Chapter 1098: Taking the Initiative
Zhang Ruochen's injuries were indeed quite severe. Even after taking a Withered Wood Pill, it took him about two days to fully recover.
Next, Zhang Ruochen decided to go into seclusion for a period of time, focusing all his efforts on improving his cultivation.
"The thirty-six apertures in my chest and abdomen have all been opened. I just need to refine the Divine Blood, or refine the White Tiger Divine Dew, to sanctify the apertures. Once the thirty-six apertures are sanctified, my physical strength will definitely become much more powerful."
Refining Divine Blood and refining White Tiger Divine Dew could both temper the physical body and sanctify the apertures. Of course, there were also some differences between the two.
Divine Blood contained vast Divine Power and immense Blood Qi.
Refining Divine Blood could not only sanctify the apertures but also absorb the cultivation insights of the deity, thereby enhancing one's own cultivation.
Relatively speaking, the power contained in White Tiger Divine Dew was purer than Divine Blood. Although it could only be used to sanctify apertures and temper the physical body, it was easier to absorb.
"At this stage, I need to improve my cultivation as quickly as possible. Refining Divine Blood is the best choice."
Zhang Ruochen took out a jar of Divine Blood and placed it in front of him. Both his hands emitted a white holy light, which he channeled into the wooden jar.
"Swoosh"
Nearly a thousand drops of Divine Blood flew out from the wooden jar, emitting an extremely powerful sacred aura. They looked like brilliant, blood-colored stars hanging above Zhang Ruochen's head.
The blood light emitted by the Divine Blood contained extremely fine threads that radiated outward, connecting with other drops of Divine Blood, completely enveloping the space within a hundred zhang.
Those threads were actually the rules contained within the Divine Blood.
It was precisely because Divine Blood contained such complex rules that a cultivator's cultivation would significantly improve after refining it.
Zhang Ruochen activated the sixth layer of the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*. All one hundred thousand pores on his body opened, beginning to absorb the power emitted by the Divine Blood.
Currently, Zhang Ruochen's cultivation was only at the initial stage of the Seventh-Step Half-Saint, leaving plenty of room for improvement.
Three months passed quickly.
The thirty-six apertures distributed in Zhang Ruochen's waist and abdomen area were all sanctified and connected with the thirty-six apertures in his arms, forming a circulatory system.
"Rustle."
As his blood flowed rapidly through a full cycle, the seventy-two apertures in his waist, abdomen, and arms all emitted a white light.
"Of the one hundred and forty-four apertures in the human body, seventy-two have been sanctified. Even without circulating Saint Qi, relying solely on my current physical strength, I should be able to contend with an ordinary Ninth-Step Half-Saint bare-handed."
Zhang Ruochen's clothes had long been incinerated, leaving his upper body bare, revealing a very well-proportioned physique with distinct but not exaggerated muscles.
The light emitted from his back, chest, abdomen, and arms connected into a network, forming a rather peculiar pattern.
To sanctify the thirty-six apertures in his chest and abdomen, Zhang Ruochen had refined over two thousand drops of Divine Blood, directly elevating his realm to the peak of the Seventh-Step Half-Saint.
If it weren't for the clear dividing line between the Seventh-Step Half-Saint and the Eighth-Step Half-Saint, with the massive amount of Divine Blood he had absorbed, Zhang Ruochen could have broken through to the Eighth-Step Half-Saint.
Now, he was stuck at the Seventh-Step Half-Saint realm. His entire body was like a blazing furnace. The immense power within him had nowhere to be released, rampaging and colliding wildly, swelling to an extreme point, as if it would tear him apart.
In such a situation, he had to immediately take an Eighth-Rank Saint Yuan Pill to break through to the Eighth-Step Half-Saint, resolving the swelling power within his body by breaking through the realm.
Of course, there was another way: to break the realm barrier through a fierce battle, thereby charging into the Eighth-Step Half-Saint and consuming the rampaging power within.
Both methods essentially required breaking through the realm.
However, the former was relatively gentler, while the latter was a more forceful method, requiring constant self-stimulation and self-pressurization to ultimately break through the shackles of the realm.
"Since I don't have an Eighth-Rank Saint Yuan Pill, it seems I have to choose the second method." Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
Fight.
He had to fight.
Since he needed a fierce battle, he naturally had to choose a powerful opponent; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to achieve the goal of pushing himself.
After careful consideration, Zhang Ruochen decided to choose that Crown Prince of the Azure Heaven Tribe as the whetstone for his advancement to the Eighth-Step Half-Saint.
Half an hour later, Zhang Ruochen, along with Qing Mo, walked out of the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and headed towards the edge of the blood-red Gobi Desert.
The other cultivators were still cultivating inside the Scroll World, striving to improve their cultivation.
Qing Mo's face was exceptionally delicate, looking like a girl of just over ten years old, very much like a budding little girl.
A timid expression appeared on her fair face, and she asked worriedly, "Young Master Zhang, are you really going alone to find the Undying Blood Clan of the Azure Heaven Tribe? Isn't that too dangerous?"
"If it weren't dangerous, I wouldn't go."
Knowing full well that this trip was quite perilous, Zhang Ruochen appeared very calm, a relaxed smile on his face.
If it weren't dangerous, how could it push him to break through to the Eighth-Step Half-Saint realm?
In fact, everything carries risks. It just depends on whether the reward for doing it is attractive enough for you to take the risk.
Obviously, as long as he could break through to the Eighth-Step Half-Saint realm, no matter how great the risk, it was worth trying.
All along, the Undying Blood Clan had been hiding in the shadows, fueling the conflict between humans and savage beasts to continuously collect high-grade blood.
How could such an easy thing exist in the world?
This time, Zhang Ruochen decided to take the initiative. Even if he couldn't shake the Azure Heaven Tribe with his own strength alone, he would at least force them into the open, preventing them from continuing to reap the benefits from the shadows.
Qing Mo lowered her head, gently biting her lip, and said, "The Azure Heaven Tribe is full of experts, like a dragon's pool and tiger's den. Even an ancient sect wouldn't dare to clash with them head-on. There are only two of us. Wouldn't that be walking to our deaths? It's really too dangerous. Let's go back! If the Princess finds out I brought you to the Azure Heaven Tribe's camp, she will definitely beat me to death."
A strange look appeared in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. He stopped walking and stared intently at Qing Mo.
Qing Mo's eyes met Zhang Ruochen's gaze. She seemed a bit guilty and immediately looked away, asking, "Young Master Zhang... what... what's wrong?"
Zhang Ruochen looked puzzled and said, "You are a Qing Mo Sacred Vine that has grown for forty thousand years. Your cultivation is even higher than Senior Sister Huang's. Even if she brought you to the Kunlun Realm, why are you so afraid of her? Aren't you equals?"
One must know that a Qing Mo Sacred Vine that has grown for forty thousand years possesses a cultivation realm far beyond that of a Lower Realm Saint.
Even if Qing Mo rarely interacted with people and was timid, she shouldn't be so afraid of a Half-Saint, right?
Qing Mo's fingers kept twisting the hem of her clothes, looking extremely nervous, and she muttered, "It's not fear... I... I just think that if we go behind her back to do something so dangerous, she will definitely be very worried."
"If you don't tell, and I don't tell, how will she know?" Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
Qing Mo's spiritual perception was astonishing; she could detect the most subtle clues. Only by bringing her along could he find the Undying Blood Clan's camp.
And Qing Mo did not disappoint Zhang Ruochen. It only took her a day to find the oasis where the Azure Heaven Tribe was hiding.
There was a formation master in the Azure Heaven Tribe who had set up a massive concealment formation, completely enveloping the entire oasis.
Even with Zhang Ruochen's Spiritual Power, it was only when he got close to the oasis that he discovered some traces left by the formation.
"Young Master Zhang, there are attack formations arranged in the oasis... it's quite dangerous... let's go back!" Qing Mo was a bit scared, worried about an accident.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Since you can see the formation inscriptions of the attack formation, you should be able to break it, right?"
Qing Mo nodded, then shook her head.
"What do you mean by that?"
Zhang Ruochen was puzzled, not knowing if she could break the formation or not.
Qing Mo finally nodded and said, "I possess a type of flame that I use for cooking. It can also burn away formation inscriptions, directly refining the formation into a gaseous state."
After a pause, she added, "In theory, that's the case, but I've never tried it before."
Zhang Ruochen felt that Qing Mo was even less reliable than Xiao Hei and was worried she might mess up at a critical moment. So he asked, "What kind of flame do you possess?"
Qing Mo extended a small, jade-white hand. Her five slender, snow-white fingers slowly opened, and a green flame appeared in the center of her palm.
The moment the flame appeared, Zhang Ruochen felt an extremely dangerous aura. The hairs on his body stood on end in an instant, and he instinctively took a step back.
The temperature of the flame wasn't actually high, but the dangerous aura it emitted was bone-chilling.
"Boundless Sacred Flame."
Zhang Ruochen was quite shocked and had to re-evaluate the seemingly naive girl before him.
Legend had it that the Boundless Sacred Flame could burn Saints to death and melt Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifacts. It was an extremely rare flame.
How could a seemingly delicate and weak girl possess such a terrifying flame and even be able to store it within her body? How could this not be shocking?
What baffled Zhang Ruochen even more was that she only used the Boundless Sacred Flame for cooking.
Since she possessed the Boundless Sacred Flame, it was naturally not difficult for Qing Mo to break the attack formation in the oasis.
In fact, Zhang Ruochen's Space power could also break the formation, but once trapped inside, anything could happen, and he might not have time to react.
Qing Mo staying outside the oasis might be able to help him at a critical moment.
At this moment, inside the oasis, all the important figures of the Azure Heaven Tribe were gathered under an ancient golden tree, discussing some important matters.
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince sat in the highest seat, impeccably dressed, handsome and spirited, exuding a noble and elegant temperament.
That kind of temperament could only be possessed by a true superior.
The Flameheart Princess, Zuo Tian Blood Saint, Chang Wan, Ghost Mist, and some Ninth-Step Half-Saints of the Undying Blood Clan all stood on the two sides below the Azure Heaven Crown Prince.
None of those present were weak. They were all famous and powerful figures in the Kunlun Realm, yet none of them dared to look the Azure Heaven Crown Prince directly in the eye.
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince's strength was too terrifying, a level or two above them.
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince's gaze first fell on Ghost Mist. "Ghost Mist, your injuries have healed, I presume?"
"Thanks to the Sacred Blood Pill bestowed by Your Highness, not only have my injuries healed, but my realm seems to have improved somewhat as well." Ghost Mist was very respectful to the Azure Heaven Crown Prince, clasping his hands and bowing upwards.
Then, Ghost Mist added, "Although my mission this time failed, I did manage to uncover some of Zhang Ruochen's background. He has at least four Beast King-level experts by his side, so he must control a vast force."
The Azure Heaven Crown Prince's eyes shone with brilliant light. "Could he really be the Crown Prince of the Sacred Bright Central Empire from eight hundred years ago, and has he already gathered his former subordinates around him?"
The Undying Blood Clan and the Sacred Bright Central Empire had a deep-seated hatred. Back then, if not for the Ming Emperor, how could the Undying Blood Clan have been sealed on an isolated island, spending eight hundred long, sunless years?
Therefore, upon hearing Ghost Mist's words, the Azure Heaven Crown Prince became very interested.
The Flameheart Princess gently stroked the tips of her crimson hair with her finger, smiling seductively. "If he really is the Sacred Bright Crown Prince, wouldn't that be even better? This Princess will capture him and drink his blood drop by drop, seizing his Five Elements Chaos Body and True God Fate. Hehe."
The Flameheart Princess's voice was soft and melodious, full of temptation.
The Undying Blood Clan experts present looked at her beautiful face, curvaceous figure, and snow-white skin. Hearing such an alluring voice, they all experienced a physiological reaction, a flame of lust rising in their lower abdomens.