Chapter 2760: True Strong Ones
A moment later, the White Paper Thousand Crane Boat sailed closer and slowly came to a halt.
A three-thousand-zhang-tall multicolored divine bone stood at the bow, its radiance illuminating ten thousand miles, its aura sacred. Strands of Buddhist energy hung like rainbows above the water surface.
Each strand of energy was as heavy as a mountain.
The heavens and earth were filled with the lingering sound of Buddhist chants, accompanied by singing and the music of zithers.
Ten thousand miles away, Kong Zhi and three false gods, whose flesh had been torn bloody by Devouring Spirit Insects, rushed over from another direction. From afar, they gazed toward the White Paper Thousand Crane Boat.
"It's the White Paper Thousand Crane Boat of White Queen from the Goddess Twelve Pavilions," Kong Zhi said with a grave expression.
Legend had it that White Queen possessed a beauty that could captivate all beings and a face that could steal souls. Even the state of mind of a true Buddha could not resist her.
The Buddhist bone known as the "Multicolored Glass Lantern" was left behind by a true Buddha who had been seduced by her beauty, lost his mental focus, and had his Buddhist heart shattered.
This was a titan-level existence in the universe, controlling a massive dark force. How could they, a few false gods, not be terrified?
"Could it be that White Queen is also interested in the treasures Zhang Ruochen carries and wants to compete with the Nether Hall for them?" one false god said in a deep voice.
"Who wouldn't want to seize the various secret treasures Zhang Ruochen possesses?"
"Is the Blood Absolute War God someone to be trifled with? Can White Queen afford to provoke him?"
Kong Zhi's expression shifted continuously. "The situation is somewhat strange. Don't approach for now."
The other three false gods agreed, nodding one after another. They activated their concealment techniques and retreated deeper into the waters.
...
Xiao Xiao, dressed in red as bright as a peony, stood at the bow of the paper boat beneath the multicolored divine bone. She spoke clearly, "Great God Wentong, my master asks: you are all gods of the Hell Realm, so why are you fighting so fiercely on the Santu River? What is the matter?"
Great God Wentong hovered a hundred zhang above the water surface, standing on Death Divine Cloud, and said coldly, "A mere false god is not qualified to speak with me."
He raised his voice, "White Queen, why have you come here? Speak plainly."
Xiao Xiao showed no anger at all, smiling without a word.
From within the paper boat, a heavenly voice sounded, "If Great God Wentong can come here, why can't I, a humble wife?"
The voice was very young, carrying a seductive force.
Just hearing the sound could numb a man's bones, as if he were in a blissful illusion, surrounded by beautiful women with fragrant sleeves and flowing hair, as if ascending to ultimate joy.
Wen Chu transmitted a message to Zhang Ruochen, Bore, Gu She Huanhuan, and Xiao Hei, saying, "White Queen's arrival is our only chance to escape. Once they start fighting, we'll break through separately."
Great God Wentong clearly did not take White Queen seriously. "It seems you deliberately want to ruin my good deed. You have quite the nerve, daring to oppose the Nether Hall."
"How would I dare oppose the Nether Hall?"
From the paper boat came a soft, charming laugh. "I simply want to oppose you."
Great God Wentong snorted coldly. Behind him, the water wall connecting to the sky surged toward the White Paper Thousand Crane Boat, producing a rumbling roar.
A single drop of water turned into a skull.
The water wall surged forward, transforming into billions of skulls.
A divine energy storm swept in all directions, and the water surface seemed to flip over. Piercing screams continuously assaulted Zhang Ruochen's eardrums, plunging his vision into darkness and rendering him unable to see anything.
He only heard a deafening crash, and his body felt as if it were being crushed, with intense pain in his flesh and bones.
When Zhang Ruochen regained his sight, he found himself thrown thousands of miles away. In the distance, the multicolored glass light was still dazzling, forming beautiful clouds in the sky.
Beside him, Wen Chu laughed loudly, "Excellent! It turns out the clan leader has arrived."
Zhang Ruochen, after all, was only at the Saint realm, inferior to Bore, Xiao Hei, and Gu She Huanhuan. Struck by the powerful divine force, he was still somewhat dazed and had no idea what had just happened.
The clan leader of the Yama Clan...
No, it should be the clan leader of the Dark Abyss Yan Clan.
Could it be that the renowned Wu Qingzong had arrived?
Zhang Ruochen's eyes manifested the Light of Truth, gazing toward the distant White Paper Thousand Crane Boat. At the top of the mast, he saw a figure in martial robes. The aura emanating from him was like a sea of stars filling his body, and each breath caused the heavens and earth to tremble.
In contrast, Great God Wentong, hovering opposite, had an extremely ugly expression.
"Wu Qingzong, why are you on White Queen's boat?" Great God Wentong said.
The proud figure in martial robes said, "Actually, I came for you."
Great God Wentong was puzzled. "For me?"
It must be known that before Wu Jiang had met with trouble, Great God Wentong had no intention of coming to the Life-and-Death Boundary Star. How did Wu Qingzong know in advance that he would come?
Could all of this be Wu Qingzong's scheme?
What was he after?
"I came to kill you."
As soon as the word "kill" was spoken, Wu Qingzong's divine body swelled, turning into a giant that reached the heavens. He struck out with a divine hand spanning ten thousand miles.
The hand was truly ten thousand miles long, leaving Great God Wentong no chance to escape.
The water surface collapsed with it.
Wen Chu, Bore, Gu She Huanhuan, Xiao Hei, Zangjin Baihu, and Zhang Ruochen retreated rapidly, not daring to watch the battle. At this level of confrontation, even new gods, let alone those who had cultivated for tens of thousands of years, faced the danger of falling.
Countless questions filled Zhang Ruochen's mind. "What's going on? Does your clan leader have a life-or-death feud with Great God Wentong?"
Wen Chu shook his head. "I've never heard of any enmity between them."
Xiao Hei didn't believe it. "Who are you trying to fool? Wentong is a pivotal figure in the Nether Hall. If there's no life-or-death feud, killing him will surely cause a massive upheaval. Won't the Nether Hall fight to the death with your Dark Abyss Yan Clan?"
Wen Chu smiled bitterly. "I don't even know the clan leader came to the Life-and-Death Boundary Star."
Zhang Ruochen had no interest in the grudges between Wu Qingzong and Great God Wentong. He was instead very relieved that since Wu Qingzong had come here, today's crisis was completely resolved.
At the same time, he gained a new understanding of what it meant to be a strong one.
Only those who had reached the level of Great God Wentong, White Queen, and Wu Qingzong could truly be considered titans of the universe, possessing the power to overturn clouds and rain.
What were worldly myths? In their eyes, they carried far too little weight.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Bore and saw that her gaze remained calm.
Even Wu Qingzong's appearance could not stir any ripples in her.
They retreated an unknown distance until the divine energy fluctuations became gentle, and they finally stopped.
No one knew the outcome of the battle between Great God Wentong and Wu Qingzong. The heaven and earth rules there were chaotic, and even using divine eyes, they could not peer into it.
Xiao Hei said in a low voice, "Do you think Wu Qingzong really intends to kill Great God Wentong?"
"Since the clan leader has spoken, his word is final. He wouldn't just be bluffing Wentong," Wen Chu said with considerable worry, truly puzzled as to why the clan leader would do this.
Killing Wentong, even if successful, would come at a cost.
Moreover, if the Nether Hall Hall Master found out, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The battle fluctuations soon subsided.
The chaotic heaven and earth rules gradually returned to normal.
Wen Chu was the first to fly toward the center of the battlefield, but he only found a sea of blood dozens of miles long. Wu Qingzong and Great God Wentong were nowhere to be seen.
Even the White Paper Thousand Crane Boat had vanished without a trace.
Zhang Ruochen, Bore, Xiao Hei, and Gu She Huanhuan flew one after another to hover above the sea of blood.
Zhang Ruochen extracted all the divine blood from the sea, condensing it into a blood sphere a hundred meters in diameter. The blood sphere shimmered with divine light and exuded a powerful aura. Each drop could pierce through ten thousand meters of earth.
"It's Great God Wentong's divine blood," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Ha ha! Excellent! It seems that old thief Wentong has suffered quite a loss. Come, come, come, give the divine blood to this emperor. This emperor needs to replenish himself."
Xiao Hei took a deep breath, and the divine blood in the sphere turned into streams, flowing into its mouth.
"But where have they gone?" Gu She Huanhuan said.
Zhang Ruochen guessed, "They must have fought into the Void Space."
"Let's go to Wuchang Ghost City first. Once the clan leader kills Wentong, he will surely go there to meet us," Wen Chu said, clearing the aura from the water surface.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly thought of something. "Not good! Xue Tu and Yan Ting are still being hunted by the false gods of the Nether Hall."
"I'll calculate their position," Bore said.
When Zhang Ruochen and the others found Xue Tu and Yan Ting, they were still locked in combat with the half-false god of the Nether Hall. Both had sustained considerable injuries.
Xiao Hei, afraid someone else would snatch the prey, struck first. It transformed into an Undying Bird larger than a cloud, extended its claws, grabbed the half-false god into the air, dug out its divine source, and extracted its divine soul.
Wen Chu was astonished. "Impressive! As expected of Divine Son Xue Tu, a disciple of Death God Venerable. To survive a false god's pursuit is truly admirable, truly admirable."
"A true god need not be so polite. Just call me Great Slaughter War God Emperor."
Xue Tu was not very courteous to Wen Chu. In his view, once he passed the divine tribulation, he could slap Wen Chu around with one hand.
...
Wuchang Ghost City ranked second among the nine great ghost cities of the Ghost Clan, second only to Fengdu Ghost City.
Although it was a city, it had a history of over a hundred million years. Its scale was grander than any ancient city Zhang Ruochen had ever seen. In his view, even if this city could not yet be called a divine city, it was not far from that level.
There was no daylight in the city, only night.
The Dark Abyss Yan Clan had a secret stronghold in Wuchang Ghost City. Wen Chu led Zhang Ruochen and the others to temporarily settle in.
Xue Tu kept asking along the way how they had escaped from Great God Wentong. When he heard about the appearance of White Queen's White Paper Thousand Crane Boat, he exclaimed in admiration, claiming that his lifelong wish was to meet White Queen, whose beauty was renowned throughout the world.
When he heard that Wu Qingzong had appeared, he showed great respect. "My master, Death God Venerable, once said that among those in the Hell Realm with the greatest chance of reaching the God Venerable level, Wu Qingzong ranks first. Wen Chu, how about you introduce me?"
He directly addressed the true god by name, as if he were more powerful than a true god.
Yan Ting was displeased, her eyes filled with coldness.
Wen Chu, however, smiled without anger. "If Great Slaughter War God Emperor is willing to visit the Dark Abyss, you will be a honored guest of the Dark Abyss Yan Clan. The clan leader will naturally receive you personally."
Xue Tu didn't think much of it and was quite pleased, believing he was already a great figure worthy of Wu Qingzong's reception.
After this battle, everyone had sustained varying degrees of injury. Upon reaching the secret stronghold, they began to heal.
As for whether Wu Qingzong could kill Great God Wentong, they paid it no mind.
No.
Chi Yao, who had transformed into Bore's appearance, stood atop a black bone structure, gazing toward the direction of the Santu River. Her heart remained suspended. Because the Kunlun Realm and the Dark Abyss Yan Clan had long since formed an alliance through Yan Wushen, killing Wentong and seizing the Xingtian Cauldron was the first step in their cooperation.
The Dark Abyss Yan Clan had to prove their sincerity.
From the moment Chi Yao came to the Hell Realm, she had already begun planning to seize the Xingtian Cauldron. Even without Zhang Ruochen and Wu Jiang's intervention, she had other ways to lure Great God Wentong to the Santu River.