Chapter 975: Great Progress in Cultivation
Zhang Ruochen said calmly, "Wei Longxing's strength is indeed formidable, but compared to the figures on the Half-Saint Ranking, there is still a considerable gap."
Shengshu Cainü had once said that those on the Half-Saint Ranking all possess the power to contend with Saints.
Clearly, Wei Longxing had not yet reached that level.
Wei Longxing's cultivation was indeed only half a step away from becoming a Saint.
However, breaking through that final half-step was no easy task.
It was a major barrier.
Many had paid the price of their lives trying to break through that barrier.
Wei Longxing's strength shocked everyone present. Even those arrogant and unyielding Divine Son candidates repeatedly spoke words of flattery, deliberately currying favor with this future Divine Son.
Zhang Ruochen and his two companions did not go boating on the lake. Instead, they followed the mountain path straight down the mountain.
Returning to Dingqiu Cave Mansion, Ji Shui immediately activated the formation.
The light of the formation sealed the entrance of the cave mansion, turning Dingqiu Cave Mansion into a completely enclosed space.
Sensing something amiss, Zhang Ruochen immediately asked, "What is the master uncle planning to do? Could it be that you have finally decided to cultivate together with your disciple?"
A cold aura emanated from her body, and she said in a frigid tone, "Still trying to put on an act? You'd better confess honestly—how much more are you hiding?"
Gu Linfeng had already been acting abnormally by not attending the Saintess's banquet. Then, he had comprehended the Blood God Diagram and cultivated ten Blood Meridians, becoming the second person in a thousand years in the Blood God Sect.
How could Ji Shui not be suspicious?
"In front of the master uncle, how would the disciple dare to hide even a shred?"
A sinister smile hung on Zhang Ruochen's face, exuding recklessness. He walked behind Ji Shui and reached out his hands, as if to embrace her slender waist.
"Bang!"
A mass of blood energy condensed on Ji Shui's back, striking Zhang Ruochen's chest and sending him flying.
Zhang Ruochen landed several zhang away but was unharmed. He chuckled, "The master grandmaster truly couldn't bear to harm me, striking so lightly."
"Is that so? If you dare to lay a hand on me again, I'll chop off your hands and feet."
Ji Shui's figure flickered, appearing before Zhang Ruochen. A jade-white hand gripped his neck, using action to warn him.
Yet Zhang Ruochen showed no fear, utterly unconvinced that Ji Shui would dare to kill him.
He reached out with both large hands, instead grasping Ji Shui's slender jade hand, gently stroking it, and laughed, "The master uncle's hand is truly delicate and soft. I wonder if the skin elsewhere on the master uncle's body is just as smooth?"
"You... are seeking death..."
Ji Shui withdrew her fingers, forming a palm seal, and pressed it against Zhang Ruochen's chest.
This strike was undoubtedly a heavy blow, causing Zhang Ruochen's entire body to crackle with sound. His body flew like an arrow released from a bowstring, crashing against the stone wall with a bang.
Ji Shui trembled with rage. If not for her fear of Haiming Fawang's punishment, that strike alone could have torn Gu Linfeng apart.
Opening the formation of the cave mansion, Ji Shui immediately flew out of Dingqiu Cave Mansion, unwilling to stay a moment longer.
"Master uncle, on the day I become the Divine Son, I will surely ask the master grandmaster to marry you to me. Then we'll see how you can escape my grasp."
From within the cave mansion came Gu Linfeng's triumphant laughter.
"Despicable wretch. How could such a person comprehend the Blood God Diagram?"
Ji Shui felt both unwilling and aggrieved.
Her cultivation far surpassed Gu Linfeng's, yet after being harassed by him, she dared not strike him severely.
Moreover, in the future, she might have to submit to serving him, allowing his advances. At the thought of this, a sense of sorrow welled up in Ji Shui's heart.
Inside the cave mansion.
Zhang Ruochen stood up again. A burning pain came from his chest, and he smiled wryly to himself: "Indeed, only by using this method could I drive her away."
The palm strike Ji Shui had just delivered was indeed extremely powerful. If it had been the former Gu Linfeng, he would have been severely injured.
However, with his Five Elements Chaos Body, Zhang Ruochen endured it, feeling only a slight ache.
Entering the Scroll World, Zhang Ruochen immediately went into a meditative state to examine the Blood Meridians he had just cultivated.
Previously, his body had only one Blood Meridian, but now it had increased to ten.
All ten Blood Meridians connected the blood and the Qi Sea, forming ten cycles of circulation. They could continuously transport Saint Qi from the Qi Sea to nourish the blood, making the blood energy within his body increasingly powerful.
"With ten Blood Meridians, as long as I continuously refine high-grade blood, my physical constitution will grow stronger and stronger, eventually achieving physical sainthood."
Comprehending the Blood God Diagram not only allowed Zhang Ruochen to cultivate ten Blood Meridians but also taught him how to train his physical body to the Saint realm.
Within the human body, there are not only seven major acupoints in the palms of the hands.
Additionally, the arms, feet, legs, waist and back, internal organs, head... all parts of the body have acupoints.
In total, the human body has one hundred and forty-four acupoints.
Only by opening all one hundred and forty-four acupoints and absorbing the power of Divine Blood to sanctify all of them can one achieve physical sainthood.
Currently, Zhang Ruochen had only opened the six acupoints on his left hand and the six on his right hand, less than one-tenth of the total acupoints in his body.
"I cannot yet break through the seventh acupoint in my palms, but I can absorb Divine Blood to sanctify the twelve acupoints on my hands."
Without overthinking, Zhang Ruochen took out a drop of Divine Blood and began to attempt it.
The meridians throughout his body began to circulate, absorbing the power of the Divine Blood.
Especially the ten Blood Meridians, which operated at the fastest speed, transporting the power of the Divine Blood continuously to the Fengchi acupoint on his right hand.
After fully refining one drop of Divine Blood, the Fengchi acupoint showed no sign of sanctification.
Zhang Ruochen began to refine the second drop of Divine Blood, the third drop...
Until Zhang Ruochen had refined the seventh drop of Divine Blood, the Fengchi acupoint on his right hand finally changed, condensing into a sparkling point of light, like a star.
Success!
"Sanctification has indeed occurred."
Zhang Ruochen's mood was extremely excited.
He could clearly feel that his physical strength had increased by a notch, and the blood energy within his body had become more abundant.
For the next half year or so, Zhang Ruochen began to frantically absorb Divine Blood, tempering his blood and sanctifying the twelve acupoints on both palms.
When sanctifying the first acupoint, Zhang Ruochen only needed to refine seven drops of Divine Blood.
But when he sanctified the twelfth acupoint, he had to refine a full nineteen drops of Divine Blood to succeed.
To fully sanctify the twelve acupoints on both palms, he consumed a total of one hundred and fifty-six drops of Divine Blood.
To achieve physical sainthood, a massive amount of Divine Blood would inevitably be consumed.
Such consumption would be difficult even for a medieval aristocratic clan to bear. Zhang Ruochen, however, was unconcerned. As long as he could achieve physical sainthood, consuming even more Divine Blood would be worth it.
Now, the centers of Zhang Ruochen's palms each had six points of light, dazzling and brilliant, emitting a startling Saintly Might.
"With my hands as they are now, if I were to strike again with the Seven Acupoints Blood Nether Palm, its power would increase by at least seventy percent, surpassing most Sacred Arts."
During this period of intense cultivation, combined with taking the Fourth-Rank Saint Origin Pill, Zhang Ruochen's cultivation had already broken through to the Fourth-Step Half-Saint.
Without cultivating the ten Blood Meridians, Zhang Ruochen could not have imagined achieving such a fast cultivation speed.
"If I could open and sanctify the seventh acupoint on both palms, then the seven acupoints would connect as one, forming a small cycle. My palm power would become even stronger, as if holding seven stars in my hands."
To open the seventh acupoint, Zhang Ruochen would first need to find a Saint-level elephant soul to refine into his right arm.
However, the Divine Son competition was imminent, and Zhang Ruochen had no time to search for an elephant soul, so he had to set it aside for now.
He was confident that with his current strength, seizing the position of the Blood God Sect's Divine Son was no longer difficult.
"I, the Emperor, had long wanted to pass on to you the secret method of physical sainthood, but I didn't expect you to figure it out on your own first."
Xiao Hei stood not far away, letting out a long sigh.
Half a month ago, Xiao Hei had already returned to the Blood God Sect and told Zhang Ruochen one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.
The good news was that of the four secret letters, three had been retrieved.
The bad news was that the secret letter sent to Kong Lanyou could not be retrieved.
Everything was within Zhang Ruochen's expectations, so he was quite calm.
He had originally planned to visit the Sacred Bright Imperial City after the Divine Son competition, to see her in person using his cousin's identity.
"You know the method for cultivating physical sainthood?" Zhang Ruochen was somewhat surprised.
Xiao Hei's large face was almost turned up to the sky, looking quite disdainful, and said, "I, the Emperor, know everything, understand everything."
Zhang Ruochen smiled, not believing Xiao Hei's words at all. He ignored it and walked out of the Scroll World, returning to Dingqiu Cave Mansion.
Outside the cave mansion.
When Ji Shui saw Zhang Ruochen again, she was quite shocked. "Your cultivation has already broken through to the Fourth-Step Half-Saint?"
Zhang Ruochen, imitating Xiao Hei's earlier manner, clasped his hands behind his back, his chin raised to the sky, looking quite disdainful, and said, "After closed-door cultivation for a month, I have finally achieved some small success."
Zhang Ruochen's current demeanor was quite infuriating.
"In just over a month, breaking through from the Second-Step Half-Saint to the Third-Step Half-Saint, and then from the Third-Step Half-Saint to the Fourth-Step Half-Saint. How can your cultivation speed be so fast?"
Ji Shui's state of mind was greatly shaken, unable to remain calm.
"If the master uncle agrees to marry me, I will tell you the reason."
Zhang Ruochen grinned, staring straight at Ji Shui's graceful figure.
Ji Shui snorted coldly, condensing two masses of blood mist in her hands. White ice spread from under her feet all the way to Zhang Ruochen.
Seeing Ji Shui angered, Zhang Ruochen immediately changed his tune. "Asking the master uncle to marry me is truly too demanding. Then let me make another request. How about... the master uncle shows the disciple your true face?"
In the end, Ji Shui did not strike. She withdrew the blood energy.
"Even if you don't say it, I can guess it has something to do with the Blood God Diagram."
Ji Shui did not remove her blood-colored hood or reveal her true face. She said calmly, "Master has already spoken. As long as you seize the position of Divine Son today, you will not only see my true face. I will also belong to you. Are you satisfied now?"
The calmness in her voice carried a touch of sorrow—a resignation to fate, no longer resisting, and losing all vitality.
Without becoming a Saint, one is ultimately just an ant, at the mercy of others. (To be continued.)