Chapter 3197: Cosmic Turmoil
One year later.
Above the Heavenly Venerable's tomb, only nineteen of the original twenty-seven layers of celestial heavens remained.
Below the tomb, not far from the Golden Qilin Divine Beast, the Space-Time Chaos Lotus had taken root deep in the ground, releasing powerful fluctuations of time and space, forming a lotus-shaped independent space.
Within this vast and chaotic space, thirty-two Zhang Ruochens appeared simultaneously, each radiating dazzling chaotic divine light, like thirty-two blazing suns.
"Whoosh!"
The thirty-two merged into one, and Zhang Ruochen threw a punch.
The fist force surged like a vast ocean wave, the sound like crashing waves against rocks.
Sometimes fierce, sometimes gentle, combining hardness with softness, it surged overwhelmingly toward Cang Jue.
Cang Jue's cultivation was profound, yet upon seeing this punch of endless, unbroken power, his heart was filled with great alarm, and his spirit immediately entered a state of high concentration.
"Ten Thousand Yin Sparrows."
Cang Jue's body erupted with eerie demonic divine Qi, condensing into countless densely packed black Vermilion Birds, which collided with the overwhelming fist force.
"Boom, rumble!"
The two forces stalemated for a quarter of an hour.
Cang Jue was sent flying over a thousand miles by the fist force, and all the Yin Sparrows in the sky were annihilated. The shock in his heart was difficult to calm; he had never seen a cultivator with such terrifying cultivation speed.
Such talent could be called a "Young Heavenly Venerable," right?
No!
It should be a "Young Ancestor"!
Cang Jue quickly restrained his emotions, moved his body, and teleported before Zhang Ruochen, bowing with a smile: "Congratulations, Young Master, on your great advancement in cultivation. Even this old servant is almost no match for you!"
Zhang Ruochen looked at the sub-god-level supreme sacred artifact fist gloves in his hand. These gloves were seized from Xu Liao, a Grand God of the Void Realm from the Corpse God Temple.
The punch he had just thrown, borrowing the power of the sub-god-level supreme sacred artifact, had nearly exhausted the divine Qi in his body.
Zhang Ruochen was clearly not satisfied with his own power. "Spare me the flattery. Compared to you, I still have a long way to go."
Cang Jue had passively withstood Zhang Ruochen's full-power punch without any injury. The gap between them was obviously enormous.
Zhang Ruochen had seen many Grand Gods of the Void Realm, including some figures from the *Treatise on Grand Gods*.
Those who could make it onto the *Treatise on Grand Gods* were almost all at the peak of the Void Realm, each a dominant force commanding wind and rain in the current universe.
With Cang Jue's combat power, he could definitely make it onto the *Treatise on Grand Gods*, and his ranking would not be low.
In just one year, Zhang Ruochen had cultivated the Immovable Wisdom King Fist to the eighth layer, absorbing a large amount of chaotic divine light and chaotic rules. His cultivation had indeed made tremendous progress.
It was comparable to the progress from the early Taibai Realm to the middle Taibai Realm.
But to clash with a peak Void Realm powerhouse, he was still far off. Zhang Ruochen had this self-awareness.
Cang Jue, however, was frightened by Zhang Ruochen's cultivation speed and dared not let him continue cultivating. "Young Master, when do we set off for Da Ming Mountain?"
"No rush. I've only been cultivating for a year. At least wait until I break through to the Void Realm before we set out; that won't be too late." Zhang Ruochen said indifferently.
Cang Jue said, "I'm afraid it will be hard to explain to the master. How about this old servant returns first to report, and then comes back to pick up the Young Master?"
Staying in the ancestral land, suppressed by the twelve stone men, always felt restrictive.
But once he left the ancestral land, Cang Jue would naturally have many ways to force Zhang Ruochen to leave the Kunlun Realm.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Cang Jue, your cultivation is currently at the second stop of the Void Realm's Three Stops, the Soul Stop stage, right?"
Cang Jue was slightly startled, then said, "The Young Master's eyesight is extraordinary, like a Boundless Divine King, able to see through everything at a glance."
"Since you haven't broken through the Soul Stop, it's better to stay in the ancestral land and cultivate. You wouldn't dare to disobey my orders, would you?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Of course not."
Cang Jue quickly bowed. When he looked up again, he found Zhang Ruochen had already walked towards the edge of the ancestral land.
A sinister look appeared in his pitch-black ghostly eyes.
At this point, how could Cang Jue not see that Zhang Ruochen's wariness towards him had not diminished in the slightest, and he was instead trying to trap him in the ancestral land.
If he really waited until Zhang Ruochen stepped into the Void Realm, then when it came to a fight, who would win and who would lose would be hard to say!
"Don't bother looking. You can't get out. Zhang Ruochen has long suspected you!"
Zangjin Baihu, like a large cat, silently walked behind Cang Jue.
Cang Jue restrained the sharp light in his eyes and smiled, "This old servant is loyal and dutiful. Why would the Young Master suspect me?"
Zangjin Baihu rolled its eyes and said, "If you try to escape, Zhang Ruochen will definitely put away the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram and lure the twelve stone men to kill you. Two stone men can suppress you; if all twelve attack together, I can't think of any chance you have to survive."
"In fact, you could try a sneak attack. If you can suppress Zhang Ruochen in a short time, you can turn passivity into initiative. But... if you do that, you'll be tearing off all pretense. If you fail, you'll die without a doubt."
"Think about it. On the Santu River, over a dozen Grand Gods of the Void Realm from the Hell Realm attacked together and couldn't suppress Zhang Ruochen. You want to suppress him in a short time? The probability... I can't say it's zero. But... well, you're on your own!"
Zangjin Baihu flicked its tail and swaggered away.
Cang Jue stared at Zangjin Baihu's rear, his expression puzzled. He couldn't figure out why this tiger had suddenly come to say such a thing to him.
Was it extending an olive branch?
Was it warning him?
Regardless, the tiger's words were not without reason.
If he truly wanted to make a move against Zhang Ruochen, he had to be extremely cautious.
Zhang Ruochen arrived at the edge of the ancestral land and saw Chi Yao carrying the Sword Pavilion, stepping through the curtain of nine-colored divine light.
Chi Yao glanced at the distant Heavenly Venerable's tomb and said, "That old ghost didn't make a move while I was away?"
"The Great Venerable's prestige can scare away even Heavenly Venerable-level powerhouses, let alone him?" Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
"Don't underestimate the enemy. You must be constantly on guard."
Chi Yao continued, "In just one year, many things have happened outside."
"Oh?"
Zhang Ruochen's smile faded, and worry appeared in his eyes.
Chi Yao knew what he was concerned about. "Xinghuantian is still safe. Protected by the Thousand Star Xinghuantian Formation and with Yu Yao, a Formation Divine Master, in charge, the Hell Realm army has launched several attacks but all failed."
"The situation in the Hundred Clans Royal City, however, is very bad. Within a year, four small clans have rebelled. Although Yu Ling Shen was decisive and powerful, slaughtering the four clans cleanly in a very short time, the Hundred Clans Royal City still suffered significant losses."
"More critically, such bloody suppression has caused considerable backlash. Although Yu Ling Shen has broken through to the peak of the Void Realm, she is still not strong enough. Relying on her alone, I'm afraid she cannot hold up the banner of the Hundred Clans Royal City."
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Hundred Clans Royal City cannot be lost, or we will lose the gateway to and from the Sword Realm."
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen used his finger as a pen and wrote two letters, handing them to Chi Yao.
Chi Yao glanced at the envelopes.
One was addressed to Xuanyuan Lian, the other to Yu Ling Shen.
Zhang Ruochen naturally intended to borrow the power of the Heavenly Court to secretly protect the Hundred Clans Royal City, at least ensuring it would not be breached or fall completely under the control of the Hell Realm.
Chi Yao waved her sleeve, and the two letters transformed into two beams of divine light, flying towards the direction of the Central Imperial City.
"There is one more thing!"
Chi Yao's expression became noticeably heavier. "In the past, the Quantity Organization has always been hidden underwater, rarely showing its traces, leading even some Heavenly Venerable-level powerhouses to doubt whether they truly existed. But in the last year, members of the Quantity Organization have appeared frequently, causing many disturbances."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Appearing frequently?"
"Exactly. For example, Murong Hengkong of the nine great clans' Murong family, and Shi Fu Jun, the Lord of Lan Chen Sea, became members of the Quantity Organization for various reasons and were attacked by all sides."
"Although the Murong family has immense power, it couldn't withstand the wrath of the gods. Murong Hengkong was forced to allow the gods to probe his divine soul. After proving his innocence, he self-destructed his divine source in the starry sky, using self-sacrifice to tell the world not to be used by the Quantity Organization to kill each other."
Zhang Ruochen understood better than anyone that once falsely accused of being a member of the Quantity Organization, it was truly impossible to defend oneself.
Murong Hengkong was even worse off than him. Because the Murong family was too vast, and it involved whether that Heavenly Venerable of the Murong family was a Quantity Emperor. Therefore, he could only let the gods probe his divine soul, could only sacrifice himself, and couldn't even escape.
After a long silence, Zhang Ruochen sighed, "What a pity for Murong Hengkong! What about Shi Fu Jun?"
"Shi Fu Jun was besieged by a large group of Stone Clan gods. His divine body was shattered into pieces. He killed three Stone Clan gods in a row and eventually escaped! For now, it's unknown whether he is truly a member of the Quantity Organization." Chi Yao said.
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and said calmly and helplessly, "He definitely isn't."
"Why?" Chi Yao asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "With Shi Fu Jun's cultivation, if he were truly a member of the Quantity Organization, how could he have only killed three gods while being besieged?"
Chi Yao nodded slightly. "You're right. Many of the Stone Clan gods who besieged Shi Fu Jun were not very powerful."
"These gods are nothing but greedy people, coveting the territory of Lan Chen Sea and Shi Fu Jun's resources and wealth. That's why they were used by the Quantity Organization."
Zhang Ruochen said, "What about Jue Miao Chan Nu? Xue Zhi Gu Shen? Yi Xuan Bei Shi? Why haven't these top experts of the Hell Realm stepped forward to stabilize the situation, allowing the Quantity Organization to lead them by the nose?"
Chi Yao said, "Ultimately, it's because the ten great clans of the Hell Realm, the Destiny Temple, and the Darkness Temple are all too powerful. None can do anything to the other, none are convinced by the other, and none can command universal obedience."
"In the current situation, it's actually the Heavenly Court, with Xuanyuan Lian in charge, that has the advantage over the Hell Realm. However, Xuanyuan Lian's days are not easy either. Because of the ongoing fallout from the mutual destruction of Xuan Yi and the Five Great Divine Monks, the voices suspecting him of being a member of the Quantity Organization are growing louder."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Xuanyuan Lian's abilities and methods are very strong. He won't follow in Murong Hengkong's footsteps. Everything happening now might be part of his plan. Only by making the Quantity Organization crazier will they reveal more flaws."
Zhang Ruochen's desire to condense the Lesser Yin became even more urgent.
"Come, let's go to the Ninth Layer of the Celestial Heavens."
Zhang Ruochen took Chi Yao's hand, and like a pair of divine immortals, they flew towards the Celestial Heaven Divine Palace above the Heavenly Venerable's tomb.
The legacy left by the Great Venerable would be their heaven-defying opportunity for rapid cultivation progress. Chi Yao had gone out this time both to gather information and to bring the Sword Pavilion.
Only by relying on the time flow rate inside the Sword Pavilion could they advance even faster.