Chapter 3737: The Inverse God Clan, the Feng Blood Curse
Zhao Gongming arrived, his face full of shame, and he expressed his apologies to Zhang Ruochen for failing to control the situation at the Space Divine Temple.
Zhang Ruochen waved his hand, saying, "Brother Gongming, there's no need to blame yourself. In the Space Divine Temple, naturally, the Temple Master has the final say. If he wants to be a dictator, who can stop him?"
"Besides, among those under the Space Divine Temple's banner, the cultivators who deserved death have mostly been killed. Those imprisoned in the Divine Prison were also going to be released anyway. Surely Brother Gongming doesn't truly believe I intend to exterminate all the gods of a hundred realms and become the enemy of the world?"
Zhao Gongming had always been assertive, but he had been humbled by the Space Divine Temple Master, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. He said, "This time, after emerging from seclusion, the Temple Master's spiritual power has broken through, reaching the peak of the eighty-ninth rank, becoming one of the strongest under the Heaven-Perfect Boundless level, with strength not inferior to those Heavenly Venerables who haven't reached the Indestructible Infinite level."
"Perhaps your guess is correct. The Venerable of Quantities hidden in the Space Divine Temple is him."
Zhang Ruochen had been ambushed by a mysterious spiritual power expert in the Space Divine Temple.
After failing, that mysterious spiritual power expert fled into Buzhou Mountain and vanished without a trace.
At that time, Zhang Ruochen had judged that if the Space Divine Temple Master emerged from seclusion soon, then the Venerable of Quantities must be him.
Now, Zhang Ruochen's guesses were all coming true, getting closer and closer to the truth.
Zhang Ruochen's expression was extremely grave. Without a doubt, there was at least a ninety percent chance that the Space Divine Temple Master was the true culprit behind Chi Kunlun's murder.
The remaining sliver of uncertainty was only because Zhang Ruochen lacked concrete evidence.
The Qiangu Nüdi stood under a tree, within the dappled shadows, and said, "He dares to emerge from seclusion and oppose you, not just because he has broken through to the peak of the eighty-ninth rank. There must be a greater power backing him. We must not underestimate him!"
Considering the bigger picture, Zhao Gongming set aside his personal emotions and calmed down, saying, "After all, he is the Temple Master of the Space Divine Temple! No matter how much we suspect his identity, outsiders will never doubt him. Instead, many gods who are hostile to you will think he is restoring order, the embodiment of justice, and that you are the troublemaker creating chaos."
"With his status as Temple Master, he is also the only strong one in the world today who can openly oppose you, the Grand Elder."
"If people like Ke Luo, Shang Tian, Chongming Laozu, and Xuanyuan Taizu also think this way and secretly support the Space Divine Temple Master, then the trouble will be enormous!"
"If we are going to make a move, we must do it early."
The Space Divine Temple held many secrets known only to Zhang Ruochen, allowing him to judge that the Space Divine Temple Master was likely the Venerable of Quantities. For example, the assassination by the spiritual power expert, and the emergence of the Zixin Tianzun Lan... these matters were unknown to the outside world.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Space Divine Temple is, after all, his territory. He is familiar with all the divine formations there, wields the ultimate foundation, and can control the temple itself in battle. Below the Indestructible Infinite level, who would dare to go to the Space Divine Temple and challenge him?"
It wasn't that Zhang Ruochen didn't dare to storm the Space Divine Temple; he was waiting for the Yu Ding.
But he couldn't tell Zhao Gongming this.
Zhao Gongming knew the Space Divine Temple Master's background very well and said, "How about inviting Jiutian to the Heavenly Court?"
The Space Divine Temple Master was the Third Elder of the Inverse God Clan, and Jiutian was also from the Inverse God Clan.
Having Jiutian step in could save a lot of trouble.
Thinking of the Old Drunkard, who still had no news, Zhang Ruochen felt a surge of worry. He shook his head and sighed, "This matter hasn't been settled yet! Brother Gongming, forgive my impertinence, but a hundred thousand years ago, why was the Inverse God Clan annihilated? Why were they rejected by both the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm, hunted down to the last?"
Zhao Gongming's expression changed, a look of recollection and fear appearing in his eyes.
Seeing such an expression on a battle-hardened War God like him moved the others present.
The night was thick, silent and soundless.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I know this is a taboo topic, but it involves the Inverse God Clan. I need to understand whether the Space Divine Temple Master joined the Quantity Organization and embarked on the path of world destruction because he resents the Heavenly Court, or even the cultivators of the entire universe."
The suffering of the Inverse God Clan a hundred thousand years ago was indeed too tragic. It would be perfectly normal for an elder of the clan to develop inner demons and be exploited by the Quantity Organization.
One who is not them cannot know their suffering; one who is not them cannot know their hatred.
The Qiangu Nüdi showed a curious expression. The Space Divine Temple Master was actually from the Inverse God Clan?
She said, "Legend has it that a hundred thousand years ago, the Heavenly Court betrayed the Inverse God Clan, sacrificing them in exchange for a ceasefire agreement with the Hell Realm."
"Who said that? If there is such a person in the Heavenly Court, I will be the first to kill him. If the Heavenly Venerable is such a person, I would rather return to the Sword King Realm to herd cattle than be some damn War God."
Zhao Gongming was full of anger, but gradually, his eyes became sorrowful and helpless. He sighed, "Although this is a taboo topic, it is not something I cannot tell you. I know more about it than some of the current Heavenly Venerables."
Zhang Ruochen invited Zhao Gongming into the inner hall, where they sat in the main room.
A bright lamp was covered by a glazed pagoda, the flame gently flickering and swaying, filling the hall with a strange and eerie atmosphere.
"This matter must start with the world-destroying calamity that swept across the myriad realms of the universe a hundred thousand years ago!" Zhao Gongming said.
Zhang Ruochen had heard about this world-destroying calamity from Granny Haitang and had also asked many older figures about it.
At that time, the entire Kunlun Realm had turned into a fireball, divine flames enveloping the entire great world for three months. The Xumi Saint Monk, Wen Tianjun, the Dragon Lord, the Yunshen Daozhu... all the gods of the Kunlun Realm had used every means at their disposal to hold it back.
It wasn't just the Kunlun Realm; the myriad realms of the universe were all enveloped by divine flames, with an unknown terrifying force seeking to destroy the world.
Many gods called this the "Minor Calamity"!
No one knew why the divine flames receded after three months.
Was it because that unknown force couldn't destroy the myriad realms and retreated on its own? Or had someone driven it back?
Because, at that time, all the strong ones in the universe were trying to save themselves, just wanting to survive the divine flames.
It was this Minor Calamity that completely changed the structure of the universe.
The Saint Realm, known as the heart of the myriad realms, was destroyed in this Minor Calamity, with countless gods falling. If not for the Inverse God Clan's Grand Elder, who carried the God-Defying Stele and traveled through all realms, establishing the Heavenly Court on the ruins of the Saint Realm, the Heavenly Court Universe would still be a scattered mess to this day.
Of course, it was because of this calamity that the Heavenly Court Universe's strength fell completely behind the Hell Realm.
This calamity terrified all the gods, because the entire universe had nearly become barren and desolate, and all living beings had almost been reduced to ashes.
Thus, everyone began to think of countermeasures!
The Kunlun Realm no longer allowed only a few people to enter the Sundial for cultivation as before. It officially opened the Sundial on a large scale, entering an era of "one day in heaven, one year on earth" for realm-wide cultivation.
The war faction in the Hell Realm completely overwhelmed the peace faction and the neutral faction. Great changes occurred in both the Destiny Temple and the Yama Clan. The war faction sought to rapidly increase their cultivation through war, slaughter, and devouring, to strengthen the power of the ten clans, thereby preparing for the next world-destroying calamity that could come at any time. Naturally, the Quantity Organization played a part in fanning the flames.
From the perspective of the gods of the Hell Realm, this was understandable. Taking advantage of the Heavenly Court's myriad realms being scattered and weak, they would swallow them all.
With slaughter and war, the dead spirits would increase, the Undying Blood Clan and the Rakshasa Clan would have an endless supply of blood and flesh, and naturally, more would transform into Shura.
But the Hell Realm overestimated its own strength. They were stopped at the Kunlun Realm. Thus, the two universes fought a war of attrition, both suffering heavy losses, with more than half of their gods falling and countless great worlds being reduced to ashes.
Zhao Gongming narrated slowly: "At that time, during the world-destroying calamity, the Heavenly Court had not yet been established. The Saint Realm was the heart of the myriad realms, where the saints of all worlds gathered. The nine of us, along with the Heavenly Venerable, rushed to the Saint Realm, intending to provide aid."
"But we were blocked by a gray mist!"
"Within the gray mist flowed a vast, boundless river of corpses, stretching into the depths of the universe. From the depths of the universe came an aura that, even now, I recall with fear. It felt as if just the aura alone could extinguish my divine soul."
"Except for the Heavenly Venerable, the rest of us, including Bian Zhuang, were suppressed by the gray mist, unable to move."
The Qiangu Nüdi couldn't imagine such terrifying power existing in the world. She said, "Could it be an Ancestor?"
"Perhaps it was the might of heaven, the heaven that wanted to destroy the world. Or perhaps it was the Quantities, the great destructive power of the Calamity of Quantities." Zhao Gongming said, still shaken.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Did you see It?"
Zhao Gongming shook his head, saying, "The Heavenly Venerable must have known something. His expression at the time was very unusual. I could tell that he, too, felt fear. He was a man who had never known fear. It was the first time he hesitated, unwilling to move forward. But in the end, he overcame the terror within him, broke through the suppression of the gray mist, and led us deep into the river of corpses."
"However, not long after, the river of corpses and the gray mist retreated on their own, and that aura dissipated without a trace."
"By the time we arrived at the Saint Realm, all we saw was a scene of ruin. Countless divine temples had collapsed, divine mountains had been leveled, divine veins had been severed, and the corpses of gods and saints lay everywhere."
Zhang Ruochen, Jie Zunzhe, and the Qiangu Nüdi were naturally shaken by such hidden secrets, realizing that the Minor Calamity of that year seemed less like a natural disaster and more like an act of man.
"What does this have to do with the later fate of the Inverse God Clan? There was at least a thousand-year gap, right? Probably even more? Two thousand years?" Jie Zunzhe said.
Zhao Gongming said, "Have you heard of the Feng Blood Curse?"
"Could the rumors be true?" the Qiangu Nüdi said.
Zhao Gongming smiled bitterly, "It was indeed leaked. The gag order couldn't seal the mouths of those Heavenly Venerable-level experts. The entire Inverse God Clan, except for Jiutian's lineage, was afflicted with the Feng Blood Curse. Every clansman seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of blood within them. Their blood burned constantly, and they all went mad, as if summoned by something, charging towards the Santu River. As they ran, they performed sacrifices."
"Do you know what they were sacrificing to?"
"They were sacrificing to themselves."
"Using themselves as offerings, they sought to open a passage and awaken the unknown."
"It was on the Santu River, watching them run madly, their blood burning, their sacrifices unending, that I saw the gray mist again and sensed that familiar, terrifying aura."
"It wasn't just me. The top experts of both the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm sensed it too. The two sides had to immediately sign a ceasefire agreement and rush together to the Santu River. If I remember correctly, this was the exact time when the Xumi Saint Monk fell outside the Kunlun Realm."