Chapter 3987: Four Divine Martial Envoys
Di's body was towering and majestic, rough and craggy, like a small stone mountain.
Zhang Ruochen did not fear the half-ancestor aura emanating from him. Composed and at ease, he sat down on a chair brought over by the Devouring Elephant Rabbit.
Xiao Qi pinched the Devouring Elephant Rabbit's cheek, showing great interest in it.
The mist in the pond drifted once more, accompanied by falling leaves.
Zhang Ruochen's demeanor left Gai Mie and the Peacock Heavenly Queen utterly astonished. After all, Di was a half-ancestor. Though his body was flawed, fifty thousand years had passed, and even if he had not yet fully recovered to his peak, he was not far off.
Facing such a powerhouse, even a Heavenly Venerable-level figure had to tread carefully; one misstep could cost them their life.
In Gai Mie's view, Di's initiative to negotiate and resolve the conflict stemmed mainly from his fear of being besieged by Yunshen Daozhu, Fengdu Dadi, and others, not from fear of the current Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen said, "What, a dignified half-ancestor, and you haven't prepared any gifts?"
Di raised his arm, and the space rippled like a water curtain.
"Whoosh!"
With a blinding flash of light, a figure bound by half-ancestor divine patterns and order laws fell from the void, crashing heavily before Zhang Ruochen.
It had four arms and no eyes.
Zhang Ruochen looked down at it, his heart surging with shock, but his tone remained calm: "As expected of a half-ancestor. Impressive—you've even captured a Divine Martial Envoy from the God Realm."
"Offending Imperial Dust is his fate. Besides, this Divine Martial Envoy is nothing special; his only reliance is his control and suppression of the Divine Martial Mark. As a half-ancestor, my dependence on the Divine Martial Mark is extremely low, so capturing him was effortless," Di said.
The Divine Martial Envoy's cultivation and strength were, of course, not ordinary.
At the very least, in the open starry sky, Zhang Ruochen could not have stopped him.
Di was undoubtedly flaunting his power, using it to pressure Zhang Ruochen into negotiating.
Of course, if he lacked such strength, he would not have come to see Zhang Ruochen at all. To do so would be to seek death.
Chan Bing's voice came from within the Divine Realm World: "Don't be fooled by him. Between a half-ancestor and a Heavenly Venerable-level, there is an insurmountable chasm. Di must have another motive for doing this."
"A half-ancestor's mental state could never be this weak," Void Heaven said.
Zhang Ruochen studied the Divine Martial Envoy on the ground, having already seen through Di's scheme. He said, "Di Zu's sincerity is truly evident. If you are willing to join the Sword Realm and fight alongside us against the Ancestor Calamity, past grievances can naturally be set aside."
Di said, "There's no need for Imperial Dust to say more. It is precisely because I want to nip the Ancestor Calamity in the bud that I came here. But I have one condition."
Zhang Ruochen said, "The head suppressed by Lady Shiji?"
"Exactly. Can Imperial Dust mediate?" Di asked.
Zhang Ruochen stood up and said, "I don't want to get involved in the grievances between you. But if Di Zu is willing to enter the Nether Prison with me and join forces to dismantle the Ancestor Calamity, how could Lady Shiji not appreciate that?"
Zhang Ruochen made as if to leave, then suddenly turned his gaze to the Peacock Heavenly Queen in Gai Mie's arms. "Heavenly Queen, your cultivation progress over these fifty thousand years is astonishing. You've already reached the peak of Great Unbound Infinite."
Fifty thousand years ago, the Peacock Heavenly Queen had only just entered Great Unbound Infinite.
The Peacock Heavenly Queen gave a forced smile, returning a flirtatious glance.
Gai Mie glanced at the Peacock Heavenly Queen in his arms and said, "Imperial Dust, where are you going? What about the Divine Martial Envoy?"
"I'm going to the Nether Prison. Keep the Divine Martial Envoy locked up here for now."
As Zhang Ruochen's words fell, his figure had already vanished into space, gone without a trace.
The Peacock Heavenly Queen said, "It seems Imperial Dust isn't very interested in the Divine Martial Envoy."
"But I am very interested."
Gai Mie pushed her aside, walked down the steps, and approached the Divine Martial Envoy. His eyes turned icy cold as he pressed a palm onto the envoy's head, sending strands of demonic qi invading his body.
Compared to Zhang Ruochen and Di, Gai Mie was far more wary of the Divine Martial Envoy's ability to control the Divine Martial Mark and wanted to learn more about it.
"You are all in grave danger!"
Though the Divine Martial Envoy lay on the ground, unable to move, his voice was cold and steady.
...
Three figures emerged from space and converged on a cosmic rock several hundred miles long.
Their forms were all different.
The Divine Martial Envoy "Wu Ying" said, "Wu Shi didn't arrive at the appointed time. Something has likely happened. The cultivators in this universe are truly audacious."
Not far away, the light of a star fell onto the cosmic rock, but beneath Envoy Wu Ying's feet, there was no shadow.
This clearly indicated that although Envoy Wu Ying had a form, it was not a physical body but a spiritual entity.
"Wu Shi's combat power is not inferior to a Heavenly Venerable-level. Besides Yunshen Daozhu and Fengdu Dadi, who could stop him? And so silently at that?"
"Yunshen Daozhu's formations might be capable of that."
"If that's the case, the Sword Realm is courting destruction."
...
Envoy "Wu Xing" had no form, like a gust of wind, scattering rocks and stirring up dust.
From within this gust of wind came various voices, as if talking to itself.
Envoy Wu Ying said, "Yunshen Daozhu and Fengdu Dadi are currently locked in a magical duel with that one. I'm afraid Wu Shi didn't fall into their hands."
The third Divine Martial Envoy, named "Wu Yan," was a graceful beauty with crystalline jade-like skin and neatly combed black hair, giving off the refined and dignified air of a noble lady.
But below her eyes, she wore a jade mask that clung tightly to her face, hiding her features.
She gestured with her hands, using sign language: "Wu Shi isn't dead. I can sense he's still alive. Regardless, since Zhang Ruochen has already made a move against a Divine Martial Envoy, the Sword Realm is excluded from the plan."
"This time, when I went to the Hell Realm, I didn't see Fengdu Dadi, but I did meet Yan Huanyu and Kong Fannu. They weren't opposed to joining forces with the God Realm to deal with the Ancestor Calamity, but they refused to hand over command. What about you two?"
Envoy Wu Ying said, "The Heavenly Court's All Heavens have deep prejudices against the God Realm and don't trust it at all. Forget handing over command—even cooperation is out of the question."
Envoy Wu Xing's voice rustled like sand: "The Divine Musician of the Abyss of Darkness is very interested in the God Realm and wants to lead the various Primordial Beings clans to deal with the Ancestor Calamity. But the situation in the Abyss of Darkness is complex, and he's constrained by many parties. He hopes we'll help him eliminate his enemies first before discussing cooperation."
Envoy Wu Yan gestured: "Just an excuse. It seems that to get the All Heavens of the lower realms to cooperate obediently, we need a force from below to pressure them into going along with the times. Wu Xing, you can transform into billions. Handle this."
Envoy Wu Xing began talking to itself again, strategizing: "First step, spread faith and expand the God Realm's influence."
Another voice chimed in: "Second step, establish a great sect belonging to the God Realm. Those who comply will prosper; those who resist will perish. I believe that before long, countless cultivators will be willing to submit and serve the God Realm."
"There's actually one tactic we can use: as long as one believes in the God Realm, they can receive the Divine Martial Mark and gain the qualification to cultivate martial arts. Those who don't believe will have their Divine Martial Mark revoked and be reduced to mortals."
Envoy Wu Ying's tone was firm: "The True Ruler instructed us not to act too extremely. Our purpose here is to deal with the Ancestor Calamity. Wu Xing, if you incur the wrath of this universe, the first one who won't let you off is the True Ruler. Bring out the Hundred Banner Chaos Diagram bestowed by the True Ruler!"
Envoy Wu Xing said, "Before going to the Abyss of Darkness, Wu Shi took the Hundred Banner Chaos Diagram."
"This is a big problem! The Hundred Banner Chaos Diagram was bestowed by the True Ruler to deal with the Ancestor Calamity. As long as we gather a hundred All Heavens-level powerhouses from the Heavenly Court, the Sword Realm, the Hell Realm, and the Abyss of Darkness, we can suppress the Ancestor. We must retrieve it immediately," Envoy Wu Ying said.
Envoy Wu Yan's forehead ornament flickered with rings of light. "I've sensed it. Wu Shi is in the star region where the Nether Prison is located."
Envoy Wu Ying said, "Whoever dares to oppose the God Realm must pay the price. Let's split up. Wu Yan and I will head to the Nether Prison."
...
The eighteen-layer Nether Prison was magnificent and grand, suspended in the cold, dark void, covered in dust, like a broken eighteen-story tower. But each layer was as vast as a small world.
It had once been buried deep beneath the Sword Grave, making it impossible to see its full form.
Although the demonic cultivators of the universe were crazed about the Nether Prison, none dared approach it.
The demonic qi here was thick and unbearable for ordinary cultivators.
Moreover, powerful energy fluctuations occasionally erupted from the entrance of the Nether Prison, capable of killing gods.
The entrance to the Nether Prison was a black stone mountain a hundred zhang tall, its surface smooth as a mirror.
When Zhang Ruochen arrived at the foot of the stone mountain, still over ten zhang from the cliff, he could sense the half-ancestor rules and order laws of Hao Tian, Heavenly Mother, and Lady Shiji interwoven on the stone mountain, blocking all cultivators from proceeding further.
But these three half-ancestor powers seemed to have been arranged from the inside out.
In other words, breaking this seal from the inside would be far more difficult than from the outside.
"Whoosh!"
On the stone wall, countless half-ancestor rules and order laws manifested, densely packed, emitting a blinding light.
Then, a terrifying force, like a tidal wave, surged out through the stone wall. The half-ancestor rules and order laws on the stone wall burned but could not dissolve that power.
Zhang Ruochen manifested a corner of the Divine Realm World beneath his feet, stabilizing the space. Wearing the Qilin Fist Gloves, he pressed his palm forward.
"Roar!"
The phantom of a Qilin appeared.
Zhang Ruochen was pushed back five steps by this wave-like force.
The force continued to spread outward, all the way into the universe, causing stars to tremble.
Looking at the stone wall again, the half-ancestor rules and order laws had faded considerably.
"It seems I must enter the Nether Prison as soon as possible. The sealing power set up by the three half-ancestors won't hold much longer."
Zhang Ruochen deeply understood the significance of powerhouses like Hao Tian and Heavenly Mother to this era and did not want them to self-destruct their divine sources to stop the Ancestor Calamity.
Void Heaven said, "Just us, to contend with an Ancestor? Or are you really placing your hopes on Di? You must know, once inside the Nether Prison, escape will be extremely difficult. If we ambush from outside, even if we can't win, we can still flee."
"Does Senior Void Heaven lack confidence?"
Zhang Ruochen looked to his right. "Come out! Do you think you can hide from me?"
A figure in black tight-fitting clothes emerged from behind the stone mountain. After pulling back the hood, it revealed Chi Kunlun's sharp, resolute face.
He bowed and said, "Father!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "How did you know I was here?"
"The Peacock Heavenly Queen told me," Chi Kunlun answered truthfully.
"No wonder! So she had already thrown in her lot with the Nether Ancestor. That clears up some doubts I had."
Without warning, a divine light shot from Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
"Boom!"
Chi Kunlun formed a cross seal with his hands, manifesting the Six Paths Reincarnation Seal before him, blocking the divine light's impact. His body was blasted back a thousand miles. After steadying himself, his arms trembled uncontrollably before slowly lowering.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Early stage of Great Unbound Infinite. So the Time Cauldron is indeed in Yan Wushen's hands. Take me to him."
...
In the Void World, an ancient stone hall floated.
Outside the hall was a mottled stone bridge, one end connecting to the hall's door, the other leading into the unknown.
The bridge was called the Naihe Bridge.
The hall was called the Life and Death Hall.
"Brother Ruochen, I've been waiting for you!"
Yan Wushen sat alone on the ground at the center of the hall, a long red copper table before him with a jug of wine and two cups.
At the hall's entrance, Zhang Ruochen glanced at Chi Kunlun. "Wait outside with Xiao Qi."
Chi Kunlun nodded and led Xiao Qi back outside.
Entering the hall, Zhang Ruochen's every step created ripples in space, effortlessly breaking Yan Wushen's spatial order. "This scene is just like our meeting before the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet. That pot of twelve blooming flowers is still memorable."
"This pot of wine today is even better," Yan Wushen said.
Zhang Ruochen sat down across from him, casually picked up the wine jug, and poured himself a cup.
Raising the cup to sniff it, he said, "Qingfeng Li of the Space Divine Temple—what were you doing at the Space Divine Temple? I haven't heard of any major events happening there."
Yan Wushen said, "You're not very polite, are you? Only pouring wine for yourself, ignoring the cup in front of me?"
"Shua!"
The wine jug flew from Zhang Ruochen's hand, imbued with spatial power.
What seemed like a jug of wine actually carried an impact force comparable to a star colliding with a world.
As a Space Controller, Yan Wushen caught it steadily, the jug neither breaking nor deforming.
After filling his own cup, he said, "Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean nothing happened. Di captured a Divine Martial Envoy and gave him to you?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Peacock Heavenly Queen already told you. Why ask again?"
"This great gift—will you accept it? And how do you plan to accept it?" Yan Wushen asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "He wants to stir up conflict between the Sword Realm and the God Realm. Accept it? Of course, I'll still accept it. Since he sent it, I'm quite curious about the God Realm. Has the Nether Ancestor come to this star region?"
Yan Wushen laughed. "If the Nether Ancestor had come to this star region, would you dare to come?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Great Demon God is the Nether Ancestor's man. The God Realm sent Divine Martial Envoys to deal with the Ancestor Calamity, undoubtedly to prevent the Great Demon God from emerging and to keep the Nether Ancestor's faction from growing. It seems the one behind the God Realm will personally restrain the Nether Ancestor. That's why I dared to come. Brother Wushen, are you here to stop me?"
Yan Wushen shook his head. "I'm here to help you."