When Empress Bai stepped forth, a pillar of heavenly light erupted from the ruins of the Xinghuan Heavenly Venerable Hall deep within the Heavenly Goddess Tower. It pierced the darkness and illuminated millions of miles.
Countless array inscriptions surfaced densely across the city, converging into an ancient formation.
This was the array left behind by the Xinghuan Heavenly Venerable long ago. Even with the power of the Twelve Goddess Workshops, they could only draw upon the divine veins beneath the earth and activate a mere corner of it.
But that corner was already enough.
Divine light fell from Empress Bai like rain. Her immortal beauty radiant, she smiled. “Great Patriarch, please enter!”
Everyone could see that by activating the Heavenly Venerable’s ancient array, Empress Bai sought to deter the Blood Absolute War God and prevent him from unleashing slaughter within the First Goddess City, which would bring catastrophe upon the Twelve Goddess Workshops.
At the same time, she did not wish to offend him, so she lowered her stance and came out personally to greet him.
A perfect blend of firmness and grace.
It neither made the Twelve Goddess Workshops appear weak and bullyable, nor provoked the Blood Absolute War God.
Only then did the divinities of Heaven relax, thinking to themselves that Empress Bai, after all, dared not offend Heaven and would surely restrain the Blood Absolute War God. No matter how strong he was, he was still not a God-Reverend. With the Heavenly Venerable’s ancient array activated, it meant the Twelve Goddess Workshops were prepared to fight to the death.
Shang Hong stepped forward, appearing at Empress Bai’s side. He bowed respectfully to Huang Tian. “Great Patriarch, may I ask plainly: did the Goddess in Rainbow Robes die by your hand?”
Every divinity present secretly admired Shang Hong’s courage.
Seeing that Huang Tian did not speak, as though he disdained to answer, Zhang Ruochen said, “So Heavenly Sun admits he knew the Goddess in Rainbow Robes had long sneaked into Xinghuan Heaven to ambush the gods of Hell?”
Shang Hong’s expression darkened.
The gods of Hell were stunned. Only now did they realise that the divine battle in the Yuhong Mountain Range truly involved the Goddess in Rainbow Robes.
“It was Heaven who broke the rules first by sending a great god to Xinghuan Heaven long ago.”
“Thank goodness the Great Patriarch arrived and killed her. Otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.”
“A great god came to Xinghuan Heaven. The Twelve Goddess Workshops could not possibly have been completely unaware. Empress Bai must give our Ghost Clan an explanation,” the child-like Tian Tong said coldly.
A high-position god from the Paradise Realm faction retorted, “Nonsense! Even if the Goddess in Rainbow Robes came to Xinghuan Heaven, she would never violate the rules of the Twelve Goddess Workshops, let alone ambush Hell’s divinities.”
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Then why did she sneak into Xinghuan Heaven in secret? Heavenly Sun, can you give Hell an explanation?”
“Why listen to his explanation? Fight!”
“Exactly! Today we must turn the heavens upside down and bathe Xinghuan Heaven in blood. Heaven is too treacherous. The Twelve Goddess Workshops have probably long sided with Heaven, planning to use the Linglong Assembly to make Hell’s gods fall and suffer heavy losses.”
“Great Patriarch, lead us to smash through the First Goddess City, destroy the Twelve Goddess Workshops, and slaughter Heaven’s gods!”
…
Beyond Zhang Ruochen’s expectations, the gods of Hell all had fiery tempers. Murderous intent was thick, battle spirit soaring.
Ghostly qi, deathly evil qi, Shura killing qi, blood qi… waves of divine aura spread outward. The divine realm worlds of Hell’s gods unfolded within that aura. Dozens of supreme sacred artefacts rose into the sky.
Heaven’s divinities naturally would not sit idly by. They too raised dozens of supreme sacred artefacts, their divine radiance blazing like suns.
Divine war was on the verge of erupting.
The Heavenly Venerable’s ancient array was indeed powerful, but only a corner could be activated. To suppress the Blood Absolute War God, the First Goddess City would certainly pay a terrible price.
If over a hundred divinities fought at once, the Heavenly Venerable’s ancient array could not hold them back. The First Goddess City and all of Xinghuan Heaven would likely be destroyed.
Every Saint-realm cultivator in the city trembled in fear, prostrating themselves, unable to stand.
At Nameless Manor.
Yu Yao walked into a courtyard. “Master, if you do not intervene, Xinghuan Heaven will face great calamity today.”
The Drunkard stood beside the sacred lake, scattering a handful of divine cattail seeds into the water to feed the two large white geese. He said, “No fight will break out.”
“The Blood Absolute War God acts unpredictably and without pattern. What if he strikes?” Yu Yao asked.
The Drunkard smacked his lips. “You still cannot tell who he is? Your spiritual power is eighty-first order, higher than his. As your master, I feel utterly ashamed.”
Generally speaking, spiritual power reaching the eightieth order corresponded to a great god of the Grand Void Realm.
Of course, a divinity’s combat strength was influenced by profundities, divine weapons, supernatural abilities, foundation, and many other factors, so there was no absolute correspondence, only a rough estimate.
Hearing this, Yu Yao instantly understood. She looked again at the Blood Absolute War God, and a subtle change passed through her eyes.
…
The situation before them had spiralled out of control.
Even Empress Bai, who had weathered countless storms, revealed a trace of worry in her eyes.
Several workshop masters of the Twelve Goddess Workshops were utterly flustered, ready to charge into the Heavenly Venerable’s ancient array and control it to face the largest divine war since the Middle Ages.
For Xinghuan Heaven, this was an unprecedented crisis. One misstep and the realm would be annihilated.
A voice as clear and beautiful as heavenly music rang out from the Heavenly Goddess Tower. “Everyone, please sheathe your weapons and cease hostilities for now. The Twelve Goddess Workshops truly had no knowledge that the Goddess in Rainbow Robes came to Xinghuan Heaven, just as we did not know when the Great Patriarch arrived.”
Whoosh!
Source divine light surged from the tower like a white waterfall.
In the next instant, Bai Qing’er, veiled in gauze, leapt down from the cascade of white divine light and landed between the gods of Heaven and Hell.
Though her figure was delicate, she showed no fear, gazing proudly in all directions.
She possessed the heroic bearing of one who would charge forward though faced with tens of thousands.
Because of Bai Qing’er’s appearance, the tense atmosphere between Heaven and Hell immediately eased.
Zhang Ruochen naturally knew when to stop while ahead. Under countless watching eyes, he walked towards her. “Today my grandfather and I came to the First Goddess City not to denounce anyone, nor to bring death upon the Twelve Goddess Workshops. Miss Qing’er is the disciple of the Star-Sea Fisherman. Hell will give face to you.”
Upon hearing the name “Star-Sea Fisherman”, the killing intent of Hell’s gods subsided further.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze swept across Heaven’s divinities. “There will be plenty of chances to cross blades on the starry battlefield in future.”
Shuo Qianhai, ever the perfect straight man, asked, “Then may I ask why Angel Ruochen and the Great Patriarch have come to the First Goddess City?”
By now Zhang Ruochen had reached Bai Qing’er. He glanced into her clear, water-like apricot eyes, seized her soft jade hand, and declared loudly, “Only to tell everyone that tomorrow’s Linglong Assembly need not be held. Bai Qing’er will be my wife, Zhang Ruochen’s wife. Anyone who wishes to compete with me simply lacks the strength.”
This sudden move caught Bai Qing’er completely off guard. She was firmly caught and could not dodge.
Yet it must be said that at this moment, Zhang Ruochen was explosively domineering and utterly captivating.
Ripples spread across Bai Qing’er’s heart. Warmth coursed through her body. For the first time, she felt her heart flutter.
Not because of Zhang Ruochen’s cosmic-cycle genius talent, nor because of his status as Empress Tianlao’s divine envoy, but because he could stand before all the gods and speak such utterly unreasonable words for her sake.
After all, Bai Qing’er knew Zhang Ruochen’s usual modest character. For him to be this bold and overbearing was truly no easy feat.
Why?
Of course, for her.
Boom!
The gods of both Heaven and Hell exploded with rage, blood rushing to their heads.
If not for the Blood Absolute War God standing watch, they would have charged forward, chopped off the hand holding Bai Qing’er’s, then torn Zhang Ruochen into ten thousand pieces.
Too arrogant!
Completely unreasonable!
Had they not agreed the Linglong Assembly would be fair competition? Had they not agreed the Heavenly Venerable Treasure Gauze was required?
Was there no first come, first served?
Take out the Heavenly Venerable Treasure Gauze before acting this arrogant, alright?
Just because he brought the Blood Absolute War God, he dared openly steal the bride?
Even the “Blood Absolute War God” standing nearby was stunned. He had not expected this brat to pull such a move and use his authority to forcibly marry his daughter.
Zhang Ruochen pointed at “the Blood Absolute War God”. “My grandfather feels the same. Is anyone dissatisfied? Step forward and fight.”
Fight?
Fight whom? The Blood Absolute War God?
Though countless divinities were furious, not one dared step out. Had they not seen the Blood Absolute War God’s eyes turn red with boundless killing intent?
Zhang Ruochen continued, “If none of you have the courage, then leave Xinghuan Heaven now. The Linglong Assembly is over. On our wedding day, you are welcome to come to the Blood Absolute family for a cup of celebratory wine. Zhang Ruochen will receive you warmly.”
“That day should not be too far off,” Bai Qing’er suddenly said.
Zhang Ruochen looked at her in slight surprise. Bai Qing’er lifted her snow-white neck, her expression earnest, not joking in the least.
Pfft!
One divinity spat divine blood.
Seeing Bai Qing’er and Zhang Ruochen standing shoulder to shoulder, a perfect match, husband and wife in harmony, countless gods of exalted status and mighty cultivation burned with jealousy yet could do nothing.
Clearly, Bai Qing’er and Zhang Ruochen already shared deep feelings.
What meaning was left in the Linglong Assembly?
In an instant, large numbers of divinities sighed mournfully and fled through the sky, unwilling to remain in the First Goddess City.
The vast majority were Heaven’s divinities.
They chose to leave now for an even greater reason. Who knew if the Blood Absolute War God might start a massacre?
This was the perfect chance to escape.
Shuo Qianhai laughed heartily. “Angel Ruochen remains as romantic as ever. Adding another wife, congratulations!”
“Why say ‘another’?” an immortal vampire divinity asked.
Shuo Qianhai replied, “After all, Angel Ruochen already has a marriage contract with Princess Luo Yan. Yet Princess Luo Yan’s talent falls short of Miss Qing’er. In future, who will be the principal wife is still uncertain!”
Shuo Qianhai suddenly felt a chill. He noticed the divine prince of the Tianluo Divine Kingdom repeatedly trying to charge forward only to be dragged back by an invisible hand. He could not help wondering if the prince enjoyed this kind of back-and-forth friction on the ground.
“Both are cosmic-cycle geniuses. A perfect union of strength. Congratulations, Great Patriarch.”
“Great Patriarch, when exactly will the wedding be held? You must invite this god.”
…
Hell’s divinities all went to offer congratulations to Huang Tian.
The wood was already shaped into a boat. Even Bai Qing’er herself had spoken. How could Huang Tian still stop it?
Yet how could he suffer such a loss for nothing?
Huang Tian said, “There is no need for everyone to concern themselves with the wedding. I have my own arrangements. As for the losses from the cancelled Linglong Assembly and the materials still needed to refine the divine city, the Blood Absolute family will bear them all. Consider it the betrothal gift!”
Hearing this, the workshop masters of the Twelve Goddess Workshops immediately breathed sighs of relief.
The Blood Absolute War God valued face above all. Having declared this before all the divinities of the universe, he would surely not go back on his word. Even with the Linglong Assembly cancelled, it seemed the Twelve Goddess Workshops had suffered no loss at all.
