Chapter 1845: One Art Breaks Heaven and Earth
The Blood Battle Divine Temple, once every hundred years, would undergo rigorous selection to pick ten outstanding heroes and train them into Crimson Angels.
The Crimson Angels cultivated the Blood Battle Divine Temple's foremost divine art, the "Blood Martial Battle Chart," one of the divine art treasures on the "Taiyi Divine Art Ranking." The combat power of those who cultivated it far surpassed cultivators at the same realm.
Moreover, the Crimson Angels of the Blood Battle Divine Temple were guaranteed the opportunity to enter the Truth Heaven Domain for cultivation, allowing them to comprehend the Truth Rules.
Because of this, Tian Chen had not cultivated a Dao Domain, yet he was far more powerful than many Dao Domain realm cultivators.
Given the deep-seated enmity between the Blood Battle Divine Temple and Zhang Ruochen, when Tian Chen saw Zhang Ruochen, it was like seeing a mortal enemy, and his killing intent erupted instantly.
"Whoosh."
Tian Chen's four blood wings spread out, like four blood clouds that could blot out the sky and cover the earth.
Flapping his four wings, he charged into the clouds, attacking Zhang Ruochen, who stood atop the Xinhuo Tower.
All the cultivators on Golden Rainbow Continent could feel the saintly might radiating from Tian Chen, shaking the nine heavens. Even though they knew Zhang Ruochen had activated the ancient inscriptions, the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm were still deeply worried.
After all, only a small portion of the ancient inscriptions had been activated, and they might not be invincible.
Hadn't they seen the ninth-rank formation of the Eastern Domain Sacred King's main city breached by these otherworldly cultivators?
Atop the Xinhuo Tower, Zhang Ruochen looked down at the four blood clouds growing larger below, then fixed his gaze on Da Xi Wang. "With my current cultivation, I truly cannot afford to provoke someone like Tian Chen. But you can afford it, can't you?"
Da Xi Wang's beautiful apricot eyes glared coldly at Zhang Ruochen.
He actually wanted to use her hand to deal with Tian Chen. If Tian Chen didn't die, that would be one thing, but if Tian Chen died under the ancient inscriptions, then she would have no way back.
The Paradise Realm and the Blood Battle Divine Temple would never let her go.
Tian Chen was not someone like Hua Cangying; killing him would make the Blood Battle Divine Temple jump in fury.
Zhang Ruochen calmly met Da Xi Wang's gaze. "Tian Chen is about to break through the barrier of the ancient inscriptions and attack. Why aren't you making a move?"
Da Xi Wang stared at Zhang Ruochen for a long moment, but ultimately extended her mental power to control the Divine Core Pearl.
"One Art Breaks Heaven and Earth."
Tian Chen formed hand seals, and the Divine Martial Mark on his brow emerged, spinning rapidly.
"Swoosh—"
A blood-red streak of light flew out from his brow.
Over a dozen types of Sacred Dao Rules twisted and coiled within the blood light, piercing through layer after layer of ancient inscriptions.
The Fool exclaimed, "Not good! One Art Breaks Heaven and Earth is a mid-rank sacred art from the 'Blood Martial Battle Chart,' with boundless power. The ancient inscriptions of the Eastern Domain Sacred City might not be able to block it. Heavenly Maiden, should we lend Zhang Ruochen a hand?"
Generally, when executing a mid-rank sacred art, a cultivator could only integrate a single type of Sacred Dao Rule into it.
For example, when executing a palm-type mid-rank sacred art, only the integration of Palm Dao Rules could amplify its power.
The more Palm Dao Rules integrated, the stronger the sacred art's explosive force.
However, One Art Breaks Heaven and Earth could integrate multiple types of Sacred Dao Rules, unleashing power far surpassing other mid-rank sacred arts.
Heavenly Beginning Fairy gently shook her head. "The ancient inscriptions of the Eastern Domain Sacred City must have been left by a deity. Even though only part of them has been activated, they are not something Tian Chen can shake. What intrigues me is that, given Zhang Ruochen's mental strength, he shouldn't be able to activate that tower. Has he found a helper?"
Heavenly Beginning Fairy would never dream that the one helping Zhang Ruochen deal with the Paradise Realm faction was Da Xi Wang.
If the cultivators of the Paradise Realm faction saw this scene, their expressions would likely be very interesting.
In the clouds, another gale vortex formed, even larger than the previous one.
The gale vortex collided with the blood-red light surging from Tian Chen's brow, producing a thunderous roar that dyed the entire sky blood-red.
The gale vortex blocked One Art Breaks Heaven and Earth and slowly pressed downward.
"Is it this strong?"
Tian Chen's expression grew solemn. Realizing that he alone could not resist the ancient inscriptions, he quickly sent a voice transmission to the other two Dao Domain-level powerhouses. "Attack together and break through the ancient inscriptions. Only by controlling that tower can we truly dominate the Eastern Domain Sacred City."
The other two Dao Domain powerhouses no longer concealed themselves, stepping out from the void.
One of them had hundreds of white chains floating around him, forming a massive sphere a thousand zhang in diameter. He stood at the center of the sphere, dressed in extremely ornate attire, exuding an air of transcendent nobility.
However, due to the barrier of the chain sphere, no one present could see his true face.
The other had a slightly weaker aura, standing on the ground, exuding dense demonic energy. Vaguely, five white tails could be seen floating within the demonic aura.
This time, without waiting for Zhang Ruochen to ask, Da Xi Wang said, "It's Jueyan Hu from Saint Ze Realm and Si Han from Soul Realm."
"Soul Realm?" Zhang Ruochen said.
He knew that Da Xi Wang was the proud daughter of the Soul Realm, a leader of the new generation.
Of course, that Si Han was not from the new generation; he was one or two generations older than Da Xi Wang.
Da Xi Wang wanted to dispel Zhang Ruochen's doubts. "Although we are both from the Soul Realm, Si Han and I have no connection. You're not familiar with every cultivator from the Kunlun Realm and the Guanghan Realm, are you?"
Zhang Ruochen gave a noncommittal smile. "It's best you don't think about escaping."
To be safe, as he said this, Zhang Ruochen pressed his palm onto Da Xi Wang's fragrant shoulder, gently patting it, and sent a surge of flame saintly qi into her body, invading her saintly meridians and channels.
That flame saintly qi was condensed from the power of the Flame God Armor, the crimson inscriptions of the Blazing God Leg, and the Purifying Divine Flame Zhang Ruochen had cultivated himself.
The flame saintly qi transformed into countless flame flying insects.
These insects, as tiny as specks of light, took root in Da Xi Wang's various channels and saintly meridians.
Moreover, through the channels and saintly meridians, the flame insects also entered her Qi Sea and Saint Heart. In short, with just a thought from Zhang Ruochen, he could incinerate Da Xi Wang to ashes.
Even if she tried to escape and refine the flame insects within her, the moment she attempted to do so, the flame insects would attack. Even if she didn't die, her entire cultivation would be crippled.
"Zhang Ruochen, you... are too ruthless..." Da Xi Wang's delicate body trembled slightly.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Ruthless? Back then, when you used Qing Jin's saint soul to try to possess me, weren't you just as ruthless?"
Initially, Da Xi Wang had clung to the hope that if she temporarily yielded to Zhang Ruochen, she would eventually find a chance to escape, perhaps even kill him when he let his guard down.
But Zhang Ruochen was too cautious; she had no opportunity at all, and instead fell step by step into his schemes.
This man was definitely Shang Zihong's greatest enemy. For the first time, Da Xi Wang felt that underestimating Zhang Ruochen had been a colossal mistake.
...
At sea.
Shen Ya Xiansheng's expression turned ugly, and he was inwardly furious.
Originally, with his methods as a formation earth master, combined with the power of Xie Canghai, Jueyan Hu, and others, taking the Eastern Domain Sacred City should have been effortless.
But the reality was one unexpected turn after another.
Jiang Yunchong laughed. "It seems the one controlling the ancient inscriptions is a cultivator from our Kunlun Realm. Shen Ya Xiansheng, why don't you defect to the Kunlun Realm? Perhaps today you might find a way to survive."
Shen Ya Xiansheng snorted coldly. "The main city of the Eastern Domain Sacred King has three powerhouses comparable to Dao Domain realm cultivators. If Zhang Ruochen wants to free himself to deal with me, he'll have to get past them first. And before that, you'll both be dead men."
Shen Ya Xiansheng was well aware of the power of the ancient inscriptions. With the strength of Tian Chen, Si Han, and Jueyan Hu, they could only briefly resist them. Only he had the ability to truly contend with the ancient inscriptions.
Therefore, he had to eliminate the nuisances Jiang Yunchong and Murong Yefeng as quickly as possible.
The battle at sea erupted again, fiercer than before, churning the waters and overturning heaven and earth.
Above the main city of the Eastern Domain Sacred King, the ancient inscriptions condensed into dense threads of sword qi, weaving into a net that attacked the three experts Tian Chen, Si Han, and Jueyan Hu.
The sword qi threads were incredibly sharp. Jueyan Hu barely brushed against one, and a fox tail was severed, dripping with blood.
Tian Chen, clad in a blood armor of divine relic ancient artifact level, shattered thread after thread of sword qi as he pressed closer to Zhang Ruochen above the clouds. When the blood armor was fully activated, it seemed to multiply his combat power.
"These mere ancient inscriptions cannot stop me. Zhang Ruochen, die!" Tian Chen roared.
Atop the Xinhuo Tower, Chen Liuli's eardrums were shattered by Tian Chen's roar. She covered her ears with both hands, crouching down, her face twisted in extreme pain.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Azure Sky Bow and the Daylight Arrow and shot an arrow.
"Bang."
The Daylight Arrow struck Tian Chen's chest, sending sparks flying.
The blood armor blocked the arrow, and Tian Chen's body only swayed slightly, completely dissipating the arrow's force.
"With such weak power, even if I stand still, you can't do anything to... me..."
Suddenly, Tian Chen's expression changed, and his body plummeted straight down.
Just now, the power within him had rapidly waned, and an intense feeling of weakness spread through his body, making him extremely uncomfortable.
"That arrow... has a problem..."
Tian Chen finally realized he had been careless.
Otherwise, with his spiritual perception, he would have dodged the Daylight Arrow preemptively, not let it strike him.
The Daylight Arrow bore a Time Imprint, capable of cutting a cultivator's lifespan. Tian Chen had neither dodged nor blocked it, which only showed his overconfidence—or rather, that he had never taken Zhang Ruochen seriously.
Zhang Ruochen glared at Da Xi Wang. "If you don't go all out now, believe me, I'll strip your saintly robes right here and throw you down. I'm sure countless cultivators will swarm over, fighting to take you away."
"Shameless."
Da Xi Wang spat coldly.
But she also knew that Zhang Ruochen was truly anxious now. Victory and death hung in the balance in an instant. If pushed too far, he would do anything.
Da Xi Wang dared not slack off any longer and poured all her power into activating the ancient inscriptions.
"Boom."
Over a dozen divine beast phantoms materialized, crashing into Tian Chen and sending him heavily to the ground.
After this series of attacks, even if Tian Chen wasn't dead, he was severely wounded and would have no strength to fight for a long time.
With one neutralized, the other two became easier to deal with.
Divine beast phantoms, gale vortices, and thunderbolts of lightning rained down continuously, battering Si Han and Jueyan Hu into a sorry state. In particular, the weaker Jueyan Hu had nearly all five of his fox tails severed, his demonic body a bloody mess, with white bones visible in many places.
Feeling the threat of death, Jueyan Hu was terrified and was already thinking of ways to escape.
But just then, light appeared on the horizon, and seven stars emerged, radiating immense divine might.
Shen Ya Xiansheng stood on one of the stars, charging rapidly toward the Xinhuo Tower.
"Excellent! Shen Ya Xiansheng has finally arrived. Zhang Ruochen won't be able to show off anymore."
"The ancient inscriptions were restored under Shen Ya Xiansheng's direction. He must have left a backup plan. I can't wait to see how Zhang Ruochen dies."
The cultivators of the Paradise Realm faction were overjoyed and gnashing their teeth with hatred, all eager to see Shen Ya Xiansheng tear Zhang Ruochen limb from limb.
Zhang Ruochen was too hateful, opposing them at every turn, causing them heavy losses. No one knew how many experts had fallen by his hand.