Chapter 2685: The Camp Master of the Blood Emperor Divine Demon Camp
The Wuding Divine Sea was far too vast. Even with a sub-divine-level warship, crossing it could not be accomplished in a short time.
On the ship, Chi Kongle stood tall and aloof, her expression stern, with faint traces of blood mist swirling in her pupils. She gave off an air of detachment, her aura cold as frost.
Xia Yu told Zhang Ruochen that Chi Kongle had become this way due to the influence of Xiu Chen Heavenly God's divine soul.
Back then, Chi Kongle was too weak and was possessed by Xiu Chen Heavenly God. Although she was rescued, a large amount of Xiu Chen Heavenly God's divine soul had fused with Chi Kongle's sacred soul.
How powerful was Xiu Chen Heavenly God? Even a mere wisp of divine soul was stronger than a false god like a Divine Martial Envoy.
More critically, Xiu Chen Heavenly God was a deity of the Shura Clan. The Shura Clan took slaughter as their faith, cultivating battle intent and battle qi, always walking extreme paths. The killing intent and battle will left behind in Xiu Chen Heavenly God's divine soul naturally had a severe impact on Chi Kongle.
After being rescued, Chi Kongle was sent to the Ancestor Pool of the Blood Absolute Family to recuperate. She slept for many years, and with the help of true gods to refine Xiu Chen Heavenly God's will, she finally awakened. The influence of Xiu Chen Heavenly God's will on her had been minimized, yet she still ended up like this. She was less a human and more a cultivator of the Shura Clan—possessing a powerful divine soul but losing her true nature.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was deep and somber. "Is there no way to resolve this?"
"If there were, Master would have done it long ago. You must understand, in the years you were missing, everyone thought you had fallen. Master transferred all the love she had for you onto Kongle."
At this point, Xia Yu finally voiced the doubt in her heart. "Where have you been all these years? Why couldn't even the Destiny Temple calculate whether you were alive or dead?"
A stiff smile appeared on Zhang Ruochen's troubled face. "Why talk about me? What about you? Didn't you go to cultivate at the Undying Divine Temple? How did you end up becoming a disciple of Mother?"
Xia Yu's beautiful eyes gazed ahead, and she said lightly, "At the Undying Divine Temple, I killed Dao Huangyu. Master stepped in, accepted me as a disciple, and fought to save my life. So I was only imprisoned in the Blood Prison for a hundred years before being released. A very light punishment, you could say."
Zhang Ruochen was momentarily stunned. "Why did you kill Dao Huangyu?"
"He betrayed you, so he deserved to die." Xia Yu gritted her snow-white teeth, her voice cold and firm.
Zhang Ruochen said, "But at that time, everyone in the world thought I was dead. Why did you still have to do it?"
"Dao Huangyu was a true god seed of the Qitian Tribe and a divine son. You—a woman with no background, no backing—killing him could have cost you your life. What were you thinking?"
Xia Yu's bright eyes glared at him angrily. "Why do you have so many questions? I killed him because I wanted to. No reason. I just couldn't stand him."
"Yu Auntie likes you," came Chi Kongle's voice from behind.
Zhang Ruochen and Xia Yu turned to look at her, their expressions different.
Xia Yu was somewhat annoyed, but there was a hint of shyness and awkwardness hidden in her eyes. Her jade-like hands didn't know where to place, so she finally put them behind her back, putting on a tough front.
Zhang Ruochen, however, showed a delighted expression, a smile on his face.
Earlier, when Chi Kongle had taken the initiative to hug him, Zhang Ruochen knew she hadn't lost all her true nature. There was still emotion in her heart; she wasn't just a cold-blooded Shura who only knew how to kill.
Now, for her to say such a thing clearly showed she understood everything. She just watched coldly from the sidelines, rarely speaking.
It seemed things weren't as bad as he had imagined.
Chi Kongle continued, "When Yu Auntie killed Dao Huangyu, Father had been missing for a hundred years. All cultivators thought Father had perished in the Origin Divine Temple, and Dao Huangyu thought so too. So, at the Undying Divine Temple, he said some very disrespectful things about Father, angering Yu Auntie, and that's why he died at her hands."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Xia Yu, able to imagine the scene. The "very disrespectful things" Chi Kongle mentioned were probably quite harsh, or else Yu Huang wouldn't have gone to any lengths to kill him.
This moved Zhang Ruochen deeply. When he was alive, it was normal for people to do things for him. But when he was thought dead, for someone to kill in defense of his honor was truly rare and precious.
Xia Yu looked at Chi Kongle, somewhat surprised. In all the time she had known Chi Kongle, this was the first time she had spoken so much. Clearly, it was because of Zhang Ruochen—because her father, after a thousand years, had returned to life, filling her with joy. Because her father held such weight in her heart.
Xia Yu turned to Zhang Ruochen, rolled her eyes, and said lightly, "Don't listen to her nonsense. I was just repaying your kindness. Every cultivator in the Hell Realm knows you were good to me and took care of me. If Dao Huangyu insulted you and I heard it but did nothing, wouldn't the cultivators of the Undying Blood Clan think I was ungrateful?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "That makes sense."
Xia Yu gritted her teeth secretly, not knowing how to continue, so she fell silent.
The journey to Guixu wasn't entirely by sub-divine-level warship. They also passed through space wormholes, crossing hundreds of billions of miles.
Finally, on the fourth day, they arrived at the sea region near Guixu.
As soon as they approached this area, Zhang Ruochen sensed a dramatic change in the heaven and earth rules. The sky was red as fire, and the seawater was blood-red.
Some islands on the sea had bizarre shapes, as if they were the remains of ancient giant beasts mixed with mud and stone.
In midair, rivers could be seen flowing past from time to time. Or there would be a hole in space that couldn't heal, from which black liquid poured out, forming a ten-thousand-zhang suspended waterfall.
"As expected of a ninth-level forbidden zone, famous throughout the world. This place is extraordinary," Zhang Ruochen said.
According to the star map, Guixu was the only ninth-level forbidden zone in the Wuding Divine Sea. In the entire universe, it was an extremely dangerous place. Even true gods who ventured deep into it faced a near-certain death.
Xia Yu said, "Only in such a forbidden zone, where the heaven and earth rules are chaotic, can the gods of the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm safely hold the Ten Realms Battle. Neither side will act rashly. Of course, the battlefield of the Ten Realms Battle isn't inside Guixu itself, just on the marginal sea."
Affected by the heaven and earth rules, the sub-divine-level warship slowed down more and more.
Ahead, on both the left and right, specks of light emitting sacred radiance flew toward them rapidly.
As they drew closer, they saw that they were groups of Great Saints from the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm. They all wore uniform sacred armor, numbering over a hundred, their auras interconnected, able to merge into one.
On the right side, the Great Saints from the Yuan Realm of the Heavenly Court used their spiritual power to scan the sub-divine-level warship before quickly retreating.
The great war between the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm could break out at any moment. Both sides were naturally cautious; any sign of trouble would put them on alert.
On the left side, the Great Saints wore blood-colored armor, each with blood wings on their backs, holding blood-red crystal-like spears. They were like demon gods from the nine heavens.
"Are these the Great Saints of the Blood Emperor Divine Demon Camp?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xia Yu nodded.
Zhang Ruochen said, "As a deputy camp master, shouldn't they come to pay their respects? Why are they intercepting us?"
Xia Yu rolled her eyes. "They are subordinates of Qi Linzi, all very proud. They don't take me, a deputy camp master, seriously at all. The Blood Emperor Divine Demon Camp has as many as ten deputy camp masters."
Zhang Ruochen wasn't interested in this Qi Linzi. "Then ignore them. Let's just break through."
Xia Yu nodded and reactivated the sub-divine-level warship.
Just then, three streaks of blood light flew toward them rapidly, stepping on blood clouds, and hovered in front of the warship, blocking their way. The Great Saint auras erupting from the three blood clouds were all extremely powerful. With each breath they took, the sea below shook violently.
"Greetings, Camp Master."
"Greetings, Deputy Camp Master Qing Xunyun."
"Greetings, Deputy Camp Master Huo Xi."
The Great Saints of the Blood Emperor Divine Demon Camp bowed to the three arriving big shots of the Undying Blood Clan.
Qi Linzi was the camp master of the Blood Emperor Divine Demon Camp. He had twelve blood wings on his back, stood over three zhang tall, and had a thick blood aura. He said angrily, "Xia Yu, the war between the Rakshasa Star Pillar Realm and the Ancient Civilization Faction could break out at any moment. Why have you abandoned the sacred army under your command and come to the Wuding Divine Sea? Is my military order completely useless to you?"
Zhang Ruochen could see that this Qi Linzi was no ordinary figure. His cultivation far surpassed Xia Yu and the Three Angel Kings. The sacred dao rules he had cultivated within his body reached twenty-nine trillion—enough to be called a quasi-Eon-level representative.
Although the difference in sacred dao rules was only two or three trillion, those who could cultivate sacred dao rules to nearly thirty trillion were all extraordinary. They had the potential to become Eon-level representatives and could fight on par with them.
The gap in combat power between a half-god peak and a quasi-Eon-level representative was so vast that even if Xia Yu wielded a supreme sacred artifact, she couldn't defeat Qi Linzi.
Xia Yu showed no fear of Qi Linzi. "Camp Master, there's no need to use military orders to pressure me. Before the war breaks out, I will surely return."
Qi Linzi's voice grew colder. "You defy military orders and still act so arrogantly. Do you think I don't know why you've come to the Wuding Divine Sea? You think Zhang Ruochen is still alive, don't you? You want to find him. You've been searching for over a year—have you found anything? It's all just rumors from the Heavenly Court, and you believed them! As a deputy camp master, do you even understand your responsibilities?"
"I will return before the war breaks out. No need for the camp master to worry," Xia Yu reiterated.
The news that Shu Qianchi was Zhang Ruochen had spread from the cultivators of the Paradise Realm. Some believed it, but more were skeptical. Compared to the sacred realm cultivators of the Paradise Realm, everyone was more inclined to trust the calculations of the Destiny Temple.
If Zhang Ruochen hadn't truly died, why would the gods of the Blood Absolute Family have caused such a commotion back then?
Many forces believed this was just an excuse from the Paradise Realm cultivators to cover up their failure.
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