# Chapter 3334: Too Insidious
Princess Shenba bit her finger, using divine blood to draw a shield mark that blocked the incoming sword light.
At the same time, her spiritual power attack erupted, striking directly at Ming Jianshen's divine soul.
A divine lamp seemed to shine within Ming Jianshen's brow, light flickering, as sword sounds resonated around him.
"I am the number one sword cultivator under heaven, protected by a peerless sword soul. Spiritual power attacks are what I fear least."
In truth, Ming Jianshen was struggling greatly; given enough time, his sword soul would definitely fail to hold.
But he would not give Princess Shenba time. The distance closed further, bringing him within a hundred zhang.
Within the spiritual power domain, Purple Calamity Divine Thunder, Purifying Divine Flame, thousands of divine shadows... various attacks rained down upon Ming Jianshen, but could not stop his advance.
Princess Shenba's face finally showed panic. She cried out sharply, "Aren't you afraid I will self-detonate my divine heart?"
Lihen Ancient God stood in the distance, a mocking smile on his face.
"Shua!"
Dense talisman patterns emerged on Princess Shenba's body. She transformed into a streak of light, flying to the right in desperate escape.
But just as she rushed out, one of Ming Jianshen's clones swung his sword, forcing her back.
Loud, hearty laughter echoed through the dark void.
"Princess, it has been a long time. Do you still remember this poor Daoist?"
A white-bearded old Daoist in a yellow robe, stepping on a ten-thousand-li great talisman, appeared in the starry sky to Princess Shenba's right.
He was the number one spiritual power expert of Talisman Spirit Realm, Huang Daozi.
"The Lord of Soul Realm pays respects to Princess Shenba."
The Lord of Soul Realm stood within a vast sea of dark yin souls, using the same tone from a hundred thousand years ago to greet Princess Shenba.
In the past, in the eyes of the gods of the Western Universe's various realms, Princess Shenba was as noble as the Heavenly Venerable's daughter. The status of the Lord of Soul Realm and Huang Daozi was far beneath hers; they had to humble themselves.
The Second Elder of Array Destruction Palace appeared, controlling a magnificent divine formation above.
Having witnessed the power of Princess Shenba's spiritual power, the Second Elder had brought a palace-guarding divine formation from Array Destruction Palace. It was carried by one hundred hollowed-out golden qilin spheres bearing formation patterns, forged by a great existence from Array Destruction Palace's history whose spiritual power approached Heaven Round Lack Deficiency, passed down to the present day.
This formation was originally called the "Thousand Qilin Divine Formation." The complete formation required one thousand hollowed-out golden qilin spheres. Once fully activated, it could contend with the Heavens.
Unfortunately, over many generations of inheritance, countless qilin spheres had been destroyed. Now only a hundred remained, their power far less than legend described.
Lihen Ancient God laughed, "Someone suppresses your soul, someone counters with formations, someone suppresses with talismans. How can you self-detonate your divine heart? Shenba, you cannot escape today. Surrender and write out the 'Tongtian Record.' Considering our past friendship, we will give you a quick death!"
"You underestimate a god with peak eighty-fourth rank spiritual power too much."
Princess Shenba's spiritual power erupted wildly, like rivers surging, like oceans churning, spreading in all directions.
Even Ming Jianshen immediately retreated, avoiding the brunt of it.
The Second Elder of Array Destruction Palace controlled the Hundred Qilin Divine Formation, pressing down to stabilize space and suppress the spiritual power storm. Qilin roars echoed, disrupting Princess Shenba's spirit.
The ten-thousand-li great talisman beneath Huang Daozi's feet emitted dazzling talisman light, facing the spiritual power storm head-on.
The Lord of Soul Realm launched a soul attack.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God urged, "We should act now. Princess Shenba definitely cannot hold out. If we don't act, Wen Tianjun's secret treasury will be taken by them!"
"What's the rush?"
Zhang Ruochen was very patient, not making a move.
Princess Shenba retreated step by step until she reached beneath the semi-transparent divine gate. Using her own blood as a catalyst, she cried out, "Father, only you can save your daughter today!"
After absorbing the blood, the divine gate actually opened.
Princess Shenba immediately rushed inside.
"It's useless. Wen Tianjun has already fallen. No one can save you."
Ming Jianshen was the first to charge through the divine gate, pursuing her.
Lihen Ancient God was excited, unwilling to fall behind, following closely.
Huang Daozi and the Lord of Soul Realm were even more covetous of Wen Tianjun's secret treasury. This was a great opportunity to advance their cultivation, so they immediately pursued.
According to the original plan, the Second Elder of Array Destruction Palace was to control the Hundred Qilin Divine Formation and remain outside, guarding against other variables.
But the Second Elder knew these people's nature best. Once they obtained the Tongtian Record, Tongtian Divine Pill, and Wen Tianjun's secret treasury, they would definitely divide the best among themselves.
In the end, they would give him a few worthless items at most.
After much consideration, the Second Elder put away the one hundred hollowed-out golden qilin spheres and rushed through the divine gate.
But the moment he entered, the Second Elder frantically fled back out, cursing, "This is too much! The gods of Xinghuantian and Kunlun Realm are too insidious! Where is their morality?"
Dense formation inscriptions appeared on the divine gate, but the Second Elder broke through them all.
As one of the world's most knowledgeable gods in formations, he had this ability.
But just as he escaped, the Second Elder saw Zhang Ruochen and Xiu Chen Heavenly God appearing before him.
He was about to unleash the one hundred hollowed-out golden qilin spheres...
Zhang Ruochen's figure flickered, appearing before him.
The blood-dripping sword in his hand pressed against the position of the Second Elder's divine heart.
Although the Second Elder's spiritual power was extremely powerful, he now found he could not mobilize it.
If he did, Zhang Ruochen would pierce through his divine heart with one strike.
Worse still, affected by the blood-dripping sword, the blood at his heart location boiled violently, as if his heart was about to explode.
He dared not move!
The Second Elder stared at Zhang Ruochen, sweat beading on his forehead.
"I'll go in first!"
Xiu Chen Heavenly God flashed past the Second Elder, rushing through the divine gate.
She did not know the specifics of Zhang Ruochen and Princess Shenba's plan, but from the current situation, this divine gate and the so-called Wen Tianjun's secret treasury were certainly a trap set by Zhang Ruochen.
"Impressive. I didn't expect your cultivation to have reached such a level..." the Second Elder said with difficulty.
"Puchi!"
The blood-dripping sword pierced through his heart.
Sealing his divine heart with the sword, Zhang Ruochen then threw him into the Earth Cauldron.
Zhang Ruochen walked through the divine gate.
Inside, divine formations filled everywhere, dark and chaotic. Various divine forces collided, with endless booming sounds.
At the very center stood a magnificent divine hall.
Above the hall was a Yaksha divine shadow tens of thousands of li long, its aura unparalleled, as if looking down upon the mortal world.
The entire void was covered with formation inscriptions. Lihen Ancient God, who had rushed in, had already been blasted into a bloody mist. Princess Shenba was channeling her spiritual power, attacking his divine soul, trying to completely annihilate him.
Yu Ling Shen stood outside the divine hall, channeling the hall's most fundamental power.
Xu Wenzhi and Li Mo Dashi stood at either end of the hall's roof, using their formidable spiritual power to control the various divine formations within the Yaksha Ancestor Divine Hall.
With the assistance of these two spiritual power masters, the power unleashed by the Yaksha Ancestor Divine Hall made even a top expert like Ming Jianshen tremble with fear.
Before tracking Princess Shenba, they had confirmed that the Tongtian Divine Hall had returned to Kunlun Realm and was under tight guard. That was why they were confident in capturing Princess Shenba.
But they had not expected the Yaksha Ancestor Divine Hall to appear here.
Huang Daozi struggled within his divine talisman, his ten-thousand-li great talisman compressed to only a few hundred li. Furious and humiliated, he cursed, "The gods of Xinghuantian and Hundred Clans Royal City are too shameless, using such despicable means to scheme against us. If you have the skill, fight one-on-one in an open and fair battle!"
The Lord of Soul Realm had released hundreds of billions of yin souls, but they were constantly being shattered by the formations. Even his own soul body had collapsed three times.
He was also furious, saying, "Shenba, you have changed. When did you ever act so insidiously? Have you forgotten how the Second Confucian Ancestor taught you?"
"Back then, Wen Tianjun was a hero of unparalleled valor. Who would have thought his daughter would even scheme against old friends? So when you invited me to seek the secret treasury, you were already harboring ill intentions." Lihen Ancient God roared, extremely angry.
Ming Jianshen displayed the bearing of a peerless sword cultivator. Using a sword path divine ability, he forced Xiu Chen Heavenly God back with one strike and charged toward the divine gate, just encountering Zhang Ruochen entering.
"Ming Jianshen, you won't be leaving today, will you?"
On Zhang Ruochen's arm, the fist gloves emitted blazing divine light.
Ming Jianshen's eyes were like swords. The sub-god-level supreme sacred artifact war sword in his hand thrust out with the speed of flowing light and lightning.
This strike carried the essence of Sword Seventeen.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen's fist struck the sword tip squarely.
The war sword in Ming Jianshen's hand rippled with wave-like vibrating force.
This incredibly powerful vibrating force traveled through the sword body to his arm.
The sleeve on Ming Jianshen's arm exploded completely, his body retreating rapidly.
When he stabilized himself, he found blood flowing from his arm.
The hand holding the sword trembled uncontrollably. He was shocked beyond words.
He suspected the person before him was not Zhang Ruochen, but some old monster of the Infinite Realm.
Zhang Ruochen, however, let out a soft exclamation, looking at his own fist with some confusion.
In this punch, he had used full force, executing the Immovable Wisdom King Fist. He had thought that even if he didn't blow up Ming Jianshen's body, he could at least break his arm.
Now, it had only caused a little bleeding, and the wound healed quickly.
"I didn't expect you, Ming Jianshen, to be so formidable. Could it be that you were deliberately hiding your strength before? Yes, that must be it. You are deep and calculating, a worthy opponent."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were full of admiration, his estimation of Ming Jianshen rising several notches.
Ming Jianshen was furious, unable to calm his mind.
This junior was truly hateful. He was the one who had been hiding his strength all along, setting up this deadly trap. If he hadn't obtained the feathered robe left by Xi Tian, he would probably have been severely wounded in one exchange.
And now this junior spoke these words, clearly from the victor's position, mocking and ridiculing him.
Ming Jianshen told himself not to be provoked into losing his reason. Holding his sword horizontally, he said, "Junior, you are far too arrogant. Do you truly believe everything is under your control? The outcome is still unknown!"
"Hua!"
Dark light radiated from Ming Jianshen's body. Black feathers grew out, covering his entire body.
His aura rose step by step, as if about to swallow heaven and earth.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God, who had pursued from behind, froze, feeling that Zhang Ruochen was right. Ming Jianshen was indeed very insidious, his depths terrifyingly profound. He must have been hiding his strength all along.
In terms of depth and wisdom, even Xuan Yi could not compare to him.
(Chapter End)