Chapter 2225: Mu Lingxi's Jade Bracelet
The invitation was sent by Dao Yu Huang, the leader of the Qitian Tribe.
Zhang Ruochen opened the invitation and glanced at it.
The invitation was addressed to the "leader" of the Blood Heaven Tribe, inviting the "leader" to bring the Great Saints of the tribe to a night banquet where the ten major tribes of the Undying Blood Clan would gather.
Yu Huang refined the Sacred Spring and discovered that she had instantly gained thousands of additional rules.
This spring was by no means an ordinary item.
She wanted to drink more, but found the jade pot empty.
Yu Huang placed the jade pot back on the table and said, "Do you know why the invitation was sent to me?"
Zhang Ruochen lowered his gaze, staring at the fish swimming in the lake, and said indifferently, "The Qitian Tribe ranks first among the ten major tribes of the Undying Blood Clan. It's only natural for them to take the lead in gathering. However, Dao Yu Huang couldn't possibly be unaware that the leader of the Blood Heaven Tribe is me. Deliberately sending the invitation to you is clearly an attempt to sow discord between us—a lowly scheme of division."
"It's best that you understand this."
Yu Huang's tall and slender, beautiful sacred body rose as she prepared to leave.
"Wait."
Zhang Ruochen called out to her, saying, "I cannot attend this night banquet."
"Why?" Yu Huang asked, puzzled.
Zhang Ruochen sighed lightly, "The invitation from Dao Yu Huang was sent to you. It stands to reason that you should represent the Blood Heaven Tribe at the gathering."
"I am not the leader," Yu Huang snorted lightly.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Given the current situation, if I were to attend, the Qitian Tribe and the other eight major tribes would surely seize the opportunity to attack me, claiming that I came uninvited. My humiliation would be secondary. The key is that the face of the Blood Heaven Tribe must not be lost."
Yu Huang turned around abruptly, "Are you afraid?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, "I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself and will teach them a harsh lesson. That would cause division and major conflict within the Undying Blood Clan. Wouldn't that make the other clans of the Hell Realm laugh at us?"
Whether it was the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet or the overall environment of the Hell Realm, the ten major tribes of the Undying Blood Clan were both competitive and cooperative.
Take the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet, for example. The ten major tribes of the Undying Blood Clan first had to unite to fight against the Ghost Clan, Rakshasa Clan, Stone Clan, and the other nine clans.
This was a struggle among the ten clans, concerning the honor of the entire Undying Blood Clan.
Only then came the internal competition among the ten major tribes of the Undying Blood Clan.
If the ten major tribes of the Undying Blood Clan started infighting before the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet even began, they would not only be ridiculed but might also end up at the bottom of the rankings at the banquet.
Yu Huang stared intently at Zhang Ruochen, "Then what do you suggest? Do you really want me to represent the Blood Heaven Tribe at the night banquet of the ten major tribes? Aren't you afraid..."
She stopped mid-sentence.
Zhang Ruochen understood what she meant. The unfinished sentence was probably, "Aren't you afraid I'll seize your power and turn you into a puppet leader?"
He appeared indifferent, "I competed for the position of leader entirely for the glory of the Blood Absolute Family. But I am not very familiar with the cultivators of the Blood Heaven Tribe attending the banquet. If I were to be the leader, I would surely make a mess of things. I believe Yu Huang would not want to see such a situation, would you?"
"You do have some self-awareness. Do you know that because you are the leader, the Blood Heaven Tribe has become a target for everyone? Many of the enemies you made on the Kunlun Realm Merit Battlefield have already declared that they will severely humiliate the Blood Heaven Tribe at the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet," Yu Huang said bluntly.
Her tone was filled with resentment toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Therefore, the Blood Heaven Tribe needs you to step up and lead everyone. As for me, the lower my profile, the better. That way, the Blood Heaven Tribe will face less targeting."
Yu Huang did not expect Zhang Ruochen to voluntarily propose this, and a hint of surprise appeared in her heart.
Zhang Ruochen handed the invitation to her, "For the sake of the Blood Heaven Tribe, please take care of the matters concerning the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet, Yu Huang."
Yu Huang did not believe that Zhang Ruochen truly did not care about the identity of the leader, nor did she believe he would be so easy to deal with. Yet, she could not find a reason to refuse.
Unconsciously, she took the invitation.
Zhang Ruochen said, "There is another matter. The Qitian Tribe, Qingtian Tribe, and Huangtian Tribe all have Hundred Shackles Great Perfection experts. For the Blood Heaven Tribe to achieve something at the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet, we must also have a Hundred Shackles Great Perfection expert to hold the line."
Yu Huang snorted, "Hundred Shackles Great Perfection is not that easy to achieve."
"Have you not already broken ninety-nine shackles?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Yu Huang put away the invitation, clasped her jade arms behind her back, and said, "You, a Great Saint who has just reached the Immortal Realm, how could you understand the mysteries of the Hundred Shackles Realm?"
"Please enlighten me, Yu Huang," Zhang Ruochen said humbly.
Seeing him like this, Yu Huang was even more surprised.
Was this really the Zhang Ruochen who had terrified the Saint King Realm cultivators of the Hell Realm?
With his talent, strength, and background, he should be extremely arrogant and self-confident, just like Yan Wushen.
"What is he plotting?" Yu Huang was puzzled.
Since the other party's attitude was humble, she could not act arrogant and dismissive. Wouldn't that make Zhang Ruochen look down on her?
Yu Huang said, "After reaching the Hundred Shackles Realm, to continue growing stronger, one must not only comprehend the rules of the Sacred Dao but also continuously break the shackles within the body."
"The earlier shackles are easier to break."
"After breaking ninety shackles, each subsequent shackle becomes several times harder to break. It can be said that the last ten shackles are more difficult than the first ninety combined."
"Among them, the hardest is called the Thought Desire Shackle. It is invisible and intangible, the hardest to find and the hardest to break. Many Hundred Shackles Great Saints leave this shackle for last. I have spent five years, but I have not even found a trace of the Thought Desire Shackle."
Her mood was quite dejected, "It seems I am only one shackle away from Hundred Shackles Great Perfection, but the difference in combat power is like heaven and earth."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I have cultivated the Way of Truth. Perhaps I can use the power of truth to help you see through illusions and find the Thought Desire Shackle."
"You?"
Yu Huang had no good feelings for Zhang Ruochen, who came from the Heavenly Court Realm, "You are not a Truth Controller. With your meager attainments in the Way of Truth, you want to help me? Besides, even if you could help me, breaking the hundredth shackle is not something that can be done in a month or two."
"I am a Time Controller. It is not difficult for me to buy you a few years or even decades to break through your realm," Zhang Ruochen said with confidence.
Yu Huang said, "Nothing good comes from unsolicited favors. Zhang Ruochen, what exactly are you trying to do?"
"I just want the Blood Heaven Tribe to perform better at the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet," Zhang Ruochen said.
"You'd better not have any other intentions. No matter how you try to please me, it's useless."
Yu Huang's graceful figure rose like a celestial butterfly and flew out of the Hanhai Manor.
Zhang Ruochen called out, "Yu Huang, can you tell me your real name?"
There was no response.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head gently. For a beautiful Great Saint like Yu Huang, who was peerlessly talented, he had to take it step by step.
Returning to the area covered by the Sundial, Zhang Ruochen continued his cultivation.
His primary goal at the moment was to elevate his cultivation to the late stage of the Immortal Realm.
"It's time to spend more time comprehending and creating my own Sacred Will."
Cultivating a Sacred Will was a necessary step to break through to the late stage of the Immortal Realm.
"A Great Saint does not necessarily have to cultivate only one type of Sacred Will. If I directly cultivate the Time Sacred Will and Space Sacred Will, due to lack of experience, they might end up being of a very low grade."
Time, Space, and Sword Dao were the three paths Zhang Ruochen valued most.
He could not afford to be careless in any of them.
"First, cultivate the Fist Path Sacred Will."
The vast majority of Great Saints could only cultivate one type of Sacred Will. Those who cultivated two types were rare.
Those who cultivated three or more types were even rarer.
Even though Zhang Ruochen was confident in himself, he did not dare to act recklessly. He chose the "Fist Path," which he had cultivated to perfection in the Saint King Realm. It was also a very important first path.
First, Zhang Ruochen separated the 4.6 million Fist Path rules in his Qi Sea, gathered them together, and repeatedly condensed them.
The 4.6 million Fist Path rules intertwined in pairs, becoming 2.3 million thicker rules.
Then, they intertwined in pairs again.
In this way, after three months, the 4.6 million Fist Path rules were condensed into 460. Each one was as thick as a sacred pillar, containing mysterious and wondrous essence.
At this point, no matter how Zhang Ruochen mobilized his power, he could not make the Fist Path rules merge again.
"It seems I need external assistance."
Zhang Ruochen took out the Purple Gold Gourd, shrank his body, and flew inside.
With the help of the gourd's power, the 460 Fist Path rules in his Qi Sea seemed to melt, gathering together above the Tongtian River, forming a chaotic light ball.
Just as a Fist Path Sacred Will was about to condense from the light ball...
Suddenly, a violent explosion sounded. The chaotic light ball scattered, and the 460 Fist Path rules turned back into 4.6 million Fist Path rules, flying back to the Tongtian River.
All efforts were in vain.
"I was so close. What a pity."
Zhang Ruochen felt regret.
Months of hard work were undone in an instant.
"It seems the cultivation environment of the Purple Gold Gourd is still lacking. I need to buy a Star Core. Besides that, I also need to purchase some high-grade treasures to assist in cultivating the Sacred Will."
Flying out of the Purple Gold Gourd, Zhang Ruochen left the Hanhai Manor and headed straight for the River Market district.
A blood-red great river flowed through the center of the district.
On the river, sacred boats shuttled back and forth. Large ones carried palaces on board, emitting a deterrent aura of Great Saint power. Small ones were only a few zhang long, with just two or three cultivators sitting on them.
The so-called "River Market" was located on both banks of the blood-red river.
An old man from the Shura Clan spread out a piece of beast hide, on which were placed the blood, bones, and hearts of various sacred realm beings, using them as goods and shouting out prices.
There were also cultivators from the Underworld Clan selling various curse talismans.
A Ghost King from the Ghost Clan led a group of human slaves along the riverbank, selling them like livestock. The human slaves crawled on the ground, including graceful women and cultivators with sacred realm cultivation.
In the Hell Realm, being bought and sold repeatedly, doing all kinds of lowly work, they had long lost their dignity as humans.
Zhang Ruochen walked along the riverbank, watching all this calmly.
Because he was surrounded by sacred qi, even without deliberately hiding his face, very few cultivators could see his true appearance.
He walked and looked.
Some stalls had decent treasures, but with Zhang Ruochen's current standards, they were no longer worth his attention.
A Rakshasa woman at the Saint realm, wearing a black veil, appeared before Zhang Ruochen, bowed respectfully, and then said, "May I ask if you are Ruochen the Great Saint?"
Zhang Ruochen naturally did not believe that this woman could see his true face.
Clearly, there was a Great Saint-level expert nearby who had recognized him.
"You are?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"I am the sacred maid of Princess Luo Sha, Yao Li."
The sacred maid Yao Li continued, "The princess wishes to invite Ruochen the Great Saint for a chat."
Luo Sha was one of the few Hell Realm cultivators Zhang Ruochen did not hate. Perhaps it was because she was too beautiful, making it hard for a man to feel dislike.
Or perhaps it was because the two of them had once dual-cultivated spiritually, sharing a sensual and passionate past.
But when it came to feelings or friendship, that was another matter.
Their relationship was more one of enmity.
"I'm sorry, I have important matters to attend to and have no time for now." After declining, Zhang Ruochen prepared to leave.
"Please wait, Ruochen the Great Saint. The princess guessed that you would not want to see her, so she asked me to show you something first."
The sacred maid Yao Li took out a jade bracelet and handed it to Zhang Ruochen.
Seeing the jade bracelet, Zhang Ruochen's eyes narrowed sharply. His entire demeanor turned cold and fierce. He reached out and grabbed the sacred maid Yao Li by the neck, lifting her off the ground.
"Where did this jade bracelet come from?" Zhang Ruochen said coldly.
The sacred maid Yao Li could not speak. Her pretty face turned pale, and she was terrified. She used spiritual power to transmit her voice, "It was given to me by the princess."
"Bang."
Zhang Ruochen threw Yao Li to the ground, picked up the jade bracelet, and held it gently in his hand, his eyes filled with tenderness, "Take me to Luo Sha."
Under Yao Li's guidance, Zhang Ruochen left the River Market district and headed toward the Martial Arena district.
That jade bracelet was something Zhang Ruochen had personally refined and given to Mu Lingxi.
Although the bracelet was of very low grade and its internal storage space was very small, Mu Lingxi had always worn it. How did it end up in the Hell Realm? How did it fall into Luo Sha's hands?
Yao Li led Zhang Ruochen to a square in the Martial Arena district that emitted black light.
"Hua—"
Her figure flickered and disappeared from the spot.
Zhang Ruochen stood in the empty black square, calmly watching the scene, and murmured, "A Space Displacement Talisman! Who exactly is luring me here?"
"Huala."
At the edge of the black square, four black sacred light barriers rose, sealing the entire square.
A burly Rakshasa Great Saint, wearing sacred armor and holding a battle axe, walked out from the black light barrier behind Zhang Ruochen, burning with rage, "Zhang Ruochen, on the Kunlun Realm Merit Battlefield, you brutally killed my younger brother, the Great Prince Mohara. It's time to settle this score!"
Yesterday, I climbed from 9 AM until past 2 AM to reach the hotel at the mountaintop, cold, hungry, and exhausted, so I didn't write an update. My apologies.