Chapter 3767: Merging with the Wuding Divine Sea
The Thunder Ancestor was also wary of the Green Deer Divine King. The Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable had once sent him to the Green Deer Divine Palace, offering generous terms to discuss cooperation with the Green Deer Divine King, while also probing the Green Deer Divine King's true identity.
However, the Green Deer Divine King was watertight; the cooperation was not agreed upon, and the probing yielded no results.
As they drew closer to the rocky planet where the Green Deer Divine King resided, the sense of crisis in the Thunder Ancestor's heart grew stronger. Abandoning all hope, he directly punched a hole through space.
"Boom!"
On the surface of the Wuding Divine Sea, a spatial rift ten thousand meters in diameter split open. Seawater rapidly poured into it, then vanished into the Void World.
The Thunder Ancestor transformed into a bolt of lightning, rushing from the spatial rift into the Void World.
The Green Deer Divine King, a smile on his face, vanished from the rocky planet and appeared in the Void World the next instant, standing before the Thunder Ancestor.
"Sir, you must be an ancient Primordial Ancestor returned. Cooperating with the Thunder Clan is the path to survival."
The Thunder Ancestor did not want a direct confrontation with the Green Deer Divine King and changed direction again.
The Green Deer Divine King said nothing, merely shifting his form and appearing once more before the Thunder Ancestor. His speed and skill left even the Thunder Ancestor, a peak Great Unbound Infinite cultivator, in awe.
Since the visitor meant ill, the Thunder Ancestor naturally dispensed with courtesy.
He summoned the Tai'a Divine Thunder, condensing a mysterious circular seal between his hands. Like a Heavenly Dao imprint, lightning and countless Heavenly and Earthly Rules intertwined, and he struck it toward the Green Deer Divine King ahead.
The Tai'a Divine Thunder Seal spun rapidly, stirring up a massive storm in the Void World, as if it could tear apart all matter in existence.
The smile on the Green Deer Divine King's face vanished abruptly, as if he had become a different person. His entire being exuded a fierce killing intent.
Zhang Ruochen, who had appeared at the edge of the spatial rift, felt the killing intent emanating from the Void World. Even from a great distance, his scalp tingled, his divine soul trembled, and he suffered a considerable shock.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God, who wielded a vast amount of Killing Dao Esoterica, was already one of the few killing gods in the universe. Yet, compared to this killing intent, the gap was still immense.
Zhang Ruochen overcame his fear of this killing intent with his powerful spiritual will and entered the Void World.
Before him unfolded a scene that made his hair stand on end.
In that incredibly short span of time, the Thunder Ancestor, whose combat power was in no way inferior to his own, had already been captured by the Green Deer Divine King.
A colossal sword was thrust above the Thunder Ancestor's head.
The sword tip did not pierce his body but was fixed at the point of his scalp, using Sword Intent and killing intent to suppress his divine soul.
The Green Deer Divine King's pupils turned blood-red, and beneath his aged skin, it seemed an infinite terror was contained.
He extracted strands of the Thunder Ancestor's divine soul, using his fingers as brushes to draw blood-colored marks upon it.
"Is that the Asura Soul Imprint?"
Zhang Ruochen thought of the former Master Fangcun.
The Thunder Ancestor's cultivation was clearly far superior to Master Fangcun's.
That the Green Deer Divine King intended to control him with the Asura Soul Imprint indicated that his own cultivation now far exceeded what it was when he had placed the imprint on Master Fangcun.
The Green Deer Divine King, in the midst of applying the imprint, suddenly looked up and fixed his gaze on Zhang Ruochen.
Meeting those eyes—utterly devoid of emotion, cold and indifferent—Zhang Ruochen instantly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cavern. Without a second thought, he fled the Void World and headed for the Guixu.
"Could it really be Asura?"
Zhang Ruochen's heart still pounded with fear. This was the first time he had encountered such terrifying eyes.
Among all the Primordial Ancestors in history, Asura could be ranked in the first tier. Throughout the ages, the Shura Clan had many figures rumored to be Primordial Ancestors, but none could compare to Asura.
If the Green Deer Divine King was the reincarnated vessel of Asura's remnant soul, he would be a ruthless character on par with "Murong Buhuo" and "Yellow Spring Great Emperor."
After a while, the Green Deer Divine King emerged from the Void World, followed by the Thunder Ancestor, whose face was blank and who moved like a walking corpse.
Lan Ying asked curiously, "Master, why did you let Zhang Ruochen leave? He possesses four of the Nine Cauldrons. Moreover, the Green Deer Divine Palace has a deep grudge against him. When he breaks through to the Indestructible Infinite realm in the future, he might come looking for trouble."
The Green Deer Divine King's eyes cleared, and all killing intent vanished. Like a kindly old man, he said with a smile, "The time is not yet ripe."
...
Zhang Ruochen simply could not understand why the Green Deer Divine King had captured the Thunder Ancestor. Not only did it expose his own cultivation, but it would also offend the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable. For an ancient powerhouse, this was hardly a wise move.
Even more puzzling was why the Green Deer Divine King, being so formidable, had not attacked him. His own value far exceeded that of the Thunder Ancestor.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen cast aside these distracting thoughts, as he had more important matters to attend to.
He released the four cauldrons. Their bodies expanded to the size of stars, anchoring themselves in the four directions.
"Whoosh!"
Divine Qi surged from within Zhang Ruochen's body, rushing upward and pouring into the Earth Cauldron.
On the cauldron's surface, mountains and rivers detached, transforming into the light and shadow of a Primordial World, which continuously spread outward across the entire Wuding Divine Sea.
Now that the Thunder Ancestor's Ten Directions Formation had been broken, and the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable was wounded and trapped in a siege by Nutian Shenzun, Void Heaven, and Meng Ge, this was the perfect opportunity for Zhang Ruochen to break the momentum of the Wuding Divine Sea.
Once the sea's momentum was broken, the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable's combat power would plummet, and he would no longer be able to exert the overwhelming force he had against Nutian Shenzun, Void Heaven, and Meng Ge.
The Primordial World derived from the Earth Cauldron grew increasingly vast, covering hundreds of millions of li of sea, tens of billions of li, hundreds of billions of li...
Zhang Ruochen had never before attempted to push the Earth Cauldron to such an extreme. He felt his Divine Qi draining away at a frantic pace. Even though his Wuji Divine Dao was profound and could absorb the spiritual veins, saint veins, and divine veins within the sea for continuous replenishment, it was still far from sufficient.
"Zhang Ruochen, if the Wuding Divine Sea collapses, there will be no barrier between the Heavenly Court Universe and the Hell Realm Universe. The Yellow Spring Star River will surge straight in. Can the Ghost Gate hold? If the Ghost Gate cannot hold, the Kunlun Realm will bear the brunt. The balance you have always sought will be shattered."
The Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable's voice reached Zhang Ruochen's ears, laying out the stakes and consequences.
On the horizon, a storm of lightning rapidly surged toward Zhang Ruochen's location.
Clearly, the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable was genuinely desperate. If the Wuding Divine Sea disappeared, the Thunder Clan would lose its ancient foundation, and all his arrangements within the sea would turn to smoke.
Zhang Ruochen did hesitate for a moment. The Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable's words were not without reason.
But given the current situation, the threats posed by the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable, Ba Er, and Qishier Pin Lian were far greater. If there was a chance to eliminate one of them, it would be worth paying some price.
Moreover, the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable was fully capable of simply taking the Wuding Divine Sea and leaving. If he did so, the Heavenly Court Universe and the Yellow Spring Star River would still collide head-on. One could say the initiative was entirely in his hands.
"Crackle!"
Bolts of Tai'a Divine Thunder struck Zhang Ruochen, most of which were blocked by the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal.
Fortunately, the power the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable could divert was limited, and the distance was great enough. Although Zhang Ruochen's physical body suffered severe damage, he ultimately endured it.
Zhang Ruochen let out a great roar. From his Xuan Tai, nine-colored Ancestor Divine Qi flew out and surged into the Earth Cauldron.
"Whoosh!"
The Primordial World expanded further, gradually enveloping the entire Wuding Divine Sea.
At this moment, Nutian Shenzun, Void Heaven, and Meng Ge were all severely injured. Their physical bodies were battered and torn, with Tai'a Divine Thunder like purple serpents flowing within their wounds, destroying their bodily mechanisms.
But they knew the critical moment that would decide victory or defeat had arrived. They had to hold back the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable no matter what.
Void Heaven, blood flowing from his mouth even as he laughed, said, "Thunder Punishment, once the embankments of the Wuding Divine Sea collapse, the terrain crumbles, and the Thunder Dao Rules scatter, that will be the moment of your fall."
As he finished speaking, he unleashed a Time Sword Art.
"Even without the Wuding Divine Sea, without borrowing the power of heaven and earth, relying only on fifty percent of the Thunder Dao Esoterica, killing you all is more than enough for me."
The confidence in the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable's heart had never been extinguished. After shattering the Time Sword Art with a single punch, his body transformed into a beam of light, flying straight toward the high sky.
Nutian Shenzun, Void Heaven, and Meng Ge pursued him from three different directions.
The Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable looked down from on high, his cloak billowing. He spread his arms and shouted, "A mere Great Unbound Infinite brat thinks he can destroy my Wuding Divine Sea?"
"The universe in my palm, the divine sea transforms into a hundred rivers."
Divine Qi burst forth from the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable's body. Below, on the surface of the Wuding Divine Sea, spanning a thousand billion li, towering, surging water columns rose.
These water columns, like billions of rivers, roared and converged toward him.
"What is happening? I feel the power of heaven and earth becoming even more concentrated. Could it be that the Wuding Divine Sea is his Divine Realm World?"
Void Heaven's eyes widened in disbelief.
"He must have refined the Wuding Divine Sea and his Divine Realm World into one. No, it is not yet fully integrated. He is making a final push. Stop him! If he succeeds, he will be able to fully unleash the power of the Thunder Dao Overlord, walking anywhere in the universe without any restrictions. At that point, his combat power will definitely not be inferior to a Half-Ancestor."
Nutian Shenzun's face changed color several times. Blood Qi surged within him as he struck out with the Immovable Wisdom King Fist.
Void Heaven and Meng Ge both realized the gravity of the situation, while also secretly feeling relieved that they had attacked the Thunder Clan early. If they had waited a few more millennia, the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable would have calmly refined the Wuding Divine Sea and his Divine Realm World into one.
Unlike today, the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable was forced by them to forcibly merge, greatly increasing the risk.
Both of them unleashed their most powerful combat techniques, attacking the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable.
The entire Wuding Divine Sea was churning. The sea's boundaries continuously shrank, and the seawater, along with the star-like embankments at the sea's edge, rapidly converged toward the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable.
The Thunder Clan cultivators within the Wuding Divine Sea could not withstand this power at all. They let out screams as their physical bodies and divine souls were torn to shreds.
The light and shadow of the Primordial World derived from the Earth Cauldron collapsed under the force of the Overlord's power. Zhang Ruochen fell back to the sea surface, a trail of blood at the corner of his mouth.
The aura released by the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable had already exceeded his imagination, even beginning to surpass the scope of the Indestructible Infinite realm.
"Can Nutian Shenzun and the others stop the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable?"
Zhang Ruochen had no confidence, but he knew that the battle had reached a point where he could no longer participate. He immediately fled toward the outside of the Wuding Divine Sea.
Just as he was escaping, on the eastern shore of the Wuding Divine Sea, a dazzling clear radiance rose.
A tall, upright, and majestic figure, like a rising morning sun, walked forth from the clear light.