Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
After four months spent refining three droplets of Dragon Emperor blood and consuming large amounts of the Silver Moon Dragon Elephant’s blood, Zhang Ruochen finally succeeded in the cultivation of the Ninth Palm of Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm.
His body became tougher and more enhanced.
Comparatively, the cubs of the Divine Dragon of ancient times might not have been as strong as Zhang Ruochen’s.
Arh-Whoooo!
Zhang Ruochen stood on the ground and channelled his Holy Qi, which had transformed into the shape of a golden dragon. Each of his breaths released one and soon his body was surrounded by many.
He pushed his palm against the ground, and thousands of the golden dragons swarmed downwards, leaving a huge palm print caving into the ground.
He then withdrew the Holy Qi, and all the dragons vanished in that split second.
“I think I have reached the limit of Fish-Dragon Realm with my current body form. It will be difficult to have the next breakthrough, so it’s time to start refining the tenth drop of Divine Blood.”
Other monks could only succeed with the transformation from fish to dragon after completing their cultivation to becoming a Half-Saint. Yet Zhang Ruochen had completed the transformation though he was still at the stage of the Fish-Dragon Realm, making him the only Dragon among the mortals, where his body was radiating an energy that distinguished him from the others.
Zhang Ruochen walked out from the Scroll World and entered the abandoned ancient city once more.
Four months in the Scroll World was only a fortnight in reality.
Blackie was already done repairing the abandoned altar in the city center and recarved the inscriptions in preparation for the worshipping ceremony.
Elephant-swallowing Rabbit and Monster Ape managed to catch thousands of beasts from the border of the ancient city. All of them were chained and left at the top of the altar.
“Zhang Ruochen, have you succeeded with your cultivation of the Ninth Palm?” Li Min came up to him the moment he stepped out from the Scroll World.
Li Min had no idea where Zhang Ruochen cultivated, but since he was the Time and Space Descendant, he must have a trick up his sleeve.
Zhang Ruochen stared at Li Min with his arms crossed. He could feel that her Spiritual Power had achieved Level Thirty One.
The Red Crown Mushroom was indeed effective. It only took a few days to rank her Spiritual Powers up. Her Spiritual Power would continue to grow strong in her, perhaps to Level Thirty Two, after her body had fully absorbed the herbal effects.
“Yes,” Zhang Ruochen nodded.
Li Min was one head shorter than Zhang Ruochen, and she stared at him with her eyes glowing. “You must have gained the ability to transform into a dragon. I read it from a book that there was once a Buddhist monk who succeeded with the Ninth Palm of Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm. He transformed himself into a dragon a hundred miles long, and when he swiped his claws in the air, the energy released was enough to tumble the landscape for hundreds of miles in all directions. Is this true?”
“The strength of the palm strike is determined by the technique and also the cultivation of the practitioner. If a Half-Saint and a Saint both performed the Ninth Palm, the destructive force between the two would definitely be very different.” Zhang Ruochen answered.
Li Min tilted her head to the side and thought about what he said, then mumbled to herself, “The book did not mention anything about the cultivation of the monk. Zhang Ruochen, why don’t you demonstrate to me the technique, I want to see if a man can transform to a dragon?”
“No way.”
Zhang Ruochen did not want to be bothered by her and headed towards the altar.
Li Min followed him, and said, “Tomorrow night is the full moon, why don’t you perform the ceremony by then? It will ease the opening of the Divine Door with the help from the Divine Power.”
Zhang Ruochen stopped. “It’s full moon tomorrow?”
“Yes, so why hurry? You don’t have to rush for the refinement of Divine Blood, right?” Li Min told him.
Zhang Ruochen lifted his head up to stare at the sky. He started to estimate the time of full moon using his Spiritual Power.
Any monk who had read the books would know that the worshipping ceremony should always be done on a Winter Solstice evening or during a full moon in order to achieve the best outcome.
Just like what Li Min said, tomorrow night would be a full moon.
“Alright, let’s wait.” Zhang Ruochen agreed.
Li Min’s pretty face was beaming with joy. “Zhang Ruochen, since you have gifted me the Red Crown Mushroom, I’ll give you this in return.”
She took out a bamboo scroll from her sleeve and handed it over to Zhang Ruochen.
“What is this?” Zhang Ruochen asked her without accepting the scroll.
“The incantation for your worshipping ceremony, carved by yours truly. I spent much effort working on this. Plus, this is my first written incantation.”
Li Min was beaming with excitement. She lifted her gaze at Zhang Ruochen, hoping he would accept the incantation.
“Is it? I don’t need it.”
Zhang Ruochen walked down the altar and sat on the ground with his legs folded. He then closed his eyes and started meditating.
Any disciples from the Way of Confucius would want their incantation to be featured in a worshipping ceremony as a means of communication with the Divine Powers. This would also increase their fortune and luck.
However, the incantations used in prayers were often written by venerable sages. Young and inexperienced disciples like Li Min would never have a chance to be involved.
This was a lifelong opportunity for Li Min, so of course she would not want to miss it. The thought of reciting her incantation during the ritual excited her for days.
Who would have thought that Zhang Ruochen would ignore her work?
Li Min went on bickering, “How can the ritual be done without an incantation? Without an incantation, the divine power will not understand your prayer. Zhang Ruochen, if you are not sincere about this, your prayer to refine the Divine Blood will not be heard.”
Li Min went on nagging at Zhang Ruochen five times throughout the day, which drove Zhang Ruochen mad.
At last, he gave in to her incessant nagging and agreed to use her incantation.
As the sun set, the full moon was getting more visible as it got darker.
The city was getting colder by the minute with the presence of the cold wind. The howling wind in this ancient city was ghostly.
Zhang Ruochen sat on the top of altar, his legs crossed and his palms on his knees. He was ready to refine the tenth drop of Divine Blood and cultivate for the legendary Tenth Change of Fish-Dragon Realm.
This was the long-awaited moment, he had to take this seriously.
Li Min stood beneath the altar, holding the bamboo scroll and started reciting the incantation, “There are thousands of methods throughout the ancient and modern times, and the reasons could be different. Yet all bow to the Holy God.”
…
She finished the recitation two hours later. There was a definite note of satisfaction in her voice. She pinched her dry throat and then announced, “The ceremony has begun.”
Pom Pom.
On the altar, all the beasts were blasted into pieces. Streams of blood flowed into the caved compartment on the altar.
There was a loud grumble and the next second, the spiritual energy surrounding the ancient city was blasted in all directions.
A blood red light pole grew from the center of the altar, penetrating through the skyline and extending up to the universe.
The sky turned blood red. The moon remained glowing and shone through the red clouds, illuminating the city.
Thereafter, there was a mysterious energy descending from the pole and lying upon Zhang Ruochen. The energy fused with the Mark of the Gods that was residing in his lower abdomen.
Swoosh!
The mark flew out from his body as multiple prints of Gods, hovering above the altar, glowing.
This was the moment. Zhang Ruochen extracted a drop of Divine Blood in his palm and started refining with the Divine Power released.
“Zhang Ruochen is only at the level of Fish-Dragon Realm, but he is capable of defeating the Half-Saints already. He is trying to cultivate the Tenth Change of Fish-Dragon Realm, isn’t he?”
Li Min tightened her tiny hands and held her breathe. She could not take her eyes off the altar.
If Zhang Ruochen succeeded, the aftershock would be more forceful than the Peak of the Heavenly Realm.
Six hundred miles away from the altar, a troop of militants on brute elephants noticed the blood-red cloud patches on the other side of the sky. They could also feel the mild energy vibration.
They were the troop sent by King Thousand-Elephant to search for Zhang Ruochen, which happened to pass by this area.
“The direction of the clouds leads to the abandoned ancient city of Yan Gui. That place has been in ruins for ages, why is there a phenomena happening?”
“Seems like someone is performing a ritual, which makes no sense at all. Why would anyone perform a ritual there?”
“Something abnormal must be happening there. Let’s inform the King.”
…
After their reporting, King Thousand-Elephant sensed something was wrong and came to the spot himself.
The King stood in the wilderness with the Octagon Mirror held in his hand. He saw Zhang Ruochen in one of the mirrors sitting at the center of the altar, refining the Divine Blood.
“Hahaha! The whole of Qingli County is searching for him, and he dares to perform the worshipping ceremony to refine the Divine Blood! He is asking for it!” King Thousand-Elephant was aware of Zhang Ruochen’s ability. Even with a few war beasts, he knew he could not defeat Zhang Ruochen by himself.
Thus, he sent a Signal Flare to inform the news of the sighting of Zhang Ruochen.
He remained where he was to observe Zhang Ruochen. He did not want to act rashly and alert Zhang Ruochen.
After spending some time observing, he noticed something unusual.
The energy Zhang Ruochen emitted was growing tremendously. Some of the prints of the Gods that were hovering above merged with Zhang Ruochen’s body, rather than staying afloat in mid-air.
The blood red clouds expanded rapidly, like a sea of blood.
“My King, why do I hear subtle whispers of divine sounds coming from the sky?”
Suddenly, the troops were affected by a mysterious forceful power. They were forced to kneel in the direction of the ancient city.
“What’s happening? Even if Zhang Ruochen is trying to have a breakthrough to be a Half-Saint, this wouldn’t have happened. Unless…”
King Thousand-Elephants was stunned when he thought of a possibility.
His eyes flared. He decided not to continue waiting for the arrival of the other elites, and hurried to the ancient city with a Silver Moon Dragon Elephant.
