Chapter 3769: Enemies Meet
After the Battle of Buzhou Mountain, it was impossible for Hao Tian not to know that the extinction calamity of the Inverse God Clan originated from the surviving remnant of the Ruo Water Clan, "Yu Jingzhen."
Why then would he repeat the same mistake as the Inverse God Heavenly Venerable from back then?
Perhaps this is the difference between living beings and the undead. Living beings always believe that all things born from heaven must have their reason for existence, and no clan should be completely eradicated—its roots must be preserved.
Like wildfire burning the wilderness, new sprouts will emerge the following year.
This is the endless cycle of life, the removal of old ills for renewal.
To uproot everything, to slaughter and destroy completely, harms the harmony of heaven, and in the end, all things, including oneself, will head toward doom, turning the universe into a dead, silent desert.
Having Yin Yuanchen—a man who carries the bloodline of the Thunder Clan yet harbors no emotional attachment to it—take control of the reborn Thunder Clan is actually an excellent choice.
Yin Yuanchen's second sentence stirred a strong sense of curiosity in Zhang Ruochen's heart.
The return of the supreme...
Could it be some ancient powerhouse from Kunlun Realm's history?
Or the rumored former number one of Kunlun Realm, said to have stained the stars with blood?
Zhang Ruochen believed the latter was more likely.
If so, Kunlun Realm was actually in danger!
Since ancient times, the more powerful a force, the easier it was to be jointly targeted, as all sides did not wish for the balance to be broken.
Such was the case with Kunlun Realm a hundred thousand years ago, with the Seventy-Two Pillar Demon Gods being jointly attacked by the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm, with Fengdu Dadi being exiled, with Paradise Realm being suppressed, and with the Thunder Clan being annihilated...
Any force that breaks the balance of the universe, or the balance of a starry sky, will inevitably face a storm of overwhelming force.
Thus, many forces deliberately hide part of their strength to sheathe their edge and show weakness to the enemy.
The more powerful a force, the more it does this, including the former Xuan Yuan Clan.
Many cultivators believed that the reason Xuan Yuan Taizhen and the Xuan Yuan Clan were so low-key was because Hao Tian was too high-profile. Though not intentionally so, his identity as "Lord of the Heavenly Palace" and "Number One Under Heaven" made it impossible for him to be low-key.
The rumor of discord between Xuan Yuan Taizhen and Hao Tian was interpreted as the survival wisdom of the Xuan Yuan Clan.
Zhang Ruochen cleared all distracting thoughts from his mind, returning to reality, and asked Jing Daoren about the result of his pursuit of Feima Wang.
"Her cultivation hasn't yet recovered to Indestructible Infinite. If I, the Daoist, were willing to spend more time, capturing her alive would be absolutely no problem.
However, I was quite worried about your situation here, so I had to return ahead of time."
Jing Daoren spoke as if he and Zhang Ruochen had a deep friendship, his eyes full of concern and care.
Zhang Ruochen knew, however, that he must have lost the trail.
Zhang Ruochen guessed, "Did she escape into Lihentian or the Void World?"
"The Void World!"
Jing Daoren quickly added, "If another demon lord hadn't intervened to block her, she wouldn't have gotten away."
Zhang Ruochen pressed, "Who?"
Jing Daoren's expression remained unchanged, "It should be one of the Supreme Four Pillars, most likely Ba Er!"
Zhang Ruochen fully understood now—Jing Daoren had clearly been scared off.
His uncertain tone indicated that he hadn't dared to pursue into the Void World at the time.
It must be said that among the Supreme Four Pillars, Ba Er, this ruthless character second only to the Heavenly Demon, posed a great deterrent even to Indestructible Infinite-level beings. In the current universe, only Hao Tian and the Heavenly Mother dared to contend with him.
He truly hoped Fengdu Dadi would return soon; otherwise, under Ba Er's shadow, Hell Realm would inevitably fall into endless turmoil.
Just as Zhang Ruochen and Jing Daoren were about to enter the Guixu,
"Boom, rumble!"
The surrounding sea suddenly began to boil violently, and from the entrance of the Guixu, a massive surge of chaotic lightning erupted.
Within the lightning storm were dense Rule Divine Marks, and even Ancestor Divine Marks, rushing toward the three like a tidal wave.
"This aura... Could the Guixu actually be an Ancestor Realm?"
Zhang Ruochen rapidly retreated, his gaze fixed on Yin Yuanchen.
There was no small old grudge between Zhang Ruochen and Yin Yuanchen. Because of Hao Tian, it was already rare for him to suppress his hatred and not deal with him.
Saving him now was completely out of the question.
Yin Yuanchen's cultivation had advanced quickly, and he was not weak, but he was far from being able to withstand the power surging from the Guixu.
Thinking of A Le's child, whose fate was unknown and required answers from Yin Yuanchen, Zhang Ruochen, however unwilling, still acted, using space power to envelop him and pull him away from that dangerous area.
People always have to make compromises.
Yin Yuanchen was surprised, looking at Zhang Ruochen with a bit more admiration, "Tai Shang said you have a magnanimous heart that can embrace all rivers, which is extremely rare and makes you the hope of this era. His words are not false."
"You're wrong! I saved you because I need to ask you for some necessary information."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was not on Yin Yuanchen but burning like fire, fixed on the Guixu.
Yin Yuanchen seemed indifferent, "Being able to overcome hatred with reason also shows that you have a far-sighted vision and are not a short-sighted or narrow-minded person."
At the entrance of the Guixu, spatial ripples continuously spread outward, all Heavenly and Earthly Rules in chaos.
"I understand now. The Guixu is not an Ancestor Realm; someone has fused an Ancestor Realm with the Guixu into one."
Zhang Ruochen said.
Jing Daoren added, "The Guixu is boundless and bottomless. Some speculate it is even vaster than the Wuding Divine Sea, containing hidden dimensions. The Thunder Clan's Ancestor Realm should only overlap with part of the Guixu, forming a two-layered world.
Now, the two worlds are separating."
"It seems the Thunder Clan's experts are preparing to flee with the Ancestor Realm!"
Zhang Ruochen became even more eager to know who could be holding back Feng Tian.
Although Feng Tian had only recently broken through to the middle stage of Indestructible Infinite, with fifty percent of Death Esoterica and multiple Divine Artifacts and war treasures, she could even contend with the Qishier Pin Lian at the peak of Indestructible Infinite.
Even if the opponent carried an Ancestor Realm and could use part of an Ancestor's power, they would likely need the same realm to match Feng Tian.
"Boom!"
The Ancestor Realm completely separated from the Guixu, soaring upward, fleeing the Wuding Divine Sea.
Zhang Ruochen looked up and saw countless lightning bolts, like hundreds of purple nets, wrapping a star-sized ball of light. Inside the ball of light was a spatial world far larger than a star.
"The legendary Bronze Divine Tree!"
Yin Yuanchen exclaimed.
Inside that lightning-wrapped spatial world grew a bronze tree, millions of miles tall, supporting the entire great world.
Even the nearby Blood Leaf Wutong paled in comparison.
That bronze tree was no dead thing; it seemed to breathe.
With each breath, it released a torrent of electric light.
Jing Daoren, well-versed in ancient and modern classics, naturally knew the legend of the Thunder Clan's Bronze Divine Tree, "Using lightning as the source of life, absorbing Heavenly and Earthly spiritual energy and rules, condensing into a bronze tree body.
This is a supreme treasure of the Five Elements' Metal and Wood—perfect for planting in the Five Elements Temple!"
Feeling he had achieved nothing in his trip to the Wuding Divine Sea, failing to uphold the prestige of the Five Elements Temple as an Indestructible Infinite powerhouse, Jing Daoren felt he must accomplish something.
He had just pursued that lightning Ancestor Realm when, suddenly, it was pierced by a beam of death light. A vast amount of seawater poured down from the world's hole, like a waterfall hanging from the Nine Heavens.
Mixed in the seawater was blood burning like flames.
Fourteen suns, following the seawater, fell from the hole in the Ancestor Realm.
Ten of them were particularly dazzling, illuminating the entire world with a blazing white light, releasing heat that boiled hundreds of millions of miles of the Wuding Divine Sea below.
"Four Suns Heavenly Lord!"
Jing Daoren spotted the figure of Four Suns Heavenly Lord, his eyes surging with overwhelming killing intent, no longer vague.
For Four Suns Heavenly Lord, the traitor who nearly brought catastrophic destruction to the Heavenly Court, any Heavenly Court cultivator harbored deep hatred and enmity.
In an instant, Jing Daoren abandoned the idea of seizing the Bronze Divine Tree and pursued Four Suns Heavenly Lord instead.
Four Suns Heavenly Lord, having withstood Feng Tian's attacks, was severely injured, his body covered in cracks. Due to the death energy entering his body, the cracks could not heal.
Although he had devoured the remnant soul of the Blazing Sun Ancestor and broken through to Indestructible Infinite, he had not yet condensed his own fifth divine sun, leaving his cultivation still flawed.
Thus, unwilling to linger here, he cared not whether the Thunder Clan was annihilated—it had nothing to do with him.
Seeing a fat Daoist charging at him, he felt a sense of familiarity but paid it no mind.
With his current cultivation, even severely injured, he feared no one below Indestructible Infinite.
Calmly gathering his fourteen suns, he spat out a mouthful of divine flame, condensing it into a Golden Crow form, with countless Rule Divine Marks interwoven within, lunging at the fat Daoist.
"Bang!"
The Golden Crow was shattered directly by the fat Daoist.
Four Suns Heavenly Lord realized something was wrong, suddenly recognizing who the fat Daoist was, but his contempt had already cost him the initiative.
Jing Daoren's Heaven Net Earth Trap divine ability enveloped him from all sides, pressing down.
He wanted to flee, but it was too late.
Zhang Ruochen was extremely surprised, never expecting Four Suns Heavenly Lord to appear at the Guixu.
Could this old fellow be planning to defect to the Thunder Clan?
What terrible luck, to be caught red-handed by Feng Tian.
Zhang Ruochen noticed that the ten suns around Four Suns Heavenly Lord were extraordinary, their power fluctuations far surpassing his original four suns, so he spoke up to remind, "Daoist, don't lose him again! If you capture Four Suns Heavenly Lord, you will be the top contributor to the Heavenly Court."
Zhang Ruochen certainly did not want Four Suns Heavenly Lord to escape. Setting aside the grudges with the Blazing Sun Civilization, the death of the Heavenly Beginning Old Heavenly Lord alone made Four Suns Heavenly Lord the primary culprit.
All the gods of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization gnashed their teeth in hatred for him.
Zhang Ruochen very much wanted to take Four Suns Heavenly Lord's head as a gift to bring back to Luo Ji.
Above, the Thunder Clan's Ancestor Realm did not fly away. It was wrapped by death rules converging from all corners of the universe, firmly suppressed in this void.
Inside the Ancestor Realm, a thrilling battle was raging.
The powerhouse who had been holding back Feng Tian appeared before Zhang Ruochen's eyes.