Chapter 3743: Backup Plan
"Immovable Wisdom King Fist!"
Zhang Ruochen unleashed this Heavenly Venerable divine ability, or perhaps it could be called an Ancestor divine ability.
A Qilin silhouette manifested on his fist, two rivers of lightning surged forth, and the fist's power erupted before the Space Divine Temple Hall Master.
With Zhang Ruochen's current physical strength, the force of this punch was unimaginable, aimed squarely at interrupting the Space Divine Temple Hall Master's execution of the Ten Thousand Realms.
"Boom, rumble!"
The ground before the Space Divine Temple Hall Master instantly rose with seven divine formations.
Each divine formation had been left behind by the strongest figures in the history of the Space Divine Temple, with the weakest among them reaching the peak of Indestructible Infinite. These were the crystallized heritage of the Space Divine Temple, accumulated over countless eons, using divine formations to protect the Hall Master and to annihilate external enemies.
As long as he was within the Space Divine Temple, the Hall Master was undefeatable, possessing too many trump cards from ancient times to the present.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen blocked by the seven ancient divine formations, the Space Divine Temple Hall Master said, "I told you, this is the Space Divine Temple. Never mind you, even if an Indestructible Infinite came, I could stand undefeated. The Space Divine Temple has endured through the ages without destruction—how could you, merely a Great Unbound Infinite, shake it?"
The seven ancient divine formations erupted with seven different terrifying powers, transforming into golden spatial rifts stretching thousands of miles, into heavenly trees bearing star fruits, into dragon-like whirlpools that could easily tear apart gods...
"Space Essence is in my hands!"
Zhang Ruochen channeled all the Space Rule Divine Marks within him, activating the Space Essence, and continuously struck at the seven ancient divine formations.
No matter how powerful the seven ancient divine formations were, they were all constructed based on space and would inevitably be suppressed by the Space Essence.
"A Great Unbound Infinite's cultivation cannot shake the Space Divine Temple's various foundations. What about the Nine Cauldrons? The Nine Cauldrons can suppress the universe!"
"Hold!"
Zhang Ruochen unleashed the Earth Cauldron, manifesting a primordial world, and suppressed one ancient divine formation.
He then brought out the God-Defying Stele, stabilizing another ancient divine formation.
With two formations suppressed, a gap appeared in the defense before the Space Divine Temple Hall Master, and Zhang Ruochen charged through.
"Too late!"
The Space Divine Temple Hall Master had already condensed the Ten Thousand Realms into form, his palm radiating blinding light, and he turned it over to strike at the charging Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen immediately felt an unprecedented threat of death—even Murong Tailai had not brought him such immense pressure.
"Flood Cauldron!"
Zhang Ruochen summoned the Flood Cauldron and leaped onto its rim, ready to retreat into it at any moment if he could not withstand the attack.
"Whoosh!"
Truth Divine Light manifested into a realm form, unfolding into a vast cosmos within the Space Divine Temple, clashing with the layers of formation light diagrams falling from the Space Divine Temple Hall Master's palm, creating countless ripples of energy.
"Your cultivation is still far off!"
The Space Divine Temple Hall Master knew that Zhang Ruochen had only recently broken through to Great Unbound Infinite. Even if he were a young Ancestor, reaching the middle stage of Great Unbound Infinite would be the limit.
His guess was correct. Zhang Ruochen had only perfected the Earth and Metal Paths so far, and in terms of cultivation, he was indeed several levels behind him.
However, Zhang Ruochen's divine path was a First-Rank, enough to allow him to fight across realms.
Facing the suppression of the Ten Thousand Realms and the Four Directions Great Universe Seal, Zhang Ruochen's body alternately shrank and expanded, his physical form resisting space.
"Throughout history, only I am First-Rank."
Above Zhang Ruochen's head, beneath his feet, before him, and behind him, Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seals appeared.
The seal beneath his feet manifested an endless expanse of divine soil.
The Shaoyang Divine Mountain among the Four Symbols was a gleaming golden peak.
As the seals rotated like millstones, they continuously absorbed the power of the Ten Thousand Realms, channeling it into the Four Symbols and dispersing it around Zhang Ruochen.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen gradually stabilize his disadvantage, the Space Divine Temple Hall Master's shock was hard to contain. After a million years of cultivation, borrowing the favorable conditions of the Space Divine Temple, and going all out, he still could not suppress him.
If it were Murong Tailai, he would likely have no choice but to self-destruct his divine source in a tragic end.
Zhang Ruochen, wielding two of the Nine Cauldrons, was clearly even more powerful than a Heavenly Venerable like Murong Tailai.
"All gods, hear my command! Fully activate the Heaven Round Earth Square Divine Formation and the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation. Assist me, the Hall Master, in suppressing the eon-level great villain Zhang Ruochen, to rid the Heavenly Court of a scourge, and to avenge Palace Master Yan, Radiant Great Palace Master, and Senior Xun Yangzi!"
The Space Divine Temple Hall Master had long prepared a comprehensive plan, transmitting his voice to the gods outside the hall.
The gods of the Space Divine Temple naturally held deep respect for the Hall Master and would not defy his orders. As for Zhang Ruochen, the Grand Elder, his tenure had been too short, and his influence was far too weak.
The other gods whom Zhang Ruochen had imprisoned in the Divine Prison harbored immense hatred, and with this opportunity before them, they would naturally obey the Space Divine Temple Hall Master.
Led by Tianya Shenzun, Wanchi Shenzun, Bamian Shenwang, and other Infinite Realm experts, along with millions of Saint-level cultivators from the Space Divine Temple, they all struck simultaneously, each sending out a beam of light to power the Heaven Round Earth Square Divine Formation and the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation.
The divine veins beneath the Space Divine Temple became active, releasing brilliant, resplendent divine radiance that shot into the sky.
One divine hall after another lifted off the ground, countless beams of light shooting outward.
From countless floating islands and divine mountains, battle cries erupted, with divine power and saintly qi surging outward.
As the dense streams of divine radiance flowed toward the Space Divine Temple, the Space Divine Temple Hall Master's momentum soared, his divine power growing stronger. The Ten Thousand Realms formation light diagrams he had condensed became more real, as if countless true great worlds were pressing down on Zhang Ruochen's head.
Zhang Ruochen understood clearly that once the Space Divine Temple Hall Master fully gathered the power of the entire temple into himself, not even he, let alone an early-stage Indestructible Infinite in his position, could escape being severely wounded and suppressed.
This was not just the power of the gods but the vast, righteous force of an entire realm.
A Fuya had yet to act, clearly still watching, and could not be relied upon.
That she had not turned against him was already a great fortune.
"Xiu Chen, hold them off for an instant!"
Zhang Ruochen secretly transmitted.
The Sundial was hidden within the divine soil beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet.
Dense time light rain seeped out from the divine soil, condensing into a white, bright ocean, raising thousand-zhang time waves that surged toward the Ten Thousand Realms.
The flow of time slowed!
An instant later, Zhang Ruochen activated the Ancestor Divine Qi and Ancestor Rules within his Mysterious Embryo, condensing them into a nine-colored Ancestor Divine Power War Sword, piercing through the ancient divine formations and heading straight for the Space Divine Temple Hall Master's brow.
With his greatly improved cultivation and enhanced sword dao mastery, Zhang Ruochen's application of Ancestor Divine Qi and Ancestor Rules had reached a higher level.
However, the Space Divine Temple Hall Master had already suffered a loss once and was naturally prepared.
A string of Buddhist beads flew from his pupils.
The beads also released Ancestor Divine Qi and Ancestor Rules, shattering the nine-colored Ancestor War Sword.
The string connecting the beads broke, and each bead, like a compressed, bright star, orbited around the Space Divine Temple Hall Master, forming spatial patterns.
"This is Kong Fannin's Buddhist beads!" Zhang Ruochen said.
The Space Divine Temple Hall Master replied, "No, these are the Buddhist beads left by Patriarch Kasyapa. Kong Fannin was merely their owner in this era! Zhang Ruochen, if you have no more tricks, today will be your death day. I hate Yuni Shen, but I hate Immovable Bright King Great Venerable even more. The calamity of the Weak Water Clan began with him—it was he who left the Ancestor's decree for Yuni Shen to take the Weak Water to guard the Holy Realm."
Xiao Hei, lying on the ground pretending to be dead, communicated with Void Heaven, "Lord Void Heaven, strike now! If you don't, Zhang Ruochen won't hold out much longer!"
Void Heaven stood within Xiao Hei's Divine Realm World, leisurely at ease, and said, "No rush! What's the hurry in watching the show? This kid Zhang Ruochen has improved too much in cultivation. He's been fighting Yu Jingzhen for so long without a single injury. If I act now, he won't be grateful to me!"
"Strike now! I guarantee he'll be deeply grateful to you, Lord Void Heaven. Once the Space Divine Temple Hall Master gathers the entire temple's power into himself, the trouble will be huge!" Xiao Hei urged anxiously.
"What's so huge? It's not like he's Heaven Round Earth Unobstructed?"
Void Heaven remained very calm, continuing to observe the Earth Cauldron and Flood Cauldron, studying how Zhang Ruochen could activate two cauldrons.
At the same time, Void Heaven felt that the Space Divine Temple Hall Master was full of confidence, daring to act within the Heavenly Court, and must have something to rely on.
Perhaps the real show was just beginning!
"Wait a bit. That little lady A Fuya hasn't chosen a side yet. Once she betrays Zhang Ruochen, I'll step in. I've tasted every kind of woman in my life, but this beauty of an Ancestor is a first." Void Heaven did not hide his thoughts, laughing heartily, feeling this trip had an unexpected gain.
If A Fuya did not betray Zhang Ruochen, for the sake of the Sword Origin and the Purple Heart Heavenly Venerable Orchid, he would be too embarrassed to snatch Zhang Ruochen's woman.
A Fuya, this top-tier beauty, was surely Zhang Ruochen's forbidden treasure—how could he let go?
And Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, plus his future potential, had already made Void Heaven take him very seriously. There was no original enmity, so there was no need to offend him and make an enemy.
In the end, Void Heaven regarded Zhang Ruochen as a kindred spirit.
As the power of the Heaven Round Earth Square Divine Formation and the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation transferred into the temple, Zhang Ruochen's pressure grew heavier, and he said, "Do you really think you have absolute control over the Space Divine Temple?"
"What do you mean?" the Space Divine Temple Hall Master asked.
Outside the temple, Tianya Shenzun and Cao Beisheng, standing at key nodes of the Heaven Round Earth Square Divine Formation and the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation, received Zhang Ruochen's transmission and immediately stopped powering the formations. Instead, they struck with their war weapons at the nearest gods.
"Puff! Puff! Puff..."
In an extremely short time, several gods had their divine bodies shattered, blood spraying as they fell from midair.
The Heaven Round Earth Square Divine Formation immediately showed flaws.
"Grand Elder Zhang Ruochen was appointed by the Heavenly Venerable himself. No one but the Heavenly Venerable can kill him. The Hall Master harbors evil intentions and is a Quantity Venerable hidden within the Heavenly Court's Quantity Organization. Everyone should unite to assist the Grand Elder and rid the Heavenly Court of this great scourge!"
After Tianya Shenzun shouted this, he sent a beam of light from his fingertip, piercing through the Heaven Round Earth Square Divine Formation.
The divine power fluctuation spread to the outside.
"Finally, they've moved!"
Zhao Gongming, guarding by the Zhizhi River, saw this beam of light and immediately mobilized the divine power within him, drawing on the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Rules to condense a five-colored light sword, cutting the Zhizhi River until it stopped flowing.
Then, riding his black tiger, he crossed the severed river, his battle intent surging as he charged toward the Space Divine Temple.
The black tiger roared, its hooves shaking the heavens.
Behind Zhao Gongming and the black tiger, the Five Elements Rules transformed into a rain of five-colored war swords, accompanying them. The sound of sword cries spread across West Ox Continent, shaking the gods of all sides.
"What a Zhang Ruochen, he really left a backup plan in the Space Divine Temple."
A Fuya's crystal-clear, ruby-like lips softly uttered this sentence, and with a wave of her wide, fragrant sleeve.
"Whoosh—"
Three hundred and sixty formation flags flew out from the white Radiant Divine Radiance, landing at various positions around the Space Divine Temple. Within the formation, a Snow Wind Continent Divine Formation manifested, cutting off the connection between the Heaven Round Earth Square Divine Formation and the Star-Swallowing Divine Formation with the temple, weakening the Space Divine Temple Hall Master's power.
Zhang Ruochen knew that the Space Divine Temple Hall Master might be a Quantity Venerable and would emerge from seclusion soon. How could he not leave a backup plan within the temple?
Persuading Tianya Shenzun and Cao Beisheng was not difficult—just a matter of coercion and bribery.
For coercion, he borrowed the authority of the Heavenly Venerable.
Tianya Shenzun and Cao Beisheng were indeed gods of the Space Divine Temple, but their reverence for Hao Tian far exceeded their fear of Yu Jingzhen.
For bribery, it was the divine pills Zhang Ruochen had refined from the Mother Goddess of Qiwada and the Three Evil Emperors. Giving them a few would greatly boost their cultivation.
(Chapter End)