Chapter 2456: Time Loop
General Pillar, like Lord Turtle, had once received personal guidance from the Desolate Heaven Great God, cultivating to the Supreme Realm.
The moment he made his move, the rules of heaven and earth changed. The sky transformed into the shape of five fingers, the ground continuously sank, and the spatial structure underwent bizarre alterations. Even Zhang Ruochen, a master of space, found it difficult to stabilize the space.
"Compared to Supreme Realm Great Saints, the gap is still too vast," Zhang Ruochen sighed inwardly.
Xiao Hei, who had been beaten like a dead dog, managed to catch his breath at a critical moment. Suddenly, he let out a neurotic roar: "How dare you ambush this Emperor? A capital offense!"
He broke free from Zhang Ruochen's grasp, and as his eyes opened and closed, dazzling divine light shot forth.
His claws swept through the air, forming three fiery light scars that split the five-fingered sky descending from above.
"Boom!"
Trillions of sacred dao rules collided, manifesting astonishing phenomena—worlds appearing and vanishing, stars shifting, gods falling, and more.
General Pillar's eyes flew wide open as if struck by lightning. He withdrew his stone hand, his towering figure retreating rapidly.
"What a formidable hedgehog. Could it be an ancient divine species?" General Pillar raised his palm and saw three black lines, an inch deep, etched into his stone palm.
One must know that his stone body was made of the essence of divine ore, material that could be refined into supreme sacred artifacts.
This showed just how terrifying Xiao Hei's claw strike had been.
"Ignorant fool, this Emperor is an undying... hedgehog."
"An undying hedgehog? Good, very good. Though I've never heard of such an ancient divine species, from today onward, I will remember it," General Pillar said gravely.
Xiao Hei couldn't be bothered to explain. He rubbed the lump on his head, turned around, and glared at Lord Turtle, who had caught up from behind. His fiery eyes blazing with fury, he roared, "This Emperor will wash away the shame of just now with your blood! Today, it's a fight to the death! Fight! Fight! Fight!"
His overwhelming battle intent gathered into war clouds above Xiao Hei's head.
Lord Turtle paused, his two bean-sized eyes darting around. "I... I... am... am... stone..."
"This Emperor doesn't care who you are! Even if a god stands behind you, you can't escape death. What I hate most are useless scum like you who try to use their background to intimidate when they can't win. Tremble, turtle!" Xiao Hei's aura surged even higher.
Lord Turtle felt somewhat deflated and shut his mouth, thinking to himself, "You've misunderstood! I was just trying to say that I'm a Stone Clan Great Saint, my true body being space jade that has settled for hundreds of millions of years. I have no blood at all. Even if you want to wash away your shame with my blood, you can't!"
Seeing Lord Turtle constantly making faces at him, Xiao Hei took it as a provocation and grew furious. He was about to charge forward when Zhang Ruochen grabbed his tail and pulled him back.
"Don't stop this Emperor! This Emperor will beat him until his divine form is annihilated!" Xiao Hei raged, scolding Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Ignore them. Break the formation quickly and get out of here. Wuma Jiuxing is in the garden."
"What?"
Xiao Hei snapped back to reality and carefully assessed the situation. Sure enough, he sensed Wuma Jiuxing's presence. "That bastard's blade dao has reached the divine realm, the pinnacle. An Eon-level genius who hasn't entered the Supreme Realm is invincible in this world. Run, run now!"
When danger struck, no one fled faster than Xiao Hei. In a flash, he bolted toward the garden's exit.
General Pillar tried to intercept him, but Xiao Hei sent him flying with nine consecutive claw strikes, leaving him sprawled on the ground, his stone body covered in claw marks.
Zhang Ruochen followed closely behind Xiao Hei, feeling a bit more confident.
Though Xiao Hei was extremely unreliable, now that his cultivation had recovered, he had indeed displayed extraordinary strength. The two Stone Clan Supreme Realm Great Saints under Bai Qinger's command were clearly rare species with the potential to become gods, yet they couldn't last ten exchanges against Xiao Hei.
When Xiao Hei fought General Pillar, the sacred dao rules surging through heaven and earth clashed like two oceans colliding. Compared to that, the over ten billion sacred dao rules Zhang Ruochen had cultivated were like a small pond, about to be swallowed up in an instant.
Witnessing the gap between himself and Supreme Realm Great Saints, Zhang Ruochen's motivation surged. He secretly vowed that if he escaped this time, he would go into hiding and not emerge until he had cultivated to the Great Perfection of the Hundred Shackles Realm.
Only by reaching the Great Perfection of the Hundred Shackles Realm and fully unleashing his half-god body could he withstand more world power. Only then would he have a chance to fight Supreme Realm Great Saints.
Of course, his half-god physical body was already extremely powerful, capable of overpowering Supreme Realm Great Saints. The problem was that with his Hundred Shackles Realm cultivation, he couldn't fully utilize it yet.
Realm!
Only by reaching the right realm could one control greater power.
"Crackle!"
A deafening sound of collapse echoed through the garden.
Zhang Ruochen's expression changed as he glanced toward Lord Turtle's location.
Lord Turtle's spatial mastery was profound. While Xiao Hei fought General Pillar, he had broken through the spatial walls of the small space world, shattering multiple layers of space with a sweep of his sleeve.
As a result, most of the small space world in the garden collapsed.
Including Bai Qinger, all the Great Saint experts broke free.
Having been trapped by a Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saint, they were already filled with pent-up fury. Killing intent blazed in their eyes as they gave chase to Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei.
"Zhang Ruochen, where do you think you're going? Take this—Thousand Soldiers One Kill!"
Yunhuan Tiexue Wang was the first to break out from the group of experts, hurling his bone spear.
The inscriptions on the spear lit up, and the phantom of a shattered world materialized, flying alongside the spear at an incredible speed. In an instant, it reached Zhang Ruochen's back.
This was a strike from Yunhuan Tiexue Wang at the peak of the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm, with no self-sealing of cultivation.
If it hit, not only Zhang Ruochen but even a Great Saint who had just entered the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm would be reduced to ashes, their soul obliterated.
The more dangerous the situation, the calmer and more composed Zhang Ruochen became. His thoughts turned empty and ethereal. Though he didn't look back, the trajectory of the bone spear was clearly mapped in his mind.
With the Light Merit Armor granting him ten thousand times the speed of sound, Zhang Ruochen was actually a bit faster than the bone spear.
"Whoosh!"
He took a step forward, charging into the garden and entering the formation outside.
The moment he stepped into the formation, it unfurled like a scroll, trapping him in a desert-like world.
The desert world was devoid of light, pitch black.
The bone spear and the shattered world flew into the desert formation world, pursuing relentlessly.
With no way to dodge or escape, Zhang Ruochen suddenly turned around. Using the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror to protect himself, he also unleashed the Purple Gold Gourd and the Ten-Thousand Curse Heavenly Pearl.
The three supreme sacred artifacts simultaneously released their supreme power, rising like three suns. Their dazzling light pierced through the formation desert world, exiting the Jifeng Saint Mansion and illuminating the entire Divine Maiden City.
"Bang! Bang! Bang..."
The bone spear's power was unstoppable. It knocked the Purple Gold Gourd and the Ten-Thousand Curse Heavenly Pearl flying, pierced through the demon mountains manifested by the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, and collided with the mirror's surface.
Zhang Ruochen and the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror were sent flying together.
He activated his spatial power with all his might to neutralize the residual force of the bone spear, avoiding serious injury.
"He actually managed to block my full-force strike."
Yunhuan Tiexue Wang chased into the formation desert world, surprise flashing in his eyes. Then his gaze turned cold, and his killing intent grew stronger.
If Zhang Ruochen was this troublesome at the Hundred Shackles Realm, once he broke through to the Thousand Questions Realm, wouldn't he be defeated?
Yunhuan Tiexue Wang grabbed the end of the bone spear, and dense rules surged from his body, turning into a sea of rules that merged with the spear. He swung it horizontally at Zhang Ruochen.
Blocking Yunhuan Tiexue Wang's first strike had already exhausted Zhang Ruochen's strength. How could he have the energy to block a second?
But Zhang Ruochen didn't resign himself to fate. His body instantly shrank, turning into a speck of light.
"You can't escape. You've been locked onto by my sea of rules. Shrinking your body won't help," Yunhuan Tiexue Wang sneered.
From that speck of light, a shimmering bracelet flew out.
The bracelet spun rapidly, growing larger until it was three zhang in diameter. It swept Yunhuan Tiexue Wang and the sea of rules he had released into the bracelet's interior.
The bone spear Yunhuan Tiexue Wang swung lost its direction, striking the ground and causing the desert to sink.
The speck of light flickered, and Zhang Ruochen's form reappeared. Looking at Yunhuan Tiexue Wang trapped in the bracelet, surprise flickered in his eyes.
Yunhuan Tiexue Wang was repeatedly performing the same action—raising his bone spear and striking the ground.
It was extremely bizarre.
The group of Great Saint experts who had caught up from behind were all stunned by the sight. They halted in their tracks, not immediately advancing.
Bai Qinger recognized the bracelet that had trapped Yunhuan Tiexue Wang. "The Imperial Prince Yuqiu's Zhoufan Bracelet has fallen into your hands."
"It's the Zhoufan Bracelet. Legend has it that when Imperial Prince Yuqiu first entered the Supreme Realm, he used this bracelet to fight Wuma Jiuxing to a draw," the white-robed mysterious expert said.
Bai Qinger nodded. "It's a treasure of fate and a treasure of time. Any cultivator trapped inside will fall into a time loop. Unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen's mastery of fate isn't high enough, or he could use the Zhoufan Bracelet's fate power to make Yunhuan Tiexue Wang kill himself."
"I'll take this treasure."
The white-robed mysterious expert was very tempted. He reached out through the air, and a large hand formed from death qi grabbed the Zhoufan Bracelet.
Though the Zhoufan Bracelet was powerful, it was still just a weapon. Under the suppression of the death qi hand, its spinning slowed until it stopped completely.
Just as the Zhoufan Bracelet was about to be taken, Guye Jing charged into the formation desert world. Breaking through the clouds, she flew down, shattering the death qi hand the white-robed mysterious expert had formed with a single finger, and grabbed the Zhoufan Bracelet.
The moment the bracelet fell into her hands, the fate power it emitted surged, turning it into a divine wheel.
Guye Jing landed not far from Zhang Ruochen, her jade feet sinking into the yellow sand. Ignoring Bai Qinger and the others, she stared warily at the sky. "Use time power to help me."
There was no need to guess—Wuma Jiuxing must have caught up.
"Alright!"
Knowing the urgency, Zhang Ruochen was decisive. The Space-Time Divine Martial Mark on his forehead appeared, spinning rapidly to form a spatial gate that poured out endless world power.
In an instant, the aura Zhang Ruochen emitted reached the level of the mid-stage or even late-stage Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm.
However, blood-red cracks appeared on his forehead, as if his skull was about to split apart. Clearly, he had reached the limit of what he could endure.
All the time rules within his body flew out, merging with the world power of the Qiankun Realm and pouring into the Zhoufan Bracelet.
"Sizzle."
In an instant, countless time imprint light points surged from the Zhoufan Bracelet, turning into a rain of light that enveloped Guye Jing's graceful figure and spread outward, covering the entire formation desert world.
The desert world became dreamlike and eerily beautiful.
"Boom!"
Wuma Jiuxing stepped through the formation clouds, appearing in the void as he walked forward.
The sky above him displayed a strange phenomenon like crimson evening clouds. His figure was tall and handsome, with fiery red hair flowing. He radiated a masculine charm that could captivate any woman in the world.
Strong, handsome, domineering, yet with a unique, restrained charm—he instantly made female cultivators like Shang Yue and Shang Xia unable to look away. It was like male cultivators seeing the fairies on the "Nine Immortal Beauties Painting," irresistibly drawn and infatuated.
Wuma Jiuxing had always been mysterious, and this was the first time Shang Yue and Shang Xia had seen his true form.
His eyes, full of vitality, fell on Guye Jing. "In this era, only the Destiny Temple's number one expert, Zhuo Yunong, has taken one of my strikes and survived. Today, another joins the list. The heir of the Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm has not disappointed me."
Guye Jing raised her stubborn chin. "Failing to kill me with one strike shows your blade isn't as formidable as legend claims."
"If I hadn't been slightly injured from my battle with Zhuo Yunong, killing you wouldn't have required a second strike."
Wuma Jiuxing's gaze was sharp, as if nothing in the world could shake his will. He opened his right hand, and dense blade dao rules gathered in his palm, condensing into a golden blade.
Before the blade was even swung, every cultivator present felt as if their sacred soul had been struck. Their eyes went blind, and their heads ached as if splitting.
"Shwoosh!"
The golden blade flew out and descended.
Seizing the moment, Guye Jing hurled the Zhoufan Bracelet, which dragged a long streamer of light as it crashed toward the golden blade falling from the sky.
"Go!"
Guye Jing grabbed Zhang Ruochen's wrist and flew toward the edge of the formation desert world.
"The bracelet..."
"Your life or the bracelet? Once you enter the Supreme Realm, you can retrieve it then." Guye Jing's face was pale, drops of Great Saint blood falling from her body. With each breath, her aura weakened.
Being able to survive one of Wuma Jiuxing's strikes was already remarkable, placing her among the top experts below the divine realm.
Zhang Ruochen understood that survival was the top priority. With a soft sigh, he activated the Light Merit Armor, grabbed Guye Jing's weak wrist, and shot forward.
Xiao Hei had already broken down most of the desert world's formation. "Give this Emperor a little more time, and I'll break the formation completely!"
"No time. Today, you all stay here."
Bai Qinger's voice rang out.
The grains of sand on the ground flew up on their own, spinning like a vortex, and condensed into a graceful white figure that appeared before Zhang Ruochen and Guye Jing.
Bai Qinger stood still, merely glancing at the sky. Then, a white river of stars descended, stretching for who knows how many thousands of miles, slashing toward Zhang Ruochen and Guye Jing.
It wasn't a real river of stars.
But as it fell, the already vast formation desert world stretched even further.
In Zhang Ruochen's eyes, the white river of stars was no different from a real one, composed of tens of thousands of stars. Each star was tens of thousands of miles in diameter, with outlines of mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas appearing on their surfaces.
Though he knew it was a fake river of stars, it still filled him with despair and awe, as if the entire universe could be manipulated by her.