Chapter 1527: Merit Divine Temple
Fang Yi said coldly, "Zhang Ruochen, aren't you being too arrogant? Do you really think you can monopolize so many Saint Sources with your own strength? Aren't you afraid of being choked to death?"
"Whether I'll be choked to death or not, I don't know. But what I can say for sure is that the Blade Prison Realm won't take a single Saint Source away."
Zhang Ruochen mobilized the power of the Qiankun Realm, and immediately, a powerful surge of energy erupted from his body, shaking Fang Yi so much that he couldn't stand steady. He stumbled backward, with bright red Sacred Blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"So strong."
Fang Yi clutched his chest, furious in his heart, but also extremely wary, not daring to act out.
No joke, with Zhang Ruochen's current strength, a single casual strike could kill him.
Moreover, given Zhang Ruochen's displayed talent, even if he killed him, Moon God would definitely go all out to protect Zhang Ruochen's life. Even the Merit Divine Temple might not be able to punish Zhang Ruochen.
Just endure it.
When under someone else's roof, one has to bow their head.
The Realm Sons of the six major worlds communicated through Spiritual Power, preparing to retreat, then lead the Saints of their respective worlds to forcefully seize the Saint Sources on the battlefield.
The battlefield was so vast, and the Saints of the six worlds were numerous. Even if Zhang Ruochen had three heads and six arms, he couldn't stop them all.
But just as they were about to retreat, a powerful Sacred Dao force landed on them, suppressing them so that their entire bodies couldn't move.
Among the Realm Sons of the seven worlds, aside from Wu Hao, the other six Realm Sons all changed expression slightly, staring at Zhang Ruochen.
Feng Mo said, "Zhang Ruochen, what do you mean by this? We just want to take back the corpses of our fallen comrades from our mother worlds and the Saint Sources within them. Isn't it enough that we're leaving all the Saint Sources from the Rakshasa Marquises to you?"
After Yuan Hun died, Feng Mo became the leader of the Saints of the Eight Extremities Realm, acting as the Realm Son for all duties.
"Go ahead!"
Zhang Ruochen waved his hand, issuing a command. Immediately, all the Saints of the Sacred Bright Central Empire rushed out at full speed to collect the Saint Sources.
After making these arrangements, Zhang Ruochen said, "Since you've already fled that battlefield, it means you've abandoned the Saint Sources there, handing them over to the Rakshasa Clan. And I, with my own strength, fought desperately to drive back the Rakshasa Clan and seize the Saint Sources from them. What right do you have to claim a share?"
The six Realm Sons all knew that if Zhang Ruochen hadn't driven back the Rakshasa Marquis army, they wouldn't have been able to obtain any Saint Sources, let alone retreat safely.
The worst outcome would have been total annihilation.
In the end, Zhang Ruochen had saved them, and it was perfectly reasonable for him to want those Saint Sources.
But after the Rakshasa Marquis army retreated, with the external threat gone, they naturally wanted to reclaim the Saint Sources, unwilling to let Zhang Ruochen monopolize them.
Faced with such enormous benefits, so-called gratitude had to be set aside for the moment.
The six Realm Sons were all outstanding talents, extremely shrewd. Almost simultaneously, they fully activated the Saint Qi within their bodies, unleashing their most powerful strength to break free from Zhang Ruochen's suppression.
"Boom!"
Six streams of Sacred Dao power exploded like six clouds, causing the surrounding space to tremble violently.
"I know the Saint Sources are important to you, but they're also important to me. So today, we'll have to rely on skill to seize the Saint Sources. Whoever has the greater skill gets the Saint Sources."
With these words, Zhang Ruochen raised a palm and pressed it down into the void. Immediately, the ground beneath the six Realm Sons' feet sank sharply, and dense Space Rifts appeared around their bodies, trapping them within an area of several dozen zhang.
"Damn it, the space in the Ancestral Spirit Realm is too fragile. Zhang Ruochen's space power can exert tremendous force here. Fighting him here is too disadvantageous."
"I finally understand why the Rakshasa Princess, despite having the upper hand, still led the Marquis army to retreat. If Zhang Ruochen were pushed to the brink, with his current cultivation, he could completely collapse this entire space and die together with them. That would be a huge loss for the Rakshasa Clan."
The six Realm Sons were all trapped inside the shattered space. Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, the Saints of the six worlds immediately charged toward the battlefield, intending to seize the Saint Sources.
If Zhang Ruochen couldn't borrow the power of the Qiankun Realm, even if he used space techniques in the Ancestral Spirit Realm, he wouldn't be able to stop them.
But now...
Zhang Ruochen mobilized the power of the Qiankun Realm with all his might, and his body could barely withstand that force, with more blood cracks appearing on his skin. Yet he still gritted his teeth and struggled to hold on.
"Space Rift."
"Boom."
Zhang Ruochen tore open a long rift. That black rift connected the sky and the earth, extremely shocking.
With a wave of his arm, the black rift flew out, extending from beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet to thousands of miles away, tearing apart that entire space and cutting off the path of the Saints from the six worlds.
The rift, thousands of miles long, was a hundred zhang wide.
The Saints who had rushed to the edge of the Space Rift were all startled, quickly stopping in their tracks. They stared wide-eyed ahead, as if witnessing a miracle, their legs going weak.
On the other side, the Saints of the Sacred Bright Central Empire were collecting Saint Sources with all their might. They all knew time was extremely tight, and Zhang Ruochen, relying on his own strength, couldn't hold back the Saints of the six worlds for long.
Therefore, aside from the Saint Sources, they didn't bother collecting any other treasures. Though it pained them, there was no other choice.
The fastest collector was undoubtedly Mo Yin.
Her feet transformed into tens of thousands of roots spreading across the battlefield, each root like a hand, retrieving a large number of Saint Sources.
By the time the Space Rift closed again, ninety-nine percent of the Saint Sources on the battlefield had been collected by the Saints of the Sacred Bright Central Empire.
"Let's go."
Zhang Ruochen shouted loudly, then sent out a wave of Saint Qi, enveloping them and leading them away into the distance.
By the time Ling Yan Demon Consort, Dongliu Sword Venerable, Wan Zhaoyi, and the others rushed out of the shattered space, Zhang Ruochen and the Saints of the Sacred Bright Central Empire had already disappeared over the horizon, out of sight.
"Hateful! Zhang Ruochen alone has taken over a million Saint Sources. With such a massive amount of resources, isn't he afraid of inviting death?"
"Any subordinate mortal world of the Heavenly Court will be tempted. Just wait and see, Zhang Ruochen is courting death."
...
They all knew they couldn't catch up to Zhang Ruochen, and it was no longer possible to reclaim the Merit Record Wall and those Saint Sources. So they had to lead the Saints of their respective worlds to search for other treasures on the battlefield.
Besides the Saint Sources, the battlefield also contained Sacred Artifacts, elixirs, talismans, secret manuals, Sacred Corpses, Sacred Blood... all of which were extremely valuable. The Sacred Bright Central Empire simply didn't have time to take them all.
This battlefield held over a million Sacred Corpses, making it an astonishing treasure trove. Any single item taken to a mortal world would be priceless.
Soon, the Zi hour arrived, and the Saint Merit War ended.
A three-colored divine light flew from the dark universe, descending onto the four World Fragments of the Ancestral Spirit Realm, like three-colored divine clouds spreading across heaven and earth.
All the Saints of the Ancestral Spirit Realm were enveloped by the divine light.
They only felt their bodies lighten, followed by a dizzying spin. When they touched solid ground again, they had already arrived at the Merit Star by the banks of the Heavenly River.
The Merit Star, though a star, was not spherical but terraced, with a total of 8,940 steps. Each step was one li high, and each step was a world's "Merit Record."
At the very top of the steps stood a magnificent Divine Temple, as massive as the steps below, nearly 8,000 li in height. Standing beneath the temple, one couldn't see its top, only a layer of hazy divine mist.
At this moment, all the surviving Saints of the Shatuo Seven Realms were gathered outside the temple.
Every Saint felt a sense of awe, involuntarily kneeling on the ground, bowing to the temple.
Only a few Saints remained standing, but even they wore expressions of reverence, holding their breath and not daring to make a sound.
"Merit Divine Temple."
Zhang Ruochen looked at the plaque above the temple gate and read out those four words.
They were four divine characters. The moment Zhang Ruochen saw them, he felt an overwhelming force pressing down on him, trying to force him to his knees.
In an instant, Zhang Ruochen's face turned as pale as paper, and the Sacred Soul within him felt as if it were about to be shattered into pieces.
"Whoosh——"
Zhang Ruochen quickly mobilized the power of the Qiankun Realm to resist the divine might emanating from the four divine characters, finally managing to straighten his slightly bent legs and reassemble his nearly shattered Sacred Soul.
"How dare you! Your body harbors another power, which violates the rules of the Merit War. For the sake of fairness, I, this god, will now punish you, reducing you to ashes."
From within the Merit Divine Temple, a vast and domineering divine voice rang out.
With each word spoken, Zhang Ruochen felt as if he had been struck a heavy blow. His body was flung into the air, spitting out mouthful after mouthful of blood. His chest caved in, and all the bones in his body shattered.
Seeing this, many Saints present showed delighted expressions.
Especially the Saints of the Blade Prison Realm and the Purple Mansion Realm, who almost laughed out loud. It was truly satisfying; someone should have long stepped in to suppress Zhang Ruochen's arrogance.
"A god has made a move. Zhang Ruochen is dead for sure."
Fang Yi's heart was filled with unspeakable joy.
Because Fang Yi knew that with his own strength, he would probably never be Zhang Ruochen's match in this lifetime. It was perfect that a god had now intervened.
"Whoosh."
A bright moonlight rose from the other side of the Heavenly River, instantly crossing the 108,000-li-wide river surface and arriving above the Merit Star.
That moon was incredibly pure and dazzling, actually crashing directly into the Merit Divine Temple.
"Boom!" The Merit Divine Temple was shaken slightly by the impact. The divine power unleashed was so fierce that it stirred up huge waves in the nearby Heavenly River. The stars in the surrounding cosmos trembled violently.
"Moon God, what are you doing? Are you trying to destroy the Merit Divine Temple?" A furious divine voice sounded from within the temple.
"If the Merit Divine Temple cannot be fair and wants to harm the unparalleled genius of my Guanghan Realm, what's wrong with destroying it?"
Moon God's stunning figure stood at the center of the moon, holy and dignified, cool and elegant. Her eyes, the most beautiful in the world, were exceptionally sharp, like two divine swords capable of piercing heaven and earth.
At this moment, the severely injured Zhang Ruochen was held in Moon God's arms. Her two jade-white palms emitted strands of divine power, channeling them into his wounded body to heal him.
...
(These past few days, I've been studying at Jinggangshan. The courses have been very full, leaving no time for writing, so I've been squeezing in time to write one chapter.
However, today's study has ended, and I'll be heading home tomorrow. I should be able to go into seclusion for writing for a while. The day after tomorrow, if nothing else comes up, I should be able to resume updates. I can't say anything else; I can only offer my apologies.)
(Chapter End)