Chapter 2794: War of the Gods
The Ancient Desolate Ruins City was vast and boundless, filled with majestic divine qi. Divine light of various colors flowed from the corpses of gods, saturating the heavens and earth.
The corpse of Yun Qing Ancient Buddha was exceptionally bright, radiating blazing golden light.
This entire city region was shrouded in Buddhist mist.
Feng Chen Sword God drew his sword and stepped forward, his murderous aura manifesting into the image of a Shura battlefield. He said in a deep voice, "Who was it that said ten Feng Chens are inferior to one Zhang Ruochen? If you have the guts, step forward and compete with me."
In an instant, countless gazes converged upon him.
The gods from various major powers each exuded vast divine might, having once dominated the mortal world.
Although Feng Chen Sword God was quite renowned, he was ultimately a new god only a few thousand years old. In the eyes of those veteran divine realm experts, he appeared lacking in foundation.
Standing beside Wu Jiang, the True God Yuan Cang was a deity who had lived for nearly fifty thousand years. His body was as massive as a small mountain, covered in metal spikes. He said, "Feng Chen, you little brat, it was your grandfather Yuan Cang who said those words."
In that instant, Feng Chen Sword God had already taken in the entire situation.
The five True Gods of the Yama Clan were trapped within a dark field of a hundred zhang in diameter. The periphery of the field was filled with powerful illusory forces, formed by a divine talisman.
The god activating the divine talisman stood on the other side of Wu Jiang, his form like a shadow, emitting powerful spiritual power fluctuations.
Aside from the Upper-level God Gui Si and the Mid-level God Tian Que Shen Ji present, this shadowy figure exerted the greatest pressure on Feng Chen Sword God.
The sixth True God of the Yama Clan was Wen Chu. He was severely wounded, suppressed by Luo, the third son of the Ghost Lord, and forced to kneel. Seven finger-thick iron spikes pierced through his chest.
These seven spikes were connected to a chillingly cold chain, the other end of which was held in Luo's hand.
They had used Wen Chu as bait to lure the five Yama Clan True Gods into the field of the "Dark Light Illusory Heaven Divine Talisman," trapping them all.
This divine talisman had been specially prepared by the Darkness Temple to kill the gods of the Yama Clan.
Everyone present was a divine realm expert. Even if Feng Chen Sword God's combat power had not yet recovered, trying to rescue them even at full strength would be like walking into a trap—a futile effort.
In just a moment, Feng Chen Sword God had already formulated a plan: first break the Dark Light Illusory Heaven Divine Talisman and rescue the five Yama Clan True Gods trapped within its field.
Only by freeing them could they have a fighting chance today.
"Shua!"
The jeweled Supreme Sacred Artifact war sword in Feng Chen Sword God's hand flew out of its sheath, pointing at Yuan Cang True God. "Do you really think I fear the Darkness Temple's numerical advantage? Since you dare insult me, today we fight to the death."
The sword body blazed with intense light, erupting with powerful Supreme-level force that surged in all directions.
Countless sword cries rang out as numerous sword shadows appeared, forming dozens of chaotic torrents of sword shadows.
"Such strong divine power."
"His sword dao mastery has reached such a high level. Has he truly only cultivated in the divine realm for a thousand years? Even those sword dao gods who have cultivated for tens of thousands of years cannot compare to him."
The gods present were all astonished, realizing they had underestimated this new god who had risen to fame only in the last millennium.
"Hua—"
The war sword flew out first, like a streak of light.
But its target was not Yuan Cang True God. Instead, it struck at the shadowy figure on the other side of Wu Jiang who controlled the Dark Light Illusory Heaven Divine Talisman.
This feint caught the gods off guard.
Gui Si knew that Feng Chen Sword God was closely associated with the gods of the Kunlun Realm and shouted, "Careful! He's trying to save the Yama Clan gods. Don't let him succeed."
Too late!
The Supreme Sacred Artifact war sword radiated brilliant light, carrying boundless sharpness as it arrived before the shadowy figure.
The shadow had no physical body, appearing like wisps of mist. A grayish arm over two meters long condensed from the mist, reaching out and pressing forward.
In front of its palm, ripples appeared like rings on water, effortlessly blocking Feng Chen Sword God's unparalleled strike.
"How is this possible?"
Feng Chen Sword God's eyes widened in shock, his heart sinking to the depths.
This god's spiritual power was terrifying beyond belief. No wonder it could single-handedly control the divine talisman and trap five Yama Clan True Gods.
The other gods, such as Gui Si, Tian Que Shen Ji, and Luo, all changed expressions slightly.
Being able to block Feng Chen Sword God's Supreme Sacred Artifact war sword with bare hands—how high was this spiritual power?
Wu Jiang stood beside the shadowy figure, hands clasped behind his back, always composed. He smiled and said, "Sword God has always been someone I admire. Why must you oppose the Darkness Temple?"
Feng Chen Sword God replied, "I act as I please. What business is it of yours?"
The shadowy figure twisted its wrist.
"Bang!"
The Supreme Sacred Artifact war sword broke free from Feng Chen Sword God's control, flew out, and embedded itself into the skin of Yun Qing Ancient Buddha's corpse, hanging a hundred meters above. Even the golden body of a Buddhist god-venerable could not withstand it, pierced an inch deep.
Of course, this was also because the golden body had already been severely eroded by dark power.
Feng Chen Sword God retreated three steps, his expression extremely grave.
Today's situation was more dangerous than he had anticipated.
One misstep, and being surrounded would make escape as difficult as ascending to heaven.
He glanced back and saw that Gui Si had already blocked his retreat, standing outside the ear hole of Yun Qing Ancient Buddha. Trillions of rule divine patterns spread from beneath his feet.
Wen Chu, suppressed and kneeling by Luo, had divine blood flowing from his wounds, his eyes growing dimmer.
The Darkness Temple had long harbored the intention to destroy the Dark Abyss Yan Clan. They had surely prepared thoroughly. Today was their calamity—inescapable, unavoidable. Unfortunately, his sacred heart was sealed, his divine soul suppressed, and he couldn't even self-destruct his divine source. It was helpless and utterly humiliating.
There was nothing more humiliating than having a True God suppressed and forced to kneel publicly.
Boundless hatred filled his heart, but he could not unleash it.
Gui Si said coldly, "Everyone may not know this, but Feng Chen Sword God and the Bore Goddess of the Destiny Temple are both connected to the Kunlun..."
Suddenly, a chill filled the air.
The ground emitted a hissing sound as thick ice formed.
The surrounding scenery transformed into a vast world of ice and snow, with icebergs standing everywhere. In the sky, a magnificent divine shadow appeared, erupting with the might of a God Venerable.
"It's the Ice Emperor's Great Thousand Ice Soul World. That Prince Xia must be hiding nearby," Gui Si said.
Who did not fear the name of the Ice Emperor?
Under Xiao Hei's control, the Ice Emperor's divine shadow in the sky pressed down a thousand-zhang-long hand seal, directly targeting the shadowy figure controlling the Dark Light Illusory Heaven Divine Talisman.
The hand seal was formed from God Venerable-level rule divine patterns, containing infinite divine power.
Wu Jiang acted decisively, saying, "Attack together!"
Although Wu Jiang was not the highest in cultivation or combat power among all the gods of the Darkness Temple and the Nether Hall, his status was unmatched.
The four True Gods of the Darkness Temple and the Mid-rank Third-class Pseudo God Jiang Qing of the Nether Hall attacked together, each unleashing a divine weapon, forming five bright pillars of divine qi that struck the Ice Emperor's hand seal.
The other Pseudo Gods stood on all sides, forming a combined attack formation, on guard for possible enemies hidden in the shadows.
Amid the white mist, Bore's slender and graceful figure flew out.
"Hua la la!"
The Styx River, containing powerful death force, flew out next, sweeping away a Pseudo God on the outer perimeter. That Pseudo God fell into the Styx, his divine body rapidly decaying into pus and blood, his screams unceasing.
Bore mobilized the power of Fate Esoterica, causing the fate rules of heaven and earth to surge toward the Fate Decision Staff in her hand.
She struck out with the staff, slashing diagonally at the shadowy figure controlling the divine talisman.
The shadowy figure's arm waved lightly, sending the Fate Decision Staff and Bore flying away as easily as sweeping away a fallen leaf.
The shadowy figure was about to launch a spiritual power attack to severely wound Bore and render her combat-ineffective. But the Yama Clan gods trapped in the divine talisman's field had clearly sensed the external upheaval and were attacking wildly within the field.
The Dark Light Illusory Heaven Divine Talisman floating above the field began to shake.
It must be noted that among the Yama Clan True Gods was a powerful Upper-level God, an old god who had cultivated for nearly a hundred thousand years. Reluctantly, the shadowy figure had to focus entirely on controlling the divine talisman.
Bore intended to strike again but was intercepted by Gui Si.
Facing this Upper-level God, both Bore and Chi Yao could only defend themselves, with no strength left to rescue anyone.
"Feng Chen, you've finally shown yourself. Let's see where you can flee today."
Tian Que Shen Ji's face was full of fury. Her right hand reached out through the air, causing explosions as divine qi condensed into countless bolts of lightning, attacking Feng Chen Sword God.
The divine war erupted instantly, turning heaven and earth upside down.
This city region, though covered by the Great Thousand Ice Soul World, was still shaken violently by the divine power.
Luo, the third son of the Ghost Lord, glanced at Wen Chu kneeling on the ground and said, "You've lost your value. Now, I'll send you on your way."
"Pu chi!"
Luo's five fingers plunged into Wen Chu's skull, extracting his divine soul.
For the Ghost Clan, the fastest way to improve their realm was to devour other ghosts or the souls of other cultivators.
Wen Chu could not bear the pain of his soul being extracted, screaming as blood flowed from his seven orifices.
But the next moment, Luo also screamed.
"Ah! Soul Devouring Curse..."
Luo withdrew his five fingers from Wen Chu's skull, clutching his head as he retreated rapidly. Ghostly qi overflowed from his body, forming tens of thousands of vengeful spirit shadows.
The one casting the Soul Devouring Curse was, of course, Zhang Ruochen.
Luo had only recently reached the True God realm and had not cultivated a divine realm world. Moreover, in the Saint realm, he was neither an Eon-level representative nor a Quasi-Eon-level representative, lacking the foundation of Bore, Gu Ye Jing, and others.
For a Lower-level God like him, still a new god, with Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power at the seventy-first level and the Ten Thousand Curse Heavenly Bead, cursing him was certainly possible.
Zhang Ruochen held the Ten Thousand Curse Heavenly Bead, flew out swiftly, and landed beside Wen Chu, calling out, "Uncle Wen, it's me, Ruochen."
Wen Chu was very weak, but upon seeing Zhang Ruochen's figure, a deep and moved expression appeared in his eyes. He nodded slightly.
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen struck Wen Chu's chest with his palm, sending the seven iron spikes and chain piercing his body flying out, falling to the ground. He was about to take Wen Chu away.
Not far away, Luo recovered.
He propped up his Dao domain, barely resisting part of the Soul Devouring Curse's power.
"Zhang Ruochen, you've finally shown yourself."
Luo forcibly pulled the countless vengeful spirits flying out of his body back. His palm blazed with divine light, surging with yin qi, as he struck out a divine ability-level palm seal. In the blink of an eye, the palm seal arrived before Zhang Ruochen.
"Zheng!"
The Red Child Sword flew out, landing in Zhang Ruochen's hand.
The over sixty trillion sacred dao rules and rule divine patterns within his body were all released. Zhang Ruochen thrust his sword forward, merging it with the "One" character sword dao sacred intent, precisely striking Luo's palm.
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen held the sword in one hand and grabbed Wen Chu with the other, sent flying by Luo's divine power.
But Luo also retreated two steps, shattering a large area of ice.
Shock appeared in Luo's eyes, because he could see that Zhang Ruochen had not yet achieved martial godhood and was still at the Great Saint level. Yet how could he have cultivated over sixty thousand rules?
"Hua—"
Zhang Ruochen raised the Red Child Sword above his head. The sword dao esoterica within his body continuously absorbed the sword dao rules from the Ancient Desolate Ruins City—or more precisely, the sword dao divine patterns left behind by the dead gods—drawing them toward him.
Zhang Ruochen's aura grew stronger and stronger, becoming incredibly sharp.
The blood-red light emitted by the Red Child Sword turned the glaciers of both sky and ground red.
"Slash!"
Zhang Ruochen swung his sword, striking at Luo.