The heart of the Life and Death Ruins.
“Blood Absolute has this temperament, igniting at the slightest spark. Look at me, Luo Yan. Even though Zhang Ruchen is the future consort of the Tianluo Divine Kingdom, this emperor feels not a flicker of emotion, remaining utterly composed. This is the poise befitting a superior, the mindset forged through years of cultivation.”
Luo Yan the Great Emperor’s tall and imposing frame stood at the entrance of the divine temple, speaking thus to the blue figure inside.
He seemed casually positioned there, yet he blocked the blue figure’s path out.
“Great Emperor, are you telling this old man that you too harbour anger in your heart, but you can restrain it?” the blue figure said.
Luo Yan the Great Emperor replied, “What this emperor means is that for beings of our level, our influence is vast. We can sway the course of worldly affairs. In all we do, we cannot act on impulse like Blood Absolute, indulging in recklessness. Especially, we must not violate those unspoken rules, lest we invite backlash. The consequences may well spiral beyond our control.”
The Seventh Great Lord stood beside the blue figure and discerned the hidden implication in Luo Yan the Great Emperor’s words.
He was informing the Ancestor Holder that he, Luo Yan the Great Emperor, also wielded immense authority. He could command the Rakshasa Clan and decide the fate of worldly matters. If he too acted with the unbridled fury of Blood Absolute War God, the southern heavens might not withstand the shock. The eventual unfolding would escape the control of both the Ancestor Holder and Luo Yan the Great Emperor, potentially overturning the heavens and earth.
The Seventh Great Lord sighed inwardly. Blood Absolute War God and Luo Yan the Great Emperor were truly polar opposites.
One blazed like fire, pursuing his desires with the most direct methods.
The other was steady yet unyieldingly domineering. He appeared to reason, yet his words brimmed with sharp edges. By not clashing head-on, he surpassed any direct confrontation.
What the Seventh Great Lord did not know was that Luo Yan the Great Emperor had no intention of reasoning so patiently at first. It was only upon sensing Blood Absolute War God wreaking havoc outside, even exceeding his expectations and sending chills through him, fearing a major upheaval, that he shifted to discourse.
This reasoning was beyond Zhang Ruchen’s station to offer the Ancestor Holder. Blood Absolute War God lacked the qualification. Even the Fortune and Longevity Divine Venerable would fall short.
But Luo Yan was the Great Emperor of the Tianluo Divine Kingdom. In extreme circumstances, he could command the seven divine kingdoms of the Rakshasa Clan, representing the entire race. Whether in cultivation, authority, or the energies he could mobilise behind him, he was qualified to stand equal with the Ancestor Holder.
He could reason or, if needed, wrestle for dominance.
Of course, with Blood Absolute War God having ravaged the southern heavens to such devastation outside, should Luo Yan the Great Emperor provoke the Ancestor Holder further, the fallout would be unimaginable. Thus, reasoning was the only path.
What is justice?
It exists only when strengths are equal.
Luo Yan the Great Emperor sensed Blood Absolute War God had slain ten divine generals of the southern heavens, captured the Sixth Great Lord, and breached the Life and Death Ruins. His brow twitched, and he hastily added, “You see? If you had not broken the rules by personally striking at a junior, how could Blood Absolute have lost his mind? Even a great clan patriarch was driven mad by you! Emotions unchecked, he no longer knows what he does.”
“If the one who struck had been a third-generation heir of the southern heavens, then even killing Zhang Ruchen, Blood Absolute would surely accept it. Violating the rules invites backlash.”
“That is why the Heavenly Palace and the Temple of Destiny decree that gods of the divine realm must not meddle in mortal affairs. Once they do, upheaval is inevitable. All will perish in the chaos.”
“Is the Great Emperor lecturing this old man?” The Ancestor Holder’s tone was calm.
Yet these words were far from calm. They carried the timbre of impending slaughter.
Were it not for Luo Yan blocking the entrance, the Ancestor Holder would have long suppressed Blood Absolute War God. In his view, Luo Yan’s prattle was excessive. Had it not been for the status of the Rakshasa Clan’s foremost divine kingdom emperor, he would have acted already.
Luo Yan the Great Emperor said, “The Ancestor Holder is the elder, the master of the cosmos. How dare this emperor lecture you? The world is vast, yet no one dares utter the word ‘lecture’ in your presence. But in this matter, the Ancestor Holder is indeed in the wrong. The southern heavens must pay a price.”
At the outset, Luo Yan the Great Emperor’s tone had been mild, but by the end, it had turned cold and grave.
Their gazes clashed. Though no divine qi was stirred, the Seventh Great Lord beside the Ancestor Holder felt a chill course through him, his heart suddenly clenching.
If these two clashed, the consequences would be dire.
As the Seventh Great Lord moved to intercede, the Ancestor Holder spoke first. “Zhang Ruchen is the successor of Sumeru, a pawn of the Kunlun Realm, intent on subverting the Hell Realm to avenge the grudge from a hundred thousand years ago.”
Luo Yan the Great Emperor said, “Is there proof?”
“Not long ago, old man Huaying intervened, using mental force to aid Zhang Ruchen’s escape,” the Ancestor Holder said.
Luo Yan the Great Emperor replied, “What proof is that? Old man Huaying was imprisoned in the Temple of Destiny. It was Zhang Ruchen’s father who helped him escape. Now, Zhang Ruchen’s father is trapped in the Temple of Destiny. For old man Huaying to save his son is merely repaying a debt.”
“Do you truly dare let this youth grow? Are you unafraid he will bring calamity upon your Rakshasa Clan one day?” The Ancestor Holder’s form remained a hazy blur, merely a blue silhouette.
Luo Yan the Great Emperor said, “If every prodigy who emerges must be slain out of fear they might threaten us later, then why not discuss eliminating Blood Absolute, the Desolate Heaven, and Yan Wushen altogether? Then no threats remain! Ancestor Holder, oh Ancestor Holder, you must grasp this truth: others become your enemies because you first chose them as such. This emperor understands it. With your vast wisdom, how could you not?”
“This old man understands all too well, which is why Zhang Ruchen must be crippled, at any cost. For our enmity was forged a hundred thousand years ago,” the Ancestor Holder said.
Luo Yan the Great Emperor looked to the heavens and said, “Very well, let us set aside right and wrong. Zhang Ruchen’s martial cultivation is crippled. Your goal is achieved. As long as you promise this emperor that henceforth all shall adhere to the rules, with no further strikes against him, this emperor will take Blood Absolute away and quell this matter.”
“Too late! Today, no one shall take Blood Absolute away.” The Ancestor Holder’s tone was resolute, unyielding to any force.
Luo Yan the Great Emperor grew anxious. “We just spoke of rules, yet you forget already? If you strike at Blood Absolute, will the Undying Blood Clan stand idle? Do you intend to ignite war between the Undying Blood Clan and the Death Clan? The Hell Realm would descend into civil strife!”
“Before this emperor came to the Life and Death Ruins, the gods of the Blood Heaven Division were already assembling. The Fortune and Longevity Divine Venerable is en route. The Undying Blood Clan’s patriarch…”
“Splash!”
A beam of blood light descended from the heavens, coalescing into an aged figure.
“Has arrived! This old man is here. Why summon me?”
The Undying Blood Clan’s patriarch was covered in dirt, his hair a tangled nest like a chicken coop, his robes tattered and torn, resembling a corpse freshly crawled from the earth.
Luo Yan the Great Emperor had not expected the dignified clan patriarch to care so little for his appearance. Stunned for a moment, he said, “See? See? The old patriarch, slumbering three thousand years beneath the earth, has been roused. This portends…”
“This portends chaos in the world, a great calamity, a great calamity!” Luo Yan the Great Emperor’s words were seized by the Undying Blood Clan’s patriarch.
In the divine temple, the Ancestor Holder advanced several steps, finally revealing his true visage. The aged face gained a measure of gravity.
The weights of Luo Yan the Great Emperor and the Undying Blood Clan patriarch were now sufficiently heavy.
The Ancestor Holder said, “All this old man has done is for the Hell Realm.”
“Who is not…” Luo Yan the Great Emperor began.
The Undying Blood Clan patriarch interjected, “Who is not for the Hell Realm? We hastened to the Life and Death Ruins for the Hell Realm. If we clash, it only benefits the Heavenly Court.”
Luo Yan the Great Emperor nodded. “This matter…”
“This matter ends here! Your southern heavens have suffered heavy losses this time, but our Undying Blood Clan has lost even more. Yet we are willing to step back, turning great affairs into small ones, small ones into none.”
The Undying Blood Clan patriarch fixed his gaze on Luo Yan the Great Emperor and asked, “What did the Great Emperor wish to say? Speak!”
With you seizing every word, what is left for this emperor to say?
Luo Yan the Great Emperor pondered, then said, “Zhang Ruchen’s martial cultivation is crippled. The southern heavens must vow never to target him again. Only then can this emperor find a way to persuade Blood Absolute and the Fortune and Longevity Divine Venerable. Otherwise, this affair will be hard to conclude.”
How could the Ancestor Holder fail to see the aims of Luo Yan the Great Emperor and the Undying Blood Clan patriarch? If this matter were simply dropped today, who in future would regard the southern heavens with awe?
“Blood Absolute may live, but he must pay a price. You should understand: this old man’s will, the southern heavens’ dignity, brook no challenge from any. Just as if Blood Absolute War God were crippled in the Undying Divine Hall by another god. Just as if a god of the Tianluo Divine Kingdom were slain in the Great Luo Divine Palace. How could such things end without consequence?” the Ancestor Holder said.
Luo Yan the Great Emperor and the Undying Blood Clan patriarch exchanged a glance.
Blood Absolute War God had slain too ruthlessly. This affair could not end amicably. No one in the world could force the Ancestor Holder to yield half a step here. Even if all ten clan patriarchs arrived, it would avail nothing.
Luo Yan the Great Emperor said, “What price do you demand from him?”
As the Ancestor Holder opened his mouth to reply, a sudden premonition stirred him. He stepped from the divine temple, gazing toward the western skies of the Life and Death Ruins.
Luo Yan the Great Emperor and the Undying Blood Clan patriarch also sensed something, their eyes filling with disbelief.
There, a divine edict materialised from the void, hovering amid the clouds, slowly unfurling.
With it, a figure in red robes and white hair appeared, like the true form of the Heavenly Matron, radiating peerless and terrifying divine might. Her voice rang out: “Let all gods of the world know: from this day, Zhang Ruchen is under this seat’s protection, as the Heavenly Matron’s divine envoy.”
With those brief words, the Heavenly Matron’s form dissipated, dissolving into streams of rule divine patterns and mental thoughts, scattering to the eight directions of the cosmos.
This voice echoed into the ears of all gods in the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm.
“She… she still lives, my goddess…” The Undying Blood Clan patriarch’s throat bobbed, his eyes burning with fervour.
Luo Yan the Great Emperor’s face grew exceedingly grave. “Have you noticed? Her rule divine patterns have changed. Could she have stepped into that realm?”
“No mistake, the goddess has reached that realm. Placed in the era three hundred thousand years ago, she would surely rank among the Lords of Heaven. Not all Lords of Heaven have attained that realm, but any who have are inevitably among them.” The Undying Blood Clan patriarch brimmed with pride, his laughter resounding.
The emergence of the Heavenly Matron’s divine edict rendered this already turbulent day even more earth-shaking.
The realm of the gods erupted in fervour.
