Chapter 1534: Six Spots
On the main peak of the Yuanxu Peak Holy Land.
Halfway up the mountain, several thousand meters high, stood a rather ancient palace.
In front of the palace was a seventy-four-meter-tall stone statue, clad in sacred armor and holding a heavy sword. It was imposing and majestic, faintly emitting a vast aura of sacred dao.
That was a stone statue of "Man Sword Great Saint." All fourteen holy lands within the Red Dragon Sacred Domain had such a statue, like a doppelganger of Man Sword Great Saint. In times of crisis, the statue could unleash attacks to kill evil forces assaulting the holy land.
At this moment, more than two hundred half-saints of the Holy Bright Central Empire stood neatly beneath the statue. Their spirit and energy were full, and their bodies emitted a gleaming white light, as if each person carried a moon within them.
A woman who appeared only twenty years old, dressed in white robes, was gentle and beautiful. She had a third-order half-saint cultivation level. Her bright eyes looked around, and she said, "Soon we'll be able to see the Crown Prince. I'm so excited. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince is an unparalleled dragon among men; he won't even notice a mere half-saint like me."
"It's truly a blessing to be able to cultivate by the Crown Prince's side. With my previous talent and physique, reaching the ninth-order half-saint realm would have been extremely difficult and would have required great fortune. But after experiencing the baptism of the world's creation in the Qiankun Realm, my physique underwent earth-shattering changes. On Moon God Mountain, I received the purification of moonlight power, further enhancing my physique and sacred soul. I feel that with my current talent, I can strive for the Saint King realm in the future. All of this was given to me by the Crown Prince."
"My fortune is even greater than yours. In the Qiankun Realm, I found a rare sacred medicine. After refining it, I actually cultivated a rather special physique."
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The more than two hundred half-saints present were not only members of the Holy Bright Central Empire's old forces; some also came from the Azure Dragon Ruins Realm. Of course, they were now all part of the Holy Bright Central Empire.
In fact, the vast majority of the Holy Bright Central Empire's old forces were still in the Kunlun Realm and had not come to Yuanxu Peak Holy Land.
"The Crown Prince, the Crown Prince is here..."
"It really is the Crown Prince. Still so handsome and divine, completely crushing those who think they are handsome men. Moreover, the sacred dao aura emanating from His Highness is truly powerful, like a divine sun that can refine heaven and earth."
With Zhang Ruochen's arrival, these half-saints of the Holy Bright Central Empire were all extremely excited. The male half-saints revered him like a god, while the female half-saints had passionate eyes and hearts beating rapidly, seeing him as the most admired hero in their hearts.
"Greetings, Crown Prince."
A thunderous sound rang out.
Zhang Ruochen walked alongside Xiao Hei, scanning the half-saints who knelt on one knee. He nodded with satisfaction and thought to himself, "Indeed, every half-saint's physique and spirit have improved significantly. Moon God Mountain is definitely not just a mountain. After the Moon God returned, it has become a supreme treasure that can rapidly enhance the overall strength of the Guanghan Realm."
Gods, in the Heavenly Court Realm, indeed could not act.
But the abilities possessed by gods were not comparable to those of Great Saints.
Take "Moon God Mountain" for example. Before the Moon God returned, it was merely a decent cultivation site. But with the Moon God stationed there, it became a supreme treasure capable of enhancing the physique, spirit, and sacred soul of half-saints.
It could be foreseen that as time passed, the overall strength of the Guanghan Realm would undoubtedly grow stronger and stronger.
Zhang Ruochen walked all the way to the steps of the palace before stopping. He turned around and said, "Today, I, the Crown Prince, establish a rule here: any cultivator of the Holy Bright Central Empire who reaches the half-saint realm is exempt from kneeling."
The half-saints who had been kneeling all stood up, deeply moved.
Having reached the half-saint realm, they were naturally wise people. They understood that the Crown Prince wanted to cultivate in them a strong heart that would not bow to others.
"Since you have come to Yuanxu Peak Holy Land, I, the Crown Prince, have a gift for you," Zhang Ruochen said.
"The Crown Prince has always been generous. Since he's giving gifts, they must be something extraordinary."
"The Crown Prince is so handsome. If only I could always stay by his side, even just as a maid serving tea and water, it would be a blessing."
Zhang Ruochen looked at the expectant eyes of the crowd, then smiled slightly. He took out more than two hundred storage bags from his space ring, mobilized sacred qi, and sent them flying to land before each person.
"You all know that I am the Heir of Time and Space. I should have refined better space treasures for you, but your cultivation levels are too low. Better space treasures in your hands would only bring deadly trouble," Zhang Ruochen said.
In the Heavenly Court Realm, even many saints did not have storage bags. For Zhang Ruochen to give one to every half-saint was already extremely generous.
During the merit war, although every saint of the Shatuo Seven Realms received a storage bag, those bags had extremely small internal spaces.
Moreover, after the merit war ended, all the storage bags were taken back.
Only warriors entering the merit battlefield were temporarily allowed to have a storage bag.
Because having a storage bag could improve combat efficiency.
The half-saints picked up the storage bags, naturally feeling some excitement.
But when they heard Zhang Ruochen's next words, they were so excited they almost jumped up.
"Inside each storage bag is a sacred source. With your current physiques, aided by the sacred source, you should be able to more easily cultivate to the saint level," Zhang Ruochen said.
"What? A sacred source?"
"There really is a sacred source."
"With the help of a sacred source, I should be able to break through to the saint realm within ten years."
Seeing the joy on everyone's faces, Zhang Ruochen felt genuine happiness. What he needed was a group of cultivators willing to follow him willingly into battle, not those forced to join the Holy Bright Central Empire.
Even after giving the Moon God one million sacred sources, Zhang Ruochen still had over a hundred thousand left.
These sacred sources were enough for him to cultivate a powerful army of saints, step by step, gradually growing stronger, until he could lead them to fight against Chi Yao's First Central Empire army, or even step onto the battlefield to battle the Hell Realm.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen's nose caught a familiar faint fragrance.
When he turned around, he saw Mu Lingxi's beautiful figure standing outside the palace door, like a celestial maiden stepping out of a scroll painting.
After obtaining the Ice Phoenix inheritance, Mu Lingxi's ice phoenix bloodline had fully awakened. Her skin was as clear and translucent as spiritual jade, the pair of wings on her back emitted dozens of colors, and her phoenix eyes were even brighter and more dazzling than the stars in the sky.
Having become a disciple of the Moon God, Mu Lingxi had clearly changed. Her aura had become somewhat similar to the Moon God's, with more holiness and less worldly air. But when she met Zhang Ruochen's gaze, her face still showed a lively smile.
"Truly beautiful. Only the Little Saintess's beauty is worthy of the Crown Prince."
"The Little Saintess is now a disciple of a god. It is said that even many half-saints of the Guanghan Realm now call her the number one beauty of the Guanghan Realm, addressing her as Fairy Lingxi."
The half-saint who had earlier wanted to be Zhang Ruochen's maid sighed softly. Standing before Mu Lingxi, they all felt inferior.
Although Mu Lingxi was smiling, there was a hint of resentment in her eyes. "You insisted on leaving me by Moon God's side. You didn't expect me to shamelessly come back, did you?"
"This is your home. You can come back anytime."
Zhang Ruochen walked over and stood opposite Mu Lingxi. Both were bathed in sacred light, like a pair of golden boy and jade girl, gazing at each other.
"Clap, clap."
Applause sounded.
Wu Hao walked out of the palace, clapping his hands and laughing, "The Divine Envoy is indeed generous, giving away hundreds of sacred sources in one go. Even I feel like joining Yuanxu Peak Holy Land."
Zhang Ruochen quickly withdrew his gaze from Mu Lingxi and smiled, "So the Realm Son is here too. Come, let's talk inside the hall."
Entering the hall, Zhang Ruochen discovered that not only Wu Hao had come to Yuanxu Peak Holy Land, but also Su Qingling, Wen Shusheng, and Ling Mi, all famous saint-level prodigies of the Guanghan Realm.
In addition, there were two Saint King-level figures, both at the One-Step Saint King realm. Their faces were aged, but they exuded powerful auras.
These two had accumulated deeply in the One-Step Saint King realm and were not comparable to those who had just broken through to that level.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Everyone experienced life-and-death struggles in this saint merit war and also gained considerable rewards. You should be focusing on breaking through to the Saint King realm. So, your visit to Yuanxu Peak Holy Land must be for more than just catching up with me, right?"
Wu Hao did not beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose. "The Divine Envoy is exceptionally perceptive and guessed our intention at once. Yes, this matter is indeed related to the merit war." "Oh?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Wu Hao said, "Because the cultivators of the Guanghan Realm fought bravely on the battlefield and collected a large amount of merit points, making a great contribution to the Heavenly Court Realm, the Truth Divine Temple issued a divine decree, rewarding the Guanghan Realm with six spots to enter the Truth Divine Temple for cultivation. This is a rare opportunity."
"The Truth Divine Temple, six spots?"
Zhang Ruochen's heart stirred.
He knew that the "Way of Truth" was one of the Nine Eternal Paths.
To comprehend the most orthodox Way of Truth, one clearly had to go to the Truth Divine Temple.
Cultivation spots were extremely precious.
Normally, every ten years, the Guanghan Realm could only receive three spots.
Because of the Guanghan Realm's great sacrifice in the Ancestral Spirit Realm, the Truth Divine Temple allocated six spots as compensation and reward.
Wu Hao said, "Perhaps the Divine Envoy is not yet fully aware of the preciousness of the Way of Truth. However, I have had the fortune to visit the Truth Divine Temple once and comprehended some shallow truth rules. How about we have a battle? During the fight, I can demonstrate the Way of Truth so the Divine Envoy can have an intuitive understanding."
"This is a challenge to me."
Although Wu Hao said it casually, Zhang Ruochen sensed a confrontational intent.
After all, on the merit battlefield, Zhang Ruochen had indeed been too high-profile, stealing all the limelight that should have belonged to the Realm Son. Now, Zhang Ruochen's reputation in the Guanghan Realm probably far exceeded Wu Hao's.
The latter wanting to challenge him was only natural.