Chapter 2232: Turbulent and Unpredictable
The Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet was of great importance, and Zhang Ruochen had to treat it with caution. Thus, he decided to stay. Perhaps from Luo Sha, he could truly learn some crucial information.
Knowing oneself and knowing the enemy leads to a hundred victories without defeat.
The reason something like "being lured onto the Life-and-Death Platform by Moluo War Emperor" happened was mainly because Zhang Ruochen knew too little about his enemies in the Hell Realm.
Luo Sha seemed to be deliberately keeping him in suspense, not immediately discussing business. Instead, she poured a full cup of tea and slid it toward Zhang Ruochen, speaking as if making casual conversation: "Although you took off my Ten Thousand Saint Plain Garment and became the destined one in the prophecy, you belong to the Heavenly Court, and I belong to the Hell Realm. Deep down, I never dared to believe this prophecy."
"Not until you followed Qingyin True God to the Hell Realm did I finally become certain."
Her gaze fixed on the distant horizon, she spread her hands, a devout expression on her face, and added: "Fate has already arranged everything and never makes mistakes. Zhang Ruochen, do you believe in fate?"
The direction she looked toward was the direction of the Destiny Temple.
In Zhang Ruochen's mind, images from the Fate Pool surfaced. His handsome face grew somewhat bitter, and he remained silent for a long time.
"If fate has already predetermined everything, what meaning is there in our living? What meaning is there in cultivation? What meaning is there in war and slaughter?"
Zhang Ruochen picked up the teacup and took a sip. The flavor was rich and fragrant. As it entered his abdomen, a cool stream of energy rushed straight to his head, clearing his mind.
Luo Sha said: "I believe in fate. I believe that everything in this world is predestined. Just like how we met, got to know each other, and came to understand one another—there are too many coincidences and karmic connections. If fate hadn't already arranged everything, how could you have come to the Hell Realm? How could we be sitting here, drinking tea together?"
"As for the meaning of life, who can truly explain it? We only need to follow the arrangements of the God of Fate, constantly making ourselves stronger, and naturally, we will be able to decipher all the ultimate mysteries of the universe."
Zhang Ruochen stared intently at Luo Sha, thinking to himself that in the Hell Realm, there must be countless devout believers like Luo Sha. That was why the Destiny Temple could be as glorious and prosperous as it was now.
The power of faith was too terrifying. It was enough to elevate the Destiny Temple above the centers of power of the ten clans, making it the decision-maker of the Hell Realm.
In the Heavenly Court Realm, the only ones with the potential to achieve such terrifying influence were the Truth Temple, the Merit Temple, and the Radiant Divine Temple.
Among them, the Truth Temple had the greatest chance, but they did not vigorously promote and propagate faith. Instead, they followed what they believed to be the most reasonable approach, completely entrusting the opportunity to cultivate the Way of Truth to cultivators from all realms and clans. They even distributed the Truth Esoterica.
If not for this, cultivators who believed in Truth would have spread across all realms.
The influence of the Truth Temple might even surpass that of the Heavenly Palace.
As for the Merit Temple, it was burdened by endless merit wars and had no spare energy to promote faith.
The Radiant Divine Temple, on the other hand, was vigorously promoting faith, but its influence was mainly limited to the major worlds of the Heavenly Realm Faction. Daoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, the Demon Gods, the Demonic Path, the Evil Path... many traditions were countering it, refusing to allow the Radiant Divine Temple to grow too large.
Luo Sha smiled and said: "Seeing that impatient look on your face, I know you definitely don't agree with my faith. Actually, the reason I talked about fate is mainly to tell you about the factional struggles within the Hell Realm."
Zhang Ruochen showed interest: "Besides the division into ten major races, are there other factions in the Hell Realm?"
"The ten major races each have their own centers of power and govern independently. But if the ten clans were truly completely independent, with no other force to restrain them, war among the ten clans would break out in an instant."
Luo Sha continued: "The contradictions between the various clans have been accumulating for a long time. Fortunately, the existence of the Heavenly Court Realm as a huge threat allows the ten clans of the Hell Realm to maintain superficial friendliness and unity."
Zhang Ruochen had always thought that the ten clans of the Hell Realm were a single entity. He had never considered that there might be contradictions between them, contradictions severe enough to trigger war.
"The myriad realms of the Heavenly Court have always been struggling for survival. How can they be considered a major threat to the Hell Realm?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Luo Sha said: "Zhang Ruochen, you have cultivated to your current level. How many battles have you fought? How many enemies have you encountered? Do you know the saying: Never underestimate your opponent, even if he is much weaker than you?"
"The Heavenly Court is the Hell Realm's opponent, and not a weak one at that."
"If it were weak, it would have been destroyed long ago. How could it have survived until now?"
Zhang Ruochen fell silent, pondering and digesting what Luo Sha had just said.
Luo Sha stood up, gazing at the scenery along both banks of the Jinsheng River, and said: "Did you know that a hundred thousand years ago, the Hell Realm was divided into the War Faction and the Neutral Faction?"
"There was even a Neutral Faction?"
Zhang Ruochen had always believed that the Hell Realm's purpose was destruction, war, and slaughter, so he was naturally very surprised.
Luo Sha nodded: "A hundred thousand years ago, the War Faction was led by the Darkness Temple, with the Underworld Clan, Ghost Clan, Bone Clan, Stone Clan, and Shura Clan as its staunchest supporters. In the early stages of the war, they were the main force, fighting the various realms of the Heavenly Court to a stalemate."
"The Neutral Faction was led by the Destiny Temple, neither wanting to participate in the war nor stopping it."
"It wasn't until the Life God Venerable and the Auspicious God Venerable among the twelve palace god venerables of the Destiny Temple suddenly fell, and the Death God Venerable and the Fierce Terror God Venerable took control of the temple's power."
"Soon after, the Destiny Temple announced an all-out war against the myriad realms of the Heavenly Court, vowing to exterminate all living beings in the world."
"You must understand that the Undying Blood Clan and the Rakshasa Clan also fall under the category of living beings. This decree from the Destiny Temple made our two clans feel a great crisis."
"If all living beings in the world were exterminated, how long could the Undying Blood Clan and the Rakshasa Clan survive?"
"Just as the Undying Blood Clan and the Rakshasa Clan were hesitating, the Destiny Temple announced again that it was Xumi Saint Monk and Ten Calamities Wen Tianjun of the Kunlun Realm who had crossed time and space, infiltrated the Destiny Temple, and killed the Life God Venerable and the Auspicious God Venerable."
"They also revealed that the Kunlun Realm had used the power of time, attracting all the time imprints of the entire star domain, making the River of Time extremely unstable. The Kunlun Realm's strength was rapidly rising, and they intended to destroy the Hell Realm and become the overlord of the universe. The ten clans of the Hell Realm were in imminent danger."
"Forced into a corner, the all-out war between the Heavenly Court Realm and the Hell Realm broke out. The Undying Blood Clan and the Rakshasa Clan had no choice but to join the war, and the Kunlun Realm became the center of this Eon-level war. In the end, you should know the outcome of the Kunlun Realm better than I do, Princess."
Zhang Ruochen hadn't expected that behind the war back then, there was such a hidden secret, truly turbulent and unpredictable.
Zhang Ruochen said: "How can the one-sided words of the Destiny Temple be trusted?"
"This matter is indeed suspicious, an unsolved mystery. The Life God Venerable and the Auspicious God Venerable were both among the most powerful gods in heaven and earth. Even if Xumi Saint Monk and Ten Calamities Wen Tianjun were stronger, they couldn't have killed them silently, and they might not even have been able to kill them at all. But a hundred thousand years have passed, and everything has become a settled matter. Who would still investigate what actually happened back then?"
Luo Sha continued: "Actually, besides the War Faction and the Neutral Faction back then, there was said to be a Peace Faction."
"How is that possible? Would the Hell Realm have a Peace Faction?"
Zhang Ruochen was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a smile, completely disbelieving.
Luo Sha said: "Actually, I don't believe it either. But since such a legend exists, it can't be without foundation, can it?"
"Who was the Peace Faction?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"The previous Yama Clan Chief of the Yama Clan."
Luo Sha added: "Some claim that on the day of the great upheaval in the Destiny Temple, the Yama Clan Chief entered the Abyss of Darkness to go into seclusion and has never come out since."
"In the Hell Realm, there are legends that sound like conspiracies. One legend says that the Yama Clan Chief was imprisoned by the gods of the Darkness Temple, sealed deep within the Abyss of Darkness."
"Another legend says that he never entered the Abyss of Darkness for seclusion at all, but was killed by the new Yama Clan Chief who succeeded him."
"In short, in the eyes of conspiracy theorists, a hundred thousand years ago, all the gods who hindered the Hell Realm's full-scale attack on the Heavenly Court Realm died in internal strife. But what is the truth? Who can say? Take the previous Yama Clan Chief, for example—his cultivation was earth-shattering. How could he be imprisoned just because someone says so? Or killed just because someone says so?"
"Although few cultivators believe in the existence of the Peace Faction, the Yama Clan's lack of enthusiasm for the war against the various realms of the Heavenly Court is indeed real. Even now, they maintain a neutral stance. They have invested more power into the Abyss of Darkness, always trying to reach the end of the Abyss of Darkness to find the missing previous Yama Clan Chief."
Zhang Ruochen sighed with deep emotion: "The Hell Realm is indeed not as simple as it appears on the surface. There are indeed various underlying contradictions."
Luo Sha smiled: "The internal contradictions of the Hell Realm are far from being this simple. There are contradictions between the legitimate and the illegitimate, contradictions between living beings and the dead, and countless contradictions within each clan."
"Then there are the contradictions between the noble and the base. The Rakshasa Clan, the Undying Blood Clan, and the Shura Clan are no weaker than any other clan in the Hell Realm. Why are they called the Lower Three Clans? The Yama Clan's population is less than one-millionth of the Shura Clan's. Why can they be the supreme clan?"
"So, Zhang Ruochen, although you have countless enemies in the Hell Realm, as long as you clearly understand these contradictions, you can find your own allies."
"As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Hearing what Luo Sha had to say, Zhang Ruochen felt that staying behind earlier had been the right choice.
Just then, a golden sacred ship, its eight golden wings spread wide, broke through the bloody waves and rapidly caught up, sailing side by side with Luo Sha's sacred ship.
The two ships were less than ten zhang apart.
From where Zhang Ruochen sat, he could clearly see the various decorations and figures on the opposite ship.
A Nine-Step Saint King of the Undying Blood Clan, with six blood wings on his back, stood on the ship and bowed in their direction: "Greetings to Princess Luo Sha. May I ask if Ruochen Great Saint is on Your Highness's sacred ship?"
Luo Sha's gaze turned to Zhang Ruochen: "They're looking for you."
"I don't know them."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, a hint of confusion in his eyes.
Han Ying, acting on Luo Sha's behalf, called out to the opposite ship: "Ruochen Great Saint is indeed on the princess's ship. Who are you, sir?"
"I am Yan Beijun of the Huangtian Tribe. My senior sister has long admired Ruochen Great Saint and wishes to invite him aboard for a conversation." That Nine-Step Saint King of the Undying Blood Clan announced loudly.
Luo Sha smiled at Zhang Ruochen: "Heh heh, Yan Beijun is quite famous among those below the Great Saint realm. His senior sister, Wind Empress, has cultivated for only a little over four hundred years and is already a Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection powerhouse. She is also one of the three candidates for the Destiny Temple's Divine Maiden. Her status, position, and talent are all top-tier in the Hell Realm. Very few cultivators are actively invited by her. Ruochen Great Saint, I didn't expect you to have such good fortune with women even after coming to the Hell Realm."
Zhang Ruochen looked at Han Ying: "Tell him that I have to accompany your princess in enjoying the scenery along both banks of the Jinsheng River and can't get away."
Although he knew that Zhang Ruochen was just using her as a shield, Luo Sha felt inexplicably happy inside.
However, Luo Sha was puzzled: "Wind Empress is looking for you, probably wanting to win you over as a supporter for her ascension to the position of Divine Maiden. You should know that the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet might very well officially appoint the Divine Maiden."
"Wind Empress needs you, and you need her. She could be an important ally for you at the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet. There's no way you don't know this, so why choose to refuse?"
Zhang Ruochen toyed with the teacup in his hand: "At the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet, there will be countless experts, including a large number of Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection powerhouses. I've only just reached the Immortal Realm, so my weight is too light. I don't think Wind Empress would value me that much."
Luo Sha covered her mouth with a smile: "I didn't expect the arrogant and self-important Zhang Ruochen to be so humble at times. But what you say is true. As far as I know, Wind Empress's most valued supporters are three: Dao Yu Emperor of the Qitian Tribe, Yin Wei of the Destiny Temple, and Bai Yu Mad Lion of the Stone Clan. Each of them is a Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection powerhouse."
"This time, there are forty-seven Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Great Saints participating in the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet. All three of them can rank in the top twenty. Dao Yu Emperor is known as the number one powerhouse of the Undying Blood Clan below the Thousand Questions Realm, ranking ninth."
"Of course, these are just surface-level data. There will also be some powerhouses hiding their cultivation levels. The number of Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Great Saints is definitely more than this."
Zhang Ruochen was surprised: "There's even a ranking? Where does Moluo War Emperor rank?"
"This ranking is compiled by the Star Sea World based on their past battle records and various abilities, through comprehensive evaluation. It only ranks Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection Great Saints. Moluo War Emperor hasn't reached Great Perfection, so he naturally isn't included in the ranking." Luo Sha said.
Zhang Ruochen asked: "What about your imperial brother?"
"Imperial brother ranks fourth." Luo Sha said.
Zhang Ruochen's heart couldn't calm down.
On the Life-and-Death Platform, although Divine Prince Luo Shengtian hadn't displayed his true combat power, Zhang Ruochen naturally had his own assessment.
If even Luo Shengtian could only rank fourth, then this Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet would be even more difficult than he had imagined.
Luo Sha said: "The top ten Hundred Shackles Realm Great Perfection powerhouses all have records of defeating or killing Thousand Questions Realm Great Saints. Yan Wushen is known as a genius that appears only once in an eon, but before he reached the Hundred Shackles Realm, he could only retreat when encountering the top ten powerhouses. Yan Wushen hasn't shown himself yet, perhaps because he's in seclusion, breaking through to a new realm."
An even greater pressure welled up in Zhang Ruochen's heart. Before the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet, he absolutely had to condense his Sacred Will.
Even more than that, he had to do his utmost to strive for a breakthrough to the Hundred Shackles Realm.
After Han Ying relayed Zhang Ruochen's message, the eight-winged golden sacred ship continued to sail not far away.
The two ships almost sailed side by side into the river market city area.