Chapter 2343: Battle of the Absolute
"The power of nothingness does not seem to be invincible. Under the interference of space, origin, slaughter, chaos... and various other forces, it is actually being suppressed!"
Zhang Ruochen observed and comprehended carefully. He understood too little about nothingness.
Every time Que's body turned into nothingness, it could not be perceived by sight or spiritual power. Yet, in just an instant, the domains released by Yan Wushen and Lan Ying could force him back into visibility.
"Yan Wushen has not cultivated the Path of Fate, but he has cultivated the Light of Origin, becoming increasingly difficult to deal with. This man is my lifelong rival."
Never had anyone placed such immense pressure on Zhang Ruochen.
Never had anyone received such high praise from Zhang Ruochen.
Although he had fought Yan Wushen three times, and each time Zhang Ruochen seemed to have the upper hand, he had used all his trump cards and won by a narrow margin.
If he made the slightest mistake, he might be the one to lose.
In the Hell Realm, with the help of the Sundial and various opportunities, Zhang Ruochen still could not widen the gap between them.
He suspected that if he relaxed even slightly, Yan Wushen would surpass him.
Yan Wushen's existence was like a ferocious beast chasing behind Zhang Ruochen, sometimes even running neck and neck with him, forcing Zhang Ruochen to never stop in place.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen did not fear such an opponent; instead, he wished for more like him.
Only in this way could he forever maintain a heart of progress and struggle.
People cannot live without pressure.
In the previous Eon, without Desolate Heaven, Xue Jue War God's cultivation would never have reached its current height after only a hundred thousand years of training.
The Light of Origin was a light that could only be manifested when the Path of Origin was cultivated to an extremely high level. It was said to be the first ray of light at the dawn of creation.
Only after the Light of Origin came into being did all things exist.
This light could create all things, destroy all things, and reshape all things.
All things naturally included cultivators themselves.
Where the Light of Origin shone, soil, water, trees, and flowers all turned into particles invisible to the naked eye. The entire world, as if made of sand, rapidly decomposed.
Que, bathed in the Light of Origin, was also affected.
Around his body, the power of nothingness swirled, blocking the Light of Origin and preventing his body from decomposing. However, the power of nothingness was also suppressed.
Eternal paths gave birth to and restrained each other.
"The Light of Origin can suppress nothingness, forcing Que to reveal himself and fight them. Can space and time do the same?"
Zhang Ruochen pondered strategies against nothingness and Que but was disappointed to find that if Que entered a state of nothingness, he could only use space and time to flee immediately, at best ensuring his own survival.
Among those below the Thousand Questions Realm, no more than five could survive Que's pursuit. Boundless and Luo Shengtian, and even Yan Huangtu, might not be able to do so.
Among Great Saints in the Thousand Questions Realm, those who could survive a fight with Que were likely few and far between.
Zhang Ruochen's ability to guarantee his own survival seemed like a remarkable achievement, but it was not what he wanted.
The reason he could only escape was that once Que entered a state of nothingness, he was no longer within time and space. Time and space could hardly harm him anymore.
It was a state of "leaping beyond the Three Realms and not being within the Five Elements."
"I've got it! Void Time."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up.
Void Time shared commonalities with nothingness and might be able to counter it.
So-called Void Time was time that had broken free from the scope of time rules, no longer within time.
Reality was positive.
Void was negative.
People always stood at a certain point on the River of Time, with time ahead and Void Time behind.
If Zhang Ruochen's mastery of time were higher, allowing him to condense more "Absolute Self Time Imprints" and merge them with the cultivated Void Time Domain into an Absolute Void Time Domain, it would certainly be able to counter Que.
If the Absolute Void Time Domain were strong enough, it might even cause time to flow backward. That is, time becoming negative.
Even a single moment of time reversal would allow Zhang Ruochen to accomplish many things.
However, achieving time reversal was extremely difficult. With Zhang Ruochen's current mastery of time, he could only condense a few Absolute Self Time Imprints at once. He was still far from forming an Absolute Void Time Domain.
"At this stage... is there really no way?"
Zhang Ruochen had always felt that Que must be under some constraint, which was why he dared not kill anyone on the Heaven Hunting Battlefield. This suspicion was now confirmed, as he had been holding back in his fight with Lan Ying and Yan Wushen.
But what about after leaving the Heaven Hunting Battlefield?
How would he fight him then?
Zhang Ruochen sighed softly, closed his eyes, and completely immersed his mind, sensing the power within Que.
"Time and space are eternal paths; they must be able to restrain nothingness in some way. The reason I find it difficult to deal with is that I don't understand nothingness enough."
Gradually, the sounds of battle grew fainter.
Zhang Ruochen's heart became calmer, entering a mysterious state. Particles of starlight emanated from his body, evolving into a sea of stars within the Space True Domain.
The Heart of Truth within him bloomed with brilliant radiance.
Instantly, every move, every change in technique, and every step of Que in the distance appeared in his mind.
This wondrous state lasted for a moment before fading.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly opened his eyes, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "My Path of Time and Path of Space have not cultivated Sacred Intent, nor do they have the empowerment of Esoterica. At present, it is indeed difficult to contend with Que's nothingness."
"But in the Path of Truth, I not only possess Esoterica but also the Heart of Truth. How could Que's cultivated nothingness evade the perception of the Heart of Truth?"
Having figured this out, Zhang Ruochen felt a sudden clarity.
At the same time, he resolved in his heart that after the Heaven Hunting Feast, he would immediately go to find the place where Xumi Saint Monk had passed into Nirvana.
Only there could he have a chance to find the Time Esoterica and Space Esoterica, allowing his Path of Time and Path of Space to achieve a major breakthrough.
Just now, when Zhang Ruochen used the Heart of Truth to perceive Que, Que, who was fighting Lan Ying and Yan Wushen, felt a chill run down his spine.
He immediately realized that an expert must be hiding nearby.
"Forget it, let's end this quickly."
Feeling uneasy, Que stopped entangled fighting with Lan Ying and Yan Wushen.
A long sword flew out from between his eyebrows and landed in his hand.
The sword was four feet two inches long, thin as a cicada's wing, emitting a dazzling white light, as if it were a sword condensed from light.
"Shua!"
Que swung his sword backhand with elegant ease. The sword energy, like moonlight divine radiance, struck Yan Wushen's Nine Zhang Six Golden Body at a tricky and strange angle.
Combining the Half-Buddha Body with the Golden Body, Yan Wushen's defense was likely not much weaker than Yan Huangtu's Imperial Path Divine Bone.
"Chi chi."
The sword dragged across the golden arm, emitting specks of golden light.
Yan Wushen ultimately could not block it, and his massive golden body was sent flying.
A shallow sword mark appeared on his arm.
Yan Wushen was shocked. Que's seemingly casual strike, infused with the power of nothingness, had nearly broken his Golden Body.
On the other side, Que's sword also broke through Lan Ying's Embryonic Universe, leaving a deep bloody gash on his tender face, nearly splitting his head in two.
Lan Ying and Yan Wushen stood on Que's left and right, temporarily halting.
Both were clearly shaken, realizing that Que had finally gotten serious and was far stronger than before.
Que's body flickered between solid and void, elegantly raising his long sword, and gently wiped it with two fingers. "This sword is my Rule Imperial Artifact, nurtured in my Sacred Source all along. Today is the fourth time it has appeared before the world."
"If you do not die today, you should remember its name: Ying Dan."
Yan Wushen clenched his five fingers tightly, golden light flashing, and the sword mark on his arm disappeared. He laughed, "To cultivate a Rule Imperial Artifact to your level, you can be considered the number one person below the gods in this Eon."
Que said, "You simply do not understand the meaning of a Rule Imperial Artifact. Are Supreme Sacred Artifacts strong? Are Divine Artifacts strong? Very strong! But they are all external objects."
"To truly become an extraordinary figure standing proudly in the universe, one must cultivate oneself."
"A Rule Imperial Artifact is formed from the rules I have comprehended myself; it is a part of me. The more perfect the Sacred Dao rules I comprehend, the more perfect it becomes."
"If my Sacred Dao deviates, it will tell me immediately."
"My future is not to control some Divine Artifact. It is to nurture my own Rule Imperial Artifact into a Divine Artifact. Divine Artifacts are immortal, and I will be immortal with them."
The vast majority of cultivators who cultivate Rule Imperial Artifacts only treat them as a path to polish.
Very few actually use Rule Imperial Artifacts as battle weapons.
Que's ability to reach his current height was not only due to his outstanding intelligence but also his unique understanding of the Sacred Dao, far beyond what ordinary people could match.
"So you have also cultivated the Sword Dao and integrated it with nothingness." Lan Ying licked his lips, grinning fearlessly, with no trace of fear in his eyes.
Que stood proudly with his sword, saying, "How could I achieve the fusion of Sword Dao and nothingness? I am merely walking the path of my predecessors. The Nothingness Sword Technique was created by my master many years ago after he was defeated by the Time Sword Art, spending an entire Eon to develop it."
"Now, my master's sword technique has reached great perfection, but the one who defeated him back then has already died, and he can never avenge that defeat."
Lan Ying reached into his chest and pulled a blood-red sword from his flesh.
The sword was slender, emitting an eerie light.
"Since we both cultivate the sword, why don't you first try my Asura Sword?"
"Deng!"
Lan Ying flicked his finger against the sword's body.
Instantly, waves of Supreme Power and Slaughter Qi surged outward.
Lan Ying had six swords, each extraordinary, with two being Supreme Sacred Artifacts and four being Divine Relic Ancient Artifacts.
Among them, the Asura Sword ranked first among the six, so he had brought it to the Heaven Hunting Battlefield.
Countless legends surrounded the Asura Sword. One said it was the former sword of Asura, the greatest ancient god of the Shura Clan, originally a Divine Artifact. However, due to a cataclysmic divine battle, the Asura Sword shattered.
Asura's descendants collected the fragments and reforged the sword, but only managed to create a Supreme Sacred Artifact.
Lan Ying obtained the Asura Sword by ascending the Asura Mountain, the burial site of the ancient god Asura.
No one knew what fortune Lan Ying gained on Asura Mountain; they only knew that when he descended, he carried this Asura Sword and had mastered the "Asura Sword Technique."
During the days he was pursued by Yan Huangtu and Lan Ying, Que had already witnessed the power of the Asura Sword. His expression was serious. "Zhang Ruochen, since you are already here, stop hiding."
Lan Ying and Yan Wushen both showed a hint of surprise.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his Space True Domain, revealing his form, and slowly walked toward them. "As expected of the number one in the Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection. Even while fighting two experts, you still have the spare energy to sense me hiding nearby."
"I was just bluffing. I wasn't sure you were really hiding nearby." Que said.
"It doesn't matter."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze swept over Lan Ying and Yan Wushen. "Let's join forces to kill him first, then fight over the Imperial Grade Sacred Intent Pill."
"I never thought I would join forces with you one day." Yan Wushen laughed.
Lan Ying released Nine Lights and Eighteen Colors, illuminating the entire world, and swung the Asura Sword in his hand.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
In an instant, the sound of slaughter rose from all directions, and blood light filled the air.
A battlefield of thousands of troops and horses manifested: ghost riders holding bone spears, giants wielding sharp swords, undead draped in black robes... With a single sword movement, the Shura World was revealed, and the four seemed to have arrived on an ancient battlefield.
"Space Sword Dance."
Zhang Ruochen activated his Truth Realm Form, and thirty-six Space Swords materialized around him.
The sword shadows flew around his body, continuously combining with Truth Rules, unleashing increasingly powerful energy fluctuations. When the sword energy fluctuation increased tenfold, they shot toward Que like a rain of swords.
"Thousand Heads, Thousand Bodies."
Yan Wushen split into nine hundred and ninety-nine doppelgangers, spreading across the heavens and earth, directly executing the Yama Clan's forbidden art, the Thousand Heads, Thousand Bodies Yama Great Art.
The original body and the nine hundred and ninety-nine doppelgangers each condensed an Origin Path Tower.
A thousand Origin Path Towers, carrying the Light of Origin, pressed down toward Que.
"Since I set foot on the Heaven Hunting Battlefield, today is the first time I have felt a hint of danger. Killing all of you will make me the only one of this era."
Que's eyes blazed with divine light, and his aura instantly peaked. Strands of long hair stood on end.
The Ying Dan in his hand traced a serpentine trajectory, tearing apart the Shura World and scattering the thousands of troops like wind dispersing mist. The sword energy, like lightning, clashed with the Asura Sword in Lan Ying's hand.
Nothingness devoured the Supreme Power on the sword's body.
"Boom!"
A thunderous sound that could shatter a Great Saint's eardrums rang out. Lan Ying flew backward, landing again, and retreated dozens of miles before stabilizing himself.
"Fight!"
Without a moment's pause, Lan Ying roared and charged forward once more.