Chapter 1455: An Even Greater Storm
The Great Saint Merit War had ended, and unsurprisingly, the Great Demon Ten Directions Realm had secured first place.
There was no helping it. The Great Demon Ten Directions Realm was simply too powerful. The number of Great Saints they produced was several times that of the Guanghan Realm; there was no way they could lose.
This time, the Guanghan Realm had a total of four Great Saints fall, and over a dozen more suffered extremely severe injuries, forcing them into slumber to recuperate.
Even so, the merit points they had earned were still the lowest among the Seven Realms of Shatuo, even slightly fewer than the Kunlun Realm.
Such a result was hard for them to accept.
"The Kunlun Realm has half the number of Great Saints we do, yet they produced several quite formidable figures. Each one was like a god of slaughter, unstoppable, and they managed to kill six Great Saints of the Bone Clan."
"I originally thought that in this merit war, the Guanghan Realm could at least surpass the Kunlun Realm, but now it looks a bit dangerous!"
"In this Great Saint Merit War, our Guanghan Realm also killed six Great Saints of the Bone Clan. The gap in merit points with the Kunlun Realm isn't large. As long as we gain the upper hand in the Saint King Merit War and the Saint Merit War, we can still win."
...
Led by Nine Spirits Great Saint, Annihilation Great Emperor, and Wu Zu, several dozen Great Saints of the Guanghan Realm had all gathered at Moon God Mountain.
Because of the loss in the Great Saint Merit War, their expressions were very grim, and they had a foreboding feeling that the Guanghan Realm might end up at the bottom of this merit war.
If they ended up at the bottom, it would mean the entire Guanghan Realm would face destruction.
Their gazes turned to the battlefield projections in the sky, closely watching the Saint King Merit War and the Saint Merit War, hoping no more surprises would occur.
The Saint King Merit War was proceeding relatively normally, advancing in an orderly fashion. However, the battlefield of the Saint Merit War seemed somewhat strange.
The participants originally scattered across the four world fragments had all rushed to the Southern World of the Ancestral Spirit Realm, gathering in the Giant Whale River Basin.
"What is going on?"
All the Great Saints had just returned to the Heavenly Court Realm and were not clear on the situation in the Ancestral Spirit Realm.
Wu Zu used a Great Saint's divine thought to grab a quasi-saint-level descendant and brought him to Moon God Mountain, asking him what had happened in the Ancestral Spirit Realm while they were away.
Wu Mingyi suddenly found himself before the Great Saints of the Guanghan Realm, each a legendary figure. Terrified, he knelt on the ground, trembling as he recounted the events of the past month.
"The Divine Envoy of the Guanghan Realm, Zhang Ruochen, is the fiancé of that god from the Kunlun Realm and also the Heir of Space and Time."
"The merit book walls of the Northern World, Eastern World, and Western World—three world fragments—were all destroyed."
"The Phoenix Nest emerged."
"The Rakshasa Princess and Zhang Ruochen joined forces, heavily injuring the Blade Prison Realm and nearly killing their Realm Son."
...
One shocking piece of news after another reached the ears of the Great Saints. Even with their vast experience and steady minds, they were stunned.
Although Realm Son Wu Hao had also accomplished some great deeds, killing many Rakshasa Marquises, compared to Zhang Ruochen's actions, they were insignificant.
Just the identity of "God's Fiancé" alone made Nine Spirits Great Saint and Annihilation Great Emperor's hearts pound.
Nine Spirits Great Saint's expression grew quite serious. "The identity of the Divine Envoy is secondary. After all, he now represents the Guanghan Realm and is one of us. The key question is, why did he end up together with the Rakshasa Princess Luo Sha?"
The Rakshasa Princess "Luo Sha" was very famous throughout the universe. Although she was young, she already commanded a large army and had destroyed an entire great world. Thus, even Nine Spirits Great Saint, one of the three giants of the Guanghan Realm, had heard of her name.
Annihilation Great Emperor stared at the battlefield projection of the Phoenix Nest area, watching Zhang Ruochen, Su Qingling, and Bu Ji walking alongside the Rakshasa Princess. "It's very possible they don't know the Rakshasa Princess's true identity."
Wu Zu also agreed with this view. "Luo Sha is the legitimate daughter of a god from the Rakshasa Clan. Her status is extraordinary, her talent terrifyingly high, and she is extremely intelligent and full of schemes. Don't mention those juniors; even those old fellows from the Ancestral Spirit Realm who have lived for thousands of years couldn't outwit her."
Nine Spirits Great Saint was quite worried about Su Qingling's safety. "Is there any way to tell them Luo Sha's true identity?"
Annihilation Great Emperor shook his head. "The merit war must be absolutely fair and just. Before it ends, no one can interfere. Otherwise, it would be breaking the rules, and the consequences would be severe."
The outcome of the merit war concerned the life or death of an entire great world. Its significance was extraordinary. Even gods couldn't interfere, let alone them.
Nine Spirits Great Saint frowned deeply. "With Luo Sha's cultivation, killing those three juniors would be a trivial matter. Why would she deliberately get close to them without making a move? Is it just to use Zhang Ruochen to break the Phoenix Nest's barrier?"
"It is indeed strange. This Rakshasa Princess's way of doing things is hard for even us old-timers to fathom."
Annihilation Great Emperor had considerable confidence in Zhang Ruochen and smiled. "You've all overlooked one thing. Although the Rakshasa Princess's cultivation and methods are formidable, Zhang Ruochen is no ordinary person either. The fiancé of a god, the heir of the Way of Space and Time—such identities are quite intimidating."
"The Rakshasa Princess did indeed breach a great world, showing remarkable intelligence and boldness. But Zhang Ruochen, back in the Kunlun Realm, was constantly contending with gods. His intelligence and methods may not be inferior to the Rakshasa Princess's."
"You're all worried about them, but I, the Emperor, am actually looking forward to this contest between Zhang Ruochen and the Rakshasa Princess. Interesting, truly interesting. As long as Zhang Ruochen can outwit the Rakshasa Princess this time, he will surely make a name for himself in the Heavenly Court Realm, and his future will be boundless."
The Great Saints of the Seven Realms of Shatuo had all returned to the Heavenly Court Realm, gradually learning about the situation in the Ancestral Spirit Realm.
Some Great Saints from the Blade Prison Realm were furious to the point of madness, vowing that even if Zhang Ruochen didn't die in the Ancestral Spirit Realm, they would settle accounts with him once he returned to the Heavenly Court Realm.
As for the Great Saints of the Kunlun Realm, seeing Zhang Ruochen traveling with the Rakshasa Princess, some were pleased, while others were worried.
Apart from the Heavenly Court Realm, on the other side of the vast starry sky, within the star domain belonging to the Rakshasa Clan, some high-ranking members of the Rakshasa Clan were also closely monitoring the Rakshasa Princess's every move.
An enormous rocky planet, tens of thousands of times larger than an ordinary planet, was home to over a trillion Rakshasa cultivators.
This was one of the Rakshasa Clan's ancestral planets, Thousand Mechanisms Star.
On Thousand Mechanisms Star, there was a magnificent sacred hall wrapped in lightning. The hall stood a thousand zhang tall, suspended above a blue sea region.
A Rakshasa Marquis who had reached the Half-Saint King realm spread a pair of black wings and flew into the sacred hall, kneeling on one knee. "Reporting to the Young Lord, this subordinate has thoroughly investigated that human's background."
Lingquan Young Lord sat at the top of the sacred hall, clad in a black lightning sacred armor, exuding immense authority.
Although Rakshasa males were notoriously ugly, Lingquan Young Lord was somewhat heroic, with well-proportioned features, considered a handsome man among the Rakshasa Clan.
Lingquan Young Lord stared at the battlefield projection floating in midair, watching Zhang Ruochen, who was standing very close to the Rakshasa Princess. His gaze was cold and deep. "What is his origin?"
That Half-Saint King took out a jade talisman engraved with text and presented it.
After reading the contents of the jade talisman, Lingquan Young Lord's eyes grew even colder. "Heir of Space and Time, quite the Heir of Space and Time. Lingju, immediately summon ten First-Class Marquises from our clan and await my orders."
After the Half-Saint King named Lingju withdrew, a laugh echoed from outside the sacred hall. "Lingquan, the Princess is only using that human to help her break through the Phoenix Nest. That's all. Can't you handle even such a small matter?"
Lingquan Young Lord stared at the entrance of the sacred hall, seeing a burly figure, and snorted coldly. "Yang Qi, why have you come to my Thunder Proclamation Sacred Hall? Can't you sit still either?"
Yang Qi held a crimson flame halberd, standing in midair, with extremely powerful sacred energy surging around him. "I was just worried you might go to the Ancestral Spirit Realm, so I came to advise you not to do anything against the rules."
"Not long ago, the Princess transferred three million Marquis troops from Giant Tower Star to the Ancestral Spirit Realm, which has already drawn serious attention from the Heavenly Court Realm. If a large number of strong individuals enter the Ancestral Spirit Realm again, the Heavenly Court Realm will certainly intervene."
"The Ancestral Spirit Realm has already entered the doomsday battlefield phase. Almost everything of value has been taken. There's no need to trigger a higher-level war over such a ruined world."
Lingquan Young Lord sneered. "Don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You're trying to stop me from going to the Ancestral Spirit Realm, but you'll definitely sneak over yourself. You can't stand the Princess being so close to a human man, can you?"
Yang Qi laughed. "The Princess has her reasons for everything she does. However, for something as important as attacking the Phoenix Nest, there's no need to rely on a human. If I act, I can relieve the Princess of that burden."
"I, the Young Lord, think you should stay on Thousand Mechanisms Star. Leave the task of relieving the Princess to me."
Lingquan Young Lord received a transmission from Lingju that the ten First-Class Marquises had been assembled.
Lingquan Young Lord didn't want to waste a moment. The pair of black wings on his back spread wide, erupting with tens of thousands of bolts of lightning as he shot out of Thunder Proclamation Sacred Hall, leading the ten First-Class Marquises toward the wormhole leading to the battlefield.
Yang Qi's eyes narrowed, staring at Lingquan Young Lord's retreating figure, muttering to himself, "Just as I expected. That fool Lingquan actually went to the Ancestral Spirit Realm."
A Half-Saint King-level First-Class Marquis emerged from the void. "Young Master, should we still go to the Ancestral Spirit Realm?"
"Go, why not? Are we going to let Lingquan be the only one to curry favor?" Yang Qi said.
Immediately, one First-Class Marquis after another from the Yang family stepped forward, appearing behind Yang Qi, and they too flew toward the wormhole.