Chapter 3790: Dividing the Spoils
"Here, this is Murong Tailai's divine source and physical body. Please, Fellow Daoist Zhang Ruochen, send him back to the Murong Clan."
Jing Daoren immediately added, "Piyana Yecha's methods were indeed formidable. He completely drained all the life force from Murong Tailai's physical body, and even the divine soul that escaped was ground to nothing."
"However, a large number of divine soul thoughts remain preserved in the divine source. If a Life Path master god with profound cultivation were to take action, it might be possible to revive him."
Since Murong Tailai's fleshly divine body, divine soul thoughts, and divine source had not been destroyed, he was not truly fallen.
But his spirit and Dao had been shattered by Piyana Yecha. Even if he were revived with a massive expenditure of resources, his strength would drop significantly.
Moreover, he would never have the chance to set foot on the Indestructible realm.
Zhang Ruochen, however, knew that Jing Daoren, though appearing honest, was full of hidden schemes, trying to drag him into the mess.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the divine source and physical body before him, pondered for a moment, and said, "The First Queen has obtained all the Life Essence of the Elf Clan and is already a Life Master God.
You're right, the fall of a Heavenly Lord would severely damage the Heavenly Court's prestige.
Revive him. Do whatever it takes."
"I'll cover the resources needed."
Jing Daoren's heart skipped a beat. "As far as I know, he was trying to kill you earlier."
Zhang Ruochen waved his hand. "I believe that repaying evil with good can move him."
Jing Daoren added, "The Murong Clan harbors treacherous intentions. Don't you remember what happened on the Heavenly River?
They wanted to use the pretext of dealing with Xu Fengjin and Feng Caiyi to destroy the Heavenly River."
"That was Murong Buhuo."
Zhang Ruochen said.
Jing Daoren stared at Zhang Ruochen's half-smiling eyes, gradually catching on, and directly laid it out. "You and Murong Tailai have a life-and-death feud. If you kill him, no one in the world would criticize you.
Besides, you have the Earth Cauldron. You could refine a batch of Heavenly Lord Origin Divine Pills."
Zhang Ruochen, as if finally understanding, said, "You and Murong Tailai are both Daoist cultivators. Is that why you dare not strike the killing blow?"
"I didn't strike the killing blow; it wasn't me," Jing Daoren said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "But you wanted his Stainless Whisk and Essence."
Jing Daoren shook his head. "I avenged him! The Stainless Whisk and Essence were taken from Piyana Yecha. I haven't lost any moral ground.
If you want to blame someone, blame him for being unrighteous first."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I'll help with this favor."
Before Jing Daoren could be happy, Zhang Ruochen added, "What are the terms?"
"Terms?"
Jing Daoren was taken aback.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Without terms, it's like playing around. Are you comfortable with that? Aren't you afraid I'll secretly revive Murong Tailai?
Besides, Murong Tailai isn't completely dead yet. If I refine and kill him... of course, it could all be blamed on Piyana Yecha.
But so many people are here. If word leaks out and the Heavenly Court's Heavenly Lords learn it was me, the Murong Clan will fight me to the death, all the Heavenly Lords will unite against me, and even the Heavenly Venerable might kill me.
The risk is too great!"
Jing Daoren's gaze swept over A Fuya, Cihang Xianzi, Youming Jiaozhu, Xiu Chen Tianshen, Chi Xingtian, and others.
"Don't worry, I, the Sect Leader, will keep my mouth shut. If I leak a single word, may I die in the next Eon Calamity."
Youming Jiaozhu was the most panicked, afraid of being silenced, and immediately swore an oath.
Jing Daoren silently cursed Zhang Ruochen for his greed, getting benefits and then demanding more. Impatiently, he said, "What terms? Name them!"
Zhang Ruochen pointed at Piyana Yecha and the Paradise Realm. "Give me this man and this realm, and I'll clear away all your worries."
Jing Daoren pointed at Zhang Ruochen, trembling with anger. "That's an Ancestor Realm! Piyana Yecha's body might even contain Buddha Relics and Ancestor Divine Sources. Zhang Ruochen, you're greedier than Old Man Xu!"
Zhang Ruochen looked at Cihang Xianzi. "First, the Paradise Realm belongs to the Buddhist Sect. None of us can keep it.
Second, you should know very well whether Piyana Yecha has an Ancestor Divine Source inside him."
Jing Daoren was surprised. "Are you really going to send the Paradise Realm back to the Western Buddha Realm? You are the heir of the Seventh Patriarch and have merged with the Sixth Patriarch's Sarira, gaining his recognition. If you take control of the Paradise Realm, most Buddhist cultivators in the world would accept it."
"Don't worry about that, Daoist," Zhang Ruochen said.
Jing Daoren clearly couldn't take such a loss and proposed to Zhang Ruochen that he wanted the Ten Golden Crow Sun Stars left by the Yanyang Ancestor.
Based on the divine soul of Siyang Tianjun, he had calculated the celestial position of the Ten Golden Crow Sun Stars and tracked them all the way to this star region of the Cha Realm.
For Jing Daoren to travel such a distance and even give up an Ancestor Realm, it was clear that the Ten Golden Crow Sun Stars held extraordinary significance for him.
Zhang Ruochen didn't agree immediately and asked, "How did things go in the Wuding Divine Sea?"
"What else could happen? After we broke through the Thunder Clan's Ancestor Realm, how could Thunder Lord be a match for Feng Caiyi?
Not to mention that I and Qing Cang joined the battle."
Jing Daoren laughed.
Zhang Ruochen said, "So, who got Thunder Lord?"
Thunder Lord's cultivation was far stronger than Piyana Yecha's.
Even with Qing Tian and Feng Tian's power, it would be impossible to refine and kill him completely in a short time.
Jing Daoren said, "Thunder Lord was sealed by Qing Cang and taken back to Tiannan. The Heavenly Venerable Hall left by the Thunder Clan's Heavenly Lord also fell into Qing Cang's hands."
"Feng Caiyi took the Thunder Clan's Ancestor Realm and the Thunder Lord Hammer."
"As long as the Heavenly Venerable and the others succeed in suppressing the Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable, even if some remnants and inheritances escape, the Thunder Clan will completely decline into a small clan. Within millions of years, they won't recover."
The Thunder Clan had been passed down for who knows how many billions of years. Such calamities had surely happened in history.
But such a super ancient clan had deep roots, with members hidden all over the universe. It was impossible to kill them all.
So Jing Daoren didn't think the Thunder Clan would be completely wiped out. Perhaps in a few million years, they could return to the pinnacle of the universe.
Moreover, Hao Tian had never intended to completely destroy the Thunder Clan, preserving their lineage.
Zhang Ruochen saw that Jing Daoren didn't mention the "Bronze Divine Tree" at all and knew it had fallen into his hands.
His eagerness to flee the Wuding Divine Sea and come to the Cha Realm was partly to avoid Feng Tian and Qing Tian.
Both Qing Tian and Feng Tian were top-tier ruthless figures in the Hell Realm. Having gained such benefits from the Thunder Clan, they would do everything to exterminate them, eliminating all danger in the cradle.
Back then, if Zhang Ruochen hadn't had the Undying Blood Clan and the Rakshasa Clan behind him, and even the White Clothes Valley, which had never taken a stance, Qing Tian would have done more than just cripple his cultivation.
As for Qinglu Shenwang, Qing Tian and Feng Tian would definitely come knocking.
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly. "Alright, the Ten Golden Crow Sun Stars are yours."
"Refreshing..." Jing Daoren said.
Zhang Ruochen changed the subject. "I want Siyang Tianjun's Fire Dao Essence."
Jing Daoren could see that Zhang Ruochen was cultivating the Five Elements Dao, so wanting the Fire Dao Essence was natural.
"No more conditions?"
Jing Daoren asked cautiously.
Zhang Ruochen thought carefully. "Not for now. Don't look so bitter, Daoist. You've made a huge profit this time. You've obtained the Essence of Siyang Tianjun, Murong Tailai, Piyana Yecha, and even Qingcheng Yun. The benefits you've gained are more than what you'd get from a full Eon of bitter cultivation in the Five Elements Temple."
"I earned it with my life," Jing Daoren said.
Zhang Ruochen looked up at the sky beyond. "This battle has left the Cha Realm with heavy casualties and severe damage, especially the Youming Evil Cult, which was nearly wiped out by Piyana Yecha.
To become a new Heavenly Lord, one must not only have great responsibility but also understand the Heavenly Venerable's thoughts and the overall situation of the Heavenly Court Universe."
"I'll take my leave now. The Cha Realm is yours, Daoist. As the second most important figure in the Daoist Sect, you have the responsibility to educate all the evil cultivators and uphold the interests of the Heavenly Palace."
"Sect Leader, Senior Jing, an Indestructible Infinite, is the real big shot to rely on. If the Youming Evil Cult backs the Five Elements Temple and the Heavenly Palace, you won't have to worry about being purged by the Paradise Realm."
Zhang Ruochen drew a Space Teleportation Array on the Universe Cauldron, then, along with Chi Xingtian, A Fuya, Cihang Xianzi, and the sealed Piyana Yecha, teleported across star regions and left.
As for the cleanup, he left it to Youming Jiaozhu and Jing Daoren.
"Why is he in such a hurry?"
Jing Daoren felt that Zhang Ruochen's words made sense. To become a Heavenly Lord, one needed not only powerful cultivation and combat strength but also noble character and great achievements.
The two battles at Buzhou Mountain and the Wuding Divine Sea were both achievements and proof of his strength.
Avenge Murong Tailai and suppress Piyana Yecha—those were also achievements.
But he still needed the blessing of virtue!
If he could educate the myriad evil cultivators of the Cha Realm, thereby influencing the hundreds of evil Dao great worlds led by the Cha Realm, that would be an even greater achievement than suppressing an Indestructible Infinite. It could also turn around his tarnished reputation, ruined by Xu Fengjin.
"Who killed my disciple?"
Above the Cha Realm, the stars trembled, and dazzling divine light pressed down toward the ground.
Sensing Shang Tian's aura, Jing Daoren immediately realized he had fallen into a huge trap.
No wonder Zhang Ruochen had left so quickly—he had known Shang Tian was about to arrive. This was letting him bear Shang Tian's wrath.
At the same time, it dragged him and the Five Elements Temple into the open, using the Cha Realm as the center to fight the Paradise Realm.
...
Having fled the star region where the Cha Realm was located, Xiu Chen Tianshen said, "Should we return to the Kunlun Realm?"
Murong Tailai's appearance in the Western Universe was no coincidence. Xiu Chen Tianshen had clearly guessed something and felt that the Kunlun Realm might be in for a big commotion.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "Forget it. If Murong Buhuo really went to the Kunlun Realm, our cultivation wouldn't help. Have you heard anything from Eighth Aunt and Uncle Long?"
"On the way to find Jing Daoren, I heard that the Five Dragon God Emperor and the Heavenly Dragon Realm's gods have all mobilized. Long Ba shouldn't be in danger."
Chi Xingtian said, "Did Murong Buhuo really go to the Kunlun Realm?"
"Don't worry. The Kunlun Realm today is not so easy to breach. Let's return to the Heavenly Court and wait for news!"
Zhang Ruochen suddenly thought of something and looked at Cihang Xianzi. "Would the Fairy be willing to visit the Time Divine Temple as a guest?"