However, Zhang Ruochen discovered quickly that the ancient civilizations had all divided the interest. If he went to pick the saint fruit by himself, he might get attacked.
The Thousand Star Civilization was one of the top forces in the sect, so they could attack a pavilion alone.
The ones who’d attacked were the four Starry Generals on metal beasts.
They were each awesomely strong. The spears in their hands were Supreme Saint weapons and could activate a beam of Supreme Saint power.
Kaboom!
They kept striking with their spears, shattering the formation runes outside the pavilion. They pushed forward to attack the pavilion and pick the saint fruit.
Inside the pavilion, there was a very tall purple saint tree. A dozen cherry-sized white fruits grew on the tree. They were very fragrant and delicious-looking.
No cultivator dared to compete with the Thousand Star Civilization. The Starry Generals were all heartless and anyone who approached them would get killed.
Pushan, Li Qinghai, Mo Xiaogu, and Chou Gu stared at the saint fruit in the pavilion with desire. Everyone knew that the saint fruit definitely had shocking medicinal powers. If they ate one, their cultivation would improve vastly.
Gu Feng chuckled. “Hehe, you all just sit and wait. I’ll go pick the fruit! If you pass by the treasures here, you’ll never encounter them again!”
Gu Feng rushed toward one of the pavilions.
Li Qinghai, Mo Xiaogu, and the others grew tempted.
But what happened next extinguished all their thoughts of picking fruit.
Gu Feng’s goal was actually the pavilion that was given to the Thousand Star Pavilion. As soon as he got close, he was attacked by a Starry General. An ancient spear almost penetrated his body.
Kaboom!
“Get out,” the Starry General said coldly. “Or die.”
Gu Feng clenched his jaw. He was furious, but in the end, he chose to retreat. He didn’t fight with the Starry General. He went to a second pavilion but had the same result. He was attacked as soon as he got close.
Anyone who could enter this palace cluster was a strong figure.
In the end, Gu Feng slunk back. Feeling embarrassed, he stood with his hands hidden in his sleeves. He was silent and had a dark expression.
They were all aides invited by the Ancient Civilization Sect. They’d already gotten paid before coming, so they naturally weren’t qualified to pick saint fruit now.
Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment. Then he stepped toward the four Starry Generals.
Li Qinghai, Mo Xiaogu and the others were surprised. Even the strong Gu Feng had failed, but Lin Yue hadn’t given up?
Gu Feng leered, ready to watch Zhang Ruochen fail.
Zhang Ruochen walked to the outside of the pavilion and icy Qi rushed toward him. It was about to freeze him.
Zhang Ruochen looked toward the source of the Qi. He saw a Starry General stare at him with emotionless eyes.
However, the Starry General recognized him as the guest of the Maiden, so he didn’t attack directly.
Zhang Ruochen was stunned. The Starry General’s aura was even stronger than he imagined. No wonder even someone as arrogant as Gu Feng would be intimidated.
The Thousand Star Maiden sat inside her carriage and could see everything. She sent out a Spiritual Power message. “Don’t attack him. I’d like to see if he can steal the saint fruit from you all.”
The Starry General looked away. He picked up his spear and continued attacking the formation runes, allowing Zhang Ruochen to stay nearby.
Seeing this, Gu Feng’s smile froze. The coldness in his eyes grew.
Li Qinghai and the others felt incredulous, thinking that Lin Yue must have a special relationship with the Thousand Star Civilization. Could he really be a cultivator of the civilization?
Zhang Ruochen didn’t want to get rewards without work, so he opened his Divine Eyes and investigated the runes underground and in the air. Then he formed a spatial crack and struck the weakest part of the formation.
Crack, crack.
The spatial crack flew by and the formation runes were cut all the way to the palace walls.
When the spatial crack closed, a safe path had appeared under his feet. Zhang Ruochen walked on the path and actually entered the pavilion before the four Starry Generals. He surveyed his surroundings and darted at the saint fruit.
Kaboom!
The four Starry Generals riding metal beasts jumped over the tall palace walls and chased after him. They quickly caught up.
He suddenly discovered something and stopped. “Careful!” he cried.
The four Starry Generals ignored Zhang Ruochen and continued charging. They wore the Starry Armor, so they didn’t fear any danger. However, the Thousand Star Maiden sent a message to order them to stop.
When they were around seven or eight feet from the saint tree, the four Starry Generals stopped in unison.
Many cultivators noticed what was happening inside. They were all surprised at how this mysterious spatial cultivator could order the Starry Generals around. It was incredible!
After all, the Starry Generals could only be stronger than the Four-Winged Red Angels of the Heaven Field, not weaker.
“Retreat,” Zhang Ruochen said.
The four Starry Generals received the Thousand Star Maiden’s order and retreated, not stopping until they reached Zhang Ruochen’s side.
Then he pulled out two Thousand-pattern Saint Weapons. Activating the Destruction of the Thousand-patterns, he sent them out to strike the ground.
Whoosh!
Explosive power poured out of the two spots. The ground split apart, forming two dozen-foot-tall dirt vortexes. Rather than wind, spatial cracks flowed through.
Some powerful figure had once set up a fatal spatial trap-like thing here.
The metal beasts under the four Starry Generals grew fearful. They screamed and retreated.
One could imagine that if Zhang Ruochen hadn’t warned them and the four Starry Generals charged through, even their Starry Armor would be useless. They would definitely die.
When the two vortexes calmed, Zhang Ruochen rushed over with his fastest speed. As soon as he was about to pick a fruit, a spear reached over. It hit his arm, producing a loud boom.
With this move, another Starry General grabbed the fruit.
The general that stopped Zhang Ruochen grew apologetic. “Sorry, the Thousand Star Maiden ordered us to try our best to stop you from picking the fruit.”
Zhang Ruochen’s previous actions made the Starry Generals feel positively toward him. They weren’t as heartless as before. Otherwise, they definitely wouldn’t have explained anything.
“Okay, let’s see if you can stop me.”
Zhang Ruochen flashed and disappeared from the Starry General’s sight. When he reappeared, a cherry-sized fruit was already in his hands.
The four generals detected that Zhang Ruochen had used spatial power.
Thus, they changed their strategy. One person picked fruit, one attacked Zhang Ruochen, and the other two protected the fruit on the tree.
One must admit that the four generals worked together seamlessly. Zhang Ruochen tried many times but came back empty-handed. Seeing the fruit on the tree disappear piece by piece, Zhang Ruochen could only return to the ground and sigh.
Just as the generals thought he’d given up, he reached out again. He grabbed remotely and picked two pieces of fruit.
Earlier, he’d sighed because he was forced to expose the spatial grab tactic.
Outside the pavilion, some powerful figures noticed him. “He can pick the fruit from countless feet away. He’s quite talented.”
The Wizard God Emperor of the Wizard Civilization was one of the strongest figures of the sect. The ground by him was covered in monster corpses. His deep eyes gazed toward the Thousand Star Maiden’s carriage. “Grabbing remotely is very useful here. Thousand Star Maiden, you actually invited such a figure. Very tactful!”
“What tact? I just want to pick some fruit,” the Thousand Star Maiden said nonchalantly. “I’m not interested in anything else.”
Fairy Tianchu walked out of the White Feather Peacock Saint Carriage. She was beautiful and attractive. “Since you aren’t interested in other things, could you lend him to me?”
“He has a strange personality and is very hard to get along with,” the Thousand Star Maiden said. “I could only invite him because I have something he cares deeply for. If you want him to help you get the divine spring, it’s practically impossible.”
If the Thousand Star Maiden wasn’t interested in the divine spring, why would she risk her life for this fatal land?
It was completely impossible for her to give this spatial cultivator away.
Fairy Tianchu was clear about this, so she just mentioned it and didn’t say anything else.
Zhang Ruochen’s spatial grab ability truly let him pick the fruit from a distance.
Other cultivators who did this had to use Holy Qi as a bridge to grab items from a few feet, a dozen feet, or even further away.
The two were different in essence.
This was why the top figures were all stunned by this move. Even Fairy Tianchu and the Wizard God Emperor wanted to get Zhang Ruochen on their side, but they didn’t do anything for fear of offending the Thousand Star Maiden.
Zhang Ruochen walked out of the palace with three pieces of fruit and smiled at the Thousand Star Maiden’s carriage.
Li Qinghai and the others were all envious but also had respectful expressions.
Zhang Ruochen’s attainment in space was clearly above them. As spatial cultivators, they especially knew how difficult the spatial grab was.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t say anything. He just swallowed a saint fruit and started refining it.
He wanted to know how many Rules of Saintly Way this fruit could help him gain.
