Chapter 3495: Forbidden Domain
Feng Tian seemed to have long seen through the situation, speaking unhurriedly, "Their goal is not the Ghost Clan, but the Santu River."
"Although Fengdu Ghost City has been moved to the Wugui Forest, Fengdu Dadi still has absolute control over the Santu River. As long as he remains, these remnant souls of ancient powerhouses will never be able to enter the Santu River to scheme."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What are they scheming for on the Santu River?"
Gong Nanfeng lowered his head in thought, then suddenly his expression stiffened, and he blurted out, "Could it be the forbidden domains on the Santu River?"
A flash of light passed through Zhang Ruochen's eyes, and he seemed to understand.
He naturally knew about the forbidden domains on the Santu River; in fact, he had even seen them with his own eyes before.
Many years ago, before he had stepped into the Divine Realm, he was afflicted with the Severing Path Curse and went to the Abyss of Darkness to find Kong Yinxue. While crossing the Santu River at the Life-and-Death Boundary Star, he was ambushed by Wujiang and others.
At that time, a reddish-brown Corpse Sea Forbidden Domain had appeared.
The forbidden domains were not just one.
Besides the Corpse Sea Forbidden Domain, there were also the Bone Sea Forbidden Domain, the Ghost Sea Forbidden Domain, and so on.
Legend had it that the forbidden domains were as vast as the ocean, usually hidden within the special spaces of the Santu River. They were the birthplaces of the Ghost Clan, Corpse Clan, and Bone Clan, nurturing their intelligence.
Many top-tier powerhouses, after their lifespans were exhausted and their divine souls extinguished, would bury themselves in the forbidden domains of the Santu River, hoping that after millions or tens of millions of years, they could revive and live a second life.
This was not only done by powerhouses of the Corpse Clan, Bone Clan, and Ghost Clan; some living beings also hid their tombs in the forbidden domains.
Zhang Ruochen said, "These ancient powerhouses, in their own eras, were at least Heavenly-level figures. Being able to hide their remnant souls in Lihentian for millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of years must have been planned while they were still alive. Could it be that their corpses are all buried in the forbidden domains?"
Gong Nanfeng said, "That's entirely possible. All rumors have their origins! It's even possible that they calculated the approximate time of the Calamity of Quantities while alive, knowing that as the time approached, the rules of heaven and earth would change and order would collapse."
"As long as they find their former corpses and help them gestate new intelligence in the Santu River, transforming into Corpse Clan or Bone Clan, they could then directly possess the new spirit of their own corpse. This would be equivalent to gaining new life, allowing them to deceive heaven and earth."
"The probability of successful possession would be greater this way, and the corpse would be more compatible with their remnant soul."
"The only trouble is that a corpse is ultimately just a corpse, and a remnant soul is ultimately just a remnant soul. To walk the path of the Corpse Clan and Bone Clan and return to their peak, they would need to spend a great deal of time starting from scratch in cultivation. Moreover, the chance of recovering to their former height is less than three in ten."
Zhang Ruochen said, "If I were to plan for such a future, I would prepare at least three contingencies."
"First, I would bury my corpse in an absolutely secret place within the forbidden domain. But this is impractical—even the tomb of Huangquan Dadi was found, let alone theirs? Later generations are not lacking in capable people!"
"Back then, Yinxue Tian, in order to forge the Snow Domain Star Sea Divine Army, frequently broke into the forbidden domains, digging up countless corpses of ancient powerhouses, cutting off their dreams of living a second life."
"Throughout history, there have certainly been many cultivators who did the same as Yinxue Tian."
"How many tombs could still be preserved in the forbidden domains?"
"Second, I would have to seal the corpse to ensure it doesn't develop intelligence prematurely."
"Third, I would place all kinds of cultivation resources from my lifetime in the tomb. This would ensure that when the remnant soul descends from Lihentian in the future, the second life, even if hidden, would have enough resources to cultivate to a level where it could protect itself."
Gong Nanfeng said, "How could cultivation resources be preserved for so long? After millions or tens of millions of years, they would have long turned to ash."
"Yes, that is perhaps their helplessness. To obtain cultivation resources and quickly grow stronger, they must take risks." Zhang Ruochen said.
Feng Tian said, "The third contingency should be to cooperate with contemporary powerhouses, allowing one's corpse or bone body to develop a new spirit in advance. This would save a lot of time, and after possession, one could quickly reach the Infinite Realm."
Zhang Ruochen said, "So Feng Tian also believes that these remnant souls of ancient powerhouses are not actually trying to walk the path of the Ghost Clan, and attacking the Ghost Clan is just a cover. In reality, they want to walk the path of the Bone Clan and Corpse Clan?"
Feng Tian said, "Wasn't Fei Ma Wang released by you? Isn't she a living example? However, she is much more special—she is not a remnant soul but a complete soul spirit, and her realm is still intact. The secrets hidden within her are far more fascinating than those of these ancient remnant souls. Unfortunately, she has never been captured!"
Mentioning the Chaos Ancient Demon Gods, Zhang Ruochen immediately asked, "Has the secret of those Chaos Ancient Demon Gods awakening in this era at the North Marsh Great Wall been uncovered? Their appearance is even more contrary to common sense than these ancient remnant souls, completely breaking the order of heaven and earth."
Feng Tian snorted lightly, "There are currently two greatest possibilities. First, the Zhou Cauldron among the Nine Cauldrons. They slept within the Zhou Cauldron and were sent directly to this era by an Ancestor-level figure."
"Just as you can jump through space, the Zhou Cauldron allows cultivators to move through time. Of course, to cross such a long span of time, an Ancestor would need to activate it!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "What is the second guess?"
Feng Tian said, "The second guess is the most likely, yet also the most absurd."
"Didn't you once tell Xu Tian that Fei Ma Wang's divine soul and divine source were preserved in the blood sea within her cranial cavity? If you weren't lying, then that blood sea is very likely the blood of an Immortal."
"In other words, the Chaos Ancient Demon Gods that awakened at the North Marsh Great Wall have likely been sleeping in the blood of an Immortal for the past ten million years, or in some other means arranged by an Immortal. This allowed them to evade the rules of time and the perception of heaven and earth."
"From the Heavenly Court side, some news has come out. It's said that Hao Tian extracted the soul of a certain Demon God and found traces of an Immortal. But for now, it's all hearsay, hard to distinguish truth from falsehood."
"In my view, there is no such thing as an Immortal in this world. At most, there are only lingering survivors like Jiusi Yitianhuang. He seems to have lived nine lives, but each life is a rebirth, already completely changed, dragging a load of karma, and destined for no good end."
A woman who looked seven parts like Feng Tian walked out—it was Xue Ye Wutong.
Feng Tian took out the Celestial Pivot Needle and handed it to her, saying, "Gong Nanfeng, as the artifact spirit of the Celestial Pivot Needle, you and Xue Ye will go to the Santu River immediately to suppress the remnant souls of those ancient powerhouses. You and Tianming Zunzhe and the others will work in the open and in the shadows, and you should be able to deal with some of them. Once Shen Tu Gui Di has been refined to a certain extent, I will go personally."
Xue Ye Wutong and Gong Nanfeng set off immediately.
Additionally, Zhang Ruochen sensed the presence of Xu Qiong, disappearing together with them from the Fate Divine Domain.
So it turned out that Tianming Zunzhe and Chan Mingya were just pawns used by Feng Tian to lull the remnant souls of those ancient powerhouses. The real attackers were Xue Ye Wutong and Xu Qiong.
In the divine hall, only Zhang Ruochen and Feng Tian remained.
Feng Tian picked up the Auspicious Wish again, her jade fingers touching it, causing grains of Fate Divine Light to scatter. She said, "If you want to go to the Santu River region, then help me refine Xiong Hai as soon as possible. When the time comes, I will naturally take you along. You may leave now!"
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen lingered for a long time without leaving, she said, "I will keep my promise to you. If you want to go to the Heavenly Guard Platform, go ahead on your own. The stronger your cultivation becomes, the more useful you are to me!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "I want to go to the Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm first. Heavenly Mother has shown me great kindness. She has emerged from seclusion, yet I have never gone to pay my respects—it is too rude!"
Zhang Ruochen was truly worried about the situation with Tai Shang. The Udumbara Flower was the only way to extend his life.
However, Hai Shang You Ruo had gone to the Rakshasa Clan and had not returned with any news. Given her status, she likely couldn't see Heavenly Mother.
Zhang Ruochen felt he needed to go personally.
Feng Tian's two willow-leaf-like brows furrowed slightly as she stared at him and said, "The situation in the Rakshasa Clan has stabilized. Luo Yan and Luo Sha will soon come to the Destiny Temple. You will naturally see them then. Can't you just stay put for a while?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Feng Tian misunderstands. I truly want to go to the Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm, not to the Rakshasa Divine City."
Feng Tian said, "No matter who you really want to see, you must understand that the Three Fiend Lords dared to appear near the Wugui Forest. If you leave the Fate Divine Domain, he could show up at any moment to kill you. Don't think that just because you defeated the Judgment Venerable, you are invincible under heaven. The truly invincible Fengdu Dadi has encountered calamity."
"I am keeping you in the Destiny Temple not to imprison you but to protect you. Of course, this is because you have that value."
Zhang Ruochen wanted to say more.
Feng Tian cut him off, saying, "The cultivation resources and wealth that Xiong Hai hid within the inner space of the Auspicious Wish—you took them, didn't you?"
Zhang Ruochen knew he couldn't hide it and sighed, "Only some divine stones. If Feng Tian wants to force me to hand them over, I, with my low cultivation, will obey. Helping to refine divine pills and running around the Fate Divine Mountain for over a month—working for the Heavens, indeed, one cannot expect any reward."
How could Feng Tian believe his lies?
But Zhang Ruochen had indeed rendered great service by finding the Auspicious Wish, which was enough to significantly enhance Feng Tian's strength.
As for the other cultivation resources, with her Indestructible Infinite cultivation, she couldn't be bothered with them.
"So aggrieved! How can you still act aggrieved? The cultivation resources collected by Xiong Hai Shenzun were originally the wealth of the Destiny Temple. I haven't even asked you to hand them over yet!"
After saying this, Feng Tian realized something was wrong. Her tone, though cold as ice, lacked any killing intent.
At this moment, she should be angry and directly suppress him, displaying the authority of the Death God Venerable.
But why, after being so offended by him, did she feel no anger in her heart?
Anger arises from the heart.
Why was she so lenient with him?
Seeing that Feng Tian was not angry, Zhang Ruochen relaxed and said, "I feel no grievance at all. I truly want to take out the divine stones and offer them to Feng Tian."
With that, he began to take out divine stones.
If he could exchange them for that bronze cauldron, it would be worth taking out even more divine stones.