The Nether Flower Manor Lord seemed to fear something. Her expression shifted slightly as she said, “Regarding this matter, forgive Qiancheng, but I cannot answer the elder.”
“How about this? I shall guess. If I am correct, you need only refrain from denying it.”
Zhang Ruochen continued, “Yuyuan Pavilion is the place where Huang Tian and the White Empress first met, or perhaps where they parted ways?”
The Nether Flower Manor Lord gave a wry smile, thinking the other party far too bold. How could such words be spoken casually? Did he truly believe the White Empress could not hear their conversation?
Yet, in the end, she did not deny it.
Understanding dawned on Zhang Ruochen’s face. “One final question. Exactly how confident are the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors that they can refine the First Divine Maiden City into a divine city?”
At these words, the Nether Flower Manor Lord’s heart stirred. She quickly asked, “If we possess the Heavenly Venerable’s Treasure Gauze, our chances would be very high. Is the Heavenly Venerable’s Treasure Gauze truly in the elder’s hands?”
Zhang Ruochen did not answer her question. “Very high chances? From what I know, the entire Hell Realm possesses only ten divine cities, one for each of the ten great clans. Those ten divine cities are the result of billions of years of accumulation by the ancestors of the ten clans, built with countless resources across generations until they reached the level of divine cities.”
“Although the foundation of the First Divine Maiden City was laid with the involvement of Xing Huan Heavenly Venerable, compared to the ancient accumulations of the ten clans, it still falls far short.”
“Transforming it into a divine city, how could that be easy?”
The Nether Flower Manor Lord gently shook her head. “The ten great divine cities established by the ten clans of the Hell Realm naturally could not be built in mere millions of years, or by a single generation of Heavenly Venerables. They required hundreds of millions of years of accumulation, the combined efforts of generation after generation of God Venerables and Celestials, to succeed.”
“A single such divine city cannot be breached even if contemporary Heavenly Venerables like Hao Tian or the Great Emperor of Fengdu were to attack it.”
“However, in the Primordial Era, the definition of a divine city was far looser. As long as two conditions were met, it could be called a divine city.”
“First, the divine city must stand upon a divine vein, capable of supporting the cultivation of at least a hundred gods.”
“Second, the city’s defences must be able to withstand a God Venerable’s assault from without and dissipate the residual shockwaves of Supplement-Heaven Realm gods battling within.”
Realisation appeared on Zhang Ruochen’s face. “So the divine city the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors seek to create is of this level?”
“The age of chaos has arrived. Xing Huan Tian occupies a special geographic position, and the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors are composed entirely of women. Without building a divine city, how can we establish a foothold? Forget a foothold; should any God Venerable descend, Xing Huan Tian could be annihilated in an instant, its realms destroyed, its races exterminated. The women of the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors would all become slaves and playthings, with no power to resist.”
Though the Nether Flower Manor Lord’s countenance was enchantingly beautiful, it carried bitterness. “Fortunately, the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm have maintained a delicate balance until now, allowing Xing Huan Tian to survive thanks to its sensitive location. But that balance is on the verge of collapse. We have no choice but to refine a divine city.”
“Have you never considered moving Xing Huan Tian elsewhere? For instance, leaving this region of stars entirely and pledging full allegiance to the Hell Realm?” Zhang Ruochen could feel the helplessness in her heart, and his own mood grew heavy.
The Nether Flower Manor Lord countered with a question. “Has the elder ever visited the Royal City of Hundred Clans?”
Zhang Ruochen nodded.
She continued, “Then tell me, why have the various clans within the Royal City of Hundred Clans never fully pledged themselves to one of the great clans of the Hell Realm and moved to that clan’s stellar domain? Why instead unite to build this holy city comparable to a divine city?”
“Because they know that resources in the universe are limited. No great clan would allocate cultivation resources to them; instead, they would be viewed with suspicion. In the end, suspicion would turn to enslavement.”
“By establishing the Royal City of Hundred Clans, they can still maintain good relations with the great clans of the Hell Realm, even attach themselves to one. Yet they retain considerable autonomy and voice, avoiding complete enslavement or becoming cannon fodder when war erupts.”
“Thus, should Xing Huan Tian ever leave this stellar region, the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors would swiftly decline and be swallowed whole, bones and all.”
“Moreover, the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors cannot leave Xing Huan Tian, for the women of the manors are already inextricably linked to the entire heavenly domain, their relationships complex and intertwined.”
“In truth, throughout the universe, for any clan or great realm to survive, to survive standing upright, they must fight with all their might. The more one retreats, the faster one dies. The more one seeks to depend on others, the lowlier and more abject one becomes, able only to live on one’s knees. Is such an existence not more painful than death?”
Zhang Ruochen had not expected the Nether Flower Manor Lord to see the situation so clearly. He now regarded her with newfound respect.
She gave a bitter laugh. “Does the elder find it ironic that a woman of the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors speaks such words? In the eyes of outsiders, the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors are no different from mortal brothels and pleasure houses; we are the lowliest and most abject of women, yet we still delusionally dream of standing tall and fighting against fate. Truly laughable.”
“In reality, every woman in the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors bears a tragic past. The vast majority were left destitute after their great worlds or planets were destroyed, reduced to slaves when they were still weak. Our fates were never ours to choose.”
“Some of us were destined to become blood-food for the Undying Blood Race or the Rakshasa. Some were fated to be refined into corpses or skeletons by the Corpse Clan or Bone Clan, or have our souls devoured by the Ghost Clan. Some were meant to be chained and turned into playthings on the beds of the strong.”
“It was the City Lord who purchased us and brought us to the First Divine Maiden City, giving us a place where we could simply survive. It is not a good place, but at least we can live and cultivate. Some among us can even choose for ourselves the cultivator we wish to marry in future, or choose to marry no one at all.”
“To women in general, the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors are no fine place. But to us, it is already the best place possible.”
“When one has been cast into the abyss, one dares not dream of green hills and clear waters on the surface. To glimpse even a single ray of sunlight within the abyss is already happiness.”
After a long silence, Zhang Ruochen asked, “And you? You are of the Nether Race. Why did you join the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors?”
The Nether Flower Manor Lord lifted her gaze to the heavens, her eyes filled with memories of an unbearable past. Her voice grew sombre. “Struggle and tragedy do not only occur on the battlefield between the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm. You must understand that the Nether Race is vast, and within it, the weak are devoured by the strong.”
The manor lords of the Twelve Divine Maiden Manors were all famed throughout the worlds for their beauty. Countless cultivators longed to win their favour, some pursuing them fiercely, some revering them as untouchable goddesses, others viewing them as famous flowers to be conquered and possessed.
Yet who knew that behind their dazzling glamour lay bitterness, sorrow, helplessness, and a burning desire to live standing tall?
Of course, among them were surely many who had truly fallen.
“I must grow stronger. I must break through to upper god, whatever the cost. Only with greater cultivation can I gain more voice and protect more women who share similarly tragic fates,” said the Nether Flower Manor Lord.
Zhang Ruochen looked upon her bewitchingly alluring face and figure, yet felt no attraction whatsoever. What moved him was the determination in her eyes and her hunger for strength.
“I can help you, if I am still alive,” said Zhang Ruochen.
The Nether Flower Manor Lord immediately bowed deeply. “Many thanks, elder! Truth be told, I know my talent and potential are far inferior to those representatives of our cosmic cycle. Using music to break through to upper god is my final chance, and an extremely slim one at that. Yet no matter how slim, I must fight for it.”
“That you possess such resolute determination already proves that your ascension to godhood was no fluke. As for the realm of upper god, in my view, any god can reach it. What you must strive for is the level of Great God, the Tai Zhen Realm,” said Zhang Ruochen.
Any god can reach it?
This elder truly did not cultivate the martial path and had no idea how difficult breakthroughs were in the divine realms. Every stage was a massive barrier.
The vast majority of gods could never cultivate to the upper god realm.
As for the Great God realm, she dared not even dream of it.
Only gods who had survived the first cosmic-cycle tribulation and been tempered by it stood any chance of assaulting the Great God realm in the next cycle.
Those who reached Great God before crossing a cosmic-cycle tribulation were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
The Nether Flower Manor Lord only hoped to reach upper god; she harboured no expectation of surviving even the first cosmic-cycle tribulation. Only the strongest among upper gods could do so.
By the time the Nether Flower Manor Lord departed, the horizon was already showing the first pale light of dawn.
In the early morning, frost and mist shrouded everything.
Zhang Ruochen had only just risen when the Nether Flower Manor Lord’s voice sounded from outside. “Greetings, Second Prince Yan.”
Her footsteps then faded into the distance.
Zhang Ruochen caught sight of Yan Yu’s figure. He wove between the musical instruments, walking over with a warm smile. “The elder’s attainment in music is profound; the piece you played was truly heavenly. This junior stood outside listening for some time without realising it, filled with admiration and longing to meet you. Yet I dared not interrupt midway and could only wait until the lesson ended before daring to pay my respects.”
Yan Yu had already passed his divine tribulation and stepped into the divine realm.
More astonishingly, he was already a middle god.
Such progress was impossible in mere decades; he must have used a profound time array.
Zhang Ruochen held considerable fondness for Yan Yu. “The Second Prince is too courteous. There is no need to address yourself as junior. We are both gods; let us speak as equals.”
Yan Yu had not expected the other to be so approachable. He smiled. “To befriend the elder is truly Yan’s good fortune.”
Zhang Ruochen knew Yan Yu could not have come solely for music. “How is it that the Second Prince is also residing in Wuming Manor?”
“Divine Master Yu Rumour shares deep ties of friendship with the Yanluo Clan. Since I have come to Xing Huan Tian, it is only natural to pay a visit,” replied Yan Yu.
Zhang Ruochen hurriedly asked, “Are other gods of the Yanluo Clan also staying in Wuming Manor?”
Yan Yu could not guess why the other suddenly asked such a question. He smiled. “The Yanluo Clan has little interest in the Exquisite Conference. I alone, having just broken through to middle god, harbour thoughts of contending with the new gods of this cycle, so I came to Xing Huan Tian to join the excitement. No other gods of the clan have come. Does the elder perhaps know one of our Yanluo gods?”
Yan Yu was exceptionally clever. From the fleeting expression Zhang Ruochen unintentionally revealed, he sensed something.
