Chapter 4185: Feng Tian and A Fuya
The Maer Temple was situated atop a majestic navy-blue mountain range, constructed from massive boulders, serving as the entrance to the Paradise Realm's Ancestor Realm. It was ancient, sacred, and awe-inspiring.
Maer was the name of the Ancestor of Great Radiance.
Feng Tian walked alone along the ridge of the Maer Mountains. Beneath her feet were withered grass, black stones, and ice and snow, while the cold wind howled like the roar of wild beasts.
The temple was right before her, majestic yet solitary, with no guards in sight.
The sky above was shrouded in the divine radiance of light, and a divine rope could faintly be seen stretching across the north and south like a heavenly river.
She was dressed in red robes, wearing a veil, appearing so light and delicate, utterly out of place with the desolate and grand surroundings.
Her body seemed ethereal, illusory and hazy.
It was the power of "Nothingness" among the Twelve Phases of Fate that constantly enveloped her, concealing her heavenly fate and aura, evading the perception and calculations of the Ancestor.
In the current universe, figures at the Heavenly Venerable and Half-Ancestor levels all cherished their lives, choosing to seclude themselves in seclusion and arduous cultivation.
Waiting quietly for the next great upheaval in the cosmos.
Lord Murong, with his ninety-fifth-level spiritual power, had emerged and stood above the Seventy-Two Layer Tower, overseeing the Heavenly Court and Hell, the ten directions of the starry sea. Logically, Feng Tian should have hidden herself even more discreetly, but a letter she had received not long ago had compelled her to reveal her true form and come to the Maer Temple.
"Come to the Maer Temple immediately for a meeting."
Eight words in the letter.
Written with Zhang Ruochen's blood.
"If dust falls like Ruochen, this crown replaces the Phoenix Crown"—these words were enough to shatter all rationality in Feng Tian's heart. She was no longer that cold-blooded Death God Venerable; her heart had also found warmth.
Seeing this blood letter, how could she not come?
The main gate of the Maer Temple opened to the north, deep like a vortex of hell, devouring all spiritual power and divine soul thoughts.
Feng Tian walked up the steps unhurriedly, entering the temple.
The space inside the temple was square-shaped, extremely tall and spacious, enshrining the most top-tier gods of the Paradise Realm throughout the ages. There were thousands of statues, large and small, in various forms—angels, elves, dragons, titans, dwarves—all present.
At the center of the southern position stood a thirty-six-zhang-tall angel statue, with thirty-six wings on its back.
Beneath the statue was a woman in colorful robes, slender and beautiful, surrounded by rosy clouds, with pointed ears, clearly from the Elf Clan.
Just her back view alone could satisfy all imaginings of a peerless beauty.
Feng Tian recognized her, and her eyes beneath the veil turned cold: "So it was you who lured me here."
A Fuya withdrew her gaze from the thirty-six-winged angel statue, turned around, and looked at Feng Tian standing at the entrance, smiling sweetly: "Do you know that the blood letter wasn't given to you by Zhang Ruochen?"
Her voice was clear and extremely pleasant.
Feng Tian said: "If Zhang Ruochen were still alive and hiding in the Paradise Realm, he would appear before me directly, not lure me here."
Clearly, Feng Tian harbored doubts about the authenticity of that earlier Zhang Ruochen.
"Knowing it might be a trap, yet you still came. Good courage, Feng Caiyi. You haven't disappointed me. You are truly worthy of being the Destiny Temple's Hall Master. Among female cultivators in the world today, you can rank in the top five. In terms of boldness and courage, Lady Shiji and I are both inferior to you," A Fuya said, sparing no praise.
"Are you saying I'm more prone to impulsive actions? Not as cautious and patient as you? It doesn't matter."
Feng Tian took out the brocade cloth inscribed with the eight blood characters, waved her hand, and threw it out. "His blood—where did you get it?"
"He gave it to me," A Fuya said.
Feng Tian said: "Do you think I would believe that?"
The temple was very spacious, with the two women separated by a full hundred zhang. Every exchange of words faintly echoed.
There were no lamps lit in the temple.
They themselves were the two brightest lamps.
A Fuya's long hair emitted a rosy glow, her features exquisite, her skin like divine jade forged by the Ancestor himself, her temperament moist and tender. She said: "Guess how I knew you were hiding in the Radiant Divine Temple?"
Feng Tian naturally knew the reason.
It was because Zhang Ruochen had appeared earlier to sever the Radiant Heaven and Earth Divine Rope, but had provoked Lord Murong.
After Lord Murong made his move, Feng Tian had intended to rush out of the Paradise Realm to assist Zhang Ruochen. It was at that moment that her heavenly fate and aura had leaked out.
"I don't like guessing riddles. Let's be direct. What exactly do you want?"
Feng Tian had no goodwill toward A Fuya. If it weren't for the current cooperative relationship between the Hell Realm and the Corpse Nightmare Faction, she wouldn't even bother wasting time here.
A Fuya said: "You've already witnessed the power of the Seventy-Two Layer Tower, Hall Master Feng. To counter it, we must gather the Nine Cauldrons. I am here on the orders of Nightmare Ancestor to seek you out and obtain the Light and Destiny Cauldrons."
"Has the First Queen come a bit too early? Once Nightmare Ancestor finds the other seven cauldrons, I, as Hall Master, will surely deliver the two cauldrons to assist in the effort."
Feng Tian sensed the hostility emanating from A Fuya.
The Light Cauldron and the Destiny Cauldron were no ordinary items. Was this how one demanded them?
A Fuya's words could no longer be called presumptuous; they were outright robbery.
A Fuya smiled, a hint of a smile at the corner of her mouth: "Gathering the seven cauldrons is not difficult for Nightmare Ancestor. Because after Zhang Ruochen's death, the Hong Cauldron, Wu Cauldron, and Zhou Cauldron all fell into his hands. Combined with the Darkness Cauldron and Origin Cauldron in the hands of the Darkness Venerable Lord, that makes five cauldrons..."
"What did you just say?"
Feng Tian's eyes slanted, and the cold air of death leaked from her body, freezing the Maer Temple inch by inch with frost. "The Hong Cauldron and Wu Cauldron are in the hands of Corpse Nightmare?"
A Fuya spread a pair of burning flame-like elf wings on her back, melting the deathly frost around her, and said: "Didn't I just say it clearly? Zhang Ruochen naturally died at the hands of Corpse Nightmare. Otherwise, how would I have his blood? That's the answer you wanted!"
"Swoosh!" "Swoosh!"
Twelve Gates of Fate unfolded in the twelve spatial domains around Feng Tian.
The Victory Crown appeared on her head, and she held the Auspicious Ruyi in her hand.
In an instant, she entered a combat state, the cold air a hundred times more intense than before.
A Fuya remained calm and composed, leaning against the stone platform, and said: "That battle had nothing to do with me. I am merely stating a fact."
"You lured me here just to state a fact?" Feng Tian said.
A Fuya looked at Feng Tian, who was approaching step by step, her beautiful eyes shimmering: "Of course not! My path has hit a bottleneck. To assault the Ancestor realm, I must have a great opportunity."
"The Victory Crown is set with the Ancestor Divine Source of Wu Ancestor Chi. That is something I must obtain."
"Feng Caiyi, you must admit that your talent and comprehension are not the most top-tier. The Half-Ancestor realm is the end of your path. Even if Fate Ancestor passed on all his life's cultivation to you, it would at most send you to the peak of Half-Ancestor. You still cannot compare to extraordinary beings like Heavenly Mother, Qishier Pin Lian, and Hao Tian."
"But if you and I can merge, combining your three lifetimes of cultivation—yours, Fate Ancestor's, and Demon Ancestor's—with my two lifetimes of existence, then the Ancestor realm becomes attainable."
"At that time, you and I will be one, sharing glory and honor. Why should we submit to Corpse Nightmare? With the Nine Cauldrons in our hands, we can contend with the God Realm on the offensive, and join hands with Zhang Ruochen on the defensive. At the very least, we can stand in an invincible position."
A Fuya, Qishier Pin Lian, and Lady Shiji were all exceptionally brilliant, but even with their abilities, they could only reach the peak of Half-Ancestor.
In terms of foundation, talent, comprehension, and mental state, only Heavenly Mother could surpass them.
Chi Yao could only be considered half, because half of her foundation was forged with Zhang Ruochen's help. Given the environmental conditions and resources of the Kunlun Realm at the time, it was impossible to forge the foundation of an Ancestor.
If Zhang Ruochen hadn't passed on all his cultivation foundation to Chi Yao and instead comprehended the Wuji, continuing on his original path, he too would have been limited to a certain realm.
Only one of them could be fulfilled.
Feng Tian said: "I understand now! You want to use the Corpse Refining Forbidden Art to refine me into your body and seize my three lifetimes of achievements?"
"Both of us have flaws, but we can complement each other. This is the only way for us to jump out of the chessboard and shed our identity as pawns," A Fuya said.
Feng Tian said: "You should know that I, as Hall Master, hate hypocrisy the most. If you want to fight, be straightforward and start now."
"If you can suppress me, naturally you can do whatever you want."
"But if you are not my match, then you must be careful! I was once the Death God Venerable, and I will never show mercy to cultivators who dare to provoke me. You are dead!"
Beneath Feng Tian's feet, space rapidly expanded, revealing a vast, gray corpse sea stretching billions of miles.
Divine patterns flowed like lightning, and deathly gale winds densely filled the area.
The twelve Gates of Fate, each reaching the height of a star's diameter, respectively emitted twelve different forces: life, death, calamity, blessing, joy, anger, misfortune, fortune, emptiness, reality, past, and future.
Clearly, Feng Tian still feared Lord Murong, who was far away in the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom, so she wanted to suppress the battlefield within the twelve Gates of Fate.
What secretly surprised Feng Tian was that even though the corpse sea and the twelve Gates of Fate had created such a vast spatial expanse, the Maer Temple outside the space had become even larger.
Standing in the corpse sea, looking up.
The strip-like boulders of the temple were like the creation pillars supporting the universe.
A Fuya said: "Feng Caiyi, you are very strong. If we were elsewhere, I couldn't keep you here. But this is the Maer Temple!"
"All the various Wu Ancestors have sent their power to this era. The Empress's Empress Palace, Xuan Emperor's Kongming Ruins, Demon Ancestor's Demon Ancestor Ridge, and Ancestor Dragon's Dragon Nest. Do you know why Chi did not send his power to this era?"
Feng Tian glanced at the thirty-six-winged angel statue and waited for A Fuya to give the answer.
A Fuya laughed mockingly: "Because the Seraphim Temple that Wu Ancestor Chi sent to this era was intercepted over a thousand eons ago."
"Intercepted by you?" Feng Tian said.
A Fuya shook her head: "I don't have such great divine power. At best, I am merely a pawn of the Immortal. It was the Immortal who cultivated me to intercept the Seraphim Temple and the Ancestor Realm."
"Using an Ancestor as a pawn?" Feng Tian said.
A Fuya smiled: "How powerful was Fate Ancestor? Yet he still had to bow down and become the Nether Ancestor's Nether Son. An Immortal at their peak is enough to overshadow any Ancestor in history. It was only because the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, with his extraordinary means and meticulous layout, repeatedly struck them down that we have a place in this era."
Feng Tian said: "So, the so-called Maer Temple is actually the Seraphim Temple?"
"Maer and A Fuya's first life were contemporaries, essentially competitors. It represented the Immortal's determination to cultivate a cultivator specializing in the Path of Light to the Ancestor realm. Only by sensing light with light could one intercept the Seraphim Temple."
A Fuya continued: "After A Fuya's first life died, Maer became the strongest of that era, inheriting the Seraphim Temple, the Ancestor Realm, and of course, the Light Cauldron and the Chi Halberd."
"He and the Immortal behind him must have had some plan, intending to erase all traces of Wu Ancestor Chi's existence. Thus, Maer became the Great Radiance, and the Seraphim Temple became the Maer Temple."
A Fuya took out the Chi Halberd, held it in her right hand, and struck it heavily against the ground.
With a loud crash, a magnificent and resplendent flame battle armor enveloped her curvaceous and exquisite body, making her look like a radiant female war god.
This was Wu Ancestor Chi's war halberd!
The Wu Ancestor Chi's Ancestor Divine Source, originally embedded in the halberd, had long been dug out by Zhang Ruochen and set into the Victory Crown.
But A Fuya had refined and merged her first life's Ancestor corpse and Ancestor Divine Source, allowing her to mobilize the Ancestor Divine Qi within her body to drive the Chi Halberd. Her combat power would not diminish much.
Compared to other Ancestors, A Fuya's era was not too distant, only about a thousand eons.
The Ancestor corpse and Ancestor Divine Source still retained enough vitality and power.
Harnessing this power, her combat power was certainly not inferior to cultivators at the peak of Half-Ancestor.
"I've said all this to tell you that I too once possessed the Seraphim Temple and once cultivated the Path of Light to attain the Ancestor realm. Here, I can mobilize the power of the Ancestor Realm and also the divine patterns and rules left by the gods of the Paradise Realm throughout the ages. I am invincible beneath the Ancestor."
As A Fuya's words fell, her aura transformed from a coquettish, tender gentleness into a sharp, domineering edge.
Her eyes were like spears, and flames blazed across the sky.
"Shua!"
The Chi Halberd erupted with a terrifying power capable of destroying star domains, striking through the air in one blow.
A Gate of Fate blocking Feng Tian's front was pierced through by the halberd as if made of paper.
The tip of the halberd bloomed with divine radiance, dazzling and brilliant, breaking through ten thousand paths and ten thousand laws.
Feng Tian summoned the power of the past and future to construct a time divine sea spanning a hundred thousand years. But not only did it fail to stop A Fuya for a hundred thousand years, it couldn't even hold her for a single breath.
The halberd's tip aimed straight for her brow.
"Bang!"
The Auspicious Ruyi swung out, clashing with the Chi Halberd.
The power unleashed by the two divine artifacts was like two rapidly moving great worlds colliding. Terrifying energy ripples spread outward, shattering the veil on Feng Tian's face, revealing her cold, icy jade-like countenance.
The Auspicious Ruyi was certainly a top-tier divine artifact, but compared to the Chi Halberd, it was far inferior.
With a "crack," the Ruyi broke.
Pieces of fragments flew out, some cutting across Feng Tian's cheek, others slicing through A Fuya's hair.
Feng Tian executed her movement technique, trying to evade the Chi Halberd.
How could A Fuya let go of this golden opportunity? She took three steps forward, leveraging the advantage of her divine weapon, and thrust the halberd straight at Feng Tian's back. She aimed to severely wound her, just as she had pierced through the Gate of Fate.
Feng Tian shifted sideways and struck out with a bare palm.
This palm mobilized the power of the Victory Crown, her five fingers wrapped in divine radiance, like a white jade divine hand.
"Boom!"
The moment it touched the Chi Halberd, a violent and surging force transmitted through, sending Feng Tian flying backward, blood dripping from her fingers.
Relying solely on her physical body, she ultimately could not withstand a first-tier divine artifact like the Chi Halberd.
"The Victory Crown, set with Wu Ancestor Chi's Ancestor Divine Source, is truly formidable. It has elevated your combat power by a major level. If I wore the Victory Crown and held the Chi Halberd, with over fifty percent of the Light Esoterica, even outside the Maer Temple, I would have no opponents beneath the Ancestor."
A Fuya's cultivation was very close to the peak of Half-Ancestor, a full level higher than Feng Tian's. Naturally, she had the confidence to say such words.
"Beneath the Ancestor, can you defeat Heavenly Mother and Chi Yao? You have trump cards, and others have theirs. As for now, it's still unknown who will live and who will die!" Feng Tian said.
"The Path of Light is an eternal path. Attaining the Ancestor through light is enough to overcome all paths in the world."
A Fuya danced gracefully like a colorful butterfly, appearing slow but with mysterious and subtle movements, her speed matching that of light. Even in the time divine sea evolved by Feng Tian, she could move freely.
"Though the Chi Halberd is sharp, how does it compare to the Heavenly Cauldron?"
Feng Tian's pupils turned blood-red, and the multicolored phoenix wings on her back spread wide. The phantom of the Demon Ancestor appeared behind her, and her aura surged another level.
She held the ear of the Heavenly Cauldron, and from within her body erupted the thunderous cries of ten thousand paths and the phoenix's song. Stepping on the Gates of Fate, she matched A Fuya's mysterious movement techniques while precisely tracking the trajectory of the Chi Halberd.
"Boom!"
Her arm swung out, and the Heavenly Cauldron collided with the halberd tip of the Chi Halberd.
The power of Fate and Light erupted, tearing apart the battlefield space Feng Tian had constructed and shattering countless statues in the Maer Temple into dust.
Fortunately, before making her move, A Fuya had activated the divine patterns left by the Paradise Realm's gods throughout the ages within the temple.
Otherwise, the fluctuations of their battle would inevitably have leaked out.
At this moment.
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader, transformed into "Jia Cangtian," had just arrived outside the temple.
Seeing the temple shake slightly, a sense of foreboding immediately arose in his heart.
"Old fellow, you're a Half-Ancestor. How about you go in first and check the situation?"
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader communicated with the Undying War God, who was hiding in his Divine Realm World.
"You are at the Heavenly Venerable level. Emperor Dust left you a pile of trump cards and means. What are you afraid of? Don't worry, Feng Caiyi invited us to the Maer Temple. It must be good news. Maybe it's about dividing up the Ancestor Realm," the Undying War God said.
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader arrived at the main gate of the Maer Temple and walked up the steps step by step. He always felt the steps were shaking, so he cautiously took out the Blood Dragon War Halberd.
He stepped into the temple in one stride.
This step seemed to bring him to another world.
A void world with violent and chaotic battle fluctuations, boundless and filled with all kinds of divine light. Order and rules coalesced into countless destructive storms.
The blood within the Blood Absolute Clan Leader's body unconsciously began to flow faster.
He saw, in the void, two stunning women locked in combat, fighting at close quarters. One had phoenix wings on her back, the other elf wings.
Their duel displayed both fierce and ruthless aspects, as well as the unique mysterious techniques and miraculous abilities of women's combat, combining hardness and softness, with endless illusions.
Just as the Blood Absolute Clan Leader figured out what was happening, he immediately raised the Blood Dragon War Halberd. But a beam of divine radiance had already landed on him, sending him flying out of the Maer Temple and crashing thousands of miles away.
"Boom!"
The earth shook from the impact, and a huge crater appeared on the plain.
"It's A Fuya and Feng Caiyi."
After the Blood Absolute Clan Leader roared this, the Ice Emperor and the Undying War God turned into two blood rays, flying out of the Divine Realm World and instantly returning to the mountain peak.
The two each summoned their war artifacts and, without any hesitation, charged into the Maer Temple.
Feng Caiyi was the Hall Master of the Destiny Temple and one of the leaders of the Hell Realm. Naturally, the gods of the Hell Realm had to advance and retreat with her.
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader, with a bloodstain at the corner of his mouth, returned to the outside of the Maer Temple. He looked up at the Radiant Heaven and Earth Divine Rope above, as if he could see Lord Murong sitting at the end of the rope.
A strand of spiritual power swept over him.
"Since we're already exposed, there's no need to hide anymore!"
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader fixed his gaze on the Maer Temple. The blood within him flowed like rivers, and his divine body grew larger and larger. He prepared to directly overturn the temple, breaking A Fuya's geographical advantage.