Chapter 3691: A Special Visitor
The journey was silent until they left Qicheng Heaven Domain, where Feng Yan stopped amidst the clouds.
His gaze was deep and profound as he said, "It was Huan Zu's idea, wasn't it?"
Although Feng Yan was far younger than Murong Ling, after taking control of the Pure Yang Divine Sword, he had grown increasingly steady, exuding an aura of mountain-like stability. In terms of presence, he even suppressed the ancient god Murong Ling.
Murong Ling showed little sign of guilt. She released a corner of her Divine Realm World to conceal the heavenly secrets and said, "Husband, you misunderstand me. Although I was born into the Murong Clan, I always place the interests of the Feng Clan and you first."
"Zhang Ruochen is too proud, unaware that he is merely a blade in the Heavenly Venerable's hand."
"Once the birds are gone, the good bow is stored away. When he has outlived his usefulness, would the Heavenly Venerable still..."
She dared not continue, fearing the Heavenly Venerable might perceive her words.
After a moment of hesitation, Murong Ling added, "After all, given Zhang Ruochen's identity, he is destined not to be on the same path as the Heavenly Court. In fact, he could even be said to be a great threat to the Heavenly Court."
"Next, Zhang Ruochen will inevitably offend many people. If you, husband, stay too close to him, when the reckoning comes, how could you escape?"
"Since it is clear that Zhang Ruochen will not have a good ending, why not take this opportunity to sever ties completely? Once today's events spread, everyone will know that you and Zhang Ruochen have broken off, no longer sworn brothers."
"Moreover, husband, have you forgotten how the Fourth Master fell? Yet Zhang Ruochen married Wu Yue as his wife..."
"Slap!"
Feng Yan had been holding back, but when she mentioned "Fourth Master," he could no longer suppress his emotions. His eyes blazed with fury, and he slapped her hard across the face, the sound sharp and clear.
This slap naturally contained no divine power, so it did not physically injure Murong Ling. But the psychological wound it inflicted was unprecedented.
Murong Ling stared in disbelief, not even thinking to dodge. She slowly raised her hand and touched her cheek.
"What does Wu Yue's matter have to do with Big Brother? Back then, if Big Brother hadn't fought desperately to protect us, I, along with many members of the Feng Clan, would have already died in the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain."
Feng Yan gradually calmed down, his fingers trembling, a hint of regret surfacing, but he still said coldly, "Since we are sworn brothers, knowing that Big Brother is in a difficult position, how could I break ties with him? Wouldn't the word 'righteousness' become a joke? Valuing profit over righteousness is destined to lose people's hearts and lead to betrayal and isolation. Do you know where you went wrong?"
Murong Ling felt a chill from Feng Yan that she had never felt before, as if a divine mountain stood before her, ready to crush her into pieces.
Feng Yan said, "If you were truly considering me and the Feng Clan, how could I be harsh with you? Big Brother values loyalty above all, and he would not be harsh with you either."
"Those words you spoke earlier—were they taught to you by Huan Zu? Do you realize how foolish you are? If there were no major issues within the Time Divine Temple, would Huan Zu be so nervous? The Heavenly Venerable handed over two Liang Huang to Big Brother for disposal, showing a resolute attitude. If even Liang Huang can be executed, who in this world cannot be executed?"
"What right do you have to throw yourself against the Heavenly Venerable's blade? Using my bond with Big Brother, do you think you can act with impunity?"
Murong Ling realized that her earlier words had indeed been inappropriate, but she said, "Yet everything I said is true. If that one from Houtu descends upon the Space Divine Temple, Zhang Ruochen, this blade, might break. This time, the Heavenly Venerable is moving against too many interests, and among them are certainly the interests of the Feng Clan."
"That one from Houtu is not as irrational as you. Even if he wants to play games with the Heavenly Venerable, he would not throw himself onto the blade."
"Such a simple truth, Huan Zu must understand clearly, yet he still had you step forward to use that one from Houtu to intimidate Big Brother. With such intentions, only you fail to see through them."
Feng Yan did not know how to explain it to her anymore. He waved his hand and said, "Your talent in cultivation is indeed extraordinary, but you cannot see the current situation clearly. You are not fit to stay in the Heavenly Court. Return to the Feng Clan, take good care of Ye'er and Xue'er, and do not leave the Feng Clan for ten thousand years."
"As for Huan Zu, I will personally go to the Time Divine Temple to have a proper discussion with him. Schemes! They dare to scheme against the Feng Clan!"
...
Chi Yao had clearly already learned of what had happened at the Sacred Lake. Seeing Zhang Ruochen return, she said, "The Feng Clan probably has no intention of opposing you. I believe all of this was Murong Ling's own doing. There are indeed some problems within the Feng Clan, but they are not at the core, so they shouldn't confront you head-on."
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "If I can't even trust Feng Yan, who else can I trust? The Feng Clan is not on the list the Heavenly Venerable gave me. I think that Heavenly Venerable of the Feng Clan is a wise man and will clean house on his own."
"I don't know the specifics of your deal with the Heavenly Venerable, but can the Heavenly Venerable truly be fully trusted?" Chi Yao asked.
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment and said, "I trust Grandmaster. As long as he is alive, anyone who wants to move against me will have to pay a price they cannot bear."
Chi Yao understood. "For now, only the Heavenly Venerable can protect the Kunlun Realm and Grandmaster. We have no choice but to be the Heavenly Venerable's blade, a pawn."
Zhang Ruochen remained calm. "It's not that passive. Those old fellows in the Heavenly Court are playing games with the Heavenly Venerable for their own interests. But aren't we also playing games with the Heavenly Venerable now? We have that kind of power."
"Exactly. Being the Heavenly Venerable's blade will offend many people, but it will also bring many benefits, allowing our strength to grow."
With that, Zhang Ruochen took out several divine formations, all seized from Xie Tianyi and Yan Wuque.
The divine formations carried by the two Hall Masters of the Array Destruction Palace were naturally no ordinary items. Their power was formidable, capable of even contending with Great Unbound Infinite-level beings.
Among them was a remnant formation of Xie Tianyi's strongest battle formation, the "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Divine Formation," with thirty-eight intact Divine Source Formation Seals.
It should be noted that the complete Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Divine Formation could withstand several strikes from the Earth Cauldron.
Even as a remnant formation, its power was still considerable.
Within the remnant formation, Chi Yao discovered a rather special Divine Source, ice-blue in color, emitting a dazzling divine light from within, as if containing a vast starry system.
The moment her finger touched it, frost immediately formed and spread across her entire body.
"Roar!"
A tiger's roar echoed.
Chi Yao's body erupted with golden light, shattering all the ice.
Zangjin Baihu materialized, standing in the room, the character "Zang" on its brow flickering continuously.
Chi Yao's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "This is very similar to that legendary treasure of the Phoenix Clan in the Kunlun Realm."
"It's not just similar—it is that treasure. This is the Divine Source left behind by the Ancient Ice Phoenix, a heirloom of the Phoenix Clan in the Kunlun Realm," Zhang Ruochen said.
A cold light flashed in Chi Yao's eyes. "So the fall of the Phoenix Clan back then was related to Xie Tianyi? As far as I know, during the Middle Ages, he went to the Kunlun Realm to learn the way of formations from Grandmaster. He could be considered half a disciple of Grandmaster!"
"It will be investigated," Zhang Ruochen said.
The Phoenix Clan was one of the top ten major clans in the Demon God Realm.
But since ancient times, there had also been a branch of the Phoenix Clan in the Kunlun Realm, originating from the Ice Phoenix.
The Phoenix Clan of the Kunlun Realm was wiped out a hundred thousand years ago.
Feng Tian was able to be reborn from Nirvana, breaking through the shackles of cultivation and entering the Indestructible Infinite level precisely because she obtained the Nirvana Cold Fire from the bones of the Ancient Ice Phoenix in the Kunlun Realm and refined the Chaos Spirit.
Zhang Ruochen had gained a great deal. Besides these divine formations, all the resources and wealth of the gods related to Xue Qing were sent to him by Qing Su.
As for the wealth of the other gods who had been captured, Zhang Ruochen did not take a single Divine Source.
"Xue Qing died too easily. You should have handed him over to me," Chi Yao said, her hatred still not dissipated.
Zhang Ruochen said, "He was just an accomplice. The real culprit who harmed Kunlun is that great figure hiding within the Space Divine Temple, covering up all the heavenly secrets."
Chi Yao showed a worried expression. "Why not invite Jie Tian over?"
"If that old fellow comes, it won't be interesting anymore."
Zhang Ruochen put on a relaxed demeanor, his gaze shifting to Zangjin Baihu. He thought of something and said, "Earlier, Gongming War God mentioned something to me that I think is a good idea."
"What are you looking at me for?"
Zangjin Baihu spoke in human tongue, sensing Zhang Ruochen's ill intentions.
Zhang Ruochen told the story of the Black Tiger.
Chi Yao was stunned for a moment, then let out a faint smile.
The worry on her face and the concern in her heart dissipated with that smile.
"Roar!"
The tiger's roar was deafening.
"Zhang Ruochen, you can accept dragons and phoenixes, so why don't you marry it too?"
Zangjin Baihu lunged at Zhang Ruochen, its claws sharp, as if it wanted to tear him apart.
"It's male. You two, one black and one white, are a match made in heaven."
"This is too much! I am a prehistoric relic, how noble! I am destined to attain the Dao and become an Ancestor. How could I fancy a mere beast?"
"Ancestor... Hah!"
...
Zhang Ruochen released Space Rule Divine Marks, manifesting his Divine Realm World, and retreated repeatedly.
Then, he took out a bright yellow wooden box and activated it with divine Qi.
"Shua shua!"
Three hundred and sixty formation flags flew out of the box, blocking Zangjin Baihu.
Inside the formation, a vast, white snowy world materialized, extremely expansive, with mountain ranges stretching across it, the distance between north and south, east and west, spanning countless billions of miles.
This formation was called "Wind and Snow Continent," refined by Yan Wuque using the Fengyue Realm.
If the Xutuohuan White Silver Tree and the Ten Thousand Buddha Formation were mainly for defense and trapping,
then this formation could not only defend and trap but also contain killing power.
Zangjin Baihu was blocked outside the Wind and Snow Continent, leaving only a series of indignant tiger roars that penetrated the atmosphere and reached Zhang Ruochen's ears.
As Zhang Ruochen analyzed the formation inscriptions of the Wind and Snow Continent, he also communicated with the World Spirit of the Fengyue Realm.
The World Spirit was also the formation spirit.
Zhang Ruochen's current spiritual power and formation mastery were far inferior to Yan Wuque's by many levels. To quickly master the Wind and Snow Continent, he had to gain the recognition of the formation spirit.
If he could master this formation, he would have another powerful trump card in hand, further enhancing his strength.
...
Time passed quickly, and two years went by.
Of course, this was because the Sundial had been activated; only two days had passed in the outside world.
Zhang Ruochen had analyzed most of the inscriptions within the Wind and Snow Continent. With the help of the formation spirit, he could now operate the formation at will.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen emerge from the formation, Chi Yao said, "The time fluctuations are very strong. If we keep running the Sundial like this, it will be hard to explain to outsiders."
"Activating the Sundial in the Space Divine Temple is indeed easy to expose. I have other arrangements!" Zhang Ruochen was in a good mood and asked, "Over the past two days, quite a few gods must have arrived at the Space Divine Temple, right?"
Chi Yao nodded. "After all, it's a beheading of a Heavenly Venerable. Such a grand event, who would want to miss it? Over these two days, the visiting cards sent in could fill a large box!"
Zhang Ruochen didn't take it to heart.
Tomorrow was the Beheading Liang Huang Assembly. It was not the time to meet anyone now.
He planned to go to the Divine Prison.
The Divine Prison had been silent, which was truly strange. That hidden Liang Zun was far too patient.
Chi Yao hesitated but finally said, "There is one visiting card that is quite special."
"No matter how special, I can't see them, or it would be showing favoritism," Zhang Ruochen said.
Chi Yao said, "It's from the Elf Clan's First Queen, A Fuya! She arrived at the Space Divine Temple yesterday."