“I will give it a try. Perhaps I can break the array.”
Countless rule divine patterns spread from Gu Ya’s body like a spider web in all directions.
Wherever the rule divine patterns passed, the temperature plummeted and space almost froze solid.
Even Blood Slaughter, a mid-god, felt a bone-piercing chill and retreated some distance. He thought to himself, “Worthy of an upper god. Terrifying. How many years must this emperor cultivate to reach such a level? What a pity my martial brother is dead. Otherwise, if I could borrow his Sundial to cultivate, I could catch up to Gu Ya quickly.”
Only a time divine array could support a god cultivating inside it.
Yet time divine arrays were exceedingly rare in the universe, a scarce resource.
Fortunately, the Temple of Destiny possessed two, and new gods did not have to pay godstones. They could cultivate inside for free all the way to the mid-god realm.
Xu Rulai had queued outside a time divine array for decades, waiting for Blood Slaughter to emerge before he could finally enter.
But no matter how powerful a time divine array was, how could it compare to the Sundial?
“The Sundial must have fallen into Chi Yao’s hands. As her martial brother, this emperor should go demand it back. No, that would not be proper. If I could get Master to issue a divine decree and claim it in Master’s name… heh heh!” The corners of Blood Slaughter’s mouth curved upwards.
This Master was, of course, the Blood Empress.
Blood Slaughter knew he was no match for Chi Yao.
But if he had righteousness on his side, he could curse Chi Yao into submission with words alone.
Then he could incite Princess Luo Sha, Yan Zhexian, and Xia Yu, those ruthless characters who already wanted Chi Yao dead, to form an alliance of vengeance and lay an inescapable net. He refused to believe they could not seize the Sundial.
Though he now regretted letting Chi Kunlun go earlier, when he thought about it, that was still his martial brother’s descendant. Using the boy to threaten Chi Yao would make the Great Slaughter War God-Emperor appear too heartless, too despicable, too lacking in principles.
No, no.
As a disciple of a Divine Venerable, he still needed to maintain some face. He had to measure up to Yan Wushen and Yan Yu.
Dealing with Chi Yao, however, carried no such scruples. After all, his martial brother had most likely died because of that wretched woman. Crusading against her was avenging his martial brother. Many would support him.
While Blood Slaughter was scheming in his mind, the surrounding space suddenly shuddered violently. Before he could react, a protruding spatial wave pierced through his protective divine flames and struck him squarely.
“Damn it! How could I get distracted in such a dangerous place? What was I thinking about just now?”
Nine pairs of blood wings unfurled from Blood Slaughter’s back, and a sea of blood spread beneath his feet, attempting to stabilise space.
Gradually, space calmed.
But Blood Slaughter discovered he was now trapped inside a spatial divine array. Below him was pitch darkness, while above, countless stars sparkled.
At least it was not the void.
Wary of his surroundings, Blood Slaughter did not see Gu Ya anywhere. He gave a cold snort. “This Gu Ya is unreliable. No wonder he is the least accomplished under Master. He knows nothing of the Dao of Space yet insists on trying to break the array. Truly harming others and himself.”
Though they were martial brothers, this was their first time carrying out Master’s orders together.
They had no real bond.
Being outwardly polite and addressing Gu Ya as senior brother was already giving ample face, of course also because of Gu Ya’s upper-god cultivation. He had no choice.
The fact that he had not dared kill Taro and seize his godsource in front of Gu Ya already showed his lack of trust in this senior brother.
“Are you not afraid Gu Ya might hear those words?”
“Who’s there?”
Blood Slaughter spun around and stared behind him.
A figure identical to Zhang Ruochen stood in the void, space twisting around him, countless spatial ripples visible.
The spatial ripples around Zhang Ruochen radiated brilliant light, illuminating him with a sacred and mysterious aura, as though he stood in another dimension, conversing with Blood Slaughter across worlds.
Blood Slaughter was momentarily stunned, but quickly noticed the aura was completely different from Zhang Ruochen’s. Still, he put on an expression of great joy and flew over. “Martial brother! This junior brother knew you could not be dead. Haha!”
“Who is spreading rumours that I am dead?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“Die for this emperor!”
As he closed in, murderous intent exploded from Blood Slaughter. Divine fire spewed from his mouth.
The divine fire transformed into a phoenix, radiating heat that could melt all things in creation, and slammed into Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen extended a palm, using the array to twist space and dissipate the power of the divine fire phoenix.
“Who exactly are you? Show your true form!” Blood Slaughter roared, eyes wide with fury, his entire body ablaze, his divine frame glowing like red-hot iron.
No matter how earth-shattering the power he unleashed, the spatial ripples effortlessly neutralised it.
Zhang Ruochen met his gaze. “This is my true form!”
“Still pretending? Do you think this emperor is some ordinary cultivator you can fool so easily? Your transformation technique is too crude. You only changed your appearance and voice. Your aura is completely different from Zhang Ruochen’s.”
Each of Blood Slaughter’s words boomed like thunder, deafening. He gathered divine power into a fist technique and struck.
“You really think so? Very well, I will prove it to you!”
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his palm.
Blood Slaughter’s divine might was overwhelming. With unstoppable force, his fist pierced the twisted space and landed squarely on Zhang Ruochen.
The fist was larger than Zhang Ruochen’s entire body.
Buzz!
It rang like a heavenly bell.
Ten thousand zhang of golden light erupted from Zhang Ruochen’s body. Countless Sanskrit characters emerged, returning Blood Slaughter’s fist force exactly as it had been delivered.
Boom!
Blood Slaughter was hurled backwards, spitting a mouthful of divine blood.
At that moment, time seemed to slow. As he flew backwards, Blood Slaughter locked eyes with Zhang Ruochen. His expression went through rich changes: shock, astonishment, calm, then excitement, four distinct stages.
Why it transitioned from calm to excitement rather than the reverse, who could say?
Only after flying several hundred li did Blood Slaughter stabilise himself.
Tears of excitement streamed down his face. Ignoring his injuries, he flew back to Zhang Ruochen. “Martial brother, I was wrong! I actually failed to recognise you and even addressed you directly by name.”
How could Zhang Ruochen not understand Blood Slaughter?
This fellow called out “martial brother” enthusiastically, but his mind was full of schemes. If Blood Slaughter’s strength surpassed his, it would be strange if he still called him martial brother.
Moreover, he never acted without profit.
Yet earlier, he had saved Chi Kunlun and even returned the Heavy Abyss Ancient Sword. That had genuinely surprised Zhang Ruochen.
Whatever Blood Slaughter’s motives, deep down he still remembered their past friendship and favours. He was not the kind of person who only cared about profit and had no bottom line.
At this moment, Blood Slaughter was inwardly rejoicing that he had suppressed his greed earlier.
He put on a pained expression. “Martial brother, I just met Kunlun. Without you by his side, even a false god dared to bully him. Taro is dead. Not even Blue Mystic Spiritual God can save him. I only swallowed my anger because I feared Gu Ya would use it against me later. That is why I did not kill that bastard.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “You did well.”
Blood Slaughter groped all over Zhang Ruochen, paying special attention to his head. “Martial brother, what exactly happened all these years? Where have you been? Your profound meanings, your battle weapons, your cultivation, why did they all go to Chi Yao? What did she do to you?”
Seeing Buddhist light begin to appear on Zhang Ruochen again, Blood Slaughter quickly withdrew his hands in fright.
Zhang Ruochen said, “It has nothing to do with her. Profound meanings, battle weapons, cultivation, they are all external possessions. I gave them to her.”
External possessions?
Blood Slaughter sucked in a cold breath. “Is martial brother still short of women?”
“What, you want to become a woman?” Zhang Ruochen replied.
Blood Slaughter said earnestly, “I am serious. My divine father has many children. Among them are twin younger sisters of exceptional talent and stunning beauty. They may not qualify as martial brother’s concubines, but how about taking them as maids?”
“Enough joking. I sought you out today for serious business.”
Zhang Ruochen stood with hands clasped behind his back, walking through the pitch-black void. Space automatically solidified beneath his feet. “Do you know why I came to Xinghuan Heaven?”
Though Zhang Ruochen used no divine qi, he could control space. This thoroughly shocked Blood Slaughter.
Blood Slaughter said, “Could it be martial brother also wishes to marry Bai Qing’er? But the grudge between you two is deep. Unless you obtain the Heavenly Venerable’s Veil, martial brother, you have no hope.”
“Whether I marry her or not is not the issue for now.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “I sought you out because I want you to help me deal with someone.”
“Speak. Who are we killing? If this junior brother so much as frowns, I am unworthy of the title Great Slaughter War God-Emperor.” Blood Slaughter thumped his chest resoundingly, brimming with confidence.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze sharpened. “Shang Hong!”
“Pfft!”
Blood Slaughter spat out a mouthful of blood and hurriedly said, “Martial brother, do not worry about me. I was only gravely injured earlier by the power of the Buddha’s relic. In the short term, I am afraid I cannot fight god-level powerhouses. Shang Hong? Good. Once I recover, he will be the first whose life I take.”
Zhang Ruochen had controlled the power of the Buddha’s relic, so he knew Blood Slaughter’s injury had actually been caused by sheer fright at hearing Shang Hong’s name.
“No need to be so afraid. I know you are no match for him,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Blood Slaughter wore a mournful expression. “It is not that this junior brother fears him. We are simply separated by a hundred thousand years of cultivation! If martial brother activates the Sundial and lets me cultivate inside for a hundred thousand years, when I emerge, I will definitely beat Shang Hong until he begs for mercy. But now, Shang Hong could crush me with one hand, and very thoroughly at that.”
“What if the Temple of Destiny were to act?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Blood Slaughter narrowed his eyes. “If Hai Shang Ming Gong is willing to strike, and we unite several veteran god-sons and god-daughters, even Shang Hong, no matter how strong, would fall. But that is impossible!”
“Why?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Blood Slaughter explained, “Ancient god-sons like Hai Shang Ming Gong possess boundless battle strength and are under heavy surveillance by the Heavenly Court. If several ancient god-sons and god-daughters came to Xinghuan Heaven together, how could the Heavenly Court not realise something major is about to happen here?”
“Moreover, what kind of person is Shang Hong? Emissary of Truth, cultivator of the Three Corpses Refinement Path, regarded by Paradise Realm as a future Divine Venerable, and grandson of Shang Tian. He is not so easy to kill. The moment hands are raised, Shang Tian would sense it immediately. This is a matter that would shake the entire universe!”
