Chapter 359: Unsealing the Seal
“That’s right, if I, this old man, wanted to kill Zhang Ruochen, it would indeed be as easy as turning over my hand. Likewise, killing you would be an even simpler matter,” Hua Qingye said.
Seeing the icy coldness in Hua Qingye’s eyes, Zhang Tiangui felt a strange chill. Cold sweat dripped from his back as he stopped in his tracks, not daring to move forward. “Senior Hua… why do you say that?”
Hua Qingye’s lips curled back, revealing a row of slightly yellowed teeth. He chuckled, “Zhang Ruochen made a deal with me. If I kill you, he’ll tell me the secret behind his power. What do you think, should I trust him? Hehe!”
Zhang Tiangui’s entire body stiffened, as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He quickly said, “Senior Hua, Zhang Ruochen is full of tricks. You must not believe his words. It would be best if you killed him now and took his head to the Young Master to claim your reward. The Young Master will surely reward you handsomely.”
Hua Qingye furrowed his brow, appearing deep in thought.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t give Hua Qingye time to ponder. He said, “Unfortunately, Di Yi has already been severely wounded and fled the Demon Ridge. Even if he survives, given his status, he probably won’t come back to a remote place like the Demon Ridge. Hua Qingye, you’d better think carefully before making a decision. Of course, you can also wait. In at most five days, news of what happened at Tongming River will reach the royal capital of Yunwu Commandery. Then you can decide who to kill.”
Zhang Tiangui quickly interjected, “We can’t wait. Zhang Ruochen is a disciple of Lei Jing, the head of the Silver Robe Elder Hall. Since Zhang Ruochen has appeared in the royal capital, Lei Jing will surely arrive soon.”
At the mention of Lei Jing’s name, Hua Qingye’s expression shifted slightly.
Although he and Lei Jing were both at the Fish-Dragon Realm, he was only at the First Transformation, while Lei Jing had already reached the First Transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm fifty years ago. As for Lei Jing’s current cultivation level, it was far beyond what Hua Qingye could compare to.
Moreover, Hua Qingye had lost an arm, greatly weakening his strength. How could he possibly face Lei Jing, whose blood and Qi were still vigorous?
Seeing that Hua Qingye seemed swayed by Zhang Tiangui’s words, Zhang Ruochen added fuel to the fire. “To show my sincerity, I can tell you in advance the source of my secret.”
“What source?” Hua Qingye’s heart stirred, and he quickly asked.
Zhang Ruochen said, “The reason I could cultivate to the initial stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm in just three years and reach the Sword Heart Illumination realm is, of course, because I had a tremendous fortuitous encounter.”
Hearing this, not only Hua Qingye but even Zhang Tiangui was captivated by Zhang Ruochen’s words, eager to hear more.
Zhang Ruochen continued unhurriedly, “Three years ago, by chance, I encountered an ancient cave from the Middle Ages in the Demon Ridge. Inside, I obtained the treasures of a Saint Monk. I was very weak at the time and didn’t venture deep into the cave. I swallowed a white exotic fruit and hurriedly left. After that, I don’t know how, but my martial arts cultivation began to advance by leaps and bounds. Even my physique seemed to have been refined by that fruit, allowing me to easily reach the Sword Heart Illumination realm.”
Before Zhang Ruochen could finish, Hua Qingye’s eyes blazed with fervent light. He quickly asked, “Could it be that you swallowed the legendary Buddhist sacred fruit, the Bodhi Fruit?”
“I’m not sure, but that fruit’s shape was like a sacred Buddha sitting cross-legged, chanting sutras,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen knew what a Bodhi Fruit was and its effects.
He deliberately fabricated this lie to steer Hua Qingye’s thoughts toward the Bodhi Fruit.
If he had directly claimed to have swallowed a Bodhi Fruit, Hua Qingye would certainly not have believed him. But if Hua Qingye guessed it himself, he would be utterly convinced.
Even Zhang Tiangui, standing nearby, believed Zhang Ruochen’s words.
After all, Zhang Tiangui knew Zhang Ruochen best. Three years ago, Zhang Ruochen was just a sickly weakling. Without a tremendous fortuitous encounter, how could he have achieved what he had now?
“How infuriating! If I had encountered that ancient cave and swallowed a Bodhi Fruit, I would probably have reached the Great Perfection of the Heavenly Extreme Realm by now. Why is Zhang Ruochen so lucky?”
Zhang Tiangui stared at Zhang Ruochen with envious eyes.
But he was severely injured. The moment he got agitated, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen, and he began to cough.
Hua Qingye was almost certain that Zhang Ruochen had swallowed a Bodhi Fruit. His entire body trembled with excitement, every nerve jumping. He rushed to Zhang Ruochen and said, “Where is that ancient cave? Take me there immediately!”
Zhang Ruochen smiled and glanced at Zhang Tiangui. “You haven’t fulfilled your promise to me yet.”
Hua Qingye’s eyes narrowed as he fixed his gaze on Zhang Tiangui.
Zhang Tiangui’s heart raced with anxiety. “Senior Hua, don’t listen to Zhang Ruochen’s one-sided story. He’s trying to drive a wedge between us.”
Hua Qingye hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to wait a few more days. Once news from Tongming River arrived, killing Zhang Tiangui wouldn’t be too late.
Of course, he also feared Lei Jing’s arrival in the royal capital. So, Hua Qingye took Zhang Ruochen and Zhang Tiangui out of the city to a secret stronghold of the Black Market outside the royal capital, where they settled down to await news.
Five days—Hua Qingye could afford to wait.
This stronghold was only thirty miles from the royal capital. Any disturbance in the city would reach Hua Qingye’s ears almost immediately.
Hua Qingye sealed the meridians of Zhang Ruochen and Zhang Tiangui and locked them in a secret chamber.
This chamber was a prison meticulously built by the Black Market. Once the stone door was closed and the formation activated, even if Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation hadn’t been sealed, he might not have been able to escape, let alone now.
After the stone door closed, Hua Qingye left.
“Cough, cough…”
Zhang Tiangui was already severely injured. With his meridians sealed, his true qi couldn’t circulate through his body.
Without true qi to protect him, he was like an ordinary person, lying pale-faced on the ground, unable to move, slowly waiting for his injuries to heal on their own.
In his most triumphant days, he had never imagined he would fall to such a low point.
Zhang Ruochen cast a cold, sharp glance at Zhang Tiangui but didn’t rush to kill him. Instead, he sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.
Hua Qingye was clearly very cautious. Not only had he sealed Zhang Ruochen’s meridians with true qi, but he had also inserted a Demon-Breaking Needle into Zhang Ruochen’s brow, sealing his Qi Sea.
Under such a double seal, even a Fish-Dragon Realm martial artist could only sit and wait for death in the chamber.
Unfortunately, Hua Qingye hadn’t anticipated that Zhang Ruochen had a special meridian within him—the Blood Spirit Meridian. Nor had he expected that Zhang Ruochen’s heart contained a Dragon Pearl.
Using the Blood Spirit Meridian, Zhang Ruochen absorbed the Sacred Dragon Qi and quickly unsealed his meridians.
“A single Demon-Breaking Needle thinks it can seal my Qi Sea? Hua Qingye underestimates me too much.”
Zhang Ruochen pressed his hands together, mobilizing the Sacred Dragon power from the Dragon Pearl and channeling it toward his Qi Sea. Soon, he forced the Demon-Breaking Needle out by a fraction.
The seal on his Qi Sea loosened slightly.
As Zhang Ruochen continued to exert force, a nearly transparent silver needle slowly emerged from his brow and fell to the ground.
Because the needle was extremely fine, lighter than a strand of hair by ten times, it made no sound when it landed.
With the seal completely broken, the true qi in his Qi Sea surged like a tidal wave, flowing through all thirty-six meridians in his body.
His cultivation restored, Zhang Ruochen’s body brimmed with power.
“I must break through to the middle stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm within five days. Once my realm advances, I can strengthen my Martial Soul. Even if I still can’t defeat Hua Qingye, I’ll at least have a fighting chance.”
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes and used the Blood Spirit Meridian to absorb the Sacred Dragon power from the Dragon Pearl.
“Whoosh—”
A faint layer of golden true qi appeared on the surface of his body. Each strand of true qi was like a swimming flood dragon, containing immense energy.
After half a day of cultivation, Zhang Ruochen condensed thirteen drops of true yuan. Combined with the true yuan already in his Qi Sea, he now had thirty-two drops.
To reach the middle stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm, he needed to cultivate a hundred drops of true yuan.
Normally, condensing true yuan was a very slow process for martial artists. But for Zhang Ruochen, it was as easy as drinking plain water.
Why? Because he had the Dragon Pearl.
Remember, back then, Si Xingkong, Chang Qiqi, and others had advanced directly from the initial stage to the middle stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm by fusing just a single drop of dragon blood.
Zhang Ruochen had obtained a Dragon Pearl, which contained power far beyond a single drop of dragon blood.
As long as Zhang Ruochen actively absorbed the Sacred Dragon Qi from the Dragon Pearl, he could condense true yuan with ease.
“Senior Golden Dragon’s Dragon Pearl is truly a treasure. My cultivation speed is even faster than I imagined.”
If he could maintain this pace, Zhang Ruochen was confident he could break through to the middle stage of the Heavenly Extreme Realm within three days.
Zhang Tiangui lay on the ground, watching the golden light radiating from Zhang Ruochen’s body. Shock filled his heart.
He knew that Zhang Ruochen had broken the seal.
“You… you…”
Zhang Tiangui seemed to want to say something, but his injuries were too severe. He couldn’t even form a complete sentence.
Earlier, with true qi protecting his internal organs, Zhang Tiangui could barely walk. But now that his true qi was sealed, his injuries worsened rapidly. His face was as pale as a corpse.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Zhang Tiangui, and the killing intent in his eyes flared again. He stopped cultivating and stood up.
“Whoosh!”
He rotated his right palm, using a wisp of true qi to lift the Demon-Breaking Needle from the ground. Pinching it between two fingers, he walked toward Zhang Tiangui.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen approach, Zhang Tiangui’s pupils dilated. His entire body convulsed, and the terror on his face grew more intense.
Standing before him, Zhang Ruochen crouched down and looked him in the eye. “Zhang Tiangui, when you kill someone, shouldn’t you pay with your life?”
Zhang Tiangui shook his head desperately, speaking in broken fragments. “Ninth… Ninth Brother… Father… the King… wasn’t killed by me… I was forced… it was Hua Qingye and Di Yi who made me do it… Father’s death… I’m also very sad…”