Chapter 3998: Surfacing
The so-called different time-space is not another space beyond the Real World, the Void World, and Lihentian. Instead, it is an independent space created when half-ancestor-level powerhouses clash, fully releasing their own rules and order, squeezing out all the heaven and earth rules within the battlefield.
Because such an independent space does not possess the same time rules and space rules as the outside world, it is called a different time-space battlefield.
Just like activating the Sundial can change the time flow rate in a region, achieving "one day outside, one year inside," the essence is altering the time rules.
The different time-space battlefield, however, also changes the space rules!
Of course, such a different time-space battlefield will quickly disappear as the half-ancestor confrontation concludes.
Under the leadership of their camp masters, deputy camp masters, and banner masters, the gods of the War Ancestor Divine Army fled in panic through the Space Gate.
Although each camp suffered losses, the camp masters and banner masters were no ordinary beings. Even in retreat, their withdrawal was orderly, with battle formations intact.
The three thousand War Ancestor Divine Army was a single entity.
Each camp led by an Indestructible Infinite was also a single entity.
It was precisely for this reason that even though A Fuya was the temporary commander of the War Ancestor Divine Army, her defection did not cause too great a trauma to the divine army. Every camp master at the Indestructible Infinite realm, deputy camp master at the Great Unbound Infinite realm, and banner master at the Infinite realm could restrain her to a certain extent.
This was why Zhang Ruochen dared to boldly employ her!
He was not afraid of her betrayal; he was afraid she would remain patient and never act.
Blood Qi surged within Zhang Ruochen's body. Ancestral blood wings spread from his back, manifesting a giant divine body. Riding atop the golden lion divine beast, his aura was domineering and heaven-defying as he stepped step by step into the Space Gate.
The gods of each camp rushing out of the Space Gate were all shaken by the might erupting from him.
The old drunkard, clad in heavy armor, scratched his head and said, "What's going on? The aura on this kid is even more terrifying than Wen Tianjun, this newly ascended half-ancestor. Has he broken through again?"
Not far away, the deputy camp master of the Holy Clan Camp, "Moon God," stood at the center of a bright, clear moon. The gods under her camp surrounded her like stars.
She watched Zhang Ruochen enter the Space Gate and said, "Camp master, did you notice the golden lion divine beast beneath him?"
"It's a bit unfamiliar, but I feel like I've heard of it somewhere. There seems to have been a famous golden lion in history, but I can't recall clearly!" The old drunkard racked his brain, trying to remember and think.
Yuyao Divine Master, one of the six banner masters of the Holy Clan Camp, lowered her voice and reminded, "Master, wasn't the Great Venerable's mount a golden lion?"
The gods of the entire Holy Clan Camp revealed expressions of disbelief, followed by excitement, boiling blood, and rekindled battle intent.
"The Great Venerable's mount didn't die? How powerful must a being that once fought alongside the Ancestor be?"
"Camp master, lead us back to the different time-space battlefield! Let us regroup, fight alongside the Imperial Dust and Wen Tianjun, suppress the Dark Weirdness, and execute the traitor, the Elf First Queen."
"The War Ancestor Divine Army is known as the number one army in the universe. To return in such a miserable defeat, won't we be laughed at by all cultivators under heaven? We will not accept such humiliation."
For a moment, the old drunkard's blood was also stirred by them.
The Dragon Camp camp master, "Five Dragon God Emperor," who had retreated from the rear, shouted loudly, "The Imperial Dust has ordered that all soldiers of the War Ancestor Divine Army withdraw from the Space Gate back to Kunlun Realm to guard the Wuding Divine Sea."
The Dragon Camp surged mightily, passing through the Space Gate.
Just then, a streak of red light flashed over the Dragon Camp and entered the depths of the different time-space battlefield.
The old drunkard was full of astonishment, saying, "What's going on? Another half-ancestor has arrived? Hurry, hurry, hurry! This kind of battlefield is not for us to meddle in. Back to Kunlun Realm, back to the Wuding Divine Sea."
The different time-space battlefield was initially created by Can Deng Master and the Dark Weirdness.
Later, Yunshen Daozhu, the Dark Hand, and Fengdu Dadi successively joined the magical contest.
The War Ancestor Divine Army entered the different time-space battlefield to help Yunshen Daozhu, Can Deng Master, and Fengdu Dadi suppress the two fiends.
The fact that the War Ancestor Divine Army was deployed showed that the Dark Weirdness and the Dark Hand were at the end of their rope, serving as the final force to crush the two fiends.
However, A Fuya's defection caused the five-thousand-year effort of the three half-ancestors to suppress the two fiends to be completely wasted.
When Zhang Ruochen arrived riding the golden lion divine beast, the two sides were confronting each other.
His divine voice resounded through heaven and earth, deep and fierce: "A Fuya, do you know the consequences of betraying me?"
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
The golden lion divine beast walked on the void, each step creating space ripples, as if it would shatter the different time-space battlefield.
A Fuya's body radiated light rain, with layers of bright ancestral divine rings wrapping her delicate form. Seeing the golden lion divine beast, a strange gleam flashed in her eyes, but she showed no fear.
She said calmly, "The Imperial Dust indeed has many hidden cards, always catching this seat by surprise. But, facing an Ancestor and an Immortal, any of your hidden cards are meaningless. How to choose, you don't need to teach me."
The Dark Weirdness and the Dark Hand naturally could not be a match for Can Deng Master, Fengdu Dadi, Yunshen Daozhu, and Wen Tianjun.
The reason a stalemate could form, allowing A Fuya to be fearless, lay in the dark remnant body that had just emerged.
The dark remnant body had no head, no arms, and had been suppressed for who knows how many tens of thousands of years. But the power fluctuations it released were terrifying, overshadowing the auras of the four half-ancestors.
"An Immortal, is it? I will fight it."
Zhang Ruochen was fearless, spreading his robust arms, his entire body crackling with lightning and thunder.
Eighteen layers of celestial world rose behind him, magnificent and grand, with nine-colored divine light and thick ancestral divine power, fully unfolding like eighteen ancestral realms.
The drowsy golden lion divine beast opened its eyes a slit, let out a low roar, and charged forward.
The moment it charged, the space of the different time-space battlefield beneath its feet could not withstand its power and exploded.
The shattered space continuously spread backward, connecting to the Real World.
The starlight of the universe shone in.
The charging force of the golden lion divine beast was terrifying. The wind force passed through the dark clouds and mist, landing on A Fuya, the Dark Hand, and the Dark Weirdness behind, forcing them to release rules to defend.
"Boom!"
The golden lion divine beast's head collided with the dark remnant body.
Zhang Ruochen's Immovable Wisdom King Fist also struck out fiercely, clashing with the Dark Hand that flew over, bypassing the dark remnant body.
Golden and nine-colored radiance clashed with darkness, briefly achieving a stalemate.
The Dark Weirdness did not leave the Sword God Temple but instead drove it to crash into the eighteen layers of celestial world.
He could see that the fundamental source of Zhang Ruochen's ferocity was the eighteen layers of celestial world left by the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable.
The Heavenly Mother arrived.
"Boom!"
The Witch Hall flew out first, colliding with the charging Sword God Temple, sending waves of power rippling.
The different time-space battlefield was completely torn apart, and everyone appeared simultaneously under the starry sky of the Real World.
The surrounding starry sky was rapidly shattering, heaven and earth collapsing, stars falling, the entire sea of stars shaking.
Who would have thought that Zhang Ruochen had brought the eighteen layers of celestial world and the mount of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, once again changing the battlefield and suppressing the ferocious might of the dark remnant body.
"Move!"
When Wen Tianjun shouted this, Fengdu Dadi and he moved together.
The two had powerful physical bodies and infinite battle techniques, naturally unafraid of close combat, even against an Immortal.
Can Deng Master pressed his palms together, and ten thousand Buddhist lamps floated up, combining with the divine formation arranged by Yunshen Daozhu, enveloping the dark remnant body, the Dark Weirdness, and the Dark Hand.
Although A Fuya could still maintain her composure, her expression clearly changed, and she rapidly retreated backward.
After the dark remnant body shook off the golden lion divine beast, it did not continue attacking. Instead, it transmitted this spiritual will from within: "Leave. That's enough for today."
"Leave? Do you think it will be that easy?"
Although the golden lion divine beast was retreating, Zhang Ruochen flew up from its back and pursued the dark remnant body, his speed surpassing Fengdu Dadi and Wen Tianjun, not at all slower than the dark remnant body.
"Ruochen, do not pursue further!"
Yunshen Daozhu's eyes were full of worry.
Without the assistance of the golden lion divine beast, with Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation at the peak of Indestructible Infinite, how could he be a match for the dark remnant body in a single move?
The dark remnant body, the Dark Weirdness, and the Dark Hand clearly thought so too.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen take the lead in pursuing, they naturally would not miss this opportunity to kill him.
The three simultaneously released dark weirdness power, falling like a canopy covering the sky.
"Slash!"
Zhang Ruochen raised his arms above his head, merging them together, using his arms as a sword and slashing straight down.
"Whoosh—"
The dark weirdness power was broken through, and the Sword God Temple was directly split in two.
The dark remnant body's flesh was cleaved by this sword, spilling a few drops of black blood.
"This sword is already comparable to an Ancestor's strike."
A Fuya, who had retreated into the distance, was clearly shocked by Zhang Ruochen's sword, finding it difficult to maintain her composure.
In the end, they could not stop the dark remnant body, the Dark Weirdness, and the Dark Hand from escaping. Fengdu Dadi, the Heavenly Mother, and Wen Tianjun pursued for a moment before successively returning.
Wen Tianjun was quite regretful, saying, "They fled to a future one hour from now, but one hour is enough time for them to hide."
Yunshen Daozhu and Can Deng Master both understood why they had not pursued into the future.
Because the dark remnant body had been released by Ancestor-level power.
An Ancestor was hidden in the shadows. If they went to the future, there would be no one to make that Ancestor wary. One hour was enough time to cause a cataclysm in the universe.
Yunshen Daozhu had already reconstituted Zhang Ruochen's shattered physical body.
Wen Tianjun came to Zhang Ruochen's side, who was in an unconscious state, and said, "This child pushed himself too hard. Using the ancestral divine Qi of the eighteen layers of celestial world to activate the Sword Ancestor's Sword Heart—such power is difficult even for those of our cultivation to control. Daring to strike that sword was practically a gamble with his life."
Yunshen Daozhu said, "He is blaming himself. He takes the responsibility for A Fuya's betrayal onto himself, wanting to make amends. But in my view, using this opportunity to reveal A Fuya's true colors is actually a good thing. At least now, the harm she can cause to the Sword Realm is still within our tolerance."
The Heavenly Mother retrieved the Sword God Temple, split in two, and while refining the dark weirdness Qi within, said, "In my view, he should not blame himself so much. Instead, he should see it as an unexpected joy. Because, with the emergence of the dark remnant body, regardless of whether A Fuya betrayed or not, you could not have suppressed the Dark Weirdness and the Dark Hand."
In Fengdu Dadi's view, Wen Tianjun and Yunshen Daozhu speaking up for Zhang Ruochen was partly to excuse the Sword Realm and Zhang Ruochen's mistakes.
Otherwise, if today's events spread, Zhang Ruochen would undoubtedly bear the greatest responsibility and face criticism from cultivators across the world.
A Fuya was the divine army commander he had chosen.
No matter how many hidden cards he had arranged to restrain A Fuya, it could not change the result that this magical contest had fallen short.
But the Heavenly Mother's voice was already putting pressure on Fengdu Dadi, telling him that the mistakes of this battle could not be placed on Zhang Ruochen's shoulders.
"This sword strike from the Sword Ancestor's Sword Heart wounded the divine souls and spirits of the dark remnant body and the Dark Weirdness. In the short term, the three should find it difficult to fully merge. This achievement is something none of us could accomplish, buying us precious time."
Leaving these words, Fengdu Dadi went straight away.
Undoubtedly, the greatest concern among the several half-ancestors present was the merging of the dark remnant body, the Dark Weirdness, and the Dark Hand. The three combined would inevitably possess Ancestor-level power.
Given the enmity between Darkness and the cultivators of this era, once they possessed Ancestor-level power, the harm they would cause would surpass even the Great Demon God.
The faces of those present were all grave.
Although the three dark fiends could not merge in the short term, it was only a short time.
Within the short time Zhang Ruochen had bought, if the cultivators of this era could not master the power to contend with an Ancestor, they would be at their mercy next.
But breaking through to the Ancestor realm—how easy was that to talk about?
They absolutely could not have such pessimistic emotions. If they fell into pessimism, how could the cultivators below see any hope?
A future without hope is the darkest.
...
"My self-blame comes from guilt toward the divine army cultivators who died. But as long as there is battle, how can there be no death? So, Grandmaster, do not worry about my state of mind. It will not be affected. I am not that fragile."
After regaining consciousness, Zhang Ruochen said this to Yunshen Daozhu.
Yunshen Daozhu nodded with satisfaction and smiled, "Ruochen, you can truly stand alone and support the Sword Realm now. An emperor must have a strong, iron-blooded heart. Even if your grandmaster were to leave now, there would be nothing to worry about. With you here, the future of Kunlun Realm and the Sword Realm is bound to be bright."
Zhang Ruochen knew why his grandmaster had said these words. In the current world, the only one who could resist an Ancestor's spiritual suppression was probably him, the only spiritual power half-ancestor.
Being able to resist an Ancestor's spiritual suppression meant he could self-detonate his divine heart or help other cultivators self-detonate their divine sources.
This was currently the only means the Sword Realm had to restrain an Ancestor!
Zhang Ruochen was not as sorrowful as before, because not only Yunshen Daozhu, but he himself was also mentally prepared to self-detonate his divine source at any time.
Against an Ancestor-level enemy, only by fighting to the death could there be a glimmer of hope.
Zhang Ruochen said, "When I was at the Wuding Divine Sea, A Fuya was always under the surveillance of my spiritual power. After all these years of interaction, I am certain she would never betray me. So, the change in her mindset must have occurred after I went to the Nether Prison."
"For someone like her to undergo such a drastic change in mindset and make such a major decision, some terrifying figure must have met her in person. It had to be a true meeting; a doppelganger or consciousness could not shake A Fuya's heart."
Yunshen Daozhu said, "The one stationed at the Wuding Divine Sea is the Starry Sea Angler, whose spiritual power has reached the ninety-third level. During this time, who met A Fuya should not have escaped his perception."
"There is no need to investigate. During this time, the only one who met A Fuya alone was the Starry Sea Angler."
Ji Fanxin walked in from outside.
When Zhang Ruochen left, he had Ji Fanxin, whose spiritual power had reached the ninetieth level, secretly watch A Fuya.
But he never expected that the person would be the Starry Sea Angler.
This was a difficult result to accept!
Zhang Ruochen looked at Yunshen Daozhu and said, "Grandmaster, let us go together to meet this Senior Yu and see how he explains himself."