The Buried Gold White Tiger lived up to its reputation as a prehistoric divine beast, proving its speed once and for all.
The Earth Demon Sparrow was completely left behind.
Ji Fanchen put away the Heavenly Dao Flute, and its melody ceased.
Bai Qing’er used her fingers to inscribe array patterns, quickly setting up a concealment array to mask their auras.
Zhang Ruochen surveyed the surroundings, but his vision and spiritual power were severely obstructed, yielding nothing. He then asked, “Fairy, how long have you been in this stone building? Do you know how vast its internal space is?”
Ji Fanchen released her spiritual domain, locking onto Bai Qing’er standing nearby, and shook her head gently. “The Heavenly Dao Flute brought me here, but after entering the stone building, I encountered that terrifying demon. I’ve been fleeing ever since. If not for the flute’s protection, you might not have seen me again.”
Bai Qing’er let out a light chuckle, tinged with disdain.
Though Ji Fanchen had a calm temperament, she wasn’t entirely emotionless. She harbored great hostility toward this woman who had caused widespread slaughter in the Hell Realm under her name. “What’s so funny, Miss Bai?”
“Everything’s funny,” Bai Qing’er replied. “Firstly, the pristine Fairy Hundred Flowers of Qianrui Realm has traveled billions of li to the Hell Realm to secretly meet Zhang Ruochen, the notorious villain of the epoch. If this spreads to the Heavenly Court, the so-called Fairy Hundred Flowers will surely be disgraced, her reputation in tatters. The name Fairy Hundred Flowers might as well change to Wilted Flower.”
“Bai Qing’er, are you trying to provoke a conflict?” Zhang Ruochen said, displeased.
Bai Qing’er glanced at him. “I’m merely stating a fact. Isn’t it true she came to the Hell Realm for you?”
Zhang Ruochen knew Bai Qing’er’s sharp tongue was hard to counter.
Explaining himself to her seemed unnecessary.
Ji Fanchen stood gracefully, her delicate form wreathed in flawless origin light. “I’ve never claimed to be some fairy, nor declared myself pure and untainted. If I live according to how others see me, that’s true falsehood, straying further from my true self.”
Zhang Ruochen inwardly praised her brilliance. Who would have thought the gentle Fairy Hundred Flowers could wield such verbal prowess, leaving Bai Qing’er speechless?
Bai Qing’er clapped lightly. “Well said, true to your heart, true to yourself. Yet, you’re still laughable. With your peerless spiritual power and cultivation below divinity, wielding a divine artifact, you were chased so pathetically by a pseudo-god-level Earth Demon Sparrow. If that artifact were in my hands, it would be far more than this.”
Zhang Ruochen vaguely understood why Bai Qing’er was suddenly targeting Ji Fanchen. Was she scheming for the divine artifact?
Seizing a divine artifact that had already acknowledged its master was difficult.
But the Heavenly Dao Flute’s spirit had only just recognized Ji Fanchen, so its loyalty might not be absolute. If Bai Qing’er convinced the spirit she was stronger, also a master of origin, might it choose her instead?
Zhang Ruochen stepped forward. “Why don’t you fight the fairy now to see who’s stronger?”
“I’m heavily injured and can’t fight for now. Once I recover…” Bai Qing’er began.
“Then keep quiet!” Zhang Ruochen interrupted.
Bai Qing’er’s gaze turned icy.
Ji Fanchen said, “You’re injured, so I won’t take advantage. My techniques and mindset are indeed imperfect, and I couldn’t defeat you at your peak. But your earlier words were a declaration of war. I’m telling you seriously now, I accept your challenge. Let’s set the time for a thousand years from now. You choose the place.”
Bai Qing’er stared at Ji Fanchen, her eyes gleaming with keen interest.
Zhang Ruochen had seen that look before, when she gazed at her soul-devouring orchids.
“Fine! I didn’t expect the Heavenly Court to have such a bold and spirited cultivator. I accept your thousand-year challenge.” Bai Qing’er’s radiant smile, on her jade-like, enchanting face, could steal the soul of any man.
Zhang Ruochen’s soul wasn’t stolen, as his gaze was fixed on Ji Fanchen.
Perhaps the Fairy Hundred Flowers had already captivated him.
He couldn’t help it. He had never seen Ji Fanchen so enchanting. Compared to before, her gentleness now carried a touch of firmness, her beauty infused with a hint of valor.
Undoubtedly, compared to their first meeting in the Truth Heavenly Domain, her mindset and will had grown tremendously.
A thousand years from now, Bai Qing’er would surely have achieved divinity.
Ji Fanchen might also step into the divine realm, and only Mandala Flower God likely knew the true realm of the Nether Ancient Illuminating Lotus.
Zhang Ruochen couldn’t help but anticipate the clash between these two peerless goddesses from the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm in a thousand years. Once news of this battle spread, it would draw countless cultivators to watch.
Bai Qing’er, daughter of Huang Tian, bore the Stone Clan bloodline. Her body seemed carved from immortal jade, her skin so flawless no woman could compare, emitting an eternal, crystalline white light.
She said, “Zhang Ruochen, though the Heavenly Court calls you the epoch’s great villain and Hell Realm cultivators despise you, having spent time with you, my opinion of you isn’t low.”
“What’s the point of saying this?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Bai Qing’er said, “I just want to ask, does a promise you make hold true?”
“If I make a promise sincerely, it holds,” Zhang Ruochen replied.
Bai Qing’er asked, “And a promise made in your mother’s name?”
Zhang Ruochen understood. “You want me to fulfill that promise now?”
To secure the Heavenly Pivot Needle, Zhang Ruochen had sworn in his mother’s name to do one thing for her.
He hadn’t forgotten.
Bai Qing’er nodded. “I need your blood.”
Zhang Ruochen laughed. “Is a promise I, Zhang Ruochen, made worth so little? You’re using it so easily.”
To him, losing some blood to fulfill a past oath was a small price.
After all, that price had secured the Heavenly Pivot Needle, a divine artifact.
Bai Qing’er said earnestly, “I must break through to divinity quickly. Only then can I deal with the Earth Demon Sparrow and Wuma Jiuxing, who may catch up at any moment. You don’t want to die, do you?”
“I can give you the Fountain of Life,” Zhang Ruochen offered.
Bai Qing’er shook her head. “I have healing pills and the Fountain of Life. But injuries from a true god take decades, even centuries, to heal. Only a divine substance like Bai Cang Blood Soil can make me recover quickly.”
Ji Fanchen interjected, “No, if her injuries heal and she reaches divinity, we’ll all die by her hand.”
Bai Qing’er said, “I, Bai Qing’er, have agreed to your thousand-year duel. Until then, I won’t touch a hair on your head.”
“And Zhang Ruochen?” Ji Fanchen asked.
Bai Qing’er gave a proud hum. “Even before achieving divinity, I had plenty of chances to kill him and didn’t. After becoming a god, he’s but a speck of dust in the mortal world to me, not worth killing.”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “No, it’s worth it. A promise I make, I keep. You, Bai Qing’er, are so proud. Would a lost bet not leave a mark on your heart? If you don’t want to marry me but wish to erase that mark, the only way is to kill me.”
Bai Qing’er stared at Zhang Ruochen for a long time, her gaze growing colder.
Her battle with Blood Spirit Immortal, Yuan Qianmo, and Gu Shejing hadn’t broken her barriers to suppress gods with her will. But Wuma Jiuxing’s palm strike had awakened her, making her no longer underestimate the world’s talents or assume her intellect could manipulate all cultivators.
With less pride, her mindset improved, successfully breaking her barriers.
She wasn’t sure if losing the bet would flaw her perfect mindset, so she had indeed considered killing Zhang Ruochen.
After a long silence, a rather youthful, tender voice spoke, “Actually, there’s another way to deal with the Earth Demon Sparrow.”
The voice came from the Heavenly Dao Flute.
Ji Fanchen quickly asked, “What way?”
The flute’s spirit, sounding like a young girl, said, “Master, I brought you here to retrieve the Origin Mystery and a few other divine artifacts.”
Zhang Ruochen and Bai Qing’er both showed moved expressions.
Bai Qing’er immediately took out a supreme origin divine crystal, sensing it carefully.
The spirit continued, “Though I’m no match for the Earth Demon Sparrow, the spirits of those divine artifacts are powerful and can handle it.”
“So many divine artifacts here?” Zhang Ruochen was surprised but not overly so, as this was the Origin Temple, once home to an immensely powerful civilization.
The spirit said, “Unfortunately, they’re bound by the Blood Moon and can’t leave this altar. Master’s swordsmanship is profound and might gain their recognition.”
Hearing this, Ji Fanchen felt a bit ashamed. Her swordsmanship paled compared to Zhang Ruochen’s, not to mention Bai Qing’er, who was reputedly invincible below divinity.
Zhang Ruochen had the Dragon Lord’s Dragon-Sun-Moon Chaos Tower, which could deal with the Earth Demon Sparrow without issue.
But the tower could only unleash one strike. Using it on the sparrow would leave him defenseless against Wuma Jiuxing outside.
The only option now seemed to be heading to the place the Heavenly Dao Flute mentioned.
As for Bai Qing’er, she hadn’t denied Zhang Ruochen’s deduction, confirming she had indeed harbored killing intent. In such a situation, how could Zhang Ruochen dare give her his blood?
The promise to her would have to be fulfilled another way.
For instance, sparing her life.
Zhang Ruochen suggested this to Bai Qing’er, earning a roll of her eyes. She claimed that, despite her severe injuries, she could easily take them down with her in a desperate fight.
In the darkness, the Earth Demon Sparrow’s cries faintly sounded again.
They dared not delay and set off immediately.
…
The Origin Temple storyline will soon conclude.
