Chi Kongle clenched her snow-white teeth, staring at Zhang Ruochen’s figure in the distance.
Witnessing the upheaval in Ziwei Palace and the deaths of so many court powerhouses had a profound impact on her heart.
She wasn’t unafraid, but she dared not show it. As the daughter of Zhang Ruochen and Empress Chi Yao, how could she display weakness in the face of great enemies?
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady’s gaze was complex, a quiet sigh in her heart. Zhang Ruochen had, as expected, reached the Primordial Divine Temple.
It all seemed fated!
…
Zhang Ruochen’s long hair fluttered, standing resolutely, facing the Heaven Realm faction powerhouses radiating holy light with a domineering presence.
His eyes gleamed with killing intent.
Had he arrived a moment later, Chi Kongle would have fallen into King Fangze’s hands.
“As the dominant world of the Western Universe, is this the Heaven Realm’s conduct? Do you even know the true duty of a ruling world?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Archangel King Michael’s eyes narrowed, his voice low. “Zhang Ruochen, you’re not qualified to judge the Heaven Realm.”
“Not just a mere Saint King, even a god wouldn’t dare rashly comment on the Heaven Realm,” a cultivator beside him said arrogantly.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze swept the surroundings, taking in the Heaven Realm powerhouses. “There are nearly five hundred Saint Kings here, all exceptional talents. At least half could reach the Great Saint realm in the future, I reckon. If they all die here, the great worlds behind you will lose an entire era.”
“I’ll give you one chance. Kneel now and surrender. I’ll report everything here to Moon God, and Tian Gong will handle it. Fair enough?”
This wasn’t a call to surrender.
It was humiliation.
The Heaven Realm faction powerhouses’ eyes burned with anger.
Kneel?
How arrogant!
“Zhang Ruochen, are you truly naive or just pretending? The one who should be kneeling and begging is you. But even if you beg, it’s useless—you must die here today,” Xu Tianjing, the new Sword God Realm leader, sneered.
Wu Xin Evil Lord stepped out from the temple, his face full of sinister amusement. “Zhang Ruochen, after your death, this Evil Lord will refine you into the perfect evil corpse. I’m truly looking forward to it.”
Other Heaven Realm faction powerhouses also radiated killing intent, eager to kill Zhang Ruochen themselves—a feat that would earn great merit.
“I’ve given you your chance. Since you won’t kneel, don’t blame me for unleashing a massacre,” Zhang Ruochen said, his killing intent growing thicker.
“Believe it or not, half of you will die before even touching a corner of my robe?”
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen flipped his hand, producing the Sundial, and channeled a million time rules into it.
Simultaneously, he activated the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*, drawing vast divine essence from the divine sun formed by the Seven-Star Divine Ling’s sun leaf.
This divine essence was enough to briefly unleash the Sundial’s power.
“Whoosh.”
In an instant, the Sundial radiated an indescribable charm, enveloped in a layer of cyan light, releasing countless light points that formed a ribbon, surging toward the Heaven Realm faction powerhouses.
Each light point was a time imprint.
A grand illusory river of time appeared, resonating with the Sundial.
Where the cyan ribbon passed, time became chaotic, distorting space and time.
“God-Devouring Insects.”
Simultaneously, Zhang Ruochen opened the Qiankun Realm, releasing a flood of blue firelight, swiftly rushing toward the faction’s powerhouses.
Each blue firelight was a God-Devouring Insect, countless in number, some as small as a fingernail, others as large as a fist, a basin, or even a millstone, capable of devouring everything.
God-Devouring Insects were extremely hard to tame.
Since acquiring the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree’s trunk, Zhang Ruochen had rarely used them.
Now, with his cultivation at the peak of the Saint King realm and the new sprout of the divine tree growing rapidly, he could finally control vast numbers of these insects.
In such a group battle, their effect was maximized.
“Ah…”
“Save me, my divine inscriptions are burned through!”
“My hair’s turned white? Wrinkles on my hands!”
…
The Heaven Realm faction cultivators let out piercing screams.
Whether young and beautiful or dashing and heroic, those struck by time imprints aged thousands of years in an instant, their vitality drained, dying in despair.
Others, attacked by God-Devouring Insects, burned to ash before they could evade.
“Swish.”
Zhang Ruochen, wielding the Ancient Abyssal Blade, strode forward.
At this moment, he was like an unrivaled god of slaughter, his sword drawing blood with every strike, mercilessly reaping the lives of the Heaven Realm faction powerhouses.
“Pfft.”
With one swing, Xu Tianjing, the Sword God Realm’s new leader, was beheaded.
Xu Tianjing’s eyes widened, filled with terror and unwillingness.
A Saint King’s vitality was strong, but Zhang Ruochen’s strike obliterated all his life force, extinguishing his holy soul.
“Can’t even block one sword, yet you dare boast before me.”
Without pausing, Zhang Ruochen flashed to Wu Xin Evil Lord’s front.
Wu Xin Evil Lord was shocked, raising his skull staff, releasing vast evil energy and summoning over a dozen evil corpses to shield him.
“Pfft.”
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze was indifferent, using his sword soul to wield the blade, unleashing thousands of sharp sword energies, shredding the evil corpses and dissipating all the evil energy.
“How…”
Wu Xin Evil Lord stared at Zhang Ruochen, his brow pierced by the Ancient Abyssal Blade, leaving a wine-cup-sized blood hole.
The supreme sword intent entered his body, instantly annihilating his holy soul.
In his final moment, Wu Xin Evil Lord was filled with regret. Had he known, he would never have targeted the Sacred Book Lady or provoked Zhang Ruochen.
Or rather, he shouldn’t have come to the Kunlun Realm battlefield at all.
Zhang Ruochen was no mere Saint King—more terrifying than many Great Saints.
“Roar.”
With an earth-shaking roar, the evil spirit carrying A Le soared into the clouds, joining the battle.
“Pfft.”
Heads flew, holy blood splattered.
“Fifteen.”
“Sixteen.”
“Seventeen.”
…
A Le, expressionless, struck with one sword after another, each killing one foe.
He showed no mercy to the Heaven Realm faction powerhouses.
“Your turn!”
Zhang Ruochen flashed to Archangel King Michael’s front.
The rules and holy energy of heaven and earth surged, forming a cross-shaped sword beam, slashing directly at him.
Michael’s pupils constricted, hurriedly summoning a holy shield to block, not daring to face Zhang Ruochen head-on.
His strength was formidable, just below Yin Yuanchen, roughly sixty percent of Yan Wushen’s evil body’s power.
Such strength allowed him to dominate below the Great Saint level, capable of killing the weakest Immortal Great Saints with ease.
Yet, facing Zhang Ruochen, Michael lacked any confidence.
Having seen Zhang Ruochen cross the Sea of Truth, he knew the gap between them, his confidence nearly shattered.
The holy shield radiated brilliant light, its surface interwoven with countless light rules, its defense astonishing.
“Bang.”
Struck by the cross-shaped sword beam, the shield’s light dimmed.
A powerful force passed through, sending Michael crashing into the Primordial Divine Temple, a cross-shaped wound on his chest, holy blood gushing.
“Pfft.”
Michael spat a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with shock.
He knew Zhang Ruochen was strong, but not this strong—a Saint King with such terrifying power was unimaginable.
Glancing into the temple, Zhang Ruochen’s eyes flashed with a strange light.
Inside, someone was suppressing the Bloodstained Sword.
The figure spread their hands, releasing dozens of peculiar chains that enveloped the sword, gradually binding it, clearly intent on seizing it.
“Clang! Clang! Clang…”
The Bloodstained Sword trembled, unable to break free.
Zhang Ruochen knew the sword’s immense power, surpassing eighty percent of Yan Wushen’s evil body, stronger than Yin Yuanchen.
Given its unique nature, even Yan Wushen’s evil body couldn’t easily suppress it, let alone seize it.
“Another Fallen Realm cultivator, and… fallen from the Hundred-Shackle realm,” Zhang Ruochen thought.
Compared to Tian Ling, the Immortal realm Fallen cultivator he’d killed, this one was far stronger, having fallen from the Hundred-Shackle realm, likely retaining its techniques.
This figure seemed shrouded in mist, even Zhang Ruochen’s Eyes of Truth struggled to see through.
He wouldn’t let the Bloodstained Sword be taken. Gripping the Ancient Abyssal Blade’s hilt, he slashed, unleashing a peerless edge.
“Crack.”
All chains binding the Bloodstained Sword snapped instantly.
Seizing the chance, the sword broke free, transforming into a blood light, flying to Zhang Ruochen’s side.
“Zhang Ruochen, you’re courting death.”
The Hundred-Shackle Fallen cultivator’s eyes blazed with anger, radiating terrifying killing intent.
Had Zhang Ruochen not interfered, he could have seized the sword soon.
Taking Empress Chi Yao’s divine weapon would make him renowned across myriad realms and allow him to trade with gods for a supreme holy pill to restore his Great Saint realm.
“Buzz.”
At that moment, the clouds parted above, revealing two grand temples.
Both towering like stars, they hung in the sky, each suppressing a direction.
A powerful time force and a potent spatial force emanated from the temples, enveloping the oasis below.
Instantly, the Sundial’s power was suppressed, its light points vanishing, returning to calm.
The God-Devouring Insects were also confined by spatial force, as if stuck in a quagmire, unable to move.
Zhang Ruochen looked up at the temples, faintly seeing dozens of powerhouses seated within, releasing countless time and space rules, activating the temples’ immense power to suppress heaven and earth.
“The Time Temple and Space Temple have finally joined in earnest. It seems the Heaven Realm faction planned countermeasures against me long ago,” Zhang Ruochen’s eyes gleamed coldly.
Though he had some grudges with the Space Temple, it hadn’t sent overly strong powerhouses against him before.
As for the Time Temple, he’d never interacted with them, let alone held grudges.
But Zhang Ruochen understood that their targeting him was surely tied to Saint Monk Xumi and his identity as a Time and Space Controller.
In the Middle Ages, Saint Monk Xumi shone too brightly in time and space, surpassing all in both temples, shaming them.
After his fall, the temples sought his resting place to claim his legacy.
They found nothing.
Now, they turned their attention to Zhang Ruochen.
The *Secret Tome of Time and Space* was something both temples coveted.
He could clearly sense that Tianchi’s space was completely sealed, time isolated, meaning he couldn’t use time or space techniques here.
Zhang Ruochen, with the Bloodstained Sword, temporarily retreated to the evil spirit’s head, recalling the God-Devouring Insects and Sundial.
Clearly, the two temples were the faction’s prepared trump cards against him.
But they hadn’t anticipated his sudden assault, catching the temple powerhouses off guard, and activating the temples took time.
In that brief gap, nearly a hundred faction powerhouses died, including top ninth-step Saint Kings like Wu Xin Evil Lord and Xu Tianjing, resulting in heavy losses.
Holy blood stained Ziwei Palace red.
The air was thick with blood.
Saint King blood, rich in energy, turned to flames upon hitting the ground, burning fiercely.
The remaining faction cultivators’ faces were grim.
This outcome was entirely unexpected.
The Hundred-Shackle Fallen cultivator stepped out of the temple, his killing intent fixed on Zhang Ruochen.
Michael, dragging his wounded body, approached, his gaze icy.
“Swish.”
A host of powerhouses soared into the clouds, unhindered, entering the Tianchi oasis.
After a brief delay, Yin Yuanchen and others caught up, sealing all escape routes.
Thus, the faction formed a pincer attack on Zhang Ruochen, A Le, and the Bloodstained Sword.
Inside the temple, the court’s powerhouses were stunned, many excited, as if seeing sunlight in an abyss.
But some frowned.
Even with Zhang Ruochen’s massacre of many faction powerhouses, they couldn’t be optimistic, knowing the faction’s means were far from exhausted.
Especially now, with the Time and Space Temples acting, sealing time and space, Zhang Ruochen’s strength would be greatly diminished. How could he continue fighting the faction?
“Master Chen’s mighty! Slaughter these Heaven Realm faction scum, spare none!” Swallowing Elephant Rabbit shouted excitedly.
While shouting, it opened its massive dragon maw, swallowing King Fangze’s halved body.
A top powerhouse near the first tier below Great Saint, her flesh rich in energy, was too nourishing to waste.
It also claimed King Fangze’s holy stele, suppressing it with mental power, eagerly collecting the spoils without any courtesy to Zhang Ruochen.
In such a grim situation, only it remained so carefree, as if oblivious to the growing danger.
