Chapter 262: Three Paths and Nine Schools
“Whoosh——”
At the center of Yueji City, a bright blood light surged upward, forming a pillar of light connecting heaven and earth.
Even standing a hundred miles away, one could see the blood-colored clouds forming at the top of the light pillar.
Such a scene could only be seen during the annual winter solstice sacrificial ceremony.
“What exactly are they doing? At a time like this, they’re actually performing a sacrifice in Yueji City. Do they think they can summon a true god?”
Ling Xiansu stroked his beard with a faint smile, finding Zhang Ruochen and Han Qiu far too naive. With death looming over them, they were still placing their hopes on illusory gods.
Ignorant! Foolish!
Ling Xiansu spat out sound waves, his voice carrying into the city: “You two juniors, even begging the gods won’t help you. Today, not even the gods can save you. All savage beasts, hear my command—attack with full force!”
After the time it takes to burn one incense stick, a thunderous crash rang out as Yueji City’s city-protecting grand formation was the first to be breached. Half an incense stick later, the two defensive formations were also broken.
The savage beasts surged into Yueji City like an endless tide of black water.
Beneath the altar, Zhang Ruochen absorbed a vast amount of sacrificial power and finally broke through his cultivation bottleneck, reaching the Earth Extreme Realm Middle Position.
Withdrawing his martial soul back into his body, Zhang Ruochen exuded a sharp aura, and his bones emitted a series of cracking sounds.
Seated across from Zhang Ruochen, Han Qiu radiated a soft white light, dignified and beautiful, like a pure, flawless fairy.
Every inch of her skin was crystalline like jade, except for the center of her brow, where a pitch-black crescent-shaped mark condensed.
If one observed closely, they would notice that this crescent-shaped mark completely contradicted her aura, giving off a sinister, dark, and icy feeling, devouring all nearby light sources.
“She actually cultivated a ‘Dark Cold Moon Qi Sea’.” Zhang Ruochen stared at Han Qiu, somewhat surprised.
Generally speaking, only when a martial artist reached the Heaven Extreme Realm would their Qi Sea fully stabilize and take on a unique form.
Among them, ninety-nine percent of martial artists had the most common “Circular Qi Sea.”
Only those with exceptional talent or special physiques could cultivate a unique Qi Sea.
For Han Qiu to shape her Qi Sea at the Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection, and into the extremely rare “Dark Cold Moon Qi Sea,” was already quite remarkable.
With her Qi Sea formed, Han Qiu’s strength had taken another step forward.
Han Qiu’s pupils flickered with a dark light, and she looked at Zhang Ruochen with some gratitude. “Zhang Ruochen, thank you. I feel that the two conflicting forces within me are no longer as intense as before.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “After absorbing the sacrificial power, your martial path has indeed improved to some extent. If you add the medicinal power of that Sacred Light Pill, you shouldn’t face any major danger in the short term. If you can break through to the Heaven Extreme Realm and reach a higher level, you can switch to a different cultivation technique. I suggest you cultivate the Taiji Path’s foundational code, the ‘Taiji Primordial Heaven Technique.’”
“The way of Taiji is about the interplay of difficulty and ease, long and short, high and low, yin and yang. Cultivating the ‘Taiji Primordial Heaven Technique’ can both resolve the two conflicting forces within you and allow you to use them reasonably. It’s the best cultivation technique for you.”
Han Qiu asked in confusion, “Taiji Path?”
Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly. “In the Kunlun Realm, there’s a saying about the ‘Three Paths and Nine Schools’—‘All martial arts under heaven come from the three paths, spreading through the nine schools and a hundred clans.’ This means that all martial arts in the world originate from the three paths. As martial arts evolved and human territory expanded, countless first-rate, second-rate… down to ninth-rate powers gradually formed.”
“The Taiji Path is one of the three paths. Besides its main headquarters, the Taiji Path has three major branches: the Liangyi Sect, the Sixiang Sect, and the Bagua Sect.”
“These three sects are all first-rate powers, producing countless saints, with traditions dating back to ancient times, flourishing in the medieval era. Now, disciples of the Taiji Path are spread across the world.”
“The Yin-Yang Liangyi Sword Formation we learned is a top-tier sword formation of the Liangyi Sect.”
“Teaching you the Yin Yi Nine Swords should be considered a kind of opportunity. If you want to learn the ‘Taiji Primordial Heaven Technique,’ you might consider joining the Liangyi Sect in the future. I imagine those senior saint masters of the Liangyi Sect, out of respect for the Yin Yi Nine Swords, would definitely accept you as a disciple. Of course, if that day comes, don’t tell them I was the one who taught you the Yin Yi Nine Swords.”
Han Qiu memorized every word Zhang Ruochen said, as quiet and attentive as a student listening to a teacher’s lecture.
There was no denying that Zhang Ruochen’s knowledge impressed Han Qiu.
Moreover, if what Zhang Ruochen said was true, and the Liangyi Sect was a first-rate power, then it was a terrifyingly massive entity.
Even the Yuntai Sect Mansion, which dominated the thirty-six commanderies of the Demon Ridge, was only a fourth-rate power. In the face of a first-rate power, it was as insignificant as an ant.
Why did Zhang Ruochen know the top-tier sword formation of the Liangyi Sect?
“Could it be… Zhang Ruochen is a disciple of some great figure from the Liangyi Sect? That must be it. Otherwise, how could a prince from a low-ranking commandery be so proficient in the Yin-Yang Liangyi Sword Formation?”
Seeing the look in Han Qiu’s eyes, Zhang Ruochen warned, “I hope you won’t tell anyone about my secrets.”
“Don’t worry! I won’t tell a soul, not even my father. After all… you saved me and helped suppress the two conflicting forces within me, allowing me to step into a higher realm of martial arts.”
Han Qiu smiled and added, “Besides, after this cultivation session, I feel my strength has increased again. Although I haven’t broken through to the Heaven Extreme Realm, crossing four levels in battle should no longer be a problem.”
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Four Extremes?”
“Probably about that!” Han Qiu was overjoyed. “Zhang Tiangui is a Four Extremes genius, hailed as the number one genius of the thirty-six commanderies of the Demon Ridge. I think my strength is no longer inferior to his.”
“Congratulations!” Zhang Ruochen said.
Han Qiu blinked, biting her lip with her snow-white teeth, revealing a world-stunning smile. “I’m even more curious—what level of extreme genius have you reached?”
“I’ve never been to the Nine Extremes Palace, so how would I know what level I’ve reached? Besides, titles like Three Extremes or Four Extremes genius don’t mean much. Only young people who love showing off care about such labels.”
A sharp glint flashed in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes. “Not good—Yueji City has been breached. The real battle is about to begin.”
He immediately stood up, his true qi surging wildly.
Han Qiu was filled with battle intent, drawing her white jade ancient sword with a heroic air. “Our cultivation has both advanced. Breaking out shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Fight!”
Zhang Ruochen raised his Abyssal Ancient Sword and swung it, slashing out a white sword aura over ten meters long, cleaving the altar in two.
A third-rank savage beast, a Golden Lizard Beetle, that had climbed onto the altar, was cut in half by the sword aura and fell off the altar.
“Boom!”
Zhang Ruochen charged out from the altar, executing the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow, turning into nine afterimages and dashing dozens of meters.
“Pfft!”
“Pfft!”
…
When he stopped, nine savage beast corpses lay on the ground.
With every step, he killed one beast.
Han Qiu also rushed out from beneath the altar, thrusting her sword horizontally, forming a pillar-like sword aura that pierced through two savage beasts at once.
“Boom!”
A fourth-rank savage beast, a Green-Winged Blood Python, emerged, its body covered in palm-sized scales, a hundred meters long. It swung its tail at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen lightly tapped his toes, leaping over twenty meters into the air to dodge the attack.
The Green-Winged Blood Python’s body flowed with true qi, its eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen as it spat out a mouthful of green cold air.
“Hiss!”
Within a hundred meters, all buildings and savage beasts were frozen solid.
With a crack, Zhang Ruochen broke free from the ice, spinning as he slashed his sword at the python’s neck.
The python retracted its head, dodging the sword aura, and spat out another mouthful of cold air.
This time, Zhang Ruochen didn’t dodge. Instead, he extended his left arm and struck out with a palm, unleashing a wave of spirit fire true qi that collided with the cold air.
“Hiss!”
The two forces continuously canceled each other out.
When the python’s true qi ran low and it stopped spewing cold air, Zhang Ruochen seized the opportunity and slashed with his sword.
“Heart Full Moon!”
The war sword pierced through the python’s neck, slicing across and leaving a long sword shadow behind.
“Thud!”
The python’s corpse crashed heavily to the ground.
“After breaking through, dealing with a fourth-rank lower savage beast is indeed much easier.”
Zhang Ruochen charged back into the beast horde, continuing to fight, preparing to carve out a bloody path and escape Yueji City.
“Caw!”
A massive black eagle with the head of a divine dragon swooped down from the sky, like a black cloud, its body dozens of meters long, carrying a wild, desolate aura as it pressed down toward Zhang Ruochen’s head.
A fourth-rank savage bird, the Dragon Eagle, was a true overlord of the skies.
Its claws were incredibly sharp, like dragon claws!
Zhang Ruochen’s body flickered, sidestepping to avoid the Dragon Eagle’s talons.
“Smack!”
The Dragon Eagle’s claws struck the ground, turning stone slabs into powder as if they were tofu. A massive claw print was left on the ground.
Ling Xiansu coldly watched the battlefield below. “He actually dodged the Dragon Eagle’s attack. This kid’s strength seems to have increased quite a bit!”
The Dragon Eagle was the most powerful war beast he had summoned, so he had full confidence in it.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t engage the Dragon Eagle head-on. Instead, he charged toward Ling Xiansu.
“A beast taming master is indeed formidable at controlling savage beasts, but his personal strength might not be that strong. If I can kill Ling Xiansu, the immediate crisis will naturally be resolved.”
Zhang Ruochen kicked off the ground, leaping into the air and charging at Ling Xiansu, his sword thrusting like a meteor.