Chapter 333: Senior Golden Dragon
Inside the stone gate, Zhang Ruochen steadied himself and immediately activated his cultivation technique to suppress his injuries.
True qi circulated through his body, forming a great cycle as he began to heal.
After a long moment, Zhang Ruochen exhaled a long breath of white air and opened his eyes. "Impressive, Di Yi. No wonder he could defeat the number one on the Earth Ranking, Bu Qianfan, in three sword strikes."
"Rustle, rustle!"
The armor that had been wrapped around Zhang Ruochen's right arm gradually receded, revealing a bloody limb.
Earlier, as Zhang Ruochen's true qi nourished him, the cracked skin on his arm had already formed a layer of blood scabs, creating fierce, scarred patterns.
Entering the stone gate, the passage was dry, without water.
The river water from the Dragon Palace seemed to be blocked outside the stone gate by some strange force.
Chang Qiqi quickly walked over and said, "Junior Brother Zhang, you're already incredible! You exchanged more than three moves with Di Yi. That means you're even stronger than Bu Qianfan, the number one on the Earth Ranking."
Hearing Chang Qiqi's words, the others reacted with a start, their hearts filled with shock.
Zhang Ruochen's battle with Di Yi was indeed astonishing. They had exchanged over a dozen moves, and although Zhang Ruochen was at a disadvantage the entire time, he had actually managed to hold Di Yi off.
If this achievement were spread, it would surely make Zhang Ruochen famous across the Eastern Domain and land him on the Eastern Domain Wind and Cloud Report again.
When Zhang Ruochen had entered the top 100 of the Earth Ranking, Chen Xi'er had realized she had underestimated his talent. Since then, she had taken him very seriously, even wanting to snatch him away from Huang Yanchen.
A top 100 genius on the Earth Ranking was considered first-rate even in Chen Xi'er's clan.
But now, she realized how wrong she had been. With Zhang Ruochen's strength, how could he be merely a top 100 Earth Ranking genius?
Her jealousy toward Huang Yanchen grew even stronger.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Chang Qiqi and shook his head with a smile. "You underestimate Di Yi too much. At the start of the battle, Di Yi wasn't using his full power. It was only in the final strike that he unleashed his hidden strength. You saw it too—just one move, and I was severely injured. Bu Qianfan managing to block two of Di Yi's strikes and losing on the third is already remarkable. If we truly fought, with my current strength, I might not be a match for Bu Qianfan."
Zhang Ruochen's physical foundation was too weak, and he had only been training in martial arts for a short time. Fortunately, he had reached the supreme extreme realm in both the Yellow Extreme and Mysterious Extreme realms, allowing him to compete with top geniuses now.
Compared to someone like Di Yi, who was born with a sacred body, there was still a gap. Only by using the power of space and his martial soul could he possibly bridge it.
Of course, having reached the supreme extreme realm in both the Yellow Extreme and Mysterious Extreme realms meant his martial foundation was solid. As his cultivation deepened, his advantages would gradually emerge.
It was like building a tower—only with a firm and broad foundation could the tower be built higher.
Di Yi's foundation was his innate sacred body, like the central pillar of a tower. As long as the pillar stood, the tower would not fall and could keep rising.
Zhang Ruochen's foundation was his steady progress in every realm, reaching the extreme in each. When building the first floor, he had already laid the broadest and most solid base, achieving the ultimate.
Si Xingkong said, "Di Yi's final strike unleashed the power of his sacred body, and the martial technique he used was the ghost-grade lower-rank 'Human King Fist.' Just thinking about that level of power is terrifying."
"Fortunately, he hadn't mastered the 'Human King Fist' to perfection. Otherwise, I might not have been able to block that punch," Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
He continued, "Of course, if I had mastered the sixth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, 'Divine Dragon Tribulation,' I wouldn't have been injured in that exchange."
Cultivating martial techniques was not something that could be done overnight. Zhang Ruochen had only started training at sixteen, sixteen years later than Di Yi. His current achievements were already impressive.
"Brother-in-law, your injuries haven't healed yet, have they? I found a healing spiritual herb, the Insect Heart Flower. It should help you recover quickly."
Chen Xi'er took out a white spiritual flower and handed it to Zhang Ruochen, gazing at him with affection, as if deliberately trying to please him.
Zhang Ruochen did not stand on ceremony. He took the Insect Heart Flower and sniffed it lightly, catching the medicinal fragrance from within.
This Insect Heart Flower had grown for about eight or nine hundred years. Its leaves, petals, and roots were all snow-white and crystalline, as if spiritual liquid flowed inside.
"Indeed, a precious healing herb." Zhang Ruochen glanced at Chen Xi'er and said, "Thank you."
Chen Xi'er smiled faintly. "Brother-in-law, we're family. Why say thank you? Besides, if you hadn't brought me here, I wouldn't have found the Insect Heart Flower."
Zhang Ruochen released his spiritual fire true qi, refining the Insect Heart Flower in his palm.
The flower gradually melted, turning into a milky white liquid that floated in Zhang Ruochen's palm.
Zhang Ruochen divided the liquid into three portions, giving one each to Zi Qian and Huang Yanchen, and keeping the last for himself.
The Insect Heart Flower was indeed a healing treasure. After half an hour of absorption, Zhang Ruochen, Zi Qian, and Huang Yanchen's injuries were fully healed.
The blood scabs on Zhang Ruochen's arm fell off, revealing a layer of flawless skin, without even a scar.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen felt that his martial soul had recovered somewhat, and the dull pain in his head was gone.
The group continued forward, passing through the long passage and entering the heart of the hill.
The passage grew wider, and golden light appeared ahead. They arrived at an underground circular plaza.
The plaza was as large as two football fields, surrounded by stone walls engraved with golden lines.
Above, a golden fireball floated, with a small golden dragon flying within it.
"I thought we'd encounter more formations and dangers. It was so easy to reach the heart of the hill? I wonder where the Golden Dragon is buried?"
Chang Qiqi rubbed his hands, his eyes scanning around.
Zhang Ruochen also found it strange. As the tomb of the Golden Dragon, how could it be so easy for them to break in?
Just then, Zhang Ruochen sensed something wrong. He looked at Chang Qiqi, who had been speaking, and found him frozen still, a layer of golden light covering his body, as if he had turned into a golden statue.
Not just Chang Qiqi, but also Si Xingkong, Chen Xi'er, Huang Yanchen, Duanmu Xingling, Zi Qian, and even the rabbit Guo Guo were all motionless.
There was not a trace of life force on them.
"How can this be? Senior Sister Huang?"
Zhang Ruochen's expression changed. He walked toward Huang Yanchen and reached for her hand.
But the moment he touched her hand, a shock like an electric jolt came from her, throwing him back.
"Young man, don't panic. They are only temporarily immobilized by my Vajra Buddha Art. They're not dead!" An old, hoarse voice sounded.
The voice was very raspy yet carried a sacred feeling, like a holy sound from the nine heavens.
"Swoosh!"
A small golden dragon flew down from the fireball, transforming into an old man radiating golden light, standing before Zhang Ruochen.
The old man was very kind, with a face full of wrinkles, long hair touching the ground, holding a Buddhist staff in his hand, and a circular halo of Buddha light behind his head.
Seeing this old man, Zhang Ruochen's emotions surged uncontrollably. A tear fell from his eye, and he immediately bowed deeply, his voice choked, "Greetings, Senior Golden Dragon."
The old man's eyes showed a hint of confusion. "Young man, do you know this old dragon?"
"Eight hundred years ago, this junior met you once at the Ming Emperor Palace. At that time, you even guided me in sword practice. I still remember the words you spoke then." Zhang Ruochen's eyes were misty, a smile on his face.
Eight hundred years had passed. The seas had changed, and everything was different. Almost all of his former friends and family had died.
To see an elder from the past again, Zhang Ruochen's heart was filled with indescribable excitement and sorrow.
For the Golden Dragon, those events were over eight hundred years ago.
But for Zhang Ruochen, it had only been two or three years.
It was like waking from a dream to find the whole world changed, hard to accept.
The Golden Dragon, in his human form, looked exactly the same as back then, so Zhang Ruochen recognized him instantly. Over the past two years, Zhang Ruochen had been suppressing his emotions, but now they all came pouring out.
The Golden Dragon was astonished. "Young man, if this old dragon isn't mistaken, you're not even twenty years old, are you?"
Zhang Ruochen simply said, "Eight hundred years ago, the Buddha Emperor and the Ming Emperor discussed martial arts, and Senior Golden Dragon accompanied the Buddha Emperor to visit the Ming Emperor Palace. That year, I was nine years old. One day, Princess Chi Yao and I were practicing the Yin-Yang Two-Sword Formation in the garden. Senior Golden Dragon passed by, watched for a while, then walked over and said, 'You two youngsters have excellent talent in the sword path, but the Yin-Yang Two-Sword Formation is not suitable for you to practice now.'"
"At that moment, Princess Chi Yao swung her sword at you and shouted, 'Old man with the golden beard, dare you say that again?'"
"Senior Golden Dragon smiled faintly and said, 'The Yin and Yang, the Two Forms, must be practiced by two lovers who know love and affection to unleash the full power of the sword formation. You two little ones, what do you know of love? What do you know of Yin-Yang complementarity or the blending of water and milk? So, practicing this sword formation now is just a waste of time. At most, you can mimic the moves, but you'll never reach the essence. Practice it again in ten years!'"
Hearing Zhang Ruochen repeat the words from that day verbatim, the Golden Dragon's face showed shock. "You... you are... the son of the Ming Emperor..."
With a spiritual power of the twentieth level, one could remember everything at a glance.
So, even after eight hundred years, the Golden Dragon could still recall what happened that day.