Chapter 1239: Dragon Fire Island
The figure sat in a dark corner, completely motionless, with no aura of life emanating from it. It should be a corpse, not a living person.
Zhang Ruochen was not one to be easily frightened, but the thought of a corpse sitting behind him for several days without him noticing was enough to send chills down anyone's spine. On the Undead Ancient Ship, there were many bizarre things—even holy thoughts could cultivate into evil holy thought bodies. What else was impossible?
Thus, even facing a corpse with no life aura, Zhang Ruochen remained vigilant, approaching cautiously.
The corpse had been sitting there for who knows how many years, covered in dust, its body withered but not decayed.
At the center of the corpse's brow was a blood hole the size of a wine cup, surrounded by cracks, making its entire head look like a cracked clay pot.
The blood hole in the brow was the fatal wound.
"Dead for years yet not decayed—this person must have been a peerless expert in life," Xiao Hei said.
"If he truly was a peerless expert, even in death, his corpse should emit a deterrent aura, making it impossible for ordinary beings to approach. Yet I stayed in this cabin for so long and sensed nothing."
Zhang Ruochen stroked his chin, puzzled, then his eyes lit up. "He must have some treasure on him that conceals his aura."
On a place like the Undead Ancient Ship, Zhang Ruochen dared not act recklessly. He first released his spiritual power to scan for danger, then approached the corpse.
On the corpse's belt, a silver thread hung a white token.
Zhang Ruochen took the token first, wiping off the dust.
On the token were engraved eight sword patterns, each containing a different sword Dao essence, each deeper than the last.
Zhang Ruochen released his spiritual power, immersing himself in it.
Instantly, the eight sword patterns on the token emitted white light, rising into eight three-inch-long small swords, performing eight different sword techniques.
The eight sword techniques were all profound, but it was clear their power varied.
Especially the seventh and eighth techniques—they were arcane and ever-changing. Even with Zhang Ruochen's current sword Dao mastery, he was forced back by them.
Zhang Ruochen quickly withdrew his spiritual power, somewhat startled. "The *Flying Immortal Sword Art* of Ten Thousand Fragrance City?"
Ten Thousand Fragrance City, known as the "Sword City," was renowned alongside the Sword Pavilion of the Taiji Dao, the Wang Clan of the Nether King Sword Tomb, and the Martial God Mountain of the Martial Market Bank, collectively called the Four Great Sword Dao Holy Lands of the world.
The *Flying Immortal Sword Art* of Ten Thousand Fragrance City was famous across the world, and Zhang Ruochen knew something about it.
It was said that the *Flying Immortal Sword Art* was a sword technique manual created by the ancestors of Ten Thousand Fragrance City through comprehending the *Wordless Sword Manual*.
The first level of sword technique corresponded to Sword One.
The second level corresponded to Sword Two.
And so on, the eighth level corresponded to Sword Eight.
Compared to the *Wordless Sword Manual*, the greatest advantage of the *Flying Immortal Sword Art* was that it was easier to comprehend, and it directly transformed sword Dao intent into sword technique moves.
While practicing the sword techniques, a sword cultivator could reverse-comprehend Sword One, Sword Two, Sword Three...
Eight hundred years ago, Sword Emperor Xue Hongchen burst onto the scene, directly supplementing the *Flying Immortal Sword Art* to the tenth level, making it one of the most powerful sword techniques in the Kunlun Realm.
Zhang Ruochen flipped the token over. On the back were indeed engraved the words "Ten Thousand Fragrance City."
"This person wears the Eight Sword Token of Ten Thousand Fragrance City, meaning he has successfully cultivated the eighth level of the *Flying Immortal Sword Art* and likely comprehended Sword Eight. A truly terrifying figure," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei said, "Based on my judgment, this person has been dead for about three hundred years."
"Three hundred years ago, Ten Thousand Fragrance City had nine sword saints, overwhelming the other three sword Dao holy lands and claiming the title of number one in the world. Among the nine sword saints, six were disciples of the Sword Emperor. Over three hundred years, three of the nine sword saints fell, and two went missing."
"This person should be the top expert of Ten Thousand Fragrance City three hundred years ago, the Sword Emperor's second disciple, Xue Lanshan."
After some thought, Zhang Ruochen deduced the corpse's identity.
The Sword Emperor was most romantic, only accepting female disciples, but made an exception for Xue Lanshan, showing how exceptional his talent was.
At the time, cultivators across the Kunlun Realm believed Xue Lanshan would be the Sword Emperor's successor.
Xue Lanshan indeed did not disappoint the Sword Emperor. After the Sword Emperor disappeared, he quickly became the top expert of Ten Thousand Fragrance City.
If he hadn't died here three hundred years ago, he might have comprehended Sword Nine and become an unparalleled sword Dao supreme in the world today.
"Xue Lanshan's cultivation was terrifying—below the Great Saint realm, few could match him. How did he fall on the Undead Ancient Ship? Could there be something even more fearsome than evil holy thought bodies on this ship?"
Thinking this, Zhang Ruochen felt a chill in his limbs, realizing he had underestimated the danger of the Undead Ancient Ship.
Zhang Ruochen had once heard Ao Xinyan mention that after reaching the Saint realm, the deeper one's cultivation, the faster one would die entering the Yin-Yang Sea. He hadn't believed it then, but now he was somewhat convinced.
Zhang Ruochen put away the Eight Sword Token and continued searching the corpse. From the chest area, he retrieved a palm-sized hexagonal stone.
The stone was rough, reddish in color, engraved with dragon patterns.
Seeing the hexagonal stone in Zhang Ruochen's hand, Xiao Hei grew excited. "This is the gate seal of Dragon Fire Island. Now I know why Xue Lanshan came to the Yin-Yang Sea. He must have wanted to enter Dragon Fire Island to subdue the Nuan Ling Dragon Fire, using it to temper his saintly body in preparation for breaking through to the Great Saint realm."
Zhang Ruochen showed a hint of joy. "Is there really Nuan Ling Dragon Fire in the Yin-Yang Sea?"
Nuan Ling Dragon Fire was of a higher grade than Boundless Saint Fire, spewed from the mouths of divine dragons, capable of burning the heavens and boiling the seas.
Xiao Hei said, "In the entire Kunlun Realm, only Dragon Fire Island has Nuan Ling Dragon Fire. In the distant past, young divine dragon cubs, upon reaching the Saint realm, would go to Dragon Fire Island to try to subdue Nuan Ling Dragon Fire."
"Zhang Ruochen, you should also go subdue a strand of Nuan Ling Dragon Fire. It can deal with evil holy thought bodies. Moreover, when retrieving the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Pagoda, Nuan Ling Dragon Fire will be very useful."
Without needing Xiao Hei to say more, upon learning of the Nuan Ling Dragon Fire, Zhang Ruochen had already decided to go after it.
The uses of Nuan Ling Dragon Fire were far more than what Xiao Hei mentioned—it was also immensely helpful for saintly path cultivation.
But entering Dragon Fire Island was no easy task; only by using the gate seal could one get in.
Zhang Ruochen stored the gate seal in his space ring for safekeeping.
Then, he continued searching and finally found the reason the corpse's aura hadn't spread out.
It was on the corpse's right wrist.
A string of white Buddhist prayer beads, twelve in total.
"The beads carry the aura of the Buddha Emperor—could they be a spiritual treasure personally refined by the Buddha Emperor?"
Zhang Ruochen was quite familiar with the Buddha Emperor's aura and could recognize it.
Xiao Hei nodded. "Xue Lanshan brought this string of beads into the Yin-Yang Sea to conceal heavenly secrets, hide his aura, and avoid the dangers within. Unfortunately, he still couldn't reach Dragon Fire Island and died on the Undead Ancient Ship."
This string of beads was far superior to the bead that Master Indra had given Zhang Ruochen.
"Wearing this string of beads should allow me to evade the evil holy thought bodies, and the Undying Divine Temple definitely won't be able to calculate my whereabouts anymore," Zhang Ruochen thought.
All along, Zhang Ruochen had been in a passive position because the Undying Divine Temple could calculate his location, chasing him no matter where he fled.
As long as he could avoid the Undying Divine Temple's calculations, Zhang Ruochen could turn from light to shadow, from passive to active.
Just as Zhang Ruochen removed the beads, the corpse's eyes suddenly snapped open, staring straight at him.
At the same time, a roar sounded from within the corpse, and its skin emitted a dazzling saintly light, illuminating the cabin.
A powerful wave of saintly Qi spread throughout the Undead Ancient Ship.
After Xue Lanshan's death, his immense saintly power had been gathered within his body, and now it erupted completely.
All the evil holy thought bodies on the Undead Ancient Ship were alarmed, emitting piercing shrieks as they rushed toward the center of the saintly power fluctuation.
"Senior Xue Lanshan, I borrow two items from your body. Once I leave the Yin-Yang Sea, I will surely return your remains and belongings to Ten Thousand Fragrance City."
Zhang Ruochen did not want to take advantage of the dead. Finding the Dragon Fire Island gate seal and the beads on Xue Lanshan was already a great fortune.
After using them, returning the two treasures to Xue Lanshan's descendants would be a fair exchange.
Sure enough, upon hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, the corpse's eyes slowly closed again.
Xiao Hei let out a long sigh of relief, still staring at the corpse. "Zhang Ruochen, if you hadn't said those words just now, you might have died here."
"Is that so?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"At Xue Lanshan's level of cultivation, even in death, he might have left some contingencies."
Pausing, Xiao Hei added, "Protected by the beads, Xue Lanshan's saintly soul may not have completely dissipated. Even if only a wisp of remnant soul remains in his body, killing you wouldn't be difficult."
Zhang Ruochen inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's go, quickly. I can sense a large number of evil holy thought bodies approaching."
Zhang Ruochen bowed respectfully to Xue Lanshan's corpse, then stored it in his space ring. Together with Xiao Hei, he swiftly left the cabin.
On the way, Zhang Ruochen encountered over a dozen evil holy thought bodies, but with the twelve beads on his wrist, he evaded them all without revealing his aura.
Zhang Ruochen did not go looking for Ao Xinyan or the Mad Drunkard. Finding them on the Undead Ancient Ship would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Over the next three days, Zhang Ruochen consolidated his cultivation while also refining the remaining two-tenths of the essence from the Dragon Pearl, further enhancing his strength.
On that day, standing on the deck, Zhang Ruochen saw another Undead Ancient Ship on the vast, boundless sea. That ship emitted a silver radiance, turning the surrounding sea silver.
It was the silver Undead Ancient Ship carrying the Devouring Demon Dragon and the sacred beasts of the Ancestral Dragon Mountain.
"Finally caught up to them."
Zhang Ruochen squinted, a slight curve forming at the corner of his mouth.
At that moment, the silver Undead Ancient Ship was anchored near an island.
Xiao Hei jumped onto Zhang Ruochen's shoulder, pointing at the distant island. "That's Dragon Fire Island."
(Chapter End)