Chapter 2947: The Formation Emerges
This five-colored chaotic ocean, vast beyond measure spanning countless trillions of miles, harbored infinite dangers. Even gods could not cross it.
Only those who had reached the level of Zhao Gongming and the Old Woodcutter could see the opposite shore through layers of chaotic space and time.
The Old Woodcutter’s gaze fell upon Xinghuantian, like a dark speck floating in the starry sky. He said, “The gods of the Hell Realm have already arrived. You no longer have any chance. Shouldn’t you retreat now?”
Zhao Gongming said, “We will not retreat!”
The Old Woodcutter said, “Luo Yan has arrived, and the clan leader of the Undying Blood Clan has also come. If there are no surprises, the Hell Realm should have one or two Heavenly Venerables here as well! Must you force the Heavenly Mother to come to Haishi Rock Dock before you will stop?”
Zhao Gongming said, “The Heavenly Venerable is still playing his game. Since he has not ordered a retreat, it means we still have a chance. How important this battle is to the Heavenly Court, you should understand. To be honest, with all the years of our friendship, you should advise your master to accept the Heavenly Venerable’s goodwill. Things have come to this point, which is truly not what the Heavenly Venerable wished. I don’t want to fight you either!”
The Old Woodcutter was silent for a moment, then said, “I know what you want to do, but doing that, even the Heavenly Venerable doesn’t have absolute certainty, does he? If something goes wrong, it won’t just be a matter of destroying a single Xinghuantian. It would be a disaster for the entire universe. My master knows this, which is why he has not yielded. Even if the Heavenly Venerable came in person, he would still want to contend.”
Zhao Gongming looked at the boundless sea of stars and sighed deeply, “In truth, even the Heavenly Venerable himself doesn’t know if this is right or wrong.”
“Since he doesn’t know right from wrong, why do it?” the Old Woodcutter asked.
Zhao Gongming said, “In this world, there always needs to be someone to take action. If one is afraid of making mistakes and does nothing, choosing to sit and wait for death, then the tragedy of three hundred thousand years ago would not have happened!”
“The Heavenly Venerable has always been decisive in his actions, but this time he has been hesitant. I think the reason he hasn’t acted yet is that he has given up making the decision himself. Very well, let us now quietly watch the development of the situation on Xinghuantian and leave the decision in their hands.”
…
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen had no idea that his actions today would change the fate of countless beings.
The impact was far greater than he could imagine.
The battle outside Xinghuantian had ceased. One by one, the top-tier great gods of the Heavenly Court arrived outside the Divine Maiden Tower. With the arrival of the Hell Realm gods, continuing to besiege Huang Tian and the Absolute Zen Buddhist Nun was meaningless.
In the clouds and on the ground, divine might surged. The billions of living beings on Xinghuantian trembled in fear.
After the Middle Ages, such a grand spectacle of so many gods from both the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm gathering in one realm was unprecedented. It could be imagined that if a divine war of this scale broke out, the entire Xinghuantian would inevitably be destroyed in the flames of calamity.
Among the gods, a young voice rang out: “Zhang Ruochen, you’d better advise the gods of the Hell Realm not to make a move. Otherwise, once this divine war erupts, everything you are protecting now will be reduced to ashes. When Xinghuantian shatters into pieces, turning into fireballs in the starry sky, it will be too late for regret!”
Zhang Ruochen looked over and saw the figure of Yin Yuanchen amidst the divine light.
Among the gods of the Heavenly Court, no one understood Zhang Ruochen better than Yin Yuanchen.
Zhang Ruochen, who had borrowed the divine power of the Heavenly Mother and wielded the Divine Sword and the God-Defying Stele, might have no flaws in his battle tactics, making him unassailable. But Yin Yuanchen understood that Zhang Ruochen’s weakness lay in his heart.
The more a person cares about something, the more that thing becomes their greatest vulnerability.
Luo Sha naturally understood Zhang Ruochen as well and quickly said, “If Xinghuantian is destroyed, it would be worth it to have the armies of the Heavenly Court’s thirteen realms as burial companions. Dust Brother, whether to fight or not, you decide.”
Although Luo Yan the Great Emperor had ordered them not to act, the current situation was no longer controlled by any single decree.
Moreover, Luo Sha was certain that the gods of the Heavenly Court dared not fight.
If the armies of the thirteen realms, numbering tens of millions of Saint realm cultivators, were all buried on Xinghuantian, the Heavenly Court could not bear such a blow.
An ancient god of the Undying Blood Clan spoke up: “Let’s fight! Wiping out the armies of the Heavenly Court’s thirteen realms in one go—what a satisfying thought!”
“Just a single Xinghuantian—destroy it if we must! Let this world serve as a grand tomb to bury the gods of the Heavenly Court and their tens of millions of Saint realm cultivators.”
Xue Jue War God said, “What my grandson cares about is not the living beings of Xinghuantian, but the daughter of Huang Tian, my grandson’s wife. Trying to influence his will with a group of mundane mortals who have nothing to do with him—you have completely misjudged! Today, for the sake of Huang Tian’s daughter, for the sake of my grandson’s wife, will the gods of the Undying Blood Clan fight alongside this War God?”
“Fight! For the daughter of the Great God Huang Tian!”
“Fight! For the grandson of the Great Clan Leader’s wife!”
The gods of the Undying Blood Clan all knew that Xue Jue War God and the Great God Huang Tian had been rivals for a hundred thousand years, lifelong enemies. Now that he finally had a chance to get one over on the Great God Huang Tian, his mood was certainly elated.
They were naturally happy to go along and join in the clamor.
But aside from Zhang Ruochen, Luo Sha, and Yin Yuanchen, the other gods of both the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm believed Xue Jue War God’s words. They also thought that the mundane mortals of Xinghuantian could never become Zhang Ruochen’s weakness.
Gods stood high above, how could they see the mayflies on the ground that lived and died in a single day?
That was right.
In the eyes of gods, mortals who lived only a few decades were no different from mayflies that lived and died in a single day. Why would they care about their lives or deaths?
Precisely because they thought Zhang Ruochen was like them, the atmosphere suddenly turned grim. Space seemed to freeze as the divine power fields of both sides collided.
A divine war was on the verge of breaking out.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was caught between a rock and a hard place. If he stepped in to stop the gods of the Hell Realm, he would be exposing his weakness completely to the gods of the Heavenly Court.
The Heavenly Court’s army had already captured thousands of nations, holding the lives of a large number of humans on Xinghuantian in their hands.
With such a hostage card in their possession, they could manipulate Zhang Ruochen at will.
But if he did not stop the Hell Realm gods and let the situation deteriorate step by step, then even if the gods of both the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm did not want to fight, they would eventually lose control.
While Zhang Ruochen was in great distress, the Drunkard was facing the same dilemma.
Shang Tian said, “Now is truly the last chance! For a junior like Zhang Ruochen, the living beings of Xinghuantian have nothing to do with him. They won’t create any flaw in his state of mind. But you have lived on Xinghuantian for a hundred thousand years. Do you truly have no feelings at all for the people there, for every blade of grass and every tree?”
The Drunkard’s face was full of hatred. “Using the lives of all the living beings on Xinghuantian as a threat to force me to submit—such a shameless tactic, and you actually use it. Was this your idea, or Hao Tian’s?”
“It doesn’t matter whose idea it was. I only know that tactics have never been divided into shameless and noble, only into useful and useless,” Shang Tian said.
The Drunkard said, “Back then, you used this same trick to kill Wen Tianjun and Xumi, and to make Yunshen Daozhu a prisoner of the Destiny Temple?”
Shang Tian corrected, “That trick was used by the Hell Realm, taught by your teacher from Tiannan! It was precisely because it was useful that I thought of using it. With the cultivation levels of Wen Tianjun, Xumi, and Yunshen Daozhu, they would actually sacrifice themselves for a realm’s mundane mortals. You are the same kind of people as them!”
“In truth, I really didn’t want to deal with you this way, but this is the last resort! For the sake of the various realms of the Heavenly Court, for the sake of the Ancient Civilization Faction, I don’t mind being the villain.”
The Drunkard knew that his weakness had been seen through by Shang Tian, and he became much more despondent. “The gods of the Hell Realm have already arrived. Even if I agree to your terms, what use would it be?”
Shang Tian revealed a smile. “As long as you are willing to accept the conditions set by the Heavenly Court, the Heavenly Venerable and Yu Linsheng will naturally make their decision. With the four of us here, what difference does it make how many gods from the Hell Realm come? Don’t worry, when the time comes, the Heavenly Venerable will personally come forward to clear the name of the God-Defying Clan.”
The Drunkard’s eyelids drooped, his eyes full of helplessness.
Indeed, it had come to the final moment. The Drunkard wanted nothing more than to fight Shang Tian to the death, even if it meant mutual destruction.
But Shang Tian was not wrong about one thing: he was the same kind of person as Wen Tianjun, Xumi, and Yunshen Daozhu.
Many gods could sever their emotions, their hearts focused only on the divine path.
But there were always some people who were full of passion for life, who harbored deep feelings for many people and many things in the world. Those feelings might be love, like Huang Tian and White Queen.
Or they might be friendship, like the Dragon Lord and the Ice Emperor.
Or they might be familial affection, like Xue Jue War God toward Xue Hou and Zhang Ruochen.
But most gods, after becoming gods, gradually grew emotionally thin, caring only about cultivation, the divine path, and personal gain or loss. Like the Absolute Zen Buddhist Nun of the past, who trusted no one, had no true friends, or a lover who could move her heart.
The Drunkard closed his eyes. “Take me to see Hao Tian.”
Shang Tian nodded in satisfaction, a faint smile on his face, and was about to say something.
“Whoosh!”
A brilliant light came from the direction of Xinghuantian.
Shang Tian’s eyes narrowed, and the smile on his face vanished completely.
The Drunkard’s previously dejected and gloomy expression changed. A sharp light blazed in his eyes, and he burst into loud laughter. “Shang the Bearded, now you should understand what it means to have man propose but heaven dispose! The Thousand Star Xinghuantian Formation actually exists! For the formation to reappear at this moment, it seems everything is the will of heaven.”
…
All the spiritual veins, Saint veins, and divine veins within the world of Xinghuantian became active.
One by one, bright pillars of light shot up from the planet’s core, striking the sky, causing space to tremble violently.
When all the light pillars transformed into formation inscription patterns and interwove together, stars appeared out of thin air in the cosmic space outside Xinghuantian, like a thousand stars strung together, protecting the entire world at their center.