Chapter 1446: Nether Ice Jade Scorpion
Mu Lingxi, the Rakshasa Princess, Qing Mo, Su Qingling, and Bu Ji all followed Zhang Ruochen as they advanced toward the ninety-nine sacred mountains. Ahead of them stood a towering, majestic ancient sacred mountain, shaped like a tortoise, exuding a powerful icy aura.
Bu Ji gazed at the snowflakes continuously falling from the sky above the ancient sacred mountain, sensing something strange. After all, hundreds of miles away, another sacred mountain was ablaze with flames.
One cold, one hot—utterly bizarre and unpredictable.
"Can we really reach the location of the Merit Record Wall by entering through this sacred mountain?" Bu Ji asked.
"To find the answer, we must first enter this ancient sacred mountain."
Zhang Ruochen held the Abyssal Ancient Sword and walked at the forefront.
He released his spiritual power, maintaining extreme vigilance to guard against all kinds of unknown dangers.
The ancient sacred mountain was shrouded in a mysterious force. The further they walked, the denser the laws of heaven and earth became. Additionally, an invisible pressure weighed down on them, causing the gravity they endured to grow stronger and stronger.
After walking just thirty li, Zhang Ruochen sensed that the surrounding gravity had already reached ten times that of the outside world.
None of the cultivators dared to let their guard down. They followed closely behind Zhang Ruochen, trudging forward through the ice and snow.
Su Qingling pointed a finger toward a spot on the mountainside and exclaimed, "Look, there's an ice person over there."
Everyone stopped and looked in the direction Su Qingling indicated.
The ice person was more than fifty li away from them. However, with the eyesight of saints, even with layers of cold air obstructing the view, they could still clearly make out the figure's appearance.
It was a short, elderly man wearing a patterned battle suit. His body was sealed in ice, standing motionless.
Bu Ji's eyes flashed with a sharp gleam. "That's the sect master of a major sect in the Blade Prison Realm, named Qiu Wanli. His cultivation has reached the middle stage of Ultimate Saint. Not long ago, I met him once in the Ancestral Spirit Realm and nearly fought him. I never expected him to die in this frozen sacred mountain."
"Are you sure that's Qiu Wanli?" Su Qingling asked.
"Yes."
Bu Ji nodded solemnly.
Su Qingling had also heard of Qiu Wanli's name, knowing he was a top-tier expert of the Blade Prison Realm. Even such a formidable figure had died in the sacred mountain, making it hard to maintain an optimistic mindset.
"Qiu Wanli probably didn't enter the sacred mountain alone. It's very likely that the cultivators of the Blade Prison Realm also deduced that this path leads to the Merit Record Wall," Zhang Ruochen said.
Su Qingling nodded. "I've long heard that the realm son of the Blade Prison Realm, Fang Yi in white, is in the Giant Whale River Basin, but no cultivator has ever seen him. It's possible that Fang Yi has already entered the sacred mountain ahead of us. Everyone must be extra cautious. Fang Yi is a terrifying figure. If we encounter him, we must avoid his edge."
Hearing this, the Rakshasa Princess let out a disdainful chuckle.
Su Qingling clearly despised the Rakshasa Princess. With a snort, she activated her saint soul domain, and seventy-two saintly aura rings appeared, wrapping around her as a defense.
The Rakshasa Princess's eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen. "There's a group of human saints following us from behind. Should we deal with them first?"
Zhang Ruochen glanced back and then shook his head. "Since they want to follow, let them."
Nine Nether Sword Saint and his three disciples were trailing about ten li behind Zhang Ruochen and the others.
Wang Su's figure emerged from the vast, white flying snow, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Master, Zhang Ruochen and that green-clad demoness seem to have noticed us."
"If they hadn't noticed us, that would be strange. Since they haven't made a move, we'll continue following," Nine Nether Sword Saint said, stepping forward to proceed.
About an hour later, Zhang Ruochen and his group had advanced more than fifty li, arriving at the spot where the ice person had been earlier.
"Strange, where did Qiu Wanli's corpse go? It was right here—how could it suddenly disappear?"
Qing Mo blinked her eyes, searching around.
Even Zhang Ruochen and the Rakshasa Princess wore serious expressions. They stopped in place, mobilizing their spiritual power to carefully probe the surrounding space.
Clearly, they sensed a great danger approaching.
"Ssshh."
A faint sound came from beneath the thick snow, like an unknown creature grinding its teeth.
The sound kept shifting positions at an incredibly fast speed. Suddenly, it appeared beneath Bu Ji's feet, and a snow-white pincer emerged from under the snow layer.
At the same time, a sword cry rang out as Zhang Ruochen thrust his sword into the ground beneath Bu Ji's feet.
"Crack."
Crimson blood surged up from under the snow.
When Zhang Ruochen pulled out the Abyssal Ancient Sword, a pierced white scorpion, about the size of a washbasin, was impaled on the blade. Its two sharp pincers were a meter long.
The white scorpion's body contained a powerful saintly force, and its shell was covered in dense, flowing light patterns. It struggled violently while emitting a piercing screech, its sound waves so intense they threatened to rupture eardrums.
Mu Lingxi and Qing Mo, the weakest in cultivation, were struck by the sound waves. Blood flowed from their ears, and they nearly collapsed.
Zhang Ruochen snorted coldly, shaking his arm to split the scorpion's body in two.
The Rakshasa Princess rolled her eyes. "I told you, the weak have no right to be friends with the strong. They're nothing but a burden. Zhang Ruochen, send them back. The two of us will go retrieve the Merit Record Wall."
Su Qingling was so furious she ground her teeth, her sacred sword trembling in her hand. If not for the Rakshasa Princess's terrifying strength, she might have already thrust the sword at her.
"What? Not convinced? If it weren't for Zhang Ruochen, at least three of you would already be dead. If that doesn't make you weak, what does? If that doesn't make you a burden, what is?" the Rakshasa Princess said bluntly.
"Who hasn't grown from weakness step by step? Compared to figures at the Saint King level, aren't we also weak?"
Zhang Ruochen said this lightly, then walked over to the white scorpion's corpse. Using his sword tip, he pried open the shell and searched inside, frowning. "Strange. This scorpion's power is so great—why doesn't it have a saint source inside?"
"That's a Nether Ice Jade Scorpion."
Su Qingling, well-versed in knowledge, recognized the white scorpion's origin and continued, "Legend says that Nether Ice Jade Scorpions are born from Nether Winter Water and can cultivate Nether Ice Force within their bodies. An adult Nether Ice Jade Scorpion is powerful enough to fight a Half-Saint King."
Saint Kings primarily cultivate saintly laws, making it difficult to define their exact realm. Generally, special vessels are needed to measure a Saint King's level.
In the Kunlun Realm, there is the Emperor's Divine Ruler.
In the Heavenly Court Realm, the Nine-Step Heaven-Ascent Path is used to measure a Saint King's realm, dividing it into nine levels. Each step a Saint King takes on the path represents one realm.
Saint King First Step, Saint King Second Step, Saint King Third Step...
Saint King Ninth Step is the pinnacle. If a cultivator takes a tenth step on the path, they clearly enter the Great Saint realm and can proclaim themselves emperor in a major world.
As for Half-Saint Kings, they are not true Saint Kings. Their saintly laws are still insufficient, placing them "above saints but below Saint Kings."
Of course, even so, a Half-Saint King is far stronger than an Ultimate Saint.
The Nether Ice Jade Scorpion killed by Zhang Ruochen was not yet adult, so its strength hadn't reached the Half-Saint King level.
"Look, Qiu Wanli's head is in the Nether Ice Jade Scorpion's abdomen—it hasn't been fully digested yet," Bu Ji said.
Inside the scorpion's corpse, there was indeed half a bloody head.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes fixed on the scorpion's corpse. He crouched down, extending a finger to touch the white shell. "It has the aura of Condensed True Sacred Dew inside... and it seems to have been consuming it regularly. Could there be a large amount of Condensed True Sacred Dew hidden somewhere in this sacred mountain?"
The Rakshasa Princess said, "It's not impossible. You know, deep within the ninety-nine sacred mountains lies a being close to godhood. Each of the outer sacred mountains must also contain treasures. But opportunity and danger go hand in hand—the more treasures there are, the more perilous it will be."
Currently, Zhang Ruochen had only about two thousand drops of Condensed True Sacred Dew, not enough to cultivate to the middle stage of True Saint. So, if this sacred mountain really held a large amount of Condensed True Sacred Dew, it would be a huge temptation for him.
The others' eyes also grew eager. If they could obtain a large quantity of Condensed True Sacred Dew, they could quickly break through their realms. Would the Rakshasa Princess still mock them as weak then?
Bu Ji's face flushed with excitement. "What are we waiting for? Let's move quickly. The saints of the Blade Prison Realm are probably ahead of us. If we're too late, will there be any Condensed True Sacred Dew left for us?"
The nine-headed green bird following the Rakshasa Princess also let out a series of strange cries, clearly eager to seize the Condensed True Sacred Dew. That nine-headed green bird was only at the middle stage of Ultimate Saint, with plenty of room for improvement.
Everyone quickened their pace and continued forward. Before long, they entered the heart of the sacred mountain, reaching the mountainside.
Here, the gravity was even stronger, already reaching one hundred times that of the outside world. Even with their formidable cultivation, they could feel some pressure.
At this spot, they discovered the corpse of an adult Nether Ice Jade Scorpion on the ground. Its size was enormous, four or five times larger than the one they had encountered earlier.
"An adult Nether Ice Jade Scorpion can fight a Half-Saint King. Whoever killed it must be an absolute powerhouse," Mu Lingxi said, drawing in a breath of cold air.
Zhang Ruochen reached out a hand to examine the wounds on the scorpion's corpse.
A blade aura seeped out from the wound, cutting Zhang Ruochen's finger and leaving a shallow bloody gash.
"Such a powerful blade aura. A mere residual force can break through my physical defense."
Zhang Ruochen was inwardly shocked. He stood up, looking ahead, and said to the others, "This adult Nether Ice Jade Scorpion was killed about half an hour ago. We're very close to the Blade Prison Realm cultivators."
"Moreover, I detected an even stronger aura of Condensed True Sacred Dew inside this adult scorpion's body. This suggests that this sacred mountain very likely contains a large amount of Condensed True Sacred Dew."
...
(Resuming normal updates. There will be another chapter tonight.)