“If that’s how you see it, is a mere Shang Hong really unkillable?”
Zhang Ruochen glanced sideways, a touch of displeasure in his expression.
Xue Tu said, “Shang Hong is anything but mere. You didn’t witness his battle with Hai Shang Ming Gong. It was earth-shaking, soul-terrifying. He completely overturned every watching god’s understanding of what an Upper God could be. That fight made me realise clearly what a future God Venerable looks like. And even then, I felt he was still holding back, not revealing his full strength.”
“Why say so much nonsense? I’ll ask only one thing. If my grandfather acts, can he kill him? Is it possible or not?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xue Tu was genuinely shocked, truly frightened by those words.
To invite the War God to take the field?
“If the Great Clan Butcher acts personally, of course he can kill him. Naturally he can. Behind the Great Clan Butcher stands our entire Undying Blood Race. How could we possibly fear Shang Tian?”
“Then do you think I can move my grandfather to act?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xue Tu replied, “You can. Absolutely you can!”
“So if I want Shang Hong dead, is his death certain?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Xue Tu dared not refute him. He suddenly felt that, compared to the third-generation divine descendant of the Great Clan Butcher’s house, he, a disciple of a God Venerable, was rather far behind.
A statement like “If I want Shang Hong dead, he will surely die” was something Xue Tu wouldn’t have the confidence to utter even after another hundred thousand years of cultivation.
After two dry coughs, Xue Tu gave an awkward laugh and said, “Senior Brother, just how deep is your grudge against Shang Hong that you need to make such a huge affair of it? Don’t end up triggering a Heavenly-level war. Besides, there’s no need for our Undying Blood Race to take the lead in this. If it causes war between the Undying Blood Race and Paradise Realm, wouldn’t the Upper Three Races and Middle Three Races be secretly delighted?”
Zhang Ruochen clapped Xue Tu on the shoulder with a gratified expression and said, “The fact you can offer that piece of advice shows that, although you’ve joined the Temple of Destiny, your heart still lies with the Undying Blood Race. Very good. I’ve decided to grant you a great opportunity.”
Xue Tu’s eyes lit up. “I knew it. Senior Brother is truly my own senior brother. What great opportunity?”
“The Fourth Armour Blood Ancestor was killed by me.”
Zhang Ruochen took out a blood-red divine source and toyed with it in his palm.
Xue Tu stared at the divine source, inwardly shocked. Was this the power of a yuanhui-level genius? Even a crippled yuanhui-level genius was stronger than most yuanhui-level representatives?
His cultivation was ruined, yet killing a Middle God was still child’s play to him.
At the very least, Xue Tu himself did not yet possess the strength to kill the Fourth Armour Blood Ancestor.
Xue Tu raised his thumb in genuine admiration and said, “The Fourth Armour Blood Ancestor was an old peak Middle God with extremely profound cultivation. If news of this spreads, Senior Brother’s name will once again resound throughout the universe. It will be enough to intimidate all those petty people who speak ill of you.”
“The fact that I am still alive must not be told to anyone. If it leaks…” Zhang Ruochen said.
Xue Tu replied, “Understood! If it leaks, I’ll cut out my own tongue.”
Zhang Ruochen continued, “Yan God of the Merit God Hall, Kelan Feili of the Elf Race, and Jialin Nan of the Bright God Hall are all in this reddish-yellow desert. Moreover, I know exactly where they are.”
Xue Tu understood instantly. “Senior Brother wants to kill them first, to cut off Shang Hong’s arms?”
“No, not me. You.” Zhang Ruochen pointed at him.
Xue Tu gave an embarrassed smile. “Senior Brother thinks too highly of me. Those three are all veteran Middle Gods. Yan God in particular can fight three alone. With my early-stage Middle God cultivation, I dare not claim victory even against one of them.”
The journey from Middle God to Upper God, and from Upper God to Great God, took far too long, often tens of thousands of years, sometimes a hundred thousand.
Thus, Middle Gods would assess their own cultivation and that of their opponents, dividing the realm into early, middle, and peak stages.
Although he had only just stepped into the Middle God realm, Xue Tu was confident that, relying on the formidable foundation laid in the Saint realm, he could cross two minor stages and fight peak Middle Gods.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Yan God, Jialin Nan, and Kelan Feili all possess Supreme Sacred Artefacts. Do you want them?”
“I do.” Xue Tu nodded.
Zhang Ruochen continued, “Although you’ve entered the divine realm, you still lack a standout battle record. Don’t you want to step on the fame of these three gods and shake the world? In future, even Death God Venerable might look upon you more favourably.”
Xue Tu asked, “Senior Brother, just say directly what you have in mind.”
“I need you to act and capture these three gods. You may not be their match, but you have another senior brother to help you!”
With a flick of his sleeve, Zhang Ruochen revealed a mirror of space.
On the mirror’s surface, a crow flew above a sea of clouds.
No matter how fast the crow flew, it could never reach the edge of the cloud sea. It was trapped, doomed to remain inside that space.
“To think even an Upper God is trapped. Too strong!” Xue Tu thought to himself.
He no longer dared to underestimate Zhang Ruochen. He only felt that Zhang Ruochen had become far more profound and unfathomable than before. Had Qing Zu not personally acted to cripple his martial cultivation, who knows how powerful he would be now.
Zhang Ruochen said, “I know that even together, you and Gu Ya cannot hold the three gods. I will assist you from the shadows!”
“With my own senior brother taking action, success is certain.”
Xue Tu added, “However, both Hell Realm and Heaven Court gods have promised the White Empress that they will not bring grudges or war to Xing Huan Tian, and that no divine battle will erupt here. Capturing the three gods will inevitably enrage the Heaven Court gods. How do we explain it to the White Empress?”
“Everything will be shouldered by me. What are you afraid of? As the divine envoy of Goddess Tianmu, I am qualified to stand as her equal, am I not? Is the name of Tianmu not enough to serve as explanation?” Zhang Ruochen’s voice turned cold. He wanted to send Xue Tu away quickly before he asked more questions.
“Understood! This time I fully understand! Senior Brother, rest assured. Leave it to your junior brother.”
Under Zhang Ruochen’s clever arrangements, Xue Tu left the spatial divine formation and joined Gu Ya.
The two gods combined their strength, broke the spatial divine formation, and escaped.
“This place is too dangerous. We cannot stay. We’ll return to investigate once our cultivation reaches the Great God level.”
Xue Tu said this, then together with Gu Ya followed the route Zhang Ruochen had pre-set, withdrawing toward the Four-Star Oasis.
Bai Qing’er’s graceful, fairy-like figure emerged from behind Zhang Ruochen and said, “You must not kill Shang Hong!”
Zhang Ruochen understood the concern in her heart and replied, “This doesn’t sound like the Bai Qing’er I know!”
“Times have changed. Now that war between Heaven Court and Hell has broken out and is raging fiercely, Xing Huan Tian could be engulfed in flames at any moment. When one has concerns, one naturally hesitates and looks forward and back.” Bai Qing’er said.
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen instead smiled with relief.
A person who has concerns, who can restrain herself for the sake of the beings of an entire world, is a person with feelings, a person of flesh and blood.
If Bai Qing’er were truly ruthless and selfish, Zhang Ruochen would not, for her sake, challenge Shang Hong right now.
No matter how clever Bai Qing’er was, she could never guess that everything Zhang Ruochen was doing was for her.
She said, “But sending Xue Tu and Gu Ya to capture the three Paradise Realm gods is indeed a brilliant move. You can borrow the power of the Temple of Destiny to lure Shang Hong out of Xing Huan Tian, then strike and kill him.”
If Shang Hong dies outside Xing Huan Tian, it naturally has nothing to do with the Twelve Booths of the Divine Maiden.
“Are you really planning to invite the Blood Jue War God? If he comes to Xing Huan Tian, he will certainly draw a War God from the Heaven Court side as well.” Bai Qing’er reminded him.
Zhang Ruochen’s lips curved upward, confident as if everything were under control. “To kill Shang Hong, I have a better candidate. Come, let’s go watch. Capturing three gods alive is far harder than killing them. I’ll need your help.”
“If you want my assistance, fine, but you must tell me the real reason you are determined to kill Shang Hong.” Bai Qing’er keenly sensed that there was a deeper secret behind this matter.
Otherwise, Zhang Ruochen, who had been keeping a low profile and biding his time, would have no reason to do something destined to shake the entire universe.
“Because of you! In Xing Huan Tian, the only god you received in audience was him. The more I think about it, the angrier I get.”
Zhang Ruochen rose lightly into the air and rode away on the wind.
Bai Qing’er was momentarily stunned, then a trace of disdain appeared in her eyes. She knew Zhang Ruochen did not want to tell the truth and was deliberately brushing her off.
If it were Luo Yi, upon hearing those words, even knowing they were nonsense, she would certainly be delighted.
But Bai Qing’er had this cool, aloof personality. She only found him childish, not as steady as when he was older. Of course she could also understand that, having survived certain death, Zhang Ruochen was naturally high-spirited. Compared to before, his mindset had inevitably changed.
The so-called Four-Star Oasis referred to four connected oases in the reddish-yellow desert.
After night fell, all the spatial methods once arranged by Master Fang Cun became visible. Danger lurked around the oases, and space stretched vastly.
Yan God, Jialin Nan, and Kelan Feili went out to investigate one after another, but even after flying millions of li, they could not leave the desert. In the end they discovered they had only been circling the Four-Star Oasis.
Bai Qing’er had asked Lord Turtle to bring them here precisely to trap them and make other plans.
“Lord Turtle, your mastery of space is profound. Hurry and think of something!” Yan God said.
Lord Turtle was entirely emerald green and crystalline. “N… n… no…”
“Never mind!”
Yan God waved his hand. Waiting for it to finish a full sentence would take until dawn!
Boom!
In the western sky, divine fire blazed across the earth, turning the sky a blazing red.
Powerful divine qi fluctuations raised thick clouds of sand across the desert.
“Not good, Jialin Nan has encountered Hell Realm gods.”
Yan God’s figure vanished from the spot.
Lord Turtle was about to follow when Bai Qing’er’s voice sounded in its ear. “Don’t go. Let them fight.”
Bai Qing’er and Zhang Ruochen stepped out from behind Lord Turtle.
Ten thousand li away, Xue Tu and Gu Ya had encountered Jialin Nan.
Heaven Court and Hell gods were already irreconcilable. Seeing a Heaven Court god alone, and with Xue Tu goading him, how could Gu Ya let such a rare opportunity pass?
With Gu Ya’s Upper God cultivation, he released his divine realm world and instantly swept Jialin Nan inside.
By the time Yan God arrived, Jialin Nan had already manifested his gigantic divine body, covered in wounds, one arm severed. The Supreme Sacred Artefact war sword in his hand had been seized by Xue Tu in a sneak attack.
