Chapter 2716: Black Bone Sacred Army
The Black Bone Sacred Army wore identical black bone armor and wielded identical black bone blades, like one hundred thousand stars suspended in the sky, their killing intent astonishingly fierce.
Even Xia Yu, a peak half-god powerhouse, found it difficult to breathe under the pressure.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and composed, saying, "What is this? Using military might to suppress me?"
The three commanders said nothing, as if still waiting for someone.
Zhang Ruochen naturally would not wait any longer. He fixed his gaze on Xia Yu and said, "Dare to fight?"
Xia Yu spread her twelve silver wings, and from the palms of her hands surged the azure-green Netherworld Soul-Devouring Flame, transforming into a pillar of fire hundreds of zhang in diameter and a thousand li long, striking a corner of the sky.
The entire planet, under the power of the Netherworld Soul-Devouring Flame, turned bitterly cold, becoming an ice star.
The three commanders did not act.
Within the sacred army, a Great Saint raised his bone blade.
With him as the center, the cultivators of one Sacred War Camp raised their blades in unison.
A sacred army consisted of one hundred Sacred War Camps.
One Sacred War Camp included one Great Saint, six Saint Kings, thirty Saints, and one thousand Half-Saints. To enter the sacred army, one's cultivation naturally had to reach the top tier of the same realm.
A corner of the sky lit up.
The power of the entire Sacred War Camp, through the formation, converged entirely onto that Great Saint.
"Whoosh!"
He slashed out a blade, cutting a bright light that connected heaven and earth from north to south.
Then the second Sacred War Camp, the third Sacred War Camp...
A total of ten Sacred War Camps acted, each striking out a blade.
Ten blades fell, not only shattering the Netherworld Soul-Devouring Flame that Xia Yu had unleashed but also forcing her to summon the Seven-Star Ghost Lotus and use its supreme power to resist.
This was Zhang Ruochen's first time truly witnessing the combat power of a sacred army.
Thus, he observed very seriously.
An Eon-level powerhouse of the Supreme Realm was called invincible below the divine realm.
This invincibility referred to being unmatched in single combat.
The truly invincible force in the mortal world was the sacred army.
Once a sacred army formed a Star-Locking Formation and completed an encirclement, even a false god would be doomed.
Of course, a false god could also choose to self-destruct their sacred source and perish together with the sacred army.
Zhang Ruochen showed no sign of panic at the terrifying power of the sacred army, watching calmly.
"Boom!"
"Whoosh!"
...
Each time the ten Great Saints struck a blade, the myriad saints around them followed with a blade of their own.
All power converged into one.
This power came not only from them but also from the formation.
A sacred army was both a military force and a formation.
The formation formed by a sacred army was more terrifying than a sub-divine-level grand formation. Each person was a node in the formation, yet flexible and adaptable.
Even the formation formed by the cultivators of a single Sacred War Camp had power far exceeding ordinary ninth-rank formations.
Finally, one of the three commanders grew impatient. He let out a snort like a divine thunder rolling across the sky.
He raised his bone blade above his head.
Instantly, the entire sky lit up.
One-third of the soldiers in the sacred army raised their blades simultaneously.
On the planet's surface below, the wind howled bitterly, sharper than blades.
Xia Yu was locked onto by the blade intent, feeling space pressing in from all directions, her body unable to move.
"Whoosh!"
That commander swung his blade down.
The blade light stretched thousands of li, spanning the planet from north to south, its energy sharp and fierce. Not only could it split the planet, but it tore the very space apart.
The supreme power released by the Seven-Star Ghost Lotus could not block it. Xia Yu's mind trembled violently as she looked up, seeing the sky split in two and collapse.
This was a terrifying force she could not withstand.
"Boom!"
The Seven-Star Ghost Lotus and Xia Yu were struck from midair, crashing heavily to the ground.
Just as the blade light pursued them downward, Zhang Ruochen, standing on the ground, swung his sword and slashed out an arc of sword light, like a bright crescent moon rising from the earth.
"Rip!"
The sword light severed the blade light, shooting straight into the sky.
Surprise flickered in the commander's eyes. He quickly activated the defensive formation inscriptions on his black Great Saint bone armor. The defensive formation inscriptions on the armor of all the sacred realm cultivators in the legion lit up, merging into one.
The sword light was neutralized by the defensive formation.
On the ground, the scattered blade energy caused the earth within a thousand li around Zhang Ruochen to sink and collapse.
Xia Yu had a long bloody gash on her right shoulder. "The power of a sacred army cannot be countered by individuals alone. Just now, only one commander mobilized one legion's cultivators to launch that attack."
"If all three commanders act together, mobilizing the entire sacred army's power, the attack would be ten times stronger. Even an Eon-level representative would be slain with a single blade."
"In the mortal world, only the Blood Emperor Divine Demon Camp's power can crush a sacred army."
Zhang Ruochen looked calmly into the sky and said, "Is that so?"
"What makes a sacred army most terrifying is their armor, their weapons, and the formation inscriptions within them. Combined with decades or centuries of training, their unified execution is incomparable to a rabble of one hundred thousand sacred realm cultivators."
Xia Yu added, "The appearance of the Black Bone Sacred Army clearly means a major figure from the Death Clan wants to deal with you."
"Isn't that them coming?"
Zhang Ruochen pointed to the sky.
A deity radiating blue light descended with the three commanders of the Black Bone Sacred Army, stopping at a height of several hundred zhang. Beneath the deity's feet, divine energy condensed into an ocean, exuding an overwhelmingly powerful aura.
"Greetings, deity." Xia Yu cupped her hands.
When encountering a deity, sacred realm cultivators must bow to show respect.
Otherwise, it is an offense.
Zhang Ruochen stood with his hands behind his back, showing no intention of bowing.
"Bold Zhang Ruochen, you see a deity and dare not bow in worship?" one commander coldly reprimanded.
Zhang Ruochen said, "A mere false god is worthy of my bow?"
"Forget it. Zhang Ruochen is, after all, a mortal world myth. He should have such pride. I will not stoop to his level."
The blue deity spoke in a deep voice, "I am Marshal Mohai, under Dharma God King, sent for Tianshu Zi, Que Shen Zi, and the three White Robed Death Gods of the Death God Temple."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Marshal Mohai? Do you know Mo Yunduan?"
"He was also under Dharma God King and fell a thousand years ago," Marshal Mohai said.
Zhang Ruochen thought to himself, This Dharma God King must be a formidable figure, a divine realm overlord in the Death God Temple.
Marshal Mohai said, "Tianshu Zi is the God King's disciple. Zhang Ruochen, you have imprisoned him for a thousand years. Today, it is time to release him, isn't it? Que Shen Zi is the son of Tianque Shen Ji, a true god, and she has only this one offspring."
Zhang Ruochen sighed, "The two of them, including the three White Robed Death Gods, have already laid down their blades, converted to Buddhism, and are cultivating their minds and natures. They will not return to the Death God Temple to collude with you Death Clan, who only seek destruction and slaughter."
"What did you say?"
"He is insulting the deity!"
"Kill! Today is the death day of this mortal world myth."
The three commanders returned to the army, each erupting with fierce killing intent.
One hundred thousand sacred realm cultivators raised their bone blades in unison, becoming points of light in the night sky.
Marshal Mohai's eyes surged with divine power, his divine might pressing down layer by layer on Zhang Ruochen and Xia Yu. "Before I lose my temper, Zhang Ruochen, hand over the people immediately."
Zhang Ruochen put away the Sacred Flower and the Five-Colored Merit Divine Stele, playing with the Abyssal Ancient Sword in his hand, and said, "I already told you, they have converted and are devoted to Buddhism. Why disturb their peace? Of course, if Dharma God King and Tianque Shen Ji come personally to ask for them, I might consider it."
Marshal Mohai was furious, "It seems you, Zhang Ruochen, are not just arrogant; you truly do not see me as a deity. Do you really think I dare not kill you?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "If you have the skill to kill me, go ahead and try."
Marshal Mohai's eyes darkened, then he laughed through gritted teeth, "Why should I dirty my own hands? The Black Bone Sacred Army is enough to suppress you. I hope your bones are harder than your mouth, and you don't beg for mercy later."
Marshal Mohai was still quite wary of Xue Hou and Xue Jue War God, so he naturally would not act personally unless absolutely necessary.
"Just them?"
Zhang Ruochen showed disdain, "It seems you have no idea what a mortal world myth truly means."
This was too arrogant. Even Xia Yu felt Zhang Ruochen was courting death recklessly.
She understood he wanted to show a tough stance, but the Ten Realms Battle was already tough enough. Why provoke a sacred army and a false god? A few sacred realm prisoners—just return them to the Death God Temple. Why be so confrontational?
Marshal Mohai's brows shot up in anger, and he shouted, "Attack!"
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen grabbed Xia Yu's wrist, and space power erupted from beneath his feet.
Space rules instantly covered the entire planet.
"Boom!"
Space collapsed.
The entire planet instantly contracted inward, shrinking to the size of a speck of dust.
The planet's collapse and space collapse triggered the surrounding space to cave in as well. In an instant, the Star-Locking Formation set up by the one hundred thousand sacred realm cultivators crumbled.
All the sacred realm cultivators stumbled, pulled by the force of space, involuntarily flying toward the center.
How could they still form a battle formation?
Zhang Ruochen pulled Xia Yu, turning into a golden light, weaving through the disarrayed sacred realm cultivators, and stopped thousands of li away in the starry sky, escaping the trap.
"Go!"
The Abyssal Ancient Sword flew out.
One sword transformed into ten thousand swords.
With the Black Bone Sacred Army's formation broken, how could these Half-Saint and Saint realm cultivators withstand a rain of swords?
"Pfft!"
"Puff!"
"Ah..."
Screams echoed through the starry sky.
A wave of sword rain passed, and thousands of sacred realm cultivators fell, blood splattering, turning the area into a slaughterhouse.
The three commanders stabilized themselves in space, turned back, their eyes turning bloodshot, and let out furious roars.
"Zhang Ruochen, you are asking for death!"
Marshal Mohai punched, shattering tens of thousands of sword rains, sending the Abyssal Ancient Sword flying back.
Then, he struck out a palm from a distance.
A blue ocean flew from his palm, surging toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Rustle!"
The sound of waves was earth-shaking.
The blue ocean was boundless, rushing to Zhang Ruochen's front. In the seawater, a liquid hand rose.
Countless brilliant divine patterns swam within the liquid hand.
"Why do you have to provoke me?"
Zhang Ruochen's eyes turned cold. He joined his hands above his head, turning his body into a sword, shooting out like light, colliding with the liquid divine handprint hundreds of li long, piercing through it.
"Boom!"
Penetrating the blue ocean, the sword light struck Marshal Mohai.
The rocky planet, which had collapsed into a speck of dust, had already recovered, its diameter stretching thousands of li.
Marshal Mohai was sent flying backward by the sword light, his divine body crashing into the planet. The massive celestial body exploded with a "bang." He flew over one hundred thousand li before being knocked into the Wuding Divine Sea, his divine blood staining a vast area of the sea red.
The sword light recondensed into Zhang Ruochen's form.
Zhang Ruochen hovered above the blood-red sea, looking around, and said, "What are you all peeping at? Haven't you seen a deity get beaten? Or do you think I, Zhang Ruochen, would be suppressed by a mere sacred army and a false god?"
The world fell into dead silence.