Chapter 2777: Stepping into the God Realm
Inside Yun Gu Ancient Buddha's body, it was not as it appeared from the outside, only a few thousand zhang long.
Zhang Ruochen flew along the golden stream for five hundred li, yet still had not reached the end. Instead, the space grew increasingly vast.
Hai Shui gripped Zhang Ruochen's right arm tightly, her green robes fluttering. "Many Buddhist cultivators merge their Divine Realm World with their golden body. The golden body itself becomes a world. Of course, only those with extremely high cultivation can achieve this."
From behind, Zhang Ruochen sensed the auras of Gai Lin Divine General and Yu Tian Shi.
Gods, even false gods, possessed terrifying speed. With space power difficult to use here, Zhang Ruochen, despite his fourteen golden wings, could not match their pace.
"They're catching up. You go first, I'll hold them off. It's dangerous here—take the Arhat White Pearl with you," Zhang Ruochen said.
"No, the Arhat White Pearl restrains the Death Clan. It's safer for you to keep it. If Senior Brother Ruochen trusts me, lend me the Buddha Relic temporarily. Hai Shui will guard it with her life and never let it fall into the hands of Hell Realm cultivators." Hai Shui's eyes were sincere as she spoke.
Zhang Ruochen possessed seven Buddha Relics in total.
Though he still had doubts about Hai Shui's identity, he reasoned that if she truly had overwhelming power, she could easily take all the relics. Why borrow just one?
She would likely take them all.
Zhang Ruochen took out one Buddha Relic and placed it in her hand. Then, with a palm strike to her back, he propelled her forward.
Zhang Ruochen stopped alone. The Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, Red Child Sword, and Diamond Moon Wheel flew out simultaneously, three Supreme Sacred Artifact auras swirling around him.
The moment Gai Lin Divine General and Yu Tian Shi appeared from behind, the Red Child Sword and Diamond Moon Wheel shot forward.
The Red Child Sword radiated blood-red energy, filled with murderous intent, manifesting countless sword energies.
The Diamond Moon Wheel spun rapidly, churning layers of air waves.
"Damn it, Zhang Ruochen really does have countless Supreme Sacred Artifacts, just like the legends say."
Gai Lin Divine General felt a moment of frustration. After all, having superior weapons allowed Zhang Ruochen to defeat stronger enemies with weaker cultivation.
But the next moment, his mood shifted to joy. Since Zhang Ruochen had so many treasures, killing him might yield a Supreme Sacred Artifact for himself.
"Boom."
Gai Lin Divine General wore the Flame Wolf God Fist Gloves on his hands, a top-tier Monarch Sacred Artifact. They clashed with the incoming Diamond Moon Wheel.
With a "crack," one of the Flame Wolf God Fist Gloves couldn't withstand the impact of the Supreme Sacred Artifact and split with a fine crack.
On the other side, Yu Tian Shi did not confront the Red Child Sword head-on. Instead, he used spiritual power techniques to constantly shift his position. A unique field formed around him, using softness to overcome hardness, employing entanglement to break the Red Child Sword's sharpness.
Zhang Ruochen observed from the side, thinking, "Gai Lin Divine General is only a low-tier false god, yet his power is formidable enough to block a strike from the Diamond Moon Wheel. Interesting."
"Yu Tian Shi's spiritual power must have reached at least the seventieth rank. He's not just a false god but a spiritual power god as well."
Zhang Ruochen wasn't confident in using the God-Defying Stele to suppress a true god, and a Death Clan true god might catch up at any moment. So, he only wanted to buy time for now, not to fight to the death with Gai Lin Divine General and Yu Tian Shi.
While evading the Red Child Sword, Yu Tian Shi still had leisure to mutter, "Ice and snow enter the bones."
His powerful spiritual power erupted.
Instantly, Zhang Ruochen's entire body felt a bone-chilling cold. Strands of special deathly soft force struck his skin and invaded his body.
Even the Supreme Sacred Artifact light of the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror couldn't block this deathly power.
It was death thought power.
Yu Tian Shi, who could be called a heavenly master and was a spiritual power god from the Tiannan Life-Death Ruins, clearly had extraordinary mastery over death thought power.
Even a true god would likely be wary.
But strangely, only half of the icy death thought power invaded Zhang Ruochen's body. The other half was blocked by the Zangjin Rule Divine Patterns inside him.
The death thought power that did enter had no effect on him at all.
"Summer Sword!"
Zhang Ruochen held the Abyssal Ancient Sword, with the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror above his head. Time imprint light dots densely surrounded him, like rain of time.
A surge of scorching energy erupted.
Time flow rate rapidly increased.
In the Abyss of Darkness, inside the body of a God Venerable corpse, space was extremely solid and difficult to use. But time was everywhere, and darkness could not devour it.
"How is this possible? With my spiritual power intensity, how could my death thought power have no effect on him?" Yu Tian Shi found it hard to understand.
He had already achieved spiritual power godhood, and not just at the early seventieth rank.
He had reached the peak of the seventieth rank.
Though both were seventieth rank, the difference between early and peak was vast.
Yu Tian Shi had no time to react before Zhang Ruochen's sword pierced his body. Half of his divine body exploded, leaving only his legs and head intact.
Zhang Ruochen felt no joy, because in an instant, Yu Tian Shi's legs and head absorbed the blood mist, reforming his divine body perfectly, with no drop in aura.
For other false gods, if their divine body was damaged, even if they reformed, hidden injuries wouldn't heal instantly.
Only a spiritual power god had such ability.
He was both a false god and a spiritual power god.
"Boom!"
On the other side, Gai Lin Divine General's Flame Wolf God Fist Gloves were finally shattered by the Diamond Moon Wheel.
Strangely, Gai Lin Divine General's hands showed no injury at all. How could a Supreme Sacred Artifact that shattered a top-tier Monarch Sacred Artifact not harm him?
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes, noticing mysterious, profound secret patterns on Gai Lin Divine General's arms. Those patterns resembled the God King Talisman that Wen Chu had once produced.
Clearly, the patterns on his arms were drawn by a God King-level expert.
Gai Lin Divine General's arms erupted with powerful energy fluctuations, as if nurturing two divine beasts. His voice was cold: "I didn't expect you, Zhang Ruochen, to have reached such powerful cultivation below the Saint realm. It seems the God King's decision to grant me divine patterns was wise."
Zhang Ruochen glanced back. Yu Tian Shi held a clay xun in his palm, a powerful spiritual power secret treasure.
One in front, one behind, sealing his escape route.
"Senior Brother Ruochen, I'll help you."
In the distance, Hai Shui's voice rang out.
She had returned.
Hai Shui held the Buddha Relic with both hands. Her delicate body lit up like a bright lamp, burning all over. All her power poured into the relic as she chanted, "Sacrifice my Buddha body, all beings are equal."
The sacrifice technique was a forbidden Buddhist art.
Once used, the caster would die on the spot.
"That's the Buddha Relic! Stop her, don't let her complete the 'All Beings Equal' technique!" Gai Lin Divine General's face changed drastically as he shouted.
If Hai Shui succeeded in using "All Beings Equal," with Zhang Ruochen's invincible combat power at the same level, how many strikes could he and Yu Tian Shi withstand?
Yu Tian Shi smiled contemptuously, unhurriedly beginning to play the xun.
The xun's sound was low and deep. As soon as it sounded, it struck Zhang Ruochen's head like a divine sword, causing sharp pain in his brain. His sacred soul seemed about to split in two.
Hai Shui fared worse. She immediately spat blood, fell to the ground, and lay motionless, her life unknown.
Yu Tian Shi's spiritual power was too strong. Though Zhang Ruochen was at the sixty-ninth rank and a half, only one rank behind, the gap was that between mortal and god.
Zhang Ruochen barely managed to withstand the xun's impact with his strong will, but his body swayed unsteadily.
From behind, Gai Lin Divine General broke through the air, punching toward his back.
"Boom!"
Even though the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror blocked part of the force, Zhang Ruochen was still sent flying, crashing heavily into the golden Buddha wall.
The xun's sound continued endlessly, carrying spiritual power attacks.
Zhang Ruochen could hardly control the sacred qi in his body, nor even his physical form. He fell straight down toward the golden stream below.
Gai Lin Divine General laughed loudly, activated the God King divine pattern's power, and struck with a palm from afar, hitting Zhang Ruochen and sending him plunging into the stream even faster.
"This strike should kill him."
Gai Lin Divine General couldn't wait. He rushed toward Hai Shui, snatching the Buddha Relic she clutched tightly.
"Is this the legendary Buddha Relic?"
Gai Lin Divine General's divine hand was scorched by the relic's power, sizzling, but he couldn't bear to let go.
If he brought such a treasure back and presented it to the God King, he would receive more than just two divine patterns.
Yu Tian Shi stopped playing the xun. He glanced at Gai Lin Divine General, then looked down at the golden stream. Though he also believed Zhang Ruochen must be dead after enduring the spiritual power attack and the God King divine pattern palm strike, he couldn't rest easy without confirming it himself.
After all, the opponent was a mortal world legend, someone who could trigger the Nether Hall's curse to restart.
"Rustle."
A whirlpool appeared in the golden stream, emitting powerful spiritual power fluctuations.
"Not good, Zhang Ruochen isn't dead."
Yu Tian Shi shouted, warning Gai Lin Divine General.
"Boom!" The golden stream exploded. Zhang Ruochen soared up from the water. Countless spiritual power thoughts flew around him like doppelganger shadows.
These spiritual power thoughts were breathing and absorbing.
From within Yun Gu Ancient Buddha's golden body, wisps of golden mist surged out, merging into the spiritual power thoughts, causing them all to rapidly transform.
Yu Tian Shi himself was a spiritual power god. How could he not understand what was happening?
"Zhang Ruochen... Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power has reached the seventieth rank! He has achieved spiritual power godhood! Impossible! He was hit by the Nether Hall's Dao-Cutting Curse. This can't be, how is it possible?"
Yu Tian Shi's face changed several times. In panic, he hurriedly raised the xun to play again.
But just as the xun's sound began, Zhang Ruochen, suspended in midair, roared: "Anger Sword!"
A sword light flew from his brow, striking Yu Tian Shi's body.
"Boom!"
Yu Tian Shi's divine body completely exploded, scattering as blood rain.
Even his spiritual power thoughts were all severed by the Anger Sword in an instant, never to reform his divine body.
Seeing Yu Tian Shi killed by Zhang Ruochen with a single sword strike, Gai Lin Divine General was terrified, feeling boundless fear. Even a true god like Kong Li Cang Hai would need considerable effort to kill a spiritual power god like Yu Tian Shi.
How could Zhang Ruochen sever all of Yu Tian Shi's spiritual power thoughts with one sword?
He didn't know that Zhang Ruochen had inherited the Sword Ancestor's sword soul. Not just Yu Tian Shi—if his anger was strong enough, reaching its peak, theoretically using the "Anger Sword" could even injure a God Venerable-level existence.
Of course, that was only theoretical.
And with Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, if he truly unleashed such power, even if he injured a God Venerable, he would die himself.
The same applied to the other six soul swords: the stronger the emotion, the greater the power they could unleash.