Chapter 3901: Are You the Destiny Ancestor, or Gong Nanfeng
"I don't know what secret treasure is hidden inside the Yinhuai Divine Tree, but since you say it concerns the survival of the Primordial Path Clan, you should take it and return immediately to the Abyss of Darkness, not stay here and take risks."
Zhang Ruochen knew that Yuan Sheng had not given up on the twelve stone men.
This was likely the real reason she chose to stay!
But Zhang Ruochen felt uneasy, sensing that something unexpected might happen, and he didn't want her to remain.
Yuan Sheng gazed into the distance and said, "They're here!"
Soon, Yuan Jieyi and Cang Mang appeared before them.
"Greetings, Clan Emperor."
"Greetings, Young Lord."
Yuan Sheng took out the Yinhuai Divine Tree, holding it in her palm, and said, "Jieyi, take the divine tree and return to the Abyss of Darkness immediately. Do not let it be lost."
"Rest assured, Clan Emperor. As long as I live, the divine tree will be safe. If I die, it will only be by self-detonating my divine source."
Yuan Jieyi then asked curiously, "Will the Clan Emperor not return together?"
"I still have unfinished business in the upper realm," Yuan Sheng said.
Zhang Ruochen looked at a solitary withered tree on a distant slope, feeling the wind blowing from that direction. He let out a laugh, but his face was filled with helplessness.
Clearly, this laugh was a bitter one.
He said, "No need to agonize over it. None of us can leave now!"
Just as Yuan Sheng, Yuan Jieyi, and Cang Mang were puzzled, a chaotic, blurry figure emerged from behind the withered tree.
It wasn't that his body lacked solid form, but the aura of his presence was so powerful that space lost its stability, seeming to warp and dissolve.
His pupils had twelve colors, corresponding to the twelve phases of destiny: life, death, calamity, fortune, joy, anger, danger, auspiciousness, emptiness, reality, past, and future. Wielding these twelve powers meant controlling all causal connections in the world.
Just his gaze brought immense oppressive pressure to everyone present, making them unable to think of attacking or even fleeing. Everything was suppressed and controlled.
When Zhang Ruochen saw the auspicious ruyi scepter in his right hand, his heart sank to the depths.
Feng Tian and the others had ultimately not escaped this calamity.
"Who are you?"
Yuan Sheng, after all, was an Indestructible Infinite. With her powerful spiritual will, she broke free from the other's destiny suppression.
Seeing that he remained silent, she grabbed the Bihai Hunyuan Spear, stirring up endless waves of water.
She thrust the spear straight forward.
The chaotic, blurry figure merely raised the auspicious ruyi scepter casually, and a radiant, sacred cloud materialized, enveloping her.
All of Yuan Sheng's power seemed to vanish.
Her body was trapped within the cloud, and no matter how she struggled, she couldn't escape. When she tried to dissolve into the form of heaven and earth rules, she was suppressed by the radiance of destiny.
Yuan Sheng had never encountered such a terrifying existence. Gu Yanluo's divine power was earth-shattering and awe-inspiring, but this person was an entirely different extreme—eerily bizarre, displaying methods so effortlessly that they plunged one into despair.
It was a way to crush an opponent's spirit and will.
Yuan Jieyi and Cang Mang were both horrified. Faced with such a powerful enemy, even the thought of self-detonating their divine sources was a delusion.
"Zhang Ruochen, did you not expect me to intercept you here? When you used the 'Thirteen Chapters of Cloud Dream' to try to pull Feng Caiyi into a dream, you already exposed the celestial mechanism."
The chaotic figure's voice was like the wind, elusive and unfathomable.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I knew it would be exposed, but how could I not use the dream-entering technique?"
"Indeed. Someone like you, knowing you're about to die, knowing someone wants to kill you, still makes the same mistakes you would. Because you never leave yourself the right choice; you only choose what you won't regret," the chaotic figure said.
Zhang Ruochen replied, "You're wrong. In life, people always do things they regret. Who looks back on the past without many regrets? All one can do is regret a little less. I always have to gamble—gamble that you haven't yet made a move against Feng Tian. Clearly, I lost."
"Giving up so quickly?"
The chaotic figure's tone seemed to carry a hint of amusement.
Zhang Ruochen said, "What else can I do if I don't admit defeat? With your cultivation, even Feng Tian could be captured without a sound. How could I possibly resist?"
The chaotic figure said, "There, you're wrong. Feng Tian wasn't captured by me; she surrendered without a fight. Because if she had fought me, not a single cultivator in the Ten Thousand Buddha Formation would have survived."
"Isn't it strange? The cold and ruthless Feng Caiyi would one day sacrifice herself for the lives of others. Was it because of your influence?"
Zhang Ruochen had been probing to find out whether the other party knew that Feng Tian didn't have the Gate of Death.
Clearly, Feng Tian chose to surrender to help him keep that secret.
If she had fought, it would have been exposed!
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said, "Feng Tian doesn't just want to be the Death God Venerable; she wants to prove the Ancestor Path through destiny. She has already cultivated death to its peak, so naturally, she must comprehend the true essence of life. How could I have influenced her?"
"Everything you said, she can hear. I believe she must be very moved."
The chaotic figure raised his hand, and in his palm, a silvery light swirled like mist.
Within the mist grew dense Xutuohuan White Silver Trees—it was the Ten Thousand Buddha Formation.
"Zhang Ruochen, do you know the fatal mistake you made?" he suddenly asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I'd be glad to hear it."
The chaotic figure said, "That skeleton must have told you that in eighteen days, my Eon Calamity would arrive, and I would choose that time to possess you. So, you boldly returned alone to Wuchang Ghost City, intending to summon the Void Wind Jin hidden in the corresponding Void World of Wuchang Ghost City. That is precisely the root cause of your current predicament."
"Do you think I would give you the chance to choose the battlefield?"
"Moreover, hastening the arrival of the Eon Calamity is not difficult. It's just that no one would do it—who wouldn't want to delay crossing the tribulation?"
Zhang Ruochen laughed and said, "Do you think this can shatter my confidence? From the moment you appeared, you've been flaunting your power to break my spiritual will to resist you, paving the way for the upcoming possession. This only shows that you yourself lack sufficient confidence."
"Additionally, I want to ask: should I call you the Destiny Ancestor, or Gong Nanfeng?"
...
Even a powerhouse like Gu Yanluo could find himself in a dilemma.
He was torn between heading to the Bone Divine Temple or going to Wuchang Ghost City.
Heading toward the Bone Divine Temple would naturally be to intercept the Destiny Bone and seize the Bone Emperor's Heavenly Dao Profound Meaning. But the Destiny Bone's cultivation was not weak, and the chances of success were slim.
Heading toward Wuchang Ghost City would be to intercept and kill Zhang Ruochen.
This was a perfect opportunity, and Gu Yanluo was one hundred percent confident.
Although he couldn't kill Zhang Ruochen and risk a direct confrontation with the Destiny Ancestor, he could seize Zhang Ruochen's various treasures, including the Nine Cauldrons, the Dark Hand, and the Mani Pearl, thereby weakening the Destiny Ancestor's strength.
The Destiny Ancestor's cultivation, combined with Zhang Ruochen's First-Rank Divine Path and Ancestor potential, along with these treasures, would be the most terrifying thing in the world.
In the end, Gu Yanluo made a conservative choice, following the Santu River downstream toward Wuchang Ghost City.
But as he passed a certain stretch of the river, something strange occurred.
On the wide river surface, thick white mist spread like ethereal gauze.
Even with Gu Yanluo's cultivation, he couldn't see through the white mist, so he had to stop on the water.
"Splash!"
The sound of oars cutting through water echoed.
Gradually, a small green wooden boat, over ten meters long, emerged from the mist.
Though the boat was small, it had everything—a mast, sail, cabin, and deck.
The one rowing was a young woman in a black cloak, with a figure and face that were first-rate in the world. Her mysterious and vast aura sparked an endless curiosity.
More importantly, her gaze at Gu Yanluo showed no fear. Even when their eyes met, she remained calm and composed, revealing extraordinary cultivation and soul strength.
Just this rowing woman alone was already comparable to a being of the Twenty Heavens.
If someone like this was rowing the boat, who could be inside?
Gu Yanluo sighed over the river and said, "I should have expected this. How could the Santu River basin be unguarded? You've already suppressed that dark and eerie being, haven't you?"
From the cabin of the small boat came a voice of exquisite beauty: "I am not here to answer your questions. You are not qualified to ask me anything."
Gu Yanluo's eye sockets held only two flames, but one could clearly sense his gaze turning extremely sharp. He said, "Then are you here to kill me? Alone, I doubt you have the strength."
Seeing no response from the person in the boat, Gu Yanluo laughed and said, "I understand. You're here to stop me from going after Zhang Ruochen. What a pity, what a pity. Even if you are a Half-Ancestor, you cannot split yourself into three. If you block me, how will you stop the Destiny Ancestor and the Qishier Pin Lian?"
From the cabin, the beautiful voice spoke again: "The Qishier Pin Lian naturally has someone to deal with her. What we are doing is not to prevent anything, but to provide Zhang Ruochen and the Destiny Ancestor with a fair chance to fight."
"Do you think this is a fair fight?" Gu Yanluo asked.
"You and I both know that, compared to the one being possessed, the one doing the possessing has a huge advantage. Zhang Ruochen was able to cultivate a First-Rank Divine Path, which shows his mental fortitude and spirit. Therefore, the probability of the Destiny Ancestor successfully possessing him is equal to the probability of both of them perishing together."
Gu Yanluo said, "You mean, either the Destiny Ancestor succeeds in possession, or both die together. Doesn't that mean Zhang Ruochen dies either way?"
"Once the possession begins, those are the only two outcomes."
The voice from the cabin continued, "However, I have faith in Zhang Ruochen. If he cannot overcome this trial, how can he ever prove the Ancestor Path in the future? If he cannot break destiny, he is destined to be devoured by it. Perhaps he can find a third outcome that we cannot imagine."
Gu Yanluo laughed but said nothing.
"In truth, our enemy has never been the Destiny Ancestor, or you. It is the Immortal behind you both. Can you tell me where He is?"
Gu Yanluo was startled and said, "You actually want to go find Him?"
"He dares not show Himself, so naturally, we must go seek Him," the voice from the cabin said.
Gu Yanluo said, "Don't tell me you think He doesn't show Himself because He fears you? To be honest, I don't know where He is either. At the same time, I advise you to abandon this idea immediately. Why not let me first see the legendary unparalleled beauty, Lady Shiji, and whether she can stir the heart of this undead skeleton?"
Before he finished speaking, Gu Yanluo had already made his move.
In his left hand was the Qi of Life, and in his right, the Qi of Death.
The Qi of Life transformed into the "Book of Life," and the Qi of Death into the "Book of Death."
The two books pressed down, causing space to crack densely, devouring all heaven and earth rules, leaving only the rules of life and death.
These two rules, these two books, squeezed toward the small green boat from left and right.
He wanted to test how much of her Half-Ancestor strength Lady Shiji had retained in this era.
"Swoosh!"
The rules of life and death, including Gu Yanluo himself, were frozen as if immobilized when they entered the hundred-zhang radius around the small boat, unable to advance an inch.
A large handprint extended from the cabin, striking Gu Yanluo, sending him crashing through space-time into Lihentian, and then back into the real world...
"Boom, boom."
His body was out of control, repeatedly shuttling between Lihentian and the real world, constantly breaking through spatial barriers.
"Shiji, one day, you will pay for this palm strike today."
Gu Yanluo deeply realized the gap between himself and Lady Shiji. Seizing the opportunity, he immediately fled far away, afraid that the small green boat would give chase.