# Chapter 2086: Opportunities and Dangers Coexist
After pushing the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden out of the pit, Zhang Ruochen did not immediately leave. Instead, he stood up and cast his gaze toward the bottom of the pit.
With his current physical strength, even a top-grade ten-thousand-pattern divine artifact striking his body would only feel like a tickle, unable to harm him in the slightest. Yet when he had fallen just now, his back had been in excruciating pain, as if he had collided with something.
Moving his gaze around, Zhang Ruochen quickly discovered what had caused the pain. He reached down and picked it up.
It was a fist-sized diamond-shaped stone, dark red in color, as if it had been soaked in blood. At first glance, there was nothing particularly special about it.
After confirming there was nothing left behind, Zhang Ruochen moved and appeared outside the pit.
As her gaze swept over the diamond-shaped stone in Zhang Ruochen's hand, a gleam of light flashed in the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden's eyes. She immediately made a move, attempting to seize the stone.
Zhang Ruochen shifted sideways by one zhang, evading the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden, and said with a smile, "My celestial maiden fiancée, if you want it, just say so directly. Your husband isn't that stingy. Why resort to snatching it?"
"You said it yourself. Give it to me." The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden extended a hand.
Zhang Ruochen toyed with the diamond-shaped stone in his hand as he spoke, "Then you have to tell me first, what's so special about this stone? Or let me study it slowly before we talk. Besides, asking your husband for something—this attitude won't do."
Hearing this, the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden felt quite irritated. Ever since meeting Zhang Ruochen, she had frequently been at a disadvantage, never managing to gain any upper hand. She truly wanted to find an opportunity to give him a thorough beating.
Gritting her teeth inwardly, the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden quickly calmed her emotions, shot Zhang Ruochen a glare, and said, "That stone in your hand is formed from pure Origin Divine Power condensed together. It's only helpful for cultivating the Way of Origin. It's useless to you."
"Ten thousand years have passed, yet the divine power left behind from battles among gods hasn't dissipated. Instead, it has condensed into solid form. Truly miraculous." Zhang Ruochen's eyes gleamed with an unusual light.
Then, as if thinking of something, Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze toward the pits of varying sizes.
With a flicker of movement, Zhang Ruochen appeared beside a nearby small pit. Similar to the pit he had fallen into earlier, this one was also only about ten zhang deep.
The pit was very dark inside, and only with the aid of his Divine Mark Eye could he see clearly.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen locked onto an object at the bottom. Reaching out, he pulled it up—another dark red diamond-shaped stone.
"There's more?"
Surprise appeared in the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden's eyes.
The next moment, a thought stirred within her, and a faint understanding arose. She immediately flashed over to another pit.
Just like Zhang Ruochen, she also pulled something out from this pit—a strange crystal stone shimmering with silver light, containing many intricate patterns within.
"A crystal formed from Space Divine Power." The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden murmured softly.
Zhang Ruochen naturally saw the crystal in the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden's hand and was quite intrigued. He mused, "The Space Divine Power and Origin Divine Power left behind in this area back then must have been extremely vast. As time passed, this divine power didn't dissipate but instead settled down, forming special crystalline structures. These pits before us are likely related to the settling of divine power."
The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden nodded. "That should be the case. If the two types of divine power hadn't settled down in large quantities, we probably would have lost our lives the moment we set foot in this area."
Earlier, they had nearly suffered greatly from just a very faint wisp of Origin Divine Power lingering in the air. If there had been a large amount of Origin Divine Power present, even with the protection of the Origin Pearl, they would have had little chance of survival.
"These pits before us likely all contain divine power crystals. Since we can't leave for now, why not collect the divine power crystals first? Space goes to me, Origin goes to you. How about it?" Zhang Ruochen proposed.
As he spoke, he tossed the two Origin Divine Power crystals in his hand.
The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden immediately reached out to catch them, while simultaneously tossing the Space Divine Power crystal in her hand. "Let's do it your way."
Such an opportunity was rare to encounter. No one would willingly let it slip by.
With the decision made, Zhang Ruochen and the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden immediately began their operation, searching through the pits one by one.
Of course, both of them were extremely cautious, as this area was clearly unusual in every way, giving them a very oppressive feeling.
Before long, the two had examined dozens of pits, all located at the edge of the area. Their diameters ranged from three chi to three zhang. Not every one of these pits contained divine power crystals. To be precise, only pits with a diameter reaching one zhang had divine power crystals at the bottom.
In those pits with diameters less than one zhang, there was dense divine power gathered. Unlike the divine power floating in the air, this divine power was extremely gentle. Perhaps with a bit more accumulation, it could condense into divine power crystals.
Additionally, the larger the diameter of the pit, the deeper it was, as if unable to withstand the pressure of the divine power.
After finishing searching the pits at the edge, Zhang Ruochen and the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden advanced to the inner layer, searching for larger and deeper pits.
Using spatial techniques, Zhang Ruochen extracted a divine power crystal the size of an infant's head from a pit with a diameter reaching ten zhang.
"Another Origin Divine Power crystal. There really are a lot."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head helplessly and tossed the divine power crystal to the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden.
They had already searched several hundred pits, obtaining two hundred and thirty-six divine power crystals. Among them, one hundred and seventy-four were Origin Divine Power crystals, and only sixty-two were Space Divine Power crystals, accounting for just over a quarter.
Putting away this large Space Divine Power crystal, the smile on the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden's face became even brighter. "It seems following you isn't all bad. Occasionally, I can have some luck."
Cultivating an Eternal Dao was extremely difficult. With these divine power crystals, she could relatively easily cultivate the Way of Origin to a higher level.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden, about to say something, when his mind suddenly trembled, and an extremely intense sense of unease arose.
"Buzz."
The ground suddenly began to shake, growing increasingly violent.
Zhang Ruochen and the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden both became highly alert, realizing that something bad was likely about to happen.
"Space is distorting. The source is... that pit in the central area." Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed.
The pit in the central area was enormous, with a diameter exceeding eighty zhang. Its interior was pitch black, and spiritual power could not penetrate it. No one knew how deep it truly was.
"Crash."
A terrifying suction force was released from the largest pit, drawing in the divine power floating in the air.
Zhang Ruochen and the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden were also caught by this force, involuntarily moving closer to the central pit.
The pit felt like a sleeping ferocious beast that had suddenly awakened, opening its bloody maw.
Zhang Ruochen and the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden tried to resist but could not. In an instant, along with a large amount of divine power, they were sucked into the pit.
Inside the pit was pitch black, with no light visible. With no external force to rely on, Zhang Ruochen and the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden fell straight down.
"Thud."
Before long, the two landed at the bottom, making intimate contact with the hard ground.
This time, Zhang Ruochen did not actively embrace the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden, but she still crashed into his arms, making him the cushion once again.
Even though Zhang Ruochen's physical body was extremely powerful, falling straight down like this still left him dazed and dizzy, feeling as if his body was about to fall apart.
"Aren't you going to get up? Trying to crush me to death?" Zhang Ruochen said irritably.
The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden came to her senses and immediately stood up, a strange look flashing in her eyes. In such a short time, she had had two intimate contacts with Zhang Ruochen. Truly, enemies always meet on a narrow path.
The Annihilation Golden Sun flew out from Zhang Ruochen's body, emitting brilliant golden light, dispelling the darkness and illuminating the bottom of the pit.
Unlike other pits, the bottom of this pit was extremely vast, with a diameter exceeding a thousand zhang. Moreover, there were passages on all sides, leading to unknown destinations.
"Such strong spatial suppression. Not only can we not fly or perform spatial displacement, but even jumping higher is impossible." A look of gravity appeared in Zhang Ruochen's eyes.
This meant that getting out of this enormous, deep pit would not be an easy task.
The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden also furrowed her brows. "The suppression of spiritual power here is even stronger. Spiritual power can only be extended a hundred zhang, and even the circulation of sacred qi has become much slower."
A moment ago, she had been happy about obtaining a large number of Origin Divine Power crystals. The next moment, she had encountered a major problem. This was truly a fall from heaven to hell.
"Strange. This pit is the largest, so why isn't there a single divine power crystal?" A puzzled expression appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face.
With the light of the Annihilation Golden Sun, the situation at the bottom of the pit was clear at a glance—completely empty, not even a single ordinary stone, let alone divine power crystals.
Logically, the divine power that had settled in this pit should have been the most abundant. If it could condense into divine power crystals, they would surely be enormous.
The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden looked around and murmured, "Perhaps they are in those passages."
"Hmm? A large amount of Space Divine Power and Origin Divine Power is rushing down. We need to leave quickly."
Zhang Ruochen's expression suddenly changed slightly.
As he spoke, he was already moving at top speed toward a certain direction.
Seeing this, the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden did not hesitate and immediately followed.
In an unknown dangerous situation, it was better for her to stay with Zhang Ruochen. Otherwise, if she encountered any trouble, relying on herself alone might not be enough to handle it.
"Rumble."
No sooner had the two left than terrifying divine power rushed down from above, hundreds of times more powerful than the wisp of Origin Divine Power they had triggered earlier.
This kind of divine power floating outside was completely different from the settled divine power. It was highly aggressive and could pose a threat to Great Saints.
"What do we do now?"
The usually sharp-witted Thousand Star Celestial Maiden was now at a loss.
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment and said, "Since we're here, let's make the best of it. Let's first avoid the immediate trouble. Some passages are very quiet. We can enter them for temporary shelter."
At this moment, divine power was still pouring in endlessly from outside. Staying in this open area was undoubtedly very dangerous.
Immediately, the two chose a quiet passage and quickly flashed inside.
The passage was very spacious, with rough walls, as if it had been artificially excavated.
But no sooner had they entered than the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden's expression became very unnatural. "Why do I have a feeling of hair standing on end?"
Zhang Ruochen's feeling was also not good. All the hairs on his body involuntarily stood on end.
Moving his gaze, he looked into the depths of the passage, vaguely feeling as if something was watching them.
"Crack."
Very abruptly, space split open, forming a zhang-long crack. A transparent claw extended from the crack, directly grabbing at Zhang Ruochen.
"What is that?"
Zhang Ruochen was startled. He quickly activated the Annihilation Golden Sun at maximum speed and struck at the transparent claw with a Supreme Force.
"Bang."
The transparent claw could not withstand the Supreme Force and instantly exploded.
However, there was no scene of blood and flesh flying. Instead, it turned into countless transparent crystals.
Zhang Ruochen stared intently at those transparent crystals, and his expression changed. "It's actually crystals condensed from Space Divine Power."
The difference was that these Space Divine Power crystals were not very hard and were relatively easy to break.
But it was not over yet. From the cracked space, a ferocious monster emerged. It resembled a leopard, covered in spikes, completely transparent, and exuding an extremely powerful aura.
One of the monster's claws had been destroyed, but it quickly reformed, showing no signs of damage.
"How can Space Divine Power condense into a monster? Such a violent will." The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden's expression changed.
However, this was not the time to ponder such questions, because the monster formed from Space Divine Power had already launched a terrifying attack.
Zhang Ruochen stood in front, without hesitation, and sent the Annihilation Golden Sun flying.
As if having learned from its previous loss, the monster became smarter. It released a powerful spatial force from its body, instantly freezing the space ahead.
Then, the monster formed from Space Divine Power opened its mouth and unleashed a violent spatial storm.
Zhang Ruochen's heart sank. He had not expected this monster to be able to freely use spatial techniques.
"Fall back!"
While issuing a low shout, Zhang Ruochen also executed a spatial storm.
"Boom."
The two different spatial storms collided violently, causing large areas of space to shatter, with spatial fragments flying everywhere.
Zhang Ruochen was struck by a wave of spatial force. His entire body shook violently, and he let out a muffled groan as he slid backward rapidly.
"Such powerful strength, comparable to an Immortal Realm Great Saint who cultivates the Way of Space."
The Immortal Realm was only the first realm of Great Saints.
Above it were the Hundred Shackles Realm, Thousand Questions Realm, Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm, and Supreme Realm—five realms in total.
Of course, even among Immortal Realm Great Saints, the gap in combat power was vast. A Great Saint who had just cultivated an Immortal Sacred Body and one who had cultivated in the Immortal Realm for a thousand years had a gap in combat power of more than ten times.
As for the Hundred Shackles Realm, it was not something any Great Saint could achieve. It required countless opportunities. Shackles entangle the body, and only by breaking them could one transcend.
The cultivation of Great Saints was even more difficult than that of Saint Kings.
He recalled the Annihilation Golden Sun and retreated from the passage together with the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden. Before the monster could attack again, Zhang Ruochen took out the Space-Time Secret Scripture.
Facing a monster formed from Space Divine Power, the Space-Time Secret Scripture would be more useful than the Annihilation Golden Sun.
Opening the Space-Time Secret Scripture, streaks of silver divine light emerged, quickly forming dozens of layers of multi-dimensional space, trapping the monster inside.
"Roar!"
The monster let out a earth-shaking roar, and violent spatial power surged, causing the multi-dimensional space to continuously shatter.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized his own spatial rules and executed spatial techniques within the multi-dimensional space.
"Bang."
With the collapse of a large area of space, the monster's body also shattered, almost crushed into powder.
But Zhang Ruochen did not relax, because he noticed that the monster's shattered body was rapidly reassembling, as if it possessed an undying body.
The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden used her Origin Divine Eye to see through some of the monster's reality and illusion and said, "The Space Divine Power is secondary. The foundation is a violent will. As long as the will is not extinguished, it will not perish."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen's mind stirred, and he immediately thought of a solution.
He mobilized time rules, releasing a mysterious time force, and lightly tapped it on the Space-Time Secret Scripture.
A blade of time appeared, slashing into the body of the monster that had just reassembled.
"Roar!"
The monster let out a painful cry, as if it had suffered great damage.
Seeing that it was effective, Zhang Ruochen continued to strike, condensing dozens of time blades, slashing into the monster's body one after another.
Finally, the violent will was extinguished, and the monster's body immediately collapsed, turning into pure Space Divine Power that poured out from the multi-dimensional space.
"Roar!"
Just as Zhang Ruochen and the Thousand Star Celestial Maiden were about to breathe a sigh of relief, roars rose and fell around them, deafening.
One passage after another shook violently, and all kinds of strange-shaped monsters rushed out from them. Some passages had more than one monster, and the auras they emitted were all extremely powerful.
In the blink of an eye, over a hundred monsters appeared in this open space, densely packed, their momentum terrifying.
"Monsters formed from Space Divine Power, monsters formed from Origin Divine Power, and... monsters formed from Time Divine Power and Dark Divine Power. Just how many gods once fought here?" The Thousand Star Celestial Maiden's pupils involuntarily contracted.
Killing one monster was like poking a hornet's nest, drawing out over a hundred monsters of various kinds. They had clearly fallen into a monster's nest.