Chapter 2684: The Extreme Number
Time passed swiftly during seclusion cultivation.
Zhang Ruochen was startled awake by the commotion outside the island, and when he came to, five hundred years had already passed.
Within the sundial, five hundred years had gone by, while in the outside world, just over a year had elapsed.
"Splash!"
Zhang Ruochen rose to his feet, and the five Saint Souls that had been meditating on the ground all flew back into his body.
After five hundred years of cultivation, his Spiritual Power had advanced to another level, reaching sixty-ninth rank and a half.
The early, middle, late, and peak stages of the sixty-ninth rank were all still within the sixty-ninth rank. However, sixty-ninth rank and a half surpassed the sixty-ninth rank, going beyond even the peak of the sixty-ninth rank, leaving only a single step before achieving godhood through Spiritual Power.
Those array masters, talisman masters, and alchemists with profound expertise, whose Spiritual Power had not reached sixty-ninth rank and a half, could only be called "Earth Masters," no matter how high their skills.
Only by reaching sixty-ninth rank and a half could one be called a "Heavenly Master."
The gap between the peak of the sixty-ninth rank and sixty-ninth rank and a half was immense, as one could imagine.
Of course, this did not mean that a Heavenly Master's Spiritual Power was only at sixty-ninth rank and a half. Nor did it mean that reaching sixty-ninth rank and a half in Spiritual Power was sufficient to become a Heavenly Master.
Heavenly Masters also had extremely high requirements for their skills within their respective fields.
Although he had traveled to the Primordial Beginning, Zhang Ruochen had not directly achieved godhood through Spiritual Power. However, he gradually discovered that, perhaps related to his cultivation of the Wuji Sacred Intent, which embraced all things like a sea receiving rivers, his Spiritual Power encountered almost no bottlenecks. Each breakthrough seemed like the accumulation of small amounts leading to a natural progression.
If others' Spiritual Power cultivation was like digging a pond while simultaneously filling it with water,
then Zhang Ruochen no longer needed to dig a pond. His pond had become infinitely vast; he only needed to continuously pour water into it to grow stronger and stronger.
Cultivation in Sacred Dao Rules, on the other hand, was becoming increasingly difficult.
Twelve thousand nine hundred and sixty was a rather wondrous number, representing not only the number of an Eon but also manifesting in cultivation.
For other cultivators, in the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm, four trillion Sacred Dao Rules, seven trillion Sacred Dao Rules, and ten trillion Sacred Dao Rules were three thresholds that were very hard to cross.
However, Zhang Ruochen did not feel these three thresholds and crossed them quite easily.
But when he cultivated his Sacred Dao Rules to nearly twelve thousand nine hundred and sixty billion, he clearly felt a bottleneck, a pressure from heaven and earth.
Heaven and earth were preventing cultivators from crossing this threshold.
It was like heaven and earth wanting to kill a god who had lived for twelve thousand nine hundred and sixty years.
This was an extreme number!
Zhang Ruochen secretly guessed that the so-called Eon-level genius not only had to cultivate a perfect second-rank Sacred Intent in the Hundred Shackles Realm and achieve a perfect state of mind in the Thousand Questions Realm, but also had to surpass the extreme number in the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm, cultivating Sacred Dao Rules to over twelve thousand nine hundred and sixty billion.
All three were indispensable.
Of course, the most important step was still in the Supreme Realm.
In the Supreme Realm, one had to cultivate forty trillion Sacred Dao Rules.
To achieve all this, it was possible that not even one person would emerge in an entire Eon. Yet, in this era, several could be born, truly making it a great era, an era where heroes were forged by the times.
Mo Yin had refined the three battle swords of the three Angel Emperors of the Paradise Realm and claimed them for her own use. They flew around her delicate body as she snorted lightly, "With the sword formation in hand, if I encounter Shang Zihong again, I will definitely not lose to him."
The sword formation she cultivated was found in the Sword Mountain of the Qiankun Realm. After five hundred years of cultivation, it seemed to possess considerable power.
Zhang Ruochen had not witnessed her sword formation, so it was hard for him to judge whether she had the strength to defeat Shang Zihong.
"Master, have you broken through the bottleneck?" Mo Yin asked.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "That step is too difficult. Perhaps I need to push myself to break through."
Zhang Ruochen's bottleneck was naturally not twelve thousand nine hundred and sixty billion, but two Eon numbers: twenty-five thousand nine hundred and twenty billion.
Currently, the number of Sacred Dao Rules within Zhang Ruochen's body had stalled at twenty-five trillion, with growth becoming increasingly slow.
If the ancient gods who had lived for endless ages knew about his current state, they would probably be shocked and refuse to believe that such a freak existed in the world.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned outward from the island. "Let's go. It's time to leave."
Mo Yin transformed into the Devouring Saint Flower and rushed into Zhang Ruochen's back.
Zhang Ruochen waved his sleeve, dispersing the formation that shrouded the island.
The mist on the island quickly dissipated.
Xia Yu and Chi Kongle stood on the water surface outside the island. They stopped attacking the formation and stared intently at the man emerging from the mist, their eyes filled with doubt.
They did not act rashly.
Zhang Ruochen revealed a warm smile. "A thousand years have passed, and Yu Huang has become more majestic and imposing, as well as more beautiful and moving. You truly deserve the title of Emperor!"
Seeing their strange expressions, Zhang Ruochen realized that his current appearance was a disguise, not his true face.
When Zhang Ruochen changed back to his true appearance, Chi Kongle's eyes no longer held any wariness or doubt. She flew onto the island, threw herself into Zhang Ruochen's arms, and hugged him tightly, saying nothing.
Xia Yu also stepped onto the island but held the Seven Star Ghost Lotus, secretly on guard from a distance.
Although this man looked very similar to Zhang Ruochen, his aura was extremely unfamiliar, completely different from the Zhang Ruochen of a thousand years ago.
Chi Kongle had found this place based on their bloodline connection, so she should not have found the wrong person.
Xia Yu was quite puzzled.
Zhang Ruochen sensed that Chi Kongle had become very different from before. She was entirely cold, and even when she hugged him, he could feel an extreme killing intent and bloodthirstiness emanating from her.
This made Zhang Ruochen secretly worried.
They embraced for a long time, father and daughter, yet neither spoke a word.
But given Chi Kongle's current state, the fact that she could actively rush forward and hug Zhang Ruochen without hesitation was already an outpouring of her inner emotions. There was longing, excitement, and countless unspoken words—all within her heart.
Zhang Ruochen asked softly, "How did you find this place?"
Chi Kongle did not speak.
Xia Yu said, "You are father and daughter, with a close bloodline connection. Coupled with Kongle's powerful divine soul, we traveled across the Wuding Divine Sea, spending over a year before finding this place. Zhang Ruochen, I ask you: when you helped me break free from the Desire Shackle a thousand years ago, what did you see in my memories?"
Zhang Ruochen understood why she was asking. "Have you become so cautious? Do you suspect that I am a fake?"
"People's hearts are unpredictable, and things are ever-changing. One must always be careful," Xia Yu said.
Zhang Ruochen studied her for a long moment and nodded. "Your cultivation is not weak. It seems you have worked hard over the years."
Xia Yu's voice was cold. "Answer my question."
"I don't have time to explain everything to you. This place is very close to the coastline occupied by the Heavenly Court's myriad realms, extremely dangerous. We need to leave quickly. By the way, has the Ten Realms Battle ended?"
"If you don't explain clearly, you won't leave this island."
Xia Yu struck out with the Seven Star Ghost Lotus, transforming it into seven patches of yin-qi-filled ghost clouds that enveloped Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen looked up, feeling helpless. Even after a thousand years, her personality was still so stubborn. So, he reached out his hand and grabbed upward.
A massive handprint, hundreds of zhang long, materialized and seized the Seven Star Ghost Lotus.
Xia Yu found that her connection with the Seven Star Ghost Lotus had disappeared. Her beautiful face changed instantly, and she immediately released the Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Flame. Her form turned into an afterimage as she formed a palm seal and struck at Zhang Ruochen.
"Bang!"
Mo Yin rushed out from Zhang Ruochen's back and exchanged a palm strike with her.
Xia Yu was sent flying back, stopping only when she reached the sea, where she steadied herself.
Behind her, the sea surged into waves over ten zhang high.
Mo Yin said with a smile, "How dare you attack my master! Do you know that the three Angel Emperors of the Paradise Realm, as powerful as you, all fell because they provoked my master?"
Finally, Xia Yu sensed a familiar aura on Mo Yin.
Her appearance confirmed Zhang Ruochen's identity.
Xia Yu looked at Zhang Ruochen, biting her lip slightly, her eyes deep and stubborn. "I have never taken the three Angel Emperors of the Paradise Realm seriously. Don't compare them to me. Zhang Ruochen, return the Seven Star Ghost Lotus. You wouldn't take back something you've given away, would you?"
Xia Yu had a personality that feared no strong opponent. Even if it were Zhang Ruochen or a god standing before her, she would still dare to strike.
Defeating her or killing her was easy.
But making her yield to an enemy or retreat in fear was impossible.
It was precisely because Zhang Ruochen recognized this trait in her that he had cultivated her as his trusted subordinate in the Hell Realm a thousand years ago.
Zhang Ruochen returned the Seven Star Ghost Lotus to her, and the group hurriedly sped toward the Guixu.
On the way, Xia Yu told Zhang Ruochen that the Ten Realms Battle had already begun a few days earlier. Large numbers of cultivators from both the Heavenly Court and Hell were gathered in the sea area where the Guixu was located.
Xia Yu, now the Vice Commander of the Blood Emperor Divine Demon Camp, was naturally a different person from before. She commanded a sub-divine-level warship, which could reach a speed of four billion li per day.
This was a treasure of the Blood Emperor Divine Demon Camp, and she only held temporary command over it; she could not claim it as her own.
Standing on the sub-divine-level warship, Zhang Ruochen murmured, "I hope we're not too late."
Xia Yu was surprised. "The participants for the Ten Realms Battle have long been decided, and the Hell Realm holds a huge advantage. Even if we arrive before the battle ends, can you still join in?"
She thought Zhang Ruochen wanted to represent the Hell Realm in battle to earn the trust of the Destiny Temple.
"I just want to watch the battle," Zhang Ruochen said.