Chasing Light Divine Needles danced through the sky. Apart from the mighty Oak Willow Great Sage, who evaded disaster thanks to his formidable cultivation, the Dao domains of the other eight Supreme Realm Great Sages were all pierced through. Their dharma bodies were struck by the divine needles.
Two of the Supreme Realm Great Sages were hit by dozens of needles each. Their supreme dharma bodies were shattered into fragments, and they died miserably on the spot.
“How can the Chasing Light Divine Needles be so terrifying? They are completely impossible to defend against.”
“The needles are inscribed with divine patterns and tempered with the power of light. Their penetrating and destructive power is utterly fearsome. They can even erode the dharma bodies of Supreme Realm Great Sages.”
…
The other six Supreme Realm Great Sages were each struck by several needles, leaving one blood hole after another on their bodies.
It did not look like they had been pricked by needles. Instead, it seemed as if their bodies had been pierced through by spears or guns.
“Again. Slay them all without mercy.”
Zhang Ruchen roared from his mouth. Using his mental power, he controlled the three thousand Chasing Light Divine Needles and launched them once more at the six surviving Supreme Realm Great Sages.
Among the Paradise Realm factions, there were countless individuals of exceptional intellect and strategy. Zhang Ruchen suspected that some cultivators had already begun to guess his true identity. Therefore, he had to display a personality and way of acting that was utterly different from before, to lull his opponents into complacency.
Four powerhouses in a row had been slain by Shu Qianchi. Each of them, while alive, had been a hegemon of a region, worshipped by countless cultivators. Their disciples and descendants were scattered across the world.
The six remaining Supreme Realm Great Sages were terrified to the core. They felt as if Shu Qianchi were a ferocious and malevolent demon god. Each one unleashed their escape techniques and fled.
The Oak Willow Great Sage lived up to his reputation as a figure on the Red Dust Absolute Beauty List. He remained calm in the face of danger. He withdrew the Magpie Heaven Treasure Tree and swept it horizontally. With supreme power, he deflected over a thousand Chasing Light Divine Needles, sending them scattering across the ground.
The Oak Willow Great Sage’s heart bled. Infinite hatred burned in his eyes.
Under his leadership, the Blood Sea Hidden Heaven Divine Temple had suffered such devastating losses. How was he to account for this to the gods?
If he did not slay Shu Qianchi, then upon his return to the divine temple, he would surely face severe punishment.
The remaining Chasing Light Divine Needles were blocked by the arriving Ancient Na Immortal Child, who expanded her Dao domain to shield them.
Her Dao domain was condensed from twenty-six trillion strands of saintly Dao rules. Within it floated countless pure white feathers. The Dao domain expanded in an instant, enveloping Zhang Ruchen inside.
The Ancient Na Immortal Child stood at the centre of the Dao domain. Her twelve wings were exquisitely beautiful, with graceful curves. Yet twelve types of destructive forces flowed across them.
A halo hovered above her head, an ancient secret treasure that formed a defensive layer of light as thin as gauze and mist.
The white feathers drifting in the Dao domain were as sharp as holy blades. They flew at Zhang Ruchen from all directions.
“Rip!”
Zhang Ruchen’s left sleeve was torn by a white feather that sped past. A gash appeared in the fabric. But the white feather could not harm Zhang Ruchen’s fleshly body. It merely left a white mark on his skin.
At the same realm of half-divine pinnacle, the Ancient Na Immortal Child’s cultivation surpassed that of Xiang Chunan and Feng Yan by a considerable margin.
Zhang Ruchen knew that a true powerhouse had finally arrived. He grew cautious in his heart, yet he still feigned an arrogant demeanour and said, “The Ancient Na Immortal Child is indeed devastatingly beautiful, as enchanting as a fairy maiden. She is on par with the Lian Xi Grand Palace Master. One cannot help but feel one’s spirits lifted at the sight. Why not join me as a guest in the Qing Li Garden?”
The Ancient Na Immortal Child did not strike immediately. She was waiting for powerhouses from various sides to arrive. Her voice was clear and melodious as she said, “Shu Qianchi is not your real name, is it?”
Zhang Ruchen’s heart tightened. He inwardly exclaimed that things had gone awry.
If the cultivators of the Paradise Realm factions had already guessed that he was Zhang Ruchen, then the methods they employed would far exceed what was on display before his eyes.
After all, the enmity between Zhang Ruchen and the Paradise Realm factions ran as deep as the sea.
“You have a close connection with that epochal arch-traitor from a thousand years ago, do you not?” The Ancient Na Immortal Child’s red lips glistened. Her fine hair swayed in the wind. She exuded a vast and holy aura.
Zhang Ruchen wore the face painted by the Confucian Ancestor, concealing his true appearance. Yet cold sweat broke out on his palms. The ominous premonition in his heart grew even stronger.
He pondered inwardly: If he were a cultivator of the Paradise Realm factions and knew that Zhang Ruchen had come to the Red Dust Archipelago, what methods would he employ?
The more he thought, the deeper his heart sank into despair.
“You are that undying bird by Zhang Ruchen’s side, the one who calls himself the Sovereign of Heaven-Slaying and Earth-Shattering. That much is certain, is it not?” The Ancient Na Immortal Child’s gaze fixed intently on Zhang Ruchen, observing the myriad changes in his facial expressions.
“Indeed, it is I, this Sovereign!”
“Today, upon my return, I shall trample the entire Paradise Realm factions beneath my feet and awe the cosmos.”
Zhang Ruchen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He raised the Vajra Moon Wheel and charged forward fiercely. Blazing flames surged from his body. Wherever his feet trod, the ground ignited and turned to magma.
However, these were not the Pure Extinction Divine Fire, but rather the Undying Divine Fire into which it had been transformed.
Seeing that Shu Qianchi had finally ceased hiding his true identity, a faint smile appeared in the Ancient Na Immortal Child’s eyes. With a slight movement of two slender, snow-white jade fingers, the area within three zhang transformed into an absolute domain of light rules.
“Light’s Fluorescent Dance.”
As soon as Zhang Ruchen drew near, she evaded like a dancer in the wind, her speed reaching the extreme. It was almost indistinguishable from spatial shifting.
A slender jade sword appeared in the Ancient Na Immortal Child’s hand. She thrust it through the air towards Zhang Ruchen’s back.
“Swoosh!”
Zhang Ruchen executed spatial shifting and dodged aside.
The Sovereign of Heaven-Slaying and Earth-Shattering was also proficient in the ways of space and time. He was simply not a spacetime controller, that was all.
The Ancient Na Immortal Child cultivated the way of flowing light, her speed as swift as lightning. In the span of a single breath, she exchanged dozens of blows with Zhang Ruchen. Within the Dao domain, dozens of images of the Ancient Na Immortal Child and dozens of Zhang Ruchens appeared. The figures blurred together, each strike lethal.
In the Lamp Tower, a powerhouse from the Paradise Realm factions said, “So he truly is the Sovereign of Heaven-Slaying and Earth-Shattering. Legend has it that this undying bird shares an extremely deep connection with the Supreme One of the Kunlun Realm. It seems the Supreme One concealed his heavenly secrets.”
“It is evident that the Sovereign of Heaven-Slaying and Earth-Shattering is the Kunlun Realm’s secret weapon.”
“Such formidable strength. This undying bird can actually hold his own against Ancient Na without falling behind. Moreover, he has yet to unleash his Dao domain, and the quantity of his saintly Dao rules remains unknown. One wonders just how mighty his combat power truly is?”
…
Evidently, the deterrent power of the Sovereign of Heaven-Slaying and Earth-Shattering was far less than that of Zhang Ruchen. The cultivators of the Paradise Realm factions felt much more at ease.
In the Qing Li Garden.
Ao Xu Kong revealed a look of sudden realisation and said, “No wonder Brother Shu did not seem like a Confucian Dao cultivator at all. So he is that undying bird by Zhang Ruchen’s side from a thousand years ago.”
A Great Sage from the Heavenly Dragon Realm said, “Since the Sovereign of Heaven-Slaying and Earth-Shattering has reappeared after a millennium, could Zhang Ruchen still be alive?”
Ao Xu Kong shook his head and said, “Impossible. A thousand years ago, even the Hall of Destiny divined Zhang Ruchen’s life and death. His aura has long vanished from the heavens and earth. If he were still alive, this era should be one where he reigns supreme. What a pity!”
A thousand years ago, Ao Xu Kong had crossed paths with Zhang Ruchen. To this day, he could not forget his unparalleled elegance.
Linglong Immortal Child’s eyes were fixed tightly on the battlefield between Zhang Ruchen and the Ancient Na Immortal Child. She murmured to herself, “I never imagined that Ancient Na’s cultivation had reached such heights. Among the nine women on the Diagram of Nine Immortal Beauties, her talent should be second only to Ji Fanxin’s!”
“Not necessarily. Do not forget that one from the Western Paradise Buddhist Realm,” Ao Xu Kong said.
Linglong Immortal Child’s brows furrowed deeply as she said, “I have fallen too far behind. If I can survive this ordeal tonight, I must redouble my efforts in the future. Oh no, Mr Shu is in great trouble now!”
The Supreme Realm Great Sages from the Elf Clan, the Palace of Order, the Blood Sea Hidden Heaven Divine Temple, the Beast Emperor Divine Temple, and the Ruiya Realm had all arrived outside the Ancient Na Immortal Child’s Dao domain. They activated the four supreme sacred artifacts to their utmost.
The Ancient Na Immortal Child then erupted with extreme speed and withdrew, using dense saintly Dao rules to lock down the space within the Dao domain.
The four supreme sacred artifacts struck into the Dao domain.
