Chapter 2167: Yan Wushen and Zhang Ruochen
In the pavilion.
Zhang Ruochen and Yin Yuanchen fell silent. The atmosphere was a little depressing.
After a long while, Yin Yuanchen let out a sigh and said, “Let’s not talk about these sad topics. Why don’t we talk about Akash?”
Zhang Ruochen did not expect him to bring that up. He laughed and said, “Brother Yin, how much do you know about Akash?”
“Why don’t you tell me your feelings for the Nine-heavens Maiden?
“Don’t look at me. Anyone with eyes can see there is more than fondness between the two of ye.
“And news about Akash pursuing the Nine-heavens Maiden spread like wildfire in the city.” A smile appeared on Yin Yuanchen’s handsome face.
“We are friends.”
“Just friends?”
“Close friends.”
“Just close friends?”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Confidants to each other, is that enough?”
“Wealth is not hard to earn, but it’s hard to find a close friend, let alone a confidant. Brother Zhang, don’t lose a close friend and hurt a girl at the same time,” Yin Yuanchen said meaningfully.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes turned cold. He said, “I don’t know much about Akash. From what you said, I a.s.sume there’s something wrong with him?”
“Navagraha was a brilliant and unrivaled deity. During the middle ages, he was also a TrueG.o.d praised by a myriad of Macroworlds. Countless beings admired him. However, his descendants may not be open and aboveboard,” Yin Yuanchen said.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “What do you mean?”
Yin Yuanchen did not rush to answer Zhang Ruochen’s question. Instead, he said, “Let me ask you another question. If Akash truly admires the Nine-heavens Maiden and wants to pursue her so they can become cultivation couple, and willingly tries his best to persuade Megrez deities to help Kunlun, will you give them your blessing?”
This question stumped Zhang Ruochen!
Akash’s appearance, talent, and background were all first-cla.s.s. If he was sincere, he was completely worthy of the Nine-heavens Maiden.
However, wouldn’t Zhang Ruochen feel sad and reluctant in the slightest?
“Zhang Ruochen, Zhang Ruochen, why are you so greedy? You already have Ling Xi, and you should not let Luoji down. Why can’t you let go of Nalan Danqing willingly?
“If your confidant ties knot with a Mr. Right, you should bless them.”
Zhang Ruochen suddenly felt deeply guilty when Ling Xi came to his mind as if he had done something wrong.
Or rather, he had done too many things wrong.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen remain silent, Yin Yuanchen laughed loudly. “Never did I expect my question would make Zhang Ruochen—who has stunned myriad of Macroworlds—so deeply troubled. I feel a sense of accomplishment. Haha! ”
“It’s just a hypothesis. Why does brother Zhang take it seriously? If you really can’t let it go, why must you bless them while you can keep her to yourself? You being indecisive could bring long-term suffering not only to you, yourself but also your confidant.”
After regaining his composure, Zhang Ruochen looked at the sky while placing his hands behind his back and sighed. “Personal feelings are inseparable from family, national, and world affairs. The war which took place 100,000 years ago is indeed a sad topic, but isn’t it the same when it comes to personal feelings?
“Your hypothesis is not valid because the Nine-heavens Maiden is not one single person, but nine.
“My confidante is only one of the nine.
“But what Akash wants is all nine of them.
“Perhaps every man’s nature is as sentimental as Xue Wuye, but they are not just possessive. Tell me more about Akash. What kind of person is he?”
Yin Yuanchen said, “As far as I know, Akash’s mission is to bring Navagraha’s Tears back to Megrez no matter what. However, he changed his mind as soon as he met the Nine-heavens Maiden at Kunlun.”
Zhang Ruochen nodded and said, “If I were him, I would change my mind too. Both the Nine-heavens Maiden and their leader, Nalan Danqing, are very charming.”
“But his goal is still Navagraha’s Tears, ” said Yin Yuanchen.
Zhang Ruochen had talked about this with the Nine-heavens Maiden, so he knew it better. Akash’s approach to pursue the Nine Heavens Maiden was unwise. He used Megrez’s support as a bargaining chip to win the Nine-heavens Maiden, or rather, it was a form of coercion and an attempt to fulfill his l.u.s.t.
That was why he said earlier that Yin Yuanchen’s hypothesis was not valid.
If what Akash did was deemed sincere, n.o.body in the world would appreciate this kind of sincerity.
Of course, Akash’s method was also very effective because he knew very well about the importance of Kunlun to the Nine-heavens Maiden. If Kunlun were really on the verge of its fall, the Nine-heavens Maiden would have no other choice but to choose him.
Yin Yuanchen said, “Brother Zhang, if you check up on Akash, you will find that he has never been sighted in any Battlefields of Merits. Even when he came to Kunlun, he didn’t take the initiative to kill the cultivators of Infernal Court.”
“For someone like Akash, a cultivator with n.o.ble status, would think that the threats from Infernal Court will never harm him and would not bother to make contribution in the battle since the cultivators of those weak macroworlds , that have been made into battlefields of Merit, will fight Infernal Court to the death.”
Yin Yuanchen became angry when he arrived at this point. “There are too many Celestial Court cultivators who live in luxury. They are short-sighted and greedy for pleasure. Tell me how those talented cultivators who died protecting Celestial Court in Battlefields of Merits would think if they saw the reality?
“The biggest root of the problem is the system of Celestial Court. Why should the weak Macroworlds become the sacrificial lamb? If you say that’s the law of the jungle, why did they establish Celestial Palace in the first place? What were the deities thinking?”
“If someone as selfish as Akash successfully takes the Nine-heavens Maiden as a wife with his scheme and takes back Navagraha’s Tears for Megrez, he would earn honor in Megrez.
“And when that time comes, Zhang Ruochen, you will be the first I despise. It’s your inaction that motivates that kind of cultivators.”
Zhang Ruochen could not argue with Yin Yuanchen when being scolded.
“I’ve gotten too emotional. I’m sorry. But brother Zhang, for the sake of the cultivators of Kunlun, you have even issued a Decree and is willing to stand up against elites from a myriad of Macroworlds; why can’t you face your true feelings and become a hot-blooded swordsman who would fight for a beauty?”
“If you refused to do so. I would go instead since I kind of admire the Nine-heavens Maiden—the nine amazing women. And when the time comes, I hope you will give me your blessing. Haha.”
Yin Yuanchen laughed. He walked to the pavilion and sprinkled a handful of flower petals into the Spiritual Lake.
Suddenly, many fish jumped up from the lake for food.
Zhang Ruochen did not take Yin Yuanchen’s words seriously. He fell silent. His feelings had always been his biggest fear, but he had to face them.
However, if the day that Yin Yuanchen mentioned really came, he might throw everything aside and fight for her.
“What’s going on?”
Suddenly, Yin Yuanchen’s expression changed.
Zhang Ruochen came back to his senses and looked up at the sky. He immediately saw that the blue sky had turned blood-red.
To be more precise, there were a large number of blood-red stars hanging in the sky, reflecting the sky into blood-red.
Zhang Ruochen could sense that the surrounding s.p.a.ce had been isolated and turned into a realm of stars. Yin Yuanchen’s mansion was like a floating island in the starry sky. It looked very small, he could no longer contact the outside world.
Whoosh —
Zhang Ruochen pointed with his finger. A streak of Sword Qi flew out from his fingertip, but it only formed circles of ripples in the sky.
“What a powerful treasure of Dimension. Even a Supreme Saint can not easily fight it.”
It was not a good thing to be caught off guard by an opponent. The situation became dangerous.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the lakeside, and his eyes narrowed.
Two figures slowly emerged from the lakeside.
One was tall and mighty; the other was handsome and delicate. Zhang Ruochen was no stranger to them.
“Yan Wushen.” Yin Yuanchen’s heart sank.
There was no doubt that all the changes in this place must have something to do with Yan Wushen.
He had never expected Yan Wushen to appear in Central Imperial City and come to his place without him knowing.
Central Imperial City was heavily guarded. It was hard to imagine how Yan Wushen had sneaked in.
Furthermore, Central Imperial City was filled with elites. Why would Yan Wushen take the risk to sneak in?
Immediately, Yin Yuanchen made a move and collected all the fish in the lake. He was afraid that these friends of his would get implicated.
‘Could Yan Wushen have come to Imperial City alone? What does he want to do? How can he break the spatial seal here?’ Yin Yuanchen thought to himself.
No matter how he looked at it, this was not a simple matter. He had to find a way to escape as soon as possible.
The only thing that made Yin Yuanchen happy was that Zhang Ruochen was by his side. When both joined hands, it should not be a problem for them to protect themselves.
Zhang Ruochen fixed his gaze on Yan Wushen. He could sense that the Yan Wushen in front of him was very different from the one he had met in Luo Shui. His temperament was completely different. It should be the good counterpart of Yan Wushen that Pan Ruo had mentioned.
Compared to his evil counterpart, the good Yan Wushen’s aura was much stronger.
On second thought, it was normal. Yan Wushen had only split into two ent.i.ties temporarily for the sake of cultivation. Both ent.i.ties would merge into an single ent.i.ty again in the future. And during the process, Yan Wushen’s good counterpart naturally had to take the lead. Otherwise, problems would easily arise during the merger.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen also vaguely sensed the presence of Yan Wushen’s evil counterpart.
Both good and evil Yan Wushens had arrived. There’s no doubt that they were here with ill intentions.
Then, Zhang Ruochen looked at the person beside Yan Wushen. It was none other than Chi Kunlun, who had been missing for a long time.
Like Chi Kongyue, Chi Kunlun had also grown up and became more like Zhang Ruochen. He was more mature than before.
Chi Kunlun also looked at Zhang Ruochen at this moment, but his eyes were very complicated.
In the past, he had hated Zhang Ruochen and even regarded him as the enemy who “killed” his “parents”. He had wanted to kill Zhang Ruochen for revenge.
However, Yan Wushen told him that Zhang Ruochen was his biological father and Empress Chi Yao was his biological mother. He did not know who he should believe.
Seeing the complicated expression in Chi Kunlun’s eyes, Zhang Ruochen instantly understood that this son of him probably knew the truth.
But with Chi Kunlun’s personality, it would not be easy for him to accept all of this.
“Zhang Ruochen, you don’t seem surprised to see me,” Yan Wushen said.
Zhang Ruochen collected his thoughts and said, “Why should I be surprised? I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Interesting, Zhang Ruochen. I really admire you. You are merely a Saint King, but still dare to offend both Celestial Court and Infernal Court at the same time. If it were anyone else, they would have died countless times, but you can still live well and even stir up the situation of Battlefield of Merits time and time again,” Yan Wushen said meaningfully.
Yan Wushen continued after pausing for a second, “I’m afraid it’s hard to find a second Saint King who would set laws of a macroworld. It’s a pity for someone like you to stay in Celestial Court. You might as well join Infernal Court. As long as you’re strong enough, you can get everything you want and will not feel restricted.”
It was obvious that Yan Wushen was fond of talents. Although he was with Infernal Court, he admired Zhang Ruochen very much.
Zhang Ruochen said lightly, “Yan Wushen, you have killed countless Celestial Court cultivators at Battlefields of Merits; aren’t you still living well?”
“Well said, Zhang Ruochen. I’m so happy that your growth has far exceeded my expectations. Do you know how lonely it is to live without a worthy opponent?” Yan Wushen said with a hint of excitement in his voice.
Yan Wushen had joined and won fights in Battlefields of Merits for hundreds of years, yet he could not find a worthy opponent among cultivators with rank below Supreme Sainthood. Even if the Four Heavenly Kings of the Heavenly Palace joined hands, they could only suppress him.
He had always longed for a strong opponent to help him reach a higher peak in his cultivation training.
Zhang Ruochen stood up and looked at Yan Wushen. “The strong have always been lonely, but I enjoy this kind of loneliness.”
Yin Yuanchen was confused. Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen had already fought at Luoshui, and everyone knew about it. Why did it feel like they had never fought before?
“You must be waiting for Chi Kunlun. I’m really curious. You and Empress Chi Yao are enemies. Why did you give birth to Chi Kunlun and Chi Kongyue?” asked Yan Wushen.
Then, Yan Wushen looked at Chi Kunlun and said, “Little guy, didn’t you want to see Zhang Ruochen? You can ask him any questions face-to-face as you wish.”
Chi Kunlun asked in a low voice, “Those things he said, are they true?”
At this point, Zhang Ruoche could not bring himself to lie to Chi Kunlun. He nodded and said, “Yes.”
When Chi Kunlun heard a definite answer from his father, his eyes suddenly turned red, and his body could not help but tremble. He was very emotional.
“Why? Why did you all lie to me?” Chi Kunlun growled.
Zhang Ruochen was struck by his words hard. He completely understood Chi Kunlun’s feelings.
It was like when Chi Yao told him that Blood Empress was his biological mother, he could not accept it either. He had already thought of her as an enemy. How could he accept that?
It could only be said that Chi Yao was so cruel for deceiving two innocent children with such a lie.
“Yan Wushen, let Chi Kunlun go. If you want to fight, I’ll be your opponent. With your strength and status, why make things difficult for a child?” Zhang Ruochen said in a low voice.
Yan Wushen smiled faintly and said, “I’ve never made things difficult for him. On the contrary, I saved him from Shang Ziyan. I was going to take him in as a disciple, but this little guy is too stubborn. He never agrees.”
“But I can give you a chance. As long as you can defeat me, I will return Chi Kunlun to you. How about it?”
Yan Wushen appeared to be very confident. Although his evil counterpart had suffered defeat in Zhang Ruochen’s hands and Zhang Ruochen had obviously become stronger than before, he did not seem to be bothered by it.