Chapter 334: The Sarira
"Perhaps I am the son of the Ming Emperor, or perhaps I am no longer considered such."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Eight hundred years ago, I died at the hands of Chi Yao. For reasons unknown, I was reincarnated. Even I don't fully understand what happened back then."
"As far as I know, the Buddhist sect has a concept of reincarnation and rebirth. Senior Golden Dragon is a Buddhist saint; you should have some understanding of reincarnation, right? Does reincarnation truly exist in this world? Is there such a thing as a reincarnated golden child?"
The Golden Dragon pondered for a moment, then gently shook his head. "Even among Buddhist cultivators, only those who reach the realm of a Saint Buddha have the opportunity for reincarnation. Even if they are reborn, they cannot retain memories of their past life. A situation like yours is something this old dragon has never heard of."
Suddenly, the Golden Dragon's eyes lit up. "However... during the Middle Ages, a great monk was born in the Buddhist sect. His cultivation reached the pinnacle of creation, and he mastered the power of time, able to open the gates of time and travel to the past and future."
Zhang Ruochen's heart stirred, and he blurted out, "Xumi Saint Monk?"
The Golden Dragon nodded. "If, at the exact moment of your death eight hundred years ago, you encountered Xumi Saint Monk, and he used his great divine power to send your soul eight hundred years into the future, do you think such a scenario is possible?"
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "But Xumi Saint Monk was a monk from the Middle Ages, ten thousand years ago. He has likely long since passed into nirvana. How could I have possibly met him?"
The Golden Dragon chuckled. "Have you forgotten? Xumi Saint Monk mastered the power of time and could travel to the future. In the Buddhist sect, he is called the 'Future Buddha.' Throughout the long river of history, many Buddhist disciples have claimed to have seen Xumi Saint Monk. So, it's not entirely impossible that you encountered him."
Zhang Ruochen's eyes brightened, and he thought to himself, "Could it be that eight hundred years ago, Xumi Saint Monk truly sent my soul eight hundred years into the future, placing it in the body of the just-deceased Ninth Prince of Yunwu Commandery, allowing me to live again? If not, how else would I have the Time-Space Crystal and the Space-Time Secret Scripture?"
The Time-Space Crystal was given to Zhang Ruochen by the Ming Emperor. Could it be that the Ming Emperor had already met Xumi Saint Monk before that? Had he foreseen that Zhang Ruochen would face a calamity?
But... that didn't add up either. In the entire Kunlun Realm, countless people are born, age, get sick, and die every day. Why would Xumi Saint Monk choose him specifically?
Even if one masters the power of time, one cannot casually interfere with others' fates.
The Golden Dragon said, "Of course, that's just a very slim possibility. Don't dwell on it too much. The vast world is full of wonders; it could be due to other reasons. Accept what comes and settle into it. Don't let this give rise to inner demons."
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "Senior's words are reasonable."
The Golden Dragon smiled. "Earlier, when you were fighting outside, you used the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm. I was a bit puzzled and thought you might be a lay disciple of the Ten Thousand Buddha Path. I never expected you to be an old acquaintance. The twists of fate in this world are truly marvelous."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Did Senior think I was a lay disciple of the Ten Thousand Buddha Path and deliberately let me come here?"
The Golden Dragon nodded. "If not, how could you have safely arrived here? This Dragon Tomb is filled with various traps I set. Without my permission, not even you juniors, let alone a saint in person, could break in."
Zhang Ruochen suddenly understood. No wonder they had come here so easily—it was because the Golden Dragon had deliberately let them in.
Di Yi had even dared to think of seizing the Dragon Sarira. With his power, the Golden Dragon could have killed him countless times with just a single thought.
The Golden Dragon sighed. "My dragon body has long since died, leaving only an undying Sacred Dragon Soul. For eight hundred years, my consciousness has held on, but it's been growing weaker. I estimate that soon, my consciousness will completely vanish, and I'll become a dead spirit."
"So, I must disperse my sacred soul before my consciousness fully fades, to prevent a dead spirit from remaining and harming the world."
A saint's soul cannot remain in the world forever. After a certain time, the consciousness within the sacred soul fades, turning it into a dead spirit.
Just like when Zhang Ruochen encountered the half-saint's soul in the Crimson Sky Secret Mansion, which had lost its consciousness, become a dead spirit, attached itself to Lu Han, and turned into a blood-sucking monster.
Zhang Ruochen's heart trembled. "Senior, are you about to disperse your sacred soul?"
The Golden Dragon smiled. "My sacred soul has lingered in the Kunlun Realm for eight hundred years, waiting for a destined person to entrust the Buddha Emperor's sarira to. Since you've come here at the final moment, it means you are that destined person."
The Golden Dragon extended his arm and spread his five fingers.
The golden fireball floating in mid-air descended, hovering in the Golden Dragon's palm.
Inside the fireball was a peanut-sized golden stone, oval-shaped with a smooth surface, emitting a light so dazzling it hurt the eyes.
"This is the sarira left by the Buddha Emperor..."
Zhang Ruochen could clearly feel the immense power contained within the sarira. Under its influence, the people, stones, and vessels around him all floated into the air.
The Golden Dragon said, "Inside the sarira, I have set up four layers of seals. Only by completely unsealing all four layers can you refine the sarira and obtain the inheritance of the Buddha Emperor and me."
"For now, each time you unseal a layer, a certain amount of energy will be released, allowing you to temporarily wield the sarira's power."
Zhang Ruochen said, "So, if I unseal the first layer now, I can gain power far beyond my current realm for a short time?"
The Golden Dragon chuckled. "With your current cultivation, you can't even unseal the first layer. Only when you reach the initial stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm can you unseal the first layer."
"Borrowing the power of the first layer will allow you to temporarily possess the strength of a Fish-Dragon Realm martial artist. Borrowing the power of the second layer will grant you half-saint-level power. Borrowing the power of the third layer will give you saint-level power."
Zhang Ruochen was quite excited. Although he couldn't refine the sarira now, it could grant him three bursts of powerful strength, each potentially saving his life.
In a sense, the three seals gave Zhang Ruochen three extra lives.
The Golden Dragon's expression turned solemn. "Zhang Ruochen, do you know why I set up three seals inside the sarira?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "I do not know, Senior."
The Golden Dragon spoke slowly. "First, with your current cultivation, you simply cannot refine the sarira."
"Second, once you obtain the sarira, you will inevitably attract endless killing calamities. Many will want to kill you to seize it. So, those three seals give you three chances to protect your life. But the killing calamities you face will far exceed three, so you must be cautious every time you unseal a layer."
"Third, the sarira's power only lasts for one hour. After that hour, your cultivation will revert to its original state, and you may even suffer severe damage to your vitality. It's best to avoid using the sarira's power unless absolutely necessary."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I understand, Senior."
Unsealing the first layer alone required at least the initial stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm. Unsealing the second layer would likely demand even more.
So, in the short term, Zhang Ruochen could at most unseal the first layer of the sarira.
The Golden Dragon stared intently at Zhang Ruochen and let out a soft exclamation. "Your Qi Sea emits divine light. Have you attracted the resonance of the gods?"
Zhang Ruochen didn't intend to hide it. "I reached the Supreme Extreme Realm in both the Yellow Extreme Realm and the Mysterious Extreme Realm, attracting the resonance of the gods twice, thus forming a divine light Qi Sea."
The Golden Dragon sighed. "Impressive. Even the Buddha Emperor only reached the Supreme Extreme Realm in the Heavenly Extreme Realm, attracting the resonance of the gods once. As far as I know, among the Nine Emperors, including Empress Chi Yao later, each only reached the Supreme Extreme Realm once in the four martial realms."
"Very well then. This old dragon will help you reach the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Earth Extreme Realm and attract the resonance of the gods for the third time."
The Golden Dragon struck the ground with his Buddhist staff, sending a golden ripple spreading in all directions.
A crack appeared on the ground, widening and shifting to both sides.
Eventually, the crack became thirty meters wide.
From beneath the crack, thousands of golden beams shot up, each like a sharp blade capable of piercing a person's body.
A terrifying, heart-stopping aura emanated from underground. Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen's spiritual power was strong enough; otherwise, that aura alone would have crushed him to the ground.
Zhang Ruochen strained to look down into the crack and vaguely saw a golden dragon below, its body stretching for countless miles, larger than a mountain range.
The Golden Dragon extended his arm, and from within the golden dragon's body, a massive golden dragon pearl flew out.
The golden dragon pearl gradually shrank until, when it reached the Golden Dragon's hand, it was only the size of a pigeon egg.
"Zhang Ruochen, catch it!"
The Golden Dragon pushed his palm forward, pressing it against Zhang Ruochen's chest, and drove the golden dragon pearl into Zhang Ruochen's heart.
"Whoosh!"
Ten thousand feet of golden light entered his body.
Instantly, Zhang Ruochen felt as if his heart were burning, and the blood throughout his body seemed to boil.
His body was completely enveloped in golden light, even his hair and bones turning gold.
The Golden Dragon's voice echoed in Zhang Ruochen's ears. "Quickly, circulate your technique, drive your true qi, and refine the dragon pearl."
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged, mobilizing all his true qi toward his heart, enveloping the dragon pearl and beginning to refine it.
The Golden Dragon continued, "That dragon pearl is my origin dragon pearl. However, ninety-nine percent of its power has been absorbed by the sarira, leaving only a small amount. I originally planned to let it sink into the ground forever with my corpse. Since I met you at the last moment, I'll give it to you to help you break through to the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Earth Extreme Realm."
Chapter 335: Heavenly Extreme Realm
"For other martial artists, even if they obtain the dragon pearl, it's difficult to reach the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Earth Extreme Realm. But since you've already reached the Supreme Extreme Realm in both the Yellow Extreme Realm and the Mysterious Extreme Realm, it will be somewhat easier for you to achieve it in the Earth Extreme Realm."
The Golden Dragon's voice echoed continuously in Zhang Ruochen's ears.
On the ground, the thirty-meter-long crack slowly closed, emitting a humming sound.
At the same time, the massive golden dragon corpse sank deep into the earth, about to disappear from the world forever.
The Golden Dragon's sacred soul body also began to dissipate, starting from his feet, legs, and waist, turning into specks of golden light.
A smile remained on the Golden Dragon's face; he felt no sadness at his impending disappearance. "In my dragon body, only seven drops of Sacred Dragon Blood remain. I've already infused them all into your friends' bodies. Once the dragon blood merges with their blood, they will awaken. After they fully absorb the dragon blood, it should greatly enhance their physiques."
For some reason, even as he refined the dragon pearl, Zhang Ruochen felt a sense of desolation and sorrow, and a single crystalline tear rolled down his cheek.
"Zhang Ruochen, do not grieve. All endings in this world are merely the beginning of something new..."
With these words, the Golden Dragon's sacred soul completely dispersed, turning into specks of light.
After the lingering echoes faded, the entire world seemed to fall silent.
Zhang Ruochen's body could not move, not even his eyelids. The heavy dragon pearl pressed against his heart; only by continuously refining it could he withstand its power.
At that moment, even though he wanted to shout out, begging the Golden Dragon not to leave, he couldn't.
He had just met an elder from eight hundred years ago, and in an instant, they were separated by life and death.
The Golden Dragon had said that ninety-nine percent of the dragon pearl's power had been absorbed by the sarira, but even the remaining one percent was still immense.
If Zhang Ruochen's power were a drop of water, the power within the dragon pearl was a vast ocean.
Remember, the Golden Dragon had once refined the sarira, becoming a top-tier powerhouse on par with the Buddha Emperor, far stronger than an ordinary saint.
Not to mention the dragon pearl he left behind—even a single drop of his dragon blood would be a treasure that half-saints and saints would fight over.
The golden dragon pearl floated in Zhang Ruochen's heart. With every pulse of blood, it washed over the dragon pearl, carrying some of its power to every cell in Zhang Ruochen's body.
With each circulation of true qi, the dragon pearl's power followed the true qi through every meridian, strengthening Zhang Ruochen's cultivation.
Half an hour later.
Zhang Ruochen's martial cultivation reached the peak of the Great Perfection of the Earth Extreme Realm, and the true qi in his Qi Sea was in an absolutely perfect state.
On the walls of his Qi Sea, divine light shimmered, revealing imprints of gods that intertwined into a mysterious pattern.
After three more days of refining and absorption, Zhang Ruochen's physical constitution continuously strengthened. His blood became like golden mercury, his flesh seemed to turn into cast gold, and dragon patterns appeared faintly on his skin.
Strengthened by the dragon pearl's power, Zhang Ruochen's physical constitution reached a level comparable to a martial artist at the Small Extreme Position of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, making it the pinnacle of the Earth Extreme Realm.
Yet, Zhang Ruochen still hadn't reached the Supreme Extreme Realm, as if he were still a hair's breadth away.
Though it seemed like just a thin line, it felt like an insurmountable chasm that could never be crossed.
Throughout history, countless people had been blocked by this thin line, never reaching the Supreme Extreme Realm.
"I must reach the Supreme Extreme Realm. I have to achieve the strongest state of the Earth Extreme Realm."
Zhang Ruochen gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing his realm, and continued refining the dragon pearl, absorbing the Sacred Dragon power within.
Another three days passed. With the help of the Sacred Dragon power, Zhang Ruochen's previously damaged Martial Soul fully recovered and continued to strengthen.
After absorbing the Sacred Dragon power, his Martial Soul turned golden as well, doubling in size. It burst out of his body, hovering above his head like a golden spirit.
Gradually, Zhang Ruochen's body floated into the air, suspended mid-air, with a cracking sound coming from within...
Suddenly, a thunderous boom erupted from Zhang Ruochen's body.
A formidable aura burst forth from him, sweeping across the entire underground plaza.
That power seemed to break some boundary between heaven and earth, causing the surrounding spiritual energy to surge toward him, condensing into a pillar of light above his head.
The pillar of light shot into the sky.
Ancient gods seemed to awaken, coalescing into phantom figures, emitting distant and sacred celestial sounds.
The resonance of the gods—the Supreme Extreme Realm.
"Whoosh!"
Those godly phantoms turned into specks of light, flying toward the pillar of light and then into Zhang Ruochen's brow Qi Sea, leaving imprints of gods on its walls.
The godly phantoms summoned by the three resonances overlapped, deepening the imprints until they looked like divine avatars stamped into Zhang Ruochen's Qi Sea.
Now, whenever Zhang Ruochen channeled true qi into his Qi Sea, the power of the godly imprints would purify it to the highest quality.
The purer the true qi, the stronger the martial techniques unleashed.
Thanks to the third resonance of the gods, Zhang Ruochen's Martial Soul and spiritual power both increased significantly.
His spiritual power reached the thirty-ninth rank. If it rose by one more rank, Zhang Ruochen could convert his spiritual power into personal strength to attack enemies.
If he truly reached that step, Zhang Ruochen's strength would enter a whole new level.
"Since I've already reached the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Earth Extreme Realm, I'll press on and break through to the initial stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm."
Among the thirty-six extraordinary meridians Zhang Ruochen had opened, there was one called the "Blood Spirit Meridian."
The Blood Spirit Meridian was a meridian connected to the blood.
Like the Soul Meridian, the Blood Spirit Meridian was invisible and intangible. Even Zhang Ruochen could only faintly sense its qi.
Now, Zhang Ruochen aimed to connect the Blood Spirit Meridian with the dragon pearl in his heart, using its power to break through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm in one go.
About two hours later, Zhang Ruochen successfully captured the Blood Spirit Meridian.
He carefully controlled the Blood Spirit Meridian, wrapping it around the dragon pearl and enveloping it.
As time passed, the Blood Spirit Meridian connected with the dragon pearl.
Zhang Ruochen circulated his technique, began absorbing the Sacred Dragon power, and the true qi in his body grew increasingly dense.
After about five days of absorption, the true qi in Zhang Ruochen's Qi Sea began to contract, condensing into a drop of golden true essence.
The gaseous true qi had turned into liquid.
Then came the second drop, the third...
Through continuous refinement, Zhang Ruochen converted all his true qi into twelve drops of true essence.
When all the true qi had transformed into true essence, it meant Zhang Ruochen had entered the Heavenly Extreme Realm.
The twelve drops of true essence floated in his Qi Sea like twelve bright liquid stars.
"Other martial artists, when reaching the initial stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, can usually only condense one or two drops of true essence. I broke through to the initial stage and condensed twelve drops."
Zhang Ruochen was overjoyed. In his previous life, when he broke through to the initial stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, he had only condensed eight drops of true essence.
The more true essence one condensed, the larger one's Qi Sea, allowing one to hold more true essence than other martial artists.
Because after reaching the Heavenly Extreme Realm, a martial artist's Qi Sea would stabilize and no longer expand.
The entire Qi Sea was now empty, with only twelve drops of true essence slowly absorbing the Sacred Dragon power flowing in from the meridians, beginning to condense a thirteenth drop.
After reaching the initial stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, Zhang Ruochen's true qi volume had increased tenfold.
Each drop of true essence contained as much true qi as Zhang Ruochen's total at the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Earth Extreme Realm.
"Breaking through the Supreme Extreme Realm and charging into the Heavenly Extreme Realm only consumed a tiny fraction of the dragon pearl's power. Senior Golden Dragon's cultivation is truly unfathomable. Even if the dragon pearl only has one percent of its power left, it's still stronger than a half-saint. With the dragon pearl's help, my cultivation speed will far surpass other martial artists until I become a saint."
Zhang Ruochen slowly raised his arm, drawing a wisp of true qi from his true essence, pinching his left hand's four fingers, leaving his thumb extended, and pointed outward.
"Solar Meridian Sword Wave."
A sword wave as thick as a bowl shot from Zhang Ruochen's fingertip, emitting a scorching heat wave like a blazing flame, striking the distant stone wall.
"Boom!"
The stone wall was hit, and strands of formation inscriptions immediately appeared, blocking the sword wave.
Even so, the entire underground plaza shook violently.
If the power of the Solar Meridian Sword Wave hadn't been blocked by the formation, the place might have collapsed.
The Solar Meridian Sword Wave was still only at the minor completion stage.
But because Zhang Ruochen had broken through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm, the power of that sword wave was more than thirty times stronger than before.
With a different realm, the same martial technique naturally exerted different power.
If Zhang Ruochen encountered Red Desire Star Envoy again, a single minor completion sword wave would be enough for her to fail to block it.
Zhang Ruochen looked toward Huang Yanchen, Si Xingkong, Chang Qiqi, Duanmu Xingling, and the others, finding them still like golden statues, motionless and not yet awakened.
"This is a good opportunity to practice the five Yin Meridian Sword Waves on my right hand."
The Dragon Tomb was an extreme yin location, an excellent place to cultivate the Yin Meridian Sword Waves.
Coupled with his breakthrough to the Heavenly Extreme Realm, Zhang Ruochen's speed in learning martial techniques would be ten times faster than before, so he should be able to master the five Yin Meridian Sword Waves to the great completion stage soon.
Among the five Yin Meridian Sword Waves, the Taiyin Meridian Sword Wave, the Taijing Meridian Sword Wave, the Zhongling Meridian Sword Wave, and the Taiyuan Meridian Sword Wave had all reached the minor completion stage, with only the Shaoning Meridian Sword Wave still at the entry stage.
He would start with the Shaoning Meridian Sword Wave.