The vast expanse of green soul mist beneath the Qiankun World was boundless and dense, indicating that Qing Jin’s saint soul was extraordinarily powerful. If not for the Qiankun World, Zhang Ruochen would have been unable to handle it at this moment.
From within the soul mist, Qing Jin’s voice echoed, “Let’s talk.”
Qing Jin’s spiritual will had not dissipated, but it seemed quite weak.
Zhang Ruochen replied, “There’s nothing to discuss between us.”
“Not necessarily,” Qing Jin said. “I was once ranked first on the *Saint King Merit List*. The cultivation techniques I practiced are among the top ten in the myriad realms, and I have mastered multiple mid-tier and even high-tier saint spells. The wealth I possess is beyond your imagination, surpassing even some Great Saints. Are you not interested in any of this?”
“I’m not interested,” Zhang Ruochen said.
In truth, Zhang Ruochen was quite shocked. This person had once been ranked first on the *Saint King Merit List*. Achieving such a feat was undoubtedly more difficult than becoming a Great Saint. It required unparalleled talent and immense fortune.
After a long silence, Qing Jin spoke again, “I once discovered a cosmic secret realm containing the legacy of a god. Surely, this interests you?”
“Where is this secret realm?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen’s interest in the god’s legacy, Qing Jin was pleased and said, “First, remove the world suppressing me, and then we can discuss this further.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly.
He knew full well that even if there was a god’s legacy, it had likely already been taken by Qing Jin. How could it still remain in the cosmic secret realm?
Thus, Zhang Ruochen ignored Qing Jin’s words and took out the Yihuang Bone Staff.
Hearing no response from Zhang Ruochen, Qing Jin hurriedly added, “That cosmic secret realm not only contains the god’s legacy but also a supreme saint artifact and heavenly-grade saint pills.”
Zhang Ruochen paid no heed and instead focused his spiritual energy, entering the skull of the Yihuang Bone Staff.
With his spiritual power rapidly advancing to the 57th level, Zhang Ruochen was ready to formally communicate with the evil spirit within the staff.
Upon entering the skull, Zhang Ruochen felt as though he had stepped into a dark, icy world. Waves of evil energy surged toward him, attempting to devour his spiritual presence.
This evil energy carried the aura of a Great Saint, and Zhang Ruochen was under immense pressure, struggling to withstand it.
The Yihuang Bone Staff was crafted from the spine and skull of a Great Saint, and it still retained traces of Great Saint power. Each wisp of this power floated before Zhang Ruochen like a river of light.
In the darkness, a thunderous laugh echoed, “Hehe! Boy, you dare to enter my skull with your spiritual avatar? You must have a death wish.”
A chilling wind swept through the dark world.
Black mist gathered, forming a massive skull hundreds of feet tall. Its mouth opened wide, attempting to swallow Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual avatar.
“You’re just a remnant soul. Do you still think you’re the Great Saint who once shook the world?” Zhang Ruochen extended his hand, summoning dozens of lightning bolts that struck the skull, causing it to let out agonized screams.
The black skull, the manifestation of the evil spirit, was nearly shattered by the lightning and retreated, howling, “Damn you! If even a tenth of my saint soul remained, I would make you beg for death!”
The evil spirit then summoned the Great Saint power within the dark world. Rivers of light converged around it, resembling thousands of holy dragons circling in the air.
Zhang Ruochen grew cautious. Even a trace of Great Saint power was terrifyingly destructive.
He summoned the power of the Buddha Emperor’s relic, and a brilliant golden light illuminated the dark world, purging the evil energy.
Under the Buddha’s light, the evil spirit writhed in pain. With a furious roar, it unleashed all its Great Saint power.
The Buddha Emperor’s relic also released Great Saint power, even more potent, and under Zhang Ruochen’s control, it collided with the evil spirit’s attack.
“Boom!”
The black skull let out a final scream, shattering into pieces.
“Stop purging me with Buddha’s power! I will submit to you!”
The shattered pieces of the black skull reformed into a shadowy figure, trembling as it bowed to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen, radiating golden light like a sacred Bodhisattva, said sternly, “Aren’t you a Great Saint? How can you submit so easily?”
The shadowy figure, knowing its life was in Zhang Ruochen’s hands, replied, “The Great Saint has long perished, and even his saint soul has scattered. I am merely an evil spirit forged from the remnants of his soul by a powerful being from the Soul Realm.”
A true Great Saint would never bow to anyone, not even a god, let alone a Saint King.
Zhang Ruochen tested it further, “Kneel before me.”
The Yihuang evil spirit hesitated, its evil energy fluctuating as if ready to fight to the death. But as Zhang Ruochen’s Great Saint power grew denser, the spirit knew it stood no chance and reluctantly knelt.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Since you’re an evil spirit forged from a Great Saint’s remnant soul, you must still retain some of his will. Kneeling before me must be unbearable for you, right?”
“Not at all. Master, you are a peerless genius with limitless potential. It is my honor to follow you,” the evil spirit replied.
“Whether you mean it or not, I’ll take your word for now. In time, I’ll make you understand that following me is indeed an honor.”
Pausing, Zhang Ruochen added, “Yihuang, as long as you obey me, I won’t destroy you. Instead, I’ll provide you with abundant saint souls to strengthen you. In the future, you might even regain the power of a Great Saint. For now, hand over half of your soul to me.”
“Hand over half my soul? That would give you the power to annihilate me at any moment,” the evil spirit protested.
Zhang Ruochen gathered more Buddha light in his palm and said, “I can destroy you right now if I wish.”
The evil spirit fell silent, then reluctantly split half of its soul, forming a black orb, which it handed to Zhang Ruochen.
The evil spirit’s power diminished by half. Once comparable to a peak six-step Saint King, it was now barely at the level of a six-step Saint King.
Zhang Ruochen took the soul orb, satisfied, and left the dark world.
“With half of the evil spirit’s soul in my control, I no longer fear its betrayal. Now, I can safely let it refine and devour Qing Jin’s saint soul.”
Without further communication with Qing Jin, Zhang Ruochen extracted one percent of the green soul mist beneath the Qiankun World and infused it into the Yihuang Bone Staff.
Though only one percent, the soul mist still contained formidable spiritual will. It took both Zhang Ruochen and the evil spirit to suppress it.
The green soul mist filled the dark world, and it would take time for the evil spirit to fully devour and refine it.
In the meantime, Zhang Ruochen took out the long whisk left by Saint Monk Xumi.
The whisk, about three feet long, emitted a soft white light and radiated potent Buddha energy.
During his first contact with the whisk, Zhang Ruochen had sensed an independent space within it. However, with Princess Qianxing present at the time, he hadn’t had the chance to explore it.
“I wonder what level Saint Monk Xumi had reached. A single whisk of his could nurture a small world,” Zhang Ruochen mused.
His body vanished, transforming into a speck of light that entered the small world within the whisk.
In the next moment, Zhang Ruochen found himself in a narrow, elongated world with its own sky and earth. It continuously drew in the external world’s saint energy.
It took Zhang Ruochen half an hour to traverse the world from one end to the other.
“Three thousand six hundred miles long,” he noted.
Raising his head, Zhang Ruochen opened his heavenly eye and gazed at the sky. Countless time and space rules were densely interwoven, forming the fabric of this world.
“Indeed, this small world is constructed from time and space rules. By comprehending these rules, my mastery of time and space will advance rapidly,” Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
Suddenly, he felt a familiar, faint sensation. Something beneath the earth was calling to him.
The sensation grew stronger.
“Boom!”
About three zhang away from Zhang Ruochen, the ground cracked, and a green lotus seed flew out, hovering in the air like a green moon. It emitted a dazzling green light, bathing the entire world in its radiance.
The seed contained immense vitality, causing lotus flowers to bloom across the barren world, filling it with a captivating fragrance.
“Why is there a lotus seed here?” Zhang Ruochen wondered.
He reached out, and the green seed flew into his palm, its light retracting.
Zhang Ruochen examined the seed closely, finding that it contained an overwhelming amount of life energy but nothing else of note.
After some thought, Zhang Ruochen left the small world within the whisk and opened the formation of the refining tower, summoning Zhen Miao the Taoist and the little black cat.
“I’ve just obtained a unique treasure and want to test its power,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“A treasure? What treasure?” The little black cat’s eyes gleamed with excitement, rubbing its paws eagerly.
Zhang Ruochen opened his palm, revealing the green lotus seed, which glowed like emerald.
“How about this? Cut off your heads, and I’ll see if it can regenerate them,” Zhang Ruochen suggested.
Hearing this, Zhen Miao the Taoist turned and fled, convinced that Zhang Ruochen was planning to eat its leg—no, its head!
