Chapter 1849: Activating the Sundial Again
True Marvel Little Daoist arrived at the Eastern Domain Sacred City the next day, accompanied by Devouring Elephant Rabbit Guo Guo.
The Demon Ape remained behind to guard Wangshan.
Upon seeing Divine Cliff Elder’s nine formation flags, True Marvel Little Daoist’s two eyes instantly grew larger than soybeans, gleaming with light as he clicked his tongue in admiration: “Fine goods, fine goods indeed! A set of formation flags refined using Cold Dock Gold as the main material—this is quite rare. Let me take a closer look.”
True Marvel Little Daoist grabbed one of the formation flags, running his fingers over it. His infatuated expression resembled someone caressing a beautiful woman’s snow-white, smooth thigh.
“Impressive, truly impressive! Seven different types of formation inscriptions are engraved into these nine flags, five of which are eighth-rank formations. Whose craftsmanship is this brilliant?”
Zhang Ruochen smiled and asked, “Compared to your formation mastery, who is superior?”
True Marvel Little Daoist replied, “Well… for now, he’s a bit more skilled than me. But in theoretical knowledge, I absolutely surpass him by far. Once my cultivation and spiritual power improve, I’ll easily crush him in both setting up and breaking formations. Zhang Ruochen, you need to understand that engraving formation inscriptions requires strong spiritual power support.”
Again with theoretical knowledge.
Xiao Hei had once boasted that his theoretical knowledge was unmatched in the world.
Zhang Ruochen said, “I’ve already tested these nine formation flags, but controlling them is very difficult. Whether I use spiritual power or sacred qi to activate them, all seven types of formation inscriptions emerge at once. They clash and cancel each other out, resulting in none of the formations manifesting.”
True Marvel Little Daoist chuckled, “Ordinary formation flags only have one type of formation engraved, making them easy to control—even cultivators with no knowledge of formations can use them. But this set has seven types of formation inscriptions, requiring at least a Formation Saint Master to handle. Like this.”
With a wave of his sleeve, True Marvel Little Daoist sent the nine flags flying up, forming a formation that enveloped Zhang Ruochen.
“Ten Directions Illusion Formation,” True Marvel Little Daoist murmured.
Thick white mist appeared around Zhang Ruochen.
The entire world turned into a vast expanse of white, and even with his Heavenly Eye open, Zhang Ruochen couldn’t see through the mist.
Within the mist, a white-armored knight materialized.
The knight wielded a Dragon-Subduing Spear, thrusting it forward. The sacred dao force distorted space, creating layers of waves that surged toward Zhang Ruochen’s heart.
Zhang Ruochen summoned the Eight Dragon Umbrella to block the spear, retreating more than ten steps.
“Space Domain.”
Releasing his Space Domain, Zhang Ruochen finally saw through the illusory scene.
The Eight Dragon Umbrella spun rapidly, unleashing sharp wind that dispersed the mist, revealing the positions of the nine flags.
Zhang Ruochen smirked and charged toward one of the flags.
Destroying a single flag would break the formation.
True Marvel Little Daoist manipulated the nine flags, chanting, “Nine-Eyed Wind Array Formation.”
The formation shifted, and centered on the nine flags, nine massive whirlpools formed, releasing fierce gales.
Zhang Ruochen fell into a whirlpool, where the wind blades struck his body with a “bang bang” sound. Thanks to his divine pattern protection, he wasn’t seriously injured.
“Whoosh—”
Zhang Ruochen used Space Displacement to escape the formation.
“Such formidable flags! Even a Nine-Step Saint King in the Rule Grand Heaven would risk falling into this formation,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei retrieved the nine flags, laughing, “It also depends on who’s controlling them. For instance, with me in charge, not even a Nine-Step Saint King in the Rule Grand Heaven could escape—even a Dao Domain realm expert would be trapped for a while.”
“These flags are yours for now,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei was overjoyed. “With these flags, I can dominate Kunlun Realm! Zhang Ruochen, what are we waiting for? Let’s attack the awakened sacred lands and divine lands in Kunlun Realm and seize supreme opportunities!”
Murong Yefeng stood nearby, arms crossed, and said, “Don’t be overconfident. Kunlun Realm is now teeming with experts, and cultivators from all worlds want a piece of the pie. With our current strength, we can only defend ourselves. Against true powerhouses, even self-preservation isn’t easy.”
“Zhang Ruochen, who is this guy?”
True Marvel Little Daoist glared at Murong Yefeng with a provocative look.
“To you, he’s a junior,” Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
“So he’s a junior.”
True Marvel Little Daoist struck like lightning, sending the nine flags flying to surround Murong Yefeng from nine directions. He channeled spiritual power into the flags, activating the Nine-Eyed Wind Array Formation.
Murong Yefeng stood still, merely shaking his head.
“Boom.”
He lifted his right foot and stomped down hard.
A surge of sacred dao force erupted, scattering the nine flags in disarray.
True Marvel Little Daoist was also sent flying, crashing through a wall and landing in a daze.
“With your strength, you’re far from dominating Kunlun Realm,” Murong Yefeng said.
True Marvel Little Daoist got up, unwilling to accept defeat. “What’s there to brag about? Wait until my spiritual power reaches the fifty-ninth rank and I become a Formation Earth Master—then we’ll spar again!”
Zhang Ruochen stepped between them, saying, “If your spiritual power reaches the fifty-ninth rank, you’ll have a chance to become a Formation Earth Master?”
“Well… it’s not that easy.”
True Marvel Little Daoist felt a bit uncertain, then added, “After all, even at the fifty-ninth rank of spiritual power, there’s a wide gap. The early stage and the peak are worlds apart.”
Zhang Ruochen was slightly disappointed but led True Marvel Little Daoist into the Qiankun Realm.
Divine Cliff Elder’s seven Divine Throne Planets had been stored by Zhang Ruochen in the Qiankun Realm, like seven radiant divine mountains sitting in a desert.
Seeing the seven planets, True Marvel Little Daoist couldn’t stay calm, trembling with excitement. “Zhang Ruochen… did you… uncover a divine treasury? How did you get so many treasures? Are these seven planets engraved with ninth-rank formation inscriptions?”
“Good eyesight. Can you control these seven planets?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
True Marvel Little Daoist said, “It’s quite difficult. I’d need at least the fifty-ninth rank of spiritual power to fully control them.”
Zhang Ruochen studied him carefully and asked, “You can independently set up a rudimentary ninth-rank formation, so your spiritual power must be close to the fifty-ninth rank, right?”
“Fifty-eighth rank peak, just one step away from fifty-ninth,” True Marvel Little Daoist said.
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly. “I’ve recently obtained eight divine stones, enough to activate the Sundial for eight days.”
“Really? Divine stones are so precious—how did you casually get eight? Wait, eight divine stones… that means I can cultivate for eight years under the Sundial’s time influence! Breaking through to fifty-ninth rank in eight years shouldn’t be hard. What are we waiting for? Activate the Sundial now!” True Marvel Little Daoist urged.
At the Eastern Domain Sacred King Manor, the Sundial was activated.
True Marvel Little Daoist, Murong Yue, Xie Chengzi, Guo Guo, Xiang Chunan, Lu Huaiyu, and others all began closed-door cultivation near the Sundial.
As for Murong Yefeng, he didn’t cultivate. Instead, he entered the Eastern Domain Sacred City to hunt down hidden enemies, including sacred realm cultivators who had attacked the manor and Hell Realm cultivators.
His cultivation had reached the peak of the Saint King realm, just one step away from the Great Saint realm. Closed-door cultivation meant little to him.
In fact, when Kunlun Realm revived, Murong Yefeng could have broken through to the Great Saint realm.
But he suppressed his cultivation, choosing to stay in Kunlun Realm to fight for the survival of its beings in the merit war.
For this closed-door session, Zhang Ruochen’s primary goal was to break through to the Eight-Step Saint King realm.
Eight years seemed long, but in sacred dao cultivation, it was but a blink of an eye.
Many Saint Kings would close themselves off for thirty or fifty years casually, and even then, they might not break through a single realm.
Even the exceptionally talented Empress Chi Yao, who broke through to the Great Saint realm within a hundred years, relied on the time-space treasure “Heavenly Wheel Seal.” Her actual cultivation time definitely exceeded five hundred years.
Even Jiang Yunchong, under a hundred years old, had a real cultivation time of several hundred years.
Sacred dao cultivation was no overnight affair.
Only by using time power to alter the flow of time could one take a shortcut.
Major forces in the Heavenly Court had invited experts from the Time Divine Temple to set up time formations. Otherwise, figures like Shang Zihong, Da Xi Wang, Tianchu Xianzi, and Qianxing Tiannü couldn’t have advanced so quickly just by consuming sacred medicines and pills.
They relied on their backing gods and sects to pave the way, saving time and moving faster. Zhang Ruochen, however, had to rely on himself. If he didn’t strive, he’d be left far behind.
Even with Moon God as a backer, the current Moon God was poorer than Zhang Ruochen, owing him more than he owed her—utterly unreliable.
Zhang Ruochen took out a transparent crystal bottle containing a multicolored liquid.
This was “Merit Spiritual Essence,” a treasure refined by the Merit Divine Temple using merit power to enhance a cultivator’s spiritual power. It required a large amount of merit points to exchange for a single drop.
The bottle held over a thousand drops.
This was one of the spoils taken from Da Xi Wang. Given her connection to Shang Zihong, she likely obtained such a large quantity of Merit Spiritual Essence.
“You’re in luck—take it.”
Zhang Ruochen tossed the bottle of Merit Spiritual Essence to True Marvel Little Daoist to help him break through to the fifty-ninth rank.
A True Marvel Little Daoist who could control the seven Divine Throne Planets would be a huge help to Zhang Ruochen. If this guy could become a Formation Earth Master, they could truly dominate Kunlun Realm!
Of course, Zhang Ruochen also had treasures to boost his cultivation. He now took out a hundred-thousand-year ancient sacred medicine.