“Yue’er, your perspective on the bigger picture is far inferior to your master’s. What does this loss matter? Compared to the Origin Temple, not to mention one Goddess City, even if all one hundred and eighty buildings of the Twelve Goddess Quarters were destroyed, it would be worth it. Besides, Zhang Ruochen should already be in your master’s hands. The wealth he possesses alone far surpasses this Goddess City,” Duan Lingfeng said.
Duan Lingfeng’s mental strength was formidable, so Zhang Ruochen dared not activate the Heart of Truth or mobilise his mental power, thus unaware of what they were discussing.
“Boom!”
Suddenly, a deafening sound erupted.
In Goddess City, countless cultivators’ eardrums burst instantly, blood streaming from their ears.
A powerful pressure surged from above, crushing the city’s dao locks, great saint inscriptions, and divine patterns.
Streets and ancient buildings in the city crumbled like tofu.
The city’s protective array shattered!
The entire Goddess City began sinking slowly into the ground.
“Rumble!”
“Rumble!”
…
The destructive force unleashed by the Divine Punishment Heavenly Talisman condensed into forms like temples, ancient Buddhas, war hammers, and more, bombarding Goddess City. Each force that struck reduced vast swathes of the city to ashes.
It was as if doomsday had arrived, with figures soaring into the sky throughout the city.
All cultivators, regardless of their cultivation level, were thrown into chaos.
Screams, cries for help, and curses intertwined.
Cultivators with weaker cultivation were pinned to the ground by the talisman’s might, unable to move or escape, only able to wail in despair or weep softly.
“Is this divine punishment from the gods?”
“Everyone will die. There’s no escaping.”
“Daddy, Lingling is scared… ah…”
“Master, save me.”
…
As the divine talisman descended, whether Fish-Dragon Realm beings, saints, or saint kings, all lives were fragile. A single bolt of lightning would annihilate them, reducing them to particles.
Only great saints could barely seek survival amidst the talisman’s residual waves.
The moment the divine talisman broke the city’s protective array, Duan Lingfeng activated the spatial teleportation array in the city lord’s mansion, taking everyone away.
Zhang Ruochen did not witness the horrific scenes in Goddess City but could imagine them, his heart heavy. “If the divine talisman was indeed sent by Bai Qing’er, such ruthless and frenzied methods are truly chilling.”
Destroying a city and killing countless cultivators just to clear the Twelve Goddess Quarters of suspicion, Zhang Ruochen admitted he could not do such a thing.
The spatial teleportation array transported them to a vast, snowy plain, far from Goddess City.
Duan Lingfeng took out a crimson-gold staff, imbued with ancient charm, topped with a fist-sized turtle. Upon closer inspection, Zhang Ruochen realised the so-called staff resembled a coiled snake, covered in scales.
The snake was wrapped around the turtle.
This staff was in the form of a Black Tortoise.
Duan Lingfeng held the staff and struck the ground heavily.
A surge of energy travelled from the ground to the sky, causing the ice and snow on the surface to flutter like white petals.
The next moment, all the mental power saint masters were horrified to find the earth trembling violently and rising.
A Black Tortoise divine corpse, over two hundred miles long, broke through the ice and snow, rising from the ground, with everyone on its back.
The madness in Duan Lingfeng’s eyes intensified as he ordered, “All mental power saint masters will be arranged and deployed by me to activate the Black Tortoise Heaven-Devouring Array. You are responsible for activating the concealment array, corpse-control divine patterns, and the Great Radiance Sword on the Black Tortoise divine corpse.”
All the great saints sprang into action.
Yet, the hundreds of mental power saint masters were still in shock and fear.
Duan Lingfeng’s voice reached their ears. “All mental power cultivators, you have one quarter of an hour to find the array region corresponding to the Black Tortoise stone in your hands.”
The mental power saint masters moved, spreading to different positions on the Black Tortoise divine corpse’s back.
Duan Lingfeng sneered, thinking to himself, “Once the Black Tortoise Heaven-Devouring Array is activated, it will drain your mental power, saint souls, and blood. You will all become corpses, with only this much value. Below great saints, all are ants.”
Zhang Ruochen found the array gap corresponding to his Black Tortoise stone, placed it in, and crouched to examine the surrounding array inscriptions.
Though he had not spent much time studying the way of arrays, having refined the Heart of the Divine Tree and inherited the knowledge of the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree for an eon, plus reading many array-related texts, his understanding of arrays, while not matching that of an Earth Master, far surpassed the mental power saint masters present.
As Zhang Ruochen studied, the concealment array and corpse-control divine patterns on the Black Tortoise divine corpse were activated. The corpse stepped into the void, moving north silently at incredible speed.
After travelling about eight thousand miles, Zhang Ruochen sensed strong energy fluctuations in the air.
He gazed north.
Snowy mountains lay ahead, some flattened and charred, some burning with crimson magma boiling, others sliced, their peaks gone.
A shocking battlefield spanned tens of thousands of miles, the landscape transformed, the rules of heaven and earth disrupted, and dust formed black clouds covering the sky.
It was like entering a dark Asura killing field.
The Black Tortoise divine corpse flew into clouds a thousand feet above, hiding and halting.
All the mental power saint masters were terrified, whispering among themselves.
“This is a great saint-level battle, and more than one great saint is fighting. What’s happening on Ice King Star?”
“Goddess City is destroyed, and tens of thousands of miles here have turned to scorched earth. The sky is falling, and the earth is cracking.”
“Are we here to join the battle?”
“What’s there to fear? With the Hand of the World and many great saints present, we can crush any enemy, no matter how strong.”
…
With his demigod physique, Zhang Ruochen’s eyes pierced the clouds, seeing a shocking battle unfold ten thousand miles away. Dozens of top great saints, divided into two factions, clashed fiercely.
In that area, space was shattered, riddled with countless cracks.
Over a dozen Gates of Destiny hung in the air.
A seven-zhang-tall giant, with limbs growing from its head and no torso, flew in the void, its mouth emitting a dragon-like roar, the sound waves shaking the Gates of Destiny.
Zhang Ruochen identified him. “The leader of the Great Evolution Sect, Pang Hu.”
An eight-hundred-mile-long ghost warship flew in the air, filled with ghost soldiers and generals, adorned with thirty-six thousand yin flags, each inscribed with array patterns.
A nine-eyed ghost cultivator, dressed in white, holding a feather fan, stood at the warship’s bow, his hair trailing a thousand miles, yet he had no face.
“The leader of the Ghost Ship Alliance, Nine-Eyed Ghost Emperor.”
A temple, built from the corpses of saint-realm beings, three thousand zhang tall, crashed into a Gate of Destiny. This true divine temple, controlled by nine divine corpses, shattered the gate instantly.
In the temple sat a gaunt, ancient monkey, its hands releasing thousands of saint qi threads, manipulating the nine divine corpses.
“The strongest below the divine realm in the Undead Temple, Corpse-Eating Ape.”
…
Zhang Ruochen’s scalp tingled. Those present were the top great saints of the ten dark forces, legendary even among great saints.
Known for their fearsome reputations, few had seen them in person.
Who could have imagined these ruthless figures, who shook the Heavenly Court and the ten tribes of Hell, would all gather on Ice King Star?
It was clear without guessing that those besieged by the ten dark forces’ top powerhouses were the Destiny Temple’s enforcers, targeted for the Heavenly Pivot Needle.
Zhang Ruochen had suspected as much but hadn’t dared believe Bai Qing’er had such audacity. Moreover, she had opened two battlefields, both against top-tier forces.
“This woman is too mad, far crazier than any cultivator I’ve ever met.”
His only relief was that, though Wujian Pavilion’s cultivators were on the battlefield, Han Xue was not among them.
She was likely still in Goddess City.
Goddess City was dangerous, but with Xiao Hei there, he would surely protect her.
“Since we’re here, why hasn’t the Twelve Goddess Quarters acted? Are they waiting to reap the benefits?”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, sensing something amiss.
Seizing the Heavenly Pivot Needle was indeed crucial for the ten dark forces, and their joint action was reasonable.
But their opponent was the Destiny Temple.
The enforcers of the Destiny Division, masters of the Way of Destiny, could foresee fortune and calamity. In such circumstances, even the combined might of the ten dark forces was likely no match for the Destiny Temple.
If the world’s number one, Wuma Jiuxing, were uninjured, they might have a chance.
But without Wuma Jiuxing, their odds of success were slim.
Why would these evil overlords, who had lived for tens of thousands of years, take such a massive risk and gather for such a mad endeavour?
What gave them such confidence?
Beneath thick war clouds, Gong Nanfeng, an enforcer of the Destiny Division, sat by a fire, warming himself, and said to Prajna across from him, “Ice King Star is as cold as the legends say. My body is weak. Without the fire you brought, I’d freeze to death here.”
Prajna stood straight, gazing at the annihilated Gate of Destiny in the sky, feeling the earth’s tremors. “Freezing to death is better than being killed.”
Gong Nanfeng smiled. “I’ve calculated it. I won’t die this time. Besides, with Wuyue Life Emperor, Death High Priest, Fortune High Priest, Ferocity High Priest, and Wrath Heaven High Priest here, how could the mere ten dark forces’ cultivators harm me?”
“I have a bad feeling,” Prajna said.
The four high priests and Que, sitting by the fire, looked at her gravely.
Even Gong Nanfeng’s smile faded. “Don’t scare me.”
As the Destiny Goddess, wielding the divine power of twelve deities and having cultivated the Gate of True Self, her premonition was not mere feeling and demanded attention.
Seeing Prajna’s serious expression, Gong Nanfeng said, “I’ll calculate again.”
“Since that’s the case, let’s make this quick. First, reel in this net, then fish for the others.”
After Wuyue Life Emperor spoke, a radiant Gate of Destiny formed above his head. His body turned into a beam of light, soaring into the sky, charging at the eight-hundred-mile ghost warship.
The four high priests remained by the fire, warming themselves.
Death High Priest sipped blood wine.
Fortune High Priest squinted, lost in thought.
Wrath Heaven High Priest seemed eager to act but, glancing at the sky and seeing the Five Furies of the Undead, four Life Emperors, and the powerhouses of Fortune, Wrath, and Ferocity Divine Palaces, decided they could handle it and sat back down.
The fire burned brighter!
