Chapter 2204: The Sundial Awakens
Having killed Wan Xin, Zhang Ruochen felt no pleasure in his heart. Instead, he was filled with unease, fearing that Wan Xin’s final words might be true.
“Slap.”
Zhang Ruochen dropped Wan Xin’s corpse to the ground, his gaze fixed on the tightly closed palace gate ahead.
He had already sensed Chi Kongle’s aura, located within the palace before him.
With his Demigod Eye, Zhang Ruochen could vaguely see countless divine patterns layered upon the gate. If touched, they would be triggered, making it clear that he could not simply barge in.
“Kongle…”
Caring little for the consequences, Zhang Ruochen mustered all the power within his body, concentrating it into a single fist aimed at the palace gate.
A surge of immense energy erupted. His fist was covered in an eerie blood light, taking on the form of a dragon and serpent, exuding a fierce and ferocious appearance.
“Boom.”
Before Zhang Ruochen’s fist could even touch the gate, countless divine patterns emerged densely.
An extremely terrifying force surged back, transmitting itself onto Zhang Ruochen.
Before he could react, his powerful Demigod body arched backward, bones colliding with a series of “crackling” sounds, as if struck by a star. His entire body was sent flying backward.
“Bang.”
Zhang Ruochen flew out of the White Bone Mountain and plunged into the Time Sea, carving a hundred-mile-long water trail.
“How dare you!”
As a divine voice resounded across heaven and earth, a vast amount of divine thought converged before the majestic palace gate, intertwining to form a graceful silhouette. Her face was beautiful enough to captivate all beings.
It was the divine projection of Xiu Chen Heavenly God.
The commotion outside the hall had alarmed Xiu Chen Heavenly God, who condensed a doppelganger from divine thought.
Its doppelganger glared angrily at Zhang Ruochen, who stood on the Time Sea. With just a single glance, its power shook Zhang Ruochen, forcing him to retreat another seventy miles, crashing into an island.
That small island was shattered into pieces.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God glanced at Wan Xin’s corpse, its eyes turning cold with fury. “You gods of the Undying Blood Clan dare to allow your Great Saints to cause chaos in my divine temple, kill my disciple, and disturb my cultivation? What crime do you deserve?”
Killing its disciple within its divine temple was undoubtedly a provocation.
Since it had created the “Time Sea,” such a thing had never happened. If word got out, wouldn’t it become a laughingstock?
Even if they were just two new gods of the Undying Blood Clan, or even two ancient gods of the same clan, an explanation must be given.
Just now, Xue Hou had used divine power to invisibly neutralize the force Xiu Chen Heavenly God had exerted on Zhang Ruochen. Otherwise, Zhang Ruochen would not have merely flown back a hundred or two hundred miles; his Demigod body would have turned to ashes.
Xue Hou’s body radiated brilliant divine light, her tone calm. “Xiu Chen Heavenly God, we have come to the Time Sea for the human woman captured by your disciple. She has a deep connection with me. If you return her to me, I promise to exhaust all my power to find you another body for possession.”
Xiu Chen Heavenly God was a fearsome ancient god of the Shura Clan, renowned for its might. If the problem could be resolved peacefully, that would be for the best.
Earlier, Xue Hou had not stopped Zhang Ruochen from killing Wan Xin because she understood the hatred in his heart. If he did not kill Wan Xin, it might become a major knot in his heart, preventing his state of mind from reaching perfection.
And Wan Xin was merely a Saint King—how much weight could he hold in Xiu Chen Heavenly God’s heart?
She said Chi Kongle had a connection with her, rather than directly stating that Chi Kongle was her granddaughter, because Chi Kongle’s body did not carry her bloodline.
In other words, Chi Kongle could only be considered Zhang Ruochen’s daughter, not Xue Hou’s granddaughter.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God sneered, “You became a god less than a thousand years ago, didn’t you? Are you so ignorant that you’ve never heard of Xiu Chen Heavenly God’s name? A mere new god, trespassing into my territory, killing my disciple, injuring my followers, and still dares to negotiate with me? Fine. Give me Zhang Ruochen’s body, and I will release that human woman.”
Xue Hou’s eyes darkened, with over a hundred million rules surging within her pupils. “I will find you a body for possession, but not one you specify. Furthermore, I advise you to abandon any thoughts of Zhang Ruochen, or the consequences will be severe.”
At this moment, Xue Hou’s eyes seemed to transform into two stars, emitting a light so intense that the Great Saints and Saint Kings present could not open their eyes.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God’s doppelganger instantly expanded a hundredfold, its divine might shaking the heavens. “Who Xiu Chen Heavenly God chooses to possess is not for a new god of the Undying Blood Clan to decide. Let me tell you the truth: that human woman is already dead. Her body has merged with me. You came too late.”
“Zhang Ruochen killed my disciple; he must pay with his life.”
“As for you, get out of the Time Sea immediately before I lose my temper. Otherwise, I will suppress you at the bottom of the Time Sea for ten thousand years.”
From start to finish, Xiu Chen Heavenly God had never taken Xue Hou and Underworld King seriously.
If it were a hundred thousand years ago, before its original body was shattered, Xiu Chen Heavenly God would not have wasted so many words with them. It would have suppressed them both long ago, and not even the clan leader of the Undying Blood Clan coming to apologize in person would have been enough to let them off lightly.
Hearing this, Underworld King’s eyes flashed with a cold light. He snorted, “Xiu Chen, I’ve heard your name since I was young. I know you’re powerful, strong, having lived for endless years, a fearsome overlord of the Shura Clan. But you’re already crippled. Now, even a mere doppelganger dares to be so arrogant? Do you really think the gods of the Undying Blood Clan fear you? Other gods might, but I don’t believe it.”
With that, Underworld King formed a sword seal, summoning the Star Divine Sword. Gripping the hilt with both hands, his aura surged higher and higher, becoming sharper and sharper, as if the Sword Ancestor had descended upon the world once more.
A supreme sword intent burst forth from Underworld King, merging with the Star Divine Sword.
Underworld King had inherited the Sword Ancestor’s sword dao will. Although he had never studied the “Wordless Sword Manual,” his insights into it were rare in ancient and modern times.
Especially since Underworld King had obtained the Sword Dao Essence left by the Sword Ancestor, he could now be titled—Sword God.
At this moment, Underworld King unleashed the fifteen layers of sword intent he had comprehended from the Star Divine Sword without reservation, supplemented by the Sword Dao Essence, to deliver an incredibly sharp and domineering strike.
“Please, Xiu Chen Heavenly God, senior, judge this sword of mine. How is it?”
Underworld King had never been one with a good temper. If someone dared to say “get out” to him, no matter who they were or how strong their cultivation, he would still dare to draw his sword.
“Swoosh.”
A sword light that pierced heaven and earth was unleashed, causing the sky above the “Time Sea” to change color, the very heavens torn apart.
If this were in the starry sky, this sword would shatter countless stars.
Instantly, the divine temple rose with dark divine light, and countless divine patterns emerged, layered and interwoven into a net.
These divine patterns were all personally inscribed by Xiu Chen Heavenly God, extremely tough and not easily destroyed.
Yet, even so, the sword light unleashed by Underworld King still cut through tens of millions of divine patterns, almost reaching Xiu Chen Heavenly God’s doppelganger.
Outside the temple, it turned into a sea of fire.
The flames released by the Star Divine Sword were blazing, burning everything, difficult to extinguish.
“Hiss.”
The group of Saint-level cultivators who had already retreated to the side couldn’t help but gasp, unable to remain standing, kneeling on the ground.
They never expected that the gods of the Undying Blood Clan would actually dare to make a move here, attacking the temple and attacking Xiu Chen Heavenly God.
Without a doubt, the situation had become serious, and it would be difficult to resolve peacefully.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God’s face was as cold as ice. “That sword of yours still cannot break through the temple’s defenses. However, the moment you drew your sword, you committed a capital offense.”
Because it was in the process of possessing Chi Kongle, Xiu Chen Heavenly God had originally planned not to bother with Xue Hou and Underworld King. But it never expected Underworld King to dare to take the initiative to attack it.
This was utterly outrageous.
“Bang.”
The tightly closed palace gate opened, and a graceful figure walked out from within.
She looked fifteen or sixteen years old, standing tall and slender, with a peerlessly beautiful face. Every inch of her skin emitted a radiant divine light, appearing extremely sacred, making it impossible for anyone to harbor thoughts of defilement.
She was none other than Chi Kongle.
Now, perhaps she should be called Xiu Chen Heavenly God.
Xue Hou’s eyes narrowed slightly. They had indeed come too late, not anticipating that Xiu Chen Heavenly God’s possession would be so urgent.
At this moment, Xiu Chen Heavenly God’s doppelganger dissipated, and its divine thought returned to its main body.
“Since I became a god, no one has ever dared to bully me like this. Today, I will use your divine blood to forge this divine body.” Chi Kongle’s voice was filled with killing intent, spreading across the Time Sea.
As she spoke, Chi Kongle pointed a finger at the sky. Instantly, her Star Soul Divine Throne appeared in the heavens, composed of twenty-seven Divine Throne Planets. Each planet shone brightly, containing vast divine power.
Guided by Chi Kongle, the twenty-seven Divine Throne Planets each released a beam of light, flying from beyond the sky to attack Xue Hou and Underworld King.
The beams appeared beautiful but contained destructive power, distorting time and space wherever they passed.
Xue Hou looked up. Twenty-four blood-colored divine lights flew out from between her brows, transforming into twenty-eight massive divine tablets arranged in a special formation.
The twenty-four divine tablets were all solid, radiating an indestructible divine light, made of unknown materials.
At the same time, Underworld King entered a state of unity between man and sword, merging his spirit, energy, and soul with the Star Divine Sword.
Endless divine fire surged from the Star Divine Sword, sweeping toward the sky like a prairie fire.
The Star Divine Sword seemed to transform into a blazing star, now fully erupting, releasing all its stored power, as if to annihilate a vast expanse of starry sky.
“Boom.”
The terrifying collision of divine power forced Xue Hou and Underworld King to retreat.
However, the beams flying from beyond the sky also dissipated one after another, failing to truly strike Underworld King and Xue Hou.
Seeing this result, Chi Kongle’s eyes narrowed slightly.
It had intended to cripple Xue Hou and Underworld King’s combat power with one blow and suppress them, but it had only managed to push them back.
Two new gods possessing such formidable combat power was truly unexpected for Xiu Chen Heavenly God.
Turning its gaze, Chi Kongle looked at the twenty-four divine tablets Xue Hou had summoned, a thoughtful expression appearing in its eyes.
“Refining Divine Throne Planets into war weapons. You are actually walking the path of that eccentric demonic figure from the Kunlun Realm, and you have even stepped into the divine realm. Not bad.” Chi Kongle said.
It had lived long enough and possessed extraordinary knowledge, far beyond what ordinary people could match.
Few knew that the thirty-six “Heavenly Demon Stone Inscriptions” of the Kunlun Realm were refined by that eccentric demonic figure from his own Divine Throne Planets.
Such a practice was extremely dangerous. Even if one mastered the corresponding secret arts, success was difficult.
At least, after that eccentric demonic figure, it seemed no one else had succeeded.
Xue Hou had clearly inherited the true teachings of that eccentric demonic figure, thus embarking on this special path.
Chi Kongle’s eyes flickered with strange light as it observed Xue Hou and Underworld King. One had inherited the legacy of the demonic eccentric, the other the legacy of the Sword Ancestor. This was quite astonishing.
After all, the Undying Blood Clan, as one of the Ten Clans of Hell, was a mortal enemy of the Kunlun Realm. How could these two legendary titans of the Kunlun Realm allow their legacies to fall into the hands of the Undying Blood Clan?
The achievements of these two new gods of the Undying Blood Clan before becoming gods were almost on par with its own back then.
As for how far they could go after becoming gods, it would depend on their individual comprehension, potential, and opportunities. It was not necessarily true that the more Divine Throne Planets one condensed, the stronger one would become among the gods.
“Bang.”
Chi Kongle stamped her foot on the ground.
The entire Time Sea was instantly turned upside down. Countless Time Imprint specks rose up, forming a time formation.
At the same time, the Star Soul Divine Throne in the sky trembled, pouring down vast divine power into the time formation.
Back then, Xiu Chen Heavenly God had expended a great deal of divine power to create the Time Sea, not for aesthetic reasons, but as a trump card that could be put to great use at critical moments.
The main reason was that, at this stage, Xiu Chen Heavenly God could not freely use its own power. Otherwise, it would not have gone to such trouble.
The root cause was that Chi Kongle’s body was too weak. Before the transformation was complete, it could not withstand too much power. A slight mistake could destroy it.
In addition, there was another reason: a special force was entrenched within Chi Kongle’s Saint Soul.
At first, Xiu Chen Heavenly God had not noticed it. It was only after merging its divine soul into Chi Kongle’s body that this force manifested.
This force was not particularly strong, but it specifically restricted Xiu Chen Heavenly God’s divine soul, making it difficult for it to control its own power well.
Trapped within the time formation, Underworld King did not panic. Instead, a smile appeared on his face.
He had already realized that Xiu Chen Heavenly God’s state was abnormal. It seemed unable to act for now, which was why it had to activate the Star Soul Divine Throne and the time formation.
Furthermore, Underworld King sensed that Xue Jue War God had arrived. Although he had not yet revealed himself, Underworld King was certain that if they could not defeat Xiu Chen Heavenly God, Xue Jue War God would not stand idly by.
Moreover, who was stronger and who was weaker would only be known after a real fight.
He had just become a god, and he was using Xiu Chen Heavenly God to test his own strength, to hone his divine body and divine power.
Driven by divine power, the time formation fully activated, generating a massive amount of Time Imprints, condensing into an extremely vast River of Time that encircled the White Bone Mountain.
“Come on!”
Underworld King’s battle intent soared as he struck without restraint.
The Star Divine Sword shone with increasingly brilliant light, emitting terrifying high temperatures that seemed to evaporate the River of Time.
Wherever the Time Imprint specks approached, they quickly melted away.
Xue Hou activated the twenty-four divine tablets, surrounding herself for protection. At the same time, she released a vast amount of blood qi, condensing it into a blood-colored phoenix larger than a star, with blazing blood flames burning on its surface.
The blood phoenix flapped its wings, letting out a high-pitched cry, and actively charged at the River of Time.
In the second gradient of the Endless Abyss, Xue Hou had refined a divine soul left behind by the Blood Phoenix, thereby mastering the exquisite divine abilities of the Blood Phoenix Clan.
As a member of the Undying Blood Clan, known for their vigorous blood qi, cultivating the Blood Phoenix’s divine abilities was a perfect match.
…
Before the Time Sea became a battlefield for divine combat, Zhang Ruochen and the five Great Saints of the Shura Clan had already retreated far away, now watching from a distance.
As for the Shura Clan cultivators who had not reached the Great Saint realm, they had no strength to escape. Most had likely been crushed into fragments by the shockwaves of the divine battle.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes were bloodshot, his heart filled with pain.
He had rushed to the Hell Realm recklessly, but in the end, he was still too late, unable to save Chi Kongle.
“Xiu Chen, you deserve to die.”
Zhang Ruochen wanted nothing more than to personally kill Xiu Chen Heavenly God and avenge Chi Kongle.
But he understood that even though he now possessed a Demigod body, as long as he approached the divine battle zone, he would immediately die without a burial place.
Therefore, Zhang Ruochen could only place his hopes on Xue Hou and Underworld King.
However, Xiu Chen Heavenly God was too powerful. The divine might it exuded was not much weaker than that of the Moon God. Xue Hou and Underworld King had both become gods less than a thousand years ago. It would be difficult for them to deal with it.
“If they can suppress the power of time, Mother and Underworld King might have a chance of victory.”
Gazing at the massive time formation, Zhang Ruochen fell into thought.
“Time…”
Zhang Ruochen murmured, his heart suddenly stirring.
With a flip of his hand, Zhang Ruochen took out an object: a round, rough stone, like a huge millstone, emitting an extremely ancient aura, like a primitive stone tool.
It was the Sundial.
“The Sundial is a time treasure. It should be able to counter time-based methods.” Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Back in the Zifu Palace, cultivators from the Time Divine Temple had used time-based methods to suppress the Sundial. Correspondingly, if enough power could be drawn from the Sundial, it could also counter time-based methods.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was thinking about how to use the Sundial to deal with Xiu Chen Heavenly God, the Sundial suddenly stirred. The twelve time zones on its surface emitted dazzling light. At the position of the fourth hour of the noon period, space split open, revealing a door that forcibly pulled Zhang Ruochen’s body inside.
Then, the Sundial flew up, radiating thick cyan light, spinning like a millstone, heading straight for the time formation.
The time formation isolated heaven and earth, possessing extremely strong binding power.
But when the Sundial flew over, it was not obstructed, easily penetrating through.
Wherever the Sundial passed, the Time Imprint specks permeating the formation were absorbed, and it even seemed to want to devour the entire Time Sea.
It felt as if the Sundial had become a time black hole, intending to bring the time of this region to an end.
“The Sundial.”
Chi Kongle’s expression changed, her eyes becoming deep and furious. Her ten fingers clenched tightly.
For Xiu Chen Heavenly God, the Sundial held an extremely profound memory, one that could not be forgotten even after a hundred thousand years.
…
At the edge of the Time Sea, atop a towering mountain that pierced the clouds, Xue Jue War God stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance at the White Bone Mountain.
Having deduced what had happened, Xue Jue War God had not engaged Bian Zhuang in battle but had followed.
Although Chi Kongle had no connection to the Undying Blood Clan, Xue Hou, Underworld King, and Zhang Ruochen were all members of the Blood Absolute Family. Xue Jue War God could not stand idly by.
Seeing the Sundial, a strange light appeared in Xue Jue War God’s eyes. “In that battle a hundred thousand years ago, Xiu Chen participated in the siege of Xumi Saint Monk, but was wounded by Xumi Saint Monk using the Sundial. Even its Time Divine Jade original body was completely shattered, its essence absorbed by the Sundial.”
“For Xiu Chen, the Sundial can be said to be its nemesis.”
A hundred thousand years ago, Xue Jue War God had also participated in the battle, watching from afar as the gods of the Hell Realm besieged Xumi Saint Monk. He also witnessed the process of Xiu Chen nearly falling.
That battle was too brutal. Xumi Saint Monk ultimately fell, and the Sundial was severely damaged, nearly destroyed. Although it was preserved, its artifact spirit fell into a deep slumber.
Now, it had actively pulled Zhang Ruochen into its internal space and then pounced on Xiu Chen. This should be an instinct, a continuation of that divine battle from a hundred thousand years ago.
Xue Jue War God speculated that the Sundial’s artifact spirit, having sensed the aura of Xiu Chen Heavenly God, was showing signs of awakening, leading to this series of changes.
As a time treasure, the Sundial was undoubtedly the best counter to the Way of Time.
Given Xiu Chen Heavenly God’s current state, once entangled by the Sundial, it would face great trouble.
Of course, if Xiu Chen Heavenly God could think of a way to counter the Sundial, it might instead be able to seize the Sundial and use it for itself.
Now, it depended on how far Sixth Son, Little Fourteenth, and Zhang Ruochen could push Xiu Chen Heavenly God.
“This is getting more and more interesting.”
A smile appeared on Xue Jue War God’s face, and his anticipation grew.