Chapter 196: Lingyue Town
Contrary to Zhang Ruochen's expectations, after four months of accumulation, he received a drop of Sacred Liquid and forty drops of Half-Saint True Liquid.
If sold on the black market, a drop of Sacred Liquid and forty drops of Half-Saint True Liquid would be worth over twenty million silver coins.
Such abundant resources would astonish even a martial arts myth at the Heavenly Extreme Realm.
Of course, the Martial Market Bank had its own channels; the actual cost of a drop of Sacred Liquid and forty drops of Half-Saint True Liquid was probably only a tenth of the market price, or even lower.
"An ordinary outer palace disciple receives only one drop of Half-Saint True Liquid per year. Even an inner palace disciple gets just one drop per month. Yet I receive ten drops a month, plus a drop of Sacred Liquid every quarter. The treatment of an Earth List student is far more generous than I imagined." Zhang Ruochen was in an excellent mood.
After receiving the cultivation resources, he gave ten drops of Half-Saint True Liquid to Kong Xuan to help improve her physique.
Given Kong Xuan's current cultivation level, she couldn't refine the Half-Saint True Liquid on her own, so Zhang Ruochen taught her a method: drip the Half-Saint True Liquid into a bath, dilute it with water, and then absorb it slowly.
Although this method would cause some of the medicinal power to dissipate, it was the most suitable approach for Kong Xuan.
Zhang Ruochen also gave another ten drops of Half-Saint True Liquid to Zhang Shaochu to help him break through to the Xuan List martial artist level.
Although Zhang Shaochu's physique still fell short of a Xuan List martial artist, with the aid of large amounts of Half-Saint True Liquid and the power of the Vajra Titan Fist, he still had a fair chance of reaching that level.
After all, Zhang Shaochu's natural talent was not low, given that he had become an outer palace disciple of the Western Academy.
Ten drops of Half-Saint True Liquid were worth millions of silver coins, enough to buy an entire city. Only Zhang Ruochen was so generous as to give them away freely.
After settling all necessary matters, Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei left the Heavenly Demon Martial City and set off on the road back to Yunwu Commandery.
Of course, to avoid exposing his whereabouts, Zhang Ruochen entered the Time-Space Crystal before leaving the Heavenly Demon Martial City and only emerged after they had left the city grounds.
"Do you have to be so cautious? The Heavenly Demon Martial City should be relatively safe." Xiao Hei glanced at Zhang Ruochen.
"Even the inner palace academy of the Martial Market Academy has been infiltrated by the Black Market and the Moon Worship Demon Sect, let alone the Heavenly Demon Martial City. If I'm not careful, I won't even know how I died." After saying this, Zhang Ruochen put on a metal mask, covering most of his face.
After all, Zhang Ruochen's head was now quite valuable, ranked thirty-seventh on the Bounty List.
He couldn't afford to reveal his identity easily. If a Heavenly Extreme Realm evil cultivator were drawn out, with his current cultivation, he wouldn't be able to escape.
"The Thunder Pulse Pill you wanted is almost refined. I'll go into the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal to continue nurturing the pill." Xiao Hei leaped up, turning into a black streak as it entered the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal.
During the time they had stayed in Duanmu Xingling's cultivation mansion, Xiao Hei had been studying the Thunder Pulse Pill. After continuous attempts, it was finally about to produce the first batch.
Zhang Ruochen's martial soul not only possessed time and space attributes but also lightning attributes.
"If it can really refine the Thunder Pulse Pill, the quality of my true qi and the strength of my martial soul will definitely improve by another level." Zhang Ruochen felt a sense of anticipation.
Since the Martial Market Bank, the Black Market, and the Moon Worship Demon Sect were waging war in Yunwu Commandery, the royal clan would inevitably be affected. Therefore, Zhang Ruochen decided to return to the royal capital first.
The royal capital would undoubtedly be the center of the storm.
Sitting on the back of a third-rank lower-grade savage bird, the Snow Condor, Zhang Ruochen took out the Space-Time Secret Scripture, held it in his hands, and studied it carefully, continuing to comprehend the secrets of the space domain.
After reaching the Earth Extreme Realm, Zhang Ruochen's space domain could extend over three hundred meters, covering a fairly wide area.
However, his application of the space domain was still relatively shallow, limited to simple "Space Distortion" and "Space Freeze."
According to the Space-Time Secret Scripture, the power of the space domain was immense, capable of achieving "Spatial Displacement," "Space Rift," "Space Collapse," "Space Illusion," and other even more formidable techniques.
"Space Rift" and "Space Collapse" could kill without a trace, devouring the enemy before they even had time to react.
"Let's start with 'Space Rift.'"
Zhang Ruochen held the Space-Time Secret Scripture, mobilized his martial soul, and slowly released his space domain, covering a three-hundred-meter radius.
"Space Rift!"
Zhang Ruochen's finger swept sharply through the air. About ten meters away, the space twisted slightly, like a ripple appearing in the air.
It didn't succeed.
"Space Rift is indeed much harder than Space Distortion. But once I master it, its destructive power will be far greater."
Zhang Ruochen continued practicing over and over again.
As he studied further, his understanding of Space Rift became clearer. During practice, he occasionally managed to tear the space, creating a tiny rift.
Time passed quickly. After two days of flight, the Snow Condor entered the territory of Yunwu Commandery.
"Space Rift!"
Standing on the Snow Condor's back, Zhang Ruochen channeled true qi to his fingertips and swung his arm. The entire space trembled slightly.
"Whoosh!"
A hundred meters away, a two-foot-long space rift appeared, like a pitch-black mouth opening wide, emitting a powerful suction force. A violent storm vortex formed around the rift.
Inside the space rift was a chaotic void, as if it could devour everything in the world.
The space rift lasted only a brief moment before closing immediately.
"The power of space is truly formidable. Even a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist would be either dead or severely injured if struck by a space rift." Zhang Ruochen watched the rift slowly close, a faint smile appearing on his face.
Of course, he was well aware that Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artists had an extremely keen sense of danger. If the fluctuation of a space rift appeared, they would dodge it instantly.
With his current level of mastery over Space Rift, he couldn't yet harm a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist.
Unless he could master "Space Collapse"—once space collapsed, even a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist wouldn't be able to escape.
Space Collapse was even harder to cultivate than Space Rift.
For now, Zhang Ruochen could barely execute a Space Rift; he still needed a long time of practice to control it skillfully.
Zhang Ruochen stroked the Snow Condor's feathers. "Snow Condor, you've been flying for two days; you must be tired. Let's land and rest for a while."
The Snow Condor let out a sharp cry, swooped down, and soon landed on the ground.
Leading the Snow Condor, Zhang Ruochen slowly walked into a rather old and quaint town along a bluestone official road.
In Yunwu Commandery, there were many such towns. Though not as bustling as large cities, they had everything one might need, complete in all respects.
This town was called "Lingyue Town."
Recently, Lingyue Town had been far from peaceful, with multiple bloody clashes between martial artists causing great turmoil.
Yet, instead of decreasing, the number of martial artists coming to Lingyue Town had increased.
At that moment, Lin Ningshan and Lin Chenyu, outer palace disciples of the Yuntai Sect Mansion, were also in Lingyue Town.
"Brother, this is a conflict between the Martial Market Academy, the Black Market, and the Moon Worship Demon Sect. Why is our Yuntai Sect Mansion getting involved?" Lin Ningshan asked as she led a five-meter-tall giant savage beast, walking forward.
Lin Chenyu also led a savage beast. His face was pale, exuding a cold aura, and he sneered, "Do you think the Martial Market Academy can suppress the Black Market and the Moon Worship Demon Sect on its own? The higher-ups of the Yuntai Sect Mansion must have reached some agreement with the Martial Market Academy's higher-ups, which is why the Yuntai Sect Mansion has sent us to join this conflict."
By the roadside, two martial artists were drinking in a tavern, discussing recent major events.
Their conversation caught the interest of Lin Chenyu and Lin Ningshan, so they stopped to listen.
The martial artist on the left had only one eye, a burly frame, and a rough voice. "I heard that the Black Market's Earthfire City branch is near Lingyue Town. To wipe out Earthfire City, the Martial Market Academy's students have fought seven bloody battles here, with over a hundred martial artists dead."
The martial artist on the right wore only leather pants, his chest bare, holding a giant blade as large as a door panel, weighing at least five hundred jin. He said, "So the Black Market suffered heavy losses?"
The one-eyed martial artist shook his head. "The Black Market lost some martial artists, but the Martial Market Academy's losses were even greater. I heard that seven Martial Market Academy students have gone missing in Lingyue Town. Some were captured by the Black Market, others killed."
"Training a single student costs the Martial Market Academy a fortune. Even losing just one outer palace student would make them ache. I heard that the Martial Market Academy has already sent experts to Lingyue Town, planning to wipe out the Black Market's Earthfire City branch in one go."
Lin Chenyu and Lin Ningshan exchanged a glance and were about to leave when the two martial artists suddenly stood up and blocked their path.
"Hehe! You two wouldn't happen to be the experts sent by the Martial Market Academy, would you?" The man in leather pants held his blade horizontally in front of him, a vicious sneer on his face.
These two martial artists were experts from the Black Market. They had deliberately spoken those words to lure out Martial Market Academy students.
Seeing Lin Chenyu and Lin Ningshan stop to listen to their conversation, and noting their young age, they suspected the pair might be Martial Market Academy students.
Discovering Martial Market Academy students was a great merit, so the two evil path experts naturally wouldn't let this opportunity slip.