Chapter 1898: Breakthrough
The phantom of the Heavenly Earth Chess Platform grew increasingly solid, its divine might spreading outward like rippling waves, affecting a vast region.
The Martial Realm Imperial Son, being closest, felt it most acutely. The divine might crashed against him like monstrous waves, suffocating him and causing even the blood energy he had released to dissipate.
"Boom."
Two beams of light, one white and one black, shot out from two exquisite positions on the chess platform, effortlessly tearing through the nine-layer chain vortex surrounding the Martial Realm Imperial Son before striking his body.
Even though the power had already been weakened, it still pierced through his body.
Even the Hundred Saint Blood Armor could not withstand it.
In an instant, the Martial Realm Imperial Son suffered severe injuries, blood flowing unceasingly, his aura becoming withered and weak.
Everything happened so fast that the others had no time to intervene.
At the same time, the phantom of the chess platform quickly faded, the divine might vanishing as if it had never existed.
Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works regained clarity in their eyes, withdrawing from that mysterious and profound state.
Both appeared somewhat exhausted, as if the previous strike had consumed too much of their essence, energy, and spirit.
Like Murong Yue, they had been taken by a mysterious figure to an awakened divine land in their early years. They were chosen ones, receiving supreme opportunities there, allowing their cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds.
Moreover, some mysterious things had been awakened inside their bodies, things even they did not fully understand.
Otherwise, even with the careful guidance of Master Indra, being able to break through to the Saint King Realm in such a short time would have been considered good. Becoming a strong figure among Saint Kings would have been impossible.
"Since they are connected to the Heavenly Earth Chess Platform, they must not be allowed to escape. Capture them." Nine-Eyed Heavenly King reacted, making his move immediately.
His level was far higher than that of the Martial Realm Imperial Son. Even if the two monks were in a poor state, or even if they could unleash that domineering attack again, he was not afraid.
The gap between the initial Dao Domain Realm and the peak of Reaching Heaven was not small.
Furthermore, he was a Divine Son, with dense divine blood in his body. His true strength was comparable to a general Lin Dao Realm expert. Even if the two monks had some peculiarities, they could not escape his grasp.
"Second Junior Brother, run quickly."
Seeing Nine-Eyed Heavenly King extend his sky-covering giant hand, Grand Minister of Works grabbed Second Minister of Works and ran toward the Sword Grave.
During the battle, he had noticed the divine patterns not far away, which he assumed marked the Sword Grave. As long as they entered the area covered by the divine patterns, the Undying Blood Clan should not be able to do anything to them.
"Hmph, do you think you can escape?"
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King snorted coldly, as if he had already secured the two monks.
Just as the two monks were about to fall into Nine-Eyed Heavenly King's hands, a leopard claw hundreds of meters long reached out from within the Sword Grave.
The leopard claw shimmered with flowing light, interwoven with countless sacred dao rules, erupting with unparalleled and vast power, like a comet crashing out.
"Boom."
The leopard claw collided with the giant hand extended by Nine-Eyed Heavenly King, actually managing to block it.
The next moment, the giant hand exploded, turning into rolling blood energy, sending many surrounding rocks flying and shattering.
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King let out a muffled groan, and the White Bone Mountain beneath his feet shook violently.
"A Lin Dao level expert."
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King's gaze sharpened, his eyes fixed on a tall figure walking out from the divine patterns.
Not only him, but the others also turned their gazes there, most of them shocked.
A strange light flashed in Xia Wenxin's eyes, a hint of surprise in them. "There is an unknown Lin Dao level expert inside the Sword Grave. Interesting, very interesting."
He found that many things in this attack on the Sword Grave had exceeded his expectations, such as Zhang Ruochen's strength, the peculiarity of the two monks, and the person before him, all of which had piqued his interest.
The one who blocked Nine-Eyed Heavenly King was naturally Bao Lie. He had been monitoring Luo Yi inside the Sword Grave. Sensing the commotion outside, he had rushed over and just happened to save the two monks.
By now, the two monks had entered the area covered by the divine patterns, safely escaping danger.
His gaze sweeping over the figures on White Bone Mountain, Bao Lie did not attack again. Instead, he turned around decisively and retreated, taking Grand Minister of Works and Second Minister of Works with him.
"Damn it."
Nine-Eyed Heavenly King growled, a cold light flashing in his eyes.
He had personally made a move, yet someone had taken the two monks from under his nose. This was a complete slap in the face.
Xia Wenxin smiled slightly. "No need to get excited. Ming Xian will soon break the divine patterns. Once we attack the Sword Grave, none of them will escape."
Hearing this, Nine-Eyed Heavenly King looked at Ming Xian, anticipation filling his eyes.
Repeated failures in his attacks made him even more eager to break into the Sword Grave and vent the anger in his chest.
Inside the Sword Grave, Bao Lie's expression changed drastically. He said in a deep voice, "That Luo Yi is something else. He disappeared in an instant. It seems he sensed me spying on him from the shadows earlier."
In the brief time he had gone out to rescue the two monks, Luo Yi had vanished without a trace, entering some hidden place.
Unfortunately, he needed to guard the Cold Volcano where Zhang Ruochen and the others were in seclusion, so he could not split his attention to find Luo Yi.
Given the mystery of the Sword Grave, even if Luo Yi had ulterior motives, he probably could not cause much trouble.
The only thing to be thankful for was that Luo Yi had not taken the opportunity to break into the Cold Volcano. Otherwise, the trouble would have been immense!
"That really scared this poor monk. Thank you, benefactor, for saving us. Amitabha." Grand Minister of Works patted his chest, then clasped his hands together to thank Bao Lie.
Bao Lie snapped back to reality and nodded. "Ruochen instructed that once you arrived, I should take you to see him. Follow me."
The two monks did not hesitate and quickly followed.
Inside the Cold Volcano, everyone was diligently cultivating, undisturbed by external matters.
"Uncle Master, following Master's orders, we have brought the Sky-Soaring Sword."
Second Minister of Works spoke, presenting the Sky-Soaring Sword before Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes and looked at the Sky-Soaring Sword, a natural glint of joy appearing in his eyes. With the Sky-Soaring Sword, he would have a better chance of holding the Sword Grave and the Nether Prison.
Taking the Sky-Soaring Sword, Zhang Ruochen smiled. "You two have had a hard journey. These are extraordinary times, so I won't stand on ceremony with you. Cultivate here first. There is still a tough battle ahead."
"Master said to follow Uncle Master's orders in everything." Second Minister of Works said somewhat woodenly.
Grand Minister of Works chuckled. "We're all family. Uncle Master, don't worry about us. We'll find our own spots to cultivate."
With that, he pulled Second Minister of Works away, not continuing to disturb Zhang Ruochen.
His eyesight was not bad. He could tell at a glance that Zhang Ruochen was at a critical point in his cultivation and should not be disturbed.
Putting the Sky-Soaring Sword aside, Zhang Ruochen continued to circulate the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*. Inside his Qi Sea, the Tongtian River grew wider and wider, countless sacred dao rules emerging, densely filling the Qi Sea.
After repeated attempts, he was finally close to weaving the ideal small world of rules, which meant he was about to break through in cultivation.
The small world of rules he was weaving was based on two eternal paths, with one supreme path as its pillar. It was extremely stable and perfectly refined.
"One final push."
Zhang Ruochen roared inwardly, fully mobilizing the sacred dao rules he had comprehended.
The Tongtian River shook violently, countless sacred dao rules emerging, filling the entire Divine Light Qi Sea. The sacred qi flowing within his body began to undergo a qualitative transformation.
Time passed...
From within Zhang Ruochen's body came the sound of surging rivers, and even the phantom of a river extended outside his body.
"It's done. The small world of rules has been successfully woven. Seven million six hundred and forty thousand sacred dao rules fill the Divine Light Qi Sea. My cultivation has finally broken through to the Nine-Step Saint King Realm."
Feeling the surging power within him, Zhang Ruochen could not help but show a look of deep joy.
From the peak of the Eight-Step Saint King to the Nine-Step Saint King, the gap seemed small, but once crossed, the difference in strength would be like heaven and earth, far more than just doubling.
Immediately, he took out many sacred stones and began to refine them with all his might, accelerating the conversion of the sacred qi within his body.
Only when the sacred qi in his body was completely converted would he be a true Nine-Step Saint King, and his strength would reach its peak.
All one hundred and forty-four acupoints in his body opened, turning into one hundred and forty-four whirlpools, frantically absorbing the energy contained in the sacred stones.
This seclusion was not just about breaking through in cultivation. Zhang Ruochen's attainments in the Sword Dao, the Way of Truth, the Way of Time, and the Way of Space had also improved to varying degrees.
Especially in the Way of Truth, the truth rules had increased significantly, allowing him to exert eight times the combat power, which was extremely astonishing.
Reaching this step meant that Zhang Ruochen had fully comprehended the third level of the Truth Divine Temple, understanding that earth is the mother of all things and the true essence of matter.
Next, he would need to comprehend the fourth level of the Truth Divine Temple, which would be far more difficult than the third level.
Being able to fully comprehend the third level of the Truth Divine Temple at the Saint King Realm was already extremely rare throughout the entire Heavenly Court Realm.
In the cultivation of the Way of Truth, Zhang Ruochen was at the forefront, not inferior to anyone.
It did not take too long for Zhang Ruochen to fully convert the sacred qi in his body. Both the quantity and quality had greatly improved.
"I wonder what level my strength has reached now?"
"Even without using the power of time and space, I should probably be able to match a Reaching Heaven Realm expert."
"Unfortunately, the final level of Sword Nine is still a bit off. How exactly can I comprehend the essence of the final layer, 'Soul Returns to the Boundless'?" Zhang Ruochen shook his head and sighed. His Sword Dao cultivation had hit a bottleneck.
The difference between being slightly short of great completion and achieving great completion was enormous. From ancient times to the present, very few people had been able to cultivate Sword Nine to great completion at the Saint King Realm.
Ling Feiyu's achievement was not only due to her talent but also to extraordinary encounters.
Zhang Ruochen was not too anxious. He still had a lot of room for improvement at the Saint King Realm. With more accumulation, achieving great completion in Sword Nine was only a matter of time.
Turning his gaze, Zhang Ruochen looked at the Abyssal Ancient Sword. The sword spirit sat cross-legged on the blade, refining various materials to condense its Dao Body. Light flowed outside its body, strands of sword energy swirling around it, dreamlike and illusory.
He could sense that a strange power from within the Sword Grave was continuously pouring into the sword spirit's body, making it more solid and its aura stronger.
"Abyssal is going to condense the most perfect Dao Body. It seems it will take some more time. The power flowing into him is very special, as if it contains the supreme essence of the Sword Dao. Perhaps I can use this to comprehend the essence of 'Soul Returns to the Boundless.'"
A gleam of light flashed in Zhang Ruochen's eyes. He saw an opportunity for a breakthrough in the Abyssal sword spirit.
Immediately, he mobilized his six sacred forms to surround the Abyssal Ancient Sword, jointly comprehending the mysterious power converging on the sword spirit.
His cultivation had reached the small world of rules. Breaking through further would be very difficult, so cultivating Sword Nine to great completion was the best way to increase his strength.
At the same time, he also needed to help the Abyssal sword spirit quickly condense its Dao Body. Whether the Abyssal sword spirit could condense a Dao Body, and what kind of Dao Body it would be, would also have a huge impact on his own strength.