Chapter 3994: Ancestor Imprint, Clear Radiance Fills the Sky
“Still trying to leave?”
With a single thought from the Nine-Headed Stone Man, the demonic order of heaven and earth converged toward the Celestial Mechanism Brush, and the brush’s speed gradually came to a halt.
Cultivators at the Heavenly Venerable level had no chance of escaping before an Ancestor.
Heavenly Mother made her move, unleashing several divine abilities in succession to block the Nine-Headed Stone Man as it pursued the Celestial Mechanism Brush.
The Celestial Mechanism Brush flew out of the region densest with Ancestor Divine Patterns and Half-Ancestor Divine Patterns, arriving beneath the Sword Source Divine Tree. Void Heaven, piloting the Great Calamity Palace, flew out from within and caught the Celestial Mechanism Brush in his hand.
Void Heaven was extremely cautious, maximizing his defensive measures, deeply afraid that a single hit from the Ancestor would shatter every bone in his body.
“Blood Fiend Bell… Zhang Ruochen, you’ve gone too far. This old man is fighting tooth and nail against an Ancestor, yet you hide in the rear and drop rocks on the well. Hand over the Blood Fiend Bell, or don’t blame me for turning hostile.”
Seeing the Blood Fiend Bell taken away by Zhang Ruochen, Void Heaven’s eyes went wide with fury.
Zhang Ruochen said, “This bell’s artifact spirit is powerful. If I hadn’t arrived in time to suppress it, it would have already broken free from the Sword Source Divine Tree’s restraint and fallen into the Nine-Headed Stone Man’s hands.”
“Give it to me now, and I can suppress it.”
“Old Ghost Void, spare me the nonsense. Join the fight first; dealing with the Ancestor’s calamity is the real priority.”
Hearing the address “Old Ghost Void,” Void Heaven was so angry he nearly ground his molars to dust. But then he thought of how Zhang Ruochen had single-handedly suppressed three of the Ancestor’s heads, and his anger quickly subsided.
With the Ancestor Blood Wings and various battle treasures, Zhang Ruochen’s current combat power was already above his own.
Strength was the right to speak.
“Fine, you’re ruthless. Is there anything I set my sights on that you won’t snatch? You’re even more hateful than that bald monk Xumi.”
Void Heaven grumbled for a while, then suddenly sensed Ancestor Divine Patterns and order surging toward his direction.
The surrounding gale winds were fierce, sand and stones flying.
The Nine-Headed Stone Man was completely enraged, and even Heavenly Mother could not stop his advance.
The earth rumbled, and space shook.
The ten-thousand-mile-tall Ancestor stone body exuded an oppressive pressure, suffocating and terrifying, involuntarily stirring a fear that made one want to flee this place.
“Zhang Ruochen, lend this old man a hand. As long as I imprint all six volumes of the Fate Heavenly Scripture onto him, then… Zhang Ruochen… this is too much! We said we’d fight together, yet you leave me to bear the brunt alone?”
Void Heaven turned his head back and saw that Zhang Ruochen had already fled with the Blood Fiend Bell, disappearing without a trace.
At this moment, he was already surrounded by Ancestor order, unable to escape. He could only steel himself, holding a sword in one hand and lifting the Sword Source Divine Tree with the other, to meet the Nine-Headed Stone Man.
Fortunately, Heavenly Mother was still holding the front line; otherwise, Void Heaven suspected Zhang Ruochen was trying to set him up to die.
Naturally, Zhang Ruochen had not fled. Instead, while the Nine-Headed Stone Man was enraged and charging recklessly at Void Heaven, he circled around behind it and dug out Di, who was buried deep underground.
To deal with a powerhouse of the Nine-Headed Stone Man’s level, one still needed a Half-Ancestor to step up; he couldn’t afford to be reckless.
Di drove the Demon Shrine ahead, spreading his rules and order like a spiderweb, unleashing the great art of time stasis. The plains spanning millions of miles were lit up by densely packed time imprints.
Zhang Ruochen, needing to suppress the three heads that were constantly breaking the seals inside the cauldron, could only exert limited combat power. Thus, he followed behind Di, standing within the sea of time light.
He released his spiritual power outward, using Ancestor blood to inscribe talisman patterns.
Divine talismans, one after another, filled the sky like countless stars.
He summoned the falling talismans to envelop the Nine-Headed Stone Man.
Void Heaven, who was clashing head-on with the Nine-Headed Stone Man, was sent flying four times in a row. His protective Great Calamity Palace shattered, the divine sword he had forged was covered in cracks, and even the Sword Source Divine Tree was stripped bare.
The power of an Ancestor could destroy everything in the world.
To an Ancestor, ordinary divine artifacts were like a child’s wooden sword toys, easily snapped.
Void Heaven’s hair was disheveled, his flesh pierced in over a dozen places by Ancestor power, like a sieve, with blood flowing from the wounds—a pitiful sight.
Fortunately, he had accumulated a rich foundation over the years, and as a Perfect Heaven cultivator, he had refined many formations and talismans for protection. Otherwise, his flesh and divine soul would have long been blown apart.
The talismans and time imprints unleashed by Zhang Ruochen and Di successfully slowed the Nine-Headed Stone Man’s speed. Seizing this opportunity, Heavenly Mother used a profound movement technique, shifting her form and teleporting through the void to close in.
Void Heaven let out a roar to bolster his courage, flew into the air, and wielded the Celestial Mechanism Brush, drawing upon Fate Esoterica to write in the void.
The Gate of Fate manifested behind him, radiant and brilliant, releasing an aura that could overturn heaven and earth.
“Still!”
“Still!”
…
Void Heaven was somewhat manic, writing the character “Still” over and over again, sending it flying toward the Nine-Headed Stone Man.
The Fate Imprint on top of the Nine-Headed Stone Man’s head flickered with strange, colorful light, and its body was indeed affected, frozen for an extremely brief instant.
In that instant, the Fate Imprint was refined by it, reverting into a volume of the Fate Heavenly Scripture.
But that single instant was enough for Heavenly Mother to pierce through the Nine-Headed Stone Man’s defenses, reach its front, and grab the stone knife embedded in its chest.
“Rustle!”
Chi Xingtian’s blood flowed along Heavenly Mother’s arm, merging into the stone knife.
“Hiss!”
The stone knife grew brighter and brighter, erupting with blazing radiance, releasing temperatures a thousand or ten thousand times higher than a star, scorching even part of the Nine-Headed Stone Man’s Ancestor body into gold.
Heavenly Mother mobilized all her strength and began to pull the knife outward.
“Boom!”
The demonic qi great world, spanning countless billions of miles, trembled.
The entire Nether Prison shook, and spatial waves surged into the starry sky, shaking down patches of stars.
The stone knife moved, pulled out an inch.
Centered on the stone knife, cracks appeared in the Nine-Headed Stone Man’s indestructible Ancestor body, like glass about to shatter into pieces.
Faintly, one could hear the wailing of the Nine-Headed Stone Man’s soul, as if millions of blades were cutting at its consciousness.
Hidden in the shadows, Jiusi Yitianhuang and Gu Yanluo were both rubbing their hands, poised to strike.
They were naturally afraid of the Nine-Headed Stone Man and had been waiting for Heavenly Mother to self-detonate her divine source to severely wound it. They simply did not believe that any cultivator below the Ancestor level could suppress and kill the Nine-Headed Stone Man, no matter how many there were.
Who would have thought the stone knife’s effect on the Nine-Headed Stone Man would be so great?
This was the true weak point!
“The turning point has arrived!”
Gaimie tensed up, his spirit focused.
On one hand, he used his esoterica to devour the power within the demonic qi great world. On the other, he held the Demon God Stone Pillar in his hand, ready to strike at any moment.
“Too strong! The Heavenly Demon Ancestor’s stone knife is too strong! If I wield this blade, I could even slay a Heavenly Venerable.” Chi Xingtian trembled with excitement, though he couldn’t get his blood boiling.
“Whoosh!”
Above the demonic qi great world, the black clouds parted.
The Heavenly River fell from the sky, turning into a waterfall, using its watery qi to split space.
The Mother of Weak Water was held back by Chan Bing and the Snow Domain Star Sea Divine Army, but Yan Wushen’s golden body descended along with the Heavenly River. A mottled stone bridge spanned heaven and earth, unleashing boundless divine power and might across the land.
Zhang Ruochen had been on guard against Yan Wushen all along. As the Heavenly River’s water fell, he met it head-on, giving him no opportunity whatsoever.
“Boom!”
Yan Wushen manipulated the Heavenly River’s water, colliding with the billions of talisman patterns beneath Zhang Ruochen’s feet. Destructive power spread in all directions.
The Nine-Headed Stone Man let out a long roar to the sky.
The sound was like a lion’s roar, containing the most extreme Ancestor rage.
Among the five heads fighting the five old clan emperors, the Buddha Head manifested a translucent body. Affected by the roar, it directly ignited, releasing increasingly powerful energy fluctuations.
“Not good, it’s the Self-Sacrifice Great Technique!”
“When an Ancestor is pushed to this point, they will use every means at their disposal.”
The Wood Clan old clan emperor saw this very clearly.
He knew very well that they absolutely could not open the Five-Colored Glass Cover because of the Buddha Head’s Self-Sacrifice Great Technique, allowing the five heads to return. That would undo all their efforts.
“I was supposed to die ten eons ago anyway. There’s nothing to cling to. If I die, protect the Wood Clan in my stead.”
The Wood Clan old clan emperor’s humanoid form suddenly “exploded,” growing countless branches and leaves that blotted out the sky and covered the earth, filling the small world enclosed by the Five-Colored Glass Cover.
The branches were golden, the leaves like fine jade, with dense rules flowing over them.
“Boom!”
The Buddha Head burned to its limit, then exploded. The released force nearly split the demonic qi great world in two, creating several cracks over a hundred million miles long.
The Five-Colored Glass Cover was sent flying, and the Wood Clan old clan emperor turned to ash.
Even the translucent bodies of the other four heads—the Snake Head, the Goat Head, the Ten-Eyed Head, and the Skeleton Head—were ground away. Their stone heads, like meteors, fell in all directions, creating four giant craters.
The old clan emperors of the Gold Clan, Water Clan, Fire Clan, and Earth Clan survived, each bearing injuries of varying degrees.
The Nine-Headed Stone Man formed a hand seal with its two stone hands, and a “Nine-Headed Imprint” flew out from within its body, like an incarnation of the Dao, like an incarnation of heaven and earth, containing the most exquisite rules and order of the universe.
“It’s the legendary Ancestor Imprint, a dharma imprint unique to him. Heaven help us, he is a true Ancestor…”
Void Heaven was terrified as never before, as if the sky had collapsed and the universe had been destroyed, seeing no hope, no possibility of opposing it.
“Pfft!”
Heavenly Mother was struck by the Nine-Headed Imprint, sent flying, spitting blood, her phoenix crown falling off. Countless bones in her body were broken, her form twisted.
Zhang Ruochen, who was locked in combat with Yan Wushen, turned his head back, his expression changing drastically.
The Nine-Headed Stone Man had clearly fallen into an absolute disadvantage; how could it suddenly become so terrifying?
Before he could think further, the residual wave from the Nine-Headed Imprint had already landed on him, stirring up layers of spatial waves.
Zhang Ruochen was like a lone boat in a vast ocean, tossed about by the spatial waves, his body no longer under his control.
Void Heaven and the four old clan emperors were not much better, hastily fleeing far away in the Ancestor storm.
“An Ancestor cannot be opposed!”
Gaimie forced out these five words.
The Heavenly Demon Mountain beneath his feet began to show signs of cracking, and the thirty-six pieces of the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription fell one after another, as if everything was about to be undone.
“Whoosh!”
The Nether Sea, spanning the fourth layer of the prison realm, suddenly boiled.
A beam of clear radiance broke through the water’s surface, shooting straight toward the first layer of the prison realm.
Hao Tian, clad in Xuanhuang armor and wielding the Xuanhuang Halberd, pierced through the barriers of the eighteen Nether Prison worlds, breaking through the Nether Sea. In no time, with a thunderous crash, he descended upon the demonic qi great world.
The entire great world sank under his step, exuding the battle might to flatten an Ancestor realm.
“Zhang Ruochen, this is the Ninefold Heavenly Realm that the Great Venerable left behind in the eighteenth layer of the Nether Prison. You activate it.”
Hao Tian strode forward, each step encompassing a universe, rapidly closing in on the Nine-Headed Stone Man.
“Bang! Bang! Bang…”
The clear radiance filled the sky, forcing back the demonic qi.
Hao Tian swung his halberd, shaking heaven and earth, clashing head-on with the Nine-Headed Stone Man.
Clear radiance and demonic qi surged, and no one dared to approach.
“Using the Ancestor Imprint has consumed that much of your power? How have you become so weak? Where is your strength?”
Hao Tian’s gaze was deep and fierce. Using the halberd like a staff, he slashed diagonally downward.
The Xuanhuang Halberd stretched ten thousand miles long, striking the Nine-Headed Stone Man’s left shoulder, shattering it and sending broken stones flying.
Although this damage was insignificant to the Nine-Headed Stone Man, Hao Tian had suppressed it in momentum. That imposing aura and spirit infected every cultivator present.
Void Heaven and the four old clan emperors, who had been fleeing, immediately turned back, simultaneously mobilizing their divine qi and unleashing divine abilities.
“Impressive, Xuan Yuan Hao Tian!”
Di muttered to himself, raising his right arm.
Above his head, to the upper right, a long river of time condensed, like a divine dragon, roaring across heaven and earth, winding toward the Nine-Headed Stone Man’s massive body.
Heavenly Mother’s physical injuries healed, and a pair of Rakshasa bone wings grew from her back. Her white hair grew even paler, her pupils covered in demonic patterns. She stood proudly in the void, tearing space apart with both hands.
Space shattered like paper, spreading toward the Nine-Headed Stone Man.
Even Ancestor inscriptions and order could not stop the tearing of space.
“This is a battle that should have ended fifty thousand years ago! It has dragged on too long; it must be concluded today.”
Behind Hao Tian, a Xuanhuang great sun rose, his power continuously increasing. His arm moved like a windmill, and he fiercely struck out with the Xuanhuang Halberd, breaking the Nine-Headed Stone Man’s right leg.
One must know that the Nine-Headed Stone Man’s body was ten thousand miles tall. Even the thinnest part of its leg, connected to the demonic qi great world, was hundreds of miles in diameter.
Yet Hao Tian’s halberd still snapped it.
At the same cultivation level, Hao Tian’s power was undisputedly the number one. Even though Heavenly Mother had obtained the Houtu Marriage Robe, she could only surpass him in speed and defense.
For this reason, when Heavenly Mother faced the Nine-Headed Stone Man, she could only passively hold it back, while Hao Tian could take the initiative to attack.
The paths they walked were fundamentally different.
Of course, without the containment of Heavenly Mother, Di, Void Heaven, and others, Hao Tian’s aggressive, all-out fighting style would ultimately result in his death at the hands of the Nine-Headed Stone Man, or mutual destruction.
“In that battle back then, I escaped and survived until today. From now on, I will never flee again. Either I slay all enemies, or I die in battle.”
Hao Tian raised his hand and struck, clashing with the palm imprint falling from the Nine-Headed Stone Man. His body sank downward, but the clear radiance did not extinguish. Instead, he grabbed its stone hand and shouted, “Zhang Ruochen, the sword left by the Great Venerable and the Sword Ancestor! Strike!”
The Ninefold Heavenly Realm world emitted a nine-colored chaotic divine light, appearing behind the Nine-Headed Stone Man, towering and majestic.
Zhang Ruochen stood at the top of the Ninefold Heavenly Realm world, as imposing as a mountain. His wrists were already cut open, and divine blood spilled across the nine worlds.
Then, he slowly raised both arms above his head.
“The Great Venerable left the Sword Ancestor’s sword heart in the Ninefold Heavenly Realm world, presumably intending for me to cut you down with a sword.”
As if it were a mission, only Zhang Ruochen could simultaneously mobilize the power of the Great Venerable and the Sword Ancestor, resonating with both.
The sound of a sword’s cry echoed through the eighteen layers of the Nether Prison.
A dazzling sword light rose from the Ninefold Heavenly Realm world, transforming into a radiant sword that could sever spirit and soul. It struck the Nine-Headed Stone Man, piercing through its body.
(Chapter End)