# Chapter 3713: As Desired
The Corpse Angel saw that Zhang Ruochen and the Blade Venerable were not attacking immediately but were communicating through secret sound, so he secretly began to gather power.
Before long, the gray wings on his back emerged with countless light marks, and using a speed divine ability that broke the rules of light speed, he vanished before the two of them.
"Don't discuss profit distribution yet. Capture him first."
The Blade Venerable was very anxious, splitting space with a single slash of his blade.
"Rip!"
The Corpse Angel, who had already disappeared, manifested at the other end of space.
The Blade Venerable pursued him, his blade technique simple and brutal—horizontal slashes and straight chops.
Blade qi formed a domain, surging in from all directions.
The Corpse Angel was completely on the defensive, forced to flee while swinging the Death God's Blade to counterattack.
Zhang Ruochen showed a hint of a smile. He did not follow but instead flew toward the Corpse Water Ocean, appearing as if he truly intended to go assist the Dragon Lord.
The Blade Venerable's head ached. He compromised, saying: "Fine, I, the old man, agree to your terms. After this is done, the sickle in this angel's hand belongs to me, and the Immortal Gold Bright Sun Wheel belongs to you. However, I'll say this upfront—if he escapes, don't even think about borrowing the Immortal Gold Bright Sun Wheel or the Gold Dao Esoterica."
"Senior Blade Venerable's cultivation is profound. How could he possibly escape? There's no need for this junior to intervene. Senior alone can capture him." Zhang Ruochen said.
The Blade Venerable said: "Hurry up and come around to cut him off. Stop dawdling!"
The smile on Zhang Ruochen's face grew even wider. He stopped.
Even willing to give up the Immortal Gold Bright Sun Wheel, Xun Yangzi, and the Gold Dao Esoterica—Zhang Ruochen became even more curious about the origin of that sickle.
Could it be a First Chapter Divine Artifact?
But the "Tai Bai Divine Artifact Chapter" First Chapter had no record of it.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen give chase, the Corpse Angel immediately began to fight for his life. His rotting divine body ignited, continuously shedding black dust and sand, while the aura emanating from him grew increasingly powerful.
Sacrificing divine substance in exchange for a short-term explosive increase in battle power.
"Twilight of the Gods!"
A hoarse voice sounded in the dark, deep universe, traveling extremely far.
The scene in the universe underwent a strange transformation, revealing a yellowish-brown nebula, like an alternative manifestation of a twilight anomaly. Stars far apart from each other all became embellishments beneath this twilight in the starry sky.
"A Heavenly Venerable-level divine ability from the Radiant Divine Temple!"
Zhang Ruochen's expression tightened slightly. After a moment of thought, he traced spatial formation inscriptions with both hands, and a Space Teleportation Array gradually took shape beneath his feet.
The Corpse Angel stood within the yellowish-brown nebula, his rotting face appearing exceptionally ferocious, glaring at the pursuing Blade Venerable. He raised the Death God's Blade above his head, channeling surging divine qi, and slashed downward.
The Death God's Blade possessed terrifying power. Even just the blade qi it emitted could not be blocked by the Heavenly Venerable's Treasure Gauze.
Twilight of the Gods was even more devastating, capable of annihilating gods and destroying an entire great world.
The combination of the two made this strike unimaginably powerful.
The Blade Venerable should have retreated.
But if he retreated, the Corpse Angel would surely use this opportunity to escape.
Catching him again would be difficult.
The Blade Venerable's aura transformed, becoming increasingly sharp. His beard and hair flew wildly as he drew upon the wave of blade qi behind him. With the momentum of qi piercing the void, he slashed horizontally with his blade.
"Boom!"
As the two blades clashed, space continuously collapsed.
Heaven and earth fell into chaos.
A light sphere ten thousand zhang in diameter appeared around the Blade Venerable, blocking the dense blade qi flying toward him. Nevertheless, his body was still sent flying backward by the impact, leaving a tail mark hundreds of miles long.
The Corpse Angel was also sent flying backward. His divine body was struck by countless blade qi, pierced through with transparent holes, and even one of his wings was severed.
"Once this hall master returns to the Indestructible Infinite realm, I will surely avenge today's blade strike."
The Corpse Angel once again used his speed divine ability, surpassing light speed, and vanished from the Blade Venerable's field of vision.
"What a formidable Death God's Blade. If I, the old man, had this blade, who among those below the Infinite realm could be my opponent?"
The Blade Venerable sighed inwardly. In just a moment, the Corpse Angel's aura had completely disappeared from his perception.
He looked at the short blade that had accompanied him for many years and suddenly felt it was no different from scrap metal.
"Boom!"
From deep within the starry sky came a powerful wave of battle.
The Blade Venerable's eyes lit up.
It was Zhang Ruochen's aura.
This kid had actually predicted the direction of the Corpse Angel's escape in advance, crossed space, and intercepted him.
There was hope!
"Stop him, Elder Ruochen. I, the old man, did not misjudge you."
The Blade Venerable raised his blade and pursued.
Before long, the Blade Venerable joined the battle circle. He slashed out one blade after another, like chopping firewood, beating the Corpse Angel back step by step, leaving countless blade marks on his corpse body.
Rotten flesh flew everywhere, and white bones shattered.
Seeing the Blade Venerable so ferocious, Zhang Ruochen wisely withdrew to the side, saying: "Senior Blade Venerable, this junior will watch your back."
"Be on guard. This undead has a divine source within him. If he knows he cannot escape, he will surely try to take us down with him by self-destructing." The Blade Venerable said.
Zhang Ruochen was certainly not idle. He used the Eight Trigrams Compass and the Earth Cauldron to protect himself, then employed the Wuji Divine Dao to mobilize the heavenly and earthly rules and qi in the universe, condensing a light cloud vortex hundreds of billions of miles in diameter centered on this battlefield.
It was both a vortex and presented in white and black dual colors.
If the Corpse Angel self-destructed his divine source, Zhang Ruochen would use the will of heaven and earth to suppress him, combined with the Blade Venerable's will. There was at least a seventy percent chance of stopping it. If he couldn't stop it, he would hide inside the Earth Cauldron.
"If I could cultivate all Five Elements to perfection and mobilize the Five Elements power of heaven and earth, who at the same cultivation level could self-destruct their divine source before me? No matter how strong you are, you are still within the Five Elements." Zhang Ruochen secretly looked forward to that day.
Cultivators who had escaped from the Soul Realm fled in groups, driving warships.
Many of them were ghost ships, filled with ghost souls.
Looking into the distance, they saw blade light in the depths of the starry sky, dazzling and awe-inspiring, causing the starry sky to tremble incessantly.
A Taiji Four Symbols Diagram imprinted in the starry sky, like an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao, contained a heart-stopping might, slowly rotating, absorbing various powers from the universe.
"When will we ever have such cultivation?"
"Without stepping into the divine realm, we are always ants."
"What use is stepping into the divine realm? To reach the cultivation levels of the Blade Venerable and Grand Elder Ruochen is simply impossible. It's like looking up at a high mountain!"
"This is a divine battle not inferior to the All Heavens level, sure to shake the entire universe."
...
The Taiji Four Symbols Diagram in the starry sky left an extremely deep impression on them.
From then on, the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal became Zhang Ruochen's incarnation, like a taboo scene.
Wherever this diagram seal flew in the universe, everyone knew he had arrived.
The Corpse Angel was forced to roar in fury. The divine flame on his body burned even more fiercely, stimulating even greater combat power.
This desperate state was extremely dangerous. After paying a huge price, his combat power could often be elevated by one realm, or even higher.
"Whoosh!"
The Dragon Lord transformed into a golden light, passed through the Taiji vortex, and appeared on the battlefield, his golden long hair flying.
"The Xuanwu True Ancestor escaped into the Santu River. I couldn't keep him. If I entered the Santu River to fight, it would surely alarm the All Heavens of the Hell Realm, which would also be troublesome." The Dragon Lord returned the Pure Yang Divine Sword to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen took the sword, saying: "There's no helping it. Who would have thought they would set up such a grand formation just to deal with me? Moreover, these ancient powerhouses hiding in the Soul Realm are all formidable. In today's situation, I would be satisfied to capture one or two of the big fish."
"By the way, Uncle Dragon, who is the Blood Talisman Evil Emperor that Xun Yangzi mentioned? I've never heard of him."
The Dragon Lord said: "I've heard a little. He should be a supreme powerhouse from the history of the Cha Realm, not a contemporary cultivator. However, judging from the aura he emitted earlier, his martial arts attainment is not high. He seems more like a spiritual power cultivator. After returning, we can go to the Chixia Feixian Valley to look up information about him. An ancient powerhouse who primarily cultivates spiritual power—this is the first time I've seen one. I really want to capture him and figure it out."
After a moment's hesitation, the Dragon Lord said: "Under the previous circumstances, if he had joined the battle, our chances of victory would have been greatly reduced. Wanting to keep one or two of them would have been even harder. But the Blood Talisman Evil Emperor left without fighting... too strange!"
Zhang Ruochen said: "These ancient powerhouses all have their own agendas and are selfish. When they suddenly saw one Heavenly Court cultivator after another appearing, exceeding their expectations, they must have thought there were more powerhouses hidden in the shadows, that this was a trap specifically set for them. Unwilling to take risks, they chose to flee separately. That's perfectly normal."
The Dragon Lord nodded slightly, saying: "These people, each with ambitions higher than the sky, all believe they can return to their peak state from before death and dominate the universe. In their current state, they are indeed unwilling to take risks. Cultivating in seclusion and breaking through to the Indestructible Infinite realm is the top priority. Each one is an uncertain factor, and they've all learned their lesson, hiding in the shadows, no longer showing themselves easily."
Zhang Ruochen could hear the Dragon Lord's concern, but he was thinking about another question: whether to enter the Santu River to pursue the Xuanwu True Ancestor.
This would definitely involve risk.
If he alarmed Qingtian, Jiusi Yitianhuang, or provoked Ba'er, death would be certain.
But the Xuanwu True Ancestor was clearly extraordinary in the Way of Water.
Legend had it that at its peak, it had been the Water Dao Overlord. If he could seize its divine source and remnant soul, it would greatly shorten Zhang Ruochen's time to cultivate the Water Dao.
Earth generates Metal, Metal generates Water.
As long as he obtained the Immortal Gold Bright Sun Wheel, Zhang Ruochen was confident he could cultivate the Gold Dao to perfection in a short time, greatly advancing his cultivation.
If he could cultivate Earth Dao, Gold Dao, and Water Dao all to perfection, Zhang Ruochen's confidence would be even greater! By then, facing old-timer powerhouses like the Blade Venerable, he wouldn't need to use tricks. He could match them with pure strength. He would also dare to venture into forbidden zones like Buzhou Mountain and Yuxu.
The Dragon Lord's arrival completely cut off all hope for the Corpse Angel. Under the joint suppression of the three, he couldn't even self-destruct his divine source.
After seizing the Corpse Angel's Death God's Blade, the Blade Venerable raised his blade and brought it down, cheerfully cutting the Corpse Angel into eight pieces.
The piece containing the qi sea and divine source was suppressed by him into his divine realm world and sealed. He clearly planned to slowly break the dao, seize the source, and grind it down later.
The remaining seven pieces were thrown to Zhang Ruochen and the Dragon Lord, who suppressed them separately into seven different types of war implements.
This prevented the Corpse Angel's divine body from reassembling and becoming a major threat, while also allowing Zhang Ruochen and the Dragon Lord to receive a share of the reward.
The Blade Venerable could hardly contain his joy, saying: "This angel was most likely a hall master from the history of the Radiant Divine Temple. In life, his cultivation was either at the Indestructible Infinite peak or the Heavenly Venerable level. His corpse will definitely be infinitely useful. Every bone is a treasure, every feather can refine artifacts..."
No matter how extravagantly the Blade Venerable described it, Zhang Ruochen and the Dragon Lord remained unmoved.
The Dragon Lord said: "The sickle in Blade Venerable's hand is the legendary Death God's Blade, right?"
The Blade Venerable looked at the blade in his hand and did not deny it. He sighed: "It is the Death God's Blade, but its artifact spirit has long since dissipated into smoke and clouds. Its power is greatly diminished, like a broken weapon."
"Since it's a broken weapon, I would like to exchange it for the Demon God Stone Pillar." The Dragon Lord said.
Seeing that he couldn't bluff his way through, the Blade Venerable said: "Don't be like this! Although the two of you helped watch the flanks, I, the old man, did all the work!"
Zhang Ruochen coughed dryly twice.
The Blade Venerable said: "Elder Ruochen did help a great deal."
"What about what Senior Blade Venerable promised earlier?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Taking advantage of the situation, absolutely taking advantage of the situation. We are allies now. We can't fall out over a little profit, can we? That wouldn't look good!" The Blade Venerable said.
Zhang Ruochen said: "If the Blade Venerable goes back on his word, this elder will have to ask the Heavenly Venerable to come out and arbitrate."
"This justice, Jie Tian will certainly demand as well." The Dragon Lord said.
Zhang Ruochen secretly transmitted: "You said it yourself—if this blows up, it won't look good. You, venerable elder, have already obtained the Death God's Blade, and you've also seized the Corpse Angel's divine source and remnant soul. Your combat power will advance by leaps and bounds, and the Indestructible Infinite realm is within reach. How about this: give me the Immortal Gold Bright Sun Wheel, and the interests of the Immortal-Worshipping Cult will belong to the Blade God Realm."
There was no need for Zhang Ruochen to emphasize how enormous the interests of the Immortal-Worshipping Cult were. The Blade Venerable, who was determined to lead the Blade God Realm to surpass the Cha Realm, was already tempted.
The Immortal-Worshipping Cult was the foremost of the three religions of the Cha Realm, with gods standing in great numbers. Its influence extended throughout all realms of the Heavenly Court, controlling vast cultivation resources.
The Blade Venerable handed the Immortal Gold Bright Sun Wheel to Zhang Ruochen, saying: "Since Grand Elder has promised, the Space Divine Temple and the Kunlun Realm better not come sticking their noses in!"
"This old fox!"
Zhang Ruochen knew that the Blade Venerable's earlier posturing was all about negotiating terms and striving for more benefits.
After accepting the Immortal Gold Bright Sun Wheel, Zhang Ruochen said: "The Immortal-Worshipping Cult is the cesspool of the Heavenly Court. This elder can't be bothered to get involved. Let's go, back to the Soul Realm first. There's still a big fish there!"
The followers of the Immortal-Worshipping Cult were all evil cultivators.
The great worlds, sects, and families adhering to the Immortal-Worshipping Cult were also evil dao cultivators who committed every evil.
According to Hao Tian's intention, the Immortal-Worshipping Cult was to be bloodily purged as a warning to others.
Otherwise, these evil cultivators would surely be swallowed up by the other two religions of the Cha Realm and continue to plague the Heavenly Court.
The Blade Venerable quickly figured this out. His expression changed, and he cursed Zhang Ruochen for being cunning.
Hao Tian had not personally dealt with the Immortal-Worshipping Cult and Xun Yangzi and his ilk. Instead, he had Zhang Ruochen—someone destined to leave the Heavenly Court in the future—do it. This was to maintain internal stability within the Heavenly Court as much as possible while carrying out sweeping reforms, without intensifying contradictions. He let Zhang Ruochen bear all the hatred and backlash alone.
Because Zhang Ruochen was already mired in countless controversies. Being hostilely regarded by these people didn't matter—he didn't need to fear the hatred coming any more fiercely.
This was also a favor Zhang Ruochen owed, one he had to repay.
If the Blade Venerable went to seize the power and interests of the Immortal-Worshipping Cult, wouldn't he be jumping into the spotlight?
How much hatred would this incur?
These people might not act now. But when the Blade Venerable encountered calamity in the future, or after he fell, they would surely settle the score ruthlessly.
"Elder Ruochen, wait. We need to discuss this further!"
The Blade Venerable immediately chased after him.
(Chapter End)