Chapter 2151: Fish in Troubled Waters
In front of the colorful ancient Saint Chariot, a handsome man of great radiance stood opposite the graceful Nine-heavens Maiden. Both of them had a sacred and n.o.ble temperament. Together, they looked like a great couple.
The handsome man’s warm smile made people feel comfortable. “Miss Nalan, I am sincere. My words are as true as the needle to the pole. I believe that Kunlun needs our help at this time. I hope that you will consider my proposal carefully,” said the man.
As he spoke, the handsome man reached out his hand, wanting to hold the Nine-heavens Maiden’s hand.
The Nine-heavens Maiden slightly turned away from the handsome man and avoided his hand. She replied with a faint smile, “Now that I’m aware of your feelings, the nine of us will definitely consider your proposal seriously. I will give you a satisfactory answer.”
“That would be great. Please be rest a.s.sured, Miss Nalan. We have already mobilized an army with the cultivational rank of Sainthood. It will arrive at Kunlun very soon. We will definitely be able to protect the imperial city.” The handsome man retracted his hand with a smile on his face.
The Nine-heavens Maiden said, “Thank you, Akash.”
“We have been on good terms with Kunlun for generations, so we will not watch Kunlun destroyed by Infernal Court. Moreover, you don’t have to be this polite with me.” The smile on the handsome man’s face became even brighter.
After saying a few more words, the handsome man bade goodbye to the Nine-heavens Maiden. He unhurriedly got into the ancient Saint Chariot and left.
The handsome man had never given Zhang Ruochen, who disguised as a gentleman, a glance. He basically ignored his presence.
The Nine-heavens Maiden, on the other hand, had a change in her expression the moment she saw Zhang Ruochen. She seemed to have noticed him.
Zhang Ruochen only exchanged a glance with the Nine-heavens Maiden. Then, he performed some techniques and left quickly.
Seeing this, the Nine-heavens Maiden hesitated for a moment and then chased after him.
Zhang Ruochen stopped by a clear stream dozens of miles away from Ziwei Palace, standing under a green willow tree.
It was very quiet here. There was no one around. It felt like he was no longer in the imperial city.
“You’re finally here.”
A soft and tender voice came from behind Zhang Ruochen.
The saintly and flawless-looking Nine-heavens Maiden appeared. She came over like a G.o.ddess descending to the mortal world.
Apparently, the Nine-heavens Maiden had recognized Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen turned around and looked at the Nine-heavens Maiden. “How could I not come? Why didn’t you send me a message earlier?”
“I just didn’t want to make things difficult for you,” the Nine-heavens Maiden sighed.
She knew that for Zhang Ruochen, Central Imperial City was filled with sad memories. It was likely the last place in Kunlun that he would want to go.
Of course, she also knew that as long as she sent him a message, he would rush here without hesitation, even if he was against Imperial Court.
Zhang Ruochen did not continue to dwell on the matter. Instead, he asked, “Who was that person just now?”
There were many talented cultivators of Celestial Court who lay low. No one knew how many talents there were, and it was even more impossible to recognize all of them.
The handsome man who was with the Nine-heavens Maiden just now had a very deep cultivation base and outstanding temperament. He was definitely not an ordinary person. However, Zhang Ruochen did not have the slightest impression of him. He was most likely a talented cultivator who lay low in a certain Microworld.
Hesitation appeared in the Nine-heavens Maiden’eyes. After a moment of silence, she said, “In Celestial Court, he is known as Akash. He comes from Megrez and is the descendant of Navagraha.”
Megrez, a Macroworld, was no small fry. It was ranked in the top five among the many Macroworlds in the Western universe. It had an extremely deep foundation.
Navagraha was a prominent legendary figure in the history of Megrez. He was the only one in the universe who could cultivate energies of the Sun, the moon, Rāhu, Ketu, Venus (metal), Jupiter (wood), Mercury (water), Mars (fire), and Saturn (earth) to their perfection and become a Master of cultivational Path in Megrez. He was invincible.
However, the war of G.o.ds 100,000 years ago was too tragic. Thousands of Macroworlds had been destroyed, and more than half of the deities in Celestial Court had died, including Navagraha.
“Is he here for Navagraha’s Tears?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Legend said when Navagraha died, nine drops of tears fell and turned into meteors, falling on Kunlun. They were then known as Navagraha’s Tears.
Since Akash was the descendant of Navagraha, it was inevitable for Zhang Ruochen to a.s.sociate him with Navagraha’s Tears.
Especially when Akash had directly approached the Nine-heavens Maiden, his objective was even clearer.
Navagraha’s Tears was a legacy left behind by Navagraha. It was of great importance. Megrez certainly would not want it to continue to be away from them, not to mention to allow it to be s.n.a.t.c.hed away by Infernal Court.
Zhang Ruochen had noticed that the Nine-heavens Maiden had different physiques. Although nine separate ent.i.ties were practicing different powers, they could merge into a single ent.i.ty. It was very likely that they had obtained the legendary Navagraha’s Tears.
The Nine-heavens Maiden nodded and said, “Yes, he wants to take back Navagraha’s Tears.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly.
He could see that Akash was very powerful. In addition, he was backed by a huge force—Megrez. Hence, it should not be difficult for them to take back Navagraha’s Tears.
However, Akash did not s.n.a.t.c.h it away from the Nine-heavens Maiden by force. Instead, he tried to please her attentively. He must have some other motives.
“What exactly does Akash want you to consider?” Zhang Ruochen asked seriously.
The Nine-heavens Maiden did not answer immediately. Instead, she walked to the stream step by step and stood quietly for a long time with a complicated look in her eyes. “Actually, it’s nothing. You don’t need to worry. I can handle it,” she said.
“Since you don’t want to tell me, I’ll have to ask Akash myself,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Why would you do that?”
The Nine-heavens Maiden turned around. “Okay, I’ll let you know. He wants to tie knot with the nine of us. If we say yes, not only that he will not take back Navagraha’s Tears, Megrez world will give Kunlun support.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “How ‘generous’ Akash is. He wants both Navagraha’s Tears and women. What a good plan.”
Seeing that Kunlun was in imminent danger, Akash wanted to take advantage of it. His methods were extremely despicable.
One would never expect that a legendary figure like Navagraha would have such as shameless descendant.
In fact, it was normal. The Nine-heavens Maiden’s beauty, temperament, and talent were outstanding that many would be tempted. Taking nine women as wives at the same time would be like a dream come true for any man.
Moreover, the Nine-heavens Maiden had outstanding talent in cultivation. If she joined Megrez, they could nurture her to become their powerhouses. This would greatly increase the strength of Megrez.
After all, the nine of them had the potential to attain G.o.dhood in the future with the magical power of Navagraha’s Tears and their own talents.
“What are you going to do? Did you agree to his conditions?” Zhang Ruochen asked again.
The Nine-heavens Maiden pondered for a long time. She stared at Zhang Ruochen with her beautiful misty eyes and said, “Am I that stupid in your eyes?”
Then, she continued, “The ruler of the Western universe is Heavenly Realm. Even if we agree with Akash’s conditions, how much support can Megrez give Kunlun? Even if they were not afraid of offending the Heaven World, they still had to consider their own losses. He just wanted to take gain—Navagraha’s Tears and the nine of us—without bloodshed.”
“I would rather marry you than marry him.”
Zhang Ruochen did not have any other thoughts after hearing the last sentence. He knew that those words were blurted by Divine Scripture Maiden or the Nine-heavens Maiden out of anger.
“Navagraha’s Tears have already merged with our Saint Souls. It can only be taken away from us when we are dead.
“For now, we can still pretend to be subservient to him. When the time comes for a showdown, there will be an end to this.” The Nine-heavens Maiden sighed faintly.
When Zhang Ruochen heard her, his heart sank. He had not expected Navagraha’s Tears would mean life or death for the Nine-heavens Maiden.
There could be only one “ending”.
Since they would not submit themselves to Akash, they could only die.
The decision was either dead or alive. No wonder Akash was so confident. It turned out that he was using the Nine-heavens Maiden’s life and the fate of Kunlun as his bargaining chip.
“Why didn’t you tell me? You should know that there is no way I will stand idly by if you are in trouble.”Zhang Ruochen stared at her.
The Nine-heavens Maiden’s heart trembled slightly. “Please don’t do anything reckless. Megrez is a very powerful Macroworld dominated by the descendants of Navagraha. Don’t you think you have enough enemies on your plate? I have a way to deal with him. You don’t have to interfere,” she said.
Zhang Ruochen grabbed the Nine-heavens Maiden’s soft hand and pulled her to his side. He pulled her so hard that she leaned against his chest, standing on her tiptoes. He squinted and looked at her, “So what if he is the descendant of Navagraha? So what if he is from Megrez? He can’t have his ways in Kunlun.”
The Nine-heavens Maiden couldn’t break free from Zhang Ruochen, so she could only give up and glare at him resentfully.
After a while, Zhang Ruochen realized that he had been too impudent as he had been emotional just now. He quickly let go of her hand and said softly, “I’m sorry… How are things in Central Imperial City?”
“Not too good. Although the imperial city is protected by layers of Arrays, the ten High-Saint Array Masters of Infernal Court are all very powerful. They might be able to break the Arrays if they have enough time.”
“Moreover, the imperial city is filled with mélange of cultivators—good and bad people. The hidden crisis was big,” the Nine-heavens Maiden said with a serious look in her eyes.
Zhang Ruochen understood her words clearly. There were Infernal Court cultivators lurking in Eastern Region Holy City. Central Imperial City was probably no exception.
Of course, the threat did not only come from the lurking cultivators of Infernal Court, but also from the forces hostile to Kunlun. If they did something at this time, it might bring a fatal blow to Central Imperial City.
Thinking of this, Zhang Ruochen was even more worried about Chi Kongyue. “I want to meet Chi Kongyue,” he said.
“Kongyue is not in Ziwei Palace, but has gone to Prime Minister’s Syzygy Mansion. A meeting will be held in a day or two. Leaders from all walks of life will attend to discuss strategies to deal with the enemy.”
“During the meeting, young prodigies from different realms will gather and exchange ideas. Kongyue wants to use this opportunity to try to improve her strength,” said the Nine-heavens Maiden.
Zhang Ruochen was deep in thought. There would probably be many leaders of realms attending the meeting. None of them would be weak. Even w.a.n.g s.h.i.+qi, the Prime Minister, might not be able to control the situation if something happened.
When one was not powerful enough, they were destined to have no voice in any matters. At that time, Imperial Court and even Kunlun could be put in a submissive position.
In fact, at this stage, Imperial Court no longer had the magisterial authority. In the entire Central Imperial City, cultivators from different realms could enter all places at will except for Ziwei Palace.
After sending the Nine-heavens Maiden back to Ziwei Palace, Zhang Ruochen left for Syzygy Mansion, wanting to meet Chi Kongyue as soon as possible.
It had been a long time since he had last seen Chi Kongyue in the Celestial Domain of Truth. He had made a promise to Chi Kongyue but he had yet to fulfil it.
Because the council was about to begin, the door of Syzygy Mansion was open to welcome leaders from all Celestial Court realms.
As soon as he arrived outside Syzygy Mansion, Zhang Ruochen saw many glamorous carriages coming in an endless stream. Some of them were even pulled by sacred beasts with the cultivation level of Saint Kinghood. Their cultivation levels were on par with Nine-Step Saint King’s. In other words, the figures inside these carriages were of high status.
Of course, there were also some cultivators who did not care about ostentation and directly came to Syzygy Mansion.
Those who were qualified to partic.i.p.ate in the council were all leaders of the top powerful realms. Each of them had extraordinary strength. It was a rare occasion to have so many important figures gathered together.
Only Kunlun, an eternal Macroworld, had a strong attraction to foreign cultivators. Not only that it had attracted cultivators from ordinary and weak realms, it had also attracted those powerful Macroworlds’ top elites yearning for fortuitous encounters.
Zhang Ruochen performed a Dimensional technique and quietly entered Syzygy Mansion without leaving any trace behind.
Before long, Zhang Ruochen found Chi Kongyue’s location.
Apart from the nine grand halls, Syzygy Mansion also had many pavilions. They were mainly scattered around a Spiritual Lake. Along with the mist, they created a dreamlike scenery.
The location where all the young talented cultivators from all realms exchanged ideas was above the Spiritual Lake.
Despite being young age, their cultivation level was above the Saint Kinghood. According to their cultivation, these young geniuses were scattered on small islands.
Swoosh–
Zhang Ruochen appeared on one of the small isles. As if he were invisible, his presence did not draw any attention from cultivators.
Dozens of young masters had gathered on this small isle, including Chi Kongyue.
Compared to when she was in the Celestial Domain of Truth, Chi Kongyue had changed a lot. She was no longer an 11 or 12-year-old girl. Instead, she was graceful, her slender body emitting Saint light. She was a beautiful teenage girl. She bore some resemblance to young Chi Yao.
Needless to say, Chi Kongyue must have entered Seal of the Celestial Wheel for self-cultivation so she could grow up faster.
Zhang Ruochen could imagine that Chi Kongyue must have gone through a lot of hards.h.i.+ps to attain her current achievements.
At this moment, Chi Kongyue was sitting alone in front of a jade table. There was no one around her, so she looked quite lonely.
The dozens of geniuses were chatting happily, but none of them was willing to talk to Chi Kongyue. Even though they often looked at her, their eyes were full of ridicule and disdain.
Seeing this, Zhang Ruochen couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. He really wanted to show himself and take her away.
At this moment, three young geniuses entered the pavilion. Their looks varied widely as they were of different clans: angel, giant, and elf.
Apparently, these three talented cultivators were from Heavenly Realm.
Seeing the three of them, many cultivators in the pavilion immediately stood up to welcome them.
“Bolan, Pallas, and Fairy Yan Yu, you’ve finally arrived. We’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”
The group of talented cultivators put on smiles on their faces and seemed very polite.
Putting aside the background of the trio, their strength alone was enough to make people revere them.
This was especially true for Bolan. He was a Scion with a powerful bloodline and extraordinary talent. He had unlimited potential.
Bolan was handsome. His long blond hair flowing in the wind; his pupils were golden as well; he had two pairs of platinum wings on his back, exuding a holy radiance. There was also an indescribable n.o.ble temperament that made people feel inferior about themselves.
Bolan smiled and said, “I’ve just returned from the Battlefield of Merits. Sorry for the wait.”
“With your strength, you must have killed many Infernal Court elites this time. It’s only a matter of time before you make it onto Saint King Merit List.”
“That’s for sure. Bolan is a rare prodigy among Angels. If he was born a hundred years earlier, he would have become the most powerful elite below Supreme Sainthood, and his fame would spread throughout Celestial Court and Infernal Court.”
Everyone started to speak. All they said were compliments.
When Bolan heard these words, the smile on his face became even brighter. It was obvious that he enjoyed listening to them.
Turning his gaze, Bolan suddenly saw Chi Kongyue sitting alone at the side. Malice flashed in his eyes. He smiled and walked over.