Chapter 1096: Azure Heaven Crown Prince
The Konglu Beast King wanted to use the sacred power within the ancestral artifact to escape, but was struck down by the Realm Seal that Huang Yanchen unleashed. The more sacred qi injected, the more powerful the Realm Seal became. When the Realm Seal's power was fully unleashed, it could suppress a Saint of the Lower Realm, let alone a mere Beast King.
After unleashing this strike, Huang Yanchen had consumed most of the sacred qi within her body and did not strike again.
Grand Minister of Works, Second Minister of Works, and Sun Dadi charged forward, surrounding the Konglu Beast King. They all unleashed sacred arts, launching a fierce barrage of attacks.
Although the Konglu Beast King's power was indeed formidable, it lacked Zhang Ruochen's speed and spatial displacement abilities. How could it withstand the siege of several powerful cultivators?
Without any suspense, it was soon suppressed.
"I'll take you all down with me!"
The Konglu Beast King gritted its teeth, frantically circulating sacred qi toward its qi sea, intending to self-destruct and perish together with everyone present.
"You want to die, but this humble monk does not want to die yet."
Grand Minister of Works swung a golden gleaming staff, as if carrying a golden pillar, striking the Konglu Beast King's head.
The golden staff was no ordinary Buddhist artifact; it was passed down to Grand Minister of Works by Master Indra. The staff contained a profoundly mysterious sacred Buddhist power, and even a Beast King with divine beast bloodline could not withstand it.
"Bang."
The Konglu Beast King's skull emitted a bone-shattering sound, splitting open with three blood-red cracks. It swayed twice and collapsed to the ground.
"It's not dead, is it?"
Xiao Hei moved with extreme speed, transforming into a streak of black light, rushing to the Konglu Beast King's side to check its breath.
Grand Minister of Works withdrew his staff and laughed heartily: "It's just knocked unconscious. This humble monk does not kill lightly."
"Good thing it wasn't killed, or we would have lost a Beast King. Its cultivation has reached the peak of the Second Quasi-Saint Tribulation, and with its divine beast bloodline, its combat power is still quite strong."
Xiao Hei nodded, feeling around the Konglu Beast King's head and abdomen, finally confirming its cultivation level.
As long as the beast-taming inscription was carved into the Konglu Beast King's body, Xiao Hei was fully confident he could control a Beast King and use it as a war beast to charge into battle.
The group worried that other savage beasts might catch up, so they carried the unconscious Konglu Beast King and quickly left, not lingering there.
...
...
Shi Shenghua's combat power was on par with the Devouring Demon Dragon, with neither able to gain the upper hand, so it could naturally escape easily.
After fleeing, Shi Shenghua burrowed into the ground.
At noon, Shi Shenghua crossed tens of thousands of miles, found Zhang Ruochen, emerged from the ground, and rushed into his body.
"The Devouring Demon Dragon's combat power is terrifying. At its current Ninth-Rank Half-Saint realm, it can already slay a Saint. If it were to survive its first Quasi-Saint Tribulation, even I would not be its match."
Shi Shenghua transmitted a voice into Zhang Ruochen's mind.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged on the ground, healing his injuries while communicating with Shi Shenghua: "When can your strength increase again?"
"I am in my first blooming period now, which lasts about a year. Within a year, my strength will not grow much. After a year, when the flower withers, I can absorb nutrients again to increase my power," Shi Shenghua said.
"It takes a full year?" Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly.
"Correct. After a year, when I absorb nutrients again, I can form a sacred fruit. As long as the sacred fruit matures, even if the Devouring Demon Dragon survives three Quasi-Saint Tribulations, I will not fear it," Shi Shenghua said, full of confidence.
Zhang Ruochen considered another issue: "How many nutrients will it take for Shi Shenghua to go from forming a sacred fruit to having it mature?"
He knew that helping it bloom had already consumed a sacred source and absorbed the remains of hundreds of Sixth-Rank savage beasts and Half-Saints. To nurture it to the point of a mature sacred fruit would require even more nutrients.
Of course, there was still a year of blooming period before the sacred fruit formed.
Zhang Ruochen unfurled the Cosmic Divine Wood Map, stepped inside, and brought Shi Shenghua to a medicinal garden.
Then, Zhang Ruochen temporarily planted Shi Shenghua in the garden, so that it could complete its blooming period in just over a month.
When Zhang Ruochen stepped out of the Scroll World, he saw Xiao Hei and Zhao Shiqi standing beside the Konglu Beast King, carving beast-taming inscriptions onto its massive body.
Xiao Hei's two claws emitted black light as he carved on the Konglu Beast King's two eyeballs, explaining: "The Konglu Beast King has some divine beast bloodline in its body. Ordinary beast-taming inscriptions are useless against it; they will be melted by the divine beast bloodline. Only by using the beast-taming inscriptions I am passing on to you can you control a divine beast descendant."
Zhao Shiqi stood to the side, looking quite humble, taking out a small booklet and recording all the beast-taming inscriptions Xiao Hei passed to him.
"The beast-taming inscriptions Master Hei uses are truly profound and unparalleled in the world. I wonder if Master Hei has beast-taming inscriptions for controlling ancient relics?"
Zhao Shiqi bent over, a look of reverence on his face, taking the initiative to call Xiao Hei his master.
Xiao Hei widened his round eyes, staring at Zhao Shiqi, and said: "Ancient relics are extraordinary beings that have absorbed chaotic qi. How could they be so easily controlled? You haven't even learned a few inscriptions for controlling divine beast descendants, and you already want to control ancient relics?"
Zhao Shiqi, afraid of angering Xiao Hei and thus failing to learn even more profound beast-taming inscriptions, quickly said: "Master Hei's lesson is well taken. This disciple will no longer aim too high in the future."
Generally speaking, ordinary savage beasts are only classified by rank, from First-Rank to Ninth-Rank.
Of course, above ordinary savage beasts are divine beast descendants and ancient relics.
Ordinary savage beasts have an upper limit to their strength.
For example, a Sixth-Rank savage beast, no matter how it cultivates, can only reach the Half-Saint level. Unless it finds some rare sacred medicine and advances to Seventh-Rank, it can only have Saint-level strength.
However, divine beast descendants and ancient relics have almost no upper limit. Like humans, as long as their talent is high enough and they work hard enough, it is not impossible for them to cultivate to the Saint realm, or even the Saint King realm.
At the same time, at the same cultivation level, the combat power unleashed by divine beast descendants and ancient relics far exceeds that of ordinary savage beasts.
Take the Konglu Beast King, for example. It has a divine beast bloodline and has only survived two Quasi-Saint Tribulations, but its unleashed combat power is comparable to a human sacred body, enough to contend with ordinary savage beasts that have survived three Quasi-Saint Tribulations.
Among all Beast Kings, the Konglu Beast King was also quite powerful, having made it onto the "Outer Half-Saint Ranking."
Xiao Hei continued: "Of course, ancient relics are not completely uncontrollable. I, this emperor, am an extraordinary existence, so I naturally know several types of inscriptions that can also restrain ancient relics to a certain extent."
Zhao Shiqi immediately flattered him a few more times, lifting Xiao Hei to the heavens.
Huang Yanchen walked over to Zhang Ruochen, also glancing in the direction of Xiao Hei and Zhao Shiqi, and said: "You should rest and heal in the Scroll World. I can handle things outside."
Zhang Ruochen gently shook his head and said: "In this great battle, the Devouring Demon Dragon failed to wipe out all the human cultivators and instead lost several Beast Kings and a large number of savage beasts. It must be quite furious. Next, it will likely launch a frenzied revenge campaign."
"You're worried it will find this place?" Huang Yanchen said.
Zhang Ruochen said: "Among savage beasts, there are no shortage of gifted mutant species. Some have keen hearing, some have extraordinary vision, and some have astonishingly sharp senses of smell. Although we have erased all traces, what if we left behind some clues?"
Zhang Ruochen had to be cautious and not let his guard down, lest he fall into a deadly crisis again.
Just as Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen were communicating, the Devouring Demon Dragon's cold voice came from ten thousand miles away: "All living beings in the Yingge'ma Desert are hereby ordered to spare no effort in searching for traces of the Heir of Time and Space, Zhang Ruochen. Whoever can provide accurate clues will be rewarded with a sacred source."
The Devouring Demon Dragon used a sound wave secret art, and the voice it emitted formed rippling sound waves that traveled extremely far, audible even from ten thousand miles away.
Soon, all living beings in the entire Yingge'ma Desert—whether savage beasts, Undying Blood Clan, or some mutant creatures—all erupted into chaos.
The Yingge'ma Desert was vast, spanning hundreds of thousands of miles in length and width, gathering forces from all sides, including humans, savage beasts, Undying Blood Clan, underworld undead, and the natives of the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm.
There were nearly a hundred savage beast tribes alone, and the ones that participated in the battle at Yingsha City were probably only about thirty.
The forces in the Yingge'ma Desert were extremely complex, with various forces and tribes fighting each other over the natural treasures in the desert. Not just Yingsha City, but other places were also embroiled in bloody conflicts.
The Devouring Demon Dragon's offer of a sacred source as a reward for finding Zhang Ruochen naturally drove all living beings in the Yingge'ma Desert into a frenzy.
That was a sacred source, representing the opportunity to become a Saint. Who wouldn't want it?
About thirty thousand miles from Yingsha City, there was an oasis covered with golden trees.
Three layers of concealment formations were arranged around the oasis.
From the outside, it looked like a barren desert with no grass. Inside the concealment formations, however, it was full of life, with spiritual mist drifting—an absolute cultivation paradise.
In the oasis, a large group of Undying Blood Clan had gathered, numbering over a thousand. All were powerful, each with blood-red fleshy wings, forming a formidable force.
A handsome young man sat beneath a golden tree, holding a book scroll in his hand, exuding an elegant aura.
His skin appeared fair and delicate. His slender fingers slowly closed the book, revealing a faint smile: "The Devouring Demon Dragon is too stingy. Using just one sacred source to try to find Zhang Ruochen?"
This man was the crown prince of the Azure Heaven Tribe, one of the ten great tribes of the Undying Blood Clan, ranked seventh on the "Outer Half-Saint Ranking."
Beside the Azure Heaven Crown Prince stood three Undying Blood Clan members.
They were a withered old man, a voluptuous and seductive woman, and a burly man with two heads and four arms.
"Zhang Ruochen has many treasures on him. Just the Realm Seal alone is priceless, far more precious than a sacred source," the withered old man said with a smile.
The old man, named Zuo Tian, was a Blood Saint of the Azure Heaven Tribe who had used a special ancient method to suppress his cultivation below the Saint realm. His combat power was terrifying, surpassing ordinary Beast Kings, making him an absolutely dangerous figure.
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince glanced at the burly man with two heads and four arms and asked: "Has Ghost Mist returned from tracking Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen?"