Chapter 801: Meeting in the Underworld
In the corpse river, the moment the body of Shou Shu touched the water, it immediately transformed back into its original form.
The body of the Divine Demon Rat was six zhang long. The left side of its body radiated white holy light, while the right side emitted black demonic light. One yin, one yang—two streams of energy circulated and flowed across its form.
The Divine Demon Rat discovered that the water of the corpse river could not harm it at all, and naturally became cocky. It let out a cold snort: "The Divine Demon Rat clan, in the ancient era, fed on the most poisonous and filthy things under heaven. Don't mention a mere corpse river—even if it were the Yellow Spring of Hell, what could it do to me?"
Xiao Hei found the Divine Demon Rat's smug attitude extremely irritating. So, he rushed to the edge of the corpse river, grabbed the rat's tail, dragged it back to the shore, and gave it another thorough beating.
The Divine Demon Rat kept begging for mercy before Xiao Hei finally stopped.
In the end, the Divine Demon Rat still carried Mu Lingxi and Xiao Hei across the corpse river, heading into the underworld.
Arriving in the underworld, the yin energy permeating the air became noticeably denser, and the temperature dropped several times over. The soil on the ground was mixed with blood-red ice particles.
Mu Lingxi was quite cautious. Sensing something, she immediately looked up.
"Whoosh!"
Two streams of black ghostly energy, each hundreds of meters long, flew in from the distant horizon. They landed atop two massive tombstones by the corpse river, condensing into ghostly forms that took the shape of a male and a female Wuchang.
The man standing on the left had pitch-black skin all over. His eyeballs seemed wrapped in cyan ghost fire. Holding a simple saber one zhang and two chi long, he looked down at Mu Lingxi, Xiao Hei, and the Divine Demon Rat. "Daring to break into the underworld—are you looking for death?"
Xiao Hei clicked his tongue, making a sound. He jumped down from the Divine Demon Rat's back, then kicked the rat on the rump. "Go on, eat him."
"Why is it always me dealing with the trouble? Why don't you make a move?" The Divine Demon Rat looked very defiant, a fierce light flashing in its eyes and sharp teeth bared, ready to fall out with Xiao Hei.
After all, it was a primordial remnant, the boss of the Ten Thousand Beasts Palace of the Moon-Worshipping Cult. When had it ever suffered such humiliation? Even the Divine Son Ouyang Huan wouldn't dare treat it like this.
The fierce light in Xiao Hei's eyes grew even stronger. He sharpened his claws and walked toward the rat, sighing inwardly—this Divine Demon Rat still needed to be taught a lesson.
Seeing Xiao Hei's gaze, the Divine Demon Rat's heart trembled. The unbearable memories of the past flooded its mind. Instantly, its fierce aura retracted, and it became like a little lamb. "Cat Lord, rest assured. The Divine Demon Rat clan eats heaven above and earth below. A mere Wuchang is nothing—we'll devour it without issue."
Not daring to hesitate, the Divine Demon Rat immediately extended its two sharp claws, mobilized the demonic energy within its body, and executed the Demon-Slaying Claw, attacking the male Wuchang atop the tombstone.
The male Wuchang's eyes turned cold. He swung his simple saber, dragging out a blade light dozens of meters long, slashing downward from above.
The strength of Wuchangs varied. Some could only compare to a first-step Half-Saint, while others could contend with a ninth-step Half-Saint.
The Wuchang before them was far weaker than Haochuan Wuchang. The power he exerted was roughly equivalent to the early stage of a second-step Half-Saint.
The Divine Demon Rat, having consumed the Great Saint Heavenly Connection Tea at the Realm Son Banquet, had already broken through to Half-Saint, reaching the early stage of first-step Half-Saint. Its strength had increased many times over. With just one claw, it sent the male Wuchang flying.
"Let me help you!" the female Wuchang snorted coldly.
Then, the two Wuchangs, one male and one female, joined forces to attack the Divine Demon Rat.
The Divine Demon Rat's body grew larger and larger. The divine-demon energy on it transformed into a patch of black-and-white clouds, sweeping the two Wuchangs inside.
"Let's retreat first and report to Haochuan Wuchang. Let him deal with this creature."
Knowing they were no match for the Divine Demon Rat, the two Wuchangs immediately turned into two clouds of ghostly mist, flying backward in an attempt to escape.
Ten li away, Zhang Ruochen stood beneath a tombstone. Seeing the two streams of ghostly energy fleeing through the sky, he immediately unleashed the Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Vase.
"Swoosh!"
The Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Vase floated in midair. At its mouth, a powerful suction force formed, drawing one of the Wuchangs into the bottle.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
...
The Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Vase shook violently. Rumbling sounds echoed from within.
A Wuchang's combat power could rival a Half-Saint after all. Even after being trapped inside the Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Vase, it continued to rampage, trying to escape.
The sacred-artifact-level Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Vase was deformed by the impact, as if it might crack.
"A Wuchang's attack is truly terrifying."
Zhang Ruochen struck out with both hands, sending a stream of sacred energy to retrieve the Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Vase. He held it between his palms, fully activating the inscriptions on the vase, and gradually suppressed the Wuchang inside.
At another location, Shi Ren took a white talisman from his sleeve and held it between his index and middle fingers.
The white talisman immediately radiated rings of light, extending a hundred zhang outward.
"Swish!"
Shi Ren shot the white talisman into the ghostly mist and uttered a single word: "Freeze."
Immediately, the other Wuchang fell from above, crashing to the ground with a thud.
The white talisman was pressed against the male Wuchang's chest. From within the talisman, strands of white light surged out, piercing through the ghostly body and completely sealing all its ghostly energy.
Zhang Ruochen glanced in Shi Ren's direction, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
This man's talisman arts were quite formidable. With just one talisman, he had managed to seal a powerful Wuchang.
By the corpse river, Xiao Hei extended a claw, pointing at the Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Vase flying in midair, and laughed loudly: "Look, the Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Vase—it must be Zhang Ruochen!"
Mu Lingxi's face also lit up with joy. Unable to contain her excitement, she used her movement technique and immediately rushed toward where the Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Vase was descending.
Moments later, Mu Lingxi transformed into a graceful shadow and appeared opposite Zhang Ruochen.
Her eyes shimmered with crystalline light, on the verge of tears but not quite crying. Her expression was somewhat sorrowful as she stared at Zhang Ruochen across from her.
In truth, Zhang Ruochen had sensed Xiao Hei's presence and had stayed by the corpse river to wait for him.
However, Zhang Ruochen hadn't expected Mu Lingxi to come chasing after him as well. After all, the Fallen God Tomb Forest was extremely dangerous. Even a slight misstep could cause a Saint to fall. Zhang Ruochen himself had entered the Fallen God Tomb Forest with the resolve to die.
Seeing Mu Lingxi, a complex expression appeared in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. He let out a soft sigh.
What was she doing in such a dangerous place?
Mu Lingxi stared at Zhang Ruochen for a long moment before her tears turned into a smile. She turned into a fragrant breeze and rushed toward Zhang Ruochen, like a swallow returning to its nest. She stretched out her fair, slender arms and wrapped them around his neck.
Zhang Ruochen could clearly feel Mu Lingxi's soft body, but no impure thoughts crossed his mind. After a moment of silence, his eyes showed struggle, bitterness, and guilt.
In the end, his gaze turned resolute. "Senior Sister Duanmu, Yanchen and I... are already married."
These very plain words struck Mu Lingxi like a thunderbolt. Her body trembled violently. Her smile froze in an instant. She immediately released her arms and stepped back several paces.
Mu Lingxi lowered her head, looking flustered and at a loss. She bit her lip, her eyes red and swollen. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't know you two were already married. When did it happen? Why didn't you notify me? You should have told me."
Zhang Ruochen knew very well how much those words had hurt Mu Lingxi.
After all, Huang Yanchen was her closest sister. If Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen weren't married yet, she could still convince herself to strive for her own happiness, to compete with Huang Yanchen.
But now, Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen were already married. If she were still tactless and continued to pursue Zhang Ruochen, she wouldn't be able to get past her own conscience.
Yet Zhang Ruochen had to tell her the truth. If he kept it from her, he wouldn't be able to get past his own conscience either.
"I'm sorry. The marriage between Yanchen and me was indeed a bit rushed," Zhang Ruochen said as calmly as possible.
Then, both of them fell into silence, each harboring their own thoughts.
Meeting in the underworld should have been a joyful occasion, but now Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi kept their distance—not just physically, but also in their hearts.
Xiao Hei walked on two paws, weaving out from among a large cluster of tombstones. His tail and ears were both sticking straight up. He glanced at Mu Lingxi. "What's wrong? Duanmu girl, you finally see your beloved—why are you crying instead?"
"No, I'm not."
Mu Lingxi blinked her eyes vigorously. The tears in her eyes vanished instantly, and she lifted her head again.
Zhang Ruochen glared at Xiao Hei. "The Fallen God Tomb Forest is such a dangerous place—why did you bring her here?"
Xiao Hei looked very wronged. "How can you blame this emperor? Back then, when the undead army charged into the Divine Altar City, we barely fought our way out. We were planning to escape to the Central Domain. But Duanmu girl was worried about your safety and insisted on returning to the Liangyi Sect. This emperor couldn't stop her."
"But the Liangyi Sect was surrounded by the undead army on all sides, layer upon layer. Even if we were Saints, charging in might not have opened a path to survival."
"Of course, going to the Liangyi Sect was out of the question. But this emperor sensed the aura of the Cosmic Divine Wood Map, so I knew you weren't at the Liangyi Sect at all—you had come to the Fallen God Tomb Forest."
"At the time, this emperor only mentioned it casually, but she insisted on coming to find you, no matter what. What could I do?"
At the Realm Son Banquet, after Mu Lingxi was captured by Snake Two, she was imprisoned in the Divine Altar City.
When the undead army broke into the Divine Altar City, Xiao Hei brought Mu Lingxi out through the encirclement and escaped. Later, they came to the Fallen God Tomb Forest, met Zhang Ruochen, and this scene unfolded.