Chapter 1854: Gongming
Zhang Ruochen stood straight as a spear at the center of the black altar, his posture heroic and imposing, exuding a commanding aura. "Zhang Ruochen."
"And who did I think was so overbearing? Turns out it's Zhang Ruochen, the self-proclaimed King of the Eastern Domain."
"It seems he really sees himself as the ruler of the Eastern Domain, not even putting our Imperial Ancestor Divine Dynasty in his eyes."
...
Several mocking laughs echoed across the Luo River.
Among them was a man named Yue Gongming, standing beside Que Gonggong.
From Yue Gongming's palm, four streams of Saint Qi shot out.
The Saint Qi condensed into chain-like forms, rescuing the four Golden Armor Imperial Guards who had fallen into the water.
Yue Gongming smiled faintly. "Who says Zhang Ruochen doesn't take the Imperial Ancestor Divine Dynasty seriously? As a Domain King, he didn't kill the four Golden Armor Imperial Guards—clearly, he still fears offending the dynasty."
Zhang Ruochen had long anticipated that announcing his identity as "King of the Eastern Domain" would provoke disdain from many powerful figures from other realms. Some would mock his overestimation of himself; others would simply disregard him as a so-called king.
It didn't matter.
Any true powerhouse becomes invincible only through constant challenges.
Zhang Ruochen was not afraid of challenges, nor of provocations. But at this moment, he had no mood to spar with these cultivators. Instead, he steered the black altar directly toward the Luo River.
"How dare you ignore our prohibition? Get down here!"
Yue Gongming's eyes sharpened. He raised both hands, and a vast number of Sacred Dao Rules surged from his body, spreading in all directions and altering the Heaven and Earth Rules of the surrounding space.
Within a hundred miles, fierce winds howled, forming a massive tornado that engulfed the black altar.
This man intended to use wind force to drag the altar down by force.
Yue Gongming was one of the Twelve Gongming of the Can Tian Sect, a formidable cultivator—no weakling.
The Can Tian Sect was one of the most top-tier ancient sects in the Imperial Dao Great World. Its sect leader was a Supreme True God, with followers numbering in the billions, spread across countless worlds.
The title "Gongming" was bestowed upon the most promising Nine-Step Saint Kings of the Can Tian Sect, those with the greatest chance of reaching the Great Saint Realm. Each of the Twelve Gongming was a figure capable of dominating a region.
The Divine Empress of the Imperial Ancestor Divine Dynasty—mother of the Imperial Ancestor Crown Prince—was the daughter of the Can Tian Sect's leader, holding a lofty status. It was no surprise that Yue Gongming was with Que Gonggong; the Crown Prince must have summoned him.
"Break!"
Zhang Ruochen tore open a space rift dozens of feet long, shattering the wind tornado, and charged out with the black altar.
"Heh, not bad with space power."
Yue Gongming transformed into a streak of light, chasing the black altar. His hands formed a seal: "Heavenly Defeat Seal."
Nearly a hundred thousand Sacred Dao Rules surged from his palms, drawing in the Heaven and Earth Saint Qi to form a dazzling seal.
The light from that single seal was more blinding than the sun; even Saint Kings dared not look directly at it.
"Knowing that Jueyan Fox was killed by me, he still dares to provoke me—this man truly has real skill," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
If not for being pressed for time, Zhang Ruochen might have stayed to fight him thoroughly.
Zhang Ruochen infused his Spiritual Power into the black altar. Instantly, the eighteen formation flags on the altar blazed with fiery light. Eighteen pillars of fire shot into the sky, converging to strike against Yue Gongming's seal.
"Boom!"
The two powerful forces collided in midair.
Half the sky turned white, the other half became a sea of fire—a truly stunning spectacle.
Yue Gongming was sent flying back, landing on the water and sliding hundreds of feet before steadying himself.
He looked up at the black altar disappearing into the horizon, his smile gone. His expression turned grave. "I thought Zhang Ruochen only killed Jueyan Fox by relying on ancient inscriptions. But even without them, his strength is considerable."
Que Gonggong said, "Forget it. Since Zhang Ruochen doesn't want to be our enemy, in this sensitive period, it's best not to provoke him."
"Is it even useful for us to guard here? I suspect that blood bee from Hell has already entered the Luo River," Yue Gongming said.
Que Gonggong's face turned stern. "Our mission is to seal off the Luo River. Even if that blood bee has entered, the Crown Prince and the two Gongming should be able to handle it."
...
The black altar flew about a hundred miles into the Luo River, where the mist over the water grew thicker.
Ancient inscriptions appeared in the air. If the altar collided with them, they would trigger devastating attacks.
The formation within the black altar activated, forming a black sphere a hundred feet in diameter.
A bolt of purple lightning as thick as a water barrel struck the black light barrier on the altar's surface. Ripples spread across the barrier, dissipating the lightning's power harmlessly.
But the deeper they flew into the Luo River, the more terrifying the attacks became.
A wind blade a hundred miles long, like a beam of light, slashed horizontally from the horizon, causing the black light barrier to tremble violently, nearly shattering.
Zhenmiao Xiaodaoren grew nervous, gripping the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror tightly. "The altar's defense can't hold much longer, can it? Someone powerful must have set up lethal inscriptions here—we can't break through. Maybe... we should go back and find another way?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "The black altar is too big a target. It easily triggers the inscriptions woven into the space. We need another approach."
Ahead of the black altar, flames gathered into a fire dragon over ten miles long, which slammed into the altar, sending it flying backward.
"Sizzle."
Though the fire dragon shattered, the flames continued to burn, thinning the altar's defensive barrier.
"Activate the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror's power!" Zhang Ruochen's expression shifted.
The flames were terrifying—even with his Purifying Divine Flame, he wasn't sure he could withstand them.
Worse, the space structure within the Luo River was highly complex. Using Space Displacement recklessly could leave them lost in these waters.
Only by using a Supreme Sacred Artifact for protection could they have a chance to escape.
Zhenmiao Xiaodaoren had already infused Saint Qi into the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror. At Zhang Ruochen's command, a Bagua imprint appeared on the mirror's surface, floating above their heads.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen and Zhenmiao Xiaodaoren hid behind the Bagua imprint, shooting upward, breaking through the flames, and landing steadily on the water.
Dozens of miles away, the black altar hung in midair, still burning fiercely.
It burned for a full hour before the flames dissipated.
The altar had turned a glowing red, extremely hot. Fortunately, its material was of high quality, so it wasn't damaged.
Zhang Ruochen stored the black altar in the Qiankun Realm, no longer using it for flight.
Zhenmiao Xiaodaoren cautiously scanned their surroundings. "Zhang Ruochen, where exactly are we going? This place is too dangerous! Maybe we should go back?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "This is a Awakening Divine Soil. Deep in these waters, there are many astonishing treasures—hundred-thousand-year-old sacred herbs, lakes of divine blood, and even divine corpses."
"Awakening Divine Soil... divine corpses..."
Zhenmiao Xiaodaoren swallowed hard, licking his lips. "What's danger? This humble Daoist has weathered countless storms—what's a mere Awakening Divine Soil? Zhang Ruochen, don't you have Space Teleportation scrolls? We can teleport straight there."
Zhang Ruochen opened his Heavenly Eye, releasing his Space Domain, and carefully probed the area. He shook his head. "It's not that simple. The Luo River is filled with folded spaces. The waters might stretch for millions of miles. If we get lost in here, we might not find our way out for a hundred years."
Zhenmiao Xiaodaoren gasped. "Aren't you the Heir of Time and Space? Surely you're not afraid of getting lost in space?"
"Of course I'm not afraid."
Zhang Ruochen stepped forward, walking across the water in one direction. "Follow me, and be careful."
They walked on the water for an entire half-day, yet still saw no floating planets. Zhang Ruochen's heart struggled to stay calm, growing more anxious by the moment.
He feared that Shenya Xiansheng had already found Tianchu Xianzi.
With a Earth Master's methods, if he was determined to kill someone, that person was almost certainly doomed.
"With my space mastery, it's hard to enter the depths of the Luo River. Even if Shenya Xiansheng's Spiritual Power is stronger, he shouldn't be able to break in easily," Zhang Ruochen reassured himself.
"Hey! Zhang Ruochen, look—there's a floating corpse over there."
Zhenmiao Xiaodaoren stood on Zhang Ruochen's right shoulder, pointing to the left front.
Zhang Ruochen released a thread of Saint Qi, extending it several miles to wrap around the corpse and drag it closer.
"Daizi!"
Zhang Ruochen was startled. He quickly grabbed Daizi's wrist and examined him. "Badly injured, but his life force isn't extinguished."
Daizi's chubby body was covered in dense blood holes, piercing through his organs, including his heart. His body looked like a sieve.
Over ninety percent of his sacred blood had drained away.
That he was still alive showed his will to survive was extraordinary.
Zhang Ruochen took out Life Spring and fed him ten drops.
As the Life Spring entered his body, Daizi's faint life fluctuations grew slightly stronger.
"Has Shenya Xiansheng already made his move?"
Zhang Ruochen's body radiated cold air, but he quickly dismissed the idea that Shenya Xiansheng had wounded Daizi.
Because Daizi's body still contained residual Shura Battle Qi.
It was the erosion of this Shura Battle Qi that prevented Daizi's blood holes from healing, causing his sacred blood to keep draining.
Zhang Ruochen pressed his palm to Daizi's chest, absorbing all the Shura Battle Qi into his own body, merging it with the Five Elements Chaos Qi.
Gradually, Daizi's blood holes began to heal, and his life fluctuations grew stronger.
"He should be saved now."
Zhang Ruochen breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhenmiao Xiaodaoren chuckled. "Good thing he's a fatty. If he fell in the water, he'd float, and we just happened to find him."