Chapter 2191: The Final Moment
Seeing Zhang Ruochen charging over again, Shi Juexin, Ming Mo, and Yu Tian Guhuang did not hesitate. They immediately gathered more than a dozen powerful experts from the three clans and joined forces to intercept him.
Shi Juexin's body erupted with an extremely sharp and domineering blade intent. His spirit, energy, and soul merged with the war blade in his hand. He transformed himself into a blade, like a flash of light, slashing toward Zhang Ruochen.
An unparalleled blade radiance burst forth, indestructible. No matter how solid the space here was, it was forcibly cut apart.
Ming Mo, on the other hand, activated the Evil Underworld Heavenly Dao, urging an extremely ancient and powerful Underworld Artifact. It exuded a fierce evil aura. It was a huge eyeball, possessing the terrifying ability to seize and captivate souls.
As soon as the eyeball appeared, the entire world turned gray and hazy. A thick aura of death permeated the air, as if the Netherworld Hell had descended.
"Zhang Ruochen, accept your death."
Yu Tian Guhuang roared loudly and hurled the bone tower in his hand with all his might.
The bone tower grew with the wind, expanding to a thousand zhang in height. Its surface was covered with complex secret patterns, and streaks of jade light were released, enveloping Zhang Ruochen.
The jade light seemed beautiful but was actually extremely terrifying, capable of corroding bones and dissolving souls, refining all things into nothingness.
At the same time, other powerful experts from the Stone Clan, Underworld Clan, and Bone Clan also unleashed their strongest attacks—whether High-rank Sacred Arts, the Heavenly Dao of their respective clans, or powerful war weapons—all merging into a torrent.
"Who dares to stop me?"
Zhang Ruochen let out a great roar, possessing the momentum of "one man blocking the pass, ten thousand men unable to break through." He spread his hands, mobilizing Saint Qi like clouds, and simultaneously unleashed two Supreme Sacred Artifacts: the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror and the Annihilating Golden Sun.
The Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror possessed the power to suppress all things. Vast, ancient, and sacred mountain ranges materialized, crashing toward the three Bone Clan cultivators led by Yu Tian Guhuang.
The Annihilating Golden Sun, meanwhile, released an immensely vast and righteous Yang energy, specifically countering Yin and evil forces, clashing with the five Underworld Clan cultivators led by Ming Mo.
"Boom, rumble."
Zhang Ruochen, alone, fought against eight top-tier Saint King realm experts from two clans.
The majestic mountain phantom and the Annihilating Golden Sun, like a divine sun, pressed the eight experts back, making it difficult for them to resist.
The "Void Tower" unleashed by Yu Tian Guhuang and the "Soul-Devouring Divine Eye" unleashed by Ming Mo, both weapons comparable to Supreme Sacred Artifacts, were now being shaken and on the verge of collapse.
"This is too terrifying!"
"The power of the Annihilating Golden Sun is too scorching. I feel like my body is about to be refined and set ablaze. I can't hold on much longer!"
...
Since obtaining the Annihilating Golden Sun, Zhang Ruochen had rarely used it in battle. He kept it within his Divine Light Qi Sea, using it to regulate his Yang energy, which was hundreds of thousands of times greater than that of ordinary people, while also helping to refine his Saint Qi, Saint Soul, and Saint Body.
Of course, another function was to store Saint Qi for emergencies.
It was precisely for this reason that the Annihilating Golden Sun had now become extremely compatible with Zhang Ruochen, as if it had been custom-forged for him.
Although the Annihilating Golden Sun was only a newly refined Supreme Sacred Artifact, in Zhang Ruochen's hands, it could unleash astonishing power, not much inferior to the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror.
"Boom."
The eight Saint King realm experts from the Hell Realm were repelled by the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror and the Annihilating Golden Sun.
With the two Supreme Sacred Artifacts hovering above his head for protection, Zhang Ruochen opened the Space-Time Secret Scripture, turned to the page recording "Space Tide," mobilized all his Space Rules, and fully executed this spatial technique.
With the empowerment of the Space-Time Secret Scripture, the power of the Space Tide doubled.
The tidal force surged forward.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen, like a fish, placed himself within the Space Tide and advanced rapidly. Although this was dangerous, he had no choice, because any delay would allow Yan Wushen to catch up immediately.
He could not be entangled by Yan Wushen.
"Zhang Ruochen, what about me? Do you really think you can single-handedly contend with the top Saint King realm experts of three clans?"
Led by Shi Juexin, the Stone Clan experts' attacks briefly held back the Space Tide.
The Bone Clan and Underworld Clan cultivators regrouped and attacked again.
"Boom."
Zhang Ruochen's Space True Domain was pierced. A curse power landed on him. A Sacred Artifact unleashed by a Stone Clan cultivator pierced through his chest...
Zhang Ruochen gritted his teeth, forcibly broke through the blockade, and appeared before Shi Juexin. The Abyssal Ancient Sword flew out and stabbed in an instant.
"You... you actually..."
Shi Juexin's pupils contracted sharply. He wanted to dodge immediately, but it was too late.
He had to mobilize his power for full defense. Countless natural and complex secret patterns appeared on his body.
"Crack."
A clear breaking sound rang out. Distinct cracks appeared on Shi Juexin's chest.
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen passed through him. Shi Juexin's massive body shattered entirely, breaking into thousands of pieces of stone.
"How is this possible?"
Shi Juexin's head shattered last, his eyes wide open in disbelief.
The bodies of their Stone Clan were the hardest, known as indestructible. Shi Juexin was one of the best among them. Below the Great Saint realm, few could break through his defense.
As for shattering his stone body, it should have been impossible.
But now, his stone body had been shattered into pieces. This was the first time in his life.
Soon, Shi Juexin's shattered body reassembled, looking no different from before.
However, his aura had noticeably weakened, indicating he was seriously injured.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen had already broken through the blockade, appeared before the Space Teleportation Array, and shielded Shu Daizi and Bai Chi behind him.
Zhang Ruochen's breathing was heavy. The blood Qi in his body surged violently, like rolling waves, threatening to burst out of his body.
There was fresh blood at the corner of his mouth. He had paid a heavy price to force his way through.
"Hurry up and heal. I'll hold them off for a while," Zhang Ruochen said.
Bai Chi nodded. "Good."
"I, Shu Daizi, have never admired anyone, but I have to admire you, Zhang Ruochen. You are truly a hero," Shu Daizi said.
Immediately, the two calmed down and focused on healing.
A large amount of Life Spring had merged into their bodies, but they hadn't had a chance to fully utilize it.
After enduring for so long, they finally had a chance to catch their breath.
Yan Wushen, with the Death Heavenly Scripture above his head, stepped forward. His gaze locked onto Zhang Ruochen. He said in a deep voice, "Zhang Ruochen, since you care so much about the Peach Tree, I will first lock its spatial coordinates, then settle life and death with you."
As he spoke, Yan Wushen's body surged with vast Mixed Origin Hell Yama Qi, pouring it into the Death Heavenly Scripture, guiding out the Yama Divine Power contained within.
Immediately, an immensely majestic phantom of a Yama Clan deity materialized, lifelike, as if about to cross the River of Time and descend into the present.
With the power of the Death Heavenly Scripture, Yan Wushen once again executed the Yama Heavenly Dao. The power of the cycle of all things enveloped Zhang Ruochen, even covering the entire small world.
Yan Wushen perfectly merged with the deity phantom, their movements synchronized.
As Yan Wushen pressed down with one hand, the deity phantom's hand also pressed down. In the palm, a huge vortex appeared, with life and death profound light swirling within.
Seeing this, Shi Juexin and the others did not hesitate. They joined Yan Wushen in attacking.
Shi Juexin, in particular, looked as if he was about to fight to the death. He expended a large amount of essence Qi to summon a gray stone mountain.
This stone mountain was extremely vast, ten thousand zhang high, containing immense death power. As soon as it appeared, a suffocating aura of death rapidly spread.
Zhang Ruochen stood alone, facing more than a dozen Saint King realm experts from the Hell Realm. He looked up at the deity phantom manifested by the Death Heavenly Scripture and the ten-thousand-zhang stone mountain. His heart was calm, his eyes filled with the unwavering light of one ready to face death.
"Whoosh!"
He simultaneously activated the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror and the Annihilating Golden Sun while condensing his Space True Domain, River of Time, and Truth Realm Form, doing his utmost to defend.
"I must hold," Zhang Ruochen murmured.
At this moment, he had no retreat. Behind him was the hope of the Kunlun Realm, representing the fate of trillions of beings in the Kunlun Realm. It was worth protecting with his life.
Shu Daizi and Bai Chi also rallied again. Ignoring the severity of their injuries, they fully activated the formation of the Qinghong Pavilion and the Confucian Ancestor Sacred Scripture.
At a time like this, they could not let Zhang Ruochen bear the burden alone.
"Boom."
An extremely violent force engulfed Zhang Ruochen and the other two.
Yan Wushen and the others were not worried about damaging the Space Teleportation Array. After all, with Fangcun Dashi's spatial mastery, even a top-tier Great Saint would find it difficult to easily destroy this array.
In an instant, all of Zhang Ruochen's defenses were destroyed. However, they ultimately withstood this round of attacks.
Zhang Ruochen stood at the forefront, blocking most of the attacks for Shu Daizi and Bai Chi.
As a result, his injuries worsened, and he spat out a large mouthful of Saint Blood.
"Hurry up and find that damn Rune Dao Earth Master! Big Brother can't hold on much longer!" Xiang Chunan said anxiously, eager to rush up and fight alongside Zhang Ruochen.
Unfortunately, he was firmly held back by Feng Yan.
Feng Yan was also extremely anxious. Even if Zhang Ruochen was strong, he was now standing there like a target. How many rounds of attacks could he withstand?
Once Zhang Ruochen fell, their side would likely be close to total annihilation.
Qianxing Tiannü frowned deeply. It wasn't that she didn't want to find the Rune Dao Earth Master quickly, but the other party was hiding too well. She had used all her skills, but still had no clues for the time being.
"Struggling in vain. If you dare to interfere with the Hell Realm's great matter, you must be prepared to die. All of you, obediently hand over your Saint Souls and let me devour them," Lan Xuezi said with a cruel smile.
Blood Wing Great Prince snorted coldly, "No matter how you struggle, you cannot escape the fate of becoming my blood food."
Hearing this, Xiang Chunan and Feng Yan were enraged. If they weren't protecting Qianxing Tiannü, who was still searching for the Rune Dao Earth Master, they would have rushed over to join the battle against Lan Xuezi and Blood Wing Great Prince.
"Boom."
Suddenly, divine light streaked across the sky above the Qinghong Pavilion. A powerful force struck down, causing the world to tremble.
Feng Yan showed a joyful expression. "Someone outside is attacking, trying to break the Realm-Sealing Talisman. That force just now was very strong."
Just as that force struck the barrier of the Qinghong Pavilion, Qianxing Tiannü finally detected a clue. Her confidence surged.
If a few more strikes came, she would surely be able to flush out that Rune Dao Earth Master.
...
Outside the Qinghong Pavilion.
Cultivators filled both the sky and the ground.
Zhang Ruochen's earlier arrival on the Sacred Altar had caused a huge commotion. Coupled with the incident in the Ziyu Palace, all cultivators in the imperial city realized that something major was happening.
At the same time, news came from the Heavenly Court Realm, seemingly related to the life-and-death matter of the Kunlun Realm.
Although the specific situation inside the Qinghong Pavilion was unclear, many cultivators rushed over as quickly as possible.
The most active were naturally the Kunlun Realm cultivators.
Ever since the Central Imperial City was surrounded by tens of millions of Hell Realm Saint realm troops, Kunlun Realm Saint realm cultivators had been rushing in from all over.
Originally, Kunlun Realm cultivators in the imperial city lived under great oppression, bullied by cultivators from all realms of the Heavenly Court.
It was Zhang Ruochen who issued the sacred decree, allowing them to stand tall. Therefore, the vast majority of Kunlun Realm cultivators held immense respect for Zhang Ruochen.
That was why they came to the Qinghong Pavilion at this moment.
Although most of them had low cultivation levels, they came without hesitation, determined to do their part to protect the Kunlun Realm.
Among them was the master of the Tianle Palace, Chu Xiangyun.
Back then, he had cowered before the leader of the Sword God Realm, appearing cowardly and living without dignity.
But now, he walked with his head held high, his eyes firm, fearless.
It must be said that everything Zhang Ruochen had done had greatly influenced him, almost changing his life.
Unfortunately, the Qinghong Pavilion was shrouded by the Realm-Sealing Talisman. No matter how many cultivators gathered here, they could not break through and were all blocked outside.
"Whoosh."
A dazzling jade divine light streaked across the sky and descended outside the Qinghong Pavilion.
Inevitably, the gazes of all cultivators present were drawn to the jade divine light.
The true form of the jade divine light was a jade divine ruler, nine feet nine in length, covered with numerous fine markings. As soon as it appeared, it frantically absorbed the world's Saint Qi.
Beneath the jade divine ruler stood a graceful figure, shrouded in nine-colored holy light, stepping on the void, like an immortal descending to the mortal world.
She was none other than the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden, who had left earlier.
"This aura... it's the Imperial Emperor Divine Ruler."
A Kunlun Realm Saint King couldn't help but exclaim.
The Inscription Master Guild was completely open to the public. Any Saint King realm cultivator from the Kunlun Realm could go to the Imperial Emperor Divine Ruler to comprehend the Saint Dao. Therefore, quite a few people had come into contact with it.
However, no one expected that the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden could bring the Imperial Emperor Divine Ruler out of the Inscription Master Guild.
This was a true Divine Artifact, usually existing only in legends. As an Eternal Undying Great World, the Kunlun Realm had only produced ten such artifacts in billions of years.
"Mysterious Maiden, what exactly happened?" a Saint from the imperial court asked.
Now that things had come to this, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden naturally would not hide the truth. She said very seriously, "Powerful experts from the Hell Realm have entered the Qinghong Pavilion through the Void Chaos Bridge, intending to destroy the Heavenly Earth Spiritual Root of our Kunlun Realm."
Upon hearing this, the Kunlun Realm cultivators present were all shocked, and then they were all enraged.
"How can this be? We absolutely cannot let the Hell Realm's conspiracy succeed."
"That's right. Even if we have to fight to the death, we must stop the Hell Realm."
"The Kunlun Realm has finally given birth to a new Heavenly Earth Spiritual Root. It is our hope, more important than our lives."
"I may be weak, but I am not afraid to fight the Hell Realm. Mysterious Maiden, please lead us into the Qinghong Pavilion to protect the Heavenly Earth Spiritual Root and protect the Kunlun Realm."
...
The emotions of the Kunlun Realm cultivators were all running high, their blood boiling.
In the face of righteousness, they all put aside personal life and death.
"Then let us fight for the Kunlun Realm, live for the Kunlun Realm, and die for the Kunlun Realm," the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden said with firm eyes.
As she spoke, she mobilized her Saint Qi and Spiritual Power, fully activating the Imperial Emperor Divine Ruler.
Hundreds of millions of complex divine patterns emerged on the surface of the Imperial Emperor Divine Ruler, and vast divine power surged forth.
"Boom."
A brilliant ruler radiance burst forth, fiercely striking the barrier.
The barrier shook violently but was not broken.
It wasn't that the Imperial Emperor Divine Ruler was not powerful enough, but that the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden's strength was still far from sufficient.
Of course, another important reason was that there was no Artifact Spirit within the Imperial Emperor Divine Ruler. Otherwise, even a single strike would have the power to destroy heaven and earth.
Even without an Artifact Spirit, not just anyone could activate it.
There was an Artifact Spirit imprint within the Imperial Emperor Divine Ruler. Only by gaining its recognition could one temporarily gain control.
"Mysterious Maiden, we will help you."
The Kunlun Realm cultivators present all acted, channeling their power into the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden.
The holy light and divine radiance on the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden grew increasingly dazzling, like a sun hanging in the sky. She once again activated the Imperial Emperor Divine Ruler, unleashing an even more powerful attack.
With the Imperial Emperor Divine Ruler and the power of tens of thousands of Kunlun Realm cultivators, she refused to believe she couldn't break the seal of the Realm-Sealing Talisman.
Inside the Qinghong Pavilion.
After the Realm-Sealing Talisman was repeatedly attacked, Qianxing Tiannü finally caught the aura of that Rune Dao Earth Master.
Qianxing Tiannü wiped the fragrant sweat from her brow with her sleeve, the pressure on her body easing. Then, her shrewd and beautiful eyes took on a sharp edge. "Despicable fellow, making me spend so much time. Let's see how capable you really are."
"Origin Divine Mill."
She released all her Spiritual Power without reservation, transforming it into a rotating Spiritual Power millstone. Spiritual Power and Origin Power combined.
The Rune Dao Earth Master in charge of the Realm-Sealing Talisman was a gaunt Death Clan expert.
He sat cross-legged among a pile of rubble. Because his body was covered with talismans, the space around him had become semi-void. That was why even Qianxing Tiannü's Origin Divine Eye found it hard to see through.
Below the Great Saint realm, it was almost impossible for any living being to discover his traces.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, revealing a hint of surprise. "Hmm? Such a strong Spiritual Power attack, and... it's the power of Origin."
This Death Clan Rune Dao Earth Master did not dare to underestimate his opponent. He quickly released his Spiritual Power, constructing a shape-shifting defensive barrier, with thirty-six shield imprints flashing on the barrier.
Although Qianxing Tiannü was not yet a Rune Dao Earth Master, her Spiritual Power intensity was astonishing, not much weaker than that of the Death Clan Rune Dao Earth Master.
Coupled with the power of Origin, the power of this "Origin Divine Mill" technique was far from simple.
Therefore, although he was only defending, it consumed nearly 90% of the Death Clan Rune Dao Earth Master's Spiritual Power, completely tying him down.
As a result, his control over the Realm-Sealing Talisman was greatly weakened.
"Boom."
With the joint efforts of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden and many Kunlun Realm cultivators, the Imperial Emperor Divine Ruler finally managed to break the barrier, tearing open a gap several dozen zhang long.
"It's indeed the aura of Hell Realm cultivators. Let's attack together and make sure they never return. Kill!"
"Kill!"
Amidst earth-shattering battle cries, the cultivators gathered here surged in like a tidal wave through the gap, charging into the Qinghong Pavilion.