# Chapter 1991: Not One of You Can Escape
It could be determined that Zhang Ruochen was still alive, because the imperial purple qi permeating the sky above Saint Bright City had not dissipated.
Naturally, Feng Gudao and the others became highly vigilant, their gazes sweeping the surroundings, trying to locate Zhang Ruochen.
"Boom."
At the bottom of the deep pit, hard rock shattered, and a figure emerged from underground, covered in blood. Who else could it be but Zhang Ruochen?
The self-detonation of that Nine-Step Saint King earlier had been too sudden, catching Zhang Ruochen completely off guard. A terrifyingly immense force slammed into him, blasting him deep into the earth.
Even with the Radiant Merit Divine Armor for defense, plus the divine patterns inscribed by the Moon God, Zhang Ruochen was still severely wounded. His body was covered in injuries, his neck a bloody mess with blood gushing out, nearly severing his head from his body.
If Zhang Ruochen's physical body had not been exceptionally powerful, enduring that self-detonation force would have surely resulted in the complete destruction of his form and spirit.
That was a Dao Domain realm Nine-Step Saint King self-detonating their Saint Source, with the main force concentrated on Zhang Ruochen's body. Surviving was already a miracle.
Facing a Dao Domain realm expert's self-detonation of their Saint Source, even an Immortal Great Saint would not dare to take it lightly.
Clearly, at that critical moment, Feng Gudao had no choice but to abandon the idea of capturing Zhang Ruochen alive. After all, if he hadn't done that, they might all have ended up dead.
"Don't give him a chance to recover." Feng Gudao said in a deep voice.
At this moment, the imperial purple qi outside Zhang Ruochen's body had scattered, the imperial canopy had long since disappeared, and he was severely injured—this was his weakest moment.
If they didn't suppress Zhang Ruochen now, they might never have another opportunity.
Immediately, the group of experts from the Heavenly Realm Faction all struck out, unleashing various Sacred Arts and Sacred Artifacts, completely enveloping the already heavily wounded Zhang Ruochen.
The Heavenly Realm Faction had thirty-four Nine-Step Saint Kings, plus the twenty-six controlled by Feng Gudao, making exactly sixty Nine-Step Saint Kings in total.
These were Nine-Step Saint Kings, not ordinary Saint King experts. Every single one had the hope of becoming a Great Saint, and cultivating one required enormous resources.
Some weaker major worlds didn't even have this many Nine-Step Saint Kings.
Any Nine-Step Saint King could hold an extremely high status in a major world. Even a Great Saint would not look down on them, because who knew when they might take that crucial step and become a Great Saint themselves.
Only someone with Shang Zihong's influence could gather so many Nine-Step Saint Kings.
Now, dozens of Nine-Step Saint Kings attacked together, unleashing dozens of Mid-rank Sacred Arts and dozens of high-rank Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifacts. The spectacle was truly grand.
The spectators outside the city all witnessed this scene and clearly felt the terrifying power fluctuations.
For a moment, many people felt their scalps go numb.
"My heavens, with so many Nine-Step Saint Kings attacking together, even a star could be shattered into pieces."
"The life form and power form of a Nine-Step Saint King have already begun a fundamental transformation. They simply cannot be compared to other Saint King realm experts. Mid-rank Sacred Arts and high-rank Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifacts can only unleash their strongest power in the hands of a Nine-Step Saint King."
"If this were any other city, with so many Nine-Step Saint Kings attacking, just the terrifying aura released would cause the entire city to sink."
"Zhang Ruochen seems to be injured very badly. Can he still withstand an attack launched by so many Nine-Step Saint Kings?"
"It seems that even though Zhang Ruochen can draw upon the imperial destiny to empower himself, he still cannot escape this calamity."
……
In this situation, no one could continue to be optimistic about Zhang Ruochen. Many people were already shaking their heads and sighing, unable to bear watching Zhang Ruochen be obliterated in both form and spirit.
In the deep pit, although Zhang Ruochen was severely injured, his gaze was extremely resolute, and a powerful battle intent emanated from his body.
Flipping his hand, Zhang Ruochen took out the Space-Time Secret Scripture, quickly opened it, and formed a sturdy Multidimensional Space, enveloping himself within.
"Boom."
Dozens of Mid-rank Sacred Arts, plus dozens of high-rank Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifacts, all slammed into the Multidimensional Space.
Although the Multidimensional Space was very sturdy, several layers were shattered in an instant.
But as soon as those layers of space walls broke, new space walls quickly formed.
"Space Collapse."
Zhang Ruochen extended a hand and pointed forward.
"Boom."
With Zhang Ruochen at the center, the outer Multidimensional Space all collapsed, releasing a terrifying power that could destroy heaven and earth.
After the space shattered, absolute darkness appeared, devouring everything.
Those Mid-rank Sacred Arts and high-rank Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifacts were all instantly swallowed up, unable to get anywhere near Zhang Ruochen.
If Zhang Ruochen had been able to react in time and take out the Space-Time Secret Scripture when that Nine-Step Saint King self-detonated his Saint Source, he wouldn't have ended up in this state.
In an instant, several high-rank Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifacts were shredded by the violent space power, turning into pieces of scrap metal.
"Not good, Zhang Ruochen hasn't lost his combat ability. Retreat quickly."
Zi Linglong's face changed dramatically as she shouted.
Some experts quickly recalled their high-rank Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifacts with all their might, then retreated at top speed.
Feng Gudao waved his sleeve, putting away all twenty-six Nine-Step Saint Kings under his control, then activated the Radiant Merit Divine Armor, bursting forth at a thousand times the speed of sound, fleeing toward the area outside the city.
Not just Feng Gudao, but Zi Linglong, Chi Sheng, and Gu Tianyin did the same, all without hesitation activating the thousand-times speed of sound of the Radiant Merit Divine Armor.
Of course, only the four of them possessed the Radiant Merit Divine Armor. The other thirty Nine-Step Saint Kings of the Heavenly Realm Faction could only use other means to escape.
These experts of the Heavenly Realm Faction were all very clever, fleeing in different directions. Even if someone became Zhang Ruochen's target, the others could still escape safely.
"Thinking of fleeing now? Don't you think it's too late?" Zhang Ruochen's icy voice clearly reached the ears of every expert from the Heavenly Realm Faction.
The vast imperial destiny once again empowered Zhang Ruochen, and it was clearly more perfectly aligned than before.
The Immovable Wisdom King Sacred Image manifested once more, forming mysterious hand seals.
Immediately, the imperial purple qi permeating the sky above Saint Bright City began to flow rapidly, transforming into a purple light barrier that enveloped the entire Saint Bright City.
In the blink of an eye, the purple light barrier was successfully constructed, but not a single expert from the Heavenly Realm Faction had managed to escape the city.
Feng Gudao was the fastest, arriving at the city wall first. A jade-green staff appeared in his hand, and as he swung it, a sharp black light flew out.
The black light was like an extremely condensed blade light, capable of cutting through anything, even an Immortal Sacred Body could be injured.
"Bang."
The purple light barrier trembled slightly, rippling like water, but it wasn't substantially damaged.
Feng Gudao didn't continue attacking. Instead, he stared at the purple light barrier. As he looked, his expression turned serious.
"Imperial purple qi combined with the sacred veins beneath Saint Bright City, plus the powerful inscriptions engraved on the city walls. Good one, Zhang Ruochen." Feng Gudao said through gritted teeth.
The purple light barrier appeared to be a thin layer, but it was extremely tough. Even if an Immortal Great Saint attacked, they might not be able to forcefully break through it.
On the other side, Chi Sheng also reached the city wall. Using the thousand-times speed of sound he had burst forth, he executed the Overlord Fist.
"Break for this king!"
Chi Sheng roared, unleashing his power without reservation.
"Bang."
The vast power contained in the Overlord Fist was instantly absorbed by the purple light barrier, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.
"With this king's power, I can't even break through this thin layer of light." Chi Sheng's eyes were full of shock.
Immediately, Chi Sheng took out a silver short whip, forged from the spine of an Immortal Great Saint level Silver Dragon, inscribed with over one hundred and twenty thousand inscriptions—a top-tier Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact.
Originally, the Overlord Divine Hall had wanted to refine it into a Monarch War Artifact, but in the end, they fell short.
On ordinary days, Chi Sheng liked to use his fists and feet to fight, but now he had no choice but to use this top-tier Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact.
Chi Sheng continuously infused his Saint Qi into the Silver Dragon Whip, activating its strongest power.
"Roar."
Accompanied by a heaven-shaking dragon roar, the Silver Dragon Whip transformed into a silver bone dragon, charging straight at the purple light barrier.
"Bang."
The silver bone dragon's power was astonishing, causing the purple light barrier to shake violently, with a few fine cracks appearing.
"Attack together."
Feng Gudao secretly transmitted a message to all the experts of the Heavenly Realm Faction.
They were now in different parts of Saint Bright City. Attacking individually had limited destructive power.
But if they attacked together, forming a resonance of power, they might be able to cause the purple light barrier to collapse directly.
Immediately, the group of experts from the Heavenly Realm Faction began to act.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen sacrificed the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, sending it flying into midair to combine with the purple light barrier.
Empowered by vast power, hundreds of thousands of Supreme Inscription Runes appeared on the surface of the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, covering the purple light barrier.
For a moment, the entire purple light barrier seemed to transform into a huge mirror, clearly reflecting everything in the city.
And just as the purple light barrier changed, Feng Gudao and the others launched their strongest attacks.
Various powerful Sacred Arts and Sacred Artifacts were unleashed, their brilliant light making Saint Bright City even brighter.
However, an extremely strange scene occurred.
All the Sacred Arts and Sacred Artifacts that struck the purple light barrier were reflected back, attacking the ones who had launched them.
This bizarre situation caught many experts of the Heavenly Realm Faction off guard.
"Bang."
Some experts were too slow to react and were hit by their own attacks, suffering considerable injuries.
Even those who reacted in time often ended up in a sorry state.
Chi Sheng suffered the most. The Silver Dragon Whip flew back and struck him hard.
"Clang."
The Radiant Merit Divine Armor blocked the Silver Dragon Whip, but the terrifying force still sent Chi Sheng flying backward.
"Pfft."
The Radiant Merit Divine Armor and divine patterns couldn't completely absorb all the force carried by the Silver Dragon Whip. Chi Sheng was injured, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
That was his strongest attack. He never expected it to hit himself. At this moment, Chi Sheng truly felt how powerful his own attack was.