Chapter 934: Cultivation Advances Again
Zhang Ruochen entered the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and sat down by the shore of a turquoise lake. He took out the Azure Dragon Spike, holding it in both palms, preparing to begin refining the dragon soul.
“Chi chi.”
Zhang Ruochen infused sacred qi into the Azure Dragon Spike through his hands.
“Roar!”
The nineteen-jointed bone spike emitted a cyan radiance, condensing into a dragon shadow dozens of zhang long. It seemed to come alive, coiling and winding through the air, letting out a low, rumbling dragon roar.
“Such a powerful dragon soul. If I refine it, my cultivation should also advance by a significant margin. Perhaps I can even break through to the peak of the Second-Step Half-Saint ahead of schedule.”
Zhang Ruochen’s hands formed into claws, gripping the Azure Dragon Spike tightly to prevent it from escaping.
“Whoosh!”
The Abyssal Ancient Sword flew out, transforming into a black sword light. It slashed out, striking the center of the Azure Dragon Spike.
With a crack, a fissure appeared on the spike’s surface.
The dragon soul inside the Azure Dragon Spike sensed the threat and erupted with a surge of immense power, shaking off Zhang Ruochen’s hands and flying away.
“Could it be that there really is a Saint-level dragon soul inside the Azure Dragon Spike?”
Zhang Ruochen was secretly startled. He watched the Azure Dragon Spike fly toward the horizon, flexing his painfully aching fingers. Then, he stood up.
The dragon soul that Blood Dragon Prince had refined into his body was merely a low-level Half-Saint dragon soul.
The gap between a Half-Saint dragon soul and a Saint-level dragon soul was like the gap between a Half-Saint and a Saint—one on the ground, the other in the heavens, utterly beyond description.
Most importantly, a Saint-level dragon soul possessed partial intelligence. It could automatically absorb the world’s spiritual energy, gathering power inside the Azure Dragon Spike to unleash tremendous force.
“Whoosh!”
Zhang Ruochen controlled the Abyssal Ancient Sword, dragging out thousands of sword qi as it flew out again. It quickly caught up to the Azure Dragon Spike and struck it thirteen times in succession, attacking relentlessly.
With each sword strike, several more cracks appeared on the Azure Dragon Spike.
When the thirteenth sword fell, a loud bang was heard. The Azure Dragon Spike shattered, and pieces of dragon bone the size of fists flew in all directions.
“Roar!”
A cyan dragon soul emerged, over seventy zhang long. It coiled in the void, staring down at Zhang Ruochen below, and said, “Human, thank you for releasing me. As repayment for your kindness, I have decided to seize your physical body.”
The dragon soul began to mobilize the world’s spiritual energy, drawing it into its form. The originally faint dragon soul body grew increasingly solid.
At the same time, a vast aura erupted, darkening the sky with clouds, summoning thunder and lightning, and whipping up a furious wind.
Zhang Ruochen stood on the ground, looking quite calm. “Just relying on a mere dragon soul to try and seize my physical body—isn’t that a bit too wishful thinking?”
“Even if my strength is far from my prime, dealing with a Second-Step Half-Saint human is more than enough.”
The dragon soul dove down, extending two massive dragon claws toward Zhang Ruochen’s head.
The two claws crackled with dense lightning, forming two spheres of electricity ten zhang in diameter, trapping Zhang Ruochen’s body at the center.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head slightly and murmured, “Scale birth, dragon transformation.”
“Whoosh!”
A golden radiance completely enveloped Zhang Ruochen’s body.
The next moment, from the center of the golden light, an even larger golden divine dragon burst forth, tearing the two electric spheres apart.
The golden giant dragon opened its massive maw and swallowed the cyan dragon soul whole.
It flew a loop through the air, then dove downward. Its body rapidly shrank, and when it landed, it condensed back into a human form.
Now that the dragon soul was swallowed into his belly, the first step was to completely tame and subdue it.
The Saint-level dragon soul was extremely powerful. It rampaged through Zhang Ruochen’s body, trying to break free and escape.
However, Zhang Ruochen possessed the Five Elements Chaos Body. His interior was a sea of chaos. No matter how the dragon soul crashed about, it could not harm him in the slightest.
It took half a month before Zhang Ruochen fully tamed the dragon soul. He spat it out from his mouth, holding it in his left palm.
The originally seventy-zhang-long cyan dragon soul had shrunk to only half a foot. Yet, the immense aura emanating from it was still palpable.
“To cultivate the tenth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, I must first fuse the dragon soul into my left arm and the elephant soul into my right arm.”
A ball of crimson flame surged from Zhang Ruochen’s left palm, enveloping the cyan dragon soul. Gradually, the dragon soul merged into his left arm.
Of course, this was only a preliminary fusion.
To truly refine the dragon soul, it had to completely integrate with the bones, muscles, meridians, and blood of Zhang Ruochen’s left arm.
This step was also the most difficult.
But once successful, Zhang Ruochen’s left arm would transform into a dragon arm, multiplying its strength several times over.
“Bang!”
Zhang Ruochen’s left arm could not withstand the immense power of a Saint-level dragon soul. Blood lines appeared, and it shattered, turning into a bloody mess.
The first fusion failed.
A piercing pain shot from the wound on his arm into his brain, causing beads of sweat as large as beans to roll down Zhang Ruochen’s face.
Zhang Ruochen gritted his teeth and did not give up. After the wound on his arm healed, he immediately attempted a second fusion.
“Bang!”
The second attempt also failed. His arm shattered again, and even his meridians and bones nearly snapped, leaving it in a gruesome state.
The fusion process was extremely perilous. With the slightest misstep, Zhang Ruochen’s left arm could be ruined.
Then came the third, fourth, fifth attempts…
Each time he failed, after the wound healed, Zhang Ruochen’s left arm grew tougher. Finally, on the twelfth attempt, he succeeded.
“Chi chi!”
Zhang Ruochen clenched his five fingers. All the pores on his left arm opened wide, frantically absorbing the world’s spiritual energy.
Because the absorption was so rapid, it formed a massive vortex of spiritual energy.
Zhang Ruochen kicked off the ground, launching himself upward. He flew to a height of a hundred zhang, then plunged downward even faster.
He pressed his left palm toward the ground.
The earth immediately caved in with a thunderous roar, forming a palm-print pit over two hundred meters in diameter.
Around the pit, soil piled up into small hills.
Zhang Ruochen withdrew his power and landed on the ground. He looked at his palm and said, “I haven’t even mastered the tenth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm yet, and I can already unleash such power. Once I succeed, won’t it be even more formidable?”
Zhang Ruochen grew even more eager to master the tenth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm.
Then, he checked his cultivation and sensed that the sacred qi within him surged like ten thousand dragons galloping. He had indeed reached the peak of the Second-Step Half-Saint.
As soon as he obtained a Third-Rank Saint Yuan Pill, he could attempt to break through to the Third-Step Half-Saint. At that point, his combat power would reach new heights.
In the following days, Zhang Ruochen went to a cultivation city within the Scroll World. He personally lectured the first-generation disciples of the Bright Sect.
Not only that, but he also tailored top-tier cultivation techniques to each disciple based on their unique physiques.
Having read countless texts, the techniques he imparted were naturally of the highest caliber, at least Ghost-grade Upper-Rank.
Some of the more talented disciples even received King-grade techniques.
Once their cultivation reached the Fish-Dragon Realm, they could switch to these new techniques.
Receiving such first-rate cultivation methods greatly ignited their enthusiasm for training. Everyone was eager to break through to the Fish-Dragon Realm as quickly as possible.
After finishing all this, Zhang Ruochen exited the Scroll World and reappeared on Xiao Hei’s back.
He put away the Cosmic Divine Wood Map and asked, “Xiao Hei, how much longer until we reach the Blood God Sect’s territory?”
“We should arrive before nightfall.”
After flying for eight days and eight nights straight, even Xiao Hei was exhausted, speaking with a weak voice.
“There’s still some time.”
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged and took out a booklet from his Space Ring.
This booklet had been given to him by Murong Yue. It contained all the information about Blood Dragon Prince.
Since Zhang Ruochen had decided to disguise himself as Blood Dragon Prince and infiltrate the Blood God Sect, he naturally had to memorize everything in the booklet.
“Blood Dragon Prince, sixty-eight years old, named Gu Linfeng. Vicious and cunning, cruel by nature, lustful…”
After reading the contents, Zhang Ruochen shook his head repeatedly and chuckled. “This Blood Dragon Prince is truly a thorough villain. His only redeeming quality is his powerful physique—a natural prodigy in cultivation.”
Blood Dragon Prince, at the Ninth Change of Fish-Dragon, could unleash combat power comparable to a First-Step Half-Saint, proving he was even more formidable than a Sacred Body.
If he hadn’t been so lazy and indulgent, his cultivation would certainly be far beyond what it was now.
Zhang Ruochen released a burst of sacred qi from his palm, crushing the booklet into powder and scattering it into the air.
Upon reaching the outskirts of the Blood God Sect’s territory, Zhang Ruochen had Xiao Hei land in a forest.
Xiao Hei’s eyes rolled slyly. “Zhang Ruochen, I just thought of something. With Blood Dragon Prince’s cultivation, there’s no way he could have fled from Yuan Mansion to the Blood God Sect in just eight days. If the Blood God Sect investigates, they’ll definitely find a flaw.”
“There won’t be any flaws.”
Zhang Ruochen took out a scroll of sacred edict and held it in his hand. “Blood Dragon Prince had a sacred edict personally bestowed by Sea Nether Dharma King. With the power of that edict, he could have escaped to the Blood God Sect within eight days.”
The scroll in Zhang Ruochen’s hand was that very sacred edict.
However, the sacred power within it had long been exhausted.
Carrying the sacred edict, Zhang Ruochen headed straight for the Blood God Sect’s territory, moving at top speed.
The Blood God Sect was nothing like the Liangyi Sect. When Zhang Ruochen had infiltrated the Liangyi Sect, no matter how dangerous it got, at least Taiyi Ancestor was secretly helping him. Moreover, the Liangyi Sect was a righteous sect, not overly perilous.
The Blood God Sect was different. It was a gathering place for demons and heretics, and no one could help him there. One misstep could lead to utter ruin.
Thus, Zhang Ruochen was especially cautious this time.
Before stepping into the Blood God Sect’s territory, he first inflicted heavy injuries on himself, disguising it as the result of prolonged, desperate travel worsening his wounds. (To be continued.)