Chapter 426: Origin Qi
Under the combined assault of Zhang Ruochen and the demon ape, the injuries of Divine Skeleton Dharma King continued to worsen, and his reaction speed slowed considerably.
"No good. If this continues, they will definitely wear me down. I didn't expect that junior Zhang Ruochen would be so troublesome. Azure Wood Dharma King and Ancestral Heart Dharma King did not die unjustly at his hands."
Divine Skeleton Dharma King's face was ashen. After a brief deliberation, he formulated a strategy. While blocking the attacks of the demon ape and the lightning, he charged toward Zhang Ruochen.
As long as he killed Zhang Ruochen, the crisis would be resolved.
Just as Divine Skeleton Dharma King rushed within three steps of Zhang Ruochen, Zhang Ruochen remained seated cross-legged on the ground, showing no intention of standing up.
"Die for me."
Divine Skeleton Dharma King raised his Half-Saint Dharma Staff, mobilizing all his power, and struck down toward Zhang Ruochen's head.
This was exactly the opportunity he had been waiting for.
Zhang Ruochen's right hand shot up quickly, extending a finger and slashing toward Divine Skeleton Dharma King. "Space Rift."
Out of nowhere, the space in front of Divine Skeleton Dharma King was torn apart, transforming into a chaotic rift. It swallowed his Half-Saint Dharma Staff, and even his head was severed by the spatial cut.
At such close range, Divine Skeleton Dharma King had no chance to dodge.
The Space Rift closed, and everything returned to calm. On the ground, only a headless corpse remained, falling backward.
The demon ape roared and charged forward, intending to smash Divine Skeleton Dharma King's body to pieces with a single punch.
"Stop."
Zhang Ruochen shouted, then stood up.
At that moment, from the abdominal area of Divine Skeleton Dharma King's corpse, a mass of cyan light mist flew out, emitting a rich wood-attribute power.
Centered on that mass of light mist, the surrounding flowers, grass, and trees grew at a visible speed. Even the tender sprouts of grass quickly grew to half a person's height.
"This is... is this the Origin Qi of the Five Elements Ruins Realm?"
Zhang Ruochen was widely read and had extensive knowledge, which led him to this speculation.
Every world possesses Origin Qi.
Lower Ruins Realms, Middle Ruins Realms, Upper Ruins Realms, and even the Kunlun Realm all have Origin Qi.
The larger and more stable a world, the denser its Origin Qi.
When Origin Qi reaches a certain level of intensity, it can even develop intelligence, transforming into a "World Spirit" capable of influencing everything within that world.
For the inhabitants of a world, Origin Qi is the creator god, the heavenly way, the blessings, karma, and fortune, as well as the unseen rules.
Different Origin Qi results in different world rules.
The Origin Qi of the Five Elements Ruins Realm is composed of five converging forces, representing Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth.
The five spiritual treasures of the Five Elements Ruins Realm—Golden Divine Fungus, Black Water Crystal Glass, Purple Cloud Sinking Incense Wood, Spirit Fire Source, and Saint-Nourishing Blood Soil—were nurtured by absorbing these five types of Origin Qi.
What Divine Skeleton Dharma King had obtained was the Wood Spirit Origin Qi of the Five Elements Ruins Realm, granting him control over one-fifth of the realm's fortune.
After multiple tests, Zhang Ruochen finally confirmed that the mass of cyan light mist was a portion of the Five Elements Ruins Realm's Origin Qi.
"Divine Skeleton Dharma King must have only recently obtained the Wood Spirit Origin Qi and hasn't fully subdued it yet. Otherwise, he could have tapped into part of the Five Elements Ruins Realm's power for his own use and killed me effortlessly."
Divine Skeleton Dharma King was indeed unlucky. If the Five Elements Ruins Realm hadn't been discovered by saints from Kunlun, and if he hadn't died at Zhang Ruochen's hands, his possession of the Origin Qi might have allowed him to reach the Half-Saint realm and become a legend of the Five Elements Ruins Realm.
In that case, he would have been the "Son of Origin" of the Five Elements Ruins Realm, also known as the "True Mandate of Heaven," capable of commanding all living beings in the entire realm.
Of course, it was too late to dwell on that now.
"Since this is the Origin Qi of the Five Elements Ruins Realm, once I refine it, it should be enough to elevate my Martial Soul to the Half-Saint level."
Unable to suppress his excitement, Zhang Ruochen cautiously approached the mass of cyan light mist. Spreading his hands, he rapidly circulated his true qi, preparing to capture the Wood Spirit Origin Qi.
"Whoosh!"
The Wood Spirit Origin Qi trembled violently, shooting out a streak of cyan light toward Zhang Ruochen.
Though it appeared to be just a beam of light, to Zhang Ruochen, it felt like an entire world was crashing into him, threatening to crush his Martial Soul.
Zhang Ruochen's head throbbed with excruciating pain, and his vision went dark. The sensation was unbearable.
Origin Qi is not necessarily benevolent toward the inhabitants of its own world, let alone an outsider like Zhang Ruochen.
When he tried to suppress it, it sensed his hostility and immediately retaliated.
Even the Origin Qi of a Lower Ruins Realm was beyond Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation to subdue.
Just as Zhang Ruochen's Martial Soul was about to be shattered by the Wood Spirit Origin Qi, the Cosmic Divine Wood Map automatically flew out from between his brows, pressing down toward the mass of Wood Spirit Origin Qi.
The Wood Spirit Origin Qi seemed to be greatly startled, immediately diving into the ground in an attempt to escape.
"Whoosh!"
The Cosmic Divine Wood Map emitted a blinding light, as if opening a spatial gate. It suppressed the Wood Spirit Origin Qi and drew it into the scroll.
Then, the Cosmic Divine Wood Map flew back to Zhang Ruochen, hovering before him.
Zhang Ruochen simply reached out and grabbed the Cosmic Divine Wood Map.
"It automatically absorbed the Wood Spirit Origin Qi of the Five Elements Ruins Realm. This scroll is far from ordinary."
Zhang Ruochen was not pleased but instead wore a solemn expression. He placed the scroll on the ground, spread it out, and examined it carefully.
The scroll depicted a magnificent wilderness scene—towering mountains, surging ancient rivers, and steep cliffs. At the center of the painting was an ancient tree connecting heaven and earth.
According to Xiao Hei, Xumi Saint Monk had painted the legendary Sky-Connecting Divine Tree.
Every line on the scroll was a runic inscription—ice runes, force runes, space runes... encompassing all things, countless in number.
After absorbing the Wood Spirit Origin Qi, the Cosmic Divine Wood Map returned to stillness, showing no fluctuations, as ordinary as any common scroll.
"How can this be? Absorbing the Wood Spirit Origin Qi should have caused some change."
Frowning in dissatisfaction, Zhang Ruochen pressed his palm against the scroll's surface, channeling his true qi into it.
The scroll began to slowly absorb his true qi.
The Sky-Connecting Divine Tree on the scroll seemed to come to life, its leaves gently rustling with a "shasha" sound. A few leaves even appeared to be emerging from the painting.
It felt like only an instant had passed, yet also like several months.
Zhang Ruochen immediately withdrew his hand, panting heavily, drenched in sweat. The true qi in his Qi Sea was completely depleted.
A wave of weakness washed over him, and his vision went dark, nearly causing him to faint.
Zhang Ruochen immediately began meditating on the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*. After about half an hour, he recovered one-tenth of his true qi and regained his composure. He opened his eyes.
"He's awake! He's awake! Finally awake!"
Chang Qiqi's large face was close to Zhang Ruochen's. Seeing him open his eyes, he sighed in relief and burst into excited laughter.
Huang Yanchen walked over quickly from a distance, glaring with her beautiful eyes, somewhat displeased. "Zhang Ruochen, what divine diagram were you contemplating? Why did you sit there motionless for over ten days?"
"Over ten days?"
Zhang Ruochen looked at the Cosmic Divine Wood Map on the ground, a puzzled expression in his eyes.
How could it be over ten days?
He clearly remembered that only an instant had passed. No, he also remembered that several months had gone by. That wasn't right either...
In his memory, it felt like both an instant and an extremely long time, but definitely not over ten days.
How strange!
Had he unknowingly entered the inner space of the Cosmic Divine Wood Map?
Zhang Ruochen's mind was in turmoil. He couldn't figure out what had happened to him. If Xiao Hei were here, perhaps he could answer his questions.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen let out a soft exclamation of surprise. He joyfully discovered that his Spiritual Power had increased significantly, breaking through one level to reach the forty-first rank.
After Spiritual Power reached the fortieth rank, it was ten times harder to break through than martial arts. Each rank increase represented a qualitative leap.
Once Spiritual Power reached the forty-fifth rank, one could be called a "Spiritual Power Half-Saint," using Spiritual Power to fight Half-Saints or even kill them.
Advancing from the fortieth to the forty-first rank was already a considerable improvement.
"The increase in Spiritual Power must be related to the Cosmic Divine Wood Map."
Zhang Ruochen grew excited. If his true qi hadn't been depleted, he would have immediately channeled it into the Cosmic Divine Wood Map again to re-enter that mysterious state.
Suppressing his emotions, Zhang Ruochen put away the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and looked at the three people standing around him. "When did you all arrive here?"
Huang Yanchen said, "Senior Brother and I, along with Senior Brother Chang, returned to Wind Spirit City and waited for a whole day without seeing you. Worried you might have encountered trouble, we immediately came back to Split Yin Mountain."
Si Xingkong added, "We've been waiting here for over ten days. The third round of the assessment has been going on for about a month now. Many students have already boarded warships and headed to the Ruins Realm passage. Since you're awake now, I'll send out a signal. The warship will come immediately to take us to the Ruins Realm passage and send us back to the Chaos Myriad Realms Mountain."
(Feitian Yu's WeChat public account: 5)