Chapter 881: Zhongyuan Commandery
Li Min added, "The list has only a hundred spots, representing the hundred most powerful Half-Saints below the Saint realm. In other words, anyone who makes it onto the Half-Saint List is no ordinary person—they possess at least one special physique and have the extraordinary talent to fight across cultivation levels."
"The Young Hall Master of the Bright Hall, Kong Hongbi, ranks seventh on the Half-Saint List. Now do you realize what a terrifying figure you've offended?" The Devouring Elephant Rabbit lifted its head, its face puffed up roundly, and said, "Isn't he just number one? What's so scary about that?"
Li Min shot it a glare and said, "The top six are all over a hundred years old—how can they compare to Kong Hongbi? Have you heard the saying, 'No saint by a hundred years'?"
"No." Li Min was already furious. This rabbit knew nothing; it was simply too ignorant.
"How old is Kong Hongbi now?"
"No idea." The Devouring Elephant Rabbit shook its head.
Li Min gave the rabbit a contemptuous look and said, "Sixty-eight years old. Barring any accidents, Kong Hongbi will definitely break through to the Saint realm before he turns a hundred."
"Kong Hongbi's talent is no less than that of the Nine Realm Sons. If he were twenty years younger, he would undoubtedly have become one of them."
Xiao Hei's body had grown to over ten zhang in length, transforming into a plump giant beast. Above it floated a Meteor Invisibility Cloak, which could conceal the aura they emitted.
"Whoosh."
Zhang Ruochen slowly opened his eyes, gazing ahead, and let out a breath.
After the past two days of recuperation, his injuries had only recovered by ten to twenty percent. Reaching his peak state would still take a long time.
"If only I had a Withered Wood Pill."
Now, Zhang Ruochen finally realized how crucial it was to possess a top-tier healing pill. It was practically like having an extra life.
If he had a Withered Wood Pill, his injuries would likely have healed by now.
The Withered Wood Pill was a ninth-grade healing pill with miraculous effects. As long as the cultivator still had a breath left, taking the pill would allow them to recover quickly.
Of course, the price of a Withered Wood Pill was also astonishingly high, not something an ordinary person could afford.
Zhang Ruochen made a decision: from now on, he must keep a few Withered Wood Pills on hand, just in case.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen had stopped healing, Li Min immediately approached and asked, "Zhang Ruochen, where are we fleeing to?"
Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment and asked in return, "Where is the Nether King Sword Tomb?"
Hearing this question, Li Min panicked, shaking her head like a rattle-drum, and said, "Without the permission of the Prison Suppression Ancient Clan, I can't take you there."
"I am one of the Six Sword Bearers. Do I need anyone's permission to visit the Nether King Sword Tomb? Since you're a member of the Prison Suppression Ancient Clan's outer family, you should know how high a Sword Bearer's status is," Zhang Ruochen said seriously.
Li Min hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "Actually, I've only been to the Nether King Sword Tomb once, when the old ancestor took me to celebrate the clan leader's five-hundredth birthday. And that time, because the old ancestor flew too fast, I can't remember the exact location of the Nether King Sword Tomb."
"You must at least know the general area, right?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Of course, it's in Zhongyuan Commandery."
Then, Li Min lowered her head, fiddling with her fingers, and stammered, "Zhongyuan Commandery is the largest commandery in Yuan Prefecture, ten times bigger than Qingli Commandery. Finding the exact location of the Nether King Sword Tomb… it's probably… probably very difficult."
Qingli Commandery was already vast and expansive, spanning over a hundred thousand li from north to south.
Zhongyuan Commandery was ten times larger than Qingli Commandery. Finding a reclusive ancient clan in such a vast territory was naturally as difficult as reaching the heavens.
Zhang Ruochen nodded and said, "Since the Nether King Sword Tomb is in Zhongyuan Commandery, then we'll go to Zhongyuan Commandery now."
The Prison Suppression Ancient Clan was also an extremely ancient lineage. Since it was entrenched in Yuan Prefecture, its influence must have penetrated every corner of the prefecture.
Zhang Ruochen believed that as soon as he entered Zhongyuan Commandery and let out some news, the Prison Suppression Ancient Clan would find him immediately.
In fact, Zhang Ruochen suspected that among the cultivators hiding in the shadows the night before, when he fought the seven kings of the Ministry of War, there might have been members of the Prison Suppression Ancient Clan.
Since the Prison Suppression Ancient Clan was afraid of offending the imperial court and wouldn't contact him proactively, he would have to take the initiative.
If, even then, the Prison Suppression Ancient Clan still dared not receive him, then Zhang Ruochen would have no reason to continue heading to the Nether King Sword Tomb.
Li Min immediately shook her head again, very nervously, and said, "No, we absolutely cannot go to Zhongyuan Commandery. It must be very dangerous there right now."
"What's wrong?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Li Min said, "Do you remember I once told you that Wan Zhaoyi came to Yuan Prefecture for another purpose?"
"Purpose?" Zhang Ruochen said.
"Because recently, experts from the Undying Blood Clan have been appearing in Zhongyuan Commandery one after another, likely planning a major operation. At the same time, experts from the imperial court have also rushed over to suppress the Undying Blood Clan. Wan Zhaoyi is one of them."
Li Min added, "Now, with so many imperial court experts gathered in Zhongyuan Commandery, if you recklessly go there, aren't you walking right into a trap?"
The appearance of Undying Blood Clan experts in Zhongyuan Commandery was certainly no coincidence.
Zhang Ruochen immediately thought of the legend about the "Nether King."
Could it be that the Undying Blood Clan really intended to release the Nether King?
"Xiao Hei, head to Zhongyuan Commandery." Zhang Ruochen said solemnly.
Li Min was very puzzled. Why was Zhang Ruochen so stubborn? Wasn't Zhongyuan Commandery a dragon's pool and tiger's den? And the Prison Suppression Ancient Clan didn't even want to see him—why did he have to go?
Just as Li Min was about to voice her doubts, she saw a scroll fly out from between Zhang Ruochen's brows. Then, Zhang Ruochen leaped up and flew into the scroll, vanishing without a trace.
Zhang Ruochen entered the Cosmic Divine Wood Map naturally to heal his injuries as quickly as possible and return to his peak state, so he could face the severe challenges ahead.
He had a premonition that a bloody storm was about to erupt in Yuan Prefecture, and who knew how many innocent people would die as a result.
Zhongyuan Commandery, at the center of the storm, would undoubtedly be the most fiercely contested place.
In the scroll world, after spending a month, Zhang Ruochen's injuries finally healed completely, and his cultivation level stabilized at the initial stage of the first-order Half-Saint.
"Logically, a first-order Half-Saint controlling the Sacred Soul should be able to mobilize the world's spiritual energy within a radius of five hundred li and convert it into their own power."
Zhang Ruochen released his Sacred Soul, mobilizing the world's spiritual energy to its maximum extent, only to find that the spiritual energy within a radius of eight hundred li resonated simultaneously, converging toward him wildly and condensing in his palm.
Only a fourth-order Half-Saint could mobilize the world's spiritual energy within a radius of eight hundred li. This showed that although Zhang Ruochen was still a first-order Half-Saint, his abilities far exceeded his cultivation level.
Moreover, the more world's spiritual energy a Half-Saint mobilized, the more powerful the Sacred Soul Domain they could manifest.
"Dragon-Elephant Divine Furnace."
Zhang Ruochen pushed his palm forward, unleashing a palm strike. A burst of extremely strong and fierce power erupted, like a volcanic eruption, surging forward.
In the void before him, a massive crimson handprint condensed, dozens of zhang in size, emitting a rumbling sound, dyeing the sky the color of flames.
Then, Zhang Ruochen withdrew his palm, roughly assessing his own power: "This palm strike should be comparable to the full-force attack of a cultivator at the initial stage of the sixth-order Half-Saint."
Back then, Zhang Ruochen's ability to fight the kings of the Ministry of War was largely due to the power of the Purifying Divine Flame, which boosted his combat strength several times over.
Additionally, he shattered the Dragon Pearl, using the power of the Sacred Dragon to forcibly activate the Sky-Soaring Sword and unleash the Thousand Ripple Annihilation Force, thereby killing Golden Blade King and Shadow Eagle King.
Now, at the initial stage of the first-order Half-Saint, without using the power of the Purifying Divine Flame or space power, being able to contend with someone at the initial stage of the sixth-order Half-Saint was already very satisfying to Zhang Ruochen.
"Since I've reached the Half-Saint realm, I can now begin cultivating the sixth layer of the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture, Yuanming Wenju Tian."
When cultivators reach different cultivation levels, the way sacred qi circulates through the meridians is completely different.
Without a corresponding Half-Saint cultivation method, even if a cultivator reaches the Half-Saint realm, they would remain stuck at the first-order Half-Saint forever, unable to break through to the second-order.
Of course, there was another scenario.
If the cultivation method a cultivator practiced was of a lower grade and could only reach the Half-Saint realm, then upon reaching Half-Saint, they would have no choice but to cultivate a different Half-Saint method.
However, cultivating a different Half-Saint method would certainly be incompatible with the sacred qi in their body, resulting in extremely slow cultivation speed and an inability to achieve smooth and effortless circulation of sacred qi.
The more advanced the cultivation method, the faster the sacred qi circulated, and the more efficient the cultivation, even allowing for some subtle and mysterious variations.
If Zhang Ruochen hadn't cultivated the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture but instead used the methods of Yunwu Commandery, he would probably never have reached his current cultivation level, no matter how long he cultivated. At the same level, his combat power would never have been so formidable.
Thus, an advanced cultivation method was crucial.
The Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture was the secret national classic of the Holy Bright Central Empire, accessible only to each generation's emperor. Even if it wasn't one of the Six Great Wonders, it was hardly inferior to them.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes, and visualized the records of the sixth layer of the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture in his mind, beginning to circulate the sacred qi in his body.
After the sacred qi completed nine major cycles through his meridians along a completely different route, Zhang Ruochen gradually stopped.
He could clearly feel that the circulation speed of the sacred qi in his body had increased by about one time, and the rate at which he absorbed the world's spiritual energy had become faster.
Having completed the initial cultivation of the sixth-layer method, Zhang Ruochen didn't continue to stay in the scroll world.
By the time Zhang Ruochen came out, Xiao Hei, along with the Devouring Elephant Rabbit and Li Min, had already entered the territory of Zhongyuan Commandery.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen finally emerge from the scroll world, Li Min immediately asked, "Zhang Ruochen, what do we do next?"
Zhang Ruochen asked, "The Ministry of War's main camp in Yuan Prefecture should be in Zhongyuan Commandery, right?"
Li Min nodded and said, "Zhongyuan Commandery is the center of Yuan Prefecture and the most resource-rich area. The Ministry of War's main camp is naturally stationed here."
"Good. Take me there now," Zhang Ruochen said.
Li Min was startled and said, "You… you want to go to the Ministry of War's main camp? Don't you know that place is teeming with experts, with a standing elite army of three million… Are you planning to surrender?"
"Of course not."
Zhang Ruochen said calmly, "Since we've come to Zhongyuan Commandery, we have to make some moves. Otherwise, how will the Prison Suppression Ancient Clan know that I've arrived?" (To be continued.)