# Chapter 1693: Purifying Divine Flame Transformation
Zhang Ruochen had traded with cultivators from the ancient civilization faction for a large number of sacred fruits and sacred medicines, but had never had time to refine and absorb them. Only now did he begin to rapidly improve his cultivation realm.
Before long, Zhang Ruochen had completely refined all the sacred fruits and sacred medicines on his body.
His sacred dao rules had increased by nearly double, reaching a total of around ninety thousand.
In his Qi Sea, the Celestial River had become even wider. The ninety thousand sacred dao rules flowed within it like dragon serpents, making Zhang Ruochen unprecedentedly powerful.
However, it seemed he was still slightly short of the Fourth Step Saint King realm.
Because although the Celestial River had become wider, the flow speed of the rules within it had not accelerated.
"I can already feel the Celestial River stirring. If I had a few more extraordinary sacred fruits, or sacred medicines of great age, I should be able to break through," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Although Zhang Ruochen's cultivation realm had already surged significantly, and he could now easily defeat powerhouses like Qing Liaoya and Yuwen Jing even without using the power of time and space, not breaking through to the next realm was clearly different from actually breaking through. The two could not be compared.
"Hua!"
The curtain of the sacred carriage lifted, and three sacred fruits and one sixty-thousand-year-old sacred medicine flew out from inside.
Tianchu Xianzi's voice sounded: "Take them. A gift to you."
Zhang Ruochen caught the three sacred fruits and that sacred medicine, immediately discerning that their interiors contained extremely rich energy. They were definitely not picked from the Outer Four Gardens or Inner Four Gardens, but were most likely rare treasures obtained from this ancient ruin, each possessing extraordinary value.
"Indeed, Tianchu Xianzi still has some wariness toward me. Even while healing, she was closely monitoring me."
Regardless of what purpose Tianchu Xianzi had, her gesture did earn some goodwill from Zhang Ruochen.
After all, Zhang Ruochen had already promised to help her seize the Divine Spring. There was no need for her to take out priceless sacred fruits and sacred medicines.
Helping Zhang Ruochen break through his realm would not benefit her in any way.
"Don't overthink it. This Heavenly Maiden simply wishes to make a friend. I also trust Chenjing's judgment—the man she has set her sights on cannot be a treacherous villain." Tianchu Xianzi sent a sound wave into Zhang Ruochen's ear.
Zhang Ruochen cupped his hands, then swallowed a sacred fruit and began refining it.
The first sacred fruit alone increased the sacred dao rules within Zhang Ruochen's body by over four thousand. The stirring of the Celestial River became much more intense—a sign that he was about to break through.
Zhang Ruochen pressed on, swallowing the remaining two sacred fruits together with the sixty-thousand-year-old sacred medicine and refining them.
Immediately, brilliant sacred light burst forth from his entire body, and a large amount of strange fragrance spread outward.
"Rumble."
Thunder-like vibrations sounded within his Qi Sea. Sacred Qi alternately erupted outward and contracted inward. Though his realm had not yet broken through, his physical body and sacred soul were already undergoing a transformation.
"Breaking through from Third Step Saint King to Fourth Step Saint King actually triggers a transformation in life level?" Zhang Ruochen was secretly shocked.
He knew that such a transformation in life level only occurred when breaking through major realms.
For example:
Beings below the Fish-Dragon Realm were merely mortal martial artists.
Cultivators in the Fish-Dragon Realm were mortals transitioning toward Half-Saint.
Half-Saints and mortal martial artists were already two different life levels, with greatly increased lifespans.
Saints and Half-Saints were also two different life levels. Cultivating to Saint King brought clear differences from Saints, allowing one to live over a thousand years.
But breaking through from Third Step Saint King to Fourth Step Saint King actually triggered a life level transformation—this was indeed beyond Zhang Ruochen's expectations.
An even more astonishing change occurred within his Qi Sea.
As the sacred Qi within Zhang Ruochen's body circulated according to the eighth layer of the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture, the Purifying Divine Flame suspended in his Qi Sea astonishingly transformed into strands of fiery threads, merging with the sacred Qi and entering his meridians and sacred channels.
At first, Zhang Ruochen was startled, afraid he might lose control of the Purifying Divine Flame.
Because even the slightest mistake would severely damage his meridians and sacred channels, or even burn his body to ashes.
Since ancient times, countless heavenly prodigies and even world-shaking powerhouses had died from Purifying Divine Flame backlash, burning themselves to death.
However, after the Purifying Divine Flame completed one cycle through his body, Zhang Ruochen discovered with amazement that the originally cyan flame had turned into a cyan-white mixed color.
That was... Minister Flame.
The Purifying Divine Flame had finally undergone a transformation, advancing from People Flame to Minister Flame.
Zhang Ruochen was overjoyed, thinking: "The Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture can actually assist in cultivating the Purifying Divine Flame and elevate its level? How incredible!"
Immediately, Zhang Ruochen focused all his effort on operating the technique, gradually converting all the People Flame Purifying Divine Flame within his body into Minister Flame Purifying Divine Flame.
Though it seemed like just a single level increase, the power of the Purifying Divine Flame was now incomparable to before.
The Minister-level Purifying Divine Flame refined the sacred Qi within Zhang Ruochen's body to an even purer state, raising its grade by another level.
Zhang Ruochen's body was like a furnace.
The Purifying Divine Flame was the fire within the furnace, capable of tempering everything inside Zhang Ruochen's body to be tougher and stronger, including his sacred soul and sacred source.
"The total number of sacred dao rules in my body has reached one hundred and ten thousand. The flow speed of the Celestial River has clearly increased significantly. I should have already broken through to Fourth Step Saint King." A smile appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face.
With Zhang Ruochen's current strength, he could suppress Qing Liaoya with a flip of his hand and kill Yuwen Jing within a few moves.
Zhang Ruochen then thought of the two treasures he had obtained from Qing Liaoya and Yuwen Jing, so he took them out to study.
First was Qing Liaoya's character armor.
This armor was composed of three thousand six hundred and ninety-three characters combined together. Each character was both an independent entity and could combine with other characters.
A single character could be a shield or a flying dart.
It could be used for both defense and attack.
"These characters are very strange. They contain the aura of a Great Saint."
Zhang Ruochen thought carefully, then summoned his cyan-white mixed Purifying Divine Flame to refine the aura and spiritual will that Qing Liaoya had left on the character armor.
"Hua—"
Zhang Ruochen released sacred Qi, injecting it into the character armor.
Immediately, the character armor disassembled, turning into individual characters that flew up and arranged themselves in the sky.
"The Mingdao Fu."
Zhang Ruochen was very surprised. He had not expected the character armor to be a poetic essay containing profound philosophical principles.
The essay arranged above Zhang Ruochen's head also emitted a vast Great Saint power, putting tremendous pressure on him.
Tianchu Xianzi's voice sounded: "This is an article written by a Great Saint summarizing the achievements of a lifetime of cultivation, containing the Great Saint's spiritual will and residual power. It even contains the Great Saint's Dao."
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly.
This essay was similar to the Confucian Ancestor Sacred Book, a Confucian path treasure from the Kunlun Realm.
However, the Confucian Ancestor who wrote the Confucian Ancestor Sacred Art had reached the pinnacle of cultivation, so its power naturally far exceeded this Mingdao Fu.
The Mingdao Fu was not weak either. Back then, Zhang Ruochen had used the power of the Flame God Armor Fist Gloves to break it open and severely wound Qing Liaoya.
"Retract."
Zhang Ruochen spoke a single word.
The Mingdao Fu floating in mid-air made a rustling sound as it flew down and covered Zhang Ruochen's body, transforming into a character armor.
Zhang Ruochen carefully sensed it, saying: "Truly a treasure representing a Great Saint's lifetime cultivation achievements. Wearing it, residual Great Saint power is actually added to me. No wonder Qing Liaoya's explosive power was even greater than mine back then."
Tianchu Xianzi had already walked out of the sacred carriage, standing gracefully on the ground, wearing a veil, with no trace of worldly aura about her.
"Has Xianzi's injury fully recovered?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Tianchu Xianzi put away the White Feather Peacock Carriage and said: "Recovered about seventy to eighty percent. No major problem. The Mingdao Sacred Armor was Qing Liaoya's ultimate treasure. How did it fall into your hands? You didn't kill him, did you?"
"Killing someone at the Fengshen Platform would have serious consequences. Besides, Qing Liaoya's strength is formidable, and he possesses many life-saving trump cards. With my cultivation, I couldn't kill him. This set of Mingdao Sacred Armor, I found." Zhang Ruochen smiled.
Tianchu Xianzi naturally did not believe him, but she was well aware that any cultivator who killed someone at the Fengshen Platform would never admit it.
Zhang Ruochen took out twelve pieces of divine bone and handed them to Tianchu Xianzi, smiling: "These are also treasures found from the same place. Consider them repayment for the sacred fruits and sacred medicines Xianzi gave me earlier."
"This is Yuwen Jing's Twelve Palace Divine Formation! Did you kill Yuwen Jing as well?" Tianchu Xianzi had to re-evaluate this human man before her. He was too audacious, daring to kill even a divine disciple.
Zhang Ruochen shrugged and said: "I told you, I found them."
The Twelve Palace Divine Formation was indeed a very powerful formation, capable of borrowing the rules within the divine bones to draw upon the power of heaven and earth. However, it was also a hot potato, and Tianchu Xianzi naturally would not accept it.
Zhang Ruochen sighed lightly: "Since Xianzi won't accept it, Lin Yue can only repay Xianzi's kindness in the future."
"If you help me seize the Divine Spring, consider this Heavenly Maiden owing you a favor." Tianchu Xianzi said.
Zhang Ruochen stared at Tianchu Xianzi for a long moment before speaking softly: "If I help Xianzi seize the Divine Spring, according to Xianzi's oath, shouldn't you marry me as my wife?"
There was no emotional change in Tianchu Xianzi's eyes. She said: "You are not that kind of person. This Heavenly Maiden has already seen that your spiritual will is extremely powerful. Among those below Great Saint, I have never seen a second being with a stronger spiritual will than yours."
"You can see my spiritual will?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Tianchu Xianzi said: "You have a treasure on you that conceals your spiritual will. Moreover, you seem to be using some secret technique that makes your spiritual will appear blurry and indistinct. But I can still see some general outline."
"Do you know why this Heavenly Maiden has been trying to win you over and befriend you? It is precisely because your spiritual will is too powerful. Someone like you, even without a supreme perfect physique, as long as this spiritual will does not extinguish, you will definitely be able to cultivate into a powerhouse who looks down upon heaven and earth in the future."
"With such a powerful spiritual will as yours, how could you possibly be tempted by beauty? That oath of mine has no effect on you at all."
Zhang Ruochen smiled: "I never expected that Xianzi would have such a high opinion of me, an unknown nobody. Should I feel flattered?"
"Unknown nobody? I don't think so."
Tianchu Xianzi's expression turned serious, then she continued: "Actually, this Heavenly Maiden is even more curious about how you tempered your spiritual will to its current intensity. Even if divine might were imposed upon you, I suspect it could not make you submit."