Chapter 1934: Divine Serpent Corpse
"What kind of technique is this? It can actually create such terrifying phenomena."
"High-rank Sacred Art, it must be a high-rank Sacred Art. Who could have cultivated a high-rank Sacred Art to success at the Saint King Realm?"
"That's the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm. Without a doubt, it's Zhang Ruochen making a move."
"Didn't they say Zhang Ruochen had just reached the Rule Small Heaven realm? How could he have mastered a high-rank Sacred Art?"
…
As soon as the phenomena of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm manifested, it immediately drew the attention of many cultivators, all of whom were shocked.
Not to mention the Rule Small Heaven realm, even at the Threshold of the Dao realm, very few could successfully cultivate a high-rank Sacred Art.
"Junior Brother Zhang really does like to surprise people. He's already achieved great mastery of the twelfth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm. Such mental fortitude and perseverance are truly rare," Zhen Yuan said, nodding in approval.
Clearly, Zhang Ruochen's methods were more numerous and stronger than he had anticipated, making him increasingly hopeful of gaining the full support of their Daoist lineage.
At the bottom of Life-and-Death Cliff, the All-Encompassing Conformation Array was pushed back entirely by Zhang Ruochen's strike, on the verge of collapse.
Without a doubt, once the All-Encompassing Conformation Array collapsed, this group of Rakshasa Clan dukes would suffer heavy casualties, possibly even total annihilation.
Seeing this outcome, Zhang Ruochen wasn't disappointed. If his cultivation had broken through to the Rule Great Heaven realm, that palm strike just now would have been enough to shatter the All-Encompassing Conformation Array.
It could only be said that this group of Rakshasa Clan dukes had truly excellent coordination, forming a nearly perfect battle formation that was quite difficult to break.
"Boom."
Life-and-Death Cliff shook violently, as if a great earthquake had struck. The cliff face developed hideous cracks that spread continuously, in the blink of an eye covering the entire cliff.
The next moment, the entire Life-and-Death Cliff collapsed, dust flying everywhere.
Figures shot up into the sky, all with panicked expressions.
"What's happening?"
Everyone who had rushed out from the bottom of the cliff was bewildered, not knowing what was going on.
Without exception, they had all sensed a terrifying force erupting, instinctively feeling a great threat.
"Roar."
A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar came from the bottom of the cliff. The heavens and earth changed color, winds and clouds surged, and lightning flashed and thunder rumbled.
From within the thick mist, a colossal creature flew out, soaring into the nine heavens, emitting an extremely terrifying pressure.
It was a divine serpent corpse, three thousand zhang in length. Its head had no flesh left, only a skull, looking extremely ferocious and terrifying.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that the divine serpent corpse's head had been attacked, with a several-zhang-wide hole in the skull.
"Whoosh."
A graceful and elegant figure flew out from the divine serpent corpse's mouth at extreme speed. It was none other than the Rakshasa Princess, Luo Sha.
The divine serpent corpse had merged with the evil spirit, so naturally it wouldn't let the Rakshasa Princess escape. It spat out a stream of air carrying divine light particles, trying to sweep her up, but failed.
The Ten Thousand Saint Plain Garment on the Rakshasa Princess emitted ten thousand rays of saintly light. Like a graceful mermaid, she burst forth at flowing light speed, passing through layers of turbulent air currents and returning to the Rakshasa Clan cultivators' formation.
"So there really was a god's corpse buried at the bottom of the cliff. Who controlled the divine corpse?"
"How can anyone actually control a divine corpse? Aren't they afraid of bringing about a great calamity?"
"I hope it's not the Rakshasa Clan controlling the divine corpse. We can't let such an opportunity fall into their hands."
…
The cultivators of the Heavenly Court realm stared intently at the divine serpent corpse, various guesses forming in their minds.
Of course, they had all retreated far enough to avoid being attacked by the divine serpent corpse.
That was the corpse of a god; no one wanted to be hit by it.
Zhang Ruochen and his four companions appeared out of thin air on top of the divine serpent corpse's head, making everyone instantly understand who had gained control of it.
"Zhang Ruochen snatched the divine corpse from the Rakshasa Clan? How did he do it?"
For a moment, many cultivators were deeply shocked.
The Rakshasa Clan had dispatched thirty-six princes and five hundred dukes this time—a formidable lineup. Snatching the divine corpse from them was no easy feat.
Opposite the divine serpent corpse, the giant formed by the thirty-six Rakshasa Clan princes stood in midair, with the All-Encompassing Conformation Array behind them.
And standing atop the giant's head was a tall, graceful figure—Luo Sha.
"Zhang Ruochen, Luo Sha took the Divine Source from inside the divine corpse. That Divine Source contains a Divine Star Soul," the divine serpent corpse spoke, revealing an important piece of information.
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen's expression changed slightly. He suddenly understood why Luo Sha had used a substitute puppet to hold him off earlier. Her true body had long since quietly infiltrated the divine corpse. From the very beginning, what Luo Sha wanted most was the Divine Source.
Clearly, Luo Sha had long discovered that the Divine Source still existed inside the divine corpse, which was why she had made such a big show of it, mobilizing so many Rakshasa Clan experts.
It seemed Luo Sha had used that Yin Spirit Lotus to evade the Divine Thought Evil Body and quietly infiltrate the divine corpse.
While they were locked in fierce battle with the Divine Thought Evil Body, Luo Sha could collect the Divine Source without any hindrance.
In the end, they had still been outmaneuvered by Luo Sha.
Fortunately, the Divine Stone and the divine corpse had fallen into their hands, so at least their efforts hadn't been entirely in vain.
In an instant, Zhang Ruochen figured out many puzzling things. He had to admit, Luo Sha was truly full of tricks, making it hard to guard against her.
"Luo Sha, quite the skill. You've tricked me again," Zhang Ruochen said.
Luo Sha covered her mouth with a laugh. "Is that a compliment? Being able to trick you makes me very happy. If I hadn't done this, how could I have obtained the Divine Source and the Divine Star Soul?"
"But you didn't come out empty-handed either. The Divine Stone and the divine corpse are yours. You could say we each got what we wanted."
"Too arrogant! Big Brother, let's destroy them and take back the Divine Source and the Divine Star Soul. How can we let such good things fall into their hands?" Xiang Chunan rolled up his sleeves, eager to strike immediately.
Everyone knew the immense value of the Divine Source and the Divine Star Soul, especially the Divine Star Soul, which could mobilize the power of the Divine Throne Planet in the starry sky. Legend had it that if a Great Saint mastered a complete Divine Star Soul, they could be called a False God, invincible in the Great Saint realm.
Of course, the Divine Star Soul Luo Sha had obtained couldn't be complete.
This divine serpent had fallen who knows how many years ago. Even if the Divine Star Soul had been preserved, it must be nearly exhausted, leaving only a trace.
But even so, it still held tremendous value and would greatly aid Luo Sha's own cultivation.
As a descendant of a god, Luo Sha would surely find a way to refine the Divine Star Soul.
Once successfully refined, Luo Sha's spiritual power would be greatly enhanced. She could also use it to mobilize part of the power of the divine serpent's Divine Throne Planet left in the starry sky. More importantly, she could comprehend the mysteries of becoming a god—something all cultivators dreamed of.
"Xiang Hei Lengzi, you'd better stay quiet. This princess doesn't want to bother with you, but that doesn't mean I won't kill you."
"Zhang Ruochen, I'm going to refine the Divine Source and the Divine Star Soul, so I won't keep playing with you here. If you miss me, come to the Eastern Domain Merit Battlefield. I'll be waiting for you!"
Luo Sha let out a silvery laugh, her charming big eyes blinking at Zhang Ruochen.
The next moment, she performed a Great Space Teleportation, taking all the Rakshasa Clan experts with her as they vanished from the spot.
"Big Brother, why didn't you make a move?" Xiang Chunan's eyes were full of confusion.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head slightly. "Luo Sha is a Space Controller. She's not as easy to deal with as you think. If she's determined to leave, we can't stop her. Besides, she has a large number of Rakshasa Clan experts by her side. If we really fought, we might not come out ahead."
Having dealt with Luo Sha a few times, he had come to understand her. In their encounters, he seemed to gain the upper hand each time, but in reality, he hadn't gained much advantage.
The main reason was that Luo Sha always overwhelmed with force. If she could accomplish something with ten cultivators, she would often mobilize a hundred or even a thousand, never giving you a chance to fight back.
The Qiankun Realm opened, and Zhang Ruochen stored the divine serpent corpse inside. The evil spirit had only initially taken control of the divine corpse; it would still take some time to fully merge.
Although the Divine Source and the Divine Star Soul were lost, the divine corpse still possessed great power. Once the evil spirit successfully merged, it could unleash astonishing combat strength, far surpassing a Great Saint's corpse.
With a flicker of movement, Zhang Ruochen and his four companions appeared on the white cloud where Zhen Yuan was.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Zhen Yuan," Zhang Ruochen said with a cupped fist salute.
Zhen Yuan waved his hand lightly. "It was nothing. Only the Red Star Divine Son made a move, and he retreated after a single strike. So I was just here to watch the excitement. Congratulations, Junior Brother Zhang, on obtaining the divine corpse."
"Just lucky, but in the end, I was still outmaneuvered by Luo Sha. I'm afraid you'll have to laugh at me," Zhang Ruochen said with some helplessness.
Zhen Yuan said, "Luo Sha's personal strength isn't top-tier yet, but her cunning is terrifying, and few can match it. Additionally, I made a point to investigate. Luo Sha should have cultivated the legendary Heaven-Shifting Earth-Changing Art, capable of a thousand transformations, even surpassing the Hundred Transformations Xiao Xiao Sheng."
"Heaven-Shifting Earth-Changing Art?"
Zhang Ruochen's heart stirred.
No wonder Luo Yi could transform into someone else and fool the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden and Yuan Xianzi's Origin Divine Eyes, as well as Xiang Chunan's Thousand-Mile Eyes.
Clearly, the "Heaven-Shifting Earth-Changing Art" must be a remarkable secret art, involving more than just transformation. That substitute puppet technique should also fall under it.
"Let's go back first," Zhen Yuan said.
Zhang Ruochen immediately took out the Golden Step Dragon Carriage, and the six of them entered together.
The nine dragon souls pulled the Golden Step Dragon Carriage, turning into a beam of golden light that vanished into the sky in an instant.
The cultivators gathered at Life-and-Death Cliff, though somewhat unwilling, could only disperse. Staying here any longer wouldn't yield any opportunities.
Once back at the Northern Domain camp, Zhang Ruochen and the others immediately began secluding themselves again, hoping to further enhance their strength before the great battle erupted.
Zhang Ruochen, in particular, wanted to break through to the Rule Great Heaven realm before the battle, so he could be more confident in seizing the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree trunk.
Breaking through from the Rule Small Heaven realm to the Rule Great Heaven realm required cultivating over ten million Sacred Dao Rules as a foundation, then allowing those rules to surge out of the Qi Sea and flow throughout the body, forming a great cycle.
Generally speaking, as long as one had accumulated enough, almost everyone could progress from the Rule Small Heaven realm to the Rule Great Heaven realm; it just took time.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged under the Sundial. The Sacred Dao Rules within the Tongtian River continuously increased. At his current cultivation level, with the help of Truth Esoterica and a Rule Emperor Artifact, his speed in cultivating Sacred Dao Rules was extremely fast—at least three to four hundred thousand Sacred Dao Rules per year.
He could have cultivated Sacred Dao Rules even faster, but he devoted some effort specifically to cultivating rules of time, space, sword, palm, and fist, which slowed the pace considerably.
Zhang Ruochen primarily cultivated the Way of Time, Way of Space, Sword Dao, Palm Dao, and Fist Dao. Only by cultivating more Sacred Dao Rules of these paths could his strength reach its peak.
…
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