Another five months passed, and the number of Truth Rules within Zhang Ruochen’s body had increased significantly, reaching over 28,000.
However, he still couldn’t touch the second level of the Thick Earth Small World. It felt as if there was an insurmountable chasm between him and that realm, making it seem unreachable.
A vast voice echoed within the small world: “Time’s up.”
“Has it already been a year and three months?”
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes, his gaze somewhat dazed. Gradually, his focus returned.
After over a year of secluded cultivation, his mind had become somewhat sluggish, as if an entire century had passed.
The greatest achievement during this year of cultivation in the Truth Temple was in the Dao of Truth. However, the bottleneck in his spiritual power remained unbroken.
His spiritual power was still at the peak of the 56th rank, with almost no growth.
Some bottlenecks in the Saint Dao had been broken through, and his realm had improved. The number of Saint Rules in his Divine Sea’s Heavenly River had increased by 80,000, reaching a total of 190,000.
The number of Sword Dao Rules had surpassed 1,500.
The number of Time Rules and Space Rules had each exceeded 200.
Zhang Ruochen had spent a great deal of effort cultivating these three Daos, and his hard work had not been in vain. In just over a year, the structure of the Saint Rules within his body had been slightly adjusted for the better.
But it still wasn’t enough.
At the Fourth-Step Saint King realm, the number of Time Rules and Space Rules should ideally exceed 1,000 to be optimal.
“Relying solely on my own comprehension, cultivating the Dao of Time and the Dao of Space is still too slow. Even in a place as ideal for cultivation as the Truth Temple, after spending over a year, I’ve only comprehended a little over 200 rules. Too slow, too slow.”
“If I were outside, it would probably take me a hundred years of cultivation to achieve even modest success in the Dao of Time and the Dao of Space.”
Zhang Ruochen now finally understood why Princess Rakshasa had taken such great risks to study the Dao of Space in the Space Temple. The Space Temple must have treasures that assist cultivators in comprehending Space Rules, and perhaps even rule artifacts and rule imperial artifacts left behind by ancient sages of the Dao of Space.
A rule artifact or rule imperial artifact represents the legacy of an ancient sage.
If he didn’t go to the Space Temple to cultivate, his progress in the Dao of Space would undoubtedly be extremely slow, and it would also hinder his overall realm advancement.
The leader of the Space Temple, Gongzi Yan, was closely aligned with the factions of the Celestial Court. Even the princess of the Rakshasa clan could enter the Space Temple to cultivate, which made Zhang Ruochen particularly worried. He always felt that there was something seriously wrong with the Space Temple, so he didn’t dare to easily go there to seek guidance.
Thus, if Zhang Ruochen wanted to quickly advance in the Dao of Time and the Dao of Space, he had only one path to take.
Find the place where Saint Monk Xumi passed away.
At the site of Saint Monk Xumi’s passing, there might be a legacy left behind by the venerable monk. Only by finding this legacy could Zhang Ruochen rapidly advance in the Dao of Time and the Dao of Space, and his cultivation realm could also progress swiftly.
The biggest constraint keeping Zhang Ruochen at the Fourth-Step Saint King realm was the Dao of Time and the Dao of Space. These two eternal Daos were simply too difficult to comprehend.
If he relied solely on his own comprehension, it would likely take him over a thousand years of cultivation before he could possibly reach the Great Saint realm.
“Generally speaking, a total of 300,000 Saint Rules is required to reach the Fifth-Step Saint King realm. I’m still far from that. However, my rate of realm advancement is already very fast, surpassing the vast majority of cultivators.”
After calming his mind, Zhang Ruochen summoned the Sacred Saint Flower and the Abyssal Ancient Sword.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword had made significant progress, not only reaching the level of a Five Radiance Ten Thousand Pattern Saint Artifact but also comprehending over 800 Truth Rules.
“Zhang Ruochen, I think I’m ready to begin condensing a Sword Spirit Dao Body,” the Sword Spirit said.
Zhang Ruochen’s face lit up with joy. “That’s great news. Once we leave, we’ll do this immediately. Tell me what materials you need, and I’ll purchase them.”
Whether it was eight hundred years ago or now, the Abyssal Ancient Sword had always been Zhang Ruochen’s closest companion.
Helping it condense a Sword Spirit Dao Body would mean that the Sword Spirit would become a true living being, capable of independent thought and cultivation. Moreover, the sword’s grade would also improve significantly.
Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze to Mo Yin and asked, “How about you? How many Truth Rules have you comprehended?”
Mo Yin smiled charmingly. “When I get serious, I can definitely surprise you. 729 Truth Rules, not one more, not one less.”
“Really? You actually did it?” Zhang Ruochen was somewhat surprised.
Without further ado, Mo Yin extended a jade-like hand, and a ball of lightning appeared in her palm.
She then mobilized her Truth Rules, integrating them into her palm. Instantly, the power emanating from the lightning ball more than doubled.
The lightning ball shot out in an arc, heading straight for Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes narrowed sharply. He grabbed the hilt of the Abyssal Ancient Sword and swung it horizontally, activating the Sword Dao Profound Aura to form a spherical protective barrier three zhang in diameter.
“Boom!”
Zhang Ruochen was sent flying over ten miles by the force of the lightning ball’s explosion.
After stabilizing himself, Zhang Ruochen dispersed the Sword Dao Profound Aura and smiled. “The attack power tripled. It seems you really have comprehended 729 Truth Rules.”
Mo Yin raised her snow-white chin, looking quite pleased with herself. “Of course.”
Zhang Ruochen took out Wang Tian’s Endless Blade from his spatial ring and tossed it to Mo Yin. “This is a Seven Radiance Ten Thousand Pattern Saint Artifact-level battle blade. Its blade spirit has already cultivated a Dao Body. If you can subdue the blade spirit’s Dao Body, I’ll give it to you.”
Mo Yin caught the Endless Blade and began to play with it, smiling mischievously. “Master, with this blade, you might not be my match anymore.”
Zhang Ruochen chuckled indifferently, then retracted Mo Yin into his body and left the Thick Earth Small World.
The gray-robed elder sat cross-legged on the ground, his deep gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen. Whether or not he could see through the Truth Rules within Zhang Ruochen’s body, his face showed admiration. “Young man, with your current mastery of the Dao of Truth, you should go and cross the Sea of Truth. You will surely reach even farther waters.”
“That’s exactly what I intend to do.”
Zhang Ruochen bowed respectfully to the gray-robed elder, then left the third floor of the Truth Temple.
When he arrived on the second floor of the Truth Temple, Zhang Ruochen saw Feng Xi and Yan Shiju again, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled.
As divine disciples, guarding the Truth Temple should have been just a task. They shouldn’t have had to guard it for over a year—that would have been too much of a hindrance to their cultivation, right?
In fact, Zhang Ruochen didn’t know that Feng Xi and Yan Shiju were also quite frustrated.
The two of them were originally only supposed to guard the Truth Temple for three months before leaving. However, because of Zhang Ruochen’s unexpected situation, their master had ordered them to stay until Zhang Ruochen left seclusion.
Thus, Feng Xi and Yan Shiju had been stuck at the Truth Temple for over a year.
When Feng Xi saw Zhang Ruochen descending from the third floor of the temple, her eyes lit up. “By my calculations, it’s about time for you to leave seclusion! So, how many Truth Rules have you comprehended?”
Zhang Ruochen replied, “The two levels of the Thick Earth Small World are simply too difficult to comprehend. After spending a year, I’ve only managed to comprehend the first level.”
Hearing this, the disciples of the Truth Temple behind Feng Xi and Yan Shiju all felt an urge to strangle Zhang Ruochen.
A year to comprehend the first level of the Thick Earth Small World, and he still thinks it’s not enough?
Even figures of the caliber of the Ten Great Divine Disciples had spent over ten years comprehending the first level of the Thick Earth Small World back in their day.
After a long while, Feng Xi finally calmed her shock and said, “You can go and cross the Sea of Truth. If you cross the fifth layer, you’ll gain another sixteen months of cultivation time. If you cross the sixth layer, you’ll gain another thirty-two months.”
Clearly, Feng Xi believed that Zhang Ruochen had a chance to cross the sixth layer.
After all, it was extremely rare for a Fourth-Step Saint King to comprehend the first level of the Thick Earth Small World. It was possible that he could create a miracle.
“That’s exactly what I intend to do.”
Zhang Ruochen left the Truth Temple and headed straight for the Sea of Truth.
Yan Shiju glanced at Feng Xi and said, “Since Zhang Ruochen has left seclusion, we can also leave the Truth Temple. Should we go to the Sea of Truth to take a look?”
Unable to suppress her curiosity, Feng Xi nodded.
Zhang Ruochen arrived at the Sea of Truth in a low-key manner, boarded a Truth Boat, and broke through the first four layers of the sea with unstoppable momentum, reaching the fifth layer.
A year ago, Zhang Ruochen had only managed to cross eight miles in the fifth layer before losing control of the Truth Boat and falling into the sea.
But now, with the immense power of the Truth Rules, Zhang Ruochen sailed through the fifth layer of the sea. Not only was the Truth Boat moving at an extremely fast speed, but it was also remarkably stable.
Zhang Ruochen easily reached the checkpoint of the fifth layer and met the guardian.
“Severing the Heavenly Path.”
Zhang Ruochen unleashed a move from the Luo Water Fist Technique. The water in the sea rose up, forming a water dragon that struck the guardian, shattering its body.
With just one move, he passed the checkpoint.
Zhang Ruochen passed through the light barrier and entered the sixth layer of the sea.
…
Half an hour later, Zhang Ruochen reached the checkpoint of the sixth layer and engaged in battle with the guardian.
The guardian of the sixth layer was clearly much stronger than the one in the fifth layer. Zhang Ruochen had to unleash seventeen fist techniques in a row before finally defeating it.
As Zhang Ruochen entered the seventh layer of the sea, cultivators on the shore of the Sea of Truth finally noticed him.
“Someone has entered the seventh layer of the sea.”
“Who is that? Anyone who can enter the seventh layer is a peerless genius renowned across the realms.”
“He must be the leader of some powerful realm, but why does he seem so unfamiliar?”
“Unfamiliar? Really? You don’t recognize him? That’s Zhang Ruochen! As soon as he arrived in the Truth Heavenly Domain, he caused a bloodbath. He almost wiped out the cultivators of the Yin-Yang Realm, the Black Demon Realm, and the Ten Thousand Evils Realm. He’s a truly terrifying figure!”
“After lying low for over a year, Zhang Ruochen has reappeared.”
“Zhang Ruochen? Impossible! Didn’t they say he just broke through to the Saint King realm? How could he cross to the seventh layer of the sea?”
…
The shore of the Sea of Truth was in an uproar.
Especially after Zhang Ruochen’s identity was confirmed, countless cultivators were stunned, unable to believe what they were seeing.
Feng Xi murmured to herself, “When dealing with the guardian of the sixth layer, he didn’t even seem to be using his full strength. It seems I still underestimated him. Zhang Ruochen’s crossing of the Sea of Truth is likely to shake the entire Truth Heavenly Domain once again. I wonder what kind of chain reaction it will cause?”
