Chapter 4163: Secluded Cultivation at Five Elements Temple
"May I ask the Heavenly Venerable, how should that question—'Has the Heavenly Demon returned or not'—be interpreted?" Chi Yao recalled the question Zhang Ruochen had asked before the arrival of the Divine Ancestor God Lord.
This matter was top secret.
Chi Yao knew of it because, while Zhang Ruochen was alive, he had sent Void Heaven, Meng Ge, and Chi Xingtian to the God Realm to investigate and rescue the Heavenly Demon.
Fewer than ten people in the entire universe knew of this.
Zhang Ruochen had a ready explanation: "The Fourth Confucian Ancestor revealed the secret on his deathbed."
Chi Yao glanced at the scroll in her hand and ceased her doubts. After a moment's deliberation, she said, "The time is not yet ripe."
Back then, Chi Xingtian had also responded to her with that same phrase, "The time is not yet ripe."
Zhen Yuan, standing nearby, listened quietly, his heart filled with exhilaration, as if a fog had lifted, bringing a sense of clarity and relief.
The oppressive emotions of worry, pain, caution, helplessness, and despair were swept away in an instant.
With Hao Tian Heavenly Venerable breaking through to the Ancestor realm and returning, and the joyful news that the Heavenly Demon was not dead, two Ancestors—one in the light, one in the dark—were enough to protect the Heavenly Court Universe and the Sword Realm.
An Ancestor was the pillar that held up the sky, the needle that steadied the sea.
Zhang Ruochen longed to meet with the Heavenly Demon to discuss major matters, but it seemed that, given Chi Yao's cultivation and status, she only knew that the Heavenly Demon had been rescued, not his hiding place.
Even if the Heavenly Demon had escaped, he was surely in an extremely weakened state.
How could his hiding place be known to a few juniors?
Suddenly.
The broad square outside the Merit Divine Temple darkened.
Zhang Ruochen looked up. The brilliant starry sky vanished, as if covered by an invisible black curtain.
This sudden change was clearly the work of an unknown powerful figure.
But Chi Yao and Zhen Yuan showed no panic.
That was the sense of security that came from having an Ancestor by their side. Even if the sky fell, someone would hold it up.
Zhang Ruochen stood like a towering divine mountain, upright and unflinching, unperturbed by the change. He gazed at the two even darker figures that emerged from the darkness.
The one on the left was a humanoid form, ten thousand zhang tall.
The one on the right was a black dragon head and part of a dragon body.
Both figures devoured the light around them, releasing a terrifying Ancestor-level pressure that froze time and space.
"It's the Primordial Black Dragon and the Dark Sovereign."
Chi Yao and Zhen Yuan's expressions finally changed. In recent years, there had been many negative reports about these two Immortals, and they had become two evil fiends in the universe.
The gods of various great worlds feared the God Realm and despised the Doomsday Priests.
But these two inspired true terror.
Because any day, an entire great world might be devoured by them, turned into a meal. Eager to restore their cultivation, they were no different from the Nether Ancestor. In their eyes, mortals were not even ants, just nutrients.
If not for the God Realm checking them, they would be even more reckless.
The humanoid giant shadow representing the Dark Sovereign spoke first: "Your concealment technique is not very clever. When you framed us, did you think we wouldn't come looking for you?"
Zhang Ruochen admitted it openly: "When I framed you, I also didn't expect you to be hiding in the Heavenly Court."
The fact that they could arrive so quickly and discern that Zhang Ruochen was in the Merit Divine Temple meant their hiding place was not far from here.
The Dark Sovereign fell silent, inwardly cursing his miscalculation. Coming too fast had instead revealed his hiding place.
The shadow representing the Primordial Black Dragon said, "We are all at the Ancestor level. Did you think your transformation technique could fool us? Why not reveal your true form?"
Zhang Ruochen saw through the intentions of these two Immortals.
He knew they were not here for a magical duel but had other schemes, likely related to the Eternal True Ruler. If they were truly angry about the framing and came to settle accounts, they would not waste so many words.
If these two joined forces and launched a swift surprise attack, it would definitely give Zhang Ruochen a hard time.
In fact, Zhang Ruochen also had some questions he wanted to ask them. But at this moment, he could not show any weakness. He had to keep the initiative in his hands.
Zhang Ruochen let out a deep laugh: "If you want to talk to me, come with your true forms. Two doppelganger projections are just a joke." He struck out with a palm.
Tens of thousands of dragon shadows surged from his palm, shattering the forms of the Primordial Black Dragon and the Dark Sovereign in the darkness.
The black curtain dissipated, and the starlight scattered down again.
"The Heavenly Venerable is too domineering!"
Zhen Yuan and Chi Yao could not help but admire him.
At the same time, they worried that the Heavenly Venerable might offend the two Immortals, bringing a great calamity upon himself. Either the Dark Sovereign or the Primordial Black Dragon was a taboo existence.
"Heavenly Venerable, are those two really hiding inside the Heavenly Court?" Zhen Yuan asked, concerned.
"That is not for you to consider. The games and struggles between Ancestors represent the formation and reshaping of the entire universe's structure. There is a delicate balance. They dare not appear easily, let alone act recklessly."
Zhang Ruochen's expression was solemn, displaying the proud arrogance of an elder strongman commanding the world. He continued, "Dragon Scale has just been suppressed. It would not be appropriate for me to go to the Heavenly Palace immediately, or it will invite criticism."
"Zhen Yuan, how long has it been since you returned to the Five Elements Temple?"
Zhen Yuan, with his great wisdom, understood instantly.
The two Immortals had appeared as projections, making the Merit Divine Temple extremely dangerous. The Heavenly Venerable was telling him to return to the Heavenly Court to avoid the storm.
He extended an invitation: "Would the Heavenly Venerable be willing to visit the Five Elements Temple as a guest?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly.
Chi Yao took her leave, needing to return to the Sword Realm to take charge.
Back then, when Zhang Ruochen left, he had entrusted the Sword Realm and his friends and family to her. She had to shoulder that responsibility until he returned.
Chi Yao firmly believed that Zhang Ruochen would return one day, even if everyone thought he had turned to ashes.
Watching Chi Yao's departing figure, Zhang Ruochen sighed inwardly, filled with reluctance. He wanted to catch up properly, but in the end, he could only suppress all those emotions in his heart.
Although he knew that when Chi Yao learned the truth in the future, she would certainly not let him off easily.
The Five Elements Temple was established by Daoist ancient sages from the Kunlun Realm and the Pangu Realm, located in the Five Elements Heaven Domain of West Ox Continent.
Within the heaven domain, there were tens of thousands of sacred domains.
Zhang Ruochen, Lian Xi, and Zhen Yuan crossed the Heavenly River without any obstruction.
Zhen Yuan had that kind of status.
Not everyone could discern that the mysterious being who suppressed Dragon Scale was at the Merit Divine Temple at that time. Not even half-Ancestors could.
Arriving at the Five Elements Heaven Domain, the three went straight to the Ten Thousand Longevity Divine Mountain where the Five Elements Temple was located.
Entering the mountain gate, the scent of sandalwood filled the air. Clouds and mist swirled, the heaven and earth energy was thick, and the Five Elements rules were active, nurturing many exotic plants and rare sacred beasts with Five Elements attributes.
Green pines and verdant cypresses were scattered in an orderly fashion. Young Saint Realm Daoist disciples could be seen everywhere, male and female, discussing world affairs, laughing, or dueling with swords and debating the Dao.
"Greetings, Uncle Master! It's been years!"
"The Grandmaster has returned!"
"Grand Venerable Zhen Yuan has returned to the temple! Go inform the Temple Master!"
Along the way, Daoist disciples recognized Zhen Yuan one after another and bowed.
Gradually, news of Zhen Yuan's return to the Five Elements Temple spread, causing quite a stir.
The Divine Wood Garden was Zhen Yuan's cultivation ground.
Before the Temple Master died, Zhen Yuan was responsible for guarding and tending the ginseng fruit tree in the Divine Wood Garden. This was a first-class important site in the Five Elements Temple, off-limits to ordinary disciples.
The ginseng fruit tree was the spiritual root of the entire Five Elements Heaven Domain, making the heaven and earth energy of the entire Five Elements Temple far richer than elsewhere.
"Heavenly Venerable, you two can stay here temporarily. I must go pay respects to the Temple Master." The Temple Master Zhen Yuan referred to was Jing Daoren.
Zhang Ruochen said, "From now on, address me as Daoist Sheng Si. Do not reveal my identity to the Temple Master. I am a poor Daoist here to study at this number one sacred land of the Daoist sect!"
Zhen Yuan instructed the disciples "Qing Feng" and "Ming Yue" to take good care of Daoist Sheng Si, then headed toward the Five Elements Temple at the mountain peak.
The Five Elements Temple was located at the mountain peak. The main hall was built from divine wood, shaped like five stars surrounding the moon.
Around it were temples built from various extreme Five Elements substances, planted with divine trees. Every step offered a new view, bustling yet dignified. This was where gods and their direct disciples lived.
The Tian Ling Temple at the northeast corner of the main hall was the former secluded dwelling of Jing Daoren. It covered a thousand acres, built around a lake, with a very elegant environment.
After becoming Temple Master, Jing Daoren naturally moved out of Tian Ling Temple and into the main hall.
The current owners of Tian Ling Temple were a Daoist couple, highly cultivated but reclusive, rarely seen by others, quite mysterious.
If Zhang Ruochen entered Tian Ling Temple, he would surely recognize the couple. They were Void Heaven and Peacock Heavenly Empress.
Both wore green Daoist robes embroidered with cloud patterns and Eight Trigrams designs.
They posed as a couple to hide their identities.
In Void Heaven's view, hiding in the Five Elements Temple allowed him to cultivate freely, absorb heaven and earth energy, and use Jing Daoren's power to monitor the world, keeping his ears and eyes open.
Who would guess that he, Xu Fengjin, was not hiding in the Void World but so blatantly in plain sight?
In short, his good brother Jing Daoren was stuck with him.
Earlier, Void Heaven had witnessed the shocking battle outside the Heavenly Court, his heart surging with excitement as he thought of a shortcut.
"The power of the Ancestral Dragon's corpse is truly formidable."
Void Heaven rubbed his hands, took out the Sword Ancestor's skeleton from his sleeve, and impatiently laid it on the ground. He studied it with various methods—refining it with divine fire, knocking and tapping, injecting sword qi.
He felt that the Sword Ancestor's strength in life was not weak, capable of contending with a peak-state Immortal and escaping.
Few in history could do that.
The power contained in his skeleton must be extraordinary.
He believed that the reason the sword bones could not unleash the same combat power as the Ancestral Dragon's corpse was that the power deep in the marrow had not been activated.
The combat power displayed by Dragon Scale made Void Heaven's eyes burn with envy.
It could even clash several times with an Ancestor.
Having exhausted his methods, the Sword Ancestor's skeleton remained unchanged.
"It seems I'll have to refine the sword bones into my body and slowly comprehend and digest them. Oh, and there's the sword heart I tricked out of Zhang Ruochen before going to the God Realm. If I refine the sword source, sword bones, and sword heart into one, won't my cultivation and combat power reach a new level?"
Void Heaven's eyes turned fierce, his desire for combat power burning.
He had long wanted to do this, but he worried that Zhang Ruochen might rise from the dead and come asking for them back, making it hard to explain.
"Who's there?"
Void Heaven roared.
Jing Daoren pushed the door open and entered. On his head, like Void Heaven, grew a tree—a bronze divine tree, with ten fireball-like fruits hanging from it.
Jing Daoren glanced at Peacock Heavenly Empress standing on the pavilion, then at Void Heaven studying the sword bones nearby. "Why so angry? After your body petrified, can you only vent your inner fire through your mouth?"
The Sword Source Divine Tree was made of stone.
After Void Heaven's physical body merged with the Sword Source Divine Tree, it was already half-petrified, extremely hard.
Void Heaven had lofty ambitions. He was once someone who wanted to contend with Fengdu Dadi for the position of Hell Realm Heavenly Venerable, harboring the ambition to be number one under heaven.
Now, half-Ancestors and even Ancestors kept popping up.
How could he stand it? Could he not be anxious? Could his fire not be great?
Void Heaven said coldly, "You've grown bold, daring to speak to me like that?"
Intimidated by his half-Ancestor aura, Jing Daoren restrained himself and said in a low voice, "Something big has happened in the Heavenly Court. Do you know?"
"Anyone with eyes knows," Void Heaven said.
Jing Daoren said, "I'm not talking about the battle outside the Heavenly Court just now. It's about the Heavenly Palace. It's said that when Hao Tian died, he passed the position of Heavenly Palace Master to the Old Man of Life and Death, and that Old Man is coming to the Heavenly Court to take the throne!"
"Really?" Void Heaven said disdainfully, "Just an Ancestor's remnant soul. Hao Tian must have been muddled. It might not even be as good as Xuan Yuan Tai."
"Who says it isn't?"
Jing Daoren stroked the metal beard on his chin, his eyes shifting. "What do you think of me?"
"What do you mean?" Void Heaven asked curiously.
Jing Daoren said, "The position of Heavenly Palace Master..."
"You've lost your mind."
Void Heaven poured cold water on him without mercy.
Jing Daoren was displeased. "The ultimate treasure of the Five Elements, the Bronze Divine Tree represents metal and wood. The ten Golden Crow Great Sun Stars represent fire. I've completely refined these three, even sacrificing my physical body for them. I'm already refining the Five Elements Earth."
"Now I only lack water! Once I refine water, I can also compete for the position of Heavenly Palace Master."
Void Heaven felt annoyed and shook his head repeatedly. "Second Brother, since becoming Temple Master, you've become this inflated. Even I don't have that kind of ambition. Is that position something you can sit on?"
Jing Daoren said, "Old Ghost Void, don't forget the promise you made when I took you in. You said you would help me suppress the Weak Water and assist me in cultivating the Five Elements Ancestral Body."
"I haven't forgotten, I haven't forgotten. But you're too impatient. It's only been a few hundred years. What's the rush? The Mother of Weak Water hasn't appeared either. Where can we find it? If you can't wait, go absorb the Wuding Divine Sea?" Void Heaven said.
Absorb the Wuding Divine Sea?
Jing Daoren didn't have the guts to start a war with the entire Sword Realm.
Jing Daoren squinted with a smile: "Think about it. If I become the Heavenly Palace Master, the Sword Dao Essence in the hands of Xuanyuan Lian and Feng Yan would be within easy reach. With their Sword Dao Essence, the Sword Dao Essence you control would reach fifty percent! If you become the Sword Dao Overlord, how much would your combat power increase?"
Void Heaven sneered.
He felt Jing Daoren was drawing him a pie.
Whether it was the position of Heavenly Palace Master or the Sword Dao Essence in Xuanyuan Lian and Feng Yan's hands, Jing Daoren was absolutely out of reach.
Void Heaven said, "I think you're just crazy about the Five Elements Ancestral Body! To tell you the truth, even if you get the Weak Water, you won't be able to cultivate the Five Elements Ancestral Body. You'll never become an Ancestor in this life."
"The ten Golden Crow Great Sun Stars can represent the ultimate of fire? No, you'd need the Ancestral Divine Source of the Blazing Sun Ancestor for that."
"Can the Five Elements Earth represent the ultimate of earth? Probably not quite. The legendary Origin Mud is the true ultimate of earth."
"Second Brother, wake up. Your cultivation has been rising too fast lately. Your mind hasn't stabilized. You're too inflated. Cultivation requires taking it step by step."
Jing Daoren shook off Void Heaven's hand, stepped back two paces, and pointed behind Void Heaven. "You tell me to take it step by step? Then what are you doing with the Sword Ancestor's skeleton?"
"There aren't many years left until the Great Calamity of Quantities. Step by step? There's no time. We have to take risks. I want to get stronger. I want to compete for the position of Heavenly Palace Master because I think Xuan Yuan Tai isn't qualified, and I don't trust that damn Old Man of Life and Death. I don't want to die as miserably as Senior Brother, the Truth Temple Master, and Zhang Ruochen."
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