Chapter 3744: Winds Rise at Qicheng
The divine power fluctuations emanating from the Square Heaven Round Earth Divine Formation, combined with Zhao Gongming's overwhelming sword momentum and divine might, stirred up massive waves across the Heavenly Court. All the gods stood on high alert, not daring to approach the Qicheng Heaven Domain, only able to question one another.
This time, even the consistently steady Zhao Gongming had made a move, severing the Chihou River with a single sword strike.
In the past hundred thousand years, nothing like this had ever happened.
Clearly, a storm was brewing. At this moment, any god who had not reached the Infinite Realm simply did not dare to get close to the Qicheng Heaven Domain.
"The chaotic era has arrived. The Heavenly Court has only just lost several Infinite Realm titans—how can there be more killing? What if the four directions truly fall into turmoil and the myriad realms descend into internal strife?"
"Isn't it because of that one who returned from the Hell Realm?"
"Speak carefully! Have you forgotten what happened to the Immortal-Worshipping Cult and the Array-Destroying Palace?"
"Your cultivation levels are too low to see the situation clearly. It's best not to speak recklessly. That one's current cultivation—how could you possibly judge it?" An old God King appeared, startling the few young gods who had been discussing the matter into immediately bowing respectfully, not daring to continue speaking.
The old God King gazed toward the edge of the sky where the Qicheng Heaven Domain lay, where five-colored divine clouds radiated, and said, "Even I, the master, can only be an observer in this matter, unable to intervene. But the Heavenly Court will not fall into chaos—the Heavens have not yet involved themselves! The Heavens are the anchors that stabilize the sea!"
...
The Truth Hall Master, the Five Elements Temple Master, and the Chixia Feixian Valley Master—the projection avatars of three Heavens—appeared at the periphery of the Qicheng Heaven Domain, each bathed in radiant light.
These three, along with Bian Zhuang War God above the Heavenly River, sat guarding the four poles of the Heavenly Court.
The more critical and turbulent the moment, the more their true bodies could not leave the Truth Divine Temple, the Five Elements Temple, the Chixia Feixian Valley, and the Heavenly River.
All the divine formations in these four locations had been activated, connected to the divine veins beneath the entire Heavenly Court, ready at any moment to unleash power capable of slaying Heavens—this was the highest state of alert.
The Chixia Feixian Valley Master said, "Within Buzhou Mountain, there is indeed a Space Teleportation Array that can penetrate the Heavenly Court's defenses. It was activated during the Middle Ages. However, that Space Teleportation Array generates extremely strong spatial fluctuations. If anyone enters or exits, it cannot escape the spiritual perception of a Heaven-Reaching Boundless cultivator."
The Five Elements Temple Master, exuding authority without anger, said, "Such a teleportation array should be destroyed! Otherwise, no matter how strong the Heavenly Court's defenses, they can be breached from within."
The Truth Hall Master said, "But what if we fall into a desperate situation in the future? Wouldn't we have no retreat?"
"If that day truly comes, what meaning is there in retreating? If even the Heavens cannot hold, no matter how vast the universe, where can we flee?" said the Five Elements Temple Master.
The Chixia Feixian Valley Master said, "Yu Jingzhen is an active supporter of summoning ancient powerhouses. In recent years, he has been in close contact with Murong Huan, frequently visiting the Time Divine Temple. And in Buzhou Mountain lie the tombs of successive Space Divine Temple Masters. I suspect that Buzhou Mountain hides many ancient powerhouses."
The Truth Hall Master said, "There is an extremely strange secret that even you might not know. The successive Space Divine Temple Masters rarely fell to Eon Calamities; most died of old age, preserving their corpses, buried in the legendary Yu Xu. This is no coincidence!"
The expressions of the Five Elements Temple Master and the Chixia Feixian Valley Master grew grave.
Only the Space Divine Temple Master could enter the summit of Buzhou Mountain and Yu Xu; they had no idea what the situation was inside.
One must know that no matter how high a cultivator's cultivation, dying under an Eon Calamity and being reduced to ashes was the most likely outcome.
Who does not cherish their life?
Who does not wish to live longer?
Who would consume their lifespan prematurely, refusing to hold on until the Eon Calamity arrives before sitting in meditation?
Clearly, the successive Space Divine Temple Masters must have grasped some secret, deliberately preserving their physical bodies.
In the past, no one would have suspected anything. But with the successive arrival of ancient powerhouses, this matter had become delicate.
The Five Elements Temple Master said, "Should we wait until spatial fluctuations appear before acting? If those ancient Space Divine Temple Masters all descend, they alone cannot stop them. Even if only one-tenth succeed in descending, it would be a terrifying force."
The Truth Hall Master said, "The Heavens cannot act lightly. If we move, one side will inevitably be left vulnerable. Who knows if Yu Jingzhen is not a pawn deliberately placed on the surface by the Quantity Organization, luring us to the Space Divine Temple while they strike elsewhere? The Calamity-Quantifying Emperor and Qishier Pin Lian have hidden in heaven and earth for so many years—their schemes run deep, truly chilling to contemplate."
The Five Elements Temple Master, thinking of the consequences of the Heavenly Court being breached by a feint, said with a solemn gaze, "Have we sent word to the Thousand Star Divine Ancestor and the Five Dragon Divine Emperor? The more critical this moment, the less they can act rashly. Otherwise, what might be destroyed could be the Heavenly Dragon Realm, the Thousand Star Civilization, or the Starry Sky Defense Line."
The Chixia Feixian Valley Master looked toward the void beyond the universe, the wrinkles on his forehead deepening, and said, "If spatial fluctuations truly appear in Buzhou Mountain, it means the worst-case scenario has occurred. Today will surely bring a fierce battle."
The Five Elements Temple Master pondered for a moment, then silently transmitted a single message.
A moment later, from the distant Five Elements Temple, a bright divine light shot out, heading straight for the Qicheng Heaven Domain.
"Shua!"
Before long, the divine light descended from the sky, condensing into a short, stout figure.
The Well Daoist, wearing an apricot-yellow Daoist robe with the character "Well" on it, appeared opposite the Five Elements Temple Master. He twisted his sparse beard and said, "Senior Brother, are you asking me to make a move?"
The Five Elements Temple Master said, "You are skilled in the Way of Horizontal and Vertical; there are few places in the world you cannot enter. Go scout the situation in Buzhou Mountain. Hide yourself carefully and do not act rashly. If Zhang Ruochen, Jiwang, Zhao Gongming, and the others truly fall into danger, withdraw immediately and report back."
"Sigh!"
The Well Daoist shook his head in disappointment.
With a full set of cultivation, yet no place to use it—when would he ever get a chance to stand out?
The world only knew that the Five Elements Temple had a Temple Master, unaware that he, the Well Daoist, also possessed heaven-reaching abilities.
The Well Daoist vanished before their eyes.
"The Well Daoist's cultivation has grown even deeper. Even I, this old woman, could not see how he concealed himself, nor where he went after hiding," said the Chixia Feixian Valley Master.
The Five Elements Temple Master said, "He was just showing off his skills deliberately; his Dao heart is far from steady enough. If the Valley Master were here in true form, you would surely be able to catch him."
"Hmph! There is no such thing as a senior brother who belittles his own junior brother in front of outsiders." The Well Daoist's voice sounded from behind the Five Elements Temple Master.
The Five Elements Temple Master scolded, "Go quickly."
The Truth Hall Master shot a deep glance at the Five Elements Temple Master, knowing that he was cold on the outside but warm on the inside, truly worried about Zhang Ruochen, the Dragon Lord, Zhao Gongming, and the others, which was why he had sent the Well Daoist to infiltrate Buzhou Mountain.
The Five Elements Temple Master looked at the Truth Hall Master and said, "I, this poor Daoist, may not approve of Zhang Ruochen's way of doing things, but this child is indeed extraordinarily talented, with the potential of an Ancestor. At least on major matters like dealing with the Quantity Organization and jointly facing the Calamity of Quantities, he is worthy of recognition."
...
The Heavenly River, with its weak waters rippling, stretched one hundred and eight thousand miles wide, guarding the entire Heavenly Court.
Bian Zhuang War God stood atop a water pillar on the Heavenly River, chatting and laughing with the returning Moon God, congratulating her on breaking through to the Infinite Realm.
Just then, in the Qicheng Heaven Domain of West Niuhou Continent, Zhao Gongming made his move. Sword energy soared to the sky, and the divine power tide surged in all directions, sensed by Bian Zhuang War God.
Bian Zhuang War God's pupils shot out beams of light dozens of feet long as he looked down upon the Qicheng Heaven Domain, saying, "Really too restless—why are they fighting again? Zhao the Second has personally made a move, and the Heavenly Venerable did not tell him to get involved."
The Moon God, wearing a veil, was pure and otherworldly, untouched by mortal dust, and said, "Is Zhang Ruochen causing trouble at the Space Divine Temple?"
"Besides him, who else could it be? It's all because of your protection; otherwise, how could he have lived until now? Forget it, he is now doing things for the Heavenly Venerable... I hope he isn't causing trouble for the Heavenly Venerable."
Just as Bian Zhuang War God sighed like this, suddenly, the Heavenly River stirred up waves reaching the sky, and the weak waters became extremely unstable.
The planet embankments on both sides of the river were struck by a surge of force. Instantly, dozens of planets flew out, their bodies disintegrating and shattering in the void.
The Heavenly River had always been calm, even when the gods of the Hell Realm had attacked en masse in the past, nothing like this had ever happened.
Bian Zhuang War God's expression changed. With no time to continue exchanging pleasantries with the Moon God, he immediately ordered the heavenly soldiers and generals stationed on both sides of the Heavenly River to activate the divine formation.
On both sides of the Heavenly River, countless celestial bodies were distributed, moving with the flow of the river, forming simple embankments.
At this moment, dense array inscriptions emerged on these planets, releasing dazzling light.
While Bian Zhuang War God was presiding over the formation to suppress the Heavenly River, he noticed that the Moon God was riding a heavenly boat, crossing rapidly through the wind and waves. He did not stop her but instead warned, "Be careful—the situation in the Heavenly Court today is very complex. Don't go to the Space Divine Temple."
Bian Zhuang War God had great trust in the Moon God, who had always been fierce in character.
Even when she was still a Great God, the Moon God had dared to crash into the Merit Divine Temple, and in the battle with the Hell Realm, she had nearly perished.
After crossing the Heavenly River, the Moon God flew directly toward the Qicheng Heaven Domain where the Space Divine Temple was located.
...
Within the Square Heaven Round Earth Divine Formation, the Tianya God Venerable was severely injured by the Star-Swallowing Formation controlled by the Space Divine Temple Master. His divine realm world shattered, his divine body turned into countless bloody fragments, and his life force was continuously worn away by the formation.
As for Cao Beisheng, he had been swallowed into the belly of the "Star-Swallowing Divine Beast" manifested by the Star-Swallowing Formation, long since reduced to particles of blood energy, his life force completely severed.
"This is the fate of traitors. Those two were bought off by Zhang Ruochen! Zhang Ruochen promised to take them to the Sword Realm in the future." The voice of the Space Divine Temple Master echoed across the vast land outside the temple.
The cultivators within the Square Heaven Round Earth Divine Formation and the Star-Swallowing Formation were filled with awe and dared not defy the Space Divine Temple Master, once again pouring all their power into the formations.
But the two divine formations had already sustained damage.
The formation points of Tianya God Venerable and Cao Beisheng were fatal weaknesses.
"Bang! Bang! Bang..."
The Dragon Lord seized the opportunity, having already broken free from the suppression of the formation inscriptions. Protected by the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Pagoda and wielding the Demon God Stone Pillar, he blasted eight divine temples within the formation to pieces.
The Saint Realm cultivators inside the temples were struck by his divine force, instantly turning into clouds of blood mist.
Even the gods within those eight divine temples were either dead or crippled, losing their combat ability and unable to continue powering the formation.
At this moment, there was no room for soft-heartedness.
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