Chapter 3043: Taking a Disciple
"Isn't he deserving of death?" Feng Xi said.
Xuan Yuan Qing said, "First of all, there is no evidence proving that Shang Hong released the several gods of the Hell Realm. Even if there were real evidence, killing a Great God is not something you can decide, and of course, neither can I. Only the Heavenly Palace can!"
Shang Hong was not a Saint King or Great Saint, but a Great God.
He was already one of the few major figures of the Shang Clan.
Not to mention that Xuan Yuan Qing knew the truth; even if Shang Hong had truly released Xue Tu, the proper course would be to capture him first and bring him back to the Heavenly Palace for judgment. Otherwise, it would inevitably cause great upheaval.
Shang Hong was moved. He looked at Xuan Yuan Qing and bowed deeply to her, saying, "After leaving the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain, Shang Hong will personally go to the Heavenly Palace to explain what happened today. If I am truly guilty, even if I am executed and my divine form is annihilated, I will accept it willingly."
"I'm afraid that after leaving the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain, Great God Shang Hong will go to defect to the Hell Realm, right?"
"Even if we don't kill him now, we should at least cripple his cultivation and throw him into the Divine Prison."
...
"Rumble!"
The heavens and earth shook as golden divine light rolled in from afar.
The golden chariot flew above the Xufeng Divine Ship, slowing down, carrying a mighty divine might as it stopped before the assembled gods.
"Greetings, Young Master Lian!"
All the gods present, including Mo Xiansheng, bowed their heads.
Whether in terms of cultivation or influence, Xuan Yuan Lian surpassed Xuan Yuan Qing by more than tenfold. This was someone destined to enter the Infinite Realm in the future. A future All Heavens was within reach!
Xuan Yuan Qing had entered the Radiant Divine Temple to cultivate, wielding the Radiant Divine Sword, and had stepped into the Tai Bai Realm in less than two eons.
On the surface, her talent was peerless and her status noble, but compared to Xuan Yuan Lian, she paled in insignificance.
Xuan Yuan Lian was the same age as Xuan Yuan Qing, yet his cultivation had already reached the Tai Xu Realm. He represented the Heavenly Venerable, moving through the Heavenly Court's myriad realms, coordinating all sides, and standing on equal footing with those Infinite Realm powerhouses who were enfeoffed as kings and honored as venerables.
He had accomplished countless great deeds and left behind many legends.
Feng Xi and Feng Xuan dared to offend Xuan Yuan Qing because she rarely participated in worldly affairs and had few merits for the Heavenly Court. But to offend Xuan Yuan Lian...
Even Feng Yun Ba, if he were alive, would have to think twice.
Xuan Yuan Lian's voice came from within the golden chariot: "I already know everything that happened here! The death of Fourth Master is truly regrettable, and the Heavenly Court has lost a future God Venerable. All the gods of the Wind Clan, can you hand Shang Hong over to me for judgment?"
Feng Yan knew the truth and even suspected that Xuan Yuan Qing also knew it. No matter how much they pressured Shang Hong, he would never die.
Instead, the Wind Clan would likely be mocked by these siblings.
Feng Yan stepped forward. Without bowing, he stood straight and said, "Young Master Lian has always been fair. I trust you will give everyone a satisfactory explanation."
Feng Yan felt a divine thought sweep over him.
"Not bad. As expected of one who has awakened the Three Heads and Six Arms of the Pure Yang Heavenly Venerable."
After this praise, Xuan Yuan Lian continued, "Do you plan to leave the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain next, or continue forward?"
Although Feng Yan had only recently become a god, he wielded the Pure Yang Divine Sword, so he naturally could make decisions for the Wind Clan.
"Father said that a Pure Yang cultivator can only advance, never retreat," Feng Yan said.
Xuan Yuan Lian praised again: "The fall of Fourth Master is indeed regrettable. But it seems the Wind Clan is about to produce another heroic figure to fight across the world—a truly joyous event! Qing'er, come into the chariot."
Xuan Yuan Qing boarded the golden chariot.
Inside the chariot, a small world existed on its own, filled with golden divine mist, various golden plants, and flowing purple springs.
Vaguely visible within the golden divine mist were towering mountains and palace towers.
The most eye-catching plant among them was a green lotus floating in the purple spring, radiating a hazy glow, its petals crystalline, with billions of rule divine patterns swirling around it.
Eight majestic divine temples floated in eight directions above the green lotus, as if located in a different dimension, constantly rising and falling.
A figure of utmost grace stood within the green lotus, her long hair flowing. Her two slender jade hands formed a seal, and instantly, from Xuan Yuan Qing, who had arrived at the edge of the purple spring, one soul and one spirit flew out, along with a phantom of a Radiant Divine Temple.
The one soul and one spirit flew into the green lotus and merged with the indistinct figure.
The phantom of the Radiant Divine Temple flew above the green lotus and aligned with the other eight temples.
Xuan Yuan Qing, meanwhile, transformed into a human-shaped lotus root.
If Zhang Ruochen were standing here, he would be shocked. Because with his perception, he had never seen through the fact that Xuan Yuan Qing was merely a puppet body.
...
Shang Hong followed behind the golden chariot to the stern of the Xufeng Divine Ship.
The three True Gods of the Radiant Divine Temple and Lian Xi could only stand in the distance.
"Shang Hong, do you know your mistake?"
From within the golden chariot, Xuan Yuan Lian's vast and distant voice sounded, its gender indistinguishable.
Shang Hong bowed and said, "Shang Hong knows his mistake."
"What is your mistake?" Xuan Yuan Lian said.
Shang Hong said, "My mistake was in not being cautious enough, underestimating my opponent, and... I should have reported to Great God Xuan Yuan immediately and discussed it with her."
Shang Hong was not stupid. After careful thought, he had realized why Xuan Yuan Qing had protected him so fiercely, even at the cost of offending the Wind Clan. It wasn't because he himself was so charming. Rather, Xuan Yuan Qing knew that the one who released Xue Tu was not him.
In other words, Xuan Yuan Qing had known Zhang Ruochen's identity from the very beginning.
"It's good that you understand this." It was an extremely pleasant female voice.
Then Xuan Yuan Qing walked out of the golden chariot, her white divine light dazzling, her injuries fully healed, and not a trace of the Yellow Spring Flower poison remaining.
She stood beside the golden chariot without leaving and continued, "Don't be unconvinced! If you had truly caught Zhang Ruochen's weakness today and made the Wind Clan stand on the same side as you, even considering the situation at Xinghuantian, I would have captured him. Since you lost in the contest, you have to accept it."
From within the chariot, Xuan Yuan Lian spoke: "Xinghuantian is of great importance, and behind Zhang Ruochen are several All Heavens-level powerhouses. With your intelligence, you should understand the reason for Qing'er's actions."
Shang Hong's gaze darkened. "But Zhang Ruochen caused heavy losses to the Heavenly Court army at Xinghuantian. He captured Er Jia Blood Ancestor of the Blood War Divine Temple and reportedly gave him to the Blood Absolute Family as a Great God blood medicine. He moved the Tai Shang of the Yama Clan to refine the Third Elder of the Array Extermination Palace into a furnace of divine pills. He even destroyed the Heavenly Venerable's plan at Xingtiandang. How can such a great enemy be tolerated?"
Xuan Yuan Qing said, "And today? Today, he shattered Zhao Wuyan's divine source with a single sword. If he hadn't changed the battle situation, you would now be a soul scattered to the winds. In the end, we all owe him a life."
Just as Shang Hong was about to speak, Xuan Yuan Lian's voice sounded again: "The matter of Xinghuantian is not something you can comment on. If you truly don't understand, you can go back and ask your grandfather. At the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, I owed Zhang Ruochen a great favor—one might even say the entire Heavenly Court owes him. So, as far as I'm concerned, I regard him as a neutral party, someone worth winning over."
"Of course, your Shang Clan has a personal grudge against him. That is your affair, and you can fight however you like. If you have the skill, even killing him would not be considered wrong by the Heavenly Court, and even that person at Xinghuantian would have to accept it."
"But if you die at his hands, even if I know it was him, I will not avenge you. Do you understand?"
Shang Hong's gaze turned cold. "Then what if, after leaving the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain, I expose that Qing Pingzi is Zhang Ruochen and tell the world that Zhang Ruochen's martial path has not been crippled?"
"As I said, that is your personal grudge," Xuan Yuan Lian said.
"Understood."
Shang Hong hesitated for a moment, then said, "May I ask how Young Master will deal with me?"
"You did not release the gods of the Hell Realm, so why would I punish you? But you are no longer fit to stay on the Xufeng Divine Ship. Whether you can escape the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain depends on your own methods. Do you have confidence?" Xuan Yuan Lian said.
Shang Hong was quite confident and laughed. "Zhang Ruochen's combat power is formidable, worthy of the name Eon-level genius. I am indeed no match for him. But in a place like the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain, if I can't even escape from him, what difference would there be between me and a waste?"
"I was referring to the Darkness Temple side," Xuan Yuan Lian said.
Clearly, Xuan Yuan Lian also did not believe Zhang Ruochen could kill Shang Hong.
Shang Hong said, "The Darkness Temple hates me far more than they hate Zhang Ruochen. By now, they must have already gone to deal with him. This is the perfect time for me to leave the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain."
"Go ahead," Xuan Yuan Lian said.
Shang Hong bowed deeply, then concealed his form and quietly left the Xufeng Divine Ship.
Xuan Yuan Qing snorted coldly. "Coming to the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain, how could Yi Tianjun not have given you a life-saving trump card? A God King Talisman is absolutely indispensable! Yet you didn't use it even in such a critical moment. How selfish. In this regard, you are far inferior to Zhang Ruochen!"
Then, she cast her gaze forward, sending out a divine thought to summon the three True Gods of the Radiant Divine Temple and Lian Xi.
"Greetings, Young Master Lian, Greetings, Great God Xuan Yuan."
The four of them bowed simultaneously.
Jia Linan quickly stepped forward, his expression tense, and said, "Reporting to the two great gods, all of this was done by Shang Hong alone. Even this god was almost used by him."
Xuan Yuan Qing showed a look of disappointment. Before even assigning blame, he was already shifting responsibility.
No wonder Zhang Ruochen looked down on the Radiant Divine Temple.
"Lian Xi!" Xuan Yuan Lian's voice came from within the golden chariot.
"Here!"
Lian Xi was secretly alarmed, thinking that Xuan Yuan Lian was going to investigate today's events and ask her the truth.
Would she ultimately be unable to escape the fate of having her soul searched?
Under immense pressure and a sense of unwilling resentment, Lian Xi knelt on one knee before the golden chariot.
Xuan Yuan Lian said, "Your ten souls and ten spirits have boundless potential. You have also endured great hardships, tempering your character. You are a good seedling! How about this: I will take the lead and have Qing'er accept you as her disciple. Are you willing?"
Lian Xi was stunned. Her gaze shifted from the golden chariot to Xuan Yuan Qing.
The three True Gods of the Radiant Divine Temple standing nearby were all filled with envy and jealousy, their eyes practically spitting fire!
Xuan Yuan Qing was not just a Tai Bai Great God. She was the daughter of the Heavenly Venerable, holding a very special status within the Radiant Divine Temple, and she currently had no disciples at all.
Becoming Xuan Yuan Qing's disciple meant that even when meeting the Heavenly Venerable, she could address him as Grandmaster.
Needless to say, from now on, Lian Xi's status and position in the Radiant Divine Temple, and even throughout the Heavenly Court, would rise several levels. Moreover, no one would dare mock her past anymore, for that would be disrespectful to Xuan Yuan Qing and disrespectful to the Heavenly Venerable.
Suddenly, Lian Xi understood all the doubts she had today.
It must have been that person's doing.
Otherwise, how could a mere demigod like her catch the eyes of Xuan Yuan Lian and Xuan Yuan Qing?
Lian Xi was moved to tears. She bowed deeply and said, "Thank you, Young Master Lian! Lian Xi pays respects to her master."