Chapter 1958: One Man Against the World
The space-time barrier instantly formed, and no one had time to withdraw from Immortal Mechanism Mountain. Nearly four hundred thousand troops of the Heavenly Court Realm and nearly two hundred thousand troops of the Death Clan were all trapped within this region.
In the shortest possible time, both armies assembled and were on high alert.
Even Lu Baiming and Ming Gu stopped their fight and returned to their respective camps.
"Boom."
In midair, Qi Yang struck with full force, using his demon blade to split open the Turtle Shell Array Diagram and the chaotic space, breaking free. The brilliant blade light, like a heavenly river, appeared before the eyes of all cultivators.
"Let me collect it."
Qi Yang extended a giant hand dozens of zhang long, intending to seize the Turtle Shell Array Diagram, but the diagram seemed sentient, burrowing into the ground and disappearing.
Qi Yang frowned, had to give up, and with a flicker of his form, appeared on the Death Altar, standing together with Source Demon God Son.
"What happened?" Qi Yang looked up at the sky, sensing a force that even he found suffocating.
Source Demon God Son's eyes showed gravity, saying, "It should be a hidden move left by the old monk Xumi, trapping us here. This barrier is no simple thing."
"A hidden move left by the old monk Xumi? What's going on? And where is Ku?" Qi Yang's eyes were full of confusion.
Source Demon God Son said, "Very likely, after all, this barrier is composed of space-time power. Besides the old monk Xumi from the Kunlun Realm, who else could have such means? As for Ku, he's dead, killed by Zhang Ruochen."
Hearing this, Qi Yang couldn't help but show a look of surprise, finding it hard to believe.
He knew Zhang Ruochen was a space-time controller with formidable skills. But with Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, how could he kill Ku?
The gap in their cultivation was like heaven and earth.
"Shua."
At that moment, two figures flashed out from the dark underground, precisely Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin.
Ji Fanxin held the Turtle Shell Array Diagram in her hand, clearly having just retrieved it.
Zhen Yuan turned into a streak of cyan light, flying before Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin, asking, "Junior Brother Zhang, what is this barrier about?"
Zhang Ruochen revealed a smile, saying, "Senior Brother Zhen Yuan, no need to worry. The barrier was formed by me triggering the divine power left by Saint Monk Xumi, intended to trap the Death Clan."
Secretly, Zhang Ruochen transmitted his voice, "Next, I will use some special methods to deal with the Death Clan. To avoid accidental harm, I hope Senior Brother Zhen Yuan will first lead the Heavenly Court army out of Immortal Mechanism Mountain."
"How sure are you?" Zhen Yuan transmitted back, clearly uneasy.
Zhang Ruochen looked toward the distant Death Altar, showing a confident smile, transmitting, "Senior Brother Zhen Yuan, rest assured. Without absolute certainty, how would I dare to single-handedly challenge the Death Clan army?"
This was a demeanor that looked down on the world, just like Saint Monk Xumi sitting in the starry sky, looking down on all gods. Though alone, he exuded an aura capable of subduing all deities.
Zhen Yuan stared deeply at Zhang Ruochen, said no more, and immediately transmitted orders for the Heavenly Court army to prepare for withdrawal.
In no time, the Heavenly Court army all boarded warships.
Even Bi Yunhai boarded a warship with Zhen Yuan. His gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen standing on the ground, he sneered, "Truly overestimating yourself. Do you think you can contend with the Death Clan army using the residual power left by Saint Monk Xumi? After you die, there should be no one to collect your corpse."
Zhang Ruochen only glanced lightly at Bi Yunhai and ignored him. Bi Yunhai was strong, but not enough to make him afraid, and he was too lazy to bother with such a person.
With such a character, his future achievements would surely be limited.
On the Death Altar, the top experts of the Death Clan showed puzzled expressions, very curious about what the Heavenly Court cultivators were trying to do.
Bore sensed something wrong, saying, "Not good, they want to leave. Stop them."
Source Demon God Son and Qi Yang, both battle-hardened experts, also sensed the danger and struck first.
Source Demon God Son crossed his arms, and streams of demon dragon-shaped qi surged from his body, interweaving above his head into a vast demon cloud.
With a palm strike, he sent out a demon handprint thousands of zhang long.
Qi Yang swung his Blood-Drinking Demon Blade, releasing a blade light three hundred li long, producing a piercing blade hum, as if heaven and earth were being split apart.
"What terrifying power."
Zhang Ruochen immediately activated the Space-Time Secret Scripture, opening a space channel straight out of Immortal Mechanism Mountain.
"Shua."
All the Heavenly Court warships instantly rose into the air, passing through the space channel, leaving this region and appearing a thousand li away.
Only Ji Fanxin, Feng Yan, Xiang Chunan, Pei Yutian, and the evil spirit remained. Unlike the others, they would always advance or retreat with Zhang Ruochen, unwilling to leave, and could not be persuaded otherwise.
Zhang Ruochen used the Space-Time Secret Scripture to wrap around them, executing a Great Space Teleportation.
The moment they disappeared, the attacks from Source Demon God Son and Qi Yang struck, hitting the space-time barrier, causing it to ripple like a water surface with countless layers of waves.
On the Death Altar, Source Demon God Son said coldly, "Zhang Ruochen, it really is you. Was all this your plan? I didn't expect you to hide so deeply. Truly worthy of being the heir of the old monk Xumi."
Zhang Ruochen held the Space-Time Secret Scripture in one hand, the other behind his back, stepping on the scorched earth, walking step by step toward the Death Altar, saying, "I'll give you one last chance. Withdraw from the Kunlun Realm, and I'll spare your lives."
As he said this, his gaze fixed on Bore.
But the response was a burst of laughter, mocking his ignorance and arrogance.
"Zhang Ruochen, do you even understand the situation? Do you really think a broken space-time barrier can deal with our Death Clan army? Even Xuan Yuan Lie Kong isn't this arrogant," Source Demon God Son sneered.
Qi Yang lightly touched the tip of his nose with his finger, laughing, "I think he's overconfident. This is called... what's it called? Self-righteousness."
Qi Yang and Source Demon were both among the top ten figures below Great Saint in the Death Clan, capable of contending with Great Saints. In their eyes, Zhang Ruochen was no different from an ant.
Not only did they think Zhang Ruochen was seeking death, but even the Heavenly Court army that had withdrawn from Immortal Mechanism Mountain thought so.
Feng Wuxing frowned deeply, looking at Zhen Yuan, saying bitterly, "Brother Zhen Yuan, is it because Zhang Ruochen had to send us away that he couldn't escape Immortal Mechanism Mountain?"
Looking from afar, Zhang Ruochen stood alone against hundreds of thousands of Death Clan troops. The scene was too tragic.
Although Zhen Yuan was full of confidence in Zhang Ruochen, how could one person fight so many Death Clan experts? However, as the heir of space and time, Zhang Ruochen should have no trouble retreating.
"Haha, this god son will deal with this arrogant fool."
Red Star God Son spread his pair of gray wings, turning into two deathly dark clouds, flying off the altar.
Still a dozen li away, Red Star God Son threw a punch, and instantly a deafening air explosion sounded in heaven and earth. Countless gray electric lights appeared, presenting an extremely strange celestial phenomenon.
"It's the Heaven-Destroying Killing Fist, a fist technique comparable to high-rank sacred arts, with boundless power. With this fist technique, Red Star God Son once clashed twelve times with an undying Great Saint before spitting blood and losing."
"It's over. Locked on by the Heaven-Destroying Killing Fist, with Zhang Ruochen's cultivation, he's dead for sure."
Even on the Death Altar, Bore's eyes were fixed straight on Zhang Ruochen. Under the Heaven-Destroying Killing Fist, Zhang Ruochen's body seemed extremely fragile and small, as if it would turn to ashes in the next moment.
But no one expected Zhang Ruochen to lightly utter two words, "Seeking death."
"Shua."
Zhang Ruochen didn't speak. He flipped his hand, took out the Immortal Mechanism Compass, and continuously infused powerful sacred qi, rapidly reviving it.
"The Immortal Mechanism Compass."
The faces of the Death Clan experts all changed.
Earlier, the Immortal Mechanism Compass had been taken by a mysterious expert, and no one could find that expert. How could it now appear in Zhang Ruochen's hands?
This situation could only mean two things: either the expert who took the compass knew Zhang Ruochen, or Zhang Ruochen himself had taken it, and he had been missing at that time, making it very likely he was doing just that.
Regardless, the Immortal Mechanism Compass appearing in Zhang Ruochen's hands was not good news.
The Immortal Mechanism Compass flew up on its own, hovering before Zhang Ruochen, and as it rotated, it released a strange power.
Instantly, many ancient formation patterns hidden underground emerged. Although severely damaged, the aura they emitted was still extremely terrifying, making sacred souls tremble.
In an extremely ancient era, the Immortal Mechanism Sect had produced a formation grandmaster who had laid down many powerful formations for the sect. Even after long ages and destruction by the Death Clan, some powerful formation patterns remained, buried deep underground, only able to be triggered by the Immortal Mechanism Compass.
"Hum."
The stone knife in Pei Yutian's hand flew out from the Space-Time Secret Scripture, suddenly vibrating violently, becoming uncontrollable.
The next moment, the stone knife broke free from Pei Yutian's hand and flew above Zhang Ruochen's head.
The formation power Zhang Ruochen had triggered with the Immortal Mechanism Compass all converged toward the stone knife. This power was immense, and ordinary sacred artifacts could not bear it.
The stone knife vibrated continuously, its surface patterns clearly emerging, perfectly matching the terrain of the Northern Domain.
At this moment, the stone knife, as it had at the bottom of Life-and-Death Cliff, autonomously revived, drawing the power of heaven and earth from the entire Northern Domain.
The vast power of heaven and earth passed through the space-time barrier, merging into the stone knife.
For a time, lightning and thunder appeared everywhere in the Northern Domain, with all kinds of terrifying phenomena, creating a commotion far greater than that at the bottom of Life-and-Death Cliff.
With a single slash, it was like cutting through air, splitting the Heaven-Destroying Killing Fist.
"How is this possible... this power..."
Red Star God Son's face changed drastically, feeling a power more terrifying than a Great Saint surrounding Zhang Ruochen. At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was like a god of Immortal Mechanism Mountain, filling him with fear.
Red Star God Son immediately flapped his wings, trying to flee.
"Still trying to escape? Too late."
Zhang Ruochen guided with his finger, and the stone knife slashed out again.
"Puchi."
The stone knife cut Red Star God Son in two.
The power contained in the knife was too terrifying. Red Star God Son's corpse was impacted, directly exploding into two masses of cold deathly mist.
These two slashes were too stunning and too domineering, shocking both the Death Clan and Heavenly Court cultivators into silence.
Some cultivators were so shaken that their souls trembled, almost falling to their knees to bow to Zhang Ruochen. At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was like a blade god descending to the world.
Holding the Immortal Mechanism Compass, Zhang Ruochen stepped forward, and with each step, heaven and earth trembled.
"Activate the Death Altar."
Source Demon God Son no longer dared to underestimate Zhang Ruochen. His face twisted, and he roared, pouring his power continuously into the Death Altar.
Not only him, but the other Death Clan experts standing on the Death Altar were doing the same.
Anyone could see that Zhang Ruochen was almost invincible. Only by joining forces to first break the space-time barrier could they have a way to survive today.
The power of the Death Altar was pushed to its limit, and a dark light shot straight into the sky, trying to pierce the space-time barrier.
Originally, the Death Clan had planned to let the Death Altar absorb enough power to brew a killing move, to break the space barrier between the Death Clan's star domain and the Kunlun Realm, allowing the Death Clan army to descend directly and take the entire Northern Domain with lightning speed.
They never imagined it would end up being used to resist Zhang Ruochen, this killing star.
"Break for me."
Source Demon God Son roared, fully activating the Death Altar.
As long as the space-time barrier was broken, Zhang Ruochen and the Heavenly Court experts would no longer be a threat.
Even if the space-time barrier was related to Saint Monk Xumi, he had long since fallen. How much divine power could remain?
With the Death Altar's mysterious and unpredictable nature, it was not impossible to break it.
"You're not leaving."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were cold, his killing intent fierce.
"Shua."
The power of the stone knife condensed to its peak, and he slashed it fiercely at the Death Altar.
A terrifying blade light shot out, making space extremely unstable, with fine cracks appearing.
"Boom."
The Death Altar rose with even more brilliant light, trying to block the blade light.
But the blade light was indestructible, and no matter how strong the Death Altar's defensive power, it could not withstand it.
"Crack."
The moment the blade light touched, the Death Altar emitted a sound of cracking.
"Rumble."
The blade light exploded like thunder, and the destructive force spread in all directions, engulfing the Death Altar.
With the Death Altar at the center, the ground of Immortal Mechanism Mountain broke apart on a large scale, like a great earthquake, beyond human power to stop.
In the dark underground, streaks of cyan light emerged, protecting the cyan palace.
In no time, the Death Altar completely shattered, turning to ashes.
Not only did the Death Altar turn to ashes and disappear, but the dozens of top experts on it also vanished, leaving nothing behind.
The Death Clan experts standing on the Death Altar were all very powerful, at least reaching the Heaven-Connecting Realm, dozens of them in total.
Seeing this result, Xiang Chunan widened his eyes, very shocked, saying, "My goodness, this is too terrifying. So many powerful Death Clan members, all wiped out, not even ashes left."
It seemed his earlier worries were completely unnecessary.
"Run!"
Seeing this, the Death Clan army fell into chaos, scattering in all directions.
Even the god sons and god daughters were all wiped out. How could they still fight Zhang Ruochen?
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly, looking up at the spot where the dark light from the Death Altar had struck.
At the moment the stone knife shattered the Death Altar, he vaguely sensed a very slight fluctuation in the space-time barrier.
If he wasn't mistaken, at that moment, someone should have passed through the space-time barrier and escaped.
But he couldn't determine how many had escaped or who they were.
He had to admit, these Death Clan members were indeed formidable. In that situation, someone could still escape.
"Pity, so many powerful Death Clan members, all annihilated in body and soul, leaving nothing behind, wasting a lot of merit points," Feng Yan sighed.
Xiang Chunan nodded, "Exactly, what a waste. The treasures on them are also wasted."
"There are still plenty of merit points left," Zhang Ruochen said, turning his gaze to the fleeing Death Clan cultivators.
As he spoke, he once again activated the Immortal Mechanism Compass, controlling the various incomplete formations hidden in Immortal Mechanism Mountain. He did not intend to let the remaining nearly two hundred thousand Death Clan troops go.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen about to use this move again, Xiang Chunan quickly said, "Big Brother, take it easy. Don't blast them all to annihilation again, or we'll have worked for nothing."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Don't worry, I know my limits."
"Boom."
The formations activated, and thousands of silver lightning bolts appeared out of thin air, striking the fleeing Death Clan members.
"Ah."
Screams of misery rose and fell.
Wherever the silver lightning struck, Death Clan members fell from midair, most dying instantly. Even those who survived were severely injured, losing the ability to resist.
Some Death Clan members were bold, not panicking, forming battle formations to fight Zhang Ruochen.
But unfortunately, they had no top experts among them. The strongest were only at the Dao Domain Realm. Even with numbers, it was useless.
It didn't take long for Immortal Mechanism Mountain to fall silent. Most of the Death Clan were killed by Zhang Ruochen's formations, and the rest were dealt with by Feng Yan, Xiang Chunan, and Pei Yutian.
"It's over."
Zhang Ruochen let out a light breath and sent the Immortal Mechanism Compass back into the dark underground.
With the battle over, the compass should naturally return to its owner.
Without any pause, the six of them, Zhang Ruochen and the others, all moved to clean the battlefield and collect spoils.
Not to mention anything else, nearly two hundred thousand Death Clan troops, all above the Saint Realm, could be exchanged for at least two to three billion merit points, enough for two or three people to ascend the Heavenly Court's "Saint King Merit Ranking."
And two to three billion merit points could be exchanged for a large number of precious merit treasures, making the significance truly enormous.