Chapter 4217: Real and Fake Imperial Dust
The third divine army of the Divine Realm was deployed to intercept Lady Shiji.
This divine army was the direct lineage of the Immortal from the Divine Realm. Every soldier possessed an identical Divine Martial Mark, allowing them to cross space and walk through the River of Time.
Their physical bodies and souls did not exist within the dimensional framework of the real universe.
Thus, in the starry sky, only countless Divine Martial Marks could be seen.
Divine abilities, techniques, and divine artifacts were all projected through these Divine Martial Marks. It was essentially a shadow army, far more bizarre than the Stellar Knight Legion or the Divine Talisman Army.
If the Stellar Knight Legion and the Divine Talisman Army had not been empowered by the World Tree, their combat power would absolutely be inferior to this "Time-Space Shadow Divine Army."
Lady Shiji, considered a False Ancestor, possessed combat power far surpassing Erjun Tianyi from back then. Yet, facing the interception of the Time-Space Shadow Divine Army, she was utterly helpless and unable to break free quickly.
The divine army intercepted her from the time dimension. Even using the Demon Shrine, a supreme time artifact, she could not make it effective.
"Once the Sovereign of the Dark Abyss catches up and joins forces with this army to surround me, today will be dangerous!"
At this moment, Lady Shiji showed none of her usual lazy, drowsy demeanor. Her eyes were bright and radiant, her spirit high. Her right hand, with its slender and delicate five fingers, formed a hand seal, and her red lips parted: "Stones from Other Mountains, Lord of Ten Thousand Stars."
"Rumble!"
The rocky planets across the entire star sea seemed to be summoned, rolling and tumbling.
Then, under her control, they all struck the countless Divine Martial Marks in the sky.
These rocky planets included asteroids of varying sizes, numbering in the hundreds of millions, densely packed. Some of them even harbored life.
Those Divine Martial Marks moved at an incredible speed, as if leaping through space and crossing the time dimension simultaneously.
Lady Shiji's "Stones from Other Mountains Great Art" could not even touch them.
Too fast!
Below the Ancestor level, Lady Shiji had never encountered such a bizarre phenomenon. It was like throwing a full-force punch into empty air, filling her heart with a strong sense of frustration.
This was different from losing to an Ancestor!
Because she had already developed the same arrogant mindset as an Ancestor, looking down on all living beings as mere ants.
By the Santu River, Xiuchen Heavenly God asked, "What exactly are those things? Their movement speed is too fast, impossible to lock onto or attack. Even an Ancestor can only passively take a beating?"
"With their bodies and souls not existing in this time and space, only a Divine Martial Mark remains, unimpeded, so their movement speed is naturally fast. It's like your thoughts—as fast as your thoughts can move, they can move."
Zhang Ruochen smiled and added, "But to say an Ancestor can only passively take a beating is overestimating them."
"At the end of the day, Shiji's cultivation realm is still a step short. She hasn't reached the true Ancestor realm, so her use of Dao techniques and rule order is naturally weaker. Otherwise, she would have already crossed the dimensions of time and space to kill the cultivators in this divine army."
"A False Ancestor is, after all, a False Ancestor."
"A true Ancestor, while not omnipotent, is certainly not someone below the Ancestor level can suppress."
"Don't you, below the Ancestor level, possess the combat power to suppress an Ancestor?" Xiuchen Heavenly God said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I'm different. I am the number one of past and present, unmatched at the same realm. Who can compare to me? What are you curling your lip for?"
"Nothing!"
"You're clearly unhappy, thinking I'm bragging and arrogant. Meanwhile, you can only feel inferior and ashamed. You curled your lip again, and you gritted your teeth!"
Xiuchen Heavenly God relaxed his lips, looked behind him at the ancient relay station on the gentle slope several zhang high, and said, "They're here!"
"Bring them over."
Zhang Ruochen put away his smile.
This relay station, built on the Ancient God Path, was only three stories high, covering a few acres, and appeared extremely crude.
But the materials used in its construction were extraordinary, including sacred wood, red copper, and dark iron.
It would not decay for tens of thousands of years.
A handsome man who looked exactly like Zhang Ruochen led Old Drunkard and Demon Butterfly Princess, only to be intercepted by Lianxi, who was sitting outside the relay station.
Lianxi sat on a long bench, wearing a purple gauze hat, tapping the ground with a Human Head Staff.
Wisps of soul mist and the curse power of Withering Death Art flowed through the surrounding space.
"Withering Death Art, this heinous curse, has appeared in the universe again. Who exactly are you, honored one? Reveal your true form!"
"Zhang Ruochen" possessed an extraordinary bearing. He did not immediately attack but looked with interest at the mysterious woman sitting in the middle of the Ancient God Path.
Old Drunkard and Demon Butterfly Princess were both extraordinary experts. They could tell that the person blocking the way had profound and unfathomable cultivation, definitely a Half-Ancestor. Coupled with her mastery of the Withering Death Art curse, it piqued their intense curiosity.
Old Drunkard had messy hair, a flushed face, and was half-drunk, half-awake. He slurred, "Not talking? Could she be mute? Forget about her, the priority is to rescue Lady Shiji!"
"Leave her to me. You go first."
Demon Butterfly Princess had fiery butterfly wings on her back and a hot figure. Her upper body was only covered by a silver-white breastplate. Her slender neck and sexy collarbone were exposed, and around her flat, snow-white belly hung a gold chain belt studded with gems.
Flames burst from her body, isolating the Withering Death Art curse.
She summoned a hook-like war artifact, and Half-Ancestor rules spread like red root tendrils from under her feet toward Lianxi.
"Zhang Ruochen" found the situation strange and warned, "Be careful! If she could predict our route here, she is no ordinary person."
Lianxi raised her head, instantly freezing time and space with her cold aura.
"Stop!"
Xiuchen Heavenly God strode out from the relay station, halting the tense standoff between the two sides.
Seeing Xiuchen Heavenly God appear, "Zhang Ruochen" thought of something and his expression changed slightly. He immediately looked into the relay station, finding it empty and devoid of that person's figure, which allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.
Old Drunkard, his head still dizzy and not fully reacting, shouted, "Xiuchen, why aren't you helping Empress Chi Yao fight against the Divine Realm army? What are you doing hiding here?"
"I should be asking you that! How did you end up with them? The gods of the Sword Realm all thought you were dead!" Xiuchen Heavenly God said irritably, snorting coldly.
Old Drunkard said, "What do you, an artifact spirit, know? This old man is with Imperial Dust and the lady, handling a major matter!"
"Lady? What lady?" Xiuchen Heavenly God asked, puzzled.
"The lady is—"
Before Old Drunkard could finish, "Zhang Ruochen" interrupted, "The lady is, of course, Lady Shiji! Miaoli, is this how you treat your master? Have you forgotten the pain of the Soul-Whip? You're too disobedient. It seems I need to discipline you again."
Knowing such a secret, Xiuchen Heavenly God's curiosity about this fake Imperial Dust's identity grew significantly.
Seeing his arrogance, Xiuchen Heavenly God's eyes turned cold. He took out the Abyssal Ancient Sword and casually tossed it out.
"Clang!"
The Abyssal Ancient Sword spun in the air once, then landed point-first, embedding itself in front of "Zhang Ruochen," Old Drunkard, and Demon Butterfly Princess.
"If you are Imperial Dust, then whose war sword is this? Dare you take it?"
Xiuchen Heavenly God watched the three—one surprised, one horrified, one closing their eyes with a sigh—then turned and walked into the relay station, saying, "Follow me. Imperial Dust has been waiting for you for a long time!"
Old Drunkard shuddered, instantly sobering up. He looked at "Zhang Ruochen" as if he suddenly understood everything.
So this was a fake.
The wind blew, lifting a corner of the purple gauze hat on the woman sitting on the bench across from them, revealing Lianxi's stunningly beautiful and cold face.
"Zhang Ruochen" and Demon Butterfly Princess exchanged a glance, abandoning the idea of fleeing separately.
Demon Butterfly Princess retracted the heavenly fire she had released, storing it beneath her pale, fair skin, and said, "Let's go. He doesn't eat people. It's been many years since I last saw him. Now, I'm curious to see what peerless grace he displays after ascending to Ancestor."
On the surface of the Santu River, new images appeared.
"Shiji, you can't escape anymore!"
The Sovereign of the Dark Abyss had caught up.
But he did not approach Lady Shiji, standing billions of miles away.
His two eyeballs flew into the void. His spiritual power pushed the two Ancestor Talismans hidden within the eyeballs to their limits.
The "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Ancestor Talisman" hovered in the void to the left, occupying a space millions of miles across. Talisman patterns formed various divine birds, spinning and circling, creating a vortex tens of thousands of times brighter than a star.
The "Ten Thousand Beasts Ancestor Talisman" was held in the Sovereign of the Dark Abyss's right hand, with dragons, tigers, lions, leopards, snakes, scorpions, and rocs—each talisman beast swallowing star rivers, their roars shaking heaven and earth.
Lady Shiji's expression turned grim.
These two Ancestor Talismans of the Sovereign of the Dark Abyss were no simple things. Once detonated along with the eyeballs, they could severely wound her, drastically reducing her combat power.
Today, she might really be finished here!
"Darkness Eternal."
Lady Shiji formed another seal. A heavy and vast dark world rapidly extended beneath her feet, formed from condensed dark matter, devouring all light and heat in the universe.
A large amount of Dark Force and dark order transformed into flood dragon forms, enveloping tens of millions of miles of space.
Using Dark Force, she concealed her exact spatial position, turning the surrounding heaven and earth into an eternal dark Ancestor order field.
As long as the Sovereign of the Dark Abyss's spiritual power could not lock onto her, no matter how terrifying the destructive energy of the detonated Ancestor Talismans, she was confident she could escape.
The Sovereign of the Dark Abyss frowned, infusing his ninety-fifth-level spiritual power into sound waves, each word like a world-ending thunderclap: "Shiji, the Nether Ancestor is dead, and the Corpse Demon is just fish on the Divine Realm's chopping block. Why persist in futile resistance? If you offer your Divine Source, this old man can guarantee your life."
What the Sovereign of the Dark Abyss feared was not the Eternal Dark Ancestor Order Field.
It was that Lady Shiji, pushed into a corner, might self-destruct her Divine Source, destroying everything and taking him with her.
"If I offer my Divine Source, what value would I have left? Without value, where would my life come from?"
Then, Lady Shiji's sweet and pleasant voice came from the darkness: "Besides, do you really think you have me cornered?"
The Sovereign of the Dark Abyss worried that delays would bring variables, so he waved at the Divine Martial Marks floating in the starry sky, ordering the Time-Space Shadow Divine Army to take the lead.
Suddenly,
A patch of cyan nebula surged rapidly from the empty, dark depths of space.
"Your Ladyship sells yourself short. Your beauty is like Imperial Dust's Dao techniques—both are the number one of past and present, far more valuable than an Ancestor's Divine Source. In this old man's view, Lord Sovereign of the Dark Abyss is also finding it hard to get past a beautiful woman. The old bull is yearning for spring!"
Erjun Tian and a cyan deer rode an endless cyan nebula, quickly appearing above those Divine Martial Marks, as if about to swallow the entire Time-Space Shadow Divine Army.
It was that cyan deer that had just spoken in human tongue.