Chapter 1775: The Cauldron Suppresses the Four Directions
Entering the void space, Zhang Ruochen used the Space-Time Secret Scripture to condense a multi-layered space to protect himself from the erosion of the void power.
Opening his heavenly eye on his forehead, he saw, in the extremely far distance, a vast continent suspended in the void.
It was a reddish-yellow continent, shrouded in a thick layer of blood mist. The mountains and rivers on the continent were all flowing with blood. Blood rivers, blood lakes, and blood seas were a shocking sight to behold.
"Is that the 'Shura Hell Diagram' that Black Heart Demon Lord mentioned? When the scroll is unfurled, it becomes an entire world."
With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, he could only sense that the continent contained an unimaginable divine power, and he could vaguely see countless inscriptions flowing within it.
A bright, clear moon hung in the sky above that Shura continent, which stretched for who knows how many millions of miles. Moon God stood at the center of the moon.
Strands of blood energy, shaped like shackles, rose from the Shura continent, tightly binding the bright moon. At the same time, pillars of blood shot up into the sky, striking at Moon God at the moon's center.
Even standing tens of thousands of miles away, Zhang Ruochen was pushed back by the powerful divine energy fluctuations, unable to get any closer.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron, pondering how to deliver it to Moon God.
"Boom."
About a thousand miles away from Zhang Ruochen, space suddenly shattered.
A patch of crimson flames surged into the void space.
"Yan God! That old bastard must be here to kill me."
Zhang Ruochen's expression changed drastically. He immediately jumped into the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron, steered this bronze giant cauldron, and charged recklessly towards the Shura continent.
Yan God stood at the center of a sea of fire, letting out a sharp voice: "Where do you think you're running? Moon God can't even save herself. Do you think she can save you?"
Although it was just a single voice, it shook Zhang Ruochen, worsening his injuries. His body was already tattered, and his sacred soul and Qi sea were on the verge of shattering.
The layers of space condensed by the Space-Time Secret Scripture couldn't withstand it.
The divine power borrowed from Moon God couldn't withstand it either.
A single word from a god was enough to suppress all living beings in an entire world.
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen had been able to stomp on the Demon God's shadow and shatter the divine doppelganger solely because Empress Chi Yao had pinned down the true body of Black Heart Demon Lord, preventing him from dividing his attention.
The power unleashed by the Demon God's shadow and the divine doppelganger was thus quite limited.
"Swoosh—"
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to collapse, the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron emitted a dazzling cyan light.
Golden characters appeared on the cauldron.
The radiance of the golden script grew even more brilliant.
Yan God's eyes narrowed. Above the bronze cauldron, a massive jade hand had appeared. That jade hand extended from the bright moon, reaching out for tens of thousands of miles.
For some reason, an inexplicable panic arose in Yan God's heart.
"Boundless Merit."
Yan God summoned the power of merit, thrust his palm forward, transforming it into a patch of five-colored auspicious clouds that surged towards the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron, actually trying to contend with Moon God for it.
If Moon God hadn't been pinned down by Second Armor Blood Ancestor and the Shura Hell Diagram, Yan God wouldn't have had the confidence to oppose Moon God even with the power of merit.
But now, it was different.
Just contending with Moon God for a cauldron, Yan God was full of confidence.
With the power of merit added to his body, Yan God's strength increased considerably, and he actually gained the upper hand, steadily pushing back Moon God's power.
Moon God's voice rang out: "The power of merit is not easily gathered. According to the rules of the Merit Divine Hall, Great Saints and gods can only use the power of merit when battling against the Hell Realm. Yan God, you have broken the rules of the Merit Divine Hall and the Heavenly Palace."
Yan God laughed: "Oh? Is the esteemed Moon God, unable to withstand my power, now trying to suppress me with the rules of the Merit Divine Hall and the Heavenly Palace?"
"You overestimate yourself. I am merely telling you that the power of merit belongs to the entire Heavenly Court, not to you personally. Since you have used power you shouldn't have and broken the rules, you must be punished."
"Boom."
The bright moon suspended above the Shura continent shattered with a bang, as spectacular as a giant star exploding.
Yan God thought that Moon God had been defeated by Second Armor Blood Ancestor, and a smile appeared on his face. But the next moment, his smile instantly froze.
A streak of white light shot out from the shattered moon, flying straight towards him.
That was... the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin.
"Not good."
Yan God's two divine eyes blazed with light. He raised his hands, supporting a mass of five-colored merit power as large as a star. The power fluctuations emanating from that merit power were not much weaker than the power Moon God had just unleashed.
But after Yan God struck out with the five-colored merit power, it was easily pierced through by the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin.
"How is this possible? How could the power of merit be shattered in an instant?" Yan God's eyes showed an expression of disbelief.
Moon God's voice sounded in Yan God's ear: "For a god, cultivating divine power is the lowest level. Mastering the Esoterica is what allows you to stand proudly at the pinnacle of the universe."
A blinding light appeared before Yan God's eyes.
"Pfft."
Nearly half of Yan God's body was severed. His left hand and left leg were separated from his body and taken away by Moon God.
"Bam."
Moon God struck out with a palm, sending the other half of Yan God's body flying, nearly shattering it again.
The next moment, Moon God stood at the edge of the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron, her white robes fluttering, pure and ethereal. Her slender and tall figure was like a supple willow branch.
But it was this willow branch that left Yan God with nothing to say in defeat.
Moon God placed the blood-soaked Zhang Ruochen from the cauldron into the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin. She glanced behind her and saw Yan God trying to escape.
"Since you're here, don't leave."
The Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron spun in Moon God's hand. Golden characters flew out from the cauldron, forming a golden stream that crossed the dark void space and imprinted themselves on Yan God's body.
"Slap, slap."
Those golden characters, containing terrifying power, suppressed Yan God's entire body, rendering him immobile.
"So it's... so it's..."
Yan God finally recognized the origin of the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron.
Earlier, even if he wasn't a match for Moon God, he was fully confident he could escape alive. Moon God couldn't kill him.
But now, his eyes showed an expression of extreme terror.
Because the cauldron in Moon God's hand could kill gods and refine gods.
What he couldn't understand was, how could this cauldron be in the hands of a mere Saint King?
Yan God wanted to warn Second Armor Blood Ancestor, but suppressed by the golden script, he couldn't make a sound, nor could he transmit his mental power or divine thoughts.
Moon God paid no more attention to Yan God and looked towards the distant Shura continent.
The Shura continent, like a scroll, suddenly rose upwards, then flipped over, pressing down towards Moon God.
Moon God's jet-black hair flew wildly. Her beautiful eyes were as brilliant as stars. Between her hands, the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron slowly rose.
The cauldron spun, growing larger and larger.
After a moment, Moon God's delicate body, compared to it, was as insignificant as a speck of dust.
"Boom."
The Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron collided with the Shura continent, causing the entire void space to tremble.
The energy transmitted to the material world, creating numerous spatial rifts across the million-mile-wide Shatuo Heavenly Domain.
It was conceivable that if this battle continued, the Shatuo Heavenly Domain would become a half-real, half-void space, much like the forbidden zone deep within the Sealing God Platform.
However, after a single collision, the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron pierced through the Shura continent, causing the entire world to collapse.
"Pfft."
Second Armor Blood Ancestor and the Shura Hell Diagram both fell from the shattered Shura continent.
Moon God took away the Shura Hell Diagram, and then golden characters imprinted themselves on Second Armor Blood Ancestor's body.
"No, no! I am the Undefeated War God. In today's battle, I will shatter your myth, Moon God!"
Second Armor Blood Ancestor was extremely unwilling. Powerful divine energy continuously surged from his divine body, clashing with the golden script, but he couldn't break free from the suppression of the golden script. Instead, the impact caused cracks to appear in his divine body.
Moon God's gaze was indifferent. She collected Second Armor Blood Ancestor and Yan God into the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron.
Rushing out of the void space and returning to Moon God Mountain, Moon God stood before the Guanghan Divine Palace and transmitted a divine voice that resounded throughout the Heavenly Court: "All gods of the Heavenly Palace, if you do not show yourselves now, today will be the day of death for Second Armor Blood Ancestor and Yan God."
The Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron hung above Moon God Mountain. The cries of Second Armor Blood Ancestor and Yan God continuously came from within the cauldron, as they endured the torment of being refined.
You God and Fourth Armor Blood Ancestor were terrified. They felt it was unsafe to stay at the edge of the Shatuo Heavenly Domain and immediately fled far away, wanting to escape as far as possible.
Black Heart Demon Lord's strength was formidable, so he wasn't as pathetic as You God and Fourth Armor Blood Ancestor, but he also withdrew from the Shatuo Heavenly Domain at the first opportunity, avoiding Moon God's sharp edge.
The cultivators of the Shatuo Heavenly Domain were all dead silent. Some knelt on the ground, kowtowing towards Moon God Mountain; others trembled in fear, cold sweat pouring down.
Everyone could see that Moon God possessed the power to slay gods.
Could it be that today, a god would truly fall?
It was well known that incidents of gods falling due to internal conflicts within the Heavenly Court Realm were extremely rare. Once it happened, it would inevitably cause a terrifying impact, and countless living beings would be implicated.
The fall of a god was not simply the death of a single deity. The chain reaction would be horrifying, potentially leading to the destruction of an entire great world.
After a moment, the sky over the entire Shatuo Heavenly Domain turned dark red.
Everyone looked up and saw a majestic, blood-red divine temple suspended within the blood clouds. It seemed only a few thousand miles away, but it felt more like it was located in another dimension, hundreds of millions of miles away from the Shatuo Heavenly Domain.
Seeing this temple, Moon God's face finally showed an unprecedented solemnity: "Jia Tianxia."
"Long time no see."
A vast and ancient voice spread across heaven and earth, filled with infinite Dao resonance.
"Are you preparing to make a personal move?" Moon God asked.
The world fell into a long silence. The master of the blood-red divine temple seemed to be thinking, or perhaps weighing the options.
Moon God continued: "I have to admit, over these hundred thousand years, you have indeed improved considerably. If I were to fight you, I probably wouldn't be able to defeat you by half a move as I did a hundred thousand years ago. However, with this cauldron, entering the Paradise Realm would not be too difficult for me. Slaughtering all the disciples and followers of the Blood War Divine Temple except for you would also not be difficult. Wiping out dozens or even hundreds of clans in your Paradise Realm should also be achievable. Do you want to try?"