Chapter 2897: Four Thousand Years Ago
The cosmic space was dark and vast. Huang Tian, transformed into the appearance of Xue Jue War God, possessed a divine body of immense proportions. He stood atop five layers of Divine Sea, either striking with fist seals or thrusting with a war halberd.
Even though Duotian Divine Emperor possessed supreme cultivation, he could do nothing against him.
The two clashed from a distance, shattering space, causing stars to tremble, and affecting an unknown expanse of the starry sky.
Whether it was the cultivators within Xinghuantian or the gods who had fled from Xinghuantian, all were watching from afar. Some gods sent out divine thoughts, intending to transmit messages.
However, the divine thoughts could not fly out of this star region, blocked by an invisible force.
Yu Chenjing was filled with confusion and asked, "Why is Duotian Divine Emperor in Xinghuantian?"
"Caiyi Shen has already arrived, so what's so strange about Duotian Divine Emperor appearing? Without a doubt, the Shang Clan and the Goddess Twelve Pavilions must have an extraordinary connection. Regardless of the outcome of this battle between Xue Jue War God and Duotian Divine Emperor, the Goddess Twelve Pavilions is finished!" Yu Taizhen said.
Yu Chenjing could understand the meaning of his words.
Even Yu Taizhen could see the collusion between the Goddess Twelve Pavilions and the Shang Clan. How could the divine realm titans of the Hell Realm fail to notice?
Under normal circumstances, due to various conflicting interests, the Hell Realm might have spared the Goddess Twelve Pavilions.
But now, the Hell Realm and the Heavenly Court were already at war, raging fiercely. The Goddess Twelve Pavilions occupied such an important strategic position and possessed a vast intelligence network.
How could the Hell Realm not take action?
Once they acted, it would inevitably be earth-shattering.
...
Outside, the battle was causing chaos in the starry sky, but within the Divine Realm World, it was calm and peaceful.
Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but ask, "Since Yu Baiwei married Duotian Divine Emperor, why did she become the master of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions?"
The demonic-looking man suddenly straightened his body, becoming as towering as a mountain, his eyes sharp. "I absolutely would not allow Baiwei to marry Duotian Divine Emperor. Because I knew very well that those who sacrificed the Reverse God Clan were the top big shots led by the Heavenly Palace and the four ruling worlds. Shang Zu must have been one of them!"
"Marrying one's enemy, how could one live happily?"
"If I couldn't even protect the woman I loved, how could I talk about saving all living beings? How could I talk about boundless merit? Since the Heavenly Court was unrighteous, don't blame me for being unrighteous."
"I agreed to Shi Zu that as long as he helped me rescue Baiwei, I would worship him as my master, become a member of the Hell Realm's Stone Clan, and never regret it."
"On the day of Duotian Divine Emperor and Baiwei's wedding, Shi Zu and I quietly infiltrated Paradise Realm and entered the imperial palace of the Great Shang Divine Dynasty. I told Baiwei all the truth, and she finally chose to believe me and agreed to leave with me."
"Are you curious how we could quietly infiltrate Paradise Realm, a ruling world?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "With Shi Zu's ability, not only could he quietly infiltrate Paradise Realm, but I think he also had a way to infiltrate the Heavenly Court."
The demonic-looking man nodded. "Shi Zu once said that wherever there is stone in heaven and earth, he can go. Unfortunately, infiltrating is one thing, but taking away a god is as difficult as ascending to heaven. Shang Zu is no ordinary person; in Paradise Realm, he is one of the top existences."
"Shang Zu sensed it and wanted to kill Baiwei and me. It was Shi Zu who used his supreme divine power to block him. The two fought from Paradise Realm all the way to the boundary between the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm's starry sky. At that time, Baiwei and I, like you now, could only hide in Shi Zu's Divine Realm World."
"Seeing that he couldn't keep Shi Zu, Shang Zu was unwilling to let us go. So he declared that if Shi Zu dared to take Yu Baiwei to the Hell Realm, he would expose her identity as a member of the Reverse God Clan to the world."
Zhang Ruochen could understand Shang Zu's feelings. On his wedding day, his daughter-in-law was taken away.
What a great humiliation!
Zhang Ruochen said, "Shi Zu probably wouldn't hand her over, because his goal was you. Only by rescuing Yu Baiwei would you willingly worship him as your master, accept his ideas, and become his heir. The only way to break the deadlock was for Yu Baiwei to go neither to the Hell Realm nor back to Paradise Realm."
The demonic-looking man said, "Correct! The starry sky boundary where Shi Zu and Shang Zu finally confronted each other was very close to the star region where Xinghuantian is located."
"But how could Shang Zu agree to this condition?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
The demonic-looking man said, "Because Yuanxu invited the Buddha Lord of the Western Buddha Realm."
Buddha Lord, not Buddha Ancestor.
And his address to Yuanxu Ancient Buddha had changed from "Master" to "Yuanxu."
Just two words, but they were filled with infinite hatred.
"The Buddha Lord had compassion for the Reverse God Clan, so he advised Shang Zu to let us go, to avoid reigniting the war between the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm, which would cause suffering to all living beings."
"And Shi Zu also knew that by himself, he was no match for Shang Zu and the Buddha Lord. He also knew that even if he took Yu Baiwei to the Hell Realm, once her identity was exposed, she would still be doomed."
"In the end, the two sides compromised. Yu Baiwei stayed in Xinghuantian and hid in the Goddess Twelve Pavilions."
Zhang Ruochen showed a puzzled expression. "Isn't this a happy outcome for everyone?"
Yuanxu Ancient Buddha had clearly helped Huang Tian a great deal, so why did Huang Tian hate him so much?
It was truly hard to understand.
"Yes, indeed, it was a happy outcome for everyone. Baiwei's cultivation was powerful, and no cultivator in the Goddess Twelve Pavilions could bully her. Moreover, Shi Zu promised me that he would definitely protect the Goddess Twelve Pavilions and protect Baiwei, and would never allow any Shang Clan god to set foot in Xinghuantian." He said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "With Shi Zu's protection, even if some gods in the Hell Realm knew that Yu Baiwei was Duotian Divine Emperor's empress, they probably wouldn't dare to spread it. For the Shang Clan, this was a disgrace, and those in the Heavenly Court who knew about it certainly wouldn't dare to talk nonsense."
"Not long after, I came to Xinghuantian again. Baiwei told me that she didn't want to continue hiding like this. She wanted to become the master of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions and wield power. Only by wielding power could she obtain more cultivation resources and cultivate faster."
The demonic-looking man continued, "At the time, I didn't think much of it. I thought what she said made sense, and the storm had passed, so it probably wouldn't anger the Shang Clan. In fact, after Baiwei became the master of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions, the Shang Clan indeed took no action. Everything was calm... until..."
Suddenly, the demonic-looking man's entire body trembled, his eyes turning into two blood orbs, his killing intent so intense that Zhang Ruochen felt as if he were being stabbed by swords and slashed by knives.
"Until four thousand years ago, when she gave birth to Qinger. I was overjoyed at the time. After a hundred thousand years, she finally agreed to bear me a child."
"But on that day, I encountered Duotian Divine Emperor and Yuanxu in the Tianxia Shennü Tower."
"How could I believe my eyes? How could Duotian Divine Emperor appear together with Yuanxu? How could they enter Xinghuantian? Shi Zu had promised me that he would not allow any Shang Clan god to set foot in Xinghuantian."
For some reason, Zhang Ruochen's heart tightened.
This was indeed too shocking.
The impact on Huang Tian must have been unimaginably great.
However, Huang Tian's cultivation at that time must have already been very powerful, and his mind, tempered by a hundred thousand years, must have been very steady.
The demonic-looking man continued, "They must have just arrived in Xinghuantian and didn't know that Baiwei had given birth to a daughter for me, nor did they know that I was in the Tianxia Shennü Tower. I hid in the shadows, while they went straight to the Shennü King Hall. They were very familiar with the formations and divine patterns outside the Shennü King Hall and walked in without suffering any attacks."
"The secret could no longer be hidden! Duotian Divine Emperor discovered Baiwei and also discovered Qinger."
"I stood outside the hall and heard Duotian Divine Emperor's roar, heard their quarrel, and heard secrets I hadn't known for a hundred thousand years."
"I thought I had extraordinary mental fortitude, far surpassing my peers. I thought I would never be as foolish as I was a hundred thousand years ago, being used without knowing it. But I didn't expect that I had been foolish for a hundred thousand years."
He didn't continue.
Perhaps he lacked the courage to go on.
But Zhang Ruochen could roughly guess the whole story.
From the moment Yu Baiwei decided to become the master of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions, she had probably already been controlled by the Shang Clan.
The Shang Clan could use Yu Baiwei to do many things. First, the vast intelligence network of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions could greatly help the Shang Clan, allowing them to reap huge benefits in places including the Merit Battlefield.
Through Yu Baiwei's hands, they must have used Huang Tian extensively.
More importantly, how could Shi Zu not know that the Shang Clan had controlled Yu Baiwei? Why didn't he stop it? Why didn't he fulfill his promise to Huang Tian?
To put it in one sentence: Four thousand years ago, Huang Tian suffered betrayal from everyone he trusted.
Even worse, it wasn't that he was betrayed four thousand years ago, but that he discovered it four thousand years ago. He had been deceived for a full hundred thousand years.
How strong a will did one need to withstand such a blow?
What happened later between Huang Tian, Yuanxu Ancient Buddha, Duotian Divine Emperor, and Bai Huanghou?
Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but wonder who was helping Huang Tian at that time to get through this ordeal.
Who could it be?
Suddenly, a figure flashed through Zhang Ruochen's mind: Yu Yao. Yes, four thousand years ago, Huang Tian must have met Yu Yao. Only Yu Yao, who looked very much like Bai Huanghou, could heal his wounds.
About two thousand years ago, Huang Tian killed Yuanxu Ancient Buddha.
All the cultivators in the world cursed him for betraying his master and destroying his lineage, but Huang Tian never explained.
Based on Zhang Ruochen's guess, first, he wanted to continue hiding Bai Huanghou's identity as a member of the Reverse God Clan. Second, he didn't want outsiders to know Yuanxu Ancient Buddha's true face, preserving the last shred of dignity for him.
After all, when Huang Tian talked about listening to Yuanxu Ancient Buddha's teachings for eighty thousand years and the things Yuanxu Ancient Buddha took him to do in the Stone Realm, there was always a happy smile on his face.
At least his youth was happy.
Resentment was resentment, kindness was kindness.
He distinguished clearly between kindness and resentment.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly said, "The Reverse God Clan wasn't completely wiped out, was it?"
The demonic-looking man looked at Zhang Ruochen with a surprised expression. "How do you know?"
"If the Shang Clan didn't use the Reverse God Clan as a hostage, how could Bai Huanghou be controlled by them? Moreover, there are supreme beings living in seclusion in Xinghuantian. For the Shang Clan to control the Goddess Twelve Pavilions, they must have held a winning trump card."
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up. "The surviving members of the Reverse God Clan are in Xinghuantian?"
"Boom!"
The entire Divine Realm World shook violently. The sky turned crimson red, and divine flames rolled.
Huang Tian and Duotian Divine Emperor's true bodies had finally clashed.