Chapter 831: Space Rules
The space here was quite fragile and also extremely dangerous.
Yet, precisely because of this, it had become an excellent place to comprehend Space Rules.
As long as he could comprehend Space Rules, Zhang Ruochen would have more than a fifty percent chance of crossing the fragmented space above the magma ocean and reaching the black volcano at its center.
A pair of golden dragon wings spread out from Zhang Ruochen's back. He mobilized Speed Rules, merging them into the wings, then stepped onto a black stone, using the recoil force to leap forward.
With five consecutive steps across the magma surface, Zhang Ruochen's feet landed on a black reef about twenty zhang from the shore.
Though it was called a reef, it was actually scorching hot and harder than black iron.
All around the reef were Space Rifts, like enormous black mouths gaping wide. Looking at them from afar was enough to make one's heart tremble.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged on top of the reef, releasing his Space Domain and Spiritual Power to envelop one of the Space Rifts within the Space Domain.
At the same time, two Divine Marks appeared in his eyes.
Before Zhang Ruochen's eyes, dense Sacred Dao Rules appeared, interwoven like thousands of silk threads. Only the location of the Space Rift remained a black void.
With the Divine Mark Eyes, Zhang Ruochen's speed in comprehending Sacred Dao Rules became extremely fast.
Because all kinds of Sacred Dao Rules were presented right before his eyes; he only needed to copy them.
"Hua!"
Zhang Ruochen's Martial Soul rushed out from the top of his head, hovering in midair.
Within the Martial Soul, there were a total of seventeen Sacred Dao Rules. The thickest among them ran from the top of the Martial Soul's head all the way down to its feet.
That was the rule of the Sword Dao, one of the seventy-two Supreme Sacred Daos, and also the only Supreme Sacred Dao Zhang Ruochen had comprehended so far.
One day passed. Two more Sacred Dao Rules appeared in Zhang Ruochen's Martial Soul: the Fire Dao Rule and the Wind Dao Rule, both belonging to the Three Thousand Great Daos.
After observing for three consecutive days, Zhang Ruochen entered the Scroll World to go into seclusion, spending all his time on enlightenment.
Two months later, when Zhang Ruochen emerged from the Scroll World again, the total number of Sacred Dao Rules in his Martial Soul had reached thirty-nine.
This included one Supreme Sacred Dao, five Great Daos, and thirty-three Lesser Daos.
His Martial Soul had become more solid, and the aura it emitted was quite powerful.
The strength of Zhang Ruochen's Martial Soul was now no weaker than that of a First-Rank Half-Saint. It could mobilize the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi within a radius of several hundred li and convert it into his own power.
After all, an ordinary Fish-Dragon Ninth Change cultivator only needed to comprehend twelve Sacred Dao Rules to attempt breaking through to the Half-Saint realm.
The Sacred Dao Rules contained in Zhang Ruochen's Martial Soul were already several times greater than theirs.
Two months of seclusion in the Scroll World only amounted to about six or seven days in the outside world. In total, only about ten days had passed externally.
"No wonder Space Rules are one of the Nine Eternal Daos. They are indeed not so easy to comprehend."
Zhang Ruochen possessed the Space-Time Divine Martial Mark, had drunk the Great Saint Heavenly Connection Tea, opened the Divine Mark Eyes, and had the assistance of this fragmented space. He had all the advantages of time, place, and unity.
Yet even so, he had only deepened his understanding of the Sacred Dao, without actually touching upon Space Rules.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze sharpened as he looked deeper into the magma ocean. About thirty zhang away, there was another relatively larger reef.
That reef was shaped very much like a human hand, farther from the shore, surrounded by more Space Rifts, and the fluctuations of space power were more active.
The more active the spatial fluctuations, the greater the help they would provide him.
"There are four landing points. If I carefully control my movement technique, I should be able to reach there."
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath, waited for the spatial fluctuations to become relatively stable, then quickly dashed forward, changing his form five times in succession.
By the time he stabilized himself, he had finally landed on that reef.
"Chi chi."
Because Zhang Ruochen had used his movement technique, some of the Saint Qi inside his body had leaked out, shaking the space around the reef and causing it to shatter, creating over a dozen fine cracks.
The surrounding space was like a broken eggshell, and Zhang Ruochen was inside the shell.
At this moment, if the space shattered and destroyed the reef beneath his feet, Zhang Ruochen would surely fall into the magma ocean. Worse, his body could be torn apart by the space itself.
Zhang Ruochen pushed out with both hands, fully deploying his Space Domain to stabilize the surrounding space, finally managing to close the shattered space again.
"Hoo."
Zhang Ruochen let out a long breath. "That was too close. Fortunately, I managed to hold the space together... Since I could hold the space, my control over it must have improved considerably."
Thinking this, Zhang Ruochen's confidence surged. He sat cross-legged on the reef, devoting himself entirely to observing the Space Rules.
In the magma ocean, a scorching evil wind would occasionally blow, churning the boiling magma into waves several meters high.
No matter how dangerous the external conditions were, Zhang Ruochen remained calm, as if he had become one with the reef.
At first, Mu Lingxi stood on the shore, alert to the surroundings to prevent anyone from harming Zhang Ruochen.
But as time passed and no danger appeared, she also began to cultivate.
An ice phoenix hovered at the center of her Qi Sea.
As her technique circulated, the residual Divine Power above the magma ocean, like wisps of mist, converged toward her brow, continuously flowing into her Qi Sea and into the ice phoenix's body.
In ten days, two Divine Marks condensed on the ice phoenix's body. The ice phoenix's volume also doubled, emitting astonishing cold energy.
Adding the Divine Mark she had previously condensed by refining Divine Blood, Mu Lingxi now had three Divine Marks within her body.
Moreover, the ice phoenix continued to absorb Divine Power, condensing a fourth Divine Mark.
...
For half a month straight, Zhang Ruochen sat motionless on the reef, his Divine Mark Eyes alone observing the Space Rules between Heaven and Earth, comprehending their mysteries.
At that moment, Zhang Ruochen slowly raised one hand, pressing it toward a Space Rift several dozen zhang away. Then, he moved it to the right, and the Space Rift slowly shifted to the right as well.
It must be known that before this, even though Zhang Ruochen could create Space Rifts, they could only appear in fixed positions. He had no way to move them.
That was why the power of Space Rifts had been quite limited in the past.
Then, Zhang Ruochen brought his hands together, and that Space Rift began to slowly close, finally restoring itself to complete space.
Zhang Ruochen continuously used space power, his control over space growing stronger and stronger.
At the same time, a Space Rule slowly condensed within his Martial Soul, becoming thicker and thicker.
Even the Sword Dao Rule, one of the seventy-two Supreme Sacred Daos, was only as thick as a little finger in his Martial Soul. But the Space Rule was as thick as a wrist, and it was still growing.
The thicker the rule, the greater its potential and the more powerful the might it could unleash.
The dozens of Lesser Dao Rules Zhang Ruochen had cultivated were thinner than hair, like spider webs entwined inside the Martial Soul, incomparable to the Sword Dao Rule and the Space Rule.
As the Space Rule continued to perfect itself, Zhang Ruochen's Martial Soul grew stronger and stronger, emitting a vast aura, as if he were the controller of Heaven and Earth.
A "chi chi" sound also came from within Zhang Ruochen's body, as if it were about to break through a critical point.
This was a sign that his Martial Soul was about to transform into a Sacred Soul, and his cultivation was about to break through to the Half-Saint realm.
Zhang Ruochen snapped out of his selfless cultivation state and immediately withdrew all the Saint Qi in his body back into his Qi Sea, suppressing his realm.
He had not yet comprehended Time Rules. He absolutely could not break through to the Half-Saint realm.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen's accumulation in the Fish-Dragon Realm was still far from sufficient. He had only comprehended forty Sacred Dao Rules, which was still a big gap compared to top-tier talents.
Geniuses at the level of the Nine Realm Sons had generally comprehended close to a hundred Sacred Dao Rules, or even more than a hundred.
Zhang Ruochen had only been comprehending Sacred Dao Rules for a short time, so naturally, he could not compare with them yet.
Of course, being able to comprehend Space Rules, one of the Nine Eternal Daos, was already a tremendous achievement.
With this single rule, he could overwhelm ten thousand other Daos.
Zhang Ruochen stood up, carefully sensing everything around him. Then, he rapidly moved his steps and returned to the shore, landing beside Mu Lingxi.
The magma ocean emitted scorching waves of heat, enough to melt iron, but when the heat waves reached Mu Lingxi, they were neutralized by a cold aura.
The black stone beneath her had cooled down, even forming a layer of white ice.
Suddenly, Mu Lingxi's eyes opened, and she let out a deep breath. "After the phoenix bloodline awakened, I discovered I could absorb the residual Divine Power here to condense Divine Marks."
Zhang Ruochen was slightly surprised. "How many Divine Marks have you condensed in total?"
"Six," Mu Lingxi said.
It must be known that even the Realm Sons, after drinking the Divine Spring, had only condensed five or six Divine Marks. Mu Lingxi, relying on her own power, had condensed six Divine Marks, already comparable to the Realm Sons.
Mu Lingxi's brows furrowed slightly. "However, I have also reached my limit. If I don't break through to the Half-Saint realm and continue absorbing Divine Power, my body might not be able to withstand the force and could eventually burst apart."
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment. "The residual Divine Power here is extremely precious to you. If you miss this opportunity, you might never encounter such a fortune again."
After discussing it, they decided that Mu Lingxi would enter the Scroll World to break through to the Half-Saint realm.
Zhang Ruochen remained on the shore of the magma ocean, continuing to consolidate his Space Rules.