Chapter 2184: Moon God's Perception
Inside the Yuanchu Divine Temple, all the strong ones of the imperial court fixed their gazes on Zhang Ruochen, their eyes brimming with excitement and even reverence.
In their eyes, Zhang Ruochen descended like a peerless war god, standing tall and imposing, his image exceedingly majestic.
After injecting a large amount of Life Spring into Shengshu Cainü's body, Zhang Ruochen came to Chi Kongle's side.
Seeing Chi Kongle's frail appearance, Zhang Ruochen's heart ached with pain, and the killing intent within him grew even stronger. The Heavenly Realm Faction must pay the price for this.
"Father."
Chi Kongle's eyes glistened with tears, and she called out in a sobbing voice.
While injecting Life Spring into Chi Kongle's body, Zhang Ruochen said, "Don't worry, don't be afraid. Father won't let anyone who wants to harm you get away with it."
"I'm not afraid." Chi Kongle shook her head.
Nourished by the Life Spring, the life essence Chi Kongle had lost was quickly replenished, and her graying hair returned to a dark black.
Protected by the Demon Ape, Chi Kongle hadn't actually suffered much injury; it was merely the burning of her life force and sacred blood that had left her exceptionally weak.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze swept over the other cultivators present.
Although he held no favorable view of the First Central Empire's imperial court, these people had fought desperately against the Heavenly Realm Faction's strong ones earlier, displaying a backbone and integrity that he admired.
As long as there were more people like this, the Kunlun Realm still had hope.
"Whoosh—"
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Ruochen produced a large amount of Life Spring, transforming it into sweet rain that merged into the bodies of the white-haired cultivators.
The eyes of some imperial court strong ones grew very complex, filled with shame, bitterness, and grief.
Once, like Grand Chancellor Wang Shiqi, they had seen Zhang Ruochen as a great threat, a rebel, a traitor, and had strongly urged Empress Chi Yao to eliminate him.
Later, when Zhang Ruochen left the Kunlun Realm, many regarded him as a deserter.
Yet now, Zhang Ruochen came to save them without holding grudges. Such breadth of mind left them deeply ashamed.
While Zhang Ruochen was saving the imperial court's strong ones, the Heavenly Realm Faction's forces were already in chaos.
The Sacred Altar hung like a blazing sun above the Heavenly Lake, releasing vast sacred might, sealing heaven and earth, leaving no escape.
Archangel Michael, dragging his wounded body, quickly regrouped with the other strong ones, his expression turning grim and ugly.
Who could have predicted that the Kunlun Realm still had such a powerful trump card?
"Break the Sacred Altar." Archangel Michael's voice was deep.
Only by breaking the Sacred Altar's suppression over them could they regain the initiative.
The Heavenly Realm Faction's strong ones all understood this, so no one hesitated. They struck out together, beams of sacred light shooting up to bombard the Sacred Altar.
Sacred artifacts, sacred arts, talismans... all kinds of attacks converged into a torrent.
"Trying to break the Sacred Altar's seal? What wishful thinking." Han Qiu sneered coldly, her eyes both cruel and alluring.
The strong ones of the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion and a group of scattered saints struck simultaneously, pouring their power into the Sacred Altar.
"Whoosh—"
The Sacred Altar blazed with light, its sacred might growing even more vast. The patterns on its surface became clearly visible, interweaving into a heavenly net that covered heaven and earth.
Numerous terrifying sacred thunders burst forth from the Sacred Altar, each capable of destroying heaven and earth.
"Boom."
The attacks launched by the Heavenly Realm Faction's saints were blocked by the sacred thunders, dissipating into nothingness. Many sacred artifacts shattered into pieces.
The destructive impact continued to press downward.
The entire heaven and earth trembled.
Archangel Michael's face changed drastically as he roared, "Defend."
The top-tier Saint King realm experts all activated their defensive measures—some triggered divine patterns on their skin, some used Monarch Sacred Artifacts to protect themselves, and others stuck talismans on their bodies.
"Bang."
"Pfft."
Some cultivators' defensive talismans shattered, and they screamed in agony as their bodies cracked like ceramics, turning into crystalline red fragments.
Although the Heavenly Realm Faction's strong ones tried their utmost to resist, some still succumbed to the impact, perishing on the spot.
The power of the Sacred Altar was too terrifying.
The surviving cultivators of the Heavenly Realm Faction trembled with fear. The situation was worse than they had anticipated.
If they couldn't destroy the Sacred Altar, it meant not only losing their advantage but also falling into danger, unable to easily escape the Heavenly Lake.
With the suppression of the two sacred halls gone, Zhang Ruochen could freely wield his time and space techniques, his strength skyrocketing. Who could still restrain him?
If things went badly, they might all be annihilated here.
Subtly, their mindset began to shift.
"Tap, tap."
Footsteps sounded.
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the Yuanchu Divine Temple, stepping on stairs stained with sacred blood. The Abyssal Ancient Sword and the Blood-Dripping Sword circled around him, each emitting terrifying sword light, cutting black spatial rifts into the air.
Zhang Ruochen stood straight as a spear, towering like a mountain, his voice cold and sharp: "Before, when you came after me, I never hated you, because we each served our own masters. The conflicts and grudges left by our predecessors left you no choice, and me no choice. Life-and-death enmity was already fated."
"But going after my family and harming my friends—that crosses my bottom line. Blood must be repaid with blood. No one gets to escape. One word: die."
One word, one thunderclap.
Every word carried weight.
"Die!"
"Die!"
...
On the Sacred Altar, the members of the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion echoed the word, their momentum surging.
Summoned, most members of the Heavenly Pavilion and Earthly Pavilion had already gathered.
The Heavenly Pavilion was composed of human cultivators.
The Earthly Pavilion was made up of barbarian beasts.
Years ago, most members of both pavilions were still saints, but now they had all reached the Saint King realm.
However, the Heavenly Pavilion's deputy pavilion master, Patriarch Taiyi, and the two Golden Lion Beast Kings, who were the Earthly Pavilion's pavilion masters, were not on the Sacred Altar.
They were Great Saint realm experts and could not enter the Kunlun Realm.
The one controlling the Sacred Altar was the Heavenly Pavilion's pavilion master, Yan Liren.
Of course, this Yan Liren was merely a cocoon body.
Yan Liren's true body had already achieved Great Saint status in the Endless Abyss and could no longer appear on the Kunlun Realm merit battlefield under the patrol angel's surveillance.
Even as a cocoon body, Yan Liren's power was still formidable, placing him among the top tier below the Great Saint realm.
It had to be said, Xue Hou's methods were remarkable, truly turning decay into magic.
"Cooperate with the Crown Prince to kill all cultivators of the Heavenly Realm Faction. Leave none alive." Yan Liren said.
The Sacred Altar began to rotate, and then a series of attacks erupted.
Flames, lightning, storms... each attack was immensely powerful, enough to kill a Nine-Step Saint King.
Flames took human form, lightning became palace shapes, storms twisted like dragons and snakes.
"Roar."
An evil spirit surged out of the Heavenly Lake, opening its massive maw to swallow a nearby Heavenly Realm cultivator whole.
It had consumed large amounts of Life Spring, giving it formidable regenerative abilities.
A Le, holding an iron sword, appeared on the water's surface, water droplets dripping from his long hair. His eyes were cold as he charged into the midst of the Heavenly Realm Faction's cultivators.
He had indeed been severely wounded earlier, but a Life-Death Seal had already formed within him, making his life force tenacious, allowing life and death forces to transform into each other.
Life qi could turn into death qi.
Death qi could also turn into life qi.
Endless and unceasing.
Killing him now would be harder than killing a Hundred Shackles Great Saint.
"Come here."
Zhang Ruochen reached out a hand and grabbed at the void.
A very weak sacred soul flew out from the Heavenly Lake and landed in his hand.
This sacred soul belonged to Dongfang Qingyu. His physical body had been shattered by the Sacred Altar's impact, but his sacred soul had narrowly escaped. He had tried to hide in the Heavenly Lake, but Zhang Ruochen discovered him.
Dongfang Qingyu's sacred soul was extremely terrified, shrouded in the shadow of death.
"I am one of the Truth Divine Temple's ten divine disciples. You can't..." Dongfang Qingyu's voice trembled.
"There's nothing I can't do."
Before he could finish, Zhang Ruochen clenched his five fingers, crushing the sacred soul into fragments.
Killing Dongfang Qingyu, Zhang Ruochen felt Truth Esoterica enter his body.
As one of the Truth Divine Temple's ten divine disciples, Dongfang Qingyu was indeed talented in the Way of Truth, or he wouldn't have crossed the ninth sea realm.
He possessed nine ten-thousandths of the Truth Esoterica, a not insignificant amount.
After all, the total amount of Truth Esoterica was a constant "one." Even obtaining one ten-thousandth was extremely rare.
Although there were many strong ones from the Heavenly Realm Faction present, including leaders of major worlds, those who possessed Truth Esoterica could be counted on one hand.
Zhang Ruochen's Truth Esoterica had reached fifty-eight ten-thousandths, bringing him one step closer to becoming a Truth Envoy.
"Whoosh."
The Blood-Dripping Sword and the Abyssal Ancient Sword spun rapidly, sending out tens of thousands of sword qi that pierced through one Heavenly Realm Faction cultivator after another. No defense could stop them.
Perhaps they could block one sword qi, but with the second, third... striking the same spot, even divine patterns couldn't hold.
This time, the Heavenly Realm Faction had touched Zhang Ruochen's reverse scale, and only blood could repay it.
Did they really think Zhang Ruochen wouldn't dare to wipe out their generation?
Both were Nine-Step Saint Kings, but their strengths were worlds apart.
Facing Zhang Ruochen's side's assault, the Heavenly Realm Faction's cultivators were all in disarray, unable to mount an effective counterattack. Gradually, they lost their will to fight, wanting only to escape quickly.
"Soul Demon Lord, take this kick."
Zhang Ruochen's leg burst into flames, releasing a cloud of fire and erupting with divine might. He descended from above, stomping down on Soul Demon Lord.
Soul Demon Lord looked up to see a foot-shaped fire cloud pressing down.
He mobilized all his power, pressing his hands upward to unleash a high-rank sacred art of the palm type.
Realm-Connecting Palm.
"Boom."
The power of the Blazing God Leg clashed with the Realm-Connecting Palm.
The Great Saint bones in Soul Demon Lord's body emitted cracking sounds, as if they were about to be crushed. He roared inwardly, "Impossible, absolutely impossible. I am a Great Saint, a Hundred Shackles Great Saint. How could I lose to a Saint King?"
"Boom."
Zhang Ruochen stomped down a second time, countless divine patterns interweaving on his leg.
When the third foot landed, Soul Demon Lord's Realm-Connecting Palm was shattered. The divine force from above forced him to one knee, gritting his teeth to hold on.
"A Great Saint who broke his shackles and fell in realm—quite durable."
Zhang Ruochen took out the Space-Time Secret Scripture, opened a page, and traced his finger across it like plucking a zither string. Each stroke sent out a time power that slashed onto Soul Demon Lord.
One time slash cut away five hundred years of lifespan.
After just three slashes, Soul Demon Lord rapidly aged. He quickly burned his sacred blood, broke free from the Blazing God Leg's suppression, and fled.
"Impressive. Cut away fifteen hundred years of lifespan, and he still escaped." Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised.
By now, the Heavenly Realm Faction had suffered heavy casualties. Saint King corpses lay everywhere, sacred blood flowing in streams, staining the Heavenly Lake oasis red.
"Demon... great demon... Zhang Ruochen... you're not human, you're a demon..."
A beautiful female angel, her voice trembling, staggered backward.
Her azure eyes were filled with terror.
Zhang Ruochen walked toward her step by step, showing no mercy. He said coldly, "Demon? What you did in the Kunlun Realm—wasn't that demonic behavior? You call me a demon? Fine. I am a demon now, a great demon. I'll take that title."
The Abyssal Ancient Sword swung out, slicing across the female angel's body. A blood line appeared on her holy, delicate face, and her graceful figure split in two, her beauty fading.
"Why can't we kill Zhang Ruochen?" Yin Yuanchen's eyes were bloodshot.
He had finally gotten a chance to prove himself, but he never expected such an outcome.
Zhang Ruochen was too powerful. Even if Yin Yuanchen's strength doubled, he still wouldn't be able to do anything.
"We can't wait any longer. Even if we're punished, we have to do this."
Seeing no way out, Archangel Michael gritted his teeth and flipped his hand to produce a small, unremarkable yellow gourd, no bigger than a palm.
Activated by sacred qi, the yellow gourd flew into the air, emitting a terrifying destructive aura.
Zhang Ruochen's expression tightened. He quickly threw out a Monarch Sacred Artifact he had seized from the battlefield, placing it in front of him, then used Space Displacement to dodge away.
"Boom."
The yellow gourd exploded, releasing destructive power.
The Monarch Sacred Artifact instantly turned to dust.
At the same time, a large area of space shattered, creating a ten-foot-wide spatial hole, pitch black. On the other side of the hole was the Void World.
"Close call. Michael still had that trump card. No, it doesn't seem like it was meant for me." Zhang Ruochen squinted, glancing at the surviving Heavenly Realm Faction members.
Michael glared at Zhang Ruochen with hatred and roared, "Go! Escape into the Void World."
Without a moment's hesitation, the remaining hundred-plus strong ones of the Heavenly Realm Faction rushed toward the spatial hole at top speed.
"Are the Saint Kings of the Heavenly Realm Faction crazy? Don't they know entering the Void World is a death sentence?" Han Qiu laughed lightly from the Sacred Altar.
The Void World was extremely dangerous, capable of swallowing everything. Even gods couldn't stay there too long.
Zhang Ruochen frowned, thinking quickly, then used the Space-Time Secret Scripture to protect himself as he pursued.
"You can't escape."
Mobilizing space rules and sword dao rules, he converged them into the Abyssal Ancient Sword and slashed out.
Countless crystalline flower buds appeared, surrounding the fleeing Heavenly Realm Faction Saint Kings.
With a thought from Zhang Ruochen, all the flower buds bloomed simultaneously, breathtakingly beautiful.
Countless sword qi, fused with space power, burst forth, filling the Void World.
"Bang."
Their bodies exploded, cut into pieces by the sword qi.
"No."
Soul Demon Lord looked back and saw Zhang Ruochen charging toward him, letting out a desperate roar.
He was already heavily injured, and with bad luck, entering the Void World exposed him to void erosion. Now, Zhang Ruochen caught up and pierced through his back with a sword.
His formidable physical body disintegrated instantly, turning into nothingness.
This Hundred Shackles fallen-realm expert ultimately failed to dominate the merit battlefield and ended up with no corpse left.
Entering the Void World, Zhang Ruochen had an even greater advantage. In the blink of an eye, more than half of the Heavenly Realm Faction's Saint King cultivators were slain.
Archangel Michael was in a terrible state. His body was gone, leaving only his head still flying.
Although Yin Yuanchen was eroded by void force, protected by a divine corpse, he could still hold on for now. But seeing Zhang Ruochen descending toward him, his expression turned extremely grim.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to strike him down, a sudden, hair-raising sensation arose.
He looked up...
A divine light tore through the dark, deep Void World, flying straight toward him like a meteor.
"That's... a god's power. A god is hiding in the Void World near the Kunlun Realm, trying to kill me. How is this possible? Which faction's god is it?"
A god's power was invincible.
Zhang Ruochen's face changed repeatedly. He quickly took out the Divine Envoy Staff granted by the Moon God and held it in front of him.
"Whoosh—"
Struck by that divine light, the Divine Envoy Staff was activated, piercing through space and the rules of heaven and earth, connecting to the Moon God Mountain in the Heavenly Court realm, borrowing the Moon God's power.
A powerful divine force erupted from the Divine Envoy Staff, shattering the divine light.
"This is bad. A god wouldn't coincidentally enter the Void World at this moment. That means the god was already waiting in the Void World."
"Taking such a risk, their goal must be significant."
Zhang Ruochen dared not linger. The Divine Envoy Staff could only borrow a tiny fraction of the Moon God's power. Who knew how powerful the god hiding in the Void World was?
If the Divine Envoy Staff couldn't hold, he would die here.
Zhang Ruochen immediately retreated from the Void World at top speed.
He glanced back. The surviving Heavenly Realm Faction members had vanished from sight. In his field of vision, he spotted an ancient stone bridge spanning the Void World.
"Is that the Void Chaos Bridge?" Zhang Ruochen's shock deepened.
The so-called "Void Chaos Bridge" was a kind of bridge that could exist in the Void World, connecting two different spatial coordinates. It was even more secretive than a Space Teleportation Array, and even gods would find it hard to detect.
However, building a Void Chaos Bridge was extremely difficult, requiring vast amounts of precious materials. The longer the bridge's span, the more materials needed.
Even building a bridge one li long would consume resources enough to make gods wince.
"Why is there a Void Chaos Bridge? Where are the two spatial coordinates it connects? Is it related to the Peach Tree?" Zhang Ruochen's thoughts raced.
...
In the Void World.
A towering god spread open his palm, looking down at Yin Yuanchen and the others in his hand, his eyes full of fury.
"A bunch of useless trash. All plans, and you ruin them. Now the Moon God has surely sensed my aura, and everything will be exposed. What use are you?"
Hearing the god's reprimand, Yin Yuanchen and the others trembled in fear, not daring to utter a single word of rebuttal.
If they could speak, they would have said that Zhang Ruochen's strength couldn't be measured by Saint King standards—he was more terrifying than many Great Saints. How were they supposed to fight?
...
Heavenly Court realm, Purple Luo Heaven Domain.
Moon God Mountain.
The Moon God stood in the Guanghan Palace, leaning on the railing to gaze at the mountains and rivers below, contemplating the mysteries of heaven and earth. Her serene appearance was like a perfect painting.
Suddenly, she sensed something. Her willow-like brows furrowed slightly. "Why is there a god attacking Zhang Ruochen? It seems to be the aura of the Heavenly Realm's True God Xuan Yi."
"Why would that old fox be in the Void World near the Kunlun Realm?"
Zhang Ruochen wouldn't enter the Void World without reason, and the chance of encountering a god was minuscule.
Yet now, not only had he encountered a god, but he was also attacked. Something major must be happening.