchen gave a self-mocking smile, “Lies? No, they were true, but they belonged to my father, a naive fool obsessed with the Kunlun Realm.”
“After the medieval catastrophe, my grandmother was imprisoned by my grandfather in the Ghostly soul sea, isolated for a hundred thousand years, forgotten by all, only my father clung to her memory.”
“He always wanted to free her, to return with her to the Kunlun Realm, enduring silently, even after becoming a god, biding his time, dedicating himself to cultivation to grow stronger, waiting for a chance. Only centuries ago did he marry my mother and have me.”
“Yet he never abandoned his dream of saving her, he was too foolish, defying the entire Paradise Realm for filial piety and blood ties, but he failed, slain by my grandfather’s hand.”
“I was only seven, watching my father die, do you know how terrified I was? How much pain I felt? I lived in fear and agony every day. What if I was next? What then?”
His final words were a roar, his emotions surging uncontrollably.
Zhang Ruochen’s heart stirred, he hadn’t expected Yin Yuanchen’s tragic past.
Undoubtedly, Yin Yuanchen’s father was a powerful god, yet he was killed by his own father for trying to save his mother.
Yin Yuanchen’s grandfather was ruthless, his strength unparalleled.
“After my father’s death, my clan shunned and bullied me, no one accepted me.”
Yin Yuanchen laughed skyward, baring white teeth, tears streaming as he roared like a beast, “Why did they treat me this way? What did I do wrong? Just because I carry the blood of the Ten Tribulations Heavenly Lord?”
“No, I did nothing wrong, I just wanted to live, to live with dignity. I’ve always been the best, the true genius of the Paradise Realm, all the glory Michael enjoys should be mine.”
“I refuse to end like my father, enduring in pain, dying miserably, I will change everything.”
Yin Yuanchen descended into madness, these words buried deep for too long, finally unleashed.
His eyes reddened, body trembling, he laughed maniacally, “Now my chance has come, killing you will earn my grandfather’s approval, making me a true Paradise Realm cultivator, so you must die.”
The chance to change everything was before him, he’d kill anyone in his way, tired of being ostracized and humiliated.
Once, he wanted to be like his father, but reality’s cruelty forced him down another path.
“How did you receive the baptism of the *Heavenly Record* secret technique if your grandmother was imprisoned?” Zhang Ruochen asked curiously.
The Heavenly Record, the supreme technique of the Ten Tribulations Heavenly Lord, falling into the Paradise Realm’s hands would be dire.
Yin Yuanchen sneered, “Do you know what a hundred thousand years of isolation does to someone? Meeting her grandson, she believed everything I said.”
“She hoped I’d visit often, pinning all her hopes on me, even wanting me to find the Ten Tribulations Heavenly Lord to revive the Kunlun Realm, isn’t that laughable?”
Zhang Ruochen frowned, a hundred thousand years of solitude could drive anyone mad.
The daughter of the Ten Tribulations Heavenly Lord reduced to such a state was unimaginable.
“It’s laughable, but the laughable one is you, a coward escaping reality, truly pathetic,” Zhang Ruochen said coldly.
Yin Yuanchen’s face twisted, pointing at Zhang Ruochen, roaring, “You’ve no right to say that, you can’t understand what I’ve endured. If anyone’s pathetic, it’s you, doing so much for the Kunlun Realm, what have you gained? You’re just an outcast.”
“You don’t know how powerful the Paradise Realm is, over a hundred thousand years, it’s birthed countless gods, stronger than before the catastrophe, standing at the true peak, while the Kunlun Realm declines, the gap is vast.”
“The Kunlun Realm’s gods left some contingencies, but they can’t change anything, I’ve killed over a dozen Awakeners myself, this time, the Kunlun Realm will fall. Zhang Ruochen, this is the tide of fate, you can’t stop it, resisting is a dead end.”
Yin Yuanchen aimed to shatter Zhang Ruochen’s resolve, hoping to see despair.
Deep down, he wished Zhang Ruochen would join the Paradise Realm, perhaps becoming true allies, forging a legend together.
But their paths diverged, leading to a fatal clash.
To Yin Yuanchen’s disappointment, Zhang Ruochen remained calm, unshaken, as if oblivious to his dire situation.
“Since you’ve fully aligned against the Kunlun Realm, I’ve no reason to hold back,” Zhang Ruochen said in a low voice.
Yin Yuanchen’s gaze was icy, exuding killing intent, “Let me end your suffering.”
He struck immediately, unwilling to delay and risk complications.
Though Zhang Ruochen was poisoned by the “Death God’s Decree,” theoretically doomed, he wasn’t ordinary, no one could be sure he lacked an antidote.
Yin Yuanchen opened his palm, filled with water.
A terrifying force enveloped Zhang Ruochen and Le, irresistible.
Instantly, they were pulled into a boundless sea, waves towering endlessly, like a chaotic ocean.
Yin Yuanchen stood at the horizon, his form vast as the cosmos, like a supreme deity overlooking them.
This chaotic sea existed within his palm.
More precisely, within the glove he wore.
Forged from a sea world, the glove held immense power, though not on par with Bian Zhuang’s Tianpeng Bell, it was extraordinary.
Seemingly ordinary, it contained a universe, with enough strength, it could trap Great Saints.
Without this glove, how could Yin Yuanchen dare handle that fearsome talisman?
Above the sea, two massive moons rose, radiating terrifying lunar power, flooding the world.
In an instant, thousands of miles of sea froze, the temperature plummeting.
Lunar power surged like a tide, overwhelming Zhang Ruochen and Le.
A powerful spiritual force swept in, nearing the sixtieth tier, of exceptional quality, forming a spiritual storm, unstoppable.
A glint flashed in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, instantly seeing through the moons’ illusion, revealing a colossal creature.
“It’s a Kun.”
A Kun was a massive fish dwelling in vast oceans, rivaling divine dragons, capable of becoming a mighty divine beast.
Yin Yuanchen, a fish enthusiast, had raised a true giant.
Kuns innately wielded lunar power, and if they developed solar power, they could transform into Pengs, soaring ninety thousand miles.
Kuns had a fearsome talent: devouring, their stomachs a universe, capable of swallowing anything, a fully grown Kun could even devour a great world.
This Kun’s aura was formidable, easily capable of swallowing Nine-Step Saint Kings.
Zhang Ruochen’s will stirred, releasing his spiritual power to shield them.
Simultaneously, he channeled his Palm Path rules, striking with a palm.
“Roar.”
A deafening dragon roar echoed, a thousand-mile-long golden divine dragon surged from his palm, vivid and lifelike, radiating vast dragon might, soaring through the heavens.
The dragon’s emergence shattered the sea’s ice with unmatched force.
“Boom.”
The dragon clashed with the moons, shattering them.
“Crash.”
The Kun’s massive form appeared, plummeting into the sea.
Hundreds of miles long, it resembled a whale.
Pain filled its eyes, clearly wounded, but it survived.
Zhang Ruochen’s palm, though not using the Way of Truth or other powers, was pure palm technique.
With his current strength, a casual palm could kill a Nine-Step Saint King.
The Kun’s survival proved its formidable power, rivaling the Blue Sky Saint Dragon.
Before Zhang Ruochen could strike again, Le moved, drawing his sword with unimaginable speed.
A peerless sword qi slashed out, linking heaven and earth, cleaving the sky.
“Swish.”
The sea parted, a deep trench forming, a vacuum under the sword qi, repelling the water.
The Kun reacted swiftly, unleashing vast lunar power, forming a sturdy ice wall to block Le’s sword.
“Crack.”
The ice wall shattered, unable to withstand Le’s supreme sword qi.
The Kun’s eyes widened, its massive body split, blood gushing, dyeing the sea red, dead.
Not because the Kun was weak, but Le’s sword was too sharp.
Unlike Zhang Ruochen, Le’s swordsmanship was unconventional, focused solely on killing, every strike drawing blood, a life-or-death gamble.
This allowed him to defeat stronger opponents.
“Buzz.”
Countless black particles flew from the Kun’s body, swarming the sky.
“Gu insects.”
Zhang Ruochen’s pupils narrowed.
These gu insects were extraordinary, their numbers staggering, billions strong.
Gu sorcery, prevalent in the dark ancient era, had long been lost, yet Yin Yuanchen mastered it, cultivating such terrifying insects.
He had hidden this well, never revealing it before.
Talismans, poisons, world gloves, Kun, gu insects—a relentless array of tactics, Yin Yuanchen’s cunning was terrifying, everything calculated.
Few could evade his schemes.
“These soul-devouring gu insects were bred by my father, after his death, I fed them his divine blood, hidden in the Kun’s body, unknown to all, Zhang Ruochen, enjoy!” Yin Yuanchen’s sinister laugh rang out.
Zhang Ruochen’s heart stirred, he’d heard of soul-devouring gu insects, among the dark ancient era’s deadliest, capable of threatening gods at their peak.
The dark ancient era was mysterious, gloriously vibrant, birthing powers rivaling eternal paths, like sorcery, vajra force, and realm-deriving power.
What conditions spawned such forces was unimaginable.
Yin Yuanchen’s father, breeding such vast numbers of soul-devouring gu insects, was remarkably skilled, likely inheriting top dark ancient legacies.
But using his father’s divine blood to feed them was utterly perverse, his heart truly mad.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at his poisoned hand, where pure white Purifying Divine Fire blazed, rapidly refining the “Death God’s Decree” toxin.
The poison was fearsome, but Zhang Ruochen was prepared, with divine inscriptions from the Moon Goddess and the Seven-Star Divine Ling’s leaf essence repelling the toxin, slowing its spread.
This allowed him to use the Purifying Divine Fire to refine it.
His Fire Path had reached perfection, wielding Emperor-grade Purifying Divine Fire, capable of refining anything.
Even so, purging the “Death God’s Decree” cost him significant vitality.
Finally, the toxin was fully purged, his hand restored to its jade-like sheen.
With a thought, Zhang Ruochen summoned the Fire God Armor, donning it.
Had he worn it earlier, the “Death God’s Decree” couldn’t have touched him.
He also handed Le the Streamer Merit Armor, capable of two thousand times sonic speed.
Le accepted without hesitation, equipping it swiftly.
They might face many formidable foes next, making defense critical.
