Chapter 2864: The Sorrow of the Blade Path
Pairs of divine eyes, piercing through thick layers of dust, gazed upon the center of the battlefield. That white-haired old man, using the stone cauldron, had suppressed and collapsed Wuma Jiuxing's three-thousand-zhang-tall giant divine body to the ground.
"Boom!"
Like a mountain collapsing, divine blood soaked a thousand miles.
The Sixth Patriarch's Sanskrit script on the stone cauldron, along with the Udumbara flower imprint containing Yinsuetian's deathly power, branded themselves onto Wuma Jiuxing's divine body.
Two kinds of formidable All-Heavens power, driven by Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power, ignited Wuma Jiuxing's divine body. From his mouth came a roar of grief and unwillingness, shaking the stone cauldron incessantly.
Zhang Ruochen, using his spiritual power, condensed a giant light hand a thousand miles long, like the hand of the heavens, pressing down on the stone cauldron.
Watching the scene before them, hearing Wuma Jiuxing's dying roar, the gods present all changed color, unable to believe that the old man was so ruthless.
Moreover, he was audacious beyond measure.
That was Wuma Jiuxing, upon whom Blade Venerable had placed great hopes, calling him the future hope of the Blade God Realm.
Even if a god of the Hell Realm wanted to kill Wuma Jiuxing, they would have to weigh repeatedly whether their own background was strong enough, whether they could withstand the wrath of Blade Venerable.
The gods of the Heavenly Realm Faction had already recovered from their shock, emitting deafening divine roars. Then, led by Shang Hong, they acted together, unleashing divine abilities and war weapons to attack the divine formation.
"If Wuma Jiuxing dies today, Xinghuantian will surely be turned upside down," Yan God said with a cold glare, releasing divine flames, turning the ground beneath him into a sea of fire.
Other gods of the Heavenly Court side, realizing that a major disaster was imminent, also made their moves.
Wuma Jiuxing was not a false god, nor a god without potential. His future achievements were limitless.
If he died in Xinghuantian, it would be a huge loss to the Heavenly Court.
In fact, before Zhang Ruochen took out the stone cauldron, no god believed that this battle would result in a god's fall. Gods had powerful life force; how could they fall so easily?
But the stone cauldron carried the power of the Sixth Patriarch and Yinsuetian, thus possessing the conditions to refine and kill a god.
Wuma Jiuxing was now hanging by a thread.
"Truly unbelievable. The Wuma Jiuxing who once dominated the mortal world has fallen to such a state," Luo Shengtian said, standing in the distance, gazing at the piece of heaven and earth where the divine light was brightest.
A god of the Hell Realm said, "Thinking back to when Wuma Jiuxing burst onto the scene on Ice King Star, defeating Zhuo Yunong, slaying the Ten Evil Spirits of the Undead, and beating the Destiny Temple until they were disgraced and lost all face. Now that he has become a god, his combat power is a hundred times greater than back then, yet he is being beaten to the ground by a dying old man on the verge of death."
"Do you really think that old man is an ordinary person? Just by looking at the stone cauldron he took out, you can tell his origins are extraordinary."
The gods of the Hell Realm all began to ponder secretly.
The four pavilion masters of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions were anxious and terrified. They had already sent a message to the city lord, asking him to intervene and stop Divine Master Yuyao.
But the divine formation covering the battlefield had still not disappeared.
Why was this happening?
Did Yuyao not know that if Wuma Jiuxing died, Blade Venerable's wrath would cause the entire Xinghuantian to be bathed in blood?
The Goddess Twelve Pavilions could not withstand Blade Venerable's fury.
"Mi... ma... mi... hum..."
The Sixth Patriarch's Sanskrit script transformed into Buddhist sounds, resounding through heaven and earth.
The Udumbara flower containing Yinsuetian's power grew to a full thousand zhang in height, devoid of any Buddhist essence, like a death flower of the netherworld.
Wuma Jiuxing's life aura grew weaker and weaker, until finally, it completely disappeared.
"Bang!"
The array light barrier set up by Yuyao could no longer withstand the attacks of the many gods and shattered.
They rushed into the battlefield, but it was already too late.
What they saw was only Wuma Jiuxing's cold and broken corpse.
Throughout the entire battlefield, countless blade fragments seemed to be weeping, emitting a mournful and pitying tremor.
Shang Hong looked up at the starry sky, in the direction of the Blade God Realm. Wuma Jiuxing's Star Soul Divine Throne had dimmed. Deep in his eyes, a thick killing intent brewed.
The killing intent caused snowflakes to fall from the vast, pale sky stretching hundreds of thousands of miles.
Zhang Ruochen retrieved the stone cauldron, holding it in his hand, and looked at the Heavenly Court gods flying toward him. His hair and beard fluttered as he laughed heartily: "Finally, the great revenge is avenged. My friend Motong can rest in peace! Who will come to collect Wuma Jiuxing's corpse?"
"Old thing, you have already caused a catastrophe. Today, it is we who will collect your corpse," the Four-Armor Blood Ancestor roared in fury, his blood-colored hair standing on end as a sea of blood spread toward Zhang Ruochen.
The Heavenly Court gods, some standing on the ground, some flying in the sky, were all as dazzling as the sun, staring at Zhang Ruochen with hostile eyes.
The might of the gods caused the stars beyond the heavens to tremble, and all living beings in Xinghuantian knelt down.
Zhang Ruochen faced the Heavenly Court gods alone, but showed no fear. Instead, he raised the cauldron and walked forward, saying, "Come, come, come. Since this old man's lifespan is short, I don't mind, before I die, self-detonating my divine heart and letting all the Heavenly Court gods fall, dying completely."
Hearing this, the Heavenly Court gods all changed color, finally realizing why the other party was so emboldened.
Not to mention Blade Venerable, even if Hao Tian himself came, what was there to fear?
"Not good, we've fallen into a trap. He is very likely a god of the Hell Realm. Scatter!"
The Heavenly Court gods all erupted with unprecedented extreme speed, flying toward various directions of Xinghuantian.
Only Shang Hong remained standing in place, fearless, looking up at the sky beyond, as if waiting for something.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Don't wait. Blade Venerable will not kill me."
Shang Hong's brow furrowed deeply.
"Hua!"
On the wilderness ten thousand miles away, a brilliant mist of origin light emerged, transforming into a Sea of Origin, dissolving the power of the Heavenly Court gods.
Bai Qinger's figure was elegant and hazy, saying, "A God Venerable has the dignity and bearing of a God Venerable. Wuma Jiuxing died at the hands of a god with seventy-fourth-level spiritual power. He can only blame himself."
"Dying in Xinghuantian means the Goddess Twelve Pavilions must bear responsibility. Besides, if it weren't for that Divine Master of your Goddess Twelve Pavilions setting up the formation, how could Wuma Jiuxing have died?" Yan God said.
Bai Qinger said, "That Divine Master is not a member of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions. Blade Venerable naturally knows her identity. Of course, if you, Yan God, also want to challenge the Divine Master and avenge Wuma Jiuxing, regardless of the outcome, I will admire you."
Yan God's expression changed, and he dared not speak again.
Zhang Ruochen stared intently at Bai Qinger in the Sea of Origin, but she was not appearing in her true form, only a light projection. At this moment, the projection dispersed, disappearing together with the Sea of Origin.
Zhang Ruochen was not afraid of Blade Venerable for two reasons.
First, he was certain that Drunkard was definitely in Xinghuantian. Drunkard had spent so much effort to lure him out of Yunfan Star; how could he let Blade Venerable kill him?
Second, Xinghuantian's location was special, situated between the Heavenly Court and Hell.
The gods of this eon, participating in the Linglong Conference, could still control the situation even if a divine war broke out. However, if Blade Venerable came to Xinghuantian, it would inevitably attract God Venerables from the Hell Realm.
Once the balance was broken, the consequences would be far beyond Blade Venerable's control.
Besides, wasn't Blade Venerable wary that this might be a trap set by the Hell Realm? The lesson of the Origin Divine Temple battle had only passed a thousand years.
The Blade Dao Esoterica on Wuma Jiuxing had already dispersed, returning to heaven and earth.
Some gods tried to collect it, but the Blade Dao Esoterica they gathered was negligible.
This was because, among all the gods in Xinghuantian who had fused a third-rank Sacred Intent, not a single one of their Sacred Intents contained the Blade Dao.
Only gods who had fused a third-rank Sacred Intent could grasp Esoterica.
And only if a third-rank Sacred Intent contained the Blade Dao Sacred Intent could one collect the Blade Dao Esoterica in the instant after Wuma Jiuxing's death.
Among all the sacred paths under heaven, only the Esoterica of the nine eternal paths could be relatively easily controlled by cultivators. This was because the power of the nine eternal paths was the most fundamental power in the world, nurturing all things and existing within every cultivator's body.
If directly bestowed by a divine temple, even the weakest cultivator could gather the Esoterica of an eternal path within their body.
"If you don't make a move, I'll be leaving," Zhang Ruochen said.
Shang Hong said, "You're not going anywhere."
"Do you want to avenge Wuma Jiuxing?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Shang Hong shook his head and said, "My bond with him isn't that deep. But a god of the Heavenly Court has fallen, and an explanation must be given. So, you must die."
"Aren't you afraid I'll self-detonate my divine heart?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Shang Hong's gaze was contemptuous as he stepped forward step by step, saying, "You can self-detonate your divine heart right now."
"As expected of the Heavenly Grandson. It seems you have an extraordinary trump card, confident that you can withstand the destructive power of my self-detonating divine heart," Zhang Ruochen said.
Having first killed Motong and then slain Wuma Jiuxing, Zhang Ruochen had achieved his goal. Naturally, he did not want to prolong the battle, nor did he want to face someone of Shang Hong's caliber right now.
If he truly had to fight, he was not afraid, but he would need to use the terrain.
He would have to lure Shang Hong into the Celestial Venerable's Relic Land.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to retreat into the Celestial Venerable's Relic Land, a gust of wind swept him up, and his figure instantly disappeared from that ruined battlefield.
...
A Le and Peach Blossom stood in the starry sky, watching from afar with divine eyes.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen rescued, Peach Blossom finally breathed a sigh of relief, gently touched her lower abdomen, her expression complex, and sighed, "Now I finally understand a little why you value Zhang Ruochen so much. Having such a friend is a great fortune in this world, worthy of cherishing."
"Let's go."
A Le was very calm, without any emotion or sentiment.
Because this was the most ordinary thing between him and Zhang Ruochen. If the other party needed it, they would both go through fire and water for each other.
No matter how far the starry sky, it was just a word, a letter away.
As A Le and Peach Blossom left, Chi Yao transformed into a streak of light, shuttling through the starry sky, rushing toward Xinghuantian at the fastest speed.
Because, in the direction of Xinghuantian, she had sensed Zhang Ruochen's aura.
After the power transfer, the aura belonging to Zhang Ruochen himself had almost completely dissipated. For this reason, even A Le and Bai Qinger had not recognized him.
However, precisely because of the power transfer, his connection with Chi Yao had deepened.
During the battle, he could not completely hide the power within him, and thus was naturally sensed by Chi Yao.
"He's not dead. He's still alive. Chen Ge! Why are you avoiding me? I must find you. No matter what you become, don't leave again!" Tears welled up in Chi Yao's eyes.
After decades of arduous searching and countless moments of despair, she finally saw a glimmer of hope.