While in the Fane the Truth, from the conversation between Divine Scripture Maiden and Mu Lingxi, Zhang Ruochen heard something about Huang Yanchen.
He thought she was dead.
Little did he expect he would see her again in such a place, with such identity, under such circumstance.
“What’s wrong, Big Brother? Are you all right?”
Feng Yan had noticed something was not right about Zhang Ruochen.
It was dangerous to lose one’s concentration while facing enemies like the Deathkin and the God-Eater Bugs.
Hering Feng Yan’s voice, Zhang Ruochen, came out of his thoughts. He eased up his tightly clenched fingers and let out a sigh. “I am okay. Just thought of something.”
Feng Yan was relieved. His worst fear was to see something happen to Zhang Ruochen in a moment like this.
Just now, Zhang Ruochen looked as if he was possessed, and that scared the hell out of him.
“She is Pan Ruo. She was the one who ordered the two Deathsworn Guards to kill you,” said Ji Fanxin.
Back then, after suppressing the man and woman of Supreme-Saint elephant and dragon souls, it was Ji Fanxin who retrieved the intelligence from their souls.
The most valuable intelligence was the appearance of Pan Ruo, one of the three Lady candidates of the Fane of Destiny, in Xianji Mountain showed that the Fane of Destiny was behind the installations in Xianji Mountain.
“Pan Ruo.”
Zhang Ruochen muttered her name as he looked again at the familiar yet strange figure on the back of the Nine-Headed Black Tortoise.
After having eye-to-eye with Zhang Ruochen for a while, Pan Ruo looked away. She appeared calm, as if nothing had happened before.
As soon as Pan Ruo appeared, the three white-robed priests immediately stood behind her with respect. Although they had attained Path’s Anterior in their self-cultivation, they still revered Pan Ruo.
Even if Pan Ruo might not be the Lady of the Fane of Destiny in the future, her status would still be extremely high. She was not someone they could not compare with.
A violent tremor followed by a loud rumble came as a series of forces pounded against the Altar of Death from underneath.
Pounding the altar was none other than the God-Eater Bugs.
A massive number of blue-fired bugs illuminated the underground dimension. It looked as if something happened in fantasy.
Those Death Knights hiding in the dark rushed out and climbed onto the altar for fear of getting attacked by the bugs.
It scared the hell out of them when they witnessed their mate burned into ashes alive.
Not that they were afraid of death. Just that they did not want to die for nothing.
“The God-Eater Bugs are pounding the altar, sir! The altar is not going to hold. What should we do?” A white-robed priest looked nervous.
While even the Neverwither Supreme Saint-level attack had failed to make a dent on the Altar of Death, these unassuming God-Eater Bugs were posing a grave threat to the altar. By the looks of these bugs, they seemed wanting to eat the altar as lunch.
But Pan Ruo appeared calm. “The Divine Sky-Connecting Tree practices the Path of Life. It was the nemesis of the Deathkin. Since the God-Eater Bugs and the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree are kindred, they share the same ability. Don’t worry. I will tame them.”
The Nine-Headed Black Tortoise roared. It swept the Nether River at those God-Eater Bugs.
The Nether River engulfed the God-Eater Bugs rushing out of the dark hole in the blink of an eye.
Because of the Nether River, those God-Eater Bugs thinking of flying out were forced to retreat underground.
Without the illumination from the bugs, the underground dimension fell into darkness again. A rich evil air of death started to pervade the air.
Even then, the Altar of Death was apparently experiencing problems after the bug attack. It could no longer draw the Power of Revival, at least for now.
Pan Ruo suddenly moved, leaving the back of the Nine-Headed Black Tortoise and the altar, storming into the dark hole beneath.
“The Divine Sky-Connecting Tree, the legendary spiritual root of heaven and earth in Kunlun Realm. I will become god if I can get my hands on it.” There was a light in Bi Yunhai’s eyes.
It was a fetish that was craved even by the Supreme Saints and gods.
With no hesitation, Bi Yunhai performed a technique. His body faded in a stream of light as he lunged toward the pitch-dark hole.
He was now obsessed with the fetish and couldn’t care less about any other things, not even Fairy of a Hundred Flowers.
“Kill anyone who dares get close!”
A white-robed priest with a vertical eye on the forehead shouted.
As the Shadow of Death reached out a hand, the Will of Death formed into an aggressive, black dragon from hell, which then pounced at Bi Yunhai.
A stern look flashed in his eyes as Bi Yunhai performed an Azure Sky-Sea Palm, forming a tidal wave to slam against the black dragon from hell.
Boom!
The black dragon from hell crushed the tidal wave and struck Bi Yunhai’s chest with its claw.
The blow sent Bi Yunhai flying out backward, puking a mouthful of blood. Apparently, he had been wounded badly.
“You are overconfident of yourself.” The white-robed priest with a vertical eye sneered.
Bi Yunhai put his hand on his chest, nearly burping up another mouthful of blood. He was furious.
At first, he thought since the altar was experiencing problems, it would not pose much of a threat. Little did he expect it could still easily hurt him.
He felt humiliated as Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin were watching.
Many thoughts flashed across his mind. He suddenly lifted off in the air. “The Divine Sky-Connecting Tree of the Kunlun Realm is still alive. Right under the Xianji Mountain,” he shouted.
Since he could not get in alone, he thought he might as well rock the boat, getting more people involved.
It would be a free-for-all from now on, as each was trying to take the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree.
Bi Yunhai’s voice traveled as far as ten thousand miles. Everyone in and around Xianji Mountains had heard him.
“I can’t believe that the spiritual root of heaven and earth of the Kunlun Realm is still alive!”
“The Divine Sky-Connecting Tree is the oldest living being in Kunlun Realm, extremely powerful and possessing countless secrets. We will become gods if we could get your hands on it.”
“The Divine Sky-Connecting Tree practices the Path of Life. It is a nemesis of us, the Deathkins. We must not let it fall into the hands of the Celestial Court. We have to get it before them.”
“The Divine Sky-Connecting Tree was cut down a hundred thousand years ago and has since gone missing. It turns out it is in Xianji Mountain. It looks like we aren’t here for nothing.”
…
Everyone—the Celestial Court and Infernal Court cultivators—had lost the will to fight each other when they heard the words ‘The Divine Sky-Connecting Tree.’
They stopped fighting tacitly, then performed whatever techniques they could to rush toward the center of Xianji Mountain. No one wanted to miss this once-in-a-life-time opportunity.
In the underground dimension, Zhang Ruochen frowned at what Bi Yunhai had done. The broadcasting of the finding of the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree was a bad idea.
The more fighters there were, the harder it became in retrieving the trunk of the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree.
Zhang Ruochen turned his head to look at Feng Yan, Xiang Chunan, and Pei Yutian. “The dimension where the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree lies is rigged with dangers. You all had better not go in there. Find a way to destroy the Altar of Death, if can. Run immediately if things get wrong. Don’t worry about me.”
He thought for a moment, then took out a Dimensional Teleportation Scroll. “Take this. Just in case.”
He could not bring himself to risk his brothers’ lives. After all, this had got nothing to do with them.
“What are you talking about, Big Brother? Just because it is dangerous, we have more reasons to stick together. We are brothers, remember?” Xiang Chunan said.
Feng Yan took the scroll and pressed his hand on Xiang Chunan’s shoulder. “Listen to Big Brother, Brother Xiang. We are no good here. Instead of trying to help, we could be a liability. Why not we stay outside and we might be able to help Big Brother at the critical moment?”
“But…” Xiang Chunan was very reluctant.
“There is no but. Time’s a-wastin’. We can’t wait anymore. Be careful, Big Brother,” said Feng Yan.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. “Don’t worry. I will be fine. Let’s move, Fairy.”
Ji Fanxin said nothing, just going ahead with Zhang Ruochen at once. She was even more eager than Zhang Ruochen was in getting the trunk of the Divine Sky-Connecting Tree.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin came rapidly toward them, the three white-robed priests made their moves to stop the two. The Shadow of Death waved its black sickle, striking it through the air at an incredible speed at the two.
The black sickle shot past Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin. It missed its target.
Using a Dimensional Shift, Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin reappeared above the dark hole, then lunged into it with no hesitation.
“Damn-it!”
The three white-robed priests were outraged after failing to stop Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin.
They could not help it. Zhang Ruochen possessed the elusive dimensional skill, and the Altar of Death had temporarily lost connection with Xianji Mountain, losing control over the surrounding space. All they could do was to watch as Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin intruded into the dimension below.
But they knew how powerful Pan Ruo was. Even though Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxi had gone inside, they would get nothing out of it.
Bi Yunhai’s face was not looking good either. While Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin had gone in, he was forced to stay outside. Xuanyuan Liekong and others would laugh at him when they arrived.
Feng Yan, Xiang Chunan, and Pei Yutian were standing on the evil spirit’s head, their eyes looking up.
“It’s coming fast. We have got to move to one side,” said Feng Yan.
The evil spirit swayed its massive body and flew to hide in a dark corner. They did not want to be the bull’s eye.
Not that they were sacred. With the evil spirit and Xiang Chunan’s Metal Demonic Crown here, they might not lose if they had to fight any top fighter.
Besides, they had the Dimensional Teleportation Scroll with them. They could leave any time if something went wrong, and no one could stop them.
So they were calm, totally like spectators watching events unfolding.
Shadows rapidly descended from the sky. Those powerful forces of saint Qi, demonic Qi, evil air of death and whatnot started to spread in the air.
All eyes were on the pitch-dark hole beneath the Altar of Death.
No God-Eater Bugs were present, but there were traces of the saint Qi of the wood spirit along with a hint of Qi of the Divine Tree that counteracted the evil air of death.
Everyone could sense a rich breath of life rushing out of the dark hole, making a stark contrast with the surroundings.
