Chapter 859: The Mission
In the Ghost Spirit Valley, both the Devouring Rabbit and the Demon Ape had each received twenty drops of divine blood as a reward. Consequently, they had been in seclusion cultivating within the Scroll World. After a recent period of refining, their cultivation levels had improved considerably.
The Devouring Rabbit broke through to the third rank of Half-Saint, and the Demon Ape also reached the second rank of Half-Saint.
Of course, aside from them, there was another beneficiary: the Divine Demon Rat.
The Divine Demon Rat was originally a formidable ancient relic species. Having received ten drops of divine blood, it had already refined three drops, breaking through to the second rank of Half-Saint.
Moreover, with its strength, crossing two realms in battle within the Half-Saint stage was not difficult. Thus, even against a fourth-rank Half-Saint, the Divine Demon Rat could hold its own.
"Cat Lord, you summoned me. Is there something?"
Having broken through in cultivation, the Divine Demon Rat was somewhat elated. When it saw Xiao Hei, it no longer cowered but instead straightened its back.
Xiao Hei, seeing the Divine Demon Rat's demeanor, felt quite displeased and snorted coldly, "Can't I summon you without a reason?"
The Divine Demon Rat sensed something off in Xiao Hei's tone. Instantly, its heart pounded violently, and a chill surged from the soles of its feet straight to its head.
Based on past experience, the Divine Demon Rat felt a foreboding premonition. It quickly bowed and stepped forward, trembling as it said, "Cat Lord, just say what you need. I'll go through fire and water without hesitation. Whoever frowns is a coward."
Seeing that the Divine Demon Rat was still obedient, Xiao Hei decided not to beat it. He walked over, extended a claw, and placed it on the Divine Demon Rat's shoulder. The rat was startled, shrinking its body and becoming noticeably shorter.
"Why are you so scared? It's not like I'm going to eat you."
Then, Xiao Hei added, "I have a mission for you. Any objections?"
"Are you really sending me through fire and water?"
The Divine Demon Rat's heart trembled, and sweat dripped from its forehead like raindrops.
In its mind, any task assigned by Xiao Hei was bound to be troublesome.
In truth, it was deeply reluctant but didn't know how to resist.
Xiao Hei's round, fluffy face suddenly hardened, turning cold. "How could I bear to send you on such a dangerous mission? Zhang Ruochen, you tell it instead."
Xiao Hei released its claw from the Divine Demon Rat's shoulder, sighed deeply, and stepped back.
Zhang Ruochen's expression was very serious. "Shou Shu, your status in the Demon Sect should be quite high, right?"
Hearing this, the Divine Demon Rat perked up, puffing out its chest. "Of course! I am the boss of the Ten Thousand Beasts Palace, one of the nine palaces of the Demon... cough... Demon Sect. Even those Half-Saint-level old demons show me some respect."
"Of course, now that I've reached the Half-Saint realm, I fear them even less. Only a demonic Saint could suppress me."
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "In that case, I'll be straightforward. I want you to return to the Demon Sect and secretly assist Mu Lingxi."
"Cat Lord, is this the mission? So simple?" The Divine Demon Rat couldn't believe it. This task was as easy as could be.
Xiao Hei bared two sharp fangs and said coldly, "When you return to the Demon Sect, you'd better obey Mu Lingxi's orders. If you try any tricks, I have a hundred ways to deal with you."
Hearing Xiao Hei's threat, the Divine Demon Rat's entire body convulsed, as if struck by lightning, leaving it weak all over.
"How could I dare? Even if you lent me the courage, I wouldn't dare play games. Rest assured, my lords. Although I wouldn't betray the sect, assisting the Saintess is no problem at all. In the sect, anyone who opposes the Saintess, I'll teach them a lesson in the cruelest way." The Divine Demon Rat vowed.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Work for me, and I won't treat you poorly. If you do well, I can even provide you with divine blood."
Hearing the words "divine blood," the Divine Demon Rat's eyes lit up.
It knew well that Zhang Ruochen had obtained a pool of divine blood and was quite generous. Working for him could indeed yield many benefits.
That very day, Zhang Ruochen sent the Divine Demon Rat away.
With its assistance, Mu Lingxi should quickly establish a foothold in the Demon Sect, given the Divine Demon Rat's strength and status within the sect.
"I planted a Great Luo Death Seal inside it. I can cripple its cultivation at any time." Xiao Hei's eyes were sharp.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "The Divine Demon Rat is actually quite clever—cunning, to be precise. But in the end, it's still a rat, unable to escape a cat's claws."
Indeed, everything in this world had its natural predator.
Xiao Hei was already formidable, knowledgeable in all things, yet it had been sealed by Xumi Saint Monk within the Cosmic Divine Wood Map as an artifact spirit, forced to obey Zhang Ruochen, its master.
Zhang Ruochen looked around. "Once we reach the Central Domain, I'll have the Devouring Rabbit and the Demon Ape capture some savage beasts into the Scroll World for training. This world needs to liven up."
Xiao Hei agreed with this view and nodded.
The next day, Han Qiu came to this Flame Mountain and sought out Zhang Ruochen. "Zhang Ruochen, I've decided to stay here and cultivate in seclusion for a while. You don't mind, do you?"
She wore a green Daoist robe, her figure curvaceous, her smile elegant, and her white neck particularly long, exuding a subtle sensuality.
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her and noticed her cultivation had reached the sixth change of the Fish-Dragon Realm.
Even with the aid of Dragon Emperor's blood, breaking through a realm in such a short time was no small feat. After all, only five days had passed in the outside world.
Clearly, Han Qiu understood the value of the Cosmic Divine Wood Map. Cultivating here could yield rapid progress.
Zhang Ruochen smiled. "But I'm about to leave the Liangyi Sect for the Central Domain."
"I'll go with you to the Central Domain."
Though Han Qiu didn't say it outright, Zhang Ruochen understood her meaning: she had decided to follow him and work together.
"Alright." Zhang Ruochen smiled.
Han Qiu remained in the Scroll World to continue refining the Dragon Emperor's blood and enhance her cultivation.
Zhang Ruochen went out alone, withdrew the Cosmic Divine Wood Map into his Qi Sea, and then, holding the token Han Qiu had given him, headed to the top of a spiritual mountain in the Liangyi Sect.
This mountain, over three thousand meters high, was covered with verdant ancient trees. Between the trees, a winding stone staircase led from the base to the summit.
At the summit was a vast white stone platform, surrounded by layered seas of clouds.
About thirteen zhang above the white stone platform floated a semi-transparent light gate, like a curtain of water, shimmering.
That was a wormhole, connecting the Liangyi Sect to the Central Domain.
When Zhang Ruochen arrived at the mountain's summit, over two hundred Liangyi Sect disciples had already gathered beneath the wormhole, all wearing Daoist robes. Among them were outer disciples, inner disciples, and three Saint-Transmitted Disciples at the Fish-Dragon Realm.
More disciples were arriving from various directions.
By noon, over four hundred disciples had gathered at the mountain's summit.
Zhang Ruochen, dressed in an outer disciple's Daoist robe, sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed in meditation. He appeared ordinary, and no one paid him any attention.
Just then, Zhang Ruochen suddenly opened his eyes and looked into the distance.
A streak of white light burst out from the sea of clouds, accompanied by a thunderous dragon roar, and shot rapidly toward the mountain's summit.
The next moment, the white light coalesced into a somewhat aged figure, landing at the center of the white stone platform. It was Yuan Long Half-Saint.
"Yuan Long Half-Saint's cultivation is indeed formidable. He has already reached the fifth rank of Half-Saint." Zhang Ruochen mused.
With his current cultivation, if he were to spar with Yuan Long Half-Saint, he would surely lose. Of course, if Zhang Ruochen chose to flee, Yuan Long Half-Saint couldn't stop him. Even injuring Zhang Ruochen would be no easy task.