Chapter 2705: Weighing the Heroes of the Heavenly Court
How could Zhang Ruochen give Shang Zihong any chance to catch his breath?
"Boom!"
The Abyssal Ancient Sword, heavier than a planet, transformed into a giant sword like a mountain peak, pressing down. It struck Shang Zihong, who was at the bottom of the handprint pit, pinning him firmly beneath the glacier.
Zhang Ruochen flew to the edge of the handprint pit, hovering dozens of feet above the ground. He mobilized his powerful spiritual power and infused it into the Ten-Thousand Curse Heavenly Bead.
"Sizzle!"
The bead spun rapidly, the sound of wind tearing through the air unceasing.
The supreme inscription runes within the bead all emerged, greatly increasing its power.
"Death soul..."
Suddenly, a change occurred.
From the ice field beside the handprint pit, the sound of ice cracking came.
One cold and one hot, two figures burst out from the ice.
Fire Demon Emperor and Cold Night Heaven appeared behind Zhang Ruochen, one on the left and one on the right, each unleashing a supreme high-rank sacred art.
Fire Demon Emperor transformed into a blazing fireball, scorching and dazzling.
Cold Night Heaven hid within a mass of black light and mist, his aura icy cold.
Although they were Shang Zihong's doppelgangers, they were both half-god pinnacles, not weaklings, and could not be underestimated.
Zhang Ruochen spun around swiftly, raising both hands to meet them. His left hand formed a palm, dragon shadows coiling around it, flames blazing like burning heat. His right hand clenched into a fist, the phantom of a heavenly river flowing along his arm.
"Boom!"
The two, whom he had thought would be easily defeated, erupted with two forces that could overturn mountains and seas, sending Zhang Ruochen flying backward. The three of them simultaneously crashed into the massive body of the Abyssal Ancient Sword, knocking it away into the distance.
Zhang Ruochen looked at Fire Demon Emperor and Cold Night Heaven, sensing something was wrong.
"Not good, it's another scheme of Shang Zihong's. They are burning their lives."
Burning their lives did not mean burning their lifespan; it meant burning everything they had in exchange for a moment of immense power.
If it were only that, it would not have made Zhang Ruochen feel danger.
What was more terrifying was that burning one's life often meant self-destructing their sacred source.
Without achieving godhood through spiritual power, even a false god would find it very difficult to stop a half-god pinnacle from self-destructing their sacred source. Just like the former Wuyue Minghuang, who, while burning his life, could fight evenly with Bai Qinger. After self-destructing his sacred source, he even inflicted considerable injuries on Bai Qinger, who had prepared various countermeasures.
At this moment, the power unleashed by Fire Demon Emperor and Cold Night Heaven clung tightly to Zhang Ruochen's arms.
At such a close distance, the self-destruction of two half-god pinnacle cultivators was enough to kill a god.
Self-destructing one's sacred source was, for any cultivator, the ultimate trump card, but it was a move that could never be used. Precisely because of this, even a supreme realm eon-level genius had to remain cautious towards all cultivators under heaven, not underestimating anyone, or else they risked dying at the hands of a half-god pinnacle cultivator.
Shang Zihong had already flown out of the handprint pit. He glanced at Zhang Ruochen, Fire Demon Emperor, and Cold Night Heaven, and muttered a sentence: "Sacrificing two doppelgangers to send you on your way. Let's see how you escape this time!"
"Whoosh!"
Shang Zihong burst forth at extreme speed, fleeing into the distance, wanting only to get as far away from the three as possible.
For a half-god pinnacle cultivator to self-destruct their sacred source, a radius of a hundred miles was a forbidden zone, and this was even for eon-level representatives.
Within the divine realm world of the Judgment Venerable, Ghost Lord sighed: "This Shang Zihong has quite the methods. No wonder he is valued by Shang Zu. This kid will definitely become another formidable figure in the Paradise Realm in the future, perhaps even a second Xuanyi."
To receive praise from a divine realm giant—if this were to spread, Shang Zihong would gain a certain reputation even in the divine realm world.
Xue Jue War God said, "He is indeed a somewhat decent figure, but unfortunately, he has no future."
Ghost Lord narrowed his eyes and looked downward.
If Fire Demon Emperor and Cold Night Heaven had truly self-destructed at close range, it would have been extremely dangerous for Zhang Ruochen. But how could Zhang Ruochen just sit and wait for death?
"Whoosh!"
Countless specks of light appeared around his body.
Each speck of light was an absolute self time imprint.
Countless absolute self time imprints combined with the virtual time domain to form an absolute virtual time domain. Within this domain, time became still.
The absolute virtual time domain was actually a part of the Eternal Return Dao Domain, but it focused more on the application of time power.
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen's arms erupted with thirty times the attack power, blasting Fire Demon Emperor and Cold Night Heaven back. Then, he leaped backward, rushing into a space gate and disappearing.
"Boom!"
A moment later, Fire Demon Emperor and Cold Night Heaven's sacred sources self-destructed. The immense destructive force swept in all directions.
Not just the sea within ten thousand miles, but even the sea surface hundreds of thousands of miles away suffered a severe impact.
The sea seemed to have turned upside down. Heaven and earth rules became chaotic, and the power waves even impacted the divine realm world in the sky.
Shang Zihong, who had fled thousands of miles away, looked back. He was knocked backward by the shockwave, but his eyes burned with excitement. He felt that even if he were to step into the divine realm in the future, he would not feel as exhilarated as he did at this moment.
"What a Shang Zihong, so ruthless." Luo Sha did not believe that Zhang Ruochen would fall just like that, but she was still very worried.
Feng Qingli sighed, "Today is too dangerous. Truly, every step is a killing move, with life and death hanging by a thread. It seems that no one who becomes an eon-level representative is an easy opponent."
Luo Sha caught Zhang Ruochen's aura, and the seriousness on her face disappeared. She smiled and said, "However, Chen Ge is the strongest one of this era."
Zhang Ruochen burst out of space, like a demon emerging from hell, appearing before Shang Zihong.
Looking at Shang Zihong's horrified face, Zhang Ruochen held his sword with both hands and slashed down.
Shang Zihong could swear that Zhang Ruochen's figure at this moment was firmly etched into his heart.
After a brief moment of shock, Shang Zihong unleashed all the protective talismans on his body. Then, he fled at his fastest speed towards the direction where the cultivators of the various Heavenly Court realms were gathered.
He had no choice but to flee.
If he did not flee, he would die.
If he did not die, at least there was still a chance. If he died... wouldn't Lian Xi truly belong to Zhang Ruochen in the future?
"No, I cannot die. There must be other opportunities. Right, Zhang Ruochen has many cultivators he cares about in the Heavenly Court and the Kunlun Realm. I can use them to set up another trap to kill Zhang Ruochen. I still have a chance!"
Shang Zihong looked up ahead. The cultivators of the various Heavenly Court realms were only a few thousand miles away. At his speed, he could reach them in an instant. Once there, no matter how earth-shattering Zhang Ruochen's combat power was, he would have to retreat.
Zhang Ruochen pierced through layers of talisman light barriers and chased after him, each step covering a hundred miles.
"Shang Zihong, weren't you trying to kill me? Why are you the one fleeing in panic?"
"Aren't you supposed to be immortal and indestructible?"
"You have already been frightened out of your wits. Even if you escape back, it's useless. You are destined to live the rest of your life in the nightmare of me, in constant fear."
When Zhang Ruochen's third voice sounded, he had already caught up to Shang Zihong. Holding the Abyssal Ancient Sword, he transformed into a sword light and flew out, tearing a wide canyon across the sea surface.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen held his hands as if embracing something, activating the Ten-Thousand Curse Heavenly Bead.
Just as the Abyssal Ancient Sword was about to strike Shang Zihong's back, a beam of profound light descended from the sky, blocking the path of the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
That beam of profound light erupted with an extremely scorching aura, its temperature reaching nearly a million degrees. It clashed with the Abyssal Ancient Sword for a moment, and then both were sent flying backward.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword flew back to Zhang Ruochen's side, circling his body.
That beam of profound light gradually dimmed, revealing a figure of peerless elegance and handsome appearance, wearing a sacred robe, like an immortal descending to the mortal world.
Being able to block Zhang Ruochen's sword, it was clear that the newcomer was no ordinary person.
"Eastern Florescence Lord, do you think you can stop me from killing someone?" Zhang Ruochen said calmly, but everyone could hear the powerful will in his voice.
Any Great Saint with an unstable mind would probably have their courage shattered upon hearing this voice and immediately retreat.
Eastern Florescence Lord smiled and said, "The outcome is already decided. Why must you kill them all?"
Zhang Ruochen knew that the Pangu Realm, which Eastern Florescence Lord represented, had always been at odds with the Paradise Realm. The reason he intervened was that the common enemy the Heavenly Court now faced was the Hell Realm.
No matter how great the hatred was in the past, it had to be set aside for now.
This was the attitude that must be taken when facing the Hell Realm!
But the enmity between Zhang Ruochen and Shang Zihong could not be dropped just because any cultivator intervened.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen released the Eternal Return Dao Domain, pulling Eastern Florescence Lord and Shang Zihong inside. Then, he used space distortion to bypass Eastern Florescence Lord.
"Boundless Heavenly Venerable!"
A stone mountain rose from the sea surface, blocking Zhang Ruochen.
Zhen Yuan stood atop the stone mountain, the power of the five elements surging from his body, flying around the mountain. Although he was a metal-deficient body, he could still cultivate the rules of the metal element of the five elements, but he could not reach a profound level.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the top of the stone mountain, then looked back, finding Ci Hang Fairy walking in a patch of Buddha light, entering his Eternal Return Dao Domain.
"Zhang Ruochen, a thousand years have passed. The Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm are on different paths. Meeting on the battlefield, we are enemies." Ci Hang Fairy was surrounded by flying golden Sanskrit characters, each containing the power of divinity.
In the past thousand years, not only had Zhen Yuan risen as a dark horse, surpassing those who were once stronger than him.
Ci Hang Fairy was also such an anomaly.
Zhen Yuan sighed, "I really don't want to be your enemy, but the times are what they are. Each of us has our own camp. Comrades who once fought side by side are now forced to face each other in a life-or-death struggle."
Zhang Ruochen laughed heartily, "Why be so sentimental? Being able to be friends is certainly a joyful thing. Being able to be enemies is another kind of joy. Today, I will definitely cut down Shang Zihong. The three of you together are still not enough to stop me. Who else?"
"Zhang Ruochen, you are a bit too confident. Don't underestimate the heroes of the world." The number one strongman of the Demon God Realm, Chu Jian, walked out from the sea.
He had transformed into his true form, with a massive body shaped like a leopard, a human head, and a pair of ox ears.
"Wouldn't it be a great regret in life not to test the strength of an epic-level strongman like you, who has achieved Eternal Return?" The number one strongman of the Truth Divine Temple, Yao Guang, unfolded his Star Sea Shoreless Domain and stepped into Zhang Ruochen's dao domain.
The battle-thirsty Ao Yi was already itching for a fight. At this moment, he let out a long roar, transformed into a dragon, and soared into the sky.
Shang Zihong no longer fled, knowing that escaping from Zhang Ruochen's dao domain would be very difficult. At the same time, he realized this was an opportunity. He laughed and said, "Zhang Ruochen, if you want to kill me, you are undoubtedly challenging the entire Heavenly Court. Retreat. You cannot kill me."
He used words to provoke Zhang Ruochen.
"Very well. Today, I will weigh the heroes of the various Heavenly Court realms to see just how much they are worth! But I think they are not enough to protect you! No one in the world can save you!" Zhang Ruochen said.