Chapter 4: The Space-Time Secret Scripture
Having reached the initial stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm, Zhang Ruochen’s “Qi Pool” had expanded dozens of times, now as large as a basketball.
The true qi within the Qi Pool was still very sparse, only about the size of an egg, less than one-tenth of the pool’s capacity.
Only by cultivating the true qi in the Qi Pool to its full capacity could he break through to the next realm, the middle stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm.
Zhang Ruochen sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and opened the Divine Martial Mark on his brow, beginning to cultivate the first layer of the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*, “Supreme Emperor Yellow Extreme Heaven.”
True qi flowed out from the Qi Pool, circulating through his entire body along the opened meridian.
As the true qi moved within his body, Zhang Ruochen’s body seemed to transform into a vortex, slowly beginning to absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth flowed into the Divine Martial Mark on his brow.
The Divine Martial Mark then converted the spiritual energy into true qi, storing it in the Qi Pool. The true qi flowed from the Qi Pool, circulating through his body along the meridians.
One complete cycle of true qi within the body constituted one Zhou Tian.
After completing nine full Zhou Tian cycles, when Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes again, he found that the amount of true qi in his body had doubled, reaching one-tenth of the Qi Pool’s capacity.
If other martial artists knew that someone could double their true qi in such a short time, they would surely be overjoyed.
But Zhang Ruochen was somewhat dissatisfied. “After nine Zhou Tian cycles, I’ve only increased this much true qi? Too slow! If only I could get a Spirit Crystal! Then my cultivation speed could double again!”
It must be remembered that Zhang Ruochen was cultivating the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*, which already absorbed true qi faster than those practicing lower-level techniques.
His current cultivation speed naturally left him very unsatisfied.
If he could obtain a Spirit Crystal, his cultivation speed would increase significantly.
Spirit Crystals were formed when spiritual energy coalesced into crystalline stone.
They could be mined as “Natural Spirit Crystals” from underground mineral veins, or obtained as “Acquired Spirit Crystals” by killing savage beasts and extracting them from their bodies.
The value of one Spirit Crystal was generally equivalent to a thousand silver coins. Only princes, nobles, or geniuses nurtured by major clans had the opportunity to obtain Spirit Crystals.
A thousand silver coins was an enormous sum for Zhang Ruochen and Consort Lin, far beyond their means.
“Spirit Crystal!”
Zhang Ruochen’s heart stirred. He immediately took out the white, date-pit-shaped crystal he had always worn, holding it in his palm.
Could this be a Spirit Crystal?
As true qi circulated in his body, the Divine Martial Mark on his brow immediately appeared, forming a coin-sized circular halo.
A stream of white true qi shot out from his brow, striking the white crystal.
“Whoosh!”
On the surface of the white crystal, four ancient characters emerged.
It was too strange!
Zhang Ruochen had never seen such characters before, yet he instantly recognized them: “Time-Space Crystal.”
In his previous life, Zhang Ruochen had also infused true qi into the white crystal, but he had never been able to activate the characters on its surface.
“In my previous life, my cultivation was hundreds of times stronger than now, yet the white crystal never showed any characters. In this life, I’ve only reached the initial stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm, and the crystal has already changed. This means it’s not about the strength of the true qi, but its nature.”
For example, a martial artist with a Blazing Flame Divine Martial Mark would get the best results from a fire-attribute Spirit Crystal, achieving three times the cultivation speed. Using an ordinary Spirit Crystal would only yield twice the speed.
In nature, ninety percent of Spirit Crystals had no attribute. Similarly, ninety percent of martial artists could only activate an attribute-less martial mark.
“Could it be that the Divine Martial Mark I’ve awakened also has some attribute, perfectly matching this Time-Space Crystal? Wait… what is a Time-Space Crystal?”
In his previous life, Zhang Ruochen was the son of the Bright Emperor, with vast knowledge. He had heard of many types of Spirit Crystals—Blazing Flame Spirit Crystals, Mysterious Ice Spirit Crystals, Lightning Spirit Crystals, Evil Blood Spirit Crystals… but he had never heard of a time-space attribute Spirit Crystal.
Because time and space were not something humans could control. Even gods could not shake time and space; they had to follow the rules of time and space.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was deeply puzzled, a halo of light appeared on the surface of the Time-Space Crystal, forming a vortex.
The vortex grew larger and enveloped Zhang Ruochen’s body.
Zhang Ruochen felt a dizzying spin, and the next moment, he found himself in a sealed space, crashing heavily onto the hard ground.
Fortunately, he had completed the marrow cleansing and meridian opening, reaching the initial stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm, which had strengthened his body. If he had still had his former frail body, that fall might have killed him.
Zhang Ruochen got up from the ground, stretched his aching bones and muscles, and began to observe the surrounding space.
This space was completely sealed, with no visible doors or windows. The height was about ten meters, and the length and width were also roughly ten meters.
“How did this happen? Where did I come in from? And where is this? Hey! There’s a stone platform!”
The only thing in the entire space was a stone platform.
On the platform lay a rolled-up painting and a thin silver iron book. There was nothing else.
Zhang Ruochen first tried to take the painting, but it was incredibly heavy, as if fused with the stone platform. No matter how much force he used, the scroll wouldn’t budge.
Unable to lift or open the painting, Zhang Ruochen had to give up for now and turned his attention to the thin silver iron book.
On the cover of the silver iron book were four characters: “Space-Time Secret Scripture.”
This time, Zhang Ruochen was prepared. He circulated true qi throughout his body, mobilized all his strength, and flipped open the first page of the *Space-Time Secret Scripture*.
“That… easy?”
Flipping through the *Space-Time Secret Scripture* was effortless, requiring no strain at all.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head with a wry smile, stopped circulating true qi, picked up the *Space-Time Secret Scripture*, held it in his hands, and began to read carefully.
The first page of the *Space-Time Secret Scripture* did not record any cultivation secrets. Instead, it was a record left by the previous owner of the Time-Space Crystal, the “Xumi Saint Monk.”
After reading Xumi Saint Monk’s notes, Zhang Ruochen finally understood everything.
“So the Divine Martial Mark I awakened is actually a Time-Space Divine Martial Mark. According to Xumi Saint Monk, not one in a hundred million people can awaken a Time-Space Divine Martial Mark. Throughout history, only two people have done so—and counting me, that makes three.”
“Xumi Saint Monk was the second person to awaken the Time-Space Divine Martial Mark. But according to the time he recorded in the *Space-Time Secret Scripture*, he died over a hundred thousand years ago. Over a hundred thousand years ago—that was the Middle Ages, far too distant from now.”
The space Zhang Ruochen was in now was the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal.
The flow of time in this inner space was completely different from the outside world. Cultivating here for three days meant only one day passed outside.
Zhang Ruochen was overjoyed, exclaiming excitedly, “Cultivating inside for three days while only one day passes outside? That means I have three times the cultivation time of others! This is fantastic.”
Zhang Ruochen tried to flip to the second page of the *Space-Time Secret Scripture*, but no matter what method he used, he couldn’t open it.
“Can’t open it again.”
Zhang Ruochen felt like throwing the *Space-Time Secret Scripture* to the ground. Suddenly, he noticed a line of small text at the bottom of the first page.
“Cultivate to the Small Extreme Position of the Yellow Extreme Realm, infuse true qi into the painting, and you can open it.”
Zhang Ruochen looked again at the painting, speculating that it must contain some mysterious technique, possibly related to cultivating time and space.
“I’ll train hard and break through to the Small Extreme Position as soon as possible. Then I’ll see what secrets are hidden in that painting.”
The “Small Extreme Position” was the fourth minor realm of the Yellow Extreme Realm, followed by the Middle Extreme Position, the Great Extreme Position, and the Great Perfection.
A pang of hunger struck Zhang Ruochen’s stomach, so he temporarily withdrew from the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal and returned to his room.
He tightly gripped the Time-Space Crystal in his hand. With this crystal, he had a much greater chance of reaching the late stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm within three months.
Zhang Ruochen, Consort Lin, and the maid Yun’er sat together for breakfast.
The food was nothing but white rice and steamed buns, with no meat in sight.
For martial artists, who expended far more energy than ordinary people, food was crucial.
Other princes and princesses who had awakened their Divine Martial Marks ate “Blood Pills” made from the blood of savage beasts every day, having long stopped eating ordinary food.
Taking one Blood Pill could replenish an entire day’s energy expenditure, allowing them to practice boxing or swordsmanship all day without feeling hungry.
Moreover, Blood Pills could enhance blood qi, strengthen the martial body, and increase physical power.
If Zhang Ruochen only ate white rice and steamed buns, even eating eight meals a day wouldn’t be enough to sustain his body’s consumption.
“Chen’er, now that you’ve awakened your Divine Martial Mark, you can’t keep eating ordinary food. Take these ten Blood Pills for now. If they’re not enough, your mother will find another way.” Consort Lin took out a jade bottle and handed it to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen was chewing on a steamed bun and hadn’t expected Consort Lin to produce ten Blood Pills. He asked doubtfully, “Mother, five silver coins buy one Blood Pill. Ten Blood Pills cost fifty silver coins. Where did you get so much money?”
Consort Lin smiled. “Your mother always has her ways.”
The maid Yun’er, standing behind Consort Lin, said, “Her Highness sold her favorite hairpin to exchange for ten Blood Pills at the pill market.”
Consort Lin gave Yun’er a gentle glare, as if scolding her for speaking out of turn. Then she said, “Chen’er, don’t overthink it. As long as you can become a true martial artist, your mother will sell all her jewelry if that’s what it takes to support your cultivation.”
Zhang Ruochen was deeply moved. He tightly gripped the jade bottle in his hand and bit his lip, wanting to tell Consort Lin that he had already become a true martial artist.
No, he couldn’t do that.
Opening the Qi Pool and completing the marrow cleansing and meridian opening in just one night was far too fast. If the news accidentally leaked out, it would surely reach the ears of other princes and queens. That would harm both himself and Consort Lin.
He was still too weak. He needed even greater power.