Chapter 3101: Infinite God Venerable Raids Ice King Star
In the black temple suspended above the Seven Peaks Linked Mountain Range, Infinite God Venerable's bone-green divine eyes, one like a blazing sun and the other like a crescent moon, emerged from thick black mist, staring at Ice King standing within the hall.
Inside the temple, thick ice had formed, making it resemble an ice cavern.
Ice King stood with an extraordinary bearing, positioned within a vortex of stars, as if in a spacetime billions of miles away. Yet, such a distant spacetime seemed close at hand to him.
Outwardly elegant and graceful, his aura was in truth intimidating, as if he could support heaven and earth with a single hand and shatter the starry river with a stomp.
"I truly never expected that you, Xia Huangchao, would come to Hundred Clans Royal City. One hundred thousand years ago, you released Jiwang and lost the position of Undying Divine Temple's Hall Master that rightfully belonged to you. One hundred thousand years later, you stand against the Hell Realm again. Do you think the Heavens will tolerate you this time?" Infinite God Venerable's voice was deep, his might no weaker than Ice King's.
Ice King said, "Stand against the Hell Realm? No, I merely wish to settle that ten-thousand-year-old personal grudge with you."
"If you, Xia Huangchao, had remained holed up in Ice King Star, no one would have pursued the matter of that year. But you chose this time to leave Ice King Star and appear here. Do you truly believe the words 'personal grudge' can gloss over this?"
Infinite God Venerable laughed, then added, "All along, I have indeed regarded you as a threat, wishing to eliminate you but finding no opportunity."
"If you came to Ice King Star, I would certainly give you that chance. But, one hundred thousand years have passed—why have you not dared to come?" Ice King said calmly.
Infinite God Venerable said, "I have been waiting for you to leave Ice King Star."
"Infinite, do you think the deeds of your Darkness Temple can be hidden from me? If you were truly only targeting Hundred Clans Royal City, Xinghuantian, and the God-Defying Clan, I would not have appeared here. But you deliberately stirred internal strife within the Undying Blood Clan, seeking to eliminate its future clan leader. How could I stand idly by?"
Ice King's voice gradually turned cold as he took three steps forward.
Was Infinite God Venerable not equally furious about this?
From the very beginning, he had never intended to touch Xue Jue War God, fully aware of the enormous entanglements behind him.
Dealing with Hundred Clans Royal City, Xinghuantian, and Star Heaven Cliff was already an exhausting endeavor requiring full effort. Digesting the benefits from the fall of these three major powers would also be no easy task.
Dragging Xue Jue War God into this would inevitably provoke discontent among many strong figures of the Lower Three Clans, producing the opposite effect.
Yet he had not anticipated that events would spiral out of control from the start. Under the deliberate instigation of gods like Pu Chuanqi and Ghost Lord, who harbored enmity toward Xue Jue War God, those within the Undying Blood Clan who coveted the clan leader's position believed the time had come and acted one after another.
The final outcome saw many old monsters of the Lower Three Clans emerge, rebuking Darkness Temple for overreaching.
In particular, the Undying Blood Clan's clan leader and three veteran War Gods personally visited Darkness Temple, questioning Jiusi Yitianhuang: "Have all the elders of the Undying Blood Clan died off, that you need Darkness Temple to help select a clan leader?"
Had the situation not spiraled out of control, with Darkness Temple restrained by the forces behind Xue Jue War God, such a major event capable of affecting the cosmic order would not have seen only Infinite God Venerable alone at Hundred Clans Royal City.
This was also why, after the fall of Human Skin Lantern and Earth Devourer, Infinite God Venerable did not immediately strike at the Yaksha Clan—he was somewhat outwardly strong but inwardly weak, isolated and helpless.
"Why is it so quiet outside?"
Infinite God Venerable muttered to himself. From his left eye, a powerful solar divine force blasted toward Ice King, instantly filling the temple's interior with surging crimson power.
Ice King still stood within the star vortex, but dense talisman patterns appeared at the vortex's periphery, blocking the solar divine force.
On the temple's four walls, identical talisman patterns also emerged.
"Heaven-Sealing Divine Sense Talisman Formation!"
Infinite God Venerable erupted in fury, rising from his divine throne. Dark divine qi surged as a massive fist imprint smashed out, striking the star vortex heavily.
Ice King lightly reached out, catching his fist, a faint smile appearing.
"You are not Ice King. Who are you? Nine Heavens?" Behind Infinite God Venerable, an increasingly massive black hole appeared, spinning violently like a millstone, crushing the temple's talisman patterns.
The talisman formation in the temple had appeared silently, cutting off Infinite God Venerable's perception of the outside world.
Who but a being with Spiritual Power at the ninetieth rank could achieve this?
Ice King threw back his head and laughed, his body becoming wrinkled and disheveled, his voice hoarse: "Infinite, child, since you so desire to clash with Ice King, how could I, this old man, not oblige you? Come, let us go to Ice King Star."
...
The moment Ghost Lord appeared, he unleashed a Boundless-level divine ability. Ghost qi and ghost patterns condensed into numerous giant ghost deities, each a hundred zhang tall, with nine heads and divine armor, launching an overwhelming assault on Zhang Ruochen.
Ghost Lord was well aware that over a hundred gods were already activating the Star Prison Cage Grand Formation. The temple blocking the formation's breach would not hold for long.
They had to break into Crown Cloud Formation Tower as quickly as possible.
Zhang Ruochen showed no fear, retrieving a fist-sized temple and holding it in his hand.
"Whoosh!"
A graceful figure descended from the sky, landing beside him. In her left hand, she held the Yaksha Ancestor Divine Temple, channeling an ancient divine formation within it to clash with Ghost Lord's Boundless-level divine ability.
"Boom!"
The giant ghost deities collided with the ancient divine formation, exploding one after another into yin soul black mist.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Jade Spirit God. Her side profile was exquisite, her skin as delicate as jade.
Being a kept man didn't seem so bad—it could save him a lot of effort.
This thought flashed by, for Zhang Ruochen knew that Jade Spirit God was fighting so fiercely not because of his face, but because of the Sword Realm.
Ghost Lord was enraged. "Jade Spirit God, do you dare block me?"
With the Yaksha Ancestor Divine Temple in hand, Jade Spirit God held no fear of Ghost Lord. "Even Darkness Temple, I dare to slaughter. What are you, Ghost Lord?"
"Fine. Watch your Yaksha Clan be annihilated!"
Ghost Lord trembled with fury, looking toward Ting Yunsheng.
But Ting Yunsheng looked up at Infinite God Venerable's black temple, a foreboding feeling rising within him.
The battle in the city had reached this point—why had the Darkness Temple's Hall Master not yet acted?
A flicker of doubt passed through Ghost Lord's eyes, but he did not believe anything had gone wrong.
In this world, there were naturally those who could defeat the Darkness Temple's Hall Master.
But was there truly anyone who could silently trap and kill him?
Ghost Lord clasped his hands toward the heavens. "I request the Hall Master to act and slay these rebels."
From within the black temple, Infinite God Venerable's vast divine voice rang out: "Merely two insignificant Great Gods unworthy of the stage. You, Ghost Lord, are sufficient to handle them. Victory in Hundred Clans Royal City is assured. I will now go to Ice King Star to eliminate a formidable foe."
Before his voice faded, the majestic black temple had already risen, charging out of Hundred Clans Royal City toward Ice King Star.
Victory assured?
Ghost Lord, Ting Yunsheng, Snow Wood Hall Master, Qingyuntai, and Huang, who had just reconstituted his bone body, all stared blankly at the departing black temple.
Had Infinite God Venerable simply left?
To go to Ice King Star and slay Ice King?
Within the city, cultivators from Darkness Temple, Earth Fiend Ghost City, Green Deer Divine Temple, Eternal Life Hall, and other forces were even more bewildered, utterly unable to fathom the deeper meaning behind the Darkness Temple Hall Master's actions.
There must be a deeper meaning.
Their inability to see it only proved their cultivation was still too low.
Zhang Ruochen vaguely guessed the truth and smiled. He then said to the still somewhat dazed Jade Spirit God, "Capture Ghost Lord, or this beast will surely retaliate against the Yaksha Clan. Suppress him and imprison him in Hundred Clans Royal City to negotiate with Earth Fiend Ghost City and the Ghost Clan."
With the Yaksha Ancestor Divine Temple and Hundred Clans Royal City as her domain, Jade Spirit God was confident she could suppress Ghost Lord.
Ghost Lord's expression shifted. He realized something major had occurred and that he could no longer remain in Hundred Clans Royal City.
Just then, a brilliant light like a stellar explosion erupted in the starry sky. The cosmic wind from the divine power's aftermath spread from the Starry Sky Battlefield all the way to Hundred Clans Royal City.
All the gods in the city halted, looking toward the heavens.
Though Zhang Ruochen had anticipated this, his heart still shook violently. He knew something terrifying must have happened deep in the starry sky.
"Ghost God Venerable's divine throne planet has gone dark!" someone cried out in shock.
"Boom!"
Ghost Lord and Ting Yunsheng's faces changed drastically. They exchanged glances, transforming into two beams of divine light, fleeing toward the heavens.
"No need to pursue. If Ghost Lord chose to fight, you could certainly hold him. But if he chooses to flee, few below the Boundless realm can stop him. For now, you have more important matters to attend to," Zhang Ruochen said.
Jade Spirit God naturally understood what the most urgent task was. Her extremely lively star-like eyes narrowed, and her voice was as sweet as honey as she smiled. "Now can you tell Jade Spirit the location of the Sword Realm, Realm Lord Ruochen?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "First, have the Yaksha Clan's gods store the thirty-seven great worlds into their Divine Realm Worlds. Also, I prefer your aloof and unapproachable demeanor. An ancient god should maintain some dignity."
Jade Spirit God snorted coldly, and with a spatial tremor, vanished from Zhang Ruochen's side.
Clearly, the Yaksha Clan would face bloody retaliation next. The victory at Hundred Clans Royal City did not mean the war was over.
In fact, the war in this star region where the Hundred Clans resided had only just begun.
The Yaksha Clan might not have thirty-seven true gods with Divine Realm Worlds, but with Jade Spirit God's current influence in Hundred Clans Royal City, she could mobilize over a hundred true gods with such worlds.
With the Star Prison Cage Grand Formation fully activated, over a thousand divine throne planets surrounded Hundred Clans Royal City from all directions, forming an impregnable formation star domain.
As for the crises facing the Yaksha Clan, Fire Ghost Clan, and others, they must have had solutions in mind when they decided to clash head-on with Darkness Temple.
Zhang Ruochen, however, had to contemplate the tidal waves that would follow Ghost God Venerable's fall.
Heavenly Court's intervention was within his expectations.
But the fall of a God Venerable carried entirely different significance, potentially triggering a super-scale divine war and accelerating the full-scale outbreak of war between Heavenly Court and Hell.
After a long silence, Zhang Ruochen sighed deeply. "This move is truly masterful. Everyone will believe that I dared to unleash carnage in Hundred Clans Royal City because Senior Nine Heavens and Starry Sky Angler reached some unknown agreement with Heavenly Court."
"Next, the war hawks of the Hell Realm will seize this opportunity to unite their forces, turning their spearhead toward Star Heaven Cliff, Xinghuantian, and Hundred Clans Royal City. At that point, these three major powers will have no choice but to seek refuge with Heavenly Court."
"But... this might also be an opportunity!"
A strategy came to Zhang Ruochen's mind, but to implement it, he needed a figure of sufficient weight within the Hell Realm to step forward.
It seemed he would have to head to Destiny Temple immediately.
...
I had some matters tonight, so I updated a chapter early. If I return early, I'll write a second chapter. If it's too late, consider the second chapter as owed. I will definitely make it up within the next three days.