Chapter 1636: Obtaining Truth Esoterica Once Again
Ten Truth Boats lined up in a row, and then, led by Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden, Feng Yan, and Qing Liaoya, they quickly rushed forward.
For strong individuals of their level, the first layer of the sea posed no difficulty at all. They steadily controlled the Truth Boats, charging forward like arrows from a bowstring.
Only Xiang Chunan, who was crossing the Truth Sea for the first time, was still spinning in place, sweating profusely from anxiety.
Zhang Ruochen was crossing the Truth Sea for the second time. He did not rush too fast but instead carefully experienced the process of crossing the sea.
"Compared to the first time I crossed the sea, the difficulty has clearly increased. It should be because I have broken through to the Saint King Realm, and the Truth Sea automatically raises the difficulty."
Although the difficulty had increased, Zhang Ruochen's strength had grown even more.
Zhang Ruochen stood at the bow of the boat, using only his spiritual power to control it. The Truth Boat sailed forward steadily and evenly at a constant speed.
By the time Zhang Ruochen reached the checkpoint of the first layer of the sea, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden, Feng Yan, and Qing Liaoya had already defeated the gatekeepers and passed through.
A brilliant sacred light radiated from the light curtain ahead.
The gatekeeper materialized, his body semi-transparent, clad in a suit of silver armor. He said, "Defeat me, and you may enter the second layer of the sea. Now, you may choose the weapon you wish to use in battle."
"I need no weapon; I will use fist techniques."
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fists and let out a soft roar: "Luo Water Fist Art, First Form, Heavenly River Divides the Work."
"Boom."
With one punch, a Heavenly River appeared, descending from the sky like a waterfall, striking the gatekeeper and shattering him into pieces.
With a single casual punch, he had killed the gatekeeper of the first layer of the sea.
Zhang Ruochen steered the Truth Boat through the light curtain and entered the second layer of the sea.
The hurricanes on the sea surface had transformed into wind fiends.
Every gust of wind felt like a blade, striking the Truth Boat with a "bang bang" sound, as if trying to pierce through the small vessel.
Zhang Ruochen grew cautious, mobilizing a vast amount of spiritual power to envelop the Truth Boat, advancing at an even slower pace.
Looking up, he saw that on the second layer of the sea, which was thirty miles wide, six Truth Boats were sailing.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden, Feng Yan, and Qing Liaoya were still in the lead, having already defeated the gatekeeper of the second layer and moved on to the third layer. Two figures of Divine Son level were engaged in fierce combat with the gatekeeper of the second checkpoint. The other three Saint King-level cultivators were still sailing on the sea. Among them, the strongest had reached the Three-Step Saint King Realm.
"Indeed, the stronger one's cultivation, the harder it is to cross the Truth Sea. On the other hand, top-tier talents like Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden, Feng Yan, and Qing Liaoya can advance swiftly on the Truth Sea."
Zhang Ruochen was not anxious; he remained calm, carefully observing the Truth Sea during the journey to bring his mind to the most peaceful state.
Suddenly, a laugh came from behind: "Finally caught up to you all. Brother, why are you wearing a mask? Is it because you're too ugly to show your true face?"
Zhang Ruochen turned his head and looked, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
That dark and dull fellow named Xiang Chunan had actually crossed the first layer of the sea and caught up.
After all, earlier, this dark fellow had claimed he had just arrived at Truth Heaven Domain. That meant this should be his first time crossing the Truth Sea.
For a being to cross the first layer of the sea on their first attempt was extremely rare. Even Ling Feiyu had not managed it.
There were only two possibilities:
First, the dark fellow was lying; he was not new to Truth Heaven Domain but was pretending to be foolish.
Second, the dark fellow's strength was incredibly extraordinary.
The Truth Boat beneath Xiang Chunan kept wobbling, as if it might capsize at any moment. However, Xiang Chunan's legs were exceptionally thick, as wide as an ordinary person's waist, and he stood firmly on the small boat, unmoving.
"He's not using spiritual power or sacred qi, but purely relying on physical strength to press down on the Truth Boat and keep it from overturning. Could he be a pure physical cultivator?" Zhang Ruochen wondered.
With this thought, Zhang Ruochen secretly withdrew his spiritual power and tried to control the Truth Boat using only his physical strength.
But after just one breath of control, the Truth Boat began to shake violently.
"No good, it's going to capsize."
Zhang Ruochen quickly released his spiritual power, reinforcing the Truth Boat, and the vessel steadied again.
"With my physical strength, I can't control the Truth Boat, yet he can sail this far. Could this dark fellow's physical cultivation be stronger than mine?"
From then on, Zhang Ruochen sailed forward while secretly observing Xiang Chunan.
Miraculously, Xiang Chunan did not fall into the sea all the way to the checkpoint of the second layer.
Now, only the two of them remained on the second layer of the sea; the other eight cultivators had already gone to the third layer.
Xiang Chunan flashed a mouthful of big white teeth and smiled at Zhang Ruochen. "Why are you so slow too? Is this your first time crossing the Truth Sea?"
"Second time," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiang Chunan said carelessly, "And you're still this slow on your second time?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "No rush."
"True, why rush? We're competing on who can cross the farthest, not who crosses the fastest."
Then, Xiang Chunan shouted at the light curtain, "Where is the gatekeeper? Hurry up and come out to fight your Grandpa Xiang!"
"Sizzle."
On the light curtain, the gatekeeper of the second layer of the sea materialized, clad in silver armor. Although his body was still semi-transparent, he had grown silver bones.
Before the gatekeeper could speak, Xiang Chunan had already attacked with a punch.
"Oh?"
Zhang Ruochen noticed that when Xiang Chunan threw his punch, although he only used physical strength, dense Truth Rules emerged on the surface of his arms, greatly amplifying the power of his fist technique.
At the same time, Truth Rules also appeared on his legs, like countless tentacles tightly connecting the Truth Boat to the Truth Sea.
"He has actually cultivated Truth Rules and has a considerable level of attainment in the Way of Truth. Is he really pretending to be foolish?" Zhang Ruochen felt puzzled.
"Boom."
Xiang Chunan and the gatekeeper of the second layer of the sea engaged in a fierce dragon-and-tiger struggle, the battle extremely intense. Several times, the Truth Boat beneath Xiang Chunan tilted to a terrifying angle, seemingly beyond repair and certain to fall into the sea.
But then, Xiang Chunan's body weight would alternately become heavy and light, eventually stabilizing the Truth Boat again.
After a hundred exchanges, Xiang Chunan unleashed a particularly domineering punch, shattering the gatekeeper's body.
"Haha!"
Xiang Chunan laughed loudly and looked at Zhang Ruochen. "Brother, I'll head to the third layer first. You've got to keep it up!"
Zhang Ruochen nodded with a smile.
After Xiang Chunan passed through the light curtain, the gatekeeper of the second layer of the sea materialized again, hovering in midair, staring at Zhang Ruochen with an expressionless face. "Defeat me, and you may enter the third layer of the sea."
"Luo Water Fist Art, First Form, Heavenly River Divides the Work." Zhang Ruochen did not incorporate Fist Dao Rules into his technique but relied solely on his own strength and the subtlety of the Luo Water Fist Art to deliver a full-force punch.
Instantly, a Heavenly River dozens of feet long appeared, flowing with brilliant colors like a heavenly dragon, descending and striking the gatekeeper of the second checkpoint.
This blow only knocked the gatekeeper down from midair to the sea surface.
"Luo Water Fist Art, Second Form, Nine Bends and Nine Turns."
"Bang!"
This punch sent the gatekeeper flying backward, his body slamming violently into the light curtain, dissolving into specks of light.
"Pass."
A vast, ethereal voice echoed from the light curtain.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his surging sacred power, returning to calm. A slight smile curled at the corner of his mouth as he steered the Truth Boat toward the light curtain.
As he passed through the light curtain, his body trembled slightly.
"Crossed the second layer of the sea, obtained one ten-thousandth of Truth Esoterica."
A voice sounded in Zhang Ruochen's mind.
A gentle force surged into all one hundred and forty-four acupoints, turning into countless specks of light flowing through his meridians and sacred channels.
Finally, the specks of light spread throughout his entire body.
Zhang Ruochen was both delighted and somewhat puzzled. "I've already reached the Saint King Realm. Crossing the second layer of the sea can still grant me Truth Esoterica?"
With his current cultivation, crossing the second layer of the sea was hardly a challenge.
If he could obtain Truth Esoterica this easily, wouldn't there be countless beings who had obtained it? A whole integer of Truth Esoterica would be far from enough to distribute.
Could it be that if one obtained Truth Esoterica from crossing the first layer, they would continue to receive it from subsequent layers?
Zhang Ruochen couldn't figure out the reason, and he had no time to ponder it now, as he had arrived at the third layer of the sea.
On the surface of the third layer of the sea, the wind fiends were ferocious, and beneath the Truth Boat, undercurrents surged.
Just now, during his moment of distraction, the Truth Boat had nearly capsized.
"Forget about that for now. Gaining another ten-thousandth of Truth Esoterica is a tremendous blessing. From now on, my speed in comprehending Sacred Dao Rules should increase significantly."
If he crossed the third layer of the sea, he might continue to gain Truth Esoterica.
Zhang Ruochen's heart was full of anticipation.
Entering the third layer of the sea, the difficulty increased dramatically. All ten cultivators crossing the Truth Sea were still in this sea area.
The difference was that Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden, Feng Yan, and Qing Liaoya had already begun fighting the gatekeeper of the third layer. The other six were doing their utmost to control their Truth Boats and rush toward the third light curtain.
From the start of crossing the Truth Sea, Xiang Chunan's Truth Boat had been wobbling, and he himself seemed to be dancing on the small boat, flustered and utterly disheveled.
Yet, somehow, the Truth Boat beneath him never capsized, causing the cultivators standing on the shore to watch with great anxiety.
"Could this dark fellow be a super expert, deliberately pretending to cross the Truth Sea for the first time?"
"Heh, have you ever seen anyone cross the second layer of the sea on their first attempt? This guy must be pretending to be foolish."
"This dark fellow's Way of Truth is quite profound. The number of Truth Rules he mobilizes exceeds a thousand, and that might not even be his limit."
A gleeful laugh rang out: "Look, the dark fellow's Truth Boat is about to capsize! Haha!"
"Flip, flip already!"
...
"Plop."
On the third layer of the sea, a Truth Boat capsized, and someone fell into the water.
However, the cultivator who fell was not Xiang Chunan but the most advanced Three-Step Saint King. He had sailed eight miles into the third layer of the sea.
As for Xiang Chunan, after a violent shake, he managed to stabilize his Truth Boat again.
The Three-Step Saint King returned to the shore, gazing at the nine Truth Boats on the sea, and let out a long sigh of disappointment. Ten people had set out to cross the sea, and he never expected to be the first to fall in.