# Chapter 3138: Slaying a Tai Xu
On the Santu River, corpses floated everywhere, the water murky and turbid.
Perhaps influenced by the Thousand Star Conjunction, death rules were active on the river's surface, and dark energy surged violently.
Yin winds howled like divine demons roaring.
Xue Jue War God spread his pairs of blood wings, radiating golden light.
Flapping his wings, he flew out of the divine ship, hovering above the water's surface, facing the boundless ghost clouds directly. His war robe fluttered as he said, "If you don't retreat now, you're forcing me to make a move."
Ghost Lord stood within the chaotic ghost energy, laughing fearlessly. "Why be so stingy? We're not asking for much—just a little something. If it really comes to a fight, the gods of my Middle Three Clans will keep arriving endlessly, and delaying the auspicious hour won't do anyone any good!"
On this Santu River, Ghost Lord held absolute geographical advantage, and with the Thousand Star Conjunction's celestial timing today, he naturally had no fear of Xue Jue War God.
A Tai Xu peak—such was his confidence.
"Xue Jue, why are you butting in? Is it you getting married today, or Zhang Ruochen?" A mass of corpse energy surged from beneath the water, and Xu Liao's massive corpse body floated within it.
The divine might of a Tai Xu realm great god shook the clouds, his voice spreading across the starry sky.
"We want to see Young Master Ruochen—let him come out and distribute divine stones."
Many ghost cultivators, corpse cultivators, and bone cultivators joined in the clamor.
Aboard the Blood Color Divine Centipede Ship, Zhang Ruochen smiled coldly, then moved his form, crossing the void to appear on the water's surface not far from Xue Jue War God.
He wore a jade robe with gold trim, a purple crown binding his hair, exuding an aura of peerless excellence.
"I'm no Young Master—don't call me that, everyone. On this joyous day, it wouldn't look good for any of us if fighting breaks out. I'll give some wedding money, so let it be."
Zhang Ruochen waved his sleeve, and over ten thousand divine stones flew like a rain of stars toward the ghost clouds.
After a scramble, all the divine stones were collected.
A divine voice rang out: "Too little—just this many divine stones isn't nearly enough to go around."
"Too little!"
"Too little!"
...
All the undead cultivators shouted in unison.
Ten thousand divine stones were hardly a small amount—many gods couldn't even produce that much.
Zhang Ruochen's smile faded, his gaze turning cold. "I see you're not here to ask for wedding money—you're deliberately causing trouble."
Ghost Lord said, "Young Master Ruochen, don't get angry. We're here sincerely to congratulate you, and blocking the wedding procession is just to liven things up. But debts must be repaid—that's only natural. Shouldn't you return the Earth Fiend Bell you owe to Earth Fiend Ghost City?"
"Debts must be repaid—that's only natural."
The ghost cultivators of Earth Fiend Ghost City shouted in unison.
War drums even thundered.
Was this still a wedding interception?
Was this still a congratulatory visit?
Zhang Ruochen said, "I don't recall owing you an Earth Fiend Bell. The Earth Fiend Bell is with Senior Void Heaven—if you have the guts, go ask him for it."
"Whoosh!"
Space trembled, dragon roars piercing the ears.
The Blood Dragon War Halberd appeared in Xue Jue War God's hand, blood energy condensing into images of thousands of troops and horses, clashing against the ghost clouds opposite.
Ghost Lord's gaze locked onto Xue Jue War God, then fell upon the aged figure at the prow of the Falling Cloud Divine Ship. He bowed slightly. "Fine. The debt to Earth Fiend Ghost City—I won't press it today."
Ghost Lord retreated, but Xu Liao soared into the air instead.
His corpse body loomed like a towering divine mountain, an endless divine realm world faintly visible above his head. He raised his voice: "Young Master Ruochen, you owe me profound meaning. If you don't return it today, I'll have no choice but to seek mutual destruction. Xue Jue, can you stop me?"
Xu Liao's gaze was like lightning—he wasn't just speaking idly. If he couldn't reclaim his profound meaning, he would never glimpse the Infinite Realm in this lifetime.
Rather than live on in mockery and resentment, he would rather fight to the death.
He was confident that Xue Jue War God and Zhang Ruochen would have to compromise—they wouldn't truly force a Tai Xu realm great god to self-detonate his divine source. The consequences were something no one could bear.
Ghost Lord stepped aside to watch the show. His only concern now was whether that old clan leader would intervene.
But if the old clan leader did act, that would truly be a grand spectacle.
Then, naturally, some ancient-level existence from the Corpse Clan would come out to oppose the old clan leader.
Xue Jue War God's brow furrowed. *Troublesome*, he thought. *This Xu Liao—whether deceived or instigated—has shown such resolute will.*
Self-detonating a divine source on the Santu River was one thing, but doing so during the wedding ceremony at Destiny Temple would be a major disaster.
Truth be told, Zhang Ruochen was very tempted to take this opportunity to turn around and leave, blaming the failed wedding procession on Ghost Lord and Xu Liao.
He could afford to lose face.
But this involved Xue Jue War God's face, the old clan leader's face, and Void Heaven's face—Zhang Ruochen simply couldn't do that.
A mocking smile appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face. "Great God Xu Liao, I had no enmity with you originally. You were the one who wanted to kill me, so I took your profound meaning as a minor punishment. I never expected that on my wedding day, you'd still dare to cause trouble. Do you really think I wouldn't dare kill you?"
With the last sentence, his voice struck like thunder splitting the earth.
All trace of smile vanished from Zhang Ruochen's face.
Xu Liao deliberately provoked Zhang Ruochen. "Zhang Ruochen, you brat, you're too arrogant! If you can withstand three strikes from me with your own ability, I'll turn around and leave today, never stepping out of the Corpse God Temple again in this lifetime."
"Fine! If you can withstand three moves from me, I'll return your profound meaning."
As Zhang Ruochen spoke these words, he had already performed a spatial displacement, appearing before Xu Liao. The Yin Yang Eighteen Formations instantly unfolded, manifesting eighteen spatial divine formation arrays.
The formation inscriptions were like dense divine chains, chaotic space either expanding or contracting.
After seven thousand years of seclusion, Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power had risen from the early stage of the seventy-eighth rank to the peak of the seventy-eighth rank.
Such cultivation speed in the spiritual power domain was astonishing to the world.
One must know that Six Adults, as a disciple of Qingtian, had cultivated for hundreds of thousands of years and was only at the seventy-ninth rank peak.
With his greatly increased spiritual power, his control over the Yin Yang Eighteen Formations was naturally more exquisite. The moment the formation unfolded, it pressed Xu Liao down toward the water's surface.
It was like eighteen great worlds weighing down on him, space squeezing in from all directions. Xu Liao let out a long roar, divine flames erupting from his body, radiating heat that could refine heaven and earth, tearing space open into dense void cracks.
"Whoosh!"
Six divine swords manifested around Zhang Ruochen, countless sword shadows appearing in the void, forming a sword formation.
The might of divine artifacts spread across the entire star region where the Life-and-Death Realm Star was located, drawing all sword dao rules.
The Six-in-One Sword Formation Descended, striking Xu Liao.
Xu Liao frantically drove divine energy within his body. The sub-god-level supreme sacred artifact fist glove in his hand erupted with light as dazzling as a star, striking toward the sword formation descending from above.
"Pfft!"
The six swords swept through, cutting Xu Liao's corpse body into over a dozen pieces.
Corpse blood rained down like a downpour, falling onto the wedding fleet and into the pitch-black ghost clouds.
The entire world fell silent.
Even Ghost Lord and Xue Jue War God were stunned, their shock beyond words.
As for the other gods and saint realm cultivators, their thoughts were naturally even more chaotic—they couldn't believe what they had just witnessed.
One move!
With a single move, Zhang Ruochen had sliced a Tai Xu realm great god into pieces.
Over the past nineteen years, Ghost Lord and others, to salvage their dignity, had spared no effort in secretly claiming that Zhang Ruochen had only escaped from them by borrowing the power of Sword Ancestor and the old corpse ghost. In the end, he was just a new-generation great god whose own combat strength wasn't that formidable.
How could today's sword strike not terrify them?
Zhang Ruochen stood on the water's surface, his jade robe spotless, six swords circling him, radiating heroic energy. In his hand, he held a bloodstained sub-god-level supreme sacred artifact fist glove. "Today is a joyous day—I won't kill enemies. Consider this fist glove your wedding gift!"
Xu Liao's divine body recondensed, his face pale and desolate, as if he had lost his soul.
Without a word, he tore through the void and departed.
Clearly, the blow he had suffered today might never heal in this lifetime.
Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze toward the ghost clouds opposite. "Since you're here sincerely to congratulate me, why not leave a few wedding gifts as well?"
The cultivators trembled, all showing reverence and fear.
The ghost clouds receded like a tide—no one wanted to follow Xu Liao's fate.
Ghost Lord retreated to the outside of a divine hall, staring at Zhang Ruochen for a long time before shifting his gaze to Xue Jue War God. "Grand Clan Leader's grandson is truly the number one talent under heaven today. I believe it won't be long before he breaks into the Infinite Realm. Green Deer God King was right—he can indeed change the structure of the divine realm."
"Let's go!"
The divine hall flew away, soon disappearing into the yin clouds and mist.
On the one hundred and ten wedding ships, thunderous laughter erupted.
Led by Blood Butcher, all cultivators shouted Zhang Ruochen's name in unison.
"Zhang Ruochen Slaughters a Tai Xu with One Sword"—under the promotion of Ghost Lord and other gods, this news spread rapidly.
Killing a man was less effective than elevating him to kill him.
Aboard the Falling Cloud Divine Ship, Xue Jue War God's expression was complex and hard to read. "Your current strength has already surpassed Hai Shang You Ruo."
"That was only borrowing the power of the formation and divine swords."
Zhang Ruochen added, "Besides, Xu Liao's divine body had been shattered by the old corpse ghost before, so his strength was far from its peak. If it were any other early Tai Xu realm god, I definitely wouldn't have won so easily."
Xue Jue War God nodded. "Victory without arrogance, defeat without resentment—that's a good mindset. You've fought many Tai Xu realm great gods; you should understand their strength."
"Precisely because I understand, I would never underestimate them," Zhang Ruochen said.
Tai Xu realm and Tai Bai realm were separated by a major realm gap. Although Hai Shang You Ruo was nearly invincible in the Tai Bai realm, when facing an early Tai Xu realm great god, she would lose nine times out of ten.
Only those with solid foundations like Xue Jue War God and Desolate Heaven could contend with early Tai Xu realm gods at the peak of Tai Bai realm.
Without the divine swords and the Yin Yang Eighteen Formations' enhancement, Zhang Ruochen's combat strength might not be much stronger than Hai Shang You Ruo's. He still needed a great deal of time to settle and accumulate—he was far from the point where he could look down on everything.
Regardless, with his own strength alone, Zhang Ruochen could already contend with Tai Xu realm great gods.
Along the way, no cultivators intercepted the wedding procession.
Although there were distant onlookers, they all carried expressions of wariness, not daring to approach too closely.
(Chapter End)