Chapter 2697: Sky-Piercing Pagoda
Zhang Ruochen's Eternal Return Dao Domain and Yin Yuan Chen's Sky-Piercing Dao Domain covered ten thousand miles of sea, causing the waters to churn violently and rise into dozens of rivers that surged into the sky.
All Saint realm cultivators from the Heavenly Court Myriad Realms and the Ten Clans of Hell retreated far into the distance.
The armor on Yin Yuan Chen's body was a remarkable defensive treasure, blocking dozens of Zhang Ruochen's sword strikes. Even the sharpness of the Abyssal Ancient Sword could not easily break through it.
Before Yin Yuan Chen and Zhen Yuan appeared, Donghua Emperor was hailed as the number one expert of the Heavenly Court, and his insight was naturally sharp. He said, "If this stalemate continues, Yin Yuan Chen will turn from passive to active. He is gradually adapting to the changes in Zhang Ruochen's Dao domain."
The cultivators of the Pangu Realm gathered around Donghua Emperor, including Feng Yan and Feng Xi.
Donghua Emperor continued, "The reason Yin Yuan Chen is at a disadvantage is not only because of the mystery of Zhang Ruochen's Dao domain, but also because Zhang Ruochen's Time Sword Art has reached a level that shocks the mundane world. Whoever faces it cannot evade or dodge it."
"However, Zhang Ruochen's cultivation is ultimately inferior to his, and the power he can unleash is limited, so he cannot break through his defense."
Feng Yan nodded, "After all, there is a huge gap in the number of Sacred Dao rules."
"It's not just a gap in quantity."
Donghua Emperor shook his head, his tone emotional and heavy, "Zhang Ruochen is still at the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life realm. The strength of his Sacred Dao rules might already be comparable to mine, Zhen Yuan, Shang Zihong, and others. But compared to Yin Yuan Chen, they are slightly weaker."
A Great Saint has five realms.
Each time one breaks through a realm, the strength of their Sacred Dao rules increases by a level. That improvement is like the transformation from raw iron to refined steel.
Zhang Ruochen has not reached the Supreme Realm, not only lacking a Supreme Dharma Body, but also having weaker Sacred Dao rules, missing one enhancement.
Yet, even without a Supreme Dharma Body, his physical strength can rival the Supreme Dharma Body of an Eon-level genius.
Even though his Sacred Dao rules have missed one enhancement, their strength has reached the level of Donghua Emperor and others.
This is truly heaven-defying to the extreme.
Even the gods find it hard to imagine how strong Zhang Ruochen would become if he once broke through to the Supreme Realm, condensed a Supreme Dharma Body, and his Sacred Dao rules were enhanced again.
The cultivators of the Pangu Realm were stunned into silence, then erupted in collective uproar.
Zhang Ruochen was still at the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life realm?
How could this make Yin Yuan Chen, an Eon-level genius, feel any face?
Shouldn't an Eon-level genius be the most dazzling figure of an eon, a legend and myth? Why was he now only able to fight to such a standstill against a Ten Thousand Deaths One Life realm Great Saint?
"Big brother is still big brother."
Feng Yan sighed inwardly, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Donghua Emperor said, "Zhang Ruochen is not without a chance to defeat Yin Yuan Chen. His sword path is very special, having reached a level that Supreme Realm Great Saints cannot attain."
"Moreover, he seems to have obtained some kind of opportunity in the Truth Divine Mountain, allowing him to trigger the Way of Truth to unleash thirty times the attack power. Even Qing Sixue, Yao Guang, Xiang Chunan, and other direct disciples of the Truth Divine Hall Master cannot do this."
"This is Zhang Ruochen's only way to break Yin Yuan Chen's defense. Otherwise, if the battle drags on, a reversal is inevitable."
...
Yin Yuan Chen's resilience and willpower exceeded Zhang Ruochen's expectations.
Every time Zhang Ruochen thought he could kill him with one sword strike, Yin Yuan Chen would promptly execute a countermeasure, blocking most of the attacks and dodging vital points.
Having been hit by dozens of sword strikes, his battle intent remained high, and his judgment and momentum did not decline at all.
Moreover, the influence of the Eternal Return Dao Domain on him was growing weaker and weaker.
Zhang Ruochen realized he could not delay any longer. Stepping on the long river formed by Time Imprints, he spiraled upward and charged into the sky.
Yin Yuan Chen, who had been beaten back by Zhang Ruochen's dense sword techniques without a chance to counterattack, finally had a moment to catch his breath.
Yin Yuan Chen circulated the Primordial Annihilation Power within him, looking up at the sky. He could see Zhang Ruochen's figure, but time was chaotic and space distorted, making it hard to tell which time and space the Zhang Ruochen he saw was in.
"The sixth realm of Time Sword Art, the Four Seasons Sword Art. Winter Sword!"
Zhang Ruochen dove downward, thrusting the Abyssal Ancient Sword straight ahead.
The Four Seasons Sword Art, which Zhang Ruochen had comprehended on the River of Time, was even more mysterious and profound than the fifth realm of Time Sword Art, the Radiant Moon Like a Song.
Winter represents: bitter cold, death, slaughter, and ending.
As the Winter Sword was unleashed, snowflakes drifted over the sea, and ten thousand miles of ocean turned into an endless glacier.
What was frozen was not just the sea surface, but also time.
At this moment, time seemed to come to a complete standstill.
Yin Yuan Chen was indeed a peerless genius. Time could stop, but it could not stop his thoughts from moving, nor could it stop the power within him. The blood in his veins flowed like rivers, and all his power surged into his arms.
He let out a long roar, slowly raising his arms, breaking free from the suppression of time.
The Wu God Sword in his hand thrust into the sky, hitting with pinpoint precision, colliding with the tip of the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
A look of surprise appeared in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. He immediately triggered the thirty times attack power of the Way of Truth.
He withdrew his sword and thrust again.
Just as Zhang Ruochen withdrew his sword, Yin Yuan Chen gritted his teeth and retracted all the Sacred Dao rules he had released. The Wu God Sword and the Abyssal Ancient Sword thrust out simultaneously.
He was executing a divine ability-level sword technique, the Wu God Sky-Piercing Sword.
With one sword thrust, the Death Realm and the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree both manifested.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
Zhang Ruochen's sword technique was even more exquisite. With the support of thirty times attack power, it tore through the Death Realm and pierced through the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree section by section. Finally, it slid past the edge of the Wu God Sword, producing a piercing metallic screech.
"Rumble!"
Under Yin Yuan Chen's horrified gaze, the tip of the Abyssal Ancient Sword stabbed into the top of his head.
But the Wu God Sword he thrust pierced into the twisted space, failing to harm Zhang Ruochen.
Yin Yuan Chen's body broke through the ice surface and plunged rapidly toward the seabed. The armor on his head could not withstand the impact, cracks appearing more and more, and with a "bang," it exploded into metal fragments.
At this moment, Yin Yuan Chen and Zhang Ruochen's bodies had already sunk ten thousand meters into the seabed.
The armor was broken, the sword hanging over his head.
Even a god, in Yin Yuan Chen's position, would find it hard to escape death.
But Zhang Ruochen felt no joy; instead, he sensed a terrible crisis.
"Whoosh!"
From the top of Yin Yuan Chen's head, a blinding golden light burst forth, flying out dense Sanskrit characters and strange Dao diagrams, which struck Zhang Ruochen in reverse.
...
"Yin Yuan Chen is doomed! Zhang Ruochen's sword strike is enough to astonish an era, redefine the sword path, and even false gods would have to retreat." Yuan said this, glancing at Lan Ying, and the two exchanged a look.
With the combined strength of the two of them, along with Nan Sheng, they could surround and hunt Zhang Ruochen.
Back then, Gu Shejing, Yuan Qianmo, and Xue Lingxian joined forces to contend with Bai Qinger, whose strength was comparable to Yin Yuan Chen. The combined strength of Yuan, Lan Ying, and Nan Sheng was clearly greater than that of Gu Shejing, Yuan Qianmo, and Xue Lingxian.
Reaching the level of an Eon-level representative, each one had the strength to briefly contend with an Eon-level genius.
With three joining forces, even an Eon-level genius would find it hard to resist.
But a surprising turn of events occurred. The ten-thousand-mile glacier in the battlefield melted, turning the sea golden, like molten gold, and then exploded with a roar.
A massive golden Buddhist pagoda broke through the sea surface, unleashing a powerful shockwave that sent Zhang Ruochen flying backward. Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen sensed the crisis in advance and activated the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror to block in front of him, avoiding injury.
The golden pagoda merged with Yin Yuan Chen's spine and skull. When Zhang Ruochen's sword struck it, it erupted, bursting out of Yin Yuan Chen's body.
The golden pagoda was like a golden divine mountain, towering and majestic, with Buddhist power and divine qi interwoven, causing the heavens and earth to resound with profound and obscure Buddhist chants.
The Buddhist chants seemed to come from the distant past, containing mysterious principles that shook Zhang Ruochen's mind and destabilized his Eternal Return Dao Domain.
A Sky-Connecting Divine Tree merged with the golden pagoda, intertwining and interweaving as if they had grown together from the start.
"The Sky-Piercing Pagoda! The Sky-Piercing Pagoda has appeared in the world again." An old monk from the Western Buddha Realm exclaimed, then clasped his hands together and recited nameless scriptures.
Many cultivators from the Heavenly Court Myriad Realms had heard the legend of this treasure, the Sky-Piercing Pagoda.
"Legend has it that the Sky-Piercing Pagoda was jointly forged in ancient times by the Fifth Patriarch and a Heavenly Venerable-level figure from the Kunlun Realm, intended to suppress the demons and monsters of all heavens and realms, possessing extraordinary power."
"If the Sky-Piercing Pagoda still contains the residual power of the Fifth Patriarch and that Heavenly Venerable from the Kunlun Realm, it would be terrifying."
"Perhaps it is not the real Sky-Piercing Pagoda, just an imitation."
"It might not be a fake. I heard that the Sky-Piercing Pagoda was passed down by that Heavenly Venerable from the Kunlun Realm to Ten Calamities Wen Tianjun. Later, Wen Tianjun passed it to his daughter, Princess Shen Ba. It is said that after Princess Shen Ba was imprisoned, only Yin Yuan Chen often visited her, so he was deeply loved by this grandmother."
"A lonely woman, rarely seeing the light of day, with only her grandson often by her side—who else would she pass the Sky-Piercing Pagoda to if not Yin Yuan Chen?" An old half-god from the Paradise Realm said this.
As soon as the Sky-Piercing Pagoda appeared, Zhang Ruochen's Eternal Return Dao Domain began to shake violently, revealing various flaws.
Nan Sheng, who had been waiting on the sidelines, seized the opportunity to attack Zhang Ruochen.
This time, he learned his lesson. Instead of engaging in close combat, he raised his arms, his sleeves bulging, with faint green smoke rising from the cuffs.
"Whoosh, whoosh!"
Countless talismans flew out from his two cloud sleeves, forming two green talisman rivers that flew toward Zhang Ruochen.
Shang Zihong naturally would not miss this opportunity. Five-colored light burst from his body, and the blood-red Chi Zi Sword floated above his head. With a finger sword technique, the Chi Zi Sword flew out.
One sword transformed into ten thousand swords, and ten thousand swords turned into a sword tide, flying into Zhang Ruochen's Eternal Return Dao Domain.
A great battle of the world's heroes joining forces to slay Zhang Ruochen finally began!