Though the Blood Absolute War God was wild and unrestrained, he was by no means reckless or impulsive.
“The Hell Realm has been fighting Heaven Court across the starry battlefields for so many years, yet Hao Tian has never once shown himself. For a mere Xing Huan Heaven, would a Heavenly Venerable of his stature truly deign to come in person?” the Blood Absolute War God asked, puzzled.
The Immortal Vampire Patriarch replied, “It is only natural that Heaven Court values Xing Huan Heaven. They fear it might suddenly side with the Hell Realm. If that happened, a new battlefield would open in the Southern Universe.”
The Blood Absolute War God continued, “Yet Xing Huan Heaven involves two titans of mental strength.”
“That is precisely why Hao Tian may very well have come personally,” the Patriarch said.
The Blood Absolute War God shook his head. “No, something is wrong. Those two mental-strength titans have always remained neutral. They have never shown any sign of leaning towards the Hell Realm. Without a sufficiently grand motive, Heaven Court would never move against them.”
“You believe Heaven Court harbours an even deeper purpose?” the Patriarch asked.
The Blood Absolute War God pondered deeply but could not grasp the crucial point.
The main issue was that beings on Hao Tian’s level possessed power far beyond his comprehension. Their ways of acting and patterns of thought must have transcended to an entirely new height.
It was like this: when a child wants something from a high shelf, the first thing they think of is to fetch a stool.
An adult, however, would simply walk over and reach up to take it.
Different heights and different cultivation determined different ways of thinking about the same task.
The Patriarch said, “Stop worrying about all that. No matter how grand Heaven Court’s scheme, in the end they only gain one Xing Huan Heaven.”
“Only?” the Blood Absolute War God echoed.
The Patriarch smiled. “A great world lying right between Hell Realm and Heaven Court will always be a target for attack. Even if Heaven Court seizes Xing Huan Heaven, holding it will cost them dearly.”
“First, Heaven Court would have to station powerful cultivators here and garrison massive armies. Would that not simply give the Hell Realm a living target while tying down large numbers of Heaven Court experts?”
“Second, whenever Xing Huan Heaven comes under attack, it will surely call for reinforcements from Heaven Court. Across such vast starry distances, there are countless places perfect for ambush.”
“So you are saying that letting Heaven Court take Xing Huan Heaven might actually be a good thing?” the Blood Absolute War God asked.
The Patriarch replied, “Far more than that! Our greatest goal right now is to welcome those two mental-strength titans into the Hell Realm. Just wait. Let this war grow even fiercer. The Hell Realm can bide its time and reap the final profit.”
Despite this, deep worry still gnawed at the Blood Absolute War God. He gazed towards Xing Huan Heaven. “But Hell Realm’s Heaven seeds and God Venerable seeds are in there. Are we truly going to sacrifice them?”
The Patriarch answered calmly, “That depends on their luck! Compared to two titans with mental strength above the ninetieth order, Heaven seeds and God Venerable seeds are still merely seeds. Their value is far, far less.”
“What about Zhang Ruochen, then?”
“That boy’s martial path has been crippled. His future achievements are destined to be limited. Why do you keep fixating on him? Your clan’s sixth and fourteenth are both outstanding talents. They are worth cultivating too.”
The Blood Absolute War God snorted dismissively. “You really are heartless, old man.”
“Heartless?”
The Patriarch’s voice rose sharply. “You ungrateful brat! All my sentiment has been spent on you! In my eyes, you are the future of the Immortal Vampires.”
The Blood Absolute War God knew full well that, having lived as long as the Patriarch had and witnessed countless deaths, the old man had long grown indifferent.
Yet the Patriarch truly cared for him, seeing him as his successor, the pillar who would support the Immortal Vampires for the next ten cosmic cycles.
At that moment, a strand of intent swept through the starry void like wind, passing through both the Blood Absolute War God and the Patriarch.
The War God’s expression changed instantly. “Old Thief Heaven and Yu Baiwei are actually Inverse God Clan?”
Only a tiny handful of people knew that the Drunkard’s alias in Xing Huan Heaven was “Old Thief Heaven.”
The Blood Absolute War God happened to be one of them.
The Patriarch’s wrinkled face turned grave. “It is all too possible! Otherwise Old Thief Heaven would never have left Tian Nan ten thousand years ago. This is big trouble!”
The War God asked, “Who sent that intent? Could it be deliberate misdirection?”
The Patriarch’s tone grew hostile as he snorted coldly. “It came from that bearded fellow in Shang Qiu! That beard cares deeply about his reputation and is a notorious hypocrite. Since he dared broadcast the intent to the Hell Realm, the matter is almost certainly true.”
The War God said, “If Old Thief Heaven is Inverse God Clan, doesn’t that ruin all your careful calculations?”
The Patriarch grew somewhat frantic. “Just what is that bearded Shang trying to achieve? This time I truly underestimated Heaven Court’s aims. But what exactly are those aims?”
Whoosh!
A dazzling pillar of light flared in the pitch-black universe, radiating powerful ripples of force.
It was the very pillar the Drunkard had condensed when shattering Shang Tian’s Avenue Heavenly Desolation Seal.
The Patriarch’s pupils contracted. “A Heavenly-level battle has finally erupted.”
“What do we do now?” the Blood Absolute War God asked.
The Patriarch blew out his beard and glared. “What do we do? How should I know? That is a Heavenly-level fight. Who could intervene? Besides, which side would you help: Heaven Court or the Inverse God Clan?”
Swish!
Swish!
One transmission talisman after another flew from the depths of the starry void and landed in the Patriarch’s hands.
“A message from the Temple of Destiny!”
“Look, one from the Lord of the Undying Temple too!”
“Outrageous! Even the Dark Temple is sending orders. Since when do they give me commands?”
Not only the Patriarch but the Blood Absolute War God also received transmissions from the various great temples.
Every message strictly forbade them from interfering in the war between Heaven Court and the Inverse God Clan.
The Patriarch shrugged and spread his hands. “There we have it. We no longer need to decide. The temples have decided for us.”
The Blood Absolute War God stood motionless. “This clan’s sacrificial priest will not join the slaughter, but I must go to Xing Huan Heaven and bring my grandson out.”
“Stop causing trouble for me! Let Heaven Court deal with the Inverse God Clan while we watch from the sidelines. Why get involved? Do you see Ancestor Shi or the Lord of the Nether Temple rushing in like you? They understand how to maximise profit.”
The Patriarch continued scolding, “You are now the Grand Sacrificial Priest, and in the future you will lead the Immortal Vampires. Stop acting on emotion. You need strategic vision.”
The War God asked, “Will the Hell Realm truly stay out of this entirely?”
“Until the Inverse God Clan is destroyed, Hell Realm intervention would not serve its interests. Especially intervention by beings of our level. One careless move could ignite a full-scale divine war. The Hell Realm has never wanted another universe-spanning divine war like the one ten thousand years ago that caused over half the gods on both sides to perish.”
The Patriarch spoke meaningfully. “What the Hell Realm wants is to slowly devour Heaven Court’s realms, growing stronger with every bite.”
“And as one of the lower three clans, we have even more to consider. Learn slowly, boy!”
“In short, while I am here, you are not setting foot in Xing Huan Heaven. Stop pulling that long face. Have some faith in Zhang Ruochen. Even if Heaven Court’s armies are mighty, their first targets will be Huang Tian, Jue Miao, and Yu Rumor. That boy is impossible to predict. If he wants to hide, they won’t find him easily. And he is cunning as a fox. He might very well seize an opportunity and slip away.”
The Blood Absolute War God replied, “I have never worried that he cannot escape. What I fear… is that he will refuse to escape!”
…
All the Hell Realm armies and gods racing towards Xing Huan Heaven received transmissions from the great temples and came to a halt.
“The Inverse God Clan… How can the White Queen be Inverse God Clan?”
Luo Yi stood stunned for a long while after receiving the news, then her face filled with deep worry.
If the White Queen was Inverse God Clan, then Bai Qing’er was too. If Zhang Ruochen was with Bai Qing’er, given his character, he would protect her with his life.
“Your Highness, it would be best to follow His Majesty the Emperor’s arrangements. Now that the Inverse God Clan has revealed itself, if our Luo Sha Clan steps in to help, we will invite endless trouble,” one of the Luo Sha gods advised.
Luo Yi replied, “I understand! The clash in Xing Huan Heaven now involves Heavenly-level beings. This could be the greatest war since the Middle Ancient era. We must indeed proceed with utmost caution.”
Luo Yi had considerable faith in Zhang Ruochen. As long as he did not get entangled in Inverse God Clan affairs, he still had a chance to escape.
…
Above Xing Huan Heaven.
The Famous Sword God arrived beside Jia Tianxia, the Nine-Headed Dragon God, the Lord of Souls, and the others in a series of after-images. Seeing that their prolonged assault had achieved nothing, he declared, “Stand aside. I will do it!”
“Lord Famous Sword!”
A streak of sword light flew from the Famous Sword God’s body and hovered above his head.
The sword was three chi long, lustrous blue like jade.
The Famous Sword God seized the hilt. The sword dao rules of heaven and earth surged madly towards him. The divine might radiating from the Lord Famous Sword spread across the entire star domain.
In an instant the power fluctuations from the Famous Sword God completely overshadowed every other great deity present.
“The foremost war weapon of Sword God Realm, the divine artefact Lord Famous Sword.”
“Truly worthy of being ranked first beneath the Immeasurable by the Great Deity Treatise of Feixian Valley. What terrifying presence.”
…
The Famous Sword God swung his blade downwards, trailing blinding sword light that tore a massive rift in Xing Huan Heaven’s realm-protecting grand array.
The sword light pierced the atmosphere and struck the surface, cleaving an entire nation of several hundred million humans cleanly in two. The erupting sword qi instantly rendered the nation deathly silent. Not a single living thing remained.
To gods, mortals were no more than ants.
Beneath the divine realm, one did not even have the right to know how one died.
“Charge in! Exterminate the Inverse God Clan! Rule Xing Huan Heaven!” The Famous Sword God stood tall and proud, black hair flying, sword raised in command. His divine voice resounded between heaven and earth.
Behind him, the holy armies of Sword God Realm surged like a tide through the breach in the grand array.
