Chapter 2564: Denunciations from All Sides
While hurrying along the way, the Grand Minister of Works and the Second Minister of Works explained the situation.
As Zhang Ruochen had anticipated, it was indeed Bai Qinger who had led the cultivators from the various major powers to the Origin Divine Temple. A large number of sacred medicines had been taken by the Grand Minister of Works, the Second Minister of Works, and the others—how could those cultivators not be envious?
In their desperation, they could only flee in separate directions.
...
In that area overgrown with sacred medicines, some still remained, growing within powerful formations. A large group of strong cultivators had gathered there, trying every means to break the formations.
A large contingent of cultivators from the Earth Demon Clan had occupied a stretch of ruins.
Within the ruins grew an ancient sacred tree, bearing over a dozen sacred fruits that crackled with electric light. The Earth Demon Clan's clan emperor, Ze Xuanhai, along with Yama Clan formation masters, were working to break the formations surrounding the ancient sacred tree.
Yan Zhexian and Xuan Qingying stood on the periphery, keeping watch against sneak attacks from cultivators of other powers.
Although few dared to provoke the Yama Clan, this was the Origin Divine Temple after all. For the sake of treasures, those bold cultivators would stop at nothing.
Xuan Qingying said, "Now that the Origin Divine Temple has appeared, the gods of the various Hell Realm powers should be arriving soon, right?"
"The gods care about the Origin Divine Temple even more than we do. I suspect some of them may have already reached Jiannan Realm, or perhaps even entered the temple itself," Yan Zhexian replied.
Xuan Qingying's eyes flickered, and she tentatively said, "Zhang Ruochen has once again found himself at the center of the storm, making fools of all the major powers. Many of their leaders have already declared they will teach him a harsh lesson."
Yan Zhexian's eyes turned icy. "Don't mention him to me. If I run into him, I'll teach him a lesson too. He needs to know just how terrifying the fury of the Yama Clan's eldest daughter can be."
Thinking of how Zhang Ruochen and Bai Qinger had used her name to secretly slip into the Origin Divine Temple ahead of everyone else, Yan Zhexian's anger blazed like fire. She truly wanted to join the others in cursing them as a pair of dogs and bitches.
A commotion arose in the distance as many cultivators flew over.
An Earth Demon Clan cultivator rushed over, looking anxious. "Reporting to the two Great Saints! Zhang Ruochen has appeared!"
"Hmph!"
Yan Zhexian flicked her sleeve, transforming into a streak of light that broke through the water and sped away.
Xuan Qingying followed closely behind.
Zhang Ruochen, leading the five monks, returned to this area. Seeing the overwhelming tide of cultivators from all the major powers surging toward him, he showed no sign of panic. "The sacred medicines in this area have mostly been harvested. Why are so many cultivators still lingering here? Everyone, there must be other treasures in other parts of the Origin Divine Temple."
A squad from the Shura Divine Temple stepped forward, murderous intent radiating from them.
The leader, a Great Saint with three tails who had reached the Supreme Realm, said, "Zhang Ruochen, was our Shura Divine Temple's Great Saint, Xing Qian, killed by you?"
This man was named Shanhaijun, a being who had cultivated for over ten thousand years.
A group of Great Saints from the Destiny Temple, led by Bore, surrounded Zhang Ruochen.
Bore said, "Great Saint Ruochen, can you explain where Ji Fanxin obtained the top-grade Origin Divine Crystal?"
...
"Zhang Ruochen, was our Phil Family's Great Saint, Phil Tianding, killed by you?"
...
"In the Divine Maiden Tower of the Fate Divine Domain, five top-grade Origin Divine Crystals were stolen. Tan Fei self-destructed his sacred source, nearly killing cultivators from all our powers. Was this your doing?"
...
The cultivators of every faction were burning with anger. Whether out of enmity or grievance, they all demanded Zhang Ruochen answer for his deeds.
Though Yan Zhexian was furious and found Zhang Ruochen detestable, seeing him in such a perilous situation, she held herself back from charging out. She didn't want to kick him while he was down.
Strangely, she even felt a flicker of worry.
What if that bastard, having provoked the wrath of so many, ended up being killed in a siege?
"In the Hell Realm, killing a few Great Saints doesn't require an explanation from me. If you attack me now, I'll kill you all, and still owe no one an explanation."
Zhang Ruochen swept his gaze across the crowd, surging divine energy erupting from his body. The Abyssal Ancient Sword was already in his hand as he roared, "Out of my way!"
"Too arrogant! What realm are you even at, to be so contemptuous of everyone?" Shanhaijun, the Supreme Realm Great Saint of the Shura Divine Temple, bellowed.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Contemptuous? You're clearly fabricating charges, trying to put me to death and carve up the treasures on me. How can I reason with you? Is there any reasoning to be had?"
The cultivators of every faction could no longer contain themselves. They drew their sacred artifacts, preparing to join forces and kill Zhang Ruochen.
"Wait."
Bore stepped out from the Destiny Temple cultivators and walked to face Zhang Ruochen. "Other matters can be settled privately. But regarding the origin of the top-grade Origin Divine Crystal in Ji Fanxin's hands, Great Saint Ruochen had better explain it clearly now."
Zhang Ruochen saw that Bore had stepped forward deliberately, intending to let him take her hostage to escape.
Zhang Ruochen remained unmoved. "That top-grade Origin Divine Crystal of hers was naturally snatched from me. Or does the Divine Maiden think I'm colluding with the Heavenly Court cultivators?"
Suddenly, a playful child's voice rang out from the crowd: "Zhang Ruochen said something very true—there's no such thing as reasoning everywhere. If you want to kill, why waste words?"
A child radiating nine-colored divine light walked out from among the cultivators.
"Whoosh!"
He soared into the air, and the six swords on his back all flew out.
Two of the swords released an overwhelmingly powerful Supreme power—they were Supreme Sacred Artifacts. The six swords flew together, churning the waters of this area into chaos.
Except for a few Supreme Realm Great Saints, all the other Great Saints could barely keep their footing, nearly swept away by the Supreme power.
This child was, of course, Lan Ying.
Lan Ying let out a cold, mocking laugh. "I heard you defeated Que. This time, I will go all out."
"Heavenly Sword Soul."
The Sword Dao rules in the sea flew toward him, gathering above his head to form a soul shadow. In an instant, Lan Ying's sword momentum surged dramatically.
"Shura Heavenly Extermination Kill!"
The six swords aligned into a single line, transforming into a streak of sword-light that slashed downward.
Zhang Ruochen's body turned golden, and a soul shadow also appeared above his head. He shot upward, swinging his sword. "Sword Eleven."
The two powerful sword forces, one ascending and one descending, collided, exploding into tens of thousands of sword energies.
The sword energies contained powerful sword soul force. Some cultivators were struck, their sacred souls severely injured, and they let out miserable screams.
"Heavenly Sword Soul... Zhang Ruochen has also cultivated a Heavenly Sword Soul..."
"Indeed, it's a Heavenly Sword Soul. Zhang Ruochen actually cultivated a Heavenly Sword Soul at the Hundred Shackles Realm. His mastery of the Sword Dao is this profound?"
Amid the exclamations of the crowd, Lan Ying and Zhang Ruochen had already exchanged dozens of sword strikes.
Suddenly, Lan Ying fell from above, crashing heavily into the mud and rocks, churning a large area of water into turbid chaos. His six war swords also fell from the sky, embedding themselves in the seabed.
A long sword wound was cut across Lan Ying's abdomen, refusing to heal for a long time.
He flipped up from the ground, his face twisted with rage, and roared, "Zhang Ruochen, don't run! Let's fight again!"
Only then did everyone realize that Zhang Ruochen had already disappeared without a trace, along with the five monks he had taken away.
The few senior Supreme Realm Great Saints present exchanged glances, inwardly shocked to the extreme. Had Zhang Ruochen grown to such a level?
With so many cultivators gathered to denounce him, he had calmly escaped, coming and going as he pleased.
Bore gazed in the direction Zhang Ruochen had fled, a faint, imperceptible smile flickering in her starry eyes.
Soon, news arrived: Zhang Ruochen had defeated Nan Sheng.
The crowd was shaken once more. Some cultivators who had previously denounced Zhang Ruochen felt fear and regret, worried that he might seek revenge in secret. This trip to the Origin Divine Temple seemed to have become even more dangerous.
Xuan Qingying watched Lan Ying, surrounded by a group of cultivators from the Green Deer Divine Temple, still somewhat dazed. She murmured to herself, "No one can stop Zhang Ruochen's rise. The mortal world of the Hell Realm will soon be his domain."
The Origin Divine Temple was fraught with danger. Aside from the Green Deer Divine Temple cultivators, no other power continued to pursue Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen had returned to this place to find the scent left behind by Shi Shenghua.
Compared to the elusive Ji Fanxin, he believed he should first find Shi Shenghua, Shi Huang, Jian Huang, Xue Tu, and the others. He shared a very subtle connection with Shi Shenghua and could sense the direction she had gone.
After chasing for a while, Zhang Ruochen found a severed vine of Shi Shenghua in a dilapidated stone hall.
Picking up the vine, Zhang Ruochen sensed it carefully. "Hai Ke's aura. Excellent. The Origin Divine Temple is a perfect place to kill him."
When he first met Hai Ke in the Hundred Clans Royal City, Zhang Ruochen's Heart of Truth had sensed that he possessed Truth Esoterica. Thus, he had placed him on his kill list.
As for how Hai Ke, a Great Saint of the Hell Realm, had come by Truth Esoterica, Zhang Ruochen had some guesses. Most likely, he had killed a Heavenly Court cultivator who possessed it and seized it.
Zhang Ruochen accelerated his pursuit. Before long, he sensed familiar power fluctuations in the water.
"Splash."
In the vast ruins ahead, the water was extremely murky. Ripples of death energy, accompanied by deafening battle sounds, surged outward.
Though Hai Ke was of the Death Clan, his physical body was a divine corpse.
At this moment, his divine body had transformed to over a thousand zhang in height. He grabbed Shi Huang with one hand, suppressing him in his palm, and laughed, "A piece of Xuanhuang Stone that has cultivated to such a level—this is excellent material for refining a Supreme Sacred Artifact."
"Xuanhuang Sacred Spear!"
Shi Huang roared, and a spear covered in dragon scales flew out from within him, shooting straight toward Hai Ke's brow.
"Bang!"
Hai Ke paid it no heed. The Xuanhuang Sacred Spear struck his brow, but a layer of divine light automatically emerged on his skin, sending this Monarch Sacred Artifact flying away.
"Haha! My physical body is even stronger than Zhang Ruochen's demigod body. Do you think you can hurt me?"
Hai Ke stuffed Shi Huang into his mouth, swallowing him whole, intending to use the divine fire within his body to first refine and subdue his soul and will.