Among the Yanluo Clan, the surname “Yan” is the most prestigious, representing the noblest bloodline and the most powerful heritage.
However, within the Yan surname, there is a distinction of “Two Directs and Thirteen Gods.”
The Two Directs refer to the Tianwaitian Yan Clan and the Lihen Tian Yan Clan.
The Thirteen Gods refer to the other thirteen Yan Clans that have produced deities. Due to differences in their ancestral heritage and the places where they gather to cultivate, they have become thirteen relatively independent forces.
Though their strength is far inferior to the Two Directs, their advantage lies in their large numbers, forming a significant part of the Yan surname.
The Tianwaitian Yan Clan, based in Yanluo Tianwaitian, is the most powerful and, in a sense, the true representative of the Yan surname. The vast majority of Yanluo Clan powerhouses active in the Hell Realm hail from this clan.
Yan Wushen, Yan Huangtu, Yan Zhexian, the ancient god Xuezhi, and all past leaders of the Yanluo Clan come from the Tianwaitian Yan Clan.
However, in the last Yuan Assembly, there has been talk of a “Three Directs” distinction within the Yan Clan.
This arose because, ten thousand years ago, after the previous Yanluo Clan leader, Yan Huanyu, disappeared, most of his lineage relocated to the Abyss of Darkness to rescue the possibly trapped Leader Huanyu.
Since then, the Tianwaitian Yan Clan split in two.
Over ten thousand years, this group of Yan Clan members has gradually separated, now referred to as the “Abyss of Darkness Yan Clan.”
Of course, the Abyss of Darkness Yan Clan and the Tianwaitian Yan Clan share the same sect, clan, and bloodline, maintaining a close relationship. At least in the eyes of the Hell Realm’s cultivators, they remain one lineage.
Yan Wushen was born into the Abyss of Darkness Yan Clan.
Yan Chu, an elderly man appearing to be in his sixties or seventies, had an ordinary appearance, wore a white headscarf, and held a foot-long smoking pipe. He stood on a twenty-seven-zhang-tall giant ship, puffing clouds of smoke.
Having lived for twenty-five thousand years, he was one of the most formidable figures under the deities of the Abyss of Darkness Yan Clan.
In a world where deities cannot interfere in mortal affairs, Yan Chu could act with impunity, resolving any issue. Thus, the Five Elements Sect sent him to ensure Yan Wushen’s safety.
Even the Fuluo Divine Lord recognized the danger surrounding Yan Wushen and arranged his betrothal to Prajna, using the Fate Temple’s authority to deter the Tianwaitian Yan Clan, unwilling to let this Yuan Assembly-level genius, a future powerhouse of the Hell Realm, fall victim to the conflicts of the previous generation.
How could the Five Elements Sect not see this?
With the Huntian Banquet concluded, Yan Wushen had lost his final value and was marked for death. For this generation of the Yanluo Clan, Yan Huangtu alone was deemed sufficient.
Yan Chu gazed at the rolling river, exhaling a smoke ring.
He was waiting, waiting for the Tianwaitian Yan Clan to make their move.
The Tianwaitian Yan Clan would likely be unwilling to see Yan Wushen marry Prajna, as that would place both the Fuluo Divine Lord and the Nu Tian Divine Lord as his backers.
Those sent to kill Yan Wushen would not be deities.
If a deity acted, it would break the unspoken rules established over time, and the Hell Realm would no longer remain calm.
Every move of a deity creates massive ripples.
Battles among cultivators below deity level, however, are like undercurrents. No matter how fierce, the surface remains calm.
The Fate Temple, the Darkness Temple, and the leaders of the ten clans all strive to maintain this calm. At least, until the Heavenly Court realms are eradicated, the Hell Realm must not descend into chaos.
“The one who comes will come. Who will it be? The Half-God Yan Yu? The Dark Walker Yan Xuelai? Or perhaps Fu Xiangnu?” Yan Chu’s thoughts wandered, conjuring images of figures.
Each figure carried a mysterious divine charm, representing a peerless powerhouse.
At that moment, Yan Chu sensed a powerful killing intent. He saw waves over ten zhang high rise on the blood-red river, surging toward the giant ship.
“Yan Wushen, do you not wish to fight me?”
…
“This battle will decide victory and life or death.”
Zhang Ruochen’s voice transformed into waves of sound, surging forward.
Yan Chu’s aged eyes narrowed in shock, an incredulous expression on his face. He muttered, “So that’s it, so that’s it. They plan to use Zhang Ruochen to kill openly. I should have realized sooner.”
With a creak, a cabin door on the giant ship opened. Yan Wushen’s imposing figure stepped out, gazing into the blood mist filled with killing intent in the night sky.
He said, “Zhang Ruochen has never been a true lecher, yet in the Huntian Battlefield, Yan Zhexian bore his child.”
“A beauty trap?” Yan Chu asked.
Yan Wushen shook his head. “If a beauty trap could sway Zhang Ruochen, I wouldn’t consider him my lifelong rival. I believe the Tianwaitian Yan Clan made a deal with him, promising him something. To establish himself in the Hell Realm, Zhang Ruochen needs their support. His situation here is even more precarious than mine.”
Yan Chu said, “If Zhang Ruochen is the Tianwaitian Yan Clan’s blade, we need not engage him. Head to the Fuluo Divine Palace. Once you marry Prajna, you’ll have the Fuluo Divine Lord and the Nu Tian Divine Lord as your backers.”
Yan Wushen shook his head. “A battle with Zhang Ruochen has always been my obsession. If I retreat today without fighting, that obsession will deepen, hindering my cultivation of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and likely affecting my Thousand Questions and Ten Thousand Deaths Realms.”
“Fight! Be it Zhang Ruochen or the Tianwaitian Yan Clan, any enemy blocking my path will be slain.”
“Fight! Trapped in the Saint King Realm for centuries, my foundation is immense. Why fear Zhang Ruochen?”
“Fight! Zhang Ruochen comes with ulterior motives, his battle spirit impure, already a step below.”
“Fight! In this battle, I will slay him. Only with a perfect heart can the Six Paths unite.”
With four successive “fight” declarations, Yan Wushen’s aura reached its peak, the space around him seeming to solidify, the world falling into utter silence.
Yan Wushen stood tall, his long hair flowing, a smile in his voice as he shouted, “Well come! This battle is long overdue! After your death, I will care for Kunlun.”
Since returning from the Third Dark Star, Yan Wushen’s cultivation had greatly advanced.
Yet, he had no certainty of defeating Zhang Ruochen.
Facing a life-or-death battle, Zhang Ruochen came fully armed with treasures. How could Yan Wushen not take it seriously?
His earlier words were meant to unsettle Zhang Ruochen’s mind.
“After your death, I will care for Kunlun,” implying, if I die, Kunlun dies too.
Zhang Ruochen was unaffected by Yan Wushen’s words, unconcerned for Chi Kunlun’s safety.
This battle with Yan Wushen was not personal but an open duel.
If the Yanluo Clan killed Yan Wushen’s disciple Chi Kunlun over this, they would be ridiculed by the world’s cultivators and face fierce retaliation from the Xuejue Family.
The supreme clans value reputation above life.
How could they stoop to such a low act?
“Enough talk. Fight.”
Blood qi beneath Zhang Ruochen’s feet formed eerie patterns, like tadpoles or earthworms, stirring the rules of heaven and earth. The power of the world turned into lightning, striking the giant ship in a torrent.
Yan Wushen punched, unleashing a black fist shadow larger than the ship, shattering the incoming lightning and spreading it across the blood river.
The river surface flickered with electric light.
A roar erupted from the ship, Buddhist light bursting forth.
Yan Wushen activated his nine-zhang-six golden body, letting out a furious lion’s roar imbued with the essence of the Six-Syllable Mantra.
Om Mani Padme Hum.
The six syllables merged into one sound.
A dozens-zhang-long golden lion phantom appeared on Yan Wushen’s body, its roar golden, disrupting space and vaporizing the river water.
Each syllable of the Six-Syllable Mantra rivaled a hundred-shackle high-tier sacred technique, capable of purging sins, severing life and death, destroying wisdom, and cutting lifespan.
Combined into a lion’s roar, its power surpassed a Thousand Questions high-tier sacred technique.
“Slash! Slash! Slash…”
Zhang Ruochen did not retreat but transformed into a streak of light, charging into the golden sound waves, wielding the Chenyuan Ancient Sword to cut through layer after layer.
Unbroken sound waves entered within ten zhang of Zhang Ruochen, blocked by his True Space Domain.
The sound waves spun in the domain, reversing back outward.
“I heard you went to the Third Dark Star. Your cultivation has indeed advanced greatly.”
Zhang Ruochen flew above the ship, his Fire God Armor blazing, its light illuminating the night sky for miles, turning the vegetation on both riverbanks to ash.
He stomped downward, over twenty million flame god patterns appearing on his leg, forming a thick divine cloud.
Yan Chu looked up, marveling, “Such formidable divine might.”
For a Great Sage to possess and control divine power was remarkable.
To control such a vast amount was even more astonishing. Yan Chu began to understand why Yan Wushen saw this man as his lifelong rival.
Feeling immense pressure, Yan Wushen’s expression grew grave. He leaped from the ship, wielding the Tongtian Ruyi, striking with supreme power.
The Tongtian Ruyi belonged to Yan Huangtu but had fallen into his hands, with no need to return it.
The Tongtian Ruyi grew over ten zhang long, clashing with the divine cloud formed by Yan Shen’s leg.
A deafening boom followed, supreme power and divine fire scattering in all directions. Each flame that fell smashed craters several zhang wide into the ground.
The craters burned with divine flames, unextinguished.
Yan Wushen fell into the dried blood river, crashing a meteor-like crater into the riverbed. Divine fire caught in his hair, burning strands to ash.
With the current might of Yan Shen’s leg, even with a supreme sacred artifact, Yan Wushen could not fully block it.
In the Huntian Battlefield, though Zhang Ruochen’s Yan Shen Leg broke its fourth seal, he could only control over ten million flame god patterns.
In the five days using the Sundial, Zhang Ruochen spent five years refining another ten million flame god patterns.
The power of Yan Shen’s leg was far greater than before.
This battle had just begun, yet Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen were already using their strongest moves, with no tentative strikes.
“Thousand Hands, Thousand Bodies.”
Yan Wushen split into a thousand, covering the land. The Hunyuan Hell Yanluo Qi, formed from extreme light and darkness, enveloped hundreds of miles, turning the area into a sea of qi.
In the qi sea, the Yanluo Ancestor’s figure emerged, standing on the Yellow Springs, holding the Earth Book.
The Yanluo Ancestor swung a massive hand toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen drew the Dragon Bone Whip from his waist and lashed out, the whip crackling. A massive divine dragon surged from within, releasing terrifying divine might.
The bone whip, forged from a divine dragon’s spine, retained an undying dragon soul and divine power.
Simultaneously, a phantom emerged from Zhang Ruochen’s body.
Not the Immovable Wisdom King.
The phantom bore twenty-four pairs of golden wings, the form of the Xuejue Ancestor.
From a hundred miles away, the scene was breathtaking: the Xuejue Ancestor, wielding a divine dragon as a whip, striking the Yanluo Ancestor.
The sound of earth-shattering crashes echoed.
Ten thousand miles away, two figures stood under a black umbrella.
They were the Half-God Yan Yu and Fu Xiangnu, both top-tier powerhouses below the divine realm in the Hell Realm, ranked high on the Fate Temple’s Divine Reserve Scroll and the Heavenly Palace’s Red Dust Peerless List.
The Divine Reserve Scroll came from the Fate Temple.
The Red Dust Peerless List was compiled by the Heavenly Palace.
Fu Xiangnu, wearing a blue crystal veil, her slender jade arm drawing a crystal bow, its string entwined with heaven and earth rules, forming a translucent arrow.
The arrow aimed at Yan Wushen, ten thousand miles away.
In archery, Fu Xiangnu was unmatched below the divine realm in the universe, making Da Senluo Huang seem like a child just learning to hold a bow.
Yan Yu’s voice was gentle. “Put it away for now.”
Fu Xiangnu did not lower her arrow, her voice cold. “Do you think Zhang Ruochen can kill Yan Wushen? I heard that since returning from the Third Dark Star, Yan Wushen’s cultivation has soared, and his lifespan has grown astronomically. He must have gained some opportunity there.”
Yan Yu said, “It’s best if we aren’t the ones to kill Yan Wushen. The Yanluo Clan has no internal strife. The Tianwaitian Yan Clan and the Abyss of Darkness Yan Clan are the closest of kin. In truth, there’s no such thing as the Abyss of Darkness Yan Clan.”
“The Dark Heaven Umbrella can indeed conceal all secrets, even from deities. But it cannot hide from human hearts. If Yan Wushen dies by an arrow, everyone will know it was you.”
“I don’t know why Zhang Ruochen wants to kill Yan Wushen, but I can sense his killing intent. He seems eager to make others believe he acts on our behalf.”
Fu Xiangnu said, “Opportunities are fleeting. If we don’t act now, once the Fuluo Divine Lord’s divine sense arrives, there will be no chance.”
Yan Yu, hands behind his back, his robes fluttering, said calmly, “Give Zhang Ruochen a chance. I can see his resolve to kill is unwavering.”
Fu Xiangnu released her fingers, and the arrow on the bowstring vanished. She slung the crystal bow over her back, its length exceeding her slender, graceful frame.
