Chapter 2380: Water Floods the Destiny Temple
Whether they were cultivators of the Undying Blood Clan or Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints of the Bone Clan, after being shaken out of the river channel, they hovered in the colorful starry sky, their faces filled with shock.
"It's... it's a tree, a tree as massive as a planet."
Some of these cultivators, their minds greatly impacted, involuntarily knelt before the jade tree.
When Blood Shadow God Mother was alive, her spiritual power was unmatched, with few gods able to compare. Now that she was dead, as the tree's body fully manifested, the residual fluctuations of her spiritual power also dispersed, capable of influencing the spiritual will of Great Saints.
Only Yan Huangtu, Pink Skeleton, Blood Demon... and a very few Great Saints with exceptionally strong spiritual will could resist the invasion of that spiritual power.
The last two planet-protecting grand formations collapsed along with the planet's disintegration.
The cultivators of the Yama Clan and Bone Clan gathered together, retreating to a place ten thousand miles away from the jade tree.
The scene before them was too spectacular, too awe-inspiring, filling them with caution.
"Look, look, the colorful light is emanating from Zhang Ruochen's body."
"The rules of this heaven and earth have become incredibly active, flowing in a regular pattern with Zhang Ruochen as the center of heaven and earth. Especially the Five Elements rules, which are becoming more and more numerous."
"What a terrifying fluctuation of power. Is Zhang Ruochen comprehending the Dao under this tree?"
Yan Huangtu's tiger-like eyes locked tightly onto the motionless Zhang Ruochen. Even he revealed an expression of disbelief and shock.
Within Zhang Ruochen's body, the rules of the Fist Path, Palm Path, Water Path, Earth Path, Metal Path, and Wood Path—six types of rules, totaling over three billion—all converged and flowed in a cycle.
Sometimes, all the rules condensed into six different Sacred Wills.
Sometimes, the six Sacred Wills merged into one.
Sometimes, they scattered again, transforming into rule patterns.
The state of the Sacred Will was very unstable, causing the soil, rocks, and water that had scattered from the clan planet to undergo incredible changes. One moment, they turned golden and became metal. The next, the metal melted and turned into water.
After a while, the water solidified again, becoming stone.
Then, dense trees grew from the stone, turning it into a forest.
Within the ten-thousand-mile area covered by the jade tree, all matter was undergoing Five Elements transformations, defying natural laws, completely without logic.
Gradually, the Yin-Yang Five Elements Sacred Will, condensed from the six Sacred Wills, began to stabilize.
At that moment, the entire world fell into a strange state of silence, as if all sound had disappeared.
The gods within the Destiny Temple, even the ancient gods who had been resting with closed eyes since the start of the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet, now turned their gazes toward the starry sky region of the Hunting Heaven Battlefield.
"Six Sacred Wills merged into one? How is that possible? Impossible, this god does not believe it."
"Six Sacred Wills, and each one is of the fourth or fifth rank. Once fused, how powerful would the resulting Sacred Will be?"
"With the cultivation of the Hundred Shackles Realm, how could such astonishing colorful light appear?"
A single thought arose in the hearts of all the gods, but none of them spoke it aloud.
Because they all felt it was impossible.
If a Great Saint could fuse a fifth-rank Sacred Will, it represented the potential to become a god and was called a "True God Seed."
Whether in the Heavenly Court or Hell, the vast majority of gods cultivated a fourth-rank or fifth-rank Sacred Will to reach the Divine Realm.
For Great Saints like Yu Huang, Dao Yu Huang, and Yan Huangtu, who could cultivate a third-rank Sacred Will, once they became gods, they would be strong among gods, able to grasp Esoterica and more easily survive their first Eon Calamity. Of course, there were also huge gaps between cultivators who cultivated third-rank Sacred Wills.
As for second-rank Sacred Wills, they were extremely rare. Once one became a god, they would be an existence as heaven-defying as Xue Jue War God and Desolate Heaven, with the opportunity to contend for supremacy over the entire universe in the future.
But Zhang Ruochen's current state was a level higher than even Xue Jue War God and Desolate Heaven in their youth.
"Could it be a first-rank Sacred Will?"
This thought arose in the hearts of all the gods.
The gods could still make judgments about second-rank Sacred Wills, as many Great Saints in history had successfully cultivated them, and there were many written records about second-rank Sacred Wills.
The Destiny Temple had even compiled a book cataloging all second-rank Sacred Wills that had ever appeared throughout history. The book recorded over a thousand types of second-rank Sacred Wills.
Therefore, when Zhang Ruochen fused five Sacred Wills, they could accurately judge that it was a powerful second-rank Sacred Will, but it was not complete.
They could also give a precise evaluation of the incomplete second-rank Sacred Will that Que had cultivated.
But the Sacred Will Zhang Ruochen had now cultivated was something ordinary gods dared not casually evaluate. Because no cultivator had ever successfully fused six Sacred Wills. At least, there was no such record in any book.
Moreover, no matter how powerful a second-rank Sacred Will was, it could not cause such a commotion as Zhang Ruochen's.
Xue Jue War God held his breath for a long time, only uttering four words: "This kid..."
Within his Divine Realm World, the gods of the Blood Heaven Tribe fell silent collectively, no longer offering congratulations, as if they too had been struck and needed time to recover.
Underworld King toyed with the Eternal Star Divine Sword in his hand, muttering to himself, "A legendary first-rank? No, Yin-Yang Five Elements is not complete. How can an incomplete Sacred Will be called first-rank?"
Qing Sheng Great Saint looked at the projection of the Myriad Realms Divine Eye in the sky, lowered his head, and sighed, "I understand less and less. What is wrong with this world? Participating in a Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet, and a second-rank Sacred Will is condensed? No, it might be even stronger. No wonder you can only be a family head, a waste. I can't understand it, I can't understand it. Sheng Qingxue, you will never understand!"
At the foot of the Fate Divine Mountain.
The Gate of Destiny, built from tens of thousands of star cores, emitted a flickering light, sometimes bright, sometimes dim.
The venue for the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet, "Fate Creek," had its waters flowing backward, surging up toward the top of the mountain, rushing straight into the Destiny Temple, flooding the temple several feet deep.
Such a bizarre and terrifying phenomenon, occurring at the Destiny Temple, caused exclamations of shock.
The calm was broken.
The divine shadow of Ghost Lord manifested, and he said sharply, "The Gate of Destiny flickers between Yin and Yang. Fate Creek flows backward, flooding the temple. This is an ominous omen, a warning from fate. It means that Zhang Ruochen harbors a rebellious heart and will one day bring disaster to the Destiny Temple. He must be eliminated as soon as possible; we cannot allow him to continue growing."
The divine shadow of Xiu Chen Heavenly God also manifested, saying, "This god agrees with Ghost Lord's opinion. The Destiny Temple is a sacred place; such a phenomenon has never occurred before. Zhang Ruochen will surely become a great enemy of the Destiny Temple in the future."
The gods in the Destiny Temple were clearly also taken aback by what had happened at the Fate Divine Mountain. Was it really necessary for a Great Saint to cause such a commotion just by condensing a Sacred Will?
The divine shadows of Xue Jue War God, Xue Hou, and Underworld King appeared simultaneously.
Xue Jue War God said in a deep voice, "Ghost Lord, Xiu Chen Heavenly God, my grandson is merely a Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saint, his cultivation less than one hundred-thousandth of yours, yet you join forces to target him. Do you have any dignity or face left?"
In Hell, gods were not allowed to interfere in matters below the Divine Realm, nor could they meddle in the power struggles between major forces.
Therefore, even the Fate Goddess who presided over the Destiny Temple could only be a Great Saint.
Ghost Lord and Xiu Chen Heavenly God's attempt to use the Destiny Temple to kill Zhang Ruochen was a violation of the rules.
Xue Hou said, "Harboring personal grudges and wanting to put my son to death, do you really think the Blood Absolute Family is easy to bully?"
"Both of you are ancient gods who have cultivated for hundreds of thousands of years, yet your hearts are so small that you cannot tolerate a junior Great Saint. If this gets out, your reputations will be ruined."
Then, Underworld King added, "To be honest, in this king's eyes, a Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saint, no matter how strong, is no different from an ant or worm on the ground. I wouldn't even look at them, let alone bother to contend with them. What difference is there between contending with an ant and being an ant oneself?"
Underworld King spoke the truth.
Not just a Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saint; it could be said that any Great Saint was no different from an ant or worm in his eyes.
Who was Que?
He didn't care at all.
Who was Yan Wushen?
When you cultivate to the Divine Realm, then I'll remember your name. Before becoming a god, no matter how strong you are, you're just an ant.
Ghost Lord sneered, "Xue Jue, this son of yours is too arrogant, quite like you—self-righteous and looking down on everyone. But I am cautious and dare not underestimate those juniors. Any Great Saint with the potential to become a god, who can make it onto the 'God Reserve Scroll,' I pay attention to. You know very well that Zhang Ruochen is no ant; he has already broken the limits of Sacred Wills throughout history. His future achievements may even surpass yours."
"The more you desperately downplay Zhang Ruochen, the more it shows you want to exonerate him and distance him from the phenomenon at the Destiny Temple," said Xiu Chen Heavenly God.
For Ghost Lord and Xiu Chen Heavenly God, Zhang Ruochen was indeed an insignificant little character, almost negligible. Their hatred was not directed at Zhang Ruochen but at Xue Jue War God.
Killing Zhang Ruochen would not only cut off the future hope of the Blood Absolute Family but also deal a heavy blow to Xue Jue War God.
They could even use Zhang Ruochen's special identity to drag Xue Jue War God down.
Killing Zhang Ruochen was just a means.
Dealing with Xue Jue War God was the real goal.
Ghost Lord continued, "The Sacred Will Zhang Ruochen has cultivated has likely reached the legendary first-rank. The ominous phenomenon at the Fate Divine Mountain right now shows that Zhang Ruochen will surely oppose fate in the future and become an enemy of fate. Such a fate-defying son should be killed as soon as possible."
Xue Jue War God's words were shocking, "Well said—opposing fate, becoming an enemy of fate. Many gods in Hell don't believe in fate, do they? Many want to defy fate and change their destiny, right?"
Ghost Lord and Xiu Chen Heavenly God dared not speak.
This topic was too sensitive, and only Xue Jue War God dared to say such things at the Destiny Temple.
All the gods in the Destiny Temple fell silent, accompanied by sounds of sharp intakes of breath.
Xue Jue War God continued, "If I remember correctly, the number one strongman of your Ghost Clan, Fengdu Dadi, is the one who least believes in fate. He once proclaimed the bold words, 'My fate is mine to command.'"
The gods dared not speak even more, all feeling that Xue Jue War God had gone mad, daring to use Fengdu Dadi as a shield.
Fengdu Dadi dared to say "My fate is mine to command" because he was already invincible, fearless between heaven and earth. Of the three World Trees, "Fengdu Ghost City" possessed one, standing shoulder to shoulder with "Yama Outer Heaven" and "Fate Divine Domain."
There were gaps between gods and gods.
Then, Xue Jue War God added, "Just now, I received news. Fengdu Dadi has crossed his tenth Eon Calamity in the border starry sky."
This was an even more obvious hint.
It was outright saying, "The ominous phenomenon at the Fate Divine Mountain is not because of an insignificant ant like Zhang Ruochen, but because of Fengdu Dadi. Fengdu Dadi is the one with enough weight."
No one bothered to argue whether Xue Jue War God was courting death, because the gods were completely stunned by the news that Fengdu Dadi had crossed his tenth Eon Calamity.
It was the tenth Eon Calamity, not the tenth Ghost Calamity.
Except for plant-type cultivators and those of some special races, gods who could cross ten Eon Calamities were extremely rare, and all were synonymous with power.
Additionally, the difficulty of crossing Eon Calamities varied slightly between different races.
For a Ghost Clan god to cross the first Eon Calamity was harder than for a Human Clan god.
For Fengdu Dadi, a Ghost Clan member, to cross the tenth Eon Calamity was nothing short of heaven-defying.
In Hell, the Lower Three Clans had the hardest time crossing Eon Calamities, followed by the Middle Three Clans, then the Upper Three Clans. The Yama Clan had the easiest time crossing Eon Calamities.
Of course, the difference in difficulty was not too great.
"How is that possible? The power fluctuations from crossing the tenth Eon Calamity would be immense. Why didn't we sense anything?"
"The border starry sky is too far from the Fate Divine Domain. It's normal not to sense it."
"I just calculated; the time for Fengdu Dadi to cross the tenth Eon Calamity should indeed be around now."
A god muttered quietly, "Could the ominous phenomenon at the Fate Divine Mountain really be because of Fengdu Dadi?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately shut up.
This matter was of great importance and far-reaching influence. Apart from Xue Jue War God, no other god dared to speak recklessly.
Ghost Lord and Xiu Chen Heavenly God were also stunned for a moment, then secretly delighted. Whether or not Fengdu Dadi had truly crossed the tenth Eon Calamity, by saying this, Xue Jue War God had offended him.
Of course, Xue Jue War God was lying. In fact, he had no idea whether Fengdu Dadi had crossed the tenth Eon Calamity; he just used him as a shield for Zhang Ruochen.
After all, if Ghost Lord and Xiu Chen Heavenly God successfully pinned the ominous phenomenon at the Fate Divine Mountain on Zhang Ruochen, Zhang Ruochen would be dead for sure, and no one could save him.
The gods of the Destiny Temple took omens and celestial phenomena very seriously.
Because they believed in them.
As for whether this lie would be exposed, Xue Jue War God was not worried for now.
First, Fengdu Dadi had indeed gone to the border starry sky.
The border starry sky was too vast. Even if he crossed the tenth Eon Calamity, no cultivator would know.
Second, to cross the tenth Eon Calamity, Fengdu Dadi would definitely go into seclusion for a long time—maybe a few months, maybe a few hundred years.
If Fengdu Dadi failed to cross the calamity, that would be best; it would be as if he had disappeared for a few thousand or tens of thousands of years.
Tens of thousands of years later, who would still remember the phenomenon at the Fate Divine Mountain?
Even if they remembered, they wouldn't dare to bring it up again.
If Fengdu Dadi successfully crossed the calamity and returned, Xue Jue War God believed that, given his status and position, he wouldn't care about such a trivial matter. Did it matter how the Destiny Temple viewed him?
Moreover, if Fengdu Dadi knew that Zhang Ruochen had once been an envoy of the Moon God, he would at least show some leniency.
Xue Jue War God appeared arrogant and reckless, acting without considering consequences, but in reality, he had already thought through various escape routes.
The divine shadow of Green Deer God King manifested, and he said with a smile, "None of us have received news that Fengdu Dadi has crossed the tenth Eon Calamity. Why did Xue Jue War God learn of it first?"