Chapter 1657: True Marvel
Zhang Ruochen had no mood to deal with the five suppressed Saint Kings for the moment. Carefully, he laid Mu Lingxi flat on the ground, grasped her wrist, and slowly channeled sacred power into her body.
A Great Saint-level malevolent creature was too terrifying. Even though only the residual waves had escaped, they had severely injured Mu Lingxi, damaging her sacred soul.
Before a Great Saint, a Saint King was as fragile as a piece of paper.
Gradually, a trace of color returned to Mu Lingxi's face, as smooth as solidified fat, and the sacred energy within her body stabilized. Zhang Ruochen let out a soft breath and sent her into the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal, allowing her to recuperate slowly.
Xiang Chunan asked with concern, "Is your wife going to be alright?"
"Her injuries are temporarily stable for now," Zhang Ruochen said.
When the aura of a Great Saint's power invades the body, even just a wisp is enough to cause a low-realm Saint King to die without a burial place.
A wisp of that Great Saint's power had also struck Zhang Ruochen, leaving him severely wounded. Fortunately, his physical body, spiritual power, and sacred soul were all exceptionally strong, allowing him to barely withstand it.
Zhang Ruochen swallowed a healing sacred pill. As his cultivation technique circulated, his damaged organs, meridians, and sacred veins began to slowly recover.
After about a quarter of an hour, Zhang Ruochen's injuries had healed by thirty to forty percent, stabilizing enough for him to unleash half of his peak combat power.
Xiang Chunan stood at the entrance of the Daoist temple, cautiously watching the outside, his face full of worry.
Zhang Ruochen, with his hands behind his back, silently walked up behind him. Outside the temple, a dense crowd of rotting corpses surrounded them, each one extremely powerful. Their roars were unceasing, and occasionally some would launch attacks against the temple.
Around the temple, purple light surged, imbued with sacred divine power. Whenever a rotting corpse drew near, it would be shattered into pieces.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen felt a chill run down his spine, as if a sword were pressed against his brow, his entire body turning icy cold. He saw that the half-ancient Great Saint malevolent creature standing outside the temple had locked onto him. A finger, brighter than the sun, pointed out.
"Boom."
A blood-red beam shot from the tip of the malevolent creature's finger.
"Boom."
Inside the temple, the purple light emerged again, condensing into an Eight Trigram formation seal. It erupted with unprecedented power, clashing head-on with the blood-red beam.
The temple shook violently.
Even with the Eight Trigram formation seal's defense, Zhang Ruochen and Xiang Chunan inside were sent flying, crashing heavily into a stone wall, sending a cloud of dust down from the roof.
"Too terrifying. We can't get out. It looks like we're going to be trapped here and die."
Xiang Chunan's physical body was monstrously strong, like an indestructible body. He got up from the ground instantly, without a single injury.
Zhang Ruochen also stood up, his brow stinging, his eyes bloodshot. "We might not necessarily be trapped. There must be some power inside this temple that can restrain them."
After circulating the "Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture" through one cycle, the pain in his brow gradually faded.
Xiang Chunan said, "But I've searched the entire temple and found nothing mysterious. This place is as ordinary as it gets."
Zhang Ruochen suddenly thought of something and asked, "How did you know those ancient malevolent creatures wouldn't dare enter this temple?"
"I chased that old fellow and barged in here. But that old fellow disappeared as soon as he entered the temple. I don't know if he escaped by burrowing into the ground," Xiang Chunan said with some frustration.
"If burrowing into the ground could let him escape, why would we be trapped here? I've already checked; the ground is woven with dense formation patterns. Even a Nine-Step Saint King would be trapped and die if they broke into the underground," Zhang Ruochen said.
Zhang Ruochen stroked his chin, then smiled slightly. "That spiritual sacred fungus should still be inside the temple."
"But..." Xiang Chunan said.
"Although your clairvoyance is powerful, there are some things it can't see through."
Zhang Ruochen began searching the temple, sometimes bending down to examine the ground, sometimes lightly tapping the walls, inspecting very carefully. He went into the inner room of the temple. At the center of the room, the five powerful Saint Kings had been suppressed by the metal demon crown until they were unconscious, each bleeding from their seven orifices, severely injured.
Xiang Chunan retrieved the metal demon crown, then picked up his large iron hammer, ready to kill them to eliminate future trouble.
Zhang Ruochen, with his hands behind his back, stared at a blue-gray wall and said, "Wait."
"Brother Ruochen, these people are definitely not good. Why spare their lives?" Xiang Chunan was puzzled.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Didn't you say two escaped? As long as those two are still alive, you can't kill these five. Otherwise, it will bring you great trouble."
Xiang Chunan nodded as if he understood, walked over, and kicked the five Saint Kings on the ground a few times.
Zhang Ruochen threw out a Saint-Binding Chain and had Xiang Chunan tie them up. Meanwhile, he kept studying the blue-gray wall.
On the wall was a lifelike painting of a green-robed old Daoist.
The old Daoist held a purple-gold Eight Trigram mirror, looking like an immortal. Although it was just a painting, it exuded a sharp aura. The more one looked, the more awe-inspiring it became.
Xiang Chunan tied the five Saint Kings into a long string, then walked over to Zhang Ruochen and asked, "Brother Ruochen, what are you looking at?"
Zhang Ruochen muttered softly, then a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. "I see."
He extended a finger and pressed it toward the purple-gold Eight Trigram mirror in the old Daoist's hand.
Immediately, a vortex-like force surged from the mirror, growing stronger and stronger, sucking Zhang Ruochen and Xiang Chunan inside.
"Whoosh."
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen and Xiang Chunan arrived in a dim space, surrounded by withered black ancient trees. The environment was dark and damp. Ahead of them stood a seven-zhang-high divine altar.
On the altar sat an old Daoist with a broken body.
The old Daoist had been dead for who knows how many years, but his body showed no signs of decay. Instead, it emitted a terrifying aura that made Zhang Ruochen and Xiang Chunan's hearts tremble.
Upon arriving here, the sacred energy and blood energy within their bodies were suppressed by the old Daoist's aura, making it difficult to flow.
Xiang Chunan held his breath and whispered, "Where is this place? I feel like this old Daoist is even more terrifying than that half-ancient Great Saint malevolent creature."
"Hmm... We should be inside the mural world. As for this old Daoist, he might be an ancient powerhouse. But he's already dead, so there's no need to fear him."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes fixed on the old Daoist's right hand. In those five bloodstained fingers was clutched a purple-gold Eight Trigram mirror, identical to the one painted on the temple wall, emitting a faint purple glow.
Curious, Zhang Ruochen stepped forward step by step.
"Clatter."
Suddenly, the old Daoist sitting on the altar radiated brilliant light, illuminating the dim space.
From within the old Daoist's body came a vast, ethereal divine voice, as if transmitted from ancient times to the present: "I am Luo Tianjun, the master of the True Marvel Temple. You two juniors dare to intrude into the small world I created. What do you intend?"
"Didn't you say he was dead? How can a dead person still talk?"
Xiang Chunan's dark face turned pale, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
Offending an ancient great power could have unimaginable consequences.
"It is said that gods, even after falling, still have lingering souls that can exist between heaven and earth, capable of performing various divine abilities. Could this master of the True Marvel Temple be a god?" Zhang Ruochen said cautiously.
Even a dead god was terrifying. As long as a wisp of lingering soul remained, it could easily crush them.
"Seeing a deity and not kneeling—you two juniors have quite the nerve!" A surge of angry might erupted from the old Daoist.
"A wise man knows when to bend. Let's kneel first."
With a thud, Xiang Chunan knelt first, clasping his hands: "Junior Xiang Chunan unintentionally offends the senior. However, a large number of ancient malevolent creatures have gathered outside the temple, so we came here seeking a chance to survive."
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen hadn't knelt yet, Xiang Chunan feared he would anger the deity with lingering soul. He tugged at Zhang Ruochen's clothes and whispered, "Kneeling to a god is nothing shameful."
Zhang Ruochen carefully observed the old Daoist sitting on the altar, as if he had discovered something, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Whoosh."
Using Space Displacement, Zhang Ruochen appeared behind the altar and saw the spiritual sacred fungus hiding behind the old Daoist. The fungus also sensed him, turned around, and met Zhang Ruochen's gaze. Startled, it muttered, "True marvel, true marvel, I've been found."
The spiritual sacred fungus stomped its legs, turned into a purple light, jumped off the altar, and rushed toward the exit of the small world.
Seeing this, Xiang Chunan realized he had been tricked by that old fellow again. Furious, he shouted, "So it was you, old fellow, playing tricks! Trying to escape again? I'll beat you to death, Uncle Xiang!"
Xiang Chunan raised his large iron hammer and slammed it down at the spiritual sacred fungus.
The spiritual sacred fungus's face changed slightly. It raised its arms, and two purple clouds surged from its Daoist robe sleeves. Tens of thousands of sacred dao rules burst forth, striking toward Xiang Chunan.
Standing to the side, Zhang Ruochen saw clearly that the mid-rank sacred art the old Daoist used incorporated tens of thousands of palm-path sacred dao rules. Its cultivation was terrifyingly powerful.
"Be careful."
The moment Zhang Ruochen shouted, Xiang Chunan was sent flying, crashing down in a daze, with stars spinning in his head.
The spiritual sacred fungus looked at its own hands, an expression of disbelief on its face. It muttered to itself, "True marvel, true marvel. It turns out this poor Daoist is this powerful. So why was I afraid of you two juniors?"
The spiritual sacred fungus became arrogant, puffing out its chest, looking invincible.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Use the supreme sacred artifact to suppress it."
Xiang Chunan, having been tricked multiple times by the spiritual sacred fungus, was furious. He launched the metal demon crown and, together with Zhang Ruochen, activated a supreme power within the crown.
"This poor Daoist is so powerful, why would I fear you two... True marvel, true marvel. What kind of artifact are you using? Dare you fight me with bare hands?"
Feeling the supreme power emanating from the metal demon crown, the spiritual sacred fungus's face turned pale. As it retreated, it summoned more sacred dao rules, gathering them toward its arms.
"Clatter."
The entire small world was filled with dense rule patterns, numbering in the tens of thousands.
"Sea-Suppressing Seal."
The spiritual sacred fungus pressed its small palms into the void. Immediately, the phantom of a vast purple sacred ancient sea appeared, colliding with the metal demon crown, producing a deafening roar.