Chapter 3934: Five-Colored Glazed Cover
"Boom!"
The blood-soaked ground outside the Xiongxiao Demon God Temple was lifted layer by layer, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and space shook.
The powerful ancestral power fluctuations seemed to destroy everything between heaven and earth, blasting the chasing Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan's physical body apart, completely transforming it into the formless state of heaven and earth rules.
Even the blood-soaked storm a hundred miles away was impacted, retreating hundreds of miles, with many formations and killing divine lights shattered.
But soon, they gathered again.
"Impressive, truly worthy of being the descendant and heir of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable."
Gai Mie laughed excitedly, pushing his palms forward, forming two vortex-shaped black holes that devoured the surrounding heaven and earth rules.
Zhang Ruochen pressed his hand on the Earth Cauldron, activating a primordial world. The light of the world's boundary wall continuously expanded outward, attempting to capture and suppress the Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan, who had transformed into a state of heaven and earth rules.
"Boom!"
The moment their power was released, it was scattered by the Yellow Spring Seal and Victory Crown flying out from the heaven and earth rules, forcing them to retreat repeatedly.
The physical body of the Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan slowly condensed behind the Yellow Spring Seal and Victory Crown.
At the same time, an invisible and formless blood-devouring curse surged from the Styx River, landing on Zhang Ruochen and Gai Mie.
The divine blood within their bodies continuously drained away.
Zhang Ruochen was relatively fine, protected by the power of the Bright Mirror Platform and blocked by the Mani Pearl, so his divine blood drained slowly.
But Gai Mie couldn't withstand it, saying, "Forget about him for now. Enter the Xiongxiao Demon God Temple and activate the temple's defensive formation to block the curse."
Before he finished speaking, Gai Mie had already vanished.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Chi Yao beside him.
Her internal injuries were severe, her body swaying as if about to fall, but she still cast a determined look at Zhang Ruochen, showing no intention of retreating.
Although the strike that had just blasted apart the Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan was powerful, with Chi Yao's cultivation realm, she simply couldn't control it. It exceeded the limit her divine body could withstand, causing severe self-injury.
Zangjin Baihu rushed out from the divine realm world, carrying Chi Yao on its back.
"Take her into the temple first!"
Zhang Ruochen stared at the Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan, whose body had not yet fully solidified, unwilling to give up. He considered using the River Map to deliver another strike, perhaps severely wounding him to the point where he couldn't recover his Heavenly Venerable-level combat power for a short time.
On the Styx River, waves rose, and a dark blue mist emerged, heading straight for the Xiongxiao Demon God Temple.
This was the power of the curse, already dense enough to materialize.
Clearly, someone was secretly aiding the Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan, not giving Zhang Ruochen a chance to attack.
Thinking of Yu Zhuan's fate, and considering that the Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan's cultivation realm far surpassed his own by several levels, Zhang Ruochen didn't gamble with his life. He stuffed the River Map back into his collar.
Without understanding the enemy's state, Zhang Ruochen chose to hide his trump card.
Gai Mie had a deep understanding of the Xiongxiao Demon God Temple. He arrived beneath the stone temple gate and looked up at the strange carvings on the door.
The carving was called "Hell on Earth." The images on it told stories of various misfortunes in the human world: greed, slaughter, war, desire, disease, hunger...
He formed hand seals, mobilized all his demonic qi, and struck the carving.
The world within the carving "came to life."
From that world came all kinds of miserable sounds—men, women, old, and young—the entire world filled with sorrow, infinitely oppressive.
"Excellent, the formations from back then are still here." Gai Mie laughed.
The "Hell on Earth" diagram transformed into a grand formation, with countless formation patterns appearing and spreading outward, blocking the dark blue cursed mist outside the temple.
Gai Mie sat down heavily on the ground. With two clanging sounds, he tossed aside the Demon Ancestor Zi Wu Yue and the Demon God Stone Pillar, gasping for breath.
After a moment, he looked at Zhang Ruochen walking toward him with a strange expression, saying, "Just now, it seemed you still wanted to continue attacking that old fellow. What, did Heavenly Mother and Lady Shiji leave you with half-ancestor-level methods?"
"If I had half-ancestor-level methods, I would have used them long ago. Would I have ended up in such a miserable state?"
Zhang Ruochen set aside the Abyssal Divine Sword, sat down to Gai Mie's right, and gazed at the dark blue mist outside the formation's light barrier, asking, "How badly are you injured?"
Gai Mie said, "I won't die, but I won't recover my vitality anytime soon. If I had some blood of an Immortal, I might give it a try."
"Don't count on me. My blood qi and divine substance have also suffered severe losses. If I still had Immortal blood, wouldn't I use it?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Gai Mie said, "You're only at the initial stage of Indestructible Infinite, yet your blood qi rivals the middle stage of Indestructible Infinite, and your divine substance and indestructible substance rival the peak of Indestructible Infinite. Losing this much blood qi and divine substance is nothing to you."
Zhang Ruochen's expression suddenly turned serious, saying, "Actually, knowing that you've been severely wounded and your vitality damaged, I feel much more at ease."
Gai Mie lowered his head and chuckled, saying, "That's not the right way to think. You should hope I'm strong enough so we can fight our way out."
"No! According to your demonic path, after Yu Zhuan died, the first thing you would do is devour mine and Chi Yao's cultivation to quickly restore your peak combat power. At the same time, you would seize our techniques and various battle artifacts, further enhancing your combat strength."
Zhang Ruochen looked into his eyes and calmly continued, "Given your reputation as the Supreme Pillar, once your cultivation recovers, even the Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan might not be your match. The entire Chaotian Que would be under your control, wouldn't it?"
"How could I dare to be careless with a Supreme Pillar?"
Gai Mie didn't deny it, stroking the stubble on his chin, saying, "There's also a terrifying existence hidden in the Styx River. Who knows what level of monster it is?"
"We both know very well that it can't leave the Styx River. Otherwise, we would have died long ago," Zhang Ruochen said.
"You're too cautious. No wonder it was Yu Zhuan who died, not you."
Gai Mie teased Zhang Ruochen with a laugh, then picked up the Demon Ancestor Zi Wu Yue and the Demon God Stone Pillar, stood up, and walked toward the temple gate, saying, "I'll go inside and look around to see if the Great Demon God or the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable left any healing divine medicine. You keep an eye on things outside."
Zhang Ruochen was worried that the "Hell on Earth" formation on the temple gate couldn't hold back the Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan, so he didn't follow inside.
He went to Chi Yao's side, confirmed she was not in serious danger, took out a divine pill, and fed it into her mouth.
Chi Yao's face was as pale as porcelain, without a trace of color.
She looked warily at the distant open temple gate and secretly transmitted a message: "Gai Mie is too familiar with the Xiongxiao Demon God Temple. Once he gains control of this demon temple, the first to die will be us. At no point should we underestimate a Supreme Pillar."
"If he has such thoughts, the first to die will be him."
Zhang Ruochen replied with a confident look, not wanting Chi Yao to worry at all, saying, "Focus on healing. I'm here."
"Chen Ge."
"Hmm?"
"There's one more thing."
Chi Yao hesitated for a moment, then transmitted, "I'm not entirely sure, but I think I sensed the aura of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable's true body."
Zhang Ruochen's pupils contracted, and he asked, "What do you mean? The Great Venerable's true body?"
Chi Yao said, "Earlier, when the twenty layers of heavenly domain resonated with the external secret patterns and order, I sensed the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable's ancestral aura. It was extremely powerful, real and not illusory."
"Where?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Chi Yao looked around, saying, "Nearby, as if everywhere."
Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands together, rotated them once, then separated his palms.
On the palms of his left and right hands, a Taiji Four Symbols Diagram Seal appeared. With his body as the center, the two diagrams spread outward.
Part of the power penetrated time and space, searching for the ancestral aura that Chi Yao had described as real and not illusory.
Zhang Ruochen suspected that the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable had left a time imprint here.
What Chi Yao had sensed might be the Great Venerable from ten eons ago.
"Boom!"
The Yellow Spring Seal emitted dazzling divine light, crashing into the formation light barrier of the "Hell on Earth" diagram.
The earth trembled with it.
The entire Xiongxiao Demon God Temple shook violently.
A large area of blood-soaked ground outside the temple cracked, unable to withstand the Yellow Spring Seal's power.
Zhang Ruochen had no choice but to fly to the temple gate first, release his ninety-first-level spiritual power, and inject it into the "Hell on Earth" carving patterns to control the formation's defense.
The Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan's voice came from outside the temple: "Before this, I had no confidence in breaking the demon temple's defense and the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable's secret pattern order. But now that I simultaneously possess the Yellow Spring Seal and the Victory Crown, how can a mere Xiongxiao Demon God Temple stop me? Surrender now, and you might still have a way out."
Zhang Ruochen's brow furrowed deeply.
The Yellow Spring Seal and the Victory Crown were the strongest weapons forged by the Yellow Spring Great Emperor and the Great Brightness, respectively. With their immense power and the Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan's Heavenly Venerable-level cultivation, breaking the demon temple left by the Great Demon God was only a matter of time.
To be precise, unless a half-ancestor appeared, nowhere in the world could easily stop them.
Indeed, their intrusion had altered many outcomes that should not have changed.
However, Zhang Ruochen also keenly discerned something from the Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan's words.
The Elder Clan King had come here precisely to break the Xiongxiao Demon God Temple.
Or rather, to break the means left by the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable ten eons ago.
Thinking of the Styx River suppressed beneath the Xiongxiao Demon God Temple, Zhang Ruochen seemed to understand something.
Zhang Ruochen raised his voice, saying, "May I ask what this 'way out' the Elder Clan King mentioned is?"
"Sacrifice your soul, submit to the great Styx River, and gain the power of eternal life." The Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan spoke with a highly seductive tone.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Back then, you sacrificed your souls and thus gained your current powerful cultivation, didn't you? That's also why you were sealed by the Great Venerable."
"What Divine Music Master and Immortal Music Master called the ten-eon promise was purely a trick to deceive me using Yuan Sheng. As expected, I'm still too young to outwit you old fellows."
"But you generation of primordial beings are all spineless. Even if your cultivation is strong, what of it? You've completely lost the pride of primordial beings, becoming nothing more than servants of the Sixteenth Day!"
The sixteenth day when the moon begins to wane is the Nether Brightness.
This is the name of the Nether Ancestor.
Zhang Ruochen successfully angered the Elder Clan King of the Primordial Path Clan. The Yellow Spring Seal and the Victory Crown both struck the formation simultaneously.
At the same time, a mountain-like shadow of the Nether Ancestor, wielding the Brightness War Halberd, slashed down from above.
Streams of powerful energy even penetrated the formation's light barrier, continuously impacting Zhang Ruochen, Chi Yao, and Zangjin Baihu.
Behind the demon temple, the Styx River surged with giant waves, the sound of water roaring.
"Truly pushing too far."
Zhang Ruochen once again considered using the River Map.
Gai Mie quickly walked out from inside the temple, saying, "The 'Hell on Earth' diagram is the Xiongxiao Demon God Temple's passive defensive formation. No need to use spiritual power to activate it. Follow me inside; I already have a plan to deal with this."
Zhang Ruochen remained cautious, leaving the Wuwo Lamp outside, then led Chi Yao and Zangjin Baihu into the temple.
Inside the Xiongxiao Demon God Temple, there was no spatial folding or small world—just a dark, solemn great hall.
Seventy-two bronze pillars supported the hall, each cast with the bodies of the seventy-two pillar demon gods.
Each bronze pillar hung a skull lamp.
There were not only human skulls but also those of other races. The commonality was that the bones shimmered with divine light, clearly not ordinary gods in life.
The lamps burned with divine blood as oil.
Gai Mie led the way ahead.
The hall was eerily silent, with only the footsteps of their group and the flickering sound of the flames.
"Back then, under the leadership of the Great Demon God, the demonic path occupied the Heavenly Court, controlled the Destiny Temple, the Radiant Divine Temple, Fengdu Ghost City... cultivators across the world dared not disobey. The seventy-two demon leaders gathered here in righteous assembly—how prosperous and lively it was. Now, entering this hall again, it's empty and desolate, like a different life," Gai Mie said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You seem to miss those times?"
"Miss?"
Gai Mie sneered mockingly, "Calling them the seventy-two demon leaders, they were nothing more than hounds under the Great Demon God's throne. I truly envy Hao Tian back then, able to dominate an era with just Heavenly Venerable-level cultivation."
Reaching the end of the hall, the bronze statues of the Supreme Four Pillars appeared before them.
In order: Heavenly Demon, Ba Er, Gai Mie, and Qiang Sha Ke.
Gai Mie first looked at his own bronze statue, then at the Heavenly Demon, saying, "Now I understand that even the Great Demon God wasn't invincible. If I attain the ancestral path, I will do what the Heavenly Demon did. Look, that is the temple soul flame!"
Zhang Ruochen followed the seventy-two steps and looked upward.
He saw a mass of black flame suspended in midair, wrapped in a five-colored glazed cover.
As the flame pulsed, the light of the five-colored glazed cover also fluctuated in intensity.
Gai Mie said, "This five-colored glazed cover bears the ancestral divine patterns and order power left by the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable. Help me wear them down. The five-colored glazed cover is yours, and the temple soul flame is mine. Deal?"
"Can the temple soul flame break today's deadlock?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Gai Mie said, "I won't hide it from you. After absorbing the temple soul flame, my cultivation will surely recover. Then, dealing with an injured old fellow won't be difficult."
"Wouldn't it be even easier to kill me?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Gai Mie laughed and asked back, "Is killing you really that easy?"
Zhang Ruochen was even more eager than Gai Mie to break the ancestral divine patterns and order power left by the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable—not to obtain the temple soul flame, but to get the five-colored glazed cover.
He knew of the five-colored glazed cover. It was forged by the Fifth Patriarch by fusing the "Lantern Glazed Vessel," one of the seven treasures of Buddhism, with the "Sky-Patching Five-Colored Stone," a supreme treasure of the Qi cultivators.
The Lantern Glazed Vessel and the Sky-Patching Five-Colored Stone each had many astonishing legends. Among them, the Sky-Patching Five-Colored Stone was said to have been left by the Empress Nüwa, and some even claimed it was her ancestral divine source.
One could imagine how precious a treasure forged by merging them would be.
And this was precisely what Zhang Ruochen had been seeking—something to strengthen his Mysterious Embryo. With it, Zhang Ruochen could begin condensing more yang-attributed Dao light to break through to the middle stage of Indestructible Infinite.
With the inclusiveness of the Sky-Patching Five-Colored Stone, which could even fuse with the Lantern Glazed Vessel, integrating it into the Mysterious Embryo to protect it was entirely possible.
Legend had it that an ancient Qi cultivator had placed the Sky-Patching Five-Colored Stone in his Mysterious Embryo, allowing him to cultivate several times faster than ordinary people. His Mysterious Embryo was stable and unbreakable, and he lived for twenty eons without dying, reaching a height that cultivators of that era could only gaze up at in awe.