Chapter 3563: The Fifth Pillar
"Didn't you say that the Thunder Ancestor had half his divine body severed by Feng Tian? With such a severe injury, how could he recover in such a short time?"
Xuan Yuan Lian clearly had absolute confidence in Zhao Gongming, saying, "Even if the Thunder Ancestor were at his peak, defeating Senior Zhao Gongming would be no easy task. To avoid any accidents, Senior Zhao Gongming personally sought out Qiangu Nüdi and borrowed the Sword Dao Essence. This battle is a sure victory!"
The Dragon Lord had given all the Sword Dao Essence he had seized from Mingjian Shen to Qiangu Nüdi. Combined with the Sword Dao Essence she already possessed, the total amount now approached two-tenths of the universe's entire sum.
Zhao Gongming was one of the foremost Sword Gods of the Heavenly Court, already possessing a considerable amount of Sword Dao Essence himself. With the addition of Qiangu Nüdi's Sword Dao Essence, his combat power would undoubtedly see a tremendous boost.
At the same cultivation level, the gap in combat power was largely determined by Essence. If Zhao Gongming could wield fifty percent of the Sword Dao Essence and become the Sword Dao Overlord, he could absolutely cross an entire major realm, contend with an Indestructible Infinite, or even defeat one.
Of course, that was impossible. Even Void Heaven did not possess that much Sword Dao Essence.
A lotus imprint flickered with divine light on Xuan Yuan Lian's white, jade-like brow. A smile appeared in her misty, apricot-like eyes as she said, "Legend has it that you were pursued by the Thunder Ancestor, and Feng Tian even abandoned the easily attainable Starry Sky Defense Line to go save you. Is that true?"
"Why ask this? Are you trying to pry information out of me?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Xuan Yuan Lian replied, "You are the Lord of the Sword Realm, and the other is the quasi-Hall Master of the Destiny Temple. Your relationship is very important to the Heavenly Court."
"This kind of businesslike talk makes me quite uncomfortable," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xuan Yuan Lian's slender, fair hand picked up the warm-boiled purple clay pot beside her, poured a cup of clear tea, and handed it to Zhang Ruochen. "As close friends who have braved life and death together, as sworn allies who advance and retreat together, it should be fine to brew tea, chat about trivial matters, and talk about strange experiences and sights, shouldn't it?"
Zhang Ruochen took the teacup from her hand, simultaneously feeling the icy smoothness of her hand and the scalding heat of the cup. He smiled and said, "Are you also wondering why I stayed in the Destiny Temple for a thousand years? And it seems I am about to become the Divine Venerable of the Past Divine Palace, right?"
Xuan Yuan Lian nodded. "There are too many things I'm curious about. I plan to ask them one by one. No rush. I have time today."
Zhang Ruochen didn't drink the tea in a hurry. "Actually, there are quite a few things about you that I'm curious about as well."
"Open our hearts and chat together?" Xuan Yuan Lian asked.
Zhang Ruochen had come to see Xuan Yuan Lian precisely to clarify some matters. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "If I tell you, you might not believe it."
"Go ahead. Whether I believe it or not is my business," Xuan Yuan Lian said.
Zhang Ruochen lowered his voice. "Feng Tian might have developed feelings for me."
Xuan Yuan Lian nodded. "Continue."
"I'm not joking!"
Zhang Ruochen said seriously, "If she only valued my talent and potential, how could she possibly abandon the Starry Sky Defense Line for that? Besides, she has saved me not just once or twice."
Next, Zhang Ruochen recounted some of the events from the Phantom Extinction Star Sea and the Abyss of Darkness. "Right now, I'm truly terrified. I just want to escape the Hell Realm and get as far away from her as possible. There should be a place for me in the Heavenly Court, right?"
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen casually raised the teacup and took a sip.
Seeing him speak so earnestly, Xuan Yuan Lian thought to herself, "Could Feng Caiyi really have developed feelings... I must be crazy, believing his nonsense."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Can you leave this golden chariot now?"
Xuan Yuan Lian replied, "After breaking through to the Infinite Realm, I can go out!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Why couldn't you leave before reaching the Infinite Realm? Have you been inside this chariot since birth?"
A strange expression appeared on Xuan Yuan Lian's face. "If I tell you, you might not believe it."
"Go ahead. Whether I believe it or not is my business," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xuan Yuan Lian said, "You've seen this golden chariot. It can isolate the rules of heaven and earth, forming its own small world. Since birth, I have tried to leave the chariot several times, but strange things happened each time. My skin would wither, my flesh would turn woody, as if I were cursed."
Zhang Ruochen was visibly moved. "Impossible. With the Heavenly Venerable's cultivation, who could curse you?"
Xuan Yuan Lian's eyes were deep and unfathomable, as if she were pondering something. Then she laughed. "Anyway, it's in the past! After reaching the Infinite Realm, I could rely on my own powerful cultivation to resist that unknown force. The effect is now negligible."
Zhang Ruochen's brow furrowed.
He had initially guessed at the "Withering Death Art."
But the Withering Death Art was so formidable that even someone with the cultivation of Nutian Shenzun couldn't resolve it with their own power. If Xuan Yuan Lian had been afflicted by the Withering Death Art, how could she resist it just by reaching the Infinite Realm?
Xuan Yuan Lian said, "Why were you so careless?"
Zhang Ruochen looked puzzled.
Xuan Yuan Lian continued, "To be schemed against by someone like Xue Tu, causing Tai Shang's plans to be ruined. Do you want me to eliminate him for you?"
Zhang Ruochen quickly shook his head. "If I need your help for something like this, wouldn't I be a useless Lord of the Sword Realm?"
Xuan Yuan Lian said, "Eliminating Xue Tu isn't actually difficult. You could easily borrow the knife of Xue Jue War God or Luo Yan Great Emperor. This would also stir up conflict between the Undying Blood Clan, the Rakshasa Clan, and the Destiny Temple. Kill two birds with one stone."
Zhang Ruochen sensed she was testing him. "If you want to help, there is actually one thing I need to ask of you."
Zhang Ruochen took out the Space-Time Chaos Lotus, gently waved his hand, and sent it flying towards her.
"I need to go to the White Clothes Valley. Please take care of this lotus for me for a while," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xuan Yuan Lian's wise eyes were filled with confusion. She smiled charmingly. "Are you deliberately finding an excuse to help me, knowing that I've been studying the Way of Time and the Way of Space lately? Aren't you afraid Empress Chi Yao will get jealous?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Anyway, I'm entrusting it to you. You must keep it safe for me. If it's lost, not even the Radiant Divine Sword and this golden chariot would be enough to compensate for it."
Yan Renhuan was certain that Qishier Pin Lian was Xuan Yuan Lian's mother, and Jie Zunzhe also suspected that Hao Tian had a connection with Qishier Pin Lian. Therefore, entrusting the Space-Time Chaos Lotus to Xuan Yuan Lian should be the safest option.
Even if Qishier Pin Lian had nothing to do with Xuan Yuan Lian, with Hao Tian's reputation as the number one under heaven, she probably wouldn't dare to provoke her easily.
...
Outside the golden chariot, Chi Cha Luo, clad in heavy armor, concealed all his ghostly aura within the armor.
Beside him stood the heir of the Red Cloud Flying Immortal Valley, Qing Yusheng.
Qing Yusheng was dressed in white like snow, her figure ethereal like a celestial spirit, wearing a veil. She transmitted her voice, saying, "Since Zhang Ruochen has come to the Wuding Divine Sea, Tai Shang must have come too. Now I am completely at ease."
Chi Cha Luo said, "Could Tai Shang be planning to die together with Lei Fa Tian Zun before his death?"
"That is the only possibility," Qing Yusheng said.
"All cultivators in the world know that the Thunder Clan and Zhang Ruochen have a deep, blood feud. For Zhang Ruochen to dare appear in the Wuding Divine Sea, ignoring the Thunder Ancestor and Lei Fa Tian Zun, he must have some backing," Chi Cha Luo said.
Chi Cha Luo became nervous. "If Tai Shang self-detonates his divine heart, the surrounding star regions of the Wuding Divine Sea will definitely be affected. Should we retreat further?"
"It's fine. There must be some Heavenly Venerable of the Heavenly Court stationed in the surrounding star regions of the Wuding Divine Sea. Although I don't know who it is, they can certainly protect us," Qing Yusheng said.
"Lian Gongzi, until we meet again."
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the golden chariot, casting a meaningful glance at Qing Yusheng and Chi Cha Luo. With a smile, his body flickered slightly and vanished into space.
A look of shock appeared in Qing Yusheng's clear, beautiful eyes. "Could he have heard our voice transmission just now?"
"Has Zhang Ruochen's cultivation already reached such a level? That's impossible, unless he is a Great Unbound Infinite," Chi Cha Luo said. He simply couldn't believe that anyone could cultivate from Qiankun Infinite to Great Unbound Infinite in just a thousand years.
...
In the void, about thirty billion miles away from the Wuding Divine Sea, dozens of sacred chariots and a divine ship were arranged. Thousands of cultivators stood around the divine ship, kneeling on one knee towards the center.
"Welcome, Divine Lord!"
They shouted in unison.
On the divine ship, dozens of divine consorts of the Imperial Ancestor Divine Dynasty stood in three rows according to their rank and status, bowing to the Imperial Ancestor Divine Lord.
Many of these divine consorts had reached the Divine Realm. Those whose cultivation was insufficient or whose background was not strong enough were not qualified to come to the Wuding Divine Sea to welcome the Divine Lord.
"Has the Divine Lord broken through to the next realm?" one of the divine consorts asked.
The Imperial Ancestor Divine Lord said, "Breaking through to the peak of Great Unbound Infinite is no easy task. Opportunities can be sought but not forced. All rise. No need for formalities."
Another divine consort said, "Your subject has something to report. The Heavenly Court's Second War God, Zhao Gongming, will challenge the Thunder Ancestor."
The Imperial Ancestor Divine Lord nodded slightly. "I am already aware of this. They are both at the peak of Great Unbound Infinite. This battle will certainly be a sight to behold. Watching them fight might allow me to comprehend the mysteries of that realm and break through the final bottleneck."
"If the Divine Lord breaks through, he will surely unify the Imperial Dao Great World, and the position of a Heavenly Venerable will be within reach."
...
On an unknown planet, a hundred billion miles away from the Wuding Divine Sea.
A black-robed old man, appearing to be in his sixties, looked up at the starry sky. The Wuding Divine Sea, a hundred billion miles away, covered most of the sky, seeming close enough to touch.
The black-robed old man had a robust build, broad shoulders, and a thick waist. He wore a metal demon crown on his head, exuding an infinite domineering aura.
"They actually came to the Wuding Divine Sea!" the black-robed old man said, as if talking to himself.
Xiang Chunan asked cautiously, "Master, who are 'they'?"
"Jie Zunzhe and Zhang Ruochen."
The black-robed old man frowned, showing a worried expression.
Xiang Chunan was overjoyed. "Big Brother has come to the Wuding Divine Sea? Excellent..."
"Excellent my ass!"
The black-robed old man slapped him, sending Xiang Chunan flying several thousand meters and crashing into a reddish-brown mountain. He cursed, "Look at you now. He's already at the Infinite Realm, and what about you? What face do you have to call him Big Brother?"
The black-robed old man's face was full of disgust. "I, Meng Ge, was a hero in my time, renowned for millennia. How did I end up taking in a waste like you as my disciple?"
If the name Meng Ge were to spread, it would surely shake the universe. Because this was the name of the number one person below the Supreme Four Pillars among the Seventy-Two Demon Gods of the Chaos Era!
Xiang Chunan crawled out of the rubble, his clothes tattered, showing no shame at all. He grinned, "Big Brother has always been an unparalleled genius, unprecedented in history, number one under heaven. Who can compare?"
"Since you can't compare, why don't you go and leech some opportunities? Leech some luck?"
Meng Ge was disappointed, saying, "Even if you just leeched off the Sundial, you might have reached the Infinite Realm by now!"
Xiang Chunan said, "Big Brother has been in the Hell Realm..."
"Why didn't you follow him to the Hell Realm? Wherever he goes, you follow. Don't you understand what it means to go with the flow? Chase the luck to cultivate. Only then will you have a chance to become a Heavenly Venerable in the future. Otherwise, no matter how many resources your master and mistress pour into you, it will all be in vain."
Meng Ge muttered to himself, "What does Jie Zunzhe and Zhang Ruochen coming to the Wuding Divine Sea at this time mean? Could that old fellow from the Kunlun Realm really be planning to drag Lei Fa Tian Zun down with him before he dies?"
(End of Chapter)