Chapter 1417: The Daoist Lineage
Nine Spirits Great Saint glanced at Man Sword Great Saint and said, "Bu Ji has actually completely refined the remnant soul of Golden Lion Great Saint into his own Great Saint battle soul. With his current cultivation, he probably doesn't have that ability, does he?"
"I gave him a hand," Man Sword Great Saint said.
Nine Spirits Great Saint nodded, revealing a look that said, "That makes sense."
Man Sword Great Saint continued, "However, this kid being able to withstand the power of a Great Saint's remnant soul has indeed made me see him in a new light. He has managed to stand out among my many disciples, so he can be heavily cultivated in the future."
Su Qingling's lively eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen, and she said, "Look, that Supreme Perfect Physique's expression has finally turned serious. I wonder if Bu Ji can probe his depth this time."
...
...
"Dragon-Elephant Prajna."
Zhang Ruochen raised both arms, and a series of explosive sounds came from the bones in his body. Then, a dragon shadow and an elephant shadow appeared on his left and right sides, like two ferocious, glaring primordial beasts charging toward Bu Ji.
"Boom." His palms collided with Bu Ji's claws, producing a deafening sound.
The fierce power of the Sacred Dao spread outward, causing sand and stones to fly outside the Heaven-Penetrating Cave Heaven, forming waves of Sacred Qi.
The saint-level dragon soul and elephant soul were clearly no match for the Great Saint-level Golden Lion battle soul. The moment they touched, the Golden Lion battle soul let out a mighty roar, shattering the dragon and elephant shadows.
Zhang Ruochen did not retreat. The Sacred Qi in his body surged wildly through his meridians and sacred veins, condensing into an even stronger palm force that erupted outward.
"Boom."
Bu Ji flew backward like a human cannonball, his back slamming into the wall of a sacred hall. The impact activated the defensive formation within the hall, making it visible.
His body slid down the wall and landed on the ground, feeling as if all his bones were about to fall apart.
"How can he be this strong? How? I have the remnant soul of Golden Lion Great Saint, and your two beast souls are only at the saint level—how could I still lose to you?"
Bu Ji clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, unwilling to accept it.
Bu Ji's physical strength was formidable, and with the empowerment of the Great Saint battle soul, he feared no opponent at the same cultivation level.
But now, having clashed with a saint at the initial stage of the Heaven-Penetrating Realm while he himself was at the peak of the Heaven-Penetrating Realm, he had suffered a crushing defeat.
This blow was too much for him.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Great Saint battle soul is indeed powerful, far surpassing the dragon and elephant souls within me. But a battle soul is always just an auxiliary tool. True strength comes from within. You've lost three rounds; you owe me thirty drops of Condensed True Sacred Dew."
Bu Ji's face flushed red, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "I'm not satisfied. Let's have one final round. I'll suppress my cultivation to the initial stage of the True Saint Realm. If you can withstand my full-force strike without falling, all the Condensed True Sacred Dew in the bottle will be yours. How about that?"
"Heh, shameless."
A very pleasant laugh rang out.
A green figure appeared outside the Heaven-Penetrating Cave Heaven with the laughter, moving at an incredible speed.
Su Qingling, dressed in green clothes, stood like an orchid in a deep valley between Bu Ji and Zhang Ruochen, smiling. "What's the point of suppressing to the initial stage of the True Saint Realm? Why not just use your full strength at the middle stage of the True Saint Realm?"
Bu Ji's face turned even redder. "This is a fair and just sparring match."
Su Qingling rolled her eyes. "You're already using True Saint-level power, and you call that fair? The gap between the True Saint Realm and the Heaven-Penetrating Realm is like the span between two major sacred realms. You're asking an initial-stage Heaven-Penetrating saint to withstand your strike—aren't you ashamed?"
Bu Ji said dejectedly, "Qingling, why are you taking an outsider's side?"
Su Qingling smiled, her lips red and teeth white. "First of all, we're all cultivators from the Guanghan Realm, so we're all family. No one is an outsider."
"Secondly, I'm not taking anyone's side; I'm just stating a fact."
Bu Ji dispersed the sacred power on his body and said, "Since you won't let me fight, then I won't. Anyway, losing to a Supreme Perfect Physique isn't something to be ashamed of."
Zhang Ruochen had been observing Su Qingling. Her speed was astonishing, and she was undoubtedly a top-tier expert, likely even stronger than Bu Ji.
The Guanghan Realm was indeed a great world, producing talents one after another. Just these two alone could probably rival the several on the "Heroes' Ode."
Su Qingling's gaze fell on Zhang Ruochen, and she smiled. "I'm Su Qingling of the Nine Spirits Clan. Looking forward to getting to know you."
Bu Ji clasped his hands and said to Zhang Ruochen, "I am the twenty-seventh disciple of Man Sword Great Saint, Bu Ji. I apologize for any offense earlier. Since I lost three rounds, I'll give you thirty drops of Condensed True Sacred Dew now. I won't go back on my word."
"No rush." Zhang Ruochen's expression was calm. "You don't need to suppress your cultivation. Go all out. I'll try to withstand one of your strikes."
Bu Ji and Su Qingling were both momentarily stunned.
Su Qingling's gaze shifted to the bottle in Bu Ji's hand, and she quickly understood—this person wanted all the Condensed True Sacred Dew.
"Haha!" Bu Ji laughed loudly. "Qingling, you can't blame me now. He's the one who asked to take my strike."
Su Qingling furrowed her willow-leaf brows, finding Zhang Ruochen hard to read. Had he been holding back during their earlier exchange?
In the end, she couldn't help but remind him, "The gap between the True Saint Realm and the Heaven-Penetrating Realm is enormous. You need to think carefully. If Bu Ji loses control of his power, you could be seriously injured. This is just a spar; there's no need to go this far."
"It's fine," Zhang Ruochen said.
Su Qingling looked at Zhang Ruochen's calm, unwavering eyes, and her heart skipped a beat.
That look was one she had only seen in her grandfather, Nine Spirits Great Saint.
It was a gaze of utter tranquility and confidence, as if he had experienced countless life-and-death situations and countless setbacks, seeing through all the world's affairs until no ripples remained.
His state of mind was already on par with those Great Saints who had cultivated for thousands of years.
Bu Ji did not use his full strength. He suppressed his cultivation to the initial stage of the True Saint Realm, but even so, when he activated the Great Saint battle soul again, the power fluctuations on his body rose by several levels.
The entire world seemed to turn into a massive vortex, with the golden lion at its center, like a primordial beast that could swallow heaven and earth.
"Be careful. My strike won't be easy to take."
Bu Ji's long hair flew wildly, his muscles bulging. He lunged forward together with the Great Saint battle soul, and the residual power of Golden Lion Great Saint erupted violently.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen had to go all out.
He took the Abyssal Ancient Sword from his space ring, gripping the hilt tightly as a large amount of Sacred Qi surged into the blade.
"Whoosh—"
A Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force burst forth from the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
Zhang Ruochen stepped forward with his right foot, employing the sword intent of Sword Seven, and slashed diagonally, colliding with the Golden Lion battle soul.
"Boom."
Sword Qi and residual beast power surged in all directions.
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen and Bu Ji both retreated, creating a distance of a hundred zhang between them.
"Tied... actually tied."
Su Qingling found it hard to believe. Could the Supreme Perfect Physique really be this monstrous?
Bu Ji was also stunned. He looked at his hands, then at Zhang Ruochen standing opposite him, and finally let out a bitter laugh. "I submit. I have no choice but to submit. The Supreme Perfect Physique is truly invincible."
Suppressing the shock in her heart, Su Qingling walked over to Zhang Ruochen, hands behind her back, and examined him carefully with her sacred eyes. "So you also cultivate the Sword Dao. From the sword intent you just used, you must practice the Daoist lineage's Sword Dao, right?"
"The Daoist lineage?"
Zhang Ruochen murmured these words.
The "Wordless Sword Manual" was the supreme sacred text of the Taiji Dao. Since the founding of the Taiji Dao, it had been stored in the Sword Pavilion, with a history of at least ten million years, making it the most ancient sword manual.
The history of the Heavenly Court Realm was only about a hundred thousand years.
Zhang Ruochen didn't know if the "Wordless Sword Manual" had spread to the Heavenly Court Realm a hundred thousand years ago, or if the Daoist lineage's Sword Dao was simply very similar to it. Therefore, he couldn't answer Su Qingling.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What do you mean by the Daoist lineage?"
"It seems you've just arrived in the Heavenly Court Realm and don't know much."
Su Qingling shook her head, then said, "The Heavenly Court Realm gathers over eight thousand great worlds, each one a faction. But there are also other forces that exist independently of these worlds. The Daoist lineage is one of them."
"The Daoist lineage's power is immense, especially its number one sacred land, the Five Elements Temple. There, Daoist powerhouses from all worlds gather, making it the best place for Daoist cultivators to discuss the Dao and exchange cultivation insights."
Bu Ji walked over, staring at the space ring on Zhang Ruochen's finger. Earlier, he had noticed Zhang Ruochen taking out his war sword from this jade ring, clearly a spatial storage treasure.
"Is this space treasure a gift from the Moon God? I also have a space treasure, but it's just a storage pouch with a very small internal space. Your ring is exquisitely crafted; its internal space must be quite large, right?"
Bu Ji stared at Zhang Ruochen's space ring while pulling out a beast-skin storage pouch.
Zhang Ruochen's hand shot forward, grabbing the beast-skin pouch and releasing his spiritual power to probe it.
After a moment, Zhang Ruochen released his grip and shook his head slightly. The spatial inscription methods and refining techniques used on the beast-skin pouch were completely different from those recorded in the "Space-Time Secret Scripture."
Moreover, it was too low-level.
Clearly, the person who made the beast-skin pouch was not from the same lineage as him.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Are there many cultivators in the Heavenly Court Realm who practice the Way of Space?"
(Chapter End)