Chapter 1496: The Final Three Days
Thirty-three majestic sacred mountains surrounded the Phoenix Nest, standing at the edge of a sea of fire and a sea of cold. The mountain terrain was steep and perilous, dense with formations, and filled with all kinds of unknown dangers.
Each sacred mountain was a path leading to the Phoenix Nest.
At this moment, most of the Saint realm powerhouses from the Shatuo Seven Realms had chosen a path, reaching the summit of one of these mountains, observing every move of Zhang Ruochen and his group.
At the summit of Vajra Sacred Mountain, a group of over seventy Saints had gathered, led by four individuals who had all reached the Half-Saint King realm. They were high-ranking figures from the Heavenly Mother Realm, each one a powerhouse.
One of them, a Half-Saint King with a leopard head, stared in the direction of the Cold Sea and snorted coldly, "Zhang Ruochen really knows how to pick a spot. With the Nether Winter Cold Sea as an escape route, it's impossible for us to seize the Merit Wall."
"Are we really going to trade merit points with him? As far as I know, Zhang Ruochen is taking a thirty percent cut. That's way too ruthless."
"Let's wait a little longer. We'll decide after the Realm Son and the Divine Envoy arrive."
...
At the summits of other sacred mountains, large groups of Saints had also gathered, engaged in heated discussions just like the Saints of the Heavenly Mother Realm.
Some were plotting to suppress Zhang Ruochen and his group, seizing the Merit Wall; others were considering whether to negotiate terms with Zhang Ruochen to exchange merit points.
Just then, at the summit of one of the sacred mountains, a group of over thirty Saints began descending the mountain.
This group came from the Kunlun Realm.
Leading them were Wan Zhaoyi, Chu Siyuan, and Qingxiao, along with some ancient remnant species from the Primitive Wasteland Secret Realm—all top-tier experts among Saints.
Wan Zhaoyi, Chu Siyuan, and Qingxiao personally boarded the Divine Parasol Tree to speak with Zhang Ruochen.
Since they were all old acquaintances, and with Qingxiao, a senior brother close to Zhang Ruochen, present, the entire negotiation process went quite smoothly.
Zhang Ruochen brought out the Merit Wall and set it up on the trunk of the Divine Parasol Tree. One by one, the Saints of the Kunlun Realm came forward to exchange their merit points.
The thirty-plus Saints of the Kunlun Realm were all top-tier experts, and the merit points they had gathered were naturally substantial. In total, they added over sixteen million merit points to the Kunlun Realm's tally.
Zhang Ruochen took a cut of over five million merit points, bringing the Guanghan Realm's total to ninety-nine million points—just one step away from breaking a hundred million.
Chu Siyuan's expression, however, was quite grim. He said, "Zhang Ruochen, can you spare Qiuyu's life?"
Chu Siyuan also disapproved of Qiuyu's actions, but as the future spiritual root of the Kunlun Realm and a renowned figure of the Confucian path, he naturally didn't want Qiuyu to die at Zhang Ruochen's hands.
In Chu Siyuan's view, with proper guidance and tempering of his heart, Qiuyu might one day become the backbone of a great world.
Surprisingly, Zhang Ruochen wasn't particularly stubborn. He smiled and said, "Since Senior Chu wants to spare his life, why not stay here and watch over him? Otherwise, if he angers me one day, I might just send him straight into the Void Space. That's not out of the question."
Chu Siyuan naturally understood the immense importance of the Divine Parasol Tree. If Qiuyu were killed by Zhang Ruochen, it would be a huge loss for the Kunlun Realm.
If he stayed...
Perhaps he could really stop Zhang Ruochen at a critical moment.
Zhang Ruochen, of course, didn't intend to keep an old busybody around. Rather, he wanted to use Chu Siyuan to restrain the Rakshasa Princess.
As long as Chu Siyuan stayed by Zhang Ruochen's side, could the Rakshasa Princess still casually send out spiritual power messages?
By cutting off the connection between the Rakshasa Princess and the Rakshasa Clan, even if a major upheaval occurred in the Rakshasa camp, the princess would likely be completely unaware.
This was the true way to restrain the Rakshasa Princess.
Hearing that Zhang Ruochen intended to keep Chu Siyuan, the Rakshasa Princess frowned and said in a low voice, "Aren't you afraid he'll take the Merit Wall?"
Zhang Ruochen replied bluntly, "I doubt he has the ability."
Hearing this, Chu Siyuan was so furious his hair nearly stood on end. He roared, "Fine, Zhang Ruochen! How dare you look down on me like this! I'm not leaving today. Don't regret it—be careful, I might just take the Merit Wall at any moment! Hmph!"
Zhang Ruochen knew Chu Siyuan's personality well, so he deliberately provoked him.
Clearly, Zhang Ruochen's strategy was successful.
Just as Wan Zhaoyi and Qingxiao were about to leave...
"Boom!"
The air in the world violently shook.
From the summit of one of the sacred mountains, a mighty surge of Sacred Dao fluctuations erupted. A massive white light sphere rose into the air and hurtled toward the Divine Parasol Tree.
It was a hammer-shaped Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact, emitting two layers of Sacred Qi light waves, unleashing the power of a Two-Orb Perfection.
Before the Sacred Dao force from the hammer-shaped artifact even landed, the Nether Winter Cold Sea below was pressed down into a depression, and the bone-chilling cold air was pushed far away.
In an instant, Zhang Ruochen activated the Buddha Emperor Relic, channeling his Sacred Qi into it continuously.
"Whoosh—"
A Le, White Li Princess, Mo Yin, Han Qiu, and the Rakshasa Princess all acted simultaneously, sending beams of Sacred Qi into the Buddha Emperor Relic.
The relic's primordial power erupted, transforming into a golden Buddha shadow. It extended a massive hand and struck toward the hammer-shaped Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact.
"Boom!"
The dark purple giant hammer, in its clash with the Buddha Emperor Relic, was at a disadvantage. It was sent flying back, crashing into the mountainside of a sacred mountain.
Beams of light surged from that sacred mountain, and the mountain shook violently. Despite the protection of formation inscriptions, a large section collapsed.
At the summit of Black Gold Sacred Mountain, Fang Yi, Dongliu Sword Venerable, and twelve other top Saint-level experts let out muffled groans as they simultaneously retreated several steps.
The twelve top Saint-level experts had exhausted their Sacred Qi and quickly sat down to circulate their techniques and recover.
Fang Yi and Dongliu Sword Venerable had also consumed most of their Sacred Qi. After recalling the hammer-shaped artifact, a wave of weakness spread through their bodies, forcing them to pause and refrain from launching another attack.
Although the Two-Orb Perfection power of a Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact was formidable, its consumption of Sacred Qi was also astonishing. Even an ordinary Saint King might not be able to sustain it.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew the relic and looked toward the summit of Black Gold Sacred Mountain.
"It must be the Blade Prison Realm and the Purple Mansion Realm. Why don't we go kill them first, so they stop causing trouble?" Han Qiu said coldly.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "Our top priority is to gather merit points. There's no need to stir up more trouble."
With that, Zhang Ruochen began setting up a Space Maze Formation specifically to counter attacks from the Blade Prison Realm and the Purple Mansion Realm.
This time, Zhang Ruochen spent a full three days setting up the Space Maze Formation, covering an area of three miles. Even if a Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact unleashed its Two-Orb Perfection power, it couldn't break through the formation in a short time.
Over the past three days, Saints from the Kunlun Realm, Guanghan Realm, and Great Demon Ten Directions Realm had been arriving continuously to exchange merit points. The data on the Merit Wall was being refreshed constantly.
The Great Demon Ten Directions Realm still held first place, with a total merit value of two hundred million.
The Guanghan Realm's merit value reached one hundred sixty million, placing it second.
The Kunlun Realm's merit value reached ninety-four million, moving it into third place.
The other four major worlds, having not exchanged merit points with Zhang Ruochen, saw no change in their data.
On the fourth day, led by Crazy Demon, Saints from the Eight Divisions Realm finally came to exchange merit points.
On the sixth day, the Realm Son of the Heavenly Mother Realm, along with over a hundred Saints, arrived at the shore of the Cold Sea, meeting Zhang Ruochen for the first time. The two finally reached an agreement.
Over the following days, the Blade Prison Realm and the Purple Mansion Realm launched several more attacks, but they failed to breach the Space Maze Formation.
On the tenth day, the Blade Prison Realm and the Purple Mansion Realm organized nearly a thousand top-tier Saints, charging down from the summit of Black Gold Sacred Mountain to attack the Divine Parasol Tree.
Unfortunately, by the time they reached the shore of the Cold Sea, Zhang Ruochen and his group had already retreated deep into the sea.
The two sides faced off for a day and a night. Eventually, the other five major worlds simultaneously pressured the Blade Prison Realm and the Purple Mansion Realm, forcing them to retreat. Zhang Ruochen and his group then piloted the Divine Parasol Tree back to the shore of the Cold Sea.
During this time, Zhang Ruochen had handed over the task of exchanging merit points to A Le and Han Qiu, while he spent most of his time inside the Space-Time Crystal's inner space, constantly refining the True Condensation Sacred Dew.
Time passed quickly. Before they knew it, half a month had gone by, leaving only three days until the end of the Saint Merit War.
Zhang Ruochen had refined a full twenty thousand drops of True Condensation Sacred Dew. Most of the over three hundred Sacred Dao rules in his Qi Sea had been condensed to the "Ultimate Truth and Ultimate Reality" level, except for the Time Rule and Space Rule, which were still one step away.
Once he condensed the Time Rule and Space Rule to the "Ultimate Truth and Ultimate Reality" level, he would officially break through to the Ultimate Saint realm.
"After refining such a massive amount of True Condensation Sacred Dew, the Time Rule and Space Rule haven't changed at all. Could it be that True Condensation Sacred Dew simply can't bring Time and Space Rules to the Ultimate Truth and Ultimate Reality level?"
Without a master to guide him, Zhang Ruochen had to explore on his own. Without a doubt, this would lead to many detours.
Zhang Ruochen stopped refining the True Condensation Sacred Dew and stepped out of the Time-Space Crystal, intending to calm his mind first. After careful thought, he would then attempt to break through to the Ultimate Saint realm.
Even if he didn't break through to the Ultimate Saint realm, Zhang Ruochen was still confident. In the Ancestral Spirit Realm, few could match him.
Zhang Ruochen arrived beneath the Merit Wall and looked up at the rankings.
First place: Great Demon Ten Directions Realm, three hundred ninety million merit points.
Second place: Guanghan Realm, three hundred eighty million merit points.
...
At the very bottom was the Blade Prison Realm, with the Purple Mansion Realm second to last.
"The Great Demon Ten Directions Realm is indeed powerful. Even after giving me a thirty percent cut, they're still in first place. But the gap between the Guanghan Realm and the Great Demon Ten Directions Realm is very small. In three more days, we should be able to surpass them."
Zhang Ruochen thought to himself, then glanced toward the Rakshasa Princess.
Strangely enough, this Rakshasa Princess was remarkably composed. Even though she couldn't send messages to the outside world, she showed no signs of anxiety or urgency.
The Rakshasa Princess sat cross-legged on a branch of the Divine Parasol Tree, her hands resting on her knees as she meditated with her eyes closed. Her jet-black hair swayed like willow branches in the wind, making her appear exceptionally agile and ethereal.
"She cultivates the Way of Space and has reached the Ultimate Saint realm. I could go and seek her advice," Zhang Ruochen mused.