Chapter 2226: G.o.d-ascension Ceremony
Just as Supreme Saint Xueqi was about to lead Supreme Saint Yi Xuan and Gu Chenzi onto the floating island, a ma.s.sive figure suddenly appeared on the distant horizon, blotting out the sun and sky.
It was a Beast Emperor level Blue Phoenix. Its body was extremely huge, and its wings extended for more than 500 miles. As it flapped, it formed a terrifying gust of wind that swept away all the clouds in the sky.
Above Blue Phoenix stood a beautiful figure. Her hair was like a waterfall, and she had a violet-gold Phoenix hairpin. She wore a blue feather robe, and she held a green-blood jade flute in her hand. Her temperament was elegant as if she were an immortal descending to the mortal world.
Whether it was her appearance or her temperament, she wasn’t inferior to the nine fairies in Portrait of the Nine Beauties. In fact, she was even better than them.
“Lord Xia Yu is here!”
All of a sudden, all Immortal Vampires in and out of Vastsea Garden fixed their eyes on the graceful and beautiful figure. Many cultivators could not help but show admiration in their eyes.
Lord Xia Yu was not only one of the the Three Top Elites of Bloodsky Clan, she was also known as the number one beauty of Bloodsky Clan. She had many suitors and even Supreme Saints admired her.
Zhang Ruochen had come into contact with many fairies on Portrait of the Nine Beauties, but Lord Xia Yu still caught his attention when he saw her.
They all said that Immortal Vampires were evil, so he did not expect such an extraordinary woman among them. The word “peerless beauty” was perfect to describe her.
“Lord Xia Yu is so beautiful. I finally have the chance to see her with my bare eyes. I’m going to greet her,” Xue Ningxiao was very excited. She ignored Zhang Ruochen and left the floating island immediately.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze swept over Supreme Saint Yi Xuan, Gu Chenzi, and Lord Xia Yu. He thought to himself, “The three of them are not simple. Even in Celestial Court and Infernal Court, there are only a few who can be compared to them. Just Bloodsky Clan alone can produce three top elites. The foundation of Infernal Court is indeed unfathomable,”
Zhang Ruochen could not help but look forward to Celestial-Hunting Festival.
At the same time, he felt a faint pressure in his heart. Celestial-Hunting Festival was probably more unusual than he had imagined.
As time pa.s.sed, it was nearing noon. The Festival was about to officially begin, and the guests had arrived one after another. Vastsea Garden became extremely lively.
Only a small number of Immortal Vampires had boarded the floating island. They were all heroes born within a thousand years and had come for Celestial-Hunting Festival.
As for most Immortal Vampires, they were scattered in other areas of Vastsea Garden. They were personally received by Supreme Saint Qingsheng. Some of them had been famous for tens thousands years.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen finally stepped out of the corner and walked to the main guest seat.
Qingsheng had met him once with his clone. Qingsheng told him that he would be in charge of reception of the floating island. It was unknown whether it was Supreme Saint Qingsheng’s own idea or the arrangement of Xue Jue Family.
This small matter had an unusual meaning.
After all, Zhang Ruochen’s ident.i.ty was too sensitive. He didn’t fit in with the entire Xue Jue Family, or even Bloodsky clan.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen walk out, all Immortal Vampires on the floating island looked at him.
Zhang Ruochen’s name was not only famous in Celestial Court, but also Infernal Court.
Especially when he held Imperial Ruler outside Kunlun’s Central Imperial City and was responsible for the ma.s.sacre. His reputation was greatly boosted then.
In terms of fame, Zhang Ruochen was not inferior to the Three Top Elites of Bloodsky Clan at all.
Zhang Ruochen swept his eyes across the whole place and tried his best to blend into G.o.d-ascension Ceremony. He didn’t want Blood Empress to be isolated by the big forces of Bloodsky Clan because of him. He said, “Today is the ceromony for my mother and uncle. Thank you for coming. Please forgive us if there’s anything wrong with hospitality,”
Many Immortal Vampires knew that Blood Empress and Lord Ming were siblings of the same mother. They were closer than the other children of WarG.o.d Bloodximius.
With two trueG.o.ds as his support and WarG.o.d Bloodximius behind him, Zhang Ruochen could do whatever he wanted in Infernal Court.
“Let me drink a toast to everyone first,”
Zhang Ruochen raised the wine cup in front of him and gestured to all Immortal Vampires present.
Even though many Immortal Vampires didn’t like Zhang Ruochen, it wasn’t right to dishonor him at this moment.
As in a sense, Zhang Ruochen represented Blood Empress and Lord Ming. Therefore, he represented the entire Xue Jue family. Who dared to neglect him?
All Immortal Vampires present raised their cups and drank with Zhang Ruochen.
“If you need anything, just ask the attendants,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Zhang Ruochen sat down and began to drink.
There were hundreds of Immortal Vampires present, but he couldn’t toast them all.
With his personality, it was rare for him to sit here and host G.o.d-ascension Ceremony.
However, in order not to be rude, Zhang Ruochen asked Xue Tu to come out and meet with the elites of each big family. After all, Xue Tu was Blood Empress’ personal disciple and a Supreme Saint. His status and strength were impeccable.
After walking around the hall, Xue Tu returned to Zhang Ruochen’s side and said seriously, “Senior, I just heard some news that might interest you.”
“What news?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xue Tu said, “It’s about Yan Wushen.”
“Tell me about it.” Zhang Ruochen’s interest was piqued.
Xue Tu said, “I heard that before Yan Wushen entered Battlefield of Merits in Kunlun’s field, he had already cultivated his spiritual power to Supreme Sainthood. He left most of his Spirits in Fane of Yama, so no one knows about it.”
Zhang Ruochen was struck by his words. This was indeed unexpected, but with Yan Wushen’s exceptional talent, it wasn’t difficult for him to become a spiritual-power Supreme Saint.
Yan Wushen could suppress his martial cultivation for hundreds of years due to some reasons, but there was no need for his spiritual power.
In Zhang Ruochen’s opinion, Yan Wushen’s good and evil counterparts had both become spiritual-power Supreme Saint. The number of Spirits he had was probably shocking.
He didn’t know if Yan Wushen’s spiritual power now had reached the mid or late-stage of the 60th level, or the 61st level, or even higher.
Xue Tu paused and continued, “Yan Wushen stayed in Saint Kinghood for hundreds of years and explored his potential to the extreme. His acc.u.mulation was as vast as the sea. After breaking through to Supreme Saint realm, he acc.u.mulated a lot of experience. He secluded himself in Fane of Yama for a few months. When he came out, he was already at the peak of Neverwilt Realm.”
“How is that possible?”
Hearing this news, even Zhang Ruochen who was calm and steady, couldn’t help but be shocked.
In Saint Kinghood, Zhang Ruochen and Yan Wushen were indeed the same. However, in terms of acc.u.mulation, Zhang Ruochen wasn’t even close to Yan Wushen.
It wasn’t that Zhang Ruochen didn’t want to acc.u.mulate more, but he didn’t have that much time. He had to make himself stronger as fast as possible.
‘Peak of Neverwilt Realm. Good one Yan Wushen. It seems that Yanluo clan also has a great Time treasure,’ Zhang Ruochen thought.
Without the help of a top Time treasure, no matter how powerful Yan Wushen was, he could not reach the peak of Neverwilt Realm in just a few months.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen did feel a lot of pressure. It was much more difficult than expected to beat Yan Wushen.
Actually beating Yan Wushen was secondary.
But if he couldn’t beat Yan Wushen, how could he save Chi Kunlun from him?
The peak of Neverwilt Realm not only meant that Yan Wushen had more Precepts than he did, but it also meant that Yan Wushen had condensed a Saintwill.
It was just that he didn’t know how many kinds of Saintwill Yan Wushen had condensed and what level he had reached.
As he was thinking, the sky suddenly shone with a bright blood-red divine light. Many divine spirits interweaved and condensed into two towering figures that were thousands of miles tall. They looked down at the world majestically.
“Greetings, TrueG.o.ds,”
All Immortal Vampires in Vastsea Garden stood up and bowed.
Those Saints and Saint Kings all knelt down while Supreme Saints bowed respectfully.
Splash
The rain that contained divine light poured down and enveloped Vastsea Garden along with Xue Jue family.
This was a divine rain. It contained incredible divine power and could cleanse the body, strengthen the bones, and raise one’s cultivation level. There were countless benefits in the rain.
At G.o.d-ascension Ceremony, the new G.o.d had to give blessings.
The divine rain baptism was a blessing.
All the cultivators who were bathed in divine rain had their physiques and cultivation levels increase. Some even broke through to the next realm. Besides that, Supreme Saints also received a lot of benefits from it. A Hundred-Shackle Realm Supreme Saint managed to break one of the shackles in his body.
It was not something an ordinary G.o.d could do to be able to rain such an extraordinary divine rain.
The divine rain lasted for a long time before it stopped.
Spiritual flowers were growing everywhere in Xue Jue family’s territory. It was beautiful like a fairyland.
“Thank you, TrueG.o.ds for the generous gift.”
All the cultivators thanked them respectfully.
The avatars of Blood Empress and Lord Ming soon disappeared without a trace, as if they had never appeared. However, the entire Xue Jue Family’s territory was filled with a dense divine aura, and Saint Qi of Heaven and Earth became even denser.
All the cultivators kneeling on the ground stood up and digested what they had just learned.
Zhang Ruochen silently operated Empyrean Emperor Ming’s Scripture to refine the divine rain that entered his body. He too received some benefits as his spiritual power and Precepts had increased.
After learning about Yan Wushen, Zhang Ruochen was even more unwilling to let go of any opportunity to become stronger.
On the other side, an emissary from Fane of Immortality arrived at Fane of Xue Jue and pa.s.sed on the decree of Fane of Immortality. He officially anointed WarG.o.d Bloodximius as the new chief of Bloodsky Clan.
The former chief of Bloodsky Clan also arrived. He personally handed the divine staff that represented the ident.i.ty of the chief to WarG.o.d Bloodximius.
The former chief of Bloodsky Clan had only been the chief of Bloodsky Clan for 100,000 years. He could be said to be the one who had been in power for the shortest time. However, there was nothing he could do. His strength was inferior to WarG.o.d Bloodximius, and there was a official decree from Fane of Immortality. He had no choice but to abdicate.
From then on, Bloodsky Clan entered the era of WarG.o.d Bloodximius.
Bloodsky Clan had been silent for many years. They might have a chance to rise in the future.
Vastsea Garden, floating island.
Zhang Ruochen was suddenly pulled into a blood-red divine realm by an invisible force.
Blood clouds floated in the sky, and sea of blood beneath his feet surged.
Blood Empress stood in the center of Heaven and Earth with her hands behind her back while looking up at the sky.
Zhang Ruochen walked behind her and said calmly, “Mother, do you have something to tell me after you pulled me into the spiritual realm?”
Blood empress sighed softly, “Mother knows that you don’t feel a sense of belonging to Xue Jue family and Infernal Court. However, this Celestial-Hunting Festival is of great importance. You must do your best.”
Zhang Ruochen was silent for a long time, “Okay mother, I promise.”
A gentle smile appeared on Blood Empress’ face that shone with divine light. She caressed Zhang Ruochen’s cheek with motherly love and said, “You are no longer a child. You are an indomitable Supreme Saint. You must try your best to do what you say. You must believe that everything Mother asks you to do is for your own good.”
“You can only gain a foothold in Infernal Court if you go all out and win Celestial-Hunting Festival. At that time, both Mother and Xue Jue family will do everything we can to protect you. No one will dare to say anything against you,”
The more Blood Empress talked about this, the more Zhang Ruochen felt that Celestial-Hunting Festival was not as simple as a “Festival”.
After a long while, Zhang Ruochen withdrew from the spiritual realm with a serious look in his eyes.
He took a long breath, stood up, and merged his Saint power into his voice. He said in a clear voice, “All of you have the ambition to attend Celestial-Hunting Festival and win glory for Bloodsky Clan. Now according to the tradition, we will first determine the leader of the team, and then decide who will attend Celestial-Hunting Festival,”
Not all the elites born in the past thousand years could partic.i.p.ate in Celestial-Hunting Festival.
Celestial-Hunting Festival had a limit on the number of people from the ten clans of Infernal Court. Each clan had a thousand people, each 500 Saint King and 500 Supreme Saints.
Immortal Vampires had ten great clans, which meant that there were only 100 spots allocated to each clan. Hence, there were spots for only 50 Saint Kings and 50 Supreme Saints.
If there weren’t enough Supreme Saints, they would use Saint Kings. The total wouldn’t change.
The number of Supreme Saints in both Celestial Court and Infernal Court was very little. It was even rarer for them to be born within a thousand years.
When Zhang Ruochen first went to Celestial Court, there were less than 100 Supreme Saints in Guanghan. Besides, that was only after tens thousands years later. On average, there were only a few Supreme Saints in a thousand years.
Usually, Supreme Saints had at least 3,000 years of life. As their cultivation increased, their life expectancy would increase correspondingly. If they could reach Paramount Realm, they had hope of living for 10,000 years.
Savage Beasts, Plant Spirits, and others had even longer life spans. It was even more common for them to live for more than 10,000 years.
However, most of the long-lived clans cultivated slower and could not compare to the human race. Hence, there was a balance.
For example, Immortal vampires could live longer than the human race. Even a Demi-Saint could live for a thousand years. After becoming a Supreme Saint, they could live up to 30,000 years. However, Immortal vampires were restricted by blood l.u.s.t. The higher their cultivation, the higher the requirement for the quality of the blood they consumed. Immortal Blood Spring and Longevity Blood Tree could not satisfy their needs.
That was why Immortal Vampires were eager to start a war and collect the blood of living beings.
In comparison, the cultivation of the blood of living beings was the most effective.
That was why it was extremely rare for cultivators to achieve level that attained by Supreme Saint Yi Xuan, Gu Chenzi, and Lord Xia Yu within five hundred years.
In the past thousand years, Bloodsky Clan had produced more than fifty Supreme Saints. Hence, the weaker Supreme Saints would lose their qualifications.
As for the number of Nine-Step Saint King, there were more so the compet.i.tion was even more intense.
It was hard to say how many of the nearly 20 elites selected by Xue Jue clan could get a spot.
According to the tradition, the leaders would be decided first, and then the leaders would decide the candidates among Supreme Saints and Saint Kings.
Therefore, as long as one became a leader, it would bring great benefits to the family forces behind them.
Zhang Ruochen promised Blood Empress that he would try his best to become the leader of Bloodsky clan so that Xue Jue Family could have more elites and get a place to partic.i.p.ate in Celestial-Hunting Festival.
The reason why Blood Empress paid so much attention to this matter was that Celestial-Hunting Festival had too many benefits. It was a great opportunity to strengthen Xue Jue family.
This was not only Blood Empress’ idea but also represented the will of WarG.o.d Bloodximius.
Fane of Destiny held Celestial-Hunting Festival once every thousand years. As long as one could attend it, they would receive great gains and endless benefits.
For example, Supreme Saints could eat the legendary Ampliofruits during Celestial-Hunting Festival. They could increase Precept by at least 100 million, extend their lifespan by 3,000 years, and a.s.sist in the cultivation of high-level sacred spells. The benefits were hard to describe.
On the other hand, Saint Kinghood cultivators could eat Altofruits. They could at least advance one path to Great perfection and increase their innate talent. There was hope for them to reach Great Prefection, form a top-tier Neverwither physique, and lay a solid foundation.
Not only that, Celestial-Hunting Festival would also provide Divine Jade Dew specially brewed by Fane of Wine. The essence of the Divine Jade was mixed with divine blood. There were also many kinds of rare treasures. It would take hundreds of years to brew and drink a cup, it could let people enter a state of epiphany.
Every kind of food in Celestial-Hunting Festival was made from the rare treasures of the Heaven and earth. It was a rare chance for any cultivators — no matter how abundant wealth they owned — to get to enjoy these treasures in other occasions. They were very delicious, and they could also be of great benefit for cultivation.
As long as one could partic.i.p.ate in Celestial-Hunting Festival, regardless of the cultivation realm, one’s strength would be greatly improved and have a far-reaching impact on their cultivation in the future.
And this was only the most basic benefit for the partic.i.p.ants. If a partic.i.p.ant could perform well and stand out among their clans and even the ten clans, the benefits the partic.i.p.ant gained would be immeasurable.
Xue Jue family and Bloodsky clan might be very concerned about these benefits, but Zhang Ruochen was indifferent.
He wanted to know more about the meaning of “Celestial-Hunting” in Celestial-Hunting Festival. Why did he have to go all out to fight for this Festival to gain a foothold in Infernal Court?
‘Celestial-Hunting, Celestial-Hunting, what exactly we are expected to hunt?’