# Chapter 3006: Seizing the Profound Meaning
"How arrogant, haha! You want to kill me? Even a Taiyi realm great god couldn't possibly do that."
Qiuyu Divine Lord laughed wildly as divine qi circulated within his body. "Blood Moon Hangs High, Quicksand World."
A Tai-level divine ability was instantly unleashed.
It should be noted that under normal circumstances, Tai-level divine abilities could only be cultivated to great perfection by great gods of the Taiyi realm. However, the illusion-type Tai-level divine ability Qiuyu Divine Lord displayed had not only reached great perfection but was released faster than some Taiyi realm great gods.
From this, one could see that a figure like him indeed possessed the strength to exchange a few moves with a Taiyi realm great god.
Zhang Ruochen looked up and found the sky had turned blood-red, with a massive blood moon hanging in the center. In the night sky, white clouds were reflected into an eerie pink.
Looking down, where was the seawater?
Beneath his feet was an endless expanse of yellow sand, flowing with a rustling sound.
More critically, even the laws of heaven and earth had changed. It was completely impossible to tell this was an illusion—it was indistinguishable from a real quicksand world.
Qiuyu Divine Lord's voice came from the blood moon: "Realm Lord Ruochen, how are my illusionary arts? Would you care to offer some guidance?"
The Way of Truth specialized in breaking illusions.
Since Qiuyu Divine Lord was a Truth Envoy, his mastery of the Way of Truth must be profound, so naturally he knew where the weaknesses of illusion techniques lay. The illusions he cast were flawless.
When this divine ability of his had reached great perfection, he once invited a Taiyi realm great god from the Demon God Hall to break the illusion. Even that great god had needed two days to break through this divine ability.
Thus, Qiuyu Divine Lord was fully confident.
If it could trap a Taiyi realm great god for two days, surely it could trap Zhang Ruochen for at least an hour?
Zhang Ruochen said, "Your illusion has no flaws. If another cultivator had cast it, it could trap me for at least a day and a night. But since you cast it, I can break it in an instant."
Under the impetus of divine qi, countless supreme inscription runes emerged on the Green Calm Sword's blade, erupting with brilliance like a blazing star.
"Whoosh!"
He thrust his sword, striking at a certain point in the void.
In the desert, yellow sand coalesced into flood dragons, roaring furiously as they surged toward Zhang Ruochen to block him.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
All the yellow sand flood dragons that approached were shattered by sword qi and supreme power.
They couldn't stop him.
With a thunderous crash, the tip of the Green Calm Sword met resistance, striking the void. Qiuyu Divine Lord, hidden there, revealed his true form. The blue-flame shield in his hand clashed with the sword tip.
Overwhelming power surged forth, causing space to cave in like a drawn bow, sending Qiuyu Divine Lord flying backward to crash against the light barrier of the Clear Sky Glass Cover.
The illusion collapsed.
Qiuyu Divine Lord shot away like light, dodging Zhang Ruochen's second sword strike, and asked incredulously, "How did you do it?"
"The illusion has no flaws, but you are the flaw."
Zhang Ruochen stepped through the void, pursuing closely as he delivered a third sword strike.
Zhang Ruochen possessed the Heart of Truth, allowing him to sense the Truth Esoterica.
Thus, even though Qiuyu Divine Lord had merged with the illusion, in Zhang Ruochen's perception, he was no different from a torch in the darkness. This was a flaw Qiuyu Divine Lord could never have imagined, no matter how hard he thought.
Qiuyu Divine Lord's speed was reputed to be number one among those below the great gods of the Heavenly Court. He had cultivated the Path of Flowing Light to a miraculous level. Today, Zhang Ruochen truly witnessed it.
He struck dozens of times in succession, yet Qiuyu Divine Lord evaded each one, always maintaining sufficient distance.
What Zhang Ruochen didn't know was that Qiuyu Divine Lord's shock was more than ten times greater than his own.
At this moment, Qiuyu Divine Lord had combined the Path of Flowing Light with the Way of Truth, achieving a speed sufficient to escape from a Taiyi realm great god. Yet Zhang Ruochen pursued him relentlessly, making it impossible to shake him off.
Even if the Clear Sky Glass Cover limited his speed, Zhang Ruochen's speed was still terrifying—not inferior to his own. In fact, it was half a step faster.
"The space I can move in is shrinking. I can dodge at most ten more of his sword strikes. I can't just wait to die."
Qiuyu Divine Lord had never been in such a passive position below the great god realm. His eyes turned ruthless as a foot-long red dagger appeared in his hand, swinging it to meet the incoming Green Calm Sword.
This was the infamous Demon God Dagger, capable of slaying gods.
"Shua!"
The moment the Demon God Dagger swung, it disrupted the laws of heaven and earth over a wide area, cutting a inch-long rift in the stable space of Heavenly Beginning Civilization. Power of nothingness seeped in through the spatial crack.
Even though the spatial rift vanished instantly, it demonstrated the terrifying power of this strike.
Just as the Green Calm Sword was about to clash with the red dagger, Zhang Ruochen changed his technique in that split second, switching from a slash to a thrust.
"Shua!"
The sword's trajectory was like a single flowing stream of light.
Irresistible when coming, unstoppable when going.
How could Qiuyu Divine Lord have expected Zhang Ruochen's mastery of the Sword Dao to be so terrifying? Every sword technique was like a divine ability, immensely powerful and capable of fluid, seamless transitions.
"Boom!"
The tip of the Green Calm Sword struck Qiuyu Divine Lord's chest.
On his cobalt-blue armor, crimson defensive divine patterns emerged, releasing eerie and powerful divine power that neutralized most of the force from Zhang Ruochen's strike.
Nevertheless, the impact from the Green Calm Sword still injured Qiuyu Divine Lord's internal organs, shook his divine soul, and sent him flying like a cannonball, crashing once more against the glass light barrier.
A flicker of surprise crossed Zhang Ruochen's eyes. "Tai Xu realm defensive divine patterns? Is a Tai Xu realm demon god great god involved in this?"
It should be noted that cultivators who became gods were already considered strong figures in the world. Those ancient gods wouldn't deliberately use divine patterns to protect the new gods under their command, keeping them growing in protection. Such protection couldn't cultivate true strong ones.
But there was one exception.
That was when the new god was about to do something very dangerous!
Qiuyu Divine Lord didn't answer Zhang Ruochen. "You are truly powerful, especially in close-quarters combat. Your battle power is no less than a Taiyi great god. But holding you back for an hour is more than enough for me."
Within the Clear Sky Glass Cover, divine power was chaotic, and gale-force winds were like blades.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were cold. "You've dodged so many of my sword strikes, which indeed surprised me. If you had mobilized the Truth Rules of heaven and earth to fight me, you might have actually held me off for a while. Unfortunately, you don't dare use the Truth Esoterica, nor do you dare leave the Clear Sky Glass Cover. This means you are destined for a crushing defeat—or rather, a miserable death."
Zhang Ruochen no longer held back. The Taiji circle enveloped the entire space within the Clear Sky Glass Cover.
He took a step.
"Boom!"
Space trembled as Zhang Ruochen passed through the spatial network and appeared before Qiuyu Divine Lord.
Qiuyu Divine Lord couldn't understand Zhang Ruochen's Taiji circle at all. He could only sense that this place seemed isolated from the outside world, with no laws of heaven and earth, only Zhang Ruochen's rule divine patterns.
It was like...
Like a Divine Realm World!
But even stranger than a Divine Realm World.
Qiuyu Divine Lord quickly released his own Divine Realm World, pouring out countless trillions of rule divine patterns from within, and roared, "The Truth Esoterica isn't just for mobilizing the Truth Rules of heaven and earth!"
"The Universe is Boundless, Mountain of Truth."
The Universe Boundless Truth Realm Form manifested, creating the scene of a primordial universe with countless stars twinkling in the darkness. Among them, a majestic and towering mountain hung at the center of the universe, millions of times larger than a star.
The Mountain of Truth traversed the universe, carrying an overwhelming momentum as it pressed straight toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen showed no fear. He was like a banished immortal of the Sword Dao in the sea of stars. Raising his arm, his palm erupted with dazzling divine light and awe-inspiring divine might.
Six divine swords flew from his palm, shattering the Mountain of Truth with devastating force.
"Boom!"
The entire universe was torn apart by sword light, and glass light shone in from outside.
The Monarch Sacred Artifact armor on Qiuyu Divine Lord couldn't withstand the attack. It was split apart by the divine swords, shattering into bright metal fragments that fell into the sea.
The Tai Xu divine patterns on the armor were naturally severed as well.
Qiuyu Divine Lord's divine body shattered into more than a dozen pieces, sent flying by the sword momentum and divine qi. Bright divine blood splattered everywhere.
Time seemed to slow down. Zhang Ruochen walked unhurriedly to a position among the more than a dozen pieces of flesh, spread his palm, and said, "Your Truth Esoterica belongs to me from now on."
"You can't take my Truth Esoterica!"
Qiuyu Divine Lord's voice echoed through heaven and earth, his spiritual will powerful, his divine soul roaring in every drop of blood.
"I can take it."
Mysterious light points like starlight flew from Qiuyu Divine Lord's shattered corpse, converging toward Zhang Ruochen's palm.
"Impossible, how is this possible... No, return my Esoterica..."
Qiuyu Divine Lord's roar turned into a terrified scream, filled with intense unwillingness and grief, like a lecherous man subjected to castration, or a breathtakingly beautiful woman whose face had been ruined.
Driven by that powerful spiritual will, the more than a dozen pieces of flesh ignited. The divine fire formed made even Zhang Ruochen feel his skin burning.
"Boom!"
These pieces of flesh crashed together, reforming Qiuyu Divine Lord's divine body.
Qiuyu Divine Lord's eyes were bloodshot as he roared madly, "Zhang Ruochen, return my Truth Esoterica, or today we fight to the death! Do you believe I'll withdraw the Clear Sky Glass Cover right now? Then we'll all die together."
Zhang Ruochen didn't doubt Qiuyu Divine Lord's determination to fight to the death, but he remained composed. "Actually, I have no interest in the Truth Esoterica."
"Then return it to me," Qiuyu Divine Lord said.
"But..."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned eastward.
"Shua!"
A brilliant blood-colored sword light tore through the glass light curtain. Dressed in white, Chi Yao flew in.
The next moment, the glass light curtain healed again.
Chi Yao held the Blood-Dripping Sword as she walked toward Qiuyu Divine Lord. "He truly has no interest in the Truth Esoterica. He's given quite a bit to me before. Qiuyu, you've colluded with the Hell Realm. Today is your day of death."
"Damn it!" Qiuyu Divine Lord said.
Although tearing an opening in the Clear Sky Glass Cover from the outside was somewhat easier, it was still not something a Bu Tian realm deity could easily accomplish.
The fact that Chi Yao could break in proved she was at least as powerful as him.
Facing two such terrifying opponents, no matter how confident Qiuyu Divine Lord was or how much he wanted to reclaim the Truth Esoterica, he now wanted to retreat rather than die here.
Qiuyu Divine Lord forced himself to calm down, took out a talisman, and said, "I have a Divine King Talisman here. If we really fight, we'll all die together!"
"How many Divine King Talismans do you have?"
Zhang Ruochen didn't believe him. He controlled the six divine swords, turning them into six brilliant streams of light that flew straight toward him.
Seeing that he couldn't intimidate Zhang Ruochen, Qiuyu Divine Lord threw the talisman in his hand and rushed toward the nearest glass light wall. The Clear Sky Glass Cover was his treasure, so he could naturally cross it easily.
As long as he reached the outside of the glass light wall, even if Zhang Ruochen had divine swords, he wouldn't be able to break through in a short time.
"Boom!"
The talisman exploded, forming a powerful spatial collapse force that caused the six divine swords flying nearby to sink heavily into the sea.
Although it wasn't a Divine King Talisman, it was a Space Divine Talisman with terrifying power.
Just as he was about to reach the glass light curtain, joy appeared on Qiuyu Divine Lord's face. He had already formulated a strategy to deal with Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao. If nothing unexpected happened, he might even reclaim the Truth Esoterica.
"Do you think you can escape?"
Chi Yao's voice sounded above his head.
Qiuyu Divine Lord looked up and saw twelve layers of heavy and sacred heavenly realms, along with a sea of chaos, pressing down from above. The space around him was compressing inward.
"Shua!"
The sea surface beneath his feet turned white and radiant, transforming into a sea of origin.
The next moment, Chi Yao held the Blood-Dripping Sword, her long hair flowing like a waterfall, her eyes icy cold, the sword tip pointing at his brow.
Zhang Ruochen approached from behind, six divine swords floating around him. "Speak. What is the Hell Realm's scheme tonight, and which deities on the Heavenly Court side are involved?"
Feeling Zhang Ruochen's powerful spiritual pressure bearing down on him, Qiuyu Divine Lord suddenly stopped panicking. "The victor is king, the loser a bandit. I accept my defeat today. But if you truly want to kill me, are you absolutely certain you can do so before I self-destruct my divine source?"
Even with Chi Yao's sword pointed at his brow, he still said this.
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment. "You and I have no enmity. Why would I kill you? As long as you tell me everything you know, I'll definitely let you live."
"Don't joke! Do you take me for a three-year-old child? I know your martial arts cultivation hasn't been crippled, and I know the secret that you're in Heavenly Beginning Civilization. How could you possibly let me live?" Qiuyu Divine Lord said.
Chi Yao said, "Then there's no other way. Let me gamble with you—whether I kill you first, or you self-destruct your divine source first."
How could Qiuyu Divine Lord have expected Chi Yao to be so decisive? His pupils contracted sharply.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, the glass light wall shook violently. Hoarse yet piercing roars sounded as nine beast-shaped bone clan deities pulled a golden chariot, crashing through the Clear Sky Glass Cover and charging in, stopping between the three of them.
...
This chapter is four thousand words!