Bai Qing’er stepped into the Divine Queen Palace and immediately saw Shang Hong standing there, composed and solemn.
Their eyes met.
Shang Hong was refined and cultured in bearing. He gave her a slight nod and a faint smile.
The White Empress had already returned to the throne high above. Divine mist swirled around her, white motes of light within the mist resembling a starry sea, dreamlike yet radiating astonishing might.
Seeing how perfectly matched they appeared, the White Empress could not help thinking that letting Bai Qing’er marry Shang Hong might not be a bad destination after all, and could even be a form of protection for her.
Yet when she recalled that Shang Hong’s visit carried impure motives, and that the Shang Clan merely used them as tools, never offering true affection, ready at any moment to sacrifice them or hand them over to others, she dismissed these unrealistic, naive thoughts.
Her gaze shifted to the God of Many Colours and the Lord of the Black Heart Demon standing to one side. She saw that both were staring fixedly at Bai Qing’er, strange smiles upon their faces.
Killing intent stirred in the White Empress’s heart. No matter what, she had to protect her daughter from harm.
Bai Qing’er glanced toward the God of Many Colours and the Lord of the Black Heart Demon, but their cultivation was too high; she could not clearly see their features.
She quickly withdrew her gaze and asked, “Who might these two seniors be?”
The White Empress replied, “These two are the new Supreme Guardians I have recently invited. With so many gods attending this year’s Linglong Conference, good and bad mixed together and contradictions sharp, we require powerhouses of the divine realm to hold the fort and ensure Xing Huan Tian’s safety.”
Bai Qing’er asked no further. “Something major has happened in the Yuhong Mountain Range!”
“I already know of it,” the White Empress said. “It was the work of Xue Tu, disciple of Death God Venerable, together with Gu Ya. However, they have already left Xing Huan Tian. The matter is no longer ours to manage. The gods of Heaven Court will naturally go to rescue the three gods of Paradise Realm.”
Bai Qing’er clarified, “I do not speak of that. I speak of the divine corpses.”
The God of Many Colours and the Lord of the Black Heart Demon had only just arrived in Xing Huan Tian and were unfamiliar with the details; both looked puzzled.
The White Empress’s expression changed slightly. She stepped out from the divine mist, now clad in red-and-purple palace robes that trailed long across the steps. Her hair was piled high and pinned with a jade hairpin. “You went to Yuchen Divine Temple?”
“With something so serious occurring, how could I not investigate?” Bai Qing’er replied.
Suspicion rose in Shang Hong’s heart, but his eyes remained deep and unreadable. He asked without revealing anything, “Qing’er is a master of origin. Yesterday it was you who mobilised the rules of heavenly origin with origin profundity, was it not?”
Bai Qing’er knew that if she admitted it, she would be confirming that she had deliberately lured the Fourth Armour Blood Ancestor, Yan God, and the others into the Yuhong Mountain Range.
Once Shang Hong realised he had been used, and that she was connected to the Fourth Armour Blood Ancestor’s death, he would no longer be so agreeable.
Even the two guardians of unfathomable cultivation were now looking at her with ill intent.
Bai Qing’er remained perfectly calm. “I sensed the fluctuation of heavenly origin rules and hurried to the Yuhong Mountain Range at once, hoping to discover who was using origin profundity and perhaps seize it for myself.
“Unfortunately I became trapped inside. Only at dawn did I learn that it was actually Xue Tu of the Temple of Destiny.”
“So the one who used origin profundity was Xue Tu?” Shang Hong pressed.
Bai Qing’er answered, “It could only have been him. When the Origin God Hall appeared years ago, Xue Tu was among the first cultivators to enter and obtained great fortune there. I believe he acquired no small amount of origin profundity. Without the aid of origin profundity, how could he have killed the Fourth Armour Blood Ancestor? Of course, these are merely my speculations.”
Shang Hong stared into her eyes for a long time, finding no flaw. “Possessing a large quantity of origin profundity… Very well. It seems this Xue Tu must die.”
The God of Many Colours asked, “What exactly is Yuchen Divine Temple? And what are these divine corpses?”
Bai Qing’er explained, “Yuchen Divine Temple was once the dojo of Yuchen Zi, second disciple of Xing Huan Heavenly Venerable. After millions of years it has become a deadly forbidden ground. Many divine corpses are buried beneath it.
“The previous master of the Twelve Divine Maiden Booths, Immortal Yu Long, in her later years sought to prolong her life. Together with Master Fang Cun, eldest disciple of the Sumeru Sacred Monk, she entered the temple searching for the legendary Heavenly Venerable divine source.
“There Master Fang Cun laid down spatial divine arrays, and Immortal Yu Long inscribed numerous divine marks, all to suppress the divine corpses below.
“After a hundred thousand years the power of the spatial arrays and divine marks has greatly weakened. The divine corpses are beginning to stir and may break free. Should they escape, Xing Huan Tian will suffer catastrophic casualties. City Lord, please make preparations soon to suppress them once more.”
As an extremely intelligent god herself, Bai Qing’er had long ago glimpsed the shadowy forces behind the Twelve Divine Maiden Booths. Even consulting the Star-Sea Angler, though he would not reveal the full truth, had given her a rough picture.
Thus, although she could not see through the God of Many Colours and the Lord of the Black Heart Demon, her perception, bolstered by mastery of vast origin profundity, was extraordinary. She had already guessed their identities with near certainty.
Why had they come to Xing Huan Tian?
Why had they become Supreme Guardians of the Twelve Divine Maiden Booths?
From the moment she entered the palace, Bai Qing’er had been calculating how to deal with them. Now that Yuchen Divine Temple faced a great crisis, why not send them straight into the pit?
With exactly that intention, she had deliberately mentioned the Heavenly Venerable divine source inside Yuchen Divine Temple earlier, yet said nothing about Immortal Yu Long having fallen there, and concealed the existence of the ancient corpse ghost below.
She was certain someone would covet the Heavenly Venerable divine source.
Sure enough, the God of Many Colours took the bait immediately. “The Heavenly Venerable divine source is inside Yuchen Divine Temple?”
“It is only a legend. Unfortunately Immortal Yu Long believed it and searched until her death without ever finding it,” Bai Qing’er said lightly, glossing over the cause of Immortal Yu Long’s demise.
She continued, “City Lord, I intend to have the Master of the Dark Flower Booth proceed at once to hold Yuchen Divine Temple. Should anything major occur inside, we will know in advance.”
How could the White Empress, with all her shrewdness, fail to notice the way Bai Qing’er skirted the crucial points?
“Very well. A god should indeed be stationed there to report any developments at once.”
The White Empress sent out a divine thought, summoning the Master of the Dark Flower Booth and informing her of the situation.
Just as the Master of the Dark Flower Booth prepared to set off for the Yuhong Mountain Range, the God of Many Colours stepped forward. “Before coming to Xing Huan Tian, this seat met with Palace Master Jia Tianxia of the Blood War God Palace. He instructed me to thoroughly investigate the cause of the Fourth Armour Blood Ancestor’s death. A mere new god of a few decades, how could he possibly kill the Fourth Armour Blood Ancestor? There must be something fishy. This seat will also pay a visit to Yuchen Divine Temple!”
The God of Many Colours removed his divine robe.
The robe was brilliantly multicoloured, displaying seven hues.
Strange to say, the robe stood upright before him as though worn by an invisible figure.
The God of Many Colours spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood was scarlet and blazing, not only thick with blood qi but containing thirty million strands of divine thought. Each strand resembled the God of Many Colours himself; thirty million ghostly souls seemed to fly about the Divine Queen Palace.
Outside, every disciple of the Twelve Divine Maiden Booths felt the air turn icy cold in an instant. The entire Divine Queen Palace was shrouded in black clouds.
Amid piercing shrieks, the thirty million strands of divine thought and blood qi gathered into the robe, condensing into a divine being identical to the God of Many Colours.
Back when the Lord of the Black Heart Demon was still an Upper God, a clone condensed from three thousand strands of divine thought had possessed the battle strength of a top Paramount Saint.
Now, using vast quantities of divine blood, thirty million strands of divine thought, and a portion of his divine soul, plus his own divine robe, the clone the God of Many Colours had created was surely more than ten thousand times stronger than the Lord of the Black Heart Demon’s clone from back then.
The clone walked toward the Master of the Dark Flower Booth. An evil smile appeared on its gaunt face. “Booth Master, lead the way.”
The Master of the Dark Flower Booth felt as though the other’s gaze could pierce straight through her robes.
Standing before him, she felt not only immense pressure but a naked, stripped-bare sensation.
“How terrifying. Who is he? Why does even a mere clone make me feel I cannot possibly win? And those eyes…”
Never had the Master of the Dark Flower Booth felt such unease. Had she not known he was a Supreme Guardian of the Twelve Divine Maiden Booths, she would have wanted to refuse the trip to Yuchen Divine Temple outright.
The God of Many Colours gave a cold smile and thought, “The legends are true. Every booth master of the Twelve Divine Maiden Booths is truly exquisite. Since Yuchen Divine Temple cannot be divined or perceived, once inside I shall harvest you. That will raise this clone’s battle strength yet another level.”
Knowing the place was dangerous, and wishing to seek the Heavenly Venerable divine source, he naturally had to invest more capital.
The stronger the clone, the better.
Even the White Empress and the Lord of the Black Heart Demon, both Great Gods, paled slightly, genuinely sensing how fearsome the God of Many Colours was. At the very least, they could not yet condense a clone of such power.
Recovering from their shock, the White Empress grew worried.
She knew the God of Many Colours’s character. Once the Master of the Dark Flower Booth entered Yuchen Divine Temple with him, the consequences were unpredictable.
She glanced at Bai Qing’er and saw her perfectly calm and confident, as though she had another card to play. Only then did the White Empress refrain from stopping the Master of the Dark Flower Booth.
Yet she truly could not guess what Bai Qing’er was thinking.
Why specifically send the Master of the Dark Flower Booth to guard Yuchen Divine Temple?
In truth, Bai Qing’er was only sighing inwardly at that moment. “As expected of an old monster who has lived hundreds of thousands of years. So cautious. He actually only sent a clone to investigate.”
Shang Hong sensed something amiss but, seeing that the God of Many Colours had sent only a clone, said nothing to stop it.
…
Outside Yuchen Divine Temple, three months had already passed inside the sundial.
For those three months Zhang Ruochen had continually inscribed spatial array marks, reinforcing and strengthening the Nine Yin Evasion Arrays.
Through this process his understanding of spatial arrays had advanced by leaps and bounds. He planned, once matters here were settled, to try refining a spatial divine array of his own.
Zhang Ruochen had paused to restore his severely depleted spiritual force when something strange occurred.
From within Yuchen Divine Temple came the faint, ethereal sound of a beautiful song, as though a peerless beauty inside were singing of life’s sorrows. Yet the temple was clearly nothing but ruins, desolate for countless tens of thousands of years.
