A Millionfold Return: My Children Cultivate Immortality, I Become a God - Chapter 343

Chapter 343: The Array Rises

At this moment, around the center of the array, Li Pangtian and the others were still in secluded meditation. Yet, the aura they emanated was terrifyingly intense, causing the very fabric of space and time around them to warp. Immortal Emperor-level cultivators in the Upper Realm had long since mastered the ability to freely traverse the river of time and space.

As Li Pangtian and the others’ auras grew stronger, countless terrifying spectral images emerged from the river of time and space to observe them, their expressions extremely grave.

Li Pangtian and the others remained unaware of this.

Finally, as time passed, their auras each broke through to the Immortal Emperor Pinnacle.

The instant their auras reached this pinnacle, a fearsome Thunder Tribulation appeared over the Central Region’s skies. This alarming phenomenon immediately caught the attention of countless powerful figures in the Xuanyuan Realm, who all turned their gaze toward the Central Region, their expressions deeply serious.

Inside the Blood Soul Sect, the Blood Emperor also looked toward the Central Region with a grim expression.

Originally, he had planned to send his Immortal Emperor Pinnacle elders to first exhaust the power of the Five Holy Lords, so that he could then strike and eliminate them with ease. After all, from previous clashes, he had sensed the terrifying power contained within the five bells the Five Holy Lords wielded. It was just that the Five Holy Lords had been unable to unleash the full strength of those five bells.

If that power were ever fully unleashed, even with the divine artifact left behind by the Blood Soul Sect Envoys to assist him, victory would be impossible.

“Damn it!”

The moment the Blood Emperor spoke, he resolved to stop holding back. He decided to go immediately to interrupt the breakthrough of Li Pangtian and the others—there was no way he could allow them to successfully reach the Immortal Emperor Pinnacle. Otherwise, combined with the aid of those five bells, even he might not prevail.

Meanwhile, on the other side, after Zhang Ruochen was pulled into the inner space by the Blood Soul Sect elder, he found himself in an extremely passive position. Although he had one advantage over the Blood Soul Sect elder—the assistance of the Nine-grade Immortal Emperor Artifact, the Immortal Emperor Sword—the elder was a small realm higher than him. This difference in strength completely nullified the advantage Zhang Ruochen’s weapon gave him.

So now, Zhang Ruochen was in a highly disadvantageous situation, forced into a defensive stance. While he wouldn’t be killed by the Blood Soul Sect elder in the short term, the longer the fight dragged on, the less certain that became.

“I have to find an opportunity,” Zhang Ruochen thought to himself. Unlike the Blood Soul Sect elder, whose realm had advanced through cultivation combined with absorbing blood energy to break through, Zhang Ruochen had fought his way up purely through sheer hard work. This meant his combat experience far surpassed that of the elder.

When the Blood Soul Sect elder charged again, Zhang Ruochen seized the chance, driving him back with a single sword strike before quickly beginning to maneuver around.

The Blood Soul Sect elder immediately followed closely behind. When he appeared behind Zhang Ruochen, Zhang landed a swift strike that forced the elder to dodge.

Because of the disparity in their cultivation, the elder could catch up to Zhang Ruochen as long as he gave his all. Consequently, Zhang was only able to move a short distance before being caught again.

Seeing this, Zhang Ruochen swallowed his frustration and turned back once more. Another sword strike forced the elder back, and then Zhang spun around and dashed forward at full speed again.

What the Blood Soul Sect elder didn’t notice was that with each step Zhang Ruochen took, a force under his feet seeped slowly into the ground. From a distance, Zhang’s rapid movement actually traced a circular path.

With the elder pouring all his effort into the chase, Zhang Ruochen’s energy was quickly nearing exhaustion. Seeing this, the Blood Soul Sect elder halted and sneered.

“Zhang Ruochen, surrender. If you swear the Heavenly Dao Oath pledging eternal loyalty to the Blood Soul Sect, then I may spare your life.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ruochen involuntarily stopped and turned to look at the Blood Soul Sect elder. Just when the elder thought Zhang was tempted, he was surprised to see a face full of disgust instead.

“If you want me to become a dog for your Blood Soul Sect, then wait until I perish before we talk about that.”

“Hmph, courting death. In that case, I’ll send you on your way!”

During the ensuing battle, the Blood Soul Sect elder no longer held back. Yet Zhang Ruochen, relying on his vast combat experience, skillfully turned danger into safety each time. Even so, the difference in their strength meant that experience alone couldn’t sustain him for long in this fight.

Soon, many wounds glowing with scarlet light appeared on Zhang Ruochen’s body—none of them could heal. But Zhang didn’t mind; to a true warrior, scars were the mark of true honor.

“Almost there, just a little more,” Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.

The next instant, the Blood Soul Sect elder appeared right in front of Zhang Ruochen, thrusting his spear directly at him. Seeing this, Zhang parried the attack with a swift lift and slash of his sword, deflecting the elder’s assault.

Then, with a powerful palm strike, he sent the Blood Soul Sect elder flying backward.

After receiving Zhang Ruochen’s palm strike, the Blood Soul Sect elder’s expression turned extremely grim. He hadn’t expected Zhang Ruochen to still be able to injure him under these circumstances. After all, the elder was at the Immortal Emperor Pinnacle—one minor realm above Zhang—and he could clearly see that Zhang was already at his last breath.

“But this is precisely the kind of genius it excites me most to crush!”

The elder’s face was filled with a bloodthirsty expression. He loved destroying geniuses, especially those stronger than himself. In the next moment, scarlet blood energy surged all over his body, making him look like a colossal crimson-furred ominous beast from a distance.

Having unleashed his full strength, the Blood Soul Sect elder wasted no time. Within seconds, he charged at Zhang Ruochen and fiercely swiped a claw toward him.

Zhang Ruochen spun around and thrust his sword forward, but the elder struck him with a heavy palm that sent him flying. The force behind that palm was without restraint—the Blood Soul Sect elder held nothing back. Zhang had no power to resist and spat several mouthfuls of old blood mid-air.

As he came to a stop, Zhang Ruochen looked up to see the Blood Soul Sect elder advancing step by step toward him. Each step carried immense oppressive pressure, causing involuntary tremors deep within Zhang’s heart.

Yet Zhang knew that now was absolutely not the moment to shudder or show any sign of weakness. If he did, defeat would be certain.

With that thought, Zhang Ruochen forced himself to stand, looking at the Blood Soul Sect elder with a cold sneer.

“So, do you think you’ve already won?”

“Oh? Isn’t that so?”

The Blood Soul Sect elder was momentarily taken aback when he heard Zhang Ruochen’s words.

“Of course not. The array is activated!”

Zhang Ruochen sneered coldly. The next second, he stomped his foot, and in an instant, the deep blue light erupted from where he had been moving. Countless beams shot up from the ground, quickly forming a massive cage.

At the sight of the cage, the elder’s previously calm expression, unchanged since his arrival, finally shifted. Surprised, he said,

“What! An array? When did this happen?”