Chapter 2566: Breaking Through
The God-Eating Insects inside the bronze coffin had absorbed the venom from the divine corpse and, after years of cultivation by Zhang Ruochen, had undergone transformation and evolution, becoming the second generation of God-Eating Insects.
Initially, Haike didn't care at all, letting the God-Eating Insects bite him once or twice.
But as time passed, green venomous patterns appeared on his body. Even though he had a corpse body and was closer to an undead, he still felt the terror of the venom.
His body grew numb, his reaction speed slowed, and his strength plummeted dramatically.
One could imagine that if those beings in the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm were bitten, wouldn't they be poisoned to death on the spot?
Haike finally realized the danger, sensing the threat of death.
"I didn't expect Zhang Ruochen to cultivate such a large swarm of God-Eating Insects containing divine venom. I miscalculated. I can't hold out any longer; I must leave immediately."
With this thought, Haike withdrew all the over nine trillion Sacred Dao Rules that had formed his Dao Domain back into his body. Grabbing the Calamity War Axe with both hands, he slammed it heavily into the ground.
"Boom!"
Space shook.
Thick and powerful bolts of lightning surged from the Calamity War Axe, blasting away the surrounding God-Eating Insects.
Even the distant Seven Star Imperial Palace, the size of a fist, was knocked by the shockwave, crashing into a thick ice wall.
Zhang Ruochen stood at the palace gate, his body swaying. He muttered to himself, "As expected of a divine corpse body. Even with divine venom inside him, he can still unleash such a powerful strike."
However, Zhang Ruochen knew very well that Haike was already at the end of his rope. His next move would likely be to try to escape.
"Zhang Ruochen, you're formidable. Next time we meet, I will definitely bring treasures that can counter the God-Eating Insects and take your head," Haike said, turning into a beam of divine light and fleeing into the distance.
"Do you think there will be a next time?"
Zhang Ruochen's voice was still behind him. But Haike was astonished to find that the Seven Star Imperial Palace had appeared in front of him, now as massive as a real palace, with Zhang Ruochen standing at the center of its gate.
Zhang Ruochen spread his legs into a bow stance, holding the Abyssal Ancient Sword horizontally with both hands, the sword like an arrow nocked on a bowstring.
"Twang!"
The sound of a bowstring rang out.
Zhang Ruochen and the Abyssal Ancient Sword seemed to merge into one, turning into a rapidly flying beam of light, trailing a tail dozens of meters long, and crashing into Haike.
Haike gritted his teeth, spinning his axe-wielding arm like a windmill, surging divine Qi from within his body.
He swung the axe.
"Boom!"
The Abyssal Ancient Sword broke through Haike's protective Dao Domain, striking him hard in the chest. The entire sword pierced in, the tip emerging from his back.
Haike's axe struck Zhang Ruochen, causing sparks to fly from the Flame God Armor.
Zhang Ruochen flew sideways, smashing through a long stretch of ruins, carving a deep trench in the seabed.
The Calamity War Axe hadn't breached the Flame God Armor, but the impact still made Zhang Ruochen feel like all his bones were shattered. His internal organs cracked, and blood trickled from his mouth.
If Haike had swung that axe at full strength, Zhang Ruochen wasn't sure if his demigod physical body could have withstood it.
Zhang Ruochen's sword strike had fused with the Heavenly Sword Soul, inflicting unprecedented severe damage on Haike's Sacred Soul. Because of the damage to his Sacred Soul, it became extremely difficult for him to mobilize the divine Qi in his body and gather enough power.
To deal with undead and death clan beings like Haike, one had to attack their soul to kill them completely.
The cultivators of the Green Deer Divine Temple had been chasing behind Zhang Ruochen. At this moment, they were hiding in a distant corner, stepping on a massive ancient scroll that concealed their auras.
"It seems to be true. Zhang Ruochen can actually severely wound Haike. The news of him defeating Nan Sheng is no longer so hard to believe," Bai Fang said.
Bai Fang was a Supreme Realm Great Saint from the Green Deer Divine Temple. He hadn't gone with the other Supreme Realm Great Saints to explore the depths of the Origin Divine Temple but had stayed behind to protect Lan Ying and safeguard the Green Deer Divine Temple's interests on the periphery of the Origin Divine Temple.
A Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint said disdainfully, "Zhang Ruochen is only relying on the God-Eating Insects he cultivated to counter Haike."
"But Zhang Ruochen is the master of the God-Eating Insects," Bai Fang said.
Bai Fang glanced at Lan Ying and said, "Let's go. Zhang Ruochen has become a force to be reckoned with. Even Haike suffered a great loss. Even if we intervene, we probably won't gain anything good."
Although Bai Fang had Supreme Realm cultivation, he had only cultivated over two trillion Sacred Dao Rules, making his combat power slightly inferior to Haike's in the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm.
"Zhang Ruochen was struck by Haike's axe. Even if he didn't die, he must be severely injured. Isn't this the perfect time for us to strike?" Lan Ying said.
He had never forgotten about Zhang Ruochen, the Eon-level genius, and always wanted to devour him.
Then, Lan Ying's gaze shifted to Haike, whose body was swaying, and he smiled, "Why not devour both of them?"
Bai Fang was shocked and quickly stopped him, saying, "The Green Deer Divine Temple has always advocated never provoking powerful enemies from the Hell Realm, developing steadily and low-key. Killing Zhang Ruochen is to fully win over Xiu Chen Heavenly God. But Haike is a disciple of that great figure from the Wuding Divine Sea and the future top secular powerhouse of the Death Clan to succeed Yuan Qianmo. He absolutely cannot be touched."
"Zhang Ruochen can be touched, so why can't I?" Lan Ying said.
Lan Ying didn't listen, thinking Bai Fang was too cautious and had too many constraints in his heart. No wonder he could only cultivate to the Supreme Realm at most, eventually being granted a Divine Source to become a false god.
He was a peerless genius; how could he take orders from such a mediocre person?
Listening to mediocre people only makes one mediocre.
Mediocre people become mediocre not because they are born that way, but because they dare not do extraordinary things, walk extraordinary paths, or adapt to extraordinary changes.
Lan Ying summoned his six war swords and was about to act when suddenly, dazzling divine light burst from Haike's body, turning into a vast divine cloud. Countless Sacred Dao Rules wrapped around his body.
Lightning flashed through the divine cloud.
Haike's earth-shattering roars echoed.
Bai Fang's eyes narrowed, "Haike is condensing his Supreme Dharma Body to break through."
"He's breaking through after cultivating only over nine trillion Sacred Dao Rules? He's finished. Haike has been forced to ruin himself by Zhang Ruochen," Lan Ying said with a cold laugh, a hint of mockery in his tone.
Bai Fang thought of the time when he condensed his Supreme Dharma Body, having only cultivated over one trillion Sacred Dao Rules. He felt as if a knife had been stabbed into his heart.
With Haike's level of cultivation, once he successfully broke through, his Sacred Dao Rules would definitely exceed ten trillion. Although he was still in the Supreme Realm, such a Supreme Realm was called a "demigod."
After a long while, Bai Fang recovered and said, "Let's go. Haike is well-prepared. He's already swallowed an Emperor-grade Sacred Pill to help condense his Supreme Dharma Body. Breaking through is inevitable."
The aura emanating from Haike grew stronger and stronger, sweeping toward the hiding place of the Green Deer Divine Temple cultivators.
Some of the lower-cultivation Great Saints, feeling that terrifying aura and faint divine might, turned pale instantly. They felt that Haike was no longer a Great Saint but a god.
"If Haike discovers us hiding in the shadows after he breaks through, given his ferocity, he might kill us all."
"Zhang Ruochen might have already escaped. If we don't flee now, we might not have a chance to get away."
...
The cultivators of the Green Deer Divine Temple spoke urgently, their gazes all fixed on Lan Ying.
Lan Ying was very unwilling, "Let's go. Indeed, Haike after breaking through is not someone we can provoke."
As Lan Ying said, Haike breaking through at this moment was equivalent to self-destruction.
For cultivators aiming to become Eon-level representatives, accumulating ten trillion Sacred Dao Rules at the peak of the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm was an essential threshold.
Failing to cross that threshold before breaking through meant losing the qualification to enter the ranks of the top secular powerhouses.
This represented not just fame but had a very significant impact in reality.
Yuan Qianmo, as the number one powerhouse of the Death God Temple and the Death Clan, enjoyed power and cultivation resources more than ten times that of the second-strongest in the Death Clan.
This was because the Death Clan, in the secular world below the divine realm, needed to spare no expense to cultivate a peerless powerhouse to protect and expand the Death Clan's secular interests.
Yuan Qianmo was also the face of the Death Clan.
With so many resources, Yuan Qianmo could accumulate to the extreme below the divine realm. Once he broke through to the divine realm, he would become a strong among gods.
And Haike, having lost the qualification to become the new face of the Death Clan, even if he broke through to the divine realm in the short term, would need to cultivate for tens of thousands of years in the divine realm to reach the strength Yuan Qianmo had when he first entered the divine realm.
Accumulation below the divine realm could greatly shorten cultivation time in the divine realm.
For this reason, many top geniuses, if not in urgent need of powerful strength to accomplish something, would choose to accumulate more below the divine realm.
Haike, of course, had no choice but to break through.
Because although Zhang Ruochen was severely injured, he was sitting cross-legged in the ruins, using the Ten Thousand Curse Heavenly Bead to curse him, preventing him from escaping. The God-Eating Insects were also swarming in. If he didn't choose to break through, he might die at Zhang Ruochen's hands today.
Haike's breakthrough was nearing its end.
The Sacred Dao Rules swirling around his body exceeded ten trillion. Moreover, each Sacred Dao Rule had doubled in thickness, and the power each could unleash had increased nearly tenfold.
When the God-Eating Insects approached, they were instantly swept away by the aura emanating from his body.
Zhang Ruochen knew he could no longer stop Haike. He stopped the curse, a look of seriousness on his face.
He slowly stood up, his injuries mostly healed.
He didn't choose to flee. After all, the Truth Heart had been exposed. As long as there was even a sliver of a chance, he had to silence Haike. "You two have been watching for so long. Aren't you going to show yourselves?"
There was no response from the surroundings.
Zhang Ruochen added, "Kill Haike, and all the treasures on him are yours. I won't take a single one."
The Seven Hands Old Man poked his head out from underground, "Are you serious?"
"Do I, Zhang Ruochen, look like someone who lacks treasures?" Zhang Ruochen said.
A bright space formation suddenly appeared, spinning in the water.
Night Roamer Master stood at the center of the formation, "Haike's divine corpse body belongs to me, and so does his Sacred Source. I think the Calamity War Axe should also be mine. If you don't agree to this condition, there's no deal."
"Is that just one condition?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Unexpectedly, the Seven Hands Old Man readily agreed, "Those three are yours. But all the other treasures on him are mine."
...
Let me clarify: At that time, Night Roamer Master wasn't subdued by Zhang Ruochen. With Zhang Ruochen's cultivation, he couldn't have subdued him. It was the Seven Hands Old Man, using the Ten Thousand Curse Heavenly Bead to ambush him, that suppressed Night Roamer Master.
Both Night Roamer Master and the Seven Hands Old Man were old monsters who had mastered spiritual power to perfection. Among them, the Seven Hands Old Man had even fought Bai Qinger in the Fate Divine Domain, even fooling her Origin Divine Eye. If Zhang Ruochen hadn't accidentally trapped him in the Purple Gold Gourd, he would have escaped.