On this day, the outside world was shaken once more.
The Lord of the Temple of Darkness flew into a rage, and forces from all sides in Hell sent messages inquiring about the cause.
The fall of a great god was a grievous blow, no matter how powerful the faction.
Whether in the myriad realms of Heaven or the ten clans of Hell, the gaze of the gods turned towards the Dark Triangle Star Domain. The attention it received surpassed even the Starry Sky Battlefield.
Anyone could guess that a great storm must have formed in that endless darkness.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for two great gods to fall in such a short time, along with several true gods and countless pseudo-gods.
This was paving the road to the Sword Realm with the blood of gods.
“My god-slaying methods are still too weak. If I were the main god of a certain path, refining and killing a Zhao Wuyan would not take so long,” Zhang Ruochen sighed.
Though the Wuji Divine Dao could mobilise various heavenly rules, the quantity he could mobilise depended on the area covered by his Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram Imprint.
In theory, the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram Imprint was infinitely vast, equal to heaven itself.
Yet how could he mobilise rules in places his divine soul and mental strength could not reach?
In the end, he was still limited by his cultivation realm.
Zhang Ruochen believed that if he reached the small goal he had set earlier, his cultivation would advance greatly. Refining and killing Zhao Wuyan again would probably take only a few hours.
To reach this small goal, the Hunyuan Bottle in his hand was crucial.
Though Zhao Wuyan’s mental will and divine soul had been refined away, his divine qi remained in the bottle.
How much divine qi did a great god possess?
A great god’s divine realm world was extremely vast and could store divine qi.
A great god like Zhao Wuyan, whose cultivation approached the peak of Taiyi, possessed especially thick divine qi.
In other words, Zhang Ruochen now had the divine qi of an entire realm to absorb.
Zhao Wuyan was of the Ghost Clan, so his divine qi was yin and cold, of the attributes “ghost qi” and “death qi”. Directly absorbing and refining it was possible, but it would inevitably leave hidden dangers.
Zhang Ruochen summoned Yulongxian and took the Arhat White Pearl from her body, placing it into the Hunyuan Bottle.
Purifying ghost qi required time.
Taking advantage of this interval, Zhang Ruochen shifted his form and arrived beneath the Heaven-Connecting Divine Wood. His gaze fell upon a pink skeleton.
This skeleton had once belonged to Yanhong Great Saint, one of the three Goddesses of Destiny in the Hunt for Heaven battle a thousand years ago.
Legend said she had awakened deep in the Three Paths River region, gaining spiritual intelligence. She had been killed three times and revived three times, utterly bizarre.
Zhang Ruochen had killed her once himself, even using dark space-time matter.
He believed he had truly killed Yanhong Great Saint and utterly eradicated her. But was Yanhong Great Saint the true owner of this body?
He had placed the pink skeleton here because he discovered that even after eradicating her soul and spirit, she could still continuously absorb death qi from heaven and earth.
Her divine bones were filled with undying divine patterns that could not be destroyed.
Deep in her skull was an unknown region. When Zhang Ruochen had once probed it with mental strength, he had nearly been injured.
Though her cultivation was only that of a Great Saint, Zhang Ruochen suspected she had been a remarkable ancient god in life, very likely not fully dead and extremely dangerous.
Like the former Blood Moon Ghost King.
Who knew she was actually a divine thought avatar of the Moon God, cultivating a ghost body?
After so many years, the pink skeleton had continuously absorbed death qi, and her divine bones had undergone great changes.
The pink bones were crystalline and translucent, like rubies.
With his current cultivation, Zhang Ruochen believed he no longer feared that unknown region in her skull. Even if an ancient god who was not fully dead remained, could she contend with a great god of the present age?
But for safety, he inscribed corpse-driving inscriptions on her bones.
He inscribed millions before stopping.
Swish!
Zhang Ruochen removed the spatial chains binding the pink skeleton. The bony frame rapidly expanded to one thousand eight hundred li long, lying on the ground like a pink mountain ridge. Death qi soared skyward, terrifying to the extreme.
Flying to the centre of the pink skeleton’s brow, Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands. Thick mental strength erupted from his body, forming a river of light that rushed into the skull and entered the cranial world.
Here was vast and boundless, shrouded in grey mist.
Zhang Ruochen’s mental strength advanced irresistibly. For safety, he released one soul sword and one spirit sword to lead the way. Even if remnant soul remained unextinguished in her skull, he would slay it today and eliminate future trouble.
Boom!
Deep in the unknown region, a pink light burst forth. The soul sword and spirit sword could not block it.
The one-thousand-eight-hundred-li-long pink skeleton also radiated pink light. Death qi surged outward madly. Wherever it passed, grasses withered, trees decayed, spreading into the Qiankun Realm.
The Heaven-Connecting Divine Wood swayed, its leaves exhaling life qi to contend with the death qi.
Beneath another sky, the bodhi tree blazed with golden light. From within the tree came the sound of ten thousand Buddhas chanting scriptures.
It was as though a truly formidable old monster had been awakened from eternal slumber.
“I refuse to believe this. Divine soul, depart the body!”
Zhang Ruochen shouted. His divine soul and the other six soul swords flew from his body, rushing into the cranial world and charging straight towards the centre of the pink light.
Mental strength formed the path, seven soul swords cleared the way, the spirit sword protected him.
Arriving at the very centre, he saw a blood lake suspended in pink misty light.
The blood lake contained towering demonic qi.
Any knowledgeable ancient god would surely abandon the idea and retreat immediately.
But with Sword Ancestor’s seven soul swords in hand, Zhang Ruochen feared nothing. He controlled the Anger Sword and slashed at the blood lake.
Boom!
The blood lake was split in half.
Instantly, an ancient aura that made Zhang Ruochen’s divine soul tremble erupted from the blood lake, forming monstrous waves that swept towards him.
The waves condensed into seventy-two heaven-piercing demonic pillars, seeking to suppress his divine soul.
“Not good!”
Zhang Ruochen protected himself with the seven soul swords and fled rapidly.
Pfft!
His divine soul returned to his body. Zhang Ruochen’s body shook violently, and he spat a mouthful of blood.
Disregarding his injuries, he immediately took out a Buddhist ancestor’s sarira and pressed it to the pink skeleton’s brow. Dense Buddhist scriptures flew from the sarira, enveloping the entire skull.
At the same time, the millions of corpse-driving inscriptions he had inscribed earlier all lit up, firmly suppressing the violently trembling pink skeleton to the ground.
The divine soul power awakening in that blood sea was indeed terrifying. Zhang Ruochen’s divine soul had nearly failed to escape. But the death qi in the cranial world was limited. Once outside, he did not fear her.
A full quarter of an hour passed before the powerful divine soul force in the cranial world gradually subsided.
Zhang Ruochen dared not remove the Buddhist ancestor’s sarira. He divided his mental thoughts and continued inscribing corpse-driving inscriptions on the bones.
“What is going on? Why did I just see seventy-two demonic god pillars? Was she a great figure of the demonic dao from the Chaotic Ancient Era? Could she be one of those seventy-two?”
“No, that cannot be. So many tens of thousands of years have passed. Her divine soul should long have dissipated!”
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen thought of something. His pale face changed slightly. “The Three Paths River! It must be the Three Paths River!”
The Three Paths River region in Hell was perhaps the most bizarre place of space-time in heaven and earth. The river connected the myriad realms of Heaven and all parts of the universe. Wherever living beings existed, in any world or planet, there was an entrance to the Three Paths River, continuously sending corpses, bones, and ghosts to Hell.
The corpses and bones of myriad realms flowed downstream, gathering in the Three Paths River region.
They became the source for the birth of Hell’s three clans.
Yet in the starry sky of Heaven’s universe, the Three Paths River could not be found at all. It could not be severed.
If she had truly been one of the seventy-two demonic god pillars when alive, what was her state now? How powerful was she? How much of her battle strength remained? Was she fully awakened?
Among the seventy-two demonic god pillars, the thirty-eighth, Feima, was a woman. Legend said she was of the extinct Jade Blood Spirit Race.
Could it be her?
The world was full of strange occurrences. He had heard of the Heterodox Heavenly Emperor who lived nine lives, seen ancient remnants hatched from prehistoric eggs, slept with the God-Illuminating Lotus that survived the Nether Ancient Era. At this moment, Zhang Ruochen’s heart truly panicked.
Even if someone told him now that true immortals existed in the world, he would believe it.
“No, I cannot keep her here. That slash of mine definitely awakened her. The corpse-driving inscriptions and Buddhist ancestor’s sarira may not hold her. I cannot let her absorb more death qi.”
Zhang Ruochen took out the Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron he had brought from the Liangyi Sect and threw her into it, preparing to seal her.
As he had guessed, this cauldron was extraordinary. Even divine swords could not cleave it.
Just as Zhang Ruochen laid down seven seals and prepared the eighth…
A faint voice rang out. “What era is this? Why am I still alive? Whose divine blood preserved my soul and spirit?”
Standing outside the cauldron, Zhang Ruochen felt his hair stand on end, his scalp numb.
She…
She had truly come back to life!
Boom!
A heavy strike from within.
The bronze cauldron rang like a heavenly bell, shaking the earth beneath the Heaven-Connecting Divine Wood to pieces. Zhang Ruochen’s eardrums buzzed.
Something big was about to happen!
Zhang Ruochen immediately opened the Scroll of the Six Patriarchs’ Chan Release and struck the bronze cauldron out of the scroll world with a palm, sending it flying into the dark void.
The old yellow ox carrying the Scroll of the Six Patriarchs’ Chan Release jumped in fright, its tail standing straight. It bellowed, “You nearly scared this ox’s gall bladder to burst. What are you doing, making such a commotion?”
“Get lost! If you do not want to die, get far away.”
Zhang Ruochen had no time for it. He held the Heaven-Sacrificing Bronze Cauldron with both palms, surging divine flames from his hands, refining it with all his strength.
“Even if you were once one of the seventy-two demonic god pillars, you have been dead for who knows how many years. I am a great god of the present age. Do you think I fear you? Refine for me!” Zhang Ruochen gritted his teeth.
Bang! Bang!
The strikes from within the cauldron continued without cease.
Each blow shattered a region of space.
The cauldron and Zhang Ruochen’s position constantly shifted in the void.
Blood flowed from Zhang Ruochen’s seven orifices from the shocks, yet he never let go.
Gradually, something even stranger occurred. The surface of the sacrificial cauldron melted in the divine flames, revealing ancient shamanic script. Patterns of mountains, rivers, and geography from unknown lands appeared.
Spatial rules of heaven and earth continuously gathered, actually fixing space in place.
Even the previously shattered space instantly healed.
“The Nine Cauldrons… have emerged? The Cauldron of Space, the Universe Cauldron!”
This voice did not come from Zhang Ruochen, but from within the cauldron.
