Chapter 1033: Long Time No See
Phoenix Dance Palace was a behemoth of a force, comparable to some medieval aristocratic clans. For other powers to try and control it would be an extremely difficult task.
However, eight hundred years ago, the power of the imperial Zhang clan had already gradually infiltrated Phoenix Dance Palace, establishing deep roots.
Later, the Twelfth Lord used many methods to secretly gain control over a large portion of Phoenix Dance Palace's power.
As for the Phoenix Dance Palace headquarters in Sacred Bright City, it was completely under the Twelfth Lord's control.
Therefore, Zhang Ruochen was absolutely safe staying in Phoenix Dance Palace.
Returning to Phoenix Dance Palace, Zhang Ruochen entered the Scroll World to begin healing.
Even without taking the Withered Wood Pill, Zhang Ruochen's injuries recovered very quickly. Before long, he had returned to his peak state.
At the same time, his cultivation realm had also improved to a certain extent.
This time, Zhang Ruochen did not immediately emerge from seclusion.
The battle with Qing Yichan had brought Zhang Ruochen many gains, but also revealed some shortcomings.
The biggest deficiency was naturally his cultivation realm.
A Fifth-Rank Half-Saint and a Ninth-Rank Half-Saint were fundamentally as different as earth and sky. Except for anomalies like Zhang Ruochen, even the Nine Realm Sons could not bridge that gap.
The differences among Ninth-Rank Half-Saints were also vast.
Guo Lu, an early-stage Ninth-Rank Half-Saint, was on a completely different level from Yan Honglie and Qing Yichan, who were late-stage Ninth-Rank Half-Saints.
Without using the power of time and space, Zhang Ruochen would find himself in a very passive position when fighting against late-stage Ninth-Rank Half-Saint cultivators.
"The hidden injuries on my body have mostly healed. It's time to start breaking through the seventh aperture of the Seven Apertures Blood Nether Palm."
"Once I successfully cultivate the Seven Apertures Blood Nether Palm, I'll have another trump card. I won't have to reveal my identity as the Heir of Time and Space every time I face a powerful enemy."
At this stage, Zhang Ruochen's attainments in time and space were still very low. Moreover, he was linked to the imperial court's most-wanted criminals. Revealing his identity as the Heir of Time and Space would be extremely disadvantageous.
If he could avoid using the power of time and space, it was best not to use it. If he did use it, he absolutely had to kill his opponent.
"Each palm has seven apertures. I've already opened six on each, leaving only the Laogong acupoint in the center of the palm."
The seventh aperture was the largest in the center of the palm. Once it was opened, both palms would form their own minor cycle. With a single casual strike, he could easily unleash thirty times the attack power.
Zhang Ruochen stood beneath the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree and began practicing the palm technique according to the oral formula in the *Seven Apertures Blood Nether Palm* manual.
"Boom, boom."
With each palm strike, his blood flowed like a heavenly river, surging toward his palms. In front of his hands, a cloud of blood energy dozens of meters in diameter would appear.
For an entire month, Zhang Ruochen was immersed in palm technique cultivation, utterly absorbed, moving with fluid grace, entering a wondrous artistic conception.
Centered on the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, an area dozens of miles around was completely shrouded in a mass of blood energy. Only the continuous sound of palm strikes could be heard.
Breaking through the seventh aperture was not only extremely difficult but also very dangerous.
Honing the palm technique and tempering the mind could reduce that danger to a minimum.
At a certain moment, all the blood in Zhang Ruochen's body became scorching hot, violently boiling, and surging wildly toward the centers of his palms.
The center of the palm was the seventh aperture, the Laogong acupoint.
"Boom!"
His hands seemed to turn into two bronze bells, struck with a force that produced a deafening sound.
In reality, the Laogong acupoint was even harder than a bronze bell. Opening it was as difficult as trying to pierce an iron block with a dripping water droplet—extremely challenging.
The blood energy collided more than eight hundred times in succession, yet it still couldn't break through the Laogong acupoint. Instead, it shook Zhang Ruochen's arms, causing blood lines to crack open.
A drop of blood seeped from the blood lines and slid down along his fingertips.
It must be noted that Zhang Ruochen had already cultivated the Five Elements Chaos Body and had refined the saint-level dragon and elephant souls into his arms. Yet even he couldn't withstand that impact.
If it were any other human cultivator, their arms would probably be crippled after just the first collision.
After colliding more than three thousand six hundred times, Zhang Ruochen finally stopped, declaring his first attempt to break through the seventh aperture a failure.
There was no choice. Zhang Ruochen's arms were already a bloody mess. Continuing to collide would be very dangerous.
Once his arm injuries healed, Zhang Ruochen began to reflect and summarize.
Then, he started his second attempt to break through the seventh aperture, spending a full nine days and colliding more than four thousand two hundred times.
He failed again.
Zhang Ruochen was not discouraged because he could feel that the Laogong acupoint had loosened somewhat. He finally saw hope of success.
He continued with a third attempt.
This time, Zhang Ruochen mobilized his blood energy and charged at the Laogong acupoint more than four thousand nine hundred times.
The Laogong acupoint became increasingly loose, on the verge of breaking open.
"Boom!"
Just as it approached the five thousandth collision, a burning sensation suddenly spread from the centers of Zhang Ruochen's palms.
Immediately after, the sacred Qi within his body connected with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
"Success!"
Zhang Ruochen showed a joyful expression. He spread his palms, and seven blood energy vortexes immediately appeared in each center. The vortexes grew larger and larger, as if they were going to absorb the entire world.
At the same time, the seven apertures of his palms had formed their own minor cycle. A powerful force circulated among the seven apertures.
If he struck out with a palm, what kind of power would it unleash?
"According to the manual, when the Seven Apertures Blood Nether Palm is cultivated to great perfection, it can unleash sixty-four times the attack power."
Currently, Zhang Ruochen had only opened the seventh aperture; he had not yet cultivated the palm technique to great perfection.
Based on his estimation, if he went all out, he should be able to unleash nearly forty times the attack power. That kind of power far exceeded ordinary sacred arts.
Of course, he now also had the foundation to cultivate the Seven Apertures Blood Nether Palm to great perfection. Unleashing sixty-four times the attack power was only a matter of time.
"Next, I need to refine divine blood, sanctify the seventh aperture, and make the palm power even stronger."
Zhang Ruochen took out a drop of divine blood, held it between his hands, and began to absorb the divine power and blood energy within it. Then, he channeled that powerful and sacred energy toward the seventh aperture in the center of his palms.
He refined forty drops of divine blood in succession before the seventh apertures of both palms were completely sanctified.
Now, Zhang Ruochen's hands each had seven brilliant points of light, like holding the Seven Stars in his palms, giving off a mysterious and extraordinary feeling.
"Swoosh—"
Zhang Ruochen raised his right palm, and the sanctified seven apertures became extremely bright. The air within a hundred miles trembled violently.
"My hands should have become a pair of sacred hands now. Even without using the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm or the Seven Apertures Blood Nether Palm, a casual strike should be able to unleash power at the level of a sacred art."
The human body has a total of one hundred and forty-four apertures. If all were sanctified, one could achieve physical sainthood.
Zhang Ruochen's hands had a total of fourteen apertures, all of which were now sanctified. He had taken a big step on the path to achieving physical sainthood.
Next were the eighteen apertures of his arms, the thirty-six apertures of his legs and feet, the thirty-six apertures of his chest, abdomen, and internal organs, and the thirty-six apertures of his head.
Clearly, the apertures of the limbs were easier to cultivate, while those of the head were the most difficult.
Therefore, Zhang Ruochen decided to first refine his arms, feet, and legs, then his chest, abdomen, and internal organs, and finally the thirty-six apertures of his head.
"Refining forty drops of divine blood has also allowed my cultivation to break through to the late stage of the Fifth-Rank Half-Saint."
"With my current cultivation and palm power, even if I only use palm techniques, I won't be at a disadvantage in a head-on clash with Qing Yichan. With the assistance of time and space power, killing her won't be difficult."
With his cultivation greatly improved, Zhang Ruochen did not continue his seclusion. He left the Scroll World.
...
...
In Sacred Bright City, a heavy snow had begun to fall, covering the red towers and pavilions with a layer of silver frost.
Today, Sacred Bright City was exceptionally lively. Every household was decorated with lanterns and colorful banners, and everyone's face wore a joyful smile, even the cultivators.
Tonight was New Year's Eve, welcoming the new year.
Cultivators were still human, after all. Even if they were training abroad, they would try to rush back to their families to eat the New Year's Eve dinner together, guide the younger generation in the clan, and give out some treasures and elixirs.
For everyone, New Year's Eve was a very happy moment, a time to yearn for family reunion.
Zhang Ruochen, wearing a silver-gray long robe, walked alone on the snow-covered street, leaving behind a trail of lonely footprints.
A familiar city, but without familiar people.
Granny Bai Su had already told Zhang Ruochen that it was the Bright Hall that had spread the rumors. It was because of the Bright Hall that his identity as the Crown Prince of Sacred Bright had become known throughout the city.
From now on, Zhang Ruochen's path would be even harder.
On the New Year's Eve when he was sixteen, all of Sacred Bright City was ablaze with lights, so lively, so bustling.
Today, it was still lively, still bustling, but Zhang Ruochen felt no warmth, only boundless loneliness and loss.
Before leaving Phoenix Dance Palace, Granny Bai Su and Qin Yutong had specifically told him that they had prepared a New Year's Eve dinner and hoped he could return early to gather together.
But at this moment, Zhang Ruochen had no mood for that. He only wanted to come out for a walk, to be alone and quiet.
"Zhang Ruochen!"
A familiar female voice came from ahead.
Zhang Ruochen stopped, raised his head, and looked toward the front of the street. A strange light flickered in his eyes. "You... how could you find me?"
Huang Yanchen, with her sapphire-blue hair, looked like a lotus emerging from the water, pure and ethereal. She stood in the middle of the street ten zhang away, meeting Zhang Ruochen's gaze.
She was tall, with fair skin. Her icy temperament was like a mountain of ice, completely merging with the falling snowflakes.
"I knew you were in Sacred Bright City, so I made a special trip to find you before New Year's Eve. Zhang Ruochen, long time no see." Huang Yanchen's voice was very cold, but she still showed a faint smile.
"Indeed, long time no see." Zhang Ruochen also showed a smile.
Being able to see Huang Yanchen on this special day, Zhang Ruochen's heart regained a trace of warmth.
As for how Huang Yanchen had found him, Zhang Ruochen didn't think too much about it. Perhaps it was fate in the unseen.
People without fate can never come together.
People with fate, no matter how unsuitable, can ultimately stay together for life.