Chapter 3433: Half-Ancestor
Xuan Yi's divine sea had shrunk to the size of a speck of dust, but this single punch forced it to manifest again, expanding to thousands of miles in diameter.
"Shua!"
The Spirit-Fixing Needle pierced through the divine sea wall and struck Xuan Yi's divine source.
"No... Zhang Ruo... chen..."
Xuan Yi's roar was filled with unwillingness and hatred, as well as regret.
By now, it was clearly too late for him to self-destruct his divine source.
With a "crack," the divine source split apart, shattering into fragments.
Zhang Ruochen immediately took out the Blunt Void Stone, holding it in his palm, unleashing a ten-billion-fold spatial gravity.
Not a single wisp of Xuan Yi's blood qi or soul mist escaped, all converging continuously toward Zhang Ruochen's palm.
From start to finish, the battle had lasted less than three breaths. Xuan Yi was already at the end of his rope, while Zhang Ruochen had gone all out.
"Oh? Only one-tenth of the Killing Dao Essence?"
Zhang Ruochen used the Wuji Divine Dao to absorb the essence within Xuan Yi's body, but he sensed something amiss. Without time to think further, his expression shifted as he looked up.
"Boom!"
Huang Tian's colossal, star-pillar-like body was crushed and shattered, massive boulders tumbling into the Void World.
Even fighting to the death, he had only held on for a single breath.
The mental power expert hidden in the shadows was terrifying. They hadn't used divine arts, but had mobilized all the power across an extremely vast star domain.
The attack wasn't launched across endless space—it came from within the Extinction Star Sea, lurking in some dark corner.
Not too far, nor too close.
Fearing that Huang Tian would be completely obliterated by the opponent, Zhang Ruochen didn't flee. Instead, he moved with his divine thought.
The Taiji Four Symbols Diagram rose and flew upward.
At the same time, he released the Sword Ancestor's withered bones from his Xuan Embryo.
But a force interfered with his spiritual will in the space. The sword soul and sword spirit he released struggled to merge with the Sword Ancestor's withered bones.
Instead, Zhang Ruochen's head throbbed with pain, his skull feeling as if it were being crushed, his divine soul on the verge of being shattered into pieces.
"Bang!"
The Taiji Four Symbols Diagram was torn apart by the descending starry sky.
Zhang Ruochen pressed his palms together, his entire body radiating Truth Light, Buddha Radiance, and Chaotic Qi. The Bodhi Tree manifested to block the mental power attack that struck directly at his divine soul.
Just then, the Blood Leaf Parasol Tree appeared in the Void World, its trunk emitting dazzling blood light, temporarily holding back the descending starry sky.
Night Soil.
Feng Tian stood on a fragment of land in the Night Soil, immediately sensing it through the Blood Leaf Parasol Tree. Her gaze pierced the distant star sea, and she snorted lightly, "Finally showing yourself."
In the spacetime hundreds of millions of miles away, aboard the dilapidated wooden boat, the Starry Sea Angler said, "I'll go. This big fish is mine."
But Feng Tian transformed into a five-colored phoenix, spreading her beautiful wings, tearing through space, and soaring ahead first.
The Starry Sea Angler had no choice but to stay and join Shi Tian in attacking Qiangshake.
The collapsed Night Soil was undergoing astonishing changes.
The Night Soil was rapidly contracting!
Even as stars continuously crashed into it, its volume kept shrinking. Yet the aura it emitted grew stronger and stronger.
The power released by the Night Soil crushed not only the barrier between the Real World and the Void World but also the barrier between the Real World and Lihentian.
The three realms of space collapsed over a hundred billion miles in scope.
Countless eerie figures descended from Lihentian to the Real World, empowered by the Night Soil.
Among them were many ancient Heavenly Venerables and ancient Heavenly Lords, some of whom had already succeeded in possession, gaining new bodies. A very few descended as remnant souls into this era.
Qiangshake, whose cultivation had not yet recovered, was naturally no match for Shi Tian and the Starry Sea Angler. He retreated repeatedly but wore a grin, saying, "A new era has arrived, and you cannot stop it! We all once lived in this universe. You cultivators of this age should step back!"
"Step back? No, this Heavenly Venerable will bury you anew."
Shi Tian pointed a finger, and the ancient Heavenly Venerables and ancient Heavenly Lords who had just descended into the Night Soil exploded in a burst, seven or eight of them turning to ash.
After all, they were only remnant souls, finding new bodies with the help of certain interested parties. Their cultivation and strength were not particularly formidable.
Of course, if given enough time, with their past experience and insights into the myriad paths of the world, they would quickly become top-tier experts.
As the current Heavenly Venerables, how could they allow such a descent?
All the conflicts and killings in this universe stemmed from cultivation resources.
These beings descending into this era, to rapidly improve their cultivation, would inevitably plunder resources wildly, encroaching on the existing interests of various factions.
They had to be killed before they fully descended!
Undoubtedly, this was a battle between the ancients and the moderns.
The ancients from various eras, led by the Chaos Demon Gods, had allied to contend with the gods of this era for territory and benefits.
And the Quantity Organization was the driving force behind all this.
Qiangshake said, "Di is about to emerge, and no one can stop it. You, the clan leader of the Stone Clan, should step down! We are the rulers of this universe. You later-born juniors should willingly hand over your power and resources and submit to us, helping us restore our cultivation."
The Starry Sea Angler said, "Didn't the battle at the North Marsh Great Wall teach you Chaos Demon Gods anything? With just you few barely surviving, you think you can dominate the universe of this era?"
"Everyone present shares the blood debt of the North Marsh Great Wall. Di will descend, the Half-Ancestor will return, and the cosmic order will change accordingly. You two had better flee now!" Qiangshake said.
The Starry Sea Angler and Shi Tian wore grave expressions. Though both wanted to stop Di's return, their intentions differed.
One wanted to slay Di before his full revival, eliminating the threat forever.
The other wanted to refine Di's stone body and seize Di's soul, advancing his own cultivation further.
So what if he was a Half-Ancestor? After being dormant for so long, his power was bound to be at a weak low point. For Shi Tian, this was a once-in-a-millennium opportunity.
It was his chance to challenge the Hell Realm's Heavenly Venerable, or even become a Half-Ancestor.
However, the Demon Shrine had not yet appeared, and Di's soul was still in the River of Time. They needed to wait for Di's soul and the Demon Shrine to descend from the past into the present.
The Starry Sea Angler and Shi Tian reached an agreement: first suppress Qiangshake, then kill the ancient remnant souls descending from Lihentian.
...
In the Night Soil, Xuan Yi deeply sensed the threat of death, knowing he was doomed.
So, he used a Cicada Sheds Its Shell technique.
Trying to fool Huang Tian, Zhang Ruochen, and Qiangu Nüdi with his true body escaping was absolutely impossible.
He abandoned his true body, his divine source, and the Infinite Realm he had cultivated for three hundred thousand years. Only a single heart escaped, carrying his mental power divine heart and taking two-tenths of the Killing Dao Essence.
At the edge of the Extinction Star Sea, this heart flew out of the Void World.
Wisps of blood qi seeped from the heart, quickly condensing into a human form, which donned a white robe.
Xuan Yi had already sensed the shattering of his true body's divine source. His eyes were deep and dark, and he resolved to take back everything from Zhang Ruochen and Huang Tian with interest.
To take revenge, he had to survive his third Eon Calamity.
His third Eon Calamity was still tens of thousands of years away.
Tens of thousands of years—whether focusing on mental power cultivation or restarting martial arts—was extremely urgent. He needed to reach the Taibai Realm's cultivation and strength to withstand it.
The only way was possession.
Fortunately, he happened to have a perfect possession target in hand.
...
On a dead star, an ancient carriage was parked.
Yin Yuanchen sat on the carriage shaft, sharpening a sword, occasionally lifting it to gaze at the chilling gleam of the blade.
Behind him, an eight-year-old child slept peacefully inside the carriage.
"Hua!"
A hundred feet away, a crack appeared in the concealment formation.
Xuan Yi stepped through the crack, his face cold and dark. "I told him to open the formation—why didn't he obey? Didn't you hear my transmission?"
"Heh heh."
Yin Yuanchen continued sharpening the sword. "You had to use mental power to break through the concealment formation here. It seems you're weaker than I expected."
Xuan Yi narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Yin Yuanchen on the carriage shaft as if seeing him anew.
Yin Yuanchen raised the sword. "Do you remember this sword? It was my father's sword... Oh, by the way, my father was your son. I'm afraid you've forgotten, so I must remind you."
Xuan Yi walked forward step by step, listening quietly.
Yin Yuanchen sank into deep memories, tears in his eyes mixed with boundless hatred. He laughed, "That year, I was only seven years old. I watched with my own eyes as you killed him and threw his corpse into the insect swarm. Do you know what that meant to a seven-year-old child? A nightmare—a nightmare that has haunted me for thousands of years, impossible to shake. Of course, you wouldn't understand. If I hadn't been useful to you, I would have died by your hands long ago."
"Living in fear all these years, today, I can finally be free!"
Yin Yuanchen gritted his teeth, his gaze sharpening. He stood on the carriage shaft, looking down at Xuan Yi approaching step by step. "Either you die, or I die."
"Daring to draw a sword against me—good, it seems you've truly grown up."
Within ten steps, Xuan Yi erupted with Infinite Divine Power, shooting forward like an arrow from a bowstring, striking at Yin Yuanchen's brow with a finger.
Even if only a heart remained, it still contained considerable Infinite Divine Power, not something ordinary gods could withstand.
Yin Yuanchen was prepared. A divine formation manifested on the carriage, blocking Xuan Yi's fingertip.
At the same time, the Sky-Connecting Divine Path erupted. A Sky-Connecting Divine Tree materialized and swung down, sending Xuan Yi flying backward.
As Xuan Yi landed, the ground vanished, replaced by a vast sea.
Clearly, Yin Yuanchen was cunning and had set up various traps here, determined to kill Xuan Yi.
"Is this all you've got? If your first strike couldn't kill me, then today, you're the one who will die. Hand over your Killing Dao Essence and your Heaven-Earth Heart Divine Path. I'll prove myself as the ancestor of the killing path for you."
Yin Yuanchen flew off the ancient carriage, forming claws with both hands. Buddha light radiated from his body as he unleashed the "Demon God Lion's Roar."
The phantom of a divine lion manifested, emitting a deafening roar.
Xuan Yi released his mental power, erecting a domain.
But he couldn't hold it. The domain shattered, and his body became bloody as he flew backward.
The next moment, Yin Yuanchen's palm pressed against his face. With a single sword stroke, he severed Xuan Yi's head and lifted it.
The divine blood flowing from the neck dyed a vast expanse of the sea crimson, strikingly beautiful.
...
Now that battles have reached the God Venerable level, the scale is enormous. For everyone's convenience, here are a few distances in the universe:
The distance between Earth and the Moon is about 700,000 miles.
The distance between Earth and the Sun is about 300 million miles.
The distance between Pluto and the Sun is about 15 billion miles.
One light-year is about 20 trillion miles.
...
One more chapter tonight!