# Chapter 335: Five Elements Chaos Body
The next two chapters contain quite a lot of exposition, serving as a summary of all the foreshadowing from the previous dozens of chapters. Readers may wish to read them slowly.
……
Another ten days passed, yet Zhang Ruochen still had not awakened.
On the contrary, due to the massive loss of blood, his face had become extremely pale, and a layer of deathly gray covered the skin all over his body.
Within Zhang Ruochen's body, his life force was rapidly draining away, and he could die at any moment.
For ten days, the old monk had not appeared again.
Only Mu Lingxi remained by his side, tightly holding his hands, continuously pouring the sacred qi from her body into his.
At this moment, Mu Lingxi had also collapsed to the ground due to the massive loss of sacred qi. Her pretty face was even paler than Zhang Ruochen's, appearing quite weak.
Yet Mu Lingxi did not let go. If she let go, she feared Zhang Ruochen would die completely and never wake again.
……
On the other side of the volcano.
The old monk sat cross-legged on the ground. Over his originally plain monk's robe, he had draped a glittering Ten Thousand Treasures Kasaya. Golden Buddhist qi flowed throughout his body as he raised both hands above his head, palms facing upward.
Above, blood insects burst apart one after another, turning into blood mist that condensed into two blood pillars. These pierced down through the clouds and connected with his palms.
As he continuously absorbed the blood qi into his body, his withered frame expanded, eventually returning to a fully plump state.
"Bang, bang."
From the sky above, blood insects fell down one after another, piling up into a large heap, all becoming dried corpses.
Mind Technique Buddha Master, wearing spotless white Buddhist robes, stood before the old monk. He clasped his hands together and bowed respectfully: "Master, has your cultivation recovered?"
The old monk looked at his own broad palms, nodded, and stood up, smiling: "Those blood insects have absorbed the blood of at least a hundred Half-Saints. Now, all their blood has converged onto me, allowing me to recover to my peak state."
"Next, we can begin collecting the Divine Corpse in full force. Once the Divine Corpse is refined into a battle corpse, even Empress Chi Yao will have nothing to fear."
Mind Technique Buddha Master's gaze shifted to Zhang Ruochen in the distance, and he said: "Zhang Ruochen killed several Half-Saints of our sect. Why did Master still help him cultivate the Five Elements Chaos Body?"
The old monk turned his gaze toward Zhang Ruochen, who was immersed in the magma, and revealed a knowing smile: "If not for this child appearing at just the right time to help me repel Ghost King Shenchu, I fear I would have died here before you arrived."
Mind Technique Buddha Master immediately knelt on one knee, speaking with trepidation: "Disciple received Master's sacred will and immediately led the sect's experts to rush to the Underworld for rescue. However, I encountered a Ghost King along the way. While dueling with her, I suffered severe injuries, thus arriving late. Please investigate, Master."
"Hurry and rise. I am not blaming you."
The old monk smiled benevolently, helping Mind Technique Buddha Master up, and said: "Regardless, I do owe Zhang Ruochen a great favor. If I do not repay this favor, there will be a flaw in my sacred dao heart, and I will never be able to cross that final step."
He added: "Of course, if he cannot survive this trial and dies here, then I will no longer need to repay this favor."
Mind Technique Buddha Master finally understood his master's intention.
If Zhang Ruochen successfully cultivated the Five Elements Chaos Body and survived, then his master would have repaid the favor, allowing his sacred dao heart to reach a state of perfection.
If Zhang Ruochen could not survive and died in the sea of magma, then his master's heart would have no regrets, and there would be no need to repay the favor.
"If this child does not die, he will surely become a great enemy of our sect in the future," Mind Technique Buddha Master said solemnly.
The old monk said meaningfully: "Not necessarily. If he grows up, the one with the biggest headache will certainly not be us."
"Does Master refer to that Empress in the Central Imperial City?" Mind Technique Buddha Master said with understanding.
The old monk said: "That Empress is an extremely proud figure. She would never order his capture without reason, unless this child's existence could threaten her throne, or even her life. In that case, I naturally want to lend him a hand."
Mind Technique Buddha Master stared at Zhang Ruochen and said: "However, it seems he may not survive this trial... Eh..."
Before Mind Technique Buddha Master could finish his words, a faint five-colored light began to emanate from the sea of magma.
Moreover, the light grew increasingly intense, enveloping most of the volcano.
Zhang Ruochen's life force, which had been extremely weak, now began to grow stronger and stronger. His physical body seemed to transform into five-colored divine stone, emitting black, white, gold, cyan, and red light.
The entire world became chaotic, as if returning to the beginning of creation.
The old monk's gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen, revealing an expression of disbelief, and he said: "This child's willpower is truly astonishing. He actually managed to survive and successfully cultivate the Five Elements Chaos Body. His talent can be called the number one in the Kunlun Realm since the Middle Ages."
"Boom!"
Zhang Ruochen flew up from the magma, transforming into a five-colored stream of light that shot into the sky. He arced through the air, descended, and landed on the ground not far from the old monk and Mind Technique Buddha Master.
Although he had been unconscious earlier, his spiritual power had remained quite active, allowing him to hear the conversation between the old monk and Mind Technique Buddha Master.
Zhang Ruochen's eyes emitted a five-colored chaotic light as he stared at the old monk, laughing self-deprecatingly: "So it turns out that you, senior, are actually the leader of the Death Zen Sect, the famous Death Zen Ancestor."
The old monk smiled slightly: "Indeed, it is this humble monk."
Then the old monk added: "Congratulations, benefactor, on successfully cultivating the Five Elements Chaos Body. From now on, no cultivator of the same realm will be your match in a single move."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fell upon the corpses of the blood insects on the ground, and he immediately thought of those Half-Saints in the Ghost Spirit Valley who had been devoured by the blood insects. His pupils contracted, and he said in a deep voice: "So it was you who raised these blood insects."
The old monk immediately shook his head and said: "No. These blood insects are corpse insects born from the Divine Corpse, originally creatures of the Ghost Spirit Valley. I merely used Death Zen Buddhist techniques to drive them to do things, nothing more."
Zhang Ruochen said: "Driving them to suck the blood of the masses? And then using that blood to restore your own power?"
The old monk remained quite calm, saying: "Human nature is greedy. If they were not coveting the so-called resurrection medicine, why would they come to the Ghost Spirit Valley one after another?"
Zhang Ruochen snorted coldly: "So the rumors about the resurrection medicine were spread by the Death Zen Sect, to lure everyone to the Ghost Spirit Valley to die."
The old monk shook his head again, saying: "Benefactor's thinking is too narrow. Why can't you look at the problem optimistically? From another perspective, what I did was also self-preservation. If I had not lured them to the Ghost Spirit Valley and absorbed their blood, then the one who would have died in the end would certainly have been me. Isn't that right?"
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes, exhaled a long breath, calmed the anger in his heart, and said: "I very much want to know the full story of this entire matter."
The old monk seemed quite patient, speaking unhurriedly: "A year ago, in order to find power to resist Empress Chi Yao, I came alone to the Underworld to search for the Divine Corpse killed by Qiangu Nüdi in ancient times."
"I searched all the way to the Ghost Spirit Valley, where I happened to encounter Ghost King Shenchu, who was preparing to undergo his seventh ghost tribulation."
"If Ghost King Shenchu successfully passed his seventh ghost tribulation, his ghost body would merge with the Divine Corpse, making him an unrivaled supreme ghost emperor."
"Thus, this battle became inevitable."
"However, the Underworld is not like the Kunlun Realm. There is no heavenly earth spiritual qi to mobilize, nor can one replenish the sacred qi consumed within the body. As the battle continued, my power grew weaker and weaker."
"Moreover, the Ghost Spirit Valley was Ghost King Shenchu's territory. He could borrow the divine power from the Divine Corpse to unleash even greater strength."
"With these factors working against me, this battle was naturally quite unfavorable for me. Although I eventually suppressed him, I also became trapped here, unable to escape."
"As the stalemate continued, the one who would die in the end would certainly be me. I naturally was not willing to sit and wait for death, so I had to do my utmost to save myself."
"The first step was naturally to open the passage between the yang and yin realms. Only with the passage open could the undead of the Underworld enter the Kunlun Realm on a large scale, allowing the living beings of the Kunlun Realm to boldly enter the Underworld and come to the Ghost Spirit Valley."
"Therefore, I pulled out the Void Sword that Qiangu Nüdi had used to suppress the Divine Corpse. Using Death Zen Buddhist techniques, I controlled a Wuchang to take the Void Sword out of the Underworld."
"Once the Void Sword left the Underworld, the seal between the yin and yang realms began to loosen, eventually disappearing completely."
"The second step was naturally to have the followers of the Death Zen Sect spread the rumors about the resurrection medicine, luring everyone here."
"This was a crucial step. Without their blood, even if I defeated Ghost King Shenchu, I would have no way to continue collecting the Divine Corpse."
Zhang Ruochen was already trying hard to control his emotions, but he still could not suppress the anger in his heart, saying: "So it was you who personally opened the passage between the yin and yang realms, releasing billions of yin soldiers and ghost generals into the Kunlun Realm. Do you know what kind of disaster this will cause?"
The old monk still had a smile on his face, saying: "Why must you be so angry? Even if I had not pulled out the Void Sword, once Ghost King Shenchu successfully passed his seventh ghost tribulation, he would have been able to pull out the Void Sword himself and open the passage between the yin and yang realms. Either way, the outcome was already destined."
"After a hundred thousand years, the seal left by Qiangu Nüdi was already very fragile."
"Zhang Ruochen, this is the trend of the times. It cannot be stopped by you, nor can it be stopped by me."
"However, with my power, I could push this trend forward more quickly and make some changes favorable to myself."
"As for you, you are too weak. Before the great trend, you are like a drop of water in a great river, swept downstream by the current, unable to change anything."
"Power—no matter where or when, only by possessing absolute and powerful strength can one accomplish something meaningful. Otherwise, any great principles you speak can only be told to yourself."
With everything connected, Zhang Ruochen finally understood the entire chain of cause and effect.
Death Zen Ancestor was indeed a selfish person. To save his own life, he was willing to sacrifice the lives of countless humans. But from his perspective, he had not done anything wrong.
After all, a person cannot simply wait for death.