Chapter 3723: Rout
The layered water domains condensed by the Xuanwu True Ancestor were pierced through by the Truth Light Beams. Finally, retracting its head and using its hardest tortoise shell, it barely managed to block that strike.
However, its body was still sent flying, and the Santu River beneath its feet collapsed once again.
The might of the Hong Ding was terrifying, completely turning the tide of battle.
The Blood Talisman Evil Emperor wanted to rush over and join forces with the Xuanwu True Ancestor, but how could the Dragon Lord and A Fuya give him that chance?
A Fuya held a flaming longbow, mobilized the Light Esoterica, and shot a blinding light arrow.
"Bang!"
The sound of the bowstring caused the void to tremble.
The light arrow dragged a tail thousands of miles long, shattering talisman patterns one after another, heading straight for the true body of the Blood Talisman Evil Emperor.
The Blood Talisman Evil Emperor could barely save himself, let alone worry about Zhang Ruochen and the Xuanwu True Ancestor. He had no choice but to take out a three-foot-long jade brush, dip it in Ancestor blood, and draw a ten-thousand-mile grand talisman, barely blocking the light arrow.
He looked down.
He saw that Lady Shiji had already suppressed the vast majority of the blood waves and the Soul Mother's divine soul into the Xuan Ding. The dark aura and stone aura released from her body grew increasingly intense. Even stars trillions of miles away were affected by the stone aura, deviating from their orbits and flying toward this location.
That Half-Ancestor might, combined with the aura of the Xuan Ding, was as if the master of heaven and earth had emerged, inspiring fear in all.
Previously, most of Lady Shiji's power had been used to suppress the Soul Mother, who was also at the Half-Ancestor realm. Now, as her power was gradually freed, even Qishier Pin Lian retreated rapidly, heading deep into the Void World.
Only the Time Imprint Light Rain remained in this stretch of void, suppressing Lady Shiji's speed.
"Your talent is extremely high, and your time mastery is extraordinary. Could it be that you are a disciple of the Nether Ancestor?"
Lady Shiji sensed a threat from Qishier Pin Lian. Although her current realm still lagged behind Lady Shiji's by a considerable margin, the future was uncertain. Therefore, even though refining and killing the Soul Mother was the top priority, she still pursued into the Void World, unwilling to let Qishier Pin Lian escape.
"The remaining divine soul of the Soul Mother is left to you!" Lady Shiji said, glancing at the Truth Temple Lord.
The Truth Temple Lord had no fondness for ancient powerhouses, but when it came to major matters of right and wrong, he naturally would not contend with Lady Shiji. With a cold snort, he used the Soul-Controlling Ghost Seal to suppress the remaining blood and the Soul Mother's divine soul in this stretch of the starry sky.
Meanwhile, the Blood Talisman Evil Emperor, sensing that the situation had turned extremely unfavorable, immediately fled.
A Fuya pursued him. She was very interested in the Blood Talisman Evil Emperor's divine heart.
The Dragon Lord, deeply worried about Zhang Ruochen, headed toward the direction where the Xuanwu True Ancestor had fled.
...
In the star domains of the Southern Universe, Western Universe, and Hell Realm that were relatively close to the Soul Realm, powerful fluctuations of divine power and tides of heaven and earth rules were felt, but no one dared to investigate.
Because stars were continuously annihilating, and both space and time showed signs of disorder.
All of this proved that this was a battle at the level of the Twenty Heavens.
Even God Kings and God Venerables hesitated, not daring to enter the star domain where the Soul Realm was located, only waiting for news at the edge of the starry sky.
"It's Blade Venerable, Dragon Lord, and Zhang Ruochen... they've gone mad. The gods of the Heavenly Court are in internal strife. The Order Palace Lord has been killed..."
This news was brought back by cultivators who had escaped from the Soul Realm.
These cultivators were too low in realm to know the truth.
"The Radiant Palace Great Palace Lord, the Heavenly Authority Master, and the Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader have all joined the fray. Today, there will definitely be more than one God Venerable falling. The Heavenly Court is in chaos, war has broken out. No, the Western Universe has completely descended into internal strife..."
The cultivators of the Soul Realm were terrified, frightened by the fierce battle in the starry sky earlier.
Countless cultivators who had escaped with them had died in the aftermath of the battle.
The Five Dragon God Emperor and the Chongming Ancestor arrived at the periphery of this star domain. Upon hearing the news brought by the Soul Realm cultivators, they stopped and began to argue.
The Five Dragon God Emperor advocated for immediately heading to the Soul Realm to stop the conflict and killing.
But the Chongming Ancestor had a different view. He said, "Blade Venerable, Jiwang, Zhang Ruochen, the Immortal-Worshipping Cult Leader, Xun Yangzi, and Yu Dongxuan—any one of them alone carries immense weight, with influence surpassing one realm, even ten realms, or a hundred realms. Right now, only the Western Universe is in chaos. If we get involved, we will surely drag the entire Southern Universe into the turmoil. Then the Heavenly Court will truly be in chaos. At that point, who will bear the blame for eternity?"
The Five Dragon God Emperor wanted to speak again.
The Chongming Ancestor continued, "Xiao Wu, if you go to the Soul Realm, can you remain impartial? You will inevitably side with Jiwang and the others. Remember, you are the master of the Heavenly Dragon Realm, one of the Twenty Heavens of the Heavenly Court. You do not represent yourself alone. The higher your cultivation, the more sensitive your identity. How can you act impulsively without thinking?"
The Chongming Ancestor was a descendant of the Demon Ancestor and the current strongest expert of the Demon God Realm, as well as the strongest expert of the entire Southern Universe. His spiritual power could rival that of the Yama Clan's Tai Shang.
Although the Heavenly Dragon Realm ranked second in the Southern Universe and was powerful, it still had to obey the orders of the ruling world, the Demon God Realm.
The Five Dragon God Emperor naturally knew the Chongming Ancestor's stance.
But even though he was also a Heavenly Venerable, the gap between him and the other was too great. The other held the moral high ground. Under these circumstances, defying the Chongming Ancestor's will to go to the Soul Realm and save people was simply impossible.
The Five Dragon God Emperor was well aware that the Soul Realm was a killing trap set by Blade Venerable, Yu Dongxuan, and the others, targeting Zhang Ruochen.
Moreover, the Dragon Lord was also involved. He was extremely anxious, looking at the pair of dazzling wings floating in the starry sky, and asked, "I wonder what the Ancestor plans to do?"
From the light cluster at the center of the wings came the Chongming Ancestor's sigh: "Zhang Ruochen has even killed the Order Palace Lord. This matter is difficult to handle. The fall of a God Venerable is a sensitive issue. We can only report to the Heavenly Venerable and await his instructions."
The Five Dragon God Emperor asked, "Where is the Heavenly Venerable?"
The Chongming Ancestor was silent for a moment before saying, "Who knows the whereabouts of the Heavenly Venerable? I have already sent a message to the Heavenly Palace. I believe someone there must know where the Heavenly Venerable has gone. Xiao Wu, don't worry. There will be results soon."
How could the Five Dragon God Emperor not be anxious?
The Chongming Ancestor was clearly stalling for Blade Venerable, Yu Dongxuan, and the others. By the time news came from the Heavenly Venerable, Zhang Ruochen and Jiwang would probably be dead.
Just as the Five Dragon God Emperor, with burning anger in his eyes, was about to defy the Chongming Ancestor's obstruction and forcibly break into the star domain ahead...
A powerful wave of spiritual power came from the direction of the Soul Realm.
"Oh?"
The Chongming Ancestor, in human form, stepped out from the light cluster at the center of the dazzling wings. His eyes had double pupils, and his head was covered with colorful feathers. He stared intently in the direction of the Soul Realm, his expression growing more and more solemn.
"It's the Truth Temple Lord. Her spiritual power has actually reached the realm of Heavenly Circle Without Flaw. Excellent. With her there, the Soul Realm and the Western Universe should not fall into chaos!" The Five Dragon God Emperor's eyes lit up, and he laughed heartily, glancing at the Chongming Ancestor.
From the Soul Realm to their location was an extremely vast distance. The spiritual power fluctuations would take a long time to arrive.
Thus, by the time they sensed this spiritual power fluctuation, many things had already happened.
The Chongming Ancestor crossed space, saw the true scene of the Soul Realm, and sensed an aura far more terrifying than that of the Truth Temple Lord. A thought of immediately leaving this place arose in his heart.
It was the aura of Order.
And there was also the aura of a Half-Ancestor.
Just then, a message arrived, giving the Chongming Ancestor a plan.
"News has just come in. A divine battle has erupted outside the Kunlun Realm. The attackers are suspected to be the Quantities Emperor and Baer. Since the Truth Temple Lord is stationed here, we should hurry to the Kunlun Realm to provide support!" the Chongming Ancestor said.
The Five Dragon God Emperor's expression changed. He realized that the situation in the world had shifted from an undercurrent beneath the water to a surging wave on the surface.
It was so difficult for the Heavenly Venerable to rectify the internal affairs of the Heavenly Court.
This was just the beginning, yet it had already provoked such a massive backlash. Even the Quantity Organization and the Chaos Ancient Gods had gotten involved.
Who was it that was joining forces with these people to pressure the Heavenly Venerable? Who was playing this game of chess with him?
...
"Pfft!"
A Truth Light Beam cut through the darkness of the Void World, striking the Xuanwu True Ancestor. Its snake head exploded, releasing a large amount of foul corpse blood and many pieces of rotting flesh.
The Xuanwu True Ancestor had no time to retrieve this corpse blood and rotting flesh and continued to flee.
The Sword Bone Doppelganger flew out from Zhang Ruochen's body, collecting the corpse blood and rotting flesh, and extinguished the divine soul thoughts inside.
Otherwise, if these corpse blood, rotting flesh, and divine soul thoughts of the Xuanwu True Ancestor escaped, they would definitely be comparable to gods and would cause disaster in one region. If they returned to the main body, the main body's injuries would heal instantly.
To kill a powerhouse like the Xuanwu True Ancestor, Zhang Ruochen also planned to use the method of dismemberment, gradually weakening it.
"Hua!"
One Truth Light Beam after another flew out, riddling the Xuanwu True Ancestor's snake body with holes, causing it to roar in agony.
Speed was its weakness. How could it shake off Zhang Ruochen?
The Xuanwu True Ancestor had not considered staying behind to engage Zhang Ruochen in close combat. But Zhang Ruochen's physical body and cultivation had improved too quickly. The aura he was now emitting was no weaker than its own.
In a direct confrontation, it would only lose faster.
"Hateful! Aoo!"
The Xuanwu True Ancestor roared, extremely unwilling.
How could there be such a freakish cultivator in the world? His combat power had completely overturned the order of heaven and earth, and he alone controlled three of the Nine Cauldrons. One of those cauldrons was even at the Half-Ancestor level.
This was simply impossible to fight!
No one who came would have a chance of victory.
"Zhang Ruochen, if you keep pursuing, I will have no choice but to self-destruct my divine source and take you down with me. Give me a way to live, and give yourself one too," the Xuanwu True Ancestor said.
"If it weren't for you, I would have already rescued Lian Xi. Do you think I will let you live? Spare me the nonsense. Either die or fight."
Zhang Ruochen transformed into a Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal, imprinting himself onto the Hong Ding. Then, he leaped through the Void World.
With each leap, he closed the distance to the Xuanwu True Ancestor.
Void and reality were two opposing extreme forces, mutually restraining each other. That was why, by wielding the Hong Ding, Zhang Ruochen could easily travel through the Void World without being suppressed. This was also why Xu Fengjin had once entered the Truth Temple to cultivate.
"Do you think self-destructing your divine source can kill me?"
The Hong Ding hovered above the Xuanwu True Ancestor, striking down with a heavy blow, causing the Xuanwu True Ancestor's snake body to completely explode and its divine soul to suffer severe damage.
"Boom!"
The cauldron body collided with the tortoise shell. The shell did not break, but blood gushed profusely from inside the shell.
By the time the Dragon Lord arrived, this stretch of the Void World was filled with the remains of the Xuanwu True Ancestor. The inside of the tortoise shell was hollowed out, and rivers of corpse blood flowed in all directions. It was a gruesome sight.
Zhang Ruochen, like a mad demon, was filled with fierce energy. His hair was disheveled as he stood on the tortoise's back, his body drenched in blood. In his hands, he held a divine source, continuously refining and erasing the divine soul of the Xuanwu True Ancestor within it.
(End of this chapter)