“All cultivators, retreat to the perimeter. With your cultivation, facing Zhang Ruochen alone is no different from seeking death. Immediately join the two Earth Array Masters to form a combined assault array, adopting grouped defense and tiered attacks.”
Archangel King Michael, with his exceptional intellect, remained calm despite Zhang Ruochen’s slaughter causing panic among the Heaven Realm faction’s cultivators.
“Where are the Twelve Judgment Envoys? Hurry and transform into the Light of Judgment to aid me in killing Zhang Ruochen!”
“Swish! Swish! Swish…”
The sound of breaking air echoed.
The Twelve Judgment Envoys of the Light Temple transformed into twelve radiant beams of holy light, appearing beside Archangel King Michael.
Forming a battle array, they became twelve halos hovering above his head, casting down divine radiance.
“Combine!”
Michael’s aura surged, the cross-shaped wound on his chest healing at a visible rate.
Originally, his strength was about sixty percent of Yan Wushen’s evil body. But now, bolstered by the Twelve Judgment Envoys, his power multiplied.
It wasn’t a simple one-plus-one equation.
In fact, the power radiating from Michael surpassed Yan Wushen’s good body. In his current state, he could challenge Tian Gong’s Four Heavenly Kings and not fall far behind.
As one of the nine eternal divine temples, the Light Temple’s methods were beyond ordinary cultivators’ imagination.
In a sense, the Light Temple trained the Twelve Judgment Envoys specifically to elevate Michael, aiming to make him the greatest powerhouse of this era in the Heavenly Court’s myriad realms.
Yin Yuanchen, naturally envious and jealous of Michael, turned his gaze to Zhang Ruochen, sneering inwardly: “Zhang Ruochen, only by killing you can my brilliance overshadow Michael. Everything he has should’ve been mine.”
Thousands of light threads surged from Yin Yuanchen’s body, transforming into the ancient annihilating death force, pouring into the divine corpse.
The next moment, a shocking scene unfolded. Yin Yuanchen’s blood energy resonated with the divine corpse, merging them into one.
He employed a forbidden secret technique tailored by his grandfather, the “Divine Corpse Blood Nourishment Technique.”
Due to their close bloodline connection, using his holy blood to nourish the divine corpse allowed him to fully merge with it for a short time, unleashing unparalleled combat power.
“Boom.”
An overwhelmingly violent aura erupted from the divine corpse, enveloping the entire Tianchi.
At this moment, the divine corpse was Yin Yuanchen, his power surging, surpassing even Michael’s current state.
“Dare to ruin my plans, Zhang Ruochen? How do you wish to die?” the Hundred-Shackle Fallen cultivator bellowed.
As he spoke, torrential demonic energy radiated from him, causing the space around Tianchi to roil.
He was Po Mo Jun, the Black Demon Realm’s most dazzling genius a thousand years ago, with the potential to become a top-tier Great Saint.
Unfortunately, in a battle with the Hell Realm’s Rakshasa Clan Great Saint, Fan Qi Nian, his holy source was shattered, and his holy aspect broken.
Even his holy path rules, insights, and wisdom were largely obliterated by Fan Qi Nian’s Burial Fire Bell.
The holy source, a crystallization of a cultivator’s holy aspect, energy, insights, and wisdom, was destroyed, causing his realm to fall, stripping him of his Great Saint status.
Back then, Po Mo Jun had broken forty-two shackles, his future bright. The devastation of that battle was immense.
He joined the Heaven Realm faction’s plan to seize the chance to return to the Great Saint realm.
Seizing the Bloodstained Sword was an excellent opportunity, thwarted by Zhang Ruochen, fueling his rage.
Judging by his aura, Po Mo Jun surpassed both Michael and Yin Yuanchen.
This was expected—a Hundred-Shackle Great Saint, even fallen, was beyond any Saint King.
Michael, Yin Yuanchen, and Po Mo Jun, three supreme powerhouses, formed a triangular formation, encircling Zhang Ruochen, A Le, and the Bloodstained Sword.
“The Heaven Realm, as a dominant world, has a depth of resources and methods far beyond other great worlds,” Zhang Ruochen sighed, glancing at the two temples hovering in the sky. With them present, his time and space paths were completely suppressed.
This situation was highly unfavorable.
“Without time and space powers, how much of your full strength can you muster, Zhang Ruochen? Try my sword!” Michael struck first.
Under his control, the twelve Judgment Swords merged into one, slashing at Zhang Ruochen.
Having been gravely injured by Zhang Ruochen’s earlier strike, he sought to reclaim his honor.
“Whoosh—”
The Judgment Sword radiated divine light, illuminating heaven and earth, as if purifying all evil.
Neither Michael nor the Twelve Judgment Envoys had reached Great Perfection in the Path of Light, but combined, they unleashed power comparable to it.
“Even without time and space powers, you’re no match for me.”
Zhang Ruochen’s fighting spirit surged, his gaze like lightning. He soared, swinging the Ancient Abyssal Blade, unleashing a sky-piercing sword beam.
“Rumble.”
The two sword beams shattered simultaneously in midair, scattering countless sharp sword energies.
The space, thoroughly suppressed, withstood the collision of such terrifying forces without tearing.
Michael retreated over two hundred meters, planting his sword to halt his momentum.
Though he fell short in this clash, he was unharmed, boosting his confidence. He thought, “Zhang Ruochen doesn’t seem invincible.”
“Roar.”
The evil spirit roared, preparing to charge with A Le to alleviate Zhang Ruochen’s pressure.
“You’re not qualified to join this fight. Perish in body and soul!” Po Mo Jun, though fallen, retained a Great Saint’s majesty and imperial momentum. He summoned vast blood-sea demonic energy, forming a sky-shielding giant hand, striking fiercely.
Facing the earth-shattering pressure, A Le showed no fear, radiating extreme killing intent. He focused all his power into one point, thrusting his sword.
The evil spirit unleashed immense divine power, its massive python tail whipping out.
“Bang.”
The giant hand was unstoppable, sending A Le and the evil spirit flying into Tianchi.
The strike gravely injured them, their holy blood dyeing a vast area of Tianchi red, making the icy water boil.
It wasn’t their weakness but Po Mo Jun’s overwhelming strength.
A Great Saint who broke forty-two shackles was no ordinary foe.
Each shackle broken in the Hundred-Shackle realm increased an Immortal Holy Body’s power by a tenth.
Breaking ten shackles doubled one’s power.
Breaking all hundred shackles yielded a tenfold increase.
This was just physical enhancement, excluding improvements in holy path insights and control over heaven and earth’s rules and energy.
Though fallen, Po Mo Jun’s forty-two broken shackles made his Immortal Holy Body over four times stronger than a peak Immortal Great Saint’s.
Even without Great Saint power, he was not to be underestimated.
Strength compensated for his reduced realm.
“A Hundred-Shackle Fallen cultivator is indeed worlds apart from an Immortal realm Fallen one,” Zhang Ruochen thought.
Killing Tian Ling, a former peak Immortal Great Saint, took little effort, but Po Mo Jun posed significant pressure.
“Zhang Ruochen, distracted now? You truly don’t know how to write the word ‘death,’” Yin Yuanchen, merged with the divine corpse, said.
He lunged forward, slashing with the divine sword.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at him, casually summoning the Bloodstained Sword.
Vast five-element chaotic energy surged from his body, combining with truth rules to form a boundless starry sky.
The Time and Space Temples could only seal time and space, not his Path of Truth.
“Suppress!”
A sudden shout rang out.
Above Zhang Ruochen, twenty-four divine bones appeared, interwoven with intricate runes, emitting a unique power fluctuation, enveloping him.
His truth realm form trembled slightly.
“The Truth Temple is intervening too?” Zhang Ruochen’s heart sank.
It made sense—the Heaven Realm faction’s vast influence included strong forces in the Truth Temple. How else could they have obtained the secret method to form the truth realm form for Michael?
Above the clouds, a figure stood, sneering down at Zhang Ruochen.
It was Dongfang Qingyu, one of the Truth Temple’s ten divine disciples.
“As Master suspected, the Temple Master indeed taught Zhang Ruochen the secret method to form the truth realm form. These twenty-four divine bones, prepared for this, are proving useful,” Dongfang Qingyu muttered.
With his master’s twenty-four divine bones, even Zhang Ruochen’s “Cosmic Infinity” truth realm form would be suppressed, rendering it useless.
Not just the truth realm form—his Path of Truth was also sealed.
This left Zhang Ruochen like meat on a chopping block, with no power to resist.
But the next moment, Dongfang Qingyu was shocked. “What? Why isn’t Zhang Ruochen’s truth realm form suppressed?”
Zhang Ruochen’s truth realm form, different from the Truth Temple’s, combined with his Heart of Truth, couldn’t be easily sealed.
“Yin-Yang Dual Forms, Seizing Heaven’s Fortune.”
Zhang Ruochen roared, mobilizing his sword path rules, wielding both the Ancient Abyssal Blade and Bloodstained Sword to form the Two Forms Sect’s strongest sword array.
A massive Yin-Yang Taiji pattern appeared above him, rotating slowly, generating endless variations.
“Whoosh.”
Condensed sword beams shot from the pattern, attacking Yin Yuanchen and Michael simultaneously.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen drew an ancient sword hilt from the Sword Tomb, channeling holy energy to form a slender blade, striking at Po Mo Jun.
In his eyes, Po Mo Jun was the primary threat.
Facing the suppression of three divine temples’ disciples and the assaults of three supreme powerhouses, Zhang Ruochen, a Saint King, still launched an attack—a feat unprecedented.
Po Mo Jun sneered, “Since you’re so eager to die, I’ll oblige.”
His body swelled, becoming a hundred-zhang giant. His demonic might grew, dazzling demonic light radiating from his limbs, flowing like dragons and snakes—the power of the forty-two shackles he broke in the Hundred-Shackle realm.
The hundred shackles were distributed across the body.
Like forging an Immortal Holy Body, breaking shackles progressed from easier to harder.
Human cultivators had ten shackles in each limb, relatively easier to break. Po Mo Jun had broken all limb shackles, fully unlocking his body’s four extremities.
“Heavenly Demon Sky-Tearing Hand.”
“Crack.”
Po Mo Jun’s giant hand grabbed Zhang Ruochen’s sword beam, crushing it.
His hand then struck at Zhang Ruochen.
“Bang.”
Despite the divine sword’s defense, Zhang Ruochen retreated a dozen steps, his aura slightly disrupted.
“Such strength,” Zhang Ruochen thought.
As Po Mo Jun attacked again, Zhang Ruochen struck with a palm, mobilizing millions of rules and activating the Fire God Armor’s power.
Facing such a formidable foe, he had to be cautious and go all out.
From his palm, a cyan divine dragon soared, growing larger, its body ablaze, raising Tianchi’s temperature sharply.
“Boom.”
Po Mo Jun’s fierce assault was blocked.
“Take another palm!”
Zhang Ruochen roared, unleashing vast holy energy, forming a domineering palm print that could shatter heaven and earth.
“Boom! Boom!”
Zhang Ruochen and Po Mo Jun clashed fiercely, neither holding back, engaging in an all-out battle.
…
Seeing Zhang Ruochen fight three powerhouses without falling behind, the Heaven Realm faction cultivators whispered, their hearts pounding.
A mere Saint King, yet so hard to kill.
If he reached the Great Saint realm, what then?
Young Master Yaotian’s gaze turned to the Primordial Divine Temple, a cold glint in his eyes. “We must capture Chi Kongle quickly.”
To prevent surprises, securing Chi Kongle as a trump card was essential.
Immediately, several leaders, including Young Master Yaotian, entered the temple.
Sensing their intent, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady and the Seventy-Two Palace Saintesses protected Chi Kongle.
Xue Wuye joined the other five World Sons at the front, ready to face the enemy, whether as a mantis against a chariot or an egg against a rock.
They wouldn’t shirk their duty.
Having refined the Divine Wood Heart, Xue Wuye’s vitality and recovery were exceptional, far surpassing other Saint Kings.
Though gravely injured by King Fangze, he was now mostly recovered.
Young Master Yaotian looked at the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady, sighing, “Why bother? Kunlun Realm’s fall is inevitable. No resistance will change that—just pointless sacrifice. You’ve seen the Heaven Realm faction’s power. Even if Zhang Ruochen is formidable, can he break the three temples’ suppression? Can he defeat two Earth Array Masters and hundreds of top Saint Kings? He’s human—he’ll tire, exhaust, and burn out.”
“Surrender and come with me to the Tianquan Great World. That’s the wisest choice.”
“Swish.”
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady raised her holy sword, pointing at Young Master Yaotian. “Yaotian, if you want to be a dog, don’t assume others do. Claiming to help Kunlun Realm while colluding with the Heaven Realm to destroy it—how can the upright Nine Radiance Divine Lord have such a despicable descendant?”
Martial Saint Canglan’s fiery temper, unlike the refined Sacred Book Lady, expressed her emotions directly.
From the start, she despised Young Master Yaotian, now loathing him to the point of wanting to tear him apart.
Young Master Yaotian remained unfazed, smiling faintly. “The wise adapt to the times. History is written by winners—who cares what methods you use to achieve your goals?”
“Enough. Stop resisting. I don’t want to hurt you. As for these court members, if they surrender, I can ensure their survival.”
“Pretty boy, what nonsense are you spouting? It stinks! My Master Chen is Kunlun Realm’s unyielding spine, forever holding up the sky. Once he wipes them out, you’re next,” Swallowing Elephant Rabbit taunted.
Young Master Yaotian’s eyes flashed with killing intent. “What a sharp-tongued beast. Insulting me never ends well. Attack—except for Chi Kongle and the Nine Heavens Mysterious Lady, spare none.”
