# Chapter 2413: Questions and Answers
In the presence of a god like Xue Jue War God, no cultivator could remain completely at ease, let alone when their secret, which they did not wish to make public, was exposed on the spot.
Zhang Ruochen remained calm and replied, "I have gained some insights."
Continuing to deceive would only earn Xue Jue War God's contempt and displeasure. It was better to admit it proactively and face everything openly.
Xue Jue War God was no ordinary person. Playing petty tricks before him was meaningless.
Zhang Ruochen added, "Both the Six Paths Reincarnation and Yin-Yang Five Elements are great paths that can cycle and merge into one, representing the foundation of heaven and earth's truth rules. But achieving perfection in them is extremely difficult."
"Right now, I have already fused six types of Sacred Will. It seems I am only one step away. However, standing where I am now and seeing the road ahead clearly, I realize that the final step is still far beyond the horizon."
"It is difficult. The fusion of Yin-Yang and Five Elements is almost impossible."
In the past, Zhang Ruochen stood on the ground, wanting to ascend to the heavens. He saw towering, majestic mountains in the distance touching the sky. He thought that if he climbed those mountains, he could touch the heavens.
He believed this was not an impossible task.
Now, after countless hardships, Zhang Ruochen had painstakingly climbed to the mountain peak.
To those standing on the ground, it seemed he was only one step away from ascending to the heavens—a single light leap would take him there.
But only Zhang Ruochen, standing at the mountain's summit, knew that the distance to the heavens was still infinitely vast—far greater than all the distance he had traveled before, combined countless times over.
Moreover, climbing the mountain at least had a path. Now, there was no path at all.
The battle with Yan Wushen had allowed Zhang Ruochen to see clearly the distance between himself and the "heavens."
The clearer he saw, the more despair he felt inside.
If not for Zhang Ruochen having lived three lifetimes, his Dao heart tempered by "the fiercest fire and the coldest water" through countless trials and unyielding perseverance, his state of mind might have already collapsed, and he would have given up on continuing to ascend to the heavens.
Xue Jue War God asked, "Are you planning to give up, or will you continue forward?"
"Continue. At all costs, I will condense a First-rank Sacred Intent." Zhang Ruochen said without hesitation.
Xue Jue War God, clad in divine armor, his body imposing, sat at the center of the Divine Realm World and was silent for a long time. He said, "Only cultivators who have condensed a Second-rank Sacred Intent can understand the difficulty of condensing a First-rank Sacred Intent. The Sacred Intent you have cultivated has already reached the limit of Second-rank Sacred Intent, and even carries a trace of the essence of First-rank Sacred Intent—a height I myself was never able to reach."
At this point, Xue Jue War God paused before continuing, "You should now be very clear about how far you still are from a First-rank Sacred Intent, right?"
"Extremely clear." Zhang Ruochen said.
Xue Jue War God gazed into the distance and said, "I too once wanted to walk the path of First-rank Sacred Intent, but due to various reasons, I ultimately gave up. After becoming a god, my understanding of Sacred Intent, Profound Meaning, and heaven and earth rules deepened, and I developed some insights of my own. Do you want to hear them?"
"Please, War God, enlighten me."
Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands and bowed respectfully.
In all the world, the cultivators who could still guide Zhang Ruochen in his pursuit of First-rank Sacred Intent and help him find a path were few and far between. Xue Jue War God was one of the rare few.
Xue Jue War God said, "I do not know how to condense a First-rank Sacred Intent. But what I can say for certain is that, with your current abilities, it is absolutely impossible for you to succeed."
"Condensing Sacred Intent requires both external conditions and strengthening your own internal conditions."
"As for external conditions, you have the Quasi-Emperor Grade Sacred Intent Pill and the Purple Gold Gourd—both are extremely rare supreme treasures. I could even send you into the Undying Divine Temple and borrow its power to help you. So, external conditions are not the main concern."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What aspects of myself do I still need to strengthen?"
Xue Jue War God raised his right index finger and said, "First, raise your cultivation to the Great Perfection of the Hundred Shackles Realm, and break all the shackles within your body."
Then, he raised his middle finger and said, "Second, spiritual power. Your spiritual power must be raised to a much stronger level."
"My spiritual power has already reached the sixty-fifth rank." Zhang Ruochen said.
Xue Jue War God shook his head. "For other Great Saints, the sixty-fifth rank is already remarkable. But if you want to fuse a First-rank Sacred Intent, your spiritual power is far from sufficient. If you could achieve spiritual power godhood, reaching above the seventieth rank, it would be of great help in fusing Sacred Intent."
Zhang Ruochen's pupils contracted.
Cultivating spiritual power to the seventieth rank and achieving godhood while still in the Hundred Shackles Realm was something Zhang Ruochen dared not even imagine.
Spiritual power at the seventieth rank could contend with true gods.
Before he could speak, Xue Jue War God said, "Considering that you are too young and have too little experience, it is almost impossible for you to cultivate your spiritual power to the seventieth rank within a thousand years. So, my requirement for you is to first raise your spiritual power to the sixty-seventh or sixty-eighth rank."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I have the Sundial to assist me. Even if it takes a thousand or two thousand years, I will cultivate my spiritual power to the seventieth rank, to make the best preparations for fusing Sacred Intent."
Zhang Ruochen expected Xue Jue War God to support him, but this time, Xue Jue War God stared at him without saying a word.
"War God, is there something wrong?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xue Jue War God said, "If time treasures and time formations could endlessly create top-tier powerhouses, the number of gods in Hell Realm would be several times greater than it is now, and the various realms of Heavenly Court would have long been annihilated."
"The Sundial is a very powerful time treasure. If it were not damaged, it would indeed have such capability."
"Because it can cover a vast expanse of heaven and earth. While cultivating inside it, cultivators can also train, fight, and gain experience, experiencing all the myriad phenomena of the world and all kinds of life."
Zhang Ruochen said thoughtfully, "War God means that the Sundial is already damaged and incomplete. It can only satisfy my need to cultivate inside it, but cannot satisfy my need to fight and gain experience inside it?"
"You can understand it that way."
Xue Jue War God said, "Time treasures at the level of the damaged Sundial number no less than ten in Hell Realm. Most of them are used by Saint Realm cultivators to rapidly elevate their cultivation."
"Gods cannot use them."
"Unless the range covered by the time treasure can encompass the entire body of a god and the entire Divine Realm World of a god."
"Even so, the powerful force of a god would still impact the Time Imprints, preventing them from entering the god's body. Just like your current mastery of time can threaten any Saint Realm cultivator, but it cannot affect a god. Even if a god stands still, you cannot cut away their lifespan."
Xue Jue War God continued, "Your spiritual power rose from the sixtieth rank to the sixty-fifth rank in a very short time. This was with the help of the Divine Wood Heart of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, and also with the help of Zangjin Baihu. But you have already absorbed most of the knowledge and power contained in the Divine Wood Heart, haven't you?"
Zhang Ruochen nodded.
Xue Jue War God said, "The knowledge of one Eon from the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree is already vast enough. With this foundation, your subsequent spiritual power cultivation will be much easier."
Zhang Ruochen said, "The knowledge contained in the Divine Wood Heart encompasses everything—astronomy, geography, formation mysteries, rune paths, alchemical methods, language, logic, arithmetic... Although I have fused this knowledge, it remains chaotic and disordered in my mind. Only by deliberately meditating can I find the specific knowledge I need."
Xue Jue War God asked, "You only have the Fire Path Sacred Intent left to fuse, correct?"
"Correct."
"Then let me ask you a question. What is the Path of Fire?"
Zhang Ruochen was taken aback.
Xue Jue War God said, "Doesn't the knowledge contained in the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree include information related to the Path of Fire?"
It did.
Of course it did, and a great deal of it.
But precisely because there was so much, so much chaos, Zhang Ruochen did not know how to answer.
If he were to organize all the knowledge about the Path of Fire and write it down on paper, it would probably fill dozens of carts.
Zhang Ruochen thought carefully. The more he thought, the more things appeared in his mind—dense, countless, endless. His head grew more and more painful, as if thousands of needles were stabbing into his scalp.
"Ah..."
With a cry of pain, Zhang Ruochen collapsed to the ground.
Xue Jue War God watched quietly, not helping him. He said, "Although you have fused the knowledge of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, this knowledge does not truly belong to you. You still need countless years of tempering and digestion to fully transform it into something of your own. By then, you should be able to achieve spiritual power godhood and reach the seventieth rank."
"And this process cannot be completed by simply going into seclusion with the Sundial. Even if you cultivate inside the Sundial for a thousand or ten thousand years, the final result will be the same as now—your head will ache as if you were going mad."
"To fully transform that knowledge into something of your own, you need to travel ten thousand miles, experience countless worldly affairs, and truly comprehend the knowledge through the details of your experiences."
Zhang Ruochen forced himself to stop thinking. Gradually, his head no longer hurt as much. Soaked through, he climbed up from the ground.
Xue Jue War God continued, "Walking is training. Eating is training. Marrying is training. Killing is training. Saving people is also training. Everything you experience is tempering and enlightenment."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Thank you for the guidance, War God."
Xue Jue War God said, "Do you know that with your current cultivation, you could be much stronger?"
"Stronger? How strong could I be?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Xue Jue War God said, "Strong enough that if you fought Yan Wushen again, you could defeat him without getting injured. Do you know why you are so weak?"
If any other Great Saint in Hell Realm heard this, they might cry.
Zhang Ruochen was weak?
Zhang Ruochen shook his head.
Xue Jue War God said, "Whether it is your spiritual power or your cultivation, you have improved too quickly, lacking the necessary sedimentation (chen dian)."
"Inside your body, both the Five Elements Chaos Saint Qi and the Blood Fiend Qi exist simultaneously, but they are too mixed and not condensed enough. The consequence is that your speed in casting Sacred Arts is not fast enough, the power you unleash when activating a Supreme Sacred Artifact is not strong enough, and your reaction speed in dealing with crises is also a beat slower."
Zhang Ruochen deeply felt this. When fighting against top experts, he always struggled to unleash tenfold attacks. Moreover, it was difficult for him to execute Thousand Questions-level high-rank Sacred Arts in the shortest possible time.
Xue Jue War God continued, "You possess the Five Elements Chaos Immortal Saint Body and a Half-God Body. You should be invincible in battle, sweeping away everything. Yet, when fighting against Que, Yan Wushen, Lan Ying, and others, you are repeatedly injured. Your Immortal Saint Body is like paper. Your Half-God Body is like tofu."
Zhang Ruochen certainly did not admit this inwardly. After all, Que, Yan Wushen, Lan Ying, and the others were all extraordinary individuals. Being injured by them was not shameful.
Besides, they were injured even more severely.
Xue Jue War God seemed to see what he was thinking and said, "You are someone who wants to fuse a First-rank Sacred Intent. You should set your sights higher. Don't compare yourself to them. Regard them as ants."
What would Que, Lan Ying, and the others think if they heard this?
Xue Jue War God said, "Your physical body is powerful, but you do not know how to use its power or protect it. The opponents you have encountered so far are only Great Saints at the level of Que and Yan Wushen. You can still recklessly use your body to withstand their attacks, and you can endure them."
"But if you encounter a Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm Great Saint or a Supreme Realm Great Saint, one strike from them could shatter your body into pieces. To possess the Five Elements Chaos Immortal Saint Body and a Half-God Body yet be unable to withstand their attacks—don't you find that laughable?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "So, the third point for fusing a First-rank Sacred Intent is to condense the Qi within my body and perfectly master my physical form?"
Xue Jue War God nodded with satisfaction. He had to admit that Zhang Ruochen's comprehension was very high.
Raising a fourth finger, Xue Jue War God said, "The fourth point is the Sacred Soul."
"In Heavenly Court and Hell Realm, there are many Divine Sons and Divine Daughters. From birth, their souls carry divine nature, and their soul bodies are quite powerful. Unfortunately, when your mother gave birth to you, she had not yet become a god. Otherwise, your Sacred Soul would be much stronger than it is now."
"The fastest way to enhance your Sacred Soul is to refine the Divine Star Soul. Coincidentally, a small amount is stored in the Seven Star Divine Palace. Go find it and use it yourself."
"After saying all this, only one sentence matters: If you want to fuse a First-rank Sacred Intent, you must elevate every aspect of yourself to the strongest level while in the Hundred Shackles Realm. Spiritual power is the key."
"Understood!" Zhang Ruochen bowed again.
Xue Jue War God finally asked, "Why did you pretend to be invaded by inner demons?"
Zhang Ruochen had already thought through how to answer. He said, "In truth, I was indeed invaded by inner demons and lost my mind. However... I had a supreme treasure on me that helped me hold onto the last thread of clarity. That treasure absolutely could not be exposed. Since there were other gods nearby at the time, I naturally could not tell the truth."
Zhang Ruochen planned to reveal the secret of the "Heart of Truth" to Xue Jue War God, as he could no longer hide it.
If Xue Jue War God also coveted this treasure, Zhang Ruochen would simply give it to him to save his own life. Of course, Zhang Ruochen trusted Xue Jue War God's magnanimity more.
As the most outstanding hero of the previous Eon, blessed with great fortune, he possessed countless rare treasures himself. How could he rob his own grandson for a treasure?
If Xue Jue War God showed no sign of covetousness, Zhang Ruochen could trust him more in the future and truly regard him as his backing in Hell Realm.
Something unexpected happened...
Xue Jue War God said, "Since it absolutely cannot be exposed, then you don't need to say it. Keep your own secret. Next, let's discuss the second matter. Do you understand the significance of Fu Lu Shen Zun betrothing you and Luo Sha?"
"I understand. It is to protect my position in Hell Realm." Zhang Ruochen said.
Xue Jue War God said, "Actually, there is a second layer of meaning. It is to keep you in Hell Realm forever. The deeper your ties to Hell Realm, the harder it will be for you to leave in the future. You are a person who values love and loyalty. Only love and loyalty can become your shackles."
"I..." Zhang Ruochen's expression changed, his gaze becoming heavy.
Xue Jue War God said, "Don't deny it. Even if you really want to leave in the future, you will still be my Xue Jue's grandson and still a member of the Blood Absolute Family. However, many things from now on may not follow your heart. Right now, I am considering things from Hell Realm's perspective. Of course, I also hope you will stay, and I will do some things to that end. You need to be mentally prepared."