Chapter 1542: The Eleventh Palm
Over the following period, Zhang Ruochen devoted all his energy to three tasks: comprehending the rules of the palm path, studying the eleventh palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, and cultivating Sword Eight.
The palm path, like the sword path, was one of the seventy-two Supreme Sacred Paths (Zhi Zun Sheng Dao).
The reason it could be listed among the Supreme Sacred Paths was not because the palm path was particularly profound or mysterious, but because countless beings cultivated it, and among them, some extraordinary figures had emerged who studied the palm path to its utmost limits, creating many terrifying and unparalleled palm techniques.
It was precisely because of the efforts and creations of those venerable predecessors (Qian Bei Ming Su) that later cultivators could reach such high levels in the palm path. Thus, the palm path earned its place among the Supreme Sacred Paths.
The reason the seventy-two Supreme Sacred Paths surpassed the three thousand great paths was that cultivators of the Supreme Sacred Paths had higher upper limits than those who cultivated the great paths.
Of course, if a being focused on one of the three thousand great paths and became a top-tier figure in the world, that path's status would rise accordingly, attracting more cultivators, and it might even be listed as the seventy-third Supreme Sacred Path.
Perhaps because the palm path was slightly easier to cultivate than the sword path, or perhaps because the rule seed had already grown roots in the sword path and crossed the threshold of the sacred path, in any case, over the next two months, Zhang Ruochen's speed in comprehending the palm path increased dramatically. He managed to cultivate eight palm path rules in succession.
The total number of palm path rules reached nine.
"Palm path rules are a Supreme Sacred Path. If I were comprehending other great paths or minor paths, the cultivation speed should be even faster."
Being only one step away from ten rules, Zhang Ruochen was in a fairly good mood.
However, his progress in palm technique cultivation was not as smooth. Despite spending a great deal of time, he still had not achieved initial mastery (Ru Men) of the eleventh palm.
The eleventh palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm was called "Dragon-Elephant Reaching Heaven." Once successfully cultivated, the palm technique's grade would reach the level of a Mid-rank Sacred Art (Zhong Jie Sheng Shu). Additionally, the cultivator's body would undergo earth-shattering changes.
First, the pure yang energy (Yang Gang Zhi Qi) within the cultivator's body would increase tenfold again, reaching one hundred thousand times that of an ordinary person.
Second, the cultivator's physical strength would greatly increase. Every tendon would be like an azure dragon (Cang Long) capable of pulling mountains; every bone would be like a giant elephant (Ju Xiang) brimming with power.
This was called Dragon Tendons and Phoenix Bones (Long Jin Feng Gu).
It could be said that cultivating powerful sacred arts could, to some extent, provide feedback to the cultivator, enhancing certain abilities or even developing a special physique.
If he could truly achieve great mastery (Da Cheng) of the eleventh palm, Zhang Ruochen's physical body would be comparable to a True Dragon Body (Zhen Long Zhi Ti) or an Extreme Yang Body (Ji Yang Zhi Ti).
However, the eleventh palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm was not only difficult to cultivate but also extremely dangerous.
Even with the talent of the Dead Zen Ancestor (Si Chan Lao Zu), when he cultivated the eleventh palm, an accident occurred, and he nearly died from self-destruction (Zi Bao Er Wang).
Zhang Ruochen had only seen Wan Zhaoyi execute the eleventh palm, but at that time, Wan Zhaoyi had only reached minor mastery (Xiao Cheng).
Only when the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm reached great mastery would the pure yang energy within the body reach one hundred thousand times that of an ordinary person, and its true power would be fully revealed.
Zhang Ruochen laughed at himself: "The difficulty of the eleventh palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm exceeds my imagination! Hmph, I thought that if Wan Zhaoyi could reach minor mastery, I could definitely do it too. But now, even achieving initial mastery is a challenge. Perhaps... the royal family's collection of the 'Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm' is missing some key part."
"Back when I cultivated the ninth and tenth palms, I first refined a Saint-level Dragon Soul (Sheng Ji Long Hun) and a Saint-level Elephant Soul (Sheng Ji Xiang Hun) into my arms before succeeding. To cultivate the eleventh palm, would I also need to first enhance the power of my arms and increase the dragon and elephant energy within them?"
In his previous life, Zhang Ruochen had indeed flipped through the "Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm," but it was only a handwritten copy collected by the royal family of the Holy Bright Central Empire, with many incomplete sections.
Moreover, the further one went, the more mysterious the palm techniques became, with more annotations. Often, explaining a single palm required dozens of pages, so naturally, there were more missing parts.
The original manuscript of the "Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm" was kept in the Pilgrimage Pavilion (Chao Zong Ge) of the Ten Thousand Buddha Path.
At that time, Zhang Ruochen, only in his teens, could never have imagined that one day he would reach his current height. Back then, he probably never even thought that he would one day cultivate the eleventh palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
"Cultivating the eleventh palm is quite dangerous. It's better to ask clearly before proceeding."
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal, took out a Message Light Talisman (Chuan Xun Guang Fu), inscribed a passage of text, and sent a message to inquire of Master Indra.
"Whoosh—"
The Message Light Talisman turned into a streak of light and flew away.
Master Indra was a disciple of the Buddha Emperor and one of the top experts of the Ten Thousand Buddha Path. He had certainly studied the original manuscript of the "Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm."
Although Zhang Ruochen had now joined the Guanghan Realm and was seen as a traitor by many cultivators from the Kunlun Realm, given Zhang Ruochen's connections with the Buddha Emperor and the Golden Dragon, two Buddhist great saints, if Master Indra had indeed studied the "Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm," he might still be willing to help clarify Zhang Ruochen's doubts.
"I wonder if Senior Indra has broken through to the Great Saint realm?"
Zhang Ruochen's eyes showed a glimmer of anticipation as he stared at the horizon.
After a long time, no Message Light Talisman flew back, and Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but feel nervous and disappointed. Could it be that Master Indra was also dissatisfied with his actions? Did he think that helping the Guanghan Realm win the merit battle had nearly plunged the Kunlun Realm into war?
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes, a bitter smile appearing on his face.
No matter how others saw him, at least he felt that everything he did was with a clear conscience.
If the Kunlun Realm truly fell into war, Zhang Ruochen would undoubtedly be the first to step onto the battlefield, charging to the front to protect those he wanted to protect.
Suddenly, a light spot appeared on the horizon.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes snapped open, a look of joy appearing on his face. He reached out a hand, grasping into the void, and caught the Message Light Talisman.
After confirming that the talisman was sent by Master Indra, an indescribable joy surged in Zhang Ruochen's heart.
At the very least, it showed that there were still cultivators in the Kunlun Realm who could understand his helplessness, who knew he was just a wanderer with no home to return to, forced to leave his homeland and drift from place to place—not a traitor.
Master Indra had inscribed dense, tiny text on the talisman, fully explaining the cultivation method for the eleventh palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
At the very end, he added a line: "Hold fast to your original heart (Jian Shou Ben Xin)."
"Hold fast to your original heart."
Zhang Ruochen silently repeated the phrase, gripping the jade talisman tighter in his hand.
Indeed, to cultivate the eleventh palm, one must first refine a Saint King-level (Sheng Wang Ji Bie) dragon soul and a Saint King-level elephant soul into the arms. Moreover, if one consumed some extremely hot and yang (Zhi Re Zhi Yang) sacred medicines, cultivation would be easier.
"No wonder some Saint Kings need decades or even centuries to master a single Mid-rank Sacred Art. Cultivation is indeed very difficult."
In his heart, Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but admire Wan Zhaoyi a little. That guy was truly worthy of being a representative figure of an era in the Kunlun Realm, able to suppress Chen Wutian, Heart Technique Buddha Master, and others. Back then, at the Saint realm, he could spar with figures like the Azure Heaven Blood Emperor—there was a reason for that.
"I can do it too."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was firm, full of self-confidence.
A voice transmission from the Wine Madman reached his ears: "Zhang Ruochen, the high-grade Dragon Spirit Mad Bull Wine has been brewed. Come and taste it."
Zhang Ruochen stopped thinking and blurred as he disappeared from his spot.
The next moment, he was standing beside the Wine Madman, taking a deep sniff, and laughed: "Just smelling the wine fragrance, the sacred qi circulation in my body seems to have accelerated a bit."
In front of Zhang Ruochen and the Wine Madman stood a massive copper furnace, from which the wine fragrance emanated.
"Of course. Using a Buddha Emperor's relic to brew Dragon Spirit Mad Bull Wine is unprecedented. The potency should be quite remarkable."
The Wine Madman chuckled, then waved his sleeve, opening the copper furnace. Instantly, the wine aroma shot into the sky, becoming even stronger, spreading throughout the entire Yuanxu Peak Holy Land and even beyond.
"Whoosh!"
A ball of Buddha light flew out of the furnace and landed in Zhang Ruochen's hand, turning into a relic.
Zhang Ruochen examined it closely and found that the Buddha Emperor relic had not changed significantly. Clearly, brewing the Dragon Spirit Mad Bull Wine did not consume much of the relic.
"What a strong fragrance! Since the new wine is ready, let's all have a taste today."
Zhang Ruochen was in a great mood. He took out a table from his space ring and set up several wine cups.
Xiao Hei and Mo Yin, drawn by the wine fragrance, immediately rushed over.
Even Mo Yin, a woman who didn't understand wine, felt tempted, knowing that good wine should not be missed.
"Haha, I've also successfully refined three Heavenly Nether Purple Fire Talismans. Do I qualify for a drink?" Old Pine Tree arrived with his sleeves fluttering, not being polite at all, and directly found a seat to sit down.
The wine fragrance spread rapidly. Each wisp of wine vapor was like a mad bull running, gathering without dispersing, and it traveled all the way to a thousand miles away.
Inside a purple formation diagram near Yuanxu Peak Holy Land, Wang Xu was holding a rule sacred artifact, comprehending the sacred path. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and he sniffed. He stood up, walked to the edge of the formation diagram, and caught a wisp of the mad bull wine vapor that had run over.
"What excellent wine! I wonder where this wine fragrance is coming from?"
Wang Xu swallowed the wine vapor, feeling utterly intoxicated.
Standing at the center of the formation diagram, Huang Wang looked into the distance, as if he could see through the void, and said in a hoarse voice: "Yuanxu Peak Holy Land."
"Yuanxu Peak Holy Land? Zhang Ruochen? Does he have such fine wine in his collection?" Wang Xu chuckled.
Huang Wang snorted coldly: "Perhaps he realizes he's about to die, so he's brought out the wine to enjoy. According to the news from Wu Hao, they will set out for the Truth Temple tomorrow. The person escorting them is a clansman of the Nine Spirits Great Saint, named Su Jing, probably at the Seven-Step Saint King realm. Wu Hao will inform us in advance of their departure time and travel route. With this information, I can now declare in advance that Zhang Ruochen is already a dead man."
"Let me state in advance: after killing Zhang Ruochen, the wine on him belongs to me. Heh."
Wang Xu couldn't help but take another deep sniff, his expression becoming even more intoxicated. "Su Jing is a Seven-Step Saint King. He'll be quite troublesome to deal with."
"Don't worry. Young Master Zihong has gone to invite a Nine-Step Saint King-level figure, enough to handle him. Moreover, that Nine-Step Saint King has a blood feud with Su Jing. Even if he kills him, it won't violate the heavenly laws," Huang Wang said calmly.