Chapter 3669: Star Whirlpool Churning
In the Sea Stone Star Whirlpool, space rules were active, and countless stars, worlds, and matter were born here.
Within the colorful and radiant nebulae, space had been continuously expanding for countless eons, with spatial rifts spanning billions of miles stretching across the void. Here existed forbidden zones that even gods dared not approach, and many ancient heavens had built their great tombs within its depths.
Vast as the sea, deep as an abyss.
Boundless and endless, with no visible edge.
Hao Tian had long locked onto the aura of Kui Liang Huang. As he walked through the star whirlpool, it trembled, forbidden zones collapsed one after another, and evil fiends exploded into nothingness—no power could stop his advance.
Zhang Ruochen finally understood the immense boldness Hao Tian had shown back then when he intended to detonate the Sea Stone Star Whirlpool to destroy the Rakshasa Star Pillar Realm, and that he indeed possessed such strength.
To shatter a stretch of starry sky, to destroy all obstacles standing in his way.
Zhang Ruochen carried two cloth bags in his hands. One contained the former Twenty Heavens of the Heavenly Court, "Qi Wada Mother Goddess," and the other held the former Twenty Heavens of the Hell Realm, "Three Fiend Lords." The bags writhed, but they were sealed by divine patterns left on Hao Tian's sleeve, unable to escape.
"Something's not right. Why are the three Liang Huang entrenched in the Sea Stone Star Whirlpool?" Zhang Ruochen frowned.
The Sea Stone Star Whirlpool was chaotic in time and space, filled with countless forbidden zones, which could to some extent interfere with heavenly calculations. At the same time, it had passages connecting to the Void World and Lihentian, allowing for quick escape in all directions—truly an excellent hiding place.
But wouldn't it be better to hide directly in Lihentian or the Void World?
Could it be...
Did the Quantity Organization intend to detonate the Sea Stone Star Whirlpool?
In this vast starry sky of the Sea Stone Star Whirlpool, many stars were inhabited by cultivators, and some even had cities built for trading resources.
In every city where cultivators gathered, everyone was trembling under the aura of Hao Tian's presence, kneeling prostrate, unable even to move.
Zhang Ruochen raised his arms, condensing two phantom arm shadows billions of miles long. With a sweep of his sleeves, he parted the nebulae and moved stars one by one behind him.
At his current level of cultivation, not only were living beings like ants, but even stars were like marbles, and worlds like leaves.
If Hao Tian were to clash with Kui Liang Huang, the residual power released would surely destroy heaven and earth. Only beings of Zhang Ruochen's rank could save some cultivators on the eve of such a great battle.
It wasn't that Hao Tian lacked compassion, but compared to killing Kui Liang Huang, the lives of these cultivators in the Sea Stone Star Whirlpool were far too insignificant.
The Quantity Organization could not use these beings to blackmail a Heavenly Venerable's goodwill.
As a Heavenly Venerable, one could only have great kindness, not small kindness.
One could only be ruthless and rational, not indecisive.
When necessary, even if it meant sacrificing millions, or a world, or ten worlds, one must still firm one's will, kill those who must be killed, and do what must be done. To hold up heaven and earth, and protect more people.
Thus, ten hate him, ten thousand revere him.
Ten hate him for his ruthlessness, ten thousand revere him as a god.
If a Heavenly Venerable fusses over small kindnesses, focuses on personal disputes, cannot bear to let go, and lacks the breadth of mind and spirit, then he is unfit to be a Heavenly Venerable.
"It's the Ruochen Divine Venerable! He saved us!"
"Thank you, Divine Venerable, for your life-saving grace!"
...
Some cultivators at the Great Saint level spotted Zhang Ruochen in the starry sky and shouted his name.
Then, from countless caves and streets, innumerable cultivators bowed to the sacred figure beyond the heavens.
Zhang Ruochen's perception was sharp. Outside the Sea Stone Star Whirlpool, within a patch of deep blue nebula, he detected a familiar aura.
From tens of billions of miles away, Zhang Ruochen extended his hand.
Tens of billions of miles away, a palm shadow the size of a nebula condensed, grabbing Yu Ying Ancient God who was hiding in the nebula.
Yu Ying Ancient God was a trusted subordinate of Luo Yan Great Emperor and had close ties with Tian Yin Divine Mother—undoubtedly a member of the Quantity Organization.
Unable to break free from the rule divine patterns in the palm shadow, Yu Ying Ancient God said, "Divine Venerable, can you spare my life for the sake of our past friendship? I will surely remember this kindness."
Setting aside Yu Ying Ancient God's identity as a Quantity Organization member, Zhang Ruochen didn't have a bad impression of him.
He had never acted against Zhang Ruochen.
"I will hand you over to Luo Yan Great Emperor. Whether to spare your life or not is up to him."
Zhang Ruochen held Yu Ying Ancient God in his palm, looking at him like an ant, then flipped his hand and suppressed him into the Divine Realm World. At the center of the Divine Realm World, a five-finger mountain appeared.
"Oh?"
Zhang Ruochen sensed another aura.
Another formidable great god!
While Zhang Ruochen was suppressing Yu Ying Ancient God, that great god slipped through a spatial rift and fled into the Void World.
This great god had extremely high spatial mastery, excellent concealment skills, and had used forbidden arts, moving at an inconceivable speed.
In less than a breath, he had already fled deep into the Void World, nearly disappearing from sight.
If it had been anyone else without Zhang Ruochen's profound spatial mastery and perception, and if they had been slightly careless or slow to react, he might have actually escaped.
Zhang Ruochen struck out with the Bright Mirror Platform and suppressed him.
...
Kui Liang Huang stood on a luminous white continent deep within the Sea Stone Star Whirlpool. Dressed in plain cloth, with frost-touched temples, he appeared more restrained and simple compared to his former self as Fu Lu Divine Venerable.
This continent was like silver piled up, eighteen thousand miles from north to south and twenty-five thousand miles from east to west, magnificent and grand, with steep mountain ranges.
It floated in chaotic space, surrounded by countless spatial cracks.
Colorful, massive stars were constantly being born here. The stars contained various extraordinary substances of great hardness, and materials for refining Supreme Sacred Artifacts could even be found.
Kui Liang Huang held a dark wood staff, using it as a brush dipped in blood to carve inscription patterns on the continent.
"Boom!"
In the distance, a barren red great world collapsed, shaking heaven and earth and the void.
A wisp of brilliant Hao Tian clear light shot out from the shattered world fragments, heading straight for the white continent.
Standing at the center of the continent, Kui Liang Huang looked up at the Hao Tian clear light without fear, instead showing a kind and benevolent smile: "Hao Tian, you're too late! The Sea Stone Star Whirlpool is about to collapse. The destruction storm will sweep through the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain, the Ancient Civilization Star Domain, the Heavenly Court, and the Rakshasa Star Pillar Realm. The entire Starry Sky Battlefield will turn into desolate dust in the universe."
"Is that so? Not necessarily!"
Hao Tian shattered the divine formations Kui Liang Huang had set up on the periphery and rapidly approached the silver continent.
"Whoosh!"
Kui Liang Huang shook his dark wood staff.
The Primordial Lamp on the staff emitted a deep blue light.
Immediately, ear-splitting roars echoed through the starry sky—harsh, wild, and furious—spreading from all directions toward the Hao Tian clear light.
Patches of gray corpse clouds rushed out from spatial cracks.
Within the corpse clouds were great tombs. Some tomb mounds were as huge as stars, with thousand-mile-high crosses standing on them. Some were pyramid-shaped, built from white jade crystals. Some were broken, revealing evil coffins inside.
These were the tombs of ancient gods who had buried themselves in the Sea Stone Star Whirlpool, some containing ancient heavens from eons past.
Kui Liang Huang had used corpse-driving and soul-summoning methods to excavate these ancient god tombs and refine them into a yin army.
"Roar!"
Each great tomb flickered with formation inscription patterns, positioned at the nodes of a strange formation.
The tombs formed a connected network.
Divine corpses rushed out from the tombs, hair disheveled, bodies withered, devouring the energy of heaven and earth.
Zhang Ruochen's brows were tightly furrowed. He noticed something strange.
The gray death energy emanating from those tombs and divine corpses was extremely peculiar, very similar to the evil soil where the Yu Chen Divine Temple on Xinghuantian was located. Any divine corpse buried in that evil soil would "come back to life" at specific times, like a corpse mutation.
"Boom! Boom!"
As the Hao Tian clear light spread, ancient tombs disintegrated and divine corpses shattered.
Even the divine formations laid by Kui Liang Huang couldn't hold out for long before collapsing along with the tomb cluster.
Hao Tian said, "With this level of formation mastery, you could already be called Tai Shang."
"Unless the one from Kunlun Realm dies, who can be called the Tai Shang of formations?"
Kui Liang Huang's expression was grim. Twelve Gates of Destiny materialized around him, manifesting the power of the Twelve Aspects of Fate.
Hao Tian said, "Yes, your spiritual power is still lacking. If you could reach the ninety-third rank, borrowing this yin formation, you might be able to fight me."
"What if I add the Divine Blood of the Fate Ancestor?"
Kui Liang Huang slammed his dark wood staff heavily into the ground. Instantly, complex and profound blood-red inscription patterns spread out from under his feet.
Like blood-red rivers, the blood inscription patterns quickly covered the silver continent, then, like tentacles, ten thousand became a hundred million, a hundred million became a trillion, a trillion became countless trillions... countless billions of formation inscription patterns extended into the chaotic space outside, gradually turning the colorful Sea Stone Star Whirlpool blood-red.
Without a doubt, Kui Liang Huang was well-prepared and had used a large amount of Ancestor Divine Blood.
But he didn't think this would be enough to fight Hao Tian.
These great formations weren't meant to deal with Hao Tian—they were meant to detonate the Sea Stone Star Whirlpool.
The light of the Primordial Lamp turned blood-red!
Kui Liang Huang's hair and beard flew wildly, his robe spread like a flag, and the veins bulged on his aged face as he chanted hoarsely: "Blood of the Fate Ancestor, burn with the light of fate. Wherever the light shines, it is fate's soil... Formation... rise..."
"Boom!"
A force of heaven-collapsing and earth-splitting erupted from the silver continent at the center, forming a terrifying cosmic vortex.
Kui Liang Huang was wrapped by twelve Destiny Gates the size of stars, standing at the vortex's center.
The vortex turned into a tornado, shooting straight upward.
The interior of the tornado storm alone was hundreds of thousands of miles thick. Colorful planets, broken continents, ancient god tomb mounds, along with countless lightning bolts, spun within the storm, brewing a terrible power capable of destroying an entire star domain.
Even standing in the starry sky trillions of miles away, Zhang Ruochen felt a pulling force and could see the pillar of air rising deep within the Sea Stone Star Whirlpool.
The range affected by the air pillar grew wider and wider.
"Boom!"
Hao Tian broke into the tornado vortex, appearing above Kui Liang Huang. Then his body rapidly descended, breaking the speed rules and unleashing a speed far exceeding light.
A fist struck downward from above!
At that moment, it was as if time itself had reversed.
The twelve Destiny Gates protecting Kui Liang Huang all exploded, unable to hold for even an instant.
Kui Liang Huang raised his dark wood staff to block, but it couldn't withstand Hao Tian's fist. With a "crack," the staff snapped in half.
By the time Hao Tian floated at the storm's center and stabilized his form, Kui Liang Huang's physical body had been shattered into particles, broken into a mist of spiritual consciousness that spread in all directions across the three realms.