The Lord of Xuemu Hall from the Hall of Longevity turned ashen with fear and kept retreating. If he were not trapped in the Eighteen Bureaus of Yin and Yang, he would have long since fled.
Regret filled his heart. He should never have come to the Royal City of the Hundred Clans.
What the hell was this? How could Zhang Ruochen be so strong?
Zhang Ruochen drew the divine sword from Xiang Ruyue’s body. “Emperor Fengdu is one of the greatest overlords in the world. How could Fengdu Ghost City produce a mediocrity like you, who is manipulated by others without even realising it?”
A bowl-sized hole had been burned into Xiang Ruyue’s chest by the sword’s flames. His divine frame was weakened. He snorted. “Zhang Ruochen, I am convinced of my defeat at your hands. But your actions have insulted the Heavenly Venerable too greatly. In Fengdu Ghost City, I am not the only god who wishes to crush your bones to ash.”
Zhang Ruochen raised the divine sword, poised to strike down, but suddenly paused and smiled. “Killing you would only fall into the Dark Temple’s scheme. However, since you came to the Royal City of the Hundred Clans and dared to try to kill me, I cannot let you off lightly.”
With a flash, the divine sword pierced Xiang Ruyue’s ghostly body and extracted his divine source.
Zhang Ruochen pocketed the divine source, then struck out with a palm. Using spatial power, he hurled Xiang Ruyue out of the Royal City of the Hundred Clans into the cosmic void. “If you want your divine source back, have your master, Divine Ghost Emperor Shentu, come to me.”
Divine Ghost Emperor Shentu was one of the Five Directional Ghost Emperors of Fengdu Ghost City, an Immeasurable Realm God Venerable who had cultivated for a million years.
“So arrogant. He even dares to offend Fengdu Ghost City. Does he have no respect for the Heavenly Venerable?”
“Asking Divine Ghost Emperor Shentu to come see him. Does he think he is Grandmother Tian?”
…
Slaying a great god of the Temple of Destiny, then extracting the divine source of a great god from Fengdu Ghost City.
All the cultivators in the Royal City of the Hundred Clans felt that Zhang Ruochen had truly pierced the heavens. It would be hard for him to die well. The more insane he was now, the more miserable his future would be.
Zhang Ruochen glared at Qingyun Tai, who had reformed his divine frame. “Why are you so excited? Even if the Temple of Destiny and Fengdu Ghost City want to kill me, that is a matter for later. You will not even survive today!”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He struck three palms in succession. Zhang Ruochen beat Qingyun Tai’s physical body until it was drenched in blood, his divine soul nearly bursting. Finally, his divine source was extracted, and he was thrown to the ground like a dead dog.
“You are a great god of the Undying Blood Clan. No matter how grave your offence, you should be judged by the clan mansion and the temple.” Zhang Ruochen said.
The Lord of Xuemu Hall almost cursed aloud. You still know this rule? When you refined and killed Old Ancestor Xuanqi, did you ever think of handing him over to the Ghost Clan for judgement? When you beheaded Lord Huoze with your sword, did you ever think of sending him to the Temple of Destiny?
Six divine swords circled Zhang Ruochen. He stared at the Lord of Xuemu Hall. “You seem very unconvinced?”
Even though fear filled the Lord of Xuemu Hall’s heart, he could not show it on his face. He forced the corners of his mouth to twitch into a cold laugh.
“You still dare to sneer at me?”
Zhang Ruochen moved like lightning. One fist struck the Lord of Xuemu Hall.
The Lord of Xuemu Hall raised his divine realm world and formed dozens of layers of divine shields. He blocked the blow, but his body was still sent flying. Frustration filled him. It was only a cold laugh.
He knew that Zhang Ruochen’s true anger stemmed from the Great World of Qingling.
This was also the reason Zhang Ruochen dared to slaughter so freely.
The Ten Realms were Zhang Ruochen’s territory, yet they had been occupied by various forces. Especially the Great World of Qingling, which, under the chaos caused by Disha Ghost City, the Hall of Longevity, and the Sea of Hidden Bones, had turned from a prosperous world of ten thousand clans into a gloomy realm filled with wandering souls and corpses.
One could say that Zhang Ruochen stood on the side of righteousness.
With a flash, the Lord of Xuemu Hall played all his trump cards. He blocked more than a dozen of Zhang Ruochen’s attacks in succession. The more they fought, the more alarmed he became. This young man’s close-combat power was formidable, and with the sharpness of his divine swords, he was truly terrifying.
Unwilling to follow in the footsteps of Old Ancestor Xuanqi and Lord Huoze, the Lord of Xuemu Hall was forced to burn his divine blood. His battle power surged.
The Ancient God of Learning sighed. “As the lord of a hall, Xuemu has been reduced to this state. His lifelong prestige is ruined.”
“Better than dying! No matter what, after today’s battle, Zhang Ruochen has thoroughly established his reputation as the Realm Venerable of Xing Huan Tian. None of the leaders of Hell Realm’s major forces will dare to underestimate him again.” Yan Yu let out a long breath, feeling a sense of being left far behind.
The Ancient God of Learning looked to the sky. The Starry Cage Grand Array was steadily closing in.
Once the array fully activated, combined with the Hundred Clans’ divine array, the Royal City of the Hundred Clans would become impregnable, completely under the control of Zhang Ruochen and the three great clans. At that point, unless a heavenly-level figure arrived, no one could breach the city.
Many forces’ divine spirits were already leading their subordinates away from the Royal City of the Hundred Clans.
From the sacred grounds of the smaller clans in the city, streaks of divine light flew out, all heading toward the Guan Yun Array Tower.
Yan Huangtu said, “These smaller clans see that Zhang Ruochen and Yuling God have already secured victory, and with no sound from Wubian God Venerable’s temple, they have finally chosen a side! Should we act? If the Yama Clan declares its stance, it would settle the matter once and for all.”
The Ancient God of Learning shook his head. “The best moment to act has passed! Acting now would only be adding flowers to brocade. It would seem insincere.”
“Exactly, insincere. Why did you not suggest earlier that Great-Grandfather help him?” Yan Zhexian’s beautiful eyes held mockery.
Yan Huangtu said, “Who told him to provoke Wuyue? He deserves to suffer a bit more.”
Yan Yu smiled. “Not acting is fine too. After all, this matter is of great importance. It does not concern only Zhang Ruochen. If he represented only himself, then even for Ying’er’s sake, the Yama Clan would not stand idly by.”
“Hm?”
The Ancient God of Learning looked to the sky. “It is not over yet. Ting Yunsheng and the Ghost Lord have returned!”
The entire sky over the Royal City of the Hundred Clans was covered in dense ghostly clouds.
From the ground, one could see legions of ghosts marching within the clouds, their momentum vast.
“Zhang… Ruo… Chen…”
A cold, fierce ghostly voice rang out like three divine thunderclaps, shaking the Royal City of the Hundred Clans three times.
A ghostly divine temple the size of a star, shrouded in eerie aura, released divine inscriptions that covered the sky. Among them were even heavenly inscriptions and a vast number of Immeasurable Realm divine inscriptions.
These divine arrays and inscriptions blocked the final gap in the Starry Cage Grand Array.
The Lord of Xuemu Hall was overjoyed and grew bold again. “The Ghost Lord has arrived. Zhang Ruochen, you are finished!”
Though the Ghost Lord had once lost to the Blood Jue War God, the gap in their strength was not great.
Having cultivated the Primordial Chaos Ghost Body, created the Abandoned Heaven Ghost Inscriptions, and ruling as master of the Ghost Clan’s third greatest ghost city, commanding seventy-two gloomy realms and a hundred thousand ghost stars, how could he be weak?
Zhang Ruochen had not expected to face the Ghost Lord so soon.
The one who arrived first through the array’s gap and descended into the Royal City of the Hundred Clans was Ting Yunsheng, a great god of the Taixu Realm from the Temple of Destiny.
Ting Yunsheng wore a kirin auspicious cloud divine robe. His features were refined. He looked more like a holy cultivator of the Daoist sect than a divine spirit of Hell Realm.
He descended straight from the sky, declaring with the posture of an absolute superior, “Zhang Ruochen, kneel, seal your own cultivation, and follow this god to the Temple of Destiny to stand trial.”
The Ghost Lord and Ting Yunsheng arriving together was like two great mountains crashing into a lake, sending up monstrous waves.
Even Yuling God in the Yaksha Ancestral Temple changed colour.
Qingyun Tai, who had lost his divine source, smiled hideously. “I told you, you will die miserably.”
Zhang Ruochen ignored him and looked at Ting Yunsheng, who hovered in the air. “Such imposing manner, great god. On what charge do you intend to try this Realm Venerable?”
“Killing Lord Huoze. Do you admit it?” Ting Yunsheng said.
Zhang Ruochen replied, “What is there to deny?”
“Good. This alone is enough to send you to the God-Slaying Platform.” A Gate of Destiny manifested behind Ting Yunsheng, its light illuminating the entire Royal City of the Hundred Clans.
Zhang Ruochen clearly felt his cultivation suppressed, yet he remained calm and snorted coldly. “All cultivators in the city saw it. Lord Huoze struck first to kill me. I, Zhang Ruochen, am at least Grandmother Tian’s divine envoy and the Realm Venerable of Xing Huan Tian. Do you truly think I am clay that anyone can trample? Today, this Realm Venerable declares it plainly. Whoever tries to kill me, I will kill them.”
Ting Yunsheng frowned. He had not expected Zhang Ruochen’s words to be so sharp. “Lord Huoze only wished to enter the Guan Yun Array Tower. He had no intention of killing you. You deliberately used your status as Grandmother Tian’s divine envoy, thinking you hold an immunity talisman, and treated the Temple of Destiny as nothing in order to settle a personal grudge. You are dissatisfied that the Temple of Destiny imprisoned your father, are you not?”
“Your father deserved his punishment. Even if Grandmother Tian were here, this god would still apprehend you for your audacity. If the Temple of Destiny executes you, it will be a disaster you brought upon yourself.”
What a large hat to pin!
Zhang Ruochen laughed loudly, then his gaze turned icy. “You are right. I am indeed settling a personal grudge, but not for my imperial father. It is for Prajna!”
Ting Yunsheng’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”
“The relationship between Prajna and this Realm Venerable is known to all under heaven. Yet this Realm Venerable received word that she was gravely injured by Lord Huoze’s plot and her whereabouts are unknown. Adding this new grudge to the old, is it not enough for this Realm Venerable to kill him?” Zhang Ruochen’s voice rang out powerfully.
This was not something Zhang Ruochen had fabricated. It was fact.
He had learned it on the way to the Royal City of the Hundred Clans from his Grand Master, who had told him personally.
However, the Grand Master could not intervene in this battle, or he would have come with Zhang Ruochen.
After all, up to now, this battle had been a conflict between the neutral forces on the fringes of Hell Realm and the invading forces of Hell Realm. If the Grand Master acted, the meaning would be entirely different.
Ting Yunsheng was well aware of the sensitivity of the internal relations within the Temple of Destiny. In the Battle of Hunting Heaven, a pseudo-god general had committed a grave error through negligence. Even with the status of God Venerable Fulu, because that pseudo-god belonged to the Adjudication Division, the matter could only be handled cautiously and with leniency.
From this, one could see how fierce the internal struggle within the Temple of Destiny had become.
If it were truly confirmed that Lord Huoze had plotted against Prajna, the consequences would be unthinkable. It would affect the stability within the Temple of Destiny and make the outside world think that the various divine palaces of the Temple of Destiny were disunited, no longer an unbreakable monolith.
Ting Yunsheng said coldly, “Zhang Ruochen, do you know what you are saying? What is your purpose? Do you wish to split the Temple of Destiny? With Lord Huoze’s cultivation, if he truly acted, would Prajna have had any chance to escape?”
“Someone saved her.” Zhang Ruochen said.
Ting Yunsheng now hesitated. For Zhang Ruochen to say such words, did it not mean he had already found Prajna?
If Prajna personally appeared to accuse him, it would be ironclad evidence!
How would he explain it to God Venerable Nu Tian?
“Why waste words with him? A rebellious son. Kill him.”
A tornado of yin-cold ghostly qi condensed and surged in through the array’s gap. Instantly, ghostly inscriptions spread in all directions, covering the entire city like billions of chains locking down the Royal City of the Hundred Clans.
The Ghost Lord had arrived!
