Chapter 2168: Great Perfection
Setting aside many distracting thoughts, Zhang Ruochen sat down cross-legged, seizing the time to comprehend the Sacred Dao. No matter what, he did not want to miss the great opportunity of the Truth Divine Temple.
However, cultivating to the Great Perfection of the Saint King Realm was truly not an easy task, and it was even accompanied by great danger.
Throughout history, many prodigies who had attempted to break through to the Great Perfection of the Saint King Realm had met with extremely tragic fates. At the very least, their cultivation would regress; at worst, they would perish, body and Dao extinguished.
As a result, fewer and fewer people walked this path later on, and the Great Perfection of the Saint King Realm completely became a legend.
If not for this, when Yan Wushen broke through earlier, Yin Yuanzhen would not have looked so shocked.
A peerless genius like Yan Wushen, who might only appear once in an era, had to take an extremely dangerous path and spend nearly a thousand years to achieve the Great Perfection of the Saint King Realm. The difficulty of this was evident.
Under normal circumstances, when a cultivator’s cultivation reached the Lin Dao Realm and the number of Sacred Dao Rules reached thirty million, it would become increasingly difficult to cultivate more Sacred Dao Rules. Those who could exceed ninety million were extremely rare, truly as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
The more Sacred Dao Rules one had, the harder they were to control. A single misstep could break the balance and harm oneself.
Zhang Ruochen also faced a major problem: his cultivation and physical body had both reached their limits, making it very easy to involuntarily break through to the Great Saint Realm.
With only the last tens of thousands of rules remaining, Zhang Ruochen naturally cultivated selectively, focusing on the three Eternal Daos, three Supreme Saint Daos, and the Five Elements Dao, as well as the various greater and lesser Daos related to them.
As the saying goes, cultivation knows no time, especially when one is completely immersed in it, making it impossible to feel the passage of time.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen’s body trembled violently, his blood Qi unstable, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood.
“I was too impatient. The further I go, the more cautious I need to be,” Zhang Ruochen murmured.
He had wanted to push through in one go and break the shackles, but he had clearly thought it too simple, and now he was tasting the bitter fruit.
The closer one got to the Great Perfection of the Saint King Realm, the more careful one had to be with every Sacred Dao Rule cultivated. Remember, a thousand-mile dike can collapse from an ant hole; details are the key to success or failure.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen temporarily stopped cultivating, activated the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*, absorbed the essence of the Seven Star Divine Lotus Sun Leaf, healed the injuries he had just sustained, and silently pondered how to proceed next.
After some time, Zhang Ruochen fully healed his injuries and returned to his peak state.
“My advantage lies in having six sacred manifestations, which allows me to control the cultivated Sacred Dao Rules relatively more easily than ordinary people. Yan Wushen should be the same.”
“But at the same time, the six sacred manifestations disperse the Sacred Dao Rules, each acting independently. To achieve perfect harmony and maintain absolute balance, the difficulty increases greatly.”
“Fortunately, I created the Tongtian River back then, connecting the six sacred manifestations to each other. Otherwise, I would be in real trouble now.”
After healing, Zhang Ruochen carefully analyzed his own situation.
Only by fully understanding his own condition could he identify the key to the problem and solve it in a targeted manner.
“Perhaps I can use the Truth Realm Form to suppress myself,” Zhang Ruochen thought secretly.
He didn’t know if this method would work, but it was still a possibility worth trying.
With this in mind, Zhang Ruochen immediately took action. Nearly a million Truth Rules, accompanied by vast Five Elements Chaos Qi, surged out from his body, interweaving to quickly form a hazy Chaos World.
“Buzz.”
An invisible fluctuation appeared. The Truth Realm Form Zhang Ruochen had condensed resonated strangely with the Truth Mountain.
Above the Truth Mountain, a vast starry sky was reflected, densely packed with billions of stars. Each star was transformed from strange characters, emitting boundless sacred light.
At the edge of the starry sky was endless Chaos, indescribable, constantly extending and expanding.
Although Zhang Ruochen had successfully condensed the Truth Realm Form at the foot of the mountain, it was only now that he truly used it, fully manifesting it.
Chaos encompasses everything and holds infinite possibilities. Thus, the Truth Realm Form Zhang Ruochen condensed was also like this, capable of continuous evolution and transformation. No one could determine what it would eventually become.
At the top of the mountain, the tall figure appeared again, looking up at the countless stars. A hint of unusual color appeared in his eyes. “Constantly changing, such a special Truth Realm Form. Could it eventually evolve into ‘Unbounded Universe’?”
Under normal circumstances, once a cultivator’s Truth Realm Form was condensed, it would be fixed.
For example, the “Thick Earth Below” Truth Realm Form condensed by Archangel King Michael would remain “Thick Earth Below” no matter how much his Truth Dao improved or how strong his cultivation became, even if he became a god. It would never become “Star Sea Without Shore.”
In the tall figure’s view, the Truth Realm Form Zhang Ruochen had now condensed should be equivalent to “Star Sea Without Shore,” but it seemed to still have room for growth and had not been completely fixed.
The reason could only be that Zhang Ruochen had not used the secret method of the Truth Divine Temple to condense the Truth Realm Form but relied on his own exploration.
However, this method of condensing the Truth Realm Form was clearly very imperfect. Even if told to others, it would be difficult to imitate.
“Using the Truth Realm Form to suppress oneself is not a bad idea. I hope this little fellow succeeds; otherwise, I might have to wait another era,” the tall figure murmured softly.
If not for cherishing talent, the tall figure would not have provided Zhang Ruochen with divine stones, even though those dozens of divine stones were of little value in her eyes.
The opportunity had been given. Whether he could seize it depended on Zhang Ruochen’s own ability.
Zhang Ruochen did not notice the anomaly above. His mind was completely immersed in the Divine Light Qi Sea, doing his utmost to condense new Sacred Dao Rules.
The Truth Realm Form was indeed extraordinary. It actually suppressed the Tongtian River, making it extremely stable. Dozens of Sacred Dao Rules were added in succession without any major disturbance.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen did not become careless. He mobilized all his spiritual power, carefully observing the situation of the Tongtian River, doing his best to make the structure of the Sacred Dao Rules perfect.
Later, Zhang Ruochen also deployed the Space True Domain, combining it with the Truth Realm Form.
He even used treasures like the *Space-Time Secret Scripture*, the Mountain-Hiding Demon Mirror, and the Annihilating Golden Sun. He left nothing out that could help with cultivation.
Even so, the cultivation was still not very smooth. Zhang Ruochen vomited blood many times, suffering backlash from some mysterious rule power. Twice, his Qi Sea even cracked, nearly being destroyed.
If not for the miraculous power of the Seven Star Divine Lotus Sun Leaf constantly repairing his injured body, he might have suffered Dao injuries and ruined his future.
“Boom.”
An immensely powerful aura surged out from Zhang Ruochen’s body.
A towering and majestic phantom of a god and demon condensed. Beneath its feet was a vast hell, with evil Qi constantly emerging. Inside, countless evil spirits seemed to be roaring, but they were firmly suppressed by it, unable to break free.
“Unexpectedly, taking this opportunity, I have successfully cultivated the third level of ‘God-Demon Prison Hell,’ reaching the level of an indestructible high-rank sacred art,” Zhang Ruochen thought with slight joy.
Since obtaining the sacred art “God-Demon Prison Hell,” he had begun to comprehend and cultivate it. But before this, he had only cultivated the second level, reaching the level of a mid-rank sacred art. It was not very significant to him, so he had never used it in battle.
Only now had he finally succeeded in cultivating the third level, with power comparable to the twelfth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm and the eleventh level of the Luo Water Fist Art.
The reason he cultivated God-Demon Prison Hell at this time was mainly because Zhang Ruochen felt that this sacred art could help him suppress the Sacred Dao Rules within the Tongtian River.
And the facts proved that the suppression effect was indeed very good.
Although Zhang Ruochen had not cultivated demonic path techniques, using the Five Elements Chaos Qi to perform God-Demon Prison Hell was equally powerful and no weaker than Annihilation World Demon Qi.
At a certain moment, Zhang Ruochen’s body trembled. Numerous cracks appeared on his body’s surface, like a porcelain bottle about to shatter. Sacred blood continuously seeped out.
An extremely powerful force burst forth from within his body, seemingly about to tear him apart.
“Pfft.”
Zhang Ruochen spat out a large mouthful of blood, nearly collapsing to the ground.
Immediately, he took out a bottle of Life Spring and drank it all in one go. Then, he activated the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture* and focused on healing himself.
After a long time, Zhang Ruochen’s aura gradually stabilized. The danger of his body exploding was finally resolved, and the cracks on his body’s surface healed at a visible rate.
“The impact of the Great Perfection of the Saint King Realm is so dangerous. No wonder few have dared to try it since the Middle Ages,” Zhang Ruochen said with a hint of gravity in his eyes.
What had just happened was truly dangerous. His power had nearly completely spiraled out of control. Even if he could preserve his sacred soul, his physical body would certainly be destroyed.
Fortunately, he stopped in time and drank a large amount of Life Spring, turning danger into safety.
“Continue. If I don’t achieve the Great Perfection of the Saint King Realm, how can I fight Yan Wushen? How can I save Kunlun?” Zhang Ruochen’s eyes showed determination.
Since Yan Wushen could succeed, why couldn’t he, Zhang Ruochen?
Immediately, Zhang Ruochen adjusted his state again and began the breakthrough anew.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen kept trying, experiencing danger time and again, but he never gave up.
Because he knew that if he chose to retreat at this moment, his state of mind would develop a major flaw and would never be perfect again.
“Crack.”
Once again, numerous cracks appeared on Zhang Ruochen’s body. Sacred blood soaked his clothes, turning him completely into a blood man.
Inside the Divine Light Qi Sea, the situation was equally chaotic. The Tongtian River was extremely unstable, on the verge of collapse at any moment. The six sacred souls were all affected as a result.
If this continued, even if the Tongtian River was not destroyed, many of the Sacred Dao Rules within it would likely be worn away, damaging the foundation of the Sacred Dao.
However, this time, Zhang Ruochen did not stop. He still chose to continue the breakthrough.
“Success or failure depends on this one move. God-Defying Stele, suppress for me!”
Zhang Ruochen roared inwardly.
An ancient, incomplete stele appeared out of nowhere in the Divine Light Qi Sea, hovering above the Tongtian River.
An invisible force spread, causing the entire Divine Light Qi Sea to seem to fall into a state of stillness. The Tongtian River, on the verge of collapse, also calmed down as a result.
Seizing this opportunity, Zhang Ruochen focused all his efforts on condensing new Sacred Dao Rules within the Tongtian River.
“Rumble.”
A vast river surged out from Zhang Ruochen’s body, entirely composed of Sacred Dao Rules.
In this river were a full one hundred million Sacred Dao Rules, each one thick and solid.
As soon as it appeared, the rules and sacred Qi of heaven and earth converged from all directions, like stars surrounding the moon.
Zhang Ruochen was covered in blood, looking somewhat ferocious and terrifying, but at this moment, he was smiling, unable to hide the joy in his heart.
“Success! Nineteen years, dozens of injuries—all the effort was worth it,” Zhang Ruochen said with excitement in his eyes.
The tall figure stood at the mountain peak, looking down at Zhang Ruochen, who was halfway up the mountain. “I didn’t expect him to actually succeed within twenty years, and he has cultivated eleven types of Sacred Daos to Great Perfection. Even in the Dark Ancient Era, this would be considered stunningly brilliant.”
Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation to the Great Perfection of the Saint King Realm had the tall figure as its sole witness.
If this was not leaked, no one would know his true strength until he made a move, making it a major trump card.
The Sacred Daos Zhang Ruochen had cultivated to the Great Perfection were: Time, Space, Truth, Sword Dao, Fist Dao, Palm Dao, and the Five Elements Dao—three Eternal Daos and eight Supreme Saint Daos. If this got out, few would likely believe it.
Just in terms of the number of Sacred Daos cultivated to Great Perfection, Zhang Ruochen had undoubtedly surpassed Yan Wushen.
In the vast river of rules, two invisible vortices slowly rotated. Even on the Truth Mountain, they twisted the space-time of a small area, seemingly connected to the future.
The million Truth Rules condensed into a thick book, bearing all the truths of the world, containing endless knowledge, and explaining the mysteries of the universe.
The Sword Dao Rules naturally transformed into a sacred sword. The Fist Dao Rules turned into a surging river. The Palm Dao Rules became a dragon and an elephant, all in the form of sacred manifestations.
As for the five million rules of the Five Elements Dao, they interwove with each other, giving rise to a Five Elements Heavenly Disk. It slowly rotated, evolving the various mysteries of the mutual generation and restraint of the five elements.
“There seemed to be a very special power fluctuation just now, a feeling of familiarity. It seems Zhang Ruochen hides many secrets,” the tall figure thought to himself.
If Zhang Ruochen had heard this, he would have immediately realized that the power fluctuation the tall figure sensed was undoubtedly the God-Defying Stele.
Fortunately, he had only let the God-Defying Stele appear for a moment and had done his utmost to conceal its aura. As soon as he completed the breakthrough, he put it away again. Otherwise, it would likely have been exposed by now.
The God-Defying Stele was too special. Once exposed, it would bring him immense trouble, and even gods would disregard their dignity to attack him.
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, activated his technique, and withdrew all the Sacred Dao Rules back into his body.
Now, he truly stood at the pinnacle of the Saint King Realm, with his power reaching its limit. To improve further, he would have to break through to the Great Saint Realm.
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This chapter makes up for yesterday. Rare, right? Didn’t expect it? Surprised? Hmph, I, Feitian Yu, actually make up chapters too!