Chapter: 2155 - Golden Body Nine Zhang Six
Yan Wushen stared at Zhang Ruochen, the battle intent radiating from him growing stronger and stronger. From his evil body, he had been told that the name "Yan Wushen" was no longer a symbol of invincibility, and he had begun to anticipate this battle, preparing extensively for it.
"I don't need you to save me. Take care of yourself first," Chi Kunlun said.
Though his words seemed tough, a hint of worry flickered in his eyes, clearly concerned that Zhang Ruochen might suffer a loss at Yan Wushen's hands.
The reason was that Chi Kunlun did not know about Zhang Ruochen's fierce battle with Yan Wushen's evil body. In his impression, Yan Wushen was still that invincible existence who roamed across the Heavenly Court Realm and the Hell Realm.
Although he had been by Yan Wushen's side recently, he was unaware of the secret of Yan Wushen's good and evil dual bodies.
None of this escaped Zhang Ruochen's eyes, and a warmth arose in his heart. Regardless, Chi Kunlun had finally changed his attitude toward him.
At least, unlike before, he no longer drew his sword against him, treating him as a mortal enemy.
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the pavilion, facing Yan Wushen directly, and said, "Let you and me truly settle who is stronger."
Regardless, this battle was inevitable. For Zhang Ruochen, it was also a good opportunity to test his recent cultivation results.
Although he sensed that Yan Wushen's evil body was nearby, he felt no fear. In fact, he even looked forward to the fusion of Yan Wushen's good and evil bodies, to see just how powerful it would become.
After all, compared to the time of the Luo Water battle, Zhang Ruochen's cultivation strength had greatly improved. Even without relying on the Sundial, he was confident he could defeat Yan Wushen's evil body.
"It seems you are quite confident. But I want to tell you, this time, if you think you can rely on the Sundial to win, it won't work anymore," Yan Wushen said.
Yan Wushen waved his hand, and Chi Kunlun was swept away by a current of air, landing outside the courtyard, suspended in midair, standing on a patch of blood cloud.
From the courtyard, the blood cloud where Chi Kunlun stood seemed very close, as if just outside.
But no matter how anxious Chi Kunlun felt, or how he mobilized all his strength to run, he could never reach that courtyard, which seemed like a floating island, as if separated by tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of miles... He could only watch helplessly.
"Zhang Ruochen, I hope you, the Eastern Domain King who dominates the myriad realms, won't disappoint me," Yan Wushen said, a hint of anticipation appearing in his eyes.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Yin Yuanchen and said, "Brother Yin, step aside for now and don't interfere."
"Be careful, Brother Zhang."
Yin Yuanchen did not hesitate and immediately retreated into the distance.
In his view, since Zhang Ruochen had defeated Yan Wushen at Luo Water, there should be no problem this time.
Looking around at the starry sky small world he was in, Yin Yuanchen thought to himself, "With Yan Wushen's methods, even if he loses, he will surely find a way to escape. I need to find a way to leave here and lure the top experts of the Heavenly Court Realm here, so he can't leave the Royal City."
If they could capture or even kill Yan Wushen, it would deal an unimaginably heavy blow to the Hell Realm and play a crucial role in turning the tide of the battle in the Kunlun Realm.
Of course, Yin Yuanchen was also on guard. Although his perception was not as keen as Zhang Ruochen's, he vaguely sensed that there seemed to be other powerful beings in the shadows.
It made sense. The Royal City was now teeming with experts. Even if Yan Wushen was confident in his own strength, he should not choose to take risks alone.
Outside the pavilion, Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen stood facing each other, their gazes locked, but neither made a move.
In reality, however, the contest between them had already begun.
If one observed carefully, they would notice that the space around Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen was subtly rippling, like water waves, colliding with each other and simultaneously dissipating into nothingness.
Both had a meticulous control over spatial power. The techniques they employed were extremely terrifying—even a Nine-Step Saint King approaching could lose their life—yet the commotion was minimal, not damaging a single flower or blade of grass.
This kind of contest seemed calm and gentle, but was in fact extremely dangerous.
"In just a few months, your mastery of the Way of Space has improved so much. I am truly surprised," Yan Wushen said, his eyes gleaming with unusual light.
Space was an eternal path, extremely difficult to cultivate. Even Yan Wushen had spent a very long time, along with various opportunities, to reach his current level.
But Zhang Ruochen had managed to elevate his Way of Space to near-perfection in just a few months. Even witnessing it firsthand, it seemed unbelievable.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You're not bad either."
In terms of Sacred Dao rules alone, Yan Wushen's good and evil bodies should be identical.
During the Luo Water battle, the spatial mastery displayed by Yan Wushen's evil body was remarkable, but the spatial rules he had cultivated were at most nine hundred thousand.
Now, based on Zhang Ruochen's perception, the spatial rules possessed by Yan Wushen's good body should be the same as his own, just one rule short of reaching Great Perfection.
This showed that Zhang Ruochen's existence had put immense pressure on Yan Wushen, prompting him to make significant progress in these few months.
"This makes it more interesting," Yan Wushen laughed loudly.
For Yan Wushen, the stronger Zhang Ruochen became, the happier he was, because he had always longed for powerful opponents to appear.
As he spoke, Yan Wushen truly made his move. A powerful spatial force surged, causing a large area of space around him to twist violently.
"Hmm? Space Sacred Phase."
Zhang Ruochen's senses alerted him, perceiving an invisible vortex appearing above him.
Without any hesitation, Zhang Ruochen released his own Space Sacred Phase, colliding with Yan Wushen's Space Sacred Phase.
With their Way of Space cultivated to near-perfection, both Zhang Ruochen's and Yan Wushen's Space Sacred Phases were extremely powerful, possessing terrifying destructive force.
Even the most top-tier Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact, if it got close, might be instantly shattered, reduced to scrap metal.
"Boom."
Zhang Ruochen's and Yan Wushen's Space Sacred Phases collided violently, releasing a terrifying force that annihilated everything. The surrounding space completely collapsed, revealing a deep, dark void.
That area was extremely dangerous; even a Great Saint trapped within would find it hard to escape.
Zhang Ruochen paid no attention to this. With a shift of his mind, he released his Time Sacred Phase, actively attacking Yan Wushen.
No matter who he fought, Zhang Ruochen preferred to take the initiative, rather than passively respond.
The Time Sacred Phase was also an invisible vortex. As soon as it appeared, countless Time Imprints danced, and even the phantom of the River of Time manifested, causing the flow of time in that space to change slightly.
"Bang."
In an instant, the Time Sacred Phase collided with another invisible vortex. Some of the Time Imprints directly dissipated into nothingness.
To be precise, these Time Imprints were disintegrated, becoming countless tiny particles invisible to the naked eye.
But under the influence of the Time Sacred Phase, some of these tiny particles re-aggregated, forming new Time Imprints.
"It seems I'm not the only one who has cultivated multiple Sacred Phases," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Generally speaking, when cultivators reached the Saint Realm, they would condense all the Sacred Dao rules they had cultivated into one Sacred Phase, and the form of the Sacred Phase was usually identical to themselves.
But Zhang Ruochen was different. He separated the two eternal paths and three supreme sacred paths he primarily cultivated, then fused the other Sacred Dao rules together, cultivating a total of six Sacred Phases.
Even Xiao Hei, with his vast knowledge, had never heard of such a thing, only saying that ancient texts recorded that in extremely ancient times, there were mysterious beings not among the Five Elements who could cultivate multiple Sacred Phases and condense multiple Sacred Sources.
At that time, Zhang Ruochen couldn't understand these matters at all. But with his current knowledge, he had some guesses.
Cultivating multiple Sacred Phases was likely related to the cultivation technique and the primary sacred paths.
After all, the "Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture" was no ordinary thing, suspected to be related to the "Thirty-Three Heavens," making it one of the top cultivation techniques in the universe.
"Whoosh."
A sacred sword, ten thousand zhang long, flew out from Zhang Ruochen's body, formed by a full million Sword Dao rules—it was his Sword Dao Sacred Phase.
The Sword Dao Sacred Phase radiated nine-colored sacred light, its surface covered with intricate sword patterns, seemingly natural, as if imprinted with the most essential truth of the Sword Dao.
Tens of thousands of sharp sword energies burst forth from the Sword Dao Sacred Phase, forming a storm of sword energy, heading straight for Yan Wushen.
Yan Wushen's body trembled, and a massive black hole appeared before him.
"Fist Dao Sacred Phase, just one Sacred Dao rule short of perfection," Zhang Ruochen murmured.
As he had expected, Yan Wushen had indeed cultivated other Sacred Phases.
He had long witnessed Yan Wushen's domineering fist techniques, so it wasn't surprising that he possessed a Fist Dao Sacred Phase.
Yan Wushen's Fist Dao Sacred Phase was terrifying, releasing a powerful devouring suction force, along with a unique aura of Hell, as if it could swallow everything.
In an instant, most of the sword energy released by the Sword Dao Sacred Phase was devoured by the black hole.
"Clang."
The Sword Dao Sacred Phase was unstoppable. With one slash, it cleaved the black hole in two.
Seeing this, Yan Wushen's face finally showed a serious expression.
"Sword Dao Great Perfection." Yan Wushen was greatly shaken.
As powerful as he was, after cultivating for so many years, he had not yet perfected any of the eternal paths or supreme sacred paths. He hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen to have already succeeded.
When any sacred path was cultivated to perfection, it would undergo a remarkable transformation. The power of the corresponding sacred techniques would multiply, and there would be some unimaginable mysteries.
"The legendary Sword Dao Great Perfection. So he has become this powerful." Chi Kunlun's gaze was fixed on Zhang Ruochen, his expression somewhat complicated.
Ever since his fight with Zhang Ruochen in the Truth Heaven Domain, Chi Kunlun had resolved to use his sword to defeat Zhang Ruochen fair and square.
Even after learning his true identity, he hadn't changed this idea; in fact, it had become even more steadfast.
Now, seeing Zhang Ruochen's sword mastery, Chi Kunlun felt immense pressure.
But the next moment, Chi Kunlun's eyes became resolute again. He had always been someone who never admitted defeat.
Reaching out, an ancient sword hilt appeared in Zhang Ruochen's hand, looking very ordinary, with no fluctuation of power.
This sword hilt was extraordinary, originating from the Sword Grave. Zhang Ruochen had taken it from Luo Sha, and it itself held a great secret.
Activated by sacred qi, streams of divine light flew out from the sword hilt, manifesting countless Sword Dao rules, solid and intricate, interweaving to form a slender sword body.
Instantly, an extremely intense divine power emanated from the sword hilt.
"Clang."
Under the influence of the divine sword's power, everything in the courtyard took on a terrifying sharpness, as if it would turn into a sword.
"Rumble."
The starry sky small world shook violently, with solid sword light spreading throughout the entire space.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was like a peerless Sword God descending to the world, his sharpness unstoppable.
When the sword hilt was in Luo Sha's hands, it could already unleash such terrifying power. Now, in Zhang Ruochen's hands, it was naturally even more formidable.
Yan Wushen's gaze locked onto the divine sword in Zhang Ruochen's hand, his eyes narrowing slightly. He thought, "A mere sword hilt can have such power. Could it be... related to that legendary destroyed divine sword?"
With a shift of his mind, Yan Wushen did not hesitate. He instantly withdrew the split Fist Dao Sacred Phase and began to circulate his technique.
He could feel that Zhang Ruochen's next attack would be extremely terrifying, and he would have to show his true skills.
As the secret technique was activated, a vast amount of Hell Yama Qi surged from Yan Wushen's body—specifically, Extreme Bright Yama Qi, corresponding to the Extreme Dark Yama Qi cultivated by his evil body.
Immediately, Yan Wushen's physical body underwent a great transformation. His skin, flesh, blood, and bones all turned golden, and his body rapidly expanded, becoming a nine-zhang-six-foot-tall golden giant.
Behind Yan Wushen, boundless Buddha light bloomed, evolving into a golden Buddha kingdom. Countless Arhats, Bodhisattvas, and Holy Buddhas sat cross-legged within it, making Yan Wushen appear immensely majestic, like a true Buddha descending to the world.
"The strongest Golden Body Technique of the Buddhist Sect. Yan Wushen has indeed inherited the legacy of that ancient Holy Buddha of the Buddhist Sect," Zhang Ruochen thought, his heart stirring.
Bore had told him that Yan Wushen had obtained a forbidden Buddhist technique created by an ancient Holy Buddha of the Buddhist Sect, allowing him to split into good and evil bodies.
At that time, Zhang Ruochen had thought that Yan Wushen might have also obtained some powerful Buddhist inheritances, but his evil body was not suited for cultivation.
He just hadn't expected Yan Wushen to obtain the strongest Golden Body Technique of the Buddhist Sect and successfully cultivate it.
Zhang Ruochen had seen the Golden Body Technique before, when Chen Yuhua used the "One Zhang Two Golden Body," a technique recorded in the "Forty-Nine Mystical Techniques," which possessed astonishing power.
In terms of size alone, Yan Wushen was now eight times larger than Chen Yuhua had been, like a giant. Who knew how powerful his strength would be?
And undoubtedly, Yan Wushen in this state was even more worthy of Zhang Ruochen's sword strike.
"Yan Wushen, take this sword," Zhang Ruochen let out a low shout.
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen swung the divine sword in his hand, encompassing all space—heaven, earth, east, south, west, and north. Countless spatial inscriptions appeared, causing the entire starry sky small world to tremble.
A world entirely constructed from sword energy took shape, expanding infinitely, enveloping Yan Wushen.
Since comprehending the tenth realm of Sword Ten, Zhang Ruochen was using it for the first time in battle, and with the mysterious sword hilt.
After all, with his current strength, there were few people left worthy of him unleashing this sword.
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