Chapter 154: Assistance

Bang!

With a muffled sound, blood splashed as a wound opened on Zhou Tian's shoulder. The God King withdrew his ancient golden spear, blood dripping from its tip.

"You are no match for me!"

The God King's gaze was cold, like lightning flashing from an ice cave. It was precisely the ancient spear in his hand that had just pierced Zhou Tian's shoulder.

"Do not jump to conclusions before the very last moment."

Zhou Tian laughed nonchalantly. His wound was already healing, and his massive palm condensed countless bolts of lightning, slashing directly at the God King.

The God King's pupils constricted, and he shouted,

"Court death!"

Clang, clang, clang!

A billion spear beams bloomed, dazzling to the extreme, as if reopening the divine realm. This was the signature supreme art of the King of Gods, his unique divine technique.

Upon his body, a layer of brilliant wings seemed to manifest, transforming into a divine bird that spread its wings to soar and shoot straight into the sky!

Countless phantom images of the ancient spear followed, densely packed. With a slight vibration from him, a billion spear beams stabbed outward, threatening to destroy the heavens and the earth!

Zhou Tian's expression sank. The opponent's weapon was a shattered Celestial Venerable artifact, and his divine abilities could also be called peerless. Coupled with the fact that he was a powerhouse of the Celestial Venerable level since ancient times, his combat experience was incomparably rich. This was completely different from fighting the Holy Demon, and already he had fallen into a disadvantageous position.

However, Zhou Tian's own physique naturally executed a powerful counterattack. Every single pore on his body was spewing flames, surrounded by lightning. Viewed from afar, he looked like a blazing sun, with lethal strikes emanating from every part of his body!

Boom!

The heavens collapsed and the earth split; this expanse of the void was on the verge of destruction.

"Zheng, zheng..."

Chaos Qi surged and clashed violently!

A brilliant radiance filled the space between the two of them, completely engulfing them in spear light. The King of Gods was like a divine spear; with every tremor, the heavens and myriad realms were on the verge of being cleaved and pierced through.

Zhou Tian, on the other hand, was like a scorching sun, his entire body dazzling with billions of strands of crimson-gold flames and turbulent lightning. These were not ordinary flames and lightning, but a heterogenous energy forged from the harmonization of Yin and Yang, containing unfathomable might.

"Pfft!"

In the end, blood gushed from Zhou Tian's abdomen as a beam of spear light pierced straight through him, leaving a clear hole from front to back. That was a lethal ultimate strike from the God King—a fatal blow hidden among the billions of spear beams, aimed directly at his heart. Though it missed the heart, it struck his abdomen.

"Oh no!"

"Tian'er!"

"Zhou Tian!"

In various locations, people cried out in alarm. Zhou Changsheng, Zhou Zui, Tianling, and the others were tense to the extreme, their hearts leaping into their throats. They were utterly worried and terrified.

Even Yan Mo was extremely nervous, because Zhou Tian no longer represented just an individual at this moment. If he were defeated, it was likely that none of those present would be able to escape.

"Why have you continuously used heterogenous energy to battle me? At this level of cultivation, the practitioner's own will contained within their divine abilities is the strongest weapon. You... there is something wrong with you!"

The King of Gods stood holding his spear. After recovering from his initial shock and exchanging blows with Zhou Tian, he keenly discovered Zhou Tian's anomaly.

The application of heterogenous energy came naturally as one's realm improved and one's comprehension of the cosmos deepened; most powerhouses would not choose to fight in this manner.

"Your observation is quite keen. I only hope that you, old timer, can manage to defeat me within your limited time."

Zhou Tian pressed a hand against the wound on his abdomen as green energy coursed through it. This was the energy of life, which possessed miraculous efficacy for healing injuries.

He was putting up a bold front despite lacking the strength. His own time was also limited; nearly half of the thirty-one seconds had already passed, and he had no idea how much longer the King of Gods could persist.

"If this continues, Tian'er will surely lose!"

Zhou Changsheng's expression was tense.

"The King of Gods possesses a Celestial Venerable artifact, and his own combat experience is exceedingly abundant. Tian'er has merely used some method to forcibly attain this realm; we must not let this continue!"

"Let me do it. Neither of your Celestial Venerable artifacts retains a vessel spirit; only my ruling ruler still has a shred of sentience that can be borrowed."

Yan Mo spoke up. Reaching this juncture, no one could harbor selfish motives, for doing so would be tantamount to seeking death!

Zhou Changsheng and Xuan Zhenzi exchanged glances and nodded. Complete Celestial Venerable artifacts possessed vessel spirits; indeed, the vessel spirits of some powerful Celestial Venerable artifacts were no less formidable than a true Celestial Venerable.

Their own Celestial Venerable artifacts were on the verge of shattering, and their vessel spirits no longer existed—they were bound to them through special methods, usable only by themselves. Only Yan Mo's ruler still possessed a vessel spirit and had not been bound using such special means.

Yan Mo's hand once again manifested the ancient ruler, which floated in the air, unadorned and plain.

Swish!

The ancient ruler darted forward, while Yan Mo's physical body directly exploded into pieces. Zhou Changsheng and Xuan Zhenzi joined forces, causing Yan Mo's body to reaggregate, though it was now dim and lusterless, tottering on the brink of collapse.

Rumble!

Thunder rolled, and a thunder dragon descended from the sky—it was the Lord of Thunder taking action to intercept the ancient ruler.

Crack!

The thunder dragon was shattered, but the momentum of the ancient ruler remained unabated. The Lord of Thunder wore a gloomy expression. The golden ancient spear had been taken back by the Lord of Gods, and at this moment, they lacked Celestial Venerable artifacts, making it difficult for them to mount a matching defense.

"May eternal light be granted unto me!" chanted the King of Gods.

His physical body spontaneously disintegrated, transforming into Dao symbols that permeated the sky, turning into a terrifying ocean of order as he charged toward Zhou Tian.

"So what if it is heterogenous energy?!"

In an instant, he manifested a thunder pool. Within it, not only was there lightning light, but also various heterogenous energies: Yin and Yang dual qi, golden flames, black billows. A true phoenix danced amidst them, and fragments of time drifted there. Even if it was merely heterogenous energy, so what? Belonging equally to the half-step Celestial Venerable tier of energy, how much worse could it be?

Using the thunder pool as a foundation, supreme heterogenous energy was being brewed. Hazy chaotic mist enshrouded the area, and all the heterogenous energies converged into Chaos Qi. This was currently known to be the only energy that could not be directly manipulated; even Celestial Venerables found it difficult to directly condense it with their own power, able only to gather and fuse it.

Swish!

From within the ocean of order transformed by the God King, a golden long spear stabbed forth, carrying a biting intent to kill, brilliant to the extreme. Golden light flooded this expanse of the void!

The thunder pool dragged the Chaos Qi along to resist it!

Boom!

Everything here detonated, the void shattering like glass. Zhou Tian was sent flying backward, Chaos Qi billowing around him. The King of Gods re-formed his physical body, swaying slightly as well; the erosive power of Chaos Qi was exceptionally rare in the world, and just now, his bodily manifestation as an ocean had been soaked by the Chaos Qi.

Just as he intended to wield his spear and press the attack, his pupils suddenly constricted and his body shifted slightly. A streak of flowing light grazed past his ear, severing a strand of crystalline, brilliant hair.

Meanwhile, Zhou Tian in the distance felt a stir in his mind and extended his hand. An ancient ruler fell into his palm, instantly expanding millions of times to perfectly suit his current colossal dharma body.

Simultaneously, streams of information poured from the ruler into his mind. Zhou Tian laughed heartily,

"The affairs of the world are truly fickle!"

"Cultivate and transform all living beings!"

Zhou Tian waved the ancient ruler in his hand, and a river of righteousness emerged—boundless and limitless, with no discernible source or end. Within the long river were thousands of wondrous phenomena: the phantom images of the ancient teachers from the dawn of time, alongside infants babbling as they learned to read and recite. This was the vision of cultivating and transforming all sentient beings.

It actually bore a striking resemblance to the divine ability displayed earlier by Zheng Yusheng.