Within the Ziwei Palace, Yin Yuanchen stood calmly, gazing down at Zhang Ruochen and Le trapped in the sea realm, a cruel smile faintly visible in his eyes.
No matter how cautious Zhang Ruochen was, he had fallen into the trap, ensnared by Yin Yuanchen’s treasure. Soon, billions of soul-devouring gu insects would consume him utterly.
“Where’s Zhang Ruochen? Did you let him escape?” a cold voice suddenly rang out.
“Swoosh.”
Hundreds of figures flashed from the depths of the Ziwei Palace, gathering around Yin Yuanchen.
Each radiated an immensely powerful aura, their cultivation surpassing Nine-Step Saint King, some exuding an unfathomable presence.
They hailed from extraordinary origins, mostly from the Paradise Realm’s major temples and great clans, as well as various great realms aligned with the Paradise faction.
The Paradise Realm boasted numerous temples, each founded by gods, often with multiple deities presiding, a true assembly of divine power.
The Blood War Temple, established by Jia Tianxia, ranked only sixteenth among the Paradise Realm’s temples, not particularly formidable.
Undoubtedly, the most powerful was the Light Temple, inheritor of an eternal path, which had nurtured figures like Archangel King Michael and Zhou Yu.
The speaker was an angel clansman with eight blood-red wings, his face stern, body tall and lean, clad in crimson armour, emanating intense killing intent, as if fresh from a battlefield of corpses and blood.
In the angel clan, typically only Great Saints possessed eight wings.
Yet this man, Tian Ling, was only at the Saint King level, though his aura faintly carried the pressure of a Great Saint.
Hailing from the Blood War Temple, Tian Ling had once been a profound Immortal Great Saint, but his immortal saint body was shattered, causing his realm to fall.
Now, despite being a Saint King, his strength was extraordinary, nearly invincible below Great Saint.
However, without a monumental opportunity, fallen cultivators like him often faced tragic ends, unable to ever restore their immortal saint bodies.
The Blood War Temple was the most aggressive in targeting the Kunlun Realm and Zhang Ruochen, but it had suffered the most—Scarlet Angel killed, its new-generation leader slain, and even gods nearly perished, losing all face.
Thus, the temple had spared no effort this time, deploying its elite to reclaim its honour and avoid ridicule from other temples.
Yin Yuanchen glanced at Tian Ling, saying coldly, “With me personally acting, how could Zhang Ruochen escape? He’s not far from death.”
As he spoke, he displayed the sea realm within his glove to Tian Ling and the others.
As an insider breaching the Ziwei Palace and suppressing Zhang Ruochen, these feats were enough for Yin Yuanchen to stand tall, no longer underestimated.
Once this was over and he returned to the Paradise Realm, his status would transform dramatically, finally claiming the glory and treatment he deserved, no longer envying others, living with dignity.
“Master Yuanchen’s move was extraordinary; even someone as formidable as Zhang Ruochen was easily captured. Your contribution to this operation is immense,” a strikingly beautiful woman said with a flattering smile.
Clad in an ink-green dress, with a slender waist, long neck, and jade-like skin, her lively eyes held a captivating charm, as if a single glance could steal one’s soul.
Named Bing Tong, she was a Soul Realm cultivator, the true leader below Great Saint, far surpassing the Great Xi King.
The guards outside the palace gate had their saint souls controlled by her techniques.
Her methods were so refined that, without Zhang Ruochen’s Heart of Truth, no flaws would have been detected.
Hearing Bing Tong’s words, a smile crept into Yin Yuanchen’s eyes, exactly the effect he desired.
His gaze swept over Tian Ling, Bing Tong, and others, saying, “Have you captured the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady? What’s the situation at Qinghong Pavilion?”
The Paradise Realm’s operation primarily targeted the Peach Tree, with Zhang Ruochen as a secondary objective.
“The Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady inherited her ancestor’s Nine Radiance Divine Tears, making her difficult to handle. Though I used a secret technique to disrupt the tears’ power, she retreated into the temple where Empress Chi Yao once resided, protected by her divine power and inscribed with numerous divine runes, making it hard to breach for now.”
“However, she’s injured and left blood, which we collected, enough to activate the spatial array in Qinghong Pavilion. Once we break its defences, locating the Peach Tree’s space will be easy,” said Yao Tian, a refined and elegant young master, stepping from the crowd with a confident smile, as if everything was under control.
No one would expect Yao Tian, representing the Tianquan Great Realm, to align with the Paradise faction against the Kunlun Realm.
If Zhang Ruochen heard this, he’d be shocked that Qinghong Pavilion was linked to the Peach Tree, having entered it himself without noticing anything unusual.
“The arrays inside and outside Qinghong Pavilion were set by Saint Monk Xumi’s chief disciple, profoundly intricate. Breaking them won’t be easy,” a powerhouse frowned.
Given the Peach Tree’s importance, its defences were undoubtedly tight, not easily overcome.
Without these precautions, the Paradise and Hell Realms’ top powerhouses would have already located the Peach Tree’s coordinates, sparing all this trouble.
Tian Ling turned to the sea realm in Yin Yuanchen’s palm, saying, “The priority is to eliminate Zhang Ruochen quickly to avoid complications.”
Zhang Ruochen was an unstable factor, a major threat, repeatedly disrupting the Paradise faction’s plans.
“Rest assured, the soul-devouring gu insects will soon consume him completely,” Yin Yuanchen said.
Bred by a god, these insects were terrifying, even Great Saints might not resist them.
Moreover, fed with his father’s divine blood, they had grown even more sinister.
Knowing Zhang Ruochen’s capabilities, Yin Yuanchen understood that releasing the insects outside might allow escape, but within the sea realm, there was no way out—only death.
Regardless of how masterful Zhang Ruochen’s spatial techniques were, escaping was impossible.
…
In the sea realm, Zhang Ruochen and Le faced relentless attacks from billions of soul-devouring gu insects, blocking all escape routes.
The insects formed a soul-devouring barrier, enveloping them, their combined power overwhelming.
“Buzz.”
The insects vibrated their wings in unison, emitting eerie, terrifying sound waves that shook the void, targeting their saint souls.
Simultaneously, they secreted a potent venom, permeating the air, silently infiltrating Zhang Ruochen and Le’s bodies.
Le, expressionless, calmly swung his sword.
The iron sword traced a strange arc, vibrating slightly, releasing a unique fluctuation that shattered the insects’ sound waves.
This fluctuation was formidable, easily disrupting saint souls unnoticed.
As Le acted, Zhang Ruochen moved, channelling the Mysteries of Truth into his Fire God Armour, igniting a blazing inferno combined with Purifying Divine Fire, spreading in all directions.
With 49/10,000ths of the Mysteries of Truth and the Heart of Truth, he could unleash the armour’s greater potential.
Moreover, his Fire Path had reached perfection, qualitatively transformed, amplifying any flame’s power beyond imagination.
“Sizzle.”
The venom in the air was refined by the divine fire, emitting faint sounds.
“Boom.”
Urged by Zhang Ruochen, the divine fire surged like an ancient volcano erupting.
Empowered by the Way of Truth, the fire became terrifying, capable of burning the heavens and boiling the seas, reducing everything to nothingness.
The soul-devouring barrier was breached, countless insects incinerated to ash, falling into the sea.
“Perfect Fire Path, Emperor-grade Purifying Divine Fire, and that peculiar Fire God Armour,” Tian Ling remarked, surprised.
Their intelligence suggested Zhang Ruochen had only perfected his Sword Path, with other paths strong but lacking.
Yin Yuanchen’s eyes narrowed, having witnessed Zhang Ruochen’s battle with Yan Wushen, believing he knew all his tricks.
Now, it was clear his information was significantly outdated.
Somehow, Yin Yuanchen felt unable to see through Zhang Ruochen, as if shrouded in mist, his next moves unpredictable.
“Who’s with Zhang Ruochen? Such a strange sword path,” Bing Tong said, her eyes gleaming.
“He’s Le, the Death Swordmaster, a key figure nurtured by the Death Temple, long opposing our Heavenly Slaughter Organisation, killing many of our people,” a shadowy figure in a black robe and ghost mask emerged, his aura nearly undetectable.
This was He Lian Wusheng, a Heavenly Slaughter king, high on the *Assassin King List*, with countless Saint Kings fallen to him, feared by all.
His identity was mysterious, his true face unseen, and his targets never survived.
The Heavenly Slaughter Organisation despised Le, having sent multiple assassin kings to kill him, only to lose them all to his sword.
Le’s ranking on the *Assassin King List* was now near the top, a major threat to them.
Yin Yuanchen said, “No matter who he is, he’ll die with Zhang Ruochen this time.”
He infused a vast deathly force into the sea realm.
Few knew he majored in the Path of Death, not ordinary but the Dark Ancient Annihilation Death Force, supremely eerie.
In the Dark Ancient era, masters of this force could extinguish all life in a great realm instantly.
Using his father’s divine corpse, Yin Yuanchen had absorbed deathly aura, cultivating the Dark Ancient Annihilation Death Force to a staggering level.
In the sea realm, the Kun’s split corpse rapidly fused.
Driven by the Dark Ancient Annihilation Death Force, its body turned pitch-black, the surrounding seawater like ink, thick and viscous.
“Roar.”
With a furious roar, the Kun opened its massive maw, unleashing terrifying devouring power.
All soul-devouring gu insects, along with Zhang Ruochen and Le, were swallowed in an instant.
The Kun’s stomach was a vast universe, now steeped in deathly stillness, countless undead emerging from the inky seawater, charging at them.
“To cultivate the Dark Ancient Annihilation Death Force to such a degree, Yuanchen, I underestimated you,” Zhang Ruochen murmured.
The sea realm already exerted strong suppression, and within the Kun’s stomach, it intensified, even hindering saintly energy flow.
Le’s gaze was cold, surging with killing intent, faintly manifesting visions of corpse mountains and blood seas.
His killing intent fused with life-and-death forces, forming two eerie eyes behind him—one black, one white, like a black hole and white hole in the cosmic void.
Le gripped his iron sword’s hilt, raising it high.
The eyes behind him shifted, one releasing black sword qi, the other white.
The two streams converged, cycling life and death, forming a terrifying sword qi torrent, sweeping all directions.
“Boom.”
Where the torrent passed, all undead shattered, annihilated in body and soul.
Undead were hard to destroy, but Le’s life-and-death sword qi was their bane, eradicating them at their core.
Silently, a soul-devouring gu insect appeared behind Le’s neck.
A strand of his hair flicked, a flash of sharpness slicing the insect in half.
Simultaneously, Zhang Ruochen faced insect attacks, their stealth in this environment uncanny, hard to guard against.
If one burrowed into the body, it would be catastrophic, possibly fatal in an instant.
“Annoying pests.”
A cold glint flashed in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes.
He channelled his saintly energy into his left leg, activating millions of divine rules, alongside fire and truth rules.
“Boom.”
Immense divine fire power erupted from his left leg, sweeping all directions, reducing everything to ash.
Even the Kun’s sturdy internal universe couldn’t withstand this force, collapsing instantly.
On the sea’s surface, the Kun’s massive body exploded.
The sea sank hundreds of feet within ten thousand miles, water evaporating and boiling.
Undead and gu insects were obliterated, leaving nothing.
The entire sea realm trembled, space destabilizing, revealing jagged spatial rifts.
“Crack.”
Yin Yuanchen couldn’t withstand the force, as if crushed by an ancient divine mountain, his body bending, the gloved hand slammed to the ground, cracking the hard floor.
“How is this possible?”
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
He hadn’t imagined Zhang Ruochen, trapped in the sea realm, could unleash such terrifying power, nearly beyond his limits.
That kick could crush a realm!
The Paradise faction powerhouses’ faces changed.
“Use the Judgement Swords, deliver a fatal blow to Zhang Ruochen,” an angel clansman with three pairs of platinum wings said gravely.
Immediately, eleven angel clansmen stepped forward.
These twelve, from the Light Temple, practised the Path of Light, less powerful than Michael or Zhou Yu but top-tier Path-Proximate experts.
Crucially, they excelled in combined attacks, wielding the Twelve Judgement Swords, surpassing even Michael when fully unleashed.
Known as the Twelve Judgement Envoys, they upheld punishment.
“Swoosh.”
Twelve radiant saint swords flew from their bodies, each inscribed with hundreds of thousands of king-grade runes, their powers merging as one.
The Twelve Judgement Swords formed a set, a supreme saint artefact, once stained with divine blood in ancient times.
“Kill.”
Urged by the envoys, the swords flew into the sea realm.
“Swish.”
Instantly, the swords multiplied—from twelve to a hundred twenty, then twelve hundred, twelve thousand.
Finally, a hundred twenty thousand.
A true convergence of swords, awe-inspiring.
Zhang Ruochen looked up, seeing not only Yin Yuanchen at the horizon but also twelve god-like figures overlooking the realm.
Facing the descending sword torrent, he squinted, raising his arm and swinging.
“Rumble.”
The sea trembled, millions of water droplets rose, shaped by sword intent into sharp saint swords, soaring skyward.
At his realm, anything could become a sword.
Moreover, his Water Path had reached perfection, combined with his perfect Sword Path, its power unfathomable.
The water-droplet swords rose like a meteor shower.
“Clang.”
The sky’s swords clashed with them, shattering continuously.
The Twelve Judgement Swords’ true forms reappeared.
Under the water swords’ assault, their radiance dimmed, king-grade runes retracting.
“Swish.”
Terrifying sword intent pierced the sea realm, striking the Twelve Judgement Envoys.
Their faces changed, bodies staggering back, spitting blood.
“How is he so strong?”
Their hearts were shocked.
They thought the sea realm’s suppression and their combined might would kill Zhang Ruochen, but the outcome was beyond their expectations.
His strength far exceeded their estimates.
