Chapter 3802: Sword Pointed at Ice King Star
The Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God was one of the most radical war hawks, having long been stationed at the Wuding Divine Sea. In this cosmos, he had contended with the gods of the Heavenly Court and never fallen at a disadvantage.
His strength was evident.
Zhang Ruochen's claim that the Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God was the master of the Wuding Divine Sea was not entirely wrong; he could indeed be considered half of one.
Xiao Hei was well aware of the enmity between Zhang Ruochen and the Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God.
His disciple, "Hai Ke," had died at Zhang Ruochen's hands.
His fierce general under his command, "Mofa Divine King," had also died at Zhang Ruochen's hands in the Rakshasa Divine City.
Now, the Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God was advancing with such ferocity, and his cultivation was so unfathomably profound, that Xiao Hei couldn't help but feel tense.
Yu Shi had cultivated in the Hell Realm for hundreds of thousands of years and had a deeper understanding of the Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God. Facing the illumination of the nine lanterns in the distance, she didn't even dare to breathe.
Her divine soul was completely suppressed by the other's aura, as if with a single thought from him, she would be annihilated.
"Who is that person? It seems he came with the Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God."
In the void to the right of the Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God's body, which resembled a ten-thousand-mile-long white bone mountain range, Xiao Hei saw a green, ghostly figure, like a wisp of ghost fire.
With his spiritual power, he could only vaguely see a figure standing within the ghost fire.
But it was very blurry, impossible to see clearly.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The current Hall Master of the Death God Temple, Hu Shang Old Woman."
Even with Xiao Hei's boldness, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. He said in a low voice, "Two of the top giants of the Death Clan, second only to the old monster Qing Cang, have shown up. Who can withstand this? Should we retreat to the Heavenly Court's defense line first?"
"No need. You two stay on the divine ship."
With a flicker of his form, Zhang Ruochen had already crossed the void and appeared just a few hundred miles away from the Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God.
Divine Qi swirled beneath his feet, and the Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal above his head shone like a Daoist diagram. He said, "What advice do the two of you have?"
The Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God's bony mouth did not move, and his divine voice came from an unknown source. "We have no hostile intent. We have come only to see the most outstanding genius of this era."
No hostile intent?
Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly. If he hadn't just displayed his skill, these two Death Clan giants would likely have already made their move.
One must know that when one's cultivation reaches their level, the area within a single Divine Spirit Step in front of them is a forbidden zone.
Yet Zhang Ruochen had easily intruded, using a Great Space Teleportation to break through their deathly aura domain and enter within a few hundred miles. This was a show of force to deter them.
There was nothing to discuss with them; they were destined to be enemies, not friends. Zhang Ruochen said, "Now that you've seen me, can the two of you let us pass?"
"No rush!"
Hu Shang Old Woman walked out step by step, her white hair hanging down to her feet, her body ethereal. She said in a hoarse voice, "I have long heard of the fame of Imperial Dust and wished to test my skills, but I have never had the opportunity."
"Is it because of the death of Mofa Divine King?"
Zhang Ruochen said.
Hu Shang Old Woman said, "The death of Mofa Divine King has already been explained to the Death God Temple by Emperor Luo Yan. It cannot be entirely blamed on Imperial Dust. However, he was, after all, a Divine King of the Death Clan... cough, cough..."
At this point, her voice stopped.
In this void, the deathly aura began to flow rapidly, condensing into thousands of gray, gaseous long rivers that converged toward her.
On Hu Shang Old Woman's brow, a giant eye opened.
This eye occupied half of her face.
The destructive energy released from her pupil was tens of thousands of times stronger than an ordinary star, enough to easily destroy an entire star domain.
"Whoosh!"
Carrying thousands of deathly aura rivers, she seemed to break the rules of space and flew toward Zhang Ruochen at an extraordinary speed.
Zhang Ruochen stood still, squinting his eyes. The next moment, all the deathly aura rivers exploded, and Hu Shang Old Woman flew backward like an autumn leaf in the wind, crashing heavily into the Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God's bone body.
The green ghost fire on her body was extinguished by nearly half.
On the divine ship in the distance, Yu Shi and Zhang Chuanzong hadn't even seen the exchange between Hu Shang Old Woman and Zhang Ruochen.
They only saw that after the deathly aura surged violently, Hu Shang Old Woman flew backward, completely unaware of what had happened.
Xiao Hei relaxed and sneered, "The Hall Master of the Death God Temple is nothing special. How dare she challenge Zhang Ruochen? She's asking for death!"
"Uncle Black, did Father defeat her?"
Zhang Chuanzong asked.
"Of course!"
Xiao Hei hadn't seen it clearly either, but he couldn't lose face in front of the younger generation. He forced an explanation: "Hu Shang Old Woman made a fatal mistake. She shouldn't have engaged Zhang Ruochen in close combat. Within eighteen zhang, Zhang Ruochen is fully capable of breaking the rules of time and space, and his speed far surpasses hers."
"Knocking her back with one move was merciful! If this were a life-and-death battle, she would have gone and never returned, unable to escape even if she tried."
Zhang Chuanzong and Yu Shi both showed expressions of awe.
If Hu Shang Old Woman had heard Xiao Hei's explanation, she would have been very gratified. In reality, she hadn't even managed to enter within eighteen zhang of Zhang Ruochen.
After healing her injuries, Hu Shang Old Woman slightly cupped her hands and said, "Truly, heroes come from youth. I am impressed."
Zhang Ruochen didn't want to say much, because he knew very well that Hu Shang Old Woman had engaged him in close combat not because she was unaware of his advantage in close quarters, but because it was a faster way to test his current level of cultivation.
That was the real purpose of their appearance here.
The Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God said, "I have a piece of news that Imperial Dust might find interesting. But I'm afraid Imperial Dust won't believe us."
Zhang Ruochen's robe fluttered in the breeze as he bathed in the wind. "War God, please speak. Whether I believe it or not, I will judge for myself."
"Not long ago, Wu Wei, the second disciple of Jiusi Yitianhuang, came to the Wuding Divine Sea. He hoped that I would act to prevent you from going to the Hell Realm."
The Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God said.
"What is his purpose in doing this?"
"Perhaps he doesn't want you to go to the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain."
The Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God changed his tone and added, "On him, I detected the aura of a Heavenly Court god."
"Who?"
"Qingcheng Yun."
Zhang Ruochen showed a playful smile. "I'm curious, War God, why are you telling me this?"
The Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God said, "As I said earlier, because he carries the aura of a Heavenly Court god. I would kill any cultivator who collaborates with a Heavenly Court god with my own hands. Unfortunately, not everyone dares to be an enemy of Jiusi Yitianhuang like Imperial Dust."
"So you want to use my blade to kill? That's a bit far-fetched, but it doesn't matter. I do have some grievances with Wu Wei. If I get the chance, I wouldn't mind dealing with him."
Zhang Ruochen turned to leave.
The Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God said, "He has gone to Ice King Star!"
Zhang Ruochen's expression changed drastically, and a cold gleam appeared in his eyes. Returning to the divine ship, he directly activated the Space Teleportation Array at the bottom of the ship and left this sea area.
Hu Shang Old Woman's expression was grave. "Zhang Ruochen's current strength is definitely not inferior to the Indestructible Infinite. What terrifying cultivation speed. Is the Sundial really that heaven-defying?"
"If it were just the Sundial, it wouldn't have such power. That's no longer important. Now, let's wait and watch the show. I want to see what Jiusi Yitianhuang is really trying to do."
The Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God moved his body, flying out like a white bone mountain range, winding and undulating, disappearing from this sea area.
On the divine ship.
Upon hearing the Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God mention Ice King Star, Xiao Hei immediately performed a soul search on Ye Hou, but found no useful information. He only knew that Wu Wei had indeed come to the Wuding Divine Sea.
"The Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God's words are problematic. How could Jiusi Yitianhuang not want you to go to the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain?"
Xiao Hei said in confusion, "What is he really trying to do?"
Zhang Ruochen controlled the divine ship, performing one space teleportation after another. "He's just trying to cover up the true nature of his transaction with Wu Wei."
"Since they made a deal, why betray Wu Wei?"
Xiao Hei couldn't understand.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Maybe the deal fell through! Yu Shi, do you think someone like Wu Wei would carry Qingcheng Yun's aura when meeting the Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God?"
"Wu Wei would never make such a low-level mistake."
Yu Shi said.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "If I'm not mistaken, Wu Wei and Qingcheng Yun went together to meet the Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God to discuss a matter of great importance. The Xuan Gu Nine-Eyed Dragon God probably agreed on the surface, but he believed they had a deeper purpose and were using him. So he deliberately leaked the information to me, hoping I would help him uncover the truth."
Xiao Hei was indignant. "Behind Qingcheng Yun is definitely Shang Tian. Does Shang Tian have such audacity? Dare to conspire with Jiusi Yitianhuang?"
"By the way, what do you think Wu Wei's purpose is in going to Ice King Star? Is he just passing through Ice King Star to return to the Hell Realm?"
"I hope that's the case, but I'm afraid it's not that simple."
Zhang Ruochen looked at a divine source in his hand, a deep worry appearing in his eyes.
This divine source belonged to one of Qingcheng Yun's corpses.
Just now, Zhang Ruochen had used this divine source to calculate the location of Qingcheng Yun's original corpse.
That location pointed directly to the starry sky where Ice King Star was located.
What was Qingcheng Yun doing in the Hell Realm?
"You two get off here!"
Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei led Zhang Chuanzong off the divine ship, took off his bamboo hat, revealing his large cat face, and said solemnly, "Zhang Ruochen, if their target is Ice King Star, or my father..."
"Stop with the nonsense. I'll handle everything."
Before he could finish, Zhang Ruochen had already activated the divine ship and teleported away.
The divine ship traveled through time and space at maximum speed, the countless stars in the sky continuously receding, leaving behind dense streaks of starlight.
Yu Shi stared at Zhang Ruochen's tall back at the bow of the ship, sensing his heavy heart. "Imperial Dust, actually, the Ice King is not on Ice King Star. You don't have to worry so much."
Zhang Ruochen didn't explain further to her.
It was precisely because the Ice King was not on Ice King Star that he was so worried.
Because the place he had agreed to meet Bai Qinger was Ice King Star.
Wu Wei and Qingcheng Yun couldn't possibly know about this, so it shouldn't be aimed at Bai Qinger.
Zhang Ruochen had full confidence in Bai Qinger's ability to adapt, but how could he not be worried?
More importantly, he still couldn't determine what Wu Wei and Qingcheng Yun were planning to do.
Were they just passing through Ice King Star to go to the Hell Realm, or were they heading straight for Ice King Star?
If it was the latter, Bai Qinger's current situation would be extremely dangerous.
And it was he who had put Bai Qinger in such a perilous position.
"I hope I'm not too late."
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and began to perform the Dream-Entering Great Technique from the "Cloud Dream Thirteen Chapters."
On Ice King Star, at the Divine Maiden Tower.
In a courtyard full of orchids, pavilions and towers were scattered about, sacred springs flowed, ancient trees were dense, and graceful maidservants moved among them.
"Shua! Shua!"
Two beams of divine light fell, penetrating Ice King Star's protective formation and the Divine Maiden Tower's defensive formation, landing outside a qin pavilion.
Wu Wei and Qingcheng Yun were both dressed in Confucian robes, one blue and one green, with elegant demeanor and smiles on their faces.
Bai Qinger was dressed in white like snow, her jet-black long hair flowing behind her like it had been bathed in oil. She sat in the qin pavilion, her soft, white jade-like hands gently brushing the qin strings.
The doors and windows were all closed, with only the faint blue smoke from the incense burner curling up, the fragrance intoxicating.
Wu Wei praised, "Brother Qing, did you hear that? The qin sound is as smooth and lingering as flowing water, pleasant to the ear, without a single ripple because of our two uninvited guests. This state of mind alone qualifies her as a figure of the Eon level."
Qingcheng Yun said, "Unfortunately, such an extraordinary woman was not written into a glorious chapter in her beautiful and vibrant life by me. It was cheapened by Zhang Ruochen."
"Since we've met on Ice King Star, this is fate. Perhaps her future life needs a figure like Brother Qing to paint it."
Wu Wei said.
Qingcheng Yun said, "This is indeed an unexpected delight."
The qin sound from the upper floor stopped, but the lingering notes still swirled in the garden.
Bai Qinger's pleasant voice sounded, "Qinger understands. The two of you have come to Ice King Star for another purpose. Since you have your own matters to attend to, you should focus. Seeking me out is an unnecessary complication, and it may not be a good thing."
Wu Wei bowed respectfully, saying, "Miss Qinger, are you trying to scare us?"
"No, it's just a kind warning. If you leave now, I'll pretend you were never here."
Bai Qinger said.
Qingcheng Yun's hatred for Zhang Ruochen was strong. He walked toward the qin pavilion, saying, "I hate being warned the most! I've heard that Miss Qinger is extremely skilled in strategy and wisdom. Today, I want to see if Miss Qinger is just bluffing or if she truly has some remarkable means."