Chapter 3739: Meeting an Old Acquaintance at the Academy
Heavenly Mother and Nie Cang Venerable had come on a secret visit, known only to a few deities of the Undying Blood Clan.
Undying War God and Xue Jue War God came forward to greet them.
Xue Jue War God, acting as the new master of the clan mansion, invited these three supreme powerhouses of the Hell Realm into a Blood Wing Divine Temple for a secret discussion.
Before long, the old clan leader, impeccably dressed, walked into the temple. He was full of vigor, with no trace of decline whatsoever, and laughed heartily: "Heavenly Mother, long time no see. Over the years, you truly haven't changed at all, still so young. To be able to see you before I die, I can die content!"
Heavenly Mother glanced at Undying War God and said: "I heard your lifespan is exhausted and you're on the verge of the Five Declines of Heaven and Man, so I came specially to see you off one last time. There aren't many left alive from our era!"
The old clan leader was overjoyed, never expecting that Heavenly Mother actually remembered him and had come all the way to the Undying Blood Clan.
For a moment, he didn't want to die at all!
But thinking that he couldn't defy fate and would soon turn to dry bones, the more he thought about it, the more unbearable it became, and he couldn't help but weep bitterly.
If he hadn't seen Heavenly Mother, he could have faced death calmly, with a peaceful mind and no fear.
Having seen her, he now understood how terrifying death truly was.
Undying War God had asked Heavenly Mother to help with this, hoping the old clan leader could pass away peacefully in his final moments. Who would have thought it would backfire?
Xue Jue War God also hadn't expected the old clan leader, at such an advanced age, to burst into tears so easily. He coughed dryly twice and said: "There are outsiders present. Even if you're moved, there's no need to cry."
"Mind your own business!"
The old clan leader snapped at Xue Jue War God, but gradually wiped away his tears. Supported by Xue Jue War God, he sat down on a chair and began discussing old times with Undying War God and Heavenly Mother.
Half an hour later, Undying War God and Heavenly Mother walked out of the temple.
Undying War God said: "I will definitely do what I promised you. People like Kui Liang Huang should have been dealt with long ago. But I have to wait until after he's gone!"
"Why not take him to the Destiny Temple? A clan leader like him should die a glorious death, not fade away in obscurity and silence." Heavenly Mother said.
Undying War God understood Heavenly Mother's meaning.
Heavenly Mother hoped the old clan leader could use his dying body to self-detonate his divine source and severely wound a powerful enemy.
This couldn't be called cold-bloodedness on Heavenly Mother's part.
After all, if she were truly cold-blooded, she would have mentioned it in front of the old clan leader just now. He certainly wouldn't have refused her.
That old fellow had been secretly in love with Heavenly Mother his entire life, never marrying, not even leaving behind a single descendant.
From that distant glance as a passionate young man, he had been infatuated all the way into his decrepit old age, countless times gazing toward Luozu Cloud Mountain Realm.
One glance, a million years!
Time ages people, seas dry up and turn to mulberry fields, only Heavenly Mother's appearance remains unchanged, a lifetime like a great dream!
Undying War God gazed into the sky and sighed: "He won't go! I know him well. When he's about to die, he will pass on all his lifelong cultivation to Xue Jue. In his heart, besides you, Xue Jue is more important than anything. Perhaps, Xue Jue is even a bit more important!"
...
The Heavenly Man Academy was located in the heart of West Ox Continent. It was a Confucian sacred ground established by the Second Confucian Ancestor in the Saint Realm of that time. At its peak, saints from all realms came one after another to pay homage, countless deities sat under the pine and bamboo to listen to the Confucian Ancestor's teachings, and the sound of reading filled the air every day.
During the Minor Calamity, the academy was destroyed and reduced to ruins.
In this celestial domain where the academy was located, mountain ranges were broken, countless deep valleys stretched for thousands of miles of desert, and many traces of destruction remained unrepaired to this day.
However, a place chosen by the Second Confucian Ancestor was naturally a convergence point of divine veins, endowed with the essence of heaven and earth, making the cultivation environment absolutely superb. Moreover, deep within the ruins of the academy, one could occasionally find Confucian classics, which were immensely beneficial for cultivating spiritual power.
On this day, the sun was bright and clear.
In the azure sky, cotton-like white clouds drifted.
A green carriage, pulled by nine white cranes, flew in from beyond the heavens and landed outside the broken mountain gate of the Heavenly Man Academy.
A man and three women stepped down from the carriage one after another.
Zhang Ruochen, dressed in a green robe and wearing a silk headband, had a jade-like face full of spirit, with a touch of elegance in his heroic bearing.
His gaze followed the long, gravel-strewn path upward, where he could see many ancient wooden buildings hidden among the leaves.
The gravel path wound upward, lined on both sides with emerald-green liquid spirit bamboo, verdant like jade. A gentle breeze came, bamboo leaves fluttered, and under the sunlight, it had a serene and secluded atmosphere.
Zhang Ruochen said: "How strange. Didn't they say the Heavenly Man Academy was occupied by heretical cultivators from the Cha Realm? Why can't I feel any heretical energy here?"
"Father, look!" Zhang Yuyan said.
Zhang Ruochen shifted his gaze.
"Heavenly Man Heretic Mansion!"
Beside the mountain gate, on a bluish-gray boulder, these four blood-red characters were carved.
"Hua!"
Zhang Ruochen waved his sleeve, divine light scattered, erasing the four blood characters on the boulder.
The boulder then shattered and exploded.
"Hua!"
At the mountain gate, a semi-transparent array light screen appeared.
"How dare you! Who dares to trespass into the Heavenly Man Heretic Mansion?"
More than a dozen heretical cultivators at the Great Saint realm rushed out from the array light screen.
Some were in human form, some had human bodies with beast heads, some were ferocious birds, some were angels... but they all shared one common feature: they were all bald, including the ferocious birds and angels.
On their bald heads, there were even burn marks of precept scars.
Nalan Danqing released her divine might, her body radiating multicolored light, forming a substantial spatial pressure.
The group of heretical cultivators was forced back repeatedly by the divine might.
"A deity! Quickly go invite Bald Eagle Great God!" a Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint said.
Immediately, two Great Saints with human bodies and beast heads hastily retreated into the array light screen and disappeared at the end of the gravel path.
That Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint struggled with all his might against the divine might, his gaze shifting between Nalan Danqing, Luo Shuihan, and Zhang Yuyan. He could tell they had profound cultivation and all carried a Confucian aura, coupled with their peerless, world-stunning beauty, they clearly had a significant background.
As for Zhang Ruochen, his aura was completely concealed, indistinguishable from an ordinary person.
"This is an important site of the Cha Realm. May I ask who you distinguished ones are?" that Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint asked, steeling himself.
Nalan Danqing, Luo Shuihan, and Zhang Yuyan all had calm and quiet personalities. They had been cultivating in the Kunlun Realm for years, living in seclusion and rarely visiting the Heavenly Court. It was normal for these heretical cultivators not to recognize them.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said: "You don't even recognize me?"
A bald angel stared at Zhang Ruochen's face, his expression suddenly changing drastically. He walked over to that Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint and whispered a message.
Zhang Ruochen ignored them. Standing at his current height, there was no need to bother with a group of Great Saints.
He pointed a finger, piercing through the array light screen.
He led the three women up the gravel path.
The defensive array here had been set up by a deity venerable of the Cha Realm, yet it was broken with a casual finger.
What level of cultivation was this?
That Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint instantly confirmed Zhang Ruochen's identity. He felt a chill run through his entire body, his legs disobeying him, growing weak and numb, as if about to kneel to the ground.
That bald angel directly knelt down and said: "Elder Zhang Ruochen, you absolutely must not enter! The Heretic Mansion... the Heavenly Man Academy has an honored guest inside, you must not disturb him."
The other heretical Great Saints, upon learning that the man before them was Zhang Ruochen, also knelt on one knee, their bodies trembling.
This was the person who had killed even the leader of the Immortal-Worshipping Cult!
To them, Zhang Ruochen was a top-tier powerhouse of the universe, like a heavenly venerable, whose words could decide the life and death of deities. Let alone them?
Bald Eagle Great God led three Heaven-Repairing Realm deities and seven false god divine generals rushing over. But upon seeing Zhang Ruochen walking on the gravel path, these imposing heretical gods immediately became like mice seeing a cat, sucking in cold air, quickly stepping aside, and respectfully bowing.
"Greetings, Elder Zhang Ruochen!"
"Elder, it's not that we want to continue occupying the Heavenly Man Academy, there are other circumstances."
"We know the Heavenly Man Academy is the Kunlun Realm's sacred ground in the Heavenly Court. We've long wanted to leave and are willing to offer divine stones as compensation, as many as you want."
"Elder, please give us a way out. Look, we've already shaved our heads and become monks. From now on, we will definitely reform, do good deeds, and make up for our past mistakes."
...
These heretical gods had all heard of the fate of the Immortal-Worshipping Cult's deities. Seeing Zhang Ruochen arrive at the Heavenly Man Academy, they were naturally terrified.
Zhang Ruochen said nothing, walking past them and appearing outside a wooden building.
"Uncle Master!"
"Uncle Master!"
Great Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works rushed out from a study hall, joyfully running toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen had long sensed their auras and smiled: "What are you two doing at the Heavenly Man Academy? And why have you shaved the heads of all the heretical cultivators from the Cha Realm?"
Second Minister of Works, skinny as a monkey with skin black as charcoal, pressed his palms together and said solemnly: "Reporting to Uncle Master, it was Master Candeng's idea. Yesterday, Master Candeng told them that they would face a calamity tomorrow. If they didn't shave their heads, do good deeds, and accumulate virtue, they would likely not escape death."
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes.
This Master Candeng was so formidable, having calculated that he would come to the Heavenly Man Academy today?
Great Minister of Works, with a face as white and round as a flatbread, said: "Over the years, Master Candeng has been leading us in investigating the truth behind the Fourth Confucian Ancestor's fall. He said this is where the Fourth Confucian Ancestor fell!"
"Take me to see the master!" Zhang Ruochen said.
Master Candeng came from an infinitely distant border universe. As soon as he arrived in the Hell Realm, he went straight to the Fate Divine Mountain and seized the "Fate Heavenly Scripture."
A figure like this had reached an unfathomable level of cultivation, both respectable and awe-inspiring.
Master Candeng, dressed in a white monk's robe, was handsome and heroic, looking to be only about twenty years old, extremely youthful. He sat under a golden-leafed ancient pine tree in the study hall's courtyard, holding half a scroll of a damaged painting, studying it.
The painting seemed to have been burned, with many places charred black.
Led by Great Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works, Zhang Ruochen entered the study hall courtyard.
Master Candeng looked up, revealing a warm smile full of personal charm, like the winter sun, and said: "I've been waiting for you for a while. Please, sit!"
Zhang Ruochen stared at him for a moment, shocked to find that even with his current cultivation, he still couldn't see through any of his energy fluctuations or heavenly traces. He was as deep as an abyss and as vast as the void.
Too terrifying!
Hopefully, he was a friend, not an enemy.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and natural, sitting down across from Master Candeng. Only then did Luo Shuihan, Nalan Danqing, Zhang Yuyan, Bald Eagle Great God, and the others step in, but they all stopped at a distance.
They could feel a terrifying aura from Zhang Ruochen and Candeng. If a great god walked over, their divine souls would likely be unable to withstand the impact, their spiritual will would be crushed, and they would directly kneel to the ground.
"Take a look at this!"
Candeng handed the damaged painting to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen unrolled the painting.
The scroll was charred black, tattered and torn, but it contained complex and mysterious spiritual power patterns within.
Only by using the Heart of Truth could one discover the painting's extraordinary nature.
"This damaged painting is a work of the Fourth Confucian Ancestor. The paper used for the scroll is very special, and... it has been sealed with spiritual power above the ninetieth rank."
Zhang Ruochen had specifically searched for the Fourth Confucian Ancestor's surviving works in the Kunlun Realm and had seen over a dozen of them, which led him to this judgment.
"This damaged scroll was excavated from deep beneath the Heavenly Man Academy, hidden very secretly. It should be a clue left by the Fourth Confucian Ancestor before his death." Candeng said.
(Chapter End)