Mingxi, nestled beneath Fate God Mountain, flows along its slopes, its widest point spanning dozens of zhang, resembling a great river.
At its narrowest, it’s less than a foot wide.
The stream runs crimson as blood, shrouded in misty vapours, not reeking of blood but carrying a delicate orchid-like fragrance, intoxicating. Without tasting, one knows it surpasses even holy springs in rarity.
No wonder Infernal Realm monks vie fiercely for a seat at the Hunting Heaven Banquet.
The mere sight of this stream’s waters made the saint-realm slaves and maids’ eyes gleam, like mortals starved for three days and nights, unable to suppress their longing.
The banquet, naturally, has a hierarchy.
Mingxi, like human veins, flows from the highest terrain to the mountain’s base.
Initially, there’s one main stream, dozens of zhang wide.
Soon, it splits into ten large tributaries.
Each tributary divides into ten smaller streams, forming a hundred streams.
And so on, dividing tenfold each time, until, at the mountain’s foot, it becomes ten thousand tiny rivulets, each less than a foot wide.
The attendees’ seats line the stream’s banks—some at the main stream, others at tributaries, their status clear.
The seating is divided thus:
Ten chief seats, one hundred main seats, one thousand secondary seats, ten thousand tail seats, and one hundred thousand end seats.
Having just passed through the Gate of Fate, the ten tribes’ attendees used every means to race forward, vying for the best seats.
The ten chief seats at the uppermost stream, the most prestigious, grant priority in selecting banquet fare, making them the prime target for top Hundred-Shackle Realm Great Perfection experts.
The Undying Blood Clan’s representative for the chief seats was, naturally, the formidable Emperor Blade Hell.
Emperor Yu also joined the fray.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t strive for the ten chief seats. The “priority in selecting banquet fare” held little allure.
After all, the truly precious fare, the Yandao Holy Fruit, was guaranteed to every attending Great Saint. Sitting higher only meant choosing the largest fruit, a trivial gain.
The ten tribes’ top experts competed for the chief seats mainly to flaunt their strength, assert themselves, and gain prestige. If a tribe failed to secure a chief seat, from gods to common monks, they’d face ridicule from other tribes.
This represented a tribe’s honour and confidence, making it a paramount matter.
Above Mingxi hung a spatial divine mirror, broadcasting everything instantly to the entire Infernal Realm.
Zhang Ruochen, having studied countless records, knew this spatial divine artifact was called the “All-Realms Divine Eye.”
A true divine artifact!
Legend held that activating it could project the Hunting Heaven Banquet across vast spaces to all realms.
Crucially, the Temple of Fate deliberately sent these projections to the Celestial Court, mockingly calling it “celebrating with the heavens.”
Naturally, the Celestial Court’s major worlds saw the Infernal Realm’s millennial banquet as both a boast of strength and a deliberate provocation.
Thus, their gods destroyed the projections.
Ordinary beings in the Celestial Court couldn’t witness the banquet’s grandeur, only a few high-ranking monks beside gods could.
Every Hunting Heaven Banquet left Celestial Court monks gnashing their teeth in frustration.
In merit battlefields, lacking gods, projections couldn’t be destroyed. Monks from both realms could witness the banquet’s highlights.
Take Kunlun Realm.
Its skies displayed vast projections over major battlefields, cities, and sects, like a sprawling blood vessel map.
Closer inspection revealed the crimson stream.
Infernal Realm monks raced to the stream’s banks, vying for the best seats.
Besides Kunlun’s native monks, those from other worlds knew of the banquet and its opening today, finding it unsurprising.
Instead, they were eager to gauge the strength of the Infernal Realm’s new generation of prodigies.
Though Kunlun’s monks were previously unaware, recent whispers had reached them. The sudden projections only startled mortal commoners.
At King Mountain in Yunwu Commandery, a hub for East Domain monks and a major force in Kunlun, a projection appeared overhead.
Little Black stood atop a towering wall outside King Mountain, its round eyes gazing at the sky, sneering, “Two months ago, we caught a Five-Tribulation Ghost King claiming Zhang Ruochen joined the Undying Blood Clan and would represent their Xuetian Tribe at the banquet. Let’s see if that traitor is really alive.”
A three-zhang-wide black void appeared nearby.
Han Qiu emerged, her gaze sharp, sword pointing at Little Black. “Curse again, and I’ll cut off your paws.”
Little Black, restored to Great Saint realm, still feared Han Qiu, a rising Darkness Controller.
Her intense control, ambition, ruthless methods, and sharp intellect had consolidated power over King Mountain, with countless monks following her lead.
When Zhang Ruochen recalled Han Qiu and gave her vast resources to unite East Domain monks loyal to him, he was securing a fallback, fostering a strong figure to maintain order in his absence.
With Dragon Guard Pavilion behind her, brimming with talents like the cultured Shangguan Que and the mighty Yan Liren, managing the East Domain was no challenge.
Unbeknownst to Zhang Ruochen, Han Qiu had shifted the East Domain’s centre from East Domain Holy City to King Mountain.
Facing her dark-gleaming sword, Little Black softened. “No cursing, where’s the cursing? I’m just bitter he didn’t take me to the thrilling Infernal Realm. And if he’s alive, he should’ve let us know, making me—us—grieve so long. Beast!”
At Great Saint realm, Little Black dared not leave King Mountain, fearing patrolling angels.
Otherwise, it would’ve gone to the Infernal Realm, not just for Zhang Ruochen but to find Empress Thousand Bones.
“Going to the Infernal Realm doesn’t mean betrayal. Central Imperial City’s events remain unclear, with Paradise Realm evasive. But everyone saw Master’s actions—fighting to the death for Kunlun, slaying countless Infernal monks. Even if he joined them, I believe it’s unwillingly or for a reason.”
Han Xue, in spotless white, pure as an immortal, stood at the wall’s edge, Void Sword hovering behind her, her luminous eyes fixed on the projection.
Dragon Guard Pavilion members and Ming Emperor’s disciples, Jin Yu and Bao Lie, appeared nearby.
…
Central Imperial City.
Ziwei Palace, rebuilt though less opulent, regained its solemn grandeur.
Saint Book Talent, Qing Mo, and Canglan Martial Saint stood side by side—one refined and holy, one delicate and wistful, one fiery and valiant—on a terrace above the clouds, gazing at the projection.
“I see him! It’s Zhang Ruochen! He’s really alive!” Qing Mo clenched her hands, overjoyed.
Though Zhang Ruochen had merged with his past life’s body, his appearance retained six or seven parts of his current self, not wholly changed.
Saint Book Talent and Canglan Martial Saint’s gazes locked onto him, then met each other’s, both showing bitter smiles.
Unlike Qing Mo, they thought deeper. His survival was joyous, but joining the Infernal Realm made them mortal enemies.
If he only feigned joining, he’d live in constant peril, risking death at any moment.
They almost hoped he’d joined willingly.
Having endured much, Canglan Martial Saint’s fiery temper had softened, her prejudice against Zhang Ruochen gone, replaced by admiration, understanding, and a touch of pity.
She asked, “Do you think the Empress in the Celestial Court is watching the banquet?”
Saint Book Talent smiled faintly, shaking her head.
The Empress and Zhang Ruochen’s tangled love and grudges, now public, were no secret, spread widely by scheming factions.
Some claimed Empress Chi Yao usurped her fiancé’s realm; others said Chi Kunlun and Chi Kongle were their children; some suggested their bond remained close, not as hostile as believed.
Rumours abounded, spreading across all realms, seemingly to tarnish Chi Yao’s reputation.
Oddly, she hadn’t used divine power to suppress them, leading most to believe the rumours true.
Some pitied Zhang Ruochen; others envied him.
After all, Empress Chi Yao, a goddess rivalling Moon God, had shared a bed with a mere Great Saint, bearing him a son and daughter. Who wouldn’t envy?
Saint Book Talent suddenly noticed something, staring at the sky. “The woman behind Zhang Ruochen… is that truly Soul Realm’s Shadowless Fairy?”
“It seems so.”
Canglan Martial Saint’s eyes blazed with hatred, laughing. “Rumours said Shadowless Fairy Lanxi was captured by Zhang Ruochen, submitting to him, serving as his maid and bedmate nightly. Ha, Paradise Realm’s monks deserve this. Zhang Ruochen finally acted like a man.”
Saint Book Talent frowned. “Rumours aren’t always true.”
Canglan Martial Saint shook her head. “My naive sister, Zhang Ruochen spared you not for lack of desire but to avoid hurting you. He’s a man. With a beauty like Lanxi in his grasp, how could he resist?”
“In the Infernal Realm, if he seemed harmless, unable to subdue an enemy woman, no monk would fear him—he’d be devoured completely.”
“Ask any monk—how many believe Lanxi remains pure? Hah, satisfying! Imagining Soul Realm monks wailing over their goddess brings me joy.”
…
In the Merit God Hall, Yan God’s divine realm.
Seeing Lanxi in the projection, Shang Ziyi’s face twisted in agony, letting out a long wail that intensified the flames in the divine realm.
“Ziyi, control yourself. Don’t let this breed inner demons,” Yan God’s voice echoed.
Shang Ziyi couldn’t calm his emotions, his chest heaving, rage threatening to burn all realms. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Zhang Ruochen is already my inner demon.”
In Kunlun, he hadn’t died by Zhang Ruochen’s hand.
The Scarlet Son Sword preserved much of his saint blood, and the Five-Colored Merit Stele retained all his saint soul fragments.
A Paradise Realm titan, valuing him highly, sent him to the Merit God Hall to be groomed as its future leader.
With the titan’s aid, Shang Ziyi used his saint blood to meld the Five-Colored Merit Stele into a new body, gaining a Five-Colored Merit Divine Body.
Looking again at Lanxi behind Zhang Ruochen, he nearly wept. Blaming his loss to Zhang Ruochen, he thought, had he won, how could Lanxi suffer such humiliation?
He couldn’t imagine her despair in the Infernal Realm.
“Remember this shame and pain. Train hard. Next time you face Zhang Ruochen, make him taste it. I showed you the banquet’s projection to make you see how strong the Infernal Realm’s new generation is. Even Zhang Ruochen ranks low among them,” Yan God said.
