Chapter 3489: A Heavy Gift

Chapter 3489: A Heavy Gift

The void fell silent as Arbiter Venerable and Zhang Ruochen stood back to back.
The outcome was already clear.
"Sigh!"
A sigh finally broke the silence.
Arbiter Venerable could no longer maintain the arrogant demeanor of an old-guard God Venerable in the face of this rapidly rising prodigy. He turned around, sheathed his Arbiter Blade, and said, "I have lost."

Zhang Ruochen understood well the origins of his past grievances with the Arbiter Hall.
He also understood his current situation and the state of the world.
Thus, flicking the corpse blood from his fingertip, he smiled freely, revealing a completely different, composed demeanor from before. "Venerable, your cultivation is profound, and you wield a vast amount of Esoterica. In a true life-or-death battle, I might not necessarily prevail. Just now, I merely relied on the Ancestor Divine Garment to break through your defenses and, with an absolute speed advantage, wound you."

How could Arbiter Venerable not recognize this as Zhang Ruochen's humble words?
He indeed still had many trump cards unused and had not deployed his Esoterica.
But Zhang Ruochen had not used his Esoterica either, and even the legendary First-Rank Divine Path had only revealed the tip of the iceberg.
Most importantly, the true great killer weapon, the Earth Cauldron, had never been brought out.
If the battle continued, he would undoubtedly lose, and lose badly.
Yet Zhang Ruochen's words undoubtedly saved face for him, signaling a willingness to actively resolve the conflict.

Arbiter Venerable pondered for a moment, then said, "If Chen Divine Venerable's future achievements are limitless. Only today have I truly witnessed the brilliance of the number one talent under heaven! However, I have a doubt. I'm not sure if I should ask."
"Please, ask freely," Zhang Ruochen said.
Arbiter Venerable said, "I have heard that Feng Tian intends to make you the master of the Past Divine Palace. Is this rumor true?"

Zhang Ruochen's gaze slightly congealed and sank, then he smiled. "All rumors! Feng Tian and I have a cooperative relationship. Once I help Feng Tian refine Shen Tu Ghost Emperor, I should leave the Destiny Temple."
Both Feng Tian and Void Heaven intended to keep Zhang Ruochen in the Destiny Temple.
After all, winning over Zhang Ruochen meant winning over the entire Sword Realm, an unimaginably powerful force behind him.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen's personal strength and demonstrated potential were already extraordinary. If such a figure could not be made part of the Destiny Temple, he must be eliminated as soon as possible.
But in the current situation, neither Feng Tian nor Void Heaven dared to touch Zhang Ruochen.
To touch him would inevitably bring earth-shattering consequences!
The moment Zhang Ruochen reached the Infinite Realm, his momentum was already established! All the behind-the-scenes figures who had invested in him could already see his future.
It was precisely for this reason that Void Heaven chose to keep Zhang Ling, and Feng Tian chose to keep Mu Lingxi, using another method to check and balance Zhang Ruochen, lest he suppress them in the future.

Arbiter Venerable thought of the special function of the Earth Cauldron and suddenly understood why Feng Tian valued Zhang Ruochen so much.
He said, "Regardless of the reason, the Arbiter Hall is very willing to resolve its grievances and conflicts with Divine Venerable Ruochen. I'll be straightforward—it's because I fear Heavenly Mother, and I fear Divine Venerable's future retaliation!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Straightforward words are good. But I wonder how the Venerable plans to resolve this?"
"Given Divine Venerable Ruochen's discerning eye, I imagine you wouldn't care for the gifts sent earlier to the temple. I have a special gift here!"
Arbiter Venerable unfolded his Divine Realm World, enveloping Zhang Ruochen.

Entering the Divine Realm World of a cultivator far stronger than oneself was a dangerous thing, but Zhang Ruochen remained calm and composed.
Here, the corpse soil stretched for ten thousand miles, deathly gray mist filled the air, and many cultivators were imprisoned.
Most were beings from the various realms of the Heavenly Court, along with some rebels from the Ten Clans of Hell and remnants of the Quantity Organization.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen saw the "gift" Arbiter Venerable had mentioned.
A look of surprise crossed Zhang Ruochen's face. He carefully examined the "gift," feeling no joy in his heart, but rather caution.
"Divine Venerable Ruochen, are you satisfied?" Arbiter Venerable asked.
Zhang Ruochen gave a noncommittal smile. "The gift is indeed heavy enough. But such a heavy gift—can you decide this on your own? Is it Feng Tian's intention? Or Void Heaven's?"

Inside the three-zhang-square cage, the "gift" slowly opened its eyelids. Its gaze first fell on Arbiter Venerable, then shifted to Zhang Ruochen.
A bitter smile flickered in its pupils, as if lamenting the strangeness of fate.
Then it closed its eyes again, adopting an air of resigned acceptance.

Arbiter Venerable naturally would not reveal the person behind this. "This gift is presented by the Destiny Temple."
Zhang Ruochen said, "When did he fall into the hands of the Destiny Temple?"
Arbiter Venerable remained silent.
"Forget it! I don't want this gift!" Zhang Ruochen made as if to leave.
Arbiter Venerable said, "At the time of the North Marsh Great Wall."
Zhang Ruochen understood.

Since it was already so clear, Arbiter Venerable no longer avoided the issue. "This is not just Void Heaven's intention. The Destiny Temple truly wishes to build good relations with Divine Venerable Ruochen and the Sword Realm. At least in the current situation, this is a win-win. The future will have its own way of coexistence."

Zhang Ruochen walked to the edge of the metal cage and touched the iron pillar.
Instantly, profound Rule Divine Patterns manifested.
These Divine Patterns both repelled Zhang Ruochen and condensed into Divine Fire, falling upon the "gift" inside, causing it to emit low roars as it was refined.
"No wonder, even with all the Infinite Realm cultivators of Heaven and Hell, some of the Ancient Demon Gods still escaped. It turns out you were still fighting at the North Marsh Great Wall."
Zhang Ruochen then asked, "Venerable, you went to the North Marsh Great Wall. Did you hear any news about the Supreme Four Pillars, Baal?"

Arbiter Venerable said, "The North Marsh Great Wall is vast and boundless, stretching for who knows how many miles. We were not gathered together. I haven't heard any news of Baal's emergence, but whether he has or not, only figures of Void Heaven's level would know. If Divine Venerable Ruochen is interested in the Ancient Demon Gods, I can provide information on the few Demon Gods who escaped."
Immediately, images and text manifested, flying before Zhang Ruochen.
After Zhang Ruochen finished reading, he waved his sleeve, and all the images and text dissipated like smoke.

Zhang Ruochen glanced again at the "gift" in the cage and asked, "You're really giving him to me?"
"Naturally, there is no falsehood," Arbiter Venerable said.
"Good. The Destiny Temple is generous. In that case, I'll trouble the Venerable to personally escort him to the Stone Divine Temple and hand him over to Hall Master Desolate Heaven."
Without giving Arbiter Venerable a chance to refuse, Zhang Ruochen walked straight out of the Divine Realm World. "Now, shouldn't we discuss the real business?"

That "gift" was none other than Yi Tianjun, son of Shang Tian of the Paradise Realm.
Yi Tianjun was only a Divine King at the Qiankun Infinite Realm. Captured by Void Heaven, he had survived until now only because he had greater value.
That old ghost Void Heaven clearly knew about the great enmity between Zhang Ruochen and Shang Tian and the Shang Clan, deliberately throwing this hot potato to him.
Shang Tian was no ordinary person; he was a highly deterrent figure among the All Heavens.
Killing other cultivators of the Shang Clan was merely a struggle among juniors, something Shang Tian would not care about. But Yi Tianjun was an Infinite Realm cultivator, Shang Tian's most accomplished offspring, and the greatest contributor to the Shang Clan's prosperity and expansion to its current scale.
Whoever killed him would be locked in a death struggle with Shang Tian.
Of course, Void Heaven could kill Yi Tianjun and not fear Shang Ancestor, but throwing Yi Tianjun to Zhang Ruochen and the Sword Realm would maximize the benefits.
The games among the All Heavens had their own rules.

Arbiter Venerable watched Zhang Ruochen's retreating back, not overly surprised. If he couldn't even handle this, how could he be the master of the Sword Realm?
Arbiter Venerable followed. "How did Divine Venerable Ruochen know there was real business?"
"If there were no real business, why would Feng Tian let me out of the Past Divine Palace?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Just as he stepped out of the corpse soil, Heavenly Fate Venerable appeared before him.
In the distance stood Qing Feiwei and other gods of the Destiny Temple, all bowing respectfully.

Heavenly Fate Venerable said, "Only today have I truly witnessed what a young Ancestor is. Divine Venerable not only possesses supreme cultivation but also has a pair of eyes that see through all truths in the world."
"So, the reputation of 'young Ancestor' was spread by you?"
Zhang Ruochen's form flickered and vanished into the Void World.
Heavenly Fate Venerable was stunned, then gave chase, appearing in the Arbiter Divine Temple on Fate Divine Mountain. Just as he was about to explain, Zhang Ruochen, hands clasped behind his back, waved dismissively. "No need to explain. I was joking! Tell me, what instructions does Feng Tian actually have?"

Arbiter Venerable arrived a step later and exchanged a glance with Heavenly Fate Venerable.
Heavenly Fate Venerable said solemnly, "Divine Venerable Ruochen, please move to the Heavenly Fate Department."
...

The Heavenly Fate Department Divine Prison was the most solid and heavily defended place on the entire Fate Divine Mountain.
The Destiny Temple had spent countless resources to build it, even incorporating divine formations jointly arranged by Void Heaven and Yama Tai Shang. It was specifically used to imprison powerful criminals with high cultivation.
Tai Shang had once been imprisoned in the lowest level of the Heavenly Fate Department Divine Prison!
And now, Zhang Ruochen had come to this place, feeling a terrifying restraining force.
It was the power of Fate.
The Fate Esoterica suppressed his cultivation, making him feel like a mere mortal!
Before him was boundless darkness and piercing cold, as if he were deep beneath ten thousand miles of earth.

Heavenly Fate Venerable said, "This is now inside the World Tree. Guarded by the World Tree's spirit and the power of Fate, even the All Heavens would find it difficult to force their way in..."
At this point, Heavenly Fate Venerable fell silent.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fell upon the ferocious Divine Venerable suppressed beneath the densely packed tree roots. He had a human body and an ox head, with red long hair growing from his bones.
Even after years of being worn down, the aura emanating from the ferocious Divine Venerable was still terrifying.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Is the World Tree's spirit wearing down his divine soul and will?"
Arbiter Venerable remained silent.
Heavenly Fate Venerable also smiled without speaking.
Zhang Ruochen understood—this was a secret of the Destiny Temple that could not be leaked. So he changed the question. "Was it Void Heaven who suppressed him?"

After the secret of Jin Jue Heavenly God being "Heng" of the Quantity Organization was exposed, Feng Tian naturally acted with lightning speed to trace the behind-the-scenes Quantity Venerable—the ferocious Divine Venerable.
The connection between a Quantity Venerable and a Quantity Envoy was too tight.
If one side was exposed, the other could hardly remain hidden.
The ferocious Divine Venerable's cultivation was undoubtedly among the top tier below the All Heavens. To capture him, Void Heaven had to act personally.