# Chapter 3199: Feng Tian Disappears
Chi Yao gently nodded and said, "Zangjin Baihu holds an extraordinary status in Shengu Nest. Inviting a group of gods to come and help fight is not a difficult matter. By the way, do you have confidence in subduing Cang Jue?"
Zhang Ruochen had been holding Chi Yao's soft little hand the entire time, then suddenly said, "Last time, it didn't take."
Chi Yao's expression darkened slightly, her long, slender eyelashes standing up as she shot him a sideways glance.
They were discussing serious matters, how could he suddenly get distracted by this?
Had Zhang Ruochen really been brainwashed by Jie Zunzhe, not only needing to cultivate diligently but also to expand the Zhang Clan?
Five hundred years ago, when Zhang Ruochen had pushed her to the ground, the reason he gave was that having received the Great Venerable's legacy, he had to shoulder the responsibility of the Zhang Clan's prosperity and growth.
At the time, Chi Yao only thought that Zhang Ruochen was cultivating Shaoyin, causing an imbalance of yin and yang within him, so she went along with him.
The desire between men and women had always been very low for her.
"Indeed, it's very difficult for gods to conceive. One cannot hope for success every time." Zhang Ruochen sighed.
"Boring!"
Chi Yao turned and walked away, seeing that Zhang Ruochen didn't take Cang Jue seriously. Thus, with no more worries in her heart, she decided to leave immediately for Shengu Nest.
Five days later, Chi Yao finally managed to leave the Wangshan Ancestral Land. It had to be said, Zhang Ruochen had truly become stronger!
Now, it wasn't that she wanted to leave, but that she could leave.
Zhang Ruochen flew down from the ten layers of heavens above the Heavenly Venerable's tomb, glanced in the direction Chi Yao and Zangjin Baihu had departed, and then smiled.
Little did Chi Yao know, compared to subduing Cang Jue, Zhang Ruochen was more eager to conquer her first.
The stronger Chi Yao's cultivation became, the stronger Zhang Ruochen's sense of crisis grew. Because she was too opinionated, very decisive in her actions, and once she made a move, she would never give her enemy a chance to survive.
If he couldn't subdue her completely, many people Zhang Ruochen cared about would be in danger.
But Zhang Ruochen also understood that relying solely on sleeping with her wouldn't be enough to conquer Chi Yao. He needed to think of more ways!
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his gaze, his expression gradually turning cold and sharp. "Cang Jue, you should understand that I have never trusted you. So, are you going to tell the truth yourself, or will you let the twelve stone men force the truth out of you?"
Over eighty years had passed, and everyone was smart. Many things only needed to be pointed out.
Cang Jue bowed deeply to Zhang Ruochen and sighed, "Cang Jue submits!"
"What do you mean by 'submits'?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Cang Jue said, "The Young Lord is truly worthy of being the descendant of the Great Venerable and the master. His talent is so high, his cultivation speed so fast, that Cang Jue has never seen the like in his life. His wisdom is so deep, his insight so keen, that many ancient gods cannot compare. Yes, Cang Jue did lie!"
Zhang Ruochen paid no attention to Cang Jue's flattery. "Now, you still have a chance to tell the truth. Over these eighty-plus years, I have been waiting for you to confess voluntarily."
"The truth is…"
Suddenly, Cang Jue raised his head. He had no face, only a pair of gray, murky eyes.
In an instant, powerful soul power burst forth from his eyes, condensing into a skull that rushed into Zhang Ruochen's body, enveloping him, attempting to devour his divine soul.
Ghost-type anomalous beasts were soul bodies, so their greatest strength was soul attacks.
It was very similar to spiritual power attacks—seemingly calm on the surface, but extremely dangerous within.
Zhang Ruochen's vision went dark. Only a massive skull floated in the void, exuding a cold, yin aura, opening its mouth to continuously devour his soul power.
"Zhang Ruochen, I have endured and hidden for so long, waiting for your strongest moment, waiting for the time when you would take the initiative to reveal your cards. Because at this moment, you are most confident. Once you become too confident, your defenses weaken." The skull let out a sinister laugh.
Zhang Ruochen's divine soul was continuously draining away. He said coldly, "I long ago saw that a strongman like you, kneeling before me, must have some ulterior motive. But I never imagined you wouldn't strike when I was weak, but instead when I was strong. Truly a scheming old fox."
"Now, you can tell me, why is that portrait of Ling Yanzi painted by the Great Venerable himself in your possession?"
Seeing that he had already devoured half of Zhang Ruochen's divine soul, Cang Jue believed victory was assured. Letting down his guard, he let out a wild laugh. "Haha, that portrait was stolen by me from the Great Dark Mountain. At the time, I thought that with this painting, I could enter the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable's tomb and obtain the ancestral opportunity. Forget about soul-stopping, even breaking through to the Infinite Realm would be within reach."
"Unfortunately, the means left behind by the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable were too powerful. Even a God King couldn't break into the Heavenly Venerable's tomb. However, at that time, I happened to encounter you. I had to settle for the next best thing. Capturing you, Zhang Ruochen, is also a great opportunity!"
"By taking over your body, Zhang Ruochen, I take over all your cultivation and potential. From now on, I am Zhang Ruochen… You… what are you doing?"
"Aren't you trying to become Zhang Ruochen? I'll grant your wish!"
Zhang Ruochen's remaining divine soul condensed into a rapidly flying streak of light, charging straight toward the skull's mouth.
Entering the skull, Zhang Ruochen's divine soul instantly burst forth with bright golden radiance, erupting with overwhelmingly powerful Buddhist might.
Resounding sutra-chanting echoed within the skull.
"Crack!"
The Sixth Patriarch's golden body divine shadow manifested, shattering the skull. Like a golden divine mountain illuminating the darkness, majestic and towering, its voice like a heavenly bell.
Amidst Cang Jue's screams, the ghostly mist and soul power were continuously purified by the Buddhist light.
"I submit! This time, I truly submit!"
Cang Jue's voice was terrified as he repeatedly begged for mercy.
Zhang Ruochen's divine soul condensed on the shoulder of the Sixth Patriarch's golden body divine shadow, the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram revolving around him. He said, "I control yin and yang. The entire universe is within my Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram. How could you possibly devour my divine soul?"
The Buddhist light caused Cang Jue's divine soul to burn, growing weaker and weaker.
"Young Lord, spare me. This old servant is willing to swear an oath to serve by your side for life." Cang Jue knew very well that he was useful.
It was precisely because he was useful that Zhang Ruochen, despite knowing he had problems, still hadn't killed him.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Just swearing an oath is not enough. I want half of your divine soul!"
"If the Young Lord takes half of my divine soul, my combat power will certainly decline severely." Cang Jue said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You have no room to negotiate!"
"This old servant agrees!"
Cang Jue no longer resisted with his divine soul, allowing Zhang Ruochen to take away half of it.
The remaining half of his divine soul flew out of Zhang Ruochen's body and surged into the ghostly form standing opposite.
Cang Jue's ghostly body trembled slightly, his eyes regaining their luster. Then he knelt on one knee and said, "Master, that Buddhist soul that manifested within your body just now, was it the Sixth Patriarch?"
Zhang Ruochen took out the Bright Mirror Platform and held it in his hand.
"Whoosh!"
A beam of golden light flew out from between Zhang Ruochen's eyebrows, rushing into the Bright Mirror Platform and disappearing.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Do you understand now?"
Cang Jue stared fixedly at the Bright Mirror Platform, laughing bitterly repeatedly. "So this Buddhist divine artifact is in the master's hands. This old servant's defeat is not unjust!"
Zhang Ruochen had long anticipated that Cang Jue would not submit easily and would inevitably launch a sneak attack.
For ghost-type anomalous beasts, nothing was easier to succeed with than a soul attack.
Therefore, before walking out from the heavens, Zhang Ruochen had already drawn the artifact spirit of the Bright Mirror Platform into his body. The Bright Mirror Platform was formed from the Sixth Patriarch's eighty-three thousand nine hundred and ninety relics. Its artifact spirit was the Sixth Patriarch's spiritual will.
No matter how strong Cang Jue's divine soul was, how could it contend with the Sixth Patriarch's spiritual will?
The Bright Mirror Platform was a true divine artifact, not a defective product like the six divine swords.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The artifact spirit of the Bright Mirror Platform will not initiate an attack. If your divine soul hadn't invaded my body, I wouldn't have been able to do anything to you. The fault lies only in your greed—you wanted to take over my body."
"I wouldn't dare! I will never dare again!" Cang Jue said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "If you ever have such thoughts again, I will naturally sense them. Let's go!"
"Where to?" Cang Jue asked.
"Just follow!"
Zhang Ruochen led Cang Jue toward the Endless Abyss.
On the way, Zhang Ruochen asked Cang Jue many questions about the Great Dark Mountain.
But even with Cang Jue's level of cultivation, he knew very little about the Great Dark Mountain, having never entered its core area.
He did have a master, but he had never seen his master's true form. Every time, he could only hear a voice coming from between heaven and earth.
This voice, to him, was like a heavenly decree.
As for the portrait, it was something he had stolen by chance when he entered a secret place within the Great Dark Mountain.
Cang Jue revealed many mysterious and profound things—for example, the secrets of the formation of dragon-phoenix anomalous beasts, the power of humanoid anomalous beasts, and even claimed that there were Immortals living in the Great Dark Mountain… But Zhang Ruochen only took it with a grain of salt, not taking it too seriously.
Because these were all legends Cang Jue had heard, and even he himself couldn't be sure.
If the Great Dark Mountain were truly that powerful, it would have long since broken out from the Abyss of Darkness. Relying solely on Heavenly Mother, it would be impossible to suppress them.
Arriving at the Endless Abyss, they entered that strange space of only darkness and nothingness, but couldn't find Mu Lingxi at all.
"She has already left!"
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen's expression changed. "Could it be that Feng Tian's new body has already broken out of its shell? No, with Feng Tian's personality, if her new body had broken out, how could she not take this opportunity to go on a killing spree? She probably would have already descended upon the Heavenly Court in person."
There was only one way out of here.
Zhang Ruochen led Cang Jue, immediately following the old path to the end of the dried-up riverbed, summoning the Earth Cauldron, and charging into the bubble of nothingness matter.
"With my current cultivation, I still need to rely on the Earth Cauldron to break through the bubble of nothingness matter. If Feng Tian and Ling Xi were able to leave this place, doesn't that mean their strength is already above mine?" Zhang Ruochen's mood was complicated. He didn't know whether to be happy or distressed.
Although his cultivation had greatly improved, it was clear that there were still many cultivators in this world more powerful than him. He was far from being able to act with impunity and dominate the situation.
Before long, Zhang Ruochen appeared again in the Santu River region, heading straight downstream.
He did not go to Moli City to find Wu Yue.
As for Chi Yao, although Zhang Ruochen was cautious, his caution was directed at her possibly taking harsh measures against Luo Sha, Bai Qinger, and other women. In other aspects, Zhang Ruochen could fully trust her, keeping no secrets from her.
Because Zhang Ruochen could understand her.
But toward Wu Yue, Zhang Ruochen's vigilance remained high, because he couldn't see through what she truly wanted to do at all, unable to distinguish which of her words were true and which were false.