Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“All cultivators retreat to the periphery. With your cultivation, fighting Zhang Ruochen alone is no different from suicide. Immediately form an integrated attack formation with the two High-Saint Array Masters. Use group defense and ladder formation attack.”
Archangel Michael was brilliant. Even though Zhang Ruochen had killed the cultivators of Heavenly Realm faction, he could remain calm.
“Where are the twelve Angels of Vengeance? Turn into the Light of Judgment immediately and help me slash Zhang Ruochen.”
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The wind breaking sound was heard.
The twelve Angels of Vengeance from the Fane of Light turned into twelve rays of bright Saint Light and appeared beside Archangel Michael.
A battle formation was formed. They turned into twelve halos and hung above Archangel Michael’s head, sprinkling holy light.
“Close!”
The aura of Archangel Michael kept on rising. The cross-shaped wound on his chest was healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Originally, his cultivation base was about 60 percent strength of evil Yan Wushen. But now, with the support of the twelve Angels of Vengeance, his strength had increased exponentially.
It was not as simple as one plus one equals two.
In fact, the energy waves that erupted from Archangel Michael’s body had already surpassed good Yan Wushen. In his current state, he would not lose much even if he fought against the Four Heavenly Kings of the Celestial Palace.
Fane of Light was one of Fanes that passed on the teachings of the Paths of the Ancients. Hence, its methods were not something imaginable for an ordinary cultivator with the rank of Sainthood.
In a sense, Fane of Light had nurtured the twelve Angels of Vengeance for Archangel Michael’s sake. They wanted to make him the top elite across myriad of Macroworlds in this generation.
Yin Yuanchen was naturally envious of Archangel Michael. He looked at Zhang Ruochen and snorted in his heart. ‘Zhang Ruochen, only by killing you can I surpass Michael. Everything he has should belong to me.’
Myriad threads of light emerged from Yin Yuanchen’s body. They turned into the force of Hadean Doom and fused into the divine corpse.
The next moment, something shocking happened. Yin Yuanchen’s Blood Qi resonated with the divine corpse, merging into one.
Yin Yuanchen used a forbidden secret technique that his grandfather had created for him: Divine Corpse Blood Technique.
This was because he and his father’s divine corpse had the closest bloodline.
Using this secret technique, he could nurture the divine corpse with his Saint Blood. In a short amount of time, he could merge with the divine corpse and display explosive and unparalleled combat power.
KABOOM!
The extremely violent aura was released from the divine corpse and enveloped the entire Heaven Lake.
At this moment, the divine corpse was Yin Yuanchen. His power was rising steadily, and his strength was no less than the current Michael Archangel King’s.
“Zhang Ruochen, how dare you ruin my great plan? How do you want to die?” shouted the Descender who fall out of Hundred-Shackle Realm. His voice was cold.
As he spoke, he released monstrous Demonic Qi, causing the space, where the Heaven Lake was, seethe endlessly.
His name was Saint Lord Pravus. He was the most talented cultivator in Blackdemon Realm a thousand years ago. Back then, he had had the potential to become a top Supreme Saint.
Unfortunately, his Sainthood Source had been shattered by Smriti, a Supreme Saint from Infernal Court’s Rakshasa, during a battle.
Almost everything of his cultivation base—his Precepts, insights on the Paths, knowledge, and wisdom—was mostly wiped out by Smriti’s Pyreflame Bell.
A cultivator’s Sainthood Source was formed from the cultivator’s Saint Aspect, Saint Qi, enlightenment, and knowledge.
Hence, when cultivators’ Sainthood Sources were destroyed, they would fall out of the cultivation rank of Supreme Sainthood. When this happened, they could no longer be called a Supreme Saint.
At that time, Saint Lord Pravus had already broken through 42 Shackles of his body. His future had been bright. Hence, one could imagine the severity of the blow he had taken in that battle.
He had joined Heavenly Realm faction to gain a fortuitous encounter to restore his cultivation rank to Supreme Sainthood.
It would have been great if he could get his hands on Blood Dripper, yet Zhang Ruochen had ruined it. How could he not be angry?
Judging from the aura emanating from his body, one could tell that Saint Lord Pravus was more powerful than Archangel Michael and Yin Yuanchen.
This was normal. No Saint King could rival a Descender who had once been a Supreme Saint at Hundred-Shackle Realm.
Archangel Michael, Yin Yuanchen, and Saint Lord Xue Lin surrounded Zhang Ruochen and the other two.
“Heavenly Realm is indeed one of the dominant Marcoworlds. Its foundation is strong, and its methods are deep. No other Macroworlds can rival them.”
Zhang Ruochen sighed. His gaze swept across the two Fanes in the sky. Their presence had restrained his power of Space and Time.
The current situation was very disadvantageous to him.
“Zhang Ruochen, without the forces of Time and Space, how much combat power are you left with? Taste my sword.”
Archangel Michael was the first to attack.
Under his control, the twelve Swords of Judgment combined into one and slashed toward Zhang Ruochen.
He had been severely injured by Zhang Ruochen’s sword previously, so now he wanted to settle the score.
Swoosh–
The Sword of Judgment released a holy light illuminating the world as if it wanted to purify all the evil in the world.
Both Archangel Michael and the twelve Angels of Vengeance had not practiced Path of Light to its Great Perfection. But now, when their strengths combined, they could exert power comparable to the Great Perfection.
“Even without the forces of Time and Space, you are still no match for me.”
Zhang Ruochen’s fighting spirit was boiling, his gaze burning like lightning. He soared into the sky and wielded Ancient Abyssal Blade in his hand, slashing out heaven-reaching sword rays.
Boom!
The two streaks of Sword Light shattered in midair simultaneously, shooting out countless sharp Sword Qi.
Fortunately, this space had been completely suppressed. Even such a terrifying collision of power couldn’t tear it apart.
Archangel Michael retreated more than 200 meters in a row. He stabbed his sword into the ground to stabilize his posture.
Although the collision had landed on the ground, he was not injured. He could not help but feel more confident. He thought to himself, ‘Zhang Ruochen is not undefeatable after all.’
RAWRRRR!
Emperor Yi’s Evil Spirit roared, wanting to charge at the enemies with Le to help Zhang Ruochen.
“You are not qualified to join this fight. Die!”
Although Saint Lord Pravus was a Descender, he still had the aura of a Supreme Saint and Emperor-level power. He mobilized the Demonic Blood Qi and condensed a gigantic hand that covered the sky. Suddenly, the giant hand struck out.
Despite feeling the earth-shattering pressure, Le showed no fear. Instead, he released a murderous aura from his body. He gathered all his power into one point and stabbed out with his sword.
Emperor Yi’s Evil Spirit also unleashed a large amount of divine power. Its thick python tail lashed out ruthlessly.
BANG!
The sky-covering gigantic hand was unrivaled. Le and Emperor Yi’s Evil Spirit were sent flying and fell into Heaven Lake.
Le and Emperor Yi’s Evil Spirit were heavily injured after taking this hit. Their Saint Blood dyed a large area of Heaven Lake red, causing its icy water to boil.
It was not that they were too weak, but Saint Lord Pravus was too strong.
After all, he had once been a Supreme Saint who had broken through 42 Shackles. He was no ordinary person.
For every Shackle a Supreme Saint at Hundred-Shackle Realm broke, there would be a 10 percent increase in the strength of their Neverwither physique.
In other words, they could double their strength after breaking ten Shackles.
If they could break all hundred Shackles, they would be able to unleash strength ten times the power of their Neverwither physiques.
On top of a much stronger physique, Supreme Saints at Hundred-Shackle Realm have greater insights on their Paths. They also have greater proficiency in controlling the Precepts and Saint Qi of heaven and earth.
Although Saint Lord Pravus was a Descender, he had broken 42 Shackles before. Hence, his Neverwither physique was four times stronger than that of a Supreme Saint at the peak of Neverwilt Realm.
Even if he was not supported by Supreme Saint power, one should not underestimate him.
When a cultivator’s cultivation rank was not high enough, his physical strength could support him.
‘The gap in strength between a Hundred-Shackle Realm Descender and Neverwilt Realm Descender is too wide,’ Zhang Ruochen thought.
He had not used much strength to kill Teryn, who had been a Supreme Saint at the peak of Neverwilt Realm. But now, Saint Lord Pravus had brought him quite some pressure.
“Zhang Ruochen, how dare you be distracted? You really don’t know how to spell the word death,” Yin Yuanchen, who had merged with the divine corpse, said.
At the same time, he pounced forward, brandished his divine sword, and slashed out.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Yin Yuanchen lightly, waved his hand, and shot out Blood Dripper.
At the same time, majestic Five-element Chaotic Qi surged out of his body. It combined with the Precepts of Truth and evolved into a vast starry sky.
The Fane of Time and the Fane of Dimension could only impose a lockdown on Time and Space. They could not seal Zhang Ruochen’s Path of Truth.
“Seal.”
Suddenly, a loud voice sounded.
24 divine bones appeared above Zhang Ruochen. Many secret patterns were interwoven on them, releasing a very special energy wave that enveloped Zhang Ruochen.
Suddenly, the Realm-frame of Truth that Zhang Ruochen had condensed trembled slightly.
“Someone from Fane of Truth interfered?”
Zhang Ruochen’s heart sank slightly.
It was normal. The Heavenly Realm faction was powerful, so they naturally had some forces within Fane of Truth. Otherwise, how could they have gotten the secret technique to condense the Realm-frame of Truth for Archangel Michael?
Above the clouds, a person stood with a cold smile in his eyes. He looked down at Zhang Ruochen.
It was none other than Dongfang Qingyu, one of the ten Divine Scion from Fane of Truth.
‘It seems that master’s guess is correct. Our Lord has indeed taught Zhang Ruochen the secret method of condensing the Realm-frame of Truth. The 24 divine bones prepared for this have come in handy,’ Dongfang Qingyu said to himself.
With the 24 divine bones personally refined by his master, even if Zhang Ruochen condensed the Realm-frame of Truth in the mode of “Boundless Universe”, it would still be sealed and could not be of use in the battle.
Not only the Realm-frame of Truth, the same condition applied to the Path of Truth.
In this way, Zhang Ruochen would be vulnerable. He could no longer resist.
However, the next moment, Dongfang Qingyu was shocked. “What’s going on? Why isn’t Zhang Ruochen’s Realm-frame of Truth shape sealed?”
The Realm-frame of Truth that Zhang Ruochen condensed was different from that of cultivators from the Fane of Truth. On top of that, he had refined the Heart of Truth, how could his Realm-frame of Truth be sealed so easily?
“Control life and death, seize the opportunity!”
Zhang Ruochen growled. He mobilized the Precepts of his Swordsmanship. At the same time, he controlled Ancient Abyssal Blade and Blood Dripper to evolve the Liangyi Sect’s most powerful sword formation.
A huge Taiji diagram appeared above Zhang Ruochen. It rotated slowly and produced endless changes.
Whoosh!
Perfectly condensed rays of Sword Light flew out of the Taiji diagram. They were charging at Yin Yuanchen and Archangel Michael simultaneously.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen took out that ancient hilt that belonged to Sword Vault. He activated it with Saint Qi. In no time, it transformed into a slender sword. He launched a sword strike at Saint Lord Pravus.
In his eyes, Saint Lord Pravus was the most important opponent.
Not only did Zhang Ruochen resist the suppression of three major Fanes’ disciples while countering the attacks of the three elites all by himself, but he could also even initiate a sword strike at the same time. Zhang Ruochen, who was still a Saint King, had achieved something unprecedented.
Saint Lord Pravus could not help but sneer. “Since you’re so desperate to die, I shall grant your wish.”
As he spoke, Saint Lord Pravus’s body expanded and transformed into a 300-meter-tall giant. His demonic aura grew more potent. There were streaks of dazzling demonic light on his four limbs. They were moving like dragons and pythons. These were the 42 Shackles he had broken when he was still a Supreme Saint at Hundred-Shackle Realm.
A Supreme Saint’s body was covered by 100 Shackles.
Similar to the attainment of Neverwither Physique, the difficulty levels to break these Shackles ranged from easy to hard.
Human cultivators had ten Shackles on each limb. They were relatively easy to break. Saint Lord Pravus had broken all the Shackles on his four limbs. In other words, he could unleash all power of the four limbs to the max.
“Demon Sky Ripping Hand.”
Crack
Saint Lord Pravus’s big hand grabbed Zhang Ruochen’s sword beam and crushed it.
Then his hand charged at Zhang Ruochen.
CLANG!
Even with the divine sword blocking the attack, the impact still sent Zhang Ruochen a dozen steps backward. His breath became slightly chaotic.
‘What a strong force,’ Zhang Ruochen thought.
Seeing Saint Lord Pravus attack again, Zhang Ruochen quickly struck out with his palm. He mobilized millions of Precepts and activated the power of Armor of the Fire God at the same time.
Faced with such a strong opponent, he obviously had to be careful and counter it with all his might.
A blue dragon flew out of his palm. It grew with the wind. Its body burned with flames, causing the temperature of the entire Heaven Lake to rise sharply.
Boom!
Saint Lord Pravus’s attack was fierce, but it was blocked.
“Taste another palm strike from me.”
Zhang Ruochen shouted. He released vast Saint Qi and condensed brutal Palm Marks that could destroy the sky and earth.
BAM! BAM!
Zhang Ruochen and Saint Lord Pravus fought fiercely. They did not hold back and attacked with all their might.
…
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen was not at a disadvantage in the fierce battle against the three elites, the cultivators of Heavenly Realm faction all whispered to each other. Their hearts were pounding hard.
Zhang Ruochen was only a Saint King, yet it was so difficult to kill him.
What would happen if he became a Supreme Saint?
Akash looked into Yuanchu Palace. A cold light flashed in his eyes. “We must capture Chi Kongyue as soon as possible.”
To avoid any unforeseen circumstances, they must capture Chi Kongyue and use her as their trump card.
Many leaders, including Akash, entered Yuanchu Palace immediately.
Sensing the intention of Heavenly Realm faction, the Nine-heavens Maiden and the seventy-two Court Saintesses quickly protected Chi Kongyue.
Xue Wuye joined the other five Realm Bearers and walked to the front. No matter he was strong enough or not, he would not back down.
They would not back down!
Because Xue Wuye had refined the Heart of the Divine Tree, his vitality and recovery were much stronger than the other Saint Kings’.
He had been severely injured by Saint King Fangze, but his condition got better now.
Akash looked at the Nine-heavens Maiden, he sighed. “Why? The destruction of Kunlun was inevitable. No matter how much you resist, your efforts will be futile, and you will die in vain. You all saw how powerful Heavenly Realm faction was. Even if Zhang Ruochen could fight, could he break through the restraint imposed by the disciples of the three Fanes? Could he break the siege of two High-Saint Array Masters and hundreds of top Saint Kings? He is also a human. He can be worn out.
“Give up resistance and return to Megrez with me is the wisest choice.”
Swoosh!
The Nine-heavens Maiden raised her Saint Sword and pointed it at Akash. She said, “Akash, please don’t assume others are like you, so eager to be a dog. You said you want to help the Kunlun, yet you collude with Heavenly Realm to destroy Kunlun. How could a deity as upright as Navagraha have a despicable descendant like you?”
Warrior Saint Canglan had always been hot-tempered. She was not as gentle as Divine Scripture Maiden. She would show any emotions directly.
From the very beginning, she had hated Akash. Now, she hated him even more. She wished she could tear him into pieces.
Akash was not angered. Instead, he said with a faint smile, “A wise man trims his sail to the wind. History has always been written by the winners. As long as I can achieve my goal, who cares about what method I use?
“Alright, stop resisting. I don’t want to hurt you. As long as these people from Imperial Court choose to surrender, I can come forward and save their lives.”
“Sissy, what Bullsh*t are you talking about? Your mouth is so stinky! Our Master Zhang is the unbreakable backbone of Kunlun. He is powerful. Once we destroy all of those from Heavenly Realm faction, it will be your turn to die,” said Mastadon-Devouring Rabbit.
A terrifying murderous aura rose in Akash’s eyes as he said, “What a sharp-tongued beast. You will never have a good ending for insulting me.” The next moment, Akash ordered his underlings, “Kill them all except for Chi Kongyue and the Nine-heavens Maiden..”