# Chapter 1904: Despair
"Divine Son Xia, your God-Destroying Cross Shield should also be a complete supreme sacred artifact. Why can't you unleash such formidable power?" Nine-Eyed Heavenly King asked, very puzzled.
Xia Wenxin gently stroked the God-Destroying Cross Shield and shook his head. "Without becoming a Great Saint, mastering a complete supreme sacred artifact is extremely difficult. I have only possessed the God-Destroying Cross Shield for a short time and still need some time to adapt. Only by gaining the recognition of the artifact spirit can I unleash its strongest power."
Upon hearing this, Nine-Eyed Heavenly King couldn't help but sigh. "Blood Butcher is truly fortunate. He refined the Inescapable Hell Prison Tower early on, and even Undying Great Saint is no match for him."
Hearing these words, Xia Wenxin merely smiled faintly and said nothing more.
At this moment, the Inescapable Hell Prison Tower flew in midair. From the tower's body, clusters of hellfire flew out like rain of fire, falling to the ground with a rumbling sound, as if about to completely destroy this hell.
Zhang Ruochen wanted to use spatial means to retreat with everyone into the Sword Grave, but he found that space was constrained, and even their flying speed had slowed considerably.
"Dealing with this rabble, this Divine Son needs only one-tenth of his strength. And yet you end up with losses and casualties. You have disgraced the Undying Blood Clan!"
Blood Butcher Divine Son berated Xia Wenxin and the others while dealing with Zhang Ruochen and his group.
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King's expression was especially gloomy, filled with fury. As a Divine Son, he had pride in his heart and dignity to uphold. He had never been so reprimanded before.
If not for Xia Wenxin stopping him, he would have argued with Blood Butcher Divine Son. A Divine Son's dignity could not be trampled upon.
"Who is this bastard? What's with all the posturing?"
Xiang Chunan was extremely displeased with Blood Butcher, cracking his knuckles, eager to give him a beating.
Zhang Ruochen recalled what he had read in the *Ten Clans of Hell Myriad Evil Records*, his expression grave. "Blood Butcher Divine Son is one of the top five strongest among the Undying Blood Clan below Great Saint. He once fought a decisive battle in the starry sky with Undying Realm's Chunyi Great Saint. The two fought for two days and three nights, causing over a dozen stars to fall."
"In the end, Chunyi Great Saint retreated covered in blood, and Blood Butcher won."
"That battle shocked the upper echelons of the Heavenly Court Realm. It was then that his danger index was rated at level ten."
Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath of cold air, their hearts nearly frozen.
Even a Great Saint could be defeated...
A Great Saint was the emperor among saints, with an immortal physical body, suppressing all living beings.
Fighting Blood Butcher was no different from fighting a Great Saint.
Faced with such a terrifying existence, how could they resist?
How could they not despair?
"No matter how strong, we must fight."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze glanced behind him, seeing Shi Qiankun desperately rushing toward the Sword Grave. No matter what, he had to hold off Blood Butcher a little longer, buying time for Shi Qiankun to retreat.
Moreover, after breaking through to the Nine-Step Saint King realm, Zhang Ruochen's strength had greatly increased. He also wanted to test just what level this Blood Clan supreme, renowned throughout the myriad realms, had reached.
Only by knowing oneself and one's enemy could one find a way to victory.
"Whoever he is, Grandpa Xiang isn't afraid."
Xiang Chunan roared, opening all his acupoints, releasing pillars of demonic qi that continuously converged toward his metal demon crown.
As a sworn brother, he would stand firmly by Zhang Ruochen's side at any time, sharing life and death.
Murong Yue said nothing, silently channeling demonic qi into the Cyan Light Blunt Moon Slash, ready to strike at any moment.
"Truly wonderful, truly wonderful. Let's fight him to the death!" the True Wonder Little Daoist said through gritted teeth.
Baolie needed no prompting. He pressed his index fingers together, and the sacred qi in his meridians crazily circulated, gathering toward his brow. The Star God's Eye could open at any moment.
Ji Fanxin radiated sacred light from within her body, clearly also preparing some powerful technique.
"If I don't enter hell, who will? Amitabha." Er Sikong softly recited the Buddhist chant.
"Slap."
Da Sikong slapped Er Sikong on the head, glaring. "Nonsense. If anyone's going to hell, it should be that damn Divine Son."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen and the others blocking the way, Blood Butcher Divine Son sneered. "Since you're all in such a hurry to die, I'll grant your wish."
Before his words faded, the Inescapable Hell Prison Tower began to spin, rivers of flame pouring out, emitting scorching waves of heat as it rapidly crashed forward.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were resolute. He activated the Azure Sky Floating Pagoda with all his might, making the tower as massive as a mountain, colliding with the Inescapable Hell Prison Tower.
Although the Azure Sky Floating Pagoda's artifact spirit was absent, the current artifact spirit consciousness was willing to fully assist, so its power could not be underestimated.
At the same time, the True Wonder Little Daoist temporarily became the artifact spirit of the Purple Gold Eight Trigram Mirror, pushing its power to the limit.
Murong Yue unleashed the Cyan Light Blunt Moon Slash, Xiang Chunan struck with the metal demon crown, Baolie opened the Star God's Eye, Ji Fanxin emitted astonishing divine light from within, and Da Sikong and Er Sikong joined forces to manifest the Heaven-Earth Chess Platform, radiating divine might.
This time, each of them unleashed their strongest techniques, determined to contend with Blood Butcher Divine Son.
"Boom."
Terrifying power erupted. The land for hundreds of miles rapidly sank, and smoke and clouds for ten thousand miles were swept clean.
Such power—even just a trace of the shockwave—was enough to kill Saint King-level experts.
"Bang."
Zhang Ruochen and the others suffered a tremendous impact, like autumn leaves in the wind, all sent flying backward.
On the other side, the Inescapable Hell Prison Tower stopped, no longer advancing.
Blood Butcher stood atop the tower, his body suddenly exploding into a mass of blood qi.
Seeing this, Xiang Chunan, lying in a pool of blood, stood up, coughing blood as he laughed. "Hahaha! What top five expert? What overpowering a Great Saint? When you meet Grandpa Xiang, don't you still have to vanish into smoke?"
The True Wonder Little Daoist also showed great joy, hardly believing his eyes. "We actually killed Blood Butcher! After this battle, won't this poor Daoist become famous throughout the world?"
Zhang Ruochen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, but he wasn't as happy as Xiang Chunan and the True Wonder Little Daoist. Instead, his face was pale, and his heart had sunk to the bottom. "Quick, let's go."
"Go? Why should we go?"
"That's right. We should press our advantage and let the Undying Blood Clan know who calls the shots in the Kunlun Realm."
...
Ji Fanxin gazed at the Inescapable Hell Prison Tower hanging high in midair, her expression more solemn than ever before. "Just now, we only destroyed one of Blood Butcher's clones. When his true body descends, we won't be able to escape even if we want to."
"What... clone..."
'Impossible!'
Xiang Chunan and the True Wonder Little Daoist both gasped, involuntarily stepping back several paces.
At this moment, no one was controlling the Inescapable Hell Prison Tower, and space was no longer constrained. This was the best time to retreat.
"Shua."
Using spatial displacement, Zhang Ruochen took everyone and retreated into the Sword Grave at top speed.
"Boom."
At that moment, an overwhelming blood fiend qi descended from the sky, appearing above the Inescapable Hell Prison Tower.
Blood Butcher's figure reappeared. The aura emanating from his body was nearly ten times stronger than before, like a blood-red sun hanging in the sky, illuminating the land for ten thousand miles.
However, his expression was especially ugly.
A bunch of ants had actually managed to destroy one of his clones. Where was his dignity?
That clone had been condensed from a large amount of his blood qi, possessing one-tenth of his full-strength cultivation.
With the Inescapable Hell Prison Tower added, who could contend when no Great Saint appeared?
"Run. Let's see where you can run to. Seal the exit of the Prison Suppressing Ancient Clan. Don't let a single fly escape. This Divine Son will drain every last drop of their blood one by one." Blood Butcher Divine Son growled.
On the surface of the Inescapable Hell Prison Tower, countless inscriptions emerged like tadpoles. Blood qi shot straight into the sky, and supreme power surged forth as if trying to solidify space itself.
Using his true body to activate the Inescapable Hell Prison Tower, the power was naturally incomparable.
"Unexpectedly, Blood Butcher also suffers losses sometimes. Hehe." Nine-Eyed Heavenly King chuckled lightly.
Blood Butcher Divine Son, riding the Inescapable Hell Prison Tower, charged into the Sword Grave at extreme speed.
Within the Sword Grave, only sword dao rules existed. Apart from sword cultivators, any other cultivator who entered would have their strength suppressed.
But even after entering the Sword Grave, Blood Butcher Divine Son still appeared extremely dominant, as if he completely didn't care about the Sword Grave's suppression of him.
Even if his power was suppressed further, it wouldn't affect his ability to deal with Zhang Ruochen and the others.
Suddenly, seven Divine Throne Planets flew out, instantly forming a powerful formation to suppress Blood Butcher Divine Son.
Blood Butcher Divine Son didn't even look, casually slapping out a palm.
"Boom."
The formation was instantly dismantled, and the seven Divine Throne Planets scattered in all directions.
Baolie displayed extreme speed, thrusting forward with the Golden War Spear.
The power of Seven Radiance Perfection erupted, with golden light condensed at a single point, unstoppable.
"Clang."
Blood Butcher Divine Son flicked his finger, sending the Golden War Spear flying.
Then, he struck out with a palm, landing solidly on Baolie's chest.
"Pfft."
Baolie spat out a mouthful of blood, flying backward like a kite with a broken string.
Numerous fine cracks appeared on his body, blood seeping out, nearly exploding.
With just one palm, Baolie suffered terrible injuries, nearly dying.
Both were at the Lintao Realm, yet the gap in strength was not ordinary.
Just as Blood Butcher Divine Son was about to deliver another palm, Zhang Ruochen acted, striking out with the Azure Sky Floating Pagoda.
Taking advantage of the moment the Azure Sky Floating Pagoda held off Blood Butcher Divine Son, Zhang Ruochen rescued Baolie and fed him a large amount of Life Spring.
"And you think you can fight this Divine Son? Utterly ignorant of life and death." Blood Butcher Divine Son sent the Azure Sky Floating Pagoda flying, speaking coldly.
Seeing how severely Baolie was injured, everyone's hearts sank. They didn't know what they could use to resist Blood Butcher Divine Son.
Earlier, they had barely managed to destroy one of Blood Butcher Divine Son's clones while heavily injured. Against his true body, they didn't even have the slightest ability to fight back.
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fists, his heart burning with desire for power. If his cultivation could also reach the Daoyu Realm or Lintao Realm, why would he fear Blood Butcher Divine Son?
He lacked neither resources nor potential. What he lacked was merely time.
Give him another hundred years, and below Great Saint, he would fear no one.
Blood Butcher Divine Son didn't seem eager to kill Zhang Ruochen and the others. He enjoyed watching them fear, gradually driving them deeper into the Sword Grave.
On the black wilderness, various swords were scattered—some intact, some damaged—in countless forms and numbers.
The deeper they went, the more active the sword dao rules became, and the stronger the suppression on other cultivators.
Except for Zhang Ruochen, Baolie, Ji Fanxin, and the others were all heavily suppressed, their strength drastically reduced.
In contrast, Blood Butcher Divine Son remained as imposing as ever. With a complete supreme sacred artifact in hand, even the Sword Grave found it difficult to suppress him much.
In a mysterious place within the Sword Grave, Luo Yi revealed himself, frowning at the arrogant Blood Butcher Divine Son.
"I finally found something, and these idiots from the Undying Blood Clan come barging in. How infuriating."
Luo Yi's expression was very ugly. He was extremely displeased that the Undying Blood Clan was ruining his good fortune.
He released powerful spiritual power, and a giant appeared behind him, wielding a massive heavy sword.
The giant was not a living being but a corpse, buried in the Sword Grave for who knows how many years. Its body had not decayed and still possessed great power.
"Releasing the Underworld King won't be that easy. Go." Luo Yi sneered, using his spiritual power to drive the giant.
"Boom."
The giant leaped out violently, descending from above, swinging its massive heavy sword to slash at Blood Butcher Divine Son.
"Hmph."
Blood Butcher Divine Son snorted heavily, pointing out a finger.
A blood light burst forth, tearing through space, striking the giant sword.
"Roar."
The giant roared like a wild beast, continuously swinging its sword to slash, fearless of death.
Though dead, as a sword cultivator, it still held a great advantage within the Sword Grave.
Zhang Ruochen glanced in the direction from which the giant had leaped, a gleam of light flashing in his eyes as he fell into thought.
The next moment, he snapped back to reality and, without hesitation, led Baolie and the others at top speed toward a distant ancient mountain covered in ice and snow.
Blood Butcher Divine Son was already occupied by the giant. They could take this opportunity to escape. Any delay would be too late.