# Chapter 3084: Desolate Heaven Awakens
Yuqing held Xumi Saint Monk in the highest esteem, and naturally extended that regard to those connected to him. Instead of being angered by Zhang Ruochen's sarcasm, he stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Well said—'a heart free of responsibility, a body light and at ease.' In your eyes, I, this humble Daoist, have become a man utterly devoid of duty."
Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands in salute and said, "How would this junior dare to offend a Boundless Realm great sage? It's just that, carrying this heavy burden all these years, I've often felt as though I'm fighting alone, isolated and without support. Facing powerful enemies and internal traitors, I've had to tread as if on thin ice, cautious and meticulous, terrified of making a single misstep that would lead to eternal damnation. Even so, I've narrowly escaped death dozens of times."
He sighed again. "I'm tired. Truly tired. If Senior is willing to take me in, the Sword Realm would be a fine place to escape all these troubles. The man-eating demons of Hell, the sinister villains of the Heavenly Court, the world-destroying madmen of the Quantity Organization—they're all too powerful. I can't fight them. I can't fight them!"
The Dragon Lord spoke solemnly, "This child has indeed had a difficult path. After Saint Monk's divine power dissipated, the Hell Realm army marched into the Kunlun Realm. In a single night, their homeland became a battlefield, and an entire realm's living beings were harvested like grass. Truly, ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers wept blood."
"The armies of the Heavenly Court's realms came under the banner of merit, but committed acts of banditry—seizing secret scriptures, stealing spiritual medicines, enslaving the common people. If not for him stepping forward, single-handedly holding the line and suppressing all the vicious forces, the Kunlun Realm's losses would have been unimaginably severe. For this, his daughter was captured by Hell Realm cultivators and nearly had her body seized."
Yuqing had not left the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain for tens of thousands of years. Hearing the Dragon Lord's account, his expression turned terrifyingly grim. In a cold voice, he said, "The Kunlun Realm has already been breached? Ji Wang, when the Kunlun Realm was being ravaged, where were you?"
The Dragon Lord's face showed bitter distress.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Uncle Dragon's injuries from a hundred thousand years ago have yet to heal. If he revealed the secret that he was still alive, even if the Hell Realm didn't act, the dark hand from a hundred thousand years ago would have come to kill him. Uncle Dragon's cultivation is high, but one tree cannot support a forest. How could he single-handedly sustain a shattered world? Moreover, to the various realms of the Heavenly Court and the clans of Hell, this world is nothing but a piece of fat to be divided and devoured."
Yuqing calmed down, realizing that if the Kunlun Realm had truly been destroyed, how could Ji Wang be so calm and composed right now?
"You've hidden the secret of your survival to rescue the Island Lord?" Yuqing asked.
The Dragon Lord nodded gently. "You must have heard something about the great calamity of a hundred thousand years ago. So many experts of the Kunlun Realm—dead, missing. Behind it all, there must be at least one genius-level mastermind. Only by bringing the Island Lord back can we stabilize the overall situation and form a deterrent within the Heavenly Court."
Yuqing could imagine the hardships the Dragon Lord and Zhang Ruochen had endured. He was in the midst of feeling moved and hesitant when—
Zhang Ruochen cried out, "I only hate that Heaven did not give me birth eighty thousand years earlier! Even if I couldn't have fought alongside the Twenty-Four Heavens, spilling blood in unknown lands, at least I could have died defending the Kunlun Realm alongside the Saint Monk!"
"If I had been born eighty thousand years earlier, perhaps today I could have swept the universe clean and pacified all evil."
His voice was like the clashing of blades and the roar of thunder, each word striking like a hammer.
Yuqing could see that this young man was mocking him again. He asked, "What is your name?"
"Zhang Ruochen!"
"Zhang, is it?"
Yuqing looked at the Dragon Lord, who nodded slightly.
Yuqing now understood. He observed Zhang Ruochen once more and said, "Your attainments in the Sword Dao are quite impressive. You carry a unique aura of the Sword Ancestor—it seems you've had no small fortune."
Zhang Ruochen knew that it was only because of Xumi Saint Monk that this senior would tolerate a junior being so presumptuous in his presence.
He had made his stance clear. Now, he could not continue to be so rude.
Otherwise, he would only invite resentment.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Patriarch is indeed a Boundless Realm Sword Dao deity. This junior has indeed inherited the Sword Ancestor's sword soul legacy."
He showed sufficient respect, yet neither humble nor arrogant.
The Dragon Lord said, "Ruochen, your talent in the Sword Dao can be called the greatest of all ages, past and present. Why not demonstrate a thing or two before the Patriarch?"
Hearing the words "greatest of all ages, past and present," Yuqing sneered inwardly.
For other paths, Yuqing would not bother to comment. But the Sword Dao? Who dared to claim such a title? It was nothing but arrogant nonsense.
"Yes!"
Zhang Ruochen acknowledged, then summoned the Qingping Sword. He did not deliberately perform any flashy techniques. Instead, he closed his eyes, sensed heaven and earth, and began to wield the sword freely, following his heart.
Before someone like Yuqing, who had broken through to Boundless Realm through the Sword Dao, displaying any sword technique would be like showing off one's meager skills before an expert—inevitably full of flaws.
But the Dragon Lord's purpose in having him demonstrate the sword was far from simple.
This was to prove to Yuqing that Zhang Ruochen's future potential was limitless, that he had the ability to fulfill the Saint Monk's dying wish—to wield the sword and sever the Calamity of Quantities.
Yuqing's initially dismissive gaze turned reminiscent at the sight of the Qingping Sword in Zhang Ruochen's hand. Then, as he watched the sword strokes, his expression gradually grew serious. "Stop! What kind of Sword Dao is this?"
Zhang Ruochen sheathed his sword. "The One-Word Sword Dao!"
The Dragon Lord knew Yuqing must be deeply shaken, so he deliberately added, "The legendary Sword Dao cultivated from a Third-Rank Sword Dao Sacred Intent—surely it hasn't disappointed you?"
With the Dragon Lord's personal confirmation, Yuqing's suspicions were laid to rest. He sighed in admiration, "With this Sword Dao, guided by a worthy teacher, your future achievements may well rival the Sword Ancestor. Even if not the greatest of all ages, you could be called the second greatest!"
Clearly, in Yuqing's heart, the Sword Ancestor remained an insurmountable peak for all Sword Dao cultivators.
It was a long time before Yuqing emerged from his inner astonishment. When he looked at Zhang Ruochen again, his eyes were filled with fondness and appreciation. He asked warmly, "Who taught you your Sword Dao?"
Zhang Ruochen was about to say, "I realized it on my own," but the Dragon Lord spoke first: "This child is a disciple of the Liangyi Sect. Otherwise, why would he call you Patriarch?"
"Excellent!"
Yuqing's spirits lifted, and he laughed heartily. "The heir chosen by Saint Monk, yet taught by our Liangyi Sect—such Sword Dao cultivation could not be cultivated elsewhere. When I saw him produce the Qingping Sword, I had already guessed as much."
Zhang Ruochen thought to himself, *If this Patriarch knew that I recently lost the Universe Cauldron, which rightfully belonged to the Liangyi Sect, I wonder if he would still be laughing?*
"Come, let's go to the Sword Realm. Let your Taiqing Patriarch see you too. He has never believed that a Third-Rank Sword Dao Sacred Intent truly exists. This time, let him broaden his horizons and know that the Liangyi Sect has produced another prodigy—the waves of the future surging ahead of the past."
Yuqing took Zhang Ruochen's hand and tore through the void, departing in high spirits, leaving his old friend Ji Wang behind.
...
Yu Yao broke through the divine patterns that Desolate Heaven had set up back then. Accompanied by Bai Qinger, dressed in a green robe, she arrived outside the Yuchen Temple.
The petals of the hibiscus tree seemed as though they would never wither, forever so bright and magnificent.
The grave beneath the tree was buried in petals.
Desolate Heaven's imposing figure stood tall, hands clasped behind his back, slightly raising his head to gaze at the divine hibiscus flowers on the tree. But his body had long since turned to stone—his handsome, angular features as if chiseled by an axe, his sideburns hanging down to his waist.
There was no life aura. He was like a stone statue.
No one knew how long he had stood before the grave before turning to stone. The pain and self-reproach in his heart could not be described in any words.
Bai Qinger walked to the grave, knelt, and performed the rites, scattering paper money.
Yu Yao's eyes were red. She bowed deeply and said, "Sister, we will definitely slice Xuan Yi into a thousand pieces to avenge you."
"Not just Xuan Yi—Yi Tianjun and Shang Tian both deserve to die. If the Shang Clan is not destroyed, how can Mother's spirit rest in peace?" Bai Qinger had already risen. Her eyes, beautiful as stars, were filled with icy killing intent.
A cold wind rose with her words.
Only then did Bai Qinger look at Desolate Heaven. Before coming, she had agreed with Yu Yao to say certain things. But seeing her mother's grave and Desolate Heaven turned to stone, an indescribable hatred surged in her heart.
She wished she could strike Desolate Heaven with a palm, shattering him into pieces.
"Let's go. I have nothing to say to this man."
Bai Qinger flicked her sleeve and turned to leave.
Yu Yao said, "Qinger, back then he was deceived by the Stone Ancestor! The Stone Ancestor promised him that he would protect your mother, so he left with peace of mind. He had to cultivate diligently—only by becoming strong enough would he have value to the Stone Ancestor. Otherwise, why would the Stone Ancestor help him?"
Bai Qinger sneered, "When the Heavenly Court army invaded Xinghuantian, intending to destroy our Inverse God Clan, wasn't that also a death sentence? But did Zhang Ruochen run away? If his feelings for my mother can't even compare to Zhang Ruochen's feelings for me, how can I possibly understand him?"
"Is Desolate Heaven, with his extraordinary talent, a fool? To actually trust the Stone Ancestor?"
Yu Yao said, "He had nothing back then. He couldn't rely on anyone. Even knowing he was just a tool being used by the Stone Ancestor, he had to grit his teeth and go. Can you understand the helplessness in that?"
"Fine. Then we'll add the Stone Ancestor to the list of grudges."
Ignoring Yu Yao's calls, Bai Qinger pressed her palm against the divine patterns Desolate Heaven had set up around the Yuchen Temple. The light of the Origin Divine Power burst forth from her palm, breaking through the barrier of divine patterns bit by bit.
The gray death aura gradually dissipated.
Bai Qinger's cultivation had clearly made tremendous progress, now not far from Tai Zhen. Even the divine patterns set by Desolate Heaven could not stop her.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, from within the gray death aura, a powerful counterforce slammed into Bai Qinger, sending her flying backward.
Bai Qinger used the Origin Divine Power to refine the death aura on her body, her eyes fixed on the rapidly sprouting and branching hibiscus tree. There, the life force was immense. Even the grave had grown green grass, and the air produced white, jellyfish-shaped plants.
Desolate Heaven's stone body gradually returned to its flesh-and-blood form. His hair turned jet black, and his eyes burst forth with bright divine light.
In an instant, an extremely powerful divine might erupted, striking Bai Qinger like a tidal wave, pushing her back dozens of steps into the ruined temple before she could steady herself.
Clearly, Desolate Heaven had never been trapped in the "space between life and death." Instead, he had chosen to comprehend its mysteries through death itself. Now, he had fully consolidated this realm.
"Presumptuous and ignorant! With your cultivation, you dare to seek revenge against Shang Tian and Shi Tian? Do you know that the moment you spoke those words, they already sensed it?"
Desolate Heaven stared coldly at Bai Qinger, his gaze as sharp as ten thousand arrows piercing the heart.
Bai Qinger did not back down. She raised her head and met his gaze. "Do you think that if I hadn't said it, they wouldn't know I want to kill them? You fear them. I don't. If I don't even dare to seek vengeance, then living in this world is worse than being a pig or a dog."
"Qinger, he is your father."
Yu Yao hadn't expected Bai Qinger to curse so harshly.