Empress Bai gazed at Zhang Ruochen and Bai Qing’er holding hands. They were a perfect match in talent and beauty, but what mattered most was Bai Qing’er’s attitude.
She showed not the slightest resistance.
In fact, Empress Bai saw joy in Bai Qing’er’s eyes. This brought comfort to a mother who had long worried over this matter.
From childhood to now, she had rarely seen a smile on Bai Qing’er’s face.
Who would not wish their child to be a little happier?
Bai Qing’er had once declared, “Whoever can present the Heavenly Venerable Treasure Gauze to me at the Linglong Assembly, no matter who they are, no matter their appearance, race, cultivation, or character, I will marry them.”
Empress Bai had fiercely opposed it, unwilling to see her daughter degrade herself.
Yet it had been futile. Bai Qing’er harboured deep resentment towards her and paid no heed to her words.
In talent, background, and character, Zhang Ruochen was worthy of Bai Qing’er. He was not a heartless man. Marrying him seemed an excellent outcome.
Empress Bai naturally would not object. She silently resolved to bear the pressure from Ancestor Shang alone and do all she could to bring the two together.
Yu Chenjing watched the handsome couple standing close and intimate in the distance. Memories flooded her mind of years ago inside the Starlight Sacred Chariot in the Realm of Truth.
Zhang Ruochen had torn her skirt, used his own sacred blood to write the characters “marriage contract”, then thrown it to her. “This is both a marriage contract and a vow. I want you to swear upon it, by a god’s honour, that you will never betray or harm your husband, Zhang Ruochen.”
…
“First line: The successor of Space-Time, Zhang Ruochen, is handsome, peerlessly gifted, and upright in character. He is the man I truly adore. Today, I, Yu Chenjing, Heavenly Lady of the Thousand Star Civilization, swear by the honour of the Hundred-Battle Star Lord that I willingly marry the successor of Space-Time, Zhang Ruochen.”
…
“That damned Zhang Ruochen is a flirt everywhere. Since his heart already belongs to another, why has he not returned the marriage contract to this Heavenly Lady?”
At this thought, Yu Chenjing could not help giving a soft, indignant snort.
Yu Taizhen glanced sideways, rather surprised. Why was his niece so angry? The one who should be angry was Shang Hong, was it not?
Shang Hong’s face was indeed taut and cold.
Countless eyes flicked towards him from time to time, as if mocking him. After all, Bai Qing’er had previously met only him, so everyone had believed his chances were immense.
The gods of the Paradise Realm faction had even joked that Bai Qing’er was already in Heavenly Sun’s pocket.
He himself had thought the same.
Who could have foreseen such a sudden reversal?
The one who had captured Bai Qing’er’s heart was the mortal enemy of the Shang Clan: Zhang Ruochen.
If he slunk away from Xinghuan Heaven now, how much ridicule would he face in future? The prestige of Heavenly Sun would be utterly destroyed. More importantly, he could not swallow this insult.
Suddenly, Shang Hong sensed something. Joy flashed in his eyes. His expression relaxed as he declared, “The whole universe knows that only by holding the Heavenly Venerable Treasure Gauze can one marry Qing’er. Zhang Ruochen, a cripple like you, how are you worthy of her? You dare act so arrogantly only because the Blood Absolute War God backs you.”
Who would have thought Shang Hong would be so unyielding as to step forward at this moment?
Many divinities believed Shang Hong had been driven mad by anger and lost his reason.
Zhang Ruochen looked over with a smile. “Is Heavenly Sun dissatisfied?”
“Of course I am dissatisfied,” Shang Hong replied.
Zhang Ruochen said, “You want the Heavenly Venerable Treasure Gauze? A trifling matter! My grandfather already said earlier that the Blood Absolute family will bear all the materials still needed to refine the divine city for the First Goddess City. Why do you think he dared say that?”
Pairs of divine eyes turned towards “the Blood Absolute War God”.
“Exactly. The Heavenly Venerable Treasure Gauze is already with my grandfather,” Zhang Ruochen announced.
The gods erupted in shock. The legendary relic of a Heavenly Venerable had truly appeared?
Though surprised, Shang Hong showed no alarm. He looked up at the sky.
A bizarre scene unfolded. The sun, which had only recently set below the horizon, slowly rose again on the edge of the heavens.
Night had just fallen, yet dawn arrived once more.
Shang Hong’s aura soared. “Even if the Heavenly Venerable Treasure Gauze is with the Blood Absolute War God, it may not remain safe. Can the Goddess in Rainbow Robes have died for nothing? Today Heaven demands justice. The Divine Emperor of our Shang Clan will represent Heaven and deliver divine punishment upon the guilty. Blood Absolute War God, do you dare accept the challenge?”
At the horizon, the morning sun blazed crimson. Rosy clouds burned like a sea of fire.
Boundless divine might erupted from the sun. Across Xinghuan Heaven’s surface, vegetation ignited in countless places. Some lakes boiled like cauldrons of oil.
Every divinity in the city was horrified.
“Someone is moving the Mo Yan Star!”
“How is that possible? The Mo Yan Star is hundreds of times larger than an ordinary star. Even a great god might not withstand its temperature. Who could move it?”
“What is he trying to do? Push the Mo Yan Star to collide with Xinghuan Heaven and destroy the realm?”
The Mo Yan Star was precisely the sun hanging above Xinghuan Heaven, immensely distant. Yet it contained colossal energy. Once activated, it could bring ruin to all life on Xinghuan Heaven.
A Hell divinity paled. “The Shang Clan Divine Emperor Shang Hong spoke of… could it be the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor?”
“Only the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor could wield such might. Flee quickly. Xinghuan Heaven has become a place of calamity.”
The divinities of Hell’s major powers used divine steps, trying to escape Xinghuan Heaven before the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor arrived.
Everyone knew that with the fall of the Goddess in Rainbow Robes, Heaven would never let the matter rest.
A battle between the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor and the Blood Absolute War God was inevitable. The Twelve Goddess Workshops could not stop it!
Ten thousand years ago, the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor had already reached the Grand Void Realm. His battle record was illustrious; he had shaken the universe for hundreds of thousands of years.
The Blood Absolute War God was, after all, still too young.
In the battle at Tiannan, though the Blood Absolute War God had consecutively defeated the Breaker War God and six others, legend said he had relied on an Ancestor God Corpse. Compared to an unfathomably deep existence like the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor, the Blood Absolute War God’s foundation was still too thin.
Tension appeared on the face of Liu Qingcheng, Workshop Master of the Snow Domain. “City Lord, what do we do now?”
“Did we not all anticipate that this day would come sooner or later? Activate the Heavenly Venerable’s ancient array with full power. We must at least preserve the First Goddess City,” Empress Bai said.
The eight workshop masters flew out, rushing towards the eight cardinal positions of the Heavenly Venerable’s ancient array.
Shang Hong’s lips curled in disdain. Only a corner of the Heavenly Venerable’s ancient array? How could it stop a peerless Divine Emperor?
Boom!
The sun in the sky had grown enormously large, dozens of times its usual size. The entire sky turned crimson, becoming a boundless sea of fire.
A golden, radiant hand extended from the sun, piercing through Xinghuan Heaven’s atmosphere and descending towards the First Goddess City.
Space shuddered violently. The aura from the hand tore open cracks thousands of miles long. The Saint-realm cultivators prostrate on the ground felt as though the world itself was about to shatter and the heavens were collapsing.
The eight workshop masters flying towards the array were struck by the divine power erupting from the golden hand. They plummeted, smashing eight massive craters and becoming buried in earth and stone.
Huang Tian’s tiger eyes blazed. The Fivefold Seas spread beneath his feet. He struck a fist towards the sky.
Bang!
The golden hand shattered.
The space above the First Goddess City cracked apart with it, turning into a realm of half-real, half-void chaos.
In the next instant, Huang Tian stepped upon the Fivefold Seas and flew out of Xinghuan Heaven, charging straight towards the blazing sun beyond the stars. He roared, “Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor, I have waited long for you!”
His sound waves surged like tides, merging with divine aura, spreading outward at the speed of light.
Huang Tian’s bloodlight shone as brightly as the Mo Yan Star. He threw punch after punch, each fist imprint larger than a planet, colliding with the golden hands striking from the sun.
The space between Xinghuan Heaven and the Mo Yan Star continuously collapsed.
The eight workshop masters burst from the earth, looking up at the sky.
“Excellent! The Blood Absolute War God seems unwilling to damage Xinghuan Heaven. He has taken the fight outside and drawn the battlefield into the starry void,” Liu Qingcheng said.
“Such terrifying combat strength. The aura the Blood Absolute War God is unleashing seems no weaker than the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor’s.”
Shang Hong’s lips curved upward. This was only the beginning. How could the combat power of a Divine Emperor be fathomed by the likes of them?
He glanced towards where Zhang Ruochen had stood, intending to settle both old and new scores at once. Yet he found only Bai Qing’er standing there. Where was Zhang Ruochen?
At Nameless Manor, Yu Yao gazed at the crimson sky, her eyes dazed. “So he disguised himself as the Blood Absolute War God for the sake of the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor. I knew a life-or-death battle between them was inevitable, but I never expected it to come so soon.”
The Drunkard sat cross-legged by the lakeside, teaching the two large white geese a method to cultivate spiritual power.
The geese sat on the ground in brooding posture, necks curved towards the sky, breathing in and out. They imitated him quite well.
The Drunkard remained calm. “Soon? It is not soon. He has held this breath for thousands of years. Today’s battle will decide life and death.”
“It cannot be concealed. Once he unleashes his full power, his true aura will surely reveal itself. The Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor is far too shrewd; he will definitely see through his real identity,” Yu Yao said.
The Drunkard changed posture and stood up.
The two white geese stood with him, using their wings as arms, copying his movements.
The Drunkard said, “The one he wants to fool is Old Ghost Shang and all of you, not the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor.”
“How can he possibly conceal it?” Yu Yao asked.
The Drunkard snorted. “He is certain that I will help him mask his aura and block Old Ghost Shang’s perception. In other regions I make no claims, but in this star domain, let alone Old Ghost Shang, even the Temple of Destiny could not detect anything amiss.”
Yu Yao bowed deeply. “Master, please lend him your strength.”
“Lend him strength? Why should I?”
The Drunkard shifted posture again, crouching like a toad, drawing breath from the ground.
Yu Yao’s brows lightly furrowed. She pondered in silence, then released her spiritual power, transforming it into a beam of light that shot towards the starry void.
Yet halfway there, she fell back down.
She could no longer fly from the ground.
The Drunkard asked, “Where are you going?”
“If Master will not help him, this disciple cannot stand idly by,” Yu Yao replied.
The Drunkard shook his head. “Though I do not wish to help him, I do feel like crossing blades with Old Ghost Shang. On my territory, if Old Ghost Shang dares reach in, I can strike him back. Does he really think I am still at the level of ten thousand years ago?”
Joy appeared on Yu Yao’s face. She knew her master had completed the greatest breakthrough in spiritual cultivation in history. Let alone Shang Tian’s true body being in the distant Paradise Realm, even if Shang Tian himself came to Xinghuan Heaven, her master would fear him not at all.
“This battle between them will most likely end with both perishing. Do not get involved. It is his inner demon and the hurdle he must overcome!”
As the Drunkard spoke, the two white geese copied the rhythm of his mouth, quacking “gua gua”.
“Two stupid geese. You cannot even learn to speak.”
The Drunkard kicked out twice. The geese tumbled into the lake, sending up great splashes of water.
