Li Yuan Tian God rushed over at once. With profound truth power, he helped the bone clan high-rank god extinguish the Buddhist fire and reform his divine body. He roared, “The divine vessel has a god-slaying crossbow. All gods below Tai Zhen realm, leave this star domain immediately.”
Bang.
Zhang Ruochen aimed at a fleeing corpse clan mid-rank god and fired the third bolt.
The bolt trailed a tail of flowing light thousands of li long, terrifyingly fast.
“Young Ruochen, do not be arrogant.”
Xu Liao struck out with a crescent-moon-shaped king-level sacred artefact. It flew across the void and collided with the bolt.
Boom.
The king-level sacred artefact exploded into metal dust.
The bolt’s speed did not diminish, but it veered slightly off course and failed to strike the corpse clan high-rank god.
Zhang Ruochen felt no disappointment. With two Tai Xu great gods present, killing one god and severely wounding another was already fortunate.
Moreover, his main purpose in using the god-slaying crossbow was to pin down Li Yuan Tian God, Xu Liao, and Master Qianqian, buying time for the Blood Radiance Divine Centipede Vessel to reach the Xin Jia primary star.
The gods watching from distant starry sky were all stunned.
Having entered the hell realm, Zhang Ruochen still dared to slay gods.
In this cosmic cycle, no god was more brazen than he. Even the arrogant Blood Jue War God, when facing true gods, would show some restraint and not kill outright.
Bang.
Bang.
…
Bolt after bolt fired. With Zhang Ruochen’s powerful flesh, his arms still bore blood lines from the crossbow’s recoil. Skin split open.
The mountain-sized divine stone embedded in the crossbow was completely depleted.
Zhang Ruochen stopped reluctantly. The cracks on his arms healed rapidly.
He sensed a powerful aura concealed ahead and transmitted the spatial coordinates to Banya. “Capture him.”
Banya stood tall, her gaze deep and misty. She looked where Zhang Ruochen indicated, seeing nothing. Clearly, the hidden figure was a great god.
Sss, sss.
From openings on both sides of the Blood Radiance Divine Centipede Vessel, lightning tendrils like centipede legs shot out.
One lightning tendril suddenly lengthened dramatically, sweeping up a Tai Yi great god lurking ahead for a sneak attack and dragging him to the vessel’s edge.
This Tai Yi great god came from the Hidden Exhaustion Bone Sea. His bones gleamed like black jade.
“Insolence. What do you think you are doing? This seat was merely observing. I never attacked.” The Tai Yi great god raged, raising a divine realm world shrouded in dark clouds to break free of the lightning tendril.
“Senior Brother, do not let him go. He is Li Yuan Tian God’s junior brother, bone clan great god Cang Changji.” Xue Tu roared.
Xue Tu’s body was charred from lightning. His divine soul was gravely wounded.
Zhang Ruochen reached out across the void, fingers forming a claw. He pierced space, seized Cang Changji, and punched his three-metre bone body flat to the ground.
Stepping on Cang Changji’s divine body, Zhang Ruochen carved inscriptions across him, sealing his cultivation.
Just as another lightning river descended from above, Zhang Ruochen slapped Cang Changji. Instantly, he manifested a giant divine form. The three-metre bone body grew to three thousand zhang, becoming a shield above the blood-coloured divine vessel.
Pursuing from behind, Li Yuan Tian God shouted, “Divine Master, hold your hand. That is this seat’s junior brother.”
Master Qianqian’s brows furrowed slightly. With a flick of her finger, the lightning river poised to strike Cang Changji a million li away dispersed into wisps of electricity.
“This divine vessel is incredibly fast and priceless. It must be a gift from Blood Jue War God to Zhang Ruochen.” Xu Liao fumed, grinding his teeth.
Moments earlier, he had nearly claimed two Sword Ancestor soul swords.
Now, with he and Li Yuan Tian God both present in true form, plus an array divine master, they could not detain one Zhang Ruochen. Instead, he had killed a true god.
Utter humiliation.
“Rest assured. He will not escape.”
Li Yuan Tian God felt the same shame, yet remained relatively calm.
Many gods trailing behind hoping to profit were retreating. No choice. Zhang Ruochen was too strong. Earlier, with Sword Ancestor soul swords, he had repelled Xu Liao with one strike.
With the god-slaying crossbow, he slew true gods across starry sky.
Tai Yi great god Cang Changji had been flattened with one punch and turned into a shield.
Such combat strength. Could they profit from it?
Slight misfortune, and their lives would end here.
“No wonder Zhang Ruochen dared enter the hell realm and go to Fate Temple. Xu Liao, Li Yuan Tian God, and Master Qianqian combined cannot hold him.”
Suddenly, an excited voice rang out. “Look, everyone. It is the Ghost Lord. This time Zhang Ruochen cannot escape.”
…
The pursuit across this star domain lasted a full half day. Though Zhang Ruochen used Cang Changji as a shield, making the three pursuing gods hesitate.
Still, clashes were frequent. This starry sky was shattered to pieces.
Xiao Hei collapsed exhausted, unable to sustain the Yin Yang Eighteen Bureaus.
Xue Tu’s body resembled charred coal, face black as a pot bottom. He slumped against the vessel wall, dazed, eyes unmoving.
Banya’s divine qi was utterly spent. She sat cross-legged beneath the Gate of True Self, striving to recover quickly.
Though Zhang Ruochen could still stand and pilot the Blood Radiance Divine Centipede Vessel, Xu Liao’s divine soul attacks had wounded him remotely. His face was deathly pale.
Xiao Hei said weakly, “The first leg is already this hard. We cannot possibly reach Fate Divine Domain. Zhang Ruochen, whatever trump cards you have left, use them now. Stop hiding.”
The Blood Radiance Divine Centipede Vessel suddenly slowed and stopped.
Zhang Ruochen stared ahead. “The Ghost Lord is indeed here.”
Xiao Hei on the ground, Xue Tu against the wall, Banya beneath the Gate of True Self, all turned towards Xin Jia primary star. Ghost qi shrouded the entire starry sky, black and oppressive, blocking vision and eclipsing stars.
Above the ghost qi hovered a majestic divine palace. Its divine might seemed to pierce time and space, awe-inspiring across ages.
If Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation was worlds apart from Xu Liao and Li Yuan Tian God, then their gap with the Ghost Lord was even vaster.
The lord of the ghost clan’s third great ghost city, a true titan-level god of the hell realm, blocked the path ahead.
Utterly despairing.
From behind, Xu Liao, Li Yuan Tian God, and Master Qianqian fanned out to encircle.
From the distant divine palace, the Ghost Lord’s deep voice echoed. “I never expected you, Zhang Ruochen, to be so capable, actually reaching here. Talent like yours, this seat is almost reluctant to kill. Surrender, and this seat will grant you a path to life.”
“Spare the false sympathy. You would give this Realm Lord a path to life?”
Zhang Ruochen drew a deep breath. Battle intent and aura surged. He continued, “Moreover, what qualifies you, Ghost Lord, to speak of granting this Realm Lord a path to life? You overestimate yourself.”
“Why not submit to Xing Huan Heaven instead? This Realm Lord will spare you a path to life.”
Silence fell across the starry sky.
The pursuing Xu Liao and Li Yuan Tian God exchanged glances, unable to comprehend Zhang Ruochen’s arrogance.
Blood Jue family bloodline inheritance?
Xue Tu and Xiao Hei also looked at each other, discovering for the first time that Zhang Ruochen’s ruthless words surpassed even theirs, and sounded utterly natural. But ruthless words must suit the situation.
In their current predicament…
The harsher the words, the harder the beating to come.
The Ghost Lord emerged from the divine palace, cloaked in black robes. The surrounding void turned to black holes, devouring all light and heat. Ghost clouds in the starry sky formed billions of giant hands, skulls, and tendrils.
Wailing souls roared. Cries shook the heavens.
Who knew how many souls the Ghost Lord had devoured to reach his current cultivation.
“No need for the Ghost Lord to act. This seat alone can take his life.”
Xu Liao had been repelled earlier by Zhang Ruochen’s Sword Ancestor soul sword strike, but he knew that was surely Zhang Ruochen’s strongest blow. His own most powerful means remained unused.
As long as Zhang Ruochen did not flee, Xu Liao was fully confident of killing him in this starry sky.
The Ghost Lord nodded lightly. “Then I grant you the chance to reclaim your face.”
“Thank you, Ghost Lord.”
Xu Liao manifested his giant divine form. Head like a star, arms like mountain ranges. Corpse qi surged outward, carrying intense corrosive power. Clusters of divine flames condensed around him.
He majored in fire dao, death dao, and Corrupting World Heavenly Dao, mastering vast fire dao profundities.
None who reached Tai Xu realm were mediocre.
Zhang Ruochen pointed at Xu Liao and said gravely, “Do not court disaster. This Realm Lord gives you one final chance. Leave at once, or you will die without burial.”
Xu Liao nearly exploded with rage. A mere new god, even blessed with great fortune and extraordinary combat strength, was far too arrogant before a Tai Xu ancient god like him.
Unbearable.
“Seeking death.”
Xu Liao attacked. Fire dao rules in heaven and earth grew active.
Divine flames took various forms, surging from all directions towards the Blood Radiance Divine Centipede Vessel.
Swish.
Zhang Ruochen sacrificed a fist-sized divine palace. The palace rapidly grew taller, radiating corrosive power far stronger than Xu Liao’s Corrupting World Heavenly Dao.
Grey death qi poured from the palace, accompanied by the sound of dragging iron chains.
A roar echoed from within, resounding through the starry sea.
The Ghost Lord’s brows twitched.
The next instant, an ancient corpse with dishevelled hair burst from the palace.
The ancient corpse was chained to a flaming light pillar. Entering the void, its body swelled continuously, reaching over ten thousand li tall.
It exhaled corpse qi, bone-piercingly cold, fully freezing and extinguishing the divine flames Xu Liao had summoned.
Zhang Ruochen held the “Ming” character token, controlling the flaming light pillar with mental strength, and through it commanding the old corpse ghost. He struck a palm towards Xu Liao.
Xu Liao looked up. The starry sky above was completely covered by a rotting giant hand. His heart jolted, yet he still punched out.
Boom.
With his Tai Xu realm cultivation, before the old corpse ghost he was like a child. He was sent flying.
Back then, the far stronger Nine-Headed Dragon God could not withstand three strikes from the old corpse ghost.
Xu Liao’s protective domain shattered. He spat green corpse blood. Before stabilising, he found space around him frozen. He appeared in the old corpse ghost’s five-fingered giant hand.
“Not good…”
Terror struck him. He desperately activated his secondary god-level supreme sacred artefact gauntlets and raised his divine realm world.
The old corpse ghost emerged like a corpse ancestor. Eyes like blood moons, murderous qi soaring. Five fingers crushed Xu Liao’s divine realm world. The earth cracked inch by inch. Then, fingers lifted Xu Liao and tossed him towards its mouth.
