Chapter 2687: Fire Path Reaching Divinity
The sea region where the Guixu was located stretched endlessly, vast and boundless.
The heavens and earth were entirely red, like a blazing copper furnace.
Cultivators from the Heavenly Court and Hell stood on various islands to watch the battle.
These islands were formed from the corpses of ancient giant beasts and sediment, appearing ferocious and grim, with diverse shapes, carrying an aura of death. Unfortunately, too much time had passed, and the corpses of these giant beasts had lost all their value, becoming no different from stone.
This battle was fought between Xue Tu and Zhen Yuan, competing for the ownership of one of the Ten Realms, "Fire Cloud Realm."
The spectators stood in the sea region thousands of miles away.
The Destiny Temple was filled with experts, led by the temple's Divine Maiden, Bore, gathered on a bone island shaped like an eagle's wing. Some were deathly still, some exuded fierce killing intent, and others had a chilling aura—all were top-tier experts below the Divine Realm.
Zhuo Yunong and his Judgment Hall Great Saint soldiers stood on the left side of the eagle's wing, saying, "This Zhen Yuan truly surprises me. He has actually cultivated the Way of Five Elements Wood to the point of reaching divinity. Among the strong of the Heavenly Court, his strength is enough to rank in the top five."
On the entire island, only Bore was seated.
Beneath her was a blood-jade flying dragon throne. She wore a dark blue divine robe, her skin like celestial jade and smooth as congealed fat. Around her, a Styx River flowed, her jet-black hair swayed in the wind, and her aura was overwhelmingly powerful.
In Bore's hand was a staff, around which countless Fate Rules flowed, capable of influencing space, time, light and darkness, origin, truth, reality and illusion, and the seven emotions and six desires.
This was the Fate Judgment Staff.
With this staff, in the first battle of the Ten Realms War, she defeated the Heavenly Court's representative, Chu Jian, in eighteen strikes, shaking the universe and making cultivators across the world realize that the Destiny Temple not only had the "Flaw," but this Divine Maiden was also an extraordinary powerhouse.
A thousand years ago, Zhuo Yunong had not taken the young Bore seriously, but now, with his cultivation further advanced, he instead felt extreme wariness toward her, speaking with a hint of reverence.
A soldier from the Judgment Hall approached and knelt on one knee: "Divine Maiden, the Vice Commander of the Blood Emperor Divine Demon Camp, Qing Xunyun, requests an audience."
"Oh? Let him come." Bore said, her brows lowered, her tone indifferent.
Qing Xunyun quickly approached, intimidated by Bore's aura. Despite his cultivation being close to the peak of a Demigod, he couldn't help but lower his head and bow, saying, "Greetings, Divine Maiden."
"Speak. What is it?"
Bore did not look at him directly, still staring at the battlefield in the distant void.
"Zhang Ruochen has returned!" Qing Xunyun said.
Hearing this, Zhuo Yunong and the cultivators of the Judgment Hall showed expressions of surprise.
Bore finally shifted her gaze, her eyes landing on Qing Xunyun.
Instantly, the pressure on Qing Xunyun increased dramatically. He felt as if the Divine Maiden's eyes were like thousands of swords stabbing into him. He quickly added, "It cannot be confirmed yet, but just now, a man with unfathomable cultivation indeed appeared at Guixu with Xia Yu and Chi Kongle."
The atmosphere on the entire island became unusually heavy.
Bore, however, remained calm and composed, standing up and walking toward Qing Xunyun, saying, "Why did you report this to me, the Divine Maiden?"
The invisible pressure grew stronger. Qing Xunyun said, "Zhang Ruochen's father is a traitor to the Destiny Temple. And Zhang Ruochen himself is the sinner who caused the 'Life Stream Reversal, Water Flooding the Temple' anomaly. Back when cultivators from the Kunlun Realm rescued the Yunshen Daozhu, Zhang Ruochen likely contributed as well. Since he has appeared, I thought the Destiny Temple should take action."
"So, you came to tip us off?" Bore said.
Qing Xunyun said, "Anyone who harms the interests of the Destiny Temple deserves to be killed."
"I understand. You may withdraw." Bore said.
Qing Xunyun added, "Your Highness, you should act quickly, or Zhang Ruochen might hide in the shadows and become difficult to deal with."
"Do I need you to teach me how to do things?"
Bore's eyes glared at him, cold and chilling, startling Qing Xunyun, whose face changed color.
Qing Xunyun dared not speak further. He cupped his hands in a salute and quickly retreated.
Zhuo Yunong said, "Your Highness, I will lead the Judgment Hall cultivators to capture him."
"Capture whom?" Bore said.
Bore's gaze was extremely sharp. Even someone like Zhuo Yunong dared not meet her eyes. He averted his gaze and said, "Naturally, Zhang Ruochen."
Bore shook her head, saying, "Ridiculous! Even Qing Xunyun himself is not sure whether the cultivator he saw is Zhang Ruochen. Clearly, someone wants to use the Destiny Temple to test the true identity of a certain powerful figure."
Zhuo Yunong thought for a moment and immediately understood. His expression darkened, and he said, "Your Highness is wise. Yunong was reckless. However, this Qing Xunyun dares to use the Destiny Temple—quite audacious."
"Oh!"
Bore's gaze turned toward a distant sub-divine-level warship. Zhang Ruochen, Xia Yu, and Chi Kongle were all standing on it.
Other cultivators of the Destiny Temple also noticed that sub-divine-level warship, and pairs of eyes turned toward it.
The identity of the mysterious man appearing with Xia Yu and Chi Kongle was highly suspicious, drawing the attention of cultivators from all sides. However, most cultivators still focused on the fierce battle between Xue Tu and Zhen Yuan.
In the battlefield.
Xue Tu's twelve wings fully spread out, turning into twelve clouds of blood mist, covering the sky for hundreds of miles. Before him flew a ten-thousand-zhang-tall stone altar, clashing with the Monarch Sacred Artifact unleashed by Zhen Yuan.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
...
The stone altar and the Monarch Sacred Artifact collided, shaking heaven and earth, overturning the sea, and creating waves of Sacred Dao Rule ripples, turning the area thousands of miles into a forbidden zone.
Zhang Ruochen recognized that the stone altar Xue Tu wielded was the very one from the Origin Divine Temple, preserved for endless ages without decay.
Back then, he had known this altar was no ordinary item, but he had been unable to take it away.
Who would have thought that Xue Tu would have such great fortune and become the master of the stone altar?
Zhang Ruochen smiled and asked Xia Yu, "This guy has become so powerful? I thought he died in the Origin Divine Temple."
Xia Yu's expression was grim, and she said, "It is said that a thousand years ago, Xue Tu fell into a secret place within the Origin Divine Temple, where he obtained an extraordinary opportunity. After the main body of the Origin Divine Temple was brought back to the Death God Palace, the Death God Venerable accidentally discovered him in that secret place and took him as a disciple."
"He became a disciple of the Death God Venerable? Good fortune. Interesting." Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly.
Xia Yu snorted, "He is just riding on your luck. If you hadn't taken him into the Origin Divine Temple, how could he have achieved what he has today? Without the help of Master, how could he have obtained the inheritance of the Blood Flame War God in the Kunlun Realm?"
"Those are all his own opportunities. They have little to do with me." Zhang Ruochen said.
Xia Yu said, "With the Death God Venerable as his backing, Xue Tu now completely disregards the Blood Absolute Family. He no longer acknowledges himself as Master's disciple and calls himself the Great Slaughter War God Emperor."
"He hasn't even reached the Divine Realm yet, and he dares to call himself War God Emperor?" Zhang Ruochen was astonished, finding it hard to imagine how inflated Xue Tu had become.
The distant battle entered its climax.
A roar from Xue Tu rang out: "Heaven Split Earth Cleave, War God Returns!"
From within Xue Tu's body surged a flame as red as blood, spreading beneath his feet into a sea of fire.
Behind him, in the sea of fire, rose a majestic War God phantom.
That phantom seemed alive, emitting a deafening roar that startled the spectators thousands of miles away, causing their eardrums to sting.
The Blood Flame War God was one of the thirteen War Gods of the Undying Blood Clan from a hundred thousand years ago, who fell in the Kunlun Realm during a divine war.
Xue Tu had inherited his War God mark and could now fully utilize its power.
Xia Yu said, "Xue Tu's cultivation of the Hellfire was already very powerful. Later, he also cultivated the Blood Flame War God's Blood Flame Divine Fire and the Death God Venerable's Fengming Divine Flame. He merged the three flames into one and called it the Great Slaughter Divine Fire."
"I can see that. This flame is indeed very strong, with temperatures approaching the million-degree level. His strength truly qualifies him as a representative figure of the Eon level, capable of contending with False Gods. In another era, he might have become the number one powerhouse of Hell. Unfortunately, in this era, dragons and snakes contend, and heroes emerge in abundance." Zhang Ruochen said.
Xia Yu said, "This round should be another victory for Hell. That Heavenly Court cultivator is about to lose."
"Not necessarily." Zhang Ruochen said.
Xia Yu was puzzled, saying, "Unless Eon-level geniuses like Que and Yin Yuanchan step in, who could be a match for Xue Tu in this state?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Xue Tu's divine fire is extraordinary, clearly indicating that his Fire Path rules have reached divinity. Coupled with the Blood Flame War God's War God mark, even Que and Yin Yuanchan would find it difficult to defeat him easily."
"Then why do you think that Heavenly Court cultivator still has a chance to win?" Xia Yu said.
Zhang Ruochen remained silent, his gaze fixed on Zhen Yuan.
Below the Divine Realm, Zhen Yuan was one of the few cultivators that Zhang Ruochen found hard to see through.
Even Yin Yuanchan had not given him such a feeling.
Facing Xue Tu's ferocious attacks, Zhen Yuan remained unflustered. First, he used the rules of the Five Elements Wood Way to manifest a lush divine wood forest and hid himself inside.
"Haha! Among the Five Elements, fire specifically counters wood. Although your Five Elements Wood Way has reached divinity, you will inevitably be defeated by me, the Emperor."
Xue Tu laughed loudly, driving the sea of fire beneath his feet toward the divine wood forest.
But at that moment, strange sounds of flowing water arose from within the divine wood forest, growing louder and louder, like rivers surging.
"Splash!"
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of rivers surged out from the divine wood forest.
The water in these rivers was not ordinary water but condensed from the divine patterns of the Five Elements Water Way rules, icy cold and inexhaustible.
Zhen Yuan, dressed in a Daoist robe, stood ethereally and agilely atop the waves of a river, raising his voice, "Fire counters wood, but water counters fire."
"You have also cultivated the Five Elements Water Way to the point of reaching divinity." Xue Tu showed surprise.
Not just Xue Tu, but all the spectators from the Heavenly Court and Hell were greatly astonished.
For a Saint Realm cultivator to cultivate one Sacred Dao to the point of reaching divinity was already extremely rare, making them a top-tier existence below the Divine Realm. Even a quasi-Eon-level representative could explosively unleash the combat power of an Eon-level representative.
Cultivating two Sacred Daos to the point of reaching divinity simultaneously—while not unprecedented in history—was extremely rare.
Even rarer than Eon-level geniuses.
Zhen Yuan drew circles with his arms, and above his head appeared a Five Elements mark. He added, "Do you think only you have reached divinity in the Fire Path? Three Flavors True Fire."
Zhen Yuan spat out a flame from his mouth, displaying three colors, turning into a thousand-mile-long divine fire river that surged toward Xue Tu. Wherever it passed, space was burned and distorted.
The majestic power shocked countless cultivators.