“Immeasurable-level divine movement technique. You indeed have more trump cards. Do not flee. Come again.”
Zhang Ruochen unfolded the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram, deriving a divine realm world that forcibly dragged Hai Shang You Ruo inside. He struck with a second sword, billions of sword qi erupting together.
“You have broken into the Tai Bai realm?”
Hai Shang You Ruo’s movement technique was called “No Space-Time”, an immeasurable-level divine ability that Xu Tian had created many years ago by combining the paths of destiny, time, and void. She was close to mastering it.
Xu Tian claimed that once perfected, this divine ability would make her undefeatable in close combat.
When No Space-Time was deployed, space and time seemed nonexistent. Hai Shang could freely shift her position, even traversing real and void with a single thought.
Yet no matter how she altered her form, she could never escape the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram.
Boom!
Yin and yang qi surged around Zhang Ruochen, deriving blazing divine flames that crashed fiercely into Hai Shang You Ruo.
Hai Shang You Ruo felt as if struck by a heavy fist and flew backward.
Swish! Zhang Ruochen appeared before her and slashed toward her waist and abdomen, showing no mercy at all.
Hai Shang You Ruo was no weakling. Any mercy could allow her to seize the chance and reverse the battle.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to cleave her in two, an ice-crystal cold sword suddenly appeared in her hand. She swung upward, clashing with the Chen Yuan Ancient Sword.
Bang!
Hai Shang You Ruo plummeted, crashing heavily into the ground. Divine light burst forth, dust flew, and time mark light points densely scattered.
Zhang Ruochen pursued relentlessly, stabbing his sword into the massive crater.
He struck empty air. Hai Shang You Ruo had already fled.
Hai Shang You Ruo hovered in the air, covered in dust, her hair ribbon broken, long hair flowing loose, blood at the corner of her lips. She said, “I did not expect that after reaching Tai Bai realm, you would be this strong. Good. Only then can you serve as my whetstone.”
“At last I see your sword!” Zhang Ruochen said.
Both erupted with explosive sounds. Vast numbers of time mark light points bloomed, forming two seas of time, condensing into divine dragons or Taiji seal diagrams that collided madly.
Hai Shang You Ruo’s time swordsmanship was sharp and fierce. Combined with No Space-Time movement, she was swift as a ghost.
Zhang Ruochen used the Taiji Yin-Yang Seal Diagram to suppress her movement, slashing sword after sword, faster and faster, leaving countless afterimages, as if thousands of Zhang Ruochens and thousands of Hai Shang You Ruos clashed.
The divine realm world Zhang Ruochen derived with the Boundless Divine Way shattered, riddled with holes.
Bang!
After countless exchanges, Zhang Ruochen finally struck first. A palm hit Hai Shang You Ruo’s chest, mangling her flesh and sending her flying. She smashed through the divine realm world and collided with the Future God Palace.
“Do you yield?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“Come again.”
In a hundred thousand years, Hai Shang You Ruo had never felt such surging battle intent as today. Her eyes filled with icy killing intent. She gripped her sword and charged actively into Zhang Ruochen’s divine realm world.
Within the divine realm world, ten thousand swords fell like rain. Time and space grew chaotic and turbulent.
Even the River of Time rippled. Dense time rules flew out from the river, surging into the divine realm world, some mobilised by Zhang Ruochen, some by Hai Shang You Ruo.
Boom!
Another fierce clash. Zhang Ruochen slashed down from Hai Shang You Ruo’s left shoulder, nearly cleaving her in two. Blood flowed along the sword blade, staining Zhang Ruochen’s hands.
He could show no mercy. Doing so might mean his own defeat.
The gap in their combat strength was not large.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his sword and swept it horizontally, sending her flying. “Still not yielding?”
“Spare the nonsense. You cannot kill me. Why should I yield?”
Hai Shang You Ruo’s broken body slowly rose. Life rules from heaven and earth surged madly toward her, healing her wounds in moments.
“Life Master God!” Zhang Ruochen felt slight surprise.
A brilliant divine light appeared at Hai Shang You Ruo’s forehead, as if a passage connected to another mysterious world.
Glancing at her forehead, Zhang Ruochen felt his divine soul pulled in. Faintly visible was a vibrant island floating deep within her forehead.
The island’s life force exceeded the total life qi of a great world.
In pure attainment of the path of life, she was no weaker than Huang Tian.
Boom!
Flower petal rain flew from the island deep in her forehead, shattering rules in Zhang Ruochen’s divine realm world, piercing his protective defences, leaving fine blood cuts on his skin.
Zhang Ruochen was sent flying by the petal rain. The Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram appeared, circling an eighteen-zhang area, rotating like a millstone.
“Life Reincarnation!”
Hai Shang You Ruo’s body floated upward, hands raising her sword. As she slashed down, the world manifested four seasonal scenes: spring flowers blooming, summer green grass, autumn leaves falling, winter barren decay.
Life’s yearly reincarnation changes manifested in an instant.
This was a new swordsmanship fusing the path of life with time swordsmanship!
Zhang Ruochen sensed danger and held nothing back. He raised the Chen Yuan Ancient Sword overhead. Instantly, the Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram expanded rapidly outward. Shao Yang manifested.
Shao Yang took the form of a mountain.
The sword slashed down, breaking Zhang Ruochen’s Yin-Yang Taiji Diagram and colliding with the mountain-shaped Shao Yang.
Boom!
As if a piece of heaven smashed onto him, Zhang Ruochen shuddered. His viscera were injured, divine soul shaken. His body flew uncontrollably, crashing heavily into the ground.
The divine realm world collapsed, destroying a large part of the Five Realms Heaven.
Hai Shang You Ruo fared worse. Her body exploded into blood mist, only her skeleton intact. Time mark light points burned around the blood mist. Each instant of flight seemed to span months.
Zhang Ruochen rose from the ground, took a deep breath. His internal injuries healed greatly. Then he rushed swiftly toward where Hai Shang You Ruo had fallen.
Struck by Shao Yang, she would not fare well. He wondered if her foundation was damaged.
Hai Shang You Ruo’s flesh had reformed, wrapped in thick life qi. The surrounding ground bore dense rule divine patterns. Spiritual grass sprouted from the soil, tender leaves emerged, flowers bloomed.
Gradually, the Five Realms Heaven became a world of flora. The air filled with fragrant flower scents, colourful and fantastical.
Seeing Hai Shang You Ruo’s appearance now, a strange look flashed in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes.
Her aura was extremely powerful, far stronger than when they fought earlier. Clearly, she had taken the final step, breaking into Taixu.
But why had her body grown much larger too?
Hai Shang You Ruo now appeared twelve or thirteen years old, in the bloom of youth, no longer childish. She had a young girl’s graceful beauty, like a life spirit.
Suddenly, she opened her bright, watery eyes. A pair of white light wings condensed on her back. She soared up, looked at her hands and noticeably taller body, her pretty face showing the genuine joy of a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl.
The smile lasted only briefly before vanishing. Her beautiful eyes turned to Zhang Ruochen, cold. “Zhang Ruochen, you truly struck ruthlessly!”
Seeing Hai Shang You Ruo intent on revenge, would Zhang Ruochen joke and fight her now in Taixu realm?
Zhang Ruochen’s expression grew grave. “I had no choice. Today I must win. I must leave Destiny God Mountain.”
Hai Shang You Ruo restrained her divine power, frowning delicately. “What has happened?”
“A cataclysmic change. The starry defence line has completely collapsed. Feng Tian and Xu Tian are likely severely injured, their whereabouts unknown. Moreover, the Fengdu Great Emperor has returned!” Zhang Ruochen said.
In recent years, Zhang Ruochen had discussed many worldly trends with Hai Shang You Ruo. She naturally knew the external situation.
Surprise flashed in Hai Shang You Ruo’s eyes, then she said, “Leave quickly! Fortune God Venerable, for Blood Absolute War God’s sake, should not make things difficult for you.”
“Will you come with me? Wait for Xu Tian’s return before coming back to Destiny God Palace.” Zhang Ruochen said.
Hai Shang You Ruo had not expected that in such danger, Zhang Ruochen would still consider her safety. She said, “No need to worry for me. Since I have entered Taixu realm, I must stir the winds and make a grand emergence. That way, no one dares move against me lightly!”
“As long as you have a plan.”
Zhang Ruochen, like a magician, took out the wine cauldron and tossed it to her, smiling. “This is the celebratory wine I specially brought for you. You must finish it!”
Hai Shang You Ruo caught the cauldron, holding it in one hand.
“Right. Since you plan a grand emergence, help me protect the lives of one realm. I want to save them thoroughly!” Zhang Ruochen briefly recounted today’s wedding events.
Hai Shang You Ruo’s eyes showed surprise. She had not expected Zhang Ruochen to do such a thing, raising her opinion of him further. She said, “What makes you think I will protect them?”
“Because you are the Life Master God! If you did not love life, how could your attainment in the path of life be so high?” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Stop dawdling. Follow closely. Delay brings change.”
Hai Shang You Ruo urged, then looked at the wine cauldron. “I drink this wine to see you off. I hope when we meet again, we have both sealed kingship and dominion, laughing proudly over the world, with more chances to drink in the mortal realm.”
She was utterly bold and heroic, tilting her head back to drink. Where was the trace of a young girl?
Zhang Ruochen left without looking back, emotions surging. Though confined to Destiny God Mountain for nineteen years, he had gained one true friendship after another.
Perhaps life was thus. Loss in one area brought gain in another.
Exiting the Five Realms Heaven, Zhang Ruochen encountered the Blood Absolute War God.
“You won?” the Blood Absolute War God asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, “I won! But Hai Shang You Ruo has broken into Taixu realm. Winning against her again will not be easy!”
“She should have entered Taixu long ago, but her heart knot remained tied. Xu Tian had you be her whetstone, wanting her to watch you grow step by step through failure, never giving up in bitter cultivation, with a spirit never defeated. To let her learn from you. Let us go. First leave Destiny God Mountain.” the Blood Absolute War God said.
On the way, Zhang Ruochen asked the Blood Absolute War God about Hai Shang You Ruo’s situation. It was too strange. Breaking through in realm, her body had also grown much larger!
