# Chapter 2081: Exposed
"Old bald donkey, where is the Eon Sacred Medicine?"
From a distance, Xiao Hei's eager voice could be heard.
Death Zen Ancestor and Heavenly Fate Corpse Emperor had just turned around when they saw Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei approaching.
"Benefactor Zhang, Benefactor Hei, thank you for coming. The Eon Sacred Medicine I discovered has entered this forest ahead." Death Zen Ancestor pressed his palms together, wearing a Buddha-like smile.
Xiao Hei's eyes widened as he activated his Great Saint Eye, staring intently at the mist-shrouded ancient forest.
After a moment, Xiao Hei's eyes showed surprise. "Who would have thought that after such a terrible calamity befell True Dragon Island, a forest could still be preserved. Perhaps the Divine Dragon Clan's medicine garden is inside."
Hearing this, a glint of sharpness flashed in the eyes of Zhang Ruochen, Death Zen Ancestor, and Heavenly Fate Corpse Emperor.
The Divine Dragon Clan's medicine garden was rumored to contain countless precious sacred medicines, even divine medicines. If it could truly be preserved, even gods would be moved.
"There are strange formations and space barriers outside the forest. Forcibly attacking them will trigger a rebound force. It won't be easy to break through." Heavenly Fate Corpse Emperor mused.
Death Zen Ancestor smiled. "Benefactor Zhang's space attainment is profound, and Benefactor Hei is a Formation Earth Master. With the two of you working together, you should surely be able to break through the obstacles. If there's anything needed, this old monk and the Corpse Emperor can assist from the side."
"Of course, there's no formation this Emperor can't break!" Xiao Hei said with great arrogance.
Zhang Ruochen said calmly, "Let's take a look first."
As he spoke, he activated his Divine Seal Eye and cast his gaze toward the ancient forest ahead.
Xiao Hei also moved close to the forest, observing it carefully.
Death Zen Ancestor and Heavenly Fate Corpse Emperor said nothing more, releasing their spiritual power to monitor the surroundings. The opportunity they had set their sights on naturally wouldn't be allowed to be interfered with by others.
On a hill three hundred li away, a mysterious illusion technique shrouded the hilltop. Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden and six elders of the Thousand Star Civilization stood there.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden used her Origin Divine Eye to clearly capture the figures of Zhang Ruochen and the other three.
"Golden Sun Twin Kings truly have skill, actually managing to lure Zhang Ruochen here." Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden sighed softly.
An elder of the Thousand Star Civilization said, "Golden Sun Twin King used an Eon Sacred Medicine as bait, and through Death Zen Ancestor to draw out Zhang Ruochen. No one could have been on guard against this."
Another elder said, "Faced with the temptation of an Eon Sacred Medicine, few can remain unmoved. Looking at the current situation, Zhang Ruochen will likely find it hard to escape this calamity."
"Heavenly Maiden Your Highness, this is a grudge between Zhang Ruochen and the Blazing Sun Civilization. It's not appropriate for us to interfere. If we must intervene, we can only help the Blazing Sun Civilization."
Clearly, this elder was worried that Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden might help Zhang Ruochen, as they all knew she had some past interactions with him.
Hearing this, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden couldn't help but frown slightly. She was well aware that with her status, if she helped Zhang Ruochen, it would bring many troubles and affect the relationship between the Thousand Star Civilization and the Blazing Sun Civilization.
"Zhang Ruochen, this Heavenly Maiden believes you won't fall here so easily." Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden thought to herself.
If it were anyone else, they might truly be doomed this time, but Zhang Ruochen was different. He could never be judged by conventional standards.
After careful observation, Xiao Hei laughed. "The formation here is indeed strange. Using ordinary methods to break it would take considerable time, but for this Emperor, it's not difficult."
As he spoke, Xiao Hei took out a strange stone—the Formation Suppression Stone he had seized from Zhou Yu back in the Blood God Sect.
The Land and Sea King among Formation Earth Masters had expended great effort to refine this Formation Pattern Stone, enough to break most ninth-grade formations.
Unfortunately, the Formation Suppression Stone was a consumable item with limited uses.
Fortunately, as a Formation Earth Master, Xiao Hei could use the Formation Suppression Stone far more skillfully than Zhou Yu.
If it were in Zhou Yu's hands, this Formation Suppression Stone could be used at most three more times, but in Xiao Hei's hands, five or six more uses were entirely possible.
Under Xiao Hei's control, the Formation Suppression Stone slowly flew out, touching the intricate formation outside the forest.
The Formation Suppression Stone glowed, and countless secret patterns emerged, immediately dimming the formation patterns ahead. The formation naturally tore open a gap.
After carefully putting away the Formation Suppression Stone, Xiao Hei raised his foot, sending out formation seals, using his own formation mastery to further tear the formation while preventing its repair.
Any high-grade formation generally had the ability to repair itself; the higher the grade, the faster the repair speed.
Xiao Hei was highly efficient. Before long, he had torn a huge gap in the formation ahead, allowing passage.
However, behind the formation, there was still a complex space barrier. Without resolving it, entry was still impossible.
"Zhang Ruochen, this Emperor's task is complete. Now it's your turn." Xiao Hei controlled the formation gap, turning to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen stepped forward, extending one hand. Two hundred and eighty thousand space rules all emerged, releasing powerful space force that permeated the space ahead.
Dismantling a space barrier was delicate work that couldn't be rushed; it required sufficient patience.
Inside the forest, all the experts of the Blazing Sun Civilization stared intently at Zhang Ruochen, hoping he would enter soon.
With their various arrangements, as long as Zhang Ruochen stepped into the forest, he would surely die.
At this moment, including Golden Sun Twin Kings, everyone's nerves were stretched tight. The closer to success, the more tense they became.
"Has this King overestimated Zhang Ruochen? Taking so long to break the space barrier I set up." Void Sky Saint King's eyes flashed with contempt.
If he weren't afraid of alarming Zhang Ruochen, he would have actively undone part of the space barrier.
Before the space barrier, Zhang Ruochen continuously permeated it with space power. He didn't rashly dismantle the space barrier but wanted to first understand its specific structure to avoid various problems.
This was the Dragon God Hall ruins, different from other places, with too many strange phenomena. One misstep could bring utter destruction.
Especially since Zhang Ruochen felt uneasy at heart; he absolutely didn't think this was due to being overly sensitive.
"Hmm? Something seems off."
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen detected a trace of abnormality.
He vaguely felt that the space barrier before him showed signs of being artificially controlled.
But when he probed again, the feeling vanished.
Immediately, Zhang Ruochen became alert, his thoughts racing.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen had an idea. He turned to look at Death Zen Ancestor beside him. "Are you sure there's an Eon Sacred Medicine in there? Why hasn't it shown any unusual signs? Could it be that you discovered something useful to yourself and deliberately used the Eon Sacred Medicine to deceive me, making me do the hard work for nothing?"
"Old bald donkey, you're not really deceiving this Emperor, are you?" Xiao Hei also showed suspicion.
Death Zen Ancestor said seriously, "A monk does not lie. How could this old monk deceive the three of you? Perhaps the Five Elements Emperor Flower, having had one petal cut off by this old monk, was frightened and thus hid deep in the forest."
"This forest is only this big. How deep can the Five Elements Emperor Flower hide? Even if you're not lying, I suspect the Five Elements Emperor Flower might have already secretly fled. After all, Eon Sacred Medicines all know to seek good fortune and avoid disaster." Zhang Ruochen said solemnly.
Hearing this, not only Xiao Hei and Heavenly Fate Corpse Emperor but even Death Zen Ancestor began to doubt, because since the Five Elements Emperor Flower had fled into the forest, there had been no movement at all. He had also carefully inspected around the forest but found nothing.
"Could the Five Elements Emperor Flower have really fled?" Death Zen Ancestor frowned slightly.
Inside the forest, Great Sun King's eyes darkened. He hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen to be so suspicious—a typical case of not releasing the hawk without seeing the rabbit.
They were already prepared to launch a fatal strike, but Zhang Ruochen stopped at this moment, which was maddening.
Without needing Great Sun King to speak, Five Elements Saint King transformed, becoming a colorful, strange sacred flower.
On its not-too-thick trunk, five beautiful five-colored strange flowers bloomed. Four of them had five petals of different colors, while only one was missing a petal.
Vast water-attribute essence gathered at the missing petal's location, condensing into a petal shadow.
Seeing Five Elements Saint King reveal his true form, many experts of the Blazing Sun Civilization showed burning gazes.
The effects of the Five Elements Emperor Flower were too miraculous; anyone would desire it. Refining it would pave the way for future cultivation.
"Whoosh."
Five Elements Saint King moved, flashing out from his hiding place.
The next moment, he appeared at the center of the forest, manifesting the phenomenon of the Five Energies Converging to the Origin.
"It really is the Five Elements Emperor Flower! Great, Zhang Ruochen, quickly break the space barrier. Don't let it escape!" Xiao Hei said excitedly.
Death Zen Ancestor secretly breathed a sigh of relief, at least not having broken his promise.
But when Zhang Ruochen saw the Five Elements Emperor Flower, his heart sank to the bottom. "There's definitely something wrong."
He had only been suspicious before, deliberately saying those words to Death Zen Ancestor. He hadn't expected the Five Elements Emperor Flower to actually appear—too obedient.
Moreover, the moment the Five Elements Emperor Flower appeared, he clearly caught a trace of strange space fluctuation.
From this, Zhang Ruochen could almost confirm that everything here was deliberately arranged by someone, with the purpose already clear.
"Who wants to ambush me? Golden Sun Twin Kings? Bone Clan Ten Venerables? Or Nether Hall Seven Absolute Kill Gods?" Zhang Ruochen speculated inwardly.
While guessing, Zhang Ruochen suddenly activated the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, sending it flying above the forest, driving it with powerful sacred qi.
The Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror's entire body emitted dark demonic light. Over a million supreme inscription patterns emerged, instantly expanding to a hundred li in size, releasing vast demonic qi that completely enveloped the forest below.
Xiao Hei, Death Zen Ancestor, and Heavenly Fate Corpse Emperor all received Zhang Ruochen's silent transmission and unhesitatingly joined in, continuously pouring sacred qi into the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror.
"Why has Zhang Ruochen activated a supreme sacred artifact?"
"Not good. Zhang Ruochen has probably sensed something, seen through our trap. Attack immediately."
Great Sun King's expression changed as he reacted instantly.
"Since we've been exposed, let's fight. With the experts we've gathered from the Blazing Sun Civilization, we can crush them." Void Sky Saint King's eyes flashed with ruthlessness.
They had gathered a large number of experts, prepared for both possibilities. Directly ambushing Zhang Ruochen would be best; if not, they would use force.
Xiao Hei laughed heartily. "So Golden Sun Twin Kings came to deliver the Eon Sacred Medicine to us. What good people!"
"Big talk. You still want the Eon Sacred Medicine? You have a supreme sacred artifact, but so do we."
"Zhang Ruochen, lend us your head. Only then can we report to the old Heavenly Lord back in the Blazing Sun Civilization."
As he spoke, Golden Sun Twin Kings raised their hands. The Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron, suppressed deep within the forest's small world, immediately flew out, hovering above them.
The Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron was an extremely ancient supreme sacred artifact of the Blazing Sun Civilization, once held by a god. However, in a great battle, it was severely damaged, its artifact spirit destroyed. Only after a long time had a new artifact spirit been reborn.
If not for this, they wouldn't have been able to bring the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron into the Kunlun Realm.
But even damaged, the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron's power was not to be underestimated. Golden Sun Twin Kings had full confidence it could contend with the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror.
"Blazing Sun Heavenly Son brought death upon himself. You can't blame me. Coming to avenge him, aren't you afraid of falling into my hands as well?" Zhang Ruochen said coldly.
Great Sun King declared loudly, "Zhang Ruochen, you are indeed formidable, but you're not smart. If this King were you, upon discovering the trap, I would have fled immediately."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head slightly, saying no more.
By now, Death Zen Ancestor had fully understood the situation. He said angrily, "Outrageous! How dare you scheme even against this old monk? Do you think this old monk is just a kind monk who only chants sutras and eats vegetarian food?"
He had hunted eagles all his life, only to have his eyes pecked out by a hawk in the end.
Death Zen Ancestor was extremely shrewd, always the one scheming against others. When had he ever been schemed against like this?
His reputation was thoroughly ruined. Zhang Ruochen and the others would surely mock him endlessly in the future.
"Stinking monk, you refined this King's petal, damaging my cultivation. This King will drain every drop of your blood."
Five Elements Saint King transformed back into human form, staring coldly at Death Zen Ancestor.
As an Eon Sacred Medicine, losing a petal was no easy thing to regrow.
Five Elements Saint King didn't think he was truly weaker than Death Zen Ancestor. Before, in his true form and unable to use sacred artifacts, his strength was inevitably affected. Now, he had no such concerns.
Xiao Hei's eyes lit up as he stared intently at Five Elements Saint King. "This Emperor hasn't eaten Eon Sacred Medicine in a long time. Come out quickly so this Emperor can eat you."
"Owl, do you want to die?" Five Elements Saint King's eyes flashed with terrifying cold light.
Xiao Hei was unafraid, instead chuckling, "Eon Sacred Medicine, this Emperor advises you to submit obediently. Otherwise, when we catch you, we'll eat you whole. If you voluntarily surrender, we can just pick the flowers and not eat all of you."
As he spoke, Xiao Hei's gaze grew even more fervent, saliva nearly dripping from his mouth.