Chapter 1638: The Way of Nothingness?
The fourth layer of the sea was still thirty miles wide.
"Boom, rumble."
On the sea surface, wind fiends condensed into sky-piercing dragon whirlwinds. Below the whirlwinds, seawater was drawn into vortexes by the wind force, churning the water into turbulent waves.
Zhang Ruochen not only mobilized his spiritual power but also released all his sacred Qi, wrapping it around the boat's hull, finally allowing the violently shaking Truth Ark to gradually stabilize.
"Indeed, after crossing the third layer of the sea, I gained another ten-thousandth of the Truth Esoterica."
Zhang Ruochen looked up, a smile on his face, and gazed forward at the checkpoint of the fourth layer of the sea, his expression becoming quite resolute.
Do his utmost to cross the fourth layer of the sea.
The difficulty of crossing the fourth layer of the sea far exceeded that of the third layer. Even Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden and Feng Yan crossed it with considerable difficulty, no longer as relaxed as before.
Among them, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden took the lead, already reaching the position thirteen miles in.
Feng Yan followed closely behind, reaching the ten-mile mark.
Qingliao Ya and the Divine Son, who radiated a five-colored divine light, were still within the five-mile range of the sea.
"The main reason Wang Xu could cross the fourth layer of the sea is likely because he cultivates the Way of Flowing Light, which ranks first in speed. So, he had a huge advantage. Otherwise, with a Half-Saint King cultivation, crossing the fourth layer of the sea would be nearly impossible."
Zhang Ruochen was confident he could reach the checkpoint of the fourth layer of the sea, but he wasn't entirely sure he could defeat the guardian.
Therefore, while crossing the sea, Zhang Ruochen tested how much the Truth Rules could be utilized. Only then could he deal with the guardian of the fourth layer of the sea more calmly.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized a hundred Truth Rules.
Those Truth Rules, like a hundred tentacles, connected to the Truth Ark and the Truth Sea.
Next, Zhang Ruochen slowly withdrew the sacred Qi wrapped around the small boat back into his body.
If sacred Qi and spiritual power were both used to control the Truth Ark, then when encountering the guardian, Zhang Ruochen could only stand motionless on the small boat, unable to make a move.
A single strike from the guardian could knock him into the sea.
When half of the sacred Qi was withdrawn, the Truth Ark began to sway gently.
When seventy percent of the sacred Qi was withdrawn, the Truth Ark swayed more violently, becoming difficult to control.
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen quickly mobilized another twenty Truth Rules, adding twenty more tentacles. Gradually, the Truth Ark stabilized again.
...
After multiple tests.
Zhang Ruochen had to mobilize a total of one hundred and thirty-five Truth Rules, supplemented by spiritual power, to barely keep the Truth Ark stable. Only then could Zhang Ruochen free his hands to deal with the guardian.
Zhang Ruochen had only comprehended a total of two hundred and forty-seven Truth Rules.
In other words, when dealing with the guardian, he could only use one hundred and twelve Truth Rules.
As he sailed forward, Zhang Ruochen's expression grew increasingly grim.
Because the further he sailed, the difficulty of crossing the sea increased sharply, requiring more Truth Rules to be mobilized and applied to the Truth Ark to keep the small boat stable.
At the five-mile mark, Zhang Ruochen needed to mobilize one hundred and forty Truth Rules.
At the ten-mile mark, Zhang Ruochen needed to mobilize one hundred and fifty Truth Rules.
For a One-Step Saint King, at least eighty-one Truth Rules needed to be mobilized to unleash a Sacred Art with double the power.
Given Zhang Ruochen's mastery of the Way of Truth, he was certain that by the time he reached the checkpoint of the fourth layer of the sea, he wouldn't be able to mobilize eighty-one Truth Rules.
Without the enhancement of Truth Rules, Zhang Ruochen would find it extremely difficult to defeat the fourth-layer guardian.
"My attainment in the Way of Truth is too low. If I could cultivate two thousand eight hundred and fifty Truth Rules like Feng Yan, why would I be in such a predicament?" Zhang Ruochen sighed inwardly.
Feng Yan only needed to mobilize seven hundred and twenty-nine Truth Rules to unleash a Sacred Art with triple the power.
If he mobilized two thousand one hundred and eighty-seven Truth Rules, he could even unleash quadruple the power. Therefore, he had plenty of Truth Rules left to control the Truth Ark.
No matter how strong Zhang Ruochen was, he couldn't withstand a single triple-power or quadruple-power mid-rank Sacred Art from Feng Yan.
In the end, crossing the Truth Sea required comprehending more Truth Rules.
Wang Xu and Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden had both cultivated over two thousand Truth Rules. Even Qingliao Ya had cultivated over one thousand six hundred. They were incomparable to Zhang Ruochen.
"I can't just sit and wait. I need to think of a way."
Since he couldn't rely on the Way of Truth, he had to strengthen his strength from other aspects.
Time Sword Art and Space power might have the power to defeat the enemy. What about fist techniques? Was there still room for enhancement?
Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment, then took out the two gauntlets and arm guards of the Flame God Armor and put them on his arms.
Although Zhang Ruochen hadn't found the correct way to use the Flame God Armor and couldn't unleash too much power, it could still enhance his strength somewhat.
"Boom."
A loud noise came from behind.
Then, Xiang Chunan's laughter echoed across the fourth layer of the sea: "Uncle Xiang has also made it through... Damn it, what is this..."
Just as he arrived at the fourth layer of the sea, the Truth Ark under Xiang Chunan's feet fell into a massive vortex, spinning rapidly.
In the vortex, Xiang Chunan struggled to control the Truth Ark, trying his best to break free, shouting, "It's over, it's over. My good luck has run out!"
The others crossing the sea all turned around.
The Divine Son, radiating five-colored divine light, showed a surprised expression: "That dark fool actually made it to the fourth layer of the sea?"
Qingliao Ya's gaze locked onto Zhang Ruochen, feeling puzzled: "The figure is very familiar, wearing a mask, and he can even cross to the fourth layer of the sea. Who on earth is this person?"
Feng Yan glanced at Zhang Ruochen, who was sailing unhurriedly, and a smile appeared on all three of his faces. Then, he stopped looking and continued chasing Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden.
Zhang Ruochen and Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden had both been ranked first on the Sacred Merit Ranking, but their ways of crossing the sea were completely opposite to their usual personalities.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden's personality was light and ethereal like mist, but when crossing the Truth Sea, she was full of sharpness, not allowing anyone to surpass her.
Zhang Ruochen had come to the Truth Heaven Domain and killed in all directions, his hands stained with blood, making countless cultivators tremble with fear, but when crossing the Truth Sea, he was unhurried, as if taking a walk on the sea.
"They really are two interesting people," Feng Yan thought to himself.
On the shore, it was already boiling with excitement.
Five cultivators entering the fourth layer of the sea at the same time was an extremely rare sight, representing that these five were the top talents standing at the pinnacle of the Heavenly Court realm, whom everyone could only look up to.
These onlookers were all guessing who among the five could cross the furthest and who would fall into the sea first.
Some even started betting with their companions.
"Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden and Feng Yan crossed the fourth layer of the sea even before breaking through to the Saint King realm. They will definitely cross the furthest."
"Next should be Qingliao Ya."
"Qingliao Ya should be able to defeat the guardian of the fourth checkpoint this time."
"That masked man is also very impressive. The fist technique he displayed earlier was exquisite and unparalleled. It might even be a profound mid-rank Sacred Art."
...
Just as everyone was discussing, someone finally fell into the sea.
The one who fell wasn't the dark fool still spinning in the vortex, but the Divine Son radiating five-colored divine light.
This Divine Son had crossed to the twenty-third mile mark.
After returning to the shore, the Divine Son's expression was extremely cold. He had thought that by cultivating over three hundred more Truth Rules, he could reach the checkpoint of the fourth layer of the sea in one go, but he had failed at the last moment.
At that moment, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden and Feng Yan, one after the other, reached below the light curtain and began fighting the guardian.
Zhang Ruochen sailed while observing their battle, trying to roughly gauge the strength of the fourth-layer guardian.
After exchanging dozens of moves, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden extended a slender jade finger and pointed it at the guardian. An incredibly strange power gathered at her fingertip and struck the guardian's brow.
"Bang."
The guardian's body shattered.
But what shocked Zhang Ruochen was that the moment the guardian shattered, his body disappeared without a trace, not even turning into light specks to fly back to the light curtain.
It vanished into thin air.
"The Way of Nothingness?" Zhang Ruochen's heart pounded wildly.
Zhang Ruochen had once heard Haitang Popo lecture about the Dao, knowing that among the Nine Eternal Paths, the most powerful were Fate and Nothingness. Fate determines everything, and Nothingness destroys everything.
Was Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden truly a master of Nothingness?
After defeating the guardian, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden didn't immediately enter the light curtain. Instead, she sat cross-legged on the Truth Ark and closed her eyes. It seemed that the previous strike had consumed too much of her sacred Qi, forcing her to recover before daring to cross the fifth layer of the sea.
Qingliao Ya and Zhang Ruochen reached below the light curtain almost simultaneously.
Qingliao Ya stared at Zhang Ruochen, grinning, "For you to reach the checkpoint of the fourth layer of the sea, you must be no ordinary person. At the very least, you should have been ranked in the top thousand on the Sacred Merit Ranking. Have we met somewhere before?"
Zhang Ruochen just smiled faintly without speaking and directly went to challenge the guardian.
The guardian of the fourth layer of the sea not only wore silver armor but also had a silver body, like a solid giant forged from silver.
"Defeat me to enter the fifth layer of the sea. Now, choose your weapon."
Zhang Ruochen activated the Hundred Saint Blood Armor to cover his entire body and took out the Abyssal Ancient Sword, gripping it in his hand.
The sword spirit of the Abyssal Ancient Sword had only comprehended over twenty Truth Rules. At Zhang Ruochen's current Saint King realm, its Way of Truth was no longer of much help.
However, the Abyssal Ancient Sword was a genuine Three-Shining Ten-Thousand-Pattern Sacred Artifact, extremely sharp, and might pose some threat to the guardian.
Not far away, Qingliao Ya had already started fighting the guardian and had no spare energy to observe the sword in Zhang Ruochen's hand.
"Whoosh."
The guardian's hands also produced a pair of gauntlets and a war sword, pointing directly at Zhang Ruochen. A surging and overwhelming aura erupted, pressing down on him.
"This..."
Zhang Ruochen felt his body become incredibly heavy, almost unable to move.
"Boom."
The silver giant sword in the guardian's hand condensed a ten-zhang-long Sword Dao Profound Gang, with thousands of sword qi flying around the giant sword.
With a move of the silver arm, the Sword Dao Profound Gang and thousands of sword qi flew out simultaneously.
"He can even use Sword Dao Profound Gang. I shouldn't have taken out the Abyssal Ancient Sword."
Zhang Ruochen regretted it but had no choice but to brace himself for battle.
He couldn't take the Sword Dao Profound Gang head-on.
In an instant, Zhang Ruochen used Spatial Displacement, and the Truth Ark along with him vanished from the sea surface, dodging the guardian's attack. The Sword Dao Profound Gang and thousands of sword qi struck the sea, producing a "boom, rumble" sound, raising waves over ten zhang high, creating a spectacular scene.
At the same time, the Truth Ark appeared above the guardian's head. Standing on the ark, Zhang Ruochen softly murmured, "Noon Sword."
At that moment, time stood still.
Only a black sword light stabbed straight down, striking at the guardian's crown.