“You wouldn’t dare kill me.”
Zhang Ruochen’s voice echoed incessantly, laced with laughter and brimming with confidence.
“Is that so?”
From Bai Qing’er’s fingertips, countless sacred rules surged, twisting into a slender thread.
A single thread, yet a weapon capable of slaying the world’s sacred spirits.
“Roar!”
Behind Zhang Ruochen, a dazzling golden light emerged, forming a cloud of silken radiance.
The true form of the Burial Gold White Tiger manifested, standing within the golden cloud, the character “Burial” on its forehead radiating immense divine might. Even with Bai Qing’er’s cultivation, she was momentarily stunned and halted her steps.
Her gaze turned grave.
The gap in cultivation between Zhang Ruochen and Bai Qing’er was vast.
But the gap between Bai Qing’er and the Burial Gold White Tiger was even greater.
Were it not for her fear of the heavenly punishment triggered by the rules of the world, the Burial Gold White Tiger could reduce Bai Qing’er to mere bones with a single divine breath. Perhaps not even bones would remain.
Bai Qing’er retracted the rule-thread, saying, “The legendary Burial Gold White Tiger finally reveals its true form.”
The Burial Gold White Tiger stepped to Zhang Ruochen’s left, raising its massive head, and said, “If you kill him, I will spare no effort to kill you.”
“Not afraid of heavenly punishment?” Bai Qing’er asked.
The Burial Gold White Tiger replied, “Heavenly punishment may not kill me, but if I act, you will surely die.”
Zhang Ruochen gazed at the stunning woman across from him, inwardly admiring her composure under the Burial Gold White Tiger’s immense divine pressure. Truly befitting a master of formations, truly befitting the most supreme figure below the divine realm.
After a moment of contemplation, Bai Qing’er said, “What do you think of my talent?”
“Once-in-an-eon genius, unmatched in the world,” the Burial Gold White Tiger replied.
Bai Qing’er said, “Then how about I become your guide? Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation is too low, and his ranking on the Divine Reserve Scroll is not high. He may face great calamities in the future, making him an unsuitable choice.”
“No,” the Burial Gold White Tiger said.
Bai Qing’er asked, “Why? Do you believe Zhang Ruochen’s future potential is greater?”
“No, simply because you offended me, and I’m very angry,” the Burial Gold White Tiger said, its tiger eyes glaring straight at Bai Qing’er, clearly holding a grudge.
Bai Qing’er had once called it a “sick cat,” speaking with utmost arrogance.
The Burial Gold White Tiger was petty and had been nursing this grudge ever since.
For this reason, it had promised Zhang Ruochen that in any battle against Bai Qing’er, he could borrow its power without limit.
A tiger must settle its grudges.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly found this tiger quite spirited, unable to resist the urge to pat its rear. But as his hand moved, he paused, realizing this was not Xiao Hei but a mighty divine being, and quickly withdrew his hand.
Injured and pale, Zhang Ruochen said, “Actually, at our current distance, even without the Burial Gold White Tiger’s help, if I want to leave, you can’t stop me, let alone kill me.”
“So confident?” Bai Qing’er said.
Zhang Ruochen and Bai Qing’er were thirty li apart.
For a top-tier great saint, this distance was negligible.
A mere thought could bridge it.
With composure, Zhang Ruochen extended a hand in a gesture of invitation, saying, “If you don’t believe me, try it.”
Bai Qing’er stared at the Burial Gold White Tiger and said, “He’s the one who wants to try. If I kill him, you won’t object, will you?”
“If you can kill him, it only means he brought it upon himself,” the Burial Gold White Tiger said, seemingly confident in Zhang Ruochen.
At thirty li, even a powerhouse like Wuyue Fate Emperor would have no chance of escaping.
Bai Qing’er was skeptical that Zhang Ruochen, with his mere Hundred-Shackle Realm cultivation and without borrowing the Burial Gold White Tiger’s power, could escape her.
“Swish!”
From Bai Qing’er’s body, a shadowy clone rushed out, transforming into a white blur, speeding forward.
With her status and cultivation, killing a Hundred-Shackle Realm great saint didn’t require her true body.
A single clone was enough.
Just as Zhang Ruochen might kill a Saint King without using his true body, to do so would be giving the Saint King too much credit.
“Flash!”
Though it was just a clone, its speed exceeded ten thousand times the speed of sound, crossing thirty li like lightning, its claw reaching for Zhang Ruochen’s neck.
The neck was crushed.
But it was only Zhang Ruochen’s afterimage.
His true body had already crossed space, teleporting eight hundred li away, saying, “A mere clone thinks it can kill me? You underestimate the heir of time and space!”
“One clone isn’t enough? Then I’ll send more.”
With a thought, Bai Qing’er conjured another clone behind Zhang Ruochen, eight hundred li away, striking at his back.
Zhang Ruochen immediately activated his Void Time Domain, teleporting away once more.
The purpose of the Void Time Domain was not to block Bai Qing’er’s attack but to buy time for his spatial teleportation. Against a powerhouse of her caliber, a single moment could determine victory or death.
The Void Time Domain gave Zhang Ruochen that crucial moment.
“Swish! Swish! Swish…”
Bai Qing’er conjured more clones, numbering in the dozens, each far surpassing Zhang Ruochen’s combat strength, capable of killing him with a single blow.
Figures danced across the sky, as if thousands of white-clad celestial maidens were besieging Zhang Ruochen.
Yet they couldn’t harm him in the slightest.
Having reached the peak of the Hundred-Shackle Realm, with vast divine power in his body and possessing ninety-nine percent of the spatial mysteries, Zhang Ruochen’s ability to escape was unmatched by few below the divine realm.
“Withdraw!”
All the clones flew back, merging with Bai Qing’er’s body.
She said, “I truly underestimated the escape skills of the heir of time and space.”
Zhang Ruochen could hear the dismissive tone in her words but paid it no mind, laughing, “If you were constantly hunted, ambushed, and besieged, you’d develop this skill too. All cultivators strive for immortality, but only the survivors reign. Only those who live to the end can laugh last.”
“Then I’ll have to get serious!”
Bai Qing’er closed her eyes.
Zhang Ruochen sensed danger, realizing she was about to launch a mental attack. He quickly channeled his blood煞气 into the War God Belt. Instantly, the belt glowed with blood-red light, releasing divine aura and the War God’s will, forming a pair of massive blood wings behind him.
The War God Belt could only draw the War God Xue Jue’s divine power to save Zhang Ruochen’s life when attacked by a god.
But the belt itself was a supreme treasure, capable of withstanding mental attacks.
Zhang Ruochen’s greatest fear was Bai Qing’er’s mental assault, as mental power could instantly cross thousands or tens of thousands of li, making escape nearly impossible even with spatial techniques.
To be safe, Zhang Ruochen activated the Fire God Armor, enveloping his body, and secretly triggered the Heart of Truth.
As expected, the moment Bai Qing’er closed her eyes, a powerful mental storm struck.
The mental storm was silent, but unleashed by a great saint with sixty-nine-and-a-half-tier mental strength, few below the divine realm would dare face it head-on. Even gods with weaker mental strength would be wary.
Despite his defensive measures, Zhang Ruochen chose to teleport spatially, avoiding contact with the mental storm.
“I’ve locked down space. How will you escape?”
Bai Qing’er spread her palm, and a ninety-thousand-li-long palm print shadow appeared, suspended in the cosmos, utterly awe-inspiring.
Zhang Ruochen seemed to stand in her palm, his body as insignificant as dust.
The space was indeed locked, even more solidly than on the Dark Star, making spatial teleportation impossible for even the most elite spatial cultivators below the divine realm.
But Zhang Ruochen was no longer what he once was.
“You can’t lock me down!”
He stomped his foot, and countless spatial runes surged from his sole, weaving into a spatial teleportation array.
It wasn’t a true teleportation array but a fusion of spatial mysteries and rules.
“Flash!”
The array spun once, and Zhang Ruochen vanished, teleporting three hundred thousand li away.
A glint of surprise flashed in Bai Qing’er’s eyes, then, realizing something, she gave a faint smile and withdrew the ninety-thousand-li palm print shadow.
After a moment, she looked at Zhang Ruochen flying back from the horizon and said, “How much of the spatial mysteries have you mastered?”
Knowing he couldn’t hide it, Zhang Ruochen smiled and asked, “How much of the origin mysteries have you mastered?”
“Fine, I admit that beyond thirty li, it’s indeed hard to kill you. But don’t get too close to me. If you’re too close, killing you would still be easy,” Bai Qing’er said.
Thirty li was a safe distance between Zhang Ruochen and Bai Qing’er.
With those thirty li, Zhang Ruochen had enough time to react and evade any of her killing moves.
“Are you trying to send me away?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Bai Qing’er said, “I don’t care why you’re following me, but you should leave now. Continuing to follow me won’t benefit you.”
“Are you afraid of me?”
Zhang Ruochen walked forward, stepping within thirty li.
Then within ten li.
…
He stood face-to-face with Bai Qing’er, gazing closely at this peerless woman, and said, “I told you, I want to marry you. How could I just leave?”
The Burial Gold White Tiger came to Zhang Ruochen’s side.
Bai Qing’er said, “You’re thinking of taking back the Supreme Origin Divine Crystal and the Tianzhu Needle.”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, “What would I do with the Tianzhu Needle? If the gods of the Temple of Destiny find out, wouldn’t that be digging my own grave? A divine artifact is good, but with my current cultivation, I can’t use it. It would only bring disaster. Sikong of the Temple of Destiny is still around. If he reports that I intended to keep the divine artifact, I’d have no place left in the Infernal Court.”
“The Supreme Origin Divine Crystal is useless to me too. I’m not a master of origin, so I can’t find the Origin Temple. Why not follow you? It saves time and effort. Besides, you’re going to the Origin Temple for the origin mysteries, but those mean little to me. I’m only going there to seek a chance to cultivate a first-grade Sacred Will.”
“Other than that, the treasures in the Origin Temple hold no allure for either of us.”
“So, our interests don’t conflict. My desire to marry you is sincere. Why won’t you believe me?”
Bai Qing’er knew Zhang Ruochen was trying to lull her, but she couldn’t find a flaw in his words.
Because everything he said was true.
Zhang Ruochen continued, “If you don’t believe me and think I have ulterior motives, that’s actually a good thing for you.”
“A good thing?” Bai Qing’er said.
“Of course.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “You’re heading to the Origin Temple so boldly not to kill but to temper yourself. Having someone like me, with ulterior motives and ready to strike at any moment, by your side, isn’t that also a form of tempering?”
“That does make some sense,” Bai Qing’er said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “So, are you willing to believe the former or the latter?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Bai Qing’er transformed into a streak of white light and soared away.
The Burial Gold White Tiger snorted, two streams of golden mist shooting from its nostrils, and said, “Why did you ask her that last question? You should’ve asked where Shangguan Que is.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “You don’t understand.”
“I understand! That question was to test your weight in her heart. Whether she chose the former or the latter, it would at least prove she values you. Whether you become lovers or mortal enemies in the future, it would mean she sees you as a significant figure now. But her indifferent response shows she doesn’t care about your thoughts, and you’re still insignificant. Quite a blow to your pride, isn’t it?” the Burial Gold White Tiger said.
Zhang Ruochen coughed twice, spitting blood, and said, “Your thinking is too narrow!”
“Men, when they meet an outstanding woman, especially one who has defeated them, always want to conquer her to prove their own excellence and strength,” the Burial Gold White Tiger said.
“That’s an even narrower thought.”
Zhang Ruochen flew toward the Seven Star Imperial Palace, his expression growing increasingly solemn.
Bai Qing’er was indeed a hard woman to read, seemingly hiding endless secrets. No one knew how many trump cards she still held.
More crucially, no matter how Zhang Ruochen probed, he could rarely find her weaknesses.
In truth, during the battles between the Temple of Destiny’s great saints and Bai Qing’er, Zhang Ruochen had never intended to intervene.
His eventual action had three purposes.
First, he wanted to test whether Wuyue Fate Emperor’s sacred source detonation had injured Bai Qing’er.
The truth was, Bai Qing’er was indeed injured.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been repelled by a combined divine attack from him and the Burial Gold White Tiger, nor would she have failed to pursue Xing Luo and the others, or harm Zhang Ruochen from thirty li away.
The second purpose was to conceal the fact that his injuries had healed.
Injuries couldn’t remain unhealed forever.
How to conceal it?
By appearing more injured.
Zhang Ruochen’s qi sea had long healed. During Bai Qing’er’s battle with the Temple of Destiny cultivators, he had entered the Seven Star Imperial Palace, leveraging his control over the Qiankun Realm and the aid of the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree to force the Seven-Handed Elder to temporarily submit, joining forces against Bai Qing’er.
Now, though he appeared more injured, these were merely physical wounds, easily healed with the restorative power of the White Cang Blood Soil.
Bai Qing’er was too clever. Only by letting her personally injure Zhang Ruochen could she believe he was still wounded, unable to unleash significant combat power even with the Burial Gold White Tiger’s help.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen was happy to let Bai Qing’er underestimate him, even thinking he could only flee.
Until the right moment arrived, he had to show weakness to the enemy.
It was a helpless situation.
