Chapter 590: Wu Wang Inn
In other words, with a spiritual power intensity reaching the forty-fourth rank, Zhang Ruochen could freely use any first-level lightning-type spiritual power spell.
Of course, it would not be easy for him to unleash a second-level spiritual power spell; he would need to spend several days studying it before he could successfully cultivate it.
As for third-level and fourth-level spells, they would require even more time to research.
Even though he had not yet cultivated any high-level spells of great power, with his current strength, he was already capable of contending with weaker Fish-Dragon Eighth Change cultivators.
Moreover, his spiritual power intensity had only just reached the forty-fourth rank. As it continued to improve, his strength would also grow. In the future, even single-handedly fighting against a group of Fish-Dragon Ninth Change cultivators would not be a difficult feat.
If he could raise his spiritual power by another rank, reaching the forty-fifth rank, he would immediately advance to become a Half-Saint in spiritual power.
From the forty-fourth rank to the forty-fifth rank, the difference was only a single rank, but the gap between them was unimaginable to ordinary people. One was on the ground, the other in the heavens.
Zhang Ruochen spent another six days mastering his newly increased martial arts cultivation and spiritual power, stabilizing his realm.
"Time is almost up. I'll head to the city of Qingyun Commandery first to trade for Sacred Stones."
Zhang Ruochen stood up, brushed the dust off his shoulders, left the Scroll World, and returned to the desolate mountain outside Liyuan City.
Liyuan City was twelve thousand li away from Qingyun Commandery City. Even if an ordinary person traveled a hundred li a day, it would take four months to reach it.
However, Zhang Ruochen was a Spiritual Power Grandmaster, so his travel speed naturally far exceeded that of ordinary people.
"Thunderbolt Technique."
Zhang Ruochen mobilized the world's spiritual energy, transforming it into lightning force. Beams of electric light gathered around his body, completely enveloping him.
A thunderous "boom" echoed across the wilderness as Zhang Ruochen turned into a bolt of lightning, shooting into the clouds and flying toward the horizon.
The Thunderbolt Technique was only a first-level lightning-type spell, not particularly sophisticated.
But who could blame him? With Zhang Ruochen's powerful spiritual power, even a first-level spell could unleash formidable might, boosting his speed to a terrifying degree.
By dusk, Zhang Ruochen finally arrived outside Qingyun Commandery City. He burst out of the clouds and landed on the ground.
"Sizzle, sizzle!"
The electric light around his body gradually dissipated.
"No wonder Spiritual Power Grandmasters are more formidable than martial artists. Martial artists must reach the Half-Saint realm before they can fly off the ground. But a Spiritual Power Grandmaster can easily soar through the skies and burrow into the earth with just a single spell," Zhang Ruochen remarked with admiration.
What Zhang Ruochen didn't realize was that it was precisely because of his powerful spiritual power that he could continuously cast spells and fly for ten thousand li.
If it had been a Spiritual Power Grandmaster with only a fortieth-rank spiritual power, they would likely have collapsed from exhaustion long ago.
The azure-blue city walls, the hundred-zhang-wide moat, the towering altar, the formation tower piercing the clouds... Qingyun Commandery City was countless times larger than Liyuan City. It exuded a sense of weightiness, along with an ancient, weathered feeling.
An ancient city.
In the eyes of evil-path martial artists, everything was based on profit as the foundation of survival. Whoever had the stronger fist was the truth. They were like scattered sand, knowing nothing about governing the world or teaching the common people.
In short, on this chaotic land, seeing such a well-ordered ancient city was indeed astonishing.
Entering the commandery city, Zhang Ruochen did not immediately head to Wu Wang Inn. Instead, he first went to a carriage shop and bought a barbarian beast-drawn carriage.
The beast pulling the carriage was a third-rank lower barbarian beast, the Single-Horned Flame Tiger. Its body was mighty, and its strength was immense.
Why buy a carriage?
The carriage was used to transport the spirit crystals needed to purchase the Sacred Stones.
Duanmu Ya had mentioned that she could mobilize three Sacred Stones, with a transaction price of eleven million spirit crystals per Sacred Stone. To buy three Sacred Stones, Zhang Ruochen had to prepare thirty-three million spirit crystals.
Since Zhang Ruochen already knew that Mu Lingxi was with Duanmu Ya, he naturally couldn't use his Space Ring. He had to first store the spirit crystals on the carriage before proceeding with the Sacred Stone transaction.
Zhang Ruochen trusted Mu Lingxi, but his mission in the Eastern Domain Evil Territory was to kill the young master of the Black Market First Class Hall.
The entire operation was extremely dangerous, and he didn't want Mu Lingxi to get involved.
Therefore, for now, he couldn't let Mu Lingxi know his true identity.
Even if he were to tell her, it would have to wait until after killing Di Yi.
Arriving at a street not far from Wu Wang Inn, Zhang Ruochen paused briefly, releasing his spiritual power to probe the surrounding environment.
After all, Duanmu Ya was a member of the Demon Sect. If she really set an ambush for Zhang Ruochen, it would be within reason. Zhang Ruochen naturally had to be cautious. If Duanmu Ya intended to kill him for his wealth, he could respond in time.
There was no ambush set up around Wu Wang Inn.
"The Moon Worship Demon Sect does have more principles than the Black Market."
Zhang Ruochen chuckled, withdrew his spiritual power, and drove the carriage to the front of Wu Wang Inn.
Duanmu Ya stood on the fourth-floor tower, spotting Zhang Ruochen's carriage from afar. She immediately sent someone to escort Zhang Ruochen into Wu Wang Inn.
The carriage drove into Wu Wang Inn and went straight to the backyard.
By now, night had fallen, and the sky had darkened.
Colorful lanterns were lit inside Wu Wang Inn, casting a multicolored, hazy glow over the night, giving it an unreal feeling.
Duanmu Ya, dressed in a white lace long dress, stood beneath the lanterns. Seeing the approaching carriage, she smiled from a distance, "Young Master Zhang, you have quite the nerve. The Blood Cloud Sect is searching for you everywhere, yet you dare to swagger into the commandery city."
The barbarian beast-drawn carriage came to a halt.
Zhang Ruochen stepped off the carriage shaft and landed on the ground. "Boss Lady, where are the Sacred Stones?"
"Oh? In your eyes, am I not as alluring as a Sacred Stone?"
Duanmu Ya walked toward Zhang Ruochen, her high, firm chest gently trembling. Every curve of her body seemed to exude a captivating charm.
Zhang Ruochen felt a faint, fragrant breeze rush toward him and involuntarily took a step back.
Duanmu Ya's expression turned melancholic. "Young Master Zhang, why are you so indifferent to romance? At Liyuan City, you killed Fang Jie and Cao Ying. I am deeply grateful and have always wanted to express my thanks. Why do you keep avoiding me? Isn't your behavior rather disheartening?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "If the Boss Lady is truly grateful, then give me the three Sacred Stones."
"Sacred Stones are too precious; I can't make that decision. How about... I give myself to you, Young Master Zhang?"
Duanmu Ya stepped closer to Zhang Ruochen, observing his eyes and physique up close. She thought to herself, *This person's build really does resemble Zhang Ruochen's.*
Could it be, as Lingxi said, that he really is Zhang Ruochen?
"Swish!"
Duanmu Ya moved swiftly, reaching out to tear off the metal mask on Zhang Ruochen's face.
At that moment, Duanmu Ya and Zhang Ruochen were only two steps apart. With the speed of a Fish-Dragon Sixth Change cultivator, her hand could cross that distance in an instant.
With a surprise attack, even if the opponent's cultivation was higher, she was confident she could remove the mask.
Just as Duanmu Ya's fingers were about to touch Zhang Ruochen's neck, he quickly retreated, shifting his position and landing on top of the barbarian beast-drawn carriage.
Zhang Ruochen looked down at Duanmu Ya from above, his voice cold. "Boss Lady, what is the meaning of this?"
Duanmu Ya chuckled softly. "Young Master Zhang, please don't misunderstand. I just wanted to see what the Spiritual Power Grandmaster who killed Fang Jie and Cao Ying looks like."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze swept toward a dark corner, where he detected Mu Lingxi's presence.
*Could they already be suspecting my identity?* Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
His eyes darted around, and he decided to complete the transaction quickly and leave immediately to avoid any complications.
So, he deliberately put on an angry expression and said in a deep voice, "Let's pretend that just now never happened. Boss Lady, shall we begin the transaction now?"
Zhang Ruochen leaped down and retrieved a two-meter-tall copper-and-iron chest from the barbarian beast-drawn carriage.
Inside the chest was a massive, human-sized, fiery-red spirit crystal, as magnificent as a celestial divine stone, radiating scorching flames.
As the chest opened, the temperature of the surrounding air rose sharply.
Zhang Ruochen said, "This top-grade fire-attribute spirit stone weighs one hundred and five thousand jin, enough to be divided into eight thousand top-grade spirit crystals. Boss Lady, what do you think of its quality?"
Duanmu Ya carefully examined the spirit crystal in the chest and nodded in admiration. "The spirit crystal is rich with flood dragon aura. If I'm not mistaken, it was dug out from the body of a Flood Dragon King."
Indeed, that top-grade spirit crystal had been excavated from the body of the Black Scale Flood Dragon King.
Duanmu Ya crossed her arms in front of her chest and said with a coquettish smile, "Eight thousand top-grade spirit crystals are equivalent to eight million ordinary spirit crystals. That's still far from thirty-three million spirit crystals."
Zhang Ruochen just smiled and retrieved another chest from the barbarian beast-drawn carriage.
Inside the chest was a flood dragon tendon.
"A Flood Dragon King's tendon is worth about three million ordinary spirit crystals. The tendon and the top-grade spirit crystal together are worth roughly eleven million spirit crystals, enough to exchange for one Sacred Stone."
"Young Master Zhang, if you have any other treasures, it would be best to bring them all out at once," Duanmu Ya said with a smile.
"That's all I have."
Zhang Ruochen added, "If the Boss Lady trusts me, I can bring you a complete Flood Dragon King skeleton tomorrow."
Originally, Zhang Ruochen had planned to deliver the Black Scale Flood Dragon King's skeleton to Wu Wang Inn as well, but the skeleton was far too massive—over a hundred meters long and heavier than a small mountain. The Single-Horned Flame Tiger couldn't pull it.
So, he could only bring the spirit crystals and the tendon first.
Duanmu Ya pretended to think for a moment before saying, "If you take off your mask and let me see your face, I'll trust you. And I'll immediately hand over the three Sacred Stones to you."
Just then, Mu Lingxi emerged from the darkness, carrying three Sacred Stones, and stood beside Duanmu Ya.
However, Mu Lingxi's watery eyes were fixed on Zhang Ruochen from start to finish, without even blinking.
"How long will you keep hiding? Do you not trust even me?"
Standing close to the masked man across from her, Mu Lingxi was even more certain that he was Zhang Ruochen.
If Duanmu Ya hadn't instructed her beforehand to stay calm, she might have already rushed toward Zhang Ruochen, torn off his mask, and confronted him face to face.