Chapter 1802: Old Pervert
Over the next three days, Zhang Ruochen deployed a large number of Time Imprints and Space Traps around the periphery of King Mountain. This not only increased its defensive power severalfold but also gave it a strong offensive capability.
Especially the Space Traps—if someone stepped into them, even a Nine-Step Saint King of the Rule Grand Heaven realm would likely find it difficult to escape doom.
Next, he just had to wait for the True Wonderful Little Daoist to finish setting up the rudimentary Ninth-Rank Formation. Once that was successfully established and combined with the Space Maze Formation and the Time Formation, King Mountain would truly become an impregnable fortress, with no fear of any powerful enemy.
In recent days, the news that Zhang Ruochen had returned to Yunwu Commandery had spread throughout the Kunlun Realm.
The news that two Nine-Step Saint Kings, Yuan Che and Zangxin Venerable, had fallen in Yunwu Commandery had touched the nerves of many cultivators. It not only shocked the outside world but also thrust the remote Yunwu Commandery into the spotlight.
Zhang Ruochen received over a dozen Message Light Talismans, sent by Luo Shuihan, Shengshu Cainü, Kong Lanyou, Murong Yefeng… and others, all old acquaintances.
Some asked him what exactly had happened; others asked if he needed assistance. Kong Lanyou even urged Zhang Ruochen to go to the Bright Hall and meet up with her, saying she could help him resolve the trouble with the Nether God Hall.
Zhang Ruochen used Message Light Talismans to reply to them, and at the same time, he learned that their situations were also quite dire.
With a large number of experts from the Heavenly Court Realm and the Hell Realm descending upon the Kunlun Realm, which major force in the Kunlun Realm could remain untouched?
Even a top-tier expert like Kong Lanyou, who had fallen from the Great Saint realm back to the Saint King realm, now had to go all out to deter experts from all realms and protect the Bright Hall.
In the face of the general trend, the major forces of the Kunlun Realm appeared quite fragile. Being able to hold their ground in one place without submitting to others was already quite remarkable.
However, while communicating with them, Zhang Ruochen finally got news about Divine Stones again.
Kong Lanyou told Zhang Ruochen that the Bright Hall had a total of eight Divine Stones stored. She could give him four, while the other four had to be kept in reserve by the Bright Hall.
This was because the Bright Hall possessed a Divine Relic Ancient Artifact that could only be activated using Divine Stones.
Additionally, refining some Heavenly Grade Sacred Pills also required the addition of Divine Stone powder.
Giving Zhang Ruochen four Divine Stones was already the limit.
Zhang Ruochen was overjoyed. As long as he obtained these four Divine Stones, they might just help him cultivate to the Seven-Step Saint King realm.
Zhang Ruochen inscribed another Message Light Talisman and asked, "The Bright Hall is a top major force in the Kunlun Realm. Why does it only have eight Divine Stones stored?"
Kong Lanyou quickly replied to Zhang Ruochen: "A hundred thousand years ago, the Heavenly and Earthly Rules of the Kunlun Realm became incomplete, resources gradually dried up, and various mineral veins could no longer produce Divine Stones."
"Now, the Divine Stones stored by the major forces of the Kunlun Realm are all remnants left over from the Middle Ages. After a hundred thousand years of consumption, very few are left."
Seeing the message from Kong Lanyou, Zhang Ruochen finally understood why even someone of Luo Xu's status could only buy two.
He estimated that the Divine Stones in the Martial Market Bank were also nearly depleted.
Finally, Kong Lanyou told Zhang Ruochen that the Kunlun Realm had already revived, and those ancient mineral veins might very well be able to produce Divine Stones again.
Soon after, Murong Yefeng also replied to Zhang Ruochen's message, saying that he could buy four Divine Stones from the Black Market.
Ling Feiyu's reply came a bit later: "If you want Divine Stones, come personally to Wuding Mountain to get them. I can give you all the Divine Stones stored by the Moon-Worshipping Cult."
Seeing this Message Light Talisman, Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly.
This Flying Feather Sword Saint was indeed as assertive as ever.
Since Ling Feiyu asked Zhang Ruochen to come to Wuding Mountain in person and was willing to see him, it meant that the knot in her heart had probably been untied.
Zhang Ruochen knew he had once hurt Ling Feiyu, and he actually wanted to go to Wuding Mountain to see her.
But right now, the defensive formations of King Mountain were not yet fully deployed, and the experts of the Nether God Hall could strike back at any time. He absolutely could not leave rashly.
Now, there was only one word left: wait.
As long as the Divine Stones from Kong Lanyou and Murong Yefeng were delivered, Zhang Ruochen's cultivation realm would surely reach a higher level.
In the following time, Zhang Ruochen took out the Heavenly Dao Dual Extremities Compass he had seized from Zangxin Venerable, held it in his palm, and walked through King Mountain.
The so-called "Heavenly Dao Dual Extremities" referred to "Auspiciousness" and "Misfortune."
By wielding the Heavenly Dao Dual Extremities Compass, one could, to some extent, seek good fortune and avoid disaster.
Of course, the compass was ultimately a dead object and could not completely turn misfortune into good fortune. At least, Zangxin Venerable had not foreseen that he would be ambushed by Zhang Ruochen.
As for seeking good fortune, this was verified in Zhang Ruochen's hands.
Whenever a Sacred Medicine appeared, the needle on the compass would tremble slightly and emit a faint light.
"King Mountain is a place of awakening, capable of producing Sacred Medicines and flowing with Sacred Springs. I wonder if there are any mineral veins underground?"
Zhang Ruochen channeled more Saint Qi into the compass to probe the underground.
Over the next few days, Zhang Ruochen thoroughly surveyed the peripheral area of King Mountain.
He did find a mineral vein, and a large one at that. Unfortunately, it only produced Spirit Crystals and Sacred Stones, along with a small amount of Sacred Jade and rare metals.
"It seems that only mine pits opened by ancient gods in special regions can possibly produce Divine Stones." Zhang Ruochen was somewhat disappointed and let out a long sigh.
There were no more than ten such mine pits in the entire Kunlun Realm.
In most of the major worlds of the Heavenly Court Realm, there wasn't even a single one, making it impossible to produce Divine Stones.
In this Merit War, those few ancient mineral veins in the Kunlun Realm would become key targets of contention. With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, trying to snatch food from a tiger's mouth had a success rate so low it could be ignored.
Right now, the cultivators of the entire Kunlun Realm could probably only watch helplessly as the resources in the mineral veins were dug up by other major worlds, powerless to do anything.
Without enough strength, one could only be plundered.
Ji Fanxin's voice rang in Zhang Ruochen's mind: "Zhang Ruochen, you can let me out. I have something important to discuss with you."
"Hua"
A speck of light flew out from between Zhang Ruochen's eyebrows, transforming into Ji Fanxin's beautiful and ethereal figure.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "How is it? How was your experience consulting the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree?"
"Listening to the teachings of Senior Divine Tree for nine days has yielded more than nine hundred years of bitter cultivation."
Pausing for a moment, Ji Fanxin continued, "Senior Divine Tree said that its main body is located in a secret place. If I can find its main body, it will be of great help in condensing my Undying Sacred Body. You should know where that secret place is, right?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded and said, "I do know, but for now, we can't go there."
"Why?" Ji Fanxin asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, "That place is too dangerous. I need to at least break through to the Seven-Step Saint King realm before I can take you there."
Ji Fanxin's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she said, "Your cultivation should have just broken through to the Six-Step Saint King realm not long ago. Even if this Awakening Land has many Sacred Medicines that can be used to refine Sacred Pills to enhance cultivation, I estimate it will still take you several years to break through to the Seven-Step Saint King realm. I can't wait that long."
"How about you tell me the location of that secret place, and I'll go get it myself."
Zhang Ruochen smiled and shook his head.
Ji Fanxin said, "I can give you three more Divine Stones."
Zhang Ruochen still shook his head and said, "The value of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree's main body is not something Divine Stones can compare to. Even if I take the Fairy to retrieve the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, I can't give it all to you."
"If the Fairy doesn't mind, just wait in King Mountain for a while. You won't have to wait for several years. As soon as the Divine Stones arrive, I will soon be able to break through to the Seven-Step Saint King realm."
In the forest, a scream of agony rang out, quite miserable.
Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin turned into two streaks of light and rushed over quickly.
They saw a skinny, white-haired old man lying on the ground wailing, "They're killing people! Ouch, my arm is broken! Can't you show some kindness to an old man... Ouch... Isn't anyone going to come out and seek justice..."
When Zhang Ruochen walked over, the old man was still screaming. A group of female saints surrounded him, gnashing their teeth in fury.
Seeing the old man, Zhang Ruochen's forehead sprouted black lines.
Wasn't this the grave robber who crawled out of the Zhang family cemetery? Why was he still in King Mountain?
Zhang Ruochen asked a female saint, "What exactly happened?"
A female saint named Lan Lian clenched her teeth and said, "This old fellow somehow sneaked into King Mountain, broke into our cultivation pavilion, and tried to steal Junior Sister Xianyue's clothes. Luckily, Junior Sister Xianyue discovered him in time and caught him red-handed."
The black lines on Zhang Ruochen's forehead deepened.
A shy-looking female saint muttered softly, "Pervert."
"This kind of old pervert deserves to be beaten to death."
"No one even hit him. He just fell down and started screaming miserably, as if he were the one being bullied."
...
Zhang Ruochen was genuinely angry. He took out the Yi Emperor Bone Staff, held it in his hand, rolled up his sleeves, and walked toward the skinny old man.
The old man sensed something was wrong. His eyes darted around, and he said, "Zhang Ruochen, what are you going to do?"
"What am I going to do?"
Zhang Ruochen raised the Yi Emperor Bone Staff and swung it at the old man.
The old man reacted extremely quickly, like a wildcat, leaping up like lightning, actually dodging Zhang Ruochen's strike.
With Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation, his attack speed was incredibly fast. How could an ordinary cultivator dodge so easily?
Too strange!
In the distance, Ji Fanxin stared at the old man, a hint of surprise flashing in her almond-shaped eyes. "Interesting," she said.
The old man dodged Zhang Ruochen's bone staff while saying, "Zhang Ruochen, everything I did was for you. Don't bite the hand that feeds you."
"For me? We have no relation. You did it for me? For me, you go around stealing women's clothes? Can you be any more perverted?" Zhang Ruochen had never seen such a shameless person.
"I'm being wronged! I'm old and gray, and I have to suffer such a great humiliation. I really don't want to live anymore! Actually, I was just trying to put some medicine on their clothes. I wasn't trying to steal them. Do I look that sleazy?"
Zhang Ruochen was momentarily stunned, then became even angrier: "You even wanted to drug them? It seems I underestimated you earlier."
This old fellow was a scourge in King Mountain and had to be eliminated.
As they spoke, Zhang Ruochen and the old man had already exchanged over a hundred moves. The old man seemed to dodge clumsily, rolling and crawling, screaming incessantly. But in reality, Zhang Ruochen was swinging the Yi Emperor Bone Staff with all his might and hadn't even touched the hem of his clothes.