Chapter 3206: Tracking Zhao Wu
Outside the Eastern Ghost Emperor's Mansion, not a single cultivator was visible, and the streets were eerily quiet.
In the distance, the towering gates of the Ghost Emperor's Mansion and the numerous divine halls within exuded a menacing aura. Outside the gates, massive ghostly beast shadows, baring fangs and brandishing claws, all reached the Great Saint level.
Zhang Ruochen stood in the darkness, observing for a long time.
The formations within this Ghost Emperor's Mansion were extremely formidable. Many places were impenetrable even to his Eye of Truth, making it utterly impossible to sneak in unnoticed.
Even if he changed his form and entered, without knowing the formation patterns, once he triggered the formation inscriptions, escaping the Ghost Emperor's Mansion would be extremely difficult.
"Greetings, Zhao Wu Great God!"
The Great Saint-level ghostly beast shadows outside the gates all knelt in salute.
Zhao Wu, clad in a Daoist robe, walked out of the Eastern Ghost Emperor's Mansion without sparing a glance at those Great Saint ghostly beast shadows. His form flickered, transforming into wisps of ghostly mist that dissipated into nothingness.
He had used a secret technique to leave, his ghostly body merging with heaven and earth, but it could not escape Zhang Ruochen's perception.
Zhang Ruochen quietly followed.
Within Fengdu Ghost City, space was extremely stable, densely covered with divine patterns and formations everywhere. Even with the cultivation of a Grand Void Great God, it was impossible to ignore the formations and achieve instant teleportation.
In a divine city, many things became inconvenient!
But it was precisely this inconvenience that suppressed the divine abilities of powerful cultivators, better protecting the cultivation environment within the divine city.
After leaving the Eastern Ghost Emperor's Mansion, Zhao Wu immediately headed to the Central Ghost Emperor's Mansion.
The Five Directions Ghost Emperor Mansions jointly governed Fengdu Ghost City. In this era, the Eastern Ghost Emperor Mansion, represented by Shentu Ghost Emperor, and the Western Ghost Emperor Mansion, represented by Wenhe Ghost Emperor, were the most powerful, with countless deities under their command and a gathering of strong experts.
Although the Central Ghost Emperor Mansion also had several Grand Void Great Gods, each with a fearsome reputation, compared to figures like Chi Chaluo and Xue Changjin, they fell far short.
Zhao Wu was one of the Grand Void Great Gods under the Central Ghost Emperor Mansion.
Outside the Central Ghost Emperor's Mansion, Zhao Wu's ghostly body condensed out of the air. Just as he was about to enter, he glanced to the left and saw a luxurious carriage emerging from the side.
The carriage bore the "Blazing Sun" mark.
Standing on either side of the carriage were two Lower Deity-level gods, the Golden Sun Twin Kings.
These two brothers had special physiques and extraordinary talent, but their cultivation speed was so fast that it somewhat surprised Zhang Ruochen.
It was not hard to guess who could have the Golden Sun Twin Kings as escorts.
Zhao Wu stopped and looked toward the luxurious carriage.
"Greetings, Zhao Wu Great God!" the Golden Sun Twin Kings saluted in unison.
From within the carriage came the laughter of the Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord: "This Heavenly Lord has always wanted to make the acquaintance of a heroic figure like Daoist Zhao Wu. I wonder if today is convenient?"
The Great Sun King, holding a three-foot-long divine wooden box, walked up to Zhao Wu and presented it.
"A small token of respect, not worthy of your esteem," the Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord said.
Zhao Wu knew full well the purpose of the Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord's visit.
He wanted to say "inconvenient," but since the other party was the foremost authority of the Blazing Sun Clan and backed by a strong figure like the Four Suns Heavenly Lord, it was not wise to offend him.
Zhao Wu took the divine wooden box and opened it. Inside, divine soul energy surged, and his eyes narrowed sharply.
It was the divine soul of a deity, with a very heavy soul power.
For a ghost clan member, this was no different from a divine pill that could increase cultivation!
He had long heard that the Blazing Sun Clan was actively forging connections with deities from the Hell Realm, giving away large amounts of divine stones and treasures. Seeing it today, they were indeed generous.
Zhao Wu closed the box, let out a laugh from behind his mask, and cupped his hands in salute: "Heavenly Lord, you are too kind. Please, come in!"
Zhao Wu and the Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord rode the carriage into the Ghost Emperor's Mansion.
Zhang Ruochen felt that Zhao Wu returning to the Central Ghost Emperor's Mansion at this time was suspicious, so he decided to take the risk and infiltrate. His flesh and blood changed, and in an instant, he transformed into a Blazing Sun Clan deity.
He turned into a beam of divine light and landed in front of the Ghost Emperor's Mansion, saying, "I am Shen Junyang Shen, a god of the Blazing Sun Civilization. I have extremely important matters to report to my Heavenly Lord."
The Great Saints guarding the Ghost Emperor's Mansion all knelt in salute.
A ghost clan divine general was alerted and came out, bowing to Zhang Ruochen: "True God, please come in. This minor god will guide you."
"Thank you!"
Zhang Ruochen followed the ghost clan divine general into the Ghost Emperor's Mansion. As they passed through the gate, a bead hanging on the door lit up.
The light emitted by the bead fell on Zhang Ruochen, casting a shadow on the ground.
The ghost clan divine general subtly glanced at the ground. Seeing that Zhang Ruochen's true form and shadow matched, he fully relaxed and led the way, saying, "Your clan's Heavenly Lord and Zhao Wu Great God are in the Qingcang Divine Hall. True God, do not worry. Whatever happens in Fengdu Ghost City, as long as the Central Ghost Emperor's Mansion steps in, it can be easily resolved."
"That would be wonderful!"
A Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram emerged from Zhang Ruochen's body, covering an area of eighteen zhang.
The next moment, his hand was already pressing down on the ghost clan divine general's head, with truth light flowing out from his palm like countless threads of light.
The soul search ended.
Zhang Ruochen sealed the ghost clan divine general, then transformed into his likeness.
Using the memories obtained from the soul search, Zhang Ruochen quickly arrived at the Qingcang Divine Hall. However, he did not enter but stood guard outside, sensing the conversation within.
The Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord was clearly unaware that Shen Junyang Shen had come looking for him. He laughed and said, "With Zhao Wu Great God's assistance, breaking through the Hundred Clans Royal City will be within reach!"
"Well said, well said. We are all working for the common interests of the Hell Realm! But we will have to wait a few more days—at least until Elder Xue has celebrated his grand birthday," Zhao Wu replied.
"Of course. Elder Xue has lived to the age of seven hundred thousand years. That is a rare old age even among great gods."
The Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord exchanged a few more pleasantries with Zhao Wu, discussing the rewards and compensation after capturing the Hundred Clans Royal City, before leaving with the Golden Sun Twin Kings.
As they exited the divine hall, Zhang Ruochen immediately approached, bowed, and reported, "Reporting to the Heavenly Lord, Shen Junyang Shen came by earlier. It seemed he had some business."
"Where is he now?" the Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord asked.
"He has already left," Zhang Ruochen replied.
The Great Sun King said, "It seems it was nothing important."
The Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord nodded, without suspicion, and departed.
Fengdu Ghost City naturally suppressed the perception of deities, and Zhang Ruochen had used the Wuji Divine Dao to conceal the heavenly secrets. With the Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord's cultivation, he naturally could not see through the truth.
At Zhang Ruochen's current level of cultivation, only Infinite Realm deities could see through his concealment of heavenly secrets.
After the Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord left, Zhang Ruochen was about to enter the divine hall to capture Zhao Wu.
"Whoosh!"
A deity radiating white ghost fire appeared outside the Qingcang Divine Hall. His aura was domineering, the flames causing the air to burn as he strode into the hall.
Zhang Ruochen bowed deeply.
He recognized this deity. His name was Wuyin, and he had joined Zhao Wu in ambushing him on the banks of the Santu River. He was a Grand Void Great God of the Central Ghost Emperor's Mansion.
(Chapter End)