Chapter 3176: The Great Dream of Thirty Thousand Years
Zhang Ruochen's senses were exceptionally sharp. The moment Gong Shang's killing intent arose, with a sharp clang, the Abyssal Ancient Sword shot out like a beam of light.
The sword body expanded, becoming as broad and thick as a shield.
Gong Shang's lightning-fast strike landed on the blade of the Abyssal Ancient Sword, creating ripples of divine power and a clanging, ear-splitting sound that exploded in the void.
His cultivation was profound, and his strength was extraordinary. Although he failed to land a direct hit, he still sent the Abyssal Ancient Sword, along with Zhang Ruochen, flying backward.
The sword body trembled violently!
Gong Shang did not give Zhang Ruochen a chance to use the God Venerable Talisman. He spread his movement technique, burst forward, formed fists with both hands, and struck out one punch after another in rapid succession, all landing on the blade of the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
His fists were imbued with heavy dark force, and his divine power was like a violent storm.
Each strike was like a star colliding, but unfortunately, each time it was blocked by the sword body, unable to hit Zhang Ruochen's physical form.
Within the span of a single breath, Gong Shang unleashed over a hundred punches. Just as his divine power momentarily faltered, a large number of time imprint light points appeared around the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
"Time's Fleeting Light!"
Grasping the sword hilt, Zhang Ruochen swung the sword in a horizontal slash, colliding with the fist seal Gong Shang had thrown.
"Boom!"
Time power, dark energy, and sword qi exploded like fireworks, with countless rule divine patterns scattering wildly in the void. Moments later, they dissipated into nothingness.
These rule divine patterns were cultivated by them. Fighting in the void would continuously consume them, and they could not be recovered.
If consumed to a certain extent, even their cultivation level could drop.
After this clash, a hint of doubt appeared in Zhang Ruochen's eyes, but without overthinking, he immediately launched a second sword strike, then a third...
The Six Divine Swords also flew out, forming a sword formation around him. In an instant, sword qi crisscrossed, and time light points fell like rain.
In the distance, beneath the Bodhi Tree.
Yan Liren had come with Gong Shang. Seeing Zhang Ruochen and Gong Shang fly out, soon after, powerful divine energy fluctuations came from the distant darkness, he immediately sensed something was wrong.
A look of deep worry appeared on Yan Liren's face. He looked at Mu Lingxi and said, "Quickly, take the Bodhi Tree and leave this place."
Mu Lingxi remained unmoved, calm and composed.
Yan Liren was very anxious and urged, "Gong Shang is a Great God at the peak of the Grand Void. Zhang Ruochen is definitely no match for him. Even if he has a God Venerable Talisman, he may not have the chance to use it. If you don't leave now, you won't be able to!"
Yan Liren seemed to have made a major decision and wanted to forcibly take Mu Lingxi away.
But there was a soul imprint planted in him by Gong Shang. Doing so would be an act of betrayal, and he could well imagine the consequences.
Mu Lingxi's gaze locked onto him. Before Yan Liren could get close, he was sent flying by a beam of light surging from her pupils, his body turning into ice.
It took a long time for Yan Liren to refine the ice crystals on his body with his divine power.
He stood up, looked around, his face filled with surprise. Then, at times he was dazed, at times clear-headed, at times resolute, and at times bewildered.
Finally, when he looked at Mu Lingxi, his expression turned completely to shock.
His aged body bowed deeply.
Just now, when he was struck by Mu Lingxi's gaze and frozen in ice, Yan Liren experienced a great dream of thirty thousand years. In the dream, he lived through one life after another, one setback after another.
Each time, under the guidance of fate, he overcame the setbacks, escaped from difficulties, and achieved self-redemption.
His state of mind had been tempered and refined countless times.
In the dream, he gained far more than he had in the thousands of years of cultivation in the real world.
"May I ask, young lady, what kind of divine being are you? Why bestow this opportunity upon me, helping Yan break free from the shackles of his state of mind?" Yan Liren asked.
Mu Lingxi's gaze was cold, and she did not answer him.
Because, in her view, Yan Liren's cultivation and his own value had not yet reached the level where he could converse with her.
What she had just done was purely on a whim, a casual act.
"Boom!"
A wave of God Venerable-level energy surged from the distance, blocked by the Buddha light emitted by the Bodhi Tree.
Zhang Ruochen had finally seized the opportunity, activated the God Venerable Talisman, and with one punch, blasted Gong Shang's divine body into powder. But there was no joy in his heart.
In the instant Gong Shang's divine body shattered, Zhang Ruochen caught a whiff of a corpse-rotten smell.
As a member of the Corpse Clan, how could he have such a smell inside him?
Zhang Ruochen's eyes darkened, and he immediately rushed back to the position of the Bodhi Tree's light cluster.
"The battle fluctuations have subsided. Could it be that Gong Shang has already died under the God Venerable Talisman?" Yan Liren looked puzzled, finding it hard to believe that a strongman like Gong Shang could be killed so easily.
Dense dark energy surged from all directions, enveloping the Bodhi Tree.
The Buddha light gradually dimmed, and strands of black mist appeared on the branches and leaves of the Bodhi Tree, continuously eroding them.
Mu Lingxi remained calm and composed, her gaze fixed on a giant claw emerging from the darkness. The divine might released by the giant claw pressed down on Yan Liren, making his whole body tense, his legs trembling uncontrollably, and his bones cracking inside.
Just as the giant claw was about to descend, six majestic divine swords flew out from the darkness, releasing a blazing flame aura, and collided with the giant claw.
"Boom!"
The giant claw shattered into pieces, turning into wisps of Yin Nether Qi.
Zhang Ruochen turned into a streak of lightning, descended from the sky, and appeared in front of Mu Lingxi and Yan Liren. The Yin Yang Eighteen Formations and the sword formation manifested one after another, exuding an aura of dominating the world.
"Come out, Gong Shang!" he shouted coldly.
From the darkness, Gong Shang's laughter rang out: "Zhang Ruochen, your God Venerable Talisman is completely exhausted. It can no longer pose a threat to me. The only way for you to survive is to offer your divine soul and submit to me."
Zhang Ruochen said, "So, you used a substitute puppet refined from a divine corpse just to consume my God Venerable Talisman?"
When Zhang Ruochen had struck his first sword earlier, he had sensed something was off with that Gong Shang.
Although that Gong Shang had the combat power of a Grand Void realm Great God, compared to a peak Grand Void Great God, he was far inferior. He didn't seem like someone who could withstand a blow from a God Venerable Talisman and survive.
But fearing he might self-destruct his divine source, Zhang Ruochen had triggered the final strike of the God Venerable Talisman and killed him.
"Hmph!"
Gong Shang's tone carried anger, saying, "That substitute puppet was fed with my divine blood. I used countless resources gathered here on it. I thought it could launch a sneak attack successfully, but I didn't expect you, a junior, to be so cautious and see through my plan."
"Since you've made me lose a Grand Void Great God-level substitute puppet, you must compensate me with the divine swords and the Bodhi Tree. And you and your senior sister must offer your divine souls and become my slaves."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Are you dreaming? Become your slave? You think too highly of yourself!"
Gong Shang laughed and said, "You, Zhang Ruochen, have extraordinary talent. At such a young age, you've reached such a high level of cultivation. Naturally, you won't resign yourself to fate. But here, you have no choice."
"Yan Liren was also full of pride, but I have the means and the time to grind away his spiritual will. This process is very interesting, but for you, it will be unbearably painful."
"Zhang Ruochen, haven't you noticed that you've become weaker?"
"You have divine artifacts and formations, and I am seriously injured by the God Venerable Talisman. For now, I can't do anything to you."
"But here, there is only darkness and void. As you activate your formations like this, the divine qi in your body will drain quickly. When your divine sources and divine stones run out, over the long years, you will grow weaker and weaker. By then, my injuries will heal, and you will be weak. How will you fight me then?"
"I've been trapped here for a hundred thousand years. I have plenty of patience."
"Gong Shang, you know nothing about me." Zhang Ruochen's eyes darkened, and a Sword Ancestor Soul Sword flew out from within him, striking a certain spot in the darkness.
Being seen through his position by Zhang Ruochen had already startled Gong Shang. When he sensed the terrifying aura of the Sword Ancestor, he was almost scared out of his wits and immediately fled far away.
Although the Sword Ancestor Soul Sword was powerful, it required emotion to unleash its full power (weili).
This soul sword, in reality, posed no lethal threat to a strongman like Gong Shang.
But Gong Shang didn't know the power of the Sword Ancestor Soul Sword. Coupled with his previous injury from the God Venerable Talisman, as soon as he sensed the Sword Ancestor's aura, he immediately fled.
Zhang Ruochen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. With Gong Shang's cultivation, even injured, he was still difficult to deal with. Moreover, Zhang Ruochen knew very little about this unfamiliar world. If they really fought, he would likely not gain the upper hand.
He couldn't just use another God Venerable Talisman or God King Talisman, could he?
Zhang Ruochen planned to use the God Venerable Talisman and God King Talisman against Xuan Yi and the Quantity Organization. They were meant to save his life. How could he waste them on Gong Shang?
"Roar!"
Yan Liren's eyes emitted black qi, and his hands formed claws as he lunged at Mu Lingxi.
But just a few steps away, still three feet from Mu Lingxi, he used his own will to resist Gong Shang's will. His claws didn't fall, and he let out a painful roar.
This was only possible because of the will foundation built by the great dream of thirty thousand years.
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen formed the Awakening World Seal with his hands, his body radiating Buddha light, and struck Yan Liren on the top of his head.
Yan Liren fell straight down, losing consciousness.
Then, Zhang Ruochen struck thirty-six acupoints on Yan Liren's body in succession, injecting pure Buddha power into him, sealing his divine soul, divine heart, and divine source.
Mu Lingxi didn't even furrow her brow from start to finish. She stood there motionless, and only then said, "It's useless. A large part of his divine soul is in Gong Shang's hands, and there is a divine soul forbidden spell set inside him. With just a thought from Gong Shang, he can kill him."
"Since I am here, I naturally want to protect him."
Zhang Ruochen released the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram.
The diagram contained its own world, isolated from the outside.
Mu Lingxi's beautiful eyes gazed at the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram. She extended her slender finger and traced it across the surface of the diagram, causing ripples to appear one after another.
A flash of light passed through her eyes, and she said, "So that's how it is. Truly worthy of being the number one under heaven."
Zhang Ruochen, who was helping Yan Liren dissolve the divine soul forbidden spell inside him, changed his expression slightly. The mysteries of his Wuji Divine Dao probably couldn't be hidden from this heavenly-level figure before him.
Would she kill him to eliminate a threat because of the number one under heaven?
Zhang Ruochen used the God-Defying Stele to dissolve the divine soul forbidden spell inside Yan Liren, then sat directly on the ground, spitting out a mouthful of black blood containing corpse qi.
(End of this chapter)