How could Zhang Ruochen fail to recognise Chi Xingtian?
He knew Chi Xingtian’s temperament well, so when the man spouted such nonsense, Zhang Ruochen did not deign to offer a single word of explanation.
Chi Yao and Bai Qing’er were both ice-cold by nature. They would never blush and fidget like shy young girls.
“Zhang Ruochen!”
Mu Lingxi jogged over from behind Chi Xingtian, waving happily.
The moment he saw Mu Lingxi, the worry that had been hanging over Zhang Ruochen’s heart finally settled. He broke free from Chi Yao and Bai Qing’er’s support, circulated the blood qi in his body, and regained some strength.
“Lingxi!”
To meet Mu Lingxi in a place where they should never have crossed paths filled Zhang Ruochen with a special kind of joy.
Chi Yao had long known of Mu Lingxi’s existence and remained perfectly calm.
Bai Qing’er carefully studied this woman who had appeared out of nowhere. Though her cultivation was not high, her presence alone made Zhang Ruochen’s smile so relaxed, so genuine.
A man like Zhang Ruochen was deeply guarded, especially here in the Hell Realm where he concealed himself most thoroughly. He would not show such a smile to just anyone.
“Lord Luan Ying pays respects to Her Majesty the Empress.”
Blood still streamed from all seven orifices of Lord Luan Ying, yet the first thing he did was prostrate himself before Chi Yao.
Chi Xingtian scratched his scalp and said, “This thing is actually your mount? Are the younger generation all this impressive now? Reaching the Upper God realm and taking another Upper God as a mount?”
“Do not look down on others. Her Majesty will one day become a Heaven. To serve as mount for a future Heaven is no grievance to this lord at all,” Lord Luan Ying declared, his face filled with reverence.
He had completely forgotten how quickly he and the Blackheart Demon Lord had fled earlier.
Zhang Ruochen’s attention shifted to the Blackheart Demon Lord.
The Blackheart Demon Lord raised his head and met Zhang Ruochen’s gaze for a moment, his eyes restrained. He knew full well that, although Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation was far below Chi Xingtian’s, Zhang Ruochen was far more difficult to deal with.
“Blackheart Demon Lord!”
Chi Yao’s voice rang out coldly.
The Blood-Dripping Sword turned into a streak of crimson light and pierced straight through the Blackheart Demon Lord’s heart, sending him flying dozens of zhang away.
Swish!
The Blood-Dripping Sword split into hundreds, then thousands of sword rays that stabbed towards the Blackheart Demon Lord again like a swarm returning to the nest.
Pfft!
Pfft!
One bloody hole after another appeared across the Blackheart Demon Lord’s body.
His divine blood was continuously devoured by the Blood-Dripping Sword.
He could not fight back. With his godsea sealed by Chi Xingtian, he could only endure Chi Yao’s onslaught.
“Enough, enough, that will do. Don’t kill him. We still need him alive for something important,” Chi Xingtian signalled Chi Yao to withdraw her sword.
Chi Yao replied, “Countless Kunlun Realm beings have died at the hands of cultivators from the Black Demon Realm. This is a blood debt. The Blackheart Demon Lord must die.”
The Blackheart Demon Lord spat blood and laughed. “If you want revenge, fight me fairly. My godsea is sealed, so you take advantage. How laughable that you are the new empress of Kunlun Realm. How laughable that you are the successor to the Great Venerable’s techniques… Haha, I refuse to accept death at your hands…”
Chi Yao’s brows knitted. She recalled the Blood-Dripping Sword, her eyes cold as frost.
“Fine, fine. I still have a great secret I need to pry from his mouth. But this fellow is stubborn. He won’t talk unless he sees Hua Ying Qingchan,” Chi Xingtian said.
“So that’s how it is.”
Zhang Ruochen walked over to the Blackheart Demon Lord, who now lay on the ground like a puddle of blood, and said, “Still, only sealing his godsea leaves his physical body and mental strength intact. One careless moment and he might escape.”
Though his heart had been pierced, the Blackheart Demon Lord’s mental-strength divine heart existed as a domain and would not shatter so easily.
A foreboding feeling rose in the Blackheart Demon Lord. He glared at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen crouched down, met his gaze, then suddenly thrust a clawed hand into the shattered cavity of the demon lord’s chest. Amid screams of agony, he dug out the mental-strength divine heart.
The divine heart was a mass of faint, intangible crimson light.
“No, Zhang Ruochen, what are you doing?” The Blackheart Demon Lord could no longer remain calm. His voice was filled with terror.
“Your mental strength reached the seventy-fifth order. A divine heart like this can serve perfectly as the primary ingredient for a god pill that raises mental strength. It must not go to waste,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Against extraordinary people, one must use extraordinary methods.
Setting aside the deep enmity between Zhang Ruochen and the Black Demon Realm, the Blackheart Demon Lord had previously tried every means to kill him and nearly succeeded. Zhang Ruochen intended to settle that score properly.
Zhang Ruochen looked at Chi Xingtian and said, “Great God, I will take this mental-strength divine heart. You have no objection, I trust?”
“What objection could I have? It’s only a divine heart,” Chi Xingtian replied magnanimously.
Zhang Ruochen was rather surprised. A mental-strength divine heart, given away so easily?
This friendship with Chi Xingtian was sealed!
Yet Chi Xingtian’s next words nearly made Zhang Ruochen fling the divine heart away.
“Just lend me the Heavenly Demon Stone Carvings you carry,” Chi Xingtian said with a wide grin.
Zhang Ruochen’s facial muscles froze.
Chi Xingtian’s expression turned stern. “What? I casually gift you a divine heart, yet you are so stingy you won’t even lend a few Heavenly Demon Stone Carvings? Lend, I said. Just lend.”
Believe you? Only a fool would.
If Chi Xingtian decided not to return them, who could make him?
And if Chi Xingtian turned even more shameless and declared, “These belonged to my ancestor, why should I return them?”, would Zhang Ruochen not end up crying rivers of tears?
Zhang Ruochen agreed readily. “Very well! Once we leave this place, I’ll find a suitable moment to hand them over.”
“No, I want them now,” Chi Xingtian insisted.
Zhang Ruochen’s face darkened with displeasure. “I didn’t bring them with me. They are all stored with the Blood Absolute Clan. Give me some time to retrieve them when I return. You are Lingxi’s adoptive father. Of course I would lend them to you for study.”
Though Chi Xingtian was crude, he was no fool. He shook his head. “Cut the nonsense. I need the Heavenly Demon Stone Carvings for something important. Truth be told, I have a great enemy here in Xing Huan Heaven. Only by gathering all thirty-six carvings can my battle power rise another level.”
Zhang Ruochen’s heart stirred. He worried that Chi Xingtian’s great enemy might be Huang Tian.
If that were the case, the carvings must never be lent.
“I have seven Heavenly Demon Stone Carvings, but truly, they are not on me. I swear it to the heavens!” Zhang Ruochen spoke firmly, his tone tinged with regret.
Mu Lingxi said, “Adoptive Father! If Dust says the carvings are not on him, then they are not. We can think of another way to deal with Xuan Yi!”
Chi Xingtian replied, “Then lend me the Sundial.”
Would he never stop?
Asking to borrow a divine artefact the moment he opened his mouth, were they really that close?
If it were Empress Qian Gu, Zhang Ruochen would have lent it without hesitation!
After all, the Empress had good character and never acted so overbearing.
Zhang Ruochen said patiently, “The Sundial is not on me either.”
Chi Xingtian looked utterly unconvinced, staring at Zhang Ruochen as if to say, “Do you think I’m an idiot?” If he had not promised Tai Shang he would not use force, he would have no patience for Zhang Ruochen’s lies.
But Zhang Ruochen was precisely afraid he would use force!
Zhang Ruochen took out a bracelet and said, “This bracelet is called the Zhou Fan Bracelet. It was forged using the powers of time and fate and is a supreme treasure of the Temple of Destiny. Why not make do with this for now?”
Chi Xingtian was not picky. With one sweep of his large hand, he seized the Zhou Fan Bracelet.
As he poured divine qi into it, a vast ocean of time-mark light spots immediately erupted from the bracelet, floating in the dark starry sky like billions of fireflies.
Zhang Ruochen sighed inwardly. Cultivation truly was everything.
The same treasure displayed vastly different power in the hands of Wu Ma Jiuxing compared with Chi Xingtian.
“It will do. I can make do,” Chi Xingtian said, his expression softening slightly.
Bai Qing’er asked Mu Lingxi, “I just heard you say the great enemy you must face is Xuan Yi. Which Xuan Yi would that be?”
“Of course it is Xuan Yi True God of Paradise Realm,” Mu Lingxi answered.
Bai Qing’er’s expression changed slightly. She hurriedly asked, “Xuan Yi True God has come to Xing Huan Heaven?”
“Yes! This Xuan Yi True God is terrifyingly strong. He killed Thousand Dharma War God of the Temple of Destiny. Oh, and the star-soul divine seat of the White Queen, mistress of the Twelve Divine Maiden Pavilions, has also gone dark. Most likely he was responsible for that too,” Mu Lingxi said.
Boom!
It struck like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
Bai Qing’er’s face turned deathly pale. She staggered back three steps.
If Zhang Ruochen had not reacted quickly and caught her, she would have collapsed in shock.
Zhang Ruochen knew how strong Bai Qing’er’s heart was, yet this devastating news had come too suddenly and too fiercely. Who could bear it?
Zhang Ruochen asked, “What exactly happened?”
“We don’t know the full details either,” Mu Lingxi replied.
Whoosh!
Bai Qing’er’s face showed neither sorrow nor joy. She forced herself to appear utterly resolute, broke free from Zhang Ruochen’s grasp, turned into a streak of white light, and vanished from the suspended plaza.
Worried for Bai Qing’er’s safety, Zhang Ruochen immediately gave chase.
Chi Yao watched their departing figures, worry in her eyes. “Xuan Yi True God’s cultivation has reached the Supreme Realm. His arrival will surely unleash a storm that shakes heaven and earth. Moreover, I suspect one of his targets may very well be Zhang Ruochen.”
“That’s right, Adoptive Father, we must hurry after them,” Mu Lingxi urged.
“Hahaha!”
The Blackheart Demon Lord burst into loud laughter. “Now that Xuan Yi True God is here, all of you are doomed. Beneath the Immeasurable Realm, no one is his match. And if I am not mistaken, the heavenly army has already arrived in Xing Huan Heaven. No one can save Zhang Ruochen. He is the greatest traitor of this cosmic cycle in Heaven Court, the arch-criminal of the era… Argh…”
Boom!
Chi Yao brought her palm down from above, crushing the Blackheart Demon Lord’s divine body into fragments and turning it into a pool of crimson blood.
She then took out a bronze jar and sealed the blood that had once been the Blackheart Demon Lord inside it.
“Zhang Ruochen was right. Sealing only the godsea was not enough. This is far safer,” Chi Yao said as she inscribed divine inscriptions onto the jar’s seal.
Though reduced to a jar of divine blood, the Blackheart Demon Lord still lived. His vitality remained vigorous, and his voice echoed from within the jar. “Keep struggling. Xuan Yi True God will show you that the era belonging to Kunlun Realm is over. Today, the strongest faction in Heaven Court is Paradise Realm.”
