Chapter 840: Divine Medicine
Mu Lingxi and Hanxue had already begun transporting the Divine Blood Red Soil. With the Divine Demon Rat helping, the speed of transport became even faster.
Inside the Ghost Spirit Valley, there were also strong practitioners from other forces. No one knew when these people might arrive to seize the resources.
Therefore, they had to move quickly, transporting the vast majority of resources into the Scroll World before those people arrived.
The Seven Star Divine Ling had fully awakened upon entering the Scroll World, transforming into a towering divine vine. The vines were thicker than a millstone, rising from the ground all the way up above the clouds.
Especially at the top of the Divine Ling, the sixth leaf, like a blazing sun, and the seventh leaf, like a dark night moon, hung in the sky like celestial bodies, casting a strange light over the entire world.
Fortunately, this was inside the Scroll World. If it were outside, given Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei's cultivation levels, they probably wouldn't even be able to approach it before being crushed by the power it radiated.
"Sure enough, it's the legendary Seven Star Divine Ling. It must have been planted by Her Majesty the Empress beneath the divine corpse, absorbing divine blood. After millions of years of nurturing, the divine medicine has matured."
"Even in the Middle Ages, the emergence of a single divine medicine would cause earth-shattering tremors, with many saints dying in the struggle to claim it."
Xiao Hei continued, "The seven leaves of the Seven Star Divine Ling—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Phoenix, Black Tortoise, Qilin, Sun, and Moon—each correspond to different medicinal properties."
"As the saying goes, dragon essence and tiger vitality. The first Azure Dragon leaf can replenish essence. The second White Tiger leaf can refine the body."
"Replenishing essence refers to a tremendous boost to spiritual power cultivation. If you could consume the Azure Dragon leaf, reaching the Great Saint realm in spiritual power should not be difficult for you."
"Refining the body is no ordinary body refinement either. It means achieving sainthood through the physical body, becoming a Great Saint through the flesh. In the past, an elder of the Peacock Clan cultivated his physical body to the Great Saint realm, becoming impervious to blades and spears, immune to water and fire, transcending the Five Elements, and surviving three exchanges with a god without dying."
"Of course, with your current cultivation, you simply cannot absorb a divine medicine. Forcibly swallowing it would be no different from seeking death."
"The third and fourth leaves are even more powerful. The Phoenix leaf represents nirvana, meaning resurrection from the dead. The Black Tortoise leaf represents longevity."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fixed on the third Phoenix leaf, his eyes showing excitement. His ten fingers clenched tightly, producing cracking sounds.
Was it truly the legendary resurrection medicine?
Xiao Hei continued, "The fifth Qilin leaf represents fortune. Wearing it on one's body can grant a cultivator unparalleled luck. Of course, I remain skeptical about this point. Even a divine medicine changing a person's fortune seems unlikely."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Then what miraculous powers do the top two divine medicine leaves possess?"
Xiao Hei said, "What I just mentioned is all recorded in ancient texts, and I can't guarantee their accuracy. Moreover, regarding the medicinal properties of the sixth and seventh leaves of the Seven Star Divine Ling, even the ancient texts only contain fragmentary records."
"The only thing that can be certain is that the dew on the sixth and seventh leaves is called Sun Essence and Moon Radiance. They are extremely precious spiritual substances. If you drip a drop of Sun Essence or Moon Radiance onto a sacred medicine, it can elevate the medicine's grade by a significant margin."
The medicinal properties of the fifth, sixth, and seventh leaves of the Seven Star Divine Ling were too mysterious, surpassing ordinary understanding.
In contrast, the first four leaves possessed astonishing medicinal properties and value, truly inspiring fervor and excitement.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze shifted to the root area of the Seven Star Divine Ling, where he saw a green jade stone the size of a human head hanging there.
The roots of the Seven Star Divine Ling tightly coiled around the green jade stone, wrapping it at the center, revealing only some edges and corners.
"What is that?"
Xiao Hei also noticed the green jade stone.
So, it reached out its claws toward the green jade stone.
The vines of the Seven Star Divine Ling suddenly shook violently. A cluster of roots lashed out like whips, unleashing tremendous power to strike at Xiao Hei.
Xiao Hei repelled the roots of the Seven Star Divine Ling and forcibly retrieved the green jade stone.
It held the green jade stone in its claws, fiddling with it for a while without figuring out what it was. Finally, it gave only one evaluation: "It should be a fairly decent treasure."
Zhang Ruochen took the green jade stone and immediately felt a powerful surge of wood-element spiritual energy emanating from it. He then mobilized his spiritual power to probe the internal structure of the green jade stone.
However, he found that the texture of the green jade stone was extremely dense, and even his spiritual power could not penetrate it.
"Its energy aura is somewhat similar to the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood."
Zhang Ruochen did not continue studying it. He temporarily put away the green jade stone and turned his gaze to the third leaf of the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood.
The shape of the third leaf resembled a phoenix flying in midair, completely enveloped in flames, forming a crimson fire cloud.
Zhang Ruochen's expression was extremely serious. "Xiao Hei, go pick the third leaf. I want to try giving it to him to see if it can truly resurrect the dead."
Since Xuanji Sword Saint had already passed away, giving him the Phoenix leaf was like treating a dead horse as if it were still alive—a last-ditch effort. What if a miracle occurred?
Xiao Hei naturally understood Zhang Ruochen's intention. It immediately mobilized its power and plucked the phoenix-like leaf.
Then, between Xiao Hei's two claws, a mass of black flame emerged, briefly refining the Phoenix leaf into a cherry-sized crimson pill.
"Here you go."
Xiao Hei handed the pill to Zhang Ruochen, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said, "This medicine is extremely precious. It may not be able to save a saint whose soul has scattered..."
Before Xiao Hei could finish, Zhang Ruochen took the pill and rushed toward Xuanji Sword Saint's remains.
Zhang Ruochen understood Xiao Hei's meaning well. This resurrection divine medicine might not save a saint whose soul had scattered, but it could certainly revive a cultivator who had just died. Rather than wasting it on Xuanji Sword Saint, it would be better to keep it for himself.
However, Zhang Ruochen didn't think that far ahead. Xuanji Sword Saint had shown him great kindness. Even if there was only a glimmer of hope, he had to try.
Zhang Ruochen placed the crimson pill into Xuanji Sword Saint's mouth. Then came a long wait.
About the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the remains finally began to change.
Threads of crimson flame surged out from every pore of Xuanji Sword Saint's body, forming a massive fire cloud that completely enveloped his remains.
A scorching wave of heat rushed toward Zhang Ruochen, forcing him to step back.
The flames burned fiercely, sometimes contracting, sometimes expanding, as if the remains were breathing.
"It seems there's really a chance."
Xiao Hei's eyes widened, also becoming extremely tense.
Just then, the branches of the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood shook violently. Streams of life energy surged from the leaves, continuously converging toward Xuanji Sword Saint.
"Whoosh!"
The green jade stone that Zhang Ruochen had stored in his bosom was pulled by an invisible force. Uncontrollably, it shot forward like a streak of light.
The next moment, the green jade stone appeared above Xuanji Sword Saint's remains.
Under the heat of the flames, the surface of the green jade stone became covered with dense patterns, extremely similar to the growth rings on the roots of the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood.
"Boom!"
An immensely vast life energy surged from the green jade stone, even more powerful than the life energy emitted by the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood itself.
Zhang Ruochen was slightly startled. He took a withered medicinal leaf from his Space Ring.
The medicinal leaf absorbed the life energy and actually revived, gradually turning emerald green. Roots and new leaves grew visibly before his eyes. Finally, a white medicinal flower even bloomed between the leaves.
"Dead wood springs to life; resurrection from the dead."
Zhang Ruochen could hardly calm his excited heart. Both hands trembled.
If dead wood could return to life, what about a person?
"How is this possible? How could there be a treasure in the world with life energy even denser than the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood? No... I understand, I finally understand..."
Xiao Hei was even more excited than Zhang Ruochen, staring at the green jade stone above Xuanji Sword Saint's remains. "That... that is the crystallization of the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood, containing all the essence power of the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood, representing the origin of divinity."
"What are you talking about?"
Zhang Ruochen truly didn't understand what Xiao Hei was saying. Why was it so excited that it couldn't speak coherently?
Xiao Hei said, "In the Middle Ages, a god cut down the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood and refined it into this green jade stone. In other words, a Sacred Source is the crystallization of a saint's lifelong power, while this green jade stone is the crystallization of all the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood's power. No wonder the roots of the Seven Star Divine Ling were attached to the green jade stone—it was absorbing power from it."
Zhang Ruochen also understood, feeling breathless. He looked again at Xuanji Sword Saint and the green jade stone, his hope growing even stronger.
"Master, you must awaken."
Suddenly, the green jade stone sank downward, entering Xuanji Sword Saint's chest and merging with his body.
Xiao Hei's four claws involuntarily scratched the ground. "The power crystallization of the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood has actually merged with Xuanji Sword Saint's remains. At this rate, Xuanji Sword Saint might truly be reborn against all odds. Moreover, having obtained the inheritance of the Sky-Connecting Divine Wood, once he comes back to life, who knows what heights he will reach. Haha! All these treasures were left by the Empress. She must have left them for me, but instead, that old fellow Xuanji Sword Saint got the benefit."
Just then, Mu Lingxi used her movement technique to rush over, looking quite anxious. "The Demon Ape has sent word that cultivators from the Corpse-Driving Ancient Clan and the Ghost-Raising Ancient Clan have reached the Magma Ocean. They must also know there are many treasures at the bottom of the Magma Ocean and will likely try to seize them."
"They came at just the right time."
Zhang Ruochen let out a long breath and pressed his lips tightly together. "Senior Sister Duanmu, you stay here to watch over Master's remains. Have the Divine Demon Rat and Hanxue continue transporting the Divine Blood Red Soil. I'll go up above to hold them off."