The efficiency of the Destiny Division and the Judgment Division was remarkable. In less than half a day, they had obtained results.
Prajna’s figure was slender as a willow, resembling a celestial crane in the clouds, noble and flawless. She stood before the Goddess Hall, reaching out to grasp a transmission light talisman flying from the horizon. After glancing at it, she returned to the hall.
“I have good news for you. The Destiny Division found Southern Sky pollen at the site where Tan Fei self-detonated his sacred source. It is almost certain that the killer of Tan Fei was Seven Hands Elder,” Prajna said.
Zhang Ruochen, who had been meditating with closed eyes, was secretly shocked upon hearing this.
How could this be possible?
When Tan Fei self-detonated, Seven Hands Elder had clearly been taken into the purple-gold gourd by him.
Could Seven Hands Elder have used a spiritual clone or a puppet body?
No, that’s not right.
With so many powerhouses gathered at the Goddess Tower, how could Seven Hands Elder succeed with just a clone or puppet?
Zhang Ruochen said, “Based on Southern Sky pollen alone, can it be concluded that Seven Hands Elder was the one who acted?”
“Three thousand years ago, Seven Hands Elder was pursued by a pseudo-god and escaped using Southern Sky pollen. Southern Sky flowers are extremely rare. In this aeon, only Seven Hands Elder has used it once,” Prajna explained.
Zhang Ruochen said, “I don’t believe only Seven Hands Elder possesses Southern Sky pollen.”
“Indeed, some top-tier major forces likely have small amounts of Southern Sky pollen in reserve. However, the enforcer of the divine realm personally admitted that the cultivator who informed him was Seven Hands Elder. Thus, everything is clear. It was Seven Hands Elder who killed Xing Qian, captured Cang Baizi, and killed Tan Fei, ultimately framing you,” Prajna said.
Although Zhang Ruochen already knew the Destiny Division would help clear his name, hearing this conclusion still felt absurd, leaving him stunned.
Then, a strange expression appeared on his face, and he found it quite amusing.
The informant could not possibly be Seven Hands Elder.
Zhuo Yunong was clever, smoothly shifting the blame to Seven Hands Elder, providing everyone with a reasonable explanation.
No need to guess; there must be some dark deal behind this.
The most unfortunate was Seven Hands Elder.
While in the Qiankun Realm, the blame came crashing down from the sky.
With a smile, Zhang Ruochen said, “Why would Seven Hands Elder kill Xing Qian and Tan Fei, and why would he capture Cang Baizi? Where has he gone now?”
“That’s not something you need to concern yourself with. The Destiny Division and the Judgment Division have issued the highest-level extermination and bounty orders, pursuing Seven Hands Elder across the entire Hell Realm,” Prajna replied.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “What’s the bounty?”
“You’ll find out the amount.”
Prajna gave him a sideways glance and added, “Now, you may leave!”
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the Goddess Hall, letting out a long breath. While hurrying along, he pondered.
The Judgment Division was willing to forgo this chance to kill him, so they must have encountered something more significant, likely the news of the five supreme source divine crystals emerging. However, this could not be announced publicly, so they only claimed Seven Hands Elder killed Tan Fei.
Why Seven Hands Elder killed Tan Fei was vaguely explained.
But who exactly left Southern Sky pollen at the site of Tan Fei’s self-detonation?
“Were they helping me? No, they wanted to frame Seven Hands Elder, diverting all suspicion to him.”
Zhang Ruochen realised he must leave the Destiny Divine Realm immediately.
First, the powerhouses of the Judgment Division and Destiny Division would surely calculate Seven Hands Elder’s whereabouts at once.
Zhang Ruochen was well aware of the prowess of the Destiny Path in calculations and was uncertain whether hiding Seven Hands Elder in the Qiankun Realm could evade their divinations.
The farther he got, the lower the chance that the Destiny Temple would locate Seven Hands Elder.
Second, Zhang Ruochen was concerned the Judgment Division had further plans.
Once he left the Destiny Divine Realm, if the Judgment Division still dared to target him, Zhang Ruochen would ensure none of them survived, unlike now, where he was constrained.
Many cultivators lingered at the foot of Destiny Divine Mountain, watching Zhang Ruochen leave unscathed, all showing disappointed expressions.
“Even the divine realm’s enforcer couldn’t handle Zhang Ruochen. Who else can threaten him?”
“Zhang Ruochen has firmly established himself in the Hell Realm. Watch closely; the next few centuries, even millennia, will be his era. All cultivators will be trampled under his feet.”
“Exaggerated, isn’t it? Zhang Ruochen is only at the Hundred-Shackle Realm. Below the divine realm, countless cultivators are stronger than him,” Huoxing said, somewhat displeased.
Atop a holy tower not far from Destiny Divine Mountain, Bai Qing’er watched Zhang Ruochen’s departing figure.
General Zhu said, “Miss, your methods are brilliant. To capture Zhang Ruochen, you could directly use the Judgment Division’s hand. To release him, using Southern Sky pollen to frame Seven Hands Elder would set him free. This so-called aeon-level genius, Zhang Ruochen, cannot escape your grasp.”
Bai Qing’er’s expression was calm and elegant as she said, “Zhang Ruochen is more formidable than I expected. He likely discovered the supreme source divine crystals on Seven Hands Elder.”
“How so?” General Zhu asked, surprised.
Bai Qing’er said, “Zhuo Yunong and Wuyue Fate Emperor didn’t find Seven Hands Elder at the Seven-Star Imperial Palace, indicating Zhang Ruochen hid him in a very secretive place. Moreover, the Judgment Division and Destiny Division are now pursuing Seven Hands Elder with a massive bounty. Isn’t it strange that Zhang Ruochen hasn’t handed him over?”
“The only possibility is that Zhang Ruochen knows Seven Hands Elder holds extraordinary value, and they have likely reached a collaboration.”
General Zhu said, “Could there be another possibility? That Seven Hands Elder has possessed Zhang Ruochen?”
Bai Qing’er remained silent.
General Zhu said, “What does Miss mean? Seven Hands Elder’s spiritual power has reached the sixty-ninth tier. Possessing Zhang Ruochen shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual will is strong enough to condense a second-grade holy intent. How could Seven Hands Elder possess him? Besides, even if possession succeeded, it would be a dead end. Would the Blood Absolute War God spare someone who possessed his grandson?”
Bai Qing’er added, “If I’m not mistaken, Zhang Ruochen will immediately leave the Destiny Divine Realm and return to the Blood Sky Tribe’s Wing World.”
Turtle Lord stammered, “Th-th-then… how…”
General Zhu ignored it and said, “Once Zhang Ruochen returns to the Blood Sky Tribe’s Wing World, he’ll be like a fish in the sea, untouchable. To capture him, we can only intercept him en route.”
“Who says he’s untouchable?” Bai Qing’er said.
General Zhu knew the miss was always bold and often made astonishing moves. Concerned, he advised, “The Blood Sky Tribe’s Wing World is the Blood Absolute Family’s most entrenched stronghold, with three true gods. Miss, please don’t take risks.”
“The Jade煌 Realm is about to open, and most deities will head there. The Blood Sky Tribe’s Wing World isn’t a dragon’s lair or tiger’s den. Why can’t I go? Whether it’s the supreme source divine crystals or Seven Hands Elder, I will take them back.”
Bai Qing’er’s five slender, jade-white fingers slowly reached out, grasping toward Zhang Ruochen’s distant, tiny figure. Her fingers closed into a fist, as if she had seized him in her palm.
What belonged to her, no one could take away.
…
The Shura Star Pillar Realm was the core territory of the Shura Clan, equivalent in status to the ten wing worlds of the Immortal Blood Clan.
It stood towering in the starry sky, its height immeasurable in billions of miles, radiating brilliant starlight. Stars floated above it, like specks of light, as tiny as dust.
At the top of the Shura Star Pillar Realm, where the light was brightest, lay one of the Shura Clan’s holiest places, the Shura War Soul Sea.
All cultivators ascending to the Shura Star Pillar Realm from other worlds emerged from the War Soul Sea. Only by enduring its baptism could they transform, shedding their mortal selves to become true Shuras.
The Shura War Soul Sea was boundless, its war energy condensed into liquid, churning ceaselessly, raising thousand-layer waves. In the farther reaches, lightning crisscrossed, emitting terrifying destructive fluctuations that even Great Saints could not approach.
Whoosh.
A figure in a black robe flew from the cosmos, landing at the edge of the War Soul Sea.
He removed his black cloak, revealing the face of a man in his thirties, with a beard, sharp and deep eyes, a high nose, a tall and upright figure, and a commanding presence. He strode toward the sea.
Just as he reached the shore, he stopped abruptly and said in a deep voice, “Who’s there?”
His voice was louder than the distant thunder.
His flesh and bones shifted, his face instantly transforming into that of Qitian.
The Blood Empress stepped through the waves of the War Soul Sea, emerging from the lightning, her divine eyes blazing as she stared unblinkingly at the black-robed man. Though she tried to suppress her emotions, her body still trembled slightly.
The black-robed man never expected the Blood Empress to appear here.
Looking at the woman he had once loved most, despite having imagined their reunion countless times and telling himself not to let her see through him, he could not control the emotions suppressed for eight hundred years.
He wanted to turn and flee, to avert his gaze, but his body stood petrified, unmoving.
“You still want to hide? Is there any point? Should I call you Qitian or Zhang Ling?”
The Blood Empress approached him, her gaze as resentful as it had been eight hundred years ago when they parted.
The difference was, this time, her hatred was stronger.
The black-robed man gave a bitter smile. “Qingyin.”
His face gradually reverted to its original form.
“So, you’ve cultivated the divine technique from the Thirty-Three Heavens, the Black-White Dual Form, allowing you to switch between a Shura body and a human one. You must also possess some other secret treasure, right? Otherwise, the Black-White Dual Form alone couldn’t deceive the divine lords of the Destiny Temple,” the Blood Empress said.
The black-robed man said, “No need to ask. I won’t tell you.”
“Just like eight hundred years ago?”
The Blood Empress’s voice grew sharper, her eyes glimmering with tears. “Eight hundred years ago, I promised you I’d stay in the Endless Abyss until the Kunlun Realm was breached by the Hell Realm, or until I became a god, or until you sent word. I wouldn’t emerge.”
“I asked you why, and you told me not to ask, to wait for your word. I didn’t ask, because I trusted you.”
“I kept my promise! But you promised to take care of Chen’er. Did you keep yours?”
“Zhang Ling, you’ve disappointed me beyond measure. You’re unfit to be a husband, unfit to be a father.”
The black-robed man opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the Blood Empress. “Eight hundred years, and have you ever thought about how I survived in the Endless Abyss? Have you ever considered visiting me there?”
“To wait for your word, I locked myself in the Endless Abyss for eight hundred years, out of spite with myself. I thought one day you’d come for me, but that day never came.”
“When I learned, in the sixteenth year, of your disappearance and Chen’er’s death, I wept for a long time. In those eight hundred years in the Endless Abyss, I sometimes wondered if you’d been killed, if waiting was pointless. Yet, because I trusted you, I kept waiting.”
“It would’ve been better if you’d died. Why did you have to appear before me now?”
The black-robed man couldn’t meet her gaze, his eyes half-closed. “I’m sorry.”
“Is that all? A sorry? You’ve wronged more than just me and Chen’er. There are also the vassals and subjects of the Sacred Central Empire who followed the Zhang family.”
Though the Blood Empress’s words grew harsher, her eyes were already brimming with tears. “The truth. I only want the truth now.”
The black-robed man regained his composure, straightened his posture, and walked past her to the edge of the War Soul Sea, gazing at the boundless water. “You should know that to become a Shura, to ascend to the War Soul Sea, one must kill. Kill many, many people, becoming cruel and bloodthirsty, not just in action but in heart. It’s not a pleasant feeling.”
“If you killed and became a Shura to join the Hell Realm for my sake, I’d be moved, perhaps even forgive your eight hundred years of coldness and indifference. But that’s not the truth. You allied with the Seamless Pavilion and killed the newly ascended goddess, Feng Li. What exactly are you plotting in the Hell Realm?” the Blood Empress demanded.
The black-robed man said, “So that’s where the flaw was. When Chen’er was targeted by the Judgment Division, you didn’t act, likely to force me to reveal myself.”
The Blood Empress said, “If you could stand by and watch him die, I wouldn’t have given you a chance to speak now. You’d be facing my palm strike and the Blood Sea Demon Mirror.”
The black-robed man’s brows furrowed, his eyes filled with anguish. “Qingyin, these eight hundred years, I’ve indeed wronged you and Chen’er. But I did it only to survive, and for the survival of many others. You asked why I made you stay in the Endless Abyss eight hundred years ago. I only wanted you to live. The Kunlun Realm couldn’t tolerate an Immortal Blood Clan member, just as the Judgment Division couldn’t tolerate Chen’er.”
“Family, nation, world—one must choose. If the world is gone, what’s left of family or nation?”
“The disappearance, or death, of the former Bright Emperor, wasn’t that a good thing for you? Could the Hell Realm tolerate an Immortal Blood Clan member in love with a human from the Kunlun Realm? It couldn’t. In this perilous era, many struggle on the edge of death. I’d rather you be the daughter of the Blood Absolute War God than Zhang Ling’s wife.”
“When one stands in that position, they must bear the responsibility, even if it means abandoning everything. What I owe you and Chen’er, I’ll repay with my life once I’ve finished that task.”
“Then, I’ll tell you the entire truth.”
With a whoosh, the black-robed man turned into a streak of light, plunging into the Shura War Soul Sea, vanishing into the densest lightning.
The Blood Empress stood alone at the shore, gazing at his departing figure, unable to hold back the tears welling in her eyes, which fell like a spring. For the man she loved her entire life, she ultimately couldn’t bring herself to act.
…
Eight hundred years to become a god—Chi Yao’s cultivation talent was that exceptional? Her birth mother’s identity has been overlooked!
