Feng Yan looked at the sea area where holy light shone and peerless figures stood, his heart filled with bitterness. He sighed, “This day has finally come. It cannot be avoided.”
“If it cannot be avoided, then face it calmly. In the torrent of the greater trend, those who can go with the flow are already heroes. You cannot change anything. Zhang Ruochen’s words just now were right. To be friends is certainly exhilarating. To be enemies, is that not another kind of exhilaration?” Feng Xi said.
Feng Yan said, “Sister, I understand. On the battlefield, there are no brothers. Only when we meet at the ends of the earth can we drink heartily, sing loudly, lament the helplessness of life, and speak of life, death, sorrow, and joy.”
With the intrusion of the leader of the Wanxu Realm, Zhang Ruochen’s domain had already gathered the eight top experts of the Heavenly Court, each at least at the level of a quasi-Yuanhui representative.
Seeing this scene, Lan Ying and Yuan were secretly relieved. No matter how high Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation was, facing the onslaught of the Heavenly Court’s top experts, even if he did not die, he would surely be severely injured. How could he have the strength to deal with them?
Xue Tu’s eyes darted around, thinking this was a perfect opportunity.
Zhang Ruochen was now so powerful that upon returning to the Hell Realm, he would surely dominate. If Xue Tu could show goodwill now, he might reap significant benefits in the future.
Prajna saw through his thoughts and, noticing his eagerness, said, “The cultivators of the Heavenly Court still cannot threaten Zhang Ruochen. Rushing in is meaningless and will only send a false signal to the Qinglu Shrine, Disha Ghost City, and Death God Temple, making them think the Death God Palace has chosen Zhang Ruochen.”
Xue Tu retreated two steps awkwardly, chuckling, “With the eight top experts of the Heavenly Court, plus the unfathomable Yin Yuanchen, surrounding and killing a pseudo-god is more than enough. Your Highness, the Goddess, is still so optimistic about my senior brother, truly…”
Xue Tu’s voice stopped abruptly because Prajna’s gaze turned to him.
“What I mean is, Your Highness, the Goddess, is truly wise, with insight beyond our reach,” Xue Tu quickly corrected himself.
He was quite wary of Prajna.
This Goddess Highness was extremely formidable, and it was best not to offend her.
On the sea, the battle had already erupted.
The eight top experts of the Heavenly Court all knew that none of them alone could match Zhang Ruochen. Only by combining their strength could they repel him.
Of course, some cultivators wanted to kill Zhang Ruochen outright.
“First, break Zhang Ruochen’s Eternal Return Domain. Act together to split his domain into eight parts,” Donghua Emperor said.
The eight experts simultaneously released their domains, unleashing hundreds of trillions of holy path rules, filling the heavens and earth, pushing out the natural rules.
Would Zhang Ruochen let them succeed?
Zhang Ruochen’s figure shuttled through space, appearing in front of Donghua Emperor. The ancient sword Chen Yuan spun rapidly before him, surrounded by thousands of sword energies.
“Slash!”
Chen Yuan ancient sword slashed down, infused with the holy intent and mysteries of the sword path.
Thousands of sword energies surged forward.
Donghua Emperor sensed extreme danger. From his sleeve, a supreme holy artifact, a green bell, flew out, growing to the size of a hill to meet the incoming sword.
“Boom!”
This sword of Zhang Ruochen was struck with full force, breaking through Donghua Emperor’s domain with overwhelming power. The sword edge collided with the green bell, pushing it back and striking Donghua Emperor.
“Pfft!”
Donghua Emperor clasped his hands, forming a light seal a hundred zhang in diameter, but he still could not withstand the retreating green bell, which struck him, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
Zhang Ruochen was about to deliver another blow to severely injure Donghua Emperor and render him powerless.
From both sides, however, came a whistling sound.
From the left came Chu Jian.
Its body was massive like a mountain, exuding an ancient aura, stirring up layers of giant waves. From its mouth, it spat a purple lightning beam, instantly turning the thousand-mile sea into an ocean of lightning.
From the right came the leader of the Wanxu Realm, a powerful figure, one of the Heavenly Court’s Yuanhui-level representatives. He exhaled divine energy, performing a divine technique, condensing thirteen planets above his head, whether real planets or crafted stellar weapons.
“Swish!”
“Swish!”
The Diamond Moon Wheel and the Zangshan Demon Mirror both erupted with supreme power, flying to the left and right.
The Diamond Moon Wheel blazed with light, growing enormous like a golden wheel, colliding with the lightning beam Chu Jian spat out. Finally, it struck heavily on Chu Jian’s body.
“Boom!”
Chu Jian let out a low, pained cry. Its massive body was thrown from the sea.
The strike of a supreme holy artifact was terrifying. Even Chu Jian’s powerful body could not withstand it. As it flew through the air, its flesh exploded into a blood mist, leaving only a skeleton intact.
When it fell to the sea, the skeleton and blood mist gathered, but the body could not quickly reform. Thus, the skeleton, carrying the blood mist, fled rapidly out of the Eternal Return Domain, devoid of its former majesty.
It could not escape. The space within the domain was inverted, and the skeleton and blood mist rushed toward Zhang Ruochen instead.
By the time Chu Jian realized, it was too late!
Zhang Ruochen reached out and grabbed. In the void, a giant hand over ten thousand meters long appeared, enveloping the skeleton and blood mist, crushing them into dust, annihilating both body and spirit.
A quasi-Yuanhui-level genius was thus utterly destroyed.
Chu Jian’s fall was like a heavy blow, striking the hearts of all Heavenly Court cultivators.
For the cultivators of the Demon God Realm, it was as if the heavens had collapsed, utterly unacceptable, believing what they saw was an illusion. That was Chu Jian, the strongest below the divine realm in the Demon God Realm. How could he be so easily defeated?
Even a pseudo-god could not kill him so effortlessly.
How could they imagine Zhang Ruochen’s ferocity?
On the other side, the leader of the Wanxu Realm, with clearly superior cultivation, blocked the Zangshan Demon Mirror struck by Zhang Ruochen, sustaining only minor injuries.
“Those who block me will die,” Zhang Ruochen shouted.
Returning to the Hell Realm, Zhang Ruochen had to slay several key figures of the Heavenly Court and could not afford to hold back. The gods of the Hell Realm were watching. Not only Chu Jian, but even Zhenyuan and Cihang Fairy, with whom he had deep ties, had to be killed.
The battlefield was just that cruel.
Shang Ziyi shouted urgently, “Everyone, do not treat Zhang Ruochen as a saint realm cultivator. Regard him as a god. Only by using our strongest trump cards can we possibly kill him. Otherwise, he will defeat us one by one, and we will all die here.”
Zhenyuan, ever rational, said, “Killing Zhang Ruochen will cost us dearly. There is no need for that. Our priority now is to break the Eternal Return Domain and save you.”
“Cowardly thinking. Chu Jian is dead, and we just flee? Where is the Heavenly Court’s pride?”
Shang Ziyi’s gaze turned to Yin Yuanchen in the distance, saying coldly, “Zhang Ruochen’s greatest strength lies in his time and space powers. That was why Chu Jian could not escape, not even having a chance to fight to the death. Yin Yuanchen, why have you not used the Tongtian Pagoda to suppress Zhang Ruochen’s Eternal Return Domain? Do you think that after he kills us, you alone can face him?”
“Great Dao Heavenly Desolation Seal!”
Shang Ziyi’s merit energy burned, with five-colored flames surging from outside into his body.
Above his head, the void revealed patches of colorful clouds, from which a hand shadow emerged.
Like the hand of heaven.
Burning merit energy, the Great Dao Heavenly Desolation Seal Shang Ziyi unleashed was even more powerful than before.
Zhang Ruochen clashed with Yao Guang and Zhenyuan, then turned back, glancing at the Great Dao Heavenly Desolation Seal. His hands moved slowly, his palms revealing strands of Taiqing clouds.
“Taiqing Cloud-Pushing Hand!”
Zhang Ruochen slowly pushed out a palm, with divine patterns of burial gold rules flowing on his arm, carrying the majestic divine might and the power of the origin of heaven and earth.
Having stepped into the supreme realm, the power of this Taiqing Cloud-Pushing Hand was countless times greater than in the life-and-death realm.
“Boom!”
The seals collided.
The Great Dao Heavenly Desolation Seal shattered, and Shang Ziyi’s body flew backward, falling into a spatiotemporal vortex within the Eternal Return Domain, suppressed in space.
A梵 sound rang out overhead, like thousands of monks and Buddhas chanting.
Zhang Ruochen looked up to see the sky turn completely golden and collapse downward.
It was not the sky collapsing but the Tongtian Pagoda growing massive, its base alone spanning a thousand miles, covering the entire battlefield.
Truly awe-inspiring!
At this moment, the Tongtian Pagoda lived up to its name, “reaching the heavens,” towering tens of thousands of miles, its unleashed power comparable to divine might.
The spectators from the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm retreated further.
Yin Yuanchen’s all-out strike gave the Heavenly Court’s cultivators a sense of reassurance. With him, they could counter Zhang Ruochen.
“In the same realm, do you think you can still suppress my domain?”
Zhang Ruochen remained unfazed. The sundial flew out, with dense time-mark light points forming a rain of light, colliding with the descending Tongtian Pagoda.
Taking this opportunity, Donghua Emperor struck the green bell, piercing the spatiotemporal vortex to rescue Shang Ziyi, saying, “Go. Below the divine realm, no one can kill Zhang Ruochen. Continuing this fight will only lead to more deaths because of you.”
“Want to leave? It’s not that easy.”
While countering the Tongtian Pagoda, Zhang Ruochen condensed thirty-six translucent spatial swords in his domain, attacking Donghua Emperor and Shang Ziyi.
Donghua Emperor rushed forward, his holy energy surging rapidly, pouring into the green bell.
He struck the bell with a palm, and the bell’s sound exploded into waves of sound, colliding with the thirty-six spatial swords, blocking Zhang Ruochen’s attack.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen still had the strength to attack them while countering the Tongtian Pagoda, Shang Ziyi felt a tinge of despair, realizing that killing Zhang Ruochen today was indeed as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Only breaking through to the divine realm offered a chance.
But breaking through in his current state was a death sentence.
Even if he succeeded, how could the gods of the Hell Realm stand by as they did now, allowing him to strike Zhang Ruochen?
“Ultimately… unbeatable.”
Shang Ziyi sighed with utmost helplessness, rushing out of the Eternal Return Domain.
“You cannot escape!”
Zhang Ruochen roared, and a Buddha shadow appeared on the sundial’s base, its power surging, shaking the Tongtian Pagoda away.
Zhang Ruochen’s figure moved like a streak of light, striking with palms or fists, clashing with Donghua Emperor and Cihang Fairy in a flash. In an instant, he shattered Donghua Emperor’s head, broke half of Cihang Fairy’s body, and caught up to Shang Ziyi, striking his head with a palm.
