Chapter 2347: Sudden Shift in the Situation
The strange mark on Yan Wushen's forehead emitted an extremely dark radiance, causing the Buddhist Qi and rules in this heaven and earth to continuously converge toward him.
At the same time, nearly four billion Sacred Dao Rules surged out from within him, constructing a tangible Hell Realm.
Yin winds howled fiercely, and ten thousand ghosts wailed.
Within the Hell Realm, a blood sun hung in the sky, thousands of tombstones stood, divine coffins floated and sank, and white-boned armies marched...
Back then, in Luo River, when Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen first clashed, Zhang Ruochen was forced to summon the Sundial to resolve that overwhelmingly powerful strike.
Now, Yan Wushen's cultivation was countless times stronger than back then, and he once again manifested the "Yama Hell." Once the Hell Realm took shape, it exerted a certain degree of pressure even on Zhang Ruochen.
"He has already cultivated forty billion Sacred Dao Rules, four billion more than I have," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself, somewhat surprised. He wondered what Yan Wushen's opportunity had been, to have improved so dramatically.
"Just a mere Yama Hell cannot suppress me."
Ahead, Que let out a long roar.
The Shadow Elixir Sword shot upward like a white rainbow piercing the sun, clashing head-on with the Hell Realm.
One sword split into eight swords, then into sixty-four swords, evolving into five hundred and twelve swords...
Finally, ten thousand swords flew together.
"If I were at my peak, a single sword strike would be enough to break his Yama Hell."
Que mobilized all his power, using the ten thousand swords to tear the Yama Hell apart, turning it into wisps of eerie ghostly mist. At the same time, he spat blood, suffering backlash from the various forces within his body.
"Pfft."
Zhang Ruochen's Space Sword, formed from thirty-six swords merging into one, struck Que's chest.
Que formed his hands into sword fingers, manipulating ten thousand swords to block in front of his chest. The dense sword light, like a shimmering water surface, clashed violently with the Space Sword.
"Bang, bang."
The ten thousand swords shattered.
The Space Sword, with an unstoppable force, pierced through Que's chest and flew out from his back.
The impact carried by the sword sent Que's body flying backward, crashing into a golden mountain, smashing a deep pit into the cliff face.
Before Que could catch his breath, Zhang Ruochen soared above the golden mountain. His left foot erupted with earth-shattering divine might, stomping down heavily.
The golden mountain, over three thousand meters tall, had a dense geological structure, even more stable than a mountain forged from gold.
"Boom."
The mountain was crushed downward by the Blazing God Leg, causing large amounts of earth and rock to melt.
Moments later, the golden mountain vanished, leaving only a domain of divine flames and a golden lava lake below.
Zhang Ruochen spread his ten wings, controlling his balance. His spiritual power locked tightly onto Que's aura fluctuations as he secretly mobilized Saint Qi, injecting it into the Purple Gold Gourd to activate the Supreme Inscription Rune.
Yan Wushen arrived nearby, his expression stern, momentarily stunned by the power unleashed by Zhang Ruochen's Blazing God Leg.
The strange mark on his brow flickered with extreme darkness again, as if he was considering activating the Yama Hell once more or summoning the Bridge of Helplessness.
Zhang Ruochen cast a sidelong glance at Yan Wushen, growing cautious inwardly.
"Whoosh!"
Que transformed into a black beam of light, breaking through the golden lava and flying into the air.
His injuries had worsened severely, his entire body's skin scorched black by the divine flames. Gone was the majestic bearing of the top-ranked Hundred Shackles Great Perfection expert; he was now barely human, wounds constantly gushing blood.
Que's eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen as he waved his right hand.
"Zhang Ruochen, take the Divine Saint Intent Pill."
A brilliantly bright mass of light flew toward Zhang Ruochen at incredible speed.
Suspecting a trap, Zhang Ruochen used the spatial power of his Space True Domain to neutralize the impact of the light mass, allowing it to slowly stop in front of him.
Looking closely, within the light mass was indeed the Divine Saint Intent Pill.
Though his heart raced with excitement, Zhang Ruochen did not lose his rationality. He quickly understood.
This was a delaying tactic and also a ploy to divert trouble.
Que knew well that the Divine Saint Intent Pill was now a hot potato, the root cause of his being besieged.
Even if he swallowed the pill right now, the final outcome would likely be being captured by the Yama Clan, thrown into a furnace, and refined back into a pill.
Originally, hiding on the Yama Clan's home planet was an ingenious strategy.
Unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen's cultivation far exceeded his expectations, becoming the two biggest variables that led to his defeat today.
At this point, the Divine Saint Intent Pill was certainly impossible to keep; he had to give it away.
The only choice was Zhang Ruochen.
Because even if Zhang Ruochen obtained the Divine Saint Intent Pill, he would not refine it immediately. Instead, he would preserve it to use when breaking through to a third-rank Sacred Intent in a single path.
"I'll leave it with you for now. Once my injuries heal, I will personally retrieve it," Que thought to himself.
Zhang Ruochen knew that once he accepted the Divine Saint Intent Pill, he would be besieged from all sides, ending up in the same predicament as Que. Yet, he still reached out without hesitation and took the pill.
"The sacred path I must walk now is too difficult; I cannot do without the Divine Saint Intent Pill."
With the pill in hand, Zhang Ruochen didn't hesitate. He burst forth at his fastest speed, charging toward the exit of this world.
Ahead.
In the air, specks of light scattered.
These specks, in nine colors, formed a small vortex.
From the nine-colored vortex, a blood-red sword flew out, trailing a tail dozens of meters long, hurtling toward Zhang Ruochen's heart.
"Asura Sword!"
Zhang Ruochen's pupils contracted sharply, both surprised and shaken.
Who was wielding the Asura Sword?
Was it the sword spirit, or Lan Ying?
Not only Zhang Ruochen, but even Yan Wushen and Que were astonished.
The speed and power unleashed by the Asura Sword were formidable, and its timing was impeccable. It had been hidden flawlessly until now.
The sword strike carried profound sword intent, aimed directly at Zhang Ruochen's weakest defensive point.
How could a mere sword spirit achieve this?
In this critical moment, with no time for any other measures, Zhang Ruochen executed three moves in succession to avert the deadly crisis.
First, he used the power of his Space True Domain to instantly perform Space Freeze.
Second, he rapidly shrank his body.
Third, he curled his ten wings inward, wrapping his body into a golden sphere the size of a marble.
With the strength of his golden wings and the power of the Ancestral Blood Patterns, this move had proven effective time and again when facing sudden, overwhelming crises.
"Bang!"
The Asura Sword pierced through the frozen space like paper, its tip striking the golden sphere with astonishing precision.
The golden sphere, covered in blood patterns, turned into a streak of golden light flying backward.
It crashed into the ground, kicking up a thick layer of dust.
From the dust, Zhang Ruochen's form re-emerged. All ten golden wings on his back were pierced, golden blood flowing. A blood hole also appeared on his back, with killing Qi invading his body.
While mobilizing Purifying Divine Flame to refine the killing Qi, he released his spiritual power, staying alert to Que, Yan Wushen, and the Asura Sword.
A bitter smile crossed Zhang Ruochen's face. He began to understand Que's earlier predicament—being surrounded by a group of freakishly strong geniuses was indeed immense pressure.
What made it worse was that these freak geniuses refused to die no matter how hard they were hit.
Just like Lan Ying, who had suffered a fatal blow yet seemed to have survived.
Wisps of nine-colored, eighteen-hued light mist surged from the Asura Sword, coalescing into Lan Ying's form.
Lan Ying stood barefoot on the sword, saying, "Don't look at me with such strange eyes. If you want to kill me, you're not qualified yet."
"Did you devour the sword spirit and merge with the Asura Sword, achieving unity of man and sword?" Yan Wushen asked thoughtfully, with a smile.
Lan Ying shot him a cold glance. "You don't understand how great the Asura Sword is. After its reforging, it couldn't give birth to a sword spirit, so it remained at the Supreme Sacred Artifact level, unable to advance further."
"I ascended Asura Mountain and became its sword spirit, allowing me to take it away."
"In the future, both it and I will reach the pinnacle of gods and divine artifacts."
"Que, you want to nurture a divine artifact, and I too want to nurture one."
Lan Ying was neither human nor any living or dead being. He was a killing spirit born from the killing Qi of ancient battlefields.
Thus, he could become the sword spirit of the Asura Sword.
The killing Qi and the sword spirit could coexist.
Que's eyes held a hint of disdain as he looked upward, saying, "We are different. My future holds infinite possibilities. But your future is bound to be shackled by the Asura Sword. The moment you decided to wield the Asura Sword and become its spirit, the so-called Cosmic Divine Fetus was already dead."
On the Asura Sword, killing light surged violently, showing the intensity of Lan Ying's emotional turmoil.
Just as Lan Ying was about to drive the Asura Sword to attack Que, a loud laugh came from the direction of the golden world's exit: "Has your great battle not ended yet? It seems I arrived too early!"
Yan Huangtu strode forward with his hands behind his back, dragon shadows weaving around him.
The Eight Life-Death Sons followed closely behind Yan Huangtu, lined up in a row. The Yama Qi on the eight of them intertwined and complemented each other, unleashing a power fluctuation even greater than Yan Huangtu's.
Zhang Ruochen's expression remained unchanged, but his gaze shifted toward the golden world's exit, a deep light flickering in his eyes.
Yan Huangtu swept his gaze over Que, Lan Ying, and Zhang Ruochen one by one, a smile spreading across his face. Everything was going according to plan.
"It seems all three of you are quite injured. Who holds the Divine Saint Intent Pill? Hand it over immediately!" Yan Huangtu's tone was forceful, his gaze sharp.
Before the other three could speak, Zhang Ruochen pointed at Yan Wushen and said, "Yan Wushen has already taken the Divine Saint Intent Pill."
"That's right, I personally handed it to him," Que said.
Lan Ying, standing on the Asura Sword, clearly understood the situation and said coldly, "Yan Wushen's cultivation speed is too fast. Even I underestimated him. It seems he has become the final victor. In my opinion, Yan Huangtu, you are no longer his match. He is the number one expert of the Yama Clan."
All three knew that to break the Yama Clan's monopoly, they had to sow discord among them.
They were all top-tier geniuses. They didn't believe Yan Huangtu felt no jealousy toward Yan Wushen's talent or didn't care about being surpassed by him.
Even if he wasn't jealous or didn't care, there would surely be much discussion among the Yama Clan's cultivators.
Besides, didn't Yan Huangtu truly want the Divine Saint Intent Pill?
Swallowing the Divine Saint Intent Pill might allow him to surpass Yan Wushen and secure his position as the number one figure of the Yama Clan in this era. Such a temptation was not something everyone could resist.
Yan Huangtu's gaze swept over the four of them. At least from Zhang Ruochen, Que, and Lan Ying, he could see no flaws. Finally, his eyes landed on Yan Wushen.
Yan Wushen stared deeply at Zhang Ruochen and said, "Using a Divine Saint Intent Pill to test the will of the Yama Clan's cultivators—you've miscalculated."
"What do you mean by that, Brother Wushen?" Zhang Ruochen asked curiously.
Yan Wushen's chest heaved deeply. He clearly hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen to be so shameless, using such ruthless and cunning tactics.
He looked at Yan Huangtu and the Eight Life-Death Sons and said, "The Divine Saint Intent Pill is on Zhang Ruochen. But regardless of whether it's on him, we must kill all three of them. They are all severely injured; there will never be a better opportunity."
One of the Eight Life-Death Sons, who looked like a scholar, asked in a puzzled tone, "Why must we kill them all?"
"Exactly! What if we can't find the Divine Saint Intent Pill after killing them?" another of the Eight Life-Death Sons said.
Yan Wushen's eyelids narrowed. "What do you mean? Do you really suspect the Divine Saint Intent Pill is on me? Even if it were on me, do you have the right to swallow it?"
Yan Huangtu's gaze turned cold as he glared at the two who had just spoken. "The Divine Saint Intent Pill should naturally be given to Wushen to swallow. If it were really on him, why would he lie? You two, stop talking nonsense and making a fool of yourselves in front of outsiders."
Yan Huangtu's words seemed to be reprimanding the two Hundred Shackles Great Perfection Great Saints, but Yan Wushen detected another meaning, and his heart sank slightly.
Perhaps Yan Huangtu hadn't cared about the title of number one expert of the Yama Clan before, but after being called it so often, he had come to care.
Perhaps Yan Huangtu hadn't been jealous of Yan Wushen's talent before, but constant comparisons would inevitably cause psychological changes.
"Could it be that my taking the opportunity on the home planet has already sparked his dissatisfaction?"
This thought flashed through Yan Wushen's mind, and then he laughed loudly, "Cousin, you understand me well. Today, no matter what, we must leave these three behind. Leave Zhang Ruochen to me; you handle the other two."
As soon as he finished speaking, Yan Wushen pressed his palms together. His body emitted both extremely bright and extremely dark light. Vast Mixed Origin Hell Yama Qi surged from the soles of his feet, forming a sea of Qi alternating between light and dark.
"On the Bridge of Helplessness, there is no escape. When the other shore blooms, the other shore arrives."
"Rumble."
The air churned, space trembled, and the entire world shook violently.
An ancient stone bridge shot out from between Yan Wushen's brows.
The stone bridge manifested only a few hundred zhang of its length, yet it suppressed the space for a thousand li around. Secret patterns on the bridge awakened, forming chains like Dao locks, all falling upon Zhang Ruochen.
...
Today is the last day of the event.