Chapter 552: Innate Fetal Respiration
A moment later, Zhang Ruochen withdrew his finger, looking down at Huang Yanchen lying on the ground. His eyes were filled with guilt, fear, and anxiety. Unable to help himself, he bit his lip tightly and said, "It's all my fault."
Huang Yanchen was severely injured. Her five viscera and six bowels, meridians, and Qi Sea had all suffered incurable damage. Her physical body was already broken and tattered. Even if a Saint were to step in and save her, it would likely be too late to turn things around.
Without a miracle, it was almost impossible for her to wake up again.
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fists tightly, filled with self-blame. If he had let Huang Yanchen continue cultivating in the Scroll World from the start, she would not have encountered such a calamity.
At the time, he felt that blindly secluding oneself in cultivation was not beneficial and would only be counterproductive, making it impossible to become a true strong one.
Only by experiencing constant life-and-death battles, tasting the sweetness and bitterness of life, and undergoing the tempering of human relationships could one ultimately go further on the path of the Sacred Dao.
So, he had let Huang Yanchen come out to train, fight alongside him, sharpen her mindset, and hone her will.
But he never imagined that such a sudden change would occur.
Xiao Hei found the severely injured Ao Xinyan and Orange Moon Star Envoy and brought them over.
Both of them had already fainted.
However, their physiques were special, and their cultivation levels were much higher than Huang Yanchen's, having reached the third transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, "Refining Bone into Jade."
Thus, although they were heavily injured, as long as they took healing pills and had time to recuperate, they could still recover fully without major issues.
"Let's go to the Scroll World first."
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, immediately took out the Cosmic Divine Wood Map, opened the Scroll World, carried Huang Yanchen through the Space Gate, and arrived beneath the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree, laying her on the ground.
The Wood Spirit Qi of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree might be of some help to her injuries.
Zhang Ruochen wiped the bloodstains from the corner of Huang Yanchen's mouth, took out the Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Bottle, placed one hand on her back to support her, parted her lips, and slowly poured the Wood Spirit Red Chan from the bottle into her mouth.
Then, Zhang Ruochen straightened Huang Yanchen up, sat behind her, and struck out with both palms simultaneously, mobilizing the Sacred Dragon Qi from the Dragon Pearl and continuously channeling it into her body.
A full half-day passed. Beads of sweat as large as beans kept forming on Zhang Ruochen's forehead, and even his complexion gradually turned pale. Yet, there was no sign of improvement in Huang Yanchen's injuries.
"No, this can't go on..."
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, gritted his teeth, and continued to squeeze the power within him.
Not only did he channel the Sacred Dragon Qi into Huang Yanchen's body, but he also nearly exhausted all his own true qi. His body swayed slightly, as if he might faint at any moment.
One must know that earlier, in the battle with the Wu Hai Jiao Wang, Zhang Ruochen had already suffered considerable injuries, which he had only suppressed using the true qi and Sacred Dragon power within him.
Now, by injecting all his true qi into Huang Yanchen, his own injuries immediately flared up, causing a backlash on his body.
"Pfft!"
Zhang Ruochen spat out a mouthful of blood. An intense feeling of weakness and pain spread throughout his body, and his face turned as pale as paper, devoid of any color.
His body swayed and began to fall to the left.
"I can't... I can't fall... If I fall, what will happen to her..."
With a strong will, Zhang Ruochen pressed both palms against the ground, gritted his teeth, and slowly sat back up.
Just as Zhang Ruochen fell, Xiao Hei also examined Huang Yanchen's injuries. He shook his head and said, "Too severe. Even with the Wood Spirit Qi of the Sky-Connecting Divine Tree nurturing her body, she won't live past three days."
Xiao Hei glanced at Zhang Ruochen's complexion and added, "However, if we can find the Xuan Wu Sacred Source, it might be able to save her life. She cultivates the 'Xuan Wu Sacred Scripture.' Fusing with the Xuan Wu Sacred Source could allow her to reshape her physical body and revive her vitality."
Without needing further explanation, Zhang Ruochen understood that he must obtain the Xuan Wu Sacred Source within three days, no matter what.
Of course, since the Xuan Wu's abdomen had emitted such terrifying sound waves, it meant that a top-tier strong one was inside, seizing the Xuan Wu Sacred Source.
Otherwise, it would not have sent out sound waves to injure Huang Yanchen, Ao Xinyan, and Orange Moon Star Envoy, preventing them from approaching the Xuan Wu's abdomen.
To take the Xuan Wu Sacred Source from that strong one's hands, Zhang Ruochen would first need to break through to the Fish-Dragon Realm.
"Fish-Dragon Realm."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze hardened. He picked up the Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Bottle, took a sip of Wood Spirit Red Chan, and began to heal his injuries.
Then, he took out a Jiao Pearl, swallowed it, mobilized the thin true qi within him, and started refining the Jiao Pearl to assault the Fish-Dragon Realm.
With his current injuries, assaulting the Fish-Dragon Realm was an extremely dangerous endeavor.
But Zhang Ruochen had no other choice, as time was running out. Even if it was very dangerous, he had to heal his injuries while assaulting the realm.
After refining the first Jiao Pearl, the true qi in Zhang Ruochen's Qi Sea had reached a state of perfection.
However, the surging true qi flowed wildly through his injured body, impacting his meridians and viscera, worsening his injuries.
Blood flowed from Zhang Ruochen's mouth as he swallowed the second Jiao Pearl, continuing to assault the Fish-Dragon Realm.
Even though he knew that doing so would injure him even more, he did not hesitate in the slightest.
Two full days passed. Zhang Ruochen consumed thirteen Jiao Pearls in succession. The aura on his body grew stronger and stronger, and his entire being was enveloped by true qi, forming a massive sphere nine zhang in diameter.
From a distance, Zhang Ruochen's body appeared to be cracked by the true qi within, with bloody lines splitting open like a shattered ceramic piece.
If he could not break through the realm, Zhang Ruochen might explode and die at any moment.
Over the two days, under Xiao Hei's medical care, Ao Xinyan and Orange Moon Star Envoy had woken up.
They naturally knew why Zhang Ruochen was pushing himself so hard to break through the realm, and they also knew that Huang Yanchen was severely injured and might not survive the day.
Ao Xinyan had no mind to recuperate from her injuries. She tightly twisted the hem of her clothes, extremely worried that Zhang Ruochen's injuries would worsen and that he might meet with misfortune during the breakthrough.
Although Ao Xinyan desperately wished that Zhang Ruochen would take care of his body and not push himself so hard, healing his injuries first before breaking through the realm, she had to admit that it was precisely because of Zhang Ruochen's unique temperament that she admired him so much, willingly recognizing him as her leader and obeying his commands. In her heart, she even harbored some feelings for him, though she herself had not noticed.
Even Orange Moon Star Envoy, who had always looked down on Zhang Ruochen, now showed a hint of admiration in her eyes, impressed by his personal charm.
A true man is not one who acts domineering and forceful in front of the weak, but one who, when needed, can shoulder the responsibilities and obligations, face enemies stronger than himself and severe challenges, and protect and guard those he needs to cherish.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, the mass of true qi on the surface of Zhang Ruochen's body shattered, transforming into streams of true qi that surged continuously toward his brow.
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen finally broke through the limits of a mortal, reaching the first transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm, "Innate Fetal Respiration."
The so-called Innate Fetal Respiration means breathing internal qi on one's own, holding firm and guarding unity, able to swallow the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as one's own sustenance, reaching the state of bi gu (abstaining from grains).
Upon reaching this realm, even if one does not eat or drink for a year, they will not starve or die of thirst.
"I've finally succeeded."
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes and took a deep breath. The spiritual energy within a radius of ten li was instantly drained, all absorbed into his body and stored in his Qi Sea.
After reaching the Fish-Dragon Realm, his speed of absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth became much faster. The true qi within his body circulated unceasingly through his meridians, forming an internal cycle, so he no longer had to worry about exhausting his true qi.
Zhang Ruochen stood up, walked to Huang Yanchen's side, bent down, pressed his fingers to her wrist, and checked her injuries.
After a long while, he withdrew his hand and said softly, "Wait for me to come back. Cough, cough!"
Just by speaking a single sentence, Zhang Ruochen triggered his injuries, coughing twice. He wiped the corner of his mouth with his finger, clearing the blood from the cough.
"Leader, I'll go with you to get the Xuan Wu Sacred Source." Ao Xinyan stood up and immediately walked over.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her and said, "You stay here and recuperate. Leave it to me. Cough, cough!"
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, temporarily suppressed his injuries, opened the Space Gate, and stepped out of the Scroll World.
Two days had passed in the Scroll World, but only two hours had passed in the outside world.
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fist tightly and said, "I only have one hour. I must obtain the Xuan Wu's Sacred Source. I can definitely do it."
Zhang Ruochen straightened his chest, trying to stand as upright as possible, and dragged the Abyssal Ancient Sword as he walked toward the Xuan Wu's abdomen.
...
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