# Chapter 1530: Black Curtain
The Heavenly Court Realm had four great continents: Eastern Divine Victory Divine Continent, Southern South Continent, Western Ox Continent, and Northern North Continent.
These four continents were all vast and boundless, filled with abundant sacred qi and rich resources.
Cultivators from various major worlds of the Western Universe who entered the Heavenly Court Realm all cultivated on Western Ox Continent. Based on geographical location, Western Ox Continent was divided into many heavenly domains.
The Shatuo Heavenly Domain was a resource-poor heavenly domain located on the border of Western Ox Continent.
When major worlds of the Western Universe gave birth to gods and established themselves in the Heavenly Court Realm, they almost always stayed first in the Shatuo Heavenly Domain. Only by improving their ranking on the "Myriad Worlds Merit Ranking" could they leave the Shatuo Heavenly Domain and establish themselves in a more prosperous heavenly domain.
Currently, the Kunlun Realm ranked 2,744th on the "Myriad Worlds Merit Ranking" and 549th in the Western Universe. Naturally, it no longer needed to remain in the Shatuo Heavenly Domain and could enjoy a better cultivation environment.
The Guanghan Realm's ranking on the "Myriad Worlds Merit Ranking," however, had dropped from second-to-last to third-to-last.
One could say that Zhang Ruochen's all-out effort this time had only temporarily helped the Moon God preserve the Guanghan Realm, buying it a little time to barely survive.
Once the Blade Prison Realm was destroyed, or another battlefield was destroyed, the merit war would begin again.
Whether the Guanghan Realm could win the merit war again became an unknown.
The Moon God was clearly aware of this as well. She said, "One hundred thousand years ago, the Guanghan Realm was also ranked among the top one hundred in the Western Universe, a renowned and powerful realm. Unfortunately, after that upheaval, it continuously declined, suffering endless bullying, exploitation, encroachment, and enslavement in the Heavenly Court Realm... This time, if you and I hadn't rushed back, the Guanghan Realm would have ended up at the bottom, heading toward complete destruction."
"An upheaval also happened to the Guanghan Realm one hundred thousand years ago?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
The Moon God said, "Speaking of it, the Guanghan Realm's upheaval is also closely related to the Kunlun Realm. Your cultivation is still very low now; knowing those things won't do you any good. When you grow to a certain level in the future, I will naturally tell you."
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment, then said, "Could it be that the Yan God of the Merit Divine Temple is also related to this matter?"
Upon hearing the words "Yan God," the Moon God's starry eyes clearly turned sharper and colder.
Although she didn't say anything, Zhang Ruochen could tell that the upheavals of the Kunlun Realm and the Guanghan Realm were definitely connected to him.
The Moon God warned him, saying, "Zhang Ruochen, remember this: In the Heavenly Court Realm, although gods cannot attack saint realm cultivators, if a saint realm cultivator insults or blasphemes a god, the god can kill them."
"Understood."
Zhang Ruochen nodded, then asked, "Just now, you said the Guanghan Realm suffered endless bullying, exploitation, encroachment, and enslavement in the Heavenly Court Realm. What does that mean? How could this happen?"
The Moon God's gaze turned even colder. "In the upheaval one hundred thousand years ago, the gods of the Guanghan Realm were almost completely wiped out. Only the Tree God survived, but the Tree God had to support the Guanghan Realm, so its true body couldn't come to the Heavenly Court Realm at all."
"When a major world controls a large amount of top-tier resources in the Heavenly Court Realm but has no god to protect it, you can imagine what happens."
"Ninety thousand years ago, the Guanghan Realm's territory was located in the Langhuan Heavenly Domain at the center of Western Ox Continent. Under pressure from the Ophic Realm, they had to pay tribute to the Ophic Realm every year, sending large quantities of sacred sources, sacred medicines, sacred artifacts, and even a portion of the merit points they collected."
"Eighty thousand years ago, the Guanghan Realm's merit ranking plummeted, forcing them to leave the Langhuan Heavenly Domain and come to the Beichi Heavenly Domain. In the Beichi Heavenly Domain, they suffered humiliation and oppression from the Rhea Realm."
"..."
"Over one hundred thousand years, the Guanghan Realm's foundation was almost hollowed out, its wealth plundered until almost nothing remained, becoming the weakest realm in the Western Universe."
The Moon God's emotions fluctuated quite intensely, a towering rage brewing within her body.
Once, the Guanghan Realm was also a first-rate powerful realm with deep foundations, dominating Western Ox Continent. Now, it had fallen to the point where it had to pay tribute to powerful realms every year just to barely survive. As the god of this world, how could she endure this?
Zhang Ruochen let out a long sigh, feeling the cruelty of the Heavenly Court Realm.
An individual without strong power could only be bullied.
A world without strong power could only be exploited and enslaved.
"Does the Guanghan Realm still need to pay tribute to the powerful realms of the Shatuo Heavenly Domain now?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
The Moon God gently shook her head. "The worlds in the Shatuo Heavenly Domain are all very weak. Although there are significant gaps between them, the weak worlds aren't completely without the power to fight back. Moreover, with the rise of Emperor Jiemie and Ancestor Wu, the Guanghan Realm isn't afraid of challenges. So, in the Shatuo Heavenly Domain, no world has yet forced the Guanghan Realm to the point of paying tribute."
To dominate a heavenly domain, the most important role wasn't the gods, but the great saints.
Because gods had no territory and couldn't act, only great saints could compete for quality territory and fight on all sides.
With powerful figures like Ancestor Wu, Emperor Jiemie, and the Nine Spirits Great Saint guarding the Guanghan Realm, they could stand firm in the Shatuo Heavenly Domain, unafraid of oppression from other worlds. Even if other worlds sent great saints to seize the Guanghan Realm's quality sacred territories, the three giants could act to take them back.
The Moon God's tone shifted. "But there is a force that wants to completely destroy the Guanghan Realm. As long as the Guanghan Realm's cultivators leave the Shatuo Heavenly Domain, they immediately face oppression, even assassination."
"What kind of force is this? How can it be so arrogant?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
The Moon God fixed her gaze on Zhang Ruochen. "That force once plunged the Kunlun Realm into irreversible disaster. It also implicated the major worlds that followed the Kunlun Realm. This purge has lasted one hundred thousand years and still isn't completely over. Now that Chi Yao is leading the Kunlun Realm back to the Heavenly Court, that force will surely surface again. One could say that the challenges Chi Yao and the Kunlun Realm's cultivators will face are far greater than ours. To survive, to live, to take revenge, they must rise to the challenge, charging through layers of black curtains and difficulties, cutting open a bloody path, perhaps then they can see the dawn of light."
"This path is incredibly difficult. Even if they fight until their heads are bloodied, they might still be mercilessly suppressed in the end, unable to escape death."
Zhang Ruochen felt a heavy weight in his heart and finally understood one thing: One hundred thousand years ago, the Guanghan Realm was one of the worlds that followed the Kunlun Realm.
It was precisely because it followed the Kunlun Realm that it was implicated, suffering one hundred thousand years of oppression and enslavement.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What should we do now? We can't just remain passive forever, can we?"
The Moon God said, "We?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "Of course, we. My identity as the Heir of Time and Space is no longer a secret. That Yan God will definitely not let me go. To establish myself in the Heavenly Court Realm, I naturally have to keep following you. With a god's protection, who would dare to kill me openly?"
The Moon God pondered for a moment. "Given the talent you've displayed, many major worlds should want to recruit you. Those major worlds are far more powerful than the Guanghan Realm and can offer you more resources."
Zhang Ruochen said, "But those major worlds might very well be the black curtain that caused the Kunlun Realm's irreversible disaster one hundred thousand years ago. Joining them would be walking right into the trap, wouldn't it?"
Even if Zhang Ruochen joined the Guanghan Realm now, he would still bear the mark of the Kunlun Realm. That black curtain force wouldn't allow him to grow.
"Good. Since you're willing to keep following me, I will do my utmost to help you."
The Moon God continued, "First, I must recover my divine power as quickly as possible. So, I need to borrow something from you."
"What is it?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"That moon leaf of the Seven Star Divine Lingzhi."
The Seven Star Divine Lingzhi had seven leaves in total. Now, only the "Moon Leaf" and "Sun Leaf" remained growing on it.
The Moon God said, "Before, the divine power within my body was too thin to absorb the medicinal properties of the moon leaf. Now, my divine power has recovered nearly twenty percent. By refining and absorbing the moon leaf, I can restore my divine power to fifty percent. Don't worry, I won't take your moon leaf for nothing. In the future, I'll return a complete divine medicine to you."
The stronger the Moon God's power, the safer Zhang Ruochen would be in the Heavenly Court Realm.
Therefore, without hesitation, Zhang Ruochen plucked the moon leaf from the Qiankun Realm and handed it to the Moon God.
The Moon God extended a jade-white hand, holding the leaf in her palm. A rare smile appeared in her bright eyes. "As a god, constantly owing a saint—if this got out, I doubt anyone would believe it."
"That's because you didn't snatch it by force. Otherwise, I couldn't have kept the treasures on me," Zhang Ruochen said.
"The most valuable thing on you is you yourself, not some treasure on your body. To gain a treasure on you and lose you—that would be my greatest loss."
After this Saint Merit War, Zhang Ruochen had proven his extraordinary value, and the Moon God didn't hide her regard for him.
The Moon God put away the moon leaf and said, "I also need to borrow one million sacred sources."
This time, Zhang Ruochen frowned and didn't immediately agree.
On the merit battlefield, Zhang Ruochen had indeed obtained over a million sacred sources. But those sacred sources were meant to cultivate the cultivators in the Qiankun Realm, rebuild the Holy Bright Central Empire, and fight against Chi Yao.
Now that Zhang Ruochen was a member of the Guanghan Realm, if the Moon God forcefully took the sacred sources from him, he would have no power to resist, and no one could help him.
But, as the Moon God herself had said, she wouldn't do something that would alienate him.
Because Zhang Ruochen's own value far exceeded any treasure on him.
The Moon God said, "Don't worry, this is just a loan. I will definitely repay you in the future, and I won't borrow your sacred sources for nothing."
"Don't you want to use these sacred sources to cultivate a large number of saints for the Qiankun Realm? But the Qiankun Realm's foundation is too weak right now. Even half-saints are extremely rare. Even if you have a large number of sacred sources, it won't do much good."
"The cultivation environment in the Heavenly Court Realm is certainly better than in the Qiankun Realm. If you're willing, you can let the half-saints of the Qiankun Realm temporarily join the Guanghan Realm and enter the Heavenly Court Realm to cultivate. In the future, if you want to take them away, I will never stop you. How about it?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Use the Guanghan Realm's resources to cultivate the Qiankun Realm's cultivators?"
"Exactly," the Moon God said.
"Alright, since the Moon God is so sincere, I'll lend you one million sacred sources. But Moon God, don't forget that before participating in the merit war, you promised to help me with one thing," Zhang Ruochen said.
The Moon God said, "Speak. What do you want me to do? As long as it's not too excessive, I will definitely do it."
"Take Xi Ling as your disciple," Zhang Ruochen said.
The Moon God was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen's condition to be so simple.
In truth, Zhang Ruochen had also considered asking the Moon God to do other things for him, but in the end, he rejected them all.
He and the Moon God were now bound to the same chariot, sharing honor and disgrace. What the Moon God could do, she would naturally arrange for him without him having to speak. And what the Moon God couldn't do, even if he asked, it would be useless.
So, he gave this favor, this opportunity, to Mu Lingxi.
"Alright, I agree."
The Moon God gave Zhang Ruochen some more instructions, and then the two of them left the Merit Star, heading toward the Heavenly Court Realm.