“Why are you staring at me?”
The Blood Jue War God looked speechless, though inwardly he was just as astonished. How had another version of himself suddenly appeared?
And this one seemed even more arrogant than he was.
He knew it had to be some trick Zhang Ruochen had cooked up to intimidate Jia Tianxia and the other great gods of the Heavenly Court.
Just don’t let the disguise slip!
Huang Tian could transform into his likeness because Huang Tian was strong enough. But among those beneath the Immeasurable Realm, only a handful could imitate someone of his or Huang Tian’s level.
Finding a second one shouldn’t be that easy.
The Blood Jue War God was confident of that much.
The Clan Chief of the Undying Blood Race said irritably, “Where is the Undying Blood God?”
“Safeguarding the Three Lives Realm,” the Blood Jue War God replied with complete assurance.
Still uneasy, the Clan Chief released his divine sense, crossing vast starry seas to the Three Lives Realm. Only after confirming that the Undying Blood God was indeed there did he quietly breathe a sigh of relief.
“Who in the world is this Blood Jue War God?” the Clan Chief asked.
“How should I know?”
“What about the Heaven-Seizing God Emperor? Did you really kill him?”
“I was busy dealing with Lan Pojun. Even if I wanted to kill the Heaven-Seizing God Emperor, I never had the chance.” The Blood Jue War God very much wanted to claim credit for that feat, but after a moment’s thought, he decided there was no need to lie in front of the old man.
“How many Undying Blood Gods have you actually cultivated?”
The question made the Blood Jue War God bristle with anger. “You don’t believe me? Old undying one, you actually don’t trust me. I, Blood Jue, am not the sort who dares to act but not admit it. If I had killed the Heaven-Seizing God Emperor, I would proudly own it. The point is, I truly didn’t do it.”
The Clan Chief stood with hands clasped behind his back, lips pursed. He circled the Blood Jue War God several times, examining him closely, then said, “Come with me.”
Swish!
Space flipped and shifted.
In an instant, the Clan Chief brought the Blood Jue War God into a boundless expanse of void.
A blood-leaf parasol tree towered countless tens of thousands of li high in the emptiness. Its leaves were the size of lakes, and the blood-coloured divine light radiating from them drove back the power of the void.
Beneath the tree sat a woman of peerless grace, veiled, her figure enchanting.
The Blood Jue War God naturally knew who she was. He immediately restrained his arrogance, his expression turning solemn and respectful.
The Clan Chief gave a hearty laugh. “Well, who would have thought? Feng Tian is actually cultivating here in the void. What a coincidence that we ran into her!”
Feng Caiyi slowly raised her eyelids. Her long lashes parted, revealing crystalline divine eyes that shimmered with five colours and ten hues.
The Clan Chief hurriedly called to the Blood Jue War God, “Hurry over and pay respects to Feng Tian. You youngster truly lack all sense of reverence!”
The Blood Jue War God was somewhat reluctant, but the other party was now one of the Twenty Heavens of the Hell Realm. Both cultivation and status were there. No matter how unwilling, he could not twist a thigh with his arm.
“Greetings, Feng Tian.”
Standing tall and straight, the Blood Jue War God clasped his iron fist and saluted.
“Enough. I already know. The events at Xing Huan Tian have nothing to do with you. You may go,” Feng Caiyi said coldly, clearly aware of their purpose.
The Clan Chief immediately beamed, about to drag the Blood Jue War God away, only to find the latter still rooted to the spot.
The Blood Jue War God said, “Xing Huan Tian contains several seeds of Divine Venerables and Heaven-level geniuses. If we are not careful, they will fall. Is the Hell Realm truly willing to abandon them because of the Rebel God Clan affair?”
“This is not something you are permitted to question,” Feng Caiyi replied.
“And if I insist on asking?”
“Come on, let’s go! No respect for elders. Even before a Heaven, you cannot control your temper.”
Whether the Blood Jue War God agreed or not, the Clan Chief seized him and instantly crossed space, vanishing from beneath the blood-leaf parasol tree and returning to the starry sky.
Along the way, the Clan Chief scolded the Blood Jue War God. “You have truly become too full of yourself. You actually dared speak to a Heaven in that tone. Do you think the title Death Divine Venerable from the past was earned casually? The word ‘death’ means she can decide your life or death with a single word.”
The Blood Jue War God’s gaze was calm. “Since the Death Divine Venerable has come in secret, it shows the Hell Realm is not unwilling to fight. They have even prepared for a divine-level blood war. They are simply waiting for the perfect moment.”
Seeing him so composed, the Clan Chief nodded. “Go on.”
“They are waiting for the Heavenly Court and that thieving old heaven to forge an irreconcilable blood feud. They are also waiting for the Star-Sea Angler to be completely enraged by the Heavenly Court. Killing a titan with spiritual strength above the ninetieth order is harder than ascending to heaven. Offending two such titans will inevitably cause the Heavenly Court to suffer catastrophic retaliation.”
The Blood Jue War God gazed toward Xing Huan Tian. “Whether the Hell Realm obtains the opportunity it desires, whether a divine-level blood war erupts, will ultimately be decided by the battle happening in Xing Huan Tian right now. It may even rest in Zhang Ruochen’s hands. That boy is becoming more and more extraordinary. He can already influence the decisions of heavenly-level figures.”
The Clan Chief was not optimistic about Zhang Ruochen. “You think far too highly of that kid. With his current spiritual strength, he does not even need Xuan Yi to act. Jia Tianxia, the Famous Sword God, the Mandala Flower God, any one of those ancient gods could crush him with a single finger.”
The Rakshasa armies were stationed in the starry sky.
Princess Luo Yi’s divine eyes gazed across billions of li toward Xing Huan Tian, able to see Zhang Ruochen standing outside the Goddess City.
She murmured to herself with a smile, “Zhang Ruochen is still Zhang Ruochen after all. When he wishes to protect someone, even if the whole universe stands against him, he will still protect them. I rather envy Bai Qing’er.”
Her smile carried a trace of melancholy.
“Your Highness, what nonsense is that? The realm-protecting array of Xing Huan Tian is vanishing, the city-protecting arrays of the Goddess City have been breached. As a member of the Rebel God Clan, Bai Qing’er is certain to perish outside the city. What is there to envy? It is the Prince Consort who will be dragged down by her,” a Rakshasa divine general said.
Princess Luo Yi replied, “You do not understand.”
Inside the Goddess City.
Luo Shengtian held Shang Xia’s jade hand. They stood on the highest floor of a mysterious tower within the Heavenly Goddess Tower, gazing out at the pillars of divine light shooting into the sky beyond the city.
“Zhang Ruochen does have guts. For the woman he loves, he faces great gods and armies of millions without the slightest fear,” he said.
Shang Xia’s face was filled with worry, yet she seemed to have seen through life and death. “Zhang Ruochen does this for our master, so he faces death with equanimity, advancing and retreating together. And you?”
“If even Zhang Ruochen has such courage, how could I, Luo Shengtian, fear death? Rest assured. Even if we are to perish in the Goddess City today, I will die before you.”
Luo Shengtian wrapped an arm around Shang Xia’s slender waist. The hot blood within him had been ignited by Zhang Ruochen, filling him with fighting spirit.
Swish!
Divine light flashed.
Bai Qing’er’s voice rang throughout the Heavenly Goddess Tower. “All great saints and gods still capable of fighting, follow me into the ruins of Xing Huan Tianzun Palace. There may yet be a chance to hold Xing Huan Tian and preserve the Twelve Sanctuaries of the Goddess. Who will come with me?”
Shang Xia and Luo Shengtian looked over.
Somehow, Bai Qing’er had appeared on the surface of the sacred lake among the layered pavilions. Then she transformed into a streak of white light, rushing toward the heart of the Heavenly Goddess Tower.
“Master, I will go with you!”
Shang Xia’s heart surged with excitement. Without hesitation she turned into an illusory shadow and pursued Bai Qing’er.
Luo Shengtian followed closely.
“Young City Lord, Qian Cheng will accompany you.”
“Young City Lord, I will go with you.”
“If we can preserve the Twelve Sanctuaries of the Goddess, what does it matter if we die in the ruins of the Tianzun Palace?”
…
The eight divine-realm sanctuary masters of the Heavenly Goddess Tower, along with the various great-saint tower masters, saw Bai Qing’er appear and were overjoyed. It was as though they had found their backbone. None feared death.
Though they did not know what the Young City Lord intended, they all followed, their resolve firm, carrying the air of those who would never return.
Outside the Goddess City.
The Blood Jue War God cursed Jia Tianxia until the latter’s face ran with blood, digging up countless embarrassing stories from Jia Tianxia’s youth. The cultivators in the city and the Heavenly Court armies listened in stunned silence, unable to tell truth from fiction.
Events from hundreds of thousands of years ago were dragged out one by one.
“You slander me with your foul mouth! Blood Jue, you yellow-mouthed child, everything you say is pure fabrication. When this seat’s might shook the universe, you were not even born!” Jia Tianxia’s composure cracked; he was furious and humiliated.
Many of the things the Blood Jue War God shouted struck directly at Jia Tianxia’s painful memories from his younger days.
The Blood Jue War God continued to laugh and curse. “When you left the Blood Sea Hidden Heaven Divine Hall to found your own Blood War Divine Hall, others may not know the reason, but do you think I don’t? Shall I announce it to the world right now?”
“Silence!”
Jia Tianxia was truly enraged. His temper exploded; his chest seemed about to burst. Gone was his usual calm, unfathomable demeanour.
The Famous Sword God glanced at the Yin Concealment Nine Arrays, his eyes narrowing sharply. “Where did that Rebel God Clan woman go?”
The Third Elder of Array Annihilation Palace had been enjoying the spectacle and feeling rather amused when he suddenly snapped alert. He realised that Bai Qing’er, who should have been inside the Yin Concealment Nine Arrays, had somehow vanished without a trace.
It was Zhang Ruochen’s doing.
Earlier, when the Yin Concealment Nine Arrays and the Goddess City momentarily overlapped, Bai Qing’er had used the cover of the array light to slip silently into the city.
“A mere seventy-fourth-order spiritual-power god dares play tricks before this old man?”
The Third Elder was rather annoyed. He glared at Zhang Ruochen, his eyes radiating powerful spiritual force. Illusory lights shot straight toward Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual power and divine soul.
With his mastery of spiritual force, a single glare like this could overwhelm even great gods like the Black Heart Demon Lord or the Second Armour Blood Ancestor.
Yet Zhang Ruochen remained calm and met his gaze unflinchingly, completely unaffected.
Around Zhang Ruochen flowed seven-coloured misty light like clouds, protecting him and dissolving the Third Elder’s spiritual attack into nothingness.
The seven-coloured mist emanated from a seven-coloured incense candle on the ground.
Back at the Yin Xue Tian dojo, inside the stone cauldron outside, three such seven-coloured incense candles had been planted, each burned down to a short stub.
Just moments ago, when sending Bai Qing’er away, Zhang Ruochen had lit one of them.
A treasure that Yin Xue Tian used to guard her own dojo while in seclusion, how could a mere Third Elder of Array Annihilation Palace possibly break it?
Today Zhang Ruochen was utterly determined. Even if it meant revealing every last trump card he possessed, he would help Bai Qing’er hold the Goddess City and preserve Xing Huan Tian.
“Tian Guang Rainbow Candle! No wonder I did not sense it. So that was how you sent that Rebel God Clan woman away.” The Third Elder’s expression turned ugly, cold as frost.
This candle was a treasure that only a buddha of heavenly level could refine.
Understanding priorities perfectly, the Third Elder ignored Zhang Ruochen and condensed a spiritual-power avatar that instantly appeared inside the Heavenly Goddess Tower, pursuing Bai Qing’er.
His true body said, “That Rebel God Clan woman has taken a large group of experts from the Twelve Sanctuaries of the Goddess into the ruins of Xing Huan Tianzun Palace. This is no simple matter. A single spiritual avatar may not be enough to stop her. I leave this place to you!”
Bang!
Just as the Third Elder prepared to charge into the city, his vision blurred. A blood fist struck him, sending him flying. He carved a several-hundred-li-long canyon into the ground outside the city.
Fortunately, his entire body was covered in arrays; his defences were astonishing and withstood the blow.
The Blood Jue War God hovered above the city wall, his body radiating blood light as brilliant as a blazing sun. “With me, the Blood Jue War God, here, none of you will enter this city.”
“And me! Today, I, Zhang Ruochen, wish to fight great gods. Beneath the Immeasurable Realm, whoever comes dies.”
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze was sharp as lightning. He flew to the top of the city wall, taking the position Yu Rumor had held earlier. Palms pressed together, he spread the Yin Concealment Nine Arrays until they enveloped the entire Goddess City.
With the city-protecting grand arrays gone, he, Zhang Ruochen, would defend it.
Unless they stepped over his corpse, no one would enter today.
Beneath his feet lay the Sundial. Above his head hovered seven soul swords, each brighter than the last, radiating an aura that suffocated the gods of the Heavenly Court.
He protected not only Bai Qing’er, but every cultivator inside the Goddess City and the billions of lives across Xing Huan Tian.
This was great love.
And the sword of love shone brightest of all!
“Arrogant!” Jia Tianxia declared.
Under the mobilisation of profound principles, the thunder and lightning inscriptions of heaven and earth gathered frantically toward the Blood War Divine Hall. The sky turned pitch black; tens of thousands of purple lightning bolts streaked between heaven and earth.
“Jia Tianxia has invoked profound principles. It seems he is truly furious beyond measure and intends to fight the Blood Jue War God until the heavens are overturned.”
The Famous Sword God smiled faintly, too lazy to bother with that battle, and walked straight toward the city.
A mere Zhang Ruochen and the Yin Concealment Nine Arrays, he did not deign to take seriously.
Though he did not believe Bai Qing’er, with her cultivation, could raise much of a storm, she was still of the Rebel God Clan and absolutely could not be spared.
Bang!
The sky full of lightning dispersed. Jia Tianxia was punched by the Blood Jue War God and sent crashing down from the Blood War Divine Hall.
Where he landed, the earth sank deeply.
The Blood Jue War God was extremely violent. With arms thick with muscle, he lifted the mountain-sized Blood War Divine Hall and smashed it down toward Jia Tianxia.
Boom!
Dust flew, space cracked in many places.
Jia Tianxia managed to dodge and was not struck by the Blood War Divine Hall. He spread blood wings and soared into the sky, staring at the Blood Jue War God in disbelief. How had the Blood Jue War God’s physical strength become this terrifying?
Legend said the Blood Jue War God’s unparalleled battle power came from the supreme divine path he had fused and his status as master god of the path.
Since when had his physical body become so fearsome?
Even lightning summoned by profound principles had been scattered.
The Famous Sword God’s eyes were filled with surprise, yet also shining with excitement. A hunter’s joy. The divine sword in his hand emitted a shrill cry.
The sword spoke for his heart, eager to fight.
Holding the Blood War Divine Hall aloft, the Blood Jue War God stood upon the crimson earth that stretched for tens of thousands of li. He threw his head back and laughed toward the heavens.
“Come at me together. Let us fight to our hearts’ content!”
