# Chapter 1179: Great Battle at Zijun Hall
Among martial saints, those who can cultivate their spiritual power to above the fiftieth rank are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Zhang Ruochen's martial realm was indeed as far apart from Diyuan Dharma King as heaven and earth, but his spiritual power was far stronger, enough to deceive heaven and cross the sea.
Zhang Ruochen silently infiltrated Zijun Hall, arriving outside the Nine Dragons Locking Heaven Formation.
There, Diyuan Dharma King sat cross-legged at the center of the formation, his neck, arms, legs, and waist all bound by dragon-shaped chain locks. For an ordinary saint, it would be impossible to move even a single inch.
But Diyuan Dharma King was exceptionally powerful. Within his body, waves of formidable sacred qi surged forth, causing the entire Zijun Hall to become shrouded in white mist.
Vaguely, one could see twelve humanoid shadow figures standing within the sacred qi white mist, positioned at twelve directions around Diyuan Dharma King.
They looked very much like twelve guardian deities.
"As expected of a figure at the Dharma King level. Even trapped, he can still manifest twelve sacred qi avatars," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
The twelve humanoid shadow figures, though merely avatars condensed from sacred qi and sacred dao rules, were still extremely powerful, far surpassing ordinary mid-level saints, making Zhang Ruochen feel quite troubled.
Of course, none of this was beyond his ability.
As long as he could kill Diyuan Dharma King, the twelve sacred qi avatars would naturally disappear as well.
Zhang Ruochen carefully controlled the killing intent on his body, his form taut like a drawn war bow. Using Spatial Displacement, he vanished from his spot.
"Shua!"
The next instant, Zhang Ruochen broke into the Nine Dragons Locking Heaven Formation, appearing above Diyuan Dharma King's head. He pointed his finger downward and slashed, creating a space rift.
Diyuan Dharma King's five senses were extremely sharp. The moment Zhang Ruochen used Spatial Displacement, he instantly opened his eyes, shooting forth ten thousand zhang of light.
"Clatter, clatter."
Diyuan Dharma King pulled on the nine dragon-shaped chain locks, shifting horizontally to the right, trying to avoid the descending space rift.
Diyuan Dharma King's neural reaction speed was astonishingly fast. Cultivators weaker than him simply could not ambush him. Even though Zhang Ruochen had launched his attack from extremely close range, Diyuan Dharma King still managed to avoid the vital point.
"Puchi."
The space rift slashed down from Diyuan Dharma King's left arm, severing one arm and one dragon-shaped chain lock.
Though an arm was cut off, Diyuan Dharma King was not severely wounded.
With Diyuan Dharma King's cultivation, even with only one arm remaining, he could kill Zhang Ruochen in the snap of a finger.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen had come prepared, so naturally he had follow-up moves.
Having failed to kill Diyuan Dharma King with his first strike, he immediately launched a second.
He slightly bent his five fingers, reaching forward, and tore open five space rifts in succession, all striking at Diyuan Dharma King simultaneously.
Ordinary martial techniques and sacred artifact attacks, Diyuan Dharma King could completely block.
But methods like space rifts could not be directly countered. Even he could only dodge.
Previously, the space rift had severed one dragon-shaped chain lock on Diyuan Dharma King's body. Now, eight remained, leaving Diyuan Dharma King with extremely limited space to evade.
"Puchi."
Diyuan Dharma King dodged three space rifts in succession, but ultimately, two space rifts struck his body.
One struck his waist, tearing off a large chunk of flesh, nearly cutting him in half. Some of his internal organs were also devoured by the space rift.
The second space rift severed Diyuan Dharma King's right arm, while also cutting through another dragon-shaped chain lock.
At this moment, Diyuan Dharma King was in a miserable state. Both arms were gone, making him look like a human stick hanging there. A large amount of sacred blood gushed from his body, staining the ground red over a wide area.
Who could imagine that a lofty Dharma King would be wounded so severely?
Seeing that he had not killed Diyuan Dharma King, Zhang Ruochen wanted to launch a third strike.
But the third strike was not as smooth and continuous as the first two, giving Diyuan Dharma King a chance to catch his breath. He roared, "Junior, are you seeking death?"
Diyuan Dharma King stomped his foot heavily on the ground. With a rumble, the entire Zijun Hall shook violently.
Zhang Ruochen felt as if ten thousand zhang high waves of water were surging toward him. He tried to use Spatial Displacement to dodge, but was a step too late. His chest felt as if it had been struck by an iron mountain, and he was sent flying backward.
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen crashed into the wall of Zijun Hall. Formation inscription runes emerged, creating a rebound force that sent him flying back toward the Nine Dragons Locking Heaven Formation.
"Go to hell!"
Diyuan Dharma King watched Zhang Ruochen flying toward him and let out a fierce roar. The sound waves he spat out condensed into the form of thousands of troops and horses. Those soldiers, clad in iron armor and holding war swords, charged at Zhang Ruochen.
The sound waves spat out by a Dharma King were not something Zhang Ruochen could withstand.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to collide with the army formed by the sound waves, his figure suddenly vanished. Using Spatial Displacement, he crossed to the outside of Zijun Hall, escaping the calamity.
"Wa!"
Zhang Ruochen spat out a large mouthful of blood, severely wounded. If it had been any other lower-level saint, they would have already died.
Suddenly, the twelve sacred qi avatars rushed out from Zijun Hall, trying to surround and kill Zhang Ruochen.
Clearly, Diyuan Dharma King had already guessed his identity and did not want to let him leave.
"It's your turn now."
Without any hesitation, Zhang Ruochen took out the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and slapped his palm forward, opening a space gate.
"Hua—"
A mass of black ghost qi surged out from the space gate, then charged toward Zijun Hall.
As the ghost qi rushed past, the twelve sacred qi avatars instantly shattered, turning into wisps of sacred qi.
The ghost qi charged into Zijun Hall, transforming into a slender shadowy figure that decisively attacked Diyuan Dharma King.
"Rumble, rumble."
A great battle erupted within Zijun Hall.
If not for the defensive formations within Zijun Hall being extremely powerful, it would have already shattered into pieces.
"Diyuan Dharma King, even if he has stepped into the Heaven-Connecting Realm like Haiming Dharma King, has already lost both arms and is bound by dragon-shaped chain locks. He is no match for Blood Moon Ghost King and should be killed soon," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
The so-called "Heaven-Connecting Realm" was actually a realm of saints.
Saints were divided into eight realms: Lower-Level Saint, Mid-Level Saint, Upper-Level Saint, Xuanhuang Realm, Thorough Earth Realm, Heaven-Connecting Realm, True Realm, and Ultimate Realm.
The first three realms of saints—Lower-Level, Mid-Level, and Upper-Level—were all foundational realms, and also realms that most saints could reach through effort.
The next three realms—Xuanhuang Realm, Thorough Earth Realm, and Heaven-Connecting Realm—corresponded to the early martial realms of Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Huang. Only by understanding the connection between the two could one break through and return to simplicity.
As for the last two realms—True Realm and Ultimate Realm—very few saints could reach them. The former was called "True Saint," and the latter "Ultimate Saint."
True Saints and Ultimate Saints, like Saint Kings, were figures who roamed between heaven and earth, elusive as dragons. Even saints rarely saw them.
A saint who had stepped into the Heaven-Connecting Realm was already a terrifying existence. A single breath could severely wound a lower-level saint.
The fact that Zhang Ruochen had survived earlier was not only due to his powerful physical body but also a bit of luck.
"Not good, the power of the Nine Dragons Locking Heaven Formation is weakening. Someone is deactivating the formation."
After becoming a spiritual power saint, Zhang Ruochen's perception was extremely sharp. Naturally, he detected the change in the Nine Dragons Locking Heaven Formation.
"Who is it?"
Zhang Ruochen charged into a formation tower beside Zijun Hall. There, a black-robed cultivator wearing a golden ghost mask had already deactivated the Nine Dragons Locking Heaven Formation.
"Boom."
Zijun Hall split apart and collapsed with a thunderous crash.
A blazing sun rose from the ruins, shooting straight into the sky and fleeing toward the horizon.
Within the territory of the Blood God Sect, a sun hung in the sky, turning night into day.
In truth, it was not a real sun, but half of Diyuan Dharma King's body.
The lower half of Diyuan Dharma King's body, from the chest down, had been completely shattered. Even the remaining half of his body was tattered, as if it could collapse at any moment.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Blood Moon Ghost King, dressed in pure white robes, with jet-black hair like a waterfall and cold eyes like lightning, transformed into a blood-red moon and chased after the sun ahead.
A very strange scene—a sun and a moon appeared in the sky simultaneously, chasing each other, erupting into a terrifying battle.
Zhang Ruochen had great confidence in Blood Moon Ghost King. If for no other reason, just for Diyuan Dharma King's sacred soul, Blood Moon Ghost King would definitely go all out to capture him.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze locked onto the black-robed cultivator. He formed hand seals with both palms and struck out simultaneously.
Since the other party had acted to deactivate the Nine Dragons Locking Heaven Formation, they were definitely Diyuan Dharma King's companion and had to be eliminated.
The black-robed cultivator took out a one-foot-long emerald staff from his sleeve and pointed it at Zhang Ruochen. Instantly, an ice crystal barbarian beast condensed and pounced toward Zhang Ruochen.
"So, he's a spiritual power saint."
Zhang Ruochen recognized that the black-robed cultivator was using a profound spiritual power attack method, beyond the scope of ordinary spells. He was undoubtedly a spiritual power saint.
No wonder Zhang Ruochen had not detected him hiding in the shadows earlier. His spiritual power was not inferior to Zhang Ruochen's.
Of course, this person's spiritual power was not too strong, probably not yet reaching the fifty-first rank. He was only slightly stronger than Zhang Ruochen.
"Bang."
Zhang Ruochen shattered the ice crystal barbarian beast, took out the Abyssal Ancient Sword, and charged forward.
"Heir of Time and Space, Zhang Ruochen."
Earlier, the black-robed cultivator had seen Zhang Ruochen use the Cosmic Divine Wood Map to summon a Ghost King, thus recognizing his identity.
The black-robed cultivator turned and fled, rushing toward the top of the formation tower.
"Since you recognize me, where do you think you're going?"
Zhang Ruochen swung his sword in a slash. A thick sword qi surged forth, cutting the thirteen-story bronze formation tower in two. It collapsed with a thunderous crash.
The black-robed cultivator jumped out from a window of the formation tower, falling into a ten-thousand-zhang abyss. But instead of hitting the ground, he used his spiritual power to condense a sacred cloud and flew rapidly into the distance.
Zhang Ruochen was severely wounded. As soon as he took a step forward, his five organs and six viscera ached terribly, as if some organs were being torn apart.
"I absolutely cannot let him escape."
Zhang Ruochen also used his spiritual power. A thunderous roar erupted from within his body, and his form transformed into a bolt of lightning, chasing forward. The speed he unleashed was actually faster than the black-robed cultivator's.
...
(My updates have been too slow these past two days. I feel guilty! I got up at three in the morning today to write and finally finished two chapters. I'll go sleep for a bit, then get up to continue writing.)