Chapter 3952: Sword Qi Fills the Western Continent
The Heavenly Court continent shifted horizontally, like an unprecedented ancient battle platform. Under the leadership of Xuanyuan Taizhen, the Five Elements Temple's temple master, Bian Zhuang War God, the Truth Temple's temple master, and the Chixia Feixian Valley's valley master, cultivators from myriad realms and all heavens struck back against the dark anomaly within the Sword God Temple.
Energy fluctuations tore apart the starry sky, disrupted the rules, and shattered countless stars.
The dark anomaly that even three half-ancestors had failed to suppress was now firmly locked in place by the Heavenly Court continent and the Yama clan's World Tree, unable to escape this space, with the possibility of being suppressed.
The multitude of beings could both achieve ancestorhood and suppress an ancestor.
This was the power of the multitude!
Moreover, within the Sword God Temple was merely the remnant body of the dark anomaly, whose combat power had not yet reached the ancestor level.
"If no other variables arise, the certainty of suppressing the dark anomaly will reach over seventy percent. Whether it's the Immortal or the Calamity of Quantities, they must know that we beings refuse to be slaughtered." The Truth Temple's temple master spoke.
The Chixia Feixian Valley's valley master was the first to notice the situation at the Heavenly Academy, discovering Qingsu, Han Qiu, and the mysterious sword cultivator emerging one after another from the carriage. Her expression shifted in alarm. "We may have made a fatal mistake. When did he enter the Heavenly Court?"
Sensing the mysterious sword cultivator, the others all changed color as well.
The Five Elements Temple's temple master sighed. "I've had an uneasy feeling all along, sensing that something would go wrong within the Heavenly Court. I never expected it to actually come true!"
The Truth Temple's temple master let out a deep snort, splitting off a strand of the Heavenly Punishment Divine Light used against the dark anomaly. Like a heavenly blade, it shot straight toward the mysterious sword cultivator.
The mysterious sword cultivator glanced indifferently at the descending beam of light. With a wave of his arm, the spatial power that shook the entire Heavenly Court continent erupted, deflecting the Heavenly Punishment Divine Light.
"Whoosh!"
The Heavenly Punishment Divine Light slashed horizontally for a hundred thousand miles.
Within that hundred-thousand-mile range, Heavenly Court cultivators were all cleaved into bloody mist, screams echoing one after another.
The mysterious sword cultivator raised his voice. "A battle is most hindered by divided attention. You want to suppress the Sword God Temple and kill me at the same time, but unfortunately, you are not Hao Tian—you lack such strength. Before making a move, choose one of the two. Otherwise, all your actions will only destroy the Heavenly Court continent."
Seeing his utter recklessness, the Truth Temple's temple master's arm trembled. He very much wanted to strike again without regard for consequences.
"He is provoking us, creating an opportunity for the dark anomaly in the Sword God Temple to break free from suppression. Once the Sword God Temple escapes, the realms behind the Heavenly Court continent will surely suffer catastrophic disaster." Xuanyuan Taizhen's gaze was as firm as iron.
The Truth Temple's temple master said, "But if he breaks through the Nine Heavens Celestial World and releases the dark remnant body suppressed within the Second Confucian Ancestor's Ancestor Realm, that would be an even more catastrophic disaster."
"The two from the Zhang family are there. He cannot succeed." Bian Zhuang War God spoke.
The Five Elements Temple's temple master looked at the two women captured by the mysterious sword cultivator, still worried. "I'm afraid Zhang Ruochen is too young and might act on emotion."
"I'll go to the Heavenly Academy."
Xuanyuan Lian flew out from the Heavenly Palace, followed by a hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals clad in white armor. The Truth Temple's temple master and the Five Elements Temple's temple master knew Zhang Ruochen too well and still weren't reassured, so they each sent out transmissions.
Immediately, the Truth Temple and the Five Elements Temple erupted with brilliant divine light, rising from the ground and flying toward the Heavenly Academy.
Within the temple, gods stood in ranks, including Xiang Chunan and Qingsi Xue.
Within the observatory were cultivators all wearing Daoist robes, led by Jing Daoren, their expressions solemn. They knew they were going to face a Heavenly Venerable-level enemy and had already embraced death, determined to prevent the mysterious sword cultivator from rescuing the dark remnant body.
Xiang Chunan paced anxiously. "What do we do, what do we do? With Big Brother's personality, there's no way he'll watch Qingsu Shenzun and Sun-Moon Bright Consort die before his eyes."
"Can you calm down and stop pacing in front of me?"
Qingsi Xue said coldly, "Imperial Dust definitely understands the consequences of this better than we do. There's no way he'll act on emotion at a time like this."
Beside them, an old-guard divine venerable from the Truth Temple spoke meaningfully. "Do you think the temple master ordered us to drive the Truth Temple to the Heavenly Academy for no reason?"
Xiang Chunan said, "Of course, to face the powerful enemy."
The old-guard divine venerable said, "Without the temple master and the Mengge Demon God, we're supposed to fight a Heavenly Venerable-level enemy? The temple master sent us to die. Only if we all die at the hands of the mysterious sword cultivator can we change Imperial Dust's will, forcing him to make up his mind and fight the mysterious sword cultivator to the death."
Xiang Chunan was stunned speechless.
Qingsi Xue seemed to have long guessed her mother's intention and remained very calm. "Mother knows Imperial Dust too well. She's worried he'll be constrained by the mysterious sword cultivator and make the wrong decision. She wants us to use our blood to forge an iron-hearted resolve within him. If sacrificing a Truth Temple can secure the safety of the Heavenly Court continent, it's worth it."
Xiang Chunan's heart could not calm for a long time. It wasn't that he feared death, but he couldn't understand why the Heavenly Court continent had suddenly been plunged into such a brutal war.
But thinking of the already destroyed Rakshasa Divine City and Shura Star Pillar Realm... he seemed to understand many things.
If they didn't die, they would face the near-extinction danger that the Rakshasa and Shura clans had experienced. And if the Heavenly Court continent was destroyed, at least half of the elites from the myriad realms and all heavens would die.
If these blood energies and soul essences were absorbed, how powerful would the dark anomaly become?
Zhang Ruochen's Daoist Dharma light projection appeared above the Ninth Heaven Celestial World, looking at the three who had entered the Heavenly Academy.
The mysterious sword cultivator, in the guise of Shangqing, said, "I have planted a sword qi in each of their divine sources. With a single thought from me, their divine sources will explode, and their divine forms will be annihilated. Zhang Ruochen, I've heard you value relationships the most. Tell me, how much is this disciple of yours and this red-faced confidante who has fought south and north for you worth?"
"What are your conditions?" Zhang Ruochen said.
The mysterious sword cultivator said, "If I asked you to release Luo Tongluo and the darkness within the Second Confucian Ancestor's Ancestor Realm, you certainly wouldn't agree. So, my request is simple: release Luo Tongluo, and then fight me. Fulfill one condition, and I release one person."
"Don't agree to him."
Xuanyuan Lian's voice sounded outside the Heavenly Academy. She continued, "This is a trap! He is a Heavenly Venerable-level. If you step out of the Nine Heavens Celestial World to fight him, you will surely lose. Once you fall into his hands, he will have sufficient leverage to negotiate with Jie Tian."
The mysterious sword cultivator ignored the three factions that had arrived outside the Heavenly Academy, staring calmly at Zhang Ruochen's Daoist Dharma light projection. "Afraid to lose? Afraid to die? If a future ancestor lacks even this much courage, how can he prove the ancestor's great path?"
Jing Daoren's voice came from the Five Elements Temple. "You, a Heavenly Venerable-level, capture women and children, then challenge a cultivator at the early stage of Indestructible Infinite. What kind of courage is that?"
The mysterious sword cultivator kept his eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen.
Dizu Divine Lord and a large number of gods arrived outside the Heavenly Academy. His divine voice rang out: "We cultivators of the Imperial Dao Great World have never feared death. If Qingsu Shenzun falls, I, this lord, will decree the Can Tian Sect as the number one sect of the Imperial Dao Great World and elevate her maternal clan to the number one clan. To think that the life and death of one or two people can sway the cosmic pattern—you underestimate the people of this world!"
Zhang Ruochen's true body stepped out from the Ancestor Divine Qi of the Nine Heavens Celestial World.
Seeing this, the cultivators outside the Heavenly Academy—Dizu Divine Lord, Xuanyuan Lian, Jing Daoren, Qingsi Xue, and others—all wore grave expressions.
Zhang Ruochen held the Abyssal Ancient Divine Sword in his hand. "Tell me, who exactly are you?"
The mysterious sword cultivator said, "Whoever you think I am, that's who I am. It's time to decide. My time is short, and your time is short as well."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Han Qiu and Qingsu, then back at the mysterious sword cultivator. "I'll fight you, but I want both of them."
The mysterious sword cultivator shook his head.
"Luo Tongluo has already been refined and killed!" Zhang Ruochen said.
The mysterious sword cultivator's expression changed instantly, his emotional fluctuations intense. In that instant, Zhang Ruochen took a step across space, appearing before him, completely enveloping him within the talisman light of the Imperial Talisman, cutting off the mental connection between the mysterious sword cultivator and Qingsu and Han Qiu.
"Boom!"
But as Zhang Ruochen's divine sword was just descending, Han Qiu's divine source behind him exploded, releasing a destructive divine radiance. No one had expected the mysterious sword cultivator to be so decisive, giving Zhang Ruochen no chance at all.
Even though Zhang Ruochen and Chan Bing had prepared thoroughly—one stimulating his emotional state to buy time, the other secretly casting a time-freezing secret art—it was still too late.
The time-freezing secret art only managed to freeze Qingsu.
The mysterious sword cultivator grabbed the Abyssal Ancient Divine Sword, his expression twisted and terrifying to the extreme, unable to accept the fact that Luo Tongluo had been refined and killed. His other hand thrust out like a sword, straight for Zhang Ruochen's Mysterious Embryo.
"Boom!"
At the position of Zhang Ruochen's Mysterious Embryo, a blinding five-colored divine radiance erupted. A Five-Colored Glass Shield flashed and vanished, and his figure shot backward, smashing the Buddhist courtyard belonging to the Remnant Lamp into dust, where Buddhist light and earth mingled together.
"The Five-Colored Glass Shield?"
The mysterious sword cultivator roared. Above his head, four war swords appeared, each radiating divine artifact-level power, all slashing toward the Buddhist courtyard ruins.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen shot out from the Buddhist courtyard ruins first. The River Diagram blocked his chest, and the half-ancestor's demonic divine power was instantly unleashed, transforming into a blade light that slashed straight down.
"Boom!"
Two of the four divine artifact war swords broke.
The other two were sent flying.
The mysterious sword cultivator's eyes flickered with slight surprise, then a profound and unfathomable dark energy erupted from within him. A Myriad Forms Formless Seal appeared before him.
"Bang!" The Myriad Forms Formless Seal was shattered.
That half-ancestor-level blade light split the space, cutting through half of the Western Continent, creating a heaven-splitting, earth-cleaving chasm.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen's anger was no less than the mysterious sword cultivator's.
His long hair flying, he held the Abyssal Ancient Divine Sword in one hand and clenched the Qilin Fist Gloves in the other. He shouted, "Chan Bing, Yuan Sheng, lead the divine army. Together with me, we will slay this Heavenly Venerable-level!"
As his voice fell, Zhang Ruochen had already crossed millions of miles, appearing at the end of the earth fissure. Carrying the power of thunder and lightning, he punched down with overwhelming force.
Chan Bing, Yuan Sheng, Xiu Chen Heavenly God, and the Snow Domain Star Sea Divine Army all charged into the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal on Zhang Ruochen's back. Immediately, the River Diagram and Luo Book's light projections appeared on the seal.
The mysterious sword cultivator was slashed by the blade left by Heavenly Mother, his entire body drenched in blood, nearly split in two.
Before he could recover from his injuries...
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen's fist landed, smashing the entire sacred domain downward, creating a fist crater three hundred thousand miles in diameter.
Fortunately, the Heavenly Tiao order had already activated to protect the entire Heavenly Court, and fortunately, after the mysterious sword cultivator appeared, the Heavenly Court cultivators of the Western Continent had been rapidly evacuating under the leadership of the gods. Otherwise, the number of cultivators who would have died in the battle between the two would have been incalculable.
No one had expected Zhang Ruochen to strike so decisively, never intending to negotiate with the mysterious sword cultivator from the start.
Even more unexpected was that Zhang Ruochen had carried a half-ancestor-level strike from Heavenly Mother.
Moreover, after Chan Bing, Yuan Sheng, Xiu Chen Heavenly God, and the Snow Domain Star Sea Divine Army charged into the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal, the combat power Zhang Ruochen unleashed actually surpassed the mysterious sword cultivator.
"He has broken into the middle stage of Indestructible Infinite. Such terrifying cultivation speed!"
The Heavenly Court gods, who had been filled with worry, were now both shocked and excited. All their concerns were swept away, and only one phrase appeared in their minds: "Unmatched and unparalleled."
"This combat power... it's approaching Hao Tian before he entered the half-ancestor realm. How is that possible? He's only at the middle stage of Indestructible Infinite—how can he bear and control such immense power?" A divine thought of Xuanyuan Taizhen focused on the battlefield of the Western Continent.
The Chixia Feixian Valley's valley master, with her powerful spiritual power, saw through the secret. "It's the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal combining all the power together... No, perhaps the Luo Book also plays a role."
The Truth Temple's temple master said, "It's Chan Bing. She has stepped into the Heavenly Venerable level. However, having just entered the Heavenly Venerable level, she cannot be a match for that sword cultivator. Imperial Dust's first-rank divine path has combined everyone's power, unleashing combat power that is nearly invincible below the half-ancestor level."
The sound of cicadas rang throughout the Heavenly Court continent.
A sea of time imprint light flooded the Western Continent. Rivers of time shuttled across the continent's sky.
Two completely different sword qi clashed within the sea of light, toppling divine mountains and leveling sacred domains.
Xuanyuan Lian knew that Zhang Ruochen, Chan Bing, and Xiu Chen Heavenly God were all skilled in the way of time. Clearly, they intended to use the way of time to suppress the mysterious sword cultivator.
She immediately ordered the Time Divine Temple to be moved over.
"I'll make this trip."
Qiangu Nüdi flew out from the Nine Heavens Celestial World, transforming into a river of time and disappearing beyond the horizon.
Xuanyuan Lian sensed that most of the cultivators in the Western Continent had already evacuated. She transmitted her divine voice: "Today, Imperial Dust may use the entire Western Continent as his battlefield without restraint. No matter how many die, I, Xuanyuan Lian, will bear the responsibility!"
Many cultivators' gazes fell upon Xuanyuan Lian, both admiring her courage, which surpassed countless men in the world, for relieving Zhang Ruochen of all worries, and worrying for her, because this statement involved the interests of all great worlds in the Western Universe.
The cultivators who died in the aftermath of the battle would all hold her accountable.
Only she, with her identity as the daughter of a Heavenly Venerable, could say such words.
The battlefield between Zhang Ruochen and the mysterious sword cultivator had already destroyed over a hundred sacred domains.
Bound by the power of time, every time the mysterious sword cultivator tried to expand the battlefield and drag the cultivators of the entire Western Continent into it, he failed.
"Zhang Ruochen, help me break through to the Heavenly Venerable level, and I will fight for you for an eon. Today, we will first slay this fiend, then battle the dark anomaly." Chan Bing stood within the Luo Book's scene, leading the divine army, continuously channeling divine power toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen's entire body was stained with divine blood, but it was all the mysterious sword cultivator's blood.
"Pfft!" Zhang Ruochen, holding the Abyssal Ancient Divine Sword with both hands, pierced through the mysterious sword cultivator's chest once more, then slashed horizontally, sending large chunks of flesh and blood flying.
The power of time was still not strong enough.
Even using the Eon Sword Technique, he could not cut away the mysterious sword cultivator's lifespan. The opponent used the dark power and Myriad Forms Formless power within his body to extinguish the power of time.
Qiangu Nüdi and the gods of the Time Divine Temple drove the temple, rapidly flying toward the center of the battlefield. With the enhancement of the Time Esoterica, the time rules in the universe continuously converged toward the temple.