Chapter 1192: Fusion and Refinement
At the very beginning, when Zhang Ruochen decided to subdue the Devouring Saint Flower, he had already anticipated that it would be restless and constantly attempt to devour him.
Therefore, Zhang Ruochen did not merely regard it as a combat aid; he also intended to use it to pressure himself, forcing him to accelerate his progress and counter the threat it posed.
After being baptized by the Heavenly Tribulation and Earthly Tribulation, the Devouring Saint Flower's illusory body had completely shattered, and even its true body had shriveled severely, hiding within Zhang Ruochen's spine, unable to move.
"The combat power of the Devouring Saint Flower is still quite formidable and can provide considerable assistance."
After careful deliberation, Zhang Ruochen ultimately decided to revive the Devouring Saint Flower's vitality.
Thus, he extended a pair of fair palms, suspended them above the corpse of Princess Mo Ran, and released his spiritual power. With a downward grasp of his fingers, the Sacred Soul of Princess Mo Ran automatically separated.
Her Sacred Soul resembled a fist-sized orb of light, emitting a hazy radiance, floating between Zhang Ruochen's hands. Faintly, one could see a subtle, beautiful figure standing at the center of the orb, identical to Princess Mo Ran.
"I wonder what marvelous changes will occur when I fuse Princess Mo Ran's Sacred Soul into the true body of the Devouring Saint Flower? I suspect the Devouring Saint Flower's hostility toward me will become even more intense."
Zhang Ruochen curled his lips into a smile, not taking that threat to heart.
"Whoosh."
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, and Princess Mo Ran's Sacred Soul transformed into a stream of light, flying into his body.
He mobilized his Saint Qi to envelop the Sacred Soul, transporting it within his body, and drove it into his spine to merge with the true body of the Devouring Saint Flower.
Princess Mo Ran's Sacred Soul was exceptionally powerful, far surpassing the Devouring Saint Flower's illusory body.
However, the two were not of the same origin and exhibited rejection, making true fusion difficult.
"It seems I'll need to employ some methods."
Zhang Ruochen raised his arms, and on the palms of both hands, strands of purple lightning emerged, imprinting onto his chest.
"Sizzle."
The power of lightning spread throughout Zhang Ruochen's body, with over seventy percent surging toward his spine, stimulating the true body of the Devouring Saint Flower and Princess Mo Ran's Sacred Soul, accelerating their fusion.
As the two slowly merged, gradually, from Zhang Ruochen's back, a multitude of black vines sprouted, growing tender green leaves and releasing faint Saint Qi.
The vines grew longer and thicker, extending from the ground up above the clouds, emanating a powerful aura of strength.
When Princess Mo Ran's Sacred Soul and the Devouring Saint Flower's true body had completely fused, the Devouring Saint Flower returned to its peak state, radiating immense Saint Qi.
The vines swayed gently, causing the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth to tremble violently, forming ripples of energy that spread outward.
A voice, very similar to Princess Mo Ran's, emerged from the Devouring Saint Flower, carrying intense hatred: "Zhang Ruochen, how dare you refine my Sacred Soul into the Devouring Saint Flower! Now, I, this Saint, will devour you first."
"Whoosh—"
On the vines, as thick as water vats, sharp thorns grew, like sharp swords, attacking Zhang Ruochen.
Those thorns were condensed from Sacred Dao Rules, carrying a freezing power.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged on the ground, let out a light snort, and with a thought, his Saint Qi automatically transformed into crimson flames, surging toward the area of his spine.
The true body of the Devouring Saint Flower was fused with Zhang Ruochen's spine.
Under the assault of the flames, the Devouring Saint Flower trembled and let out screams.
"Sizzle."
Flames burst from Zhang Ruochen's back, climbing up the vines, burning the newly grown leaves of the Devouring Saint Flower to ashes.
"Master, Master, I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong. Please, withdraw the flames," the Devouring Saint Flower begged.
The voice still resembled Princess Mo Ran's, soft and gentle, which gave Zhang Ruochen a strange feeling when he heard it.
In truth, having stepped into the Saint Realm, the Devouring Saint Flower possessed considerable combat power.
Unfortunately, it had already acknowledged Zhang Ruochen as its master. With just a slight trick, Zhang Ruochen could make it suffer excruciating pain.
Unless the Devouring Saint Flower's cultivation far surpassed Zhang Ruochen's, it would be impossible to break free from his control.
Zhang Ruochen naturally would not allow such a thing to happen; he would certainly keep the Devouring Saint Flower's power within the bounds he could manage.
Zhang Ruochen slowly withdrew the flames and transmitted a spiritual message to communicate with the Devouring Saint Flower, warning: "Whether you are the Devouring Saint Flower or Princess Mo Ran, you'd better behave. If there's a next time, I will surely annihilate you."
Now, the Devouring Saint Flower possessed both its own consciousness and a part of Princess Mo Ran's consciousness, the two were still merging.
Once fully merged, they would become indistinguishable.
Having witnessed Zhang Ruochen's power, the Devouring Saint Flower did not wish to be punished again and quickly said, "Master, rest assured. Even if I had a hundred times the courage, I would not dare to harbor any disloyal thoughts again."
The Devouring Saint Flower's personality had indeed changed somewhat. Previously, its attitude had been quite stubborn, and it would never have flattered Zhang Ruochen like this.
Now, it seemed to have accepted Zhang Ruochen as its master, willing to serve him willingly.
"Is it because of the fusion with Princess Mo Ran's Sacred Soul? Or is it because I have cultivated my physical body and spiritual power to the Saint Realm, forcing it to submit? Perhaps it's a combination of both."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head lightly and stopped pondering.
He dug a blood-red Sacred Source from Princess Mo Ran's corpse and handed it to the Devouring Saint Flower, saying, "You have just stepped into the Saint Realm. First, absorb this Sacred Source to stabilize your cultivation."
The Devouring Saint Flower rushed out of Zhang Ruochen's body, extending countless roots to anchor onto Princess Mo Ran's corpse, wrapping both the corpse and the Sacred Source.
Having just entered the Saint Realm, the Devouring Saint Flower was still unstable and required a large amount of nourishment to solidify its foundation.
Moreover, absorbing Princess Mo Ran's Sacred Source, blood, and Saint Qi would also enhance the compatibility between the Devouring Saint Flower's true body and Princess Mo Ran's Sacred Soul, bringing endless benefits.
Zhang Ruochen dug out the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal from underground again, held it in his palm, and began to study it.
"It actually has 8,747 inscriptions engraved on it. It can definitely rank among the top 100 of the 'Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifact Ranking.' It's truly a remarkable treasure," Zhang Ruochen praised.
For a mere Ruins Realm to forge such a powerful Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifact was no easy feat.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen had little interest in the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal. He would rather use the Abyssal Ancient Sword to refine it and enhance the sword's grade.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Abyssal Ancient Sword and swung it at the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal.
"Boom!"
The Azure Dragon Emperor Seal emitted a dazzling azure light, manifesting a massive Azure Dragon phantom that flew away, evading the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
Zhang Ruochen let out a soft exclamation of surprise.
The artifact spirit of the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal was an ancient dragon soul with high intelligence, so it naturally would not allow itself to be slaughtered by the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
"Human, what are you doing? Do you even know that the Azure Dragon Dynasty consumed nearly half of its dynasty's resources to forge the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal? And you want to destroy me?" the artifact spirit of the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal spoke in human tongue, addressing Zhang Ruochen.
"So what? I only need one sword in hand to sweep through everything in the world," Zhang Ruochen said indifferently.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword let out a sword cry, turning into a long streak of light as it flew toward the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal.
The two Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifacts began to fight on their own, colliding fiercely, much like two Saints in battle.
The material of the Abyssal Ancient Sword was indeed far superior to the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal, but its grade was much lower, making it unable to suppress the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal.
Ultimately, Zhang Ruochen joined the battle, controlling the Abyssal Ancient Sword to restrain the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal and began to refine it bit by bit.
"After refining the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal, the number of inscriptions in the Abyssal Ancient Sword should reach around five thousand, right?" Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
"Human... do you even know the value of a... Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifact with eight thousand inscriptions... and you want to refine me..."
The artifact spirit of the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal felt it had encountered an idiot. If any other Saint had obtained it, they would have been overjoyed. How could they possibly refine it?
The Azure Dragon Emperor Seal trembled violently, and from within, low, deep dragon roars continuously emanated.
The artifact spirit of the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal was unwilling to be refined by the Abyssal Ancient Sword, but without its master's control, even the most powerful Sacred Artifact could only exert limited power.
Amid the mournful dragon roars, the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal completely melted, turning into azure liquid droplets that merged with the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
Zhang Ruochen extended a fair right hand, grasped the hilt of the Abyssal Ancient Sword, raised it, and closed his eyes to sense it.
Within the sword, there were a total of 5,132 inscriptions, arranged in an extremely mysterious manner, as if personally engraved by a top-tier master refiner.
Without using any Saint Qi, Zhang Ruochen casually swung the sword horizontally.
"Whoosh—"
In front of the blade, tens of thousands of sword qi automatically condensed, forming a wall of sword qi dozens of meters high, pushing outward with a piercing howl.
"With every additional thousand inscriptions, the power of the Abyssal Ancient Sword leaps forward by a major step. Even with only over five thousand inscriptions, it seems no weaker than the Azure Dragon Emperor Seal."
Zhang Ruochen was quite satisfied with the Abyssal Ancient Sword. Its sharpness alone far surpassed other Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifacts, and it could even sever them.
The Devouring Saint Flower had fully absorbed Princess Mo Ran's Sacred Source, Sacred Liquid, and Saint Qi, and at the top of the vines, a small green flower bud had grown.
"Is it going to bloom for the second time?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
The Devouring Saint Flower's spiritual power transmitted into Zhang Ruochen's mind: "Reporting to Master, as long as I can absorb enough nourishment, I can make the Saint Flower fully bloom within a year, reaching its peak state. By then, my cultivation will surpass the Transcending Heaven Realm, enough to contend with True Saints, and I can help Master with more tasks."
"If you want nourishment, it depends on how obedient you are."
Zhang Ruochen replied simply, then transmitted a spiritual message into the Scroll World to communicate with the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood.
"I have achieved Sainthood with my physical body and can bear the Qiankun Realm at any time."
Not long after, the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood sent a message, telling Zhang Ruochen that it was about to begin refining the World Spirit of the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm. In the coming period, the Scroll World would undergo earth-shattering changes.
Ultimately, the Cosmic Divine Wood Map would shatter, and the Scroll World would evolve into a broader, more stable world—the Qiankun Realm.