Chapter 2073: Three-Way Standoff
The Dragon God Palace ruins were unique, with an extremely complex spatial structure. Even Saint King realm cultivators could not fly within them, so anyone who came had to approach the core area slowly from the periphery.
To seize more treasures, the experts of the Hell Realm, the Ancient Civilization Faction, and the Heavenly Dragon Realm had already dispersed, entering the Dragon God Palace ruins from various directions to ensure nothing was missed.
However, the Dragon God Palace ruins were too vast, spanning tens of thousands of miles, with intricate internal conditions. Although there were many experts from the various forces, once inside, they were scattered and could not see each other's figures.
Zhang Ruochen and his group also dispersed to facilitate exploring a wider area.
Of course, the distance between them was not too far. If a special situation arose and a signal was sent, the others could quickly rush over.
Only Xiao Hei did not act alone, choosing to stay by Zhang Ruochen's side. The two of them cooperated, able to contend with experts of any level.
Before entering the Dragon God Palace ruins, Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power could cover an area of several hundred miles in radius. Now, it was greatly reduced, covering at most a hundred miles.
Once they entered the core area of the ruins, the suppression on his spiritual power would likely be even greater.
"Not a single treasure—they've been cleaned out thoroughly," Xiao Hei gritted his teeth.
They had already penetrated several hundred miles into the ruins but found nothing. Not even the most ordinary treasure was in sight, which was truly frustrating.
Zhang Ruochen was not anxious. "We're still in the outermost area of the ruins. There might not be any treasures here. Let's keep going deeper, but we need to speed up. If we always lag behind those two armies, even if there are treasures, none will be left for us."
"The treasures are just temporarily stored with them. In the end, they'll all be mine, the Emperor's. Let them gather more—that way, reaping them will be more satisfying." Xiao Hei's eyes gleamed with light.
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen did not stop. He released his spiritual power to probe the surroundings while continuing to flash forward.
The ruins were fraught with danger, requiring constant vigilance. A cautious approach ensured a safe journey.
Moving forward, the sights were all broken walls and ruins, along with various battle traces. Many places still retained divine power filled with destructive aura, enough to kill Saint Kings, or even Great Saints.
"Oh? A treasure."
After penetrating two thousand miles, Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei finally found something.
In a blood pool about ten feet wide, a bronze war spear was inserted. It was enormous, dozens of feet tall, clearly visible from afar.
A hundred feet from the blood pool, Zhang Ruochen stopped, his gaze fixed on the bronze war spear, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.
The bronze war spear was of extremely high rank, a genuine Monarch Sacred Artifact, enough to make a Great Saint's heart stir.
On the surface, the bronze war spear appeared intact, but the king-level inscription runes inside had all been worn away, and the material itself was damaged, rendering it worthless.
The reason lay in that blood pool, which contained the blood of a Hell Realm deity, imbued with terrifying dark force capable of corroding all things.
"What a pity. This bronze war spear was once a top-quality Monarch Sacred Artifact. It not only survived the Monarch Heavenly Tribulation but was also refined repeatedly for 129,600 years, enduring one Eon Calamity and being tempered by the power of heaven and earth. It had a chance to evolve into a Supreme Sacred Artifact. It also bears the mark of the Divine Dragon Clan, so it must have been forged by a dragon clan master craftsman." Xiao Hei said with great regret.
The Divine Dragon Clan was exceptionally gifted, excelling in artifact forging, alchemy, brewing, formations, and more. Many masters in various fields had emerged from their ranks.
The Dragon God Palace's past glory was closely tied to this. Many cultivators came on pilgrimages, hoping to obtain various treasures crafted by the Divine Dragon Clan.
The Kunlun Realm had endured for eons, giving birth to many deities, yet only ten legendary divine artifacts were said to exist. One of them belonged to the Divine Dragon Clan—the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower, held by that taboo figure.
The ability to forge divine artifacts showed just how superb the Divine Dragon Clan's artifact-forging skills were.
After a brief pause, Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei continued forward. The blood in the pool was divine blood, but it was filled with dark force and could not be collected.
Such divine blood pools were not uncommon in the ruins, but they all shared a common trait: they contained terrifying power and were untouchable.
These divine bloods had been spilled during battle, naturally carrying overwhelming killing intent and various violent powers.
If in the outer starry sky, such divine blood could shatter stars.
"Hmm? Unusual spatial fluctuations. There's a hidden space ahead." Zhang Ruochen's eyes suddenly lit up.
Without his powerful spiritual power and his identity as a Space Controller, he would not have detected it.
This meant this place had likely not been discovered by others yet.
Xiao Hei immediately showed excitement. "The Dragon God Palace is extraordinary, containing billions of spaces, most of which hold many treasures. If a space survived the destruction of the Dragon God Palace, the treasures inside must be extraordinary."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen felt a surge of anticipation. Treasures that the Dragon God Palace had deemed important enough to store would surely not disappoint.
A strange glint flashed in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. "Was that an illusion?"
"What's wrong?" Xiao Hei asked curiously.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I vaguely sensed others nearby, but when I probed carefully with my spiritual power, I found nothing."
Hearing this, Xiao Hei immediately became alert. He released his spiritual power and activated his Great Saint Eye, probing seriously.
"Indeed, no one. You must be overthinking. Let's enter this hidden space first. If we delay too long, others might actually show up." Xiao Hei seemed impatient.
Seeing that Xiao Hei had found nothing, Zhang Ruochen stopped worrying. Of course, he did not let his guard down. In the ruins, one could never be too careless.
With a hidden space right before them, no one could ignore it. Even knowing great danger might lurk within, they would risk entering to explore.
Under normal circumstances, opening a hidden space within the Dragon God Palace was extremely difficult. So, Xiao Hei was unsure if Zhang Ruochen had the ability to do so smoothly.
"The structure of this space is truly exquisite. Only someone with a profound understanding of the Way of Space could have constructed it. With my current spatial mastery, there's much I still can't comprehend. But entering it is not impossible." Zhang Ruochen murmured.
To construct such a space, one would have to be a Great Saint-level spatial cultivator with extremely high cultivation.
If Zhang Ruochen had not devoted a significant portion of his energy to comprehending the Way of Space during his recent seclusion, greatly enhancing his spatial abilities, he would have had to steer clear of such a delicately complex space.
Xiao Hei urged, "Then what are we waiting for? Hurry up and find a way in. I wonder what's inside—Sacred Pills? Sacred Artifacts? High-rank Sacred Arts? Or some precious divine object?"
Theoretically, any treasure could appear in a hidden space.
Zhang Ruochen was equally eager, so he did not hesitate. He immediately acted, mobilizing his space rules to penetrate into the void.
Such hidden spaces were not suitable for brute force opening. A slight mistake could cause the entire space to collapse, potentially destroying the treasures within.
"Hum."
Before long, ripples spread through the space ahead, like the surface of calm water being disturbed.
"Space rift, open."
Zhang Ruochen shouted softly, carefully controlling his spatial power.
"Rustle."
The space split open with a small crack, then slowly widened, like a giant beast opening its bloody maw.
"Such a familiar demonic aura?" Zhang Ruochen showed a strange expression.
Xiao Hei's eyes lit up. "That aura... I know! What's stored here is the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription."
The Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription was a supreme treasure of the demonic path. It was not unusual for the Dragon God Palace to have collected one.
Seeing the space rift reach about ten feet long, Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei did not hesitate. They immediately flashed inside.
The hidden space was vast, very dark inside, with thick demonic aura filling the air, making it feel like they had arrived in the demon realm.
At the center of this space stood an ancient demon mountain, towering and majestic, a thousand feet high. Rolling demon clouds swirled above it, with faint demonic shadows flickering.
"Heavenly Demon Mountain... No, it should be a replica of the Heavenly Demon Mountain, but its rank has reached the Monarch Sacred Artifact level. The Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription is on the mountaintop." Xiao Hei's eyes sparkled with light.
In an extremely ancient era, the Kunlun Realm had a great sect called the Heavenly Demon Sect, said to be the lineage passed down by the ancient great god who left behind the thirty-six Heavenly Demon Stone Inscriptions.
The Heavenly Demon Sect's ultimate treasures, besides the thirty-six authentic Heavenly Demon Stone Inscriptions, included a Heavenly Demon Mountain capable of suppressing heaven and earth, which had even crushed deities to death.
Later, for certain reasons, the Heavenly Demon Sect collapsed. The thirty-six Heavenly Demon Stone Inscriptions scattered, and the Heavenly Demon Mountain changed hands several times before eventually vanishing.
Matters concerning the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Heavenly Demon Mountain were absolute secrets, known to few in later generations.
"The artifact spirit of the Heavenly Demon Mountain seems to be sealed. That saves us a lot of trouble. This treasure and the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription on top are all mine!" Xiao Hei couldn't help but laugh heartily.
A top-tier Monarch Sacred Artifact's artifact spirit possessed power comparable to a Great Saint, making it no easy task to control.
"Bang."
A terrifying dark force struck, shattering the power Xiao Hei had released.
Then, a powerful expert of the Bone Clan revealed himself. He was over thirty feet tall, an eight-armed bone ape, exuding an overwhelmingly powerful aura.
"A mere owl beast dares to covet such a treasure? Zhang Ruochen, I must thank you for leading me, this Venerable, into this hidden space. As a reward, I will kill you in the cruelest way possible." The eight-armed bone ape said ferociously.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed. "Eight-Armed Venerable, one of the Bone Clan's Twelve Venerables."
It turned out his earlier perception was correct. Someone else was nearby, just extremely well-hidden.
"Your whole family are owls! Open your skeleton eyes and see clearly—I am a noble Undying Bird. Trying to take my treasure? I'll dismantle every bone in your body!" Xiao Hei snarled fiercely.
With the treasure in sight, even if it were the Bone Clan's Three Emperors arriving together, Xiao Hei's nature would never let him back down.
The Eight-Armed Venerable was enraged. "You seek death!"
A surge of dark aura erupted from all the bones of the Eight-Armed Venerable's body, converging into one of his bone hands.
Using his bone hand as a blade, he swung it, sending a pitch-black blade light slashing toward Xiao Hei's head.
The blade light was sharp, as if it could cut through anything, not much weaker than Death Without End's Four Seasons Sword Technique.
"Shua."
Zhang Ruochen moved, instantly blocking Xiao Hei, and punched out.
The Flame God Armor was activated, releasing blazing divine fire that wrapped around Zhang Ruochen's fist like a burning cloud.
"Bang."
The blade light shattered directly, and the dark force within it was burned to nothing by the divine fire.
"If all twelve of the Bone Clan's Venerables came together, I might be wary. But just you alone? You're not qualified to act arrogantly in front of me." Zhang Ruochen said calmly.
The Eight-Armed Venerable radiated terrifying killing intent, speaking icily, "Zhang Ruochen, since you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish. I hear your Five Elements Chaos Body is very strong. I wonder how much my bone body will be enhanced by refining you."
"Kill me? I'm afraid you don't have the ability." Zhang Ruochen's eyes also flashed with killing intent.
Entering the Dragon God Palace ruins, besides searching for the World Gate Key, Zhang Ruochen also intended to slay experts of the Hell Realm.
The Dark Son of the Underworld Clan and the Seven Absolute Kill Gods of the Nether Hall, the Three Emperors and Twelve Venerables of the Bone Clan—eliminating any one of them would cause the Hell Realm great pain.
Earlier, the Seven Absolute Kill Gods of the Nether Hall had escaped. Now, the Eight-Armed Venerable had delivered himself to the door.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to strike, several more figures flashed in from outside, all radiating thick dark aura.
"Zhang Ruochen is indeed here. Killing him would be a great merit." A somewhat delighted voice sounded.
Seeing the figures that appeared, Zhang Ruochen's brow furrowed slightly.
The newcomers were six of the Bone Clan's Twelve Venerables, each with formidable strength.
Including the Eight-Armed Venerable, more than half were present. Few could avoid retreating in such a situation.
The Eight-Armed Venerable sneered, "Zhang Ruochen, I know you're not easy to deal with, so I came prepared. Trapped in this hidden space, you can't escape now."
Although the Eight-Armed Venerable was very confident in his own strength, he did not underestimate Zhang Ruochen. After all, Zhang Ruochen had escaped the dark cage set by Death Without End and the other two. Alone, he might not be able to handle him.
"Haha! I, the Heavenly Son, have discovered a hidden space! Such strong demonic aura—there must be a heavy treasure inside."
With a loud, unrestrained laugh, a group appeared from another direction, approaching the Heavenly Demon Mountain.
"Hmm? Zhang Ruochen, and seven Bone Clan Venerables."
Turning his gaze, the Blazing Sun Heavenly Son's smile instantly vanished, and a hint of wariness appeared in his eyes.
"How did they find this place too?"
The Blazing Sun Heavenly Son was secretly furious.
He had thought only his group had discovered this place, but two other factions were already confronting each other inside.
Now, Zhang Ruochen and the seven Bone Clan Venerables also turned their attention to the group from the Blazing Sun Civilization.
For a moment, the atmosphere grew tense. Everyone was on guard, and no one made a rash move.
...
Today, after struggling desperately, I finally managed not to be late with the update.
Brothers waiting for updates can check out Xiaoyu's new book, "The Legend of the Heavenly Emperor," which is also brilliant.
(Chapter End)