The single sword from the Famous Sword God wounded all eight Divine-Realm Pavilion Masters of the Twelve Divine Maiden Pavilions who were sustaining the realm-protecting array. Blood stained their robes as they crashed to the ground.
Ming Hua Pavilion Master stood amid the sunken ruins, blood pouring from multiple wounds. She cried out in defiance, “Even the realm-protecting array cannot hold? Is today truly the doom of Xing Huan Heaven?”
“They are here! The Heaven Court armies have broken in. No one can stop them. In the end we will meet a bleak and tragic fate.”
Snow Domain Pavilion Master Liu Qingcheng was hurt even more gravely than Ming Hua. Her left arm and much of her chest had been shredded by sword qi, leaving a bloody mess that could not heal quickly.
The sword intent of the Famous Sword God lingered in the wounds.
“The City Lord is dead. No one remains to shield us! We can only fight to the death. We will not live on in disgrace.”
A veiled Pavilion Master, her white robes now crimson with blood, gripped a slender ancient sword. Resolve filled her eyes. She was ready to detonate her divine origin.
Every Pavilion Master of the Twelve Divine Maiden Pavilions was a Great Saint. Though some had already paled with fear, the sight of the White Queen’s withered corpse ignited in them the will to die honourably.
All these years, had it not been for the White Queen’s protection, how could they have cultivated to the Great Saint realm? How could they have risen above ordinary people?
Moreover, they knew full well that surrender would only bring a fate worse than death.
“Avenge the City Lord! Never bow! Continue powering the array!”
Led by the eight True God Pavilion Masters, thousands upon thousands of Holy-Realm cultivators from the Twelve Divine Maiden Pavilions reorganised themselves and took positions at every node of the central array.
The breach torn by the Famous Sword God’s strike slowly began to close and repair.
Boom!
Jia Tianxia piloted the Blood War God Palace directly into the centre of the breach.
Blood qi pouring from the palace formed a colossal vortex that locked space in place and annihilated every strand of array inscription trying to spread across.
“Mantis arms trying to block a chariot. Utterly delusional.”
“Once First Divine Maiden City falls, every one of these lowly women will be captured and enslaved.”
“My palace still lacks a batch of Holy-Realm maidservants.”
…
The gods of the thirteen realms descended into Xing Huan Heaven even before the Sword God Realm armies.
They had to clear away all divine-level threats for the main forces.
Yet the moment they arrived, a mid-level demon god burst into flames and screamed in agony. The ground was covered with array inscriptions containing remnants of Xing Huan Heavenly Venerable’s power.
It was a strand of Yu Rumor’s intent that had triggered the array.
Moments later the demon god was reduced to ash and perished on the spot.
“It is the lingering power of a Heavenly Venerable… Argh…”
Another lower god from a powerful realm in the Eastern Universe was buried beneath a cascade of mountain peaks, his divine body crushed into bloody mud. None knew if he still lived.
Every Heaven Court god paled. Only now did they grasp how terrifying the former domain of a Heavenly Venerable could be. Even the slightest trace of power could slay gods.
Boom!
The Nine-Headed Dragon God landed on the surface. Divine qi spread from his body, instantly cleansing all array inscriptions within ten thousand li.
His eighteen eyes fixed upon Yu Rumor standing atop Divine Maiden’s Robe City. Wings unfurled from his back and he soared towards her. “I will hold her back. The rest of you quickly locate the Inverse God Clan and seize control of Xing Huan Heaven’s hundred thousand nations and eight hundred ancient sects.”
“Within half a day every living being in Xing Huan Heaven must kneel in submission before the Heaven Court armies.”
“With a single word this god will decide their life or death.”
…
The sky had turned dim from the clash of gods.
Bai Qing’er raised her delicate chin and looked in all directions. In the starry sky, where was the White Queen’s star-soul divine seat now?
Zhang Ruochen shot up from the ground. Seeing Bai Qing’er standing silently, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. “The disappearance of a star-soul divine seat does not necessarily mean the Lord of White City has fallen.”
He walked towards her, divine qi secretly gathered at his fingertips, ready to restrain her if needed.
Yet before his fingers touched her, a veil of light-mist rose from Bai Qing’er’s body and blocked him.
“Did you think I would lose my reason because of this and charge off to fight Xuan Yi to the death?”
Bai Qing’er turned her frost-cold face and stared at Zhang Ruochen, eyes filled with icy chill.
Zhang Ruochen knew that chill was not directed at him. Bai Qing’er was forcibly suppressing boundless rage and hatred in her heart, struggling to remain calm, yet her eyes betrayed everything.
She glanced at the bracelet on her wrist. “I had planned, when I returned this time, to reconcile with her, to ask about the pain she kept hidden. Perhaps… I would even call her Mother. But now it seems there will be no chance.”
Zhang Ruochen did not know how to comfort her. Several times he started to speak, then stopped.
Bai Qing’er laughed, then clenched her teeth. “I must return to First Divine Maiden City. No matter what, I have to see her one last time.”
“I will help you!” Zhang Ruochen declared.
Bai Qing’er looked towards the place where divine battle fluctuations were fiercest. There darkness reigned absolute. Countless grains of dust, boulders, and entire mountains floated in the air. Occasionally light pierced the gloom, and shockwaves of attack stretched for hundreds of thousands of li.
The battlefield lay right outside Divine Maiden’s Robe City, blocking her path home.
Both Divine Maiden’s Robe City and First Divine Maiden City were now shrouded in layer upon layer of arrays. Teleportation inside was impossible.
“Too dangerous. This has nothing to do with you,” Bai Qing’er said.
Zhang Ruochen felt no fear before a great-god-level battle. Courage filled his heart. “The day I stood outside the Tower of Worldwide Divine Maidens and told the Lord of White City I would marry you, your affairs became my affairs.”
Such a simple sentence bearing the full weight of responsibility. How could Bai Qing’er not be moved? The pain in her heart eased a little.
Whoosh!
At that moment a brilliant sword light fell from beyond the heavens, slicing through the realm-protecting array and the clouds, striking the ground hundreds of thousands of li away.
The entire space shuddered.
One could imagine the carnage where the sword light landed.
Heaven Court armies poured endlessly from the rift torn in the array, descending towards the surface.
“What a powerful strike,” Zhang Ruochen said.
The voice of the Famous Sword God rang like vast heavenly thunder across the firmament. “Charge in! Exterminate the Inverse God Clan! Rule Xing Huan Heaven!”
One after another, mighty divine silhouettes passed through the realm-protecting array, landing on the ground and joining the battlefield of Xuan Yi, Huang Tian, and Jue Miao Chan nü.
The tide turned instantly. Even with the abilities of Huang Tian and Jue Miao Chan nü, they could only flee at once.
“Huang Tian, you traitor! Today is the day you die. Where do you think you can escape to?” the Lord of Souls laughed coldly.
The voice of the Famous Sword God sounded again as he pursued Jue Miao Chan nü. “I never imagined the Hell Realm still possessed a powerhouse like you. A God Venerable seed of the Hell Realm, no less! Slay you and Sword God Realm’s ranking on the Myriad Realms Merit Board will surely rise considerably.”
…
Surrounded by more than a dozen of Heaven Court’s paramount great gods, Huang Tian and Jue Miao Chan nü split up and fled across the seas.
Zhang Ruochen watched the holy armies falling like rain from the sky. His heart shook violently. “The Heaven Court armies have truly come to Xing Huan Heaven!”
He had just heard a god mention “Inverse God Clan”. Had the secret that the White Queen was Inverse God Clan been completely exposed?
“Come with me. We cannot go to First Divine Maiden City!” Zhang Ruochen said gravely.
Outside Divine Maiden’s Robe City, vast numbers of Heaven Court divine-realm powerhouses had already gathered.
The city would fall. It was only a matter of time.
While the Heaven Court great gods were occupied fighting Huang Tian and Jue Miao Chan nü, and attacking Divine Maiden’s Robe City, with Zhang Ruochen’s concealment techniques and transformation arts, there was still a chance to escape.
Bai Qing’er looked at Yu Rumor standing atop Divine Maiden’s Robe City, and at the disciples of the Twelve Divine Maiden Pavilions desperately holding the arrays. She shook her head. “Zhang Ruochen, I will remember your devotion deeply! I never imagined that one day I would truly come to love you, want to marry you, even picture a future together. That feeling was beautiful. But today I must be buried with First Divine Maiden City. What you must do is escape and one day avenge me.”
Swish!
Bai Qing’er stepped a thousand li at a time, turning into a streak of white light shooting straight towards Divine Maiden’s Robe City.
There divine light blazed across the sky and Heaven Court gods stood gathered in force.
Without a second thought Zhang Ruochen gave chase, only to be seized by Chi Xingtian and held in place.
“Have you lost your mind? Countless gods in Heaven Court want to kill you for fame and to seize your treasures. Back in the Heavenly Venerable Hall, what did you say to me? And now you are not afraid of death?” Chi Yao stepped forward, blocking Zhang Ruochen’s path.
Zhang Ruochen replied, “Everyone fears death. But if the cause is worth giving one’s life for, if someone you care about needs you to give your life, then death is no longer frightening. Do not stop me. No matter what, I must at least save her.”
Chi Xingtian said, “You cannot save her! Listen carefully. What are the Heaven Court cultivators saying?”
Zhang Ruochen’s ears caught every sound across Xing Huan Heaven.
“The White Queen was actually Inverse God Clan.”
“What is Inverse God Clan?”
“You have never heard of the Inverse God Clan? Legend says they committed monstrous rebellion, trying to do things that defy the laws of heaven. The firmament cursed them. Unless the Inverse God Clan is destroyed, the entire universe will suffer calamity. In short, only by exterminating the Inverse God Clan can we save all living beings and save ourselves.”
“I do not want to be implicated by the Inverse God Clan and incur heavenly wrath.”
“The White Queen was Inverse God Clan, so Bai Qing’er must be too. Thank goodness the Heavenly Grandson did not marry her, or he would have courted disaster!”
“Bai Qing’er has appeared! Kill her! Wipe out the Inverse God Clan.”
“Capture her alive first. Force her to reveal where the remaining Inverse God Clan are hiding.”
…
The coldness in Chi Yao’s eyes faded, replaced by a complex look of sympathy. She murmured, “I never imagined she was Inverse God Clan.”
Chi Xingtian sighed heavily. “The Heaven Court armies arrived too quickly! Our plan to kill Xuan Yi is ruined! Still, Zhang Ruochen, you are lucky to have met me. Come, hide inside my demonic-pupil world. I will take you away.”
Mu Lingxi saw how terrifying Zhang Ruochen’s expression had become. She feared he would throw away his life for Bai Qing’er and whispered, “When the tide cannot be turned, even the Hell Realm armies have not come. Clearly the Inverse God Clan truly cannot be allowed to exist in this world. Our strength is insignificant before the Heaven Court armies!”
“No, there is still a chance.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at Chi Xingtian.
Chi Xingtian felt a chill at that look and hurriedly said, “Saving you is no problem, but she has already been exposed. If I save her, I would be making an enemy of all Heaven Court… no, of the entire world.”
“Do you want the Heavenly Demon Stone Carvings?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Chi Xingtian instantly changed his tune. “I have a brilliant idea! I can alter my appearance completely. Perhaps I can rescue her. Of course, only her. No one else in Xing Huan Heaven can be saved!”
“Good. That is exactly what I was waiting to hear.”
Zhang Ruochen took out the Blood God Armour and tossed it to Chi Xingtian. “Put this on now. Transform into my grandfather and fight alongside me.”
“Who is your grandfather?” Chi Xingtian asked.
Zhang Ruochen answered, “The Grand Sacrificial Priest of the Bloodsky Clan, Xue Jue.”
No choice!
Grandfather, I am afraid you must take the field once again!
For once Chi Yao did not try to stop Zhang Ruochen. Instead she asked, “Do you have another set of Blood God Armour?”
Zhang Ruochen knew this journey was almost certainly doomed. They would be opposing the entire world. He glanced at Chi Yao. “Stay here. Take Lingxi and leave Xing Huan Heaven at once.”
Lord Qing Luan, who had been trembling with fright at the side, let out a long breath of relief. He had truly feared the Empress would follow Zhang Ruochen to her death.
Would that not mean this mount was finished too?
Plants sprouted from the ground, brimming with life, unfurling green leaves and blooming into a sea of flowers.
The barren earth turned into a floral paradise in an instant.
Catching the fragrance, Zhang Ruochen looked surprised and turned towards a certain direction.
A fairy of ultimate grace and gentleness walked slowly through a rain of petals. “There may yet be a slim chance. Zhang Ruochen, I have come to deliver a message.”
