Chapter 2269: Battle of Wits and Strength
Xu Fei was no ordinary individual. With his formidable cultivation, he could kill enemies across realms. Zhang Ruochen had been mentally prepared for this. However, the fact that Xu Fei was so strong that even going all out could only slightly shake him far exceeded Zhang Ruochen's expectations.
"As expected of the First Ghost Emperor of the Ghost Clan. It seems I have no choice but to use the power of Truth."
Zhang Ruochen mobilized the Truth Rules within his body, channeling them all toward his right arm. At the same time, dense star-like light spots emerged around him, forming a nascent Star Sea World.
"He's finally going to use the Way of Truth. It's said that Zhang Ruochen, like the Desolate Heaven Great God, once broke through the tenth layer of the Truth Sea."
"Zhang Ruochen's attainment in the Way of Truth is indeed very high. He can make a Sacred Art explode with ten times the attack power in an instant."
"Arm wrestling, to a certain extent, is a contest of palm strength. Zhang Ruochen has spent a great deal of effort cultivating the Palm Path. If he gains the blessing of the Way of Truth and unleashes ten times the palm power, can Xu Fei withstand it?"
"Why is Xu Fei letting Zhang Ruochen mobilize the Truth Rules without suppressing him immediately?"
Many cultivators present were very curious. If it were them, upon discovering Zhang Ruochen mobilizing the Way of Truth, they would definitely strike first and counter with the force of a thunderbolt.
But...
Xu Fei didn't do that.
Did he think he could withstand Zhang Ruochen's tenfold palm power?
Yan Hong Great Saint's eyes held a smile. "Zhang Ruochen has the Way of Truth, but Xu Fei has the Path of Fate. Why should he be afraid of him?"
Then she added, "Furthermore, this is the Fate Divine Mountain, the place where Fate Rules are most concentrated. Using the power of Fate here unleashes a stronger might than elsewhere."
Xu Fei was the top power in Yan Hong Great Saint's camp, so she was naturally full of confidence in him.
"Whoosh——"
Just as Zhang Ruochen activated his Truth Realm Form, a brilliant Gate of Destiny appeared behind Xu Fei, towering dozens of feet high, dazzling cultivators below the Great Saint realm and forcing them to shut their eyes.
"Boom."
With the blessing of Truth Rules, Zhang Ruochen executed the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, unleashing ten times the power, crashing into the tightly clenched ghost hand.
At the same time, the power of the three Thousand Questions Realm elephant souls reached its peak in an instant, emitting deafening roars.
Xu Fei's ghost hand was suddenly pushed back, pressed down by half.
The entire ghost arm was in a twisted state.
Seeing this, countless cultivators in the Hell Realm gasped, unable to help holding their breath.
Could it be that Xu Fei, the strongest of the Ghost Clan, would lose to Zhang Ruochen, who was only at the Immortal Realm?
The tenfold power came quickly and faded just as fast.
Xu Fei's arm slowly turned back up, a mocking smile appearing on his face. "Your attainment in the Way of Truth is indeed beyond my expectations. My Path of Fate cannot completely weaken it. But a momentary tenfold power is not enough to crush me."
Seeing Xu Fei gradually push his arm back, it was now the Blood Heaven Tribe cultivators' turn to worry.
Among them, Yu Huang, Gu Chenzi, Yi Xuan Great Saint, and Xue Qi Great Saint couldn't help but sigh. They had held a glimmer of hope for Zhang Ruochen, thinking he could create another miracle.
But now, anyone could see that Zhang Ruochen had gone all out, using every trump card he had. Xu Fei had taken them all one by one, and he hadn't even used the ghosts he had fused into his body.
In other words, Xu Fei hadn't used his full strength.
It was like a cat playing with a mouse. No matter what tricks you pulled, you couldn't change your fate. Once he tired you out, he would swallow you in one bite.
Xu Fei was that cat toying with the mouse, always holding the outcome in his hands.
The cultivators of the Hell Realm burst into mocking laughter.
Most of them didn't consider Zhang Ruochen a member of the Hell Realm. They saw him as an outsider. That was why they felt humiliated when the Great Sen Luo Emperor lost to Zhang Ruochen.
Now, with Xu Fei dominating and toying with Zhang Ruochen, they naturally felt a sense of joy at having their dignity restored.
Xu Fei said confidently, "Zhang Ruochen, don't be discouraged. You're only at the Immortal Realm, yet you can already arm-wrestle with me. You should feel honored."
Zhang Ruochen wasn't angry. "Do you really think the Way of Truth is that simple?"
"What do you mean?" Xu Fei asked.
"The most powerful aspect of the Way of Truth is not the power of the Truth Realm Form."
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes. Immediately, the star-like light spots floating around him multiplied and spread further.
Each light spot rapidly grew larger, turning into light orbs.
In Xu Fei's vision, those light orbs transformed into a boundless Star Sea, each one as huge as a star, making him feel as if he were standing in the vast, infinite universe.
The Truth Realm Form is actually a world form constructed using the Way of Truth.
However, this world is built from various rules between Heaven and Earth.
The more powerful the Truth Realm Form, the broader the rule world it constructs, and the stronger the power it can draw upon.
Back then, the Truth Divine Temple's divine disciple, Yuwen Jing, had only cultivated the "Emperor Above" Truth Realm Form. The lightning that surged from his realm form forced Zhang Ruochen to use the *Space-Time Secret Scripture* to resolve it.
Now, Zhang Ruochen's Truth Realm Form had reached "Star Sea Without Shore" and was evolving toward "Universe Without Bound," naturally unleashing even greater power.
In the Star Sea, those star orbs turned into real planets, flying rapidly toward Xu Fei.
To other cultivators, they only saw star orbs flying out and didn't perceive the danger. But in Xu Fei's vision, real planets were crushing down on him, infinitely massive and awe-inspiring.
Xu Fei gritted his teeth and snorted, "Zhang Ruochen, are we arm-wrestling or fighting?"
"I'm arm-wrestling within the rules. Why can't I use other powers?" Zhang Ruochen replied.
The planets drew closer, releasing a destructive pressure.
"Damn it, is the Star Sea Without Shore realm form really this powerful? Are they real attacks or mental illusions?"
Xu Fei was caught off guard.
He had encountered cultivators who had cultivated the Truth Realm Form before. But that Heavenly Court Realm cultivator had only cultivated the "Emperor Above" realm form and was swallowed and refined by Xu Fei before he could even use its power.
Cultivators who cultivated the Truth Realm Form were too rare.
Xu Fei's understanding of the realm form was naturally very limited.
The Gate of Destiny flew in front of Xu Fei, like a shield of radiant light, blocking the incoming stars.
"Boom, boom, boom."
With each impact, the Gate of Destiny trembled violently.
Power waves penetrated the Gate of Destiny, striking Xu Fei's body.
The more powerful the Truth Realm Form, the harder it was to control. It was only after Zhang Ruochen had cultivated his Spiritual Power to the sixty-second rank that he could barely use the realm form to mobilize the Heaven and Earth rules within it for his own use, converting them into attack power.
"I can't be careless anymore. I'll defeat Zhang Ruochen with absolute force first, then find a classic to study the Truth Realm Form in detail."
Xu Fei finally felt threatened by Zhang Ruochen. Fearing an accident, he stopped toying with him and opened his mouth to spit out eight million ghost souls.
Eerie ghost cries spread throughout the Fate Creek Basin.
The sky was covered with ghost shadows, black clouds rolling, dark and gloomy.
The eight million ghost souls quickly merged, forming eight Thousand Questions Realm Ghost Emperor soul bodies. They combined their power with Xu Fei, standing in eight different directions around him.
"Isn't it a bit late to use the power of ghosts now?"
Zhang Ruochen's left hand slowly rose. Immediately, the Jungle Small World manifested a corner from the void, pressing down above his right hand.
The world body of the Jungle Small World gradually shifted, as if it were going to fully manifest, growing heavier and heavier.
The small world was filled with mountains, rivers, plains, and deserts. At first, only a corner hundreds of miles long appeared, but now the manifested world length had exceeded a thousand miles.
"Heavens! Zhang Ruochen actually summoned a world to suppress Xu Fei's arm. Is this still arm-wrestling?"
"I knew Zhang Ruochen controlled a world. Is this the one?"
"I suddenly feel that Xu Fei's choice to arm-wrestle Zhang Ruochen was very unwise. It would have been better to just fight. In a fight, even if Zhang Ruochen summoned this world, it couldn't suppress Xu Fei. He could retreat or attack. But now, Xu Fei can only passively endure."
...
As the Jungle Small World manifested more broadly, the weight it unleashed became too much even for the eight Thousand Questions Realm Ghost Emperor soul bodies to bear.
The contempt on Xu Fei's face had long vanished. He let out a long roar and spat out another four million ghost souls, condensing four more Thousand Questions Realm Ghost Emperor soul bodies.
With the combined power of twelve Ghost Emperor soul bodies, he finally managed to resist the suppression of the Jungle Small World.
"Watch me shatter your world."
Xu Fei's whole body tensed, his expression stern, completely serious.
He raised his left hand, and a seven-petal Ghost Lotus appeared in his palm. The Ghost Lotus emitted a bone-chilling cold aura, spinning rapidly toward the Jungle Small World.
As the seven-petal Ghost Lotus spun, the power it released condensed into a huge vortex.
Many cultivators present were calculating and soon reached a conclusion: "With the Seven Star Ghost Lotus, Xu Fei will shatter Zhang Ruochen's Jungle Small World."
Wu Jiang sat cross-legged beside the jade table. "I didn't expect Xu Fei to have been hiding his strength. With twelve Thousand Questions Realm Ghost Emperor soul bodies and the Seven Star Ghost Lotus, even I wouldn't dare say I could definitely win against him."
Luo Sheng Tian, sitting opposite Wu Jiang, fixed his gaze on Zhang Ruochen. "Don't you think Zhang Ruochen is even more remarkable?"
Wu Jiang narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly.
Zhang Ruochen hadn't even broken his first shackle, yet he could force Xu Fei to use all his trump cards. This indeed put immense pressure on them, the top experts on the Hundred Shackles Great Perfection Ranking.
Yan Huang Tu, sitting at the top, said, "This contest is no different from a real battle."
"At least Xu Fei will win. Zhang Ruochen is still a step behind," Wu Jiang said.
Wu Jiang was shaken by Zhang Ruochen's displayed strength. He not only felt a sense of urgency but also a deep sense of loss. Because if they were at the same cultivation level, he suspected he couldn't even block one of Zhang Ruochen's palms.
However, thinking that entering the Heaven Hunting Battlefield would allow him to eliminate Zhang Ruochen and stop him from getting stronger, that pressure and loss dissipated.
"Boom."
The Seven Star Ghost Lotus struck the Jungle Small World, piercing through the entire world. The earth split apart, mountains collapsed, rivers dried up, and all plants were corroded by the Ghost Lotus's power, turning into black pus.
A world was destroyed!
Many cultivators lamented, as they could see that Zhang Ruochen's Jungle Small World had already developed an initial ecosystem capable of giving birth to life.
Such a small world had value comparable to a high-level life planet above level seven.
If sold, it could fetch tens of thousands of Divine Stones.
Without a doubt, the destruction of the Jungle Small World by Xu Fei marked Zhang Ruochen's inevitable defeat.
The corners of Xu Fei's mouth lifted.
But what puzzled him was that, facing certain defeat, Zhang Ruochen remained as steady as a rock, unflustered.
"How can he be so calm?"
This thought had just emerged in Xu Fei's mind when he suddenly felt the world spin around him. The space he was in was flipping.
"Not good. Zhang Ruochen used that small world to suppress my arm just to distract me. His real goal... his real goal was to distort space."
Xu Fei's gaze shot to the left. He saw that the Fate Creek, which had been flowing on the ground, was now eerily floating up, flowing from the ground to the sky.
The Hell Realm cultivators downstream were also sitting in the sky.
Space, on his left side, had flipped ninety degrees.
"No, no, I can't lose..."
Xu Fei roared silently in his heart, exerting all his strength to push Zhang Ruochen's arm down.
But it was too late. The Fate Creek on his left pressed down faster, and soon his ten-foot-long ghost hand was submerged by the creek's water.
It was settled!
According to the rules set by Bore, whoever's hand touched the creek water first lost.
Zhang Ruochen hadn't completely crushed his arm, but he had distorted the space where the Fate Creek was located, defeating him through the rules of the ritual contest.
For example:
If Zhang Ruochen wanted to walk from his spot to a pavilion five hundred meters away, he didn't necessarily have to walk those five hundred meters. He could use space power to shrink the distance, pulling the pavilion in front of him and stepping into it in one stride.
Bore hovered in midair, looking at the distorted space, then at Zhang Ruochen and Xu Fei. "The outcome is decided! The winner is Zhang Ruochen."
At the same time, Yan Huang Tu, sitting at the very top of the Fate Creek, slammed his palm down on the ground.
"Whoosh——"
The distorted space was pressed back to its original state by the palm force.
Xu Fei was not someone who couldn't accept defeat, but at this moment, he stared blankly, unable to accept the result.
Xu Fei knew he shouldn't have lost, but he also understood that he had no one to blame. Zhang Ruochen had used a trick, but space power was also a part of his own strength.
If he had been more cautious and not so arrogant, even if Zhang Ruochen used space power, he wouldn't have succeeded.
A contest between Great Saints was never just a pure clash of strength.
Zhang Ruochen looked up at the sky, staring for a long time, then let out a long sigh. "To defeat you, I lost a world. Now I finally understand that in a contest between Great Saints, a world is just a pawn. What about a contest between gods?"
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen waved his sleeve. The fragments of the earth plates from the shattered Jungle Small World flew into the sky, hovering above the Fate Divine Domain, turning into space meteorites and cosmic dust.
"Boom!"
Only then did the attending cultivators in the Fate Creek Basin realize that Zhang Ruochen had defeated Xu Fei and won another five Derivation Sacred Fruits, erupting into a deafening uproar.