Zhang Ruochen pondered for a moment, then added, “I also have a big guy here, but I’m not sure if you can tame it.”
Xiao Hei wasn’t particularly concerned about the so-called “big guy.” At the moment, he was preoccupied with figuring out how to eat one of the legs of the sentient Saint Herb. Could this “big guy” possibly be more valuable than a leg of a hundred-thousand-year-old ancient Saint Herb?
“First, set up a formation to prevent it from escaping,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Xiao Hei was rather dismissive, brimming with confidence. “Escape? My cultivation has partially recovered, and I can suppress anything. Zhang Ruochen, stop dawdling and bring out your big guy. Let me see what it is.”
Zhang Ruochen insisted, “I really think you should set up a trapping formation first. If that big guy escapes, I’ll fight you to the death.”
“Such a hassle.”
Xiao Hei sighed, then took out a piece of Saint Jade engraved with formation runes and channeled his Saint Qi into it.
“Whoosh—”
In an instant, a circular formation disc materialized.
Zhang Ruochen inspected the formation disc and found it to be an eighth-grade formation, with intricate and complex runes capable of trapping a Saint King-level expert.
Xiao Hei said impatiently, “Relax. After partially recovering my cultivation, my formation skills have improved significantly. I’m practically a Formation Earth Master now, capable of effortlessly setting up eighth-grade formations.”
“You’re an Earth Master?” Zhen Miao Daoist asked.
Xiao Hei shot him a cold glance. “Is it strange for a Great Saint to also be an Earth Master?”
Formation Masters are divided into three levels: Human Master, Earth Master, and Heaven Master.
Most Formation Masters are merely “Human Masters,” capable of setting up eighth-grade formations to deal with Saint King-level experts.
Formation Masters with exceptionally high skills can set up ninth-grade formations, which can contend with Great Saints. These are known as “Earth Masters.”
Legend has it that Formation Masters who have mastered formations to the extreme possess not only the most formidable combat power below the divine level but can also alter the climate and fortune of an entire world, change the trajectories of stars, and perform other unimaginable feats. These are known as “Heaven Masters.”
Of course, the primary role of Formation Masters isn’t combat but other specialized tasks. Even a Human Master can become a guest of honor for a Great Saint.
If one were truly an Earth Master, their status would be even more extraordinary.
In the Celestial Court, more than half of the subordinate mortal worlds lack an Earth Master.
This illustrates just how rare and valuable Earth Masters are.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t believe Xiao Hei’s claim. If it had truly become an Earth Master, its tail would already be wagging with pride!
However, Xiao Hei’s formation skills had indeed improved significantly. It had engraved an eighth-grade formation onto a piece of Saint Jade and activated it effortlessly. An ordinary Formation Master wouldn’t have such capability.
Zhang Ruochen took out the *Temporal Canon* and released a seven-meter-tall white jade rabbit that had been sealed within its pages.
As soon as the white jade rabbit was freed, it tried to escape. Its four legs emitted radiant Saint Light as it charged toward the door.
“Boom!”
The formation disc reappeared, trembling violently.
The eighth-grade formation set up by Xiao Hei nearly shattered from the impact, startling Zhang Ruochen, who quickly used the power of the *Temporal Canon* to restrain the white jade rabbit once more.
Xiao Hei’s eyes darted around. “Good heavens, this… this is… a piece of Imperial Saint Jade! What kind of place is the Divine Ascension Platform? Even Imperial Saint Jade can be found there? When is the next Divine Ascension Platform Assembly?”
“In ten years,” Zhang Ruochen replied.
Xiao Hei sighed deeply, feeling immense regret for missing this year’s assembly.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Stop sighing! This Imperial Saint Jade gained sentience on the Divine Ascension Platform and consumed a large amount of Saint Medicine, reaching the Great Saint level in one go. However, as an innate being, it hasn’t cultivated any techniques or Saint Arts. It needs guidance from someone knowledgeable…”
Xiao Hei interjected, “Say no more, Zhang Ruochen. You’ve come to the right person. I am that knowledgeable individual, and my cultivation is profound. I am the perfect guide for it.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at Xiao Hei for a long moment before saying, “Actually, I initially planned to hand it over to the Moon Goddess and ask her to personally guide it.”
“Don’t do that! If you give the Imperial Saint Jade to the Moon Goddess, even if it grows stronger, it will eventually join the Guanghan Realm and become a ruler there. It might even end up lording over us. But if I guide it, it will obediently follow our commands. Imagine having a Great Saint-level follower by your side. We could intimidate anyone wherever we go!” Xiao Hei chuckled darkly.
Zhang Ruochen patted Xiao Hei’s feathers and smiled. “Alright then, let’s see what you can do!”
“Don’t worry, I’m absolutely reliable.”
Xiao Hei’s methods were indeed quite impressive. It used an ancient secret technique to engrave dense runes onto the white jade rabbit’s body, suppressing it back into its original form—a piece of jade as radiant as a star.
That very day, Xiao Hei, along with Zhen Miao Daoist and the Imperial Saint Jade, hurriedly left and returned to the Moon Goddess’ Dojo.
Meanwhile, Zhang Ruochen, under the arrangement of a first-class disciple of Kongling Island, entered a cultivation chamber on the first floor of the Temple of Truth to begin his closed-door cultivation.
Inside the cultivation chamber, there were three meditation diagrams.
Zhang Ruochen stood beneath the second diagram, took out the Abyssal Ancient Sword, and placed it on the ground.
The sword spirit of the Abyssal Ancient Sword emerged from the blade, sitting cross-legged on the sword as it gazed at the meditation diagram, beginning its own enlightenment.
Zhang Ruochen, however, moved to the third meditation diagram.
Having already cultivated over two hundred Truth Rules, he had no need to study the second diagram. Only the third diagram would be of use to him.
The opportunity to cultivate in the Temple of Truth was exceedingly rare. Zhang Ruochen had only accumulated a total of one year and three months of cultivation time after passing through the four layers of the Sea of Truth, plus an additional seventeen days he hadn’t used.
In truth, this wasn’t a lot of time.
If he spent all of it comprehending the Truth, it would be somewhat wasteful.
The Temple of Truth was an exceptional place for cultivation, where the Saint Dao rules were highly active. Comprehending the Saint Dao here would allow his cultivation to progress several times faster than in the outside world.
Thus, after sitting down cross-legged, Zhang Ruochen lit a Rainbow Transformation Vine and took out the Rule Emperor Artifact, holding it in his hands.
With everything prepared, Zhang Ruochen emptied his mind and entered a deep state of cultivation.
The six Saint Souls within his body separated, with five of them emerging and transforming into five figures identical to Zhang Ruochen. All of them appeared beneath the third meditation diagram.
Three of the Saint Souls focused on comprehending the third meditation diagram, while the other three studied the Saint Dao rules within the Rule Emperor Artifact.
Time flew by, and half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Zhang Ruochen fully comprehended the third meditation diagram, and the number of Truth Rules within his body reached seven hundred and twenty-nine.
“In just half a month, I’ve comprehended nearly five hundred Truth Rules. This is truly unbelievable.”
Zhang Ruochen moved his arm, executing a move from the Luo Water Fist Technique. When he infused the Truth Rules into the technique, it unleashed three times its normal power.
This rate of comprehension far exceeded Zhang Ruochen’s expectations.
It was worth noting that Feng Yan, a top-tier genius nurtured by the Temple of Truth, had been cultivating the Truth since childhood and had accumulated two to three years of cultivation time within the temple.
Yet, Feng Yan had only comprehended fewer than three thousand Truth Rules.
For a fourth-step Saint King to comprehend five hundred Truth Rules in half a month was an absolutely terrifying feat, enough to shock even the disciples of the Temple of Truth.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t believe his talent and comprehension were vastly superior to Feng Yan’s. After some analysis, he concluded that the five ten-thousandths of Truth within him must have played a significant role.
Without the Truth, his rate of comprehending Truth Rules wouldn’t have been much faster than Feng Yan’s.
While his achievements in the Truth were indeed commendable, Zhang Ruochen encountered a bottleneck in his Saint Dao cultivation.
After cultivating diligently for half a month, he had only gained a few additional Saint Dao Rules, essentially making no progress.
For a Saint King, encountering a bottleneck was a terrifying prospect, as it could indicate that their current level of cultivation was their limit, with no hope of further breakthroughs.
Zhang Ruochen hadn’t expected his bottleneck to arrive so soon, and it left him in a cold sweat.
After some research, Zhang Ruochen discovered that during his half-month of cultivation in the Temple of Truth, he had only gained seven additional Saint Dao Rules, all of which were Sword Dao Rules.
After half a day of contemplation, Zhang Ruochen finally understood the reason and muttered to himself, “The structure of my Saint Dao Rules must be flawed.”
“Recently, in order to rapidly increase my cultivation level, I consumed a large amount of Saint Medicine and Saint Fruits. In just a few days, the total number of Saint Dao Rules in my body reached one hundred and ten thousand.”
“However, the vast majority of these one hundred and ten thousand Saint Dao Rules were minor or major Dao Rules, which are easier to cultivate. Very few were Supreme Saint Dao or Eternal Dao Rules.”
“Among the three main Dao I cultivate, the number of Sword Dao Rules is only slightly over two hundred. The number of Time Dao and Space Dao Rules is even fewer, at less than fifty.”
Before examining himself closely, Zhang Ruochen hadn’t realized the severity of the situation. Now, he was deeply alarmed. If he didn’t address this issue soon, he might never break through to the Great Saint level in his lifetime.
For the three main Dao he cultivated—Sword Dao, Time Dao, and Space Dao—the number of rules was almost negligible.
How terrifying was that?
Of course, this was also a drawback of rapidly increasing one’s cultivation through Saint Medicine. While it seemed like a quick way to boost one’s level, it actually drained one’s potential and could ultimately lead to ruin.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen had discovered the issue in time, and it could still be remedied.
