Shortly after Xu Tian left, space-time shook violently, and a mental strength storm spread over from the distant void.
Wuyue immediately realised that Xu Tian had encountered a powerful opponent and had no time to spare for her.
If she did not escape now, then when?
But before leaving…
Her gaze fell upon Zhang Ruochen, and in that instant, dense runes surged from her pupils.
These runes were like chains, capable of imprisoning a cultivator’s divine qi and mental strength.
Boom!
Zhang Ruochen’s reaction was extraordinarily fast. In a split second, he released six divine swords, shattered the runes, and fled at high speed.
Against a powerhouse like Wuyue, he could harbour no thought of resistance.
You cannot escape!
Wuyue’s voice rang out. She pointed a finger, and runes surged forth once more, far greater in number, each one like golden lightning, forming nine successive massive waves.
The Nether King’s gaze turned icy. He activated his sword gallbladder, and sword momentum erupted from his body.
Swish!
He drew the Stellar Divine Sword and slashed out a dazzling beam of sword qi towards Wuyue.
He meant to hold her back and buy time for Zhang Ruochen’s escape.
Wuyue swept her sleeve, conjuring a towering wave of flame. All the sword dao power reversed and surged back. The Nether King was flung away like a withered leaf, burning as he flew.
Time was pressing. Wuyue made no move to seize the Stellar Divine Sword and paid him no further heed. Her mental strength locked firmly onto Zhang Ruochen.
Capturing Zhang Ruochen and fleeing swiftly was the urgent priority.
Six Swords in One Astonishing God Array!
Zhang Ruochen directed the six divine swords not against the swarming runes, but instead poured all his strength into shattering the space that the runes had fixed in place.
His figure sank, vanishing into the void world.
Then, Zhang Ruochen directly burned lifespan and divine blood, fleeing at a speed comparable to a great god of the Taixu realm.
This was a burst of speed that could only be achieved in life-or-death moments through secret techniques.
Each use consumed an immense amount of lifespan and divine blood.
It was precisely for this reason that, in the void, killing a great god who was determined to escape was not necessarily possible, even if one’s cultivation exceeded theirs by one or two major realms.
Dear grandson Ruochen, come back to me.
Wuyue’s voice resounded, carrying boundless demonic allure, capable of piercing a god’s divine soul and swaying their mental will.
Zhang Ruochen was clearly fleeing with everything he had, yet he found his speed slowing, as though he had stopped in place. From behind, a soft, persistent force swept over him, enveloping him like gauze, like airflow, like a woman’s long hair.
Swish!
Buddhist light burst forth.
Buddhist ancestor scriptures rushed from his body, breaking through Wuyue’s illusion.
Zhang Ruochen glanced back and saw Wuyue already close at hand.
She extended a slender, snow-white jade hand, which enlarged to a hundred zhang and reached to seize him.
You think capturing me will be that easy?
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze turned sharp and piercing. He clasped his hands together, and seven soul swords flew from his body, colliding head-on with the hundred-zhang white jade hand of light.
At the same time, countless swords rained from his sleeve.
Bang! Bang!
Hundreds of millions of swords shattered completely, turning to iron dust that burned like fireworks in the void world, brilliantly dazzling.
Wuyue stepped out from the flames, only to discover that Zhang Ruochen had already fled far away again. She gave a cold snort. So many tricks, slippery as an eel!
Zhang Ruochen invoked the rules of truth, pushing his speed higher once more.
Yet the blood qi in his body was massively depleted, and his skin had turned ashen grey.
In just that brief moment, he had already consumed a thousand years of lifespan.
So fast. I cannot escape.
Zhang Ruochen sensed Wuyue closing in. His expression darkened. He drew the Qingping Sword, steadied himself, channelled divine qi into the blade, turned, and prepared to strike.
Though Wuyue was a master of the illusion dao, and he likely could not land a true blow on her real body with one slash.
But he had been driven to this point. How could he worry about such details?
The Qingping Sword erupted with sword dao fluctuations like the roaring of mountains and seas, blowing back the black hood of the oncoming Wuyue and revealing a face of unparalleled immortal beauty.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze froze, and he was momentarily stunned.
It was not her beauty that stunned him. After all, Chi Yao, Ji Fanxin, Bai Qing’er, Luo Yi… which of them did not possess looks capable of toppling nations?
No woman, no matter how beautiful, could make Zhang Ruochen lose focus at such a critical juncture.
The Moon God? No, this must be an illusion!
In the instant after his lapse, Zhang Ruochen steadied his mind and slashed with the Qingping Sword.
Regrettably, that single moment of distraction was enough. Wuyue seized the Qingping Sword, and he was suppressed within a cage of three billion runes, completely unable to move.
Only just reaching the level of great god, yet able to escape grandmother’s grasp time and again. Quite the ability!
Wuyue’s bright eyes turned to the Qingping Sword in her hand.
Within the green lotus imprint, sword qi raged with majestic might. Had Zhang Ruochen managed to strike just now, it would indeed have been dangerous.
Xu Tian actually lent you a sword. That old fellow’s actions truly defy all category.
Zhang Ruochen stared fixedly at Wuyue.
Her long hair fell on either side of her cheeks, reaching her knees. Her skin was luminous jade-white, her eyelashes long and curled, her nose delicate and refined. She was identical to the Moon God, yet her eyes brimmed with wicked charm, and her aura was chillingly sinister.
She resembled the former Blood Moon Ghost King more than the Moon God.
Because of the vast disparity in mental strength, Zhang Ruochen could not be certain whether he had fallen into her illusion.
Yet there was no need for it.
With Wuyue’s cultivation, she could crush him utterly. There was no reason to deliberately assume the Moon God’s appearance.
Since you still have some use, I shall spare your life for now. Come!
Just as Wuyue prepared to draw Zhang Ruochen into her palm, her expression shifted slightly. She looked deep into the void. A storm of nine-hued, ten-coloured mental strength arrived in an instant, crashing over both her and Zhang Ruochen.
Wuyue was formidable. She immediately raised a mental strength domain, manifesting a dark moon.
The three billion runes imprisoning Zhang Ruochen collapsed instantly under the storm’s impact. Zhang Ruochen promptly released the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram Imprint, enveloping an area of eighteen zhang around him.
Sheltered within the dark moon, Zhang Ruochen bore far less pressure. Seeing Wuyue fully occupied resisting the mental strength storm, he flashed forward and appeared before her.
Are you courting death? If this one’s mental strength domain is breached, we shall both have our divine souls shattered by the storm and perish without burial.
Wuyue knew exactly what Zhang Ruochen intended and issued a cold warning.
Zhang Ruochen paid it no heed. If she withstood this wave, he would inevitably become her prisoner, his life and death entirely in her hands. He might even end up refined into a puppet, like the Qingkong Sword King.
I have the Buddhist ancestor’s sarira to protect me. I do not fear a mental strength storm.
Golden light blazed from Zhang Ruochen’s body, with Buddhist ancestor scriptures circling around him. He seized back the Qingping Sword and struck Wuyue’s chest with a palm.
Bang!
Contrary to his expectation, even while devoting her full effort to resisting the storm, a soft yet forceful rebound erupted the moment his palm connected.
This force carried immense mental strength.
Zhang Ruochen’s divine soul suffered the impact. A thunderous boom echoed in his mind, his vision went black, and he nearly fainted.
Before he could recover his divine soul, his body was hurled from the dark moon and plunged into the mental strength storm.
This was the aftermath of a clash between a Supreme and Xu Tian. How could Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation withstand it? In an instant, his divine soul shattered, his mental thoughts vaporised, and his consciousness faded.
He was not alone. Wuyue, struck by his palm, fared badly as well. Blood spilled from her mouth, her dark moon domain collapsed, and she lost consciousness amid the storm.
Under the storm’s assault, Zhang Ruochen and Wuyue drifted like small boats on raging waves, carried towards unknown regions of the void world.
In their unconscious state, without divine qi or mental domains to shield them, their divine bodies were continually eroded by the void. Even with the Buddhist ancestor’s sarira protecting Zhang Ruochen, and even though Wuyue’s black robe was no ordinary item, how long could they resist the void?
…
The void world was eternally silent, utterly empty.
Who knew how much time had passed. Under the calls of the sword spirits of the six divine swords, Zhang Ruochen’s consciousness gradually returned, as though he were clawing his way up from the depths of an abyss.
Though floating in the void, his body felt unbearably heavy, and he could not open his eyes.
His head throbbed as if filled with lead and mercury.
He’s awake, finally awake! Big brother, he did not die. He’s come round! The voice of the sixth divine sword rang out from within the profound fetus.
Worthy of one protected by the Buddhist ancestor’s sarira. To survive such a devastating mental strength storm and regain consciousness. The fourth divine sword remarked.
The eldest sword spirit rebuked them. What do you understand? Zhang Ruochen has faintly transcended beyond heaven and earth. Even if his divine soul shatters, so long as the fragments remain within his body and do not dissipate, he will surely awaken.
Zhang Ruochen’s consciousness gradually cleared, and he understood his current predicament.
Yet his consciousness remained frail, unable to command his body.
Why are we still in the void world? Why have you not cleaved open space and taken me back to the real world? Zhang Ruochen asked.
The eldest sword spirit replied, You sealed us within the profound fetus. We cannot emerge.
Yes, we do not wish to be devoured by the void either. The sixth divine sword added.
Zhang Ruochen strove to remain calm. How long have I drifted in the void? In what direction?
He had to ascertain direction and time, or even returning to the real world could have dire consequences.
A chorus of bickering voices arose. After the mental strength storm hit, you lost consciousness and were blown away, drifting ever since. Probably about a year!
Nonsense, I reckon three to five years!
Not that long. I say only three to five months.
Ten years. Definitely ten years. No one understands time better than I do.
…
So long?
Zhang Ruochen’s emotions grew unsteady. Even if it were ten years, or merely three to five months drifting in the void, the distance would be immense.
He could only hope luck had carried him beyond the Dark Triangle Star Domain.
Otherwise, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Zhang Ruochen ignored the six divine swords. With his frail consciousness, he first attempted to communicate with Moyin, but received no response. Clearly, she too had been gravely wounded by the mental strength storm.
Next, Zhang Ruochen tried to mobilise divine qi, open the profound fetus, and release the six divine swords.
He failed again.
