Chapter 1285: Escaping Yin-Yang Sea
From the direction of the Abandoned Deep Sea, deafening rumbling sounds continuously rang out, like bolts of heavenly thunder, causing the waters of the Yin-Yang Sea to churn violently.
The group of beings there was far too powerful, possessing the ability to overturn rivers and seas. If Zhang Ruochen and the others had still been in the Abandoned Deep Sea, even the mere residual waves from the battle would have reduced them to ashes.
"I wonder who will seize the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower? If the Dragon Clan or the Undying Blood Clan gets it, it will immediately change the current structure of the Kunlun Realm, and the entire human race will be in great danger," Huang Yanchen murmured to herself.
Qing Mo blinked her eyes, gazing at the fiery red sky. "I remember now. The Undying Bird burns itself to death every five thousand years, and each death is like a rebirth. Xiao Hei might very well be the Undying Bird. However, after its baptism by fire and rebirth, its aura has become completely different from before."
"Undying Bird? Are you saying that fiery red strange bird is the legendary Undying Bird?" Ao Xinyan asked, a look of astonishment on her face.
Qing Mo nodded. "I once saw records about the Undying Bird in a book. I can be certain that it is an Undying Bird."
Hearing Qing Mo's words, Zhang Ruochen also thought back carefully, recalling some information about the Undying Bird.
If that fiery red strange bird truly was an Undying Bird, then it might very well be Xiao Hei's physical body.
First, so many beings were frozen on the stone bridge, yet only it had awakened. There must have been an external force stimulating it. Perhaps it was Xiao Hei's saint soul that had entered the bird's corpse.
Second, the moment the Undying Bird awakened was precisely when the connection between Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei disappeared. Wasn't that too much of a coincidence?
Zhang Ruochen said, "Even if the Undying Bird really is Xiao Hei, it may not be a good thing for us. Before, Xiao Hei followed my will because I controlled the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and could restrain it. Moreover, it needed my help to find its physical body. Now that it has severed its connection with the Cosmic Divine Wood Map, completely breaking free, and possesses such immense power, who can still suppress it?"
Xumi Saint Monk must have had a reason for sealing Xiao Hei's physical body in the Yin-Yang Sea and the Cosmic Divine Wood Map. That fellow was definitely no saint back then. Perhaps, as it claimed, it had once slaughtered countless beings, brought calamity to the world, killed dragons for their gall, and burned the sky to boil the sea.
"Whether the Undying Bird is Xiao Hei or not, we cannot place too much hope in it. In the eyes of a powerhouse like that, we are no different from ants right now. The priority is to leave the Yin-Yang Sea as quickly as possible and save our lives," Huang Yanchen said.
With all three meridians shattered, Zhang Ruochen could not use his martial power or his physical strength. However, he still possessed formidable spiritual power.
From beginning to end, Zhang Ruochen had never given up. With a firm will, he mobilized his spiritual power and forcibly constructed illusory blood vessels within his body.
They were not real blood vessels, just intangible channels that allowed the blood in his body to flow again, restoring some activity to his body's structure and tissues.
Of course, the human body's blood vessel system was extremely complex, including billions of capillaries. With Zhang Ruochen's current spiritual power at the fifty-first level, he had only constructed ten to twenty percent of the entire system.
Only by encountering an even more powerful spiritual power saint could he hope to have a complete blood vessel system recreated for him.
For now, the blood vessel system within Zhang Ruochen's body was very fragile. He had to maintain it with his spiritual power at all times. Without that support, it would shatter instantly.
Gradually, his blood-red skin returned to its normal color.
At the same time, he could stand and walk on his own strength, no different from an ordinary cultivator.
"Lie down immediately. In your current state, don't force yourself," Huang Yanchen said.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head with a smile, took out sacred jade and sacred stones, and began to set up a teleportation array on the deck of the ghost ship.
"The imperial court and the Undying Blood Clan cultivators surely know I escaped the Abandoned Deep Sea. In my current state, I can't fight them. I have to leave the Yin-Yang Sea as fast as possible and avoid them."
Zhang Ruochen's condition was even worse than he had imagined. After just half an hour, he was exhausted and had to sit down to rest.
After that, Zhang Ruochen directed from the side while Huang Yanchen and Ao Xinyan placed the sacred jade and sacred stones. He only did the work himself when it came to inscribing the spatial formation runes.
It took a full two days and one night to successfully set up a space teleportation array. Fortunately, during that time, they did not encounter any Undying Blood Clan or imperial court forces.
The battle in the Abandoned Deep Sea was still ongoing, raging so fiercely that the sky and earth were darkened, and no one knew how it would end.
"Whoosh—"
The spatial formation activated, emitting a brilliant radiance.
When the light faded, Zhang Ruochen and the others were still standing within the formation, but they were no longer on the ghost ship. They had crossed a vast expanse of sea and arrived at the edge of the Yin-Yang Sea.
Before entering the Yin-Yang Sea, Zhang Ruochen had set up a space teleportation array here. He hadn't expected it to come in handy.
"We should be ahead of them in leaving the Yin-Yang Sea. Let's go now," Zhang Ruochen said.
Without any delay, Zhang Ruochen and his group passed through a space wormhole and returned to the desolate mountainous region near the Divine Dream Marsh.
"Leader, come with me to the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan. The clan might have sacred medicines that can help heal your injuries," Ao Xinyan said.
The Divine Dream Marsh was an extremely fertile sacred land, producing rare sacred medicines every year. The Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan had long been entrenched there, and their treasury might indeed hold sacred medicines capable of reconnecting severed meridians.
Zhang Ruochen did not want to give up any hope. So, he followed Ao Xinyan into the Divine Dream Marsh and once again arrived at Dragon Spirit Island in the heart of the marsh.
Upon learning of Zhang Ruochen's plight, the clan leader of the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan, Ao Yi, sighed inwardly. Here was a peerless genius who might have become an emperor-level existence, yet he had been cut down prematurely.
With all three meridians shattered, there was no chance of recovery.
Of course, Ao Yi was not short-sighted. He did not shut Zhang Ruochen out just because he had lost the potential to become a supreme powerhouse.
At the very least, during this trip to the Yin-Yang Sea, Ao Xinyan had made rapid progress, reaching the saint realm and mastering the True Dragon Body to a high level.
All of this was thanks to Zhang Ruochen, and the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan owed him a considerable debt.
Ao Yi gave an order. "Ao Zhan, go fetch the Ten-Thousand-Year Continuation Golden Lotus and the Silver Thread Sacred Vine and give them to Zhang Ruochen."
The Continuation Golden Lotus and the Silver Thread Sacred Vine were both precious medicines for healing meridians and saint meridians. Having grown for over ten thousand years, their medicinal power was immense and very rare.
By offering these two sacred medicines, Ao Yi showed considerable sincerity.
"Thank you, Clan Leader," Zhang Ruochen said, cupping his hands.
Those two sacred medicines did have the power to reconnect severed meridians and saint meridians. However, Zhang Ruochen's meridians and saint meridians were not just severed—they were completely shattered, with not a single intact segment remaining.
Even if he took both medicines, the effect would be minimal.
Ao Yi naturally knew this. He sighed. "This is all I can do. Zhang Ruochen, what are your plans next? If you have nowhere else to go, stay in the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan to recover. Although our clan is not among the top-tier powers, we have our means of self-defense. Not just anyone can break in."
Ao Xinyan quickly added, "Leader, Grandfather is right. Stay in the Divine Dream Marsh to recover. I will send someone to the Northern Domain to invite that Sacred Master of Alchemy to come here."
The Sacred Master of Alchemy that the Drunken Madman had mentioned lived in the Northern Domain, an incredibly vast distance from the Divine Dream Marsh. Ao Xinyan was worried that Zhang Ruochen might encounter trouble on the road and wanted to keep him there.
Zhang Ruochen had too many enemies. Once they learned that his three meridians were crippled, many would come to kill him and seize his treasures.
The journey from the Eastern Domain to the Northern Domain was long, and no matter how well he hid, he might be discovered.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head gently. "Staying with the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan will only bring you endless trouble."
Earlier, Ao Yi's invitation had been merely a polite gesture. He didn't truly want Zhang Ruochen to stay in the Divine Dream Marsh. Zhang Ruochen had offended too many powerful enemies—the Dragon Clan, the Nine Li Palace, the Undying Blood Clan, and various human factions. Any one of them had the strength to annihilate the Divine Dragon Half-Human Clan.
Zhang Ruochen saw this clearly and thus intended to leave.
Ao Xinyan wanted to insist, but Zhang Ruochen cut her off, smiling. "Princess, you don't really think I'm already a cripple, do you? Don't worry. Ordinary enemies can't do much to me. Besides, with Yanchen and Qing Mo traveling with me, who can harm me?"
Ao Xinyan knew she couldn't keep him, so she made a decision. "I'll go with you to the Northern Domain. No matter what, I will find a way to heal your injuries."
Ao Yi naturally wouldn't let Ao Xinyan leave. Letting her go to the Northern Domain with Zhang Ruochen was far too dangerous. He was about to speak up to stop her...
"Boom."
A thunderous sound came from the direction of the space wormhole leading to the Yin-Yang Sea.
The Divine Dragon Hall shook slightly, and the waters of the Divine Dream Marsh surged into waves over ten meters high. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within tens of thousands of miles trembled.
What had happened?
"Could it be that those fierce characters have retreated from the Yin-Yang Sea?"
Zhang Ruochen, Huang Yanchen, Qing Mo, and Ao Xinyan immediately walked out of the Divine Dragon Hall and climbed to a high vantage point, gazing toward the direction of the desolate secret realm.
The sound had indeed come from the space wormhole.
Suddenly, a patch of blood-red clouds flew across the sky. Within the blood clouds was a battered white bone altar. King Zhong Ying stood on the altar, covered in wounds, fleeing desperately into the distance.
"With King Zhong Ying's cultivation, how could he be so severely injured? Who hurt him?" Zhang Ruochen was shocked.
With King Zhong Ying's level of power, even if he couldn't seize the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower, retreating safely should have been easy. Yet, he had been beaten half to death, and even the white bone altar was broken.
Had someone seized the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower and used the power of a divine artifact?