Lan Wu Teng, the demonic upper god, gazed at the scarred and ravaged land with a sorrowful expression. He said, “I dare not lie in the presence of the Great God. In truth, this little god does not know who rescued Yu Shi. When the Red Demon emerged and battled the Eternal Heaven God, turning heaven and earth upside down, this little god immediately fled far away. Only when the fighting ceased did I return to check, and I happened to encounter the Great God.”
“In my youth, I did indeed have a brief meeting with Lord Shang Qing and even received his enlightening grace. But after that, I never saw him again. How fares the elder now?”
Zhang Ruochen stared fixedly into Lan Wu Teng’s turbid eyes until the latter grew uneasy. Only then did he say, “Where did you meet Ancestral Master Shang Qing?”
Lan Wu Teng replied, “Right here on the continental land of the gods.”
“Take me there.” Zhang Ruochen said.
Lan Wu Teng sighed with deep sorrow, his voice hoarse. “Alas, that place has been destroyed and turned into a sea of magma.”
“Zheng!”
A piercing sword cry rang out.
Lan Wu Teng, at the peak of upper god, felt his divine soul nearly shatter. He clutched his head, terrified to the core.
Zhang Ruochen’s face remained impassive. He said, “If you do not tell the truth, I do not mind searching your soul directly. Your spiritual force is strong, but only early seventy-sixth order.”
Lan Wu Teng had never expected the other to be so perceptive, as though seeing straight through his heart, leaving no secrets hidden.
“Great God, please do not search my soul.”
Lan Wu Teng hesitated for a long while before asking, “Is the Great God truly a descendant or successor of Lord Shang Qing?”
“Asking this serves no purpose. Even if I say no, what could you do?”
Zhang Ruochen continued, “I can tell you plainly. Every god who has come to the Lost Paradise seeks the Sword Realm. More gods will arrive, growing ever stronger. You are fortunate to have met me. That I still question you patiently shows I have no intent to search your soul or kill you. You should understand this.”
“Sword Realm? What Sword Realm?”
Lan Wu Teng showed genuine puzzlement.
Yet Zhang Ruochen grew even more puzzled. Could this old fellow truly not know the location of the Sword Realm?
Lan Wu Teng pondered briefly, then dropped to one knee, his expression solemn. “This little god is not lacking in insight or judgment. I can see the Great God is neither bloodthirsty nor cruel. The Great God would disdain deceiving this little god with lies. As long as the Great God grants this little god one request, I shall reveal everything I know. This little god knows I have no right to negotiate with the Great God… consider it a plea.”
With that, Lan Wu Teng knelt fully on both knees and kowtowed.
“Speak.” Zhang Ruochen said.
Lan Wu Teng’s heart surged with emotion. He said hurriedly, “The Great God has seen it too. The Lost Paradise has become a graveyard for the lost. Demons run rampant, gods gather, lives are worthless as grass, stars fall, yet the Eternal Heaven God is cruel, bloodthirsty, irresponsible, utterly selfish…”
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Xiu Chen, who had appeared behind Lan Wu Teng. “Carry on.”
Lan Wu Teng’s face filled with righteous fury. “By rights, as Eternal Heaven God, receiving worship and tribute from the masses, he should protect the Lost Paradise. Even if unable to save many, saving some would suffice.”
“Yet the current Eternal Heaven God is an outsider. He not only enslaves the cultivators here but, for his own gain, slaughtered all False Gods. In this crisis, he fled alone in cowardice, fearing death. The beings of this star region suffer beyond words… Heaven God…”
“Eternal Heaven God, divine might peerless.”
“Eternal and indestructible, life equal to heaven.”
At the sight of Xiu Chen, Lan Wu Teng immediately shouted the slogan, prostrating himself, body trembling faintly.
“Enough.”
Zhang Ruochen stopped Xiu Chen, who wished to slap Lan Wu Teng dead. He said, “True God Wu Teng need not fear so. The Eternal Heaven God has submitted to me. It cannot harm you. Continue.”
Lan Wu Teng slowly raised his head, glancing cautiously at Xiu Chen.
Xiu Chen’s aura had risen considerably, no longer as frail as before. It said coldly, “Who would have thought you, Lan Wu Teng, hid so deeply. Speak. I too wish to hear what secrets you hold.”
Lan Wu Teng steadied his startled soul and gazed pleadingly at Zhang Ruochen. “The Great God must seek justice for this little god and the beings of the Lost Paradise star region.”
“Yes. Rest assured. I shall discipline it.”
Zhang Ruochen added, “I roughly understand your intent. You grew up in the Lost Paradise star region, lived two hundred thousand years, and hold deep affection for this place. You wish me to act, save some of its beings, and preserve its inheritance. Correct?”
“Not only that.”
Though feeling his request excessive, Lan Wu Teng gritted his teeth. “The four True Gods who offended the Great God earlier, does the Great God recall them? Could the Great God let past offences pass, spare them, and take them from this place of strife? Henceforth, we shall revere the Great God as the new Eternal Heaven God.”
Fearing Zhang Ruochen might hold grudges, Lan Wu Teng quickly added, “Back then, we merely followed the Eternal Heaven God’s orders.”
Xiu Chen’s eyes blazed with fury. Were it not for Zhang Ruochen’s restraint, Lan Wu Teng would already be pulp.
“See how miserably you have lived. Barely a thousand years as Eternal Heaven God, and already deserted by all.”
Zhang Ruochen looked to Lan Wu Teng. “Rise. I cannot agree to your conditions immediately. For I cannot yet judge the character of those four True Gods, including you. If bitten in return, would I not have saved a pack of wolves?”
“The Great God believes we betrayed… betrayed Xiu Chen Heaven God, and thus thinks we are treacherous and might turn on a master?” Lan Wu Teng said bitterly.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “You did not betray Xiu Chen. You did nothing to wrong it. The fault lies solely in its cruelty. I truly cannot agree yet because I do not know you well enough. After all, a god’s destructive power is immense.”
Hearing this, Lan Wu Teng set aside his deepest fear.
He too had worried that joining Zhang Ruochen would mean enslavement, being used as cannon fodder, or refined into divine blood medicine.
Zhang Ruochen’s cautious consideration already ruled out such possibilities.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Truthfully, this starry space conceals countless vicious beings eager to descend upon the continental land of the gods, to drain your blood and devour your souls. For now, continue following the Eternal Heaven God. When safe, you may choose to stay or leave. Those wishing to remain by my side must pass tests.”
Lan Wu Teng glanced at Xiu Chen, eyes filled with dread.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Rest assured. As long as you behave, it dares not harm you. Xiu Chen, if you dare devour their divine souls, once we leave the Dark Triangle Star Region, I shall lash you with the soul-beating whip from the Shura Star Pillar Realm to the Destiny Divine Mountain, letting all gods of the Infernal Court watch you suffer.”
Zhang Ruochen had realised Xiu Chen feared not the whip itself but the loss of dignity and face.
“Devouring them would surely restore me to peak Taixu combat power. Keeping a bunch of Divinity-realm trash, what use are they?” Just picturing the scene Zhang Ruochen described made Xiu Chen tremble with rage.
With Zhang Ruochen’s assurance, Lan Wu Teng was overjoyed. He immediately sent divine thought transmissions, summoning Ma Yi, Bo Ye Jun, Jing Kong True God, and Rong Nai from their hiding places deep beneath the continental land of the gods.
The four gods, seeing Xiu Chen, were terrified and wished to flee. Only after Lan Wu Teng explained did they calm.
Then, all four bowed to Zhang Ruochen in unison.
To subdue even the Eternal Heaven God, this young Great God must be extraordinary.
After Zhang Ruochen had Xiu Chen take the four gods into the ancient mountain cave within the sundial, he looked to Lan Wu Teng. “The four True Gods’ divine-realm worlds have already sheltered vast numbers of beings. Even if the continental land of the gods falls, the civilisation of the Lost Paradise can endure. Now you may speak.”
Lan Wu Teng said, “This little god knows nothing of any Sword Realm, but I do know a place called the Dark Night Realm Gate. It was there I met Lord Shang Qing. A great figure within the realm gate instructed me to report major events in the Lost Paradise periodically, rewarding me with rare cultivation resources.”
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Where is the Dark Night Realm Gate?”
“South of Hai Cang Star, five million steps away.”
Lan Wu Teng raised his head and pointed to an extremely dim star in the southern starry sky.
“No more words.”
Xiu Chen looked warily towards the sky in another direction. A meteor streaked over, landing on the ground and condensing into the form of the Moon God.
Before this, Xiu Chen had already taken Lan Wu Teng into the sundial.
Wu Yue wore pristine white robes, graceful and ethereal, with an immortal heart and jade bones. She said coldly and proudly, “Why are you still lingering? Xiu Chen, you absorbed the scattered powers across the continental land of the gods. How has your cultivation grown only this little?”
Xiu Chen endured repeatedly before finally smiling. “Naturally incomparable to the Moon God.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Why has the Moon God come? Did I not instruct you to study the Array Codex in the saint chariot and discuss our grand plans upon our return?”
“Zhang Ruochen, you grow ever worse at knowing your place. Who exactly is the divine envoy, you or this god? Why must this god obey you?”
Wu Yue’s voice was soft, yet her will unyielding. She said, “The Array Codex you gave is incomplete, recording only a few divine arrays. This god has already mastered them all. By the way, release your Yin Concealment Nine Arrays and Yang Concealment Nine Arrays. This god shall combine them into the Yin-Yang Eighteen Bureaus for you. When battle comes, with this array, you and Xiu Chen should be able to hold at least one powerful foe.”
To persuade Wu Yue to study arrays, Zhang Ruochen had released the Yin Concealment Nine Arrays and Yang Concealment Nine Arrays for her observation.
Who could have foreseen that after mere hours of array cultivation, she was ready to fuse them into the Yin-Yang Eighteen Bureaus? That was eighteen divine arrays.
You, Wu Yue, are no array master. How can you speak so boldly?
