Chapter 3383: Nine Heavens Returns
Divine King Daifei was merely a vice palace master, having stepped into the Boundless Qiankun realm only tens of thousands of years ago. Yet, he could bring the Judgment Palace to the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain. Clearly, his purpose was far more than just judging two traitors; there was a greater objective.
As one of the eight palaces of the Radiant Divine Temple, the Judgment Palace had produced countless powerhouses throughout history, leaving behind many supreme treasures.
The palace itself was a structure integrating both combat and defense.
Layer upon layer of divine formations manifested around the white palace. The quantity and rank of these formations surpassed even those of the War Formation Temple under War God Muto’s command.
The Earth Cauldron was one of the Nine Cauldrons, a legendary heavy artifact. How could Zhang Ruochen be afraid?
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
...
After several consecutive clashes, the various war weapons and divine formation beams flying out from the Judgment Palace were all shattered by the Earth Cauldron.
The defensive divine formations around the palace gradually dimmed.
To fully activate these formations consumed divine stones and divine qi, an expenditure that even a Divine King could not sustain for long.
Standing behind the Earth Cauldron, Zhang Ruochen drew upon the endless divine qi, saint qi, and spiritual energy from heaven and earth, transforming them into tens of thousands of luminous streams that converged toward him, maintaining his peak state.
“He who obtains the Nine Cauldrons commands all the gods under heaven. Today, I will use the Earth Cauldron to suppress and destroy the Judgment Palace, so that the seniors may know that a Great God can also defeat a Divine King!”
With the heavy artifact in hand, Zhang Ruochen was extremely composed, as if the entire world was under his control.
...
Ke Yangshan had long retreated a million miles from the center of the battlefield. Here, space was shattered by the residual divine power, riddled with countless cracks.
From time to time, powerful divine force surged over like tidal waves.
“Zhang Ruochen has too many heavy treasures on him. Coupled with his number one divine path under heaven, he is as formidable as a Primordial Ancestor in his youth. Divine King Daifei probably cannot handle him.”
Ke Yangshan opened his right hand, and a half-foot-tall altar emerged from his palm.
He raised his left hand; a light pattern flashed, and his wrist split open, spilling golden divine blood.
He intended to use his own blood to activate the altar and communicate with the Hall Master of the Radiant Divine Temple.
Zhang Ruochen now possessed combat power at the Divine King level. Only by summoning the Hall Master could they quickly suppress him and obtain the coordinates of the Sword Realm.
His and Divine King Daifei’s greatest purpose in appearing at the edge of the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain was to secretly search for the Sword Realm. It was only because they encountered traitors that their whereabouts were exposed.
“Whoosh!”
Space trembled.
The Blood Drop Sword materialized dozens of feet in front of Ke Yangshan, thrusting straight forward like a patch of bloody clouds flying toward him.
Ke Yangshan dodged swiftly, evading the sword light, but the divine blood spilling from his wrist was completely absorbed by the Blood Drop Sword.
He looked up at Chi Yao in the distance, standing atop a chaotic light sea. Though she was breathtakingly beautiful, she was detestable. Merged with Zangjin Baihu, her tiger shadow was massive, her Zangjin divine power surging, and she exuded a faint aura of a God Venerable.
Ke Yangshan’s pupils turned white, and rings of divine light radiated from his body. “Chi Yao, with your cultivation, you dare to oppose me? Though Zangjin Baihu is strong, the rules of heaven and earth still suppress him!”
A tiger roar shook heaven and earth.
The origin rules of heaven and earth converged toward Chi Yao. She struck with all her might, unleashing a peerless sword technique—a fusion of origin, Zangjin, and sword dao.
Where the sword light passed, space was split apart.
Ke Yangshan swung his scepter, barely blocking the strike, but his body was sent flying a thousand miles.
Ke Yangshan sensed something was wrong. The combat power that Zangjin Baihu and Chi Yao could unleash far surpassed before. Based on that single strike, she could rank among the top ten of the *Treatise on Great Gods*.
Setting aside his pride, he fled toward the outside of the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain, using divine thoughts to interfere with Chi Yao. “You are a deity of the Kunlun Realm. Breaking ties with me will do no good for the cultivators of Kunlun Realm. Will the cultivators of your realm never leave Kunlun Realm from now on?”
“He’s threatening you!” said Zangjin Baihu.
Above Chi Yao’s head, fifteen layers of heavenly realms manifested, with beams like mountain ranges and eaves like divine peaks. Endless chaotic divine qi flew out from the heavenly realms, pouring into the Time-Space Chaos Lotus.
Instantly, a storm of time and space erupted, sweeping Ke Yangshan into it.
Ke Yangshan remained unflappable. His blood had already dripped onto the altar. Spreading his wings to fly, he laughed, “You and Zhang Ruochen are indeed already astonishing, trampling all cultivators of this eon underfoot. But in a moment, the Hall Master’s true body will arrive in person. Everything you have now will turn to dust.”
The Time-Space Chaos Lotus flew out, and the altar in Ke Yangshan’s hand also shot forth, expanding to the size of a mountain. The two collided.
“Boom!”
The altar shattered, its fragments falling into the Void World.
The Radiant Divine Shield on Ke Yangshan’s body was pierced, and a three-inch-long bloody wound was torn on his shoulder by space. But he paid it no mind. “It’s useless. The Hall Master’s true body has already sensed this place. You cannot stop it!”
“She cannot stop it. What about me?”
An aged voice echoed through the void.
Ke Yangshan’s expression changed.
The next moment, the shattered void rapidly restored itself.
Space cracks closed, and the rules of heaven and earth stabilized.
The clash between Zhang Ruochen and Daifei also ceased. The Earth Cauldron and the Judgment Palace floated ten thousand miles apart, their origin divine light and Radiant divine light reflecting off each other.
Within the Judgment Palace, Divine King Daifei released his divine qi, activating all the inscriptions within the palace.
“Whoosh!”
The Judgment Palace shrank to the size of a speck of light, piercing through space and fleeing into the Void World.
Then, the speck of light dimmed and vanished.
This was a means of escape arranged within the Judgment Palace by a supreme being of the Radiant Divine Temple in the past. Once activated, it could even escape from the hands of a Heavenly Venerable.
“Boom!”
A withered hand appeared in the Void World, its fingers as thick as heavenly pillars.
The Judgment Palace was struck and forced to reappear, flying back into the real world. The massive palace tumbled through the void, finally coming to rest upside down not far from Zhang Ruochen.
Old Drunkard staggered out of the darkness, disheveled and unsteady, reeking of alcohol. “Dwarf, trying to escape in front of a being with Spiritual Power at the ninetieth rank? You overestimate your own strength, don’t you?”
Divine King Daifei stepped out of the Judgment Palace, retracting his battle intent, and cupped his hands toward Old Drunkard. “Junior came to the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain to deal with traitors, with no intention of offending the lords of the Sword Realm.”
Knowing he had no chance of escaping from Nine Heavens, Ke Yangshan also bowed respectfully.
Old Drunkard had clearly drunk a lot. Slurring his words, he pointed at himself. “Traitors? Where are the traitors? Are you calling me a traitor? Back then, it was the Heavenly Court that first abandoned the God-Defying Clan...”
Feeling the powerful fluctuations of Old Drunkard’s Spiritual Power, Divine King Daifei’s body broke out in a cold sweat. He quickly said, “Junior refers to the two traitors of the Paradise Realm.”
Ke Yangshan pondered inwardly. The Sword Realm had just been established and was weak. Only by allying with the Heavenly Court could it confront the Hell Realm and establish a third faction in the universe.
With that thought, he said, “Junior is Ke Yangshan, son of the Hall Master of the Radiant Divine Temple. I have heard my father mention Senior Nine Heavens’ renowned name many times. It is an honor to meet your true form today. If Senior could hand over the two traitors for us to take back to the Paradise Realm, I believe it would reduce conflicts and increase friendship between the Radiant Divine Temple and the Sword Realm.”
Old Drunkard stared intently at Ke Yangshan. “Ke Luo’s son? Shameless, utterly shameless. At his age, he still sired a brat!”
The next moment, Ke Yangshan felt suffocated, as if an invisible hand had gripped his neck. His internal organs ached as if they would burst, his eyes bulging as if they might pop out.
He couldn’t speak...
He didn’t know how he had offended Nine Heavens. He only felt that his life was at its end, the flame of life extinguishing.
Daifei’s heart pounded. Sensing something was terribly wrong, he quickly said, “Yangshan is the Hall Master’s son. I beg Senior Nine Heavens to show mercy.”
“So what if he’s Ke Luo’s son? Does that mean I can be treated like a fool?”
Old Drunkard glared at Daifei.
A Divine King of his generation was now drenched in cold sweat, sensing a crisis of death.
If Nine Heavens killed them, would the Hall Master truly know who the murderer was?
Ke Yangshan’s earlier words—the Hall Master Ke Luo could say them, but a junior like him had no such qualification. Moreover, his words were clearly insincere.
Who was the person before them?
A being with Spiritual Power at the ninetieth rank, a ruthless figure who had cultivated among the Death Clan for many years, one of the most terrifying existences in the current universe.
Daifei dared not meet Old Drunkard’s eyes. He lowered his head. “He is young, indeed a bit arrogant, but not deserving of death. Regardless, the Sword Realm currently needs an alliance with the Heavenly Court!”
Old Drunkard sighed. “I am just a drunkard. Matters of the Sword Realm are all handled by Zhang Ruochen. If you want the two traitors, you must negotiate with him.”
He unhooked his gourd and began drinking on the side.
Ke Yangshan recovered, his eyes filled with deep reverence. He dared not speak rashly again.
Daifei glanced at Zhang Ruochen. “No need! The world is in turmoil, the times chaotic. Dai Xue and Quan Zhongsheng choosing to join the Sword Realm might be a good thing. From now on, the Elf Clan and Angel Clan will have branches in the Sword Realm, and the spiritual principles of the Paradise Realm can be carried forward.”
After uttering these divisive and venomous words, Divine King Daifei withdrew the Judgment Palace and prepared to leave with Ke Yangshan.
“Hold on!”
Zhang Ruochen blocked their path.
Divine King Daifei glanced at Old Drunkard, seeing him aloof, then said coldly, “Senior Nine Heavens has already let it go. What further instruction do you have?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “When did Senior Nine Heavens say he would let it go? Weren’t you very eager to know the spatial coordinates of the Sword Realm? Leaving in such a hurry without completing your mission?”