Chapter 2172: Attain Godhood
Outside Central Imperial City, there were more than 40 million Infernal Court Saints gathered. Almost ten percent of them were warriors at Saint Kinghood.
Such a powerful army force would be regarded as invincible in the other Battlefields of Merits.
But in Kunlun, this was only a portion of the total force deployed by Infernal Court. There were many soldiers who were yet to enter Kunlun, waiting behind the World Rifts scattering around Kunlun.
Nothing stopped Zhang Ruochen on his way when he was leaving Central Imperial City. He then appeared above the large battlefield.
The closer an area was to Central Imperial City, the more powerful the effect of protection formations. Thus, the ground closer to Central Imperial City could withstand the impact of the battle. Or else, the surroundings of Central Imperial City would have been destroyed by the continuous battles between elites from both sides.
The hundreds of elites who had arrived at the fastest speed before also followed behind Zhang Ruochen. They appeared on the city wall, wanting to see what he wanted to do.
Zhang Ruochen stood in the air. With a wave of his hand, Ancient Abyssal Blade and Blood Dripper flew out. They performed Ying and Yang Sword Formation, evolving into a vast Taiji Diagram blotting out the sun and sky above.
A mysterious Swordwill spread rapidly. It was formless and immaterial, but it existed. Any swordsmen could feel its presence.
BUZZZZ
All of a sudden, the swords of all the cultivators inside and outside Imperial City trembled violently. They were summoned by a strong force. Many of them flew out of control toward Taiji Diagram in the sky.
At the same time, the flowers, grass, soil, and rocks outside the city underwent a change; they became sharp. Thousands of streaks of Sword Light shot up into the sky.
When a cultivator’s swordsmanship reached a certain level, everything in heaven and earth could become swords.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes were cold. Using both hands, he formed a Sword Seal and activated the Ying and Yang Sword Formation.
Whoosh–
A terrifying Sword Light that was hundreds of thousands of feet long burst out from Taiji Diagram. It pierced through heaven and earth, splitting the universe.
All of a sudden, almost all the cultivators had the illusion that the world had become dark. The Sword Light became the only light. Their mind was attracted by it unwittingly.
The Sword Light slashed down from the sky, landing straight on the camp of Infernal Court.
The camp of Infernal Court had profound formations set up by High-Saint Array Masters. Its defense was solid that even an ordinary Neverwither Supreme Saint could not damage it.
However, against the tens of thousands of feet long Sword Light, these formations were useless. They could not resist it at all.
BOOM!
The Sword Light broke through the formations like a hot knife through butter, cutting open the entire camp from the middle.
Even though the ground outside the city was extremely sturdy, a deep ravine was cut open at this moment. It was over a hundred feet wide and extended over a thousand miles away.
Along the way, hot lava spewed out from many places. The sight was horrifying.
With just a slash, Infernal Court suffered heavy casualties. Countless cultivators were killed with their bodies and souls annihilated by the Sword Light. The number of those injured was even more significant.
The casualties would have multiplied if not for the strong protection from the formations.
Although Central Imperial City was a city, it could not be regarded as a city.
It was more like a microworld.
If Eastern Region Holy City was a planet, Central Imperial City was much bigger than it.
Although Infernal Court had 40 million soldiers with the rank of Saint, it wasn’t easy for them to surround a city as large as a Microworld.
The formations they set up were not able to cover all aspects. Therefore, they could not entirely block Zhang Ruochen’s attack.
“What a powerful sword strike.”
On the city wall, all Celestial Court elites were shocked. Many of them could not help but gasp.
It was hard to imagine that a Saint King could execute such a terrifying technique. How many cultivators—with rank below Supreme Sainthood—could resist it?
Saint Lord Xue Tian and Akash’s expressions were solemn. They were undoubtedly regretful as they realized It was unwise to question Zhang Ruochen’s strength earlier.
This sword strike could shut everyone’s mouth off.
In the camp of Infernal Court, a High-Saint Array Master made his move. He set up a powerful formation as fast as he could to avoid further damage from another attack.
Whoosh–
A number of figures rushed out of the damaged camp.
They were all top elites, including the Three Emperors of the Bone Clan and the five Reverends whom Zhang Ruochen knew.
These elites were all angry, overwhelmed with murderous intent.
Everything had happened too suddenly. Although they had reacted quickly, they could only reduce part of the damage and failed to dodge the attack completely.
“Zhang Ruochen, are you courting death? Do you really think no one can beat you?” An elite from Ghost Clan shouted angrily.
Under normal circumstances, this Ghost Clan fellow might have been afraid of Zhang Ruochen. But now, with all the powerful figures of Infernal Court here, so what if Zhang Ruochen was strong?
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Ghost elite and said emotionlessly, “You’re not convinced? Then come and fight me.”
The Ghost elite’s expression changed slightly as soon as he heard Zhang Ruochen. He was indeed a top elite in Ghost Clan. Although he did not bat an eyelid when dealing with many cultivators with ranks below the Supreme Sainthood, he could not help but fear Zhang Ruochen.
Even if one disregarded Zhang Ruochen’s victory in the duel against Yan Wushen, how many people could stand the sword strike he had launched just now?
“What? No one dares to attack? Are all Infernal Court cultivators cowards?” Zhang Ruochen said indifferently.
Upon hearing him, all Infernal Court elites were furious. No one could endure listening to such contemptuous words.
A slightly short figure walked out, five feet tall, his body entirely covered in dark golden armor. There were two thick skeletal horns on his head. Pitch-black flame lingered around his body.
Under the effect of the black flame, the space around him became distorted. It seemed like it was about to melt.
“That’s Inferno Flame of Destruction. He is Dark Skeletal Lord,” someone from Celestial Court whispered.
Dark Skeletal Lord was the strongest elite among Bone Clan cultivators ranked below Supreme Sainthood in the current generation. He could easily make into the list of top ten figures in Infernal Court’s Ten Clans.
Not only was he powerful, but his defense was also shocking. His Demigod-level bone body could fight head-on with a Supreme Artifact. Normal attacks were nothing to him.
Dark Skeletal Lord released a powerful aura targetting Zhang Ruochen. “You will regret humiliating Infernal Court. Let me give you a taste.”
Dark Skeletal Lord was very confident in his own strength. He knew about the existence of two Yan Wushens. He also knew that the one Zhang Ruochen had defeated at Luoshui was the evil Yang Wushen, who was weaker than the good Yan Wushen.
Yan Wushen was indeed very famous. He was said to be invincible among cultivators below Supreme Sainthood.
Although Dark Skeletal Lord never fought Yan Wushen, he did not think he would lose to him. Moreover, Dark Skeletal Lord’s cultivation had improved further after he came to Kunlun. He felt that he was strong enough to fight good Yan Wushen.
Holding this view, Dark Skeletal Lord thought that Zhang Ruochen was not invincible.
Moreover, if no one showed up now, there wouldn’t be any dignity left for Infernal Court.
“Well, let’s see how many sword strikes you can take,” Zhang Ruochen said calmly.
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen waved his hand casually. The Yin and Yang Sword Formation immediately began to rotate, Taiji Diagram contracting. Two streaks of Sharp Sword Light were released from the Yin Eye and Yang Eye, emitting completely different Swordwills: one that signified life, and another signified death.
Life and death intertwined with each other, and the cycle would never end.
Dark Skeletal Lord snorted. He had no intention of dodging. Instead, he planned to use his powerful body frame to fight against the two streaks of Sword Light.
To Dark Skeletal Lord, his Demigod-level body frame was the most powerful weapon. Every part of it was useful in combat.
As Dark Skeletal Lord circulated his power, a large amount of Demigod-level Precepts appeared on his fist. They released mighty power.
Before he had become an undead, his cultivation level had reached Demigod realm, and he was only one step away from Godhood. The Precepts he had cultivated for his lifetime had fused into his bones. Even tens of thousands of years after his death, they had never dissipated.
That was how powerful a Demigod-level body frame could be.
BANG!
The two streaks of Sword Light signifying life and death were unpredictable: sometimes, it was violent; sometimes, it was gentle. They cut open a large black crack in space and hit Dark Skeletal Lord’s fist hard.
Although Dark Skeletal Lord tried hard to resist, he still fell from the sky rapidly.
BOOM!
Dark Skeletal Lord shattered the ground as soon as he landed on his feet like a meteorite.
“What a strong power. Has Zhang Ruochen’s strength improved greatly again?” Dark Skeletal Lord thought.
Yan Wushen had secretly sneaked into Central Imperial City and fought Zhang Ruochen. Although he had caused a lot of commotion in the city, Infernal Court was kept in the dark.
Moreover, no one had witnessed the battle between Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen. Therefore, almost no one could really tell how strong Zhang Ruochen was.
Inside Dark Skeletal Lord’s empty eye sockets, there were dancing flames. They were like his eyes when he was staring coldly at his fist.
The power of the attack just now was really terrifying. It actually made the Demigod-level Precepts he had activated dim and disappear into his bones again.
Although there was no damage on his body frame, it was infiltrated by a strange Swordwill aiming at his Saint Soul directly.
Luckily, he had a secret treasure protecting his Saint Soul, so he was still safe and sound.
RAWRRRR!
Dark Skeletal Lord raised his head and let out a long howl.
Majestic Inferno Flame of Destruction emerged from his bones. Destructive aura spread out, causing the surrounding land to shatter and turn into sticky lava.
Inferno Flame of Destruction was a terrifying flame that contained energy comparable to the power of Paths of the Ancients. It existed in the deepest parts of Infernal Court, and very few people had been able to master it since ancient times.
If one’s body was strong enough, they could release Inferno Flame of Destruction powerful enough to burn a Macroworld to ashes.
As his aura grew stronger, Dark Skeletal Lord expanded to three thousand meters in an instant. Large amounts of Demigod-level Precepts emerged from his body, and he activated the vast Precepts and Saint Qi of heaven and earth.
Dark Skeletal Lord waved his arm, and a long skeletal whip appeared. It was thousands of feet long and seemed to be made of a dragon spine. Tens of thousands of Supreme Inscriptions were carved on each section.
As he waved it, the skeletal whip was life-like. It burst out with powerful Supreme Power, charging at Zhang Ruochen like lightning.
Zhang Ruochen still looked calm. The Sword Seal formed by his hands changed at a steady pace.
“Yin-Yang rotation, engulfing heaven and earth.”
Taiji Diagram rotated slowly and released a powerful suction force, like a huge black hole.
The white skeletal whip was sucked into Taiji Diagram as soon as it struck. The diagram easily deflected all the attack power.
Then, several extremely condensed sword glows slashed out from Taiji Diagram.
BANG!
Dark Skeletal Lord was struck by the sword glows, and his enormous body flew back several hundred Li before crashing heavily into a towering mountain ridge.
In an instant, the mountain ridge collapsed, and dust flew everywhere, drowning Dark Skeletal Lord’s enormous body.
Immediately after, Taiji diagram pressed down from the sky like a descending ancient divine mountain.
Dark Skeletal Lord sat up and struggled with all his might. He wanted to break Taiji diagram, but it was impossible. He was suppressed to the point that he could not move.
Even Yan Wushen, who had merged his good and evil counterparts, had to expend a lot of energy to tear a hole in the Ying and Yang Sword Formation. Dark Skeletal Lord’s strength was clearly far behind.
The hearts of all the powerful figures in Infernal Court sank as soon as they saw this.
It was hard for them to accept that someone as powerful as Dark Skeletal Lord had been defeated so easily.
“Strange. Why hasn’t Yan Wushen made a move yet?” some Celestial Court elites asked.
If it was inconvenient to continue fighting in Imperial City, Yan Wushen shouldn’t have such concerns to do so outside the city.
With Yan Wushen’s tyrannical strength, no one believed that he was afraid of Zhang Ruochen.
However, not only didn’t Yan Wushen make any move, he was nowhere to be seen now. It was as if he had already left this place.
Only Zhang Ruochen knew that it was not that Yan Wushen did not want to fight, but because his good and evil counterparts had yet to merge fully. So, there was still a fatal flaw after the merger.
Yan Wushen would not have a high chance of winning if he were against Zhang Ruochen who was wielding Ancient Abyssal Blade and Blood Dripper now.
Therefore, Yan Wushen must have gone to find a place to seclude himself for self-cultivation. In other words, he would not reappear until he had completely merged his good and evil counterparts.
If Yan Wushen lost to Zhang Ruochen at his prime, it would greatly affect others’ beliefs about his invincibility.
In fact, he had not actually lost in their previous fights.
On the other side near Imperial city, Luo Sha, the Rakshasha Princess, was standing mid-air. Her eyes were fixed on Zhang Ruochen, and there was a glint of light in her eyes.
Last time, not only had she been captured by Zhang Ruochen, she had lost the sword hilt she stole to Zhang Ruochen. On top of that, she had felt deeply humiliated when Zhang Ruochen had asked her clan to exchange Saint Ancient Tea Tree for her.
She was known for her resourcefulness, but she was repeatedly at a disadvantage in the face of Zhang Ruochen.
“Zhang Ruochen is getting more and more powerful. But does he really think that no one can kill him? Yan Wushen can’t kill him, but a Supreme Saint can. If a Supreme Saint can’t, then a deity can!”
“My destiny…destiny…maybe he is my namesis!” Luo Sha sighed and felt troubled when she thought of this.
On the other side, many elites of Immortal Vampires in the camp were also watching Zhang Ruochen, including Lord Xue Chen.
Lord Xue Chen watched Zhang Ruochen from afar. His eyes flashed, and he whispered, “Xiao Xiao, do you see that? That’s the son of fourteenth aunt and a human.”
“Younger cousin?”
Xue Ningxiao looked at Zhang Ruochen in the distance with interest.
She looked like she was only 16 or 17 years old. Her face was enchanting. However, she was in an unusual form: sometimes she looked clear, sometimes blurry.
“He’s your elder cousin. He’s at least 800 years old. You’re only over 100 years old,” said Xue Chen.
Xue Ningxiao’s beautiful eyes sparkled. She smiled and said, “He’s strong, but I don’t believe he can defeat Yan Wushen. Yan Wushen is a big shot with a great background. I’m afraid that it would take a myriad of years to have another cultivator as powerful as him.”
Lord Xue Chen did not make any comment. His expression was calm. After a long while, he said, “Fourteenth aunt has already attained Godhood.”
“What? She is a God now?” Xue Ningxiao was surprised.
Her grandfather, Wargod Bloodximius, was already a deity. He was also the number one Wargod of Bloodysky Clan. Despite being a younger god, his strength had surpassed that of some ancient deities of Bloodysky Clan. He had even defeated them.
And now, another deity was born in Xue Jue Family. The entire famly would probably undergo a huge change.
Lord Xue Chen nodded slightly and said, “Not long ago, she contacted me.”
“How long will it take for fourteenth aunt to return to Infernal Court?” Xue Ningxiao asked.
Since she had become a deity, she definitely had to return.
“Soon, but she still has something to do in Kunlun. Sixth uncle is still being suppressed. There’s no doubt that Fourteenth aunt will go and save him before she leaves,” Lord Xue Chen said.
Xue Ningxiao asked, “Is sixth uncle still alive?”
Lord Xue Chen glared at her and said, “Fourteenth aunt once told me that if sixth uncle is still alive after being suppressed for so long, his state of mind, body, and will must have reached divine level. His strength might even surpass that of an ordinary god.
“The day he escapes will be the day he enters Godhood.
“And yet you dare to curse a God to die?
“So there will be another deity born in Xue Jue Family?” Xue Ningxiao was shocked again. She sighed and said, “Once Fourteenth aunt and sixth uncle go back, the state of Xue Jue Family will change. Those people will probably face consequences for what they did. What do you think grandfather will do?”
“That’s two deities returning to the family. What do you think?”
Lord Xue Chen said again, “No one expected that sixth uncle and fourteenth aunt, who were born of a concubine, would attain Godhood after being forced to come to Kunlun. Now, even the son of fourteenth aunt is so monstrous. If those old crooks—the direct descendants of first wives—knew about this, they would probably cry.”
Xue Ningxiao snorted coldly, “Son to fourteenth aunt who was born of concubine slay Battlefields of Merits. Contrary, the descendants of first wives have been enjoying the family’s resources without making any contribution. All they need to do is just to cultivate. The ways thing work in Xue Jue Family should have been changed a long time ago.”
“It’s because strongest cultivators of each generation are descendants of first wives. Their bloodlines are purer, and it’s easier for them to become a Supreme Saint. Hence, they are not required to go to Battlefields of Merits.”
A sneer appeared in Lord Xue Chen’s eyes. Clearly, he didn’t like the direct descendants of his clan.
The reason was that his father was born of a concubine. However, unlike Lord Ming and Blood Empress, he wasn’t forced to go to Kunlun to fight for Immortal Vampires.
Speaking of which, since he was young, he had been bullied by the direct descendants. If he wasn’t outstanding enough, he would not have his current status and would not have been valued by Wargod Bloodximius.
In the Infernal Court, many elites did not need to join Battlefields of Merits. Hence, it was normal if these talented cultivators’ names were not heard by cultivators in Celestial Court before.
Lord Xue Chen was the top elite—below Supreme Sainthood in Bloodysky Clan—known by Celestial Court only. Unlike their deities, Celestial Court cultivators had limited knowledge about Infernal Court.