Chapter 1593: Xiao Hei Arrives
"A fifth-grade rule sacred artifact left behind by a five-step Saint King—this is a rare treasure indeed!"
Jingtai Arhat showed an expression of admiration, pondering for a moment before saying, "This humble monk offers thirty million sacred stones to purchase it. Would the benefactor be willing?"
Thirty million sacred stones was a fairly reasonable price, but seeing Jingtai Arhat's reluctant-to-let-go demeanor, Zhang Ruochen decided to raise the price by a few percent.
Rule sacred artifacts, like Rainbow Transformation Vine, were treasures that had a price but no market, generally only encountered at auctions. If handled well, the auction price of a fifth-grade rule sacred artifact could far exceed thirty million sacred stones.
Of course, under normal circumstances, the price of a fifth-grade rule sacred artifact was indeed around thirty million sacred stones.
After a prolonged round of bargaining, Zhang Ruochen sold that fifth-grade rule sacred artifact to the Western Buddha Realm for thirty-four million sacred stones.
Without hesitation, Zhang Ruochen spent forty million sacred stones to purchase a seventh-level Pagoda Talisman.
Jingtai Arhat handed the seventh-level Pagoda Talisman to Zhang Ruochen and specifically cautioned, "The seventh-level Pagoda Talisman can be used about ten times. When activated, it forms a seventh-level pagoda that can indeed block attacks from a seven-step Saint King. However, each activation only lasts for three breaths; once the time passes, the pagoda-shaped defense disappears."
"Each use requires a cooldown period of about one hour. If, within that hour, the seventh-level Pagoda Talisman is triggered a second time, it can still form the pagoda defense, but it will severely damage the talisman. Originally usable ten times, after severe damage, it might only be usable five times."
Zhang Ruochen naturally understood the need to use the seventh-level Pagoda Talisman wisely, as each use cost the equivalent of several million sacred stones.
"Benefactor, would you like to purchase some attack-type talismans?" Jingtai Arhat asked with a grin.
Zhang Ruochen showed a thoughtful expression and said, "Are there any cheap attack-type talismans? One that can unleash a full-force strike from a two-step Saint King would suffice."
"Yes."
Jingtai Arhat recommended a talisman called the "Vajra Demon-Subduing Talisman." Once deployed, it could form a vajra demon-subduing hammer, equivalent to a full-force strike from a two-step Saint King.
The key point was its low price—only one million sacred stones per talisman.
"That's the one."
Zhang Ruochen revealed a hint of delight and spent all the remaining four million sacred stones he had on four Vajra Demon-Subduing Talismans.
Once "Equality for All" was activated, all cultivators' cultivation levels would be suppressed by divine power to the same realm as Zhang Ruochen—half-step Saint King.
At the half-step Saint King realm, even the strongest talents ranked high on the Sacred Merit Ranking could at most unleash power at the two-step Saint King level.
Thus, the power of the Vajra Demon-Subduing Talisman was sufficient for killing enemies or breaking free from a siege by multiple foes. There was no need to spend a large amount of sacred stones on Lamp-Lighting Talismans or Buddha's Radiance Talismans. Of course, the most critical reason was that Zhang Ruochen simply didn't have that many sacred stones.
Because Zhang Ruochen was a major customer, Jingtai Arhat gave him a free gift when he left the sacred shop.
A Body-Fixing Talisman.
By simply sticking the Body-Fixing Talisman onto an enemy, the enemy would immediately be immobilized, unable to move. It sounded decent, but this talisman only worked on cultivators below the Saint King realm and couldn't immobilize a Saint King.
For Zhang Ruochen, it was a rather useless talisman.
Zhang Ruochen channeled sacred qi into the Body-Fixing Talisman. With a "whoosh," the talisman rapidly shrank to the size of a grain of rice and hid beneath the nail of his left index finger.
"If I gave this to another saint, it would be a supreme treasure for sneak attacks."
Zhang Ruochen looked at his index finger nail, then suddenly withdrew his smile and thought further, "After activating Equality for All, all cultivators' cultivation levels are suppressed below the Saint King realm. In that case, could the Body-Fixing Talisman immobilize those Saint King-level figures?"
Zhang Ruochen was eager to test it. If it worked, then in actual combat, the value of the Body-Fixing Talisman might surpass that of the Vajra Demon-Subduing Talisman.
Unfortunately, finding a Saint King-level figure willing to suppress their cultivation to the half-step Saint King realm for a test was simply impossible.
It seemed there was no chance to test it.
In a life-or-death battle, Zhang Ruochen was even less likely to test the Body-Fixing Talisman's effect, because if the test failed, the opponent could seize that opportunity to kill him.
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the sacred shop, let out a long sigh, and wore a bitter smile on his face.
"I originally planned to keep eighteen million sacred stones to buy the Six Desires Ancient Pill and raise my spiritual power to the fifty-sixth rank. But I never expected to drain all my sacred stones so quickly."
At present, Zhang Ruochen hadn't fully neutralized the side effects of the Joy-Anger Pill and couldn't take the Six Desires Ancient Pill. Otherwise, he would have already used sacred stones to purchase it to enhance his spiritual power.
Gradually, Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned cold and resolute. "The Yin-Yang Hall is a massive treasure trove. Once it's conquered, why worry about running out of sacred stones?"
Zhang Ruochen didn't return to the Hundred Flowers Palace but instead found a cultivation ground near the Yin-Yang Hall to stay overnight.
The next morning, Ji Fanxin arrived at this cultivation ground and found Zhang Ruochen, handing him the dossiers on the various evil path cultivators of the Yin-Yang Hall. How she managed to locate Zhang Ruochen was unknown.
Zhang Ruochen flipped through the documents at lightning speed, finishing the thick scroll in just a quarter of an hour. He closed his eyes, and the images of those evil path cultivators emerged one by one—some with ferocious faces, some hiding daggers behind smiles, some radiating murderous intent, and some exuding seductive charm.
Zhang Ruochen's expression grew even more serious, as if he were deep in thought.
Ji Fanxin stood by the window, gazing leisurely at the distant Yin-Yang Hall, and said, "Having read all the information on the Yin-Yang Hall, do you still insist on attacking it now?"
"With my current cultivation, attacking the Yin-Yang Hall is indeed very dangerous. But whether to strike or not ultimately depends on a personal reconnaissance before making a decision."
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen glanced at his left index finger, thought of something, and a smile appeared on his face. "I recently obtained a Body-Fixing Talisman and want to test it. Could the fairy lend me a hand?"
"What kind of help?" Ji Fanxin asked.
Zhang Ruochen then explained his idea.
After hearing it, the coldness in Ji Fanxin's eyes deepened. "Fix me in place? What are you planning?"
"No, I just want to test—"
"Don't even think about it."
Ji Fanxin immediately cut him off and added, "I think you should focus more on how to break the formations inside the Yin-Yang Hall. If you can't solve that problem, attacking it would be nothing but suicide."
As Zhang Ruochen was pondering, a sharp and arrogant voice rang out, "Is that even a problem? Now that this emperor has arrived at the Heavenly Capital Sacred Market, all demons and monsters must submit to me."
A black owl flew to the window, puffing out its thick chest, and spoke with extreme coldness.
The meeting between Ji Fanxin and Zhang Ruochen was top-secret; no other cultivator could know about it, or it would bring great trouble to the Hundred Flowers Palace and even the Thousand Stamen Realm.
Realizing that an owl had eavesdropped on their conversation, Ji Fanxin's eyes turned cold. Between her two fingers, a pink flower petal condensed and shot out.
"Bang."
The owl let out a miserable cry and fell from the tree.
"Don't attack—that's the bird I summoned."
Zhang Ruochen's shout arrived a beat too late in Ji Fanxin's ears.
Ji Fanxin was clearly a decisive person; without a moment's hesitation, her attack was faster than the speed of sound.
"Your bird?" Ji Fanxin said.
Zhang Ruochen felt a bit awkward and coughed dryly before correcting himself, "It's a helper I invited."
Ji Fanxin also realized the ambiguity of her earlier words and felt embarrassed, quickly turning around. "What couldn't you have raised instead of a bird?" she muttered inwardly.
She quickly composed herself, furrowing her brows slightly. "Why didn't you say so earlier? Taking one of my strikes, that bird is probably already obliterated, body and soul. Don't blame—"
"Ouch, that hurts! Zhang Ruochen, where did you find this chick? She hits hard!"
The owl stumbled in through the door and plopped down opposite Zhang Ruochen.
Aside from complaining about the pain, there wasn't a single scratch on its body.
This time, Ji Fanxin was slightly surprised. She immediately turned back and carefully observed the owl, but found that with her cultivation and spiritual power, she couldn't see through this bird's level at all.
"Let me introduce you. This is the renowned Hundred Flowers Fairy, Ji Fanxin, and this is an undying bird named... Xiao Hei," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei had a strong objection to the name "Xiao Hei" and quickly corrected him, "Don't listen to his nonsense. This emperor's title is the Heaven-Slaying Earth-Destroying Emperor."
Hearing the words "undying bird," a bright light flickered in Ji Fanxin's eyes, as if she were pondering something.
"Since Xiao Hei has arrived, he and I will go investigate the Yin-Yang Hall now." Zhang Ruochen didn't want to wait any longer and prepared to set off immediately.
Ji Fanxin said, "I'll go with you."
"You... want to enter the Yin-Yang Hall?" Zhang Ruochen was surprised.
Ji Fanxin took out a Illusion Pearl and held it in her jade-like palm. "Why can't I go?"
"Aren't you not optimistic about me? I thought you wouldn't join me in taking the risk. Besides, you should know what kind of place the Yin-Yang Hall is. Aren't you afraid it will taint your fairy eyes?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Since Ji Fanxin had bought the Illusion Pearl, she had clearly planned to enter the Yin-Yang Hall all along; it wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision.
With this move, Zhang Ruochen's impression of her changed somewhat. At least she wasn't just using him, because she was willing to put herself in danger too.
Ji Fanxin's phoenix eyes glared slightly. "Do you think you're the only one in the entire Truth Heaven Domain who dares to take on the Yin-Yang Hall? You underestimate the heroes of the world too much." Then she added, "If you're going to the Yin-Yang Hall, I advise you not to transform into Shang Feng's appearance. Among those evil path experts, there are definitely those who know Shang Feng well. They're very sharp and can easily spot flaws in you."
Zhang Ruochen chuckled. "I don't mind. I can just change into any male form. But I'm curious—will the Hundred Flowers Fairy also transform into a man?"
Ji Fanxin naturally mastered a high-level transformation technique, but crossing genders was something she resisted. That was precisely why she had delayed entering the Yin-Yang Hall for so long.
Xiao Hei snickered. "How about turning into a female cat?"
Ji Fanxin immediately condensed a petal between her fingers, scaring Xiao Hei into shutting its mouth and curling up into a ball.
Ji Fanxin's stunning starry eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen. "It's not just men who can enter the Yin-Yang Hall. I can pose as your maidservant and go in with you."
"Bringing a maidservant to the Yin-Yang Hall... that might just work."
Zhang Ruochen rubbed his chin and laughed. "Looks like I'll have to trouble the fairy."
Ji Fanxin wanted to enter the Yin-Yang Hall to find a senior sister she was very close to. That senior sister had helped Ji Fanxin greatly when her cultivation was still low, and their relationship was like that of real sisters.
However, a few months ago, that senior sister had mysteriously disappeared in the Truth Heaven Domain. Ji Fanxin suspected she had been captured by the evil path figures of the Yin-Yang Hall and imprisoned inside.
For this reason, Ji Fanxin had to investigate no matter what, and the only one who could help her and dared to take the risk with her seemed to be Zhang Ruochen. She had no other choice.