Chapter 4187: The Old Bastard of Life and Death
If the fake Emperor Dust had not shown himself, Zhang Ruochen truly would not have dared to act rashly.
Now, it was fine. Even if he directly intervened in this battle in Paradise Realm, no one would connect him to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen looked down through the sea of clouds and saw Chi Yao's figure amidst the shattered Mal Mountains.
She had not entered the Ancestor Realm. Instead, together with Zangjin Baihu and Jinni Laozu, she guarded the entrance to the Ancestor Realm, her aura majestic, intimidating heaven and earth.
Twenty-six layers of magnificent and grand celestial worlds had opened up an independent space, more dazzling than the entire starry sky.
Ke Yangshan stepped forward, bowed to Zhang Ruochen, and spoke with righteous indignation: "The top experts of the Hell Realm, the Corpse Nightmare Faction, and the Sword Realm are stirring up trouble on the territory of the Heavenly Court Universe. This is a complete disregard for the Heavenly Venerable. We implore the Heavenly Venerable to uphold justice for Paradise Realm."
"We implore the Heavenly Venerable to uphold justice for Paradise Realm."
One after another, figures radiating divine light bowed and shouted.
Shang Tian could well understand Zhang Ruochen's predicament. It was obviously impossible for him to order Zhang Ruochen to suppress Feng Tian, Xue Jue, and the others.
Suppressing A Fuya would offend Corpse Nightmare.
On the surface, Zhang Ruochen was playing along with the God Realm to buy time, exchanging pleasantries.
But in secret, he still had to ally with Corpse Nightmare to resist the God Realm.
Thus, Shang Tian said: "Why not let them fight it out among themselves? As long as the battle does not spread within Paradise Realm, I, this old man, would be happy to watch from the sidelines and enjoy the show."
In Shang Tian's view, Chi Yao and Zhang Ruochen were two completely different types of people.
The former had a more aggressive and sharp style of conduct; it was impossible for her to let go of her hatred for Paradise Realm, and she might very well take this opportunity to retaliate.
But Zhang Ruochen, once he said something, he absolutely meant it. If he said the grudge with Paradise Realm was settled, then it was truly over. There was no need to worry about him being capricious.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen clearly had a greater sense of the bigger picture. Since he had become the Heavenly Venerable of the Heavenly Court Universe, he would certainly act in accordance with his position.
Most importantly, the reason Chi Yao was guarding the entrance to the Ancestor Realm was obviously to intercept any cultivators from the Corpse Nightmare Faction who might come to the rescue.
If Corpse Nightmare made a move, an Ancestor-level battle would erupt, and the entire Paradise Realm would definitely be scoured clean.
How many people would be left alive by then?
Whether the entire great world would still exist was an unknown.
So Shang Tian's words, "the battle does not spread within Paradise Realm," seemed simple on the surface, but actually also included the hope that Zhang Ruochen could block Corpse Nightmare from coming to the rescue, as well as the Hidden Corpse who might come to take the Undying Bone and the Ancestor Blood Wings.
How could Zhang Ruochen not understand the underlying meaning? He said: "After A Fuya merged with her own Ancestor corpse and Ancestor Divine Source, her cultivation is indeed unfathomable. She can be considered a core figure of the Corpse Nightmare Faction. But Lord Murong is watching from the Seventy-Two Layer Tower. Shang Tian, do you think he dares to come?"
"This battle, A Fuya was already in a hopeless situation. She should never have fought Feng Caiyi. Instead, she should have secretly invited Corpse Nightmare first."
Shang Tian said: "If she had invited Corpse Nightmare, even if she killed Feng Caiyi, the benefits she could obtain would not be much. She would forever lose the chance to stand as an equal against Corpse Nightmare. Perhaps she did not anticipate that the three great experts of the Undying Blood Clan were also hiding in Paradise Realm, or perhaps she no longer had time to wait and had to take a desperate gamble. In short, one wrong thought, and the whole game is lost."
As an outsider, Zhang Ruochen and Shang Tian had a clear view of the strength of both sides.
A Fuya had a higher cultivation and could mobilize the power of the Ancestor Realm.
But Feng Caiyi possessed the Victory Crown, which could compensate for the gap in realm. Releasing the Yao Zu Ridge could counter the power of the Ancestor Realm.
Before the Mal Temple collapsed, A Fuya could borrow the rule patterns left by the past deities of Paradise Realm within the temple for her own use, perhaps giving her an advantage. This was the fundamental reason she dared to take the risk!
But now that the temple had collapsed, the combat power of the two was evenly matched.
The addition of the Undying War God, Blood Absolute Clan Leader, and Ice King was enough to lock in the advantage, putting the Hell Realm camp in an invincible position.
Chi Yao, blocking the entrance to the Ancestor Realm, directly pronounced A Fuya's death sentence.
After all, A Fuya's betrayal had caused considerable losses to the Sword Realm back then.
"How about leaving A Fuya a way out?"
Corpse Nightmare's voice, accompanied by strands of heaven and earth rules, reached Zhang Ruochen's ears.
After Hongya Wang died, the cultivators Corpse Nightmare could use were few and far between. That he would appear in the nearby star domain was within Zhang Ruochen's expectations.
Zhang Ruochen used his divine thought to converse with him across the void: "I cannot save her! Yan Zu should know that Ancestors have their own battles, and those below Ancestors have their own conflicts. If Yan Zu could make a move to lure away Chi Yao and Lord Murong, I, this poor Daoist, could give it a try."
No further response came from Corpse Nightmare in the void.
If he truly wanted to save her, Zhang Ruochen certainly could save A Fuya, but it would inevitably come at an intangible cost.
If A Fuya had not betrayed him before, Zhang Ruochen would have been willing to bear that cost and make a move to save her.
After all, A Fuya had fought alongside him many times and had helped him quite a bit.
She had strength and means.
But her ambition was too great, and her future was full of uncertainty.
Zhang Ruochen no longer needed such a person!
What Zhang Ruochen needed were either absolutely certain cultivators like the Dragon Lord, Cihang Zunzhe, and Xuanyuan Lian, or Ancestor-level beings like Corpse Nightmare, or cultivators with a glimmer of hope to attain the Ancestor realm.
They could be used to check the God Realm.
A Fuya fit neither category.
"Whoosh!"
An arrow light flew out from the Ancestor Realm.
Like a beam of light, it shot up into the sky.
It was the Hongtian Arrow!
Back then, Zhang Ruochen had helped A Fuya collect over fifty percent of the Arrow Dao Essence, helping her become the Arrow Dao Overlord and achieve a great increase in combat power.
At this moment, the power of this arrow was vast, breaking through the spatial order Chi Yao had arranged at the entrance of the Ancestor Realm.
In an instant, the heaven and earth rules of the entire Paradise Realm boiled, and the sky burned like a sea of fire.
A Fuya followed closely behind the Hongtian Arrow, rushing out of the Ancestor Realm.
Her entire body was wrapped in divine flames, holding a longbow in one hand and a blazing halberd in the other. There were three damaged spots on her armor. Clearly, the clash within the Ancestor Realm had put her at a disadvantage.
Chi Yao had been waiting for this moment. Her gaze turned cold in an instant.
"Shua!"
Her figure shattered space, appearing above A Fuya's head.
The Blood Drop Sword drew a bloody sword aura waterfall, slashing down from above with overwhelming force.
A Fuya raised her halberd to block, but being in a position above and below, she was already at a disadvantage in terms of power output. Moreover, Chi Yao's sword was a concentrated strike, mobilizing the power of the entire star domain and pressing it all down.
"Puchi!"
The Blood Drop Sword struck A Fuya's right shoulder, sinking three inches deep, blood gushing like a fountain.
A Fuya's escape attempt failed, and she was instead sent plummeting straight back down by Chi Yao's sword.
"Boom!"
The two women fell to the ground, heavily crashing into the ruins of the Mal Temple.
The earth collapsed with them, the surrounding ground rising up, forming a ring of dust that continuously spread outward.
By now, the Blood Drop Sword had sunk a full foot deep, cleaving into A Fuya's abdomen.
Chi Yao's gaze was as cold as ice, staring down at A Fuya, determined to slash her diagonally in two with one sword.
A Fuya was formidable nonetheless. The Ancestor Divine Blood within her body burned, her power surging. Even in such a disadvantageous position, her battle intent was still surging, her gaze resolute. She swung her divine bow, using the bowstring to strangle Chi Yao's neck.
Chi Yao released her grip on the Blood Drop Sword, which was stuck in A Fuya's body. Her form flickered, dodging the bowstring while simultaneously grabbing A Fuya's long hair and flinging her away.
In close-quarters combat, there was no flashy Dao technique, just direct physical collision.
"Bang!"
A Fuya crashed into the rubble, blood splattering everywhere.
Before she could get up, Feng Tian flew out of the Ancestor Realm, holding the Heaven Cauldron, with six volumes of the *Fate Heavenly Scripture* and twelve Gates of Fate swirling around her.
The Heaven Cauldron, like a divine mountain or great peak, descended with twelve types of Dao techniques.
A Fuya's palm was covered in blood as she struck the ground.
These Ancestor blood droplets wove into the diagram seal of the "Undying Death Curse," appearing above her head to block the Heaven Cauldron.
"Boom!"
The two forces collided, and the Mal Mountains were completely flattened.
Even with the realm-protecting grand formation activated, it could not be suppressed.
The residual destructive power of the Half-Ancestor duel spread over an extremely wide range.
In the clouds above, Zhang Ruochen caught the Hongtian Arrow, refined it in an instant, and suppressed the arrow spirit.
Then, he tucked it into his sleeve.
At the same time, he struck out the Ancestor Talisman, transforming it into an Ancestor realm domain of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix, preventing the residual power of the Half-Ancestor battle from spreading. Each divine bird talisman pattern was as large as a mountain, lifelike, like ancient divine beasts reappearing in the world.
Everything appeared so relaxed and natural, earning the utmost admiration from the trembling Paradise Realm deities.
In their eyes, the Half-Ancestor-level existence was easily suppressed by the Life and Death Heavenly Venerable.
This was an Ancestor!
"Chi Yao, Feng Caiyi, if you leave me no way out, then we will all be buried together in Paradise Realm... cough, cough..."
A Fuya was severely wounded, blood gushing like a spring. The Heaven Cauldron could pierce through the blood-red Undying Death Curse diagram seal at any moment.
"Threatening me with a self-destructing Divine Source, and you think you can buy yourself a chance to live? If I, this Emperor, had not reached the Half-Ancestor realm, you might have succeeded. But today, you have no such opportunity."
Chi Yao transformed into a beam of light, crashing through the Fate radiance erupting from the Heaven Cauldron and the blood-red Undying Death Curse diagram seal. She pointed a finger at A Fuya's brow.
"Crack!"
The skin on A Fuya's brow shattered like ceramic, spreading across her entire body.
Then, with a bang, it erupted with blazing Ancestor Divine Light, and her body shattered into countless fragments.
She was struck by Chi Yao's finger into a brief state of unconsciousness.
Standing within the Ancestor Divine Light, Chi Yao released her divine soul thoughts, rules, and order. She had to break A Fuya's Dao and find her Divine Sea and Divine Source before A Fuya regained consciousness.
Otherwise, if the Ancestor Divine Source self-destructed, she and Feng Caiyi might very well be killed by its dying counterattack.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh..."
Twelve Gates of Fate rushed into the Ancestor Divine Light, completely absorbing the Ancestor Divine Light and the fragments of A Fuya's physical body and divine soul.
On each Gate of Fate was a silhouette of A Fuya.
Feng Tian hovered in midair, her phoenix wings reflecting heaven and earth, as she drew the twelve Gates of Fate into the Heaven Cauldron.
Chi Yao's gaze sharpened as she looked upward.
Feng Tian said: "A Fuya's entire cultivation can help me, this Heavenly Lord, knock on the Ancestor's gate. I implore Empress Chi Yao to grant this request."
A Fuya had wanted to merge with Feng Tian to impact the second life of an Ancestor.
This, however, showed Feng Tian a possibility. Perhaps by seizing A Fuya's achievements from two lifetimes, she could find the opportunity to impact the Ancestor realm.
It was not that Feng Tian lacked such means.
After all, back then, the Fate Ancestor had wanted to merge with Zhang Ruochen, seizing his entire cultivation and a lifetime of fate.
Feng Tian had inherited the Fate Ancestor's entire cultivation.
Chi Yao had no goodwill towards Feng Tian. She withdrew the Blood Drop Sword, holding it in her hand, and said: "With one light sentence from you, you want to take the Ancestor Divine Source, the Ancestor Divine Body, and the vast amount of Essence that A Fuya held? What makes you think I, this Emperor, would agree?"
Feng Tian, like Chi Yao, was proud and domineering. She could lower her head slightly before Heavenly Mother and Lady Shiji, but facing Chi Yao, her competitive and aggressive nature was instantly provoked.
Her gaze was indifferent as she said: "I, this Hall Master, have decided on A Fuya. I can compensate with other things. I implore the Empress to grant this request."
The Undying War God, Ice King, and Blood Absolute Clan Leader rushed out from the Ancestor Realm one after another, all bearing injuries. Seeing this scene, they felt it was even more troublesome than dealing with A Fuya.
The Undying War God and Ice King both looked at the Blood Absolute Clan Leader.
"The Sword Realm and the Hell Realm cannot fall out. We must also face the threats from the Immortal and the Ancestor together. Blood Absolute, why don't you go and persuade them?" the Undying War God said.
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader shook his head.
Could this be persuaded?
Even if Zhang Ruochen were here, it would probably be difficult.
In the end, the Ice King stepped forward as a mediator, saying: "Empress, Hall Master, the Sword Realm and the Hell Realm will need to cooperate sincerely in the future to face the Great Calamity. Do not destroy the foundation of our cooperation over temporary gains and losses."
Chi Yao's gaze never left Feng Tian. "Leave the Victory Crown, and you may take A Fuya and leave."
Feng Tian showed no intention of removing the Victory Crown. Instead, she activated the Ancestor Divine Source on the crown, causing it to radiate a brilliance like a blazing sun, and said: "I knew your goal was the Victory Crown. This crown is on my head, but you are welcome to come and take it."
Shang Tian, standing beside Zhang Ruochen, murmured: "One is the Lord of the Sword Realm, the other is the Hall Master of the Destiny Temple. Each controls a faction. As leaders, they should consider the bigger picture. Can't they each take a step back?"
Xiang Chunan, standing within the formation not far away, said: "How can they take a step back? If Feng Tian retreats, she has to hand over the Victory Crown. If the Empress retreats, she has to hand over A Fuya."
"This isn't about interests at all!" Feng Yan said.
Zhang Ruochen's form flickered, appearing in the ruins of the Mal Temple. His Ancestor aura erupted, and he said: "Everyone, this is the Heavenly Court Universe. Isn't it inappropriate for you to be dueling here?"
Chi Yao had always suspected that the "Life and Death Heavenly Venerable" was Hao Tian, so she held him in considerable respect. She said: "Since the Heavenly Venerable has spoken, we will naturally leave Paradise Realm and duel beyond the heavens, deciding the ownership of A Fuya and the Victory Crown through strength. Hall Master Feng, do you dare to spar a little? We will stop at the touch."
"Then let's fight!" Feng Tian said.
Still want to duel?
Zhang Ruochen knew very well that what Chi Yao wanted was never the treasures on A Fuya, but the Victory Crown.
How could Feng Tian possibly hand it over?
Stop at the touch? Zhang Ruochen didn't believe it for a second.
In this matter, Feng Tian was indeed in the wrong. While Chi Yao was breaking A Fuya's Dao and seeking her source, she had snatched A Fuya away. However, using the Twelve Fate Phases and the Heaven Cauldron to suppress A Fuya was indeed the best way to prevent her from self-destructing her Divine Source.
After all, Chi Yao did not have a one hundred percent certainty of suppressing A Fuya's self-destructing Divine Source.
Fortunately, with Zhang Ruochen's current identity, he didn't need to reason with them or distinguish right from wrong. Instead, he could use the advantage of his identity and strength to solve the problem from a higher dimension.
On the Seventy-Two Layer Tower, behind Lord Murong, one figure after another appeared.
The five Ancestor corpses that had gone to chase Zhang Ruochen returned one after another.
Further away were the Divine Martial Envoys "Wu Ying" and "Wu Yan," as well as several Doomsday Priests.
"Its Dao technique is profound. After entering the Void World, it vanished without a trace. Even the Buddha Ancestor's Blue Lamp could not illuminate or find it. The First-Rank Divine Path is well-deserved."
The voice came from within the headless skeleton of Buddha Ancestor Jiaye.
In the bone cavity of the ribs floated a mass of cyan flame.
The shape of the flame was a Buddha's head. It was a blue lamp cultivated from within the Buddha bone. Once activated, it could illuminate a star domain one light-year across, making all hidden things visible.
Of course, Ancestors were an exception.
The headless skeleton of Buddha Ancestor Jiaye was possessed by a Buddhist cultivator named "Zhi Hui," cultivated by the God Realm.
Zhi Hui's cultivation was at the peak of the Half-Ancestor realm.
Among the Ten Thousand Generations and Nine Ancestors of the God Realm, he was second only to Lord Murong and the Ancestor Dragon Corpse.
Lord Murong gazed into the distance towards Paradise Realm and said: "No matter. As long as he is truly Zhang Ruochen, forcing him to show himself is an easy task."
The corpse of the Blazing Sun Ancestor said: "The Corpse Nightmare Faction, the Sword Realm, and the Hell Realm are actually fighting among themselves. This is a great blessing. Why not take this opportunity to wipe them all out?"
"What is the reason?" Lord Murong said. "Before the Eternal True Ruler emerges from seclusion, we must not act rashly."
"Letting them hide again will make them hard to find!" the Blazing Sun Ancestor corpse added. "Aren't we trying to force Zhang Ruochen to show himself? This is a perfect opportunity."
Lord Murong showed a look of interest.
"Is the Heavenly Court Universe a place you can come and go as you please?"
Zhang Ruochen waved his long sleeve, and instantly the sky was filled with clear radiance, as if a layer of brilliant and dazzling green gauze covered heaven and earth, pressing Chi Yao and Feng Tian, who were about to go beyond the heavens to duel, back to the ground.
Chi Yao's eyes were filled with confusion, not knowing what this Life and Death Heavenly Venerable intended to do.
Was he going to mediate between her and Feng Caiyi?
Feng Tian did not have the same respect for him in her heart. She said displeasedly: "The Heavenly Venerable's Dao technique is profound. I, this Hall Master, admire it. But if you want to keep us here, you must have a reason, right?"
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was sharp, showing no sign of friendliness: "How many innocent cultivators of Paradise Realm have died in this battle of yours? The Mal Temple, which has stood for a billion years, has been reduced to ruins. An area of a hundred thousand miles has turned to scorched earth. Within the Ancestor Realm, living beings are suffering."
"And you think you can just walk away?"
"How can the dead rest in peace? The dignity of Paradise Realm is gone, and my authority is swept away. And you ask for a reason? You, Feng Caiyi, are far too arrogant and have shown too little regard for the Heavenly Court Universe."
Hearing this, many Paradise Realm deities were deeply moved.
Who would have thought that an Ancestor would offend the Hall Master of the Destiny Temple and the Empress of the Sword Realm to uphold justice for Paradise Realm?
How could such a Heavenly Venerable not be worthy of respect?
Shang Tian remained expressionless. How could he not see through Zhang Ruochen's tricks?
Paradise Realm suffered heavy losses?
Naturally, it was heavy.
But the destructive power of a Half-Ancestor-level duel was too wide. Casualties were inevitable. Even they themselves could die in battle. There was simply no way to care about the life and death of low-realm cultivators. A great world could be annihilated in an instant.
The current losses of Paradise Realm were completely acceptable.
Shang Tian himself had not even thought of pursuing the matter.
Feng Caiyi looked at Zhang Ruochen thoughtfully, secretly pondering what this successor of Hao Tian was trying to do.
Those with sufficient cultivation would not think that the "Life and Death Heavenly Venerable" was upholding justice.
They would only think that he was using the situation to make a point, or even taking advantage of the chaos to rob.
"Heavenly Venerable, you may not be aware. It was A Fuya who set up a killing formation in the Mal Temple, intending to deal with Feng Tian. We can only be considered acting in self-defense."
The Undying War God strode forward, bowing respectfully to Zhang Ruochen.
The Blood Absolute Clan Leader and Ice King followed closely behind, also bowing.
No one dared to be arrogant before an Ancestor.
"A Fuya caused this great disaster. I, this Heavenly Venerable, will settle accounts with her myself. But what about you? Why are you in Paradise Realm? If you had not been hiding in Paradise Realm, how could Paradise Realm have suffered this calamity?"
The "Life and Death Heavenly Venerable" was furious, and deafening Ancestor thunder echoed through the sky.
It could be said that heaven and earth shared his anger.
Zhang Ruochen made a grasping motion with his void hand, and space trembled.
Instantly, the Heaven Cauldron, which had been suppressed by Feng Tian within the Yao Zu Ridge, was forcibly seized by Zhang Ruochen.
"You old bastard of Life and Death, you go too far!"
Feng Tian was not one to fear whether the opponent was an Ancestor. In an instant, her fury burned the heavens.
A phoenix cry pierced the clouds. Holding the blazing halberd she had taken from A Fuya, she attacked Zhang Ruochen.
The Undying War God, Blood Absolute Clan Leader, and Ice King all changed expression drastically, wanting to stop her, but it was too late.
"Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen stood still, striking the sharpest point of the blazing halberd with his fist. The mere force of his fist blew away the raging flame divine fire on Feng Tian's body.
The fingers of her hand holding the halberd split, blood flowing freely.
Then, Zhang Ruochen took a step forward and pressed his palm against Feng Tian's chest, sending her flying backward.
This step, this palm strike, appeared extremely slow and composed, but with Feng Tian's cultivation, she was completely unable to avoid it, unable even to react or defend.
Feng Tian flew back several thousand miles, as if all the power in her body had been scattered. She relied on the blazing halberd to support herself on the ground, barely managing to stay upright.
A trail of blood hung at the corner of her mouth, and the hand holding the halberd trembled incessantly.
The power of an Ancestor was too terrifying, completely unassailable. Two moves had nearly rendered her combat ineffective.
"Return the Victory Crown to me... You're asking for death!"
Feng Tian discovered that the Victory Crown had been taken by Zhang Ruochen. She gritted her teeth, her long hair flying up, instantly burning her divine blood and lifespan, unleashing her strongest combat power.
In an instant, a hellscape of corpses appeared behind her, and a blood-red radiance enveloped the entire Paradise Realm.
Corpse Nightmare was bound to take the two cauldrons, and he was in the nearby star domain. Feng Tian had exposed her whereabouts, so she could not escape!
Zhang Ruochen could only use his own methods to resolve this calamity for her.