Chapter 3532: Strange Beasts Enter the City
How could Zhang Ruochen let this opportunity slip?
With a sweep of his sleeve, divine qi flowed like a river.
The Bright Mirror Platform flew out along the river of divine qi, radiating Buddha light for ten thousand zhang, with colorful clouds filling the sky. The shadow of the Sixth Patriarch stood ten thousand zhang tall.
Wu Wei did not pause for even a moment. With a mere thought, the bamboo slip fragments embedded in the ground rose up in unison, clashing against the descending Bright Mirror Platform.
"Pfft!"
The Dragon Scale War Halberd transformed into a beam of golden light, piercing through Wu Wei's defense of one hundred thousand divine patterns and striking his back.
Wu Wei's green robe exploded at the back, but no skin was visible—only a pitch-black void. It was as if he had no physical body, or his body was a black hole.
From his back, ten thousand streaks of black, radiant light surged forth, blocking the Dragon Scale War Halberd.
Using this impact force, Wu Wei's speed increased once more. In an instant, he vanished into the Ancient Desolate Ruins City, his aura growing fainter and fainter. Finally, he rushed out of the West City Gate.
Di Zu Divine Lord withdrew the Dragon Scale War Halberd, his battle aura gradually receding. The nine golden dragons returned to his divine robe, his beard and long hair still fluttering.
Zhang Ruochen retrieved the Bright Mirror Platform and asked, "Divine Lord, why did you not pursue?"
"Even if I pursued, what then? He cultivates the Path of Darkness. In the Abyss of Darkness, his combat power increases by at least ten percent, while mine is weakened by twenty percent. Killing a powerhouse like Wu Wei is something even the Twenty Heavens might not accomplish. If I truly pushed him into a corner, he would surely seek mutual destruction," Di Zu Divine Lord said.
Zhang Ruochen understood this reasoning as well. Even if he used the Ten Thousand Buddha Formation and joined forces with Di Zu Divine Lord to trap Wu Wei, what then? Once Wu Wei self-detonated his divine source, the Ten Thousand Buddha Formation would likely be destroyed.
"Are you not at the initial stage of Qiankun Infinite?" Di Zu Divine Lord suddenly asked.
Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly. "It seems I cannot hide it from the Divine Lord."
Di Zu Divine Lord said, "It appears the rumors are not false. You have already broken through to the middle stage of Qiankun Infinite, possessing the strength to contend with the Judgment Venerable. You must have refined the remnant soul of an ancient powerhouse, correct?"
Breaking through a realm in a thousand years—this was the only explanation.
As for the battle between Zhang Ruochen and the Judgment Venerable, it had indeed spread, but under the deliberate guidance of the Goddess Twelve Pavilions, many different versions had emerged.
There were rumors that Zhang Ruochen withstood three strikes from the Judgment Venerable without falling.
There were also legends that Zhang Ruochen fought the Judgment Venerable for dozens of rounds, with neither gaining the upper hand.
Of course, there was also the true version—that Zhang Ruochen had defeated the Judgment Venerable. However, no one believed this rumor.
After all, everyone knew of Zhang Ruochen's achievements at Rakshasa Divine City, where he had borrowed the power of the Great Rakshasa Divine Seal and Heavenly Mother.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The emergence of ancient powerhouses is indeed a great crisis. But for cultivators of our era, it is also a great opportunity. Breaking through a realm in a thousand years is simply unimaginable in other ages."
Di Zu Divine Lord stared at him intently, his gaze both sharp and tinged with a hint of amusement. "I suddenly feel that I may have underestimated you. Are you truly at the middle stage of Qiankun Infinite?"
Zhang Ruochen inwardly marveled at the man's shrewdness. Someone who had risen from humble beginnings to become renowned across the universe was far too perceptive. From a single word or phrase, he could glean a wealth of information.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Does the Divine Lord think that is possible?"
"If it were any other cultivator, I would absolutely not believe it. But you, Zhang Ruochen... it is hard to say. Do you not realize how monstrous you are? Even Ji Wang said he feels immense pressure and has regarded you as a source of motivation for his cultivation," Di Zu Divine Lord said.
Zhang Ruochen was moved. "Does the Divine Lord know the Dragon Lord?"
"Haha! We have crossed blows a few times. Who can blame the cultivators of the world for always comparing me to him?"
Di Zu Divine Lord saw Zhang Ruochen's wariness and said with a half-smile, "Ruochen, there is no need to be on guard against me. Setting aside my friendship with Ji Wang, just based on your identity as the Lord of the Sword Realm, I would never kill you. If I wanted to kill you, I would have joined forces with Wu Wei earlier. Would you have had any chance to escape?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Just because I am the Lord of the Sword Realm?"
Di Zu Divine Lord thought for a moment, then took out a white silk scarf.
The scarf emitted a faint cold aura, and at its corner, a swallow was embroidered.
Zhang Ruochen sensed the aura of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable on the scarf—no, it was the aura of the Calamity Venerable.
Without a doubt, this was a relic of an Ancestor.
But the Ancestor divine qi inside had been infused by the Calamity Venerable.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Did the Calamity Venerable give this to you?"
Di Zu Divine Lord said, "I wanted to enter the Abyss of Darkness to seek the opportunity to break through to the peak of Great Unbound Infinite. I made a special trip to the Kunlun Realm, and this scarf was gifted to me by the Calamity Venerable. He said it might be useful in times of crisis."
"So Ling Yanzi's birth in the Abyss of Darkness is no secret among the higher echelons of the universe," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
As he thought about it, Zhang Ruochen felt a surge of anger. That old fellow always claimed to be poor and without Ancestor relics, yet he casually gave one away to an outsider?
Di Zu Divine Lord had already put away the scarf. Though his face remained calm, he too was inwardly irritated.
If it were not necessary, he would have preferred not to take out this scarf or mention the Calamity Venerable's name.
Because the story behind this scarf was not a glorious one.
Di Zu Divine Lord sighed. "Tai Shang's condition is very dire. I fear his time is running out. Zhang Ruochen, if you return now, you might still have a chance to see him one last time."
Zhang Ruochen's body trembled slightly, a wave of grief and self-reproach washing over him.
"It is all my fault. I should have come to the Ancient Desolate Ruins City earlier," Zhang Ruochen said, unable to suppress his sorrow.
The Wu Dian ruins clearly did not contain the Udumbara Flower.
Even if the Udumbara Flower were truly in the Ancient Desolate Ruins City, it had likely been taken by Jiusi Yitianhuang long ago.
Di Zu Divine Lord was puzzled. "Does the Ancient Desolate Ruins City hold a method to prolong Tai Shang's life?"
Zhang Ruochen was no ordinary man. He quickly steadied his emotions and looked at Di Zu Divine Lord.
If Di Zu Divine Lord had taken advantage of his emotional loss of control just now, he would have had no chance of escape.
It seemed Di Zu Divine Lord was indeed straightforward.
But Zhang Ruochen did not fully let down his guard, because Di Zu Divine Lord had come to the Abyss of Darkness specifically to break through his realm. And the Earth Cauldron on Zhang Ruochen was the rarest treasure in the world that could help cultivators break through their realms.
After careful thought, Zhang Ruochen said, "Has the Divine Lord heard of the Udumbara Flower?"
"Legend has it that this flower can extend one's life by three hundred thousand years. It was found by the Sixth Patriarch and Yinyue Tian. By the way, I heard that Yinyue Tian entered the Abyss of Darkness in her later years," Di Zu Divine Lord said, a gleam of brilliance appearing in his eyes. "If we can find the Udumbara Flower, Tai Shang might truly be saved."
Zhang Ruochen said, "The information Heavenly Mother gave me points to Chao Tian Que."
"I know where Chao Tian Que is. If you trust me, you can come with me," Di Zu Divine Lord said.
He could tell that Zhang Ruochen had not fully let down his guard against him.
"Shua! Shua!"
Two beams of divine light—one gold and one white—shot through the Ancient Desolate Ruins City without any hindrance, heading south.
...
Outside the West City Gate, a group of strange beasts emerged from the black wind and sand.
Leading them were two humanoid strange beasts, a male and a female. Their bodies seemed forged from gold, including their hair, which was like blades, radiating a metallic luster.
As they walked, they made a "bang bang" metallic sound, loud and piercing.
The male humanoid strange beast was named Jin Lin. He wielded a heavy sword over ten feet long and looked up at the majestic city gate, a smile spreading across his face. "From today onward, the Ancient Desolate Ruins City belongs to our Gold Clan!"
The female humanoid strange beast was named Jin Yun. "Huang Yue has disappeared. The restrictions the Ancient Desolate Ruins City placed on us have weakened even further. As long as we destroy the formations within the city, this city will become the Gold Clan's territory from now on. Beneath Ba Ling, the Gold Clan is invincible."
"Beneath Ba Ling, the Gold Clan is invincible!"
...
The other strange beasts joined in the chorus of roars.
"Let's go. Into the city."
Led by Jin Lin and Jin Yun, over a dozen ghost-type strange beasts and a sky-covering swarm of dragon-phoenix strange beasts surged into the city gate in a mighty tide.
Behind them, various forms of flood-dragon-type strange beasts and lower-level strange beasts arranged themselves in formation, densely packed like a vast army.
...
Zhang Ruochen and Di Zu Divine Lord moved at incredible speed, crossing millions of li and soon arriving at the southern part of the city.
Numerous rivers of corpse blood converged here, forming a vast sea of corpse blood spanning hundreds of thousands of li.
The seawater was a dark red, extremely viscous.
Zhang Ruochen released his Truth Realm Form. Bright stars appeared in the sky above the sea of corpse blood.
Both in the sky and within the water, a beautiful and brilliant sea of stars appeared.
Under the illumination of the Truth Light, the shadows of many grand buildings appeared at the bottom of the corpse blood sea—clusters of palaces, like an underwater dragon palace. However, Zhang Ruochen sensed a terrifying and dark aura, as if countless malevolent and alien beings were sleeping within those palaces.
Zhang Ruochen detected the residual dark aura of Jiusi Yitianhuang, and his heart sank.
Di Zu Divine Lord said, "When I first entered the Ancient Desolate Ruins City, I came to investigate. The entire sea of corpse blood is covered by formations. These formations are quite terrifying, connected to the ancient divine formation platforms at the city's base. They contain the methods of ancient powerhouses and the carvings of Ancestors, as well as new formation patterns laid down by contemporary powerhouses to patch the flaws. That contemporary powerhouse is most likely Heavenly Mother."
"In short, even with my cultivation, forcing my way in would be extremely dangerous. Zhang Ruochen, are you certain the Udumbara Flower is down there?"
Zhang Ruochen suddenly turned his head, looking toward the western sky, his brow furrowing. "Strange beasts have entered the city?"
Di Zu Divine Lord immediately released his divine thought, extending it millions of li away.
After probing, he was secretly astonished. He turned his gaze to Zhang Ruochen.
This boy's perception...