Chapter 2858: Transformation
Peach Blossom led Zhang Ruochen, traveling hundreds of thousands of miles, crossing towering mountains and ridges, to arrive at a remote ancient secret forest untouched by human traces.
Within the forest, all were towering giant trees, roots like dragons, vines like pythons.
The soil beneath had transformed into divine earth, silver-white in color, emitting a shimmering radiance.
"This is a forbidden area of Xinghuantian. The Heavenly Venerable once built a medicinal garden here, planting sacred medicines gathered from all realms of the universe. Legend says that at the garden's peak, it contained more than one divine medicine."
"Unfortunately, millions of years have passed, and it has been abandoned! Not only can no sacred medicines be found, but also, a large number of ferocious plants have taken over, making it very dangerous."
Peach Blossom led the way as she spoke, "After all, this is the former grounds of a Heavenly Venerable, with all sorts of mysteries. Even gods dare not barge in recklessly. A Le and I chose to hide here, hoping to use the residual power of the Heavenly Venerable to conceal our auras."
"We're here!"
Passing through a thousand li of desolate forest, the two arrived before a bamboo hut.
The bamboo hut backed onto the ancient forest, facing a stream, with an elegant environment, quiet and pleasant.
Peach Blossom opened the formation protecting the bamboo hut and invited Zhang Ruochen inside, saying, "A Le has been gone to the starry sky for three months now. I don't know when he will return."
Zhang Ruochen sat down on a green stone in front of the bamboo hut, released the old yellow ox, and tied it under a tree as thick as a bowl.
The tree was covered in white spiritual fruits, emitting a captivating fragrance.
Zhang Ruochen reached out and picked one, washing it simply by the stream.
Taking a bite, his mouth filled with fragrance, the taste sweet.
Peach Blossom carefully observed Zhang Ruochen, finding that although he was extremely aged with little lifespan remaining, there was not a trace of resentment or fear of impending death on him. Instead, he seemed to deeply cherish the little life he had left.
She asked herself, if she suddenly became old and ugly, with only this wisp of life flame left, she definitely could not be as optimistic and calm as Zhang Ruochen.
Only someone who had seen through life and death, no longer caring about fame, gain, or loss, could achieve this.
Peach Blossom said, "A Le told me to hide here and wait for him to return. But after waiting three months, how could I not worry? So I left this ancient forest to go out and gather news, and unexpectedly encountered Chi Kunlun."
"I thought, if you were still alive and still in this star domain, you might not see anyone, but you would definitely see Chi Kunlun. So I secretly followed him all the way to the First Goddess City. You probably know what happened after that."
Zhang Ruochen said, "How did you know I went missing in this star domain?"
"The news was spread by the Blood Howl True Lord and the Luan Eagle True Lord of the Demon God Realm," Peach Blossom said.
Zhang Ruochen's mind conjured two powerful divine figures. They were the two demon clan gods he had found on the planet where he hid before passing his power to Chi Yao. One had an eagle head, the other a human face with a howl body.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly understood. He somewhat understood why Blood Howl God Son and Luan Eagle God Son had provoked Chi Kunlun. It seemed their real intention was not the wine but something else—their true goal was to lure out Chi Yao, who was behind Chi Kunlun.
Peach Blossom said, "Moreover, Chi Yao has been lingering in this star domain. Many cultivators speculate that although she devoured your cultivation, she failed to kill you. She is trying to find you and finish you off."
"People always like to use the greatest malice to speculate the truth behind the scenes. It's because goodness can only go so far, but evil can be endless. If a man doesn't look out for himself, heaven and earth will destroy him," Zhang Ruochen sighed.
Zhang Ruochen had once been like this too.
Peach Blossom was startled, "So, you really took the initiative to pass your power to Chi Yao?"
Zhang Ruochen said nothing, picking another spiritual fruit. This time, he didn't even bother washing it, putting it directly into his mouth.
Peach Blossom laughed, "Everyone says you, Zhang Ruochen, are the Romantic Sword God. But I think the price of romance is too high! You gave up everything—what exactly were you after?"
"What did you give up everything for?" Zhang Ruochen countered.
Peach Blossom waved her hand, "I'm different from you. Although I gave up everything, I also gained everything. You gave up everything—what did you gain?"
"I also gained everything."
Zhang Ruochen stood up, clasping his hands behind his back, looking through the branches and leaves at a distant ancient mountain shrouded in divine light and rosy clouds, "Qing Zu thought that by crippling my cultivation, he had eliminated the threat and undone all of Xumi Saint Monk's arrangements from back then, thinking he could rest easy."
"How many divine realm powerhouses wanted to kill or cripple me, not just Qing Zu. They were all afraid that I would grow up to become a second Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, changing the rules of heaven and earth, stopping the war between the Heavenly Court and Hell Realm."
"After Qing Zu crippled me, they should all have breathed a sigh of relief, secretly rejoicing."
"But although Zhang Ruochen is crippled, I won't let them have it easy. Chi Yao will surely carry my will, carry Xumi Saint Monk's hopes, and carry the hopes of countless beings yearning for an end to the war, to fight for a future for this era. That is everything I want!"
Peach Blossom was moved, "You trust her that much?"
"She will definitely do better than me! Embracing all rivers, encompassing all phenomena—that is not the heart of a conqueror. But she has the heart of a conqueror."
Zhang Ruochen pointed to the distant divine mountain, "What place is that?"
"That is the medicinal garden of the Xinghuan Heavenly Venerable, called Mi Mountain. There are means left by the Heavenly Venerable there. With our cultivation, it's best not to go exploring, or we'll die without a burial place," Peach Blossom said.
The Xinghuan Heavenly Venerable was said to be a Heavenly Venerable before the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, at least a supreme being from three million years ago.
But three million years had passed, and the residual power of the Heavenly Venerable was still everywhere. The forbidden areas in Xinghuantian were countless. Although the world's stability couldn't compare to the Heavenly Court and Fate Divine Domain, it still far surpassed many powerful realms.
A single Heavenly Venerable could bless a great world for millions of years, or even longer.
Zhang Ruochen waited here for two days. Finally, on a blazing hot noon, he waited for A Le, who had returned from the starry sky.
A Le's face was weathered, his expression weary. He still wore the same repeatedly washed cloth clothes. He didn't even glance at Zhang Ruochen, walking straight into the bamboo hut and embracing Peach Blossom.
The two whispered softly.
A moment later, A Le quickly walked out of the bamboo hut, looking up and down at the white-haired old man feeding the ox, his eyes full of disbelief.
Zhang Ruochen turned to look at him, smiling, "Didn't recognize me? If even you can't recognize me, I think no one in the world can identify me."
A Le said, "Yes, your transformation technique is even more brilliant! Hurry and change back!"
"I like this way of comforting me. Just think of it as me deliberately transforming into this appearance. Now I'll change back to my original form."
Zhang Ruochen laughed as he spoke, his white hair turning black, his aged face becoming young, his stooped body straightening, the wrinkles on his face disappearing, and even his cloudy eyes becoming bright and radiant.
Once again, it was the handsome and elegant Zhang Ruochen, the peerless Romantic Sword God.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's youthful appearance and optimistic smile, A Le's eyes instead filled with tears.
The old yellow ox beside him widened its eyes, looking at Zhang Ruochen as if it didn't recognize him.
"You've changed. You're not the old A Le anymore!"
Zhang Ruochen seemed full of vitality and energy, laughing, "But this change is good. A husband, a father, cannot be as cold as an assassin. He must be like a person, a living being full of emotion."
Peach Blossom brought out wine, wine she had taken from the Divine Maiden Tower.
She knew that these two men, though they seemed to be chatting and laughing happily, were only doing so to avoid speaking of the pain and worry in their hearts, so as not to affect the other.
Let everything be in the wine.
"I really envy you two, being able to fly together as a pair, loving each other. Peach Blossom is very good. You should treat her well," Zhang Ruochen said, sitting on a pile of leaves, leaning against an ancient tree, lifting a wine jar and taking a big gulp.
A Le's gaze was very firm, "Mm! She has killed too much, her heart knot is deep. She knows her chance of surviving the divine tribulation is very slim. She saw that I also didn't undergo the divine tribulation, wanting to grow old with her, to die together below the divine realm. In a fit of anger, she refined a divine source and became a false god."
"She said that false gods can live for one eon, and that I must undergo the divine tribulation, become a god, and continue to accompany her."
"There is only one divine source, and it's not easy to find, which dashed my hopes of becoming a false god. In the end, under her pressure, I had no choice but to break through and become a god."
Both Peach Blossom and A Le were people of extremely high talent. If they had fought with all their might, both could have crossed the divine tribulation, and their future achievements would have been limitless.
But Peach Blossom did not risk the tribulation, because her chance of success was too low. If she died, she didn't know if A Le would continue living alone.
What was even more ridiculous was that cultivation was supposed to be a serious matter.
Becoming a god was the most important thing for all cultivators.
But for them, it seemed too frivolous.
Just wanting to grow old together with the other, they could give up pursuing the realm of gods, give up long life, and give up the power to destroy heaven and earth.
A Le said, "I plan to stop cultivating from now on! That way, after one eon, I definitely won't survive the eon calamity. She and I will have the same lifespan, and we can grow old together. A lifespan of 129,600 years is already a thousand times that of ordinary people."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Don't you want to stay together even longer?"
A Le said, "People shouldn't be too greedy!"
"Although Peach Blossom became a false god, she can still cultivate her spiritual power. If she can cultivate her spiritual power to the seventy-fifth rank, surviving the first eon calamity shouldn't be too difficult. If she can cultivate her spiritual power to the eightieth rank, surviving three or four eon calamities is possible," Zhang Ruochen said.
A Le said, "Cultivating spiritual power—how easy is that? There are so many false gods in the universe. How many of them can cultivate their spiritual power to the seventy-fifth rank even after spending over ten thousand years?"
Cultivating spiritual power was indeed as difficult as reaching the heavens. Take the Sixth Master of Tiannan, for example. He had Qing Zu as his master, various resources to aid him, and his own talent was top-notch. Yet, after spending hundreds of thousands of years, he had only reached the seventy-ninth rank.
Other spiritual power cultivators, without such superior conditions, had a very slim chance of cultivating their spiritual power to the seventy-fifth rank within one eon.
Not every spiritual power cultivator was Zhang Ruochen.
A faint smile played on Zhang Ruochen's lips, "I do have a great opportunity here. If you get this opportunity, forget the seventy-fifth rank—the eightieth rank is within reach."
"Are you serious?"
A Le sat up, staring at Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen said, "If you want this great opportunity of mine, you'll have to trade your child for it."
"My child is your child. You can do whatever you want with him. You're not going to possess him, are you?" A Le said.
Zhang Ruochen stared at him.
The air grew still.
A Le instantly held his breath, realizing that Zhang Ruochen had little lifespan left. Perhaps he had mastered some secret technique that allowed him to possess and reincarnate.
Peach Blossom had been eavesdropping on their conversation. Hearing this, she bit her lip, growing nervous.
After a long time, A Le closed his eyes, "Possession—would it be dangerous for Peach Blossom?"
Zhang Ruochen laughed, punching him on the shoulder, "Even if you were willing to let me possess you, I wouldn't want to be your son. I was just joking earlier. I really do have a great opportunity, to give to your child and Peach Blossom. Have you heard of the Buddhist Child Reincarnation?"