Chapter 3564: Yu Dongxuan Has Arrived
The Wuding Divine Sea floated in the void, spanning between the Heavenly Court Universe and the Hell Realm Universe. Even at its narrowest point, it stretched over a hundred billion miles.
This was a vast sea region beyond the imagination of mortals.
Even Saint realm cultivators were like ants before it, unable to cross.
Within the sea, there were countless islands.
Each island was a continent, home to billions of intelligent beings. Among them were not a few descendants of cultivators from the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm!
Zhao Gongming's towering and robust figure stood like an eternal divine mountain on a desolate, uninhabited island. Not far away, the tides rose and fell.
This island was over a hundred million miles from the nearest inhabited continent, and the surrounding waters were a famous forbidden zone within the Wuding Divine Sea, with a danger level reaching eight.
Of course, with Zhao Gongming's supreme cultivation, even a dangerous forbidden zone could be trampled flat underfoot.
This place was the battlefield he had specifically chosen.
He did not wish to harm the innocent.
A hundred-meter-long black tiger stood beside Zhao Gongming, its eyes fierce, fangs ferocious, and the demonic aura it emitted caused the malevolent creatures within the forbidden zone to tremble in fear, not daring to act rashly.
Zhao Gongming closed his eyes in meditation.
The Heavenly and Earthly Rules in the surrounding sea grew increasingly sparse, replaced by Sword Dao Rules and the Water and Metal Rules of the Five Elements.
On the sea surface, giant waves overturned the sky.
The island beneath his feet had completely transformed into metallic substance. Moreover, the island's body rose, growing ever larger.
In the sky spanning over a hundred million miles, countless trillions of sword shadows flew, their clanging sounds merging into one. Centered on the Wuding Divine Sea, the Sword Dao Rules within a cosmic void of over one light-year were all mobilized by him through his Sword Dao Essence, turning this place into an invincible sword domain.
...
Deep within the Guixu of the Wuding Divine Sea.
The Thunder Ancestor's body towered ten thousand zhang tall, purple lightning waterfalls cascading all over him. His aura was formidable, and countless cultivators of the Thunder Clan knelt at his feet.
A young and handsome upper-level god bowed respectfully, saying, "Ancestor, Zhao Gongming mobilizes a vast amount of Sword Dao Rules, Water Dao Rules, and Metal Dao Rules every day, continuously accumulating his aura and power. Now, any cultivator below the True God level who approaches that sea region will be slain by the divine power he unconsciously emits."
"If we let him continue mobilizing, his momentum will surely peak. Who can stand against him below the Indestructible Infinite level?"
The Thunder Ancestor's voice boomed: "How could your cultivation understand the Indestructible Infinite?"
Those upper-level gods, their divine souls shaken, knelt on one knee and said, "I spoke wrongly!"
The Thunder Ancestor's consciousness entered the Lihentian and conversed with the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable, who was in an unknown distant place. "Heavenly Venerable, this battle is unavoidable! If we do not act now, the Thunder Clan will surely be looked down upon by cultivators across the world. The Heavenly Court and Hell Realm will certainly no longer fear us as before. If they attack early, our plan may be destroyed."
The Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable's voice was vast and distant: "Has your injury recovered?"
"My blood qi and divine soul have recovered, but the lost divine substance will take time to accumulate slowly before I can return to my former level," the Thunder Ancestor said.
The Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable said, "Zhao Gongming has been at the peak of the Great Unbound Infinite for an entire eon. His Dao method rules and divine substance accumulation are deep, and his strength is not weak. How confident are you in victory?"
The Thunder Ancestor said, "Zhao Gongming is a sword cultivator. His attack power is not inferior to figures like the Blade Venerable, but his defense is a weakness. Elsewhere, it would be fifty-fifty. But in the Wuding Divine Sea, the Heavenly momentum and earthly momentum are on my side. I have ninety percent confidence in defeating him."
"If not for Feng Caiyi cutting off a small part of my divine body..."
At this point, a fierce aura surged in the Thunder Ancestor's eyes.
"Feng Caiyi still has some use. Her existence can make this universe more turbulent. There's no need to touch her for now."
"Rustle!"
Space was torn open by a bolt of lightning, revealing pitch-black darkness within.
A small yellow copper pagoda flew out from the rift and landed in the Thunder Ancestor's hand.
"I lend you the Refining God Pagoda. I need you to have a hundred percent certainty in severely wounding Zhao Gongming and elevating the Thunder Clan's prestige. If you can suppress him into the pagoda, your recovery of divine substance will be within reach. I can also grant you the opportunity to assault the Indestructible Infinite. If the Thunder Clan possesses two Indestructible Infinites at once, let's see which side dares to act recklessly?" The Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable's voice gradually faded into the depths of the void.
The Thunder Ancestor knew well the power of the Refining God Pagoda. It was a divine artifact listed in the first chapter of the "Tai Bai Divine Artifact Canon," the strongest war weapon once wielded by the former Inverse Heavenly Venerable.
What excited the Thunder Ancestor even more than obtaining the Refining God Pagoda was that the Heavenly Venerable had personally promised to grant him the opportunity to assault the Indestructible Infinite.
The Indestructible Infinite was not so easily achieved!
But once achieved, everything would be completely different. The level of life would undergo a leap.
...
The shores of the Wuding Divine Sea were densely packed with planets, numbering in the tens of thousands.
Zhang Ruochen found the Jie Venerable in an abandoned war city left by the Heavenly Court.
The Jie Venerable stood with his hands behind his back on the city wall, gazing at the overgrown ground, speaking with a tone of sorrow for the world: "In the past, the myriad realms of the Heavenly Court expended countless resources to build this line of defense. They set up no fewer than ten million formations, perhaps eight million. Countless heroes died outside this line of defense. And now, it's all abandoned!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Is the Thunder Clan really that powerful?"
The Jie Venerable said, "It's not that the Thunder Clan is powerful, but that the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable is powerful. The Heavenly Court's line of defense can block the Heavens, block the Indestructible Infinite, block the Heaven Round No Gap, but it cannot block a Heavenly Venerable-level figure! People at their level can go anywhere in the world and do anything in the world."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I don't think so! If the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable is so formidable, why doesn't he dare to go to the Abyss of Darkness? Why doesn't he dare to go to the Heavenly Court?"
The Jie Venerable was angered by this rebuttal and said, "You've seen how terrifying the Abyss of Darkness is, haven't you? A group of Indestructible Infinites just pops out casually—who can withstand that? The innate conditions of the Primordial Beings are too superior; later generations cannot compare. Look at Yuan Sheng..."
Before he could finish, Zhang Ruochen immediately said, "What exactly is the Heavenly Venerable level? The peak of Indestructible?"
The Jie Venerable said, "Between the peak of Indestructible and Half-Ancestor, there is still another realm. According to the classification of spiritual power cultivators, the ninetieth rank corresponds to the early Indestructible stage. The ninety-first rank corresponds to the middle Indestructible stage."
"The ninety-fourth rank corresponds to Half-Ancestor, and the ninety-fifth rank corresponds to Ancestor."
"The Heavenly Venerable level should correspond to the ninety-third rank of spiritual power."
"Generally speaking, since most Heavenly Venerables throughout history have been at this realm, with Half-Ancestors being rare, everyone uses the term 'Heavenly Venerable level' to refer to cultivators at this stage."
Zhang Ruochen said, "You say the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable's cultivation has reached this level. Would he be fearless of Hao Tian and Tai Shang's threats and directly make a move against us?"
The Jie Venerable scoffed, "Precisely because his cultivation has reached that level, he won't take risks. Everyone knows Hao Tian is the number one under heaven—who would dare to underestimate him? What if this is Hao Tian's scheme to kill him?"
"Besides, Tai Shang's spiritual power was once at the ninety-third rank, not inferior to him. If he really wanted to drag him down as a scapegoat, he would definitely flee as far as possible."
Zhang Ruochen squinted his eyes, looking toward the direction of the Heavenly Court Universe.
In the endless dark void, stars sparkled like gems.
A dazzling beam of light traveled through the sea of stars, heading toward the Wuding Divine Sea. Wherever that beam of light passed, the stars in the surrounding star regions flickered with fluctuations of brightness and darkness.
The Jie Venerable said, "Not good, Yu Dongxuan has arrived early!"
"I'll go block him. You, old one, prepare well for the battle to seize the Heavenly position."
Zhang Ruochen stepped onto a bridge of Space Rules, crossing the void, and walked slowly toward that powerful beam of light.
One step, one layer of heaven and earth.
"What? You go block him?"
The Jie Venerable felt his ears were playing tricks on him.
Yu Dongxuan was the third-ranked figure of the Paradise Realm, a being who had shaken the universe for a million years. Was Zhang Ruochen, this kid, going to touch someone like that?
"Rumble!"
Over the Wuding Divine Sea, the celestial phenomena changed drastically. Dark clouds gathered, and thick bolts of lightning spread all the way to the shore.
Some planets were pierced through by lightning light waves, turning into stellar debris that fell into the water, stirring up towering waves.
"Is the battle finally about to begin?"
The Jie Venerable was torn between two choices. After thinking it over, he felt that Yu Dongxuan probably wouldn't dare to do anything to Zhang Ruochen, so he finally felt relieved and headed toward the forbidden domain where Zhao Gongming and the Thunder Ancestor were about to duel.
Xuanyuan Lian stepped out of the golden chariot, dressed in brocade with hair tied up, handsome and unparalleled. Looking toward the starry sky, he asked, "Why has the Great Palace Master of Light come to the Wuding Divine Sea?"
Qingyu's voice said, "News just arrived. The Jie Venerable intends to challenge Hall Master Ke to seize his Heavenly position. The Great Palace Master of Light is fighting in Hall Master Ke's place. Since Ruochen Shenzun has appeared in the Wuding Divine Sea, the Jie Venerable must have come as well. This matter should be the cause and effect of that."
Xuanyuan Lian's brocade robe trailed the ground. His expression remained unchanged, but a look of surprise appeared in his eyes. He muttered to himself, "Has the situation in the Kunlun Realm become so critical? What does the Jie Venerable mean by challenging Hall Master Ke?"
After pondering for a moment, his red lips moved, and he sent a voice transmission.
Yu Dongxuan, seated in the Radiant Divine Palace, heard Xuanyuan Lian's voice transmission.
At the same time, he looked up and saw, through the wide palace doors, the proud young man standing outside. A cold smile appeared on his originally stern face. "Zhang Ruochen, you are a great enemy my Paradise Realm wishes to eliminate. How dare you appear so brazenly outside the Radiant Divine Palace? Do you really think I dare not kill you?"
The gods within the Radiant Divine Palace all sharpened their gazes, looking toward the door.
Zhang Ruochen raised his palm and pressed it forward slightly.
"Whoosh!"
At the palace entrance, a barrier of Radiant Divine Light manifested, blocking his palm.
But it only blocked for a moment before the Radiant Divine Light barrier disappeared.
Zhang Ruochen walked in boldly, advancing step by step, his aura clashing with Yu Dongxuan's. "If you truly dared to kill me, why would you waste your breath with such nonsense? Besides, do you really think you can kill me?"
The gods of the Radiant Divine Palace were all enraged, feeling that Zhang Ruochen was arrogant and overbearing.
However, some of the more powerful cultivators could see that Zhang Ruochen was extraordinary. Especially the method he used to break the Radiant Divine Light barrier earlier—it was too strange, giving off a sense of unfathomable depth.
If he didn't have absolute strength, where would Zhang Ruochen get such courage?
Could the legend be true? That Zhang Ruochen already had the strength to injure King Feima?
Yu Dongxuan appeared to be in his thirties, with a fair, beardless face, as if sitting in chaotic time and space, appearing both near and far. Like other gods of the Angel Clan, he had a flawless, exquisite face and a pair of deep blue eyes that looked exceptionally profound.
He had been sizing up Zhang Ruochen all along, saying coldly, "If not for the Heavenly Venerable's daughter wanting to spare your life, you would have been purified into ashes by the power of light before you even entered the divine palace. You are not yet qualified to be my opponent. Where is the Jie Venerable? Let him come out! I have long wanted to see what kind of quality a false god who has refined the Ancestor Divine Source truly possesses."
(End of this chapter)