Chapter 2222: A Hundred Years of Cultivation
This was not the end of the transformation. The blood flow in Zhang Ruochen became faster and faster. The sound he made was like a great bell.
Gradually, Zhang Ruochen’s skin became like white jade. His hair and pupils turned blood red, and the nails on his hands grew longer.
More importantly, two sharp teeth grew out of his mouth.
With the eight golden wings on his back, Zhang Ruochen’s current appearance was no different from that of an Immortal Vampire. Although he was still handsome, he had become extremely evil.
It was almost ironic. Zhang Ruochen used to hate the Immortal Vampires the most, but now, he has become one of them.
The only good thing was that Zhang Ruochen did not have a desire for blood. It proved that what Blood Empress said was true. She had solved this big problem for him.
Otherwise, he would not be able to accept himself. He would rather die than become a blood-sucking monster.
‘Gradually, Zhang Ruochen adjusted his emotions. A determined look appeared in his eyes. ‘Whether I am a human or an Immortal Vampire, I am still Zhang Ruochen.’ he thought.
No matter what changes happened to him, as long as his heart did not change, everything would be the same as before.
Zhang Ruochen did not care about what others thought of him. He had never wanted to live the way others wanted him to.
Zhang Ruochen sat cross-legged again. He circulated his techniques and restrained his blood qi. Before long, his skin and nails returned to normal, and his fangs disappeared.
Just as he was about to put away his golden wings, he suddenly had a strange feeling.
The arcane runes on the golden wings stimulated by the power of the Supreme Saint appeared and began to absorb the Saint Qi of heaven and earth. Even the Precepts of Heaven and earth gathered.
For a moment, the repulsion of the Precepts and Saint Qi of heaven and earth on Zhang Ruochen was greatly weakened. They even became friendly.
‘It seems that with these eight golden wings, I can harmonize with the Precepts and Saint Qi of heaven and earth in the Infernal Court Faster,’ Zhang Ruochen thought.
It wasn’t a bad thing to grow wings from this point alone. They would be of great help to him at this stage.
The flesh wings of the Immortal Vampires weren’t just for show. They could greatly increase speed, mobilize the Precepts and Saint Qi of heaven and earth, used for direct attacks and many other uses.
The more flesh wings there were, the more useful they would be.
Under normal circumstances, the Immortal Vampires were born with only a pair of flesh wings. After reaching the Saint Realm, their blood qi would increase. Only then would they be able to grow more flesh wings.
Most of the Immortal Vampires’ flesh wings were blood-red. A small number were silver. All the Immortal Vampires with silver wings had extraordinary physiques. They were far stronger than ordinary human Saint physiques.
Zhang Ruochen had come into contact with many Immortal Vampires, and there was no lack of geniuses with silver wings. The earliest one was the fourth disciple of elder Xuanji — Feng Han. He hadn’t become a Saint yet, but he had four silver wings. His physique was extremely powerful.
There were also Lord Ming and Qi Sheng. They were born with six wings and could be considered prominent figures.
However, none of the Immortal Vampires Zhang Ruochen had come into contact with had the same golden flesh wings like him.
He believed that the golden wings should be special among the Immortal Vampires, at least not compared to the blood wings.
“If I can fully control the power of this body and stimulate the bloodline power of the Demigod-level physique to the extreme, the number of wings should increase,” Zhang Ruochen said.
His physical quality was extremely strong, especially stronger than that of Supreme Saint Qingsheng.
When Zhang Ruochen reached the same cultivation realm as Supreme Saint Qingsheng, the number of fleshy wings could at least be compared to or even surpass Supreme Saint Qingsheng.
Since the fleshy wings could help Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation, he did not put them away. He continued to circulate his techniques, absorbing the Precepts and Saint Qi of heaven and earth into his body to temper himself.
The process of Zhang Ruochen controlling the power of his body was accelerated with the help of the Sun-Moon Dragon Spring.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen was also trying to mobilize the Precepts.
Restricted by his Demigod-level physique, Zhang Ruochen could not use most of the 200 million Precepts even though he had them. He could barely mobilize part of the Precepts of Time, Dimension, and Truth.
In comparison, the Path of the Ancients was undoubtedly much less restricted.
After a long time, Zhang Ruochen had preliminary control of the power of his physical body. Most of the Precepts could also be mobilized from his body.
In this way, he could cultivate normally.
“It’s time to use this treasure!” he said.
Zhang Ruochen waved his hand and took out something.
It was a stone house carved out of a giant stone. There was a stone dragon on it. Each scale of the dragon was very clear and vivid.
There were a lot of ancient and complicated arcane runes engraved on the surface of the stone house. It seemed to contain the principles of heaven and earth and emitted a very obscure Path connotation.
“Legend has it that the Divine Dragon Enlightenment Chamber can double the efficiency of a cultivator in comprehending the Path. Invisibly, the body and the Saint Soul can also be nourished. Even the spiritual will can become tougher. I wonder if it has a miraculous effect.” Zhang Ruochen said with his eyes filled with anticipation.
The Divine Dragon Enlightenment Chamber was one of the most famous treasures in the Dragon Temple. Anyone would want to obtain it.
Although Zhang Ruochen had killed Mojo, Lord of Elixir, and subdued Dragon Phantom Lord and Lord of Stone, he didn’t get a Divine Dragon Enlightenment Chamber. Otherwise, he would have used it long ago.
The Divine Dragon Enlightenment Chamber originated from Lord of Sword. It was something Lord of Sword had given away. Now, it could be put to good use.
Zhang Ruochen entered the Divine Dragon Enlightenment Chamber and began to comprehend the Path.
The Divine Dragon Enlightenment Chamber’s interior was as smooth as jade. It was covered with dragon patterns. There were also streaks of dragon Qi that transformed into dragon shapes. They danced in it and passed through Zhang Ruochen from time to time. It gave him a wonderful feeling.
When Zhang Ruochen had been on True Dragon Island, he had obtained a lot of treasures. Although he had taken some out to nurture the old cadre of the Shengming Empire, he had still left many. They were all treasures.
Now that he had broken through to the Supreme Sainthood, he could use these treasures better.
The cultivation of the Supreme Sainthood was different from that of the Saint Kinghood. It took a long time for each small realm to improve. It also required a large number of treasures.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen didn’t lack anything. Now that he had a large number of Godstones, and he had enough treasures. He could improve his cultivation and strength greatly in a short amount of time.
After twenty years of seclusion, Zhang Ruochen controlled the power of his physical body. His Saint Soul was completely compatible with his physical body. At the same time, he was familiar with the Precepts and Saint Qi of heaven and earth in the Infernal Court. He could mobilize them as he pleased without any hindrance.
Zhang Ruochen did not come out of seclusion. Instead, he chose to continue cultivating and immerse himself in comprehending the Precepts.
He had a foundation that was far superior to ordinary people. He had just become a Supreme Saint and already had 200 million Precepts. In this world, only Yan Wushen could compare.
With this foundation, he could double the total number of Precepts and reach the mid-stage of the Neverwilt Realm. After that, he could double it and condense the Saintwill. Then he could reach the late-stage of the Neverwilt Realm.
In a sense, the more powerful he was, the harder it was to breakthrough in the Supreme Saint realm.
However, he would be even stronger after that.
In other words, Zhang Ruochen would need at least 400 million Precepts to break through to the mid-stage of the Neverwilt Realm. Most of the late-stage Neverwilt Realm powerhouses didn’t have that many Precepts.
Even though the Supreme Saint’s speed of comprehending Precepts was very fast, far surpassing that of a Saint King’s, it would take a long time to accumulate 200 million Precepts.
Under normal circumstances, it would take at least hundreds of years, and he would not sleep or rest.
However, in just ninety-five years, Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation had reached the critical point of breakthrough.
Zhang Ruochen had comprehended nearly 200 million Precepts in less than a hundred years.
All of this was due to the treasures from True Dragon Island, especially the Divine Dragon Enlightenment Chamber, which had tripled his efficiency of comprehending Paths.
It was no wonder that there were only ten Divine Dragon Enlightenment Chambers in the Dragon Temple.
The Divine Dragon race could not create too many of such heaven-defying treasures.
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes and stopped cultivating.
In his hand was a huge crystal that emitted dazzling divine light.
This crystal was left behind by Dragon Phantom Lord after it was killed. It contained the secrets of the four Ancient Paths of Time, Dimension, Origin, and Darkness.
After refining and comprehending it for many years, Zhang Ruochen had used up all the Power of Time and Dimension contained in the crystal. As a result, his Time and Dimension attainments had greatly improved.
I’m still a little short. I Can’t break through to the mid-stage of the Neverwilt Realm. Maybe I need more time to settle down,’ Zhang Ruochen had a glimmer of understanding in his heart.
He had tried several times but failed. There was no doubt that he had encountered a bottleneck.
Zhang Ruochen no longer forced himself to relax. Perhaps at some point, the opportunity to break through would appear.
Anyway, he still had dozens of Godstones. He had plenty of time, so there was no need to be too anxious.
Since he no longer focused on improving his cultivation, Zhang Ruochen shifted his attention to other aspects.
To increase his strength, improving his cultivation was only one aspect. He could also cultivate saint techniques and refine battle weapons.
Zhang Ruochen was now a Supreme Saint. He could completely cultivate the saint techniques he had mastered to a higher level.
For example, he could try to cultivate the thirteenth Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm Strike. He could continue to deduce the 12th level of the Luoshui Fist Technique. He could also cultivate the fourth level of the Incarceration of Divine Demon.
The Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm Strike was the first saint technique that Zhang Ruochen cultivated. It had always been highly valued by him. He had invested a lot of resources and suffered a lot.
“The thirteenth Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm Strike is called the Dragon-Elephant Destruction. It is the most overbearing. It requires a high level of physical strength and spiritual will. The slightest carelessness can destroy the body or cause Qi deviation.
“When this particular palm strike is cultivated to the initial phase, it can be comparable to a high-level saint technique of the Hundred-Shackled level. When it is cultivated to the final phase, it can be comparable to a high-level saint technique of the Thousand-Koan level. When it is cultivated to completion, it can be comparable to a high-level saint technique of the Banshi Isshou level.
“According to the legends, if one can break the limit and cultivate the Dragon-Elephant Destruction to the Paramount Realm, they will be able to become a high-level Paramount saint technique. However, after the Middle Ages, no one in the Myriad Buddha Sect has been able to cultivate to that level.”
The common high-level saint techniques were mostly at the Neverwilt and Hundred-Shackle Realm. There were very few at the Thousand-Koan level, and the Banshi Isshou level saint technique was even rarer. As for the Paramount level, it was probably only found in the inheritances left behind by the gods.
Even the Paramount Realm powerhouses didn’t cultivate the Paramount level high-level saint techniques. It was good enough to cultivate one or two high-level saint techniques.
At this stage, Zhang Ruochen didn’t dare to expect too much. All he needed now was just to cultivate the thirteenth Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm Strike to the initial phase.
To reach this step was very simple. He just needed to refine two dragon souls and two elephant souls in the Hundred-Shackle Realm.
Of course, he also needed a large amount of Yang Qi, at least a million times more than an ordinary person.
The advantage Zhang Ruochen had was that he now had the Demigod-level physique. He didn’t have to worry that he wouldn’t be able to withstand the power of the dragon soul and elephant soul of the Hundred-Shackle Realm.
“I’ll go buy the dragon soul and elephant soul first.”
Zhang Ruochen decided to come out of seclusion immediately.
Although dragon souls and elephant souls of the Hundred-Shackle Supreme Saint were rare, the Infernal Court had fought with creatures of the Celestial Dragon Realm and the Demon God Realm all year round. Naturally, they had killed the Supreme Saints of the dragon and elephant clans.
Through the Ancient Saint Pavilion, Zhang Ruochen bought the dragon and elephant souls.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to return and continue his seclusion, he met Blood Empress.
“How is Kongyue now?” Zhang Ruochen asked with concern.
Chi Kongyue was recuperating in a special secret place of the Xue Jue Family. Zhang Ruochen could not casually step into it. He had been there a few times, but he could only wait outside.
Blood Empress said, “Don’t worry. I will do my best for Kongyue. Her condition is getting better.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen could not help but feel relieved. He asked, “You are waiting for me here with your true vessel. It must be something important, right?”
Blood Empress led Zhang Ruochen into the garden of the Blood Sorghum in the Xue Jue Family household.
The Blood Sorghum was comparable to a sacred medicine. Each of them contained the blood qi of a human Saint. The cultivators who could enter the garden to watch and cultivate were all genius disciples or top-notch powerhouses of the Xue Jue Family.
As they walked past, the servants in the garden knelt one after another. The genius cultivators and top-notch powerhouses all knelt on one knee, not daring to raise their heads.
“You’ve been in the Infernal Court for a while. Are you used to it?” Blood Empress’s temperament was dignified and saintly. Her extraordinary power naturally spread out.
Zhang Ruochen said, “I’m fine.”
“Do you regret it?” Blood Empress asked.
“No,” said Zhang Ruochen
Blood Empress asked again, “Your immortal blood wings have grown, right? Can you show them to me?”
“Okay,” he replied.
A layer of bright golden light appeared on Zhang Ruochen’s back. The next moment, eight golden wings appeared. At the same time, the Saint’s power erupted and swept through the entire Minghua Garden.
All the cultivators in the garden were trembling.
Some of the cultivators with powerful cultivations raised their heads to take a look. They saw that Zhang Ruochen had become extremely tall and mighty. The eight golden wings on his back were like eight golden clouds that covered the sky and earth.
“It’s golden, and it’s eight wings. Good, very good,” said Blood Empress.
Blood Empress did not hide her emotions. Her face was full of praise and joy.
Zhang Ruochen put away the golden wings again, and the Saint power dissipated.
“In a month, the family will hold the God-ascension Ceremony. All the gods of the Bloodsky Clan who are in the Infernal Court and don’t have important matters to attend will be present. In addition, the elites of the Bloodsky Clan who are going to attend the Celestial-Hunting Festival will also gather at the Xue Jue Family. You will also need to appear at that time,” said Blood Empress.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes flashed with surprise. Although the God-ascension Ceremony was very grand, gathering all the deities of the Bloodsky Clan was undoubtedly a bit exaggerated.
In his opinion, it was probably not that simple.
Even if the Wargod Bloodximius was famous, it was unlikely that all the gods of the Bloodsky Clan would give him face.
As if she knew what Zhang Ruochen was thinking, Blood Empress explained, “Wargod Bloodximius is about to become the new clan leader of the Bloodsky Clan.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen suddenly realized that the clan leader was the most powerful person in the tribe. Who would dare to neglect him?
If they wanted to get any benefits from the Fane of Immortality, they had to rely on the clan leader to fight for them.
The stronger the clan leader was, the more prosperous the clan was.
In the past, the Bloodsky Clan also had a powerful clan leader. Unfortunately, he died in the fierce divine war that took place ten myriad years ago.
After that, although the Fane of Immortality had appointed a new leader, his strength was much weaker.
Now, Wargod Bloodixmius was finally going to become the clan leader. Most of the gods of the Bloodsky Clan were very supportive. They felt that this was a chance for the Bloodsky Clan to rise again.
The gods of the Bloodsky Clan seemed to be here to congratulate the Blood Empress and Lord Ming on becoming gods, but they were here for Wargod Bloodximius.
“I’ll be there then,” Zhang Ruochen said with a nod.
As Blood Empress’s only son, he couldn’t miss such an important time.
After a moment of silence, Blood Empress said, “My son, you’ve activated the Immortal Vampires’ bloodline and grown wings. You can receive the blessings of the Blood Spring. It’ll be easier for you to control the power of the wings.”
Zhang Ruochen was silent for a moment. “Mother, just make the arrangements.”
The wings had already grown. This was a fact that could not be changed. Instead of caring about this, it was better to think about how to become stronger.
“The Xue Jue Family has had the Blood Spring since ancient times. It can allow you to receive the most thorough blessings and activate the primitive power of the bloodline,” Blood Empress said.
What she had prepared for Zhang Ruochen was naturally the best.