Chapter 1414: The Celestial River
Outside the Celestial Grotto, more than ten saints at the peak of the Earthly Realm were gathered. They were all preparing to enter the grotto to cultivate and break through to the Celestial Realm.
All the cultivators were silent, their eyes closed, waiting patiently.
Zhang Ruochen showed the old man guarding the grotto the sacred jade waist token of the Barbarian Sword Great Saint, then stood quietly to the side, waiting.
About half an hour later, the stone door of the grotto opened.
The old man guarding the grotto raised his voice and said, "The Celestial Grotto is now officially open. There are only three cultivation spots inside. Only those who secure one of these spots are qualified to stay and cultivate within the grotto."
"Whoosh, whoosh."
Sounds of breaking wind arose.
In an instant, more than ten Earthly Realm saints burst forth at their fastest speed, scrambling to rush into the Celestial Grotto.
Zhang Ruochen, however, was in no hurry at all. With steady steps, he was the last to cross through the stone door.
The old man guarding the grotto showed a strange expression. There were only three spots inside, and everyone was rushing in at top speed to compete for them. Why wasn't this young man anxious at all?
Did he think that holding a Great Saint's waist token would make others give up their spots for him?
Most of the saints who had cultivated to the Earthly Realm peak were disciples or descendants of the Barbarian Sword Great Saint. Unless the Barbarian Sword Great Saint personally ordered it, a mere waist token would not make them give up such a precious cultivation opportunity.
Zhang Ruochen walked into the Celestial Grotto and immediately felt the sacred dao rules within his body become active. In his Qi Sea, the four sacred sources also emitted a brighter radiance.
The so-called grotto was actually a spatial bubble.
However, this spatial bubble was not naturally formed. Instead, someone had used spatial inscriptions to construct a micro-world.
The Celestial Grotto was a micro-world about three hundred zhang in diameter, surrounded by a spherical light wall that seemed to be forged from jade.
Zhang Ruochen pressed his palm against the world's light wall and could feel complex spatial inscriptions interwoven within the wall's interior.
"Using spatial inscriptions, one can actually create a grotto. It seems that in the Heavenly Court realm, there are also cultivators who practice the Way of Space," Zhang Ruochen mused.
Inside the world's light wall, besides the spatial inscriptions, there were other profound inscriptions that formed a formation, integrated with the entire grotto.
It was because of this formation that the Celestial Grotto could help cultivators condense sacred dao rules.
The three cultivation spots were three round jade stones floating in midair, resembling three large jade plates. More than ten Earthly Realm cultivators were engaged in a fierce battle, all wanting to obtain the opportunity to cultivate.
Zhang Ruochen kicked off the ground and flew to the central jade stone.
On the jade stone, two Earthly Realm peak cultivators who were fighting saw a third person intrude. They exchanged glances, nodded simultaneously, and each struck out with a fist imprint, blasting toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, condensed a blood-red hand seal, and slapped it out. It turned into a blood cloud that pressed down on the two Earthly Realm peak saints, sending them flying backward like two scarecrows, spitting blood.
Standing at the center of the jade stone, Zhang Ruochen looked at the still-fighting crowd and said calmly, "I want to cultivate alone and quietly in the Celestial Grotto. Please, all of you leave."
His voice was very low.
Yet every saint present could hear it clearly.
"There are three spots, but you want to cultivate alone. What do you mean by that?"
"Are you trying to clear the place?"
"What an arrogant fool. Everyone attack together and take him down first."
...
Inside the Celestial Grotto, more than ten Earthly Realm peak saints attacked simultaneously, unleashing various sacred arts at Zhang Ruochen.
"Bang, bang" sounds rang out.
Moments later, all fourteen Earthly Realm peak saints were severely injured.
The stronger saints could still crawl out of the Celestial Grotto on their own. The weaker ones were beaten half to death, unable even to crawl, and Zhang Ruochen threw them out.
Outside the Celestial Grotto.
The old man guarding the grotto was somewhat shocked. "How did they all end up so badly injured? Even if they were fighting for cultivation spots, it shouldn't have been this brutal, right?"
One saint, whose legs had been broken, crawled while saying, "Too... too monstrous... one person easily beat fourteen saints of the same realm. When did the Crimson Dragon Sacred Domain produce such a freak?"
"If I had known he was this strong, I wouldn't have fought him for the spot... cough, cough..."
The old man guarding the grotto suddenly thought of something, his eyes widening as he looked toward the stone door, muttering to himself, "One against fourteen? And the battle ended in an instant? Just who is this kid?"
In the distance, within a mass of sacred light, Su Qingling crossed her jade-like hands over her chest, looking toward the Celestial Grotto. A smile appeared in her eyes. "As expected of a supreme perfect physique. Truly domineering."
Bu Ji snorted lightly. "So what if he beat fourteen? I could do it too."
Su Qingling rolled her eyes, showing a skeptical expression. "You? Are you sure you really can?"
"Of course."
Bu Ji raised a fist as hard as steel, speaking with full confidence.
"Alright. When he finishes cultivating, do you dare to fight him?" Su Qingling asked.
Bu Ji shook his head. "My cultivation has already reached the mid-stage True Saint level. Fighting him would be bullying him, wouldn't it?"
"You can suppress your cultivation to the same level as his."
Su Qingling's lips curved into a smirk as she glanced sideways at Bu Ji, laughing. "Are you afraid to fight him?"
Bu Ji's eyes widened. He tore open his sacred robe, revealing his muscular build, and gritted his teeth. "How could that be? Fight, then. After I beat him, I'll go deal with Wu Hao."
Inside the Celestial Grotto.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged on one of the floating jade stones, his spiritual power fully immersed in his Qi Sea, sensing the sacred dao rules within his sacred sources.
The four sacred sources contained a total of three hundred and forty-seven types of sacred dao rules.
Adding the Time Rules and Space Rules, Zhang Ruochen's body had a total of three hundred and forty-nine types of sacred dao rules.
"According to the Barbarian Sword Great Saint, I must gather all the sacred dao rules together and condense them into a form to reach the Celestial Realm. But the sacred dao rules in my body are distributed among the four sacred sources, the Time Sacred Phase, and the Space Sacred Phase. How can I gather them together?"
Wanting to reassemble the sacred dao rules from the four sacred sources and two sacred phases was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
"Should I condense them separately? Condense the sacred dao rules within each sacred source into an object."
"Inside the Sword Dao Sacred Source, I should condense a Celestial Sword."
"Inside the Fist Dao Sacred Source, it's best to condense a Celestial Tower."
"Inside the Palm Dao Sacred Source, I can condense a Celestial Mountain."
"Inside the Immovable Wisdom King Sacred Source, I can condense a Celestial Cauldron."
...
"But what about the Time Rules and Space Rules?"
Condensing the rules separately would definitely not be as good as merging all the rules into one. Moreover, Zhang Ruochen could not abandon the Time Rules and Space Rules.
Zhang Ruochen did not condense the rules hastily. He continued to think.
Zhang Ruochen's situation was completely different from other cultivators, so he could not borrow from others' paths.
Perhaps... creating his own path was the best solution.
Just then, the magnificent scene of the Celestial River appeared in Zhang Ruochen's mind. It was one hundred and eight thousand li wide, flowing around the Heavenly Court realm, with countless planets suspended on both sides of the great river.
In the Celestial River, there were all kinds of mysterious heavenly and earthly rules, flowing along with the water.
The first time Zhang Ruochen saw the Celestial River, he was deeply shocked. That grand image had never left his mind.
"Celestial River, Celestial River... Why must sacred dao rules be condensed into solid objects? If they are condensed into a flowing river, wouldn't the number of sacred dao rules they can hold be endless?"
Thinking of this, Zhang Ruochen could no longer wait and began to condense the sacred dao rules.
Half a month later, the sacred dao rules were successfully condensed, forming a circular river that connected the four sacred sources and the two sacred phases, becoming a single whole.
This was a Celestial River!
Zhang Ruochen broke through to the Celestial Realm in one go. Immediately, the heavenly and earthly sacred qi within the entire Celestial Grotto converged toward him, continuously merging into the Celestial River.
Zhang Ruochen felt his power skyrocketing wildly.
At that very moment, outside the Heavenly Court realm, the rolling Celestial River suddenly stirred up towering waves, and its flow speed increased by a third.
The gods of the Heavenly Court realm were all alarmed.
"Why is the Celestial River moving abnormally? What power is stirring it?"
"I just calculated. A very faint power has emerged within the Heavenly Court realm, resonating with the Celestial River."
"Where is that power?"
"It has disappeared. I cannot calculate it."
"Something that can resonate with the Celestial River is no small matter. It might be the birth of some extraordinary heavenly and earthly anomaly. Investigate. It must be found."
...
One divine thought after another shuttled above the Celestial River. After a long while, things calmed down.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen did not know that his condensation of a Celestial River had caused such a huge commotion. All he felt was a certain joy at reaching the Celestial Realm.
After fully stabilizing his cultivation realm, Zhang Ruochen finally walked out of the Celestial Grotto.
"You're finally out. I thought you were going to cultivate in there for a lifetime."
As soon as he stepped out of the stone door, Zhang Ruochen heard this rough voice and looked toward its owner.
It was a man standing two meters and six tall, his muscles seeming forged from gold and iron, his body like an unshakable divine mountain, standing opposite Zhang Ruochen.
This man was none other than the personal disciple of the Barbarian Sword Great Saint, Bu Ji.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze sharpened. "Do we know each other?"
Bu Ji flexed his fists and strode toward Zhang Ruochen. "Enough talk. Fight me first."
...
(Tonight at eight, live on Douyu. Search for the name: Author Feitian Yu. Or search for room number: 2633097)
(Chapter End)