Chapter 2976: The Second Starry Sky Defense Line
Xiao Hei was completely uninterested in this matter, plopping down onto the roots of the peach tree and saying, "What do I care if those ancient civilizations are destroyed? But when the time comes, I can go grab a share of the benefits. Better to let me, the Emperor, have them than to let those Hell Realm bastards who eat people without spitting out bones get them. Hehe!"
Wind rustled her sleeves, and Chi Yao's expression was cold and stern. "Why must we just wait for destruction? Can't we fight? Hell Realm doesn't dare to start an all-out divine war with Heavenly Court. So if the Heavenly Court gods march out with overwhelming force, won't Hell Realm be forced to retreat obediently?"
Yunshen Daozhu said, "You should all know about the Calamity of Quantities, right? If Heavenly Court and Hell Realm fight each other to mutual destruction, when the Calamity of Quantities arrives, who can resist it? Everyone will die."
"Does Hell Realm dare to have a decisive battle with Heavenly Court?" Chi Yao asked.
Yunshen Daozhu replied, "Hell Realm naturally doesn't dare! But both Heavenly Court and Hell Realm harbor some dark forces that are desperately trying to push both sides into a decisive battle. If we actually did that, we'd be playing right into their hands."
Xiao Hei was confused and asked, "Dark forces? What dark forces?"
"These are things you haven't encountered yet, no need to ask too much. In short, this war sweeping the entire universe is far more complicated than what you see on the surface. Deception, intrigue, undercurrents, conflicting interests—even I haven't fully seen through it all yet."
Yunshen Daozhu continued, "Let's set aside those dark forces for now. Just the Shura Star Pillar Realm alone ensures that the Heavenly Court gods cannot have a decisive battle with Hell Realm."
"Hell Realm has mobilized the entire Shura Star Pillar Realm to advance toward the ancient civilization faction, gradually encroaching. Behind the Shura Star Pillar Realm is the moving Yellow Spring Star River."
"If we want to stop Hell Realm's advance, we must first attack the Shura Star Pillar Realm. That means the Heavenly Court gods would be fighting on Hell Realm's turf against Hell Realm's deities—how could they gain any advantage?"
Yunshen Daozhu's gaze fell on Zhang Ruochen, noticing his unusual expression, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Zhang Ruochen let out a bitter smile. "Grandmaster, was the destruction of the Hanhai Civilization and the breach of the Starry Sky Defense Line really caused by me? Are the countless billions of living beings in the ancient civilizations dead because I am the chief culprit?"
"Why would you think that?" Yunshen Daozhu asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I know that the Heavenly Court army's attack on Xinghuantian was a plan to destroy the Shura Star Pillar Realm and end this war once and for all. But because of me, the Heavenly Court army's efforts failed, and then the Hanhai Civilization was destroyed by the collision of the Shura Star Pillar Realm, creating a gap in the Starry Sky Defense Line."
Yunshen Daozhu said, "If you say that, then I, your grandmaster, am also a sinner, and I am not unrelated to this matter."
Zhang Ruochen guessed that his grandmaster was referring to Chi Xingtian.
"In fact, in this game, you and the Heavenly Court gods are all pawns. The ones who truly determine the direction of the situation are the chess players hidden behind the scenes."
"If a game is lost, why blame the pawns? All responsibility should fall on the chess players."
"In this game, I, your grandmaster, also placed a piece. The defeat of the Heavenly Court army is more or less related to that piece. If anyone should bear the blame, it should be me, your grandmaster."
Zhang Ruochen quickly said, "Grandmaster, you placed that piece to save me, didn't you?"
Yunshen Daozhu smiled and shook his head. "What's done is done, why dwell on it? That's how things are in this world—everything has two sides. What you think is a victory is actually a defeat."
"But if you were given another chance to choose, would you not have acted in Xinghuantian? You still wouldn't have stood by and done nothing. Neither would I."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Yes, even if I had to do it all over again, I would still make the same choice."
"Then why agonize over it?" Yunshen Daozhu said.
Zhang Ruochen's knot was untied, and he bowed to Yunshen Daozhu. "Actually, there's something I don't understand. Since Heavenly Court could build the first Starry Sky Defense Line in a short time, why can't it build a second one?"
"Ruochen, you haven't been paying much attention to the Starry Sky Battlefield lately, have you? In fact, the second Starry Sky Defense Line has already begun to be set up," Yunshen Daozhu said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "In that case, why not have the ten civilizations of the first defense line retreat to the second line? Wouldn't that make the second line more stable?"
Yunshen Daozhu said, "The first Starry Sky Defense Line was built hastily, which is why it was breached in less than a hundred years."
"That's precisely why Heavenly Court places great importance on the second defense line. All major worlds have been continuously transporting resources there. The ancient civilizations have staked everything on the second defense line."
"But to build a defense line capable of countering the Shura Star Pillar Realm, a large number of formations need to be arranged, countless divine patterns must be inscribed, and thousands of star fortresses and war cities must be constructed."
"So the first defense line was meant to buy time for the completion of the second defense line. In the future, the second defense line may very well become a starry sky Great Wall separating the Heavenly Court Universe from the Hell Realm Universe. That would be a permanent solution."
Xiao Hei laughed. "So to build the second defense line, they have to sacrifice the ten civilizations of the first line. If I were the Heavenly Lord of one of those civilizations, I'd pack the whole civilization into my body and just run away."
Chi Yao said, "In any war, there will be sacrifices. The sacrifices are not limited to the ten civilizations. How many cultivators from Kunlun Realm have died on the Starry Sky Battlefield? Countless bones have been left behind by other major worlds as well."
"If everyone runs away at the first sign of danger, the armies of the Heavenly Court Myriad Realms would collapse even faster."
"One hundred thousand years ago, when Kunlun Realm was attacked by Hell Realm, if Saint Monk Xumi and Tai Shang had simply retreated, the Yellow Spring Star River would have already swallowed the Heavenly Court and destroyed all major worlds by now."
"Only war can stop war."
"Concession only makes the enemy more rampant and fuels their arrogance."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Actually, if Heavenly Court had completely abandoned the ten civilizations of the first Starry Sky Defense Line, and I were the Heavenly Lord of one of those civilizations, I would also flee with my civilization. But now, cultivators and gods from all major worlds are still holding the first defense line, fighting alongside the ten civilizations. If they fled now, wouldn't that be no different from betraying the cause?"
"Alright, alright. You all are great figures with ideals and a sense of responsibility. I, the Emperor, have a narrow perspective. Is that good enough?" Xiao Hei said.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "I'm just speaking objectively. If you fight alongside me, even if I know it means death, I won't abandon you and run. But if you use me to kill enemies while hiding behind, then why should I fight so hard?"
Xiao Hei was speechless, shrugged, and said nothing more.
Yunshen Daozhu said, "You should all know about the supervision teams, right?"
Chi Yao said, "When war breaks out, soldiers who try to retreat are executed on the spot by the supervision teams."
"Does Heavenly Court even have supervision teams?" Xiao Hei asked in surprise.
Yunshen Daozhu said, "The Twenty Heavens are the supervision teams. All decisions are made by them through discussion. Anyone who disobeys their orders, even a Heavenly Lord who dares to flee, will die."
"Alright, I can't afford to mess with them." Xiao Hei shut his mouth again.
Yunshen Daozhu asked, "Ruochen, you still haven't answered my question."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was firm. "I won't stand by and do nothing. At the very least, I will definitely go to the Heavenly Beginning Civilization. I once promised a cultivator that I would do my utmost to help her, whether or not she still appreciates my kindness now."
Zhang Ruochen knew very well that the cultivators of the entire ancient civilization faction probably wanted to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Luo Ji might already see him as an enemy, but he still decided to go.
Xiao Hei glanced at Zhang Ruochen, then secretly observed Chi Yao's expression, making a clicking sound with his tongue.
Yunshen Daozhu said, "Among the ten civilizations of the first Starry Sky Defense Line, the Hanhai Civilization was the weakest, so it was the first to be breached."
"But the Blazing Sun Civilization, Giant Spirit Civilization, Hidden Ruins Civilization, and Heavenly Beginning Civilization are all among the top ten ancient civilizations. If Hell Realm wants to destroy them, it will have to pay a heavy price. In the short term, the first Starry Sky Defense Line should still hold."
"Ruochen, if you want to go to the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, I, your grandmaster, won't stop you. But you must first solve your cultivation problems and make your strength advance further, so the danger will be somewhat less."
In the following time, Zhang Ruochen consulted Yunshen Daozhu on the great Dao of Wuji, Taiji, and Yin-Yang Two Forms, resolving some of his doubts.
After bidding farewell to Yunshen Daozhu, on the way to the Liangyi Sect, Chi Yao said, "You cannot go to the Heavenly Beginning Civilization. The danger there is even greater than in the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain."
Xiao Hei argued with Chi Yao, "The grandmaster said he has a way to prevent even Infinite Realm gods from detecting Zhang Ruochen."
"Just because he can't be detected doesn't mean there won't be accidents. There are so many powerful beings in the world. Once in close contact, no matter how good the concealment method, it won't fool their perception," Chi Yao said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I must go on this trip."
With just that one sentence, he cut off all of Chi Yao's subsequent words.
The journey was silent. When they reached the Liangyi Sect, Zhang Ruochen looked at Chi Yao and said, "I plan to activate the Sundial on Ancient God Mountain for a thousand years. You can send a message to the trustworthy cultivators of Kunlun Realm and have them come to cultivate together."
"Hehe, time to go into seclusion again! This time, I, the Emperor, will break through to mid-level Upper Deity." Xiao Hei became excited.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You can't go into seclusion."
Xiao Hei felt like cold water had been poured on him. "Why not? You can, so why can't I, the Emperor? Am I weaker than you?"
"Yes."
After leaving these two words, Zhang Ruochen first sent out divine thoughts to contact some of the cultivators he trusted in Kunlun Realm.
For example, "Xue Lingxian" and "Yan Liren" of the Blood God Sect, "Shi Ren" the young clan leader of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan, as well as "Chi Xingtian," "Mu Lingxi," "Luo Xu," "Fangcun Dashi," "Da Sikong," "Er Sikong," and some cultivators of the Ming Sect... and so on.
A thousand years of time is extremely precious for cultivators below the God Realm, enough to achieve a major leap in cultivation.
It is even possible to reach the pinnacle of the mortal world and break through to become a god.
...
Well, this is another transitional chapter. Such transitional chapters must be written, so I can only try to speed things up as much as possible.
There will be another chapter tonight.