Chapter 2872: Nine Arrays Combined Into One
"Another god has fallen. How has the Linglong Assembly become so bloody and brutal?"
"Fourth Armor Blood Ancestor! This is an elder god with profound cultivation. Below the Great Gods, who could possibly kill him?"
"Who did this? Their audacity is immense. Even if they don't respect Armor Heavenly Lord, on Xinghuantian, do they not even respect White Queen?"
"If White Queen does not handle this matter, the Paradise Realm will never let it go. The Linglong Assembly cannot proceed!"
...
It was too shocking!
The gods of Xinghuantian, including some well-informed Saint realm cultivators, all felt immense pressure, fearing that a world-shattering event was about to occur.
In just two days, three True Gods had fallen.
These three True Gods—one born from the Heaven Killing Organization, one a promising new god from the Blade God Realm, and one a god of the Paradise Realm—seemed loosely connected, but those in the know understood they all belonged to the Paradise Realm Faction.
With such a major incident, even if it didn't attract a God Venerable from the Paradise Realm Faction, at least a Great God-level powerhouse would descend.
Yu Chenjing gazed at the starry sky beyond the heavens and said, "I thought that during the Linglong Assembly, all parties would exercise mutual restraint. And the Goddess Twelve Pavilions would certainly prevent a divine war from breaking out. It seems I was still too naive!"
"It's not that you were naive; it's that the actions of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions this time are truly incomprehensible."
Yu Taizhen, with his long hair loose, leaned against the shade of a tree. He no longer had his previous carefree attitude but was instead extremely cautious.
Yu Chenjing nodded and said, "No wind or rustling leaf on Xinghuantian can escape the notice of White Queen and the Goddess Twelve Pavilions. Yet, Magic Eye died without clear cause, and White Queen stood by and did nothing when Wuma Jiuxing was killed. Now that Fourth Armor Blood Ancestor has also fallen, why hasn't White Queen stepped in to stop it? Is she not afraid of retaliation from the Heaven Killing Organization, Blade Venerable, and Armor Heavenly Lord?"
"This has already thoroughly offended the Paradise Realm Faction!" Yu Taizhen said.
Yu Chenjing said, "Could it be that she feels, with the Star Sea Angler as her backing, she no longer fears people like Blade Venerable and Armor Heavenly Lord?"
"Who killed Wuma Jiuxing?" Yu Taizhen suddenly asked.
Yu Chenjing said, "An old man!"
"No one knows who that old man is, and he appears to be a dying man." Yu Taizhen said.
Yu Chenjing's pearl-like eyes moved, and she said, "Tenth Uncle means that this old man is just a figure pushed to the forefront. In reality, the true culprit behind the three gods' deaths is the Goddess Twelve Pavilions and the forces behind them. Why would the Goddess Twelve Pavilions do this? What benefit does it bring them?"
Yu Taizhen shook his head and said, "What I want to say is, who exactly is this old man? How did a god with such powerful spiritual power suddenly appear out of nowhere?"
Yu Chenjing said, "Tenth Uncle is a Truth Envoy; can't you even see through his origins?"
"It's precisely because I can't see through him that I'm suspicious." Yu Taizhen smiled and said, "In the past one or two thousand years, the misfortune that has befallen the Paradise Realm Faction must be related to one person. And coincidentally, that person disappeared in this star domain."
Yu Chenjing was extremely intelligent and immediately understood. Her immortal face was full of shock, and she said, "Tenth Uncle is talking about him? Impossible."
Yu Chenjing recalled her interactions with the old man leading the ox. She couldn't associate him with Zhang Ruochen. Besides, if that old man was a transformation of Zhang Ruochen, how could she not have seen through it?
Yu Taizhen said, "We'll see if Fourth Armor Blood Ancestor also died at the hands of that old man. I, for one, don't believe the Goddess Twelve Pavilions would dare to oppose the Paradise Realm Faction. As for the Hell Realm, if they wanted to oppose the Paradise Realm Faction, they wouldn't need to hide it like this. Thinking it over, Zhang Ruochen's suspicion is indeed not small."
Yu Chenjing urged, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go investigate now."
"How?"
Yu Chenjing said, "You can go visit Shang Hong. We don't know how Fourth Armor Blood Ancestor died, but Shang Hong must know."
"Visit?"
Hearing the name Shang Hong, a powerful battle intent emanated from Yu Taizhen's body. He said, "If I meet him, it won't be now. Once we meet, it will be a life-or-death moment."
Both were Truth Envoys, both were peerless powerhouses of this Eon. Meeting naturally meant a fight to the death to determine the ownership of the Truth Esoterica.
The Truth Envoys were vying for the position of Truth Master God.
...
Lan Jun said, "It's indeed a trap. Let's go to the temple in the Rainbow Mountain Range now."
"Knowing it's a trap, you still want to jump in?" Shang Hong said.
Lan Jun said, "But Yan God, Jia Linan, and Kailan Feili are still inside."
"They will be fine. If they also fall, the Goddess Twelve Pavilions will surely be annihilated."
Shang Hong thought for a moment but felt something was off, though he couldn't pinpoint it. He said, "If that temple is indeed a trap set by Bai Qinger, there's no need for us to go personally. We can lure the gods of the Hell Realm into the trap."
"Let the Hell Realm deal with Bai Qinger?"
Lan Jun shook his head and said, "But if Bai Qinger's trap is aimed at the Heavenly Venerable Divine Source, and the Hell Realm gods go, what if they seize the Heavenly Venerable Divine Source?"
"The possibility of the Heavenly Venerable Divine Source being in the temple is extremely slim. Even if it were there, it hasn't been found after all these years. The Hell Realm gods going won't yield any results. Leave this matter to me. I will go see White Queen."
Shang Hong's figure vanished.
A greedy look appeared in Lan Jun's eyes, and he muttered to himself, "That's the Heavenly Venerable Divine Source. Even if there's only a sliver of a possibility, it's worth the risk."
With that, Lan Jun stepped forward and walked out of the World's Divine Maiden Tower.
Shang Hong's figure reappeared in the same spot.
Lan Jun thought Shang Hong had already left, but in reality, Shang Hong had been standing there all along. Both were Upper Gods, but the gap between them was immense!
Shang Hong smiled slightly. He had long anticipated that Lan Jun would be unable to resist the temptation of the Heavenly Venerable Divine Source.
Because, although Lan Jun was an Upper God, he had no confidence in surviving the Eon Calamity.
Lan Jun going personally to the temple in the Rainbow Mountain Range was a good thing. At the very least, with his powerful cultivation, he could protect Yan God, Jia Linan, and Kailan Feili.
As for the Heavenly Venerable Divine Source...
Shang Hong didn't believe they could find it at all, because he possessed more information about that temple, which he simply hadn't told Lan Jun.
...
On the reddish-yellow earth, thick dust rose dozens of feet high.
Yan God, Jia Linan, and Kailan Feili, three True Gods, protected themselves with their Divine Realm Worlds and desperately fled outward.
The reddish-yellow earth was covered with numerous Space Inscription Runes. Even with their powerful cultivation, it was difficult for them to break out quickly.
Jia Linan's back was bloody. One of his wings had been severed by a space force and had fallen somewhere. He cursed, "Damn it, what is the origin of that old man? How can he control all the formations here?"
"Let's leave this area first. This place is a trap." Yan God's face twisted, his gaze cold.
"Boom!"
"Boom, rumble!"
...
The divine patterns on this land were triggered by the formations.
Divine flames surged from underground, lightning fell from the sky, and space vortices condensed... Every step was deadly, making the three gods of the Paradise Realm Faction extremely embarrassed and forced to flee desperately.
Yan God's skin had turned to charcoal, his entire body blackened.
Kailan Feili had lost the nobility and elegance of an Elf clan god. He kept coughing up blood, half of his divine body torn apart by space, his whole body stained red with blood.
Such a situation exceeded Bai Qinger's expectations.
Turtle Lord was so frightened his eyes nearly popped out. He spoke rapidly, "How is this possible? Each of the Nine Yin Escape Formations is profound and unfathomable. Even I can't fully study them. He's only been here a short time, yet he can control them all."
"We can't let him keep killing like this, or he'll attract a Great God from the Paradise Realm Faction to Xinghuantian. Moreover, the death energy surging from underground is getting thicker and thicker. We can't wait any longer."
Bai Qinger waved her hand and said, "Go save them and temporarily lead them to the Four Star Green Oasis."
"Alright!"
Turtle Lord waved his staff, and a beam of divine energy shot out, stabilizing the chaotic space and forming a stable path leading directly to the area where Yan God, Jia Linan, and Kailan Feili were.
Bai Qinger's gaze then turned toward the direction of the temple gate, and she walked over.
Zhang Ruochen stood beneath the temple gate, his hands held up as if supporting something. A formation disk ten feet in diameter shone brightly at his feet.
Above his head were nine enormous circular formation diagrams, one connected to the next, displaying nine different scenes: a sea of stars, a divine palace, a white moon, green mountains, a long river... and so on.
These represented the nine divine formations: Star Gate Subduing Kun, Divine Gen Heavenly Support, Zhen Reverse Flying Palace, Sheng Kan Strange Combination...
Any one of these nine divine formations could suppress a god like Fourth Armor Blood Ancestor. With the nine formations combined into one, their power was immense. Even when Yan God, Jia Linan, and Kailan Feili joined forces, they could only flee in panic.
These were the legendary Nine Yin Escape Formations!
Zhang Ruochen had only observed the Nine Yin Escape Formations in the *Space-Time Secret Scripture* without studying them deeply. He never imagined he could master them so easily.
Of course, he was still slowly exploring the mysteries of the Nine Yin Escape Formations, having only grasped a fraction of their surface. Otherwise, how could Yan God, Jia Linan, and Kailan Feili have had any chance to escape?
"Finally showing yourself!"
Zhang Ruochen gazed into the distance and saw Turtle Lord shuttling through the Nine Yin Escape Formations.
A moment later, not far from him, he saw Bai Qinger's graceful figure.
Bai Qinger transmitted a message to him, saying, "Let them go. If you kill them, Xinghuantian will face a great calamity."
"What does the great calamity of Xinghuantian have to do with me? Didn't Miss Bai lure them here for me to kill?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Bai Qinger said, "Are you angry?"
Zhang Ruochen did not answer.
Bai Qinger's body radiated Origin Divine Light, making her look like a banished immortal, holy as if she didn't consume worldly food. She walked step by step through the Nine Yin Escape Formations toward Zhang Ruochen.
She said, "You should understand why I did this."
"It's precisely because I understand that I didn't use the formations to attack you."
Zhang Ruochen said, "You think my biggest problem lies within my own heart. You wanted to use the hands of those four gods to ignite my will to survive, to light the flame of life with that will. But my problem has nothing to do with the will to survive. It lies only in..."
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen could no longer hold on. His heart stopped beating, darkness fell before his eyes, and he collapsed backward. The last remaining spark of life within him extinguished.
Death had arrived, and no power could stop it.
So-called will was fragile and worthless in its presence.