Zhang Ruochen was still alive; that was certain. The reason was that the Imperial Purple Qi above Shengming City had yet to dissipate.
As such, Feng Gudao and the others all went on high alert as they looked around, trying to locate Zhang Ruochen.
Baaaaaam!!! Baaaaaaam!!!
At the bottom of the pit, the pile of hard rocks shattered as a figure emerged from the ground, bloodied. If it was not Zhang Ruochen, who else would it be?
The Nine-step Saint King’s self-destruction had been too sudden, and it had totally caught Zhang Ruochen off guard as the terrifying force blasted him and sent him crashing deep into the ground.
Even with the defensive power of the Meritorious Armor of Flowing Light, and the Divine Mark engraved by Yueshen, Zhang Ruochen still suffered heavy injuries as he was bruised all over. His neck was wounded with blood gushing out, while his head was almost separated from his body.
If it had not been for Zhang Ruochen’s unparalleled physical body, he would have been totally annihilated by the force of the explosion earlier.
That was a Nine-step Saint King of the Precept Dominion-realm blowing up his saint source, and all of the force was acting upon Zhang Ruochen. For him to survive itself a miracle.
When facing a Precept Dominion-realm elite blowing his saint source up, even a Neverwither Supreme Saint dared not take it lightly.
Clearly, at that critical juncture, Feng Gudao no longer cared about taking Zhang Ruochen alive. If he had not done that, they might have very well died.
“Don’t give him a chance to recover.” Feng Gudao hissed.
At this moment, the Imperial Purple Qi around Zhang Ruochen’s body had dissipated, and the Imperial Canopy above him had long disappeared as well. With his serious injury, Zhang Ruochen was at his weakest point.
If they did not suppress Zhang Ruochen now, they might not have any more chances later on.
In an instant, all of the Heavenly Realm factions immediately acted. They unleashed various techniques and sacred artifacts one after another, completely engulfing the heavily-wounded Zhang Ruochen.
There were thirty-four Nine-step Saint King of the Heavenly Realm faction present, plus the twenty-six Nine-step Saint Kings under Feng Gudao’s control. So, there were exactly sixty Nine-step Saint Kings.
One needed to know that a Nine-step Saint King was no ordinary Saint King. All of them had hopes of becoming a Supreme Saint, and to raise one would require many resources.
Some of the weaker macroworlds did not even have that many Nine-step Saint Kings.
Any Nine-step Saint King would have a very high status in a macroworld. Even a Supreme Saint dare not to take one lightly. After all, who knows if one would take that crucial step to become a Supreme Saint.
It was also due to Shang Ziyan’s capability that he could muster so many Nine-step Saint Kings.
At this moment, dozens of Nine-step Saint King struck at the same time, unleashing dozens of Intermediate-level Saint Art and dozens of High-level sacred artifacts. The force of the attack was immense.
Everyone who was watching the battle outside the city saw the scene and clearly felt the terrifying power fluctuations.
For a moment, many felt a tingle down their scalps.
“My goodness, with so many Nine-step Saint Kings striking together, even a star could come apart!”
“The life form and power of a Nine-step Saint King have already begun to undergo a change in their essence. They are no longer comparable to other Saint King elites. Only in the hands of a Nine-step Saint King will an Intermediate-level Saint Art and High-level sacred artifact’s power be fully unleashed.”
“If it was other cities, with so many Nine-step Saint Kings striking at the same time, the terrifying aura exuded could instantly sink a city.”
“Zhang Ruochen seemed to be very badly injured, can he withstand the attacks of so many Nine-step Saint Kings?”
“It seems like even when Zhang Ruochen could rouse the Imperial Providence to strengthen himself, he still cannot escape defeat.”
…
In this situation, no one could have a positive outlook for Zhang Ruochen, many were already shaking their heads and sighing as they could not bear to watch Zhang Ruochen getting annihilated.
Inside the pit, while Zhang Ruochen was seriously wounded, his eyes were filled with determination as he emanated an extremely powerful fighting spirit.
With a flip of his hand, Zhang Ruochen took out the Secret Tome of Time and Space as he quickly formed an extremely sturdy multi-dimensional space that encased him.
Boom!! Boom!!
Dozens of Intermediate-level Saint Arts and dozens of High-level sacred artifacts all crashed upon the multi-dimensional space.
Even when the multi-dimensional space was very strong, a few layers were instantly shattered on impact.
However, the moment those several layers of dimensional barriers were broken, a new one would quickly form in their place.
“Dimensional Collapse.”
Zhang Ruochen held one hand out and pointed to the front.
Boom!! Boom!!
With Zhang Ruochen at the center, the surrounding multi-dimensional space all collapsed, unleashing a terrifying world-rending force.
After a dimension collapsed, what emerged next was absolute darkness that swallowed everything.
All of those Intermediate-level Saint Arts and High-level Sacred Artifacts were all swallowed in an instant. They could not reach Zhang Ruochen at all.
Earlier when that Nine-step Saint Kings had blown his Saint Source up, if Zhang Ruochen had possessed enough time to react and take out the Secret Tome of Time and Space, he would not have possibly ended up like that.
Instantly, multiple high-level sacred artifacts were shredded by the violent spatial force and reduced into pieces of scrap iron.
“This is bad, Zhang Ruochen has not lost his ability to fight. Pull back!”
Zi Linglong’s expression changed dramatically.
Several other elites hurriedly recalled their sacred artifacts with all their might and then retreated at full speed.
Feng Gudao waved his sleeves and recalled all of the 26 Nine-step Saint Kings under his control. Then he activated the Meritorious Armor of Flowing Light, unleashing it at a thousand times the speed of sound as he fled to outside the city.
It was not just him, Zi Linglong, Chi Sheng, and Gu Tianyin all did the same as they unleashed their Meritorious Armor of Flowing Light at a thousand times the speed of sound without any hesitation.
Of course, only four of them actually had that armor, while the other 30 Heavenly Realm Nine-step Saint Kings had to escape using other methods.
All of these Heavenly Realm powerhouses were very smart as they fled in different directions. Even if someone were to be targeted by Zhang Ruochen the others could flee safely.
“Don’t you think it’s too late to escape now?” Zhang Ruochen’s icy voice clearly transmitted into the ears of every Heavenly Realm elite.
A majestic Imperial Providence once again blessed Zhang Ruochen, and the synchronization was clearly even better than before.
The Immovable Wisdom King’s Saint Aspect appeared once again, forming an arcane seal.
Suddenly, the Imperial Purple Qi that filled the skies above Shengming City quickly circulated, forming a purple curtain of light as it covered the entire Shengming City within it.
In a blink of an eye, the purple curtain of light was successfully formed, and none of the Heavenly Realm elites had managed to escape beyond the city’s perimeter.
Feng Gudao was the fastest and the first to reach the city wall. A green jade staff appeared in his hand, and with a wave, a sharp black light shot out.
The black light was like a sharp blade of light that had been fully condensed, and there was nothing that it could not destroy. Even a Neverwither Supreme Saint could not escape unscathed.
Baaaam!!!Baaaam!!!
The purple curtain of light shuddered a little, kicking up a wave-like ripple, but it was not physically damaged.
Feng Gudao did not continue to attack but stared at the purple light curtain. After a glance, his face suddenly became grim.
“The Imperial Purple Qi has fused with the holy veins beneath Shengming City, coupled with the powerful inscriptions engraved in the city wall. Damn you, Zhang Ruochen.” Feng Gudao hissed with almost gritted teeth.
The purple light curtain seemed to be very thin, yet it was extremely tough. Even when a Neverwither Supreme Saint was to strike at it, he may not force it open.
On the other side, Chi Sheng had also arrived at the wall. Moving at a thousand times the speed of sound, he unleashed his Overlord’s Fist.
“Break!”
Chi Sheng roared violently as he unleashed all of his power, leaving nothing behind.
Baaaaam!!! Baaaam!!!
The majestic power of the Overlord Fist was instantly absorbed by the purple light curtain, as like a clay toy dissolving inside water.
“To think that I cannot break this light curtain with my power.” Chi Sheng’s eyes were full of shock.
Immediately, Chi Sheng took out a short silver whip. It had been refined from the spine of a Neverwither Supreme Saint Silver Dragon, with more than 120 thousand inscriptions on it. It was a top-level sacred artifact.
Originally the Fane of Bashen had wanted to refine it into a King’s Weapon, but in the end, it fell short.
Normally, Chi Sheng liked to use his hands and fist to fight with others, but now he was forced to use this top-tier sacred artifact.
Chi Sheng continuously infused his saint Qi into the Silver Dragon Whip, rousing it to its strongest state.
“Rawrrrr!”
Following an earth-shaking dragon’s roar, and the Silver Dragon Whip transformed into a silver bone dragon as it crashed straight into the purple light curtain.
Baaam!!!Baaammm!!!
The power of the Silver Dragon Whip was terrifying, and the purple light curtain shook violently as it was smashed as several subtle cracks faintly appeared.
“Strike together.” Feng Gudao said secretly to all of the Heavenly Realm elites through telepathy.
All of them were now at different positions in Shengming City, if they launch their attacks individually, the destructive power would be limited.
If they were to attack together, and formed an energy resonance, it was possible to directly collapse the purple light curtain.
Immediately, the group of Heavenly Realm elites all moved.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen activated the Zangshan Demonic Mirror, letting it fly into the air and fusing with the purple light curtain.
With the majestic force’s blessings, hundreds of thousands of supreme inscriptions appeared on the Zangshan Demonic Mirror’s surface, covering the purple light curtain.
For a moment, the entire purple light curtain seemingly transformed into a huge mirror and reflected everything within the city with absolute clarity.
The moment the purple light curtain transformed, Feng Gudao and the others launched their strongest attacks.
Various powerful Saint Arts and sacred artifacts were unleashed, as the brilliant light made Shengming City shine brighter.
Yet, a very strange scene appeared.
The moment all of the saint arts and sacred artifacts struck the purple light curtain, all of them bounced back. Hence, they attacked the person who had unleashed the Saint Arts and sacred artifacts instead.
The sudden turn of events caught many of the Heavenly Realm elites off guard.
Baaaaam!!! Baaaam!!!
Some of them could not react in time and were struck by their own attacks, suffering serious wounds.
Even when some of them were able to react, they did not end up much better at all.
Chi Sheng was the worst, as the Silver Dragon Whip flew back and crash hard onto him.
Clang!
The Meritorious Armor of Flowing Light had blocked the attack, but the devastating force still sent Chi Sheng flying.
Dushhh!
Even the Meritorious Armor of Flowing Light and the Divine Marks could not fully ward off all of the power brought on by the Silver Dragon Whip. Chi Sheng got injured as a result, and he coughed out a mouthful of blood.
That was the strongest ever blow he had launched, and he never thought that the blow would land on him. At that very moment, Chi Sheng could really feel how strong his attack was.