Chapter 3260: Thunder Clan
Xuan Yi had deep connections with Shang Qiu and had visited Shang Tian many times.
The "Eight Techniques of the Heavenly Desolate" were Shang Qiu's closely guarded secrets and were extremely difficult to cultivate. Among all of Shang Tian's descendants, only the God King "Yi Tianjun" had managed to cultivate four of them.
Xuan Yi was not a descendant of Shang Tian, yet he had already cultivated three techniques, which showed how highly Shang Tian regarded him. For Xuan Yi to observe and comprehend the "Three Corpses Dao Refinement" would certainly not be difficult.
Desolate Tian's gaze was deep, and deathly light flickered around him. He said, "This Xuan Yi is even more likely to be a doppelganger! Zhang Ruochen, I must head to the Second Starry Sky Defense Line now. I'll need to borrow the Dark Divine Sword and the Bright Mirror Platform for a while longer."
Xue Jue War God said, "Borrowing two divine artifacts just like that, you really don't treat yourself as an outsider. Your daughter hasn't even married into the family yet, and besides, she hasn't even acknowledged you, has she?"
Desolate Tian ignored Xue Jue War God, fixing his gaze on Zhang Ruochen. "I also need to borrow Xuan Yi's Killing Dao Esoterica to analyze and comprehend it. Once I slay his true body, I will return all the Killing Dao Esoterica to you."
No one knew exactly how much Killing Dao Esoterica Xuan Yi possessed.
Because of this, Xuan Yi's Killing Dao must be terrifyingly powerful.
Desolate Tian had to use the Esoterica to analyze the Killing Dao, to know both himself and his enemy, in order to counter Xuan Yi.
Zhang Ruochen wasn't too concerned about the ten percent share of Killing Dao Esoterica and handed it directly to Desolate Tian. At the same time, he took out the stone axe that had been lost in the Quantity God Temple and gave it to him.
Desolate Tian had two stone axes. One was his companion stone axe, the one before him, which could grow with him and had now reached the level of a sub-god-level supreme sacred artifact.
The other was a stone axe formed from the arm of the Stone Heaven, which was the most powerful. However, after learning that the Stone Heaven had never protected Bai Huanghou and had deceived him, he had abandoned it.
Zhang Ruochen had also taken the one percent Truth Esoterica left behind by Xuan Yi and intended to give it to Desolate Tian. But in the end, he didn't do so. This small amount of Truth Esoterica would hardly improve the strength of Desolate Tian, who was the dual main god of Death and Life. It would be more valuable to give it to a talented Saint-realm cultivator to comprehend the Way of Truth.
"Xue Jue, if you dare spout nonsense again, I won't spare your face!"
Leaving behind this icy remark, Desolate Tian crossed space and departed, his desire to kill Xuan Yi burning fiercely as he rushed toward the Second Starry Sky Defense Line.
"If you have the guts, stay and fight. Don't spare my face!"
Xue Jue War God was furious. Normally, he would have chased after Desolate Tian and fought him for days. But today, lacking confidence, he could only boast with words.
More importantly, he couldn't catch up to Desolate Tian.
Hai Shang You Ruo was quite worried. "If the one we surrounded and killed was just a doppelganger of Xuan Yi, then how powerful must his true body be? Could there be another doppelganger? Can Desolate Tian Great God handle it?"
Zhang Ruochen studied the head in his hand. "The combat power of a doppelganger cultivated through the 'Three Corpses Dao Refinement' won't be too far from the true body."
"Xuan Yi didn't cultivate the 'Three Corpses Dao Refinement' from a young age, so he definitely doesn't have one person with three corpses. This doppelganger of his was refined using Boundless Divine spiritual materials, and the bones seem to have been fused with a divine artifact, making it extremely rare. Where would he find that much Boundless Divine spiritual material and a second divine artifact to refine another doppelganger?"
Xuan Yi's bones had become metallic and lightning-like, containing divine artifact materials and divine artifact inscriptions. This puzzled Zhang Ruochen deeply. Was the Heart of Heaven and Earth Divine Path so miraculous that a cultivator at the peak of Grand Void could directly refine a divine artifact?
Many powerful beings at the level of All Heavens couldn't even forge a divine artifact of their own.
To fuse and destroy a divine artifact was definitely not something a Great God could do.
In fact, Zhang Ruochen had an even greater astonishment in his heart. No matter how miraculous the "Three Corpses Dao Refinement" was, no matter how powerful the Boundless Divine spiritual materials were, a doppelganger was still a doppelganger. How could it unleash such formidable combat power?
It could derive divine abilities as smoothly as flowing water and even execute the true body's divine path.
For a doppelganger to possess such supreme combat power, it had to be nurtured like an infant from the very beginning, following the same path as Xuan Yi's true body, step by step toward the peak.
Just like Ji Fanxin, who possessed powerful spiritual power but had to start from childhood, from weakness to strength, step by step cultivating, adapting, and familiarizing herself.
This was too difficult!
The resources, energy, and time spent were unimaginable.
Why would Xuan Yi do this?
While Zhang Ruochen was deep in thought, Hai Shang You Ruo said, "That's true. To refine a doppelganger, one must separate a large amount of divine blood and divine soul from the true body. If a second one were made, it would inevitably damage the foundation of Xuan Yi's true body, making the gain not worth the loss."
"Could it be that Xuan Yi has already broken through to the Boundless Realm?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Hai Shang You Ruo and Xue Jue War God's expressions both turned serious.
Xue Jue War God was extremely grave. "Absolutely impossible. If Xuan Yi had reached the Boundless Realm, his combat power would be many times greater. What would be the point of refining such a doppelganger? Even more so, he wouldn't separate ten percent of his Killing Dao Esoterica. The more Esoterica one gathers, the greater the effect."
"Besides, if he had reached the Boundless Realm and dared to stir up trouble, he couldn't have hidden it from the Watcher. The Watcher would have killed him long ago."
Hai Shang You Ruo said, "That's right! Except for those gods who cultivate special techniques, most gods disdain spending a great deal of energy and resources to nurture a powerful doppelganger. Using that energy and resources on their own cultivation would yield even greater improvements."
"Unless it's someone stuck at a bottleneck, knowing their potential has reached its limit, who would choose this method to enhance their strength. It's a forced choice."
"Xuan Yi is clearly not that kind of person."
Zhang Ruochen thought of another possibility. "A lightning-attribute divine artifact has been fused into Xuan Yi's bones. You two are well-informed. Can you identify the origin of this divine artifact?"
Hai Shang You Ruo took Xuan Yi's head and sensed it with her spiritual power. Her expression changed. "The Thunder Clan's Thunder-Shattering Mace. How could it be this divine artifact? That shouldn't be..."
"Is there something special about it? The Thunder Clan—why haven't I heard of it?" Zhang Ruochen pondered and thought.
Xue Jue War God had already suppressed Xuan Yi's left leg and left arm and had examined them. "Legend has it that during the Heavenly Venerable battle back then, the Thunder-Shattering Mace was broken into seven sections, and Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable was severely injured and defeated. After that, the Thunder Clan vanished from the world with their entire realm, leaving no trace."
Zhang Ruochen was unfamiliar with the Thunder Clan but had heard a little about Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable.
After the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, two other Heavenly Venerables had appeared in the universe.
Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable had been invincible under heaven for two eons, the strongest after the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable disappeared. However, because the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable's influence was too great, and it was uncertain whether he had truly fallen, Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable's presence was very weak.
Before, he lived in the shadow of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, like a star beside the bright moon, dim and without luster.
Later, he was defeated by Inverse God Heavenly Venerable, his war weapon broken, and his reputation shattered.
Xue Jue War God's main cultivation among the nine paths included the Way of Lightning, so he had a deep understanding of the Thunder Clan. "Back then, the Thunder Realm was one of the eternal undying great worlds, spanning between the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm. Its single realm's power surpassed any major clan in the Hell Realm except the Yama Clan at that time. But now, the Wuding Divine Sea is empty, and the thunderous sounds of those days are no longer heard."
"Is the Thunder Clan finally about to emerge?" Hai Shang You Ruo returned Xuan Yi's head to Zhang Ruochen, inscribed a message divine talisman, and immediately sent a message to Feng Tian.
This was a matter of earth-shattering importance!
Even if it was just catching shadows and grasping at wind, having found some traces.
Xue Jue War God said, "If Xuan Yi is a member of the Thunder Clan, the timeline matches. He appeared exactly thirty thousand years ago, after Inverse God Heavenly Venerable fell."
"Something must have happened back then that we don't know about, causing Inverse God Heavenly Venerable not to fall, and the Thunder Clan not daring to emerge."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I think Xuan Yi's doppelganger was likely refined with the help of a Boundless Realm existence, who had great expectations for him. The doppelganger was used as a substitute, to take his place and avoid calamity in dangerous times."
"In fact, everything now is just our speculation. We can't even be one hundred percent sure whether Xuan Yi has a doppelganger or not."
Xue Jue War God wasn't very interested in this. After all, Xuan Yi was no match for him. No matter how strong he was, if he really reached the Boundless Realm, the old War God would have to step in and crush him. That was all.
He was more concerned about something else. "Desolate Tian suddenly broke through Body Stop and Soul Stop. Ruochen, what exactly happened earlier?"
Zhang Ruochen briefly recounted the crisis they had faced and what had happened in the Quantity God Temple.
Xue Jue War God understood, his brows relaxing as he smiled. "So it all relied on my grandson! That old dog Desolate Tian is really lucky to have such a good daughter. If it weren't for her, why would Ruochen have helped him so much? He could die and come back to life, shatter his divine source and rebuild it—tough life!"
"Boom!"
The time imprint light points erupted massively. The Sundial flew out and slammed toward Zhang Ruochen.
At the center of the stone disk, Xiu Chen Heavenly God's graceful and slender human-shaped imprint emitted divine light, manifesting on the Sundial. "Zhang Ruochen, this god will fight you to the death!"
"Xiu Chen, are you going to rebel against your master? You are now the artifact spirit of the Sundial. You don't need to recondense your divine source. Time Divine Liquid is useless to you."
Zhang Ruochen retreated rapidly.
"This god will never share the same sky with you!"
Xiu Chen Heavenly God's soul body rushed out of the Sundial, solidifying into a physical form, murderous aura fierce, her hair flying like blades.
Over the years, Xiu Chen Heavenly God had also gained benefits, with her soul power returning to the peak of Grand Void. Coupled with the Sundial as her body, her combat power was extraordinary.
"Never share the same sky? So what? With my current cultivation, suppressing you is not difficult. But a master and his war tool should coexist harmoniously, which is why I have indulged you all along. If you dare spout nonsense again, I won't spare your face." Zhang Ruochen said.
Hearing this, Xue Jue War God's mouth twitched. He spoke to Hai Shang You Ruo, "Let's go. Time to head to the Second Starry Sky Battlefield."
"Alright!"
Xue Jue War God and Hai Shang You Ruo led the gods of the Undying Blood Clan and the Destiny Temple, leaving this starry region.
They knew that breaking the Second Starry Sky Defense Line was orchestrated by the Quantity Organization behind the scenes, and they didn't want to be used. But since the line was broken, as gods of the Hell Realm, for the interests of the Hell Realm, they had to join the battle.