Chapter 1908: Slaying the Divine Son
"Suppress and kill."
Blood Butcher Divine Son roared lowly, swinging his sleeve to unleash the Interminable Hell Tower, which had been pushed to its extreme.
The Interminable Hell Tower released blazing flames, like a star falling, carrying incomparably terrifying power, as if it would destroy the entire Sword Grave.
No matter how much external power Zhang Ruochen could borrow, he would be mercilessly obliterated.
To die under his strongest strike could be considered Zhang Ruochen's honor.
"Go."
Zhang Ruochen showed no fear, his aura rapidly climbing to its peak as he unleashed the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram.
Although he was alone now, the tacit understanding (moqi) between the Abyssal Ancient Sword and the Blood-Drop Sword was enough to manifest the true essence of the Yin-Yang Two Forms Sword Formation.
"Boom."
The Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram collided with the Interminable Hell Tower. Two different forces clashed, grinding against each other, forming a terrifying shockwave.
The Interminable Hell Tower halted midair, continuously releasing violent (kuangbao) power, yet unable to press down any further.
The Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram formed by the Abyssal Ancient Sword and the Blood-Drop Sword was extremely stable. Though seemingly small, it possessed the mighty force to withstand the impact of the Interminable Hell Tower.
"You can't block it. Break."
A sharp glint flashed in Blood Butcher Divine Son's eyes. His true body appeared atop the Interminable Hell Tower, pressing down with full force.
Zhang Ruochen's aura continued to climb, endlessly channeling power into the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram.
Beyond this, the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram was also autonomously drawing power from the Sword Grave, as if both the Abyssal Ancient Sword and the Blood-Drop Sword had some mysterious connection to it.
An intangible fluctuation (bodong) transmitted over, suddenly granting Zhang Ruochen a profound insight, causing his sword intent to undergo a strange (qiyi) transformation.
Finally, he fully comprehended the last layer of Sword Nine's essence, "Soul Returns to the Interminable," achieving the perfect (yuanman) state of Sword Nine.
Immediately, he used the transformed sword intent to drive the Yin-Yang Two Forms Sword Formation.
The Yin-Yang Two Forms Sword Formation of the Liangyi Sect was originally derived from the Wordless Sword Manual of the Sword Pavilion. Thus, using the sword intent gained from comprehending the Wordless Sword Manual to drive the Yin-Yang Two Forms Sword Formation was perfectly complementary.
The Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram burst forth with dazzling divine radiance. Sword energy shot into the sky, shattering the Hell Realm Barrier.
Following that, the Interminable Hell Tower was sent flying by a sword energy, countless hell flames scattering into a rain of fire.
In the next moment, the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram erupted with multiple sword energies, tearing through space and slashing toward Xia Wenxin, Nine-Eyed Heavenly King, and the others like lightning.
Compared to the sword energy that had just sent the Interminable Hell Tower flying, the several sword energies unleashed now were undoubtedly weaker, but they were still not to be underestimated. Each one possessed the terrifying power to cut down stars.
Xia Wenxin reacted swiftly, immediately unleashing the God-Extinguishing Cross Shield.
"Boom."
The God-Extinguishing Cross Shield released streaks of blood light, colliding with the sword energies and annihilating them.
"Blood Butcher expended his essence to drive the Interminable Hell Tower, enough to suppress and kill an Immortal Great Saint, yet he couldn't handle Zhang Ruochen and even ended up at a disadvantage. How is that possible?" Seeing the Interminable Hell Tower fly high into the sky, Nine-Eyed Heavenly King found it hard to believe.
Although he disliked Blood Butcher, he acknowledged Blood Butcher's strength and knew how terrifying that strike had been.
Under normal circumstances, that strike would have been enough to kill Zhang Ruochen, and even the yin spirits (yinling) that were helping him would have been reduced to ashes.
But why did the result turn out like this?
"As expected of Empress Chi Yao's war sword, stronger than the Interminable Hell Tower." Xia Wenxin couldn't help but admire.
Supreme Sacred Artifacts also had distinctions of strength and weakness (qiangruo zhi fen), and the gap (chaju) was often significant.
For example, Qiangu Nüdi's Void Sword was a top-tier Supreme Sacred Artifact, with some speculating it might not be far off from a divine artifact.
Although the Blood-Drop Sword had only recently become a Supreme Sacred Artifact, it was forged from Creation Divine Iron, and Empress Chi Yao was immensely powerful. Thus, it was already much stronger than many Supreme Sacred Artifacts from the start, with the potential to become a true divine artifact in the future.
"The situation seems unfavorable. What should we do next?" Wangqiu Divine Son, whose body was like an iron tower, frowned and asked.
He had no problem with fighting, but when it came to strategy, he had to rely on Xia Wenxin.
A few gleams of light flashed in Xia Wenxin's eyes as he pondered, "Mobilize the army, launch a full-scale assault, and use all the Saint-Exterminating Warships."
Hearing this, Nine-Eyed Heavenly King's eyes lit up. "We should have used the Saint-Exterminating Warships from the start. Why go through all this trouble?"
"When the situation isn't completely clear, we naturally have to keep some trump cards in reserve. Now that even the Blood-Drop Sword has appeared, the Zhenyu Ancient Clan probably has no more tricks up their sleeve." Xia Wenxin analyzed calmly.
With that, he flicked his sleeve, and three exquisite warships, each only a foot long, appeared.
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King immediately grabbed one and rapidly infused his power into it.
Instantly, the miniature warship expanded rapidly, becoming a massive object hundreds of meters long.
Ten thousand Undying Blood Clan warriors immediately flew onto the warship, and Nine-Eyed Heavenly King also entered it.
Following that, Xia Wenxin and Wangqiu Divine Son each took control of a warship, forming a Three Talents Formation with Nine-Eyed Heavenly King's warship as they flew toward Zhang Ruochen.
Xia Wenxin knew that ordinary warships were useless for attacking the Sword Grave, so he had brought three immensely powerful Saint-Exterminating Warships.
As the name suggests, Saint-Exterminating Warships existed specifically for exterminating saints. If controlled by a top-tier expert, they could kill a Great Saint.
Saint-Exterminating Warships were not easy to forge; each one was worth a fortune. Not only were their attacks astonishing, but their defenses were also extremely strong and difficult to damage.
If it weren't for attacking the Sword Grave, Xia Wenxin wouldn't have been able to bring three Saint-Exterminating Warships out of the clan.
On the other side, the Undying Blood Clan army was forming battle formations, each consisting of tens of thousands of warriors, on a massive scale.
Individually, these Undying Blood Clan warriors weren't particularly strong, but once they formed battle formations and combined their power, they became formidable.
As the saying goes, ants can kill an elephant. Tens of thousands of Saint-level Undying Blood Clan warriors forming a battle formation could kill a Saint King.
"Blood Butcher, you take the main attack. We'll assist from the side." Xia Wenxin secretly transmitted a message to Blood Butcher Divine Son.
At this moment, Blood Butcher Divine Son's face was extremely gloomy, as if it could drip water.
The previous exchange had filled him with a sense of frustration, making him feel extremely stifled and angry.
"Die."
Blood Butcher Divine Son roared, once again injecting a large amount of blood essence into the Interminable Hell Tower.
The dim inscriptions (mingwen) reappeared, a scorching aura spread, and a hell realm faintly manifested.
"Boom."
The Interminable Hell Tower pressed down with an unstoppable momentum.
At the same time, a large number of inscriptions (mingwen) appeared on the surfaces of the three Saint-Exterminating Warships, releasing lightning, flames, and wind respectively.
With three Divine Sons and thirty thousand Undying Blood Clan Saint-level warriors driving them together, the power unleashed by the three Saint-Exterminating Warships was almost unstoppable.
Let alone a Saint King, even a Great Saint would need to avoid their edge (fengmang).
Saint-Exterminating Warships were typically used in battles beyond the starry sky (yuwai xingkong). A single strike could shatter stars and tear the void.
Now, three forces erupted simultaneously, coordinating with the Interminable Hell Tower's attack.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were sharp as he did his best to evolve the Yin-Yang Two Forms Sword Formation. The Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram expanded, and he stood at its center, capable of both offense and defense.
This sword formation emphasized balance. Both offense and defense were extremely powerful. As long as the two hearts were united, they could almost stand undefeated.
"Boom."
The power of the Interminable Hell Tower and the three Saint-Exterminating Warships all struck the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram.
To Xia Wenxin and the others' disappointment, the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram did not collapse. It continued to rotate slowly.
All the power transmitted to the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram vanished like a mud ox sinking into the sea.
"My turn."
Zhang Ruochen murmured, releasing a powerful sword intent.
"Hum."
The Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram vibrated, emitting streaks of highly condensed sword energy.
This condensation (ningju) was thanks to the attacks from Xia Wenxin and the others, which had actually made the sword energy stronger.
"Boom."
The Interminable Hell Tower was sent flying again, even though it had unleashed greater power.
"Rip."
The three Saint-Exterminating Warships also flew backward, their surface inscriptions (mingwen) dimming, indicating damage.
"Whoosh."
The Sword Soul flew out of Zhang Ruochen's body, controlling the Sky-Soaring Sword, and pierced through Wangqiu Divine Son's head like lightning.
"Impossible..."
Wangqiu Divine Son's eyes widened, and he fell straight down.
Zhang Ruochen's Sword Soul did not retreat. Instead, it drove the Sky-Soaring Sword with full force (quanli), pushing Sword Nine to its extreme.
"Bang."
Many Undying Blood Clan warriors on the Saint-Exterminating Warship hadn't even reacted before their bodies exploded, dying violently.
The next moment, the Sword Soul returned, as if it had never left.
Although some Undying Blood Clan warriors on the warship were still alive, they were essentially crippled and no longer posed a threat.
That Zhang Ruochen could cripple a Saint-Exterminating Warship so quickly was something no one had expected.
Especially the killing of Wangqiu Divine Son, which shocked everyone.
"Hiss."
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King drew in a cold breath, involuntarily feeling a trace of fear.
His strength wasn't much greater than Wangqiu Divine Son's. Since Zhang Ruochen could kill Wangqiu Divine Son, it meant he could also kill him.
"Retreat."
Without hesitation, Nine-Eyed Heavenly King chose to fall back.
No matter what, he had to put distance between himself and Zhang Ruochen. He didn't want to become the next Wangqiu Divine Son.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Zhang Ruochen spoke coldly, unleashing the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram, charging straight at the Saint-Exterminating Warship controlled by Nine-Eyed Heavenly King.
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King was already afraid and had taken the initiative to retreat, leaving many openings. How could Zhang Ruochen let such an opportunity slip?
Just then, a surge of monstrous blood energy erupted, condensing (ningju) into a giant shield that blocked the path of Nine-Eyed Heavenly King's Saint-Exterminating Warship.
This giant shield was formed by a battle formation, gathering (huiju) the power of over ten thousand Undying Blood Clan warriors. Its defensive power was certainly not to be underestimated.
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King was about to breathe a sigh of relief when his scalp suddenly tingled, sensing a huge (juda) threat.
"Boom."
The giant shield exploded violently, appearing fragile.
The Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram's momentum did not diminish, directly crashing into the Saint-Exterminating Warship controlled by Nine-Eyed Heavenly King, unleashing a world-destroying power.