Chapter 3300: Guixu Cataclysm, Three Realms Connected
As the second-ranked figure beneath the Infinite Realm within Fengdu Ghost City, Zhuque Huowu naturally possessed her own power and extraordinary influence. She went with Xiao Hei to meet a Ghost Clan Taiyi Great God and quickly obtained confirmed information.
The Space Divine Temple's Grand Elder was indeed highly suspect, having been entered into Fengdu Ghost City's "Quantity Organization Top-Secret Register," which only Great Gods could access.
Xiao Hei held the divine talisman Zhang Ruochen had given him and showed no fear of the Taiyi Great God.
Zhuque Huowu knew Zhang Ruochen and Moon God's cultivation levels, so she cooperated fully, making no attempt to escape.
At the same time, they brought back another terrifying piece of news: someone had broken into Fate Divine Mountain, entered the Heavenly Fate Hall's Heavenly Guard Platform, and stolen six volumes of the Fate Heavenly Scripture.
This had already spread to the ears of the Great Gods in Fengdu Ghost City, showing that the matter could not be covered up—the news had leaked.
This was even more far-reaching than Dragon Lord breaking into Fate Divine Mountain to rescue Tai Shang. One was merely rescuing a person, while the other had directly struck at the very foundation of Destiny Temple.
The former only lost face; the latter was like gouging out the heart and extracting the bones.
Zhang Ruochen was stunned for a long moment before coming back to his senses. "Has it been confirmed? All six volumes of the Fate Heavenly Scripture are lost?"
Zhuque Huowu said, "Even the gods beneath Destiny Temple likely know little of the truth. Bao Yuan only caught wind of rumors. It's said that not only were the six volumes stolen, but a god from Heavenly Fate Hall was also captured."
"The strongest beneath the Infinite Realm in Destiny Temple, Xu Wo Cheng, was forced to end his seclusion and head to the second Starry Sky Defense Line. Bao Yuan speculates that he went to find Wu Yue, to demand the Celestial Pivot Needle."
"Now, only with the Celestial Pivot Needle can the six volumes of the Fate Heavenly Scripture be recovered."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "Even if no Infinite Realm remained guarding Destiny Temple, it wouldn't be possible for a god beneath the Infinite Realm to enter the Divine Mountain and break into the Heavenly Guard Platform. The one who took the scriptures must be an extraordinarily extraordinary figure. Xu Wo Cheng likely can't handle this."
A strong sense of unease surged within Zhang Ruochen. The universe was too vast, filled with too many secrets and unknowns. It seemed that some truly ancient undying beings had used special places like the Ancestor Realm and the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain to evade the calculations of peak Spiritual Power experts with perfect Heavenly Circle, and had remained.
If they dared to steal six volumes of the Fate Heavenly Scripture, what wouldn't they dare to do?
Zhang Ruochen carried the secret of the Earth Cauldron, which would be hard to hide. He was bound to be a target for some of those old fellows.
Whoever acted had chosen the timing perfectly, striking when Feng Tian, Undying War God, and the Five Elements Temple's Temple Master had all left.
Zhuque Huowu said, "Strangely, no divine battle broke out on Fate Divine Mountain, and no other treasures were lost. The attacker only took the six volumes of the Fate Heavenly Scripture and some secret texts from the Heavenly Guard Platform."
"So, the gods of Destiny Temple don't even know who did it?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Zhuque Huowu said, "If no divine battle erupted, then that must be the case."
Zhang Ruochen's mind stirred, and he thought of a possibility. He asked again, "Which god from Heavenly Fate Hall was captured?"
"Xu Rulai."
"Is it possible that there was no external enemy at all?"
Zhuque Huowu said, "You mean Xu Rulai stole the six volumes of the Fate Heavenly Scripture? The information we have is very limited; we can't speculate. But it's a possibility."
Zhang Ruochen had met Xu Rulai several times and felt he had a deep faith in fate, unlikely to betray Destiny Temple. But as a god, if Zhang Ruochen could see through Xu Rulai's flaws, how could he have fooled the divine venerables of Destiny Temple?
"Clatter!"
The divine ship raced at high speed across the Wuding Divine Sea, waves crashing against the hull.
They had already set out, heading for the Heavenly Court Universe.
Xiao Hei stood at the bow, his posture imposing, gazing at the boundless sea. "It would be best if some truly formidable old fellow really did emerge. That way, Feng Tian would surely be unable to continue attacking the second Starry Sky Defense Line. If the second line doesn't fall, Xinghuantian and the Hundred Clans Royal City will have room to survive."
Xiao Hei didn't know about the Thunder Clan Infinite Realm's appearance. He thought Feng Tian had given up attacking the second Starry Sky Defense Line because of the incident at Fate Divine Mountain.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized his Truth power to sense his surroundings, feeling that the theft of the Fate Heavenly Scripture might not be a bad thing.
With such a major incident occurring, even if Feng Tian had left behind some methods, those following him should have left by now.
Moreover, this matter could be exploited. The Goddess Twelve Pavilions could spread the news: "The one who made the Fate River flow backward and flooded the temple has appeared." If handled well, this would be enough to completely clear Zhang Ruochen's name and reduce the hostility of Destiny Temple's gods toward him.
Zhang Ruochen didn't bother to arrange this deliberately. He believed that if Empress Chi Yao and Bai Qinger learned of the news, they would never miss this opportunity. They might even think more deeply and act better than he could.
Many things didn't require his personal involvement; he already had enough capable people around him.
The Wuding Divine Sea was vast. Even at its narrowest point, it stretched over a hundred billion miles. Even a Great God couldn't cross it quickly and had to rely on space wormholes and space formations on the sea.
After passing through a wormhole and making a space jump, the divine ship arrived at a red sea region.
The sky and the sea were both red, extending endlessly into the distance, beyond the reach of divine sight. On the sea surface, there were massive islands shaped like beasts—some like crouching oxen, some like celestial turtles, some spreading wings.
These were formed from the remains of ancient giant beasts and sediment.
This was the only ninth-level forbidden zone in the Wuding Divine Sea—Guixu!
The Ten Realms Battle had once been held in the Guixu Sea region, but only at its edge.
"What are you looking at?"
Xiao Hei noticed Zhang Ruochen staring into the depths of Guixu, his expression growing increasingly grave.
Moon God emerged from the cabin and also looked into the depths of Guixu, divine light spilling from her eyes.
Zhuque Huowu's cultivation was sealed, but her perception was extremely strong. She sensed fluctuations in the rules of heaven and earth. Something major seemed to be happening deep within Guixu, affecting the outside world.
For many years, Guixu had been calm, never showing such anomalies.
Zhuque Huowu couldn't help asking, "What's happening?"
Xiao Hei said coldly, "You ask this emperor? How would this emperor know?"
I wasn't even asking you, alright?
Zhuque Huowu didn't ask again, afraid Xiao Hei would keep responding. This owl-faced man was always opposing her, always seeking attention. She could only tolerate him now that her cultivation was sealed.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze reached an infinitely distant place. There, the sea and sky were filled with dense lightning, each bolt as thick as a planet, like purple heavenly dragons or glowing divine pythons, darting everywhere.
The lightning's light was blazing, and the divine power fluctuations were terrifyingly strong. Any single bolt could kill a god.
Many guesses arose in Zhang Ruochen's mind.
Just then, at the edge of the lightning storm, Zhang Ruochen sensed a very faint aura. If that aura hadn't been resisting the lightning, leaking power outward, Zhang Ruochen might not have detected him at all.
"An Infinite Realm expert!"
Soon, Zhang Ruochen discovered the auras of other Infinite Realm experts in other areas, even catching glimpses of figures. One figure looked very human, wearing a blue robe.
Beyond that, Zhang Ruochen noticed that within the lightning storm, the real world had split open, revealing not only the Void World but also a dazzling, colorful world. The aura was familiar—it was undoubtedly Lihentian.
He didn't know if it was an expert from Lihentian breaking through the world's spatial barrier, or an Infinite Realm expert from the real world smashing a path to Lihentian.
Too bizarre!
The Infinite Realm experts were supposed to have marched north, yet multiple had appeared here. The Void World, the real world, and Lihentian—three worlds—were connected and coexisting.
"Could it be that the Thunder Clan never left the Wuding Divine Sea and have been in Guixu all along?"
As this thought arose, Zhang Ruochen's scalp suddenly tightened. An icy chill spread through his entire body, as if a sword were pressed against his brow.
An Infinite Realm expert had discovered him, locking onto him with their gaze.
"Get out of here!"
Zhang Ruochen immediately released his divine Qi, driving the divine ship to its maximum speed, shooting away like a beam of light.
That Infinite Realm expert didn't chase out of Guixu, seemingly not caring about them, treating them as passing gods. Or perhaps these Infinite Realm experts were mutually restraining each other, preventing anyone from leaving alone.
The feeling of being locked onto by an Infinite Realm expert was unbearable. That person's cultivation must have surpassed Shide God King. Otherwise, Zhang Ruochen wouldn't have felt the mental fluctuation of being on the verge of death, as if a sword were at his brow—a feeling that once locked on, escape was nearly impossible.
Moon God wore a veil, her expression unreadable, but her eyes were extremely grave. "The Void World is called the Zeroth Realm, the real world the First Realm, and Lihentian the Second Realm. For the three realms to be connected, with gods seemingly involved in all of them, whatever is happening in Guixu is no small matter."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Why does Moon God think that gods from the Void World are involved, rather than the real world breaking through to it?"
The Void World wasn't entirely empty. For example, the source of the "Luo Shu" was said to have been obtained by an ancestor of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization from a divine river in the Void World.
Many secrets of the universe were known only to ancient gods who had lived for hundreds of thousands of years.
Zhang Ruochen had now reached the level of an ancient god and was gradually coming into contact with these secrets unknown to mortals.
Moon God said, "If the space in Guixu could be shattered, it wouldn't be called a ninth-level forbidden zone. Clearly, an Infinite Realm expert from the Void World has descended! This is the first time since the Middle Ages."
Zhuque Huowu had been listening nearby and said, "Not the first time in three hundred thousand years! Ten thousand years ago, gods from the Void World appeared once. Great Emperor and Void Heaven intervened and drove them back. This matter is very secret; fewer than ten people know of it."
Zhang Ruochen said, "During the divine war between the Heavenly Court and Hell ten thousand years ago, the fighting was so fierce that gods fell like rain. Yet Fengdu Dadi rarely acted, and Void Heaven claimed to be in seclusion. Could the real reason be that they were dealing with gods from the Void World?"
"Why are you all so tense? Isn't it just gods from three realms appearing together? As long as the legendary Third Realm doesn't show up, the sky won't fall and the earth won't collapse." Xiao Hei remained very calm.
Zhang Ruochen said, "One strange event after another. I thought the renewed war between Hell and the Heavenly Court was already chaos, already the worst-case scenario. Now it seems the worst is far from here."
From the stern of the ship, a warm voice came, startling Xiao Hei.
"Everyone, this humble monk has come uninvited. My apologies, but might I hitch a ride on this ship?"
Zhang Ruochen, Moon God, and Zhuque Huowu were all shocked. They turned around.
At some point, a young, handsome white-robed monk had appeared on the ship. Behind him stood a person—none other than Xu Rulai, the god from Heavenly Fate Hall who was rumored to have been captured.
The divine ship had been sailing at top speed, protected by guardian divine formations and concealment divine formations, yet someone had boarded silently.