Chapter 2790: A Great God Kneels
A divine artifact is the most powerful war weapon, capable of helping a deity fight against the odds and overcome a higher realm.
With the eternal and indestructible foundation of the Kunlun Realm, it had only accumulated ten divine artifacts, each with a name and a history, of immense origin and ancient heritage, serving as treasures to guard the realm.
Yet, what overturned the understanding of Great God Jin Ju was that a mid-level god actually produced six divine swords at once.
All were swords!
The only regret was that all six divine swords had varying degrees of decay and damage.
...
Beneath the Three Births Gate.
Ten thousand swords danced, and divine qi surged mightily.
The Yin Cauldron of Great God Jin Ju, originally a powerful war instrument, could not withstand the divine swords and shattered into pieces.
"Boundless Ghost Domain, open the Mourning Gate."
The ghostly qi and divine rule patterns within Great God Jin Ju surged outward like tidal waves, and in an instant, a dark and chaotic ghost domain world materialized.
Within this divine realm world, bones lay like an ocean, a blood moon hung in the sky, and a decaying power drifted through the air.
Chi Yao, Sword God Feng Chen, Xiao Hei, and Bore were tainted by the decaying force. Their skin first turned grayish-white, then darkened, matching the color of the bones scattered on the ground.
From beneath the earth, four Mourning Gates opened, glowing dark red, positioned directly below them, swallowing them into an endless state of weightlessness.
That feeling of weightlessness was extremely uncomfortable, as if they were falling endlessly, unable to control their bodies.
"This is the power of the Mourning Gate, the most formidable divine ability of Great God Jin Ju." Sword God Feng Chen tried to mobilize the power of the Sword Dao Essence to resist the Mourning Gate, but failed.
Within the body of the Buddhist Sect God Venerable, aside from the Buddhist Dao Essence, no other essence could achieve much.
The body of a God Venerable was, for any cultivator, a place of confinement, the hardest cage in the world to break.
"Hiss!"
Great God Jin Ju stood by a patch of green ghost fire, its temperature reaching thirty million degrees. A false god, once touched, would instantly vanish into ashes.
Even a lower-level god, with their powerful life force, could not last long once caught in the ghost fire.
Only mid-level and upper-level gods, who had cultivated a divine realm world, could endure a bit longer. But even they could not escape death.
Great God Jin Ju looked at the four gods trapped in his divine realm world and the Mourning Gates, letting out a sinister laugh: "You are still too young after all, thinking that wielding divine artifacts allows you to contend with a Great God. Which Great God hasn't cultivated for hundreds of thousands of years? How could you, mere youngsters of a few thousand years, compare?"
Great God Jin Ju waved his arm lightly.
The ghost fire beneath his feet transformed into four rivers of flame, pouring into the four Mourning Gates.
Chi Yao manipulated five divine swords to attack the Mourning Gate.
But endless divine rule patterns and ghostly qi surged forth, dissolving her attacks into nothingness, making it difficult to threaten the Mourning Gate. It wasn't that the divine swords were ineffective, but it was like drawing a sword to cut flowing water—the water only flowed more.
Her gap in cultivation with the Great God was more than tenfold, not something that could be bridged by merely wielding divine artifacts.
Sword God Feng Chen used his sword god power to protect himself, turning into a sword light that charged at the Mourning Gate, but was repelled by an invisible current of air, falling back into a state of weightlessness, as if plummeting into an endless abyss.
Xiao Hei and Bore had just entered the divine realm and had not yet cultivated a divine realm world.
However, Xiao Hei wielded the Ice Soul Cold Pearl, which allowed him to withstand the ghost fire.
Bore could only rely on the Gate of True Self, the Fate Judgment Staff, and the Hundred Dragon Bright Emperor Armor to barely hold on. Unfortunately, the ghost fire's temperature was too terrifying, turning even the Hundred Dragon Bright Emperor Armor, a supreme sacred artifact, red-hot, as if it were about to melt.
Xiao Hei wanted to help her, but they were separated into different Mourning Gates, making it impossible to assist. In his frustration, he let out furious roars: "Monkey, if I, the Emperor, survive today, I will destroy your lair once I get out."
Great God Jin Ju paid him no heed, treating him as already dead.
Although the divine patterns of the Ice Emperor were powerful, a Great God was a hegemon among deities and did not fear the divine patterns of a God Venerable.
Only the true body of a God Venerable could suppress a Great God.
"Bore..."
Chi Yao saw Bore engulfed in ghost fire, barely able to hold on, and called out to her.
Bore showed no fear in her eyes, as if she had already accepted life and death, saying, "Today is my calamity. I will now self-destruct my divine source to break his divine realm world. You can take this opportunity to escape and kill him in the future to avenge me."
If one could live, who would want to die?
Even though this great world caused her immense pain and sorrow, at the moment she was about to self-destruct her divine source, Bore couldn't help but look toward the direction of the Three Births Gate.
Unfortunately, within the ghost domain divine realm world of Great God Jin Ju, the Three Births Gate was invisible, and all she saw was a gray darkness.
Chi Yao, like an emperor, spoke in a commanding tone: "Don't do it. We still have a chance..."
Xiao Hei let out a series of angry curses.
Bore could no longer hear Chi Yao's subsequent words. Her five senses were sealed, and the divine qi within her body surged toward her divine source.
"Thinking of self-destructing your divine source in front of a Great God?"
Great God Jin Ju released his spiritual power, condensing it into a white beam of light that flew into the Mourning Gate and struck Bore, shattering her divine soul instantly and leaving a blood hole through her back.
The self-destruction of her divine source failed.
Her divine soul was broken.
Bore lost all consciousness, her divine body floating in the Mourning Gate, being burned by the ghost fire.
...
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen, inside the Three Births Gate, felt a sharp pain in his heart and a strong premonition arose.
"Not good!"
He immediately rushed outward and saw that outside, on the golden water surface, ghostly qi was surging, and divine might was overwhelming, extremely shocking.
"This power... how terrifying, has it reached the Great God level?"
Zhang Ruochen could not see Xiao Hei or the others, but he sensed their auras within the oppressive ghostly qi.
He knew that with his current cultivation, he was no match for the intruder, so he turned back and re-entered the Three Births Gate.
"Ancient Buddha, my friends are in great danger. Can you lend me a hand?" Zhang Ruochen said.
The Buddha's reflection in the water said, "The opponent is a Ghost Clan Great God. If I were not dead, I could subdue him. But I have been dead for eight hundred thousand years. If you hide in the Three Births Gate, I can protect you, but I am truly powerless to save your friends."
"You don't need to subdue him, Ancient Buddha. I will subdue him myself. But please, lend me the power of one strike."
"One strike is no problem."
Zhang Ruochen took out the "Sixth Patriarch's Meditation Diagram," cut his wrist, and dripped blood onto it.
The "Sixth Patriarch's Meditation Diagram" was painted by Saint Monk Xumi. Zhang Ruochen had never understood why his blood could activate it. Now, he finally understood.
...
Within the ghost domain divine realm world.
The yin wind howled, and the cold air was dense.
Chi Yao and Sword God Feng Chen's eyes were cold to the extreme, as if they both had the intention of self-destructing their divine sources to die together with Great God Jin Ju.
Xiao Hei, on the other hand, never stopped cursing, insulting eighteen generations of Great God Jin Ju's ancestors, not caring whether the Great God had any ancestors.
"Curse all you want. You're next. I really want to know if the divine soul of the Ice Emperor's son is even more delicious."
Great God Jin Ju wore a cruel smile as he approached the Mourning Gate where Bore was suppressed. He reached out a white ape ghost hand, intending to collect Bore's divine soul fragments.
"Amitabha!"
A resounding Buddhist chant, like a great bell, echoed through the boundless ghost domain.
Great God Jin Ju's expression changed, and he looked up toward the sky. He saw that the sky, originally illuminated by the blood moon into a dark red, had turned golden. Rays of Buddhist light seeped in.
Not only Great God Jin Ju, but even Xiao Hei, Chi Yao, and Sword God Feng Chen were stunned.
"Boom!"
A ten-thousand-zhang golden hand shattered the sky of the divine realm world.
The blood moon fell, and the entire ghost domain divine realm world began to collapse rapidly.
Great God Jin Ju felt an unprecedented terrifying aura and looked toward the direction of the Three Births Gate. There, he saw a true Buddha, as massive as Maitreya, standing with Buddhist light illuminating ten thousand miles.
He was bare-chested, barefoot, with a solemn and dignified countenance.
Great God Jin Ju initially thought it was the undying Ancient Buddha Yun Qing and prepared to resist, but when he saw the true Buddha's appearance and the golden handprint suspended above, he was so frightened that his soul nearly fled.
"The... the Sixth Patriarch..."
Great God Jin Ju knelt directly, not even daring to think of escape, his entire body trembling.
Great God Jin Ju had never seen the Sixth Patriarch, but he had seen statues of the Sixth Patriarch and had obtained relics of the Sixth Patriarch. The aura of this Buddha was identical to that on the relics, and its might was so terrifying.
Who else could it be but the Sixth Patriarch?
"Ghost Lord was right; the Sixth Patriarch is indeed alive. How could a Buddha-level existence fall so easily? Ten thousand years ago, to kill Xumi, who had just reached the Buddha level, the Hell Realm paid a heavy price."
Having communicated with Ghost Lord, Great God Jin Ju was deeply convinced that the Sixth Patriarch was still alive.
In the distance, Hai Shui, hiding in the Golden Leaf Bodhi Forest, was also greatly shocked.
Then she slowly knelt down, pressed her hands together, and chanted Buddhist scriptures.
It wasn't that she was particularly devout to the Buddhist path, but because she knew that the Sixth Patriarch was immensely powerful. If his injuries had fully healed, he would undoubtedly be the number one powerhouse in the current universe.
Even Hao Tian might not be his match!
How could the Sixth Patriarch not know that she was hiding nearby?
Rather than continue hiding, appearing dark and sinister, it was better to kneel openly and act as a devout Buddhist.
Zhang Ruochen stood inside the golden Buddha shadow of the Sixth Patriarch, completely unaware of Hai Shui hiding in the distant Golden Leaf Bodhi Forest. His gaze was fixed solely on the kneeling Great God Jin Ju, and he said, "I am here within the Three Births Gate to mourn my master, intending to sit in silent meditation for a hundred thousand years. Little ghost, who allowed you to come here?"
Great God Jin Ju trembled and said, "Not knowing the Buddha was here, I... this junior is extremely terrified. I had no intention of disturbing the remains of Ancient Buddha Yun Qing. I will leave immediately, leave immediately..."
Zhang Ruochen knew that he could only intimidate Great God Jin Ju; he could not kill him.
So he said, "I intended to liberate you, but during these hundred thousand years of mourning my master, I do not wish to kill any living being or dead spirit. You may go."
Great God Jin Ju, as if granted amnesty, looked at the ten-thousand-zhang Buddha hand suspended above and said, "Please, Buddha, withdraw your divine power. Jin Ju has already realized his mistake."
The might of the Buddha hand pressed down on him, making him extremely uncomfortable.
Zhang Ruochen nodded.
The Buddha hand gradually dissipated.
Great God Jin Ju immediately stood up, but did not dare to straighten his back. He withdrew his ghost domain divine realm world.
The four Mourning Gates disappeared as well.
Sword God Feng Chen, Chi Yao, and Xiao Hei broke free, all shocked, and bowed to the Sixth Patriarch at the Three Births Gate.
Xiao Hei, unrestrained, said, "Sixth Patriarch, you cannot let Great God Jin Ju go. He has committed countless evil deeds, killed countless beings, and specifically targets monks of the Western Buddha Realm, devouring their souls. He even said that the souls of Buddhist cultivators are the most delicious."
Great God Jin Ju was startled and rebuked, "Don't slander me. I have never killed any monks of the Western Buddha Realm."
Xiao Hei pointed at Great God Jin Ju and said, "Swear it?"
Great God Jin Ju naturally dared not swear. In his lifetime, he had killed countless beings; how could none of them have been monks of the Western Buddha Realm? He said, "The pure are self-purifying. Why should I swear? There are also good ghosts in the Ghost Clan who are devoted to goodness. Amitabha!"
Zhang Ruochen saw Chi Yao but was not at all surprised to see her there.
Because he had learned from Xiao Hei that Chi Yao had come to the Hell Realm.
So, when he saw Bore for the second time, he could tell from her eyes that Bore was Chi Yao. They were using the same trick again.
Moreover, with Zhang Ruochen's understanding of Bore and Chi Yao, combined with his possession of the Heart of Truth and the Wuji Sacred Intent, how could he not see through them?
Chi Yao had underestimated him.
She thought that Zhang Ruochen was still the weak young man from before, easily deceived.
He saw through it but chose not to expose it.
He just wanted to see what Chi Yao was trying to do.
He also wanted to know why Bore would make such a choice a second time.
Zhang Ruochen saw Bore lying on the golden lake, severely injured, her divine soul shattered into pieces. His anger could no longer be suppressed, and he stared at Great God Jin Ju, who was about to leave, saying, "Come back. Who allowed you to leave?"
These words carried no power.
But Great God Jin Ju felt as if he had been hit by a binding spell, his soul body about to scatter, unable to move a step. He felt the wrath of the Sixth Patriarch!
History recorded that once, a Buddha's anger wiped out the entire Ghost Clan of the Hell Realm, with nine out of ten ghosts perishing.
Now, the Buddha was angry again. How could Great God Jin Ju not be terrified?