Chapter 3437: Di
Compared to its original form, the Six Directions Heavenly Venerable Cauldron now exuded an even more profound ancient charm and overwhelming momentum, as if the Witch Ancestor had reappeared in the world, using the cauldron to suppress the nine directions of the universe.
With such an aura, how could they not be tense?
The dark power around the cauldron rapidly contracted, sinking into the hollow patterns.
"Shua!"
It transformed into a black speck of light, pierced through the protective formation of the divine ship, and vanished near Zhang Ruochen at a speed that was utterly impossible to intercept.
"Where did it go? I clearly saw it flying toward us!" Chi Xingtian, gripping his war axe, stepped back, his eyes searching Zhang Ruochen.
Qiangu Nüdi, shielding herself with sword aura, said, "It seems to have disappeared within three feet of Zhang Ruochen!"
Zhang Ruochen immediately mobilized his spiritual power and divine soul to inspect his physical body internally.
But after checking three times, he found nothing.
He then examined the inner spaces of the various war tools and ancient treasures on his person.
It was too eerie, and his heart grew heavy.
He had personally witnessed the Six Directions Heavenly Venerable Cauldron break through the divine technique of the mysterious perfect-circle lacker and Feng Tian's divine power. The artifact spirit was undoubtedly an extremely terrifying existence.
Being targeted by such a bizarre entity at this level would make anyone anxious.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head at Qiangu Nüdi and Huang Tian.
Chi Xingtian couldn't let it go, saying, "That can't be right! With your current cultivation, Zhang Ruochen, and your perception far surpassing cultivators of the same realm, how could it possibly hide?"
Shi Fu Jun stared at Zhang Ruochen in terror, his face pale, "It's over, Zhang Ruochen, you're finished. The artifact spirit of the Six Directions Heavenly Venerable Cauldron has set its sights on you. You're doomed to a bad end."
"Bang!"
Chi Xingtian slapped Shi Fu Jun away, sending him crashing through a wall into the cabin.
A series of falling and breaking sounds echoed from within.
Huang Tian pondered, "The artifact spirit of the Six Directions Heavenly Venerable Cauldron must be far stronger than us. Could it be that what we saw was just an illusion, making us think it entered Zhang Ruochen's body? In reality, it has already fled?"
Just as he finished speaking, another hair-raising aura appeared ahead of the divine ship.
At the bow.
Yu Yao, who was controlling the divine ship from within the formation, saw a headless stone man appear in front.
The headless stone man was about two meters tall, with many missing parts on his body. His right arm was severed, leaving only his left. His body looked roughly carved, very crude.
But he had appeared silently.
No one knew from which direction he had flown in.
The divine ship suddenly stopped. No matter how Yu Yao urged the formation, the ship could not move forward, as if it were trapped in space.
Zhang Ruochen looked around, "The space inscriptions have completely stopped flowing, locked down tightly. This power..."
"Zheng!"
The Boundless Sword manifested before Qiangu Nüdi, bursting with dazzling brilliance as she swung it horizontally.
As soon as it flew out of the divine ship, the Boundless Sword seemed to strike an invisible iron wall, rebounding and piercing through the deck beneath Qiangu Nüdi's feet, penetrating the ship.
Everyone on the divine ship held their breath.
Space was locked to such an extent that even a divine venerable and a divine sword could not break through. Clearly, the opponent had mastered the order of space.
Chi Xingtian stared at the broken stone man, whispering, "Could he be that taboo figure from Yietu? Doesn't look like it... doesn't seem that strong..."
Suddenly, the divine ship's protective formation was crushed.
Space compression came from all directions. In an instant, the ship shrank to the size of a palm, like an iron ball.
Within that palm-sized space, Zhang Ruochen, Huang Tian, Qiangu Nüdi, Chi Xingtian, and Yu Yao exerted all their strength, using every means to hold on.
Even so, the iron ball kept shrinking...
Until it was the size of a jujube pit.
Zhang Ruochen used the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram to support this tiny space for everyone.
"I take back what I said earlier. This is indeed a formidable figure, at least at the level of the Twenty Heavens." Chi Xingtian, covered in demon patterns, strained to hold on.
Zhang Ruochen, his body now the size of a grain of sand, summoned the Earth Cauldron, "The opponent's realm is unfathomable. We can't fight back. Let's hide in the Earth Cauldron."
"We can't move. The space is compressed and solidified. We're like inside a space crystal now. The density here is even higher than inside a divine source!" Huang Tian said.
The headless stone man, unable to force the Six Directions Heavenly Venerable Cauldron out with spatial power alone, extended his left arm and opened his five fingers.
The jujube-pit-sized iron ball flew toward his palm.
"Hua!"
At that moment, a dazzling golden light came from the north, colliding with the iron ball.
Together, the iron ball and golden light flew millions of miles away, putting great distance between them and the headless stone man.
The golden light condensed into a heroic figure with dragon horns on his head, broad shoulders, and golden hair flowing in the void. It was the Dragon Lord, who had come to support Zhang Ruochen and Qiangu Nüdi.
Not far away, the jujube-pit-sized iron ball shattered and rapidly expanded. Zhang Ruochen and the others flew out from within.
The Dragon Lord was locked in a standoff with the headless stone man. Though no blows had been exchanged, the space between them had already collapsed into a chaotic zone.
"Pfft!"
The Dragon Lord spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered back.
Zhang Ruochen and Chi Xingtian rushed forward, supporting him on either side.
"You all need to leave quickly. I'll hold them off."
The Dragon Lord's expression was extremely grim. He knew the headless stone man's terror well. With his cultivation alone, he couldn't ensure Zhang Ruochen and the others escaped safely.
But strangely, the headless stone man did not press the attack. After taking two steps forward, he stopped.
Zhang Ruochen turned back and saw a worn-out wooden boat appearing tens of miles away.
An old man with graying hair stood at the bow, holding a fishing rod.
A sea of stars spread out from beneath the wooden boat.
Space rules flowed rapidly, pushing the headless stone man, who had been millions of miles away, billions of miles into the distance.
The arrival of the Star Sea Angler immediately eased the tension in everyone's hearts.
The Star Sea Angler said, "You are indeed a dominant figure of your era, worthy of admiration. But the rules of heaven and earth in this universe have long changed. Until you adapt, you are far from being invincible under heaven."
"When I become invincible under heaven, you will all pay the price you deserve." The headless stone man left these words and vanished into the void.
"I hope you still have that day."
The Star Sea Angler's smile gradually faded, his expression turning heavy. He then looked at Zhang Ruochen and the others, "Come aboard."
The wooden boat was not small, about thirty meters long, with a wooden mast at its center.
The mast was severely decayed, as if it might break at any moment.
Everyone knew this wooden boat was no ordinary vessel—it was one of the most mysterious treasures in the universe. But once aboard, no one dared to act recklessly. Even Chi Xingtian behaved himself, not daring to touch or look around carelessly.
Shi Fu Jun cautiously glanced down from the boat and saw a vast, brilliant starry sky spanning trillions of miles below.
But how was that possible?
From outside the boat, one could also see a starry sky beneath it, but it was nowhere near this vast.
Could this be the true scene?
Was there a strange space around the boat, always accompanied by a starry sea spanning trillions of miles? To board the boat, one had to cross that sea?
Shi Fu Jun looked at Chi Xingtian, only to see him standing tall and proud, feigning calm.
Inside the wooden boat.
The old fisherman's palm hovered over Zhang Ruochen's head, his spiritual power falling like mist. After a long while, he withdrew it and gently shook his head, "The Six Directions Heavenly Venerable Cauldron should not be on you. Of course, if it truly were, and I couldn't detect it, then it would only mean that its artifact spirit is, as Old Ghost Shi speculated, none other than Lady Shiji from back then."
Everyone in the boat froze, as if turned to stone, staring incredulously at the old fisherman.
Even the Dragon Lord, seated in a chair, was filled with shock, losing his usual composure and elegance.
The old fisherman laughed, "Scared by that? Throughout history, the universe has given birth to many brilliant figures, each achieving great things. But no matter how glorious or dazzling they were, none could contend with heaven and earth, and in the end, they all met their deaths."
"Many saw through all this, knowing that the universe has its constants, and that immortality is but an illusory dream."
"But some refused to accept it, using every means to extend their lives. Many strange events are their doing! Unfortunately, these people all met tragic ends, dying badly. Heaven and earth suppress them from all sides, cutting down their power."
"Even in their prime, they couldn't contend with heaven and earth, let alone now?"
The old fisherman was just as Bai Qinger had described—simple, easygoing, with no air of authority.
Zhang Ruochen said, "So, Shi Tian speculated that Lady Shiji might have shed her stone body, using the Six Directions Heavenly Venerable Cauldron as a new form to deceive heaven and earth's perception, awakening in this era?"
The old fisherman said, "For a being at the Indestructible Infinite level to emerge silently in the universe—it's not impossible, but it's truly difficult. Moreover, the power the Six Directions Heavenly Venerable Cauldron unleashed was far beyond ordinary Indestructible Infinite. Di's head was broken off by it and taken into the cauldron. That's why Di sought you out!"
Qiangu Nüdi voiced her doubt, "Is Di really a Half-Ancestor?"
"Perhaps so! But his stone body was partially taken by each of us, and the rules of this era suppress him. For now, he cannot be invincible under heaven!" the old fisherman said.
The Dragon Lord said, "Still a major threat."
The old fisherman remained calm, "Let Hao Tian and Fengdu Dadi worry about that. They are the Heavenly Venerables of this era and should bear the greatest responsibility. It's a pity... ah, the decisive battle between Hell Realm and Heavenly Court should not have erupted at this time. Qing Cang, Yan Renhuan, Jiusi Yitianhuang, and the others were too arrogant, misjudging the situation. One move set everything in motion, giving the Quantity Organization and the Chaos Ancient Gods an opening! The times are truly about to change!"
Zhang Ruochen was the one truly troubled.
Though the old fisherman said the probability of the Six Directions Heavenly Venerable Cauldron's artifact spirit being Lady Shiji was small and that it likely wasn't on him, what if it was?
Even a one-in-ten-million chance could keep Zhang Ruochen from sleeping or eating in peace.
What troubled him more was that Di seemed convinced the Six Directions Heavenly Venerable Cauldron was on him. To reclaim his head, he would surely come for Zhang Ruochen again.
Having finally achieved the perfection of the Four Symbols and entered the Infinite Realm, able to claim the title of king or venerable, he had now provoked two legendary ancient figures, each more taboo than the last.
Even the old fisherman could not completely resolve the hidden danger on him.
(Chapter End)