The space within the Clear Sky Glazed Dome was filled with chaotic and powerful divine qi.
A subtle yet overwhelmingly radiant divine might emanated from the golden chariot, calming the sea surface to mirror-like stillness and pressing down on the three gods present until they could hardly breathe.
“If this young master were to gamble with you, do you think you could detonate your divine source?”
Xuanyuan Lian’s cold voice rang out from within the golden chariot.
God Lord Jiayu’s eyes flashed with panic, but his mind remained steady. He immediately directed blame towards Zhang Ruochen. He said, “Young Master Lian, that Taoist Qingpingzi is the Heavenly Court traitor Zhang Ruochen. He has come to the Tianchu Civilization with ulterior motives. Quickly apprehend him.”
“Shua!”
A trace of tension flickered in Chi Yao’s eyes as she glanced towards the golden chariot.
Behind her, a speck of chaotic light emerged, like a seed blooming into a Spacetime Chaos Lotus. Though the Blood-Dripping Sword still pointed at God Lord Jiayu’s brow, she was already prepared to intercept Xuanyuan Lian and buy time for Zhang Ruochen to escape.
Zhang Ruochen sensed divine sense scrutiny from Xuanyuan Lian, like an invisible yet ferocious force surging towards him. The six divine swords floating around him trembled lightly.
“So powerful. His cultivation definitely surpasses the Taiyi Realm!”
Xuanyuan Lian’s voice sounded. “Zhang Ruochen, since you have become the Realm Lord of Xinghuan Heaven, you should stay content. Why interfere in the internal affairs of the Heavenly Court?”
Since he had been exposed, Zhang Ruochen saw no point in continuing the disguise. He removed the “Qingpingzi” mask, revealing a young, handsome face and a tall, carefree figure. He said, “If the Heavenly Court could handle its internal affairs properly, why would this Realm Lord need to interfere?”
“You meddle too much! Do you truly believe this young master was unaware of tonight’s events?” Xuanyuan Lian said.
Even facing a being like Xuanyuan Lian, Zhang Ruochen showed no fear. He said, “In this game within Dousui City alone, this Realm Lord has been one step ahead of you at every turn. This already proves your ability is inferior to mine. As the son of a Heavenly Venerable, with the assistance of Zhuang Taia and the Red Dust Peerless Tower, yet you fall behind at every step. What qualification do you have to call me a meddler?”
After a moment of silence, the voice from the golden chariot spoke again. “Good. Very good. You have won this round! But there will be plenty more opportunities for us to cross paths in the future!”
God Lord Jiayu grew increasingly uneasy as he listened. Xuanyuan Lian seemed to have no intention of dealing with Zhang Ruochen.
How could this be?
He did not know that the issues Xuanyuan Lian considered had already risen to the level of confrontation between the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm camps.
How could Zhang Ruochen be a minor figure to be touched lightly?
Zhang Ruochen was the Realm Lord of Xinghuan Heaven. Behind him stood the Nine Heavens, Tianlao, even Xing Tianya, and the Lord of the Fallen God Island who had given him the mask.
Any one of these figures, taken alone, would make Xuanyuan Lian think thrice before acting.
Just as Yu Rumors had advised Zhang Ruochen when persuading him to become Realm Lord of Xinghuan Heaven: “Becoming master of Xinghuan Heaven will only benefit you. It will not harm you.”
What were those benefits?
The benefit was that, whether in the Heavenly Court or Hell Realm, those cultivators who truly considered the bigger picture would no longer lightly become enemies with Zhang Ruochen.
Whoever became his enemy would effectively push Xinghuan Heaven to the opposing side.
After the previous war, Xinghuan Heaven had already been forced to the brink of possibly choosing a side at any moment.
Everything Zhang Ruochen had done upon coming to the Tianchu Civilization this time had been in aid of the Heavenly Court.
He had personally slain two gods from the Hell Realm.
As a representative figure of the Heavenly Palace, as long as Xuanyuan Lian’s mind was sound, he should secretly draw Zhang Ruochen closer to ease Xinghuan Heaven’s hostility towards the Heavenly Court.
Killing Zhang Ruochen, or capturing him to take to the Heavenly Palace, would only invite countless enemies who were not originally foes.
In this world, were there truly eternal enemies?
There were only eternal interests.
Zhang Ruochen had seen through this layer, so no matter how high Xuanyuan Lian’s cultivation, he felt no fear in his heart.
Leaving behind the ruthless words “plenty more opportunities in the future” served to salvage a bit of face. Xuanyuan Lian’s divine might eased considerably from Zhang Ruochen, shifting instead to God Lord Jiayu. He said, “No need for this young master to ask, I suppose? Confess everything you know yourself.”
God Lord Jiayu’s eyes struggled, as if still pondering various strategies. Unfortunately, in the end, he found he had no options before Xuanyuan Lian.
He closed his eyes and sighed lightly. Then he bowed with clasped fists. He said, “If this lord… if Jiayu confesses everything, can it exchange for lenient punishment from the Heavenly Palace?”
“This young master has always admired your talent and potential. As long as your wrongdoing is not too deep, I will surely preserve your life and cultivation,” the voice from the golden chariot replied.
God Lord Jiayu had not expected a chance to preserve his cultivation. Joy appeared on his face as he prepared to speak.
A piercing flute sound rang out across this expanse of heaven and earth.
Sound waves attacked God Lord Jiayu, instantly shattering his eardrums. His body nearly leapt up. He let out a shrill scream of agony.
Seawater exploded. Air burst. Rules of heaven and earth shattered one after another.
The flute sound seemed capable of destroying everything in the world.
A bone flute, unbeknownst when, hovered above everyone’s heads. No cultivator played it. It sounded of its own accord.
Chi Yao’s twelve-layered heavens collapsed. Her body swayed unsteadily. Her divine soul nearly flew out. Fortunately, she urged the Spacetime Chaos Lotus at the first moment, pulling her divine soul back.
Zhang Ruochen’s situation was no better than Chi Yao’s. He immediately contracted the Taiji circle to eighteen zhang, barely stabilising his divine soul. But the tearing pain transmitted from his divine soul made it impossible for him to circulate divine qi. The surroundings spun. He could only rely on mental will to resist.
The two of them were merely struck by the flute sound’s residual waves.
God Lord Jiayu was at the very centre of the flute sound’s attack wave.
The nine bone clan gods pulling the golden chariot had their divine souls seized by the sound waves and drawn into the flute.
“Bang! Bang! Bang…”
Nine consecutive explosions rang out. Their divine bones shattered.
From within the golden chariot, a seven-chi-long nine-stringed zither flew out. Its strings were plucked by invisible hands, erupting in thunder-like zither notes that countered the sound waves formed by the bone flute.
God Lord Jiayu bled from all seven orifices. His already heavily injured body from Zhang Ruochen sprouted numerous bloody wounds.
If the nine-stringed zither had not flown out in time, his divine soul would already have been seized by the bone flute.
The bone flute descended from the sky, emanating a chilling aura. Sound waves spread outward in circles, like sharp swords piercing straight towards God Lord Jiayu’s head.
The nine-stringed zither flipped over, colliding towards the bone flute.
“Boom!”
Deafening sound waves spread in all directions, impacting Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao.
Even with the Seven Origins Colourful Robe and Buddhist relic protecting him, Zhang Ruochen still suffered greatly. His body flew out, crashing into the glazed light wall.
What struck him as strange was that such powerful divine force collision had not shattered the Clear Sky Glazed Dome. His heart jolted. He looked towards the bone flute. Suddenly, an idea he found hard to accept emerged.
All strings of the nine-stringed zither snapped. It flew obliquely away.
From within the golden chariot rang an extremely high-pitched divine note, like a phoenix cry or furious dragon roar. An indistinct silhouette of light manifested atop the chariot.
Behind that silhouette emerged shadows of nine majestic divine halls, each more imposing than the last.
Zhang Ruochen recognised shadows of two among them: the “Truth Divine Hall” and the “Merit Divine Hall”.
One could only wonder what divine path Xuanyuan Lian cultivated. In battle, he could actually manifest nine great divine halls. Could he borrow power from all nine?
“Zhang Ruochen, lend me the divine swords!”
Xuanyuan Lian’s voice grew unusual, quite strange.
But affected by the bone flute, Zhang Ruochen did not hear clearly.
Dense sword path rules filled the entire space, pulling the six divine swords towards the top of the golden chariot. They circled the silhouette of light, emitting “shua shua” sounds.
Time mark light points flew from one of the divine halls, forming a massive vortex.
Standing at the centre of the time mark vortex, the silhouette swung a sword. The six divine swords erupted in unparalleled powerful divine force, combining with time power.
Zhang Ruochen pressed his hands together. Buddhist light radiated from his body as he resisted the flute sound. His gaze turned towards the golden chariot. He uttered, “This is… the seventh layer of Time Swordsmanship, Fleeting Years Swordsmanship, Passing Water and Years…”
The bone flute and six divine swords were originally mere inches apart. In an instant, they clashed. Yet to Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao, it felt as if years had passed.
“Boom!”
Bright divine patterns emerged on the bone flute, manifesting a divine shadow that knocked the six divine swords scattering. All time mark light points were annihilated.
“Puchi!”
The bone flute pierced through God Lord Jiayu’s skull, shattering his divine body. His divine source cracked. His flesh turned into blood-coloured petals.
The silhouette of light atop the golden chariot exploded. Sounds of vomiting blood and collapsing rang from within the chariot.
The flute sound ceased. The bone flute collected fragments of God Lord Jiayu’s divine source, divine soul, and divine blood. Yet it did not attack Zhang Ruochen, Chi Yao, or Xuanyuan Lian in the golden chariot further. It did not even take the six divine swords. It flew straight away.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes struggled. Finally, summoning courage as if making a major decision, he suddenly dispersed the Buddhist light on his body and chased after the bone flute. He said, “Lord God King, killing only God Lord Jiayu cannot cover the truth.”
This time, between reason and emotion, he chose emotion.
The bone flute halted above the water surface.
Chi Yao’s long hair hung loose. Divine light on her body flickered uncertainly. With an expression of incomprehension, she looked towards Zhang Ruochen.
Seeing the bone flute stop, Zhang Ruochen grew even more certain of his guess. He said, “Since Lord God King has come, why dare you not show yourself? The great world of Tianchu Civilization is your domain.”
After a long pause.
Space trembled lightly. A tall figure stepped out from invisible space, extending a withered yet vigorous hand to grasp the bone flute.
He was shrouded in a misty layer of mysterious power. Even mobilising the power of truth, Zhang Ruochen could not clearly see his face. But he could confirm that the other was undoubtedly the world-renowned God King Yu.
The figure in Tianchu Civilization second only to the old Heavenly Lord.
The momentum he erupted far surpassed Xuanyuan Lian’s by untold degrees, like an emperor overlooking the heavens. Those eyes gazed down like heavenly gods upon the mortal world. In a flat tone, he said, “Zhang Ruochen, why must you come to Tianchu Civilization to disrupt everything? Do you realise how many people have already died because of you?”
