Chapter 1412: Man Sword Great Saint
Riding a heavenly boat, Moon God led Zhang Ruochen and the others across the Heavenly River, finally arriving at the legendary center of all realms, the Heavenly Court Realm.
The Guanghan Divine Palace was situated atop a jade-white divine mountain.
That mountain was called Moon God Mountain, suspended ten thousand zhang above the ground, shrouded in layers of sacred mist. As Moon God returned, the sacred mist quickly dispersed, and the Guanghan Divine Palace emitted a dazzling divine light.
Moon God was announcing to the entire Heavenly Court that after a hundred thousand years, she had returned.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen and the others stood on the ground, gazing up at the crescent-shaped Moon God Mountain in the sky.
Then, another vast sacred aura flew over from afar, landing at the edge of Moon God Mountain. It bowed to the Guanghan Divine Palace and declared loudly, "Guanghan Realm, Mysterious Scorpion Beast Emperor, comes to pay respects to Moon God, congratulating Her on her return to the Heavenly Court Realm."
Afterward, the Mysterious Scorpion Beast Emperor transformed into human form and walked step by step into the Guanghan Divine Palace.
Gu Songzi's expression was solemn, and he clicked his tongue in amazement. "The sixty-second Great Saint. The foundation of the Guanghan Realm is too terrifying. Can it really only rank fourth from the bottom among the myriad realms?"
The Wine Madman was also deeply shaken. "The humans and barbarian beast clans of the Kunlun Realm combined have no more than forty Great Saints, probably only half of the Guanghan Realm's number. Sigh! At the Saint King realm, I thought I could command the wind and rain in the Kunlun Realm, but coming to the Heavenly Court Realm, I realize I'm nothing at all."
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and said, "Have you noticed? The entire Heavenly Court Realm is filled with dense heavenly sacred qi, and below Moon God Mountain, there's even a faint trace of heavenly divine qi. This means that in the Heavenly Court Realm, it's much easier to cultivate to the Saint realm and even easier to reach the Great Saint realm."
Xiao Hei added, "That's right. Compared to the Heavenly Court Realm, the Kunlun Realm's resources and environment are too barren. Those who can cultivate to the Great Saint realm must possess great perseverance, great fortune, and great wisdom. I speculate that once the Saint realm cultivators of the Kunlun Realm arrive here, their cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds in a short time. Some extraordinary figures stuck at the quasi-Great Saint realm might break through rapidly and soar to new heights."
...
About an hour later, the various Great Saints of the Guanghan Realm emerged one by one from the Guanghan Divine Palace, transforming into streaks of sacred light and flying toward the heavens.
Only Man Sword Great Saint flew down to the ground and appeared before Zhang Ruochen and the others.
Man Sword Great Saint was a human, about two meters and twenty centimeters tall, with muscles like divine iron and a thick beard covering his face.
Although Man Sword had restrained his sacred might, the aura he exuded still put immense pressure on Zhang Ruochen and the others.
Man Sword Great Saint carefully observed Zhang Ruochen, a hint of approval in his eyes, and nodded. "So it's the Five Elements Chaos Body and four-time Supreme Extreme Realm. No wonder a Saint at the Earthly Realm level can be so highly valued by Lady Moon God."
"Greetings, Man Sword Great Saint."
Zhang Ruochen, Gu Songzi, the Wine Madman, Mu Lingxi, and Xiao Hei all bowed respectfully to Man Sword Great Saint.
Knowing that Moon God held Zhang Ruochen in high regard, Man Sword Great Saint didn't put on airs. He smiled amiably and said, "Zhang Ruochen, Lady Moon God intends for you to cultivate under my guidance from now on. Are you willing?"
"Naturally, I am willing," Zhang Ruochen replied.
Cultivating under a Great Saint was a dream opportunity for any cultivator. If Zhang Ruochen wanted to grow stronger, he needed such a guide.
Man Sword Great Saint had been observing Zhang Ruochen. Seeing that he remained neither humble nor arrogant before a Great Saint and showed no emotional fluctuation upon learning he could train under one, his eyes lit up.
This was a promising seedling.
Zhang Ruochen, Xiao Hei, and Mu Lingxi left Moon God Mountain with Man Sword Great Saint. As for Gu Songzi and the Wine Madman, Moon God had other arrangements for them.
The heavenly rules of the Heavenly Court Realm were countless times stronger than those of the Kunlun Realm, and the structure of space and matter was far more stable. As a result, even a Half-Saint was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person here.
Saints were much more powerful than Half-Saints, but they still couldn't fly.
Man Sword Great Saint used his own sacred qi to envelop Zhang Ruochen, Xiao Hei, and Mu Lingxi, flying continuously for hundreds of thousands of miles before arriving at a red rocky mountain range. He stopped at the peak of a mountain rich in sacred qi.
"This is my sacred domain, called Red Dragon Sacred Domain," Man Sword Great Saint said.
"How vast is the Red Dragon Sacred Domain?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Man Sword Great Saint laughed heartily. "In the Heavenly Court Realm, every sacred domain is the same size—thirty thousand miles in length and width. Once you reach the Great Saint realm, you can claim a sacred domain as your territory."
Zhang Ruochen pressed further, "Every Great Saint, no matter how powerful, only has a territory of thirty thousand miles?"
"That's right."
"How large is a god's territory?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Man Sword Great Saint laughed again. "Heavenly laws impose great restrictions on gods, so they cannot own territory in the Heavenly Court Realm. Only Great Saints can have territories, which gives them some say in front of gods. As for Half-Saints, Saints, and Saint Kings, gods don't bother with them at all. However, you're a special case—Lady Moon God values you greatly."
Zhang Ruochen suddenly understood. "I see. The more Great Saints a realm has, the more cultivation territory it can claim in the Heavenly Court Realm, and the more cultivation resources it can obtain. Is that correct?"
Man Sword Great Saint replied, "Yes and no. Although every Great Saint's sacred domain is the same size, some are rich and some are barren. A powerful Great Saint can claim an extremely fertile sacred domain, with cultivation resources a hundred or a thousand times greater than a barren one."
"Work hard on your cultivation. With your physique, once you reach the Great Saint realm, you'll be an exceptionally formidable Great Saint. Then you can claim a top-tier sacred domain, control the best resources, and even gods will come to you for favors."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze grew sharp, his desire to become stronger burning even fiercer. He asked again, "What exactly does Moon God want me to help her with?"
Man Sword Great Saint shook his head. "Lady Moon God hasn't mentioned it to me. However, a major event is coming soon, and you might be able to help. Your realm is still too low. Focus on cultivation and strive to break through to the Heaven-Connecting Realm as soon as possible."
Then, Man Sword Great Saint took out a sacred jade waist token and handed it to Zhang Ruochen. "You don't have any merit points right now, so many cultivation sites are off-limits to you. Use my sacred jade waist token, and at least in the Red Dragon Sacred Domain, you'll have free passage."
Zhang Ruochen grasped the sacred jade waist token and could feel the immense sacred might emanating from it. If not for his strong will, he might have fallen to his knees upon touching it.
Clearly, Man Sword Great Saint was testing Zhang Ruochen again.
If Zhang Ruochen couldn't even hold the token steadily, he wouldn't be worthy of using it.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen hold the token calmly and steadily, Man Sword Great Saint was secretly impressed. He nodded and then left the Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land.
Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land was the cultivation site Man Sword Great Saint had granted to Zhang Ruochen.
Xiao Hei let out an excited, strange cry. "The Heavenly Court Realm is awesome! The three of us can directly occupy a sacred land—unimaginable in the Kunlun Realm!"
Mu Lingxi also showed a delighted smile, her eyes sparkling. "It's not because of you, so why are you so excited? The Guanghan Realm values Zhang Ruochen."
"Whatever. I'm off to inventory how many sacred medicines and mineral deposits Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land has." Xiao Hei spread his wings, flames erupting from his body, and soared into the distance.
Zhang Ruochen let out a soft exclamation.
Mu Lingxi's beautiful eyes widened. "Xiao Hei can fly off the ground? Is his cultivation really just at the Saint realm?"
"We'll interrogate him slowly when he gets back."
Zhang Ruochen had many questions and had long wanted to ask Xiao Hei.
However, on the way to the Heavenly Court Realm, Zhang Ruochen's mood had been heavy, constantly worried about the safety of the Holy Bright Central Empire, so he hadn't asked.
Now, Zhang Ruochen tried to clear his mind of negative emotions, burning with a desire to become stronger and focusing entirely on cultivation.
Thus, upon entering Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land, Zhang Ruochen immediately sat cross-legged, mobilized all the sacred qi in his body, and devoted himself to refining the medicinal energy of the Chongling Pill.
From the initial stage of the Earthly Realm to the middle stage, Zhang Ruochen had only refined one-tenth of the Chongling Pill's medicinal energy. According to his estimate, fully refining the Chongling Pill would allow him to reach the peak of the Earthly Realm.
Man Sword Great Saint returned to the Red Dragon Sacred Hall and immediately issued a sacred decree: "One of the twelve sacred lands of the Red Dragon Sacred Domain, Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land, is now under Zhang Ruochen's ownership. All Saints and Half-Saints of the Guanghan Realm must obtain Zhang Ruochen's permission to enter Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land for cultivation."
After the decree was issued, the entire Red Dragon Sacred Domain was stirred. Everyone speculated about who the master of Yuanxu Peak Sacred Land was and why they had never heard his name before.
When did the Guanghan Realm produce such a overlord?
A middle-aged woman who had reached the True Saint realm, carrying a sacred sword on her back, strode quickly into the Red Dragon Sacred Hall. She bowed to Man Sword Great Saint and reported, "Great Saint, the Chaisang Sacred Domain to the south of the Red Dragon Sacred Domain has been occupied by a Great Saint and claimed as territory."
Man Sword Great Saint narrowed his eyes. "Chaisang Sacred Domain has always been unclaimed land. Now that it's occupied, we can no longer freely enter it to gather sacred medicines. Investigate which realm's Great Saint has taken it."
"It has already been investigated. It's a human Great Saint from the Kunlun Realm, Kong Lanyou," the True Saint replied.
"I heard when visiting Lady Moon God that the saints of the Kunlun Realm were about to enter the Heavenly Court Realm. I didn't expect them to arrive so quickly," Man Sword Great Saint muttered to himself.
Soon, another True Saint entered. "Great Saint, the Tianshi Sacred Domain to the west of the Red Dragon Sacred Domain has been occupied by the Kunlun Realm's human Great Saint, Shi Qianjue."
"Great Saint, the Kuli Sacred Domain to the north of the Red Dragon Sacred Domain has been occupied by the Kunlun Realm's human Great Saint, Ling Xiu."
Hearing these three reports in succession, Man Sword Great Saint showed a wry smile. "The three nearest unclaimed sacred domains to the Red Dragon Sacred Domain have all been taken. It seems Lady Moon God's speculation was correct—the saints of the Kunlun Realm have indeed been assigned to our area. Another realm joins us. From now on, the Shatuo Six Realms must be renamed the Shatuo Seven Realms."
...
(Sigh, yesterday I only announced the live stream but forgot to mention the room number.
Let me announce it again: Tomorrow night (the 24th) at 8 PM, Xiaoyu will be streaming on Douyu under the name "Author Feitian Yu," room number 2633097.
Interested readers can tune in at 8 PM tomorrow night. We can discuss the plot and characters. If you have questions, feel free to ask Xiaoyu, and I'll answer them live.)