# Chapter 1529: The Empress Slays a God
A seven-colored divine radiance, like a rainbow bridge connecting heaven and earth, spread from the depths of the dark universe, spanning across an expanse of stars.
Compared to the seven-colored rainbow bridge, the countless stars in the sky were like grains of sand, appearing exceptionally tiny.
"A god is walking through the starry sky, heading toward the Merit Star."
"Who is that?"
...
Below the Merit Divine Temple, all the saints stirred with commotion.
"It's the Empress."
"The Empress has returned!"
The saints of the Kunlun Realm revealed joyful expressions, hurriedly kneeling and bowing toward the direction of the seven-colored rainbow bridge: "We pay homage to the Empress."
The cultivators of the Blade Prison Realm grew tense, worried that variables might appear.
Because, once the merit values of the Kunlun Realm changed, the lowest-ranked subordinate mortal realm would become the Blade Prison Realm. This was a situation they absolutely did not want to see.
"That god of the Kunlun Realm has only just attained the Dao, with a shallow foundation. It's already fortunate that she didn't die on the Merit Battlefield. She probably can't change the situation." They comforted themselves inwardly like this.
Yet the next moment, all cultivators on the Merit Star were utterly shocked.
They saw Empress Chi Yao walking atop the rainbow bridge, her entire body radiating seven-colored divine light. Her golden robe was stained with divine blood. In one hand, she carried the Blood-Dripping Sword, while in the other, she grasped an iron chain.
That iron chain was thicker than a water barrel, extending all the way into the depths of the universe.
"Buzz, buzz."
Gradually, as Empress Chi Yao dragged it, an immensely huge shadow was pulled out from the universe. It resembled a dark star, yet emitted a scarlet radiance.
Under the illumination of the Heavenly Court's light, the cultivators on the Merit Star finally saw clearly—that was... that was a corpse.
An incomparably massive corpse.
Just the head of the corpse alone was tens of thousands of miles long, as enormous as a planet. Empress Chi Yao walked through the starry sky, dragging the corpse forward, while the surrounding stars all trembled slightly.
Those stars were very close to the Heavenly Court, full of vitality, with many cultivators training on them.
They felt the earth tremble, a divine might pressing down upon them. Looking up, they saw a corpse being dragged from one end of the sky to the other.
"A god... it's a god..."
The cultivators on all those planets knelt prostrate on the ground, their hearts filled with awe.
On the Merit Star, not only were the saints shaken, but even the several gods of the Seven Realms of Shatuo found it difficult to remain calm, feeling it was unbelievable.
"She already possesses the power to slay a god." The Moon God softly uttered a sentence.
"Boom!"
Below the Merit Divine Temple, all the Great Saint-level figures felt their scalps tingle, their minds greatly shaken. Having reached their level of cultivation, they could naturally see that what Empress Chi Yao was dragging was a divine corpse.
The corpse of the Horn God of the Hell Realm's Shura Clan.
On the Merit Battlefield, some Great Saints had sensed the Horn God's aura, or had seen the Horn God's shadow from afar. He was a peerless evil god, with many Great Saints of the Heavenly Court dying at his hands.
Unexpectedly, such a god who had shaken the universe for tens of thousands of years had fallen, his corpse brought back to the Heavenly Court by Empress Chi Yao.
How shocking and stirring to the heart was this!
News spread quickly.
Before long, "Chi Yao Slays a God" had spread throughout the Heavenly Court. Cultivators from various major worlds heard the news and rushed toward the Merit Star.
By the Heavenly River, densely packed holy shadows stood, all gazing into the starry sky, staring at the divine corpse and Empress Chi Yao walking above the rainbow bridge, all revealing expressions of reverence.
"Our god of the Heavenly Court killed a god of the Hell Realm."
"That's Empress Chi Yao? Truly possessing the majesty to rule the world. Just one look, and one is captivated by her."
"Empress Chi Yao is truly as beautiful as a celestial maiden. With that temperament, that appearance, even the nine fairies on the *Nine Immortal Beauties Painting* fall somewhat short compared to her. I almost want to join the Kunlun Realm and worship the Empress as my teacher. Having such a master is probably the dream of every man under heaven." A relatively young Great Saint revealed an admiring look in his eyes. He was genuinely attracted by the Empress's supreme bearing, unable to calm his heart.
"The nine fairies on the *Nine Immortal Beauties Painting*—in terms of beauty and temperament, they may not necessarily be inferior to Empress Chi Yao. However, they are not gods, so naturally they cannot compare to the Empress."
"In the entire Western Universe, perhaps only the Moon God can rival Empress Chi Yao."
...
In the past ten thousand years, although the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm continued to war, compared to the fierce battles of before, the current conflicts could only be considered small-scale skirmishes.
It was equivalent to being in a relatively peaceful period.
For this reason, the fall of a god was an extremely rare event.
The Horn God had fallen precisely because he wanted to fight to the death to protect the Ancestral Spirit Realm. Other gods, however, rarely followed the Horn God's path; the vast majority would not choose to perish together with their mother world. To be precise, the Heavenly Court would not allow them to do so.
After all, every god was a pillar supporting the Heavenly Court.
That Empress Chi Yao had killed a god of the Hell Realm and brought the divine corpse back to the Heavenly Court—such a thing had not happened for a very long time, naturally causing earth-shattering sensation.
"Empress Chi Yao must have suffered extremely severe injuries. She is certainly very weak right now. Otherwise, with our cultivation levels, it would be impossible to see her true form clearly."
"How could killing a god be so easy?"
"The reason we can see the Empress's true form is very likely because her divine body was shattered. Her current body is merely reconstituted from remnants."
"Unimaginable—what a price Empress Chi Yao paid, what a tragic and fierce battle she endured, to slay a god."
"Empress Chi Yao had no choice. After all, the Kunlun Realm had just entered the Heavenly Court, with an extremely weak foundation. If she didn't fight desperately, the Kunlun Realm would probably have been reduced to ashes. One person holding up an entire world—if she falls, that world collapses too."
All the saints looked at Empress Chi Yao with respectful eyes.
The saints of the Kunlun Realm could also imagine that the Empress's slaying of a god must have been extremely difficult. Their eyes reddened, feeling a sour ache. Including the Great Saints, all cultivators knelt on the ground, bowing to the Empress.
Empress Chi Yao, however, appeared exceptionally calm. Stepping onto the Merit Star, she said: "The start time of the Divine-level Merit War is slightly later than the other three merit wars. I returned a bit late—it should still be within the three-month timeframe, right?"
Before Empress Chi Yao, Shang Zihong had no right to speak. He could only turn around and inquire of the god within the temple.
Silence for a moment.
From the Merit Divine Temple, a divine voice emerged: "The Empress has rendered unparalleled meritorious service for the Heavenly Court. In this merit war, the Kunlun Realm is the greatest victor."
Hearing this, the saints of the Kunlun Realm were all overjoyed.
On the Merit Record Wall, the merit value behind the Kunlun Realm surged wildly upward. Soon, the number exceeded a trillion, naturally surpassing the Eight Ministries Realm to become first.
Shang Zihong's gaze fixed on Empress Chi Yao. He too was immensely amazed, slightly dazed. After a long while, he respectfully bowed to her.
"In this merit war, the Blade Prison Realm ranks last. Shortly, the Blade Prison Realm will be opened as a battlefield for the clash between the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm. Please, cultivators of the Blade Prison Realm, prepare in advance. I hope everyone can unite and achieve victory in this war." Shang Zihong announced.
The cultivators of the Blade Prison Realm were all dumbfounded, their souls seemingly leaving their bodies.
"I don't accept it! Why the Blade Prison Realm? The Blade Prison Realm is not the weakest among the Seven Realms of Shatuo. The Kunlun Realm is, and the Guanghan Realm is also weaker than the Blade Prison Realm."
A Saint King of the Blade Prison Realm went somewhat mad, losing his reason. He roared loudly and actually charged toward the Merit Divine Temple.
A cold light flashed in Shang Zihong's eyes. He raised his arm, and a stream of flame rules burst forth from his palm, condensing into a giant flame hand that struck out.
"Bang."
That Saint King was blasted apart by his palm strike, turning into a cloud of blood mist.
The Moon God could ram the Merit Divine Temple, but that did not mean other cultivators could be so presumptuous. The Merit Divine Temple held an extremely lofty and sacred status in the Heavenly Court. Daring to ram the temple was seeking death.
"So strong. With a casual palm strike, he killed a Three-Step Saint King. Judging by his age, he's not old, yet his strength is unfathomable." Zhang Ruochen was secretly observing Shang Zihong.
According to the information revealed by the Moon God, the Flame God wanted to kill him for deeper reasons.
Since this attempt had failed, there would surely be a next time.
In the Heavenly Court, the Flame God certainly could not personally kill him. However, Shang Zihong was the Flame God's proud disciple and the leading figure of the new generation in the Merit Divine Temple—undoubtedly Zhang Ruochen's potential opponent.
Shang Zihong seemed to sense Zhang Ruochen's gaze. He turned his head and looked at him, giving a friendly smile and nodding.
Zhang Ruochen also smiled slightly.
Although the cultivators of the Blade Prison Realm were dissatisfied, no one dared to make a loud noise again, nor did they dare to ram the Merit Divine Temple. In the end, they could only retreat unwillingly.
Sometimes, it was just like this—so helpless. Even gods had to lower their proud heads before the tide of events.
The merit war finally came to a complete end. Led by their gods, the cultivators of the Seven Realms of Shatuo boarded celestial boats one after another, crossing the Heavenly River and sailing toward the Heavenly Court.
Empress Chi Yao stood on one of the celestial boats, her hands clasped behind her back, her bearing outstanding, like a divine lotus amidst the blue sea and azure sky, radiating brilliant splendor. Any living being who saw her momentum would feel fear and had to kneel at her feet.
Zhang Ruochen stood on the Merit Star, gazing at her figure. His hands clenched tighter.
"The Kunlun Realm's ranking on the *Myriad Realms Merit Ranking* has risen to two thousand seven hundred and forty-fourth."
The Moon God appeared behind Zhang Ruochen, cold and ethereal, giving a feeling of not eating the common world's food. Any man standing beside her would affect her temperament, as if defiling her. Zhang Ruochen was no exception.
"Just because Chi Yao killed a god, the Kunlun Realm's ranking improved that much?" Zhang Ruochen was somewhat surprised.
One must know that the Heavenly Court had over eight thousand subordinate mortal realms. Before the merit war began, the Kunlun Realm was ranked last.
Even if killing a god could exchange for an astronomical number of merit points, countless cultivators from other major worlds were fighting, their merit values growing every moment. Accumulated over the years, it should also be an astronomical figure.
The Moon God said: "The *Myriad Realms Merit Ranking* resets every ten thousand years. The most recent reset was three thousand seven hundred years ago. Therefore, the merit values of each major world are calculated from three thousand seven hundred years ago. Killing a god is enough to offset the merit value accumulation of most worlds over several thousand years."
"From now on, for several thousand years, the Kunlun Realm probably won't need to participate in merit wars anymore. Moreover, the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm won't have to remain in the Shatuo Heaven Domain, the most barren heaven domain. They can move into a heaven domain with even richer celestial sacred qi."
"Furthermore, a divine corpse is an immensely vast treasure trove. By killing the Horn God, Empress Chi Yao will certainly gain enormous benefits from the divine corpse. Even all the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm can share a piece, thereby achieving a rapid leap in the overall strength of an entire major world."
The Horn God's body was much larger than a planet, no different from a divine mine. Large amounts of divine blood, divine bones, and so on could be extracted. Coupled with the thirtyfold time acceleration of the Heavenly Wheel Seal, the Kunlun Realm's overall strength was truly about to achieve a leap.
The Kunlun Realm also had some divine corpses, but those gods had died over a hundred thousand years ago. The divine power within their bodies had greatly drained away. A hundred drops of divine blood might only equal one drop from the Horn God's body.
Moreover, divine blood was just the most basic treasure.
The Horn God had only just died. His divine star soul had not yet dissipated, and his divine rules were still flowing. There were many things that other divine corpses did not possess.
For instance, the Horn God's corpse itself was an excellent cultivation site. If a saint opened a cave dwelling within the divine corpse to comprehend the sacred path, the speed would increase by more than just double.