Chapter 2744: Life-Death Boundary Star
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged within the Seven Stars Imperial Palace, the nine layers of heavenly realms manifesting above his head while a chaotic sea of light churned beneath his feet. Countless sacred dao rules within his body surged toward the higher reaches of the nine heavens, constructing the walls, pillars, and ceilings of the heavenly palace, striving to condense a tenth layer of heaven.
"Boom!"
The tenth layer of heaven had only been one-third formed before it collapsed.
"Could it truly be that only nine layers of heaven exist?"
All fluctuations of power and divine phenomena withdrew back into Zhang Ruochen's body.
He opened his eyes, sinking into deep contemplation.
Zhang Ruochen had once heard Jie Zunzhe say that the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture* and the *Thirty-Three Heavens* were both external names for the *Bright Emperor Scripture*. Since the *Bright Emperor Scripture* was not bound to nine heavens, why could he not condense a tenth layer of heaven while still below the divine realm?
After multiple attempts, all had ended in failure.
"Swoosh!"
Zangjin Baihu manifested beside him, furless, its body like white jade divine flesh. "Since you cannot break through to become a god, you now have only two methods to make yourself stronger."
"Which two?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Zangjin Baihu said, "The first is to exchange dao with me."
"The more rule divine patterns you have within your body, the stronger you naturally become. Once your rule divine patterns reach a certain level, combined with your mastery of Sword Dao Essence, you could contend not only with false gods but even with weaker true gods."
Zhang Ruochen nodded, fully understanding the power of rule divine patterns.
That was the power of gods.
"Speaking of essence, I haven't asked you yet—in the Origin Divine Temple, how much Origin Essence did you take from me?" Zhang Ruochen inquired.
Zangjin Baihu was forthright. "In the Origin Divine Temple, you, Bai Qinger, and Ji Fanxin each obtained one-tenth of the Origin Essence. That is the limit a single living being's physical body can store."
"Even a God Venerable, under normal circumstances, can only grasp one-tenth of the Origin Essence. Only if a God Venerable establishes an Origin Divine Temple and gathers the essence within the temple can they control more."
"The function of a temple is to concentrate essence."
"In reality, cultivators below the divine realm can at most wield one percent of the Origin Essence. Beyond that, the essence will overflow and dissipate into the world."
"The reason they could achieve this is that they are Origin Controllers. Moreover, one has a special physique, and the other possesses a rare treasure capable of storing Origin Essence."
"You could do it because you have me."
"After giving you ninety-nine ten-thousandths, I still have nine hundred and one ten-thousandths of the Origin Essence."
Zhang Ruochen was greatly shocked. He had never imagined that he, Bai Qinger, and Ji Fanxin had each taken so much Origin Essence.
Did this mean the three of them all had the potential to become Origin Lords in the future?
One must understand that the quantity of essence was both "one" and infinite.
The share of essence was not ten thousand.
In truth, even one hundred-thousandth, one millionth, or even one billionth of the Origin Essence could grant a god extraordinary combat power.
More than half of all Origin Essence in the heavens and earth was gathered in the Origin Divine Temple.
Before the Origin Divine Temple emerged, only a tiny fraction of Origin Essence was scattered across the universe. Gods who cultivated the Way of Origin had to spend tens of thousands of years to gather one billionth or one ten-millionth of the Origin Essence. It was like collecting fine water vapor particles from the air.
Zhang Ruochen, Bai Qinger, and Ji Fanxin, on the other hand, had directly taken large amounts of water from the ocean.
The difficulty between the two could not be compared.
If news leaked that the three of them had taken three-tenths of the Origin Essence, even beings at the God Venerable level would make a move against them.
Zhang Ruochen said, "This journey to the Abyss of Darkness will be extremely dangerous. I must master one percent of the Origin Essence and become an Origin Envoy."
"Very well!"
Zangjin Baihu separated thirty-one ten-thousandths of the Origin Essence and sent it surging into Zhang Ruochen's body.
As expected, once the Origin Essence reached one percent, it underwent a qualitative change. Strands of essence converged toward the center of Zhang Ruochen's brow, forming a light point the size of a fingertip.
The light point shone brighter than a star.
Zhang Ruochen quickly sealed the Origin Essence, preventing its power and aura from bursting forth.
One must understand that once someone grasped one percent of the essence of a sacred dao and became an envoy, they transformed into something like the heart of heaven and earth, a child of fortune. Wherever they went, rules would madly converge toward them, inevitably causing celestial phenomena.
Imagine Zhang Ruochen traveling anywhere, with phenomena filling the sky, illuminating the starry realm, visible from millions of miles away.
How could he hide his tracks?
For now, he could only seal it away and use it only when facing a true great enemy.
Zhang Ruochen did not demand more Origin Essence from Zangjin Baihu, because he did not need it yet and could not control it anyway. At his current cultivation level, one percent and ten percent of the essence would allow him to unleash the same level of combat power.
Zangjin Baihu said, "With your status as an Origin Envoy, you will become extremely close to the Origin rules of heaven and earth. They will regard you as their envoy and lend you endless power."
"Of course, you have another method to increase your strength—cultivating Absolute Physical Body Dao Transformation."
"You must be prepared for both."
"If you cannot find Yinyue Tian's corpse in the Abyss of Darkness, you can use the vast rule divine patterns within your body and Absolute Physical Body Dao Transformation to forcefully assault the divine realm. The curse may not be able to suppress you."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes were deep and somber. He nodded. "Let's exchange dao first."
Currently, the sacred dao rules Zhang Ruochen had cultivated numbered nearly sixty trillion. If he split half of them, he could exchange with Zangjin Baihu for a large number of Zangjin rule divine patterns.
At that time, though not a god, he would wield power surpassing that of ordinary gods.
Because Zangjin Baihu was no ordinary god—its rule divine patterns far exceeded those of typical true gods.
...
After the dao exchange, Zhang Ruochen continued his cultivation.
At the same time, he was waiting for Gushe Huanhuan and Xue Tu.
To avoid detection, Zhang Ruochen and Xue Tu had left Sansheng Realm separately, agreeing to meet at Life-Death Boundary Star.
Gushe Huanhuan had gone to arrange the ferry.
What needed to be crossed was the Santu River.
The Santu River basin was the boundary between living beings and the dead in the Yellow Spring Star River of Hell Realm.
Beyond it lay the cosmic starry sky of the Rakshasa Clan, Undying Blood Clan, and Shura Clan, which, like the Heavenly Court Myriad Realms, still belonged to the territory of the living.
Crossing the Santu River meant entering the domain of the dead.
The Ghost Clan, Corpse Clan, Bone Clan, Death Clan, Underworld Clan, and Stone Clan.
Of course, the vast universe was boundless. Even the Yellow Spring Star River alone could not be crossed by mortal power. A river was naturally not an absolute dividing line.
In truth, the Santu River was eerie and terrifying, containing the most incomprehensible unsolved mysteries of the universe.
Because the tributaries of the Santu River could pierce through space, traces of it could be found in the Undying Blood Clan, Rakshasa Clan, Shura Clan, and even every realm of the Heavenly Court Myriad Realms.
In these tributaries floated the bones and corpses of dead beings from all realms, endlessly crossing space to rush into the Santu River basin. They were buried beneath the basin, forming countless yin grounds and dead stars.
This had been the case for billions of years.
Thus, the Ghost Clan, Corpse Clan, and Bone Clan could not reproduce, yet they could be born endlessly.
Because when they were alive, they were Undying Blood Clan, Rakshasa Clan, Shura Clan, humans, dragons, phoenixes, barbarian beasts, snakes, insects, fish, birds...
The Death Clan and Underworld Clan were born from the Ghost Clan, Corpse Clan, and Bone Clan, gaining the ability to reproduce.
It could be said that the greatest secret of the dead in all of Hell Realm was hidden within the Santu River. This river was the source of Hell Realm's birth, the origin of the dead.
Some sections of the river could not be crossed even by gods.
To reach the Abyss of Darkness, the fastest method was to go through Life-Death Boundary Star, cross the Santu River at the Seven Grievances Ferry, and pass through the space wormhole of Wuchang Ghost City.
Gushe Huanhuan returned and walked straight into the Seven Stars Imperial Palace.
"The ferry has been booked. We depart tomorrow," she said.
Zhang Ruochen stopped cultivating and smiled.
"What are you laughing at?"
"I'm laughing because I never imagined that one day, a figure at the Great God level would personally go to book a ferry for me. Truly, times have changed," Zhang Ruochen said.
Gushe Huanhuan said, "Don't call me Great God. I've only just broken through to the divine realm—I'm merely a Lower-Rank God. Only those who surpass Upper-Rank Gods can be called Great Gods. From now on, just call me Huanhuan."
The divine realm's levels: Lower-Rank God, Middle-Rank God, Upper-Rank God.
Only by reaching the Upper-Rank God level could a god have a chance to survive their first Eon Calamity.
But most gods, even after cultivating for 129,600 years, could not reach the Upper-Rank God level.
Those who surpassed the Upper-Rank God level were all overlords of the divine realm, worthy of being called "Great Gods" or "Divine Realm Titans."
Beyond that lay the level of kings and venerables.
Zhang Ruochen said, "We can't leave yet. We have to wait for someone."
"We must leave now."
Gushe Huanhuan's expression was grave. "When I went to book the ferry, I sensed some powerful auras descending upon Life-Death Boundary Star. After investigating carefully, I identified their identities."
"Why are you so tense?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Gushe Huanhuan said, "I'm not tense for myself—I'm tense for you. Because they all seem to be targeting you."
"Oh?"
Zhang Ruochen grew interested. "Who has come?"
"Wujiang of the Darkness Temple, Nine-Toothed Wolf God General and Army Sea God General of the Nether Hall, and Luo of the Earth Fiend Ghost City. As for whether there are other gods, I cannot say for certain," Gushe Huanhuan said.
Zhang Ruochen frowned. "We've been changing our appearances and concealing our auras the entire way. How did they track us here? Could it be that your movements were calculated by them?"
"What they calculated might not be me. You must understand that although you are incalculable, there are still many loopholes. As long as they collect blood you shed during battle or artifacts you've used, they can still deduce your general location," Gushe Huanhuan said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Middle Three Clans and Upper Three Clans have a massive presence on Life-Death Boundary Star. It seems we really can't stay here any longer. Let's wait one more day. If Xue Tu hasn't arrived... Huh..."
Just then, Zhang Ruochen sensed Xiao Hei's aura appearing on Life-Death Boundary Star.
There was a special connection between him and Xiao Hei.
"I need to go out for a bit. Never mind—it's already coming toward me. Let's wait for it," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei's appearance gave Zhang Ruochen another idea.
Rather than hiding from pursuers like Wujiang and the others, why not set a trap, lure them in, and strike first to cripple them? That way, they wouldn't keep following from behind.
...
Life-Death Boundary Star was the largest planet along the Santu River, a ninth-level life planet.
Ice King Star was only an eighth-level planet, yet it was already no smaller than a star, surpassing some major worlds.
A ninth-level planet was more than ten times larger than an eighth-level one.
Such a planet was more prosperous than ten powerful realms, countless times stronger than Zhang Ruochen's Ten Realms. Gods stood everywhere, and sacred realm cultivators were as numerous as fish in a river.
Upon arriving at Life-Death Boundary Star, Xiao Hei sensed Zhang Ruochen's aura and crossed countless mountains, rivers, and seas to reach Seven Grievances Sacred City.
At this moment, it was in human form, wearing a loose black robe and a black hood, standing outside a building as magnificent as a palace.
Outside the palace were countless beautiful women, each one a peerless beauty picked from ten thousand.
Beside it stood a sacred stele engraved with three words: "Divine Maiden Tower."
The Goddess Twelve Pavilions had one hundred and eighty towers spread across Hell Realm.
How could a ninth-level life planet like Life-Death Boundary Star lack one?
"Damn Zhang Ruochen, with fire at his eyebrows, he's still here patronizing Bai Yao's business."
Following the connection, Xiao Hei quickly found Zhang Ruochen in a courtyard of the Divine Maiden Tower.
"Zhang Ruochen, do you even understand what's urgent? Your greatest enemy has already come to Hell Realm. Run for your life!" Xiao Hei's first words were these.
Zhang Ruochen stared at the human-shaped Xiao Hei and its cold, aloof demeanor, stunned for a long time.
"What are you staring at? I'm talking to you! Your lifelong nemesis will soon descend upon Life-Death Boundary Star. If you don't flee now, it'll be too late! This emperor is taking a great risk to come warn you," Xiao Hei said with concern.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm. "Who are you talking about?"
"Empress Chi Yao."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the closed door and immediately released his Ten Thousand Ages Return to One Dao Domain. "What is she doing in Hell Realm?"
"Of course, to seize the Xingtian Cauldron and rescue the Xingtian Great God. This emperor advised her not to be impulsive, to set aside her hatred for now and work together against the Nether Hall. But she wouldn't listen! She simply wouldn't listen! This emperor has done his best. Her hatred for you is no ordinary depth."
Xiao Hei's voice was cold and deep, pulling its black hood lower, afraid that Zhang Ruochen approaching might see its face.
Zhang Ruochen sighed. "How could the grudges and love-hate between her and me be resolved by you?"
"Who says we're best friends? This emperor is definitely on your side. I said all the good things about you in front of her. But Empress Chi Yao—you know her better than I do. She's stubborn, arrogant, and utterly emotionless. How can you reason with someone like that?" Xiao Hei said helplessly.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Xiao Hei, how did you cultivate a human form? Take off your hood and let me see what you look like."
Xiao Hei quickly retreated, divine power erupting from its body. "Don't come near! This emperor is now a god with a proper name. If you call me Xiao Hei again, I won't be polite!"
"Back, back off, stay far away. This emperor's true face is not something a mere sacred realm cultivator like you can casually look at."
Zhang Ruochen was unbothered. "It's just a glance. Why are you so nervous? It's not like you're a peerless beauty."