The noise on the lake was so loud that it also alerted Concubine Lin, who could not curb her curiosity. In the end, she stepped out of the small courtyard.
“Don’t go out there, Ma’am. It’s dangerous.” Kong Xuan followed her closely from behind, feeling very nervous.
Concubine Lin was just a normal person. Any runaway energy could be lethal to her.
“It’s all right.”
Coming to an open space, Concubine Lin stopped as her eyes were locked on Zhang Ruochen.
At this time, Saint King Xing Yun was performing an Immolation of Heaven Palm Strike, and a giant fire phoenix was charging at Zhang Ruochen.
“Master is in danger!” Kong Xuan had her heart in her mouth.
Yet, Concubine Lin appeared calm. “This little trick won’t hurt my son.”
Kong Xuan glanced at Concubine Lin in surprise. She felt that Concubine Lin was a little different today. She was not worried about Zhang Ruochen at all. Could it be that she was confident of Zhang Ruochen?
The next moment, Zhang Ruochen performed a Sword of Time, defeating the fire phoenix effortlessly.
“Master is so skilled!” said Kong Xuan.
Concubine Lin broke into a smile, pleased with Zhang Ruochen’s performance.
From the beginning, she had never looked worried.
Meanwhile, on the lake, Zhang Ruochen had formed a Sword soul, applying the Path of Time and Dimension to their fullest potential. The Sword Soul came before Saint King Xing Yun at once.
The Ancient Abyssal Blade was moving and vibrating a thousand times every second; it was so fast that its movements were invisible to the naked eye.
It captured a Mark of Time with each vibration.
It vibrated thousands of times and captured thousands of Marks of Time as it went around Saint King Xing Yun.
“Null Time realm.”
All captured Marks of Time appeared at once, forming a strange Null Time realm, engulfing Saint King Xing Yun.
Inside the Null Time realm, Saint King Xing Yun was in an absolute state of quiescence, just like the space and time around him.
Of course, this quiescent state could only last for a moment. But it was good enough as far as Zhang Ruochen was concerned.
By the time the Null Time realm disappeared, the Ancient Abyssal Blade was right in front of Saint King Xing Yun’s forehead, putting out a terrifying sword light.
Saint King Xing Yun was rigid, too afraid to move. He was breaking out in a cold sweat, and he still could not make out what technique Zhang Ruochen had used.
While Saint King Xing Yun was still in a daze, Zhang Ruochen had pulled back the Ancient Abyssal Blade and landed back beside Mu Lingxi.
The Sword Soul’s transformation and the comprehension of the Precept of Time had allowed Zhang Ruochen to push his Moonlight Melody into its initial phase and form the Null Time realm. No one could dodge his sword as soon as he came near.
Following this, he still needed to comprehend it further so he could speed up the formation of the Null Time realm while expanding its range. Only this way could he threaten his enemies further.
“Ruochen’s Sword of Time is elusive indeed,” said Concubine Lin in a low voice.
Kong Xuan became even more puzzled; since when did Concubine Line know about these things?
Before she could ask, Concubine Lin had turned around and walked back into the small courtyard.
“Sword of Time! This is Sword of Time! I didn’t even stand a chance!” Saint King Xing Yun was startled, kicking himself for his inadequacy.
He was so prideful a moment ago, wanting to teach Zhang Ruochen a lesson by challenging him to take three moves from him. He had never expected to suffer such a humiliating defeat.
If he were Zhang Ruochen’s enemy, he would have died by his sword.
“Awesome, Mr. Divine Envoy! I should have practiced Sword Path.” Buji now saw Zhang Ruochen as his idol.
Su Qingling shot a glance at him and rolled his eyes. “You won’t even be one-tenth as good as the Divine Envoy, even if you have mastered Sword Path. Don’t forget that you are not a Scion of Time and Space. How could an oaf like you comprehend the mystery of Sword Path?”
Buji scratched his head in embarrassment.
He was now a Saint King cultivator, but he and Zhang Ruochen had an immense gap between them.
Thinking back, when Zhang Ruochen first arrived in Red Dragon Domain, his cultivation base was still higher than Zhang Ruochen’s. But in the blink of an eye, he was moaning about Zhang Ruochen smoking him after a few years.
Even so, he was not upset at all. Had Zhang Ruochen not become so powerful, he would not have become Yueshen’s Divine Envoy.
“I am impressed, Mr. Divine Envoy.” Saint King Tianyue smiled.
She had initially been worried about him, that he might lose the match and not just bring shame to himself but also Yueshen.
Now, however, she realized that her worries had been unnecessary. Who was she to question Yueshen’s judgment?
“Thank you for the compliment, Saint King Tianyue.”
Since he defeated Saint King Xing Yun unexpectedly, he did not become triumphant about it. He knew that there would be stronger enemies in the future.
The only way for him to ensure his supremacy was to elevate his strength continuously.
After Saint King Xing Yun’s provocation, Zhang Ruochen was no longer in the mood to talk. After some pleasantries with Buji, Su Qingling, and the others, he left the place where the Guanghan Realm cultivators practiced their self-cultivation.
Back at the manor where Mu Lingxi lived, he became concerned with Drunkard and Gu Songzi’s situations.
As he had learned, Yueshen sent Drunkard and Gu Songzi to the Kunlun Realm on an important mission.
Both Drunkard and Gu Songzi were Yueshen’s most favored men.
It was not without reason. Master brewers and alchemists had always been highly prized people, no matter which macroworld they were in. They often became honored guests of the divine beings.
Drunkard grimaced. “The task that Yueshen has assigned us is anything but easy. I have not rested since the day I came back to the Kunlun Realm—I have been busy trying to collect as many sacred herbs as possible.
“Fortunately, the Kunlun Realm is reviving, so there are many sacred herbs growing. Otherwise, things could become a lot trickier.”
Drunkard paused for a moment as he took out a jar of spirit. “This is the Heart-Burning Spirit that I brewed under Yueshen’s instruction. It is ranked fourth among the renowned liquors of the Kunlun Realm. I have only brewed five jars in the first batch. Let us try.”
Drunkard took out four additional bowls, punctured the seal of the jar, and poured the spirit into the four bowls.
The spirit was crystal-clear with no impurity and no alcohol smell, as though it was just water.
Gu Songzi held a bowl of liquor close to his nose and immediately frowned. “Are you sure this is liquor, Drunkard?”
“Forget about it if you are not drinking. Don’t waste my fine liquor.” Drunkard glared at him.
Just then, the Head Rat suddenly came out of nowhere. “What is that, Master Zhang?”
“Pour him a bowl,” said Zhang Ruochen.
Drunkard immediately took out another bowl and filled it up with Heart-Burning Spirit.
“What is this? Let me try.”
With no hesitation, the Head Rat held up a wine bowl and poured the Heart-Burning Spirit down his throat.
“How come it tastes as bland as water?” The Head Rat had a strange look on his face.
The next moment, his face changed abruptly, putting his hand to his chest. “It’s hot. There is a fire inside. It’s burning inside!”
“Save your breath and quickly gather your inner strength to refine the alcohol. Don’t waste the Heart-Burning Spirit!” Drunkard reminded him.
The Head Rat wasted no time gathering his inner strength for fear that the fire within him would burn him to his death.
His skin reddened as steam rose from his body. He was soaked to the skin.
After a few moments, the Head Rat had returned to normalcy with a pleasant surprise. “What is this Heart-Burning Spirit? It’s amazing! After refinement, the number of precepts in my body has increased by over a thousand.”
What he said surprised Zhang Ruochen, Mu Lingxi, and Gu Songzi. If consuming a bowl of spirit could increase the number of precepts by a thousand, did that mean it would increase by tens of thousands if they drank an entire jar?
If that was true, self-cultivation could not have been easier.
Gu Songzi seemed to have guessed what they were thinking. “The precepts from drinking the Heart-Burning Spirit are of a Minor Path. The efficacy is obvious in the beginning but drinking too much will reduce the efficacy. So don’t bank on drinking the Heart-Burning Spirit to elevate your cultivation base indefinitely.
“Even if there is no limit, forming a few million or even tens of millions of Minor-Path Precepts has no significant benefits. The gain in actual strength is pathetically minor.
“Nevertheless, if you have attained the Major Path and Path of Supreme Saint in your self-cultivation, the Heart-Burning Spirit is a good supplement.
“More so because the Heart-Burning Spirit can harden your mental power and refine your Saint Soul.”
After hearing his explanation, Zhang Ruochen, Mu Lingxi, and Gu Songzi quickly held up their bowls and poured the Heart-Burning Spirit down their throats, eagerly waiting to experience its efficacy.
Before long, Zhang Ruochen had refined the Heart-Burning Spirit. He looked calm with beads of sweat on his forehead.
Similar to the Head Rat’s case, the number of precepts in his body had increased by over a thousand, but there was no change to his Saint Soul.
The reason was that his Saint Soul had been extremely powerful in the first place. A bowl of Heart-Burning Spirit would not make too much of a difference.
“Not bad at all for the fourth-ranking Heart-Burning Spirit. If it can be mass-produced, it will significantly raise the Guanghan Realm’s strength in a short time,” said Zhang Ruochen with a smile.
Drunkard was proud of his creation. “Of course. I added a large amount of higher-order sacred herbs and divine blood when I brewed the Heart-Burning Spirit. Its efficacy can’t be bad. Now that the experiment is a success, I am going to brew it in large quantities and send it back to the Guanghan Realm.”
There were over 3,000 Saint Kings in the Guanghan Realm, but most of them did not come to the Kunlun Realm. So after brewing the sacred liquor and making the elixir, a large part of these things had to be sent back to Guanghan Realm.
Gu Songzi’s mouth twitched, and he felt that Drunkard had gotten carried away. “I have collected all the ingredients here, and I can start refining the Heaven’s Reach Elixir right away. Making other elixirs is even easier. Given enough time, I can make as many elixirs as I want.”
The Heaven’s Reach Elixir was a type of Heavenly Divine Pill. Refining Heaven’s Reach Elixir was extremely difficult. It was not something ordinary alchemists could achieve.
Gu Songzi’s confidence in refining the Heaven’s Reach Elixir showed how crazily advanced his alchemical skill was. Could it be that he had become an Elixir Master?
Only Elixir Masters could mass-produce the Heaven’s Reach Pill.
So Yueshen’s trust in Gu Songzi was not without reason.
Drunkard and Gu Songzi were not the best in terms of combat strength, but what they could do was something many top cultivators could not.
