# Chapter 3839: Between Life and Death
Zhang Ruochen fell silent, knowing that what Jiusi Yitianhuang said was not false.
If the Undying War God had not gone into seclusion to heal his injuries and was still in the Undying Divine City, there would be a chance to gather the entire city's power and pose a threat to a Heavenly Venerable-rank being.
But at present, the one overseeing the city was Ice King. Although Ice King had the courage to face Jiusi Yitianhuang directly, the gap in cultivation was too great.
Void Heaven's cultivation was high, but after all, he was not the master of the Undying Blood Clan. Even if he hastily joined forces with the gods of the city, the threat they could pose to Jiusi Yitianhuang was extremely limited.
Cultivation realm was the foundation of all confidence.
As one of the few top-tier powerhouses in the universe, whether Jiusi Yitianhuang wanted to make a move or expose his whereabouts depended only on how great a price he was willing to pay. After all, with his divine soul injured, once he became embroiled in high-level combat, his injuries would inevitably worsen.
That would be a loss outweighing gain.
And Zhang Ruochen's value had already reached the point where he would make a move even if it meant adding injury to injury.
Zhang Ruochen summoned the Eternal Spear and held it in his hand. His long hair fluttered without wind, and the Taiji Four Symbols rotated above his head. He said, "Since Emperor Yitian is so confident, why hasn't he made a move yet?"
"You want to fight me?" Jiusi Yitianhuang was extremely surprised.
"Your junior may lack many things, but not blood courage. I can only presume to ask Emperor Yitian for two exchanges of moves. If I can luckily break through the darkness and let my aura leak out, I believe Ice King and Void Heaven will come to receive me. At that time, wouldn't we turn passivity into initiative? At that time, wouldn't all cultivators in the world know that I, Zhang Ruochen, can withstand a Heavenly Venerable-rank being and still live?"
Jiusi Yitianhuang pondered for a moment, then said, "If I were at your cultivation level and in your current situation, facing a Heavenly Venerable-rank being, I would never be able to generate any battle intent. This title of 'Future Ancestor' you carry is not undeserved."
The gap in realm was too great; often, mere momentum could crush an opponent's spirit. Although Heavenly Venerable-rank beings were nearly invincible in the current era, if they encountered an Ancestor, they would most likely flee in panic, not daring to have any battle intent.
Zhang Ruochen was full of courage, his sharpness fully exposed. How could this not surprise Jiusi Yitianhuang?
Then, Jiusi Yitianhuang continued, "Zhang Ruochen, you have courage, but you lack wisdom. If you want to survive, fighting desperately is not the only choice. That is the way of a mindless brute."
"Is there another choice? Please teach me, Emperor Yitian." Zhang Ruochen laughed heartily.
Jiusi Yitianhuang said, "What I seek is nothing more than the perfection of the Nine Lives Nine Deaths Yin-Yang Dao. Killing you, besides obtaining the divine artifacts and treasures on you, what other meaning is there? I cannot use the Nine Cauldrons, and other divine artifacts add almost nothing to my combat power."
"To cultivate the Nine Lives Nine Deaths Yin-Yang Dao, I must seize the divine souls of Wu Yue and the Moon God, and obtain the Demon Heart held in Zhang Fanu's hands. For me, this is no small difficulty. But for you, it can be easily obtained."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I understand now. Emperor Yitian wants to make a deal with me—to have me kill Wu Yue and the Moon God, and then trick the Demon Heart from Nutian Shenzun's hands, in exchange for a chance to continue living in this world."
Jiusi Yitianhuang said, "To achieve great things, one must be unscrupulous. Life is the only meaning of a cultivator's practice. Only by living can you possibly prove the Dao and become an Ancestor in the future, fulfilling the vision in your heart. If you die, all meaning is lost. With your intelligence and your achievements at such a young age, are you willing to accept that?"
"What your teachers and elders failed to teach you, your enemies can teach you."
"People must learn to cut off and let go. Why not take this opportunity to sever the emotions in your heart, grind away the flaws in your humanity? From now on, no one will be able to control you. Only by being emotionless and flawless can you be invincible under heaven."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Emperor Yitian's words are thought-provoking. But in my life, I dare to do anything except trade away my bottom line. Life is certainly good, but if I cannot choose how to live it, then it holds no meaning."
"Good, good..."
Jiusi Yitianhuang had clearly lost patience. His figure became much more solid.
The dark power around him moved with his thoughts, like ink spreading on paper, eroding the eighteen-zhang defensive domain Zhang Ruochen had constructed.
Buddhist light was devoured. Truth was obscured.
Although Zhang Ruochen held the Eternal Spear, it was merely for show, to lull Jiusi Yitianhuang.
Just as the darkness encroached, Zhang Ruochen released the Vanishing Star Sea. The power of space and light, like a true sea of stars, collided with the darkness.
Within the Vanishing Star Sea were countless stars, many of which had war weapons suspended above them.
Zhang Ruochen could no longer see Jiusi Yitianhuang's figure, but he could hear a faint laugh, as if mocking his ridiculous attempt to use light to counter darkness.
How could the light of a firefly illuminate the eternal night?
Zhang Ruochen was well aware of the gap between himself and Jiusi Yitianhuang. The moment he unleashed the Vanishing Star Sea, he immediately burst forth at his fastest speed, retreating backward.
As he retreated, the Earth Cauldron and the Hong Cauldron flew ahead of him, carrying the majestic might of Origin and Truth, attempting to tear open the darkness in advance.
He had to race against time.
Against a Heavenly Venerable-rank being, Zhang Ruochen might not even be able to withstand a single move. He had to seize every opportunity while Jiusi Yitianhuang was most dismissive of him, to shatter a corner of the darkness.
This was the only way to survive.
But Zhang Ruochen still underestimated the terror of a Heavenly Venerable-rank being. The moment he retreated, endless darkness had already condensed into a massive handprint, crushing the Vanishing Star Sea and turning all war weapons into scrap metal.
The Earth Cauldron and Hong Cauldron that had flown out, though possessing infinite might capable of destroying two great worlds, were fixed in place by two strands of dark qi.
This was not even a divine ability—merely two strands of qi.
But two strands of qi from a Heavenly Venerable-rank being were like the methods of heaven and earth's Dao. Off the scale, they weighed nothing; on the scale, even a thousand jin could not suppress them.
The black mist handprint sealed time and space, imprisoned rules, and intimidated the divine soul.
"Sealing time and space" meant time was nearly frozen, space completely solidified. Zhang Ruochen's eighteen-zhang defensive field collapsed like paper, and he could not even move his eyelids.
"Imprisoning rules" meant that whether it was the rules within Zhang Ruochen's body or the rules of heaven and earth, all lost their meaning, unable to exert any power.
And "intimidating the divine soul" was countless times more powerful than the earlier soul suppression—a true attack.
Jiusi Yitianhuang had not boasted at all. In a one-on-one direct confrontation at such close range, he indeed had a ten-out-of-ten certainty to suppress an Indestructible Infinite initial stage cultivator with a single raise of his hand.
This was merely the first strike he had launched...
More precisely, it was not a strike at all, but merely the dark power he manipulated with a single thought.
Just as all the Buddhist light was devoured and Zhang Ruochen was completely engulfed in darkness...
At that instant, a crisp sound of space tearing rang out, followed by a violent explosion.
Zhang Ruochen's entire body was covered in talisman light, breaking through Jiusi Yitianhuang's seal on time and space. The Eternal Spear in his hand struck heavily against the dark handprint. Using the shockwave from the dark ripples, he shot into the distance.
"The Emperor Talisman!"
Jiusi Yitianhuang's voice sounded in Zhang Ruochen's ear, as if he was already standing behind him.
Zhang Ruochen's hair stood on end. His most proud speed, enhanced by time and space, was nothing in the face of Jiusi Yitianhuang.
But Zhang Ruochen did not despair. Gritting his teeth, he thrust the Eternal Spear backward.
"Bang!"
He did not even know what had happened. The Eternal Spear had already flown out of his hand, and his five fingers were drenched in blood from the shock.
The sense of danger reached its peak.
But Zhang Ruochen could not see Jiusi Yitianhuang at all—only darkness before his eyes.
If an outsider were present, they would see a black figure standing before Zhang Ruochen, striking a palm toward his chest.
"Immovable Wisdom King Fist!"
The nine-colored Ancestor Divine Qi and Ancestor Rules circulated within Zhang Ruochen's body, flowing through every blood vessel and meridian. Carrying the billions of talisman lights of the Emperor Talisman, he threw a heavy punch forward.
If his divine soul had not been injured, Jiusi Yitianhuang could have completely withstood this punch.
But the Emperor Talisman was activated by Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power, and its attack on the divine soul was most pronounced.
Jiusi Yitianhuang was confident he could block the Emperor Talisman's attack, but he did not want to take that risk. So he withdrew the palm that could have killed Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen's punch also struck empty air.
"He actually retreated. Jiusi Yitianhuang truly cherishes his own life."
Since the other party cherished his life, Zhang Ruochen had to fight desperately.
How could Zhang Ruochen miss this rare opportunity to counterattack?
Holding the Demon Ancestor Meridian Axe in one hand and the Heavenly God Lock in the other, Zhang Ruochen did not flee but instead attacked. With a long roar, carrying a sky full of talisman patterns, he slashed toward Jiusi Yitianhuang like a world-covering demon lord.
The blood within his body had already begun to burn.
"Good courage!"
This time, Jiusi Yitianhuang truly admired Zhang Ruochen a little. "Unfortunately, your spiritual power has not reached the ninetieth rank. If you could activate the Emperor Talisman with ninetieth-rank spiritual power, you might have had a chance to escape today."
On White Pale Star, when he used the Emperor Talisman to attack Kui Liang Huang, Zhang Ruochen had already learned the upper limit of what the Emperor Talisman could currently unleash.
Even at close range, even though Kui Liang Huang was a spiritual power cultivator, with Zhang Ruochen having every advantage, he had still failed to harm him in the slightest.
The dark mist was split open. Jiusi Yitianhuang looked at the descending Demon Ancestor Meridian Axe and simply pointed a finger.
All the power of the Demon Ancestor Meridian Axe was dispersed. It severed one of Zhang Ruochen's arms and flew backward.
Divine blood scattered through the void.
But Jiusi Yitianhuang frowned instead, sensing a hint of danger.
"Whoosh!"
In Zhang Ruochen's other hand, the Heavenly God Lock shot out, following the flying Demon Ancestor Meridian Axe to strike at him.
"So this is his true killing move!" This thought flashed through Jiusi Yitianhuang's mind.
The Heavenly God Lock was a supreme divine artifact.
But at this moment, wrapped around the tip of the Heavenly God Lock was a half-meter-long black hand. On the palm of the hand was an ancient and strange mark, like an eye, very familiar.
On the back of the black hand was embedded the Space Cauldron, "Universe Cauldron," which had shrunk to the size of a wine cup.
"Such a strange aura. What has Zhang Ruochen refined the Heavenly God Lock into?"
Jiusi Yitianhuang became much more cautious. His long sleeve moved like drifting clouds, drawing a half-circle, channeling dark power as he struck out with a palm.
"Boom!"
The Myriad Forms Formless Seal and the Universe Cauldron simultaneously burst forth with dazzling light.
Then, a powerful spatial force erupted from the Myriad Forms Formless Seal.
Jiusi Yitianhuang was blasted dozens of miles away by the Myriad Forms Formless power, his body wrapped in a dark light cocoon. Though uninjured, the shock within him was beyond words.
He, a dignified Heavenly Venerable-rank being, had actually been driven back!
"Break!"
Seizing this opportunity, Zhang Ruochen roared loudly and swung the Heavenly God Lock, using the black hand to strike at the sky, attempting to punch through the dark heaven and earth that Jiusi Yitianhuang had manifested.