# Chapter 3457: The Great Emperor Returns
Zhang Ruochen had guessed the general intentions of the Quantity Organization, but because of the Six Harmonies Formation's sealing power, he could not send his thoughts out to inform the Sword Bone Doppelganger.
This was precisely why the Quantity Organization had activated the Six Harmonies Formation's trapping power.
It wasn't that the Quantity Organization didn't want to unleash all the Six Harmonies Formation's power to suppress Zhang Ruochen with the formation. Rather, if they did so, it would certainly alarm the Rakshasa Clan deities in the Divine City.
That was not the outcome they wanted to see.
Thus, from beginning to end, Zhang Ruochen had never considered fighting a life-or-death battle with Zongmu Shenzun and Qi Lin at Dingzu Mountain.
Matters like slaying a Quantity Venerable or destroying a Quantity Emperor should be left to the All Heavens to resolve.
The hole in Zongmu Shenzun's chest had Earth Cauldron's origin power invading it. Even with his profound cultivation, the wound could only heal at an extremely slow pace.
He raised his divine blade and slowly traced a circle before him.
"Whoosh!"
Behind him, the purple-red divine sun manifested once again.
The raging divine flame power, the dense Infinite Rule Divine Patterns, and the sharp, domineering blade momentum—all three combined into one.
Such an aura was like billions of hands pulling at Zhang Ruochen, causing his body to lean toward Zongmu Shenzun.
Just as Zongmu Shenzun's blade was about to strike, Zhang Ruochen's feet flickered, and his figure vanished. His speed was so fast that even the divine eye of the Shenzun could only see afterimages.
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen appeared hundreds of feet above the ground. The Earth Cauldron in his hand flickered with shamanic inscriptions, and the shadow of an ancient shamanic ancestor with a human upper body and snake tail manifested.
The Earth Cauldron became heavier than a star.
"Boom!"
The cauldron's body struck heavily against the formation chains hanging between heaven and earth. The chains trembled, and bright secret patterns emerged.
The Six Harmonies Formation was undoubtedly one of the ten oldest and most powerful divine formations of the entire Rakshasa Clan. Yet even it could barely withstand the Earth Cauldron's assault, with several formation chains snapping.
If given enough time, Zhang Ruochen could definitely break the Six Harmonies Formation and escape.
But Qi Lin and Zongmu Shenzun were both first-rate figures of the Hell Realm—how could they give him that opportunity?
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to strike a second blow, he found that the scenery around him had undergone earth-shattering changes.
The City Lord's Hall disappeared. The six Heavenly Pillar Peaks disappeared. The formation chains hanging between heaven and earth disappeared.
Before him was only a boundless sea of blood.
Strong winds swept across the sea's surface, stirring up waves.
Above the sea of blood hung a purple-red divine sun.
The sea of blood beneath his feet and the divine sun above his head both emitted terrifying squeezing forces. Space was contracting, time seemed to vanish, and illusions proliferated.
Qi Lin stood above the sea of blood, her robes fluttering.
Pairs of blood wings spread open on her back, and her charming face was full of sinister energy.
She said, "Back then, I comprehended the Dao at the Wuding Divine Sea and cultivated the Wuding Blood Sea Divine Realm World. Wuding, formless, supremely soft, supremely vast—even with the Earth Cauldron's might, how can you break the formless?"
Zongmu Shenzun stood beneath the purple-red divine sun and said, "The extreme of entropy destroys time and space. If I can slay you, the current First-Rank, today, it will surely be a great joy in life."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Both of you, are you so confident? Do you underestimate me, the current First-Rank, or do you underestimate the might of the Nine Cauldrons? Pulling me into your Divine Realm World will be the most foolish decision you've ever made."
Qi Lin and Zongmu Shenzun were naturally wary of the Earth Cauldron.
The Nine Cauldrons' reputation was so great for several reasons.
First, because the era of the shamans was extremely ancient. In that era, the Shamanic Ancestors could gather the rarest materials from the entire universe to forge the cauldrons.
The precious materials of the world were finite—take a portion, and there was one less portion.
A certain Primordial Ancestor once joked that the universe's divine materials totaled ten measures. The Nine Shamanic Ancestors took nine measures to forge the Nine Cauldrons. He himself took half a measure, and the remaining half was shared by all the sages of later generations.
This statement was, of course, deliberately exaggerating the Nine Cauldrons' importance. But it was absolutely true that the Nine Shamanic Ancestors had consumed a vast amount of the universe's rare divine materials to forge the Nine Cauldrons.
This made it extremely difficult for later deities to forge divine artifacts.
Even Indestructible Infinite cultivators found it hard to find enough materials to forge divine artifacts.
Moreover, the power gap between forged artifacts was enormous. Very few could enter the first chapter of the "Tai Bai Divine Artifact Chapter."
Another reason the Nine Cauldrons were number one under heaven was that they could form a complete set.
Never had any race or any Dao produced nine Primordial Ancestors.
The Nine Shamanic Ancestors shared the same origin—this was the most fundamental reason the Nine Cauldrons could form a set.
Although Zhang Ruochen only had the Earth Cauldron, it could still damage the Six Harmonies Formation. Such deterrence was not insignificant.
Qi Lin and Zongmu Shenzun struck first, using the Divine Realm World to suppress Zhang Ruochen. They transformed tenfold, hundredfold Infinite Rule Divine Patterns into chains, making it difficult for the Earth Cauldron to exert its power.
The moment they clashed, heaven and earth were turned upside down.
Zhang Ruochen fought alone against two former overlords of the Hell Realm, displaying a heroic bearing that could move mountains. Truly, he was like a young Primordial Ancestor emerging into the world.
The Wolf Ancestor stood at the foot of Dingzu Mountain, gazing upward.
Earlier, when Zhang Ruochen had struck the formation chains with the Earth Cauldron, some aura had leaked out. In the central area of the six Heavenly Pillar Peaks, space had shown subtle fluctuations.
The Wolf Ancestor came to the foot of the stone steps.
Two divine beasts rushed out, trying to intercept him.
The Wolf Ancestor merely glared at them, and their spiritual will was shattered. They lay prostrate on the ground in fear and unease.
"Whoosh!"
The Wolf Ancestor walked step by step up the stone steps. The divine power erupting from his body sent all the charging soldiers flying, scattering them in disarray across the ground.
At the end of the stone steps, inside the City Lord's Hall.
A spiritual power deity who was activating the city-protecting divine formation said, "He's sensed it!"
Heavenly Sound Divine Mother glanced at the image on the Fate Light Mirror and said, "It can no longer affect the overall situation. Just let him in directly."
...
Outside the Divine Prison.
Nie Shenwang and the Rakshasa Divine Temple's priest had ultimately not been able to leave.
Most Rakshasa men were ugly and burly, forming a stark contrast with Rakshasa women.
But Yue Gujun was different. He was known as the most handsome man of the Rakshasa Clan, with blue long hair, delicate features, and a handsome, heroic brow. He stood imposingly beneath the thick evil Rakshasa aura, staring at the Sword Bone Doppelganger above the prison gate.
The might of a Divine Kingdom's Great Emperor was fully displayed, as if he had become the heart of the universe.
In the Divine City, Rakshasa Clan Saint Realm cultivators in every street and alley knelt and shouted the name "Yue Gu."
This was one of the rulers of a great clan, commanding dozens of major worlds and tens of thousands of life-bearing planets. He was the venerable lord of countless trillions of Rakshasa Clan members!
"Ruo Chen Shenzun, is what you did today the will of Heavenly Mother?" Yue Gujun's voice rang out melodiously.
The Sword Bone Doppelganger said, "Heavenly Mother has not given such instructions. However, this venerable one has received Heavenly Mother's appreciation and acts on her behalf in the mortal world. May I ask the Divine Lord one question: Can this venerable one meddle in the affairs of the Rakshasa Clan?"
Before the name "Heavenly Mother," even this Divine Lord of a nation dared not say the words "cannot meddle."
Snow Sea Crown Prince clasped his hands in salute, paying homage to the heavens, and said, "Heavenly Mother is supreme, but heavenly principles stand above even Heavenly Mother. The Shenzun forcibly entered the Divine Prison, slew a Rakshasa Clan Great God, and rescued a member of the Quantity Organization—this is a violation of the Rakshasa Clan's heavenly principles."
The deities of the Snow Sea Divine Kingdom immediately echoed him.
"Nothing escapes the principle of reason!"
"The Divine Prison is a place of utmost importance. No cultivator may forcibly enter and rescue prisoners. The offender shall die! This is the celestial script that the Great Luo Heavenly Venerable once inscribed on the Divine Prison gate!"
"If Ruo Chen Shenzun wishes to visit Princess Luo Sha, we have no objection. But forcibly entering the Divine Prison, severely wounding Nie Shenwang, and killing Great God Ling Quan—this has incurred public wrath!"
...
Voices of condemnation and rebuke rang out continuously.
Some Great Gods even listed more than a dozen charges against Zhang Ruochen.
Nie Shenwang on the divine ship frowned when he saw that the deities of the Snow Sea Divine Kingdom had brought him up. Being defeated by Zhang Ruochen with a single sword strike was hardly a glorious matter—did they have to keep mentioning it?
The Sword Bone Doppelganger raised his voice and asked, "If it were Heavenly Mother herself who acted today, would you still dare to rebuke her like this?"
The clamor below immediately ceased.
The Sword Bone Doppelganger was determined to borrow Heavenly Mother's authority, so he continued, "Since Heavenly Mother has clearly stated that this venerable one acts on her behalf in the mortal world, then seeing this venerable one is like seeing Heavenly Mother. You should have reverence in your hearts. Why not kneel and pay homage?"
Many Rakshasa Clan deities below looked at each other, their souls intimidated by the Sword Bone Doppelganger's divine might.
"Haha!"
Laughter rang out like thunder, breaking the Sword Bone Doppelganger's momentum.
Shizhi Shenzun laughed and said, "How could Heavenly Mother, such a wise and great existence, do something so foolish and senseless? Zhang Ruochen, you cannot represent Heavenly Mother. You are merely a disgrace to her. You cannot be Heavenly Mother's divine envoy—you are unworthy!"
On a mountain peak a hundred miles away, the domineering figure snorted coldly: "This Shizhi is too arrogant, daring to discuss Heavenly Mother."
The shadowy figure with the character "Feng" embroidered on his robe corner said, "What is the relationship between the Thunder Clan and the Quantity Organization? Shizhi has actually sided with the Snow Sea Divine Dynasty."
"The Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable has publicly declared that Xuan Yi has nothing to do with the Thunder Clan, and that the Quantity Emperor behind him is either Shang Tian or Ke Luo. But is that really the truth? The Thunder Clan and the Quantity Organization are absolutely inseparable. It's just that the Hell Realm can't touch them for now."
The domineering figure was silent for a moment, then said, "Heavenly Sound is too clever. The Kui Liang Emperor behind her is an even more deeply hidden person. I still can't fully see through what they intend to do. I need to go to Dingzu Mountain, or else that boy Zhang Ruochen might end up there."
The domineering figure stepped out from the darkness.
Distant divine light shone over, revealing his resolute facial features with sharp contours and deep, piercing eyes.
It was none other than Luo Yan Great Emperor, who was rumored to have fallen at the North Marsh Great Wall.
Luo Yan Great Emperor's Divine Throne Planet had long gone dark.
Several Infinite-level powerhouses had personally witnessed him being slain by Fengdu Dadi.
Fengdu Dadi had summoned several Great Unbound Infinite giants of the Rakshasa Clan, giving the reason that Feng Tian could confirm that Heavenly Sound Divine Mother was one of the Quantity Envoys. Slaying Luo Yan was Feng Tian's proposal.
Luo Yan Great Emperor's cultivation was so profound, and Heavenly Sound's was so shallow.
If Heavenly Sound Divine Mother were one of the Quantity Envoys, how could she have hidden it from Luo Yan Great Emperor?
Everything was logical.
At that secret meeting, Fengdu Dadi was very angry, his aura powerful. He declared that they absolutely could not let Luo Yan escape like the Three Evil Emperor Lord, and that even if they killed the wrong person, they had to eliminate him.
Luo Yan Great Emperor threw a Rakshasa Token to the shadowy figure and said, "This clan leader token contains a divine soul thought of mine. Take it to the clan mansion and give it to Huo Zun. He should know the truth now!"
Luo Yan Great Emperor descended the mountain and disappeared into the darkness.
He was truly worried that Zhang Ruochen might meet with misfortune. After all, in these two hundred years, he had already failed Luo Sha and Luo Shengtian enough. If Zhang Ruochen were to fall because of this scheme, how would he face Luo Sha in the future?
Fengdu Dadi said that before the great affairs of the world, one could not be sentimental. But because of this scheme, he had already lost his most beloved brother and the woman he loved most deeply.
Was he truly to become a solitary man from now on?
"Always wavering between gain and loss, hesitating between cold-bloodedness and emotion—perhaps this is the inner flaw that prevents me from breaking through to Indestructible."
Another sigh came from the darkness.