Chapter 658: Beneath Ancient God Mountain
As Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation level grew higher, the amount of Xuanwu Sacred Blood he needed to refine to elevate his cultivation also increased.
Zhang Ruochen refined three drops of Xuanwu Sacred Blood in total, spending half a year to advance from the early stage of the Fourth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm to the peak of the Fourth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
It should be noted that during the Third Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm, he had only refined a single drop to reach the peak stage.
At this moment, a violent surge of true qi filled all the meridians in Zhang Ruochen’s body. A portion of this true qi, exceeding what his body could withstand, seeped out through his pores and floated in the air, forming a three-zhang-long Xuanwu phantom shadow.
Refining the Xuanwu Sacred Blood had indeed rapidly boosted Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation, propelling him straight to the peak of the Fourth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm. However, this newly increased power had not yet fully merged with his own strength.
The newly added blood qi and true qi still carried the aura of the Azure Flame Xuanwu, creating a repulsive force that clashed with Zhang Ruochen’s own true qi and blood qi.
Zhang Ruochen did not continue refining a fourth drop of Xuanwu Sacred Blood. Instead, he extended a palm, channeled the true qi within his body, and directed the powerful energy through the meridians of his arm, releasing it from his palm.
Vaguely, Zhang Ruochen felt a slight stinging pain in the meridians of his arm, as his own true qi and the newly added true qi collided with each other.
He immediately withdrew a portion of his true qi and slowed its flow. The stinging sensation in his arm’s meridians vanished.
“My cultivation has already reached the peak of the Fourth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm. Even if I continue refining Xuanwu Sacred Blood, I won’t be able to break through to the Fifth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm immediately.”
“From now on, I need to let my cultivation settle for a period of time. I must refine the blood qi and true qi within me more smoothly, merging them completely with my own blood qi and true qi. Only after thoroughly stabilizing my realm can I open the second sacred meridian and strive for the Fifth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm.”
Although breaking through to the peak of the Fourth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm had greatly increased his cultivation, Zhang Ruochen’s utilization of true qi was still very low. At most, he could only bring out fifty to sixty percent of his full power.
In other words, his current realm was not yet stable, and he could not perfectly wield the newly gained power. Within the Fourth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm, there was still significant room for improvement.
Of course, even with his current strength, he had already improved considerably compared to before.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his true qi, stopped cultivating, and took out the Abyssal Ancient Sword to practice his sword techniques.
“Swish, swish.”
With a casual lift of the sword, dozens of sword-shaped sword qi appeared around him.
In an instant, his entire demeanor became noble and sharp, as if he had transformed into a white-robed Sword Saint.
Spreading his legs apart, Zhang Ruochen swiftly swung the sword, dragging out a long sword qi that formed a sword path over twenty zhang long, flying into the distance.
The powerful sword qi split the ground in two, leaving a deep crack in the earth.
“Heavenly Heart Points the Way.”
“Heavenly Heart Full Moon.”
…
Having reached the seventh level of Sword One, Zhang Ruochen’s understanding of the Sword Dao was now immeasurably clearer than before. Simply executing a set of low-grade Spirit-level Heavenly Heart Sword Technique unleashed a power comparable to a low-grade Ghost-level sword technique.
After delivering the final sword strike, Zhang Ruochen sheathed the Abyssal Ancient Sword once more.
“Sword One has a total of ten levels. Logically, the further one progresses, the harder it becomes to cultivate, and the more time it requires. However, with the guidance of the three sword qi streams, my cultivation speed in the Sword Dao has only slowed down slightly.”
“At my current cultivation speed, I can reach the tenth level and great perfection of Sword One in at most another year. If I push a little faster, I might succeed in just eight months.”
Not only had his comprehension of Sword One reached the seventh level, but Zhang Ruochen also noticed that the Sword Intent Heart in his Qi Sea had become crystal clear, like a gemstone, radiating dazzling light.
Based on Zhang Ruochen’s judgment, this was a sign that his Sword Dao realm was about to break through to the high level of Sword Heart Illumination.
The rapid progress in his Sword Dao realm was certainly also due to the three sword qi streams.
The results of this seclusion were quite satisfactory to Zhang Ruochen.
Half a year had passed in the Scroll World, which corresponded to nearly twenty days in the outside world. Zhang Ruochen calculated that today was the first day of the third month.
On the first day of every month, Ancient God Mountain opened to the Sacred Inheritance Disciples.
Whether out of curiosity about Ancient God Mountain or to investigate the Earth Cauldron Altar, Zhang Ruochen had to venture there.
Zhang Ruochen stepped out of the Scroll World and returned to Purple Cloud Spirit Mountain.
“Black Lord, no more fire, please… don’t add any more… no… I’m about to be boiled alive…”
From outside the room came the wailing voices of Xun Hualiu and Mu Jiji.
“Creak.”
Zhang Ruochen pushed open the door and walked out. In the courtyard stood two one-zhang-tall triangular bronze cauldrons. Inside the cauldrons were various medicinal herbs and beast blood, emitting a strong, pungent, fishy smell.
Xun Hualiu and Mu Jiji were soaking in the boiling cauldrons, their screams growing louder and louder.
Xiao Hei had set up two flame arrays beneath the cauldrons and was continuously adding fire-attributed spirit crystals into the arrays, making the flames surge more intensely.
The two bronze cauldrons had already turned red-hot, showing just how terrifying the temperature inside was.
Xiao Hei stood upright, his two paws clasped behind his back, pacing around the two cauldrons. He snorted coldly, “After daily physical training, you must temper your bodies with medicinal blood to maximize the results of your cultivation. No pain, no gain.”
“Black Lord, I can’t… take it anymore…”
From the left cauldron came Mu Jiji’s agonized voice.
Xiao Hei glared and said, “You have to endure it, even if you can’t. Don’t you two know how lucky you are? The medicinal blood in these cauldrons is what the Dragon Clan uses to nurture their young. Apart from the Dragon Clan, only I, the Emperor, know the formula.”
“Of course, a few of the herbs and beast blood types are too precious, so I didn’t add them. So, the medicinal blood you’re using only has about twenty to thirty percent of the potency of the Dragon Clan’s formula. With your cultivation at the First Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm, if you can’t even handle twenty to thirty percent potency, aren’t you just useless?”
“Using the Dragon Clan’s secret medicinal blood to temper your bodies not only purges impurities but also strengthens your skin, blood, bones, and sinews. Don’t think it’s just about reaching the Second Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm; breaking through to the Third Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm in a short time is also possible.”
Zhang Ruochen walked to the base of the two cauldrons and asked, “Is the medicinal blood you prepared for them really the Dragon Clan’s formula for nurturing their young?”
“Of course.”
Knowing that Zhang Ruochen had already left the Scroll World, Xiao Hei showed no surprise. He raised his head and said, “When I, the Emperor, act, how could it be ordinary? Their physiques are too poor; they need strong medicine to truly grow.”
“Using Dragon Clan medicinal blood to temper their bodies, even if they don’t reach the level of Dragon Clan young, will at least make their physical bodies several times stronger than other cultivators at the same realm. Of course, this is also tempering their will. If they can’t get past this hurdle, no matter how many resources you give them, they’ll never become strong.”
About an hour later, the medicinal blood in the cauldrons had boiled dry. Xiao Hei finally released Xun Hualiu and Mu Jiji from the cauldrons.
Their bodies were covered in a thick layer of black, bloody mud, making them look like two dried-up human husks.
“Stop playing dead! Today is the day Ancient God Mountain opens. If you miss it, you’ll have to wait until next month,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Crack!”
“Crack!”
Xun Hualiu and Mu Jiji immediately broke free from the black, bloody mud, leaping up with vigorous energy, and then landed with two loud thuds.
Compared to twenty days ago, the two seemed reborn, exuding a powerful aura like fierce beasts. A faint golden light appeared on their skin, and they were not far from the Second Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm, “Refining Skin into Gold.”
“Black Lord’s methods are truly formidable. Although every training session tortures one to death, after tempering the body with medicinal blood, all injuries heal, and the physical strength clearly increases by a large margin,” Mu Jiji said.
Although Mu Jiji was still quite fat, Zhang Ruochen could clearly see that he had lost a significant amount of weight compared to before.
Xun Hualiu looked at his own arms, extremely excited, his face flushed with joy. “Black Lord is amazing! He’s going to train me, Xun Hualiu, into a peerless expert. How could a mere Pang Long be my match?”
Xun Hualiu picked up Xiao Hei and planted a series of wild kisses on him.
With a loud bang, Xiao Hei swatted Xun Hualiu flying over ten zhang away with a single paw, saying disdainfully, “Stay away from me, the Emperor. With your current physique, you’re still a million miles away from being a peerless expert.”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head with a smile and said, “You two, change your clothes quickly. It’s time to set out.”
Xun Hualiu and Mu Jiji changed into the green Daoist robes of Sacred Inheritance Disciples and, together with Zhang Ruochen, headed toward Ancient God Mountain.
The first day of each month was a very important day. The Sacred Inheritance Disciples, who rarely showed themselves, would mostly gather at the foot of Ancient God Mountain, turning the usually quiet mountain into a bustling, lively place.
Arriving at the mountain gate of Ancient God Mountain, Zhang Ruochen was slightly startled by the scene before him. All around were Sacred Inheritance Disciples in green Daoist robes, a vast, dark sea of them. The weakest among them was at the First Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
It was worth noting that any single Sacred Inheritance Disciple, when outside, was a top-tier expert.
With so many Sacred Inheritance Disciples gathered together, they could simply roll over and, in less than an hour, turn a Saintly clan into a deathly ruin with no survivors.
Among the three, only Mu Jiji had previously ventured into Ancient God Mountain and had some understanding of it.
Mu Jiji said, “Actually, on previous first days, there weren’t this many people. The main reason is that the Sword Dao tournament is about to be held. Almost all the Sacred Inheritance Disciples who were training outside have returned to the sect.”
“Additionally, some Sacred Inheritance Disciples who were in seclusion have stopped cultivating and started coming out. First, they are adjusting themselves, trying to reach their peak state before the Sword Dao tournament. Second, they want to scout out their competitors in advance and formulate counter-strategies.”