Chapter 2799: Blood Butcher's Trump Card
Blood Butcher looked toward Zhang Ruochen. Seeing that he was not angered, he raised his voice and said, "Killed well! A Heavenly Court god, daring to sneak into the Hell Realm—how bold of them. They deserved to die, and death is not enough to atone for their crime."
"With your cultivation levels, you cannot yet erase my spiritual will. If you try to kill me, it will be mutual destruction!" Situ Yunlin's voice came from the crimson blood mist.
"Divine Maiden, I, the Emperor, will assist you in destroying her."
Blood Butcher crouched like a toad in a strange posture, opened his mouth, and took a deep inhale.
Strands of divine blood and blood energy streamed continuously into his mouth and nose.
Having just stepped into the God Realm, Blood Butcher urgently needed large amounts of blood energy to stabilize his realm and temper his divine body. He did not believe that Situ Yunlin could survive once her blood energy was drained away.
Zhang Ruochen also knew that the arrow had already been loosed and could not be turned back—they had to kill her. If Situ Yunlin self-destructed her divine source, the consequences would be unimaginable. Thus, he unleashed the Soul-Devouring Bell, using his spiritual power to activate the twelve bells, suppressing Situ Yunlin's divine soul and will to prevent her from truly self-destructing her divine source.
Bore activated the Fate Esoterica within her body, channeling it into the Fate Determination Staff, using the power of esoterica to erode Situ Yunlin's spirit.
...
...
Under the combined efforts of the three gods, they finally killed Situ Yunlin completely, reducing her to ashes.
Having just broken through to a new realm and participating in the act of killing a true god, Blood Butcher was ecstatic. He took the white jade divine sword from Situ Yunlin and said, "With this sword, I will tell all cultivators under heaven: today, I slew a god! From now on, I, the Great Slaughter War God Emperor, will shake the universe!"
Among gods, those who could kill a true god naturally gained greater fame and instilled more fear.
"Give me the sword," Zhang Ruochen said.
The boiling blood in Blood Butcher's body instantly cooled. "Senior Brother, I need proof of my god-slaying today. This sword is the best evidence. Look, the Divine Maiden has already taken the divine source."
"You absorbed almost all of her blood energy—that's a huge gain. But I, right now, have nothing in my hands. Slaying a god was a joint effort among the three of us. Why do you two get all the benefits?" Zhang Ruochen intended to reason with him.
Blood Butcher thought it over. That did seem reasonable. Though reluctant, he handed the white jade divine sword to Zhang Ruochen.
Without Zhang Ruochen's powerful spiritual pressure to suppress her, Situ Yunlin might have self-destructed her divine source, killing both him and Bore. He had indeed contributed greatly.
The white jade divine sword was a Monarch Sacred Artifact, but its material was extraordinary—it was forged from rare origin substance, and it had already developed Supreme Inscription Runes within, giving it the potential to become a Supreme Sacred Artifact.
It was worth noting that Supreme Sacred Artifacts were divided into three levels: Town Heaven, Chaos Origin, and Sub-God.
Most Supreme Sacred Artifacts were of the Town Heaven level.
To reach the Chaos Origin level, the material of the Supreme Sacred Artifact had to be a heavenly treasure, and the craftsmanship used in its initial forging had to meet extremely high standards.
For example, the materials used to forge the Abyssal Sword and the Blood Drop Sword—Creation Divine Iron—were heavenly treasures.
Of course, even Town Heaven-level Supreme Sacred Artifacts were quite rare. Many true gods at the Lower God and Middle God levels could not possess one.
All of Zhang Ruochen's current Supreme Sacred Artifacts were of the Town Heaven level.
Blood Butcher searched the ground for Situ Yunlin's one thousand and eighty silver small swords, only to find that Zhang Ruochen had already taken them all. In the end, he only found a few bloodstained divine garment fragments on the ground.
While refining the sword spirit of the white jade divine sword, Zhang Ruochen asked, "What exactly happened to you? You said you were scouting ahead, but how did you end up entering the Ancient Desolate Ruins City alone? And why did you break through here? Don't you know how dangerous the Ancient Desolate Ruins City is?"
Blood Butcher sighed deeply, stuffed the few rags into his chest, and then began to narrate.
"That day, I went ahead alone to scout. With my powerful cultivation and sharp mind, I quickly found the Ancient Desolate Ruins City. I was truly shocked by the sight before me—I had never seen so many divine corpses. But relying on my strong spiritual will, I suppressed the fear in my heart..."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Why so much nonsense? Get to the point."
"The point is, I was discovered by a dragon-type strange beast and was forced to flee into the Ancient Desolate Ruins City for shelter. But the moment I crossed the giant stone city gate, a spatial fluctuation occurred, teleporting me to this place."
Zhang Ruochen suddenly understood. He finally realized why Yan Wushen and the others had disappeared after entering the city gate.
That giant stone city gate was definitely problematic—most likely a sophisticated Space Teleportation Array. Blood Butcher and Yan Wushen must have triggered something when they entered the gate, causing them to be teleported away.
Blood Butcher continued, "Here, I had a tremendous opportunity. I found a strange, unusual fruit. After swallowing it, my power surged, and I couldn't suppress the energy inside me, so I was forced to break through. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done something so reckless."
Of course, Blood Butcher would not mention that he had been so terrified by the environment full of divine corpses that he had hidden underground for half a month, lying still like a corpse, not daring to move.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You really will eat anything."
"Senior Brother, it was a huge opportunity! That strange fruit grew from the head of an ancient great god. Divine light shone for a thousand miles, and the fragrance was overwhelming—I couldn't resist. Having obtained this fruit and successfully crossed the Divine Tribulation, I have already gained more than enough from this trip," Blood Butcher said.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What kind of tribulation was your Divine Tribulation?"
"It should have been the Heart Tribulation. When I saw Senior Brother risking his life to block a true god for me, the Heart Tribulation was instantly overcome." Blood Butcher's eyes were deep, and he looked at Zhang Ruochen with immense gratitude.
Seeing that look, Zhang Ruochen felt a chill run down his spine and took two steps back.
Bore said, "The Divine Tribulation is not that simple. Let me ask you: was that strange fruit shaped like a lion, covered in lightning patterns?"
"How does the Divine Maiden know?" Blood Butcher looked surprised.
Bore said, "Your luck is truly extraordinary. That fruit is the Heavenly Lion Divine Fruit. Among treasures that help cultivators cross the Divine Tribulation, this fruit ranks in the top three and is extremely rare. It can only grow on the corpse of a great god, and it requires many other conditions to be met."
Blood Butcher felt even more fortunate to have come to the Abyss of Darkness with Zhang Ruochen. "Regardless, I have to thank Senior Brother and the Divine Maiden today. I owe you a huge debt, Blood Butcher."
"Still calling her Divine Maiden?" Bore said.
Blood Butcher was momentarily stunned, then understood. He quickly said, "Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law..."
Chi Yao detested the gods of the Hell Realm. Seeing Blood Butcher being so glib, she furrowed her brows and snorted, "What I mean is, after stepping into the God Realm, the title of Divine Maiden is automatically relinquished. There is no need to address me as such in the future."
Blood Butcher secretly transmitted a message to Zhang Ruochen, "The Divine Maiden seems to be in a very bad mood today. Did something unpleasant happen between you two?"
Zhang Ruochen naturally knew that the current Bore was Chi Yao.
Chi Yao's personality was actually more like Huang Yanchen's, rather than the more reserved Bore.
"Women are just so capricious. Even if you don't provoke her, she'll still give you a cold glare," Zhang Ruochen said.
Chi Yao seemed to realize that she had acted a bit too aggressively, so she restrained her emotions and said, "This place is not safe. We need to leave quickly."
Seeing Bore suddenly become so calm again, Blood Butcher couldn't help but nod. He thought to himself, Senior Brother really understands women. They are indeed capricious.
"Whoosh!"
A yin wind blew, and ghost clouds covered the divine light.
From within the ghost clouds came a strange cry of "Gu ya," which pierced Zhang Ruochen's sacred soul.
"Not good—it's that ghost-type strange beast again. It has come here." Zhang Ruochen's face instantly turned pale, and images of the Black Lion Divine Beast and the Round Granary True God dying inexplicably flashed through his mind.
Chi Yao was extremely decisive. She grabbed Zhang Ruochen's wrist, and the winding Styx appeared beneath her feet as she fled at top speed.
Blood Butcher did not understand why Zhang Ruochen and Bore were so terrified. "We are all gods—what is there to fear? A ghost-type strange beast... what? A ghost-type strange beast..."
Blood Butcher had heard of the terror of ghost-type strange beasts. His scalp went numb, and he spread his eight pairs of blood wings, chasing after Chi Yao and Zhang Ruochen.
Beneath the blood wings, silver light flickered.
Their speed was clearly no match for the ghost-type strange beast. Soon, they were enveloped by ghostly energy. The ghost energy was bitterly cold. The moment it touched their bodies, the blood inside them seemed to freeze, and their divine energy circulation became sluggish.
"Gu ya!"
This time, Zhang Ruochen finally saw the appearance of the ghost-type strange beast.
It was a skull the size of a mountain, flying within the ghost clouds. Its mouth held a blood-red tongue, and on its forehead was an ancient character.
Seeing that character, Zhang Ruochen was both shocked and puzzled.
Because it was the character "Zang," identical to the one on Zangjin Baihu's forehead.
It was a prehistoric ancient script.
Ice formed on Blood Butcher's back, and a chill ran through his body. "Senior Brother, the character on its forehead is exactly the same as Zangjin Baihu's. Maybe they are relatives. Why don't you go and talk to it?"
Talk?
The aura of this ghost-type strange beast was even more terrifying than that of Great God Jin Ju. Going to talk to it would be nothing short of seeking death.
The "Zang" character on its forehead only indicated that this skull was likely a relic from prehistoric times.
The skull was getting closer and closer to them. The stench was extremely strong, and the corrosive power it emitted could not even be blocked by divine energy.
Chi Yao stopped. She turned around, her eyes sharp, and said, "We can't escape. We have to fight to the death."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Chi Yao's jade hand gripping his wrist, then shifted his gaze to her face. His mind was filled with countless thoughts. He simply could not understand what she was trying to do or what she was scheming.
But these thoughts were cleared away in an instant.
Knowing the critical nature of the situation, Zhang Ruochen summoned the pigeon-egg-sized dark space-time substance, suspending it in front of him, ready to strike at any moment.
"There's no other way. I have to use my final trump card."
Blood Butcher was entangled by strands of ghostly energy, struggling to breathe. The next moment, he took out a phoenix feather.
The phoenix feather erupted with scorching and terrifying energy, tearing through the ghostly energy. Then, it transformed into a ball of flame, carrying Blood Butcher as it flew out at extreme speed.
"That is a feather from the Death God Venerable!" Chi Yao said.
"Senior Brother!"
Blood Butcher called out to Zhang Ruochen. A strand of hair on his head drooped down, extending to a thousand zhang in length. Zhang Ruochen grabbed the hair, then reached back and wrapped his arm around Chi Yao's slender waist. The two leaped up and landed on the phoenix feather.
The phoenix feather contained a large number of speed-type God Venerable divine patterns, unleashing extreme speed as it flew away, so fast that even the ghost-type strange beast could not catch up.
Although it was just a single feather from a God Venerable, it was far more valuable than the divine corpses in the Ancient Desolate Ruins City—corpses that had been dead for who knows how many years and were severely corroded by dark power, like rotten mud.
A living God Venerable was a true God Venerable.