The six divine swords formed a sword array. Under the urging of Zhang Ruochen’s profound divine qi, the divine artefact power they unleashed far surpassed anything before.
“Swoosh! Swoosh!”
Countless threads of spiritual force connected the dense mass of human-shaped lanterns, forming a grand celestial ghost array that contended against the power erupting from the divine swords.
Xiao Hei’s cat ears twitched. His expression changed. “This is a ghost array of extreme sophistication. The spiritual force of the one who set it is terrifyingly strong!”
“This is the work of Shidi from the Dark Temple. His spiritual force intensity should be at the eightieth order. How could it not be terrifying? With this ghost array in place, we have no hope of escaping.” Zhang Ruochen gave a cold laugh.
Xue Tu’s face looked even worse than Xiao Hei’s. “Eightieth order… If I had known, I would rather have stayed imprisoned in the Divine Prison.”
A powerhouse with eightieth-order spiritual force was someone even Zhang Ruochen regarded with dread, let alone Xiao Hei and Xue Tu.
Zhang Ruochen pretended to be entirely unconcerned and raised his voice. “Wuyue, since you have arrived, why send out such a lackey? Be careful it does not follow in the footsteps of Zhao Wuyan.”
Far away in the void, a large-headed rag doll appeared. Its laughter was sinister. “The Xue Jue family truly produces nothing but arrogant seeds! Lackey? Even if Xue Jue himself were here, he would not dare belittle this lord so lightly.”
Zhang Ruochen laughed loudly. “Do you think my grandfather is still in the Taibai realm? He has already stepped into Taixu. Crushing you with one hand would be more than enough.”
Though eightieth-order spiritual force possessed battle strength no less than that of a Taixu great god, it depended on the calibre of the Taixu.
The large-headed rag doll let out an explosive snort and attacked Zhang Ruochen’s divine soul directly with spiritual force.
At its level, it needed only to stand in place, without employing any divine techniques, to drive ordinary gods into mental derangement and soul fragmentation.
This was why Xue Tu was so terrified.
The disparity in spiritual force was simply too vast. Even across millions or tens of millions of li, the large-headed rag doll could gravely wound someone with a single thought. An upper god at great perfection like Feng Xuan would have no power to resist before it.
The moment the large-headed rag doll’s spiritual force reached within a thousand zhang of Zhang Ruochen, wisps of seven-coloured misty light appeared and dissolved its spiritual force into nothingness.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Is this what is meant by eightieth-order spiritual force? It seems to amount to very little. It appears Xuanyuan Lian wounded you quite severely!”
“Heavenly Light Rainbow Candle!”
The large-headed rag doll stared at the half-burned seven-coloured incense candle before Zhang Ruochen. Its laughter rang out again. “Young one, do not be insolent. How long can the Heavenly Light Rainbow Candle protect you?”
Xiao Hei and Xue Tu immediately drew closer to Zhang Ruochen.
“In a confrontation of this level, this emperor will not participate. Why not put this emperor back inside the chart first?” Xiao Hei knew his own limitations and looked anxiously at Zhang Ruochen.
“Senior brother, and me too.” Xue Tu said.
With a thought, Zhang Ruochen pointed towards the white-feathered peacock sacred chariot. “Go over there. It is safe there.”
“It is only a sacred chariot. How safe can it be?”
Xiao Hei muttered under his breath, but he still chose to trust Zhang Ruochen. Together with Xue Tu, who harboured similar doubts, he moved to the side of the white-feathered peacock sacred chariot.
Naturally, the two of them would not simply wait for death. Each deployed more than a dozen protective measures.
Though such measures were no different from paper before an eightieth-order spiritual force powerhouse, they at least offered some psychological comfort.
Watching Zhang Ruochen’s arrangements, a trace of doubt flickered in Yuling God’s eyes.
Appearing alongside the large-headed rag doll was an enormous human skin lantern, its black hair hanging loose, battle axe in hand. Beneath its feet, yin qi condensed into a sea of qi spanning a hundred thousand li, with illusory images of yin cities, ghost trees, armoured soldiers, and more faintly visible within.
Though the Human Skin Lantern had not reached Taixu realm cultivation, its great god majesty shook space and time, its aura piercing the nine heavens.
If not for the presence of Yuling God and Amur, Zhang Ruochen would long since have fled.
Zhang Ruochen manifested the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram Seal, his momentum imposing as he confronted them. “Wuyue’s needlework is not bad. Your human skin body was already shredded by the Pure Yang Divine Sword, yet you have sewn it back together so quickly!”
Amur and Yuling God knew full well how formidable Wuyue was. Their expressions grew strange.
They had seen arrogance before, but never someone who, at only the early Taiyi realm, dared to speak to Wuyue so boldly. If he reached Taixu, would he not point his sword at heavenly-level powerhouses?
Of course, the early Taiyi realm here was the cultivation level they believed him to possess.
In truth, Zhang Ruochen’s path of cultivation was entirely different from theirs.
“Hehe!”
Laughter like silver pearls falling on a jade plate resounded through the void.
Under this laughter, even the seven-coloured misty light emitted by the Heavenly Light Rainbow Candle trembled incessantly, as though on the verge of being pierced.
Zhang Ruochen stared at the half-burned Heavenly Light Rainbow Candle. His brow twitched slightly.
A black figure stepped out from the empty void.
Its appearance could not be seen, only a fluttering black robe.
At the sight of Wuyue’s figure, both Yuling God and Amur grew grave, facing a great enemy. They immediately released their divine realm worlds and summoned secondary god-level supreme sacred artefacts, which hovered above their heads for defence.
The black figure’s voice was sweet. “Ruochen, you should be proud to have stepped into the Taiyi realm in such a short time, but you must not become too inflated!”
“Even your grandfather Xue Jue, now that he has entered Taixu, together with the Undying Blood God, would flee immediately upon encountering me. Only if his cultivation advances further, to mid-Taixu, would he be qualified to confront me head-on.”
“Yet advancing from early to mid-Taixu took Xuan Yi sixty thousand years. Xue Jue cultivates quickly, but it would still take him at least forty thousand years, no? In forty thousand years, my spiritual force will probably have reached the level of determining the universe with a single thought. For him to confront me then, he would need to break through to the Immeasurable realm.”
“The Immeasurable realm is difficult. Even a genius like Wu Qingzong accumulated for countless tens of thousands of years at Taixu peak before succeeding.”
Zhang Ruochen knew Wuyue was attacking their minds. She was telling him that the War God Xue Jue could not be his backing, while also intimidating Yuling God and Amur, eroding their will to fight.
After all, the battle strength of Yuling God and Amur still fell short of the War God Xue Jue by some margin.
Zhang Ruochen truly feared Yuling God might be cowed by Wuyue. He quickly said, “Grandma Wuyue, why do you keep mentioning my grandfather’s name? Could it be that you wish to marry into the Xue Jue family and become the grand clan mistress? If that is your intention, just say it plainly. I will go back and tell Grandfather to propose marriage at the Dark Temple.”
Zhang Ruochen felt a piercing gaze shoot from the black figure, actually penetrating the seven-coloured misty light and landing upon him.
“Boom!”
Even though the Heavenly Light Rainbow Candle neutralised most of the spiritual force, Zhang Ruochen’s divine soul still shook violently, cracks appearing. He retreated seven steps in succession.
Countless Buddhist ancestral scripts emerged on his body, radiating ten thousand zhang of golden light, finally blocking that strand of spiritual force.
“How can she be this strong?” Zhang Ruochen was inwardly alarmed, beginning to believe some of what Wuyue had said earlier.
With his current cultivation, facing an existence of this level, even if he played all his trump cards, he would have no chance of survival. The gap was truly that between heaven and earth.
Fortunately, from beginning to end, Zhang Ruochen had never considered fleeing. Instead, he had chosen to persuade Yuling God to deal with Wuyue together.
Otherwise, at this moment, Zhang Ruochen would already be utterly dead.
The large-headed rag doll laughed. “Now you should understand that the Heavenly Light Rainbow Candle cannot protect you either, right?”
Zhang Ruochen steadied his divine soul, forcing himself to appear calm and utterly fearless. “Grandma Wuyue seems to be gravely injured. You spoke so many big words earlier, yet this one strike has completely exposed you. You cannot even wound me, a great god at early Taiyi realm.”
Yuling God and Amur, who had been deeply wary of Wuyue, heard these words and a gleam appeared in their eyes.
Wuyue openly admitted it. “Yes, Feng Yunba did have some ability. His reputation was well-deserved. But even staking his life, he only inflicted a slight injury on your grandma. It is nothing. Killing everyone present is no difficult matter.”
“In that case, Grandma, what are you waiting for? Strike quickly!” Zhang Ruochen said.
“No rush. Waiting for the Heavenly Light Rainbow Candle to burn out will make killing you far easier. It will spare me the headache of another desperate last stand.”
Wuyue’s gaze suddenly fixed upon Yuling God. “Yuling, you are an ancient god who has lived for hundreds of thousands of years. Why willingly allow Kunlun Realm to use you? This is a calamity of clan extermination!”
Yuling God glanced at Amur, pondering deeply.
After all, she knew the Demon Wolf Clan originated from Kunlun Realm.
Wuyue continued, “Though your Yasha Clan was used by Kunlun Realm and wronged the Dark Temple, we once shared some friendship, and the Dark Temple’s losses were not great…”
“How about this: you redeem yourself now by capturing Zhang Ruochen, then join Shidi in suppressing Amur. I will decide that past matters are forgiven, and I will even give you Zhang Ruochen’s flesh and blood to refine into pills. Having refined the Buddha ancestor’s sarira, he is like a humanoid divine medicine. It will surely help you cross your fourth eon tribulation.”
Zhang Ruochen’s expression changed. He had not expected Wuyue to play such a vicious move. He immediately said, “Eat my flesh and blood? This shows no regard for Tianmu and the Nine Heavens! Grandma, you are truly insidious! Miss Han, do you dare cooperate with someone so treacherous?”
Yuling God had indeed wavered momentarily.
After all, Wuyue’s fame was too overwhelming. Opposing her was truly unwise.
Yet the backing behind Zhang Ruochen was too formidable.
If Yuling God acted against Zhang Ruochen, Wuyue could threaten her with it at any time in future. Moreover, for Wuyue to want to use her hand against Zhang Ruochen and Amur, it must mean she was gravely injured and lacked confidence.
Amur said, “It is true that the Demon Wolf Clan once obeyed the Dragon Lord. Not long ago, the Dragon Lord personally visited the Seven Peaks Linked Mountains. But the Demon Wolf Clan is now a member of the Hundred Clans King City, with a hundred thousand years of friendship with the Yasha Clan. We are allies who live and die together. Do you think a single word from you can divide us?”
Amur’s words served both to steady Yuling God’s resolve and to intimidate her and Wuyue.
The Dragon Lord had visited the Seven Peaks Linked Mountains not long ago.
Then, was it possible that the Dragon Lord had already come to the Dark Triangle Star Domain?
