Chapter 3903: Each Has Their Own Trump Card
"Ah, you are forcing my hand!"
Gong Nanfeng sighed, but his gaze grew even more resolute.
With a wave of his hand, he stirred up three gusts of wind force.
When the whirlwinds in the air dissipated, Feng Tian, Bore, and Mu Lingxi appeared within the divine qi light sea.
The three women naturally understood that the reason Gong Nanfeng had pulled them into Zhang Ruochen's Xuan Tai at this moment was inevitably because he could not overcome Zhang Ruochen.
He intended to use them as hostages.
Thus, the three women showed no fear on their faces, displaying a resolute attitude.
Because, the more afraid of death they were, the greater the psychological impact it would have on Zhang Ruochen.
This battle for possession was not only a confrontation of spiritual will and cultivation soul, but also a psychological duel.
Both knew each other's weaknesses, as if playing with cards face up.
The key lay in who could let go more, who dared to let go more, and who was more resolute and decisive.
The fact that Zhang Ruochen could force Gong Nanfeng to play with cards face up had already proven his strength, turning the tide of advantage and disadvantage.
Next, it depended on his choice.
Feng Tian's body was densely covered with Ancestor Divine Patterns, her cultivation completely sealed. She sneered sarcastically: "The dignified Life Ancestor, worshipped by generations of temple cultivators, yet possessing such a mindset, using women and children as hostages, such lowly means are truly disappointing."
Gong Nanfeng remained calm and unruffled, saying: "Feng Tian is no mere woman or child! Bore and Mu Lingxi are not either. One dared to sever herself, transforming into a wisp of ghostly soul, reborn through Nether Fire and Nether Thunder Tribulation. The other fears no danger or calamity, following through life and death, able to be a disciple of the Moon God, and also a disciple of Feng Tian. You are all extraordinary women I admire! If it weren't absolutely necessary, I would never harm a single hair on your heads."
"If you're going to act, then act. Why so much nonsense? It's not like I haven't died before." Bore said coldly.
Mu Lingxi glanced at the Dao Soul Platform and chuckled: "If Ruochen Ge cannot live, then I certainly won't either. He understands that. So, using me to threaten him is meaningless."
Gong Nanfeng shook his head, saying: "He understands you, you understand yourself, but you clearly don't understand him enough. How could he bear to watch you die before his eyes without being moved?"
Mu Lingxi had to admit that Gong Nanfeng was terrifying, his words sharp as a blade, cutting straight through the weak point in her argument.
How could she not understand Zhang Ruochen?
But Gong Nanfeng understood Zhang Ruochen just as well.
Feng Tian changed her tone, saying: "The Life Ancestor is indeed worthy of the title. What you say all makes sense. But, it seems you have captured the wrong person. I am the most steadfast believer in fate. My relationship with Zhang Ruochen is merely a cooperation of interests. Using me to threaten him is hardly appropriate, is it?"
"In fact, I could also cooperate with you, jointly leading the Destiny Temple to dominate the universe, spreading the faith of fate to every living being and dead spirit. That would be a truly great vision!"
"Your sealing of me is completely unnecessary."
Gong Nanfeng laughed: "Have you asked your own heart? Do you truly think that way? Feng Caiyi, I have watched you grow step by step, from your sainthood, from your cultivation of a human form, from your godhood, including your nirvana rebirth. My understanding of you may surpass your own."
Without warning, Gong Nanfeng struck out with a finger to the right, a beam of light hitting Mu Lingxi.
"Bang!"
Mu Lingxi's body burst apart like paper, turning into a mist of blood.
In an instant, her soul was shattered into pieces, ground to nothing.
Her life force then completely disappeared.
"Stop!"
The moment Gong Nanfeng made his move, Zhang Ruochen's soul body had already rushed out of the Dao Soul Platform.
But it was too late to stop it.
Everything was too late.
Bore was shocked, unable to believe that Gong Nanfeng would so decisively kill Mu Lingxi.
This was completely unlike the carefree and unrestrained Gong Nanfeng of before. Perhaps this was the essence of life-and-death struggle—either you die, or I die.
Even she was horrified, so one could imagine Zhang Ruochen's inner state at that moment.
Gong Nanfeng looked at Zhang Ruochen standing opposite him, seeing the disbelief, pain, and anger in his eyes. He shrugged and said: "I had no other choice. If you didn't come out on your own, I truly had no other way. Look at them, each facing death as if it were nothing. I really envy you. But, I had to kill someone! Can you forgive me?"
Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned cold to the freezing point.
"Alright, since you've come out anyway, I won't joke with you anymore! Remember what I said earlier? Unless absolutely necessary, I would never harm a single hair on their heads. You still don't trust me. If you had trusted me even a little, you wouldn't have lost."
In his eyes, being trusted by Zhang Ruochen seemed to bring him more joy than successfully possessing him.
Gong Nanfeng waved his sleeve, the blood mist scattered, and Mu Lingxi stood there completely unharmed.
It was all an illusion!
"Didn't expect that, did you?" Gong Nanfeng said.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes remained cold, knowing he would never have another chance to hide back in the Dao Soul Platform. He said: "Even if I had guessed, could it have changed the outcome?"
"It couldn't! So, this is you, this is why I like being friends with you." Gong Nanfeng said.
Mu Lingxi was very angry, saying: "A friend would never act like this! With such behavior, you will never earn Chen Ge's trust. Without absolute trust, how can there be absolute friendship?"
Gong Nanfeng laughed self-deprecatingly: "It doesn't matter. Someone like me doesn't deserve friends anyway. The only thing keeping me alive is that terrifying and formidable enemy. Having an enemy means I'm not truly alone."
"Shua!"
Twelve colors, twelve Gates of Destiny, imprisoned Zhang Ruochen's soul body.
And before this, Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power thought body had been suppressed by the Selfless Lamp, the radiance of the Emperor Talisman growing dim.
Gong Nanfeng appeared before Zhang Ruochen's soul body, pointing a finger at his brow.
Zhang Ruochen could not dodge, because he was completely unable to move.
Strands of Zhang Ruochen's soul flowed out from his brow, following Gong Nanfeng's fingertip, traveling along his arm, and being continuously absorbed into Gong Nanfeng's body.
Gong Nanfeng was right. What he wanted was not simple possession, but devouring and fusion.
He wanted everything of Zhang Ruochen, including knowledge, memories, spirit, Dao methods, emotions... He wanted to be both the Life Ancestor and Zhang Ruochen.
The possession had begun!
The aura of death continuously assaulted Zhang Ruochen's soul and spirit, suppressing his will to live.
But no matter how intense the storm of death, Zhang Ruochen remained expressionless, staring intently into Gong Nanfeng's eyes. With his powerful spiritual will, he controlled the part of his soul that had been absorbed into Gong Nanfeng's body.
That part of the soul, though it had entered Gong Nanfeng's body, was highly resistant, colliding left and right within him, unable to merge.
This was because Zhang Ruochen's will had not been extinguished.
Gong Nanfeng was also just a soul body.
The more Gong Nanfeng absorbed, the stronger Zhang Ruochen's spiritual will became within him, and the resistance would continuously increase. When the resistance exceeded his control, both their souls would explode, leading to mutual annihilation of divine form.
This was the fundamental reason why most possessors failed!
Bore and Mu Lingxi both understood this principle. Therefore, even though they were extremely worried, they did not even dare to speak loudly. At this moment, any external interference could be fatal.
They could only choose to believe in Zhang Ruochen, believing that even if his soul power was far inferior to the Life Ancestor, he could still withstand the Life Ancestor's devouring.
Feng Tian said: "There's no need for you to hold any illusions! Once possession begins, there are only two outcomes. Either the Life Ancestor succeeds, or they both perish together. Do you understand? Even if Zhang Ruochen's spiritual will holds out, he can only fight for the outcome of mutual destruction."
Feng Tian said this entirely to lull Gong Nanfeng.
Because only she knew that Zhang Ruochen still had one final trump card. That trump card could only be used at the very last moment of successful possession to unleash its power.
Time passed quickly, like the soul within Zhang Ruochen's body.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen's soul body had begun to become transparent, most of his soul absorbed into Gong Nanfeng's body.
Similarly, Gong Nanfeng was not faring well. It was as if fierce winds were raging inside him, as if he might explode at any moment. At this time, any external force striking him would kill him here.
Of course, that included Zhang Ruochen.
But he had to continue pushing forward, even if it truly meant mutual destruction with Zhang Ruochen. He had to push on. He must completely absorb and fuse Zhang Ruochen's soul before the Eon Calamity descended.
Outside.
Yuan Jieyi, with his Great Unbound Infinite cultivation, used various methods to try to rescue Yuan Sheng trapped in the clouds, but to no avail.
Cang Mang said: "Actually, if the Life Ancestor really is the Mountain Lord, whether he succeeds in possession or not, we won't be in danger. The greatest threat right now is the Eon Calamity above. We need to leave here quickly."
"To leave, we must take the Clan Emperor with us." Yuan Jieyi said.
Yuan Sheng looked up at the layers of black clouds accumulating above, turning heaven and earth pitch black, devouring all light. Only when lightning flashed could things be seen.
The atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme, with tribulation thunder ready to fall at any moment.
"Leave quickly, this is my order." Yuan Sheng said.
Yuan Jieyi shook his head. Divine blood burned within his body as he activated a forbidden art that damaged his lifespan, slashing at the fate-colored clouds.
The clouds were actually shaken!
Just as Yuan Jieyi was overjoyed, an aged voice sounded: "With your cultivation, being able to shake the fate radiance shows that the Life Ancestor has reached a critical moment in his possession. Excellent, this is the perfect time to strike!"
Yuan Jieyi stared at Cang Mang.
Cang Mang shook his head blankly, not knowing what had happened.
But then, his face stiffened, and he let out a hoarse scream.
"Chi chi!"
Cang Mang's ghost body began to burn with crimson divine flames from the feet upward.
In an instant, the ghost body turned into a burning lantern, all its soul power devoured and consumed.
Yuan Jieyi sensed danger and immediately shifted his body horizontally, blocking in front of Yuan Sheng. The black halo behind him moved to the front, blocking the divine flames.
At the spot where Cang Mang had stood, in the center of the flames, a lamp appeared.
A strange divine lamp shaped like a sedan chair, also the size of a sedan chair.
But just this one lamp brought tremendous pressure to Yuan Jieyi, as if facing an endless sea of fire, his soul undergoing the refining of divine flames.
He suspected that the opponent didn't even need to attack, just stopping in front of him like this, given enough time, his soul would be refined to ashes.
Why did Cang Mang have such a strange divine lamp?
And why did this divine lamp devour Cang Mang?
Just as Yuan Jieyi was filled with countless doubts, the pressure exerted on him by the strange divine lamp suddenly disappeared. Then, it flew toward Zhang Ruochen and crashed into his body.
"What exactly is it?" Yuan Jieyi muttered to himself.
Behind him, Yuan Sheng's voice sounded: "The Soul-Devouring Lamp! One of the three and a half divine lamps refined by the Life Ancestor, one of the Twenty Heavens of the Hell Realm. Oh, no, it should be four now!"
Yuan Jieyi turned around and saw Yuan Sheng, dressed in a heroic martial robe, jade legs in boots, carrying the Blue Sea Mixed Yuan Spear, breaking through strands of fate-colored clouds, walking out step by step.
Her ponytail swayed, her figure straight, her aura stronger than ever before.
Yuan Jieyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, saying: "Excellent, Clan Emperor, we should quickly leave this place of trouble."
Walking out of the fate-colored clouds, all restraints disappeared. Yuan Sheng walked directly toward Zhang Ruochen, saying: "You leave quickly. I haven't fulfilled my promise yet! Everyone must keep their word."
"Shua!"
Yuan Sheng flew into Zhang Ruochen's Xuan Tai.
Just as she entered the Xuan Tai and appeared in the divine qi light sea, she saw Zhang Ruochen and Gong Nanfeng.
Gong Nanfeng's finger was still pointing at Zhang Ruochen's brow. Zhang Ruochen's soul body was nearly transparent, only his eyes remained bright, holding an unyielding will.
And the Soul-Devouring Lamp was behind Gong Nanfeng, pulling strands of soul from within his body into the lamp.
The four eerie pictures on the four sides of the lamp had all "come to life."
The "Pine Forest Ten Thousand Ghosts Picture" truly manifested a lush pine forest, with countless ghostly figures opening gaping mouths to absorb the soul from Gong Nanfeng's body.
The "Axe Splitting the Sky Picture" truly showed an old man of unclear appearance holding an axe, chopping at the top of Gong Nanfeng's head. However, three feet above his head, it was blocked by an invisible force.
"The Abyss Buries the Heavenly Maiden" and "White Bones Sit on the Wasteland" were even more bizarre.
The Heavenly Maiden was of peerless beauty, the white bones identical to fate bones, one on the left and one on the right, their arms draped over Gong Nanfeng's shoulders, also devouring his soul.
Yuan Sheng wanted to act, but didn't know who to strike at.
From within the sedan-chair-shaped Soul-Devouring Lamp, a gaunt, bearded, aged outline appeared, laughing: "Life Ancestor, didn't expect the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, did you? Being drained of your soul by a divine artifact you yourself refined, I believe you will die very unwillingly. Haha!"
Gong Nanfeng's body couldn't move, but he remained very calm, saying: "You overestimate yourself too much!"
"Oh? Is that so?"
The Soul-Devouring Lamp said: "Zhang Ruochen is by no means a weak vessel for possession. To suppress his spiritual will, you must use all your strength. I'd like to know, how can you deal with me?"
Gong Nanfeng said: "With your temperament, you can't break through to Indestructible Infinite."
"But I did. After absorbing your soul, I will go even further, Half-Ancestor, even Ancestor." The Soul-Devouring Lamp said.
Gong Nanfeng's eyes held contempt: "I already said, with your ability, you can't break through to Indestructible Infinite. So, you've already gone to see that one, haven't you? You've thrown in your lot with him? He helped you break through."
"People go to higher places, water flows to lower places. You're just a remnant soul, yet you overestimate yourself, wanting to contend with heaven. I can't very well go die with you, can I?" The Soul-Devouring Lamp said.
Gong Nanfeng said: "You still don't understand! I'm trying to tell you that on the boat that night, I already suspected you! Someone who couldn't break through to Indestructible Infinite suddenly did—how could I not be on guard?"
The Soul-Devouring Lamp fell silent, clearly intimidated by the Life Ancestor.
After a long time, it said: "I don't think you have the ability to deal with me at this moment."
Gong Nanfeng's gaze shifted to the right.
The Soul-Devouring Lamp looked over and saw Yuan Sheng in the distance holding her long spear. It said: "Is she your backup? With her cultivation, even if she struck now, I could kill you and Zhang Ruochen first, then slowly deal with her."
Gong Nanfeng's gaze was on Feng Tian. He said: "Feng Caiyi, how long are you going to keep acting?"
"You knew I had secretly broken the seal?" Feng Tian said.
Gong Nanfeng said: "You were always part of my calculations, a precaution against accidents during possession."
"What if there were no accidents during possession?" Feng Tian said.
Gong Nanfeng said: "You are not the Soul-Devouring Lamp, you cannot devour my soul. You dare not act against me, because you fear Zhang Ruochen might die from your rash action. Because you are no longer the Death God Venerable, but a woman, a woman who has fallen in love. A woman in love can be very crazy, or very weak. Act now!"
Feng Tian's body burst into blazing flames, hotter than the Soul-Devouring Lamp's fire. Behind her grew a pair of nine-light, ten-colored phoenix wings.
The power of fate erupted within her.
Just her aura suppressed the Soul-Devouring Lamp's radiance, making it dim.
"Feng Caiyi, I am devouring the Life Ancestor to save Zhang Ruochen. We can split the Life Ancestor's soul together and share the Great Dao of Fate." The Soul-Devouring Lamp said urgently.
Gong Nanfeng said: "That's impossible. It is devouring Zhang Ruochen's soul along with mine. With its cultivation, it cannot save Zhang Ruochen. The only thing it can do is kill us both at the same time."
"Do I need you to tell me that?"
"Feng Ming Divine Flame!"
"Void Extinction Method One!"
Feng Tian unleashed both Dao methods and divine abilities simultaneously.
Void Extinction Method One was to suppress the Soul-Devouring Lamp, preventing it from desperately fighting to the death with the Life Ancestor and Zhang Ruochen.
Feng Ming Divine Flame directly attacked the artifact spirit of the Soul-Devouring Lamp.
Just as the four-way struggle was underway, Zhang Ruochen's voice sounded within the light eye on Yuan Sheng's brow: "The opportunity has come. I have comprehended enough. Help me break through."
Even Yuan Sheng herself was greatly shocked.
How could Zhang Ruochen's voice appear inside her body?
"Don't panic. When sealing Luo Tuoluo's remnant soul, I also left thirty percent of my soul inside to comprehend her Dao. This seal is the Wuji Seal. It's normal that you can't sense the inside of the seal." Zhang Ruochen said.
Yuan Sheng was both shocked, delighted, and angry.
Shocked that Zhang Ruochen, with only seventy percent of his soul, could force the Life Ancestor to go all out.
Everyone had underestimated his strength.
Delighted that since Zhang Ruochen had left this backup plan, there might be a chance to turn things around today.
Angry that Zhang Ruochen had been urging her to return to the Abyss of Darkness earlier. He did this obviously because he knew the Life Ancestor was likely nearby and deliberately said it.
That way, the Life Ancestor wouldn't suspect her and wouldn't probe whether she had any backup left by Zhang Ruochen inside her.
Zhang Ruochen could have told her, could have trusted her.
Was Zhang Ruochen worried she might help the Life Ancestor? Or was he worried she lacked the sophistication and would show a flaw?