Chapter 3014: The "Luo Shu" Is Right Here, I'll Give It to You
Bai Qinger left, appearing very calm, merely telling Zhang Ruochen to return to Xinghuantian early after resolving his cultivation issues, as she needed to go back and continue comprehending the "Thousand Stars in a Row."
Ji Fanxin also left, departing silently.
He couldn't tell if she truly didn't intend to forgive Zhang Ruochen and Jie Zunzhe, or if it was simply too awkward, not knowing how to say goodbye. In any case, Zhang Ruochen was determined that once he had handled the matters at hand, he would definitely visit the Thousand Stamen Realm.
Even if he, Zhang Ruochen, had done everything wrong this time, he shouldn't have left without saying goodbye!
From ally, to friend, to confidant, to lover—it was impossible to have cultivated their relationship to this point only to part ways so easily.
After discovering that Zhang Ruochen wasn't pursuing the matter of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, Luo Sha was the only woman among them who appeared smug and utterly unbothered, instead smiling charmingly at everyone.
But when she saw the seven Rakshasa Clan gods, all having lost their memories, sitting dazedly on the ground counting ants, she couldn't laugh at all anymore!
Zhang Ruochen said, "That old ancestor of mine harbors a deep hatred for the gods of the Hell Realm. He only spared their lives because he saw that all seven of them are gods of this Eon and didn't participate in the divine war of one hundred thousand years ago. So he only erased their memories, not their lives."
In front of Luo Sha and the others, Zhang Ruochen decided to save Jie Zunzhe some face, hence he referred to him as "old ancestor."
Luo Sha was quite calm and nodded, "Although they are gods of the Heavenly Rakshasa Divine Kingdom, I can't guarantee they are absolutely without issues. The old ancestor did the right thing. For now, the news that your martial arts have recovered absolutely cannot be exposed."
Zhang Ruochen was secretly surprised, not expecting Luo Sha to approve of the old fellow's actions.
He had actually felt quite guilty, after all, Emperor Luo Yan had helped him a lot in the Hell Realm. The seven gods losing their memories was no different from Ji Fanxin when she had first cultivated her physical body and become an infant—no one knew how long it would take for them to regain their combat strength.
All their memories had been erased!
At least in her heart, the seven Rakshasa Clan gods were far less important than one of Zhang Ruochen's secrets.
Luo Ji hadn't left, nor did she know where to go. Her heart was filled with countless grievances, but seeing that the Heavenly Lord Mountain was no longer in the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, and seeing the seven powerful Rakshasa Clan gods have their memories erased, she realized that even if she threw the biggest tantrum and made the biggest scene, she would be no different from a woman from a fallen family married into a wealthy household—only able to wash her face with tears and wallow in self-pity. She might even get beaten and scolded for being unreasonable.
A loud roar rang out: "What's there to count? This is just an anthill, there are too many, impossible to count! Watch me take a piss and wash them all away!"
Divine Marquis Ximen, furious, stood up and immediately began to loosen his clothes, but couldn't figure out how to remove his armor. After struggling for a long time, he lost his temper and stomped right into the anthill.
His strength was too great, causing the ground to shake.
"What are you doing? Pay for my ants!"
Emperor Feng tackled Divine Marquis Ximen to the ground, grabbing him by the neck. The two Great Perfection Upper-Level Gods, who shook the universe, rolled together, fighting fiercely.
The other five gods swarmed in, raining fists down on Divine Marquis Ximen's head and face.
Although they had lost their memories and were like young children, their strength was immense, and their divine power unconsciously leaked out, causing the space to tremble violently.
Luo Sha's phoenix-like eyes revealed a deep and cunning light. "This is actually good. Now they have higher plasticity. If used well, I can cultivate seven completely loyal god-level experts. Chen Ge, ask the old ancestor if he has any more of this kind of pill."
"You're a bit too clever," Zhang Ruochen said.
Luo Sha, as if she couldn't detect the hidden meaning in Zhang Ruochen's words, smiled. "They say women become a bit duller after having children. I just wonder, if I were to have a child before officially getting married, would my imperial father be angry?"
Luo Sha sealed the divine realm worlds and spiritual power of the seven Rakshasa Clan gods, then put them into her Gate of True Self. She planned to return to the Heavenly Rakshasa Divine Kingdom and, as their master, teach them to cultivate anew and master the power they already possessed.
Before leaving, Luo Sha walked over to Luo Ji and whispered something in her ear, then vanished into the sky with a bell-like laugh.
Zhang Ruochen could see that Luo Ji had been suppressing her emotions, and his guilt deepened. He was about to go comfort her when he heard Chi Yao's voice beside him: "Next, are you going to the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Going there to find the Sword Realm—whether to fulfill Grandmaster's wishes or for the Heavenly Beginning Civilization—it's already imperative."
Luo Ji opened her tightly shut eyes and looked at Zhang Ruochen.
"I can't go with you," Chi Yao said.
This time, it was Zhang Ruochen's turn to be surprised.
After all, Chi Yao had previously spent a lot of effort trying to stop Zhang Ruochen from taking risks in the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain. Zhang Ruochen had been thinking about how to persuade her to return to the Kunlun Realm, but now she was backing out on her own.
Was she angry too?
Did she truly feel that their relationship had reached its end?
Women always have their moods. Especially Zhang Ruochen's attitude toward Luo Sha earlier must have hurt the hearts of the women from the Heavenly Court side.
Chi Yao's right hand unconsciously moved up to her lower abdomen. Her expression was complex—surprise, distress, curiosity, and a hidden joy. "I have that familiar feeling. When I was pregnant with Kunlun and Kongle, I felt the same way. In any case, after this little one is born, if you still haven't come out of the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain, I will definitely come find you."
"Splash!"
Ripples appeared in space, and Chi Yao stepped into them, disappearing.
Zhang Ruochen's heart couldn't calm down. He was surprised—how did it happen to be Chi Yao again?
He wanted to chase after her, return to the Kunlun Realm together, stay by Chi Yao's side, wait for the child to be born, give him or her a nice name, and spend a beautiful childhood together. But he was afraid the Heavenly Beginning Civilization couldn't hold out that long, so he could only suppress the joy and impulse inside.
Luo Ji had never thought she would rely on a man. Over the years, even when Zhang Ruochen was completely out of contact, she had stubbornly guarded her Dao heart, cultivated, gone to the Starry Sky Battlefield to fight Hell Realm cultivators, and tempered her insufficiently strong will.
She had been intimate with Zhang Ruochen several times, but hadn't conceived a child. She didn't think it was a big deal. She didn't need a child, she didn't even need Zhang Ruochen—at least, that's what she told herself.
From the beginning, her relationship with Zhang Ruochen had been an accident.
But when she heard Chi Yao say she was pregnant again, she felt a sense of loss inside. However, she wouldn't show this loss, wouldn't let Zhang Ruochen see it.
She was still the strong Heavenly Beginning Heavenly Maiden, the future Heavenly Lord of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, bearing the heavy responsibility of continuing the civilization and making it strong again.
"I'm sorry."
As Luo Ji was sinking into her own inner world of emotions, Zhang Ruochen's voice sounded in her ear.
Luo Ji lifted her jade-white head, trying to appear as indifferent as possible. "Why are you saying sorry? You haven't wronged me! If you hadn't come to the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, the fire seed and civilization treasury might have been taken by the Rakshasa Clan, and I would have died on Heavenly Lord Mountain."
Zhang Ruochen could hear the storm beneath the calm surface. "The hatred between the Heavenly Beginning Civilization and the Hell Realm is indeed an irreconcilable conflict between you and Luo Sha. But I believe Luo Sha would never harm you. Her desire to take the fire seed was indeed an attempt to recruit the Heavenly Beginning Civilization. If she hadn't harbored such kind intentions, I would have offended Emperor Luo Yan rather than marry her. She knows very well where my bottom line is!"
Luo Ji said, "Do you know what she said to me when she left? She said your martial arts cultivation has hit a bottleneck, and you must comprehend the 'Luo Shu' to break through. Do you know what the other implied meaning of this sentence is?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "What?"
"It means that if your cultivation hadn't hit a bottleneck, you wouldn't have come to the Heavenly Beginning Civilization. From the very beginning, everything you did was for the 'Luo Shu'?" Luo Ji said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Is that what you think too?"
"Of course not."
Luo Ji's expression was no longer calm and indifferent, but violently agitated. She almost cried out: "But you have to show me with your actions, let me truly feel your heart."
"I know, there isn't much room for me in your heart. In terms of feelings and family, I can't compare to Chi Yao. In terms of background, I can't compare to Luo Sha. In terms of cultivation and potential, I'm no match for Bai Qinger and Fanxin. I'm useless in every way, can't help you, and now I'm just a burden."
"The Heavenly Beginning Civilization is about to be destroyed! The fire seed was taken to the Kunlun Realm by the old patriarch of the Zhang family. I'm homeless, I have no powerful elders to back me up, I can't leave you, and I have to beg you for everything. Because the fire seed is in your hands, I have no choice but to compromise."
By the end, she was in tears, completely losing her previous strong facade. She took out a round white jade disc and thrust it into Zhang Ruochen's arms. "The 'Luo Shu' is right here, I'll give it to you. Take it!"
Zhang Ruochen didn't take the "Luo Shu." Instead, he forcefully pulled her into his arms, letting her vent her helplessness, sorrow, and fear. His eyes grew more determined. "Going to the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain is very dangerous. One wrong move and I could get lost in there, never to come out. But after learning about the life-and-death crisis facing the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, I made up my mind—no matter how dangerous, I have to go. Not for the 'Luo Shu,' but for the promise I made back in the Heavenly Court."
He continued, "As long as the Heavenly Beginning Civilization can be saved, who says you're homeless? Even if you are homeless, I can be your home."
The flame of hope that had been extinguished in Luo Ji's heart was rekindled. Her emotions calmed down, and she asked softly, "Does the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain hold the hope of continuing the Heavenly Beginning Civilization?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "The biggest problem facing the Heavenly Beginning Civilization right now is that it can't retreat, and it won't surrender to the Hell Realm. In the end, it will exhaust all the essence of the great world and perish. If, outside the Heavenly Court Universe and the Hell Universe, there is an incalculable, unexplorable star domain, then there would be a place to take refuge. The Dark Great Triangle Star Domain is such a place."
"But to sustain a world as vast as the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain must have a convergence point of cosmic spatial veins, a place where a great world can become more glorious and prosperous, rather than slowly losing its spiritual energy and eventually drying up."
"My purpose in going to the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain is to find this place. This place once gave birth to the most magnificent and grand sword Dao world in the universe, once dazzling and brilliant, comparable to today's Heavenly Court Great World. Its name is the Sword Realm!"
Seeing hope, Luo Ji immediately stopped wallowing in self-pity and stopped doubting Zhang Ruochen's motives. A hint of guilt even arose in her heart, feeling that she was too narrow-minded and too easily influenced by Luo Sha's words.
She said, "I'll go with you!"