# Chapter 3912: Confronting a Heavenly Venerable
The fifteenth layer of the Nether Realm within the Nether Purgatory remained in a shattered state, not yet fully restored, with nether qi flowing everywhere. The destructive power left behind by the Eon Calamity and the Life Ancestor lingered in the space, persisting for a long time.
"Be careful of his curse power. Put this on."
Zhang Ruochen waved his hand and sent out a mass of ghost mist.
The ghost mist condensed on Feng Tian's body, forming a suit of armor.
It was the "Ancestral Dragon Ghost Armor" of the Dragon Corpse Knight. This armor could not only defend against curses but also against soul attacks.
Against a Heavenly Venerable-level curse and soul attack, the Ancestral Dragon Armor was naturally insufficient; otherwise, the Dragon Corpse Knight would not have been cursed. Of course, Zhang Ruochen and Feng Tian were not Dragon Corpse Knights—their cultivation levels were vastly different.
As long as the Ancestral Dragon Armor could play a partial role, their situation could be greatly improved.
Although Zhang Ruochen had merged with the Bright Mirror Platform and carried the Mani Pearl, facing a terrifying existence like Gu Yanluo, he still dared not be careless in the slightest. He also put on a suit of Ancestral Dragon Armor.
"Let's go. First, head to Lady Shiji's Divine Star!"
Zhang Ruochen pressed his palm against the void, and a Space Teleportation Array quickly manifested before his palm.
Fighting head-on against a Heavenly Venerable was a path to death.
"Think you can escape?"
Gu Yanluo's voice came from above.
Demon qi transformed into wisps of colorful light, descending from above.
Within the light, profound and unfathomable demonic order was contained, like a long whip, tracing a graceful arc as it slashed toward Zhang Ruochen.
Knowing he could not block this strike, Zhang Ruochen had no choice but to abandon the Space Teleportation Array and shift his position.
"Pfft!"
He failed to completely evade.
This strand of demon qi light was sharper than a divine artifact war sword, grazing Zhang Ruochen's left shoulder. It caused sparks to erupt from the Ancestral Dragon Armor before finally cutting through it.
Divine blood flowed out, and pain pierced his bones.
Zhang Ruochen could clearly sense that Heavenly Venerable-level demon qi and curses were invading his body through the wound. Around the wound, flesh turned black, and his skin rapidly withered.
"Hua!"
Zhang Ruochen rose, pressing his palms together.
Circles of pure Buddhist light surged from within his body, hovering behind his head, dispelling the demon qi and curses.
In that instant, Gu Yanluo's true body had already landed before him.
But Zhang Ruochen could not clearly see Gu Yanluo's body at all—only a phantom.
And this phantom quickly struck out with a palm that was even more blurred than the phantom itself.
For an Indestructible Infinite initial-stage cultivator, if they were far enough away from a Heavenly Venerable, they still had a chance to escape.
But if they were engaged at close range, death was certain.
In this critical moment, Zhang Ruochen's reaction speed soared to an unprecedented height. He stepped forward like a divine bow, throwing a punch.
This punch was no longer controlled by his will.
Instead, the punch was thrown first, and his will caught up only afterward.
The speed of this punch left even Gu Yanluo stunned. But in the face of an absolute gap in cultivation, any divine ability or dao technique was futile.
Fist met palm.
"Crack!"
Zhang Ruochen's arm snapped with the sound, and his body flew backward.
Gu Yanluo's palm force did not dissipate; it remained unparalleled. He intended not only to break Zhang Ruochen's arm but also to shatter his physical body and divine soul with that single palm strike, completely securing victory.
Only then could he free his hands to deal with Feng Tian more calmly.
Once Zhang Ruochen was suppressed beneath his feet, Feng Tian would likely no longer flee—this was the goal Gu Yanluo wanted to achieve.
But another change occurred.
Silver-white Buddhist light surged from Zhang Ruochen's Xuan Embryo, accompanied by the Ancestral Realm boundary wall of the Extreme Joy World, forming the first line of defense.
Immediately after, under Zhang Ruochen's divine thought control, the Thunder Clan's Ancestral Realm also erupted. The Ancestral Realm's boundary wall and endless lightning formed the second line of defense.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
After Gu Yanluo punched through the boundary walls of two Ancestral Realms, his palm force was completely spent. Just as he was about to switch techniques, he sensed Feng Tian approaching from behind.
He ignored Feng Tian and continued attacking the injured Zhang Ruochen.
Even if he had to endure a strike from Feng Tian, he was determined to first severely injure Zhang Ruochen to the point of losing combat capability.
Zhang Ruochen landed, steadied his form, and showed no fear of Gu Yanluo's divine soul pressure. His arm shook like a whip, and the broken bones instantly reconnected.
Then, letting out a long roar, he gripped the Mani Pearl in one hand and the Imperial Talisman in the other, throwing both fists forward.
At this moment, he could not be afraid. He could not flee.
The more he fled, the faster he would die.
Only by overcoming fear and facing danger head-on could he carve out a path to survival.
But the words "overcoming fear" were easy to say. When the shadow of death truly pressed down, how many could actually do it?
"Overestimating yourself."
Gu Yanluo did not underestimate Zhang Ruochen. He struck out with both palms simultaneously.
The ancestral shadow of the Great Demon God manifested behind him, condensed from Ancestral Divine Qi and Ancestral Rules. It had eight heads—male head, female head, Buddha head, snake head, sheep head, dharma seal head, skull head, and ten-eyed head—all appearing together.
As the two palms and two fists collided, Feng Tian's fingertip also struck the back of Gu Yanluo's neck bone.
The phoenix not only had a hard beak but even harder claws.
Even a Heavenly Venerable would not feel good enduring a strike from her.
"Slap!"
This finger strike from Feng Tian was exquisitely precise, hitting exactly the gap between the two bones at the back of Gu Yanluo's neck. His entire skeleton exploded with sound, and his head seemed about to separate from his body.
Zhang Ruochen was struck by Gu Yanluo's double palms. His arms instantly exploded, leaving only white bones. Even the Ancestral Dragon Armor on his body was shattered into ghost mist.
The Great Demon God's eight heads pressed down together. Just as Zhang Ruochen felt his physical body was about to split apart under this strike, that terrifyingly immense Heavenly Venerable divine power was rapidly withdrawn.
The Great Demon God's eight heads detached from its neck and struck Feng Tian behind.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen and Feng Tian were both sent flying like meteors, crashing into two continents within the ninth layer of the Nether Realm.
The next moment, they both burst out from the ground.
They quickly healed their injuries and activated various protective measures.
At their level of cultivation, as long as their bodies were not blasted into particles, physical injuries could be rapidly healed, and their combat power would not be greatly affected.
In other words, if Feng Tian had not delivered that finger strike, causing Gu Yanluo's double palms and the Great Demon God's shadow to fully impact Zhang Ruochen, his physical body would certainly not have been able to withstand it.
When the physical body turned into particles, the divine soul and spirit would also be damaged, possibly even falling into a brief state of unconsciousness.
How much combat power would remain then?
It was precisely because Zhang Ruochen had successively withstood three full-power attacks from Gu Yanluo without his physical body being destroyed or his divine soul broken that Gu Yanluo's entire plan for a quick victory was thwarted.
"Zhang Ruochen, I'm not bad, am I?"
The Selfless Lamp floated at the center of the rings of Buddhist light behind Zhang Ruochen's head.
It was with its assistance that Zhang Ruochen had been able to directly withstand Gu Yanluo's double palms while only sustaining minor injuries.
Although it was only a brief exchange, such an achievement was enough to shock the world.
To withstand three strikes from a Heavenly Venerable and still retreat intact—how many of the current All Heavens could do that?
"With you here, I feel like a Heavenly Venerable isn't so terrifying after all." Zhang Ruochen raised his head proudly, his gaze contemptuous toward Gu Yanluo.
Although the Selfless Lamp was delighted in its heart, it felt Zhang Ruochen was getting a bit carried away.
"Gu Yanluo plus the Great Demon God—quite a challenge."
Feng Tian stood in another part of the sky, dressed in red robes, her wings on her back resplendent, as countless death rules converged toward her.
Gu Yanluo stood on a continental fragment five hundred miles long, floating in the void, cutting off the two of them. He said, "You're indeed not bad. Having just broken through to Indestructible Infinite, you've already grasped the order of the fist path. Even the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable of that year might not have been able to do that."
The punch Zhang Ruochen had thrown earlier, surpassing his own consciousness, was an unconscious triggering of the domain of fist path order.
It was that punch that bought him the opportunity not to be utterly defeated under Gu Yanluo's palm.
But to have Zhang Ruochen do it again, he might not be able to replicate it.
His martial dao had only just entered the Indestructible realm. He first needed to perceive fist path order, then comprehend it, gradually uncover the mysteries of order, and finally reach the point of using it freely at will. Eventually, he could even weave his own order and create a self-contained realm of absolute dominance.
Gu Yanluo's extreme pressure had forced Zhang Ruochen to perceive fist path order in advance—nothing more.
Gu Yanluo changed his tone and said, "But this is where it ends! The Life Ancestor is dead. You no longer have any reason to exist."
The Selfless Lamp said, "Who says the Life Ancestor is dead? Before his death, the master left behind four of the twelve phases of fate—Life, Fortune, Auspiciousness, and Joy—giving them to four people respectively. Auspiciousness was what the master left for Zhang Ruochen! If the master had all twelve phases complete, how could the eighteen layers of the Nether Purgatory not be broken?"
"Hua!"
A Gate of Destiny flew out from the Selfless Lamp, like a shield seal suspended before Zhang Ruochen.
Its light was not particularly brilliant, but it gave people an extremely safe feeling, as if an invisible force was protecting them.
Ripples appeared in Zhang Ruochen's heart. He had already accepted Gong Nanfeng's fall, but at this moment, sorrow arose spontaneously.
Seizing this subtle change in Zhang Ruochen's heart, Gu Yanluo vanished from his spot.
At the same time, a sharp light flashed in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. He paid no attention to where Gu Yanluo might appear and charged straight toward Feng Tian.
Feng Tian had already exchanged glances with Zhang Ruochen, and at this moment, she too moved toward him.
In such close-quarters combat, the two had to join together to withstand Gu Yanluo's attacks, and only then could they consider how to retreat.
"Catch!"
Three divine artifacts in a row—including the Red Dye Tower, the Heavenly Special Gourd, and the Thunder God Hammer—flew out from Zhang Ruochen's Xuan Embryo.
All of Feng Tian's divine artifacts had previously been taken by Gong Nanfeng and left in Zhang Ruochen's Xuan Embryo.
Without her divine artifacts, Feng Tian's combat power was clearly greatly diminished.
"I already guessed your intention."
Suddenly, Gu Yanluo appeared at the position between Zhang Ruochen and Feng Tian, using a black bag to collect all three divine artifacts.
"Oh?"
Gu Yanluo sensed something was wrong.
Just as he was collecting the divine artifacts, Zhang Ruochen and Feng Tian converged. Their hands connected, fingers interlocking.
The next moment, the Thunder Clan's Ancestral Realm appeared beneath Feng Tian's feet. Her entire body crackled with lightning, drawing countless bolts to attack Gu Yanluo.
At the same time, Auspiciousness and Joy returned to her hands.
Zhang Ruochen propped up the Auspicious Gate left by Gong Nanfeng and the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal, continuously mobilizing the scorching power of the Small Derivative Five Stars, causing the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal to spin rapidly and transform into a yin-yang vortex.
Feng Tian swung Auspiciousness and Joy, striking the center of the Auspicious Gate.
The power of Zhang Ruochen, Feng Tian, and Gong Nanfeng seemed to merge in that instant, blazing brightly, passing through the Auspicious Gate and the yin-yang vortex, surging toward Gu Yanluo.
Gu Yanluo had just scattered the lightning when he saw the fate divine light flying toward him. His gaze congealed.
"Bone Emperor Critical Boundary, Dominance Unmatched."
Fifty percent of the Bone Emperor Heavenly Dao's profound meaning erupted. Gu Yanluo struck out with both hands, colliding with the surging fate divine light.
The continental fragment beneath Gu Yanluo's feet turned to dust. By the time the fate divine light dissipated, Zhang Ruochen and Feng Tian had already escaped the ninth layer of the Nether Realm and entered the cosmic void.
Zhang Ruochen and Feng Tian's strength far exceeded Gu Yanluo's expectations. The two cooperated seamlessly, both possessing Ancestral Realms for protection, plus the Selfless Lamp and the Life Ancestor's Auspicious Gate—this had already made Gu Yanluo, a Heavenly Venerable, feel troubled.
There was no point in pursuing further.
What made Gu Yanluo even more cautious was that if Lady Shiji's target was not Ba Er but him, that would be too dangerous.
Although he had seized three divine artifacts, it was not without gain. But Gu Yanluo's mood was extremely heavy, because he knew that Feng Tian was not far from breaking through her realm, and Zhang Ruochen's growth rate was terrifying.
If he stood still, before long, he would surely be defeated by the two of them.
...
Arriving outside Lady Shiji's Divine Star, Zhang Ruochen and Feng Tian finally stopped and breathed a sigh of relief.
That had been too dangerous!
If there had been even a single mistake, the two of them would have died at Gu Yanluo's hands.
Feng Tian looked toward the Nether Purgatory and said, "Gu Yanluo didn't dare to chase after us! Sure enough, the fates of Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable, Bei Xi, Yan Jun, Kui Liang Huang, and Luo Tong Luo have subtly made them cautious."
"After all, you only have one life," Zhang Ruochen said.
Feng Tian said, "Yes, you only have one life. Although we lost three divine artifacts, at least we escaped!"
"One day, we will take them back from him," Zhang Ruochen said.
We...
Feng Tian cast a meaningful glance at him.
The Stone Clan great gods on Lady Shiji's Divine Star were all watching the battle in the Nether Purgatory. Seeing Zhang Ruochen and Feng Tian retreat intact, each of them was stirred, their shock difficult to calm.
They knew what kind of extraordinary taboo existence Zhang Ruochen and Feng Tian had been confronting.
Although this battle was brief, it would surely spread rapidly across all realms of the universe, causing the gods of the world to re-evaluate the weight of the name "Imperial Dust."
"That was a Heavenly Venerable-level!"
The Black and White Daoist rubbed his temples, unsure of what attitude to adopt to welcome the two.
Desolate Heaven's furrowed brow relaxed, then furrowed again, clearly indicating that his heart was not without waves.
...
Let me predict: this match between Germany and Japan will likely be an upset. Japan is still very strong. I'll go with 1-2. Trust me! Bet on it!