Chapter 1488: Awakening
The Rakshasa Princess lightly touched her chin with her jade-like left finger and said, "Forget it, I won't blame you. Those two are indeed difficult to deal with. Even if I were to act personally, I wouldn't have a ten out of ten chance of killing them."
At the Rakshasa Princess's signal, Qianyu stood up again.
The Rakshasa Princess said, "A rift has already formed between the Eight Divisions Realm and Zhang Ruochen. We need to make that rift even larger. As long as the Eight Divisions Realm is completely opposed to Zhang Ruochen, then Zhang Ruochen's plan will be a complete failure."
"At that point, the Eight Divisions Realm, the Purple Mansion Realm, and the Blade Prison Realm will belong to one camp."
"The Great Demon Ten Directions Realm, the Guanghan Realm, the Kunlun Realm, and the Heavenly Mother Realm will belong to the other camp."
"Having these two camps fight each other—that's when things will get truly interesting."
Qianyu asked, "What does the Princess intend to do?"
The Rakshasa Princess flew down from the ancient parasol tree, landing lightly beside Qianyu, and said, "The saints of the Blade Prison Realm should all know that Yuan Hun went to negotiate cooperation with Zhang Ruochen. As long as Yuan Hun is killed, they will naturally assume Zhang Ruochen was the one who struck."
"You go inform Yang Qi and Lingquan Shaojun. Have them go all out to intercept Yuan Hun and make sure he is killed before he can return to the Blade Prison Realm camp."
"Very well, I will go notify them now."
Qianyu turned around and was about to leave.
"Wait a moment," the Rakshasa Princess said.
Qianyu asked, "Does the Princess have further instructions?"
The Rakshasa Princess licked her lips and said, "Hit me with all your strength—one palm strike."
Qianyu was momentarily stunned. Though she did not understand the Rakshasa Princess's purpose in asking her to do this, she knew there must be a deeper reason behind it.
So she asked, "Are you sure you want me to go all out?"
"Mm," the Rakshasa Princess said.
Qianyu hesitated no longer. She fully mobilized the evil-fiend energy within her body. Her snow-white skin turned a crimson red, as if she had turned into red-hot charcoal. Then, she struck out with her palm, hitting the Rakshasa Princess squarely in the back.
"Boom."
The Rakshasa Princess was sent flying, crashing through thirteen ancient parasol tree trunks in succession. Her already injured sacred body became even more severely wounded.
Mu Lingxi's internal injuries were even more severe than the Rakshasa Princess's current state. Moreover, because she had burned her sacred blood in battle, she had lost more than half of her blood energy, and her life force was nearly exhausted. She was on the verge of death.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen had once collected some Life Spring Water beneath the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree and stored it in a precious bottle. Now, it finally came in handy.
After drinking the Life Spring Water, Mu Lingxi's life energy gradually stabilized, though she still did not awaken.
Zhang Ruochen then took out a Spring Revival Pill. After careful consideration, he felt that given Mu Lingxi's current condition, she would not be able to withstand the pill's potent medicinal power.
So he dissolved the Spring Revival Pill into the Life Spring Water. After diluting it, he fed a mouthful to Mu Lingxi.
Zhang Ruochen pressed one palm against Mu Lingxi's back, continuously channeling sacred energy into the Heavenly Heart Meridian on her back. Following the meridians within her body, the energy circulated throughout her entire system, helping her refine and absorb the medicinal energy of the Spring Revival Pill.
Qiu Yu's attack had been extremely vicious, causing Mu Lingxi's internal injuries to be more than ten times worse than her external wounds.
As he helped Mu Lingxi heal, Zhang Ruochen's gaze was both deeply cold and tinged with a hint of pity.
Every quarter of an hour, Zhang Ruochen fed Mu Lingxi another mouthful of the liquid. After six mouthfuls, her external wounds had nearly healed, and her internal injuries had recovered by about half.
"Cough, cough."
With two light coughs, Mu Lingxi slowly opened her eyes and awakened.
Only then did Zhang Ruochen finally breathe a sigh of relief, a smile appearing on his face.
At first, the world before Mu Lingxi's eyes was quite blurry, but gradually it became clear. Seeing Zhang Ruochen's face so close, she said in a very weak voice, "Are we... are we still... alive?"
"Do you think we're reuniting in the underworld?" Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
Mu Lingxi tried to stand up, but as soon as she moved, it triggered her injuries. A sharp pain surged through her, causing her delicate body to tremble slightly.
Yet there was no trace of pain on her face—only immense joy.
The sensation of pain meant they were still alive.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Don't move recklessly just yet. Your injuries haven't fully recovered."
"I am a saint, not some fragile little girl." Mu Lingxi shot Zhang Ruochen a glare, then, enduring the pain inside her, slowly stood up with his support.
Zhang Ruochen said, "When did you become so fond of putting on a brave face?"
"It's precisely because I'm not strong enough that I have to put on a brave face. I have to catch up to your pace, so that when you encounter danger in the future, I can protect you like I did today. Otherwise, if you ever face danger and I can do nothing, that would be the most painful thing of all," Mu Lingxi said.
Zhang Ruochen stared at her without blinking.
Mu Lingxi asked in confusion, "What are you staring at me for?"
"Nothing... Mm... You should keep working hard from now on. I really do hope someone can always protect me. Then I wouldn't have to cultivate or go out to battle. How easy would that be?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Mu Lingxi snorted lightly, "You wish."
Princess Baili dragged the massive corpse of the Bone Phoenix to a spot not far from Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi, and said, "Sect Leader, I found something good."
"Oh?"
Zhang Ruochen helped Mu Lingxi sit down on a blue stone to continue her healing exercises, then walked over to Princess Baili.
The Bone Phoenix's spine was over six hundred meters long. One of the vertebrae had been pierced by a sharp weapon, and from inside the spine, some pale blue liquid was flowing out.
As soon as that liquid came into contact with the air, it solidified into crystalline form.
"This is..."
Zhang Ruochen sensed a bone-chilling coldness within the pale blue crystals. Within that coldness seemed to be a rich sacred power, very similar to Condensed True Sacred Dew.
Princess Baili said, "Ice Phoenix Sacred Marrow."
Zhang Ruochen had never read any books on the subject before, so the term "Ice Phoenix Sacred Marrow" felt somewhat unfamiliar to him.
Princess Baili said, "Ice Phoenix Sacred Marrow has the same effect as Condensed True Sacred Dew. The difference is that Ice Phoenix Sacred Marrow is more easily absorbed by saints. For saints with an ice-cold constitution, refining Ice Phoenix Sacred Marrow can increase their cultivation speed more than five times faster than refining Condensed True Sacred Dew."
"Given the amount of Ice Phoenix Sacred Marrow inside the Bone Phoenix's spine, it's equivalent to ten thousand drops of Condensed True Sacred Dew—definitely no small fortune."
Zhang Ruochen had already seized quite a bit of Condensed True Sacred Dew from other saints, enough to support his cultivation all the way to the Ultimate Saint Realm.
Moreover, he did not have an ice-cold constitution, so the benefits of absorbing Ice Phoenix Sacred Marrow would not be that great for him.
In the end, Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned toward Mu Lingxi.
Ten thousand drops of Ice Phoenix Sacred Marrow would likely be enough to support Mu Lingxi's cultivation up to the Ultimate Saint Realm.
Zhang Ruochen used the Abyssal Ancient Sword to cut through all the bones of the Bone Phoenix, leaving only the massive spine.
Then, he summoned the Purifying Divine Flame to refine the Ice Phoenix Sacred Marrow inside the spine, removing impurities and turning it into drops of precious liquid imbued with powerful sacred power.
By the time Zhang Ruochen had fully refined all the Ice Phoenix Sacred Marrow, Mu Lingxi's injuries had completely healed. However, because she had consumed so much sacred blood, her body was still quite weak.
Zhang Ruochen handed the Ice Phoenix Sacred Marrow to her and told her to return to the interior of the Space Crystal to continue recuperating.
Mu Lingxi knew that her current state was too poor and would hold Zhang Ruochen back, so this time she did not put up a brave front.
Before entering the Space Crystal, Mu Lingxi gave Qiu Yu a deep look and said, "If possible, spare his life. After all, I do owe him a favor."
Zhang Ruochen said, "He has shown you kindness, but he has also wronged you. I will give him a path to life, and I will also give him a path to death."
Mu Lingxi nodded and said no more, entering the inner space of the Space Crystal.
"Mo Yin and Han Qiu haven't returned yet. Have they run into trouble?" Zhang Ruochen had a bad feeling, as if something was about to happen.
Not far away, the sound of an argument broke out.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his thoughts and looked toward the source of the argument. He saw Feng Mo's figure, and with a dark look in his eyes, he strode over.
Feng Mo was quite frustrated and said, "A Le, we've been through life and death together as brothers, and now you're pointing your sword at me? What's the meaning of this?"
A Le's iron sword was aimed at Feng Mo's brow, and he said nothing.
Just then, Zhang Ruochen arrived behind A Le, carrying the corpse of the Heaven-Shaking Tiger, and tossed it toward Feng Mo.
"Thud."
The Heaven-Shaking Tiger had reverted to its original form—a massive tiger over thirty meters long. However, its head had been shattered, and the life force within its body had been severed.
"Heaven-Shaking Tiger!"
Feng Mo was greatly startled, then looked up and asked, "How did this happen? What happened?"
"What happened? Don't you know?" This sentence was not spoken by Zhang Ruochen, but by the Rakshasa Princess.
Not far away, the Rakshasa Princess staggered out from the ancient parasol tree forest. Her face was extremely pale, and a trail of blood hung at the corner of her mouth. She looked exceptionally disheveled as she walked back step by step.
Just as she was about to reach Zhang Ruochen's side, she spat out a mouthful of blood with a "wha" sound, and her body swayed as if about to fall.
Zhang Ruochen walked over and supported her. His fingers pressed against her wrist, using the opportunity to check her injuries while also probing her background.
Unfortunately, he found nothing of value.
However, the Rakshasa Princess's injuries were indeed quite severe.
Feng Mo was full of questions and said, "What the hell is going on? Can someone tell me what happened?"
The Rakshasa Princess naturally knew Zhang Ruochen was probing her, but she remained exceptionally calm. Her soft, full body even leaned completely against Zhang Ruochen as she said coldly, "What more is there to say? If Yuan Hun hadn't attacked me by surprise, how could I have been so severely injured? You people from the Eight Divisions Realm have no sincerity in cooperating—you clearly just want to take the Merit Record Wall for yourselves. What is your purpose in coming back? Are you also trying to snatch the Merit Record Wall? Zhang Ruochen, don't waste words with him. Kill him."