Chapter 3675: Storming the Divine Temple
Xie Tianyi let out a long sigh: "An outsider, at the doorstep of the Space Divine Temple, captures an elder and suppresses a God Venerable. Tianya God Venerable, abandon your illusions. This person has come for revenge and will not reason with you. If you dare not make a move, let me, the Palace Master, handle it instead. I have two blood debts to settle with him."
"The Space Divine Temple's affairs can be resolved by itself."
Although Tianya God Venerable was wary of Jie Tian and was also trying to gauge the Heavenly Palace's stance, Zhang Ruochen's domineering actions left no face for the Space Divine Temple. Pushed to this point, it could only be a fight to the death.
"All the gods of the Heavenly Court have seen it—Zhang Ruochen has gone too far. If the Space Divine Temple does not slay him today, we will have failed the prestige established by the sages and ancestors who founded this temple."
"Gods of the Space Divine Temple, where are you? Do you dare to fight?"
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
The gods of the Space Divine Temple, including the false god generals, had long reached the end of their patience, each radiating murderous intent.
Like a host of celestial deities, each emitted light brighter than a star, standing at the most critical nodes of the "Star-Swallowing Divine Formation" and the "Round Sky Square Earth Divine Formation."
Some stood atop divine seas, others within their own divine realm worlds.
Vast, boundless oceans of divine qi and expansive, heavy great worlds floated outside the Space Divine Temple. Stretched by the formation's inscriptions and space rules, the original ten-thousand-mile region had become a billion miles wide.
The Star-Swallowing Divine Formation was left behind by a formation grandmaster of the Space Divine Temple's history. Activated by a Great Unbound Infinite and the gods together, it could contend with the Twenty Heavens.
This was not its strongest state.
If activated by a spiritual power master with the "Round Sky Without Gap" level, and further empowered by the Space Esoterica within the temple, the destructive force of the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation would increase by several levels.
The Round Sky Square Earth Divine Formation was the Space Divine Temple's primary defensive formation, continuously repaired and strengthened by successive temple lords.
With the Space Divine Temple now united in purpose, with all gods joining forces to defend, even an Indestructible Infinite would find it impossible to breach from the outside.
These two divine formations were the supreme foundation that had allowed the Space Divine Temple to endure for millions of years.
Seeing this sight, the Eight-Winged Nightmare Dragon showed a grave expression: "This is a big problem. The gods of the Space Divine Temple have truly awakened their killing intent. With these two foundational formations activated, even Jie Tian could not break through. Zhang Ruochen should retreat now!"
Chi Xingtian said, "If I were Zhang Ruochen, I would have changed my appearance, sneaked into the Space Divine Temple, and crippled them before they could activate these two formations. This situation is indeed a headache. Retreating like this would be too shameful!"
"Whoosh!"
Beyond the heavens, the divine throne planets of the Space Divine Temple's gods numbered over a thousand.
Each divine throne planet dropped a pillar of divine qi, continuously enhancing the power of the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation and the Round Sky Square Earth Divine Formation.
"Roar!"
The Star-Swallowing Divine Beast's body expanded dozens of times, its entire form flowing with scorching magma capable of melting gods.
Even cultivators from the Hell Realm standing on the Shura Star Pillar Realm could look toward the Heavenly Court and see the bright spot of light erupting from the Space Divine Temple.
A destructive aura was spreading into the universe.
Outside the Radiant Divine Palace, Yu Dongxuan wore a satisfied smile.
This matter was decided by Temple Lord Ke Luo, but the executor was him.
Now, it seemed the situation was settled. Whether Zhang Ruochen retreated or not, it would be a heavy blow to the Kunlun Realm.
Xie Tianyi was quite worried that Zhang Ruochen might simply retreat. He said, "Zhang Ruochen, how many Heavenly Court cultivators died by your hand in Xinghuantian? How many innocent lives did you slaughter in Paradise Realm? You have colluded with the Hell Realm, acting in cahoots like birds of a feather. You are truly a great enemy of the Heavenly Court. Today is the day you lay down your head. If you have any courage, don't run away. Let us see if you are worthy of the title 'Young Ancestor.'"
"Fine! I'll grant your wish. Just two mere formations are not enough to give you such confidence."
Zhang Ruochen stood tall and imposing, a hint of disdain and ruthlessness curling at the corner of his mouth. He showed no intention of retreating, striding boldly toward the Space Divine Temple.
Qing Su, Quan Zhongsheng, Dai Xue Queen, Chi Xingtian, and the Eight-Winged Nightmare Dragon were all worried, wanting to stop Zhang Ruochen.
But Zhang Ruochen was too fast; in an instant, he had already clashed with the Star-Swallowing Divine Beast.
"Roar!"
The Star-Swallowing Divine Beast glared fiercely, its crimson claws as vast as clouds and skies, flowing with blazing flames and dripping magma, striking out from the formation's light barrier.
Zhang Ruochen did not dodge or evade. His arms drew back like a drawn bow, then he punched forward, meeting the descending claw.
A deafening roar echoed through the void. From the Qilin Fist Gloves, a qilin phantom surged out.
Two Thunder Pearls released two dragon-shaped bolts of lightning.
At the moment of impact, the world fell silent.
"Boom!"
Then, an earth-shattering sound erupted like a mountain collapse and a tsunami.
The ground split apart, lightning and divine flames filling the sky.
A fierce storm burst outward, forcing Qing Su, Quan Zhongsheng, and the others to immediately flee far away.
Fortunately, with the activation of the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation and the Round Sky Square Earth Divine Formation, all defensive formations in this celestial domain around the Space Divine Temple were triggered, preventing this destructive storm from spreading too far.
The Eight-Winged Nightmare Dragon dragged Chi Xingtian back to the opposite bank of the Chihuo River, waving its sleeves to disperse the divine force crashing against them, and looked toward the center of the destructive fluctuation.
Zhang Ruochen had vanished!
A Space Divine Temple elder, standing on a formation disk inside the Star-Swallowing Divine Beast's head, observed for a moment and said in surprise, "Was he shattered into ashes?"
"He's above your head!"
From above came Zhang Ruochen's divine voice.
The elder had just looked up when Zhang Ruochen descended from the sky, his body crashing directly into the defensive light barrier of the formation.
Everyone thought Zhang Ruochen must be insane.
The Star-Swallowing Divine Formation and the Round Sky Square Earth Divine Formation were not to be touched.
Touch the former, and you'd be annihilated.
Touch the latter, and you'd be trapped in chaotic space.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, when Zhang Ruochen struck the formation's light barrier, he was not attacked by the formation. Instead, he slowly merged into it.
It was as if his body had turned into liquid or gas, fusing with the formation, even with the entire heaven and earth.
Gradually, his body disappeared.
On the formation's light barrier, only a Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal remained, slowly spinning, squeezing bit by bit into the formation's interior.
"Not good! Zhang Ruochen's Wuji Divine Dao is profound, close to the Heavenly Dao. His physical body has merged with the formation's inscriptions!"
"Once he enters the formation, we're in big trouble!"
...
Tianya God Venerable was shocked.
In his estimation, even if Zhang Ruochen used a divine artifact like the God-Defying Stele, which targets formations, he could not contend with these two foundational divine formations.
Who would have thought that Zhang Ruochen did not use the God-Defying Stele or forcefully break the formation, but instead, as if turning into the qi of heaven and earth and the rules of heaven and earth, directly merged into the formation.
"Breaking into the Space Divine Temple won't be that easy."
Tianya God Venerable steadied his mind, a cold light flashing in his eyes. He mobilized divine qi, gathering it at his fingertip, and pointed outward.
This finger strike triggered the formation inscriptions within the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation.
The finger force grew stronger with every mile it traveled.
"Whoosh!"
Although Tianya God Venerable was only at the early stage of Great Unbound Infinite, with the power of the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation and the divine power of the Space Divine Temple's gods backing him, the finger force that struck the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal had been amplified countless times.
A strange thing happened. When this finger hit the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal on the formation's light barrier, it was absorbed!
The Shaoyin and Shaoyang parts of the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal flickered, spinning rapidly.
Moments later, the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal squeezed through the formation's light barrier, like a divine map of heaven and earth, flying over the heads of the Space Divine Temple's gods, causing spatial vortices and disrupting the flow of time.
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
A dozen or more gods spat blood and collapsed within the formation.
The Taiji Four Symbols Diagram had not attacked them, yet they were all severely injured.
"Stop him!"
A Space Divine Temple elder shouted, holding a staff with both hands and striking it heavily against the ground.
The power of the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation converged toward him.
He swung the staff, tearing space apart.
At the same time, two beams of light shot from the Star-Swallowing Divine Beast's pupils, aimed at the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram.
Zhang Ruochen stood at the center of the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram, looking at the forces coming from two different directions. He flickered, crossing space, and vanished into the void.
The next moment, he appeared on the ground.
The beams from the Star-Swallowing Divine Beast's pupils chased him to the ground, bringing him a great sense of crisis.
Zhang Ruochen directly took out the previously suppressed Fifth Elder, Xue Qing, using him as a shield to block the incoming beams.
"Sizzle!"
In an instant, Xue Qing was reduced to ashes, even his divine source turning to powder.
A top-tier great god had fallen in an instant.
Zhang Ruochen's true body had long dodged away, charging straight toward the Space Divine Temple, his divine sense locked onto Tianya God Venerable.
As long as he captured Tianya God Venerable, no matter how strong the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation and the Round Sky Square Earth Divine Formation were, they could not harm him.
"Elder Xue Qing... has fallen..."
"Let's kill him."
"Elder Xue Qing was not destroyed by the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation; he was killed by Zhang Ruochen."
...
The gate of the Space Divine Temple was located a thousand zhang above the ground, connected by ninety thousand steps, giving an unattainable feeling.
In reality, after the Round Sky Square Earth Divine Formation was activated, each of these ninety thousand steps had become a small world, making ninety thousand spaces.
To cross ninety thousand spaces and reach the temple gate would take no small amount of time.
But Zhang Ruochen, being who he was, directly summoned the Earth Cauldron upon reaching the foot of the steps.
Holding the cauldron's leg, he activated its origin divine power. The Earth Cauldron's vast might radiated outward, threatening to tear apart the entire West Ox Continent.
"Boom!"
With a heavy strike, the ninety thousand spaces on the ninety thousand steps continuously collapsed.
The stone steps became broken and fragmented, rubble falling to the ground.
Tianya God Venerable was stunned. He had never imagined that the temple's heavenly steps, forged by countless sages, would be destroyed in his hands.
In that moment of distraction, Zhang Ruochen, wielding the Earth Cauldron, had already leaped into the sky, heading straight for him.
"Zhang Ruochen, you little brat! Today, either you die or I do!"
Tianya God Venerable's wings on his back ignited with white flames, veins bulging on his face, and he unleashed the divine artifact, the Mountain and River Seal.
The Mountain and River Seal was round, originally only the size of a palm, but once it flew out, the mountains and rivers on the seal all awakened.
A hundred thousand mountain ranges, a hundred thousand ancient rivers, surged with a hundred thousand divine powers.
"Bang!"
The Earth Cauldron shattered these hundred thousand mountains and rivers, pierced through Tianya God Venerable's divine realm world, and directly snapped his divine body in two.
The blood of a God Venerable stained the gate of the Space Divine Temple red.
Zhang Ruochen held the cauldron with one hand, standing outside the temple gate, his feet in a pool of blood. He turned his head to look at the gods suspended within the formation and said, "Today, I came to kill! Since I cannot find that hidden Quantity Venerable, then let everyone who could be a Quantity Venerable die!"
As he spoke these words, Zhang Ruochen's Heart of Truth locked onto every person present, not missing the slightest change in their expressions.
(End of this chapter)