Chapter 3324: News of Master Fangcun
“That old dog, Qinglu Divine King!”
Xiao Hei clenched the letter in his hand and cursed angrily.
The letter stated that not long after Qiangu Nüdi left Xinghuantian, she was ambushed by the Qinglu Divine Temple. The enemy used a special secret art to control Master Fangcun’s corpse, nearly severely wounding her. She warned Zhang Ruochen to be cautious.
At the same time, Qiangu Nüdi mentioned that not only had she failed to find Master Fangcun at Haishi Rock Dock, but she had fallen into a time-space trap and been trapped for many years. She speculated that the time-space trap had been set by Qinglu Divine King a hundred thousand years ago.
Zhang Ruochen gazed into the distance and said, “The world says that Master Fangcun fled into Haishi Rock Dock back then to escape Qinglu Divine King’s pursuit. Now it seems he didn’t manage to escape after all!”
Xiu Chen Heavenly God let out a cold laugh: “Wanting to escape from that old fellow Qinglu? Easier said than done.”
Qinglu Divine King founded the Qinglu Divine Temple just four eons ago, yet he had developed it into the second-largest force in the Shura Clan, second only to the Shura Divine Temple. This showed how formidable his methods were.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Is Qinglu Divine King really just a divine king?”
“Who knows? But if you truly treat him as just a divine king, you’ll suffer a great loss in the future.”
After a moment’s thought, Xiu Chen Heavenly God added, “Old Qinglu’s ability to nurture juniors, win people over, and recruit troops is almost unmatched among the gods of the Hell Realm. He holds many scarce resources, and no one knows where they come from.”
“There are rumors that he’s merely the public face of the Qinglu Divine Temple, with a greater figure behind him! There are also rumors that, as a divine king, he has broken through limits no one has ever breached before, and his cultivation is no longer just Boundless Qiankun.”
“In short, the Qinglu Divine Temple and Qinglu Divine King are far from simple!”
As a former top-tier expert of the Shura Clan, Xiu Chen Heavenly God knew Qinglu Divine King far better than other gods.
“They actually refined Master Fangcun into a corpse slave. No matter how you look at it, this is a mortal enmity. Zhang Ruochen, how do you plan to settle this score?” Xiao Hei said fiercely.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at him.
What connection did Master Fangcun have with you?
Xiao Hei clearly wanted to vent for Qiangu Nüdi, but his own strength wouldn’t allow it, so he was trying to provoke Zhang Ruochen.
“Master Fangcun is, after all, a god of the Kunlun Realm, and can even be considered my senior brother. Without you saying anything, there are things I will do.”
A cold glint flashed in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, but it softened when he looked at Ling Feiyu. He asked, “Feiyu, have you seen a young monk come to Kunlun?”
“In recent days, the Kunlun Realm has been sealed off. No monk should have been able to enter,” Ling Feiyu replied.
Zhang Ruochen knew Ling Feiyu had definitely not seen Candeng, so he didn’t ask further.
“Even Huaying Qingchan couldn’t defeat Fangcun’s corpse. It seems old Qinglu has really put in some effort this time, using terrifying methods. Zhang Ruochen, hurry up and refine the three gods of the Paradise Realm to help me break through to ten-percent Boundless. Then I’ll personally act and overturn the Qinglu Divine Temple!” Xiu Chen Heavenly God said.
Dealing with the Qinglu Divine Temple was a matter for later. The top priority now was to trick the divine souls of the three Tai Xu peak great gods.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Earth Cauldron and released a mass of blood cloud suppressed inside it.
The blood cloud quickly condensed into the form of Quanzhongsheng, standing upright, but divine chains were woven around his body, and no matter how he struggled, he couldn’t break free.
Next, he released Pulbas and Dai Xue Nüwang from inside the Sundial.
Pulbas cursed loudly: “If you’ve got the guts, fight one-on-one. Three against one—I don’t accept this loss!”
Quanzhongsheng was relatively calmer. He observed his surroundings and murmured, “This is the Kunlun Realm!”
“Zhang Ruochen, both the Paradise Realm and the Kunlun Realm are subordinate mortal realms of the Heavenly Court. If you kill us, the Paradise Realm will have no choice but to declare war on the Kunlun Realm. You’d be starting a civil war within the Heavenly Court!”
“You’ve already rescued Shenba and Chi Xingtian and achieved your goal. Why don’t we each take a step back? Release us, and we swear by the Light that, before the Hell Realm’s ten clans’ army is repelled, we will not retaliate against the Kunlun Realm. Let’s shake hands and make peace, how about that?”
Quanzhongsheng spoke calmly and rationally.
He believed Zhang Ruochen was smart enough not to kill them.
Zhang Ruochen sighed: “You’re right. Killing you would indeed lead to unpredictable consequences. But now, it’s no longer a matter of us simply taking a step back.”
Quanzhongsheng said, “Of course we can step back! This isn’t as complicated as you think. At its core, this is a personal grudge between Princess Shenba and Xuan Yi. Besides, Xuanyuan Lian intended to resolve the conflict and misunderstandings between us, which is why he sent me to the Tongtian Divine Temple to protect Chi Xingtian and Princess Shenba and ensure their lives were safe.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “You might not know this, but Princess Shenba was so furious that she destroyed the capital of the Great Shang Divine Dynasty, breached the Xuehai Cangtian Divine Temple, and nearly wiped out the Dwarf Clan. Tell me, how can we still step back?”
Quanzhongsheng’s face turned extremely pale.
“Roar!”
Pulbas let out a furious roar, divine light bursting from his body.
He was burning his divine blood!
The sealing power Xiu Chen Heavenly God had placed inside him was constantly being broken, and killing intent leaked out, as if it would shatter heaven and earth.
Zhang Ruochen waved his hand, sending out the Earth Cauldron to suck Pulbas inside.
“Whoosh!”
Origin divine light erupted from the cauldron’s body, turning into a sea of light.
From within the cauldron came Pulbas’s roars and a series of deafening impacts.
About a quarter of an hour later, the Earth Cauldron fell silent.
Quanzhongsheng’s face grew even uglier.
Clearly, Pulbas had been refined and killed.
This Dwarf Clan’s greatest prodigy in a million years, a great god with the potential to become a divine venerable, had been completely annihilated in just a quarter of an hour.
With a god-killing weapon like this in Zhang Ruochen’s hands, he was more terrifying to great gods than even divine kings or divine venerables.
One after another, divine pills flew out of the cauldron, dazzling and brilliant.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God’s eyes lit up.
Xiao Hei licked his lips, truly witnessing the power of the Nine Cauldrons—alchemy could be this effortless.
Could it be that all substances in the world could be turned into pills?
Zhang Ruochen collected all the divine pills and swept the esoterica flowing out of the cauldron into his Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram. He continued, “Both of you are ancient gods who have lived for hundreds of thousands of years. You should understand that we have no path of retreat.”
“The reason I didn’t directly refine and kill you, but instead released you and gave you a chance to speak, is that there is no irreconcilable mortal enmity between us. Our previous clashes were merely due to different camps.”
“Let me be direct: You are both very powerful, and I am very interested in your cultivation. If you join Xinghuantian and pledge allegiance to me, only then will you have a path to survival today.”
Quanzhongsheng laughed bitterly: “You want us to betray the Paradise Realm and the Radiant Divine Temple?”
“Not betrayal, but protection.”
Zhang Ruochen spoke unhurriedly: “You should know something of what the Paradise Realm did a hundred thousand years ago, right? For the position of the ruling world of the Western Universe, they nearly plunged the Kunlun Realm into utter ruin. Isn’t that the real betrayal?”
“As for me, I don’t need you to fight against the Paradise Realm. You don’t even have to act until you break through to the Boundless Realm.”
“I have already formed a mortal enmity with the Paradise Realm. If I one day ascend to rule the universe, I will settle every old score one by one.”
“If you pledge allegiance to me, when the Paradise Realm faces utter destruction, you might be able to protect the Angel Clan and the Elf Clan from annihilation.”
Quanzhongsheng and Dai Xue Nüwang both stared intently at Zhang Ruochen.
They had never seen anyone so arrogant.
Ascend to rule the universe?
Bring the Paradise Realm to utter destruction?
Even Fengdu Dadi didn’t have such audacity!
But Zhang Ruochen had only been in the world for two thousand years and already possessed such cultivation. He truly had the potential to become the rising wave that could slap down the Heavens!
Zhang Ruochen looked at Dai Xue Nüwang and said, “The rulers of the Paradise Realm, back then for the position of the ruling world, could kick their allies while they were down. To summon A Fuya, they could sacrifice Queen Meila. In the future, for the sake of profit, they might very well sacrifice you too!”
Dai Xue Nüwang fell silent.
She didn’t even need Zhang Ruochen’s reminder. Earlier, that old divine venerable of the Elf Clan had already decided to sacrifice her.
That old divine venerable felt his end was near and couldn’t survive the next eon calamity, so he planned to have Dai Xue Nüwang and Pulbas become dao companions.
Although Dai Xue Nüwang was very powerful in combat and had a high realm, ranking in the top ten among the Boundless-level experts of the Paradise Realm, that old divine venerable pointed out that her potential was exhausted and she would almost certainly never reach the Boundless Realm or achieve eighty-fifth-level spiritual power.
From the very beginning, when she simultaneously cultivated both martial arts and spiritual power, that old divine venerable had scolded her for overreaching. If she focused on just one path, she would have a chance to become a king or a venerable!
But Pulbas had a bright future, with the opportunity to reach the heights of Keyangshan and become the new great god leader of the Paradise Realm’s younger generation. Even, after several eons, he had a slim chance to challenge for the Heavens!
After a moment of silence, Dai Xue Nüwang asked, “You said earlier that if I join Xinghuantian, I won’t have to act until I reach the Boundless Realm?”
(Chapter End)