Chapter 3059: Swift Resolution
"Let's deal with Frost City Demon first! If I can seize his Dark Divine Sword and his set of esoteric truths, my strength will surely increase greatly." Qian Heng Yishu thought of something and said, "That time supreme treasure of Xiu Chen Heavenly God belongs to you, and the Dark Divine Sword belongs to me. You shouldn't have any objections, right?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "My martial path is already crippled. What would I do with the Dark Divine Sword? If you want it, take it."
A divine artifact—how could Zhang Ruochen not be interested?
But now, with two of the Nine Cauldrons already in his hands, Zhang Ruochen wasn't particularly concerned about the Dark Divine Sword.
If he could use the Dark Divine Sword to cultivate a rival for Xuan Yi, that would be a good thing for Zhang Ruochen.
Moreover, for now, he indeed needed to cooperate with Qian Heng Yishu to have a chance to enter the Eternal Divine Temple.
The two of them concealed their auras and sped toward the Continent of All Gods.
"Xiu Chen's divine soul is powerful, and his perception is astonishing, but the Continent of All Gods is vast. With our cultivation levels, as long as we don't approach the Eternal Divine Domain or unleash powerful divine power and spiritual power, we probably won't be discovered," Qian Heng Yishu said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Frost City Demon is hiding on the Continent of All Gods?"
"Exactly!"
Before long, Zhang Ruochen and Qian Heng Yishu descended onto the Continent of All Gods, landing atop a vast snowy mountain peak.
Snow fell from the sky, and the wind was bitingly cold.
Zhang Ruochen, still in the guise of Shu Qianchi, wore a Confucian robe and looked exceptionally handsome. He held a clump of Frost City Demon's blood in his hand, closed his eyes, and began to sense it.
"Let's go!"
Zhang Ruochen and Qian Heng Yishu, who had used the Myriad Transformations Vanishing Trace technique, suppressed their cultivation to below the divine realm and swiftly crossed the snowy mountains, traversing rivers, covering a thousand miles in a single thought.
Half a day later, they arrived outside a black ancient city.
Zhang Ruochen once again held up the blood, nodded, and said, "He's in the city."
Qian Heng Yishu's form was invisible, but his voice rang out: "It's just an ordinary city, not even a Saint realm cultivator in sight. Frost City Demon sure knows how to pick a place to hide."
"What do you plan to do?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
The voice sounded: "Scare him a bit, force him out of the Continent of All Gods, then we can make our move. You go keep watch outside. This time, we must act swiftly and decisively. If Xiu Chen Heavenly God gets involved, the trouble will be enormous!"
Zhang Ruochen flew out of the Continent of All Gods, tearing through the void, but his gaze remained fixed on the city below.
After a while, a vast and magnificent Shura killing aura appeared above the city.
From within the Shura killing aura, Xiu Chen Heavenly God's cold and sharp voice rang out: "Frost City Demon, you've come to my territory and dare not pay your respects? Hand over the Dark Divine Sword at once, and I, this Heavenly God, will spare your life."
Zhang Ruochen was stunned. He hadn't expected Qian Heng Yishu to use such a suicidal method to scare Frost City Demon on Xiu Chen Heavenly God's turf.
Still, he felt a slight hint of goodwill toward this Qian Heng Yishu.
If it were any other god, they wouldn't bother with such a roundabout approach. They'd probably just slash down with a sword, destroy the entire city, and force Frost City Demon out.
Though he was an assassin, he seemed to have some principles.
"Whoosh!"
Frost City Demon, hiding in the city, didn't even bother to check whether the newcomer was really Xiu Chen Heavenly God. He transformed into a streak of black sword light, shot up through the atmosphere, and burst out of the planetary atmosphere.
Even though they were all gods of the Hell Realm, in a place like the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain, what factions even mattered anymore?
If he took the Dark Divine Sword, Xiu Chen Heavenly God would surely kill him to silence him.
Deep within the Continent of All Gods, a stunningly beautiful figure walked out of the Eternal Divine Temple, gazing into the distance at Frost City Demon and Qian Heng Yishu. Her eyes were cold and sharp: "Why have so many Great God-level powerhouses suddenly appeared? I need to refine the Eternal Heart into a divine source as quickly as possible."
Xiu Chen Heavenly God couldn't be bothered with Frost City Demon and Qian Heng Yishu, worried about being caught off guard by the time-path expert hiding in the shadows.
This was a critical moment; no mistakes could be made.
"Come to the Eternal Divine Temple to see me."
Xiu Chen Heavenly God's divine thought spread out, summoning all the gods on the Continent of All Gods.
...
Frost City Demon burst out of the atmosphere, his Great God divine power shaking the stars in the sky as he flew at top speed into the depths of the darkness.
By now, he had realized that the one pursuing him wasn't Xiu Chen Heavenly God but Qian Heng Yishu. Shocked and furious, a strong sense of foreboding surged within him.
He simply couldn't understand how Qian Heng Yishu had found him.
"Frost City Demon!"
A roar sounded from the darkness.
Frost City Demon was horrified to find that space had nearly solidified, and his body was immobilized.
Then, he saw a Confucian-robed man holding a bronze cauldron descending from above, smashing it down.
"Boom!"
Frost City Demon's divine body exploded, scattering into a sea of divine-light-shimmering source particles, floating like millions of fireflies in the dark void.
By the time Qian Heng Yishu arrived, Zhang Ruochen had already put away the Universe Cauldron and Earth Cauldron. Holding the Dark Divine Sword, he was suppressing the sword spirit and inscribing sealing inscriptions.
Qian Heng Yishu's hair stood on end as he stared in shock at Zhang Ruochen across from him. "You killed Frost City Demon?"
"Isn't it obvious? I smashed his divine body into source particles. He's dead, not even a trace left," Zhang Ruochen said.
Qian Heng Yishu said, "What about his divine soul and divine source?"
"They've also turned into source particles. Can't you tell?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Qian Heng Yishu's always deep and cold eyes now held a profound wariness. He even began to wonder if this Shu Qianchi before him was really Zhang Ruochen.
In such a short time, not only had he killed Frost City Demon, but he had also shattered his divine source and soul into particles, erasing all life force. Even a Taixu realm Great God couldn't do that.
Unless he possessed a god-slaying great weapon.
Was it the God-Defying Stele?
But that didn't fit. His martial cultivation was already crippled!
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen had first used the Universe Cauldron to freeze a large area of space, immobilizing Frost City Demon. Since Qian Heng Yishu was still far away, he didn't know exactly what had happened in that space.
"If you don't collect the esoteric truths soon, the ones Frost City Demon left behind will dissipate," Zhang Ruochen said.
Though deeply wary of Zhang Ruochen, Qian Heng Yishu still immediately released his divine realm world to absorb the Dark Esoterica and Sword Dao Esoterica scattered across the void.
It wasn't just cultivators from the Hell Realm who practiced the path of darkness.
Take Han Qiu, for example.
Qian Heng Yishu's mastery of the path of darkness was no less than that of the Great Gods of the Darkness Temple, which was why he was interested in the Dark Divine Sword.
After absorbing them, Qian Heng Yishu stared hard at Zhang Ruochen, keeping his distance, and said, "It seems choosing to cooperate with you rather than oppose you was the right decision."
"We're allies. Why are you standing so far away?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Qian Heng Yishu said, "Better to keep some distance, lest I end up as source particles too, without even knowing how."
Zhang Ruochen laughed. "What treasure do you have that would make me want to strike at you? Do you still want the Dark Divine Sword?"
Qian Heng Yishu looked at the sword in Zhang Ruochen's hand and said, "Forget it. You killed him, so the sword is yours. But you're really not being straightforward. You said you'd only handle finding him, and I'd do the killing."
At least he could restrain his greed—that was something.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I was worried that if you two dragged it out too long, you'd attract Xiu Chen's attention and ruin everything. You were the one who said we needed to act swiftly. The Dark Divine Sword was promised to you, and I won't go back on my word. But you'll have to wait until you help me lure Xiu Chen away and seize that time supreme treasure before I give it to you."
"And don't think I'm tricking or using you. Honestly, I had ways to take those Dark Esoterica and Sword Dao Esoterica myself. Even if I hadn't promised you the Dark Divine Sword, you would still have helped me. Right?"
Qian Heng Yishu's sharp lips curled slightly upward. "I've long heard that you, Zhang Ruochen, are a scatterer of wealth. Now that I've met you, I truly see it. But Xiu Chen Heavenly God's Eight-Armed Shura is no pushover. Luring both of them away at the same time won't be easy."
"Second, Xiu Chen Heavenly God is surely on guard now. He might not keep that time supreme treasure in the Eternal Divine Temple."
"Third, even if we manage to lure both Xiu Chen Heavenly God and the Eight-Armed Shura away, with the Eternal Divine Temple's defensive power, just one True God activating it would be enough to make it impossible for you to break in easily."
Zhang Ruochen said, "In my view, even if Xiu Chen really carries that time supreme treasure on him, he'll still need the power of the Eternal Divine Temple to refine the divine source. As long as I destroy the Eternal Divine Temple and stop him from refining the divine source, I'll have achieved my goal."
"I can find another helper," Qian Heng Yishu said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You want to find Xuanyuan Lian?"
Qian Heng Yishu's eyes sharpened, and then he fell into deep thought.
Zhang Ruochen knew he had slipped up and revealed too much, so he quickly covered it up: "It seems my guess was right. Although your backer is Zhao Gongming, Zhao Gongming couldn't possibly support you in establishing the Earth Kill Organization. It's Xuanyuan Lian backing you, using you to counterbalance Xuan Yi and the Heaven Kill Organization."
"Xuan Yi acts without scruples, without limits. He's a sharp blade for killing enemies, but he's also easy to get cut by. The Heavenly Palace can't openly do anything to Xuan Yi, and they know the Heaven Kill Organization is backed by some big shot from the Paradise Realm, but they don't want the Heaven Kill Organization to run rampant. So they had to cultivate a rival for him."
"Have you met Xuanyuan Lian?" Qian Heng Yishu said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I've seen his carriage. The son of the Heavenly Venerable—wherever he passes, all gods bow. Truly noble beyond compare."
Qian Heng Yishu said, "In the last eon, no more than ten cultivators could earn my admiration. People like Xue Jue, Desolate Heaven, Qiangu Nüdi, the Seventh of Tiannan, that Golden Ape from the Demon God Temple. But the one I respect most is Xuanyuan Lian."
"He truly has a tolerant heart. He genuinely travels across the Heavenly Court, clearing away abuses, resolving grudges, working selflessly for the common good without any selfish motives. Yet he's not rigid or weak. He's extremely adaptable, and when it's time to be ruthless, he strikes like a swift wind cutting through weeds. If he hadn't wasted so much time on these mundane affairs, his cultivation would be no weaker than Xuan Yi's now."
"I admit I can't be someone like him, but I admire such people. If the Heavenly Court had more like him, they wouldn't be losing ground to the Hell Realm."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Are you trying to convince me to meet him?"
"You're now the master of Xinghuantian, a neutral party. Why can't you meet him? If he's willing to help, we might even have a chance to kill Xiu Chen once and for all, eliminating the root of the trouble," Qian Heng Yishu said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Can you contact him? By the way, I've never asked—how did you and Frost City Demon come to the Lost One's Paradise..."
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a powerful divine light erupted in the distance, accompanied by a familiar spiritual power fluctuation.
Zhang Ruochen immediately turned to look, squinting his eyes, inwardly shocked. "It's Wu Yue's aura. She's here too. How did she end up fighting with Xiu Chen?"
...
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