Chapter 4022: Opening Up Space-Time
The Ancient God Path collapsed, the Santu River shattered into fragments, and chaos reigned across the starry sky as the ripples of battle spread without end.
Many star domains within the Yellow Spring Star River were affected. Fortunately, the major worlds and principal stars had already been relocated; otherwise, with so many Indestructible Infinite-level combatants locked in melee, the Hell Realm would have suffered incalculable losses.
Deities of the Hell Realm who had remained stationed in various star domains were all fleeing in panic, their usual ferocity and composure gone, replaced by sheer terror.
"It's chaos, utter chaos. The entire universe is caught in divine warfare. Have all the All Heavens-level existences joined in?"
"Has the Calamity of Quantities already arrived?"
"All manner of demons and monsters have emerged. Immortals and Primordial Ancestors coexist. One ancient taboo after another has reappeared in the mortal world. Even if this isn't the Calamity of Quantities, fighting like this will bring about the end of the world and the annihilation of the stars! What kind of era have we been born into?"
"I saw the sword light of Imperial Dust, illuminating the star domains in all directions, heading this way!"
...
On a dark star, ghostly qi permeated the air.
The Ghost King, who had infiltrated the Hell Realm fifty thousand years ago, emerged from the icy, bone-chilling ghostly aura, peering at the constantly fracturing starry sky.
In the Abyss of Darkness, he was renowned alongside the Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Emperor. His forces of ghost-type Primordial Beings were filled with experts, forming a power in their own right that could stand alongside the Twelve Ancient Clans. His cultivation had reached the initial stage of Indestructible Infinite.
At this moment, the Ghost King was in human form, with long hair draped over his cheeks. His face was pale, but his features were sharply defined, making him appear handsome and elegant.
However, the blood-red "Chi" character that covered his entire face destroyed this aesthetic, giving him a bizarre and sinister aura.
A Primordial Being deity of the ghost type who followed the Ghost King looked bewildered. "What the hell is going on? The twelve clans' grand army at the Abyss of Darkness defense line is waging war against the Hell Realm, yet inside the Hell Realm, the old-timers of the twelve clans are fighting amongst themselves."
Another ghost-type Primordial Being deity said, "I don't know if it's nine or ten of those royal clan old-timers whose auras are emanating, but it's absolutely terrifying. Is the foundation of the twelve clans really this deep? I always thought that, beneath the Three Great Musicians, the Head Seven Sword Emperor was the top dog."
"If these royal clan old-timers could join forces and add their strength to the army, wouldn't they be able to sweep through the Hell Realm? What's wrong with them?"
All the ghost-type Primordial Beings present were both shocked and filled with questions.
This chaotic situation left them unsure whether they should rush to the Abyss of Darkness defense line to help the twelve clans' army break through the Hell Realm's defenses.
The Ghost King clearly knew some of the secrets. He was still gazing at the battlefield in the starry sky. "If these royal clan old-timers had naturally cultivated to their current realms, they would have led their clans back to the upper realm ten eons ago. There's a great hidden secret here!"
A ghost-type Primordial Being deity asked, "The Five Elements Five Clans are clearly standing on the same side as Imperial Dust. Who are the Seven Stars Seven Clans serving?"
The Ghost King narrowed his eyes. "There has long been a rift within the Abyss of Darkness. Otherwise, I wouldn't have volunteered to leave and go into hiding in the Hell Realm. Only by stepping outside can one see more clearly."
An Infinite-level ghost-type Primordial Being said, "For countless eons, the battle that determines the fate of the Primordial Beings has already erupted. We can't just watch. Shouldn't we do something?"
The Ghost King shook his head gently. "With so many Heavenly Venerable-level old clan emperors emerging, the war at the Abyss of Darkness defense line is no longer that important!"
"Only the top-tier experts represent the fate of the Primordial Beings."
"I believe that the deities of the various clans at the Abyss of Darkness defense line have already sensed the situation here. They will make their own decisions."
...
Zhang Ruochen wanted to open up a different space-time battlefield or pull the various emperors into Lihentian, but he failed, leading to a Heavenly Venerable-level melee erupting beneath the starry sky of the real world.
In just a few hours, vast star domains of the Yellow Spring Star River were shattered.
The battlefield expanded, affecting not just hundreds of billions or trillions of miles of starry sky, but tens of thousands of trillions of miles. The destructive power was over ten thousand times that of an ordinary Infinite-level clash.
If this continued, within a month, the number of destroyed star domains would increase a thousandfold.
"Star Refining Art!"
True One Old Clan Emperor fully unleashed his ninety-third-order spiritual power, executing a peerless divine technique that instantly stirred the entire yellowish-brown nebula.
Within the nebula, over a hundred thousand planets were refined by his spiritual power, melting into clusters of red-gold magma.
The magma condensed into various forms of stellar war weapons—war swords thousands of miles long, stone bells tens of thousands of miles high... Together with the entire nebula, they pressed down toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Die!"
True One Old Clan Emperor gritted his teeth, releasing divine light from his entire body as he brought his arms together in the middle.
This nebula space, over a trillion miles in diameter, was compressed and contracted by his terrifyingly powerful force.
"Boom, boom."
Zhang Ruochen manipulated the four cauldrons, spinning them rapidly around his body, constantly blasting apart the incoming stellar war weapons. His Heart of Truth remained locked onto True One Old Clan Emperor as he once again attempted to close the distance.
When fighting a spiritual power expert, one must get close.
Otherwise, no matter how high a martial cultivator's cultivation, they would be at a significant disadvantage.
But True One Old Clan Emperor, standing on the True One Mirror, could break the rules of speed and space, entering a domain of order. He refused to engage Zhang Ruochen in a direct fight, fleeing after each strike.
With this tactic, even though Zhang Ruochen excelled in the Way of Time and the Way of Space, it was difficult for him to close the distance in a short time.
Even now, the distance between them was still three hundred billion miles, separated by an entire star domain.
But for a ninety-third-order spiritual power cultivator, this distance was not far. They could freely deploy their techniques. Not to mention three hundred billion miles, even if they were three hundred trillion miles apart, they could kill deities below the Infinite level with their spiritual power.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God said, "The destructive power of a Heavenly Venerable-level is terrifying. The destructive power of a ninety-third-order spiritual power cultivator is even a level higher. We must find a way to end this quickly. If this continues, the Yellow Spring Star River will be broken in two."
"How can we end it quickly? The opponent has ninety-third-order spiritual power and refuses to engage us in a direct confrontation, opting instead for long-range harassment and entanglement. Even if Zhang Ruochen is now at the peak of Indestructible Infinite, even if a Half-Ancestor came, it would take at least ten days or half a month to take down that old fellow." Wuwo Lamp said.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God said, "If the four old clan emperors could reach the Abyss of Darkness defense line, just showing up would be enough to persuade the Primordial Being army to retreat, and the crisis would be resolved. But True One Old Clan Emperor and his group are clearly here to prevent that. Their goal is to tie us down here."
"Let's go!"
Zhang Ruochen used the Fate Auspicious Gate and Wuwo Lamp as shields, crashing through the stellar war weapons, turning into a streak of light as he left this star domain, heading toward the four old clan emperors of Metal, Water, Fire, and Earth.
True One Old Clan Emperor stopped fleeing, turned back to look at Zhang Ruochen, and immediately sent a spiritual power message, warning Hongmeng, Taichu, Tianji, and Tuteng Old Clan Emperors to be on guard.
At the same time, he also turned back, saying, "Our battle is not yet decided, and Imperial Dust is already leaving? Where is your confidence from earlier?"
"I would like to fight you, but you won't give me the chance. So I'll have to kill the other four first, then slowly deal with you."
Zhang Ruochen left these words behind, moving even faster, his figure leaping through the starry sky.
"Arrogant! With your cultivation, do you think you can kill whoever you want?"
Tuteng Old Clan Emperor had a human face but a wolf-like body, covered in fluffy white wolf fur. He broke away from the battle of the emperors, holding a totem banner, and actively attacked Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up. His earlier words were meant to provoke the emperors into attacking him, but he hadn't held out much hope.
After all, all cultivators in the world knew that Imperial Dust's combat power was unmatched, having once created the feat of wounding the Dark Weirdness with a single sword strike.
For this reason, True One Old Clan Emperor had never engaged Zhang Ruochen in a direct fight, nor given him a chance to get close. He only needed to tie down Zhang Ruochen and the four old clan emperors of Metal, Water, Fire, and Earth. There was no need to fight to the death.
Logically, they should all have such rationality.
It could be said that Tuteng Old Clan Emperor's active engagement with Zhang Ruochen was truly an unexpected surprise.
"It seems the consciousness curse has indeed affected their rationality and judgment. True One Old Clan Emperor's spiritual power is strong, so he's slightly better off."
As Zhang Ruochen and Tuteng Old Clan Emperor drew closer, he could already feel the boiling blood qi within the latter's body, like a divine sea surging within him.
To dare fight Zhang Ruochen, his strength was naturally extraordinary.
Even before they clashed, Zhang Ruochen knew that his combat power was definitely above those stone heads of the Nine-Headed Stone Man.
"Ao!"
Tuteng Old Clan Emperor let out a wolf howl, waving the totem banner. Instantly, powerful spatial fluctuations appeared on the banner's surface, and the shadows of ten thousand beasts surged forth.
The ten thousand beasts galloped, their energy converging into one, with the momentum to swallow the star river.
"Excellent!"
"Like the Sun at High Noon!"
Zhang Ruochen's footwork did not stop. The Dao light in his Xuantai rapidly circulated, reaching a certain critical point. The space beneath his feet seemed to turn into liquid, with countless ripples appearing.
His body expanded with a loud boom, turning into a starry giant. His feet were in a straddling position, and the Abyssal Ancient Divine Sword in his hand slashed out with a heaven-splitting strike.
Sounds of explosions and miserable howls rang out continuously.
With one sword strike, he annihilated the ten thousand beasts, clearing all obstacles between him and Tuteng Old Clan Emperor.
"One Word Sweeps Across the Path of Mortals!"
Zhang Ruochen's sword momentum changed abruptly, his sword Dao artistic conception reaching its peak. He dragged the sword hilt and slashed horizontally.
Tuteng Old Clan Emperor's eyes were bloodshot, his expression quite mad, as if he couldn't feel the danger at all. He swung the totem banner again, meeting Zhang Ruochen's full-force strike.
This sword strike was not just Zhang Ruochen's power alone, but also the power of two Indestructible Infinite-level beings, Wuwo Lamp and Xiu Chen Heavenly God.
And also the ancestral power of the Ancestral Blood Wings.
The Abyssal Ancient Divine Sword cut through all rules and order, heavily landing on the totem banner.
"Boom!"
No matter how strong Tuteng Old Clan Emperor was, he couldn't withstand Zhang Ruochen at this moment. His arms trembled violently, and divine blood seeped from his ten fingers. He almost couldn't hold onto the war banner in his hands.
"Sizzle, sizzle."
The Abyssal Ancient Divine Sword slid down along the banner's pole, creating a shower of sparks, and finally slashed into Tuteng Old Clan Emperor's left arm.
Blood splattered, and Tuteng Old Clan Emperor's entire arm flew off.
After letting out a low roar of pain, Tuteng Old Clan Emperor seemed to sober up a bit. He immediately used a divine ability and fled into the distance.
He had lost after just three sword strikes, and his arm had been severed. How could he not realize the gap between himself and Zhang Ruochen?
What panicked him even more was that at the left shoulder where the Abyssal Ancient Divine Sword had struck, not only could he not regrow his arm, but the wound couldn't heal either, and divine blood kept flowing out.
A terrifying sword Dao aura had invaded his body, constantly eroding the rule divine patterns he had cultivated.
If he didn't refine that sword Dao aura in time and let it flow through his body, once a large number of rule divine patterns disappeared, his cultivation realm would inevitably drop.
"Still trying to escape?"
Zhang Ruochen covered a world with each step, leaping through space, and caught up to Tuteng Old Clan Emperor in an instant. Holding his sword with both hands, he slashed down from behind.
Earlier, the reason Zhang Ruochen couldn't catch up to True One Old Clan Emperor in a short time was, firstly, the special nature of the True One Mirror.
Secondly, True One Old Clan Emperor had maintained a considerable distance from him from the very beginning. And he could launch long-range spiritual power attacks, using illusions to affect Zhang Ruochen's speed.
Once Tuteng Old Clan Emperor was severely injured to the point of losing combat capability, how could the battle continue?
Seeing this critical situation, True One Old Clan Emperor, who had caught up, immediately launched a spiritual power attack at Zhang Ruochen.
"You've finally shown your weakness!"
Zhang Ruochen had been waiting for this moment.
He, who had been raising his sword with both hands to slash at Tuteng Old Clan Emperor, suddenly pulled his body away, turning rapidly, and struck out with both hands toward the Sundial and Wuwo Lamp respectively.
During this process, the Zhang Ruochen who had been raising his sword with both hands did not disappear.
It was as if his body had split in two.
This was not a clone technique, nor an afterimage formed by extreme speed, but the power of space-time.
Both Zhang Ruochens were real bodies, but through a divine ability, they had formed two temporary, chaotic space-times.
"Haven't you always wanted to compete with the True One Mirror? Here's your chance!"
Zhang Ruochen's divine qi surged endlessly into the Sundial and Wuwo Lamp, driving the power of these two divine artifacts to their limits.
Their artifact spirits were both Indestructible Infinite-level, showing their extraordinary nature.
The Sundial vibrated, and in an instant, heaven and earth were overturned, even manifesting the River of Time. The sound of flowing water was deafening.
It was the true River of Time!
Flowing from the past, and flowing toward the future.
The radiance of Wuwo Lamp, within the span of a single breath, illuminated half of the Hell Realm. From the Heavenly Court Universe, one could see that the brightness of half the Yellow Spring Star River had changed noticeably.
The Sundial and Wuwo Lamp flew together toward True One Old Clan Emperor.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was proud and lofty, his voice raised. "Did you really think I couldn't do anything to you? You can attack from a distance, and so can I! The Sundial and Wuwo Lamp are my long-range attack methods. Can you withstand them?"
The fate radiance released by Wuwo Lamp directly attacked True One Old Clan Emperor's spiritual consciousness.
After all, True One Old Clan Emperor was also afflicted by the consciousness curse. Although his spiritual power was strong, his consciousness was not as robust as that of a normal ninety-third-order cultivator. This could be said to be his greatest weakness!
True One Old Clan Emperor, who was in the middle of using a spiritual power attack method, saw darkness before his eyes and nearly lost consciousness.
By the time he used his spiritual power to break through the fate radiance of Wuwo Lamp, the Sundial had heavily struck his chest, and the River of Time passed through his body.
True One Old Clan Emperor's gaze went blank, as if he had lost all strength, and his body went limp.
On the other side, Tuteng Old Clan Emperor was split open by Zhang Ruochen's sword, his body nearly torn in two.
"Boom!"
Space-time shook.
The two chaotic space-times were pulled by the rules of heaven and earth, colliding together, overlapping and restoring.
The two Zhang Ruochens naturally overlapped as well, as if punched by heaven and earth, suffering the backlash of space-time. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and both his physical body and divine soul were damaged.