# Chapter 3171: The Watcher
"Whoosh!"
A beam of light descended from the sky, piercing through the protective formation of the Kunlun Realm, and landed on the desert where the ruins of the Nine Li Divine Temple lay.
Two Daoists materialized, one old and one young.
The young Daoist was extraordinarily handsome, with an outstanding bearing and a refined, scholarly air. He said, "Such a powerful residual aura."
Black demonic mist floated across the desert, but it could not approach the two Daoists.
The old Daoist had crane-white hair and a youthful face, holding a horsetail whisk in his hand, exuding an immortal, transcendent aura. "Let's go!" he said.
"Master, aren't we going in to investigate?" the young Daoist asked, puzzled.
"There's no need."
Before his words had even faded, divine light flickered, and as if riding the wind, the white-bearded old Daoist and the young Daoist had already crossed the boundaries of time and space, arriving outside the Central Imperial City in the Central Domain.
Snow had been falling for three days, and the area outside the city was a vast expanse of white.
The city walls were towering, their bodies like mountain ranges.
The appearance of the two azure-robed Daoists was particularly conspicuous.
The young Daoist exclaimed in admiration, "The city-protecting divine formation was personally arranged by Tai Shang. Now that it is fully activated, it can be said to be as solid as gold and as secure as an iron bucket."
"A formation like this is far from being as solid as gold and as secure as an iron bucket! Back then, the protective formation of the Kunlun Realm was left behind by the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, and then reinforced and strengthened by the Second and Third Confucian Ancestors, the Fourth Confucian Ancestor, Xumi Saint Monk, Yunshen Daozhu, Ten Calamities Wen Tianjun... and other Eon-level powerhouses, generation after generation. That was truly as solid as gold and as secure as an iron bucket. Yet, it was still riddled with holes and scars. In the end, the Saint Monk dispersed all his divine power to repair the world's breaches." The white-bearded old Daoist sighed with emotion.
The young Daoist smiled. "Master should know that what your disciple meant by 'as solid as gold and as secure as an iron bucket' is in reference to this particular era."
Sensing their auras, Chi Yao and Zangjin Baihu descended outside the city, bowing respectfully. "We pay our respects to the Watcher! We did not expect that the Watcher would not go to the North Marsh Great Wall."
"Although a great crisis has erupted at the North Marsh Great Wall, the universe's taboos and unknown dangers are not limited to that one place. The Heavenly Court always needs someone to keep watch."
The white-bearded old Daoist continued, "When the Heavenly Venerable departed, he instructed that he and Fengdu Dadi had reached an agreement: the Heavenly Court and Hell would temporarily cease hostilities. During the Infinite Northern Expedition, the Watcher must not interfere in the conflicts."
"May I ask what business the Watcher has in the Kunlun Realm?" Chi Yao inquired.
The white-bearded old Daoist said, "You should have sensed that powerful aura in the Savage Wilderness Secret Realm, shouldn't you? That aura belongs to Feng Tian, one of the Twenty Heavens of the Hell Realm. Do you know where she has gone?"
Chi Yao's heart churned with waves. "How could Feng Tian be in the Kunlun Realm?"
The young Daoist standing beside him was Zhen Yuan of the Five Elements Temple. He said, "The news that Feng Tian disappeared near the Kunlun Realm was sent by Tai Shang to my master before he departed, asking my master to help look after the Kunlun Realm."
Chi Yao guessed that this matter was most likely related to Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi, but when Zhang Ruochen left, he had clearly said not to tell anyone. This was obviously no ordinary matter.
Chi Yao said, "This junior did indeed hear the cry of a phoenix, but after rushing to the Savage Wilderness Secret Realm, I only saw a shocking celestial phenomenon. I do not know what happened."
The white-bearded old Daoist said, "Do not be afraid, and do not let her threaten you. She is severely injured, her cultivation greatly diminished. With this old Daoist here, I will surely be able to protect the living beings of the Kunlun Realm."
"Every word this junior speaks is true. I dare not deceive, nor have I been threatened," Chi Yao said.
The white-bearded old Daoist smiled. "In that case, this old Daoist has been worrying needlessly! Indeed, with Feng Tian's level of cultivation, disappearing from before your eyes would be far too easy. This old Daoist intends to search a few secret places in the Kunlun Realm. You don't mind, do you?"
Chi Yao was very respectful. "If Feng Tian were to hide in the Kunlun Realm, it would surely be a great disaster. If the Watcher is willing to lend a hand, Chi Yao and all the clans of the Kunlun Realm would only be endlessly grateful. How could we mind? Watcher, do you need assistance?"
"No need. Dealing with Feng Tian is the Watcher's responsibility. You have your own burdens to bear. Matters below the Infinite level, this old Daoist will not interfere with!"
The white-bearded old Daoist and Zhen Yuan walked into the snow.
"Do not let the world know of the Watcher's existence! The Watcher's duty is not only to watch, but also to look ahead."
The azure robes blurred, and the two Daoists vanished into the swirling snowflakes.
Zhen Yuan asked, "Master, do you believe that everything Chi Yao the Great God said was the truth?"
"It doesn't matter. She is merely a Taiyi Great God. Faced with an existence like Feng Caiyi, and faced with the living beings of the Kunlun Realm she wishes to protect, she has no choice. Why make things difficult for her? Let's take a look. There are only a few places in the Kunlun Realm that can evade my calculations."
Zhen Yuan said, "What if Feng Tian's cultivation has already recovered? With her methods, as long as she deliberately hides, even if she were hidden among the crowd, it would be very difficult to find her, wouldn't it?"
"If her cultivation had recovered, why would her aura suddenly disappear? Clearly, she is hiding from this old Daoist." The white-bearded old Daoist smiled, already arriving at the Sword Grave.
Ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers were as close as if they were right under his feet.
...
In the second gradient of the Endless Abyss, there were many forbidden lands—lands stained red by divine blood, spatial fracture zones formed after divine battles, the corpse of a divine blood phoenix lying across the mountains...
All of them showed that a terrifying divine war had once erupted here.
Of course, what were forbidden lands for Great Saints, Zhang Ruochen, with his current cultivation, could all enter without fear of the dangers.
The most terrifying place in the second gradient was a place called the "Blood Domain." Even with Xue Hou's Divine Realm-level cultivation, she dared not enter.
To go to the third gradient, one had to enter the Blood Domain.
In the Blood Domain, mountains were layered and peaks were majestic. All trees, flowers, grass, and soil emitted a bloody smell. In the air, blood mist permeated, containing a strange power that severely suppressed even the cultivation of gods.
The natural laws of the Endless Abyss were already completely different from those of the Kunlun Realm.
And the natural laws in the Blood Domain became even more extreme.
Zhang Ruochen drove a sacred chariot, pulled by three of the largest Devouring God Insects, and drove into the Blood Domain. Around the sacred chariot, densely packed Devouring God Insects ran, their carapaces red, devouring everything in their path.
Blood trees dozens of meters in diameter, vines growing human hair, lakes formed of congealed blood...
All these things became their food, as if they intended to devour the entire Blood Domain.
Mu Lingxi was dressed in white, ethereal and otherworldly, sitting in the sacred chariot. Her injured body had already recovered, her skin as white as snow and as smooth as lard. Suddenly, Purifying Divine Flame emanated from her body, instantly vaporizing the sacred chariot.
Zhang Ruochen was startled and immediately formed a Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram to block the oncoming divine flame.
The divine flame was not particularly strong—at least, it was far from comparable to Feng Tian's Phoenix Divine Fire. Blocked by the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram, Zhang Ruochen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Mu Lingxi's flesh and skin were completely burned, becoming wrinkled and distorted, her face contorted. After a long while, she recovered.
Zhang Ruochen was very worried. "Senior Feng Tian, if you cannot control the power within your body, please do not attempt anything rash. Lingxi's body cannot withstand your elder's tormenting."
Mu Lingxi's figure was exquisite. Her eyes gazed around, and she asked indifferently, "How far have we penetrated into the Blood Domain?"
"About two thousand three hundred li," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Why so slow?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "This place is strange, with chaotic space and countless dangers. The Devouring God Insects scouting ahead have already died by the hundreds. Feng Tian should know what this place is, shouldn't she?"
"Your spiritual power has reached the eightieth rank. Can't you tell?" Mu Lingxi said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "It looks like the Divine Realm World of some great figure."
"Biluozi was once a legendary figure of the Kunlun Realm. After his physical body fell, he created the Biluo Path and stepped into the Infinite Realm again, as if he had lived a second life." Mu Lingxi said.
Zhang Ruochen was shaken. "This is the Divine Realm World left behind after Senior Biluozi fell?"
"The entire second gradient of the Endless Abyss is."
Mu Lingxi stepped forward, moving gracefully and ethereally, her black hair like a waterfall, passing through the blood mist.
Zhang Ruochen quickly caught up. "Back then, was the Endless Abyss a battlefield between the Hell Realm and the Kunlun Realm?"
Mu Lingxi did not answer him and continued walking on her own.
Too cold!
As if Zhang Ruochen were nothing but an ant, directly ignored.
After penetrating about five thousand li, suddenly, the swarm of Devouring God Insects stopped collectively, fear showing in their eyes as they slowly retreated.
Mu Lingxi sensed a dangerous aura out of the ordinary and asked, "What happened?"
Zhang Ruochen did not like being treated like a servant, summoned and dismissed at will. But Mu Lingxi's life was now in the other's hands.
Zhang Ruochen communicated with the consciousness of the Devouring God Insects through his spiritual power. "Five hundred li ahead, a stone statue has appeared. It has already devoured several hundred Devouring God Insects."
"A stone statue?"
A hint of disdain flashed in Mu Lingxi's eyes. "Go and deal with it. Make it quick."
For safety's sake, the Devouring God Insects had always been scouting ahead, with them following five hundred li behind.
Now, the Devouring God Insects had evolved to the fifth generation.
If even the swarm could not solve the problem, it was bound to be a malevolent entity at the Great God level.
Zhang Ruochen's body turned into a mysterious light, crossing five hundred li through the blood mist, arriving deep in the jungle. Everywhere around were traces of battle, blood trees lying horizontally, the ground scarred with ravines cut by sharp weapons.
"Roar!"
A long howl came.
Dense Dark Rules surged from underground.
The howl shook the divine soul.
A stone hand the size of a winnowing basket, holding a lightning warhammer, swung out from the Dark Rules, straight at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen formed a sword seal with his hand. The Abyssal Ancient Sword flew out, cutting a bright sword light that severed the entire stone arm. At the same time, he uttered a single word: "Freeze!"
The Dark Rules, which had been rolling like giant waves, suddenly calmed, and all the dark power was suppressed.
A one-armed stone statue emerged from the darkness, roaring loudly, struggling fiercely. But its body was suppressed by spiritual power chains, trapped like a beast in a cage.
Mu Lingxi stepped on the fallen leaves and walked over slowly. "A statue of Gong Xuanzang. In a hundred thousand years, it has actually grown to the Great God level. Oh, it's because it was stained with his divine blood. It can be considered one of his avatars!"
Zhang Ruochen observed carefully and indeed saw a patch of bloodstains on the chest of the stone statue.
Centered on the bloodstains, vein-like patterns resembling those of a human body spread across its entire form.
(Chapter End)