Chapter 3929: Chaotian Que Anomaly
Gai Mie's tall and robust figure emerged from the darkness, his slightly curly long hair draped across both sides of his chiseled face. The thick stubble around his lips added to his masculine, cold, and outstanding temperament.
He stopped by the blood river, looked at Zhang Ruochen standing beside the bluestone, and revealed a hint of a smile: "I didn't expect Yu Zhuan to actually recruit you. Aren't you afraid that once you enter Chaotian Que, we'll join forces to take you out?"
Zhang Ruochen glanced over and said, "If you kill me, the next one he'll kill will definitely be you! He's not someone who knows how to share, especially with the treasures I carry. Do you think his threat is greater, or mine?"
Gai Mie said, "In a three-way struggle, the two weaker sides naturally have to find a way to eliminate the strongest side first. How about we swear a poisonous oath—once we find the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror, we'll join forces to deal with him first."
Zhang Ruochen was certain that Gai Mie had sworn the same poisonous oath with Yu Zhuan, but he still readily agreed: "Alright, that suits me just fine."
Then, Zhang Ruochen asked again, "Is the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror really inside Chaotian Que?"
"How would I know? I'm not very interested in such an illusory treasure as the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror. What I care about is the Xiongxiao Demon God Hall inside." Gai Mie said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "How do you know the Xiongxiao Demon God Hall is inside Chaotian Que?"
"What if I said the Heavenly Mother told me? Would you believe it?" Gai Mie said.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said nothing.
The Xiongxiao Demon God Hall was a palace refined by the Great Demon God in ancient times by collecting countless rare treasures from the world. In terms of preciousness, it surpassed even the Seventy-Two Demon God Stone Pillars.
Zhang Ruochen knew it was located in Chaotian Que from Feng Tian.
If the Heavenly Mother had told Gai Mie about this, Zhang Ruochen really didn't quite believe it. After all, she had advised Zhang Ruochen not to go to Chaotian Que.
Unless...
The Heavenly Mother wanted to use this opportunity to eliminate Gai Mie!
But, with the Heavenly Mother's cultivation, killing Gai Mie, whose cultivation had not yet fully recovered, wouldn't be difficult. There was no need for such a roundabout method.
Moreover, Hell Realm was in need of personnel at this time, and the Heavenly Mother wouldn't kill Gai Mie at this moment.
From what Zhang Ruochen learned from Nutian Shenzun, Gai Mie was the leader sent by Hell Realm to infiltrate the lower realms and disrupt them.
This was also why Zhang Ruochen wasn't surprised that Gai Mie appeared here!
Gai Mie said, "As long as I get the Xiongxiao Demon God Hall, I'm confident I can restore my cultivation to its peak state as quickly as possible. No matter where I got the news, you just need to understand that our interests don't conflict."
Zhang Ruochen suspected that Gai Mie had met Jiusi Yitianhuang or Gu Yanluo, and that these two had deliberately leaked the news about the Xiongxiao Demon God Hall to lure him to his death.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen frowned, feeling as if he had overlooked something.
...
A few days later, Yan Wushen sent Cang Jue with a message that they had found Yan Di and were confident they could rescue the Star Sea Angler.
Yu Zhuan, Zhang Ruochen, and Gai Mie headed towards the south of the Ancient Desolate Ruins City.
Chaotian Que was located in the southern part of the city.
Zhang Ruochen secretly transmitted his voice: "Yao Yao, don't you think everything has been going too smoothly?"
"Yes, from stopping the war, to turning Yu Zhuan from an enemy into an ally, to rescuing Senior Yu, it seems we don't need to do anything ourselves; someone always takes the initiative to help. It's as if an invisible hand is pushing you in the direction it wants you to go." Chi Yao said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Even you feel this way, so it must be true! So, the other party's target is actually Chaotian Que. I understand now!"
"Chen Ge seems to have figured something out?" Chi Yao said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I understand why Gai Mie knows the Xiongxiao Demon God Hall is inside Chaotian Que. Someone deliberately lured him there."
Chi Yao said, "If we ask Gai Mie directly for the truth, won't we know who the mastermind behind this is?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said, "The other party managed to lure me, Yu Zhuan, and Gai Mie to Chaotian Que at the same time, which already shows their skill. They won't easily leave traces for me to catch."
Zhang Ruochen stared at Yu Zhuan and Gai Mie, who were walking ahead and whispering to each other, and suddenly spoke: "Legend has it that the ancestral figures of the ancient Qi Refiners, generation after generation, forged the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror, wanting to reverse the order of heaven and earth, break the laws of life and death, and achieve immortality. But in the end, they fell short. All the cultivators who participated in the forging suffered calamities in their later years, and to this day, not even a single name has been left behind. Finally, even the path of Qi Refining was severed by heaven and earth."
"Brother Yu Zhuan, the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror has always existed only in legends, and the legends say its forging failed! Why are you so sure it's inside Chaotian Que? Is it a fragment of your past life's memory?"
Yu Zhuan smiled and shook his head, saying, "If I had seen the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror in my past life, then it should be in the Radiant Divine Temple now. This piece of news was told to me by Gu Yanluo."
Zhang Ruochen said, "You believe him?"
"Believe, and also don't believe."
Yu Zhuan said, "I believe the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror really exists, because he told me that the Great Demon God lived eight lives, merged the achievements of eight lives to attain the Ancestor Dao, and that this method of longevity was comprehended from the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror. However, this method of longevity only touches a bit of the surface of immortality; it's not true immortality."
"Eight lives, each life is a new beginning, only retaining part of the memory. Moreover, each life has to start cultivation from scratch. If one is not careful, they might die without a burial place in their weakest moment. I don't care for such longevity! Such longevity probably can't last forever; being able to live eight or nine lives is the limit!"
"By the way, Jiusi Yitianhuang can live nine lives, also originating from this, walking the same path the Great Demon God took back then."
Yu Zhuan continued, "But if there really is such a supreme treasure as the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror, how could he possibly let me have it? Obviously, he's using me to enter Chaotian Que and scout the way for him."
"If I succeed, he can directly seize it from me. If I fail and die inside, he can reassess the danger level of Chaotian Que."
"Now, Ruochen, do you still think I'm betraying Gu Yanluo? It's just mutual exploitation!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Knowing you're being used, you still go?"
"That's the Six Paths Reincarnation Mirror, the path to immortality. What we cultivators pursue in this life is precisely this! If there's even a glimmer of hope, it's worth the risk."
Yu Zhuan laughed and said, "Besides, it's not like no cultivator has ever escaped from inside. If it's truly impossible, with the three of us joining forces, escaping shouldn't be difficult."
Gai Mie said, "With the three of us working together, we can even contend with a Heavenly Venerable-level opponent."
Back then, Feng Tian's cultivation was not as strong as theirs, yet she still managed to escape from Chaotian Que.
It can be seen that over the long river of time, many fearless strong individuals have ventured deep into Chaotian Que and escaped, spreading some of the information inside to the outside world.
Zhang Ruochen was somewhat inclined to believe Yu Zhuan's words because, when Jiusi Yitianhuang entered the Ancient Desolate Ruins City back then, the first thing he did was enter Chaotian Que.
Obviously, Jiusi Yitianhuang must have inherited part of the Great Demon God's memories and knew some things.
...
Before long, the three arrived at a vast corpse blood ocean spanning hundreds of thousands of miles.
Chaotian Que was at the bottom of this blood sea.
Naturally, a large number of Primordial Beings were guarding the blood sea.
Within the blood sea were formations and divine powers left by strong individuals from past eras, some of which included the methods of Ancestors. These Primordial Beings simply couldn't enter the blood sea.
Those who rashly tried to break through had all been annihilated.
Back then, Zhang Ruochen managed to reach the bottom of the blood sea by following the formation hole left by Jiusi Yitianhuang when he entered Chaotian Que, walking along the path he had taken to reach Qingxu Hall.
Of course, with Zhang Ruochen's current spiritual power and formation mastery, he could find weak points in the formations on the blood sea himself.
Avoiding the Primordial Beings guarding the blood sea, under Zhang Ruochen's lead, the three soon arrived at Qingxu Hall.
This dilapidated hall had collapsed in many places, but it still emitted purple divine light, showing its former extraordinary nature.
On the door were the seven ancestral characters left by the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable: "Those who cherish life, stop here."
Even someone as confident as Yu Zhuan and as arrogant as Gai Mie, upon seeing these seven characters, both wore grave expressions.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Beyond this point, I can no longer lead the way. We need to advance together with all our strength. It's still not too late to regret."
"Since we're here, we're here!"
Gai Mie laughed uproariously, summoned the Demon Ancestor Ziwu Yue, which hovered above his head like a sun-moon demon wheel, and took the lead, walking forward.
After walking a hundred miles, all buildings disappeared, and an endless blood-colored land appeared before them.
The soil here seemed to have been watered with blood, barren and red, a chilling sight.
"This is the legendary Blood Soil. I've seen records of it in the secret scrolls of Yan Di." Yu Zhuan said.
All were top-tier strong individuals who had weathered countless storms. Gai Mie showed no fear and laughed, "I've seen records about it in the scrolls of the Death God Temple too. Legend says this Blood Soil was left by the ancestor of the Undying Blood Clan, Yin, and is his burial ground."
"It's precisely because of this legend that many All Heavens from ancient times to the present have buried themselves here, hoping to be reborn in the Blood Soil. For the sake of immortality, even the smartest people become foolish. Don't you find it laughable?"
"Eh!"
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes and said, "You might have hit the mark—they've come back to life!"
The blood-colored land before them wasn't completely flat; it had many hills.
"Whoosh!"
Countless blood-red tornadoes moved towards the three. These hills shook violently, and more and more cracks appeared in the ground.
At the same time, the formations, barriers, and restrictions left by ancient strong individuals to guard Chaotian Que were all activated, forming destructive storm tides.
Accompanying them were Ancestor Divine Qi and Ancestor Rules left by more than one Ancestor.
Some Ancestor divine power turned into bright lightning shuttling through space, releasing fluctuations powerful enough to pierce the divine body of a Heavenly Venerable-level being, causing even the three, who thought highly of themselves, to draw in cold breaths.
"Ooo—!"
"Roar!"
...
Hair-raising howls came from deep underground.
Then, one by one, strong individuals who had died countless ages ago crawled out from beneath the blood-colored hills. Some wore imperial robes and crowns. Some had white beards and hair, clad in Daoist robes. Some wore long skirts and gauze, veiled, but unable to hide the bones beneath their faces...
These ancient corpses all raised their hands to the sky, opening their mouths to inhale the wisps of gray mist flowing in the space.
"Someone has arrived before us!"
"Do they think these ancient corpses can stop us? Ridiculous."
Yu Zhuan and Gai Mie's eyes were both firm, turning into two beams of divine light as they charged into the Blood Soil.
The Ancestor-level legacies that could severely wound a Heavenly Venerable couldn't stop them either.
What dangerous places hadn't they been to?
Zhang Ruochen shared their view. He didn't believe these ancient corpses would crawl out of the soil on their own, nor did he believe the various killing forces in Chaotian Que would activate automatically.
It must be man-made.
To have such means, the other party was clearly no ordinary figure.
But any one of Zhang Ruochen's trio stood at the very top of the universe, and they were no ordinary figures either. They wouldn't be scared off so easily.