Chapter 947: The Sixth Aperture
After spending three consecutive days, Zhang Ruochen completely refined the Third-Rank Saint Yuan Pill. Without encountering any bottlenecks, he successfully broke through to the Third-Step Half-Saint.
In truth, his ability to break through so smoothly was also inseparably linked to his possession of the Five Elements Chaos Body and the large amount of Divine Blood he had refined.
For other Half-Saints, even with the aid of Saint Yuan Pills, breaking through a realm was not this easy.
After breaking through the realm, Zhang Ruochen's Sacred Soul became even stronger, allowing him to mobilize the world's spiritual energy within a thousand miles for his own use.
"With my current cultivation level, even if I encounter a High-Rank Half-Saint, I can fight them to my heart's content."
Zhang Ruochen raised his left hand, mobilizing the Saint Qi in his Qi Sea, channeling it through his Saint Meridians to his palm.
On his palm, five major apertures opened in sequence, beginning to frantically absorb the world's spiritual energy, causing Zhang Ruochen's palm to become increasingly heavy, as if it had transformed into a five-finger mountain.
From within his arm, a series of low dragon roars sounded, and even a golden dragon shadow emerged, enveloping his palm.
One could imagine that if this palm strike were unleashed, even a Seventh-Step Half-Saint might not be able to withstand it.
In the end, Zhang Ruochen did not release the palm force. Instead, he closed the five apertures, retracting his power, and muttered to himself, "Hai Ming Fa Wang was right. Cultivating the Seven Apertures Blood Nether Palm indeed brings me many benefits."
"The power absorbed by the five apertures is enough to increase the might of my Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm by twenty percent. If I can open the sixth aperture, I might be able to increase it by thirty percent."
With five apertures open, the power of the Seven Apertures Blood Nether Palm alone could rival a Quasi-Sacred Art.
If the sixth aperture were opened, the power of the Seven Apertures Blood Nether Palm might be comparable to a true Sacred Art.
For a Half-Saint to master a Sacred Art was a tremendous achievement, enough to become a trump card killing move.
After all, even among High-Rank Half-Saints, very few could master a Sacred Art to perfection.
"Hai Ming Fa Wang said that the Undying Blood Clan has powerful blood energy within their bodies, allowing them to open six or even seven apertures. The limit for humans is only to break through five apertures."
"However, I have cultivated the Five Elements Chaos Body, and my physical endurance far exceeds that of ordinary people. If I add the assistance of Divine Blood, I might be able to break through the human limit."
Without further hesitation, Zhang Ruochen prepared to attempt it.
So, he took out ten drops of Divine Blood and placed them before him, ready for any need.
First, he lifted the first drop of Divine Blood, wrapping it in Saint Qi. Then, using the Saint Qi, he absorbed the power contained in the Divine Blood into his palms.
In the past, Zhang Ruochen would have injected the power of the Divine Blood into the meridians of his arms, circulating it through his entire body, and finally fully absorbing the Divine Blood.
This time, it was different. He absorbed the power of the Divine Blood into his palms but sealed it within the blood vessels of his arms, directly doubling the blood energy contained in his arms.
"Not enough." Zhang Ruochen began to absorb the second drop of Divine Blood, still sealing the blood energy in his arms.
The blood energy in his arms reached three times the usual amount.
At this point, Zhang Ruochen's arms were already quite swollen, with blood-red meridian lines emerging on the surface.
Fortunately, his physical body was strong; his skin, meridians, and muscles had all been tempered through countless refinements, allowing him to withstand that power.
"Continue." Next, Zhang Ruochen refined three more drops of Divine Blood in succession, causing the blood energy in his arms to reach six times the usual amount.
Finally, the endurance of his arms reached its limit.
Zhang Ruochen recalled the mantra of the Seven Apertures Blood Nether Palm in his mind, driving the blood energy in his arms according to the circulation route described in the mantra, charging it toward his palms.
"Boom!"
From the centers of his palms, two powerful streams of blood energy palm force surged out, blasting apart a large area of trees in a mountain range dozens of zhang away. The sky was filled with wood shavings and falling leaves.
Zhang Ruochen raised his arms, looking at his palms, and let out a loud laugh: "Haha! Success! I've successfully broken through the sixth aperture!"
His left hand had refined a Saint-level dragon soul, making it stronger, so when he opened the sixth aperture, it did not suffer too much damage.
His right hand, however, was different.
Zhang Ruochen's right hand was now a bloody mess. If the blood energy had been any more violent, it might have directly exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
From this, one could see how difficult it was to open the sixth aperture. Even the Five Elements Chaos Body could barely withstand it.
Of course, a little injury was nothing. As long as the sixth aperture was opened, it was a great cause for celebration.
"Now, when I unleash the Seven Apertures Blood Nether Palm, I wonder if its power can clash head-on with an Eighth-Step Half-Saint? With the support of the six apertures, the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm I strike should also be comparable to the power of a Sacred Art," Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
Breaking through the sixth aperture was by no means the limit.
Zhang Ruochen felt that if he pushed himself, he might even have a chance to open the seventh aperture.
The prerequisite was that he must first find a Saint-level elephant soul and refine it into his right arm. Otherwise, with the current strength of his right arm, it would certainly not withstand the impact of opening the seventh aperture.
In the following time, Zhang Ruochen began to consolidate his newly broken realm while continuing to cultivate his palm techniques and sword techniques, constantly improving his strength.
In the outside world, only two days had passed, but Zhang Ruochen's strength had advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching a new height.
Zhang Ruochen went to Kongcheng Island to report to Hai Ming Fa Wang, then set off alone, flying toward the direction of the Endless Abyss.
Before leaving, Hai Ming Fa Wang bestowed upon him a scroll of Sacred Edict.
With this Sacred Edict, if he encountered danger in the Netherword Heavenly Palace, he could activate its power to escape.
...
The Endless Abyss was located deep within the Juegu Snowy Mountains. The climate there was extremely cold, and the geographical environment was quite complex, stretching tens of thousands of li. Without a cultivation level above the Fish-Dragon Realm, it was impossible to reach.
Flying through the air, Zhang Ruochen looked down.
Below, the ground was covered with massive snow-capped mountains, a vast expanse of white, like silver dragons lying on the earth.
Some of these snowy mountains were even higher than his current flying altitude, exuding an ancient and majestic aura that inspired awe.
From time to time, Zhang Ruochen could hear ear-splitting beast roars from within the snowy mountains, shaking the snowflakes in the air.
From this, one could see that there were many ferocious beasts lurking in the Juegu Snowy Mountains, and it was not as peaceful as it appeared on the surface.
Three hundred li away, in the hollow of an eight-thousand-meter-high snowy mountain, two figures stood: a middle-aged woman in black armor and an old man in his sixties.
The middle-aged woman, named Su Bai, was the sixth-ranked Banner Master of the First Battalion of the Netherword Heavenly Palace, with a cultivation level at the Seventh-Step Half-Saint realm.
The old man, named Zhao Shiqi, was nearly two hundred years old and also a Banner Master of the First Battalion of the Netherword Heavenly Palace, ranked slightly higher than Su Bai, at fifth.
Su Bai's face carried a cold expression. "To deal with a Second-Step Half-Saint, the Divine Son actually asked the two of us to act. Isn't that overkill?"
Zhao Shiqi held a white leaf the size of a palm fan in his hand, smiling slightly. "Gu Linfeng's strength is not weak. During the assessment two days ago, it was said that he single-handedly defeated Bai Yu, Ning Guihai, and Yan Kongming. Now, he has become a rising star in the sect, with talent and potential second only to the Divine Son and the Holy Maiden. He absolutely cannot be underestimated."
"Moreover, by using the power of the Blood God Gu, he can even unleash the combat power of a Fifth-Step Half-Saint."
"On top of that, Hai Ming Fa Wang will surely bestow upon him a scroll of Sacred Edict. If he encounters danger, he can use the Sacred Edict's power to escape."
"The Divine Son's intention is to kill this man at all costs, to prevent him from entering the Netherword Heavenly Palace. Calculating this, only the two of us working together can ensure success."
Su Bai clenched her fists, looking somewhat disdainful. "If the Divine Son hadn't offered three drops of Blood God Divine Blood as a reward, I wouldn't bother dealing with such a weak junior."
"If you ask me, what you're really interested in is the Yu Ling Blood Blade that Gu Linfeng took from Yan Kongming, right?" Zhao Shiqi chuckled.
"And you're not interested?" Su Bai retorted.
Zhao Shiqi smiled faintly and did not continue the conversation. Instead, he mobilized his Spiritual Power.
A white Heavenly Eye appeared at the center of his brow, gazing into the distance.
After a moment, Zhao Shiqi withdrew his Heavenly Eye. "He's flown over. Prepare to act. We must finish this quickly. If we can land a sneak attack and kill him in one blow, that would be best."
Zhao Shiqi did not know that Zhang Ruochen's Spiritual Power was also quite formidable. The moment his Heavenly Eye glanced at Zhang Ruochen, Zhang Ruochen immediately sensed it.
"What's going on? Someone is using a Heavenly Eye to observe my movements. Who could it be?" Zhang Ruochen thought to himself with a start.
The opponent's Spiritual Power was even stronger than Zhang Ruochen's, likely having reached the Forty-Seventh Rank. This was definitely a formidable figure.
Why would such a powerful person appear in such a desolate place?
In the Blood God Sect, many evil path experts wanted to eliminate him to seize the Yu Ling Blood Blade. Some also wanted to kill him to reclaim the Banner Master position.
Knowing his situation, Zhang Ruochen naturally had to be cautious.
Zhang Ruochen kept his flying speed unchanged but mobilized his Saint Qi to his arms, ready to strike at any moment.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen felt a powerful surge of cold air appear above his head, rapidly descending.
"Junior, die!"
Su Bai, along with tens of thousands of snowflakes, burst out from the clouds, slashing out with her blade, dragging a blood-red blade aura over a hundred meters long.
This strike was not only as fast as lightning but also immensely powerful.
Even a mountain would be split in two.
However, Zhang Ruochen was already on guard. Just as the blade aura descended, his figure flickered in midair, using the technique of Space Displacement to vanish from the spot. (To be continued.)