Chapter 1582: The Great Task Is Accomplished
Shang Feng's cultivation was extremely profound, having reached the realm of a Five-Step Saint King, yet his spiritual power was at the same level as Zhang Ruochen's, seemingly having only recently reached the fifty-fifth rank.
Such spiritual power intensity naturally could not be hidden from Zhang Ruochen's perception.
Walking along the street, Zhang Ruochen remained expressionless, silently contemplating: "A cultivator from the Hundred Flowers Palace is following me, and their cultivation seems extremely profound. What do they mean by this? Could they be planning to make a move against me outside the Hundred Flowers Palace?"
Thinking of this, Zhang Ruochen's sense of crisis surged sharply, and he quickly formulated countermeasures.
With his current cultivation, he was far from a match for the Hundred Flowers Palace. Continuing to stay in the Heavenly Capital Sacred Market was extremely dangerous.
However, immediately fleeing also left Zhang Ruochen somewhat unwilling. After all, he had already paid a deposit of five million sacred stones to the Hundred Flowers Palace. Would it all be for nothing?
"Forget it, let's first see what the Hundred Flowers Palace actually wants."
Zhang Ruochen, who had been walking on the street, executed a Space Displacement and vanished from his spot.
The next moment, he appeared at the top of a nearby tower, immediately activating the power of the twelve Buddhist beads to conceal his aura.
"What's going on? How did he disappear with just a flicker? Is his speed really that fast?"
Shang Feng gave chase, arriving at the spot where Zhang Ruochen had vanished, scanning the surroundings with his eyes and even using his spiritual power to probe, yet he could not find even a trace of Zhang Ruochen's aura.
"Could it be a Space Displacement? If so, the probability that he is Zhang Ruochen has reached ninety percent."
Shang Feng also guessed that the other party had likely detected his tailing, so instead of immediately returning to the Hundred Flowers Palace, he began wandering around the Heavenly Capital Sacred Market.
This wandering lasted for most of the day.
"Could I be too cautious? A mere Half-Saint King, how could he possibly detect me tailing him?"
Shang Feng did not sense anyone following him, and thus felt he had overestimated Zhang Ruochen. He stopped wandering and walked straight through various streets until he reached a secluded alley not far from the Yin-Yang Hall.
Shang Feng took out a talisman paper and traced his finger across it.
"Sizzle!"
The talisman paper immediately ignited, turning into a streak of firelight that flew into the Yin-Yang Hall.
Moments later, a mass of demonic mist rose from the ground, condensing into a form that was human-like yet not, as if lacking a true physical body. However, the aura emanating from the demonic mist was extremely formidable.
"You actually came to see me in person. Quite bold of you."
From within the demonic mist, a muffled voice sounded.
Shang Feng appeared unusually calm, gently flicking his finger, sending a seed flying out. The seed landed, immediately sprouting a tender shoot, quickly growing stems and flowers.
As a white flower bloomed, their figures gradually vanished from the spot, and even their auras were concealed by the faint fragrance of the flower.
"A fine True Illusion Sacred Flower. Such a technique is more impressive than many illusionists." The figure in the demonic mist remarked.
"Just a minor trick, nothing to boast about."
Shang Feng's expression turned serious. "I want to see Shang Zihong."
The figure in the demonic mist replied, "How could Brother Zihong be so easily accessible? If you have something important, telling me is the same."
"I'm afraid it's not the same. I have an extraordinary piece of news to sell to him." Shang Feng's demeanor was quite cold.
"Brother Zihong is not in the Heavenly Capital Sacred Market. If the news is truly significant, I will certainly relay it to him promptly and won't steal your credit."
After some thought, Shang Feng lowered his voice and said, "Zhang Ruochen has come to the Heavenly Capital Sacred Market, but only I know where he is."
"Is that true?"
The figure in the demonic mist solidified slightly, clearly taking this matter very seriously, as he knew that Brother Zihong's top priority right now was to eliminate Zhang Ruochen.
If Zhang Ruochen was indeed in the Heavenly Capital Sacred Market, the value of this news would exceed ten million sacred stones, or even more.
"Heh."
Shang Feng naturally would not reveal Zhang Ruochen's exact location to him, saying lightly, "First, report this to Shang Zihong. If he can offer a price that satisfies me, I wouldn't mind telling him the specific details about Zhang Ruochen."
With that, Shang Feng clasped his hands behind his back and walked away into the distance.
"Sizzle sizzle."
The True Illusion Sacred Flower on the ground had its petals burn, all the way to the roots. From the ashes, a speck of light flew out and landed in Shang Feng's hand.
It was the seed of the True Illusion Sacred Flower.
No one knew whether the seed had truly bloomed or if its power had created an illusion.
"You'd better be careful too. Don't let Yao Jue Wang and Ji Fanxin catch on. If they find out you're a member of the Black Demon Realm, you might not live to see tomorrow."
Hearing this, Shang Feng's figure paused slightly, his face darkening as he snorted coldly, "My affairs are none of your concern."
Shang Feng and the demonic mist both vanished from the alley.
About half an hour later, the space in the alley trembled slightly, and Zhang Ruochen's figure materialized out of thin air. He looked up at the nearby Yin-Yang Hall: "A great expert from the Hundred Flowers Palace is actually a creature of the Black Demon Realm. Interesting, very interesting... So, the Black Demon Realm is part of the black curtain?"
Based on his recent encounters, Zhang Ruochen could roughly determine that the "Ruiya Realm" where Wang Xu was from, the "Soul Realm" where Hun Wang was from, and this "Black Demon Realm" were all more or less related to Shang Zihong, likely the black curtain forces that the Moon God had mentioned.
These three great worlds were all among the top thousand strongest realms. Just their power alone already put immense pressure on Zhang Ruochen.
Not to mention the other great worlds still hidden within the black curtain.
If all the forces of the black curtain were revealed, even a Great Saint might be crushed by the pressure, suffocating.
No wonder the Moon God had not explicitly told Zhang Ruochen how vast the black curtain's power was. If Zhang Ruochen could not bear that pressure, he might retreat, despair, have his spirit collapse, and give up on himself.
Now, Zhang Ruochen was like someone rowing a small boat on a river, able only to move forward, not backward. But with iron chains blocking the river like steel dragons, continuing forward would surely capsize the boat and drown the man.
At this moment, only by mustering an indomitable spirit could he possibly break through those iron chains blocking the river. Otherwise, he would only jump into the river and die out of despair.
Next, Zhang Ruochen changed his appearance again and went to a sacred shop run by the Time Divine Temple. He spent five million sacred stones to buy a piece of Time-Space Agate and another million sacred stones to purchase a small bottle of water from the River of Time.
The entire process went quite smoothly.
In the sacred shop, the manager, who had reached the Saint King realm, did ask Zhang Ruochen if he was a time cultivator and whether he planned to study at the Time Divine Temple.
Zhang Ruochen only replied, "How could I comprehend the Way of Time? These items are purchased for my master."
Hearing this, the manager lost interest in Zhang Ruochen and asked no more questions.
Time cultivators were indeed quite rare, but almost every great world had some inheritance of the Way of Time, capable of producing a few time cultivators. Some strong realms even had ancient teachings focused on cultivating the Way of Time.
In the Truth Heaven Domain, encountering a time cultivator was not strange.
Only if a Time Controller appeared would it cause a stir.
Zhang Ruochen thought it over carefully, weighing the pros and cons, and ultimately decided to return to the Hundred Flowers Palace to stay temporarily.
Entering the Yanzi Palace Cave Heaven, Zhang Ruochen immediately activated the Hundred Forbidden Formation, then took out a pigeon-egg-sized piece of Time-Space Agate and a small white sacred jade bottle.
"Truly expensive. Such a small piece of Time-Space Agate costs five million sacred stones, enough to buy an Earth-grade sacred pill."
The Time-Space Agate Zhang Ruochen bought was only of lower quality, but wearing it could slow the time flow within a three-zhang radius by half.
It could also form a chaotic space field with a three-zhang diameter.
In other words, as long as one carried the Time-Space Agate, they could enjoy double the cultivation time anytime, anywhere. It also formed a chaotic space defensive field, automatically neutralizing sneak attacks and assassinations.
Such a treasure was coveted by many, and selling it for five million sacred stones was indeed worth the price.
But now, Zhang Ruochen was grinding this priceless treasure into powder, his heart aching terribly.
After thoroughly grinding the Time-Space Agate into powder, he poured it into the small bottle containing the River of Time water, shook it dozens of times until the two were thoroughly mixed, then took out the Abyssal Ancient Sword and a marking brush.
"This small bottle of liquid cost six million sacred stones. I hope it works, or I'll have lost big."
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, trying to maintain his best state, then lifted the marking brush, dipped it into the liquid in the bottle, and began tracing a Time Imprint on the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
Afraid of wasting it, he was extremely cautious, completing the Time Imprint in one go.
"Let's test it."
Zhang Ruochen grabbed the hilt of the Abyssal Ancient Sword, channeling sacred qi into it. Gradually, patterns emerged on the blade—one thousand, two thousand, three thousand...
When the number of patterns on the blade reached ten thousand, unleashing its full power, the Time Imprint carved on the sword still did not disappear.
"Did it succeed?"
Perhaps due to the side effects of the Joy-Anger Pill, Zhang Ruochen could not suppress his joy and let out a long roar.
He swung the sword, and a Time Imprint flew out along with the sword qi, striking a spirit crane flying in midair.
The sword qi passed above the crane, but the Time Imprint hit the crane's body.
The crane let out a mournful cry, its body becoming extremely weak as it fell from the sky.
Zhang Ruochen extended a hand, releasing a thick wave of sacred qi, slowing the crane's descent until it landed gently on the ground.
Next, Zhang Ruochen divided a strand of spiritual power to probe the life force within the crane's body.
"Its life force has indeed dropped significantly, as if it had suffered a severe illness, losing a full sixty years of lifespan." With his current spiritual power intensity, Zhang Ruochen could accurately judge the lifespan of beings weaker than himself.
He then looked at the Time Imprint on the sword. It had not disappeared, only dimmed slightly, indicating it could be used multiple times.
"With the aid of the Time Imprint, I now have an additional means to harm enemies without them noticing."
Zhang Ruochen did not become complacent, however, because skillfully combining the power of the sword and the Time Imprint was no easy task. It required constant exploration in actual combat to master.
"Shang Feng must be eliminated as soon as possible. I absolutely cannot let him inform Shang Zihong that I am in the Hundred Flowers Palace. Otherwise, with Shang Zihong's methods, before I even obtain the dragon soul and elephant soul, I will face a storm of deadly attacks."
Earlier, Zhang Ruochen had subtly extracted the identity of the white-robed scholar from Yanzi, learning that he was a Five-Step Saint King-level expert.
A murderous glint flickered in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. He picked up the small bottle from the ground and placed it into his space ring. The bottle still had three-quarters of the liquid left.
After devising the most reliable plan, Zhang Ruochen finally stepped out of the Yanzi Palace Cave Heaven.
(End of this chapter)