Chapter 3813: Reversing the Slaughter Against Shang Tian
Zhang Ruochen stomped Qingyun Que's divine body into pieces with one foot, then leaned forward, offering up the Eight Trigrams Compass as a shield to meet the Demon God Stone Pillar that had already flown before him.
On the Demon God Stone Pillar, a statue of a chaotic ancient demon god was lifelike, ferocious and glaring, as its heaven-subverting divine power surged forth.
Under the impetus of Zhang Ruochen's divine qi, the internal scale of the Eight Trigrams Compass spun rapidly, expanding outward like a mirror, with eight light gates opening in the eight directions of the compass.
"Boom!"
The Demon God Stone Pillar struck the center of the Eight Trigrams Compass.
The violent divine power surged outward, sending Xue Tu, who was sealing Qingyun Que's silver wings in the distance, flying backward, crashing into the interior of an ancient mountain.
A mountain-toppling, sea-overturning force transmitted through the Eight Trigrams Compass onto Zhang Ruochen.
The domain Zhang Ruochen had constructed in this region shattered, and his body retreated, plowing a three-thousand-mile-long canyon into the ground before he managed to neutralize the impact force of the Demon God Stone Pillar.
"So this is the power of the Indestructible Infinite?"
Zhang Ruochen flew up from the bottom of the canyon, summoned the Eternal Spear, and layers of the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal spread outward. His eyes locked onto all directions, wary of a sneak attack from Shang Tian.
Being ambushed by an Indestructible Infinite was no joke; there was a risk of falling today.
Xue Tu crawled out from inside the mountain, looked at Zhang Ruochen standing in midair, then at the dense forest from which the Demon God Stone Pillar had flown, his heart pounding like thunder.
A single strike had sent even his senior brother flying three thousand miles—who in the world could that be?
"Damn it!"
Xue Tu saw a Heavenly Knight weaving through the forest, heading straight for Mo Beast.
At this moment, his senior brother was locked in a standoff with a supreme great enemy. If he got distracted to save someone, he would surely be ambushed.
What to do now?
Zhang Ruochen naturally spotted that Heavenly Knight. With a thought, he intended to control the Universe Cauldron, which was closest, to suppress and kill him.
But the Universe Cauldron was being controlled by another unknown force, and his divine thought couldn't manipulate it!
Zhang Ruochen acted decisively, directly crossing space to appear above the Universe Cauldron, thrusting his spear straight downward.
The spear tip bloomed with dazzling divine radiance.
The divine radiance surged toward the ground, transforming into a sea of Time Imprint light, forcing Shang Tian's demon corpse, hidden not far from the Universe Cauldron, to reveal itself.
Shang Tian's demon corpse bathed in the sea of time light, standing tall like an ancient pine, his sleeves fluttering. "Having survived your second Eon Calamity, you are indeed different. But to fight me, you must at least reach the next transformation after the Five Elements. For now, it's not enough!"
Many ancient gods in the world had analyzed Zhang Ruochen's Wuji Divine Dao, making various deductions based on his battles, big and small, since becoming a god.
Taiji gives birth to Two Forms, Two Forms give birth to Four Symbols, Four Symbols connect to Five Elements...
Clearly, it was a new path based on the Daoist lineage's understanding of heaven and earth.
At the Space Divine Temple, Shang Tian's demon corpse had once broken Zhang Ruochen's Way of Space, taking him into his Divine Realm World. Naturally, he understood Zhang Ruochen's Dao better than other gods.
As he spoke, Shang Tian's demon corpse casually pointed a finger.
A powerful beam of light shot from his fingertip, piercing through the sea of time light, breaking Zhang Ruochen's Time Dao, and clashing with the thrusting Eternal Spear.
"Bang!"
The hairband on Zhang Ruochen's head snapped, his long hair flying backward, and a deep bloody gash was carved across his cheek by the force of Shang Tian's "Heavenly Desolate Flowing Light Finger," which even his Indestructible Divine Body couldn't withstand.
Shang Tian's demon corpse felt a chill, finding it hard to believe that his finger force couldn't severely wound Zhang Ruochen.
The two forces stalemated, consuming each other.
"As expected of the number one under heaven, truly possessing the power to cross the Indestructible Infinite Great Realm and strike upward."
Shang Tian's demon corpse had stepped into the Indestructible Infinite many years ago, with deep cultivation. His other hand formed a hand seal, striking directly at Zhang Ruochen.
Being able to unleash a hand seal while executing the Heavenly Desolate Flowing Light Finger undoubtedly proved that Shang Tian hadn't used his full strength before.
"Compared to Shang Tian, the gap is indeed still significant."
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen's only choice was to retreat.
If he didn't retreat and took Shang Tian's palm strike, his Indestructible Divine Body definitely couldn't withstand it, and his divine soul might be scattered.
He would surely be killed by Shang Tian's subsequent attacks.
If he retreated, he would have to endure the Heavenly Desolate Flowing Light Finger, but the injury would be lighter.
Thus, he could rely on his time and space techniques to evade Shang Tian's next killing moves, releasing the divine array refined by his grandmaster.
With this thought, Zhang Ruochen sank his body downward to dodge the incoming hand seal.
But his shoulder was struck by the beam of the Heavenly Desolate Flowing Light Finger, and divine blood splattered.
Shang Tian seemed to have anticipated Zhang Ruochen's move. After striking the hand seal, he took a step forward, closing in to within ten zhang of Zhang Ruochen.
He naturally knew that Zhang Ruochen had cultivated the Eighteen-Zhang Close Combat Invincible Battle Art, but he didn't care.
With an absolute advantage in cultivation, any technique, strategy, or war weapon was meaningless.
Zhang Ruochen had long known that fighting an old hand like Shang Tian was a life-and-death challenge. His mind remained calm and clear as he swung the Eternal Spear like a staff.
At the same time, he fully mobilized the powers of space and time to suppress Shang Tian's speed.
But Shang Tian's speed only increased, swinging the Demon God Stone Pillar to clash heavily with the Eternal Spear.
"It's speed! His mastery of the Flowing Light Dao far surpasses Qingcheng Yun by countless times. With speed, he breaks the Time Rules and Space Rules."
This thought flashed through Zhang Ruochen's mind as the fingers on his hand holding the Eternal Spear snapped, blood gushing like a river.
The Eternal Spear flew away.
There was no choice; the power gap was too great.
Shang Tian sneered coldly, his demonic eyes filled with fierce light, as the Demon God Stone Pillar descended toward Zhang Ruochen's head at an unimaginable speed.
This pillar strike, Zhang Ruochen couldn't possibly dodge.
But the next moment, Shang Tian's smile froze.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Ruochen didn't dodge. Instead, he charged forward, and the twenty-second layer of the Immovable Wisdom King Fist had already reached Shang Tian's chest.
Nine-colored divine light blazed, making his fist look like colored glaze.
Clearly, unleashing this punch mobilized Ancestor Divine Qi and Ancestor Rules, capable of shattering stars and realms, collapsing time and space.
At this moment, Shang Tian was swinging the Demon God Stone Pillar, leaving his front wide open, and he couldn't change his move in time to block Zhang Ruochen's fist. He roared, "Good!"
His five viscera and six bowels within his chest resonated, emitting five kinds of lightning and six kinds of demonic fire.
With the Five Thunder Six Fire protecting his body, he relied on his demonic body to endure Zhang Ruochen's Immovable Wisdom King Fist.
"Bang!"
Shang Tian was sent flying backward, his divine robe tattered, revealing a chest covered in hair.
Blood oozed from his chest, and a trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Clearly, Zhang Ruochen's Immovable Wisdom King Fist had injured his internal organs.
Zhang Ruochen showed no joy; instead, his brow furrowed even tighter.
He had struck with all his might, yet Shang Tian had endured it with his physical demonic body. How was he supposed to fight this?
The bloody gash on Zhang Ruochen's face quickly disappeared.
The blood on Shang Tian's chest and mouth also flowed back into his body.
Both of their injuries healed in an extremely short time.
"Not having entered Indestructible, yet able to wound me... heh... haha..."
Shang Tian's demon corpse stroked his beard and laughed long, the laughter filled with bitterness. In his mind, he couldn't help but recall the past.
Since embarking on the path of cultivation, among his peers, only the Undying War God could contend with him.
At the same realm, he had never been defeated.
He considered himself a chosen genius, destined to achieve the Ancestor Realm, unparalleled in past and future.
And now, being wounded by a rising star across a major realm—this psychological impact was too great. A million years of pride seemed shattered by a single punch.
"Zhang Ruochen, you indeed possess strength at the Indestructible Infinite level. In today's world, you can be called a titan. But the gap between you and me is still vast. You won't escape today."
Shang Tian said.
Zhang Ruochen had already realized that during their earlier exchange, Shang Tian had pulled him into his Divine Realm World.
Surrounding him was not the scene of White Desolate Star, but boundless, multicolored clouds.
The Divine Realm World was filled with various Rule Divine Marks, flowing around Zhang Ruochen in a unique pattern, like cocoon threads binding him within.
Zhang Ruochen sensed the power of order.
Logically, cultivators at the initial Indestructible Infinite stage could only sense order, not use its power.
That Shang Tian could use the power of order in his Divine Realm World undoubtedly indicated that his cultivation was infinitely close to the middle stage of Indestructible Infinite, surpassing figures like Jing Daoren and Dragon Lord by a large margin.
With the power of order present, in the Divine Realm World, Zhang Ruochen had no chance of fighting back against Shang Tian.
Shang Tian said, "If you used the Five Cauldrons, you might be able to break the order within this realm and escape. With the might of the Five Cauldrons, outside this Divine Realm World, I couldn't do anything to you. But you used the Five Cauldrons to protect White Desolate Star, effectively tying your own hands."
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "Has Shang Tian forgotten that I can self-destruct my divine source? Then everyone dies."
Shang Tian didn't respond, waving his sleeve.
"Hua!"
A light screen appeared in the Divine Realm World.
Through this light screen, the dense Longevity Blood Tree forest on the surface of White Desolate Star was visible.
A Heavenly Knight had appeared beside Mo Beast, binding Xia Yu, Chi Kongle, and Yan Ying'er with mist-like soul power chains, casting his gaze toward the Divine Realm World.
Shang Tian said, "I won't kill you, only capture you. If you surrender, they can live. You can trust my promise; they were never important anyway."
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "To Shang Tian, they are indeed unimportant. But I have a doubt I hope Shang Tian can help resolve."
"Speak!"
"You are the fourth Quantity Emperor, right? The Quantity Emperor behind Xuan Yi and Yao Venerable? Or rather, is the demon corpse the Quantity Emperor?"
Shang Tian said, "Correct! It seems you already know a lot, but it doesn't matter. After today, the cosmic landscape will change drastically. Now, will you bind yourself?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Not so fast! I have another question: Who exactly is trying to possess me?"
Shang Tian stared intently at Zhang Ruochen, then his expression changed as he looked toward the Longevity Blood Tree forest.
There, that Heavenly Knight was being pulled into circles of radiant light ripples, letting out miserable screams.
The light ripples disappeared, and A Fuya's stunning, peerless figure appeared not far from Mo Beast. In her jade-white palm, she held the Heavenly Knight, now reduced to the size of a fist.
"Bang!"
That Heavenly Knight turned into a ball of soul mist.