Chapter 2659: Yan Wushen's Condition
Zhang Ruochen certainly would not tell Yan Wushen where he had been for the past thousand years, especially since three other cultivators were present.
Zhang Ruochen sat down on the chair opposite Chi Kunlun and said, "Aren't you going to introduce me to the identities of these three?"
Yan Wushen pointed to the middle-aged man around forty years old, who wore a golden divine robe, and said, "This is a royal clan member of the Julu Divine Dynasty, Xu Sheng. By seniority, his generation is even higher than the Julu Divine Lord, making him the only Imperial Uncle of the Julu Divine Dynasty."
Zhang Ruochen politely responded, "So you are Imperial Uncle Xu."
In the presence of legendary figures like Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen, although Xu Sheng's status was extremely noble, he dared not show any arrogance. He cupped his hands and said with a smile, "If Chen Great Saint is a peerless strongman who laughs proudly through heaven and earth, just call me Xu Sheng."
Yan Wushen gave a signal, and Xu Sheng continued to introduce the other two cultivators. He pointed to the peerless beauty wearing a veil and said, "This is the Divine Lord's consort, Yan Shenfei."
She was actually the consort of the Julu Divine Lord, which greatly surprised Zhang Ruochen, prompting him to take a serious look.
"Greetings to If Chen Great Saint," Yan Shenfei said, her voice extremely melodious, and she appeared very young.
Xu Sheng pointed to the young man carrying a three-section long spear on his back and said, "Yan Xiaoli, the consort's elder brother."
Yan Xiaoli cupped his hands and said, "A thousand years ago, If Chen Great Saint was already unmatched in heroic bearing. I wonder how much the Great Saint's battle prowess has increased over the past millennium? Would the Great Saint grant me two moves of instruction?"
Without waiting for Zhang Ruochen's agreement, Yan Xiaoli had already released his Dao Domain, pulling Zhang Ruochen inside.
Within the Dao Domain, the ground took on a black metallic form, covered with thousands of meters tall mysterious iron peaks. The entire world was dim and gloomy, and the air seemed solid.
Xu Sheng, Yan Wushen, and Yan Shenfei made no move to stop him, watching quietly.
Zhang Ruochen understood that this was something they had prearranged, intending to test Zhang Ruochen's cultivation level.
Yan Xiaoli had already condensed a Supreme Dharma Body, with profound cultivation, and could be called a Demigod.
Knowing that his opponent was no ordinary cultivator, Yan Xiaoli immediately unleashed his trump card technique, a Supreme-level Sacred Art spear technique, drawing upon the Sacred Dao rules within the Dao Domain.
With a single thrust of the spear, all the metal peaks in the Dao Domain merged into the spear body.
The spear had become heavier than a star, weighing countless billions of jin.
Zhang Ruochen remained seated on the chair, lightly pointing out two fingers.
A blindingly brilliant sword wave surged from his fingertips, colliding with the spear tip.
Space trembled, producing dense ripples.
"Boom!"
Yan Xiaoli's Dao Domain shattered, and his body was sent flying backward.
Xu Sheng showed a horrified expression. There were still some cultivators below the Divine Realm who could block Yan Xiaoli's spear strike, but those who could remain seated and break it with a finger sword were extremely rare.
He immediately released his own Dao Domain, enveloping Yan Xiaoli's shattered Dao Domain while also dissipating the residual force of Zhang Ruochen's finger strike.
Xu Sheng stood up again, exclaiming in admiration, "Yan Xiaoli is a top-tier strongman of the Julu Divine Dynasty, looking down upon all heroes. Yet, encountering If Chen Great Saint, he is like a mere child, defeated with a single finger. Admirable! Admirable!"
Yan Shenfei personally poured wine for Zhang Ruochen, her voice soft and beautiful, "I beg If Chen Great Saint not to hold a grudge against my elder brother. He was merely drawn by the Great Saint's renowned might and wished to challenge you. Unfortunately, he was too reckless."
"Consort, please do not be so courteous. With your status, I dare not drink this cup of wine you offer." Zhang Ruochen sat upright, pushing the wine cup back.
The atmosphere grew somewhat awkward.
Yan Wushen laughed heartily, "Indeed, having Yan Xiaoli make a move was my idea. I wanted to see if Brother Zhang had reached the Divine Realm."
"What if I had already reached the Divine Realm?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Yan Wushen replied, "That would be immense pressure for me. However, Brother Zhang seems to have encountered great trouble over the past thousand years, and your cultivation has not yet reached the Supreme Realm, has it?"
"I did encounter some trouble, but it has all been resolved."
Zhang Ruochen undoubtedly admitted that he had not yet reached the Supreme Realm.
The three from the Julu Divine Dynasty were shocked beyond measure.
They were not inexperienced cultivators, yet they still found it hard to imagine that a Great Saint at the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm could be so powerful. If Zhang Ruochen broke through to the Supreme Realm, how terrifyingly strong would he become?
Yan Wushen showed a delighted expression, "Not yet at the Supreme Realm, yet your battle prowess has reached such a level. It seems you have succeeded."
What Yan Wushen referred to was naturally the Yin-Yang Five Elements Sacred Intent.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Xu Sheng, Yan Shenfei, and Yan Xiaoli, unwilling to discuss this topic, and said, "I am very curious. How can a cultivator from the Hell Realm be so close to cultivators of the Julu Divine Dynasty?"
Yan Wushen said, "Even a cultivator from the Hell Realm cannot have one or two trustworthy friends in the Heavenly Court, can they? Just like you, Zhang Ruochen, a cultivator of the Hell Realm, still have friends in the Heavenly Court to whom you can entrust your life, right?"
"I have them because I was once a cultivator of the Heavenly Court," Zhang Ruochen said.
Yan Wushen said, "As a cultivator of the Heavenly Court, you also have life-and-death friends in the Hell Realm, don't you? To be honest, Xu Sheng and I are life-and-death friends. I can fully trust him."
Xu Sheng nodded, "Brother Yan is my closest friend. Today's matter, the three of us will never reveal a single word to outsiders."
Zhang Ruochen believed that Xu Sheng and the other two could keep the secret, because Yan Wushen would never leave such a huge loophole for himself.
However, Zhang Ruochen simply did not believe that Xu Sheng and Yan Wushen were life-and-death friends.
Even if they were, why would Yan Wushen dare to bring Yan Shenfei and Yan Xiaoli to such an important occasion?
Clearly, tonight's gathering was not only for Yan Wushen to meet Zhang Ruochen but also to meet Yan Shenfei and Yan Xiaoli. The relationship between Yan Shenfei, Yan Xiaoli, and the Yama Clan, or Yan Wushen himself, must be extraordinary.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen did not voluntarily reveal where he had been for the past thousand years, Yan Wushen did not press further. Instead, he asked, "Brother Zhang invited me to the Heavenly Court. Is it merely to see me?"
Zhang Ruochen got straight to the point, "I have a favor to ask. I need Brother Wushen's assistance."
"Borrowing a knife to kill?" Yan Wushen narrowed his eyes, clearly already aware of the current situation in the Heavenly Court.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Something like that."
"Brother Zhang, have you forgotten that we are enemies? Besides, how can you be so straightforward about borrowing a knife to kill? Do you think I look like a knife?" Yan Wushen said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I have changed my mind now. I no longer want to use you as a knife."
"Is it because the Kunlun Realm now has allies like the Five Elements Temple, the Western Buddha Realm, and the Truth Divine Temple, or because my current physical body is Chi Kunlun? You don't want him to take risks?" Yan Wushen directly pointed out and asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Both."
Yan Wushen suddenly laughed, picked up his wine cup, and said, "Let's drink first."
Zhang Ruochen raised his cup.
They drank together.
Yan Wushen said, "Brother Zhang, you are going back to the Hell Realm, right?"
"You see very accurately," Zhang Ruochen said.
Yan Wushen said, "If you weren't going back to the Hell Realm, you wouldn't need to hide your identity. You would probably already be fighting against the strongmen of the Heavenly Court, stirring up boundless storms, instead of being so silent and needing to borrow me as a knife."
Even if Zhang Ruochen exposed his identity, he would not die. Tai Shang would surely protect his life, but he would never be able to return to the Hell Realm, nor would he have any chance to rescue the Ming Emperor.
Yan Wushen said, "Actually, I am very eager to test the skills of the various experts of the Heavenly Court. If Brother Zhang is willing to promise to help me in the future, I wouldn't mind being a sharp knife."
Zhang Ruochen did not doubt that Yan Wushen was a sharp knife, because he had already reached the Supreme Realm.
It must be known that a figure like Yan Wushen, once he reached the Supreme Realm, even if only at the initial stage of the Supreme Realm, would likely have no opponent below the Divine Realm. Even Que, standing at the peak, might not be able to defeat him.
With such a figure, even a false body could unleash unparalleled battle prowess.
Moreover, the Yan Wushen before him was not a false body; one of his souls had come.
Yan Wushen untied his black robe, revealing his chest.
On his chest were densely packed ancient secret patterns. At the center of the patterns was a bead emitting divine light, containing a terrifying power that made one's heart tremble.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes suddenly narrowed, "A Divine Source Bead."
"Exactly, a Divine Source Bead. Using a secret technique, I can mobilize the power of the Divine Source Bead. Even if I cannot unleash one hundred percent of my true body's battle prowess, I can still achieve fifty to sixty percent. How about it? Is this knife sharp enough?" Yan Wushen said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "This is Kunlun's decision, right? He wants to fight for the Kunlun Realm?"
"But he is not the knife you want," Yan Wushen's eyes were always full of confidence.
A Divine Source Bead was refined from a Divine Source, a battle treasure used by Supreme Realm Great Saints to fight against False Gods, and its value surpassed even the Divine Source itself.
Chi Kunlun's current body's cultivation had clearly not yet reached the Supreme Realm. Therefore, even with a Divine Source Bead, he could not contend with a False God. A treasure like the Divine Source Bead was something used by peerless gods to break the balance of the mortal world. It was difficult to refine and extremely rare.
More importantly, the Divine Source Bead was a consumable. Once the divine power inside was exhausted, the bead would be destroyed.
Refining a Divine Source Bead was far less worthwhile than using a Divine Source to cultivate a False God.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What do you want me to help you with?"
"I want you to go with me to the Abyss of Darkness. This matter also carries great danger," Yan Wushen said straightforwardly, without any concealment.
Zhang Ruochen fell into deep thought.
Yan Wushen continued, "If Brother Zhang agrees to this, when you return to the Hell Realm, the Dark Abyss Yan Clan will do everything to help you. If you want to go to the Destiny Temple to rescue someone, we can also contribute."
Yan Shenfei said, "If Chen Great Saint must not think that the Heavenly Realm Faction is easy to deal with. In reality, even if the Heavenly Dragon Realm Faction, the Truth Divine Temple Faction, and the Thousand Star Civilization Faction are combined, there is still a gap in strength compared to the Heavenly Realm Faction. The power formed by the Ruling World and hundreds of powerful realms is the most formidable force in the entire universe."
"Moreover, the Heavenly Realm Faction has not been idle. Just now, If Chen Great Saint saw that Shang Zihong was hosting a banquet for his allies. Do you know who he was hosting?"
Zhang Ruochen did not expect Yan Shenfei to speak up and help Yan Wushen persuade him, which made him even more curious.
Yan Shenfei continued, "Over the past thousand years, the Ruling World of the Southern Universe, the Demon God Realm, activated the ancestral blood of the Demon Ancestor and cultivated ten great powerhouses. The two you saw outside earlier, the Nine-Tailed Heart Fox and the Primordial Copper Lion, are among those ten great powerhouses."