Chapter 1817: Asking for Help
One hundred thousand years ago, during the most glorious and prosperous period of the Kunlun Realm, saints emerged in great numbers, every person was like a dragon, surpassing all the heavens and myriad realms, making it the most powerful realm.
Even if it had suffered a great calamity, it was abnormal for all the powerful figures to have fallen completely. It was like a giant warship sailing through the Divine Sea—even if it was shattered and sunk, the remnants of its hull should not be underestimated. They could not be compared to small wooden boats.
Was the sunken hull about to resurface?
Zhang Ruochen's heart could not calm down for a long time.
"Still, this is a good thing."
"If some extraordinary figures from the ancient great teachings, sects, and aristocratic clans truly reappear in the world, emerging from history, then Kunlun's rise would be just around the corner."
"I wonder if anyone from the Zhang Clan survived?"
Zhang Ruochen speculated silently that even if a group of outstanding figures from the Middle Ages had not completely died and would awaken, their numbers would be extremely scarce.
After all, enduring a great calamity, those who could survive were already few.
As the Kunlun Realm continued to recover, the cultivation environment of King Mountain became increasingly better.
Various types of spiritual medicines grew in the forest, sacred springs flowed through the mountains, and even the forest birds and wild hares had gained spirituality, able to speak and utter human words.
Cultivating here for one year was equivalent to ten years in the past.
Moreover, the defensive formation protecting King Mountain had been fully arranged. Zhang Ruochen no longer feared any challenge.
Whether from the various realms of the Heavenly Court or the ten clans of Hell, anyone who dared to forcefully enter King Mountain would die.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen inscribed a Message Light Talisman and sent it to Mu Lingxi, asking about her whereabouts and those of the Guanghan Realm cultivators.
If possible, Zhang Ruochen wanted to bring them all to King Mountain.
After waiting for a quarter of an hour, Mu Lingxi replied: "I am at the Phoenix Lake, the ancestral land of the Mu Clan. This is an awakened sacred land. Senior Gu and Senior Feng, along with the saints of Guanghan Realm, are all stationed here. It is very safe now..."
"..."
Mu Lingxi sent a lot of information, allowing Zhang Ruochen to understand her current situation.
Lin Fei, Zhang Shaochu, and Zhang Yuxi had indeed been taken away by Mu Lingxi and were all at Phoenix Lake.
In addition, Gu Songzi and the Wine Madman had obtained a large amount of divine thoughts and divine souls from the Moon God and were collecting sacred medicines everywhere, preparing to refine a Heavenly Grade Sacred Pill and a highly ranked wine, hoping to help the cultivators of Guanghan Realm rapidly improve their cultivation.
Guanghan Realm also wanted to rise again in this chaotic era.
This was an era where danger and opportunity coexisted!
Zhang Ruochen knew that in the battle at Moon God Mountain, the Moon God not only repelled the Yan God, the Second Grade Blood Ancestor, and other gods but also took away more than ninety percent of their divine thoughts and divine souls.
Adding divine thoughts could refine sacred pills that enhanced spiritual power.
Adding divine souls could refine sacred pills that enhanced the sacred soul.
Moreover, when the Moon God borrowed the Kaiyuan Deer Cauldron, she vaguely hinted that she was preparing to kill a god. If successful, Guanghan Realm would gain an endless supply of divine-grade medicinal materials.
"Those two old fellows have gained quite a bit from the Moon God."
Zhang Ruochen sent a message to Mu Lingxi, asking which sacred medicines she still needed.
King Mountain was filled with a large number of sacred medicines of various types, which might be able to help them.
Soon, a Message Light Talisman inscribed with a list was transmitted to Zhang Ruochen's hands.
Zhang Ruochen handed the list to a female saint and ordered her to immediately go and gather them.
Although Guanghan Realm had declined, it still had three thousand saint kings, including powerful figures like You Su.
Therefore, Zhang Ruochen did not need to worry about their safety for now. He could wait until he had collected enough sacred medicines before going to the Phoenix Lake, the ancestral land of the Mu Clan, to visit them.
"So much time has passed. The divine stones that Murong Yefeng and Kong Lanyou sent should have arrived by now. Could something have gone wrong?"
Just as this thought crossed Zhang Ruochen's mind, a Message Light Talisman flew in from the horizon.
He reached out and grabbed the light talisman, examining its contents.
Zhang Ruochen's expression immediately darkened.
"Your Highness, the divine stones have been seized. I was severely injured by a group of extremely powerful cultivators and am now hiding in the Eastern Region Sacred City. They are still hunting me."
It was a message from Murong Yue.
The Message Light Talisman was stained with blood.
"Who dares to snatch the divine stones I need?"
Zhang Ruochen mounted the Golden Step Dragon Carriage and immediately set off for the Eastern Region Sacred City. This time, he only brought Xie Chengzi, who was clad in thick sacred armor, to drive the carriage.
All other cultivators stayed behind to guard King Mountain.
This matter was somewhat suspicious.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged in the carriage, calculating various possibilities.
"Murong Yue is a native cultivator of the Kunlun Realm, extremely shrewd in her actions, and with the Black Market as cover, who could accurately track her whereabouts? Who could know that she was escorting divine stones?"
After much thought, Zhang Ruochen ultimately set his sights on the Netherworld Divine Hall.
Zhang Ruochen had once sent a message to Murong Yefeng and Kong Lanyou, but it was intercepted by the Netherworld Divine Hall.
After Feng Chengdao escaped, the Netherworld Divine Hall knew that Zhang Ruochen urgently needed divine stones and would certainly focus on monitoring every move of Murong Yefeng and Kong Lanyou.
"Truly, releasing a tiger back to the mountain brings endless trouble."
Zhang Ruochen immediately sent a message to Kong Lanyou, asking if the person escorting the divine stones had arrived in the Eastern Region.
After a long time, Zhang Ruochen still did not receive a reply from Kong Lanyou.
"Lanyou was once a Great Saint. Even if her Immortal Sacred Body was shattered, her cultivation is still extremely powerful. The two strongest experts of the Netherworld Divine Hall, Cang Long and Ruan Ling, should not be her match." Zhang Ruochen comforted himself in this way.
After a moment of silence, Zhang Ruochen took out a Message Light Talisman and inscribed a message.
This Message Light Talisman was meant for Shengshu Cainü.
"Miss Nalan, I am Zhang Ruochen. Please use the World Chess Game to help me find Kong Lanyou's location. Additionally, I want to know the whereabouts of the Netherworld Divine Hall's saint realm cultivators, the more detailed the better. Thank you."
Unless absolutely necessary, Zhang Ruochen did not want to ask Shengshu Cainü for help.
But whether for Kong Lanyou or the divine stones, he had to investigate clearly before heading to the Eastern Region Sacred City. Only by knowing oneself and the enemy could one achieve victory.
An hour later, Shengshu Cainü sent a message: "The World Chess Game cannot capture Kong Lanyou's position. She may have entered an awakened sacred land or an ancient ruin."
"The information on the Netherworld Divine Hall cultivators held by the First Central Empire is incomplete, making it very difficult to determine their exact locations. I can only do my best to help you organize the positions of the Netherworld Divine Hall's saint realm cultivators already recorded in the World Chess Game. Give me half a day."
The light talisman contained a list of well-known experts from the Netherworld Divine Hall, and Zhang Ruochen began to browse through it.
Passing through the teleportation array at the Qianshui Wangcheng Merit Post Station and after several wormhole crossings, Zhang Ruochen arrived at Tiankun Ferry, one of the eight major ferries outside the Eastern Region Sacred City.
Each ferry was a city in itself.
One had to first register their identity and name at the ferry, then board the White Dragon Ferry to enter the Eastern Region Sacred City.
The Eastern Region Sacred City was a star that had fallen from the sky in ancient times, ten thousand miles in diameter, standing tall on the land of the Eastern Region.
As the Kunlun Realm recovered, the Eastern Region Sacred City became increasingly sacred, completely enveloped by the sacred energy of heaven and earth, shining brightly as if it were a dwelling place of gods.
The Eastern Region Sacred City was a precious star, internally nurturing a large amount of spirit crystals and sacred stones, as well as various precious materials for artifact refinement.
During the Middle Ages, the Eastern Region Sacred City had a great reputation in both the Heavenly Court Realm and the Hell Realm. Now that the Kunlun Realm had declined, countless cultivators wanted to seize the resources within the Eastern Region Sacred City.
It was for this reason that many greedy individuals from various worlds had gathered here.
At Tiankun Ferry, Zhang Ruochen saw many saint realm beings, some of whom were arrogant and overbearing, putting on airs of superiority. If not for the ancient inscriptions protecting the Eastern Region Sacred City, they would likely have barged in directly.
"I heard that a hundred-thousand-year ancient sacred medicine is born in the Eastern Region Sacred City every day. If one seizes it, their cultivation will surely advance by leaps and bounds."
"Yesterday, in the Ximang Sea Region of the Eastern Region Sacred City, a hundred-thousand-year Nine-Colored Glazed Coral was born and was taken by Ni Canghai, a Dao Domain realm expert from the Paradise Realm. Some speculate that with the Nine-Colored Glazed Coral, Ni Canghai has an eighty to ninety percent chance of condensing an Immortal Sacred Body."
"It shouldn't be that easy, right? Although Ni Canghai is strong, he should still be a step away from condensing an Immortal Sacred Body."
"The day before yesterday, on the Tongxu Continent of the Eastern Region Sacred City, a hundred-thousand-year Longevity Fruit was born. The fruit's light illuminated a thousand miles, attracting countless saint realm beings to fight for it. The battle lasted a full day and night. In the end, it was taken by a Shura Heavenly King from the Shura Clan. That Shura Heavenly King was exceptionally cunning and quickly disappeared without a trace. Even a supreme being using a Supreme Sacred Artifact could not find him."
...
Zhang Ruochen heard many pieces of news. The current Eastern Region Sacred City was not only gathering cultivators from various realms of the Heavenly Court but also seemed to have strong figures from the Hell Realm hiding in the shadows, seizing resources.
The fact that a hundred-thousand-year ancient sacred medicine was born in the Eastern Region Sacred City every day greatly piqued Zhang Ruochen's interest. He also wanted to seize one or two to prepare for his breakthrough to the Eight-Step Saint King.
Of course, his first priority was to go to Murong Yue's hiding place.
While riding the White Dragon Ferry, a resentful voice sounded not far from Zhang Ruochen: "The ancient sacred medicines born in the Eastern Region Sacred City should belong to the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm, yet they are being snatched away by a bunch of outsiders. Disgrace, a great disgrace."
Zhang Ruochen, wearing a mask, turned his head and saw a man in his thirties.
He was dressed in a blue brocade robe, with a jade token hanging from his waist, engraved with the character "Chen."
That represented his identity—a member of the Chen Clan of the Eastern Region.
The Chen Clan had long guarded the Eastern Region Sacred King Manor and had been the overlords of the Eastern Region since ancient times.
The former overlords were now reduced to mere foils, surviving in the cracks between the saint realm cultivators of various worlds. This gap was too great, and it was no wonder he was so resentful.
A mocking laugh rang out: "With a bunch of trash like you from the Kunlun Realm, can you even be a match for the Hell Realm? Kid, you need to understand one thing: we came to the Kunlun Realm to help you resist the invasion of the Hell Realm. Taking some resources is just collecting our reward."
Some saint realm cultivators chimed in: "It's better to let us have them than to let the Hell Realm take them. Besides, the sacred medicines born in the Kunlun Realm are extremely precious. Giving them to the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm to swallow is no different from feeding pigs—it's a complete waste."
The two saint realm cultivators had both reached the Saint King realm and were no ordinary figures.
It was for this reason that they looked down on everyone, not even sparing a glance for that member of the Chen Clan, treating him like a livestock-like native.
Zhang Ruochen found this scene very familiar.
Once, when the cultivators of the Kunlun Realm were campaigning in the Ruins Realm, wasn't that the same look they gave the native cultivators of those realms?
That look conveyed a message: "You are just natives, unworthy to negotiate with me. Only by submitting to me and becoming my servant can you survive."