Chapter 3386: The Agreement Between Tai Shang and Hao Tian
The distance from the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain to the Starry Sky Defense Line was extremely vast, requiring crossing numerous star domains.
Fortunately, although Wu Liang had returned from the northern expedition, the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm were plagued with internal issues, and no intense war had erupted for the time being, remaining in a stalemate. This star domain appeared unusually peaceful.
Zhang Ruochen performed consecutive space teleportations and soon entered the star domain where the Starry Sky Defense Line was located.
The Hell Realm army had long since withdrawn. Planet fortresses and war cities were being rebuilt, and patrol warships could be seen streaking across the sky from time to time.
The Dragon Lord personally came out of the Starry Sky Defense Line to receive Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao.
With a waterfall of golden hair, a strikingly handsome and elegant figure, and a noble, refined appearance, even with his aura deliberately restrained, he could not conceal his peerless bearing.
The Dragon Lord, Ji Wang, possessed extraordinary talent and had achieved Great Unbound Infinite cultivation. In just a few short eons of training, while his peers, the proud talents Ming Jian Shen and Yu Ling Shen, were still at the Great God level, he had already left them far behind, standing shoulder to shoulder with the older generation of Divine Ancestors and All Heavens.
Now, Zhang Ruochen was naturally no longer what he used to be. He could remain calm and composed. Although he still addressed the Dragon Lord as "Uncle Long," it no longer felt like a relationship between elder and junior; they could walk side by side.
One was extraordinary in bearing, the other sharp and brilliant.
Zhang Ruochen briefly recounted the matter of Dai Fei Shen Wang and Ke Yang Shan.
The Dragon Lord was slightly distracted, clearly not expecting that Jiu Tian and Zhang Ruochen had been so careless. They had directly seized the Judgment Hall and personally brought the person back, intending to force them to swear an oath publicly.
It all seemed somewhat childish!
The key point was that he had inexplicably become involved.
Those unaware might think he was the one who had taken the Judgment Hall.
The Dragon Lord said, "Fortunately, Hall Master Ke is not at the Starry Sky Defense Line."
"That puts my mind at ease!"
Zhang Ruochen took out the light talisman Jiu Tian had given him and handed it to the Dragon Lord. "My identity is special, so it's inconvenient for me to show myself. I'll leave this matter to you, Uncle Long."
The Dragon Lord gazed into the starry sky and was again lost in thought for a moment. "Give it to Chi Yao. She can handle this. You stay in the shadows, and I'll stand behind the scenes, letting this matter settle smoothly."
Chi Yao, with her straightforward personality, seemed indifferent.
She took the light talisman from Zhang Ruochen's hand, transformed into a streak of light, and flew into the Starry Sky Defense Line.
She did not conceal her aura.
Before long, news of Chi Yao's return spread across all the realms of the Starry Sky Defense Line.
All the gods were shocked.
With Chi Yao stepping forward to draw everyone's attention, Zhang Ruochen and the Dragon Lord appeared very composed. Even those Unbounded realm titled kings and venerables assumed the Dragon Lord had left the defense line to receive Chi Yao.
No one thought that Zhang Ruochen had also come!
The Dragon Lord brought Zhang Ruochen to a cultivation site in the Wu Shen Civilization Great World. This place was a world unto itself, with a stretch of divine mountains, active heaven and earth rules, the ground covered in various sacred medicines, and countless dragon shadows flying through the clouds and mists of the sky.
Cliffs with waterfalls, lush green trees—it was like a divine land or immortal realm.
"Tai Shang and the Heavenly Venerable have reached an agreement. Before the Ghost Gate is breached, the Kunlun Realm cannot leave." The Dragon Lord stood beneath the waterfall, his back to the flowing water, getting straight to the point and directly addressing what Zhang Ruochen most wanted to know.
The Ghost Gate was the starry sky grand formation that Tai Shang had set up between the Kunlun Realm and the Hell Realm universe a hundred thousand years ago, to block the Yellow Spring Star River.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Is the Hell Realm really going to open a second battlefield?"
"The possibility is very high!"
The Dragon Lord said, "According to the news Chi Xingtian brought back, they didn't completely destroy the energy source of the Yellow Spring Star River back then. If the offensive against the ancient civilization direction is blocked and they can't break through after a prolonged siege, the Hell Realm will definitely restart the energy source, cross the Wuding Divine Sea, and launch an attack again from the direction of the Kunlun Realm."
"Of course, these are all speculations! In any case, the Heavenly Venerable cannot let the Kunlun Realm leave at this point in time."
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly.
The fact that Hao Tian could reach an agreement with his Grand Master was already a huge concession. Perhaps it was also a way to make up for the debt owed to the Kunlun Realm from back then.
Besides, even if his Grand Master and the Dragon Lord were determined to take the Kunlun Realm away, Hao Tian might not be able to stop them. If it came to a full-scale conflict and they ended up as enemies, it would only benefit the Hell Realm.
Both sides were compromising.
The Dragon Lord said, "I've only told you this one person! No more than five people currently know the truth."
Zhang Ruochen understood how significant this matter was. "Rest assured, Uncle Long, I will never tell anyone. But..."
After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Ruochen lowered his voice. "Can the Heavenly Venerable's promise be trusted? If the Kunlun Realm is allowed to leave, won't other great worlds and ancient civilizations follow suit?"
The Dragon Lord stared at Zhang Ruochen for a long time, his gaze gradually growing dim and heavy.
"Boom!"
In silence, it was as if a thunderbolt struck Zhang Ruochen's head, and he instantly understood!
The agreement between Tai Shang and Hao Tian was not as simple as it seemed on the surface; it contained hidden content.
The Ghost Gate was sustained by Tai Shang.
If the Ghost Gate were breached, given Tai Shang's current state, it would most likely mean... the gate's destruction would lead to his death.
The Dragon Lord sighed. "This is the promise Tai Shang made to the Heavenly Venerable, to secure a way out for the Kunlun Realm. If the Hell Realm truly opens a second battlefield, how could the Kunlun Realm not fall? Only this opportunity that Tai Shang fought for is a glimmer of hope for the Kunlun Realm."
"What if the Hell Realm cannot open a second battlefield?" Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned sharp.
"That would naturally be the best..."
The Dragon Lord's heart stirred, seeing through Zhang Ruochen's thoughts. "Having drive and boldness is good, but don't do anything foolish. Back then, to destroy the energy source of the Yellow Spring Star River, all the gods of the Kunlun Realm went out together and still fell entirely. Don't set your mind on that."
"For you, the most important thing right now is to train steadily. We are all doing our best to create a better cultivation environment for you. Unfortunately, these are turbulent times, and in the end, you have to rely on yourselves."
"When you go to the Kunlun Realm and pay your respects to your Grand Master, you can follow him to Lihentian. Qing Chan and Huang Tian are both training in Lihentian. If you can break through your realm together, it will be a huge boost in strength for both the Kunlun Realm and the Sword Realm."
Finally, there was news of the Female Emperor and Huang Tian.
"I have one more matter here!"
Zhang Ruochen took out the "Sixth Patriarch's Zen Meditation Diagram" and, from beneath the Bodhi tree, brought out Fang Cun Master, who was bound by twelve spiritual power chains, suspending him in midair.
"Fang Cun!"
A brilliant gleam flashed in the Dragon Lord's golden eyes. He strode forward quickly and struck Fang Cun Master's forehead with a finger.
"Hua!"
A surge of cool power erupted, causing the nearby waterfall to momentarily cease flowing.
Countless dragon-shaped secret patterns surged from the Dragon Lord's fingertip into Fang Cun Master's skull, rushing toward his divine sea.
"It's the Asura Soul-Seizing Seal, set up by Qing Lu Shen Wang," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Very strange! Qing Lu's cultivation is indeed extraordinary. I crossed hands with him when I was young; he's a cunning and formidable character."
The Dragon Lord had a high opinion of Qing Lu Shen Wang. "Step back a bit. Let me try."
A resounding dragon roar echoed from within the Dragon Lord's body. Golden light burst forth, like a divine sun suddenly exploding, directly blasting Zhang Ruochen a thousand miles away.
Carried by the wind, Zhang Ruochen landed steadily, gazing at the center of the golden radiance, feeling waves of powerful energy surging outward.
Too strong!
The power of Tai Qing Patriarch and Yu Qing Patriarch was still within Zhang Ruochen's understanding; he had a decent chance of escaping from them.
But against the Dragon Lord, Zhang Ruochen had no confidence at all.
It felt as if there was a gap between heaven and earth in their cultivation levels.
Zhang Ruochen's spiritual sense stirred as he detected a familiar power fluctuation. He turned to look.
"Hua!"
At a height of several dozen zhang, the space trembled. Chi Xingtian passed through the space barrier between the mountains and appeared before Zhang Ruochen.
They stared at each other, wide-eyed!
Chi Xingtian was stunned. "Why are you here?"
Zhang Ruochen countered, "This is my Uncle Long's cultivation dojo. Why can't I be here? What's your deal? Aren't you supposed to be training in the Kunlun Realm? What are you doing here?"
"Hmph! I, this god, am naturally representing the Kunlun Realm in the Starry Sky Divine War."
Chi Xingtian said proudly, his demonic aura thick and his bearing impressive.
Zhang Ruochen didn't quite believe him, since there was clearly no war to fight now. "Why are you so disheveled? It looks like someone is chasing you outside."
The bruises on Chi Xingtian's face quickly faded, and the damaged parts of his demonic armor were repairing themselves. He tilted his head back, looking down his nose at Zhang Ruochen. "Mind your own business. If she asks later, say I was never here."
"Shua!"
Chi Xingtian turned into a wisp of demonic qi, plunged into the ground, and vanished.
He seemed to have used some demonic secret technique, and his aura-concealing methods were quite impressive.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was wondering what was going on, ripples appeared in the space barrier again. A woman in a purple robe burst in, holding a thick mace as wide as a bowl. She landed heavily, flattening a divine mountain and sending dust rolling.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm, not changing his appearance to conceal his identity.
Anyone who could freely enter the Dragon Lord's cultivation dojo must be a trusted ally.
This woman had dragon horns on her head, deep-set eyes, a high nose bridge, and four pairs of black wings on her back. She was extremely cold and fierce, with a murderous aura soaring to the sky, and demonic clouds gathering above her head.
Her gaze fell on Zhang Ruochen, showing slight surprise, and her murderous aura receded a bit.
Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands. "Junior Zhang Ruochen pays respects to Eighth Aunt."
The Eight-Winged Nightmare Dragon, the Dragon Lord's sister, was the eighth "child" born from a union between a dragon clan member and a Rakshasa woman. She was the youngest Divine Venerable in the Heavenly Dragon Realm besides the Dragon Lord.
Zhang Ruochen had never seen her before, but he had enough discernment for that.