# Chapter 2941: Ultimately Unable to Prevail?
The war at Xinghuantian had long since spread across the starry sky, tugging at the nerves of every ancient major power.
Spiritual power experts had projected the battlefield scenes of Xinghuantian onto the starry sky defense line of the ancient civilization faction, hoping to boost morale across all realms through this battle.
At first, when the Heavenly Court army breached Xinghuantian's realm-protecting grand formation, it did indeed inspire the cultivators of the Heavenly Court realms.
But with the appearance of Zhang Ruochen and Xue Jue War God, the Heavenly Court gods suffered successive defeats, unable even to breach Divine Maiden City.
Now, seeing the renowned Nine-Headed Dragon God being hunted down by the old corpse demon Zhang Ruochen had summoned, the Heavenly Court cultivators all fell silent, their emotions complex—some shocked, others bewildered.
Xiang Chunan, Qingsi Xue, Feng Xi, Feng Yan, and a large number of Truth Temple cultivators gathered in a Myriad Realms War City within the Cangxu Civilization on the starry sky defense line.
"Those two traitors, Desolate Heaven and Zhang Ruochen, are both at Xinghuantian. This time we finally have the chance to suppress and kill them, reclaiming the Truth Esoterica."
"Before the Heavenly Court army, these two are still putting up resistance."
"Don't you find it strange? Is that person really Zhang Ruochen? How long has Zhang Ruochen been cultivating? How could he possibly have the strength to contend with Famous Sword God and the Nine-Headed Dragon God? I don't believe it, anyway."
"Zhang Ruochen's martial cultivation has already been crippled. It's probably not him—some ancient god from Hell Realm transformed into his likeness."
...
While the Truth Temple cultivators were discussing animatedly, Xiang Chunan, Qingsi Xue, Feng Xi, and Feng Yan all remained silent.
After a long while, Feng Yan's face showed distress as he said, puzzled: "Why would he do this? I know he never wanted to be an enemy of the Heavenly Court. His ideals fundamentally don't align with Hell Realm. He could have remained neutral, not concerning himself with the war between Heavenly Court and Hell. But he... still got involved. If we meet on the battlefield in the future, swords drawn against each other, wouldn't that be the most painful thing in life?"
Feng Xi's gaze was like water, fixed on Zhang Ruochen in the projection. His aura was like a divine mountain, his domineering might fierce and cold. The shadow of that young man from Truth Heaven Domain was nowhere to be seen.
She said: "What you should be thinking about now isn't this. It's that you, the dignified Rock Emperor, have already fallen far behind him. If you don't cultivate diligently, when you meet again, you won't even have the qualification to cross swords with him, let alone sit together with him."
Xiang Chunan slammed the table and said: "Big Brother isn't that kind of person! He isn't opposing the Heavenly Court—he's just protecting. He's always stood in front of that city. I don't believe that if we meet on the battlefield, he would kill me with one sword strike!"
The Truth Temple cultivators all heard Xiang Chunan's voice and fell silent.
On the starry sky defense line, within a Myriad Realms War City in the Juling Civilization.
Yu Chenjing said: "I never imagined the situation at Xinghuantian would deteriorate to such a terrible extent. And even more unexpected..."
"Even more unexpected that Zhang Ruochen has already become this powerful?" Yu Taizhen laughed.
A gray-robed elder walked out from the courtyard, looking up at the projection in the sky.
Yu Chenjing and Yu Taizhen quickly bowed.
The gray-robed elder's eyes were slightly red as he sighed: "Back then, with the matter of the God-Defying Clan, neither Heavenly Court nor Hell dared to step forward and uphold justice. I never imagined... truly never imagined that a junior would have more courage and boldness than us old fellows. If this child doesn't die, he will surely accomplish great things in the future. This world needs such a person who fears nothing!"
...
In the overseas secret realm of Xinghuantian, Prison Gold Heavenly God's face was tightly wrinkled, his heart in turmoil. He wanted to rush out and fight alongside Xue Jue War God and the others.
But he also understood that with the Heavenly Court's strength overwhelming and the Hell Realm army not yet arrived, charging out like this was far from wise.
Zhang Ruochen had summoned the old corpse demon, which seemed ferocious, but he was burning himself. When he burned out, no matter how fierce his might, it would turn to dust and become the past.
As for Xue Jue War God, fighting alone against Famous Sword God and Jia Tianxia, he was constrained everywhere, completely on the defensive. Prison Gold Heavenly God couldn't understand why, having fought to this point, he still hadn't used his divine path? Why hadn't he used his Palm Dao Esoterica?
As for the divine battle on the sea, it was even more tragic.
Desolate Heaven was besieged by six top-tier great gods of the Heavenly Court. His divine body had been shattered seven times, dyeing a vast sea region red. Although as a Life Lord God his life force was powerful, continuing like this, his fall was only a matter of time.
And the situation for Absolute Wonder Zen Maiden was even worse. Xuan Yi regarded her as the greatest threat below the Infinite Realm and was eager to eliminate her. Together with two elders from the Space Divine Temple, he had trapped her in a frozen sea region, unable to escape Xinghuantian.
One of the elders, with a golden star growing on his brow, possessed astonishing spiritual power, already at the eighty-fourth rank. One more step, and he would be enough to claim kingship and dominance in the domain of spiritual power.
With their assistance, even holding the Mani Pearl, Absolute Wonder Zen Maiden could hardly gain any advantage. Her divine realm world had been completely shattered by Xuan Yi, suffering injuries that would take time to recover.
Now, many parts of her body had turned into a skeleton frame, bloody and unable to regenerate flesh, looking quite terrifying.
Only her snow-white jade-like face remained beautiful and flawless, calm and composed, sometimes eerie and sinister, sometimes holy like a Buddha.
The Space Divine Temple elder with eighty-fourth rank spiritual power stood within a seemingly illusory temple, his voice long and aged: "Xuan Yi, shouldn't this be over? The Mani Pearl belongs to the Space Divine Temple. Take whatever else you want!"
Absolute Wonder Zen Maiden had been repeatedly wounded by Xuan Yi's killing path power. Her life, divine soul, and spirit were under constant assault. Standing atop an iceberg, the feeling of weakness crashed over her like a tidal wave, her body swaying as if a gust of wind would send her falling into the cold sea.
After resolving the Withering Death Art, she once again tasted this unpleasant and helpless sensation, as if her life didn't belong to her.
She knew that today she might truly be unable to escape this calamity. Xuan Yi was not Wujiang—he was a ruthless character who truly inspired her awe. Escaping from Xuan Yi's grasp had become almost a delusion.
And with two Space Divine Temple elders here, even wanting to self-destruct her divine source for a final struggle had become impossible.
"Roar!"
A dragon's long cry shook hundreds of millions of miles.
Absolute Wonder Zen Maiden, Xuan Yi, and the two Space Divine Temple elders all looked toward the sky beyond.
The sky was dark, with thunder and lightning, icy rain falling like strings of pearls, splashing ripples on the sea surface.
"Xuan Yi, go save the Nine-Headed Dragon God first!" Shang Tian's deep voice came from beyond the sky.
Xuan Yi took a deep look at Absolute Wonder Zen Maiden, then transformed into a streak of swift light and flew out. A water path stretching to the horizon appeared on the sea surface.
The eighty-fourth rank spiritual power Space Divine Temple elder snorted heavily: "Truly useless—a dignified great god being pushed to the brink of death by a junior at the seventy-fourth rank of spiritual power. Let's see how he can hold his head up before the Heavenly Court gods in the future!"
"Thousand Mile Horizontal Sky Divine Formation!"
Pillars of water rose from the sea surface, space inscription patterns twisting and intertwining. The heavenly momentum and earthly momentum connected, trapping Absolute Wonder Zen Maiden to death within the formation.
Absolute Wonder Zen Maiden finally had a moment to catch her breath. She knew this was the healing time Zhang Ruochen had fought for her—a thread of life seized from a situation with no possibility of survival.
But with Xuan Yi going there, where was Zhang Ruochen's chance of survival?
The Nine-Headed Dragon God had indeed been pushed to the brink of life and death. All nine heads had been shattered, leaving only a headless divine body. Terrifying corpse qi had entered his body, turning his divine body gray, with flesh beginning to rot.
Zhenmie Third Elder stood atop the altar, his staff pointing to the sky. A beam of light crossed space, descending from the clouds, striking toward Zhang Ruochen at the top of the flame pillar.
The old corpse demon raised its head, opening a heavenly eye on its brow, shooting out a divine light.
The divine light pierced through the beam, counter-striking the altar and shattering it completely.
Zhenmie Third Elder's protective formations shattered one after another as he fled in panic, retreating overseas.
Too strong—completely undefeatable.
Head-on confrontation was entirely asking for trouble.
Now they could only hope that Zhang Ruochen couldn't hold on and would fall on his own.
Blood flowed unceasingly from Zhang Ruochen's mouth and nose. His consciousness began to blur, his divine soul feeling as if it were about to explode. But he still struggled with all his might to maintain control, manipulating the old corpse demon to attack the Nine-Headed Dragon God.
Killing a Nine-Headed Dragon God might not change the overall situation.
But how could the Heavenly Court watch a top-tier great god fall? They would surely come to rescue him.
This way, he could at least buy Desolate Heaven and Absolute Wonder Zen Maiden a chance to escape. That would be enough—he had done his best, with no regrets.
"Kill!"
Zhang Ruochen bit his tongue and roared up to the sky.
The old corpse demon spat out profound light, surging in all directions, enveloping the severely wounded Nine-Headed Dragon God. Each strand of profound light contained god-slaying power. Any substance that touched it immediately turned into particles.
The Mandala Flower God and Soul Realm Master, who had been besieging Desolate Heaven, rushed back, but dared not approach the profound light. After striking with divine abilities, they quickly retreated far away.
The Nine-Headed Dragon God screamed miserably within the profound light, his divine body rapidly disintegrating like a sand sculpture.
His cries were filled with fury, unwillingness, and curses, as if suffering the most painful torment in the world.
Zhang Ruochen was already at the end of his strength. He couldn't even maintain his standing position, kneeling on the flame pillar. The hand holding the Brightness token had long turned into a skeleton, flesh melted away, his arm like a petrified bone.
Absolute Wonder Zen Maiden sensed that Zhang Ruochen intended to perish together with the Nine-Headed Dragon God. She stopped healing and attacked the space divine formation.
But the two Space Divine Temple elders were ancient gods who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years—not ordinary figures. Even if a king or venerable-level expert were trapped in the formation, they couldn't break out in a short time.
Desolate Heaven's furious roar came from overseas, shaking the sea into turmoil.
Yu Yao stood on the city wall of Divine Maiden City, blood flowing profusely from her abdomen, red tears streaming from her eyes. She had thought this was already the moment of her greatest grief and pain.
But when she saw Xuan Yi return from overseas, charging into the profound light and rescuing the Nine-Headed Dragon God, who was left with only half a residual body, her heart nearly collapsed. She wept bitterly.
Had all today's efforts and persistence come to nothing in the end? Was it ultimately just a tragic song of blood and tears?
"Excellent! True God Xuan Yi has returned!"
"Look, Zhang Ruochen finally couldn't hold on. He's fallen from the flame pillar. He's down! He won't be able to stand again!"
"With a mere junior whose martial arts are completely crippled, he thought he could kill a Heavenly Court great god? He wanted to defy heaven, but heaven is too high—beyond his reach!"
"The victory is decided. All who block us from exterminating the God-Defying Clan will have their souls scattered and spirits destroyed."