Outside Central Imperial City, Nie Xiangzi and Lord Xue Chen stood facing each other. The army of the Immortal Vampires had already retreated, leaving enough space for the two of them to fight.
“I’ve long wanted to meet the Ten Divine Scions of Fane of Truth. Nie Xiangzi, I hope you won’t disappoint me.” Lord Xue Chen’s smiling eyes were filled with malicious intent, and his body emitted a strong fighting spirit.
Nie Xiangzi was not bothered by his provocative words at the slightest. “Just attack,” he said flatly.
“Nie Xiangzi—the scion that has been known for his indifferent personality, I want to see how long you can maintain your attitude.” Lord Xue Chen’s aura suddenly soared.
As Lord Xue Chen waved his hands, a majestic blood Qi surged out and turned into a vast sea of blood rolling toward Nie Xiangzi.
Nie Xiangzi did not retreat. He raised his hand, used his powerful Saint Qi to form a ten-thousand-foot-long handprint that carried unparalleled power, and launched it.
Boom!
The handprint and the sea of blood collided violently. Immediately, a heaven-shaking and earth-shattering phenomena appeared. Terrifying ripples of power spread in all directions.
As top elites at first-tier below Supreme Sainthood, both of them were powerful. It was as if two Supreme Saints were fighting, or perhaps, even more intense than that.
At this moment, Celestial Court and Infernal Court were paying close attention to the battle between Nie Xiangzi and Lord Xue Chen.
In the face of such a situation, individual strength was insignificant.
However, the outcome of a battle between top elites could impact the morale of both sides.
The current situation was clearly disadvantageous to Celestial Court. They urgently needed to secure a few victories. It would be best if they could kill the elites from Infernal Court to boost their morale.
On the city wall, many disciples—including Divine Scions and True Disciples—from Fane of Truth stood. The ones in the lead were five of the ten Divine Scions.
Including Nie Xiangzi, six of the ten Divine Scions from Fane of Truth had come. This was a rare sight.
This battle concerned Fane of Truth’s reputation. Everyone could not help but feel nervous.
At the Grand Terminal of Merits, Zhang Ruochen’s eyes were fixed on the Projection Screen. He was also watching the battle between Nie Xiangzi and Lord Xue Chen.
A few years ago, Nie Xiangzi—a legendary figure—was someone he had to look up to. Now, he stood at the same or even higher position.
The Fane of Truth’s Ten Divine Scions were all extraordinary. They were prominent figures from many Microworlds. Even the weakest among them could achieve the top three tiers below Supreme Sainthood.
Nie Xiangzi possessed the top combat power of first-tier below Supreme Sainthood. He could be ranked as one of the leading elites among the Ten Divine Scions. His cultivation base was unfathomable.
Outside Central Imperial City, Nie Xiangzi and Lord Xue Chen were engaged in a fierce battle. They fought for hundreds of rounds and were evenly matched.
Suddenly, Lord Xue Chen’s aura changed. His body emitted a profound and mysterious aura. A strange door of light appeared behind him. It was formed by hundreds of thousands of Precepts of Destiny. It was none other than the Gate of Destiny.
Nie Xiangzi’s expression remained indifferent and calm. A large number of Precepts of Truth emerged from his body and interweaved with each other. They formed a shadowy realm behind him.
Billions of words—almost all the words in the universe—were sighted dancing within this realm. They collided with each other, expressing the truth of the world.
“The Realm-frame of Truth.” Zhang Ruochen’s expression changed.
In Fane of Truth, only Divine Scions could learn secret techniques enabling them to condense the Realm-frame of Truth.
Once they could form the Realm-frame of Truth, they would be able to utilize power from Path of Truth at will. In other words, they could increase the attack power of various Saint Techniques without having to take time for activation.
Zhang Ruochen’s attainment in Path of Truth was very high. His level could be even higher than the Ten Divine Scions from the Fane of Truth. Currently, he could increase attack power by nine times.
Unfortunately, he had not joined Fane of Truth, so he did not have the chance to learn secret techniques.
If he wanted to condense the Realm-frame of Truth, he had to rely on himself. Hence, he was not entirely confident.
Of course, it did not mean that he could condense the Realm-frame of Truth for sure by just merely learning the secret techniques. On top of that, he had to achieve high attainments in his cultivation for Path of Truth. He should at least be able to amplify an attack by six times.
‘I’ve cultivated more than 800,000 Precepts of Truth. But if I can’t condense the Realm-frame of Truth, I can’t amplify my attack power by ten times. Unless my cultivation for Path of Truth could achieve Great Perfection, then I’ll be able to make a breakthrough,’ Zhang Ruochen thought.
However, Zhang Ruochen knew very well that compared to condensing the Realm-frame of Truth, it was more challenging to reach Great Perfection of Path of Truth.
Even in the history of Fane of Truth, very few people could do that.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen currently held 0.39 percent of Canon of Truth. Hence, he could utilize power from Path of Truth more easily. It gave him a significant advantage.
Power from Path of Truth allowed a cultivator to amplify his attack power. On the contrary, the power from Path of Destiny could weaken the attack power of an opponent. The two just happened to counteract each other’s effects.
Obviously, the key to the result of this battle lay in Nie Xiangzi’s cultivation in Path of Truth and Lord Xue Chen’s cultivation in Path of Destiny—whose attainment was higher and who could restrain the attack of another.
“Nie Xiangzi is so strong. With power from Path of Truth, he can unleash an attack nine times powerful. For sure he will win this battle,” some cultivators said excitedly.
Zhang Ruochen was calm. ‘How can the Ten Divine Scions nurtured by Fane of Truth with tremendous efforts be this weak?’
Hence, unlike the cultivators around him, Zhang Ruochen was not optimistic about the battle. ‘I have no doubt about Nie Xiangzi’s strength. He is indeed strong, but somehow this Lord Xue Chen gives off an unfathomable vibe.’
‘Among the Paths of the Ancients, Path of Destiny is the most obscure and difficult to comprehend, and yet Lord Xue Chen can practice it to such a high level. I bet there are only a few people below Supreme Sainthood in the Fane of Destiny who can hold a candle to him. Therefore, this will be a difficult battle for Nie Xiangzi to win.’ Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly.
Zhang Ruochen had to admit that although this ‘cousin’ of his—Lord Xue Chen—was very arrogant, he had real talent. No wonder this ‘cousin’ could suppress all prodigies of Bloodysky Clan.
At this moment, Nie Xiangzi and Lord Xue Chen had already skillfully used their power in the Paths of the Ancients to the extreme, yet their fight was in a stalemate. No one was able to gain the upper hand.
After almost 2000 rounds of fight, Lord Xue Chen seized an opportunity and sent Nie Xiangzi flying with a palm.
“How could… Nie Xiangzi lost!”
Many cultivators found it hard to accept the result.
Anyone could see that Nie Xiangzi and Lord Xue Chen’s strengths were on par with each other. Nevertheless, it took only one key moment to determine the winner, and Nie Xiangzi had failed to seize that opportunity.
Nie Xiangzi’s defeat sent a heavy blow to the morale of Celestial Court.
On the other hand, the morale of Infernal Court was high as they cheered for Lord Xue Chen.
“We’ve lost again. Why haven’t the Four Heavenly Kings, the Archangel King Michael, and Ao Xukong made a move yet?”
“What about Zhang Ruochen? Isn’t he at Central Imperial City? If he comes forward, who could defeat him in a one-on-one fight?”
“Do you expect Zhang Ruochen to come forward to face 30 million Infernal Court soldiers of Saint level?
“True. Infernal Court hates Zhang Ruochen to the core. If he dares to show himself at Central Imperial City, the army of Infernal Court will certainly cut him into pieces. He must have found a place to hide now. Maybe he has already left Kunlun secretly.”
All kinds of voices sounded in Grand Terminal of Merits. Most of them were angry.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. He did not expect himself to be the center of discussion at this time. So many were targeting him as if they had a deep hatred for him.
If nothing went wrong, most of the people who sneered at him were sided with Heavenly Realm. They would not let go of any opportunity to mock him.
After waiting for a long time, Zhang Ruochen finally entered the dimensional teleportation array.
A white light flashed, Zhang Ruochen and a large group of Celestial Court cultivators disappeared from Grand Terminal of Merits.
When they could see their surroundings clearly, they were already in the Sub-Terminal of Merits in Central Imperial City.
Fortunately, they had built a Sub-Terminal of Merits in Central Imperial City. Otherwise, Central Imperial City would have been completely isolated from the outside world.
“Central Imperial City.” Zhang Ruochen’s expression changed as he had mixed feelings.
This was the second time he had set foot in Central Imperial City since his rebirth. Even though it had been many years, the things that had happened last time were still vivid in his mind, just like yesterday.
At that time, Chi Yao had used him to perfect her state of mind, so she could overcome her final tribulation—the Love Tribulation—to attain godhood.
In a fit of anger, he had rushed to the gate of Ziwei Palace and defeated the nine Realm Bearers by himself.
It was also at that time that he had cut off his ties with Huang Yanchen. Since then, they had become strangers.
As Zhang Ruochen arrived at Central Imperial City again, he could not help but feel emotional. His calm mind was shaken. There were many things that he could not let go.
Walking out of the Sub-Terminal of Merit, Zhang Ruochen saw a bleak scene.
The prosperous scene of the past had disappeared. A stifling atmosphere enveloped the entire imperial city. It was suffocating.
Central Imperial City was huge. Over the past 800 years, it had been continuously expanded and divided into dozens of districts. Each district was comparable to a metro city inhabited by hundreds of millions of people.
But now, Central Imperial City seemed to be relatively desolate. The reason was that in order to prepare for the war, those who were yet to attain Sainthood had been relocated.
After all, there were more than 30 million soldiers at Sainthood surrounding the city. Once the city was breached, those who had not attained Sainthood would not be able to resist at all. They would only be sending themselves to their deaths in vain.
There were not many Saint-level cultivators in Kunlun to begin with, so Central Imperial City had almost become the world of cultivators from different Macroworlds and Microworlds of Celestial Court.
“The sacred medicine is mine. No one should take it.”
Just as he was thinking, a huge commotion appeared not far away.
Zhang Ruochen turned his head and saw a group of Saint-level cultivators fighting for a brilliant and lustrous sacred medicine.
Central Imperial City was the gathering place of all the spiritual veins in Kunlun. It was a place to seize the treasures of heavens and earth. Since the re-awakening of Kunlun, a large number of rare and valuable medicinal herbs were born every day, including many very old sacred medicine. There were even 100,000-year-old ancient sacred medicine and Yuanhui Tribulation sacred herbs.
In the past, Central Imperial City was still under the control of the imperial court. Although there were cultivators from Celestial Court managed to enter the place, most of the treasures were seized by the imperial court.
However, as the situation in Kunlun changed, with increasing number of cultivators from Celestial Court at Central Imperial City. The treasures that the imperial court could seize became fewer and fewer.
Not long after, a Six-Step Saint King had snatched the 70,000-year-old sacred medicine.
“Once I refine this sacred medicine, my cultivation will be greatly improved. This trip was not in vain.” The Six-Step Saint King who had obtained the sacred medicine could not help but laugh.
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen could not help but shake his head slightly. ‘Most of the cultivators of Celestial Court are here for the treasures of Kunlun. How many of them are sincerely fighting against Infernal Court?’
It was a pipe dream to rely on the cultivators of Celestial Court to protect Central Imperial City and the entire Kunlun.
To put it bluntly, most of the cultivators of Celestial Court, like the cultivators of Infernal Court, were plunderers who plundered the resources of many macroworlds.
Those cultivators from powerful realms did not care about the inferior realms’ life and death. They were happy to make these realms Battlefields of Merits one after another so that they could plunder more resources.
Many macroworlds joined Celestial Court to seek protection from Celestial Court. However, in the end, they became sacrifices.
For example, the ancestral spirit world, which had been broken into pieces, was chosen by the Heavenly Court world as the battlefield to fight against Infernal Court. Billions of lives were buried, and even deities died.
In Western Universe alone, there were ten World Battlefields. After one was broken, a new one would be created.
After so many years, countless macroworlds had been shattered into cosmic dust.
This was the law of the jungle. All the rules were set by the strong. The weak could not resist. Struggling to survive was their only choice.
Unknowingly, Zhang Ruochen arrived in front of Ziwei Palace in the center of the Imperial City.
He did not come here to reminisce about old times. He wanted to see Divine Scripture Maiden so he could get a better picture of the current situation.
Of course, he also came here to see Chi Kongyue.
If possible, Zhang Ruochen wanted to take Chi Kongyue away so that she could stay far away from any harm.
Swoosh–
At this moment, a bright Saint light cut through the sky and flew directly toward Ziwei Palace.
In the blink of an eye, the Saint light appeared in front of Ziwei Palace. It was an ancient Saint Chariot with colorful lights. It gave off an extremely holy vibe, as if it had been used by a deity.
Zhang Ruochen then saw a handsome and charming man walk out of the Saint Chariot. He was donned in a brocade robe made of natural silk with a jade fan in his hand; he had a noble demeanor. Anyone who stood in front of him would feel inferior.
Then another person walked out. It was a stunning beauty. Her skin was flawless, her body statuesque. It was as if she were a sculpture made of crystal clear jade. Her scent was alluring, her temperament gentle and elegant.
“The Nine-heavens Maiden.”
It was not the first time Zhang Ruochen had seen the Nine-heavens Maiden—the single entity merged by nine maidens. He was very familiar with her.
Central Imperial City was in a critical situation. Hence, instead of becoming nine individuals, the Nine-heavens Maiden had to stay as a single entity, so she was powerful enough to handle any unexpected situations.
The leading ‘personality’ of the Nine-heavens Maiden now was obviously Divine Scripture Maiden. She had a refined temperament that was not found in the other eight maidens.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the handsome gentleman. He was quite curious about the man’s identity and background, as well as the reason he was with the Nine-heavens Maiden.
