Chapter 3263: When the Lips Are Gone, the Teeth Feel the Cold — A Temporary Alliance
In the shattered and chaotic space, the veiled Xuan Yuan Qing stepped out and arrived in the void opposite Zhang Ruochen, saying, "The moment of life or death for Xinghuantian and the Hundred Clans Royal City has arrived!"
Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly. "Did Xuan Yuan Lian send you to find me? You want me to help the Heavenly Court weather the storm and join forces against the Hell Realm? Qingqing, given our relationship, you can speak frankly without beating around the bush."
Xuan Yuan Qing was in no mood for jokes and spoke with great gravity. "The situation at the Starry Sky Defense Line is not the immediate concern. But if those two Heavenly Gods of the Hell Realm personally intervene, the situation will certainly deteriorate. Once the Starry Sky Defense Line falls, the next to be destroyed will undoubtedly be the Hundred Clans Royal City and Xinghuantian."
Clearly, the existence of Feng Tian and her role as a guardian were no secret to Xuan Yuan Qing.
Zhang Ruochen understood Xuan Yuan Qing's concerns.
With the revival of the Chaos Ancient Demon Gods, although Fengdu Dadi and Hao Tian had reached a consensus on a ceasefire, such a consensus between hostile parties was the most meaningless thing.
Once an opportunity for battle arose, with Feng Caiyi's temperament, would she care about any ceasefire agreement?
Such an agreement could be torn up at will.
Most importantly, the battle at the North Marsh Great Wall was already decided, and the Chaos Ancient Demon Gods were no longer a threat. Neither the Heavenly Court nor the Hell Realm would miss this perfect chance to attack the other.
When Wu Yue left earlier, she had already hinted very clearly, even explicitly. Before the Infinite ones returned, a great upheaval would inevitably erupt in the universe.
Zhang Ruochen said, "So you represent Xuan Yuan Lian and the Heavenly Court in forming an alliance with me?"
Xuan Yuan Qing nodded lightly. "You can return to the Hundred Clans Royal City now and take this opportunity to wipe out the Hell Realm army there. This will surely force the Hell Realm's deities to rush to their rescue, greatly reducing the pressure on the second Starry Sky Defense Line. Rest assured, the Heavenly Court's deities in the Hundred Clans Royal City will fully assist you."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Since you're negotiating with me as an ally, then what's in it for me to help the Heavenly Court out of its predicament?"
Xuan Yuan Qing said, "This is also a rare opportunity for you. Our interests are aligned. Don't you want to reclaim control of the star domain where the Hundred Clans Royal City is located?"
"I want to go to the Paradise Realm to rescue Chi Xingtian and Princess Shenba. The Hundred Clans Royal City is not urgent for now. The war at the Starry Sky Defense Line shouldn't end anytime soon," Zhang Ruochen deliberately said.
Xuan Yuan Qing said, "I've already told you, I will help you rescue them..."
Zhang Ruochen stared at her, his gaze sharp.
Xuan Yuan Qing steadied her urgent emotions and calmed down. "My elder brother's words will be kept. Chi Xingtian and Princess Shenba are not in immediate danger. There are trustworthy deities in the Paradise Realm watching over them and protecting them. If anything happens, they will immediately inform my elder brother."
"Zhang Ruochen, if I ask you as a close friend who has shared life-and-death hardships, would you be willing to help me?"
Zhang Ruochen looked into her eyes for a long moment and then smiled. "Of course. I, Zhang Ruochen, have always put friendship first and interests second. If you had said that earlier... I have an excellent plan here!"
"Relying solely on the war at the Hundred Clans Royal City won't be enough to make the Hell Realm unable to attend to both ends. The Heavenly Court would do best to send a suicide squad of false gods to infiltrate the Hell Realm's hinterlands via the Santu River, spreading out to create chaos."
"Secondly, due to the purge of the Quantity Organization, there is already considerable unrest within the Hell Realm. The Heavenly Court should seize this opportunity."
"Also, be wary of the Wuding Divine Sea. We discovered the Thunderous Wrath Mace in Xuan Yi's bones. The Thunder Clan may be about to emerge!"
Xuan Yuan Lian had found some memory traces from Xuan Yi's divine soul and had made this judgment. Therefore, Xuan Yuan Qing was not too surprised. "Whether Xuan Yi is connected to the Thunder Clan cannot be determined solely by the Thunderous Wrath Mace. But even if the Thunder Clan is plotting something, they wouldn't choose to emerge at this time—it would easily make them a target for both the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm! Unless the second Starry Sky Defense Line is truly breached..."
She gracefully clasped her hands and bowed. "This battle is of great importance. I can only rely on you, Ruochen!"
"Rest assured, your business, Xuan Yuan Qing, is my business, Zhang Ruochen." Zhang Ruochen's words were sincere, with the bearing of one who valued righteousness above all.
Xuan Yuan Qing departed in haste.
Zhang Ruochen headed to the space wormhole, where he met up with Cang Jue, Xue Mu, and Huang, who were waiting there. Then, they rushed at top speed to the Hundred Clans Royal City.
The reason Zhang Ruochen did not negotiate with Xuan Yuan Qing as an ally was that, at present, it was not he who needed the Heavenly Court's help, but the Heavenly Court that needed his help.
Zhang Ruochen certainly understood the principle of "when the lips are gone, the teeth feel the cold."
Therefore, even if Xuan Yuan Qing had not come, Zhang Ruochen would have immediately rushed to the Hundred Clans Royal City to help the Heavenly Court through its crisis.
But if he did that, Zhang Ruochen would gain no tangible benefits. The Heavenly Court would only think he was saving himself, reclaiming the Hundred Clans Royal City for his own interests.
Since he had to be an ally either way and would not receive the Heavenly Court's gratitude either way, it was better to make Xuan Yuan Qing owe him a big favor.
Because borrowing the Light Esoterica to condense the Sun would require going through Xuan Yuan Qing's connections—this was Zhang Ruochen's only chance.
Of course, condensing the Sun might not necessarily require the assistance of Light Esoterica, but Zhang Ruochen had to plan ahead and leave himself a backup path.
Among the Eternal Dao, Light Esoterica, Darkness Esoterica, and Fate Esoterica were the hardest to obtain.
Because most of these Esotericas were in the hands of the divine venerables of the Radiant Divine Temple, the Darkness Temple, and the Destiny Temple. Moreover, many of the Infinite ones in these three great temples were not even main gods.
If Zhang Ruochen wanted to borrow a tenth of the Light Esoterica, who else could he rely on but Xuan Yuan Qing?
As for the Darkness Esoterica, Zhang Ruochen found it even more troubling.
There were too many deities in the Hell Realm who cultivated the Path of Darkness. None of those who could become a main god of Darkness were simple characters.
Forget about forcibly seizing it—even borrowing it would be no easy task.
Therefore, for Zhang Ruochen, the fastest path was to borrow the Time Esoterica, go to a place dense with dark power like the Darkness Temple or the Abyss of Darkness, and only then would he have a chance to first condense the Great Yin.
If he did not take this path, he would have to rely on the Sundial to slowly comprehend the Way of Time and the Way of Darkness, continuing to accumulate and settle.
"Besides the guardians, it seems there are other Infinite ones in the universe of the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm."
Zhang Ruochen recalled Wu Yue's earlier words. Every sentence seemed to carry deep meaning.
The secret of the Earth Cauldron had been revealed by Xuan Yi and had likely spread by now.
Such a treasure would surely tempt those ancient undying beings to take risks.
The more Zhang Ruochen thought about it, the more uneasy he became. He immediately pulled Xue Mu aside and whispered, "Xue Mu, go to the nearest Divine Maiden Tower and have them spread a message as quickly as possible."
"Please instruct, Young Lord!"
"Spread the word that Zhang Ruochen was impersonating Liang Ji, while the one impersonating Liang Ce was Xuan Yuan Lian. After Gong Shang was killed, the Earth Cauldron fell into Xuan Yuan Lian's hands."
Xue Mu departed.
Zhang Ruochen let out a long sigh. "No choice. Who told you to have such high cultivation? Who told you to be the son of a Heavenly Venerable? With your golden chariot, even if you encounter a God King or God Venerable, you have a good chance of escaping."
"Ordinary God Kings and God Venerables probably wouldn't dare to make a move against you, right?"
The more Zhang Ruochen thought about it, the more he felt this plan was brilliant—enough to muddy the waters.
But it was still not enough. It was still very dangerous. He had to invite a true Infinite one.
"I need to go to the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain first," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
The Dark Great Triangle Star Domain was an uncalculable place. The two patriarchs, Yuqing and Taiqing, had certainly not been taken away. And King Yu of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization had most likely taken the Heavenly Beginning Civilization to the Sword Realm.
After passing through one space wormhole after another and undergoing multiple space teleportations, Zhang Ruochen finally arrived at the star domain where the Hundred Clans Royal City was located. He stepped out of space and appeared at the edge of the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain.
He looked toward the starry sky where the Rakshasa Clan's ancestral realm had been and found that the ancestral realm had disappeared.
Then he looked toward the location of the Hundred Clans Royal City. The light emitted by the Star Prison Grand Formation was very intense. Even from hundreds of millions of miles away, one could see a light spot the size of a jade plate.
Zhang Ruochen only released his divine soul to briefly probe and immediately discovered that the situation at the Hundred Clans Royal City was indeed very grim.
Apart from the space occupied by the Star Prison Grand Formation, the other star domains were completely taken over by various forces of the Hell Realm.
It was truly like being trapped in a cage—leaving meant death, and staying meant waiting to die.
Under such a dire situation, the small clans that had not yet betrayed were truly trustworthy.
Zhang Ruochen took out a "Yuqing" sword token and was about to try contacting Patriarch Yuqing when suddenly a sigh sounded in his ear. It seemed to be right next to him, yet also as if it echoed across the starry sky.
Cang Jue and Huang immediately became alert, looking around.
"Who's playing tricks? Show yourself!" Cang Jue said.
A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, so bright it seemed to illuminate the entire Dark Great Triangle Star Domain, as if it would cleave the universe in two.
"Boom!"
Moments later, thunder rumbled, and space seemed to boil.
Zhang Ruochen sensed something and looked toward the direction where the Rakshasa Clan's ancestral realm had been. There, space split open, and led by a long-haired elder, three deities stepped out. Lightning and thunder crackled around them, each exuding an overwhelming aura.
A young man and a young woman followed behind the elder. Their robes, skin, hair, and even their eyeballs were dense with electric light.
The long-haired elder was the most terrifying. Billions of lightning bolts radiated outward from him, each one a Infinite Rule Divine Mark. He walked like a living heavenly tribulation.