Xuan Yuan Qing continued, “What the Heavenly Palace can do is the same as what you can do in Kunlun Realm. It can only maintain impartiality on major directions, striving to balance and mediate. But it cannot override the law of the jungle.”
“A Heavenly Venerate was born in the Myriad Ruins Realm, yet he never interferes in its affairs. The War God Bian Zhuang was born in the Pangu Realm, but he has not returned to the Pangu Realm for hundreds of thousands of years. Senior Zhao Gongming was born in Sword King Realm, yet apart from guiding the Clear Sky Sword King in cultivation, he dares not involve himself in any worldly matters of Sword King Realm.”
“Everyone wants to remain as fair as possible. They do not wish for the interests of their mother realm to influence their decisions and worsen the internal divisions within Heaven Court.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “You stand too high to see the cultivators below. Are those below truly the same?”
“It is precisely because human hearts are hard to unify, and selfish petty villains exist everywhere, that faith is needed.” Xuan Yuan Qing said.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “The cultivators I have seen who practise the way of light are not as kind, upright, and selfless as you describe. So if you wish to convince me to believe in light, join the Bright Shrine, and help resolve the conflict between Kunlun Realm and Heaven Realm, forgive me for being unable to do so.”
He stood up and grasped the Qing Ping Sword.
Xuan Yuan Qing met Zhang Ruochen’s gaze, paused slightly, and then released her hand.
Zhang Ruochen held the sword, opened the door, and walked out.
From behind came Xuan Yuan Qing’s voice, “Daoist friend’s understanding of light should begin with Xuan Yuan Qing.”
After walking far away, Zhang Ruochen finally let out a long breath. He had to admit that Xuan Yuan Qing was a formidable persuader. If Zhang Ruochen had not clashed so deeply with the Heaven Realm faction and harboured such profound hatred, he might truly have accepted her ideals and perspective.
Light itself was perhaps not wrong.
But the cultivators of the Bright Shrine, Zhang Ruochen truly looked down on every single one of them.
As this thought flashed through his mind, he saw more than a dozen great saints from the Bright Shrine and Wind Clan gathered ahead. Among them, one woman stood out with the highest cultivation, already at the peak of half-god realm. Her face was coldly beautiful, and her white armour accentuated the alluring curves of her chest and hips.
It was Lian Xi, the secular Grand Palace Master of the Judgment Palace, formerly known as the Shadowless Immortal.
Those great saints had surrounded the drunken Mister Mo, whose face was flushed red from alcohol, and were listening to him speak.
Mister Mo slurred his words heavily, his voice deep and muddled. “Wu Yue’s mental power will not be below the eighty-fourth level. Otherwise, with Fourth Master’s profound attainments in the way of truth, how could he fail to detect her? The way of truth specifically counters illusion dao.”
Gasps of astonishment rose from all around.
One great saint said, “It is said that mental power at the eightieth level already grants combat power equivalent to a Tai Xu Great God. At the eighty-fourth level, would that not allow one to contend with Immeasurable Realm?”
Mister Mo chuckled. “That would still fall a bit short! What do you little brats know? Before the eightieth level, each step in mental power is a heavenly chasm. The gap is enormous, making cross-realm battles extremely difficult.”
“After reaching the eightieth level, the difficulty of improving mental power rises sharply, but the gap in combat power narrows. For example, an eighty-level talisman dao divine master who refines a powerful divine talisman can fight against an eighty-first or eighty-second level mental power expert. Challenging an eighty-third level one is not impossible.”
“Of course, provided the opponent has no powerful trump cards.”
“Otherwise, the absolute advantage of realm is not so easily overcome.”
“The true great leaps in mental power come at the eighty-fifth level, where a single thought can determine the cosmos, and at the ninetieth level, the perfect heavenly circle. In the entire universe, fewer than ten have reached the perfect heavenly circle, and each one is renowned far and wide.”
A great saint asked, “Then what level is Old Mister at? Could you fight Wu Yue?”
“Me? Still stuck at the peak of the seventy-ninth level. If I fought Wu Yue, hmm… she would only need to call my name to use illusion dao and trap me in an illusion. Why ask such a disheartening question? Are you trying to humiliate this old man?” Mister Mo scolded them harshly.
Zhang Ruochen did not linger there, nor did he have any intention of meeting Lian Xi, because he had noticed something that sent chills down his spine.
Xuan Yuan Qing’s earlier words did not sound like she was trying to recruit an ordinary Qing Pingzi with limited lifespan remaining. They sounded more like she was recruiting Zhang Ruochen. It was very likely that Xuan Yuan Lian had already told his sister Qing Pingzi’s true identity.
If that was the case, was Lian Xi’s presence here deliberate?
Zhang Ruochen had rejected her so decisively earlier. Had that caused her to lose patience?
Once his identity was exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The more Zhang Ruochen thought about it, the more he felt that staying on the Xu Wind Divine Ship was dangerous. Just as he prepared to take the risk, change his appearance, rescue Little Black and Blood Slaughter, then activate his hidden cards to escape…
Suddenly, he looked up and saw a black divine sword appear in the distant void.
Frost City Demon’s figure stood upon the sword, gazing remotely at the Xu Wind Divine Ship.
Since Frost City Demon had revealed himself, Wu Yue must surely be nearby.
Loud horn blasts rang out across the divine ship.
The gods all emerged, adopting a stance as if facing a great enemy.
The divine light of truth radiating from Wind and Cloud Overlord illuminated heaven and earth. He peered into the distance, searching for Wu Yue’s traces.
Frost City Demon’s voice thundered like divine lightning. “Wind and Cloud Overlord, the time has come to take your life and extinguish every living being on the Xu Wind Divine Ship. If you voluntarily surrender half your divine soul and kneel before Lord Wu Yue, today I can spare their lives.”
Wind and Cloud Overlord’s eyes blazed. “You should first withstand one sword from this seat before saying such words.”
The Pure Yang Divine Sword soared through the air. The artefact’s light instantly ignited the darkness, causing the space for millions of miles to boil.
During these recent days, the gods on the Xu Wind Divine Ship had felt utterly stifled, living constantly under the shadow of the Dark Shrine yet unable to find their foe.
Wind and Cloud Overlord could see that this was Frost City Demon’s true body, not an illusion. How could he let him escape so easily again?
This sword unleashed the full power of the divine artefact, locking onto Frost City Demon with the intent to slay him in one strike and force Wu Yue to reveal herself.
Indeed, after the Pure Yang Divine Sword struck out, it froze space and time, suppressing Frost City Demon until he could hardly move.
Strangely, Frost City Demon showed no intention of resisting the sword intent of the Pure Yang Divine Sword. Instead, a smile appeared in his eyes.
“Something is not right!”
Zhang Ruochen sensed the eerie atmosphere. A chill crept up his back.
“Pfft!”
Wind and Cloud Overlord, standing at the top of the third level of the Xu Wind Divine Ship, suddenly spat out a mouthful of divine blood. His majestic and domineering figure trembled violently, staggering backward. His face turned deathly pale.
The divine energy he had unleashed dissipated in an instant.
“Fourth Uncle!”
“Father!”
…
The gods were shocked and rushed over immediately.
Wind and Cloud Overlord’s eyes bulged as he stared into the distant void. After losing his control, the flying Pure Yang Divine Sword lost much of its power. A divine talisman flew from an unknown direction, collected the sword, and it fell into Frost City Demon’s hands.
Frost City Demon held the Pure Yang Divine Sword and laughed loudly toward the sky. “Wind and Cloud Overlord, how does the taste of the Yellow Spring Flower feel? Can you still circulate divine energy or mobilise rule divine patterns? Has the blood and qi in your body congealed?”
“Yellow Spring Flower? What Yellow Spring Flower?”
“Never mind that. Activate the divine ship’s attack array immediately. Kill Frost City Demon and reclaim the Pure Yang Divine Sword.”
…
“Stop! No one is to act rashly!”
Wind and Cloud Overlord’s expression changed several times. He immediately sat cross-legged, ignited blazing divine flames around his body, and began refining the terrifying toxic power within him while issuing orders. “Wind Suspended, guard the core of the protective ship array. Allow no cultivator to approach. Remember, do not fully circulate divine energy, or you too will succumb to the poison instantly.”
“Yes, I will go at once.”
Wind Suspended forced himself to tear his gaze away from Frost City Demon. Hatred burned fiercely in his heart, yet he understood that today truly marked a matter of life and death. With red eyes, he hurried toward the array core.
Wind and Cloud Overlord issued several more commands in succession and cautioned again. “The power of the Yellow Spring Flower has already infiltrated our bodies quietly. Since the poisoning time is still short, as long as everyone refrains from circulating divine energy with all their might, the poison will not flare up in the short term.”
“Once it flares up… everyone, take care of yourselves!”
All the cultivators on the divine ship fell into panic.
Zhang Ruochen thought inwardly, “Once the poison flares up, the power of the Yellow Spring Flower will first devour the divine energy of gods, erode their rule divine patterns, and congeal their blood and qi. When cultivation is completely lost, it will gradually consume vital life energy until death.”
Zhang Ruochen was familiar with the Yellow Spring Flower.
It was said to grow in the tomb of the Yellow Spring Great Emperor, born to guard the grave. Any god who went to rob the tomb would encounter calamity unknowingly, even Immeasurable Realm gods could not escape.
But that Immeasurable Realm god had discovered the cause. It was this flower growing in the tomb, containing unfathomable eerie power that could destroy a god’s cultivation and kill gods silently.
Though the Yellow Spring Flower was terrifying, it also had a non-terrifying aspect.
It only affected gods, and the higher the cultivation, the more pronounced the effect. Against weak saint realm cultivators, it had no use at all.
It also posed little threat to pure mental power gods.
However, the tomb of the Yellow Spring Great Emperor had long vanished into the Three Paths River, becoming part of ancient history. The reappearance of the Yellow Spring Flower was shocking even to Zhang Ruochen, and he had sensed no danger beforehand.
“This is not right! The protective realm array of the Xu Wind Divine Ship has been active all along. Even if the Dark Shrine obtained the Yellow Spring Flower, it should not be powerful enough to penetrate the array, right?”
A thought flashed through Zhang Ruochen’s mind. Then he was suddenly greatly alarmed and hurried toward the third level of the divine ship.
When he arrived, he found Wind Xi, Wind Rock, Xuan Yuan Qing, Shang Hong, and Mister Mo all guarding beside Wind and Cloud Overlord.
A figure continued walking toward them.
Zhang Ruochen roared loudly, “Clear Sky Sword King, die!”
“Swish swish!”
Dense talismans flew out from Zhang Ruochen’s sleeve.
The Clear Sky Sword King’s expression changed. Ignoring Zhang Ruochen behind him, his body turned into a streak of sword light and stabbed straight toward Wind and Cloud Overlord, who was sitting cross-legged.
Immediately, furious roars rang out continuously.
Xuan Yuan Qing reacted first. Ignoring the Yellow Spring Flower toxin in her body, she summoned the Bright Divine Sword and slashed out. At the moment when the Clear Sky Sword King’s strike was only half an inch from Wind and Cloud Overlord’s brow, she cleaved both man and sword away.
Xuan Yuan Qing dared not fully circulate divine energy, so this sword failed to injure the Clear Sky Sword King.
“How could it be you?”
Xuan Yuan Qing’s gaze was cold as frost, filled with pain and indignation. The hand holding the sword trembled.
Zhang Ruochen knew well that falling into the Dark Shrine’s hands meant nothing good. At this moment, they had to unite against a common enemy. He stepped forward quickly and said, “With Wu Yue’s mental power and attainments in darkness dao, even a Great God’s mental will cannot resist. The Clear Sky Sword King before us is no longer the one you knew. He is merely Wu Yue’s puppet.”
“I clearly used bright profound meaning to probe him.” Xuan Yuan Qing still could not accept this fact.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Your cultivation is far below Wu Yue’s, and you practise the way of light. How much do you truly know about darkness? The methods of an eighty-fourth level mental power expert already exceed our understanding.”
Wind Rock asked, “How did Daoist friend notice?”
Zhang Ruochen was momentarily speechless and grew even more displeased with Wind Rock. But he quickly spoke firmly, “Because this poor daoist lives right next to the Clear Sky Sword King and once saw him planting an unnamed flower in his courtyard. Moreover, he is the only cultivator who has had direct contact with Wu Yue. If not him, then who?”
