Chapter 3981: Ancestor War Divine Army
Zhang Ruochen said, "Zhuofang Divine Venerable, how about you go to the Blade Realm and invite the Blade Venerable to the Wuding Divine Sea? He can name his terms!"
Zhuofang smiled bitterly and said, "Lord of the Dust, please spare me!"
"I was just joking." Zhang Ruochen looked at Zhang Su'e, who had landed beside him, and said, "Su'e, in that exchange just now, Bei Ze was holding back the entire time. If it had been a life-or-death battle, the outcome would have been uncertain."
Zhang Su'e slightly raised her snow-white chin and said, "I wasn't using my full strength either. I didn't even use the illusion techniques Mother taught me on him."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Your illusion techniques wouldn't have much effect on him. At least, with your current spiritual power, it's far from enough."
Zhang Su'e took out a talisman from her sleeve with two slender jade fingers, a look of competitive determination on her pretty face, and said, "Then I'll use the War Soul Talisman Mother gave me!"
Zhang Ruochen said patiently, "You two are siblings; winning or losing isn't really that important."
"Father, precisely because we're siblings, winning and losing *is* important. Since we were little, he's always had to follow behind me and do as I say. If I let him win, how can I continue to be the older sister? He's getting more and more rebellious lately, always wanting to stage a coup. I have to keep him in check." Zhang Su'e spoke with spirited energy but was extremely serious.
Zhang Ruochen felt helpless. This unyielding and mischievous personality was very much like the Moon God's.
Wu Yue said, "Then you need to cultivate even harder. What's the point of defeating your little brother using Mother's talismans?"
Suddenly.
The people on the cliff, along with Zhang Bei Ze in the distance, all looked up.
They gazed towards the starry sky. In the direction of the main stars of the Thousand Star Civilization, the Star Soul Divine Throne, which held the primary position, had dimmed.
"Whoosh!" Zhang Chuanzong, dressed in spotless white, transformed into a beam of divine light and appeared before Zhang Ruochen, his expression pained, and said, "Father, the Divine Ancestor... has passed away!"
Zhang Ruochen had known about this for several months, so he only nodded calmly.
Ripples of spatial distortion spread outwards. Moments later, Zhang Ruochen led Wu Yue, Zhang Chuanzong, Zhang Bei Ze, and Zhang Su'e, appearing on the first main planet of the Thousand Star Civilization—Day Star.
On the Heavenly Lord Mountain, everything was draped in white. Old-generation deities from various major worlds rushed over to pay their respects. Yu Cangsheng, Feng Qingleng, Yu Taizhen, Yu Chenjing... and others, the most direct and outstanding deities, guarded the place where the Thousand Star Divine Ancestor had passed away. Some had tearful eyes, some pretended to be strong, and some had already begun to wail loudly.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Chuanzong, the Divine Ancestor loved you the most while alive. After the funeral, you will guard his tomb for five hundred years. Can you do it?"
Although Zhang Chuanzong had already stepped into the Qiankun Infinite Realm and held the title of Divine Venerable, he was the most sentimental of all Zhang Ruochen's children. His eyes were already moist, and he nodded vigorously, choking back sobs.
From the crowd came the sounds of children laughing and chasing each other.
"Won't give it, won't give it to you, la la la, go ask Uncle Black yourself if you can!" The child running in front was about eight or nine years old, with his hair tied in two topknots. Silver-white light rain scattered from his body, and a bright red phoenix mark was on his forehead. He kicked off the ground, flew into the air, and swiftly darted between the divine trees, halls, and star towers of Heavenly Lord Mountain.
He held a nine-tailed white cat in his arms, clutching it like a treasure.
Chasing behind him was a little girl with a pair of small dragon horns on her head. She wore a blue spiritual sea star gauze, her skin as white as a porcelain doll, and she was slightly younger than the boy with the topknots.
"That was clearly a gift from Uncle Black to me! You stole it from me!" The little girl was not slow. Using the dragon clan's innate flying technique, she stepped on two golden clouds and continuously summoned lightning to attack the boy in front.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The originally solemn and dignified atmosphere was broken by the two children. Bolts of lightning fell one after another, knocking off the hat of some great deity and blasting down a sacred fruit that had grown for tens of thousands of years, causing chaos.
Mu Lingxi, who had arrived at Heavenly Lord Mountain a step later, saw this scene and her composure shattered. She was so angry her teeth ached, and she said, "Zhang Xingchen, if you keep being this mischievous and I catch you, I'll send you to the Hell Realm to train with your grandmaster. Give the nine-tailed cat back to your sister!"
"Won't give it back, won't give it back. It's mine. Uncle Black promised it to me first." Zhang Xingchen flew higher up Heavenly Lord Mountain, getting closer and closer to the mourning hall.
"Shua!" A silver light shot straight into the sky, appearing beside Zhang Xingchen, and condensed into a handsome man wearing a silver robe and golden armor.
This man looked to be in his early twenties, with a third vertical eye on his forehead. He was heroic and divinely handsome. With a casual grab, he lifted Zhang Xingchen into his hand.
"Let me go, let me go..." The little girl with dragon horns, who had caught up from behind, was so frightened by this scene that she trembled and immediately tried to flee.
"Nicai, where do you think you're going? Come see Father with me!" The handsome man with three eyes reached out through the air and grabbed Zhang Nicai as well.
Yu Chenjing had already inherited the position of Heavenly Lord of the Thousand Star Civilization. In her Heavenly Lord Palace, the two little ones, Zhang Xingchen and Zhang Nicai, stood timidly on either side outside the main divine hall.
Zhang Xingchen rubbed his small hands, burying his head into his collar, and whispered, "It's all your fault. Who told you to use lightning techniques?"
Zhang Nicai pouted and said, "It's because of you. If you hadn't gone anywhere else and come to Heavenly Lord Mountain, none of this would have happened. If you had just given the nine-tailed cat back to me..."
"The nine-tailed cat is mine. Uncle Black promised it to me first..." Zhang Xingchen said.
The three-eyed handsome man standing to the side, holding the nine-tailed cat, said, "What are you two mumbling about? If you don't seriously reflect on your mistakes, I won't be able to teach you anymore."
Zhang Xingchen made a funny face and said, "It's all your fault. Stop pretending to be the good guy. Hmph..." Suddenly, Zhang Xingchen shut his mouth and buried his head even lower.
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the main divine hall of the Heavenly Lord Palace and said, "It seems you two have no idea what you did wrong."
"Father, we know we were wrong. We really were wrong! We won't dare do it again!" Zhang Xingchen and Zhang Nicai exchanged a glance, knelt down in unison, and then began to cry.
Mu Lingxi and Ao Linglong arrived one after the other outside the main divine hall. Zhang Xingchen and Zhang Nicai cried even harder.
"Mother, Zhang Gushen is not a good person! He bullied me!" Zhang Xingchen immediately crawled over, hugged Mu Lingxi's leg, and rested his face on her shoe, sobbing.
"And me too!" Zhang Nicai also wailed loudly.
"You still have the nerve to cry?" Mu Lingxi's cheeks puffed up with anger. She grabbed Zhang Xingchen by the belt at the small of his back, lifted him up, and gave him a thorough spanking.
The more she spanked him, the less Zhang Xingchen cried, a look of confusion on his face.
This trick had always worked before. Why wasn't it working this time?
Zhang Nicai, on the other hand, didn't get spanked. But seeing that her mother ignored her and was discussing something with her father, her crying gradually stopped.
After a while, Mu Lingxi got tired of spanking him. She dropped Zhang Xingchen back to the ground and said, "Chen Ge, how about we send him to Feng Tian's place? I think the environment of the Death God Temple is more suitable for this little brat!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "It's not impossible, but the Death God Temple is rampant with evil ghosts, swarming with white bones, and blood corpses are everywhere. The environment is still too harsh. Besides, Feng Tian is notoriously ruthless; he would be very strict with him..."
The more Zhang Xingchen listened, the paler his face became. He crawled over and said, "Father, I was wrong. Xingchen really knows he was wrong. I'll change. I'll definitely change this time!"
Zhang Nicai also repeatedly admitted her mistake, because she clearly heard her mother say she wanted to send her to the Eighth Grandmother's place.
She had already experienced the Eighth Grandmother's fiery temper and had no desire to train there. Going there would mean getting beaten every day.
Zhang Gushen was the son of Zhang Ruochen and Luo Ji. He had already passed his first Eon Calamity and had been very steady and mature since childhood, with outstanding intelligence.
The name "Gushen" came from Daoist teachings, meaning "the valley spirit is deathless." Zhang Gushen stepped forward to plead for them, saying, "Father, they are too young. They simply don't understand what kind of day this is or what it means. It was an unintentional act. Besides, at such a young age, being separated from their mother is still too cruel."
Zhang Ruochen had considered sending Zhang Xingchen to the Destiny Temple to temper his character.
He had also considered sending Zhang Nicai to the Heavenly Demon Mountain to be taught by Chi Xingtian and the Eight-Winged Yaksha Dragon. But now, they were indeed still too young.
"Chuanzong, they are your responsibility now. Teach them what filial piety, brotherly love, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame mean." Zhang Ruochen said.
Zhang Chuanzong said, "But Father... I have to go guard the Divine Ancestor's tomb for five hundred years."
"Then they will go too. Guard... guard for five years! In those five years, you, as their second brother, must teach them well." Zhang Ruochen said.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xingchen and Zhang Nicai were dumbfounded, and then they began to wail loudly for real.
Zhang Chuanzong looked up at the sky, his head aching. He had a feeling that these two little ones learning at the cemetery might end up digging up the ancestral graves of the Thousand Star Civilization!
Zhang Ruochen could see the reluctance and heartache in Mu Lingxi and Ao Linglong's eyes and said, "You two have always spoiled them too much! Relying on the love of their elders, they are becoming more and more lawless."
Yu Chenjing, Yu Taizhen, Yu Cangsheng, and the Hundred Battle Star Lord hurried over from a distance.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Take them away. Congratulations, Star Lord, on successfully breaking through to the Great Unbound Infinite realm."
The Hundred Battle Star Lord came before Zhang Ruochen, slightly bowed, and said, "It was all thanks to the Divine Ancestor's inheritance before his passing that I could break into the Great Unbound Infinite. Otherwise, I don't know how many more years I would have had to cultivate."
"This shows that the Divine Ancestor had great hopes for you! Come, let's talk inside the hall. Gushen, come in and listen as well." Zhang Ruochen walked side by side with the Hundred Battle Star Lord into the hall and said, "After the Divine Ancestor's passing, I've thought it over. The position of Vice Commander of the Starry Sky Camp can only be taken by you, Star Lord. You are the most suitable."
The Hundred Battle Star Lord smiled and said, "Thank you for the trust, Lord of the Dust. Then I won't be modest!"
The Starry Sky Camp was one of the ten divine army camps established by the Sword Realm.
Each camp was commanded by a powerhouse of the Indestructible Infinite level as its Commander. Cultivators at the Great Unbound Infinite realm served as Vice Commanders.
Six Divine Kings and Divine Venerables served as Banner Lords, each leading fifty deities.
One camp consisted of three hundred and eight deities!
Ten camps meant three thousand and eighty deities.
Because this divine army was formed to deal with the calamity of the Ancestor, it was named the "Ancestor War."
The Commander of the Starry Sky Camp was the Starry Sea Angler. The former Vice Commander was the Thousand Star Divine Ancestor.
The Starry Sea Angler rarely participated in the army's training matters, so the Starry Sky Camp had always been managed by the Thousand Star Divine Ancestor.
Many of the deities in the camp were under the Thousand Star Civilization.
The Thousand Star Divine Ancestor chose not to face his Eon Calamity. Instead, on the eve of the calamity's arrival, he passed his inheritance to the Hundred Battle Star Lord, helping him break through to the Great Unbound Infinite.
How could Zhang Ruochen not understand his intentions?
Yu Chenjing and Yu Taizhen had both reached the Infinite realm, but their foundations were still shallow.
The Thousand Star Civilization was not without other Great Unbound Infinite cultivators, but they were too old and unsuitable for joining the divine army and participating in high-intensity battles.
Therefore, the Hundred Battle Star Lord was the only choice.
After the discussion was settled, Zhang Ruochen personally went to the Starry Sky Camp.
The Ancestor War Divine Army used armor and war weapons forged according to A Fuya's secret methods. The Yunshen Daozhu personally inscribed formation patterns inside each divine armor, achieving the state of unified battle intent, unified divine power, and unified spirit.
Even without forming the complete divine army, the combat power of a single camp was already enough to be invincible.
"Father, I want to join the Ancestor War Divine Army too!" Zhang Gushen said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Will your mother agree? She doesn't want you to be in any danger!"
Zhang Gushen's eyes shone with confidence and determination, and he said, "As long as Father agrees, I have my ways to convince Mother. She will support my decision!"
Zhang Ruochen looked at the distant Starry Sky Camp and said, "The Ancestor War Divine Army was established to fight against the Ancestor, and in the future, it will even have to contend with the Immortal. In other words, the enemy is incredibly powerful. Our proud divine army might be utterly crushed before them, and everyone might die. Are you sure you are prepared to die in battle?"
Zhang Gushen did not hesitate for a moment and said, "Father dares to fight, so I dare to fight as well."
"Alright, go convince your mother first." Zhang Ruochen smiled, and with a flicker of his form, he had already left the Thousand Star Civilization and appeared in the Wang Mountain of the Kunlun Realm. He then stepped into the Nine Heavens Celestial World.
Fifty thousand years ago, the mysterious sword cultivator who had been suppressed under the Time Divine Tree had had his physical body refined into ashes, and even his divine source had been destroyed.
Only his soul remained unextinguished, transforming into a ball of dark soul fire.
Zhang Ruochen suppressed it using the Four Directions Universe Seal and the Mani Pearl.
Many experts of the Sword Realm, including the Yunshen Daozhu, the Starry Sea Angler, A Fuya, and Chan Bing, had studied it. They all agreed that this was a soul fire separated from the Immortal.
Only a Martial Dao Half-Ancestor might be able to refine it.
Jie Tian had been guarding the Nine Heavens Celestial World. He walked out from the chaotic divine mist, his face dark, and said, "What wind has blown the Lord of the Dust back to this old man's humble abode? This place is shabby and run-down, how could it compare to the beautiful and enchanting Moon God Mountain, which makes one forget all weariness?"
Ever since Zhang Ruochen and the Moon God had Zhang Su'e and Zhang Bei Ze, this old man had become increasingly sarcastic.
Zhang Ruochen observed the ball of dark soul fire and said, "The fluctuations from the Nether Prison are getting stronger and stronger. I saw a glimpse of the future in the River of Time. It seems the calamity of the Ancestor is about to descend. When that happens, the Dark Weirdness will surely act. You must be extremely careful here."
"I need to take this soul fire away. You must guard the Ancestor Realm of the Second Confucian Ancestor well!"
Jie Tian's head surged with twenty-one layers of celestial worlds, causing the ancestral qi within the entire Nine Heavens Celestial World to boil.
He blew his beard and glared, saying, "With these twenty-one layers of celestial worlds, this old man can contend with an Indestructible Infinite. Not to mention the ancestral power left by the Great Venerable in the Nine Heavens Celestial World and the talismans given by Old Man Huaying. In the current universe, who can break into the Second Confucian Ancestor's Ancestor Realm and rescue the dark remnant?"
"You must also guard the Sword Pavilion well. The Seventy-Two Layer Tower is only missing the Sword Pavilion to be complete. That absolutely cannot happen." After Zhang Ruochen gave this instruction, he said, "Take care of yourself, Elder. Don't be so angry. At your age, you need to focus on nurturing your health. Leave the matter of developing and expanding the Ancestor Clan to me now."
"Get lost, the farther the better. Don't come back!"