Chapter 3794: Great Terror
After bidding farewell to Xuanyuan Lian and Zhao Gongming, Zhang Ruochen visited the Celestial Human Academy once more. Only then did he return to the Kunlun Realm together with Chi Yao, Xiao Hei, Yu Chenjing, Ao Linglong, Zhang Chuanzong, and the others.
In the void, countless Divine Throne Planets floated, radiating light as dazzling as stars, showcasing the Kunlun Realm's current flourishing and prosperous state, with numerous gods standing tall.
Space Teleportation Arrays outside the realm flickered from time to time.
Cultivators from various worlds of the Heavenly Court Universe rode Divine Ships and Saintly Chariots, flying out of the teleportation arrays and heading toward the Kunlun Realm.
Some came to study Daoist methods, others to pay homage to Tai Shang, and still others to present tribute.
Once a dynasty became powerful, naturally, myriad worlds would come to pay court.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen and the others descended onto Yunshen Dao.
Yunshen Dao was far from the main continent of the Kunlun Realm, located deep in the sea, and was the dwelling place of the Fallen God Clan.
This was not Zhang Ruochen's first time at Yunshen Dao, but the changes before him exceeded his expectations, and he had not received any relevant information beforehand.
The others traveling with him also changed expressions.
Yunshen Dao was vast, like a small continent.
They saw that the soil of this small continent had completely turned black, corroded and soaked through.
The sky was covered by thick demon clouds, obscuring the sun, moon, and stars.
The surrounding sea area had also become lifeless, with no living creatures in sight.
"Shua!"
Chi Xingtian and the Eight-Winged Night Yaksha Dragon tore through space and appeared opposite Zhang Ruochen and the others.
Chi Xingtian's foundation had recovered, and after years of cultivation, he had successfully broken through to the Qiankun Infinite realm.
He wore a crimson heavy armor, exuding both boundless demonic nature and awe-inspiring battle might.
However, upon seeing Zhang Ruochen, his demonic nature and battle might vanished instantly. He laughed heartily, "Zhang Ruochen, you've finally decided to return to the Kunlun Realm. Hey, are you bringing your two newlywed junior sisters-in-law to pay respects to your grandmaster?"
The Eight-Winged Night Yaksha Dragon rolled her eyes, saying, "How can you be so ignorant of propriety? You should address him as Emperor Dust Lord."
"How dare you speak to me like that? Do I owe you face? When men are talking, where do you, a woman, get off interrupting?" Chi Xingtian scolded, then added, "Zhang Ruochen and I are sworn brothers who have walked through fire and blade together. How could a difference in cultivation level make us estranged?"
The Eight-Winged Night Yaksha Dragon's eyes widened, feeling that Chi Xingtian had taken the wrong medicine today.
"Try glaring again, will you?" Chi Xingtian said.
The Eight-Winged Night Yaksha Dragon ignored him, transforming into a dragon shadow and vanishing from the spot.
"A sapling won't grow straight without trimming; a person won't behave without discipline. Hah, women, too much temper. Don't mind her."
Chi Xingtian walked side by side with Zhang Ruochen, leading the way.
After breaking through to the Infinite realm, Chi Xingtian was full of confidence, no longer fleeing with his head in his hands when beaten by the Eight-Winged Night Yaksha Dragon as before. But he seemed a bit too inflated, and it was uncertain whether he would face consequences afterward.
When Zhang Ruochen asked about the changes on Yunshen Dao, Chi Xingtian's expression turned serious. He said, "A major upheaval has occurred in the Nether Prison. From the seventeenth layer prison, demonic qi has been continuously seeping out. Tai Shang is very worried, so he used formations to relocate the Nether Prison to Yunshen Dao."
"The vast majority of the Fallen God Clan members on the island have already been evacuated."
Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao exchanged a glance, both inwardly shaken.
It must be known that the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable had issued a decree during his lifetime, forbidding any cultivator from entering the eighteenth layer prison of the Nether Prison.
Moreover, the Nether Prison's guardian, "Kong Chengzi," had warned Zhang Ruochen before his death that the seventeenth layer of the Nether Prison had an extreme barrier cutting through time and space, with eternal, undispersable demonic qi.
Now, demonic qi had crossed the temporal-spatial extreme barrier and seeped out from the seventeenth layer prison. This was undoubtedly a monumental event.
Zhang Ruochen looked around.
He found that the entire Yunshen Dao was covered with formation inscriptions, layer upon layer.
The center of these formations was the location of the Nether Prison's entrance.
Tai Shang, apparently aware of Zhang Ruochen's arrival, had already emerged from the Nether Prison. Standing at the entrance, his facial wrinkles slightly relaxed as he smiled, "Ruochen, how did it feel to be trapped in the Heavenly Court for these ten thousand years?"
Zhang Ruochen quickly stepped forward and bowed to Tai Shang, saying, "It wasn't really being trapped, is there any place safer in the world than the Heavenly Court? These ten thousand years of arduous cultivation have finally laid a solid foundation, giving me the confidence to contend with the world's top experts."
"You are a Kunpeng soaring through the universe, yet you had to work for the Heavenly Venerable to protect the Kunlun Realm. You must have offended many people, right? You've planted countless karmic seeds. You've worked hard. From now on, leave the most dangerous matters to your grandmaster."
Tai Shang stared at Zhang Ruochen, his eyes filled with both relief and admiration, as well as guilt and self-blame.
Having a junior engage in games with the All Heavens, bearing pressure and danger that someone his age shouldn't have to endure, Tai Shang always felt he owed Zhang Ruochen too much and that he had been a very inadequate grandmaster.
"Grandmaster!"
Chi Yao, Yu Chenjing, Ao Linglong, and Zhang Chuanzong successively stepped forward to bow to Tai Shang.
Xiao Hei also stepped forward, saying, "Master's teacher, he wasn't suffering at all. Not only did he become the Grand Elder of the Space Divine Temple and the Time Divine Temple, but he also married two stunningly beautiful wives. Countless people envy him! And he's been flirting with Xuanyuan Lian, the Moon God, A Fuya... and several other close female friends. He's been living quite the carefree life."
"The one truly suffering is me. All the dirty and tiring work falls on me, constantly traveling between the Heavenly Court and the Hell Realm."
"By the way, that old fellow Zhang Jie, relying on his profound cultivation, beat me up without any reason earlier. Master's teacher, you must get justice for me."
Tai Shang smiled without speaking.
Zhang Ruochen looked at Chi Xingtian, who understood and grabbed the soft flesh of Xiao Hei's lower back, carrying him away into the distance.
"Chi Xingtian, what are you doing? If you don't put this emperor down right now, I'll show you no mercy!" Xiao Hei roared.
"Alright."
...
Moments later, Chi Xingtian and Xiao Hei disappeared over the horizon.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Xiao Hei has a loose tongue; there are many things he can't know. Chenjing, Linglong, Chuanzong, you all return to the Wangshan Zhang Clan first and prepare to join me in the ancestral rites."
Yu Chenjing and Ao Linglong naturally knew that Zhang Ruochen and Tai Shang had important matters to discuss, so they both nodded in agreement.
"Since you've all called me grandmaster, I have a few small trinkets here for you to wear."
Tai Shang took out three emerald leaves and handed them to Yu Chenjing, Ao Linglong, and Zhang Chuanzong.
These were treasures given by the number one spiritual power in the current universe, certainly extraordinary.
All three were overjoyed, bowing to Tai Shang once more before taking their leave.
Zhang Ruochen knew that when Qingjing, Zhang Hongchen, and Hanxue had gone out to train, Tai Shang had given them protective treasures to conceal their heavenly secrets and aura.
Tai Shang led Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao into an ancestral land not far from the Nether Prison.
Here, divine mountains stood like bamboo shoots everywhere, each over a thousand zhang tall.
As they walked, Tai Shang said, "I have heard about the Qishier Pin Lian. She harbors resentment and will surely see you and Jie Tian as prey. If you leave the Heavenly Court and the Kunlun Realm, she will be your greatest threat."
"Grandmaster doesn't want me to leave?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Tai Shang gently shook his head, saying, "It's no longer suitable for you to stay in the Heavenly Court. Resigning from the position of Grand Elder was a wise move. As for the Kunlun Realm... it's actually even less safe now."
Zhang Ruochen immediately asked, "What exactly happened? The demonic qi on Yunshen Dao is so intense, it's already affecting the Heavenly and Earthly Rules. Could it be that the Great Demon God is sealed inside and still alive?"
Zhang Ruochen remembered that Tai Shang had once said that the Heavenly Demon's Ancestor Realm was located in the eighteenth prison of the Nether Prison. He had also speculated that the Time-Space Human Ancestor's Ancestor Realm was also in the eighteenth layer prison.
Combined with the Great Venerable's decree, it was evident that the eighteenth layer prison held a great terror.
Tai Shang's forehead wrinkled deeply, his eyes filled with worry. He said, "The era of the Great Demon God was over ten million years ago. Even an Ancestor couldn't have such a long lifespan."
"But the appearance of ancient half-ancestors like Di and Lady Shiji proves the chaos of the Heavenly and Earthly order."
"Unfortunately, aside from the Great Venerable back then, no one knows the true situation inside the eighteenth prison."
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Great Venerable's decree already speaks volumes about the severity of the problem."
Chi Yao said, "Keeping the Nether Prison in the Kunlun Realm is extremely dangerous, isn't it? Once the great terror breaks free, all the cultivators in the Kunlun Realm will likely be reduced to ashes."
Tai Shang smiled bitterly, gazing at the sky rolling with black clouds, and sighed, "As dangerous as it is, for now, it can only remain in the Kunlun Realm. Otherwise, if it falls into the hands of those with ulterior motives, the seventeenth and eighteenth layer prisons would only be opened sooner."
"If what's inside truly is the Great Demon God, who in the current universe could be his match? The chaotic ancient times would reopen, blood staining the star river. All our efforts now would be in vain."
Zhang Ruochen's heart stirred, saying, "The first life of Jiusi Yitianhuang was the demon heart of the Great Demon God. Could he have sensed something, which is why he stationed himself in the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain? In reality, he's feinting east while attacking west, with the true target being the Nether Prison?"
"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Tai Shang added, "It's precisely because of the existence of this special being, Jiusi Yitianhuang, that I'm uncertain whether the Great Demon God has truly fallen. After all, even one of his demon hearts has survived into this era."
A suffocating sense of oppression spread.
Zhang Ruochen and Chi Yao both felt as if a great mountain were pressing down on their heads, making it hard to breathe.
If the Great Demon God were to emerge, wouldn't the world be turned upside down?
Zhang Ruochen's thoughts involuntarily drifted to the distant Sword God Temple.
It must be known that among the Three Pure Ones, Shangqing, after returning from the Sword God Temple, had forcibly broken into the Nether Prison, which was why he was killed by Biluozi.
This was enough to show that some force within the Sword God Temple wanted to open the Nether Prison and release the great terror within.
Just dealing with Jiusi Yitianhuang was already difficult enough.
Add to that the unknowns of the Sword God Temple, the remnants among the seventy-two pillar demon gods...
Once news of the Nether Prison's mutation leaked out, the Kunlun Realm would likely face another catastrophe like the one ten thousand years ago.
Seeing their grim expressions, Tai Shang forced a relaxed smile, saying, "In truth, demonic qi has been seeping out from the seventeenth layer prison for a long time. It's only in recent years that the rate of seepage has accelerated, causing it to surge out of the Nether Prison. Even if the Great Demon God is imprisoned inside, aren't there still the sealing powers of the Heavenly Demon and the Great Venerable? He won't escape so easily."
"Besides, if the Great Demon God truly still possessed Ancestor-level power, how could the Nether Prison hold him?"
"Don't you two worry about this. The Heavenly Venerable and your grandmaster will find a way to deal with it."
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Heavenly Venerable knows about this too?"
Tai Shang nodded, then suddenly stopped walking, looking ahead, and said, "We've arrived!"
Ahead, the bamboo shoot-shaped divine mountains could no longer be seen. It was as if they had reached the end of time and space, where all matter had vanished, revealing a vast expanse of colorful, shimmering sea of light.