Chapter 2337: Alliance with Lian Ying
The city district covered by the formation had been leveled to the ground. The three forces of darkness, time, and space had still not completely dissipated, lingering and drifting between heaven and earth.
This place had become a forbidden zone for cultivators below the Great Saint realm.
"Boom."
In the sky above, wind and clouds raged furiously, forming a golden light vortex with a diameter exceeding a hundred miles.
The vortex stirred up howling hurricanes, emitting a heart-shaking fluctuation of power that caused the Yama clan members on the ground to fall silent in fear, trembling with terror.
Yan Huangtu looked up, his expression growing even uglier. He roared, "On guard! Take all the clan members in the city and withdraw them immediately."
Too late!
"Swish, swish."
From the golden light vortex, a space tide erupted, carrying countless space rifts as it crashed toward the ground.
"Boom, rumble."
Wherever the space tide passed, buildings collapsed one after another, streets were severed, and formation light patterns were torn apart... Then, the entire city was engulfed in thick black smoke, becoming silent and ruined.
Countless Yama clan members met their deaths.
The defensive light shields raised by the Yama clan's various Great Saints only managed to protect a small portion of the clan members.
This was a war with no right or wrong, only killing others or being killed by them. Everything was drenched in blood. To achieve final victory, one had to be ruthless and merciless, without any trace of mercy.
Such was the law of survival in the Hell Realm.
"Zhang... Ruo... chen..."
Violent waves of divine energy surged from Yan Huangtu's body. On his face, every vein bulged out.
With a loud bang, the ground beneath Yan Huangtu's feet sank. Wrapped in divine light, he shot into the sky and punched the golden light vortex, shattering it into pieces. The sky split open as a result.
In the broken vortex, Yan Huangtu found no trace of Zhang Ruochen. He had vanished again.
In the courtyard filled with seven-colored begonias, Lian Ying's childish eyes revealed a hint of surprise. "Impressive. As the master of time and space, Zhang Ruochen can come and go without a trace. Even I can't detect his aura."
Lian Ying was quite skilled in the art of concealment.
Back when he seized the Emperor-grade Saint Will Pill, Lian Ying had evaded the perception of nearly a thousand Yama clan Great Saints, hiding among them to launch a successful ambush. If Que hadn't intervened halfway, the Emperor-grade Saint Will Pill would have already fallen into his hands.
Hong Futu said, "What's even more terrifying is that he actually found the dark time-space substance."
Lian Ying's expression darkened deeply.
The destructive power unleashed by the dark time-space substance was such that even if he were hit, he would likely be severely injured. Before entering the Heaven Hunting Battlefield, Zhang Ruochen was nothing but an ant in his eyes, someone he could crush with a single step.
It was only after hearing the news of Zhang Ruochen defeating Wujiang that he began to take him seriously.
Now, Lian Ying finally felt a sense of wariness toward Zhang Ruochen.
He said, "If Zhang Ruochen hadn't revealed this trump card, I might have really suffered a great loss when I fought him. But now, even if he uses the dark time-space substance, it may not necessarily harm me."
"Senior Brother, your sense of smell is a thousand times sharper than an ordinary Great Saint's. Find Zhang Ruochen. Now is the best time to deal with him."
Hong Futu's human head split open, expanding several times to transform into a massive beast's head.
His nose, like an ox's snout, occupied a third of his head's volume, extremely large. He took a deep breath, and countless strands of scent surged into his body.
Suddenly, Hong Futu sensed something, and his expression changed drastically.
From his blood-red muscles, bolts of lightning surged out as he prepared to throw a full-force punch behind him. He had detected Zhang Ruochen's aura right here in this courtyard.
"Are you sure you want to make a move here?" Zhang Ruochen's voice rang out from nowhere.
In the courtyard, his figure was invisible, as if a ghost was speaking.
"Stop!"
Lian Ying remained quite composed. His pupils shimmered with nine lights and eighteen colors, locking onto one direction as he looked toward the other side of the pond. He let out a sinister laugh. "Impressive. You actually found your way here."
Hong Futu dispersed the power from his body, standing like an iron tower beside Lian Ying.
Here, Hong Futu truly didn't dare to make a move. After all, a large number of Yama clan Great Saints were gathered in the city. Once their position was exposed, escaping would be no easy task.
Zhang Ruochen's figure gradually materialized by the pond, becoming solid.
He said, "When you were observing me, I could sense it. Even though you hid yourselves well, you couldn't fool the Eye of Truth."
Lian Ying's lips were red, his teeth white, and his skin shimmered with a silvery glow. He said, "Then why didn't your Eye of Truth see through Que's trap?"
Zhang Ruochen, with a gourd hanging from his waist, appeared quite carefree. He smiled and said, "The power of nothingness can dissolve the truth that approaches it, rendering it formless. Just like your eyes—they can find me, but they can't find him."
"Coming here is walking right into a trap. Do you really think we wouldn't dare to make a move? You should understand that compared to us, the Yama clan wants to kill you even more," Hong Futu said.
Zhang Ruochen made a gesture of invitation. "I escaped from their encirclement once, and I can do it again. What about you? If the Eight Life-and-Death Sons trap you in the Indestructible Undying Grand Formation, can you escape?"
Lian Ying's gaze turned dark. "You're already injured, and you still dare to speak arrogantly?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Would an injured person come looking for you on his own?"
Lian Ying clasped his hands behind his back, staring intently at Zhang Ruochen, observing him carefully.
If he could confirm that Zhang Ruochen was severely injured, he would use a Supreme Sacred Artifact to suppress him as quickly as possible, then devour him before the Yama clan cultivators arrived.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and composed. "Actually, there's no real enmity between us. You two are only trying to kill me because of Xiu Chen Heavenly God's orders."
"Xiu Chen Heavenly God's order is reason enough for your death," Hong Futu said.
Zhang Ruochen fixed his gaze on Lian Ying. "But right now, what we should be doing is seizing the Emperor-grade Saint Will Pill. If we don't act soon, Que will swallow it."
"Once he does, his cultivation will undoubtedly reach new heights. On the Heaven Hunting Battlefield, no one will be able to stop him. You've been chasing him for so long—do you think he'll let you off?"
Lian Ying's expression shifted constantly. He laughed. "Why are you so sure Que will swallow the Emperor-grade Saint Will Pill soon?"
"If I were him, I would keep the Emperor-grade Saint Will Pill to take after the Heaven Hunting Battle ends. That way, I'd have enough time to comprehend the Dao, and maybe even have a chance to condense a Third-rank Saint Will from a single Dao."
Zhang Ruochen continued, "Que is comprehending the Dao—specifically, the Water Dao—and he has already reached a very deep level. Also, you've misunderstood one thing."
"What?" Lian Ying asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Que has no intention of striving for a Third-rank Saint Will from a single Dao. That's nearly impossible. Instead, he wants to use the Emperor-grade Saint Will Pill to condense a tenth Saint Will."
"A tenth Saint Will..."
Lian Ying's expression turned grave. The words "tenth Saint Will" struck the most sensitive part of his heart.
Although nine Saint Wills were considered the limit a Great Saint could condense, the Emperor-grade Saint Will Pill was a unique treasure of heaven and earth.
If aided by it, Que might indeed be able to condense a tenth Saint Will.
If he succeeded, would an even greater transformation occur in Que's body?
Zhang Ruochen said, "Do you still remember the missing Quasi-Emperor-grade Saint Will Pill from the battle for the Saint Will Pills? I'm absolutely certain Que took it."
"With the Emperor-grade Saint Will Pill, he can condense a tenth Saint Will."
"With the Quasi-Emperor-grade Saint Will Pill, he can integrate that tenth Saint Will into his flawed Second-rank Saint Will, turning it into a top-tier, perfected Second-rank Saint Will. That day should not be far off."
Lian Ying sneered. "So, you've come to seek an alliance with me?"
"Exactly. At the very least, dealing with Que and seizing the Emperor-grade Saint Will Pill is our shared goal," Zhang Ruochen said.
Lian Ying was clearly tempted. "And if we seize the Emperor-grade Saint Will Pill, who gets it?"
"Whoever survives gets it. Don't you want to kill me? Once Que is dealt with, we can settle our life-and-death struggle," Zhang Ruochen said.
Lian Ying curled his lips and pointed at Zhang Ruochen, laughing. "Very good. I like this proposal of yours. But I can sense that Que seems to have already left this city. Finding him won't be easy."
"This planet is only so big. Where can he hide? Besides, the Yama clan will help us find him. I'll take my leave now. Your location here will likely be exposed soon. Yan Huangtu is no simple figure—he'll find his way here."
As his words faded, Zhang Ruochen's body dissolved into a speck of light, vanishing into the air.
Hong Futu said in a deep voice, "Junior Brother, you're not really believing him, are you?"
Lian Ying laughed. "Of course Zhang Ruochen is untrustworthy, but his words make sense. In a multi-sided game, kill the strongest first. Que must die."
"What about the Yama clan? They might be more terrifying than Que. Zhang Ruochen has already grown this powerful, and Yan Wushen, who shares his fame, can't be far behind. Yan Huangtu, Yan Wushen, plus the Eight Life-and-Death Sons—such a lineup would make even Que flee in terror," Hong Futu said.
Lian Ying said, "The Yama clan wants to deal with Zhang Ruochen the most, not us. Do you think I'd really fight Zhang Ruochen to the death after dealing with Que? I just need to sell him out to the Yama clan, and he'll be dead."
"Let's go. If Zhang Ruochen could find this place, Yan Huangtu will too. It's not safe to stay."
Not long after Lian Ying and Hong Futu left, Yan Huangtu appeared in the courtyard of seven-colored begonias, his expression as cold as frost.
Xi walked into the courtyard. "Was this Lian Ying and Hong Futu's hiding place?"
"The space tide swept down earlier, and only a few places withstood that force. This was one of them. Unfortunately, they've already left."
Yan Huangtu's expression was uncertain, anger burning within him, but he used his will to force himself to stay calm and restrained.
Cultivation begins with the heart.
Training starts with the spirit.
Xi said indignantly, "These people treat the Yama clan's home planet as if it were their own backyard. They come and go as they please. It's infuriating."
In all the history of the Heaven Hunting Battle, the Yama clan had never been so passive. The dignity of the supreme clan had been trampled by Que, Lian Ying, and Zhang Ruochen. The loss of face was immense.
Yan Huangtu said, "It seems there's only one way now to lure them all out and catch them in one net."
"What way?" Xi asked.
Yan Huangtu said thoughtfully, "The opportunity within the Yama clan's home planet."
"This... isn't that too risky? What if they actually seize the opportunity?" Xi was worried, feeling that Yan Huangtu's plan was quite dangerous.
Xi quickly added, "In my opinion, we should send ten Great Saints to gather all the clan members on the planet into their robes."
"Wouldn't that make it even easier for Zhang Ruochen to kill them? Besides, can you guarantee that among the gathered clan members, there aren't Zhang Ruochen, Lian Ying, or Que?"
Yan Huangtu continued, "Don't worry. Wushen has likely already seized the opportunity of the home planet. By luring the ambitious Que, Zhang Ruochen, and Lian Ying underground, they'll fight among themselves first. We just need to close the net at the end."
Xi said, "They're all very shrewd. Luring them into the depths of the home planet won't be easy."
"Precisely because they're shrewd and powerful, they'll go to investigate even if they know it's a trap." Yan Huangtu toyed with his fingers, deep in thought.
...
After parting ways with Lian Ying and Hong Futu, Zhang Ruochen left the city and dove into the seabed.
Using the dark time-space substance to break the formation had indeed injured him, and not lightly.
Arriving at the seabed, he continued downward, plunging through tens of thousands of meters of rock and sediment. After setting up a concealment formation, he spat out a mouthful of black blood.
It was the uncontrollable dark power that had backlashed against him.
The impact of time and space forces on him had mostly been neutralized.
Using the power of Purifying Divine Flame and the Divine Wood Heart, Zhang Ruochen refined all the dark power within his body. Though his injuries hadn't fully healed, they were no longer a major concern.
"I'll have to be more careful when using dark time-space substance in the future," Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
Leaving the formation, Zhang Ruochen thought it over and decided not to return to the surface immediately. Instead, he plunged deeper toward the planet's core, intending to seek out the opportunity within the Yama clan's home planet.
Since he was already here, he might as well give it a try.
With his current cultivation, he could maintain an extremely fast speed even deep underground.
To his surprise, the geological structure of the Yama clan's home planet was extremely hard, with no internal spaces at all—completely different from the Ghost clan's home planet or the Undying Blood Clan's home planet.
After just an hour, Zhang Ruochen flew out from the deep sea on the other side of the planet, hovering above the water.
"How can this be? That doesn't make sense. Could it be that the opportunity of the Yama clan's home planet isn't at the core?"
Zhang Ruochen didn't dare to use his spiritual power to probe, fearing detection by the Yama clan's Great Saints. So, he gave up on searching for the opportunity and decided to first go to a city on the planet to gather information.
So much time had passed—the Yama clan couldn't just sit idly by. They should have made further moves by now.