Chapter 3042: Xuanyuan Lian Arrives
Take out the God-Defying Stele?
Xuanyuan Qing had put great thought into this, hoping to use the Darkness Temple's hand to force Zhang Ruochen back to the Heavenly Court.
...
As Shuang Chengmo and the Big Head Cloth Doll focused their attention on him, the pressure on Zhang Ruochen increased dramatically. Either of these two had the strength to overturn all the Heavenly Court gods present.
Just one of them was enough to secure the Darkness Temple's undefeated position.
But that only guaranteed they would not lose!
Logically speaking, after the protective divine formation of the Xufeng Divine Ship was broken, the Big Head Cloth Doll could have easily killed Zhang Ruochen, including Xuanyuan Qing and Shang Hong, who had been poisoned by Yellow Spring Flower toxin...
All the gods present, even if they tried to break out separately, would still have to face Shuang Chengmo's interception.
In the end, it would have been a bleak outcome of a Twilight of the Gods.
But why did the Big Head Cloth Doll not do that, instead spending all its energy chasing after Mo Xiansheng?
There were two reasons:
First, if the Heavenly Court side was truly pushed into a hopeless dead end, once Mo Xiansheng self-detonated his divine heart and unleashed a massive spiritual power explosion, the Darkness Temple's gods would likely have to perish together with the Heavenly Court cultivators.
Do not think Mo Xiansheng was incapable of such an act. Had they not seen Feng Yunba already executing the Pure Yang Self-Immolation Technique?
Only the Big Head Cloth Doll could suppress Mo Xiansheng, who was at the peak of the seventy-ninth level of spiritual power, and it had to focus its spiritual power entirely on him. That was why it kept pursuing Mo Xiansheng relentlessly, giving him no chance to self-detonate his divine heart.
The second reason was, of course, that the Darkness Temple's strength was too great. So great that it did not need the Big Head Cloth Doll to act, nor even Shuang Chengmo, to hold an absolute advantage.
All it needed was to fight like boiling a frog in warm water, letting the Yellow Spring Flower toxin take effect in the Heavenly Court gods' bodies. When that happened, killing them would be far too easy.
It could be said that after Feng Yunba left, Mo Xiansheng was the only person the Big Head Cloth Doll feared. Qing Pingzi, a newly ascended Taiyi-level great god, was far beneath its notice.
Why had Shuang Chengmo not joined the attack?
It was the same reasoning. He did not want to push the Heavenly Court gods too hard; he had to leave them a sliver of hope.
With a sliver of hope, they would naturally not fight to the death.
Otherwise, not to mention great gods like Xuanyuan Qing and Shang Hong, even a high-rank god Great Perfection like Feng Xuan, if he self-detonated his divine source, would give the Darkness Temple's gods a severe headache.
Any cultivator in their position would use such a battle tactic.
But then, unexpectedly, Zhang Ruochen became the variable. In an instant, he first crippled Zhao Wuyan, then suppressed Qingkong Jianwang. Before the Big Head Cloth Doll and Shuang Chengmo could fully react, the situation underwent a earth-shattering change.
The Darkness Temple's absolute advantage still remained.
But wiping out all the gods present was no longer an easy task.
Zhang Ruochen felt the spiritual power pressure from the Big Head Cloth Doll. Even though his own spiritual power had reached the peak of the seventy-sixth level, he still felt as if his head was splitting.
More terrifyingly, strands of spiritual power threads were extending from the distant void.
Zhang Ruochen had witnessed the power of these spiritual power threads. A single one could strip Feng Xuan of his ability to resist and snap his neck.
The cultivators on the divine ship were far weaker than Zhang Ruochen. Even hiding within the Divine Mark Secret Realm, they fell one after another, their divine souls exploding into pieces, turning into cold corpses.
Fortunately, Mo Xiansheng returned in time, erecting a spiritual power field to protect the survivors.
The Big Head Cloth Doll's spiritual power must have reached above the eightieth level, enough to contend with a Tai Xu great god.
Shuang Chengmo's combat power might not be impressive before Feng Yunba, but among great gods, he was definitely a top-tier existence.
Both were very strong.
Zhang Ruochen dared to speak harshly because he had something to rely on.
Yu Ling Shen and Amur, the Wolf Ancestor's son, had already arrived in the nearby void and could appear at any moment.
For such an important matter as ambushing and killing the Darkness Temple's great gods, how could Yu Ling Shen not come in person?
When being chased by Feng Yunba, Zhang Ruochen had wanted to crush the Wolf Head Seal to inform them of his location.
But at that time, Zhang Ruochen had the Divine King Talisman in hand, giving him considerable confidence.
Secondly, Feng Yunba was too strong, and the Xufeng Divine Ship's attack divine formation was unimaginably powerful. Even if Yu Ling Shen and Amur came together, they could not save him.
Of course, Yu Ling Shen and Amur also dared not reveal themselves.
They might not fear Feng Yunba, but they feared the exposure of the plot to kill the Darkness Temple's great gods. At least for now, there was no evidence proving that the Yecha Clan had deliberately set a trap to kill the Darkness Temple's great gods. It was clearly the Darkness Temple's gods who chased after them and fell into the Yecha Clan's trap meant for Zhang Ruochen.
Of course, for this explanation to hold, the Yecha Clan had to first kill Yu Shi.
It was with these considerations in mind that Zhang Ruochen only crushed the Wolf Head Seal when they were at a critical moment of life and death.
Because Yu Ling Shen and Amur now had a reason to act.
To save the Realm Lord of the Yecha Clan's ancestral realm.
Facing the strands of spiritual power threads flying toward him from the Big Head Cloth Doll, Zhang Ruochen stood still, not even bothering to activate the Qingping Sword. He had already received a telepathic message from Amur, learning an important piece of information.
Xuanyuan Qing was even calmer than he was. A smile appeared in her sparkling apricot eyes, clearly she had also received the message.
Just as the spiritual power threads were about to land on Zhang Ruochen, Xuanyuan Qing, and Feng Yan, the Radiant Divine Sword, which had been hovering above Xuanyuan Qing's head, suddenly erupted with a deafening sword cry. Its light illuminated the cosmos, and sword energy shot out like ten thousand arrows.
"Shua shua!"
All the spiritual power threads were severed.
"Shidi, Shuang Chengmo, you have some nerve, daring to touch my sister!" A domineering voice, like a thunderclap from the nine heavens, came from beyond the sky.
"Boom rumble!"
A golden war chariot shattered the void, its golden light illuminating half the universe. In an instant, it crossed hundreds of thousands of miles and arrived.
The golden light released by the war chariot was so dense it seemed to turn into liquid, forming an endless golden sea.
The divine might erupting from the chariot was soul-shaking.
The survivors on the Xufeng Divine Ship were ecstatic.
"It's Lord Lian! Lord Lian has arrived!"
"We have finally endured the darkness and welcomed the light."
"Since Lord Lian is here, the Darkness Temple's gods will surely be defeated."
...
Xuanyuan Lian, the son of the Heavenly Venerable, had a far greater reputation in the Heavenly Court than Xuanyuan Qing, the Heavenly Venerable's daughter.
For most cultivators in the Heavenly Court, they had only heard that the Heavenly Venerable had a daughter who cultivated in the Radiant Divine Temple, but very few had actually seen her.
Seeing the golden chariot, Shuang Chengmo, though still exuding a thick aura and standing as firm as a mountain, had a look of extreme gravity in his eyes.
The Big Head Cloth Doll leaped through the void, flashing three times in succession before crossing the void to stand opposite the golden chariot. It laughed, "Excellent! The Heavenly Venerable's daughter and son have all arrived today. If I capture them and take them to the Darkness Temple, I wonder if Hao Tian will kneel and beg our Yitianhuang Lord to release them? Haha!"
"You are insulting the Heavenly Venerable. Today, this Young Master will surely annihilate both your form and spirit."
Xuanyuan Lian was clearly angered. Countless divine patterns flew out from the golden chariot, surging toward the Big Head Cloth Doll. In an instant, the entire world began to shake.
Seeing that he had successfully angered Xuanyuan Lian, the Big Head Cloth Doll immediately stopped laughing, tore through space, and fled into the Void World.
Xuanyuan Lian could be provoked, but not fought head-on.
A sinister laugh came from the Void World, continuing to taunt Xuanyuan Lian: "Want to kill me? You, Xuanyuan Lian, are not capable of that."
"Then let's see."
The golden chariot chased into the Void World, its momentum suggesting it would not stop until it killed Shidi.
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly. Xuanyuan Lian was not someone easily provoked. How could he not see that the Big Head Cloth Doll was deliberately luring him away?
Shuang Chengmo naturally knew that Shidi was using extreme provocation to draw Xuanyuan Lian away, buying him time and waiting for the outcome of the life-and-death battle between Wuyue Lord and Feng Yunba.
After all, the Pure Yang Self-Immolation Technique could only last for a quarter of an hour.
In the end, everything in this world was decided by the strongest. No matter who currently held the advantage or who had killed whom, it all came down to the result of the battle between Wuyue and Feng Yunba.
If Feng Yunba could kill Wuyue in half a quarter of an hour, leaving half the time to deal with them, even if they fled at the first sign of trouble, they might not escape.
But if Wuyue exhausted Feng Yunba to death...
However, the situation was now somewhat different.
Even if Feng Yunba died, there was still Xuanyuan Lian.
"Xuanyuan Qing, as long as I capture you, no matter how strong Xuanyuan Lian is, he will have to tread carefully."
Shuang Chengmo's body suddenly exploded, turning into a patch of black mist that spread like octopus tentacles, covering the area above Zhang Ruochen and Xuanyuan Qing.
A dark hand reached out from the mist, pressing straight toward Xuanyuan Qing.
Standing on the divine ship, Mo Xiansheng knew Shuang Chengmo's ferocity well. Xuanyuan Qing could still fight in her prime, but now... it would be a disaster.
In extreme urgency, Mo Xiansheng had to divert some of his spiritual power to unleash the Wind Thunder Cloud Heaven Divine Art.
The power of wind and thunder struck the thick black mist, attacking the dark hand.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, Shuang Chengmo's true body burst out from the black mist, appearing above the Xufeng Divine Ship. He swung his Dark Divine Sword, cleaving through Mo Xiansheng's spiritual power field.
After the spiritual power field was breached, the sword energy struck the divine ship, leaving a sword scar dozens of feet deep and over a hundred miles long.
Of course, such a scar could not severely damage the Xufeng Divine Ship.
"Not good, I fell for it!" Mo Xiansheng's face flushed red as he gathered his spiritual power again.
"Whoosh!"
Shuang Chengmo, now on the Xufeng Divine Ship, acted decisively. He struck with a second sword, cooperating with the Human Skin Lantern from within to break open the "Twenty Heavens Diagram."
Clearly, Shuang Chengmo knew that with Qing Pingzi and Mo Xiansheng's assistance, it was impossible for him to capture Xuanyuan Qing alone in a short time.
So he chose to feint east and attack west, first rescuing the Human Skin Lantern.
"Old Mo is yours to deal with!"
Leaving these words behind, Shuang Chengmo's eyes turned cold and deep. His form moved, instantly crossing endless void and appearing before Xuanyuan Qing. Before swinging his sword to strike her, he first pointed a finger at Feng Yan beneath the calamity clouds.
Zhang Ruochen saw through Shuang Chengmo's intention. He wanted to use this finger to tie him down, preventing him from joining forces with Xuanyuan Qing.
Knowing it was Shuang Chengmo's divide-and-conquer tactic, Zhang Ruochen had no choice but to draw his sword to intercept the finger sword aimed at Feng Yan.