# Chapter 3361: Refining and Killing a God King
Divine power fluctuations surged, and space shook violently.
Feixue God King, who had fled into the Illuminating Heaven Mirror, was like one binding herself. Unable to contend with Yu God King, she was drawn into the Nine Palaces Divine Seal. The sky-filling (mantian) rules divine patterns were swallowed by the divine seal!
As long as Feixue God King remained trapped in the Illuminating Heaven Mirror, there was no fear of her self-detonating her divine source.
Yu God King retrieved the Nine Palaces Divine Seal and immediately channeled the divine qi from his God King World, pouring it continuously into the divine seal. From within the seal, nine distinct types of god-refining power surged toward the Illuminating Heaven Mirror.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the nine-colored cloud mass within the Nine Palaces Divine Seal and noticed that the Illuminating Heaven Mirror was still flickering with radiance. The spiritual wills of Yu God King and Feixue God King were locked in fierce conflict.
To completely refine and kill Feixue God King, it would likely be difficult to accomplish without tens of thousands of years.
Yu God King continued inscribing ancient divine patterns, forming seals to suppress Feixue God King firmly.
"The day I break through this seal and escape will be the day the Heavenly Beginning Civilization is destroyed," Feixue God King's voice grew increasingly faint, pressed down beneath the Nine Palaces.
Zhang Ruochen said, "When the Death God Temple Hall Master and Qingtian return from the North Marsh Great Wall, they might be able to sense Feixue God King's location. We could use the Earth Cauldron to refine and kill her, eliminating future trouble."
Although the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain was deep and isolated, blocking detection, who knew whether Feixue God King and her pursuers had left any marks along the way?
Moreover, a God King's heavenly secrets were powerful. An existence like Qingtian could easily follow the path she had walked, tracking the heavenly secrets on her body to find her sealed location.
Only complete refinement and killing would minimize the risk.
Yu God King nodded lightly. "Let's deal with Guo God King first."
Guo God King was already at his last gasp. Under the assault of the Heavenly Staircase and Grandmaster Taiqing, his ghost body had exploded repeatedly. Several times he had tried to flee, only to be intercepted by Ji Fanxin, Zhang Ruochen, and Yu God King.
Guo God King, with disheveled hair and frantic rage, said, "This Heavenly Staircase is very strange. Its true strength is far greater than what you see. If I fall here, none of you will get off easy. Why don't we make peace, let bygones be bygones, and join forces to deal with... it..."
"Boom!"
A stone step struck down heavily, hitting Guo God King on the head.
Even a God King's skull couldn't withstand it, shattering for who knew how many times.
The stone steps fell like chaotic swords, completely shattering Guo God King's ghost body.
It was impossible to tell what sword technique it was using—very chaotic—but the power was terrifying. Zhang Ruochen suspected that if a few stone steps struck him, he would turn into a cloud of blood mist, with no intact bones remaining.
Chi Xuan Ghost Lord sighed in admiration. "This deity once had the honor of witnessing the Stone Clan's Peacock God Venerable in action. She is the master of the Peacock God Star, and her combat power is probably no more than this. Just the stone steps outside the Sword God Temple are this absurdly strong. Could the foundation of the Sword God Temple rival one of the great clans of the Hell Realm?"
The masters of the ten great god stars of the Stone Clan were the strongest beneath the Stone Clan's Patriarch and the Stone God Temple Hall Master—true giants standing at the very pinnacle of the universe.
"How could it be that terrifying? This Heavenly Staircase has remained undecayed for who knows how many billions of years, clearly made of extraordinary stone material, which is why its combat power is so fearsome," Xiao Hei analyzed with an air of authority.
Affected by the spatial structure and the power of the Sword God Temple, the combat power of the God Kings here did not spread very far. If this were the outside world, the starry sky would have shattered long ago, and heaven and earth turned upside down.
Zhang Ruochen had lent the Six Swords to Grandmaster Taiqing.
Grandmaster Taiqing was preparing to end the battle, wielding the Six Swords as he flew toward the center of the battle between the Heavenly Staircase and Guo God King. This was the confidence that came from having sufficiently powerful cultivation.
"If Guo God King self-detonates his divine source, it will be dangerous!" said a Grand Void Great God, his expression solemn.
Chi Yao said, "If a God King successfully self-detonates his divine source, even if we stand a thousand miles away, there would still be little chance of survival."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Guo God King is too severely injured. His divine soul is less than fifty percent of its peak. Moreover, the Heavenly Staircase and Grandmaster Taiqing both have powerful soul strength; they won't give him a chance to self-detonate his divine source."
Xiao Hei was very confident. "Relax. Cultivating to become a God King is no easy feat. Who would be willing to die? If Guo God King had the courage to self-detonate his divine source, he would have done it long ago!"
The void beneath the Sword God Temple was enveloped by the divine power of the three powerhouses, with endless booming sounds.
Gradually, only Yu God King, Ji Fanxin, and Zhang Ruochen could still see the battle.
They had entered the final critical moment.
Guo God King's voice, filled with unwillingness and resentment, resounded through heaven and earth: "Since you won't give me a way to live... then none of you will live either..."
The gods present all changed color.
Xiao Hei, who had been so calm and composed earlier, immediately hid behind Zhang Ruochen.
Yu God King released his divine soul, channeling powerful spiritual will toward Guo God King.
Ji Fanxin cast a spiritual power divine technique, causing a heavenly god's silhouette to appear directly within Guo God King's mind.
Clearly, no matter how confident they seemed, they were still very worried. If Guo God King successfully self-detonated his divine source, everyone would die!
"Whoosh!"
Within that chaotic divine power cloud mass, a sword light that connected heaven and earth shot out, tearing through Guo God King's divine sea.
The next moment, Guo God King's soul mist fled in all directions.
"You won't escape."
Ji Fanxin struck the Black Water Divine Staff heavily downward.
The Yin Yang Eighteen Formations expanded outward, suppressing the escaping soul mist into the eighteen formation worlds.
Zhang Ruochen and Yu God King showed no joy; their expressions grew even more solemn. Then, they rushed out of the Yin Yang Eighteen Formations, flying out like two bolts of lightning.
The Heavenly Staircase had made its move, attacking Grandmaster Taiqing.
Beneath the Sword God Temple, a large expanse of void became filled with crisscrossing sword qi.
Even the light rain falling from the divine tree was scattered.
The aura emanating from the Heavenly Staircase surged dramatically. Before Zhang Ruochen and Yu God King could arrive, Grandmaster Taiqing was forced back, blood staining his lips and beard.
The three joined forces and counterattacked.
Yu God King could not use the Nine Palaces Divine Seal, but he had collected the Yulan Ghost City. Wielding the ghost city, he clashed with the flying stone steps. Ghost qi and sword qi erupted in all directions, like surging tidal waves.
Zhang Ruochen did not wear his attached armor but instead released the Earth Cauldron.
He entered the Earth Cauldron, mobilizing the divine qi within his body to its maximum extent, causing the ancient world patterns on the cauldron's body to detach, forming a phantom image that continuously approached the Heavenly Staircase.
He planned to get close and then use the Heavenly Venerable Scroll to deliver a vicious blow.
"Boom!"
A stone step struck the phantom image of the ancient world. The Earth Cauldron trembled violently, its body emitting a deafening "humming" sound.
The power was too strong!
Zhang Ruochen secretly felt grateful that he had been cautious enough to hide inside the Earth Cauldron in advance.
If he had been outside, that single strike would have severely injured him.
With his current cultivation at the Great God realm, participating in this level of combat was practically suicide. But faced with the danger and the opportunities within the Sword God Temple, he had to contribute his share.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
...
The booming sounds continued without end, and blood flowed from Zhang Ruochen's seven orifices.
He was getting closer!
Outside, Yu God King and Grandmaster Taiqing were both going all out, helping Zhang Ruochen clear the way.
"You are too reckless. None of you will leave today," the voice of the Heavenly Staircase rang in Zhang Ruochen's ears.
It wasn't a real voice, but a soul thought.
Yu God King stood within the Yulan Ghost City, activating one divine formation after another. Ghost mist spread, turning into an ocean of yin souls. He said, "You are nothing but a stone staircase that has been trampled upon by sword cultivators of the world for years outside the Sword God Temple. Do you truly believe you are an exalted God Venerable? When we join forces, we will suppress you."
From within the Heavenly Staircase, a storm of soul power erupted, carrying a furious roar.
Yu God King unleashed the Heavenly Beginning Civilization's number one divine ability technique, Chaos Heaven Shifting Earth.
The void became a chaotic blur, time and space thrown into disorder, enveloping all the stone steps. Heavenly and earthly power from all directions converged from outside to inside, striking the stone steps.
With Yu God King's cultivation, if this were the outside world, this technique could compress an entire starfield into the palm of his hand.
Grandmaster Taiqing drove the six divine swords like six blazing suns, flames spreading a thousand miles, slashing down continuously, causing some of the stone steps to show signs of cracking.
Taking this opportunity, Zhang Ruochen leaped out of the Earth Cauldron and unfurled the Heavenly Venerable Scroll.
Hao Tian's divine power erupted, and one by one, the Heavenly Venerable divine characters flew out. Instantly, large sections of the Heavenly Staircase shattered, turning into rubble.
Clearly startled by Hao Tian's divine power, the Heavenly Staircase quickly gathered the rubble, switching from offense to defense, rapidly pulling away from Zhang Ruochen.
The rubble continuously re-coalesced, forming a staircase shape.
"Another powerful reinforcement has arrived. Together, we can suppress the Heavenly Staircase," Grandmaster Taiqing said.
The sound of sword cries was sharp and piercing.
A jade sword flew in from the darkness, striking heavily against the Heavenly Staircase.
Tens of millions of sword qi followed in its wake.
Grandmaster Yuqing flew in from the darkness, his white beard flowing, bearing the air of an immortal, yet radiating sharpness.
The stone steps piled together, forming a sword shape, like a sword mountain. It vanished into the chaotic space, fleeing toward the Sword God Temple.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes flickered with Truth Essence radiance as he carefully observed the traces of the Heavenly Staircase's escape, calculating and studying.
Yu God King and Grandmaster Taiqing did not pursue. In their hearts, they were actually very wary of the Heavenly Staircase, not as relaxed as they appeared on the surface.
Chi Yao asked, "Grandmaster Yuqing, how did you get here?"
Grandmaster Yuqing withdrew his jade sword. "When I saw that you had not arrived at the Sword Realm for so long, I knew something must have gone wrong. If you encountered a powerful enemy, you would surely lure them to the Sword God Temple—that wasn't hard to guess."
Grandmaster Yuqing and the gods of the Hundred Clans Royal City had used a Space Teleportation Array to reach the Sword Realm quickly.
But Zhang Ruochen and the others had been flying slowly for over three years.
Chi Yao recounted the events of the journey.
The more Grandmaster Yuqing heard, the more solemn his expression became. "So, you're saying that Stone Clan's Shikai God King escaped?"
"He didn't escape. He fell into a spatial rift in the chaotic space zone," Yu God King said.
Zhang Ruochen noticed that Grandmaster Taiqing's expression was unusual, as if searching for something. He asked, "Grandmaster, what's wrong?"
"Guo God King is gone!"
Grandmaster Taiqing said, "During the earlier clash, although I broke through his divine sea with a single sword strike, it only grazed the edge of his divine sea. It did not completely shatter it."
"Afterward, the Heavenly Staircase attacked me, so I couldn't spare any attention to deal with Guo God King."
Yu God King and Zhang Ruochen both looked toward Ji Fanxin.
After all, earlier, they had all regarded the Heavenly Staircase as the primary threat, while Ji Fanxin was the one overseeing the overall situation from behind.
Ji Fanxin shook her head. "Guo God King definitely did not escape. Otherwise, I would have sensed it."
Then, she extracted a portion of Guo God King's soul mist that had been suppressed within the Yin Yang Eighteen Formations, holding it in her palm as she used her spiritual power to calculate.
But there was no result.
Zhang Ruochen said, "This place is very strange. There is the power of the Sword Origin, chaotic time and space, and unknown dark forces—any of these could interfere with calculations. But if Guo God King did not escape, then he must have chosen to risk death to find life, quietly sneaking into the Sword God Temple while we were clashing with the Heavenly Staircase."
"No matter what, we must eliminate this old ghost. Otherwise, if Fengdu Dadi is drawn here, the trouble will be immense," Yu God King said.
Next, Yu God King released Feixue God King from the Nine Palaces Divine Seal, and Zhang Ruochen used the Earth Cauldron to directly refine and kill her.
With the number one god-killing weapon in heaven and earth in hand, even a God King could not withstand it.
Afterward, the group set out, heading toward the Sword God Temple. Only Yu God King, carrying Xinghuantian, returned to the Sword Realm. That side required a Boundless realm cultivator to guard it.
No longer burdened by carrying Xinghuantian, Xiu Chen Heavenly God was completely relaxed and ready to make a big move.
Previously, Zhang Ruochen had been suppressing her, not giving her soul divine pills. But now the situation was different. Xiu Chen Heavenly God felt that Zhang Ruochen would surely need her, and her opportunity to improve her cultivation had arrived!