“How arrogant. Haha, to think of killing this lord, even a great god of the Taiyi Realm could not possibly achieve it.”
God Lord Jiayu laughed madly. Divine qi circulated within his body. He uttered, “Blood Moon in the sky, Quicksand World.”
A Taizhen-level divine technique was unleashed in an instant.
One must know that, under normal circumstances, only great gods of the Taizhen Realm could cultivate a Taizhen-level divine technique to great completion.
Yet the illusion-path Taizhen-level divine technique that God Lord Jiayu deployed had not only reached great completion, but its release speed was faster than that of some great gods in the Taiyi Realm.
From this, it was evident that a figure like him possessed the strength to exchange blows with a great god of the Taiyi Realm.
Zhang Ruochen looked up and found the sky had turned blood-red, with a massive blood moon hanging high in the heavens. In the night sky, white clouds were dyed a bizarre pinkish-red.
Looking down, where was there any seawater?
Beneath his feet stretched endless yellow sand, the grains flowing with a “shusha” sound.
More crucially, even the rules of heaven and earth had changed. It was impossible to tell this was an illusion. It was no different from a real quicksand world.
God Lord Jiayu’s voice came from within the blood moon. He said, “Realm Lord Ruochen, how is this lord’s attainment in the path of illusion? Could you offer some guidance?”
The Path of Truth specialised in breaking illusions.
Since God Lord Jiayu was an emissary of Truth, his attainment in the Path of Truth must be profoundly deep. Naturally, he knew where the weaknesses of illusions lay.
The illusion he deployed could be called flawless.
When this technique reached great completion, he had once invited a Taiyi Realm great god powerhouse from the Demon God Temple to break the illusion. Yet even with that great god’s ability, it took two full days to shatter his technique.
Precisely because of this, God Lord Jiayu had absolute confidence.
If it could trap a Taiyi Realm great god for two days, how could it not trap Zhang Ruochen for a single hour?
Zhang Ruochen said, “Your illusion has no flaws. If deployed by another cultivator, it could at least trap me for a day and a night. However, since it is you deploying it, I can break it in an instant.”
Under the urging of divine qi, countless supreme inscription patterns emerged on the body of the Qingping Sword, erupting in brilliance as dazzling as a constant star.
“Xiu!”
A sword thrust out, striking a certain point in the void.
In the desert, yellow sand condensed into one sand dragon after another. They let out furious roars and attacked Zhang Ruochen in endless waves, seeking to block him.
“Bang! Bang! Bang…”
All the approaching sand dragons were shattered by sword qi and supreme power.
They could not stop him at all.
With a “boom” of thunderous sound, the tip of the Qingping Sword met resistance in the void. God Lord Jiayu, hiding there, revealed his true form. The blue-flame shield in his hand clashed with the sword tip.
Overwhelming force surged forth. Space concave, as if turning into a drawn bow. It shook God Lord Jiayu flying backwards, crashing into the light wall of the Clear Sky Glazed Dome.
The illusion collapsed accordingly.
Like a beam of light, God Lord Jiayu shot away rapidly, evading Zhang Ruochen’s second slashing sword. In disbelief, he said, “How did you do it?”
“The illusion has no flaws, but you are the flaw.”
Zhang Ruochen stepped through the void, pursuing closely behind him, slashing out a third sword.
Zhang Ruochen possessed the Heart of Truth and could sense truth profound meanings.
Thus, even if God Lord Jiayu had fully merged with the illusion, in Zhang Ruochen’s perception, he still stood out like a torch in the darkness.
This flaw was something God Lord Jiayu could never have imagined, even if he racked his brains.
God Lord Jiayu’s speed was reputed as the fastest below great gods in the Heavenly Court. He had cultivated the Path of Flowing Light to a divine level of mastery. Today, Zhang Ruochen truly witnessed it.
He slashed out dozens of swords in succession, yet God Lord Jiayu dodged them all, always maintaining sufficient distance.
Yet Zhang Ruochen did not know that the shock in God Lord Jiayu’s heart far exceeded his own by more than tenfold.
At this moment, God Lord Jiayu had combined the Path of Flowing Light with the Path of Truth. His speed was fast enough to escape from the hands of a Taiyi Realm great god.
But he was chased in utter embarrassment by Zhang Ruochen, unable to shake him off at all.
Even though the Clear Sky Glazed Dome restricted his speed, Zhang Ruochen’s speed was simply too terrifying. It was not inferior to his own. In fact, it was half a step faster.
“The space available to manoeuvre is shrinking. I can dodge at most ten more swords. I cannot just wait for death like this.”
God Lord Jiayu had never fallen into such a passive situation below the great god level. His eyes hardened. A foot-long red dagger appeared in his hand. He swung it out to meet the incoming Qingping Sword.
This was the renowned Demon God Dagger, capable of slaying gods.
“Shua!”
The instant the Demon God Dagger swung, it disrupted the rules of heaven and earth over a vast area, slicing open an inch-long rift in the stable space of the Tianchu Civilization.
Power of nothingness leaked in from the spatial rift.
Even though the rift vanished instantly, it still demonstrated the terror of this strike.
Just as the Qingping Sword was about to collide with the red dagger, in that spark-between-flint moment, Zhang Ruochen changed his move, shifting from slash to thrust.
“Shua!”
The sword mark was singular, like flowing water and light.
Irresistible in advance, unstoppable in retreat.
How could God Lord Jiayu have anticipated that Zhang Ruochen’s attainment in the sword path was so fearsome? Every sword move was like a divine technique, immensely powerful, and capable of fluid transformation.
“Bang!”
The tip of the Qingping Sword struck God Lord Jiayu’s chest.
On the cobalt-blue armour, scarlet defensive divine patterns emerged, releasing eerie and powerful divine force. It dissipated most of the power from Zhang Ruochen’s sword.
Even so, God Lord Jiayu was still shaken by the impact from the Qingping Sword. His internal organs were injured, his divine soul agitated. His body flew out like a cannonball, crashing once more into the glazed light wall.
A flash of surprise crossed Zhang Ruochen’s eyes. He said, “Defensive divine patterns of the Taixu Realm? Is a Taixu Realm demon clan great god involved in this?”
One must know that cultivators who had achieved godhood were already powerhouses between heaven and earth.
Those ancient gods would not deliberately use divine patterns to protect new gods under their banner. They would not let them grow forever in protection.
Such protection could not cultivate true powerhouses.
But there was one exception.
That was when the tasks this new god undertook were extremely dangerous.
God Lord Jiayu did not answer Zhang Ruochen. He said, “You are truly very powerful, especially in close-quarters combat. Your battle prowess is already no less than a Taiyi great god. However, if this lord wishes to hold you for one hour, it would be more than sufficient.”
Within the Clear Sky Glazed Dome, divine force was in chaos, hurricanes sharp as blades.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze was cold and ruthless. He said, “You have dodged so many of my swords, which indeed exceeds my expectations. If you mobilised the truth rules of heaven and earth for your use and fought me properly, you might truly hold me for a while. Unfortunately, you dare not employ truth profound meanings at all. You do not even dare to leave the Clear Sky Glazed Dome. Thus, you are doomed to a miserable defeat, or rather… a miserable death!”
Zhang Ruochen held nothing back any longer. The Taiji circle enveloped the entire space within the Clear Sky Glazed Dome.
One step forward!
“Boom!”
Space trembled. Zhang Ruochen traversed spatial veins, appearing before God Lord Jiayu.
God Lord Jiayu could not comprehend Zhang Ruochen’s Taiji circle at all. He could only sense that this place seemed isolated from the outside world. There were no rules of heaven and earth, only Zhang Ruochen’s rule divine patterns.
It was as if…
As if it were a divine realm world!
Yet even stranger than a divine realm world.
God Lord Jiayu hastily released his own divine realm world. Countless billions of rule divine patterns erupted from his body. He roared loudly, “Truth profound meanings are not limited to mobilising the truth rules of heaven and earth!”
“Universe boundless, Mountain of Truth.”
The truth boundary form of the boundless universe manifested, forming the image of a primordial universe. Myriad stars twinkled in the darkness. Among them, a majestic and immense mountain hung at the universe’s centre, millions of times larger than the stars.
The Mountain of Truth traversed the universe, carrying overwhelming momentum, pressing straight down towards Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen showed no fear. His entire being resembled an exiled sword immortal amid the starry sea. He raised his arm. His palm erupted in blinding divine light, accompanied by soul-shaking divine might.
Six divine swords flew from his palm. With unstoppable force, they boomed and shattered the Mountain of Truth.
“Bang!”
The entire universe was torn by sword light. Glazed radiance shone in from outside the universe.
The supreme sacred artefact armour on God Lord Jiayu’s body could not withstand it. It was cleaved apart by the divine swords, turning into bright metal fragments that fell into the sea.
The Taixu divine patterns on the armour were naturally severed as well.
God Lord Jiayu’s divine body shattered into over a dozen pieces. Sword momentum and divine qi blasted them flying. Crimson divine blood sprinkled everywhere.
Time seemed to slow. Zhang Ruochen walked unhurriedly to the position among the dozen pieces of flesh. He spread his palm and said, “Your truth profound meanings, from now on, belong to me!”
“You cannot seize my truth profound meanings!”
God Lord Jiayu’s voice echoed between heaven and earth. His mental will was powerful. His divine soul roared in every drop of blood.
“I can seize them.”
Mysterious specks of light like starlight flew out from God Lord Jiayu’s shattered corpse, converging towards Zhang Ruochen’s palm.
“Impossible. How is this possible… No, return my profound meanings…”
God Lord Jiayu’s roars turned to terrified cries, filled with intense unwillingness and grief. It was akin to a lecherous man being castrated, or a woman of heavenly beauty having her face ruined.
Urged by that powerful mental will, the dozen pieces of flesh burned. The divine flames formed made even Zhang Ruochen feel his skin scorch.
“Boom!”
The flesh fragments collided together, recondensing into God Lord Jiayu’s divine body.
God Lord Jiayu’s eyes were bloodshot. He roared madly, “Zhang Ruochen, return my truth profound meanings! Otherwise, today it is either you or I who dies! Do you believe this lord will now retract the Clear Sky Glazed Dome? Then we all die together.”
Zhang Ruochen had no doubt about God Lord Jiayu’s determination to perish together, yet he remained composed. He said, “Actually, I have no interest in truth profound meanings.”
“Then return them to me,” God Lord Jiayu said.
“However…”
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze turned towards the east.
“Hua!”
A brilliant blood-coloured sword light tore open the glazed light curtain. Chi Yao, clad in white, flew in.
In the next instant, the glazed light curtain healed once more.
Chi Yao held the Blood-Dripping Sword and walked towards God Lord Jiayu. She said, “He indeed has no interest in truth profound meanings. He once even gave me quite a few. Jiayu, you colluded with the Hell Realm. Today is your doomsday.”
“Damn it!” God Lord Jiayu uttered.
Although tearing open a breach in the Clear Sky Glazed Dome from the outside was somewhat easier, it was still not something a Butian Realm god could easily accomplish.
Chi Yao’s ability to break in undoubtedly proved her powerful strength, at least no weaker than his own.
Facing two such fearsome opponents, no matter how confident God Lord Jiayu was, no matter how much he wanted to reclaim his truth profound meanings, retreat now entered his mind. He did not wish to die here.
God Lord Jiayu forced himself to calm down and took out a talisman. He said, “This lord has a God King talisman here. If we truly fight to the death, we all perish together!”
“So many God King talismans exist?”
Zhang Ruochen did not believe him at all. He controlled the six divine swords, turning them into six brilliant streams of light that flew straight towards him.
Seeing he could not intimidate Zhang Ruochen, God Lord Jiayu hurled the talisman in his hand and rushed rapidly towards the nearest glazed light wall. The Clear Sky Glazed Dome was his treasure. Naturally, he could cross it easily.
As long as he reached the outside of the glazed light wall, even if Zhang Ruochen possessed divine swords, he could not break out in a short time.
“Bang!”
The talisman exploded, forming a powerful spatial collapse force. The six divine swords flying nearby sank fiercely and plummeted into the sea.
Though not a God King talisman, it was a spatial divine talisman of terrifying power.
Seeing he was about to reach the glazed light curtain, joy appeared on God Lord Jiayu’s face. In his mind, he had already planned strategies to deal with Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao. Unexpectedly, he might even reclaim his truth profound meanings.
“Can you escape?”
Chi Yao’s voice sounded above his head.
God Lord Jiayu looked up. He saw twelve layers of heavy and sacred heavenly domes, along with a sea of chaos, pressing down from above. The surrounding space squeezed inward.
“Hua!”
The sea surface beneath his feet turned glistening white, transforming into a Sea of Origin.
In the next instant, Chi Yao held the Blood-Dripping Sword. Her long hair cascaded like a waterfall. Her gaze was icy. The sword tip pointed at his brow.
Zhang Ruochen approached from behind, six divine swords floating around him. He said, “Speak. Tonight’s plot by the Hell Realm, which gods on the Heavenly Court side are involved?”
God Lord Jiayu sensed Zhang Ruochen’s powerful mental force pressing upon him. Suddenly, instead of panicking, he grew calm. He said, “The victor is king, the loser a bandit. Today, this lord is utterly convinced of his defeat. But if you truly wish to kill me, do you have absolute certainty you can do so before I detonate my divine source?”
Even with Chi Yao’s sword pointed at his brow, he still uttered these words.
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment. He said, “I have no grudge against you. Why must I kill you? As long as you reveal everything you know, I will definitely spare your life.”
“Do not joke! Do you take this lord for a three-year-old child? I know your martial cultivation is not crippled, and I know your secret of being in the Tianchu Civilization. How could you possibly let me live?” God Lord Jiayu said.
Chi Yao said, “In that case, there is no other way! Let me gamble with you. Will I kill you first, or will you detonate your divine source first?”
God Lord Jiayu had not expected Chi Yao to be so decisive. His pupils contracted sharply.
“Boom!”
Suddenly, the glazed light wall shook violently. Hoarse yet piercing roars resounded. Nine beast-shaped bone clan gods pulled a golden chariot, crashing through the Clear Sky Glazed Dome and bursting in, positioning themselves between the three.
