Chapter 435: Bright Hall Saint Ancestor
At the Divine Sword Sacred Ground, on the Jade Saint Spirit Mountain.
A white-haired woman sat on the central seat at the highest point of the sacred hall, occupying the host’s position, exuding a powerful and astonishing aura of her own. As the master of the Divine Sword Sacred Ground, Jade Saint stood below instead.
“Lu Huaiyu, is the message you sent truly accurate? Where is he?” the white-haired woman asked.
To dare directly address a Saint by name, this woman was truly remarkable.
Jade Saint showed no displeasure and replied, “How would this junior dare deceive the Saint Ancestor? That person is now in the Eastern Domain Sacred City. Not long ago, he passed the assessment of the Holy Academy, and I believe he will enroll soon, officially becoming a Holy Disciple of the Academy.”
“Is he really called Zhang Ruochen?”
A hint of indescribable emotion flickered in the white-haired woman’s calm eyes, as if she cared deeply about this matter.
Jade Saint said, “That’s correct. In fact, he has some reputation in the Eastern Domain. Having inherited the Buddha Emperor’s legacy, he is known as one of the six young kings of the new generation in the Eastern Domain. Saint Ancestor, would you like to go see him now?”
“See him?”
The white-haired woman fell into deep thought, as if recalling something. After a long while, she said, “Wait a little longer.”
When she first learned of Zhang Ruochen’s news, she had indeed been eager to meet him. But now that she had actually arrived in the Eastern Domain, she felt a sense of hesitation.
If it truly was him, it would be a great joy.
But what if it wasn’t?
The white-haired woman sat there motionless, like a statue of a goddess.
Jade Saint waited beside her, showing great patience.
After an unknown amount of time, she seemed to have thought it through, and the shadow of that person in her mind gradually faded. She asked, “Where is the Life Sword? Has its restoration been completed?”
“It’s still at the sacred altar, with Grandfather personally overseeing the repair. However…” Jade Saint said.
The white-haired woman’s brows slightly lifted. “However, what?”
Jade Saint sighed. “The Life Sword was broken after all. Restoring it is no easy task and requires many precious forging materials. Some of those materials are not available even in the Divine Sword Sacred Ground.”
The white-haired woman said, “As long as it’s for restoring the Life Sword, tell me whatever materials are missing. I will surely find them for you. This sword is crucial and must be successfully repaired.”
Jade Saint nodded and smiled. “If the Saint Ancestor could lend a hand to Grandfather, restoring the Life Sword should not be difficult.”
“Is this Lu Yuanzhi’s intention?” the white-haired woman asked.
“Grandfather has already passed away. Now only a wisp of his sacred soul remains. Even with the power of the sacred altar, there are times when he feels inadequate.”
The white-haired woman said, “Very well. I haven’t seen Lu Yuanzhi in a long time either. It’s a good chance to visit him.”
She had decided to fully restore the sacred sword first before meeting this Zhang Ruochen, to confirm whether he was the person from eight hundred years ago—the one who had haunted her dreams for eight hundred years.
Eight hundred years seemed long, yet also short.
Whenever she closed her eyes, the past events and people were vivid before her, never fading with time, only deepening her pain.
“Cousin, avenging you has always been my greatest motivation for cultivation. Every time I recall the scene of you dying under Chi Yao’s sword, my heart breaks. Eight hundred years… have you truly returned?”
Tears streamed down the white-haired woman’s cheeks, and her heart was filled with self-blame.
Back then, if she had been just a little faster, she could have stopped Chi Yao and saved him.
But she was just a moment too late.
In the end, she could only watch helplessly as Zhang Ruochen fell into a pool of blood, gasping for breath, eventually turning into a cold corpse. Chi Yao, holding her blood-drenched sword, walked away without a backward glance.
At that time, she was no match for Chi Yao and couldn’t even catch up to her.
From then on, she trained relentlessly, striving to grow stronger, with only one thought in her heart: to avenge Zhang Ruochen. She persisted for eight hundred years.
Eight hundred years had passed, and she still hadn’t killed Chi Yao, but her hatred, guilt, and longing had only deepened.
“The dead cannot return to life, so why dwell on the past?”
Letting out a long sigh, the white-haired woman stood up, walked out of the sacred hall, and, led by Jade Saint, headed toward the sacred altar.
…
Zhang Ruochen spent half a month in the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal, refining three catties and two taels of Purple Cloud Sinking Fragrance Wood. Finally, his body reached a state of saturation.
“Cultivating the Dual Spirit Treasure Body is indeed harder than cultivating a single Treasure Body. Spending half a month, I could only refine three catties and two taels.”
Since his body was now saturated, he would have to wait until he broke through to the next realm before continuing to refine the Purple Cloud Sinking Fragrance Wood.
Of course, refining three catties and two taels of the wood was equivalent to three years of Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation. His power had increased again, reaching the peak of the Heavenly Extreme Realm Middle Stage.
“There are still half a month until the Holy Academy opens. Before that, I must purchase a mansion in the Eastern Domain Sacred City to settle Mother.”
Although Zhang Ruochen could live in the Holy Academy, Lin Fei, Xiao Hei, Xiao Ling’er, Kong Xuan, and the Demon Ape would all have to stay outside.
The Eastern Domain Sacred City had strict management. All outsiders had to obtain a temporary residence permit to avoid being expelled.
Like other students coming to the Eastern Domain Sacred City, Zhang Ruochen’s temporary residence permit was only valid for three months.
Once it expired, he would have to leave.
Only by purchasing a mansion in the Eastern Domain Sacred City could he obtain permanent residency.
Of course, mansions in the Eastern Domain Sacred City were exorbitantly expensive. Even in the Seventh City District, the cheapest mansion cost ten million spirit crystals.
Such a huge sum would make even a Fish-Dragon Realm powerhouse hesitate.
As for a Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artist, having a million spirit crystals was already considered quite wealthy.
Zhang Ruochen had only a little over two million spirit crystals left. Scraping together ten million was no easy task.
“Do I have to sell space rings again?”
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Zhang Ruochen immediately shook his head.
Now, the only person who knew Zhang Ruochen could manipulate space was Blood Spirit King. As long as Zhang Ruochen didn’t sell space rings, even if Blood Spirit King told others about his ability, no one would believe it.
But if he sold space rings, Blood Spirit King would surely spread rumors. Then, even the imperial court of the First Central Empire might be alerted, putting Zhang Ruochen in great danger.
Thinking of this, Zhang Ruochen felt a headache coming on.
Blood Spirit King was like a thorn stuck in his throat. If he didn’t remove her, she could pierce his throat at any moment, plunging him into eternal damnation.
“Since I can’t sell space rings, I’ll sell Black Water Glass Crystal. Such a spiritual treasure will fetch a high price from those Saintly clans.”
“Of course, I can’t sell it to enemies. I can sell it to the Luo Saint Clan or the Eastern Domain Sacred King Manor. Black Water Glass Crystal is not only used for cultivating the Water Element Treasure Body but is also a forging treasure. The Divine Sword Sacred Ground should need it too.”
With that in mind, he decided to go to the Divine Sword Sacred Ground first and ask if they had completed the restoration of the Life Sword.