Yueshen had been known as the most beautiful goddess in the Celestial Court for ten thousand years. Many deities had been courting her and setting her as their next target after achieving divinity.
But, they all failed.
That was how aloof Yueshen was.
After she refined the Moonleaf of the Sacred Seven-star Lingzhi, Yueshen had recovered half of her strength. Not only had her spiritual energy become more powerful, but her out-of-this-world vibe had also become more apparent. She was otherworldly, elusive, and nimble.
Endowed with a stunning appearance, perfect figure, and an ethereal aura, even real gods would fall for her, let alone Zhang Ruochen and Supreme Saint Manjian.
Zhang Ruochen and Supreme Saint Manjian were self-abased in front of her. They did not know why they felt that way; it just came out of nowhere.
As if their achievement of Saint Kingship and Supreme Sainthood was meaningless, Yueshen regarded them just as the mortals.
Fortunately for Zhang Ruochen and Supreme Saint Manjian, they could still hold themselves together. Other cultivators would have bowed before the goddess in the same situation.
However, Yueshen was not consciously releasing her spiritual energy or using other powers. She just stood there quietly like a sculpture.
“This is what a god is. Even though she does nothing but stand there, every being goes down on their knees.” Zhang Ruochen quickly collected himself and turned his self-abasement into motivation.
He wanted to achieve divinity and be on equal terms with Yueshen one day.
“Yueshen,” Zhang Ruochen and Supreme Saint Manjian greeted.
“Manjian, leave me for now!” said the tall and graceful Yueshen, who was standing in the highest position.
Supreme Saint Manjian left Guanghan Temple, and the insanely intimidating power finally felt somewhat reduced.
He let out a long sigh. “It seems Yueshen has recovered over half of her divine strength. Even with my current level of cultivation, I felt nervous in front of her. Zhang Ruochen is much stronger; he could still withstand that pressure with his Saint King rank!”
Inside Guanghan Temple, Yueshen walked down the stairs toward Zhang Ruochen. “Do you know why I have summoned you back to Mount Yueshen?”
“Something to do with the Kunlun Realm?”
Zhang Ruochen looked up in puzzlement.
Yueshen did not directly answer Zhang Ruochen. “What happened during the battle at Xumi Dojo?” she asked after some hesitation.
“Deities are all-knowing. How could you, Yueshen, not know what happened during the battle at Xumi Dojo?”
“The Fane of Truth is keeping things under wraps. Even the deities are not able to uncover what happened that day. However, judging from Yanshen’s urgency in going to the Celestial Domain of Truth, the battle at Xumi Dojo must have been earthshaking and profoundly impactful,” said Yueshen.
Enlightenment spread across Zhang Ruochen’s face, and he told Yueshen about the conflict that broke out at Xumi Dojo.
Yueshen listened attentively. When she heard about the defeat of the Heavenly Realm’s Saint Kings and the death of Gong Ziyan, there was fleeting emotion in her eyes.
“Mobilizing over a thousand talented Saint Kings to ambush a few dozen cultivators from the Kunlun Realm and failing miserably at it… The Heavenly Realm must have been terrified. They probably thought that the Kunlun Realm had not declined but set a trap to kill them,” Yueshen said.
“They might have very well thought so.”
Zhang Ruochen chuckled. “I am curious, though. Why did the Heavenly Realm not intercept Supreme Saint Manjian and the others when they left the Celestial Domain of Truth? Have they abandoned the kings who are confined in the fane?”
“Abandon? How could this be?”
“It looks like you do not understand how great the impact of this battle is.
“Had they been ordinary Saint Kings, the gods would not have batted an eyelid even if ten or even twenty thousand of them had died. But for those who could cultivate in the Celestial Domain of Truth, achieving the rank of Saint King and staying there meant that every one of them was on their way to achieving the Supreme Saint rank. A couple of them might have even become gods, so they represented the future of the Heavenly Realm.
“As such, even with its profound background, suffering such a casualty has really put a dent in the Heavenly Realm’s strength.”
Yueshen stared at Zhang Ruochen. “What are you going to do with those Saint Kings from the Heavenly Realm?”
Zhang Ruochen’s face turned grave. “The Heavenly Realm has always been our archenemy. Since we have captured their Saint Kings, there is no way we are going to let them go.”
There was a cold look in Yueshen’s eyes; apparently, she shared the same opinion as Zhang Ruochen. “You are not suited to deal with them at your current level. Leave them to me!”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “You cannot take life on a whim in the Celestial Court even though you are a god. Those Saint Kings of the Heavenly Realm have indeed committed serious crimes by killing the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm, but Yueshen, your intervention would break the rules. Even if you want to put them on trial, it would be better to leave the job to the Kunlun Realm or Celestial Domain of Truth.”
A dazzling, colorful divine light appeared overhead, turning the sky above Mount Yueshen into a rainbow-colored sea as powerful divine energy approached Mount Yueshen from afar.
The divine energy, unlike Yueshen’s restrained version, carried a terrifyingly oppressive power. Its presence instantly made every living being on Mount Yueshen fall down on their knees.
Even Supreme Saint Manjian had to bend his body forward. His neck stiffened and his head hung low in a bow as if Heaven was on his back.
“Empress Chi Yao calls on Yueshen.”
A loud, deafening female voice rang in the air.
Inside Guanghan Temple, a soft glow emanated from Yueshen’s glittering body and engulfed Zhang Ruochen. He instantly felt lighter as Chi Yao’s divine energy dissipated.
“She’s quick!” said Zhang Ruochen.
A moment later, blinding multicolored divine light rushed into Guanghan Temple.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes were wide open as he stared into the light and finally made out Chi Yao’s appearance.
Surrounded by the divine glow, Chi Yao was clad in a golden silk robe, and her hair was tied up in a bun. The overpowering energy she radiated was brutal.
When Chi Yao walked past Manjian, the Supreme Saint with extremely advanced cultivation and powerful will, felt weak in the knees and knelt on the ground.
In terms of beauty, Chi Yao and Yueshen were equally pretty, but their vibes separated them.
One was otherworldly while the other was domineering.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly spotted another beautiful figure beside Chi Yao.
She had fair skin, and elusive eyes that held the powerful energy of a Supreme Saint. However, her hair was gray, and there was a melancholiac quality about her.
She was Kong Lanyou.
With a deep hatred toward Chi Yao, Kong Lanyou had been at loggerheads with Chi Yao for the past eight hundred years. Why did she appear together with Chi Yao today?
Zhang Ruochen could not have felt more shocked. He did not know what to make of it.
“Did you not want to see me, Zhang Ruochen? I am here now, yet you are hiding behind a woman.” Chi Yao’s voice was beautiful, but it sounded bossy, reeking of ridicule and disdain.
Zhang Ruochen’s pupils contracted, and he stepped forward.
Yueshen wanted to stop him, but Zhang Ruochen just shook his head. The moment he left the protection of Yueshen’s divine light, powerful divine energy pressed down on him.
His bones started to crack as if his body was being crushed.
He did nothing but stood there, staring Chi Yao in the eye. He allowed the blood to flow down his body to the ground as his skin split open. “I have never hidden. I have been waiting for you.”
Kong Lanyou could not bear to see what was happening to Zhang Ruochen. She looked over to Chi Yao, who did not bother to look at her.
“A Saint King who refuses to bow before me really has guts.”
Right after that, the divine energy and colorful divine light returned into Chi Yao’s body like a receding tide.
Feeling a sense of relief, Zhang Ruochen quickly summoned the circulating Saint energy in his body and quickly healed his cracked skin.
Chi Yao put her hands behind her, and her posture accentuated her beautiful curves. “Did you not say that if I were to come and see you in person, you would hand over the Chaotic Space-time Lotus? Here I am. Hand it over now!”
Yueshen stepped forward and moved next to Zhang Ruochen. “This is Mount Yueshen, not your Golden Hall of Yaochi. Zhang Ruochen is my divine envoy now, not a being in your Kunlun Realm. How dare you bluster about in my place!”
Chi Yao’s expression turned sullen as a piercing glow appeared in her eyes, making them look like a pair of divine swords.
“Zhang Ruochen, the Chaotic Space-Time Lotus is a precious article, which Saint Monk Xumi obtained from the depths of the universe’s place of origin, Haishi Star Bastion. You are his successor, so the Chaotic Space-Time Lotus is yours. You do not have to hand it over to Chi Yao.”
Yueshen continued after a pause, “Chi Yao, you might have achieved divinity not long ago, hence your inexperience, but you need to have some decency. Had Zhang Ruochen not come to the rescue, all of the Kunlun Realm’s elites would have died in the Xumi Dojo battle, let alone capture the dojo and take the Chaotic Space-Time Lotus. Therefore, the Chaotic Space-Time Lotus rightly belongs to Zhang Ruochen.”
Chi Yao chuckled. “I might have just achieved divinity recently, but I have killed a god from the Infernal Court. I guess you, Yueshen, do not have this track record even after your return to the Celestial Court?
“I call a spade a spade and will reward Zhang Ruochen for the help he has provided to the Kunlun Realm. But bear in mind that the Chaotic Space-Time Lotus is a precious article given by Saint Monk Xumi to the Kunlun Realm. No cultivator outside of the Kunlun Realm shall be in possession of it.”
“I, too, can claim that the Chaotic Space-Time Lotus is a precious article given by Saint Monk Xumi to Zhang Ruochen,” Yueshen said.
With a flick of the slender fingers on Chi Yao’s right hand, a jade seal shot out and hovered above the air in Guanghan Temple.
A paragraph of Sanskrit text appeared on the jade seal’s surface.
The Chaotic Space-Time Lotus is stored in Xumi Dojo, and bringing the Lotus Seed of Life there will revitalize it. I hereby gift it to the Kunlun Realm, hoping that it will help stop the incoming onslaught from the Infernal Court and enable the Kunlun Realm to seize any opportunity during disasters, fight your way out of the rattrap, bring down the wall, as well as become great again.
Chi Yao looked at Yueshen and Zhang Ruochen with her beautiful eyes. “This is a divine decree that Saint Monk Xumi sent through space and time from a hundred thousand years ago. What do you have to say about it now?”
