Chapter 2213: The Ascension Banquet
Just as Blood Cry Great Saint was about to lead Yi Xuan Great Saint and Gu Chenzi onto the Floating Island, a colossal figure suddenly appeared on the distant horizon, blotting out the sky and sun.
It was a Cyan Luan Beast King, its body immensely vast. With its wings spread, they spanned over five hundred miles. As it flapped them, it generated terrifying gale winds, sweeping away all the clouds in the sky.
Standing atop the Cyan Luan Beast King's head was a clear and elegant figure, with a face of peerless beauty, hair like a cascading waterfall, a purple-gold phoenix hairpin adorning her head, a green-feathered celestial robe draped over her, and a jade-green blood jade flute in her hand. Her bearing was ethereal, like an immortal descending to the mortal world.
In terms of both appearance and temperament, she was in no way inferior to the nine fairies on the *Nine Immortal Beauties Painting*, and perhaps even surpassed them.
"Yu Huang has arrived!"
In an instant, all the Undying Blood Clan cultivators inside and outside the Hanhai Bieyuan fixed their gazes on the elegant, immortal-like figure. Many cultivators couldn't help but reveal expressions of admiration in their eyes.
Yu Huang was not only one of the "Three Uniques of the Blood Heaven," but was also known as the number one beauty of the Blood Heaven Tribe. She had many suitors, and even some top-tier Great Saints were deeply infatuated with her.
Zhang Ruochen had interacted with several fairies from the *Nine Immortal Beauties Painting*, but even he couldn't help but feel a flash of brilliance in his eyes when he saw Yu Huang.
People often said the Undying Blood Clan was evil, but he never expected it could produce such an otherworldly and peerless woman. The phrase "radiant beauty, unparalleled in her generation" was perfectly suited for her.
"Yu Huang is so beautiful! I finally have the chance to see her in person. I'm going to welcome her." Xue Ningxiao was extremely excited. Ignoring Zhang Ruochen, she immediately left the Floating Island.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze swept across Yi Xuan Great Saint, Gu Chenzi, and Yu Huang in turn, and he thought to himself, "All three of them are extraordinary. Even across the Heavenly Court Realm and the Hell Realm, there are few who can compare. Just a single Blood Heaven Tribe can produce three such heaven-defying figures. The foundation of the Hell Realm is truly unfathomable."
Involuntarily, Zhang Ruochen's anticipation for the Heaven Hunting Banquet grew even stronger.
At the same time, a faint pressure began to stir within his heart. The Heaven Hunting Banquet was probably far more unusual than he had imagined.
As time passed, it gradually approached noon. The banquet was about to officially begin, and the guests had all arrived one after another. The Hanhai Bieyuan became extremely lively.
Only a small portion of the Undying Blood Clan cultivators had boarded the Floating Island. These were the elites born within the last millennium, gathered for the Heaven Hunting Banquet.
The majority of the Undying Blood Clan cultivators were distributed in other areas of the Hanhai Bieyuan, personally received by Qingsheng Great Saint. Among them were some top-tier experts who had been famous for tens of thousands of years.
It was only at this moment that Zhang Ruochen finally stepped out from the corner and walked step by step to the main guest seating area.
Qingsheng Great Saint had met him once with an avatar, telling him that he would be in charge of the affairs on the Floating Island. Whether this was Qingsheng Great Saint's own idea or an arrangement by the Blood Absolute Family was unclear.
This small matter, however, carried an unusual and profound implication.
After all, Zhang Ruochen's identity was too sensitive. He seemed completely out of place with the entire Blood Absolute Family, and even the entire Blood Heaven Tribe.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen emerge, all the Undying Blood Clan cultivators on the Floating Island turned their gazes to him.
Zhang Ruochen's name was not only famous in the Heavenly Court Realm, but also in the Hell Realm.
His feat of wielding the Imperial Emperor Divine Ruler outside the Imperial City and slaughtering in all directions had greatly boosted his reputation.
In terms of fame, Zhang Ruochen was in no way inferior to the "Three Uniques of the Blood Heaven."
Zhang Ruochen swept his gaze across the entire venue, trying his best to blend into the Ascension Banquet. He didn't want his presence to cause Xue Hou to be isolated by the major powers of the Blood Heaven Tribe. He said, "Today is the Ascension Banquet for my mother and uncle. I am very grateful to all of you for coming to attend. If there is any lack of hospitality, please forgive me."
Many Undying Blood Clan cultivators knew that Xue Hou and the Underworld King were siblings born of the same mother, and their relationship was closer than that of Blood Absolute War God's other children.
With two True Gods as his backing, and Blood Absolute War God behind them, Zhang Ruochen could practically walk sideways in the Hell Realm.
"First, I offer a toast to you all."
Zhang Ruochen raised the wine glass in front of him and gestured to all the Undying Blood Clan cultivators present.
Even though many Undying Blood Clan cultivators were not fond of Zhang Ruochen, at this moment, it was not appropriate to refuse him.
Because, in a sense, Zhang Ruochen now represented Xue Hou and the Underworld King, and represented the entire Blood Absolute Family. Who would dare to be negligent?
Involuntarily, all the Undying Blood Clan cultivators present raised their glasses, and then drank the fine wine together with Zhang Ruochen.
"If any of you have any needs, feel free to instruct the attendants beside you," Zhang Ruochen said.
Then, Zhang Ruochen sat down and began to drink on his own.
There were several hundred Undying Blood Clan cultivators present, and it was impossible for him to toast each one individually.
Given his personality, just being able to sit here and preside over the Ascension Banquet was already quite rare.
However, to avoid any breach of etiquette, Zhang Ruochen had Blood Butcher step forward to interact with the elites of the various families. After all, Blood Butcher was now a direct disciple of Xue Hou and a Great Saint. His identity and strength were impeccable.
After making a round of the venue, Blood Butcher returned to Zhang Ruochen's side and said with a slightly serious tone, "Senior Brother, I just heard a piece of news that you might be interested in."
"What news?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"It's about Yan Wushen," Blood Butcher said.
"Go on." Zhang Ruochen immediately became interested.
Blood Butcher said, "I heard that before Yan Wushen entered the Kunlun Realm Merit Battlefield, he had already cultivated his Spiritual Power to the Great Saint realm. He left most of his Spiritual Power thoughts in the Yama Divine Hall, so no one knew about it."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen's heart stirred. This was indeed somewhat unexpected, but given Yan Wushen's peerless talent, becoming a Spiritual Power Great Saint was not a difficult feat.
Yan Wushen could suppress his martial cultivation for hundreds of years for some reason, but there was no need to do the same for his Spiritual Power.
As Zhang Ruochen saw it, Yan Wushen's good and evil bodies had both become Spiritual Power Great Saints, and the number of Spiritual Power thoughts he possessed was probably astonishing.
He just didn't know whether Yan Wushen's Spiritual Power had now reached the middle or late stage of the sixtieth rank, or if it had broken through to the sixty-first rank, or even higher.
Pausing for a moment, Blood Butcher continued, "Yan Wushen remained at the Saint King realm for several hundred years, excavating his potential to the extreme and accumulating a foundation as vast as an ocean. After breaking through to the Great Saint realm, he built up momentum and went into seclusion in the Yama Divine Hall for several months. When he emerged, he had already reached the peak of the Indestructible Realm."
"How is that possible?"
Hearing this news, even with Zhang Ruochen's calm and steady mindset, he couldn't help but be shaken.
In terms of achievements at the Saint King realm, Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen were indeed identical. But when it came to accumulated foundation, Zhang Ruochen was far behind.
It wasn't that Zhang Ruochen was unwilling to accumulate more, but that he didn't have that much time. He had to make himself stronger as quickly as possible.
"Peak of the Indestructible Realm... Good, Yan Wushen. It seems the Yama Clan also possesses an extraordinary time treasure," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Without a top-tier time treasure to assist him, no matter how formidable Yan Wushen was, he couldn't have reached the peak of the Indestructible Realm in just a few months.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen indeed felt considerable pressure. Defeating Yan Wushen would be far more difficult than he had anticipated.
Whether or not he could defeat Yan Wushen was secondary.
But if he couldn't defeat Yan Wushen, how could he rescue Chi Kunlun from his hands?
The peak of the Indestructible Realm not only meant that Yan Wushen possessed more Sacred Dao rules than him, but also that Yan Wushen had condensed his Sacred Will.
He just didn't know how many types of Sacred Will Yan Wushen had condensed, or what grade they had reached.
Just as he was thinking, the sky suddenly burst forth with brilliant blood-colored divine light. Numerous divine thoughts interwove, condensing into two majestic figures thousands of miles tall, full of authority, overlooking heaven and earth.
"Greetings, True Gods."
All the Undying Blood Clan cultivators within the Hanhai Bieyuan rose to pay their respects.
Those Saints and Saint Kings all knelt down, while the Great Saints bowed, showing utmost reverence.
"Rustle, rustle."
Rain infused with divine light fell, covering the Hanhai Bieyuan and the entire Blood Absolute Family.
This was Divine Rain, containing an inconceivable divine power. It could cleanse the marrow and strengthen the body, enhance bone structure and physique, and elevate cultivation realms. The benefits were too numerous to count.
At the Ascension Banquet, the new gods were to bestow blessings.
The baptism of Divine Rain was a blessing.
All cultivators who were bathed in the Divine Rain saw their physiques and cultivation levels improve. Some even directly broke through to a higher realm. Even the Great Saints received considerable benefits. Some Hundred Shackles Realm experts forcibly snapped one of the shackles within their bodies.
Being able to bring down such extraordinary Divine Rain was not something an ordinary god could accomplish.
The Divine Rain continued for quite some time before finally stopping.
Within the Blood Absolute Family, spiritual flowers bloomed everywhere, magnificent and beautiful, like a celestial realm.
"Thank you, True Gods, for your generous gift."
All cultivators spoke in unison, expressing their gratitude.
The divine thought avatars of Xue Hou and the Underworld King quickly vanished, as if they had never appeared. However, the entire Blood Absolute Family was filled with a thick divine aura, and the Heaven and Earth Saint Qi had clearly become much denser.
All the cultivators who had been kneeling stood up, digesting what they had just gained.
Zhang Ruochen also silently circulated the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*, refining the Divine Rain that had entered his body. He too received some benefits. His Spiritual Power had increased, and the number of Sacred Dao rules had grown significantly.
After learning about Yan Wushen, Zhang Ruochen was now even more unwilling to let go of any opportunity to strengthen himself.
On the other side, an envoy from the Undying Divine Temple arrived at the Blood Absolute Divine Palace, conveying the Undying Divine Temple's decree, officially appointing Blood Absolute War God as the new Grand Clan Chief of the Blood Heaven Tribe.
The previous Grand Clan Chief of the Blood Heaven Tribe was also present, personally handing over the divine staff representing the identity of the Grand Clan Chief to Blood Absolute War God.
The previous Grand Clan Chief had only served as Grand Clan Chief for one hundred thousand years, making him the one with the shortest tenure. But he had no choice. His strength was inferior to Blood Absolute War God's, and with the decree from the Undying Divine Temple, he had to step down and make way for the worthy.
From then on, the Blood Heaven Tribe entered the era of Blood Absolute War God.
The Blood Heaven Tribe had been dormant for many years, and now it might have the opportunity to rise.
Within the Hanhai Bieyuan, on the Floating Island.
Zhang Ruochen was suddenly pulled by an invisible force into a blood-red divine world.
Blood-red clouds drifted in the sky, and a blood-red sea surged beneath his feet.
Xue Hou stood with her hands behind her back at the center of heaven and earth, gazing into the distance.
Zhang Ruochen walked behind her and said calmly, "Mother, did you pull me into your divine thought world to give me some instructions?"
Xue Hou sighed softly, "Mother knows that you have no sense of belonging to the Blood Absolute Family or the Hell Realm. However, this Heaven Hunting Banquet is of great importance. You must give it your all."
Zhang Ruochen was silent for a long moment before saying, "Alright, I promise you, Mother."
A gentle smile appeared on Xue Hou's divinely radiant face. She lovingly stroked Zhang Ruochen's cheek and said, "You are no longer a child, but a Great Saint who stands tall between heaven and earth. Once you have spoken your word, you must do your best to fulfill it. You must believe that everything Mother asks you to do is for your own good."
"Only by giving your all and winning the Heaven Hunting Banquet can you truly establish yourself in the Hell Realm. At that time, whether it is Mother or the Blood Absolute Family, we will do everything in our power to protect you. No one will dare to say a single word of criticism."
The more Xue Hou said this, the more Zhang Ruochen felt that the Heaven Hunting Banquet was probably not just a simple "banquet."
After a long while, Zhang Ruochen withdrew from the divine thought world, his expression solemn and grave (ningzhong).
He took a deep breath, stood up, and infused his voice with Saint power, announcing loudly, "All of you here aspire to attend the Heaven Hunting Banquet and bring glory to the Blood Heaven Tribe. Now, according to tradition, we will first determine the leading figure, and then decide on the candidates for the Heaven Hunting Banquet."
Not every elite born within the last millennium could attend the Heaven Hunting Banquet.
The Heaven Hunting Banquet had a limit on the number of participants from each of the Ten Clans of Hell: one thousand per clan, with five hundred Saint Kings and five hundred Great Saints.
The Undying Blood Clan had ten major tribes, meaning each tribe was allocated only one hundred spots: fifty Saint Kings and fifty Great Saints.
If there were not enough Great Saints, Saint Kings would be used to fill the gap, keeping the total number unchanged.
Whether in the Heavenly Court Realm or the Hell Realm, the number of Great Saints was very small, and those born within a millennium were even rarer.
When Zhang Ruochen first arrived at the Heavenly Court Realm, the total number of Great Saints in the Guanghan Realm was less than a hundred, and that was accumulated over tens of thousands of years. On average, only a few Great Saints were born every thousand years.
Typically, a Great Saint had a lifespan of at least three thousand years, which would increase as their cultivation level rose. If they could reach the Supreme Realm, they could hope to live for ten thousand years.
For beings like barbarian beasts and plant spirits, their lifespans were even longer, and living for over ten thousand years was quite common.
However, most long-lived races cultivated more slowly than humans, maintaining a special balance.
Take the Undying Blood Clan, for example. Their lifespans far exceeded that of humans. Even a Half-Saint could live for a thousand years, and becoming a top-tier Great Saint could extend their lifespan to thirty thousand years. However, the Undying Blood Clan was greatly constrained by blood. The higher their cultivation, the higher the quality of blood they required. The Undying Blood Spring and the Longevity Blood Tree could hardly meet their needs.
For this reason, the Undying Blood Clan craved war, to collect the blood of living beings.
In comparison, the blood of living beings had the best cultivation effect.
Thus, it was extremely rare for figures like Yi Xuan Great Saint, Gu Chenzi, and Yu Huang to have such profound cultivation within five hundred years.
In the last millennium, the Blood Heaven Tribe had produced quite a few Great Saints, more than fifty. Therefore, some of the weaker Great Saints would lose their eligibility.
As for the Nine-Step Saint Kings, their numbers were even greater, and the competition was fiercer.
The nearly twenty elites selected by the Blood Absolute Family would be lucky to secure even a few spots.
According to past tradition, the leading figure would be decided first, and then that figure would determine which Great Saints and Saint Kings would be chosen.
Therefore, becoming the leading figure would bring immense benefits to one's family and faction.
Zhang Ruochen had promised Xue Hou that he would do his best to become the leading figure of the Blood Heaven Tribe, so that more elites from the Blood Absolute Family could obtain spots in the Heaven Hunting Banquet.
The reason Xue Hou placed so much importance on this matter was that the Heaven Hunting Banquet offered too many benefits. It was a golden opportunity to strengthen the Blood Absolute Family.
This was not only Xue Hou's intention but also represented the will of Blood Absolute War God.
The Destiny Temple held the Heaven Hunting Banquet only once every thousand years. Just being able to attend would bring tremendous benefits, with endless rewards.
For example, a Great Saint cultivator could eat the legendary Yandao Sacred Fruit at the banquet, which would increase their Sacred Dao rules by at least one hundred million, extend their lifespan by three thousand years, and assist in cultivating high-rank sacred arts. The benefits were too numerous to describe.
As for Saint King cultivators, they could eat the Xuanji Sacred Fruit, which would at least elevate one type of Sacred Dao to perfection, improve their bone structure and talent, and give them hope of achieving a supreme and perfect physique, laying a solid foundation for forging a top-tier Indestructible Sacred Body.
Not only that, but the Heaven Hunting Banquet would also provide the Divine Jade Nectar specially brewed by the Wine God Temple. This nectar was made from the essence of divine jade mixed with divine blood and various other rare treasures, taking hundreds of years to brew. Drinking a single cup could put a person into an enlightenment state.
Every type of food at the Heaven Hunting Banquet was prepared from rare treasures of heaven and earth. No matter how many sacred stones one had, it would be difficult to eat such things elsewhere. The flavors were endless, and they greatly benefited cultivation.
As long as one could attend the Heaven Hunting Banquet, regardless of their original cultivation level, their strength would inevitably be greatly enhanced, and it would have a profound impact on their future cultivation.
And this was only the most basic treatment for participants. If one could perform exceptionally well and stand out among their own clan, or even among all ten clans, the benefits would be immeasurable.
Perhaps the Blood Absolute Family and the Blood Heaven Tribe cared deeply about these benefits, but Zhang Ruochen took them lightly.
He wanted to know more about what the term "Heaven Hunting" in "Heaven Hunting Banquet" actually meant. Why did he have to go all out in this banquet to establish himself in the Hell Realm?
Heaven Hunting, Heaven Hunting... what exactly was being hunted?