“Not a bad method. An ordinary great god could never perform a secret art like this.”
Zhang Ruochen was now fully dressed. All the marks on his body had vanished.
The projection over the Continent of Gods had clearly been cast by Xiu Chen, yet the aura woven into it belonged to Wu Yue. Zhang Ruochen knew he could not have managed that. She had once traded blows with Saint Monk Xumi. She was truly not to be underestimated.
Only her luck was abysmal. Time and again she was targeted by peak powerhouses. Who knew how many beatings she had taken? It was as if misfortune itself clung to her.
Xiu Chen gave a cold snort and mocked, “Compared to you, it is far inferior! A method like yours, let alone one no great god could perform, no cultivator with any sense of shame would stoop to it. Crude in the extreme. No one will believe it. It will only invite ridicule.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “My method cannot fool anyone. How could Wu Yue’s method fool anyone either? So there is no need for anyone to believe it. We only need to give those cultivators who do not wish to be used a reason not to act. That way, our enemies should be fewer.”
Zhang Ruochen’s mood was far from light. The secret of his restored martial cultivation could no longer be hidden. Add to that the uproar Wu Yue had caused, and countless old enemies would surely emerge.
But as long as the Destiny Temple and Fengdu Ghost City did not join in, the storm would be far smaller.
Without Zhang Ruochen’s near-self-destructive crude ploy, even if the Destiny Temple and Fengdu Ghost City saw through everything and refused to be manipulated by Wu Yue and the Dark Temple, they would still have been forced to act.
Now, at least, there was room to manoeuvre.
Yet the situation remained grim. In both the Destiny Temple and Fengdu Ghost City, gods who wanted Zhang Ruochen dead were everywhere. How could they let such an opportunity pass?
Xiu Chen asked, “Next, do you plan to leave the Dark Triangle Star Domain and manage matters outside, or continue searching for the Sword Realm?”
Zhang Ruochen pondered. He naturally understood that whoever first left the Dark Triangle Star Domain and spread word of this affair would hold the greater advantage.
He was no stranger to the principle of striking first.
Xiu Chen said, “I believe that since we already have a clue to the Sword Realm, no matter how great the events outside, we need not concern ourselves. Reach the Sword Realm. Help this god forge a divine source. Once this god’s cultivation returns to its peak, with this god’s protection, who in the Infernal Realm would dare touch you?”
Zhang Ruochen gave her a cold glance. “Even if within one Yuan Hui your cultivation returned to its level of a hundred thousand years ago, you would still lag a hundred thousand years behind the gods of that era. Any Heavenly Venerable of the Infernal Realm could strike you down.”
Having witnessed Zhang Ruochen’s wretched state, Xiu Chen’s mood had improved considerably. She was not angered. “If it is a battle of public opinion, you are utterly unsuited to take the field yourself. Moreover, if you do not go out, the storm may be smaller.”
These two points struck home.
Zhang Ruochen gazed towards the distant, multicoloured starry expanse of the Lost Paradise. He could only pin his hopes on the Blood Absolute War God. He believed that no matter how perilous this matter became, his grandfather would surely intervene.
Just as, back then, his grandfather had risked everything to assault Tian Nan.
And what he could do now was prepare for the worst. Find the Sword Realm. Secure a final retreat for everyone. A last line of defence!
“To the Dark Night Realm Gate.”
…
Hai Cang Star lay in the extreme southern depths of the Lost Paradise starry expanse, hundreds of billions of li from the Continent of Gods. Its surface was eternally locked in ice. Few cultivators ever came.
Famous Sword God sat cross-legged in a valley surrounded by glaciers.
The entire valley was shrouded by an array.
Having refined a healing divine pill, Famous Sword God’s essence, qi, and spirit had recovered somewhat. Yet Xu Tian’s sword qi and sword intent were extraordinarily powerful. They rampaged within him, impossible to refine.
Shang Hong approached and asked, “Has Sword God recovered?”
Famous Sword God sat upon the ground and shook his head. “Xu Tian’s sword path is truly the foremost under heaven. That single sword not only gravely wounded my divine soul, but the sword qi and intent within it will likely take centuries to fully refine. Had Knife Venerable not bestowed that blade upon me, blocking most of the force, I might not still be sitting here.”
“But this is not entirely misfortune. Xu Tian’s sword qi and intent will hone my will, sharpen the sword in my heart. In these few days alone, I have already grasped many sword path profundities I could not previously comprehend. Perhaps I need not seek the Sword Realm at all. One sword may yet shatter the Immeasurable.”
Shang Hong laughed loudly. “Across all realms, only Sword God possesses the ability to turn calamity into fortune. This is the mark of true strength. Sword God’s comprehension and will, among all sword cultivators past and present, would surely rank in the top ten. These are no empty words of flattery!”
Famous Sword God naturally possessed unparalleled confidence in himself. Even against a Chaotic Ancient Demon God he could contend. In the same realm, he had lost only to Xuan Yi.
Yet thinking of twice falling to that junior Zhang Ruochen ignited an inexplicable fury within him.
Though Zhang Ruochen had borrowed the power of Heavenly Grandmother and Xu Tian, the blow to his prestige was immense. The humiliation was beyond words.
Shang Hong guessed Famous Sword God’s thoughts. “Let me tell Sword God something amusing. Zhang Ruochen has been violated. The projection reached the Continent of Gods. Now cultivators everywhere mock him. Haha. This time, he has thoroughly disgraced Heavenly Grandmother, Master of Death God Island, and all those others!”
Shang Hong could not sense the aura within the projection, nor did he know of Xu Tian’s intent to take Wu Yue as Heavenly Consort. He merely observed from afar, treating it as gossip.
Famous Sword God asked, “All those treasures upon Zhang Ruochen, have they not been seized? That is a fortune to shake the heavens! Do we know who did it?”
Shang Hong shook his head. “The Lost Paradise now teems with powerhouses. I suspect even those who have sealed kingship or claimed venerability have arrived. I dare not probe the heart of the domain for details.”
Famous Sword God gave a long sigh.
Six divine swords, the Reverse God Stele, Buddha Ancestor sarira, Sword Ancestor sword soul. Any one was a worldly treasure. Even with his cultivation, he coveted them.
“And Wu Yue? Has she appeared again?” Famous Sword God asked.
Shang Hong replied, “Wu Yue clashed once with the Chaotic Ancient Demon God. Space shattered piece by piece. The entire starry expanse trembled. It is unknown whether the Universe Cauldron remains in her hands. This Chaotic Ancient Demon God…”
Suddenly, Famous Sword God sensed something. He rose abruptly. Bright eyes fixed upon the dark void.
“What is it?” Shang Hong asked.
Famous Sword God said, “A faint divine power fluctuation, concealed extremely well, passed three million li away, heading south.”
“That is impossible. Further south lies only endless darkness!” Shang Hong said.
“A god of that level would not wander blindly. Where there is anomaly, there is cause! Continuing south from here, is there not a spiritual qi belt?” Famous Sword God’s expression shifted slightly as he asked.
Shang Hong smiled. “There is one. Yet spiritual qi belts extending from the Lost Paradise into the darkness number in the tens of thousands.”
“Come. Follow and see. Use the talisman Shang Tian gave you to conceal your aura. Do not let the one ahead notice!” Famous Sword God said.
It was precisely with Shang Tian’s talisman that Shang Hong had silently rescued Famous Sword God, placing the latter in his enormous debt.
“Is this necessary?”
The divine talisman was precious. Shang Hong was reluctant to expend it here.
“Trust the spiritual sense I have honed over hundreds of thousands of years of bitter cultivation. This is no ordinary matter. There may be great harvest.” Famous Sword God smiled, but his face suddenly paled. Blood coughed from his mouth.
Xu Tian’s sword qi erupted once more within him, ravaging organs, flesh, marrow.
Suppressing the injury, activating the divine talisman, Famous Sword God and Shang Hong followed far behind.
According to Lan Wu Teng, the Dark Night Realm Gate lay five million bu south of Hai Cang Star. An immense distance. Even for a great god, it could not be reached in mere days.
Within the Lost Paradise star domain, Zhang Ruochen dared not use divine spirit steps. He restrained his aura to the weakest degree and flew slowly, lest he alert other gods in the domain.
Yet he never imagined that Shang Hong and Famous Sword God would be healing in such a remote place as Hai Cang Star.
And because Famous Sword God’s divine soul was powerful, he sensed Zhang Ruochen’s aura from millions of li away.
Unaware that two great enemies followed, once Zhang Ruochen left the Lost Paradise star domain he no longer restrained his aura. He used divine spirit steps to hurry at full speed.
“It is actually him.”
Sensing Zhang Ruochen’s aura, Shang Hong was both shocked and delighted. He immediately wished to strike.
Famous Sword God stopped him. Joy coloured his face even more. “Why kill him?”
“This is a perfect opportunity!” Shang Hong said.
Famous Sword God replied, “Zhang Ruochen’s life is mine to take whenever I wish. But are you not curious what he is going to do? Remember, he is the one most likely to find the Sword Realm!”
Shang Hong understood instantly. Joy upon his face grew thicker. “This time, it seems heaven stands on our side. It is not always favouring Zhang Ruochen.”
“Indeed. This truly is the will of heaven! Had we not chosen Hai Cang Star for healing, how could we encounter such fortune?” Famous Sword God brushed away his earlier gloom. His mood lifted greatly.
After Shang Hong and Famous Sword God followed, only then did a dashing golden-haired man appear in the void. A pair of dragon horns grew from his head. His silver-white divine robes bore patterns of divine beasts. They fluttered though there was no wind.
Even following close behind Shang Hong and Famous Sword God, with the pair’s powerful divine souls, they sensed nothing at all.
…
It took Zhang Ruochen more than half a year to cross the five million bu distance and reach the Dark Night Realm Gate.
It was called a realm gate, yet it was neither a realm nor possessed any gate.
It was a celestial body resembling a black hole.
Even at the periphery, Zhang Ruochen discovered space distorted. Time flowed unpredictably, now fast, now slow. Darkness power was overwhelmingly strong, capable of devouring the mental strength he released.
Here, one could lose oneself even more easily than in the Dark Triangle Star Domain.
Zhang Ruochen circled the region darker than the Dark Triangle Star Domain. He found the Dark Night Realm Gate’s influence extended across a diameter of tens of billions of li. The core region alone was that vast.
Not daring to rashly charge in, Zhang Ruochen summoned Xiu Chen and Lan Wu Teng from the Sundial.
