Chapter 1859: Sacred Phase Showdown
“What kind of stake?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xian Gongming said, “The Blood Bee Shura King has definitely already entered Luo Water. If he comes to Nine-Bend Heavenly Star, the loser of this battle must take the lead.”
Everyone knew that the Blood Bee Shura King possessed formidable cultivation and a danger level of seven. Whoever took the lead would face the risk of falling.
How was this a stake?
It was clearly an attempt to take Zhang Ruochen’s life.
Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment and nodded, “That’s a good proposal. Someone has to take the lead anyway.”
Xian Gongming glanced at the Imperial Ancestor Crown Prince, a sly smile flashing in his eyes.
Li Miaohan saw that Xian Gongming and the Imperial Ancestor Crown Prince harbored malicious intent and warned, “Brother, don’t you know that Senior Xian Gongming cultivates the *Heaven-Earth Creation Art* and has developed two great sacred phases?”
Xian Gongming spoke first, laughing, “A gentleman’s word is his bond. A master like Ruo Han, surely he wouldn’t go back on his word, right?”
“Dual sacred phases.”
Zhang Ruochen murmured softly, then smiled, “Of course not.”
“Brother,” Li Miaohan said.
Zhang Ruochen replied calmly, “Don’t worry. It’s just a spar. Even if I lose to Senior Xian Gongming, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Does this guy not see that this is a trap?”
Li Miaohan felt she couldn’t understand Zhang Ruochen. Logically, he shouldn’t be someone without reason, but competing with Xian Gongming in sacred phases was a sure loss.
Zhang Ruochen, Xian Gongming, and the others flew away from the third divine river and arrived at an open wilderness on Nine-Bend Heavenly Star.
The ground was made of hard jade-like stone, barren of vegetation. The entire wilderness spanned hundreds of miles, making it an excellent place for a duel.
Li Miaohan had already sent a message to the Heavenly Beginning Celestial Maiden and stood anxiously at the edge of the wilderness. She had known Zhang Ruochen for less than a day, yet she was so concerned about his safety. Even Li Miaohan found it strange.
“Could it be that I truly see him as a brother?” Li Miaohan thought.
The Imperial Ancestor Crown Prince walked over to Li Miaohan and smiled, “Miss Miaohan, there’s no need to worry so much about your brother. Xian Gongming knows how to handle things; it will definitely be a friendly match.”
At the center of the wilderness, Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.
“Whoosh—”
From Zhang Ruochen’s back, countless sword dao rules surged out of his body, transforming into a tens-of-zhang sacred sword.
The sacred sword hovered above his head, radiating ten thousand zhang of sacred light.
A massive amount of sword qi condensed, flying around Zhang Ruochen and the sacred sword.
“So he’s a sword cultivator, having developed a sword-shaped sacred phase.” Xian Gongming put away his contempt.
Sword cultivators were said to have the strongest attacks at the same cultivation level.
The offensive power of a sword-shaped sacred phase was naturally quite terrifying, far beyond what ordinary sacred phases could match.
Of course, Xian Gongming was not afraid. Standing atop a stone hill, he raised both arms above his head and shouted, “Heavenly Sacred Phase!”
Sacred dao rules poured out from Xian Gongming’s head like rain, rushing into the clouds and transforming into a dragon-horse. The sacred dao fluctuations emitted by the dragon-horse caused the atmosphere of Nine-Bend Heavenly Star to tremble slightly.
“Earthly Sacred Phase!”
Beneath Xian Gongming’s feet, a mountain-sized azure giant turtle condensed, its shell covered with countless strange patterns.
Zhang Ruochen and Xian Gongming were both top-tier experts. When they released their sacred phases, almost all cultivators on Nine-Bend Heavenly Star sensed it.
Some cultivators, having failed to find opportunities, rushed toward the place where the two were dueling.
Worried that Zhang Ruochen might not honor his promise after losing, the Imperial Ancestor Crown Prince said to the arriving cultivators, “This match between Li Ruohan and Xian Gongming is more than just a spar. Whoever loses must be the first to face the Blood Bee Shura King. Either way, both men show great courage, and I admire them.”
“Someone dares to compete with Xian Gongming in sacred phases? Isn’t that asking for trouble?”
“Don’t say that. Didn’t you see he has a sword-shaped sacred phase?”
“So what if it’s a sword-shaped sacred phase? Can it match Xian Gongming’s Heaven-Earth dual sacred phases?”
“Who cares who wins or loses? If the Blood Bee Shura King comes, having someone take the lead is a good thing.”
…
As the crowd buzzed with discussion, Zhang Ruochen controlled his sword-shaped sacred phase, turning it into a meteor-like streak of light that slashed straight at the dragon-horse flying in the sky.
“Striking first—do you think that gives you an advantage?” Xian Gongming sneered.
“Boom!”
The dragon-horse flying in midair spat out a beam of light, clashing head-on with the sword-shaped sacred phase.
As expected of one of the Twelve Gongming of the Celestial Sect, even just a Heavenly Sacred Phase was enough to block the attack of the sword-shaped sacred phase.
On the ground, the azure giant turtle crawled toward Zhang Ruochen’s true body. Though slow, each step covered a hundred zhang.
Li Miaohan said, “Isn’t this a sacred phase duel? Why attack the true body?”
The Imperial Ancestor Crown Prince laughed, “It is indeed a sacred phase duel, but if your brother’s sacred phase cannot withstand Xian Gongming’s and his life is endangered by it, then he has lost.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Miaohan. It’s just a spar. Xian Gongming only wants to win; he won’t really kill your brother.”
Zhang Ruochen looked at the flying dust ahead. In the dust, the azure giant turtle’s figure emerged, drawing closer and closer.
“Return.”
Zhang Ruochen formed a sword finger, trying to recall his sword-shaped sacred phase.
But the dragon-horse flying in the sky suddenly transformed into a dragon over ten miles long, entangling the sword-shaped sacred phase.
The dragon’s scales were like sacred iron forged by holy steel. Whether the sword-shaped sacred phase flew into the sky or dove into the ground, it could not break free.
Xian Gongming laughed loudly, “Brother Ruohan’s cultivation doesn’t seem that high. Even his sword-shaped sacred phase hasn’t unleashed much power. It seems even Qu Shan Old Mother can make mistakes in judgment.”
Zhang Ruochen was at the Eight-Step Saint King realm, while Xian Gongming had reached the Rule Great Heaven realm.
The sacred dao rules Xian Gongming had cultivated were several times more numerous than Zhang Ruochen’s. The more rules infused into a sacred phase, the greater its power.
Moreover, Xian Gongming was no ordinary Rule Great Heaven expert; his strength was not inferior to a Heavenly Minister. Even Domain Realm experts might not be his match.
Seeing the azure giant turtle about to reach Zhang Ruochen, the Imperial Ancestor Crown Prince smiled with satisfaction, “Your brother should be about to admit defeat now.”
“Sizzle sizzle.”
Suddenly, dazzling golden light burst from Zhang Ruochen’s body.
The Imperial Ancestor Crown Prince’s eyes were blinded by the light. He only heard deafening dragon roars and elephant trumpets coming from Zhang Ruochen’s direction.
When he opened his eyes again, he was astonished to find a dragon and an elephant appearing before Zhang Ruochen.
A golden dragon coiled around a giant elephant, colliding with the azure giant turtle.
Gasps erupted all around. Clearly, no one had expected Zhang Ruochen to possess a second sacred phase.
Li Miaohan’s eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth curled upward. “No wonder he dared to propose a sacred phase duel with Xian Gongming. He had this hidden card. Now, Xian Gongming won’t find it so easy to win.”
Xian Gongming’s gaze turned cold. “So you have two sacred phases too. That’s surprising. But if this is all you’ve got, you’re still doomed to lose.”
“Of course, it’s not all I’ve got.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled, and a third sacred phase surged out of his body.
The third sacred phase was a fist dao sacred phase, transforming into a tens-of-miles-long sacred river that flew through the air, making a rushing sound, no different from a real river.
To Zhang Ruochen’s surprise, as the sacred river appeared, the water vapor on Nine-Bend Heavenly Star converged wildly, making the sacred river grow stronger.
“Rumble.”
The sacred river turned into a torrent like a tidal wave, crashing into the azure giant turtle, pushing it back continuously.
The torrent’s momentum did not diminish, charging straight at Xian Gongming’s true body.
“Three sacred phases! What deep scheming—he was plotting against this crown prince from the start.”
The battle situation took a dramatic turn.
Now it was the Imperial Ancestor Crown Prince’s turn to be anxious, his hands clenched tightly. If Xian Gongming lost, not only would he lose face, but it would also be a slap to the crown prince.
Li Miaohan felt indescribable joy. “Your Highness, that’s not right, is it? If anyone was scheming, it was you scheming against my brother. It’s just that my brother is smarter than you. You’ve tried to steal a chicken only to lose the rice.”
“Miss Miaohan, don’t speak too soon. The outcome is still uncertain,” the Imperial Ancestor Crown Prince said.
The battle on the wilderness shifted again.
The dragon flying in midair dragged the sword-shaped sacred phase, turning into a pillar of light, charging straight at Zhang Ruochen’s true body.
At this moment, for both Zhang Ruochen and Xian Gongming, whoever destroyed the other’s true body first would win.
Because of the azure giant turtle’s resistance, the sacred river’s rush was not very fast. But the pillar of light formed by the dragon and the sword-shaped sacred phase was about to strike Zhang Ruochen’s true body.
“Impressive, impressive. As expected of Xian Gongming. You’re forcing me to reveal my trump card,” Zhang Ruochen remarked.
“What? There’s more?”
“Could it be… a fourth sacred phase?”
“Impossible. That would be too insane.”
As if confirming their guesses, a thousand-zhang-tall golden body burst from Zhang Ruochen’s body, like a giant spirit god king, looking down at the earth below.
The Immovable Bright King Sacred Phase.
This sacred phase could also be called Zhang Ruochen’s lifebound sacred phase, identical to his true body in appearance. The aura it emitted was even stronger than the sword-shaped sword dao sacred phase, the dragon-elephant palm dao sacred phase, and the sacred river fist dao sacred phase.
The Immovable Bright King Sacred Phase extended a golden, radiant giant hand, like a divine Buddha’s palm print, directly grabbing the incoming dragon.
“Boom.”
The Immovable Bright King Sacred Phase strode forward, reaching the azure giant turtle. With a single punch, it easily drove the giant turtle deep into the ground.
Xian Gongming was utterly shocked. He looked up to see the Immovable Bright King Sacred Phase standing before him, staring down at him like an ant.
The sacred phase duel was not a true body confrontation.
At this point, Xian Gongming had been thoroughly defeated by Zhang Ruochen.
(End of chapter)
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