Chapter 3143: Another Battle with Haishang Youruo
Everyone knew that a shocking upheaval had undoubtedly occurred in the Starry Sky Battlefield. Although the Starry Sky Defense Line had been breached, the Hell Realm had also paid a heavy price, hadn't it?
The Old Clan Leader's divine aura was solemn. Unable to wait any longer to rush over, he urged, "Hurry up and perform the sacrificial rites to Heaven and Earth, and carry out the wedding ceremony."
That vast great world, pushed by the Divine Generals, had already floated above the altar.
On the altar stood a group of Spiritual Power Gods from the Destiny Temple, each clad in black robes and holding a staff.
"Today can be called a double blessing. Once the sacrifice is over, the entire Fate Divine Domain will be bathed in auspicious light and rosy clouds."
The gods in the hall were extremely excited, all gazing up at the sky.
"Hold on!"
With this voice, the eyes of all the gods turned to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen walked forward, arriving directly beneath the Blessing Fortune God Venerable.
Wu Yue stared at Zhang Ruochen's back, able to sense his unwavering determination. She found it truly difficult to understand why he insisted on holding onto what he called his bottom line.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was steady. He bowed deeply and said, "Feng Tian is severely injured, and Void Heaven's life or death is unknown—both are missing. Today is by no means a joyous occasion. If we are still holding grand sacrifices on Fate Divine Mountain, praying for auspicious light and rosy clouds, how will the people of the world see us?"
"If not for the fact that this wedding was bestowed by Senior Void Heaven and officiated by the Blessing Fortune God Venerable, I, Ruochen, would even think the ceremony should be canceled."
Many gods present knew Zhang Ruochen's character. He would never stand by and watch an entire world's living beings be sacrificed alive because of his own wedding. But none had expected him to resist in this way—it was flawless in its reasoning.
Blood Absolute War God smiled, looking at the Old Clan Leader, and secretly transmitted a message: "Old fellow, you lost. Remember to add the divine stones."
Blood Absolute War God had naturally known about the sacrifice of an entire world and also knew that Zhang Ruochen would certainly oppose it. But this was the will of the Destiny Temple, the ideology of the Hell Realm. Blood Absolute War God could not fight against it.
The Old Clan Leader's expression was strange. He stared deeply at Zhang Ruochen and transmitted, "This kid is truly blessed by great fortune. It seems even Heaven is helping him. I am curious, though—if this hadn't happened, how would he have dealt with it?"
Blood Absolute War God could roughly guess what Zhang Ruochen would have done and said, "He probably would have sacrificed himself."
The Old Clan Leader showed an expression of disbelief. Could such a person exist in the world?
But thinking back to the Xumi Saint Monk of that era, it didn't seem so hard to understand.
The Blessing Fortune God Venerable, seated high above, said, "What Ruochen says is reasonable. Keep everything simple! But since the wedding is being held at the Destiny Temple, a sacrifice is indispensable. We will sacrifice one hundred million living beings to inform Heaven and Earth."
"God Venerable!"
Zhang Ruochen bowed again and said, "Ruochen has half-human bloodline. In human customs, weddings avoid taboos against killing. I beg the God Venerable to grant this request! If possible, Ruochen is willing to offer his own blood qi to infuse the altar, sacrificing to Heaven and Earth, to find peace of mind."
The Blessing Fortune God Venerable smiled and said, "Since Ruochen has said this, those one hundred million living beings will naturally exclude humans."
"Who says human weddings avoid taboos against killing?"
Huang Ba Hu said, "This god has spent time in the human world. The wedding ceremonies of human emperors also involve sacrifices, and they slaughter pigs and sheep aplenty."
Feng Chen Sword God laughed and said, "Ba Hu Great God, you don't understand. Realm Lord Ruochen is using this to express his love for Hall Master Wu Yue. What better way to show the sincerity of their bond than by sacrificing himself on the wedding day? Among humans, there is the saying of 'swearing an oath by smearing blood on the lips.' The oath of husband and wife is an oath for life."
"I see." Huang Ba Hu suddenly understood.
Feng Chen Sword God said this, naturally, to help Zhang Ruochen out of a tight spot. The "smearing blood" he mentioned wasn't what he made it out to be. Those who understood would get it and wouldn't expose him.
The gods who stayed at the Destiny Temple for the wedding wouldn't target Zhang Ruochen over this matter anyway.
Wu Yue, elegant and calm, said, "Ruochen, the God Venerable has already agreed not to use humans as sacrifices. This is a great grace. Why don't you thank him quickly?"
"Thank you, God Venerable, for your grace."
Zhang Ruochen hadn't expected to get through it so easily. It seemed his maternal grandfather must have discussed this with the Blessing Fortune God Venerable. Of course, the biggest reason was the upheaval on the Starry Sky Battlefield.
Without that upheaval, Zhang Ruochen had truly been prepared to sacrifice half of his blood qi. If that wasn't enough, what did it matter if he sacrificed all of it?
It wouldn't harm the dignity of the Destiny Temple, and it would show his resolve.
This was not the "womanly kindness" Wu Yue had mentioned.
What was womanly kindness?
On the Heaven Hunting Battlefield, those prisoners were already doomed to die, and the two sides were locked in a life-or-death struggle. At that time, Zhang Ruochen's cultivation was low, he had no foundation in the Hell Realm, and he hadn't even found his footing.
In such a situation, if Zhang Ruochen had foolishly thought to spare them or save them—that would have been womanly kindness.
But today, an entire world's living beings were to be sacrificed entirely because of his wedding to Zhang Ruochen. It could be said that the living beings of that world were dying because of him. How could he feel at ease?
Now, he was a Great God, the Heavenly Mother's Divine Envoy, backed by Xinghuantian and the Star Heaven Cliff. He was no longer the junior of the Saint Realm from before. He had his own voice, he could resist. If he did nothing out of fear, only two outcomes were possible.
First, a flaw would appear in his state of mind, and he would never reach the highest realm in this life.
Second, he would have changed—no longer having his original heart, becoming cowardly, becoming utterly indifferent.
Why did Jiu Tian support him? Why did he make him the master of Xinghuantian?
Not because of his talent.
His talent only made Jiu Tian interested.
What truly made Jiu Tian value him and support him without reservation was the battle at Xinghuantian. It was because, in Zhang Ruochen, he saw emotion, righteousness, and benevolence. For these, Zhang Ruochen could sacrifice his own life.
No other god, including Bai Qinger, possessed such traits.
With Jiu Tian's support came the support of the Star Sea Fisherman.
Why did the Dragon Lord support Zhang Ruochen? Wasn't it for the same reason?
In the eyes of truly supreme beings, what did it matter if your talent was high? Weren't they all peerless geniuses themselves? Didn't they all have a heart that pursued invincibility under Heaven?
What could catch their eye was often what most gods thought was worthless.
Such qualities were the rarest and most precious.
If Zhang Ruochen didn't have these qualities, he wouldn't have gained the support of those great figures, wouldn't have had those opportunities, and wouldn't have achieved what he had today. Everything complemented each other!
I don't know if there are truly benevolent and righteous people in the world, but great benevolence and great righteousness are definitely not the kind that are always on the lips of those who talk about benevolence and righteousness, nor are they about doing foolish, rigidly righteous deeds. Rather, they are about truly loving life, being able to protect oneself while holding firm to one's bottom line. When that bottom line is touched, one is willing to pay any price, even if it means being shattered to pieces or bleeding profusely.
If everyone thought they would hold onto their original heart only after becoming invincible under Heaven, and then do what they wanted to do, would the heart they held onto still truly be their original heart? Would the things they wanted to do still be what they initially wanted to do?
After the sacrifice, the wedding ceremony was hastily conducted.
Once the formalities were over, the Old Clan Leader, Earth Heavenly Mother, the Great Clan Leader of the Demon Heaven Tribe, and a host of other gods immediately left Fate Divine Mountain. Some returned to their clans, while others rushed to the Starry Sky Battlefield.
From now on, the atmosphere between the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm would inevitably become tense. Anything could happen.
The interests on the Starry Sky Battlefield were certainly important, but they also had to guard against angry Heavenly Court gods lurking into the Hell Realm to commit mass slaughter.
"What? Pu Chuanqi self-detonated his divine source? When did this happen?" Zhang Ruochen was shocked when he learned of this news.
Gong Nanfeng's expression was grave. "It happened while you were at the Darkness Temple to pick up the bride! Fortunately, he did it in the prison, where a large number of divine patterns and formations were laid out. Otherwise, Nutian Shenzun's palace would have suffered heavy losses."
Zhang Ruochen breathed a quiet sigh of relief. If that was the case, no one could pin the trouble on him and Blood Absolute War God.
Although Zhang Ruochen guessed that this matter was mostly related to Blood Absolute War God, he still asked, "What happened? Why did Pu Chuanqi self-detonate his divine source?"
"It is said that, after a series of setbacks, and being humiliated by having his blood drained in prison, he couldn't bear it anymore and self-detonated his divine source," Gong Nanfeng said.
Zhang Ruochen sighed. "First, his divine artifact was taken, then his head was cut off, and then he was locked in prison, with his soul and blood drawn out. It's truly tragic. At least now, he has left behind a reputation for being fierce and unyielding."
Gong Nanfeng stared at Zhang Ruochen, concerned. "Don't talk about him anymore. Chen, with your current cultivation, do you have the confidence to defeat Haishang Youruo?"
"What's wrong?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Gong Nanfeng said urgently, "What's wrong? Don't you know what the situation will be once the Heavenly Court's Starry Sky Defense Line is breached? Once Xiong Hai God Venerable returns, will you still be able to leave? You need to leave Fate Divine Mountain immediately! If you're not confident, I can go beg her to deliberately lose to you."
A warm current surged in Zhang Ruochen's heart. He deliberately put on a carefree smile. "Don't worry. Defeating that girl is no longer difficult. By the way, Feng, thank you."
Without needing Gong Nanfeng's reminder, Zhang Ruochen already felt a sense of urgency. He headed toward the Five Realms Heaven.
"Haishang Youruo, Zhang Ruochen is here again!"
As soon as he set foot in the Five Realms Heaven, Zhang Ruochen shouted loudly.
The door of the Future Divine Temple opened.
Haishang Youruo, with her petite and delicate figure, walked out slowly. Although she looked young, she was very composed. In the chaotic mist, she saw Zhang Ruochen striding forward, holding a sword in one hand and carrying a wine cauldron in the other.
"Zhang Ruochen, today is your wedding day, yet you've abandoned Wu Yue and come to me. You haven't been kicked out by Wu Yue and have nowhere to go, have you?" Haishang Youruo's voice was childish, crisp, and pleasant.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Knowing that you can't leave the Five Realms Heaven, I've specially brought you some wedding wine."
"Oh!"
Haishang Youruo showed a surprised expression. She hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen to value her as a friend so much. A flicker of emotion stirred in her heart.
"But you'll have to see if you have the skill to drink it!"
Time imprint light spots appeared around Zhang Ruochen, and his speed increased dramatically. He appeared before Haishang Youruo and swung his sword straight down.
"Bang!"
Haishang Youruo's Absolute Self False Time Domain was easily split open. Her beautiful eyes widened in shock. She immediately used her movement technique and retreated rapidly, narrowly dodging the sword.
Even so, a strand of her hair was cut off.
(End of this chapter)