Chapter 2823: When Love Runs Deep, It Turns Shallow
The Blood Drop Sword pierced Zhang Ruochen's chest, blood light blazing, sword energy surging in all directions as it devoured his blood.
Zhang Ruochen endured immense pain from both body and heart, his face pale yet calm, and asked, "Where did you obtain the technique you practice?"
"I know that if you don't understand the truth of what happened back then, you'll die with great reluctance. Telling you won't hurt."
Chi Yao said, "I found the 'Thirty-Three Heavens' technique on an ancestral artifact of the Holy Bright Central Empire after I killed you. How laughable—the complete technique was always by your side, yet you were completely unaware."
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly.
Only he himself knew what he was smiling about.
"Since you practice the complete technique, why bother devouring me? I'm merely a Martial Dao Great Saint who cultivates a flawed technique. Does it hold even the slightest meaning for you?" he asked.
Chi Yao let out a faint sigh and said, "Do you still remember what the Heavenly Mother said? To surpass the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, one needs not only a perfected technique but also a powerful foundation."
"I admit that my foundation before becoming a god could never reach the level of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable. But you, Zhang Ruochen, with the full support of Xumi Saint Monk and my covert assistance, have cultivated a foundation even stronger than his."
"It's like growing a medicinal herb. This herb, nourished by Xumi Saint Monk and diligently watered by me, naturally thrives. Now the herb is ripe—it's time to harvest."
Zhang Ruochen said, "So, my reaching the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Heavenly Extreme Realm was your arrangement?"
"Correct. The sacrifices at the Chaos Myriad Worlds Mountain and the Ruins Realm Battlefield were set up from the very beginning for you, to prepare you for reaching the Supreme Realm of the Heavenly Extreme Realm. How ridiculous that the cultivators of the world thought I opened the Ruins Realm Battlefield to unify the outer Ruins Realms," Chi Yao said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "And the treasures for cultivating the Five Elements Chaos Body—were they also arranged by you in advance?"
"Otherwise, why would the third round of the Eastern Domain Holy Academy's assessment be different from previous years? Why not hold it in the Holy Academy, but instead in the Ruins Realm Battlefield? And coincidentally, it was the Five Elements Ruins Realm. Did you really think heaven was helping you? Helping you cultivate the Five Elements Chaos Body? You should have known that the Holy Academy and the Martial Market both answer to me," Chi Yao said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "What about the Abyssal Ancient Sword? Did it just happen to appear in the Yunwu Commandery because you placed it there?"
"That's not important," Chi Yao said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You knew long ago that I would revive in the Yunwu Commandery eight hundred years later, so from the very beginning, I was within your sight."
"I had to ensure that you cultivated each realm to its peak, laying an unprecedented foundation. I also had to make sure you didn't die at the hands of other cultivators," Chi Yao said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Since you've admitted to all of this, can you answer a few more questions I have?"
"You're about to die anyway. Letting you die with understanding won't hurt. Ask away," Chi Yao said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Since you knew I would revive in the Yunwu Commandery eight hundred years later, then you must know why I was able to revive, right?"
Chi Yao remained silent.
Zhang Ruochen said, "If you don't know how to answer, let me answer for you. After you killed me, Xumi Saint Monk took my soul, brought it eight hundred years into the future, and implanted it into the body of the deceased Ninth Prince."
"The reason you knew the Ninth Prince was me is because Xumi Saint Monk told you, isn't it?"
Chi Yao still said nothing.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Your silence means I'm correct. So it seems Xumi Saint Monk also participated in this plan, always helping you."
"What's so strange about that? I am the one Xumi Saint Monk chose, the only one who can save the Kunlun Realm," Chi Yao said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "If Xumi Saint Monk were such a person, how could he have become a Buddha? Moreover, you might not know this, but Xumi Saint Monk is the son of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable and an ancestor of our Zhang Clan."
Chi Yao's brow furrowed deeply—this she truly did not know.
Zhang Ruochen continued, "So, the technique you practice was not obtained from some ancestral artifact, but was passed down to you by Xumi Saint Monk."
Chi Yao was about to speak.
Zhang Ruochen added, "Second question: Why did you send Wan Zhaoyi to capture me on the day of my wedding with Yanchen?"
"Is that so? That happened? Wan Zhaoyi captured you at such a specific time? Don't misunderstand—I, the Empress, didn't deliberately choose that time," Chi Yao said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I don't misunderstand anything. I just don't understand what the point was in capturing me then. I wasn't at the peak below the divine realm at that time; it wasn't yet time for you to harvest."
Chi Yao's expression had already become somewhat unnatural, and it was hard for her to keep smiling.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Third question: Since you only saw me as a medicinal herb, why did you transform into Huang Yanchen's appearance to overcome your own love tribulation? Without love, where does the tribulation come from? Without love, why would you give birth to Kunlun and Kongle?"
Chi Yao said, "Every person is a bundle of contradictions. I do have feelings for you. But compared to great power and the realms I seek to attain, you become insignificant. To achieve great things, one must be ruthless."
"Very well. Since you're so ruthless, why did you stab me in the chest with your sword, knowing I had fused the Buddha Emperor Relic and achieved Absolute Physical Dao Transformation?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Chi Yao's left hand, hidden behind her back, clenched tightly. Zhang Ruochen's questions had left her mind nearly blank.
Zhang Ruochen looked down at the Blood Drop Sword and said, "Because you knew that with the Buddha Emperor Relic protecting my body, that sword strike could never pierce through. Instead, because you struck with full force, the power of the Buddha Emperor Relic would counterattack, severely wounding you."
"You wanted to harm yourself. You were afraid I wouldn't be your match, afraid I couldn't kill you."
"Unfortunately, when I achieved Absolute Physical Dao Transformation, my mind and body became one. Where the mind moves, the body follows. The Buddha Emperor Relic merged with my body and is also controlled by my thoughts."
"I deliberately let you pierce my body with your sword to disrupt your initial plan, to throw your thoughts into chaos, so you would reveal your own flaws. Why go through all this trouble? Yao Yao?"
Hearing those two words, Chi Yao's delicate body trembled violently, as if struck by lightning.
Back then, Zhang Ruochen used to call her that.
Those two words were so distant, yet so nostalgic, representing the happiest and purest period of her life.
In those days, she felt like a real person, free to express all her emotions and desires.
Powerful cultivation, the supreme throne, the long life of a god—these were all easy to give up. Only that brief, hazy, beautiful time from her youth had fused into her soul, spreading through constant recollection, accompanying her through every painful, lonely night. After seeing the world for what it was, it gave her the strength to keep living. Because thinking of it rekindled hope for this world.
In the end, that memory fermented into the most precious thing in the world—not to be traded for divine artifacts, divine techniques, or even the entire world.
"Whoosh!"
Buddhist light bloomed from Zhang Ruochen's body, sending the Blood Drop Sword flying back. All the sword energy that had invaded his body was purified.
The wound on his chest healed in an instant.
Zhang Ruochen walked toward Chi Yao.
Chi Yao kept retreating.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You put on this hateful act just so I would kill you, and then, by some coincidence, I would absorb all your cultivation. That way, you could bow out gracefully. Then you'd leave endless pain to me, making me live forever in the darkest shadow."
"No, that's not right. If I killed someone I hated, someone who wanted to devour me, why would I suffer? I should feel exhilarated—the exhilaration of revenge. Is that what you want?"
Chi Yao retreated faster, her eyes reddening, and she shouted, "Don't come closer! Do you really think I won't kill you? Do you think you've seen through all the truth?"
Zhang Ruochen stopped in his tracks and said, "Then tell me, what is the truth?"
"The truth is..."
Chi Yao got that far but couldn't continue.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You could have told me everything without reservation, without using so many tricks to cover it up. Because after all these years, you've long become just a familiar stranger in my heart. My hatred for you is gone, and my love for you has long worn away."
"You should understand that love and hate are sometimes two sides of the same coin. If there's no hatred, it means there's no love anymore. It's like a flame going out because the fuel has burned up."
For some reason, hearing Zhang Ruochen say these words, though Chi Yao's heart ached as if pierced to the marrow, she suddenly felt a sense of relief. Her eyes grew dazed as she murmured to herself, "Is that so?"
Zhang Ruochen said with a firm gaze, "In my heart, you don't even compare to Bore, let alone Fanxin, Qinger, Luosha, Lingxi, and the others."
"In your heart, love is a tribulation, the hardest tribulation in the world to overcome. In my heart, love can be divided among every woman, as light as water."
"If you think I still love you and would suffer over your death, then you don't understand men at all, and even less do you understand me. You are the most foolish woman in the world!"
"So the methods you've used seem utterly ridiculous and childish to me. We've both lived for over a thousand years. Why not be direct? Tell me the truth about the technique, tell me why you really did all this. After you've explained, I'll kill you with one sword strike, take your cultivation, and be done with it. Wouldn't that be simple and straightforward?"
This time, it was Chi Yao's turn to smile bitterly, her voice trembling: "When love runs deep, it turns shallow. Now I truly regret being so sentimental. So it was always me being one-sided, and I was the most foolish one. The truth no longer matters. Let's fight. Since you're so heartless, we'll settle this with a battle to the death. The victor takes the other's cultivation. The loser leaves their bones forever in the Abyss of Darkness."
Zhang Ruochen hadn't expected that even after provoking her so harshly, Chi Yao still refused to reveal the truth. She was too stubborn, too strong.
Because she hadn't been broken by his most heartless, most hurtful, even insulting words.
Her refusal to speak the truth meant that in this battle, she never intended to win—she wanted to leave her bones in the Abyss of Darkness. Perhaps Zhang Ruochen's words no longer mattered to her.
Whether Zhang Ruochen loved her or not was his business.
Whether she loved Zhang Ruochen was hers.
If a person insists that the one they love must love them back, then that's not love—it's possessiveness.
Love has never been mutual. It's one's own affair.
Zhang Ruochen didn't draw his sword. Suddenly, he asked, "Do you want to know what I saw in the Pool of Fate?"