Chapter 1257: Invincible at the Same Realm
"Devouring Demon Dragon and Qisheng actually succeeded in collecting a mature Nuanling Dragon Fire as well."
All the sacred realm beings on Dragon Fire Island were utterly shocked.
Black Li Imperial Prince and Chi Wansui, who were recovering from their injuries, simultaneously opened their eyes, revealing complex expressions.
Only those who had truly come into contact with mature Nuanling Dragon Fire understood how incredibly difficult it was to successfully collect it.
Yet, Zhang Ruochen, Devouring Demon Dragon, and Qisheng had all succeeded, proving that their strength was not even a fraction weaker than divine dragons at the same realm.
"In the end, I still fell short."
Chi Wansui let out a soft sigh, but quickly set aside the disappointment in his heart.
Even if he hadn't succeeded in collecting it, it didn't matter. There were still some methods in the world that could counter Nuanling Dragon Fire. The key was not to lose fighting spirit and to maintain a heart of striving forward.
Above the volcano.
Zhang Ruochen faced Devouring Demon Dragon and Qisheng alone, without a trace of fear. Instead, he revealed a faint smile and said, "With your current cultivation levels, you are no match for me. If you want to kill me, you must continue to train harder."
"You overestimate yourself too much!"
A human voice emerged from Devouring Demon Dragon's mouth. Then, from beneath its abdomen, a dragon scale over sixty meters long detached, flew up to a height of ten thousand zhang, transformed into a black sun, and emitted an ancient, primordial dragon aura.
That was the Ancestral Dragon Scale.
Qisheng grabbed the God-Slaying Cross Shield and flung it toward the ground. With a thunderous crash, it embedded itself into the earth.
"Whoosh."
The Ancestral Dragon Scale scattered black radiance, while the God-Slaying Cross Shield surged with blood-red divine light. The two immense forces intertwined, sealing the space.
Zhang Ruochen attempted to mobilize the Space Rules but found their flow had become extremely sluggish. He could no longer tear through space, let alone perform a Spatial Displacement.
Ao Xinyan was oppressed by the power radiating from the Ancestral Dragon Scale and the God-Slaying Cross Shield, struggling to breathe. It felt as if her sacred soul were about to be crushed.
Qisheng stood in the void, stepping on a vast, surging blood cloud. The six wings on his back emitted six different types of power. Staring at Zhang Ruochen, he gave a faint smile: "Can you still remain so composed now?"
Zhang Ruochen shrugged nonchalantly, glanced down at the Undying Blood Clan and Ancestral Dragon Mountain camps, and laughed: "You can both stay composed, so why can't I?"
The Undying Blood Clan was being routed by the imperial court's saints. Originally, there had been over twenty Blood Saints, but now only thirteen were still holding on, and they were already at the end of their strength.
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord was also being thoroughly tormented by Qing Mo. His dragon ears, claws, tail, and nose had all been chopped off, turning him into a bloody "dragon stick."
Qing Mo still wanted to gather more ingredients and cut off the dragon tongue. The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's face turned green with fear. He no longer dared to chase Qing Mo and instead fled in all directions as she pursued him.
Under such circumstances, Zhang Ruochen naturally didn't mind fighting them. The longer the battle dragged on, the heavier the losses for the Undying Blood Clan and Ancestral Dragon Mountain.
"Let's move. Finish this quickly."
Devouring Demon Dragon's dragon eyes spewed forth two pillars of fire condensed from Nuanling Dragon Fire, surging toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and composed. He quickly unfastened his belt and pressed it against Ao Xinyan's lower abdomen.
"Whoosh."
The blood-red belt emitted dazzling light, transforming into the Ten Saint Blood Armor, which wrapped around Ao Xinyan's body.
Then, Zhang Ruochen placed his hand on her shoulder and pressed down slightly, sending Ao Xinyan plummeting toward the ground.
Zhang Ruochen faced the oncoming Nuanling Dragon Fire, extended his palm, and shot out a blue flame to meet it.
Qisheng flew behind Zhang Ruochen and said, "Zhang Ruochen actually gave the Ten Saint Blood Armor to a woman. Without the power of the Ten Saints enhancing you, how can you still fight us?"
"Fighting you doesn't require borrowing the power of the Ten Saint Blood Armor," Zhang Ruochen replied.
The saints who had not joined the battle all watched the fight above the volcano.
A human elder saint, over three hundred years old, furrowed his brows and said, "Isn't Zhang Ruochen being too arrogant?"
"Devouring Demon Dragon and Qisheng are beings comparable to divine dragons. At the same realm, they have almost no rivals. Does Zhang Ruochen think he can withstand their attacks with just his own strength?"
A sacred beast from the Nine Li Palace sneered: "Unable to use spatial power and without the Ten Saint Blood Armor's enhancement, Zhang Ruochen is like a tiger without claws. Yet he still dares to be so arrogant. He really needs a good lesson. Cripple him, and he won't dare to be so cocky anymore!"
Wan Huayu showed a tense expression. Even she wasn't very optimistic about Zhang Ruochen this time, since Qisheng and Devouring Demon Dragon were both freakish individuals capable of sweeping through a group of saints at the same realm on their own.
"Universal Divine Stele Palm."
Qisheng raised his hands above his head, condensing a black divine stele dozens of zhang tall above him. The stele was covered in blood-red patterns, radiating a powerful aura capable of destroying heaven and earth.
The Universal Divine Stele Palm was the Undying Blood Clan's number one palm technique. When cultivated to its peak, even a Great Saint might not be able to withstand it.
Back then, Xue Hou had used the Universal Divine Stele Palm to injure Qing Emperor with a single strike.
To execute the Universal Divine Stele Palm required an immense amount of blood energy. After Xue Hou, the number of people who had cultivated it to even a minor level of mastery could be counted on one hand.
Qisheng's execution of the palm technique, forming a stele shape, proved that he had already reached minor mastery.
Even the saints at the Xuanhuang Realm felt their hearts race at the sight of the stele shadow in the sky.
"Ten Saints, emerge together!"
Qisheng roared again. The Ten Saint Blood Armor surged with ten saintly shadows, merging with his own power to push the black divine stele toward Zhang Ruochen, aiming to suppress him.
To finish the battle quickly, Qisheng unleashed his strongest move from the start, giving Zhang Ruochen no chance to counterattack.
"Today is your death day."
Devouring Demon Dragon let out a cold, deep laugh. The Nuanling Dragon Fire surging from its pupils grew even stronger as it focused all its power on suppressing Zhang Ruochen.
"Not necessarily, is it?"
Zhang Ruochen released a powerful sword intent from within his body, channeling it into the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
"Sword Seven."
The Abyssal Ancient Sword spun rapidly, turning into a black streak of light that pierced through the pillar of Nuanling Dragon Fire and flew swiftly toward Devouring Demon Dragon.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword was forged from Creation Iron and was impervious to Nuanling Dragon Fire.
"Such powerful sword energy!"
Devouring Demon Dragon had no time to dodge. The Abyssal Ancient Sword struck its left eye. With a "bang," the eyeball burst.
The sword pierced through the back of Devouring Demon Dragon's head, and a pillar of blood gushed out from the wound.
Devouring Demon Dragon suffered severe damage, losing control of the Nuanling Dragon Fire within its body. The shattered eyeball was instantly burned to ashes.
As Zhang Ruochen executed the sword technique, he quickly turned around. Sacred Qi surged endlessly from his body into his arms. Vast phantoms of a dragon and an elephant appeared on his left and right sides.
"Boom."
Two palm strikes, carrying the might of dragon and elephant, collided with the black divine stele, unleashing powerful energy fluctuations.
One was the Undying Blood Clan's strongest palm technique; the other was the Ten Thousand Buddha Path's strongest palm technique. It was hard to say which was more powerful.
Palm techniques had no inherent strength or weakness.
But the users did.
After only a brief stalemate, the black divine stele shattered. Qisheng, as if struck by a heavy hammer, was sent flying backward, crashing to the ground and creating a large crater.
He knelt at the bottom of the crater, coughing up blood continuously.
After the black divine stele shattered, the dragon and elephant phantoms also broke apart. Zhang Ruochen was sent flying backward, with a thread of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"In a battle at the same realm, I actually got injured."
Zhang Ruochen wiped the bloodstain from his lips with a finger, revealing a cautious expression. He had to admit that he had indeed underestimated Devouring Demon Dragon and Qisheng earlier.
In that exchange, whether it was the human saints or the sacred beasts from Ancestral Dragon Mountain and the Nine Li Palace, all were greatly shocked.
Qi Tian Crown Prince and Devouring Demon Dragon had joined forces and still suffered a heavy loss?
On the other hand, although Zhang Ruochen was also injured, it was clearly not as severe as theirs.
"At the same realm, is the Heir of Time and Space truly invincible?"
"Zhang Ruochen once cultivated to the Tenth Change of Fish-Dragon and seized the True God Fate. Unless the legendary Thousand Bone Constitution or True God Constitution appear, no being can face him head-on. For Qi Tian Crown Prince and Devouring Demon Dragon to injure him is already quite impressive."
"The battle isn't over yet. Isn't it too early to draw conclusions? Devouring Demon Dragon's most powerful move is the Ancestral Dragon Scale, and Qi Tian Crown Prince's strongest attack is the God-Slaying Cross Shield. Zhang Ruochen doesn't have a weapon of the same level to counter them. How can he resist?"
The crowd fell silent.
Indeed, the Ancestral Dragon Scale and the God-Slaying Cross Shield were weapons that couldn't be judged by common sense. Once their innate power was activated, Zhang Ruochen, lacking a weapon of the same level, would be unable to withstand them.
"Roar!"
One of Devouring Demon Dragon's eyes was completely ruined. It felt immense shame and anger, suffering the heaviest blow since it began cultivating. Even when Zhang Ruochen captured White Li Princess, it hadn't been this furious.
"You have thoroughly angered me!"
The giant dragon, over twenty miles long, coiled upward, flying to a height of ten thousand zhang. It spat out a mouthful of blood energy, spraying it onto the Ancestral Dragon Scale.
Golden patterns emerged on the Ancestral Dragon Scale, and thousands of dragon shadows flew out from the scale.
Standing on the ground and looking up, the entire sky had turned black. Golden ancient patterns shuttled across the heavens, emitting a heart-stopping pressure of power.
It was the aura of an ancient primordial dragon.
At that moment, all the saints on Dragon Fire Island trembled. No one could maintain a composed expression.
The Undying Goddess and the Fate Goddess flew out from the divine temple, one after the other. They had been fighting but now stopped, staring at the golden patterns in the sky with grave expressions.
"Die."
Devouring Demon Dragon roared, mobilizing the power of the Ancestral Dragon Scale and striking it down toward Zhang Ruochen.
The world was filled with destructive energy. Some severely injured sacred beings couldn't withstand the pressure and collapsed to the ground with a "bang."
"Whoosh—"
At that moment, a silver streak of light shot up from the ground, colliding with the Ancestral Dragon Scale. A thunderous boom echoed.
The Ancestral Dragon Scale was sent flying, all the way out of Dragon Fire Island, and with a "plop," it plunged into the Yin-Yang Sea.
When the silver light stabilized, everyone saw it clearly—it was a kitchen knife.