Chapter 2636: Peak of the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm
The Jie Venerable had gone to the Southern Continent, claiming he wanted to visit a confidante from a hundred thousand years ago, hoping to borrow a divine medicine to heal his injuries as quickly as possible.
The Southern Continent was the territory of various realms in the Southern Universe, primarily dominated by the Demon Clan.
Zhang Ruochen was highly skeptical—with the Jie Venerable's appearance, could any female deity of the Demon Clan actually find him appealing?
"Who doesn't have a confidante? Who wasn't a handsome and talented youth in their younger days? Wait for me on this island. After I return, we'll discuss the specifics of developing and expanding the clan." Those were the words the Jie Venerable left behind before departing.
After the Jie Venerable left, Zhang Ruochen set up space formations and concealment formations on the island to block any leakage of aura.
Since a great upheaval had occurred in the universe, turbulence was inevitable in the days ahead. To secure a foothold, he needed to become a god as quickly as possible and master greater power.
Of course, the path of cultivation had to be taken step by step.
First, break through to the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Sundial and counted the divine stones he had on hand.
Only one hundred and fifty-two remained.
The consumption of divine stones had been enormous, especially back on Ice King Star, when Xiao Hei had wasted quite a few divine stones refining some so-called "Nine Heavens Ten Earths God-Slaying Demon-Slaying Grand Formation." In the end, it hadn't unleashed much power at all—it couldn't even suppress a single false god.
"One hundred and fifty-two stones. If I let the Sundial cover the smallest area to reduce consumption, I can still cultivate for one hundred and fifty-two years."
Zhang Ruochen had accumulated a solid foundation in both the Hundred Shackles Realm and the Thousand Questions Realm. Breaking through to the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm was a natural progression. He accomplished it in an instant, then spent half a year consolidating his cultivation base.
The most important aspect of the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm was comprehending the rules of the Sacred Dao and increasing the number of rules within the body.
However, for the vast majority of cultivators, comprehending Sacred Dao rules was an extremely slow process. Often, after a thousand years of seclusion, they could only cultivate a hundred billion rules.
Moreover, this realm was called the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm because cultivators had to undergo various trials and train on the brink of life and death. Only then would the speed at which Sacred Dao rules increased accelerate, allowing them to continuously break through their own limits and reach higher levels of rule accumulation.
If one avoided such trials or lacked them, their cultivation speed would be very slow, possibly even stagnating.
Even Bai Qinger, who possessed the talent of an Eon-level genius, had stagnated in the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm for a thousand years due to a lack of life-and-death trials. And that didn't include the time spent cultivating within time formations.
Other cultivators would only be slower. Some might even spend ten or twenty thousand years and still remain in the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm until they died of old age.
From the very beginning of his cultivation journey, Zhang Ruochen had experienced countless life-and-death situations, traversing mountains of corpses and seas of blood. This realm wouldn't be too difficult for him.
Furthermore, he still had a large number of Eon-level sacred medicines harvested from the Origin Divine Temple.
These Eon-level sacred medicines contained extremely pure origin power, capable of breaking through the suppression that the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm imposed on a cultivator's cultivation speed, allowing for rapid accumulation of Sacred Dao rules.
The reason the Grand Minister of Works and the Second Minister of Works had been able to break through to the Supreme Realm within a thousand years was precisely due to the assistance of these Eon-level sacred medicines.
Cultivating alongside Zhang Ruochen beneath the Sundial were Kong Lanyou and Kong Xuan.
Zhang Ruochen gave Kong Lanyou some of the Eon-level sacred medicines containing origin power, then took out the Divine Dragon Enlightenment Chamber and entered it to begin his seclusion.
The Divine Dragon Enlightenment Chamber could double his speed in comprehending Sacred Dao rules.
At the same time, he split his sacred soul into six parts.
One part remained in his body, responsible for consuming the Eon-level sacred medicines, absorbing their power, and converting it into Sacred Dao rules.
The second part, aided by Space Essence, focused on comprehending Sacred Dao rules related to the Way of Space.
The third part, aided by Time Essence, focused on comprehending Sacred Dao rules related to the Way of Time.
The fourth part, aided by Origin Essence, focused on comprehending Sacred Dao rules related to the Way of Origin.
The fifth part, aided by Sword Dao Essence and the third-rank Sword Dao Sacred Intent, focused on comprehending Sword Dao rules and cultivating the sword soul, sword spirit, sword intent, and sword techniques.
The sixth part, aided by the first-rank Sacred Intent "Wuji Sacred Intent," focused on comprehending the myriad laws of heaven and earth, embracing all things like a sea receiving rivers.
The third-rank Sword Dao Sacred Intent was named "One."
The first-rank Sacred Intent, formed by fusing time, space, fist path, palm path, and the five elements, Zhang Ruochen named "Wuji Sacred Intent."
As for "Wuji": it meant the boundlessness of time and space, the boundlessness of yin and yang, and the boundlessness of the five elements.
Wuji existed even before Taiji.
Wuji gave birth to Taiji, Taiji gave birth to the Two Forms, the Two Forms gave birth to the Four Symbols, the Four Symbols gave birth to the Eight Trigrams, and the Eight Trigrams evolved into the myriad things.
With the assistance of various essences, the empowerment of the Wuji Sacred Intent, the Divine Dragon Enlightenment Chamber, and the Eon-level sacred medicines, Zhang Ruochen's speed in cultivating Sacred Dao rules was unmatched by anyone.
In just ten years, the number of Sacred Dao rules within his body reached one trillion, and his cultivation realm successively broke through the initial, middle, and late stages, directly reaching the peak of the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm.
Other cultivators at this level would already be attempting to condense a Supreme Dharma Body and break through to the Supreme Realm.
But those with true ambition and grand aspirations would strive to accumulate as much as possible in the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm.
Only by accumulating over ten trillion rules could the condensed Supreme Dharma Body be powerful enough, allowing one to potentially contend for the top sequence of the mortal world in the future.
Zhang Ruochen set even higher demands for himself. He not only aimed for the top sequence of the mortal world but also sought to reach the levels of Eon-level representative figures and Eon-level geniuses, and even surpass the accumulation of Eon-level geniuses in the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm.
He continued his seclusion.
...
The Dark Abyss was located at the tail end of the Yellow Spring Star River, near the Darkness Temple and the Yama Heaven Outer Heaven.
Of course, the so-called "nearness" was still infinitely distant, measured in light-years, beyond the reach of mortal power.
The Dark Abyss was a massive spatial hole, suspended in the deep and vast cosmic void. Even with Chi Kunlun's Great Saint realm cultivation, he couldn't see the full shape of this spatial hole. It seemed infinitely vast, stretching all the way to the end of the starry sky, inspiring awe.
From within the abyss, dark power constantly spewed forth, plunging the surrounding hundred billion miles of starry sky into pitch-black darkness and bone-piercing cold. Only cultivators at the Saint realm could endure being here for long.
These dark powers sometimes formed misty bridges spanning entire star regions, sometimes condensed into the shape of flowers larger than planets, and sometimes spread out like thick demon clouds in all directions.
"Roar!"
A dark strange beast over five hundred meters long, resembling a giant octopus, flew out from a patch of dark demon clouds, extending tentacles covered in serrated teeth toward Chi Kunlun.
Chi Kunlun's five fingers grasped the air, tearing open five spatial rifts that split the dark strange beast into six pieces.
The dark strange beast let out a miserable cry, its shattered body collapsing into six clusters of extremely pure dark qi.
Chi Kunlun took a deep breath, drawing the six clusters of dark qi into his abdomen, transforming them into his own power. The fluctuation of his cultivation aura increased by a fraction.
For a thousand years, he had been training near the Dark Abyss, dealing with countless strange beasts.
Ambushes from strange beasts naturally couldn't harm him.
He wore a black cloak, with sword-like brows and starry eyes, a cold light flashing in his pupils. He continued flying forward, landing on a planet at the edge of the Dark Abyss.
There were many planets at the edge of the Dark Abyss, varying in size. Each was black, composed of black rock and soil. Some of these planets were even covered in black plants.
The planet Chi Kunlun landed on could only be considered half a planet.
This was because the planet had been split in half by a sharp blade, forming a vertical ten-thousand-mile cliff that ran through the entire celestial body.
The split area was extremely cold, with most places frozen solid. Only a golden waterfall cascaded down the cliff, flowing from the planet's north pole to its south pole.
It resembled a ten-thousand-mile-long golden river.
At the top of the golden waterfall sat a young man. He seemed like a human, a Buddha, a demon, a yao, a ghost, and a god, with various auras cycling through him in a repeating pattern. Behind him floated a reincarnation mark, its light dazzling, illuminating the entire planet.
Chi Kunlun came to stand behind him and said, "Master! You have been sitting here for a hundred years. Have you condensed your Supreme Dharma Body?"
"Not a hundred years, but one thousand six hundred years."
Yan Wushen transformed into a Buddha nine zhang and six chi tall, with time imprints appearing around him, faintly revealing the outline of a formation.
Then, he transformed into a demon head exuding deathly qi, with the Death Heavenly Scripture manifesting above his head. "The Supreme Dharma Body can be formed at any time. But to accumulate to that unprecedented and unrepeatable height in the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm, I am still one step short. That step, I have never been able to cross. I lack a certain opportunity."
"What opportunity?" Chi Kunlun asked.
"That opportunity could be an experience, a pressure, a stimulation on the brink of life and death, or a sudden moment of enlightenment."
Yan Wushen stood up, his body radiating bright white origin light, appearing extremely sacred. His eyes looked downward, gazing into the pitch-black abyss.
His ears twitched slightly, and he could hear the sounds of various strange beasts coming from the depths of the Dark Abyss.
"The Dark Abyss is becoming increasingly unstable, and the strange beasts rushing out are growing in number and strength. It seems the hundred thousand years of peace in the universe is truly about to be shattered."
A mysterious and ancient stone bridge appeared beneath Yan Wushen's feet, with a Yellow Spring flowing beneath it.
He stepped onto the Naihe Bridge, gazing into the distance. "Whenever the universe falls into chaos, the various forbidden lands and cosmic frontiers will inevitably erupt as well. Countless monstrous talents and heroes will surely emerge from the Heavenly Court and Hell. If one can seize the opportunity, they can ascend to heaven in a single step. Where exactly is that opportunity I lack?"
Chi Kunlun knew that although his master was still at the Ten Thousand Deaths, One Life Realm, the number of Sacred Dao rules he had cultivated far surpassed that of some half-gods. The opportunity he sought was probably even more difficult to find than the opportunity some half-gods sought to become gods.
"A pity! A pity! A pity!" Suddenly, Yan Wushen said three "pities" in a row.
Chi Kunlun asked, "Master, what are you pitying?"
"What a pity that although the world is full of monstrous talents and heroes, there is not a single true overlord. It only makes one feel lonely and fails to inspire a desire to challenge. Otherwise, I wouldn't be sitting here in bitter meditation for one thousand six hundred years," Yan Wushen said.
Chi Kunlun said, "Could the Que of the Destiny Temple not be considered an overlord?"
"He can only be considered half of one."
Yan Wushen shook his head and continued, "What a pity that your father died in the Origin Divine Temple a thousand years ago. From then on, aside from myself, there is no other overlord of the era in this world."
Chi Kunlun's eyes grew misty, and he involuntarily clenched his fists.
He knew very well that his father had come to the Hell Realm to save him and Kong Le. If it hadn't been for coming to the Hell Realm, how could he have been buried in the Origin Divine Temple?
His father, with such extraordinary talent, should have become an overlord-level figure who could laugh proudly across heaven and earth. Yet he was slain before he could fully grow, leaving no trace behind.
Yan Wushen said, "Your talent is also quite extraordinary, but compared to your sister, you fall somewhat short. She absorbed part of Xiu Chen Heavenly God's divine soul, and her cultivation speed advances by leaps and bounds. You must work even harder."
"Disciple understands," Chi Kunlun said.
Yan Wushen added, "By the way, why have you come to see me?"
"A Great Saint of the Death Clan, the Great Senluo Emperor, has come to pay his respects. He claims to have a very important letter that must be personally delivered to you, Master," Chi Kunlun said.
Yan Wushen said, "I won't see him."
Given Yan Wushen's current cultivation and strength, how could just any Great Saint of the Death Clan be granted an audience?
At present, the most important thing for him was to take that final step.
He was contemplating whether to venture into the depths of the Dark Abyss to temper himself. Perhaps pushing himself to the brink of life and death would allow him to achieve a breakthrough.
"Wait a moment."
Suddenly, Yan Wushen thought of something and turned around abruptly, asking, "Who did you say it was?"
"A Great Saint of the Death Clan, the Great Senluo Emperor," Chi Kunlun said.
Yan Wushen said, "Didn't the Great Senluo Emperor perish along with your father in the Origin Divine Temple a thousand years ago? Even the Destiny Temple couldn't deduce any signs of their life force. How could he have suddenly reappeared?"
Chi Kunlun had not participated in the Heaven Hunting Battle a thousand years ago, so he was unaware of the relationship between the Great Senluo Emperor and his father.
...
I've been busy with some things these past two days, so I can only manage one chapter per day. My apologies. Tomorrow will likely also be one chapter, possibly two.
Starting the day after tomorrow, I will resume two chapters per day.