The Purifying Divine Fire, supremely masculine and domineering, was the polar opposite of the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Flame. It surged wildly from Zhang Ruochen’s body, as if ready to sweep the heavens and incinerate all things in the world.
*Boom.*
The two flames clashed, producing a piercing sound.
Under Zhang Ruochen’s control, the Purifying Divine Fire transformed into a massive phoenix, breaking through all obstacles and soaring high.
Large swathes of space warped under the intense heat.
Even the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Flame couldn’t withstand the Purifying Divine Fire’s refinement, dissipating into nothingness.
Zhang Ruochen stomped his left foot, summoning over a million crimson divine rules, releasing a torrent of fiery divine power.
*Boom.*
The Purifying Divine Fire’s might surged, the fire phoenix growing larger and more solid, each feather vividly distinct.
The Flame God mastered the path of fire, and among his three divine flames was the Purifying Divine Fire.
Thus, using the power of the Flame God’s leg amplified the Purifying Divine Fire, fully unleashing its terrifying potential.
*Whoosh.*
The fire phoenix shot skyward, tearing apart the fiery storm Yuhuang had conjured. Countless wind blades and Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Flames scattered in all directions, resembling a celestial maiden scattering flowers, strikingly beautiful.
Zhang Ruochen stood atop the fire phoenix’s head, hands behind his back, overlooking the world like a true god descended.
In the Vast Sea Villa, many undead blood clan cultivators were stunned.
“How is this possible? Even with Emperor-level Purifying Divine Fire, how can Zhang Ruochen, at his current cultivation, be this strong?”
“His Purifying Divine Fire contains true divine power, far from ordinary.”
“It’s said that in the Saint King realm, Zhang Ruochen had already cultivated the Purifying Divine Fire to Emperor level. When breaking through to Great Saint, his Fusion Path Tribulation involved merging with the fire path rules of heaven and earth, tempered by their baptism, giving him an innate advantage.”
“Mastering Emperor-level Purifying Divine Fire in the Saint King realm is exceedingly rare throughout history. No wonder Zhang Ruochen is called a peerless genius born once in an eon.”
…
Suppressing Yuhuang’s Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Flame with fire was something that shouldn’t have happened, yet Zhang Ruochen achieved it, earning admiration.
Typically, even Immortal realm cultivators with Purifying Divine Fire rarely transformed it into Emperor level.
Yuhuang remained composed, showing no panic. Her earlier move was merely a test; Zhang Ruochen countering it was no great matter.
With a flick of her hand, Yuhuang placed the Blood-Jade Flute to her lips, playing slowly.
A soothing, melodious flute sound rang out, clearly reaching every cultivator’s ears.
Upon hearing it, some weaker cultivators involuntarily fell into a trance, enraptured.
Zhang Ruochen’s experience was entirely different.
As the flute sounded, he felt unease, his blood energy surging uncontrollably.
Most alarmingly, his saint soul trembled, faintly showing signs of leaving his body.
For some reason, Zhang Ruochen felt drowsy, his body and mind inexplicably fatigued.
The next moment, he was pulled into a strange world, dim and violently distorted, where everything seemed like fleeting illusions, constantly shattering.
Even with his mental fortitude, he struggled to discern whether this world was real or illusory.
*Whoosh.*
A dark vortex appeared, spinning and swallowing everything, growing larger.
A strange force seeped into Zhang Ruochen’s body, latching onto his saint soul and will, pulling them toward the vortex.
“Soul-Seizing Flute, *Dirge of Fallen Souls*, life and death are but helpless fate.”
Many cultivators recalled this phrase.
The Soul-Seizing Flute was the Blood-Jade Flute in Yuhuang’s hands, a remarkable treasure once belonging to an ancient god.
Yuhuang had once stumbled into a perilous place, not only surviving but also fortuitously obtaining the Soul-Seizing Flute and inheriting the *Dirge of Fallen Souls* from it.
Legend held that when that ancient god played the *Dirge of Fallen Souls* with the Soul-Seizing Flute, all beings in a great world would lose their souls, even gods affected.
Yuhuang’s mastery was far from that ancient god’s, but her performance was still formidable, daunting even Thousand-Inquiry realm powerhouses.
Having tested Zhang Ruochen’s strength, Yuhuang held nothing back, unleashing her truly fearsome technique.
Fortunately, she targeted only Zhang Ruochen, or many cultivators in the Vast Sea Villa would have fallen victim, their lives no longer their own.
Zhang Ruochen was slightly startled. “What eerie flute music, numbing the senses and eroding mental will.”
The soul-destroying power was insidious, pervasive, and hard to resist. A moment’s lapse in mental fortitude would plunge one into endless darkness.
Despite Zhang Ruochen’s formidable mental will, he briefly faltered. The fire phoenix beneath him lost control, collapsing into raging Purifying Divine Fire.
Suddenly, the flute music conjured a skeletal figure, half-real, half-illusory, wielding a demonic blade, slashing at Zhang Ruochen.
Simultaneously, the scattered Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Flames reformed, now visibly different, as if imbued with life. They transformed into ghostly lotuses, arranged in a specific formation around Zhang Ruochen.
“Is Yuhuang trying to kill Zhang Ruochen?”
Some cultivators thought as much.
With the *Dirge of Fallen Souls* and the Ghostly Lotus Soul-Devouring Array, it seemed she aimed to end him.
Even if Zhang Ruochen survived, he’d likely suffer unimaginable injuries, damaging his cultivation foundation.
To act so boldly within the Xue Jue Family, Yuhuang’s audacity was astonishing, almost reckless.
At this point, few believed Zhang Ruochen could withstand Yuhuang’s killing move. The battle seemed all but concluded.
Zhang Ruochen stood motionless in mid-air, as if fully enthralled by the *Dirge of Fallen Souls*.
“Steadfast as the earth, the wrathful Bright King shatters the nine heavens.”
At the moment the skeleton’s blade descended, Zhang Ruochen roared inwardly.
In that instant, his mental will erupted with unparalleled sharpness, unstoppable.
*Crack.*
The blade and skeleton shattered together.
A thousand-li-tall Immovable Bright King saint phantom appeared, exuding majesty, subduing all demons.
Purifying Divine Fire swirled around the phantom, shattering the Ghostly Lotus Soul-Devouring Array with a gesture.
*Roar.*
The Immovable Bright King saint phantom let out a long howl, shaking the heavens, suppressing all sounds into silence.
*Bang.*
Yuhuang’s body trembled, letting out a muffled groan, staggering back a step.
Fixing her gaze on the Immovable Bright King saint phantom, Yuhuang’s eyes showed a trace of shock. The howl not only disrupted the *Dirge of Fallen Souls* but also caused her some backlash, her mental will quaking.
She never imagined a saint phantom could wield such power.
“It’s because of that will.”
Xue Tu suddenly understood.
During Zhang Ruochen’s baptism in the Ancient Nether Blood Spring, his bloodline power awakened, manifesting a towering figure that even alarmed the true body of the Xue Jue Family’s ancestor.
Though a saint phantom now appeared, Xue Tu faintly sensed the aura of that will.
With such a powerful will, breaking the *Dirge of Fallen Souls* was no challenge.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze was calm, unruffled. He urged the Immovable Bright King saint phantom to form a profound palm seal, striking at Yuhuang.
Yuhuang hurriedly played the Soul-Seizing Flute, releasing countless rules and Great Saint power, conjuring a massive dark demonic mountain to block the attack.
The Soul-Seizing Flute was an extraordinary treasure with boundless uses.
*Boom.*
The demonic mountain shattered, unable to resist the Immovable Bright King saint phantom.
Yuhuang swiftly retreated at incredible speed, dodging the attack.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t relent, fully driving the Immovable Bright King saint phantom to press Yuhuang, giving her no respite.
Having cultivated the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture* to the ninth level, and awakening a strand of the Immovable Bright King Grand Venerable’s will in the Ancient Nether Blood Spring, Zhang Ruochen had truly grasped the scripture’s profound essence, unlocking more techniques.
Just moments ago, as the Immovable Bright King saint phantom merged with that will, Zhang Ruochen’s mind inexplicably gained obscure knowledge, seemingly a special inheritance.
He hadn’t yet had time to comprehend it.
Even without the Grand Venerable’s will, Zhang Ruochen’s own resilient will could have resisted the *Dirge of Fallen Souls*.
However, shattering it so decisively would have been unlikely.
After all, this was Yuhuang’s ultimate killing move, feared even by Thousand-Inquiry realm powerhouses, not easily countered.
Seeing Yuhuang’s killing move broken and her falling into a disadvantage, the tide turning sharply, many cultivators showed astonishment, scarcely believing their eyes.
At that moment, Gu Chenzi flashed from the Floating Island, appearing on the battlefield.
“Let me test your skills.”
As he spoke, Gu Chenzi’s body shook, a torrent of bloodfiend energy surging. Billions of rules intertwined, forming a thousand-li-tall majestic figure with eight silver wings, identical to Gu Chenzi.
This was Gu Chenzi’s cultivated saint phantom, incredibly solid, almost like a true body.
*Bang.*
Gu Chenzi’s saint phantom clashed with the Immovable Bright King saint phantom in a palm strike, unleashing terrifying forces that rippled outward.
Both saint phantoms staggered back several steps, creating distance.
Each of the “Three Wonders of Blood Heaven” had their strengths. Great Saint Yi Xuan had the most formidable physique, like Zhang Ruochen, achieving Great Saint-level physical strength, with few daring to clash with him directly.
Yuhuang was renowned for her unpredictable techniques, capable of killing invisibly.
Gu Chenzi’s greatest strength was his saint phantom, refined through secret teachings of the Undead Temple, forming an immensely powerful Undead Saint Phantom, capable of wielding the temple’s secret techniques.
*Whoosh.*
Gu Chenzi’s Undead Saint Phantom formed a strange seal, sending countless blood-red chains toward the Immovable Bright King saint phantom.
The Immovable Bright King saint phantom waved a hand, transforming Purifying Divine Fire into fire dragons that surged forth.
The Purifying Divine Fire incinerated everything. No matter how strange the blood-red chains, they couldn’t resist, melting away.
Elsewhere, a blood sea emerged, its towering waves crashing toward the Immovable Bright King saint phantom.
“Bright King Suppresses the Nine Heavens.”
Zhang Ruochen growled, his hand seals shifting instantly.
Above the Immovable Bright King saint phantom, the sky churned, vast heavenly rules and saintly energy converging rapidly, forming nine solid, expansive heavens.
An indescribable power bolstered the phantom, its pressure overwhelming the world.
No matter how the blood waves surged, they couldn’t approach the phantom, gradually subsiding.
Gu Chenzi’s eyes narrowed, unprepared for the Immovable Bright King saint phantom’s overwhelming strength, far beyond his expectations.
It was hard to believe Zhang Ruochen was still in the Immortal realm.
*Roar.*
The Undead Saint Phantom let out a low growl, condensing countless rules, drawing eerie forces from heaven and earth, and pointing a finger to kill.
A terrifying finger seal appeared, interwoven with strange secret runes. Upon emerging, it pierced space, dissolving all spatial fragments.
“Blood-Melting Nether Finger.”
A high-tier saint technique from the Undead Temple, its power maximised when cast by a saint phantom, provided the phantom could withstand the finger’s force.
The Blood-Melting Nether Finger could reduce all beings to pus and blood, ruthlessly cruel, inflicting immense pain even if it didn’t kill.
“God-Demon Prison Suppression.”
The Immovable Bright King saint phantom transformed into an unrivalled god-demon, head touching the nine heavens, feet treading the underworld, incomparably majestic.
After mastering the thirteenth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, Zhang Ruochen spent time cultivating the fourth level of God-Demon Prison Suppression, also reaching the Hundred-Shackle high-tier saint technique level.
Like the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, God-Demon Prison Suppression had clear cultivation methods. With comprehension of its essence and the requisite foundation, success was achievable.
With his powerful Immovable Bright King saint phantom, cultivating the fourth level of God-Demon Prison Suppression was natural for Zhang Ruochen.
*Boom.*
The Blood-Melting Nether Finger shattered, its eerie forces scattering.
Several of the nine heavens above the Immovable Bright King saint phantom were pierced, countless saint path rules dissipating.
The Immovable Bright King saint phantom staggered back, reeling from the immense impact, struggling to stabilise.
Gu Chenzi’s Undead Saint Phantom was flung backward, nearly shattering.
The backlash struck Gu Chenzi, shaking his mind, his blood energy surging violently, nearly forcing him to cough up saint blood.
Though Zhang Ruochen felt the impact, he stood tall, unmoved, the difference clear.
“Another Hundred-Shackle high-tier saint technique. Is Zhang Ruochen really just at the Immortal realm?”
“Mastering two Hundred-Shackle high-tier saint techniques in the Immortal realm, with a saint phantom surpassing Gu Chenzi, he’s a monster.”
“It seems Yuhuang and Gu Chenzi can’t stop Zhang Ruochen from becoming the Blood Heaven Tribe’s leader. Imagine how strong he’ll be in the Hundred-Shackle realm.”
“Physique surpassing Yi Xuan, mental will stronger than Yuhuang, saint phantom overpowering Gu Chenzi, no wonder Zhang Ruochen is called a peerless genius born once in an eon.”
…
Witnessing such a battle, no one could remain calm.
The “Three Wonders of Blood Heaven” defeated by one person in a single day was unthinkable, unimaginable before.
Yet it happened, witnessed by countless cultivators, even observed by gods.
Once word spread, it would cause a sensation in the Blood Heaven Tribe and the entire undead blood clan.
Everyone understood it wasn’t that Yuhuang and Gu Chenzi were weak, but that Zhang Ruochen was incomprehensibly strong, defying conventional judgment.
