# Chapter 3019: Standing Among the Universe's Strongest
Handa Shen remained silent. Both sides had already been fighting with real fire, and with Li Xiao Dashen's provocation, how could they possibly stop?
Persuasion was completely impossible now!
Handa Shen pointed a finger at the wolf head atop the demon hall, and the demonic divine energy within his body transformed into a black river, continuously pouring into it.
"Chi chi!"
On the ground, in the air, and underground, all divine patterns fully awakened.
There were space-type divine patterns that stretched the space.
The square before the demon hall transformed into an independent space, its length and width a hundred times greater than before.
Yun Jun rushed forward, divine energy flowing within his body, his arms forming palm seals. Dense rule divine patterns flowed around him like rivers, carrying the momentum of overturning mountains and seas as he struck out a palm seal blazing with flames, aimed at Zhang Ruochen standing at the entrance of the demon hall.
Yun Jun was a Fire Ghost Clan deity. Though called a ghost clan, he was completely different from the Ghost Clan, one of the ten major clans of the Hell Realm.
The Fire Ghost Clan did not fear flames; instead, they cultivated the Way of Five Elements Fire and possessed great talent in it.
Legend had it that the Fire Ghost Clan was a race born from a star, cultivating by absorbing starlight, and could also devour other ghosts and the souls of living beings to strengthen themselves.
As he rapidly approached Zhang Ruochen, Yun Jun felt the other's spiritual power field rapidly dissolving his palm force, and an icy power erupted, causing the flames on his body to quickly dim.
"Indeed, seventy-sixth level!" Ai Lian Jun said.
Mo Ni Shen said, "So what if it's seventy-sixth level? The greatest advantage of spiritual power deities is distance and techniques. Zhang Ruochen standing still is just a living target. At such close range, how could he have time to unleash a powerful technique?"
"Just the early stage of seventy-sixth level," Li Xiao Dashen snorted lightly.
The deities of the Hundred Clans Royal City relaxed, smiles appearing on their faces.
Even at the same seventy-sixth level, the gap was enormous. A spiritual power deity who had just entered the seventy-sixth level, even in normal combat, might not be a match for a Great Perfection Upper-level God.
But a peak seventy-sixth level could contend somewhat with a Tai Yi Great God.
Zhang Ruochen was so arrogant; his defeat was certain.
Mo Ni Shen's lips parted slightly, revealing sharp teeth, and he laughed, "I really want to know what the arm of Heavenly Mother's divine envoy tastes like?"
Before the demon hall, although Yun Jun's palm force was continuously reduced by the spiritual power field, it was still extremely powerful as it reached Zhang Ruochen.
Just as the deities expected Zhang Ruochen to be smashed into a pool of flesh and blood by this palm—
Zhang Ruochen let out a long roar. The roar merged with his spiritual power, forming a terrifying force that attacked the divine soul.
"Pfft!"
"Pfft!"
"Pfft!"
Three deities in a row couldn't withstand the sound wave of the roar, spat blood, and fled behind the protective divine patterns.
Yun Jun bore the brunt of it. Zhang Ruochen's single roar sent him flying backward, his skull feeling like it was about to explode, his ears ringing, his divine soul shaking as if about to shatter.
If Zhang Ruochen had pressed the attack at this moment, Yun Jun would have been severely injured.
But Zhang Ruochen stood still and said, "Show your true skills. Don't waste time."
"Fine! If you can withstand this next strike of mine, I'll consider it your victory."
After the probing strike, Yun Jun no longer had any trace of contempt. He summoned a three-zhang-long Supreme Sacred Artifact war banner.
This war banner had a spear-like sharp pole, and the banner surface was refined from the divine skin of a Great God.
In the sky, Yun Jun's Star Soul Divine Throne became extremely bright, starlight falling down and merging with his divine body.
Yun Jun's aura grew, the war banner in his hand burning, and behind him appeared over a hundred million ghost shadows. The ghost shadows spread out like thousands of troops and horses, seemingly able to cover the entire Hundred Clans Royal City.
Cries of weeping, killing shouts, and roars mixed together chaotically and piercingly, with demonic energy soaring to the heavens.
The moment the war banner was pushed to its limit, Yun Jun and the hundred million ghost shadows charged together at Zhang Ruochen, moving at extreme speed, reaching him in an instant.
The sharpest point of the war banner was dazzlingly bright, stabbing toward Zhang Ruochen's heart.
Space sank inward, forming a twisted and spinning state.
"This strike, once condensed and its power reaches its peak, even a Tai Yi Great God without preparation would have to avoid its edge and wouldn't dare stand still and take it head-on. Zhang Ruochen is definitely going to lose!" Handa Shen sighed.
But suddenly, Handa Shen's brow twitched as he was horrified to discover that the flow of time had slowed drastically.
Especially at the position where Zhang Ruochen stood, the flow of time was infinitely close to stillness.
"This is spiritual power controlling time!"
All the deities present were shaken.
What terrified them even more was that the divine energy and sacred energy of heaven and earth throughout the entire Hundred Clans Royal City were gathering toward Zhang Ruochen at an extraordinary speed.
Even the rules of heaven and earth were drawn, forming a rule vortex around Zhang Ruochen.
"This... this is esoterica? No, this is spiritual power mobilizing the rules of heaven and earth for one's own use! What the hell, spiritual power can actually do what only esoterica can do?" a Middle-level God cursed, feeling his understanding overturned.
Ai Lian Jun held his breath and said, "At this moment, Zhang Ruochen is no weaker than a peak seventy-sixth level spiritual power deity. Perhaps even stronger."
Zhang Ruochen raised his arm and pointed his fingertip outward.
The rules, divine energy, and sacred energy gathered from heaven and earth burst forth from his fingertip, colliding with the sharpest point of the war banner.
The world fell silent!
After absolute silence, a ring of light waves erupted, causing Yun Jun's feet to leave the ground as his body flew outward with the light waves.
"Boom rumble!"
The deafening sound erupted, tearing apart the hundred million ghost shadows.
The observing deities all retreated outside the divine patterns and divine formations, clearly feeling the entire Fourth Peak shake violently.
Within the Seven Peaks Linked Mountains, the cultivators of the Demon Wolf Clan all felt this powerful and boundless divine might, kneeling on one knee and letting out high-pitched wolf howls.
Yun Jun landed on the ground, staggering backward.
The arm holding the war banner was covered in dense cracks, ghost energy continuously leaking out.
His ghost body was injured!
He abruptly looked up at Zhang Ruochen, only to see him still standing calmly before the demon hall. Yun Jun showed a bitter smile, put away the war banner, and said, "I have cultivated for one hundred fifty-four thousand years, survived the Eon Calamity, defeated dozens of true gods. Today, I admit defeat with sincere admiration."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze swept over the deities of the Hundred Clans Royal City floating in the void, and he said, "Is there anyone else who refuses to accept?"
No one responded.
Who would dare to respond?
"Master!"
Han Xue stood beside Handa Shen, her apricot eyes filled with brilliant light. At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was like an immortal monument, worthy of looking up to and worship.
"Let's go!"
Zhang Ruochen's black clothes were like iron, not moving in the wind. He led Han Xue and walked away.
Standing at the edge of the square, Li Xiao Dashen's body overflowed with dark energy like rivers and seas, forming a hand seal the size of a cloud, slapping down from midair.
A Great God's attack swallowed mountains and rivers, pulling heaven and earth.
The entire sky darkened.
To be precise, the entire Hundred Clans Royal City darkened.
"Be careful!" Handa Shen roared angrily.
Zhang Ruochen had long been on guard against this Great God from the Darkness Temple, as if he expected him to make a move. He formed hand seals and lightly shouted, "Nine formations, rise!"
Nine space divine formations simultaneously appeared in the void, one linked to another, interlocking.
It was the Yin Dun Nine Formations!
"Boom!"
The dark great hand seal was blocked by the nine space divine formations, but the pressure forced the Fourth Peak to sink several zhang.
The formations within the Demon Wolf Clan's sacred land, the Seven Peaks Linked Mountains, were all activated, erupting energy waves that swept across the thousand-mile Hundred Clans Royal City. All cultivators in the city could sense that soul-shaking Great God-level divine power fluctuation.
Handa Shen said, "Li Xiao Dashen, divine battles are forbidden in the Hundred Clans Royal City. The previous one was already an exception. If a Great God makes a move, our Demon Wolf Clan will not stand idly by."
Li Xiao Dashen walked with heavy steps toward Zhang Ruochen, a sea of stars floating above his head, dark energy within his body like an ocean. He laughed, "I am merely sparring with Ruochen Jie Zun. Handa Shen, do not be angered."
The deities of the Hundred Clans Royal City present all showed smiles.
Zhang Ruochen was indeed too arrogant. Yun Jun had failed to restore the Hundred Clans Royal City's face and had instead boosted the other's prestige. Now that Li Xiao Dashen was making a move, they naturally welcomed it.
Although it was indeed beneath a Great God's dignity to attack a young junior, the Darkness Temple's enmity with Zhang Ruochen ran deep. Even the Hall Master of the Darkness Temple had personally intervened back then. A Great God making a move was no longer a surprising matter.
"Very well! Since you have the interest, sparring a bit is fine."
Zhang Ruochen stared intently at Li Xiao Dashen's massive bone body. From his pupils flew dense formation inscription patterns, like electric shuttles, like light traces. These formation inscription patterns were all drawn by him with spiritual power, able to draw tens of thousands in an instant within his pupils.
"Nine formations, unite as one."
Zhang Ruochen was wrapped by dense formation inscription patterns, rising into the air, controlling the nine space divine formations like nine boundless worlds in his hands, actively attacking, crushing toward Li Xiao Dashen.
"Good courage!"
On Li Xiao Dashen's two bone hands appeared black patterns like blood vessels.
In the centers of his palms, a seventy-plus-zhang dark light sword condensed, and he swung it out.
Zhang Ruochen stood within the formations, continuously drawing divine energy and sacred energy from heaven and earth.
He pressed out with a palm!
From one of the divine formations rose a space divine tower, colliding with the slashing black light sword, blocking this strike.
At the same time, a space vortex condensed above Li Xiao Dashen's head, spreading downward as if to devour him.
"Dark Sword Art, Void Night Without Light!"
Li Xiao Dashen finally felt the pressure, his heart trembling. He raised his sword with both hands and executed a powerful sword dao divine ability.
The surrounding air currents all transformed into sword forms, flying toward the space vortex above.
"Star Gate Subduing Kun."
Zhang Ruochen raised a light gate built from stars with both hands, smashing it onto Li Xiao Dashen's body, and the power of the nine space divine formations crushed down with it.
Li Xiao Dashen was knocked back by the star gate. Seeing the nine divine formations carrying nine different mysterious space powers surging toward him, he finally changed expression, immediately fleeing far away, putting distance between himself and Zhang Ruochen, afraid of falling into the formations and ending up like Er Jia Blood Ancestor back then.
Zhang Ruochen's own refined Yin Dun Nine Formations, though not as good as Fang Cun Great Master's Yin Dun Nine Formations, were still formidable.
Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power was now at the seventy-sixth level!
Zhang Ruochen stopped in the void, pointed at Li Xiao Dashen, and said, "Is this all the skill you have, and you still dare to provoke? If you show disrespect to this Jie Zun again, the next time I see you will be the time I slay you."
All the deities who were watching this battle were shaken.
Heavens! Even a Great God who had been famous for two hundred thousand years was forced back by Zhang Ruochen!
This child, relying only on spiritual power and formations, had already established himself among the universe's strongest.
...
Today, I was too tired after working out, so I didn't stream in the evening and just wrote the update directly! I'll stream again tomorrow.