Chapter 2829: Such Divine Might
Zhang Ruochen's charred body was carbonized in many places, having lost vitality and shedding dust, yet it was filled with abundant inner power, like bright coals hidden beneath ashes.
The sixty-fourth thunderbolt descended, human-shaped, taller than a hundred great mountains combined, like a giant thunder god with a ferocious visage, carrying the divine might of world-destruction.
"Rustle!"
The Celestial River flew out from within Zhang Ruochen's body. Within the river, four Sacred Sources rose and fell, connecting six radiant Sacred Phantoms, surging straight into the sky toward the giant thunder god.
The Celestial River was a river formed by the convergence of Sacred Dao rules. Amid the thunder tribulation, all rules had nearly become deified.
The four Sacred Sources all emitted divine light, only one step away from transforming into Divine Sources.
But unable to withstand the impact of the giant thunder god, the Celestial River shattered, a large number of Sacred Dao rules annihilated, and the six Sacred Phantoms showed signs of damage.
Although the heavenly tribulation destroyed everything, it also tempered.
The Sacred Sources, Sacred Phantoms, rules, and even Zhang Ruochen's semi-carbonized physical body were all growing stronger.
This was the transformation process from Great Saint to deity!
Soon, all nine thunderbolt forms of the thunder god descended, destroying more than half of the Sacred Dao rules Zhang Ruochen had cultivated. All six Sacred Phantoms shattered, turning into soul mist.
His physical body vanished, leaving only remnants and fragments floating in the crimson void.
The temperature of that space, due to the ravages of the heavenly tribulation, reached over a million degrees. Any Great Saint approaching would instantly ignite.
All the deities of the Yama Clan held their breath, their eyes filled with grief and regret.
"Heaven envies the gifted!"
Wen Chu's voice choked, tears streaming down his aged face, his heart filled with sorrow.
"The Heaven Annihilation Tribulation is too terrifying. This isn't just a divine tribulation; it's almost comparable to an Eon Calamity." Xue Tu's mood was heavy, and he secretly felt fortunate to have survived his own divine tribulation, having previously underestimated its difficulty.
"Has it ended already?"
Wu Qingzong spoke as if to himself, or perhaps with extreme unwillingness.
Many deities felt that Wu Qingzong must have hoped for Zhang Ruochen's brutal death, so that Yan Wushen could be unmatched. But Wu Qingzong cherished talent the most, knowing full well that a person's strength comes from their own efforts, not from killing opponents.
Even if one must kill an opponent, it should be done with one's own power.
The deities in the shadows, however, many smiled.
"Now the Hall Master can rest assured. Zhang Ruochen, afflicted with the Dao Severing Curse, cannot survive the divine tribulation."
"Let alone Zhang Ruochen; even a Lower Deity standing beneath the tribulation clouds of the Heaven Annihilation Tribulation would be reduced to ashes."
"At least we didn't come for nothing; we got to see the legendary Heaven Annihilation Tribulation."
...
One by one, deities sent out Divine Message Talismans to spread the news.
But just as the Divine Message Talismans flew out, beneath the tribulation clouds, the four dim Sacred Sources gradually brightened, eventually turning into four dazzling stars, emitting a strong divine resonance.
Zhang Ruochen's life fluctuations reappeared.
"What? They transformed into Divine Sources? Four Divine Sources?"
"This is impossible. The Heaven Annihilation Tribulation hasn't ended yet; how could Zhang Ruochen have stepped into the divine realm?"
Under the incredulous gazes of the deities, the remnants and fragments beneath the tribulation clouds reassembled into a human form.
That figure, not particularly tall but with an astonishing aura, raised both arms, and an immense Yin-Yang Taiji imprint appeared beneath his feet.
Around him, winds surged and clouds rolled, generating six vortex storms.
The scattered soul mist converged into bridges of divine light, gathering into the six vortex storms.
The six Sacred Phantoms were re-condensed...
No.
The Sacred Phantoms had transformed into Divine Phantoms.
The Sacred Soul had transformed into a Divine Soul.
Jet-black hair grew out, like a waterfall of divine light. The charred body shed a thick layer of shell, revealing skin like immortal jade.
"Such powerful divine might! Zhang Ruochen has entered the divine realm!" Wen Chu's arm trembled, and in his excitement, he threw away the tobacco pipe in his hand.
"It's over! Senior brother has broken through; his combat power will surely be unmatched. Which new deity of this Eon can contend with him?"
Although Xue Tu said "it's over," his face was full of excitement.
"Truly incredible." Xu Rulai sighed.
Wu Qingzong and Fulu Divine Venerable exchanged glances, both showing smiles. They had to admit, they had previously underestimated Zhang Ruochen. The Heaven Annihilation Tribulation didn't seem to be an easy thing to kill him.
Juemiao Channü smiled, her bright eyes and white teeth, but remembering she was a Great Deity and a Buddhist cultivator who shouldn't show joy, she bit her lip lightly and restrained her smile.
"Is this the power of a Martial Dao True Deity?"
Zhang Ruochen sensed every particle in his body burning. The Five Elements Chaos Saint Qi within him had completely transformed into Five Elements Chaos Divine Qi.
He looked up, his eyes blazing with divine light, shooting out two solid beams of light hundreds of miles long.
The black tribulation clouds above, like an ink sea, rolled and churned, brewing divine thunder and heavenly fire with even greater might, their sound deep and rumbling.
"Now, it's my turn!"
His right hand clenched into a fist, producing thunderous explosions. The lightning leaking from between his fingers danced wildly like dragons and snakes.
Zhang Ruochen knew that only by passing the final nine layers of heavenly tribulation would he fully step into the divine realm.
His Divine Soul and Divine Sources still needed the final tempering.
Fortunately, he had the Innate Five Elements Chaos Body and had achieved absolute physical Dao transformation, so his physical body had already become a Divine Body ahead of time. The White Pale Blood Soil also helped him recover from injuries quickly.
The tempering of lightning had fully integrated the Buddha Emperor Relic into his body, skyrocketing his spiritual power, allowing him to become a deity first.
His Sacred Heart had transformed into a Divine Heart.
It was these various advantages that greatly increased his strength. Stepping on the Yin-Yang Taiji imprint, he charged toward the tribulation clouds.
Within the tribulation clouds, the seventy-third thunderbolt descended, shaped like a divine eye, like a falling sun.
Flames raged, thunder and fire intertwined.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen let out a long roar, shattering the divine eye with a single punch, turning it into millions of fireballs that flew in all directions like a meteor shower.
He continued upward.
A second divine eye fell.
Zhang Ruochen threw a second punch.
The fist force was fierce and violent, accompanied by dragon roars and tiger howls, breaking through obstacles with unstoppable momentum.
A third divine eye fell.
...
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
...
He threw nine consecutive punches.
Zhang Ruochen's entire body exuded a domineering and powerful masculine aura, his body like red divine iron, shattering the continuously falling divine eyes. When he threw the last punch, he had already charged into the tribulation clouds.
The ninth punch was heavy and dull, but it shook heaven and earth, tearing apart the tribulation clouds that spanned hundreds of thousands of miles.
The entire space trembled, becoming convex and spreading outward.
The tribulation clouds shattered into dozens of cloud clusters, with lightning like rivers running through each cluster.
Zhang Ruochen stood heroically atop the shattered tribulation clouds, the Celestial River and four Divine Sources flowing around his body. The Abyssal Ancient Sword, which had become a Supreme Sacred Artifact, flew through the universe, drawing millions of sword energies.
The power of heaven and earth did not dissipate; it all converged into the Celestial River, transforming into divine qi.
The rules of heaven and earth transformed into rule divine patterns.
All the cultivators watching from afar were stunned speechless.
Could one cross the divine tribulation like this?
The legendary Heaven Annihilation Tribulation, which even True Deities feared, was shattered by Zhang Ruochen with nine punches. Yes, it was shattered!
A Upper Deity who had lived for nearly a hundred thousand years said, "Too terrifying. He hasn't fully become a deity yet, and he's already this formidable. Once he condenses his Star Soul Divine Throne and cultivates his Divine Realm World, how powerful will he become? How many below the Great Deity level can suppress him?"
The power Zhang Ruochen had just unleashed made even Upper Deities take it seriously.
"We truly missed our last chance. If we had known Zhang Ruochen would become this powerful after becoming a deity, we should have entered the Abyss of Darkness back then, no matter how dangerous, and strangled him in the cradle." A deity with heavy corpse qi sighed.
Above the atmospheric layer of Cloud Dark Star.
Wu Qingzong, seeing Zhang Ruochen survive the divine tribulation, became much calmer instead. He smiled and said, "Send a message. Tell this good news to Xue Jue War God. I believe that fellow has been looking forward to this day. Who knows how arrogant he'll become from now on."
"Yes."
Wen Chu, smiling, sent out a Divine Message Talisman.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew the Celestial River and the four Divine Sources into his Qi Sea and sat cross-legged.
He had just crossed the divine tribulation and entered the divine realm. His Qi Sea had not yet transformed into a Divine Sea, requiring a period of meditation and transition.
"First, construct the tenth layer of the Heavenly Domain."
Cultivating the *Bright King Sutra*, one does not condense a Star Soul Divine Throne but instead cultivates a Heavenly Domain.
A Star Soul Divine Throne is difficult to carry around, but a Heavenly Domain can follow one like a shadow, not only storing divine qi but also being used as a battle weapon. Truly mysterious and unparalleled. This was the unique creation of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable!
"The *Bright King Sutra* only has nine layers. After entering the divine realm, there is no further cultivation method; everything must be created by oneself. In that case, follow the heart's desire."
"Whatever the heart thinks, that is what the tenth layer of the Heavenly Domain will be."
The first image that appeared in Zhang Ruochen's mind was the form of the Truth Divine Temple—tall, majestic, sacred, and imposing. It had left an indelible impression on him back then.
The tenth layer of the Heavenly Domain would be constructed with the Truth Divine Temple as its prototype.
"Whoosh!"
The nine solid layers of the Heavenly Domain manifested above Zhang Ruochen's head.
The rules of heaven and earth continuously gathered above the nine layers of the Heavenly Domain, condensing into divine pillars, jade walls, red beams...
...
Wu Qingzong looked toward a certain direction in the void, his face darkening as he shouted, "Still not giving up."
His divine voice spread across this star region, startling the deities hidden in the shadows, who thought Wu Qingzong was rebuking them.
In the infinitely distant deep space, a cluster of burning planets turned into a rain of stars, flying straight toward where Zhang Ruochen was sitting cross-legged. The foremost thirteen planets, each over a million miles in diameter, were thirteen stars.
An unknown powerful deity, using a great divine ability, ignited an entire star region and pressed it toward Zhang Ruochen.
The deities of the Yama Clan entered a combat state, as if facing a great enemy.
Wu Qingzong moved as fast as light, flying out to land atop his Star Soul Divine Throne. He channeled the power of all his throne planets, forming a boundless, radiant hand seal that blocked the incoming star rain.
Even the stars a million miles in diameter were not one-tenth the size of the hand seal.
"Boom! Boom!"
The stars collided with the hand seal, all exploding.
Hundreds of millions of miles away from Cloud Dark Star, above the Darkness Temple, star mist gathered, attracting tens of thousands of planets. Together with the star mist, they condensed into a vast, misty divine pillar that connected heaven and earth.
This divine pillar swung out, directly crushing the star region, crossing vast distances of space, and slashing toward Zhang Ruochen.
Yes.
The entire star region's space shattered, turning into a half-real, half-void chaotic world. Tens of billions, perhaps hundreds of billions of miles of space, shattered like paper.
Except for beings at the Divine Venerable level, no one knew how destructive this force was or how far it extended.
All living beings in this star region, including deities, trembled uncontrollably.
"Hall Master, a being who has cultivated for a million years, actually striking at a junior. Isn't that beneath his dignity?"
Fulu Divine Venerable's eyes sharpened. His figure vanished from above Cloud Dark Star, propping up the Gate of Destiny, colliding with the descending divine pillar.
The space of this star region completely exploded, shattered into pieces.
Many life-bearing planets of the Yama Clan were instantly annihilated. On each planet, billions of living beings, without even knowing what had happened, turned to dust.
Under divine warfare, no egg remains intact.
Without powerful cultivation, this is the fate.
"It's the Hall Master of the Darkness Temple himself acting. Why go this far? He's just a new deity..." Juemiao Channü had just formed this thought when her eyes focused.
She saw the entire universe split in two.
It wasn't that the universe had truly split, but the starry sky in Juemiao Channü's field of vision had completely torn apart, creating a terrifying scene.
Above the two halves of the universe, a blue figure appeared, his voice resounding through heaven and earth: "This era does not need a second Immovable Bright King Great Venerable!"
"Whoosh!"
The blue figure pointed a finger.
An extremely condensed beam of light shot from his fingertip, faster than light itself. As Fulu Divine Venerable resisted the Darkness Temple Hall Master's divine pillar, it struck Zhang Ruochen's head.
The newly formed ten layers of the Heavenly Domain all collapsed, shattered into pieces.
Zhang Ruochen's head turned into a mist of blood. His Qi Sea, Divine Sources, Celestial River, and Divine Soul all exploded, leaving only a headless body floating in the chaotic divine qi tides.
"Fulu Divine Venerable, I give you face by not killing him. But from now on, let him only cultivate spiritual power. I'll take him to Tiannan and teach him personally."
From an unknown, distant time and space, the blue figure extended a divine hand spanning tens of millions of billions of miles, using the two halves of the shattered universe as a passage, and grabbed Zhang Ruochen's headless body.
Fulu Divine Venerable, usually gentle in temperament, was now furious to the extreme. His hair stood on end, his pupils bloodshot. He shattered the divine pillar and gave chase, gritting his teeth and saying, "Destroying someone's cultivation and still wanting to take their body. Today, you will not take Zhang Ruochen away!"