Chapter 2817: Mani Pearl Reappears in the World
"We have no retreat. You deal with Bore, and leave Zhang Ruochen to me." Gui Si's demeanor was extraordinary, his tone deep and steady.
Even if Zhang Ruochen was the Origin Envoy, Gui Si, as a high-ranking god, was not afraid.
First, Zhang Ruochen had only recently achieved godhood through spiritual power. To what extent could he utilize the Origin Esoterica?
Second, this was the Ancient Desolate Ruins City, isolated from the outside world by the dark forces of the Abyss of Darkness. Even with one percent of the Origin Esoterica, the Origin Rules he could mobilize were very limited.
Tianque Shenji was decisive. Without any thought of reclaiming the Que Shen Feather, she clasped her hands together, and her divine body exploded, transforming into a mass of black mist.
Hundreds of divine magpies flew out from the black mist. They charged at Chi Yao, who was sitting cross-legged, emitting sharp cries that could attack the divine soul.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Zhang Ruochen formed seals with his ten fingers, activating both his spiritual power and the Origin Esoterica simultaneously. Instantly, Origin Divine Light surged from the ground, coalescing into a massive white divine lotus that absorbed all the divine magpies into its petals.
The divine magpies collided and reformed into Tianque Shenji's figure.
She stumbled, nearly falling.
"Zhang Ruochen, you brat, you can't trap this god!"
Tianque Shenji's face was full of fury as she cast a divine technique. Divine Qi surged from within her body toward her back, and blood-red lightning appeared on the feathers of her wings.
The lightning gathered together, forming a claw covered in iron scales, over thirty meters long, attempting to break through the Origin Divine Lotus and escape.
At the same time, Gui Si unleashed the Tianji Yunxiao Blade, which turned into a rapidly spinning arc of light, slashing toward Zhang Ruochen.
Every Supreme Inscription Rune on the Tianji Yunxiao Blade was extremely bright, like lightning bolts piercing heaven and earth. Empowered by Gui Si's formidable divine power, its might was terrifying beyond measure, as if space itself was about to explode.
"Be careful!"
Yan Wushen roared, and a corner of a mottled stone bridge emerged from within his body, shaking the chains binding him with a clattering sound.
Even the *Ten Directions Soul-Shocking Formation Diagram* trembled.
"Rage Sword!"
A light sword flew from Zhang Ruochen's brow, colliding with the incoming Tianji Yunxiao Blade.
"Boom!"
The earth-shattering sound tore apart the ground beneath their feet.
The sonic waves caused the gods present to feel a piercing pain in their eardrums, their minds growing dizzy, as if they had been struck heavily.
"How is this possible?"
Gui Si retrieved his deflected Tianji Yunxiao Blade, staring in disbelief at Zhang Ruochen standing in the Origin Divine Light. Even if the Origin Envoy was powerful, how could he simultaneously trap an old mid-ranking god and block his full-force strike?
Moreover, the power just now came from the Sword Dao, not the Way of Origin.
Xiao Hei, suppressed by the formation diagram, saw what had happened and couldn't help blurting out: "That's the power of the Sword Ancestor, the legendary Essence Soul Sword. If I had known you possessed such strength, enough to rival a high-ranking god, why would I have accompanied you into the Abyss of Darkness? You hid it too deeply!"
Zhang Ruochen pressed his palms together, manipulating the power of Origin to suppress Tianque Shenji with the divine lotus.
The Rage Sword alternated between solid and ethereal states, flying around Zhang Ruochen.
Sometimes, its power fluctuations were immense; other times, they were very faint.
Gui Si, having lived for a hundred thousand years, was knowledgeable and saw through some of it. "This is inherited power; you cannot control it at will. If I'm not mistaken, this sword is influenced by your emotions. The angrier you are, the stronger the power it unleashes. The fusion of sword intent and emotion—this is the Seven Souls Transforming into Swords."
"You guessed right. Zhang Ruochen is very angry right now. Face the storm, Gui Si." Regardless of whether Zhang Ruochen was angry or not, Xiao Hei was furious because his Ice Soul Cold Pearl had been taken. He was the one who always robbed others; how could he allow others to rob him?
Gui Si snorted coldly. Gray mist surged around him, and his form and appearance changed, transforming into Bore's likeness—delicate figure, seductive eyes, long legs, and flowing hair.
"Pfft!"
Yan Wushen seemed unable to suppress his injuries and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Xiao Hei was stunned. He hadn't expected Gui Si to go so far as to change his appearance to suppress Zhang Ruochen's anger. Where was the majestic divine might of a high-ranking god?
Zhang Ruochen's mind indeed wavered for a moment, but then his anger flared even more.
The light emitted by the Rage Sword brightened by more than double, and powerful sword energy fluctuations poured out like a tidal wave toward Gui Si. This was too much—a four-armed burly man had the audacity to transform into Bore's appearance. What did he take Zhang Ruochen for?
"Gu ya!"
Before the Rage Sword could strike, a strange cry rang out.
The sound was very close, as if it came from right behind the gods.
Above, a dense mass of ghost clouds surged in, engulfing the area covered by the *Ten Directions Soul-Shocking Formation Diagram*.
The gods within the formation felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave, their bodies numb with cold.
They looked up and saw a skull the size of a mountain suspended above the formation diagram. An ancient character was inscribed on its brow, and the power emanating from it was overwhelming, with a murderous aura soaring to the heavens.
"A Ghost-Type Anomaly."
Even Chi Yao, who was healing her injuries, turned pale, sensing an impending catastrophe.
Tianque Shenji's divine technique, which she had been preparing, could no longer be unleashed. It felt as if she were facing the Dharma-Ending Divine King—she couldn't muster any will to fight.
The gap was too great.
Gui Si felt it even more intensely, as he sensed the skull's hollow eye sockets locking onto him. He released his Divine Realm World, activating his divine power to its fullest, producing a sound like a flowing river.
His Divine Realm World and divine power transformed into a sea of shimmering divine light, covering tens of thousands of miles of the Ancient Desolate Ruins City.
Xiao Hei, Gu Shejing, and Yan Wushen, who had been trapped in the formation, felt their bodies lighten as the suppression was lifted, and they fell to the ground. They all took out their trump card weapons, mobilized their divine power, and activated them.
"Go!" Gui Si roared.
The *Ten Directions Soul-Shocking Formation Diagram* seemed to transform into a boundless great world, flying toward the Ghost-Type Anomaly.
This was the strength and bearing of a high-ranking god. While other gods dared not even fight, Gui Si took the initiative to attack the Ghost-Type Anomaly.
But after launching this strike, Gui Si immediately burned his blood energy and fled at top speed toward the exit of the Ancient Desolate Ruins City.
"Gu ya!"
The skull roared, and the *Ten Directions Soul-Shocking Formation Diagram* shattered like waste paper, burning in midair.
The next moment, Gui Si, who had already fled hundreds of miles away, found ghost energy wrapping around him from all directions, as if he were being crushed by a hundred thousand mountain ranges.
"No! Why are you only hunting me?"
Gui Si let out a long howl, his divine body rapidly expanding as he struggled against the ghost energy.
He reached out, grabbing divine corpses and giant boulders from the ground, hurling them at the skull behind him.
These divine corpses and boulders were as heavy as planets.
But no matter how strong Gui Si was, he was no match for the Ghost-Type Anomaly. He failed to escape and was swallowed whole.
After devouring Gui Si, the skull soared away, disappearing from the sight of Yan Wushen and Xiao Hei, leaving behind a devastated landscape.
The divine battle just now had been breathtaking.
Gui Si's desperate struggle before death unleashed power that could have killed a low-ranking god with each strike, capable of destroying a starry sky. Yet, it was nothing more than a death throes, unable to escape.
Just watching from afar was enough to fill one with despair.
"It just left like that?" Yan Wushen found it hard to believe.
Xiao Hei couldn't relax. "It couldn't have only taken a liking to a high-ranking god and completely ignored us, could it? Ah, what a pity for this emperor's Ice Soul Cold Pearl."
"Whoosh!"
A figure flashed.
Chi Yao stepped on the Styx River, rapidly chasing in the direction the Ghost-Type Anomaly had gone.
"Is she crazy? What is she chasing after?" Xiao Hei exclaimed, then added, "Zhang Ruochen, stop her!"
Gu Shejing said, "Zhang Ruochen was swept away by the ghost energy of the Ghost-Type Anomaly."
...
Zhang Ruochen was wrapped in ghost energy, surrounded by pitch-black darkness, with nothing but void above, below, and all around.
An endless chill assailed him. Even his Absolute Dao-Transformed physical body could barely withstand it. The blood in his veins seemed to freeze, and his bones felt like they had turned to ice.
Zhang Ruochen activated the Origin Esoterica, trying to mobilize the Origin Rules of heaven and earth, but the world was cut off, and he felt as if he were trapped in a cage.
He activated his seven Soul Swords, but when they flew out, they couldn't strike any tangible object.
Finally, Zhang Ruochen calmed down. He sat cross-legged in the ghost energy, activating the Arhat White Pearl hanging around his neck. Using the pearl's power, he purified the ghost energy invading his body, and a mass of pure white Buddha clouds appeared beneath him.
He didn't know how long he flew or where he ended up.
The ghost clouds dispersed, and Zhang Ruochen fell to the ground.
This place was no longer the Ancient Desolate Ruins City. It was pitch-black all around, and his vision and spiritual power were heavily restricted by the dark forces, allowing him to see and sense only a limited area.
The mountain-sized skull hovered in midair, exuding a terrifying divine might.
Zhang Ruochen looked up, preparing for a desperate battle. Even though the disparity in power was immense and there was no chance of victory or escape, he could not abandon his will to survive or extinguish his fighting spirit.
"Whoosh!"
The skull transformed into a gaunt, withered old man over three meters tall, landing on the ground. Then, he knelt on one knee before Zhang Ruochen and said in a hoarse voice, "Cang Mang pays respects to the Young Lord."
Zhang Ruochen had already hidden the dark matter sphere behind him. Seeing the Ghost-Type Anomaly kneel before him like a servant paying homage to its master, he was naturally astonished.
Had it mistaken him for someone else?
Zhang Ruochen said, "Cang Mang? Why do you call me Young Lord? Who are you? A god of the Ghost Clan, or a Ghost-Type Anomaly?"
Even while kneeling on one knee, Cang Mang was taller than Zhang Ruochen. He lowered his head and said, "The master deduced certain results and sent this old servant to the Ancient Desolate Ruins City to find the Young Lord. I came both to deliver an item and to prevent the Young Lord from going to Da Ming Mountain."
Zhang Ruochen said, "What item?"
Cang Mang took out a lotus pedestal and held it in both hands.
On the lotus pedestal were six treasures arranged in a three-two-one trapezoidal formation, emitting six different colors: cyan, green, purple, red, cyan, and yellow. A crimson flame burned atop the six treasures.
The radiance of these treasures illuminated the darkness, spreading for hundreds of thousands of miles.
The entire continent, with its countless mountains, deep valleys, and long ravines, was lit up one by one by this divine lamp.
Zhang Ruochen's heart trembled. "The Mani Pearl!"
This was exactly the legendary form of the Mani Pearl, the foremost of the Seven Treasures of Buddhism!