Chapter 2509: The God-Sealing Diagram
"Soul-Loss Curse!"
The Seven-Hand Old Man was entangled by the branches of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, hanging upside down in midair, swaying like an old strip of cured meat in the wind. Gnashing his teeth in fury, he had no choice but to release his spiritual power to assist Zhang Ruochen in activating the Ten-Thousand-Curse Heavenly Bead.
Killing a true god was impossible.
But killing a false god was within the realm of possibility.
Shattering a false god's divine soul would severely damage their vital energy.
Even then, it could only inflict severe damage, not cause their fall.
This was because a false god's divine soul, divine thoughts, and spirit were all fused into every drop of their blood and every tissue of their body. With the means of a Great Saint, it was impossible to completely kill a deity.
Mo Yunduan's divine soul had already been on the verge of shattering from Sword Thirteen's attack. Now, struck by the Soul-Loss Curse, his divine soul experienced a tearing pain, and he let out a piercing, shrill scream.
This was the cry of a god!
If it had resounded in the Kunlun Realm, countless living beings would have perished.
Zhang Ruochen's eardrums shattered instantly, blood trickling out as his mind felt like it was being pierced by thousands of divine needles.
He too let out a long roar, mustering all his strength to channel an unending stream of blood fiend qi, driving the Ten-Thousand-Curse Heavenly Bead to ensure the Soul-Loss Curse continuously pressed down on Mo Yunduan.
"Whoosh!"
Within the Three Enclosures and Twenty-Eight Mansions Grand Formation, the Titan Ghost Axe flew out.
It was the supreme sacred artifact of the Titan Divine Temple in the Paradise Realm.
The Titan Ghost Axe was pitch-black and profound, its handle ten zhang long, imbued with an eternal, unyielding aura of slaughter and destruction. It tore through the divine clouds, splitting heaven and earth as it struck Mo Yunduan with a heavy blow.
Mo Yunduan's divine body, already cracked half a palm-width wide from the earlier collision with the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron, now shattered entirely—both flesh and divine soul—under the Titan Ghost Axe's strike.
"Boom!"
The shattering of a deity's divine soul unleashed a violent surge of soul power.
The true form of Zangjin Baihu burst forth, appearing before Zhang Ruochen, radiating golden light in all directions to block the invisible shockwave of soul power.
It muttered in a low voice, "What level of cultivation do you have, daring to meddle in a divine battle? Don't you know that if I hadn't blocked that soul impact for you, your saint soul would likely be in pieces by now?"
Zhang Ruochen gave a bitter smile and said, "But you did block it, didn't you?"
"After this battle, don't expect me to help you again. If you keep courting death like this, the next time you stir up trouble, it might be a true god!" Zangjin Baihu grumbled as it vanished once more.
It wasn't that it didn't want to help Zhang Ruochen, but it feared he would become too reliant on its power.
Zhang Ruochen also didn't want to oppose false gods, but circumstances were stronger than people, and he had no choice.
Bai Qinger, Begonia Granny, Blood Spirit Immortal, and Xiao Hei all withstood the soul impact from the shattered divine soul using their formidable spiritual power. However, each of them was severely injured, their spirits somewhat sluggish.
Blood Spirit Immortal, who had once entered the divine realm, understood the divine realm best. He said, "Immediately refine or collect Mo Yunduan's scattered divine soul. Don't let his divine soul reconverge."
Begonia Granny unleashed the Sword Pavilion, transforming it into a supremely sacred tower.
One tower door after another opened, continuously drawing the scattered divine soul fragments from the void space into the tower, sealing them within.
"Hiss!"
Xiao Hei spat out Undying Divine Fire, turning it into a sea of flames to burn and refine the divine soul.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Purple Gold Gourd, but remembering that Gong Nanfeng was still inside, he put it away and instead brought out the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, absorbing the divine soul into the mirror.
Bai Qinger was gravely wounded and also wary of being targeted by the Kunlun Realm cultivators after the god-slaying, so she kept healing herself without personally acting. Instead, she released six pots of Soul-Devouring Orchids.
The six pots of Soul-Devouring Orchids emitted an extremely yin-cold aura.
Sensing the divine soul fragments scattered around, they let out joyful laughter. Their leaves grew wildly, quickly transforming into six enormous orchids.
The orchid leaves stretched out like vast yin clouds.
With each breath of their leaves, they devoured large amounts of divine soul.
Everyone employed their own methods, but still, some divine soul fragments converged toward Mo Yunduan's remnant corpse. The remnant corpse emitted a dazzling divine light, showing signs of reforming a divine body.
Zhang Ruochen noticed that since Mo Yunduan had been severely wounded, Bai Qinger had become less proactive in attacking.
This wouldn't do.
If Mo Yunduan managed to reform his divine body, he would become extremely difficult to deal with.
"Don't refine the divine soul yet. Keep driving the formation to prevent Mo Yunduan from reforming his divine body," Zhang Ruochen said.
Begonia Granny held the Sword Pavilion with both hands in a virtual embrace.
The Sword Pavilion slowly rotated, carrying countless war swords as it attacked the densest areas of the divine corpse remnants and divine soul mist.
"Roar!"
A divine roar even more terrifying than before erupted from the depths of the divine soul mist, shaking Zhang Ruochen's vision into darkness. He nearly collapsed in the void space.
By the time his vision returned, Mo Yunduan had already reformed his divine body, standing above them like an omnipotent heavenly god. His divine might pressed down on them like a hundred thousand mountains.
Divine fire burned on his body, emitting a blinding radiance.
He struck out with a palm, unleashing a divine hand that pushed the Sword Pavilion back.
The Sword Pavilion tilted.
"Boom!"
The ocean beneath Begonia Granny's feet shattered into pieces from the collision.
Her aged body was ignited by the divine fire Mo Yunduan had unleashed. Her flesh turned to ash in an instant, leaving only a seven-colored skeleton that remained undestroyed, still standing in the void at the center of a seven-colored vortex.
"This is true divine fire, with temperatures exceeding a million levels, comparable to the interior of a star. It can annihilate worlds. Any living being that touches it will die," Xiao Hei said, trembling with fear, since his own Undying Divine Fire only reached a temperature of five hundred thousand levels.
Even standing a thousand li away, Zhang Ruochen felt the overwhelming heat.
The Purifying Divine Flame he cultivated currently only reached ten thousand levels, a hundred times weaker than the flames on Mo Yunduan's body. Even a single spark landing on him would reduce him to ashes in an instant.
This was the true power of a god.
Mo Yunduan had lost most of his divine soul. At a critical moment, he activated a self-damaging forbidden art, burning his lifespan and divine blood to forcibly reform his divine body.
His face twisted in fury, and he roared, "A group of saints dare to attempt god-slaying? Let's see if you can withstand the wrath of a deity!"
Mo Yunduan became even more powerful than before, spewing divine fire from his mouth, turning it into a scorching wave of flames.
Like a stellar flare eruption, the divine fire surged forward. Two of the Soul-Devouring Orchids, comparable to Supreme Realm Great Saints, caught fire and let out piercing screams.
In just one breath, they turned to ash.
Bai Qinger quickly put away the remaining four pots of Soul-Devouring Orchids and used the Way of Flowing Light to evade the spreading divine fire.
This divine fire was formed by Mo Yunduan burning his lifespan and divine blood. Even she dared not touch it.
Hadn't she seen Begonia Granny burned down to bones?
The six pots of Soul-Devouring Orchids were rare species that had lived for over an eon. Under Bai Qinger's careful cultivation, they had reached their current level. She valued them even more than Shang Yue and Shang Xia, hoping they might one day step into the divine realm and become six divine-level plants.
Losing two was like being stabbed twice.
Murderous intent surged in her heart. "Mo Yunduan is starting to fight for his life. Now is the true test for us. No one should hold back anymore. Use any trump cards you have!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "That's exactly what I wanted to say to you, Miss Bai. We must go all out and trust each other. If we can't unite in heart and strength, we might as well flee separately now."
Xiao Hei wanted to say that they should have fled from the start, then found another chance to seize the Celestial Pivot Needle from Bai Qinger later. Why did they have to go all out against a god for her sake?
But thinking that Zhang Ruochen didn't want to return to the Kunlun Realm and also had a desire to kill a god, he kept that thought to himself.
After executing Sword Thirteen, Blood Spirit Immortal had lost the strength to continue fighting.
Begonia Granny had been burned down to bones by the divine fire, severely injured, and could at most use her spiritual power to assist them.
This was exactly what Bai Qinger had hoped for. Only then could she set aside all her concerns and go all out to achieve the feat of god-slaying, without worrying about being killed by Kunlun Realm cultivators afterward.
The Kunlun Realm cultivators might not do such a thing, but she had to take precautions.
"You think you can escape now? Too late!"
From between Mo Yunduan's brows flew a scroll radiating divine light.
The scroll was made from the skin of a god, capable of bearing all things in the world. A god's divine thoughts were suppressed within the skin, constantly emitting agonized roars.
On the scroll was painted a stone pillar standing in the sea, supporting the sky.
Countless chains were wrapped around the pillar.
The chains bound a golden-haired god, who looked up to the sky with a roar, his face twisted in indescribable pain.
"The God-Sealing Diagram of the Death God Temple," Zhang Ruochen said, his expression shifting slightly.
The other side had come prepared.
Bai Qinger was shaken, realizing that her decision not to flee but to join forces with Zhang Ruochen to slay the god was the right one. Otherwise, if Mo Yunduan had brought out the God-Sealing Diagram, even with her mastery of the Way of Flowing Light, escaping would have been extremely difficult.
"Clank, clank."
The sound of dragging chains echoed through the void space.
Divine ropes, like steel dragons, flew out from the God-Sealing Diagram, entangling the three supreme sacred artifacts and twenty-eight monarch sacred artifacts within the Three Enclosures and Twenty-Eight Mansions Grand Formation.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
...
Explosions rang out one after another.
One monarch sacred artifact after another was crushed by the divine ropes, reduced to scrap metal and broken fragments, their artifact spirits scattering.
The formation was collapsing. It could no longer suppress him.
Blood Spirit Immortal sighed, knowing that god-slaying was ultimately a delusion. He flew to Zhang Ruochen's left and said, "Go, flee immediately."
"Don't wait any longer. Once Mo Yunduan breaks out of the formation, we won't even have a chance to escape. Since the Blood Absolute Family is no longer an option, come back to the Kunlun Realm with us. Once we rescue Tai Shang, he will protect you as you grow," said Begonia Granny, now reduced to a seven-colored skeleton, flying to Zhang Ruochen's right.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's reluctance, Blood Spirit Immortal and Begonia Granny exchanged a glance, ready to act and forcibly take him away.
"Wait, look—what is she doing?"
Zhang Ruochen pointed at Bai Qinger.
...
Author's Note: The setting for false gods is that they possess energy on the level of a star.
The surface temperature of the sun is about 5,500 degrees, while the core temperature is about 20 million degrees.
Therefore, in the story, the destructive power a false god normally unleashes isn't too strong. When they use forbidden arts like burning lifespan and divine blood, the divine fire they unleash can exceed a million degrees.
When a false god self-destructs, the temperature can exceed ten million degrees.
The flames cultivated by Wu Yue Ming Huang and Xiao Hei are both in the hundreds of thousands of degrees, which is the top-tier level for Great Saints. Gods and Great Saints are fundamentally different in nature.
In the story, the unit "degrees" has been changed to "levels."
...
Also, I've been feeling a bit bold with my writing lately, so I'm asking for monthly votes. Maybe one day I'll manage a third chapter.
There's another chapter tonight.