Chapter 3697: Within Buzhou Mountain
The moment the Space Divine Temple's temple doors opened, all the powerful figures of the Heavenly Court sensed a surging, awe-inspiring murderous aura rising into the sky from the Qicheng Heaven Domain. The fluctuation of spiritual power caused the heaven and earth energy billions of miles away to boil.
Once the concealment of the formation was lost, the aura of an eighty-ninth-level spiritual power cultivator was indeed this terrifying.
Many Saint realm cultivators had their souls and spirits impacted, trembling in fear.
Within the Time Divine Temple, Murong Huan, Yu Dongxuan, and others were alarmed.
"What is this commotion? Another great upheaval in the Space Divine Temple?"
"Such a strong spiritual power fluctuation—could it be that Yan Wuque has broken free?"
"Could it be that the Demon God Realm has stepped in?"
"I haven't heard of it! With such a major event, there's no way we'd have no news at all."
……
Yu Dongxuan frowned slightly, warily saying, "Could it be that Zhang Ruochen is planning something? A feint?"
Murong Huan sat at the center of a sea of time light, saying, "Everyone, don't forget the Quantity Venerable within the Space Divine Temple."
The eyes of everyone in the hall lit up simultaneously.
Xun Yangzi stood beneath a patch of colorful clouds, gazing into the sky beyond, smiling faintly, "Quite a stir they're making! Zhao Gongming, Guangmu War God, and Zhang Jie are all rushing toward the Space Divine Temple. I wonder if the Five Elements Temple Master and the Feixian Valley Master will make a move?"
"Everyone can see now! The slightest movement stirs up a thousand waves. Attacking Zhang Ruochen within the Space Divine Temple is very unwise. We must lure him out of the Heavenly Court." Murong Huan said solemnly.
The Fengxian Sect Leader's face darkened, "He simply won't leave the Heavenly Court!"
"He has already made moves against the Black Demon Realm, Yin Yang Realm, and Wanxie Realm, constantly trimming our wings. If we remain this passive, the great worlds that were once dependent on us will inevitably become restless and defect to his side. That brat Zhang Ruochen is slowly devouring us—we cannot sit idly by."
"In the Western Universe, there are three thousand great worlds! If we show weakness, the great worlds that originally followed the Chi Realm and Paradise Realm will surely lean toward the Kunlun Realm. The ultimate goal of Zhang Ruochen's series of schemes and moves is to shake the foundation of Paradise Realm and seize the position of the ruling world of the Western Universe."
The Fengxian Sect Leader's gaze fell on Yu Dongxuan.
The Chi Realm was the leader of the evil path in the Western Universe, with all the evil, demonic, and sinister great worlds looking up to them.
Paradise Realm was the leader of the righteous path in the Western Universe.
Of course, in secret, the gods of the Chi Realm were utterly obedient to Paradise Realm.
Xun Yangzi said, "Why not arrange for an Infinite realm cultivator to take out the few great gods Zhang Ruochen has dispatched one by one? Without his claws and teeth, how can Zhang Ruochen continue to devour us? Would he have to act personally?"
"If we could force Zhang Ruochen to leave the Heavenly Court and act personally, that would be a good thing!" The Fengxian Sect Leader sneered coldly, his desire to kill Zhang Ruochen extremely strong.
Because Zhang Ruochen's attacks on the Black Demon Realm, Yin Yang Realm, and Wanxie Realm directly harmed his interests.
Yu Dongxuan gently shook his head, saying, "If Zhang Ruochen had sent those two traitors, Quanzhongsheng and Daixue, to act, I would have already slain them. But Chi Xingtian, Xiong Zhi, Ao Chen, Qingsu, Zhuo Fang, and the others all have extraordinary backgrounds."
"Of course, these are secondary. As long as the job is clean, we need not fear those behind them causing trouble."
"But don't forget, in this game, the ultimate orchestrator is the Heavenly Venerable. And that Tianyuan Wuque from the Chixia Feixian Valley has always been the one the Heavenly Venerable trusts most."
"Not to mention ordinary god kings and god venerables—even if we act personally, do you have the confidence to evade that one's perception?"
"Zhang Ruochen is shrewd. He's probably just waiting for us to make a move. That way, he'd have a perfect reason to turn his blade on us."
The Fengxian Sect Leader said gloomily, "Why not use the Hell Realm's hand?"
Murong Huan and Yu Dongxuan both showed cold expressions.
Murong Huan rebuked, "Utterly foolish! Don't you see who's in power in the Hell Realm now? If the crime of colluding with the Hell Realm falls into Zhang Ruochen's hands, it would truly be an eternal doom."
As long as they were cautious, how could they possibly be caught?
The Fengxian Sect Leader wanted to argue a few more points, but seeing that no one agreed, he said, "This won't do, that won't do! Good at planning but indecisive, cherishing one's life when it comes to great deeds—no wonder that brat Zhang Ruochen has been able to grow safely to this point."
Xun Yangzi said, "Isn't that Quantity Venerable making a move now? Since the Quantity Organization has stepped in, perhaps we can wait and reap the rewards."
……
Passing through the spatial rift, Zhang Ruochen appeared in a primeval, desolate forest.
The forest was quiet, with hardly any bird calls to be heard.
The air was moist, and rows of straight, towering ancient trees rose from the ground, blotting out the sky and covering the sun.
Wispy cold mist drifted through the forest, giving a sense of vastness and nothingness.
Zhang Ruochen released his divine thoughts and found that the Shadow's aura had become very faint, difficult to track.
This was the advantage of a spiritual power god!
Their ability to hide and escape was something martial gods could not match.
Of course, it was also greatly related to the unique environment here. The forest was so calm because the spatial structure was chaotic, with countless great worlds and small worlds overlapping.
If a Bu Tian realm god fell into such an environment, they would be trapped by the space and unable to escape.
Zhang Ruochen had only seen such terrifying spatial structures in the Wujian Ridge of the Abyss of Darkness.
Forbidden land!
This was undoubtedly one of the most terrifying forbidden lands in the universe!
Zhang Ruochen looked at the purple orchids on the ground, spread out like a floral carpet. The petals were crystalline, gorgeous, and magnificent, the scenery dreamlike and intoxicating.
"He actually fled into Buzhou Mountain!"
Zhang Ruochen had long heard of Buzhou Mountain's great name but never expected to enter this, the number one divine mountain of West Ox Continent, in this way.
Even if Buzhou Mountain's fame was great and its legends numerous, with Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, he had nothing to fear.
Since he was here, he was here!
Based on the subtle perception of the Heart of Truth, Zhang Ruochen headed toward the mountaintop.
This perception might not be accurate, but it was Zhang Ruochen's only way to find the Shadow.
"A mountain daring to be named Buzhou is indeed remarkable. With my divine thoughts, I can't even detect the outline of the mountain's end. I'm right in this mountain, but the clouds are deep and I don't know where it ends."
Zhang Ruochen knew that even if he caught up to the Shadow, he couldn't do anything to him, so he wasn't in a hurry. Instead, his curiosity about Buzhou Mountain grew.
Walking through the mountain, he discovered many rare sacred medicines, dozens of ancient secret realms left behind from bygone eras, saw divine beasts tens of thousands of meters tall, and encountered tribes established by the descendants of ancient lost wanderers.
At the summit of Buzhou Mountain were buried the successive temple masters of the Space Divine Temple, a forbidden ground that only the temple master could set foot on.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen stood before a stone tablet inscribed with the words "Forbidden Land."
Before him was a ten-thousand-zhang-high cliff.
On the stone wall were inscriptions left by many gods of the Space Divine Temple since ancient times.
The heaven and earth above the stone wall were shrouded in clouds and mist, covered by formation inscriptions and rule divine patterns, impossible to probe. Only a waterfall hung down from the void, its roaring water audible.
"It's a quiet place for cultivation." Zhang Ruochen sighed.
The Space Divine Temple's Tenth Elder, Shi Fangxing, walked out from a bamboo building beneath the waterfall.
Many parts of his body were square, with distinct contours.
He stared at Zhang Ruochen for a moment, then immediately stepped forward and bowed, "Shi Fangxing pays respects to the Grand Elder!"
Zhang Ruochen could tell he was a Stone Clan cultivator and said, "Are you in charge of guarding the forbidden land?"
"The summit of Buzhou Mountain is the resting place of the successive temple masters. No one may disturb them." Shi Fangxing said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Do you mean to say that all the successive temple masters have awakened?"
Shi Fangxing showed a stunned expression, then his face changed, and he quickly said, "Grand Elder, please don't joke! How could the deceased awaken? The cycle of heaven and earth, the laws of life and death—no one can reverse them."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Elder Shi, how long has it been since you left Buzhou Mountain? Don't you know that many ancient powerhouses have returned? Or are you just pretending not to know?"
Shi Fangxing's face changed again, and he said, "I believe that these returning ancient powerhouses are not truly resurrected but are merely a false life. Lihentian has always existed outside the real world. The remnant souls returning from there are merely exploiting loopholes in the heaven and earth rules. When the heaven and earth rules recover, they will surely face divine form annihilation. False life is nothing but a dream bubble—when the dream ends, it vanishes. It shows that those ancient powerhouses are nothing remarkable, not even able to see through the concept of life and death."
Zhang Ruochen nodded, saying, "Elder Shi, having such insight, you already surpass many gods of the Heavenly Court."
"These words were spoken by the temple master." Shi Fangxing said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Where is the temple master in seclusion?"
"At the summit of Buzhou Mountain, in the Taichu Yuxu." Shi Fangxing said.
"Alright, go about your business. I'll go find him now!"
Zhang Ruochen waved his hand, about to ascend the cliff to the summit.
Shi Fangxing immediately knelt on one knee, saying, "Grand Elder, please think twice. Only the temple master can go to the summit of Buzhou Mountain."
"I have urgent matters to discuss with the temple master."
Seeing that he couldn't stop Zhang Ruochen, Shi Fangxing said, "I am in charge of guarding the forbidden land. If the Grand Elder insists on breaking in, please step over my corpse. I know that even if I self-destruct my divine source, I cannot harm the Grand Elder. But I would feel I have no face to live on. If I don't die, I cannot uphold the rules."
Zhang Ruochen was only testing him and had never truly intended to go to the summit of Buzhou Mountain.
If he really wanted to go, he wouldn't have alerted him!
Zhang Ruochen seemed to compromise, sighing, "If I force you to death, where would I have a place in the entire Space Divine Temple? Fine! Send a message to the temple master, saying I wish to see him."
Shi Fangxing showed a troubled expression, "Yuxu is beyond the heavens; messages cannot reach it."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Isn't Yuxu at the summit of Buzhou Mountain?"
"Yuxu was formed together with Buzhou Mountain during the Taichu era. The summit is the entrance." Shi Fangxing said.
Zhang Ruochen looked again at the clouds and mist on the summit, looking eager to try.
Shi Fangxing knelt on one knee again, "Grand Elder, please think twice!"
"Enough, I won't break in, I won't break in. If the temple master emerges from seclusion, remember to notify me."
Zhang Ruochen left with a carefree air, but his eyes grew much deeper.
Without a doubt, the words the Shadow had spoken outside the temple were deliberately meant to provoke him, luring him to Buzhou Mountain.
This was undoubtedly an attempt to shift suspicion onto the Space Divine Temple's temple master.
But was it really that simple?
It was too deliberate, wasn't it?
Zhang Ruochen was at least seventy percent sure that the Shadow was the Space Divine Temple's temple master, or one of the temple masters from history.
In either case, the temple master was hard to escape involvement.
The remaining thirty percent possibility was that it was a hidden Quantity Venerable framing him. After all, the Quantity Organization excelled at stirring internal strife and watching from the sidelines.
"Failing to capture me, they want to muddy the waters. Very well, I'll try this tactic too!" A smile gradually spread across Zhang Ruochen's face.
(End of Chapter)