Chapter 3666: The Death-Annihilating Arrow
Yanshu Chan Master, Juemiao Channü, and Qingsu were all ancient gods who had cultivated for hundreds of thousands of years and had long grown accustomed to life and death. Yet, the scene before them still made their expressions turn grave, deep worry welling up as they watched Zhang Ruochen walk step by step toward the Unicorn.
The Unicorn stopped beside Zhang Ruochen, its eyes dimming as it collapsed sideways into the void of the universe.
Chi Kunlun's headless corpse floated silently before Zhang Ruochen. Apart from the clean cut at the neck, there was not a single other wound on the body.
Clearly, he had encountered a far stronger opponent.
His head had been severed with a single sword strike.
Silence was the greatest sorrow.
Zhang Ruochen's face showed neither grief nor joy. He raised his arm, hesitated slightly, then touched his fingers to the bleeding wound at the neck.
The blood was already cold, the divine soul utterly exhausted.
The Divine Source had turned to dust, and the flame of life had long been extinguished.
It was evident that the enemy had been thorough, grinding away even the divine soul, leaving not a single fragment of spiritual essence behind, denying Zhang Ruochen any chance to summon the soul.
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes. In his mind, images surfaced of the last time he had seen Chi Kunlun in the Kunlun Realm.
He had stepped down from the imperial throne, originally intending to train in the Abyss of Darkness. But, following Zhang Ruochen's advice, he had gone to the Space Divine Temple to cultivate.
In truth, from the very beginning, Zhang Ruochen had known that cultivating at the Space Divine Temple was indeed a dangerous endeavor. Yet, given Chi Kunlun's nature, how could he be willing to fall behind others?
Chi Kongle had dared to take risks and cultivate in the Hell Realm.
As the elder brother, how could he remain in the Kunlun Realm forever, a flower sheltered in a greenhouse?
As a Space Controller, the Space Divine Temple was the most suitable place for him to cultivate.
The only danger at the Space Divine Temple was the Quantifier behind the Space Grand Elder, who had yet to be exposed. But the Space Divine Temple was located in the Heavenly Court, under the watchful eyes of Hao Tian and many other great figures of the Heavenly Court. With the Quantity Organization being hunted by all, how would a Quantifier dare to risk exposure by striking at a junior like Chi Kunlun?
Compared to going to the Abyss of Darkness, cultivating at the Space Divine Temple was more than ten times safer.
In Zhang Ruochen's estimation, the greatest challenge Chi Kunlun would face should have been the suppression and exclusion from the Paradise Realm Faction cultivators within the Space Divine Temple.
And that pressure should have been the driving force for his growth.
Only now did regret and intense self-blame surge within Zhang Ruochen.
This was perhaps what Wu Yue had meant by the price one must pay when playing games with Heaven-level powerhouses.
Over the past millennium, his actions and gradual schemes had indeed been low-key, but his opponents were no fools—they were exceedingly shrewd and would not allow his power and strength to continue growing unchecked. They had chosen to strike first.
Undoubtedly, the enemy was willing to sacrifice even a Quantifier to interrupt Zhang Ruochen's ongoing schemes, forcing him out of the White Clothes Valley. There was even the intent to strike at Zhang Ruochen's state of mind, making him fearful and causing him to collapse.
Nie Cang Venerable stepped out from a spatial rift and shook his head at Juemiao Channü and the others. "No traces to investigate. It must be a Perfect Rounder."
"Kunlun has been cultivating at the Space Divine Temple all along, so the mastermind behind this must be the Kui Liang Emperor. His move is to force me to leave the White Clothes Valley. If I don't leave, more corpses will be delivered before me. A Perfect Rounder wants to kill someone—no one can stop it." Zhang Ruochen's eyes were sharp, filled with boundless killing intent.
Nutian Shenzun appeared several dozen zhang away, with the Gate of Destiny manifesting behind him. He pointed a finger outward.
Divine light of fate enveloped Chi Kunlun's headless corpse.
"The heavenly mechanism has been severed; I cannot deduce his past. A Perfect Rounder is indeed involved. Everyone must face their own challenges—win and live, lose and die. Whether to go or stay, decide for yourself."
Nutian Shenzun left these words, his figure gradually fading until he vanished.
"Zhang benefactor truly sees life and death lightly, truly unaffected by the concept of life and death."
Yanshu Chan Master said this, then clasped his hands together and addressed Zhang Ruochen: "The enemy deliberately sent the corpse before you to provoke you, to make you lose reason and rush to the Space Divine Temple to investigate the truth. If you leave the White Clothes Valley, wouldn't you be falling right into their trap? The more they do this, the less you should let them have their way."
Juemiao Channü said, "Stay! The more the Quantity Organization does this, the more it shows how much they fear you. With the help of the Sundial, it won't take long—another ten thousand years—and even the Heavens won't be able to do anything to you. By then, the Tai Shang of the Kunlun Realm will surely have emerged from seclusion. If you want to go to the Heavenly Court then, I won't stop you."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen silent, picking up Chi Kunlun's headless corpse and holding it close, his back like a sharp sword radiating coldness, Wu Yue couldn't help but sigh: "You can't persuade him. Those people did this partly to force Zhang Ruochen out of the White Clothes Valley, but also to pressure his mind, making him afraid to leave."
"If Zhang Ruochen truly chooses to hide, he won't be able to get past his own heart."
"Besides, aren't you curious where Chi Kunlun's head went? Those behind-the-scenes schemers are skilled; since they've acted, it can't be just to target Zhang Ruochen so simply."
"Killing Chi Kunlun can lure Zhang Ruochen out. If Zhang Ruochen is in danger, who else might be drawn out? Perhaps their ultimate target is still the Kunlun Realm. The one orchestrating this may not be just the Kui Liang Emperor."
"Those Perfect Rounders all scheme deeply; once they act, they ensure they are in an invincible position first. This is an opponent that even Fengdu Dadi could only fight to a draw. Playing chess with them, how can we talk about winning?"
Wu Yue analyzed the situation for Zhang Ruochen in the most rational way, but found no way to break the deadlock, no hope of victory.
Juemiao Channü said, "How about asking Heavenly Mother to escort Zhang Ruochen back to the Heavenly Court?"
Anyone hearing this would find it absurd, yet it was currently the only option.
After all, Nutian Shenzun was a cultivator of the Hell Realm and could protect Zhang Ruochen on this side. But the Heavenly Court Universe was beyond his reach.
Only Heavenly Mother had no enmity with the Heavenly Court and was currently in a neutral state, with the opportunity to enter the Heavenly Court Universe.
However, Qiangshake had not yet been fully refined, which concealed another layer of crisis.
"If I can't even leave the White Clothes Valley and need a Heavenly Venerable-rank escort, then what meaning does my lifelong cultivation have? Since they have declared war, then let war be." Zhang Ruochen said.
Everyone could feel the killing intent radiating from Zhang Ruochen. It was foreseeable that if he returned to the Heavenly Court, it would trigger a storm of shocking proportions. Perhaps that was exactly what the Quantity Organization wanted to see.
Wuqing Zong and Yan Wushen, who had been cultivating under the Sundial, had sensed the disturbance outside and emerged from seclusion early.
They, along with Xiu Chen Heavenly God, appeared in the void outside the Kongming Realm.
Xiu Chen Heavenly God's cultivation was now vastly different, and his confidence was high. "What is there to fear? Go to the Heavenly Court, flatten the Space Divine Temple, and kill everyone involved in this matter. Better to kill the wrong ones than let them go. Only then can we intimidate some people. Otherwise, today it's Chi Kunlun who dies; tomorrow it might be Xue Jue War God or Xue Hou."
"Listen to me—use this opportunity to establish your authority. Let those petty people in the Heavenly Court see your power, so they no longer treat you as a junior. As long as that Heaven of your Zhang family can be a bit more assertive, I dare say that even if you bloodbath the Space Divine Temple, the Heavenly Palace will have to endure it. The loss of a son is an irreconcilable enmity."
Behind Yan Wushen, a dragon shadow flickered faintly. As he walked, heaven and earth resonated. He stepped before Zhang Ruochen and said, "Give him to me."
A glimmer of light appeared in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. "Do you have a way?"
"The way I can think of, you can think of too."
Yan Wushen said, "Though his divine soul is destroyed, there are still remnant souls in Lihentian. I once taught him the true essence of the Six Paths Reincarnation. With his corpse and remnant soul, it might be possible to reverse his fate. The key lies in whether he truly comprehended the Six Paths Reincarnation."
With only a corpse and remnant soul, even if a cultivator could attach to a body and be reborn, it would only be a "false life." When the Eon Calamity came, they would still turn to ashes.
But if one had cultivated the Six Paths Reincarnation, there was a possibility of defying fate.
"Lihentian is very dangerous. Perhaps they are waiting for me to go to Lihentian to find Chi Kunlun's remnant soul." Zhang Ruochen said.
"I am a proud son of the Yama Clan. In Lihentian, who would dare to touch me? Besides, I am a God Venerable. I treat the Abyss of Darkness as if it were empty; killing me won't be so easy."
Yan Wushen took Chi Kunlun's headless corpse from Zhang Ruochen's hands and said, "As his master, I will save his life. As his father, go and kill. If this weren't the Heavenly Court, I would trade places with you."
Behind Yan Wushen, the Six Paths Reincarnation Seal manifested.
The seal spun, piercing through the spatial barrier leading to Lihentian. His figure retreated, and holding the corpse, he vanished into the cold, dark void.
...
A bright beam of light streaked across the vast starry sky.
Wherever the beam passed, it triggered destructive storms. Countless stars shattered, turning into massive fragments of rock.
"Boom!"
The beam flew for billions of miles, piercing through the divine patterns and formations outside the Kunlun Realm, colliding with the atmosphere. Like a pebble falling into a lake, ripples spread across the sea of clouds, expanding across the entire great world.
The ground of the Kunlun Realm trembled slightly, and the sky blazed as bright as day.
Cultivators from great worlds near the Kunlun Realm all witnessed this heart-stopping celestial phenomenon in the night sky. Countless planets were falling, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was in chaos, and even their own great worlds were affected.
Countless message light talismans flew out, and the news quickly spread across the Heavenly Court Universe.
Xuanyuan Lian, who was in the Heavenly Court, immediately received a message from the Red Dust Peerless Tower. He summoned the Tower Master Zhuang Tai'a to inquire about the situation.
Zhuang Tai'a's expression was extremely grim. "What was shot toward the Kunlun Realm is the first chapter divine artifact of the 'Tai Bai Divine Artifact Chapter'—the Death-Annihilating Arrow. To cause such a commotion, at least a Heaven-level powerhouse was involved. Who exactly did it is still uncertain."
Xuanyuan Lian said, "If I remember correctly, the Death-Annihilating Arrow was forged by the Elf Clan's First Queen, A Fuya, right? Legend has it that she once used this arrow to kill more than ten Heavens. This is a divine artifact capable of killing Heavens!"
"During the Chaos Era, the Elf Clan's Death-Annihilating Arrow was seized by the Supreme Pillar Ba'er. Who struck this time is hard to guess. In truth, this is not something our cultivation level should be concerned about. I have another urgent matter here."
Zhuang Tai'a said with deep worry, "Chi Kunlun died at the Space Divine Temple, and his head was sent to the Kunlun Realm. Empress Chi Yao has already arrived at the Heavenly Court and is on her way to the Space Divine Temple. Other gods of the Kunlun Realm may also respond. The most terrifying thing is that the one cultivating in the White Clothes Valley—if he returns... the consequences are truly unpredictable."