Chapter 956: A World in the Darkness
At the edge of this endless abyss, the sky was only a few dozen meters high, with black clouds churning and pressing down upon the earth, bringing a sense of oppression that weighed on both body and mind.
Shaking off his previous dejection, Zhang Ruochen straightened his spine, his gaze sharp. The Seven Saints Serpent Spear in his hand emitted a dazzling golden light, as if it could pierce through the black clouds above.
If this were anywhere else, even if Zhang Ruochen unleashed all his trump cards, he would be no match for Boundless Flag King.
But in the Endless Abyss, he had a fighting chance.
Boundless Flag King appeared quite composed, smiling as he said, "So, you intend to use the special natural laws of the Endless Abyss to turn the tide and win."
"Don't you know that even if I can only unleash one-tenth of my cultivation, it's enough to defeat you at your peak? Besides, here, you can only use one-tenth of your power as well?"
"Of course I know."
Zhang Ruochen continued, "But coming here, I at least have a one or two in ten chance of victory."
"Ignorant."
Boundless Flag King let out a hoarse laugh, not believing for a moment that Zhang Ruochen had any chance of winning.
The Heavenly Demon Seal flew up again, spinning in midair and releasing a bone-chilling coldness. The ground emitted a "crackling" sound as it became covered in a thick layer of black ice.
A demonic cloud wrapped around the Heavenly Demon Seal, which then took on a ferocious form as it pressed down toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen shook his arms, activating the inscriptions within the Seven Saints Serpent Spear. Seven massive phantom images of horned pythons flew out.
The python phantoms coiled around the spear shaft as it thrust forward, colliding with the Heavenly Demon Seal.
In an instant, sparks flew.
Ear-splitting soundwaves spread across heaven and earth.
The Heavenly Demon Seal failed to suppress Zhang Ruochen; instead, it was knocked away, falling into the depths of the Endless Abyss.
"How is this possible?"
Boundless Flag King's pitch-black demonic eyes widened in shock. He quickly sent out a stream of black sacred Qi to wrap around the Heavenly Demon Seal, trying to retrieve it.
Zhang Ruochen's battle intent surged. Seizing the opportunity, he struck again. His arms radiated a five-colored light as he swung the Seven Saints Serpent Spear in a horizontal slash, shattering the sacred Qi that Boundless Flag King had sent out and severing the connection between the seal and its master.
The Heavenly Demon Seal, after all, was merely a hundred-pattern sacred artifact. Without its master's control, it fell straight into the Endless Abyss, disappearing into the thick mist.
Boundless Flag King trembled all over, furious beyond measure, and roared, "I will grind your bones to dust!"
Zhang Ruochen's expression was cold and resolute. His movements were decisive and sharp. Taking strides of three zhang each, he rotated the Seven Saints Serpent Spear and thrust it toward Boundless Flag King's brow.
"Glacier Hell."
Boundless Flag King raised both hands, and two layers of black profound ice immediately formed on the ground in a diamond shape, emitting a dim light. They actually froze the Seven Saints Serpent Spear in place, preventing it from advancing even an inch.
Then, Boundless Flag King struck out with a palm.
The palm print passed beneath the Seven Saints Serpent Spear and aimed for Zhang Ruochen's abdomen.
Zhang Ruochen had no choice but to abandon the Seven Saints Serpent Spear. He formed hand seals, burst open six acupoints, and struck out with both palms.
"Boom."
Boundless Flag King's palm force overpowered the Seven-Aperture Blood Nether Palm, sending Zhang Ruochen staggering back sixteen steps.
Cracking sounds echoed across the ground as sixteen half-foot-deep footprints were left behind.
If Zhang Ruochen hadn't forcibly steadied himself and taken one more step back, he would have fallen into the Endless Abyss.
Boundless Flag King's body swayed slightly as he took two steps back to neutralize the power of the Seven-Aperture Blood Nether Palm.
Even so, his palm ached dully, and the flow of his sacred Qi became sluggish.
He looked at Zhang Ruochen, who stood at the edge of the abyss, quite surprised, and said, "You managed to block my full-power palm strike? With your cultivation, even if you used a sacred art, you shouldn't be this strong... Could it be physical strength?"
At that moment, Boundless Flag King finally began to understand.
Gu Linfeng's physical body was indeed astonishingly powerful. Earlier, despite suffering such severe injuries, he was still full of vigor and brimming with battle intent. Even a sacred body would find it hard to achieve this.
Even so, Boundless Flag King remained confident in himself. He retrieved the Seven Saints Serpent Spear, which was sealed in black ice, and gripped it tightly, saying, "Your physical strength is indeed formidable, beyond my expectations. But now that you've lost the Seven Saints Serpent Spear, what use is physical strength alone?"
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the Seven Saints Serpent Spear and said, "Without the Seven Saints Serpent Spear, my combat power will only be greater."
"Is that so? Unfortunately, the palm technique you pride yourself on just lost to me," Boundless Flag King said with a laugh.
Soon, the smile on Boundless Flag King's face stiffened, and a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.
He saw a black ancient sword, which had flown out from somewhere, hovering above Zhang Ruochen's head. It emitted a dense array of sword Qi, forming a sword Qi domain.
"My palm technique can only be considered second-rate for now; it hasn't reached the realm of unity between heaven and man. Perhaps only my sword technique can barely be considered first-rate," Zhang Ruochen said.
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen's aura shifted again, becoming even more sharp and unstoppable, even more imposing.
With a sword in hand, he was like a sword saint descending to the mortal world.
Having already mastered a palm technique at the sacred art level, he still claimed his palm technique was only second-rate?
If other cultivators who practiced palm techniques heard such words, many would surely die of shame.
"Playing tricks. Let me see just how remarkable your sword technique really is."
Boundless Flag King gripped the Seven Saints Serpent Spear with both hands, fully mobilizing all the sacred Qi in his body. Sharp sounds filled the air, forming a swirling force.
Zhang Ruochen glanced behind Boundless Flag King and formed a sword seal with two fingers, guiding the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword flew out, turning into a black streak of light that traced a graceful arc, circling around to behind Boundless Flag King.
"Rip!"
The sharp sword Qi, hundreds of meters long, did not strike Boundless Flag King but instead slashed into the ground behind him.
The blood-red rock shattered, forming a chasm hundreds of meters long that plunged deep into the earth.
The ground shook, and an area of ten thousand square meters separated from the rock mass, falling into the abyss below.
"Gu Linfeng, have you lost your mind?"
Boundless Flag King's eyes turned bloodshot. He immediately withdrew the power he had been preparing to attack Zhang Ruochen, kicked off the ground, and shot upward, trying to return to the surface.
Zhang Ruochen stood on the falling rock slab, looking quite calm, and formed another sword seal.
Above, the Abyssal Ancient Sword emitted a vast expanse of black light. Even the sword spirit appeared, standing at the center of the black light.
"Whoosh!"
As the Abyssal Ancient Sword descended from above, it released over a thousand sword Qi, striking Boundless Flag King in rapid succession.
Seeing the rain of swords falling from above, Boundless Flag King immediately thrust out the Seven Saints Serpent Spear, shattering all the sword Qi into wisps of green smoke.
However, this strike blocked Boundless Flag King's upward momentum.
Zhang Ruochen used his sword-controlling technique to guide the Abyssal Ancient Sword, continuing to attack Boundless Flag King, forcing him to fall back down.
Finally, Boundless Flag King landed, his gaze fierce and murderous, and said, "Do you want to die together with me?"
Zhang Ruochen reached up and caught the returning Abyssal Ancient Sword, shaking his head as he said, "Didn't you say there was a first gradient at the bottom of the Endless Abyss? How can that be called dying together?"
"Even if there is a first gradient, with your cultivation, you won't be able to return to the surface alive."
Boundless Flag King's eyes were filled with killing intent.
He continuously infused sacred Qi from his body into the Seven Saints Serpent Spear. Stepping forward with his right foot, he crushed the rock beneath him.
At the same time, he thrust out the Seven Saints Serpent Spear, producing dozens of sharp beams of light that, like raindrops, completely enveloped Zhang Ruochen.
"Full of flaws."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and thrust forward, also producing dozens of sword lights that completely neutralized Boundless Flag King's attack.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword clashed with the Seven Saints Serpent Spear, sending sparks flying.
The sword Qi traveled along the spear shaft all the way to Boundless Flag King's arm, shredding his sleeve into cloth scraps and revealing a withered, yellowish hand.
Boundless Flag King quickly retreated, releasing the sacred Qi from his body to form a black light barrier that blocked all the sword Qi.
"How can this be? How is Gu Linfeng getting stronger the more he fights?"
Boundless Flag King was deeply alarmed. If he hadn't retreated quickly enough, his right arm would have been reduced to a white bone.
At the start, on the ground, Boundless Flag King had held a certain advantage. But the further they fell, the more that advantage shifted toward Gu Linfeng.
"The deeper we fall, the stronger the suppression of the natural laws on cultivation becomes, and the advantage of physical strength grows greater and greater."
Boundless Flag King calculated silently. Under the suppression of the natural laws, he could now only unleash at most one-thirtieth of his full power.
The sacred Qi in his body felt like lead and mercury, flowing only sluggishly.
"I can't wait any longer. If we reach the first gradient, with Gu Linfeng's powerful physical body, I won't be his match."
Boundless Flag King strode forward, swinging the Seven Saints Serpent Spear in a horizontal sweep toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen held nothing back. His figure flickered, moving three zhang forward in midair to appear before Boundless Flag King. A brilliant sword light slashed out.
"Golden Dipper Facing the Sun."
"Boom."
The spear and sword clashed.
The force unleashed from the sword sent Boundless Flag King flying backward.
Boundless Flag King's five fingers shattered, blood flowing. Not only was the Seven Saints Serpent Spear trembling, but his arm was also shaking.
Zhang Ruochen glanced downward but did not attack again.
A pair of golden dragon wings, over ten zhang long, sprouted from his back, like two golden clouds.
In an instant, his falling speed began to slow.
Boundless Flag King looked down, his gaze piercing through the black clouds. He saw that, several hundred meters below, a layer of ground had appeared.
A vast, dark world was revealed. (To be continued.)