Chapter 3701: The Immortal
The bronze cauldron was placed on the wooden table, the soup milky white and boiling without cease.
Zhang Ruochen devoured it with complete disregard for appearances.
A Fuya slightly furrowed her brow, her gaze falling on the scroll placed at the edge of the table.
When she had arrived earlier, Zhang Ruochen had been reading it.
Zhang Ruochen noticed her expression and said, "I hope this isn't offensive to the Queen?"
"It's hardly an offense. All things born from heaven, the weak are prey to the strong—this is the eternal first law of survival. Even those who eat plants consume living beings of the world." A Fuya's voice was faint like an orchid, as if an Ancestor were expounding the Dao.
Zhang Ruochen slid the scroll toward her and said, "This contains the information on Murong Huan, Yu Dongxuan, Xun Yangzi, and the leader of the Immortal-Worshipping Cult."
"These four are top-tier experts of the present age, beings who have cultivated for a million years. Each commands a deeply entrenched network of power, with descendants and disciples numbering in the billions."
"Behind each of them, they secretly control over a hundred major worlds, with influence reaching hundreds, even thousands of major worlds. Moving against any one of them would trigger a massive upheaval."
Zhang Ruochen was not exaggerating. The information on any one of these four could fill a study.
A million years of cultivation meant descendants and disciples could span over ten thousand generations, absolutely exceeding a billion in number.
A True God could control a single realm.
A Great Saint could establish a sect.
A Saint King could found a nation.
A Saint could intimidate a territory of a hundred thousand miles.
A Half-Saint commanded tens of thousands of followers.
...
These people were like the roots of a great tree, spreading deep underground. The forces they controlled and the interests they held reaching over a thousand major worlds was not surprising.
These interests were then offered up layer by layer to Murong Huan, Yu Dongxuan, and the other two.
The backing and the tentacles complemented each other.
Knowing full well what Zhang Ruochen intended to do, A Fuya did not bother to look at the scroll. "Yan Wuque and Xie Tianyi also had countless descendants and disciples. Yet, when they died, it did not cause a major disturbance. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. The Grand Minister of Works' backing is far stronger than theirs; he can suppress the chaos and stabilize the storm."
Zhang Ruochen held a small white porcelain bowl, took a sip of the steaming soup, and shook his head. "The Array Destruction Palace is located in the Heavenly Court, with cultivators from all over the universe. Its power is too scattered. Moreover, the Array Destruction Palace is subordinate to the Heavenly Palace. Before Yan Wuque and Xie Tianyi fell, the Heavenly Palace had already taken over and made proper arrangements."
"But these four are different!"
Zhang Ruochen placed his own wine cup in the center of the wooden table. "Let's start with Xun Yangzi! One hundred thousand years ago, after the Nine Radiance Divine Lord fell, he became the absolute ruler of Tianquan Major World. He even took the first beauty of Tianquan Major World, the former Divine Lord's consort, Yu Shenfei, for himself."
"In the past hundred thousand years, he has completely purged all of the Nine Radiance Divine Lord's influence. Those people either had their entire clans vanish or submitted to him."
"The hundred-plus major worlds surrounding Tianquan Major World all revere him as their sovereign. He is practically a minor Heavenly Venerable in his own right."
The Nine Radiance Divine Lord had died one hundred thousand years ago while aiding the Kunlun Realm. His legacy had transformed into the Nine Radiance Divine Tear, which was obtained by the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden.
The ancient god Lihen had once told Zhang Ruochen that Xun Yangzi would definitely take the Nine Radiance Divine Tear to advance his cultivation.
This man, even without the list from Hao Tian, Zhang Ruochen was determined to eliminate.
Using information from the Goddess Twelve Pavilions and the Chixia Feixian Valley, Zhang Ruochen had found traces suggesting that the Nine Radiance Divine Lord's fall was connected to Xun Yangzi. However, he lacked solid evidence.
Of course, if he had solid evidence, Hao Tian would have dealt with Xun Yangzi long ago.
Zhang Ruochen placed his bowl next to the wine cup. "The Immortal-Worshipping Cult is one of the three ancient cults of the Cha Realm. But in terms of evil, it is undoubtedly the foremost among the three, even the foremost among all forces in the Heavenly Court."
"Every person has a side of evil and wickedness within them. That is precisely why the Immortal-Worshipping Cult has so many followers. Its infiltration of the Heavenly Court Universe far exceeds that of Tianquan Major World. Countless evil sects and demonic gates have their shadows behind them."
"If these evil people erupt in a concentrated manner, it will be a multi-point explosion, and the entire Heavenly Court Universe will know no peace."
"Most critically, these people are mostly hidden in the shadows, always acting covertly. Finding and eliminating them would come at a tremendous cost."
"Killing one person is easy, but a trillion evil cultivators across ten thousand worlds would give even a Heavenly Venerable a headache. They may not become a major threat individually, but if they erupt, the Heavenly Court will inevitably suffer severe internal damage."
A Fuya said, "Didn't the Grand Minister of Works just say that everyone has a side of evil and wickedness within them? If it exists, it must have its reason. Eliminating it would only harm oneself."
Zhang Ruochen said, "This Grand Minister does not agree! The Cha Realm can remain, but the Immortal-Worshipping Cult must be uprooted. We must establish rules and set a bottom line for these evil cultivators. Cross the line, and blood will be the price. Otherwise, a minor ailment will become a terminal disease."
A Fuya raised her cup. "The Grand Minister is the master of the Sword Realm, yet he cares for the world, daring to do what others dare not. This is a blessing for all beings in the Heavenly Court. I should drink to that!"
Zhang Ruochen smiled, seeing through A Fuya's perfunctory attitude.
Clearly, this First Queen did not care about the chaos in the Heavenly Court Universe. Evil or wickedness, it had nothing to do with her.
If she did not need something from Zhang Ruochen, she would not even waste her time listening here.
Responsibility and duty were not for her.
Her world might truly be only about cultivation.
Should a great cultivator shoulder responsibility and establish a destiny for the people? Or should they pursue the great Dao of heaven and earth, cultivating only themselves? No one could give an answer.
It could only be said that everyone makes their own choice.
But since A Fuya was sitting across from Zhang Ruochen, and it seemed she needed something from him—at least on the surface—how could Zhang Ruochen let her cultivate only herself?
She had already waded into this muddy water!
Zhang Ruochen took the empty cup from her hand and placed it in the center of the wooden table. "The third person, Yu Dongxuan. The Queen should know him well, right?"
"I have met him a few times."
Knowing that many things could not be hidden from the Goddess Twelve Pavilions and the Chixia Feixian Valley, A Fuya said frankly, "I once asked him to help find the Hongtian Arrow and divine medicine, as well as the Arrow Dao Esoterica. Earlier, the Grand Minister said that I have no opponent below the Indestructible Infinite Realm. That is too flattering! Without an absolute amount of Esoterica and a First-Rank Divine Artifact, how much would my combat power be discounted?"
Seeing her not hiding anything, Zhang Ruochen decided to be more direct. "As far as I know, among the paths the First Queen cultivates is the Path of Light. Among the paths Mila cultivates is also the Path of Light. Wouldn't seizing the Esoterica of a Eternal Path be better than seizing the Arrow Dao Esoterica? Yu Dongxuan is the Light Master God, controlling over ten percent of the Light Esoterica."
A Fuya stared at Zhang Ruochen's smiling eyes. "Is the Grand Minister trying to make me oppose the Radiant Divine Temple, and even the entire Paradise Realm?"
"No! Absolutely not!"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "It's just... what I can know, Yu Dongxuan and Ke Luo also know. The First Queen has no interest in the Light Esoterica, but will they believe that? In their eyes, isn't the First Queen also a human-shaped great medicine to enhance their cultivation?"
Zhang Ruochen filled the wine cup representing "Yu Dongxuan" with wine, its surface shimmering, and handed it to her.
Waiting to see if she would drink.
A Fuya took the cup, lowered her gaze to the wine within, and said softly, "Killing Yu Dongxuan would have a greater impact and backlash than killing Xun Yangzi or the leader of the Immortal-Worshipping Cult. Must it be this way? Is there no other choice?"
"Yes, there is. Marry me." Zhang Ruochen said.
Dai Xue, the Queen, was startled, but steadied herself after Zhang Ruochen glanced at her.
Zhang Ruochen said with extreme seriousness, "Every man has vanity and a desire to conquer. If I could marry the First Queen, whose fame will last through the ages, who in the world would not envy me? If so, we would be on the same side, and the First Queen would not need to kill Yu Dongxuan as a pledge of allegiance. I would no longer have to worry that the Queen is deceiving me or scheming against me."
"Just marriage?" A Fuya said.
Zhang Ruochen laughed. "If I only married a wife in name, wouldn't it be a great loss to be betrayed and schemed against later? To gain, one must first give. That way, even if I am schemed against in the future, I would not consider it a loss."
"The Romantic Sword God is not only romantic but also candid."
A Fuya pondered for a moment. "The outside world is guessing whether the Grand Minister is severely injured or has fallen. But the Grand Minister shows no signs of injury. It seems that Yan Wuque's self-destruction of his Divine Heart was a fake, and the real purpose was to lure Yu Dongxuan and the others into acting. Now that I know this secret, it seems I have no choice but to make a decision if I want to leave Buzhou Mountain?"
Zhang Ruochen's expression turned solemn. "Since the First Queen came to visit, hasn't she already made her choice?"
A Fuya raised her cup with both hands, her green sleeves sliding down, her jade fingers and half of her forearm finer and whiter than the moonstone cup. "Then let's take the Light Esoterica first!"
Zhang Ruochen smiled in satisfaction and raised his cup. "Yu Dongxuan's most precious possession may not be that ten percent of Light Esoterica. There might be more gains. Kill him, and the First Queen's combat power will surely increase by a large margin."
The two drank together.
The scene was harmonious and beautiful, but in Dai Xue, the Queen's heart, it gave rise to a strange feeling of an adulterous couple secretly colluding to poison the husband at home. She couldn't help but silently pray for Yu Dongxuan.
Zhang Ruochen would not trust A Fuya so easily. So he said, "Actually, if we take the Time Divine Temple and use the vast amount of Time Esoterica inside to activate the Sundial, it could support the First Queen's cultivation."
"Is that so?"
A Fuya showed no joy, waiting for Zhang Ruochen to continue.
Zhang Ruochen said, "However, compared to Xun Yangzi, the leader of the Immortal-Worshipping Cult, and Yu Dongxuan, I believe the Time Divine Temple is the hardest nut to crack. The First Queen descended from the Time Divine Temple, right? What is your view on the Time Divine Temple and Murong Huan? By the way, you owe Murong Huan a favor, don't you?"
Even Dai Xue, the Queen, a bystander, could hear the big trap hidden in Zhang Ruochen's words.
A Fuya said, "A favor owed must naturally be repaid. But the obstacles on my path of cultivation must also be removed. The two do not conflict."
"That's great! After eliminating Yu Dongxuan, we will attack the Time Divine Temple." Zhang Ruochen said.
A Fuya said, "The Grand Minister is charging through the Heavenly Court Universe, clearing out the tumors and hidden dangers for the current Heavenly Venerable. In the future, he can just walk away. But what about me? Where will I go in the future?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled deeply. "Since the First Queen has offended the entire Heavenly Court Universe, then go to the Sword Realm. The Sword Realm will surely have a place for you."
"Is this the price one must pay for visiting and asking for a favor?" A Fuya sighed.
She did not deliberately feign weakness, but her pitiable aura emanated from within, evoking a sense of guilt, as if she had been bullied too harshly, making one want to hold her in their arms and comfort her.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen was not affected by this intangible aura of weakness.
Come on, the person opposite was a former Ancestor, a being with extraordinary means. The current outcome must have been within her expectations, and she might even be secretly pleased.
After all, the conditions Zhang Ruochen proposed were not harsh.
If he truly wanted her as a wife or concubine, it could still be negotiated.
But Zhang Ruochen now held all the good cards and absolute initiative. There was no need to risk total defeat for a woman.
That would not be romantic at all!
A Fuya might not even look highly upon him.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The First Queen spent over a thousand Eons in Lihentian. There should be connections between the remnant souls of the gods, right?"
"Lihentian is vast and boundless. Plus, all the remnant souls are hiding, wary and avoiding each other, and they must also guard against hunting by the powerful of the present age. So, we don't have much contact!"
A Fuya continued, "Moreover, there are some special areas in Lihentian. Although over a thousand Eons have passed, in my time, it might only be a few hundred Eons. Plus, most of the time is spent sleeping to resist the corrosion of time on spirit and memory. The actual time I've been awake is not long."
Time is the knife that slays gods.
Even in Lihentian, time constantly corrodes the spirit and memory of remnant souls.
Zhang Ruochen probed, "Having endured over a thousand Eons, the First Queen must have some supreme treasure in hand, right?"
"Everyone has their own secrets. Why must the Grand Minister press so hard? If I weren't seeking a fairer treatment, why wouldn't I join the Quantity Organization and work for the Quantity?" A Fuya said.
Zhang Ruochen immediately dropped his smile. "Is the Quantity the heaven and earth itself, or is it someone who steals the Dao and hides the heavens? I ask the First Queen to enlighten me?"
A Fuya was once an Ancestor, standing at the pinnacle of the universe. Her understanding of the universe's secrets definitely surpassed anyone alive today.
A Fuya gently shook her head. "I am merely a remnant soul. Many memories are lost, many worn away by time in Lihentian. I don't remember much."
"But, Grand Minister, have you considered this: if the Quantity is the heaven and earth itself, then it has no emotion, no consciousness. Why would the Quantity Organization and the remnant souls of ancient powerhouses who are friendly with the Quantity work for it? What is the benefit? When the Calamity of Quantities arrives, can they escape it?"
Zhang Ruochen held his breath. He had to admit that A Fuya's counter-argument was extremely reasonable.
Zhang Ruochen said, "What does the First Queen think of the Immortal? Or rather, is there some relationship between the Quantity and the Immortal?"
A Fuya's eyes became strange as she stared directly at Zhang Ruochen. "You should ask yourself that!"
"What does the Queen mean?" Zhang Ruochen said.
A Fuya said, "How is it that you can cross the River of Time and go to the infinitely distant past? If you want to ask where the Immortal is, aren't you one yourself?"