When he reached the early stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm, the “Qi Pool” became tens of times bigger, as big as a basketball.
The true qi in the pool was still very scarce, only a ball as big as an egg, less than one tenth of the pool’s capacity.
Only when the pool of qi was full could one impact the next realm, the middle stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm.
Zhang Ruochen sat down on his knees, closed his eyes, and opened the Divine Martial Seal in the centre of his eyebrows as he began to cultivate the first layer of the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture, the “Tai Huang Huang Realm Heaven”.
True Qi, flowing out from the Qi Pool, flowed along the one meridian that had been opened up, and flowed throughout the body.
As the true qi ran through his body, Zhang Ruochen’s body was like transforming into a vortex, and began to slowly absorb the spiritual qi between heaven and earth.
The spiritual qi of the heavens and earth flowed into the Divine Martial Seal at the centre of his eyebrows.
The Divine Martial Seal in turn transformed the heaven and earth spiritual qi into true qi, which was stored in the Qi Pool. The true qi flowed out of the qi pool and travelled along the meridians, running throughout the body.
When the true qi ran round the body, it was a circumference.
After running for a full nine weeks, when Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes again, he found that the amount of true qi in his body had doubled, reaching one tenth of the qi pool’s capacity.
If any other martial artist knew that they were able to double the amount of true qi in their body in such a short period of time, they would definitely be ecstatic.
However, Zhang Ruochen was a bit dissatisfied, “After nine weeks of cultivation, I actually only increased my True Qi by this much, it’s too slow! If only I could get a Spirit Crystal! My cultivation speed could still be doubled in!”
One must know that Zhang Ruochen was cultivating the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture, and the speed of absorbing true qi was already faster than those martial artists who cultivated inferior techniques.
The current cultivation speed naturally made him very dissatisfied.
If he was able to a single Spirit Crystal, he would be able to increase his cultivation speed by a large margin.
Spirit crystals, made from spiritual qi gathered into crystals.
You can either dig up “natural spirit crystals” in the underground veins, or you can kill savage beasts and dig up the “acquired spirit crystals” in their bodies.
The value of a Spirit Crystal is generally equivalent to the value of a thousand silver coins, and only the geniuses cultivated by the royal nobles or the big families have the chance to get the Spirit Crystals.
A thousand silver coins was definitely a huge number for Zhang Ruochen and Lin Fei, and it was impossible for them to afford it.
“Spirit Crystal!”
Zhang Ruochen’s mind stirred and he immediately took out the white jujube-shaped crystal that he had been wearing on his body and held it in the palm of his hand.
Could this be a Spirit Crystal?
As the true qi in his body revolved, the Divine Martial Seal on his brow immediately emerged, transforming into a coin-sized circular halo of light.
A white true qi shot out from his brow, striking on top of the white crystal.
“Wow!”
On the surface of the white crystal stone, four ancient characters emerged.
It was too weird!
Zhang Ruochen had never seen such writing before, yet he recognised the four characters with a single glance – “Space-Time Crystal Stone”.
One must know that in his previous life, Zhang Ruochen had also injected his true qi into the white crystal stone, but never had the words on the surface of the crystal stone been stimulated.
“In my last life, my cultivation was hundreds of times more powerful than now, and I didn’t make words appear on the surface of the white crystal stone. In this life, with a cultivation level of only the early stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm, I actually made the white crystal stone appear to change. It means that it’s not the strength of the true qi at all, but the attributes of the true qi.”
For example, a martial artist with the Flame Divine Martial Seal would have the best results using a fire-attributed spirit crystal, and could achieve three times the cultivation speed. Using ordinary spirit crystals would only be able to reach twice the cultivation speed.
Ninety per cent of spirit crystals in the natural world had no attributes. Just like ninety per cent of martial artists, they could only inspire martial dao seals that had no attributes.
“Could it be that the Divine Martial Seal I’ve opened also possesses a certain attribute that just happens to fit with this Space-Time Crystal Stone? Wait a minute, what is a space-time crystal stone?”
Zhang Ruochen was the son of Emperor Ming in his previous life and was extremely knowledgeable, he had heard of many attribute spirit crystals, Red Flame Spirit Crystal, Xuan Ice Spirit Crystal, Thunder and Lightning Spirit Crystal, and Evil Blood Spirit Crystal ……, but he had never heard of a spirit crystal with the attribute of Time and Space.
Because, time and space are not humanly controllable at all, even if it is a god, it cannot shake time and space, and must follow the rules of time and space.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was still very confused, a halo of light emerged from the surface of the Space-Time Crystal, transforming into a vortex.
The vortex continued to grow larger and larger, wrapping around Zhang Ruochen’s body.
Zhang Ruochen only felt a heavenly rotation, and in the next moment, he arrived in a confined space and fell heavily onto the hard ground.
Fortunately, he had completed the Marrow Cleansing and Vein Flushing, reaching the early stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm, and his body had strengthened quite a bit. If it was with his previous fragile body, he would have probably died from this fall.
Zhang Ruochen got up from the ground, moved his aching muscles and bones, and began to observe the space around him.
This space was completely airtight, with no doors or windows visible. The height of the space, was roughly ten metres, and the length and width was almost around ten metres as well.
“How did this happen? Where did I come in from? And where is this place? Hehe! There’s a stone platform there!”
In the entire space, there was only one stone platform.
On top of the stone platform was a rolled up painting and a silver-coloured iron book. Other than that, there was nothing else!
Zhang Ruochen took the lead to take the painting, but the painting was incredibly heavy, as if it was connected to the stone platform, and no matter how much strength Zhang Ruochen used, the scroll did not move.
Since he couldn’t pick up the scroll and couldn’t open it, Zhang Ruochen could only give up for the time being, and then fixed his eyes on the thin silver-coloured iron book.
On the surface of the silver-coloured iron book, there were four words written, “Space-Time Mystical Codex!”
This time, Zhang Ruochen was prepared and channelled his true qi all over his body, mobilising all the strength of his entire body to turn over the first page of the Space-Time Mysterious Dictionary.
“So …… easy?”
The Secret Canon of Time and Space was very easy to flip through, not taking the slightest effort.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head resentfully, stopped running his true qi, picked up the Secret Canon of Space and Time, held it in his hands, and read it carefully.
What was recorded on the first page of the Space-Time Secret Codex was not a cultivation secret codex, but rather the transcript of the previous owner of the Space-Time Crystal Stone, the “Sacred Monk of Sumeru”.
After Zhang Ruochen finished reading the transcript of Saint Monk Sumeru, he finally understood everything.
“It turns out that the Divine Martial Seal that I opened is actually a Space-Time Divine Martial Seal. According to what Sacred Monk Sumeru said, not even one out of billions of people have been able to open the Space-Time Divine Martial Seal. From ancient times to the present, there have only been a mere two people, counting me is three.”
“Saint Monk Sumeru was the second person to open the Space-Time Divine Martial Seal, but, according to the time he recorded above the Space-Time Mysteries, he died more than 100,000 years ago. More than 100,000 years ago, that was already the Middle Ages, too far away from now.”
The space that Zhang Ruochen was currently in was the inner space of the Space-Time Crystal Stone.
The speed of time flow in the inner space was completely different from the outside world, three days of cultivation in the inner space, only one day passed in the outside world.
Zhang Ruochen was overjoyed and excitedly said, “Cultivating for three days inside, only one day passes outside, isn’t that three times more cultivation time than others out of thin air? That’s really great.”
Zhang Ruochen wanted to flip through the second page of the Space-Time Mysterious Codex, but no matter what method he used, he was unable to flip the second page open.
“Unable to open it again.”
Zhang Ruochen had an urge to slam the Space-Time Secret Codex on the ground, when suddenly, there was another small line of words in the last row of the first page he was looking at.
“Cultivating to the Yellow Extreme Realm Minor Extreme Position and injecting True Qi into the scroll can open it.”
Zhang Ruochen once again fixed his gaze towards the scroll, guessing in his heart that the scroll must have recorded some sort of mysterious technique, perhaps related to the cultivation of time and space.
“Cultivate hard and strive to break through to the Minor Extreme Position as soon as possible, I would like to see what secrets are hidden inside the scrolls?”
“The Small Extreme Position is the fourth minor realm of the Yellow Extreme Realm, and further up is the Middle Extreme Position, the Great Extreme Position, and the Great Completion.
A feeling of hunger came from Zhang Ruochen’s abdomen, so he immediately temporarily exited from the inner space of the Space-Time Crystal Stone and returned to his room once again.
He squeezed the Space-Time Crystal Stone tightly in his hand, with this piece of crystal stone, there was a greater certainty that he would be able to cultivate to the late stage of the Yellow Extreme Realm within three months.
Zhang Ruochen, Concubine Lin, and his maid Yun’er, sat down to eat breakfast together.
The food that was eaten was merely white rice and steamed buns, with no meat to be seen at all.
For martial artists, the physical strength consumed was much greater than ordinary people, and what they ate became quite important.
Those other princes and princesses who had opened the Divine Martial Seal ate “blood pills” made from the blood of savage beasts every day, and had long since stopped eating ordinary food.
Taking a single blood elixir could replenish a whole day’s physical exertion, and even if they practised boxing and swordplay for a day, they would not feel hungry.
Moreover, taking a blood pill would also enhance the blood qi, strengthen the martial body, and increase the strength of the physical body.
If Zhang Ruochen just ate white rice and steamed buns, even if he ate eight meals a day, it would still be far from enough for his body’s consumption.
“Duster, you can no longer eat ordinary food now that you have opened the Divine Martial Seal. You can take these ten blood pills first, if it’s not enough, mother will think of something else.” Concubine Lin took out a jade bottle and handed it to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen was nibbling on a steamed bun, he didn’t even think that Concubine Lin was actually able to take out ten blood pills, he said with some doubts, “Mother, five silver coins can only buy one blood pill, ten blood pills is fifty silver coins, where did you get that much money?”
Concubine Lin smiled and said, “Mother always has a way.”
Attendant Yun’er stood behind Concubine Lin and said, “Your majesty sold her favourite golden hairpin of stepping to go to the Dan market to exchange for ten blood pills!”
Concubine Lin gently glared at Yun’er as if she was blaming her for talking too much, and then added, “Dusty, don’t think too much, as long as you can cultivate into a true martial artist, my mother will support you in your cultivation even if she sells all her ornaments.”
Zhang Ruochen’s heart was incomparably touched, tightly squeezing the jade bottle in his hand, biting his lips, wanting very much to tell Concubine Lin that he had now cultivated into a true martial artist.
No, it couldn’t be done.
Opening up a pool of qi and completing the cleansing of the marrow and flushing of the veins in just one night was just too fast, if the news accidentally leaked out, it would definitely reach the ears of the other princes and queens. At that time, it would instead harm himself and Princess Lin.
He was still too weak now and needed to be more powerful.
