Chapter 3761: Snow Domain Star Sea Divine Army
The Wuding Divine Sea floated in the void of the universe, yet it had shores. These shores were formed by countless moving celestial bodies—stars, dark stars, planets, asteroids, void realm plates, nebula dust—innumerable, continuously pulled here over eons of time.
Its western shore bordered the Hell Realm, while its eastern shore neared the Heavenly Court Universe.
These two shores had the densest concentration of stars!
Before the Thunder Clan's return, the Hell Realm and the Heavenly Court had deployed tens of millions of formations on these stars, stationing billions of cultivators.
The northern shore of the Divine Sea had the fewest stars, but several tributaries of the Santu River flowed through here. The murky, foul-smelling corpse river water merged with the waters of the Divine Sea, creating spatial chaos and nurturing many bizarre undead beings within the sea.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen and Nutian Shenzun appeared on the northern shore of the Divine Sea, standing by a hundred-zhang-wide tributary of the Santu River.
Nutian Shenzun still maintained his ninety-nine-zhang golden body, surrounded by countless Buddha shadows, with Buddhist chants echoing through the nine heavens. This imposing aura intimidated the undead in the Santu River tributary and the northern part of the Wuding Divine Sea, causing them to tremble and hide in the water, not daring to surface.
No matter if they were once forbidden beings or evil undead gods, before a Heavenly Venerable-level powerhouse, they were all insignificant.
Zhang Ruochen took a step forward, directly crossing a million li, appearing in the black, turbid sea. He raised his hands and drew a circle.
The circle gave birth to Yin and Yang; Yin and Yang generated the Four Symbols.
The scenery of the Four Symbols manifested across a million li of sea. The Lesser Yang "Divine Mountain" shone with golden light, towering like a mountain range of heaven and earth. The Lesser Yin "Divine Sea" was a vast expanse of white, with brilliant Origin Divine Light condensed into liquid form.
The Greater Yin "Jade Tree Ink Moon" transformed into a towering jade divine tree and a black bright moon, illuminating each other.
The Greater Yang "Illusory Star Sea" had stars suspended in the void, brightening and dimming with Zhang Ruochen's breath.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Four bronze cauldrons flew out from the Four Symbols, each emitting different waves of power. They gradually grew to the size of stars, reaching ten thousand li in height. Yet, compared to the boundless Wuding Divine Sea, they still seemed insignificant.
The Universe Cauldron trembled above the Illusory Star Sea, being activated first. Countless spatial veins manifested and began spreading across the entire Wuding Divine Sea.
The undead in the northern sea, including the divine-level ferocious beings among them, were all locked down by the spatial power unleashed by the Universe Cauldron. Their bodies could not move, as if the entire world had been frozen.
Before Zhang Ruochen and the Universe Cauldron, they were as fragile as ordinary undead, able only to tremble in fear.
Spatial power spread from the northern sea toward the center of the Wuding Divine Sea. The waves on the sea surface were flattened until even ripples disappeared, making it as smooth as a mirror. Mountains on some islands collapsed and sank into the seafloor.
A Thunder Clan commander at the God King level, stationed on a continent-sized island near the central sea area, led multiple deities and a large number of Saint-level cultivators. They activated a divine formation to resist the spatial power unleashed by the Universe Cauldron.
One hundred thousand beams of light rose from the sea, each beam representing a formation.
These one hundred thousand formations connected as one, combining with the central divine formation to form a formation disc three billion li in diameter, rotating within the clouds.
But when the spatial force from the Universe Cauldron surged over, the formation disc immediately shook violently, becoming precarious.
Around the Guixu, all ten directions of the Wuding Divine Sea had such defensive formations. Once fully activated, they could kill God Kings and God Venerables. In the short term, they could even block a Heavenly Venerable.
Shi Yi God King stood atop the formation tower, gazing toward the bronze cauldron at the end of the northern sea. His heart sank deeper and deeper.
Zhang Ruochen, still hundreds of billions of li away, could display such power just by channeling the Universe Cauldron. If he crossed space and came here, how many strikes could this divine formation above his head withstand?
Today would surely be a calamity for the Thunder Clan.
He knew clearly that this day was bound to come from the moment the Thunder Clan allied with the Chaos Ancient Demons, the Quantity Organization, and the remnant souls of ancient powerhouses. Though he was a God King, he could change nothing. All of this was the Heavenly Venerable's decision.
The Heavenly Venerable stood at a higher vantage point, naturally seeing further. His thoughts and considerations must be correct.
Then let it be war, for the Thunder Clan.
To break the momentum of the Wuding Divine Sea, collecting the sea's water was one method. Another method was to suppress it with the Nine Cauldrons.
The space on the northern shore of the Divine Sea was the most active and also the most fragile, making it the best place to use the Universe Cauldron.
However, the power of the ten divine formations on the Wuding Divine Sea exceeded Zhang Ruochen's expectations. Even the nearest northern sea formation could not be easily broken. This made their plan to stabilize the space of the Wuding Divine Sea full of obstacles, impossible to complete easily.
Though the flames of rage burned in Nutian Shenzun's eyes, he remained as immovable as a mountain, displaying an unshakable calm.
For a transcendent ancient clan like the Thunder Clan, which had operated in the Wuding Divine Sea for who knows how many years, if Zhang Ruochen could easily stabilize the space with just himself and one cauldron, Nutian Shenzun would have to suspect a trap.
"Whoosh!"
Nutian Shenzun formed a hand seal, palm facing upward, and slowly raised it.
Hundreds of billions of li away, above the divine formation where Shi Yi God King stood, a boundless golden Buddha hand manifested, pressing through the clouds and descending.
The cultivators within the one hundred thousand formations all felt a suffocating, oppressive aura, as if doomsday had arrived.
Many who could not withstand this pressure bled from their seven orifices and collapsed directly within the formations.
Shi Yi God King burned his divine blood, struggling to hold on. A bitter smile appeared on his face as he realized that all his efforts were laughable before the absolute gap in power.
Zhang Ruochen's face showed no ripple. Before coming, he had already thought it through clearly.
Today was a war of extermination. There could be no mercy or compassion.
The enmity of extermination was irreconcilable. If he showed the weakness of a woman's kindness, he would surely leave a legacy of disaster for future generations, just like Inverse Heavenly Venerable back then.
When one's cultivation reached their level, if they wanted to accomplish anything, they had to be the villain, their hands inevitably stained with blood. Only by holding fast to the original intention of good and evil, always keeping the vision as the goal, would they not give birth to inner demons.
Among the Thunder Clan's members, there were surely those with kindness, loyalty, love, and even children and infants.
If he dwelled on the rights and wrongs of it all, Zhang Ruochen would be unable to take a single step forward, unable to make a move for the rest of his life.
In war, there was no right or wrong. Everyone was guilty.
Just as the golden Buddha hand was about to descend, and the three-billion-li formation disc was on the verge of collapse, the sky above the Guixu burst into flames.
"Whoosh!"
The Refining God Tower flew out from the fiery clouds.
At first, the tower was only the size of a star. But by the time it appeared above the formation disc and collided with Nutian Shenzun's golden Buddha hand, it had become a hundred times the size of a star, filling heaven and earth. Divine flames burned through space.
Thunderbolts raced through the clouds, finally landing at the center of the formation disc and condensing into the imposing figure of Lei Fa Heavenly Venerable.
Countless bolts of lightning flowed over his body, as if they were naturally part of him. The lightning mark on his brow gleamed, and his eyes were clear yet bottomless.
The flames of rage on Nutian Shenzun burned even brighter. His golden body merged with the flames as he said, "You finally stepped out of the Guixu!"
Lei Fa Heavenly Venerable looked at Nutian Shenzun from hundreds of billions of li away and said, "Do you think you will win just because I stepped out of the Guixu? In the star region of White Clothes Valley, you had every advantage of time and place, yet you were still no match for me. Kong Fannu, if you haven't completely removed the Withering Death Art from your body, coming to the Wuding Divine Sea today is a path to death."
On the western shore of the Wuding Divine Sea, Feng Tian sensed Lei Fa Heavenly Venerable moving north. Knowing the time to act had come, she immediately stopped collecting the sea's water and headed toward the Guixu.
"Rumble!"
The one hundred thousand formations on the western shore held Feng Tian back for only a moment before being swept away by the sea of corpses beneath her feet.
Countless islands and the cultivators on them turned into bloody sand and sank into the water.
The Thunder Clan God Venerable guarding the western sea divine formation had no time to retreat before being collected into the Red Stain Tower.
A God Venerable-level powerhouse was of extraordinary value, surpassing ordinary divine medicines. They could be refined using the Earth Cauldron.
Feng Tian's actions did not cause Lei Fa Heavenly Venerable, who was in the northern sea, to panic. He remained calm and said, "The Guixu is not a place just anyone can enter. If Feng Caiyi thinks that, with her greatly improved cultivation, she can destroy my Thunder Clan single-handedly, then the Guixu will be her burial ground."
Though Lei Fa Heavenly Venerable's divine voice was calm, Feng Tian, who was in a distant sea region, could hear it clearly.
Seeing how composed and confident he seemed, Feng Tian's state of mind remained unshaken, but vigilance appeared in her eyes. Before entering the Guixu, she left Xu Qiong outside to guard against unforeseen circumstances.
After Feng Tian entered the Guixu, all her aura disappeared. Even Zhang Ruochen, with his Heart of Truth, could not sense her.
This unknown naturally gave rise to worry and various suspicions.
What Zhang Ruochen was most concerned about was actually the Qishier Pin Lian and others who had fled to the Colorless Realm in Lihentian. If the Guixu had a passage connecting to the Colorless Realm, and Qishier Pin Lian and her group could arrive in time, the consequences would be unimaginable.
However, if the destruction of the Thunder Clan was an agreement between Hao Tian and Nutian Shenzun, Hao Tian should not give Qishier Pin Lian the chance to reach the Wuding Divine Sea in time.
Nutian Shenzun manifested a stretch of black Netherworld beneath his feet, continuously devouring the Wuding Divine Sea.
The Netherworld filled the sea.
Within the Netherworld stood a host of Nether Gods.
They wore divine armor, stood in perfect formation, their battle intent soaring to the heavens. Each one had a deep, unfathomable aura. Moreover, every Nether God had mysterious patterns carved on their bodies, with close connections between them.
At this moment, Lei Fa Heavenly Venerable's expression finally changed. His eyes turned solemn as he said, "Is this the Snow Domain Star Sea Divine Army left by Kong Faning?"
Digging up divine corpses, awakening their intelligence, transforming three thousand divine corpses into the Corpse Clan, and then further evolving them into the Nether Clan.
The Snow Domain Star Sea Divine Army was known as the last divine army in the history of the Hell Realm. Their power went without saying.
The current Heavenly Court and Hell Realm could certainly assemble divine armies capable of unleashing combined attacks. But they could never achieve the true unity of power, battle intent, and spirit like the Snow Domain Star Sea Divine Army. The resulting combat strength was far inferior.
However, most of the Snow Domain Star Sea Divine Army had already fallen. In the Netherworld beneath Nutian Shenzun's feet, there were fewer than a thousand Nether Gods.
Even so, it still made Lei Fa Heavenly Venerable feel as if he was facing a great enemy.
Lei Fa Heavenly Venerable looked around and said, "Where is Xu Fengjin? He should have arrived by now."
"One who cultivates the Way of Nothingness must first conceal himself, waiting for the right moment to deliver a god-slaying strike," Nutian Shenzun said.
No one knew whether Void Heaven was hiding near Lei Fa Heavenly Venerable, gathering power for a sword strike, or had already infiltrated the Guixu.
But after Nutian Shenzun said these words, it would inevitably create a huge impact in Lei Fa Heavenly Venerable's mind, preventing him from going all out. He would have to reserve three-tenths of his power to guard against assassination. At the same time, it would make him feel torn—what if Xu Fengjin had already entered the Guixu?
After gaining the upper hand in the psychological battle, Nutian Shenzun waited no longer. Leading the Snow Domain Star Sea Divine Army, he summoned nearly a thousand beams of weapon light and charged straight at Lei Fa Heavenly Venerable, giving him no chance to retreat back to the Guixu.