Chapter 2211: Spiritual Power Great Saint
Withdrawing his ten golden wings, Zhang Ruochen slowly descended to Xue Hou’s side. The strange blood qi emanating from the Nether Ancient Blood Spring continued to flow endlessly into his body, nourishing his flesh and strengthening his acupoints.
Compared to before the baptism, Zhang Ruochen’s temperament had clearly undergone a significant change. An indescribable nobility radiated from him, making others feel inferior.
The reason lay in Zhang Ruochen simultaneously activating the bloodline power of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable and the Blood Absolute Clan’s ancestor, merging a trace of their will into himself.
“Congratulations, Senior Brother, for your great advancement in cultivation, the transformation of your bloodline, and achieving ten wings—truly rare in ancient and modern times,” Xue Tu said with a smile.
Having already pledged himself as a disciple under Xue Hou, he could no longer regard Zhang Ruochen with the same hostility as before. Calling Zhang Ruochen “Senior Brother” was only natural.
Moreover, given Zhang Ruochen’s current achievements, Xue Tu truly admired him. Even though he had inherited the Blood Flame War God’s mark, he still could not compare.
Under normal circumstances, Undying Blood Clan members reaching the Great Saint realm would only have three pairs of flesh wings, typically needing to reach the Supreme Realm to grow five pairs.
Of course, a few exceptionally powerful Supreme Realm Great Saints might have more than five pairs of wings.
Zhang Ruochen had only just reached the Immortal Realm, yet his wing count already rivaled that of Supreme Realm experts. When his own cultivation reached the Supreme Realm, who knew how many pairs of wings he would possess?
Zhang Ruochen said, “It’s only ten wings.”
With the true form of the Blood Absolute Clan’s ancestor right before him, who could afford to be proud?
Then, Zhang Ruochen said to Xue Hou, “Mother, the baptism is complete. I should return and continue my secluded cultivation. I will appear at the Divine Ascension Assembly.”
“Mm, Mother also needs to make some preparations,” Xue Hou said.
As one of the main figures of the Divine Ascension Assembly, with the gods of the Blood Heaven Tribe arriving, Xue Hou naturally had many matters to attend to.
Without any delay, Zhang Ruochen left this ancient secret realm directly.
“Senior Brother, please wait.”
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to return to his residence, Xue Tu’s voice suddenly rang out.
Zhang Ruochen turned around, looking at Xue Tu, and asked, “What is it?”
Regarding Xue Tu, Zhang Ruochen truly had little to say. After all, there had once been a great enmity between them, and Zhang Ruochen had nearly died at his hands.
Even if, for Xue Hou’s sake, Zhang Ruochen could let bygones be bygones, their relationship had not yet reached the point of being close senior and junior brothers.
Xue Tu’s eyes showed hesitation, as if he wanted to speak but held back. After a long moment, he said, “Senior Brother, could you return the Endless Hell Prison Tower to me?”
Xue Tu was well aware of Zhang Ruochen’s attitude toward him, but he had no choice. The Endless Hell Prison Tower was too important; he had to get it back.
“You want the Endless Hell Prison Tower back? Why do you think I would return it to you? Once it’s in my hands, it’s naturally mine. You’re already a Great Saint; I shouldn’t have to teach you this principle,” Zhang Ruochen said, the shameless image of the Moon God surfacing in his mind, and he couldn’t help but imitate it.
Of course, he wasn’t being shameless.
Taking something from an enemy was a rightful acquisition.
The Endless Hell Prison Tower was a Supreme Sacred Artifact that had once refined a god to death. Even damaged, its value was immeasurable.
Xue Tu said, “Senior Brother, you can name any condition. As long as I can do it, I will not refuse.”
As a dignified Great Saint, having to humble himself like this, Xue Tu truly had no other option.
The Endless Hell Prison Tower was not his; its true owner was his divine father, Blood Radiance Divine Lord.
Blood Radiance Divine Lord had specifically lent the Endless Hell Prison Tower to Xue Tu for temporary use, hoping he would achieve merit in the Kunlun Realm and seize the treasures left by the Kunlun Realm’s gods.
But unexpectedly, in his very first battle in the Kunlun Realm, Xue Tu had fallen into Zhang Ruochen’s hands, severely wounded and fleeing.
After finally recovering from his injuries, he sought to seize the treasures left by the Blood God, only to be suppressed by Blood Lingxian, with the Endless Hell Prison Tower falling into Zhang Ruochen’s hands.
Thinking of all this, Xue Tu felt nothing but frustration and resentment.
He was a noble divine son, with formidable combat power, wielding a Supreme Sacred Artifact. On the battlefield below the Great Saint level, he should have swept everything before him.
He had never imagined ending up in such a state.
Regardless, Xue Tu could not let his divine father know that the Endless Hell Prison Tower had been taken.
Therefore, before his divine father arrived for the Divine Ascension Assembly, he had to get the tower back.
Zhang Ruochen guessed the reason Xue Tu wanted the tower back, likely related to his divine father.
Except for cultivators from the Kunlun Realm, how could cultivators from other major worlds, at the realm below Great Saint, possibly obtain a Supreme Sacred Artifact?
It was only because the number of Supreme Sacred Artifacts in the Kunlun Realm far exceeded the number of Great Saints and gods that Saint Kings and Saints might wield a Supreme Sacred Artifact.
In other major worlds, including the Hell Realm, the number of Great Saints and gods far exceeded the number of Supreme Sacred Artifacts. It was normal for a Great Saint not to have a Supreme Sacred Artifact.
The Supreme Sacred Artifacts used by Saint King realm cultivators on the Kunlun Realm Merit Battlefield were all temporarily granted by gods or Great Saints. After completing their tasks, they had to be returned.
“The power of gods is omnipotent. Xue Tu’s divine father might have already calculated that the Endless Hell Prison Tower has fallen into my hands.”
Zhang Ruochen carefully considered various possibilities, staring at the bitter-faced Xue Tu, and said, “Wanting the Endless Hell Prison Tower back is not impossible.”
“Really?” Xue Tu showed a look of joy.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Don’t be too happy too soon. This is a Supreme Sacred Artifact; do you think I would just return it to you casually? First, go do something for me. If you succeed, we’ll talk.”
“What do you need me to do?” Xue Tu quickly asked.
Having room for negotiation was a good thing. He was truly afraid that Zhang Ruochen would give him no chance at all.
Zhang Ruochen lowered his voice and said, “I want you to find someone, him.”
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen released a force, condensing a lifelike figure—it was Xuanji Sword Saint, who had disappeared without a trace after entering the Underworld.
Having come to the Hell Realm, Zhang Ruochen naturally wanted to find Xuanji Sword Saint.
The bond between master and disciple was deep; after parting in the Underworld, he missed him greatly.
He wondered what the old man was doing in the Hell Realm.
“Who is he? Where should I look for him?” Xue Tu asked.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze grew heavy. After a long silence, he sighed and said, “He is my master. He died in the Underworld behind the Fallen God Tomb Forest in the Eastern Domain of the Kunlun Realm. It’s very possible he has become a member of the Corpse Clan.”
Regarding the true situation of Xuanji Sword Saint, Zhang Ruochen naturally could not tell Xue Tu.
Hearing this, Xue Tu frowned and said, “The Underworld of the Kunlun Realm is derived from the Hell Realm’s Santu River. Entering the Hell Realm through it makes it hard to say where one might end up. Finding him won’t be easy.”
The Santu River was immensely vast, flowing through the starry sky. It was the source of the Corpse Clan, Bone Clan, and another clan, shrouded in darkness and death qi, a forbidden land for living beings.
In particular, the Undying Blood Clan, Shura Clan, and Rakshasa Clan rarely set foot in the Santu River basin.
“If it were easy to find, I wouldn’t have asked you to do it,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Xue Tu showed a bitter smile and said, “Senior Brother, you only suspect that your master has become a member of the Corpse Clan; you can’t be sure. If his corpse hasn’t awakened and is still soaking in the Santu River, how am I supposed to find him? This is like looking for a needle in a haystack—you’re deliberately making things difficult for me.”
“If Senior Brother truly wants to find your master, you could ask Master to act. With divine means, it would be easy to deduce your master’s situation.”
This matter was too uncertain; Xue Tu did not want to take it on.
If a god could deduce Xuanji Sword Saint’s whereabouts, Xuanji Sword Saint would have already died in the Hell Realm.
There must be a powerful being covering up all heavenly secrets related to Xuanji Sword Saint. Zhang Ruochen suspected that there were quite terrifying gods from the Kunlun Realm still alive, and they were in the Hell Realm.
“As a Great Saint, you find it difficult to find one person? You disappoint me. I even wonder if Mother made a mistake in taking you as a disciple. Anyway, I’ve given you the chance. Since you’re unwilling, forget about getting the Endless Hell Prison Tower back,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Hearing this, Xue Tu immediately panicked. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he said, “Fine, I’ll go. I’ll do my utmost to find him.”
The dignity of a Great Saint was no longer something he could afford to care about.
If he couldn’t retrieve the Endless Hell Prison Tower, his divine father might retrieve it himself, but he would surely be deeply disappointed in him.
“This matter must be kept secret. Do not reveal it to anyone,” Zhang Ruochen said sternly.
Then, Zhang Ruochen opened the Qiankun Realm and released a person—the Stone Emperor he had subdued on True Dragon Island.
“Stone Emperor will go with you to do this.”
Stone Emperor’s gaze was indifferent. Without a word, he walked over to Xue Tu and patted him on the shoulder.
Xue Tu hadn’t expected Zhang Ruochen to have such a powerful figure by his side.
He was now an Immortal Realm Great Saint, possessing the Blood Flame War God’s mark, yet facing Stone Emperor, he could still feel considerable pressure.
“Even under a god, the number of Great Saints is extremely rare. Zhang Ruochen has just broken through to become a Great Saint, yet he can command a Great Saint of the Stone Clan? We’re both divine sons, both geniuses—why is the gap so big?” Xue Tu felt deeply unsettled.
“Please rest assured, Senior Brother. I will do my utmost to accomplish this task.”
Immediately, Xue Tu took Stone Emperor and set off, hoping to finish this matter quickly.
“Master, where are you? What are you doing?” Zhang Ruochen was full of questions.
To ensure Xuanji Elder’s safety, Zhang Ruochen had secretly ordered Stone Emperor to eliminate Xue Tu if he showed any intention of leaking the information.
If not for this consideration, why would Zhang Ruochen have specifically arranged for Stone Emperor to accompany Xue Tu?
Watching Xue Tu and Stone Emperor leave the Blood Absolute Clan, Zhang Ruochen did not delay. He directly returned to his residence, restarted the Sundial, and continued his secluded cultivation.
However, Zhang Ruochen did not rush to refine the purchased dragon souls and elephant souls. Instead, he devoted all his mental energy to spiritual power cultivation.
His powerful spiritual power was fully retracted into his Sacred Heart, refined over and over again.
Spiritual power cultivation was far more difficult than martial path cultivation. Those who could become Spiritual Power Great Saints were extremely rare.
Even though his spiritual power had reached the peak of the fifty-ninth rank, infinitely close to the sixtieth rank, crossing that step was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
For example, Grand Chancellor Wang Shiqi, known as a Confucian Saint Teacher, was exceptionally talented, but after over a thousand years of cultivation, he still couldn’t raise his spiritual power to the sixtieth rank.
Using the Imperial Divine Ruler, Zhang Ruochen refined his spiritual power to the extreme, reaching the limit of a Spiritual Power Saint King in both quality and quantity, rarely matched.
After experiencing a life-and-death crisis, Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual will had become even stronger.
And the earlier awakening of the wills of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable and the Blood Absolute Clan’s ancestor finally allowed Zhang Ruochen to seize the breakthrough opportunity.
He mobilized the Truth Esoterica within him to help break through the sixtieth-rank barrier.
Zhang Ruochen’s accumulation was already sufficient. With the help of the Truth Esoterica, the sixtieth-rank barrier naturally could not stop him.
“Boom.”
Zhang Ruochen’s Sacred Heart trembled. Countless bolts of lightning energy coursed over it, like a myriad of spirit snakes, as if they possessed life.
The barrier was broken. Zhang Ruochen’s vast spiritual power immediately began to compress rapidly, condensing into spiritual power thoughts.
Each spiritual power thought was formed from thousands of strands of spiritual power, undergoing a qualitative transformation. In no time, all of Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual power had condensed into five hundred thoughts.
These thoughts all took human form, floating within Zhang Ruochen’s Sacred Heart.
And before all the thoughts stood two immensely tall and majestic figures—the spiritual wills of the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable and the Blood Absolute Clan’s ancestor that had previously merged into Zhang Ruochen’s body.
Compared to these two spiritual wills, the five hundred spiritual power thoughts Zhang Ruochen had condensed appeared extremely small, like five hundred ants gazing up at two divine dragons.
In fact, Zhang Ruochen could have condensed more spiritual power thoughts, but due to the influence of these two wills, his spiritual power was highly refined, stronger in essence, but fewer in number.
With a thought, Zhang Ruochen released all five hundred spiritual power thoughts, transforming them into five hundred spiritual power avatars.
Each spiritual power avatar was comparable to a Spiritual Power Saint.
If he wished, Zhang Ruochen could use his mind five hundred ways simultaneously, having the spiritual power avatars do different things.
Of course, he could also have all five hundred spiritual power avatars learn the same thing. Although the efficiency of each individual was only comparable to a Saint, far below Zhang Ruochen’s Great Saint-level learning speed, when combined, it would be quite astonishing.
Becoming a Spiritual Power Great Saint and condensing spiritual power thoughts brought another great benefit: within the range covered by his spiritual power, he could instantly project a spiritual power avatar to any location and retrieve it just as quickly.
“The difference between a Spiritual Power Great Saint and a Spiritual Power Saint King is truly like heaven and earth. Spiritual power thoughts can penetrate the world and engage in deep communication with the world’s rules. No wonder they can summon souls for people,” Zhang Ruochen said with a look of realization.
However, with only five hundred spiritual power thoughts, he was obviously unable to summon souls for others. He would probably be killed by the backlash of the world’s rules before he could recall even a few soul fragments.
Soon, Zhang Ruochen calmed down again, organizing and familiarizing himself with the condensed spiritual power thoughts, consolidating his spiritual power cultivation.
His previous accumulation was very deep, so after breaking through, his spiritual power cultivation rose steadily without stopping.
After a continuous period of secluded cultivation lasting eighteen years, Zhang Ruochen’s condensed spiritual power thoughts reached three thousand, six times the original number. Consequently, his spiritual power cultivation had risen to the mid-sixtieth rank.
Not only that, but his martial path cultivation had also smoothly broken through, reaching the mid-Immortal Realm.
With about ten days left until the Divine Ascension Assembly, Zhang Ruochen was in no hurry to emerge from seclusion.
Zhang Ruochen released his Space Sacred Aspect, Time Sacred Aspect, Sword Dao Sacred Aspect, Fist Dao Sacred Aspect, and Immovable Wisdom King Sacred Aspect, each to comprehend space, time, the Wordless Sword Manual, the Luo Water Fist Art, and the Demon God Prison Suppression.
The three thousand spiritual power thoughts transformed into three thousand spiritual power avatars, some refining swords, some practicing fists, some depicting space inscriptions... assisting in the comprehension of various techniques.
As for his Palm Dao Sacred Aspect, it remained in his physical body, as he intended to focus on cultivating the thirteenth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
The Hundred Shackles Realm dragon souls and elephant souls he had bought were already there, so naturally, he would use them.
If he could quickly master a Hundred Shackles-level high-rank Sacred Art, it would undoubtedly greatly enhance his strength.
For Zhang Ruochen, with his half-divine body, accommodating two Hundred Shackles Realm dragon souls and two Hundred Shackles Realm elephant souls was not a difficult task and would not harm his body.
The real difficulty lay in controlling the vast yang energy. Any slight mistake could lead to a demonic deviation.
Cultivating Dragon-Elephant World-Destruction required a massive amount of yang qi.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen had the divine sun formed from the Seven-Star Divine Lingzhi’s sun leaf within him, which could solve the yang qi problem.
As he absorbed more and more yang qi, Zhang Ruochen’s body grew increasingly hot. His skin turned red, like heated metal.
The Divine Dragon Enlightenment Chamber was extraordinary, able to contain this heat without damage and keep the outside world unaware of the commotion.
When Zhang Ruochen refined the first dragon soul, the yang qi within him had already reached seven hundred thousand times that of an ordinary person. Every pore on his body spewed flames, and his blood qi boiled.
After the second dragon soul merged into his arm, the yang qi reached eight hundred thousand times that of an ordinary person. His blood qi raged like a dragon, nearly bursting his physical body.
The blazing flame scorched his heart, directly affecting Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual will. The pain was indescribable.
“Roar.”
After refining the two elephant souls into his arm as well, Zhang Ruochen couldn’t help but emit dragon roars and elephant bellows. Terrifying yang fire rose from his body, as if it would burn the heavens.
Combined with the Great Saint dragon soul and Great Saint elephant soul he had refined back in the Saint King realm, three dragon souls and three elephant souls now manifested on either side of Zhang Ruochen, solid and lifelike, releasing a powerful aura that oppressed the heavens.
The previously refined dragon souls and elephant souls had not been devoured. Zhang Ruochen planned to continue nurturing them, letting them grow step by step, laying the groundwork for the next stage of cultivation.
With his current powerful blood qi, it wouldn’t take long to raise the dragon souls and elephant souls to the Hundred Shackles Realm level.
The second stage of Dragon-Elephant World-Destruction required refining five Thousand Questions Realm dragon souls and five Thousand Questions Realm elephant souls each.
Given Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation and strength, he dared not even think about it.
“Just by cultivating Dragon-Elephant World-Destruction to the minor completion stage, the yang qi within me has reached a million times that of an ordinary person. If I cultivate it to the great perfection stage, how strong would it be?” Zhang Ruochen speculated inwardly.
Cultivating the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm seemed calm on the surface, but it was extremely dangerous. Even with his current spiritual will, he had barely been able to withstand it.
If he released all this yang qi, it would be enough to melt stars in an instant, leaving a radius of tens of thousands of miles barren.
Regardless, Zhang Ruochen had finally cultivated the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm into a Hundred Shackles-level high-rank Sacred Art—the first such technique he had mastered.
Even many Hundred Shackles Realm Great Saints found it difficult to successfully cultivate one.