Chapter 1245: Young Lord of the Barbarian Dragon Clan
Ao Xinyan stared at the carefree figure before her, gently pursing her lips, and said, "In this era, geniuses emerge in large numbers, and outstanding talents gather together. But the beings who can rival you can be counted on one hand. Clan Leader, you are already the most outstanding human prodigy from the Kunlun Realm in the last hundred years. Now is your era, and you represent the center of fortune in this age. Therefore, every move you make will be closely watched by the major powers."
Ao Xinyan's words were somewhat exaggerated, but they were not without reason.
Everyone has different fortunes. Without the support of great fortune, Zhang Ruochen would not have achieved what he has today, nor would he have become the most outstanding figure among the younger generation.
Even the humans and barbarian beasts following him could gain the blessing of fortune, receiving benefits far beyond those of other beings.
To say that he represents the center of fortune for an era is not an overstatement at all.
Zhang Ruochen and the Devouring Demon Dragon, two beings with great fortune, entering the Yin-Yang Sea at the same time would naturally alarm the entire Kunlun Realm.
"Oh?"
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen raised his head, looking westward, narrowing his eyes, and said, "What's going on? Could there be other forces sending strong experts to the Yin-Yang Sea?"
To the west of the Dragon Fire Path, on the calm sea surface, a hundred-zhang-tall wave surged up, emitting a deep, rumbling sound.
A patch of white mist emerged from behind the wave, rapidly approaching Dragon Fire Island.
Within the mist, the shadow of a white ghost ship gradually took shape.
Although it was far away, Zhang Ruochen used his Heavenly Eye to clearly see several familiar figures on the ghost ship: Chi Wansui, Wan Huayu, Bu Qianfan, Sui Han...
All of them were the most famous rising stars in the imperial court over the past few decades, each backed by colossal power factions.
"The imperial court's forces have also entered the Yin-Yang Sea," Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
Ao Xinyan's expression changed slightly, and she said, "Could someone have leaked your whereabouts?"
"Impossible."
Zhang Ruochen dismissed Ao Xinyan's speculation.
Apart from Xiao Hei, only Huang Yanchen and Qing Mo knew that he was heading to the Yin-Yang Sea to find the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower and the recipe for the Six Saints Ascending Heaven Wine.
Huang Yanchen and Qing Mo would not betray him to the imperial court. There must be another reason.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Undying Divine Temple can calculate my whereabouts. The Earth Divine Temple established by the imperial court might also be able to deduce it."
The Earth Divine Temple had recruited countless spiritual power cultivators from across the world, possessing the power to reshape heaven and earth. It was extremely mysterious and powerful, independent of the six ministries of the imperial court, and directly under the command of the Empress.
Rumors had it that three hundred years ago, the master of the Earth Divine Temple, "Living Bodhisattva," debated with Grand Chancellor Wang Shiqi for nine days.
Wang Shiqi praised him highly, considering him the human most likely to become a Spiritual Power Great Saint after the Buddha Emperor and the Wen Emperor.
Now, three hundred years later, that Living Bodhisattva might have already become a Spiritual Power Great Saint. If so, it would not be strange for the imperial court to know that Zhang Ruochen had entered the Yin-Yang Sea.
"The Undying Blood Clan and the imperial court's young saints have already arrived. It's possible that more forces' young saints will enter the Yin-Yang Sea next. We must hurry," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Boom."
As soon as Zhang Ruochen finished speaking, the flame barriers to the south and west of Dragon Fire Island split open, forming gaps.
Large numbers of saints from the Undying Blood Clan and the imperial court, like specks of light, passed through the gaps and flew into the island.
Clearly, they had come prepared, carrying gate seals.
At the foot of the mountain, the Corpse Devouring Flower had drained the Xuanwei Sacred Beast into a dried corpse, leaving only a spiky hide.
The Corpse Devouring Flower's cultivation had increased significantly, and its aura was very powerful, but it had still not broken through to the Upper Realm Saint realm.
"After refining three Sacred Sources and two Sacred Beast corpses in a row, I still can't break through," the Corpse Devouring Flower said, deeply disappointed.
Within the flower, a beautiful illusory figure stared at Zhang Ruochen with pitiful eyes and said, "Master, give me one more Sacred Source, and I will definitely break through."
Zhang Ruochen said, "The reason you haven't broken through to the Upper Realm Saint realm is not because you haven't absorbed enough nutrients, but because the nutrients you've absorbed are too mixed and not pure enough. Once I collect a strand of Nuanling Dragon Fire to help you refine the Sacred Qi in your body, you should be able to break through soon."
Zhang Ruochen withdrew the Corpse Devouring Flower into his body, then performed a Great Space Teleportation, taking Xiao Hei and Ao Xinyan across space. After three consecutive jumps, they finally arrived at the top of the volcano at the island's center.
The volcano, over nine thousand meters tall, stood above the clouds, majestic and imposing, with a ring-shaped structure. Large amounts of black smoke and dust billowed from within the mountain.
Even standing at the summit without jumping into the volcano, the temperature in the air was astonishingly high.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Ao Xinyan and said, "Your cultivation hasn't reached the Saint realm, so it's better not to jump down. Wait for me up here."
"No, I have the Dragon Pearl to protect my body. Even if I enter the volcano, I won't be burned to death."
Ao Xinyan's gaze was firm, and she continued, "I must collect a strand of Nuanling Dragon Fire. Only by using Nuanling Dragon Fire to temper my body can my True Dragon Body, once fully developed, possess power as formidable as the Devouring Demon Dragon's."
Zhang Ruochen looked at her deeply, not wanting to dampen her enthusiasm.
After all, with Ao Xinyan's talent and such a firm belief, once her True Dragon Body was fully developed, she might indeed have a chance to fight the Devouring Demon Dragon.
"Alright, let's go down together."
Zhang Ruochen and Ao Xinyan, one after the other, leaped into the volcanic crater.
Xiao Hei did not jump down. Instead, he went to the foot of the volcano and began carving formation inscriptions, preparing for the battles that might erupt later.
Dragon Fire Island was the Yang Eye of the Yin-Yang Sea.
The volcano's location was the heart of the Yang Eye. Only Saint realm beings could barely withstand the high temperatures inside the volcano.
Zhang Ruochen, wearing the Ten Saints Blood Armor and activating the Seventy-Two Layer Saint Light and Saint Soul Domain, rushed deep into the earth at full speed.
The interior of the volcano was like a furnace of heaven and earth, filled with crimson magma and blazing sacred flames that could melt everything in the world.
The deeper they went, the higher the temperature became.
At a depth of two thousand three hundred meters, Ao Xinyan stopped, a pained expression on her face, but she gritted her teeth and held on.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You don't need to go any deeper. Stay here; you might still find a strand of Nuanling Dragon Fire."
Nuanling Dragon Fire was distributed within the magma. The deeper one went, the higher the probability of finding it.
At Ao Xinyan's current position, the chance of finding Nuanling Dragon Fire was extremely low.
Ao Xinyan knew that with her cultivation, she could not go any deeper, so she said, "I'll stay here and cultivate, taking this opportunity to break through to the Second Tribulation Quasi-Saint realm."
Ao Xinyan found a relatively hidden spot, sat down in the center of layers of flames, and began to circulate her technique, focusing all her energy on cultivation.
Even if she couldn't find Nuanling Dragon Fire, breaking through her realm would still make this trip worthwhile.
Zhang Ruochen plunged deeper into the earth: three thousand meters, four thousand meters, five thousand meters...
At a depth of five thousand meters, a sense of alertness arose in Zhang Ruochen's heart. Sensing danger, he swung the Abyssal Ancient Sword forward in a slash.
Below him, a cyan battle axe, over ten meters long, split the magma and swung upward.
The axe head was several times larger than Zhang Ruochen's body, carrying the terrifying power to split mountains and cleave peaks.
"Boom!"
The axe blade clashed with the Abyssal Ancient Sword, producing a piercing, thunderous sound.
Zhang Ruochen was sent flying backward over a hundred meters before he managed to neutralize the impact.
His arm was extremely sore, and even the sword in his hand felt unsteady.
"Roar!"
A deafening roar came from below.
A one-armed giant, over twenty meters tall, wielding a massive axe, burst through the crimson magma and charged at Zhang Ruochen.
The one-armed giant's body was covered in dragon scales the size of palms, emitting streams of dragon Qi like flowing water.
Zhang Ruochen used his Heavenly Eye to examine the one-armed giant and discovered that its true form was not human but a barbarian dragon.
"Boom."
Zhang Ruochen clashed with the one-armed giant again, once more being sent flying over a hundred meters upward, his arm even more sore.
With his physical body having achieved sainthood, he was still no match for it in raw strength.
"As expected of a barbarian dragon—immense strength and a fierce, tough body."
Zhang Ruochen circulated Sacred Qi through the meridians and Sacred Meridians in his arm for one cycle, and the pain vanished.
"I am the Young Lord of the Barbarian Dragon Clan, Xin Tong. For your weak human body to withstand two of my axe strikes is quite impressive," the one-armed giant said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "So you're the Young Lord of the Barbarian Dragon Clan. Your strength is indeed decent, a bit stronger than Xue Zhen Yaoji."
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord, Xin Tong, was also one of the top young sacred beasts nurtured by the Ancestral Dragon Mountain, having entered the Yin-Yang Sea with the Devouring Demon Dragon.
Being called a Young Lord meant that Xin Tong possessed the purest royal bloodline of the Barbarian Dragon Clan, making him far more powerful than an ordinary barbarian dragon.
"If I had broken through to the Xuanhuang realm, I could have killed Xue Zhen Yaoji with a single axe strike. You dare compare me to her? Are you insulting me?" the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord roared.
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord was only at the Upper Realm Saint realm, but his strength surpassed Xue Zhen Yaoji's.
Suddenly, the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord realized something was wrong and said in surprise, "Xue Zhen Yaoji and the Xuanwei Sacred Beast were guarding the outside. How did you get into the volcanic crater?"
"They have both already died by my sword," Zhang Ruochen said.
"You are that mysterious human sword cultivator?"
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord widened his eyes, a look of caution appearing on his face.
When Xue Zhen Yaoji and the Xuanwei Sacred Beast joined forces, even the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord would find it very difficult to fight them. Could this human before him really have killed them?
The Barbarian Dragon Young Lord did not believe this person was truly that powerful. "Nonsense! With your strength, you couldn't even defeat one of them. How could you have killed them?"
"Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter at all."
Zhang Ruochen stopped wasting words with the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord and said, "Corpse Devouring Flower."
The Corpse Devouring Flower burst out from Zhang Ruochen's back, its vines covered in flowing lightning. A vine as thick as a water barrel lashed out, striking the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord's waist and sending him flying sideways, disappearing into the magma.