Chapter 2625: Treatment
“Meow!”
A deafening cat cry rang in the ears of the Divine Demon Rat.
The blurry figure standing across from it suddenly transformed into a massive black cat. Then, it changed into a man-sized owl, its eyes like two flames staring at it.
The Divine Demon Rat’s face turned pale with fright as it stepped back.
When it recovered, it found that the blurry figure had already entered the Domain Mansion.
“That figure and aura just now… was it Blackie? Blackie is back?” The Divine Demon Rat couldn’t tell if what had just happened was real or an illusion. Overwhelmed with excitement, it chased inside.
At the gate, Jiuyou Great Saint and Ye Honglei exchanged glances.
Jiuyou Great Saint asked, “Just a single glance, and it scared a Primordial Beast like the Divine Demon Rat like that. Did you notice anything unusual?”
“No illusion techniques were used. It was pure spiritual power intimidation. What a formidable figure.” Ye Honglei said thoughtfully.
Because of the arrival of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden, a commotion arose inside.
Most cultivators gathered around the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden and surrounded Emperor Wen, with only a few noticing Zhang Ruochen quietly walking in.
Inside the Domain Mansion, Zhang Ruochen saw many familiar faces.
Ling Xiu, with white hair and a wooden hairpin, stood together with Ling Feiyu, who wore a red martial robe. They seemed to be communicating through telepathy and appeared to be arguing.
As someone who had become a god through spiritual power before the revival of the Kunlun Realm, Ling Xiu had cultivated for a thousand years and reached the sixty-eighth rank of spiritual power. His cultivation speed was astonishing to the world.
After all, compared to veteran spiritual power great saints who were tens of thousands or even twenty thousand years old, Ling Xiu, including Emperor Wen, were far too young, their ages not even a fraction of the others’.
Spiritual power demanded too much from age and experience.
Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual power had reached the sixty-ninth rank only because he had refined the Divine Wood Heart and absorbed the knowledge of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree from an entire eon.
With Ling Xiu’s powerful cultivation, it was no surprise that he could guard a sacred domain in the Wuji Heaven Domain.
Besides that, Zhang Ruochen also saw Senior Brother Jinyu, Senior Brother Luochen, Luo Xu, and Dead Zen Ancestor. Among the Awakened, Jiang Yunchong, Hong Tianji, and Soul Devouring King had all reached the Great Saint realm.
Zhang Ruochen did not immediately go to greet them. Instead, he first approached Gai Tianjiao, who was frozen in blue ice.
Her aura was very weak, and her life force was rapidly fading.
Zhang Ruochen had a favorable impression of Gai Tianjiao, the broad-shouldered and sturdy senior sister of the Liangyi Sect. Seeing her in such a miserable state, a cold anger rose in his heart.
A Saint King of the Liangyi Sect noticed Zhang Ruochen and shouted, “What are you doing? Who are you? Don’t approach the Sect Leader.”
“I think I might have a way to save her,” Zhang Ruochen said.
…
This commotion caught Luo Xu’s attention. He walked over and blocked Zhang Ruochen, who was trying to get close to Gai Tianjiao. With a courteous bow, he said, “Friend, Sect Leader Gai has been struck by the Azure Frost Ice Blade Qi. You must not touch her. If you do, her Immortal Sacred Body might shatter instantly.”
If the Azure Frost Ice Blade Qi were so easy to dispel, Ling Feiyu would not have chosen to compromise with the Blade God Realm to save her, Emperor Wen, and Yushan Dragon Emperor. She was trading her own life for the lives of three powerful beings.
More great saints noticed Zhang Ruochen.
No one could see Zhang Ruochen’s true face clearly, and the crowd immediately became alert, surrounding him.
“Calm down first. There must be another way.”
Ling Xiu said this to Ling Feiyu before walking toward Zhang Ruochen. “Your spiritual power is formidable, friend. May I ask your name?”
“Just a passerby,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“A passerby? To me, you look more like a great saint from the Heavenly Realm Faction. Who are you really? If you don’t tell the truth, don’t blame us for being ruthless,” Soul Devouring King said coldly.
The Divine Demon Rat came to Soul Devouring King’s side and whispered, “Dad, he seems to be Blackie.”
“Blackie? Which Blackie?” Soul Devouring King asked.
The Divine Demon Rat said, “The one who was always with Zhang Ruochen a thousand years ago.”
Hearing Zhang Ruochen’s name, Soul Devouring King’s expression shifted slightly.
Ling Xiu and Luo Xu looked at the blurry figure before them with strange expressions.
The Divine Demon Rat continued, “He came with the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden. At least he’s definitely not a great saint from the Heavenly Realm Faction.”
Someone immediately asked the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden about Zhang Ruochen’s origins.
After examining Emperor Wen’s injuries, Nalan Danqing gradually calmed down. She told the saints present, “If you trust me, then trust him with the same trust.”
Then she asked, “Where has the Supreme Elder gone? Grandfather’s saint soul injury can only be healed by the Supreme Elder.”
“In the past month, the Supreme Elder has expended a tremendous amount of spiritual power treating the various great saints. It’s becoming difficult for him to maintain his spiritual power divine body clone, so he went to the Western Buddha Realm to borrow pills,” said a Confucian Path great saint.
The Supreme Elder’s true body was recuperating in an unknown location.
What was stationed in the Heavenly Court was only a spiritual power divine body clone of the Supreme Elder. This clone had been maintained at the divine realm level, but recently, due to excessive spiritual power consumption, it was on the verge of collapse.
Once the spiritual power divine body clone collapsed, the Supreme Elder’s true body would have to divert some spiritual power to maintain it. This would inevitably expose the true body’s location.
Perhaps that was the real goal of the Heavenly Realm Faction.
Zhang Ruochen had already examined Emperor Wen’s injuries.
Emperor Wen’s physical injuries were not serious. For a powerhouse with sixty-ninth rank spiritual power, even if his physical body were shattered, it could be recondensed.
However, the saint soul injury was severe.
The saint soul had been wounded by a powerful blade soul, and the blade soul’s power still lingered inside Emperor Wen’s body.
“May I try?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Nalan Danqing showed a hint of surprise but nodded. She then warned cautiously, “Be careful of that blade soul. It’s very dangerous. Moreover, if you provoke it, it might completely sever Grandfather’s saint soul.”
She trusted Zhang Ruochen.
Since Zhang Ruochen dared to make this offer, he must have some confidence.
But the other Confucian Path cultivators were very worried.
One of the Confucian Path great saints said, “Danqing, don’t rush this decision. The Supreme Elder might return soon. Emperor Wen is a great saint with sixty-ninth rank spiritual power, and even his saint soul was injured. You can imagine how powerful that blade soul is.”
The implication was that they didn’t believe Zhang Ruochen could save Emperor Wen.
They expressed it euphemistically to avoid hurting Zhang Ruochen’s good intentions.
Nalan Danqing shook her head at him, then asked Zhang Ruochen, “How confident are you?”
“One hundred percent,” Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
Wan Canglan snorted coldly, finding this arrogant fellow even more disagreeable.
But since Nalan Danqing had agreed, and no one else had a solution, no one stopped Zhang Ruochen.
All the saints’ eyes fell on Zhang Ruochen, and many couldn’t help but feel nervous.
If he failed, Emperor Wen might fall.
Zhang Ruochen extended a hand and placed it above Emperor Wen’s head, mobilizing the power of his First-rank Sacred Intent. A strange vortex appeared in his palm, creating a suction force.
“Whoosh!”
In just a moment, strands of blade soul power were drawn out and appeared in the vortex in his palm.
“It’s done.”
Zhang Ruochen said this casually, then stepped aside, holding the strands of blade soul power in his palm to study them carefully.
Nalan Danqing’s face lit up with joy. She went to Emperor Wen’s side, grabbed his wrist, and channeled her spiritual power into his body.
Emperor Wen opened his aged eyes and slowly woke up.
“Grandfather!” Nalan Danqing called out.
Emperor Wen’s saint soul was weak, but he could now mobilize his spiritual power. Soon, his bloodied and mangled legs restored themselves.
The Confucian Path cultivators all breathed a long sigh of relief, their faces filled with ecstasy.
Their gazes toward Zhang Ruochen were now tinged with admiration and gratitude.
“That guy actually has some skill,” Wan Canglan muttered.
Immortal Consort smiled faintly. “Why are you so prejudiced against him? Actually, I trust Danqing. How could she misjudge someone?”
“If you’d heard the arrogant things he said, you wouldn’t think that way,” Wan Canglan said with a roll of her eyes, still unable to warm up to Zhang Ruochen.
An Undying Realm Dragon Clan great saint came before Zhang Ruochen, bowed, and pleaded, “Senior, can you save my father? The Ancestral Dragon Mountain will be eternally grateful.”
The Liangyi Sect Saint King who had earlier stopped Zhang Ruochen from approaching Gai Tianjiao came to apologize. “Senior, I was reckless earlier. Please forgive my offense and save the Sect Leader.”
Zhang Ruochen was not one to let people die. He crushed the blade soul power in his hand and said, “I’ll try.”
The Azure Frost Ice Blade Qi was indeed not to be touched lightly, but Zhang Ruochen’s First-rank Sacred Intent was distributed throughout every inch of space in the universe, making it easy to neutralize.
Yushan Dragon Emperor’s most severe injury was the invasion of his dragon pearl by the Sacred Intent of the Sea Swallowing Art. For Zhang Ruochen, this was even easier to resolve.
Soon, Gai Tianjiao and Yushan Dragon Emperor both woke up. They could slowly recover from their remaining injuries on their own.
The Confucian Path cultivators, Liangyi Sect disciples, and Dragon Clan members gathered around to thank Zhang Ruochen.
Ling Xiu sighed. “I wonder who this person is. His methods are incredibly mysterious and impressive, yet impossible to fathom.”
Soul Devouring King grabbed the Divine Demon Rat and asked, “Is he really the Blackie you mentioned?”
“Maybe… After all, Blackie’s methods were quite formidable,” the Divine Demon Rat said uncertainly.
Just as the cultivators in the Domain Mansion were rejoicing, a Saint King from the Kunlun Realm rushed in, panicked. “Great saints from the Blade God Realm are heading toward the Golden Tree Sacred Domain!”
Everyone looked up at the sky.
In the southern sky, pitch-black clouds rolled in, accompanied by terrifying Great Saint auras.
“Whoosh, whoosh.”
Suddenly, a fierce wind arose.
Every gust of wind was a blade of qi.
Jiang Yunchong snorted coldly. “It seems the Blade God Realm truly intends to drive us out of the Wuji Heaven Domain today. This is the final battle!”
Senior Brother Jinyu said, “Those who want to retreat to the Huali Heaven Domain can leave now. Those who want to fight, stay with me. Let the Blade God Realm come with all their might. I’ll be the first to answer the call. Even if I have to self-destruct my saint source today and die with them, I won’t hesitate.”
“How could the Blade God Realm’s great saints give you the chance to self-destruct your saint source?” a great saint wanted to say, but after thinking it over, he held back, not wanting to affect morale.
But in reality, the Blade God Realm had come prepared. They wouldn’t give the Kunlun Realm any chance to resist.
In another three thousand years, once the Awakened of the Kunlun Realm had grown, they might be able to contend with a top-tier strong realm like the Blade God Realm. In ten thousand years, after a full generational turnover of great saints, they might surpass it.
As for challenging the Paradise Realm, without the birth of an Eon-level genius to seize the great fortune of an era, it would take at least several eons to catch up. It was also possible that they would never catch up. More likely, they would be pushed into the abyss, never to rise again.
One step ahead, every step ahead.
A ruling world would not allow lower worlds to challenge their dominance in the universe. Even if the Kunlun Realm truly produced an Eon-level genius, they would be mercilessly erased.
These truths were understood by every great saint of the Kunlun Realm.
The Awakened, Realm Sons, Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden, and many other great saints present were very young. Even counting the years spent cultivating in time formations, few were over three thousand years old. They were the seeds of the Kunlun Realm, the foundation for its return to the ranks of the universe’s strong realms.
They didn’t need ten thousand years. Just three thousand more years, and many among them could step into the Supreme Realm.
But now, they faced a difficult choice: fight to the death? Or retreat temporarily, bide their time, and lie low?