Chapter 2818: The Last Road of the Zen Maiden
When Cang Mang left, he took the "Swallows Flying in Pair Painting" with him.
Zhang Ruochen held the Buddhist eternal treasure "Mani Pearl" in his hands, sinking into deep contemplation.
The Mani Pearl truly possessed millennia of history, over a hundred million years of inheritance, a supreme treasure left by the Buddhist Ancestor. It was not only the foremost of the Seven Treasures but also more precious than the Buddha Emperor Relic, more valuable than the Bright Mirror Platform, the Bodhi Silver Flower Tree, and the Third Ancestor's Glazed Lamp.
Yet, such a treasure that would drive all the Buddhas of the world to madness had been delivered into his hands by someone.
Cang Mang knew he carried the "Swallows Flying in Pair Painting," so it was clearly impossible for him to have mistaken the person.
The Young Lord he was searching for must be Zhang Ruochen.
But who was Cang Mang's master?
Was it Ling Yanzi, who had brought the Mani Pearl into the Abyss of Darkness?
Or...
Was it a descendant of Ling Yanzi?
Zhang Ruochen found it hard to believe that Ling Yanzi could still be alive, not dead.
Unless, like Heavenly Mother, she had been a young girl when she met the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, who had already lived for endless ages.
If that were the case, the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable was far too improper for his age. A dignified Heavenly Venerable—what kind of woman couldn't he have? Even the strongest and most beautiful woman of the time, Yinshue Tian, had fallen for him. Why did he always have to provoke little girls?
Therefore, Zhang Ruochen was more inclined to believe that Ling Yanzi was an extraordinary woman no weaker than Yinshue Tian. Cang Mang's master was most likely a descendant of Ling Yanzi.
After all, with the help of the Time Ice Silkworm, Yinshue Tian, who had lived for fifteen eons, had already reached the point of depleted lifespan hundreds of thousands of years ago. At that time, Yinshue Tian's age was close to two million years.
Given Zhang Ruochen's current age, it was truly difficult to imagine what two million years meant. Sometimes, after cultivating for a hundred years under the Sundial, he felt as if he had become an old man on the verge of death, remaining in a daze for a long time before recovering.
Could Ling Yanzi have lived longer than Yinshue Tian?
Probably not.
Besides, who could prove that Ling Yanzi and the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable had only one child, Xumi Saint Monk? And that child had become a monk!
Zhang Ruochen's greatest doubt, in fact, did not lie here.
His greatest doubt was why the master Cang Mang spoke of wanted to stop him from going to the Great Nether Mountain?
For someone who could make a powerhouse like Cang Mang their servant, how powerful must that master's cultivation be? What status and position did they hold in the Abyss of Darkness?
If such an existence wished to protect Zhang Ruochen, who in the Abyss of Darkness could kill him?
What harm would there be in going to the Great Nether Mountain?
In Zhang Ruochen's mind, the withered face of Yun Qing Ancient Buddha's corpse appeared. Back then, Yun Qing Ancient Buddha had entered the Abyss of Darkness carrying the "Swallows Flying in Pair Painting"—why did he die?
Could it be related to his journey to the Great Nether Mountain?
Could it be that the Great Nether Mountain was so dangerous that even Cang Mang's master could not protect Zhang Ruochen?
That would be too horrifying!
Zhang Ruochen let out a long sigh, forcing himself not to think too much.
The Great Nether Mountain was a place from which even All Heavens-level powerhouses never returned. What use was it for him, a seventy-first-level Spiritual Power god, to think about it?
Unless his Spiritual Power reached the ninetieth level, becoming a powerhouse like the Tiannan Life-Death Ruins or the Void Great Calamity Palace, then he could afford to spend more time thinking. Because then, he could not only think but also go.
Right now, if not for Heavenly Mother awakening and her aura intimidating the strange beasts, and if not for Cang Mang's protection, devouring and killing the god-level powerhouses threatening Zhang Ruochen along the way, Zhang Ruochen doubted he would have even made it to the Ancient Desolate Ruins City.
Recovering his thoughts, Zhang Ruochen released his Spiritual Power to investigate and discovered something very interesting.
This place was actually a Dark Space Continent!
When entering the Abyss of Darkness, Zhang Ruochen and the Yama Clan cultivators had passed through here. Not only had they left the Ancient Desolate Ruins City, but they were also very close to the exit of the abyss.
It was the outermost part of the outer region.
Cang Mang's planning was truly meticulous—this was a hint for Zhang Ruochen to leave quickly.
Unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen did not fly upward but instead descended, plunging deeper into the Abyss of Darkness. He couldn't just leave like that. Yan Wushen, Xiao Hei, Guye Jing, and Chi Yao were still in the Ancient Desolate Ruins City.
Zhang Ruochen had never been the kind of person to abandon friends and flee danger alone!
Unless his friends were stronger than him, and his staying would only be a burden.
Or they weren't real friends at all.
That's right!
Zhang Ruochen had come to regard Yan Wushen as one of his truest friends.
Xiao Hei could at most be considered a true troublemaker—often causing chaos in small matters but never faltering in big ones.
In the past, Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen might have been enemies, but from now on, Zhang Ruochen didn't want to be his enemy. After all, a man as straightforward, frank, and sincere as Yan Wushen was rare even in the Heavenly Court. Encountering such a person in the Hell Realm made him all the more worth cherishing.
If Yan Wushen ever invited him to drink the Twelve Blossoms, Zhang Ruochen would definitely drink freely until Yan Wushen cried.
Who knows how much time passed before Zhang Ruochen arrived at the largest Dark Space Continent in the outer region of the Abyss of Darkness. Here, even with his Spiritual Power after becoming a god, he couldn't detect its boundaries. It was practically like a great world.
A great world covered in thick glaciers!
Zhang Ruochen remembered that beneath the glaciers lay a temporary Dao Ground left by Yinshue Tian, complete with stone temples, stone pagodas, stone bridges, and a divine army sealed within Time Ice Silkworm silk.
The reason Zhang Ruochen stopped here was that he discovered a large number of strange beasts appearing on this Dark Space Continent.
"Boom, rumble!"
Strange beasts ran across the icy plains and flew through the sky. Their numbers were like a beast tide, a surging sea of beast shadows stretching to the edge of Zhang Ruochen's vision.
"Roar!"
Serpent-like strange beasts appeared, soaring through the sky, their bodies like mountain ranges.
What surprised Zhang Ruochen was that they were all charging toward the location of Yinshue Tian's temporary Dao Ground.
Something must have happened to attract such a gathering of strange beasts.
Zhang Ruochen's intense curiosity and his urgent desire to reach the Ancient Desolate Ruins City began to waver.
...
Yinshue Tian's temporary Dao Ground was actually well-hidden. If not for Jue Miao Chan Nu's deliberate guidance, Blood Butcher and the Yama Clan cultivators would never have found it back then.
Although the temporary Dao Ground also had Heavenly Patterns left behind, it was ultimately a temporary construction, and the Heavenly Patterns were incomplete.
When Jue Miao Chan Nu first arrived here, she discovered a path that could bypass the Heavenly Patterns. However, this path could only lead to the outermost stone temple of the Dao Ground.
Deeper inside, she couldn't go.
But it was enough for temporary refuge and healing!
With the Heavenly Patterns blocking the way, even if Wu Jiang and Mohe Yan had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to trespass.
However, Jue Miao Chan Nu had clearly underestimated the intelligence and methods of Wu Jiang and Mohe Yan.
Especially Mohe Yan, a god who didn't seem particularly powerful in combat.
Mohe Yan was a god of the Darkness Temple. Because the Abyss of Darkness and the Darkness Temple were in the same star domain, the Darkness Temple had conducted extensive research on strange beasts.
Mohe Yan was especially skilled in the art of beast taming.
Perhaps he couldn't tame serpent-like strange beasts, but ordinary strange beasts were nothing to him.
Mohe Yan scattered seeds of the Night Orchid within Yinshue Tian's Dao Ground. Driven by divine Qi, the seeds took root and sprouted, blooming into fragrant, colorful flowers.
The fragrance of the Night Orchid had a fatal allure for strange beasts.
Countless strange beasts rushed toward the Dao Ground one after another, paving the way with blood and bones, eventually revealing the path Jue Miao Chan Nu had used to enter.
Mohe Yan laughed, "I told you, in Jue Miao Chan Nu's weakened state, how could she possibly break into a Dao Ground dense with Heavenly Patterns? There had to be a hidden path."
Wu Jiang said, "Remove the Night Orchid flowers. If we attract a large number of serpent-like strange beasts, we'll be in big trouble."
Mohe Yan waved his hand, and all the Night Orchid flowers in the Dao Ground withered.
In reality, the Night Orchid flowers had only bloomed at the periphery of the Dao Ground. The seeds couldn't be scattered deeper inside.
...
The stone temple was small, only three zhang in length and width.
It was not exquisitely built, nor did it enshrine any gods or Buddhas. There was only a white stone altar.
Calling it an altar was more like a stone bed.
Jue Miao Chan Nu sat cross-legged on the altar, in a terrible state. She had withered even more severely, and nearly half of her body had been burned away, leaving her broken and battered.
She looked like a wooden puppet that had been partially destroyed by fire.
The Blood Talisman Small Sword was still embedded in her chest. It was the suppression of this sword that forced her to face not only the Withering Death Art but also the power of the divine blood and talisman.
Jue Miao Chan Nu was not dead, so she could naturally smell the flowers and hear the cries of the strange beasts outside. She knew it was only a matter of time before Wu Jiang and Mohe Yan broke in.
But this time, she had no retreat.
Being hunted by insignificant figures like Wu Jiang and Mohe Yan filled her with resentment, but she was also helpless. More than that, she felt a sorrowful realization: despite her high cultivation, she didn't have a single trustworthy friend.
The only one loyal to her, Jiang Qing, had died by self-destructing his divine source.
If there were even one trustworthy god outside, she wouldn't have had to flee here for refuge. She had considered escaping the Abyss of Darkness and immediately sending a message to the Nether Hall, summoning the nearest Nether Hall god to come to her aid.
But she felt that any Nether Hall god who saw her in this state would likely make the same decision as Wu Jiang.
Kill her, seize everything she had—such a temptation no god could resist.
A god could not afford to be weak.
If they were, they must never tell anyone, not even their closest kin.
In the eyes of the greedy, vicious, and treacherous, there was no such thing as family.
Just like the divine war between the Heavenly Court and Hell ten thousand years ago, many gods had died at the hands of their own side. The gods of the Kunlun Realm had simply suffered the worst.
The strong looked down on the injured weak, but the weak coveted the injured strong.
Because the weak all wanted to become strong.
"Boom!"
Jue Miao Chan Nu's eagerness to heal herself backfired. The more anxious she became, the less effective her efforts were. Coupled with her disturbed state of mind, she immediately suffered a backlash from the Withering Death Art.
Her withered, wood-like body shattered by half, leaving only her upper body and head.
Just then, footsteps sounded as Wu Jiang and Mohe Yan entered the stone temple.
Wu Jiang was cautious, holding the Dark Domain Heavenly Net in one hand and the Iron Strip Divine Sword in the other. Seeing Jue Miao Chan Nu's pitiful state on the altar, he smiled, "Yinshue Tian left this Dao Ground back then, never imagining it would become a burial ground for her own descendant."
Thinking of the Three-Life Gate, Jue Miao Chan Nu's entire cultivation, and the countless treasures on her, Wu Jiang trembled with excitement.
Unfortunately, Jue Miao Chan Nu was no longer beautiful now. Otherwise, if he could enjoy the delicate body of this highly cultivated, noble great god, it would be a great pleasure in life.
What Wu Jiang wanted to enjoy was no longer a woman's body but the bullying of the weak by the strong. He wanted to trample on her dignity to satisfy his own inner fulfillment and pleasure.
But if Jue Miao Chan Nu were sitting there in her former stunning beauty, Wu Jiang would surely be so terrified his legs would go weak, and he might even kneel and beg for his life.