Chapter 2095: Darkness Descends
The figure holding the silver great mace was burly, nearly two and a half meters tall, with dark skin, standing like an iron tower on the ground, blocking Zhang Ruochen's path.
A vast silver blood energy emanated from within this man, filled with a wild aura, vaguely condensing behind him into the form of a ferocious tiger. A pair of blood-red eyes contained a terrifying killing intent, as if they might break free from the void at any moment.
If it were anyone else standing before this burly man, they would likely have already collapsed to the ground.
A cold light flashed in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. "When they attacked me, you did not step forward to stop them. Now you want me to spare them. Do you think I can be bullied?"
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen's body trembled, and a dense five-colored sacred light burst forth from within him, creating a hazy world behind him, filled with surging chaotic energy.
This was a phenomenon derived from the Great Perfection of the Five Elements Chaos Body, a natural Dao resonance with countless mysterious and marvelous uses.
The moment this world manifested, the space within hundreds of miles was completely sealed off, greatly hindering the movements of anyone within it.
The Golden Yang Twin Kings had only fled a hundred miles when they felt as if they were trapped in a quagmire, their movements becoming abnormally sluggish.
Feeling the space being sealed, the burly man's eyes flashed with anger, and he said in a deep voice, "Zhang Ruochen, do you intend to fight me?"
In the burly man's view, since he had stepped forward, Zhang Ruochen should stop and let the Golden Yang Twin Kings leave. That would be best for everyone.
But he never expected Zhang Ruochen to be so ungrateful as to not even give him face. How utterly outrageous.
"If you want to fight, I'll oblige," Zhang Ruochen said forcefully.
If the other party wanted to use their authority to pressure him, they had chosen the wrong target. Zhang Ruochen had never feared anyone.
A faint ripple spread through the space, and Zhang Ruochen's figure vanished, reappearing right before the Golden Yang Twin Kings.
The spatial seal was of his own making, so it naturally did not affect him; in fact, it made him even more at ease.
"Let's fight him together."
The Golden Yang Twin Kings steeled themselves and immediately joined forces to unleash the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were cold. He reached out with one hand, and tens of thousands of Space Rules materialized, wrapping around the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron like chains, fixing it in midair.
Then, the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror flew out, its surface glowing with a dark light, releasing a powerful suction force like a black hole, enveloping the Golden Yang Twin Kings.
"Stop!"
Seeing this, the burly man let out a loud shout.
At the same time, he flicked his wrist and sent the silver great mace flying out again.
The silver great mace blazed with brilliant sacred light, and numerous Supreme Inscription Runes appeared, releasing an extremely fierce aura, as if a peerless ferocious beast were awakening.
As the fierce aura grew stronger, the silver great mace transformed into a silver-white ferocious tiger, its might overwhelming the heavens, roaring as it pounced toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly turned and pressed his hand forward, a powerful spatial force surging from within him.
"Boom."
The space within several hundred zhang instantly shattered, then annihilated, revealing the pitch-black Void World, as if it would swallow everything in existence.
The silver-white ferocious tiger radiated terrifying divine power, but it was still blocked by the power of spatial annihilation, unable to get close to Zhang Ruochen.
In that brief moment of delay, the Golden Yang Twin Kings were both sucked into the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, firmly suppressed, unable to stir up any more trouble.
With the Golden Yang Twin Kings out of control, the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron also fell silent. No matter how powerful it had once been, it was ultimately damaged now, its artifact spirit in a deep slumber. Even expending a great deal of its essence could only briefly awaken it, after which it would sink into an even deeper sleep.
Zhang Ruochen did not bother to examine the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron. With a wave of his hand, he suppressed it into the inner world of the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror to avoid any issues.
After doing all this, Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze back to the burly man, his eyes calm and unruffled.
Seeing the Golden Yang Twin Kings suppressed, the burly man's expression turned extremely ugly. Since he had begun his career, no one had ever dared to defy his authority like this.
Involuntarily, the burly man's body emitted an even more ferocious aura. The ferocious tiger phenomenon behind him grew increasingly solid, its terrifying aura causing the surrounding space to warp slightly.
"Tiger of the Underworld, that's enough."
Just then, a loud shout suddenly rang out.
Ao Xukong emerged from the shadows, his expression serious. A vast dragon energy surged into the sky, transforming into a golden divine dragon that soared through the heavens.
Seeing Ao Xukong, the burly man frowned slightly, a hint of wariness flashing in his eyes.
At the right moment, Zhang Ruochen withdrew his power, lifting the seal on the surrounding hundreds of miles of space, allowing Ao Xukong to approach.
The burly man's voice was somewhat low. "Ao Xukong, do you want to stop me?"
Ao Xukong nodded slightly at Zhang Ruochen, then looked at the burly man. "Tiger of the Underworld, although your Beidou Civilization belongs to the Ancient Civilization Faction, you are still on the same side as our Heavenly Court Realm. We should unite against external enemies, not waste our strength here."
"The Golden Yang Twin Kings knew full well that Zhang Ruochen was about to duel the Son of Darkness, yet they chose to strike at this time, draining Zhang Ruochen's energy and spirit. That is nothing short of aiding the enemy. Their suppression is entirely their own fault."
Hearing this, the burly man's heart sank. Ao Xukong had put it so plainly that if he continued to attack Zhang Ruochen, it would likely cause a very bad impression.
Moreover, he could already tell that if he made a move, Ao Xukong would not stand idly by.
Now that the Golden Yang Twin Kings were already suppressed, there was no need to start a conflict with Ao Xukong.
Giving Zhang Ruochen a deep look, the burly man said coldly, "Don't go too far, or you won't end well."
Leaving these words, the burly man put away the silver great mace and turned to leave.
"Tiger of the Underworld True Lord is known for holding grudges. You've offended him this time, so you should be more careful in the future," Ao Xukong reminded him seriously.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "Thank you for the reminder, Brother Ao. I don't like to stir up trouble, but I'm certainly not one to fear it."
"I believe that. When you fight the Son of Darkness, you must be extra cautious. The Golden Yang Twin Kings are worlds apart from him," Ao Xukong said.
Although he could see that Zhang Ruochen's current strength had likely reached the first tier below Great Saint, facing the Son of Darkness in a life-or-death duel was still not something to take lightly.
Even within the same first tier below Great Saint, there could be significant differences in strength. The Golden Yang Twin Kings, when working together, could barely match this tier, but they were among the weakest, which was why they had fallen to Zhang Ruochen.
Ao Xukong did not stay long. After saying a few words, he retreated into the distance, leaving Zhang Ruochen to adjust his state.
Zhang Ruochen returned to the top of the Corpse Mountain.
On the other side, the burly man returned to the Beidou Civilization camp, his face extremely gloomy, almost dripping with water.
Who was he? The strongest below Great Saint in Beidou Civilization, granted the title of Tiger of the Underworld True Lord, and wielding the lethal weapon—the White Tiger Mace. Who dared to defy his will?
In Beidou Civilization, the title of True Lord was extremely noble, bestowed only upon the ten most powerful individuals below Great Saint. Although they were not Great Saints, their status was no less than that of Immortal Great Saints, and even surpassed them in some ways.
This was because those who received the title of one of the Ten True Lords possessed astonishing potential, with the possibility of becoming top-tier Great Saints or even gods in the future.
"Thinking you can act recklessly just because you have some strength? How naive. I'll see how you fare against the Son of Darkness," Tiger of the Underworld True Lord said, a terrifying cold light flashing in his eyes.
In his view, even if Zhang Ruochen could suppress the Golden Yang Twin Kings, he still had no chance of victory against the Son of Darkness. He looked forward to seeing Zhang Ruochen's crushing defeat.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen effortlessly suppress the Golden Yang Twin Kings, the gathered experts from all sides were shocked. No one had expected that in such a short time, Zhang Ruochen's strength had reached such a level.
The Son of Darkness was indeed unfathomable, but Zhang Ruochen now also gave off an aura that was impossible to see through. Their upcoming battle was undoubtedly one to look forward to.
On a desolate mountain peak, the experts of the Thousand Star Civilization gathered, almost all of them showing surprise. The six elders responsible for protecting the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden found it especially hard to calm down.
Not long ago, they had witnessed Zhang Ruochen and three others battling over a thousand experts from the Blazing Sun Civilization. At that time, Zhang Ruochen was not weak, but compared to now, the gap was enormous.
The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden smiled, gazing at Zhang Ruochen from afar. She murmured, "Zhang Ruochen was very wise not to kill the Golden Yang Twin Kings. Otherwise, it would have been even more troublesome than killing the Blazing Sun Heavenly Son."
The identity of the Golden Yang Twin Kings was very special in the Blazing Sun Civilization. They harbored a great secret, which was a key reason why the Blazing Sun Civilization invested so heavily in them.
As long as they were not killed, there was still room for reconciliation between Zhang Ruochen and the Blazing Sun Civilization. Otherwise, it would be a fight to the death.
The wrath of an ancient civilization was not something many could bear.
"Why hasn't the Son of Darkness arrived yet? Is he planning to avoid the battle?"
After waiting for a long time without seeing the Son of Darkness, many people grew impatient.
They had come to the Dragon God Hall ruins seeking opportunities, not to waste time here.
"Perhaps the Son of Darkness simply disdains to fight Zhang Ruochen, thinking there's a chasm between them."
Suddenly, a voice tinged with contempt rang out.
The voice was elusive, making it impossible to determine who had spoken.
But anyone could tell that it was meant to belittle Zhang Ruochen, with a hint of hostility.
"Rumble."
Just then, the ground began to shake violently, drawing everyone's attention.
A vast dark power surged from the edge of the world, as if to drown out all light.
"Is the Son of Darkness coming?"
Many people widened their eyes, staring intently at the dark power rolling in like a tide.
As the darkness drew closer, three massive figures faintly appeared. They were not flesh and blood, but three skeletons.
On the left was a bone dragon, its bones emerald green. Though immersed in darkness, it was not tainted, radiating a very sacred light.
On the right was a bone phoenix, its body wrapped in pitch-black flames. Every bone was as black as ink, releasing an intense dark power, as if it were the source of darkness.
In the middle was a humanoid skeleton, ten zhang tall, all its bones dark gold, as if forged from divine metal, indestructible.
"It's not the Son of Darkness. It's the Three Bone Emperors."
Seeing the three massive skeletons, many people showed surprise.
The Three Bone Emperors were infamous in both the Hell Realm and the Heavenly Court Realm, having dominated the Merit Battlefields of many worlds, killing countless experts from the Heavenly Court Realm side.
"Are the Three Bone Emperors going to fight Zhang Ruochen in place of the Son of Darkness?" many speculated.
Few could face the Three Bone Emperors without fear. Not only were they immensely powerful, but they also possessed Great Saint bone bodies, making them immune to ordinary attacks.
In any battle, the Three Bone Emperors would launch a frenzied offense without bothering to defend, thanks to their innate advantage.
When they were still five hundred miles from the Corpse Mountain, the Three Bone Emperors stopped, neither advancing nor showing any intention of attacking Zhang Ruochen.
Following the Three Bone Emperors, ten more powerful Bone Clan experts arrived. They were ten of the twelve Bone Clan Venerables.
It wasn't that the twelve Bone Clan Venerables didn't want to come in full force, but the other two had already died at Xiao Hei's hands, their Great Saint bone bodies shattered.
Soon after, another surge of dark power appeared from the horizon.
A massive Nether Lotus floated in the darkness, each petal engraved with intricate Nether Patterns, surrounded by countless curse runes, emitting a terrifying aura that made people tremble.
"The Seven Nether Hall Death Gods."
Seeing the Nether Lotus, everyone immediately recognized the newcomers.
The Seven Nether Hall Death Gods mastered the mysterious Seven Death Formation, which could greatly amplify their combat power. When they worked together, even Yan Wushen had to avoid their sharp edge, and they were not inferior to the Four Heavenly Kings of the Heavenly Palace.
Like the Bone Clan experts, the Seven Nether Hall Death Gods also did not enter the five-hundred-mile radius around the Corpse Mountain.
Seeing the successive arrivals of Bone Clan and Nether Clan experts, Ao Xukong's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He murmured, "With the Bone Clan and Nether Clan experts here, the Son of Darkness should be arriving soon."
The Three Bone Emperors and ten Bone Clan Venerables, along with the Seven Nether Hall Death Gods, had all come but stopped five hundred miles from the Corpse Mountain. Clearly, they were there to support the Son of Darkness, ensuring no one interfered with his duel with Zhang Ruochen.
"Why is it getting darker?" an expert asked, looking puzzled.
Somehow, the entire world began to grow dim, and within moments, it was plunged into complete darkness.
This darkness was highly unusual, as if it would swallow and devour everything, sending chills down people's spines and making their scalps tingle.
Even though everyone present was at the Saint King Realm, they couldn't help but feel a sense of dread, as if a strange force were trying to pull their living souls out of their bodies.
"Swish."
On the Corpse Mountain, Zhang Ruochen's eyes snapped open, staring straight ahead.
Though the world had fallen into darkness, his eyes still clearly saw a figure like a god or demon, completely merged with the darkness, like an emissary of darkness, walking step by step from the edge of the world.
...
Recommendation: Little Fish's new book, "The Legend of the Heavenly Emperor."