# Chapter 245: Dark Attribute
For an Earth Extreme Realm martial artist, it was extremely difficult to achieve a speed of over two hundred meters per second unless they were a Triple Absolute Genius.
Triple Absolute Geniuses—throughout the entire thirty-six commanderies of Demon Ridge, there were only a handful of them. Each was a prominent figure among the younger generation. How could one encounter another so easily?
Zhang Ruochen immediately restrained his aura, becoming even more cautious as he pursued.
Chasing into that building, Zhang Ruochen saw that the entrance to the underground secret chamber had already been opened. His heart grew even more alarmed. "Could that person also be looking for the Half-Saint Sacred Intent Diagram?"
If the Half-Saint Sacred Intent Diagram were taken by someone else first, the loss would be enormous!
Zhang Ruochen dared not dwell on it. He activated his movement technique and pursued into the underground passage.
The underground passage was extremely deep, dark, and cold, but at the bottom of the passage appeared a cluster of bright light. A light-attribute spirit crystal was embedded in the stone wall, like a spiritual lamp in the void space.
The three layers of formation inscriptions outside the secret chamber had already been broken. The half-meter-thick stone door had been pushed open by that black-clothed person, forming a stone wall passage that could only allow a single person to pass through.
Zhang Ruochen stood outside the stone wall passage and looked inside. He saw that slender black-clothed figure, carrying a long sword wrapped in black cloth on their back, searching on a wooden platform that held many pill bottles. It seemed they were looking for some kind of pill?
"Who is it?"
That black-clothed person's ears twitched slightly. Their perception was extremely sharp. The moment Zhang Ruochen appeared outside the stone door, they detected Zhang Ruochen's aura.
It was actually a very pleasant female voice!
The black-clothed woman immediately turned around, fully mobilizing the true qi within her body. It transformed into visible strands of mist, flowing around her slender and delicate figure.
Zhang Ruochen did not use Space Distortion to conceal his form. He walked directly into the secret chamber and said, "Who are you? To be able to break into the heavily formation-guarded Poison Spider Merchant Guild, find the underground secret chamber, and easily break through three layers of formation inscriptions—you have considerable skill."
The black-clothed woman ignored Zhang Ruochen entirely. She transformed into a black afterimage and charged at him.
"Whoosh!"
From within her black sleeve, a slender jade finger extended, carrying a light-attribute power, and pointed straight at Zhang Ruochen's brow.
Using her finger to execute a sword technique, she displayed an exceptional mastery of swordsmanship.
Zhang Ruochen immediately judged that her cultivation realm was Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection, not Heavenly Extreme Realm.
Clearly, she was also a Triple Absolute Genius, and far more formidable than the Poison Spider Young Master, who was only at Earth Extreme Realm Great Extreme Position and had not yet broken through to Great Perfection.
A Triple Absolute Genius with a martial arts cultivation reaching Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection was definitely more terrifying than an ordinary Heavenly Extreme Realm Initial Stage martial arts myth.
To become a Triple Absolute Genius first proved that the techniques and martial skills she cultivated were extremely advanced. At the same time, she must also possess an extraordinary identity. After all, ordinary families and sects simply could not cultivate Triple Absolute Geniuses. Even the royal clans of medium-sized commanderies like the Four Directions Commandery could absolutely not cultivate Triple Absolute Geniuses.
Because of this, Zhang Ruochen became even more vigilant, not daring to underestimate the opponent in the slightest.
In an instant, the black-clothed woman's finger sword had already reached Zhang Ruochen's face. A dazzling black light condensed at her fingertip. Her true qi actually contained light-attribute power.
"Light attribute" was a relatively rare attribute, further divided into dark attribute and light attribute. Different attributes gave true qi different properties.
The black-clothed woman's true qi, within the light attribute, belonged to the dark attribute, possessing the characteristics of devouring, yin-cold, decay, evil charm, and strangeness.
Since her true qi possessed the dark attribute, among Triple Absolute Geniuses, she also belonged to a rather formidable category. If she cultivated a ghost-level technique, she might have already reached Triple Absolute Half.
Zhang Ruochen immediately mobilized all the true qi in his body, surging it toward his right arm. Strands of spiritual fire spat out from his palm, completely enveloping Zhang Ruochen's hand, as if turning it into a sea of fire.
His entire body's muscles and bones connected as one. The power of every inch of sinew, bone, skin, and flesh fully exploded as he struck out with his palm.
"Boom!"
The black-clothed woman's finger struck Zhang Ruochen's palm. Two powerful streams of true qi collided, forming a circular true qi ripple that surged outward rapidly.
Immediately, the entire secret chamber emitted a "crackling" sound. Those jade bottles containing pills all shattered, exploding all over the ground.
Even the stone walls of the secret chamber split with cracks.
Both of them stepped back simultaneously.
The black-clothed woman felt an intense pain in her finger, as if it were broken. She was greatly alarmed, never expecting to encounter such a powerful young expert who could match her evenly.
"Could you be the Poison Spider Young Master, Hua Qingshan?" the black-clothed woman said, staring with sharp, cold eyes at the young man wearing a metal mask before her.
She did not know that Zhang Ruochen was also an intruder. She thought Zhang Ruochen was originally a martial artist of the Poison Spider Merchant Guild.
Moreover, among the younger generation of the Poison Spider Merchant Guild, only the Poison Spider Young Master could possess such powerful cultivation. Naturally, she mistook Zhang Ruochen for the Poison Spider Young Master.
Zhang Ruochen felt a burning pain in his palm. Fortunately, he had cultivated the Wheel Meridian, forming two layers of skin rings on the surface of his skin, with defensive power comparable to two layers of armor, so he was not injured.
That black-clothed woman's cultivation was indeed quite formidable. Her strength was not inferior to his.
"Can only the Poison Spider Young Master appear here?" Zhang Ruochen countered.
The black-clothed woman snorted coldly. "So you're also here to steal things, no better than me. Since we're on the same path, there's no need for us to continue fighting. Moreover, with our strength, determining victory or defeat would not be an easy matter. If we alert the people of the Poison Spider Merchant Guild, it would benefit neither of us."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "There's no room for negotiation. That diagram belongs to me. You can't take it."
"Diagram? What diagram?" the black-clothed woman asked.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly realized and laughed. "Since what we want to take is different, there's no need to continue fighting. Each takes what they need."
Zhang Ruochen stared at the black-clothed woman's eyes. Although she concealed it well, Zhang Ruochen still felt a sense of familiarity, as if he had seen her before.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. Recalling the finger sword technique she had used earlier, he said, "Han Qiu?"
The black-clothed woman's body trembled slightly. She turned abruptly, a black cold light surfacing on her body's surface. She glared coldly at Zhang Ruochen and said, "Who exactly are you?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "So you really are Han Qiu."
Strictly speaking, Zhang Ruochen had only met Han Qiu twice. They were not familiar. However, Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power was strong, and he had already reached the level of never forgetting anything he saw.
Although Han Qiu only revealed a pair of eyes and deliberately used dark-attribute true qi to conceal her gaze and change her voice, under Zhang Ruochen's powerful spiritual power, she was still recognized for who she truly was.
Throughout the entire thirty-six commanderies of Demon Ridge's younger generation, only two women had entered the "Earth Ranking." Han Qiu was one of them.
The black-clothed woman carefully examined Zhang Ruochen, also feeling a trace of familiarity. She had definitely seen him before.
She was not familiar with Zhang Ruochen, nor did she possess Zhang Ruochen's powerful spiritual power, so naturally she could not recognize him.
"Since you've recognized me, shouldn't you also tell me your identity? Among the younger generation, there shouldn't be many experts like you, right?" the black-clothed woman said.
"Sorry, my identity cannot be revealed," Zhang Ruochen said.
No kidding—Han Qiu's relationship with Zhang Tiangui was very close. Although it was unclear how close their relationship was, one thing was certain: her relationship with Zhang Tiangui was definitely better than her relationship with Zhang Ruochen. At the very least, they were fellow disciples.
Now, Zhang Tiangui and Zhang Ruochen could be said to be as incompatible as fire and water. When Zhang Ruochen encountered Hua Minggong at Qinghe Fort, he had confirmed this.
Zhang Tiangui clearly wanted to use Hua Minggong's hand to eliminate Zhang Ruochen. Since this attempt had failed, the next killing intent would only be more intense.
"Fine, don't tell me then. As long as I leave the Black Market, I'll quickly find out your identity."
Han Qiu continued searching among the pile of pill bottle fragments. Before long, she found a square purple-gold box the size of a fist. She opened the box, and white light immediately radiated from within, illuminating the entire secret chamber as brightly as daylight.
"Found it!"
Joy appeared in Han Qiu's eyes. She immediately closed the lid, put the purple-gold box into her bundle, and stored it close to her body.
Zhang Ruochen stood not far away, gently sniffing. He caught a faint pill fragrance.
He asked, "How did you know there would be a Saint Light Pill here?"
Han Qiu showed surprise again. "You know the box contains a Saint Light Pill?"
At the same time, she became nervous. After all, the Saint Light Pill was of extraordinary value. If the other party wanted to seize it, a fierce battle would be unavoidable.
She was not worried about losing to him, but she was worried about alerting the people of the Poison Spider Merchant Guild.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Saint Light Pill, a fifth-grade pill, worth about five million silver coins. Of course, that's not the key point. Although five million silver coins is a lot, for the daughter of the Cloud Terrace Sect Mansion's Sect Master, it's not worth risking your life to steal from the Black Market."
Han Qiu stared deeply at Zhang Ruochen. "Then tell me, what is the key point?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "The key point is that only a fifth-grade alchemist can refine a Saint Light Pill. Throughout the thirty-six commanderies of Demon Ridge, there are only three fifth-grade alchemists in total. However, none of those three fifth-grade alchemists are proficient in 'light-type pill inscriptions.' That is to say, in the thirty-six commanderies of Demon Ridge, no one can refine a Saint Light Pill."
Zhang Ruochen continued, "If I am not mistaken, you awakened a dark-type Divine Martial Mark, and the true qi you cultivate also contains the dark attribute. Coupled with how urgently you want the Saint Light Pill, I suspect you have encountered a problem in your cultivation and must use the Saint Light Pill to heal yourself. Am I correct?"