# Chapter 3877: Each Harboring Their Own Schemes, Changing in an Instant
The Corpse Ancestor's massive body manifested within the gray mist, as large as a mountain, shaped like a canine, with a long neck covered in snake-like scales and a head crowned with fluffy golden mane like a lion's.
Its front claws resembled an eagle's, its hind claws like a tiger's.
This was completely different from the Corpse Ancestor Zhang Ruochen had imagined. There was no trace of rotting flesh on its body; it looked very much like a divine beast, a Hou.
When the clone had met with Zhang Ruochen earlier, the Corpse Ancestor had not appeared in this form, merely existing as a wisp of corpse mist that sometimes gathered and sometimes dispersed.
Zhang Ruochen's fighting spirit did not diminish, nor was his state of mind disturbed. He said, "Corpse transforms into Ba, then transforms into Hou. Mo Li Ancestor, I didn't expect you had already lived to your third life!"
After powerful Corpse Clan members died, they often buried themselves in the Santu River, hiding within the forbidden corpse sea, hoping to use the Santu River's eerie power to live out a second life.
Some had indeed succeeded, living a second life and transforming into "Han Ba."
After the Han Ba died, if buried again in the Santu River and able to reawaken with intelligence, they would transform into a Hou.
All rotting flesh would be shed, turning back into a living being.
This was the legendary record of Chi Ran Corpse Ancestor and Han Ba Corpse Ancestor, as well as the legend of the Demon Clan's Hou Ancestor.
From ancient times to the present, only the Corpse Clan's first Corpse Ancestor, "Chi Ran Corpse Ancestor," had achieved the transformation into Ba, then into Hou, living three consecutive lives. The four Corpse Clan territories, Chi Ran Territory and Han Ba Territory, were established in this way.
If one counted Chi Ran Corpse Ancestor's past life, that would be four lives.
Among the four Corpse Clan territories, the most recently established Mo Li Territory was created by the Mo Li Corpse Ancestor before them.
The Mo Li Corpse Ancestor's divine voice sounded like thunder from the nine heavens: "Since you know that this ancestor has lived to the third life and transformed into a Hou, you should understand why this ancestor chose to cooperate with the Yellow Spring Great Emperor, and not with you."
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "The death energy on your body has not yet been completely removed. To cultivate back to the Ancestor Realm, the first step is to expel the death energy. The Yellow Spring Great Emperor's Yellow Spring Seal can help you."
"If the death energy is completely removed, this ancestor can immediately possess combat power at the Indestructible Peak." The Mo Li Corpse Ancestor said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Even at the Indestructible Peak, if you encounter a Half-Ancestor, you still cannot escape, can you? If you kill me, the Heavenly Mother will surely kill you. You will have no foothold left in the Hell Realm. The price is too great."
The Mo Li Corpse Ancestor shook his head. "You are wrong about at least two points. First, with the three of us powerful ones joining forces, you have no chance of escaping from the Wuchang Ghost City. Who will know who killed you?"
"After this battle, I will continue to be the Corpse Clan's Ancestor and continue to maintain good relations with the Heavenly Realm of the Hell Realm."
"Second, the Heavenly Mother is currently in a life-or-death struggle against the Dark Calamity. It is uncertain whether she will survive. Even if she does survive by chance, she still has to face Ba Er, the Unknown Sword Cultivator, Gu Yan Luo, Jiusi Yitianhuang, Qi Shi Er Pin Lian, and many other powerful beings, as well as the Primordial Beings. Does she truly have the spare strength to deal with this ancestor?"
"Zhang Ruochen, you must understand a principle. As one in a position of power, immediate interests come first."
"If you had not died, the Heavenly Mother would naturally value you. But if you die, when the matter is settled, do you believe that under the pressure of the situation, the Heavenly Mother would not only not kill me, but would cooperate with me? If you don't believe me, ask Gai Mie!"
Gai Mie took out a Demon God Stone Pillar and held it in his hand. "There are no eternal enemies in this world, only eternal interests."
After a moment of silence, Zhang Ruochen said, "To completely remove the death energy from your body, the Death Overlord Feng Caiyi can do it. Once I step into the Indestructible Infinite, I will also have this ability. It doesn't necessarily have to rely on the Yellow Spring Great Emperor."
The Mo Li Corpse Ancestor said, "There is no need to say more. Since this ancestor has agreed to Yellow Spring, there will be no going back. Besides, you contemporary cultivators harbor deep hostility towards ancient powerful beings, especially Feng Caiyi. What good outcome could cooperating with you bring?"
Zhang Ruochen laughed. "Cooperating with the Yellow Spring Great Emperor can bring a good outcome? That is still a deal with a tiger, and the outcome might be even more miserable. Why not consider this: I will use the Earth Cauldron to refine the Strange Blood Spring and give you half of the blood energy here?"
The Yellow Spring Great Emperor's voice came from within the Life and Death Dual Coffin: "Zhang Ruochen, there is no need for you to sow discord between us any longer. It is useless. Admittedly, we do not trust each other, but we need each other. Cooperation benefits both; conflict harms both."
The Yellow Spring Great Emperor gave Zhang Ruochen no further chance to speak. From above the Life and Death Dual Coffin, a bright yellow ancient seal flew out.
The ancient seal absorbed ghostly energy and rapidly grew larger, reaching ten thousand zhang in both length and width.
"Life and death are mine to command; Yin and Yang share the rule."
The eight ancient ghost characters on it burst into flames.
It was the Yellow Spring Seal.
"Such strong spatial pressure."
Zhang Ruochen was secretly alarmed. It felt as if billions of chains were coiled around his body, and a hundred thousand stars were pressing down on his head. Not only was spatial displacement or breaking through space impossible, even executing a more refined movement technique was no easy task.
The Yellow Spring Seal was the most supreme artifact grade below the Nine Cauldrons.
For the Ghost Clan, for the cultivators of the Middle Three Clans, the value of the Yellow Spring Seal exceeded even a single Nine Cauldron.
The Yellow Spring Seal itself possessed formidable spatial attributes. Legend had it that when activated, it could shatter space and traverse a Jing of Heaven in an instant, making it impossible for anyone to stop.
A Jing of Heaven was ten thousand trillion li.
It was precisely by wielding the Yellow Spring Seal that the Yellow Spring Great Emperor had the confidence to challenge the entire Hell Realm. In contrast, the Mo Li Corpse Ancestor, having lived a third life with cultivation and combat power not much inferior to the Yellow Spring Great Emperor, was much more restrained on the surface.
Not only was the Yellow Spring Seal above suppressing space, but the sea of blood beneath Zhang Ruochen's feet had also been swallowed by the boundless demonic soil.
At a certain moment.
"Boom!"
The Yellow Spring Seal, like the embodiment of the symbols of heaven and earth, descended straight down, causing space to crack and explode.
The Imperial Talisman's talisman patterns floating in the void were shattered one after another.
It was conceivable that if struck by this blow, Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation would not be able to withstand it.
"Myriad Forms Formless!"
Zhang Ruochen's white robes billowed as he pointed to the sky, unleashing endless divine radiance from within his body.
The Dark Hand flew out from beneath the Shao Yang Divine Mountain, following the waterfall-like divine radiance as it surged upward. The Myriad Forms Formless Seal in its palm struck toward the heavens.
"Swoosh——"
The two seals collided, and bright light waves spread outward.
The order woven by the three powerful beings, Gai Mie, the Yellow Spring Great Emperor, and the Corpse Ancestor, nearly could not hold.
They had thought they could silently kill Zhang Ruochen within the Wuchang Ghost City, which was why they had joined forces to weave this order, making the Origin Divine Temple its own separate world, suppressing the outward spread of battle fluctuations.
Zhang Ruochen had seen through this. After the Myriad Forms Formless power shattered the spatial confinement of the Yellow Spring Seal, he immediately leaped up, shooting like a beam of light straight toward the purple starry sky.
"Since you have concerns, you will be restrained. I, on the other hand, will act without restraint and fight freely. This will be the key to your complete defeat today."
Zhang Ruochen's advance was unstoppable, his retreat uncontainable. Wrapped in the Imperial Talisman's talisman light and the Myriad Forms Formless power, he shuttled between the orders.
The Mo Li Corpse Ancestor said, "A mere brat with only a Spiritual Power of the ninetieth rank. Any one of us can suppress you, and you still speak of acting without restraint?"
"This ancestor wants the Immortal's hand!"
The Mo Li Corpse Ancestor's left eye manifested in the purple starry sky, a thousand li in diameter, like a pale grayish-green cold moon.
This Ancestor Eye had hung above the Mo Li Territory for tens of millions of years. Only when the Mo Li Corpse Ancestor returned was it awakened and refined into a heavy war treasure.
The Ancestor Eye, wrapped in countless Ancestor Patterns and Ancestor Qi, heavily crashed toward the Dark Hand, preventing Zhang Ruochen from using it to break through the purple star sea and escape.
"Boom!"
After the collision, the Ancestor Eye cracked and then exploded.
From within the star-sized eye, grayish-white corpse blood spilled out, cascading like a waterfall into a river.
Fragments of the Ancestor Eye were mostly obliterated by the Myriad Forms Formless power, with only the two largest pieces falling onto the demonic soil below.
They nearly pierced through the demonic soil.
The Mo Li Corpse Ancestor's eyes were filled with disbelief. He had anticipated the power of the Myriad Forms Formless Seal in the Dark Hand's palm, but he had not expected the Ancestor Eye to shatter in a single blow.
This eye had hung over the Mo Li Territory for tens of millions of years without perishing. How could it be so fragile?
This was naturally not only due to the Myriad Forms Formless Seal but also the power of the Universe Cauldron erupting from the back of the Dark Hand.
Gai Mie and the Mo Li Corpse Ancestor were both strong-willed individuals and quickly recovered from the shock of this strike. The former spat out the Desolate Moon and struck at Zhang Ruochen in the purple starry sky.
The latter raised its eagle-like right claw, within which was the Mo Li City.
Mo Li City was one of the Corpse Clan's four divine cities, gathering billions of Corpse Clan cultivators.
Especially in the years since the Mo Li Corpse Ancestor's return, Corpse Clan powerful beings had flocked to Mo Li City to pay homage. Mo Li City had become unprecedentedly powerful, now the Corpse Clan's foremost city.
"Corpse Clan cultivators, heed my command! Assist this ancestor in suppressing Zhang Ruochen."
From the ground of Mo Li City, clusters of divine light rose.
Within each cluster of divine light was a deity, including two Infinite Realm existences.
However, these deities did not fly out of the Mo Li Corpse Ancestor's claw, standing instead within the corpse clouds of the small world in its claw.
"The Corpse Ancestor has decreed! Ten thousand corpses, obey!"
The billions of Corpse Clan cultivators in the city all knelt on one knee, looking up to the sky, and beams of light flew from their brows.
These beams converged toward the deities in the corpse clouds.
The deities, relying on the formations beneath their feet, then struck the dazzling beams of light toward Zhang Ruochen in the purple starry sky.
Before Gai Mie and the Mo Li Corpse Ancestor had even acted, the Life and Death Dual Coffin had already arrived before Zhang Ruochen. Divine locks grew scales and transformed into divine iron demon dragons, causing the Imperial Talisman's talisman space to crack and explode.
Zhang Ruochen retreated while wielding the Heavenly God Lock and controlling the Dark Hand, clashing with the flying divine locks and the coffin.
In the battlefield between him and the Yellow Spring Great Emperor, the rules of heaven and earth were almost completely obliterated, leaving only their respective rules.
After dozens of clashes, Zhang Ruochen had already penetrated deep into the purple starry sky, feeling suppressed by Gai Mie's demonic order, his combat power somewhat diminished.
Suddenly, the Yellow Spring Seal tore through space and appeared above his head.
It came suddenly, with no trace of its presence detectable.
"It's over!"
From within the Life and Death Dual Coffin, the Yellow Spring Great Emperor's tone was filled with boundless confidence.
A large portion of the Imperial Talisman's talisman space was crushed by the Yellow Spring Seal, which was about to land on Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen's body suddenly sank and disappeared into space.
At the spot where he sank, a bright Truth Light appeared.
The Yellow Spring Seal struck that Truth Light, and the Truth Divine Light exploded, forming a boundless cosmic realm shape that intermingled with the purple star sea cultivated by Gai Mie.
At the center of the Truth Realm Form floated the Truth Cauldron, the Hong Cauldron!
"Retreating into the cauldron may avoid the moment, but in the end, you cannot escape death."
The Yellow Spring Great Emperor continued to control the Yellow Spring Seal, bombarding the Hong Cauldron.
As the Hong Cauldron rapidly fled, the Heavenly God Lock flew out from the cauldron's mouth, controlling the Myriad Forms Formless Seal in the Dark Hand's palm to resist the Yellow Spring Seal's attacks.
"What difference is there between me retreating into the cauldron and you hiding in the Life and Death Dual Coffin?"
Just as Zhang Ruochen finished speaking, the Desolate Moon struck from another direction, hitting the Hong Cauldron.
The boundless cosmic Truth Realm Form was shattered, as if a corner of a real universe had been destroyed, countless stars annihilated into particles of light and dust.
The Hong Cauldron flew off, falling toward the depths of the purple star sea.
"Pfft!"
Within the cauldron, Zhang Ruochen spat out a mouthful of divine blood.
Even hidden within the Hong Cauldron, he was still injured. If he had been directly struck by the Desolate Moon, the consequences would be unimaginable.
This strike from the Desolate Moon wounded Zhang Ruochen and sent the Hong Cauldron flying, but it also allowed the Hong Cauldron to avoid the destructive beam of light flying out from Mo Li City.
If struck by that beam, the consequences would only be more severe.
Mo Li City had clearly been meticulously arranged by the Mo Li Corpse Ancestor. The combined power of a city's worth of cultivators, billions of forces converging, was like leading a divine army, capable of contending even with a Heavenly Venerable-level existence.
Clearly, the Mo Li Corpse Ancestor and A Fu Ya shared the same sense of crisis, and he had moved ahead, already integrating all the power he could.
"Damn it!"
The Mo Li Corpse Ancestor saw the Hong Cauldron flying toward the depths of the purple star sea, too far away. So, holding Mo Li City in its claw, it flew out of Gai Mie's demonic soil and pursued.
But just as it left the demonic soil, a sense of crisis that chilled it to the bone came from behind.
Gai Mie appeared behind it, the Demon God Stone Pillar raised above his head, blood energy surging within his body like a divine river, and he struck down with a heavy blow.
"Roar!"
The Mo Li Corpse Ancestor let out a long howl, but it was too late to defend.
The Demon God Stone Pillar struck its head, shattering its skull instantly, divine blood staining the demonic soil below.
The next moment, Gai Mie flew past beneath its massive right claw, and a bright demonic light flashed.
The right claw was severed.
Gai Mie immediately manifested his giant demonic body, becoming hundreds of thousands of li tall, and swallowed the Mo Li Corpse Ancestor's right claw, along with the Mo Li City within it, into his abdomen.
Immediately after, his entire body burst into flames, holding the Demon Ancestor Zi Wu Axe in his hand, letting out wild and unrestrained laughter.
It was the Demon Ancestor Zi Wu Axe that had just severed the Mo Li Corpse Ancestor's claw.
This sudden turn of events exceeded the Yellow Spring Great Emperor's expectations. The Life and Death Dual Coffin stopped pursuing Zhang Ruochen and halted in the purple starry sky.
"Why?"
Anyone could hear the infinite fury in the voice from within the Life and Death Dual Coffin.
Gai Mie said indifferently, "Blame only your own stupidity! How could news of such a secretive matter as building the Space-Time Altar be easily leaked, and at such a coincidental time? Feng Caiyi had long anticipated that the loyalties within Fengdu Ghost City were divided, so she relaxed control to see who would escape to deliver the message."
"Who would have thought you would actually show up!"
"If you hadn't shown up, no one could have calculated your position. But once you appeared, how could you possibly escape the calculations of a cultivator with a Spiritual Power of the ninetieth rank, especially one wielding the Celestial Pivot Needle?"
"What this seat finds most unacceptable is that you actually believed that a mere He Qing could return to the White Impermanence Divine Temple to seize the Nine Cauldrons. How much do you underestimate the current Tian Yuan Wu Que?"
"If you had been even slightly smarter, this seat would have cooperated with you!"
"Cooperating with Zhang Ruochen may not be a good choice, but cooperating with a fool is certain death."
Zhang Ruochen stood at the edge of the Hong Cauldron, smiling faintly. "Supreme Pillar, this is truly killing with words! In truth, the Yellow Spring Great Emperor and the Mo Li Corpse Ancestor are both extremely shrewd individuals. However, they share a fatal flaw that they themselves have not realized."
"That is, they once stood too high, undefeated in an era, always looking down on everyone with a condescending attitude. Too self-righteous, naturally a leaf blinds the eye."
"Great Emperor, all your information, including your meeting with the Corpse Ancestor and the time you left the Di Sha Ghost City, was told to me by the Ghost Lord!"
"It's not that you couldn't discover him, but that you ignored him. The Ghost Lord, in fact, can be considered a figure of some caliber. At least he knows whom to follow and how to make choices. In your eyes, he is no different from weeds and withered wood, isn't he?"
From within the Life and Death Dual Coffin, the Yellow Spring Great Emperor said, "Do you think saying this can disturb this emperor's state of mind? The Ghost Lord would not have actively sought you out to tell you all this. He doesn't have the courage!"
"It was I who actively sought him out."
Zhang Ruochen continued, "When Luo Wen went to defect to you and you flew out from the desolate marsh, I used the Celestial Pivot Needle to calculate your position at the Di Sha Ghost City. Fortunately, the Ghost Lord and I are old acquaintances. It didn't take much effort for him to abandon the darkness and turn to the light!"
It was from the Ghost Lord that Zhang Ruochen had learned enough information, and only then did he go to find Gai Mie, lending him the Demon Ancestor Zi Wu Axe as a gesture of sincerity.
However, it was still very risky. Zhang Ruochen could not be certain that Gai Mie would not cooperate with the Yellow Spring Great Emperor. Just as the Corpse Ancestor and the Yellow Spring Great Emperor had met, it did not mean they would definitely cooperate.
The four of them each harbored their own schemes, none trusting the others.
On this battlefield, there was only interest.
(End of chapter)