Chapter 1153: Great Progress in Cultivation
"The sacred-level battle just now caused unusually intense fluctuations in sacred Qi, which will likely attract saints from other forces. We must leave quickly."
Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen departed from that desolate, lifeless planet and flew onto a rocky asteroid, following its trajectory as it drifted into the distance.
After concealing the Cosmic Divine Wood Map, Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen entered the Scroll World.
Zhang Ruochen arrived beneath the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree and looked ahead. There, an azure dragon carved from jade was pinned to the tree stump, over three hundred roots coiled around it, rendering it completely immobile.
"Roar!"
The azure dragon let out a deep, rumbling roar, shaking the surrounding celestial spiritual energy outward like surging waves.
"What's the situation now? How long until the Scroll World evolves into the Qiankun Realm?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
A strand of spiritual power from the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree transmitted a message, telling Zhang Ruochen, "Once the World Spirit of the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm is refined and fused, the Scroll World will undergo earth-shattering changes, evolving into a vast and stable Qiankun Realm. However, with your current physical strength and cultivation level, you cannot yet bear the weight of an entire world. Unless you achieve physical sainthood."
"Physical sainthood."
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, his gaze turning solemn.
To achieve physical sainthood, he would need to sanctify all one hundred and forty-four apertures within his body. It seemed simple, but in reality, it was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
The Azure Heaven Prince and Demon Heaven Prince of the Undying Blood Clan, who had racial advantages and could absorb blood to refine their bodies, had still failed to achieve physical sainthood, only managing to approach it step by step with great difficulty.
Zhang Ruochen had already sanctified one hundred and eight apertures, which seemed like more than half the work, but in truth, a long road still lay ahead.
The Sky-Connecting Divine Tree spoke again, "You must understand that when the Qiankun Realm is born, the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood Map will shatter. If your body cannot bear the Qiankun Realm, it will be exposed to the vast cosmos and invaded by other beings."
"I understand."
Zhang Ruochen nodded and stepped back.
"I wonder how Qing Mo's injuries are?"
Zhang Ruochen had personally witnessed Qing Mo being severely wounded by Demon Ran's Consort, and he was quite worried about her safety. With such severe injuries, even taking the Withered Wood Pill might not guarantee her survival.
Huang Yanchen, however, remained calm and said, "Don't worry about her. Qing Mo's constitution is quite special; she won't die so easily. We should focus on refining the sacred pill's energy within our bodies and elevating our cultivation to a higher level. Without strong cultivation to support us, it will be difficult to break through the encirclement and return to the Kunlun Realm."
Huang Yanchen had also taken a sacred pill. Previously, due to the urgency of competing for the World Spirit, she had not had time to refine it and had suppressed the pill's energy within her body using sacred Qi.
Now that they had finally secured the World Spirit, she could calm down and slowly absorb the pill's energy.
Before long, Huang Yanchen's cultivation level broke through a critical point, triggering her second quasi-saint tribulation, the "Six Desires Tribulation," and she successfully crossed it.
Zhang Ruochen also devoted himself fully to refining the sacred pill's energy, pushing the sixth layer of the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture* to its limit.
As time passed, his cultivation level rapidly advanced.
Ninth-rank Half-Saint Middle Stage.
Ninth-rank Half-Saint Late Stage.
Ninth-rank Half-Saint Peak.
His cultivation rose three consecutive steps, surging to the peak of the ninth-rank Half-Saint before gradually stabilizing.
It should be noted that the ninth-rank Half-Saint was different from other levels. Each minor stage had a significant gap, and the difference from the early stage to the peak of the ninth-rank Half-Saint was comparable to the gap from the first-rank to the second-rank Half-Saint. With Zhang Ruochen's current strength, he was virtually invincible among those below the Middle Stage Saint.
The sacred pill's energy had been fully refined, and the sacred Qi within his body had expanded to its limit. In the Xuantai at his lower abdomen, a scorching, masculine energy surged violently, like flames burning, turning Zhang Ruochen's skin completely crimson.
"Ten thousand times the normal masculine energy—truly difficult to control. As soon as my state wavers even slightly, it erupts, threatening to burn me to ashes."
Zhang Ruochen's cultivation had taken a great leap forward, but he had not yet fully mastered that immense power, leaving him somewhat unstable.
An unstable state would expose various flaws, making him vulnerable to backlash from the power within, potentially leading to a demonic deviation.
"Should I really find a furnace to prepare for emergencies?"
The thought had barely surfaced when Zhang Ruochen immediately suppressed it.
"Luo Water Fist Art."
Zhang Ruochen stood up, clenched his fists, and did his best to control the sacred Qi and masculine energy within him, methodically executing the thirty-six moves of the Luo Water Fist Art.
Immediately, a gentle, flowing force spread from his fists throughout his entire body.
The Luo Water Fist Art was a fist technique that Luo Xu had comprehended from the reflection of stars on the Luo Water's surface. It contained a mysterious rule of heaven and earth, profound and unfathomable.
Even though Zhang Ruochen had already cultivated the Luo Water Fist Art to the seventh level, each practice session brought new insights.
The Luo Water Fist Art was vast and profound, capable of being cultivated indefinitely. As the practitioner's understanding of the fist art deepened, the power it unleashed would also grow stronger.
After countless repetitions of the fist art, the masculine energy within Zhang Ruochen finally stabilized.
Zhang Ruochen stopped practicing, unclenched his fists, and let out a long breath, muttering to himself, "The Luo Water Fist Art can indeed suppress masculine energy. I'll need to find an opportunity to return to the Demon Ridge and personally comprehend the art by the Luo Water. I wonder what makes that river, which falls from the sky, so extraordinary?"
Zhang Ruochen's state had not fully stabilized, so he could not yet undergo his first quasi-saint tribulation.
Forcing the tribulation would likely be dangerous. After all, his quasi-saint tribulation would be exceptionally fierce, far surpassing that of other Half-Saints. Without absolute certainty, it was best not to take the risk.
At any rate, with his current cultivation, he could already suppress the Sacred Flower of Devouring, no longer fearing its backlash.
Next, Zhang Ruochen began to adjust his condition, attempting to open the thirty-six apertures in his head, focusing first on refining his physical body.
Zhang Ruochen tried more than a dozen times without success, and instead, his head throbbed with pain, as if his scalp were splitting.
So, he changed his strategy, aiming to open one or two apertures first.
"Both my left and right eyes have a divine seal fused into them. Perhaps I can use the power of the divine seals to open the apertures in my eyes."
This time, Zhang Ruochen did not use divine blood but instead used White Tiger Divine Dew.
The head, unlike the limbs and torso, was relatively more fragile and could not be forced with brute strength.
White Tiger Divine Dew was dew collected from the leaves of the divine medicine Seven Star Divine Ling. Compared to divine blood, it was gentler, and even if the attempt failed, it would not damage Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
Zhang Ruochen swallowed the White Tiger Divine Dew and immediately activated his cultivation technique, channeling the essence contained in the divine dew into the two divine seals in his eyes.
The two divine seals emitted dazzling light, growing brighter and brighter, like two fiery sacred stones embedded in his eye sockets.
"Whoosh!"
Two pillars of flame shot out from his pupils, carrying extreme penetrating power, flying hundreds of miles before gradually fading and disappearing.
"I've finally opened the apertures in my eyes. With just a glance, I can kill a Half-Saint within a hundred miles." Zhang Ruochen felt a surge of joy.
Cultivators who refined their physical bodies would unlock extraordinary divine powers as they opened more apertures.
A casual punch could unleash the attack power of a sacred art.
A casual glare could kill an enemy and pierce through mountains.
A casual breath could turn into a hurricane, causing widespread destruction.
Zhang Ruochen pressed on, using the power of the divine seals to open the apertures in his ears, nose, temples, and throat, sanctifying each opened aperture with White Tiger Divine Dew.
"I've sanctified twelve apertures in my head. Combined with the previous one hundred and eight, I've now sanctified one hundred and twenty apertures."
One hundred and twenty bright points were distributed across Zhang Ruochen's body, interweaving into a strange pattern, radiating powerful energy fluctuations.
Zhang Ruochen could clearly sense that his strength had increased by a significant margin.
"If I sanctify a few more apertures, I might be able to contend even with a Middle Stage Saint," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Of course, his rapid success in opening the twelve apertures in his head was entirely due to the power of the divine seals. The remaining twenty-four apertures could not rely on the seals, and the difficulty would only increase, requiring more time.
This time, Zhang Ruochen was determined to go into seclusion for an extended period, so he continued to assault the remaining twenty-four apertures.
After spending eight months, he managed to open another twelve apertures.
Zhang Ruochen had sanctified one hundred and thirty-two apertures, but he felt no excitement—only deep frustration. "Opening the one hundred and thirty-second aperture took a full two months. To open the one hundred and thirty-third, it will take nearly three months?"
Although Zhang Ruochen was not in a hurry to leave seclusion, he valued time highly and did not want to waste it.
According to his calculations, to open all the apertures in his body and achieve physical sainthood, it would take at least eight years.
"Is achieving physical sainthood really that difficult?" Zhang Ruochen said.
On the path of cultivation, if you do not advance, you regress.
If your progress slows down, it is a form of regression, and you will soon be surpassed by other proud sons of heaven.
For example, the Qi Tian Prince, Qiu Yu, the Tian Ming Great Emperor, and the Devouring Demon Dragon were all racing against time, striving to cultivate faster, grow stronger, and leave others behind to become the leaders.
Not only them, but also the human Realm Sons, who had cultivated for fifteen years in the Heavenly Wheel Seal, consuming large amounts of sacred and divine medicine, would inevitably make rapid progress after their thousandfold refinement.
The Kunlun Realm was not limited to the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and the Heavenly Wheel Seal. There were other time-space treasures that could provide several times or even dozens of times the time.
Even if Zhang Ruochen possessed the Cosmic Divine Wood Map, if he became careless or slackened even slightly, he would immediately fall behind.