Chapter 3007: Bone Flute
The space within the Clear Sky Glass Cover was filled with chaotic and powerful divine Qi.
A subtle yet blazing sun-like divine might emanated from the golden chariot, causing the sea surface to be as still as a calm lake and suppressing the three deities present, making it impossible for them to breathe.
"If this young master were to gamble with you, do you think you could self-destruct your divine source?"
Xuan Yuan Lian's cold, deep voice came from within the golden chariot.
Qiu Yu Divine Lord's eyes were panicked, but his mind remained calm. He immediately shifted the blame onto Zhang Ruochen, saying, "Lian Gongzi, that Daoist Qing Pingzi is actually the Heavenly Court traitor Zhang Ruochen. His arrival at Heavenly Beginning Civilization must have ulterior motives. Capture him immediately."
"Swish!"
A flash of tension crossed Chi Yao's eyes as she looked toward the golden chariot.
Behind her, a speck of chaotic light emerged, like a seed blooming into a Time-Space Chaos Lotus. Although the Blood-Dripping Sword was still pointed at Qiu Yu Divine Lord's brow, she was already prepared to intercept Xuan Yuan Lian, buying Zhang Ruochen time to escape.
Zhang Ruochen sensed the divine thought gaze from Xuan Yuan Lian, as if an invisible yet fierce force surged toward him, causing the six divine swords floating around him to tremble slightly.
"So strong! His cultivation is definitely above the Taiyi Realm!"
Xuan Yuan Lian's voice rang out: "Zhang Ruochen, since you've become the Realm Lord of Xinghuantian, you should stay put. Why meddle in the internal affairs of the Heavenly Court?"
Since he had been exposed, Zhang Ruochen saw no point in continuing the disguise. He removed the "Qing Pingzi" face, revealing a young, spirited countenance and a tall, unrestrained figure, and said, "If your Heavenly Court could resolve its own internal matters, why would this Realm Lord need to interfere?"
"You're meddling too much! Do you really think this young master is unaware of tonight's events?" Xuan Yuan Lian said.
Even facing someone like Xuan Yuan Lian, Zhang Ruochen showed no fear, saying, "In this game at Doushuai City, this Realm Lord has been one step ahead of you at every turn, proving that your abilities are inferior to mine. The so-called Son of the Heavenly Venerable, backed by Zhuang Tai'e and the Red Dust Peerless Tower, yet falling behind step by step—what right do you have to accuse me of meddling?"
After a moment of silence, the voice from within the golden chariot spoke again: "Good, very good. You've won this round! But we still have many opportunities to cross paths in the future."
Qiu Yu Divine Lord grew increasingly uneasy. Xuan Yuan Lian seemed to have no intention of dealing with Zhang Ruochen.
How could this be?
He was unaware that Xuan Yuan Lian's considerations had already risen to the level of confrontation between the two major factions, the Heavenly Court and Hell.
Was Zhang Ruochen someone to be trifled with lightly?
Zhang Ruochen was the Realm Lord of Xinghuantian, backed by figures like Jiu Tian, Heavenly Mother, and even the Star Heaven Cliff, as well as the Yunshen Daozhu, who had given him the false face.
Any one of these figures would make Xuan Yuan Lian think twice before acting.
As Yu Yao had advised Zhang Ruochen when urging him to become the Realm Lord of Xinghuantian, "Becoming the master of Xinghuantian will only benefit you, not harm you."
What was the benefit?
The benefit was that, whether in the Heavenly Court or Hell, those cultivators who truly considered the bigger picture would no longer easily make an enemy of Zhang Ruochen.
Who would make an enemy of him? Wouldn't that be forcing Xinghuantian to the opposite side?
After the previous war, Xinghuantian had already been pushed to the brink of choosing sides.
Everything Zhang Ruochen had done during his visit to Heavenly Beginning Civilization had been to help the Heavenly Court.
He had personally slain two deities from the Hell Realm.
As the representative of the Heavenly Palace, as long as Xuan Yuan Lian's mind wasn't clouded, he should secretly win over Zhang Ruochen to ease Xinghuantian's hostility toward the Heavenly Court.
Killing Zhang Ruochen or capturing him to the Heavenly Palace would only invite countless enemies who were not originally foes.
In this world, where were there eternal enemies?
Only eternal interests.
Zhang Ruochen had seen through this layer, which was why, no matter how high Xuan Yuan Lian's cultivation was, he felt no fear.
After leaving behind the harsh words "We'll cross paths again" to salvage a bit of face, Xuan Yuan Lian's divine might receded somewhat from Zhang Ruochen and shifted to Qiu Yu Divine Lord. "Do I need to ask? Confess everything you know yourself."
Qiu Yu Divine Lord's eyes wavered, as if he were still contemplating various strategies, but in the end, he found himself powerless before Xuan Yuan Lian.
He closed his eyes and sighed softly, then bowed with clasped hands, saying, "If this lord... if Qiu Yu confesses everything, can I exchange it for leniency from the Heavenly Palace?"
"This young master has always appreciated your talent and potential. As long as your mistakes are not too deep, I will ensure your life and cultivation are preserved." The voice from within the golden chariot spoke.
Qiu Yu Divine Lord hadn't expected to have a chance to preserve his cultivation. A look of joy appeared on his face as he was about to speak.
Suddenly, a piercing flute sound echoed through the heavens and earth.
The sound wave attack struck Qiu Yu Divine Lord, shattering his eardrums instantly. His body seemed to leap up as he let out a blood-curdling scream.
The seawater exploded, the air boomed, and the rules of heaven and earth shattered one after another.
The flute sound seemed capable of destroying everything in the world.
A bone flute, unknown when it had appeared, hovered above everyone's heads. No cultivator was playing it; it seemed to sound on its own.
Chi Yao's twelve layers of heavenly realms collapsed, her body swaying precariously. Her divine soul nearly flew out, but she managed to pull it back in time by activating the Time-Space Chaos Lotus.
Zhang Ruochen's situation was no better than Chi Yao's. He immediately contracted his Taiji circle to eighteen zhang, barely stabilizing his divine soul. However, the tearing pain from his divine soul made it impossible for him to circulate his divine Qi. The world around him spun, and he could only rely on his spiritual will to resist.
The two of them were only hit by the residual waves of the flute sound.
Qiu Yu Divine Lord was at the center of the flute sound's attack.
The nine bone clan deities pulling the golden chariot had their souls forcibly drawn away by the sound waves and flew into the flute.
"Bang! Bang! Bang..."
Nine consecutive explosions rang out as their divine bones shattered.
From within the golden chariot, a seven-foot-long nine-stringed zither flew out. Its strings were plucked by an invisible hand, producing thunderous zither sounds that clashed with the sound waves from the bone flute.
Qiu Yu Divine Lord's seven orifices bled. His body, already severely wounded by Zhang Ruochen, now bore numerous bloody gashes.
If not for the timely appearance of the nine-stringed zither, his divine soul would have been taken by the bone flute.
The bone flute descended from the sky, exuding a cold, yin aura. Sound waves spread outward in rings, like sharp swords stabbing straight toward Qiu Yu Divine Lord's head.
The nine-stringed zither flipped and collided with the bone flute.
"Boom!"
The deafening sound waves spread in all directions, striking Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao.
Even with the Seven-Source Colorful Garment and the Buddha Emperor Relic protecting him, Zhang Ruochen felt unbearable pain. His body was flung away and slammed into the colored glaze light wall.
What puzzled him was that such a powerful clash of divine power had not shattered the Clear Sky Glass Cover. His heart suddenly jolted as he looked at the bone flute, and a shocking thought emerged in his mind.
The strings of the nine-stringed zither all snapped, and it flew off at an angle.
From within the golden chariot, a divine sound, piercingly high, rang out like a phoenix's cry or a divine dragon's roar. A blurry silhouette of light appeared above the chariot.
Behind that silhouette, the shadows of nine majestic divine halls emerged, each more imposing than the last.
Zhang Ruochen recognized two of those divine hall shadows: the "Truth Divine Hall" and the "Merit Divine Hall."
He wondered what divine path Xuan Yuan Lian cultivated, that during battle, he could manifest nine divine halls. Could he even borrow the power of all nine?
"Zhang Ruochen, lend me your divine sword!"
Xuan Yuan Lian's voice sounded unusual, somewhat strange.
But due to the interference of the bone flute, Zhang Ruochen didn't hear clearly.
Dense sword dao rules filled the entire space, pulling the six divine swords to fly toward the top of the golden chariot, circling the silhouette of light, emitting a "swish, swish" sound.
Time imprint light points flew out from one of the divine halls, forming a massive vortex.
Standing at the center of the time imprint vortex, the silhouette swung the sword, unleashing an unparalleled divine power from the six divine swords, combined with the power of time.
Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands together, his body radiating boundless Buddha light to resist the flute sound. He looked toward the golden chariot and murmured, "This is... the seventh layer of the Time Sword Art, the Flowing Years Sword Art... Time Flows Like Water..."
The bone flute and the six divine swords were inches apart, but in an instant, they clashed. To Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao, however, it felt as if several years had passed.
"Boom!"
On the bone flute, one bright divine pattern after another emerged, evolving into a divine shadow that scattered the six divine swords in disarray. All the time imprint light points were annihilated.
"Pfft!"
The bone flute pierced through Qiu Yu Divine Lord's head, shattering his divine body, splitting his divine source, and turning his flesh and blood into patches of blood-red flower petals.
The silhouette above the golden chariot exploded, and from within the chariot came the sound of spitting blood and falling.
The flute sound ceased. The bone flute collected Qiu Yu Divine Lord's divine source fragments, divine soul, and divine blood but did not attack Zhang Ruochen, Chi Yao, or Xuan Yuan Lian in the golden chariot. It didn't even retrieve the six divine swords and flew straight away.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes wavered. Finally, summoning his courage, as if making a major decision, he suddenly dispersed the Buddha light around him and chased after the bone flute, saying, "Lord Divine King, killing only Qiu Yu Divine Lord cannot cover up the truth."
This time, between reason and emotion, he chose emotion.
The bone flute stopped above the water.
Chi Yao, her long hair disheveled and her divine light flickering, looked at Zhang Ruochen with an expression of disbelief.
Seeing the bone flute stop, Zhang Ruochen became even more certain of his guess. "Since Lord Divine King has come, why not show yourself? Heavenly Beginning Civilization's great world is your territory after all."
After a long silence.
The space trembled slightly, and a tall figure stepped out from the invisible space, extending a dry, powerful hand to grasp the bone flute.
He was shrouded in a misty, mysterious power. Even with the power of truth, Zhang Ruochen couldn't see his face clearly, but he was certain that this person was the renowned Yu Divine King.
The second most powerful figure in Heavenly Beginning Civilization, second only to the Old Heavenly Lord.
The aura he exuded far surpassed Xuan Yuan Lian's, like an emperor overlooking the world. His eyes were like those of a heavenly god looking down upon the mortal realm, and he spoke in a flat tone, "Zhang Ruochen, why did you have to come to Heavenly Beginning Civilization to stir up trouble? Do you know how many people have died because of you?"