Chapter 1887: Connecting to Heaven, Approaching the Dao
Zhang Ruochen asked, "How long have we been cultivating in this divine sea?"
"I cultivated for seven days, and you cultivated for thirteen days," Li Miaohan replied.
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the divine sea, gazing into the depths of the sea area, and asked, "Has the Heavenly Maiden not come out yet?"
Li Miaohan shook her head. "Master must have encountered an extraordinary great opportunity. It won't be resolved in a short while. Young Master Ruochen, should we continue waiting here?"
"Forget it. I have very important matters to attend to."
Zhang Ruochen and Li Miaohan walked out of the divine gate and returned to the Nine Bends Heavenly Star.
He wrote a letter and handed it to Li Miaohan, asking her to pass it on to the Heavenly Beginning Fairy. Then, Zhang Ruochen, Murong Yefeng, Ji Fanxin, and the True Marvel Little Daoist departed from the Nine Bends Heavenly Star.
Guiding the White Jade Saint Ship, the group sailed out of Luo Water.
"Leaving without saying goodbye like this—are you sure the Heavenly Beginning Heavenly Maiden won't be angry?" Ji Fanxin asked.
The True Marvel Little Daoist chuckled slyly. "A high-and-mighty Heavenly Maiden, if she gets angry, she's capable of anything."
Zhang Ruochen said, "You don't need to exaggerate. Even a Heavenly Maiden is ultimately just a woman, not a flood or a fierce beast."
"Sometimes, women are more terrifying than floods and fierce beasts," Murong Yefeng said, walking over from the bow of the ship.
A dazzling five-colored saint light radiated from his body, and faintly visible within it was a qilin, emitting low, rumbling roars.
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes. "Have you already refined the Qilin Supreme Perfection Fruit?"
"Only initially refined. It will take some time to fully absorb the fruit. But even so, my physical constitution has undergone a leap, comparable to a Sub-Supreme Perfection Constitution. Truly incredible." Murong Yefeng was in a good mood, a smile lingering on his face.
The great gift Zhang Ruochen had given Murong Yefeng was the Qilin Supreme Perfection Fruit picked from the Sealing God Platform.
Murong Yefeng's constitution was top-tier compared to ordinary cultivators, but it fell far short of the most outstanding talents from the various realms of the Heavenly Court. Limited by his constitution, despite his profound cultivation and supreme mastery of sacred arts, he couldn't defeat a powerhouse like Divine Cliff Gentleman.
With the Qilin Supreme Perfection Fruit, Murong Yefeng's combat power was bound to soar.
"With my current strength, if I wield a Supreme Sacred Artifact, I can contend with a peak-state Divine Cliff Gentleman," Murong Yefeng said.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "You're only at the Sub-Supreme Perfection Constitution now. Once you fully absorb the Qilin Supreme Perfection Fruit, you'll at least develop a Supreme Perfection Constitution, with even a slight chance of achieving a Supreme Perfection Supreme Constitution. Then your combat power will take another giant leap."
Murong Yefeng was clearly aware of this and nodded with a smile.
On the way to Thousand Water Royal City, Zhang Ruochen released the Quxingzhe imprisoned in the Qiankun Realm and threw him onto the deck of the White Jade Saint Ship with a thud.
"Tell me, where are Canglong and Ruan Ling?" Zhang Ruochen demanded.
Bound by the Saint-Binding Lock, Quxingzhe couldn't stand and fell to the ground. Facing Zhang Ruochen's interrogation, he remained expressionless, his gaze indifferent. "You'd better not hope to see them, or you'll definitely regret it."
The Nether God had personally ordered the cultivators of the Nether God Hall to kill Zhang Ruochen. As the most formidable experts of the Nether God Hall, Canglong and Ruan Ling were naturally Zhang Ruochen's two greatest threats. If he knew their exact locations, he could take the initiative and eliminate them first.
The True Marvel Little Daoist said, "Why waste so many words with a Dao Domain realm expert? You don't think interrogating him will make him tell you everything, do you? Why not just search his soul directly?"
"Whoosh."
The True Marvel Little Daoist transformed into a streak of purple light, flew to the top of Quxingzhe's head, and pressed his hands, which turned into countless dense purple threads, onto his scalp.
The radiance emitted by the purple threads grew increasingly dazzling as they pierced into Quxingzhe's skull.
"Ah..."
Quxingzhe endured immense pain, letting out a roar.
After a while, Quxingzhe stopped screaming and fell unconscious, blood flowing from his seven orifices.
The True Marvel Little Daoist withdrew his hands, his expression turning grave. "Just now, I searched Quxingzhe's memories and saw battle scenes of Canglong and Ruan Ling. Their strength is probably not something we can handle right now."
Ji Fanxin said, "Canglong and Ruan Ling were already top-tier experts, with cultivation surpassing the Dao Domain realm. Whether it's the techniques they cultivate, their physical constitutions, or the sacred arts and sacred artifacts they master, they're all at the pinnacle. Even when facing an Immortal realm Great Saint, they can hold their own."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What realms exist beyond the Dao Domain?"
"Two realms: Connecting to Heaven and Approaching the Dao," Murong Yefeng replied.
The Nine-Step Saint King has five minor realms: Rule Small Heaven and Earth, Rule Great Heaven and Earth, Dao Domain, Connecting to Heaven, and Approaching the Dao.
Rule Small Heaven and Earth refers to when the number of sacred dao rules reaches a certain level, they undergo a transformation, circulating within the Qi Sea and filling it to form a small heaven and earth.
Rule Great Heaven and Earth refers to when the sacred dao rules burst out of the Qi Sea, spreading through the meridians, blood vessels, and saint veins to cover the entire body, forming a great heaven and earth.
Dao Domain refers to when the sacred dao rules break out of the body, constructing a domain of one's own within the heaven and earth rules outside the body, allowing one to mobilize the heaven and earth rules and unleash unparalleled power.
Connecting to Heaven means the Nine-Step Saint King can already mobilize the power of heaven and earth, drawing it into the body to temper their own flesh and blood, preparing for the condensation of an Immortal Saint Body.
Approaching the Dao means the physical body has been tempered to a certain degree, with only one step left before the Immortal Saint Body. An Approaching the Dao cultivator can cross that threshold at any time if they wish.
A Nine-Step Saint King who has cultivated a Dao Domain has at least a ten percent chance of reaching the Great Saint realm.
A Connecting to Heaven Nine-Step Saint King has a thirty percent chance of reaching the Great Saint realm.
An Approaching the Dao Nine-Step Saint King has a one hundred percent chance of reaching the Great Saint realm, depending only on whether the cultivator is willing to take that final step.
Even the Blood Bee Shura King was only at the Dao Domain realm.
However, the Blood Bee Shura King was a top-tier expert within the Dao Domain realm, so killing cultivators of the same realm was effortless. For example, if Zhang Ruochen reached the Dao Domain realm, he could kill other Dao Domain experts with a flick of his finger.
The True Marvel Little Daoist said, "I've found the whereabouts of Canglong and Ruan Ling. Canglong went to the Falling God Mountain Range to compete for a half-divine medicine. Ruan Ling went to the Wild Desolate Secret Realm to search for an ancient divine relic. Zhang Ruochen, should we take advantage of their separation to defeat them one by one?"
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "The Falling God Mountain Range and the Wild Desolate Secret Realm are both vast and boundless. Finding them would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Besides, even a Great Saint might not be able to kill them. With our current strength, we're still a bit lacking."
Zhang Ruochen handed Quxingzhe over to the Evil Spirit.
The Evil Spirit devoured Quxingzhe's sacred soul, further advancing its cultivation.
The group arrived at Thousand Water Royal City and entered a sacred shop established by the Thousand Stamen Realm.
The cultivator who had brought the divine stones to the Kunlun Realm was Ji Fanxin's senior sister, Danling King.
Danling King had once been captured by the Yin-Yang Hall and subjected to all kinds of torture. Zhang Ruochen and Ji Fanxin had rescued her. Later, targeted by assassins from the Heavenly Kill Organization, she had returned to the Thousand Stamen Realm to lie low.
Since she was an old acquaintance, Zhang Ruochen didn't stand on ceremony and directly asked how many divine stones she had brought to the Kunlun Realm.
Danling King smiled charmingly. "Zhang Ruochen, why are you in such a hurry? As long as you can afford the price, the number of divine stones will surely satisfy you."
Zhang Ruochen, flush with wealth, appeared unconcerned. "How many saint stones per divine stone?"
Danling King said, "One billion."
Hearing this price, even Murong Yefeng frowned.
Zhang Ruochen also calmed down, a smile appearing on his face. "Sister Danling, with such a deep friendship between us, can't you make it cheaper? One billion saint stones is just the market price, isn't it?"
"Friendship is friendship, but the price isn't something I can decide," Danling King said, her beautiful eyes smiling as she glanced at Ji Fanxin for her opinion.
Ji Fanxin said, "Zhang Ruochen, I've already given you three divine stones as a gift. If you want more, you'll have to buy them with saint stones. How about this: since we're allies, I'll give you a friendly price. Nine hundred million saint stones per divine stone. Of course, you can also trade with sacred medicines and the Spring of Life."
For Ji Fanxin, who cultivated the Way of Life, the Spring of Life was very appealing.
"Deal, nine hundred million saint stones it is," Zhang Ruochen agreed.
The two great battles at the Eastern Domain Sacred City and the War Soul Star had brought Zhang Ruochen immense gains, including a large number of high-grade sacred artifacts, sacred medicines, techniques, and more. Selling these would make him wealthier than some Great Saints.
However, Zhang Ruochen wouldn't sell truly precious treasures.
This time, Danling King had brought ten divine stones to the Kunlun Realm.
Zhang Ruochen sold all kinds of sacred artifacts and sacred medicines to the Thousand Stamen Realm, along with a batch of the Spring of Life, to acquire all ten divine stones.
With these ten divine stones in hand, Zhang Ruochen's breakthrough to the Nine-Step Saint King realm was imminent, filling him with excitement.
Nevertheless, Zhang Ruochen didn't immediately activate the Sundial. Instead, he planned to open it when forging a physical body for the sword spirit of the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
Forging a sword spirit's physical body was a lengthy process that required the Sundial's assistance.
"Should we set out for the Northern Domain now to seize the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree?" Ji Fanxin asked.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "The Sky-Connecting Divine Tree is located on the front lines of the battle between the Heavenly Court Realm and the Hell Realm. That place is teeming with experts and extremely dangerous. We need to make some preparations first. I want to go to the Nether King Sword Grave in the Central Domain to forge a physical body for the sword spirit of the Abyssal Ancient Sword. Also, I can ask the cultivators of the Nether King Sword Grave to refine a batch of Blood-Suppressing Talismans for me."
"What Blood-Suppressing Talismans?" Ji Fanxin asked.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "Once the Blood-Suppressing Talismans are refined, Fairy will naturally know their purpose."
(End of Chapter)