Chapter 710: Fish-Dragon Seventh Transformation
The Half-Saint light was an extremely pure form of energy. Once absorbed into the meridians, it automatically transformed into Saint Qi.
As the technique circulated, Zhang Ruochen's blood, bones, and internal organs also absorbed the Half-Saint light, continuously refining and strengthening the power of his physical body.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a peculiar radiance surged toward Zhang Ruochen's mind, transforming into a vast flood of memories and knowledge, like a tidal wave that threatened to completely engulf his consciousness.
"This is... Qi Hong's memories and knowledge."
A look of delight appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face.
When a Half-Saint dies, the memories within their Saint Soul actually dissipate in an extremely short time.
The reason Qi Hong's memories and knowledge appeared in Zhang Ruochen's mind was that, because Qi Hong had just died, Zhang Ruochen had taken away the Half-Saint light, thus preserving the memories and knowledge.
Other cultivators, even if they refined the Half-Saint light, could never obtain the Half-Saint's knowledge and memories.
Zhang Ruochen was different. He cultivated the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture*, and among the thirty-six meridians he had opened, there was one Qi meridian called the "Soul Meridian."
It was precisely because he possessed the Soul Meridian that, when Zhang Ruochen refined the Half-Saint light, Qi Hong's knowledge and memories surged into his mind through this meridian.
Martial artists capable of opening the Soul Meridian were extremely rare. Even Zhang Ruochen in his previous life had not achieved it.
Qi Hong had lived for over a hundred years, and his memories contained many valuable things. His knowledge was also quite precious, including insights into cultivation, as well as his understanding of the Sacred Dao and the Sword Dao.
Of course, the vast majority of that immense memory was useless dross. If Zhang Ruochen absorbed it all, it would not only be unhelpful but also bring great harm.
Therefore, Zhang Ruochen used his powerful spiritual power to temporarily seal away that mass of light containing memories and knowledge.
He planned to wait until he left this Middle Ages Ruin before taking time to digest Qi Hong's knowledge and probe the useful information within his memories.
Over the next seven days, Zhang Ruochen absorbed most of the Half-Saint light, finally opening the fourth Saint Meridian, the "Yang Wei Saint Meridian," and breaking through to the Fish-Dragon Seventh Transformation in one go.
With this, all four Saint Meridians leading to his limbs were fully opened.
His cultivation base surged forward by a significant margin.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged on the ground, clearly sensing the four Saint Meridians converging together, rushing straight toward the Qi Sea in his brow, like four pillars propping up the Qi Sea.
"Whoosh——"
The four Saint Meridians activated simultaneously, generating a powerful suction force.
In just three breaths, the four Saint Meridians absorbed all the remaining Half-Saint light from the Wish-Fulfilling Treasure Vase into his body. That energy circulated through his body for one full cycle and quickly transformed into his own Saint Qi.
"The Fish-Dragon Seventh Transformation is indeed a threshold. Once broken through, the Saint Qi within the body will be more than ten times greater than at the Fish-Dragon Sixth Transformation."
With the intensity of Saint Qi in Zhang Ruochen's body, he could maintain his transformed appearance for half a year without running out of Saint Qi.
In other words, he no longer had to worry about insufficient Saint Qi leading to exposure of his identity. Moreover, because his cultivation had increased and his Saint Qi was abundant, Zhang Ruochen's control over the Formless and Traceless Thirty-Six Transformations became even more refined and perfect.
The Fish-Dragon Seventh Transformation, Eighth Transformation, and Ninth Transformation—each one was a threshold for Sacred Dao cultivators.
The Fish-Dragon Seventh Transformation allowed the Saint Meridians to connect through the limbs, with Saint Qi flowing through both legs and arms, greatly increasing the cultivator's speed and making the use of Saint Qi much easier.
Furthermore, upon reaching this realm, the Saint Qi within the cultivator's body increased dramatically, allowing them to fully mobilize Saint Qi and unleash the complete power of a Sacred Artifact.
In comparison, the Saint Qi within a Fish-Dragon Sixth Transformation cultivator was quite thin and could not bring out the full power of a Sacred Artifact.
The Fish-Dragon Eighth Transformation was another threshold. The cultivator would open the final Saint Meridian, the "Chong Ling Saint Body." At that point, all the Saint Qi in the body would merge together, forming a unified whole. The cultivator's strength would then advance by leaps and bounds.
The Fish-Dragon Ninth Transformation allowed the cultivation of a "Lapis Lazuli Treasure Body." Once this body was achieved, it brought endless benefits to cultivators of ordinary talent. Just in terms of lifespan, it could increase it by fifty years.
Of course, the Lapis Lazuli Treasure Body did not provide much of a boost to Saint Bodies or cultivators with special physiques.
"With my current cultivation, if I go all out, I should be able to contend with a First-Rank Half-Saint." A faint smile appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face.
The realm of Half-Saint was profound and mysterious, filled with infinite secrets.
Even among First-Rank Half-Saints, there were differences in strength, and the gaps were quite significant. Some veteran First-Rank Half-Saints were much more powerful than those who had just broken through.
It was worth noting that even a Saint Body, upon reaching the Half-Saint realm, could only cross one or two minor realms to contend with other Half-Saints. This showed that the power gaps in the Half-Saint realm were quite pronounced, and the hierarchy of strength became even more distinct.
Zhang Ruochen's current cultivation was only enough to challenge weaker First-Rank Half-Saints. If he encountered a veteran First-Rank Half-Saint, he would have to flee immediately.
Refining Qi Hong's Half-Saint light not only allowed Zhang Ruochen's cultivation to break through to the middle stage of the Fish-Dragon Seventh Transformation but also significantly boosted his spiritual power, reaching the peak of the forty-fourth rank.
Before Zhang Ruochen could even feel happy, a thunderous voice from the Corpse River transformed into an aggressive sound wave that reached his ears: "I've finally found you, Shengshu Cainü. Do you still intend to keep hiding?"
Qi Yun stood by the riverbank, mobilizing all his Saint Qi, gathering it at his fingertip, and pointing toward the center of the Corpse River, where the Heaven-Climbing Boat was located.
"Swish!"
With his finger as the center, a ripple of Saint Qi a hundred zhang in diameter spread outward. From the center of that Saint Qi ripple, a pillar of sword energy as thick as a bowl shot out.
Qi Yun was executing the Ten Meridian Sword Wave.
Even though it was only a Spirit-Level Upper-Rank martial technique, when unleashed by a Half-Saint, it possessed terrifying power.
As the sword wave flew past, it formed a column of air, pushing the water of the Corpse River to both sides.
Qi Yun was not certain that Shengshu Cainü was hiding in the center of the Corpse River; he only sensed fluctuations of Saint Qi from that location.
Therefore, this strike was purely a probing attack.
Zhang Ruochen understood clearly that it must have been because the Saint Qi fluctuations caused by his breakthrough to the Fish-Dragon Seventh Transformation were too great and had leaked out, allowing the pursuing enemy to discover them.
"Central Meridian Sword Wave."
Zhang Ruochen extended his left hand, gathering all his Saint Qi into his middle finger, and then struck out with a finger.
"Boom!"
The two sword waves collided, creating a powerful opposing force that lifted the water of the entire Corpse River, sending waves over ten meters high crashing into the air.
"Also the Ten Meridian Sword Wave."
Qi Yun frowned, finding it hard to understand how Shengshu Cainü could have such a formidable expert by her side.
From that single exchange, it was clear that the opponent's cultivation was not inferior to his own.
Could it be that the experts sent by the imperial court to rescue Shengshu Cainü had already arrived?
Since they had been discovered, there was no point in continuing to hide. Zhang Ruochen stood up, waved his hand, and put away the Meteor Invisibility Cloak.
Immediately, the azure Heaven-Climbing Boat appeared at the center of the Corpse River's surface.
Shengshu Cainü walked out from the small boat and stood at the bow, still holding a folding fan in her hand, appearing quite calm and composed. She glanced at Qi Yun on the shore and said, "Qi Yun, you actually dared to attack me. It seems the Qi Clan is truly planning to rebel. If I manage to leave the Fallen God Tomb Forest, I will have your entire Qi Clan exterminated and your family line wiped out."
Qi Yun let out a cold laugh. "The Qi Clan is a Medieval Aristocratic Clan, with clan members spread across the Eastern Domain. Even the Empress would not move against us lightly. Do you think you can destroy my clan with just one word? Aren't you being a bit too arrogant?"
Shengshu Cainü smiled faintly. "In the eyes of Her Majesty the Empress, the Qi Clan does not carry that much weight. Don't be so self-important."
"You..."
Anger flared in Qi Yun's eyes, and his fists clenched tightly. Immediately, a pillar of Saint Qi shot up from the top of his head, condensing into a cloud of Saint Qi that dispersed the Yin Sha Qi lingering in the surroundings.
"Do you want to fight me? I'm afraid you're still far from qualified." Shengshu Cainü said.
Xiao Hei chuckled and transmitted his voice to Zhang Ruochen. "This Shengshu Cainü is really putting on a brave front. She's clearly lost all her cultivation, yet she acts so domineering. I think that Qi Yun is already a bit intimidated by her."
Zhang Ruochen also transmitted his voice. "Qi Yun is, after all, a Half-Saint. If Shengshu Cainü can scare him off, that would be a good thing. Otherwise, we might have a fierce battle on our hands."
Just then, a massive orb of light rolled rapidly toward them from the distance.
The orb was half white and half black, as huge as a small mountain, radiating an extremely powerful aura. Wherever it rolled, all the tombstones collapsed, forming a massive trench.
From within the black-and-white orb, an old, hoarse voice rang out: "Lady Cainü, Qi Yun is still young and indeed unworthy to cross swords with you. I wonder if this old man is qualified?"
The black-and-white orb split open from the middle, unfolding into a Taiji Seal ten li in diameter, slowly rotating on the ground.
An old man stood at the center of the Taiji Seal. His hair and body were split, half black and half white.
"Qi Qiankun."
Shengshu Cainü spoke the old man's name.
Seeing Qi Qiankun's arrival, Qi Yun's face lit up with joy, and he finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Zhang Ruochen's expression, however, turned extremely grave.
The name Qi Qiankun was like thunder in the entire Eastern Domain. He was the head of the Liangyi Sect's Demon Suppression Courtyard, having lived for over three hundred years, and his cultivation had reached the Saint Realm.
With such a formidable figure arriving, if Shengshu Cainü were at her peak, she could contend with him. But now, she had lost all her cultivation.
Her identity as a Spiritual Power Saint might scare off Qi Yun, but it would absolutely not intimidate Qi Qiankun.