Chapter 3259: Fall
The divine battle entered its white-hot phase, shaking vast stretches of the starry sky as spiritual power shockwaves spread billions of miles away, affecting all cultivators.
Some cultivators immediately fled far away, fearing the terrible disaster of a divine source self-destruction.
However, the Hell Realm was well-prepared. With the suppression of Wu Yue, the Mani Pearl, and spiritual power artifacts, Xuan Yi directly abandoned the option of self-destructing his divine source to achieve mutual destruction. Instead, he burned his divine blood and lifespan, forcibly elevating his combat power.
Even if he fought until his blood burned dry, his divine soul perished, and his divine matter annihilated, at least he would not end up being dismembered for treasure.
Facing Xuan Yi, whose combat power had risen again, Huang Tian, Hun Qi, the Wonderful Zen Nun, and Xue Jue War God, who had entered the center of the battle circle, were successively injured.
This was a desperate fighting style, comparing who could pay a greater price.
Xuan Yi's entire body burned with divine flames, and he shouted coldly, "If you want to kill me, one of you must be buried with me. The Hell Realm will pay a painful price. Unless you let Zhang Ruochen take out the Earth Cauldron and lend it to you."
Zhang Ruochen, who was moving stealthily, cursed inwardly, hating Xuan Yi to death.
Originally, the secret that the Earth Cauldron was in his hands was known only to a very few people. Xuan Yi's words would undoubtedly make it known to the world.
This was an unsolvable poisonous scheme; Xuan Yi wanted to drag him down as well.
"The Earth Cauldron is actually in Zhang Ruochen's hands?"
"Wasn't the Earth Cauldron taken by Liang Ce? Isn't Liang Ce Huang E Divine Lord? What's going on?"
"Huang E Divine Lord has never appeared; there must be another story behind this."
...
Xuan Yi's single sentence caused countless thoughts to arise in the minds of the gods from Fengdu Ghost City, the Undying Blood Clan, and the Destiny Temple, their eyes gleaming with strange brilliance.
"Boom!"
Huang Tian swung his sword and slashed, executing a battle axe divine ability, drawing upon the death rules of heaven and earth.
Xuan Yi's body was split into four or five pieces by the sword strike, his divine blood exploding, spreading outward like streams. His divine realm world and divine soul were also shattered, suffering unprecedented severe damage.
Huang Tian was willing to pay the price, burning a large amount of blood and lifespan, delivering the strongest strike of his life.
This sword strike was no weaker than a full-force attack from a Divine King. Xuan Yi, who was severely injured and suppressed by spiritual power, could not possibly withstand it.
Hun Qi, Xue Jue War God, including the gods of Fengdu Ghost City and the Undying Blood Clan, each used their own methods to begin plundering.
Hun Qi rescued the eight gods who had been swallowed into Xuan Yi's belly.
Completely refining gods was not an easy task. Although Xuan Yi had devoured thirteen ghost clan gods, he could not refine them all in a short time.
Eight gods with stronger cultivation levels held on, but each was extremely weak and would need many years to recover.
The ghost clan gods in the divine city each used their methods to collect Xuan Yi's divine soul.
"Boundless Blood Sea!"
The five-layered sea beneath Xue Jue War God's feet, led by the blood sea, spread out, collecting Xuan Yi's blood. At the same time, Xue Jue War God fought against Xuan Yi's left leg.
Even if only a left leg remained, its combat power was still formidable, far surpassing an ordinary Tai Xu peak.
After executing dozens of divine abilities, Xue Jue War God finally suppressed it.
The Divine King battle formation formed by the Undying Blood Clan gods suppressed Xuan Yi's right leg.
Xue Jue War God and Hun Qi simultaneously pursued the left and right arms flying in two different directions, their speed very fast, disappearing into the dark void in an instant.
The Wonderful Zen Nun did not act again, quietly watching the various factions dismember and plunder. It was cruel, but this was the fate of the loser; even a good death was hard to come by.
Divine medicine was hard to find, but weren't the gods themselves seen as divine medicine by others?
The reason the war faction of the Hell Realm advocated war was precisely because they regarded all cultivators from the various realms of the Heavenly Court as spiritual medicine, sacred medicine, and divine medicine. By harvesting medicine, they could strengthen themselves, thereby resisting the Calamity of Quantities.
It was like a person and a wolf falling into a deep pit together. Neither trusted the other. Only by killing the other and eating their fill would they have a greater chance of climbing out of the deep pit.
Of course, it was also possible that even after eating their fill, they still couldn't climb out.
However, the choices left for them at the moment were not many.
Huang Tian was pursuing Xuan Yi's head and most of his torso. Xuan Yi's divine sea was not broken, and his divine source was still there. Although his physical body had suffered devastating damage, as long as he escaped, he could still return to his peak.
Huang Tian's pupils flashed with the divine light of truth, searching for the divine sea, and the Dark Divine Sword fell continuously.
"Pfft!"
Xuan Yi's neck was slashed, separating his body and head. His physical body found it difficult to reassemble in a short time.
Zhang Ruochen, chasing from behind, sighed with emotion. The once-arrogant Xuan Yi had fallen to such a state, beaten so miserably and wretchedly. Truly, he had brought it upon himself.
But it was still quite glorious. So many gods from the Hell Realm had come to besiege him, including the most top-tier experts below the Infinite Realm like the Wonderful Zen Nun, Wu Yue, and Hun Qi.
Back then, because of Xuan Yi's leak, Wen Tianjun was besieged by the clan leaders of the ten major clans of the Hell Realm. Now, Xuan Yi himself had tasted retribution.
"Rumble!"
The golden chariot crushed space, rushing out from the void.
Xuan Yuan Lian's divine voice spread across the starry sky: "Xuan Yi is a god of our Heavenly Court. Even if he is a member of the Quantity Organization, only the Heavenly Court can execute him."
Nine majestic divine temples manifested from within the golden chariot.
From each divine temple surged a river of rules. Nine divine rivers coiled toward Xuan Yi's head, intending to suppress him.
"Xuan Yi's life is mine."
Huang Tian stood in the void, like a stone mountain giant, and struck out with the Bright Mirror Platform. Instantly, Buddhist scripts filled the sky, flying straight toward the convergence point of the nine divine rivers.
"Boom!"
The nine divine rivers collapsed, Xuan Yi's head shattered, and even his divine sea was broken.
This was the power of the Bright Mirror Platform, the lingering might of the Sixth Patriarch, incomparable to ordinary divine artifacts.
A divine source flickered amidst the chaos and ruin, extremely dazzling.
Huang Tian swung his sword, slashing at the divine source, intending to completely obliterate Xuan Yi.
"Amitabha!"
Five consecutive Buddhist sounds rang out, each shaking the ears.
The five great divine monks of the Western Buddha Realm walked out from the void, forming the Five Directions Jieti Buddhist Formation. Each formed a mysterious hand seal, and simultaneously struck out with a palm, condensing into a golden giant handprint that collided with the Dark Divine Sword.
The Dark Divine Sword was blocked, and all divine power surged back upon impact with the golden giant handprint.
Any one of the five great divine monks was not particularly strong, unable to withstand ten moves from Huang Tian, and unable to contend with an existence like Hun Qi. But when they gathered together, forming the Five Directions Jieti Buddhist Formation, they could unleash unparalleled combat power, capable of suppressing Huang Tian and Xuan Yi.
If five other experts had activated the Five Directions Jieti Buddhist Formation, they would not have possessed such combat power.
This was because they had cultivated together for years, their minds, Buddhist qi, and rules already interconnected. The five were as one, like the five fingers of a hand.
The golden chariot drove forward, collecting Xuan Yi's divine source.
Xuan Yuan Lian discovered Zhang Ruochen and Hai Shang You Ruo hiding in the shadows, knowing they had taken the esoterica that Xuan Yi controlled. After a moment of hesitation, she ultimately drove the chariot away.
Someone like Zhang Ruochen could be either an excellent ally or a terrifying enemy.
Thinking of Zhang Ruochen's relationships with Huang Tian, Xue Jue, the Wonderful Zen Nun, Wu Yue, and Hai Shang You Ruo, thinking of their stunning talent and infinite potential, how could Xuan Yuan Lian not feel a chill run down her spine for even a moment?
Unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen had now reached a point where she could not act against him as she pleased.
Inside the golden chariot, Xuan Yuan Lian used the paths of water and wood to break through Xuan Yi's residual spiritual will, forcibly conducting a soul search. Her face, beautiful as a banished immortal, suddenly showed a look of shock. She transmitted a message: "Return to the Starry Sky Defense Line immediately."
The golden chariot sped toward the space wormhole at maximum speed.
Qing Yu Sheng and the Heavenly Court gods guarding the space wormhole sensed that Xuan Yuan Lian's tone was off, lacking her usual calm and composure.
The five great divine monks retreated, neither entangled with Huang Tian nor forcibly seizing the Bright Mirror Platform.
Huang Tian did not pursue. He was no longer considered a god of the Hell Realm, so there was no need to fight to the death with the Heavenly Court gods. Xuan Yi's physical body was completely destroyed, and over ninety percent of his divine soul was lost. Even if his divine source was taken by Xuan Yuan Lian, he was definitely doomed to die.
The Yin Yang Eighteen Formations appeared. Hai Shang You Ruo was clearly in a good mood, having obtained the desired Radiant Flow Esoterica and Time Esoterica.
But Zhang Ruochen's expression was very grave. Staring at the direction where the five great divine monks and Xuan Yuan Lian had left, there was no trace of joy. "Why did they leave so hastily?"
Hai Shang You Ruo said, "The Hell Realm gods are here. If they don't leave, do they want to fight a decisive battle with us?"
Zhang Ruochen gently shook his head. Then, using space power, he gathered the wisps of blood qi, flesh, and divine soul that were fleeing, reassembling them into Xuan Yi's head.
Without the divine sea and divine power, this head was no longer as powerful as before.
Zhang Ruochen directly conducted a soul search but only found some useless information. The divine soul and memories were already incomplete.
However, he made an unexpected discovery.
"Xuan Yi's physical body contains an extremely high concentration of Infinite-level divine matter," Zhang Ruochen said.
Hai Shang You Ruo said, "What's so strange about that? Since ancient times, how many Divine Kings and God Venerables have been born? If Xuan Yi found one or two Infinite-level divine corpses and refined them, it's only natural that his body would contain a large amount of Infinite-level divine matter. Otherwise, how could Xuan Yi's physical body have reached sixty percent of the Infinite level? Even Huang Tian Great God and Xue Jue War God certainly don't lack Infinite-level divine matter in their bodies."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "No, it's different. This Infinite-level divine matter is too concentrated, and it's completely integrated with Xuan Yi's physical body, as if it originally belonged to him."
Huang Tian said, "Indeed, it's abnormal. Xuan Yi's physical body is very strange. Infinite-level divine matter accounts for over ninety percent. It's impossible for anyone below the Infinite level to cultivate their physical body to that extent. Although Infinite-level divine matter is precious, has enlightenment value, and can enhance physical strength, it doesn't belong to oneself. If it exceeds ten percent of one's own divine matter, it's harmful and useless to a Great God."
"There's another strange thing. The Killing Dao Esoterica that Xuan Yi possessed was only one-tenth," Zhang Ruochen said.
Possessing one-tenth of a Dao's esoterica could make one a main god of that path, a goal pursued by all Great Gods.
The reason Zhang Ruochen was interested in Xuan Yi's Killing Dao Esoterica was that he believed Xuan Yi must have controlled a large amount of it, possibly even approaching the level of a Killing Dao Overlord.
If he could truly obtain thirty or forty percent of the Killing Dao Esoterica, the significance would be extraordinary.
Hai Shang You Ruo's heart trembled. "Are you saying that this Xuan Yi might not be his true body? That Xuan Yi used Infinite-level divine matter and part of his own flesh and blood to refine a doppelganger? How is that possible? Even a Divine King's doppelganger couldn't be this powerful."
Zhang Ruochen countered, "What if Xuan Yi cultivated the 'Three Corpses Refining Dao'? Then each doppelganger wouldn't be much weaker than the original."
"Impossible. The technique Xuan Yi cultivated is not the 'Three Corpses Refining Dao.' But..." Hai Shang You Ruo thought of something. "But it's possible that he comprehended the 'Three Corpses Refining Dao' and refined a doppelganger. To ensure the doppelganger was strong enough, he not only used Infinite-level divine matter but also split off a large amount of flesh and blood, divine soul, and even esoterica."
"But how much time and resources would such a doppelganger take to cultivate?"
"Whoosh!"
Xue Jue War God descended like a bolt of lightning. "No need to speculate. The war at the second Starry Sky Defense Line has already erupted. The Hell Realm army has breached the defense line. This Xuan Yi stayed behind to fight to the death, not out of stupidity, but because he was buying time."
Zhang Ruochen was not surprised. After all, the true body could perceive everything the doppelganger experienced. If Xuan Yi truly had another true body, he would naturally know that Jia Tian Xia, this key figure, had been exposed.
And those members of the Quantity Organization, upon hearing that Xuan Yi was Liang Ji, would naturally follow his lead.
"In the end, the Quantity Organization succeeded. I should have realized something was wrong when Xuan Yi didn't try to escape," Zhang Ruochen sighed.