Chapter 1085: Blooming
The Cosmic Divine Wood Map floated in front of Zhang Ruochen, emitting an emerald green radiance.
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and pressed his palms together. Then, he separated a strand of spiritual power, sending it into the Scroll World to communicate with the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree.
After a while, Zhang Ruochen withdrew his spiritual power and reopened his eyes.
His pitch-black pupils revealed a contemplative expression. Finally, his gaze shifted back to Shi Shenghua.
"What did the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree say?" Xiao Hei asked.
"It said that everything has two sides."
"What do you mean?"
Zhang Ruochen continued, "It can help me subdue Shi Shenghua, and it can also pass down to me the ancient method for cultivating a source plant."
"However, Shi Shenghua possesses an extremely fierce nature. If my cultivation and spiritual power cannot suppress its ferocity, it could very likely cause some negative effects. For example, mutation and demonization."
Xiao Hei immediately shook his head, saying, "Since the harm is so great, don't subdue it. Just destroy it directly."
"No."
Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands behind his back and walked actively toward Shi Shenghua. He arrived at the edge of the formation, raised his head, and observed the roots and veins of Shi Shenghua. "I have already made my decision. I will subdue Shi Shenghua and cultivate it as a source plant."
"Have you gone mad?"
Xiao Hei exclaimed in shock.
Zhang Ruochen remained very calm. "Without pressure, where does motivation come from? I want to use the threat of Shi Shenghua to fully stimulate my own potential."
Since he had made the decision, Zhang Ruochen no longer hesitated.
He extended his right hand and slowly raised it upward. Above the scroll, subtle spatial fluctuations appeared.
A branch of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree extended out from the Scroll World, passed through the formation barrier, and approached Shi Shenghua.
"Rustle, rustle."
The leaves were exceptionally green, as if carved from emerald, emitting a thick aura of life force.
A single branch was merely the tip of the iceberg of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, yet it was thicker than a sacred tree that had grown for ten thousand years.
Any living being standing beneath the branch would appear extremely small.
Princess Bai Li raised her jade-white neck and looked up at the branch in the sky. A storm of shock surged within her heart. Could it really be the legendary Sky-Connecting Divine Tree?
"Wasn't the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree cut down during the Middle Ages?"
Princess Bai Li's heart could not calm down.
Zhang Ruochen paid no attention to Princess Bai Li. He only instructed Xiao Hei to keep an eye on her and not let her escape.
Shi Shenghua sensed the life force emanating from the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree and stopped attacking the formation. Then, one sharp root after another detached from the sacred tree and stabbed into the divine tree's branch.
It actually wanted to suck the life force from the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree.
However, the power unleashed by the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree far exceeded that of Shi Shenghua. It directly dragged Shi Shenghua into the Scroll World.
Zhang Ruochen also immediately entered the Scroll World and arrived beneath the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree.
He saw that Shi Shenghua had already turned into a seven-foot-long green vine, curled up beneath the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, trembling violently. It was like a commoner kowtowing before an emperor, terrified to the extreme.
From the trunk of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, a vast and ethereal voice sounded: "Shi Shenghua has been subdued by me. Now, you can use the ancient method to refine it into your life-bound plant."
"Whoosh!"
A breeze blew.
A leaf the size of a palm fan slowly drifted down and landed in Zhang Ruochen's hand.
The next moment, a passage of ancient text automatically appeared in Zhang Ruochen's mind. It was the chapter on cultivating a life-bound plant.
"Thank you, senior." Zhang Ruochen cupped his hands and bowed.
"Fortunately, Shi Shenghua has not yet bloomed. Otherwise, it could not have been used to cultivate a life-bound plant. You have caught the last moment."
The vast voice sounded again: "I have already told you both the advantages and disadvantages. Now, it depends on your ability to control Shi Shenghua."
Zhang Ruochen bowed again. Then, he walked toward Shi Shenghua and, using the method passed down by the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, directly absorbed Shi Shenghua into his Qi Sea.
Zhang Ruochen's Qi Sea was immensely vast, its breadth more than ten thousand times that of an ordinary Half-Saint. It looked very much like a chaotic sea filled with surging white mist.
Zhang Ruochen's Sacred Soul manifested, resembling a white-robed immortal, sitting cross-legged at the center of the Qi Sea. It held Shi Shenghua in both hands and began the refining process.
No one knew how much time passed. Shi Shenghua's Sacred Soul merged into Zhang Ruochen's Sacred Soul, connecting to his spine, extending from the tailbone all the way to his head.
A childish voice automatically sounded in Zhang Ruochen's mind.
"Zhang Ruochen, I am not truly submitting to you. I am only submitting to Lord Divine Tree. If your Sacred Soul, spiritual power, and cultivation cannot suppress me, I will choose to devour you."
Zhang Ruochen's Sacred Soul and Shi Shenghua's Sacred Soul were already connected, so he could naturally perceive its thoughts and evil intentions.
"Do you want to try?"
Zhang Ruochen's hand grabbed, and a white longsword appeared in his palm. "Even if I cut you down, my Sacred Soul will not be greatly affected."
Shi Shenghua fell silent. After a long while, it spoke again: "Now, you must provide me with enough nutrients to help me bloom. If you cannot provide them, I will have to absorb your power until I am fully satiated."
Shi Shenghua's nutrients indeed had to be provided by Zhang Ruochen.
Only by feeding Shi Shenghua until it was full would it not absorb Zhang Ruochen's power.
At the same time, once it was fed, it would help Zhang Ruochen in battle.
The two had a mutually beneficial relationship, with Zhang Ruochen as the master and Shi Shenghua as the servant.
The servant must obey the master's commands.
Of course, if the master's power was too weak, the servant could also influence the master's spiritual will, or even devour the master.
Zhang Ruochen calculated carefully and came to a conclusion.
Even if Shi Shenghua bloomed, it would not be enough to have a major impact on him.
After all, for a servant to rebel against its master, its power would need to exceed the master's by several times, or even ten times, to be possible.
"Alright! I'll help you bloom first." Zhang Ruochen agreed.
The best nutrients for cultivating Shi Shenghua were naturally sacred medicines, saints, and seventh-rank barbarian beasts.
Sixth-rank barbarian beasts, Half-Saints, and spiritual medicines over six thousand years old could also be used, but the effect would be much worse.
Zhang Ruochen was not stingy. He took out a Sacred Source and tossed it to Shi Shenghua.
"That's... a Sacred Source... I never thought you would have such a good thing... Haha..."
Shi Shenghua let out a wild, joyful sound. Its dense roots extended rapidly, wrapping around the Sacred Source and beginning to frantically absorb the sacred power within.
Zhang Ruochen had a total of two Sacred Sources in his possession, obtained when he killed two Lower Realm Saints from the Demon Sect.
After absorbing the power of the Sacred Source, Shi Shenghua's main body emitted crackling sounds. It grew thicker and longer, with strands of electric light flowing over the vines.
At the top of the vine, the white flower bud grew larger and larger.
The Sacred Source, however, visibly shrank.
With just one Sacred Source, there was a more than fifty percent chance of creating a Saint.
Yet Zhang Ruochen tossed it out like a stone for Shi Shenghua to absorb. If those Ninth-Step Half-Saints and Quasi-Saints saw this, they would probably cry themselves unconscious.
The vine had grown as thick as a bucket, completely covered in electric light.
The flower bud at the top had become enormous. With a soft "pop," it finally opened a little.
The white radiance emitted by the flower bud illuminated the space beneath the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree as brightly as daylight.
As the flower bud gradually unfolded, the aura emitted by Shi Shenghua grew stronger and stronger.
Half an hour later, the petals were fully open, bright and beautiful, very much like a divine lotus hanging high in the sky, emitting a fragrant aroma.
That fragrance had a strong hallucinogenic effect, capable of causing living beings to experience illusions.
"The more beautiful the flower, the more dangerous it is." Zhang Ruochen commented on Shi Shenghua like this.
Shi Shenghua's voice was still very delicate as it sounded again: "Zhang Ruochen, I am only half full now. Give me another Sacred Source."
"You still want nutrients?"
"You are my master, so you naturally have to provide them."
Zhang Ruochen rubbed the tip of his nose with his finger and smiled slightly. "I don't have any more Sacred Sources. However, I can take you to a dangerous battlefield. There should be many corpses of Half-Saints and sixth-rank barbarian beasts there. We can collect nutrients together."
"A dangerous battlefield?"
Shi Shenghua seemed somewhat disdainful. "I have already bloomed my first flower. With my assistance, is there any dangerous place for you in the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm?"
"Then I'll see if your strength is really that formidable."
After saying this, Zhang Ruochen retracted Shi Shenghua into his Qi Sea and walked out of the Scroll World.
Xiao Hei immediately greeted him and asked, "How did it go?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded, telling him that it had been successful.
Then, Zhang Ruochen's gaze fixed on Princess Bai Li.
He saw Princess Bai Li standing alone beneath the withered sacred tree, exuding a cold and aloof aura. "So you have obtained the legendary Sky-Connecting Divine Tree. No wonder you are so powerful even as a Seventh-Step Half-Saint."
After a pause, she added, "After saving those human cultivators, you will probably kill me, right?"
Since Zhang Ruochen had exposed both the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree in front of her, it was clear that he already regarded her as a dead person and would not leave her alive.
Zhang Ruochen had indeed planned to save the human cultivators and then kill her immediately, leaving no future trouble.
However, since Princess Bai Li had seen through this, to prevent her from using desperate measures, Zhang Ruochen decided to erase this segment of her memory.
"Look into my eyes." Zhang Ruochen said.
Princess Bai Li looked at Zhang Ruochen, their eyes meeting.
White specks of light emitted from Zhang Ruochen's pupils and flew into Princess Bai Li's pupils. Gradually, her beautiful large eyes became increasingly dazed and vacant.
If Princess Bai Li's cultivation had not been sealed, she could have resisted Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power invasion.
But as it was, with Zhang Ruochen's forty-ninth-level spiritual power intensity, it was naturally easy to erase Princess Bai Li's memory.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen wrapped up the rest of Princess Bai Li's memories, condensing them into a memory light ball the size of a pigeon egg, which flew out from between her eyebrows.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen's two fingers reached forward and pinched the white light ball. He thought carefully, but in the end, he did not crush it. Instead, he put it away.
"It seems I really am still lacking some ruthlessness... For now, I'll keep it with me." Zhang Ruochen sighed softly.
Although Zhang Ruochen warned himself in his heart that he must kill her to eliminate future trouble, when it came to the actual moment, he probably could not bring himself to be so ruthless.
After all, Zhang Ruochen did not have any ill feelings toward Princess Bai Li. Moreover, she was indeed very innocent and had not done anything wrong. Some of the principles Zhang Ruochen held in his heart prevented him from killing the innocent.
Such a personality was actually quite disadvantageous.
One's own interests and the principles one held often required a choice to be made.