# Chapter 3266: The Female Emperor's Strength
"What did you say? Self-immolate spiritual power thoughts?"
Zhang Ruochen's brows furrowed tightly, then darkened somewhat. He really wanted to drag Xiu Chen Heavenly God out of the sundial and give her a good beating.
The secret technique she spoke of was for Zhang Ruochen to burn his spiritual power thoughts, forcibly elevating his spiritual power in a short time to suppress the two Thunder Clan experts with the Yin Yang Eighteen Formations.
After all, back then, Xumi Saint Monk had relied on his powerful spiritual power and the Yin Yang Eighteen Formations to single-handedly battle divine kings without falling behind.
According to Xiu Chen Heavenly God's estimation, with Zhang Ruochen's current peak eightieth-level spiritual power intensity, after using her secret technique, he could briefly raise his spiritual power to around eighty-third level.
But the secret technique would consume spiritual power thoughts.
After it ended, Zhang Ruochen's spirit would be listless for a period, and his spiritual power intensity would probably drop to the early eightieth level.
What a deceptive secret art!
Moreover, Xiu Chen Heavenly God kept saying "probably," "possibly," "maybe." Zhang Ruochen seriously suspected the side effects were even more exaggerated than she described.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God said, "Secret techniques always come with a price. Power cannot come from nowhere. Raising spiritual power by three levels in a short time—what a forbidden great art this is. No matter the cost, countless spiritual power gods would be willing to learn it."
"Shut up," Zhang Ruochen said.
How difficult was spiritual power cultivation? Zhang Ruochen had been able to quickly cultivate to the eightieth level mainly by relying on heaven-defying opportunities like the Whispering Secret Realm, and unparalleled medicinal treasures like spiritual power divine pills.
If he had only relied on gradual accumulation and cultivation, Zhang Ruochen, in the Heavenly Venerable's tomb, had spent six thousand years just to raise his spiritual power from the early eightieth level to the peak eightieth level.
For the vast majority of spiritual power gods, this was already a frighteningly fast speed!
What deceptive secret technique? After using it, his spiritual power would actually regress significantly. If it were a life-or-death crisis, Zhang Ruochen might use it.
For now, he would wait and see. Perhaps there were other, better methods.
Qiangu Nüdi was very decisive, like an exiled immortal descending to the mortal world. Her jade fingers formed a sword formula, pointing toward the sky. Immediately, countless sword rains enveloped Lei Yu and Lei Suling.
"Shua shua!"
Sword qi numbered in the billions, sealing off space.
She had the momentum to single-handedly battle two powerful experts. Her gaze was sharp, looking down on all heroes under heaven, worthy of the title "Female Emperor."
Lei Yu and Lei Suling—one represented the martial peak of the Thunder Clan, the other the spiritual power peak of the Thunder Clan. The confidence and pride in their hearts went without saying.
Such a small scene before them—how could it be worth their attention?
They represented the face of the Thunder Clan below the Infinite Realm.
Lei Yu took out a war hammer the size of a house. Just holding the hammer in his hand, his battle intent erupted, and a thundercloud condensed, clashing with the sword rain falling from the sky.
"Boom rumble!"
Divine power collided, heaven and earth boiled.
Lei Yu seemed to have his head touching the sky and his feet on the ground, spitting divine radiance from his mouth. He said, "The emergence of Sword Dao Infinite means the Sword Realm and Sword Divine Temple have truly appeared. If you want to fight, we have no fear. But once the battle fluctuations of this fight spread, the Sword Realm will no longer be a secret."
"Wouldn't the Thunder Clan's existence also be exposed? Are you truly without fear?" Qiangu Nüdi spoke with him across the void, her posture like a sharp, straight immortal peak, her white dress spotless and pure, a blue jade belt binding her long hair.
She had both sharpness and a graceful, ethereal quality.
Lei Yu said, "Why don't we retreat here and keep each other's secrets? Actually, the Thunder Clan and the Sword Realm should cooperate, not be enemies."
"If you want to cooperate, that's fine. Come with us to the Sword Realm now, and we'll talk slowly there." Qiangu Nüdi withdrew her sword qi, the sharpness on her body dissipating, emitting a gentle and beautiful holy spiritual radiance.
"Fine!"
Lei Yu put away his war hammer, his divine body shrinking.
Lei Suling reached out and closed her hand. The lightning cage, which had been the size of a star, became only the size of a walnut, held in her palm. Cang Jue and Huang were still trapped inside, becoming hostages.
Cang Jue was at the Soul Stop realm, yet he couldn't break the lightning cage, showing how terrifyingly powerful Lei Suling was.
A group of people stepped on divine spirit steps, entering the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain.
After traveling just over a billion miles, Lei Yu struck first. Divine lightning interwove on his body, and he punched at Qiangu Nüdi, who was right beside him.
Qiangu Nüdi seemed to have expected this. On her pale white skin, a large number of time imprint light points surged out, turning into a sea of light.
It was the Absolute Self Time Imprint!
The seemingly close punch became slower and slower. Time near the Female Emperor's space seemed to stagnate, and the divine power found it difficult to break through.
Lei Yu's face changed in shock.
In fact, both sides were very clear. There was simply no possibility of cooperation between the Thunder Clan and the Sword Realm.
The reason the Female Emperor issued the invitation, and the reason Lei Yu and Lei Suling agreed to the invitation, was simply to change the battlefield, to avoid being known by the gods of the Heavenly Court and Hell.
Moreover, Lei Yu had deeper considerations.
Although the Thunder Clan had not emerged, they had always been hidden in the shadows, having information about some key figures in the world. They knew that although the Female Emperor was young, having only cultivated for one eon, she possessed a large amount of Time Esoterica and a time divine artifact.
If they fought at a distance, they would certainly suffer.
By launching a close-range surprise attack, Lei Yu could exploit the advantage of his powerful physical body, using his strength to attack her weakness.
The Female Emperor's alertness and her use of the Way of Time exceeded his expectations. She slowly turned, her profile distinct, with long eyelashes, bright starry eyes, and even each strand of flowing green hair could be counted.
"Shua!"
Suddenly, the Female Emperor's speed greatly increased like lightning, and she thrust a sword into Lei Yu's chest.
The sword was a light sword condensed from Sword Dao rules, over ten feet long.
From within Lei Yu's divine robe came rumbling thunder sounds, and his chest erupted with dazzling electric light.
"Pu chi!"
The divine robe shattered, blood light flashed.
Lei Yu flew backward. He had never dreamed that, with his cultivation, having struck first, he would be wounded by Qiangu Nüdi's sword.
"You... your cultivation has reached Soul Stop!"
Lei Yu was very shocked. Qiangu Nüdi's physical strength was extremely powerful, not weaker than his, reaching forty percent of the Infinite level.
It must be known that the vast majority of Tai Xu peak great gods had their physical bodies trapped below ten percent of the Infinite level. Those who could exceed ten percent were few and far between.
A great eruption of physical strength, rapid growth, all occurred at Soul Stop or Heart Stop, relying on time accumulation.
That was why the difference between the Body Stop realm and ordinary Tai Xu peak was often not large. But the strength gap between the Soul Stop realm and the Body Stop realm was like the difference between heaven and earth.
Those who could enter the various rankings of the "Great God Treatise" were almost all at Soul Stop and Heart Stop realms.
"Shua shua!"
Qiangu Nüdi's second sword slashed out, countless sword qi landing on Lei Yu's body, engulfing his divine form.
In an instant, she had already slashed out dozens of swords. Sword qi and time imprint light points flew out together, completely suppressing Lei Yu, beating him until he turned into a thunderball, only able to defend passively.
Lei Suling raised her staff and had just launched a spiritual power attack.
A ten-thousand-mile small world blocked her in front.
It was the Ten Thousand Miles Mountains and Rivers Formation Diagram. In the diagram, the four Tai Xu realm old Daoists of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization simultaneously released divine qi and rules, constantly changing positions and hand seals.
"What fast cultivation speed. Hmph, it must be because she got my Time Esoterica and Time Source Pearl. With the empowerment of time power, that's why she's so formidable," Xiu Chen Heavenly God said.
Zhang Ruochen was not surprised at all. The Female Emperor was already exceptionally talented. Having mastered a time divine artifact and a large amount of Time Esoterica, it would be strange if she didn't have such cultivation.
As for physical strength...
With her Thousand Bones Body, how could her physical strength be weak?
Lei Yu's cultivation, however, surprised Zhang Ruochen quite a bit. He was very powerful, always able to defend against the Female Emperor's sword light, not weaker than Huang E Divine Lord. He was definitely an existence that could enter the comprehensive ranking of the "Great God Treatise."
This was just the tip of the iceberg of the Thunder Clan. The Thunder Clan's strength was daunting.
Zhang Ruochen said, "See that? The Female Emperor is so powerful. Getting back the Time Source Pearl will be as difficult as ascending to heaven. What good secret techniques do you have? Hurry up and teach me."
"Boom!"
The lightning cage suddenly erupted, becoming millions of miles in diameter, turning into a lightning star. It struck the Ten Thousand Miles Mountains and Rivers Formation Diagram, causing countless cracks, and it fell into the dark, boundless void world.
In the formation diagram, the four Tai Xu realm old Daoists of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization all spat out blood, each suffering not light injuries.
Even with the power of the formation diagram, they were no match for Lei Suling.
Lei Suling's spiritual power intensity, compared to the Four Great Ones and Wu Yue, was not small in gap, just entering the eighty-fourth level. But such spiritual power surpassed countless divine kings and divine venerables. With the advantage of the lightning cage divine formation, her combat power was naturally extraordinary.
In fact, the vast majority of martial gods, after becoming gods, would not deliberately cultivate spiritual power anymore—it was too time-consuming. Instead, they focused on cultivating their divine souls.
As long as their divine souls were strong enough, they could resist spiritual power attacks and also probe and perceive the outside world.
Divine souls could assist martial arts and enhance combat power. But spiritual power was another path of cultivation, completely separate from martial arts. After having a divine soul, cultivating spiritual power would be very cumbersome.
Unless it was a god interested in alchemy, artifact refining, formations... and other such arts, they would continue to cultivate spiritual power.
Of course, in many aspects, divine souls had limitations and couldn't compare to spiritual power. But for combat alone, cultivating the divine soul was sufficient!
Reaching the eighty-fourth level of spiritual power was a transcendent existence in any clan of the Hell Realm, as rare as divine kings and divine venerables. At certain specific times, it was enough to sit on equal footing with divine kings and divine venerables, helping them solve problems and do things they couldn't do.
The electric pattern on Lei Suling's forehead grew brighter and brighter. She launched a spiritual power attack, crossing time and space from the spiritual power level, directly attacking the Female Emperor's divine soul.
"Hua!"
A vast Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram appeared, enveloping her.
In the diagram, the rules of heaven and earth were fierce and chaotic, washing away her spiritual power attack.
Lei Suling's heart trembled inwardly. This Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram came too suddenly. If it were another god releasing their divine realm world or spiritual power field, she could sense it in advance and then avoid it.
But the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram seemed to be one with heaven and earth, impossible to sense in advance.
Zhang Ruochen stood atop Shaoyang Divine Mountain, six swords suspended in the air, ethereal and transcendent, saying, "Your opponent is me!"
"Just you?"
Lei Suling rapidly rose up, electric light flowing through her hair strands. She manipulated the star-sized lightning cage forward, directly colliding with the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram.
At Shaoyin, the center of the Origin Divine Sea, Xiu Chen Heavenly God's figure appeared, saying, "And what about adding me, this god?"
The Wuji Divine Dao was too profound. It could continuously absorb the heaven and earth spiritual qi, heaven and earth holy qi, heaven and earth divine qi, and even the rules of heaven and earth from the universe, flowing into Shaoyin and converging toward Xiu Chen Heavenly God.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God felt as if she had returned to her peak, once again possessing the ability to suppress a region of heaven and earth. She was full of confidence, even more spirited than Zhang Ruochen.
"Eighty-fourth level spiritual power? Put it ten thousand years ago, this god could suppress it with a flip of the hand. Today, let you, this junior, witness the means of a heavenly god!"
Xiu Chen Heavenly God's entire body glowed. The sundial was pushed to its extreme, forming rivers of time, emitting ear-splitting water flow sounds.
...
At the Starry Sky Defense Line, great worlds lay in array, stars countless.
Billions of cultivators flew about, like fireflies in the dark universe.
At the location of the Witch God Civilization, the defense line had been breached at a gap. The Hell Realm's army poured in endlessly. Gods led the way, divine artifacts clashed, and battle formations advanced forward.
On the vast battlefield, planets were annihilated every moment, and countless Saint realm cultivators turned to dust.
Feng Tian stood in the void, wearing a veil, her phoenix eyes calm as water. Across billions of miles of star sea, she gazed at the raging battlefield. Space was constantly being torn apart, heaven and earth seemed about to shatter.
"Have you ever seen such a magnificent scroll painting before?" Feng Tian said.
Mu Lingxi stood behind her, saying, "In Feng Tian's eyes, is this just a scroll painting?"
"In the world, only the self is the most real. What difference is there between the outside world and a scroll painting? No matter how heaven and earth evolve, it is just a scene." Feng Tian's words were filled with ruthlessness, looking at all things in the world as if they were dead objects.
Even though after her nirvana, she had given birth to a new body, the power within her had transformed from death to life, undergoing some kind of transcendent transformation that she couldn't yet understand.
But years of philosophy and spiritual consciousness would not easily change.
Hai Shang Youruo crossed space, appearing before Feng Tian, bowing, and said, "I beg Feng Tian to reconsider. If you make a move, you will certainly alert the watchers of the Heavenly Court."
"The watchers of the Heavenly Court will naturally be dealt with by the Undying War God," Feng Tian said.
Hai Shang Youruo pleaded again, saying, "Xuan Yi is very likely a member of the Thunder Clan. If the Starry Sky Battlefield is broken, the happiest will be the Quantity Organization and the Thunder Clan. For the greater good..."
"The greater good is that once the Starry Sky Defense Line is broken, the Hell Realm's army can advance unimpeded, with no further obstacles. And I, this heavenly god, will not only break the Starry Sky Defense Line but also go to the Heavenly Court today."
Feng Tian's will was firm, her gaze indifferent, saying, "Unless the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable is still in the world, otherwise the Thunder Clan is nothing more than a petty thief hiding in the shadows, not worth mentioning. Ten thousand years ago, I feared no one. There's no reason that, ten thousand years later, I should act with my hands tied."
"The Infinite Northern Expedition is precisely the time to change heaven and earth. Who dares to stop me?"
"Hua!"
Feng Tian soared up, her body burning, turning into a phoenix, emitting multicolored divine radiance, instantly illuminating the entire universe, flying straight toward the Starry Sky Defense Line.
Each phoenix feather was like a divine river, flowing with light and color.
Before her true body had even arrived, one after another divine formations outside the defense line shattered, one by one. Stars turned into fireballs and fell. The divine patterns laid down by the Heavenly Venerables and divine kings and divine venerables were pierced through by seven divine artifacts.
Ten thousand years ago, Feng Tian, with her own strength, had destroyed over a hundred great worlds, killing gods numbering in the hundreds, not thousands. All seven divine artifacts were seized.
In terms of the number of divine artifacts she controlled, few Heavenly Venerables surpassed her. After all, heavenly gods with such a heavy killing nature were always a minority.
She had stepped on endless bones to achieve her current cultivation.
Great worlds were her steps to ascend to heaven. Wherever she went, she would bring death. She was one of the most feared existences of the Heavenly Court, and even of the Hell Realm's gods!
All seven divine artifacts were complete. Under the activation of phoenix divine breath, the power they erupted was no different from seven divine venerables simultaneously unleashing divine abilities.
"Bang bang!"
Feng Tian's true body was still far away, but the defense line was pushed back layer by layer. Heavenly Court gods continuously exploded, turning into clouds of blood mist.