Chapter 1117: Dragon Summit Mountain
Immediately after, Sun Dadi recounted what he had seen and heard on the outskirts of the royal capital, growing angrier with each word. At the time, if Zhao Shiqi hadn’t stopped him, he might have already charged into the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan and torn Feng Yinchun limb from limb.
Zhao Shiqi was also furious. “That bitch Feng Yinchun looks like a flower-faced beauty on the outside, but she’s full of venom inside. She actually framed the city massacre on the Sect Leader and has been stirring up trouble all over the royal capital, trying to make enemies for the Bright Sect. Sect Leader, this can’t just be let go. She has to pay the price.”
Zhang Ruochen gently stroked his chin, showing little emotional fluctuation. “Calling me a bloodthirsty great demon and saying I stole the heavenly treasures collected by the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan... Hmm, not bad. This will surely attract plenty of greedy fools to come kill me. That’s actually a good thing.”
Sun Dadi and Zhao Shiqi were both stunned. They hadn’t expected Zhang Ruochen to react this way. Being hunted by countless beings was a good thing?
Sun Dadi reached out a hand, trying to touch Zhang Ruochen’s forehead. “Boss, you haven’t been driven crazy by anger, have you?”
Zhang Ruochen gently shook his head and asked in return, “Did the task I assigned you yield any results?”
“Looking for an altar?”
“That’s the one.”
Zhang Ruochen had long guessed that the royal capital of the Azure Dragon Dynasty wouldn’t be so easy to breach. Occupying the royal clan’s altar within the city was clearly no simple matter.
Thus, he had specifically instructed Sun Dadi and Zhao Shiqi to inquire and search for a suitable altar outside the royal capital. Even if the altar were slightly smaller, it wouldn’t matter, as long as it was close enough to the World Spirit.
The unknown sacred pill Xiao Hei was refining still required a ritual to fully complete.
Zhang Ruochen also planned to use that sacred pill to break through to the Ninth-Step Half-Saint realm.
Zhao Shiqi spoke respectfully, “According to the Sect Leader’s requirements, I used my spiritual power to probe and found two altars in the outskirts of the royal capital.”
“The first altar is smaller, located at the Life Dragon Pass north of the royal capital. It’s about ten zhang in diameter and five zhang high.”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. “The altar is too small. Even if a ritual is performed, it would be hard to gain the recognition of the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm’s World Spirit. What about the second altar?”
Zhao Shiqi continued, “The second altar is on the summit of Dragon Summit Mountain, south of the royal capital. It’s an ancient altar. I captured a native cultivator and used a secret technique to search his memories, learning some information about it.”
“That ancient altar was once a place for heaven worship in an old kingdom of the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm. Over time, as dynasties changed and history shifted, it was gradually abandoned.”
“I personally went to Dragon Summit Mountain to inspect it once. The ancient altar is indeed massive—a grand engineering feat. But it’s been abandoned for so long that the main structure is buried under earth and stone. I’m not sure if it can still be used.”
Xiao Hei jumped out. “Choose that place. Even if part of the altar is damaged, I, the Emperor, can restore it.”
Zhang Ruochen stood up. “Then it’s decided. Everyone will rest and prepare in the Scroll World for three days. After three days, we head to Dragon Summit Mountain.”
He then fixed his gaze on Sun Dadi and Zhao Shiqi. “For this battle over the World Spirit, you two won’t participate. Stay in the Scroll World and cultivate, focusing on raising your cultivation levels.”
“Why?”
Sun Dadi’s battle intent surged within him; he was eager to fight.
Zhao Shiqi, being more experienced, guessed the reason and moved his lips, secretly sending a sound transmission to Sun Dadi.
“So that’s it.”
Sun Dadi nodded in sudden understanding. “Boss, rest assured. I can also use transformation techniques to avoid revealing my true identity.”
“Crackle.”
Sun Dadi clenched his fists tightly, and strands of crimson flames surged from his body. His figure gradually grew taller, stopping at about three meters in height. Then, long red fur sprouted, covering his entire body.
In an instant, he had transformed into a giant flaming spirit monkey.
Of course, Sun Dadi controlled the flames with exquisite precision, not letting them leak out. Otherwise, the entire tavern would have already turned to ash.
Sun Dadi was originally from the Spirit Monkey Half-Human race, possessing both human blood and the blood of the Fire Spirit Monkey. Changing into an ape wasn’t too difficult.
Transformed into a giant flaming spirit monkey, the aura Sun Dadi emitted became wild, savage, and full of malice, much like an irritable monkey long raised in a desolate wilderness.
Where was there any trace of a human?
“Alright. Since you can transform into a giant flaming spirit monkey, you’re in,” Zhang Ruochen said.
With three days remaining, everyone prepared for battle.
Zhang Ruochen returned to the base of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, sat cross-legged, and arranged a large pile of sacred stones around him.
His Qi Sea was over ten thousand times vaster than that of other cultivators.
However, most of the sacred qi was in gaseous form, with only a small portion condensed into Half-Saint True Liquid, forming a small pool.
Even so, Zhang Ruochen’s total sacred qi was still ten times that of other cultivators, more than enough for ordinary battles.
But now, facing a series of fierce fights, he needed to store more sacred qi to sustain himself.
“Condense.”
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes, activated his technique, and continuously refined the sacred qi in his Qi Sea into drops of sparkling Half-Saint True Liquid.
It took roughly one cubic unit of sacred qi to condense a single drop of Half-Saint True Liquid.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen had converted all the sacred qi in his body into Half-Saint True Liquid, forming a misty lake in his Qi Sea that occupied about one-thousandth of its space.
Then, he raised his arms, opening all 108 acupoints on his body, pushing the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture to its limit, and frantically absorbed the sacred qi from the sacred stones.
The sacred qi flowed into his Qi Sea and was quickly transformed into Half-Saint True Liquid, falling like rain into the misty lake.
Three days passed.
The lake of true liquid in his Qi Sea now occupied about one percent of its space.
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes again, a smile forming at the corner of his mouth. “Back in the Mysterious Extreme Realm, buying a drop of Half-Saint True Liquid cost a hundred thousand silver coins, and it was hard to find in a remote place like Demon Ridge. Now, I have a whole lake of it inside me.”
Only the most destitute Half-Saints would sell their Half-Saint True Liquid; ordinary Half-Saints wouldn’t stoop to that.
Though Zhang Ruochen’s Half-Saint True Liquid only filled one percent of his Qi Sea, it was still over a hundred times more than other cultivators. He could fight for ten days and nights without worrying about running out of sacred qi.
Zhang Ruochen roughly calculated that filling his Qi Sea with Half-Saint True Liquid would take at least a year.
Wasting a year storing Half-Saint True Liquid was unnecessary—at least, Zhang Ruochen had no plans to get rich by selling it.
Having reached his peak state, Zhang Ruochen led Grand Minister of Works, Second Minister of Works, Huang Yanchen, Qing Mo, Princess Bai Li, Sun Dadi, Xiao Hei, Murong Yue, and the six high-rank Half-Saints of the Murong family out of the Scroll World, heading for Dragon Summit Mountain.
It was worth noting that, in the Scroll World, Xiao Hei had gathered a large amount of sacred medicine and added it to the Sacred Source Spirit Spring to refine a pill that boosted cultivation.
Other cultivators could advance one realm by consuming a single sacred medicine.
The pills Xiao Hei refined naturally had even stronger medicinal power.
Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works each took over a dozen pills and simultaneously crossed their second Quasi-Saint Tribulation.
Their physiques were extremely special, completely unafraid of lightning tribulations. As soon as their cultivation broke through limits, they immediately began crossing tribulations without any hesitation.
Huang Yanchen crossed her first Quasi-Saint Tribulation.
Princess Bai Li and Sun Dadi had reached the peak of the first Quasi-Saint Tribulation but didn’t dare attempt the second.
Murong Yue had made the most progress, reaching the peak of the Ninth-Step Half-Saint.
Additionally, all six high-rank Half-Saints of the Murong family had reached the Ninth-Step Half-Saint realm, with the most profound cultivator, Murong Chengfeng, having already crossed his first Quasi-Saint Tribulation.
Xiao Hei had some pills left over, but Zhang Ruochen didn’t take them.
He had refined too much divine blood, greatly altering his physique. Ordinary pills couldn’t break through his realm, and even if he took them, they wouldn’t have much effect.
“With our current lineup, we can sweep through everything in the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm.”
Sun Dadi was full of high spirits, holding an iron staff, his body ablaze with fierce flames.
Zhang Ruochen wasn’t so optimistic. “I have to remind you again. There are about ten native saints in the royal capital. This battle for the World Spirit will be extremely dangerous. Someone might fall. It’s not too late to back out now.”
“As long as we can seize the World Spirit and let the Scroll World evolve into the Qiankun Realm, we will have no regrets even in death.”
Everyone’s morale was high, brimming with excitement, showing no fear.
If the Qiankun Realm could be born, they would be the pioneers of a world. What greater glory could there be?
Just being able to participate was an honor.
Zhang Ruochen had concealed nothing from them, having told them everything from the start. The choice was entirely their own.
“Alright. Now, let’s head to Dragon Summit Mountain.”
Zhang Ruochen was also full of spirit, riding on the back of the Konglu Beast King, charging out first. The battle intent radiating from him swept across heaven and earth.
Five hundred miles south of the royal capital lay a majestic mountain range stretching thousands of miles, like a divine dragon lying across the land, exuding a grand momentum that resonated with the royal capital.
Dragon Summit Mountain was at the beginning of this range, rising over seven thousand meters high, with treacherous terrain. It looked like the dragon’s head of the range, standing out abruptly.
A mysterious power infused the mountain, seeping into the soil, making its structure extremely stable. Even saint-level beings couldn’t shake it.
Zhang Ruochen stood at the foot of the mountain, looking up. “What an extraordinary mountain.”
“If it weren’t extraordinary, how could it have been a place for heaven worship in the past?” Huang Yanchen came to Zhang Ruochen’s side, moving like a shadow, their tacit understanding growing stronger.
Xiao Hei turned into a streak of black light, flying down from the summit, and nodded to Zhang Ruochen. “The ancient altar at the top is indeed somewhat damaged, but with some time, it should be repairable.”
Zhang Ruochen’s expression turned serious as he issued an order. “Murong Yue, you can now spread the word. Tell everyone that I, Zhang Ruochen, have arrived—here at Dragon Summit Mountain.”
Everyone was stunned, utterly confused as to why Zhang Ruochen would do this. Didn’t he know that many beings in the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm wanted to kill him and take his heavenly treasures?
Huang Yanchen’s eyes narrowed, a look of realization dawning on her face.
The altar had been chosen. How could it work without sacrificial offerings?