Chapter 3895: The Identity of the Twelve Stone Men
Crossing endless star domains to pull Yan Zhexian into a dream was certainly a wondrous divine technique, but it also leaked heavenly secrets, impossible to hide from the perception of the Indestructible Infinite beings within the Santu River region.
For a figure of Gu Yanluo's caliber, with just this thread of heavenly secrets, he could even deduce that the secrets originated from the Bone God Temple and that the one who triggered them was Zhang Ruochen.
This was unavoidable!
With Qishier Pin Lian, Life Ancestor, and Gu Yanluo appearing one after another, given Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation and the influence of the Hell Realm in the Santu River region, he could no longer handle the situation and had to seek reinforcements.
Zhuque Huowu absorbed the sacrificial divine glow, greatly advancing her cultivation and recovering her spirit and energy.
After reuniting with Yuansheng, Zhang Ruochen used his Perfect Round Lack spiritual power domain to take them and immediately flee the territory where the Bone God Temple was located, heading toward the Cangjin Bone Sea.
After they left, within a yellow stone temple at the edge of the Wan Bone Cave, a white-haired skeleton slapped his bone thigh and cursed loudly: "Bold and reckless! Killing even a hall master and daring to leak heavenly secrets for the outside world to know. Zhang Ruochen is dead for sure, dead for sure!"
The Guan brothers, hiding inside the skulls of two divine bones and guarding outside the temple, heard the white-haired skeleton's curses and immediately poked their heads out, their hearts filled with shock.
Zhang Ruochen killed the Bone God Temple hall master?
Was this a declaration of war against the Bone Clan?
No, he was declaring war against the entire Hell Realm.
Xiao Hei stood below the temple, somewhat dazed, not expecting Zhang Ruochen to go this far.
Just to save someone, was it necessary?
"There must be hidden circumstances here. Zhang Ruochen always acts with restraint," Xiao Hei said quite confidently, not believing Zhang Ruochen would kill the Bone God Temple hall master without reason.
The white-haired skeleton's eye sockets burned with two clusters of bone fire. He glanced at Xiao Hei and naturally wouldn't tell him the schemes in his heart.
Originally, with Gu Yanluo gone, he was in a great mood, finally able to implement his life-extending plan.
But now he suspected Zhang Ruochen had deliberately killed the White Jade Red-Eyed Lion to lure Gu Yanluo back. Was this to force him to reveal himself?
Gu Yanluo could arrive at any moment, and then he would certainly focus his search on the Bone God Temple and Wan Bone Cave.
Time for the white-haired skeleton to make a decision was running out.
The white-haired skeleton sat up straight again, displaying the bearing of a strong expert, and said, "Can you find Zhang Ruochen?"
Xiao Hei asked cautiously, "May I ask, senior, what do you intend to do?"
"What else can I do? That reckless brat Zhang Ruochen has overturned the table, using Gu Yanluo to force me to reveal myself. What choice do I have left?"
Xiao Hei didn't know Gu Yanluo had been at the Bone God Temple earlier, so he said, "What does this have to do with Gu Yanluo?"
The white-haired skeleton felt a bit guilty and said impatiently, "Why ask so many questions? I'm asking you, can you find Zhang Ruochen? If you can't find him, we all die together. If you can, maybe we can discuss a way to break this deadlock."
Xiao Hei couldn't guess what the white-haired skeleton truly intended, worried it might harm Zhang Ruochen, and hesitated in his heart.
The white-haired skeleton knew Gu Yanluo could return at any moment and grew more anxious, saying, "If you don't speak, I'll have to search your soul!"
Not directly using "soul search"—this old skeleton did have some bottom line.
Xiao Hei knew he had little choice, so he said, "This emperor certainly can't find Zhang Ruochen; he is Perfect Round Lack. But senior, with your profound mastery of the Path of Fate, perhaps you can use my divine soul to find them."
After thinking, he added, "This emperor has half of his divine soul in the hands of Zhang Ruochen's lover."
Gu Yanluo did not return to the Bone God Temple but instead appeared on the eastern shore of Wan Bone Cave.
Luo Tongluo wore form-fitting soft armor that accentuated her curvaceous figure, her blue hair flowing with radiant light, her skin like white snow, facing Gu Yanluo directly.
She said, "Aren't you going back to the Bone God Temple to check? Are you afraid?"
Gu Yanluo stood within a mass of black mist, his form blurry, and said, "What's the point? Zhang Ruochen's best move against me would be not to leak heavenly secrets and immediately hide. That way, I wouldn't be able to figure out who killed the White Jade Red-Eyed Lion, and I would indeed be somewhat wary, not daring to enter the Bone God Temple."
"By leaking heavenly secrets and seeking reinforcements from the Starry Sky Battlefield, he instead proves that Kong Fannu and Heavenly Mother are not with him. At this moment, he must have already fled far away."
"And Qishier Pin Lian? Who was she fighting earlier?"
Luo Tongluo said, "I don't know!"
Earlier, Gu Yanluo had sensed Qishier Pin Lian fighting with a cultivator and retreating, which led him to believe that Nutian Shenzun had come to the Santu River region.
Now, he wasn't so sure.
He seriously suspected that the so-called Nutian Shenzun was a ruse set up by Zhang Ruochen.
Gu Yanluo said, "Since Zhang Ruochen went to the Bone God Temple and left in a hurry, he would have left traces when he departed. Can you track him?"
Luo Tongluo extended two slender jade arms, and space trembled as forty-five stars appeared, arranged in the pattern of the "Luo Shu" diagram, and said, "The Luo Shu evolves infinitely, the ancestral soul's power is boundless. Although Zhang Ruochen is Perfect Round Lack, he hasn't been gone long, so tracking is possible. But why should I help you?"
Gu Yanluo let out a low laugh: "What do you want?"
Luo Tongluo said, "I want Wuchang Ghost City and the black hand Zhang Ruochen possesses."
Gu Yanluo understood and said, "The one you follow is nothing but a failure, his body split apart, even a Half-Ancestor can contend with him—how weak has he become? Why pin your hopes on him? Why not come to our side?"
Luo Tongluo's eyes turned frosty, and she said, "If you don't want to cooperate, then let Zhang Ruochen escape! I alone cannot deal with him, so I give up!"
Gu Yanluo stopped laughing and said, "How can that be? Zhang Ruochen seeks death; how could I not oblige him? Agreed, as you said. After this is done, I will personally go to Wuchang Ghost City and help Huangquan Dadi take Fengdu Ghost City."
The bone sea stretched endlessly, the earth pitch black.
The sky was always covered with gray deathly qi.
This was an excellent environment for escape, as the deathly qi could suppress the perception of spiritual power and divine souls, corroding the heavenly secrets and traces left by cultivators after passing through.
But Zhang Ruochen knew the terror of his opponents; they would likely catch up before the traces were completely corroded.
Yuansheng looked at Zhang Ruochen's furrowed brow and said, "One Luo Tongluo, one Black and White Daoist, nothing to fear."
"No, it's not them. I sense danger approaching; we should already be locked onto."
Zhang Ruochen looked back at the path they had just traveled. Although he had used spiritual power to erase heavenly secrets and traces as much as possible, confident that even an Indestructible Infinite couldn't find flaws, the power of fate was too terrifying.
On the path they had just walked, fate rules still coiled around, not fully dispersed.
Yuansheng said, "Wandering around the Santu River region is pointless. Go to the Heavenly Court Universe, to the Kunlun Realm. Isn't your Kunlun Realm full of experts?"
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her, understanding that Old Man Jie must have been boasting to her again.
Zhuque Huowu and Hun Qi grew tense, worried that Zhang Ruochen might leave like this.
Once an existence like Zhang Ruochen fled the Santu River region, figures like Luo Tongluo, Life Ancestor, and Huangquan Dadi would become even more reckless, and Wuchang Ghost City and Fengdu Ghost City would surely fall.
The Ghost Clan would inevitably face utter destruction.
During this time, Zhang Ruochen had been mediating, employing various strategies—incarnating as Void Heaven, then as Nutian Shenzun—to hold back those taboo figures.
It could be said that Zhang Ruochen had drawn all the trouble to himself to share the pressure on the Ghost Clan. He was not a cultivator of the Hell Realm, yet few in the entire Hell Realm could match his sense of responsibility!
But the two of them couldn't bring themselves to ask Zhang Ruochen to stay, because the situation in the Santu River region was indeed turbulent and fraught with danger.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The opponents are powerful. They're only pursuing slowly now because they don't want to expose their whereabouts and aura. If I flee to the Heavenly Court Universe or the Starry Sky Battlefield, with their Heavenly Venerable-level cultivation, they would directly cut through space-time and appear before me."
Heavenly Venerable-level?
Yuansheng and Hun Qi's faces changed drastically.
Zhang Ruochen nodded: "They fear Heavenly Mother and are also afraid of ending up like Thunder Punishment Heavenly Venerable and Beixi, which is why they're being so cautious. What expressions are those? Is your psychological endurance so poor? If you're scared, leave quickly; I'm their target."
Zhuque Huowu and Hun Qi fell silent.
They knew that staying would not help and would only burden Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I'm serious. You two should leave quickly. Don't say things like sharing hardships. If one day I, Zhang Ruochen, reach the end of my rope, and you can lend a hand, I will be infinitely grateful."
"The Imperial Dust will never have such a day! But if that day ever comes when you need me, Hun Qi, just one letter, and I'll go through fire and water, even if it means certain death." Hun Qi said.
Zhuque Huowu said, "I will explain everything about the White Jade Red-Eyed Lion's death to the heavens of the Hell Realm."
Seeing them about to leave, Zhang Ruochen thought of something, pulled a strand of hair from Yuansheng's head, and said, "You're going to rescue the thirteen deities of the Ghost Clan, right?"
"The Ghost Emperor's order must be fulfilled. We are the divine kings and venerables of the Ghost Clan, bearing the responsibility of our clan. Rescuing the deities of our clan is our duty."
Zhang Ruochen traced a talisman pattern on the strand of hair, handed it to Zhuque Huowu, and said, "This talisman can conceal your aura! As long as you're not specifically targeted, beyond a certain distance, even an Indestructible Infinite won't sense your location."
After Zhuque Huowu and Hun Qi left, Yuansheng gently rubbed her still-sore scalp and said, "Yuan Jieyi will sense my hair strands on them and naturally won't harm them; he'll release the thirteen Ghost Clan deities. But Zhang Ruochen, you've played the good guy, and I have to face the danger with you. Shouldn't you give me an explanation?"
"What explanation?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Yuansheng widened her eyes and said, "Don't you have a countermeasure? If not, I'll flee too and won't accompany you!"
Zhang Ruochen shifted his position, blocking her path, and said, "Old Man Jie entrusted you to me. Since you've come to the upper realm, I will take responsibility for you to the end. Don't leave; let's talk business. I have twelve stone men here, which should be related to your twelve ancient clans."
Yuansheng stopped abruptly and immediately returned to Zhang Ruochen's side. Her eyes, clear and distinct, were filled with intense joy. "Are you saying the twelve stone men are with you?"
Zhang Ruochen, seeing Yuansheng's expression, knew she understood the origin of the twelve stone men.
"Hurry up and answer me; I'm asking you!" Yuansheng said.
Zhang Ruochen rubbed his chin and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you risked breaking into the Hell Realm to find me for these twelve stone men, right? Is it related to the Great Venerable's promise back then?"
Yuansheng was anxious and couldn't stand Zhang Ruochen's unhurried demeanor when they were at a life-or-death moment. She punched him in the chest and said, "I'm asking you now. This might be the key to turning things around today."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Don't be so impatient. The more dangerous it is, the more we need to stay calm. What exactly is the origin of the twelve stone men?"
Yuansheng squinted her eyes, realizing that Zhang Ruochen was very wary of the ancient beings. If she didn't explain the past clearly today, she probably wouldn't see the twelve stone men.
She snorted, "The twelve stone men are the twelve old clan emperors of the twelve ancient clans."
Zhang Ruochen had mentally prepared himself but was still greatly shocked.
Yuansheng said, "You are the fourth person to know this secret."
"Besides you, who are the other two?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Yuansheng looked into the distance and said, "The Divine Music Master and the Immortal Music Master of the Great Dark Mountain! If I weren't connected to you and entrusted with the mission to retrieve the twelve clan emperors, I wouldn't have been able to learn this secret."
"Back then, when the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable entered the lower realm, all cultivators in the lower realm thought he had killed the twelve clan emperors, using the covenant to suppress the ancient clans for ten eons."
"But the truth is, the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable exhausted the White Pale Blood Soil, the Interworld Divine Stone, the Chaos Essence Crystal, the Primordial Water, and the Hongmeng Mud of the Great Dark Mountain, used the ancestral great divine ability, and refined a furnace of five-colored stone liquid, sealing the twelve clan emperors within."
"He told the Divine Music Master and the Immortal Music Master that after ten eons, when the covenant ended, they could send an envoy to the Kunlun Realm to find his descendant and retrieve the twelve clan emperors."
Zhang Ruochen gained a new understanding of the Great Venerable's methods.
Sealed within stone skin, evading the rules of heaven and earth, like crossing through time and space to arrive ten eons later.
Preserving them for ten eons should have been the limit; they couldn't be sealed forever. The Great Venerable's power also had its boundaries.
The Great Venerable did this not simply to preserve the strength of the ancient beings; there must have been deeper meaning.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Since it was the Great Venerable's promise, as his descendant, I will naturally help you retrieve the twelve old clan emperors."
"Are the twelve stone men not with you?" Yuansheng asked, somewhat disbelieving.
Zhang Ruochen said solemnly, "You must have a secret method to help the twelve old clan emperors break out of the stone skin, right? If all twelve old clan emperors return, the strength of the ancient beings will surge to a terrifying level. Will you then sweep through the Hell Realm and the Heavenly Court Universe?"
The twelve old clan emperors, even before fully breaking out of the stone skin, could join forces to block the attacks of the Dark Weirdness, showing just how formidable their cultivation was.
Given the hatred the ancient beings held for the cultivators of the upper realm, Zhang Ruochen couldn't imagine what consequences handing over the twelve stone men to Yuansheng would bring.
The Great Venerable back then also didn't know the cosmic situation ten eons later.
Yuansheng understood Zhang Ruochen's concerns and said, "Zhang Ruochen, you also carry the bloodline of the ancient beings in your veins. Even if the twelve ancient clans rule the upper realm again, you will still live well. This emperor can guarantee that you and everyone in the Kunlun Realm Zhang Clan, including your so-called Sword Realm, will be protected by the Primordial Path Clan."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen grew even more uneasy.
Yuansheng added, "Look at how chaotic the upper realm is now. Perhaps the Great Venerable foresaw all this ten eons ago, intending for the twelve ancient clans to emerge, rectify the chaos, and face the Calamity of Quantities?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "How about the clan emperor first tell me how to help the twelve old clan emperors break out of the stone skin?"