Shang Hong is a Messenger of Truth. He masters a vast array of mysteries and holds countless trump cards. Precisely for this reason, he has great confidence of victory against a mid-stage Taiyi great god.
Yet against a peak Taiyi, he can only preserve his own life. How could he, like Qingping Zi, fight to a draw in direct confrontation?
He did not know that Zhang Ruochen was at this moment inwardly sighing with regret. Bound by the identity of Qingping Zi, he was truly restricted. If he were wielding his six divine swords, that earlier strike would have shattered the supreme sacred war sword in the Clear Sky Sword King’s hand.
Low profile. He must keep a low profile.
If it became known that he, Zhang Ruochen, after being crippled by Qing Zu, had recultivated the martial path and in an extremely short time reached such terrifying heights, it would surely shock Qing Zu and the Lord of the Darkness Temple into reappearing. Perhaps other ancient monsters would emerge as well.
Since that was the case, he would simply engage Zhao Wuyan and the Clear Sky Sword King in casual combat.
As long as he could safeguard Feng Yan through his divine tribulation, the task of slaying gods would naturally fall to him. By then, everyone’s attention would surely focus on this five-coloured clay figure, and they should not consider Qingping Zi unreasonably powerful.
Probably.
Feng Yan gazed from afar at Qingping Zi. Seeing him single-handedly confront the Clear Sky Sword King and Zhao Wuyan, two great gods, his expression grew complex.
He suddenly understood a little why his sister regarded this man differently.
This reverend was truly a pillar of heaven and earth. Today he risked his life to protect a junior who had once offended him. In the future, would he not also stake his life to shield his sister?
Such responsibility, such integrity. How many in the world could compare?
Feng Yan could not help feeling ashamed. He thought himself too shallow before. Yet soon he gathered his emotions, for the first heavenly tribulation thunder had already descended.
“Bring out your true abilities. Deal with them quickly, or once the Frost City Demon moves, Feng Yan will be in danger!” Xuanyuan Qing’s melodious transmitted voice entered Zhang Ruochen’s ears.
Zhang Ruochen sighed inwardly, growing even more certain that Xuanyuan Lian had revealed his identity to Xuanyuan Qing.
Bring out true abilities.
Easier said than done. What if his identity was exposed?
Would he then have to return to the Heavenly Court with her?
Returning to the Heavenly Court might not even be safe.
The Frost City Demon had been slaughtering cultivators fleeing the divine vessel, intent on total annihilation. He had no attention to spare, yet his gaze frequently turned towards the void where Zhang Ruochen, Zhao Wuyan, and the Clear Sky Sword King fought.
Once he realised that even the combined efforts of the Clear Sky Sword King and Zhao Wuyan could not breach “Qingping Zi”, he would surely act personally.
At this point, even if Zhang Ruochen wished to keep a low profile, he could not.
Aboard the divine vessel, Feng Xuan said, “A great god’s spiritual will and divine soul have long fused into every inch of the body, even drifting between heaven and earth. To kill one completely is extraordinarily difficult. Xi’er, give the Hunyuan Bottle to fellow Taoist Qingping Zi! In his hands, this secret treasure of the Feng clan will surely prove greatly useful.”
A three-cun-high jade porcelain bottle flew from Feng Xuan’s divine realm world and landed in Feng Xi’s hands.
“So the Hunyuan Bottle was with Seventh Uncle. Why not bring it out earlier?”
Feng Xi placed Feng Xuan’s head on the ground and flew rapidly towards the battlefield of the three great gods.
“Be careful. Do not get too close.” Feng Xuan called loudly.
…
Zhang Ruochen’s voice was low yet resounded through the void. “Clear Sky Sword King, though you are a peak Taiyi powerhouse, it is a pity that Wuyue shattered your heart and spirit. Now you are merely a dark puppet. A peak Taiyi who has lost his vitality and essence. Why should this poor Taoist fear you? Killing you would be like slaughtering pigs and dogs.”
The Blood Absolute War God dared claim he would fight Bian Zhuang and feared not ascending Tian Nan. The Tribulation Venerable boasted even more, proclaiming he feared not Shang Tian. Even the Blood Butcher could shout “I am the Destiny Temple”.
Zhang Ruochen felt it necessary to utter a few ruthless words, for he could no longer maintain a low profile.
Zhang Ruochen pointed his sword at the distant Frost City Demon and shouted, “Frost City Demon, do you dare fight? This poor Taoist shall today challenge three great gods with his sword and diminish the prestige of the Darkness Temple. Even if Wuyue were here, these would still be my words.”
“Barely entered Taiyi, yet so arrogant.”
The Frost City Demon’s gaze was icy. Murderous intent soared. The Darkness Divine Sword was about to slash.
“Come then. Wielder of the Darkness Divine Sword, so what? You would still need allies to dare face this poor Taoist in combat.” Zhang Ruochen said.
Zhao Wuyan reformed his ghostly divine body. “Do not fall for this thieving Taoist’s provocation. He seeks to goad you into action, buying time for the gods aboard the vessel to escape.”
“Well said, Zhao Wuyan. You ruin this poor Taoist’s plans. One sword shall end you.”
Zhang Ruochen’s face turned cold. He raised his sword and attacked.
Though Zhao Wuyan had earlier been caught off guard and overwhelmed, Qingping Zi’s combat strength was indeed formidable and not to be underestimated.
“Earlier you shattered my ghostly divine body, yet you could not kill this seat. Now, you will have no further chance!”
“Billions of ferocious ghosts form a ghost city. Divine sense reaches heaven, suppressing the Yellow Spring.”
The billions of yin ghosts above Zhao Wuyan’s head condensed into a black ghost city. The surrounding heavenly rules grew chaotic. It pressed down towards the sword-wielding Qingping Zi.
“You say I cannot kill you? This poor Taoist merely wished not to reveal his trump cards.”
A brilliant starry sea manifested around Zhang Ruochen. The rules of truth from heaven and earth flowed ceaselessly towards him. The Qingping Sword thrust forth rapidly. Cyan radiance seemed to illuminate the entire Dark Triangle Star Domain.
“This… this is the Mystery of Truth. He is also a Messenger of Truth?” Confusion filled Shang Hong’s eyes.
Boom!
A shattering sound, like the sun exploding, released overwhelming divine power.
The Xufeng Divine Vessel, originally tens of thousands of miles away, was shaken and flew another ten thousand miles distant.
“Not good.”
The Frost City Demon’s expression changed drastically. He knew Zhao Wuyan’s divine origin had been shattered by Qingping Zi.
But how was this possible?
Zhao Wuyan’s cultivation clearly far surpassed Qingping Zi’s.
Even if Qingping Zi could accurately locate the divine origin through the Dao of Truth, Zhao Wuyan should not have failed to block even one sword and been crippled. Were great gods so fragile?
“This Qingping Zi is no simple figure. He must conceal a great secret.”
The Frost City Demon could spare attention no longer. He wielded his sword and broke through the void. Now he had to act personally.
Zhang Ruochen located Zhao Wuyan’s divine origin so easily both because he had evolved the dual aspects, greatly enhancing perception, and because he could freely mobilise the rules of truth. Combining the rules of truth with the Heart of Truth, he pierced the mysteries.
Zhao Wuyan’s ghost soul scattered across the sky. He roared miserably, “Thieving Taoist, who exactly are you? You dare destroy my divine origin and cripple my cultivation. The Darkness Temple will ensure you die without burial!”
Zhang Ruochen remotely seized the Hunyuan Bottle that Feng Xi had sent. His gaze was sharp. “You shall die without burial first! Within this Hunyuan Bottle is Seven Dissipation Divine Water, capable of eroding a great god’s spiritual will and divine soul thoughts. After seven times seven, forty-nine years, the great god Zhao Wuyan will vanish from the world.”
The Hunyuan Bottle drew in all the ghostly mist between heaven and earth.
Though using mysteries could kill Zhao Wuyan faster, was there time? Both the Clear Sky Sword King and the Frost City Demon were already attacking, treating him, Qingping Zi, as the greatest threat.
This was the price of standing out!
Uttering ruthless words was momentarily satisfying, yet it drew blows.
The daughter of a Heavenly Venerable was aboard the Xufeng Divine Vessel. Her status was supremely noble. The treasures upon her were innumerable. She was even in a weakened state. Yet they ignored her completely.
The Frost City Demon’s cultivation had long surpassed Taiyi realm. Among Tai Bai great gods, he stood at the peak. With the divine artefact Darkness Divine Sword, even with all Zhang Ruochen’s confidence, he dared not clash directly.
Whoosh!
Zhang Ruochen slashed horizontally through the void, shattering space for ten thousand miles and forming a region of chaotic nothingness to block the Frost City Demon.
“One Sword, Fallen Soul!”
The Frost City Demon’s colossal divine body towered thousands of zhang. Ignoring the shattered space, he slashed the Darkness Divine Sword. Crossing ten thousand miles, he struck at Zhang Ruochen.
The divine sword pressed down, destroying all the Taiji Yin-Yang diagrams around Zhang Ruochen. The vast Truth Realm form, like a cosmos, was cleaved apart.
Just as Zhang Ruochen prepared to flee into the void world, a heavenly voice, beautiful as celestial music, sounded behind him, close to his ear. “Join forces against him. Light breaks darkness.”
Without turning, Zhang Ruochen sensed an exquisitely soft palm press against his back. Torrential Great Light divine power surged into his body. He knew not whether Xuanyuan Qing was aware he cultivated the Dao of Light, yet she had devised this method.
With a great enemy before him, how could he hesitate?
Combining the strength of Zhang Ruochen and Xuanyuan Qing, they urged the Light Divine Sword to its utmost. They unleashed a world-shaking strike that collided with the Darkness Divine Sword.
Light and darkness clashed in the void, forming ripples of light and dark that forced all three combatants backward.
“Not good. The Clear Sky Sword King…”
Zhang Ruochen separated from Xuanyuan Qing. He mobilised time imprint radiance, wielded his sword within the river of time, and caught up to the Clear Sky Sword King attacking Feng Yan.
Time swordsmanship erupted. Faintly visible, time imprint light spots gathered into a bright moon that flashed and vanished.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed. The Clear Sky Sword King was cleaved in two by the Qingping Sword.
Even though he had unfolded his divine realm world beforehand, it could not hinder Zhang Ruochen in the slightest.
Shattering Zhao Wuyan’s divine origin with one sword was one thing. Now cleaving a peak Taiyi great god in two with another. Countless cultivators were shocked to the core.
Whoosh!
A second sword thrust forth, piercing the Clear Sky Sword King’s divine sea and picking out his divine origin.
Zhang Ruochen traced talisman patterns with his hand, sealing the divine origin. Then, with lightning speed, he drew the two severed halves of the Clear Sky Sword King’s divine body into the Hunyuan Bottle.
The entire killing process took less than a breath.
This expanse of space fell deathly silent, broken only by the distant roar of tribulation.
Aboard the Xufeng Divine Vessel, countless pairs of eyes fixed upon Zhang Ruochen, emotions varied. Even Feng Yan, amidst his surging tribulation momentum, could not draw their gaze.
The Frost City Demon stood opposite the ten-thousand-mile-wide chaotic space. His eyes were sharper than the Darkness Divine Sword, as if to see through this Taoist who had only just broken through to Taiyi realm.
Even the big-headed cloth doll pursuing Mr Mo halted.
Zhang Ruochen knew he had this time truly overreached in prominence. He had aroused suspicion in every cultivator present. What could he do? He had been forced. Circumstances overpowered the individual.
Since he had stood tall, he would stand to the end. He raised his sword to the heavens. “The Darkness Temple is unworthy of a single strike. With this poor Taoist Qingping Zi guarding the path, who can cross here?”
In any case, Xuanyuan Qing seemed to have temporarily suppressed the Yellow Spring Flower poison. She was nearby. Even if the Frost City Demon were stronger, what was there to fear?
“The Frost City Demon is no easy foe. Do you have any more powerful treasures like the Twenty Heavens Chart? Bring them out quickly!” Zhang Ruochen transmitted to Xuanyuan Qing.
Xuanyuan Qing transmitted back, “You carry more treasures than I. Bring out the Rebel God Stele. Together we shall slay him.”
