Chapter 2313: Space Purple Rain
The leader of the Meteor Star Divine Temple, Fang Mofeng, had already broken free from ninety-nine shackles, making him a top-tier expert in the Hundred Shackles Realm.
Two prominent bulges grew on his back, resembling camel humps. His hands were clasped together at his abdomen, and from his mouth, he spat out a radiant glow as bright as a star, scattering across the vast purple ocean.
The glow resembled threads of red, silver, and white, interwoven and merging with the seawater.
Fang Mofeng was using his own source essence to resonate with the Meteor Star Armor.
Only by finding the Meteor Star Armor could they locate Zuo Mu Shengjun's true body. Otherwise, not even Zhang Ruochen and the Yu Huang—let alone a Great Saint of the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm—could do anything to him.
The Slaughter Shadow was merely a manifestation of Zuo Mu Shengjun's killing intent and killing aura, combined with a Shura battle soul. Although the Slaughter Shadow possessed nearly half the combat power of the true body, it was not the original.
"Boom."
The starry glow resonated with the Meteor Star Armor, rapidly converging toward a single point in the purple ocean.
"That's where Zuo Mu Shengjun's true body is located."
Fang Mofeng transmitted a mental message to Zhang Ruochen and the Yu Huang.
Almost instantly, dense, profound divine patterns emerged on Zhang Ruochen's right foot. Crimson divine flames surged from the sole of his foot as he stomped down violently toward the point where the starry glow had gathered.
Before his foot even landed, the purple sea had already sunk downward.
"Splash."
A purple meteor, over two thousand meters long, burst out from the sea surface and collided fiercely with Zhang Ruochen's left foot.
The opposing forces—one purple, one red—caused the air to bulge like a drawn bow, forming two arcs.
The purple meteor and Zhang Ruochen remained locked in a stalemate for a single breath before separating. One flew upward, while the other plummeted down.
At the edge of the purple ocean, the Great Saints of the Meteor Star Divine Temple and the Ghost Clan were all stunned.
"Zhang Ruochen actually has the combat power to contend with Zuo Mu Shengjun?"
"Legend has it that Zhang Ruochen's leg was severed from a Heavenly Court god by the Moon God, then fused with his own leg to create a divine leg."
"The Moon God is so noble and pure, embodying the essence of heaven and earth. Countless gods from both the Heavenly Court and Hell have been captivated by her, yet no man has ever won her heart. Why would she care so much about a junior like Zhang Ruochen?"
There were rumors that during the divine war at the end of the Middle Ages, the Moon God faced a certain-death situation. After she disappeared, all cultivators in the Heavenly Court and Hell assumed she had fallen.
But ten thousand years later, she returned alive to the Heavenly Court.
This incident sparked all kinds of speculation.
Some speculated that it might have something to do with a titan-level figure from Hell. However, that titan's power was too terrifying for anyone to openly discuss.
Zhang Ruochen flew upward for over a hundred miles before neutralizing the impact of the purple meteor. His left leg throbbed with a numbing pain.
"Just now, I attacked from above, and the pull of the Dark Star amplified my strength, giving me a huge advantage. Yet I could only match him evenly. This battle won't be easy."
Hard or not, he had to fight.
Zhang Ruochen cycled the sacred qi in his body once, and the numbness in his left leg vanished.
"Whoosh."
His form turned into a streak of golden light as he dove downward.
The two-thousand-meter purple meteor descended and transformed back into Zuo Mu Shengjun's figure. The meteor had become his armor.
Zuo Mu Shengjun landed on the sea surface and quickly stabilized himself. His gaze swept over Fang Mofeng, Yan Hanyu, Mo Cuo, and the other Great Saints on the shore. He snorted angrily: "All the Monarch Sacred Artifacts have been initially refined by me. Do you think you can take them back?"
With a flick of his sleeve, the purple sea surged into a wave hundreds of feet high.
The wave was formed from sacred dao rules, carrying Zuo Mu Shengjun's terrifying killing aura.
"Boom."
The seventeen Great Saints were already injured. Having burned their sacred blood while breaking the seal, none could unleash their peak combat power. Struck by the wave, they were all sent flying.
Among them, three Ghost Clan Great Saints of the Undying Realm had their ghost bodies shattered by a palm imprint formed from the wave, turning into three patches of pitch-black ghost clouds. Though not dead, recovering from their injuries would take years of cultivation.
The other Great Saints suffered even more severe wounds.
Only Fang Mofeng remained standing, resisting the wave.
Earlier, when Zhang Ruochen launched his attack, the Yu Huang had separated one hundred thousand mental power thoughts, condensing them into one hundred thousand figures. They stood in a horizontal circle in midair, covering an area a hundred miles in radius.
Each of the one hundred thousand mental power thought figures performed the same actions as the original, inscribing identical formation patterns.
Once the formation patterns were inscribed, one hundred thousand and one dazzling lights bloomed in the sky. The patterns resonated, connecting to form a massive circular ninth-rank grand formation.
"Ninth-Rank Myriad Spirit Grand Formation."
The Yu Huang used the Seven-Star Ghost Lotus as the formation's eye, merging it with the Ninth-Rank Myriad Spirit Grand Formation. Her graceful figure stood at the center of the ghost lotus as the hundred-mile-wide formation activated and descended rapidly.
Zuo Mu Shengjun felt the pressure of the formation and the Supreme Sacred Artifact. He had to reassess the Yu Huang, his expression turning grim. He leaped forward three times in succession.
With each leap, his body grew several times larger.
After the third leap, Zuo Mu Shengjun's body was the size of a mountain. His mantis-like arms raised, and two beams of Shura battle qi shot into the sky.
"Boom."
As the formation spun rapidly, the two beams of battle qi were crushed. The palace-sized Seven-Star Ghost Lotus pressed down on Zuo Mu Shengjun, its Supreme power raining down like a waterfall.
Above the Seven-Star Ghost Lotus, the Yu Huang summoned Netherworld Soul-Devouring Flame from beneath her feet, combining it with the Supreme power to refine Zuo Mu Shengjun below.
"Life and death are vast and helpless."
The Yu Huang produced the Soul-Seizing Flute. Her robes fluttered as she played a melodious, enchanting tune.
Illuminated by the ghost fire, the Yu Huang's figure appeared soft and slender, with curves both graceful and alluring. Her hair flew in the wind, like a divine music fairy immersed in the exquisite melody.
The flute sound was like heavenly music, clear and beautiful, intoxicating.
But Zhang Ruochen knew that the tune was the terrifying "Funeral Soul Sacrificial Song," specifically designed to attack a cultivator's five senses, sacred soul, and mental will.
Back when the Yu Huang's mental power had not yet broken through to the sixty-fourth rank, her flute playing could already affect Zhang Ruochen and the Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint Shen Nansheng.
Now that her mental power had greatly advanced, the flute song was naturally even more fearsome.
With his mental power sealed, Zuo Mu Shengjun would surely be severely affected.
"Roar!"
Zuo Mu Shengjun's Slaughter Shadow let out a long howl, transforming into a dark shadow that charged into the Ninth-Rank Myriad Spirit Grand Formation, aiming to attack the Yu Huang at the center of the ghost lotus.
"Whoosh."
A whip descended from above, striking the Slaughter Shadow with a thunderous crack.
It was Zhang Ruochen, who had rushed back, wielding the Ghost Head Whip.
The Slaughter Shadow was sent tumbling by the whip's strike. It swung its arm, and a series of seven Slaughter Flying Swords shot from its palm, one after another, emitting piercing sword light.
Zhang Ruochen somersaulted through the void. His ten golden wings, as sharp as indestructible golden blades, sliced through the seven flying swords, breaking them back into gaseous form.
"Whoosh."
Zhang Ruochen turned into a golden light, charging to the front of the Slaughter Shadow. He formed hand seals with both hands.
"Bang, bang."
The sound of dragons and elephants roaring erupted with his palm force.
In just one breath, Zhang Ruochen unleashed thirteen consecutive Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palms, each stronger than the last. When the thirteenth palm, "Dragon-Elephant World-Destruction," struck, his power peaked. His body blazed like a scorching sun furnace.
"Boom."
The Slaughter Shadow was blasted apart like a balloon.
Although the Slaughter Shadow possessed nearly half the power of the true body, it required the true body to control it. At this moment, Zuo Mu Shengjun's true body was firmly suppressed by the Yu Huang's Ninth-Rank Myriad Spirit Grand Formation, and his mental will was corroded by the "Funeral Soul Sacrificial Song." Naturally, the Slaughter Shadow's power diminished.
After the Slaughter Shadow was destroyed, Zuo Mu Shengjun's killing intent was damaged.
The true body, suppressed beneath the Seven-Star Ghost Lotus, trembled violently. A earth-shattering roar erupted from his mouth: "You... die... die... die..."
He shouted "die" three times in succession, and the purple sea surged with three waves.
The seawater rolled up, rushing from the edges of the Ninth-Rank Myriad Spirit Grand Formation toward the sky. The waves grew ten feet high, a hundred feet high, a thousand feet high...
"Boom."
The Ninth-Rank Myriad Spirit Grand Formation was crushed by the purple seawater. The water transformed into tens of thousands of ferocious beasts, surging toward the Yu Huang at the center, emitting roars.
Some became winged dragons, others three-headed tigers, and still others red-eyed demon wolves...
"Pfft."
The formation shattered, and the Yu Huang spat out a mouthful of blood.
She had already been severely injured earlier, and now her wounds worsened. Her mental power was also heavily damaged, her face as pale as death.
Though the sea beasts charged from all directions, she still exerted every ounce of strength to drive the Seven-Star Ghost Lotus, suppressing Zuo Mu Shengjun below.
The sea beasts drew closer, their shadows blotting out the sky, threatening to tear her apart.
"Whoosh—"
At this critical moment of life and death, Zhang Ruochen finally arrived. He flew above the Seven-Star Ghost Lotus, his body blazing, unleashing a millionfold surge of pure yang energy.
Both palms struck out simultaneously. Countless dragon shadows and innumerable elephant silhouettes flew from his palms, accompanied by the deafening roars of dragons and elephants.
All the sea beasts charging from every direction were shattered, turning into retreating tides.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zuo Mu Shengjun, suppressed beneath the Seven-Star Ghost Lotus, transformed his body into a slender stream of water. Escaping the Supreme power's suppression, he flew up from the eastern side of the ghost lotus.
The stream resembled a winding heavenly blade, emitting a piercing sound as it struck heavily toward the Yu Huang.
The Yu Huang swung the Soul-Seizing Flute, clashing with the stream. Unable to withstand the immense force, she spat out another mouthful of sacred blood, flying backward like a scarecrow.
In terms of raw power, the Yu Huang was not particularly outstanding among top-tier experts.
Her ranking at eleventh place relied on her third-rank Sacred Intent, combined with her identity as a formation master and talisman master. If given enough time to set up formations or draw talismans, even Xu and Yanhong Dasheng would suffer greatly against her.
"Rustle."
The stream rapidly coalesced, forming Zuo Mu Shengjun's figure clad in purple armor. He flew toward the Yu Huang, intending to eliminate her first before dealing with Zhang Ruochen.
The Yu Huang's Ninth-Rank Myriad Spirit Grand Formation and "Funeral Soul Sacrificial Song" had given Zuo Mu Shengjun considerable trouble, leaving him with some hidden injuries.
Zhang Ruochen risked using Great Space Teleportation, appearing before Zuo Mu Shengjun to intercept him.
"Take this punch."
Zhang Ruochen threw a punch. A surging heavenly river appeared around him, combining his fist force with Truth Rules to unleash a tenfold attack power.
"Wuji Kongling Seal."
Sensing danger, Zuo Mu Shengjun clasped his hands together.
In that instant, the vast purple ocean contracted into the space between his palms, forming a circular dao seal that clashed with Zhang Ruochen's Luo Water Fist Art.
"Boom."
Once the tenfold attack power was unleashed, even Zuo Mu Shengjun could not withstand it.
The Wuji Kongling Seal was shattered by the punch. The fist force collided with Zuo Mu Shengjun's hands. His liquid palms and liquid sacred body exploded with a bang.
Zuo Mu Shengjun turned into a shower of purple rain, shattering into tens of billions of raindrops, each containing a sacred dao rule.
The Yu Huang, landing on the ground, exhaled slightly. "Is it finally over?"
Fang Mofeng transmitted a mental message to both: "Don't let your guard down. Zuo Mu Shengjun is definitely not dead. He was born from the origin place of the universe, the Haishi Star Domain, as a cluster of space purple rain that gained sentience and embarked on the path of cultivation. He can merge with space, and his sacred soul can integrate into every drop of purple rain."
"As long as the purple water is not destroyed, he is immortal."
"As long as space is not destroyed, he is indestructible."
"Back then, the Destiny Divine Hall expended great effort to capture him."
"So it's the Space Purple Rain recorded in the Space-Time Secret Scripture." Zhang Ruochen showed a look of realization.
According to Xumi Saint Monk's records, there is an origin place in the universe where it rains constantly. It rains seven-colored rain—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. Where the seven-colored rain falls, new spatial structures automatically form.
Thus, cosmic space is continuously built up and expanded by the seven-colored rain.
Space should originally be seven-colored, but when the seven colors merge, it becomes colorless.
The purple rain on the ground all merged into space and disappeared.
Witnessing this eerie scene, the Yu Huang felt a chill down her spine. "How are we supposed to fight this? Zuo Mu Shengjun is practically an invincible enemy."
The fourteen Ghost Clan Great Saints, sensing the dire situation, turned into streams of ghost qi and fled the Dark Star, disappearing into the pitch-black, boundless void.
Zuo Mu Shengjun's laughter echoed across the Dark Star, his voice coming from no fixed location: "You two have managed to destroy my second form and shatter my first form. You can be considered the most outstanding talents to emerge from Hell in the past thousand years. But if you want to kill me, you're still far from it."
"Now, I'll give you a way out. Stop interfering with the Meteor Star Divine Temple's affairs and get out of the Dark Star immediately. Otherwise, if you continue fighting, one of you will surely die."
The Yu Huang's gaze turned to Zhang Ruochen as she secretly transmitted: "I feel like he's getting nervous, trying to scare us away on purpose."
"Although he claims to be immortal, his Slaughter Shadow, first form, and second form have all been shattered in succession. He's already much weaker. Perhaps he isn't truly immortal," Zhang Ruochen said.
The Yu Huang said, "Our mental power is both at the sixty-fourth rank. How come only you can sense his aura weakening?"
"What I sense isn't his aura, but spatial fluctuations. Trust me. As long as we can stop him from escaping, he will be the one to die today," Zhang Ruochen said.
The Yu Huang was heavily injured and really didn't want to fight such a bizarre enemy as Zuo Mu Shengjun. But hearing Zhang Ruochen's calm and confident voice, she too regained her confidence.
At times like this, retreating was not an option.
...
At this moment, two streaks of light approached from afar, arriving at the edge of the third Dark Star.
When they stopped, they condensed into two figures—one handsome and spirited, the other breathtakingly beautiful. They were Bore and Wujiang.