Chapter 3435: The Terrifying Six Directions Heavenly Vessel Cauldron
Wherever the Six Directions Heavenly Vessel Cauldron flew, darkness spread through the void, devouring all light.
Stars that had been flying toward the Night Soil were shattered upon collision, breaking into countless fragments the size of thousands or tens of thousands of miles.
All these star fragments were collected into the cauldron.
Shi Tian, the Starry Sea Angler, and Qiangshake all detected the aura of the Six Directions Heavenly Vessel Cauldron.
Darkness surged, boundless and infinite.
The three top-tier powerhouses struck in succession, attempting to seize it.
Every attempt failed without exception.
Within the cauldron, the most extreme dark power in the universe was unleashed, devouring all incoming divine abilities and sacred arts. All divine power and spiritual power vanished into nothingness.
The Six Directions Heavenly Vessel Cauldron flew past Qiangshake, hurtling toward the evolving Night Soil.
"A single cauldron has cultivated to such a level—truly worthy of being the number one divine artifact since the creation of heaven and earth!"
Qiangshake laughed loudly, his true body flying directly toward the Six Directions Heavenly Vessel Cauldron. One of his palms transformed into a demonic hand spanning ten thousand miles, its five fingers contracting as he attempted to forcibly suppress the cauldron.
"Pfft!"
Qiangshake's five fingers shattered, demon blood spilling across the starry sky.
The five fingers were corroded by dark power, which spread toward his arm, melting skin and flesh into pus and blood.
This scene stunned everyone!
Qiangshake was one of the Four Supreme Pillars. Even if his cultivation had not fully recovered, his physical body was still formidable. Once his blood energy was completely restored, his body's strength would be no weaker than that of the current Heavenly Venerable.
It was precisely because of such a powerful demonic body that he could, without possessing any profound meaning, repeatedly challenge multiple current Heavenly Venerables, growing stronger with each battle.
To be precise, it wasn't that he had no profound meaning at all. Since awakening, Qiangshake had devoured several God Kings and God Venerables, seizing some profound meaning in the process.
However, the quantity of this profound meaning could not compare to what Feng Tian, Shi Tian, and the Starry Sea Angler possessed, placing him at an absolute disadvantage.
Yet even such a formidable physical body was wounded in a single strike by the Six Directions Heavenly Vessel Cauldron.
Shi Tian wore a contemplative expression, his gaze suddenly sharpening as if he had figured out some key point, his face turning extremely unnatural.
"Boom!"
The Six Directions Heavenly Vessel Cauldron crashed into the Night Soil.
Instantly, space collapsed on an even larger scale. Energy tides spread outward, threatening to engulf the entire Extinction Star Sea. All heavenly and earthly rules collapsed completely.
A thousand billion miles away, Zhang Ruochen and Desolate Tian witnessed all of this before fleeing further away together with the Blood Leaf Parasol Tree.
This was terrifying!
This was undoubtedly a clash at the highest level of the current universe—a chaotic battle involving a clan's supreme being, a perfect celestial master, the venerable of fate, the Four Supreme Pillars, the Nine Cauldrons, and ancient forbidden existences. All cultivators, whether living or dead, had to retreat.
If they continued fighting like this, the Extinction Star Sea would be destroyed.
Fleeing alongside them were the deities of the six Night Demon clans.
One by one, the deities manifested their true forms—some as over a dozen divine dragons soaring through the void, others as a flock of phoenixes taking flight... The scene was truly spectacular. They all used their divine realm worlds to envelop life-bearing planets, fleeing the Night Soil at maximum speed.
It must be said that the six Night Demon clans were very powerful. United, their strength surpassed even the Hundred Clans Royal City.
Zhang Ruochen communicated with Desolate Tian, "Did you notice? The Six Directions Heavenly Vessel Cauldron has been flying straight toward the Night Soil, continuously collecting stars. This suggests that the stars in the Extinction Star Sea are most likely part of the forbidden existence's body within the Night Soil. It's weakening that being's power!"
Desolate Tian said, "According to Stone Axe Lord's speculation, the Six Directions Heavenly Vessel Cauldron had been suppressing the Night Soil all along. It was taken away by Lady Shiji and brought to the Hell Realm. If the artifact spirit had achieved enlightenment in the Hell Realm, how could it have cultivated to this level without anyone noticing?"
"Before Stone Axe Lord dug it out from the bottom of the Rotten Minister Sea, no cultivator in the Hell Realm knew that this legendary ancient artifact was actually on Shiji Divine Star."
"This indicates that the artifact spirit of the Six Directions Heavenly Vessel Cauldron was likely born in an extremely ancient era. Perhaps it really is connected to Lady Shiji!"
At that moment, the Blood Leaf Parasol Tree's voice rang out: "It's catching up! It hasn't broken free from the Crimson Dye Tower yet. Zhang Ruochen, strike quickly and suppress it."
The Crimson Dye Tower flew through the void, sometimes expanding, sometimes shrinking.
Wisps of Tian Shengjun's divine aura leaked out from within the tower.
"As expected of a Half-Step Great Unbound Infinite—quite capable, managing to tear a crack in Feng Tian's seal." Zhang Ruochen praised.
The Blood Leaf Parasol Tree sounded somewhat proud and dissatisfied, feeling that Zhang Ruochen was belittling Feng Tian. "It only managed to tear a crack in my master's seal by borrowing the blood and rule divine patterns of the Hundred Leg Emperor. Besides, my master's attention was focused on the Night Soil earlier; she didn't take it seriously and only casually left behind a layer of power."
Zhang Ruochen looked at Desolate Tian. "Senior, would you like this favor to be yours?"
Desolate Tian did not stand on ceremony. Stepping on infinite rule divine patterns, he manifested a Styx River and, in an instant, caught up to the Crimson Dye Tower.
Zhang Ruochen inwardly sighed. The Grand Derivation Qiankun Divine Path was truly extraordinary—capable of deriving all paths in the world, able to form a Styx River with a single thought. But such derivation was merely an outward manifestation.
It could become a divine ability, but not a path.
Tian Shengjun was indeed powerful, but he had only torn a crack in Feng Tian's seal and had not yet escaped from the Crimson Dye Tower. With Desolate Tian's cultivation, it was enough to re-suppress him and seal him back.
This favor, while not enough to make Desolate Tian repay Feng Tian's life-saving grace, at least repaid part of it, ensuring he wouldn't be completely beholden to Feng Tian in the future.
After all, Desolate Tian was different from Zhang Ruochen and Xue Jue War God. When he owed a favor, he would truly go all out to repay it.
He clearly distinguished between kindness and enmity!
Zhang Ruochen and Xue Jue War God naturally also distinguished between kindness and enmity, but they had to consider the situation. If Feng Tian truly made excessive demands, they would certainly evade and shirk as much as possible.
Zhang Ruochen spread his palm, and a small Taiji Four Symbols Diagram appeared in his palm.
Wisps of Xuan Yi's blood energy and soul mist flew out from the Taiyin within the Four Symbols.
Zhang Ruochen directly performed a soul search, seeking fragments of Xuan Yi's memories.
A Le's self-detonation of his divine source, Peach Blossom's transformation into a Time Corpse, and the images of Yin Yuan Chen and Yun Qing flashed through Zhang Ruochen's mind.
All were memory fragments, unable to form a coherent narrative.
But with these fragments, Zhang Ruochen could already deduce many things. His heart felt heavy, filled with self-blame and guilt, and his gaze turned cold to the marrow of his bones.
"Sizzle!"
The blood energy and soul mist in his hand ignited, emitting wails of agony.
He threw all of this blood energy, soul mist, including Xuan Yi's divine source fragments, into the Earth Cauldron, along with Su Yun, and began refining them.
Then, Zhang Ruochen cast the Death Soul Curse.
The curse spread outward from him, extending through heaven and earth.
Instantly, all of Xuan Yi's divine soul thoughts that had escaped into the Extinction Star Sea—whether separated by a hundred billion miles or a trillion miles—were all cursed to death.
To completely kill a deity and obliterate all divine soul thoughts was extremely difficult!
With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, this was the best he could do.
Of course, for a God Venerable to be cut down to this extent was essentially no different from complete annihilation. When his Eon Calamity arrived, any remaining thoughts in the world would be obliterated.
Zhang Ruochen certainly wanted to enter Lihentian to wipe out all of Xuan Yi's remaining divine soul thoughts, ensuring he died completely.
But...
That would be like flogging a corpse—satisfying only for venting anger, with no other meaning.
Desolate Tian returned holding the Crimson Dye Tower, landing beneath the Blood Leaf Parasol Tree.
A blood-red chain extended from among the branches and leaves of the Blood Leaf Parasol Tree, wrapping around the Crimson Dye Tower and re-suppressing it.
"I need to go to the east!" Zhang Ruochen suddenly spoke.
"What east?"
"The eastern edge of the Extinction Star Sea."
Desolate Tian looked puzzled. At this moment, they should immediately leave the Border Wilderness Universe and rush back to the Starry Sky Battlefield.
From Xuan Yi's memory fragments, Zhang Ruochen had found the approximate locations of Yin Yuan Chen and Yun Qing.
Whether Yin Yuan Chen was still there or not, he had to go.
"Zhang Ruochen, you'd better not run around. The Extinction Star Sea is very dangerous right now. You need to listen to my master!" said the Blood Leaf Parasol Tree.
Zhang Ruochen said, "If I want to leave, can you stop me?"
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen's Swallow Boots released ancestral divine light, and he shot out from the blood mist enveloping the Parasol Tree, disappearing into the eastern cosmic space.
"So infuriating! This kid is too disobedient. I don't know why my master doesn't kill him—she's too lenient with him. The more lenient she is, the more reckless he becomes."
The Blood Leaf Parasol Tree chased after him.
Hearing this, Desolate Tian fell into thought beneath the tree, his brow deeply furrowed.
If Zhang Ruochen and Feng Tian were merely cooperating, that would be fine—they could sever ties at any time. But if Zhang Ruochen had entangled himself with Feng Tian in some way, it would definitely be a curse, not a blessing.
The two people's philosophies were completely opposed, like fire and water.
...
After traveling an unknown distance, Zhang Ruochen arrived at the easternmost edge of the Extinction Star Sea.
He descended onto an extinguished star, sensing the residual auras of Xuan Yi and Yin Yuan Chen.
Calculating the battle traces on the star, the events that had occurred earlier automatically replayed in his mind, as if he had crossed time and space and experienced them firsthand.
"Unexpectedly, Xuan Yi ultimately died at Yin Yuan Chen's hands. If he had managed to preserve his spiritual power and the divine soul and divine matter within his divine heart, perhaps he really could have withstood his third Eon Calamity."
Zhang Ruochen gently shook his head, gazing into the dark void.
Yin Yuan Chen had been gone for too long; his specific location could not be traced. The universe was vast, and finding him was harder than searching for a needle in the ocean.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes. Over a billion miles away, he spotted a nebula of dust and sensed an unusual fluctuation.
This nebula of dust revolved around the star, moving together toward the Night Soil.
According to Xuan Yi's memory fragments, this was the location of the planet "Dark Star" where A Le and Peach Blossom had once lived. However, it had been destroyed in the battle.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen teleported, flickering through the void until he reached the edge of the nebula of dust.
After waiting about two days, the Blood Leaf Parasol Tree finally caught up.
Wisps of blood energy descended from its branches and leaves, coalescing into a woman who was seventy percent similar to Feng Tian. She said angrily, "Zhang Ruochen, you're too reckless, too disrespectful of me. Do you know that countless deities in the Heavenly Court are my nourishment? When the Parasol Tree is angered, blood dyes an entire realm."
"Keep your voice down. Restrain your aura."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was fixed on that nebula of dust. "Can you sense it? Life and death are pulsating simultaneously."