Chapter 3013: The Power of the Treasure Medicine Divine Pill
"Not good, this is..."
In Zhang Ruochen's mind, he recalled the solemn expression on Jie Zunzhe's face when he handed him that pearl, and inwardly cursed his own carelessness. The more serious that guy acted, the more cautious one should be.
The pinkish light mist, seeming both like gas and light, instantly penetrated his body, surging into Zhang Ruochen's form, soaking into his flesh and blood, and permeating his divine soul.
There was no way to avoid it.
The light mist contained an extraordinary mysterious power. Zhang Ruochen's blood boiled within him, his seven emotions and six desires amplified infinitely. It felt as if a mass of divine flame was burning in his lower abdomen.
"Useless at everything, number one at alchemy."
Zhang Ruochen couldn't be bothered to think about how to settle accounts with that old fellow. He pressed his palms together, and a boundless Buddha light radiated from his body. He shouted, "Mo Yin, control the Yin Escape Nine Formation... what are you doing..."
Mo Yin's warm and slender arms hooked around Zhang Ruochen's body. Her cheeks were flushed red, as if they could seep water.
Zhang Ruochen's heart pounded violently. Struggling to maintain his rationality, he looked toward Chi Yao, Bai Qinger, Luo Sha, Ji Fanxin, and Luo Ji within the formation. He saw that they, too, had been invaded by the pink light mist, their states very strange.
Chi Yao and Bai Qinger had extremely high cultivation levels. They circulated their techniques, trying their utmost to refine the strange medicinal power within their bodies, but they were shocked to find that the divine qi in their meridians was growing thinner and thinner, slowly drying up, as if they were about to degenerate from gods into mortals.
Ji Fanxin used her powerful spiritual power to guard her spiritual platform, but she was horrified to discover that her divine heart was wrapped in the pink light mist, and gradually, she could no longer sense the spiritual power within her body.
Luo Ji and Luo Sha were drenched in fragrant sweat, their eyes glazed over, swaying unsteadily in the void.
"Damn it! How can there be such a terrifying medicine in the world?"
Zhang Ruochen was not afraid, however. Having refined the Buddha Emperor Relic, he was enough to protect himself and maintain a clear consciousness.
Although it was uncomfortable, he wouldn't lose his reason.
As long as he took out the Bright Mirror Platform from the "Sixth Patriarch's Zen Meditation Diagram," it should help them stay awake.
"Not bad, kid! Quite capable, having a Buddha Emperor Relic to protect your body, immune to all evils. Seal it for me!" Jie Zunzhe's voice came from somewhere unknown.
The golden light on Zhang Ruochen's body grew dimmer and dimmer, until it completely disappeared.
"You old immortal, you have no bottom line! Just wait, you do the first day of the lunar month, I'll do the fifteenth day of the lunar month."
Zhang Ruochen felt his cultivation growing weaker and weaker, unable to suppress the surging desires within him. He had no choice but to summon the Seven-Star Divine Palace and toss it out.
The fist-sized palace grew enormous and majestic, like a sacred imperial palace settling on the ground.
With the last of his divine qi, Zhang Ruochen swept up Mo Yin, Chi Yao, Bai Qinger, Luo Sha, Luo Ji, and Ji Fanxin, and charged through the palace gates.
"Activate the formations and guard the divine palace."
Zhang Ruochen gave this order to Huang Tian, who was lying at the entrance of the Seven-Star Divine Palace, snoring.
Huang Tian was startled awake. He turned his head and saw that the palace gates were already closed. He was dazed for a long time before remembering Zhang Ruochen's words. Then, he activated one formation after another to protect the palace.
...
The Yin Escape Nine Formation did not stop operating, sealing the pink light mist within the formation.
Outside the formation, Qingshen and the seven Rakshasa clan gods were all sharp-witted. They vaguely sensed something and prepared to enter the formation to investigate.
"You few, come over here!" An aged voice sounded.
The gods followed the sound and found a gaunt old man sitting on a stone beside the formation.
It was very strange!
None of the gods present knew when this old man had arrived.
Fengdi's expression was solemn. He hid the formation diagram in his sleeve and transmitted a message to the other six gods: "He's a human god. Can't sense his cultivation level."
"Don't bother sensing! I was just lucky enough to find a divine source, and after refining it, I stepped into the divine realm." Jie Zunzhe sighed long.
Upon hearing this, Ximen Shenhou relaxed and sneered, "So it's just a false god."
"That's right, come over here."
Jie Zunzhe was very friendly, speaking with a smile.
The other six Rakshasa clan gods had already changed expressions drastically. The old man across from them could easily hear Fengdi's divine voice transmission. Was this really just a false god?
Even if he were a false god, his spiritual power would definitely be terrifying.
Ximen Shenhou was slow on the uptake, but he finally realized this. His expression turned cold and stern. "It seems your spiritual power is quite high, old senior. But I, this marquis, have reached the Great Perfection of the Upper-level God realm, so I fear nothing in this world."
Fengdi said, "If the seven of us gods join forces, even if your spiritual power has reached the seventy-sixth or even seventy-seventh rank, I'm afraid you won't gain any advantage."
"What about the seventy-eighth rank?" Jie Zunzhe asked.
The seven Rakshasa clan gods across from him all sucked in cold air.
A god with spiritual power at the seventy-eighth rank could already contend with a Great God of the Taibai realm.
Fengdi was quite imposing. "At such a close distance, a martial god has an absolute advantage. Even if your spiritual power has truly reached the seventy-eighth rank, you are still just a false god. Can your physical body withstand a strike from an Upper-level God?"
"What about the eightieth rank?" Jie Zunzhe asked again.
The faces of the Rakshasa gods changed again. They were already preparing to activate secret techniques and break through in different directions.
Fengdi couldn't speak anymore. When the gap was large enough, concepts like close range and long range became meaningless. He had even made the decision to sacrifice himself to buy time for the other six gods to escape.
Jie Zunzhe said, "What about the eighty-fifth rank? Don't be nervous, everyone. I'm just shouting casually. You don't actually believe it, do you?"
The seven Rakshasa gods were all furious. They felt the old man across from them was deliberately toying with them. A figure with spiritual power at the eightieth rank was invariably an ancient god who had shaken the universe for hundreds of thousands of years. How could one just pop up out of nowhere?
Ximen Shenhou raised his cleaver, his murderous aura surging outward, and strode forward. "I think you're asking for death!"
Jie Zunzhe pointed at him. "Lie down!"
"Bang!"
Ximen Shenhou stumbled forward, fell to the ground, and smashed a human-shaped crater into it.
Jie Zunzhe stood up and walked over.
This time, no one doubted his cultivation anymore. The Rakshasa gods all retreated, not even daring to think of escape.
There was no other way. An existence at the Great Perfection of the Upper-level God realm was told to lie down and did so. Even if he wasn't an existence at the eighty-fifth rank of spiritual power, he was probably close. In front of such a figure, let alone them, even an ordinary Great God would find it hard to escape.
Jie Zunzhe dug Ximen Shenhou's head out of the mud, grabbed his chin, pulled a black, shiny pill from the sole of his shoe, and forced it down his throat.
"What did you feed Ximen Shenhou?" Fengdi asked in a deep voice.
Jie Zunzhe looked up at them and smiled. "Don't worry, everyone gets one."
...
In a bedchamber of the Seven-Star Divine Palace, it was resplendent and magnificent, with scrolls and paintings hanging on the walls.
Fine silk robes were strewn all over the floor. White, cyan, light purple, and pink undergarments lay scattered like an overturned ink palette of a painter, gorgeous and fragrant.
The white ones were spotless. The cyan ones were embroidered with white spirit lotuses.
The light purple ones were woven with divine bird down. The pink ones hung on a blue lampshade beside the bed, casting a strange, light purple hue.
The bed was made of divine wood and was very wide. But no matter how wide the bed, once seven figures lay on it, it became crowded. Legs pressed against legs, heads rested on chests, jade arms intertwined, long hair in disarray—it was impossible to tell who was who.
Luo Sha was the first to wake up. Her cultivation had still not recovered, and her whole body ached as if it were falling apart. She tried to prop herself up and stand, but her legs felt like they weren't her own, soft and numb.
She could see that the area beneath her was stained red with blood.
Just as she was feeling miserable, she glanced over and saw countless fair, beautiful legs. After carefully comparing them, she couldn't help but feel a slight smugness. "My legs are still the longest!" she thought to herself.
She looked at Chi Yao lying beside her, taking in her exquisitely beautiful face and skin so delicate it seemed it would break at a touch. Even her eyebrows looked as if they had been meticulously painted by a divine brush. At this moment, there was not a trace of imperial majesty about her. Instead, she looked like an eighteen or nineteen-year-old maiden who had just spent her wedding night.
Especially those red, perfect lips. Even though Luo Sha was a woman and hated Chi Yao to the core, she couldn't help but lean in and give her a kiss.
From Chi Yao's face, along her snow-white neck, she looked down.
Luo Sha stretched out her five fingers and made a measuring gesture in the air. The smugness she had felt earlier diminished somewhat. As if annoyed, she reached down to grab, but Chi Yao caught her wrist.
Chi Yao had already woken up, her eyes icy cold.
Luo Sha giggled. "We've already shared a bed, sister. Why do you still look at me like I'm some kind of villain?"
The others on the bed woke up one after another.
Among the women present, Luo Ji was the most reserved and cared the most about shame.
Luo Ji's long hair was disheveled, and the veil on her face had long since disappeared. She glanced at the other women on the bed, and when she saw Luo Sha in particular, a look of undisguised hatred appeared in her eyes. Whether from pain or discomfort, she got out of bed, intending to leave.
But after only two steps, her legs gave way, and she fell to the ground, provoking a burst of laughter from Luo Sha on the bed, who even made comments about her being useless.
Mo Yin also laughed.
After years of war, the Heavenly Beginning Civilization and the Hell Realm had long since forged a blood feud. Luo Ji naturally had no goodwill toward Luo Sha, and now she could only sit collapsed on the ground, becoming a laughingstock for her enemy.
She inwardly cursed her own weakness, tears glistening in her eyes.
Chi Yao and Bai Qinger had deep cultivation and strong physiques. They had recovered some strength. They got out of bed, sat down cross-legged, and began circulating their techniques. Whether they were preparing to fight another round after recovering, or to join forces and settle accounts with Zhang Ruochen, no one knew.
After all, the medicine was administered by Zhang Ruochen.
Using such a despicable method on them was truly too much.
Ji Fanxin had also woken up. Her usually lively and spirited eyes now held a deep sense of bewilderment. Where am I? What am I doing? Why is this happening again?
And... it seemed... even more shameful than last time.
When it came to a sense of shame, if Luo Ji ranked first, then the Hundred Flowers Fairy would naturally rank second.
It was only because she had experienced it once before that she could accept it a little more easily.
"That old fellow, you're ruthless this time! For the sake of some mission, for the sake of some responsibility, you'll use any means. How am I supposed to explain this to them?"
Zhang Ruochen remembered that Chi Yao was present when Jie Zunzhe gave him the pearl, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He absolutely couldn't let them misunderstand that he, Zhang Ruochen, had deliberately administered the medicine.
Perhaps Luo Sha and Bai Qinger wouldn't care, at most giving him a few contemptuous glances, but Luo Ji and Ji Fanxin would never forgive him.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was thinking about how outrageous today's events were, it suddenly occurred to him that the women present were either already married to him or already engaged.
This didn't seem like such a big deal!
From now on, they would be one family. What was there to be shy about? What was there to be reserved about? As the sovereign of a realm, wasn't he entitled to enjoy the blessings of multiple wives?
Without realizing it, Zhang Ruochen's hand had grabbed a soft, cotton-like, elastic object.
Ji Fanxin, who had been dazed and even a little angry, suddenly felt her eyelashes tremble. She took a deep breath, and her eyes gradually widened.
"So fragrant!"
Zhang Ruochen took a deep sniff, turned over, straightened Ji Fanxin's blushing, tearful face, and kissed her.
The bed shook.
The fragrance of flowers grew stronger.
Chi Yao heard the commotion, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes, trying to calm her heart.
But she could hear the coquettish laughter of Mo Yin and Luo Sha beside her. Luo Ji, who had fallen to the side, was also dragged back by them.
Before long, Bai Qinger, who had been sitting cross-legged and circulating her meager divine qi, was also dragged away.
One could tell that Bai Qinger resisted, but it seemed she was entangled by the vines of the Devouring Divine Flower and couldn't break free.
Chi Yao didn't want to participate in their wild revelry anymore. She didn't dare stay here. She picked up a moon-white long gauze that belonged to someone else, wrapped it around herself, and tried to escape. But Zhang Ruochen caught her wrist. The long gauze on her body disappeared without a trace, and her round, firm jade legs were grabbed by some demoness and dragged back.
...
The starry sky was vast and empty, and most places were shrouded in darkness. Except for some special areas dense with stars, the distance between stars could often reach tens of trillions of miles.
The Heavenly Lord Mountain was no longer in the Heavenly Beginning Civilization's great world. It was now suspended in the dark starry sky, its surface thick with divine qi, forming an independent small world.
No one knew how much time had passed. Zhang Ruochen pushed open the palace gates of the Seven-Star Divine Palace and walked out, his spirits high. Not far away, under a sacred tree that would take five people to encircle, Jie Zunzhe was squatting on the ground, stroking the long fur of the great dog Huang Tian, sighing deeply.
Zhang Ruochen's expression darkened. He walked over and said, "Are you satisfied now?"
Jie Zunzhe stood up, gave him a contemptuous look, and said, "Don't act like you've gotten the advantage and still play the victim! Aren't you satisfied too? Besides, if you could have subdued them with your own abilities, would you have needed my treasure medicine? This treasure medicine is more precious than a divine pill."
He wasn't bragging. A single pearl could instantly knock down several gods.
What ordinary divine pill could do that?
Zhang Ruochen knew very well that with his current cultivation, he couldn't do anything to this old fellow. Even if he wanted revenge, he would have to bide his time.
This time, he had truly lost face in front of the women. Although he had explained everything, Ji Fanxin and Luo Ji didn't seem inclined to forgive him.
The former fairy, so reserved, always wearing a veil, unwilling to let outsiders see her face, as if untouched by dust, not eating the food of mortals.
Luo Sha and Bai Qinger, perhaps worried that Zhang Ruochen would settle accounts with Xinghuantian later, also put on airs. They were even angrier than Ji Fanxin and Luo Ji, feeling that the Zhang family's ancestor had disrespected them. They had been bullied and felt wronged, and wanted to go back to inform their elders and seek justice.
Zhang Ruochen thought the matter was over, only to find that it was just the beginning.
From then on, he once again deeply understood the words of Fengchen Sword God: never let two women be together at the same time. Setting aside Mo Yin, the five women in the Seven-Star Divine Palace were all formidable in their own ways. If they truly united, Zhang Ruochen felt he couldn't handle them.
He had to divide them.
Zhang Ruochen naturally wouldn't reveal the bitterness in his heart, lest the old fellow laugh at him. He asked, "What's wrong with Huang Tian? Looks like he's lost half his life!"
He kicked Huang Tian, but the great dog didn't move at all.
Jie Zunzhe said, "You were wild inside for three days, and he was wild outside for three days. Look, he's ruined more than a dozen sacred trees. His body is clearly not as good as yours."
Zhang Ruochen then remembered that although Huang Tian was the guardian spirit of the palace, he still had flesh, blood, and spirit.
Poor thing!
Zhang Ruochen sensed something and looked up. His divine eyes pierced the atmosphere and entered the starry sky. He said in surprise, "Old fellow... you... you did this? You stole the Heavenly Lord Mountain?"
Jie Zunzhe said impatiently, "Stole? This is our Zhang family's Heavenly Lord Mountain. How can you call it stealing? It's a dowry!"
Zhang Ruochen had never seen such a shameless person. This old fellow was always causing trouble, but it was up to him to smooth things over with Luo Ji.
What could he do?
He couldn't beat him.
He couldn't out-argue him.
Now that the rice was cooked, was he supposed to personally return the Heavenly Lord Mountain to the Heavenly Beginning Civilization's great world?
Jie Zunzhe said, "Don't worry! Although I, this venerable one, asked for a dowry, I didn't take it by force. I discussed it with King Yu, and he agreed very readily! The Heavenly Lord Mountain and the fire seed have gone to the Kunlun Realm. With me protecting them, you should be more at ease! Besides, this way, that little girl can't run away anymore. She has to follow you. Ah, for the sake of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization being able to produce a few more top-tier talents and rise again, I imagine she will also work very hard."
Zhang Ruochen didn't want to discuss matters of procreation and reviving the family with him. He asked seriously, "Did King Yu really personally agree?"
Jie Zunzhe raised three fingers, his tongue a little tied, and said, "I can swear to the blue sky, he agreed very readily."
"Did you just say 'blue sky' or 'Shang Tian'?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Jie Zunzhe didn't want to talk to him. He waved his three fingers in front of Zhang Ruochen's eyes and said, "Look, I've helped you three times in a row. Shouldn't you help me with a favor?"
"Helped me three times? You've set me up three times!" Zhang Ruochen said through gritted teeth.
Jie Zunzhe glared at him. "When facing King Yu's River of Time, if I hadn't acted, you would have turned to bones long ago. When those girls were causing trouble and fighting fiercely, if not for my divine pill and treasure medicine, could you have subdued them? If you had let them keep fighting, and when the starry sky battlefield ends and the old Heavenly Lord of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization returns, could you have withstood that?"
"Third, I took away the Heavenly Lord Mountain and the fire seed of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization. Isn't that also helping you control that girl? Will she dare to cause trouble in the future? When it comes to dealing with women, you lack skill. Learn more. If you could learn even ten or twenty percent from me, you wouldn't be so passive."
Zhang Ruochen couldn't be bothered to listen to his nonsense, but since this old fellow was asking for his help, it was an opportunity.
So he said, "Speak. What favor?"
Jie Zunzhe rubbed his hands together. "Is your Dao method really that special? Can it resolve the Yin Shang Corpse Poison?"
"You want me to help you refine the death qi in your body?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Jie Zunzhe rolled his eyes. "The death qi in my body has long been healed by divine medicine. What I mean is, you should know about the Heavenly Fox Grandmother, right?"
Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up, and he smiled strangely. "I see. Back in the Heavenly Court, you said you were going to the Southern Continent to visit a confidante to borrow a divine medicine. So it was the Heavenly Fox Grandmother."
Jie Zunzhe admitted it frankly. He sighed. "You have no idea how charming she was when she was young. We fell in love, unable to extricate ourselves. We roamed the starry river together, watched the flowers bloom together. But, you know, I had many wives and concubines at home, and I bore the heavy responsibility of reviving the family. I couldn't spend too much time on one woman."
"Moreover, I knew that she couldn't tolerate me having a second woman..."
"Wait a minute. You didn't tell her that you had a house full of wives and concubines?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Jie Zunzhe said, "How could I tell her such a cruel thing and break her heart? I could only bear the inner torment alone! The most important thing between two people is to make the other happy."
Zhang Ruochen pressed his hand to his temple and rubbed it gently, not wanting to look at his affectionate expression.
Jie Zunzhe said, "Women are charming at first. But gradually, their true natures come out. When I learned that she was so domineering, had such a strange temper, and such a strong possessiveness, I understood that no matter how deep the feelings were, they had to be cut off. So, I told her that in a dream, I was enlightened by a great Buddhist sage and had decided to become a monk."
"She cried and begged me to stay, but my mind was made up. How could tears in the mortal world shake me?"
"Looking back now, I feel I was too heartless at the time. I shouldn't have treated her that way. Ah, it's all because I was too young and handsome back then, with too many choices around me. I only thought about her flaws, not her strengths."
Zhang Ruochen said, "When you went to the Southern Continent last time, she didn't kill you? And she even gave you the divine medicine?"
Jie Zunzhe sighed long, looked up at the sky, and there was actually a hint of regret and deep affection in his eyes. "I said I was dying. I just wanted to see her one last time before I died."
Zhang Ruochen also looked up at the sky. No thunder fell. He felt that the oath the old fellow had sworn earlier was completely useless. If the blue sky had eyes, it should have struck him dead long ago.
"Do you know that the Heavenly Fox Grandmother has deeply offended the Western Buddha Realm? As a result, she was poisoned with the Three Evil Corpse Poison, and no Buddhist venerable would help her detoxify it. All these years, because of your lie, she has probably suffered a lot." Zhang Ruochen truly sympathized with the Heavenly Fox Grandmother.
Jie Zunzhe said, "I know, I know. That's why I'm asking for your help! Do you think I, this venerable one, don't care about face?"
Zhang Ruochen sighed. "Don't worry. Our Zhang family owes the Heavenly Fox Grandmother. I can help with this favor, but I need to see her first to know if my current cultivation is sufficient. Aren't you very skilled at alchemy? Can't you resolve the Three Evil Corpse Poison in her body?"
"She thinks I'm already dead. I even wrote her a suicide note, telling her that divine medicine was useless. Now, if I appear before her again..." Jie Zunzhe's face was full of bitterness.
Zhang Ruochen found it hard to understand. "Why did you do that?"
"Her temper... you don't know. Forget it, let's not talk about it." Jie Zunzhe said.
...
This chapter is over six thousand words, combined from two chapters!