Chapter 733: Divine Dragon Blood
Ao Xinyan continued, "As far as I know, in the history of the Half-Dragon Human Clan, the physically strongest clansman managed to refine only two drops of Divine Dragon Blood in the Fish-Dragon Realm. When he tried to refine a third drop, he couldn't withstand the immense power of the Divine Dragon Blood and ultimately exploded to death."
During the Four Martial Realms, achieving the Supreme Extreme Realm each time triggered a resonance from the gods, leaving faint divine marks within the body. This effectively gave the cultivator an extra realm compared to others.
Breaking through the Four Martial Realms led to the Fish-Dragon Realm.
In the Fish-Dragon Realm, even more miracles could occur. Some could transform into dragons and soar to the heavens, while others could only remain as fish, sinking to the bottom, never to rise again.
For instance, cultivators in the Fish-Dragon Realm could refine divine blood and condense divine seals within their bodies.
Divine seals formed from the divine power in divine blood were heavier and purer, comparable to the marks left by the gods' resonance.
Clearly, Ouyang Huan, Xue Wuye, and Gai Tianjiao had all refined divine blood and condensed divine seals within their bodies. Otherwise, their strength wouldn't be so formidable.
Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly and said, "The forces passed down from the Middle Ages indeed have many advantages. If you can refine just one drop of Divine Dragon Blood, your physique could probably grow to rival the Four Symbols Treasure Body."
Ao Xinyan's physique was already comparable to a Saint Body. Now that she had refined a drop of Dragon Emperor Blood, her physique had undoubtedly advanced further.
If she could refine another drop of Divine Dragon Blood, achieving a physique on par with the Four Symbols Treasure Body would not be difficult.
However, Ao Xinyan appeared somewhat shy. She lowered her head, gently stroking her hair with her fingers, and said, "The divine might contained in Divine Dragon Blood is extremely powerful. With my physique and willpower, I might not be able to refine it. In fact, I might be suppressed and killed by the divine power of the Divine Dragon Blood, ending up with my divine form completely annihilated."
Divine blood was indeed a supreme treasure, but it was also quite dangerous.
If a cultivator lacked sufficient strength and tried to refine it, they would die without a burial place.
Ao Xinyan suddenly thought of something and quickly asked, "Next month at the Realm Son Banquet, will the leader really duel Ouyang Huan?"
A faint smile appeared in Zhang Ruochen's calm eyes, both serene and expectant. "I've already thoroughly offended the Demon Sect. Even if I don't duel Ouyang Huan, he'll find a way to force my hand. Since I can't avoid it in the end, why not fight?"
Ao Xinyan looked worried and said, "The Demon Sect's foundation is terrifying. Among the younger generation of the Demon Sect, at least four people have successfully refined a drop of divine blood."
"It's said that the Demon Son Ouyang Huan is the most terrifying. He has already refined three drops of divine blood, condensed three divine seals within his body, and reached the peak of the Ninth Transformation of the Fish-Dragon Realm."
"The reason he hasn't broken through to the Half-Saint Realm is that he's still accumulating power, aiming to refine a fourth drop of divine blood. Moreover, there are rumors that Ouyang Huan also reached the Supreme Extreme Realm during the Four Martial Realms."
Hearing this news, Zhang Ruochen was indeed somewhat stirred and felt considerable pressure.
Of course, he would never back down because of this. Instead, his battle intent grew stronger.
Although refining a drop of divine blood was comparable to triggering a resonance from the gods once, there were still differences and gaps between the two.
Zhang Ruochen had triggered the gods' resonance four times, relying entirely on his own efforts and struggles, which brought endless benefits. This could not be compared to refining four drops of divine blood and condensing four divine seals.
Zhang Ruochen looked at Ao Xinyan again and asked, "You said at least four people among the younger generation of the Demon Sect have refined a drop of divine blood. Who are they?"
Now that many Demon Sect experts wanted to kill Zhang Ruochen, learning more about them would certainly be beneficial.
Ao Xinyan was not only the proud daughter of the Eastern Region Holy Court but also the princess of the Half-Dragon Human Clan. Naturally, she possessed information that ordinary people couldn't access.
Asking her was definitely the right move.
Ao Xinyan held nothing back from Zhang Ruochen and said, "The Demon Sect is divided into nine palaces. The ones who appeared today—Shou Shu, She Er, and Long San—are just top experts from one of the nine palaces, the Ten Thousand Beasts Palace."
"Besides them, there are three other formidable figures whose strength is not inferior to the Three Beasts."
"The first is Chu He, a formation genius from the Divine Formation Palace."
"This man possesses a Saint Body and is already quite powerful on his own, but his mastery of formations is even higher."
"It's said that if he deploys his formations, he can rival Shou Shu. However, Chu He is obsessed with formation research and didn't come to the Eastern Region for this Sword Dao Conference."
"The second expert is A Le, a deadly swordsman from the Five Kill Palace."
"This A Le is also a very peculiar figure. Not only does he cultivate at an astonishing speed, but his cultivation method is also quite strange—the deeper he falls into a deathly situation, the faster his cultivation breaks through."
"This time, A Le has followed Ouyang Huan to the Liangyi Sect to participate in the Sword Discussion Conference. He's a highly dangerous individual. Leader, you must be careful of him."
A peculiar light flickered in Zhang Ruochen's eyes, and he softly murmured, "A Le."
Mentioning this name stirred some memories in Zhang Ruochen.
Ao Xinyan didn't notice the change in Zhang Ruochen's expression and continued, "The third expert who has refined a drop of divine blood is said to be a holy maiden from the Holy Maiden Palace, but her identity is very mysterious. Even our Half-Dragon Human Clan has only managed to find out that such a person exists, but we don't know which specific holy maiden it is."
Zhang Ruochen now had a rough idea.
It must be said that anyone who could refine a drop of divine blood was undoubtedly extraordinary and not an ordinary person.
Could that holy maiden who refined a drop of divine blood be Qi Feiyu?
Zhang Ruochen had fought Qi Feiyu before but had never seen her go all out, so he didn't know her true strength.
The people Ao Xinyan mentioned were only the top-tier experts. Besides them, there were certainly many second-tier figures.
In any case, the Realm Son Banquet would inevitably involve a fierce battle.
With Zhang Ruochen's strength alone, he couldn't handle all the Demon Sect's experts. He needed to find one or two allies.
The only person Zhang Ruochen could think of now was Gai Tianjiao.
In the entire Liangyi Sect, probably only Zhang Ruochen and Gai Tianjiao could compete with the Demon Sect's top experts. Other cultivators, even those with Saint Bodies, would have no chance against existences like Shou Shu and She Er.
Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze to Ao Xinyan and found her eyes fixed on him as well.
Their eyes met, and Ao Xinyan's fair face flushed even redder, spreading down to her neck. She quickly looked away.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Don't you want the Divine Dragon Bone back?"
"Of course I do..." Ao Xinyan answered without hesitation.
Then she lowered her head and said softly, "Leader, the Divine Dragon Bone is useless to you. You can't refine it. If you give it to me, I can give you anything you want."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze grew deep as he carefully studied Ao Xinyan, thinking about how to negotiate with her.
As the princess of the Half-Dragon Human Clan, Ao Xinyan controlled countless resources. She was practically a little rich woman. If he could exchange the Divine Dragon Bone for some cultivation resources that couldn't be bought on the market, it would be a good deal.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen staring at her without speaking, Ao Xinyan's heart raced even faster. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. She bit her red lips and reminded him, "Leader, you already have a fiancée..."
Zhang Ruochen found it both amusing and exasperating. He knew Ao Xinyan had misunderstood, thinking he was using the Divine Dragon Bone to make a move on her.
"One piece of Divine Dragon Bone for five drops of Divine Dragon Blood. That's a fair deal, isn't it?" Zhang Ruochen quickly stated his price, afraid she would keep overthinking.
Hearing Zhang Ruochen's offer, a flicker of disappointment passed through Ao Xinyan's beautiful eyes. She somewhat regretted reminding him earlier.
If Zhang Ruochen had really used the Divine Dragon Bone as a betrothal gift to marry her from the Half-Dragon Human Clan, Ao Xinyan would definitely have agreed, and the elders of the Half-Dragon Human Clan would not have objected.
A man as outstanding as Zhang Ruochen having multiple wives and concubines was perfectly normal, wasn't it?
Take Xue Wuye, for example. He had countless beauties around him, and those proud daughters of heaven were only sword attendants, without any formal status as wives or concubines.
Yet, many exceptional women were still willing to follow him.
In Ao Xinyan's heart, Zhang Ruochen was in no way inferior to Xue Wuye.
Although Ao Xinyan was somewhat regretful, she quickly adjusted her emotions and said solemnly, "Five drops of Divine Dragon Blood is too much. It exceeds what the Half-Dragon Human Clan can bear. Leader, given our friendship, can't you lower the price a bit?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled and shook his head. "The value of the Divine Dragon Bone is definitely ten times that of Divine Dragon Blood. Asking for just five drops is already a very low price."
"This matter is of great importance. I must discuss it with the clan's elders before making a decision," Ao Xinyan said.
Then, Ao Xinyan immediately left.
The next day, an elder from the Half-Dragon Human Clan accompanied Ao Xinyan to negotiate with Zhang Ruochen again. More precisely, they negotiated with Lin Yue.
Because Ao Xinyan had not revealed Zhang Ruochen's identity.
In the end, the Half-Dragon Human Clan offered three drops of Divine Dragon Blood and twenty drops of Dragon Emperor Blood in exchange for the Divine Dragon Bone.
Although this price was much lower than Zhang Ruochen had expected, it was still within an acceptable range, so he readily agreed.
After all, the Divine Dragon Bone had been taken from Long San, and Zhang Ruochen had originally planned to return it to Ao Xinyan to help her cultivate the Divine Dragon Body. Getting three drops of Divine Dragon Blood and twenty drops of Dragon Emperor Blood was already an extra gain.