Chapter 4075: Ancestral Grand Talisman
Undying Divine City.
Deep within the clan leader's residence, towers and pavilions rose one after another, with hills stretching across the land, their slopes planted with Eternal Blood Trees. Each blood tree stood thousands of meters tall, resembling dark red mountain peaks.
Beneath every Eternal Blood Tree lay a circular blood lake about a hundred meters in diameter.
The tree sap within was as red and viscous as blood, emitting a strange, fragrant scent.
In the blood lakes, cultivators of the Undying Blood Clan trained.
Amid the dense forest of Eternal Blood Trees and blood lakes, streams of Time Imprint light particles flowed like rivers, converging toward the direction of the mother tree of the Eternal Blood Trees.
This mother tree of the Eternal Blood Trees had long become divine, having grown for who knows how many eons. Its branches were lush, its crown towering into the clouds, and the trunk alone measured dozens of miles in diameter, indistinguishable from a mountain.
The blood lake beneath it was vast, golden in color, with misty waves stretching endlessly, heavy with divine aura.
A majestic and imposing tower sank into the blood lake, with only its upper half exposed.
The plaque above bore the words "Thunder Altar."
The Thunder Altar was one of the eighty thousand towers of the Nether Realm, once the residence of Thunder Lord, one of the four great powerhouses under the Nether Ancestor.
Zhang Ruochen had gifted the Thunder Altar to the Blood Absolute Clan Leader because the latter cultivated the Fivefold Sea Divine Path, one of which was the Thunder Sea.
The path of lightning was one of the Blood Absolute Clan Leader's primary cultivations.
The Thunder Altar could attract, gather, and refine lightning, making it a supreme treasure for cultivation.
The Fivefold Sea floated above the Thunder Altar: the Blood Sea, Dark Sea, Fire Sea, Death Mist Sea, and Thunder Sea, layered upon one another, their boundaries impossible to discern, each imbued with an indescribably terrifying aura.
"Rumble."
Fierce and awe-inspiring lightning, ceaseless and unending, tore through heaven, earth, time, and space, converging from all directions.
The lightning first entered the Thunder Sea, then passed through the four seas below, entering the Thunder Altar and striking the Blood Absolute Clan Leader.
With every breath, dozens of bolts of lightning struck him.
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader, clad in golden armor, stood atop the altar with a towering physique, having absorbed an unknown amount of lightning. His skin, flesh, and bones had undergone a qualitative transformation, as if forged from gold, with purple lightning flowing within.
Destructive energy condensed in every particle of his body.
Fifty thousand years ago, Zhang Ruochen had emerged from seclusion once and had a deep conversation with him.
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader had learned many terrifying truths, understanding that the future would be exceedingly harsh. To participate in this ultimate confrontation, he had to grow strong enough as quickly as possible.
Zhang Ruochen clearly hoped he could become a dominant force, catching up to the footsteps of figures like Heavenly Mother and Nutian Shenzun, to jointly confront the Ancestors and Immortals.
To this end, Zhang Ruochen was willing to spare no effort to help him.
Just as the Blood Absolute Clan Leader had once spared no effort to help Zhang Ruochen.
After gifting the Thunder Altar, Zhang Ruochen borrowed the Thunder Clan Ancestral Realm from Feng Tian, and now even the Sundial was lent to the Blood Absolute Clan Leader.
Time was truly pressing.
Not everyone was qualified to participate. If the Blood Absolute Clan Leader were not strong enough, talented enough, or resolute enough, he would not have been deemed worthy of knowing the truth.
Once he knew, there was no turning back.
With the rapid advancement of his lightning path, another divine path of the Blood Absolute Clan Leader, the "Indestructible Divine Path," also progressed swiftly. His physical strength underwent new changes every day.
"Ruochen, your maternal grandfather knows that you're worried once your plan begins, the Immortals will strike at those closest to you, and I won't be spared. Rest assured, I have never bowed to anyone in my life. Whether Ancestor or Immortal, one day, I will fight them to the death in a glorious battle."
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader opened his eyes atop the altar, shooting out endless lightning bolts. His killing intent and battle intent surged to their peak in an instant, and he roared, "Who dares to trespass into my clan residence?"
"Rustle!"
In the empty hall of the Thunder Altar, a faint, ethereal cloud of spatial mist appeared.
This mist caused the stable space within to become vaporous, decomposed by some strange force.
As the mist surged outward, the space inside the hall rapidly expanded.
"Roar!"
A heaven-shaking dragon roar erupted from the spatial mist.
The sound waves and divine power were as fierce as a stellar explosion, spreading instantly. Even a Great God, if present in the Thunder Altar at that moment, would have been annihilated in both form and spirit.
Thunder Lord, with a human head and dragon body, flew out of the spatial mist. His body was sinuous and robust, his face ferocious. Strands of hair on his head lashed out like lightning divine whips toward the Blood Absolute Clan Leader standing atop the altar.
Space trembled.
The defensive formation runes within the hall were continuously worn away.
Eighty thousand years had passed since the Battle of the North Marsh Great Wall, and Thunder Lord had fully recovered from his injuries.
Corpse qi emanated from him, and his entire body erupted with Heavenly Venerable-level power.
The Half-Ancestor divine patterns surging from his corpse body elevated his combat strength to another level.
Over the past eighty thousand years, with the resources of the Undying Blood Clan and Zhang Ruochen's assistance, the Blood Absolute Clan Leader's cultivation had undergone earth-shattering changes. Yet, to contend with an existence like Thunder Lord, there was still a considerable gap.
Thus, as Thunder Lord's hair lashed toward him, the Blood Absolute Clan Leader didn't hesitate for a moment. He immediately summoned the Thunder Clan Ancestral Realm and retreated into its boundary wall.
"Boom!"
The lightning hair broke through the boundary wall of the Ancestral Realm and swept past the Blood Absolute Clan Leader's chest.
"Sizzle!"
The golden armor on the Blood Absolute Clan Leader's body, comparable to a divine artifact, couldn't withstand the terrifying lightning power that pierced through it.
A charred mark, deep enough to reveal bone, appeared on his chest.
In the past, the Blood Absolute Clan Leader's body would have been severed in two, rendering him combat-incapable. How could he have merely suffered such a minor injury?
Thunder Lord was greatly shocked, realizing that the Blood Absolute Clan Leader's cultivation had reached such a height. He fully emerged from the spatial mist and charged toward the Thunder Clan Ancestral Realm.
"The Thunder Altar and the Thunder Clan Ancestral Realm are my possessions. How can a brat from the Undying Blood Clan claim them?"
To break through to Half-Ancestor, Thunder Lord had to reclaim the Thunder Altar and the Thunder Clan Ancestral Realm.
But his mission was not so simple; he also sought to seize the Blood Absolute War God's path and esoterica.
This was the Undying Divine City, the most heavily defended area of the Undying Blood Clan. He had to act quickly. Otherwise, once the formations were activated and the Undying War God arrived, even a Heavenly Venerable like Thunder Lord would find himself in a very difficult position.
Outside the Thunder Altar, beneath an Eternal Blood Tree.
"Splash!"
Hearing the dragon roar, the Nether King flew out of the blood pool, hovering in midair. He gazed at the Thunder Altar, shrouded in corpse qi and lightning, and immediately sent a message to the Undying War God.
"What terrifying aura. Who is it?"
Qi Sheng was jolted awake from his cultivation. Together with Ying Huo, he immediately summoned all spiritual power gods to activate the formations within the clan residence.
"Swoosh!"
The dragon roar sounded again, spreading from the Thunder Altar throughout the clan residence and then into the Undying Divine City.
The formations and divine patterns filling the space dissipated like mist.
Within the clan residence, Eternal Blood Trees turned to powder in large swaths, their trunks and roots destroyed, causing heavy losses. Towers, pavilions, and divine halls collapsed into rubble and debris.
Many cultivators of lower cultivation screamed in agony as their bodies exploded into blood mist, their souls scattering.
Inside the clan residence, all the gods attempting to activate the formations, including Qi Sheng and Ying Huo, collapsed with blood flowing from their seven orifices.
Some fell, while others suffered severe damage to their divine souls and spirits.
Even a single sound wave from a Heavenly Venerable was beyond their endurance.
Even the Great Clan Leader of the Demon Heaven Tribe, Blood Demon, whose cultivation had reached the Infinite Realm, could barely remain standing, swaying unsteadily.
The Nether King, whose cultivation had reached the peak of Great Unbound Infinite, was a peerless divine venerable. Wielding the Dark Divine Sword, he blocked Thunder Lord's dragon roar sound wave.
Then, with a flicker, he landed atop a still-standing formation tower in the clan residence.
"Swoosh!"
His gaze was sharp and deep. Blood-red divine qi surged from beneath his feet, pouring into the formation tower. Leveraging the formation's power, he slashed his sword at the corpse qi and lightning shrouding the Thunder Altar.
A powerful light wave surged from the Thunder Altar, striking the Nether King.
"Pfft!"
The Nether King spat blood, countless divine bones in his body shattering. He was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into the ruins of the clan residence, unable to rise again.
...
"Xiu Chen, aid this clan leader. Just hold him off for a moment. Once the Undying Divine City's protective grand formation is activated, his death is sealed."
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader ignored the wound on his chest, his tiger-like eyes gazing skyward. He struck out two beams of divine qi with his hands, pouring them into the Sundial.
From within the Sundial came Xiu Chen Heavenly God's light snort.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God harbored deep resentment toward the Blood Absolute Clan Leader. Had it not been for Zhang Ruochen's orders, she would never have brought the Sundial to the Undying Blood Clan.
Her cultivation had reached the peak of Indestructible Infinite, not inferior to any current Heavenly Venerable. But facing Thunder Lord alone, she had no chance of victory.
She had no choice but to join forces with the Blood Absolute Clan Leader.
The Sundial began to rotate, releasing countless time rivers stretching tens of thousands of miles. The flow of time was so fast that even a Heavenly Venerable caught in the vortex would have their lifespan damaged.
"Today, I'll take the Sundial too!"
Thunder Lord's dragon scales fell off, turning into a rain of scales that crashed into the Sundial.
"Bang! Bang!"
The scales were as large as millstones and as sharp as blades.
Soon, the Sundial was sent flying.
The next moment, Thunder Lord's true body crossed space, appearing directly above the Blood Absolute Clan Leader's head. All four arms struck out divine abilities simultaneously.
The pressure was immense, blotting out the sky.
In this moment of extreme danger, the Blood Absolute Clan Leader was somewhat distracted.
It was because, after shedding all his scales, Thunder Lord's rotting flesh was exposed, extremely disgusting, covered in scars, with pus and blood oozing from many places.
The corpse qi on him was too thick!
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader stepped back with his right foot, steadying himself. He mobilized the ancestral qi of the Thunder Clan Ancestral Realm, raising the Fivefold Sea like five shields.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
He withstood the four hand-seal divine abilities struck by Thunder Lord, retreating four times in succession, crashing through over a dozen mountain peaks.
Blood surged within the Blood Absolute Clan Leader's body, and his organs ached. But he suppressed the pain, not showing it, and said, "You've reached the Heavenly Venerable level, yet you still can't control the corpse-rot qi within you? Don't you care about your appearance at all?"
A flicker of doubt passed through Thunder Lord's eyes.
Facing a life-and-death crisis, how could he remain so calm and even mock him? Was he not afraid at all?
After seizing his own Half-Ancestor corpse body with his remnant soul, Thunder Lord had cultivated the path of decay. Once the power of decay was released, it could rot away an entire realm's living beings with ease.
Even an Indestructible Infinite cultivator, if invaded by his decay power, would find it hard to escape death.
"Cloud Thunder Tribulation!"
Thunder Lord spat out a pillar of lightning from his mouth, piercing through the Fivefold Sea and striking the Blood Absolute Clan Leader.
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader flew thousands of miles like a meteor, embedding himself deep into the ground.
Thunder Lord was confident that the Blood Absolute Clan Leader had been severely wounded, so he prepared to first suppress the Sundial, which was wrapped in dragon scales.
Suddenly.
A sense of danger came from underground.
"How is this possible?"
Thunder Lord's dragon body twisted, lightning erupting from every inch of his flesh. His tail lashed out.
"Swoosh!"
A blood light shot up from the ground, colliding with the dragon tail.
Rotting blood splattered.
A wound over ten meters long, deep red, appeared on Thunder Lord's tail, nearly severing it.
Thunder Lord's body was a Half-Ancestor corpse, refined with burial gold. His physical strength was formidable. Even if the Blood Absolute Clan Leader wielded a divine artifact and struck him, it would be hard to inflict such damage.
Shocked and enraged, Thunder Lord immediately recalled the dragon scales that had been restraining the Sundial, attaching them to his body.
Then, he fixed his gaze on the Blood Absolute Clan Leader, who was stepping on the Fivefold Sea.
On the Blood Absolute Clan Leader's back, a pair of broad blood wings, brimming with thick ancestral divine qi, had appeared.
The radiance of the blood wings dyed the Thunder Clan Ancestral Realm blood-red. Divine glow surged above his head, and streams of ancestral qi cascaded down like waterfalls.
It was these blood wings that had nearly severed Thunder Lord's tail.
"Zhang Ruochen actually gave you the Ancestral Blood Wings of Yin." Thunder Lord found it hard to comprehend.
Such a treasure—who would be willing to part with it?
Xiu Chen Heavenly God stood on the Sundial, her colorful robes fluttering, arms crossed before her chest. Her gaze was disdainful, and she said lightly, "The Imperial Dust is a being destined to enter the Ancestral Realm. Once his cultivation reaches a certain height, this pair of Ancestral Blood Wings will mean nothing to him."
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader held the Blood Dragon War Halberd, his long hair flowing, facing off against Thunder Lord. "Thunder Lord, do you think I'm truly no match for you? Now that I've lured you into this Ancestral Realm, how do you plan to escape?"
Thunder Lord knew well that the Blood Absolute Clan Leader's cultivation had not reached the Heavenly Venerable level. Even with the Ancestral Blood Wings' enhancement, he could not be his opponent.
But now, forget a quick victory—even with enough time, he might not be able to suppress the Blood Absolute Clan Leader in a one-on-one battle.
Moreover, there was Xiu Chen Heavenly God watching from the side.
Leave!
Thunder Lord was decisive. He immediately rode the lightning and flew out of the Ancestral Realm.
He couldn't kill the opponent, but the opponent couldn't stop him either.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God and the Blood Absolute Clan Leader acted simultaneously, each unleashing their strongest techniques. But Thunder Lord blasted them back, sending them crashing back to the ground of the Thunder Clan Ancestral Realm.
"This old monster has a Half-Ancestor divine source within him. His combat power is no ordinary thing."
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader sighed, knowing that today, there was no way to keep Thunder Lord.
Even if they forced it, once Thunder Lord fought desperately, the entire Undying Divine City would suffer heavy casualties.
This was not a good opportunity to kill Thunder Lord.
Compared to his reckless youth, now that he was clan leader, he had lost some of his hot-blooded bravery and gained more calm, measured prudence.
He had to consider the gains and losses of the clan.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God spoke with a harsh tone, "What's wrong with the gods of your Undying Blood Clan? It's been so long, and the city-protecting formation still hasn't been activated? The clan residence was breached, countless casualties and losses, and you let him escape. What a loss of face!"
"Boom!"
The sky's clouds shook.
Thunder Lord, who had already broken through the Thunder Clan Ancestral Realm, was struck by a massive heavenly handprint, like swatting a fly, and fell from the clouds.
His lightning radiance dimmed, and his Heavenly Venerable aura shattered like a dream. Every dragon scale oozed blood.
"Boom!"
His dragon body, like a mountain range, crashed to the ground, shaking the earth and raising dust.
After a long while, Thunder Lord recovered, re-mobilizing his divine qi, and roared, "Who dares to ambush me... ah..."
A giant dharma footprint stomped down, like stepping on an earthworm, pinning Thunder Lord beneath it.
The Half-Ancestor corpse body was crushed, flesh and blood mangled, corrupting ten thousand miles of territory.
Zhang Ruochen, wearing a golden crown, stepped out of space and said, "Kill you? Why would I need to ambush?"
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen raised his hand, his five fingers forming a grasping gesture.
Thunder Lord's entire body exploded, leaving only a dragon skeleton.
"Swoosh!"
A divine sea flew out from the corpse, emitting a dazzling light, and drifted into Zhang Ruochen's hand.
A Heavenly Venerable-level powerhouse was killed in an instant.
The gods of the Undying Blood Clan who had arrived at the Thunder Clan Ancestral Realm were all shocked. They bowed in unison in the sky: "We pay homage to the Imperial Dust!"
"We pay homage to the Imperial Dust!"
...
The voices echoed endlessly, resounding throughout the Undying Divine City.
Even the Blood Absolute Clan Leader was stunned by such combat power. Could a Half-Ancestor easily kill a Heavenly Venerable?
Impossible.
Zhang Ruochen sensed something and looked up. Then, his figure disappeared from the Thunder Clan Ancestral Realm, appearing in the starry sky above the Undying Divine City.
With one hand holding Thunder Lord's divine sea and the other grasping a starry expanse ten trillion miles wide, he gathered it in his palm and suddenly pushed forward.
Like a heavenly mirror, it collided with an invisible force flying from the depths of the starry sky.
"Boom!"
The ten-trillion-mile starry sky shattered completely, space collapsing massively.
The space outside the Undying Divine City turned into nothingness, both realms ceasing to exist.
"Myriad Forms Formless!"
Zhang Ruochen formed another seal, condensing the Myriad Forms Formless Seal in his palm. The golden crown on his head erupted with divine light, illuminating the universe and the void world.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen was pushed back, crashing into the Undying Divine City's protective grand formation.
The impact sent the Undying Divine City flying, moving rapidly through cosmic space, countless buildings collapsing.
Fortunately, the Blood Absolute Clan Leader, Ice Emperor, and Xiu Chen Heavenly God presided over the formation, with over a thousand gods activating the formation towers, preventing the Undying Divine City from collapsing.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and steady, his gaze firm.
With a wave of his hand, the Cauldron of Truth flew out, like a blazing sun suspended in space tens of thousands of miles above the Undying Divine City. The light of truth spread to the depths of the starry sky.
In a place unimaginably far from the Undying Divine City, Corpse Nightmare appeared at the edge of the truth light.
Using the blood of a planet's living beings as ink, he was sketching an Ancestral Grand Talisman.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen had found his location through the Cauldron of Truth and locked onto him, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes. Then, he smiled faintly and struck out the Ancestral Grand Talisman he had just completed.
In the Undying Divine City, many gods witnessed this scene.
Even across the endless cosmic distance, they could feel the terrifying pressure of the Ancestor, as if with a single thought, he could curse the entire Undying Blood Clan to death.
In truth, Corpse Nightmare indeed had the power to curse the entire Undying Blood Clan.
No matter how strong the Undying Blood Clan was, they were at most the second Inverse God Clan.
"So the Imperial Dust is dueling with an Ancestor. Let's all join forces to aid the Imperial Dust in facing the Ancestor and protect the Undying Divine City."
Ice Emperor, in the name of the Hall Master, issued orders to all cultivators in the Undying Blood Clan.
Countless blood-colored light pillars, numbering in the billions, rose from the Undying Divine City, surging toward the Cauldron of Truth suspended in the cosmic void.
Instantly, the Cauldron of Truth trembled, its light erupting violently, evolving into an independent, boundless starry cosmos.
Zhang Ruochen bathed in the divine radiance of truth until the Ancestral Grand Talisman approached. Then, he summoned the Heavenly Demon Stone Knife and struck a peerless slash that dominated past and present.
Not just the Undying Divine City, but even the surrounding star regions shook violently.
The power fluctuations of the Ancestor were immediately sensed by many Heavenly Venerable-level beings across the universe.
Even Ice Emperor, the Blood Absolute Clan Leader, and Xiu Chen Heavenly God could only see various visions flashing in the void: the light and shadow of an ancient world, a world tree formed by the convergence of time power, a sea of origin, and the shadows of the Nine Cauldrons.
Amid the fear and breathless tension of all cultivators, the light curtain of the city-protecting formation trembled and then calmed down.
It had held!
The Imperial Dust had broken the talisman struck by the Ancestor.
The Ancestor's aura dissipated into the depths of the starry sky.
The heavy pressure that had weighed on all cultivators' shoulders gradually dissipated along with it.
"Finally, I can breathe. Is this what an Ancestor is like? Terrifying—like they could crush our city-protecting formation with a single finger." Night Wander sat paralyzed on the ground, completely disregarding his image as a god.
Only when someone reminded him that he was the Imperial Dust's disciple did he immediately stand up, clasp his hands behind his back, and put on a proud, fearless expression.
Yes!
This old man was the Imperial Dust's disciple!
Thinking of his master, who had just dueled with an Ancestor and seemed to have forced the Ancestor to retreat, Night Wander's blood boiled with excitement. He truly felt honored.
The Undying War God arrived outside the Undying Divine City, looked at Zhang Ruochen, then glanced into the depths of the starry sky. His heart could not calm down for a long time.
"Has he already reached the height where he can duel with an Ancestor?"
The divine light on Zhang Ruochen's body gradually faded. His white robe was flawless, showing no signs of injury. The stone knife disappeared between his fingers, and he looked at the Undying War God. "War God seems to have arrived late."
The Undying War God adjusted his mindset and said, "With you here, what difference does it make whether I'm early or late? Has the crisis of the Undying Divine City been resolved?"
"Although Corpse Nightmare has the power to destroy the Undying Blood Clan, there's no need for it. His opponents are the Divine Realm, the Hongmeng Black Dragon, and the Dark Sovereign. With one strike failing to save Thunder Lord, he had no choice but to retreat. If he stayed, he would have been surrounded."
Zhang Ruochen put away the Cauldron of Truth and made a gesture to the Undying War God. "War God, after you."
"Imperial Dust, after you."
"Then I won't stand on ceremony."
Zhang Ruochen took the lead, flying toward the Undying Divine City.
...
The Ancestor-level duel shook the universe.
The top gods of the Heavenly Court, Hell Realm, and Sword Realm were all in an uproar.
Even those closest to Zhang Ruochen only now realized that his cultivation had reached great heights, allowing him to challenge an Ancestor.
Void Heaven was playing a game of chess with Nutian Shenzun when he sensed the Ancestor's fluctuations from the depths of the universe. He immediately released his divine thoughts to probe and perceive.
"This... this kid... he's an Ancestor!"
After saying the word "kid," Void Heaven immediately corrected himself.
No one could address an Ancestor like that. Even if Zhang Ruochen might not have reached that level, being able to withstand two strikes from an Ancestor was enough to intimidate all gods. Even the most arrogant Heavenly Venerables would have to bow their heads in submission. (End of chapter)