Chapter 3249: The Quantity God Temple
“Is that so?”
Wu Yue stepped forward a small pace, lifting her head, her red lips nearly touching Zhang Ruochen’s. A faint fragrance of her body permeated the air.
Zhang Ruochen maintained his composure and said, “I believe that, for now, you haven’t truly decided to be my wife, because in your eyes, I am still not strong enough. Just wait!”
Zhang Ruochen hurried away, leaving Moli City, his inner fire burning intensely.
How infuriating. Sparring with Wu Yue, he had once again fallen into a disadvantageous position, teased by her until his whole body felt like it was on fire. Once he stepped into the Infinite Realm, he would definitely teach her a proper lesson.
But Zhang Ruochen was well aware that he truly couldn’t withstand temptation. If he were to do anything with her under the guise of being her husband, he would inevitably suffer a great loss of face.
Wu Yue was by no means a woman who would indulge in the pleasures of love between a man and a woman. What she cared about was profit, what she valued was the future Zhang Ruochen, the future Primordial Ancestor, the future Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, not the current him.
On the Santu River, a small divine ship a hundred zhang long was moored.
Huang Tian, wearing the Liang Ce mask, saw Zhang Ruochen return and asked, “Your emotions are very unstable. What, is she unwilling to act?”
“She agreed. Yuying Ancient God and Tianyin Divine Mother are left to her!” Zhang Ruochen asked curiously, “Is it that obvious? I thought I had my emotions under control quite steadily.”
Suddenly, Huang Tian’s body erupted with five-colored chaotic light. Countless rules flowed along his arm as he punched toward Zhang Ruochen.
The fist light was blinding, the fist as heavy as a star.
Startled, Zhang Ruochen’s blood surged like a river in flood. Chaotic light burst from his body as he threw a punch in return.
“Boom!”
It was like a divine city crashing into him. Zhang Ruochen’s divine bones crackled and popped as he was sent flying a thousand li, carving out a canyon a thousand li long in the ground.
Embedded in the dirt, Zhang Ruochen looked up to find Huang Tian floating before him again.
It turned out Huang Tian had already unfolded his Divine Realm World, and the battle was taking place within it.
Huang Tian said, “You are indeed distracted. In such a state, how can you deal with those extremely shrewd Quantity Envoys in the Quantity Organization?”
Zhang Ruochen soared up, landing on the ground, dirt falling from his body. “I will recover my state as soon as possible.”
Huang Tian still had great confidence in Zhang Ruochen. “Your physical strength is very formidable, probably equivalent to one and a half-tenths of an Infinite. Back when Blood Jue and I were in the early Grand Void stage, at our peak, our physical strength was only slightly stronger than one-tenth of an Infinite. And you, in the early Grand Void stage, have the potential to reach two-tenths of an Infinite.”
“At the same cultivation level, even if Blood Jue and I joined forces, we would probably lose to you within a hundred moves.”
“However, your cultivation time is too short. You lack truly perfected divine abilities, which is your greatest disadvantage. You can only rely on divine artifacts to compensate for this flaw.”
“But if your opponent also wields a divine artifact, possesses a perfected Infinite divine ability, and is a master of esoteric principles, then even with the Earth Cauldron, you would fall into an absolute disadvantage. Your foundation is still far from sufficient.”
Truly powerful divine abilities require a great deal of time to cultivate successfully.
Foundation must be accumulated over time.
Almost all the figures on the “Great God Theory” comprehensive ranking have cultivated perfected Infinite divine abilities, possess divine artifacts, master principal esoteric principles, and have physical strength, divine soul, and cultivation level all reaching at least three-tenths of an Infinite, or excel exceptionally in one of these aspects.
Compared to them, even Huang Tian and Blood Jue’s foundations are somewhat lacking, inferior in divine soul and far behind in cultivation.
However, Huang Tian and Blood Jue have the advantage of a second-rank divine path, allowing them to overcome stronger opponents.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Has your cultivation reached the Body-Stop Realm, Great God?”
Huang Tian nodded. “In recent years, Blood Jue and I ventured into the tomb world of an ancient Stone Clan Heavenly Venerable. The opportunities were significant. I got ahead of Blood Jue, my physical body reaching Body-Stop first. But I’m only half a step ahead of him. His physical strength has already reached three-tenths of an Infinite, not much weaker than mine.”
Zhang Ruochen was slightly shocked. Before breaking through to Body-Stop, his physical strength could exceed three-tenths of an Infinite.
Didn’t that mean that once Huang Tian broke through, his physical strength could reach four-tenths of an Infinite?
No one had achieved such a feat before.
For most deities, when breaking through to Body-Stop, their physical strength only reached one-tenth of an Infinite.
Even Chi Xingtian, ranked second on the physical body list, was recorded as having only reached three-tenths of an Infinite when breaking through to Body-Stop.
On the latest “Great God Theory” physical body list, Xuan Yi was ranked first, with physical strength reaching six-tenths of an Infinite. Chi Xingtian also had six-tenths of an Infinite physical strength, but because Qingyusheng commented that his physical body had flaws, he was ranked behind Xuan Yi.
Back when Huang Tian was in the early Grand Void stage and could fight Xuan Yi, it was firstly due to his powerful life force allowing him to endure, and he constantly burned blood and lifespan to increase his power.
Secondly, Xuan Yi’s five senses and consciousness were sealed by the Mani Pearl. Beyond a distance of ten zhang, he could only passively take hits and couldn’t fight back.
Of course, physical strength only represents the power a divine body can unleash. Having six-tenths of an Infinite strength doesn’t equate to having sixty percent of a God King or God Venerable’s strength.
Even if physical strength, cultivation, and divine soul all reached six-tenths of an Infinite, it still wouldn’t be enough.
Because what makes God Kings and God Venerables most formidable is that their Rule Divine Patterns have undergone a transformation, becoming Infinite Rules. Infinite Rules can crush the Rule Divine Patterns cultivated by Great Gods.
The concealment formation on the divine ship was activated as it sailed upstream along the Santu River.
Zhang Ruochen sat on the Bright Mirror Platform, serene and natural, regulating his emotions. The sound of Buddhist scriptures chanting various sutras echoed in his ears.
Zhang Ruochen analyzed that the reason he was so stirred by Wu Yue and couldn’t calm down was not only because of her unparalleled beauty but also due to the recent significant increase in his physical blood and qi.
With vigorous blood and qi, desires become stronger.
The tributaries of the Santu River numbered in the trillions, intricate and fraught with danger. Some were left with killing methods by Heavenly Venerables, or even Primordial Ancestors. Many tributaries were impassable.
One wrong turn meant walking the path of death.
On a stretch of the river near the Quantity God Temple, Zhang Ruochen sensed something. He put away the Bright Mirror Platform and, together with Huang Tian, disembarked from the divine ship. In a valley, they saw Xuanyuan Lian’s golden chariot.
When they parted in the Hell Realm, Zhang Ruochen had received a lotus leaf from Xuanyuan Lian. When close enough, he could sense him.
After all, if the golden chariot were truly hidden and stationary, even Zhang Ruochen’s Wuji Divine Dao would find it difficult to detect.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “What about the gods of the Heavenly Court? Are they all in the chariot?”
Xuanyuan Lian’s voice came from within. “Your plan is somewhat unexpected. But it’s brilliant. If combined with my arrangements, it will be enough to lure out all those Quantity Envoys. However, precisely because your move was so unexpected, the action had to be brought forward. The Heavenly Court gods haven’t arrived yet.”
“What exactly are your arrangements?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xuanyuan Lian said, “Remember when you told me to be more bold and use the second Starry Sky Defense Line as bait? I took your advice!”
“Aren’t you afraid something will really go wrong there?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Xuanyuan Lian said, “Without your move, I would indeed be worried that the Quantity Organization might turn the tables on me. But now, I have complete confidence.”
“There is someone in the Quantity Organization who knows that Buzhen True Lord was a Quantity Elite and discovered the secret of his death, secretly contacting Jia Tianxia.”
Zhang Ruochen was moved. “Jia Tianxia has joined the Quantity Organization?”
“That’s right. He is now a new generation Quantity Elite,” Xuanyuan Lian said.
Zhang Ruochen laughed. “Jia Tianxia doesn’t seem like a fool. Why would he abandon the light for the darkness?”
“He is the son of Buzhen True Lord,” Xuanyuan Lian said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Jia Tianxia doesn’t strike me as a man of deep sentiment. Would he seek revenge for his father? And that father used him.”
Xuanyuan Lian said, “Or perhaps, he holds a grudge against me. After all, I searched his soul, which was a great humiliation to him. Soul-searching damages one’s foundation and spirit, essentially destroying his chance to break through to the Infinite Realm.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Then I understand. Jia Tianxia joined the Quantity Organization for only two reasons.”
“First, after having his soul searched by you, he thought he was absolutely safe and that you would never suspect him again.”
“Second, the Quantity Organization offered him benefits he couldn’t refuse, helping him restore his foundation. Or even helping him kill you to restore his spirit. As far as I know, Jia Tianxia has already broken through to Body-Stop, greatly advancing his cultivation.”
“He’s such a clever person; perhaps that’s really what he thinks,” Xuanyuan Lian said.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “So, you turned the tables and used Jia Tianxia as the inside man to break the second Starry Sky Defense Line?”
“I told him that he is one of the few people I can absolutely trust now, so I entrusted him with guarding an important defensive divine formation on the second Starry Sky Defense Line. He did very well, repeatedly gaining greater trust from me through cooperation with the Quantity Organization. Now, the second Starry Sky Defense Line can’t do without him!” Xuanyuan Lian said.
Zhang Ruochen knew that someone as cautious as Xuanyuan Lian would only dare to come to the Hell Realm if he had absolute control over Jia Tianxia.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Now everyone in the world knows you’ve come to the Hell Realm. They should make their move soon. By the way, who was it that saw through Buzhen True Lord being a Quantity Elite?”
“Liang Mu! I don’t know his specific identity. I didn’t want to alert the enemy, so I didn’t fight him,” Xuanyuan Lian said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Is Liang Mu from the Hell Realm?”
“Most likely, because every time they met, it was on the Santu River,” Xuanyuan Lian said.
Zhang Ruochen had a rough idea. “Liang Mu is probably from the Undying Blood Clan.”
“That’s my guess too. After all, to deduce that Buzhen True Lord was a Quantity Elite, it must have been because of the Quantity character mark on Erjia Blood Ancestor. That’s the only connection. Do you have any suspects in mind?” Xuanyuan Lian asked.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “Besides the Blood Heaven Tribe, I don’t know much about the Undying Blood Clan. I’ll have to send a message to my maternal grandfather to investigate.”
“I’ve already informed the War God about this matter in the Hell Realm,” Xuanyuan Lian said.
Zhang Ruochen was puzzled. “How did you know the Quantity God Temple was located in this area?”
“Every time, Liang Mu disappeared in this area. If I’m not mistaken, there must be a Star Domain Space Teleportation Array in the Quantity God Temple. Every time a Quantity Envoy leaves, to avoid other Quantity Envoys guessing their identity, they must teleport to a general direction via the space array, ensuring no one is following them.”
“Moreover, Liang Mu likely set up a space teleportation array known only to him near the Quantity God Temple, just in case. A very cautious person!” Xuanyuan Lian said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “None of these Quantity Envoys are easy to deal with. Alright, Liang Ce and I will head to the Quantity God Temple first!”
Xuanyuan Lian’s words reminded Zhang Ruochen.
After parting, ensuring that Xuanyuan Lian wasn’t using divine thought to probe, Zhang Ruochen and Huang Tian arrived at a yin corpse canyon and set up a space teleportation array.
In any case, one must be wary of others. It’s always better to be careful.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen, wearing the Liang Ji mask, and Huang Tian, wearing the Liang Ce mask, followed the memories of Huang’e Divine Lord and went underground, arriving outside the Quantity God Temple.
Chi Chaluo, who wore the Quantity Elite mask, did not travel with them to avoid arousing suspicion.
After verifying their identities with the Quantity character mark, the temple gates opened.
In the center of the hall, beside the bronze round table, two Quantity Envoys were already seated inside. One wore a mask with the character “Gu” (Lonely), and the other wore a mask with the character “Nan” (Difficulty).
(End of chapter)