Chapter 1990: Nine-Step Saint King Self-Detonation
Seeing Zhang Ruochen being struck into the ground by Gu Tianyin's claw, Chi Xingtian immediately flashed to Gu Tianyin's side, his gaze fixed on the deep pit. "Hey, Gu, you're ruthless enough. You'd better take it easy—don't accidentally beat Zhang Ruochen to death."
"The master said we must capture Zhang Ruochen alive, make him watch his relatives and friends die one by one, and make him suffer so much that he wishes he were dead."
Gu Tianyin ignored Chi Xingtian, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at the massive, dust-filled pit.
At that moment, the Imperial Emperor Purple Qi continued to pour down from the sky, sinking into the pit.
"Tenacious indeed."
Evil qi swirled around Gu Tianyin, and a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.
Immediately, the towering figure behind him struck again, its sinister claws lashing out several times into the pit.
Seeing this, Chi Xingtian's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Gu, have you lost your mind? Are you really trying to kill Zhang Ruochen?"
"Idiot. If Zhang Ruochen were that easy to kill, the master wouldn't have had the four of us stay in Sacred Bright City together," Gu Tianyin said coldly.
Chi Xingtian's temper flared. "Who are you calling an idiot? Say it again if you dare!"
He had always been hot-tempered, easily provoked, and anyone who angered him would face trouble.
"Gu Tianyin is right. Zhang Ruochen's life is tough. As long as the Imperial Emperor Purple Qi hasn't dissipated, it means he's still alive. This isn't the time for infighting. Capture him quickly—don't delay any further," Feng Gu Dao said, his expression somewhat grave.
Hearing this, Chi Xingtian snorted coldly, deciding not to argue with Gu Tianyin for now. He leaped into the pit.
"Roar!"
The evil spirit raised its head from the pit, letting out a earth-shaking roar.
Following the roar, a stream of venomous flames, reeking of a strong stench, shot out.
"Beast, you're asking for death!"
Chi Xingtian roared, charging straight ahead without dodging.
Supreme Overlord Qi surged. Chi Xingtian's fist gathered a terrifying dark light, and he threw a punch that was unstoppable.
The Overlord God lineage cultivated a very special Supreme Overlord Qi, excelling in both defense and offense, with close-quarters combat being their greatest strength.
"Splash."
The venomous flames spewed by the evil spirit were scattered by Chi Xingtian's fist, splashing in all directions.
Wherever the venomous flames touched, whether plants or metal and stone, they instantly dissolved, showing terrifying destructive power.
"Bang."
Chi Xingtian's fist struck the evil spirit's head solidly again.
The divine python corpse naturally suffered no damage, but the evil spirit's own sacred soul took a massive hit, nearly being knocked out of the divine body by this punch.
"Zhang Ruochen, I can't hold on any longer. If this continues, my sacred soul will surely be destroyed," the evil spirit transmitted urgently.
Having taken multiple attacks from Gu Tianyin and two punches from Chi Xingtian, its sacred soul was severely damaged, and its compatibility with the divine python corpse had dropped significantly.
It only regretted that its sacred soul was too weak. If it could return to its peak state, controlling the divine python corpse, a simple swing of its tail would kill Gu Tianyin and Chi Xingtian. How could it have ended up like this?
Zhang Ruochen still stood on the evil spirit's head, his body straight, his gaze sharp as an eagle's, surrounded by a vast amount of Imperial Emperor Purple Qi.
A trace of blood could be seen at the corner of Zhang Ruochen's mouth, indicating he had suffered some injuries.
It had to be said, Gu Tianyin's attacks were truly terrifying. Even the Radiant Light Merit Armor and the divine patterns inscribed by the Moon God couldn't fully block them.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen's physical body was extremely powerful, even stronger than most Below Great Saint cultivators, allowing him to withstand the remaining force with only minor injuries.
If his body were weaker, he would likely have been torn apart by now.
Without a word, Zhang Ruochen instantly opened the Qiankun Realm and took the severely injured evil spirit inside.
The next moment, an incredibly powerful aura erupted from Zhang Ruochen, like magma bursting from the earth.
With a shake of his arms, a dragon and an elephant flew out, both colossal, nearly filling the entire sky.
"All Heavens Dragon-Elephant."
Using the Imperial Emperor Purple Qi, Zhang Ruochen mobilized the power of heaven and earth, unleashing the twelfth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
The Imperial Emperor Purple Qi merged into the dragon and elephant, making them incredibly solid and emitting a pressing pressure as they charged toward Gu Tianyin and Chi Xingtian.
Seeing this, Gu Tianyin and Chi Xingtian's expressions changed slightly. They hadn't expected that after their relentless attacks, Zhang Ruochen would not only be unharmed but also capable of launching an offensive against them.
They could both clearly feel that the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm Zhang Ruochen had just unleashed was terrifyingly powerful, as if two real divine dragons and divine elephants were crashing into them.
Gu Tianyin quickly mobilized all the claw dao rules he had cultivated, combining them with the Evil King Dharma Form behind him, and two sinister claw shadows flew out.
"Boom."
The purple divine dragon was torn apart, but the two claw shadows also shattered.
"Break!"
Chi Xingtian let out a roar.
A simple "break" transformed into an incredibly powerful sound wave, like an ancient divine mountain, colliding with the flying purple divine elephant.
"Boom."
The purple divine elephant exploded, causing the space to shake violently.
Both collisions generated terrifying ripples of force that spread in all directions.
"Rumble."
The sacred mountain bore the brunt, instantly shattering, releasing vast amounts of sacred qi that formed thick clouds of mist.
The dozens of Nine-Step Saint Kings released by Feng Gu Dao were forced back, some spitting blood, and the battle formation they had formed collapsed instantly.
Even Gu Tianyin and Chi Xingtian were pushed back a few steps before neutralizing all the impact.
For a moment, both of their expressions turned serious, their gazes locked tightly on Zhang Ruochen.
"Whoosh."
Zhang Ruochen shot out from the ground, soaring into the air.
Vast Imperial Emperor Purple Qi descended from the sky, adding to Zhang Ruochen's power. A five-colored canopy naturally formed above him, making him look like a supreme emperor revered by all races, lofty and inspecting heaven and earth, inspiring awe and worship.
At the same time, even more astonishing phenomena appeared above Sacred Bright City. Vast celestial power surged, and the wind and clouds changed color.
"Roar."
Dragon roars and phoenix cries rang out.
The power of heaven and earth condensed into dragons, phoenixes, qilins, divine turtles, and other auspicious beasts, circling and dancing in the sky, as if guarding Zhang Ruochen, the supreme emperor.
Meanwhile, countless auspicious qi rose from the ground, and colorful rays of light descended from the sky, creating a spectacle of phenomena.
"What's happening? Has some rare treasure appeared in Sacred Bright City?"
"No, all of this is because of Zhang Ruochen. The imperial qi of Sacred Bright's past has been fully awakened and is gradually being added to Zhang Ruochen."
"With such a commotion, it must be no less than when past Bright Emperors ascended the throne."
"With imperial qi added to him, the situation in the city might take a huge turn."
...
Outside Sacred Bright City, all the observing cultivators were stirred.
Most had not been optimistic about Zhang Ruochen, believing that entering Sacred Bright City was like walking into a tiger's den. With Shang Zi's arrangements, Zhang Ruochen had almost no chance of turning things around.
But now, things had clearly taken a turn. No one knew how powerful Zhang Ruochen would become with imperial qi added to him.
On Kong Le Mountain, a tall, graceful figure appeared out of thin air, wearing the Ten Thousand Elements Sacred Garment, exuding an incredibly noble aura. It was Luo Sha, the princess of the Rakshasa Clan.
Luo Sha's gaze fell on Sacred Bright City, and everything happening in the city was clearly reflected in her eyes.
"Able to stir such powerful imperial qi and stand alone against four top-tier experts—truly worthy of being my destined one," Luo Sha murmured, a strange light flickering in her eyes.
Without a doubt, Luo Sha had come for Zhang Ruochen. If the opportunity arose, she would not hesitate to act, suppress Zhang Ruochen, and take him back to the Hell Realm.
Once in the Hell Realm, she had plenty of ways to make Zhang Ruochen submit completely.
As time passed, the sky gradually darkened.
However, in Sacred Bright City, auspicious qi soared into the sky, and countless rays of light shone brightly.
Feng Gu Dao, Zi Linglong, Chi Xingtian, and Gu Tianyin spread out, standing in four directions, surrounding Zhang Ruochen in the middle.
Feeling the vast, ocean-like powerful aura emanating from Zhang Ruochen, Feng Gu Dao's expression darkened. "Good Zhang Ruochen, you still have such a trump card. We've truly underestimated you."
They had not anticipated such a development.
"You destroyed my Sacred Bright City and killed my people. Whoever it is, they must pay the price," Zhang Ruochen said, looking around without hiding his killing intent.
Gu Tianyin sneered coldly. "Pay the price? That depends on whether you have the ability."
"Enough talk. End this quickly," Zi Linglong said, her eyes gleaming coldly.
The longer this dragged on, the more imperial qi would be added to Zhang Ruochen, making the situation increasingly unfavorable for them.
"Zhang Ruochen, take this punch from me!"
Chi Xingtian struck first, his muscles producing a unique vibration, all his power concentrated in his fist.
At this moment, Chi Xingtian was like an enraged Tyrannosaurus Rex, charging forward as if he could shatter an ancient divine mountain.
Zhang Ruochen also formed a fist seal. A semi-transparent dragon shadow burst out from his body, merging with him, and his hands turned into two massive dragon claws.
"Luo Water Fist Art, Thirty-Fifth Form: Luo Water Turns Dragon."
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was like a true dragon, riding the wind and breaking through waves.
"Bang."
The majestic dragon shadow struck Chi Xingtian's body.
Although the dragon shadow shattered instantly, the terrifying force it carried knocked Chi Xingtian back more than ten steps.
In contrast, Zhang Ruochen stood firm as a mountain, unmoved.
In direct confrontation, Zhang Ruochen had gained the upper hand, overpowering Chi Xingtian, who was known as invincible in close combat, with absolute force.
Seeing this, Feng Gu Dao, Zi Linglong, and Gu Tianyin all showed a hint of gravity in their eyes.
If they had known this would happen, they should have attacked together from the start, giving Zhang Ruochen no chance to resist.
"Again!"
Chi Xingtian growled, his aura rising steadily.
Nearly sixty million sacred dao rules surged out from Chi Xingtian's body, resonating with heaven and earth, attempting to draw in a wide range of celestial rules.
Only then could he unleash his strongest attack.
"Hmm?"
Chi Xingtian's expression changed as he noticed something unusual.
For some reason, he found it extremely difficult to mobilize celestial rules now.
Even with all his effort, he could only draw in one-tenth of the celestial rules within a thousand miles.
At this point, Feng Gu Dao, Zi Linglong, and Gu Tianyin also noticed the anomaly and tried various methods to mobilize celestial rules.
The result was the same as Chi Xingtian's—they could only barely mobilize one-tenth of the celestial rules within a thousand miles, and the rules were unusually dormant, not active at all, providing almost no enhancement to their sacred arts.
"Not good. It's Sacred Bright's imperial qi, sealing the celestial rules within Sacred Bright City," Feng Gu Dao exclaimed, his face changing drastically.
Being unable to mobilize celestial rules was extremely bad for them.
At the same time, the four of them clearly felt a massive amount of celestial rules converging toward Zhang Ruochen. The one-tenth they had been able to mobilize was now completely out of reach.
"Quick, retreat from Sacred Bright City!" Gu Tianyin shouted.
With such a shift in power, how could they still fight Zhang Ruochen?
Immediately, all the experts of the Heavenly Realm Faction began to retreat rapidly, trying to withdraw from Sacred Bright City.
"Space Lock."
Zhang Ruochen extended a hand and gently pressed it against the space before him.
Nearly seventy thousand space rules surged from Zhang Ruochen's fingertips, penetrating the surrounding space.
In an instant, within a thousand miles centered on Zhang Ruochen, space became solid, severely restricting the movement of anyone within it.
"Damn it."
The hearts of the Heavenly Realm Faction experts sank, sensing that something terrible was about to happen.
This situation felt like being trapped in a void space—everyone moved slowly, while Zhang Ruochen remained unaffected.
With a flicker of movement, Zhang Ruochen appeared not far from a Nine-Step Saint King.
Forming a palm seal, blazing flames ignited, and he struck toward that Nine-Step Saint King.
With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, a full-powered palm strike was devastating, not something an ordinary Nine-Step Saint King could withstand.
However, that Nine-Step Saint King neither dodged nor blocked, instead showing a strange smile.
"Not good."
Sensing danger, Zhang Ruochen immediately withdrew his palm and retreated.
"Boom."
Without warning, that Nine-Step Saint King's body exploded, releasing a world-destroying force that was unstoppable, instantly engulfing Zhang Ruochen.
Who could have imagined that a Nine-Step Saint King would so decisively self-detonate his sacred source?
Those who reached the Nine-Step Saint King level all had a chance to assault the Great Saint realm. Choosing to self-detonate meant complete annihilation of body and soul. Even in the face of death, very few would make such a choice.
The space freeze was instantly broken. Terrifying ripples of force appeared, resonating with space, spreading rapidly in all directions, unstoppable.
The already collapsed sacred mountain bore the brunt again, disintegrating entirely. Even the sacred stones hidden within the mountain melted like snow under the scorching sun.
A ruthless glint flashed in Feng Gu Dao's eyes. This Nine-Step Saint King's self-detonation was naturally under his control.
He had timed it perfectly, giving Zhang Ruochen no chance to react.
The power of a Nine-Step Saint King's self-detonation was too terrifying. Even though Feng Gu Dao had secretly informed them, some were still too slow to defend.
"Ah!"
The cultivators of the Heavenly Realm Faction were caught in the blast, letting out miserable screams.
"What happened?"
Feeling the massive commotion in the city, the cultivators outside were all shocked.
"A Nine-Step Saint King self-detonated his sacred source, and Zhang Ruochen was right at the center of the explosion," said a powerful expert standing in midair.
His eyesight was extraordinary, allowing him to clearly see what was happening in Sacred Bright City even from a distance.
Hearing this, many cultivators showed surprise. A Nine-Step Saint King choosing to self-detonate was truly unexpected.
"Could Zhang Ruochen have been killed by that Nine-Step Saint King's self-detonation?"
Many cultivators speculated in their hearts, eager to rush into the city to find out.
In Sacred Bright City now, a massive pit over a hundred miles in diameter had appeared, as if struck by a meteor.
The cultivators of the Heavenly Realm Faction, who were only at the edge and had been forewarned about the self-detonation, still had three Nine-Step Saint Kings who failed to escape and died, with a few others injured.
The power of a Nine-Step Saint King's self-detonation was truly terrifying.
Countless cultivators' gazes were fixed on the center of the explosion.
The reason was simple: they wanted to know whether Zhang Ruochen was alive or dead.
"Hmm? Where's Zhang Ruochen?"
Seeing the center of the explosion empty, Feng Gu Dao and the others frowned.