Chapter 887: Assassination
Zhang Ruochen continued, "If we truly intend to launch an attack on the Undying Blood Clan, we cannot act rashly. There must be a meticulous plan, and it would be best to join forces with the imperial court to minimize the losses of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan."
Shi Ren nodded and said, "From this perspective, whether we fight or not, the Zhenyu Ancient Clan will inevitably endure a period of pain."
Zhang Ruochen's residence was called North Gazing Mountain.
At the base of North Gazing Mountain lay a spirit vein. Therefore, the mountain was rich in spiritual energy, with one hundred and sixty-seven cave dwellings built upon it. Only honored guests of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan were qualified to enter North Gazing Mountain to cultivate.
The cave dwelling where Zhang Ruochen lived was near the mountaintop, one of the most spiritually abundant. Two stone beasts guarded the entrance, and four maidservants were available for his service.
Inside the cave dwelling, a spirit spring flowed. Defensive formations and spirit-gathering formations were arranged, and spiritual medicines and elixirs were placed within. All in all, Zhang Ruochen was indeed receiving the treatment befitting a Sword Bearer.
"Tomorrow, I will take you to pay respects to the successive patriarchs of the Skyward Sword Lineage."
After saying this, Shi Ren prepared to leave.
"There is something I wish to say, though I am unsure if it is appropriate."
After much deliberation, Zhang Ruochen finally spoke up.
Shi Ren stopped in his tracks, turned around, and glanced at Zhang Ruochen. "Brother Zhang and I have faced life and death together. If you have something to say, speak freely."
"Whoosh—" At that moment, Shi Ren flicked his finger, and a wisp of white sacred energy surged out, activating the defensive formation within the cave dwelling.
This ensured that no one could overhear their conversation.
Zhang Ruochen said, "In the underworld, you should already know that the Sixth Prince of the Undying Blood Clan is my Fourth Senior Brother, both of us having studied under the same master. Once, I inadvertently heard him mention that the Undying Blood Clan has already obtained one of the six sacred swords. However, I am not certain which one they have acquired."
Shi Ren's expression changed drastically. "Is this true?"
The six sacred swords were all held by the six Sword Bearers, each of whom was a Sword Saint. For the Undying Blood Clan to obtain a sacred sword was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
However, if the Undying Blood Clan truly had obtained a sacred sword and infiltrated the Nether King Sword Grave, the harm they could cause would be immeasurable.
It was for this reason that Shi Ren was so shaken.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "I am also aware of the gravity of this matter, which is why I did not speak of it rashly. Of course, this has yet to be confirmed. For now, only you and I know of it, so it is best not to alert the enemy or cause widespread panic." After all, they could not yet verify whether the Undying Blood Clan had truly obtained a sacred sword, nor did they know which one. If the news spread, all six Sword Bearers would likely face suspicion or even rejection from the Zhenyu Ancient Clan. If conflict arose between the Sword Bearers and the Zhenyu Ancient Clan, the ultimate beneficiary would undoubtedly be the Undying Blood Clan.
"At this moment, it is indeed unsuitable to publicize this matter. It must be investigated in secret."
Shi Ren's expression was grave, fully aware of the severity of the situation. He immediately left Zhang Ruochen's cave dwelling, hurrying away.
"Internal strife and external threats—the situation in the Nether King Sword Grave is truly troublesome. And that Nether King, whose life or death is unknown, is also a massive threat."
Zhang Ruochen let out a long sigh. He released Xiao Hei and the Swallowing Elephant Rabbit from the Scroll World, sending them out of the cave dwelling to gather information in the Nether King Sword Grave.
Zhang Ruochen himself sat cross-legged in the cave dwelling, circulating the sixth layer of the *Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture* to absorb the dense spiritual energy of heaven and earth, further consolidating his newly broken-through realm.
No matter the circumstances, one's own strength was always the most important capital.
Having reached the Half-Saint realm, his absorption of spiritual energy had indeed accelerated significantly, but his cultivation speed would slow down.
Even for a Saintly Body, spending ten years to break through a minor realm was quite normal.
Of course, merely reaching the Half-Saint realm was already a tremendous achievement, the pinnacle of one's life.
Those who continued to strive for the Saint realm were either cultivation maniacs with extraordinary talent or descendants of great clans with abundant resources.
In other words, no matter how high your talent, the Half-Saint realm was already your peak. To attempt the Saint realm, it was no longer about talent but about resources.
For example:
Zhang Ruochen's talent was already quite extraordinary—if not the best in the world, then at least in the top three. Yet, if he lacked cultivation resources and progressed step by step, he might only reach the Ninth-Step Half-Saint realm by the age of two hundred, barely able to attempt the Saint realm.
Other cultivators, whose talents were far inferior to Zhang Ruochen's, had even less chance of reaching the Saint realm.
The resources required to nurture a Saint were immense. Even many Saintly clans and sects could only afford to cultivate two or three Saints at most. And whether they could even become Saints remained uncertain.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen had great fortune and was not lacking in cultivation resources, allowing him to take shortcuts and rapidly advance his cultivation.
"From the initial stage of the First-Step Half-Saint to the peak of the First-Step Half-Saint, I can refine Divine Blood to enhance my cultivation."
"Once I reach the peak of the First-Step Half-Saint, I can purchase Sacred Origin Pills to break through the bottleneck."
"From the initial stage of the First-Step Half-Saint to the initial stage of the Second-Step Half-Saint, it should take at least half a year at the fastest. With the assistance of the Cosmic Divine Wood Map, I should be able to break through to the Second-Step Half-Saint within two months."
Zhang Ruochen had a rough plan for his upcoming cultivation.
Then, he took out a drop of Divine Blood, held it between his hands, and slowly began to circulate his technique, absorbing it.
Divine Blood was beneficial not only for cultivators in the Fish-Dragon realm but also for Half-Saints, offering endless advantages.
However, the reserves of Divine Blood in those medieval aristocratic clans were too scarce, so they were reluctant to use it for Half-Saints.
Zhang Ruochen had no such concerns. Since he had a pool of Divine Blood, why not use it all to rapidly elevate his cultivation?
By the latter half of the night, Zhang Ruochen had fully absorbed a drop of Divine Blood into his body. He could feel a significant increase in his physical strength.
Part of the rules within the Divine Blood merged into his Sacred Soul, making the Sacred Dao rules within it thicker and stronger.
Having absorbed just one drop of Divine Blood, Zhang Ruochen felt a substantial boost in his cultivation.
More importantly, Zhang Ruochen had only absorbed about twenty to thirty percent of the power from that single drop of Divine Blood. The remaining power was stored within his body.
"Practicing the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm should accelerate the absorption of Divine Blood by my body and Sacred Soul."
Zhang Ruochen stood up, channeling his energy, preparing to practice his palm techniques.
Suddenly, at the entrance of the cave dwelling, a blood-red spear pierced through the defensive formation, unleashing a terrifying murderous aura aimed directly at Zhang Ruochen.
"Boom!"
A rolling surge of blood energy rushed in along with the spear.
Vaguely, one could see the spear's wielder—a three-meter-tall Undying Blood Clan member with a pair of fleshy wings on his back, clad in armor, with a cyan face and fangs, an extremely ferocious appearance.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze darkened, and he let out a low roar: "Life Scale, Dragon Transformation."
The ninth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
Zhang Ruochen's palm shimmered with patches of golden dragon scales, transforming into a massive, razor-sharp dragon claw that struck forward.
At the same time, the center of the dragon claw emitted Five Elements Chaos Qi, completely enveloping the claw.
"Boom!"
The golden dragon claw collided with the tip of the spear, unleashing a powerful surge of energy that blasted outward in all directions.
The formation inscriptions within the cave dwelling all lit up, emitting a blinding white light that contained the energy surge.
Zhang Ruochen was forced back over ten zhang before stabilizing himself. Even with the protection of the Five Elements Chaos Qi, his palm throbbed with intense pain.
"Impressive. This must be a peak Sixth-Step Half-Saint expert."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze shifted to the blood cloud not far away. "So the Undying Blood Clan can infiltrate this far. I underestimated your influence within the Zhenyu Ancient Clan. Speak! How many infiltrators do you have?"
The Undying Blood Clan member holding the spear was extremely cold. "Zhang Ruochen, you are trapped in this cave with no chance of escape. Hand over the Skyward Sword, and I will grant you a complete corpse."
"You go after Xiang Zhengfeng's Annihilation Sword, yet you come for my Skyward Sword. Do you think I am a soft persimmon, easy to squeeze?" Zhang Ruochen released his spiritual power to probe outside the cave dwelling.
Soon, he discovered that outside the cave, there were two more extremely powerful Undying Blood Clan members.
However, those two Undying Blood Clan members held formation plates and were operating a formation that completely isolated the space around Zhang Ruochen's cave dwelling.
It was precisely because of the formation's cover that the outside world was unaware of the Undying Blood Clan's assassination attempt on Zhang Ruochen to seize the Skyward Sword.
"At death's door, and still you talk tough."
That Undying Blood Clan member struck again, turning into a blood shadow, charging at Zhang Ruochen with lightning speed.
"Blood God Descends."
As the spear thrust forward, a figure with six pairs of blood wings materialized behind the Undying Blood Clan member. The blood-red spear emitted an icy deathly aura, freezing the entire cave dwelling in ice.
Zhang Ruochen naturally felt immense pressure. He pushed both hands forward, activating his spatial power, and said in a deep voice, "Space Collapse."
"Chi chi!"
The space in front of Zhang Ruochen shattered like broken glass, cracks spreading inward, collapsing into a three-zhang-wide hole.
The collapsing space generated a powerful suction force, sweeping everything around it inward.
"Spatial power?"
The Undying Blood Clan Half-Saint let out a cry of surprise.
However, he was clearly prepared. The moment the space collapsed, he immediately retreated backward.
In the past, if Zhang Ruochen had not comprehended Space Rules or broken through to the Half-Saint realm, he might have let him escape.
But now, Zhang Ruochen had no intention of giving him that chance.
"Trying to escape? Not so easy."
Zhang Ruochen pushed both hands forward. The collapsed space tore open three more cracks, dozens of zhang long, extending to the Undying Blood Clan Half-Saint's position. (To be continued.)