Zhang Ruochen’s words nearly drove Yan Zhexian to self-detonate on the spot in fury. A bit of goodwill, unexpectedly fed to a pig and a dog.
However, compared to a thousand years ago, Yan Zhexian’s experience had increased considerably.
Therefore, she quickly realised something was amiss.
She narrowed her eyes, saying doubtfully, “No! Any cultivator encountering the current predicament would inevitably feel despair and helplessness. Why do you, Zhang Ruochen, still have the mood to secretly meet with your confidante? Moreover, it seems you are deliberately trying to shake off this goddess.”
“You must be hiding some secret?”
Zhang Ruochen had not expected Yan Zhexian to have become so difficult to deal with now.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen did not refute, Yan Zhexian revealed a delighted expression, laughing smugly, “You do have a problem. Confess, what exactly are you hiding? Rest assured, this goddess is merely purely curious and will not leak it out.”
“Confess? Why should I confess to you?”
“What relationship do we have? You are merely the mother of my daughter.”
Zhang Ruochen said no more, stepping out with the divine spirit step. The spatial veins manifested, and in an instant, his body arrived twelve wan nine thousand six hundred li away.
Second step.
Third step.
Fourth step…
He traversed the starry sky, his figure flickering in and out of sight, as if the world’s space folded beneath his feet.
The more Zhang Ruochen concealed, the greater Yan Zhexian’s interest grew.
“You, Zhang Ruochen, actually do not appreciate this young lady’s kindness. Then, there must be something more important than breaking through to become a god that you need to do. What matter could be so important to this extent?”
Yan Zhexian did not know if it was her curiosity at play, but she chased after Zhang Ruochen once more, thinking to herself, “Since you, Zhang Ruochen, do not want me following, then I insist on following. Let’s see what you can do to me?”
The methods of a talisman dao grandmaster were numerous and marvellous.
A mental power divine spirit could reach millions of li with a single thought.
Along this path, Zhang Ruochen employed various methods, yet he failed to shake off Yan Zhexian.
The Yan eldest miss who could be easily dealt with in the past was now incredibly skilled in her techniques, not to be underestimated.
A divine spirit!
Anything with the character “god” attached to it was, for saint realm cultivators, something that pierced heaven and earth.
Each time Yan Zhexian saw through Zhang Ruochen’s methods and found him, she would laugh with branches shaking like flowers, like a hen victorious in battle, smug beyond measure.
To fight against heaven is endlessly joyful.
To fight against earth is endlessly joyful.
To fight against Zhang Ruochen… winning the fight is endlessly joyful.
Zhang Ruochen had once told her to go to the starry sky battlefield to find Ying’er, but Yan Zhexian said, “Ying’er has grown up under the protection of the Yan Luo clan’s various gods since childhood and needs to temper herself on the battlefield. With Chi Kongle accompanying her, this goddess is very reassured.”
Listen to this. Is this what a person would say?
Is this what a mother would say?
Unable to shake off Yan Zhexian, Zhang Ruochen naturally would not go to the Abyss of Darkness, so he first headed to the Luo Zu Yun Shan Realm.
Traversing the starry sky, passing through spatial wormholes…
After expending a great deal of time, finally, Zhang Ruochen once again arrived in the outer void of the Luo Zu Yun Shan Realm.
He did not charge in directly. After all, this was the Rakshasa clan’s foremost forbidden ground, guarded by Chi Xing Tian, the realm-protecting demon general. Chi Xing Tian was only清醒 in extremely rare moments. If he were cleaved dead by one axe, would that not be dying too unjustly?
Zhang Ruochen presented a visiting card, handing it to a patrolling cultivator of the Luo Zu Yun Shan Realm, and then quietly waited.
…
Approximately ten thousand li away from Zhang Ruochen.
Chi Yao wore a loose Confucian robe, with a jade pendant of blue-green divine jade hanging at her waist. Her hair was bound with a square cloth, her features soft and immortally beautiful, yet her temperament was very cold. She stood within a corner of the formation pattern, the formation pattern flowing around her, condensing into the form of a ninth-grade lotus flower.
This was a corner of the divine formation, given to her by the Lord of Yun Shen Island.
With this corner of the formation pattern, in the Hell Realm, she could sufficiently conceal herself from ears and eyes, even evading the calculations of the Temple of Destiny. Of course, she could not go to charge into Destiny Divine Mountain, or that would be courting death.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen’s figure, in Chi Yao’s eyes, which had no ripples at all, a surprised expression appeared.
“Why has he come?” She was very puzzled.
Beside Chi Yao stood a man in a black cloak and dark robe, his aura cold and overbearing, with surging torrential divine power emanating from his body.
The dark-robed man stood in the void with a domineering posture, snorting coldly, “Zhang Ruochen coming to the Luo Zu Yun Shan Realm must be related to a woman.”
“It should not be to that extent! Zhang Ruochen coming to the Luo Zu Yun Shan Realm is probably for the same purpose as us.”
In Chi Yao’s heart, Zhang Ruochen had always been that heroic and vigorous youth, focused on martial cultivation, deeply understanding righteousness, yet handsome and gentle as jade, embodying all her beautiful memories.
Although, in the Origin Divine Hall, she had seen some unpleasant scenes.
But she believed that it must have been those two female demons deliberately seducing Zhang Ruochen.
Or perhaps, Zhang Ruochen had reasons beyond his control.
At that moment, in Chi Yao’s field of vision, a streak of flowing light tore through the darkness, approaching from afar, arriving beside Zhang Ruochen.
The light dispersed.
A graceful and elegant woman manifested.
The dark-robed man curled his lips, snorting coldly, “This woman is the eldest miss of the Yan Luo clan, Yan Zhexian. Within ten steps of Zhang Ruochen, there must be fragrant grass.”
How could Chi Yao not have heard of Yan Zhexian’s name?
“This Miss Yan is also a peerless beauty of倾城绝代. Zhang Ruochen’s taste is not bad.” Chi Yao said calmly.
…
Yan Zhexian looked at the majestic and vast blood-red humanoid world ahead, saying, “Luo Zu Yun Shan Realm! So, the confidante you spoke of is actually Gu She Jing. Gu She Jing’s relationship with Princess Luo Yi is like sisters. You coming to secretly meet her, this goddess truly does not know how to describe it.”
Zhang Ruochen gently shook his head, saying, “My coming here has nothing to do with Gu She Jing. It is for another matter…”
His voice had not yet fallen when, from within the Luo Zu Yun Shan Realm, a patch of crimson divine cloud, like a flower bud blooming, spread towards the cosmic sky.
A powerful divine might followed, landing on his body.
Gu She Jing stood at the top of the divine cloud, her long hair a thousand zhang, her divine body even several thousand zhang tall. Looking down at Zhang Ruochen, who was the size of an ant, she said, “Audacious Zhang Ruochen, you, a mere saint realm cultivator, why do you not kneel and bow upon seeing this goddess?”
Zhang Ruochen had long guessed that it would be her who came. He cupped his hands and smiled, “Congratulations to Great Goddess Gu She on successfully breaking through and achieving the divine realm’s honoured position.”
“Great Goddess?”
Gu She Jing snorted, her massive divine body contracting to normal human size, saying, “Last time you escaped too quickly, and I could not catch you. Today, you deliver yourself to the door. You should know what the outcome will be, right?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “I wish to see Earth Grandmother.”
“How could Earth Grandmother be someone you can see just because you want to? First, settle the account between us.” Gu She Jing said.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze glanced at Yan Zhexian standing nearby, saying, “This account, I am afraid, is not easy to settle. Are you sure you want to settle this account in front of Talisman Master Zhe Xian?”
Gu She Jing revealed a contemplative expression. Subsequently, she extended two slender jade fingers, drawing a wisp of divine qi, which wrapped around Zhang Ruochen and pulled him to the distant deep space.
Yan Zhexian was quite bewildered, not understanding what exactly the relationship between Zhang Ruochen and Gu She Jing was.
Chi Yao, standing within the formation pattern, was similarly baffled.
“How about it? This emperor did not say wrong, did he? Zhang Ruochen coming to the Luo Zu Yun Shan Realm is precisely for a woman!”
“The title of Windy Sword God is not gained in vain.”
The dark-robed man continued to add fuel to the fire, saying, “That female divine spirit whose beauty is no less than Yan Zhexian’s is named Gu She Jing, and her relationship with Zhang Ruochen is not shallow. On Ice King Star, to help her heal, Zhang Ruochen once transferred his soul power to her. This emperor advised him, but he could not be persuaded.”
Chi Yao naturally knew of Gu She Jing.
In the Origin Divine Hall, she had transformed into Zhang Ruochen and even slapped her once.
The dark-robed man continued pouring oil on the flames, saying, “Zhang Ruochen is quite capable, truly charismatic. With mere saint realm cultivation, he can wander among several stunningly talented female divine spirits. In the world today, one cannot find a second such person!”
Chi Yao closed her eyes and recited the Heart Sutra.
…
Zhang Ruochen said, “Congratulations to Great Goddess Gu She on passing the divine tribulation.”
“Did you not just congratulate me earlier?” Gu She Jing did not give him any face.
Zhang Ruochen repeatedly congratulating was, of course, to remind Gu She Jing that she could pass the divine tribulation because he had contributed, and he had a share of the credit.
Zhang Ruochen said, “I am truly envious! From now on, Great Goddess Gu She can at least live one yuan hui, one hundred and twenty-nine thousand six hundred years. But I should have no fate with the divine realm, at most living twenty to thirty thousand years before the five declines of heaven and man, the dao dissipating and the person perishing.”
“Do you think that by selling misery to this goddess here, this goddess will let you go?”
Gu She Jing said, “Zhang Ruochen, this goddess knows of the curse matter and also thanks you for lending me the ‘Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription’ to comprehend, which did help somewhat in passing the divine tribulation. But one matter is one matter. The debt that must be collected must be collected.”
“Like this! If you can receive one palm from me without dying, then the grievances between us will be written off in one stroke.”
Without waiting for Zhang Ruochen to agree, Gu She Jing had already formed a hand seal.
The crimson demonic qi from all four directions turned into streams of misty rivers, converging towards her palm heart.
This palm, Gu She Jing was using it to retaliate for that slap in the Origin Divine Hall.
That slap, no matter who delivered it, was definitely inseparable from Zhang Ruochen.
Returning it to Zhang Ruochen was naturally a matter of course.
Gu She Jing was a true god, moreover one who had broken through as a yuan hui-level representative figure.
She was countless times stronger than ordinary pseudo-gods or mental power divine spirits like Yan Zhexian.
Zhang Ruochen only felt the space contracting, heaven collapsing and earth sinking. In his vision, Gu She Jing’s palm became boundless in size and emitted a scorching aura even stronger than a star.
“Ten thousand ancients return to one, the universe boundless.”
The dao domain released, tearing open Gu She Jing’s divine might suppression.
From within Zhang Ruochen’s body rushed out an unknown number of trillions of saint dao rules, rotating and flying before him, forming a chaos vortex that collided with her incoming hand seal.
The chaos vortex could instantly pulverise a planet with a diameter of ten thousand li, but it only held for an instant before being shattered by the palm seal.
Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation had already climbed to the peak level below the divine realm. How could his skills stop there?
“Sword dao rules, heed my command!”
“Break!”
Zhang Ruochen thrust both hands forward. The Abyss Ancient Sword hovered in front of his palms, sword tip forward, spinning rapidly.
In heaven and earth, countless sword dao rules surged forth endlessly, merging as one with Zhang Ruochen and the Abyss Ancient Sword, colliding with the palm seal shining with divine light.
“Boom!”
The impact sound turned into rolling thunder, transmitting to dozens of wan li away.
Many beings of the Luo Zu Yun Shan Realm heard the sound coming from the starry sky.
…
In the distance, the dark-robed man exclaimed in shock, “Oh no, Zhang Ruochen has messed up! Serves him right. Eating from the bowl while looking at the pot. Bringing one along and coming to find another, how could nothing go wrong? You agree, right?”
Chi Yao stopped reciting the sutra and opened her eyes.
