Chapter 3210: Divine Artifact Versus Divine Artifact
Blood-red light burst forth from Huang'e Divine Lord's body, and a small crimson pagoda flew out from within him, emitting a loud ringing of bells.
The small crimson pagoda had bells hanging from its corners, surrounded by dense divine patterns. It grew increasingly massive, transforming into a towering pagoda peak that crashed through the ocean of time imprints, striking toward Haishang Youruo.
"Red Dye Pagoda!"
A flicker of surprise appeared in Haishang Youruo's eyes. She immediately withdrew her sword and executed a movement technique to evade.
This pagoda was rumored to be a divine artifact refined by one of the four great corpse clans in the history of the Corpse Clan—the Red Dye Clan—and was named after them.
With the formidable power of a divine artifact, who would dare clash head-on with it?
The waves of force unleashed by the Red Dye Pagoda possessed a momentum capable of overturning mountains and seas, scattering the time rules between heaven and earth, denying Haishang Youruo the chance to wield her time power.
Seizing the moment, Zhang Ruochen took a step forward, his body slamming heavily into the Earth Cauldron.
"Boom!"
The immense impact force, accompanied by the light of the Origin Divine Source, transmitted through the cauldron's body to Huang'e Divine Lord's arm.
Huang'e Divine Lord stepped back, the ground beneath his feet shattering. The invincible domain around him loosened, forcing him to divert more attention to Zhang Ruochen.
At that instant, Zhang Ruochen abandoned the cauldron and soared into the air. Fist Dao rules flowed along his arm, emitting the roar of gods and demons, and he struck out with a punch.
Forced into a corner, Huang'e Divine Lord could only withdraw his palm from the Earth Cauldron.
He slapped out, meeting Zhang Ruochen's fist force.
"Boom!"
Fist and palm collided.
Huang'e Divine Lord retreated seven steps in succession, but on the seventh step, his divine Qi surged to its peak within his body. His palm transformed into a vast ocean, and the force of the impact rebounded.
Zhang Ruochen's body flew backward, landing atop the Earth Cauldron. He stomped on the cauldron's body, shattering a large swath of the ground.
Just as Huang'e Divine Lord was about to pursue, he suddenly felt the flow of time slow drastically, his body stiffening. Haishang Youruo appeared diagonally above him, executing a time sword art and slashing downward.
"Haishang Youruo, what gives you the audacity to oppose me?"
Huang'e Divine Lord's eyes were cold and fierce. Ignoring the time suppression, he moved with ghostly speed. Before Haishang Youruo's sword could descend, he appeared beside her and grabbed for her neck.
But it was only an afterimage!
Haishang Youruo's movement technique was superb, allowing her to evade Huang'e Divine Lord's strike.
"Ten Thousand Yin Sparrows!"
Cang Jue struck the ground with both hands, and layers of ghostly Qi spread outward.
Countless black Vermilion Birds flew up from beneath the earth, enveloping Huang'e Divine Lord as he attempted to pursue Haishang Youruo.
Seizing this brief opportunity, a bright Gate of Destiny manifested behind Haishang Youruo. She raised the Ice Crystal Cold Sword above her head and delivered a peerless strike.
A torrent of sword Qi descended all at once.
"Boom!"
The Red Dye Pagoda flew back, crashing into the ground and crushing all the black Vermilion Birds into mist.
Huang'e Divine Lord's expression darkened. With a flick of his sleeve, the Red Dye Pagoda shot out. The blood-red divine light spilling from the pagoda shattered all the sword Qi.
The might of a divine artifact was unstoppable, throwing all the world's rules into chaos.
Just as Haishang Youruo was about to be struck by the Red Dye Pagoda, the Earth Cauldron flew up from the ground, carrying a vortex of Origin Divine Source light.
One pagoda, one cauldron—two divine artifacts collided.
A powerful wave of energy spread in all directions, collapsing mountain after mountain and turning them into sandy plains.
"Young Lord, let me assist you!"
Cang Jue transformed into a massive skull head, spewing a large amount of divine Qi from its mouth toward the Earth Cauldron. The divine light on the cauldron grew even brighter, and the patterns on it seemed ready to come to life.
The world that Huang'e Divine Lord had manifested could not withstand the clash of two divine artifacts. It soon collapsed and disintegrated, becoming riddled with holes, revealing the Ghost Market of Fengdu Ghost City outside.
Suddenly, the Red Dye Pagoda flew away, and Huang'e Divine Lord's figure vanished along with it.
"Gong Shang, just you wait!"
A voice full of menace echoed in Zhang Ruochen's ears.
Zhang Ruochen immediately withdrew the Earth Cauldron. A sweet, bloody taste rose in his mouth, which he forcibly swallowed back down. He stared in the direction Huang'e Divine Lord had retreated but ultimately did not pursue.
In truth, during this exchange, even with the combined strength of Zhang Ruochen, Cang Jue, and Haishang Youruo, they were still at an absolute disadvantage.
Without the Earth Cauldron, Huang'e Divine Lord's advantage would have been even greater.
If this world had not been shattered, he would not have retreated.
Fighting within Fengdu Ghost City, both Huang'e Divine Lord and Zhang Ruochen were constrained, unable to unleash their full power.
A deep wariness appeared in Haishang Youruo's eyes. She did not pursue Huang'e Divine Lord. This battle made her keenly aware that facing such a powerful opponent alone would surely end in disaster.
Compared to the top-tier experts, there were still several chasms in her cultivation level.
Seeing Haishang Youruo flying toward him, Zhang Ruochen immediately turned to leave with Cang Jue.
"Zhang Ruochen!" she called out.
Zhang Ruochen stopped, looking around warily as if searching for traces of Zhang Ruochen.
A strange expression appeared in Haishang Youruo's eyes. Why was this guy putting on such an act?
She said, "Stop pretending. Bore has already told me your identity. If I hadn't helped you just now, you might not have escaped from Huang'e Divine Lord's hands."
Zhang Ruochen let out a cold, hoarse laugh. "Thank you for your help, Miss Youruo, but I am Gong Shang. You have mistaken me for someone else."
Haishang Youruo flew closer, her body shimmering with fluorescent light like rain, exuding a captivating fragrance. Her pure, maiden-like face showed displeasure. "I'm not testing you. Bore really did tell me your identity."
"That's impossible!"
Zhang Ruochen absolutely refused to believe that Bore would do such a thing.
Haishang Youruo shot him a cold glance. "At the Space Teleportation Array, when Bore left, I already had my suspicions. Later, when Bore brought Tang Lan to see me, I understood that Gong Shang was definitely not Gong Shang."
"So I had a private talk with Bore and told her the consequences of not revealing the truth. So she told me everything!"
Zhang Ruochen removed the half-bone mask from his face, his appearance rapidly changing back to his handsome features. "What consequences?"
Haishang Youruo said, "I told her that Fengdu Ghost City was very dangerous, and that Xue Changjin and Huang'e Divine Lord would surely try to kill you. I also told her that in the Five Realms Heaven, we had forged a deep friendship, that I had learned my time sword art from you, and that I could be trusted."
Zhang Ruochen looked Haishang Youruo up and down again. "Your appearance really is deceptive. In the end, you're still an old fellow who has lived for hundreds of thousands of years, full of tricks."
Haishang Youruo said, "I didn't deceive her. Why do you say that? My time sword art did improve thanks to you. Besides, as cultivators, we should abandon the concepts of youth and age. Everything is determined by cultivation level—seniority and respect."
"If that's the case, shouldn't you call me big brother?"
Haishang Youruo rolled her eyes at him.
Zhang Ruochen sensed something. "Let's go. We need to leave here first."
Shortly after Zhang Ruochen, Haishang Youruo, and Cang Jue departed, one ghost clan deity after another descended outside the ruined world that Huang'e Divine Lord had manifested, sealing off that city district.
Arriving at a divine mountain on higher ground, Zhang Ruochen stood at the summit, gazing into the distance. His divine sense spread outward, taking in the entirety of Fengdu Ghost City.
This feeling was like a master of all living beings overlooking heaven and earth.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
...
Bright beams of formation light shot up from the Five Directions Ghost Emperor Mansion, piercing the sky.
Formation inscription patterns spread from the light pillars across the entire city, greatly increasing the defenses of Fengdu Ghost City and stabilizing space to the point where spatial displacement and penetration were impossible.
This was not the city-protecting divine formation, but rather the divine formation of the Five Directions Ghost Emperor Mansion.
Clearly, after a series of major incidents, even though the truth had not yet spread, the ghost clan deities in the city had sensed the unusual atmosphere and become cautious.
This was a good thing, meaning that the Quantity Organization's chances of succeeding were now slim.
Haishang Youruo had grown a bit taller, looking like a young girl in white. Her chest had some curvature, and her skin was flawless, like fine porcelain.
A hint of annoyance appeared in her eyes. "In the Five Realms Heaven, someone kept saying we were friends. But because of the Earth Cauldron, he didn't trust me at all. And I even saved you earlier."
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly. This time, Bore had really put him in a tough spot. "How about I admit it's my fault? Next time you run into trouble, I'll definitely help you with all my strength."
"Hmph!"
Haishang Youruo snorted lightly.
She wasn't truly angry. Both the Earth Cauldron and the matter of coming to Fengdu Ghost City were of great importance and were indeed secrets that needed to be hidden.
If Zhang Ruochen lacked such caution, he would have died long ago.
But since she had caught Zhang Ruochen in a vulnerable position, letting him off easily would be a disservice to herself.
Given Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation and future potential, a promise from him was extremely valuable.
Haishang Youruo turned serious. "The Five Directions Ghost Emperor Mansion should already be on guard. The Quantity Organization won't be able to succeed. What a pity—if we hadn't tipped them off, we could have rooted out a large number of Quantity Organization members and purged the Hell Realm from within."
"At least Huang'e Divine Lord, a big fish, has been exposed. Add Xue Changjin to that, and the Quantity Organization has already suffered heavy losses," Zhang Ruochen said.
Haishang Youruo asked, "How did Huang'e Divine Lord find you?"
Zhang Ruochen told her about Zhao Wu.
Haishang Youruo's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "You should hand Zhao Wu's divine soul over to the Destiny Temple. With this evidence, Huang'e Divine Lord will have no way to deny it."
Then she added, "Huang'e Divine Lord's status and potential are both great. He can't be easily dealt with—such solid proof is needed."
"If I had handed it to you, you would have been the one facing a deadly ambush just now," Zhang Ruochen said.
Haishang Youruo said, "Don't worry. The Destiny Temple has sent a large number of deities, and more are on the way. Even if it's just Huang'e Divine Lord alone, with his heaven-defying abilities, can he contend with the entire Destiny Temple?"
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a long time. "How many Quantity Envoys do you think came this time?"
Haishang Youruo was a bit surprised, not knowing why he suddenly asked this. "According to the Destiny Temple's understanding, Quantity Envoys are extremely wary of each other and all hide their identities."
"In this upheaval in Fengdu Ghost City, there must be more than one Quantity Envoy involved. It's likely that someone within the Hell Realm guessed the identities of the other Quantity Envoys and collaborated to plan this operation."
"The Quantity Envoys involved won't be too many, but there should be more than two."
(Chapter End)