Chapter 2441: The Same Boat
"You can consider focusing more on studying the Sword Dao. With the help of the Emperor-grade Sacred Intent Pill, cultivate your Sword Dao Sacred Intent alone to the third rank. The Sword Dao must be pure; the more extreme, the better. It is not suitable for merging with other Sacred Intents."
This was what Ming Wang said to Zhang Ruochen as they were leaving the Ancestor Pool.
Zhang Ruochen sat in the dimly lit cabin of the ship, holding the Abyssal Ancient Sword, repeatedly pondering this statement.
Cultivating the Sacred Intent of a single path to the third rank, much like fusing a first-rank Sacred Intent, was something no cultivator had ever achieved since ancient times.
Now, he possessed the only Emperor-grade Sacred Intent Pill in history, undoubtedly giving him a chance to try.
"The Way of Time and the Way of Space are both Eternal Ways. It is nearly impossible to condense a third-rank Sacred Intent from them alone. The Sword Dao, however, has a sliver of possibility."
"Is it really possible?"
Zhang Ruochen gently shook his head, believing that with his current level of Sword Dao mastery, he absolutely could not achieve it.
Throughout history, how many sword cultivators with extraordinary talent had there been? Not to mention distant times, just eight hundred years ago, the Sword Emperor Xue Hongchen of the Kunlun Realm, at the Hundred Shackles Realm, had Sword Dao achievements far surpassing Zhang Ruochen's.
"At the very least, I must cultivate Sword Eleven to Great Perfection and comprehend the Heavenly Sword Soul before I can attempt it."
"Ah, right, there is also the Time Sword Art."
"The Wordless Sword Manual is clearly the pure Sword Dao that Uncle Ming Wang spoke of, while the Time Sword Art should be considered a deviation, another path to the extreme."
Zhang Ruochen let out a long breath, gently shook his head, and put away the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
For now, the most important thing for him was what Xue Jue War God had said: to make up for his own shortcomings. Sacred Arts, Spiritual Power, Shackles, and the Demi-God Body were all key focuses of his current cultivation.
At this moment, he had arrived at the entrance of the nearest space wormhole leading to the Ice King Star, the wormhole connecting to it.
His current appearance had transformed into that of a gaunt old man, dressed in green robes and holding a wooden staff. He called himself "Xun Mu," a Spiritual Power Master from Nanling.
Although Feng Hou's death was orchestrated by Zhang Ruochen, it made him even more cautious.
In the Hell Realm, there were definitely more gods who wanted to kill him than those who wanted to kill Feng Hou.
Feng Hou was the Fate Divine Maiden, yet she died in the Fate Divine Domain.
If Zhang Ruochen dared to go to the Ice King Star, where the dark forces were rampant, in a high-profile manner, it would be no different from seeking death.
Therefore, before leaving the Blood Absolute Family, Zhang Ruochen made many preparations. First, he dispatched Xue Tu to investigate the Jiannan Realm.
Since Zhang Ruochen's many enemies couldn't calculate his whereabouts, they would surely focus on monitoring the every move of the cultivators around him. Xue Tu going to the Jiannan Realm would give them a false signal, leading them to believe that Zhang Ruochen had also secretly gone there.
This was a strategy of "making a feint to the east while attacking in the west."
Afterward, Zhang Ruochen took Mo Yin, Lian Xi, Zhou Zhen, Shen Tu Yun Kong, and Da Sen Luo Huang into the Qiankun Realm, changed his appearance, and quietly left the Blood Absolute Family alone, publicly announcing that he would go into seclusion to break through to the Great Perfection of the Hundred Shackles Realm.
This was a strategy of "slipping away by casting off the shell."
In this way, Ni Xuan Shi and those gods and Great Saints intent on killing Zhang Ruochen would have no idea of his specific whereabouts.
"Master Xun Mu, we've arrived at the space wormhole and are about to perform a spatial jump. Every cultivator on the ship needs to pay a borrowing fee of one Sacred Stone." The owner of the Blood Spirit Ship, Ji Chen, knew that Zhang Ruochen was a difficult strongman to serve, so he came personally to the cabin door to collect the Sacred Stone.
Zhang Ruochen picked up his wooden staff, opened the cabin door, glared at Ji Chen, and said in a hoarse, aged voice, "Just borrowing a wormhole once, why is it so expensive?"
Although ten billion Sacred Stones could be exchanged for one Divine Stone.
A single Sacred Stone was still a massive fortune for a weaker Half-Saint.
For a cultivator to borrow a space wormhole once and pay one Sacred Stone was indeed shockingly expensive, far exceeding Zhang Ruochen's expectations.
Ji Chen was intimidated by Zhang Ruochen's glare and shrank his neck, saying in a low voice, "How many Sacred Stones to charge is not up to me; it's a price set by the Blood Absolute Family."
"Besides, the Ice King Star and the Blood Heaven Tribe Wing World are separated by an unimaginable distance. It is said that even light would take three thousand years to travel, countless trillions of miles, and even gods cannot cross it. Charging only one Sacred Stone is actually not expensive."
"Do you know how much the borrowing fee is for smuggling from the Ice King Star to the Blood Heaven Tribe Wing World?"
"How much?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Ji Chen said, "Ten times, it costs ten Sacred Stones."
Zhang Ruochen stood on the Blood Spirit Ship flying in midair, looking behind him. One Blood Spirit Ship after another was connected in a line, stretching endlessly, all queued up for the wormhole spatial jump.
Looking ahead, ships were flying out of the wormhole one after another, also in an endless stream.
"No wonder Ni Xuan Shi refuses to let go of the Ice King Star's assets. Not to mention anything else, just the daily borrowing fees collected from this wormhole alone amount to a staggering figure, comparable to a Divine Stone mine."
Just as Zhang Ruochen was deep in thought, a clear voice sounded beside him: "Since this Master Xun Mu finds it expensive, I'll pay the borrowing fee for him."
A young man, about two meters tall, wearing the Hundred Saint Blood Armor, walked over and tossed a Sacred Stone to Ji Chen.
Ji Chen held the Sacred Stone, his eyes filled with reverence. He repeatedly bowed to the man before quickly leaving.
"I am Ji Wenwu, from the City Lord's Mansion of Jifeng Saint City in Nanling."
Ji Wenwu introduced himself, then said, "I can see that your Spiritual Power is formidable, and you don't seem like someone who can't afford a single Sacred Stone..."
Before he could finish, Zhang Ruochen said coldly, "Isn't one Sacred Stone money? The Blood Absolute Family is too black-hearted, charging such high fees."
"Bang."
He slammed the door and returned to the cabin.
Ji Wenwu stood outside, completely stunned.
He had originally intended to befriend the other party, seeing that his Spiritual Power was not weak, but he never expected such a rude response. Not only was he stingy, but his temper was also very strange.
A Great Saint with three pairs of blood wings on his back emerged from another cabin door and transmitted a message: "Wenwu, the City Lord wants you to come over. There's an important matter."
Ji Wenwu suppressed his frustration and quickly walked over.
The City Lord of Jifeng Saint City, Yue Lin Blood Emperor, was a strongman who had reached the peak of the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm. Who would have thought that he would be riding such an ordinary Blood Spirit Ship to the Ice King Star?
Zhang Ruochen happened to overhear the Great Saint's transmission, feeling both surprised and curious.
Being able to become the City Lord of a Saint City, whether in terms of cultivation or skill, was certainly not something an ordinary Great Saint could match.
However, he had no connection with Yue Lin Blood Emperor, so he was too lazy to investigate further. As they approached the wormhole, the Space Chaos Insect, which had been sleeping, stirred, and he needed to study it carefully.
...
Ji Wenwu cautiously entered the cabin door, crossing a layer of dark, hazy barrier of light. As his vision widened, powerful Sacred Dao auras rushed toward him, forcing him to his knees instantly.
He was extremely nervous but remained calm, saying, "May I ask why the City Lord has summoned me?"
He secretly looked up.
He saw seven cultivators sitting in the cabin.
The City Lord was not sitting in the central main seat but was instead seated with the Deputy City Lord and the Grand Commander in the three seats on the left.
The three seats on the right were occupied by strongmen among the Great Saints. Just glancing at them made Ji Wenwu's eyes ache, as if burned by a blazing sun.
As for the black-robed cultivator sitting in the main seat in the center, they exuded not a single aura, like an ordinary mortal.
But how could someone who could have the City Lord, Deputy City Lord, and Grand Commander accompany them to the Ice King Star be an ordinary mortal?
It could only be said that with his Saint King realm cultivation, he simply couldn't see through the other party.
Yue Lin Blood Emperor said, "Miss, if you have any questions about the Ice King Star, you can ask Ji Wenwu. Although his cultivation is not high, he has lived on the Ice King Star for over a hundred years. As long as it's not too confidential information, he knows it."
The black-robed cultivator nodded and asked, "I'll ask just one question: Has Xia Yu gone to the Ice King Star?"
"Yu Huang?"
Ji Wenwu was slightly startled, then nodded repeatedly, saying, "Not long after the Heaven Hunting Battle ended, Yu Huang arrived at the Ice King Star. It is said she went to buy Ice Beasts and Blood Crystals for the Xia Clan. Miss should know that buying Blood Crystals on the Ice King Star is much cheaper than in the Blood Heaven Tribe Wing World."
"Alright, no need to say more. Withdraw." The black-robed cultivator waved their hand and said coldly.
After Ji Wenwu withdrew, Yue Lin Blood Emperor said, "Blood Crystals, Blood Food, and Blood Medicine are the things our Undying Blood Clan needs most and cannot do without. Xia Yu going to the Ice King Star to buy Blood Crystals is perfectly reasonable."
The black-robed cultivator remained silent, only extending a slender, snow-white, and exquisitely beautiful hand to pick up a teacup and take a gentle sip.
The three Great Saints sitting on the right were Fei Er Tian Ding of the Rakshasa Clan, Huan Xu Blood Emperor of the Demon Heaven Tribe, and Yun Heng Iron Blood King of the Underworld Clan.
They were the three strongmen who, together with Bai Qinger, had set up a trap against the Seven Hands Old Man at the Divine Maiden Tower. Each of them was a great figure in the Saint realm who could make a region tremble with a single stomp.
Fei Er Tian Ding had ten bone wings on his back and asked curiously, "Has Miss changed her mind? Instead of directly confronting the Blood Absolute Family in the Blood Heaven Tribe Wing World, you plan to go to the Ice King Star to capture Xia Yu and lure Zhang Ruochen out?"
Huan Xu Blood Emperor laughed heartily, slapped the table, and said, "Excellent! Xia Yu is known as the number one beauty of this generation in the Blood Heaven Tribe, and she is Zhang Ruochen's cherished lover. Capturing her will be a great pleasure, and it will infuriate that little bastard Zhang Ruochen!"
Yun Heng Iron Blood King glanced at the black-robed cultivator, sensing something, and said, "Does Miss think that Xia Yu's trip to the Ice King Star has another purpose?"
The black-robed cultivator said, "According to the intelligence I've received, after Xia Yu left the Fate Divine Domain, she never returned to the Xia Clan. She went straight to the Ice King Star, clearly for some urgent matter. Would buying Blood Crystals and Ice Beasts be that urgent?"
"The more she tries to conceal it, the more it shows that what she truly wants to do is very important." Yun Heng Iron Blood King said.
The black-robed cultivator said, "The Blood Absolute Family's assets on the Ice King Star have always been controlled by Ni Xuan Shi, the lawful wife of Xue Jue War God. But recently, Qing Sheng Great Saint bestowed them upon Zhang Ruochen."
Huan Xu Blood Emperor laughed, "Qing Sheng Great Saint wants to quickly seize control of the Blood Absolute Family's power, so he used a tactic of sowing discord. He wants to use Zhang Ruochen to fight Ni Xuan Shi and profit from it."
Yun Heng Iron Blood King said coldly, "Do you think Qing Sheng Great Saint is an idiot, or Zhang Ruochen is an idiot? If Qing Sheng Great Saint did this, he would offend both Zhang Ruochen and Ni Xuan Shi. Could he still be the acting family head?"
"Exactly. There is only one possibility: this matter was requested by Zhang Ruochen from Qing Sheng Great Saint." The black-robed cultivator said.
Huan Xu Blood Emperor was startled, finding it hard to understand, "Although Zhang Ruochen has extraordinary talent, his cultivation is still weak. Does he dare to clash with Ni Xuan Shi now?"
The black-robed cultivator said, "After Xue Hou and Ming Wang returned from the Kunlun Realm, Ni Xuan Shi has already lost power in the Blood Absolute Family. Apart from the Ice King Star, almost all her other authority has been taken away. With two true gods backing him, how could Zhang Ruochen fear Ni Xuan Shi?"
"In fact, I don't think Zhang Ruochen is in a hurry to make a move against Ni Xuan Shi at this stage. I believe his choice of the Ice King Star has another purpose. Having Qing Sheng Great Saint bestow the Ice King Star's assets on him is also a way to conceal his true goal."
"What is his true goal?" Huan Xu Blood Emperor asked.
The cabin fell silent for a long time.
The black-robed cultivator said, "Only Xia Yu can give us that answer. Perhaps, once we know Zhang Ruochen's true goal, dealing with him will become much easier."
The City Lord of Jifeng Saint City, Yue Lin Blood Emperor, frowned, "Actually, capturing Xia Yu is something any one of us here could do. Why does Miss need to lead all of us out?"
"According to the intelligence I've received, Xue Tu has secretly gone to the Jiannan Realm. If I'm not mistaken, Zhang Ruochen won't hide in the Blood Absolute Family for long. His next move will definitely be to the Jiannan Realm. At the Divine Maiden Tower, he has already made a bold statement that he will forcibly take the Jiannan Realm from Ling's hands."
"We could go to the Jiannan Realm and wait for Zhang Ruochen to walk right into the trap."