# Chapter 3273: Refining and Killing a God King
The Earth Cauldron, ten thousand meters tall and weighing far more than a star, floated beneath the starry sky, causing the origin power within the star domain to boil violently.
On the cauldron's body, shamanic inscriptions floated and flickered. An ancient shaman god with a human head and serpent tail manifested as an image, lifelike, scattering light rain all over its body, possessing both a heaven-devouring, earth-swallowing momentum and a deep, profound mystery.
To refine a God King, relying solely on Zhang Ruochen's divine power was clearly insufficient.
The Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram beneath his feet continuously absorbed Feng Tian's divine energy, transforming it into a pillar of light that struck the Earth Cauldron.
At this moment, the Earth Cauldron's might was astonishing, affecting the rules of heaven and earth.
In this stretch of starry sky where the Hundred Clans Royal City was located, gods from various forces of the Hell Realm had gathered. Among them, some bold existences secretly approached to investigate the situation.
"We can't go any further. It's the power of death—it should be Lord Feng Tian!" a Corpse Clan Great God draped in a black robe warned the other gods around him.
Seven or eight Hell Realm gods appeared one after another.
Ahead, the rules of heaven and earth were chaotic. Death energy and origin divine light intertwined, covering a region of over a hundred million miles, making it impossible to see what was happening inside. But with such thick death energy, who else could it be but Feng Tian?
"Lord Feng Tian gave up attacking the Starry Sky Defense Line but came here instead. I wonder what for?"
"Could it be related to the Sword Realm? Rumor has it that the ancient Sword Realm is hidden in the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain."
"What do you think—will Lord Feng Tian destroy the Hundred Clans Royal City while she's at it?"
"Don't discuss it. Let's leave quickly. It's just a Hundred Clans Royal City. If it still required Lord Feng Tian to personally take action, wouldn't that be overestimating them?"
...
The gods of the Hell Realm bowed and saluted toward that chaotic star domain, then departed.
Shide God King's venomous voice continuously came from the Earth Cauldron: "Zhang Ruochen, allying yourself with Feng Caiyi will surely lead to no good end. Once you lose your value, she will mercilessly kill you."
"Feng Caiyi, don't be too pleased. You've only broken through to the Indestructible Infinite realm—you're not an Ancestor yet! But Zhang Ruochen has the potential to become an Ancestor. Now he submits to your tyranny, but in the future, he will rebel."
"The River of Fate flows backward, water floods the divine temple, the Gate of Destiny collapses. You, Feng Caiyi, will surely die by Zhang Ruochen's sword in the future. He's just enduring now. The deeper he endures, the more fiercely he will retaliate."
"Haha! Everyone will die! Everyone will die!"
...
Zhang Ruochen hated Shide God King to the core. Even at death's door, he was still digging a pit for him.
Sure enough, they were all old schemers—not a single one was easy to deal with.
His words were clearly meant to sow discord, but they were also unsolvable, planting thorns in the hearts of both Feng Tian and Zhang Ruochen.
Feng Tian's body radiated colorful, dazzling divine light. Her sleeves fluttered as her jade-white finger pointed toward the sky, drawing upon the death rules of heaven and earth.
The death rules condensed into a gray torrent that surged into the Earth Cauldron, striking Shide God King's body.
From within the cauldron came piercing screams and gloomy, sinister laughter.
Zhang Ruochen immediately explained, "Shide God King is completely trying to sow discord between Lord Feng Tian and me. I have never felt oppressed, nor have I ever endured. I only feel gratitude. If not for Lord Feng Tian's intervention to save me, I would have likely become a wandering ghost by now."
Feng Tian cast a cold sidelong glance. "Are you so afraid of me?"
Zhang Ruochen relaxed his tense emotions and smiled. "No... not at all!"
Feng Tian said, "So you're not afraid of me?"
In the past, Zhang Ruochen would definitely have been driven to collapse by these two questions from Feng Tian.
But now, he answered with ease: "I'm not afraid! Although Lord Feng Tian is titled 'Death,' after Life God Venerable died, it was you who sheltered Hai Shang Youruo and passed the Life Esoterica to her. This shows that you are not a heartless person."
"Besides, I am indeed of use to Lord Feng Tian. And I am confident that before my value is exhausted, I will have mastered the power to protect myself. So why should I be afraid?"
Feng Tian said coldly, "Master the power to protect yourself? Then shouldn't I really be on guard against your future rebellion? Hmph, no need to be so nervous. If a mere God King could sow discord between us, how could I possibly walk the path to becoming an Ancestor?"
"I'm not nervous."
Zhang Ruochen stood tall, a smile in his eyes, exuding an air of extraordinary distinction.
Zhang Ruochen was actually very clear that he and Feng Tian were indeed not on the same path. Their ideals differed, their visions opposed each other, and it was very likely that they would one day meet on the battlefield, fighting to the death.
If Zhang Ruochen understood this, how could Feng Tian not?
The reason she could still keep Zhang Ruochen around was, most importantly, because of the Nine Cauldrons and the path to proving the Ancestor Dao.
Secondly, with Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation level, in her eyes, he was really nothing significant. It was like Zhang Ruochen looking at a Great Saint who had also condensed a First-rank Sacred Intent—as long as that Great Saint had value, he would dare to use him. Because the gap in cultivation was too great, and because he had full confidence in being able to control him.
Thirdly, behind Zhang Ruochen stood top-tier powerhouses like Jiu Tian, the Starry Sea Angler, and Tian Mu. Even if Feng Tian was arrogant, she could not ignore them.
To become the master of the Destiny Temple and to sweep away the Heavenly Court, she had to have a big-picture perspective.
Lone wolves were arrogant, but those in power needed to endure.
Seven divine artifacts and the Parasol Tree flew in from beyond the heavens, each exuding extraordinary might, their artifact spirits powerful.
The Gate of Hell behind Feng Tian appeared, flashed briefly, and took away all seven divine artifacts.
Only the Parasol Tree took root in the void, standing above her and Zhang Ruochen, radiating blood-colored divine light.
She took out the eighth divine artifact—the Tianpeng Bell—suspending it between her hands, refining it with Phoenix Divine Flame.
Her two jade-white, like-jade palms, like one heaven and one earth, with a vast chaotic world in between, suppressed the Tianpeng Bell so it could not move.
After spending a long time, the Earth Cauldron gradually quieted down.
Pellets of divine pills flew out from the cauldron and were taken away by Feng Tian.
"So calm."
Feng Tian gazed into the distance, muttering to herself.
She had brought Zhang Ruochen to the outskirts of the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain to refine Shide God King, deliberately creating such a commotion to test the Thunder Clan.
If the Thunder Clan had an existence more powerful than Thunder Ancestor, how could they watch a God King of their own clan be refined and killed?
She hadn't lured out the Thunder Clan's strong ones, but she had attracted two uninvited guests.
Zhang Ruochen was exhausted. To refine Shide God King, he had depleted his divine energy multiple times. After the refining, he sat cross-legged, recuperating and recovering.
Feng Tian glanced at him and said, "Today, you have rendered a service. I have always been clear in rewards and punishments. If you want any reward, speak up quickly, lest you truly feel that I am oppressing you."
"Today, Lord Feng Tian has saved my life. I am already indebted to you and dare not ask for more," Zhang Ruochen said.
Feng Tian raised her chin, waved her sleeve, and clasped her hands behind her back, snorting, "I hate people who pretend to be reserved the most! We are purely in a relationship of use and being used. Don't talk about favors or debts of gratitude."
"Earlier, I was observing your First-rank Divine Path. It closely resembles the Daoist lineage—combining heaven and earth to divide yin and yang, using virtual chaos to derive the four symbols."
"Inside your body, the rules of darkness, time, space, and light are all very dense. If my speculation is correct, your next step is to use the rules of darkness and time to condense Taiyin, and the rules of space and light to condense Taiyang."
"Using the four symbols, eight paths, and the two energies of yin and yang to break through to the Infinite realm—this implies deriving your own small heaven and earth."
"You obtained one-tenth of the Time Esoterica from Huaying Qingchan, clearly intending to condense Taiyin first. But you still lack the Darkness Esoterica, don't you?"
"I have some Darkness Esoterica here. Do you want it?"
Once the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram was revealed, its secrets were hard to hide from an existence like Feng Tian. She had lived for too long and had dabbled in all kinds of Dao techniques in the world.
Zhang Ruochen was not surprised, but he was surprised that Feng Tian would take the initiative to offer Darkness Esoterica.
"What are you looking at? The sooner your cultivation reaches the Infinite realm, the more valuable you are to me. Otherwise, refining a mere God King would require my help. Do I have that much energy? Do you want it or not?" Feng Tian said.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "How much Darkness Esoterica does Lord Feng Tian possess?"
"About four percent!" Feng Tian said.
Zhang Ruochen frowned deeply and sighed, "It's not main god-level Darkness Esoterica. It won't be of much use to me. I'll have to decline Lord Feng Tian's kind offer!"