Chapter 2203: Killing Wan Xin
At the edge of the Yellow Spring Star River, adjacent to the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, there existed an immensely vast world known as the Shura Star Pillar Realm, the main stronghold of the Shura Clan.
The Shura Star Pillar Realm had endured for eons. Cultivators who walked the path of Shura, regardless of their original world or race, could ascend into it and become members of the Shura Clan.
The so-called Shura Clan had never referred to a specific type of lifeform. Even other clans of the Hell Realm could transform into Shura.
Within the Shura Star Pillar Realm, there was a special ocean called the "Sea of Time," a terrifying forbidden zone that even gods dared not tread lightly.
In the "Sea of Time," countless Time Imprints existed, turning into countless light dots that danced through the air at all times. Though beautiful to behold, they were fraught with danger, capable of reducing a Saint-realm being to dry bones in an instant.
At the center of the "Sea of Time" stood an immensely towering and majestic White Bone Mountain, built from the bones of billions of living beings, including even divine bones.
Atop the White Bone Mountain were five enormous divine skulls, each comparable in size to a star, collectively supporting a grand, dark-red divine temple. Its surface was covered in mottled bloodstains, as if drenched in vast amounts of divine blood, presenting a horrifying sight.
This was the dwelling place of Xiu Chen Heavenly God, which had existed for many eons, and no one had ever dared to trespass.
After the divine battle ended, Xiu Chen Heavenly God had returned to the "Sea of Time."
At this moment, Xiu Chen Heavenly God was seated on a bone chair covered in divine patterns. This bone chair also had a great origin, being forged from the divine bones of a god.
At a certain moment, a mass of jade-like divine light was stripped from Xiu Chen Heavenly God's divine soul, wrapped in a ball of divine power, unable to dissipate.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God opened its eyes, a glimmer of sharp light flickering within, staring at the jade divine light.
In the previous battle with the Moon God, Xiu Chen Heavenly God had suffered a great loss. During repeated collisions with the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron, strands of jade divine light had invaded Xiu Chen Heavenly God's divine soul. Though seemingly weak, they were difficult to erase.
The jade divine light was extremely terrifying, especially in restraining the divine soul.
Even for someone as powerful as Xiu Chen Heavenly God, there were signs of its divine soul being refined.
"Able to refine the divine soul, it resembles the legendary divine cauldron. But that cauldron disappeared many epochs ago. How could it suddenly appear in the Moon God's hands?" Xiu Chen Heavenly God mused.
It now desired more than ever to quickly obtain a divine body and divine source. Relying solely on its divine soul imposed too many restrictions.
Immediately, Xiu Chen Heavenly God used its divine thoughts to calculate internally.
"Did it not bring back Zhang Ruochen's physical body? No matter, Chi Kongle's physical body barely meets the requirements." Xiu Chen Heavenly God murmured softly.
It urgently needed a divine body and divine source to have hope of surviving the upcoming Eon Calamity. Unable to obtain the best, settling for second best was acceptable.
Not long after, Wan Xin returned to the "Sea of Time."
"Greetings, Master. Some changes occurred, and your disciple failed to bring back Zhang Ruochen. Please punish me." Wan Xin knelt on the ground, filled with unease.
After all, Xiu Chen Heavenly God was determined to obtain Zhang Ruochen's physical body, even giving the Yin-Yang Two Life Flower to Yan Wushen.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God said indifferently, "I already know what happened in the Kunlun Realm. You did well to bring back Chi Kongle. Rise."
Hearing this, Wan Xin couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He had truly feared Xiu Chen Heavenly God's anger.
At the same time, he inwardly congratulated himself for making a very wise decision at the last moment.
Wan Xin stood up, waved his hand, and released Chi Kongle, who had been restrained.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God rose and walked over step by step, carefully examining Chi Kongle.
In terms of cultivation and strength, Chi Kongle naturally couldn't compare to Zhang Ruochen. However, she possessed the Innate Five Elements Chaos Body, had rich divine blood within her, and was a Time Controller. In fact, she was more compatible with Xiu Chen Heavenly God, making the transformation easier.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God estimated that, with Chi Kongle's divine blood, it would take at most two or three hundred years to smoothly transform the divine body and restore it to its peak state.
It was a god who cultivated the Way of Time and could arrange time formations to greatly shorten the recovery time.
Seeing Xiu Chen Heavenly God, Chi Kongle's mind trembled involuntarily.
She was merely a Four-Step Saint King, too far beneath Xiu Chen Heavenly God. Her awe came from the depths of her soul.
After examining Chi Kongle for a moment, Xiu Chen Heavenly God said, "You may withdraw."
"Yes, Master."
Wan Xin bowed and retreated.
He knew that Xiu Chen Heavenly God would now begin to seize Chi Kongle's physical body.
When Xiu Chen Heavenly God emerged from seclusion, it would return to its peak. At that time, their lineage's status within the Shura Clan would rise steadily.
Thinking of this, Wan Xin couldn't help but feel excited. As Xiu Chen Heavenly God's only direct disciple, he would surely receive unimaginable benefits.
"Though your physical body is not as perfect as Zhang Ruochen's, it's still decent. Obediently merge with me." Xiu Chen Heavenly God said.
Hearing this, Chi Kongle's initial fear gave way to resignation.
Her sacrifice to ensure Zhang Ruochen's safety was entirely worth it.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God's entire body radiated divine light, spreading toward Chi Kongle, enveloping her for initial alignment.
"Clatter."
On Chi Kongle's neck, the Swallow Pendant, located between the five Buddha beads, suddenly stirred. A large number of fine blood-colored secret patterns appeared on its surface. It flapped its wings and flew up, as if it had suddenly gained life.
An ancient and vast aura spontaneously erupted, like an ancient god awakening, forcibly dispersing all the divine light.
Then, an extremely terrifying divine power was released from the Swallow Pendant, and a towering figure vaguely manifested.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God's expression changed slightly. It quickly formed a hand seal, condensed time divine power, and blocked in front.
"Boom."
The divine power released by the Swallow Pendant was too terrifying. Even with Xiu Chen Heavenly God's defense, it couldn't fully withstand it, and it was forced back more than ten steps.
Stabilizing itself, Xiu Chen Heavenly God's eyes shone with brilliant divine light, staring intently at the Swallow Pendant suspended before Chi Kongle.
With its cultivation as a Heavenly God, how could it be pushed back by the power contained in a jade pendant?
How was this possible?
Chi Kongle was also very surprised. Though she had worn the Swallow Pendant since childhood, she knew little about it. Zhang Ruochen had only taught her how to use it, not its origins.
When Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao pledged their love, Chi Yao gave Zhang Ruochen the Creation Life Sword, Chen Yuan.
Zhang Ruochen gave her the Zhang family heirloom, the Swallow Pendant.
Then, Xiu Chen Heavenly God fell into thought, saying, "This power aura... I seem to have felt it long ago."
Xiu Chen Heavenly God was very special. Its original body was the Time Divine Jade. Before it developed complete consciousness and embarked on the path of cultivation, it had already existed for a long time.
Like Ji Fanxin, whose body was the Primordial Illumination Divine Lotus, surviving from the Primordial era to the present.
In that extremely ancient era, Xiu Chen Heavenly God also had simple consciousness, able to perceive everything in heaven and earth, which laid the foundation for later cultivation.
At least ten eons ago, Xiu Chen Heavenly God had felt the same power aura in a desolate starry sky.
Even now, a somewhat blurry image was imprinted in Xiu Chen Heavenly God's divine soul.
A towering figure stood in the starry sky, with twenty-seven layers of vast heavens above its head. An enormous divine cauldron suspended around it, smelting the starry sky and smelting the gods.
Even though Xiu Chen Heavenly God was already a titan among gods, whenever it recalled that image, its mind still trembled involuntarily.
"Is it an artifact left by that one?" Xiu Chen Heavenly God pondered.
After such a long time, it believed that the unparalleled strongman should have long since passed.
Time was the most ruthless. Even the most brilliant would eventually fall. There was never an immortal legend.
"Clatter."
Just as Xiu Chen Heavenly God was about to test again, the Swallow Pendant suddenly withdrew its divine light, then spontaneously dissolved into a drop of jade liquid, merging into Chi Kongle's brow.
Everything happened too fast. Even if Xiu Chen Heavenly God wanted to stop it, it was impossible.
The next moment, a swallow flying imprint appeared on Chi Kongle's brow.
"Hmm?"
Xiu Chen Heavenly God's eyes showed another hint of surprise. It had wanted to study the Swallow Pendant, but it didn't expect such a change.
So, Xiu Chen Heavenly God released its divine thoughts, probing into Chi Kongle's brow to examine carefully.
However, after examining for a long time, it found nothing. The swallow imprint on Chi Kongle's brow seemed to be just an ordinary mark, with no special features.
"Has the power been exhausted?" Xiu Chen Heavenly God speculated.
Unable to find anything strange, Xiu Chen Heavenly God once again released divine light, continuing to align with Chi Kongle.
It had full confidence that even if the Swallow Pendant was indeed related to that person, it couldn't stop this.
It was just an artifact left by that unparalleled strongman, not the strongman himself descending. Besides, even if that strongman were still alive, with its current cultivation, it was absolutely not afraid of him.
In the Heavenly Court Myriad Realms and the Ten Clans of Hell, there were very few beings that could make Xiu Chen Heavenly God fear.
Not long after, Xiu Chen Heavenly God completed the initial alignment without any further anomalies.
Finally, Xiu Chen Heavenly God's divine soul entered Chi Kongle's body, truly beginning the seizure.
As an ancient god, seizing the physical body of a weak Four-Step Saint King was extremely easy.
...
Under the leadership of Xue Hou and the Underworld King, Zhang Ruochen arrived at the Yellow Spring Star River where the Hell Realm was located in a very short time.
Seeing the Yellow Spring Star River up close felt completely different from other times.
The Hell Realm had set up no defenses, as if anyone could enter.
But if any Heavenly Court Realm being dared to rashly intrude into the Hell Realm, they would likely end up dead without a burial place.
Zhang Ruochen could sense that the Yellow Spring Star River was constantly expanding, full of aggression.
Involuntarily, Zhang Ruochen thought of the Ghost Gate Pass, where he could also see the Yellow Spring Star River.
Did this mean that, without the obstruction of the Ghost Gate Pass, the Yellow Spring Star River would have already extended to the starry sky where the Kunlun Realm was located?
Once adjacent to the Yellow Spring Star River, it would undoubtedly be easier to be invaded by the Hell Realm.
Without further delay, Zhang Ruochen, Xue Hou, and the Underworld King entered the Yellow Spring Star River and descended upon the Shura Star Pillar Realm.
Without Xiu Chen Heavenly God personally controlling it, the "Sea of Time," though still dangerous, could not stop Xue Hou and the Underworld King.
Crossing the "Sea of Time," the three appeared atop the White Bone Mountain.
"Who dares to forcibly enter the Divine Temple?"
Immediately, a strong being sensed the intrusion.
"Whoosh."
Figures flashed out from within the temple, appearing on the square.
Though Xiu Chen Heavenly God preferred solitude, there were still some Shura Clan cultivators within the temple. Not many, but all were in the Saint realm.
At this moment, dozens of people flashed out, including five Great Saints, all on high alert.
It couldn't be helped. Xue Hou and the Underworld King both exuded powerful divine might, inspiring awe.
If not for the temple emitting divine light to resist most of the divine might, everyone except the five Great Saints would have already knelt.
"Two True Gods have come. May I ask what business you have?" A Great Saint bowed and asked.
Facing a True God, even a Great Saint needed to remain humble.
The Underworld King said coldly, "A mere Great Saint, get lost. Have Xiu Chen come out."
Hearing this, the Great Saint's expression changed.
Judging by the situation, they clearly came with ill intent.
At that moment, another figure walked out from within the temple. It was Wan Xin, who had captured Chi Kongle.
Unlike the other Shura Clan cultivators, Wan Xin's attention was immediately completely drawn to Zhang Ruochen, his eyes showing intense disbelief.
"Impossible. How could he appear here?"
Earlier, he had personally witnessed Zhang Ruochen fall before the space rift, his physical body nearly reduced to a skeleton. How could he still be alive?
Moreover, even if Zhang Ruochen had survived under those circumstances, how could he have come to the Hell Realm? How could he enter the Shura Star Pillar Realm?
Involuntarily, a strong sense of unease arose in Wan Xin's heart.
Zhang Ruochen also saw Wan Xin, and his eyes instantly turned icy cold.
Even though he had regained his rationality and calm, he still couldn't suppress his killing intent toward Wan Xin.
Zhang Ruochen sensed Chi Kongle's aura and confirmed she was inside the temple.
"Wan Xin, as you wished, I've come to the Hell Realm. Have you thought about how you want to die?" Zhang Ruochen stepped forward and said coldly.
Hearing this, Wan Xin involuntarily took a step back.
He could feel that Zhang Ruochen had not only come back to life but had also suddenly become a Great Saint of the Undying Blood Clan.
Seeing the two Undying Blood Clan gods behind Zhang Ruochen, it wasn't hard to guess that all of this was related to the Undying Blood Clan.
But why did the Undying Blood Clan do this?
From the aura emanating from Zhang Ruochen alone, Wan Xin could judge that Zhang Ruochen was now far from an ordinary Immortal Realm Great Saint. His power had increased by who knows how many times compared to before.
He didn't know what had happened to Zhang Ruochen during this time, but for him, it was clearly not good.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen approaching, Wan Xin found it increasingly difficult to stay calm. He kept retreating, step by step, back into the temple.
"This is Xiu Chen Heavenly God's temple. No one is allowed to trespass."
A silver-haired Great Saint stepped forward to block Zhang Ruochen's path.
Though two Undying Blood Clan gods accompanied Zhang Ruochen, this was Xiu Chen Heavenly God's territory. For several eons, no one had dared to cause trouble here, not even gods.
"Boom."
Zhang Ruochen stomped his foot, releasing an extremely powerful divine force, causing the entire White Bone Mountain to tremble.
The White Bone Mountain was inscribed with numerous divine patterns, extremely sturdy and difficult to destroy.
"Anyone who blocks me will die." Zhang Ruochen said.
Feeling Zhang Ruochen's killing intent and pressure, all the Shura Clan cultivators trembled inwardly. The weaker Saint King realm cultivators nearly collapsed to the ground.
Only the five Great Saints remained calm.
If they were scared off by Zhang Ruochen's words and let him casually enter the temple, it would be a joke.
Wan Xin had witnessed Zhang Ruochen's killing spree outside the royal city and knew what kind of person he was. Immediately, he dashed toward the depths of the temple at the fastest speed, wanting to request Xiu Chen Heavenly God to come out of seclusion.
It wasn't just Zhang Ruochen; two Undying Blood Clan True Gods had also descended. Only Xiu Chen Heavenly God could handle this.
Though Xiu Chen Heavenly God was in the middle of seizing a physical body and couldn't be disturbed, at this point, he couldn't care about that.
Seeing Wan Xin trying to escape, Zhang Ruochen immediately moved, charging straight ahead.
"Don't be reckless."
The silver-haired Great Saint shouted, reaching into the void and pulling out a one-zhang-two-chi-long silver blood-patterned spear.
As the silver-haired Great Saint swung the silver blood-patterned spear, the heaven and earth rules and heaven and earth power within tens of thousands of miles were all mobilized, turning with his will.
A terrifying spear dao sacred intent erupted, extremely sharp, as if it could pierce through everything in heaven and earth.
The silver blood-patterned spear vibrated, rising like a dragon, its trajectory unpredictable. Thousands upon thousands of spear shadows appeared simultaneously, each integrating multiple different rules, each numbering in the millions.
Zhang Ruochen did not dodge. His eyes were cold and heavy. He reached out with his hand, unrestrainedly releasing the powerful force contained in his demigod body.
Since the White Bone Mountain was extremely sturdy, it could withstand his power without worrying about crushing the ground or causing power to overflow.
"Snap."
All the spear shadows shattered into nothing.
By the time the silver-haired Great Saint reacted, he found the tip of the silver blood-patterned spear grasped in Zhang Ruochen's palm.
Zhang Ruochen had caught it with his bare hands?
"Break."
The silver-haired Great Saint roared, his body emitting seventeen brilliant sacred lights. These were the seventeen shackles he had broken, each containing terrifying power.
The silver blood-patterned spear shook violently, emitting an extremely sharp spear light, with the spear dao sacred intent completely condensed within it.
Zhang Ruochen's demigod body was strong enough to clash head-on with a Monarch Sacred Artifact, so it wouldn't be easily damaged.
However, the power contained in the spear light was too great, numbing Zhang Ruochen's palm.
Taking this opportunity, the silver-haired Great Saint withdrew the silver blood-patterned spear and then executed an even more fierce spear technique.
No matter how strange Zhang Ruochen was, he was just an Immortal Realm Great Saint, while he had entered the Hundred Shackles Realm and mastered a powerful sacred intent. How could he not deal with Zhang Ruochen?
"Demon Dragon Emerges from the Sea."
The silver-haired Great Saint fiercely thrust the silver blood-patterned spear forward.
Over a hundred million rules were all injected into it.
At the same time, countless heaven and earth rules converged, condensed at the spear tip.
Vast heaven and earth power interwove, condensed into a demon dragon as long as the spear, lifelike and ferocious, pouncing at Zhang Ruochen with bared fangs and claws.
Zhang Ruochen walked straight ahead, no fear in his eyes.
On his palm, an eerie blood light appeared. The acupoints on his arm opened, spewing out a massive amount of blood-colored divine power.
This divine power was so great that the surrounding space became distorted.
At the same time, the heaven and earth rules and heaven and earth power were also affected, becoming chaotic.
As a demigod body, its compatibility with heaven and earth rules and heaven and earth power was extremely high.
If Zhang Ruochen could perfectly control the power of this physical body, the heaven and earth rules and heaven and earth power within a hundred thousand miles would almost all be at his disposal. Moreover, it would make it difficult for his opponents to mobilize too much heaven and earth rules and heaven and earth power.
A huge blood-colored palm print condensed, slapping down toward the demon dragon.
"Boom."
The demon dragon's massive body instantly exploded.
Zhang Ruochen closed in, grabbing the spear shaft and approaching the silver-haired Great Saint.
A powerful divine force was released from Zhang Ruochen's fist, turning into a cloud of fire, blasting toward the silver-haired Great Saint.
With the silver blood-patterned spear grabbed and at such close range, the silver-haired Great Saint couldn't dodge. He had to mobilize all the power of his immortal sacred body and strike out with all his might.
Vast Shura killing intent condensed, evolving into a huge millstone, meeting Zhang Ruochen's fist.
"Boom."
The fire cloud incinerated everything, and the millstone instantly exploded into dust.
Then, Zhang Ruochen's fist landed solidly on the silver-haired Great Saint's chest.
"Crack."
The armor worn by the silver-haired Great Saint shattered into pieces, flying in all directions.
The silver-haired Great Saint flew backward, heavily crashing into the temple.
"Pfft."
The silver-haired Great Saint spat out a mouthful of sacred blood, feeling a burning pain in his chest. His internal organs were all injured.
Seeing the silver-haired Great Saint injured, another Great Saint with a single horn immediately acted, shouting, "Try taking this strike."
A silver-white bone tower flew out from the horned Great Saint's body, only about a foot tall. Its surface was inscribed with numerous Shura clan inscriptions, making it a Shura war artifact, its quality not inferior to a Monarch war artifact.
Under the horned Great Saint's urging, the bone tower instantly awakened, unrestrainedly releasing its internal Shura killing intent.
"Boom."
The bone tower solidly struck Zhang Ruochen's back.
Zhang Ruochen's body shook, and a sharp pain shot through his back, but that was all. He suffered no real damage.
Of course, if it had been another Immortal Realm or even Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saint, bearing such a sudden strike, their spine would likely have been broken.
"He's clearly just an Immortal Realm Great Saint. How can his immortal sacred body be so strong?" The horned Great Saint was shocked.
He knew very well how powerful that strike was. If he had been hit, he would have been seriously injured.
Zhang Ruochen turned his head in an instant and kicked sideways.
Violent flame divine power surged forth, causing the temperature of this heaven and earth to rise sharply.
The horned Great Saint's expression changed. He immediately activated the bone tower again.
Hundreds of millions of rules surged from the horned Great Saint's body, all injected into the bone tower, causing all the Shura clan inscriptions within it to clearly emerge.
The bone tower rapidly grew, instantly becoming a thousand zhang tall, its power subtly combining with the White Bone Mountain.
For a moment, the White Bone Mountain trembled slightly, releasing strands of divine light that injected into the bone tower.
"Boom."
The bone tower shook, and all the flame divine power released by Zhang Ruochen dissipated.
Then, the bone tower spun, pressing down toward Zhang Ruochen from above.
The heaven and earth rules and sacred qi were drawn in, frantically drilling into the bone tower, causing it to grow larger and larger, emitting an extremely destructive aura.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were sharp. All one hundred and forty-four acupoints on his body simultaneously emitted brilliant sacred light, and the power within them was unrestrainedly released at this moment.
He punched upward.
"Roar."
Unmatched power condensed into a blood-colored giant dragon, soaring into the sky like a trapped dragon ascending, unstoppable.
"Boom."
The blood-colored giant dragon held up the bone tower, preventing it from pressing down further.
Then, the blood-colored giant dragon exerted its power, devouring all the converging heaven and earth rules and heaven and earth power.
The bone tower ultimately couldn't suppress the blood-colored giant dragon and was sent flying in an instant.
"Crack."
The bone tower emitted a cracking sound, and clear cracks appeared on its surface.
The horned Great Saint let out a muffled groan, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. His body involuntarily retreated backward.
At this stage, Zhang Ruochen indeed couldn't control the power of his demigod body well. However, when facing Immortal Realm Great Saints or early-stage Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints, even if he couldn't control the power well, he could still crush them.
Seeing this, the remaining Shura clan cultivators were all terrified and retreated backward, no one daring to step forward.
Zhang Ruochen ignored them and directly barged into the temple, chasing after Wan Xin.
The only person he truly wanted to kill was Wan Xin.
Wan Xin had thought that the temple's five Great Saints could delay Zhang Ruochen for a moment, but in the blink of an eye, two Great Saints had been injured, unable to stop him.
Feeling Zhang Ruochen getting closer, Wan Xin's heart grew panicked.
Just as Wan Xin approached the hall where Xiu Chen Heavenly God was in seclusion, Zhang Ruochen's figure blocked his path.
Wan Xin was terrified but tried to stay calm, saying, "Zhang Ruochen, you'd better not act recklessly. Chi Kongle has already been seized by my master. Nothing you do can change that fact."
"You'd better leave now. Otherwise, if you disturb my master, you'll only die. Even the Undying Blood Clan gods can't save you."
At this point, Wan Xin could only invoke Xiu Chen Heavenly God, hoping to intimidate Zhang Ruochen and secure a way out for himself.
As for fighting, facing such a violent Zhang Ruochen, even ten of him wouldn't be enough to kill.
If he hadn't said that, perhaps things would have been different. But after he spoke, Zhang Ruochen could no longer suppress his killing intent. He reached out, grabbed Wan Xin by the neck, and lifted him up.
"You... deserve... to die... ten thousand times..."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were bloodshot, and he spoke these words one by one.
At this moment, Wan Xin truly felt death approaching. He couldn't help but shout, "Master, save..."
Unfortunately, before he could finish, his neck was directly crushed by Zhang Ruochen. A terrifying force entered his body, instantly annihilating all his vitality and sacred soul.
Earlier, before the space rift, he had taunted Zhang Ruochen to come to the Hell Realm to kill him. Little did he expect his words to come true.