Chapter 1568: The Way of Truth
Despite the earth-shattering sounds of attacks ringing out from outside the training ground, Zhang Ruochen remained as calm as an ancient well, his mind at peace.
On the cliff face of Mirror Fragrance Cliff, divine light blazed brilliantly, and every stone was imbued with divinity.
An extremely ancient diagram was carved into it, depicting a branch of osmanthus flowers, complete with leaves and blossoms. The lines were graceful and lifelike.
This was the diagram of the Way of Truth left by the Tree God!
By contemplating it, one had a chance to comprehend the Truth Rules.
Zhang Ruochen observed it carefully for an entire hour but saw nothing extraordinary. To him, it seemed like nothing more than an ordinary stone carving.
"Could it be that my comprehension is insufficient, and I cannot grasp the Truth Rules?"
Just as this thought surfaced, Zhang Ruochen smiled and shook his head, muttering to himself, "I'm too impatient. Many cultivators spend an entire month training in the Truth Temple and gain nothing. I've only been observing the diagram for a short while, yet I expect to comprehend the Truth Rules."
Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze toward Ling Feiyu.
Even she, a prodigy of the Sword Dao with heaven-defying comprehension, had a look of confusion in her eyes. Clearly, the Way of Truth had stumped even her.
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a long moment, then took out a section of Rainbow Transformation Vine from his Space Ring.
He inserted it into the ground and lit it.
With the aid of the Rainbow Transformation Vine, it would undoubtedly be easier for everyone to comprehend the Truth Rules.
However, Zhang Ruochen did not immediately begin contemplating. Instead, he took out the Space-Time Secret Scripture, flipped to a certain page, and began studying it intently.
Ling Feiyu noticed his unusual behavior and asked, "Finding it too difficult? Giving up?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled and shook his head. "No rush, no rush. Sharpening the axe won't delay the cutting of wood."
Even Ling Feiyu, who knew Zhang Ruochen very well, couldn't quite figure out what he was up to.
She didn't ask further and resumed her observation.
For Ling Feiyu, this was a rare opportunity. She had to comprehend the Truth Rules to make her sword stronger. Otherwise, in future battles against top-tier experts, she would be at a significant disadvantage.
The page Zhang Ruochen was studying was inscribed with mysterious Time Imprints. Each imprint was extremely complex. If an ordinary cultivator stared at them for too long, their mind would ache unbearably.
Only beings with sufficiently strong Spiritual Power could study them.
This observation lasted three days and three nights.
During this time, Zhang Ruochen rested more than a dozen times, each time because his Spiritual Power was heavily depleted and he had to stop.
"Previously, I thought my Spiritual Power was decent, reaching the fifty-fourth rank. Many Saint Kings don't have Spiritual Power as strong as mine. But now that I've truly begun studying the Way of Space and the Way of Time, I realize my Spiritual Power is still far from sufficient."
After resting and replenishing his energy, Zhang Ruochen took out a marking brush and some spirit paper and began practicing drawing Time Imprints.
Several more days passed. Zhang Ruochen used a large amount of spirit paper and finally managed to draw a Time Imprint on the paper, preserving it for about two instants.
"Not bad. Now let's give it a try."
Zhang Ruochen was quite satisfied with his achievement and couldn't help but smile.
During this short period, he had been researching formations that could slow down the flow of time.
With accelerated time, spending an instant inside could mean a year had passed outside.
With decelerated time, spending two days inside could mean only one day had passed outside.
They could only stay in the Truth Heaven Domain for a year at most, so the time they had to comprehend the Way of Truth was quite limited. However, if he could set up a time formation, their comprehension time would be multiplied several times over.
Having made some progress in his research, Zhang Ruochen began to put it into practice.
Setting up a time-deceleration formation was far more difficult than a time-acceleration one, because it was meant to create a cultivation sanctuary for oneself, not to be used against enemies. The primary consideration was the stability of the time flow.
Over the next attempts, Zhang Ruochen experienced more than a dozen failures, destroying a large amount of Sacred Stones and Sacred Jade, before finally setting up a time formation with excellent stability.
"It's done. Everyone can now enter the time formation to contemplate the diagram of the Way of Truth," Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
In truth, none of the people present had comprehended even a single Truth Rule. Hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, they all stood up and walked over.
Su Jing wore a thoughtful expression and asked, "Compared to the outside world, what is the time flow ratio of this time formation?"
"About two to one," Zhang Ruochen replied.
Su Jing, being a top figure from a major world, had some understanding of the Way of Time. He sighed inwardly, thinking that for a first attempt at setting up a time formation to achieve a double time ratio, Zhang Ruochen's talent in the Way of Time would surely make even the prodigies of the Time Divine Temple envious.
"Setting up a time formation here means that from now on, cultivators from the Guanghan Realm can enjoy double the comprehension time. This is a great achievement!" Su Jing praised.
Zhang Ruochen, however, was not particularly satisfied.
After all, within the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal, he could achieve four times the cultivation speed.
The time formation he had set up only doubled the comprehension time, which he didn't consider particularly impressive.
Ultimately, it came down to his Spiritual Power not being strong enough.
If his Spiritual Power could break through to the fifty-fifth rank and he became a Spiritual Power Saint King, he might be able to set up a time formation with triple the time flow.
"Cultivating Spiritual Power isn't something that can be achieved overnight. For now, let's use this time formation to contemplate the diagram of the Way of Truth."
Zhang Ruochen stepped into the time formation, gradually calming his mind, and began to carefully observe the osmanthus branch diagram on the cliff.
No one could clearly explain what the "Way of Truth" truly was. They only knew that it was eternal and unchanging, the essence of the rules of heaven and earth.
A Mid-rank Sacred Art was more powerful than a Low-rank Sacred Art because Sacred Dao Rules were integrated into the Sacred Art.
When Truth Rules were integrated into a Sacred Art, its power would increase dramatically because the Truth Rules helped the Sacred Art align with the rules of heaven and earth.
The former involved merging one's own Sacred Dao Rules, while the latter involved merging with the rules of heaven and earth.
Cultivating the Way of Truth and comprehending the Truth Rules allowed cultivators to better merge with heaven and earth, a process known as "Harmonizing with the Dao."
The more a Sacred Art aligned with the rules of heaven and earth, the greater its unleashed power.
"This diagram is essentially a summary of the Way of Truth as comprehended by the Tree God. It must be profound and all-encompassing. Perhaps... I should start with the details rather than observing the entire diagram."
Zhang Ruochen realized he had been too impatient earlier, trying to comprehend the entire diagram in one go. That was like a frog at the bottom of a well, overestimating his abilities.
Compared to a god, his current cultivation level was like a firefly versus the bright moon.
Zhang Ruochen fixed his gaze on one of the leaves in the diagram, then on a single vein within that leaf.
Just one vein pattern on a leaf—Zhang Ruochen observed it closely, pouring his Spiritual Power into it—only to find that it was like a vast river, with countless rule patterns flowing within.
"So that's it, so that's it. A single leaf vein contains countless Truth Rules, requiring endless time to comprehend."
Zhang Ruochen's excitement lasted for a long time before gradually subsiding. Then, he devoted himself fully to contemplating the true essence of the Truth Rules.
An unknown amount of time passed before Su Jing awakened him. "The Truth Temple has sent word. You can go there now to train."
The training environment in the Truth Temple was undoubtedly superior, making it easier to comprehend the Truth Rules.
"Alright, let's go now."
Zhang Ruochen felt a sense of urgency because, during his earlier contemplation of the Way of Truth diagram, he had already made some progress. He was just a tiny step away from comprehending his own Truth Rules.
Once he entered the Truth Temple to train, he was confident he could quickly cross that final small step.
Once he cultivated the Truth Rules, Zhang Ruochen's strength would increase significantly. As long as he activated "Equality for All," even against a powerhouse like the Strange King, he could easily crush them.
At that time, Zhang Ruochen would surely go to reclaim the Moon God's training grounds, fighting his way through one after another, taking back all the grounds belonging to the Guanghan Realm.
Su Jing's face showed a hint of difficulty. "But there's a rather troublesome matter now. The experts of the Cloud Realm have surrounded the entire training ground, trying to trap us here and prevent us from entering the Truth Temple to train."
"They're too hateful."
Su Qingling's chest heaved violently, her anger palpable.
Su Jing sighed. "Unfortunately, I cannot make a move. Otherwise, I would lead you all out in a charge."
Outside the training ground, without the "Equality for All" environment, relying on Zhang Ruochen and the others' strength to clash head-on with the Cloud Realm would be like throwing an egg against a rock.
Outside the training ground, it was a scene of devastation, with traces of battle everywhere.
Over the past few days, the Cloud Realm had used every method to break the protective formation of the Mirror Fragrance Cliff training ground, even losing several experts in the process.
Despite some losses, they had also deduced that Zhang Ruochen had likely set up both a time formation and a space formation. As a result, they became cautious and stopped trying to break the formation.
"Ragewind Saint King, are we just going to keep wasting time with them?" asked a cultivator from the Cloud Realm's insect race.
Ragewind Saint King remained expressionless. "All cultivators below the Saint King level are to return to their respective training grounds and continue their cultivation. Only Saint Kings and above need to stay here. That will be enough to trap them."
For now, this "kill a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred" tactic was the only option. Ragewind Saint King believed that a prodigy like Zhang Ruochen would be eager to comprehend the Truth Rules and wouldn't be able to hold out forever.
"Zhang Ruochen, I have the time to waste with you," Ragewind Saint King muttered to himself.
Inside the training ground.
Ling Feiyu summoned her Sky-Burying Sword, her eyes sharp and cold. "Most of the Cloud Realm's cultivators have left. Only about a dozen Saint Kings remain. I'll go kill them one by one."
Zhang Ruochen rubbed his chin and reached out a hand to stop Ling Feiyu. "Don't take the risk. I have a better idea."
Three hours later.
Zhang Ruochen set up a basic Space Teleportation Array within the training ground.
Through the teleportation array, Zhang Ruochen and the others directly left the Mirror Fragrance Cliff training ground. Moments later, they appeared tens of thousands of miles away and headed straight for the Truth Temple.