Chapter 1135: Void Body
Mu Yue's body exuded a startling yin-cold power. Standing behind Zhang Ruochen, she gazed in the direction the Undying Blood Clan had retreated and said, "Those princes and princesses of the Undying Blood Clan actually chose to retreat. I thought they would continue fighting."
Not only Mu Yue, but Huang Yanchen, Qing Mo, Xiao Hei, Sun Dadi, Grand Minister of Works, Second Minister of Works, and Princess Bai Li all stood in a line behind Zhang Ruochen.
Each of them radiated bright sacred light, with waves of power fluctuations that made one's heart tremble.
Except for Xiao Hei, everyone else had refined a sacred pill, and their cultivation had improved to varying degrees. At this moment, they were filled with boundless battle intent, eager to test their strength against the Undying Blood Clan's princes and princesses.
Sun Dadi had just passed his second quasi-saint tribulation. Carrying his iron staff, he shouted, "I really want to fight one of those Undying Blood Clan princes too. But by the time I passed my second quasi-saint tribulation, they had already fled. How disappointing."
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "You should be grateful. If the Ming Sect truly went to war with the Undying Blood Clan, some of us would surely die."
"The strength of Qi Tian Prince Qi Sheng is terrifying. He can be called a once-in-ten-thousand-years prodigy of the Undying Blood Clan. Aside from me, perhaps only Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works working together could contend with him."
Hearing this, everyone's smiles faded, and they were all shocked.
They knew that Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works together could fight the Devouring Demon Dragon to a standstill.
Now, the two monks had taken the sacred pills. Although they hadn't fully refined them yet, their cultivation had already improved significantly, nearing the peak of the second tribulation quasi-saint realm.
Was Qi Tian Prince truly that powerful, able to match the current Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works?
Zhang Ruochen said, "Qi Tian Prince was born with six wings and wields the Annihilation God Cross Shield. He is like an Underworld King reborn. Before Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works pass their third quasi-saint tribulation, if they fight him, they will most likely lose."
Hearing this, even the fearless Sun Dadi fell silent, no longer shouting.
Mu Yue was very curious and asked, "Since Qi Tian Prince's strength is so terrifying, why did he choose to retreat?"
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment and said, "There are both external and internal reasons. Qi Tian Prince and I both have many concerns. In this sensitive time, a decisive battle would benefit neither side."
"Your concern is Qiu Yu, the number one on the Half-Saint Ranking?" Huang Yanchen asked.
"Not just him."
In Zhang Ruochen's mind, the figure of Heavenly Destiny Great Emperor appeared, and a look of wariness flashed in his eyes.
On the surface, Heavenly Destiny Great Emperor was also human and should belong to the same camp as Zhang Ruochen.
But in reality, in the Underworld, Zhang Ruochen had forced Yin Xuanji to abandon his physical body, causing Heavenly Destiny Great Emperor to lose an optimal vessel.
Now that Heavenly Destiny Great Emperor was beginning his second life, he could only use an imperfect body, greatly reducing his strength. How could he not hold a grudge against Zhang Ruochen?
The various forces in Azure Dragon Ruins Realm were all restraining each other, maintaining a delicate balance.
"What should we do with this Blood Saint from the Qing Tian Tribe?"
Xiao Hei grinned and brought forward Zuo Tian Blood Saint.
On Dragon Summit Mountain, Xiao Hei had severely injured Zuo Tian Blood Saint and used a secret technique to seal the sacred source within him, preventing him from unleashing his saint-level cultivation and taking everyone down with him.
"Kneel before the Sect Leader immediately!" Mu Yue shouted.
"Sect Leader? What sect leader?"
Zuo Tian Blood Saint carried an air of arrogance. With a glance, he showed a disdainful expression.
As a saint-level being, he could look down on all living beings. Even as a prisoner, he would not kneel to a half-saint.
Mu Yue drew her sacred sword and slashed at Zuo Tian Blood Saint's legs.
"Chi."
Zuo Tian Blood Saint's two hamstrings were severed, sacred blood flowed from the back of his knees, and his legs trembled uncontrollably.
"The person before you is the Sect Leader of the Ming Sect. Do you think you can refuse to kneel?"
Mu Yue withdrew her sword and struck Zuo Tian Blood Saint's head with her palm, forcing him to his knees, his legs sinking into the earth.
"What Ming Sect... I've never heard of it."
Zuo Tian Blood Saint's old face twisted in fury. Gritting his teeth, he pressed his hands against the ground, trying to stand up again.
As a saint, being forced to kneel by a group of juniors was naturally humiliating. In his heart, he swore that if he could return to Kunlun Realm and break the seal on his body, he would drain every single person present dry.
"He's just a lower-level saint, not worth much. Shi Shenghua, he's yours."
Zhang Ruochen casually spoke, sentencing a saint to death.
From start to finish, he hadn't even glanced at Zuo Tian Blood Saint, instead thinking about other matters.
On Zhang Ruochen's back, slender silver roots grew out, and then Shi Shenghua's vines appeared, taking root in Zuo Tian Blood Saint's body.
"Absorbing a living saint is truly wonderful. Perhaps I can use this to ripen my fruit. Zhang Ruochen, you're quite reliable. No wonder you earned the recognition of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree."
Shi Shenghua was extremely excited and couldn't help praising Zhang Ruochen.
Zuo Tian Blood Saint, on the other hand, was in a miserable state. Shi Shenghua's roots pierced his flesh, his body gradually shriveled, and he let out piercing screams.
He had always treated humans as food, enjoying the wonderful sensation of draining the blood from their bodies.
Now, he finally tasted what it was like to have his essence and blood drained by another creature. It was an agony beyond endurance, torment at every moment.
Zuo Tian Blood Saint's screams echoed across the land.
The Undying Blood Clan's creatures all gnashed their teeth in hatred, feeling that Zhang Ruochen was humiliating the entire Undying Blood Clan.
The human cultivators, however, felt a sense of satisfaction and admired Zhang Ruochen immensely.
Because Zhang Ruochen had done what they wanted to do but couldn't.
"On the surface, he seems gentle as jade, but Zhang Ruochen also has a domineering side. Coming to Azure Dragon Ruins Realm, I feel like I've gotten to know him anew."
"Using a saint as fertilizer for a flower, I wonder what other crazy things he might do."
"The Undying Blood Clan must have absorbed countless human blood to reach the saint realm. Zuo Tian Blood Saint deserved to die. Zhang Ruochen's actions are truly satisfying."
...
As he continuously absorbed Zuo Tian Blood Saint's essence and blood energy, the fruit at the top of Shi Shenghua's vines grew larger and larger, emitting increasingly bright light.
Zhang Ruochen stared at Shi Shenghua's fruit. On the fruit, silver patterns appeared, resembling a strange silver moon hanging in the sky.
"This fruit should be extraordinary. I wonder what effect eating it would have?" Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
Shi Shenghua's vines shook violently, and a mental message warned Zhang Ruochen: "This is my first fruit. You'd better not think about taking it."
Zhang Ruochen smiled, still very interested in the silver fruit. If it weren't for the fact that the fruit wasn't ripe yet, he might have already picked it.
Shi Shenghua added, "The first fruit is my void body, another version of me. If you eat it, I'll fight you to the death."
Shi Shenghua spoke very seriously, not seeming to be deliberately deceiving Zhang Ruochen.
"Void body?"
Zhang Ruochen looked puzzled and asked, "What do you mean? A flower can have a void body? It can have a second body? Then what is your current body?"
Worried that Zhang Ruochen might actually eat its void body, Shi Shenghua explained, "My current body is called the true body. The first fruit I bear is a phantom form, similar to a human's sacred soul, so it's called the void body."
"In the future, when I grow a second fruit, a third fruit... I can have other bodies, such as a physical body, a dharma body, and a hundred thousand incarnations."
"Of course, the true body, void body, physical body, dharma body, and hundred thousand incarnations can either merge into one or cultivate separately."
Zhang Ruochen nodded in understanding. His gaze returned to the silver fruit at the top of the vine, and he said with a smile, "That fruit is your void body? I feel a very powerful energy fluctuation inside it. If I took it, it should elevate my sacred soul to a terrifying height, right?"
Shi Shenghua was furious again, making a move as if to fight Zhang Ruochen to the death.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen's words were just a joke. He had no intention of eating Shi Shenghua's void body.
On the contrary, Zhang Ruochen was looking forward to Shi Shenghua blooming a second time and growing a physical body. He wondered whether that body would be male or female.
Shi Shenghua absorbed all of Zuo Tian Blood Saint's blood energy and vital energy, greatly increasing its cultivation.
Unfortunately, its fruit hadn't ripened yet. It was still a little short.
"Zhang Ruochen, give me that sacred source of yours. I need to refine the fruit to maturity and cultivate my void body."
Shi Shenghua sent a mental message to Zhang Ruochen, sounding very urgent.
Zhang Ruochen did indeed have a sacred source, but he didn't plan to hand it over to Shi Shenghua right now.
Shi Shenghua was already quite powerful.
If he let it cultivate a void body and merge it with its true body, its strength would increase dramatically. What if it turned against Zhang Ruochen then?
Zhang Ruochen had to guard against it. He said, "That sacred source will be given to you eventually, but not now. Right now, I have more important things to do."
Shi Shenghua wanted to resist, but Zhang Ruochen forcibly withdrew it into his body and suppressed it.
Then, Zhang Ruochen led the group toward the location where Dragon Summit Mountain once stood.
The shattered space in this area had already healed on its own, returning to its original state.
However, Dragon Summit Mountain had completely disappeared from the ground, leaving only massive earth fissures, broken peaks, and erupting magma.
"Sect Leader, why have we come here?" Mu Yue asked.
Zhang Ruochen stood at the edge of a large fissure and said, "Dragon Summit Mountain contained a mysterious power that made the spatial structure here much more stable than elsewhere. Nothing in this world happens without reason. This place must have something special about it. Where does that mysterious power come from?"
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fixed on the depths of the fissure.
Then, he took out the Abyssal Ancient Sword, executed the sword-controlling technique, jumped into the fissure, broke through the hard rock, and charged deep into the earth. (To be continued.)