# Chapter 4146: Hao Tian Has Died
Zhang Ruochen chased out of the Gray Sea, heading toward the center of the destructive storm.
Proving the Dao as an Ancestor—how arduous it was. Yet Dizang Wang resolutely self-detonated his Divine Source, perishing together with the Nether Ancestor in a mutual destruction. Such great righteousness was worthy of song and tears, deserving of admiration.
Next, it was his turn to end the Nether Ancestor's ten-thousand-epoch lifespan.
"Whoosh!"
Countless Nether Light long rivers, thousands of strands, connected to the center of the destructive storm.
This undoubtedly proved that the fleshly substance of an Immortal was difficult to obliterate, their soul spirit eternally imperishable—the Nether Ancestor had absolutely not perished.
But soon, Zhang Ruochen stopped. In the infinitely distant depths of the void, he heard a "bang" sound coming from the future, like the heartbeat of the universe, muffled yet full of power.
This was an omen of extreme danger!
The next instant, all the rules of heaven and earth manifested, densely packed, filling the void, trembling like the strings of a zither.
"Lan Ai Tong Fen!"
Zhang Ruochen summoned the Earth Cauldron to protect his body, rapidly retreating toward the Gray Sea.
The rules of heaven and earth—whether the Nine Eternal Constants or the Three Thousand Great Daos—all played out like zither strings, continuously spreading outward and resonating.
It was precisely this resonant force that caused the scope of "Lan Ai Tong Fen" to far exceed the self-detonation of an Ancestor's Divine Source.
The burning fire was Ancestral Flame, igniting the rules of heaven and earth, detonating the energy of heaven and earth.
Not to mention the outside world—even the Gray Sea was one-third ignited.
"Who unleashed Lan Ai Tong Fen? Too terrifying—not only burning away matter, but also igniting all the rules of heaven and earth and the energy of heaven and earth in the starry sky."
"The entire star domain, for millions of years to come, will probably turn into an Ancestral Flame Fire Domain, a forbidden zone for cultivators."
"The Gray Sea is completely wrapped in flames! Can the power of the Gray Sea truly withstand the Ancestral Flame?"
Desolate Heaven looked at Zhang Ruochen, wanting to ask, but hesitated.
He was uncertain whether this Saint Si Daoist in front of him was actually Zhang Ruochen.
After all, Zhang Ruochen's death had long been conclusively established, with absolutely no possibility of survival.
Zhang Ruochen gazed at the endless fire domain outside the Gray Sea, sensing the changes in destructive energy's intensity, and said: "It's Qishier Pin Lian!"
This answer exceeded everyone's expectations, yet somehow seemed reasonable.
Sighs of lamentation arose among the crowd.
Shang Tian transformed into a streak of light, flying toward the direction of Hao Tian's corpse.
Earlier, Hao Tian's blood energy and soul spirit had already returned to his corpse, but he had not awakened. Now Qishier Pin Lian was executing Lan Ai Tong Fen, sacrificing herself to kill the Nether Ancestor—everyone was worried about Hao Tian's emotional reaction.
Because no one knew what kind of emotional relationship existed between Hao Tian and Qishier Pin Lian.
Green Deer Divine King asked: "The Nether Ancestor should be dead this time, right?"
He was very anxious, worried that the Nether Ancestor was indestructible and imperishable.
Just now, he had joined Zhang Ruochen in suppressing and sealing Er Jun Tian.
If the Nether Ancestor was still alive, when the reckoning came, the first to suffer would inevitably be him.
Zhang Ruochen said: "How about you go investigate?"
Green Deer Divine King quickly shook his head, smiling sheepishly: "How could this old man withstand such destructive energy? At least a thousand years must pass before the flames weaken somewhat."
Desolate Heaven said: "The Dark Venerable's remnant body, after enduring ten million years, has not been obliterated. To completely kill an Immortal is probably not that easy."
Green Deer Divine King held a different view, saying: "The Dark Venerable's remnant body was not obliterated because it never encountered destructive energy at the level of an Ancestor's Divine Source self-detonation, nor did it encounter Lan Ai Tong Fen and the long-lasting, imperishable Ancestral Flame."
"Furthermore, at that time, the Divine Realm and the Nether Ancestor faction each harbored their own schemes, and the Dark Venerable's remnant body still had value for exploitation. Undoubtedly, both sides deliberately left his remnant body."
Zhang Ruochen had been sensing the changes in the flames within the starry sky, lost in thought, and said: "At least for now, the Nether Ancestor's already very thin substance, rules, order, and soul spirit are continuously being burned away. The Ancestral Flame is like a stubborn maggot clinging to bone—not a single wisp of his Nether Light can escape."
"Being burned to nothing is only a matter of time."
Green Deer Divine King was in an excellent mood, laughing: "If the main body is dead, then it's dead! Even if some power remains outside, how strong can it be? Probably not even as strong as one of the Dark Venerable's black hands!"
Green Deer Divine King very much hoped that the Nether Ancestor still had residual long-lived substance and eternal soul spirit, so he could go hunting to comprehend the Dao of immortality.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Er Jun Tian, who was sitting on the ground.
Er Jun Tian's eyes were hollow and confused, clearly unable to accept the fact of the Nether Ancestor's fall—like a collapse of faith, their entire spirit and sharpness crumbling along with it.
"Go ahead without worry, leave this place to me." Mortal Dust said to Zhang Ruochen.
At the edge of the Gray Sea, amidst a patch of broken ruins.
Hao Tian's corpse was withered, gray-white, without any vitality.
The terrifying curse power emanating from the corpse grayed everything around it. Shang Tian dared not approach, standing a hundred zhang away.
"Please, Imperial Dust, dissolve the Nether Ancestor's curse for Heavenly Venerable Hao Tian!" Shang Tian bowed to Zhang Ruochen.
Shang Tian was an extremely proud man, preferring to die in battle rather than bow his head.
The only thing that could make him bow was something more important than life itself.
Zhang Ruochen walked into the hundred-zhang radius of Hao Tian's corpse, step by step, until he reached the corpse's side. The Nether Ancestor's curse could not even approach him.
Just as Zhang Ruochen raised his palm, about to release the Taiji Two Forms Diagram Seal—
Hao Tian's voice entered his ears: "This is my calamity, and also my karmic opportunity! The Nether Ancestor's curse is like a cocoon, firmly locking away my vitality and power. If you help me break the cocoon, I can certainly live. But if I break the cocoon myself, I can be reborn!"
"I must comprehend the curse, overcome the curse, and finally break the curse."
Zhang Ruochen reminded him: "This great cosmic upheaval is filled with many strange aspects. What comes next will certainly be an even more challenging situation. If you do not emerge, the Heavenly Court Universe will be without a leader, chaos will surely ensue, and others may exploit it."
Hao Tian's voice sounded again: "Have you forgotten that I have already entrusted the Heavenly Court Universe to you?"
Zhang Ruochen had not expected that Hao Tian, who had always borne the burden and shouldered the entire Heavenly Court Universe on both shoulders, would choose to retreat behind the scenes and conveniently hide at such a critical moment.
Where had the sense of responsibility of a great leader gone?
"The greater the power, the greater the responsibility. Now, the burden of being the number one in the world is yours to bear! It's also my turn to ignore the rights and wrongs of the outside world and focus on cultivation for a while."
Before Zhang Ruochen could speak, Hao Tian continued: "I share your view—this battle indeed has too many strange aspects, which you need to investigate and contemplate carefully going forward."
Zhang Ruochen asked: "What advice can you give me?"
After all, Hao Tian was older than Zhang Ruochen, had long held a high position, and had experienced multiple great eras—he must have unique insights into all things.
Perhaps he disdained using schemes and tricks, but he certainly had the ability to discern them.
He could strip away the layers and see the other side of things.
Hao Tian said: "I don't know what has happened in the outside world. Without organizing all the information, I cannot give you accurate advice."
"But you must always remember an unchanging truth: as a chess player, no matter how your opponent moves their pieces or what strategy they employ, even if it seems dazzling and confusing, never let yourself be deceived by these things."
"We are not fighting against the pieces, but against the chess player."
"Don't keep staring at the pieces; instead, spend more time thinking about the chess player."
"The reason we all feel this battle has too many strange aspects is that the Nether Ancestor's behavior as a chess player this time was too strange."
"Too hasty!"
"He seemed to have laid out many schemes, luring all the Ancestors to the Abyss of Darkness, but it was still too hasty!"
"In the Medieval Minor Calamity, it could silently sweep across the entire universe. But in this Minor Calamity, though he clearly had more time to prepare and more power to mobilize, the calamity waves failed to spread beyond Heavenly Desolation and Earthly Desolation."
Zhang Ruochen said: "But she had many reasons for failure! For instance, Gandharva, Dizang Wang, and you and I—all were variables."
"The more reasons for failure, for an existence like him, wouldn't that be even more suspicious?" Hao Tian said.
Zhang Ruochen nodded and said: "Even the wisest man has a thousand considerations and one slip. One slip is within reason, but if there are too many slips, then it certainly isn't wisdom."
"Do you consider the Nether Ancestor a wise chess player?" Hao Tian asked.
Zhang Ruochen said: "I understand what you mean now! Yes, we are not playing against the pieces, but against the chess player. However, the Nether Ancestor truly and genuinely died before the eyes of all cultivators in the world—I saw no flaw. I believe the Divine Realm also saw no flaw."
"My death might be questioned by some. But the Nether Ancestor's death will certainly not be questioned by anyone."
"This is what you need to investigate and contemplate next!" Hao Tian continued: "In this game, we have instead become bystanders, able to use the crisis awareness of the weak to capture what is unreasonable. Those Ancestors, including the Divine Realm, will not realize this."
"Because, in the Divine Realm's view, all of the Nether Ancestor's actions were perfectly reasonable. The Di Yao has arrived, and the Great Calamity is not far off. The Nether Ancestor could only risk launching the Life-and-Death Calamity to harvest the entire universe and heal his injuries."
"Moreover, the Nether Ancestor almost succeeded—if he had succeeded, he truly would have been invincible under heaven, crushing all enemies."
"Perhaps... there is itself the Divine Realm's scheme behind this!"
"If the scheme succeeded and the Nether Ancestor fell, why would the Divine Realm question itself?"
Zhang Ruochen said: "I am now more inclined to believe that the Nether Ancestor is already dead! If he could scheme so deeply, sacrifice so much, and take such great risks, his mind and methods would be too terrifying."
"If my guess is correct, the primary challenge you will face next is the Divine Realm. Do you plan to restore your original identity, raise a call to rally cultivators from all directions, and confront them head-on? Or will you continue using the identity of Shengsi Laoren?"
The reason Hao Tian asked this was because he knew Zhang Ruochen's current influence—without even needing the Nine Cauldrons in hand, he could command the universe.
His momentum had already taken initial shape.
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment, then said: "Immortals are all deeply calculating, concealing their identities, not revealing their cultivation... You have predicted that the Divine Realm will act aggressively—why not first sit back and watch their actions?"
"The identity of Shengsi Laoren probably won't last long." Hao Tian said.
Zhang Ruochen said: "So I have decided to hide even deeper. When absolutely necessary, I will borrow your identity to use."
Shang Tian stood a hundred zhang away, hearing nothing. He only saw Zhang Ruochen release the Taiji Two Forms Diagram Seal, then soon retract it.
When Zhang Ruochen walked out, he actually took away the damaged Tianfa Divine Armor from Hao Tian's body.
Shang Tian looked at him with an expression of incomprehension and asked: "What does Imperial Dust mean by this?"
Zhang Ruochen did not intend to explain much to him, saying: "Hao Tian's meaning is that when you return to the Heavenly Court Universe, you must listen to this poor Daoist in everything. Oh, by the way, Imperial Dust has long since fallen. This poor Daoist is Saint Si."
Shang Tian looked toward Hao Tian's corpse, wanting to rush over and investigate.
"Hao Tian has died!"
Zhang Ruochen stamped his foot on the ground, and the gray mud surged up, burying Hao Tian's corpse.