Chapter 4224: Infinite Self-Grasping, Eternal Self-Existence
Chi Yao, Nutian Shenzun, Zangjin Baihu, and Mo Yin were all at the Half-Ancestor realm, more than enough to become clusters of Dao Light within the calamity clouds gathered by the power of Quantities.
The fifty-fifth cluster of Dao Light, propped up by Jie Tian, was the most dazzling and the most powerful. The energy released from the Ancestor Divine Source of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable within his body was too vast, surpassing Chi Yao and Nutian Shenzun by an unknown number of times.
The Ancestor energy of the Ancestor Divine Source was not inexhaustible.
Although Jie Tian was a false god, his speed of absorbing the energy of heaven and earth was very slow, and condensing it into Ancestor Divine Qi through the Ancestor Divine Source was even slower!
But he was always absorbing, not just outputting without input.
Moreover, Jie Tian would absolutely not fight any battle he could avoid. For battles he could fight, he only threw one punch!
Jie Tian did not have his own Divine Source, unlike other gods who possessed Ancestor Divine Sources.
For him, the Ancestor Divine Source was not a consumable, but a source of energy.
Zhang Ruochen used his will to control the five cauldrons, sending them flying out to protect the five individuals with the five cauldrons, preventing them from being unable to withstand the impact of the upcoming Ancestor battle.
The "Victory Crown" was given to Chi Yao, the "Truth Cauldron" to Jie Tian, the "Wu Cauldron" to Nutian Shenzun, the "Earth Cauldron" to Zangjin Baihu, and the "Darkness Cauldron" to Mo Yin.
Standing within the Dao Light interwoven with calamity thunder, Jie Tian stepped on a Truth Realm Form like a cosmic sea of stars, shouting with high spirits: "An old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand miles. This old man has waited too long for this day! Having inherited the Great Venerable's Ancestor Divine Source, I must do what the Great Venerable should do. Fight Ancestors, slay Ancestors!"
Jie Tian's voice carried great momentum, as if he were Zhang Ruochen's mouthpiece.
The Dark Lord was truly intimidated by Zhang Ruochen's continuously surging aura fluctuations at this moment. How could he have expected such a trump card?
Any one of these five experts, if isolated, the Dark Lord was confident he could easily kill.
But with the five entering Zhang Ruochen's field domain and propping up five clusters of Dao Light, a qualitative change occurred, even the level of their Dao techniques became different!
At this moment, the Dark Lord sensed danger from Zhang Ruochen and dared not hold back any longer.
He circulated the Ancestor Divine Qi within his body, mobilized the power of the Desolate Moon and Darkness Esoterica, and pushed the Myriad Forms Formless Dao technique to its extreme.
Instantly, the cosmic scene changed drastically.
Distant stars grew dim, presenting a scene of "Desolate Moon shines on ruined city, myriad forms all formless."
He was that Desolate Moon!
Yan Wushen, Feng Tian, and Fengdu Dadi, who were jointly besieging the Corpse Demon, had already fought to an unknown distance of trillions of miles away, but the power of Darkness and Myriad Forms Formless still reached them.
The surrounding stars were obscured by "Darkness," and space was swallowed by "Formless."
The entire world was disappearing! The three turned to look back.
In the distant deep void, only the Ancient Desolate Ruins City stood tall, with a single Desolate Moon shining brightly within the city.
After fully mastering ninety percent of the Quantity Nightmare Esoterica, Zhang Ruochen used it to stabilize the fifty-five clusters of Dao Light, his entire spirit and energy reaching a peak, saying: "Now it's time for this Emperor to weigh your worth!"
"Myriad Forms Formless is said to be indestructible and unbreakable, the culmination of the Way of Space, making Bai Yuan immortal and eternal. Coincidentally, this Emperor has also cultivated a great Space Divine Ability—Infinite Self-Grasping!"
Zhang Ruochen raised his right arm, reaching out with one hand across the void.
"Whoosh!"
Above the Ancient Desolate Ruins City, the space, like a misty veil or a watery curtain, revealed an infinitely massive hand reaching out.
Five fingers reached downward to grasp, full of the charm of the Great Dao.
The Dark Lord, as brilliant as the Desolate Moon, hovered above the Ancient Desolate Ruins City, feeling wave after wave of space tidal surges descending from above.
The Formless World he had derived was struck by Zhang Ruochen's move, causing ripples to rise everywhere.
"Imperial Dust has quite the bold talk. Have you truly grasped the Infinite? To try and seize my Myriad Forms Formless, you are far from enough."
This time, it was the Dark Lord's turn to draw circles with both hands, lifting them to support the Myriad Forms Formless Seal.
The Myriad Forms Formless Seal rotated slowly, like a cosmic divine diagram, rapidly expanding outward.
The speed at which the Dark Lord's divine thought extended outward was the speed at which the Myriad Forms Formless Seal expanded. Theoretically, given enough time, it could envelop the entire universe.
But what unsettled the Dark Lord was that no matter how fast the Myriad Forms Formless Seal expanded, Zhang Ruochen's Great Dao hand was always larger.
It could not escape his palm.
"Impossible! With your cultivation, how could you truly have cultivated the Infinite?"
The Dark Lord discovered that Zhang Ruochen's five fingers were contracting, suppressing the expansion of the Myriad Forms Formless Seal.
The Infinite was the highest form of the Way of Space, a realm all Ancestors since ancient times believed impossible to achieve.
This move, Infinite Self-Grasping, the word "Self-Grasping" not only represented control.
It also represented the self-attachment mentality of sentient beings that truly exists, as spoken of in the Buddhist Realm.
This was a space divine ability created by Zhang Ruochen, naturally not truly reaching the realm of the Infinite, only possessing some Dao charm.
With the enhancement of the Universe Cauldron, it was enough to suppress Myriad Forms Formless.
"What a move, Infinite Self-Grasping!"
The spiritual power Dharma Form of the Eternal True Ruler manifested in the dark void behind and above Zhang Ruochen, shining brightly, with thousands of stars suspended within it.
Most of the stars were the Divine Throne Planets of the Divine Talisman Army and the Star Knight Legion cultivators.
The two World Trees were only as tall as the Dharma Form's legs.
The Eternal True Ruler stood at the heart of the spiritual power Dharma Form, executing a great spiritual technique: "Mind Moves a Millennium, Heaven's Severance!"
At this moment, Heaven's Will spanned five hundred years past and five hundred years future, mobilizing the energy of this millennium in the universe, forming a waterfall of time energy.
This time waterfall, like a heavenly blade hanging in the starry sky, was dazzling to the extreme.
It was called Heaven's Severance!
Heaven's Severance was meant to sever Ancestors.
Zhang Ruochen looked up, summoned the Eon Cauldron, and chanted: "Eternal Self-Existence."
Another self-created time divine ability. The word "Existence" meant dwelling.
I exist in eternity, how can you sever me?
The time waterfall, gathering energy from five hundred years past and five hundred years future, fell upon Zhang Ruochen. With the enhancement of the Eon Cauldron, Zhang Ruochen stood unmoved through the ages, letting the waterfall strike him.
Time could not harm him.
And the destructive energy contained within the waterfall was dispersed by the vortex formed by the fifty-four clusters of Dao Light.
The five individuals within the calamity cloud Dao Light could not see the outside world; they only needed to follow Zhang Ruochen's will to circulate their divine energy rules, pointing their swords at one place, their intent moving with their energy.
This contest of time and space continued for an unknown duration.
When the five regained their perception and saw the outside world.
The Dark Lord and the Eternal True Ruler had long since vanished, leaving only shattered three-realm space, chaotic time, and Ancestor destructive force.
Everywhere were star fragments and cosmic dust.
Zhang Ruochen stood not far away, the power of Quantities from Lihentian continuously flowing into his Xuan Tai from a certain dimension, in a state of ever-increasing power.
"Did the Dark Lord and the Eternal True Ruler just retreat like that?" Nutian Shenzun found it hard to believe.
Those two, placed in the long river of ten thousand ages, were top-tier Ancestors, second only to the Wu Ancestor and the Immortal.
Zhang Ruochen said: "They knew that even working together, they could not do anything to me. What point was there in staying? If they truly fought to a three-way defeat, it would benefit no one."
"So-called ninety-sixth rank, so-called Immortal, is that all? Are you sure they really are Yan Tingqiu and the Dark Lord?"
Jie Tian looked disdainful, as if unsatisfied.
Zhang Ruochen said: "Are you the only one who can act tough?"
Zhang Ruochen did not think the previous confrontation was easy.
Although the Dark Lord and the Eternal True Ruler had gone all out, they had not entered a life-or-death state. If it came to that, the outcome would be uncertain, and any victor would surely win by a narrow margin.
Chi Yao noticed the strands of energy connecting Zhang Ruochen to Lihentian and asked: "Chen Ge, how long will it take to cultivate the true five clusters of Dao Light?"
Only by condensing the true five clusters of Dao Light could one achieve perfection in realm.
The Dao Light they propped up was always weak and could never truly be used freely. Moreover, if enemies of the same level engaged in close combat, could the five of them withstand such Ancestor collisions?
Facing the Dark Lord and the Eternal True Ruler, Zhang Ruochen could of course use "Infinite Self-Grasping" and "Eternal Self-Existence" to suppress them, preventing them from getting close.
But when facing the Immortal, could he still do so?
Zhang Ruochen said: "I'm afraid I'll have to fully absorb the power of Quantities first. This time won't be short."
Absorbing as much power of Quantities as possible was not just to condense the five clusters of Dao Light, but also to establish a unified field and refine all fifty-five clusters of Dao Light.
To establish a unified field, one might even need to refine all of Lihentian and turn it into the Xuan Tai.
For Zhang Ruochen, these were not the most important matters.
The most important thing was that he knew this was not the optimal path, only the fastest one.
Even on this fastest path, the Immortal would surely act before he achieved the Dao.
Having clearly repelled the two great experts, the Dark Lord and the Eternal True Ruler, the group felt no joy of victory, only worry. They had only gained the ability to converse with the Immortal, to strive for the future, but had not yet grasped it.
Mo Yin gazed into the depths of the universe and said: "The flute sound has dissipated. Since you did not rescue Corpse Nightmare, Master, why not go seek the lady? Perhaps you can win her over? If she stands on our side, the odds of winning will greatly increase!"
Everyone present was no ordinary cultivator; from Mo Yin's transformation and the flute sound of the Heavenly Dao Flute, they had guessed much.
The false Imperial Dust of the past thirty thousand years was clearly her. Following these two clues, it was natural to think of the Mingu Illumination Lotus.
Jie Tian seemed to have just reacted, waking up: "This Heavenly Dao Flute, isn't it Ji Fanxin's divine artifact? She is the Mingu Illumination Lotus, born in the Mingu era and living to this day. Isn't she a perfect Immortal? Moreover, her spiritual power back then was sealed by Corpse Nightmare... My heavens, that flute sound couldn't have been played by her, could it? Why aren't any of you shocked? Haven't you thought of this?"
No one paid him any attention.
Zhang Ruochen said to Nutian Shenzun: "Corpse Nightmare has become an abandoned piece. No side wants such an uncertain factor to exist. Divine Venerable, you can go assist Yan Wushen, Fengdu Dadi, and Feng Tian. The Divine Realm will not interfere. Only by slaying Corpse Nightmare can Yan Wushen and Fengdu Dadi have the chance to use this Ancestor great medicine to quickly recover their injuries and rush to impact the Ancestor realm before the final battle."
"What if he self-detonates his Ancestor Divine Source?" Chi Yao frowned slightly, worried.
Zhang Ruochen smiled: "If he self-detonates his Divine Source against cultivators below the Ancestor realm, then he would be setting a shameful record unprecedented in history. He still has that bit of pride. After burning the Quantity Nightmare substance, he will fall into a weakened state. Take it slowly; by the time he wants to self-detonate his Ancestor Divine Source, he will find he can no longer resist your will suppression."
Mo Yin said: "If Nutian Shenzun leaves, won't Master's number of heavens be incomplete?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled without speaking.
For these five heaven-supplementing individuals, he still had several backup candidates.
Moreover, after this battle, the Divine Realm would not act lightly without a surefire plan. Once they acted, it would surely be the final decisive battle.
Jie Tian's gaze shifted among these few people, then he said: "This old man understands. You think that if she truly reached the level of an Immortal, she wouldn't give Zhang Ruochen children, right?"
"Don't worry, this old man has a way to prove it. For example, Ji Fanxin could completely cultivate a woman identical to herself—like Mo Yin, who can completely transform into Zhang Ruochen's appearance, with both their auras and heavenly mechanisms perfectly matching. Yes, that's it."
"With her high cultivation, deceiving Zhang Ruochen before he achieved the Dao as an Ancestor would be easy, right? Doing so would also clear her identity as an Immortal, perfectly hiding herself, so the Divine Realm's Immortal wouldn't notice her."
"Who would have thought that the delicate Flower Fairy, the consort in Imperial Dust's deep palace, the mother of Ni He, was actually the ultimate existence who could contend with the Divine Realm's Immortal?"
"Just like, who among you knew that Wu Yue's two children weren't hers, but the Moon God's..."
It was only at this moment that everyone's gaze finally fell on him, no longer ignoring him as before.
This was indeed a big news few knew. The Moon God, that holy and flawless goddess, had long since submitted to Imperial Dust?
If the news spread, who knew how many cultivators would weep in anguish.
Although, during the time Zhang Ruochen disguised himself, he had Wu Yue and the Moon God wear colorful robes and dance as twin moons, which was criticized by many cultivators who followed him.
But even Chi Yao only thought Zhang Ruochen was too cruel to the Moon God, using her, never imagining the two had already had a substantive intimate relationship.
After all, the Moon God had always been pure and chaste, with a cold personality, and was a good teacher and friend to the young Zhang Ruochen, with no small kindness.
Could they have slept together without anyone knowing?
Mo Yin opened her mouth wide, finding it hard to believe.
Even Nutian Shenzun, who was about to leave, paused for a moment.
Among those present, only Chi Yao dared to look directly at Zhang Ruochen, her gaze quite unusual, as if muttering something inwardly.
Jie Tian also knew he had caused trouble and laughed it off: "This Heavenly One made it all up, don't believe it... Actually, male-female love, heroes loving beauties, beauties loving heroes, is very normal, right? No need to be so shocked?"
Jie Tian continued to cover up, lowering his voice: "Although this secret was leaked by this old man, you must not spread it. The Moon God's reputation is secondary; think of the two children, Bei Ze and Su E, they are innocent. If you leak it carelessly, facing the public's gossip, how painful would they be?"
Zangjin Baihu rolled his eyes at him: "You should say that to yourself a few more times."
Mo Yin stared coldly at Jie Tian and suggested to Zhang Ruochen: "Perhaps..."
"What are you going to do? Kill me to silence me?" Jie Tian stepped back, nervous.
Mo Yin also rolled her eyes: "Perhaps Master could erase our memories?"
Zhang Ruochen's mind was calm, and he did not deliberately deny or hide anything, saying: "These are trivial matters, not something that cannot be told."
Zhang Ruochen did not need to explain anything to anyone. Even if he did, it would be to the Moon God, to Bei Ze and Su E.
Naturally, no one would truly regard this as a trivial matter, unless one day Zhang Ruochen personally made public his secret with the Moon God.
"This old man should return to the Kunlun Realm!"
Jie Tian wanted to slip away.
"Jie Lao!"
Zhang Ruochen called him back, saying: "I am also returning to the Kunlun Realm. Let's travel together!"
"Travel together? Travel where?"
Jie Tian remembered that earlier, Yan Wushen had called his master to travel, and then beat Corpse Nightmare into pieces. He was now highly tense and couldn't bear to hear such words.
Chi Yao thought of something, moved, and said: "Chen Ge, are you sure you want to return to the Kunlun Realm now?"
"Why not?"
Zhang Ruochen asked in return, then looked toward the Seventy-Two Layer Tower in the distant starry sky, and added: "After so many years of encounters and acquaintances, before the life-or-death decisive battle, I always have to see them. I believe He is also waiting for me to come, perhaps having already prepared clear tea under the sunlight and fence. Etiquette is etiquette, war is war."
Chi Yao was still uneasy: "Don't forget the Second Confucian Ancestor. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. The Immortal may have already woven a heavenly net and earth trap in the Kunlun Realm, waiting for you to come."
Zhang Ruochen responded with a smile: "Even if there truly are mountains of blades and seas of fire, can I not go back? So many people are in the Wuding Divine Sea—Father Emperor, Mother Empress, Yu Yan, Bei Ze, Su E, Fei Yu, Luo Ji, Chen Jing... Sometimes, what must be faced cannot be avoided!"
Chi Yao said: "If He uses these people you care about as hostages, how will you choose? I do not agree with you taking this risk!"
Zhang Ruochen had clearly thought it through long ago and said solemnly: "Starting from the Great Venerable, over this turbulent million-plus years, because of the Doomsday Great Era, how many people have stepped forward one after another? To buy me time, to give me the strength to fight the Immortal, to fight for a sliver of hope for all living beings, many have gone to their deaths, turning into dust of calamity."
"You are right. If He uses them as hostages, it can shake my heart, but it will never change my will."
"Having come this far, Zhang Ruochen can no longer live only for himself, but for those who died because of him and those who still live."
"My mind is made up. No need to persuade me further."
The entire scene fell silent. Nutian Shenzun silently left.
"Has Kunlun gone to the Divine Realm?"
Throughout this battle, Chi Kunlun had never appeared. Zhang Ruochen had speculated as much and didn't even need to calculate.
Chi Yao felt Zhang Ruochen's unyielding will and stopped persuading. After a long silence, she said: "Before he left, he saw me. He said, everyone is fighting for the survival of the world. As the son of Imperial Dust, how could he steal a life? The path was his own choice. No matter how dangerous going to the Divine Realm was, he would never regret it. He asked me to let him go!"
Jie Tian was more anxious than Zhang Ruochen, jumping up and down: "And you really let him go? Infiltrating the Divine Realm is a dead end! Didn't you know to stop him?"
Jie Tian had deep feelings for Chi Kunlun. That was a good seedling for carrying on the family line, having contributed to the prosperity of the Zhang Clan.
Zhang Ruochen said: "Able to make a clean break, having responsibility, knowing duty, not fearing. Having a son like this, how can you ask more of him? I will not stop him either!"
In the starry sky.
The World Tree where the Yama Clan resided had long been taken away by the Eternal True Ruler.
The gods of the Yama Clan, Sword Realm, and Primordial Beings quickly rushed over here.
Murong Zhuzai had taken a blow from the Void Cauldron, beaten into a cloud of spiritual power particles, and only now had he finally recondensed his spiritual power Ancestor body, severely injured.
After all, he was a true Ancestor, different from Lady Shiji. Surviving a blow from the Immortal was still possible.
A single Void Cauldron could not compare to the Seventy-Two Layer Tower.
Murong Zhuzai's hatred and anger had no outlet, so he used the heavenly mechanism rules in the universe as a medium to execute the "Heavenly Mechanism Calamity," following the heavenly mechanism auras of Qinglu Divine King, Erjun Tian, and Lady Shiji, to completely annihilate all their remaining residual souls and possible doppelgangers in the world.
Normally, with their true bodies destroyed, these residual souls and possible doppelgangers posed no threat. Exterminating them completely, aside from venting anger, had no meaning.
One of the Heavenly Mechanism Calamities fell toward the gods of Sword Realm and was blocked by Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen glanced deeply at Bai Qinger among the gods of Sword Realm, then crossed time and space to call out to Murong Zhuzai, who was at the broken hole in the Divine Realm: "One should be lenient when possible. Lord Zhuzai, exterminating them so thoroughly, aren't you afraid of ending up the same way one day?"
"Whoosh!!"
Zhang Ruochen pointed a finger, and instantly the heavenly mechanism rules were mobilized, turning into a Heavenly Mechanism Calamity that struck Murong Zhuzai.
Murong Zhuzai groaned, suffered backlash, and immediately fled, disappearing into the Divine Realm.
The void hole one light-year in diameter created by the Void Cauldron remained, becoming the largest gateway between the Divine Realm and the real universe.
"Greetings, Imperial Dust!"
The gods arrived nearby, bowing to Zhang Ruochen in unison.
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly and said: "Everyone, follow me. Let's go to the Heavenly Court first."
On the way to the Heavenly Court, Zhang Ruochen met Bai Qinger alone, mentioning Huang Tian to her, but of course not telling her that Huang Tian was still alive.
Finally, Zhang Ruochen asked: "You have refined the Shiji Divine Star and merged it with your Divine Realm World. I believe you have a thorough understanding of this divine star. Do you think it's possible that the Shiji Divine Star is truly the body of Lady Shiji from one of her lifetimes?"
The ten Stone Divine Stars of the Stone Clan were all said to be the transformed bodies of Stone Clan ancestral figures after death.
The form of the Shiji Divine Star was graceful, indeed resembling a woman's figure.
When Zhang Ruochen had spoken with Lady Shiji back then, she insisted it was her first-life body. But Zhang Ruochen's inference was that her first life was Su Zilian of the White Fox Clan, so he didn't believe it.
Until just now, when Murong Zhuzai's Heavenly Mechanism Calamity targeted Bai Qinger.
Bai Qinger was very clever and said: "Does Imperial Dust think Lady Shiji hasn't died completely? In fact, Lady Shiji did secretly meet with me and entered the Shiji Divine Star. But her cultivation was too high, and I don't know if she arranged anything."
Bai Qinger formed seals with her ten fingers, opening a corner of her Divine Realm World.
The Shiji Divine Star appeared within the white mist of space.
"I paid attention to the battlefield over there earlier. From start to finish, Lady Shiji did not use her Ancestor Mark, nor did she self-detonate her Ancestor Divine Source. That's quite strange. Was she really just a false Ancestor? Or was it a method of feigning weakness to deceive the world?"
Zhang Ruochen walked toward the white mist and entered the Shiji Divine Star!