Chapter 2134: Pool of Fate
Outside the hall, there was a very spacious square paved with gray-brown stone slabs. Each slab was covered with mottled patterns, appearing both naturally formed and artificially carved, emitting a mysterious Dao resonance.
Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei landed on the square one after the other. However, when they tried to enter the hall, they were blocked by an invisible force.
"Empress, I am Tu Tian! No matter where you go, please let me continue to follow by your side," Xiao Hei shouted loudly.
It had already determined that the mysterious powerful figure who had just appeared was the legendary Qiangu Nüdi, who had been missing for a hundred thousand years. It desperately tried to enter the hall.
"Calm down. If that person really is Qiangu Nüdi, even if you cannot meet now, you will surely meet again in the future. You have already waited a hundred thousand years; why be impatient now?" Zhang Ruochen comforted.
But at this moment, Xiao Hei could not listen to anything. It charged toward the hall again and again, howling wildly, as if possessed.
Seeing this, Zhang Ruochen could only shake his head slightly. Usually, Xiao Hei was always carefree, acting as if the heavens were number one and it was number two. But whenever Qiangu Nüdi was involved, its emotions would spiral out of control.
In times like this, no matter how much he said, it was useless. He could only wait for Xiao Hei to calm down on its own.
Turning his gaze, Zhang Ruochen suddenly noticed something. In the left corner of the square, there was a pool of water. It was elliptical, only about one zhang in size, and seemed very inconspicuous.
On such an empty square, having such a small pool—if there was nothing special about it, no one would believe it.
With a single step, Zhang Ruochen crossed a distance of a hundred li and appeared by the pool.
The water was very clear, still and motionless, looking like a mirror.
Zhang Ruochen stood by the pool, his gaze fixed on the water, and could not help showing a hint of surprise, because the water did not reflect his image.
And when he stared at the water, he felt as if his sacred soul was about to leave his body. A mysterious and profound force enveloped him.
For a moment, the pool seemed to transform into a terrifying black hole, about to devour his entire mind.
"Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle."
Zhang Ruochen quickly retreated several steps, a look of wariness appearing in his eyes.
Just a pool of water, yet it was so terrifying. Even with his powerful mental state, he had nearly lost his composure.
It seemed that if an ordinary Great Saint realm cultivator came here, the outcome would not be good.
"What exactly is this pool?" Zhang Ruochen wondered with great curiosity.
Just then, the voice of the mysterious hermit suddenly sounded: "This is the Pool of Fate. It can reflect the final destiny of the person you care about most in your heart. Since you have come here, I will give you a chance to look."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen's heart stirred. The surprise in his eyes deepened, and he almost thought he had misheard.
He was now well-traveled and knowledgeable, but he had never heard of the Pool of Fate. Reflecting destiny was simply too incredible. Even the Destiny Temple might not have such an ability.
However, this mysterious hermit should have no reason to fabricate such a lie to deceive him.
"Who is the person I care about most?" Zhang Ruochen asked himself in a low voice.
There were many people Zhang Ruochen cared about, such as Ming Emperor, Lin Fei, Mu Lingxi, Kong Lanyou, and others. He treasured them all deeply, but which one was the most important to him?
Even he himself could not say for sure.
"Hoo."
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath and stepped forward.
Finally, he stood by the pool again, his gaze fixed on the water.
This time, he no longer resisted the power of the pool, allowing that strange force to penetrate into his mind.
For a moment, Zhang Ruochen felt as if the world was spinning. Time and space seemed to blur, and all his perceptions became hazy and indistinct.
The calm pool suddenly rippled slightly. Mysterious imprints containing the principles of heaven and earth clearly emerged, intertwining with each other, emitting a soft divine light that formed a protective barrier, enveloping Zhang Ruochen.
"Rumble."
The void exploded, unleashing pitch-black lightning that struck directly at Zhang Ruochen.
Peeping into another's destiny was a taboo, not tolerated by certain rules of heaven and earth.
The power of the pitch-black lightning was extremely strong, seemingly capable of destroying everything. Even a top-tier Great Saint might not be able to withstand it.
If not for the protection of the light barrier, Zhang Ruochen would likely have been struck to the point of divine form annihilation.
Hundreds of cracks appeared in the void one after another, and countless rules of heaven and earth materialized, pouring down wildly.
Zhang Ruochen had now entered a strange state, and no external commotion could affect him in the slightest.
No one knew how long passed, but some images appeared in the pool, clearly reflected in Zhang Ruochen's eyes and even imprinted in his mind.
But the moment he saw them, Zhang Ruochen's pupils contracted sharply, as if he had seen some terrifying scene, and he involuntarily stepped back.
It could be seen that Zhang Ruochen's body was trembling slightly, not from fear, but because he could not control the emotions in his heart.
"How could this be... No, this is absolutely impossible," Zhang Ruochen could not help roaring.
With Zhang Ruochen's current steady temperament, for his emotions to fluctuate so violently, it was hard to imagine what he had seen.
"Everything you saw will inevitably happen in the future. No one can change it," the mysterious hermit's voice sounded.
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen kept shaking his head. No matter what, he refused to believe that her destiny could be like that, nor could it be so.
Why?
Why her?
Why such an outcome?
Zhang Ruochen kept questioning himself, veins bulging on his face, hair flying wildly, as if he was about to fall into demonic possession.
At this moment, the Pool of Fate had returned to its original state, and the outside world had also become calm again, as if nothing had happened.
"Many years ago, the woman you were looking for came here and saw the images in the Pool of Fate. She reacted just like you did now. After that, she resolutely entered the Ghost Gate Pass," the mysterious hermit said.
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen's heart shook violently. Had Huang Yanchen once seen the destiny of the person she cared about most? Who was that person? Could it be him?
Had Huang Yanchen entered the Hell Realm all because she had seen the destiny of that person she cared about most? But why did she make such a choice? What secret lay behind it?
The mysterious hermit asked again: "Young man, do you want to challenge the Ghost Gate Pass?"
Zhang Ruochen could no longer hear anything else. His mind was filled with the images he had just seen, while he pondered Huang Yanchen's situation.
"Since you are unwilling to challenge, then leave."
With the mysterious hermit's voice, a giant hand hundreds of li long reached out from inside the hall.
"Bang."
Before Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei could react, they were struck by the giant hand. They only felt darkness before their eyes, and then fell into a dizzying state.
"Damn... I haven't even looked yet..." Xiao Hei let out a strange cry.
The next moment, the two appeared a thousand zhang above Baichang Star, their bodies plummeting rapidly, completely out of control.
"Boom."
With two loud noises, Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei both crashed to the ground, creating two large craters.
Given the physical strength of Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei, this impact naturally caused them no harm.
After this crash, Zhang Ruochen came back to his senses. He raised his head and looked up at the magnificent and majestic Ghost Gate Pass.
"I don't believe there is any such thing as destiny. If everything was already predetermined, then what meaning is there in cultivators struggling to cultivate? Even if destiny truly exists, I will break it," Zhang Ruochen's eyes became resolute again.
"Who did you see? What did you see? Why did you go crazy just now?" Xiao Hei asked.
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fingers tightly and said nothing.
After what had just happened, he had lost interest in challenging the Ghost Gate Pass.
Especially when he thought of Huang Yanchen's changes, it made Zhang Ruochen inexplicably develop a sense of rejection toward the Ghost Gate Pass.
Moreover, the Ghost Gate Pass was created by a supreme divine being. With his current cultivation and strength, he was far from being able to unravel all its secrets.
Besides, he still had many things to do in the Kunlun Realm and could not delay here for too long.
Regardless, this trip had finally cleared up many mysteries for him, so it was not a wasted journey.
"Xiao Hei, let's go," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei shook its head repeatedly, saying, "I'm not leaving. I want to stay here. I want to wait until the Empress comes out to see me. She will never forget me."
Seeing Xiao Hei so insistent, Zhang Ruochen did not say anything more. But was that person really the legendary Qiangu Nüdi?
Back then, Qiangu Nüdi had not become a god, yet she could cut down gods with her sword.
Now, a hundred thousand years later, if Qiangu Nüdi returned, how powerful would she be?
Leaving Xiao Hei alone on Baichang Star, Zhang Ruochen reversed the formation and began his journey back. After several consecutive teleportations, Zhang Ruochen returned to the hidden valley on Wang Mountain.
"It's time to go to the Endless Abyss," Zhang Ruochen said with narrowed eyes.
Although there was someone in the Endless Abyss he did not wish to see, this trip was necessary.
With the space teleportation array left by Xumi Saint Monk, going to the Endless Abyss was undoubtedly very easy.
Back when he was in the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan, Zhang Ruochen had used this space teleportation array to directly teleport to the Northern Domain.
With Zhang Ruochen's current mastery of the Way of Space, although it was not a fixed-point teleportation, the deviation should not be too large.
Before long, Zhang Ruochen set the spatial coordinates and, without any delay, immediately performed the teleportation.
A thousand li away from the Blood God Sect, the space rippled violently, and Zhang Ruochen's figure appeared out of thin air.
Originally, the area around the Blood God Sect had turned into a giant pit due to that great battle.
But now, the giant pit had disappeared, becoming an endless plain.
Without a doubt, all of this should have been done by the cultivators of the Blood God Sect.
After all, having the sect standing in a giant pit was truly detrimental to the dignity of the Blood God Sect as one of the seven great ancient sects.
After that battle, especially with Blood Lingxian's intervention, everyone knew that the Blood God Sect was unusual. Therefore, no one dared to target the Blood God Sect anymore.
However, there were still many cultivators lurking around the Blood God Sect, but they were all very low-key, and no one dared to be too conspicuous.
Zhang Ruochen naturally noticed them but did not pay them any mind. The Blood God Sect was protected by medieval divine patterns, making it as solid as an iron fortress.
"Why did Zhang Ruochen suddenly come to the Central Domain? Could there be another big move?"
Seeing Zhang Ruochen, the cultivators lingering near the Blood God Sect all showed surprise.
There was no helping it. According to past patterns, wherever Zhang Ruochen appeared, major events were bound to happen, rivers of blood would flow, and perhaps some powerful experts would die.
Especially now that he had become the strongest below the Great Saint realm, many people tried to avoid him even more.
Zhang Ruochen did not return to the Blood God Sect but headed straight for the Endless Abyss. There were some things he needed to find out as soon as possible.
The Endless Abyss was as quiet as ever. Perhaps due to Xue Hou's restraint, no blood beasts had been coming out of it anymore.
Familiar with the path, Zhang Ruochen descended to the first gradient of the Endless Abyss.
Just as he was about to head to the entrance of the second gradient, two massive creatures suddenly appeared. They were two blood beast kings at the Nine-Step Saint King level.
Standing on the head of one of the blood beast kings was a graceful figure, one Zhang Ruochen was all too familiar with—the heart demon, Qiu Yichi.
Qiu Yichi bowed to Zhang Ruochen and smiled, "The Master knew that Your Highness was coming and ordered me to come and welcome you. Your Highness, please."
Zhang Ruochen said nothing. With a movement of his body, he appeared on the head of the other blood beast king.
Because she cultivated the Way of the Heart, Qiu Yichi could clearly sense that Zhang Ruochen's emotions were somewhat unstable. Therefore, she did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.
The two blood beasts flapped their enormous wings and flew into the passage leading to the second gradient one after the other.
Zhang Ruochen could sense that the number of blood beasts living in the second gradient had not increased much, but their quality had greatly improved, with more Saint King-level blood beasts appearing.
Before long, the two blood beasts landed on the peak of the mountain soaked in divine blood.
Just as he jumped down from the blood beast's head, a stunning woman in a dark green palace dress came forward to greet him, wearing a warm smile. Who else could it be but Xue Hou?
"Chen'er, you're here. Come, let Mother take a good look at you."
Xue Hou's gaze was gentle, and she reached out a hand, wanting to take Zhang Ruochen's hand.
Zhang Ruochen took a step back, his eyes cold, and said, "I came here only to ask you to verify one thing."
"What is it? Chen'er, speak," Xue Hou's tone remained gentle.
Zhang Ruochen looked directly into Xue Hou's eyes and said, "Where exactly is Chi Kunlun?"
Hearing this, Xue Hou was completely certain that Zhang Ruochen must already know that the Chi Kunlun in the Falling God Abyss was fake.
No matter how lifelike Chi Kunlun's fake body was, it was still fake. Once they met, it could never escape Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
Letting out a light breath, Xue Hou said, "It seems you already know. Kunlun is indeed not in the Endless Abyss. He has fallen into Yan Wushen's hands."
As soon as these words were spoken, a cold gleam flashed in Zhang Ruochen's eyes, and the aura emanating from his body became even colder. In his life, what he hated most was deception.
"The Master did not mean to deceive Your Highness. She was just worried that Your Highness would suffer at Yan Wushen's hands. After all, at that time, Your Highness was far from being as powerful as you are now."
"Moreover, the Master once ordered me, Blood Demon, and Yan Liren to join forces to deal with Yan Wushen, trying to take Chi Kunlun back. Unfortunately, Yan Wushen was too cunning, and our plan failed."
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Qiu Yichi quickly explained.
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The first Divine Son of the Blood God Sect, Blood Lingxian! The character image has been released. Follow "Blood Lingxian" to view it.