Chapter 2187: An Era's Clash
Within the Azure Rainbow Pavilion, deep within the bamboo forest lay a vast peach grove. It was now the season of blooming peach blossoms. Every peach tree was covered in pink and white flowers, breathtakingly beautiful, like a dreamscape.
"Boom!"
"Rumble!"
...
The Bookworm and Baichi stood drenched in blood outside the peach grove, desperately resisting the attacks of the Hell Realm's powerful warriors, preventing them from stepping into the grove.
Both of them possessed extremely formidable strength. Placed among the myriad realms of the heavens, they were among the most top-tier experts of the Saint King Realm. Baichi, in particular, could almost compare to Yan Wushen when he had first fused his good and evil avatars.
If not for Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen, he would have been enough to become the protagonist of this era.
However, two fists are no match for four hands. Facing the siege of dozens of the Hell Realm's most top-tier experts, no matter how strong they were, it was difficult to hold out.
Fortunately, within the Azure Rainbow Pavilion, there were many arrangements set up by Master Fangcun. The Bookworm and Baichi fought while retreating, barely managing to hold on until now.
Otherwise, the two of them would have long been beaten to divine form annihilation.
During this process, the Bookworm and Baichi severely wounded three Hell Realm experts, nearly causing Lan Xuezi of the Ghost Clan to meet his end.
The "Confucian Ancestor Sacred Scripture" radiated brilliant sacred light. Tens of thousands of characters flew out from it, transforming into a sky full of stars, swirling around the Bookworm and Baichi, blocking most of the attacks.
This "Confucian Ancestor Sacred Scripture" was not the one held by Shengshu Cainü. It was personally written by the teacher of the Bookworm and Baichi.
Among the four Confucian Ancestors of the Confucian Path, each had left behind a "Confucian Ancestor Sacred Scripture." They were both supreme treasures and contained the unparalleled inheritance of the Confucian Path.
These four "Confucian Ancestor Sacred Scriptures" were the crystallization of the four Confucian Ancestors' hearts and minds, condensing infinite wisdom. They could be said to be the very foundation of the Confucian Path's heritage.
As long as the "Confucian Ancestor Sacred Scripture" existed, the Confucian Path would not be severed.
As direct disciples of the Confucian Ancestor, the Bookworm and Baichi were more familiar with this scripture written by their teacher than anyone else. Naturally, they could unleash far greater power from it.
"You two scholars are quite tenacious. The destruction of the Kunlun Realm is already a foregone conclusion. No matter how much you struggle, you cannot change anything. You both have the potential to become gods. Dying here would be a pity. The Hell Realm is your best destination." Yan Wushen said.
"Cough, cough."
The Bookworm coughed violently several times, his body staggering, nearly falling to the ground.
His body was covered in cracks, and the sacred blood within him was almost completely drained. He was severely injured, relying entirely on his strong willpower to hold on.
The Bookworm steadied himself and said, "The Confucian Ancestor once said: 'When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a man, it must first torment his mind and will, exhaust his muscles and bones, starve his body, leave him destitute, and disrupt his actions. Thus, it stirs his mind, strengthens his nature, and increases his capabilities.'"
"If I lose the faith I hold firm in my heart, even if I live, I would be like a walking corpse. That is not what I desire."
Hearing these words, many of the Hell Realm experts couldn't help but frown deeply. From the moment they entered the Azure Rainbow Pavilion, the Bookworm had been spouting all sorts of messy principles, endlessly chattering. It was truly annoying.
Only Yan Wushen felt a sense of appreciation for his talent. The others all wished they could slap him to death.
Lan Xuezi's eyes flickered with a cold light. "Scholar, since you're so eager to die, I'll grant your wish. Soon, I will devour your sacred soul alive."
"His sacred soul is surely filled with blazing righteous qi. Lan Xuezi, I'm afraid you won't be able to stomach it. It's better to leave it to me," a Nether Clan expert with deathly gray wings laughed loudly.
Lan Xuezi's gaze turned gloomy as he looked at the Nether Clan expert who had spoken. "Nether Demon, stop with the sarcastic remarks. If you had been hit by that attack, your situation wouldn't be any better than mine."
"Don't lump me together with a useless person like you. My Evil Nether War Body is not something that mere righteous qi can harm," Nether Demon said arrogantly.
Nether Demon hailed from the Nether Clan and was a genius cultivated by the Nether God Temple, also known as the Nether Hall. He cultivated one of the Nether Clan's five great heavenly paths, the Evil Nether Heavenly Path, and possessed extremely formidable strength.
In terms of strength, Nether Demon was slightly superior to Nether Yao and Nether Buddha. Therefore, in this operation, Nether Demon was the leading figure of the Nether Clan.
Seeing that Lan Xuezi wanted to say something more, a Shura Clan expert interjected, "Stop arguing first. After we deal with them, you can do whatever you want. The space teleportation array set up by the bald monk Fangcun is deep within the peach grove. Break through quickly and complete the task assigned by the gods."
The speaker had four eyes and four arms. Countless time imprints danced faintly around him, causing the flow of time in the area he occupied to become different.
He was none other than Wan Xin, the one who had once sent the Yin-Yang Two-Life Flower to Yan Wushen. He was the personal disciple of Xiu Chen Heavenly God, a time controller who cultivated the Way of Time. He was also nurtured by the Shura Divine Temple. Although he was extremely low-key and not well-known, no one dared to underestimate him.
If not for Zhang Ruochen's physical body, Wan Xin would never have come to the Kunlun Realm, let alone participated in this operation.
Yan Wushen glanced at Wan Xin and said, "Attack with full force. Delay brings change."
As he spoke, Yan Wushen condensed all the power of his Nine Zhang Six Golden Body onto his fist gloves, which were of the Supreme Sacred Artifact level, and unleashed an overbearing fist technique.
Seeing this, the other Hell Realm experts did not hesitate. They all attacked, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent in such a major matter.
The Bookworm and Baichi wore serious expressions. They summoned their full spirit and energy, releasing their spiritual power and sacred qi without reservation, activating the formations within the Azure Rainbow Pavilion to their limits.
The two of them clasped their hands together, their essence, qi, and spirit merging with the peach grove behind them.
"Rustle, rustle."
All the peach trees swayed slightly. Wisps of divine qi dissipated out, converging towards the Bookworm and Baichi.
This peach grove was originally derived from the Flat Peach Tree, naturally tainted with a small amount of divine power. Now, it was all being gathered by the Bookworm and Baichi.
It was the power of the Flat Peach Tree.
Though meager, it was divine power.
Part of the divine power merged into the bodies of the Bookworm and Baichi, helping to heal their injuries.
Most of the divine power merged into the formations, making the formation patterns more solid.
No matter how bad the situation was, the Bookworm and Baichi showed no sign of giving up.
...
On the other side, Zhang Ruochen led his group, controlling the sacred altar, rushing towards the Azure Rainbow Pavilion at top speed.
After arriving outside Bamboo Secluded Valley, the sacred altar stopped.
It wasn't that they didn't want to continue, but there was an invisible barrier ahead blocking the sacred altar.
"So it's a Realm-Sealing Talisman. No wonder no one noticed," Lu Baiming said, a strange light flashing in his eyes.
A Realm-Sealing Talisman could only be refined by the most top-tier talisman earth masters, or even talisman heavenly masters. It was said to be able to seal an entire realm, isolating it from the world and concealing all heavenly secrets, making it difficult even for gods to detect.
At the same time, the barrier constructed by the Realm-Sealing Talisman was extremely sturdy, making it very difficult to break through from the outside.
Without a doubt, the Hell Realm had dispatched a talisman earth master specifically to control the Realm-Sealing Talisman. Even a Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saint might not be able to break in.
Zhang Ruochen made a rough inspection and mused, "Such a strong seal, even surpassing the arrangements of the Heavenly Realm Faction in the Purple Micro Palace."
With this seal in place, even if someone discovered the anomaly in Bamboo Secluded Valley, they would be helpless.
"The Heavenly Realm Faction has already obtained my sacred blood. As soon as they break the formation in the Azure Rainbow Pavilion, they can activate the space teleportation array and lock onto the spatial coordinates of the Flat Peach Tree. We can't delay any longer," the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden said solemnly.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "Activate the sacred altar with full force and forcibly tear open the barrier."
At this stage, the best choice was to summon the Heavenly Court army and launch a joint attack. Breaking the Realm-Sealing Talisman shouldn't be too difficult.
But the situation was urgent, and Zhang Ruochen didn't have time to do that.
More importantly, the Heavenly Court army was divided into many factions and wasn't easy to mobilize.
At a time like this, it was better to rely on oneself than to ask others.
The power of the sacred altar was activated. The blood patterns revived, bursting forth with dazzling sacred light, striking towards Bamboo Secluded Valley.
"Boom."
The barrier enveloping Bamboo Secluded Valley faintly appeared, rippling like water, but it was not broken.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze solidified. The sturdiness of the Realm-Sealing Talisman far exceeded his expectations.
"I'll go borrow a treasure that can break the Realm-Sealing Talisman."
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden's heart was anxious. She transformed into a beam of sacred light and sped away into the distance.
Looking at the direction the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden had left, Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but ponder, vaguely guessing what treasure she intended to borrow.
Collecting his thoughts, Zhang Ruochen said, "Continue attacking."
The sooner they broke into the Azure Rainbow Pavilion, the greater the hope of preserving the Flat Peach Tree.
Once the spatial coordinates of the Flat Peach Tree were locked, even if the gods of the Heavenly Court intervened, the Hell Realm might still have a way to cut down the Flat Peach Tree in an instant.
If it came to that, no amount of effort would make a difference.
On a mountain peak not far from Bamboo Secluded Valley, two figures stood, both now looking towards the sacred altar.
They were the two black-robed men who had delivered the sacred blood to the Hell Realm experts earlier.
"Why is Zhang Ruochen here? Has something gone wrong at the Purple Micro Palace?" one of the black-robed men said in a trembling voice.
Almost all the elites of the Heavenly Realm Faction were gathered at the Purple Micro Palace. If something really went wrong, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The other black-robed man said, "Let's get out of here quickly."
Wherever Zhang Ruochen was, they didn't want to stay for a moment.
However, just as they were about to leave, they found the space around them becoming frozen.
"Not good."
Both of their hearts shook, realizing something was wrong.
"Hua."
A silver book appeared out of thin air. As it flipped, dozens of multi-layered spaces manifested, enveloping the two of them.
One of the black-robed men acted decisively. He took out a silver-glowing talisman and threw it out.
Countless space inscriptions emerged from the talisman, releasing extremely terrifying space power, trying to forcibly tear apart the multi-layered spaces.
The other black-robed man took out a fragmentary formation diagram and struck out hundreds of formation seals in a row, fully activating it.
"Boom."
The multi-layered spaces shook, a large number of cracks appearing, but they never collapsed.
The next moment, the silver book closed, and the two black-robed men disappeared along with the multi-layered spaces.
On the sacred altar, Zhang Ruochen reached out and grabbed the "Space-Time Secret Scripture," pulling it into his hand.
His perception was extremely sharp. Even though the two black-robed men had deliberately restrained their aura, he still detected them instantly and saw through their identities at the first moment.
Opening the Space-Time Secret Scripture, two figures appeared on one of the pages, struggling desperately but unable to move at all.
Zhang Ruochen used a little technique, and the two black-robed men revealed their true appearances.
One of them, Zhang Ruochen was very familiar with. It was the leading figure of the Formation Destruction Palace, Zhou Zhen.
The other appeared very young, in his early twenties, with handsome features and silver hair. His eyes were very distinctive, pitch black, with no whites visible.
"Leader of the Space Divine Temple, Shentu Yun Kong."
A sharp light flashed in Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
Shentu Yun Kong was the most outstanding genius cultivated by the Space Divine Temple in the last ten thousand years. His space talent was exceptional, and it was rumored that he had the potential to cultivate the Way of Space to the Great Perfection realm.
Unexpectedly, Shentu Yun Kong had also come to the Kunlun Realm.
What slightly surprised Zhang Ruochen was that Shentu Yun Kong was not in that Space Sacred Hall but was instead observing something outside Bamboo Secluded Valley.
At this special point in time, Shentu Yun Kong and Zhou Zhen appearing together outside Bamboo Secluded Valley was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
Zhang Ruochen reached out and grabbed. The items belonging to Shentu Yun Kong and Zhou Zhen immediately flew out from the "Space-Time Secret Scripture."
"Oh?"
Zhang Ruochen's gaze locked onto one of the space exquisite balls.
Inside, two people were imprisoned, both covered in blood, tortured beyond recognition.
"Wang Shiqi, Sui Han."
Using space techniques, Zhang Ruochen released the two of them.
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Ruochen took out the Spring of Life and injected it into their bodies.
Being able to save their lives, compared to those Confucian cultivators who died in Lianzhu Mansion, Wang Shiqi and Sui Han were undoubtedly very lucky.
Zhang Ruochen carefully searched through the items of Shentu Yun Kong and Zhou Zhen but did not find the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden's sacred blood. This made his heart sink slightly.
Without a doubt, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden's sacred blood had probably fallen into the hands of the Hell Realm experts. The Flat Peach Tree was in imminent danger.
"Break the Realm-Sealing Talisman at all costs," Zhang Ruochen ordered in a deep voice.
He had no time now to interrogate Shentu Yun Kong and Zhou Zhen. Entering the Azure Rainbow Pavilion was the most important thing.
"Someone is attacking from outside."
Suddenly, a Hell Realm expert sensed something.
The next moment, the Blood Wing Great Prince of the Rakshasa Clan said in a deep voice, "It's Zhang Ruochen. He actually managed to break through the encirclement of the Heavenly Realm Faction."
"Boom."
Just then, an even greater commotion occurred.
The barrier constructed by the Realm-Sealing Talisman was forcibly torn open a gap.
Zhang Ruochen used space techniques, wrapping the sacred altar at the fastest speed and charging in.
The barrier had an astonishing self-repairing ability. In the blink of an eye, the torn gap disappeared without a trace.
Zhang Ruochen paid no attention to this. He controlled the sacred altar and charged straight into Bamboo Secluded Valley.
Soon, the space ahead opened up, and the heaven and earth rules became noticeably more active.
This was originally a world with extremely beautiful scenery, but now it had become dilapidated, with vitality almost extinguished, turning into a wasteland.
Zhang Ruochen had been to the Azure Rainbow Pavilion before, but unfortunately, his cultivation level was too low back then, and he had never discovered the secret of this place. He didn't expect there to be such a vast world hidden within.
The sacred altar traveled all the way and finally arrived in front of the peach grove.
"Finally, someone has come. Heaven does not wish to destroy the Kunlun Realm," the Bookworm said, a hint of joy appearing on his face.
Baichi's gaze locked onto Zhang Ruochen. "Another freak who has cultivated to the Great Perfection. What a terrifying era."
One Yan Wushen was already surprising enough. Now, another Zhang Ruochen had appeared.
He had been asleep for too long. This world had become incomprehensible to him.
Yan Wushen walked out from the crowd, stepping through the air, his gaze fixed directly on Zhang Ruochen. He said in a clear voice, "Zhang Ruochen, I am very glad you did not die at the hands of the Heavenly Realm Faction. Now, we can continue the battle we left unfinished last time."
As he spoke, Yan Wushen's battle intent began to rise step by step. The sacred qi and rules in this world frantically surged towards him.
Zhang Ruochen could clearly perceive that Yan Wushen had undergone a great change. He had obviously completely fused his good and evil avatars, achieving a true peak state.
Compared to when he had first fused his good and evil avatars, Yan Wushen's strength had increased dramatically.
Seeing such a powerful Yan Wushen, Zhang Ruochen's battle intent also rose step by step.
With his current strength, below the Great Saint realm, only Yan Wushen could be his opponent. In this era, perhaps only the two of them had cultivated to the Great Perfection of the Saint King Realm.
Gazing at Zhang Ruochen for a moment, Yan Wushen said, "So you have also cultivated to the Great Perfection of the Saint King Realm. Good, very good. Only then can we fight to our heart's content."
He was not at all worried about Zhang Ruochen becoming stronger. On the contrary, he was afraid that Zhang Ruochen would be too weak.
If defeating Zhang Ruochen was too easy, it would be very boring.
Invincibility is too lonely. Yan Wushen had roamed the Merit Battlefield for hundreds of years without an opponent. He had finally waited for Zhang Ruochen's emergence.
He had been looking forward to this battle for too long.
Hearing Yan Wushen's words, the Hell Realm cultivators present were all shocked.
A peerless genius like Yan Wushen, who was rarely born even once in an epoch, had spent hundreds of years walking an extremely dangerous path to barely succeed. How long had Zhang Ruochen been cultivating? Why could he also succeed?
Such a growth rate was too unimaginable.
Except for Yan Wushen, almost no one present could see through Zhang Ruochen's depth. They only felt that he was unfathomable.
In their eyes, even a Great Saint who had just entered the Hundred Shackles Realm might not be able to defeat Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen.
Only Wan Xin's eyes shone with a sharp light. He thought to himself, "An extreme Five Elements Chaos Body, the Great Perfection of the Saint King Realm. It is also rumored that he is like a being not within the Five Elements, having cultivated multiple sacred avatars. What a perfect physical body."
Such a rare physical body, unseen for ten thousand years, would surely be especially liked by his master.
After all, even Xiu Chen Heavenly God, when he was at the Saint King Realm, had never reached Zhang Ruochen's current realm.
If he could seize Zhang Ruochen's physical body, Xiu Chen Heavenly God's strength would surely become even greater in a short time.
And at that time, as the disciple of Xiu Chen Heavenly God, his own status within the Shura Clan would certainly rise accordingly.