Chapter 3343: The Backbone of the Heavenly Court
The Heavenly Court, the Starry Sky Defense Line, and the cultivation worlds of various great realms received the news one after another, rapidly spreading to the mortal and mundane worlds.
Every great realm was utterly ablaze!
Ever since the news broke that Xuan Yi was a member of the Quantity Organization, the morale of Heavenly Court cultivators had plummeted, feeling inferior to the Hell Realm in every aspect.
Earlier, the second Starry Sky Defense Line had nearly been breached, almost shattering their self-confidence.
Who could have imagined that the renowned Sword God would emerge from nowhere, turning the tide when all seemed lost, supporting the collapsing pillar.
First, he invaded the Hell Realm and destroyed the Blood Absolute Family. Although it was later proven that the Blood Absolute Family had not been annihilated and remained strong and flourishing, how many Heavenly Court gods possessed the courage to storm the Hell Realm?
This time, it was even more formidable, as he successively slew the strongest of the Hell Realm, even killing most of the spiritual power cultivators of the Blazing Sun Civilization.
The Blazing Sun Civilization…
Countless Heavenly Court cultivators harbored deep hatred for them.
It was stirring and exhilarating!
Such a feat drove countless sword cultivators across the world wild with excitement.
With such achievements, the cultivators of the Sword God Realm made a big deal of it, spreading tales of the renowned Sword God across the Heavenly Court Universe, directly calling him "the number one under the Boundless," "the backbone of the Heavenly Court," "the radiance of an era"…
The gods of the Heavenly Court were much more cautious, harboring doubts, believing that even if the renowned Sword God were incredibly powerful, he could not possibly kill Yu Mang Jun and Jiu Shou Gu She.
But who dared to question this at such a time?
The renowned Sword God was now a heroic figure of the Heavenly Court generation, his fame and prestige rivaling Xuanyuan Lian.
Xuanyuan Lian could still overshadow him, largely because he had previously stormed Fengdu Ghost City, dealing it a heavy blow, and his status as the son of the Heavenly Venerable was more exalted.
At this critical juncture, anyone who dared to question the renowned Sword God would be seen as a jealous rival, stabbing a heroic figure in the back.
They would become a target of public criticism.
Inside the golden chariot.
Xuanyuan Lian listened to Zhuang Tai'a's report, her beautiful, cold face growing increasingly icy.
Zhuang Tai'a's report included not only the fall of Yu Mang Jun and Jiu Shou Gu She but also some recently verified information. This included the movements of Li Hen Gu Shen, the Second Elder of the Array Destruction Palace, Huang Daozi, the Lord of the Soul Realm, and others.
"Master, do you believe this was truly done by the renowned Sword God and his group?" Zhuang Tai'a asked.
Xuanyuan Lian said, "I don't know! Based on the information you've brought, it's clear that the Paradise Realm hired the renowned Sword God to deal with Shen Ba. But I suspect that all of this has fallen into the schemes of Shen Ba and Zhang Ruochen."
Her conjectures gradually became clearer, and she continued, "If the renowned Sword God, the Lord of the Soul Realm, Huang Daozi, Li Hen Gu Shen, and the Second Elder of the Array Destruction Palace all fell, what would be the consequences?"
Zhuang Tai'a said, "That depends on who killed them. If they fell at Zhang Ruochen's hands, the Heavenly Court would have no choice but to declare war on Xinghuantian. Even if we could suppress this matter, once the Boundless returns from the northern expedition, this war would be inevitable."
"And what if they fell at Xiong Guan Star?" Xuanyuan Lian asked.
Zhuang Tai'a's eyes narrowed, and he said, "Master believes that Zhang Ruochen will next attack Xiong Guan Star? That's impossible, isn't it? The combined forces of Xinghuantian and the Hundred Clans Royal City are still vastly outmatched by the Hell Realm army at Xiong Guan Star."
"If I were Zhang Ruochen, I would definitely strike. Moreover, I would have to drive the Hell Realm army out of the Hundred Clans Royal City Star Domain before the Boundless returns from the northern expedition. He probably wouldn't choose to personally go on a killing spree; he would use a borrowed knife… the Heavenly Court. Only then would he avoid provoking the Hell Realm into a full-scale war against Xinghuantian."
Xuanyuan Lian said, "Go, summon the leaders of the various great realms. I want to establish the most powerful divine army. Once news arrives from Xiong Guan Star, it will be our chance to strike against the Hell Realm army outside the Starry Sky Defense Line. This opportunity is once in a millennium!"
"We can only hope that Zhang Ruochen is truly strong enough to shake Xiong Guan Star." Zhuang Tai'a's heart surged with blood, already seeing the opportunity for battle.
…
Xiong Guan Star.
"Renowned Sword God, from now on, the Blazing Sun Civilization shares a blood feud with you, never to rest until one of us is dead!"
The Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord was nearly insane, every strand of his hair burning as he ordered, "Pass down the command: from now on, any cultivator from the Sword God Realm encountered is to be killed without mercy."
Half-Venerable Yuan Ruhai sat within the black divine temple, suspended in the sky, his divine voice descending to the banks of Qi River. "Without the Ming Jun Sword and Sword Dao Essence, even if the renowned Sword God has reached the Heart-Stopping Realm, his combat power would be on par with Yu Mang Jun at best. How could he have the strength to kill them? This matter is highly suspicious!"
Kong Can was deeply worried, saying, "Could it be that a powerful figure from Fengdu Ghost City made a move? It is said that an existence of unfathomable strength has emerged from Fengdu Ghost City, perhaps even surpassing Hun Qi in combat power."
Half-Venerable said, "Unlikely. To simultaneously kill Yu Mang Jun, Jiu Shou Gu She, and over a thousand spiritual power cultivators from the Blazing Sun Civilization would be impossible even if two Xuan Yi's acted together. That figure from Fengdu Ghost City is likely still one or two notches weaker than Xuan Yi."
"Could it be that some God King or God Venerable made a move?" asked a Bone Clan god.
"That is the most likely possibility. However…"
Half-Venerable thought for a moment and said, "There is another possibility! Don't forget Zhang Ruochen and Xiu Chen. In the Hundred Clans Royal City Star Domain, the power they can mobilize might exceed our imagination."
"Ever since Xiu Chen Heavenly God submitted to Zhang Ruochen, her cultivation has been rapidly advancing. It's possible she has already reached the Qiankun Boundless level. We must be wary of this."
The Hell Realm gods immediately began to discuss.
If Half-Venerable's deduction held true, it would be very disadvantageous for them.
Half-Venerable said, "Everyone need not worry. With the Hell Realm's strength, as long as Xiu Chen hasn't reached the middle or late stage of Qiankun Boundless, there is nothing to fear."
Reaching the middle stage of Qiankun Boundless often required cultivating in the Boundless Realm for more than an eon.
For this reason, even though top-tier god-level cultivators possessed some trump cards left by the All Heavens and could challenge a God King or God Venerable at the early stage of Qiankun Boundless, they still felt daunted when facing an existence at the middle stage of Qiankun Boundless.
The Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord had long since calmed down, but his eyes remained dark and gloomy. "With the Heavenly Banner left by Si Yang Tian Jun, even if Xiu Chen has reached the early stage of Qiankun Boundless, she cannot withstand a strike from the Heavenly Banner."
"The Death God Temple's God King battle formation can be activated at any time. Whoever comes will die," said Elder Yang.
Half-Venerable said, "The Hell Realm is teeming with divine realm experts. This incident cannot shake us. Mu Tuo War God of the Darkness Temple, three Bone Sea Lords from the twelve Bone Seas of the Bone Clan, two invincible Stone Gods from the ten Divine Stars of the Stone Clan, and a large number of divine realm experts are all on their way. Capturing the Hundred Clans Royal City is our most important task at present."
Kong Can transmitted a message to Half-Venerable: "If the assassination of Zhu Que Huo Wu is exposed, it will be difficult to explain to Fengdu Ghost City."
"I will communicate with Hun Qi's divine thought about this matter. Attacking the Hundred Clans Royal City is the decisive battle. Yu Mang Jun and Jiu Shou Gu She have already fallen. Continuing to pursue this will not benefit the unity of the Hell Realm," Half-Venerable said.
In the following days, divine realm experts from the Hell Realm arrived at Xiong Guan Star one after another.
They acted in a low-key and secretive manner, planning to launch a surprise heavy blow against the Hundred Clans Royal City.
This star domain grew quiet.
Whether Hell Realm cultivators or those in the Hundred Clans Royal City, they all reduced their outings, with no more small-scale skirmishes.
Even the unaware Saint realm cultivators could sense the tense atmosphere, knowing a storm was about to break.
Ghost Lord and Qian Qian secretly returned to Xiong Guan Star and immediately went to pay respects to the Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord, Kong Can, and others, claiming they had investigated the starry sky where Yu Mang Jun and Jiu Shou Gu She had fallen and discovered the residual auras of a large number of Heavenly Court gods.
"Not only the renowned Sword God, but also a great number of gods from the Array Destruction Palace, the Soul Realm, the Talisman Spirit Realm, and the Tian Quan Great World. This time, the Heavenly Court deployed at least a hundred true gods, and the number of false gods is incalculable."
Ghost Lord spoke vividly, appearing very worried.
Kong Can laughed and said, "Let's ignore them for now. Breaking the Hundred Clans Royal City is the top priority."
"Hmph! If these Heavenly Court gods dare to come to Xiong Guan Star, we'll deal with them all at once!" said the Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord.
They did not suspect Ghost Lord.
After all, Ghost Lord had always been a vanguard in attacking the Hundred Clans Royal City and had deep enmity with Zhang Ruochen, making him a trustworthy old comrade.
Ghost Lord let out a hoarse laugh. "Of course. With the power of Xiong Guan Star's divine formations, anyone who comes will die. Currently, the ones controlling the major divine formations of Xiong Guan Star are still the four divine formation masters, right?"
The four divine formation masters came from the Death Clan, the Ghost Clan, the Destiny Temple, and the Blazing Sun Clan.
Elder Yang of the Death Clan was one of the four divine formation masters.
With the Destiny Temple standing still and retreating to Feng Xu Ancestral Realm, the Destiny Temple's representative among the four divine formation masters was replaced by a divine formation master from the Stone Clan.
The Blazing Sun Heavenly Lord's expression turned unnatural.
This was because one of the four divine formation masters, Xu Fa, who hailed from the Blazing Sun Civilization, had already fallen.