Chapter 2094: Two Kings Arrive First
On a barren low mountain, dozens of strong experts from the Thousand Star Civilization had gathered, led by none other than the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden.
Before the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden lay five individuals, male and female, outwardly unharmed but devoid of any life aura. All five stared with wide eyes, filled with unwillingness and terror.
These five were all top-tier experts of the Thousand Star Civilization, their cultivation above the Nine-Step Saint King realm, possessing formidable strength. Yet in the end, they had been easily killed without even a chance to resist, simply because they had encountered the Son of Darkness.
Not long ago, after escaping from underground, the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden had immediately sent out messages for the Thousand Star Civilization's experts to search for the Son of Darkness's whereabouts.
These five experts had accidentally discovered the Son of Darkness's trail, but before they could transmit the information, they were found by the Son of Darkness and mercilessly slain.
Afterward, the Son of Darkness actually sent someone to return the five corpses, presenting them before the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden. It was clearly a deliberate insult to the Thousand Star Civilization, showing he did not take their threats seriously at all.
The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden's eyes burned with anger, her fists clenched tightly, and a terrifying killing intent faintly emanated from her.
"This is too much! Does the Son of Darkness think our Thousand Star Civilization has no one?" an elder roared in fury.
Another elder said in a deep voice, "Whoever dares to kill our Thousand Star Civilization's experts must pay a heavy price. The First Young Emperor, Third Young Emperor, and Sixth Young Emperor have already set out, joining forces to hunt down the Son of Darkness. He cannot escape."
The Thousand Star Civilization had deep foundations, having cultivated the "Thousand Star Thousand Young Emperors," each extraordinary. Those ranked in the top ten among the Young Emperors possessed even greater strength, enjoying immense fame across the myriad realms and possessing the qualifications to become top-tier Great Saints or even gods.
The First Young Emperor, in particular, was exceptionally brilliant, the strongest Young Emperor the Thousand Star Civilization had produced in the past ten thousand years.
Although the First Young Emperor was not a controller of an Eternal Path, he wielded a power that could contend with Eternal Paths—the Star God Power inherited from the ancient Thousand Star Civilization, which few had been able to master throughout history.
"Look at that sky over there," an elder suddenly exclaimed.
Hearing this, the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden and the other experts of the Thousand Star Civilization raised their heads to look at the distant sky. Three lines of bloody, large characters were clearly visible to their eyes.
"Son of Darkness, I, Zhang Ruochen, await you atop the corpse mountain of the Underworld Clan's members for a life-or-death battle."
The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden's gaze sharpened. She hadn't expected that shortly after parting from Zhang Ruochen, he would cause such a commotion.
Clearly, Zhang Ruochen had chosen a completely different approach from hers. Instead of searching for the Son of Darkness, he was forcing him to reveal himself.
Seeing this challenge letter written with the blood of many Underworld Clan experts, all Underworld cultivators would surely be enraged, wanting to grind Zhang Ruochen to dust. No one could remain calm, including the Son of Darkness and the Seven Absolute Killing Gods of the Underworld Hall.
In other words, that corpse mountain would soon become a gathering point for storms, attracting experts from all sides.
With a wave of her hand, the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden stored away the five corpses and gazed into the distance. "We're going to find Zhang Ruochen. If the Son of Darkness dares to show himself, we must not let him escape."
Hearing this, the experts of the Thousand Star Civilization did not hesitate, immediately following the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden as they set off.
Like the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden and her group, experts from all sides also took action at the first opportunity, rushing toward the corpse mountain shrouded in resentment, unwilling to miss this grand event.
The Golden Sun Twin Kings, who were traveling, involuntarily stopped and turned their gazes toward the distant horizon.
The Great Sun King said in a deep voice, "Zhang Ruochen is indeed a madman, acting without restraint, slaughtering so many Underworld experts to provoke the Son of Darkness. He has no chance of survival. We must hurry over, or we'll lose the chance to kill him ourselves."
In his eyes, Zhang Ruochen was already a dead man. The key was who would kill him. If the Son of Darkness struck first, they would lose the opportunity to wash away their disgrace.
The Lesser Sun King nodded. "Indeed, we can't delay any longer. Zhang Ruochen's actions will surely enrage all Underworld experts. Even if the Son of Darkness doesn't act, the Seven Absolute Killing Gods of the Underworld Hall will take his life, and the Bone Clan might also get involved."
Immediately, the Golden Sun Twin Kings changed direction, pushing their speed to the limit, racing against time to harvest Zhang Ruochen's life before the Underworld and Bone Clans could.
As time passed, more and more people arrived near the corpse mountain.
A flash of silver light passed, and Ao Xinyan appeared atop the corpse mountain.
Ao Xinyan said, "Group Leader, why did you suddenly issue a challenge to the Son of Darkness? What happened?"
"There are some grievances between the Son of Darkness and me that must be resolved. You've come at the right time. There's something I need you and the Awakened Ones to help with," Zhang Ruochen said calmly.
"Is it to deal with the Son of Darkness?" Ao Xinyan asked.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "No. My battle with the Son of Darkness doesn't require anyone's interference. I want you to capture someone. He has clues about the World Gate Key."
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen used his spiritual power to transmit the appearance and basic information of the short, thin old man to Ao Xinyan.
A flicker of surprise appeared in Ao Xinyan's eyes, followed by joy. With clues, they would have a better chance of finding the World Gate Key.
However, soon a deep worry filled Ao Xinyan's eyes. "The Son of Darkness is a super-level ten dangerous figure, with unfathomable strength. Group Leader, do you really want to fight him alone?"
"The challenge has been issued. I cannot back down," Zhang Ruochen said firmly.
Ao Xinyan lowered her head, silent for a moment, then looked up. "Don't forget, you promised me something that hasn't been fulfilled yet."
"Don't worry. I won't lose this battle," Zhang Ruochen said.
Feeling the unstoppable momentum emanating from Zhang Ruochen, Ao Xinyan felt somewhat reassured and temporarily left the corpse mountain.
The short, thin old man was extremely slippery. To capture him, the Awakened Ones, along with Dead Zen Ancestor and Heavenly Fate Corpse Emperor, would need to act together.
For that, they needed to make some preparations in advance to ensure success.
"Zhang Ruochen, accept your death!"
With a loud shout, a golden light suddenly appeared, shooting toward Zhang Ruochen like a meteor.
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes, glancing casually at the golden light. Without moving, he extended a hand and pressed gently forward.
"Boom."
A large area of space collapsed violently, and the raging spatial force intercepted the golden light.
The golden light revealed its true form—a golden ancient cauldron, its surface engraved with a lifelike three-legged Golden Crow.
The ancient cauldron spun back and landed in the hands of a heroic man clad in golden armor—the Lesser Sun King.
The Lesser Sun King's arrival immediately drew the attention of many. The enmity between the Blazing Sun Civilization and Zhang Ruochen was no secret.
But could the Lesser Sun King alone contend with Zhang Ruochen?
Zhang Ruochen fixed his gaze on the Lesser Sun King and said coldly, "I didn't go looking for you, yet you deliver yourself to my doorstep."
Seeing the Lesser Sun King appear, Linglong Fairy and Ao Xukong, standing in the distance, frowned deeply. With Zhang Ruochen's battle against the Son of Darkness imminent, he needed to conserve his saintly qi and stamina, preparing for his peak state.
As part of the Heavenly Court faction, even if there were deep grudges, they should be set aside for now. After all, the Hell Realm was the mortal enemy.
Was the Lesser Sun King deliberately trying to exhaust Zhang Ruochen?
"Of course I must come, because you can only die by my hand," the Lesser Sun King said coldly, not hiding his killing intent.
As he spoke, he once again launched the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron, unleashing powerful supreme power to crush Zhang Ruochen to ashes.
Zhang Ruochen did not take it lightly. He immediately summoned the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror to meet the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen mobilized the rules of the palm path and struck out a palm from a distance.
Accompanied by earth-shaking dragon roars and elephant trumpets, a dragon and an elephant flew from his palms, carrying vast saintly power to crash into the Lesser Sun King.
With his current cultivation and strength, executing the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm had greatly increased its power, truly displaying the might of a high-rank sacred art.
The Lesser Sun King's eyes were icy cold. He formed seals with lightning speed, mobilizing his immense saintly qi to condense a golden giant hand hundreds of feet in size, slapping out fiercely.
"Boom."
The dragon and elephant shattered, and the golden giant hand also broke apart.
Just then, another golden giant hand appeared behind Zhang Ruochen, seizing the perfect moment to launch an ambush.
The golden giant hand carried terrifying power, fierce and domineering. Even if a star stood in its way, it would be shattered.
"Bang."
Zhang Ruochen was struck by the golden giant hand, his body exploding. But there was no splattering of blood.
That was merely an afterimage, not Zhang Ruochen's true body.
"What a pity. Even such a precisely calculated strike couldn't kill Zhang Ruochen. On True Dragon Island, he could still perform spatial displacement," the Lesser Sun King sighed inwardly.
This was on True Dragon Island, where space was heavily suppressed, making even flying impossible, let alone spatial displacement.
This only showed that Zhang Ruochen's mastery of the Way of Space had reached an astonishing level, and the special environment of True Dragon Island could not greatly restrict him.
Zhang Ruochen appeared out of thin air on a large rock, his gaze fixed on the direction from which the golden giant hand had come. A heroic figure in golden armor came into view.
Seeing this person's appearance, Zhang Ruochen's pupils constricted. "Great Sun King."
He was certain he hadn't mistaken. This person was the Great Sun King who had self-destructed his saintly source. Yet now, he stood before him alive and well.
"What's going on? The Great Sun King is still alive?"
The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden's eyes showed surprise.
She had personally witnessed the Great Sun King self-destruct his saintly source. Under those circumstances, nothing should have remained of him. How could he be unharmed?
The experts of the Thousand Star Civilization were also bewildered, completely unable to understand the situation.
The Great Sun King walked over from the horizon, like a blazing sun slowly rising, and sneered, "What? Surprised to see me?"
That killing blow just now had been struck by the Great Sun King from a distance.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze shifted between the Great Sun King and the Lesser Sun King, discerning some clues. "A person who should have died appearing before me is indeed surprising. If I'm not mistaken, you two must have cultivated some special secret art that allows you to share life and death. No wonder the Lesser Sun King fled alone before."
On the Great Sun King, Zhang Ruochen sensed the Lesser Sun King's aura, as if the two were inseparable.
The Great Sun King said, "Enough talk. Old grudges and new hatreds will be settled today."
Almost simultaneously, the Great Sun King and the Lesser Sun King erupted with dazzling golden light, transforming into two golden suns that soared into the sky.
With twin suns dominating the sky, they immediately released vast golden saintly power, scorching hot, as if capable of melting everything.
Driven by the golden saintly power, the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron released an abyss-like terrifying aura, as if an ancient Golden Crow had awakened from slumber.
In the blink of an eye, the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron became enormous, its mouth facing downward, descending upon Zhang Ruochen.
Under the suppression of the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron, the space within a hundred miles solidified, as if isolated from the world. Before the cauldron even descended, surging Solar Golden Flame poured down wildly, melting all things.
A hint of gravity appeared in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. He continuously infused saintly qi into the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, unleashing powerful supreme power to resist the descending Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron.
"Zhang Ruochen, you cannot stop us," the Great Sun King growled.
The two brothers, not sparing their vitality, activated the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron's strongest power, aiming to suppress and kill Zhang Ruochen as quickly as possible to avoid any accidents.
No matter how many tricks Zhang Ruochen had, he couldn't withstand the crushing force of absolute power.
Before the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron was damaged, it had even refined gods to death. They didn't believe Zhang Ruochen could overturn the heavens.
Zhang Ruochen said nothing, mobilizing the rules of space to generate vast spatial power, which he infused into the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror.
"Buzz."
The Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror trembled violently, surging with immensely dense demonic qi.
The Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror contained a universe within itself, essentially a spatial treasure. When driven by spatial power, it could unleash its strongest might.
A vast world emerged from the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, crashing straight into the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron.
"Boom."
The Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron shook violently, sent flying directly. The Golden Sun Twin Kings also suffered a powerful impact.
The golden light dissipated, and the Golden Sun Twin Kings reverted to human form, spitting out large mouthfuls of blood, their auras becoming weak and dispirited.
"How can he be this strong?"
The Golden Sun Twin Kings stared fixedly at Zhang Ruochen, their hearts filled with shock.
They could be certain that during their first two encounters, Zhang Ruochen had definitely not been this powerful. The difference was like heaven and earth.
But they couldn't understand why Zhang Ruochen's strength had increased so rapidly. The Five-Yuan Emperor Flower could never have such an effect.
"Zhang Ruochen must have had a tremendous fortuitous encounter on True Dragon Island, pushing his strength into the top tier below the Great Saint realm."
The Golden Sun Twin Kings had once seen one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Compared to that figure, Zhang Ruochen's current strength was already higher, not lower.
No wonder Zhang Ruochen dared to challenge the Son of Darkness.
Without any hesitation, the Golden Sun Twin Kings chose to flee. They were no longer a match for Zhang Ruochen. Continuing to fight would only lead to death.
"Do you think you can escape?" Zhang Ruochen's eyes flashed with cold light as he urged the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror to suppress the Golden Sun Twin Kings.
Just then, a silver great mace suddenly appeared, blocking the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror.
"Boom."
Due to the violent collision between the silver great mace and the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, the ground sank, forming a huge pit, as if a meteor had struck.
Then, an extremely burly figure appeared on the battlefield, grabbing the silver great mace and stopping Zhang Ruochen from pursuing the Golden Sun Twin Kings.
"Let them go. There's no need to kill them all," the burly man said in a deep voice.
His tone was calm, but carried an undeniable authority.