“Haha! Boy, where do you think you’re running? Leave your life with this god!”
Chi Kunlun clutched the Heavy Abyss Ancient Sword, frantically teleporting through space as he fled. Behind him, pitch-black Yin Nether Qi surged, condensing into sharp claws, skulls, demonic citadels, and other terrifying forms.
During the day, he had sensed a massive convergence of origin rules heading towards the Yuhong Mountain Range. Without hesitation, the fearless young cultivator charged straight into the reddish-yellow desert to investigate.
Relying on his profound mastery of space, he astonishingly evaded divine patterns and spatial traps, penetrating deep into the desert.
But just moments ago, he had encountered a god from the Hell Realm.
Now gravely wounded, blood dripped from his sword tip onto the ground. He had not fled far before the black Yin Nether Qi completely engulfed him.
A bone-clan god over seven metres tall strode out from the dark mist.
Ghostly flames burned upon its bones.
The bone-clan god let out a piercing laugh. “So you are the son of Zhang Ruochen and Empress Chi Yao? Haha, you have indeed inherited their supreme talents. Your cultivation is not weak, but before a god, you are still nothing.”
Bound by strands of Yin Nether Qi, Chi Kunlun could barely move. Gritting his teeth, he glared furiously at the bone-clan god. “You are fit to speak my parents’ names?”
Seeing Chi Kunlun still standing upright beneath his divine suppression, the bone-clan god grew displeased. He reached out with a skeletal hand across the distance and seized the Heavy Abyss Ancient Sword.
At the same time, a palm formed of divine qi appeared above Chi Kunlun’s head.
“Ah!”
Chi Kunlun roared in defiance. His legs slowly buckled under the pressure, blood seeping from his scalp. The fury in his eyes blazed like twin furnaces.
The Heavy Abyss Ancient Sword had long shaken the universe alongside Zhang Ruochen.
Suppressing the sword’s artefact spirit, the bone-clan god held it horizontally before him, examining it closely. He laughed. “Worthy of a sword forged from Creation Divine Iron. Though it is only Heaven-Suppressing class now, in the future it may very well reach sub-divine level, or even evolve into a true divine artefact. A battle weapon of incalculable value!”
A domineering voice exploded beside the bone-clan god’s ear. “It is a pity you are not qualified to possess it.”
“Who’s there?”
Black divine qi surged like waves beneath the bone-clan god’s feet.
A blood-red blazing sun tore through the boundless Yin Nether Qi, approaching rapidly.
At the centre of the blood-red sun stood a towering, domineering figure clad in thick divine armour. A pair of phoenix wings formed of divine flame burned upon his back, and bloody qi swirled beneath his feet.
Boom!
Boom!
…
Each step shook the earth violently.
Waves of divine might slammed into the bone-clan god, forcing him backwards step by step. His bones creaked as though about to shatter.
Recognising the newcomer, the bone-clan god immediately dropped to one knee and raised the Heavy Abyss Ancient Sword with both hands. “Taro of the Darkness Divine Hall pays respects to the Great Slaughter War God-Emperor.”
Blood Slaughter walked up to Taro, lifted the Heavy Abyss Ancient Sword with one hand, and gazed down coldly. “You know how to read the situation. If you had knelt any slower, you would already be a godsource.”
Taro believed this ruthless character was fully capable of such a thing and dared not reply.
He was merely a false god. How could he challenge a true god?
Blood Slaughter glanced at Chi Kunlun. “Do you know who he is?”
“The son of Zhang Ruochen and Empress Chi Yao, a cultivator of Kunlun Realm,” Taro answered.
Blood Slaughter continued, “Then do you know what relationship Zhang Ruochen and I share?”
Taro certainly knew, but how could he admit it now? “This, I do not know.”
How could Blood Slaughter be fooled so easily? He raised his pillar-thick left leg and kicked, sending Taro flying more than ten li. A deep furrow was ploughed into the ground.
“Damn it! Does the Darkness Divine Hall think this emperor is not strong enough? My martial brother’s corpse is not even cold yet, and you already dare target his heir? You give this emperor no face at all!”
Taro crawled out of the dirt, seething with rage but not daring to show it. “It will never happen again!”
Blood Slaughter’s expression was arrogant. “Remember well. Although my martial brother has fallen, we were closer than blood brothers. Bullying his heir is the same as slapping this emperor’s face. For the sake of the Darkness Divine Hall and Blue Mystic Spiritual God, get lost!”
Taro had no wish to remain a moment longer. He transformed into a streak of divine light and vanished into the night.
“Still defiant, huh? Not even thanking this emperor for sparing your life as you leave. That godsource of yours will be mine sooner or later.” Murderous intent filled Blood Slaughter’s eyes as he watched Taro depart.
If another Hell Realm god had not been watching, Blood Slaughter would never have let Taro go.
A收回神源的價值可不低啊！
“I pay respects to Uncle-Master Blood Slaughter.”
Chi Kun Lun cupped his fists and bowed to Blood Slaughter.
Chi Kunlun did not actually know whether his father and Blood Slaughter were truly that close, but the other had indeed just saved him. Moreover, he belonged to the Heavenly Court faction now, while the other was a Hell Realm god.
If he did not acknowledge this uncle-master, Chi Kunlun was not certain he would leave alive today.
Since the boy had called him uncle-master, Blood Slaughter could not very well pocket the Heavy Abyss Ancient Sword to maintain his elder’s dignity. It pained him as though his flesh were being cut, yet he still tossed the sword back to Chi Kunlun with dashing nonchalance.
“Take it back! In your father’s hands, this sword felled countless heroes. Do not disgrace it. The Supreme Sacred Artefact I owed your father all those years ago is now repaid!”
Chi Kunlun caught the Heavy Abyss Ancient Sword, his eyes flashing with pain. “Uncle-Master Blood Slaughter’s righteousness surpasses those hypocrites of the Heavenly Court a hundredfold.”
Being praised like this made Blood Slaughter feel rather pleased with himself.
He certainly did not dare admit that even if he had seized the sword, he would never dare wield it. What if Yan Wushen came knocking?
As a disciple of the God of Death, Blood Slaughter could indeed strut sideways through the Hell Realm, but he still felt some trepidation towards Yan Wushen.
“This emperor, your father, and your master are brothers who have faced life and death together. How could I take a junior’s Supreme Sacred Artefact? What a pity about your father. Alas, if he were still alive, how would a mere Taro dare injure you?”
Chi Kunlun said, “See the living person, see the corpse. Father may not truly be dead. Perhaps he still lives somewhere in this universe.”
Blood Slaughter smiled and shook his head.
The Temple of Destiny had already divined it: no trace of Zhang Ruochen’s life aura remained in the universe.
With his qi sea and godsource shattered by Ancestor Que, and all his treasures appearing in Empress Chi Yao’s possession, how could he possibly have entered some incalculable realm to cultivate again?
“Take this. In future, if you meet cultivators of the672 Hell Realm, speak this emperor’s name. Leave this place quickly. This is no place for a mere Saint-realm cultivator.”
Blood Slaughter tossed a token to Chi Kunlun.
Chi Kunlun had never seen such an enormous token. It was the size of a door panel, more like a shield, engraved with the five characters “Great Slaughter War God-Emperor” radiating powerful divine might.
If it was free, why not take it?
Chi Kunlun accepted the shield… no, the token, thanked him, concealed his aura, and departed.
A figure reeking of rotting corpse qi stepped forth, resembling a crow. “Taro is a divine general of Blue Mystic Spiritual God of the Darkness Divine Hall. Was it worth offending the Darkness Divine Hall over a dead man?”
“Senior Brother Gu Ya may not know, but Chi Kunlun is not only Zhang Ruochen’s son but also Yan Wushen’s disciple. No one can predict Yan Wushen’s future achievements.”
Blood Slaughter always felt he should appear cold and emotionless before the gods of the Death God Palace.
By pushing everything onto Yan Wushen, he was telling Gu Ya: I, the Great Slaughter War God-Emperor, have no feelings. Everything is for profit.
“Junior brother thinks far ahead. Yan Wushen is indeed worth befriending.”
Gu Ya’s gaze turned towards the divine temple. “We are very close to Yuchen Divine Temple now. Come, let us hurry over. We must be careful.”
The reddish-yellow desert was protected by spatial arrays and divine patterns. Though tremendous disturbances had occurred during the day, no aura had leaked out.
Gu Ya and Blood Slaughter had come because they detected abnormal fluctuations in origin rules, suspecting a large amount of origin profound meaning might be present inside Yuchen Divine Temple.
The profound meaning of the eternal ancient paths was something every god coveted.
Soon, Blood Slaughter and Gu Ya arrived beneath the great gate of Yuchen Divine Temple. Gazing at the desolate tombstones and collapsed, ruined buildings within, they felt an aura of gloom and terror.
Gu Ya was an upper god. “Be careful. There are spatial arrays here.”
“Spatial arrays are nothing. Before gods, space is as fragile as paper and can be torn apart easily.”
Blood Slaughter released divine fire and struck out with his palm.
“It is a divine array,” Gu Ya warned.
Blood Slaughter jumped in fright. Seeing the divine fire about to strike the gate, he hurriedly inhaled, sucking all the flames back into his mouth and swallowing them.
“That was close. Spatial divine arrays are no joke. Fortunately I did not trigger it,” Blood Slaughter said.
Zhang Ruochen and Bai Qing’er stood inside the spatial array beneath the gate, watching the two Hell Realm gods who had just arrived.
“Gu Ya, disciple of the God of Death, upper god realm. Not considered a top powerhouse, but anyone who reaches the upper god level is by no means weak,” Bai Qing’er said.
Bai Qing’er’s standards were extremely high, so her evaluation of Gu Ya was actually somewhat belittling.
In Zhang Ruochen’s view, the aura Gu Ya radiated was far stronger than that of the upper god Gui Si. They were absolutely not someone they could contend with at present.
But that was elsewhere.
Here, Zhang Ruochen called the shots.
“Step back for a moment,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Bai Qing’er guessed his intention. “You want to meet Blood Slaughter?”
“His timing is perfect. There are many things I cannot do personally right now. I need someone to be my blade.” Although Zhang Ruochen had found a path to restore his cultivation and lifespan, he was far from fully recovered.
Moreover, after the incident with Ancestor Que, Zhang Ruochen deeply understood just how great a threat he posed in the eyes of those peak existences.
Who could guarantee Ancestor Que would not strike a second time?
It was safer to keep a low profile.
“Be your blade? What do you intend to do? Kill another god?”
Worry appeared on Bai Qing’er’s face. She did not wish Zhang Ruochen to cause too great a disturbance. After all, this was Xinghuan Heaven. Until the divine city was refined, the Twelve Divine Maiden Pavilions could not yet withstand a storm.
“Relax, I know my limits.”
In Zhang Ruochen’s mind echoed the words Shang Hong had spoken to Empress Bai in the Tower of Feminine Celestial.
Bai Qing’er probably had no idea that her mother had always been controlled by others, nor that the blood of the Inverse God Clan flowed in her veins. He absolutely did not want what happened to Empress Bai to happen to Bai Qing’er again.
