Chapter 3086: Departure
The Azure Wood Continent was rich in spiritual energy and sacred qi, with divine veins flowing beneath the earth, forming patches of divine soil that nurtured abundant cultivation resources. Divine mountains, strange valleys, and spiritual rivers were densely distributed.
Taiqing and Yuqing had not engaged in large-scale preaching in the Sword Realm, so although the cultivation environment was exceptional, the beings born there were not particularly powerful in cultivation.
It was like the Sword South Realm of old—relying solely on local beings to explore cultivation methods on their own, reaching the Great Saint realm was already considered extraordinary talent.
The Sword Realm's cultivation environment was naturally far superior to the Sword South Realm. In some ancient ruins, there were indeed exceptionally intelligent beings who, relying on incomplete cultivation methods left from antiquity, had reached the Divine realm.
But in the eyes of Infinite realm gods like Taiqing and Yuqing, what did ordinary gods amount to?
They were not even worth noticing.
In the azure-blue ocean at the extreme eastern end of Azure Wood Continent, the rules of heaven and earth were in turmoil. The air currents formed by the merging of two worlds caused massive tsunamis and fierce winds.
The merging of worlds was a slow process...
Three months later, a magnificent continent emerged, separated from Azure Wood Continent by only a few dozen miles of strait.
This continent was the Qiankun Realm.
The Qiankun Realm was already vast enough, but compared to Azure Wood Continent, it was like a slightly larger island.
Zhang Ruochen dispersed the divine light that had been shielding the Qiankun Realm, descended from midair, and stood beneath the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, feeling the sacred qi of the Sword Realm blowing toward him on the wind. A pleased smile appeared on his face.
Beneath the Qiankun Realm, a main divine vein flowed. Because the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree had rooted itself into the divine vein, innate divine qi was constantly emitted from the tree's leaves, causing the surrounding heaven and earth to change unceasingly.
"From now on, this place shall be called Qiankun Continent," Zhang Ruochen said.
Kong Lanyou stood beside him, her white hair fluttering in the wind. A smile appeared on her cold, beautiful face. "Cousin, are you planning to restore the kingdom on this continent and revive the glory of the Sacred Bright?"
Within the Qiankun Realm, there were already many descendants of the Sacred Bright's former ministers. After years of reproduction, the population had increased more than a hundredfold.
Although Zhang Ruochen felt that rebuilding the Sacred Bright Central Empire was no longer meaningful, many cultivators still remembered it, cherishing it as a memory of the former Sacred Bright.
Kong Lanyou was one of them.
Kong Lanyou knew that Zhang Ruochen's vision and perspective had long transcended a single family or nation, focusing instead on the entire universe. Still, she said, "There are already many humans on Qiankun Continent, with cities one after another. Sects, clans, and factions have all emerged. With such an exceptional cultivation environment here, the population will inevitably explode in the future, giving birth to an endless stream of geniuses and powerhouses."
"If there is no nation to educate, govern, and guide them, internal conflict will be inevitable. From a long-term perspective, establishing an empire is imperative."
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "You've spent a long time in the Qiankun Realm, so you know this world better than I do. Alright, I'll leave the matter of establishing the kingdom to you."
Kong Lanyou said, "I can help you establish the empire and govern Qiankun Continent for a time. But the emperor of the empire must bear the surname Zhang."
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly. "I don't have time to be a mundane emperor on Qiankun Continent."
Kong Xuan, standing not far behind Kong Lanyou, smiled slyly. "That's simple. Chi Kunlun can be the emperor of the First Central Empire in the Kunlun Realm. Can't you and Master give birth to an emperor?"
Hearing this, Kong Lanyou surprisingly did not scold Kong Xuan.
To be honest, after a thousand years of cultivation in the Qiankun Realm, Zhang Ruochen and Kong Lanyou's feelings for each other had become incredibly deep. Yet it was like family affection, like friendship, and of course, there was a hint of romantic feeling between them, but it did not account for much.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was calm and warm as he looked at Kong Lanyou. "What do you think?"
Kong Lanyou had been able to maintain her composure, but being asked by Zhang Ruochen like this, her snow-white cheeks flushed with color. She turned into a streak of light and vanished into the air.
Kong Xuan had already refined a divine source and become a false god. Her eyes were full of reproach. "How can you ask Master like that? She has waited for you for so many years, even willing to abandon everything in the Kunlun Realm for you, following you everywhere. Don't you truly understand her feelings?"
Zhang Ruochen stared at her intently. A false god dared to scold him, a great god.
Kong Xuan felt she was in the right and was fearless, meeting Zhang Ruochen's gaze to seek justice for her master.
Zhang Ruochen's expression gradually softened. "You are my maidservant, yet you speak for an outsider? By the way, when did you take her as your master?"
"Taking her as my master was for cultivating spiritual power. In the future, I want to use spiritual power to survive the Eon Calamity." Kong Xuan added, "Is Master an outsider in your eyes?"
"Kong Xuan..."
Zhang Ruochen scolded her, left her with the words "You take care of yourself," and then chased after the direction Kong Lanyou had gone.
Three days later...
Zhang Ruochen stood on an eight-foot bamboo leaf boat, flying through the dark void, leaving the Sword Realm.
This bamboo leaf boat was a divine vessel refined by Yuqing. Though small, it was astonishingly fast, far beyond ordinary divine ships.
The matter of Wu Yue losing her chastity would inevitably stir up a storm outside. Although Zhang Ruochen trusted the abilities of Xue Jue War God and Xinghuantian, how could he hide in the Sword Realm forever, letting them fight the enemy?
This matter was no small thing; many people would die.
Not to mention other places, just Void Heaven's side alone required Zhang Ruochen to personally make a trip.
He had already thought it through clearly. If Void Heaven was truly forced into the main war faction of the Hell Realm, wielding the great power of the Destiny Temple, not only would Xue Jue War God's situation become dangerous, but Xinghuantian and Star Heaven Cliff might also be uprooted by the Hell Realm.
Although going to see Void Heaven carried great risk.
But in such turbulent times, what action carried no risk?
Only by charging forward bravely could one clear the clouds and see the sun.
Kong Lanyou stayed on Qiankun Continent, but Luo Ji insisted on going out with Zhang Ruochen. She believed that only she had a chance to persuade the Old Heavenly Lord to change his mind.
At this moment, Luo Ji was consulting Yuqing about doubts in Daoist techniques.
Zhang Ruochen stood at the stern of the boat and finally couldn't help asking the Dragon Lord, "The ancestors Taiqing and Yuqing have been in seclusion for two hundred thousand years, long detached from worldly affairs. Uncle Dragon, how exactly did you persuade them?"
The Dragon Lord stood tall and imposing, with an aura of supreme dominance, but the smile on his face softened that intimidating dragon might. "Do you think cultivation can keep advancing just through quiet meditation? Even someone like Xu Fengjin, when restless, seeks action."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Uncle Dragon means the two ancestors had long planned to emerge?"
The Dragon Lord nodded. "Even if I hadn't come this time, once they learned that I and Tai Shang were still alive, they would most likely have returned to Kunlun. Whether they would fight for the Heavenly Court is another matter. But there is one prerequisite—we must first clarify the cause of Shangqing's death. On that point, there will be no ambiguity."
"I'm afraid it's not just because of that?" Zhang Ruochen said.
The Dragon Lord smiled. "Yes. Would an Infinite realm god truly be the kind of spineless person who resigns himself to fate and waits for the Eon Calamity to strike without resistance? Ruochen, the biggest reason is actually you."
Zhang Ruochen smiled bitterly. "Uncle Dragon, you're not really placing the burden of resisting the Eon Calamity on me, are you? In my opinion, Uncle Dragon, you have unmatched talent and will surely quickly become invincible among the heavens. You're far more reliable than this junior."
The Dragon Lord was an astonishing genius—how could he lack pride?
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, the Dragon Lord's eyes indeed flashed with sharpness, like two eternal divine suns. But soon he shook his head and smiled. "I am me, and you are you. I have the ambition to hold up heaven and earth even if the universe collapses. What about you? Ruochen, you possess something I don't. I believe in you more than I believe in myself."
The Dragon Lord didn't want to say more, lest it affect Zhang Ruochen's cultivation mindset. "Cultivate diligently. It's still too far to talk about the Eon Calamity now. For you, there are several difficult barriers ahead. Each one is a life-and-death trial."
Zhang Ruochen didn't need the Dragon Lord to say more. He could imagine how difficult his situation would be once he left.
Just the exposure of his martial arts cultivation was more dangerous than Wu Yue's scheme.
"Take the divine pill that your ancestor Taiqing gave you now and raise your cultivation as quickly as possible. If you could have... not to mention Infinite realm cultivation, but even Grand Void realm cultivation, many things would become much easier. Your difficulties would also be easier to overcome," the Dragon Lord said.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Although erasing Ming Jian Shen's memory left traces, I think it can still be remedied. The longer the Sword Realm's secret is delayed from being exposed, the greater our advantage."
Didn't the Dragon Lord understand this reasoning?
As long as the Sword Dao Essence and the Ming Jun Sword were exposed later, even if someone became suspicious, it wouldn't matter much.
Taiqing was not only a sword Dao expert and a great sage of the Daoist lineage, but also a master of spiritual power and alchemy. He had given Zhang Ruochen a furnace of Taiyi Divine Pills.
That's right, a whole furnace.
Whether it was because the Sword Realm had abundant alchemy materials or because none of Taiqing's disciples needed Taiyi Divine Pills, he handed over a furnace of divine pills that had been gathering dust.
He claimed they were made over a hundred thousand years ago as practice for alchemy and had never been used.
A furnace contained eight pills in total.
Taiyi Divine Pills were certainly precious, invaluable to Upper-level God Great Perfection and Taiyi Great Gods. But why be polite with one's own ancestor?
Zhang Ruochen accepted them immediately, not daring to refuse in the slightest.
If he were to calculate his cultivation realm, Zhang Ruochen positioned himself at the mid-stage Taiyi level.
To advance from mid-stage Taiyi to peak Taiyi, he would need to increase the number of rule divine patterns in his body to ten times the current amount. Zhang Ruochen estimated it would take several thousand years of bitter cultivation.
Even with the Sundial, it would consume twenty or thirty years.
But with the Taiyi Divine Pills, this time would be shortened by more than ten times.
Activating the Sundial, Zhang Ruochen swallowed a Taiyi Divine Pill and began cultivating on the bamboo leaf boat.
It wasn't just about refining the divine pill. He also needed to use the unique environment of the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain to comprehend the Way of Darkness and the Way of Time.
Of course, with the strict ancestor Yuqing on the boat, how could sword Dao be neglected?