# Chapter 1984: One Sword Beheads
"What? He actually used spatial means to block my full-powered slash?"
Canglong was shocked internally, finding it extremely unbelievable.
He had seen the techniques of space cultivators before, but let alone the Rule Grand Heaven realm, even those at the Dao Domain, Reaching Heaven, or even Approaching Dao realms could not necessarily unleash spatial techniques as terrifying as what Zhang Ruochen had displayed.
The Way of Space was an eternal ancient path. Even comprehending a single Space Rule was extremely difficult.
Many space cultivators at the Rule Grand Heaven realm could only comprehend a few thousand Space Rules. Only upon reaching the Dao Domain realm could the number of Space Rules break through ten thousand.
Yet Zhang Ruochen, who had not even condensed his Dao Domain, already possessed seventy thousand Space Rules. Once he fully comprehended all the Space Rules contained within the Space-Time Secret Scripture, having his own Space Rules reach one hundred thousand would be no difficult task.
"No wonder he is the Heir of Time and Space. His spatial techniques are truly this terrifying." Lingyan Demon Consort could not help but praise.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen gain the upper hand, she was undoubtedly pleased, as she did not wish to see Zhang Ruochen die at Shengming City.
Within Shengming City, a powerful figure stood atop an extremely tall pavilion, watching the battle between Zhang Ruochen and Canglong from afar.
This person's form was blurry, with the surrounding space subtly distorted, making it impossible to see clearly.
What could be confirmed was that this person was undoubtedly a space cultivator.
When he saw Zhang Ruochen use Space Collapse to block Canglong's full-powered strike, a strange light flickered in his eyes.
"Zhang Ruochen has never entered the Space Divine Temple for cultivation, yet his Way of Space has reached such a level. The legacy left by Xumi Saint Monk is truly extraordinary." The space cultivator hidden in the shadows murmured.
In his hand was a Space Linglong Ball, within which many human figures could faintly be seen, struggling desperately but unable to break free.
...
Outside Shengming City, Canglong struck again, simultaneously using the Immortal Black Dragon Claw and the Youyue Saber, unleashing his full strength without any reservation.
"Canglong, are those dragon claws of yours? I think they're more like chicken claws—no attack power at all. Even Rat Lord's claws are sharper than yours." Shoushu loudly taunted.
The people from the You Divine Hall had dared to ambush him earlier and throw him into the Cold Ice Prison. He remembered this grudge well. Even if he couldn't defeat Canglong, he would use words to choke him to death.
"Space Distortion."
Zhang Ruochen very calmly executed his spatial technique.
The space before him suddenly underwent a massive distortion, causing the saber light slashed out by the Youyue Saber to change direction and strike toward Canglong's Immortal Black Dragon Claw.
At such close range, even if Canglong wanted to dodge, it was impossible.
"Bang."
The saber light was incredibly sharp. Although the Immortal Black Dragon Claw was extremely hard, a fine crack now appeared on it.
Seeing this, Shoushu couldn't help but hold his stomach and laugh loudly: "Canglong, do you want to eat chicken claws? Cutting yourself like that—I'm dying of laughter!"
"Go to hell."
Canglong was furious. He forcibly expelled the residual saber light from the Immortal Black Dragon Claw and slashed it toward Shoushu.
Shoushu shrank his head and instantly burrowed into the ground, moving with incredible speed.
"Boom."
The saber light struck the ground. Even though its power was nearly spent, it still left a crack over a hundred zhang long and several zhang deep on the ground.
One must know that the ground outside Shengming City was extremely solid. Ordinary attacks could not cause obvious damage at all.
The next moment, Shoushu emerged from underground. He first patted his chest, then said smugly: "Want to kill Rat Lord? Canglong, you're still far from it. Just wait. Dust Lord will soon chop your head off."
"Canglong, was it you who instigated Shang Zihong to attack Shengming City?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Canglong sneered coldly: "That's right, it was me. This is the price for touching my woman."
"In that case, leave your life behind!"
Zhang Ruochen's gaze suddenly turned exceptionally sharp, and a terrifying killing intent emanated from him.
The Sword Soul instantly shot out from Zhang Ruochen's body, took hold of the Abyssal Ancient Sword, ignored the distance of space, and arrived right in front of Canglong in an instant.
"Do you think the same trick will work on me again?" Canglong sneered.
With the Youyue Saber in hand, Canglong feared nothing. He used tens of millions of Sacred Dao Rules to construct a powerful Dao Domain, firmly protecting himself.
With the lesson from last time, he would never be injured by Zhang Ruochen's Time Sword Art again.
The Sword Soul swung the sword, instantly capturing hundreds of Time Imprints and branding them onto the space around Canglong.
In an instant, the Virtual Time Domain was successfully constructed. Within the area covered by the Virtual Time Domain, time and space fell into absolute stillness.
A flash of sword light, and Canglong's head flew high into the air, blood splattering everywhere.
"How could this be..."
Canglong's eyes bulged wide, the last thought forming in his mind.
Then, Canglong's pupils dilated, and his Sacred Soul rapidly extinguished.
"What just happened? How was Canglong beheaded?"
"It's the Time Sword Art—it must be the legendary Time Sword Art."
"Zhang Ruochen is a Space-Time Controller. Not only can he control space, but he can also use the power of time. I never imagined the Time Sword Art could be so terrifying that even Canglong couldn't react in time."
"With such an unpredictable and mysterious sword technique, how can one defend against it?"
...
Seeing Canglong beheaded, all the onlookers were shocked beyond words. Their gazes toward Zhang Ruochen gradually turned to awe.
On the city wall, another powerful figure also changed expression dramatically, involuntarily stepping back a pace, clearly somewhat afraid of Zhang Ruochen's Time Sword Art.
"Dust Lord is mighty! The Time Sword Art is invincible!" Shoushu cheered.
Mu Lingxi let out a long sigh of relief, the hanging stone in her heart finally settling.
Even she hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen's Time Sword Art to have become so powerful, even more unpredictable and mysterious than when he fought against Xingyun Saint King.
With Canglong dead, the Youyue Saber immediately tried to flee.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Space-Time Secret Scripture, opened it, and formed a Multi-Space, enveloping the Youyue Saber inside.
Then, he closed the Space-Time Secret Scripture, completely sealing the Youyue Saber.
Although a Monarch Sacred Artifact was powerful, without its master, it was like a toothless tiger.
Reaching out, Zhang Ruochen pulled off the Flowing Light Merit Armor from Canglong's body and directly tossed it to Mu Lingxi.
Canglong had been in the top ten thousand of the Heavenly Court Saint King Merit Ranking for over five hundred years. The Merit Divine Hall would not reclaim this Flowing Light Merit Armor. Taking it from his body would not invite pursuit from the Merit Divine Hall.
The Flowing Light Merit Armor had extremely strong defensive power and could also burst forth at a thousand times the speed of sound. If Mu Lingxi wore it, her safety would be more assured.
Next, Zhang Ruochen collected Canglong's corpse. There were certainly many good things on it, but he had no time to inventory them for now.
"Zhang Ruochen, you have quite the nerve, daring to kill Canglong." Another powerful figure on the city wall shouted loudly.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes flashed with cold light. He fixed his gaze on that powerful figure and said icily: "I not only dare to kill Canglong, I also dare to kill you."
A trace of fear flickered in that powerful figure's eyes, but he remained very calm on the surface. With a wave of his hand, the city gate opened, revealing the scene inside.
Tens of thousands of Sacred Bright remnants knelt behind the city gate, almost all of them covered in blood, not a single one unharmed.
These Sacred Bright remnants were all cultivators, at various stages of cultivation, including a Saint King.
Zhang Ruochen was very familiar with that Saint King. He was a general under Mingjiang King—Yan Kaixuan—who had once offended Zhang Ruochen.
After the Kunlun Realm revived, Yan Kaixuan obtained many opportunities, his cultivation rising steadily until he finally crossed into the Saint King realm.
However, Yan Kaixuan was not very strong, having only reached the Second-Step Saint King realm.
"Zhang Ruochen, if you dare to make a rash move, I can guarantee that all these people will die." The powerful figure on the city wall sneered.
With tens of thousands of Sacred Bright remnants in his grasp, he was now not afraid of Zhang Ruochen at all.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, don't worry about us. Leave quickly."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen outside the city, Yan Kaixuan immediately shouted loudly.
Yan Kaixuan was in a miserable state. One of his arms was gone, and there were several bloody holes in his chest, with Sacred Blood continuously flowing out.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince, to be able to see you one last time before death, we have no regrets."
"We are useless. From now on, we can no longer fight alongside Your Highness the Crown Prince on the battlefield."
"No regrets being born into Shengming. In the next life, we will still be Shengming people. Your Highness the Crown Prince, leave quickly. Avenge us in the future."
...
The Sacred Bright remnants all spoke up, urging Zhang Ruochen to leave.
There were too many powerful figures from the Heavenly Realm Faction in the city. How could Zhang Ruochen alone possibly defeat them?
They could die, but Zhang Ruochen had to live.
As long as Zhang Ruochen lived, the flame of Shengming would not be extinguished. It would eventually burn brightly one day.
Seeing so many Sacred Bright remnants kneeling on the ground, almost all with mutilated bodies, Zhang Ruochen's heart instantly blazed with raging fury.
"How dare you... how dare you treat my Shengming people like this?"
Zhang Ruochen's body trembled, his voice low like muffled thunder.
The powerful figure on the city wall laughed loudly: "What? Angry? Want to save them? I can give you a chance. Fight me. Of course, you cannot use time and space techniques. If you can hold on for a quarter of an hour, I will release them all!"
"If you don't dare, then I will kill them all right now."
Clearly, he was extremely wary of Zhang Ruochen's time and space techniques, having little confidence in countering them.
Yet he very much wanted to capture Zhang Ruochen and achieve a great merit, so he could only use this method.
"Yan Ba is truly insidious, coming up with such a shameless method to deal with Zhang Ruochen."
"It is said that Zhang Ruochen is very likely the one who killed Yan Wang, and Yan Wang was Yan Ba's most beloved nephew. With such a deep grudge, how could Yan Ba let Zhang Ruochen off?"
"Yan Ba has cultivated for over thirteen hundred years and has long reached the Approaching Dao realm. His cultivation is unfathomable, even a bit stronger than Canglong. He is a top-tier expert of the Yin Yang Realm. Under normal circumstances, Yan Ba would be a formidable opponent for Zhang Ruochen. If he cannot use time and space techniques, Zhang Ruochen is almost certain to lose."
Many of the watching experts shook their heads, all surprised that Yan Ba would be so insidious and completely shameless.
(Chapter End)