Chapter 3209: Battle Against the Number One of the Corpse Clan
After leaving the Central Ghost Emperor’s Mansion, in a secluded spot, Zhang Ruochen handed Zhao Wu’s Divine Source and Divine Soul to Cang Jue.
A Ghost Clan Tai Xu Great God was a great tonic for a ghost-type strange beast, enough to compensate for the missing Divine Soul.
Cang Jue was delighted and excited, smiling, “Thank you, Young Lord!”
“Follow me, and your future benefits will be many. Breaking through to Infinite Realm is just around the corner,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“I am willing to follow the Young Lord in conquering the world, with no regrets even in death.”
Zhang Ruochen didn’t care at all about the truth of Cang Jue’s words. As long as he broke through to the Infinite Realm, with overwhelming power, Cang Jue would naturally know how to choose.
The strong never lack followers.
Cang Jue’s human body dissolved, transforming into a massive skull head, swallowing Zhao Wu’s Divine Soul and Divine Source into its mouth.
Ghost fire flickered green on the skull, absorbing the Divine Soul and refining the Divine Source.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “How long until it’s completely refined, turning his Divine Soul into your own cultivation?”
“Zhao Wu’s cultivation is profound, and his will is unyielding. Without several years, it’s impossible,” Cang Jue said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “We can’t wait that long. You must immediately transform into Zhao Wu’s appearance and go with me to the Eastern Ghost Emperor’s Mansion to capture Xue Changjin.”
“But Young Lord previously told Wu Yin that Huang E God Lord would use Zhao Wu’s Divine Soul to perceive what happened in the Qing Cang Divine Temple,” Cang Jue said, somewhat puzzled.
Zhang Ruochen said, “That was just a story for Wu Yin! Earlier, I concealed the Heavenly Mechanism. Even if Huang E God Lord holds Zhao Wu’s Divine Soul, he may not be able to perceive the outcome of the battle in the Qing Cang Divine Temple. Even if he does know what happened there, it’s him, not Xue Changjin.”
“Right now, I’m racing against the Quantity Organization, competing for time.”
As long as Xue Changjin was captured, the Quantity Organization would have little to accomplish in Fengdu Ghost City.
This was a one-and-done move!
The Quantity Organization had suffered repeated setbacks, their secrets exposed, and with many enemies, they would inevitably be constrained and unable to act openly. Now, the advantage lay with Zhang Ruochen.
Such a favorable situation was rare for Zhang Ruochen, so naturally, he had nothing to fear and could act boldly.
…
Zhang Ruochen intended to race against Huang E God Lord, betting that even if Huang E God Lord held Zhao Wu’s Divine Soul, he couldn’t use it to break through the Wuji Divine Dao and deduce their whereabouts.
But clearly, Zhang Ruochen still underestimated the strength of the number one of the Corpse Clan.
On the way to the Eastern Ghost Emperor’s Mansion, passing through a bustling ghost market, Zhang Ruochen suddenly stopped, his gaze scanning the surroundings.
The Heart of Truth sensed danger.
Wispy cold winds passed through the ghost clan cultivators on the street, like a stream flowing endlessly over stones.
No anomaly was detected, but when Zhang Ruochen looked forward again, among the endless stream of ghost clan cultivators, a tall, slender figure stood there.
One side was a handsome, jade-like face, the other was rotting flesh.
Huang E God Lord wore a white conical tall hat, silver rings hanging from his ears, one arm behind his back, while the other hand was soft and delicate, with long, slender fingers more beautiful than a woman’s, with an orchid pattern tattoo at the tiger’s mouth.
They were only nineteen zhang apart, gazing at each other from afar.
Zhang Ruochen was secretly shocked, because he had never fought Huang E God Lord before, yet the other party could stand eighteen zhang away based on keen perception.
It wasn’t that Huang E God Lord dared not enter within eighteen zhang, but rather, by doing so, he was telling Zhang Ruochen, “Your secret cannot be hidden from me.”
Huang E God Lord spoke, “I don’t know what method you used to conceal the Heavenly Mechanism, but knowing that I might use Zhao Wu’s Divine Soul to find you, you still dare to go to the Eastern Ghost Emperor’s Mansion. Just for this boldness, I hold you in high regard!”
In fact, if Zhang Ruochen hadn’t handed Zhao Wu’s Divine Source and Divine Soul to Cang Jue but instead left them at the Central Ghost Emperor’s Mansion with Wu Yin, no matter how powerful Huang E God Lord was, he couldn’t have broken through the Wuji Divine Dao to find Zhang Ruochen.
Zhao Wu’s Divine Source and Divine Soul were the only flaw, and that was where Zhang Ruochen was gambling.
Under his half-bone mask, Zhang Ruochen’s muscles relaxed, and he smiled, “Fengdu Ghost City is the number one divine city in the Hell Realm. As a Tai Xu realm cultivator, daring to enter the city and stir up trouble—this boldness alone is enough for me to hold you in high regard.”
The ghost lamps on the street flickered, the mist hazy and illusory.
In an instant, the ground, the mid-air, and the sky were all covered by Huang E God Lord’s Rule Divine Patterns, transforming into a dark, chaotic world space.
It was like a Divine Realm World, or perhaps a newly evolved world.
All the scenes on the street vanished, leaving only boundless darkness ahead, with only the light from Huang E God Lord’s body illuminating the world in a murky haze.
“Whoosh!”
Countless dark tentacles surged from the ground, wrapping around Zhang Ruochen’s legs, body, and spreading toward his head.
“Boom!”
The Nether God Ancestor manifested, its body towering, Nether Light blazing like a sun, shattering all the dark tentacles.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen hadn’t cultivated the “Nether God Scroll,” but having fought many cultivators who had, he could roughly manifest the Nether God Ancestor using the Wuji Divine Dao.
There was no choice; his identity absolutely could not be exposed, or the consequences would be endless.
Huang E God Lord gave a cold, sharp smile, his form flickering, and in an instant, he appeared before Zhang Ruochen, pressing a palm toward him.
“Bang!”
The powerful Nether God Ancestor divine shadow shattered instantly.
Zhang Ruochen exerted all his strength, both palms striking out, Rule Divine Patterns surging endlessly from within. But before he even made contact with Huang E God Lord, his internal organs had already split apart, and his body flew backward.
The gap was too great.
Clearly, Huang E God Lord had long broken through the Body-Stop Realm, his physical strength far surpassing Zhang Ruochen’s.
Tai Xu Peak was not the Body-Stop Realm.
A Tai Xu Peak Great God still needed to cultivate for a long time, allowing their physical body to grow to a certain extent and reach a limit, before they could achieve Body-Stop.
Body-Stop was the first stop.
It referred to the point where the physical strength and power of a Tai Xu Peak Great God stopped increasing. Other aspects, such as Divine Soul, Divine Qi, and Rule Divine Patterns, also slowed down significantly.
Most Tai Xu Peak Great Gods were stuck at this barrier, some even unable to break through for life.
But once Body-Stop was broken, physical strength immediately surged, reaching the level of “One-Tenth Infinite.”
This meant possessing one-tenth of the physical strength of an Infinite Realm deity. And before the second stop, Soul-Stop, arrived, physical strength would continue to grow.
Of course, not every Tai Xu Peak Great God’s Body-Stop was stuck below One-Tenth Infinite.
Some who cultivated special second-rank Divine Paths could nourish their bodies through the path itself, strengthening their physique with cultivation. In the early or middle Tai Xu realm, they might already break through One-Tenth Infinite.
Such individuals with heaven-defying physiques often had a higher Body-Stop threshold.
After breaking Body-Stop, they could possess Two-Tenths Infinite or even Three-Tenths Infinite physical strength.
Xue Jue and Huang Tian were representative figures of strong physiques. In the early Tai Xu realm, they had already cultivated their physical strength to near One-Tenth Infinite, allowing them to fight against Tai Xu Peak cultivators.
In fact, Zhang Ruochen’s current physical strength had already reached One-Tenth Infinite, surpassing most Tai Xu Peak Great Gods. He was undeniably strong.
But his opponent was Huang E God Lord, who had reached the third stop, Heart-Stop Realm. Although Huang E God Lord’s physique hadn’t made it onto the physical strength ranking of “The Great God Discourse,” it still exceeded Two-Tenths Infinite.
“Gong Shang, is this all you’ve got after a hundred thousand years? Just barely breaking Body-Stop?”
Huang E God Lord’s form shifted, not giving Zhang Ruochen a chance to catch his breath. He struck again, a palm descending toward Zhang Ruochen’s head, aiming for a quick victory.
His palm was like a five-fingered sky, freezing space and seemingly stopping time.
“Whoosh!”
Cang Jue appeared, throwing a punch.
Fist and palm collided, like two stars crashing, energy ripples spreading outward like towering waves.
Both Huang E God Lord and Cang Jue flew backward simultaneously.
Cang Jue was a strange beast, having long reached the Soul-Stop Realm, his ghostly body strength also at Two-Tenths Infinite, just slightly weaker than Huang E God Lord.
However, Huang E God Lord didn’t dominate the world with his physical strength. His position as the number one of the Corpse Clan came from his cultivation.
On the cultivation ranking of “The Great God Discourse,” he was listed seventh.
On the divine ability ranking, he was third.
With these two rankings, he had secured his status as a top-tier powerhouse below the Infinite Realm. Those with stronger cultivation didn’t have his divine abilities, so their combat power naturally fell short.
Those with stronger divine abilities didn’t have his cultivation.
Only the Eon-level geniuses born in the past few eons could surpass him. Or main gods holding vast amounts of Esoterica could contend with him.
Although the seventh place on the cultivation ranking didn’t seem very high, everyone on the cultivation ranking was an old monster who had reached the third stop, Heart-Stop Realm.
Most of these old monsters, due to the instability of Heart-Stop or mental issues, rarely emerged from seclusion, hiding away to break through the Heart-Stop barrier.
Moreover, the cultivation gap among those at Heart-Stop Realm was actually very small. The main factors were divine abilities, divine artifacts, and Esoterica.
Zhang Ruochen shook his body, his internal injuries instantly healing, organs regenerating. His vitality was so vigorous and recovery so fast that it was no weaker than Huang Tian’s.
He immediately took out the Earth Cauldron, channeling Divine Qi to activate it.
Facing a powerhouse like Huang E God Lord, how could he hold back? Since he couldn’t use other divine artifacts or divine abilities, he could only use the Earth Cauldron, which was already exposed.
Huang E God Lord’s eyes burned with heat, “The Earth Cauldron! No wonder the Central Ghost Emperor’s Mansion erupted with such powerful Source Power. I originally thought you had obtained a large amount of Source Esoterica, but it’s because of this!”
Zhang Ruochen didn’t engage Huang E God Lord in direct combat. Instead, he swung the Earth Cauldron, smashing it toward the void.
In Fengdu Ghost City, the one most afraid of exposing their whereabouts was Huang E God Lord. As long as he broke this world that Huang E God Lord had manifested, it would make him cautious.
But Zhang Ruochen’s strike toward the void was caught by Huang E God Lord, who flashed over and caught it with one hand.
Too fast!
Huang E God Lord’s vast Divine Qi and Rule Divine Patterns surged out wildly, his body shining a hundred times brighter than a star. He actually tried to forcibly seize the Earth Cauldron from Zhang Ruochen’s hands.
Zhang Ruochen gripped the Earth Cauldron tightly, his body quickly enveloped by Corpse Qi, as if submerged in a boundless deep sea.
“Soul-Destroying Slash!”
Cang Jue unleashed a divine ability, his hands forming a chopping motion.
A heavenly blade descended from the sky, cutting through the Corpse Qi, slashing toward Huang E God Lord.
Huang E God Lord laughed heartily, one hand pressing on the Earth Cauldron, the other raised above his head. A surging Corpse River flew from his palm, clashing with the heavenly blade.
The Corpse River spread out, flowing along the blade toward Cang Jue.
Cang Jue’s face changed drastically. He formed layers of defensive light barriers with Rule Divine Patterns to block the Corpse River.
Huang E God Lord completely suppressed Zhang Ruochen and Cang Jue. His body spun, and Zhang Ruochen and Cang Jue, trapped in the Corpse Qi and Corpse River, spun along with him.
Their Divine Qi was continuously drained by the Corpse Qi and Corpse River.
“Whoosh!”
In this murky world, a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl in white appeared, as if emerging from nothingness or crossing space to arrive.
Her movement technique was eerily exquisite.
It was Hai Shang You Ruo, using the No-Time-Space Body Technique, forcibly breaking through the world manifested by Huang E God Lord to enter.
She had a pair of light wings on her back, her life energy vast, holding an icy crystal sword.
Ever since meeting Tang Lan, she had been tracking Huang E God Lord.
Without a word, Hai Shang You Ruo struck with her sword, piercing through the air. Time Imprint light points were as brilliant as a divine sea, her form like a celestial flying from beyond the universe, stabbing straight at the top of Huang E God Lord’s head.
…
Chen Dong’s new book, “Deep Space Other Shore,” has already been released. Given Dong Ge’s fame, everyone should already know, but I can’t help giving it a push.