Chapter 2958: Sundial Repair
In the following period, Zhang Ruochen settled down on Star Heaven Cliff.
Though called a cliff, it was actually larger than a million life-bearing planets combined, with thick earth plates, space constantly expanding, and strands of five-colored chaotic divine qi permeating the air.
Calling this place half a sacred realm would not be an exaggeration—it was an excellent cultivation treasure ground.
No wonder the Red Crow Trees could reproduce so wildly here.
No wonder countless cultivators aspired to ascend Star Heaven Cliff and study under its masters.
...
There was no day here, no night, and it was rare to even encounter a living being other than the Red Crow Trees.
Living here for long would make one forget the existence of time.
Sometimes, Zhang Ruochen would sit in meditation at the cliff's edge, watching the clouds gather and disperse over Sea Stone Star Dock, their vast and magnificent movements. Space and time existed here in a unique way, giving rise to unprecedented insights.
Other times, he would go to the Scripture Carving Cave, browsing through mountains of texts and seas of scriptures.
The more he experienced, the more Zhang Ruochen felt the inadequacy of his knowledge. Although he had refined a Divine Wood Heart and gained an eon's worth of knowledge from the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, that knowledge was ultimately limited.
As a god, he had to learn more.
At other times, Zhang Ruochen would enter the Red Crow Forest, swinging his sword to cut down trees.
The Red Crow Trees were harder than he had imagined, like sacred iron. Some ancient trees could not be severed with a single sword strike. Moreover, the trees would counterattack, their branches striking like spears and lances.
With Zhang Ruochen's cultivation, he could naturally handle them.
But if a saint-realm cultivator entered, they would surely die.
Zhang Ruochen took out the Bronze Ancient Coffin and released the Devouring Spirit Insects from within. The swarm entered the Red Crow Forest, immediately letting out joyful cries as they gnawed on the trunks and devoured the Fire Crow Fruits.
"Whoosh!"
The branches of an ancient tree blazed with bright flames, lashing out at a Devouring Spirit Insect.
The three-meter-long insect was sent flying dozens of miles away.
But its shell was hard, and it was unharmed.
The Devouring Spirit Insect roared in fury, like a maddened bull, its legs churning rapidly, kicking up a trail of dust as it charged back to the Red Crow Tree and resumed gnawing.
"Boom! Boom! Boom..."
Conflicts between the Red Crow Trees and the Devouring Spirit Insects erupted constantly.
Zhang Ruochen hovered in midair, his hair flowing, looking down with satisfaction at this struggle. He could not keep the Devouring Spirit Insects penned up forever; he had to constantly provoke their ferocity and let them forage on their own.
Clearly, the Red Crow Trees were excellent food.
Perhaps, through this, the Devouring Spirit Insects might even evolve to the fifth generation.
If that happened, their combat power might surpass Zhang Ruochen's own. And if they could also gain the Red Crow Tree's powerful reproductive ability, that would be even more remarkable.
...
One day, Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged at the cliff's edge. The ground around him was all divine soil, radiant with auspicious light. His spiritual power thoughts transformed into countless tadpole-like figures, each the size of a grain of rice, dancing in the sky.
Suddenly, all the tadpole figures dimmed, flowing back like a swarm of bees returning to their hive, streaming into Zhang Ruochen's heart.
"Failed again. Breaking through to the seventy-fifth rank is truly no easy task."
After the battle at Xinghuantian, the Buddha Relic and the Divine Wood Heart had fully integrated with Zhang Ruochen, causing his spiritual power to surge again, reaching the peak of the seventy-fourth rank.
One more step—if he could reach the seventy-fifth rank—Zhang Ruochen was confident he could contend with Upper-Level Gods using only spiritual power.
But that step was too difficult.
Many spiritual power gods cultivated for over a hundred thousand years without reaching the seventy-fifth rank, ultimately dying in the Eon Calamity, reduced to ashes.
Zhang Ruochen had only been a god for a few decades, yet he was already at the threshold of the seventy-fifth rank. This was a cultivation speed unimaginable for other spiritual power gods.
Footsteps sounded behind him.
"Uncle!"
Xu Tingting carried a red wooden lunchbox to the cliff's edge, taking out several dishes. "Uncle, I made four dishes for you today. Try them and see if they taste good? Oh, and there's a pot of wine too!"
Zhang Ruochen looked at the young woman in blue before him, picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and praised, "Not bad, very good. It's been years since I've savored human delicacies like this."
He took a sip of the wine.
"The wine is excellent too."
Ever since Zhang Ruochen arrived at Star Huan Heaven, Xu Tingting had brought him meals every day, showing great thoughtfulness.
By seniority and age, she was far beneath him.
But she insisted on calling him "Uncle."
Over time, they became quite familiar, chatting about many things.
Zhang Ruochen gradually learned that Xu Tingting had been separated from her parents for many years. Only recently had Senior Xu Wenzhi found her and brought her to Star Huan Heaven, and then to Star Heaven Cliff.
As for her parents' situation, she didn't know, so Zhang Ruochen didn't press further.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen in a good mood, Xu Tingting lowered her head and asked softly, "Uncle, are you really Chi Kunlun's father?"
Zhang Ruochen looked at her.
She was startled and waved her hands frantically. "Uncle, don't misunderstand. I didn't mean anything else. I just wanted to know—why isn't Chi Kunlun with you? Do you know where he is now?"
As she asked the last question, her pretty face flushed red, and she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
Zhang Ruochen could clearly see her feelings. He continued eating and said, "You know the situation between his mother and me. So, when he was young, there were some misunderstandings between us, but they've all been resolved now. He should have returned to the Kunlun Realm, or perhaps he's on the Starry Sky Battlefield."
"Isn't that very dangerous?"
Xu Tingting's worry was written all over her face.
Zhang Ruochen said, "As a man, he must face danger to keep growing. Why are you so concerned about him?"
Xu Tingting lowered her head and said softly, "I... I just want to thank him for saving me at the Divine Maiden Tower in the world."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I was there too. It was clearly his fault that caused the trouble, and it had nothing to do with you. Besides, Senior Xu's cultivation is tens of thousands of times stronger than that kid's. When would it ever be his turn to act?"
Xu Tingting suddenly became very resolute. "No! Uncle, you don't know how brave he was. With so many demon clan experts there, he still stood up to clear his parents' name. He knew full well that you have many enemies, and Empress Chi Yao has many enemies too, but he was fearless, unafraid of those powerful figures hiding in the shadows."
"Moreover, he could have escaped alone, but because he was worried about me and my grandfather's safety, he took the huge risk of bringing us along. Brother Kunlun is absolutely a man who stands tall between heaven and earth."
"Gulp!"
Zhang Ruochen drained the wine from the pot and said, "Does he know who you are?"
Xu Tingting shook her head in disappointment.
"Don't worry. If I see him, I'll definitely tell him there's a silly girl on Star Heaven Cliff who can't forget him," Zhang Ruochen said.
Xu Tingting grew even more shy and said with some reproach, "Uncle! That's not a good way to put it..."
Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment and said, "Uncle has a piece of advice. Do you want to hear it?"
"What is it?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "The cultivation environment on Star Heaven Cliff is unmatched anywhere else. And your grandfather is a spiritual power expert, a true master teacher. You must cultivate diligently, striving to catch up to Chi Kunlun's cultivation, or even surpass him. Then, you'll have more time to spend together. Otherwise, if the gap in cultivation is too great, it won't be a good thing."
Zhang Ruochen spoke from deep experience.
He enjoyed being with Mu Lingxi; it was relaxing and pleasant. But he still had many things to do and couldn't indulge in that ease.
He enjoyed playing the flute and zither with Kong Lanyou, traveling through mountains and rivers. But he still had his father imprisoned in the Destiny Temple, countless enemies who wanted him dead, and the expectations of Xumi Saint Monk, Xue Jue War God, Yunshen Daozhu, and countless others.
Who could truly live as themselves?
Xu Tingting nodded gently, taking Zhang Ruochen's words to heart.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes, sensing that the time imprint light points around him had become active, converging into a river of time imprints suspended in the sky.
"Could it have succeeded?" Zhang Ruochen murmured.
The Old Woodcutter's voice transmission entered Zhang Ruochen's ears: "Come to the Chaos Volcano Crater."
Zhang Ruochen showed joy, transforming into a beam of divine light and flying straight toward the end of the river of time imprints.
When he arrived, Bai Qinger and Xu Wenzhi were already there, hovering at the crater's edge.
Below, chaotic flames blazed fiercely, with thick smoke rolling.
The Sundial floated within the chaotic flames, surrounded by a sea of time imprint light points flowing in a wondrous pattern.
The Old Woodcutter stood at the crater's edge, his figure as straight and sturdy as an ancient pine. His aged face was lit red by the flames. He raised his arm.
"Whoosh!"
The Sundial flew up from the chaotic flames and landed before Zhang Ruochen.
The surrounding time imprint light points surged toward it wildly, vanishing into the rough stone body.
On the Sundial, twelve markings manifested twelve different lights and shadows, like the sun rising and setting, the moon waxing and waning, and the four seasons cycling.
"Give it a try," the Old Woodcutter said.
Zhang Ruochen did not conceal his martial cultivation. Divine qi circulated within him, surging from his palm and pouring into the Sundial.
With a thunderous roar, all the time imprints within a hundred-thousand-mile radius trembled, converging toward the Sundial.
At the position of the fourth hour after noon, a space gate appeared.
Without hesitation, Zhang Ruochen flew through the gate.
After many years, he once again entered the Sundial's inner space, appearing in a place resembling an ancient cave.
Years ago, to rescue Chi Kongle from Xiu Chen Heavenly God, the Sundial's space gate had opened once. After that, Zhang Ruochen had tried to enter the Sundial but could never find the way.
In the cave, the extinguished fire pit had reignited.
Zhang Ruochen looked closely and saw that the flames were formed from time imprints.
It was time itself burning!
The Old Woodcutter's voice entered Zhang Ruochen's ears again: "The Sundial has been repaired, but its artifact spirit, having suffered severe damage, has become very weak and lost its consciousness."
"Currently, the Sundial can only support up to ten Heaven-Bridging Realm gods cultivating together. If it's a Great God, only one can cultivate."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Can't the Sundial's artifact spirit be made to grow quickly?"
"How could it be that easy? The growth of an artifact spirit is a long process. What you can do now is spend time nurturing the artifact spirit's consciousness. Of course, there is another way."
Zhang Ruochen quickly asked, "What way?"
"Directly refine a god who specializes in the Way of Time into the Sundial, turning them into the artifact spirit. But there are drawbacks—after all, any god has a limit to their growth. Unless you find a god whose own strength and potential are extraordinary," the Old Woodcutter said.
Zhang Ruochen found this strange, feeling as if the Old Woodcutter was hinting at something, deliberately guiding his thoughts in certain directions.