Chapter 965: Four Letters Have Already Been Sent
After spending five days, Zhang Ruochen and Shengshu Cainü finally returned to the surface, seeing the snow-covered mountains, the bright sunlight, and the streams flowing beneath the ice, which gave them a feeling of having survived a great calamity.
At the same time, Shengshu Cainü's injuries had fully healed. Her fair skin had regained its lively luster, and she stood gracefully amidst the swirling sacred mist, like a fairy from a painting.
She bid farewell to Zhang Ruochen at the foot of the snowy mountain.
"Before you leave, help me with one thing," Zhang Ruochen said.
He took out the ice-cold box he had retrieved from Mei Lanzhu and said, "This box has a complex array seal on it. I can't open it with my spiritual power."
Shengshu Cainü took the ice-cold box, held it in her palm, and examined it for a moment.
Then, her hand gently brushed over the surface of the box.
Instantly, the powerful seal shattered like a thin sheet of paper, dissolving into nothingness.
Zhang Ruochen was inwardly amazed.
His spiritual power was indeed far inferior to Shengshu Cainü's, and he silently resolved to spend more time cultivating his spiritual power in the coming days.
After all, controlling time and space required a high level of spiritual power.
To fully master the "Eighth Level of Time," he would need to further enhance his spiritual power.
Shengshu Cainü handed the ice-cold box back to Zhang Ruochen, her eyes filled with emotion, as if she wanted to say something but held back.
There were some words she ultimately couldn't bring herself to say. She could tell that Zhang Ruochen seemed to be deliberately avoiding the topic.
"I hope we meet again."
With just that one sentence, Shengshu Cainü turned around and took a step forward. When her foot landed, she was already dozens of miles away, leaving only a graceful silhouette behind.
With another step, her silhouette completely disappeared.
Zhang Ruochen let out a soft sigh and then focused his gaze on the ice-cold box.
With the array seal gone, the temperature radiating from the box became even colder.
"Click!"
He opened the box and saw a crystal-clear pill lying inside. The surface of the pill emitted four rings of white sacred light, and the rich fragrance of the pill was overwhelming.
Just breathing in the aroma cleared his meridians and refreshed his mind.
"Fourth-Rank Sacred Origin Pill."
Zhang Ruochen was both surprised and delighted.
He hadn't expected that the treasure inside the ice-cold box was exactly the pill he urgently needed right now.
Was this too much of a coincidence?
"Mei Lanzhu's cultivation had reached the peak of the Third-Step Half-Saint. She was probably planning to take the Fourth-Rank Sacred Origin Pill soon to break through to the Fourth-Step Half-Saint."
Zhang Ruochen closed the ice-cold box again, a slight smile curling at the corner of his mouth. With this Fourth-Rank Sacred Origin Pill, he should be able to break through to the Fourth-Step Half-Saint realm soon.
In the distance, a scroll painting flew through layers of snowy mountains toward Zhang Ruochen, hovering a few zhang above the ground.
"Swoosh!"
Xiao Hei burst out of the scroll painting, landed on the ground, and stared wide-eyed in shock. He circled around Zhang Ruochen a few times, looking incredulous, and said, "Tsk, tsk! Zhang Ruochen, you actually crawled out of the Endless Abyss? The First Gradient really exists? What's down there? Are there any ancient sacred artifacts left over from antiquity?"
"There's nothing down there."
Zhang Ruochen didn't want to talk about what was at the bottom of the Endless Abyss. He extended a hand and said, "Give me back my four letters."
Xiao Hei lowered his head, stammering a little, "I thought... I thought you were definitely dead. The day after you left, I gave the four letters to Murong Yue and had her use the Black Market's network to send them out for you."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. He tried to keep his tone as calm as possible, saying, "Then have her send someone immediately to retrieve the letters."
Xiao Hei was indeed unreliable.
The contents of each of the four letters were things Zhang Ruochen had wanted to say from the bottom of his heart, and naturally, they contained many secrets.
If he had truly died in the Endless Abyss, it wouldn't have been a big deal for the recipients to know those secrets.
But now, he was still alive.
"I hope they can still be retrieved."
Zhang Ruochen watched as Xiao Hei turned into a black streak of light and disappeared into the sky, letting out a long sigh. His mood was extremely complicated at the moment.
He wasn't afraid that the Black Market people would know the contents of the letters. After all, the people Murong Yue sent to deliver them were certainly loyal and trustworthy.
The key issue was: what if the letters actually reached Empress Chi Yao?
The Black Market's network spanned every corner of the world, and there was almost nothing they couldn't do. They definitely had ways to present the letters to Empress Chi Yao.
For example, they could disguise the letter as a military dispatch, which would be sent up by soldiers from the Ministry of War.
Without any review, the letter would appear on Empress Chi Yao's desk in the imperial study.
At the same time, he sent a sound wave using the technique of transmitting sound over a thousand miles to Shengshu Cainü, who hadn't gone far, asking her to also keep an eye out.
If the letters had already been sent and reached the Purple Micro Palace, Shengshu Cainü, given her status, might still have a chance to intercept them.
Shengshu Cainü had just owed Zhang Ruochen a huge favor, so she naturally had to help with this.
However, she was still a bit curious: why would Zhang Ruochen write to the Empress?
And what was in the letters?
Zhang Ruochen walked alone through the snow, carefully calculating, and muttered to himself, "Of the four letters, the one to Kong Lanyou in the Sacred Bright Imperial City is the closest."
Between Tiantai Prefecture and the Sacred Bright Imperial City, there was a wormhole connecting the two places. If the Black Market was fast enough, she might have already received the letter.
In the letter, Zhang Ruochen didn't mention that he had gone to the Endless Abyss. He just casually talked about old times and some childhood memories.
But as soon as Kong Lanyou saw the letter, she would know he was still alive.
"Sooner or later, she'll find out. Why worry about it?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head and stopped thinking about it.
It wasn't a big deal if she knew the truth.
After all, Zhang Ruochen would eventually go to the Sacred Bright Imperial City to pay respects to his mother. By explaining in advance, their meeting would be more straightforward.
Now that he had rescued Shengshu Cainü, Zhang Ruochen's biggest problem was how to refine and eliminate the Blood God Gu.
Although Zhang Ruochen could barely withstand the gnawing of the Blood God Gu, as long as it remained alive in his Qi Sea, it was still a major threat.
In just a few days, the aura emitted by the Blood God Gu had strengthened considerably, and it was about to reach the Sixth-Step Half-Saint realm.
Once it reached the Sixth-Step Half-Saint, the Blood God Gu's power would grow even faster, posing an even greater threat to Zhang Ruochen.
A few days ago, Zhang Ruochen had asked Shengshu Cainü about it.
Shengshu Cainü, being highly knowledgeable and well-versed in the world's secrets, was known in the Kunlun Realm as "All-Knowing."
"All-Knowing" was indeed an exaggeration.
However, her understanding of the Blood God Gu far exceeded Zhang Ruochen's. She told him a method: "Since the Blood God Gu is refined from the corpse worms of the Blood God's divine corpse, as long as you find the Blood God's divine corpse, the gu worm will naturally leave its host and return to the corpse."
At the time, Shengshu Cainü was somewhat suspicious and repeatedly asked Zhang Ruochen why he was asking this question. Zhang Ruochen naturally didn't tell her the truth and made up an excuse to brush it off.
"Where is the Blood God's divine corpse stored? It seems I can't leave the Blood God Sect just yet."
Zhang Ruochen once again arrived at Cangtian Valley, preparing to return to the Netherworld Heavenly Palace camp.
However, just as he reached the valley entrance, a rumbling sound came from within.
Even the ground began to shake.
Two teams of black-armored flag bearers, riding barbarian elephants and holding war weapons, charged out of the valley, surrounding Zhang Ruochen in three layers.
There were two hundred flag bearers in total, each exuding a powerful battle aura. They looked down at Zhang Ruochen with murderous intent.
In addition, figures flashed out from the Netherworld Heavenly Palace camp.
"Gu Linfeng has been missing for so many days, and he's still alive? Unbelievable."
"So many people died, but how is he the only one to return alive? Maybe we can interrogate him to find out the truth about the Divine Son's death."
"Flag King Zhao Wuliang has been missing for several days. I wonder if he's still alive."
...
A few days ago, the Netherworld Heavenly Palace had lost five flag masters in a row, and even the Divine Son of the Blood God Sect had died.
Additionally, Zhao Wuliang, the Flag King of the Sixth Battalion, and the newly appointed Flag Master Gu Linfeng had gone missing.
This series of events caused a huge uproar in the Netherworld Heavenly Palace and even throughout the Blood God Sect. The Sect Leader of the Blood God Sect was furious and demanded a thorough investigation.
Before returning to the Netherworld Heavenly Palace, Zhang Ruochen had mentally prepared himself, so he wasn't flustered at all.
Among the crowd, Zhang Ruochen caught a glimpse of the Blood God Sect's Holy Maiden, Shangguan Xianyan. Her body was surrounded by rings of sacred light like ripples on water, making her look both alluring and holy.
Her eyes were fixed on Zhang Ruochen, carrying a hint of a captivating smile. That smile seemed to hold deeper meaning, making her quite inscrutable.
Besides her, Zhang Ruochen also saw Zhao Shiqi and exchanged a glance with him.
A burly flag master, riding a giant beast, stepped out from between the two teams of flag bearers, stared at Zhang Ruochen, and said coldly, "Tie up Gu Linfeng. Vice Palace Master Yao wants to interrogate him personally."
Immediately, two flag bearers approached with Dragon-Locking Chains and bound Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen didn't resist, remaining calm throughout.
The death of the Divine Son was indeed a major event, and anyone related to it was suspect. The Netherworld Heavenly Palace's actions were understandable.
If Zhang Ruochen had resisted, he might have been killed on the spot. The Netherworld Heavenly Palace could simply claim that he had killed Mei Lanzhu, and that would be enough to satisfy the Sect Leader of the Blood God Sect, since there would be no evidence to the contrary.
Since Zhao Shiqi was still alive, Zhang Ruochen had nothing to fear. He just needed to handle things carefully. (To be continued.)