Chapter 1440: She Has Disappeared
Half an hour later, Shi Shenghua killed all the saints from Knife Prison Realm and Purple Mansion Realm, returned to Zhang Ruochen's side, and dropped dozens of storage bags onto the ground.
Zhang Ruochen poured out all the items from the dozens of storage bags, forming a small pile on the ground.
There were seven or eight hundred jade bottles alone, filled with blood and remnant souls.
Seeing those jade bottles, Qing Mo, who was crouching nearby, was startled. Her starry eyes widened as she asked, "They killed so many saints? Aren't we supposed to be fighting the Rakshasa Clan together?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Who told you that coming to the Merit Battlefield was to fight the Rakshasa Clan?"
"Isn't it?"
Qing Mo's eyes widened in confusion. Had she misheard the orders before entering the Ancestral Realm?
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "Coming to the Merit Battlefield is to seize more merit points."
Qing Mo grew even more puzzled. "To seize merit points, don't you have to kill Rakshasa cultivators?"
"Killing Rakshasa cultivators to gain merit points is far slower than killing other participants."
Zhang Ruochen didn't know how to describe his feelings. Qing Mo had followed him through trials for some time, yet she remained so naive. With her lack of cunning, surviving nearly a month on the Merit Battlefield was no small feat.
Qing Mo fell silent, cupping her cheeks with both hands as if deep in thought.
Zhang Ruochen stopped explaining and began tallying the spoils of this battle.
Blood: a total of 1,070,000 drops, including 840 drops of Rakshasa Marquis blood.
Remnant souls: a total of 2,400,000 strands, including 1,350 strands of Rakshasa Marquis remnant souls.
Adding the bottles he had obtained earlier, Zhang Ruochen now possessed 3,000 drops of Rakshasa Marquis blood and 2,500 strands of Rakshasa Marquis remnant souls. The blood and souls of Rakshasa below Marquis rank were countless.
Additionally, Zhang Ruochen collected over 2,000 drops of Condensed True Sacred Dew, along with a large number of healing sacred pills, sacred artifacts, and talismans.
Zhang Ruochen handed over all the sacred artifacts, including the two Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifacts left by Yan Ju Zhisheng and Yu Mu Zhisheng, to the Abyssal Ancient Sword for it to refine and absorb, enhancing its own grade.
Meanwhile, Shi Shenghua extended all her roots, embedding them into the corpses of the saints from Knife Prison Realm and Purple Mansion Realm, absorbing their sacred power and sacred blood to break through to the Zhisheng realm.
Her vines, leaves, and fruits emitted a green sacred light, as if she had transformed into a jade divine vine.
Once Shi Shenghua reached the Zhisheng realm, she would immediately become one of the top-tier experts below Saint King, a significant asset to Zhang Ruochen.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen decided to give her a full day and night to break through.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged beneath Shi Shenghua, took out a bottle of Condensed True Sacred Dew, swallowed it, and began to refine and absorb it through his cultivation technique, further condensing his sacred dao rules and consolidating his newly broken realm.
Reaching the stage where sacred dao rules "transcend the void and become real" was only the first step.
He still needed to continue condensing the sacred dao rules until they reached the level of "ultimate truth and ultimate perfection," which was the pinnacle of the Saint realm.
That realm was the Zhisheng realm.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen was still far from the Zhisheng realm.
According to his estimates, even reaching the middle stage of True Saint would require refining at least 5,000 drops of Condensed True Sacred Dew. To reach the late stage of True Saint, the amount needed would multiply.
Qing Mo, who had been crouching motionless, seemed to have understood Zhang Ruochen's earlier words. She suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "I get it!"
Zhang Ruochen was startled, causing the sacred qi in his body to become chaotic. He immediately stopped condensing sacred dao rules and asked, "What are you shouting about?"
Qing Mo was delighted. "I understand! Just like you, killing dozens of saints from Knife Prison Realm and Purple Mansion Realm immediately gives you a large amount of blood and remnant souls, which translates to a huge pile of merit points. Yes, collecting merit points this way is indeed many, many times faster than me hunting Rakshasa cultivators alone."
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes, suppressed the chaotic energy within him, and calmed himself before saying, "Such a simple truth took you this long to figure out?"
"This is the fastest way to earn merit points, right?" Qing Mo asked.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "No."
Qing Mo was taken aback. "There's an even faster way?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Plundering other participants can indeed quickly gather Rakshasa blood and remnant souls. But one person's strength is limited. The four world fragments of the Ancestral Dragon Realm are vast, and all the saints are scattered far apart. How many can you actually plunder?"
Qing Mo tugged at her hair ends, thinking hard. "What do you mean?"
Zhang Ruochen felt a headache coming on. If it were Shengshu Cainü, she would have understood his meaning long ago, but standing before him was Qing Mo.
Both were Nine Heavens Mysterious Maidens, yet the gap was immense.
Zhang Ruochen said, "In the Ancestral Realm, who has killed the most participants?"
Without hesitation, Qing Mo said, "You."
Zhang Ruochen shot her a glare. "I meant which faction?"
"Knife Prison Realm and Purple Mansion Realm?" Qing Mo guessed.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "Not them. It's the Rakshasa Clan."
Qing Mo nodded. "That's true. Many saints from the Seven Realms of Shatuo have indeed died at the hands of the Rakshasa Clan."
Zhang Ruochen said, "When Rakshasa cultivators kill them, they naturally take the jade bottles from their bodies. To us, those jade bottles are extremely precious—every drop of blood and strand of remnant soul represents a huge amount of merit points. But to the Rakshasa Clan, those things are worthless."
Qing Mo felt Zhang Ruochen made sense, but she was still a bit confused.
Saints from the Seven Realms of Shatuo kill Rakshasa cultivators to obtain blood and remnant souls. Rakshasa cultivators then kill the saints from the Seven Realms of Shatuo and reclaim the blood and remnant souls.
Qing Mo's mind was in a mess. "What do you mean exactly?"
Zhang Ruochen said thoughtfully, "Whoever can obtain the blood and remnant souls held by the Rakshasa Clan will be number one in the Saint Merit Ranking."
"I don't care who's number one in the Saint Merit Ranking. Just give me back the blood and remnant souls I collected—they're crucial to the survival of the Kunlun Realm!"
Qing Mo mustered her courage, walked over, and tugged at Zhang Ruochen's arm.
Zhang Ruochen also felt that seizing the blood and remnant souls from the Rakshasa Clan was nearly impossible, so he shook his head slightly.
There must be another way.
Seeing no reaction from Zhang Ruochen, Qing Mo continued to plead, "Please, give them back to me!"
Zhang Ruochen snapped back to reality, took out Qing Mo's space ring, and held it between two fingers. He said bluntly, "With the tiny amount of blood and remnant souls you've collected, you think it affects the survival of the Kunlun Realm?"
Qing Mo's eyes darted. "You've taken so much blood and remnant souls. How about giving me some?"
"You wish."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her, then took out a piece of frozen dragon meat, a fire luan wing, and a demon shark fin from the space ring, placing them on the ground. "Your cooking skills are impressive, right? Use your best techniques as the heir of the Food God to prepare a grand feast for this prince. If I'm in a good mood, I might give you some blood and remnant souls."
"Really?"
"Of course."
Qing Mo's eyes lit up. She rolled up her sleeves, revealing two snow-white arms, ready to get to work.
Compared to hunting Rakshasa cultivators, Qing Mo was clearly more passionate about cooking. Her space ring was filled with top-tier ingredients, seasonings, and utensils—completely different from what other cultivators brought to the Merit Battlefield.
Zhang Ruochen took out a bronze table from his space ring and set it up by the Giant Whale River, which was littered with floating corpses and white bones. He produced a pot of Dragon Flame Wine and poured it into a luminous cup.
He raised the cup, facing the blood-scented river wind, and took a sip.
The Dragon Flame Wine was extremely potent, like molten lava sliding down his throat, as if it would melt his internal organs.
Nearby, Qing Mo began cooking, and soon a rich aroma filled the air. The fragrance drifted far away, overpowering even the smell of blood in the surroundings.
Though they were on a perilous battlefield surrounded by a scene resembling a hellish purgatory, Zhang Ruochen was leisurely drinking wine, waiting for a delicious meal.
Even Zhang Ruochen himself found it surreal, unsure if he was in reality or a dream.
After downing three cups, Zhang Ruochen's gaze grew hazy, and he finally asked the question he wanted to ask. "Why didn't Huang Yanchen come to the Merit Battlefield?"
Before entering the Saint Path, Zhang Ruochen had observed the Kunlun Realm's saint army but hadn't found Huang Yanchen.
Qing Mo hesitated briefly. "She has disappeared."
"Disappeared? How is that possible?"
Zhang Ruochen's eyes flashed with sharp light, not believing Qing Mo's words.
"She really has disappeared. No one knows where she went—it's as if she vanished into thin air," Qing Mo said very seriously.
Zhang Ruochen said, "As one of the realm sons of the Kunlun Realm, how could she suddenly disappear? Besides, even if she did disappear, given your status, you would definitely know where she went."
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's gaze turn dangerous, Qing Mo shook her head frantically, like a rattle-drum. "I really don't know. I asked Danqing Sister, and she didn't know either. Smoke Dust Princess just vanished without a trace. What can I do?"
Zhang Ruochen withdrew the cold aura he had been emitting. He could confirm that Qing Mo wasn't lying—Huang Yanchen seemed to have truly disappeared.
How could this be?
After a long while, Qing Mo carried a foot-long crystal plate with both hands, carefully walking toward Zhang Ruochen. Her fingers trembled slightly as she placed the plate on the table.
On the plate lay a piece of golden dragon meat, steaming with white vapor and emitting an incredibly rich aroma. Just smelling it made one want to devour it in one gulp.
Then, Qing Mo brought up dish after dish, all exquisite delicacies.
Zhang Ruochen remained deep in thought, as if his soul had left his body, his eyes vacant, showing no interest in the feast before him.
Just then, a remarkably pleasant female voice rang out from the night: "What a wonderful smell. Let me see—dragon meat, demon shark fin, and fire luan meat... Excellent, all my favorites."
"Tap, tap."
Footsteps grew closer.
A tall, graceful woman in a light green sacred robe appeared from the night, her hands clasped behind her back. The firelight from a nearby bonfire illuminated her, revealing a silver-white divine crystal crown on her head, exuding an extremely noble aura.
Behind her followed a blue bird with nine heads. All nine pairs of eyes were fixed on the dishes on the table, and crystalline drool dripped from all nine beaks.