bioinnovel Chapter 237 Zhao Shouzhen Dies in Battle!
Chapter 237 Zhao Shouzhen Dies in Battle!
The second arena above the deep ocean was filled with howling winds.
On the bronze-colored arena surface, the distorted skull reliefs seemed to come alive, wandering and wailing among the runes.
Against the backdrop of pitch-black void, pale arms occasionally extend out, only to be quickly swallowed by the darkness.
Zhao Shouzhen stood on the east side of the arena, his green robe fluttering in the cold wind.
The tip of the black judge's pen in his hand trembled slightly, and the shadowy image of the Book of Life and Death at his waist moved without wind.
On the other side, the auras of the three Grim Reapers pressed down like a tsunami.
Beneath Thanatos's black robe, two crimson lights shone, and his eyes were fixed on Zhao Shouzhen.
The spine-shaped scythe in his hand slowly rose, the dark power at the blade capable of devouring souls.
"The gods of China..."
The guardian of Thanatos, the man shrouded in gray mist, spoke in a chilling voice:
"You can write down your wishes in that notebook now!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the dark vortex behind Thanatos's phantom suddenly expanded, and countless pale undead arms reached out from it, grabbing at Zhao Shouzhen!
At the same time, the phantom of Anubis on the left moved.
The Grim Reaper, with the head of a jackal and the body of a human, held aloft golden scales, and illusory images began to appear on both sides of the scales.
One end depicts Zhao Shouzhen, while the other end is a pure black feather.
"Weigh your heart with the feathers of Maat."
An ancient Egyptian priest chanted incantations, and Anubis's scales began to tip!
Zhao Shouzhen immediately felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart and trying to rip it out and weigh it!
On the right, Hela's attacks are more direct.
The half-rotten phantom of the goddess let out a shrill laugh, and a dense army of undead surged from its decaying half-body.
There are Viking warriors missing limbs, frost giants covered in ice, and all sorts of twisted Norse monsters.
They roared and surged toward Zhao Shouzhen like a tidal wave!
Facing an attack from three sides, Zhao Shouzhen took a deep breath, pressed his left hand on the Book of Life and Death at his waist, and wrote swiftly in the air with his judge's pen in his right hand!
"The Laws of the Underworld, the First Law!"
"Yin and Yang are in harmony; the deceased return to their rightful place!"
Where the judge's pen swept across, ink-black runes condensed in the air, transforming into a ring-shaped barrier.
Thanatos's undead arms slammed against the barrier, emitting a sizzling sound, and then retreated into the darkness.
However, the barrier was also shaking violently!
Zhao Shouzhen continued writing without stopping:
"The second principle: If the heart is upright and without evil, what is there to fear in weighing?"
This time, the rune pierced directly into his chest.
The excruciating pain in his heart suddenly lessened, and on Anubis's scales, the side representing Zhao Shouzhen began to increase in weight!
The old priest's expression changed, and he hurriedly urged more divine power, trying to keep Anubis's attack going.
The scales shook violently, but could no longer tilt easily.
At this moment, Hela's undead army had already rushed in front of Zhao Shouzhen!
A resolute glint flashed in Zhao Shouzhen's eyes. He bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the judge's pen.
With blood staining his pen, he wrote the third rune in mid-air:
"The Third Law: The Judge wields his pen, summoning souls and claiming lives; evil spirits, begone!"
The crimson runes exploded, transforming into countless fine threads that rained down on the undead army.
Each strand of blood precisely pierced the forehead of a dead soul, pinning them to their spot!
The spirits let out mournful howls, their bodies began to melt, and they vanished into black smoke.
Zhao Shouzhen groaned, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
Using his life essence to power the judge's pen consumes his very life force!
"That's interesting."
The sage of Thanatos sneered:
"But how long can you hold out?"
He formed hand seals, and the phantom of Thanatos behind him moved again.
Thanatos slowly raised the scythe made of his spine, the darkness at the blade condensing to its extreme.
"Death Scythe - Soul Severance".
The sickle fell.
There was no earth-shattering noise, only a thin, hair-like black crack silently slicing through the void and spreading towards Zhao Shouzhen.
Wherever the crack passed, even the bronze runes on the arena were erased, leaving only a trace.
Zhao Shouzhen's pupils suddenly contracted.
This is the true power of the rules of death, capable of severing the connection between a living being and the real world, banishing him to the realm of death!
Zhao Shouzhen took a deep breath, abruptly opened the Book of Life and Death at his waist, his fingers quickly tracing the pages until he found a particular page. The judge's pen swiftly pointed to it:
"Lord Cui Jue, please help me!"
On the Book of Life and Death, Cui Jue's seal script suddenly lit up!
The next moment, a majestic phantom figure dressed in a red judge's robe and wearing a black gauze hat slowly appeared behind Zhao Shouzhen.
Judge Cui Jue held a phantom copy of the Book of Life and Death in his left hand and a crimson cinnabar pen in his right. His face was bronze, and his eyes were bright as stars.
He glanced at the approaching black crack and snorted coldly:
"The Western Grim Reaper dares to flaunt his authority over death before the judges of the Chinese underworld?"
A light touch with a vermilion pen.
A sliver of crimson light met the black crack.
The moment the two collided, the entire arena shook violently!
Crimson intertwines with darkness, vanishes, and is reborn...
The powerful collision caused cracks to appear in the void surrounding the arena!
Finally, the crimson light exploded, transforming into countless tiny runes that enveloped the black crack layer by layer, until the black crack finally disappeared.
Thanatos's guardian deity staggered back three steps, as gray mist churned.
"How is this possible?! Your power of death..."
"This is not the power of death."
Cui Jue's illusory voice echoed in the arena:
"This is order. The responsibility of the underworld is not to sever life and death, but to maintain the order of the cycle of yin and yang. You only know how to harvest life, but you do not understand the cycle of life and death, the way of the changing of all things. How shallow!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the cinnabar brush in Cui Jue's illusory hand moved again:
"Having entered the mythical arena, one shall be judged by the underworld."
"Zhao Shouzhen, unfold the Book of Life and Death! Today, I will teach these barbarians what true judgment is!"
Zhao Shouzhen was greatly encouraged and poured all his divine power into the Book of Life and Death at his waist.
The pages flipped wildly, finally settling on a blank page.
Cui Jue's illusory cinnabar brush swiftly swept across the arms of the three Divine Guardians.
A trickle of blood immediately appeared on their arms.
The man in the gray mist looked terrified.
"What have you done to us?!"
Cui Yu coldly retorted, "What did I do? You'll find out soon enough!"
After saying this, he dripped the blood from the judge's pen onto the blank page.
Suddenly, the names of three Western God-Keepers appeared on the blank paper.
"Those whose names are recorded in the Book of Life and Death have their lifespan determined by the underworld."
Cui Jue's voice carried supreme authority:
"I hereby sentence the three of you to have your lifespans reduced by three decades!"
Apply a heavy stroke with a vermilion pen.
On the other side of the arena, all three screamed in agony!
The gray mist surrounding the man suddenly thinned, revealing a pale, aged face beneath.
He used to look middle-aged, but now his face is full of wrinkles and his hair is gray!
The ancient Egyptian priest was in an even worse state. Already an old man, he was now completely hunched over, his skin covered with age spots, and he could no longer even hold the golden scales in his hand.
Although the Viking strongman had the strongest physique, his hair and beard turned completely white in an instant, and the glint in his single eye dimmed considerably.
"You...you can actually shorten a person's lifespan?!"
The old priest was terrified.
This divine power has surpassed their understanding of the power of death!
Death reaps souls after life ends.
And this judge can actually alter a person's lifespan before they even die?!
"The underworld governs the cycle of life and death, and lifespans are recorded therein."
Cui Jue's illusory figure said calmly:
"Today I am merely exercising my authority. If you admit defeat and retreat now, you may retain your remaining lifespans and live for a few more years. But if you remain obstinate..."
A vermilion pen hangs above the Book of Life and Death, its tip dripping vermilion.
The threat was self-evident.
But the three Divine Masters exchanged a glance, and madness flashed in their eyes.
Admit defeat?
The nation's fortune has declined by 30%, and the power of all the Divine Warriors has been reduced by 50%. Even if they surrender and return, they will be killed!
"Let's give it our all!"
The gray-mist man roared and suddenly tore open his robe, revealing a strange black tattoo—an upside-down skull.
"I offer up the remaining thirty years of my lifespan as a sacrifice, and respectfully invite the true form of Thanatos... to descend for a moment!"
The tattoo lit up, a black light shooting into the sky!
The illusory image of Thanatos behind him suddenly solidified several times over, the bones beneath the black robe were clearly visible, and the darkness on the scythe almost turned into a tangible liquid!
The ancient Egyptian priest went to great lengths, biting his ten fingers and smearing his blood on the golden scales:
"Great Anubis, I offer my heart as a sacrifice; please open your eyes of judgment!"
On his chest, a phantom heart appeared and disappeared into the phantom Anubis.
The Grim Reaper, with the head of a jackal and the body of a human, suddenly had golden light shining in his eyes. The scales in his hand expanded to ten zhang in size, and the power of judgment enveloped the entire arena!
The Viking strongman was the most ruthless; he chopped off his own left arm with a single stroke!
The severed arm turned into a bloody light and was absorbed by Hela's phantom.
The half-rotten goddess's rotten parts began to heal.
No, it's not healing, but a complete transformation into a death form!
The entire phantom transformed into a pure body of death energy, its aura surging!
The three Grim Reapers simultaneously sacrificed their own lives to forcibly elevate themselves to a level close to the true form of their descent!
The aura of death emanating from the west of the arena instantly overwhelmed that from the east.
Zhao Shouzhen's face turned deathly pale.
He could feel that Cui Jue's illusory image was also trembling.
After all, Cui Yu is currently only a divine shadow, not his true form.
"Master Cui..."
"It's alright."
Cui Jue's illusory voice remained calm:
"They sacrificed themselves for strength, but they couldn't last even a stick of incense. All we need to do is hold on."
As he spoke, the vermilion pen drew a huge circular rune in the air:
"The Great Array of Yin Laws of the Underworld - Protection of Reincarnation".
The runes unfolded, transforming into a semi-transparent light shield that protected Zhao Shouzhen within.
Almost simultaneously, the attacks of the three Grim Reapers arrived.
Thanatos's scythe struck the light shield, sending up a shower of black fire.
Anubis's scales pressed down, and the invisible force of judgment pressed down like a mountain.
Hela, transformed into a death energy body, crashed directly into it, frantically corroding the light shield!
The photomask vibrated violently, and cracks appeared on its surface.
Zhao Shouzhen gritted his teeth and persevered, while Cui Yu continuously repaired the formation with his judge's pen.
But to the naked eye, Cui Yu's divine figure became increasingly illusory.
"At this rate... we won't even last an incense stick's time..."
Zhao Shouzhen smiled bitterly to himself.
He glanced at the Book of Life and Death at his waist, a resolute glint in his eyes.
If we're going to defend, then we'll defend to the very end!
He abruptly flipped to the last page of the Book of Life and Death, a special page that was completely blank with gold foil embossing on the edges.
"Lord Cui, please allow me to use... the pages of the Book of Rebellion."
Cui Jue's illusory figure trembled and turned to look at him:
"Zhao Shouzhen, do you know the price of using this page?"
"Know."
Zhao Shouzhen gave a bitter laugh:
"A lifespan of sixty years is lost, and the soul is forever condemned to suffer in the underworld for a hundred years."
"But if we lose this contest, the fate of the Chinese nation will decline by 30%, and the power of the Divine Warriors will be halved. This would be a calamity of national subjugation and annihilation. What is personal sacrifice compared to that?"
Cui Jue's illusory figure remained silent for a moment, then sighed:
"allow."
Zhao Shouzhen smiled.
He bit his finger, using his blood as ink, and wrote a line on the gilded page:
[A judgment against fate, at the cost of my sixty years of lifespan and a hundred years of torment of my soul, in exchange for the arrival of Judge Cui Jue of the Underworld for thirty breaths!]
The words written in blood emitted a dazzling golden light.
The next moment, the entire page burst into flames!
Zhao Shouzhen's body aged at a visible rate, turning into a white-haired, dry-skinned, dying old man.
But his eyes were surprisingly bright.
"On my orders, I beseech Lord Cui Jue... to guard China!"
boom--!
The phantom of Cui Jue behind Zhao Shouzhen suddenly unleashed unparalleled divine power!
The illusory image of Cui Yu, which was about to dissipate, quickly solidified. The patterns on the red judge's robe were clearly visible, and his face under the black gauze hat was dignified. The Book of Life and Death and the vermilion pen in his hand were almost tangible!
At this moment, Judge Cui Jue appeared almost in his true form!
"You've gone too far."
Cui Jue spoke, his voice like a resounding bell, making the entire arena vibrate.
He raised his vermilion pen and pointed it at Thanatos:
"Those who disrupt the order of Yin and Yang shall enter the Hell of Tongue Pulling and suffer for a hundred years."
Thanatos swung his scythe to parry, but the instant the scythe touched the tip of the vermilion pen...
Click!
The spine, like a sickle, is broken!
The gray-mist man coughed up blood, and the illusory Thanatos behind him screamed and shattered into pieces!
Cui Jue then shifted his focus, pointing to Anubis:
"Those who falsely claim to be judges shall enter the Mirror of Retribution in hell, to see their own sins reflected therein."
The golden scales in Anubis's hands, on their mirror-like tray, suddenly reflected the old priest's life's work, including his sin of sacrificing his own children to gain power!
"No--!"
The old priest clutched his head and screamed in agony; reflected in the mirror of evil, his soul began to burn itself.
Anubis's phantom let out a mournful cry and vanished in golden light.
Finally, Cui Jue looked at Hela:
"Those who are obsessed with death and hate life will enter the Avici Hell and never be reborn."
With a vermilion pen, he wrote the character "镇" (zhen, meaning town/town) in mid-air.
The character "镇" (zhen) transformed into a beam of golden light, pressing down on Hela like Mount Tai, pinning her firmly to the arena.
The Viking giant collapsed to the ground, his bones shattered, while the phantom of Hela behind him gradually vanished in the golden light.
Thirty breaths, just thirty breaths.
The three Grim Reapers, who were close to their true forms descending, were all defeated!
Cui Jue's illusory figure slowly turned around, looking at Zhao Shouzhen, who had aged beyond recognition, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes:
Is it worth it?
Zhao Shouzhen opened his mouth, his voice weak:
"For China...it's worth it."
After saying that, everything went black before his eyes, and he fell backward.
Cui Jue's illusory figure sighed, and touched his brow with a vermilion pen:
"Your lifespan has come to an end, but I can grant you three more days to bid farewell to your friends."
Zhao Shouzhen nodded with difficulty, then fell into a complete coma.
Cui Jue's illusory figure looked up at the void of the arena's mythical stage:
"This match can be decided."
The golden scroll unfolds, divine runes flowing within:
[Judgment: Zhao Shouzhen of China wins!]
[Western Alliance suffers defeat in the second Mythic Arena battle!]
[Punishment: National fortune will decrease by another 30%! The power of the Divine Guardians in all member states of the alliance will be forcibly reduced by 50% for one year!]
Rumble—!
Above the deep ocean, four of the twelve illusory divine pillars shattered!
This time, even the pillars representing the main gods such as Odin and Zeus showed cracks!
The entire Western alliance was in turmoil.
With the nation's fortunes declining by 40% and the power of the Divine Guardians halved, the Western Alliance will be extremely weak in the coming year.
And the land of China is once again in an uproar!
"We won! We won again!"
"Old Zhao... Old Zhao, he..."
Some cheered, while others, seeing Zhao Shouzhen's aged and dying appearance, wept.
Inside a secret chamber in the Forbidden City, Old Master Mo slammed his fist on the table, tears streaming down his face.
"Shuzhen... won this victory with his life!"
The three monks of Tang closed their eyes and chanted Buddhist prayers, with tear stains at the corners of their eyes.
Yuan Qingsheng and Ma Tao clenched their fists so tightly that their nails dug into their palms.
Su Fan, who was in the quiet room, saw this scene through the light screen. He slowly knelt down and kowtowed three times towards the arena.
"Farewell, Senior Zhao."