Chapter 2742: Not Necessarily Dead, But Certainly Dead
Zhang Ruochen was sent flying more than three hundred miles away, the sword qi surrounding his body completely shattered.
The Flame God Armor and his fourteen golden wings manifested, his physical body numb for a long moment before he finally recovered.
“He... blocked it?”
Guye Jing looked at her own palm.
Although the power contained in that strike was less than a tenth of her peak combat strength, it should have been enough to blast apart the divine body of a lesser false god.
According to her calculations, even if Zhang Ruochen’s body didn’t explode, he would at least be severely injured.
After all, Guye Jing hadn’t intended to actually kill Zhang Ruochen. She only wanted to make him suffer a bit, vent her anger, and had carefully controlled her strength.
Now, Zhang Ruochen didn’t even seem lightly injured.
“It’s the esoterica. His understanding of Sword Dao Esoterica has deepened! Once this guy becomes a god, he will surely be able to quickly master and apply esoterica, becoming a strong figure in the divine realm.”
Guye Jing felt a twinge of envy and jealousy.
She had already broken through to become a god, with a powerful divine soul. But because she had become a god only recently, her understanding of the mysteries of esoterica was still shallow. She couldn’t yet use esoterica to mobilize homologous rules and convert them into combat power like Zhang Ruochen.
She couldn’t let him off so easily.
Guye Jing began forming hand seals again...
“The Celestial Pavilion Master of Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm, a peerless deity, doesn’t keep her word?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Guye Jing glanced at Yan Zhexian, who was flying toward them, and dispersed the divine qi in her palm. With an air of pride, she said, “I, a god, naturally keep my word. Actually, you don’t need to see the Heavenly Mother anymore. She has already told me about the curse.”
“If you want to know how to break the curse, you must agree to one condition.”
Before coming, Zhang Ruochen had already thought it through clearly.
If he truly needed to form a marriage alliance with Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm to obtain the method to remove the curse, he wouldn’t resist it. At most, it would add another karmic tie to his burden.
But it would also gain him the support of Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm.
Rescuing Chi Xingtian in the future would also be much easier.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, “I don’t have a choice! Whatever condition Guye the Great God needs me to agree to, just say it.”
“Let Huanhuan tell you.”
Guye Jing closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, a smile filled with charm appeared in those captivating eyes.
The contrast was stark.
Sometimes, Zhang Ruochen wondered whether Guye Jing truly had two souls in one body, or if she was deliberately putting on the act of a cold-faced Rakshasa? Or perhaps deliberately pretending to be charming and adorable?
Watching Guye Jing smile warmly, speaking softly to Zhang Ruochen as if they were lovers meeting, Yan Zhexian, who had caught up, became even more confused. She couldn’t help but wonder if what she had seen earlier was all an illusion.
In the distance, Chi Yao and the man in the black robe felt the same way.
The man in the black robe said meaningfully, “Are all you women like this, with two different personalities?”
“Do you choose which personality to use based entirely on your mood at the time?”
Chi Yao neither confirmed nor denied it, remaining calm and composed. “Getting entangled in a web of women is bound to prevent one from achieving great things. Don’t bother with Zhang Ruochen anymore. The heavy responsibility of rescuing Chi Xingtian can only fall on us.”
The man in the black robe said, “But as you can see, the surrounding starry sky is wrapped in divine patterns inscribed by successive generations of gods from Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm. Among them are even a large number of God Venerable-level patterns, even Heavenly-level patterns. Being able to reach this point is already our limit. There’s no way we can infiltrate Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm.”
“How about contacting Zhang Ruochen first? After all, he and Guye Jing seem very close and intimate. Maybe we can use his charm...”
“No need.”
Chi Yao interrupted the man in the black robe. “The news was sent back to Kunlun Realm by Zhang Ruochen, so it should be reliable. Since we can’t infiltrate Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm, let’s go seize the Xingtian Cauldron first.”
“Excellent! The time for me, the Emperor, to show my skills has come! The gods of the Nether Hall will surely tremble in fear beneath my feet.” The man in the black robe was full of momentum, spreading his arms as if unfolding a pair of wings, thinking this posture made him more imposing.
Chi Yao said, “You go first. Wait for me at the Life-and-Death Realm Star.”
The man in the black robe kept his arms spread, making a flying gesture, and asked, “Why?”
“I have another secret matter to attend to,” Chi Yao said.
“Alright!”
The man in the black robe merged into the darkness and left first.
...
“You want me to accompany you to the Abyss of Darkness?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Guye Huanhuan said, “That’s only the first thing! There’s a second thing: your marriage alliance with Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm must be carried out.”
“Wasn’t it just one thing?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Guye Huanhuan’s eyes narrowed like crescent moons. “My sister had one thing, and I have one thing. Together, that makes two things!”
She held up two fingers and gestured at Zhang Ruochen.
Taking one cut was a cut; taking two cuts was also a cut.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “What are you going to the Abyss of Darkness for?”
“You don’t need to worry about that! Just agree first, and once you do, I’ll tell you the method to break the curse,” Guye Huanhuan said.
Too strange.
According to Yan Wushen, entering the Abyss of Darkness as a god was far more dangerous than as a Saint-realm cultivator.
Guye Jing had only broken through to the divine realm three years ago. She should be spending a lot of time condensing divine qi, consolidating her divine source, tempering her divine soul, comprehending esoterica, and cultivating her divine realm world.
For a new god, it would take at least a thousand years to complete all this.
Why would Guye Jing risk going to the Abyss of Darkness?
If she wanted to go, why not go when she was still in the Saint realm? Or after her divine source was fully stabilized?
And there was another point.
Wasn’t this too coincidental?
Yan Wushen had invited him to the Abyss of Darkness, and Guye Jing happened to want to go there too.
He couldn’t figure it out.
But these two things weren’t difficult to do, so Zhang Ruochen agreed to both.
Guye Huanhuan said, “The Severing Dao Curse on you was cast by Yinshuetian and then reactivated by the Nether Hall. Whether it’s a Heavenly-level figure or the Nether Hall, both are supreme and unparalleled existences.”
“In the entire world today, no cultivator can remove your curse.”
“I’m not exaggerating! You have to understand that the only Heaven-Sealing figure left in the entire universe is Hao Tian, the Lord of the Heavenly Palace. Whether his cultivation surpasses that of Yinshuetian from back then is still unknown.”
“Even if his cultivation is above Yinshuetian’s, how much does he know about curses? Can he compare to Yinshuetian?”
“Although Yinshuetian is dead, the Nether Hall remains incredibly powerful, gathering the strength of the entire Underworld Clan. How strong is this force? Even with my current divine realm cultivation, I can’t imagine it. Perhaps only when a Heavenly-level figure attacks the Nether Hall would its true power be unleashed.”
“At the very least, you should know that even in the past, when the Twenty Heavens of the Heavenly Court stood side by side, the Nether Hall, without a Heavenly-level figure, could still protect itself.”
“Now, the Nether Hall is far stronger than before, naturally even more terrifying.”
“Of course, over the past three hundred thousand years, there may have been some peerless experts in both the Heavenly Court and Hell who reached the level of Hao Tian or Yinshuetian. But I don’t think they could be stronger than Hao Tian or Yinshuetian.”
“Hao Tian, the number one under heaven! This is acknowledged by all the gods of Hell.”
“In short, no cultivator can remove your curse.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “So, according to you, the only way I can break through to become a god is by joining the Nether Hall?”
“That’s actually a clear path. I hadn’t thought of it,” Guye Huanhuan said with a laugh.
Zhang Ruochen certainly wouldn’t join the Nether Hall. “Go on! I believe the Heavenly Mother must have a way to break the curse.”
“The Heavenly Mother has no way. No cultivator in the world has a way. But the one who tied the knot must untie it. If you can find Yinshuetian, who cast the curse, then the curse on you, including the curse on your Zhang family for generations, might all be removed,” Guye Huanhuan said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “But Yinshuetian fell several eons ago. What’s the difference between what you’re saying and saying nothing?”
“Find her corpse. That is the source of the curse!” Guye Huanhuan said.
“Right! Instead of fighting the eternal Nether Hall, it’s better to destroy the source of the curse.”
Zhang Ruochen’s mind suddenly cleared.
Next, he would have to thoroughly investigate where Yinshuetian was buried.
Guye Huanhuan said, “Actually, Yinshuetian may not necessarily be dead, but she certainly is dead.”
“What do you mean by ‘not necessarily’ and ‘certainly’?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“Because in her later years, Yinshuetian went to the Abyss of Darkness and never returned. Everyone thinks she entered the Abyss of Darkness seeking an opportunity because she knew she couldn’t survive the Eon Calamity.”
“If she had truly found that opportunity, she would have returned from the Abyss of Darkness long ago.”
“Now, hundreds of thousands of years have passed. How could she still be alive? Extending one’s life for a single eon is already the limit.”
“Without seeing the remains of a Heavenly-level figure, no one dares to say they are truly dead. Just like the Sixth Patriarch, who had already passed away, yet some gods later saw him.”
“But based on lifespan calculations, she should have died hundreds of thousands of years ago.”
“Not necessarily dead, but certainly dead.”
“So Yinshuetian went to the Abyss of Darkness in her later years. What exactly is this Abyss of Darkness? How many Heavenly-level figures have been buried there throughout the ages?” Zhang Ruochen murmured to himself.
It seemed he had no choice but to go to the Abyss of Darkness.
Zhang Ruochen said, “What if I can’t find Yinshuetian’s corpse?”
“Then there’s no other way. You’ll have to join the Nether Hall. Whether the Nether Hall will accept you, though, is another question! Come on, let’s go.”
Guye Huanhuan glanced back at Yan Zhexian, a sly glint flashing in her eyes. She wrapped Zhang Ruochen in divine qi, stepped out with a Divine Spirit Step, and sped away.
“Wait, I need to go to Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm. I have important matters to discuss with Lingxi,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Last time, his mind had been thrown into chaos by the great secret Chi Xingtian had revealed, and he had been in a hurry to escape. He had forgotten to give the God’s Star Soul of the Hunted God to Mu Lingxi. This time, he planned to give it to her to help her cultivate her divine soul.
“Don’t think about Lingxi or Zhexian anymore. Now, you only have Huanhuan by your side.”
Using the Divine Spirit Step, Guye Huanhuan moved with effortless grace, her long skirt fluttering. Her pace was several times faster than Zhang Ruochen’s.
...
In the distant starry sky, a pair of eyes as large as a sun peered toward the direction of Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm.
Then, a deep, somber voice sounded, “Go to the Nether Hall and report to Wentong the Great God. Zhang Ruochen’s trail has been found. He secretly left Sansheng Realm long ago and, together with Guye Jing, has just departed from Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm, heading deep into the Yellow Spring Star River.”