Chapter 3505: Mistakenly Entering a Forbidden Domain
Zhang Ruochen hid in the distance, formless and invisible, merging with the rules of heaven and earth as he observed the bone ship.
However, after waiting for a long time, no one came.
"It seems the goal of the Three Calamities Emperor and Mother Chiwa was to lure Feng Tian away, preventing her from pursuing Gai Mie."
"Thinking about it, if Gai Mie escapes, as long as he is given enough resources and time to recover his cultivation, he will surely plunge the entire Hell Realm into chaos. That is exactly what the Quantity Organization wants."
Zhang Ruochen immediately left, not attempting to return to the bone ship.
Even if the Three Calamities Emperor and Mother Chiwa had not calculated for him initially, they would have certainly sent word by now.
Staying behind to wait for Feng Tian would undoubtedly be waiting for death.
Chasing after Feng Tian and approaching the battlefield of three Heavenly-level figures would be even more suicidal.
Zhang Ruochen returned to the Real World, changed his appearance and form, his flesh and blood disappearing as he transformed into a two-meter-tall skeleton. He moved swiftly along the Santu River, heading toward the star domain where the Underworld Clan was located.
Wu Yue's voice sounded: "If what appeared in Fengdu Ghost City truly is the Imperial Yellow Spring Flower, then this matter is no small thing."
"So what? This kind of thing is not for us to worry about."
Zhang Ruochen knew what Wu Yue was thinking, but Feng Tian likely had her own speculations about such matters. There was no need for him to concern himself.
Wu Yue said: "Are you going to the Underworld Clan?"
"Correct."
"There are still many remnant souls of ancient powerhouses active in the Santu River basin. Capturing one would be worth tens of thousands of years of cultivation. Are you really giving up such an opportunity?"
Zhang Ruochen said: "A thousand years have passed. Any remnant souls of ancient powerhouses that were easy to deal with have long been taken care of. Those still alive are deeply hidden, with clever methods and formidable strength. There is no need to take risks to deal with them. Besides, I have more important things to do."
Wu Yue said: "The Underworld Clan is hardly a safe place for you."
"How many in the Underworld Clan can actually do anything to me? Huh?"
Zhang Ruochen looked up.
Above, within the gray death-qi clouds, a gaseous claw several hundred meters long extended downward, reaching for him.
The claw contained divine power, its scales pressing down, causing space to sink.
Zhang Ruochen felt somewhat annoyed. He had transformed into a skeleton, disguised himself as a Bone Clan member, and suppressed his cultivation to the Great Saint level precisely to minimize unnecessary trouble.
Who would have thought that even this would bring unwarranted disaster?
He was about to strike and kill the troublesome undead when his mind stirred. His divine soul sensed something abnormal, detecting a dangerous aura.
"A Boundless-level being has come nearby," Wu Yue said.
"I sensed it too!"
Zhang Ruochen stopped channeling his divine power and allowed himself to be captured by the gaseous claw.
Within the gray death-qi clouds flew a dragon-bone ship dozens of miles long.
On the ship, a bone serpent several hundred meters long, standing half-upright like a cobra, had six arms, each condensed into a gaseous claw, capturing Saint-level undead cultivators along the Santu River.
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen was thrown onto the dragon-bone ship.
After falling to the ground, he did not move. Using his Wuji Divine Dao, he carefully sensed his surroundings.
Soon, he located the Boundless-level powerhouse and formed an image in his mind.
He was beneath the dragon-bone ship, appearing to be in his thirties, with a human face, but his body was severely decayed. Even wearing luxurious brocade robes, he could not hide it.
"Shua!"
Another figure stepped out of space and appeared beside him.
It was a woman with crimson-red hair, wearing a white jade mask. Her figure was extremely tall, her waist as slender as a snake.
"It's her!"
On the dragon-bone ship, Zhang Ruochen was startled and immediately withdrew his perception.
It was Fei Ma Wang!
A thousand years ago, Fei Ma Wang had already recovered to the Great Unbound Infinite level. Who knew how profound her current realm had become?
The seventy-two Demon Gods of the Chaos Ancient Era, at their peak, were certainly no weaker than the Heavens of that time.
Moreover, Fei Ma Wang's ranking was not low.
With her high cultivation base and powerful divine soul, her perception was astonishing. Although Zhang Ruochen was very curious about why Fei Ma Wang was here and about the identity of the Corpse Clan man, he had to suppress his curiosity now, seal his perception, and avoid being detected.
By the Santu River.
Fei Ma Wang said: "He must have sensed something was wrong and fled ahead of time."
The Corpse Clan man, named Chang He, said: "It's a pity we didn't calculate for him from the start. Otherwise, after Feng Caiyi was lured away, we could have taken him down smoothly. If the strange treasures on him haven't been taken by Feng Caiyi, then his value would definitely be worth the risk."
Fei Ma Wang closed her eyes, carefully sensing, and said: "Even without those strange treasures, just his so-called First-rank Divine Path is worth studying."
Zhang Ruochen had once taken one of her ribs. She activated the demon blood within her, trying to use it to deduce Zhang Ruochen's approximate location.
Chang He sensed something and looked up.
The clouds pressed downward, and a gaseous claw extended from within.
"Bang!"
Not wanting to cause trouble, Chang He released a divine force at the Upper God level, shattering the gaseous claw. "If you don't want to die, get lost immediately!"
Above.
On the dragon-bone ship, the bone serpent realized it had provoked a Corpse Clan Upper God and, feeling alarmed, immediately fled far away.
"Did you deduce his location?" Chang He asked.
Fei Ma Wang said: "It's strange! Logically, there should be some subtle resonance, but I can't grasp even a trace of heavenly opportunity."
"Could it be that Heavenly Mother's methods are covering his heavenly opportunity?" Chang He said.
For Fei Ma Wang and Chang He, in the Hell Realm, aside from those few with perfect heavenly perception, the one they feared most was Heavenly Mother. These people's perception was too terrifying. Once a major disturbance was created, no matter how far away, they would be detected.
Zhang Ruochen lay on the ship, his skeletal body bound by divine runes of rules. He could guess that Fei Ma Wang was most likely pursuing him.
Although he was wary, he remained calm, not flustered at all.
In the Hell Realm, Fei Ma Wang would certainly be more cautious than him, unwilling to easily trigger a Boundless-level battle.
"Just send a message to Void Heaven directly. That old fellow will definitely be very interested in Fei Ma Wang," Wu Yue's voice sounded.
"I was thinking the same thing. Using a borrowed knife to kill is the true method. I'll send the message after we get farther away!"
Zhang Ruochen secretly observed his surroundings and found that the bone serpent was at the Middle God level. The Saint-level undead cultivators it had captured numbered nearly a thousand, all lying haphazardly on the deck.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen made an unexpected discovery.
About twenty zhang away from him sat a female Corpse Clan Great Saint, leaning against the railing. She wore simple cloth clothes, her hair was white, and her figure was somewhat hunched.
She was well-hidden, but Zhang Ruochen still noticed a flaw.
The elderly female Corpse Clan Great Saint sensed Zhang Ruochen's gaze and stared back at him, a cold gleam flashing deep in her pupils.
Zhang Ruochen had already looked away, observing other places.
The elderly female Corpse Clan Great Saint quietly released her divine soul to probe Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen had already concealed his heavenly opportunity and was wearing the Ancestor Divine Garment, so she naturally found nothing.
"How can this be? I clearly felt him staring just now. It must be a coincidence. At such a close distance, no matter how strong his cultivation, he couldn't disguise himself without any flaws." The female Corpse Clan Great Saint closed her eyes again.
Wu Yue laughed: "To think you'd run into an acquaintance like this!"
Zhang Ruochen was also surprised, but he had little interest in "her." He asked: "Since that bone serpent is a Middle God, it should have a name in the Hell Realm, right?"
"Luo Yi Bone Sea, Six-Armed Divine Python."
Wu Yue had once controlled the Spirit God Hall of the Darkness Temple. Not only gods, but even talented Saint-level cultivators were well-known to her. "It has been a god for a hundred thousand years. For a cultivator with no background or power to reach the True God level is quite remarkable. But it will live out its Eon at most."
"Interesting."
Zhang Ruochen said: "Then I won't leave for now. Let's see what's going on."
After escaping a sufficient distance, the dragon-bone ship slowed down.
A Ghost Clan Great Saint shouted: "Six-Armed Divine Python, what exactly are you trying to do? I am under Lord Soul Seven of Fengdu Ghost City!"
"The gods of Fengdu Ghost City have their own troubles. Who would care about the life or death of a Great Saint like you?"
The Six-Armed Divine Python's left first claw slightly raised, and the Ghost Clan Great Saint floated several zhang into the air. His battle tools and space treasures flew away.
The Six-Armed Divine Python's divine mind probed into a space pouch and snorted: "A Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint like you only has this much cultivation resources? Worthless!"
"Bang!"
The Ghost Clan Great Saint suffered a divine soul impact and fell to the ground, unconscious.
Next, the Six-Armed Divine Python searched all the space storage vessels of the Saint-level cultivators on the ship, consolidating the resources inside. Then, it released its divine soul, rendering them all unconscious.
It was very cautious, repeatedly checking every cultivator on the ship.
"I think I've guessed something. Why not just take action and search their souls?" Wu Yue said.
Zhang Ruochen was very patient and said calmly: "If it were that simple, the one pretending to be unconscious would have acted long ago! If I'm not mistaken, the Six-Armed Divine Python's divine soul has been tampered with. Once someone tries to search its soul, it will scatter. Wouldn't that alert the enemy?"
The Six-Armed Divine Python controlled the dragon-bone ship flying over the Santu River, repeatedly confirming that no one was following before choosing a river branch to enter.
The Santu River was not just one river but had billions of tributaries, crisscrossing and leading to different places in the universe.
Moreover, time and space were chaotic along the Santu River, and the rules of heaven and earth were extremely unstable, hiding countless great secrets.
Just like the Quantity Organization's gatherings, they were always held near the Santu River.
After taking more than ten river branches and traveling to some unknown spatial zone, thick fog suddenly appeared ahead. The river water turned pitch black, and the surface gradually widened.
It looked like a black ocean!
Wu Yue said: "This forbidden domain is hidden quite deeply. I wonder what kind of power is entrenched inside?"
Zhang Ruochen noticed that not far away, the white-haired Corpse Clan old woman had quietly opened her eyes, as if preparing to act.
"Hey!"
Zhang Ruochen made a new discovery.
About thirty li from the dragon-bone ship, space rippled slightly. A concealment formation opened, and a black wooden ship emerged, sailing on the river surface.
On the wooden ship, a Ghost Clan Upper God smiled and asked: "Six-Armed Divine Python, how was your harvest this time?"
The Six-Armed Divine Python controlled the dragon-bone ship to land on the water and said unhurriedly: "Lord Yu seems to have made a great harvest?"
The Ghost Clan Upper God, named "Yu Shen," said: "Not a great harvest, but I captured a remarkable figure. I believe the Heavenly Emperor will be very pleased when he sees him. This time, he should help me elevate my cultivation to the point where I can withstand the Eon Calamity."
The Six-Armed Divine Python snorted and said nothing more.