Chapter 2345: The Final Layer of the Seal
The Taiji Mark spun at an extreme speed, radiating five-colored sacred light.
Five different powerful forces surged within, like a world-destroying millstone capable of grinding everything in existence to dust.
With this strike, Zhang Ruochen was fully confident he could contend with a Thousand Questions Realm peak Great Saint.
Even a sword as formidable as Ying Dan Sword, upon striking the Taiji Mark, was pulled into it by the spiral force contained within the mark, causing its trajectory to deviate.
However, soon, one hundred sixty billion Sacred Dao Rules erupted from the sword body. With an unstoppable momentum, it let out a thunderous boom and shattered the Taiji Mark.
"Boom."
The Divine Demon Prison Suppression was also pierced through in a single strike.
Like a beam of light, Ying Dan Sword passed through the massive phantom of gods and demons, thrusting straight toward Zhang Ruochen, who was suspended at the center of the phantom.
At this critical moment of life and death, Zhang Ruochen was not flustered. Instead, his thoughts became completely clear and empty.
He did not have a deep enough understanding of Que.
However, he understood his own power very well.
With the thirty-six billion Sacred Dao Rules he had cultivated, dealing with other Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints was naturally no problem. Even those Thousand Questions Realm Great Saints who had cultivated over a hundred billion Sacred Dao Rules and had already transformed their Dao were not something Zhang Ruochen took seriously.
Because having more Sacred Dao Rules was not always better; one also had to know how to use them exquisitely.
But Que also understood how to use Sacred Dao Rules in the best way, and the number of his Sacred Dao Rules was several times that of Zhang Ruochen. It could be said that before this battle even began, Zhang Ruochen knew he was destined to lose.
It was even a situation of nine deaths and one chance of survival.
However, Que had made a fatal mistake.
He should not have given Zhang Ruochen the opportunity to unleash his strongest strike while Yan Wushen was not dead and Lan Ying's life or death was uncertain.
He was too arrogant.
Arrogance is the greatest weakness of all geniuses and powerhouses.
It was precisely because of this mistake by Que that Zhang Ruochen had the chance to save his life and turn the tables today.
Because as long as he could block this sword strike from Que, even if only for an extremely short moment, Yan Wushen and Lan Ying would surely seize the opportunity and deliver a fatal blow to Que.
When Que was going all out with his sword, that was when his defenses were at their weakest.
The challenge Zhang Ruochen faced was whether he could block Ying Dan Sword for a single instant. The victory, defeat, life, and death of the three of them all hinged on that single instant.
Yan Wushen stood on the distant ground, the wound on his neck already healed.
His eyes burned like fire as he watched the phantom of gods and demons continuously collapse and Ying Dan Sword get closer and closer to Zhang Ruochen. He couldn't help but mutter, "Zhang Ruochen, no matter what, you cannot die under Que's sword. Otherwise, I will regret it for the rest of my life. If you must die, you will die under my palm."
"Boom."
Yan Wushen's palms clapped together, and his body once again radiated a peerless golden light.
His golden body grew larger and larger, reaching nine zhang and six chi.
Inside the golden body, ten thousand Buddhist sounds echoed, and the Buddha's voice was like thunder.
In front of him, a Space Wormhole Mirror appeared, ready to cross space at any moment and launch an attack. Even though taking the path of the Space Wormhole Mirror in this world filled with Dao Locks was extremely dangerous, he showed no fear.
After Lan Ying's body exploded, it turned into nine-colored and eighteen-hued chaotic light mist, filling this heaven and earth.
At this moment, all the chaotic light mist churned like boiling water, erupting with waves of energy tides.
Que naturally knew that Lan Ying was likely not dead, and he also knew that Yan Wushen would definitely make a move.
Therefore, this sword strike of his was not only meant to kill Zhang Ruochen but also to lure Lan Ying and Yan Wushen into making a move, so he could kill all three of them. Otherwise, if Lan Ying, Yan Wushen, and Zhang Ruochen tried to escape, he could at most kill one of them.
If he was going to kill, he had to kill them all.
Ying Dan Sword finally broke through all of Zhang Ruochen's defenses, and the tip of the sword struck the sole of Zhang Ruochen's left foot.
If it were any other cultivator facing such a threat, even if their cultivation had reached the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm, they would most likely end up dead, with their Dao extinguished.
But Zhang Ruochen's foot was extraordinary; it was a divine foot.
"Whoosh."
His entire left leg instantly turned golden, revealing ten million crimson flame divine patterns. A massive amount of divine flame surged from the sole of his foot, clashing with Ying Dan Sword, actually suppressing the sword's momentum for a single instant.
At that moment.
Yan Wushen stepped into the Space Wormhole Mirror and instantly appeared beside Ying Dan Sword, striking out with all his might in a palm attack.
Although Que's body was merged with Ying Dan Sword, seemingly achieving unity between man and sword.
If this palm strike landed solidly, it would still injure him.
"I've been waiting for you."
Que's voice sounded formlessly.
Ying Dan Sword, which was clashing with the Blazing God Leg, changed its attack direction and slashed vertically downward.
The sword's edge reached the top of Yan Wushen's head, intending to split his body in two.
This was a premeditated killing blow.
Yan Wushen was clearly prepared. At this critical moment of life and death, he displayed the adaptability and reaction speed of a top-tier genius, shouting loudly, "Naihe Bridge!"
From between his brows, an ancient stone bridge flew out, colliding with Ying Dan Sword.
Naihe Bridge was not a Supreme Sacred Artifact but a stone bridge formed naturally by heaven and earth, having existed for tens of millions of years.
Legend has it that this bridge once lay in the distant dark starry sky between the Heavenly Court and Hell, and although it was a bridge, it was connected to multiple worlds.
When the bridge body was fully extended, it was unknown how many billions of miles long, capable of spanning star rivers and connecting various realms.
Later, several gods of the Yama Clan joined forces to take away Naihe Bridge.
Even with the power of the Yama Clan's gods, they could not refine Naihe Bridge into an artifact. They only imprinted a large number of secret patterns on the bridge body. By controlling these secret patterns, they could use Naihe Bridge as a simple artifact.
The Naihe Bridge that flew out from between Yan Wushen's brows was not its true body but a light shadow condensed by secret arts.
"Boom."
Ying Dan Sword was indestructible, cutting through Naihe Bridge, and the sword light landed on Yan Wushen.
Yan Wushen turned and leaped, jumping into the Space Wormhole Mirror.
"Pfft."
The Space Wormhole Mirror appeared on the ground a hundred miles away, and Yan Wushen rushed out from it, crashing heavily into the ground. He was covered in blood, severely injured.
Que was also facing a great crisis at this moment. While controlling Ying Dan Sword to attack Yan Wushen, Lan Ying rushed out from the nine-colored and eighteen-hued chaotic light mist, holding the Asura Sword.
Lan Ying's pupils burned with flames, and the Asura Sword in his hand was red enough to drip blood.
"Take my strongest sword strike, World-Destroying Asura."
With this sword strike, Lan Ying activated his Sacred Intent, fully releasing the Sacred Dao Rules within his body. The Asura Sword in his hand became extremely heavy, and he gripped the sword hilt with both hands, swinging it with all his might.
For a thousand miles around, everything turned into a blood-red Shura World.
"Boom."
The Asura Sword and Ying Dan Sword clashed heavily.
In an instant, Que's body materialized, tightly gripping the sword hilt, opposing Lan Ying.
After all, Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen's current cultivation levels were still too low. Only Lan Ying was Que's greatest enemy and the one most capable of threatening him.
The two held their swords, locked in a stalemate.
Lan Ying's childlike face twisted into a sinister smile. "Zhang Ruochen's Divine Demon Prison Suppression and Yan Wushen's Naihe Bridge have already exhausted the power of your Sacred Intent. You are now at the end of your rope. Instead of struggling on, you might as well save your strength to escape."
Que said nothing, his face as cold and hard as iron, his gaze sharp and fierce.
Lan Ying was right. Most of the power of Que's strongest sword strike had been consumed by Zhang Ruochen's Second-Rank Sacred Intent and Divine Demon Prison Suppression. However, a powerful sword Dao force had also surged through the sole of Zhang Ruochen's foot into his left leg.
Zhang Ruochen's left leg was a divine leg, capable of unleashing formidable power, but that power was not entirely under his control.
Que's sword strike contained a powerful force of nothingness, piercing through the final layer of the seal that the Moon God had placed in the Blazing God Leg.
Instantly, a divine power and divine flame ten times stronger than before surged out wildly.
This power required comprehending the flame divine patterns to control. But at this moment, Zhang Ruochen had only comprehended ten million flame divine patterns. After the seal was broken, the number of flame divine patterns had reached one hundred million.
How could he still control it?
According to Zhang Ruochen's plan, he needed to wait until he reached the Great Perfection of the Hundred Shackles Realm before unlocking the fourth layer of the seal that the Moon God had placed in the divine leg. Then, he would go into seclusion for a period of time, undisturbed, to slowly comprehend the one hundred million flame divine patterns and control all the divine power contained in the divine leg.
With his plan shattered, Zhang Ruochen instead fell into a desperate situation.
The divine flame in his left leg raged uncontrollably, burning his flesh until it was as red as a branding iron, glowing with a golden light, as if it were about to melt.
Zhang Ruochen used all his strength to control the ten million flame divine patterns, trying to suppress the divine flame, but he failed.
The divine flame spread through his meridians, sacred channels, and blood vessels toward his waist, and his entire body gradually began to burn.
His demigod body was indeed powerful, but these divine flames were cultivated by the Blazing God, capable of refining gods. Refining a demigod was a simple task.
Zhang Ruochen gritted his teeth, his body aching as if it were splitting apart. His meridians, sacred channels, and blood vessels were all burned and melted, and his body turned golden from the flames.
Even under such torment, he did not give up. He held on stubbornly, continuously activating the Divine Wood Heart to restore his melted body.
"Water Dao Rules."
In the Sky-Connecting River, a massive amount of Water Dao Rules rushed out of his Qi Sea to oppose the divine flame.
But it was like trying to put out a blazing cartload of firewood with a cup of water.
Faced with the raging divine flame, tens of millions of Water Dao Rules were completely insufficient.
The more dangerous the moment, the clearer Zhang Ruochen's mind became. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he murmured, "Yin-Yang Five Elements, cycle and transform."
The power of the Five Elements mutually generates and overcomes each other.
Since he had once converted the metallic power contained in the Extreme Burial Gold Qi into water, fire, earth, and wood, then by using the Five Elements transformation, he should be able to convert the fire attribute power contained in the divine flame into metal, wood, water, and earth.
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes, letting the divine flame burn his body as he practiced the Yin-Yang Five Elements Sacred Intent while circulating the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture.
In the distance, the scaly green "mountain range" raised a massive dragon head, with a "" character mark on the top of its head.
"His body has actually merged with the Extreme Burial Gold Qi. It seems he has passed the initial test of that tiger. He truly possesses unparalleled talent, actually thinking of cultivating Yin-Yang Five Elements and achieving such astonishing results."
The Character Azure Dragon had been watching the battle of the four all along, inwardly quite amazed. The talent, intelligence, and methods of the four were all top-tier.
It had been waiting here for thirty thousand years and had seen countless talents of the Yama Clan, but only one or two had reached their level.
"Unfortunately, this kid's body contains the power of a god's flame, too strong for him to control. The Five Elements transformation is indeed a good method, but the divine flame is too powerful. The speed of transformation cannot keep up with the speed at which his body is being refined."
"I've been here for thirty thousand years. I can't continue to sleep. Since I've decided to emerge, then, tiger, you will emerge with me."
The Character Azure Dragon decided to help Zhang Ruochen. After all, if he was refined to death by the divine flame, the Burial Gold White Tiger would lose its guide and might not know how many years it would take to emerge.
If one was to emerge, both would emerge together.
Just as Zhang Ruochen's internal organs began to melt, a cool dragon-shaped current surged into his body.
This dragon-shaped current, like the energy released by the Divine Wood Heart, was also of the wood attribute. It protected his physical body, buying him more time.
Zhang Ruochen had no time to wonder where this dragon-shaped current came from. He greedily absorbed it, using it to restore his burned body while continuing to activate the Yin-Yang Five Elements Sacred Intent to transform the divine flame.
"Boom."
A loud explosion sounded inside his body. It was the thirty-first shackle breaking under the refining of the divine flame.
"Boom."
Moments later, the thirty-second shackle broke.
...
The clash between Lan Ying and Que's swords ultimately ended with the Asura Sword cutting through Ying Dan Sword, slashing heavily across Que's chest, leaving a bloody gash deep enough to see bone.
Que's body nearly broke into two.
Lan Ying laughed loudly. "Now do you realize that the so-called Rule Imperial Artifact is not as strong as you imagined?"
"You are celebrating too early." Que snorted coldly.
The broken Ying Dan Sword turned into a dense mass of Sacred Dao Rules, quickly reforming into a sword.
Ignoring the wound on his body, Que went all out, striking out with sword after sword, forcing Lan Ying into a purely defensive position.
After exchanging over two thousand blows, Que broke through Lan Ying's defenses and pierced through his chest with a single sword strike. The power of nothingness erupted, and Lan Ying's chest became a transparent hole.
Lan Ying let out a miserable scream and rapidly retreated backward.
His speed was no match for Que's, and he was caught up in an instant.
"Rip."
Que struck again with a Nothingness Sword Technique, hitting Lan Ying's right arm.
His entire right arm was devoured by nothingness and disappeared.
Lan Ying was shocked and terrified, looking around for Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen. Alone, he was no match for Que, and even escaping had become extremely difficult.
Unfortunately, after Yan Wushen was severely injured and fell to the ground, he had disappeared.
Zhang Ruochen, struck by Que's sword, had his body catch fire and fell to the ground, turning a large area of golden earth into a lake of molten lava. He had most likely been burned to death.
How could Que be so terrifyingly powerful? The three of them had joined forces, yet they were ending in a crushing defeat.
Lan Ying had never accepted his fate and had never feared anything, but at this moment, a trace of despair arose in his heart. Not because of Que, but because of nothingness.
Even if Que was strong, if he hadn't mastered the Way of Nothingness, he would never have been able to deal with him.
Que pursued closely behind Lan Ying, saying, "Aren't you a Spirit of Slaughter? Don't you have an undying body? Let me see what happens when the nine-colored chaotic energy and killing energy inside you completely turn into nothingness."
...
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