Chapter 3230: Investigated Clearly
Juemiao Channü’s eyes, as clear as colored glaze bodhi, held a coldness that showed she was clearly very angry.
The Arhat White Pearl meant a great deal to her. Since childhood, every time she suffered the torment of the Withering Death Art, it was this pearl that helped her endure.
If Zhang Ruochen hadn’t truly moved her in the Abyss of Darkness, she would never have given away the Arhat White Pearl.
Zhang Ruochen was somewhat worried about Feng Xi and said, “I felt she had an affinity with Buddhism, much like the White Monk of old.”
“But what I heard was a different story. They said she fell in love with you, but you abandoned her and didn’t want to take responsibility, so you guided her onto the path of Buddhist cultivation and the severing of desires.” Juemiao Channü looked at Zhang Ruochen with even more disdain.
Zhang Ruochen sighed with melancholy and said, “Back then, to save Kong Le, I had no choice but to follow my mother to the Hell Realm. To establish a foothold, I deliberately ruined my own reputation. But I have always maintained my integrity—outwardly unrestrained, inwardly disciplined.”
“All along, I’ve never cared about how others judge me. Whether they call me the Eon-level Arch-Villain or the Romantic Sword God, slandering me, humiliating me, hating me—I remain like a gentle breeze brushing the mountain ridge, a bright moon shining over the great river.”
“But Juemiao, how could you see me that way? Am I Zhang Ruochen the kind of despicable person who abandons someone after seducing them?”
“Which version did you hear, and who told it?”
Juemiao Channü said, “If I tell you, are you going to silence them?”
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen seemed genuinely downcast, she said, “Are you feeling wronged? You took the treasure I gave you and immediately gave it to another woman. In your heart, is the Arhat White Pearl so insignificant?”
“I did once call you a ‘scatterer of wealth,’ but you can’t keep going down this path, can you? The Arhat White Pearl is one of the Seven Treasures of Buddhism.”
Zhang Ruochen wanted to retort that the Mani Pearl was the foremost of the Seven Treasures of Buddhism. In the Abyss of Darkness, the treasures he had given her included the Flame God Armor and the Dark Domain Heavenly Net, which were worth far more than a single Arhat White Pearl.
At that time, why hadn’t she said something like, “You shouldn’t be a scatterer of wealth”?
What women cared about wasn’t how generous the scatterer of wealth was or how he squandered his fortune, but to whom the treasures were given.
From Chi Yao, to Bai Qinger, and now to Juemiao Channü, it was always the same.
But Juemiao Channü’s next words moved Zhang Ruochen. She said, “Do you know that it carries countless emotions from my childhood to adulthood? To me, it is the most precious thing. I gave you the Arhat White Pearl not because I thought the Mani Pearl was more valuable and wanted to trade with you. It was because I believed that you, Zhang Ruochen, were worthy of entrusting it to you, and I firmly believed you would treasure and preserve it well.”
This was a statement full of affection, and Zhang Ruochen couldn’t help but be shaken inside.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t know how to express his inner feelings—whether guilt or confusion—and said, “I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. Since I gave it to you, you are naturally free to do with it as you please. I was too narrow-minded, too shallow in my Buddhist practice, too selfish, and too attached to external things. In the end, I am just a Nether Maiden, unworthy of cultivating Buddhism,” Juemiao Channü said.
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly and quickly tried to console her, saying, “Don’t say that. The Arhat White Pearl is too important to you. Why don’t you keep it… No, that’s not good either… Alright, I’ll keep it!”
Juemiao Channü’s gaze grew colder and colder.
Zhang Ruochen realized he had said the wrong thing again. Sometimes, once you misspeak, there’s no saving it.
Zhang Ruochen wished he could rush out of the Buddhist Kingdom right now and engage in a life-and-death battle with Xue Changjin, even if it meant shedding blood, just to avoid staying here a moment longer.
Juemiao Channü said, “You want to take back something you’ve already given to someone else? Or give it away again?”
They were silent for a moment.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Is Feng Xi doing well?”
Juemiao Channü raised her slender arm and gently waved it, as if wiping away a layer of mist from the space.
Deep within the Buddhist Kingdom, in a meditation courtyard, Feng Xi sat under a tree, studying scriptures.
“You were right. The treasures of Buddhism should be used where they are most fitting and given to the most suitable person. She has the heart to cultivate Buddhism, so let the Arhat White Pearl be given to her.”
At this moment, it was hard to see any resentment in Juemiao Channü. She was entirely open-minded and at ease.
Perhaps she had been annoyed when Zhang Ruochen gave the Arhat White Pearl to Feng Xi, but she wouldn’t hold a grudge and become as extreme as Yintian Xue of old.
After all, Yintian Xue’s extremism stemmed from her deep love for the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable.
Juemiao Channü’s feelings for Zhang Ruochen were far from love—or couldn’t be called love—so she could more easily control her emotions.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen wasn’t the type to be stubbornly domineering. He could see things from her perspective, understand why she was angry, and take the initiative to apologize. This dissolved the last bit of resentment in her heart.
“After obtaining the ‘Nether Soldiers Scroll,’ I went into seclusion for a long time. When I came out, I heard you were ambushed in the Santu River region and barely escaped with your life. As a close friend, how could I stand by and do nothing? I originally wanted to go to the Hundred Clans Royal City and Xinghuantian to find you and learn about the situation with the Quantity Organization. I met her and that owl-like undying bird on the way,” Juemiao Channü said.
Zhang Ruochen seemed to understand something, and his tone turned cold. “So it was that owl-like undying bird who told you that unreliable version? Fine, so it was him. Where is he?”
“He went to the Starry Sky Battlefield,” Juemiao Channü said.
Zhang Ruochen looked again at Feng Xi sitting in the meditation courtyard, his expression deeply worried. “Does she know that Master Yuanchen is me?”
“It has nothing to do with me. That owl-like undying bird guessed your identity based on the Arhat White Pearl. Not only did he not keep it secret for you, but he also told her. She is now following me in Buddhist cultivation,” Juemiao Channü said.
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking.
…
Zhang Ruochen and Juemiao Channü walked out of the Buddhist Kingdom one after the other, appearing before everyone.
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, these two top-tier great gods with the highest authority in the Nether Clan did not clash; the atmosphere was harmonious. In particular, Gong Shang was all smiles, his gaze even more unrestrained than before.
Many gods sensed something was wrong, feeling that a major event was about to happen.
Juemiao Channü possessed a peerless beauty, but with Buddhist light flowing around her, she exuded a sacred and inviolable tranquil beauty, a stark contrast to Gong Shang. She said, “It has been investigated clearly. Gong Tianzi has truly returned. This is indeed a blessing for our Nether Clan.”
Seeing Juemiao Channü’s friendly attitude toward Gong Shang, the Nether Clan gods breathed a collective sigh of relief and rejoiced.
In this special era, the return of such an aggressive and domineering figure as Gong Shang was a good thing for the Nether Clan, enough to lead them to seize more benefits.
Relatively speaking, Juemiao Channü was still too low-key and not aggressive enough.
If they could combine stillness and motion, who could stop the Nether Clan army?
“This time, let’s see who dares to make a move. Xue Changjin, will you surrender, or shall I personally take you?” Zhang Ruochen glanced meaningfully at the Blazing Sun Heavenly Master.
Xue Changjin didn’t take Zhang Ruochen seriously but looked at Juemiao Channü. Coincidentally, Juemiao Channü also looked at him, not hiding her suspicion and hostility.
Seeing Juemiao Channü’s attitude, even top-tier Tai Xu great gods like the Ghost Lord and the Blazing Sun Heavenly Master slightly lowered their heads. Other gods automatically distanced themselves from Xue Changjin and the Eastern Ghost Emperor’s Mansion gods.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Earth Cauldron, releasing divine energy, instantly pushing the tense atmosphere to its peak.
“Xue Changjin, I want you to die without a burial place!”
A thunderous, bone-chilling voice came from afar!
The direction from which the voice came was filled with red light. The earth shook continuously, and layers of formation light screens were shattered.
Before the gods could react, a red light shot through the air, and a fist struck Xue Changjin.
Xue Changjin had already released his Divine Realm World, but after taking this punch, he still flew backward, carving a deep furrow in the street.
Gods who couldn’t dodge in time flew away like scarecrows.
Those false gods had their divine bodies explode directly, turning into clouds of ghostly energy.
The strength of the newcomer was evident.
In an instant, the red light attacked again, engaging in fierce combat with Xue Changjin, with divine abilities and great techniques being unleashed one after another.
“Fall back quickly! The divine energy impact is too strong!”
“It’s Chi Cha Luo! Wasn’t he imprisoned in the Divine Prison?”
“It’s over! Two powerhouses listed on the ‘Great God Treatise’ are fighting in the city. The Eastern City Domain will surely suffer severe damage. Hurry, go activate the slaughter divine formation in the Ghost Emperor’s Mansion to suppress Chi Cha Luo!”
The ghost clan gods of the Eastern Ghost Emperor’s Mansion immediately rushed toward the mansion.
Zhang Ruochen stopped them.
“Gong Shang, this is the Eastern Ghost Emperor’s Mansion, not the Nether Clan. How dare an outsider like you meddle in the affairs of Fengdu Ghost City?” a Tai Bai great god surnamed Xue said coldly.
The Xue family could produce multiple gods not because of a strong inheritance—ghost clans couldn’t reproduce—but because of their powerful nurturing secret techniques and their selection of top-tier seedlings, backed by the resources of Shen Tu Ghost Emperor.
All the gods of the Xue family were like adopted sons of Shen Tu Ghost Emperor.
Zhang Ruochen sneered, “If not for this outsider’s intervention, Fengdu Ghost City would have already fallen into chaos. Xue Changjin is a member of the Quantity Organization. Your aura and power are very similar to his, and your strength comes from the same source. It seems you’re also related to the Quantity Organization. With this Heavenly Son here, who dares to go activate the divine formation in the Ghost Emperor’s Mansion?”
Zhang Ruochen had to stop them. Who knew if there were other Quantity Organization members among them?
If the slaughter divine formation in the Ghost Emperor’s Mansion were activated and fell into the hands of the Quantity Organization, the consequences would be disastrous.
“Gong Shang has definitely defected to the Heavenly Court. Chi Cha Luo was probably released by him. They deliberately want to create chaos in Fengdu Ghost City.”
“Let’s attack together, break into the Ghost Emperor’s Mansion, activate the slaughter divine formation, kill the enemy, and restore order.”
The Tai Bai great god named Xue Ying raised his arm and shouted. The ghost clan gods of the Eastern Ghost Emperor’s Mansion acted together, unleashing their war weapons and attacking Zhang Ruochen.
“Who dares?”
“Are you bullying the Nether Clan into having no one?”
…
Led by Gong Shang’s old friends, the Nether Clan gods met the attack.
In an instant, in front of the Ghost Emperor’s Mansion, layers of Divine Realm Worlds unfolded, divine light danced wildly, and war weapons clashed.