Chapter 3144: There Will Be Time to Get Drunk Again in the Human World
"A divine-level movement technique, so you still have hidden cards. Don't run, let's go again."
Zhang Ruochen unfolded the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram, manifesting a divine realm world, forcibly dragging Hai Shang Youruo inside and striking with his second sword, billions of sword qi shooting out simultaneously.
"Have you broken through to the Taibai Realm?"
Hai Shang Youruo's movement technique, called "No Time-Space," was a divine-level divine ability created by Void Heaven many years ago by combining the ways of fate, time, and nothingness. She had nearly mastered it to perfection.
Void Heaven claimed that once this divine ability was fully cultivated, one could remain undefeated in close combat.
When the No Time-Space movement technique was executed, it was as if time and space did not exist at all. Hai Shang could freely change her position, even teleporting between reality and nothingness with a single thought.
But no matter how she shifted her form, she could not escape the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen's body vibrated with yin and yang energy, manifesting a blazing divine flame that slammed heavily into Hai Shang Youruo.
Hai Shang Youruo felt as if struck by a heavy fist, her body flying backward.
With a whoosh, Zhang Ruochen appeared before her and slashed his sword at her waist and abdomen, showing no intention of holding back.
Hai Shang Youruo was no weakling. If he held back, she might seize the opportunity to turn the tide of battle.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to cut her in two, a crystalline ice sword suddenly appeared in her hand. She swung it upward, clashing with the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
"Bang!"
Hai Shang Youruo fell, crashing heavily to the ground. Divine light burst forth, dust flew, and dense time imprint light spots scattered.
Zhang Ruochen pursued her downward, thrusting his sword into the large crater on the ground.
He struck empty air—Hai Shang Youruo had already escaped.
Hai Shang Youruo hovered in midair, covered in dust, her hair ribbon shattered, her long hair loose, blood dripping from her lips. She said, "I didn't expect you to be this strong after reaching the Taibai Realm. Good, that makes you a suitable whetstone for me."
"Finally, I see your sword," Zhang Ruochen said.
Both of them let out an explosive sound simultaneously. A vast number of time imprint light spots burst forth, forming two seas of time. Some condensed into divine dragons, others into Taiji seal patterns, clashing violently together.
Hai Shang Youruo's time sword art was fierce, and combined with the No Time-Space movement technique, she was as fast as a ghost.
Zhang Ruochen used the Taiji Yin-Yang Seal Pattern to suppress her movement technique, slashing out sword after sword, growing faster and faster. Countless afterimages appeared, as if thousands of Zhang Ruochen and thousands of Hai Shang Youruo were fighting.
The divine realm world Zhang Ruochen had manifested with the Wuji Divine Dao was shattered into pieces, riddled with holes.
"Bang!"
After who knows how many exchanges, Zhang Ruochen finally moved a step faster, striking Hai Shang Youruo's chest with his palm. Her flesh and blood were mangled, and her body flew backward heavily, crashing through the divine realm world and slamming into the Future Divine Temple.
"Do you admit defeat?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"Again."
In a hundred thousand years, Hai Shang Youruo had never felt such surging battle intent. Her eyes were filled with cold, murderous aura as she raised her sword and charged into Zhang Ruochen's divine realm world.
Within the divine realm world, ten thousand swords turned into rain, and time and space became chaotic and turbulent.
Even the River of Time rippled, with dense time rules flying out from the river and surging into the divine realm world. Some were commanded by Zhang Ruochen, others by Hai Shang Youruo.
"Boom!"
Another fierce battle ensued. Zhang Ruochen slashed his sword down from Hai Shang Youruo's left shoulder, nearly cutting her in two. Blood flowed along the sword blade, covering Zhang Ruochen's hands.
He simply couldn't hold back. If he did, he might be the one to lose.
The gap in their combat power was not large.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his sword and struck her sideways, sending her flying. "Still not admitting defeat?"
"Spare me the nonsense. You can't kill me anyway, so why should I admit defeat?"
Hai Shang Youruo's broken body slowly rose. The life rules of heaven and earth surged toward her wildly, and in an instant, her injuries healed completely.
"Life Lord God!" Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised.
A brilliant divine light appeared on Hai Shang Youruo's brow, as if a passage connected to another mysterious world.
When he looked at her brow, Zhang Ruochen felt his divine soul being pulled in. He could vaguely see a vibrant island floating deep within her brow.
The life force of that island surpassed the total life energy of an entire major world.
In terms of her mastery of the way of life, she was not inferior to Desolate Heaven.
"Boom!"
From the island deep within her brow, petals of rain flew out, cutting through the rules in Zhang Ruochen's divine realm world, piercing his protective defenses, and leaving small bloody cuts on his skin.
Zhang Ruochen was sent flying by the petal rain. The Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram appeared, swirling around an eighteen-zhang area like a millstone.
"Life Reincarnation!"
Hai Shang Youruo's body floated up. She raised her sword with both hands, and as the war blade slashed down, the scenes of spring blossoms, summer green grass, autumn withered leaves, and winter dry waters appeared in the world.
The reincarnation of life over a year manifested in an instant.
This was a completely new sword art created by fusing the way of life with the time sword art!
Zhang Ruochen sensed the danger and dared not hold back any longer. He raised the Abyssal Ancient Sword above his head. Instantly, the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram rapidly expanded outward, revealing the Lesser Yang.
The Lesser Yang was the symbol of a mountain.
The war blade slashed down, breaking through Zhang Ruochen's Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram and colliding with the mountain-shaped Lesser Yang.
"Boom!"
It was as if a piece of heaven and earth had smashed into him. Zhang Ruochen's entire body shook. His internal organs were injured, his divine soul was shaken, and his body uncontrollably flew backward, crashing heavily to the ground.
The divine realm world collapsed, destroying a large area of the Five Realms Heaven.
Hai Shang Youruo was even worse off. Her body exploded into a mist of blood, leaving only her skeleton intact. Around the blood mist, time imprint light spots burned. Every moment she flew felt like months had passed.
Zhang Ruochen climbed up from the ground, took a deep breath, and recovered most of his injuries. Then he quickly rushed toward where Hai Shang Youruo had fallen.
Struck by the Lesser Yang, she would certainly not be in good shape. He wondered if her foundation had been damaged.
Hai Shang Youruo's physical body had already reformed, wrapped in a thick layer of life energy. The ground around her was covered with dense rule divine patterns. Spirit herbs grew from the soil, sprouting tender leaves and blooming flowers.
Gradually, the Five Realms Heaven turned into a world of vegetation, filled with fragrant floral scents, colorful and dazzling.
When Zhang Ruochen saw Hai Shang Youruo's current appearance, a strange look appeared in his eyes.
The aura she emitted was extremely strong, far surpassing when she had fought him earlier. She had clearly taken the final step and broken through to the Tai Xu Realm.
But why had her body also grown significantly?
Now, Hai Shang Youruo looked about twelve or thirteen years old, in the prime of youth. She no longer had the childishness of before but instead possessed the youthful beauty of a maiden, like a life spirit.
Suddenly, she opened her watery eyes. A pair of white light wings formed on her back, and she flew up. She looked at her hands and her noticeably taller body, a joyful smile appearing on her pretty face, just like a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl.
The smile didn't last long. She immediately restrained it, fixing her beautiful eyes on Zhang Ruochen. "Zhang Ruochen, you really went all out, didn't you?"
Seeing that Hai Shang Youruo wanted revenge, Zhang Ruochen had no intention of fighting someone who had just entered the Tai Xu Realm.
His expression was grave. "I had no choice. I had to win today. I must leave the Fate Divine Mountain."
Hai Shang Youruo withdrew her divine power, furrowing her delicate brows. "What happened?"
"A massive upheaval. The Starry Sky Defense Line has completely collapsed. Feng Tian and Void Heaven are likely severely injured and missing. Moreover, Fengdu Dadi has returned!" Zhang Ruochen said.
In recent years, Zhang Ruochen had discussed much of the world's situation with Hai Shang Youruo, so she naturally understood the external circumstances.
Shock first appeared in Hai Shang Youruo's eyes, then she said, "Hurry and leave. Fu Lu Shenzun, out of consideration for Xue Jue War God, should not make things difficult for you."
"Do you want to come with me? You can return to the Destiny Temple once Void Heaven comes back," Zhang Ruochen said.
Hai Shang Youruo hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen to consider her safety at such a dangerous time. "No need to worry about me. Since I've entered the Tai Xu Realm, I naturally want to stir up some commotion and make a grand debut. That way, no one will dare to touch me easily."
"As long as you have a plan."
Zhang Ruochen produced the wine cauldron like a magician and tossed it to her, laughing. "This is the wedding wine I specially brought for you. Make sure to finish it all!"
Hai Shang Youruo caught the wine cauldron, holding it with one hand.
"By the way, since you're going to make a grand debut, why not help me protect a realm of living beings? I want to see this rescue through to the end." Zhang Ruochen briefly recounted what had happened at the wedding ceremony today.
Hai Shang Youruo's eyes showed surprise. She clearly hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen to do such a thing, and she regarded him even more highly. "What makes you think I'll protect them?"
"Because you are the Life Lord God. If you didn't love life, how could you have such a high level of mastery in the way of life?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Stop dawdling. Hurry up and leave, or things might change," Hai Shang Youruo urged.
Then, looking at the wine cauldron in her hand, she said, "I'll use this wine to see you off. I hope when we meet again, we'll both have become kings and venerables, laughing proudly across the world, with time to get drunk again in the human world."
She was incredibly bold, tilting her head back to drink, showing no trace of a young girl's demeanor.
Zhang Ruochen didn't look back, his heart filled with countless emotions. Though he had been under house arrest on the Fate Divine Mountain for nineteen years, he had gained one sincere friendship after another.
Perhaps that was life—losing something always meant gaining something.
Leaving the Five Realms Heaven, Zhang Ruochen immediately encountered Xue Jue War God.
"Did you win?" Xue Jue War God asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Yes. But Hai Shang Youruo has already broken into the Tai Xu Realm. Beating her again won't be easy."
"She should have broken into the Tai Xu Realm long ago, but her heart knot was never untied. Void Heaven made you her whetstone so she could watch you grow through failure, never giving up in your bitter cultivation, and never being knocked down. He wanted her to learn from you. Let's go. First, leave the Fate Divine Mountain," Xue Jue War God said.
On the way, Zhang Ruochen asked Xue Jue War God about Hai Shang Youruo's situation. It was too strange—after breaking through, her body had also grown significantly.
(Chapter End)