Chapter 420: The Eve
Chang Qiqi sighed, "At my current cultivation level, I have no idea when I'll be able to break through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm Small Extreme Position."
Si Xingkong patted Chang Qiqi on the shoulder and said with a smile, "I have a feeling that within a month, I'll be able to charge into the Heavenly Extreme Realm Small Extreme Position."
"Senior Brother, can you not discourage me? I think even if you gave me another two years, it would be difficult for me to break through to the Heavenly Extreme Realm Small Extreme Position." Chang Qiqi said somewhat dejectedly.
Huang Yanchen appeared neither sad nor happy, still looking as cold as ice, and said, "Black Water Glass Crystal is indeed an extraordinary treasure. If one could refine ten jin of it, they might even be able to cultivate the legendary Water Spirit Treasure Body. Such a treasure, if it appeared in the Kunlun Realm, even those Saint clans would expend great effort to compete for it."
Giving birth to a Treasure Body is also a joyous event for a Saint clan.
If they could create ten Treasure Bodies at once, or even dozens, by the time they grew up, that Saint clan would surely prosper for an era.
Zhang Ruochen said, "As long as you cultivate diligently, you will all be able to cultivate the Water Spirit Treasure Body in the future. Of course, we must now discuss the plan to attack the Evil Wood Palace. If successful, we will obtain the Purple Cloud Agarwood. In the future, we might even be able to cultivate the Wood Spirit Treasure Body."
"If the Wood Spirit Treasure Body and the Water Spirit Treasure Body are cultivated together, wouldn't that be a Dual Spirit Treasure Body?" Chang Qiqi said with great joy.
Huang Yanchen rolled her eyes at him and said, "Although the Dual Spirit Treasure Body is much more powerful than a single Water Spirit Treasure Body, the difficulty of cultivation increases several times over. Even those with extraordinary talent may not necessarily succeed in cultivating it."
The others nodded in agreement.
"The Evil Wood Palace has many experts, and with the formation left by a Half-Saint, breaking through it will not be an easy task." Si Xingkong said with some concern.
Si Xingkong's spiritual power was also very strong, having reached the thirty-first level. Therefore, he learned languages quickly and could already communicate simply with the indigenous humans of the Five Elements Ruins Realm.
He had also made inquiries, so he knew that the Evil Wood Palace had once produced a Half-Saint, who left behind a mountain-protecting Saint Formation.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and laid out the plan he had already devised.
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's words, everyone's eyes lit up.
"In other words, by this time, the Divine Skeleton Dharma King should have already rushed to New Moon City and is not in the Evil Wood Palace. Now is indeed the best time to attack the Evil Wood Palace. We might find many good things."
Chang Qiqi licked his lips, looking eager to try.
Si Xingkong said, "Even if we lure away the Divine Skeleton Dharma King, the Evil Wood Palace still has a Saint Formation. If we attack by force, we will likely suffer heavy losses."
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said, "Breaking the Saint Formation is not difficult. Leave it to me. Wait for my signal. Once the signal is given, immediately charge into the Evil Wood Palace. Not only military merit points, but the treasures of the Evil Wood Palace can also be taken at will."
After Zhang Ruochen left, Chang Qiqi and Si Xingkong immediately went to gather the students in Wind Spirit City.
When those students heard that Zhang Ruochen would personally participate in the attack on the Evil Wood Palace, they all became excited, their blood boiling, and they rubbed their hands together eagerly.
After all, Zhang Ruochen was one of the six kings of the new generation, known as the "Heir of the Buddha Emperor." Would he do something without confidence?
Following a new-generation king, how could they not get a share of the spoils?
It wasn't just the fifteen students that Chang Qiqi and Si Xingkong had initially gathered. After hearing the news, more people joined in, and the team continued to grow.
By the time they reached the Cracked Yin Mountain where the Evil Wood Palace was located, the force led by Si Xingkong and Chang Qiqi had grown to over forty people, each one a Heavenly Extreme Realm expert.
Zhang Ruochen sat on the shoulder of the Demon Ape, holding a Crystal Divine Staff in his hand, draped in a black cloak. The hood extended from his shoulders to cover his head, hiding his face, revealing only a yellowish-brown, aged chin.
Even his aura had changed, becoming much colder, trying his best to imitate the appearance of Master Long Ze.
Ma Sheng Dharma King of the Evil Wood Palace had once personally gone to the Demon Ape Ridge to win over Master Long Ze, hoping that he would become a guest elder of the Evil Wood Palace.
At that time, Master Long Ze had refused.
Now, Zhang Ruochen planned to impersonate Master Long Ze and come to defect to the Evil Wood Palace. As long as he could get through the gate of the Evil Wood Palace, the first thing he would do was destroy the Saint Formation.
Once the Saint Formation was broken, the Evil Wood Palace would be as good as half-destroyed.
At the same time, he had to investigate the situation in advance to confirm whether the Divine Skeleton Dharma King had really left the Evil Wood Palace.
Only if the Divine Skeleton Dharma King was truly not in the Evil Wood Palace could the attack be launched. Otherwise, the plan would have to be changed and rearranged.
As night fell, the air in Cracked Yin Mountain became exceptionally cold.
After the Divine Skeleton Dharma King and Nie Wenlong left, the Evil Wood Palace entered a state of tight defense. Under the direction of Ma Sheng Dharma King, the Saint Formation left by the founder was activated, enveloping the entire Cracked Yin Mountain within the formation.
"Chi!"
A black eagle flapped its wings and flew across the sky. Suddenly, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier.
The light of the formation burst forth, striking the black eagle, reducing it to ashes.
It looked like a wild bird had accidentally hit the Saint Formation and lost its life.
Zhang Ruochen glanced in the direction where the formation light had just flashed, squinted his eyes, and muttered to himself, "As expected of a formation left by a Half-Saint. Even an expert at the Fish-Dragon Sixth Change would probably die trying to break through it."
Then, Zhang Ruochen drove a few more wild birds into the formation in the mountain, testing the strength and arrangement of the formation to find a gap to break it.
After nine consecutive tests, Zhang Ruochen finally nodded, having found the formation eye of the Saint Formation. As long as the formation eye was destroyed, the Saint Formation would collapse on its own.
Of course, to destroy the formation eye, he first had to enter the Saint Formation.
"Time to go."
After a while, Zhang Ruochen rode the Demon Ape to the mountain gate of the Evil Wood Palace.
The mages guarding the gate saw a terrifying Demon Ape approaching and were all shocked, stepping back one after another.
Among them, a bolder mage shouted, "Who goes there? This is the Evil Wood Palace. If you dare to trespass, you will be crushed by the Saint Formation."
Zhang Ruochen pulled the hood down a little lower, completely covering his face, and pointed the Crystal Divine Staff toward the mountain gate of the Evil Wood Palace.
"Hua!"
The Black Water Glass Crystal embedded at the top of the Crystal Divine Staff transformed into water-attribute magical power, forming an ice spike that flew out.
Suddenly, the ice spike collided with the Saint Formation and stopped in midair.
With a crack, the ice spike shattered, turning into wisps of water vapor.
Zhang Ruochen imitated Master Long Ze's voice, letting out a hoarse, dry laugh: "So the Saint Formation has indeed been activated. Has the Evil Wood Palace encountered some trouble?"
The mages guarding the gate were somewhat uncertain, and someone had already gone to report to Ma Sheng Dharma King, who was stationed in the Evil Wood Palace.
A commotion arose within the Evil Wood Palace.
The experts in the palace rushed out, holding divine staves, staring warily at Zhang Ruochen and the Demon Ape in the distance.
"Who exactly are you?"
A mage who had reached the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection asked. Seeing that Zhang Ruochen did not answer him, a cold gleam appeared in his eyes, and he was about to rush out of the Saint Formation to challenge Zhang Ruochen.
"Stop."
Ma Sheng Dharma King descended from the sky, stopping that mage. He looked at Zhang Ruochen in the distance and asked tentatively, "Could it be Brother Long Ze visiting the Evil Wood Palace?"
Ma Sheng Dharma King had personally gone to the Demon Ape Ridge to invite Master Long Ze, so he was quite familiar with his aura.
Moreover, the Demon Ape in front of him was extremely powerful, seemingly containing the strength to split mountains and open the earth. Such a powerful Demon Ape could only be found in the entire Five Elements Continent.
Who else could be sitting on its shoulder but Master Long Ze?
In fact, the mages of the Five Elements Continent only knew that there was a powerful Demon Ape on the Demon Ape Ridge, but they did not know that Master Long Ze was its servant. Instead, many believed that the Demon Ape was a war beast raised by Master Long Ze.
Even Ma Sheng Dharma King thought so.
Hearing Ma Sheng Dharma King's words, the mages of the Evil Wood Palace were all shocked.
"What? He is the master of the Demon Ape Ridge, Master Long Ze?"
"It is said that Master Long Ze's cultivation is quite profound, known as the number one under the Dharma King."
"Don't you know? Master Long Ze reached the limit of mortals fifty years ago. He has probably already broken through to the realm of Dharma King, but the outside world doesn't know it."
...
The mages of the Evil Wood Palace all showed expressions of awe and fear, because according to legend, Master Long Ze was a man of very strange temperament, having done many evil deeds, killing without mercy, and had a fearsome reputation.
Who wouldn't be afraid of such a person?
Before coming to the Evil Wood Palace, Zhang Ruochen had already done a simple disguise, changing his skin and body shape, making him appear unusually gaunt, indeed very similar to Master Long Ze.
Of course, to deceive someone like Ma Sheng Dharma King, it was still not easy. He had to rely on the aura of the Demon Ape. As long as he suppressed the opponent in terms of aura, he could to some extent numb them.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen firmly believed that given the delicate situation of the Evil Wood Palace now, they would definitely want to win over a strong person like Master Long Ze.
After all, the Evil Wood Palace had already lost two Dharma Kings and was at its weakest. Master Long Ze defecting to them would be like sending charcoal in the snow.
Zhang Ruochen let out a dry laugh: "Brother Ma Sheng, it's been a while since we parted at the Demon Ape Ridge. Recently, I finally broke through the mortal limit and reached the realm of Dharma King. I plan to come out and move around. Does the Evil Wood Palace have a place for me?"
Ma Sheng Dharma King's heart was delighted, and he quickly said, "Brother Long Ze is willing to join the Evil Wood Palace. Of course, we welcome you with open arms."
Ma Sheng Dharma King did not suspect Zhang Ruochen. Now that the Five Elements Ruins Realm was under attack by celestial demons, even the five great mage holy lands could barely protect themselves. If Long Ze did not defect to the Evil Wood Palace, how could he survive?
Moreover, the Evil Wood Palace was now beset with internal and external troubles, lacking experts, and was in urgent need of a strong person like Long Ze.