# Chapter 1768: Your Birth Mother Is Xue Hou
When Xumi Saint Monk's divine oracle floated in midair, the space ring on Zhang Ruochen's finger trembled slightly.
"What's going on?"
Zhang Ruochen mobilized his spiritual power and entered the inner space of the space ring.
He discovered that the sundial obtained from the Phoenix Nest had been affected by some kind of resonance, actually emitting a layer of light.
Zhang Ruochen felt a hint of joy and thought to himself, "Could it be that the divine oracle contains a trace of Xumi Saint Monk's divine power, which stimulated the sundial?"
According to what the Rakshasa Princess had said, the sundial's former owner was Xumi Saint Monk.
The sundial concealed the secret of the Hunting God's Star Soul, and it might even be possible to use it to find Xumi Saint Monk's place of nirvana. The interests involved behind it were immeasurably vast.
However, ever since obtaining the sundial, Zhang Ruochen had studied and investigated it many times, but it had never reacted.
Now that the sundial had finally shown a response, Zhang Ruochen was naturally overjoyed.
If he could use the sundial to find the Hunting God's Star Soul and gain control over the Hunter Eight Stars, then even if he encountered a Great Saint, Zhang Ruochen would dare to contend with them.
"No, Xumi Saint Monk's long beard also contains divine power, so why didn't the sundial react at all? Could there be a deeper connection between that divine oracle and the sundial?"
Zhang Ruochen pondered secretly, thinking about how to seize the divine oracle from Chi Yao's hands.
Xumi Saint Monk's divine oracle had been transmitted across the River of Time from one hundred thousand years ago to Chi Yao. Its material must be extremely rare and precious, able to withstand the erosion of time power and the impact of space power.
Moreover, the interior of the divine oracle contained Xumi Saint Monk's divine power, imprinted with divine script, and contained a vast divine thought, capable of unleashing extraordinary power. This made it a priceless treasure.
Chi Yao would absolutely never hand over the divine oracle to Zhang Ruochen.
Should he ask Moon God to take action and directly seize it by force?
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. For now, the Saint Kings of Paradise Realm were still under his control. The gods of Paradise Realm were surely watching him, ready to descend at any moment.
Once Moon God and Chi Yao started fighting, it would only give Paradise Realm an opportunity.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was thinking of a proper solution, he sensed a pair of burning eyes fixed on him.
It was Chi Yao.
Chi Yao was sizing up Zhang Ruochen, gently nodding her head, and said, "Zhang Ruochen, you were once a member of Kunlun Realm, with countless ties to it."
"Now that Kunlun Realm's great calamity is approaching, why don't we set aside our past grievances, unite against a common enemy, and deal with Hell Realm's invasion?"
"If you are willing to return to Kunlun Realm, I can enfeoff you as the Sacred Bright King and grant you the territory of the former Sacred Bright Central Empire as your domain. There, you will be a sovereign emperor, able to establish your own court, and only need to obey my commands."
"In this way, those former ministers of the Sacred Bright Central Empire will no longer be hunted and pursued by the imperial court. Their families won't have to live in fear, won't have to flee everywhere. They can live and work in peace, and can rise to prominence."
"Haha!"
Zhang Ruochen laughed out loud and said, "Chi Yao, what kind of person do you take me for?"
"Do you think you can buy me off with just a mere Sacred Bright King?"
"Originally, if you hadn't brought this up, for the sake of Kunlun Realm's common people, for the sake of the Sacred Bright Central Empire's former ministers, for the sake of my relatives and friends, I might have returned to Kunlun Realm to do what I could. But hearing you say this only makes me feel disgusted."
"Don't you want the Chaos Time-Space Lotus? I can give it to you. But you have to answer a few questions for me."
Chi Yao's expression was indifferent as she said, "You want to know why I killed you eight hundred years ago, right? You don't need to ask. I can answer you right now."
Zhang Ruochen's heart tightened slightly.
Because this was indeed his knot, a question he had always wanted to understand.
A piercing cold light surged in Chi Yao's eyes. She didn't want Zhang Ruochen to see her true expression, and said, "Because your body flows with the blood of the Undying Blood Clan, one of the Ten Clans of Hell. Your mother was one of the Three Queens of Kunlun Realm eight hundred years ago—Xue Hou. Is this reason enough?"
Zhang Ruochen felt as if he had been struck by a thunderbolt from a clear sky, as if five thunders had crashed down on him. His entire being was shaken, and his gaze became dazed.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen like this, Kong Lanyou felt extremely pained. She glared at Chi Yao and said in a trembling voice, "You promised me you wouldn't tell him this secret."
The cold light in Chi Yao's eyes grew even sharper. Her expression was wooden as she said, "You've heard clearly now, haven't you? If you don't trust me, you should at least trust Kong Lanyou. Xue Hou is your birth mother. The rear tomb in the Imperial Clan Forest holds an empty coffin."
"Eight hundred years ago, the still-young Xue Hou did not have Great Saint-level cultivation. She once fought with Kong Lanyou's grandfather, Kong Shangling, who was then the master of Peacock Villa."
"Kong Shangling transformed into a seven-colored peacock and swallowed Xue Hou in one gulp."
"Inside the seven-colored peacock's body, Xue Hou not only didn't die, but instead spent eighty-one days forming a blood fetus, breaking through her realm, and then tore open the peacock's body, severely wounding it."
"Xue Hou did not kill the seven-colored peacock because she had left blood poison inside its body, allowing her to control its life and death."
"Xue Hou had stayed inside the seven-colored peacock's body for eighty-one days. In other words, the seven-colored peacock was like a parent to her. Later, Xue Hou used the identity of Kong Shangling's daughter to meet your father, Ming Emperor."
Chi Yao took out an ancient scroll and threw it to Zhang Ruochen, then continued, "The contents of this book were personally written by your teacher, the Grand Tutor Shangguan Que. You should recognize his handwriting, shouldn't you?"
Zhang Ruochen did not pick up the book from the ground. He stood motionless in place.
There was no need to flip through it, because back when the Blood God Sect's Supreme Elder Yan Liren had handed him the "Blood Clan Secret Scroll," Zhang Ruochen had seen the same content on it.
However, the last page of the "Blood Clan Secret Scroll" had been torn off, so Zhang Ruochen didn't know the outcome of the battle between Kong Shangling and Xue Hou.
What Chi Yao said was most likely true.
Kong Lanyou was extremely worried about Zhang Ruochen, afraid that he couldn't bear this fact and that his state of mind would collapse. She softly called out, "Cousin."
Zhang Ruochen's emotions fluctuated violently. After a long time, he laughed and said, "Since my body has half the blood of the Undying Blood Clan, why didn't I have any urge to drink blood until I was sixteen?"
Chi Yao said, "Ming Emperor used his own powerful cultivation to seal away that half of the Undying Blood Clan bloodline within your body. But doing this meant you could never break through to the Fish-Dragon Realm in your lifetime. This is also why you were stuck at the Great Perfection of the Heavenly Extreme Realm in your previous life."
Chi Yao continued, "Xue Hou approached Ming Emperor to control him, thereby controlling the Sacred Bright Central Empire, and ultimately achieving the goal of dominating Kunlun Realm."
"When Ming Emperor was on the throne, Xue Hou had already controlled most of the Sacred Bright court through Kong Shangling and others. Later, Ming Emperor saw through Xue Hou's identity and, together with Qing Emperor, attacked Xue Hou multiple times, but all ended in failure."
"It wasn't until Xue Hou gave birth to you, when she was at her weakest, that Ming Emperor cast her into the Endless Abyss."
Zhang Ruochen roared in a deep voice, "Since Xue Hou is already dead, why did you still kill me eight hundred years ago? Why did Qing Emperor lead an army to attack the Sacred Bright Central Empire?"
Chi Yao said slowly, "Because someone sent word that Ming Emperor did not kill Xue Hou, but was instead controlled by her and turned into her puppet."
"Who sent the message?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"That's not important. What matters is that Qing Emperor asked Wen Emperor to use the World Chessboard to deduce Xue Hou's life and death. They discovered that Xue Hou was indeed not dead. That was enough."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were bloodshot as he said, "So you secretly prepared, wanting to kill my father and purge the court of the Sacred Bright Central Empire? And you, with one sword strike, killed your own fiancé, eliminating me as a threat?"
Chi Yao fell silent for a moment, then said, "That's right."
"In the past... I mean in the past, when I was sixteen, was there any affection between us?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Chi Yao fell silent again, this time for even longer.
After who knows how long, she let out a laugh, as if mocking herself: "Affection? Perhaps there was. But eight hundred years have passed. How could I possibly remember clearly what I thought when I was young? I've long since forgotten it all."
"Zhang Ruochen, you can't be so naive as to think that I still have lingering feelings for you, can you? If so, I advise you not to indulge in wishful thinking. In the eyes of a god, you are nothing more than a somewhat useful pawn. Moon God, isn't she also using you as a pawn?"
Chi Yao said, "Enough! Stop talking."
Chi Yao ignored her and continued, "Since you're going to be a pawn anyway, why not return to Kunlun Realm and be my pawn? I can give you more benefits. Returning to Kunlun Realm, you can gain a position second only to one person and above ten thousand others, help the former ministers of the Sacred Bright Central Empire, obtain a fiefdom that countless people envy, and enter the Heavenly Wheel Seal to cultivate..."
Insult!
This was absolutely an insult!
Fierce rage surged in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. He raised both arms, and thirteen dragon souls and thirteen elephant souls materialized, emitting earth-shaking dragon roars and elephant trumpets.
"Boom."
He struck out with a palm, aiming at Chi Yao.
But when his palm was still ten zhang away from Chi Yao, it was blocked by an invisible force.
It was as if Zhang Ruochen had struck an invisible iron mountain. An even stronger rebounding force came back, shaking him until he spat out sacred blood and flew backward like a scarecrow.
Chi Yao snorted lightly and said, "A mere Saint King dares to attack a god? Overestimating yourself. Zhang Ruochen, if you don't want to be someone else's pawn, you must first cultivate to the Great Saint realm, or even go further and break through to become a god. Only then might I see you in a different light. As for now... in my eyes, you are no different from an ordinary, mediocre mortal. No, there is a difference. At least you already have the qualifications to be a pawn."
Then, Chi Yao's jade-like hand, soft and boneless, reached out through the air toward Zhang Ruochen.
The Chaos Time-Space Lotus flew out from Zhang Ruochen's body and landed in her hand.
"Let's go."
Chi Yao also took the divine oracle and prepared to leave with Kong Lanyou.
"Wait."
Moon God helped the severely injured Zhang Ruochen up, wiped the bloodstains from the corner of his mouth, and said in a beautiful voice, "I need to correct a mistake of yours. Zhang Ruochen is not my pawn. We are partners."
Zhang Ruochen slowly raised his head, looking at Moon God with some surprise.
In the past, Zhang Ruochen had always emphasized that he and Moon God were only partners. But he was very clear that with his current cultivation and strength, he didn't have the qualifications to be Moon God's partner. He was still just a pawn.
Chi Yao turned around, watching Moon God's intimate gesture toward Zhang Ruochen. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her eyelashes trembled gently.
But no one noticed these subtle movements.
Moon God's divine eyes, more beautiful than the bright moon, fixed on Chi Yao as she said, "I have indeed been protecting Zhang Ruochen, but Zhang Ruochen lent me one million sacred sources, allowing Guanghan Realm to cultivate a large number of saints in just two years."
"Besides that, Zhang Ruochen also lent me divine medicine, helping me quickly recover my cultivation. In Truth Heaven Domain, he did Guanghan Realm a great favor. If anything, I owe him more."
"Chi Yao, you need to hear this clearly. It was a loan. Do you think a master would borrow things from a pawn? So, you don't understand my relationship with Zhang Ruochen, so don't make wild guesses."
These words struck Chi Yao's heart like needles, each one piercing deeply.
No one could see what Chi Yao was thinking. She only let out a cold laugh and said, "He really is generous."
Moon God then continued, "Since you have Xumi Saint Monk's divine oracle, I won't stop you from taking the Chaos Time-Space Lotus. But Zhang Ruochen has done so much for Kunlun Realm. Do you plan to just leave like this? He's too lazy to ask you for compensation, but I can't stand to see him suffer a loss, so naturally I have to ask for it on his behalf. That divine oracle of Xumi Saint Monk seems to be a fairly good treasure. Leave it behind."
Earlier, Moon God had been watching Zhang Ruochen's expression and noticed that he seemed quite interested in Xumi Saint Monk's divine oracle.
...
(Many readers should have already guessed that Zhang Ruochen's birth mother from eight hundred years ago was Xue Hou, right? Of course, not everything Chi Yao told Zhang Ruochen is necessarily true.)