Chapter 3117: The Trial
With the fall of the Ghost God Venerable, the situation on the Starry Sky Battlefield had become unprecedentedly tense. The auras of All Heavens-level powerhouses perpetually hung over that starry sky. Cultivators on both sides, from gods down to half-saints, all felt their hearts tremble with fear.
A single divine light from the heavens could pierce through time and space, reducing them to ashes.
No one knew how many times these All Heavens-level powerhouses had already clashed within the Void World.
Yet, even under such tense circumstances, the divine war that erupted in the Hell Realm still shook all parties, spreading to every corner of the universe in an extremely short time.
**Kunlun Realm.**
Upon receiving the news, Jie Zunzhe paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, cursing loudly: "Damn it, that little brat is too much of a troublemaker! He's stealing the spotlight from all the All Heavens! No, I have to go to the Hell Realm."
"Hmph!"
Heavenly Fox Grandmother let out a deep snort, and Jie Zunzhe, who had just taken a step, immediately stopped.
Jie Zunzhe looked at Heavenly Fox Grandmother's expression, his face full of distress, and sighed long: "In the end, he is still blood of my Zhang Clan. I can't just ignore him just because the Hell Realm is dangerous, can I?"
Seeing that Heavenly Fox Grandmother still had a cold face, Jie Zunzhe added: "Alas! Just as the Zhang Clan was showing signs of prosperity, two of our gods fell in the Destiny Temple. I have failed the ancestors of the Zhang Clan, I have failed the Great Venerable. No, I must go to the Hell Realm."
"You want to go to the Hell Realm?"
Heavenly Fox Grandmother, holding a dark gold iron staff, walked over and sneered: "Rescuing someone from Xu Fengjing's hands? Are you dreaming? Besides, Zhang Ruochen is the Divine Envoy of the Heavenly Mother and the Realm Lord of Xinghuantian. Does he need you to save him? And this time you run away, how long do you plan to disappear again?"
"I am truly worried... Since you don't believe me, there's nothing more to say!"
Jie Zunzhe wore a purple divine robe, a jade crown on his head, his white hair neatly combed, his brows full of righteousness, like a transcendent and ethereal old immortal. But at this moment, his heart was very depressed. Such a good opportunity, and he still couldn't get away!
It's over!
The rest of his life is completely finished!
If he were determined to leave, Heavenly Fox Grandmother naturally couldn't stop him.
But after Heavenly Fox Grandmother came to the Kunlun Realm, he saw that she was poisoned by corpse venom and severely injured. Perhaps it was a moment of conscience, Jie Zunzhe, to calm her emotions, made a bunch of promises and said all sorts of sweet words that would make any young woman nauseous.
Heavenly Fox Grandmother only said one thing at the time: "I'll forgive you one last time. If you leave without saying goodbye again, I will end my life in the Kunlun Realm."
What men fear most is a woman threatening with death.
Just as Jie Zunzhe was frowning, a divine light flew from the western sky, landed on the ground, and condensed into the figure of Haitang Popo.
After taking the spiritual power divine pill gifted by Zhang Ruochen, Haitang Popo had already crossed the divine tribulation and become a spiritual power god. And the Sword Pavilion had transformed into the eleventh divine artifact of the Kunlun Realm.
Jie Zunzhe's face lit up with a smile, and he immediately went forward, saying: "Haitang, why are you here? Come, let me introduce you. This is..."
Before he could finish, Haitang Popo said: "I know her. The Heavenly Fox Great God of the Demon God Realm. Tai Shang has sent a message back, telling you not to worry about Zhang Ruochen. The safety of the Kunlun Realm now rests entirely on you."
Jie Zunzhe said: "Rests entirely on me? What about him?"
Haitang Popo said coldly: "Such a big thing happened on the Starry Sky Battlefield, of course Tai Shang had to go there. Who is like you, always so unreliable? When will you ever truly stand tall?"
Jie Zunzhe felt a sense of crisis. What's going on? A change of heart?
Hua Ying Old Man?
It must be! Otherwise, why would Hua Ying Old Man send a message to Haitang instead of directly to him? Too suspicious!
Jie Zunzhe became serious and said: "Haitang, now that you have crossed the divine tribulation, you will definitely encounter many temptations. But do they care about you? They care about the Sword Pavilion, they care about the divine artifact. That... ahem... Hua Ying Old Man is actually inferior to me in many ways, just that his spiritual power is a bit stronger..."
Haitang Popo looked at Jie Zunzhe, not understanding what he was talking about.
Jie Zunzhe directly made it clear, angrily: "Did Hua Ying Old Man help you improve your spiritual power?"
Haitang Popo trembled with anger, stomped her foot hard, and broke through the air, disappearing.
Right now, the greatest upheaval since the Middle Ages was unfolding. All the gods of the Kunlun Realm had mobilized, rushing to various places to deal with this change and to find opportunities for the Kunlun Realm to rise within it.
This old fellow, on the other hand, was still lost in wild thoughts!
Does he really think everyone is as disrespectful in old age as he is?
Unbelievable.
**Hundred Clans Royal City.**
Yu Ling Shen, Xuan Clan Leader, Amur... nearly twenty great gods gathered together. They were the rulers of this starry sky, determining the fate of countless living beings.
But at this moment, their expressions were all grave.
Xuan Clan Leader said: "Regardless, at least Realm Lord Ruochen has achieved his goal and can now face Void Heaven face to face."
Amur was very worried, saying: "He has stirred things up too much! Will the Green Deer Divine Temple, the Earth Fiend Ghost City, the Longevity Hall, the Hidden Exhaustion Bone Sea... these forces let it go easily? Fengdu Ghost City and the Darkness Temple, and even within the Destiny Temple itself, there will be harsh voices demanding his death."
Yu Ling Shen's beautiful eyes were deep, her red lips like cinnabar, saying: "If Zhang Ruochen hadn't gone to the Fate Divine Mountain, could the Hundred Clans Royal City have withstood the assault of the Hell Realm army? He went for our sake. He knew when he set out that it was a journey with a one-in-ten-thousand chance of survival."
All the gods present fell silent.
The situation on the Starry Sky Battlefield was tense, but wasn't the starry sky of the Hundred Clans Royal City also turbulent?
Earlier, they had even sensed the aura of Feng Tian.
The might of the heavens was intimidating!
Now, they could only place their hopes on Star Heaven Cliff and on Zhang Ruochen, who had gone to the Fate Divine Mountain.
They could even imagine the storm that would erupt once the news of Zhang Ruochen's death on the Fate Divine Mountain spread.
This would be tantamount to Void Heaven declaring war on Xinghuantian and Star Heaven Cliff.
And the Hundred Clans Royal City would bear the brunt, being the first to be destroyed.
At this moment, how could they not be anxious? How could they not be worried?
This feeling of not having their fate in their own hands was truly agonizing!
Some of the gods secretly made a decision in their hearts: if Zhang Ruochen could truly resolve this crisis and prevent the outbreak of war, even if he wanted to be the master of the Hundred Clans Royal City, they would accept it!
**Blood Absolute Family.**
Blood Radiance Divine Lord finally understood, and said with great admiration: "So this was Ruochen's plan. Using the power of the Destiny Temple to go to the Destiny Temple. That's a clever move."
"That's nothing special. It was within expectations."
Blood Jue War God's gaze occasionally looked towards the horizon, in the direction of the spatial wormhole.
"Is the Great Clan Leader waiting for some news?" Blood Radiance Divine Lord asked.
Blood Jue War God nodded, saying: "The two transcendent beings from Xinghuantian and Star Heaven Cliff didn't stop Zhang Ruochen from coming to the Hell Realm. So, they must have some plan. They wouldn't let Ruochen handle such a big matter alone."
"What will they do? They wouldn't go to the Fate Divine Mountain in person, would they?" Blood Radiance Divine Lord said.
"Whoosh!"
A message light talisman streaked across the sky and fell into Blood Jue War God's hand.
After reading the content on the light talisman, Blood Jue War God was overjoyed, saying: "Now, Ruochen's life is at least half saved!"
**Destiny Temple.**
The Destiny Temple was magnificent and vast, its internal space hazy and vast, like a miniature universe.
Zhang Ruochen was covered in chains from head to toe, electric sparks flowing on the chains. He walked step by step to the center of the temple and stopped.
His escort was Xue Tu.
"Senior Brother, kneel down. Kneeling to a Heavenly God is not shameful," Xue Tu whispered.
Zhang Ruochen looked around. In the hall, he saw Ghost Lord, Mutuo War God, Ting Yunsheng, Jin Jue Heavenly God... there were actually over a hundred gods, each manifesting their giant divine bodies, standing on clouds. Some were as tall as tens of thousands of miles.
It was a scene of gods and demons everywhere, ready to kill.
Finally, Zhang Ruochen looked at a divine throne suspended in mid-air. Void Heaven sat on it, his divine might covering heaven and earth, like the master of the universe, making all the gods present feel awe and reverence.
"Zhang Ruochen, why haven't you knelt yet?" Jin Jue Heavenly God said in a deep voice.
Zhang Ruochen said: "None of you have knelt to Void Heaven, so why should I?"
"Do you not know the crimes you have committed?"
Zhang Ruochen said: "What crime have I committed? Please enlighten me, Jin Jue Heavenly God."
Jin Jue Heavenly God naturally wouldn't bring up Wu Yue's matter, saying: "How many gods of the Hell Realm have you killed? The death of Huoze Divine Lord alone is enough to send you to the God-Beheading Platform."
"I have killed quite a few gods, but which time did I actively provoke them?"
Zhang Ruochen's expression turned cold and stern, saying: "I, Zhang Ruochen, am honored to be the Divine Envoy of the Heavenly Mother. Yet, I have always acted with restraint and treated others with humility, never actively seeking trouble. But if someone comes after me, can I not fight back? To be so weak would be to disgrace the Heavenly Mother's face."
Xue Tu's mouth twitched.
Restrained? Humble?
Senior Brother, if you are considered restrained, then there are no ostentatious cultivators in the Hell Realm! If you are considered humble, then where does that leave me, Xue Tu?
But Zhang Ruochen indeed had not actively sought trouble.
The gods who died by his hand had all come to provoke him first.
Mutuo War God said: "Did my Darkness Temple actively provoke you?"
"I still remember the enmity with the Boundless Hall Master," Zhang Ruochen said.
Mutuo War God didn't expect Zhang Ruochen to be so good at arguing. He bowed to Void Heaven and said: "Zhang Ruochen is not a god of the Hell Realm, and he constantly opposes the Hell Realm. He will surely become a great threat in the future. I implore Void Heaven to have him executed."
All the Hell Realm gods avoided mentioning Wu Yue, as they were also afraid that bringing the matter to light would anger Void Heaven.
Luo Sha said: "How is Zhang Ruochen not considered a god of the Hell Realm? He is the Divine Envoy of the Heavenly Mother, acting on her behalf throughout the world. Those Hell Realm gods who forcibly occupied his territory, tried to seize his treasures, and sought to kill him—did they have any regard for the Heavenly Mother? Shouldn't they die for such actions?"
Mutuo War God said: "May I ask Princess Luo Sha, are you speaking on behalf of the Tianluo Divine Kingdom or the Rakshasa Clan? How can the identity of the Heavenly Mother's Divine Envoy be placed above the overall interests of the Hell Realm? Zhang Ruochen is the Realm Lord of Xinghuantian, not a god of the Rakshasa Clan."
At this moment, Void Heaven's voice rang out: "Zhang Ruochen, tell me, do you consider yourself a god of the Hell Realm?"
This question was extremely dangerous. Ghost Lord, Jin Jue Heavenly God, and others all showed smiles.
It seemed that Void Heaven indeed had a fire in his heart, but he held back from exploding due to his status. Since that was the case, they had to seize this opportunity to stand up for Void Heaven and make Zhang Ruochen die convinced and willing.
It would surely earn them Void Heaven's favor.
Zhang Ruochen bowed and said: "In reply to Void Heaven, Ruochen's body is in Xinghuantian, but his heart has never dared to forget the kindness of the Hell Realm. My maternal grandfather, the Heavenly Mother, Fulu Divine Venerable, Luo Yan Great Emperor, and even you, Elder Void Heaven, have all shown me great kindness."
...
Ah, I'm sick. It's just a cold, but it's really affecting my writing. Just one chapter today! I'll make it up when I'm better!
(Chapter End)