Chapter 2181: Blood Stains the Purple Star Palace
Chi Kongle clenched her snow-white teeth tightly, staring at Zhang Ruochen's figure in the distance. Witnessing the great upheaval at the Purple Star Palace and seeing so many imperial court experts die had an immense impact on Chi Kongle's heart. She was not unafraid, but dared not show it. As the daughter of Zhang Ruochen and Empress Chi Yao, how could she reveal weakness in the face of such a formidable enemy?
Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden's expression was complicated, and she let out a quiet sigh inwardly. Zhang Ruochen had finally come to the Origin Beginning Divine Temple. Everything seemed fated...
Zhang Ruochen's long hair fluttered as he stood tall and aloof, facing the radiant holy light emanating from the experts of the Heavenly Realm Faction with a contemptuous posture. Killing intent blazed in his eyes. If he had arrived even a little later, Chi Kongle would have fallen into the hands of Fangze King.
"Is this the way of the Heavenly Realm, as the ruling world of the Western Universe? Do you even know the true responsibility of a ruling world?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Archangel Michael narrowed his eyes and said in a somewhat low tone, "Zhang Ruochen, you are not qualified to judge the Heavenly Realm."
"Not even a minor Saint King, let alone a god, would dare to casually criticize the Heavenly Realm," a cultivator beside him said arrogantly.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze swept across the crowd of Heavenly Realm experts present. "There are nearly five hundred Saint Kings here, all unparalleled talents. I'd say at least half of them can reach the Great Saint realm in the future. If they all die here, the great worlds behind you will face a generational gap. I'll give you one chance now: kneel on the ground and give up resistance. I will report everything here to the Moon God, and let the Heavenly Palace handle it. Fair enough, isn't it?"
Was this a call to surrender? No, it was an insult.
The experts of the Heavenly Realm Faction all showed anger in their eyes. Make them kneel? How arrogant!
"Zhang Ruochen, I don't know if you're truly stupid or just pretending. The one who should be kneeling and begging for mercy now is you. But even if you beg, it's useless. You must die here today," Xu Tianjing, the new leader of the Sword God Realm, sneered.
The leader of the Huan Realm, Wuxin Xiejun, walked out of the divine temple, a sinister smile on his face. "Zhang Ruochen, after you die, this Holy Lord will refine you into the most perfect corpse puppet. How exciting."
The other experts of the Heavenly Realm Faction also flashed killing intent, eager to personally kill Zhang Ruochen. This would be a great merit.
"I've already given you a chance. Since you refuse to kneel, don't blame me for slaughtering you all," Zhang Ruochen said, his brows rising as his killing intent grew stronger. "Do you believe that before you can even touch a corner of my robe, half of you will already be dead?"
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen flipped his hand and took out the Sundial, immediately mobilizing a million Time Rules and injecting them all into it. At the same time, he activated the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*, drawing a large amount of divine essence from the divine sun formed by the Seven-Star Divine Ling's sun leaf. This divine essence was enough to briefly stimulate the Sundial's power.
"Rustle."
In an instant, the Sundial emitted an indescribable Dao resonance, revealing a layer of cyan light. Countless light spots flew out, forming a ribbon that surged toward the experts of the Heavenly Realm Faction. Each light spot was a Time Imprint. A magnificent phantom of the River of Time appeared out of thin air, resonating with the Sundial. Wherever the cyan ribbon passed, time became extremely chaotic, and even space twisted.
"Devouring Divine Insects."
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen opened the Qiankun Realm, and a large amount of blue flames flew out from within, moving at incredible speed toward the experts of the Heavenly Realm Faction. Each blue flame was a Devouring Divine Insect, dotting the sky in vast numbers. Some were only the size of a fingernail, others as big as a fist, some comparable to a face basin, or even a millstone. They possessed the ability to devour everything.
Devouring Divine Insects were extremely difficult to tame. Since Zhang Ruochen had collected the trunk of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, he had hardly used them. Now, with his cultivation greatly increased—having reached Saint King Great Perfection—and the new sapling of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree growing rapidly, he could finally control large swarms of Devouring Divine Insects. In this kind of group battle, the insects' role could be maximized.
"Ah..."
"Save me! The divine patterns on my body have been burned through!"
"Why has my hair turned white? Wrinkles have appeared on my hands!"
The cultivators of the Heavenly Realm Faction let out miserable screams. Some were young and beautiful, others handsome and heroic, but under the attack of the Time Imprints, they aged by thousands of years in an instant, their vitality drained, dying in despair. Other experts, attacked by the Devouring Divine Insects, had no time to dodge and burned to ashes.
"Whoosh."
Zhang Ruochen held the Abyssal Ancient Sword and walked straight forward. At this moment, he was like a peerless god of slaughter descending upon the world. Every time his sword struck, blood was drawn, mercilessly reaping the lives of the Heavenly Realm Faction's experts.
"Plop."
With one sword strike, Xu Tianjing, the new leader of the Sword God Realm, was decapitated. His eyes were wide open, filled with terror and unwillingness. The vitality of a Saint King was formidable, but Zhang Ruochen's sword directly extinguished all his life force, annihilating his sacred soul.
"Can't even block one sword, yet you dare to boast in front of me?"
Without a moment's pause, Zhang Ruochen's figure flickered, appearing before Wuxin Xiejun, the leader of the Huan Realm. Wuxin Xiejun was greatly alarmed, immediately raising the skull staff in his hand, releasing a massive amount of evil Qi, summoning over a dozen corpse puppets to block the way.
"Plop."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were indifferent. Using his sword soul to control the sword, he unleashed tens of thousands of sharp sword Qis, shredding the corpse puppets into pieces and erasing all the evil Qi.
"How could this be..."
Wuxin Xiejun stared intently at Zhang Ruochen, his forehead already pierced by the Abyssal Ancient Sword, leaving a wine-cup-sized bloody hole. The ultimate sword intent entered his body, instantly annihilating his sacred soul. At the moment of death, Wuxin Xiejun was filled with regret. If he had known this would happen, he would never have taken the initiative to attack Shengshu Cainü, nor would he have provoked Zhang Ruochen. Or rather, he should never have come to the Kunlun Realm battlefield. Zhang Ruochen was no mere Saint King; he was more terrifying than many Great Saints.
"Roar."
With a earth-shaking roar, Xie Ling carried A Le into the clouds, joining the battle.
"Plop."
Heads flew up one after another, sacred blood splattering everywhere.
"Fifteen."
"Sixteen."
"Seventeen."
A Le's expression was blank as he thrust his sword out again and again, each strike killing one person. He felt no pity for the experts of the Heavenly Realm Faction.
"Your turn."
With a flash, Zhang Ruochen appeared before Archangel Michael. The rules and sacred Qi of heaven and earth converged wildly, forming a cross-shaped sword light that slashed straight at Archangel Michael. Archangel Michael's pupils contracted sharply. He quickly offered a sacred shield to block, not daring to face Zhang Ruochen head-on. His strength was actually quite formidable, only slightly weaker than Yin Yuanchen, roughly possessing sixty percent of Yan Wushen's evil body's power. With such cultivation, he could almost dominate below the Great Saint level and kill even the weakest Immortal Great Saints without much effort. But facing Zhang Ruochen, Archangel Michael had no confidence. Watching Zhang Ruochen cross the Sea of Truth, he had already seen the gap between them, and his confidence was nearly shattered.
The sacred shield emitted dazzling holy light, its surface interwoven with countless Light Rules, possessing astonishing defensive power.
"Bang."
The sacred shield, struck by the cross-shaped sword light, dimmed. A powerful force passed through the shield, hitting Archangel Michael and sending him flying. He crashed heavily into the Origin Beginning Divine Temple, a cross-shaped wound on his chest, sacred blood gushing out.
"Pfft."
Archangel Michael spat out a large mouthful of blood, a look of shock in his eyes. He knew Zhang Ruochen was strong, but not this strong. To possess such terrifying power at the Saint King realm was unimaginable.
Turning his gaze, Zhang Ruochen looked into the Origin Beginning Divine Temple, a strange light flashing in his eyes. Inside the temple, someone was suppressing the Blood Drop Sword. That person spread his arms, releasing dozens of strange chains that enveloped the Blood Drop Sword, gradually binding it, clearly trying to forcibly collect it.
"Clang! Clang! Clang..."
The Blood Drop Sword trembled incessantly but could not break free.
Zhang Ruochen knew very well how powerful the Blood Drop Sword was. It possessed over eighty percent of Yan Wushen's evil body's strength, surpassing even Yin Yuanchen. Coupled with the Blood Drop Sword's unique nature, even Yan Wushen's evil body would find it hard to suppress, let alone collect it.
"Another Fallen Realm cultivator... and one who fell from the Hundred Shackles realm," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself. Compared to the Immortal realm Fallen Realm cultivator Tian Ling, whom he had killed, this person was undoubtedly much stronger. Having fallen from the Hundred Shackles realm, he must still possess various means of that level. An Immortal realm Great Saint and a Hundred Shackles realm Great Saint were as different as heaven and earth, not comparable. This person seemed shrouded in a layer of mist, making it hard even for Zhang Ruochen's Truth Eye to see through.
Zhang Ruochen naturally wouldn't watch the Blood Drop Sword be taken. He grabbed the sword hilt with both hands and swung the Abyssal Ancient Sword, unleashing a peerless sharpness.
"Crack."
All the chains binding the Blood Drop Sword were severed in an instant. Taking the opportunity, the Blood Drop Sword broke free, turning into a flash of blood light and flying to Zhang Ruochen's side.
"Zhang Ruochen, you're asking for death."
The Hundred Shackles Fallen Realm cultivator was furious, his body radiating terrifying killing intent. If not for Zhang Ruochen's interference, he would have collected the Blood Drop Sword soon. Taking Empress Chi Yao's divine war sword would make him famous across all realms. He could also trade it with a god for a peerless sacred pill that would allow him to return to the Great Saint realm.
"Buzz."
At that moment, the clouds in the sky parted, revealing two magnificent sacred halls. Both halls were towering, like two stars suspended in the sky, each suppressing one direction. A powerful Time force and a powerful Space force were released from the two halls, enveloping the oasis below. Immediately, the Sundial's power was suppressed, all the light spots vanishing, returning to calm. The Devouring Divine Insects were also trapped by the Space force, as if stuck in a muddy swamp, unable to move.
Zhang Ruochen looked up at the two halls, faintly seeing dozens of experts sitting inside each, releasing countless Time Rules and Space Rules, activating the immense power contained in the halls to suppress heaven and earth.
"The Time Divine Temple and the Space Divine Temple have finally truly intervened. It seems the Heavenly Realm Faction had long prepared means to deal with me," Zhang Ruochen thought, a terrifying cold light flashing in his eyes. Although he had some grudges with the Space Divine Temple, they hadn't sent too powerful experts to deal with him before. As for the Time Divine Temple, he had never had any contact with them, let alone enmity. However, Zhang Ruochen understood that the reason the two divine temples targeted him was definitely related to Xumi Saint Monk and his identity as the Heir of Time and Space. In the Middle Ages, Xumi Saint Monk was too dazzling, advancing extremely far in the Way of Time and the Way of Space, surpassing both divine temples, causing them great shame. After Xumi Saint Monk fell, the two divine temples had been searching for his Nirvana site, hoping to obtain his legacy. But they found nothing. Now, they had turned their attention to Zhang Ruochen. They were determined to obtain the *Space-Time Secret Scripture*.
He could clearly sense that the space of the Heavenly Lake had been completely sealed, and time had been isolated. This meant that within this space, he could not use Time or Space techniques.
Zhang Ruochen, carrying the Blood Drop Sword, temporarily retreated to the top of Xie Ling, putting away the Devouring Divine Insects and the Sundial. Clearly, the two halls were trump cards the Heavenly Realm Faction had prepared long ago to deal with him. But they probably hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen to strike so suddenly, catching the experts in the halls off guard, and activating the halls also took time. In that brief gap, nearly a hundred experts of the Heavenly Realm Faction had lost their lives, including top-tier Nine-Step Saint Kings and leaders like Wuxin Xiejun and Xu Tianjing. The casualties were severe.
Sacred blood stained the Purple Star Palace red. The air was thick with the smell of blood. Because the blood of Saint Kings contained immense energy, it turned into flames upon hitting the ground, burning fiercely.
The remaining cultivators of the Heavenly Realm Faction all had gloomy expressions. Such an outcome was completely unexpected.
The Hundred Shackles Fallen Realm cultivator walked out of the Origin Beginning Divine Temple, his murderous gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen. Archangel Michael, dragging his injured body, stepped forward, his eyes icy.
"Whoosh."
A large group of experts rushed into the clouds without hindrance, directly entering the Heavenly Lake Oasis. After a brief delay, Yin Yuanchen and the others finally caught up, sealing off all escape routes. Thus, the experts of the Heavenly Realm Faction formed a pincer attack on Zhang Ruochen, A Le, and the Blood Drop Sword.
Inside the divine temple, the imperial court experts were stunned. Many were extremely excited, as if seeing a ray of light in the abyss. Of course, many also frowned. Even though Zhang Ruochen had slaughtered many Heavenly Realm Faction experts, they couldn't be optimistic. They knew the Heavenly Realm Faction's methods were far from exhausted. Especially now that the experts of the Time Divine Temple and Space Divine Temple had acted, sealing time and space, Zhang Ruochen's strength would be greatly reduced. How could he continue to fight the Heavenly Realm Faction?
"Lord Chen is mighty! Kill all those scum from the Heavenly Realm Faction, don't let a single one escape!" the Devouring Elephant Rabbit shouted excitedly.
As it shouted, the Devouring Elephant Rabbit opened its huge dragon mouth and swallowed Fangze King's two halves into its belly. A top-tier expert close to the level of the strongest below the Great Saint, the flesh and blood contained vast essence, a great tonic not to be wasted. At the same time, the Devouring Elephant Rabbit also collected Fangze King's sacred stele, using its spiritual power to forcibly suppress it and take the spoils. It was very proactive, not at all polite with Zhang Ruochen. In such a oppressive environment, only it was so carefree, as if it hadn't realized how dangerous the situation had become.