Chapter 3537: The Prey
"Boom!"
A thunderclap tore across the sky.
Above, white fire rain fell, dotting the entire world with specks of light—beautiful yet carrying a dangerous aura.
The fire rain landed on the ground without extinguishing, gathering into streams that flowed into the River of Blazing Light.
Zhang Ruochen conjured a Taiji Four Symbols Diagram above his head to block the fire rain and asked, "You still haven't answered the question I asked at the very beginning."
Yuan Sheng stared at the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram above Zhang Ruochen's head, seemingly intrigued, and said, "Humans, ghosts, dragons, and phoenixes—all are primordial beings."
"Humans are the royal clan among primordial beings; dragons and phoenixes are the nobility."
"Ghosts are the heaven-crippled among the royal clan, those who had their physical bodies washed away in the Black River, leaving only soul spirits. Additionally, some royal clan members who fell in ancient times have returned as ghosts when their soul spirits came back through the Black River."
The Black River was one of the three rivers of the Abyss of Darkness, located at the foot of the Great Nether Mountain.
Zhang Ruochen had read about it in ancient texts and had also heard Cang Jue mention it.
Zhang Ruochen pressed further, "What does 'heaven-crippled' mean?"
"You have to answer two of my questions first."
"Fine."
Only then did Yuan Sheng nod in satisfaction and say, "Pure-blood royal clan members of primordial beings need only cultivate naturally to reach the Infinite Realm upon adulthood. But those verified as heaven-crippled at birth are thrown into the Black River. If they survive, they transform into ghosts. If they don't... they become part of the Black River's waters."
As she finished, a self-mocking and pained expression flickered in Yuan Sheng's eyes.
Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
Naturally growing to adulthood and reaching the Infinite Realm?
Pure-blood divine beasts, through natural growth, reached at least the False God level upon adulthood, which was already heaven-defying. But compared to the royal clan of primordial beings, they were utterly insignificant.
No wonder Yuan Sheng was so arrogant, always regarding them as lower lifeforms.
Yuan Sheng said, "The royal clan has an extremely low reproduction rate. Some royal clans may not produce a single non-crippled child in an entire eon. And a royal clan woman can bear no more than ten children in her lifetime."
"Recently, many powerful beings from the upper realm have come to the lower realm. What is the reason?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Because the covenant is about to lose its effect. The heavens of the upper realm naturally want to make arrangements in advance."
"Exactly. Did you think we were completely unaware of the covenant?" Yan Wushen said solemnly.
Yuan Sheng asked again, "How do they plan to arrange things?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "By stirring up conflicts among the twelve clans, making them fight among themselves, so they won't have the strength to attack the upper realm."
Yan Wushen said, "This is the strategy of Jiusi Yitianhuang. His methods are extremely brilliant. Just wait and see—the Abyss of Darkness is about to descend into chaos."
Yuan Sheng's gaze shifted between the two of them, and she laughed, "Do you really think I'm that easy to fool?"
"Haven't you been fooling us all along?"
Zhang Ruochen raised both hands, and Truth radiance appeared in his palms, flickering like two star seas. He said, "Have you forgotten how I saw through you when you were in the state of heaven and earth rules? I wield Truth. I know exactly how many of your words are true."
"Is that so?" Yuan Sheng said.
Yan Wushen acted decisively, flashing sideways and striking the back of her head with a finger.
Dense arrays of rule divine patterns surged from his fingertip, striking her divine soul as he executed a soul-searching secret technique.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes blazed as he locked gazes with her. The Taiji Four Symbols Diagram above him rotated, unleashing temporal and spatial suppression.
"Soul-searching me?"
A smile lingered in Yuan Sheng's eyes as her aura shifted, sharp as a drawn divine sword.
That smile was filled with mockery.
"Not good!"
Zhang Ruochen struck out with the Truth radiance from both hands, but it was blocked by a black water curtain three feet away from her.
The black water curtain contained an immense devouring force, constantly pulling at his hands.
The Truth divine light in his palms extinguished like flames.
Zhang Ruochen sensed an extremely dangerous omen. He sank his legs, immediately stabilizing his stance, and activated the power of the Qilin Fist Gloves, attempting to trigger the ten-billion-fold spatial gravity of the Blunt Void Stone. But under the influence of dark force, he lost all connection with the Qilin Fist Gloves and the Blunt Void Stone.
How bizarre!
"Boom! Boom!"
Divine light flickered on Yuan Sheng's body, shattering all the spatial rule divine patterns.
Yan Wushen, who was soul-searching her, was horrified to find that his rule divine patterns were being uncontrollably taken by her.
He tried to withdraw his finger, but discovered that not only his finger but his entire arm was frozen in space. It was as if this hand no longer belonged to him.
The two had suspected and prepared for this, but Yuan Sheng's cultivation level far exceeded their expectations.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You really are problematic."
"When did you notice?" Yuan Sheng asked with a smile.
Zhang Ruochen said, "To silently follow me into Qingxu Hall with the level of cultivation you displayed—that was impossible. But the fact that you transformed into the state of heaven and earth rules at that moment did shock me and lulled me into complacency."
"Secondly, Yuan Jieyi cared so much about you, yet after we captured you, he didn't pursue us. That was far too unreasonable."
Behind Yan Wushen, the Six Paths Reincarnation manifested. He exerted all his strength, trying to withdraw his finger and suppress the loss of rule divine patterns within his body. He said, "A skilled hunter always appears in the form of prey. We saw through the flaw, but we couldn't believe that someone of your cultivation level would willingly act as prey. So this fall wasn't unjust."
Yuan Sheng smiled charmingly, touching her red lips with a finger, and said, "It's because you know too much about Chaotian Que. Inside Chaotian Que, I didn't have full confidence in capturing both of you alive before you activated the formations."
Zhang Ruochen said, "You were worried we would self-detonate our divine sources, weren't you? Killing us is easy, but capturing us both alive is very difficult."
"Yes, she truly wants us alive. She waited for us to soul-search her, luring us into the trap, and then captured us without effort. If I'm not mistaken, her greatest goal is to obtain useful information from us," Yan Wushen said.
"What I want to know is your understanding of Chaotian Que. Once I have your memories, Chaotian Que—and indeed the entire Ancient Desolate Ruins City—will be under my control."
Yuan Sheng spun around abruptly, forming her five fingers into a claw and pressing it down on Yan Wushen's head.
"Rip!"
Her sharp nails, like ink jade, pierced into Yan Wushen's scalp, causing blood to trickle down.
His golden body could not block it.
At Yan Wushen's brow, spatial power continuously exploded, producing deafening rumbles.
The mottled Bridge of Helplessness slowly extended from his brow.
"A bridge dares to block my soul-searching?"
Yuan Sheng laughed softly, but each laugh shook Yan Wushen, making him spit out a mouthful of blood. The space at his brow closed, and his eyes grew dimmer.
The gap in cultivation was too great!
"You're ignoring me too much."
A voice came from behind her.
Yuan Sheng glanced sideways, sensing danger.
"Whoosh!"
From Zhang Ruochen's Mysterious Embryo below his abdomen, nine-colored radiance erupted. Ancestor divine qi and ancestor rules surged out, condensing into a war sword that pierced through the black water curtain, stabbing straight at Yuan Sheng's back.
Even Yuan Sheng could not ignore this sword.
She gathered all her rules and divine power at her back, forming a boundless dark space.
Using space to buy reaction time.
She immediately turned and swept her sleeve, shattering the nine-colored ancestor war sword into wisps of mist.
Zhang Ruochen hadn't expected her cultivation to be so terrifying. He was momentarily stunned, but before he could unleash the Xutuo Huan White Silver Tree, his vision went black. A heavy blow struck him, sending him flying backward.
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen crashed through the earth, plowing a thousand-mile-long canyon through the black forest.
Yuan Sheng showed no joy. She turned back to find that Yan Wushen had seized the opportunity and jumped into the River of Blazing Light.
Zhang Ruochen caught his breath and immediately activated the Ancestor Boots, leaping up to put distance between them.
"Whoosh!"
Just as he rose, his legs were entangled by thorny vines, followed by his waist and abdomen, then his neck. Finally, he was pulled down heavily, crashing at her feet, disheveled and covered in dirt.
"Now you've tasted this feeling too. How is it? Not pleasant, is it?" Yuan Sheng leaned down to look at him, smiling.
Zhang Ruochen racked his brain for a countermeasure and said, "It seems I'm doomed this time."
"You're still useful for now. I'm very interested in your Dao methods—they share some commonalities with my clan's cultivation techniques. By comprehending them, I might break through to Indestructible," Yuan Sheng said. "If you don't want your soul searched, tell me honestly the secret of the Udumbara Flower."
"I haven't lied to you about the Udumbara Flower, not a single word."
Zhang Ruochen suddenly realized something and said, "I understand! Your true purpose in entering Chaotian Que must be the Udumbara Flower, right? No, not the Udumbara Flower—it's the one who took it. You're investigating something? There really are problems within your twelve primordial clans?"
The smile vanished from Yuan Sheng's face. She stared calmly at Zhang Ruochen and said, "Have the beings of the upper realm evolved to this point, all as exceptionally clever as you two?"
Zhang Ruochen looked at the thorny vines binding him and said, "Even after being schemed against so thoroughly, you still mock us?"
"Your cultivation talent and sharp intelligence—even searching through all the royal clan members of the twelve clans, it would be hard to find your equals. What you lack is merely cultivation and time."
A flash of killing intent crossed Yuan Sheng's eyes. She wanted to kill Zhang Ruochen right then and there, eliminating the threat forever.
But the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram scene he had earlier manifested deeply moved her, showing her the hope of breaking through to Indestructible.
"Shua!"
She reached out her five fingers through the air. Wisps of dark rules surged toward Zhang Ruochen's skull, directly soul-searching him.
(Chapter End)