# Chapter 1648: Perfect Control
After Mu Lingxi swallowed the Heart Moon Sacred Fruit, she sat down cross-legged nearby to meditate.
Zhang Ruochen lent the wooden jar to the Eight-Armed Spider King and other beings, allowing them to pick Heart Moon Sacred Fruits on their own. Whether they could successfully pick one depended entirely on their own abilities.
Zhang Ruochen stood guard beside Mu Lingxi, his gaze fixed on the surface of the sacred pool.
The beings who dared to borrow the wooden jar were indeed all extraordinary existences. Among them, several individuals performed in ways that even startled Zhang Ruochen.
For example:
That Eight-Armed Spider King actually spat out a strand of five-colored spider silk from his mouth, wrapping it around the sacred tree. Relying on the powerful pulling force of the spider silk, he swept across the water surface. He struck like lightning, and in the next moment, a Heart Moon Sacred Fruit had already fallen into the wooden jar.
On the five-colored spider silk, five types of flames flickered, resisting the cold energy of the Extreme Yin Nether Ice Water.
If it had been any other spider silk, it would likely have frozen into an icy thread before even touching the sacred tree, then fallen into the water.
"The Five-Colored Divine Spider Clan, Five Elements True Fire."
Zhang Ruochen was somewhat shocked. This unremarkable-looking fellow actually had such an astonishing background.
At the Sealing God Platform Assembly, there were indeed no ordinary individuals.
That fair-skinned young woman, seeing cultivators continuously picking Heart Moon Sacred Fruits, felt both anxious and somewhat annoyed. How could she have imagined that two cultivators who hadn't even received an invitation letter would possess vessels made from divine wood timber?
Before long, Mu Lingxi had completely refined the Heart Moon Sacred Fruit. Her entire body radiated a pure white sacred light, and a joyful expression appeared on her pretty face: "It increased three hundred Sacred Dao Rules, equivalent to several months of bitter cultivation. Even my physical constitution has improved somewhat."
"So miraculous indeed." Zhang Ruochen felt happy for her.
This Heart Moon Sacred Fruit was invaluable to Half-Saints at the Saint King level, allowing their cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds. It also had tremendous effects on First-Step Saint Kings and Second-Step Saint Kings.
Of course, for cultivators above the Third-Step Saint King level, the effect wasn't as strong.
After all, even the weakest Third-Step Saint King had thirty to forty thousand Sacred Dao Rules within their body. An increase of three hundred Sacred Dao Rules could only be considered decent—not enough to make them desperately fight over it.
Mu Lingxi asked, "You should go pick a Heart Moon Sacred Fruit too. Who knows, it might help you break through to the Second-Step Saint King realm."
Zhang Ruochen nodded and looked toward the Eight-Armed Spider King and the others. He saw some cultivators sitting cross-legged on the ground, refining the Heart Moon Sacred Fruits they had just picked.
Some cultivators had tried more than ten times but still failed to pick one. With dejected faces, they felt very disappointed. They looked at those beings who were refining Heart Moon Sacred Fruits with envy in their eyes.
Sometimes, it was precisely because one's strength was just a little bit lacking that they missed out on opportunities and couldn't seize them.
A total of eleven beings had borrowed the wooden jar from Zhang Ruochen, but only seven had successfully picked the fruit.
A snake-headed being at the First-Step Saint King realm returned the wooden jar to Zhang Ruochen and sighed, "Thank you, young master, for lending the jar. Unfortunately, my strength was insufficient, and I failed to pick the Heart Moon Sacred Fruit I had dreamed of."
"I'll return the sacred stones to you."
Zhang Ruochen took the wooden jar with one hand and retrieved a storage bag with the other.
The snake-headed being quickly waved his hand and said, "These sacred stones were used to rent the wooden jar. Whether I succeeded in picking or not, I, Wu, absolutely cannot take the sacred stones back."
The snake-headed being was not short-sighted. He knew that several sacred fruits at the Sealing God Platform required vessels made from divine wood timber to pick.
Therefore, he naturally wanted to maintain a good relationship with Zhang Ruochen and couldn't block his own retreat for the sake of some petty gains.
"Alright."
Zhang Ruochen didn't stand on ceremony. He put the sacred stones away, held the wooden jar, and walked toward the sacred pool.
The snake-headed being and the other cultivators all fixed their gazes on Zhang Ruochen's back, thinking simultaneously, "Is he finally going to pick a Heart Moon Sacred Fruit?"
Earlier, they had already sensed that this human man was extraordinary in strength and not an ordinary figure.
Now that this human man was truly preparing to make his move, they naturally wanted to observe. Perhaps they could discern the depth of this human man's strength from his actions.
Zhang Ruochen didn't want to attract too much attention, so he didn't use spatial power. Instead, he took out that Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact-level long whip, held it in his hand, and prepared to have the whip wrap around the trunk of the sacred tree.
This was a picking method similar to what the Eight-Armed Spider King had used.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's intention, the snake-headed being quickly warned, "Young master, you absolutely must not do that."
"Why?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
The snake-headed being said, "The cold energy emitted by the Extreme Yin Nether Ice Water can freeze sacred qi. Therefore, as soon as this long whip flies out, it will be frozen. Only by activating the One-Yao Perfection Power can it resist the cold energy. But the One-Yao Perfection Power is too domineering. Once it touches the sacred tree, it will likely destroy the tree and all the sacred fruits in an instant."
"That makes sense." Zhang Ruochen said.
Not far away, that young woman let out a mocking laugh, looking at Zhang Ruochen as if he were an idiot.
Zhang Ruochen ignored her and thought carefully. Then he tied the wooden jar to the tip of the long whip.
"Sizzle sizzle."
As sacred qi was infused into the long whip, it twisted and rose like a spiritual snake, then carried the wooden jar as it rapidly flew toward a Heart Moon Sacred Fruit on the white sacred tree.
The beings present all shook their heads, feeling that Zhang Ruochen would fail.
Because they had already tried similar methods. The long whip would most likely freeze before reaching the center of the sacred pool, unable to withstand the cold energy. Only by activating the One-Yao Perfection Power could it shake off the cold.
However, the One-Yao Perfection Power was quite violent and difficult to control. How could it possibly accomplish such a delicate and precise task as picking a sacred fruit?
The long whip flew out more than ten zhang before its speed became increasingly slow. The sacred qi on the whip was frozen, turning into white frost, and it seemed about to fall into the water.
"Whoosh!"
A layer of dark golden sacred power light waves appeared on the long whip. The One-Yao Perfection Power erupted, and all the cold energy was shaken away.
That One-Yao Perfection Power, however, was firmly controlled, flowing only around the long whip. It appeared exceptionally docile, without any outward dissipation.
"How is this possible? How can he control the One-Yao Perfection Power so easily?" That young woman bit her red lips, her face full of disbelief.
The other beings also looked at each other, very surprised in their hearts.
Generally speaking, only those at the Fourth-Step Saint King realm and above could perfectly control the One-Yao Perfection Power. Yet this human man before them was only at the First-Step Saint King realm. How did he do it?
"Could he be hiding his cultivation level?"
"Not necessarily. It's said that some heaven-defying prodigies can perfectly control the One-Yao Perfection Power at the First-Step Saint King or Second-Step Saint King realm."
"Anyway, the more perfectly one controls power, the stronger the combat power they can unleash."
...
While everyone was discussing, Zhang Ruochen had already picked a Heart Moon Sacred Fruit and quickly swallowed it into his mouth.
The Heart Moon Sacred Fruit melted upon entering his mouth, like a cold spring flowing into his abdomen, releasing a large number of Sacred Dao Rules.
Zhang Ruochen quickly activated his cultivation technique, transporting those Sacred Dao Rules through his sacred meridians and channels to the Heavenly River in his Qi Sea, merging them with his own Sacred Dao Rules.
After a moment, the Sacred Dao Rules within Zhang Ruochen's body increased by more than three hundred, bringing the total to four thousand five hundred.
The Heavenly River formed by the Sacred Dao Rules suddenly began to flow a bit faster. However, this state was very unstable. The flow speed of the Sacred Dao Rules was sometimes fast, sometimes slow, with no discernible pattern.
"This should be a sign that my realm is about to break through. If I take another Heart Moon Sacred Fruit, it will definitely stabilize the flow speed of the Heavenly River and make it faster. Can I truly break through to the Second-Step Saint King realm soon?"
Zhang Ruochen's heart was filled with excitement. He quickly swung the long whip out again, tracing a graceful arc across the water surface as it flew toward the white sacred tree at the center of the sacred pool, preparing to pick a second Heart Moon Sacred Fruit.
Suddenly, the long whip trembled slightly.
"Not good."
Even with the One-Yao Perfection Power activated, it was difficult to resist the cold energy attacking from all directions. The flexible long whip gradually became stiff. Moreover, an invisible weight acted upon the long whip and the wooden jar, increasing the difficulty of Zhang Ruochen's control by several times.
The surrounding beings were not surprised, feeling this was a normal occurrence.
The second Heart Moon Sacred Fruit was not so easy to pick. Even with the most exquisite control of power, it was impossible. Unless one could perfectly control the Two-Yao Perfection Power.
But for a First-Step Saint King to perfectly control the Two-Yao Perfection Power was simply impossible. Moreover, the long whip in that human man's hand was merely a One-Yao Ten-Thousand Pattern Sacred Artifact.
Just as all the beings felt that Zhang Ruochen would fail, the sinking long whip suddenly floated upward again, becoming flexible once more.
The snake-headed being exclaimed, "Spiritual power! He has infused spiritual power into the long whip."
"His spiritual power intensity has likely reached the fifty-fifth rank or above, and his control over spiritual power is also exquisite. Look quickly—on the long whip, the spiritual power has condensed into thin strands, wrapping around the whip and merging with the One-Yao Perfection Power."
The exquisite control over power displayed by this human man evoked admiration from these extraordinary beings present, all of whom sighed with emotion.
To pick the second Heart Moon Sacred Fruit, Zhang Ruochen not only mobilized his sacred qi and spiritual power but also summoned the scorching yang energy within his body, infusing it into the long whip to resist the cold energy.
Of course, he also had to thank the experience he had accumulated while crossing the Truth Sea. Only then could Zhang Ruochen utilize various powers so exquisitely, coordinating and assisting each other.
After a moment, the second Heart Moon Sacred Fruit was picked.
Zhang Ruochen finally let out a long sigh of relief. Only then did he realize that beads of sweat had formed on his forehead. However, his heart was filled with joy. Just as he was about to swallow the second Heart Moon Sacred Fruit—
The snake-headed being, the Eight-Armed Spider King, and other beings quickly gathered around. Among them, a pointed-eared woman with a full head of snow-white hair quickly said, "Young master, if you swallow this second Heart Moon Sacred Fruit, it would be a complete waste. Sell it to me, and I'll give you a satisfactory price."
"Why would it be a waste?" Zhang Ruochen asked, puzzled.
The Eight-Armed Spider King laughed and said, "Brother, you may not know this, but although the sacred fruits nurtured in the Sealing God Platform have tremendous medicinal properties and endless wonders, only the first one you take is effective. Taking a second one is like drinking plain water—it has no effect at all."
The snake-headed being quickly added, "There were cultivators in the past who took a second identical sacred fruit, hoping to rapidly increase their cultivation. In the end, they regretted it deeply. Young master, sell this Heart Moon Sacred Fruit of yours to me. I'll offer five hundred thousand sacred stones."
"I'll offer eight hundred thousand sacred stones." That pointed-eared woman said.
"I'll offer one million sacred stones."
...
Those beings who had failed to pick or didn't dare to try were extremely covetous of Zhang Ruochen's Heart Moon Sacred Fruit, causing its price to rise steadily.
Even that fair-skinned young woman was tempted. However, since she had repeatedly mocked Zhang Ruochen and Mu Lingxi earlier, she naturally couldn't lower her face now to buy the Heart Moon Sacred Fruit.
"Why hasn't senior brother arrived with the precious ruler yet?" The young woman was extremely anxious.