# Chapter 1315: The Sound of Wind Chimes
Zhang Ruochen understood very well the purpose of Canglan Martial Saint's sword duel with him—she merely wanted to deduce his origins and identity through the sword techniques he employed.
"Now is not the time for a sword duel, and this is not the place for it. There will be opportunities later."
Having said this, Zhang Ruochen turned around with an air of ease and walked toward the direction of the medicinal garden.
Canglan Martial Saint quickly caught up and walked side by side with him, saying, "There is another matter I wish to discuss with you. Lend Zhu Qingyi to me for a time, and you may name whatever conditions you wish."
"No."
Zhang Ruochen refused very decisively.
Canglan Martial Saint looked rather puzzled and said, "Keeping Zhu Qingyi by your side brings you no benefit whatsoever. The Undying Blood Clan will certainly dispatch a large number of experts to rescue her. Among the humans, those who have grudges against her or wish to use her head in exchange for cultivation resources will also surely seek you out. With your current cultivation, you simply cannot protect her, and in the end, you will only harm yourself. Hand her over to me, and consider it a favor I owe you."
Zhang Ruochen stopped walking, glanced at her, and smiled, "Is your favor very valuable?"
"Of course it is very valuable."
Canglan Martial Saint's eyelashes curled upward, and a confident smile appeared in her phoenix-like eyes, radiant and proud, as if she were a true phoenix.
But Zhang Ruochen's expression turned serious as he said, "Are you not already indebted to me for two favors? How do you intend to repay them?"
Canglan Martial Saint was momentarily stunned, then revealed an expression that was both exasperated and amused, saying, "I never realized you were such a calculating person. Does today count as a favor as well? If I had not intervened, you would have already formed a great enmity with the Martial Market Bank."
"If you had not intervened, that academy master of the Northern Domain Saint Academy would already be a dead man," Zhang Ruochen said.
Canglan Martial Saint had no words to retort.
The six female saints following behind the two of them all exchanged glances, and some even showed expressions of schadenfreude. This was the first time someone had managed to render the lofty Martial Saint speechless.
Zhang Ruochen stopped again and asked, "Why are you following me?"
Canglan Martial Saint smoothed her crystalline, fiery red hair that resembled flames, lifted her snow-white chin, and gazed at the array chains connecting heaven and earth, saying, "Wuyuan Island is very dangerous, with killing intent lurking everywhere. We should form an alliance. That way, even if we face the three great Tongtian Blood Generals of the Undying Blood Clan at the same time, we can handle them with ease."
Zhang Ruochen was somewhat curious and asked, "Have the experts from the Ministry of War not yet arrived at Xianji Mountain?"
"They should already be on the way. However, according to the latest intelligence, a large number of Undying Blood Clan experts are also rushing here, and the situation is not so optimistic. The most recent information suggests that Xianji Mountain seems to conceal an extraordinary secret," Canglan Martial Saint said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You and the six female saints came to Wuyuan Island—what exactly are you after? The Thousand-Leaf Saint Core Grass?"
"Exactly. Legend has it that the Thousand-Leaf Saint Core Grass is the main ingredient for refining the Transformation Saint Pill. Whether true or false, at the very least, it must not fall into the hands of the Undying Blood Clan."
Canglan Martial Saint continued, "Moreover, the more dangerous a place is, the more it can temper a cultivator's will. With my current cultivation, relying solely on swallowing sacred medicines and sacred pills makes it very difficult to break through to the Tongtian Realm. I need experience, I need to comprehend the rules of the sacred path through battle, and I need an opportunity for transformation."
If one stays in a peaceful, stable, and comfortable place for too long, one becomes numb, like stagnant water. Even with abundant cultivation resources, it is very difficult to comprehend the higher-level rules of the sacred path.
Change is needed.
When faced with such a predicament, even Buddhist cultivators who dwell deep in the mountains will grow restless from stillness and choose to enter the bustling mortal world for worldly cultivation.
Martial cultivators facing such a predicament will seek out an opponent of equal strength and engage in a life-or-death duel.
Canglan Martial Saint, who spent most of her time in the Central Imperial City, was clearly facing the same predicament. That was why she had personally come to Xianji Mountain—not only to find the formula for the Transformation Saint Pill but also to achieve her own breakthrough.
The White Feather Twelve Saints shared the same purpose, unwilling to remain in stagnant waters any longer, wanting to break through their shackles and ascend to a higher realm. Thus, death became inevitable.
"Since we are so compatible, let us form a temporary alliance," Zhang Ruochen said.
Wuyuan Island was only so large, and they could encounter the Tongtian Blood Generals again at any moment. With just him and Qing Mo's strength, they could not handle it. Forming an alliance with Canglan Martial Saint was indeed a good choice.
Zhang Ruochen led Canglan Martial Saint and the six female saints out of the Phantom Forest and arrived outside the medicinal garden, but he did not see Qing Mo's figure. His heart tightened.
Had something unexpected happened?
"Master."
Qing Mo's voice came from the fence.
Then, a green vine coiled around the fence gradually contracted, transforming into a slender young girl—it was the timid and weak Qing Mo.
The unconscious Zhu Qingyi, who had been wrapped inside the green vine, was now held in Qing Mo's hand.
Qing Mo's eyes darted as she said in a low voice, "Earlier, several Saint Realm experts came here. I did not dare to fight them alone, so I hid. Master, you won't blame me, will you?"
"Why would I blame you?" Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
Qing Mo said, "They all broke into the medicinal garden, and I did not stop them. That old man said that once..."
Sensing Canglan Martial Saint and the six female saints nearby, Qing Mo did not dare to continue and quickly closed her mouth.
Canglan Martial Saint was quite sharp and immediately asked, "Which old man?"
"Indeed, there was an old man who broke into the medicinal garden and intended to seize the Thousand-Leaf Saint Core Grass. So, we should speed up and not let him get ahead of us."
Zhang Ruochen explained to Canglan Martial Saint, then took a step forward and directly entered the medicinal garden.
Qing Mo's mouth fell open in disbelief. Zhang Ruochen had completely disregarded Gu Songzi's words and barged in himself.
Gu Songzi was cunning. If he truly listened to him and guarded the garden outside, he would probably end up being tricked by him in the end.
Therefore, Zhang Ruochen decided to take the initiative.
As long as he obtained the Thousand-Leaf Saint Core Grass, Gu Songzi might even have to beg him.
Inside the medicinal garden, blood-red mist filled the air, and beams of light interwove, full of danger.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Cloud-Swallowing Bell, which he had seized from a Blood Saint not long ago, and threw it forward.
"Whoosh—"
A beam of light swept across the Cloud-Swallowing Bell, directly cutting this Thousand-Mark Sacred Artifact in two, causing it to fall to the ground.
Seeing this, even Canglan Martial Saint drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
"The power of the Great Saint's remnant formation reaches its maximum within the medicinal garden. Everyone must be extremely careful. Once you come into contact with the light beams, death is certain, and no defensive measure will be of any use."
Zhang Ruochen warned them and continued forward.
The soil of the medicinal garden was crimson red, emitting a sacred radiance. It was Divine Blood Red Soil, irrigated with divine blood.
Since it was a divine soil medicinal garden, it was no surprise that it could nurture a large number of sacred medicines.
Before long, they discovered a corpse beside a sacred medicine, cut into nine segments by the light beams. It was a Thorough Earth Realm Saint from the Star-Su Sect, a regional overlord, but he had lost his life for the sake of a sacred medicine.
Zhang Ruochen and Canglan Martial Saint were not lacking in sacred medicines, so their goal was very clear: to head straight for the Thousand-Leaf Saint Core Grass, unwilling to waste time picking other sacred medicines.
They could consider that after seizing the Thousand-Leaf Saint Core Grass.
The mist within the medicinal garden grew thicker and thicker. Even with the vision of a Saint Realm being, they could only see within five steps.
"Jingle, jingle."
A pleasant sound of wind chimes came from within the mist, as if someone was walking quickly.
Suddenly, the sound of wind chimes stopped.
At that moment, a black figure appeared before Zhang Ruochen and Canglan Martial Saint. It was very tall, with long arms, and a string of white wind chimes hung at its waist.
The black figure emitted a hoarse voice, extremely harsh, saying, "Turn back. The Thousand-Leaf Saint Core Grass does not belong to you."
"Death Evil Qi."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes widened as he detected the aura of Death Evil Qi on the black figure.
Suddenly, the black figure's aura became extremely fierce, and the wind chimes at its waist rang without any wind, saying, "I was going to spare your lives, but now I cannot. You know too much—you must die."
The black figure moved like a ghost, passing through the blood-red beams of light one after another. It stretched out its five fingers and pressed them toward Zhang Ruochen's face, a mass of death qi surging from its palm.
"Sword, out."
Canglan Martial Saint formed a sword seal with her fingers and pointed forward. The sacred sword flew out and collided with the black figure's palm, producing a resounding clang of metal.
Then, both of them retreated simultaneously.
"Impressive. I did not expect that even after the World Spirit of the Kunlun Realm was severed, it could still produce a prodigy like you. At the same realm, you can actually fight me."
The black figure let out a laugh, then retreated backward, disappearing into the blood mist.
"Chase."
Canglan Martial Saint instinctively sensed that the black figure's origins were extraordinary and wanted to detain him, so she quickly pursued.
Zhang Ruochen was also full of doubts. His eyes narrowed, and he immediately followed.
Not long after the chase, Zhang Ruochen felt as if he had stepped into empty space, his body plummeting downward rapidly, as if jumping off a cliff, completely beyond his control.
However, he soon landed on solid ground again. He exhaled lightly and looked up, only to find that the entire world had changed—he was no longer in that medicinal garden.
It seemed he had just crossed a spatial barrier.