Soon, Zhang Ruochen realised that the Xumi Temple had not stopped here intentionally. In the River of Time ahead, violent energy fluctuations, including time mysteries, blocked the path forward.
These time mysteries were even stronger than those in the Xumi Temple.
Time became utterly chaotic here.
In Zhang Ruochen’s vision, the River of Time soon vanished, and the Xumi Temple floated in the boundless, pitch-black universe.
A colossal phoenix, its outline too vast to fully discern, flew over the temple. Even a single feather was thousands of miles long. Empowered by divine force, the light from one feather outshone a star.
Merely glancing at it, Zhang Ruochen’s eyes bled, and over a million of his cultivated Truth Rules snapped.
This was a peerless powerhouse, too mighty to even look upon!
Every strand of light it emitted carried extreme divine power of death.
Zhang Ruochen had encountered great figures in the Divine Realm, like the Island Lord of Death God and the Dragon Lord.
But the versions of them he met were not in full combat mode. Otherwise, a single wisp of their aura could have killed him countless times.
Zhang Ruochen regretted his curiosity, cursing himself for using the Eye of Truth to look.
Without invoking the Truth Rules, he might not have been so gravely injured.
But without them, with his current cultivation, he couldn’t have discerned that the figure above was a phoenix. The gap in their power was indescribable.
“Boom!”
A deafening sound struck, rupturing Zhang Ruochen’s newly healed eardrums again.
…
A divine battle capable of affecting the River of Time was unimaginably terrifying.
The Thousand-Bone Empress had already awakened from her cultivation. Even with her cultivation and composure, her face was pale as she said, “Such powerful time mystery fluctuations, no wonder they can shake the River of Time. No…”
“How could so many time mysteries linger in the past?”
Zhang Ruochen and the Empress hid in separate corners of the Xumi Temple, but they soon realised their caution was unnecessary. The warring deities hadn’t noticed the temple.
Clearly, the temple’s space mysteries were at work.
“Shine!”
Suddenly, a soft golden Buddhist light illuminated the entire cosmic space.
Zhang Ruochen’s burning, painful eyes recovered, no longer blind, feeling a cool relief.
Thick divine voices, filled with urgency, echoed from all directions: “Everyone, strike together, hold nothing back. The bald Xumi is breaking through.”
A divine figure from the Immortal Blood Clan, with eighteen pairs of blood wings, stood in a vast sea of blood clouds, its body towering countless miles high, shouting, “Stop him, fight!”
“If Xumi breaks through, the Hell Realm will pay a heavy price,” said a withered, short old man from the Death Clan, his death aura thicker than the phoenix’s, his skin, hair, and teeth all blue.
…
Perhaps because the Buddhist light was non-hostile, Zhang Ruochen regained his sight. Far in the distance, he saw the Holy Monk Xumi seated cross-legged.
Beneath him floated a golden Buddhist cloud, his body radiating sacred energy.
Behind him was the battered Kunlun Realm. Zhang Ruochen could even see its continental outlines, mountain ranges, rivers, and shimmering seas.
The blue old man, wielding immense spiritual power, held a pen, sketching in the void, altering spatial patterns, summoning an entire star domain to press down on Xumi, suppressing his space.
This was a true star domain, with countless stars shining, planets orbiting, and Hell Realm deities landing on the stars, unleashing divine techniques that rained down.
The techniques fell like rain, piercing Xumi’s Buddhist light, engulfing him.
Such a spectacle shook Zhang Ruochen’s heart, his eyes bloodshot with frustration at his own weakness, unable to stand under the divine might or join the battle.
If he had any strength, he would fight alongside Xumi.
Unnoticed by him, the blood from his eyes and ears dripped onto the “Six Patriarchs Explaining Zen” painting.
The six patriarchs seemed to come alive, their lips moving, emitting Buddhist chants.
Only Zhang Ruochen could hear these chants, but they were too faint, drowned by the booming sounds from beyond.
The “Six Patriarchs” referred to the sixth Buddha born in Buddhism’s history, one of the twenty-four heavens from three hundred thousand years ago.
“Boom!”
The rain of divine techniques left countless wounds on Xumi.
The death-aura phoenix tore through the Buddhist cloud with a claw, striking Xumi’s head, cracking his skull, blood flowing from his seven orifices.
“Spurt!”
The Immortal Blood Clan deity with eighteen blood wings hurled a divine-grade spear, piercing Xumi’s abdomen, shattering his golden body.
The spear flew out his back, trailing a stream of golden blood.
The Immortal Blood deity swept its sleeve, swallowing all the golden Buddhist blood, laughing loudly.
Yet Xumi did not die, his broken body still seated in the void, guarding the tattered Kunlun Realm.
Tears streamed from the Empress’s eyes. Unable to bear it, despite knowing death was certain, she transformed into a divine light, rushing out of the temple.
Before reaching the gate, a divine energy wave surged, striking her, sending her crashing back into the hall with a muffled thud.
Even someone as strong as the Empress was as frail as a straw figure in such a divine battle.
Though Zhang Ruochen knew the outcome of this battle, he was overwhelmed with grief, yearning for greater power like never before.
“Xumi, stop struggling. I’ll devour your time mysteries first. Henceforth, the universe’s time will be mine to command,” said Xiuchen Heavenly God.
From a star in the domain suppressing Xumi, a bright light flew out.
Zhang Ruochen knew this deity well: Xiuchen Heavenly God.
Ten thousand years ago, Xiuchen was not a mere divine soul but a top-tier Asura deity. Descending, it caused time marks to manifest, forming a radiant Sea of Time.
The Sea of Time’s brilliance rivalled the phoenix’s.
Xiuchen spat out a divine pearl.
The pearl hovered at the Sea of Time’s centre, forming a massive vortex, endlessly absorbing Xumi’s time mysteries.
As it absorbed, Xiuchen laughed, “I refined my divine source into a divine artifact, the Time Source Pearl, to counter you and devour your time mysteries.”
“Henceforth, there will be no Xumi, only Xiuchen Heavenly God, no, the Lord of Time. With your time mysteries, I’ll become the Asura Clan’s greatest powerhouse.”
Seeing Xiuchen’s arrogance, Zhang Ruochen burned with rage.
Xiuchen was indeed mighty, seizing Xumi’s time mysteries, but daring to call itself the Lord of Time? If Zhang Ruochen hadn’t seen it beaten by the Blood Absolute War God ten thousand years later, he might have believed it!
In his anger, Zhang Ruochen didn’t notice he was resisting the divine might, standing up. Nor did he see his body enveloped by the Buddhist light from the “Six Patriarchs Explaining Zen” painting.
“Fight!”
A long cry echoed from the hall beside him.
What followed stunned Zhang Ruochen. Xumi’s broken body walked out, radiating Buddhist light and immense divine might.
No!
It wasn’t Xumi, but the Thousand-Bone Empress.
At Xumi’s brow, Zhang Ruochen saw the ant-sized Empress, hidden by bright Buddhist light.
Had Zhang Ruochen not known Xumi was dead, a closer look might have truly startled him.
“The Empress’s technique is impressive. What secret art is this? Is she controlling Xumi’s remains to battle those divine giants? Doesn’t this mean two Xumis exist in this timeline—one alive, one dead?”
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze shifted to the Xumi suppressed by the star domain and engulfed by the Sea of Time, noticing clusters of light emerging around him.
Each light bloomed into a Buddhist lotus.
They formed a sea of flowers.
The entire cosmic space echoed with resounding Buddhist chants, as if all monks from ancient times sat together, reciting scriptures, their voices near and far.
Blurry Buddhist figures appeared in the starry sky.
Some were massive, a single Buddhist hand larger than the star domain above Xumi. Others were human-sized, seated cross-legged.
The Buddhist light from Xumi grew ten times brighter each moment.
Xiuchen cried out, “No, Xumi has broken into that realm. Ten thousand Buddhas pay homage, a Buddha is born, the seventh Buddha…”
“Crack!”
With a scream, the Sea of Time and Xiuchen were crushed to dust by the Sundial flying from Xumi’s sleeve.
Even as a Time Divine Jade, Xiuchen’s body couldn’t withstand a strike from Xumi at the Buddha level.
As Xiuchen was obliterated, the Time Source Pearl at the Sea of Time’s centre was blasted toward the Xumi Temple.
This pearl, forged from Xiuchen’s divine source and infused with vast time mysteries, was a supreme treasure.
“Swish!”
“Swish!”
…
Several Hell Realm deities flew from the stars, chasing the Time Source Pearl toward the Xumi Temple.
