# Chapter 1689: Emperor Saint Jade
Zhang Ruochen was faster. By the time True Miao Little Daoist arrived, the tortoiseshell fragment was already in his hand.
"Give it to me."
True Miao Little Daoist transformed into a streak of purple light, flying toward Zhang Ruochen's hand, extending a small claw in an attempt to snatch it away.
"Whoosh"
Zhang Ruochen's figure flickered, disappearing from his original spot and reappearing at the entrance of the Daoist temple.
Then, Zhang Ruochen took out another tortoiseshell fragment from his Space Ring, comparing the two. He discovered that some of the gaps could actually fit together.
However, the tortoiseshell fragment taken from the Sacred Tree was slightly larger.
"Same material, both carved with humanoid patterns and ancient characters. They should have been one complete piece in the past, both inlaid on the Purple Gold Bagua Mirror," Zhang Ruochen muttered to himself.
"Give it to me."
True Miao Little Daoist pounced again, moving at extreme speed.
Unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen executed a Spatial Displacement, easily evading him.
After more than a dozen attempts without even touching Zhang Ruochen's clothes, True Miao Little Daoist gritted his teeth and said, "Zhang Ruochen, if you don't hand over those two tortoiseshell fragments to me, we can't be friends anymore. You should be well aware of how terrifying my cultivation is."
As he said this, True Miao Little Daoist clenched his hand into a fist the size of a pigeon egg, as if showing off his muscles.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Space-Time Secret Scripture and held it in his hands, saying, "Do we have to fight?"
Seeing the Space-Time Secret Scripture, True Miao Little Daoist immediately lost his temper and laughed heartily: "I just wanted to borrow it for a look, nothing else. You know, the techniques and sacred arts I cultivate were all comprehended from that tortoiseshell fragment. If I could comprehend another fragment, I might be able to break through my current bottleneck. With our relationship, this... this shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Aren't we just partners?"
After a pause, Zhang Ruochen continued, "I'll return your tortoiseshell fragment to you after we leave the Fengchan Platform. But this fragment just now was something I found. Whether I lend it to you for viewing depends on my mood."
True Miao Little Daoist said with righteous indignation, "Zhang Ruochen, listen to me. Hand over the tortoiseshell fragment, and I'll help you check if it's genuine. I am a cultivator of the Dao. Would I deceive you? My cultivation is dozens of times yours. Would deceiving a junior like you mean anything to me? Hand it over. I really just want to check it for you. I'll return it after checking."
Zhang Ruochen rolled his eyes and said, "I think, since we found one tortoiseshell fragment in the Sacred Tree, there might be other fragments here too."
True Miao Little Daoist's eyes rolled around, then he rushed into the Daoist temple.
Zhang Ruochen also released his Spiritual Power to probe, but this place was quite strange. Even a wall, a window, or a door could block his Spiritual Power, making it impossible to penetrate.
The underground was even more impossible to probe.
True Miao Little Daoist moved like streaks of purple light, darting through the Daoist temple. Soon, he had searched every corner inside and out, but found nothing.
Zhang Ruochen also found nothing.
"Forget it. Let's leave this place quickly. What if the Yan King and Lian Hou of the Yin-Yang Realm are nearby? That would be a big problem." Zhang Ruochen had been observing his surroundings, worried that Yan King and Lian Hou might suddenly appear.
True Miao Little Daoist grew anxious, saying, "You go first! Since a tortoiseshell fragment appeared here, there must be other fragments. Even if I have to search the entire Dao Garden, I will find them."
True Miao Little Daoist rushed outside the Daoist temple and continued searching.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You are a hundred-thousand-year ancient sacred medicine. Once they get their hands on you, you'll either be swallowed directly or refined into sacred pills. Are you sure you don't want to leave immediately?"
"Those so-called kings and queens you mentioned, are they that strong? My cultivation is unmatched. Why would I fear them? Go, go. If you're scared, leave quickly. I'll continue searching." True Miao Little Daoist said.
Zhang Ruochen felt that True Miao Little Daoist cared too much about the tortoiseshell fragments. A thought struck him, and he asked, "The tortoiseshell fragments must have another use, right?"
"How do you know?"
True Miao Little Daoist suddenly looked up, realizing he had let something slip, and quickly covered his mouth.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "Tell me what other uses they have. Perhaps I'll stay and search with you."
"Do you think I'm stupid? A secret is only valuable when only one person knows it."
True Miao Little Daoist stopped talking to Zhang Ruochen and rushed into a nearby ruin, continuing his search.
But no sooner had he entered than an explosion sounded from within.
The ground trembled slightly.
True Miao Little Daoist emerged from inside, covered in black smoke, and exclaimed in shock, "A ruin still has remnants of ancient formation inscriptions. Too dangerous. Fortunately, I was alert enough. I was only hit by one force and didn't fall completely into it... Ouch, it hurts..."
"Since this place was once a sacred site of the Daoist tradition, naturally one cannot barge in recklessly," Zhang Ruochen remarked.
True Miao Little Daoist asked, "Why haven't you left yet?"
Zhang Ruochen rested his chin on his hand, having been observing the spiritual herbs and sacred medicines growing on the Five Elements Soil. "Strange. Truly strange."
True Miao Little Daoist grew nervous at Zhang Ruochen's demeanor and asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "This is a dangerous killing ground. Few people can find their way here. Moreover, the garden is filled with Five Elements Soil. Logically, there should be many ancient sacred medicines here. Even a hundred-thousand-year ancient sacred medicine appearing wouldn't be strange. But look—everything growing on the Five Elements Soil is spiritual herbs and low-year sacred medicines. There's not a single sacred medicine over twenty thousand years old. Isn't that strange?"
True Miao Little Daoist was somewhat dismissive. "Didn't you say that Yan King and Lian Hou might be nearby? Perhaps they picked the sacred medicines first."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "The Five Elements Soil is infused with terrifyingly powerful Dao techniques. Although Yan King and Lian Hou are strong, they don't have the ability to withstand those Dao techniques. So it couldn't have been them who picked the sacred medicines."
"Then where do you think the ancient sacred medicines went?"
Suddenly, a bold conjecture arose in True Miao Little Daoist's mind. He continued, "True Miao! True Miao! Do you think there might actually be some old fellows' bones buried underground in the Dao Garden? Could they have crawled up from underground and eaten all the sacred medicines?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "That's possible. But even if they crawled up from underground, the first thing they'd eat would be you, the hundred-thousand-year ancient sacred medicine."
True Miao Little Daoist was genuinely frightened. His legs trembled slightly, and he whispered, "Zhang Ruochen, maybe we should leave here first..."
"Boom."
A loud rumble came from afar, followed by two powerful forces—one yin and one yang—soaring into the sky.
True Miao Little Daoist was so startled he screamed, his legs giving way as he sat on the ground. "Zhang Ruochen, take me and flee. I don't want to be eaten by the dead."
"What are you howling about?"
Zhang Ruochen glared at him.
True Miao Little Daoist immediately shut his mouth, looking around. Seeing no dead things crawling out of the ground, he breathed a slight sigh of relief. Then he let out a soft exclamation: "Two different gusts of wind—one warm, one cold—are blowing over. What's going on?"
"It's Yan King and Lian Hou."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fixed on the direction from which the rumbling came. He said solemnly, "They heard Wen Yujing's cry for help. Why didn't they come to rescue him?"
True Miao Little Daoist climbed up from the ground, dusted off his backside, and said coldly, "Maybe they were collecting sacred medicines."
"Whoosh."
From the location of the rumbling, a dazzling white sacred light burst forth, forcing both Zhang Ruochen and True Miao Little Daoist to close their eyes.
The entire Dao Garden seemed wrapped inside a white light sphere.
After a moment, the white light gradually dimmed.
True Miao Little Daoist's mouth fell open. "What treasure emitted that light? Zhang Ruochen, did you see it?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "Let's go take a look."
"Didn't you say Yan King and Lian Hou are two great experts? If we go over there, can we handle them?" True Miao Little Daoist asked.
"Even if we can't defeat them, we should still be able to retreat."
Zhang Ruochen was extremely curious. What treasure could make Yan King and Lian Hou ignore Wen Yujing's life or death to seize it?
Activating the twelve Buddha Emperor Relics to conceal his aura, Zhang Ruochen and True Miao Little Daoist soon arrived outside a ruin covering dozens of acres.
From within the ruin came continuous rumbling sounds.
At the same time, blinding white light intermittently appeared.
Entering the ruin and hiding behind a remnant wall, Zhang Ruochen finally saw the figures of Yan King and Lian Hou.
The two of them were each controlling four pieces of divine bone as large as houses, forming a Yin-Yang Life-Death Formation that trapped a pure white rabbit inside.
The rabbit was over seven meters long, round and plump, its body larger than an elephant's, emitting a jade-white radiance.
True Miao Little Daoist trembled with excitement, his claws twitching constantly as he struggled to suppress the urge to make a sound.
After a long while, he transmitted to Zhang Ruochen: "Emperor Saint Jade... that's Emperor Saint Jade..."
"That rabbit is the legendary Emperor Saint Jade?" Zhang Ruochen was astonished.
True Miao Little Daoist nodded affirmatively. "Absolutely no mistake! Its true form is a piece of Emperor Saint Jade. I understand now. The sacred medicines in the Dao Garden must have all been eaten by it, which is why its cultivation has reached such a terrifying level."
Sacred jade is divided into different grades: Sacred Jade, Sacred Jade Marrow, and Sacred Jade Essence.
Sacred Jade Essence is also called "Jade Spirit," having given birth to a trace of spiritual intelligence.
As long as Sacred Jade Essence continuously absorbs the world's sacred qi and the essence of the sun and moon, its cultivation will grow stronger and stronger. When its cultivation reaches a certain level, it is called a "Sacred Jade Venerable."
A Sacred Jade Venerable's cultivation is comparable to a Saint King.
Above the Sacred Jade Venerable is the Emperor Saint Jade.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "The cultivation of an Emperor Saint Jade is comparable to a Great Saint. If that rabbit were an Emperor Saint Jade, it would only need to release a trace of sacred might to intimidate Yan King and Lian Hou. How could it be trapped by them?"
True Miao Little Daoist said, "This is the Fengshen Platform. Even if a Sacred Jade Essence can reach the grade of Emperor Saint Jade, it has no cultivation techniques or sacred arts. It has all that cultivation but virtually no combat power. It doesn't even know how to release sacred might. It's like a tiger without teeth, claws, or ferocity—completely helpless and open to bullying."