# Chapter 1426: Encountering Time-Space Crystal Again
Arriving once again at the Scripture Library, Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi began flipping through content related to the Ancestral Realm.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen found an important piece of information. After reading it, a smile appeared on his face: "So that's how it is."
"Did you find it?"
Mu Lingxi walked over, picked up the book from Zhang Ruochen's hands, and read the passage above. Her eyes brightened. "Ice Fire Phoenix."
The Ice Fire Phoenix was a Great Saint of the Ancestral Realm. Legend had it that it mastered two kinds of power—"Extreme Yin Nether Ice Force" and "Purifying Divine Flame"—and its cultivation was infinitely close to that of a god.
After its death, it was the god of the Ancestral Realm who personally buried it within the Phoenix Nest.
Only beings with the bloodline of either an Ice Phoenix or a Fire Phoenix could locate the Phoenix Nest's position and open it. Otherwise, even if the Phoenix Nest were destroyed along with the Ancestral Realm, it would never emerge.
"Moon God must be referring to this," Zhang Ruochen said. "If you go to the Ancestral Realm, you have a slim chance of obtaining the inheritance of a Phoenix Great Saint. But it might cost you your life."
Mu Lingxi hugged the book tightly, a resolute look shining in her eyes. "Don't try to persuade me anymore. I absolutely must go to the Ancestral Realm."
In truth, there was another sentence Mu Lingxi did not speak aloud, silently thinking to herself: "Zhang Ruochen, no matter what, I have to keep up with your pace. Otherwise, one day, while you still possess a youthful body, I will have already aged. Then, what right would I have to stay by your side?"
"You have the right to make your own decisions. I won't force you."
Zhang Ruochen did not try to persuade her further. With his hands clasped behind his back, he walked out of the Scripture Library.
Wu Hao stood outside the Scripture Library, his long hair falling on either side of his cheeks. Seeing Zhang Ruochen emerge from the main entrance, he said, "Brother Zhang, when I heard you had come to the Scripture Library, I made a special trip here to find you."
"What business does the Realm Son have?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Just then, Mu Lingxi also walked out from inside and stood beside Zhang Ruochen.
Wu Hao glanced at Mu Lingxi, his expression unchanged, then said to Zhang Ruochen, "The World Treasury of the Guanghan Realm has already been opened. As the Realm Son and Divine Envoy of the Saint-level Merit Battlefield, we have the privilege of entering the treasury early to select three treasures at will."
The Merit Battlefield was a matter of life and death for the Guanghan Realm. Opening the World Treasury was a perfectly normal decision. After all, if the participants' strength could be enhanced even slightly, the Guanghan Realm would gain a greater chance of victory.
The World Treasury gathered all the resources controlled by various Great Saints and stored them within the Tongyou Saint Domain.
When Zhang Ruochen and Wu Hao entered the World Treasury, even with their extensive experience, they were stunned by the precious treasures before them.
Just Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifacts alone, Zhang Ruochen saw over a thousand pieces. Some were war weapons, others were armor. Each one, placed in any major world, would be a supreme ultimate treasure.
"Mid-rank Sacred Pill, Golden Crow Pill. This is something that even Saint King-level figures desperately desire."
The Chongling Sacred Pill that Zhang Ruochen had refined was also a mid-rank Sacred Pill, but compared to the Golden Crow Pill, it was far inferior.
In the Heavenly Court Realm, a single Golden Crow Pill could be exchanged for dozens of Chongling Sacred Pills.
And the Chongling Sacred Pill was already the most precious pill in the Lingxiao Heavenly King Manor. From this, one could see just how enormous the value of the Golden Crow Pill was.
Zhang Ruochen opened a box that contained a stack of talismans, dozens in number.
"Nine Heavens Heavenly Tribulation Talisman."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes widened in surprise.
Legend had it that once a single Nine Heavens Heavenly Tribulation Talisman was activated, the power it unleashed could kill a Supreme Saint. And here, there were dozens of them.
Without hesitation, Zhang Ruochen picked up one of them, then went to inspect other treasures.
"Hundred Saint Blood Armor."
Zhang Ruochen discovered five sets of Hundred Saint Blood Armor. Among them, four had been damaged. Although refiners had repaired them, the sacred souls within the blood armor could not be restored.
Clearly, these four sets of armor could not unleash the full power of the Hundred Saint Blood Armor.
Only one set remained completely intact.
"Fortunately, I can come in early to choose. Otherwise, all five sets of Hundred Saint Blood Armor would have been taken by Saint King-level figures of the Guanghan Realm. How could they have been left for me?"
Zhang Ruochen grabbed the intact Hundred Saint Blood Armor and infused it with sacred qi.
"Rustle."
Instantly, the armor radiated ten thousand feet of blood light, transforming into a fist glove that attached itself to Zhang Ruochen's right hand. It was crystalline and translucent, with distinct contours, as if forged from blood jade.
The treasures in the World Treasury were simply too numerous, dazzling to the eye. One could say that every single piece was worth a fortune, but Zhang Ruochen could now only choose one more.
"What should I pick? For combat treasures, I have the Abyssal Ancient Sword, the Buddha Emperor Relic, and the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron. For defensive treasures, I have the Ten Saint Blood Armor and the Hundred Saint Blood Armor. What else do I need?" Zhang Ruochen hadn't expected to find himself in such a dilemma.
So, he closed his eyes, released his spiritual power, and probed every corner of the World Treasury, searching for the most suitable treasure to bring to the Merit Battlefield.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen detected a faint spatial fluctuation.
His eyes snapped open, revealing a look of surprise. "Could there be a space treasure in the treasury?"
Zhang Ruochen walked toward the direction from which the spatial fluctuation had come. Eventually, he stopped beside a shield that was at the Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact level.
Embedded in the shield were dozens of extremely precious gemstones, including Divine Blood Condensation Stones, Dragon Pearl fragments, and bone fragments from special beings...
The spatial fluctuation was emanating from one of the white gemstones.
"Time-Space Crystal. It's actually a Time-Space Crystal."
Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but let out a light laugh. Then, he extended a finger and pressed it against the gemstone, channeling sacred qi into it.
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen's hand reached into the interior of the Time-Space Crystal.
The inner space of this Time-Space Crystal was about twenty meters in length, width, and height, with a time ratio of four to one compared to the outside world.
The Time-Space Crystal that Ming Emperor had given to Zhang Ruochen back then had a length, width, and height of ten meters, with a time ratio of three to one.
"Could Time-Space Crystals be naturally formed, with varying inner spaces and time ratios? Then, are Time-Space Crystals, like other spirit crystals and sacred stones, dug out from mines?"
"What kind of mine could possibly produce Time-Space Crystals?"
Unable to figure out the reason, Zhang Ruochen temporarily stopped thinking about it.
Regardless, finding a Time-Space Crystal meant that Zhang Ruochen's cultivation speed could now reach four times what it was before. This was an incredibly fortunate event.
Wu Hao silently appeared behind Zhang Ruochen. "Brother Zhang, have you made your selection?"
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and composed. He grabbed the Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact-level shield and lifted it in his hand. "I've chosen."
Wu Hao looked at the three treasures Zhang Ruochen had selected, a strange expression flickering in his eyes. "The Hundred Saint Blood Armor and the Monument Shield are both defensive treasures. The Nine Heavens Heavenly Tribulation Talisman can only kill Supreme Saints. With Brother Zhang's cultivation, even if you encounter a Supreme Saint-level Rakshasa, even if you can't kill it, you can retreat with ease. It seems rather useless."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at the Nine Heavens Heavenly Tribulation Talisman in his hand. "It's for giving away."
Wu Hao's mind conjured the image of the extremely beautiful young woman who had stood beside Zhang Ruochen outside the Scripture Library earlier. A look of realization dawned on his face, and he smiled. "I see. I didn't expect Brother Zhang to be such a sentimental man."
Zhang Ruochen said no more and walked straight out of the World Treasury.
Wu Hao stared at Zhang Ruochen's retreating figure, a peculiar smile appearing in his eyes as he muttered to himself, "I thought you were a man without weaknesses. It turns out even heroes have trouble getting past the beauty barrier."
Zhang Ruochen did not want to hide anything from Wu Hao, nor did he wish to play mind games with him. In Zhang Ruochen's eyes, he had never regarded Wu Hao as an opponent.
The only person Zhang Ruochen considered an opponent was Chi Yao.
Although the gap between him and Chi Yao was still enormous, Zhang Ruochen firmly believed that one day, he would sit across from her as a chess player, playing a game to reclaim the match that Ming Emperor had lost back then.
Leaving the World Treasury, Zhang Ruochen handed the Nine Heavens Heavenly Tribulation Talisman to Mu Lingxi.
Apart from the Realm Son and the Divine Envoy, the Saints and Saint Kings of the Guanghan Realm had to enter the World Treasury in order of their cultivation level.
So, even though there were dozens of Nine Heavens Heavenly Tribulation Talismans in the World Treasury, by the time Mu Lingxi went in to choose, all of them would surely have been taken.
The single talisman Zhang Ruochen had brought out was thus extremely precious.
Mu Lingxi clutched the Nine Heavens Heavenly Tribulation Talisman, a sweet smile spreading across her face like a little squirrel that had stolen some honey. "I won't stand on ceremony with you. I'll take it!"
Zhang Ruochen took out a set of Ten Saint Blood Armor and handed it to Mu Lingxi. "When you enter the World Treasury, you don't need to choose any defensive treasures anymore. The Ten Saint Blood Armor is more than enough for you."
Among the Undying Blood Clan, even True Saints and Supreme Saints only used the Ten Saint Blood Armor, and not everyone had one.
The Hundred Saint Blood Armor could only be used by the most top-tier figures of the Undying Blood Clan. This was not only because it was extremely precious, but also because activating the Hundred Saint Blood Armor's Hundred Saint Power consumed an enormous amount of sacred qi. Saint-level beings simply couldn't withstand it.
Back then, at the Realm Son Banquet, although the Third Prince of the Qingtian Tribe had worn the Hundred Saint Blood Armor, it was only equivalent to a piece of armor with extraordinary defensive power. He hadn't even unleashed one-thousandth of the Hundred Saint Blood Armor's true strength.
One had to know that the Hundred Saint Power was comparable to the power of a hundred Saints, and the sacred qi output was also equivalent to the output of a hundred Saints.
The reason Zhang Ruochen dared to choose the Hundred Saint Blood Armor was that his qi sea was ten thousand times broader than an ordinary person's, and he also had four sacred sources, allowing him to briefly unleash the Hundred Saint Power in battle.
Zhang Ruochen left the World Treasury and returned to his cultivation cave dwelling. He didn't want to waste a single moment, only wishing to increase his strength a bit more before entering the Ancestral Realm.