Chapter 2137: Arriving Again at the Imperial City
Outside the Central Imperial City, Nie Xiangzi and Blood Chen Heavenly Lord stood facing each other. The Undying Blood Clan's army had already retreated, leaving ample space for their battle.
"The Truth Temple's ten divine inheritance disciples—this Heavenly Lord has long wanted to test them. Nie Xiangzi, I hope you won't disappoint me." Blood Chen Heavenly Lord's eyes gleamed with a sinister smile, and a dense battle intent radiated from him.
Nie Xiangzi remained completely unperturbed, saying calmly, "Make your move, then."
"Easygoing Nie Xiangzi—this Heavenly Lord wants to see just how long you can stay easygoing." Blood Chen Heavenly Lord's aura suddenly surged explosively.
As Blood Chen Heavenly Lord waved his hands, vast amounts of blood fiend qi surged forth violently, transforming into a vast sea of blood that rolled toward Nie Xiangzi.
Nie Xiangzi did not retreat. Raising his hand, he condensed a thousand-zhang great handprint with powerful sacred qi, carrying overwhelming momentum as he struck forward directly.
"Boom."
The great handprint collided violently with the blood sea, instantly creating a scene of heaven-splitting and earth-cracking, erupting with terrifying power ripples that spread in all directions.
As top-tier powerhouses below the Great Saint realm, both were extremely formidable. Their battle felt entirely like two Great Saints fighting, even more awe-inspiring.
At this moment, both the Heavenly Court side and the Hell Realm side were closely watching this great battle between Nie Xiangzi and Blood Chen Heavenly Lord.
In the face of such a grand situation, individual power was naturally insignificant.
However, the outcome of a battle between top-tier powerhouses could significantly impact the morale of both sides.
The current situation was clearly unfavorable for the Heavenly Court side. They urgently needed to win a few battles, preferably by killing Hell Realm powerhouses, to boost morale.
On the city wall, a large number of Truth Temple disciples stood, including both divine inheritance disciples and true inheritance disciples, led by five of the ten divine inheritance disciples.
Including Nie Xiangzi, six of the Truth Temple's ten divine inheritance disciples had come this time—an extremely rare occurrence.
This battle concerned the Truth Temple's honor, so everyone was inevitably somewhat nervous.
In the Merit General Post Station, Zhang Ruochen gazed at the mirror light screen, also watching the battle between Nie Xiangzi and Blood Chen Heavenly Lord.
Thinking back to a few years ago, Nie Xiangzi was still someone he had to look up to, a legendary figure. Now, however, he had reached the same level, or even higher.
The Truth Temple's ten divine inheritance disciples were all extraordinary—prodigies from various great worlds. Even the weakest among them could enter the top three tiers below the Great Saint realm.
Nie Xiangzi possessed top-tier combat power in the first tier below the Great Saint realm, ranking among the top few of the ten divine inheritance disciples. His cultivation and strength were unfathomably deep.
Outside the Central Imperial City, Nie Xiangzi and Blood Chen Heavenly Lord fought fiercely, exchanging hundreds of moves in a deadlock.
Suddenly, Blood Chen Heavenly Lord's aura shifted. A mysterious and obscure aura emanated from him, and a strange light gate manifested behind him, constructed from hundreds of thousands of fate rules—the Gate of Fate.
Nie Xiangzi's gaze remained indifferent, unruffled. A vast number of truth rules surged from his body, intertwining to create a hazy world behind him.
In this world, billions of characters danced, covering almost all the characters of the myriad heavens and worlds, colliding with each other, interpreting the truth of the world.
"Truth Realm Form."
A strange light flashed in Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
In the Truth Temple, only divine inheritance disciples could receive special secret techniques to condense a Truth Realm Form.
Once one possessed a Truth Realm Form, they could freely use the Way of Truth, amplifying the attack power of various sacred arts without needing time to activate it.
Zhang Ruochen had achieved extremely high mastery in the Way of Truth, surpassing even the Truth Temple's ten divine inheritance disciples. His attack power amplification had already reached nine times.
Unfortunately, he had not formally joined the Truth Temple, so he could not receive the secret technique.
To condense a Truth Realm Form, he would have to rely on his own exploration, with no guarantee of success.
Of course, even receiving the secret technique did not guarantee success in condensing a Truth Realm Form. One still needed extremely high attainment in the Way of Truth, with attack power amplification reaching at least six times.
"The truth rules I've cultivated have already exceeded eight hundred thousand. But if I cannot condense a Truth Realm Form, I still won't reach ten times attack power amplification—unless I cultivate the Way of Truth to Great Perfection, breaking this shackle." Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
However, Zhang Ruochen was well aware that compared to condensing a Truth Realm Form, reaching Great Perfection in the Way of Truth was undoubtedly more difficult.
Even in the history of the Truth Temple, there were probably very few who had achieved it.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen possessed thirty-nine ten-thousandths of the Truth Esoterica, allowing him to use the Way of Truth relatively easily—another advantage.
The Way of Truth could amplify attack power, while the Way of Fate could weaken power. The two were mutually restraining.
Clearly, the key to this battle lay in whose attainment was higher between Nie Xiangzi's Way of Truth and Blood Chen Heavenly Lord's Way of Fate, and who could suppress whom.
"Nie Xiangzi is so strong! Using the Way of Truth, he can unleash nine times the attack power. This battle, Nie Xiangzi will surely win."
Some cultivators exclaimed excitedly.
Zhang Ruochen remained very calm. How could the ten divine inheritance disciples, painstakingly cultivated by the Truth Temple, be weak?
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen was not as optimistic as others. Nie Xiangzi was strong, but Blood Chen Heavenly Lord gave him an even more unfathomable feeling.
"The Way of Fate is the most obscure and difficult to understand. Blood Chen Heavenly Lord has cultivated it to such a profound level. Among those below the Great Saint realm in the Destiny Temple, few can compare. It will be very difficult for Nie Xiangzi to defeat him." Zhang Ruochen's brow furrowed slightly.
He had to admit that this "cousin" of his, though arrogant, had real skill. No wonder he could suppress all the geniuses of the Blood Heaven Tribe, leaving them breathless.
At this moment, Nie Xiangzi and Blood Chen Heavenly Lord had already pushed their respective eternal paths to the extreme, yet they remained locked in a stalemate, with neither able to gain a clear advantage.
It was not until nearly two thousand exchanges that Blood Chen Heavenly Lord seized an opening and sent Nie Xiangzi flying with a palm strike.
"How could this be... Nie Xiangzi actually lost!"
Seeing this result, many found it very hard to accept.
Anyone could see that Nie Xiangzi and Blood Chen Heavenly Lord were evenly matched. The key to victory lay in the smallest margin—it could only be said that Nie Xiangzi had not seized the right moment.
Nie Xiangzi's defeat dealt another blow to the Heavenly Court side's morale.
In contrast, the Hell Realm side's morale soared, cheering and celebrating for Blood Chen Heavenly Lord.
"When will our Heavenly Court win a battle? Why aren't the Four Heavenly Kings, Archangel Michael, Ao Xukong, and others making a move?"
"What about Zhang Ruochen? Why isn't he in the Central Imperial City? If he fought one-on-one, who could be his match?"
"You're still counting on Zhang Ruochen to fight? Facing thirty million Hell Realm sacred realm troops, does he dare to show himself?"
"That's right. The Hell Realm hates Zhang Ruochen to the bone. If he dares to appear in the Central Imperial City, the Hell Realm army will tear him to pieces. He's probably already found a place to hide, maybe even quietly left Kunlun Realm."
......
In the Merit General Post Station, various voices arose, most filled with indignation.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. He hadn't expected that at such a time, he would become the focus of discussion, with so many people deliberately targeting him as if they had a deep-seated grudge.
If nothing unexpected, those mocking him were mostly from the Paradise Realm faction, seizing any opportunity to disparage him.
After waiting a long time, Zhang Ruochen finally entered the Space Teleportation Array.
A flash of white light, and Zhang Ruochen, along with a large group of Heavenly Court cultivators, disappeared from the Merit General Post Station.
When they could see their surroundings again, they were already inside the Merit Branch Post Station within the Central Imperial City.
Fortunately, a Merit Branch Post Station had been built in the Central Imperial City back then. Otherwise, the city would now be completely cut off from the outside world.
"Central Imperial City."
A complex expression appeared in Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
Since his rebirth, this was his second time setting foot in the Central Imperial City. Even though many years had passed, the events of the last time were still vivid, as if yesterday.
Back then, Chi Yao had used him to perfect her state of mind, crossing her final emotional tribulation to achieve godhood.
In a rage, he had charged to the gates of the Ziyue Imperial Palace, single-handedly defeating the nine realm sons.
It was also at that time that he had cut ties with Huang Yanchen, severing their robes and becoming strangers from then on.
Arriving again at the Central Imperial City, Zhang Ruochen could not help but feel deeply emotional. His calm state of mind rippled. There were many things he still could not let go.
Walking out of the Merit Branch Post Station, a scene of desolation greeted Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
The once prosperous scene had vanished. A suffocating pressure enveloped the entire imperial city, almost making it hard to breathe.
The Central Imperial City was extremely vast. Over eight hundred years, it had been continuously expanded, divided into dozens of districts, each comparable to a large city, with over a hundred million people living within.
But now, the Central Imperial City appeared relatively empty. The reason was that, in preparation for war, those whose cultivation had not reached the sacred realm had been relocated elsewhere.
After all, the besieging army consisted of over thirty million sacred realm troops. Once the city fell, those below the sacred realm would have no power to resist—only die in vain.
Kunlun Realm originally had very few sacred realm cultivators, so now the Central Imperial City had almost become the domain of cultivators from various Heavenly Court worlds.
"That sacred medicine is mine—no one can take it!"
Just as he was thinking, a considerable commotion occurred not far away.
Zhang Ruochen turned to look and saw a group of sacred realm cultivators fighting over a radiant sacred medicine.
The Central Imperial City was the convergence point of all Kunlun Realm's spiritual veins, seizing the essence of heaven and earth. After Kunlun Realm's revival, a large number of treasures emerged daily, including many ancient sacred medicines of great age, even hundred-thousand-year ancient sacred medicines and eon sacred medicines.
Previously, when the Central Imperial City was still under the imperial court's control, although some Heavenly Court cultivators entered, most treasures were obtained by the imperial court.
But as the situation in Kunlun Realm changed, more and more Heavenly Court cultivators entered the Central Imperial City, and the treasures the imperial court could obtain grew fewer.
Soon, the seventy-thousand-year-old sacred medicine was claimed by a Six-Step Saint King.
"Once I refine this sacred medicine, my cultivation will improve considerably. This trip was worth it." The Six-Step Saint King who had seized the sacred medicine couldn't help but laugh loudly.
Hearing such words, Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but shake his head slightly. Most of the cultivators from the Heavenly Court's myriad worlds had come for Kunlun Realm's treasures. How many were truly sincere about resisting the Hell Realm?
Relying on the Heavenly Court's myriad worlds' cultivators to defend the Central Imperial City, to defend the entire Kunlun Realm, was nothing but wishful thinking.
To put it bluntly, most Heavenly Court cultivators were just like Hell Realm cultivators—plunderers, looting the resources of one great world after another.
Those powerful worlds didn't care about the survival of weaker worlds. They were happy to open one merit battlefield after another to gain more benefits.
Many great worlds joined the Heavenly Court precisely to gain its protection, but in the end, they became sacrifices.
For example, the already shattered Ancestral Spirit World was chosen by the Heavenly Court as the battlefield for confrontation with the Hell Realm. Billions of lives were lost, and even gods fell.
In the Western Universe alone, ten world battlefields were maintained. When one was broken, a new one was opened.
Over the years, no one knew how many great worlds had been shattered into cosmic dust.
This was the law of the jungle—the strong prey on the weak. All rules were made by the strong, and the weak could only struggle to survive.
Unconsciously, Zhang Ruochen arrived before the Ziyue Imperial Palace at the center of the imperial city.
He hadn't come to reminisce, but to see Shengshu Cainü and understand the specific situation.
Of course, another purpose was to see Chi Kongle.
If possible, Zhang Ruochen wanted to take Chi Kongle away, to prevent her from being harmed.
"Whoosh."
Just then, a brilliant sacred light streaked across the sky, flying straight toward the Ziyue Imperial Palace from afar.
In the blink of an eye, the sacred light appeared before the Ziyue Imperial Palace—it was an ancient sacred chariot, radiant and colorful, emitting an extremely sacred aura, as if it had been used by a god.
Under Zhang Ruochen's gaze, an extremely handsome man stepped out of the sacred chariot. He wore a brocade robe woven from heavenly silk, held a jade fan, and exuded an innate noble aura that would make anyone feel inferior in his presence.
Then, another person emerged—a stunningly beautiful goddess. Her body seemed forged from immortal jade, crystalline and translucent, emitting a captivating fragrance, with a gentle and refined temperament.
"Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden."
This was not the first time Zhang Ruochen had seen the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden in her merged form. He was very familiar with it.
Given the critical situation in the Central Imperial City now, it was normal for the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden to remain in her merged state, convenient for handling any unexpected situations.
The one currently dominating the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden's body was clearly Shengshu Cainü. That refined and elegant temperament was something the other eight mysterious maidens did not possess.
Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze to the warm, jade-like handsome man, quite curious about his identity and background, and why he was with the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden.