Chapter 2467: Bai Qinger Shows Her Cards
Seeing the Zangjin Divine Rule Patterns, Guye Jing’s beautiful eyes lit up slightly, and she thought to herself, “What my master said is indeed true. Zhang Ruochen has become the guide of the prehistoric divine seed Zangjin Baihu, with a deity constantly by his side. Why would he need any other protector?”
She extended her jade hand, and with a gentle twist of her five fingers, all the deathly demonic Qi withdrew back into her body.
“Can I pay my respects to Senior Zangjin Baihu?” Guye Jing asked.
Zhang Ruochen retracted the Zangjin Divine Rule Patterns and immediately understood that Guye Jing had never truly intended to strike; she was merely testing him.
It was impossible to hide. The emergence of Zangjin Baihu and the Swastika Azure Dragon was known to many deities in the Hell Realm.
Of course, this did not include the gods of the Ten Dark Powers or the various minor clans.
The matter of the prehistoric divine seed had only been recounted by Fulu Divine Venerable within the Destiny Temple.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “Senior Zangjin Baihu does not like to be disturbed.”
Guye Jing could understand that. After all, the other party was a deity—how could a Great Saint simply request an audience?
“With a deity protecting you, it seems Bai Qinger’s plans against you will come to nothing but an empty basket drawing water.” Guye Jing giggled, walked straight to a chair, and lounged lazily upon it, the curve of her chest rising impressively.
Zhang Ruochen was well aware that Zangjin Baihu’s power was limited and that it had only agreed to act once.
Thus, hearing Guye Jing’s words, his heart tightened, and he asked, “What scheme does Bai Qinger have now?”
“Not a scheme—an open ploy,” Guye Jing said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “What exactly is going on?”
“You’ve managed to infiltrate the inner circle of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions, and you haven’t heard?” Guye Jing was surprised.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head.
Guye Jing sighed softly. “Fair enough. With a deity protecting you, why would you care about the schemes or open ploys of a Supreme Realm Great Saint? Why not ask Senior Zangjin Baihu to strike first and drive you out of Goddess City?”
Zhang Ruochen coughed dryly twice. “Senior Zangjin Baihu is a deity, not my hired thug.”
Guye Jing was exceptionally clever and caught something in his words, a look of realization dawning on her face.
It seemed that although Zhang Ruochen had become Zangjin Baihu’s guide, the deity would not act to help him against other Saint-level cultivators.
If a true deity were by Zhang Ruochen’s side, ready to strike at any moment, why would he still be trapped in Goddess City?
Even on Ice King Star, he could walk with impunity—only he could bully others, and no one would dare touch him.
It made sense. Deities were not supposed to interfere in mortal affairs.
If Zangjin Baihu acted and attacked cultivators from other Hell Realm factions, the deities of those factions would not let it slide.
With this thought, Guye Jing’s wariness of Zhang Ruochen diminished somewhat.
“In that case, you’d better hear this out.”
Guye Jing said, “Yesterday, the leaders of eighteen factions entered the Divine Maiden Tower together to pressure Bai Qinger and Ye Manman. Forced into a corner, Bai Qinger revealed the truth to the outside world.”
“What truth?” Zhang Ruochen had a bad feeling.
Guye Jing said, “Bai Qinger claimed that the five top-grade Origin Divine Crystals originally circulated from Seven-Hand Old Man into the gambling city of the Divine Maiden Tower.”
“But Seven-Hand Old Man has been killed by her—who can prove her words are true?” Zhang Ruochen smiled.
Guye Jing stared into Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, her smile charming. “Yet Bai Qinger said that Seven-Hand Old Man is not dead, but hidden by you inside the Purple Gold Gourd. That’s how he managed to escape the Fate Divine Domain, and even the Heavenly Fate Division couldn’t trace him. Because you, Zhang Ruochen, are one of the few people who are hard to calculate.”
“I think her reasoning is quite sound and plausible.”
“Based on your earlier explanation to me, combined with Bai Qinger’s version, I speculate that the events of that day might have gone like this: You and Seven-Hand Old Man joined forces, used spatial means to steal the five top-grade Origin Divine Crystals from the seventeen layers of restrictions, and killed Tan Fei, who was holding the crystals.”
“Bai Qinger sensed this and pursued you. During the chase, you killed Cang Baizi, while Bai Qinger killed Xing Qian. Finally, you and Seven-Hand Old Man escaped. Because of her identity, Bai Qinger couldn’t openly continue the pursuit, so she used her relationship with the Death High Priest to get the Judgment Division to target you.”
“Unfortunately, the intervention of the Heavenly Mandate Division allowed you and Seven-Hand Old Man to escape that calamity.”
“Knowing that Bai Qinger would continue to target you to seize the top-grade Origin Divine Crystals, you used me to distract her. And Bai Qinger, knowing the crystals were with you, sealed off Goddess City to prevent your escape.”
“Am I right?”
“Clap, clap, clap.”
Zhang Ruochen applauded, inwardly marveling at Guye Jing’s sharp mind—truly worthy of being Luo Sha’s close friend. Though many details were off, the general direction was correct.
Unflustered, Zhang Ruochen said, “Rich imagination. It seems you don’t believe me at all, but trust Bai Qinger instead.”
“Because her story is more plausible than yours. Not just me, but the leaders of the other seventeen factions also trust her more,” Guye Jing said, her large, round eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen’s handsome face, waiting for him to argue.
Zhang Ruochen said, “First, I don’t even know Seven-Hand Old Man. Why would I cooperate with him?”
“You do know him—you met at the gambling table.”
“Because of me, he lost hundreds of thousands of divine stones. Is that considered knowing each other? We’re more like enemies.”
“There’s a saying: ‘From a fight, friendship grows.’ For the sake of top-grade Origin Divine Crystals, even enemies can cooperate,” Guye Jing said.
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly. “Even so! Bai Qinger’s attack on Seven-Hand Old Man clearly happened first—how did it become after the crystals were stolen?”
Guye Jing said, “How do you know which came first? Unless you were involved in both?”
Zhang Ruochen felt somewhat deflated. He couldn’t explain it at all. He had to admit that Bai Qinger’s move of “showing her cards” was indeed ruthless.
By revealing the whereabouts of the top-grade Origin Divine Crystals to all factions, she had pushed Zhang Ruochen into opposition with them. The spearhead of the various powers had shifted from the Divine Maiden Tower to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen laughed. “Bai Qinger’s story has a fatal flaw.”
“I’d like to hear it.”
“If the five top-grade Origin Divine Crystals came from Seven-Hand Old Man, then he must have more on him. Why would he risk stealing the five that had already been lost from the seventeen major factions?”
Guye Jing propped her chin on her hand, staring closely at Zhang Ruochen. “Because you and Seven-Hand Old Man wanted to monopolize the Origin Divine Temple and didn’t want other factions involved. What other excuses do you have?”
Zhang Ruochen fell silent.
“Oh, my dear Ruochen, we’re already so close—why can’t you just tell the truth? The Origin Divine Temple is a heaven-shaking treasure. How can the Blood Absolute Family swallow it alone? Letting the Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm share a piece, sharing the risks together, and facing unknown dangers—wouldn’t that be better?”
Guye Jing pursed her lips, gently shaking Zhang Ruochen’s arm, acting like a sweet, neighborly girl.
Zhang Ruochen let out a long sigh. “I’ll tell you the truth. The five top-grade Origin Divine Crystals were stolen by Bai Qinger—there’s no doubt about it. Tan Fei was killed by her dream technique.”
“As for Seven-Hand Old Man, I did help him escape the Fate Divine Domain. In return, he gave me one top-grade Origin Divine Crystal.”
“So, the one who truly wants to monopolize the Origin Divine Temple is Bai Qinger, not me or Seven-Hand Old Man. Besides, my relationship with that old man isn’t that good—we don’t trust each other.”
Guye Jing pondered for a moment, carefully weighing his words.
Relatively speaking, Zhang Ruochen’s few sentences were more credible than Bai Qinger’s story.
But she didn’t fully believe him yet.
She only felt that the truth was getting closer.
Guye Jing said, “So, Seven-Hand Old Man has already left?”
“Seven-Hand Old Man has powerful spiritual power. I couldn’t keep him even if I wanted to.” Zhang Ruochen shrugged helplessly.
Guye Jing smiled. “So, you have one top-grade Origin Divine Crystal on you?”
Zhang Ruochen nodded. “I only told you this secret because of our close relationship.”
Guye Jing seemed to have forgotten that Zhang Ruochen had used her to deal with Bai Qinger, nearly getting her killed under Wuma Jiuxing’s blade. She also seemed to have forgotten that not long ago, Zhang Ruochen’s hands had taken advantage of her, and she had cursed him.
Her face full of smiles, she said softly, “Yes, we’ve been through life and death together.”
“I need your help to find the Origin Divine Temple,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Guye Jing nodded. “We are the best of allies.”
If any of Luo Sha’s other close friends saw Zhang Ruochen and Guye Jing alone in a room, staring at each other with affectionate gazes and tender words, they would surely curse them as a pair of adulterers.
Suddenly, Guye Jing’s expression turned serious. “Zhang Ruochen, you’re about to be in big trouble.”
“Oh? What do you mean?”
“Do you know why Bai Qinger chose this moment to reveal the truth? It’s all to force you out. If you don’t show yourself, every faction will believe her story. Because you wouldn’t dare to appear!”
Zhang Ruochen said, “So this is her open ploy? If I show up, I’ll be surrounded and attacked, and my only top-grade Origin Divine Crystal might not be safe. If I don’t show up, it’s as good as admitting that I and Seven-Hand Old Man stole the five crystals. In that case, staying hidden, though cowardly, is the best choice. Once my Space Chaos Worm recovers, I can naturally escape.”
Guye Jing shook her head. “Unfortunately, you can’t hide any longer. The Minister of Works of the Heavenly Fate Division will personally come to Ice King Star soon, bringing the divine artifact Celestial Pivot Needle. Before the Celestial Pivot Needle, all your tricks will be useless.”
“Is it really that crazy? To use a divine artifact?”
Zhang Ruochen found it hard to stay calm. In his heart, he wished he could deal with Bai Qinger the way he had with Lian Xi—thoroughly. This woman was too vicious, using every means to push him to the brink.
“Using the Celestial Pivot Needle is not just to find you, but also to track down the severely wounded Wuma Jiuxing, who fled. The three divisions of the Destiny Temple are all coming, with experts like clouds. It’s said that top-tier Great Saints from the Twelve Divine Palaces are also arriving, claiming to bloodwash the Wujian Pavilion to avenge the dead goddess Feng Li. This storm is growing ever larger. I even suspect that some deities have secretly come!” Guye Jing said.
Zhang Ruochen grabbed Guye Jing’s arms. “We are the best of allies, the closest of friends. You have to help me. How about we go steal the Celestial Pivot Needle?”