Chapter 3859: Darkness Descends
The Sword Source Divine Tree suppressed the Dark Beasts, Old Wine Fiend, and the others. The light rain falling from it was like swords of light, continuously piercing their bodies.
But for Zhang Ruochen and Void Heaven, the radiance emitted by the Sword Source Divine Tree was like sweet spring water, constantly nourishing their sword souls and sword spirits. The divine patterns of the Sword Dao within their bodies were far more active than usual.
The massive corpses of five Dark Beasts lay in pools of filthy black blood, dark and eerie energy endlessly flowing from their wounds.
Even for many gods, the Sword God Hall was now a death zone. Once entered, contact with the dark and eerie energy would lead to instant death.
Zhang Ruochen's body shimmered with Buddhist light, warding off the dark and eerie energy.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault. I will wake you up."
Zhang Ruochen pressed Old Wine Fiend to the ground, ignoring his resistance and howls, using his own blood to draw sealing inscriptions on him.
Old Wine Fiend's spiritual power was formidable, and Zhang Ruochen couldn't refine the dark and eerie energy within him in a short time.
Moreover, the Sword Soul Hollow was eerie, and they had to leave quickly. Sealing and suppressing him was the only option.
In the distance, Void Heaven was struggling with the Sword Source Divine Tree.
He was also anxious, eager to flee the Sword God Hall immediately. The dangerous aura emanating from the Sword Soul Hollow grew increasingly intense. But the Sword Source Divine Tree seemed to have grown together with the Sword God Hall. Despite using various methods, Void Heaven couldn't pull it out.
Void Heaven used the Seven Star Divine Sword as a shovel, frantically digging soil beneath the tree, with none of the demeanor of a Heavenly Venerable.
The soil beneath the Sword Source Divine Tree was not ordinary dirt but divine mud, filled with many rules, making it extremely difficult to dig.
Now, Void Heaven had completely disappeared into the ground, with only shovelfuls of dirt being thrown up.
"Have you finished sealing those fools? If so, hurry up and help me dig. If I can't get the Sword Source Divine Tree today, I'm not returning this sword!" Void Heaven's urging voice came.
"You, old man, are an existence at the peak of Indestructible Infinite. Digging up a tree should be a piece of cake, right?"
Void Heaven naturally couldn't threaten Zhang Ruochen. His Universe Cauldron had already been refined onto the back of the Black Hand, and Zhang Ruochen had no intention of returning it.
Trading the Seven Star Divine Sword for the Universe Cauldron was not a loss.
Zhang Ruochen pressed the Void Kun War God beneath him, his fingers stained with blood, quickly working on him.
Chicken-like cries rang out incessantly, sounding like a rooster's crow, very miserable.
As for the Void Kun War God, White Cloud Divine Ancestor, Shiva Great Emperor, and Xuanwu Divine Ancestor, Zhang Ruochen naturally wanted to save them if he could.
This would make them owe him a favor and also show goodwill to the forces behind them.
Zhang Ruochen never had too many friends.
After sealing all five, Zhang Ruochen looked toward the Sword Source Divine Tree. He found that Void Heaven was indeed fierce, having dug a huge pit around the tree, exposing many roots.
"The Sword Source Divine Tree is not only rooted in the ground but also in this space, connecting to the Void World and Lihentian," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Do you think I don't know that? That's why I asked you to help. You inherited Xumi's Way of Space, so get to work."
With that, Void Heaven hugged the trunk of the Sword Source Divine Tree and shook it. It could be moved.
But it was far from enough.
Zhang Ruochen said, "My cultivation is only at Great Unbound Infinite..."
"Use the Myriad Forms Formless Seal, hurry! I feel like something extremely terrifying is about to come out of the Sword Soul Hollow!" Void Heaven said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Using that Black Hand here carries great risk. There has to be a condition, right?"
"The Universe Cauldron is yours!"
Obviously, Void Heaven knew it would be difficult to get the Universe Cauldron back.
Zhang Ruochen was no longer someone he could easily manipulate.
Zhang Ruochen said, "It was mine to begin with."
Void Heaven was stunned, staring at Zhang Ruochen.
"Isn't it? If Void Heaven doesn't remember, I can slowly recount it from the beginning."
Against an old rogue like Void Heaven, Zhang Ruochen didn't want to play by the rules.
He now had the qualifications to disregard rules.
Void Heaven had no time to listen to Zhang Ruochen recount past events. By the time he finished, who knew what changes might occur in the Sword Soul Hollow. So, he compromised, "Fine, fine, the Universe Cauldron is yours, and Feng Caiyi is yours too. Is that enough?"
Void Heaven was determined not to return the Seven Star Divine Sword.
Zhang Ruochen frowned. Old Man Void Heaven must be crazy, daring to use Feng Tian as a bargaining chip, as if she belonged to him.
If Feng Tian heard this, with her temper, she would definitely fight Void Heaven to the death, and Zhang Ruochen might even be implicated.
Zhang Ruochen coughed twice, "I wanted to discuss my father's matter with Void Heaven."
"Fine, you, Zhang Ruochen, are now Di Chen, the Lord of the Sword Realm, flawless in the heavens, and have latched onto the big tree of Heavenly Mother. How dare I, this old man, not agree?"
"Hurry up and act."
Void Heaven was so anxious he was about to curse, scratching his head in frustration. If he couldn't take the Sword Source Divine Tree today, he would never have another chance.
Earlier, on his way here, he had sensed a powerful sword intent in Lihentian, clashing with Heavenly Mother. The one attacking was also Bone Yanluo from the Demon Land.
That sword intent was the same as the one that had struck from the Formless Realm.
On the Sword Source Divine Tree, Void Heaven sensed the same sword intent. This meant that the swordsman had used the Sword Source Divine Tree and the Sword God Hall to reach a level where he dared to wield a sword against a Half-Ancestor.
This time, he had left the Sword God Hall to block Heavenly Mother.
After forcing Void Heaven to compromise, Zhang Ruochen no longer hesitated. He carefully took out the Black Hand suppressed under Shaoyang Divine Mountain.
Using the Black Hand in the Sword God Hall was a huge risk for Zhang Ruochen. He only did it because he was grateful to Void Heaven and didn't make excessive demands.
After all, Void Heaven hadn't known the Sword Source Divine Tree was here before chasing after him.
"Clatter!"
The Black Hand trembled violently, continuously releasing black eerie energy, and flew toward the Sword Soul Hollow, pulling the Heavenly God Chain taut, nearly dragging Zhang Ruochen away.
"Suppress!"
Zhang Ruochen activated the Universe Cauldron on the back of the Black Hand. Spatial veins centered on the Universe Cauldron appeared, enveloping the Black Hand.
"Four Symbols Reverse, Two Forms Reflect Taiji, Taiji Transforms into Wuji."
A Wuji light ring spread from Zhang Ruochen's body, creating a small Wuji world of his own, completely isolating the space from the Sword God Hall.
Even the heavenly secrets and the rules of heaven and earth were cut off, severing the connection between the Black Hand and the darkness deep within the Sword Soul Hollow.
"Myriad Forms Formless."
Zhang Ruochen channeled divine energy from his palm into the Black Hand, activating the Myriad Forms Formless Seal.
In the seal, spatial power erupted, striking the Sword Source Divine Tree.
"Boom!"
Around the Sword Source Divine Tree, space collapsed, piercing through the three realms of reality, void, and Lihentian.
Seizing the opportunity, Void Heaven manifested a giant divine body ten thousand zhang tall, wrapping his arms around the tree trunk, fully unleashing his divine power. Strands of divine energy flowed like rivers of crimson magma on his skin.
The Sword God Hall shook violently, walls cracking, and countless buildings collapsing.
One of the ground fissures extended from the Sword Source Divine Tree all the way to the Sword Soul Hollow.
Zhang Ruochen stared at the widening fissure, then looked deep into the Sword Soul Hollow, his face changing drastically. "Run! I see endless darkness in the Sword Soul Hollow, surging out like a tide, as if it will swallow all light in the universe."
Zhang Ruochen suppressed the Black Hand back into Shaoyang Divine Mountain and immediately rushed out of the Sword God Hall.
It wasn't that he was disloyal, but he could no longer act.
He was suppressing too many powerful beings. If he diverted divine power to fight, these beings would surely break free from their seals, causing even more trouble.
Moreover, the darkness in the Sword Soul Hollow might have decided to "emerge" because of the Black Hand.
Zhang Ruochen rushed out of the Sword God Hall and found that the Deep Pool Evil Eye had been completely shattered by Yan Renhuan, turning into two vortexes of dark and eerie energy that couldn't reform.
Yan Jun burned divine blood to escape, but Yan Renhuan caught up. His physical body was destroyed countless times, his divine fire growing dimmer, and his life force weakening.
"Boom!"
Void Heaven, holding the Sword Source Divine Tree, his divine body a hundred times taller than ordinary mountains, crashed through the gate of the Sword God Hall and rushed out triumphantly.
He ran even faster than Zhang Ruochen, closing the distance.
If he was overtaken, wouldn't there be no one to hold the rear?
Zhang Ruochen pushed the Way of Space to its limit. With each step, he covered thousands of divine steps, teleporting hundreds of millions of miles.
One step, one world.
Void Heaven chased after him, shouting, "Don't run! Let's face the darkness from the Sword Soul Hollow together!"
Zhang Ruochen wouldn't believe him. He replied, "Void Heaven, this place is in chaos. Why haven't the Heavenly Venerables of the Hell Realm come to support?"
"The entire Hell Realm is in turmoil. A single move affects the whole. Calamities everywhere have surfaced. Top-tier Heavenly Venerables can't leave. And those with insufficient cultivation don't dare to come! This is a battle of Indestructible Infinite. Who below that level would dare to interfere? Damn it..."
Void Heaven looked back in terror, as if his rear was on fire.
Behind him, the majestic Sword God Hall exploded with a bang, rubble flying.
The explosion was violent, like the Big Bang of the universe, but what radiated was not light but darkness.
The space where the Sword God Hall was located expanded violently due to the dark explosion.
In just the blink of an eye, the spatial shockwave crossed hundreds of billions of miles, hitting Void Heaven and Zhang Ruochen in succession.
This was a newly created world!
A dark world.
Like another universe.
The darkness expanded rapidly. In ten breaths, it spread to a star field ten trillion miles away. Everything it passed turned to dust, all matter turned to particles, devouring all light.
Void Heaven and Zhang Ruochen were both trapped in the darkness, their faces grim, as if standing in an abyss, seeing the end of the darkness.
"Could the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain have been formed this way? Are we personally witnessing history?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Void Heaven said, "Only if we survive can we call it witnessing history. If we don't, we become history."
Both stopped, ready to fight.
There was no need to run. They couldn't escape. Only with great fearlessness and a desperate battle could there be a glimmer of hope.
Yan Renhuan and Yan Jun were also trapped in the darkness.
Yan Jun laughed maniacally, "Fight? You wanted this fight. Now, darkness has descended, and the whole world will be destroyed. Everything has come early!"
"Pfft!"
Yan Renhuan raised the Human Ancestor Banner, thrusting the pole into Yan Jun's chest, pinning him to the weapon. Blood flowed freely.
Then, carrying the impaled Yan Jun, he walked steadily toward Void Heaven and Zhang Ruochen without hesitation.