While Saint Monk Xumi’s Oracle was suspended in the air, Zhang Ruochen’s Ring of Dimensions vibrated for a second.
“What is happening?”
Zhang Ruochen focused his mind into the Ring of Dimensions and found that the sundial he had obtained from the Phoenix Nest had sensed something and was glowing.
He was delighted. “Has the tiny trace of Saint Monk Xumi’s divine power in the Oracle excited the sundial?”
Rakshasa Princess once said that Saint Monk Xumi used to be the owner of the sundial.
The sundial possessed the secrets of Lieshen[1]’s Divine Star Soul. It could lead to the discovery of Saint Monk Xumi’s grave, and the interest behind it was immense.
Since the day Zhang Ruochen got his hands on the sundial, it had shown no reaction although he had studied it many times.
He was, of course, overjoyed at seeing the sundial come to life.
If he could find Lieshen’s Divine Star Soul and control the Orion Eight Stars, he would not fear the Supreme Saints.
That is not right. Saint Monk Xumi’s long beard also possesses divine power. Why did the sundial not react to it? Could there be some deeper connection between the Oracle and the sundial?
Zhang Ruochen thought to himself, trying to figure out a way to snatch the Oracle from Chi Yao.
Saint Monk Xumi had passed down the Oracle to Chi Yao one hundred years ago. It had to be of the rarest material for it to withstand the weathering of space and time.
Not only that, the Oracle possessed Saint Monk Xumi’s divine power, which was branded with divine writings. All of that had created a mighty divine will with an incredible amount of power and turned it into a priceless article.
Hence, it was impossible for Chi Yao to hand the Oracle over to Zhang Ruochen.
Should he ask Yueshen to take it by force?
He shook his head. He still had those Saint Kings from the Heavenly Realm in his hands right then.
So, the gods of the Heavenly Realm must be watching me and could come at any time.
If Yueshen and Chi Yao got into a fight, the Heavenly Realm would surely take advantage of it.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was deep in thought, he sensed a glare being aimed at him.
It was from Chi Yao.
She studied Zhang Ruochen and nodded her head. “Zhang Ruochen, you used to be one of them. You have an intricate connection with the Kunlun Realm.
“Now, the Kunlun Realm is facing its biggest crisis. Why don’t we bury the hatchet and work together to fight off the Infernal Court’s invasion?
“If you are willing to return to the Kunlun Realm, I will appoint you as emperor and bestow the land that used to belong to the Central Shengming Empire on you. You will rule over the land and establish your own government, second only to mine.
“That way, the government will not arrest and kill the Central Shengming Empire’s former officials. Their families will then not have to worry and live in exile. They can live in peace and even gain prosperity.”
Zhang Ruochen burst into laughter. “Who do you think I am, Chi Yao? You think you can buy me off with just the position Shengming’s emperor?
“First of all, for the sake of the Kunlun Realm’s people, the Central Shengming Empire’s former officials, my family, and friends, I would return to the Kunlun Realm to do everything within my ability, without the need for you to mention it. But now that I have heard what you said, I only feel disgusted,” said Zhang Ruochen. “Do you not want the Chaotic Space-Time Lotus? I can give it to you, but you must answer a few questions.”
“You want to find out why I wanted to kill you eight hundred years ago, right? You do not even have to ask. I can tell you right away.” Chi Yao seemed indifferent.
Zhang Ruochen’s heart skipped a beat; the question had been bothering him for a long time. He had wanted to know the answer since the beginning.
There was a bitter expression in Chi Yao’s eyes, and she did not want Zhang Ruochen to see her actual expression. “It’s because the blood of the Immortal Vampires, one of the ten races in the Infernal Court, is flowing in your veins. Your mother was the Blood Empress, one of the Kunlun Realm’s three empresses eight hundred years ago. Is that a good enough reason?”
The truth came as a bolt from the blue, and Zhang Ruochen was rooted to the spot. He could not believe what he had heard.
Saddened upon seeing Zhang Ruochen’s reaction, Kong Lanyou glared at Chi Yao. “You promised not to tell him this secret.” Her voice trembled.
Chi Yao appeared even more austere. “Hear that? You may not want to believe me, but you should trust Kong Lanyou. The Blood Empress is your biological mother. There is only an empty coffin in the empress’s tomb in the imperial mausoleum.
“Eight hundred years ago, when the Blood Empress was still young, before she attained the cultivation level of a Supreme Saint, she had fought with Kong Shangling, Kong Lanyou’s grandfather and owner of the Peacock Manor, once.
“Kong Shangling had turned into a colorful peacock and swallowed the Blood Empress.
“However, not only did the Blood Empress survive, but she also transcended, transforming into a blood fetus after eighty-one days inside the peacock’s stomach. Then, she burst out of peacock’s body, severely hurting it.
“Instead of killing the colorful peacock, the Blood Empress left behind a toxin in its blood so that she could control its life and death.
“Her residence within the colorful peacock’s body for eighty-one days meant that the colorful peacock was her parent in a sense. Later, using her identity as Kong Shangling’s daughter, the Blood Empress met your father, Emperor Ming.”
Chi Yao took out an ancient script and threw it to Zhang Ruochen. “Your teacher, the Grand Tutor, is the author of this book. You should be able to recognize his handwriting.”
Zhang Ruochen did not pick up the script and just stood motionlessly on the spot.
He did not have to read it because he had read it when Yan Liren, the Sect of the Blood God’s Supreme Elder, passed him the Immortal Vampire Secrets.
It was just that the last page of the Immortal Vampire Secrets was missing; Zhang Ruochen did not know the outcome of the battle between Kong Shangling and the Blood Empress.
What Chi Yao said was most likely true.
Kong Lanyou called out to him softly because she was worried that Zhang Ruochen might break down after he learned the truth.
Zhang Ruochen was very emotional. He smiled only after a long while. “Since I am a half-Immortal Vampire, why did I not have the urge to drink blood until I reached sixteen?”
“Emperor Ming contained the Immortal Vampire bloodline in your body using his powerful cultivation. But as a result, you will not be able to attain the Fish-dragon Realm for the rest of your life. That was also why you were trapped in your past life until the completion of the Heaven Realm,” Chi Yao said.
“The Blood Empress had approached Emperor Ming, intending to control Central Shengming Empire through him with the ultimate target of controlling the Kunlun Realm.
“When Emperor Ming was still at the helm, the Blood Empress had half of the Shengming Empire’s government under her control through Kong Shangling and others. Later, when Emperor Ming found out who the Blood Empress really was, he joined hands with Emperor Qing, trying many times to get rid of the Blood Empress. Yet, all of their attempts failed.
“Emperor Ming only succeeded in throwing the Blood Empress into the endless abyss after she gave birth to you and was at her weakest.”
“Since the Blood Empress died eight hundred years ago, why did you still try to kill me? Why did Emperor Qing still invade the Central Shengming Empire?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
“Because there was intel that Emperor Ming did not kill the Blood Empress. Instead, he was being controlled by her and becoming her puppet,” said Chi Yao.
“Who was the source of the intel?” asked Zhang Ruochen.
“That is not the point. What is important is that Emperor Qing persuaded Emperor Wen and used the Chessboard of the World to deduce if the Blood Empress was still alive. It was good enough to know that the Blood Empress was still alive!”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes turned red. “So all of you conspired to kill my father and overthrow the Central Shengming Empire’s government? Then, you also killed your fiancé with your sword and got rid of me?”
“That is correct,” Chi Yao replied after a few moments of silence.
“Did we… I mean, used to… love each other when I was sixteen?” asked Zhang Ruochen.
There was a prolonged silence from Chi Yao this time. She then chuckled self-deprecatingly. “Love? Maybe, but that was eight hundred years ago. How can I recall the thoughts in my mind after so many ages? I have long forgotten about it.
“Do not tell me you are still so naïve to think that I continue to have feelings for you now, Zhang Ruochen? If so, you had better perish the thought. You are just a useful pawn in the eyes of the gods. Are you not a pawn to Yueshen too?”
“Knock it off!” Kong Lanyou snapped.
However, Chi Yao ignored her. “Since you are just a pawn one way or another, why don’t you come back to the Kunlun Realm and work for me? You will have more to gain under me. You will be second only to me. You could help the Central Shengming Empire’s former officials, get the fiefdom that everyone covets, and cultivate inside the Celestial Wheel’s saintly source.”
That was an insult! That was definitely an insult!
The fire of anger burned in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes. As he raised his arms, thirteen dragon souls and thirteen elephant souls appeared with earth-shattering roars.
Swhoosh!
He struck at Chi Yao with his palms, but his hands halted 30 meters from her, stopped by an invisible force.
He felt as though he had hit an invisible iron mountain. Sacred blood spurted out of his mouth as a powerful rebound force sent him flying back like a scarecrow.
Chi Yao hissed. “How dare a Saint King like you try to fight a god! You have overestimated yourself, Zhang Ruochen. If you do not want to be a pawn, you have to achieve the Supreme Saint rank first, or even better, transcend and become a god. Only then will you earn my respect. For now, you are a nobody, a mortal who can make no difference. Okay, maybe not. You are a useful pawn at least.”
Using her almost boneless-looking soft hand, Chi Yao held Zhang Ruochen up in the air, and the Chaotic Space-Time Lotus immediately flew into her hand from Zhang Ruochen’s body.
“Let’s go!”
Chi Yao took the Oracle as well and was about to leave with Kong Lanyou.
“Wait a second.”
Yueshen supported Zhang Ruochen, who was wounded, and wiped off the bloodstain on his mouth. “Let me correct your mistake. Zhang Ruochen is not my pawn; we are working together.”
Zhang Ruochen slowly looked up at Yueshen with a surprised expression on his face.
In the past, he used to emphasize that he and Yueshen were equal partners. But deep down, he knew very well that in terms of cultivation and strength, he was not in the same league and not an equal partner of Yueshen—he was still a pawn.
Chi Yao turned around and looked at Yueshen’s affectionate treatment of Zhang Ruochen. Her pupils contracted as her eyelids moved, but no one saw that subtle reaction of hers.
Yueshen stared at Chi Yao with her beautiful eyes and said, “Yes, I am defending Zhang Ruochen. But he has lent me a million Sainthood Sources, enabling the Guanghan Realm to train a vast number of Saints in just two years.
“Besides, he has also lent me his sacred medicine for me to achieve a speedy recovery. In the Celestial Domain of Truth, he was of great help to the Guanghan Realm. The truth is, I owe him more than he owes me.”
“Let’s make it clear, Chi Yao, I was borrowing. Have you ever heard of someone borrowing from her pawns? If you know nothing about my relationship with Zhang Ruochen, please refrain from passing remarks.”
Yueshen’s words jabbed her like needles.
Yet, no one knew what was in Chi Yao’s mind. “How generous of him,” she sneered.
“Since you have Saint Monk Xumi’s Oracle, I will not stop you from taking the Chaotic Space-Time Lotus. Nevertheless, Zhang Ruochen has been of great help to the Kunlun Realm, so how can you leave just like that? He may not want any reward from you, but I cannot bear to see him get shortchanged. He deserves something in return from you. By the looks of things, Saint Monk Xumi’s Oracle seems impressive. Leave it behind!”
Earlier, Yueshen had been observing Zhang Ruochen and realized that he was very interested in Saint Monk Xumi’s Oracle.
[1] Formerly translated as Orion God
