Chapter 1989: Imperial Emperor Violet Qi
In the current Heavenly Court and Hell Realms, there are countless powerful beings below the Great Saint level.
But among them, the strongest are undoubtedly the level of Hell Realm's Yan Wushen and the Heavenly Palace's Four Heavenly Kings. They can mobilize the natural laws within a nine-thousand-mile radius, possess the terrifying strength to kill Immortal Great Saints, and hold a transcendent status. Other Lin Dao Realm powerhouses often change color at the mere mention of them.
Below them is the level of Xuan Yuan Lie Kong and Source Demon God Son, who can mobilize natural laws within an eight-thousand-mile radius and have the formidable power to defeat Immortal Great Saints.
Further down is the level of Bi Yun Hai and Blood Butcher God Son, who can mobilize natural laws within a seven-thousand-mile radius, matching Immortal Great Saints in strength and even gaining some advantage.
Anyone whose strength reaches these three levels is bound to become famous across the myriad realms and be hailed as a legend.
Of course, many factors determine strength, not just the range of natural laws one can mobilize. Physique, cultivation techniques, sacred arts, and sacred artifacts all have a significant impact on power.
Additionally, while mobilizing natural laws within a five-thousand-mile radius qualifies as the Immortal Great Saint level, that merely means one has the qualifications to exchange a few moves with an Immortal Great Saint.
No matter how weak an Immortal Great Saint may be, the essence of their power is fundamentally different. They are not so easily opposed, let alone defeated or killed.
Feng Gu Dao, Chi Sheng, Zi Linglong, and Gu Tianyin each have six to seven million sacred dao rules within their bodies and can mobilize natural laws within a five-to-six-thousand-mile radius. Their strength is extremely formidable, and with further improvement, they have the potential to reach the three top-tier levels that all Saint Kings aspire to.
For this reason, they look down on Cang Long and Yan Ba, as these two are simply not on the same level as them.
Shang Zihong made them a promise: if they successfully capture Zhang Ruochen this time and eliminate everyone connected to him, Shang Zihong would grant them immense benefits, allowing their strength to reach the level they dream of.
Such a lucrative task is one no one would refuse.
"Zhang Ruochen, why struggle so hard? This is nothing but a trapped beast's futile fight, utterly meaningless." Gu Tianyin sneered.
He was now toying with Zhang Ruochen, intending to push him step by step into despair until he knelt before him, which would give him an intense sense of satisfaction.
Zhang Ruochen said nothing, instead using all his strength to support the vacuum zone, while vigorously circulating the "Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture," continuously drawing the sacred energy of heaven and earth into his body.
"Hmm? How is external sacred energy of heaven and earth flowing into this area?"
Suddenly, Zi Linglong noticed something unusual.
Her perception of the flow of various forces in the world was extremely sharp.
Alerted by Zi Linglong, Feng Gu Dao and Chi Sheng also became aware.
Feng Gu Dao cast his gaze toward Zhang Ruochen, who was shrouded in evil qi, and narrowed his eyes. He then ordered the Dao Domain Realm and Jie Tian Realm powerhouses beside him, "Go immediately and take control of the formation flags to completely seal off this area."
Instantly, all the Dao Domain Realm and Jie Tian Realm powerhouses moved into action, using all their strength to control the formation flags inserted around the sacred mountain.
Inside the Sacred Bright City, drawn by some force, strands of violet qi appeared out of thin air, rapidly gathering together and spreading across the sky above the city.
This violet qi was vastly different from the violet qi cultivated by Zi Linglong. It was clearly more noble, compelling people to kneel in worship.
"Something's off."
Feng Gu Dao, Chi Sheng, Zi Linglong, and even Gu Tianyin all looked up at the increasingly dense violet qi in the sky, a vague sense of unease rising within them.
Outside the Sacred Bright City, many observing cultivators also noticed the strange phenomenon in the city.
"What's happening? How can so much violet qi appear out of nowhere? What does it signify?"
"Could it be that Zi Linglong is using a secret technique from the Violet Heaven Hall?"
"Unlikely. The violet qi covers the entire Sacred Bright City and even spreads beyond the city walls, spanning tens of thousands of miles. Even if Zi Linglong were stronger, she couldn't manifest such a phenomenon with a secret technique."
"Could all this be related to Zhang Ruochen?"
…………
The cultivators buzzed with discussion, eager to enter the city and find out what was happening.
On the towering ancient tree, Ling Yan Demon Consort stared intently at the increasingly dense violet qi in the sky, a look of surprise appearing in her eyes.
"So this is Imperial Emperor Violet Qi. Is this Zhang Ruochen's trump card?" she murmured, a glimmer of understanding dawning in her heart.
As the consort of a Demon Emperor from the Great Demon Ten Directions Realm, she was no stranger to Imperial Emperor Violet Qi.
Imperial Emperor Violet Qi is a kind of fortune that naturally gathers when a Great Saint establishes a vast empire. With the fortune of an emperor on one's side, everything becomes smooth, calamities are dispelled, and one even has a better chance of becoming a deity.
The former Sacred Bright Central Empire was extremely powerful, with flourishing fortune.
And as the capital of the Sacred Bright Central Empire, the Sacred Bright City was the very place where this imperial fortune converged.
No one expected that even eight hundred years after the Sacred Bright Central Empire's fall, the imperial fortune would still remain, not dissipated.
And the only ones capable of stirring the Sacred Bright imperial fortune were the successive Ming Emperors and Zhang Ruochen, the crown prince of Sacred Bright.
With the Ming Emperor missing, Zhang Ruochen was undoubtedly the one chosen by heaven.
"With such powerful imperial fortune, if Zhang Ruochen can fully control it, he might truly be able to turn the tide." A gleam of light flashed in Ling Yan Demon Consort's eyes.
She now truly wanted to enter the Sacred Bright City to see the situation for herself.
Inside the Sacred Bright City, Zhang Ruochen pushed the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture to its limit, even manifesting the Immovable Bright King Sacred Image to channel the Imperial Emperor Violet Qi.
The Immovable Bright King Sacred Image is a sacred image that can only be condensed by cultivating the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture, representing the Zhang Clan's orthodox lineage.
After staring at the violet qi for a moment, Zi Linglong reacted, her face changing slightly. "This is Imperial Emperor Violet Qi. Zhang Ruochen is stirring the remnants of Sacred Bright's imperial fortune. Gu Tianyin, stop stalling and suppress Zhang Ruochen immediately."
Hearing the words "imperial fortune," Feng Gu Dao, Chi Sheng, and Gu Tianyin all had their expressions shift.
"Zhang Ruochen, you really surprise me. To think you can stir the imperial fortune. But it ends here." A ruthless glint appeared in Gu Tianyin's eyes.
He reached out a hand, and hundreds of thousands of claw dao rules emerged. A vast amount of evil qi surged, condensing into a sinister, evil-qi-laden claw.
The claw was incredibly sharp, as if it could tear the sky apart.
"Rip."
The vacuum zone Zhang Ruochen had created was directly torn apart by the claw.
In an instant, all the dragon and elephant shadows were annihilated.
The overwhelming evil qi could no longer be blocked, surging madly toward Zhang Ruochen.
The impact of the evil qi even affected Zhang Ruochen's channeling of the imperial fortune.
At the critical moment, Zhang Ruochen summoned the evil spirit.
The evil spirit's strength was not top-tier, but it possessed a divine body, making it immune to evil qi and capable of withstanding various attacks.
"Do you think a divine corpse can block my attacks?"
Gu Tianyin snorted coldly.
An even more massive surge of evil qi erupted from Gu Tianyin's body, combining with tens of millions of sacred dao rules to instantly form an immensely tall figure, like a demon god descending.
"Boom."
The tall figure swung its fist, striking the evil spirit with full force.
The terrifying power sent the evil spirit flying, crashing heavily into the sacred mountain.
With just that one punch, the fusion between the evil spirit and the divine corpse began to loosen, showing signs of separation.
"Zhang Ruochen, this person's attacks are too terrifying. I can't withstand many more of his blows," the evil spirit urgently transmitted to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen's face was grim as he transmitted back, "Hold on a little longer. Buy me time."
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was quite shocked. He hadn't expected Gu Tianyin to be so fierce, making the evil spirit feel fear with just one punch.
No wonder these four were so confident. They were no ordinary opponents, far surpassing figures like Cang Long and Yan Ba.
The only way now was to channel the imperial fortune onto himself to gain the strength to fight them.
After all, Zhang Ruochen's current strength had not yet truly reached the Immortal Great Saint level, and there was still a vast gap between him and Gu Tianyin and the others.
"Ancestors of the Zhang Clan, please protect Sacred Bright and bestow the imperial fortune upon me to slay the invading enemies." Zhang Ruochen let out a long roar to the sky.
In that moment, the Zhang Clan ancestors seemed to respond from the void. The Imperial Emperor Violet Qi surged even more violently, breaking through the formation's seal and pouring continuously onto Zhang Ruochen.
"Stop him."
Feng Gu Dao said in a deep voice.
Although uncertain how powerful Zhang Ruochen would become with the imperial fortune, they could not allow any uncontrollable variables at this critical juncture.
Immediately, Feng Gu Dao acted. He waved his sleeve, and dozens of Nine-Step Saint Kings appeared, standing in specific positions to instantly form a formation that trapped Zhang Ruochen, attempting to cut off the Imperial Emperor Violet Qi.
At the same time, Zi Linglong also moved, releasing a powerful violet qi that clashed with the Imperial Emperor Violet Qi.
This was the Violet Emperor Qi she had cultivated from the Violet Emperor Scripture, incredibly potent, capable of withstanding even high-rank ten-thousand-pattern sacred artifacts.
The Violet Emperor Qi formed a special barrier, sealing the sky and blocking the descending Imperial Emperor Violet Qi.
"Roar."
The Immovable Bright King Sacred Image let out a heaven-shaking roar and punched upward.
"Boom."
The barrier formed by the Violet Emperor Qi was extremely tough and was not broken by the Immovable Bright King Sacred Image.
But as the sacred image touched the barrier, streams of Imperial Emperor Violet Qi seeped through, transferring onto the sacred image's body.
"Gu Tianyin, can you handle this or not? Let me suppress Zhang Ruochen." Chi Sheng let out a loud roar and charged into the battle formation.
The black secret patterns on Chi Sheng's body glowed, as if alive, slithering like spirit snakes.
In an instant, Chi Sheng's form rapidly grew taller, his muscles and bones cracking and popping, until he stood three zhang tall, towering and muscular, his muscles coiling like flood dragons, brimming with power.
"Overlord Fist."
After growing in size, Chi Sheng immediately threw a punch.
On his fist, a terrifying dark light condensed, as if it could destroy everything.
"Boom."
Chi Sheng's punch landed squarely on the evil spirit's head.
If not for the evil spirit shifting slightly at the last moment, the punch might have struck Zhang Ruochen directly.
Even so, Zhang Ruochen was still subjected to a tremendous impact. Despite the protection of the Flowing Light Merit Armor, the blood and qi within his body churned violently.
As for the evil spirit, it was heavily knocked down from midair, crashing into the ground and creating a massive crater.
Meanwhile, the towering evil-qi figure behind Gu Tianyin also swung a claw, targeting Zhang Ruochen standing atop the evil spirit.
"Boom."
The evil spirit was driven deep into the earth, sending up a cloud of dust that obscured the view.