Chapter 2536: The Location of the Origin Divine Temple
The Hundred Flowers Brew was a fine wine made by Ji Fanxin, who collected the first drop of dew from the petals of hundreds of sacred flowers every morning. It was not strong, but it was extremely fragrant and mellow.
After downing three cups in a row, Zhang Ruochen took out a top-grade Origin Divine Crystal and moved it in front of Ji Fanxin.
Sensing the pure Origin power emitted by the divine crystal, Ji Fanxin let out a soft exclamation. She picked it up and said, "This is actually a top-grade Origin Divine Crystal. It seems my perception was correct. The Origin Divine Temple, which has been lost for endless ages, is truly about to appear."
"Fairy, you sensed it earlier?"
"I had some sense of it, but it was very faint. The Origin Divine Temple must be extremely far from me," she said.
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly. Extremely far?
Could it be that the Origin Divine Temple was not in the Hundred Clans Royal City at all?
Then what about the Origin light emanating from the Night Rain Sea, the sacred land of the Yaksha Clan?
Zhang Ruochen said, "Fairy, can you use this top-grade Origin Divine Crystal to sense the direction of the Origin Divine Temple?"
"I can try."
Ji Fanxin held the top-grade Origin Divine Crystal in both hands, closed her beautiful eyes, and a white light grew increasingly bright around her, making her skin as translucent as immortal jade, adding to her ethereal, otherworldly charm.
Zhang Ruochen had already interrogated Seven-Handed Old Man, but that old fellow was very stubborn, claiming that all the top-grade Origin Divine Crystals he had were won through gambling and that he had never been to the Origin Divine Temple.
Seizing this opportunity, Zhang Ruochen sent a thread of his spiritual power into the Qiankun Realm.
Seven-Handed Old Man sat cross-legged beneath the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree like an old monk in meditation, practicing an ancient spiritual power technique. The sacred energy of heaven and earth around him was all drawn in, forming a unique field.
The energy contained in this field was powerful, making it difficult for ordinary Great Saints to approach.
Zhang Ruochen appeared at the edge of his spiritual power field. Seven-Handed Old Man immediately sensed him, withdrew his technique, and opened a pair of aged eyes. He sighed, "Divine Son Ruochen, you have imprisoned me for so long. I have agreed to every condition you proposed. Why won't you let me go?"
Zhang Ruochen didn't want to argue with him. "I have found a powerful Origin controller. She is currently sensing the location of the Origin Divine Temple. It's not too late for you to tell me the truth now. In a moment, you will have no value."
Seven-Handed Old Man's eyes narrowed slightly, then he smiled. "Every word I have said to you, Divine Son, is the truth."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and waved his sleeve, opening the world gate between the Qiankun Realm and the outside world, allowing Seven-Handed Old Man to clearly see Ji Fanxin holding the top-grade Origin Divine Crystal and sensing it carefully.
The smile on Seven-Handed Old Man's face froze, and he quickly realized that his value had become negligible.
A cultivator without value had no reason to live.
His expression became somewhat anxious. "Divine Son, that Hundred Flowers Fairy is just a little girl. How could she possibly sense the exact location of the Origin Divine Temple?"
"In truth, I have already been to the Origin Divine Temple. If I lead the way, the treasures within the Origin Divine Temple will surely all fall into the hands of the Blood Absolute Family."
Zhang Ruochen ignored him, looking through the world gate at the Hundred Flowers Fairy.
Seven-Handed Old Man grew even more anxious. "Divine Son, are you blaming me for my past deception? I was only trying to save my life. I had no other choice. Think about it—if I had told you everything back then, would you have spared my life?"
"Where is the Origin Divine Temple?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Seven-Handed Old Man tried to bargain for some benefits. "You must promise to spare my life. Moreover, I have long admired the Blood Absolute War God. I ask for nothing else but to become his disciple. I hope you can recommend me."
"If you waste any more words, you will lose your chance to speak," Zhang Ruochen said.
Seven-Handed Old Man said, "The Origin Divine Temple is located in a hidden great world. That world was once extremely glorious, but at some point in history, for unknown reasons, a terrible calamity struck, and almost all life was wiped out. Although life was reborn millions of years later, its heritage was lost. Now it is a barren and weak realm."
"Where exactly?"
"Jiannan Realm. It is a great world hidden in the universe, discovered by the Heavenly Fate Divine Palace of the Destiny Temple. Subsequently, the Death God Palace dispatched a legion of undead holy soldiers and conquered it. It is indeed a vast great world, but it has barely produced any Saint King-level beings. The Death God Palace was greatly disappointed after arriving," Seven-Handed Old Man said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "How do you know this so clearly?"
"I..."
Seven-Handed Old Man smiled awkwardly. "I have some abilities, at least in terms of information. After hearing the news of Jiannan Realm's discovery, I secretly followed the undead holy army of the Death God Palace, planning to be among the first to go and reap some benefits."
"After arriving there, like the undead holy army, I was extremely disappointed. But such a vast great world, comparable to some eternal great worlds, how could it be so barren?"
"I couldn't accept it. So, relying on my powerful spiritual power, I spent several months carefully investigating that world. Finally, just as I was about to give up, I discovered the Origin Divine Temple sunk deep in the ocean."
Zhang Ruochen said, "You have already entered it?"
"Divine Son, don't be impatient. Let me explain slowly."
Suddenly, he said, "Can you now promise to spare my life?"
"As long as you are telling the truth, I naturally won't kill you," Zhang Ruochen said with a friendly smile.
Seven-Handed Old Man was delighted. "What about becoming a disciple?"
"Forget about becoming the War God's disciple," Zhang Ruochen said.
Seven-Handed Old Man was greatly disappointed but unwilling to give up. "What about becoming the Blood Queen's disciple?"
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment. This Seven-Handed Old Man was at least a top expert with sixty-ninth-level spiritual power, and his gambling skills were unmatched. If he truly intended to pledge allegiance to the Blood Absolute Family, he could be accepted.
With three gods standing together in the Blood Absolute Family, there was no fear of him betraying them in the future.
Zhang Ruochen said, "That can be discussed with my mother."
A strong expert like Seven-Handed Old Man could gain a very high status and treatment by joining any force. The reason he chose the Blood Absolute Family was, first, because he was already Zhang Ruochen's prisoner and had to do so to save his life.
Second, of course, was that Seven-Handed Old Man had little lifespan left, while beneath the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, there was a large amount of Life Spring.
By pledging allegiance to the Blood Queen, he was effectively pledging allegiance to Zhang Ruochen. Would Zhang Ruochen refuse to extend his life?
Third, everyone in the world could see that the Blood Absolute Family was on the rise. Joining them would not be a loss; on the contrary, he might ride the wave and rise with them.
Previously, Seven-Handed Old Man had not told Zhang Ruochen the truth, largely because he felt Zhang Ruochen's cultivation was too low and his weight insufficient.
If it had been a god from the Blood Absolute Family personally asking him, he would have long revealed the location of the Origin Divine Temple in exchange for a lofty position in the family.
Of course, another reason was that he still harbored illusions that Zhang Ruochen was easy to deceive and that he might have a chance to escape.
Such illusions had naturally been shattered.
Seven-Handed Old Man began to narrate. "Actually, I am still not sure if that is the Origin Divine Temple. Because after diving deep into the seabed, I saw many ancient ruins and remains. In the densest area of the ruins, there indeed stood a most magnificent hall."
"That hall was extremely dilapidated, overgrown with countless strange flowers and plants I had never seen or heard of. In that space, some stars were suspended in the ocean, emitting strange light."
Zhang Ruochen interrupted him. "You mean, there are stars suspended in the ocean? And more than one?"
"Yes! Real stars, truly suspended in the sea. The largest one must be thirty thousand miles in diameter," Seven-Handed Old Man said emphatically.
Zhang Ruochen said, "How deep and wide must that sea be? The density of the seawater must be equal to that of the stars? How immense is the water pressure at the seabed?"
"You've hit the nail on the head. The seabed of that sea is indeed not a place ordinary cultivators can reach. That's why the cultivators of Jiannan Realm still call that sea the Demon Sea, unable to enter and explore its secrets."
Seven-Handed Old Man continued, "Those stars floating in the water should be part of a formation. I spent a great deal of effort to break in, but before I could find the entrance to the temple, I triggered the formation and nearly died inside. So I quickly retreated along the original path and dared not go deeper."
"Since you never entered the temple, where did you get the five top-grade Origin Divine Crystals?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"While passing by one of the underwater stars, I discovered a stone temple. Inside, I not only found the top-grade Origin Divine Crystals but also obtained a treasure."
Seven-Handed Old Man pointed to his left eye.
Suddenly, the eyeball of his left eye glowed with a ring of Origin light and emitted pure life force.
"In that stone temple, I found a pearl and refined it into my eye. Now, this eye of mine can see through the origin of life," Seven-Handed Old Man said with a hint of pride.
Zhang Ruochen said, "So, in the Gambling Artifact City of the Divine Maiden Tower, you were so certain that the Seven-Colored Coral Tree was alive?"
Seven-Handed Old Man smiled sheepishly. "Unfortunately, I still misjudged and lost to you, Divine Son."
"You didn't lose to me. You lost to Bai Qinger. That trap was set specifically for you."
Then Zhang Ruochen added, "If you had been this honest earlier, you wouldn't have suffered so much, and I wouldn't have gone through so many twists and turns."
"It's not too late to know now. Divine Son, you should hurry back to the Blood Absolute Family and ask the gods to take action. It would be best to retrieve the treasures from the Origin Divine Temple in advance. Delay could lead to changes," Seven-Handed Old Man warned solemnly.
With Seven-Handed Old Man's powerful spiritual power, he had nearly died before even entering the temple. To break into the Origin Divine Temple and seize the treasures, it seemed that the intervention of a god was truly necessary.
But this was a critical time. Every god in the Hell Realm was being closely monitored, and the Underworld King was definitely a key target.
If the Underworld King went to Jiannan Realm, word would surely leak.
What to do next required careful consideration.
...
There should be another chapter tonight.
The epidemic seems to be getting worse. Even in my hometown, a small town in Sichuan, a case has been confirmed. Everyone should stay home and go out less. Health is the priority.