# Chapter 2578: Top of the Altar
At the top of the giant stone altar, seawater could not reach it.
Even the giant stones that even Wuma Jiuxing's blade could not damage were now covered in dense cracks, sunken into a massive pit hundreds of meters in diameter. Within the pit was blood of an extremely crimson hue, forming a small lake of blood.
It seemed as if, in the distant past, a mass of blood had dripped down from the heavens, smashing the stone altar into this state.
The blood lake was not what was shocking.
What was shocking was the sword island at the center of the blood lake.
The small island was densely packed with all kinds of swords. Among them, six emitted dazzling divine light, radiating a terrifying might comparable to gods. Any cultivator at the Great Saint realm understood that these were six divine artifact-level swords.
Furthermore, thirteen swords had Supreme Inscription Runes flowing on their bodies, releasing a supreme aura.
Another thirteen swords at the Supreme Sacred Artifact level.
Even more shocking was the sky above the blood lake. In the pitch-black seawater, countless stars were densely packed, like a starry sky containing infinite mysteries.
Everyone knew that many planets floated in this sea area.
However, those planets did not emit light at all, and could not be seen elsewhere in the Origin Divine Temple. Why were they all visible here?
Starry sky, blood lake, sword island.
And in the distance, strange and peculiar buildings hidden within the blood mist, appearing and disappearing.
How could such a scene not be shocking?
Suppressing the shock in her heart, Guye Jing spread her Rakshasa wings and flew through the wind toward the sword island.
The moment she reached above the blood lake.
Her body became uncontrollable and plummeted downward.
The blood lake below brought Guye Jing an unprecedented sense of terror. Her vision was filled with blood, her mind suffered a tremendous impact, as if thousands of invisible hands were pulling at her.
At the critical moment, she struck the lake surface with her palm, sending her body flying backward to land on the shore.
"Rustle rustle!"
Her beautiful hand that had touched the blood water turned into sand and slid to the ground.
Guye Jing retreated as if fleeing from snakes and scorpions, extremely horrified, putting a long distance between herself and the blood lake. Then, at the fastest speed, she severed her entire arm.
"Rustle rustle!"
The arm that fell to the ground also turned into sand.
All the cultivators present could not breathe, shocked beyond measure.
Guye Jing's Demon Ancestor War Body was incredibly powerful, considered indestructible and invincible, yet just touching a bit of blood water had broken it, forcing her to cut off her own arm to save her life.
The cultivators who had been attracted by the divine artifacts and supreme sacred artifacts and wanted to rush forward were all scared back.
This was too terrifying!
"Is the corrosive power of this blood water so strong? Is it even stronger than the corrosive substances on Corpse Clan gods?" Night Travel Master felt his scalp go numb. Just looking at the blood lake gave him an urge to turn and run.
Everyone retreated, but Yuan Qianmo suddenly walked forward, arriving at the edge of the blood lake, and said quite confidently, "Let me try."
"Hua!"
He activated the Wusui Divine Brush, and immediately, strands of white brush hairs flew out like thousand-zhang white hair, rushing toward the sword island.
Just as success seemed imminent, with the brush hairs about to seize a divine artifact, Yuan Qianmo showed a hint of joy.
Suddenly, the brush hairs broke inch by inch and sank into the blood lake.
Yuan Qianmo looked at the bare Wusui Divine Brush, his expression becoming dazed.
The brush hairs of the Wusui Divine Brush were made from the hair of an ancient god, refined by successive generations of gods from the Death God Temple. How could they have broken like this?
Just as Yuan Qianmo was distracted, a faint bloody mist rose from the blood lake.
The bloody mist spread to him, and Yuan Qianmo was horrified to discover that the Sacred Dao Rules within his body were being uncontrollably absorbed by the blood mist.
He quickly retreated, but still lost over a hundred billion Sacred Dao Rules.
And this was just an instant.
Moreover, it was only from being touched by the blood mist, not directly contacting the blood water.
Yuan Qianmo's heart was shrouded in fear, wanting to escape this place. Even when facing a god-level enemy, he had never experienced such an impact on his state of mind.
Guye Jing endured the severe pain, pressing her left hand on her right shoulder.
At the bloody right shoulder, a brand new slender jade arm grew out, still as smooth as jade. Her gaze was fixed on the blood lake and sword island, as if thinking about something.
Night Travel Master and Seven Hands Old Man had entered the formation camel, their faces as pale as paper.
Seven Hands Old Man spoke with difficulty, "I have lived for over twenty thousand years and have been to countless forbidden lands and death zones, but I have never seen anything so strange and terrifying. This must be an extremely perilous place. Intuition tells me to leave, we must leave immediately."
Night Travel Master rarely agreed with Seven Hands Old Man's view, saying, "Although the swords on that sword island are extremely rare and precious, enough to make gods fight until the sky darkens and the earth dims, we absolutely cannot touch them. Otherwise, I'm afraid we wouldn't have the ability to save our lives like Guye Jing and Yuan Qianmo."
Zhang Ruochen was also greatly shocked, but his gaze was firmly attracted by the six divine swords on the sword island.
The seven sword souls in his Qi Sea produced a subtle resonance.
Moreover, he even felt a trace of familiarity with the six divine swords. Their aura was somewhat similar to the Hengxing Divine Sword in Underworld King's hand, though the divine might they emitted was slightly weaker.
Could these six divine swords be left behind by Sword Ancestor? Of the same origin as the Hengxing Divine Sword?
But when Sword Ancestor went to Kunlun Realm, why didn't he bring them along?
Zhang Ruochen was filled with doubts and unwilling to leave just like that.
The dead silence was broken by a clear, graceful voice coming from afar: "The liquid in this lake might be blood, or it might not be. But it definitely does not belong to our world. It contains strange energy that can destroy everything in this world. Touching it means certain death."
Wearing a white robe, Ji Fanxin walked along the blood lake from a distance.
Bathed in starlight, she had a jade-like countenance and immortal bearing, like a goddess descending to the mortal world, her whole body fragrant.
The moment Zhang Ruochen saw her, he knew she was not the real Ji Fanxin, but Bai Qinger. Today's Bai Qinger seemed to have completed some kind of transformation, completely out of touch with the mundane world, as if about to break through the sky and fly away.
Like clouds in the sky, a chaotic lost pearl.
Her appearance made Yuan Qianmo and Guye Jing show vigilance and wariness.
After all, from the Aoyun Asteroid Belt to the Hundred Clans Royal City to Jiannan Realm, Ji Fanxin had fought against heaven and earth, single-handedly confronting all the cultivators of Hell Realm.
Countless renowned Hell Realm powerhouses had died by her hand, the starry sky once stained red.
Bai Qinger continued, "If you want to obtain divine artifacts, with our current cultivation, it is absolutely impossible. You must first break into the God Realm. Yuan Qianmo, you are number one on the Divine Reserve Scroll. Everyone says that with a single thought, you can become a god."
"Guye Jing, you are the most outstanding successor of Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm in this era, having cultivated the Demon Ancestor War Body to the strongest state below the God Realm."
"The two of you are only one step away from the God Realm. How about today we fight to the death and see if we can break through that step?"
Among those present, only four cultivators understood what Bai Qinger meant by "that step."
Guye Jing's demonic might surged, "Fine, let's fight to the death."
"Very well. Having experts like you in this era gives me infinite pressure and motivation. Perhaps I can truly break the fence, knock on the divine gate, and let my will suppress the gods. Fight!" Yuan Qianmo said.
Bai Qinger stood proudly, gazing at the stars, and said, "In single combat, no one here is my match. You all come together. I too want to break the fence, knock on the divine gate, and let my will suppress the gods."
Guye Jing and Yuan Qianmo both understood Bai Qinger's strength, so they did not stand on ceremony and prepared to join forces.
"Wait a moment." Bai Qinger said.
Yuan Qianmo said, "What, having second thoughts?"
Bai Qinger shook her head and said, "The two of you alone are still not enough to be my opponent. When I said 'you all,' I meant the three of you."
Guye Jing and Yuan Qianmo both looked toward Wuma Jiuxing.
Wuma Jiuxing stood proudly on the head of the Ying Dragon, unmoved.
"She was referring to me."
With a melodious and cold voice, a silver stream of light flew to the top of the altar.
The silver stream of light stopped, and Blood Lingxian's upright figure appeared.
Following that, Haitang Popo's elderly figure also slowly walked up.
"Popo, why are you here?" Zhang Ruochen immediately went to greet her, not hiding the fact that he knew cultivators from Kunlun Realm.
Haitang Popo smiled kindly, "The Sword Pavilion sensed a special aura, so we came here. I didn't expect to catch such a great battle. Truly, arriving early is not as good as arriving at the right time."
"Boom."
At the top of the altar, a fierce wind suddenly arose, rules became chaotic, and powerful auras shuttled like divine dragons roaming.
Guye Jing was fierce and cold, like a world-dominating demon.
Yuan Qianmo's white hair fluttered, holding his brush handle, elegant yet carrying an extreme deathly aura.
Blood Lingxian had a human head and snake body, condensing a blood sword with Sword Dao Rules, his body radiating sharpness, his aura rushing toward the starry sky.
Bai Qinger, standing by the blood lake, was leisurely and carefree, with a feeling of returning to simplicity. Neither sad nor happy, neither angry nor proud. Her slender and delicate figure remained calm and composed amidst the might of the three powerhouses, as if in an ethereal state.
Haitang Popo sighed, "This girl truly has unparalleled talent. She already has some of the style of the former Empress. Today, if she does not die at the hands of Blood Lingxian and the others, she will surely break the fence, knock on the divine gate, and let her will suppress the gods."
Zhang Ruochen had heard this several times and asked curiously, "What does it mean to break the fence, knock on the divine gate, and let the will suppress the gods?"
"The so-called fence refers to the imprints that the gods have placed on them. Only by breaking through the fence and letting their spiritual will surpass the gods can they have hope of reaching the level of a king or venerable after becoming gods."
Haitang Popo said, "The so-called gods' imprints are the marks formed when cultivators reached the supreme extreme realm during the four martial realms, causing resonance among the gods."
"Those who can obtain the gods' imprints are all geniuses, representing that they have received the recognition and protection of the gods."
"For cultivators below the God Realm, the gods' imprints have infinite benefits. For example, the blessing of the gods' luck. The various opportunities you have encountered in your cultivation, the choices you made on a whim, or your perception of danger—all have the gods guiding and warning you in the unseen."
"However, after becoming a god, the gods' imprints become a fence, limiting the height you can reach. Before becoming a god, letting your will surpass the gods gives you infinite possibilities in the future."
Zhang Ruochen was far from Bai Qinger's current cultivation level and only half understood, asking, "How can one let their will surpass the gods without becoming a god? Where are the gods who bestowed the imprints?"
Haitang Popo looked up at the starry sky and said faintly, "The gods are already dead."
At the other end, Guye Jing made the first move, attacking Bai Qinger.
...
There will be another chapter tonight.