Chapter 2101: Dimensional Annihilation
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the dark tunnel, Starlight Saint Chariot fell to the ground. Its surface was full of cracks, and its l.u.s.ter had completely dimmed.
Not far from Starlight Saint Chariot, Zhang Ruochen was leaning against the stone wall. His aura had become very weak, and his body was covered in blood.
The last attack from the divine-force monsters was really terrifying. Although he had used all kinds of techniques to defend, he had still suffered serious injuries.
If Zhang Ruochen took off the Armor of the Fire G.o.d, one would see that he was covered in wounds. The forces of the Four Paths of the Ancients were eroding his body.
If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t be able to hold on. They wouldn’t even be able to save their physical bodies. Even their Saint Souls would die.
Zhang Ruochen was different. He had practiced three Paths of the Ancients: Time, Dimension, and Truth. He also had cultivated a Five-element Chaotic Body. His resistance was extremely strong.
Creak.
With the help of his power from the three Paths of the Ancients, Zhang Ruochen quickly got rid of the terrible forces that invaded his body.
Although the divine sun formed by ‘Sunleaf’ of the Sacred Seven-star Lingzhi would constantly release essence Qi to heal the injured body, Zhang Ruochen still swallowed a sacred healing pill to speed up his recovery.
After killing many powerful enemies, Zhang Ruochen had gained many treasures, including all kinds of high-grade sacred medicine and Heaven-Grade Sacred Pills.
While Zhang Ruochen was healing himself, the Maiden of a Thousand Stars walked out of Starlight Saint Chariot. Although she was also injured, she was obviously not as severely injured as Zhang Ruochen.
Starlight Saint Chariot managed to withstand most of the attacks at the last moment, even though it was half-destroyed.
Swoosh.
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on the Maiden of Thousand Stars. There was a hint of vigilance in his eyes.
“Zhang Ruochen, how is your state?” The Maiden of a Thousand Stars approached and asked.
Zhang Ruochen slowly stood up and coughed lightly. “Luckily, I’m not dead!”
“It seems that our luck is not too bad. We have avoided those monsters for the time being. I don’t know what exactly is inside that can make those monsters not dare to come in.” The Maiden of a Thousand Stars’ eyes were full of doubt.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ruochen didn’t show any joy. Instead, his eyes became solemn. The tunnel they were in was probably not a good place because even the monsters didn’t dare to come close.
But under the circ.u.mstances, if they did not enter the tunnel, the hundreds of monsters would have torn them to pieces.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Although they didn’t come in, we still haven’t got out of trouble. This tunnel is our shelter only for temporary. When there are ma.s.sive divine forces pouring in from the outside, we might not be able to resist it.”
“Does that mean that no matter how we struggle, we’ll die in the end?” said the Maiden of a Thousand Stars.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes were resolute. “While we are still safe, it’s best to improve our cultivation as much as possible. With every increase in our strength, our chances of survival and escaping danger will be higher. I won’t give up hope at any time.”
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen took out many sacred pills and sacred medicine. They were all of high quality, and each of them would make a Saint King envious.
Finally, he took out the Wuyuan Royal Flower. There was only one flower left. In fact, this large number of sacred pills and medicine before him were to prepare him for the Wuyuan Royal Flower’s refinement.
Zhang Ruochen was left with no choice. There were too few precepts of minor paths in his body. If he added another five million precepts of major and Supreme-Saint paths, the precepts of the Minor Paths wouldn’t even make up 20 percent of the total. At that time, Heavenly Stream would definitely collapse.
These sacred pills and medicine basically added precepts of minor paths and a minimal number of precepts of Major Paths. In the past, Zhang Ruochen wouldn’t have wanted to. Focusing on cultivating precepts of Minor Paths from the start would seriously affect his cultivation speed and affect his future achievements.
But now, the situation was different. Zhang Ruochen urgently needed to add some precepts of Minor Paths. Otherwise, he couldn’t improve his cultivation base.
“My cultivation has been stuck at the peak of Precept Domain realm for some time. I have to find a way to break through. Otherwise, the gap between me and this guy will only grow bigger and bigger. I can’t lose to him.”
Under the influence of Zhang Ruochen’s never-give-in nature, the Maiden of a Thousand Stars also took out a bunch of sacred pills and medicine to improve her cultivation base.
As the Maiden of a Thousand Stars, she naturally didn’t lack valuable items to improve her cultivation.
She didn’t use them in the past because she had some concerns, but now that it was a matter of life and death, how could she hold them?
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the Maiden of a Thousand Stars and took out Sundial. This was a useful artifact that had been supporting his cultivation. Now was undoubtedly the time for it to work.
The Maiden of a Thousand Stars looked at the patterns on Sundial and noticed the energy of the ancients on it. She was suspicious. Then her beautiful eyes widened as she thought of something. “Huh? This is the legendary… Sundial?”
Zhang Ruochen wasn’t surprised that the Maiden of a Thousand Stars could recognize Sundial. After all, Saint Monk Xumi had a close relations.h.i.+p with Thousand-Star Civilization. They must at least keep the images of Sundial even if they didn’t come up with its replica.
The next moment, the Maiden of a Thousand Stars was enlightened; she chuckled. “No wonder your cultivation has improved so much since you returned to Kunlun. You actually have Sundial. How dare you reveal such valuable artifact in front of me? Aren’t you afraid that I’ll s.n.a.t.c.h it away from you?”
“Then why don’t you think about how long you can live? If I kill you here, even if the cultivation base of Thousand-Star Civilization’s ruler is high, he won’t be able to figure out that I’m the one who did it, right?” Zhang Ruochen said coldly.
The Maiden of a Thousand Stars’ face turned pale instantly. However, the next moment she smiled again. “If you wanted to kill me, why did you save me earlier?
“Are You in love with me? Are you too embarra.s.sed to admit it?
“I’ve been wondering why you forced me to write the marriage contract. Do you want to marry me? It’s not easy to say, so you used such a dirty trick?”
“You’re too narcissistic! I might not even have a slightest interest in any beauties in Portrait of the Nine Beauties,” said Zhang Ruochen.
When she heard him, the Maiden of a Thousand Stars got offended and said, “What do you mean? Why do I feel like you’re implying something else? Am I not as good as them? Zhang Ruochen, you’d better make your words clear. In terms of beauty, cultivation, status, and intelligence, in what aspect they outrun me?”
“You’re being unreasonable.” Zhang Ruochen didn’t bother to continue the argument. Experience told him that arguing with a woman was just a waste of time. He inserted a divine stone into Sundial and activated the power of Time in the artifact.
Then, he didn’t waste any more time. He grabbed a handful of Earth Grade Sacred Pills and put them in his mouth as if he was eating candies.
As she saw it, the Maiden of a Thousand Stars couldn’t help but widen her eyes. She had never seen anyone swallow pills and medicine like Zhang Ruochen. Those were all Earth Grade Sacred Pills. As their medicinal power was strong, refining them wasn’t easy.
“What a monster.” As the Maiden of a Thousand Stars muttered softly, she also took a sacred pill. Her body wasn’t as strong as Zhang Ruochen’s. She could only refine and absorb progressively.
Sundial covered a 2000-meter radius. Needless to say, the Maiden of a Thousand Stars also received support from its power of Time. Zhang Ruochen only wanted to increase his strength as soon as possible, so he didn’t bother that she took advantage of him.
The tunnel was very quiet. There was no divine force pouring in from the outside for the time being. It served as an excellent cultivation training environment for Zhang Ruochen and the Maiden of a Thousand Stars.
As Zhang Ruochen performed the Empyrean Emperor Ming’s Scripture, he could quickly refine the pills one successively. Most of the powerful medicinal power merged with Heavenly Stream, giving rise to the precepts. A small portion of it merged with his flesh and bones, strengthening his physical body.
To meet the Wuyuan Royal Flower’s refinement requirements, Zhang Ruochen absorbed hundreds of Earth Grade and Heaven Grade Sacred Pills and a bunch of high-level sacred medicine.
As a result, the precepts of Minor Paths in Heavenly Stream increased by more than 600,000, totaling more than seven million.
Without any hesitation, Zhang Ruochen put all five petals of the Wuyuan Royal Flower into his mouth.
Compared to the high quant.i.ty of sacred pills and medicine refined earlier, refining the Wuyuan Royal Flower was easier. There was no risk.
Poor Saint King Wuyuan, there was not a single flower left. She reverted to her original state. If she did not have any great, fortuitous encounter, it would take her hundreds or even thousands of years to restore her cultivation base to her prime.
Zhang Ruochen did not feel any pity for her. He was kind enough for refining only the petals instead of her.
Rumble.
A powerful Blood Qi rushed out of Zhang Ruochen’s body. It was a stunning sight.
As his cultivation base increased, his injuries healed. His essence, Qi, and spirit reached a new peak.
Heavenly Stream expanded further. It contained 35.7 million precepts. Every single of them was extremely solid; they were like chains in order.
Zhang Ruochen could clearly feel that his strength had improved a lot.
In terms of quant.i.ty, his precepts were still not on par with of many top powerhouses at Path’s Anterior realm. But in terms of the quality, there weren’t many cultivators’ precepts greater than his.
More than 28 million precepts had been cultivated from insights on Major Paths, Paths of Supreme Saint, and Paths of the Ancients. It was an astonis.h.i.+ng number that many top cultivators—who had a total of 60 to 70 million precepts—could not achieve.
After all, the further a cultivator’s progress in cultivation was, the greater the proportion of Minor Paths precepts. The proportion would rarely be less than 50 percent.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen felt a powerful aura explode beside him. He instinctively opened his eyes and turned to look at the Maiden of a Thousand Stars.
“It seems that this encounter has been very beneficial to her. Her state of mind has improved a lot. She can break through the bottleneck in one go.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at the Maiden of Thousand Stars’ face, which was as smooth as jade. Every inch of her skin was like immortal crystals and divine stones. Her facial features were exquisite and beautiful, and no flaws could be found.
One must say that she was indeed qualified to compete with the nine Maidens on the Portrait of the Nine Beauties. In addition, as the Master of the origin, she was superior to those Maidens.
Unfortunately, the flaw in her state of mind would be her biggest challenge.
Inadvertently, he thought of their marriage contract. Zhang Ruochen suddenly felt what he had done was not proper. He should not have threatened her in this way.
After giving a deeper thought, he realized that there were no other feuds between him and the Maiden of Thousand Stars except one unsolvable conflict—they were holders of Canon of Truth. What’s more, the Maiden of a Thousand Stars had helped him on many occasions.
Under tremendous pressure, the Maiden of a Thousand Stars finally broke through to Heaven’s Reach. She could absorb the vital energy of heaven and earth to pave the way for forging an immortal saint body.
It didn’t take long for the Maiden of a Thousand Stars to consolidate her cultivation base.
Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly. “Congratulations on your attainment of Heaven’s Reach.”
On any other occasion, the Maiden of a Thousand Stars would have been very happy. But now, she couldn’t smile at all. She rolled her eyes and said, “So what if I attain Heaven’s Reach? We still can’t defeat those monsters.”
“Be optimistic. At least we’re still alive, right?” Zhang Ruochen comforted her.
When she heard him, the Maiden of a Thousand Stars could not help but try to size up Zhang Ruochen. In many occasions, she really felt that she could not see through Zhang Ruochen at all.
She did not know why, but when she heard Zhang Ruochen’s words, her heart became much calmer, and she felt an inexplicable sense of security.
‘Yu Chenjing, what are you thinking? If it weren’t for this annoying guy, you wouldn’t be in such a miserable state. Yes, it’s all his fault,’ the Maiden of a Thousand Stars thought to herself.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Let’s continue our cultivation training. Since we are safe for now, we can refine the divine force crystals we’ve collected.”
The divine force crystals had a deep connection with this place. Refining them might yield unexpected gains.
A brilliant light flashed through the Maiden of a Thousand Stars’ eyes. She immediately reacted. She had nearly 200 divine force crystals of Origin on her.
If she refined them all, her cultivation level in Path of Origin would definitely advance. And when her insights on Path of Origin got deeper, she might be able to find a way out. Whether it would work or not, she had to give it a try.
Immediately, the two took out the divine force crystals and began to refine them.
Zhang Ruochen had relatively fewer divine force crystals, but he had a very special one. He had obtained it by killing a divine-force monster, so it should yield a better result.
Refinement of divine force crystals was actually not too difficult. The key was to extract the essence of Paths of the Ancients, but this was not an easy thing.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen and the Maiden of a Thousand Stars were masters of Paths of the Ancients, and they both held portions of Canon of Truth in them. This gave them a huge advantage.
As time pa.s.sed, their insights on Paths of the Ancients gradually deepened, and they both cultivated more precepts of Paths of the Ancients.
Zhang Ruochen could clearly feel that the divine force crystals were more effective than the divine power left by Saint Monk Xumi—in the Secret Tome of Time and s.p.a.ce—in helping him deepen insights on the Path of Dimension.
The reason was that the divine power left by Saint Monk Xumi included forces of both Path of Time and Path of Dimension, which made it complicated. On the contrary, a divine force crystal only contained a single force—the force of Path of Dimension, which was much simpler.
Nevertheless, a divine force crystal was exhaustible. In other words, there would be one piece lesser when one piece was exhausted.
Unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen had only gained divine force crystal of Dimension. He didn’t get any divine force crystals of Time. Hence, he couldn’t improve cultivation in both Paths of the Ancients at the same time.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes. His eyes focused, and he said, “The s.p.a.ce vibration is getting stronger. There should be ma.s.sive divine forces pouring in from the outside soon.”
The Maiden of a Thousand Stars immediately opened her eyes and said in a low voice, “If all the remnants of divine forces outside can be sucked into the pit, maybe the seal here will be removed automatically, and we will have a chance to escape.”
“That’s a good idea, but we have to be able to withstand the divine force impact again and again. There are indeed no monsters in this tunnel, but it is the one with the most divine forces pa.s.sing through. We need to be ready to take the impact head-on.” Zhang Ruochen’s eyes became more and more serious.
There were two choices now—take the divine force impact head-on or go out and fight with those monsters again.
Although their cultivations and strength had significantly increased, things might end badly if they really went out.
“You are the master of Time and s.p.a.ce, while I am the master of Origin. We already have three of the divine power attributes of this place. The only one left was the divine force of Darkness. If you and I work together, we might be able to resist the impact,” said the Maiden of a Thousand Stars.
In this situation, they could only join hands sincerely to survive.
Zhang Ruochen waved his hand and tucked away Sundial. At the same time, he took out the Secret Tome of Time and s.p.a.ce and Zangshan Demonic Mirror.
The Maiden of a Thousand Stars took out Origin Bead. It could be used for both defense and attack. Its function was similar to the Secret Tome of Time and s.p.a.ce.
The vibration of the s.p.a.ce became more violent. The two instinctively got close to the wall and stood inside a multi-dimensional s.p.a.ce.
Rumble.
The divine forces outside began to rush in. Like what had happened before, more than half of the forces stormed into the tunnel where Zhang Ruochen and the Maiden of a Thousand Stars were.
Zhang Ruochen was responsible for using techniques of Time and Dimension to guide the divine forces of Time and Dimension.
The Maiden of a Thousand Stars, on the other hand, used the secret technique of Origin to repel the divine force of Origin.
As for the divine force of Darkness, it required the two of them to work together. There was no way to evade it.
“Origin Strip!”
Thousand Stars Heavenly Maiden pointed out with her finger. An invisible force of Origin surged out and seeped into a large cloud of Dark divine force.
BUZZ.
The cloud of Dark divine force immediately trembled and instantly disintegrated into dozens of small clouds of Dark divine force.
After all, this divine force of Darkness was just a remnant left during War of G.o.ds 100,000 years ago. It had no agility, and its power had already been reduced to less than ten percent. As long as one could see through its foundation, there was a way to break it.
Apparently, after refining a large number of divine force crystals of Origin, the Maiden of Thousand Stars’ attainment in Path of Origin had become more and more profound. Even her Divine Eye of Origin had become more mysterious, allowing her to probe the Origins of all things.
“Dimensional Annihilation!” Zhang Ruochen reached out with one hand and suddenly clenched it.
Rumble.
The s.p.a.ce within dozens of feet shattered and then completely disappeared, turning into a void.
Even the dozens of streaks of Dark divine force—that the Maiden of a Thousand Stars had broken—were also annihilated. There was not a single trace left.
Dimensional Annihilation was an extremely profound and mysterious secret technique of Dimension. Usually, only the cultivator of Path of Dimension at the Supreme-Saint realm could successfully pull it off. There were three levels. Although Zhang Ruochen had only just attained the first level, the power he could unleash was terrifying.
There was a strong dimensional suppression here, so the effect was not that great. If he used this method outside this place, he could easily destroy the s.p.a.ce within a hundred miles, turning everything into ashes. Top powerhouses like Mosheng and Zhou Yu would definitely suffer severe injuries if they got hit.
Time was too short. Zhang Ruochen had only refined more than 20 pieces of divine force crystals, but the fruit he gained was great. He had more than 10,000 more precepts of Dimension. More importantly, he held deep insights into Path of Dimension. Or else, he couldn’t have successfully attained the first level of Dimensional Annihilation so fast.
If he could refine more divine force crystals, his insights on Path of Dimension could be even deeper. He might be able to cultivate the first level of Dimensional Annihilation to grand completion. When the time came, if he used it, even the powerhouses of the first tier below the Supreme-Saint level could suffer.
Zhang Ruochen and the Maiden of a Thousand Stars were both very intelligent cultivators. Their powers increased as their moves complemented each other. As time pa.s.sed, their coordination became more in sync. They didn’t need to speak to know each other’s intentions. It was as if they could communicate telepathically.
Even they themselves felt that it was strange. After all, they were not friends but enemies, yet, somehow they could fully trust each other. They worked well together.
If they took out the marriage contract and showed it to a cultivator who didn’t know them, that cultivator would definitely not question their relations.h.i.+p.
With their well-coordinated cooperation, the two avoided the impacts from terrifying divine forces again and again, and they could ease their minds a little.
‘Perhaps we really do have a chance to walk out of here alive,’ this thought suddenly came into the mind of the Maiden of a Thousand Stars.
She inadvertently turned to look at the outstanding figure next to her. That guy was still calm and composed, like an unparalleled grandmaster. Somehow, there was an unwavering, domineering aura on him. He seemed to possess the will of an emperor.
‘Zhang Ruochen has really become stronger in his cultivation base, state of mind and will. Perhaps only a man like him can be called indomitable.’
The Maiden of a Thousand Stars thought of what Zhang Ruochen had done since his return to Kunlun. It seemed that he had fought everywhere and killed countless enemies, but who knew how dangerous it was? He was trying his best to defend this macroworld that was bound to be destroyed, fighting against fate. If this wasn’t indomitable, then what was?
“What are you looking at?” Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze and met her eyes.
The Maiden of a Thousand Stars’ heart beat faster for no reason. She avoided his eyes and quickly adjusted her emotions.
RAAAWRRR!
At this moment, a loud roar came from the depths of the tunnel.
“Oh no, there are monsters here too!” The expressions of Zhang Ruochen and the Maiden of a Thousand Stars changed.
The next moment a terrifying suction force emerged from the depths of the tunnel and pulled them directly. The force was so strong that they could not resist it at all. They flew into the depths of the tunnel involuntarily.
Not only Zhang Ruochen and the Maiden of Thousand Stars, but some divine-force monsters guarding outside the tunnel were also in trouble. In the blink of an eye, more than ten divine-force monsters were sucked into the tunnel. No matter how they struggled, it was futile.