The cosmic void was dark and vast. Huang Tian, in the guise of the Blood Absolute War God, possessed an immense divine body. He trod upon the Fivefold Divine Seas, striking with fists or thrusting his war halberd.
Even though the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor’s cultivation was unparalleled, he could not gain the upper hand.
The two battled across the void. Space shattered, stars trembled, and the ripples spread across unknowable distances of starry sky.
Whether cultivators still inside Xinghuan Heaven or the divinities who had fled, all watched from afar. Some divinities sent out strands of divine sense, attempting to transmit news outward.
Yet those divine senses could not leave this star domain. An invisible force blocked them.
Yu Chenjing was filled with confusion. “Why is the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor in Xinghuan Heaven?”
“The Goddess in Rainbow Robes came. What is strange about the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor appearing? There is no doubt the Shang Clan has an extraordinary connection with the Twelve Goddess Workshops. No matter the outcome of this battle between the Blood Absolute War God and the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor, the Twelve Goddess Workshops are finished!” Yu Taizhen declared.
Yu Chenjing understood the meaning behind his words.
If even Yu Taizhen could see the collusion between the Twelve Goddess Workshops and the Shang Clan, how could the titans of Hell’s divine realms fail to notice?
In ordinary times, due to intertwined interests, Hell might have spared the Twelve Goddess Workshops.
But now Hell and Heaven were at war, fighting fiercely. The Twelve Goddess Workshops occupied such a vital strategic position and possessed an enormous intelligence network.
How could Hell not act?
When it did, the destruction would be heaven-shaking and earth-shattering.
…
Outside, the starry sky was in chaos from the battle. Inside the divine realm world, all was calm.
Zhang Ruochen could not help asking, “Since Yu Baiwei married the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor, how did she become the master of the Twelve Goddess Workshops?”
The demonic figure suddenly straightened like a mountain range. His eyes sharpened. “I would never allow Baiwei to marry the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor. Because I knew clearly that the ones who sacrificed the Ni Gods Clan were the supreme figures led by the Heavenly Palace and the four ruling macro worlds. Ancestor Shang was surely one of them!”
“Marrying her own enemy—how could she ever be happy?”
“If I cannot even protect the woman I love, what right do I have to speak of saving all beings? Of boundless merit? Since Heaven is heartless, do not blame me for being unrighteous.”
“I agreed to the Stone Ancestor’s terms. As long as he helped me rescue Baiwei, I would take him as master, become a member of Hell’s Stone Clan, and never regret it for life.”
“On the very day of the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor’s wedding to Baiwei, the Stone Ancestor and I quietly infiltrated the Paradise Realm and entered the imperial palace of the Great Shang Divine Dynasty. I told Baiwei the entire truth. In the end she chose to believe me and agreed to leave with me.”
“You must be wondering how we could sneak into the Paradise Realm, one of the ruling macro worlds?”
“With the Stone Ancestor’s ability, let alone sneaking into the Paradise Realm, even entering Heaven itself would not be beyond him,” Zhang Ruochen said.
The demonic figure nodded. “The Stone Ancestor once said that wherever there is stone in heaven and earth, there he can go. Unfortunately, entering undetected is one thing; taking away a divinity is as difficult as ascending to heaven. Ancestor Shang is no ordinary being. In the Paradise Realm he is second to none.”
“Ancestor Shang sensed us and tried to kill Baiwei and me. It was the Stone Ancestor who blocked him with supreme divine might. The two fought from the Paradise Realm all the way to the boundary between Heaven and Hell’s starry domains. Baiwei and I could only hide inside the Stone Ancestor’s divine realm world, just as you are doing now.”
“Ancestor Shang saw he could not stop the Stone Ancestor, yet was unwilling to let us go. So he declared that if the Stone Ancestor dared bring Yu Baiwei to Hell, he would proclaim her Ni Gods Clan identity to the universe.”
Zhang Ruochen could understand Ancestor Shang. On his son’s wedding day, his daughter-in-law was stolen.
What immense humiliation!
Zhang Ruochen said, “The Stone Ancestor would never hand her over. After all, his goal was you. Only by rescuing Yu Baiwei would you willingly take him as master, accept his ideology, and become his successor. The only way to break the deadlock was for Yu Baiwei to go neither to Hell nor back to the Paradise Realm.”
The demonic figure replied, “Exactly! The starry boundary where the Stone Ancestor and Ancestor Shang finally faced off was very close to the star domain where Xinghuan Heaven lies.”
“But how could Ancestor Shang possibly agree to that condition?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
The demonic figure said, “Because Yuanxu brought the Buddha Lord of the Western Buddha Realm.”
Buddha Lord, not Buddha Ancestor.
And his address for the Ancient Buddha Yuanxu had changed from “Master” to simply “Yuanxu”.
Those two syllables were filled with boundless hatred.
“The Buddha Lord pitied the Ni Gods Clan and persuaded Ancestor Shang to spare our lives, lest war between Heaven and Hell reignite and bring calamity to all beings.”
“The Stone Ancestor also knew that alone he was no match for Ancestor Shang and the Buddha Lord combined. Moreover, even if he brought Yu Baiwei to Hell, once her identity was revealed she would still be doomed.”
“In the end, both sides compromised. Yu Baiwei remained in Xinghuan Heaven, hidden within the Twelve Goddess Workshops.”
Zhang Ruochen showed confusion. “Was this not a happy outcome for all?”
Clearly the Ancient Buddha Yuanxu had greatly helped Huang Tian. Why then did Huang Tian hate him so?
Why was it so hard to understand?
“Yes, it was indeed a happy outcome for all. Baiwei’s cultivation was powerful; no cultivator in the Twelve Goddess Workshops could bully her. Moreover, the Stone Ancestor promised me he would protect the Twelve Goddess Workshops and Baiwei, never allowing any Shang Clan divinity to set foot in Xinghuan Heaven,” he said.
Zhang Ruochen continued, “With the Stone Ancestor’s protection, even if some Hell divinities knew Yu Baiwei was the empress of the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor, they would not dare spread it. For the Shang Clan it was humiliation; those on Heaven’s side who knew would certainly keep silent.”
“Not long after, I came to Xinghuan Heaven again. Baiwei told me she no longer wished to hide. She wanted to become the master of the Twelve Goddess Workshops and grasp power. Only with power could she obtain more cultivation resources and advance faster.”
The demonic figure went on, “At the time I did not think too deeply. I felt she was right, and the storm had passed; it should not provoke the Shang Clan. In fact, after Baiwei became master of the Twelve Goddess Workshops, the Shang Clan took no action. Everything remained calm. Until…”
Suddenly the demonic figure began to tremble. His eyes became like two blood orbs. Killing intent so thick it felt like swords and blades piercing Zhang Ruochen’s body.
“Until four thousand years ago, when she gave birth to Qing’er. I was overjoyed. After one hundred thousand years, she had finally agreed to bear my child.”
“But on that very day, in the Heavenly Goddess Tower, I encountered the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor and Yuanxu.”
“How could I believe my eyes? How could the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor appear together with Yuanxu? How could they enter Xinghuan Heaven? The Stone Ancestor had promised me no Shang Clan divinity would ever enter.”
For some reason Zhang Ruochen’s heart tightened.
This was simply too shocking!
One could imagine the devastating impact on Huang Tian.
Yet at that time Huang Tian’s cultivation must already have been immensely powerful, and his mind, tempered for a hundred thousand years, must have been extraordinarily steady.
The demonic figure continued, “They had only just arrived in Xinghuan Heaven and did not yet know Baiwei had borne me a daughter, nor that I was in the Heavenly Goddess Tower. I hid in the shadows while they went straight to the Goddess Queen Palace. They were completely familiar with the arrays and divine inscriptions outside; they entered without suffering any attack.”
“The secret could no longer be hidden! The Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor discovered Baiwei and discovered Qing’er.”
“I stood outside the palace. I heard the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor’s furious roar, heard their quarrel, heard secrets I had never known in a hundred thousand years.”
“I once thought my mind was extraordinary, far surpassing my peers. I would never again be as foolish as I was a hundred thousand years ago, used without realising it. Yet I never imagined I had been foolish for an entire hundred thousand years.”
He said no more.
Perhaps he lacked the courage to continue.
But Zhang Ruochen could roughly piece together the whole affair.
From the moment Yu Baiwei decided to become master of the Twelve Goddess Workshops, she had probably already been controlled by the Shang Clan.
Using Yu Baiwei, the Shang Clan could accomplish many things. First and foremost, the vast intelligence network of the Twelve Goddess Workshops could greatly benefit the Shang Clan, reaping enormous gains on the Merit Battlefield and elsewhere.
There must have been countless ways they used Huang Tian through Yu Baiwei.
More importantly, how could the Stone Ancestor not know the Shang Clan controlled Yu Baiwei? Why had he not stopped it? Why had he not honoured his promise to Huang Tian?
In one sentence: four thousand years ago, Huang Tian suffered betrayal from everyone he trusted.
Even worse, the betrayal had not begun four thousand years ago; he had only discovered it then. He had been deceived for a full hundred thousand years.
What kind of willpower was required to endure such a blow?
What happened afterwards between Huang Tian, the Ancient Buddha Yuanxu, the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor, and Empress Bai?
Zhang Ruochen could not help wondering who had helped Huang Tian survive that ordeal.
Who could it have been?
Suddenly Yu Yao’s image appeared in Zhang Ruochen’s mind. Yes, four thousand years ago Huang Tian must have met Yu Yao. Only someone who looked so much like Empress Bai could heal him.
Roughly two thousand years ago, Huang Tian killed the Ancient Buddha Yuanxu.
Cultivators everywhere cursed him for betraying his master and destroying his ancestor, yet Huang Tian never explained.
In Zhang Ruochen’s view, there were two reasons: first, to continue concealing Empress Bai’s Ni Gods Clan identity; second, to prevent outsiders from learning the true face of the Ancient Buddha Yuanxu and preserve a final shred of dignity for him.
After all, when Huang Tian spoke of listening to the Ancient Buddha Yuanxu’s teachings for eighty thousand years and being taken to the Stone Realm, his face had always worn a happy smile.
At least in his youth he had been happy.
Resentment was resentment; gratitude was gratitude.
He clearly distinguished between the two.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly said, “The Ni Gods Clan was not completely exterminated, were they?”
The demonic figure looked at Zhang Ruochen with surprise. “How did you know?”
“If the Shang Clan did not hold the Ni Gods Clan as a bargaining chip, how could they control Empress Bai? Moreover, with a supreme master residing in seclusion in Xinghuan Heaven, for the Shang Clan to control the Twelve Goddess Workshops they must have held an absolute trump card.”
Suddenly Zhang Ruochen’s eyes lit up. “The surviving Ni Gods Clan members are in Xinghuan Heaven?”
Boom!
The entire divine realm world shook violently. The sky turned crimson; divine flames rolled.
Huang Tian and the Heaven-Seizing Divine Emperor had finally begun fighting in their true bodies.
