Chapter 2301: Momentary Light
The Pink Skeleton remained composed, saying, "No need to fear. If we all attack together, even if Zhang Ruochen had three heads and six arms, he would still die."
In the ghost city, not only were there Hundred-Shackle Great Perfection Great Saints like the Pink Skeleton and the Four-Winged Ghost Emperor, but also many Ghost Clan Great Saints who had stayed behind on their home planet.
The total number was close to a hundred.
Nearly a hundred Ghost Clan Great Saints simultaneously unleashed their Sacred Might and launched attacks. Some activated ghost artifacts or Monarch Sacred Artifacts, while others performed High-rank Sacred Arts.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Beams of light, like a meteor shower, shot through the formation's light barrier, striking Zhang Ruochen above.
Such power and momentum shook heaven and earth, forcing the cultivators of the Upper Three Clans near the home planet to retreat far away.
No matter how arrogant Zhang Ruochen was, he wouldn't be foolish enough to withstand the attacks of nearly a hundred Great Saints head-on. In fact, he was prepared. The moment the nearly hundred forces were unleashed from the ghost city, he withdrew the Immovable Bright King Sacred Image and performed a Great Space Teleportation, dodging far away.
"Fleeing quite fast. Killing a space cultivator is truly troublesome."
The Pink Skeleton grumbled, releasing her spiritual power to search for Zhang Ruochen's trail.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen, holding the Purple Gold Gourd, emerged from a space three hundred miles away from the ghost city. He activated the space inscriptions at the gourd's mouth and shouted, "Absorb!"
"Not good."
Realizing she had been tricked by Zhang Ruochen, the Pink Skeleton quickly yelled, "Retract your war artifacts immediately!"
But it was too late.
The Ghost Clan Great Saints had unleashed dozens of war artifacts, all of which were enveloped by a space formation. As the space collapsed, Zhang Ruochen absorbed them all into the gourd.
From the start, Zhang Ruochen knew clearly that he alone was no match for nearly a hundred Ghost Clan Great Saints. If he attacked head-on, even fighting for ten days and nights, he couldn't break the ghost city's defenses.
Moreover, as Ghost Clan experts continued to return, he would be forced to retreat.
This was a losing battle.
To break the ghost city's defenses, he had to use some tricks to create an opportunity.
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen deliberately showed anger on his face, making the Pink Skeleton think he was furious and losing his mind, acting recklessly and foolishly.
Then, he intentionally manifested the Immovable Bright King Sacred Image, attacking the ghost city with the harshest means, creating the illusion that he wanted a direct confrontation.
All of this was to lure the enemy.
Otherwise, how could Zhang Ruochen have had the chance to absorb dozens of war artifacts at once?
"Damn it, Zhang Ruochen is too cunning."
The Pink Skeleton stomped her foot in anger, wanting to rush out of the ghost city and tear Zhang Ruochen to pieces.
The Great Saints who had used Sacred Arts instead of war artifacts secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Those whose ghost artifacts were taken felt their hearts sink, continuing to communicate with their artifact spirits, hoping to retrieve them.
Zhang Ruochen hugged the Purple Gold Gourd tightly, pouring all his power into activating the Supreme Inscription Runes inside.
"Bang! Bang!"
Deafening impacts echoed from within the gourd, which trembled violently, nearly flying out of his hands.
"Since you want them back, take them!"
In an instant, the Purple Gold Gourd grew larger than the ghost city below. Beams of light shot out from its mouth, hurtling toward the ghost city.
Among them was the Seven-Star Ghost Lotus, a Supreme Sacred Artifact.
The Ghost Clan Great Saints' faces changed in unison.
"Boom!"
Under the assault of dozens of war artifacts, a hole was blasted through the formation's light barrier above the ghost city. As the war artifacts landed in the city, they destroyed the formation inscriptions, rapidly weakening the formation's power.
Finally, the formation completely shattered, and the entire ghost city was reduced to ruins.
Except for the Great Saint-level cultivators, all the surviving ghost spirits of the Ghost Clan were annihilated.
In fact, several Great Saints were injured by their own war artifacts, covered in dust and disgrace.
"Space Collapse."
Taking advantage of the Ghost Clan Great Saints' chaos, Zhang Ruochen spread his hands, mobilizing space power to tear open dense space rifts. The space where the ghost city stood became fragmented, turning into a chaotic zone where reality and nothingness coexisted.
"Retreat, retreat as far as possible! Without the ghost city's defenses, Zhang Ruochen is even harder to deal with."
"Damn, I've fallen into the Void Space."
...
The realm of Great Saints was already extremely high, and the erosion of Void Space was quite limited. Even if a Great Saint accidentally fell into it, they could quickly escape back to the Ghost Clan's home planet.
Only those Great Saints directly hit by space power were injured.
Some had their ghost bodies pierced, others had their heads severed, and some had their ghost bodies shattered—none of which were fatal to a Great Saint.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen's goal wasn't to kill them but to scatter them, creating opportunities to pick them off one by one.
Ming fell into the Void Space. Just as he emerged, he saw Zhang Ruochen standing in front of him.
"Get back in there."
Zhang Ruochen pressed his hand down, striking Ming's head and pushing him back into the Void Space.
Ming crawled out from another space rift but was pushed back again by Zhang Ruochen.
"Zhang Ruochen... you will die... a miserable death..."
Ming's ghost body was eroded by the power of nothingness. Struggling desperately, he looked at Zhang Ruochen standing at the space rift, his eyes filled with venomous hatred. His body drifted further from the space rift, sinking into the endless dark abyss.
"I surrender, withdrawing from the Heaven Hunting Battle."
With this declaration, Ming was teleported out of the star domain of the Heaven Hunting Battlefield by the power of the Myriad Realms Divine Eye.
Surrendering in the Heaven Hunting Battle was a great disgrace, earning the contempt of all clan cultivators, making it hard to hold one's head high again. This was why most Great Saints preferred to die in battle rather than withdraw.
"Zhang Ruochen, I'll take you down with me!"
Xu's roar echoed across the Ghost Clan's home planet.
Xu's Chaotic Ghost Emperor Body had shattered countless times, constantly suppressed by the Devouring Saint Flower, growing weaker. He knew there was no turning the tide today.
He was the Ghost Clan's number one expert, and the home planet's current state was all his fault. Even if he surrendered like Ming and withdrew from the Heaven Hunting Battle, he would face severe punishment from the Ghost Lord, making life worse than death.
Thus, it was better to perish together with Zhang Ruochen, making a more spectacular end.
Zhang Ruochen had been releasing his spiritual power, searching for the Pink Skeleton and Man Sword Great Saint, while dealing with Ming. Only now did he realize that all the Ghost Clan Great Saints had fled the home planet, leaving a vast silence for thousands of miles.
"Time to go."
Sensing something wrong, Zhang Ruochen immediately withdrew the Devouring Saint Flower, preparing to leave the area first.
"You can't escape! Accept the baptism of the Momentary Light and perish with me, body and soul."
After Xu's Chaotic Ghost Emperor Body shattered, ghostly energy covered the entire home planet.
Now, all the ghostly energy ignited, turning into countless clusters of green ghost fire.
Zhang Ruochen had read about the "Momentary Light" in a book. It was a high-level Ghost Clan Sacred Art of mutual destruction, extremely difficult to master. But once mastered, even against an enemy ten times stronger, one could remain undefeated.
Because even an enemy ten times stronger wouldn't dare kill you.
The Momentary Light burned all power in an instant, including the Sacred Source, releasing devastating force capable of killing an enemy ten times stronger.
It was a mutual destruction technique, the most important life-saving measure for a Great Saint.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Like countless stars, the ghost fire converged in an instant, condensing into a single point.
"Boom!"
That point exploded, turning into blindingly bright light.
The entire starry sky was illuminated, layers of star mist shaken apart.
Even Bore, standing tens of thousands of miles away, squinted from the dazzling light.
The immense energy wave destroyed everything on the surface of the Ghost Clan's home planet. Nine continents vanished completely, and all oceans vaporized.
The Ghost Clan Great Saints who had escaped the home planet felt a mix of joy, regret, and silence.
"Unexpectedly, Xu took this path. He could have become a powerful ghost god, but he ended it all himself."
"There was no choice. If Xu hadn't used the Momentary Light, who could have restrained Zhang Ruochen? The Ghost Clan's losses would have been even heavier."
"It's really hard to accept."
"The hardest hit should be the Ghost Lord. He invested much effort in Xu, placing great hopes on him, wanting to train him into the new god of the Earthly Evil Ghost City."
Under normal circumstances, Ghost Clan members couldn't reproduce.
The so-called "Nine Sons of the Ghost Lord" were actually nine adopted sons, similar to nine disciples.
Unlike disciples, the nine sons had been nurtured in the Ghost Lord's ghost body for a time, fusing with his divine power and path.
It was worth noting that if a Ghost Clan cultivator's ghost body developed reproductive abilities, they would undergo a greater transformation, breaking away from the realm of the undead to become a member of the Underworld Clan or Death Clan.
The Corpse Clan was the same.
The difference between the Underworld Clan and Death Clan was minimal, with the only distinction being that one converted undead energy into curse power, while the other converted it into death thought power.
The Underworld Clan's offspring were naturally skilled in curses.
The Death Clan's offspring were naturally skilled in death thought power.
The conflict between the Middle Three Clans and Upper Three Clans lay here. The Darkness Temple, representing the Upper Three Clans' interests, had developed various cultivation techniques.
By practicing these techniques, Ghost Clan and Corpse Clan members, upon reaching a certain realm, could potentially develop bodies with reproductive abilities, becoming members of the Underworld Clan or Death Clan.
The Upper Three Clans grew stronger by weakening the Middle Three Clans.
Of course, as the Underworld Clan and Death Clan could reproduce, more changes occurred in them.
This time, no one thought Zhang Ruochen could survive.
Fire Charm Nether Lady let out a long breath, saying, "This is the price of excessive arrogance. Pushing a Hundred-Shackle Great Perfection expert to the brink ultimately leads to mutual destruction. Even when we wanted to kill Crimson Great Saint, we only intended to force her out of the battlefield."
Yuan Fei Great Saint shook his head gently, saying, "Zhang Ruochen couldn't stop Xu from using the Momentary Light because Xu's spiritual power was strong enough. For a Great Saint with weaker spiritual power, there would be no chance. So, you'd better not think that mastering a mutual destruction technique guarantees survival."
"Regardless, with Zhang Ruochen and Xu perishing together, we've lost two major enemies. This operation can be considered perfect," White Jade Mad Lion laughed.
"You might be celebrating too early."
Bore pointed forward and said, "Look, what is that?"
Everyone channeled power into their eyes, staring intently.
"A gourd, Zhang Ruochen's gourd." Fire Charm Nether Lady showed joy, flames burning on her body as she wanted to fly over and claim it.
"Don't act rashly."
Bore stopped her.
"Why? That gourd is an extraordinary treasure, capable of absorbing dozens of Monarch Sacred Artifact-level war weapons at once. Moreover, Zhang Ruochen's Sacred Intent Pills and Derivation Sacred Fruits are likely stored inside."
Fire Charm Nether Lady was anxious, fearing the gourd would be taken by Ghost Clan or Bone Clan Great Saints.
Bore said, "Aren't you afraid Zhang Ruochen is inside too?"
Fire Charm Nether Lady's expression changed slightly. Having witnessed Zhang Ruochen and Xu's clash, she subconsciously felt a hint of fear toward him.
But soon, she laughed, saying, "The Momentary Light unleashes destructive power in an instant. How could Zhang Ruochen have time to react and escape into the gourd?"
"Others can't, but he can, because he is a master of time," Bore said.
Fire Charm Nether Lady stopped smiling, her gaze fixed on the Purple Gold Gourd again. A chill ran down her spine. If, as Bore said, even Xu's mutual destruction technique couldn't kill Zhang Ruochen, then Zhang Ruochen would truly be defying heaven.
"Whoosh!"
Near the Ghost Clan's home planet, the Pink Skeleton, holding Man Sword Great Saint, appeared out of thin air from the void.
Earlier, using the power of a Supreme Sacred Artifact, the Pink Skeleton had concealed herself, evading Zhang Ruochen's spiritual detection and diverting his attention, buying time for Xu to execute the Momentary Light.
"Zhang Ruochen, you really are a formidable opponent. If not for Xu's sacrifice, I might have suffered a major defeat today. But the stronger you are, the more valuable it is to kill you. The gods should be watching, right? Hehe!"
The Pink Skeleton casually tossed Man Sword Great Saint to a Ghost Clan Great Saint, then turned into a red light, flying toward the Purple Gold Gourd.
She was full of anticipation for the gourd.
Just a few dozen feet away, the Pink Skeleton reached out to grab the gourd. But as her hand drew closer, a sense of unease grew in her heart.
"Something's wrong. This gourd is a Supreme Sacred Artifact, its artifact spirit must be powerful. Why isn't it resisting?"
Just as the Pink Skeleton was about to withdraw, she sensed a space fluctuation behind her.
Zhang Ruochen's figure emerged from the space ripples, covered in blood, like a ghost of death. He stood precisely behind her, his chest almost touching her back, inches away.
The Pink Skeleton's heart sank to the bottom.