# Chapter 1247: Siming Divine Maiden
Zhang Ruochen had been able to rapidly cultivate from the initial stage of the Lower Realm Saint to the peak of the Lower Realm Saint mainly because he had absorbed all the power of a Sacred Dragon's dragon pearl.
The power of the dragon pearl was indeed abundant, but it was not pure.
To give an example:
The former Zhang Ruochen was like a short, thin child.
After consuming the dragon pearl, he became a large, fat person. Compared to before, his strength had indeed greatly increased. However, compared to others of the same weight class, he appeared too bloated.
Now, this large, fat person had to train with all his might to shed the excess fat, forging it into powerful muscles, allowing his strength to reach a new level.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen was using the flames within the magma to temper the sacred qi within his body, condensing the sacred dao rules, so that the sacred qi and sacred dao rules released by the dragon pearl would completely merge with his own sacred qi and sacred dao rules.
The sacred dao rules within Zhang Ruochen's body were becoming fewer and fewer, but the remaining sacred dao rules had become exceptionally clear, filled with a wondrous dao rhythm.
Removing the dross, what remained was the essence.
About half an hour later, Zhang Ruochen felt that his control over the sacred qi and sacred dao rules within his body was becoming increasingly effortless.
With a slight thought, a *chi* sound rang out as a strand of sacred qi flew out of his body, condensing into a white war sword.
Zhang Ruochen extended his hand, and the white war sword dissolved back into a mass of sacred qi, disappearing into his palm.
"Although my cultivation hasn't increased at all, my cultivation realm has been completely consolidated—firm as rock, refined like jade—and my combat power has also increased by a small margin. Now, I can finally begin to condense the second sacred source."
On Zhang Ruochen's back, the Immovable Wisdom King Sacred Image manifested.
The body of the Immovable Wisdom King Sacred Image was enormous, standing within the magma, with densely packed sacred dao rules interwoven within it, like a giant spirit god king.
The Immovable Wisdom King Sacred Image rapidly contracted, turning into a fist-sized ball of white light that flew between Zhang Ruochen's two palms.
The seven apertures of his hands emitted bright light, surging forth with fourteen strands of sacred qi, like fourteen white bridges connecting to the Immovable Wisdom King Sacred Image.
As time passed, the Immovable Wisdom King Sacred Image became increasingly solid, transforming from a gaseous state into a liquid state, rushing into his brow.
*Chi chi.*
The liquid sacred image and sacred qi, upon entering the qi sea, rapidly condensed, forming an indestructible crystal.
"The Wisdom King Sacred Source has been successfully condensed."
The corners of Zhang Ruochen's mouth curled up slightly, but before he could rejoice, a thunderous roar echoed within his qi sea, shaking his head with pain, darkening his vision, and nearly causing him to faint.
"What exactly happened?"
Zhang Ruochen quickly split off a strand of spiritual power, condensing it into a tiny human figure that rushed into his qi sea to investigate the situation.
There, two sacred sources hung like stars in the sky above the qi sea, emitting two completely different types of power fluctuations.
At this moment, the two sacred sources were colliding with each other, producing a series of booming sounds.
"Sure enough, cultivating two sacred sources at the same time causes problems."
The tiny human figure formed by Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power stood within the misty qi sea, able to see densely packed sacred dao rules scattering from the two sacred sources, also colliding.
"No, they aren't just colliding; they also seem to be grinding against each other." Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
Zhang Ruochen quickly withdrew his spiritual power, sat cross-legged, and activated his cultivation technique with all his might, regaining control over the two sacred sources and helping them to grind together.
Gradually, the two sacred sources stopped colliding and instead began to rotate around each other like twin stars.
"Finally stabilized."
Zhang Ruochen rubbed his temples to ease the pain in his head, while also letting out a slight sigh of relief.
Just now, the two sacred sources colliding in his qi sea had nearly shattered his scalp.
The sacred sources he had cultivated himself had actually slipped out of his control and nearly shook him to death. That feeling made Zhang Ruochen quite displeased.
Originally, Zhang Ruochen had planned to press on and condense a third sacred source, a fourth sacred source... but now he had to stop.
The more sacred sources he condensed, the harder they would certainly be to control.
"It is said that the Nuanling Dragon Fire can not only temper sacred qi and sacred dao rules but also refine sacred sources, improving their quality. If I can first obtain a strand of Nuanling Dragon Fire, it should solve the problem of multiple sacred sources conflicting with each other." Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Once he obtained the Nuanling Dragon Fire, he could condense the other sacred sources later. There was no need to take risks now.
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes and saw that outside his body, eighty-one layers of sacred light had manifested, like eighty-one layers of light cocoons enveloping him.
When he had condensed the first Sword Dao Sacred Source, Zhang Ruochen only had seventy-two layers of sacred light.
After condensing the second Wisdom King Sacred Source, he had gained nine more layers of sacred light.
The more layers of sacred light one had, the stronger their defense and combat power would be at the same cultivation level.
Not only had his cultivation increased significantly, but his physical body had also become much stronger. Even under the scorching flames of the magma, the pain was no longer as intense as before.
"With my current sacred dao cultivation and physical strength, if I were to compete in raw power with the Barbarian Dragon Young Lord again, I definitely wouldn't be at a disadvantage."
Zhang Ruochen was confident that, even without using the power of time and space, he could contend with a Xuanhuang Realm Saint.
"During the time I was cultivating, the Undying Blood Clan and the imperial court's experts should have already entered the volcano, right?"
A sharp gleam flashed in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. From his waist, a layer of blood-red light surged forth, and the metal belt transformed into a suit of armor, covering his entire body.
Then, he concealed his aura, broke through the magma, and silently rushed into the depths of the earth.
After descending about twelve thousand meters, Zhang Ruochen sensed more than one powerful fluctuation of sacred qi. He became even more cautious, approaching slowly and unhurriedly.
Before long, Zhang Ruochen discovered an open underground space ahead, from which dozens of powerful sacred qi fluctuations emanated.
Zhang Ruochen quickly retreated, looking through half a meter of magma toward the underground space.
The underground space had a spherical structure, about three thousand meters in diameter, resembling a large bubble within the magma.
At the center of the underground space stood a three-hundred-meter-tall square altar.
The altar was built from a type of red sacred jade. On each of its four sides was carved a divine dragon, lifelike and exuding a formidable dragon might.
At the center of the altar was an ancient well that led straight to the depths of the earth's core. From the mouth of the well, a faint blue light emanated, casting the space above the altar in a blue hue.
Dozens of figures with immense auras stood around the altar, divided into various camps, with swords drawn and bows bent, their killing intent palpable.
The human camp consisted entirely of experts from the imperial court. Among the nine realm sons, Chi Wansui and Suihan stood at the forefront.
Both of them had already stepped into the Saint Realm.
Empress Chi Yao had spent the entire cultivation resources of the Kunlun Realm to temper the physiques and reshape the foundations of the nine realm sons. Such resource cultivation was something only they, the nine, could enjoy from ancient times to the present.
After emerging from seclusion, the cultivation speed of the nine realm sons was naturally like riding a rocket. No other being could compare to them.
As time went on, their cultivation speed would only become faster.
Zhang Ruochen and the Devouring Demon Dragon relied entirely on their own powerful physiques and a series of fortuitous encounters to keep up with their cultivation speed.
Chi Wansui was enveloped in sixty-four layers of golden sacred light, wearing a suit of golden battle armor and holding a Qilin long spear, like a war god covering the world.
Suihan wore a set of green clothes, with soft, beautiful long hair, delicate features, and smooth skin, exuding a refined and elegant aura.
His face was extremely beautiful, without any flaws, enough to make men's hearts flutter upon seeing him.
If the world's cultivators did not know he was a man, they would surely think he was a woman disguised as a man.
In addition, the Ministry of War's rising star Bu Qianfan and the Little Saint Heavenly King Manor's commandery princess Wan Huayu stood behind Chi Wansui and Suihan, respectively.
Bu Qianfan had not received the same generous cultivation as the realm sons, but he had seized the fortune of Di Yi's physique and had his own fortuitous encounters. Compared to the two realm sons, he was only slightly weaker.
Of course, besides them, one other person in the imperial court's camp caught Zhang Ruochen's attention.
It was a mass of white mist...
More precisely, it should be a figure standing within the white mist, whose gender and age were unclear, but Zhang Ruochen felt an unfathomable depth from them.
Just as Zhang Ruochen's gaze fixed on that mass of white mist, a surge of overwhelming spiritual power erupted from within the mist.
*Boom.*
Zhang Ruochen felt as if a vast ocean appeared before him, with waves hundreds of feet high surging toward him.
Behind the waves, a pair of eyes appeared.
They were incredibly beautiful eyes, distinct in black and white, full of spirituality, containing terrifying energy, very much like the blazing sun and the bright moon hanging in the sky.
They should belong to a woman.
"Such powerful spiritual power. Just by looking at her, she discovered me."
The surrounding space seemed to freeze. Zhang Ruochen was locked onto by her spiritual power, unable to move, forced to watch as layers of waves surged toward him.
Suddenly, a delicate jade hand reached out from the magma, grabbed Zhang Ruochen's right hand, and pulled him back.
Instantly, Zhang Ruochen was pulled deep into the magma, breaking free from the lock of that spiritual power, and the pressure on him vanished without a trace.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the owner of that jade hand, a strange expression crossing his face. Then, he smiled slightly: "You caught up after all. The Yin-Yang Sea is quite dangerous; you shouldn't have barged in."
The woman holding Zhang Ruochen's hand was none other than Huang Yanchen.
Huang Yanchen gave Zhang Ruochen a somewhat reproachful look and said, "This is not the time to talk about that. Do you know who attacked you just now?"
"Who?"
Zhang Ruochen was indeed a bit curious.
Huang Yanchen said, "The Siming Divine Maiden of the Earth Divine Temple, Xian Feizi, who is also one of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maidens by the Empress's side. Fortunately, she only used her spiritual power to lock onto you and didn't affect the surrounding creatures. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to save you from her grasp."
(End of this chapter)