Chapter 2026: Ten Years of Seclusion
Within the Return Origin Divine Palace, the saints of the Blood God Sect took their seats one after another, their gazes all fixed on Zhang Ruochen.
Moments ago, they had been prepared to fight to the death against the Black Demon Realm, defending the dignity of the Blood God Sect.
Yet now, they sat safely within the Return Origin Divine Palace, the invading enemies having been swept away. It felt as if they were dreaming.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen had subdued a large number of demonic cultivators, greatly increasing the Blood God Sect's strength. If any further trouble arose, they would at least have some power to resist.
In recent years, the Blood God Sect had been in steady decline. After the Supreme Elder disappeared, the sect did not even have a single Saint King realm cultivator.
Even after the Kunlun Realm's revival, the number of Saint Kings born in the Blood God Sect had not reached double digits.
Compared to the other six ancient sects of the Central Domain, the Blood God Sect was undoubtedly too weak.
"Sect Leader, I knew you would come back. No matter how strong you become, you are still the same Boss Gu I once knew." Sun Dadi said with great excitement.
In the past, he had ventured out with Zhang Ruochen, and the events that occurred during that time were still fresh in his memory, as if they were yesterday.
There were few people Sun Dadi admired, and Zhang Ruochen was undoubtedly the one he admired the most.
"Elder Yuan Zhou, how did you return with the Sect Leader?" Elder Yuan Xing asked curiously.
Elder Yuan Zhou smiled and said, "Xianyan and I fought desperately to escape back to the Shangguan Clan. Du Mosheng pursued us, but he never expected that the Sect Leader was visiting the Shangguan Clan at that time. With the Sect Leader's intervention, Du Mosheng had no power to resist. Afterward, we returned together with the Sect Leader."
Upon hearing this, Elder Yuan Xing and the other saints of the Blood God Sect showed expressions of sudden realization. It was truly a stroke of luck. The Black Demon Realm had calculated everything but had not anticipated Zhang Ruochen being at the Shangguan Clan.
It was precisely this fortunate coincidence that saved the Blood God Sect from disaster.
Zhang Ruochen said solemnly, "The Blood God Sect has suffered greatly in this calamity. I plan to seal the mountain gates and have the entire sect enter seclusion to cultivate and improve their strength. The situation in the Kunlun Realm will only grow more chaotic. Without power, even the most ancient of forces can be destroyed."
"We will follow the Sect Leader's arrangements."
The saints of the Blood God Sect quickly rose and responded.
This attack by the Black Demon Realm had made the saints of the Blood God Sect acutely aware of the sect's current weakness. Without top-tier experts, even the strongest foundations could not be utilized.
After all, the Black Demon Realm had only sent five top-tier experts, yet they had nearly destroyed the Blood God Sect.
If all the experts of the Black Demon Realm had attacked, the sect would not have been able to hold out until Zhang Ruochen returned.
To avoid being so passive in the future, they had to improve their strength.
Unfortunately, the Kunlun Realm had only recently revived. Even though the Blood God Sect possessed many cultivation resources, it could not produce a large number of top-tier experts in such a short time.
"Elder Yuan Xing, gather all the disciples of the Blood God Sect at the summit of Qian Yuan Mountain. I will use a secret treasure to assist everyone in their cultivation."
Zhang Ruochen issued another order.
Elder Yuan Xing quickly responded, "Yes, Sect Leader."
With that, Elder Yuan Xing left the Return Origin Divine Palace to relay Zhang Ruochen's orders.
The Blood God Sect operated with great efficiency. Before long, all the disciples had assembled at the summit of Qian Yuan Mountain.
Qian Yuan Mountain was a sacred site of the Blood God Sect, retaining the divine power of the Blood God. It contained sacred veins and was rich in sacred qi, making it the most suitable place for seclusion and cultivation.
Having been attacked by the Black Demon Realm and many demonic cultivators, the Blood God Sect had suffered heavy losses. Many disciples had not been able to retreat to Infant Lord Peak in time. Now, only a little over eight thousand elite disciples remained in the sect.
With Zhang Ruochen at the center, over eight thousand Blood God Sect disciples sat within a radius of two hundred zhang.
In addition, Zhang Ruochen summoned some of the Sacred Bright remnants from the Qiankun Realm, leaving no gaps in the formation.
"Make full use of the various spiritual medicines and sacred medicines that have emerged since the revival of Infant Lord Peak and Qian Yuan Mountain. You have ten years to do your utmost to improve your cultivation and strength." Zhang Ruochen looked around and said in a clear voice.
After speaking, Zhang Ruochen took out the Sundial, embedded divine stones into it, and activated it.
The Blood God Sect had no time treasures, so this was the only way to quickly improve their strength.
For Zhang Ruochen, who had just broken through to the Dao Domain realm, a period of seclusion was undoubtedly necessary.
What pleased Zhang Ruochen was that the Blood God Sect had four divine stones in its collection. Adding the six he had left, that made ten divine stones in total, enough to activate the Sundial and gain ten years of seclusion.
Ten years should be enough to significantly improve the overall strength of the Blood God Sect.
With such an opportunity, Zhang Ruochen naturally did not forget Hanxue. He immediately sent a message for her to come from the Peacock Manor to the Blood God Sect.
Once the Sundial was activated, a strange power of time spread out, covering an area of two hundred zhang.
Beforehand, Zhang Ruochen had Xiao Hei set up a ninth-rank formation. Combined with the mystical properties of Qian Yuan Mountain itself, no one could easily break in, allowing them to cultivate in peace.
The Blood God Sect members were all amazed by the Sundial's wonder and cherished this cultivation opportunity.
With ample cultivation resources and plenty of time, everyone in the Blood God Sect was full of motivation, all hoping to become top-tier experts within these ten years.
Sitting beneath the Sundial, Zhang Ruochen flipped his hand and took out a piece of smooth jade. It was a gift from the Heavenly Beginning Fairy when she left the Peacock Manor.
"The eleventh level of the 'Heavenly River Divine Fist' is probably only known by Luo Ji."
Thinking of the Heavenly Beginning Fairy, a peculiar smile appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face.
The jade contained the eleventh level of the "Heavenly River Divine Fist." Once mastered, the power of the fist technique would reach the level of a high-rank sacred art.
If nothing unexpected happened, the Heavenly Beginning Fairy had likely already mastered the eleventh level after coming out of seclusion from the Divine Gate.
Zhang Ruochen did not practice the "Heavenly River Divine Fist" but rather the "Luo Water Fist Art." However, these two fist techniques shared the same origin and were essentially no different.
Therefore, by comprehending the eleventh level of the "Heavenly River Divine Fist," Zhang Ruochen was confident he could deduce the eleventh level of the "Luo Water Fist Art."
Once he mastered the eleventh level of the "Luo Water Fist Art," he would gain another high-rank sacred art.
Water and fire would then maintain a balance.
"I hope these ten years will allow me to successfully deduce and master the eleventh level of the 'Luo Water Fist Art.' Let's begin."
Murmuring softly, Zhang Ruochen calmed his mind and began to fully comprehend the eleventh level of the "Heavenly River Divine Fist" recorded in the jade.
Accordingly, Zhang Ruochen planned to focus slightly more on comprehending fist path rules during these ten years, as this would help him deduce and practice the eleventh level of the "Luo Water Fist Art."
Of course, he would not neglect his comprehension of the Way of Time, Way of Space, Sword Dao, Palm Path, and Truth Path. The improvement of his cultivation and strength must be balanced and comprehensive.
With the assistance of Truth Esoterica, comprehending sacred dao rules and practicing sacred arts would be twice as effective with half the effort.
Killing Shang Zihong and obtaining eight ten-thousandths of Truth Esoterica was probably Zhang Ruochen's greatest gain.
While Zhang Ruochen was in seclusion, the outside world was in an uproar.
The events at the Blood God Sect spread, attracting attention from all sides.
Although the battle at the Blood God Sect was not intense and did not result in many deaths, its impact was no less than the battle at the Peacock Manor, and perhaps even greater.
The reason was that Zhang Ruochen had subdued a group of demonic cultivators, including two of the top thirty-six Saint King realm experts of the Black Demon Realm, greatly humiliating the Black Demon Realm.
"Zhang Ruochen actually used the Blood God Curse Seal. He's deliberately humiliating the Black Demon Realm!"
"Just wait. The Black Demon Realm won't swallow this insult. They will definitely find a way to retaliate."
"Zhang Ruochen really has guts. He's already angered the Heavenly Realm Faction, and now he dares to humiliate the Black Demon Realm like this. Isn't he afraid of the threat from the Heavenly Realm Faction?"
"Have to admit, Zhang Ruochen is indeed formidable. His cultivation improves too fast, completely unfathomable. Killing him is no easy task. Even if successful, it would come at a great cost."
"Hehe, I'm really looking forward to seeing how Zhou Yu, Ming, and other terrifying figures will deal with Zhang Ruochen."
As long as they were not part of the Heavenly Realm Faction, most people were happy to watch the chaos, hoping Zhang Ruochen would clash even more fiercely with the Heavenly Realm Faction.
For a time, the Heavenly Realm Faction became somewhat quiet, making people wonder if they had given up on dealing with Zhang Ruochen.
However, many sensed that this was the calm before the storm. The Heavenly Realm Faction's next move would likely be shocking.
No matter how turbulent the outside world became, the Blood God Sect remained peaceful.
With the demonic cultivators doing the hard labor, the Blood God Sect's mess was quickly cleaned up. Xiao Hei set up even more powerful protective formations.
Many Blood God Sect disciples who had been away returned one after another.
At such a time, it was undoubtedly safer to stay within the Blood God Sect.
In the blink of an eye, ten days passed. At the summit of Qian Yuan Mountain, a full ten years had gone by.
When the divine power within the divine stones was exhausted, the Sundial fell silent, and the time power covering the two-hundred-zhang area vanished instantly. The time flow in that region returned to normal.
"Whoosh."
Zhang Ruochen exhaled a deep breath of turbid air and then opened his tightly shut eyes.
Faint glimmers of light could be seen flashing in Zhang Ruochen's eyes, indicating that his cultivation had greatly improved over the years.
"With twenty ten-thousandths of Truth Esoterica, cultivation is indeed twice as effective. Every year, I can comprehend four to five hundred thousand sacred dao rules. After ten years, my cultivation is close to the peak of the Dao Domain realm. Unfortunately, the divine stones are completely exhausted, and I can no longer use the Sundial to cultivate. Where can I find more divine stones?"
After finishing his cultivation, Zhang Ruochen felt both happy and troubled.
Divine stones were extremely rare. He had already tried various channels to obtain them. Getting more in the future would be very difficult.
Shaking his head, Zhang Ruochen stopped thinking about this headache-inducing matter.
Overall, his gains from this seclusion were enormous. Not only had his cultivation greatly improved, but more importantly, he had successfully deduced the eleventh level of the "Luo Water Fist Art" and mastered it.
Of course, being able to master the eleventh level of the "Luo Water Fist Art" was closely related to Zhang Ruochen having already practiced the "Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm" to the twelfth palm.
Water and fire complement each other, achieving a balance of yin and yang. This was a state many sought to attain.
Additionally, the time rules within Zhang Ruochen's body had increased to nearly forty thousand, and the space rules to nearly one hundred thousand.
Such significant improvements in the Way of Time and Way of Space were not only due to Truth Esoterica but also largely due to the divine power that had merged into the Space-Time Secret Scripture.
When Zhang Ruochen had entered the void space beneath the Xianji Mountain, a remnant divine power left by Xumi Saint Monk had naturally merged into the Space-Time Secret Scripture. This power contained profound time and space rules, greatly aiding Zhang Ruochen's comprehension of the Way of Time and Way of Space.
It had to be said that Xumi Saint Monk had considered everything for his heir, Zhang Ruochen. He left a long whisker in the Thousand Star Civilization and a divine power in the void space of Xianji Mountain, allowing Zhang Ruochen to continuously improve his mastery of these two eternal paths.
Otherwise, Zhang Ruochen would have had to cultivate at the Time Divine Temple and Space Divine Temple. Otherwise, these two eternal paths, which he primarily cultivated, would have been extremely difficult to improve, and his cultivation would not have advanced so quickly.
As for the Truth Path, Zhang Ruochen had also made significant breakthroughs. The number of truth rules had reached one hundred and eighty thousand, nearly doubling. Although this was not enough to unleash a ninefold attack, it brought him one step closer.
Given Zhang Ruochen's astonishing talent in the Truth Path, he naturally would not give up on its cultivation.
At his current level of mastery in the Truth Path, even within the Truth Divine Temple, few below the Great Saint realm could compare.
Waving his hand to put away the Sundial, Zhang Ruochen stood up and looked around, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.
Ten years had indeed greatly improved the overall strength of the Blood God Sect.
The nearly three hundred half-saints to whom he had granted sacred sources had all reached the Saint realm. The most talented among them had even reached the Tongtian realm.
What pleased Zhang Ruochen even more was that several saints had broken through to the Saint King realm.
Sun Dadi and the other four Saint Kings had also made significant progress. Sun Dadi had broken through to the Six-Step Saint King, crossing three steps in succession.
Zhang Ruochen had never expected the Blood God Sect's strength to instantly reach its peak. He was already very satisfied with the current results.
After a moment of thought, Zhang Ruochen took out more sacred sources and bestowed them upon the disciples who had newly broken through to the half-saint realm.
"Xiao Hei, did anyone come to the Blood God Sect to cause trouble while I was in seclusion?"
Leaving the cultivation site, Zhang Ruochen immediately found Xiao Hei and asked about recent events.
Xiao Hei raised his head and snorted, "With this emperor here, who would dare to cause trouble? There were plenty of people spying, but with the formations I set up, they couldn't see anything."
"Good. By the way, while setting up the formations, did you notice any extremely powerful experts within the Blood God Sect?" Zhang Ruochen asked seriously.
Xiao Hei looked puzzled. "Experts? No. Aside from the Blood God Altar being a bit strange, I didn't notice anything unusual. Why do you ask?"
"Not long ago, I saw the artifact spirits of the Azure Sky Floating Pagoda and the Life-Death Bronze Furnace. According to the Life-Death Bronze Furnace's artifact spirit, all the artifact spirits of the supreme sacred artifacts in the Kunlun Realm have returned. The Blood God Sect also has a supreme sacred artifact—the Blood God Mace. Logically, its artifact spirit should have returned as well." Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly.
He had originally thought that when the Blood God Sect was in danger, the artifact spirit of the Blood God Mace would intervene. But it had been nowhere to be seen.
Hearing this, Xiao Hei showed a surprised expression. "All the artifact spirits of the supreme sacred artifacts have returned? Where were they before?"
"The artifact spirits of the supreme sacred artifacts disappeared to avoid the Eon Calamity and a divine artifact from the Hell Realm. Before that, they were all hidden within the Dao Soul Platform, one of the ten great divine artifacts." Zhang Ruochen said.
Upon hearing the words "Dao Soul Platform," Xiao Hei's eyes immediately lit up. He quickly asked, "Where is the Dao Soul Platform? Who is behind all this?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "I don't know. If you can meet an artifact spirit of a supreme sacred artifact, you can ask them directly."
"Where is this emperor supposed to find an artifact spirit of a supreme sacred artifact?" Xiao Hei glared.
Zhang Ruochen ignored Xiao Hei, his mind racing. He remembered clearly that Yan Liren had taken the Blood God Mace to the second gradient of the Endless Abyss and had not been heard from since.
If the artifact spirit of the Blood God Mace had returned, it should have followed its spiritual resonance to find its main body.
In that case, the artifact spirit of the Blood God Mace had likely gone to the Endless Abyss. He just didn't know the final outcome.
To find out these things, he might have to go to the Endless Abyss himself.
"It's about time to set out for the Endless Abyss. I hope this trip can resolve many of the doubts in my mind. First, I'll go to the Sword Grave to obtain the Great Saint-level town blood talisman."
Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
This journey would be dangerous, so it was necessary to make more preparations. Preparedness ensures success.
...
Xiaoyu's new book, "The Legend of the Heavenly Emperor," has already reached nearly one hundred thousand words, and the plot has unfolded. Watch how Lin Ke rises from the darkness and challenges the universe of stars. I hope everyone will read and support it. Thank you very much.