Chapter 3379: Sword Venerable
The dark aura within the Heavenly Dao Flute and Earth Demon Sparrow was extremely bizarre. Grand Supreme Ancestor, Yu God King, and Xiu Chen Heavenly God took action one after another. They were all long-established, titled venerable kings, each with profound Dao techniques, employing Daoist, Sword Dao, and Shura Clan secret arts, yet they were helpless.
They could not dissolve the dark aura within the artifact spirits.
The female form of the black silhouette spoke: "Let the wielder of the Heavenly Dao Flute take action. Her spiritual power is formidable; she may be able to erase the dark aura."
Zhang Ruochen knew how serious Ji Fanxin's condition was; she needed quiet cultivation, and he did not wish to disturb her for now.
"Let me try."
Zhang Ruochen activated the Dark Essence, and at the same time, the Great Yin manifested, presenting the wondrous scene of a jade tree and ink moon.
In an instant, he transformed into the Dark Lord God. Over countless thousands of miles of the Azure Wood Continent, daylight turned to night, light vanished, and yin-cold power swept across mountains, rivers, and lands.
The floating island where the Dao Palace was located became a place of extreme darkness.
The dark aura within the two black silhouettes was drawn out strand by strand, surging into the ink moon. Immediately, Zhang Ruochen's Great Yin became even more bitterly cold and piercing, deep and awe-inspiring.
Before long, Zhang Ruochen dispersed the Dark Essence, and light returned to the earth.
The great gods in the Dao Palace were still holding their breath, their minds focused.
The aura Zhang Ruochen had just emitted was too powerful, shaking their spirits. That kind of power fluctuation was far beyond the great god level.
"Has he already become a God Venerable? Or does he, at the great god level, possess the power of a God Venerable?" Yu Ling Shen's beautiful eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen, who sat on equal footing with the various god kings and god venerables above, her emotions surging strongly.
Recalling the first time Zhang Ruochen had visited her, not much time had passed, yet it already felt like things had changed, like a lifetime ago.
She had bet correctly.
As a Primordial Ancient God, she had formed an alliance with Zhang Ruochen when he was still a high-ranking god, binding their relationship tightly. For her, she had already obtained the rewards she sought.
For the Yecha Clan, the true path to rise had only just begun.
How to deeply bind the Yecha Clan with Zhang Ruochen became a matter Yu Ling Shen needed to carefully consider next.
At the center of the Dao Palace, the two black silhouettes had become much more solid, their dark aura receding by about a third.
They were no longer just silhouettes, but more like soul shadows.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God was quite envious, saying, "If I were the Dark Lord God, I would surely break the shackles of combat power, able to overcome the strong in adverse conditions, and even defeat those in the middle stage of Qiankun Infinite. Other titled venerable kings on the Dark Path struggle their entire lives to gather even a tenth of the Dark Essence, yet he obtains it effortlessly. Incomparable, incomparable—no need to rely on oneself."
This was another jab at Zhang Ruochen.
After Xiu Chen Heavenly God's divine soul surpassed the ten-percent Infinite level, she had grown bolder, feeling that Zhang Ruochen needed her and was emboldened by it.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the two old spirits of the Heavenly Dao Flute and Earth Demon Sparrow, saying, "It will take at least five more times to completely extract the dark aura from you. During this time, you must not leave the sword of Yuqing Ancestor."
Then, Zhang Ruochen asked the two old spirits about some matters from the ancient war, but they had been too deeply eroded by darkness and remembered little.
Moreover, at that time, they were far less powerful than now, being at the great god level, and knew less than what Zhang Ruochen had learned from Jian Zu.
Grand Supreme Ancestor gazed at the jade tree and ink moon at the center of the Great Yin, saying, "Absorbing the dark aura into your own body may not be a good thing. In the future, you will surely bear this karmic consequence!"
"Ancestor, rest assured, I can refine it," Zhang Ruochen said.
The Wuji Divine Dao activated, and the Taiji Yin-Yang Diagram, like an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao in the mortal world, slowly rotated, dispersing the dark aura within the ink moon into nothingness.
The ink moon only absorbed the purest dark power from it.
Yuqing Ancestor laughed heartily: "Our grand-disciple has cultivated the number one Dao under heaven, and some of its mysteries have already surpassed our current level of understanding. With this divine Dao, he can break through all the myriad Daos and laws of the world."
Yu God King, Yuqing Ancestor, and Grand Supreme Ancestor left one after another to activate the formations and closely monitor the movements in the dark void.
Flying out of the Sword Realm's atmosphere, Yuqing Ancestor's face turned solemn, saying, "Shangqing might still be alive!"
Grand Supreme Ancestor's expression was complex, with both a hint of excitement and some worry, saying, "You sensed it too?"
"When the Sword Source Divine Tree bloomed again, there was a spatial fluctuation. It was then that I sensed Shangqing's aura. He might be trapped in some special place, seeming both within the Sword God Palace and far beyond the heavens," Yuqing Ancestor said.
Grand Supreme Ancestor said, "How is that possible? If Shangqing has been trapped in the Sword God Palace all along, then who was it that returned to the Kunlun Realm two hundred thousand years ago?"
"The Sword God Palace is too dangerous now. With our Qiankun Infinite peak cultivation, being able to protect ourselves is already good," Yuqing Ancestor said. "When Tai Shang and the Dragon Lord arrive at the Sword Realm, we must, by all means, campaign together into the Sword God Palace and investigate all the secrets."
Grand Supreme Ancestor said, "If Tai Shang cannot leave the Kunlun Realm and the Dragon Lord is detained in the Heavenly Court Universe, and instead the Starry Sea Angler and Jiu Tian come, should we visit them and tell them everything about the Sword God Palace?"
Yuqing Ancestor sighed, "In the current situation, hiding it from them any longer is meaningless. Besides, so many gods already know about the Sword God Palace; how could we hide it from two Heaven Round No Lack cultivators?"
...
Zhang Ruochen carefully considered the various pieces of information revealed by the old spirits of the Heavenly Dao Flute and Earth Demon Sparrow, organizing and analyzing them.
If the so-called "darkness" was in a dormant period, then the greatest threat to Sword Soul Lake would be the world rift connected to Lihentian. In that case, it was not strange that the Great Elder of the Inverse God Clan, using his last divine power, borrowed the Sword Source Divine Tree and the spiritual will of the three thousand Sword Gods to seal the broken Sword God Palace.
The great gods from the Heavenly Beginning Civilization, Xinghuantian, and the Hundred Clans Royal City walked out of the Dao Palace one after another, preparing to activate the divine formations.
They were all communicating with divine thoughts.
This council meeting made them deeply realize that in the Sword Realm, great gods only had the right to listen; the true decision-makers were those titled venerable kings.
This was completely different from before!
With the Sword Realm's current strength, whether in terms of top-tier combat power or the number of gods and saint-level cultivators, it was by no means weaker than any major clan in the Hell Realm or any ruling world in the Heavenly Court.
Such an extraordinary superpower naturally had its own governing structure.
The Yecha Clan chieftain used his spiritual power to transmit a message to the Yecha Clan's great gods: "Have you noticed? The titled venerable kings in the Sword Realm are no fewer than ten. Any one of them could destroy an entire star domain. Our clan was once the largest in the Sword Realm, yet we only have one Infinite ancestor. How long can this status as the largest clan last?"
The Ancestral Realm World Venerable said, "The four Primordial Ancient Gods of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization gained unknown opportunities in the Sword God Palace, each greatly increasing their cultivation. Their spirit and energy have undergone earth-shattering changes. In the future, one or more of them might break through the extreme realm and become the second titled venerable king of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization."
"The one with the most hope of reaching Infinite in the Heavenly Beginning Civilization is that new Heavenly Lord," the Yecha Clan chieftain said.
The Yecha Clan's great gods felt a strong sense of crisis. Although their clan was large in scale, their relationship with the Sword Realm's upper echelons was too marginal. Relying on just one Infinite ancestor, the future risk was too great.
Yu Ling Shen understood their worries and knew what they were thinking—nothing more than hoping she would get closer to Zhang Ruochen and make sacrifices for the Yecha Clan's future.
But they underestimated Zhang Ruochen too much. To have cultivated to such a transcendent level in such a short time, how could it be judged by mere "romantic affairs"?
Beauty, for him, was only icing on the cake, never a necessity.
Without sufficient value, relying solely on beauty to move Zhang Ruochen was nothing but a fool's dream.
"Miss Han, please return to the Dao Palace. There are important matters to discuss," Zhang Ruochen's voice came from within the Dao Palace.
All the Yecha Clan gods looked toward Yu Ling Shen.
Yu Ling Shen drifted gracefully, like flowing light, back into the Dao Palace. Her enchanting figure, lively eyes, and aura carried a deep, distant mystery.
Yu Ling Shen bowed gracefully to Zhang Ruochen, saying, "May I ask what orders the Ruochen Sword Venerable has?"
Zhang Ruochen stood up, naturally exuding a certain authority, but smiled, saying, "Miss Han is a good friend of mine; why use the title Sword Venerable? Besides, I am not yet a God Venerable."
Yu Ling Shen's jade-like cheeks glowed, and she smiled charmingly, saying, "What difference does it make from a God Venerable?"
"Let's not discuss that for now. I have two good things here. First, send someone to select ten of the most outstanding talents from the Yecha Clan, regardless of age or cultivation level—though higher cultivation is naturally better," Zhang Ruochen said.
Yu Ling Shen was curious, saying, "May I ask what the Sword Venerable intends to do?"
"I want to use the Wuji Divine Dao to refine their foundations, giving them a greater chance in the future to step into the divine realm, or even higher levels," Zhang Ruochen said.
Yu Ling Shen no longer wore the fake smile of flattery; a genuine smile radiated from her heart, saying, "I, this god, thank the Sword Venerable on behalf of the clan's talents for this nurturing grace. In the future, can they be considered your direct disciples?"
"No, but they can be registered disciples."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I intend to foster the long-term development of the Sword Realm, cultivating a large number of younger generations with the potential to become gods. From now on, every hundred years, the Yecha Clan will have one slot."
Forcibly elevating a cultivator's potential and talent using the Wuji Divine Dao, if overused, would inevitably incur heavenly backlash.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen strictly controlled the numbers.
Selecting one from the Yecha Clan every hundred years meant over a thousand in one eon. If even a tenth of them became gods, accumulated over multiple eons, it would become a terrifying number.
These were already the most top-tier geniuses produced once a century; the probability of them becoming gods was far more than one in ten.
Yu Ling Shen saw through it clearly, understanding that Zhang Ruochen's move was intended to bring all the top geniuses of the Yecha Clan under his control. In the future, when these people stepped into the divine realm, they would all be his disciples.
But wasn't this also a good thing for the Yecha Clan? Wasn't it an opportunity for their rise?
Yu Ling Shen's body shimmered with flowing light, her voluptuous figure extremely alluring, saying, "It's not that I, Yu Ling, am greedy, but I still want to ask: what is the second good thing the Sword Venerable has?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "You have already reached the Body Stop realm, haven't you?"
"That's correct. But the Dao I cultivate is not one of strong physical bodies. Breaking through Body Stop will be difficult. I hope to succeed during the next eon calamity," Yu Ling Shen said.
Her mood was heavy, because among the Primordial Ancient Gods, her age was no longer young. If she couldn't break through Body Stop in the next eon calamity, she would never break through this realm in this lifetime.
"The next eon calamity would mean waiting another hundred and twenty thousand years? Right now, we are in need of capable people," Zhang Ruochen said, taking out a wooden box and handing it to her. "Take this pill, and within a few decades, you should be able to break through Body Stop."
Yu Ling Shen opened the wooden box with some skepticism, saw the Tongtian Divine Pill inside, felt the powerful pill aura emanating from it, and immediately prepared to kneel on one knee.
She was truly convinced from the heart.
If Zhang Ruochen intended to make her his god venerable consort, she would consider it her blessing.
Zhang Ruochen's age was not great, but his mind and magnanimity far surpassed those in power today.
Zhang Ruochen released his divine energy, using an invisible force to support her.
Yu Ling Shen did not stand on ceremony and stopped bowing, smiling with red lips and white teeth, saying, "I, Han Yuling, accept the Sword Venerable's kindness! From now on, whatever orders you give, I will never refuse. The Yecha Clan also has a generous gift to offer!"
"Oh?"
Zhang Ruochen showed a curious expression.
Yu Ling Shen was enchanting and stunningly beautiful, saying, "How can I let the Ruochen Sword Venerable keep giving? The Yecha Clan was once a super clan standing tall in the universe, naturally possessing extraordinary foundations. Ordinary things, the Sword Venerable probably looks down on, but items left by the Yecha Ancestor should still be of interest, right?"