One-third of its divine soul body had exploded and shattered, yet it could still recondense, even though some divine soul and spirit would be lost.
The injury itself was secondary.
The true source of Xiu Chen Heaven God’s near-madness was the humiliation burning in its heart.
In its prime, it had been utterly glorious, able to stand as an equal beside the now-sealed Feng Caiyi and Qing Cang. Every god who beheld it felt only awe. All living beings were mere grass, trees, or ants in its eyes.
Back then, figures like the Famous Sword God, Jia Tianxia, or the Lord of the Soul Realm counted for nothing. The Blood Absolute War God was still a barefoot bear of a child. Yet now these juniors grew more insolent than the last, showing it no respect whatsoever. They not only insulted it with words, but beat it senseless with sheer strength.
If it had known it would endure such disgrace, it would rather have died at the hands of the Sumeru Saint Monk all those years ago. At least it would have kept a glorious name.
The Famous Sword God was acclaimed the foremost sword below the Immeasurable Realm, lord of the Sword God Realm, his cultivation and combat power surpassing even Feng Yunba, and he wielded the divine artifact Ming Jun Sword.
His appearance in the Dark Triangle Star Region at this moment was hardly surprising.
With his jade-like divine countenance, feathered crown, and fluttering bright robes, the Famous Sword God seemed a sword dao exiled immortal roaming the nine heavens. Seeing Xiu Chen Heaven God’s frenzied state, he said, “Do not feel aggrieved. Even without the Ming Jun Sword, it would be no great difficulty for me to slay you. Your next aeon tribulation approaches, does it not? You are fated to perish beneath it anyway. I cannot be bothered to waste effort killing you.”
Naked contempt.
Xiu Chen Heaven God was so enraged that its long hair flew wildly, its pupils turned blood-red, and its howl was shrill and mournful. It very nearly sacrificed the Eternal Heart.
Yet it held back.
As the Famous Sword God had said, its next aeon tribulation was imminent. If it lost even the Eternal Heart, there would truly be no hope left.
“Shura Great Yi Realm!”
Xiu Chen Heaven God surged towards the Famous Sword God.
In the Eternal Divine Domain at the very heart of the continental land of the gods, a vast territory spanning countless tens of thousands of miles slowly rose into the air. This territory was none other than Xiu Chen Heaven God’s Shura Great Yi Realm.
The entire world was densely covered with time-mark light points, drawing every strand of time rule between heaven and earth towards it.
Zhang Ruochen, Xuan Yuan Qing, and Feng Yan watched the oncoming Shura world from above. Their faces changed drastically, and they fled far away.
Even with only a divine soul body remaining, Xiu Chen Heaven God was far from weak among Taixu-realm Great Gods.
With the addition of the Shura Great Yi Realm, the eight-armed Shura divine war soul, and its exquisite command of countless divine abilities, it could contend even against peak Taixu-realm Great Gods.
Yet against a peak Taixu-realm Great God wielding a divine artifact, it could only suffer a passive beating.
The Famous Sword God gave a cold, sharp smile. He did not even draw the Ming Jun Sword, merely forming a sword finger that transformed the entire continental land of the gods into a sword dao world, drawing every sword dao rule between heaven and earth towards him.
The Pure Yang Divine Sword in Feng Yan’s hand trembled violently, beyond his control, and flew towards the Famous Sword God with Feng Yan still clutching it.
“He is the Lord God of sword dao!”
Feng Yan’s face filled with shock. He immediately communicated with the sword spirit through divine thought.
The sword spirit of the Pure Yang Divine Sword awakened once more. Circles of crimson flame divine radiance burst from the sword body, only then carrying Feng Yan free from the mobilisation of the Famous Sword God’s sword dao profound mysteries and crashing to the ground.
Zhang Ruochen caught up beside Feng Yan, cast a deep glance at the Famous Sword God high in the sky, hauled him to his feet, and fled at top speed.
Xuan Yuan Qing released a circular beam of bright divine light to shield them. She said, “The combat power of a Taixu-realm Great God exceeds ours by more than tenfold. The few we face now are peak existences within the Taixu realm. The gap is so vast that even I, a Taibai-realm Great God, must retreat hundreds of thousands of miles to feel the slightest safety.”
“No matter how mighty the Famous Sword God may be, was he not nearly beaten to death by Big Brother back then?” Feng Yan said.
Xuan Yuan Qing replied, “You are mistaken. The one who defeated the Famous Sword God was not Zhang Ruochen, but Tianmu. It was Tianmu’s power.”
None of the three dared look back, yet they clearly sensed the sword dao rules between heaven and earth flowing madly. Dense sword qi streaked past them, all converging towards the Famous Sword God.
“Boom!”
Moments later, earth-shaking divine power fluctuations erupted behind them.
The Shura Great Yi Realm was shattered by a single sword finger from the Famous Sword God, collapsing utterly. Even Xiu Chen Heaven God’s divine soul body was completely blasted apart.
Though Zhang Ruochen and the others had already fled hundreds of thousands of miles, the powerful divine power aftermath still rocked them, making it impossible to steady themselves, as though struck in the back by a heavy hammer.
Zhang Ruochen could not resist turning to look. The world behind them had become utterly shattered, riddled with spatial cracks.
“Do not look. Once mastered profound mysteries reach Lord God level, a transformation occurs. Against gods of the same realm, there is no suspense whatsoever.” Xuan Yuan Qing said.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “You seem entirely unconcerned for your brother. Is he simply going to relinquish the Universe Cauldron?”
A cold, sharp glint appeared in Xuan Yuan Qing’s starry eyes beneath her veil. She said, “The Famous Sword God can be said to have seized the Universe Cauldron from my brother’s own hands. Acting with such insolence, do you think my brother would stay his hand?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “The other wields the foremost sword in the world, a divine artifact, and is Lord God of sword dao. Is your brother truly his match?”
Disdain flashed across Xuan Yuan Qing’s face. “The eternal nine Paths, the supreme seventy-two Paths. Foremost sword in the world is merely the foremost sword in the world.”
“Hua la la!”
The sound of flowing water arose from nowhere.
Zhang Ruochen looked up, his eyes suddenly contracting. The entire vault of heaven, indeed the entire universe, was enveloped in silvery-white currents of water pressing down from above.
By now the three had escaped the continental land of the gods and stood in cosmic starry space.
“The whole starry sky is raining. Such dense rules of the five elements water Path.” Feng Yan said.
Rain fell across the starry void, like myriad arrows.
Seeing astonishment on Zhang Ruochen’s face as well, Xuan Yuan Qing looked rather proud. She said, “The Famous Sword God is Lord God of merely one Path, whereas my brother is Lord God of both water and wood Paths.”
The Famous Sword God clearly understood Xuan Yuan Lian’s prowess. For any other treasure he would never have contested it, inviting such a formidable enemy upon himself.
But this was the Universe Cauldron.
Was it truly fit only for the son of a Heavenly Venerable?
In the void world, tens of thousands of dark crimson beams rose. Demonic evil qi shattered the divine realm world the Famous Sword God had condensed from sword dao rules.
“This is… the legendary Heavenly Venerable divine ability created by the Great Demon God himself, Thousand Spirits Blood Evil!”
Even the Famous Sword God paled slightly at the sight of those dark crimson beams. He immediately merged with the Ming Jun Sword and plunged into the water curtain, seeking to escape.
Yet the water that filled the starry sky suppressed his speed.
Princess Fima and the golden chariot burst from the continental land of the gods into starry space, intercepting and attacking the Famous Sword God from two separate directions.
Three peerless powerhouses below the Immeasurable Realm clashed, unleashing every divine ability, tearing space apart, altering the rules of heaven and earth, and gradually dimming the entire star region where the Lost Paradise lay.
Stars shattered one after another, reduced to dust.
No cultivator dared draw near.
The ripples of battle grew ever more distant. Zhang Ruochen surveyed the ruined, chaotic starry sky filled with fireballs, water clouds, sword qi, demonic seas, and vast expanses of fractured space.
The lingering power of three supreme Taixu-realm Great Gods refused to dissipate.
Turning back to the continental land of the gods, this vast continent pieced together from the divine-realm worlds of countless gods lost since antiquity spanned more than a billion miles, yet now it lay ravaged.
Centred on the zone of shattered space pierced by divine powers, life had vanished across millions of miles, leaving only magma, desert, and shocking fissures in the earth.
For the beings of the Lost Paradise, this was a cataclysm.
No gods remained to protect them.
As Zhang Ruochen sighed inwardly, he suddenly caught sight of a figure moving stealthily through the shattered space. He exclaimed in surprise, “Xiu Chen’s vitality is simply too tenacious. I thought the Famous Sword God’s sword dao profound mysteries had already annihilated it. Can you still wield the Pure Yang Divine Sword? Strike it once more.”
Zhang Ruochen sensed that, though Xiu Chen Heaven God’s aura had weakened yet again, it remained terrifyingly powerful, far beyond what he could currently contend with.
Xiu Chen Heaven God concealed its aura, moving with utmost caution, its face sombre as frost, its mood utterly despondent.
It did not immediately depart the continental land of the gods because, though the Shura Great Yi Realm lay shattered, vast quantities of Shura evil qi and regulus divine patterns still scattered everywhere. Absorbing them all would restore a considerable portion of its cultivation.
Formidable figures like Princess Fima, Xuan Yuan Lian, and the Famous Sword God had already left, occupied with contending for the Universe Cauldron. None would notice it.
“Just wait. Once this god refines a divine source, every last one of you will die.”
Xiu Chen Heaven God knew that after its thorough beating by the Blood Absolute War God a thousand years ago it had already lost all face. Subsequent setbacks had piled humiliation upon humiliation until even the Yellow Springs galaxy could not contain it. Its hatred could incinerate the myriad realms of the Heavenly Court.
Today the Famous Sword God had utterly crushed the last shred of its dignity.
Yet its willpower remained extraordinarily resolute. It did not despair utterly, did not collapse, did not abandon ambition. It still wished to contend against heaven, still intended to strive with every ounce of strength for a future and wash away today’s shame.
As Xiu Chen Heaven God gnashed its teeth, fantasising about refining a divine source, shattering the Famous Sword God’s skull, and seizing both the Ming Jun Sword and the Universe Cauldron, a sudden intense sense of crisis surged within it. It looked up sharply.
In the void, sword radiance cleaved forth by the Pure Yang Divine Sword spanned a hundred thousand miles like a river of flame, illuminating the mountains and rivers of the continental land of the gods, a hundred times redder than the morning sun.
Xiu Chen Heaven God uttered a miserable scream. Its newly condensed divine soul body was cleaved apart once again.
“Chi chi!”
Great quantities of divine soul fragments burned away.
Yet many fragments still escaped with streams of Shura evil qi, rushing into the void world. Slowly they coalesced into Xiu Chen Heaven God’s peerlessly enchanting countenance, snow-white jade neck, and slender, towering figure.
Its complexion was deathly pale, its eyes brimming with frenzied hatred.
Zhang Ruochen saw Feng Yan’s arm drenched in blood, his expenditure immense, so weak he could barely stand. He said, “Look after Feng Yan for me. I shall deal with Xiu Chen.”
Zhang Ruochen raised the Qing Ping Sword, transformed into a streak of divine light, and pursued into the void world.
“You have lost your mind. Even gravely wounded, Xiu Chen is no opponent for you.”
Xuan Yuan Qing’s twin eyes fixed upon Zhang Ruochen vanishing into the void world. As she hesitated whether to follow, a thought suddenly struck her, and her gaze turned abruptly icy. “Look after him for you? You have some nerve.”
