Above the Wing World of the Blood Heaven Tribe, mighty and awe-inspiring gods gathered in the sky. Each one had blood wings that blotted out the heavens, their auras deep and imposing, as they watched the crimson divine vessel vanish into the wormhole.
Lord Xueyao remained worried and said, “Ruochen’s cultivation is strong now, but compared to a great god of the Taixu Realm, the gap is still vast. Moreover, the Ghost Lord, Muto, and their kind are more than ten times stronger than ordinary Taixu great gods.”
“Since Ruochen dares to go, he naturally has no fear of the Ghost Lord or Muto. That is not what worries me,” said the Blood Absolute War God. Yet his brow stayed furrowed. “The real uncertainty lies with the Temple of Destiny.”
“He has been too high-profile,” remarked a white-haired ancient god. “By acting like this, is he not forcing the gods of the Temple of Destiny to intervene?”
“Perhaps he is deliberately forcing the gods of the Temple of Destiny to act,” replied the Blood Absolute War God thoughtfully. “The more gods from the Temple of Destiny he draws out, the more it benefits him. In recent days, everyone in the tribe who was going to reveal themselves has done so, has they not? Once Ruochen has results on his side, we can close the net.”
…
Haobai Star was a seventh-grade primary life star, roughly the size of a smaller sun.
More than twenty gods from the three great powers, the Longevity Palace, the Hidden Bone Sea, and the Earth Fiend Ghost City, had gathered on the planet, shrouding its surface in thick layers of dark clouds.
This was because Haobai Star served as a transit point between the Blood Heaven Tribe’s Wing World and the Destiny God Domain.
The Ghost Lord, whose cultivation had reached the peak of the Taixu Realm and who was the strongest present, stood upon the ground, forming a ten-thousand-zhang vortex of primordial ghost qi around himself. His presence was overwhelmingly domineering.
The Corpse Emperor had invited a Taixu great god from the Hidden Bone Sea named Li Yuan Heavenly God, a powerhouse who had survived multiple yuanhui tribulations. In exchange for helping the Corpse Emperor reclaim his divine source, the Corpse Emperor promised to gift all his territories.
Li Yuan Heavenly God had long coveted the treasures on Zhang Ruochen, and with instructions from a Boundless Realm ancestor of the Bone Clan who had once received favour from the Great Emperor Fengdu, he was happy to oblige.
Though the Corpse Emperor had now lost his divine source, his prestige remained, and no one dared treat him lightly.
After leaving the Hundred Clans Royal City, Lord Xuemu of the Longevity Palace had returned to the Hell Realm and gone to the Corpse God Palace to list Zhang Ruochen’s crimes. Unwilling to lose a great god, the Corpse God Palace dispatched a Taixu ancient god.
After all, the three middle clans were backed by the Great Emperor Fengdu. Did they truly fear a mere divine envoy of Tianmu?
It was Zhang Ruochen who had first shown disrespect to the Great Emperor Fengdu.
A formation master whose spiritual power had reached the eightieth order, dressed in a red bridal robe and wearing a phoenix crown, floated in the void and announced, “They have arrived. They are coming this way!”
Both the Corpse Emperor and Lord Xuemu revealed delighted expressions. At last, the divine sources would be recovered.
With the array the three powers had set, they would give Zhang Ruochen no chance to escape.
After its first wormhole jump, the crimson divine vessel had crossed endless starry space and arrived roughly ten million li from Haobai Star in the void. To perform the next jump, it needed to travel dozens of billions of li to the Xinjia Primary Star.
Zhang Ruochen stood tall at the prow of the vessel. He had already sensed the powerful auras erupting from Haobai Star. His gaze shifted to several other directions, truth radiance appearing in his eyes.
The Corpse Emperor and Lord Xuemu were the first to fly out of Haobai Star’s atmosphere to intercept the crimson divine vessel.
Lord Xuemu condensed an ocean of corpse qi beneath his feet and declared coldly, “Zhang Ruochen, hand over the divine sources belonging to this palace lord and the Corpse Emperor, and you may yet live today.”
Zhang Ruochen’s voice was low yet resounded through the starry sky. “Back in the Hundred Clans Royal City, you both promised this Realm Lord that you would kill a great god of the Earth Fiend Ghost City before I would let you leave. Can a great god’s promise truly be disregarded?”
Lord Xuemu’s expression darkened, but he laughed. “Little Ruochen, agreeing to that back then was merely a stalling tactic, a way to preserve our lives. Did you actually take it seriously?”
“If a god lacks trustworthiness, how can cultivators of the world respect him? How can he lead a palace?” Zhang Ruochen replied.
The Corpse Emperor called out loudly, “Enough talk. Will you hand over the divine sources or not?”
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the fluffy cat head beside him and asked, “Would the son of the Ice Emperor be willing to act and teach these two peerless great gods a lesson?”
Then he added in a low voice, “Though they have lost their divine sources, the bodies of great gods are still extraordinarily valuable.”
Xue Tu knew full well the value of a great god’s body, and he knew even better that a great god who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years must have accumulated vast wealth. Excited, he declared, “I, Da Tu War God Emperor, disciple of Lord Feng Tian, request instruction from the two great gods.”
Xue Tu soared forward.
Moments later, Xue Tu soared back.
Li Yuan Heavenly God of the Hidden Bone Sea stepped out from space. Every bone in his body was as large as a mountain, his form elephantine, with a corner of a black divine border world beneath his feet. That single corner alone spanned hundreds of thousands of li.
Such presence caused the surrounding stars to tremble ceaselessly.
The term “Taixu” meant too vast and empty.
It signified that, within a certain range, one could stand equal with heaven and earth.
Though Li Yuan Heavenly God was only at the early Taixu Realm, his cultivation and combat strength far surpassed that of the Taibai Realm Corpse Emperor and Lord Xuemu by many times. A single breath was enough to frighten Xue Tu into fleeing back.
Li Yuan Heavenly God proclaimed loudly, “Zhang Ruochen, you killed our clan’s Taiding Bone God, forcibly seized the Corpse Emperor’s divine source, and trampled the dignity of the Bone Clan. By rights, this seat could slay you now. However, you are after all the divine envoy of Tianmu, and the Bone Clan must still give Tianmu some face.”
“Come with this seat to the Bone God Palace to atone for your offences.”
Zhang Ruochen showed no fear of a Taixu great god’s might and replied calmly, “Taiding Bone God invaded my Qingling Great World, turning billions of lives in my territory into white bones. His death was his own fault.”
“As for the Corpse Emperor, he joined several great gods in trying to kill me. In the Hundred Clans Royal City, this Realm Lord spared his life, which was already giving the Bone Clan ample face.”
“If Li Yuan Heavenly God is reasonable, please do not block this Realm Lord’s path. This Realm Lord must escort Princess Prajna to the Destiny God Domain. Are you also here to kill her?”
Boom!
The Taixu great god of the Corpse Clan, Xu Liao, stepped into the void with one foot, causing millions of li of space to shake. He roared, “Why waste words? This boy dared to kill a god of our Corpse Clan. Today, his life is forfeit.”
Xu Liao condensed divine flame and struck out with a thousand-li-diameter constant sun, its heat capable of melting all things, rolling forward to crush the crimson divine vessel into fragments.
Both Xue Tu and Little Black were shocked. They had not expected that, despite the massive publicity they had generated over the past two days, gods would still dare to act so openly.
This was a strike from a Taixu great god. Who could withstand it?
Did the enemy intend to kill them too?
The gods who had followed hoping to pick up scraps were equally stunned. They had not expected Xu Liao’s first move to be a fully mastered Taizhen-level divine technique. On the divine vessel were the son of the Ice Emperor, a disciple of Lord Feng Tian, disciples of the Angry Heaven God Venerable… If anything happened…
There was no “if”.
In their astonished gazes, Zhang Ruochen raised eighteen spatial divine arrays, manifesting eighteen divine array worlds that linked together. The incoming thousand-li constant sun collided with the Yin-Yang Eighteen Bureaus, sending the crimson divine vessel flying ten thousand li away.
The arrays rotated, space shifted.
Boom!
The thousand-li constant sun exploded, turning into countless fireballs that scattered into the starry sky.
He blocked it. Zhang Ruochen withstood a strike from a Taixu great god.
His figure stood straight, spine like a spear, eyes blazing, at the centre of the eighteen divine array worlds, absorbing divine qi from heaven and earth. He gave off an eerie and otherworldly sensation.
How could it not be eerie?
A hundred years ago, Zhang Ruochen had been merely a Saint Realm cultivator.
A hundred years later, he stood proudly in the starry sky, holding his own against a Taixu great god.
Xu Liao snorted lightly. “This seat said it: how could a boy of your age possibly rival our clan’s Lord Xuemu? It turns out you merely rely on the power of arrays. This Yin-Yang Eighteen Bureaus must have been refined for you by that Taishang of the Kunlun Realm, correct?”
These were words meant to strike at the heart.
Zhang Ruochen replied, “If it truly had been refined by that Taishang, you would already be a corpse without remains. This Realm Lord is heading to the Destiny God Domain and does not wish for complications. Those who do not wish to die should not block the way.”
Zhang Ruochen had never intended to fight these beings. He simply knew that no matter how he tried to hide, he would inevitably be detected. Better to proceed openly and grandly to the Temple of Destiny.
By putting everything in the open, fewer gods would dare to act.
“Relying on the Yin-Yang Eighteen Bureaus will not protect you,” a pleasant voice rang out in the starry sky.
The voice carried powerful spiritual force, making even Zhang Ruochen slightly dizzy. The eighteen divine array worlds could not fully block this intangible spiritual power.
The Ghost Clan formation master dressed in bridal robes and wearing a phoenix crown stepped forward from Haobai Star.
She appeared as a delicate young female ghost, her spiritual power terrifyingly strong.
“It is Qianqian Divine Master of the Earth Fiend Ghost City!”
“With Qianqian Divine Master here, the Yin-Yang Eighteen Bureaus will be rendered useless. Zhang Ruochen will lose his greatest reliance.”
“The Ghost Lord must also be in this starry space. Now Zhang Ruochen truly has no escape!”
…
Qianqian Divine Master looked like a pitiful new bride, her expression stiff. She slowly raised her hands, and immediately a vast circular divine array disc manifested in the starry sky, enveloping Haobai Star across a million li diameter.
This entire expanse of starry space lay within her array.
The gods who had come to scavenge paled and immediately fled outward.
As Qianqian Divine Master walked step by step toward the crimson divine vessel, the array’s coverage steadily shrank, yet it continually suppressed the Yin-Yang Eighteen Bureaus.
More than twenty gods from the Longevity Palace, Hidden Bone Sea, and Earth Fiend Ghost City appeared one after another, taking positions at various points in the array.
“This is not good. The opponent’s mastery of arrays clearly surpasses yours by several levels,” Little Black muttered.
Qianqian Divine Master slowly raised her pale left hand and pressed outward across the distance. Instantly, the array inscriptions of the eighteen divine arrays surrounding Zhang Ruochen began to rapidly disintegrate.
The gap in spiritual power and array mastery was fully exposed in this moment.
Zhang Ruochen could not prevent the arrays from collapsing. He could only withdraw the Yin-Yang Eighteen Bureaus, let out a long roar, and leap forward like a divine dragon emerging from the sea, striking a palm toward Qianqian Divine Master across the void.
“Courting death!”
Xu Liao pointed a finger. Divine qi and rule divine patterns condensed into a hundred-zhang-diameter beam of light that shattered Zhang Ruochen’s palm imprint.
The beam’s momentum did not diminish and continued forward.
Zhang Ruochen formed a sword seal with both hands. A sword ancestor soul sword flew out from his body, erupting in brilliant radiance, clashing with the beam Xu Liao had unleashed.
The sword ancestor soul sword continuously shattered the beam, pressing toward Xu Liao.
Xu Liao’s expression changed slightly. All his divine qi surged into his right arm and into a sub-divine supreme sacred artefact gauntlet. He threw a heavy punch, instantly shattering a vast expanse of space ahead.
