Chapter 2096: Ancient Curse
The Son of Darkness had arrived, making his entrance in an extremely high-profile manner. His terrifying dark aura pressed down on the many Saint King realm experts present, making it difficult for them to breathe.
"Too terrifying."
Many people couldn't help but tremble in their hearts, cold sweat streaming down without stopping.
They felt as if they were not facing a Saint King, but an incredibly powerful Great Saint.
Ao Xukong's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "The Son of Darkness's aura is stronger than when he entered True Dragon Island. Originally, there were still three parts of his body that hadn't become immortalized, but now only his heart remains. Moreover, I feel that he is very different now from before."
He didn't know that the Son of Darkness had cultivated the Dark Divine Fetus Art and had already undergone a complete rebirth, so he could only sense the change without knowing its root cause.
"I didn't expect that someone could actually immortalize their body to such an extent at the Saint King realm. The Son of Darkness's control over power is truly terrifying." Linglong Fairy's eyes revealed a deep look of astonishment.
After reaching the Threshold Dao realm, it wasn't actually too difficult to immortalize parts of the body. Many geniuses could do it.
But once immortalization began, power became difficult to control. It was very easy to involuntarily break through one's cultivation and step into the Immortal Great Saint realm.
Even for top-tier geniuses, it was very difficult to control their own power and suppress their cultivation at the Saint King realm when more than half of their body had been immortalized.
Ao Xukong said, "I also didn't expect that the Son of Darkness could make such a great breakthrough in such a short time. It seems he must have obtained a tremendous opportunity in the Dragon God Hall ruins. This will be very unfavorable for Zhang Ruochen."
Although Zhang Ruochen's cultivation and strength had greatly improved, allowing him to step into the top tier below the Great Saint realm, it was hard to say whether he could contend with the current Son of Darkness.
Turning his gaze, Ao Xukong looked at Zhang Ruochen, who had already stood up. To his slight surprise, Zhang Ruochen was still extremely calm, without any panic, as if he didn't feel any pressure at all.
On the other side, Nether Tiger True Lord also cast his gaze toward Zhang Ruochen and snorted lightly, "Very calm, huh. I want to see how long you can keep up the act."
Clearly, Zhang Ruochen's forceful suppression of the Golden Yang Twin Kings earlier, without giving him any face, had left Nether Tiger True Lord somewhat resentful.
Of course, Nether Tiger True Lord wasn't unaware of the situation. At a time like this, they naturally had to unite against a common enemy. But just seeing Zhang Ruochen's composed demeanor made him quite displeased.
After all, even he felt considerable pressure from the Son of Darkness. So Nether Tiger True Lord absolutely refused to believe that Zhang Ruochen could really be as calm as he appeared on the surface. He must be putting on a show.
At the gathering place of the Thousand Star Civilization's experts, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden's expression darkened. She understood all too well that the Son of Darkness's sudden surge in strength must be related to the treasures he had taken from the monster king's body.
Hundreds of millions of treasures, among which there must have been items that could help the Son of Darkness improve his cultivation and strength, allowing him to cultivate his new body to the extreme in a very short time.
"The new body cultivated by the Son of Darkness is more compatible with the alien dark power, truly perfectly fused together. How infuriating." Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden was secretly annoyed.
With her Origin Divine Eye, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden could undoubtedly see the Son of Darkness's true nature better than others, and this made her even more furious. Back when they were inside the monster king's body, they should have killed him at all costs.
Now that the Son of Darkness had improved so much, it was truly not good news, making her somewhat worried for Zhang Ruochen.
The experts of the Underworld Clan and Bone Clan had almost all arrived. Once Zhang Ruochen and the Son of Darkness started fighting, they probably wouldn't allow anyone to interfere.
The Bone Clan's Three Emperors and Ten Venerables, along with the Nether Hall's Seven Absolute Assassins, were all ruthless characters. Although the Heavenly Court side also had many experts, if it came to a real fight, they probably wouldn't gain any advantage.
It was just a pity that the Golden Yang Twin Kings didn't understand the importance of the overall situation. At such a critical moment, they didn't know how to unite against a common enemy. Now that they had been suppressed by Zhang Ruochen, it undoubtedly weakened the Heavenly Court side's strength.
Just as Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden was thinking, three brilliant streaks of starlight suddenly flashed over from afar, arriving in an instant, transforming into three handsome young men dressed in star robes.
The leader had the most outstanding temperament. Outside his body was a gorgeous and profound starry sky, and dozens of fist-sized stars revolved around him, making him look like the master of all stars. Every move he made could draw the star power of the heavens.
He was the current First Young Emperor of the Thousand Star Civilization — Star Wuji. He wielded the Star God Power that could contend with the Nine Eternal Paths, and he had a great reputation throughout the myriad realms.
The rankings of other Young Emperors often changed, but Star Wuji had always held the position of First Young Emperor, unshaken for hundreds of years.
The two behind Star Wuji were the Third Young Emperor and the Sixth Young Emperor, both also extremely powerful.
But at this moment, the faces of the Third Young Emperor and the Sixth Young Emperor were somewhat pale, clearly injured.
"What happened?" Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden asked.
The Third Young Emperor smiled bitterly, "We found traces of the Son of Darkness earlier and wanted to test him. Who would have thought that even with the two of us joining forces, we couldn't even withstand one of his palms. If Big Brother hadn't arrived in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
"The Son of Darkness has become this strong?" Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden's brow furrowed slightly.
Star Wuji nodded, "He is indeed very strong. I exchanged three palms with him from a distance and couldn't gain any advantage. If he continues to improve, he might really become a second Yan Wushen."
Hearing this, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden's heart trembled. For Star Wuji to make such an evaluation, it seemed the Son of Darkness was even stronger than she had anticipated.
One Yan Wushen was already a huge headache for the Heavenly Court. If another one appeared, it would be a tremendous problem.
"Zhang Ruochen choosing to fight the Son of Darkness now is a very wise decision. Once the Son of Darkness's cultivation settles, he will be even harder to deal with." Star Wuji murmured.
Of course, choosing the right timing was one thing; whether Zhang Ruochen could be a match for the Son of Darkness was another.
Zhang Ruochen had risen quickly and had many astonishing achievements, but against the Son of Darkness, the outcome was still unpredictable.
But it was too late to say all this now. This battle was inevitable, and no one could stop it. Zhang Ruochen certainly couldn't back down.
When he was still hundreds of miles away from the Corpse Mountain, the Son of Darkness suddenly made a move. Using his vast dark power, he condensed a pitch-black giant hand and struck directly at Zhang Ruochen.
At the same time, a massive amount of dark power turned into a black ocean, sweeping toward the Corpse Mountain in a mighty torrent.
Such a casual attack allowed anyone to feel the Son of Darkness's contempt, as if he didn't take Zhang Ruochen seriously at all.
Zhang Ruochen stood atop the Corpse Mountain, facing the Son of Darkness from afar. The Abyssal Ancient Sword was in his hand, and he casually slashed out a sword strike. The sword energy stretched for hundreds of miles, unstoppable.
"Rip."
Both the dark giant hand above and the black ocean below were split apart in an instant. A long trench appeared on the ground.
However, the black ocean did not dissipate. It instantly merged back together and continued to surge forward, quickly engulfing the Corpse Mountain.
Countless intricate dark curse runes emerged from the black ocean, merging into the bodies of the Underworld Clan experts.
An extremely bizarre situation occurred. The bodies of the Underworld Clan experts began to move, as if they had come back to life. They roared and frantically charged at Zhang Ruochen.
Each corpse released a massive amount of resentment. They combined, shooting up into the sky, dispersing the three lines of blood characters in the sky.
In an instant, heaven and earth changed color. Resentment and blood energy merged, forming a terrifying blood-colored vortex, as if the apocalypse had arrived.
Drawn by the blood-colored vortex, the resentment and killing aura that permeated True Dragon Island rapidly converged.
It must be remembered that True Dragon Island had witnessed an extremely brutal war in the past, where many experts had fallen. The resentment and killing aura were extremely heavy, along with various other strange powers, all of which were now being stirred up.
The blood-colored vortex grew larger and larger, covering an area of hundreds of miles. Blood-colored lightning bolts appeared, tearing the sky apart.
As a strange and ominous aura spread, a drizzling rain of blood fell from the sky.
Zhang Ruochen had just shattered a few of the Underworld Clan experts' corpses when the remaining corpses spontaneously exploded.
Each time a corpse exploded, a large amount of dark curse power was released. All Underworld Clan members were born with the power of curses; they were carriers of curses. The stronger the Underworld Clan member, the greater the curse power stored within their bodies.
A thousand Saint King realm Underworld Clan experts — how vast was the curse power they contained?
All the curse power rapidly condensed, forming a bizarre altar a hundred zhang tall, with countless curse runes imprinted on it.
Centered on the altar, an area of several hundred miles was filled with terrifying curse power, forming a massive curse space that enveloped Zhang Ruochen.
The blood-colored vortex in the sky and the curse altar on the ground were tightly linked in power, mercilessly crushing Zhang Ruochen.
Seeing the means displayed by the Son of Darkness, the expressions of many experts present changed.
Even without entering the area shrouded by curse power, they could clearly feel its terror. Even an Immortal Great Saint would definitely be in trouble if they were caught inside.
And now Zhang Ruochen was trapped within it, making everyone break out in a cold sweat for him.
By using the curse power contained in the corpses of over a thousand Underworld Clan experts, employing a secret technique to build a curse altar and evolve a blood-colored vortex, the Son of Darkness had utilized the Underworld Clan's curse talent to its utmost.
For a long time, many people only remembered the Son of Darkness's identity as the leader of the Darkness Temple, but they overlooked the fact that he was an Underworld Clan member. Curse techniques were also his specialty.
Seeing this change, even Nether Tiger True Lord, who was quite displeased with Zhang Ruochen, couldn't help but frown. "The Son of Darkness's methods are indeed unpredictable. Zhang Ruochen has bitten off more than he can chew this time. He wanted to use this Corpse Mountain, built from over a thousand Underworld Clan experts, as a battlefield, but in the end, he ended up harming himself."
The Son of Darkness's strength was one thing, but without this Corpse Mountain as a foundation, it would have been extremely difficult for him to unleash such a terrifying technique. It was as if Zhang Ruochen had created a perfect opportunity for him.
"That grandson, the Son of Darkness, is truly insidious and cunning. He doesn't even spare the corpses of his own clan. No wonder Zhang Ruochen suffered a loss at his hands before." Xiao Hei said, wide-eyed.
Ao Xinyan's brow was tightly furrowed, a deep look of worry appearing in her eyes. "The group leader is in a bad situation. Should we lend a hand?"
"Don't rush. Based on this emperor's understanding of Zhang Ruochen, he absolutely cannot be defeated so easily. And once we make a move, those experts from the Hell Realm will not stand idly by either. If we're not careful, it could turn into a full-blown melee. Don't forget, we have more important things to do." Xiao Hei soothed.
Hearing this, Ao Xinyan couldn't help but nod slightly. Although she was somewhat worried, she hadn't lost her composure and knew what she should do most at the moment.
The short, thin old man was elusive. He might have already arrived nearby, just hiding extremely well. What they needed to do was to do their best to find him and then capture him.
According to Xiao Hei's arrangement, Dead Zen Ancestor, Heavenly Corpse Emperor, and the other Awakened Ones had already dispersed around the battlefield, observing secretly. But for now, they still hadn't found anything.
Inside the curse space, Zhang Ruochen remained extremely calm, not panicking. He mobilized the Truth Esoterica, activated the Flame God Armor, and released blazing divine fire, isolating the curse power.
But an extremely strange power invisibly penetrated his body, trying to erode his spiritual will. Even the Flame God Armor couldn't block it.
"It's said that the Underworld Clan's curses can kill without a trace. It seems there's some truth to that." Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
He naturally wouldn't allow this invisible curse power to invade his body freely. His vigorous and dragon-like yang energy vibrated, grinding away the strands of yin and evil power.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen mobilized space laws, using powerful space power to condense a silver light an inch long at his fingertip, extremely sharp.
"Whoosh."
With a wave of his hand, the silver light flew out, unstoppable.
The space membrane constructed by the curse altar rippled like a swamp, not absorbing any force. The silver light couldn't cut through it but instead got stuck inside.
Seeing this, Zhang Ruochen's gaze narrowed slightly. Even the Space Rift Slash had been blocked. The surrounding space membrane was indeed quite tough. The Son of Darkness had clearly calculated everything.
Just then, Zhang Ruochen's mind stirred. He felt that the space he was in had changed again, and he couldn't help but look up.
The blood-colored vortex spun faster and faster, its center vibrating incessantly, as if opening a time-space passage connecting to the distant past.
Under Zhang Ruochen's gaze, solid curse runes flew out from the blood-colored vortex. Each one emitted an extremely ancient aura, as if crossing endless time and space to arrive.
As soon as these curse runes appeared, the hairs all over Zhang Ruochen's body stood on end involuntarily, and an extremely bad feeling arose in his heart.
"That's... the Ancient Curse."
Seeing the ancient curse runes flying out from the blood-colored vortex, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden's expression changed instantly.
The Ancient Era was an extremely distant age, full of mystery. It had given birth to many powerful forces that could contend with the Eternal Paths, such as the power of witchcraft mastered by the Blood Demon.
In that era, there were many cultivators who practiced the path of curses, not limited to the Underworld Clan. They created countless terrifying curses that made people pale at the mere mention.
However, with the passage of time, the curses of the Ancient Era had long since disappeared into the river of history.
Clearly, the Son of Darkness was now using some kind of secret technique to bring the Ancient Curse back into the world.
Star Wuji said, "Legend has it that once the Ancient Curse invades the body, no matter what means are used, it cannot be eradicated. The essence, energy, and spirit will all be slowly devoured clean."
Hearing this, all the experts of the Thousand Star Civilization couldn't help but feel their hair stand on end. They very much wanted to retreat far away to avoid being affected.
There was no doubt that if one was truly hit by the Ancient Curse, there was only death, and it would be an extremely painful death.
No one had expected that the Son of Darkness could unleash such a bizarre and terrifying technique.
For a moment, many people's eyes, as they looked at the Son of Darkness, were filled with deep fear.