Chapter 2870: Friends of the Heavenly Realm Faction
The Divine Realm World of the Flame God was a three-colored sea of fire, densely packed with divine pattern rules.
The surrounding temperature instantly soared.
The Four-Armor Blood Ancestor snorted coldly, "What’s there to fear? That old fellow’s spiritual power is only at the early seventy-fourth rank at best. Any one of us could defeat him. Seeing all four of us gods appear together, he’s probably already trembling in fear, avoiding us—how would he dare to show himself?"
Jialinnan’s expression was arrogant as he said, "Exactly. With my cultivation, defeating a Wu Ma Jiuxing who became a god only a thousand years ago wouldn’t require such effort. If that old fellow dares to appear, I’ll make him witness the power of Order Sword Dao and defeat him within ten strikes."
Both the Four-Armor Blood Ancestor and Jialinnan were battle-hardened veterans, not truly arrogant or dismissive of their opponents.
The reason they spoke those words was both to provoke Zhang Ruochen, who was hiding in the shadows, and to express their genuine thoughts, showcasing unparalleled confidence.
Among those who became true gods, who wasn’t an extraordinary talent in the Saint realm? None were much weaker than Wu Ma Jiuxing.
Wu Ma Jiuxing had only cultivated for a thousand years, while they had trained in the Divine realm for tens of thousands, even a hundred thousand years. Though all were mid-level gods, their cultivation was far deeper than Wu Ma Jiuxing’s, and their confidence was as unshakable as a rock.
The Four-Armor Blood Ancestor took out his blood blade, a supreme sacred artifact, and instantly a sea of blood spread beneath his feet.
Jialinnan drew his war sword, also a supreme sacred artifact.
On the sword, radiant light flickered, flowing with orderly patterns.
They belittled the enemy with words but valued them psychologically, never careless.
Many gods lacked supreme sacred artifacts, but for a true god who had cultivated for tens of thousands of years to not have forged even one was utterly disgraceful.
The elf god Kailanfeili had handsome features, neatly combed long hair, and a bow slung over his back. He said, "Don’t forget, that old fellow’s stone cauldron is no ordinary thing. Wu Ma Jiuxing wasn’t so much killed by him as crushed by the Sixth Patriarch’s Sanskrit script and Yinsha Tian’s Diagram Seal on the cauldron."
"Haha! I’ve come to seize that stone cauldron. With it, I too can slay gods in the future." The Four-Armor Blood Ancestor laughed arrogantly.
The Flame God crouched down, studying the marks on the ground and the spatial formation patterns. His gaze fixed on the temple gate, his pupils burning like fireballs.
Zhang Ruochen, standing within the Star Gate Fuku Formation, met the Flame God’s eyes and sighed inwardly, "Every one who steps into the Divine realm is indeed sharp-witted. Hiding from them is as hard as reaching the heavens."
Knowing he couldn’t stay hidden, Zhang Ruochen stepped out of the formation.
"Swoosh!"
Spatial fluctuations emanated from the gate.
The four gods were all startled, suppressing their smiles and going on full alert.
They saw the white-haired old man walk out from the invisible space, as if he hadn’t heard their earlier words at all, showing no anger. He said, "Have you all come here looking for me?"
The four gods had considered various possibilities.
Perhaps the old fellow would launch a sneak attack, or immediately flee, or continue hiding.
But they never expected him to swagger out.
The Four-Armor Blood Ancestor got straight to the point, his voice deep, "That’s right. We’ve come for the Heavenly Venerable’s Gauze. Old man, hand it over."
"I see you are all gods of the Heavenly Realm Faction. To be honest, I have deep ties with the Heavenly Realm Faction and don’t wish to be your enemy." Zhang Ruochen said.
The Four-Armor Blood Ancestor had little patience and prepared to strike directly.
The Flame God stopped him, secretly transmitting a message, "His spiritual power is strong. Any one of us might be confident in defeating him, but to keep him here and kill him, even with the four of us working together, we’re not entirely sure."
The Four-Armor Blood Ancestor temporarily suppressed his killing intent.
The Flame God smiled, cupping his hands toward Zhang Ruochen, "So you’re a friend of the Heavenly Realm Faction. We almost harmed one of our own."
Zhang Ruochen snorted lightly, "I am a close friend of Demon Eye. I’ve shared drinks with Yin Yuanchen, and we’re friends across generations. I’ve guided Fairy Lianxi of the Radiant Divine Temple in her cultivation and was an important mentor in her life."
"I see, I see."
The Flame God quickly distanced himself, "However, Demon Eye is a god-killer of the Heavenly Assassination Organization and has little to do with the Heavenly Realm Faction."
Kailanfeili said, "Since you’re a friend of the Heavenly Realm Faction, why not hand over the Heavenly Venerable’s Gauze to us? We can shake hands and make peace—wouldn’t that be a win-win?"
"Exactly." The Flame God nodded.
"Fine! I’ve placed the Heavenly Venerable’s Gauze in the temple. Please follow me."
Zhang Ruochen took the lead, walking toward the temple gate.
But the four gods stopped in their tracks.
How could they, so shrewd, believe he would so easily offer up the Heavenly Venerable’s Gauze?
Moreover, their divine eyes were powerful, and they had already detected a spatial formation at the temple gate.
"What’s wrong? Don’t you trust me?" Zhang Ruochen suddenly stopped and looked back.
The Flame God smiled, "Why don’t you go in yourself, retrieve the Heavenly Venerable’s Gauze, and hand it over to us?"
Jialinnan’s tone was icy, "Exactly. If you’re sincere, present the Heavenly Venerable’s Gauze with both hands. We can plead for you before the Blade Venerable."
"In the end, you don’t trust me."
Zhang Ruochen sighed deeply, "I see you as friends, yet you guard against me at every turn. Is this the breadth of mind of the Heavenly Realm Faction’s gods? It seems rising stars like Yin Yuanchen and Fairy Lianxi far surpass you older gods."
Then he added, "Have you considered that if I didn’t want to give you the Heavenly Venerable’s Gauze, once I entered the temple, I wouldn’t come out. Then you’d still have to go in."
The four gods exchanged secret transmissions.
"That old fellow is making excuses—he definitely doesn’t want to hand over the gauze. Stop listening to his nonsense. Strike directly and kill him." Jialinnan said.
The Flame God said, "Don’t act rashly. We still don’t know if the gauze is on him or hidden somewhere."
"This stalemate won’t work either." Kailanfeili said.
"I’ll go in with him."
The Four-Armor Blood Ancestor continued, "No matter what tricks he tries, he’s just a spiritual power god with limited physical strength. When necessary, at this close range, I can split his body and divine heart in two in an instant. With my blood blade falling, I can drain all his blood and kill him."
"That works. In close combat, the Four-Armor Blood Ancestor’s combat power among mid-level gods is top-tier. Killing a spiritual power god is like slaughtering a pig or dog." Jialinnan said.
Moments later, the Four-Armor Blood Ancestor, blood blade in hand, stepped forward, smiling, "Old sir, I’ll go with you. Lead the way!"
One of the Four-Armor Blood Ancestor’s hands pressed onto Zhang Ruochen’s shoulder.
His Divine Realm World expanded, turning into a sea of blood that enveloped Zhang Ruochen.
If not for not yet knowing where the Heavenly Venerable’s Gauze was, the Four-Armor Blood Ancestor would have already split Zhang Ruochen’s body with a single slash, taking his divine heart to the Blade God Realm to meet the Blade Venerable.
Seeing the Four-Armor Blood Ancestor so cautious—restraining the white-haired old man and covering him with his Divine Realm World—the Flame God breathed a sigh of relief, his worries fading, a smile spreading across his face.
Not far away.
Bai Qinger, wrapped in black gauze, stood atop a reddish-yellow hill, watching Zhang Ruochen and the Four-Armor Blood Ancestor disappear into the temple gate. She sighed softly, "The Four-Armor Blood Ancestor will no longer exist in this world."
Beside her stood a three-foot-tall jade-green turtle.
The Turtle King’s true form was space jadeite accumulated over a hundred million years. Surviving the Origin Divine Temple expedition, it had returned after cultivating with the Starry Sea Angler and Bai Qinger in the border universe for a thousand years, now having stepped into the Divine realm.
It had gained countless benefits from the Starry Sea Angler.
It stammered, "Mi... mi... miss, are you... you... underestimating the Four-Armor... Armor Blood Ancestor..."
"Elsewhere, with the Four-Armor Blood Ancestor’s deep cultivation, not only would Zhang Ruochen be unable to kill him, even if I struck personally, I wouldn’t be fully confident. But here, within the Yin Dun Nine Arrays set up by Master Fangcun, he is doomed to die."
Bai Qinger shook her head gently, "I thought the four gods of the Heavenly Realm Faction would pose a great threat to Zhang Ruochen, pushing him to the brink of death and awakening his will to survive. But now it seems, in terms of intellect, they are several levels beneath him and cannot threaten him at all."
"Sha... Sha... Shang Hong..." the Turtle King said.
Bai Qinger knew what it wanted to say, "What kind of figure is Shang Hong? Would he easily step into the trap? He won’t come."