Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
As he walked into the dojo, Zhang Ruochen finally noticed that something was off.
He immediately stopped.
“This is…”
All of the plants in the dojo had withered, and the ground was full of dead branches as well as yellow leaves.
Even the huge island, where Xumi Dojo was located, was bereft of vitality. Everything had wilted as if something had sucked all of their life force away.
Zhang Ruochen stared at the huge Buddha statue and observed the withered vines around it. A look of realization suddenly took over his face as he smiled. “So, that’s why.”
In an instant, he used the Great Dimensional Shift and disappeared.
A moment later, he reappeared in a place that was hundreds of miles away.
There was a lush mountain forest before him, and both the air and the ground were rich in Saint Qi. Medicinal plants that were hundreds of years old could be seen all over. Of course, such medicinal plants were no different from weeds to a Saint or a Saint King.
Zhang Ruochen took out the lotus and inserted it into the ground.
Whoosh!!
The lotus trembled a little as dense white roots quickly grew and penetrated the ground, spreading far and wide.
The roots were actually gaseous, and soon, something amazing happened.
All of the life force that surrounded the vegetation, the essence within the ground’s minerals, as well as the Saint Qi in the air and earth, flowed into the lotus.
A gentle light then emanated from the lotus petals, and it grew increasingly brighter.
Zhang Ruochen released a spiritual avatar and entered the lotus to start cultivating.
Fifteen minutes later, all the vegetation within a twenty-mile radius withered, the essence within the minerals vanished, and all of the Saint Qi in the air, as well as the earth, was absorbed.
The entire area had been reduced to a wasteland!
By the time Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual avatar came out of the lotus and landed beside him, its spiritual strength had increased to the upper end of Level 50.
One needs to know that before the avatar entered the lotus, its spiritual power was only at the lower end of Level 50.
Such growth might not have seemed all too extraordinary with Zhang Ruochen’s current Level 57 spiritual power. However, for a Level 50 spiritual Saint, or a spiritual Demi-Saint, it would have been extremely astounding.
Zhang Ruochen pulled the avatar back into his heart and jumped into the lotus with his true body. He exercised his cultivation techniques and absorbed the remaining power within the lotus.
An hour later, Zhang Ruochen flew out of the lotus, and his cultivation, physical body, as well as Saint Soul, had advanced by a small amount.
While an hour had passed in the outside world, Zhang Ruochen had, in fact, trained for a day and a night within the lotus.
“With this lotus, the speed of my cultivation will increase tenfold, and I should reach the realm of a Six-step Saint King soon.” Zhang Ruochen broke into a satisfied smile.
After that test, Zhang Ruochen noticed a problem. There was a big limitation on the radius that the lotus could cover. It was restricted to the absorption of vital energies and mineral essences within twenty miles.
Zhang Ruochen guessed that earlier in Xumi Dojo, the lotus had been able to absorb vital energies and mineral essences hundreds of miles away mostly because of the green lotus seed’s stimulation.
Now, the green lotus seed had been reduced to dust. Coupled with Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation, absorbing vital energies and mineral essences within a radius of twenty miles was his limit.
Zhang Ruochen was particularly excited about the substantial growth of his cultivation and spiritual powers.
As a result, he used the Great Dimensional Shift again and reappeared over a dozen miles away, planting the lotus in the ground once more.
But this time, the lotus did not respond.
Following that, Zhang Ruochen switched over a dozen spots.
Twirling the lotus in his hand, he put on a wry smile. “It seems that no matter how good a treasure is, it cannot be used unlimitedly. It probably has a cooldown period. I will try again tomorrow.”
…
Shengyu Dojo.
The Heavenly Realm Saint Kings in the Celestial Domain of Truth all gathered together as they stood beneath the statue of a god. Some had white wings, some had bodies the size of hills, while some had silver hair and sharp ears… Their numbers were plenty and in the thousands.
A series of Saint auras blasted out, seemingly able to breach the sky.
It was not until a divine light emerged from the statue that they restrained their Saint auras. They bowed and said in unison, “In audience of the Great Yanshen.”
The divine light that radiated from the statue grew stronger and stronger as tri-colored light appeared in its eyes. In an instant, a terrifying aura fell on all of the Saint Kings present, pressing them so hard that they could not straighten their backs as sweat kept rolling off their faces.
A majestic and divine voice traveled from the statue. “Shang Ziyan, step forth.”
Shang Ziyan reacted calmly as he walked to the fore under the golden pressure. “Your disciple is here,” he said.
Clang!
Two fireballs shot out of the statue and slammed into Shang Ziyan’s body, blasting him more than a dozen miles away. He crashed through a mountain and landed hard.
Shang Ziyan’s body was torn apart as flesh separated from blood, leaving only white bones to connect his body together. He looked unspeakably miserable.
Yet, his eyes were unusually firm, and his brows did not even wrinkle. He did not cry out in pain either. Shang Ziyan only held his broken body as he slowly stood up, and while he coughed out blood, he said, “I… I… deserved this…”
“Even a dozen deaths will not be enough to make up for your mistake.”
Yanshen’s voice was like thunder, and it shook the eardrums of all the Saint Kings there. Those who had participated in the battle of Xumi Dojo were all in a state of panic.
In the face of a god, no one dared to speak up for Shang Ziyan.
After all, this time around, Shang Ziyan had committed a terrible mistake and cost the lives of several hundred Saint Kings from the Heavenly Realm. Each of them had unlimited potential and a small possibility of becoming a Supreme Saint in the future.
The damage had been far too great and too far-reaching.
“I… I am… willing to accept… every punishment… but Xun Ya, Wang Xu, and the rest… are still in Zhang Ruochen’s hands. I beg you, Master… please rescue them…” Shang Ziyan said.
“Rescue them? Do you think it’s that simple? This is the Celestial Domain of Truth; even a god cannot intervene in the matters of the Celestial Domain.” Yanshen sounded furious.
Shang Ziyan knelt down on one knee as he raised his head and said, “Please give me another chance. Next time, I will definitely take Xumi Dojo, kill Zhang Ruochen, and rescue all of the captive Saint Kings.”
“The Fane of Truth has already found out about this. Do you still think there is a second chance?” Yanshen said.
“This matter is no longer your concern. My true body has already reached the Celestial Domain of Truth, and I must do my best to deal with the Fane of Truth. Wang Xu’s mother god, the lord of the Fane of the Bloody War, will put pressure on the Fane of Truth.
“If this had been another time, they might have ended up trapped there. However, both the Celestial Court and the Infernal Court will soon have a large-scale war in the Kunlun Realm. It is precisely the time when manpower is needed, and the Fane of Truth should deal with them appropriately.”
Shang Ziyan heaved a sigh of relief. “If that is the case, I am relieved!”
Yanshen snorted. “You have disappointed me greatly this time around. You do not know how much effort I have expended to protect you. Of course, a mistake begets a punishment. Return to the Heavenly Realm now and accept the Trial of Purgation. If you can survive the nine-days of hellfire-tempering and nine-days of rime-quenching in the Purgatory Furnace of Life and Death, I will naturally be able to give you a chance to redeem yourself when the war in the Kunlun Realm begins.”
The moment the Saint Kings heard of the Trial of Purgation, they shuddered and feared for Shang Ziyan’s end.
There were countless rumors about the Trial of Purgation, as well as the Purgatory Furnace of Life and Death, which revolved around it being an inhumane form of punishment. It was said that the number of Saint King beings who could survive a day within the furnace was little to none.
Even a Supreme Saint might perish within the furnace if they had to spend nine days inside it.
Besides, the punishment that Shang Ziyan had gotten was a “nine-day hellfire-tempering and nine-day rime-quenching”. For someone of the Saint King realm, that was the death penalty.
Shang Ziyan’s face turned pale by a couple of notches, but the determination in his eyes did not waver as he said, “I will accept the Trial of Purgation.”
Yanshen’s voice then spread across Shengyu Dojo. “All Saints of the Heavenly Realm, hear me. The cultivation within the Celestial Domain of Truth is temporarily over. All shall return to the Heavenly Realm to prepare for battle. The battle of the Kunlun Realm is of great significance, and we cannot afford any further missteps.”
…
The night was quiet, and the moon was bright.
On the shore of a lake not far from Xumi Dojo, a little girl in white martial robes held her saint sword and lunged forward with a stab.
Her speed was shockingly fast akin to a darting swan.
Clang!
Zhang Ruochen blocked the sword with a horizontal parry, and the crisp sound of colliding metal reverberated as a large amount of Sword Qi blasted out.
“Not bad. In just a few days, you have mastered the Sword of Time’s first technique, Without a Trace. Your comprehension skills exceeded my initial estimations. You can try to use the Jade Swallow Pendant’s power for a burst of extreme speed and use the Sword of Time at the same time. Your speed should be on a whole other level.”
“Let me try.”
Bam! Bam!!
Chi Kongyue attacked while Zhang Ruochen defended.
One was learning; the other was teaching.
No one knew how much time had passed, and Chi Kongyue had almost exhausted her Saint Qi. Her spiritual powers had also been greatly consumed as she tried to capture the Mark of Time. Yet, she still drew her sword quickly while she learned and trained hard, apparently not knowing exhaustion.
The eleven-year-old girl owned such powerful cultivation all because she had been training desperately since young. Chi Kongyue almost did not have a childhood.
That kind of hard work was something no other child possessed.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen put his Abyssal Blade away and said, “That is all for tonight. Come with me.”
Whoosh!
After Zhang Ruochen grabbed Chi Kongyue’s petite hand, they flew away like condors as he used his technique and transformed into a stream of light, taking off into the distance.
Chi Kongyue secretly glanced at Zhang Ruochen and gently pursed her lips.
She had discovered that cultivation was such a wonderful and pleasant thing by training in the art of swordsmanship with her father.
When she was by the empress’ side, she would cultivate to the point of suffering as she pushed her will and physical strength to the limits without relenting.
Zhang Ruochen looked at her delicate little face and smiled. “What are you looking at?”
“Nothing!”
Chi Kongyue shook her head and said nothing, only putting on a happy smile.
After they flew for who-knows how long, Zhang Ruochen held on to Chi Kongyue as they landed. He then pulled the lotus out and stuck it into the ground.
Whoosh!!
In an instant, the vital energies and essences around them converged upon it.
“Go!” Zhang Ruochen said.
It was not the first time that Chi Kongyue had entered the lotus for cultivation. She leaped up and became the size of a mosquito before she descended into the lotus.
With a few days of testing and research, Zhang Ruochen had discovered that the lotus could only be used twice a day.
One of those times was naturally given to Chi Kongyue, and that enabled her cultivation, spiritual power, and Saint Soul to rise to new heights in a short time. There was now a significant gap between her prowess and Chi Kunlun’s.
Chi Kongyue flew out of the lotus, and as she saw Zhang Ruochen’s back, a mischievous smile formed on her lips. She carefully walked over, wanting to give him a scare.
“I will be leaving tomorrow!” Zhang Ruochen looked at the moon above and said in a melancholic manner.
Startled, Chi Kongyue was stuck in place as if she had been petrified, and the smile on her face disappeared.
