Chapter 1786: News of Divine Stones
The Diamond Snow Sea Ape was suppressed by the Eight Trigrams Mark, gasping for breath, yet it still struggled, trying to rise—its willpower was truly astonishing.
"I am the King of the Snow Sea, not someone a junior like you can defeat—"
"Boom."
Zhang Ruochen descended from midair, landing heavily on the Diamond Snow Sea Ape's head, pressing it back down to the ground.
Immediately after, Zhang Ruochen pressed his right palm against its brow, channeling powerful spiritual power into its skull.
Only by using spiritual power suppression could he prevent the Diamond Snow Sea Ape from self-detonating its Qi Sea. Otherwise, the destructive force of a Nine-Step Saint King's self-destruction could easily level the distant Yunwu Royal City.
"Roar."
The Diamond Snow Sea Ape's spiritual will clashed with Zhang Ruochen's, but ultimately failed.
Zhang Ruochen used his spiritual power to extract the Diamond Snow Sea Ape's memories, seeking the information he wanted. Countless memory bubbles surged into Zhang Ruochen's mind.
However, when probing certain special memories, his spiritual power was repelled. That portion of the Diamond Snow Sea Ape's memories was automatically destroyed.
For instance:
Zhang Ruochen could not access the cultivation techniques and sacred arts the Diamond Snow Sea Ape had practiced.
"A Great Saint-level being has sealed part of the Diamond Snow Sea Ape's memories."
In the end, what Zhang Ruochen uncovered was quite limited.
"Swoosh—"
Zhang Ruochen directly extracted the Sacred Source from the Diamond Snow Sea Ape's Qi Sea.
Within the Sacred Source floated a small sword, formed from condensed Sacred Dao rules—the Diamond Snow Sea Ape's Rule Sacred Artifact.
A Sacred Source containing a Ninth-Rank Rule Sacred Artifact was equivalent to the inheritance of a Nine-Step Saint King, far more valuable than ordinary Sacred Sources and could fetch a sky-high price.
"Let me have a look."
The True Wonder Little Daoist rushed over, his two mung-bean-sized eyes fixed on the small sword within the Sacred Source. "This Rule Sacred Artifact is condensed from over seven million four hundred thousand Sacred Dao rules."
Then, the True Wonder Little Daoist examined the Diamond Snow Sea Ape's corpse and made a judgment: "This ape king is likely at the Rule Small Heaven realm among Nine-Step Saint Kings."
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "Its cultivation is still quite far from the Rule Great Heaven realm."
Nine-Step Saint Kings are very close to Great Saints, just one step away from immortality. But that single step is fraught with difficulties, blocking countless talents from reaching the Great Saint level.
The Nine-Step Saint King realm is divided into Rule Small Heaven and Rule Great Heaven.
Rule Small Heaven is the most common among Nine-Step Saint Kings, like this Diamond Snow Sea Ape, which had cultivated for over two thousand years and still remained at this level.
Beings at the Rule Great Heaven realm are the strong ones among Nine-Step Saint Kings, far surpassing those at Rule Small Heaven. Their Sacred Dao rules exceed ten million, filling not only the Qi Sea but also entering the physical body, flowing through bloodlines, meridians, and sacred veins.
It is said that above Rule Great Heaven lies the "Dao Domain" realm.
The Dao Domain realm is even more formidable, having touched upon a trace of the Great Saint's mystery.
In short, there is a chasm between Nine-Step Saint Kings and Great Saints. Only by crossing it can one wield power like a Sacred Dao Emperor.
Zhang Ruochen's expression grew grave as he slowly said, "The Underworld Divine Temple has a Nine-Step Saint King with cultivation close to the Rule Great Heaven realm, active within the Yunwu Commandery."
The True Wonder Little Daoist's face changed dramatically. "That level of being is not something we can handle now. Forget about those mortals in Yunwu Commandery—let's find a place to hide. Once I break through to the Nine-Step Saint King realm, we can come out again and wreak havoc."
Zhang Ruochen also wished he could break through to the Six-Step Saint King realm, or even the Seven-Step Saint King realm, as soon as possible.
But abandoning the common people of Yunwu Commandery was out of the question.
Moreover, from the Diamond Snow Sea Ape's memories, Zhang Ruochen learned that the Underworld Divine Temple cultivators had somehow discovered a Great Saint-level dragon corpse at the bottom of the Tongming River.
They intended to dig up the dragon corpse, buried deep underground, and refine it into a Dragon Emperor War Corpse.
That dragon corpse was undoubtedly the remains of the Golden Dragon.
The Golden Dragon had shown Zhang Ruochen kindness. Back then, if it hadn't entrusted him with the Dragon Pearl and the Buddha Emperor Relic, Zhang Ruochen might not have achieved what he had today.
Although the Golden Dragon's remains had sunk deep into the earth and were hard to find, the Underworld Divine Temple had a renowned expert in dragon-seeking and corpse-refining, a Nine-Step Saint King, who might be able to unearth the Golden Dragon's corpse.
"To dig up Senior Golden Dragon's remains, you'll have to get through me first."
Whether out of respect for Senior Golden Dragon or for self-preservation, Zhang Ruochen had to stop the Underworld Divine Temple cultivators.
Of course, the Underworld Divine Temple had gathered many experts at the Tongming River, including two Nine-Step Saint Kings. Zhang Ruochen wouldn't rashly rush to fight them head-on; he needed a long-term plan.
The Kunlun Realm battlefield prohibited cultivators from the various worlds of the Heavenly Court from killing each other, so Zhang Ruochen immediately dragged the Diamond Snow Sea Ape's corpse into King Mountain.
King Mountain was shrouded in a strange power that could evade the patrol of the Heavenly Envoys.
The evil spirit, now in the form of a black skeleton, had already collected the sacred souls of the other Underworld Divine Temple experts, swallowed them, and stored them in its skull for slow refinement.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen drag the thousand-zhang-long giant ape corpse into the mountain, the black skeleton immediately rushed over and sucked all the remaining soul fragments of the Diamond Snow Sea Ape into its mouth.
Then, the black skeleton transformed into the Yi Emperor Bone Staff, planted atop a mountain peak, and began refining the sacred souls.
"Boom."
The process of refining sacred souls was spectacular, with lightning striking down, rocks melting into droplets, plants turning to ash. Ordinary Saint King-level beings couldn't even get close.
Soon after, the Devouring Saint Flower, the Elephant-Swallowing Rabbit, and the Demon Ape rushed into King Mountain—some seeking nutrients, others food.
But upon seeing the Diamond Snow Sea Ape's corpse, the Demon Ape lost interest. The Elephant-Swallowing Rabbit had spent a long time with the Demon Ape, so it too had no appetite for ape-type beast meat. In the end, the Devouring Saint Flower got the spoils.
"By fully absorbing this giant ape, my cultivation should reach the Seven-Step Saint King realm."
The Devouring Saint Flower rooted itself in the Diamond Snow Sea Ape's corpse and began absorbing.
The Elephant-Swallowing Rabbit and the Demon Ape discovered a large amount of sacred medicine and sacred springs in King Mountain, drooling as they charged into the forest to feast.
Zhang Ruochen's expression was serious as he pondered how to break through to the Six-Step Saint King realm.
Unlike the Elephant-Swallowing Rabbit and the Demon Ape, he couldn't just rely on eating to advance his cultivation.
He had to comprehend.
The path he walked was different from theirs. He not only had to be undefeated at the same cultivation level but also had to think long-term. He aimed not just to become a Great Saint but to defy heaven and become a god.
Only if he achieved enlightenment could the Elephant-Swallowing Rabbit, the Demon Ape, the Devouring Saint Flower, and the others rise with him.
To be their master, he naturally had to give more and work harder than they did.
"Just the situation in Yunwu Commandery is already so urgent—there's no time to comprehend Sacred Dao rules. Sigh, time..."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up as he thought of the Sundial.
"If I can find Divine Stones, I can activate the Sundial."
Zhang Ruochen immediately carved a Message Light Talisman and sent it out.
This Message Light Talisman was sent to Luo Xu.
In the current Kunlun Realm, aside from the imperial court, the largest and most resourceful forces were probably the Martial Market Bank and the Black Market.
These two markets had deep foundations and long histories, so they might have Divine Stones in storage.
Luo Xu was one of the deans of the Eastern Domain Sacred Academy and held a high position in the Martial Market Bank. If he stepped in, he might be able to help Zhang Ruochen find news of Divine Stones.
Next, Zhang Ruochen carved a second Message Light Talisman and sent it to the Hundred Flowers Fairy, Ji Fanxin.
Ji Fanxin was a disciple of the Mandala Flower God and held a lofty status in the Thousand Petal Realm. She might be able to obtain Divine Stones. More importantly, she owed Zhang Ruochen a favor and would surely do her utmost to help him.
Zhang Ruochen also thought about sending a message to the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden. That Heavenly Maiden was immensely resourceful—any treasure she casually took out was priceless.
Obtaining Divine Stones might not be difficult for her.
But Zhang Ruochen held back and didn't send her a message.
After all, he and the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden were not allies but irreconcilable enemies. Though they weren't hostile yet, they would inevitably clash in a life-or-death battle over the Truth Esoterica in the future.
Not long after, Luo Xu was the first to send back a light talisman.
"The Martial Market Bank has Divine Stones, but even I have to spend merit points to buy them. With my current merit points, I can only purchase two Divine Stones. Where are you? I'll send someone to deliver them to you immediately." Luo Xu's handwritten words flowed on the light talisman.
From start to finish, Luo Xu never mentioned asking Zhang Ruochen to pay with sacred stones.
But Zhang Ruochen knew that Divine Stones were extremely expensive. Luo Xu had probably exhausted all his wealth to buy those two Divine Stones.
Zhang Ruochen sent another Message Light Talisman, informing Luo Xu of his location.
"Swoosh—"
Another Message Light Talisman flew in, this time from Ji Fanxin.
"Where are you? I'll come find you."
The words on the light talisman were delicate and brief.
Zhang Ruochen hesitated slightly, thinking to himself, "My presence in Yunwu Commandery is no secret. It'll probably spread across Kunlun Realm soon. Telling her shouldn't matter."
Without overthinking, Zhang Ruochen sent a Message Light Talisman with his location to Ji Fanxin.
At last, there was news of Divine Stones. But two Divine Stones were still too few. If Ji Fanxin could bring two more, that would be ideal.
"Where did that old fellow go?"
Zhang Ruochen thought of the old man who had crawled out from the underground tomb and immediately used his Heavenly Eye and spiritual power to search. But after scouring most of King Mountain, he couldn't find even a ghostly shadow.
The True Wonder Little Daoist, with his tiny body, walked up to Zhang Ruochen and said very seriously, "This King Mountain might be a place of Awakening Sacred Soil, or even Awakening Divine Soil. I just explored deeper into the mountain and found that the space inside is vast, seemingly boundless, and filled with many rare heavenly treasures."
"I dare say that long ago, a major sect or ancient aristocratic clan must have occupied this place. But later, something major must have happened, and it was hidden within folded space."
In King Mountain, the earth fissure was still spewing Heavenly Sacred Qi and Heavenly Sacred Rules, making the cultivation environment increasingly wondrous.
The earlier battle had caused great damage to King Mountain, but within just half an hour, the destroyed areas had automatically repaired, with lush vegetation growing back.