Zhang Ruochen’s raised hand ultimately didn’t strike, and he shook his head, “Hell is not empty, I vow not to become a Buddha. You might have misunderstood his intentions.”
“The phrase ‘hell is not empty’ doesn’t mean eradicating everything in the Hell Realm, but redeeming all the evils in the world.”
The final page of the *Secret Canon of Space and Time* bore the eight characters: “Hell is not empty, I vow not to become a Buddha.”
Zhang Ruochen had read countless books, including records about these eight characters of Saint Monk Xumi.
It was eons ago, after listening to the Sixth Patriarch’s teachings, that Saint Monk Xumi made this grand vow.
Back then, the Hell Realm wasn’t called the Hell Realm, and the ten clans of Hell had frequent exchanges with various great worlds, not locked in the life-and-death opposition of today.
“What? You want to make the same vow as Saint Monk Xumi? You’d better not turn yourself into a monk!” Luo Cha said, somewhat nervous and concerned.
Zhang Ruochen replied, “I have selfish desires, I’m not that selfless or noble.”
“Having selfish desires is good, better than having none. People without selfish desires feel too unreal, not like humans,” Luo Cha said.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “What’s your vision?”
“I… I’ve thought about it, and honestly, my ambitions aren’t that grand. In the future, becoming the Empress of Tianluo Divine Kingdom, or the leader of the Rakshasa Clan, would be enough,” Luo Cha said quite seriously.
Zhang Ruochen genuinely wanted to grab her and pin her to the ground for a beating.
Did her beauty make her think she was immune to punishment?
Luo Cha continued, “What’s that look? I genuinely believe, with my talent, becoming the Empress of Tianluo Divine Kingdom is just a matter of time. If my father doesn’t pass the throne to me, would he pass it to my brother? My brother, after all, is far behind me.”
“Do you dare say that to his face?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“Why wouldn’t I? Even he thinks so.”
Luo Cha huffed lightly, then added, “Do you know why I believe in fate but refuse to join the Temple of Destiny as a core disciple? Or why I don’t care for the position of Destiny Goddess?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “You’ve already told me that becoming the Destiny Goddess requires severing emotions and desires for a thousand years…”
“That was a lie. A thousand years of emotional detachment is nothing for a Great Sage. For a heaven’s pride like me, destined to become a god, it’s a mere blink of an eye,” Luo Cha said.
Zhang Ruochen was speechless, silent for a long while before saying, “So how much of what you’ve said before was true, and how much was false?”
“Why do you care so much about the truth of my words?”
A sly glint flashed in Luo Cha’s eyes as she teased, “Are you wondering about the truth of my ‘destined one’? Don’t speak yet… Since you’re so curious, I’ll tell you. Every word I say could be false, but the fact that you, Zhang Ruochen, are truly my destined one, that’s absolutely true.”
“Hmph.”
Zhang Ruochen held no fondness for the Rakshasa Clan, always viewing them with hostility.
The first time he entered the Merit Battlefield, he saw the Rakshasa Clan roasting human flesh, leaving a deep impression of disgust.
Yet, with Luo Cha, he couldn’t bring himself to truly dislike her.
Perhaps it was because she was too beautiful, or because she didn’t eat humanoid creatures, or because they had once cultivated their spiritual power together, or maybe because Luo Cha had never done anything to harm him.
It was precisely because Zhang Ruochen felt some goodwill toward her that he was willing to share his inner thoughts with her, like a friend.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen sitting there like a lifeless stone, ignoring her, Luo Cha toned down her haughtiness and said, “Actually, the biggest reason is that even if I became the Destiny Goddess for a thousand years, it wouldn’t help me become the Empress of Tianluo Divine Kingdom. So why waste a thousand years serving the Temple of Destiny?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Joining the Temple of Destiny could bring more benefits to the Rakshasa Clan and Tianluo Divine Kingdom. Didn’t your father explain the stakes? Didn’t he pressure you?”
“Well…”
Luo Cha’s eyes darted playfully as she smiled, “I get it now. Your confusion lies here.”
“What do you understand?” Zhang Ruochen met her gaze calmly.
Luo Cha said, “You’re torn between doing what you want and what others force you to do. You want to be yourself, but you don’t even know what you truly want.”
“When you killed Barbarian Sword Great Sage, your heart was in pain, wasn’t it?”
“To survive in the Hell Realm, you’ve had to do countless things you didn’t want, and that pains you too, doesn’t it?”
“You don’t like killing, yet you’ve walked further down the path of slaughter. Acting against your heart, aren’t you afraid of breeding inner demons?”
“Zhang Ruochen, do you feel that because of duty, emotions, survival, protection… all these external reasons, you’ve never lived according to your true heart, to the point you don’t even recognize yourself?”
“Your heart lacks conviction, a conviction worth holding onto.”
Luo Cha’s piercing eyes seemed to see through Zhang Ruochen, forcing him into a corner where he had to confront his inner self.
Every cultivator’s path requires constant reflection.
Correcting oneself in mistakes, finding clarity in confusion, guiding oneself through hardship.
Luo Cha continued, “My father pressured me about the Destiny Goddess, and my mother lectured me endlessly about duty and responsibility, but I still didn’t follow their path. Because I have things I want to do, and I always know what I want. Becoming the Destiny Goddess would only bind me for a thousand years.”
“Some cultivators, at the Half-Saint realm, can stand on their own.”
“Some, even at the Great Sage realm, still don’t know what they want for their future.”
“You think my brother is impressive, don’t you? The Divine Prince of Tianluo Divine Kingdom, a peerless prodigy of the millennium. But to me, he’s a failure, dragged down by his title as Divine Prince!”
“He could have broken through to the Thousand Questions Realm seventy years ago and kept soaring. But for the Hunting Heaven War, for Tianluo Divine Kingdom, he’s suppressed his cultivation until now.”
“Is he wrong? No.”
“It’s because of people like him, constantly sacrificing, that Tianluo Divine Kingdom remains the leader of the seven divine kingdoms. But it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a failure, bound by his identity for life, with more shackles to come.”
“You, Zhang Ruochen, are the same. You didn’t want to join the Hunting Heaven War, yet here you are! You could have chosen not to come.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Do I have a choice?”
“You absolutely do, but you didn’t choose. If you were a heartless, cold-blooded person, who could sway your will? Unfortunately, you’re not that kind of person, and that’s the root of your pain and confusion. The ruthlessness on your face is just a mask. The more you act mercilessly, the more your heart struggles and suffers.”
Luo Cha sighed, “Like me, falling for a man who doesn’t love me, I’ve become much more indecisive. Are we a doomed match?”
After a long silence.
“I understand!”
Zhang Ruochen’s stern, iron-like face suddenly softened.
Luo Cha said, “Good that you understand. I’ve been dragged down by you.”
Moments ago, Zhang Ruochen had been deep in thought, finding a direction.
A direction, but no answer.
The answer was too difficult, and he still hadn’t found it clearly. Or rather, he didn’t dare to settle on one easily.
Banruo said he’d always walked the path others wanted for him.
Indeed.
Zhang Ruochen had been lost since becoming the Ninth Prince of Yunwu Commandery, his heart consumed by confusion. Back then, vengeance was his everything.
But vengeance isn’t a person’s future.
The future Zhang Ruochen wanted wasn’t necessarily to become a god or the ruler of the cosmos. He wanted a peaceful, tranquil world without killing, without cannibalism, without malice… where his friends and family could live happily, free from harm, and their descendants could thrive for generations.
But this was precisely the hardest thing.
His extraordinary birth made such a life a luxury.
Achieving peace and tranquility was countless times harder than becoming a god.
Perhaps…
This chaotic, cruel universe needed a new order!
Yes!
A brand-new order.
To build that new order, he would cultivate relentlessly, growing stronger.
This was a direction, something Zhang Ruochen had always deeply desired.
Realizing this, much of his pain and conflict melted away, replaced by a lightness and joy as if stepping out of a quagmire. Though this path was as daunting as scaling the heavens.
He might strive his whole life and never reach the end.
But he was willing to keep walking, until the day the new order arrived.
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes, immersed in his grand vision, gradually refining a world under this new order in his mind, seeking to manifest the answer.
“Swish—”
Gradually, a radiant white light bloomed from Zhang Ruochen, like a sacred lamp igniting.
Luo Cha let out a soft gasp, observing him closely. At this moment, he seemed utterly divine, exuding flawless solemnity and an inviolable sacred majesty.
This scene, like when Zhang Ruochen wielded the Emperor’s Divine Ruler, charging alone into the Hell Realm’s armies, left a profound mark in her heart.
“Crack, crack.”
In an instant, twelve shackles in his heart snapped.
With this, Zhang Ruochen had broken fifty shackles.
After a while, he opened his eyes, looked at his hand, then stood and examined his body.
A warm, radiant smile spread across his face, “Thank you, Your Highness. Today’s conversation has benefited me for life.”
Luo Cha didn’t think she’d helped much, but seeing Zhang Ruochen’s usual cold demeanor replaced by such warmth made her heart feel as sweet as honey. She was about to say something modest when Zhang Ruochen’s tone shifted, “However, much of what you said is flawed, and I can’t agree. For instance, your judgment of the Divine Prince is unfair. Without his and your father’s sacrifices, you wouldn’t have the freedom to be so willful. Or take your ambition to be empress—if you’re unwilling to sacrifice for Tianluo Divine Kingdom, why should its people follow you?”
“Get lost!” Luo Cha snapped.
Zhang Ruochen smiled, said no more, and walked out of the heptagonal palace.
The moment he stepped out, his smile faded, replaced by a cold solemnity.
Looking up at the boundless dark void, he murmured, “Only by becoming strong can a vision become reality. And the reality I face now is the cruelest.”
Banruo’s image surfaced in his mind.
She was always like that, speaking harsh truths, never communicating gently. But she had pointed out his greatest flaw.
Half of his breakthrough in mindset today was due to her awakening.
Otherwise, those twelve heart shackles might have lingered indefinitely.
“My answer will be shown to you one day. But what’s your answer? What’s your vision? Why did you come to the Hell Realm?” Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
…
In just three days, the Upper Three Clans’ cultivators had broken through the Heavenly Slaves’ heavy defenses, crossing millions of miles to reach the airspace above Dark Star Number Seven.
In those three days, the Heavenly Slaves they killed were mostly Saint Kings, mere foot soldiers.
But due to the Heavenly Slaves’ pre-set arrays, talismans, and saint technique traps, the Upper Three Clans suffered significant losses.
Two Great Sages fell, and over a hundred were injured.
Over seven hundred Great Sage Heavenly Slaves had gathered on Dark Star Number Seven, a third of the entire Hunting Heaven Battlefield, an immense force not to be underestimated.
If the Upper Three Clans launched a direct assault, their losses would be catastrophic.
…
In the heptagonal palace.
Zhang Ruochen and Luo Cha received the news immediately.
Luo Cha crushed the transmission talisman, laughing, “This is interesting! Over seven hundred Great Sages gathered together must have given the Upper Three Clans’ cultivators quite a scare.”
“Without the Death Altar, this battle will be tough for them,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Luo Cha said, “The Upper Three Clans likely assumed the Heavenly Slaves were scattered across millions of miles of dark space, easy to pick off one by one. Now that all the Great Sage Heavenly Slaves are united, they can’t make a move.”
On the dark star, spiritual power and cultivation were heavily suppressed, giving the Heavenly Slaves an advantage.
One side fought with a death wish, aiming to take others down with them.
The other cherished their lives, approaching it as a hunt.
Even with an absolute advantage, the Upper Three Clans would suffer countless casualties to wipe out the Heavenly Slaves on Dark Star Number Seven. Thus, they dared not fight.
Luo Cha said, “With the Death Altar, the Upper Three Clans could have attacked forcefully. Zhang Ruochen, they must hate you to death now!”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head with a faint smile.
Without the Death Altar, Emperor Chi and Banruo’s plans couldn’t proceed.
What would Emperor Chi and Banruo decide next?
Zhang Ruochen asked, “The transmission only mentioned Great Sage Heavenly Slaves on the dark star? What about Saint Kings, Saints, and Half-Saints?”
“Cultivators below Great Sage, once on Dark Star Number Seven, are suppressed to the level of ordinary people. In a fight, they’re cannon fodder,” Luo Cha said.
Zhang Ruochen countered, “But there are millions, tens of millions of Heavenly Slaves below Great Sage. One Saint King might be cannon fodder, but ten thousand united? One Saint might be weak, but a hundred thousand?”
Luo Cha nodded, “You’re right. The Heavenly Slaves below Great Sage are the biggest variable in this battle. But so far, the Rakshasa Clan hasn’t located their hiding place.”
“Emperor Chi isn’t ordinary, he’s a Great Sage of the Ten Thousand Deaths Realm. If he can hide millions of Heavenly Slaves, he must have a purpose. We have to be cautious,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Heavenly Slaves could die freely, but every Great Sage of the Rakshasa Clan and Undying Blood Race was precious, the foundation of their future.
Luo Cha and Zhang Ruochen had to tread carefully.
Luo Cha mused, “Then let the Upper Three Clans draw out Emperor Chi’s trump card first, and we’ll act afterward. Zhang Ruochen, how about you accompany me to find someone first?”
“Who?”
“The greatest necromancer in the Hunting Heaven Battlefield, Yan Guang of the Death Clan.”
“What for?”
“To borrow an army from him.”
