Chapter 3342: Famous Sword God Claims Responsibility
The several ancient gods of the Heavenly Realm Faction were all uneasy, their previous composure gone.
Lihen Ancient God secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glad he had chosen to compromise, glad that Tianquan Great World had once fully assisted the Kunlun Realm. Otherwise, how could Zhang Ruochen and Shenba have let him off?
Watching Xiuchen Heavenly God transform into his likeness, he felt no resentment at all.
Good!
With Xiuchen Heavenly God taking action, he neither needed to risk battling the Hell Realm nor could he gain the reputation of a heroic figure in the Heavenly Court. A huge win!
Xiuchen Heavenly God saw through his thoughts and stared at him, saying, "From now on, you are my doppelganger."
"Heavenly God, what... what does this mean?" Lihen Ancient God asked.
Xiuchen Heavenly God said, "I am Lihen Ancient God, and you are the doppelganger cultivated by Lihen Ancient God. Do I need to explain further?"
"No need, no need at all!" Lihen Ancient God’s joy vanished.
Battling at Xiongguan Star was extremely perilous; once involved, there was a risk of falling.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze fell on the several ancient gods of the Heavenly Realm Faction. Except for Famous Sword God, the others had flickering eyes, their resolve wavering.
Facing life and death, who could truly remain calm?
They were like fish on a chopping block, at the mercy of others.
They had no third option.
The Second Elder of Array-Destroying Palace hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward half a pace. Submitting to Zhang Ruochen was not shameful; Lihen Ancient God was right—Zhang Ruochen was too dazzling, and no one knew how high his future achievements would be.
Since ancient times, the earlier one surrendered, the more valued they were.
He had already missed the best time to submit; he could not afford to lag behind the others.
Famous Sword God glanced at him and snorted lightly, "You killed many members of the Blood Absolute Clan. Even if Zhang Ruochen can forgive you, Blood Absolute War God will not. Be careful—in the future, you may wish for death but find it impossible."
Before Zhang Ruochen could speak, Xiao Hei laughed, "The Great Clan Leader is the future patriarch of the Undying Blood Clan. How could his heart be so narrow? If the Second Elder truly submits to Zhang Ruochen, he will be overjoyed. A former enemy becoming his grandson’s divine servant will invisibly boost his prestige in the Undying Blood Clan!"
"Famous Sword God, keep being arrogant. Strive to be the fourth one. With your high cultivation, after being refined by the Earth Cauldron, you should yield more divine pills."
Hearing this, the Second Elder of Array-Destroying Palace no longer hesitated and immediately offered half of his divine soul, submitting to Zhang Ruochen.
"Realm Lord, there is no enmity between us. My rune mastery is unparalleled and will surely be of great use to Xinghuantian." Huang Daozi bowed to Zhang Ruochen and offered half of his divine soul.
The Lord of the Soul Realm also submitted, speaking of atoning for past wrongs, adopting a very low posture.
They knew well that with this submission, their past honors and status would turn to ashes. From now on, they would only be divine servants. Perhaps among mortals, they would still be lofty, but among gods, they would never hold their heads high again.
"Haha!"
Famous Sword God’s laughter grew louder, his eyes full of mockery. "Zhang Ruochen, make your move. Heavenly Court gods still have backbone!"
Zhang Ruochen couldn’t help but take another look at Famous Sword God.
He might have a sinister side, a reputation-seeking side, a hypocritical side, but he had indeed held out and not submitted, which surprised Zhang Ruochen.
Whether due to inner pride or fear of being ridiculed by cultivators across the world, at this moment, Zhang Ruochen still admired him somewhat.
"It’s not time yet."
Zhang Ruochen suppressed Famous Sword God beneath Shaoyang Divine Mountain, took out a Changqing Fruit and a Soul Divine Pill, and handed them to Zhuque Huowu, telling her to take them and heal.
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen pointed a finger through the air.
"Boom!"
A hole over ten meters in diameter was punched through space, and the finger sword reappeared hundreds of thousands of miles away.
Ghost Lord and Qianqian, hidden a divine step away, were forced out by the finger sword and fled rapidly into the depths of the universe.
Xiuchen Heavenly God and Zhuque Huowu vanished from their spots.
Shenba Princess and Limo Grandmaster cast spiritual divine techniques from afar, forming two spatial divine nets.
Moments later, Ghost Lord and Qianqian were captured by Xiuchen Heavenly God and Zhuque Huowu and brought before Zhang Ruochen.
Zhuque Huowu’s palm ignited with divine flames, and she raised her hand to strike Ghost Lord.
Ghost Lord hurriedly said, "Lady Huowu, do not misunderstand. I have nothing to do with Yuman Lord or Nine-Headed Bone Serpent. I did not come to kill you with them. In fact, upon learning of this matter, I was greatly angered and rushed here with Qianqian to warn you, but we were too late."
"I am a ghost clan god, loyal to Fengdu Ghost City. How could I conspire to harm you?"
Qianqian said, "This is absolutely true. With our cultivation, how would we dare to participate in the siege of Lady Huowu?"
Zhuque Huowu was skeptical. "Then tell me, who planned this, wanting me dead?"
Ghost Lord hesitated, glancing at Zhang Ruochen and the others.
Zhuque Huowu grabbed him and moved far away.
Though Ghost Lord was the master of Earthly Ghost City and a divine realm titan, compared to Zhuque Huowu, his cultivation, status, and identity were far inferior.
Earthly Ghost City had Boundless Realm old ghosts, but Zhuque Huowu had the backing of Fengdu Grand City.
Having witnessed the fall of Yuman Lord and Nine-Headed Bone Serpent, Ghost Lord dared not act recklessly before Zhang Ruochen and his group of "fierce gods and evil spirits." He only hoped to save his life through his relationship with Zhuque Huowu.
In truth, he was genuinely afraid Zhang Ruochen would settle old scores.
Zhang Ruochen’s ears twitched slightly. Somewhat incredulous, he looked at Qianqian, who was dressed in a wedding robe and phoenix crown. Then, without a trace, he unfolded the formless Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram, enveloping her within it.
"You are Xuanyuan Lian’s person?" Zhang Ruochen was surprised.
Qianqian, like a charming bride awaiting marriage, had a pure and beautiful face, like a delicate girl from a boudoir. She transmitted mentally, "Lian Gongzi has already sent me a message, instructing me to fully cooperate with the Realm Lord in dealing with the Hell Realm army and annihilating the rebels of the Blazing Sun Civilization."
Zhang Ruochen said, "You saw everything just now?"
"Everything. Rest assured, Realm Lord, Qianqian will never spread this matter... If the Realm Lord is uneasy, Qianqian can swear by her divine soul and Eon Calamity."
After a pause, Qianqian added, "Actually, Lian Gongzi’s intention is that as long as the Realm Lord can severely damage the Hell Realm army and slay the gods of the Blazing Sun Civilization, it will be a great merit for the Heavenly Court. With great merit comes great reward, and afterward, Qianqian will be given to the Realm Lord as a maidservant."
Xuanyuan Lian wanted to place a spy by his side?
Did he really think he could not resist a beautiful woman?
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "With your spiritual power so high and being a formation divine master, you are qualified to be the realm lord of a powerful realm. How could I dare to accept you as a maidservant? Tell me the specific situation of Xiongguan Star. I need to know all the information."
A quarter of an hour later, Zhuque Huowu returned with Ghost Lord, her expression cold.
She said, "Ghost Lord told me a lot of useful information. He can lead us to sneak into Xiongguan Star. With our cultivation, as long as we are cautious, we can inflict heavy damage on them in a short time."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "The divine battle cannot break out on Xiongguan Star."
"Why?" Zhuque Huowu asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Because the Hell Realm has transported a large number of beings from the Hundred Clans Royal City Star Domain back to Xiongguan Star. If a divine battle erupts, how can they survive?"
Zhuque Huowu said, "You want to save people?"
"Isn’t the purpose of war to save people?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"You..."
Zhuque Huowu said, "This is underestimating the enemy, being too arrogant. I admit, in one-on-one combat, no one below the Boundless Realm is likely your match. But you are facing a seventh-level war star, the entire Hell Realm army, hundreds or even thousands of gods."
"Xiongguan Star is full of formidable figures. Launching a surprise attack, destroying the planet’s formations as quickly as possible, and disrupting their deployment might give us a chance to win and inflict heavy damage."
"But wanting to both severely damage the Hell Realm army and save people is simply impossible. Even a God Venerable could not do this."
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "You are right. The Hell Realm army cannot be underestimated. They have divine king battle formations, war star divine arrays, heavenly banners... and various other annihilation methods. In a direct confrontation, let alone saving people, we might all fall and die without a burial place."
Zhuque Huowu frowned, waiting for Zhang Ruochen to continue.
"By the way, you got one thing wrong," Zhang Ruochen said. "I don’t intend to severely damage the Hell Realm army. I only want to make the Hell Realm gods pay a price. They went back on their word, completely disregarding my warning as Realm Lord, and even wanted to continue the war. Xinghuantian must retaliate."
"Huowu, you are a Hell Realm god. Don’t let hatred cloud your mind. If you truly destroy Xiongguan Star, how can you return to Fengdu Ghost City?"
Zhuque Huowu understood Zhang Ruochen’s meaning.
He was planning to wage a war among gods, not deliberately annihilating all the saint realm armies on Xiongguan Star.
She knew Zhang Ruochen was not doing this for her sake but to maintain the proper balance of enmity and friendship with the Hell Realm.
But at least Zhang Ruochen had truly considered her, not just used her.
...
The star soul divine thrones of Yuman Lord and Nine-Headed Bone Serpent were extinguished. The soul fires of the Blazing Sun Civilization’s spiritual power cultivators went out. The news could not be suppressed and spread rapidly through the Hell Realm.
The Hell Realm gods in the Hundred Clans Royal City Star Domain were most shocked. Many knew what Yuman Lord and Nine-Headed Bone Serpent had gone to do.
Because they knew, they were terrified.
The operation had failed. Zhuque Huowu had likely escaped.
Had the gods who conspired in this matter all been exposed?
Would they be purged by Fengdu Ghost City in the future? Would they be sent to the God-Beheading Platform?
Most crucially, who had killed Yuman Lord and Nine-Headed Bone Serpent? Who had such strength?
Days later, the news spread across the universe, shocking the Heavenly Court Myriad Realms and the Ten Clans of Hell.
Famous Sword God claimed responsibility for this matter!
In Paradise Realm.
Upon hearing this news, Ke Yangshan was very confused, not understanding what Famous Sword God was doing. He had given him the Xi Tian Feather Robe to deal with Shenba. How had he gone to the Hundred Clans Royal City Star Domain to massacre Hell Realm gods?
Was he so desperate for "fame" that he had gone mad?