Chapter 3295: Peace Talks?
The Heavenly Court's envoy delegation, accompanied by Liu Qingcheng, walked out of the Divine Maiden Queen's Hall.
From start to finish, Feng Yan and Xiang Chunan remained silent.
Zhang Ruochen looked at Chi Yao, revealing a smile that was no longer the fake one from before. He said, "Thank you for earlier! For now, in dealing with the Heavenly Court, I can only be an ally."
"What I said was also the truth," Chi Yao replied.
She continued, "Since you have become the Realm Lord of a realm, bearing the life, death, honor, and disgrace of countless beings, you are destined to bury your true thoughts deep within, unable to confide in anyone."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I still have many people I can trust, such as you."
Chi Yao gazed at Zhang Ruochen for a long time before rising and leaving. She understood clearly that in many major matters, Zhang Ruochen could indeed trust her without reservation, but in certain aspects, he must be hiding things from her.
Zhang Ruochen sighed.
Once a woman became too shrewd, she was even harder to deal with than an enemy.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God's voice echoed within the divine hall, saying, "Can we refine the Divine Crow now? Once the main body's divine soul reaches fifty percent of the Infinite level, it will truly be invincible under heaven. You might even be able to clash with a God King!"
"No rush! Killing a god must be done at the most opportune moment." Zhang Ruochen looked toward the main gate of the divine hall.
"Realm Lord, this god has important matters to report."
The voice of Source Heaven Lord came from outside the hall.
"Enter!" Zhang Ruochen said.
Source Heaven Lord walked into the divine hall and bowed to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You are an Upper-Level God, possessing your own dignity. Unless it is a particularly important occasion, there is no need to bow to this Realm Lord. If you have something to report, just send a divine thought clone."
Source Heaven Lord smiled and said, "In the presence of the Realm Lord, how could this minor god, Source Heaven, dare to be presumptuous?"
"Earlier, this god selected a group of exceptionally beautiful women from among the Saint realm cultivators of the Death Clan, intending to secretly present them to the Realm Lord. But upon arriving at the First Divine Maiden City, this god realized that the Realm Lord is hardly lacking in this regard! My daughter, Yuan Shu, is incomparable to these ordinary women; her talent and aptitude are of the highest order."
Zhang Ruochen revealed a knowing smile and said, "You are thoughtful, but let us discuss these matters another time! What is the important matter you wish to report?"
Source Heaven Lord immediately became serious and said, "The representatives of the major powers of the Hell Realm have arrived outside Xinghuantian. Does the Realm Lord think we should go to welcome them..."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's smile disappear.
Source Heaven Lord quickly changed his tune, saying, "This god believes we should seal their cultivation first before allowing them to enter Xinghuantian. Otherwise, if a Grand Void Great God-level divine war breaks out within the realm, the destructive power would be unimaginable."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Do you think they will willingly let you seal their cultivation?"
"Then we can only negotiate outside the realm?" Source Heaven Lord asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Let them enter as divine soul clones. There is no need to avoid anything; let them enter through the city gates."
Source Heaven Lord was very shrewd and immediately thought of the Heavenly Court's envoy delegation. He smiled and nodded in understanding.
"Boom!"
From beyond the heavens, a powerful wave of divine power came, and even the realm-protecting divine formation could not completely neutralize the resulting shockwave.
In many places on Xinghuantian, slight earthquakes occurred.
Zhang Ruochen looked up at the sky, his gaze sharp as a sword, and said, "No need. This Realm Lord will go personally to welcome them."
Zhang Ruochen soared into the sky.
Source Heaven Lord followed closely behind.
In the Divine Maiden Tower Under Heaven, the gods of the Heavenly Court envoy delegation were alarmed. They walked out of the tower, manifesting their true forms.
"It's the gods of the Hell Realm. It seems they intend to negotiate peace with Zhang Ruochen." Qing Yusheng's voice revealed a worried expression. This was the situation the Heavenly Court least wanted to see.
Chi Chaluo looked toward the heavens, finding it hard to believe. "The Hell Realm has always been aggressive. This time, they are actually compromising!"
Mandala Flower God said, "With internal and external troubles, no matter how deep the Hell Realm's foundation, they cannot sustain multiple battlefields. Moreover, the Shengu Nest's entry into the game is enough to influence many people's decisions."
Qing Yusheng said, "This is merely a delaying tactic by the Hell Realm! Once they have completely cleansed the remnants of the Quantity Organization and stabilized their rear, they will undoubtedly destroy the Hundred Clans Royal City and Xinghuantian."
Chi Chaluo said, "But from my observation, Zhang Ruochen does not truly want to ally with the Heavenly Court against the Hell Realm."
Qing Yusheng said, "His hesitation is inevitable! But if he truly falls for the Hell Realm's delaying tactic, he will surely regret it in the future. Feng Yan, Xiang Chunan, you are sworn brothers with Zhang Ruochen. Go see him privately and urge him not to trust the Hell Realm. If he misses this opportunity, the consequences will be endless."
"He does have considerable prejudice against the Paradise Realm faction, but the Heavenly Court also has the Heavenly Palace, the Flying Immortal Valley, the Wind Clan, and the Truth Divine Temple. We are his most sincere allies and will be his comrades in the future."
Feng Yan and Xiang Chunan naturally understood that the Heavenly Court's intentions were impure, with the aim of using this battle to completely subdue Xinghuantian and the Hundred Clans Royal City. However, they had to admit that Qing Yusheng's words also held some truth.
How could the Hell Realm, so aggressive, be genuinely negotiating?
It was undoubtedly a delaying tactic.
The more humble they were now, the more brutal they would be in the future.
"Alright, tonight, Chunan and I will go ask him about his true thoughts." Feng Yan agreed.
...
Outside the realm of Xinghuantian, numerous sixth-level great stars were scattered.
In the more distant void, divine power clashed, forming tidal waves.
Those sixth-level great stars were both components of the Thousand Star Xinghuantian Formation and living planets. The lives on those planets were significantly affected.
At the center of the divine power fluctuations, the phantom of the Yecha Ancestor was immense, like a nebula.
The Yecha Ancestral Divine Hall floated at the center of the phantom, with countless formation inscriptions flashing, forming terrifying killing rays.
Yu Ling God stood atop the divine hall, staring across the void at Yu Mang Lord, and said, "Again! Today, this god will surely crush you and avenge the fallen Yecha Clan members."
Yu Mang Lord distanced himself from the Yecha Ancestor's phantom by a Divine Spirit Step, refraining from rashly attacking again. It was not out of fear of Yu Ling God, but because his full-powered axe strike had failed to break through Yu Ling God's divine formation defense, making him cautious.
Once the Yecha Ancestral Divine Hall was fully activated, it was indeed extraordinary. Falling into its formation would be a troublesome matter.
This was completely different from their previous encounters!
Previously, Yu Mang Lord had fought Yu Ling God, but he would always strike before Yu Ling God could fully activate the Yecha Ancestral Divine Hall. This time, Yu Ling God had been hiding outside Xinghuantian, fully activating the Yecha Ancestral Divine Hall in ambush, deliberately attacking them.
Yu Mang Lord suspected this was a scheme by Zhang Ruochen and Yu Ling God.
Zhang Ruochen flew out of Xinghuantian, releasing his divine might. The divine flames around him turned into colorful clouds in the cosmos, patches of fire clouds.
He said coldly, "You of the Hell Realm have quite the audacity, daring to act so presumptuously on this Realm Lord's territory. Activate the Thousand Star Xinghuantian Formation and kill them all!"
The gods of the major Hell Realm powers were all stunned.
Zhen Yun Great God of the Darkness Temple quickly said, "Misunderstanding! A misunderstanding, Ruochen Great God! We have come this time for peace talks."
"It was Yu Ling God! Yu Ling God was lurking in the darkness and suddenly attacked us!" Yan Yang Heavenly Lord said indignantly.
"How is that possible?"
Zhang Ruochen said mockingly, "Yu Ling God hasn't even reached the Body-Stopping Realm. How could she alone dare to attack so many of you strong ones? Besides, she is a distinguished guest of this Realm Lord, while you... are not so certain! If you cannot provide an explanation today, none of you will leave alive."
Yu Ling God put away the Yecha Ancestral Divine Hall and joined Zhang Ruochen, smiling radiantly as she looked at Yu Mang Lord, Zhen Yun Great God, Yan Yang Heavenly Lord, and the other Grand Void Great Gods of the Hell Realm, as if she had found a backer and was emboldened.
It was clear that she had set them up.
Over the years, the Hundred Clans Royal City and the Yecha Clan had suffered heavy losses. Yu Ling God had been injured multiple times in divine wars, enduring great humiliation.
That was why, upon arriving at Xinghuantian, before discussing any serious matters, she and Zhang Ruochen's divine soul clone had planned this move to intimidate the Hell Realm gods.
It was also a way for her to vent her anger!
They attacked when they wanted to attack and wanted peace talks when they wanted peace talks—how could it be so easy?
These Grand Void Great Gods of the Hell Realm were all lofty overlords. How could they tolerate such treatment? Their hearts burned with anger, but they could not vent it.
Kong Can Great God controlled his emotions and said with a smile, "The fault is indeed ours. What kind of explanation does Realm Lord Ruochen want?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Is this Kong Can Great God of the Death Clan? I almost didn't recognize you. In the Great Heart Ape Ancestor Realm, when Kong Can Great God brought a God King battle formation to suppress and kill this Realm Lord, you were not nearly as easy to talk to as you are now."
Kong Can Great God's smile gradually faded.
It seemed that peace talks would not be easy.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes held a cold and proud look as he swept his gaze over each Hell Realm god. "Peace talks? Are you dreaming? When you were slaughtering the Hundred Clans' beings, did you ever think of peace talks?"
Yan Yang Heavenly Lord said, "We repeatedly urged them to surrender, but they rejected our goodwill."
"Very well, Yan Yang Heavenly Lord, would you be willing to lead the Yan Yang Clan to surrender to Xinghuantian? If you are willing to surrender, then kneel before this Realm Lord immediately and kowtow three times. This Realm Lord will spare your life today!"
Zhang Ruochen's tone was sharp, his gaze fierce, and he pointed at the ground beneath his feet.
"You..."
Yan Yang Heavenly Lord's eyes blazed with fury, divine flames burning on his body.
Zhen Yun Great God and Kong Can Great God quickly moved to block Yan Yang Heavenly Lord, repeatedly sending him voice transmissions, urging him to consider the greater good.
Zhen Yun Great God smiled amicably at Zhang Ruochen and said, "There were indeed some misunderstandings between the Darkness Temple and the Realm Lord before, but Hall Master Wu Yue has already sent a message reprimanding us, saying that the Realm Lord is one of our own. Since the Realm Lord has returned, the entire Darkness Temple should immediately withdraw its forces."
"Previously, we did not know that the backer behind the Hundred Clans Royal City was you, the Realm Lord. It was truly a case of the great water rushing into the Dragon King's temple—family not recognizing family!"
"Before coming here, this god had already sent orders back to the Yellow Spring Star River, instructing them to quickly return all the Hundred Clans beings captured over the years. As for all the planets, ruins realms, and secret realms occupied by the Darkness Temple in this star region, the Realm Lord can immediately send people to take over. If anyone dares to obstruct, this god will personally behead them. I hope this can make up for some of the past mistakes!"
After speaking, Zhen Yun Great God asked, "Are all the gods of the Darkness Temple well?"