Chapter 3107: Meeting the Gods of the Blood Heaven Tribe
Zhang Ruochen could sense that although Xia Yu still carried her usual arrogance, she had become much more humble in his presence.
There was no helping it. Whether in status or cultivation, the gap between them now was as vast as heaven and earth.
The journey passed in silence.
Upon arriving at the Undying Blood Clan, Zhang Ruochen first went to visit Xue Hou, who was still recovering from her injuries, before entering Xue Jue War God's Divine Realm World.
Within the Divine Realm World stood a majestic divine temple, surrounded by countless rules and divine patterns. Each divine pattern's intensity was like a divine dragon or giant python, far surpassing the rules and divine patterns Zhang Ruochen had cultivated so far.
Xue Jue War God had long been waiting in the temple, clad in blood-colored armor, his physique imposing. Seeing Zhang Ruochen, he laughed heartily: "Truly worthy of being my grandson, Xue Jue. When you don't act, fine; but when you do, it must shake heaven and earth. The news of you slaying seven gods in a single day at Hundred Clans Royal City has already shocked the entire Hell Realm. From now on, there is no one in this world who doesn't know Zhang Ruochen."
Zhang Ruochen said, "A life for a life, a debt for a debt—this is only natural justice."
"If Realm Lord Ruochen comes to the Blood Heaven Tribe, he'll surely frighten many gods of the Undying Blood Clan into not daring to leave their homes," a Taibai Realm Great God in the temple remarked with a smile.
The Blood Heaven Tribe had three great ancestral clans, seven blood seas, seven ridges, and twelve cities. Each major force had a Great God-level powerhouse, and more than half of them were present in the temple.
Their divine bodies towered tens of thousands of miles high, blood wings like crimson skies, dwelling within their own Divine Realm Worlds. Their blood qi was so thick it seemed like countless rivers flowed within their bodies, their voices rumbling like thunder.
The one who had just spoken was Linji Tian God, the Lord of the Mocha Blood Sea.
Xue Jue War God caught the hidden meaning in Linji Tian God's words. His eyes darkened, and he slammed his palm heavily onto the armrest of his divine throne. "Ruochen is the Realm Lord of Xinghuantian. What does the internal affairs of the Undying Blood Clan have to do with him? Linji, are you suggesting that I, the Clan Leader, cannot handle those reckless fools within the clan?"
Linji Tian God's expression shifted, and he dared not speak further.
He had indeed intended to use Zhang Ruochen as a blade to help Xue Jue War God clear out internal enemies within the Undying Blood Clan. After all, Zhang Ruochen wouldn't live much longer—why not make the most of him?
"Whoosh!"
The space before Zhang Ruochen trembled. Qingyun Tai and the false god Xu Cang fell from the void, crashing heavily to the ground.
Seeing Qingyun Tai, the gods in the temple all released killing intent.
Qingyun Tai looked around the hall, his face changing dramatically. "Only the Undying Divine Temple can kill me. Who among you dares to make a move?"
Blood Yao Divine Lord stepped out of his Divine Realm World, shrinking his body to the size of a normal human. He threw a heavy punch at Qingyun Tai's jaw, shattering the bones in his face and sending blood streaming down.
"Boom!"
A second punch struck through Qingyun Tai's chest, snapping ribs one after another and crushing his internal organs.
...
Punch after punch, until finally, Blood Yao Divine Lord had Qingyun Tai screaming in agony.
How could Xue Jue War God not be furious? But he watched coldly from the sidelines, not intervening personally. "What's the story with this false god?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "This man is named Xu Cang. It was he, under Qingyun Tai's orders, who killed Qishou and my uncle."
At these words, Xue Jue War God's eyes narrowed.
He had long wanted to strike and unleash a massacre. However, because of the incident involving Zhang Ruochen and Wu Yue, he had come under attack from all sides, his position precarious, with no justifiable reason to act.
His own son had been killed—if this reason wasn't enough, what would be?
The gods of the Blood Heaven Tribe in the hall grew excited but didn't show it on their faces. After all, for the Blood Absolute Family, this was a great tragedy.
Zhang Ruochen handed Qingyun Tai's divine source to Xue Jue War God. "Grandfather, could you wait a few more days before making a move?"
Xue Jue War God took the divine source and crushed it into powder, looking at Zhang Ruochen with a puzzled expression.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I plan to go to the Destiny Temple to pay my respects to Void Heaven and resolve the misunderstanding face to face."
"Boom!"
The gods in the hall, each a titan in their own right, were all shaken, staring at Zhang Ruochen in shock.
They all felt that, in this critical time, Zhang Ruochen taking the enormous risk to come to the Blood Heaven Tribe's Wing World was already extremely rare. At least he wasn't an ungrateful wretch.
But who would have thought that the Blood Heaven Tribe's Wing World wasn't even Zhang Ruochen's final destination?
Going to the Destiny Temple—how was that any different from walking to his death?
Pay respects to Void Heaven?
Was a Heavenly Lord so easy to meet?
Resolve a misunderstanding with a Heavenly Lord? Who did he think he was? Even an ordinary Infinite Realm Divine King, if he went, Void Heaven probably wouldn't even bother to acknowledge him.
The gods present believed that Xue Jue War God would surely stop Zhang Ruochen from this childish act.
But Xue Jue War God looked into Zhang Ruochen's earnest eyes and, after a long moment, said, "What must be faced cannot be avoided. I'll go with you."
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "No need. Grandfather should stay and guard the Blood Heaven Tribe. I am the Divine Envoy of Heavenly Mother. Who in the Hell Realm would dare to touch me? If there are any gods who don't know their place and want to court death, I'll grant their wish."
Xue Jue War God said, "Very well. A man must face the troubles he creates himself. To have this kind of resolve shows you've truly grown up. From now on, you won't need me, your grandfather, to shield you from the wind and rain."
"Everyone, I take my leave."
Zhang Ruochen straightened his back and walked out of the temple, quite carefree.
A white-haired ancient god sighed, "No wonder the Great Clan Leader defends his grandson so fiercely. If I had such a descendant, what would it matter if I were ground to dust for him?"
But Xue Jue War God couldn't feel relieved, because he knew very well how difficult Zhang Ruochen's journey would be, with a real risk of falling. And he could offer no help...
Still not strong enough!
If he had Infinite Realm cultivation, what constraints could the Hell Realm place on him?
...
Zhang Ruochen didn't set off immediately. Instead, he waited in the Blood Absolute Family, meeting successively with Underworld King, Qi Sheng, Ying Huo, and Ye Luochen.
The news spread by Blood Butcher and Xiao Hei quickly fermented.
As a result, Qingyun Tai was being tortured in the Blood Absolute Family, yet no gods from the Qing Heaven Tribe or the Undying Divine Temple came to rescue him. The news that Ice King was about to emerge had clearly intimidated them.
As the son of Ice King, Xiao Hei was thoroughly enjoying his moment of arrogance. Under the banner of avenging his mother, he stirred up trouble from the Blood Heaven Tribe to the Qing Heaven Tribe, and then to the Undying Blood Clan's divine city.
Along the way, he killed until heads rolled, amassing a great fortune, yet not a single Great God came to suppress him.
Xiao Hei wasn't indiscriminately slaughtering the innocent. He targeted only the descendants of his enemies.
Moreover, these were the cultivators who had struck the hardest against the Blood Absolute Family's secular industries in recent times. Three of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions' divine maiden towers in the Undying Blood Clan had fallen into their hands.
If he didn't use this opportunity to strike fear into their hearts, when would he?
From this day forward, the fearsome reputation of Ice King's son, accompanied by corpses strewn everywhere, spread rapidly through the Undying Blood Clan.
...
Bore had been rescued by Yunshen Daozhu and had fully recovered from her injuries. Zhang Ruochen brought her out from the "Sixth Patriarch's Zen Illustration."
"You were still too impulsive. You shouldn't have killed Huoze Divine Lord. Even if you only crippled his cultivation, there might have been a way out," Bore said, already aware of what had happened in Hundred Clans Royal City, deep worry in her eyes.
Zhang Ruochen said, "This time, Grandmaster saved you. What about next time? There cannot be a next time. I must make the whole world understand that they can come at me, but if they dare to touch you, no matter who it is, they must die."
These were words from the bottom of his heart.
How could Bore not be moved?
Perhaps the feelings between her and Zhang Ruochen were no longer as pure as they once were.
But for Zhang Ruochen to say such things and act on them showed that she still held a very important place in his heart.
As for her own heart, it was no longer as pure as before. Her pursuit of the Great Dao and her desire to probe the mysteries of the universe had quietly overshadowed her feelings for Zhang Ruochen.
Single-minded devotion had always been a two-way street.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I've decided that if I'm going to kill, I'll make the enemy thoroughly afraid. This time, on the way to the Destiny Temple, I'll use the banner of exterminating the Huoze Clan. What do you think?"
"Do you have to be so radical?"
Bore felt that doing so would provoke a violent backlash.
Zhang Ruochen said, "What do you think I should do?"
"Exterminating the Huoze Clan is my affair. You're just escorting me to prevent another assassination attempt by the gods of the Fierce Terror Divine Palace. That would be better," Bore said.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "That works too."
"I never had the chance to ask you—what exactly happened in the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain?" Bore suddenly inquired.
"..."
Zhang Ruochen asked cautiously, "Are you referring to Sword Realm?"
Bore's expression turned cold. "I'm talking about Wu Yue! When a man's cultivation grows strong, his possessiveness and ambition expand. After all, those who achieve great things must have great desires."
"You don't even need to make the first move—countless women will throw themselves at you. Such temptation isn't something everyone can resist, nor is it something everyone chooses to resist."
"But you also need to control your desires. Otherwise... look at this time. How many people have lost their lives because of it?"
Zhang Ruochen knew Bore was inevitably dissatisfied. "This time, I was truly schemed against by her. It has nothing to do with beauty or desire."
"I believe you," Bore said.
Blood Butcher and Xiao Hei returned two days later.
The four gods together left the Blood Heaven Tribe's Wing World, deliberately making a show of it. They boarded a blood-colored divine ship and passed through a wormhole, heading toward the Destiny Temple.
Along the way, Blood Butcher and Xiao Hei loudly proclaimed that their journey to the Destiny Temple was to exterminate the Huoze Clan.
The news spread quickly.
The gods of the various major forces in the Hell Realm could not remain calm. Some true gods set out, following behind the divine ship, hoping to witness Zhang Ruochen's fall.
Zhang Ruochen carried too many treasures. After his death, if they could pick up even one or two leftovers, it would be a huge windfall.
"Xue Jue War God isn't on that ship, is he?"
"How could he be? The Blood Heaven Tribe is in chaos internally. If Xue Jue War God dares to leave, there will surely be great turmoil."
"Killing Huoze Divine Lord is one thing, but Zhang Ruochen wants to exterminate his entire clan? Do you think he's truly stupid, or just too arrogant? Does he really think the identity of Heavenly Mother's Divine Envoy is a death-exempt token?"
"Just wait and see. Once he enters the Hell Realm, he won't be allowed to run rampant like this."