Chapter 414: Golden Divine Zhi
The Half-Saint Bone Bead was refined from an entire set of Half-Saint bones. Though it appeared only the size of a pigeon egg, it weighed over a thousand jin.
"A Half-Saint's bones are ten times heavier than an ordinary person's bones, harder than Mysterious Iron, and the energy contained within them is unimaginably powerful."
The realm of a Half-Saint was profoundly mysterious, something to be revered.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized his true qi and infused it into the Half-Saint Bone Bead.
White light patterns emerged on the bead's surface.
*Whoosh!*
The Half-Saint Bone Bead radiated a dazzling light, and within that sacred radiance, a ten-meter-tall Half-Saint phantom appeared, as if draping Zhang Ruochen in a suit of light armor.
"No wonder this is the heirloom of a sacred clan—the protective treasure they carry is this formidable. Though it's not a sacred artifact, it's already the top-tier defensive treasure below that level."
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his true qi and placed the Half-Saint Bone Bead into his bosom. If he encountered danger in the future, it might prove useful.
After searching for a while, Zhang Ruochen found three bottles of pills on Xu Qing's body, all fifth-grade pills, which were quite precious.
There was also a cultivation manual, the *Kunpeng Martial Code*, recorded on a jade scroll. The text was extremely tiny; only by channeling true qi to his eyes could he make out the thirty thousand characters inscribed on it.
The *Kunpeng Martial Code* was the supreme martial code of the Xu Holy Clan, ranked at the king-grade lower level, and it contained the secrets to achieving sainthood.
Only the foremost disciple of each generation in the Xu Holy Clan was qualified to cultivate it.
Of course, the jade scroll only recorded the first three layers of the *Kunpeng Martial Code*. Xu Qing himself had only just begun to study it and would only formally start cultivation after reaching the Fish-Dragon Realm.
"The Xu Holy Clan, worthy of being a ten-thousand-year sacred clan, actually possesses a king-grade secret manual." Zhang Ruochen nodded and said, "Even just the first three layers of the *Kunpeng Martial Code* would be enough to make Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators fight to the death for it."
Although Zhang Ruochen didn't need to cultivate the *Kunpeng Martial Code*, he could still study and comprehend it, absorbing its martial essence to lay a foundation for his future assault on the sacred path.
Next, Zhang Ruochen found a Mysterious Iron box on Xu Qing's body.
The Mysterious Iron box was about the size of a fist, quite heavy. At the seam between the lid and the box, it was sealed with inscriptions, clearly containing something very important.
*Whoosh!*
Zhang Ruochen opened the Mysterious Iron box just a crack.
Immediately, a golden light poured out from the gap, releasing a rich medicinal fragrance.
Inside the box lay a divine zhi, as if forged from gold, with a dazzling radiance emanating from it.
"Golden Divine Zhi."
Zhang Ruochen was overjoyed. This was another of the five great spiritual treasures.
That Golden Divine Zhi was missing a corner, roughly a quarter of the whole, likely consumed by Xu Qing.
The remaining Golden Divine Zhi should be enough for Zhang Ruochen to cultivate the Gold Spirit Treasure Body.
Of course, since Zhang Ruochen hadn't even successfully cultivated the Water Spirit Treasure Body yet, he had no plans to refine the Golden Divine Zhi for now.
After disposing of Xu Qing and Xu Jiali's corpses, Zhang Ruochen took out the *Kunpeng Martial Code* and began studying it, hoping to glean some martial essence from it.
...
At noon, the scorching sun blazed like a golden furnace, baking the earth.
On the official road, a group of cultivators in blue mage robes drove thirteen ferocious beasts, pulling thirteen war chariots, creating a powerful momentum as they headed toward the headquarters of the Evil Wood Palace.
Among them, the foremost chariot was particularly luxurious, made from precious golden sycamore wood for the shafts and flying a battle flag woven from blue-gold fabric.
Pulled by a fourth-rank upper-level ferocious bird, a Snow-Head Eagle, the chariot flew nine zhang above the ground at high speed.
In the middle of the thirteen chariots was an iron-bone prison cart wrapped in formations.
Seated at the center of the prison cart was a beautiful woman with long, sapphire-blue hair—Huang Yanchen.
Though captured, Huang Yanchen remained very calm, her beautiful eyes closed as she silently circulated her true qi.
Threads of dragon-shaped true qi pulsed in and out of her body.
A middle-aged man, around forty years old, followed beside the prison cart. He had a beard on his chin, a gaunt frame, and lecherous eyes that glanced at Huang Yanchen in the cart, flashing with lustful intent.
He said, "Senior Brother, this woman is not only as beautiful as a celestial maiden, but her combat power is also formidable. If Master hadn't intervened, I'm afraid no one could have subdued her."
That Senior Brother, a man in a blue mage robe holding a crystal divine staff, looked robust and powerful. However, a few silver hairs at his temples gave him a somewhat weathered appearance.
The Senior Brother of the Evil Wood Palace said coldly, "Eighth, you'd better not get any ideas about her. She's a woman Lord Xu Qing has his eye on. If you dare touch her, you might lose your life."
Eighth sighed, "Such a beautiful fairy—if I could sleep with her even once, it would be worth dying for."
Then, Eighth's eyes shifted, and he said, "Senior Brother, are those heavenly demons really that powerful? Even our Evil Wood Palace has to submit to them?"
Senior Brother said, "The Xu Holy Clan, to which Lord Xu Qing belongs, is said to have more than one Saint-level mage. Submitting to them will only benefit our Evil Wood Palace. With their power, we will surely rule the entire Five Elements Continent in the future. The Sacred Fire Hall, Sacred Earth Hall, and Sacred Water Hall will all tremble beneath our feet."
At the mention of Saint-level mages, Eighth's eyes showed reverence.
After all, the Evil Wood Palace had been founded for eighteen hundred years and had only produced one Saint-level mage.
That the Xu Holy Clan possessed several such powerful beings was awe-inspiring just to think about.
Suddenly, the prison cart shook violently.
Huang Yanchen, seated at the center, had already recovered from her injuries. Her sapphire-like eyes snapped open, and she immediately pulled a white jade hairpin from her hair, pinching it between two fingers.
Looking closely, that white jade hairpin was actually a uniquely shaped small sword.
As true qi surged into the white jade hairpin, its light blazed, and a sword cry rang out from within. In an instant, it transformed into a two-meter-long jade light longsword.
This was a sacred sword, a gift from Huang Yanchen's mother, to be used only in the most critical moments.
Earlier, before Huang Yanchen could use the sacred sword, she had been severely injured by a Mage King of the Evil Wood Palace, who also confiscated the ninth-rank True Martial Treasure-level war sword she wore.
*Whoosh!*
Huang Yanchen swung her arm and slashed, unleashing a fierce sword qi that split the prison cart in two.
*Roar!*
A dragon's roar echoed from within Huang Yanchen's body.
She burst out of the prison cart, executing the Wind-Riding Flying Dragon Shadow, instantly surpassing the speed of sound as she fled into the distance.
"Not good, she's escaped!"
The Senior Brother and Eighth immediately mobilized their magical power and gave chase.
At the same time, a thunderous roar erupted from the foremost chariot. An old man with disheveled black hair shot up from the chariot's top.
He was one of the four Mage Kings of the Evil Wood Palace, known as Green Wood Dharma King, already one hundred and twenty years old with profound magical power.
"Heavenly Wood Spear."
Green Wood Dharma King pointed his crystal divine staff forward, channeling wood-attributed spiritual energy to condense hundreds of spears into a rain of spears, flying toward Huang Yanchen like a volley of arrows.
"That old monster is fast."
Though Huang Yanchen wielded the sacred sword, her martial cultivation was only at the Heavenly Extreme Realm late stage. The true yuan in her qi sea wasn't thick enough, allowing her to use the sacred sword only two or three times.
So, she had to escape as quickly as possible.
*Swish, swish!*
Just as the rain of spears reached her back, Huang Yanchen twisted her delicate body, turned around, and unleashed the power of the sacred artifact. With a single sword strike, she shattered all the spears into wood chips.
That strike also drained most of her true yuan. If she used a third strike, she might not even need the Evil Wood Palace mages to act—she would already be depleted of true yuan.
After executing this strike, Huang Yanchen immediately turned and fled at top speed.
"Escape, escape—I must escape!"
"Xu Qing is too audacious, daring to ally with the villains of the Five Elements Ruins Realm to deal with me. Once I return to the Kunlun Realm, I'll make him pay a heavy price."
Huang Yanchen's eyes were cold as frost, carrying a faint killing intent.
Green Wood Dharma King was momentarily stunned and muttered to himself, "So powerful—could this be her true strength? No, it's that sword. That sword must be a sacred artifact."
Greed flickered in Green Wood Dharma King's eyes, and he immediately pursued Huang Yanchen, determined to seize her sword no matter what.
"Damn it! That old man is catching up!"
Huang Yanchen looked back and saw Green Wood Dharma King closing in, the distance between them shrinking.
Moreover, the Evil Wood Palace experts were also chasing behind, with over a dozen of them possessing strength comparable to Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artists.
What should she do?
Was she destined to die in the Five Elements Ruins Realm?
Huang Yanchen bit her lip tightly, unwilling to give up. She pushed her true qi to its limit and continued fleeing.
She wouldn't give up until the very last moment.
If she truly couldn't escape, she would end her own life rather than fall into their hands.
Huang Yanchen had a strong will and was already prepared to commit suicide.
Ahead, the sound of flowing water reached her ears. A hundred zhang away, there was a great river.
By the river stood a massive black ape.
The aura emanating from its body was astonishing, forming a cloud of demonic qi floating above its head, making it look like a primordial demon ape.
Huang Yanchen was startled at first—how could the Five Elements Ruins Realm have such a powerful ferocious beast?
Then, her gaze fell on the giant ape's shoulder. Seated there was a young man, holding a jade scroll and reading intently.
"Why is he here?"
Huang Yanchen's eyes widened, and she froze, forgetting to continue fleeing.