Chapter 3930: Battle Against the True Body of an Ancestor
Although the killing array left behind by the Ancestor possessed boundless power, no one could analyze or control it. Yu Zhuan and Gai Mie each employed their own methods, weaving through it with ease, handling the situation adeptly.
Yu Zhuan's wings spread open, unleashing the power of Radiant Divine Light—a force sacred and pure, purifying evil and the gray deathly aura.
"Shua! Shua!"
Feathers like snowflakes flew out, akin to millions of divine swords, tearing apart the veiled bone-faced woman into pieces, scattering her divine substance.
Gai Mie manipulated the Demon Ancestor Zi Wu Yue, causing a massive spatial tremor. With a single strike, he cleaved a golden toad that lunged at him into two halves.
That golden toad, a hundred meters long, seemed forged from pure gold.
After being split in two, its corpse eerily reconstituted, spitting out a crimson-gold divine flame from its mouth.
Gai Mie laughed heartily, his hands spreading wide. Before his chest, a rapidly spinning black hole appeared, devouring the golden toad.
Within that black hole, Zhang Ruochen sensed a powerful fluctuation of Devouring Heavenly Dao Essence.
"Gai Mie has grasped about forty percent of the Devouring Heavenly Dao Essence," Zhang Ruochen said.
Chi Yao, standing within the Divine Realm World, asked, "The Devouring Heavenly Dao is one of the five great Heavenly Daos of the Underworld Clan. How did Gai Mie obtain so much Essence?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head with a light smile. "Who is Gai Mie? If the Hell Realm wanted him to do their bidding, how could they not offer sufficient benefits? Not giving him fifty percent of the Devouring Heavenly Dao Essence outright is a form of restraint and a means of controlling him."
Forty percent Essence versus fifty percent—only a ten percent difference—yet it marked the distinction between a main god and an overlord, incomparable.
But with forty percent of the Devouring Heavenly Dao Essence, given Gai Mie's current cultivation, it was sufficient, compensating for his final weakness in combat power.
Now, Gai Mie's displayed combat strength far surpassed that of nine hundred years ago.
Of course, using Essence in the lower realm boosted combat power far less than in the upper realm.
"Boom!"
"Boom, boom..."
Yu Zhuan and Gai Mie raced across the blood-soaked earth.
This god and demon, while evading the killing array and Ancestor divine light, crushed the ancient corpses blocking their path.
They wielded thunderous methods, unleashing world-ending strikes and astonishing divine abilities. Though these ancient corpses had formidable origins in life—their bodies harder than divine iron and containing more power than stars—they were all swept aside.
The only troublesome aspect was that even when shattered, their corpses quickly reconstituted.
They lacked soul consciousness.
It was the wisps of deathly gray mist in the space that influenced them.
Standing at the edge of the blood-soaked earth, Zhang Ruochen took out the Wuwo Lamp and held it in his hand.
"Hua!"
As the dim yellow light flickered, it continuously spread into the depths of the blood earth.
The darkness was illuminated.
Zhang Ruochen released his spiritual power, murmuring softly—as if reciting ancient scriptures or chanting profound incantations.
Yu Zhuan and Gai Mie were astonished to find that once bathed in the lamp's light, these formidable ancient corpses immediately halted, the flames in their eyes extinguishing, returning to stillness.
Zhang Ruochen advanced step by step, cracking the ground beneath him, churning up red soil, burying the ancient corpses one by one.
Heaven and earth returned to tranquility.
Yu Zhuan retracted his Radiant Divine radiance and wings, looking at Zhang Ruochen, who approached slowly like a meditative old monk. His gaze shifted to the bright lamp in his hand, and he sighed, "The Life Ancestor was indeed a supreme being. The Fate divine glow released by this Wuwo Lamp makes even me feel my soul sway and my consciousness blur."
"Hmph, if my master had fully activated the Wuwo Lamp, your spiritual consciousness would already be burned to ashes," the Wuwo Lamp said coldly.
Of course, only Zhang Ruochen could hear this voice.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Brother Yu Zhuan is being modest. Your soul originates from the Great Radiant Light, protected by Ancestor power—how could a mere Wuwo Lamp affect you? Let's go. Let's see who is blocking our path."
"I've already sensed him!"
With that, Yu Zhuan transformed into a beam of white light, vanishing into the blood qi storm.
Zhang Ruochen and Gai Mie quickly followed.
This expanse of blood earth was vast, having existed for countless eons, fraught with dangers. Anyone below the Indestructible Infinite realm who entered would surely meet their death.
Zhang Ruochen's thoughts differed entirely from Gai Mie's. He didn't believe that all the ancient powerhouses buried here were fools blinded by the obsession with immortality.
So many had chosen to inter themselves in this blood earth—it must have some extraordinary quality.
Along the way, Zhang Ruochen continuously released his spiritual power, probing the blood earth beneath his feet, seeking its secrets. But deep within the blood earth, countless secret patterns intertwined, containing terrifying auras left by Ancestors, blocking his spiritual power.
The dust was crimson, and gale winds howled.
The three traveled thousands of miles.
Suddenly, Yu Zhuan, at the front, narrowed his eyes. His right arm bent and extended, and a finger beam tore through the void, striking a ten-thousand-meter-high, ox-back-shaped hill ahead.
The finger beam was dazzling, splitting space.
But before the light beam reached the hill, a coffin flew out from the ground behind it, fleeing deeper into the Chaotian Que.
With a crash, the hill collapsed under the beam, unleashing countless ancient killing forces from the earth.
The fleeing coffin was cylindrical, with a skull at each end.
The coffin body was bound by divine ropes.
It was the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin of the Yellow Spring Great Emperor!
"Haha! Old Yellow Spring, so you've been hiding in the Ancient Desolate Ruins City. No wonder Qing Cang couldn't find you."
Gai Mie's arm spun like a windmill, surging demonic qi pouring from his body into the Demon Ancestor Zi Wu Yue.
The Demon Ancestor Zi Wu Yue erupted with sky-devouring, earth-swallowing power, spinning rapidly as it flew toward the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin. Moments later, the two divine artifacts collided dozens of feet above the ground.
"Boom!"
The blood earth shook violently, space trembled, and waves of destructive force spread in all directions.
More ancient destructive forces from beneath the blood earth were triggered, flooding a region ten thousand miles wide. Even Zhang Ruochen and Yu Zhuan had to deploy defensive measures to withstand them.
"The one controlling the ancient corpses earlier must be the remnant soul of the Yellow Spring Great Emperor. He's blocking us from entering this blood earth for a reason. Capture him."
Yu Zhuan's angelic wings spread, his speed reaching its peak. In an instant, he caught up to the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin, channeling the Radiant Divine power of the Victory Crown to unleash a divine technique, striking heavily.
"Boom, rumble!"
Yu Zhuan, Gai Mie, and the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin became locked in battle, unleashing a storm of destruction.
Fortunately, no Ancestor-killing array lay beneath this blood earth.
Zhang Ruochen flickered to the edge of the collapsed hill, shining the Wuwo Lamp into the ground, using Fate power to probe its interior.
He discovered that the Yellow Spring Great Emperor had hollowed out the earth beneath, secretly removing large amounts of blood soil.
"The Yellow Spring Great Emperor was a peerless Ancestor in life. After his remnant soul returned, why is he so destitute—even stealing dirt?" the Wuwo Lamp asked.
Zhang Ruochen grabbed a handful of blood soil from the ground. "Interesting."
Tossing the soil aside, Zhang Ruochen looked toward the distant battlefield.
There, Gai Mie had manifested a demonic soil spanning a billion miles, weaving order, trapping the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin within his battle domain.
The Yellow Spring Great Emperor, having gained some unknown fortune, had surged in combat power. Yu Zhuan and Gai Mie couldn't suppress him quickly.
"Let's keep to our own paths. Why must you push to the death? If it comes to that, I won't hesitate to self-destruct my divine source and take you all with me."
The Yellow Spring Great Emperor's deep divine voice echoed from within the coffin.
Gai Mie laughed. "What I want is your Ancestor divine source!"
Before his words faded, the Demon Ancestor Zi Wu Yue slammed heavily onto the top of the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin, severing all the divine ropes binding it.
The Life-and-Death Dual Coffin, already dented and deformed by Gong Nanfeng's attack, warped further under this blow. After crashing onto the demonic soil below, the deformed lid flew off.
On the lid's surface, countless cyan patterns flowed, converging into a majestic image of the Yellow Spring Great Emperor dominating the world.
Statues of the Yellow Spring Great Emperor were enshrined in many ghost clan temples—green-faced, red-eyed, with thick whiskers, long ears, and three arms.
His left palm bore the character "Life," his right palm "Death," and the arm at his chest held the Yellow Spring Seal.
This was the image from the statues!
Gai Mie, who had been charging toward the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin, saw the lid flying at him. His eyes narrowed, and he struck it back with his palm while retreating to a distance.
The Yellow Spring Great Emperor, lying in the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin, already possessed combat power at the mid-stage Indestructible Infinite level. In this exchange, his strength had risen further, nearing the peak of Indestructible Infinite.
Now, with the lid open and his true body about to emerge, even the arrogant Gai Mie grew cautious.
Yu Zhuan landed at the other end of the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin, a hundred zhang away, summoning a long spear from the void. "You say 'keep to our own paths,' but you were the one who first played tricks, trying to block us outside the blood earth."
The Yellow Spring Great Emperor's prolonged voice came from within the coffin. "Surely you've both seen that the Chaotian Que and this blood earth have been left with killing and sealing measures by successive Heavenly Venerables, Half-Ancestors, and Ancestors. Clearly, they conceal great terror. If we continue fighting, we'll surely be killed here."
Yu Zhuan said, "Is that so?"
"He's trapped in my demonic soil world—no chance of escape. Let's strike together, seize his soul, the Yellow Spring Seal, and the Ancestor divine source!"
Gai Mie shouted, "Zhang Ruochen, use the Wuwo Lamp to suppress his self-destruction of the divine source."
Zhang Ruochen flew into the demonic soil world, lamp in hand, standing on a patch of divine glow, suspended in midair. "Do you even need my help?"
"Heh!"
Within Gai Mie's body, it seemed billions of demonic qi rivers flowed. Bold and unrestrained, he strode toward the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin.
He possessed the cultivation realm of a Heavenly Venerable, though not yet fully restored. But that realm was his confidence—why would he fear a dead Ancestor?
"Hua!"
Suddenly, the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin stood upright.
Inside, it was filled with red, cyan, black, and yellow radiances, vast and indistinct, blocking all soul and spiritual power probes.
Gai Mie's steps didn't pause—a hundred steps, ninety, eighty...
At ten steps away.
The coffin trembled, emitting dense Ancestor divine qi and Ancestor rules, surging toward Gai Mie.
At the forefront of this Ancestor divine qi and rules was a bright yellow copper seal.
The Yellow Spring Seal!
"Bang!"
The Yellow Spring Seal and the Demon Ancestor Zi Wu Yue collided, like two great worlds crashing together. The sound was resonant, the power capable of annihilating worlds, sending destructive ripples spreading.
Gai Mie flew backward, immediately summoning the Devouring Heavenly Dao Essence, forming a devouring black hole to swallow the Ancestor divine qi and rules still attacking him.
Though at a disadvantage in this initial clash, Gai Mie was unharmed.
"Not good!"
Zhang Ruochen uttered these two words.
A figure, fast enough to escape Zhang Ruochen's visual perception, shot out of the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin, colliding with Gai Mie.
"Pfft!"
Gai Mie's body bent backward, spitting blood, flying out like a cannonball.
The Yellow Spring Great Emperor was about to press his advantage to severely wound Gai Mie when Yu Zhuan appeared before him even faster, thrusting his spear.
Zhang Ruochen channeled the power of the Heart of Truth to his eyes, finally able to discern the forms and techniques of the Yellow Spring Great Emperor and Yu Zhuan.
"This ghost body of the Yellow Spring Great Emperor is definitely his original Ancestor body from life, boosted by the Ancestor divine source to peak Indestructible Infinite combat power," Zhang Ruochen thought.
"Exhilarating! Haha, worthy of the Yellow Spring Great Emperor, worthy of the Ancestor divine source."
Gai Mie wiped the blood from his mouth, spreading his arms as black demonic flames surfaced on his body.
The Desolate Moon bloomed within him, visible through the demonic flames and flesh.
Gai Mie rejoined the battle, teaming up with Yu Zhuan to push the Yellow Spring Great Emperor back step by step.
The Yellow Spring Seal indeed possessed boundless power, containing space-breaking abilities, but it was suppressed by the Victory Crown.
The Yellow Spring Great Emperor wielded the lid of the Life-and-Death Dual Coffin, slashing and striking, clashing with Gai Mie's Demon Ancestor Zi Wu Yue, creating earth-shattering energy waves.
Yu Zhuan's combat power surpassed the other two by a notch. Seizing the moment, his spear struck the Yellow Spring Great Emperor's brow.
At the Yellow Spring Great Emperor's brow, many Ancestor divine patterns appeared.
The spear couldn't break through!
"I have an Ancestor body—how can you break my ghost form?"
The Yellow Spring Great Emperor roared, his hair standing on end, both palms striking out simultaneously: "Grasping Life and Death."
The characters "Life" and "Death" on his palms erupted with Ancestor divine light, releasing two entirely different forces.
Yu Zhuan didn't dodge. Abandoning his spear, he struck out with both palms, his Radiant Divine radiance pushing back the Life and Death energies.
Their four palms met, and the Yellow Spring Great Emperor, unable to match Yu Zhuan, was blasted back hundreds of miles.
Gai Mie, lightning-fast, appeared beside him, swinging the Demon Ancestor Zi Wu Yue at his neck, leaving a shallow white mark on his cyan skin.
The Yellow Spring Great Emperor's "Death" palm struck heavily against Gai Mie's chest.
"You've fallen for it!"
A devouring black hole appeared on Gai Mie's chest, with countless Essence and order forces pinning the Yellow Spring Great Emperor's hand inside, unable to withdraw.
Yu Zhuan appeared to the Yellow Spring Great Emperor's left, grabbing his left arm.
The hand on the Yellow Spring Great Emperor's chest counterattacked, exchanging over a dozen moves with Yu Zhuan before finally being caught by the wrist.
"Brother Ruochen!"
Yu Zhuan called out.
No call was needed—the sound of a sword rang out.
Zhang Ruochen, holding the Abyssal Divine Sword, descended like an exiled immortal from the heavens, stabbing down with a bright sword-light tail.
"Bang!"
The sword tip struck the top of the Yellow Spring Great Emperor's head.
Powerful Ancestor divine qi erupted from his crown, nearly sending all three flying.
The Yellow Spring Great Emperor growled, "Do you think you can break an Ancestor divine body?"
"Is that so?"
As Zhang Ruochen's voice sounded, the Abyssal Divine Sword emitted a purple glow.
Within the sword, the power of the God-Defying Stele erupted, the tip slowly sinking into the Yellow Spring Great Emperor's skull. The protective Ancestor divine patterns and Ancestor divine qi continuously dissipated.