The Cow Pit Prison Realm was an endless barren land, a place of deathly silence.
Yet, it was such a place of deathly silence that was fraught with endless danger.
Along the way, Zhang Ruochen and the green-haired creature were attacked more than a dozen times. All of the enemies that attacked them were living beings of the Saint King realm. Some were humans, some were evil hounds, some were Ghost Kings…
However, their cultivation realm was not high, and the most powerful being only a Four-step Saint King, and could not harm Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen’s doubt in his heart grew stronger and stronger, as he asked. “How are there so many powerful beings living in the Cow Pit Prison Realm, how did they raise their cultivation level? They can’t be just be breathing in the Spirit Qi of the realm, and comprehending the precepts of heaven and earth, right?”
“My lord is wise. It is indeed not the case.”
The green-haired creature whispered. “There are stone medicines that grow in Cow Pit Prison Realm that could improve one’s cultivation. Every stone medicine is a treasure, and by consuming it, one could greatly improve their cultivation.”
“Oh?”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes lit up, and he asked curiously, “What stone medicine? Where does it grow? Why we haven’t seen a single one along the way here?”
The green-haired creature said. “The stone medicine only grows along the Tiantu Gorge, and we have yet to reach that place, so naturally we will not encounter any.”
Zhang Ruochen nodded and inquired, “Where’s Tiantu Gorge?”
“The Tiantu Gorge is a rift valley that is tens of thousands miles long in the center of the Cow Pit Prison Realm.”
After a pause, the green-haired creature continued. “The gorge is getting longer and wider every year as if the Cow Pit Prison Realm is about to divide into two.”
“However, the area where most of the stone medicine grows has been occupied by the Nebula Leopard. No creatures could take them, and anyone who gets close will be killed. The other creatures can only try their luck in the periphery of the gorge. If one is lucky, they can find one or two stone medicines.”
Zhang Ruochen narrowed his eyes and said, “Since there are stone medicines growing in Tiantu Gorge, then there must be countless creatures wanting it. With the Nebula Leopard’s cultivation being only at Five-step Saint King, how could it defend it?”
“My lord, you might not know. In Cow Pit Prison Realm, once the cultivation of a being exceeds the Five-step Saint King realm. It will be forcibly expelled by the realm spirit to the next level of the dungeon.
“So, that is to say, while Cow Pit Prison Realm and the other Prison Realms have Five-step Saint King powerhouses, however, none of them is a match for the Nebula Leopard. Even if they join forces, they might not be able to win either.”
The green-haired creature said in awe. “The combat power of the Nebula Leopard is probably no weaker when compared to a Six-step or a Seven-step Saint King.”
After traveling for another thousand miles, the green-haired creature suddenly stopped and looked to the horizon with a deep look of fear in its eyes.
A layer of crimson light appeared on the horizon and painted the skies red, like flames were burning in the sky.
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes, and carefully felt it, before letting out a soft sigh.
“The light gushing out from the ground contains some kind of mysterious power that could rouse the precepts of heaven and earth to become active.” Zhang Ruochen activated his inner techniques and felt the precepts of heaven and earth rushing towards him, and converged towards his sea of Qi.
“That is the Advent Light that comes from the bottom of the Tiantu Gorge. It is through the nourishment of the Advent Light that the Tiantu Gorge and its surrounding area can produce stone medicines.”
The green-haired creature’s eyes were shining, and it was obviously very excited.
Immediately afterward, it pointed towards a red mountain below the Advent Light and said, “There is where the Nebula Leopard lives. The Nebula Volcano.”
Zhang Ruochen took a step and moved forward.
Every step taken was a distance of tens of miles.
The green-haired creature was afraid of the Nebula Leopard and dared not follow. It looked on at Zhang Ruochen’s fading silhouette as it said to itself. “This person may be powerful but he is too conceited. The Nebula Leopard is not something you want to provoke. I better run further away, or else after the Nebula Leopard kills him, and detects my aura, it will kill me as well.”
Soon, Zhang Ruochen came to the edge of Tiantu Gorge, standing less than a hundred miles away from the Nebula Volcano.
Five feet away from him, was a three-leaved stone medicine. It looked like a ruby, with flames burning on its leaves, radiating a fiery heat.
But inside it was a strong aura of life.
Zhang Ruochen picked the stone medicine from the air and pinched it in his hand before using the Divine Purification Flames to refine it into a walnut-sized liquid medicine.
After swallowing it, Zhang Ruochen cultivation level did not change much, only his physical and spiritual powers had clearly increased a little.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head lightly, feeling a little disappointed. “The stone medicine here is of great use for lower-level Saint Kings. But for my current realm, it won’t have much effect no matter how much I consume them.”
RAAAAAWWWRRR!!
An earthshaking howl came from the crimson mountain behind Zhang Ruochen and forming a billowing Qi wave.
“You dare to steal the stone medicines near the Nebula Volcano? What gave you the courage?”
The roar resounded throughout the realm.
A bright colorful nebula flew out of the volcano, and landed above Zhang Ruochen, unleashing a powerful saint aura.
“It is really a Nebula Leopard.” Zhang Ruochen was elated.
One needed to know that the Nebula Leopard is a descendant of a divine beast, and was rather rare. The one living in the Nebula Volcano was most likely Brother Bao Lie.
“Bao Lie…”
Zhang Ruochen saw the figure standing on the nebula clearly, and was startled as he swallowed the words he was about to say back.
Standing on the nebula was a young man in his twenties. He had a pair of seven-colored leopard ears on his head, thick eyebrows, and a crimson armor as he held a thick-shafted spear, while his eyes glowed with star-like brilliance.
It was not Brother Bao Lie.
But this young man was somewhat similar to Brother Bao Lie in his human form.
Was he a descendant of Brother Bao Lie?
Bao Xinghun did not say much and stabbed with his spear. A scarlet light shot out from the tip of the spear and rushed towards Zhang Ruochen on the ground. The beam was very powerful, as if it was a rushing river, causing the world to shake violently.
In the distance, the green-haired creature sensed the powerful saint-path force coming from the direction of the Tiantu Gorge, and its heart trembled. “I told him not to provoke the Nebula Leopard, why didn’t he trust me? That human’s gonna die!”
This person might be the offspring of Brother Bao Lie, and Zhang Ruochen did not want to harm him.
So, Zhang Ruochen stood still, and only activated circles of saint light to block Bao Xinghun’s crimson beam, and made it impossible for the latter to get close.
Bao Xinghun’s eyes shrank, as a look of disbelief appeared on his face.
“For him to so easily neutralize the blow that I used all my strength, is his cultivation level beyond a Five-step Saint King?”
Just as the thought appeared in Bao Xinghun’s mind, the next moment, he found himself before the human and was unable to move.
“How can that be?”
Bao Xinghun’s arms burned with flames as he tried to break free from Zhang Ruochen’s grasp.
However, the surrounding space seemed to be frozen, and even moving a finger was extremely difficult for him.
Zhang Ruochen watched him carefully and nodded. “You’re cultivating the ‘Scripture of Divine Refining’, it seems like you are indeed a descendant of Brother Bao Lie…”
“You actually know of the ‘Scripture of Divine Refining?” Bao Xinghun was surprised.
Zhang Ruochen smiled and said. “The Scripture of Divine Refining’ is one of the top techniques of the Shengming Central Empire, how could I not know?”
“Nonsense, the Scripture of Divine Refining’ is the technique my father cultivators, what does it have to do with some dogshit Shengming Central Empire?” Bao Xinghun spat.
Zhang Ruochen frowned and said, “Where is your father?”
“Who are you? And why should I tell you?” Bao Xinghun asked.
Zhang Ruochen was not angry and was instead elated. This at least proved that it was very likely like Brother Bao Lie was still alive.
Zhang Ruochen said. “Who am I? If we go by seniority, you should be calling me Senior Uncle.”
“Senior Uncle? Then I’m your goddamn Master.”
Bao Xinghun snorted and said with a cold look. “I think you are trying to take the Dendrobium Gold Orchid from father’s hands, right? It’s useless, you may be strong, but before my father, you are nothing.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “since you are so confident in your father’s strength, then take me to him.”
Bao Xinghun sneered and had no intention to lead the way.
“You have no confidence in your father?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Bao Xinghun pondered for a moment and said, “Well, since you want to die that much, I’ll take you there.”
Bao Xinghun walked ahead and led the way as Zhang Ruochen followed behind as they went to the eleventh level of the Nether Dungeon, the Crushing Rock Prison Realm.
According to Bao Xinghun, his father had gone to the fifteenth level of the Nether Dungeon, the Dismemberment Prison Realm, to cultivate and seek opportunities to breakthrough. To go to the fifteenth level, they must first pass through the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth levels.
“It’s the fifteenth level again, why everyone is going there to cultivate?”
Zhang Ruochen felt puzzled. After all, Lord Ming was also imprisoned in the fifteenth level. Could there be a sacred ground for cultivation there?
Upon arriving at the Dismemberment Prison Realm, Zhang Ruochen was stunned.
Beneath his feet were colorful spar stones that covered the entire ground. There were spirit crystals, and also saint stones, their amount was too large to count.
This was also the first time Bao Xinghun came to the fifteenth level, and upon seeing the scene before him, he too was dumbstruck.
In the distance, there was a crimson lake of flames that covering hundreds of miles.
The closer it was to the flaming lake, the more active the precepts of heaven and earth was as they shuttled across space and time like swarms of horned dragons.
Zhang Ruochen came to the edge of the lake and closed his eyes as the speed of comprehending the saint path precepts had increased by more than three times.
As he continued on walking to the center of the lake, the surrounding temperature rose rapidly, at the same time, the speed of Zhang Ruochen’s comprehension of the saint path precepts was getting faster and faster.
Four times, five times…
And they continued to grow.
BOOOMMM!!!
Suddenly, from the bottom of the flaming lake, a leopard claw that was hundred of meters long blasted out, a large amount of light flowed on the surface of the claw as it charged at Zhang Ruochen.
On the edge of the flaming lake, Bao Xinghun was overjoyed. “Father.”
The leopard was just a phantom.
Yet, the power that it emitted was extremely tyrannical and suppressing the flames in the lake that they dimmed a little. On the surface, pieces of spirit crystals and saint stones exploded and were turned into dust.
Zhang Ruochen formed a palm imprint, and blasted out the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, and mobilized the precepts of truth, unleashing seven times the attack power.
“Dragon-Elephant Reaching the Heavens.”
Countless dragon and elephant shadows flew out and collided with the leopard claw.
