Chapter 1719: A Huge Trouble Has Landed
Zhang Ruochen, who had always remained calm and unflappable, now found his hands trembling slightly. Bloodshot veins emerged in his eyes, and it felt as if a thunderclap had exploded within his mind, his ears ringing incessantly.
No one knew how long passed before Zhang Ruochen slowly raised his arm and took the Eight-Dragon Umbrella, interwoven with dragon patterns. His throat was parched as he said, "He... why didn't he come to see me in person? Why... why..."
Cihang Xianzi said, "He asked me to bring you a message: now is not the time for you two to meet."
Zhang Ruochen's face twisted with intense pain. His gaze suddenly sharpened as he roared, "Why? I want to go to the Western Buddha Realm right now. I must go. I have to ask him face to face—why did he abandon me all those years ago? Since he knew I was still alive, why... why didn't he come to see me. Take me to him. I want to see him now."
"If he doesn't want to see you, even if you search the entire Western Buddha Realm, you won't find him."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's emotions spiraling out of control, Cihang Xianzi pressed her palms together and recited the *Heart-Cleansing Sutra*.
Immediately, the emotional wounds in Zhang Ruochen's heart, along with the mental damage caused by Wuying Xianzi's earlier spiritual power attack, began to heal. It was like a clear spring flowing into his body, bringing an indescribable comfort.
Gradually, Zhang Ruochen's emotions calmed. He cupped his hands toward Cihang Xianzi and said, "Thank you."
Cihang Xianzi stopped chanting, a faint smile on her face. "Being able to let go of all worldly matters—that is true wisdom."
"Let go of all worldly matters? Even the Buddha couldn't do that." Zhang Ruochen shook his head with a bitter smile. "When will he be willing to see me?"
"He said, when the Ming Emperor is newly established and the cosmos is settled, that will be the time to meet," Cihang Xianzi replied.
"The Ming Emperor newly established, the cosmos settled."
Zhang Ruochen let out a bitter laugh. "Indeed, he knew all along about the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and the Qiankun Realm. He really is ruthless, even to his own only son. Fine, fine, fine. I will definitely rebuild the Holy Bright Central Empire and ensure the Qiankun Realm evolves into a great world, giving rise to its own civilization."
The so-called "Ming Emperor newly established" did not mean Zhang Ruochen could directly claim the title of emperor just by reestablishing the Holy Bright Central Empire. He had to reach the Great Saint realm before he was qualified to be called emperor.
After parting ways with Feng Xi and Zhenyuan Cihang Xianzi, Zhang Ruochen made his way toward the Heavenly Capital Saint Market. He was still somewhat dazed, his mind churning with questions: Why didn't the Ming Emperor want to see him? Why did he have to wait until "the Ming Emperor is newly established and the cosmos is settled"?
Back then, when he suddenly disappeared, was it because he had encountered misfortune, or had he already planned to go to the Western Buddha Realm?
Zhang Ruochen's thoughts were in chaos.
"Forget it. For now, I'll focus on cultivation. He doesn't want to see me, probably because I'm not strong enough yet. If I were powerful enough, even if he hid himself, I could find him." Zhang Ruochen suppressed the negative emotions in his heart, lifted his head, and gazed at the sky.
After a while, he fully recovered and began to think about what to do next.
The assassination attempt by the Heavenly Realm Faction and the Heavenly Killing Organization had nearly sent Zhang Ruochen to his grave. No matter what, he had to make them pay a price.
Arriving at the Heavenly Capital Saint Market, Zhang Ruochen headed straight for the Moon God Dao Field.
Now, the Moon God Dao Field had once again become magnificent and splendid. Rows of artifact-refining pavilions stood tall, radiating brilliant saintly light—a stark contrast to the sinister and eerie Yin-Yang Hall of before.
Unlike before, the Moon God Dao Field was now fully protected by time formations and space formations. The cultivators inside dared not take a single step outside. Even when traveling, they used space teleportation arrays to leave secretly.
But now, the main gate of the Moon God Dao Field was wide open, with cultivators occasionally coming and going.
Flanking the gate stood two beautiful female saints.
They were dressed appropriately, their bodies emitting a faint saintly glow. They were both guarding the gate and receiving visiting cultivators.
Zhang Ruochen reverted to his original appearance and walked toward the gate.
The four female saints saw him and immediately rushed forward, bowing respectfully. "Greetings, Divine Envoy."
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly and asked, "Who are you?"
One of the female saints replied respectfully, "We were once poor souls captured by the Yin-Yang Hall. It was the Divine Envoy who gave us a new life."
Zhang Ruochen suddenly understood. Then he asked, "What are those other cultivators doing here at the Moon God Dao Field? Haven't the cultivators from worlds like Yin-Yang Realm, Black Demon Realm, and Ten Thousand Evil Realm come back for revenge?"
"Reporting to the Divine Envoy, half a year ago, the Guanghan Realm opened a sacred store here at the Moon God Dao Field to trade and communicate with cultivators from various worlds. Those cultivators who come to trade here are all from the great worlds that attacked the Yin-Yang Hall together. This is also thanks to the Divine Envoy's efforts."
"Back then, the Divine Envoy released the female saints from these great worlds without demanding any ransom, earning their goodwill. Later, when they were retaliated against and assassinated, the Divine Envoy personally went to great lengths to set up space formations and time formations for their dao fields. They all remember this debt of gratitude."
Another female saint added, "The Moon God Dao Field is guarded by Su Jing Wang, Black Lord, and True Miao Daoren. Any cultivator who dares to cause trouble is killed on the spot. Now, even with the formations open, no cultivator dares to attack us. Because we are strong enough, cultivators from great worlds that have ties with the Guanghan Realm come here to do business with us."
Zhang Ruochen nodded. He was about to ask if the other dao fields of the Guanghan Realm had been captured when he saw Xiao Hei and True Miao Daoren rushing out from inside.
Clearly, they had sensed Zhang Ruochen's aura and came out to greet him.
But they stared at Zhang Ruochen with strange expressions, circling around him.
"Similar, really similar. How can it be this similar?" Xiao Hei muttered to himself.
True Miao Daoren said, "This old Daoist said there was a problem, a big problem indeed."
Zhang Ruochen frowned. "What's wrong with you two? Have the remaining dao fields of the Guanghan Realm been captured? And what about the Emperor Saint Jade?"
"Don't rush, don't rush. Those are minor matters. Right now, you've landed yourself in a huge trouble," Xiao Hei said.
True Miao Daoren chimed in, "That's right. You're in big trouble."
Even after surviving the siege by Shang Zihong and the others, Zhang Ruochen had endured it all. What could be such a huge trouble?
Zhang Ruochen's frown deepened. "What are you talking about?"
"Someone wants to kill you," Xiao Hei said in a low voice.
Zhang Ruochen said, "There are countless people who want to kill me."
"But this time, the ones who want to kill you are quite special. They want to settle a blood feud," Xiao Hei said.
"A blood feud?"
Zhang Ruochen had killed many cultivators, and the relatives and friends of those cultivators all bore a blood grudge against him.
In his view, this was nothing special.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at True Miao Daoren. "If I'm not mistaken, you've broken through your bottleneck. With your current cultivation and the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror, you should be able to easily suppress my enemies, right?"
True Miao Daoren quickly shook his head. "You weren't here, so how could we dare to suppress them? If we hurt them, it might anger you."
Zhang Ruochen grew more confused. He felt that Xiao Hei and True Miao Daoren were talking nonsense, as if they had lost their minds. So he asked directly, "Where exactly are my enemies?"
"They're right inside the dao field," Xiao Hei said.
Zhang Ruochen walked toward the dao field as he spoke. "Since they're enemies, just kill them. If I don't kill them, they'll kill me. Hatred begets hatred, and one side will eventually die."
Xiao Hei and True Miao Daoren watched Zhang Ruochen's cold, proud back and exchanged glances.
"Sounds ruthless. Let's see if he can really be decisive when the time comes," True Miao Daoren said with a sly chuckle.
Xiao Hei also wore a strange expression. "Based on this emperor's understanding of him, he's really in for a huge trouble this time."
As Zhang Ruochen entered the Moon God Dao Field, he immediately sensed two killing intents.
However, those two killing intents were very weak—negligible compared to the assassin kings of the Heavenly Killing Organization.
A somewhat immature, sharp voice rang out: "Zhang Ruochen, you're finally back. Today is your day of death."
A dazzling sword light appeared out of nowhere, descending from above and stabbing toward Zhang Ruochen's head.
Zhang Ruochen stopped in his tracks, casually reaching upward. A large handprint materialized, piercing through the sword energy and slamming the attacker heavily to the ground.
"Bam."
An eleven- or twelve-year-old girl crashed at Zhang Ruochen's feet.
When Zhang Ruochen sensed that his opponent was just a little girl at the Saint realm, he had already withdrawn over ninety percent of his power. Otherwise, that strike would have obliterated her completely.
Looking at the slender, small body on the ground, Zhang Ruochen let out a long sigh. "At such a young age, to have reached your level of cultivation is truly remarkable. But if you want to kill me, you're still far from it. Who are your parents? Why do you want to kill me?"
At just eleven or twelve years old, she had already become a Saint—something Zhang Ruochen had never dared to imagine before.
After all, becoming a Saint within a hundred years was already extremely difficult.
In other words, this little girl's cultivation talent was astonishing, and she must have an extraordinary background.
"You murderous demon... you..."
The little girl lifted a pretty face, her starry eyes glaring fiercely at Zhang Ruochen. But she stopped mid-sentence, instead showing a look of great shock.
Because she and the murderous demon Zhang Ruochen looked far too similar.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes widened in shock. For a moment, he wondered if he was hallucinating. How could there be a little girl who looked so much like him?
What... what was going on?
Had the little girl used a transformation technique?
Behind him, a young boy's voice rang out: "Zhang Ruochen, you traitor of the Kunlun Realm. Today is your day of death."
A fierce killing intent surged as a sword struck Zhang Ruochen's back.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze remained fixed on the little girl. He didn't even bother with the sword behind him, standing still without moving.
"Bam."
The sword struck Zhang Ruochen's back.
The sound of metal clashing rang out, and a powerful surge of saintly energy rippled outward from between Zhang Ruochen's back and the sacred sword, spreading out in circles.
With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation and the formidable defense of his physical body, how could a mere Saint possibly harm him?