Chapter: 1708 - Second Layer of the Divine Temple
"From now on, I will devote most of my time to cultivating the Sword Dao, the Way of Time, and the Way of Space," Zhang Ruochen said to himself.
Comprehending these three paths would certainly be ten or even a hundred times harder than comprehending other sacred paths.
The Sword Dao was slightly easier, as the Rule Emperor Artifact left behind by Old Ancestor Wujin contained a vast number of Sword Dao rules. Zhang Ruochen could directly observe and comprehend them, then transform them into his own Sword Dao rules.
However, the Way of Time and the Way of Space were absent even from the Rule Emperor Artifact.
Old Ancestor Wujin had never studied these two Eternal Paths, so Zhang Ruochen had no way to directly convert them. He would have to slowly comprehend them on his own.
As such, even if he spent a great deal of time, he likely wouldn't gain much.
Fortunately, this was the Truth Divine Temple, where all kinds of sacred dao rules were highly active. Comprehending the Way of Time and the Way of Space here would certainly be much faster than in the outside world.
After figuring out how to break through his bottleneck, Zhang Ruochen stood up and walked over to the Abyssal Ancient Sword. "How is your comprehension going?" he asked.
"I haven't fully grasped the second visualization diagram yet," the Sword Spirit replied, shaking its head.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The first layer of the Truth Divine Temple is no longer suitable for my cultivation. Come with me to the second layer."
The Abyssal Ancient Sword was, after all, just a sword. Zhang Ruochen couldn't afford to spend a lot of time waiting for it here, delaying his own cultivation of the Way of Truth.
Moreover, the Way of Truth was merely a minor supplement for the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
The first layer of the Truth Divine Temple had a total of 88,888 cultivation chambers, serving as the entry-level cultivation ground for the Way of Truth.
The second layer, however, was the refined cultivation ground for the Way of Truth, with a total of 8,888 cultivation cave heavens.
With so few cultivation cave heavens, entering them for cultivation was no easy task. One had to fully comprehend all three visualization diagrams of the first layer to qualify.
Upon arriving at the second layer, Zhang Ruochen saw the figures of over a dozen Truth Divine Temple disciples. Among them were two Divine Inheritor Disciples, whose status was clearly higher than the others. They were responsible for testing, receiving, and arranging for cultivators who came here.
One of those Divine Inheritor Disciples was none other than Feng Yan's elder sister, Feng Xi.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen arrive at the second layer of the Truth Divine Temple, a flicker of an imperceptible, unusual light passed through Feng Xi's bright eyes. She exchanged a glance with another Divine Inheritor Disciple not far away.
"Quite fast," that Divine Inheritor Disciple said with a light laugh.
Zhang Ruochen walked over and slightly cupped his hands. "Greetings, Senior Sister Feng."
Feng Xi said, "Zhang Ruochen, do you know that you must fully comprehend the three visualization diagrams of the first layer before you can come to the second layer?"
"I know," Zhang Ruochen replied.
Feng Xi said, "So, you've fully comprehended them?"
"I have," Zhang Ruochen said.
Feng Xi's gaze involuntarily sharpened. "But I recall that the total time you've spent cultivating in the Truth Divine Temple is only about a month."
Upon hearing Feng Xi's questioning of Zhang Ruochen, the surrounding Truth Divine Temple disciples pricked up their ears to eavesdrop.
A month to fully comprehend the three visualization diagrams of the first layer?
The disciples of the Truth Divine Temple all began to murmur among themselves. Clearly, they didn't believe it.
Zhang Ruochen's expression remained calm. "A month is enough. If Senior Sister Feng doesn't believe me, you can test me."
Feng Xi nodded and led Zhang Ruochen to the northeast corner of the square, where a three-person-tall ancient bronze mirror stood.
"This is the Truth Treasure Mirror. You only need to fully mobilize the Truth Rules within your body, and the pattern of rules will appear on the mirror's surface."
Zhang Ruochen walked beneath the bronze mirror and mobilized his power with full force. Instantly, in the mirror, 729 strange patterns appeared around his body, like a spiderweb, enveloping him at the center.
Looking at himself in the bronze mirror, Zhang Ruochen murmured, "So this is the pattern of rules."
Behind him, several Truth Divine Temple disciples let out exclamations of surprise, finding it hard to believe.
Feng Xi's expression, however, didn't change much. She directly took out a token and handed it to Zhang Ruochen. "The first layer of the Truth Divine Temple is just entry-level cultivation. The second layer won't be so easy."
Zhang Ruochen took the token and said humbly, "Please, Senior Sister Feng, offer some guidance. Perhaps I can avoid some detours."
Perhaps because of Feng Yan's connection, the usually cold and aloof Feng Xi actually did offer Zhang Ruochen a few words of advice.
Under the guidance of a first-class disciple, Zhang Ruochen headed toward the cultivation cave heaven.
Standing beside Feng Xi, that Divine Inheritor Disciple watched Zhang Ruochen's retreating figure and said, "Impressive! Do you think he might have obtained the Truth Esoterica?"
Feng Xi's gaze sharpened. "It's best not to make wild guesses about this matter. If it leaks out, the consequences will be severe."
"You're right. The Truth Esoterica is far too important," that Divine Inheritor Disciple said meaningfully.
Just then, Feng Xi's ears twitched, as if she had heard something. She quickly knelt on one knee, her expression immediately becoming respectful.
After a long moment, Feng Xi stood up again and looked at the Divine Inheritor Disciple beside her. "Just now, the Master sent a message forbidding any news about Zhang Ruochen from being spread."
"It actually alarmed the Master?"
Feng Xi said, "For the past century, the Master has been stationed at the Truth Divine Temple. Since it's a divine decree from the Master, we should quickly go and warn those disciples just now, lest some reckless ones among them leak the information."
That Divine Inheritor Disciple nodded, then showed a strange expression. "There are very few things that can alarm the Master. Do you think Zhang Ruochen really obtained the Truth Esoterica?"
Feng Xi said, "I think we should stop discussing this matter from now on."
Seeing Feng Xi's cold and stern expression, that Divine Inheritor Disciple suddenly realized something. His face changed, and he quickly knelt prostrate on the ground in repentance. "This disciple did not intend to speculate about the Master. I beg the Master's forgiveness."
...
...
Zhang Ruochen used the token to enter a cultivation cave heaven. Instantly, his vision brightened and his field of view expanded. Beneath his feet was a colorful sea of flowers.
Taking a deep breath, he immediately smelled a rich floral fragrance.
"The second layer of the Truth Divine Temple is truly miraculous—one cave heaven, one world. Are all the other cave heavens also a sea of flowers?"
Seeing the flowers covering the ground, Zhang Ruochen felt very comfortable. He sat down cross-legged in the midst of the flower sea, recalling the words Feng Xi had said earlier: "Observe the flowers to see the truth; everything lies within the flowers."
He took out the Abyssal Ancient Sword and lit a stick of Rainbow Transformation Vine.
Zhang Ruochen once again split his Sacred Soul into six parts. One part comprehended the Sword Dao, one part comprehended the Way of Time, one part comprehended the Way of Space, one part comprehended other sacred paths, and the remaining two parts comprehended the Way of Truth.
A month later, the flowers around Zhang Ruochen began to change.
Petal after petal naturally fell off, not landing on the ground but flying into the sky, turning into a rain of petals that swirled around Zhang Ruochen.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen's eyes snapped open, and he uttered a single word: "Annihilate."
"Chi!"
The rain of petals flying in the sky instantly vanished, turning into wisps of green smoke.
A smile appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face. "So this is the first-level realm that Senior Sister Feng mentioned—'Flowers are not flowers; all is illusion and annihilation.' It's not that hard to comprehend, is it?"
After this month of comprehension, the number of Truth Rules within Zhang Ruochen's body had reached 2,187.
Zhang Ruochen stood up and executed a move from the Luo Water Fist Art. After channeling the Truth Rules into it, the fist technique erupted with four times the power.
"Not bad. Next, I'll start comprehending the second-level realm."
Zhang Ruochen continued his cultivation.
According to Feng Xi, within the cultivation cave heavens of the second layer of the Truth Divine Temple, there were two levels of realms. Mastering each level represented a major step forward in the Way of Truth.
However, these two levels were each more difficult to cultivate than the last.
The vast majority of the proud sons of heaven who came to cultivate in the Truth Divine Temple found it very hard to comprehend even the first level, "Flowers are not flowers." Even Feng Yan, who had cultivated in the Truth Divine Temple for many years, was still stuck at this level.
The difficulty of the second level indeed far surpassed the first. Zhang Ruochen spent a total of two months before he finally comprehended it.
Just as he comprehended the second level, the plants around Zhang Ruochen began to grow buds one after another, blooming at a visible rate.
Instantly, the illusory flowers that had vanished in the cave heaven reappeared, their fragrance filling the air.
Zhang Ruochen let out a hearty laugh. "So this is the second level—'Flowers are life, a riot of color.' Not bad, not bad. Life is the most precious thing."
The number of Truth Rules within Zhang Ruochen's body increased to 6,561.
Next, he practiced the Luo Water Fist Art in the cave heaven, and it erupted with five times the power.
"The Way of Truth is no longer my weakness now."
In the past, when Zhang Ruochen fought against top-tier geniuses, his biggest weaknesses were Mid-rank Sacred Arts and the Way of Truth.
For example, when Zhang Ruochen clashed with Qing Liaoya at the same cultivation level, because his Way of Truth was inferior to his opponent's, the power of the sacred art he unleashed was actually weaker than Qing Liaoya's. In the end, he had to use the power of the Flame God Armor to defeat him.
But now, Zhang Ruochen could use any sacred art and unleash five times its power. If he fought Qing Liaoya again at the same level, Zhang Ruochen could knock him down with a single punch.
Although Zhang Ruochen's cultivation level hadn't increased much, with his current combat strength, even without using the power of time and space, he could contend on equal footing with powerhouses of Yan Wang and Lian Hou's caliber.
If he used the power of time and space, defeating them wouldn't be impossible.
It could be said that the significant improvement in the Way of Truth had already made Zhang Ruochen one of the top-tier powerhouses in the Truth Heaven Domain.
Just then, the voice of Shi Shenghua sounded within Zhang Ruochen's body. "Master, I have awakened."
Immediately, an extremely seductive and enchanting woman walked out from Zhang Ruochen's back.
During this period of slumber, Shi Shenghua Mo Yin's cultivation had been growing rapidly, and she had now reached the realm of a Five-Step Saint King.
Mo Yin stretched lazily, outlining her alluring curves, and asked in a soft, sweet voice, "Master, I'm so hungry. Do you have any Saint Kings for me to eat?"