Chapter 1411: The Heavenly River and the Merit Star
Under Zhang Ruochen's insistence, Blood Moon Ghost King made another concession and signed a new divine contract with Empress Chi Yao.
In the new contract, all cultivators of the Holy Bright Central Empire who had reached the Half-Saint realm or above were required to remain in the Kunlun Realm and obey Chi Yao's commands.
Of course, Empress Chi Yao also made a concession, writing in the contract that she would not deliberately target them, nor would she deliberately harm them.
Zhang Ruochen spent an entire day transferring all cultivators who had not reached the Half-Saint realm into the Qiankun Realm.
"Your Highness, our Dragon-Protecting Pavilion has its own mission and cannot go to the Qiankun Realm."
After saying this, the Vice Pavilion Master led the members of the Dragon-Protecting Pavilion away from Wuding Mountain.
"Crown Prince, you have done your utmost. There is no need to feel guilty. We all understand. In the future, if you become a god, we will surely return and swear to follow you to the death."
"Empress Chi Yao is a god. Since she has made a promise, she will certainly not break her word. So, Your Highness, do not worry about us."
Those remnants of the Sacred Bright Empire came one after another to bid farewell to Zhang Ruochen.
In the end, only Xiao Hei, Mu Lingxi, Wine Madman, Gu Songzi, and Blood Moon Ghost King remained by Zhang Ruochen's side.
Xiao Hei used his wing to pat Zhang Ruochen on the shoulder and said, "At just the Saint realm, you were able to bargain with two gods. Throughout history, you are already the number one. There is nothing to be depressed about."
A fierce light surged in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. "No matter how difficult it is, no matter how much sweat and blood I have to shed, I must cultivate to the God realm. If I cannot be the one moving the pieces in this life, what meaning is there in living?"
If, before today, the only meaning of Zhang Ruochen's existence was to take revenge on Chi Yao, then now, Zhang Ruochen had another goal: to break the chess game, take control of his own destiny, and become a player who plays against the gods.
At the top of Saint Wood Peak, the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin slowly opened. A surge of crystalline white light poured out, and then a goddess with immortal-like skin and jade-like bones stepped out, breathtakingly beautiful.
From the clouds above, a brilliant rain of light fell, enveloping her, making her delicate figure appear infinitely hazy.
"Greetings, Moon God."
Wine Madman, Gu Songzi, Blood Moon Ghost King, Mu Lingxi, and Xiao Hei all bowed simultaneously.
Zhang Ruochen was silent for a long time before finally cupping his hands and saying calmly, "Greetings, Moon God."
The outcome today could not be blamed on the Moon God. After all, no one had expected Chi Yao to return so quickly.
The Moon God had only recovered part of her divine power and was still in a rather weakened state. Being able to sign a divine contract with Chi Yao and protect the lives of Zhang Ruochen and the many cultivators of the Holy Bright Central Empire was already quite an achievement.
In the entire Kunlun Realm, only she could check Chi Yao.
Regardless, the Moon God had fulfilled her promise.
The Moon God's true form hovered above the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin. Her appearance was very similar to Blood Moon Ghost King's, but she was even more beautiful, with a cold and pure temperament, giving off a holy sense of being untouched by worldly affairs.
Even cultivators of Wine Madman and Gu Songzi's level lowered their heads, not daring to look at her directly. It was as if even a single glance would be a desecration of the divine.
The Moon God looked at Blood Moon Ghost King, extended a finger, and tapped her between the eyebrows.
"Whoosh—"
Blood Moon Ghost King's ghostly form dispersed, turning into wisps of ghostly energy that merged into one of the Moon God's jade-like fingers. Clearly, Blood Moon Ghost King had completely lost her reason for existence and was taken back by the Moon God.
"Let's go. We're heading to the Heavenly Court Realm now."
The Moon God flicked her finger, and a ring of moonlight emanated from her fingertip, enveloping Zhang Ruochen, Mu Lingxi, Xiao Hei, Wine Madman, and Gu Songzi.
When the moonlight dissipated, their figures had also vanished from Saint Wood Peak.
In Wuding Mountain, all the disciples of the Demon Sect knelt on the ground, chanting in unison: "Farewell, Moon God."
"Farewell, Moon God."
...
One hundred thousand years ago, the Kunlun Realm was a subordinate mortal realm of the Heavenly Court Realm, so there was an ancient saint path connecting the two realms.
After the gods of the Kunlun Realm fell, that ancient saint path was sealed, preventing Half-Saints from the Kunlun Realm from entering the Heavenly Court Realm to cultivate.
Of course, gods could use their divine power to open the sealed ancient saint path.
A year ago, Empress Chi Yao had traveled through the ancient saint path to the Heavenly Court Realm to negotiate with the gods.
Now, the new saint path between the Kunlun Realm and the Heavenly Court Realm was also opened based on the ancient saint path.
Just as the Moon God brought Zhang Ruochen and the others to the outside of the Heavenly Court Realm, the entrance to the Kunlun Realm's saint path was also opened. All beings who had reached the Half-Saint, Saint, Saint King, or Great Saint realms streamed into the saint path in an endless stream, heading toward the Heavenly Court Realm.
Except for a very few powerful individuals with special missions, the strongest being in the entire Kunlun Realm now only had the cultivation of the Ninth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
The Heavenly Court Realm was also located deep in the universe, known as the heart of all realms. It was incredibly far from the Kunlun Realm. If one did not take the saint path, even a Saint would need a thousand years of flying to cross the two realms.
Flowing around the four sides of the Heavenly Court Realm was a mighty and vast Heavenly River. The current was swift, and strange rules flowed along with the river water.
The Heavenly River flowed through the universe in a ring shape, without a riverbed. Only countless planets floated on both sides of the Heavenly River, forming a simple embankment.
At this moment, the Moon God, Zhang Ruochen, Mu Lingxi, Xiao Hei, Wine Madman, and Gu Songzi stood on the outer side of the Heavenly River, on a rocky planet with a diameter of five thousand miles.
On the planet, a large number of profound formation inscriptions were carved. Metal palaces and formation towers were built, and sacred soldiers and generals were stationed here to guard it.
Wine Madman was a Saint King-level powerhouse and had seen great storms, but now his eyes were about to pop out: "My god, there's actually a river floating in the universe? And the river is so wide, I can't even see the other side!"
The Moon God said, "This is the river guarding the Heavenly Court Realm, called the Heavenly River. The width of the Heavenly River is a full one hundred and eight thousand miles. The water in the Heavenly River is called Weak Water. With your current cultivation, do not attempt to cross the river, or you will die without a burial place."
Although Zhang Ruochen appeared calm, he was still deeply shocked inside.
What kind of power could make the Heavenly River float around the Heavenly Court Realm? What kind of place was the Heavenly Court Realm?
"Splash."
A water column as huge as a mountain peak surged up from the Heavenly River, and then the water column condensed into a towering giant wearing armor, from whom a vast divine might emanated.
The giant formed from Weak Water laughed and said, "One hundred thousand years have passed, and the Moon God has returned to the Heavenly Court Realm. Congratulations and celebrations."
The Moon God clasped her hands behind her back and nodded. "Give me a celestial boat. I want to cross the Heavenly River."
"Please wait a moment, Moon God. I must first check the identities of the others before I can let you pass."
With that, the Weak Water giant took out a mirror and shone it on Zhang Ruochen and the others. Finally, the beam of light from the mirror stopped on Zhang Ruochen.
The Weak Water giant put away the mirror and said, "Moon God, the Saint behind you has a world hidden inside him. If he is allowed to enter the Heavenly Court Realm, it would violate the Heavenly Law. I cannot bear this responsibility."
The Moon God turned around and looked at Zhang Ruochen. "If a world has not given birth to a god, the cultivators of that world cannot enter the Heavenly Court Realm to cultivate."
Zhang Ruochen understood the Moon God's meaning. He then spread his arms and closed his eyes.
The Moon God extended a snow-white jade finger, touched Zhang Ruochen's head, and used her divine power to seal the Qiankun Realm.
"With my divine power sealing it, can he enter the Heavenly Court Realm now?" the Moon God asked.
The Weak Water giant said, "According to the rules of the Heavenly Court Realm, all beings must first register in the Merit Book."
"Everything will be done according to the rules," the Moon God said.
"Thank you for your understanding, Moon God," the Weak Water giant said.
All subordinate mortal realms of the Heavenly Court Realm had a Merit Book, stored on the Merit Star.
The Merit Star was located on the bank of the Heavenly River. It was not a spherical planet but a stepped shape. On each step was the Merit Book of one world.
The Merit Star had a total of 8,940 steps, which meant it was 8,940 miles high.
One step, one mile high.
On the first step of the Merit Star, the words "Kunlun Realm" were clearly engraved. On that step, there was now only one name: Chi Yao.
Gu Songzi immediately flew toward the first step, preparing to register on it.
The Moon God said, "You have been abandoned by the gods of the Kunlun Realm and cannot leave your names on the Merit Book of the Kunlun Realm. You can only first record your names on the Merit Book of the Guanghan Realm."
With that, the Moon God walked to the fourth step and stopped.
Seeing the words "Guanghan Realm" engraved on the step, the Moon God's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "Among the myriad realms, the Guanghan Realm can only rank fourth from the bottom now? What has the Guanghan Realm experienced in these one hundred thousand years? It seems my preparations were not wrong."
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes and asked, "The Heavenly Court has a total of 8,940 subordinate mortal realms?"
"That's right," the Moon God said.
Zhang Ruochen continued, "The higher a world's merit value, the higher its ranking on the steps? The Kunlun Realm has no merit value yet, so it ranks last?"
"That's right," the Moon God said.
Zhang Ruochen asked again, "If we register on the Merit Book of the Guanghan Realm, the merit values we accumulate in the future will belong to the Guanghan Realm?"
The Moon God said, "Naturally."
Zhang Ruochen said, "What is the significance of merit values? It shouldn't just be a ranking of the myriad realms, right? Is the task you want me to do related to merit values?"
The Moon God said, "For now, register on the Merit Book first, then follow me to the Heavenly Court Realm. In the future, you will understand the meaning of merit values. They are far more important than you can imagine."
Without the permission of a god, Zhang Ruochen and the others could not register on the Merit Book of the Kunlun Realm, so they had no choice but to join the Guanghan Realm first.
After they registered, Xiao Hei discovered something interesting. "Look, every cultivation realm has a Merit Ranking. The one ranked first on the Guanghan Realm's Saint Merit Ranking is a guy named Wu Hao, and he already has 4.7 million merit points."
Wine Madman also let out a strange cry. "The one ranked first on the Guanghan Realm's Saint King Merit Ranking has 3.7 billion merit points. What exactly are merit points?"
Seeing their startled reactions, the Moon God explained further, "Merit points represent your status in the Heavenly Court Realm and also the amount of cultivation resources you can enjoy. The Guanghan Realm's Merit Ranking is nothing. If you have the ability to make it onto the Heavenly Court Realm's Merit Ranking, then you will truly be famous across the myriad realms."
At this point, the Moon God specifically glanced at Zhang Ruochen. "If you want status and want to become a player, the first step is to make it onto the Heavenly Court Realm's Saint Merit Ranking. Once you reach that point, even some gods in the Heavenly Court will take the initiative to recruit you."
"Of course, the Heavenly Court Realm gathers prodigies from all realms. True God Bodies, God's Destinies, Five Elements Chaos Bodies—there are many. There are also prodigies who can comprehend the Nine Eternal Paths. Making it onto the Heavenly Court Realm's Saint Merit Ranking will not be an easy task."
...
(Everyone can see that the chapter of the Kunlun Realm has come to a temporary end. There are still many unresolved threads in the Kunlun Realm, but don't worry, they will all be addressed later.
Also, the day after tomorrow (the 24th) at 8 PM, Xiaoyu will be live streaming on Douyu. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. If you want to know Xiaoyu's gender, you can also come and take a look. Haha.)
(Chapter End)