Chapter 3303: Thick Fog of Mystery
At the second Starry Sky Defense Line, Hun Qi stood outside a temple, holding a message divine talisman in his hand.
Wu Yin emerged from the void, manifesting his form, and asked, "What happened? Why did Bao Yuan send a message? Could something have gone wrong in the Wuding Divine Sea?"
Hun Qi said, "He saw Huo Wu."
"In the Wuding Divine Sea?"
Hun Qi nodded.
Wu Yin said, "So, Zhang Ruochen still left Xinghuantian and went to Paradise Realm?"
"Zhang Ruochen can indeed be called the most outstanding prodigy since the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, but his weakness is very obvious. As long as you hold the people he cares about, even knowing it's a near-certain death, he will definitely go. However, it still surprises me a bit that he would go to Paradise Realm for Chi Xingtian and Shen Pi Princess," Hun Qi said.
Wu Yin said, "After all, Chi Xingtian helped him in Xinghuantian! Moreover, if Zhang Ruochen wants to become a pole of the universe, he definitely needs the support of a large number of powerful individuals. Characters like Chi Xingtian and Shen Pi Princess only emerge once in many years—how could he abandon them?"
The fact that Chi Xingtian had transformed into Xue Jue War God was not an absolute secret; some gods had deduced it.
Wu Yin said, "But Zhang Ruochen's trip to Paradise Realm should have been extremely secretive. How could such an obvious flaw be exposed?"
"This isn't a flaw. He deliberately used Bao Yuan to notify me that Huo Wu is in his hands."
Hun Qi smiled and said, "He's worried that this is a trap jointly set by me and Paradise Realm."
"Zhang Ruochen is a huge threat. Why not take this opportunity to actually scheme against him once?" Wu Yin's eyes darkened as he made a killing gesture.
Although Wu Yin knew that in Fengdu Ghost City, Zhang Ruochen had saved his life by transforming into Gong Shang, he felt no gratitude at all. He would not change his mind about eliminating Zhang Ruochen because of a life-saving favor. In the end, among gods, there are more self-interested ones.
They would not let emotions affect their will and judgment.
Hun Qi stared at him, his gaze extremely sharp.
Wu Yin was secretly startled, his tone becoming hesitant, "Does Lord Hun Qi think this is inappropriate?"
"There is nothing inappropriate about killing Zhang Ruochen. When he went to Fengdu Ghost City back then, he already had ulterior motives. But Huo Wu is a god of Fengdu Ghost City. To kill Zhang Ruochen by sacrificing her—you'd better never have that thought again," Hun Qi said.
Wu Yin felt the chill from Hun Qi and quickly said, "Thank you for the teaching, Lord Hun Qi. This god's consideration was inadequate. I admit my mistake. In any case, the gods of Fengdu Ghost City must remain united. Please don't tell Lord Huo Wu about this."
"Is that all?" Hun Qi said.
Wu Yin pondered for a moment, then said, "Zhang Ruochen went this time not only to rescue people but also to deal with the Quantity Organization. Regardless, when dealing with the Quantity Organization, we cannot scheme against him."
Hun Qi said, "Scheming is part of strength, but it can be divided into high-level and low-level. In fact, the fact that Fengdu Ghost City received news that the Space Divine Temple's Great Elder might be a member of the Quantity Organization could very well be a deliberate flaw exposed by the Space Divine Temple's Great Elder, meant to use our hands to scheme against Zhang Ruochen."
"I know that possibility exists, but I still sent a secret letter to Zhang Ruochen, turning the tables on them. I just didn't expect Zhang Ruochen to be so cautious, bringing Huo Wu along."
Wu Yin was slightly shocked, "Impossible! There are too many uncertain factors in this. How could the Space Divine Temple's Great Elder calculate so accurately? Could he have predicted in advance that Hell Realm would suffer a great defeat at Zhang Ruochen's hands? Could he have predicted that we would pass the message to Zhang Ruochen? Could he have predicted that Zhang Ruochen would definitely go to rescue Chi Xingtian and Shen Pi Princess?"
"Perhaps someone else calculated all of this, someone who knows both me and Zhang Ruochen well enough. Or maybe I'm overthinking it. Either way, we'll have the result soon."
Hun Qi had already sent people to investigate. No matter how formidable the mastermind behind this scheme was, they absolutely could not have predicted that Feng Tian would take action, that Bian Zhuang War God did not go to the North Marsh Great Wall, and the series of events that followed.
Therefore, the scheme must have been set after the offensive and defensive battle at the second Starry Sky Defense Line.
That way, traces would definitely be left behind.
Wu Yin said, "What about the conditions Zhang Ruochen proposed at the Hundred Clans Royal City?"
"Let's wait and see if he can walk out of Paradise Realm alive before considering that. If he truly has such ability, it means he has become too strong for anyone to deal with. Then we'll have no choice but to agree," Hun Qi said.
...
Xuan Yuan Lian received a secret message talisman from Feng Yan and immediately summoned Zhuang Tai'a, asking, "Where is the Space Divine Temple's Great Elder now?"
Zhuang Tai'a said, "Isn't the Great Elder at the defense line? According to the information gathered from the major teleportation arrays, he hasn't left."
"Forget it. With his spiritual power, it's too easy for him to bypass the Red Dust Peerless Tower and leave quietly," Xuan Yuan Lian said. She had just sent out a million spiritual power thoughts to search, but no one knew where the Space Divine Temple's Great Elder had gone.
From this, it seemed that the information Feng Yan had sent back had a considerable chance of being true.
Xuan Yuan Lian felt mentally exhausted. She had been too tired lately, with all matters big and small pressing down on her. A moment of slack could lead to terrible consequences.
Xuan Yuan Lian forced herself to stay alert, not allowing fatigue to show. Suddenly, she thought of something and said, "What was the reason Ke Yangshan went back to Paradise Realm earlier?"
"He said that Xuan Yi would definitely return to Paradise Realm to take the Tongtian Divine Temple, so he went back ahead of time to set up," Zhuang Tai'a said.
In an instant, many thoughts flashed through Xuan Yuan Lian's mind.
Zhuang Tai'a had a nine-orifice exquisite heart and said, "Ke Yangshan is the son of the Radiant Divine Temple's Hall Master. There should be no problem. How about sending him a message, telling him to be wary of the Great Elder?"
"So much time has already passed. Whatever was supposed to happen has definitely happened. If it hasn't, then there must be a deeper scheme."
Xuan Yuan Lian could already sense that a storm was brewing in Paradise Realm. Unfortunately, she had to remain at the second Starry Sky Defense Line and couldn't leave.
Her thoughts aligned with Zhuang Tai'a's—Ke Yangshan absolutely could not be a member of the Quantity Organization. Because he wouldn't do something that could expose himself at such a sensitive time.
If he were a member of the Quantity Organization, he would have directly invited the Space Divine Temple's Great Elder to return to Paradise Realm together to set up the scheme. That would have been flawless.
Xuan Yuan Lian simply didn't have the energy to think about it anymore. She said, "Send a message to Ke Yangshan. As soon as the Space Divine Temple's Great Elder appears, capture him immediately. This young master will take responsibility for all consequences. Hopefully, it's not too late."
With that, she picked up another secret talisman and began handling the next matter.
The secret talisman read: "A mysterious powerful figure has emerged. Six volumes of the Fate Heavenly Scripture have been stolen. Gods of the Fate Transport Department have been captured."
...
Radiant Divine Temple.
Ke Yangshan received Xuan Yuan Lian's message, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Xuan Yuan Lian is a step slower than me this time. Only now does he realize that old thing has a problem. Capture him immediately... Hmph, if we capture him immediately, how can we cast a long line to catch a big fish?"
"Compared to Brother Ke, Xuan Yuan Lian is nothing more than the son of a Heavenly Venerable, receiving more resources, which is why his cultivation has advanced further. In terms of talent, family background, and brilliance, Brother Ke is in no way inferior to him. Listening to his orders is just out of respect for the Heavenly Venerable," Ji Donghuang said.
Ji Donghuang was the strongest below the Infinite Realm of the Ji Clan, one of the nine great clans of the universe. It was he who had told Ke Yangshan the secret that the Space Divine Temple's Great Elder had a problem.
So the two had returned to Paradise Realm together, both to capture the Space Divine Temple's Great Elder and Jia Tianxia, and to lie in wait and deal with Xuan Yi when he returned. This would be a legendary achievement, overshadowing Xuan Yuan Lian.
According to Ji Donghuang, from now on, the leader below the Infinite Realm would be you, Brother Ke. What face would Xuan Yuan Lian have left to continue ordering you around?
"Boom!"
From the direction of Gai Ya Realm, powerful divine power fluctuations erupted.
Ke Yangshan and Ji Donghuang walked out of the Radiant Divine Temple and looked into the distance together.
"Xuan Yi has finally appeared. But attacking Gai Ya Realm—that's not like his style," Ke Yangshan said with a smile.
Ji Donghuang said, "It must be a feint to the east and attack to the west. Xuan Yi's true body has likely already infiltrated Paradise Realm."
"If that's the case, today will be the day Xuan Yi dies." Ke Yangshan held a divine staff, a hint of a smile in his eyes, exuding an air of high spirits.
With control over the Radiant Divine Temple and Paradise Realm's protective divine formation, what was there to fear from Xuan Yi?
Now, his only concern was that the Tongtian Divine Temple was too quiet. After the Space Divine Temple's Great Elder and Jia Tianxia entered, several days had passed without any divine battle or sign of them leaving.
It was abnormally strange.