Chapter 3787: Success and Retreat?
With his cultivation realm, Pina Yejia narrowed his eyes slightly at Zhang Ruochen's punch, choosing not to withstand it with his golden body.
His form flickered, turning into an afterimage, dodging away from the fist imprint.
But soon, he sensed something was wrong. Zhang Ruochen's power had increased by more than just a notch; his speed was also far superior to before. No sooner had he evaded the fist imprint than he saw the Eternal Spear thrusting toward him, icy and fierce, unstoppable.
This time, there was no avoiding it.
"Bang!"
Pina Yejia struck out with a hand seal, colliding with the tip of the Eternal Spear.
The clang of metal striking metal split the Buddhist soil beneath their feet.
The Eternal Spear was a divine artifact, yet Pina Yejia blocked it with his palm, circles of golden light surging from his hand. Such physical strength was unimaginable.
He was pushed back for the first time, flying dozens of miles backward, with a drop of corpse blood seeping from his palm.
This former great Buddhist sage, founder of the Joyful Zen, had returned as a remnant soul, ultimately walking the path of the Corpse Clan. Without seizing his past-life corpse, he could never have possessed such terrifying combat power.
On the other side, amidst a thunderous roar, Zhang Ruochen crashed back into the earth, plowing a thousand-mile canyon into the golden Buddhist soil.
In terms of raw power, he was still far inferior to Pina Yejia.
But he was no longer completely overwhelmed.
Zhang Ruochen, with his hair disheveled, let out a great roar. The Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal erupted from his body, recalling the four cauldrons scattered in all directions. Then, four rivers of divine qi surged from within him, driving the four cauldrons, unleashing the powers of Space, Origin, Truth, and Fate to protect his body. The surrounding space was divided into four colors.
Zhang Ruochen, holding the Eternal Spear, bathed in the light of Time Imprints, carrying the four cauldrons, stepped out of the canyon step by step. "A Fuya was right. Your cultivation realm isn't that terrifying. Even with your Ancestor Divine Body and the Buddha Emperor Relic, you're only at the early stage of Indestructible Infinite in combat power! As long as I can withstand your few divine abilities, you have no way to kill me."
"Boom!"
Pina Yejia floated in midair, staring at Zhang Ruochen. His kasaya lashed out, sending the falling Sundial flying beyond the heavens, crashing into the shattered void.
A vast Buddhist sound echoed across this broken Buddhist land. "You may have barely cultivated an Indestructible Dharma Body using the Buddha Emperor Relic, but it only matches the physical strength of an early Indestructible Infinite cultivator! Your cultivation realm is still at the middle stage of Great Unbound Infinite."
"In terms of physical body, divine soul, and realm, you are tens of thousands of miles behind this humble monk. If you are too confident, you will surely meet your end here today."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Only those lacking confidence emphasize their own strength. This shows that your heart is no longer so firm! If I were to fight you alone, I would indeed be doomed, but the Cha Realm is not just me!"
Pina Yejia turned to look behind him, where there was boundless and brilliant light of divine radiance.
A Fuya, like a fiery butterfly, graceful and exquisite, flew within the divine radiance. Her snow-white arms and legs were slender, and around her grew trees of Sudhana Silver.
Above, the Sundial manifested a Time Divine Sea, covering the entire sky of the Cha Realm.
Pina Yejia pressed his palms together. "Amitabha! A Fuya, you have already used Zhang Ruochen to get everything you wanted. Why must you wade into these muddy waters? Don't you know that a wrong choice can cost you your life?"
A Fuya, holding the Sthavira Golden Pestle, said, "Originally, I decided to seize the Sthavira Golden Pestle and leave immediately, waiting for you and Zhang Ruochen to settle the outcome. Actually, knowing Zhang Ruochen, I was sure he would self-destruct his divine source and take you with him, and you couldn't stop it. Then I would come out to clean up the battlefield—that would have been the best choice."
"Vicious! Zhang Ruochen, now you see her true face, don't you?" Xiu Chen Heavenly God's voice came from the Sundial.
Zhang Ruochen had long known that he couldn't expect a woman who was once an Ancestor to be completely on his side; she had too strong a will of her own. He also knew that A Fuya harbored no good intentions, always prioritizing her own interests. But he hadn't expected her to say it so directly and frankly.
"So why did you change your mind?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
A Fuya said, "Because I realized that he no longer has the ability to force you to self-destruct your divine source."
Zhang Ruochen was momentarily speechless.
She wouldn't even bother to lie. She clearly knew what she wanted and understood that her alliance with Zhang Ruochen was purely based on mutual benefit and exploitation.
As long as she was still valuable to Zhang Ruochen, and he to her, they would always join forces and never become enemies.
Pina Yejia laughed. "The First Queen is not being honest! The First Queen didn't change her mind when Zhang Ruochen cultivated the Indestructible Dharma Body, but when this humble monk spoke those words. So, the First Queen actually wants to seize this humble monk's Joyful Zen dual cultivation secret method, doesn't she? Or perhaps, she wants to take the relic within this humble monk's body as well?"
"What could be more appealing to you than returning to the Ancestor Realm? On your own, you will never achieve that day."
"But Zhang Ruochen's physical body is full of mysteries. Even this humble monk marvels at his First-rank Divine Path. How could you not be tempted?"
A Fuya remained expressionless. "The Divine Ability of the Six Supernatural Powers—the Mind-Reading Power?"
Pina Yejia said, "Amitabha! A Fuya, when you placed your path to the Ancestor Realm onto Zhang Ruochen, it meant you had lost your way, lost the ambition of an Ancestor, and doomed yourself to never reach the Ancestor Realm again. Unless you kill Zhang Ruochen and sever this path with your own hands, only then can you restore your state of mind."
Pina Yejia's voice carried an invisible power of mental obstruction.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God transmitted to Zhang Ruochen, "This bald elephant is too good at corrupting people's hearts. Quickly appease A Fuya. If she turns against us, we are dead for sure."
This trip to the Cha Realm had made Xiu Chen's performance earn Zhang Ruochen's respect. Even in the most dangerous moments, he remained fierce and fearless.
Zhang Ruochen did not listen to Xiu Chen Heavenly God and promise anything to A Fuya. If she could be so easily corrupted by Pina Yejia, then her value to Zhang Ruochen had reached its end.
"Whoosh!"
A sword light broke through the atmosphere of the Cha Realm, landing in the distant sea.
The sword light descended beside the Ci Hang Fairy, who was sealed by Pina Yejia.
It was Zhang Ruochen's Sword Bone Doppelganger!
Ci Hang Fairy clearly held extraordinary significance to Pina Yejia. In an instant, he used his Divine Foot Power, rushing back at top speed.
Zhang Ruochen had long communicated with the heavens through his will, recondensing his sword soul, intending to control the Sword Bone Doppelganger to rescue Ci Hang Fairy. Once she was saved and they retreated into the formation of Baogai Divine Mountain, they could carve a Space Teleportation Array and escape.
If they could achieve this step, today would be a complete victory.
How could he let Pina Yejia rush back at this moment?
"Shua!"
Zhang Ruochen traversed space, intercepting Pina Yejia when he was still hundreds of thousands of miles from the Sword Bone Doppelganger, and struck out with all four cauldrons simultaneously.
Pina Yejia slapped out both palms, forming a golden great hand seal, clashing with the four cauldrons. The impact sent Zhang Ruochen spitting blood, stumbling backward in a one-sided defeat.
But unlike before, this time the four cauldrons were not knocked away, and Zhang Ruochen did not collapse in a single blow. He held on stubbornly, not letting Pina Yejia break through directly.
"Zhang Ruochen, you have thoroughly angered me!" Pina Yejia was like an angry Vajra, his killing intent soaring to the heavens.
Zhang Ruochen, blood streaming from his mouth, said, "Getting angry so easily—what kind of great Buddhist sage is that? This only proves that a mere remnant soul is nothing to fear."
"Rustle!"
A stream of divine radiance appeared behind Pina Yejia, condensing into A Fuya's elegant and agile figure.
"Judgment of Light!"
A Fuya, her fingers like swords, used the Light Esoterica to draw the Light Rules of heaven and earth, forming a three-foot Judgment Sword, slashing diagonally at Pina Yejia's neck.
Pina Yejia's golden body was incredibly tough, withstanding A Fuya's sword strike.
The sword struck as if hitting divine iron, unable to break the skin.
"Boom!"
The Sundial crashed down heavily, stopped three zhang away from Pina Yejia's golden body by a Buddhist ring.
Pina Yejia let out a lion's roar, his elephant trunk straightening, his kasaya like clouds.
The Buddhist ring transformed into a golden sacred giant lion, with Buddhist power comparable to Ancestor Qi surging outward, sending Zhang Ruochen, A Fuya, and the Sundial flying back together. The Lion's Roar contained a terrifying soul attack.
A Fuya was the first to recover from the soul shock. Still flying in midair, she formed hand seals.
Immediately, the Sudhana Silver trees formed a Ten Thousand Buddha Formation, falling down to engulf Pina Yejia.
Zhang Ruochen, protected by the Buddha Emperor Relic and with his soul stabilized by the Taiji Four Symbols, recovered from the Lion's Roar a step behind A Fuya. He immediately grabbed the leg of the Earth Cauldron and, with the force of toppling a mountain, smashed it straight down at Pina Yejia.
This time, Zhang Ruochen used the Ancestor Divine Qi within his body to drive the Earth Cauldron.
The Earth Cauldron's origin divine light blazed brightly, with the shadow of the Witch Ancestor flickering and witch texts flowing.
"Boom!"
Pina Yejia had just broken through the Ten Thousand Buddha Formation and had no time to gather power before meeting the Earth Cauldron.
The power unleashed by the Earth Cauldron far exceeded his expectations, like the weight of the heavens pressing down. After the clash, his body uncontrollably plummeted.
Zhang Ruochen did not pursue further. He looked at A Fuya standing behind him. "His golden body is too terrifying. We can't hurt him at all! Let's go, back to the Netherworld Demon Sect's main altar."
A Fuya withdrew her palm from Zhang Ruochen's back.
It had taken the combined strength of both her and Zhang Ruochen to drive the Earth Cauldron, and they had seized every advantage of time and place, barely managing to knock Pina Yejia out of the void, but without injuring him in the slightest.
The Sword Bone Doppelganger had already rescued Ci Hang Fairy and returned to Baogai Divine Mountain first.
Zhang Ruochen and A Fuya entered the formation light clouds of Baogai Divine Mountain and immediately began urgent preparations, because Pina Yejia had already pursued them to the mountain's edge, trampling the outer formations one by one, heading straight for the main altar.
If not for A Fuya using secret arts to control the emotions of the Netherworld Demon Sect's cultivators, they would have already been terrified into kneeling, losing the courage to continue powering the formations.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God's divine soul was severely damaged, unable to emerge from the Sundial. He said weakly, "Hurry and carve a Space Teleportation Array. To cross major realms and defy an Indestructible Infinite is simply impossible. If we keep fighting, we'll all die in the Cha Realm."
Pina Yejia's soul attacks were indeed terrifying. Zhang Ruochen's divine soul was also further injured, held together only by sheer will, showing no signs of fatigue and still displaying vigorous fighting spirit.
Zhang Ruochen's mind had never been clearer than at this moment. He knew he absolutely could not leave now.
Pina Yejia was too dangerous, especially his methods against the soul and his power of mental obstruction. They were impossible to guard against, capable of corrupting hearts and manipulating minds.
Leaving him alive would bring endless trouble.
Even at the greatest cost, he had to slay him.
But once one reached the Indestructible realm, it meant being undying and indestructible. Not only were their cultivations below that level, but even those with far superior realms to Pina Yejia found it extremely difficult.
This was why, after Zhang Ruochen cultivated the Indestructible Dharma Body, A Fuya concluded that Pina Yejia could no longer kill Zhang Ruochen. Zhang Ruochen was still tens of thousands of miles away from true Indestructible Infinite, yet even so.