Wuma Jiuxing’s pupils contracted sharply. His face turned gravely solemn, and shock surged through his heart like heaven-toppling waves.
A God of Killing who had reached the Middle God realm and cultivated for nearly fifty thousand years had fallen just like that?
Even an Upper God would find it no easy task to slay a Middle God.
Wuma Jiuxing had some understanding of Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual-force strength. How could he possibly have killed Motong?
Had Motong not even managed to escape?
Wuma Jiuxing was no ordinary man. His state of mind quickly settled, and he made his judgement. “You borrowed the power of the Heavenly Sovereign divine patterns to kill him? Do you realise he was one of the nine great Gods of Killing in the Heaven-Slaying Organisation?”
Zhang Ruochen stood atop the cloud bridge, suspended in mid-air. “You certainly know how to turn the tables. This old man was on extremely close terms with Motong. How could I possibly kill him? It was clearly you who launched a sneak attack and slew him.”
Wuma Jiuxing truly could not comprehend why his opponent would employ such a clumsy tactic, trying to pin Motong’s death on him. The slightest investigation would reveal the truth beyond all concealment.
“Old sir, while you remained hidden in the shadows and enjoyed the geographical advantage of the Heavenly Sovereign ruins, I might indeed have felt a trace of wariness. But now that you have left the ruins and exposed your form, every advantage you held has vanished completely.”
Whoosh!
Wuma Jiuxing raised his bronze battle blade above his head. A pillar of blade qi shot straight beyond the heavens.
Immense divine power spread from beneath his feet, flattening the mountains and rivers across ten thousand li. Fortunately, the lands surrounding the Heavenly Sovereign ruins were vast and sparsely populated; otherwise, countless lives would have perished.
One slash fell!
Before the blade qi arrived, Zhang Ruochen’s body had already cracked apart.
“Not good. I have been tricked again!”
Even though Wuma Jiuxing’s state of mind was steady, boundless rage now burned within him. He desperately wanted to drag that old fellow’s true body out and hack it to pieces.
What his blade had struck was not Zhang Ruochen’s true body, but a false one conjured from Motong’s divine origin.
Wuma Jiuxing’s slash landed squarely upon the divine origin. Instantly, vast quantities of divine power exploded outward, forming a ring of brilliant light waves that spread toward the horizon ten thousand li away.
It was not that Wuma Jiuxing lacked wisdom, but the gap in spiritual force was simply too great for him to seize the initiative.
In truth, the fact that he had escaped the Heavenly Sovereign ruins with his body intact was already remarkable. Facing constant disadvantage, he had made the optimal judgement every single time.
Every god in Xinghuan Heaven sensed, in that first instant, the powerful divine-power fluctuations emanating from the direction of the Heavenly Sovereign ruins.
“That is Wuma Jiuxing’s aura. He is striking with his full strength.”
“Wuma Jiuxing actually dares to cause trouble in Xinghuan Heaven. Having Blade Venerable as his backer truly makes him different.”
“Wuma Jiuxing is no arrogant bully. Though young, his mind is deep and profound. For someone to provoke him into drawing his blade, something major must be afoot. Let us go and see.”
From First Divine Maiden City, streaks of divine light soared forth, flying straight toward the Heavenly Sovereign ruins.
With the ability of true gods, they crossed hundreds of thousands of li in mere moments, arriving at the region outside the ruins where blade qi ran rampant.
Across ten thousand li, dust filled the air and rule divine patterns blanketed the ground.
One god attempted to press forward but had flown only a few hundred li before being struck by blade-path rule patterns. His figure was hurled backward. Shock filled his heart as he exclaimed, “What a formidable Wuma Jiuxing! He has only just reached the Middle God realm, yet his power is already this immense.”
“Wuma Jiuxing was once unrivalled in the mortal world. His foundation is profound; naturally, he is no ordinary man,” said Shang Hong.
Shang Hong stood together with the gods of the Paradise Realm faction. Each radiated heroic spirit and profound aura, transforming the ground beneath them into a domain of pure white divine earth.
After defeating Haishang Minggong, the divine son of the Temple of Destiny, by half a move, Shang Hong’s imposing manner had grown even stronger than before. He seemed almost ready to ascend as an immortal.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
…
Four streaks of divine light descended from beyond the heavens.
They wore divine robes of different colours, each breathtakingly beautiful. The skin revealed beyond their robes was like ice-carved jade. They appeared as four celestial maidens descending to the mortal world. As they landed, a rain of flowers enveloped them.
They were none other than the four manor lords of the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors: Flower, Leaf, Autumn, and Snow.
Their eyes locked simultaneously onto Wuma Jiuxing amidst the chaotic heaven and earth ahead. Divine light beamed from their pupils, all carrying anger.
Snow Rain Manor Lord Liu Qingcheng spoke coldly, “Xinghuan Heaven is a great world ruled by the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors. Our realm laws have long been set: no god may cause trouble within our borders. Wuma Jiuxing, come with us to see the City Lord.”
Thousands of li away, Wuma Jiuxing released his divine realm world, fully alert and on guard.
Whoosh!
A bolt of lightning condensed, forming a river of electricity that charged into his divine realm.
Wuma Jiuxing erupted with extreme speed, instantly dodging and soaring into the sky. He roared, “I have found you! This blade will sever your soul!”
He raised the bronze battle blade overhead. Patterns emerged across its surface, radiating light visible even from First Divine Maiden City, hundreds of thousands of li away.
One slash descended. The energy between heaven and earth instantly boiled.
Zhang Ruochen stood beneath an ancient tree wrapped in coiled vines outside the dense forest. Watching the blade light fall, he felt all the power of heaven and earth pressing toward him.
He had been locked onto by Wuma Jiuxing’s blade intent!
“As expected of Wuma Jiuxing. He found me so quickly.”
Zhang Ruochen remained undaunted. He lifted his arm slightly, and the earth before him rose upright. Flat plains turned into a plateau that collided with the descending blade light.
Boom!
A thousand li of earth exploded. Divine soil shattered, leaving utter devastation.
“You little Wuma whelp! This enmity is irreconcilable. This old man will not rest until one of us is dead!”
No longer concealing himself, Zhang Ruochen revealed his form. His white hair and long beard fluttered in the wind. He raised his palm overhead, and the divine qi of heaven and earth formed rivers that converged upon it.
His palm seemed to hold a blazing sun. With a swing, he struck toward Wuma Jiuxing.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen’s figure, Liu Qingcheng wore a strange expression. “It is him.”
“Who is that old man?” asked the Nether Flower Manor Lord, dressed in a seductive black lace gown.
Liu Qingcheng replied, “The mysterious elder I once mentioned, the one living in seclusion on Yunfan Star. His attainment in music is extraordinarily high, and rumour has it he shares deep ties with the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors.”
“Why is he fighting Wuma Jiuxing?” asked Autumn Frost Manor Lord.
Liu Qingcheng said, “It may have something to do with the Heavenly Sovereign’s treasured gauze.”
At these words, the other three manor lords were visibly moved, both shocked and delighted.
“We cannot allow them to continue fighting like this, or Xinghuan Heaven will suffer severe damage.”
“Act first. Stop them.”
The four manor lords brought out a bloodstone altar a hundred zhang tall. They flew onto it and combined their strength. Dense patterns erupted from the altar, bathing the entire heaven and earth in blood-red light.
Even more terrifying, the bloodstone altar drew upon the lingering power of the Heavenly Sovereign within Xinghuan Heaven.
The four manor lords piloted the altar forward, charging into the centre of the battle between Zhang Ruochen and Wuma Jiuxing, suppressing the raging divine power.
Autumn Frost Manor Lord stood at the altar’s edge, hovering in mid-air. Her long skirt danced, revealing glimpses of her snow-white, perfectly straight jade legs, exuding boundless allure. Coldly, she declared, “Cease at once! Anyone who strikes again commits a capital offence.”
Wuma Jiuxing raised his blade toward the heavens. “Today’s affair was entirely provoked by that old fellow. Even Mo…”
“My old friend Motong died so tragically! Wuma Jiuxing, let us settle this in the starry void!” Zhang Ruochen’s aged voice tore with heart-rending grief.
Wuma Jiuxing drew a deep breath, trembling with fury, his gaze sharp as blades.
Zhang Ruochen tossed Motong’s divine origin to Liu Qingcheng atop the altar. Tears streamed down his aged face. “It was him. He killed Motong. If I do not avenge this wrong, this old man will not rest in death. Fight! To the death! Today, I will use your divine blood to honour Motong’s spirit.”
Zhang Ruochen released his spiritual force, pulling down asteroids from outer space. Like a meteor shower, they smashed toward Wuma Jiuxing.
Zhang Ruochen knew his lifespan was nearly exhausted and he had few deeds left to accomplish. Each one counted. He had to slay Wuma Jiuxing and remove all future threats for A-Le and Taohua. Moreover, a thousand years ago, Wuma Jiuxing had seized his Zhoufan Bracelet; the enmity between them was far from trivial.
No one had expected this old man, whose lifespan was at its end, to be so aggressive. He could not be stopped.
Seeing the stars plummet, the four manor lords hurriedly piloted the altar away, retreating to a safe distance.
Wuma Jiuxing saw through his opponent’s intent and realised this elder’s relationship with Taohua and A-Le was surely extraordinary. Unwilling to continue the fight, he pursued the four manor lords in the direction they had fled.
Battling a man who was already at death’s door was the height of folly.
Yet he had not travelled far before a formation barrier materialised before him, blocking his path.
“Break!”
Wuma Jiuxing slashed.
Blade light formed a bright moon hundreds of li wide upon the ground, colliding with the formation barrier.
Such a domineering slash, yet it failed to breach the barrier.
The formation was like an ocean, swallowing every shred of destructive power contained within the blade light.
Wuma Jiuxing halted at once, staring in disbelief at the barrier ahead and at the bloodstone altar that had already flown far away beyond it.
“Which exalted expert blocks my departure?” he demanded.
Hundreds of thousands of li away, within a manor in Divine Maiden City, Yuyao’s crystalline, rosy lips moved. Softly, she said, “Since this is a battle born of hatred, today I grant you the chance to fight to the death. This way, your conflict will not spread further across Xinghuan Heaven and bring ruin upon its living beings.”
Though her voice was faint and melodious, it rang out like vast heavenly chimes, echoing across the region hundreds of thousands of li away.
No one knew whence the voice had come.
Aboard the bloodstone altar, the expressions of all four manor lords changed dramatically.
“It is Divine Master Yuyao. Only formations laid by her could be this formidable,” said Liu Qingcheng.
Nether Flower Manor Lord exclaimed in astonishment, “She has always remained aloof from worldly affairs. Why has she involved herself in this?”
The other gods assumed it was an array expert from the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors who had erected the formation to prevent the aftershocks of divine battle from spreading. Only the gods of the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors knew that although Divine Master Yuyao resided in Xinghuan Heaven, she never interfered in its affairs and was not truly one of their own.
This was a deeply peculiar matter.
Shang Hong’s gaze grew sombre. “So Xinghuan Heaven actually harbours an array divine master. In the past, we truly underestimated the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors.”
Only those whose spiritual force had reached the eightieth order or above could be called divine masters.
Yet reaching the eightieth order in spiritual force did not necessarily make one a divine master of arrays.
