Chapter 3407: Lord of the Divine City, War God Nether Venerable
With Tai Shang and the Dragon Lord protecting the path, the Nether Hall Lord still entered Lihentian in person.
Does this mean something has happened in the real world?
A being of the Heavens like the Five Dragon Divine Emperor actually descended in person. While shocked, Zhang Ruochen and the others couldn't help but make many guesses.
The situation might be more critical than they imagined.
Desolate Heaven and Qiangu Nüdi immediately cast aside distracting thoughts, spread their hands flat, released their Divine Realm Worlds, calmed their minds, and entered a deep state of enlightenment.
After pondering for a moment, Zhang Ruochen asked, "Do we need to conceal our aura and hide?"
Concealing aura and hiding naturally meant no longer releasing the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram, no longer absorbing the power of heaven and earth, using concealment methods to hide in the void, and avoiding possible unknown dangers.
Desolate Heaven and Qiangu Nüdi had already cultivated their Quantity Bodies. Their Rule Divine Patterns and Divine Qi had already transformed. Only the final enlightenment remained. Concealing their aura and hiding would have no effect on them!
What it affected was only Zhang Ruochen.
The Dragon Lord said, "You are also about to condense your Quantity Body. You cannot afford to delay either, or there will be endless trouble. I will take you to the Time Torrent Zone now!"
To break through to the Infinite Realm, one must do it in one go and cannot stop midway.
It was like forging a divine weapon. If you stopped midway, many things would be ruined.
Zhang Ruochen's heart trembled slightly. "Is it so urgent? What exactly happened in the real world?"
The need to enter the Time Torrent Zone showed that a great crisis must have erupted in the real world, requiring them to break through as soon as possible.
The Dragon Lord and the Five Dragon Divine Emperor entering Lihentian in person to protect them clearly indicated they had made some huge sacrifice.
The Dragon Lord smiled without speaking, turned into a stream of light and dragon shadow, and broke through the air. Before long, he brought them to a Time Torrent Zone where the time ratio reached a hundred times.
In the torrent zone, there was a floating island dozens of miles long.
Passing through layers of formation inscriptions, the Dragon Lord appeared above the floating island. He waved his hand, and Zhang Ruochen, Desolate Heaven, Qiangu Nüdi, Chi Xingtian, and Yuyao landed on the ground.
"Two hundred years ago, Tai Shang set up a divine formation here, knowing that today would likely not be peaceful. But many things have still exceeded our expectations," the Dragon Lord said.
There were some things the Dragon Lord found inconvenient to say.
The reason Tai Shang had not let Desolate Heaven and Qiangu Nüdi enter this place to cultivate from the beginning was that his lifespan was truly running out. He could probably only make one more move.
If he protected Desolate Heaven and Qiangu Nüdi, who would protect Zhang Ruochen when he broke through in the future?
Zhang Ruochen wasted no time. He sat down cross-legged, raised both hands to the sky, and a Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram eighteen zhang in diameter manifested.
The Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram spun far faster than before, like a black-and-white millstone. Only Zhang Ruochen was at its center.
For hundreds of miles around, everything turned into a vortex.
Threads of the power of heaven and earth flowed like streams, continuously pouring into Zhang Ruochen's body. His divine body and divine soul were undergoing rapid transformation, and his body emitted an increasingly bright radiance.
The Dragon Lord nodded secretly. Truly the number one under heaven. With the Wuji Divine Dao, Zhang Ruochen's speed in breaking through to the Infinite Realm was more than ten times faster than Desolate Heaven and Qiangu Nüdi.
The Infinite Realm simply could not be a bottleneck for him.
Suddenly, the Dragon Lord turned his head to look into the distance, his pupils gradually contracting.
In the colorful void, the clouds suddenly stopped moving, the airflow disappeared, and even the rules of heaven and earth seemed to freeze, becoming eerily calm.
"What must come has finally come."
In the Dragon Lord's hand, the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower flickered, chaotic light flowing endlessly.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
...
Heavy footsteps sounded.
The void trembled, and waves of energy ripples came toward the Dragon Lord and the floating island.
Each ripple carried the shaking force to destroy stars and realms.
"A main god who cultivates both life and death, a future time ruler, and an unparalleled number one under heaven, all three breaking through to the Infinite Realm at the same time. If they succeed, in a few more eons, wouldn't this universe belong to the Kunlun Realm? No, it's the Sword Realm!" A voice sounded faintly, tinged with a hint of mockery.
A god with a body three thousand zhang tall walked from the end of space, each step covering one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred miles. His body exuded a heavy, domineering divine might. Before long, he had arrived nearby.
He had four arms, flowing black hair a thousand zhang long, and his black armor was cast with hundreds of skulls, like hundreds of heads hanging from his body.
The death qi erupting from him dyed everything within sight gray.
Yuyao's face changed. "It's him! How did he come?"
Chi Xingtian felt an overwhelming pressure bearing down on him, his body heavy. He couldn't help asking, "Who is it? It's not the Death God Temple Lord, is it?"
Yuyao glanced at him.
Chi Xingtian's heart nearly stopped. He really wanted to slap himself. Had he guessed right again?
"It's not the Death God Temple Lord."
Chi Xingtian breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest. "That's good! How could two Hall Lord-level figures come? Who could withstand that?"
"But it's almost the same as the Death God Temple Lord! He is one of the five great giants of the Death Clan, the Lord of the Divine City, who sits in the only divine city of the Death Clan. His authority is no weaker than the Death Clan Chief or the Death God Temple Lord. His cultivation is unfathomable. I once followed my master and saw him once in the Death Clan Divine City," Yuyao said.
Among the ten great clans of the Hell Realm, each clan had only one transcendent divine city, a gathering place for the clan's gods and Saint Realm cultivators. Anyone who could become the ruler of a divine city was undoubtedly a giant of the clan.
Chi Xingtian's expression gradually turned heavy as he looked at the two people confronting each other in the void, full of worry.
The Dragon Lord was indeed exceptionally talented. In just four eons of cultivation, he had entered the Great Unbound Infinite and could contend with the ancient fossils of the universe.
But this Lord of the Divine City of the Death Clan was a true ancient fossil, having lived for over a million years. He was a taboo figure in the eyes of the gods and a pillar supporting the clan.
The Dragon Lord remained calm and composed. "City Lord Yuan, do you think this world can still exist for a few more eons?"
"Who knows? Everyone says that fifty thousand eons have arrived and the universe will restart in destruction. But who says this is the fifty-thousandth eon? Maybe it's only the forty-nine thousand nine hundredth eon?"
The Lord of the Divine City stopped one divine step away. "Ji Wang, you have great courage. You didn't take them and flee. Are you going to fight me?"
The Dragon Lord curled his lips slightly. "Flee? Would that be useful? If you weren't absolutely certain, City Lord Yuan, why would you appear before me so quickly?"
"Fleeing is indeed useless."
A hoarse voice drifted from another direction.
The voice was extremely harsh, like wind blowing through cracks in stone, hoarse yet sharp.
A bone dragon covered in golden flames flew out from the clouds.
Standing on the bone dragon's head was a humanoid skeleton in white robes, with neat hair tied up in a green crown.
In his hand, he carried a simple knife about a zhang long. The blade was dark gold with a very deep blood groove. The cold qi it emitted caused ice peaks to form in the void.
"It's... it's him..."
Chi Xingtian stared fixedly at the simple knife in the white skeleton's hand, his neck turning cold. He was usually fearless, but at this moment, a deep fear surged from within, impossible to suppress.
Because ten thousand years ago, it was this knife that had cut off his head in one stroke.
The Dragon Lord stared intently at the bone dragon beneath the white skeleton, murderous light flashing in his eyes. Beneath his feet, a sea spanning millions of miles appeared. In the sea, waves surged, slapping down the clouds in the sky.
"Such strong emotional fluctuations? I thought you could stay as calm as before."
The white skeleton raised the simple knife in his hand, the blade's light illuminating all directions. "They say that among the nine sons of the Dragon Clan, you, Ji Wang, have the highest talent. You are a prodigy of the age, with the hope of contending for the Heavenly Venerable position. But I wonder if your cultivation has regressed over the years. Will you, like your elder brother, die under my blade and become a dragon bone mount?"
The Dragon Lord closed his eyes, gradually calming his mind.
Seeing that he could still control his emotions even like this, the white skeleton stopped provoking him with words. His arm fell, and with an arc that perfectly matched heaven and earth, he swung the knife down.
"Whoosh!"
The blade's light tore through the sky.
Countless rules surged within the blade's light, overwhelming, as if time and space were about to be cut open.
The Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower flew out, blocking the incoming blade's light. The sun and moon rotated, and a divine dragon rushed out of the tower, letting out a sky-shaking roar as it charged toward the white skeleton.
The white skeleton swung his knife casually.
A horizontal slash split the void directly into two layers, and the divine dragon was severed into five sections.
"Lend me a sword!"
The Dragon Lord extended his right hand.
"Clang!"
The Darkness Divine Sword flew out from Zhang Ruochen's body and landed in his hand.
Chi Xingtian wanted to hand over the Thirty-Six Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription Divine Stele to the Dragon Lord, but the Dragon Lord had already flown out, swinging the sword to strike at the white skeleton. The Darkness Divine Sword traced a crescent-like arc in the void.
"Boom!"
The white skeleton swung his knife to block the Darkness Divine Sword but felt a surging force coming at him. His body retreated from the bone dragon's head to its tail.
"Excellent! The dragon clan's physical body is indeed powerful. This sword of yours far surpasses your elder brother's. Unfortunately, the Darkness Divine Sword can only unleash its full power when wielded by a cultivator who specializes in the path of darkness. You chose the wrong weapon!" the white skeleton said.
"To kill you, this sword is enough!"
The Dragon Lord stood upright in the void, and in an instant, sword qi surged around him.
With one sword strike straight down, his sword intent locked firmly onto the white skeleton, making it impossible for him to dodge. He could only swing his knife to meet it.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
...
The knife and sword clashed fiercely.
The two peerless divine venerables fought at close quarters, like two pieces of divine iron, gold and white, colliding. The sound they made was like thunder, echoing through the sky.
The Lord of the Divine City did not watch. He struck directly, and from his divine armor, a skull filled with death qi flew out.
This skull rapidly grew larger.
When it struck the floating island, it was already dozens of miles long, hideous and terrifying. In its eye sockets, many soul shadows appeared, letting out eerie laughter.
"Boom!"
On the periphery of the floating island, countless formation inscriptions emerged.
The formation inscriptions interwove into the shape of a chessboard. Black and white chess pieces were placed on the board, forming the foundation of the divine formation.
These pieces were the pieces of the Heaven and Earth Chess Platform.
In the space behind the Lord of the Divine City, various war weapons manifested, turning into black raindrops that continuously struck the chessboard, producing an unending roar.
Seeing that the chessboard only trembled slightly, Chi Xingtian's tense expression relaxed. He laughed, "Island Lord's Starry Sky Grand Formation has defended the Kunlun Realm for a hundred thousand years, and no one in the Hell Realm can break it. You, Lord of the Divine City, should retreat quickly. The formation of Tai Shang is not something you can break!"
"If the Fallen God Island Lord were in his prime, his formation skills would indeed be unmatched. But to say no one has broken it in a hundred thousand years only shows your ignorance! As for this divine formation protecting you, it won't stop me for long."
The Lord of the Divine City raised his left arm, his palm above his head, fingers pointing forward. A divine eye opened in his palm, erupting with dazzling divine light. Even Chi Xingtian and Yuyao, protected by the formation, were forced to close their eyes immediately, unable to look directly.
No one knew what divine ability he used, but his palm fell, striking the chessboard heavily.
"Boom!"
The floating island shook. Black and white chess pieces jumped, and the formation light curtain shook violently.
Desolate Heaven closed his eyes and mouth, but his voice sounded in Chi Xingtian and Yuyao's ears: "Take the Red Flood Dragon. You must guard the divine formation."
A red flood dragon flew out from Desolate Heaven's body and landed in Yuyao's hand, transforming into a divine staff.
It was the Red Flood Dragon Divine Staff taken from the Four Great Men!
Yuyao had studied under Nine Heavens for many years and had the highest talent in formations, having long reached the Divine Master level. She quickly saw the eye of the chessboard divine formation, lifted the Red Flood Dragon Divine Staff, and immediately flew toward the southeast of the floating island.
"I'll help too!"
Chi Xingtian followed.
The southeast of the floating island was completely shrouded in red mist.
Tai Shang seemed to have foreseen the future long ago. When Yuyao arrived, the red mist automatically receded, revealing a path.
Walking to the end of the path, Yuyao was shocked to find a divine tree here, covered in crystal-clear red leaves.
Under the tree sat a withered skeleton draped in a divine robe, one hand forming a sword seal, the other holding a branch. On the ground were many small sword-wielding figures drawn with the branch!
Yuyao instinctively felt that the withered skeleton was extraordinary. She did not dare approach and directly entered the formation eye, releasing all her spiritual power to activate the Red Flood Dragon Divine Staff.
...
The Lord of the Divine City, who was attacking the chessboard divine formation, suddenly sensed something and looked back.
He saw the white skeleton being knocked down from the sky by the Dragon Lord, his body rapidly descending.
The white skeleton struck the void with one palm.
The void directly solidified, transforming into mountains and rivers spanning ten thousand miles. A small world was born out of thin air.
This small world rapidly expanded, turning into a large world.
It was the white skeleton's Divine Realm World. In the world stood towering Nether Cities, mountains piled with corpses and bones, broken weapons and blades scattered everywhere, and countless Nether Lights filling the clouds.
The white skeleton fell into this Nether Realm before stopping his descent.
The Lord of the Divine City was quite surprised. He didn't expect Ji Wang, so young, to be so powerful that he forced the white skeleton to reveal his Divine Realm World.
After all, the white skeleton was the War God Nether Venerable of the Nether Clan, a figure second only to the three great giants of the Nether Clan: the Nether Clan Chief, the Nether Hall Lord, and the Nether City Lord.
"Whoosh!"
The Darkness Divine Sword tore through the white skeleton's Divine Realm Nether World, breaking through the Nether Light, and slashed straight down.
The white skeleton let out a long roar, manifesting a divine ability. The countless weapons beneath his feet flew upward with the simple knife, and even the Nether Cities rose into the air.
"Bang, bang..."
Everything was severed. Nothing could block the Darkness Divine Sword.
The Dragon Lord descended with the Darkness Divine Sword in hand. The sword's edge scraped across the knife's edge, his power overwhelming the white skeleton. The white skeleton's knife momentum, arms, and body all deformed. He lost his center of gravity and leaned forward.
This sword was very slow, as if time had stopped flowing.
"Rip!"
The sword's edge slashed into the white skeleton's left shoulder, bones cracking one by one.
The sword qi fell to the ground, tearing the Divine Realm Nether World apart, creating a long ground fissure canyon.
When the Dragon Lord's feet hit the ground, with a loud boom, the ground fissure canyon could not withstand the divine power he unleashed. It split completely, and the Divine Realm World shattered into two halves, falling toward two different directions in the void.
Dust flew up in Lihentian.
...
Tomorrow is the signing event for the physical book of "Eternal God Emperor." There will be no readers invited to the scene. Instead, the Writers' Association and the publishing house will help organize an online live-streaming exchange. Those who follow Xiao Yu's Douyin account, be sure to come watch at 2:30 PM tomorrow! Additionally, Bilibili will also have in-site promotions and will broadcast the live stream simultaneously.
(Chapter End)