Chapter 1753: Suppressing the Divine Temple
“Whoosh—”
About two thousand meters away from the temple, a patch of silver light suddenly appeared in midair.
Within the silver light, figures stirred, and waves of powerful sacred energy surged upward. These were the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm. Most of them were severely wounded, their morale low, like a band of defeated and scattered soldiers.
However, when they realized they had escaped the encirclement of the Heavenly Realm kings, they were overjoyed, like a group of drowning people who, on the verge of death, were rescued and brought to shore.
Everyone looked ahead at Zhang Ruochen’s silhouette, and a deep respect arose within them.
Even the Devouring Demon Dragon, who had held great resentment toward Zhang Ruochen, had to admit defeat and fell silent.
In such a desperate situation, facing hundreds of powerful Saint Kings, Zhang Ruochen had managed to save them all. If it had been the Devouring Demon Dragon itself, it probably wouldn’t have shown up at all, at most rushing to the Truth Temple to seek help.
But by the time the Truth Temple’s divine disciples arrived, the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm would have already been completely annihilated.
Since Zhang Ruochen possessed such means, such courage, and such magnanimity, who could still refuse to submit?
At this moment, the Devouring Demon Dragon finally understood why Princess Baili, a descendant of an ancient species, had chosen to follow Zhang Ruochen instead of agreeing to marry it.
This man, Zhang Ruochen, truly had the bearing of a great hero of the ages.
Like the Dragon Lord of the Middle Ages, Lord Ji Wang.
The Devouring Demon Dragon had flipped through the secret texts of the Ancestral Dragon Mountain and knew some legends about Dragon Lord Ji Wang, feeling immense admiration. He was a true hero of the ages, not only a pillar supporting the Kunlun Realm but also a Dragon Clan overlord who looked down upon the myriad realms of the universe.
And every hero of the ages possessed great fortune, able to gather around them a large number of exceptionally talented individuals who became their followers.
These followers grew alongside the hero of the ages and eventually became beings that all under heaven would look up to.
For example:
Under Lord Ji Wang’s command, the “Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons” each possessed the power of battle gods and Buddhas.
Perhaps Princess Baili saw Zhang Ruochen’s potential and was willing to follow him, hoping to ride on his great fortune and one day, like the Eight Divisions of Heavenly Dragons, look down upon the heavens and receive the worship of all beings.
The cultivators belonging to the imperial court held deep prejudices against Zhang Ruochen, viewing him as a remnant of the previous dynasty.
Now, these cultivators remained silent, their emotions mixed.
The imperial court was the most powerful force in the Kunlun Realm and its ruling center.
They had thought the court had gathered all the talents under heaven, but… their talents were not even comparable to the few cultivators around Zhang Ruochen.
Where had Zhang Ruochen found so many experts?
“Since we’ve escaped, we should quickly flee this place.”
“Exactly. The Heavenly Realm kings are trapped inside the temple, giving us a perfect chance to escape.”
…
More than half of the Heavenly Realm Saint Kings were trapped inside the temple. Although the remaining Heavenly Realm Saint Kings were still numerous, they were stationed at various positions on the island, scattered and difficult to gather quickly.
At this moment, it was indeed the best time for the Kunlun Realm cultivators to break out.
But Zhang Ruochen had no intention of leading them in a breakout. His gaze fixed on the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden, he said, “This opportunity is rare. We can’t just let them off, can we?”
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden’s aura changed, her eyes sharp as swords, her body radiating blazing flames as she transformed into a female war god. “You don’t need to remind me. Today, I will suppress them all and avenge my brother.”
Zhang Ruochen frowned deeply. This voice… it wasn’t Shengshu Cainü; it was Canglan Martial Saint, one of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maidens.
Wan Zhaoyi’s younger sister, Wan Canglan.
Most likely, because Shengshu Cainü’s spiritual power had been too depleted, she had fallen asleep, and Canglan Martial Saint’s consciousness had emerged to become the dominant force within the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden.
Zhang Ruochen found Canglan Martial Saint somewhat troublesome.
If he cooperated with her, could he still achieve the same seamless understanding and tacit understanding as with Shengshu Cainü?
“All saints of the Kunlun Realm, hear my command. Lend me your power to help me retrieve the temple.”
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden formed hand seals, and nine Divine Martial Marks appeared on her forehead, arranged in a circle.
From the center of the circle, a beam of light shot out, striking the top of the temple.
The saints of the Kunlun Realm each unleashed a stream of sacred energy, continuously pouring it into the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden’s back. Her slender figure seemed capable of absorbing all rivers, able to contain even vast amounts of sacred energy.
With the support of the saints, the aura emanating from the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden grew increasingly powerful.
This temple originally belonged to Siming Shennü, one of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maidens.
Sensing the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden’s power, the temple immediately began to tremble, shrink, and fly toward her.
Zhang Ruochen retreated to the side of Zhenmiao Xiaodaoren, Shi Shenghua, and Xie Chengzi, took out the green lotus seed, and infused powerful life force into Chi Kunlun and Chi Kongle’s bodies.
“Sizzle.”
Chi Kunlun’s severed hand slowly regrew, and a trace of color returned to his pale face.
At the same time, the green light shone on the saints of the Kunlun Realm, rapidly healing their injuries. They all stared at Zhang Ruochen, their expressions filled with disbelief.
“Huh, it’s appeared again.”
Zhang Ruochen once again sensed a faint fluctuation from deep underground, even more pronounced than before. A joyful expression appeared on his face.
The light emitted by the green lotus seed in his hand flickered, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, as if resonating with something.
“What is it?”
Zhang Ruochen extended his spiritual power to investigate.
But the sensation vanished instantly.
“Boom.”
Below, the temple had shrunk to about half its size, but an accident occurred.
A powerful sacred force surged from within the temple. Although it didn’t break through the temple, it struck it violently, causing it to expand again.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
…
The Heavenly Realm cultivators trapped inside the temple launched fierce attacks, quickly forcing the temple back to its original size. The recoil sent the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden stumbling backward.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the struggling Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden and said, “If you can’t retrieve the temple, why not let me do it?”
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden glared at Zhang Ruochen, her eyes flashing with cold light. “If I can’t retrieve it, no other cultivator can either.”
“There are many Heavenly Realm Saint Kings inside the temple. If they attack together, even you, the temple’s owner, might not be able to withstand that power,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Feeling belittled by Zhang Ruochen, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden showed a stubborn, unyielding expression. She spat out a mouthful of bright red sacred blood, which turned into a rain of blood and, mixed with thick sacred energy, sprinkled onto the temple.
Once stained with the sacred blood, the violently shaking temple calmed down and began to shrink again.
Zhenmiao Xiaodaoren said, “She’s afraid that if you take the temple, you won’t return it. She’s guarding against you.”
“Hehe, I think she’s afraid you’ll steal her battle merit. Such a huge achievement, even I wouldn’t want to give it to someone else,” Shi Shenghua laughed.
Zhenmiao Xiaodaoren seemed no longer afraid of Xiao Hei and asked, “Where’s that owl?”
“He went to find the true Xumi Dao Field.”
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze sharpened. He suddenly turned and looked toward the northwest.
Then, he pressed his hand onto the Eight Dragon Umbrella, pouring a large amount of sacred energy into it.
The umbrella leaves opened, emitting dazzling golden light, shielding all the saints of the Kunlun Realm behind it.
“Bang, bang.”
Six sacred arrows struck the Eight Dragon Umbrella in succession, producing six booming sounds.
Soon, six Elf Clan Saint Kings holding sacred bows appeared on the ground to the northwest, drawing their bowstrings again to fire the next volley.
From other directions, Heavenly Realm Saint Kings also arrived continuously, launching attacks from a distance across the void.
At first, Zhang Ruochen and the others could still hold them off.
But as more and more Saint Kings arrived, the attacks grew increasingly fierce.
The Kunlun Realm saints standing in midair were like living targets.
Shi Shenghua said, “Master, we can’t hold much longer! How about telling that Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden to stop retrieving the temple and break out before the Heavenly Realm encirclement is complete?”
“Give it your all and hold them off for just a moment longer.”
Zhang Ruochen’s expression darkened. Without wasting more words with the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden, he turned into a white light, rushed to her side, and struck out with a palm.
“Bang.”
The palm strike hit the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden’s shoulder, sending her flying sideways.
“Zhang Ruochen, what are you doing?”
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden wasn’t seriously injured, but she was furious.
Ignoring her, Zhang Ruochen summoned the Space-Time Secret Scripture and suspended it above the temple.
Then, dazzling silver light poured out from the book like ripples of water, enveloping the temple.
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden finally understood why Zhang Ruochen had attacked her—he thought she was getting in the way.
Watching the temple slowly fly toward the Space-Time Secret Scripture, she grew even more irritated. Gritting her teeth at Zhang Ruochen standing in midair, she both found him detestable and hated her own uselessness.
Suddenly, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden saw a figure step out of the void and appear behind Zhang Ruochen.
That figure was the leader of the Space Divine Temple, Gongzi Yan.
Gongzi Yan had long used spatial displacement to escape the temple but had been hiding nearby, waiting for an opportunity.
At the critical moment when Zhang Ruochen was retrieving the temple, Gongzi Yan teleported behind him, his expression fierce. “In the end, the one who laughs last is still me. Die.”
A spatial rift condensed in Gongzi Yan’s palm, ready to strike.
“Swish.”
From the ground, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden swung her arm, sending a dazzling silver light flying.
It was a silver kitchen knife.
The knife carried a faint divine power, slashing toward Gongzi Yan’s neck.
Gongzi Yan’s expression changed. He cast a spatial freezing talisman, which collided with the silver kitchen knife, freezing it in midair.
That brief delay was enough. Zhang Ruochen had already suppressed the temple into the Space-Time Secret Scripture. He turned around and unleashed a spatial rift, striking almost simultaneously with Gongzi Yan.
“Bang.”
The two spatial rifts collided, causing the space within a few zhang to tremble slightly.
Now, Zhang Ruochen and Gongzi Yan were less than ten zhang apart, staring at each other, both with icy expressions.
“You’re asking for death.”
Zhang Ruochen’s pent-up anger had been suppressed for too long. Seeing Gongzi Yan so close, he no longer held back. A fiery fist seal blasted forward.
Even though his opponent was three realms above him, Zhang Ruochen was fearless, his body surging with overwhelming killing intent.