Ji Fanxin wore a snow-white long robe, her slender waist as delicate as a willow, her jet-black hair cascading down her back, framed by a shower of petals, she formed a dreamlike silhouette, breathtakingly beautiful.
“There exists such an ethereal beauty in this world.”
Every cultivator in King Mountain, including the female saints, marvelled at her, unable to tear their gazes away from Ji Fanxin.
Perhaps only Zhang Ruochen, standing before her, could remain composed.
Ji Fanxin’s voice, melodious and pleasing, said, “The spatial maze and temporal arrays you set up are too simplistic, any mental power Saint King at the fifty-ninth tier should be able to breach them.”
Zhang Ruochen nodded lightly, acknowledging this.
To rush to the Tongming River and stop the Nether God Hall cultivators from excavating Senior Golden Dragon’s remains, he had indeed only hastily arranged the arrays.
“Swish.”
The Yi Huang Bone Staff flew back, landing in Zhang Ruochen’s hand.
Communicating with the Evil Spirit, Zhang Ruochen gazed at the western sky, his brows furrowing tightly, “A pity, Feng Chengdao managed to escape!”
Ji Fanxin said, “Feng Chengdao’s cultivation nears the Major Rule Heaven realm, killing him is no easy feat, unless you can unleash that kick that crushed Venerable Hidden Heart again, there’s a slim chance.”
So far, Zhang Ruochen had only refined just over 3,000 of the crimson rules in his left leg, still far from wielding the Blazing God Leg freely.
Because he couldn’t control it, that single kick against Venerable Hidden Heart had nearly drained all his saint qi.
Moreover, he had to lure the enemy close to land the Blazing God Leg for a certain kill, but doing so carried great risk—before the foe entered its range, Zhang Ruochen might already be slain.
When he chose to use that move, it meant the situation had reached “either the enemy dies, or I do.”
Zhang Ruochen took it in stride, “Let it be, if he escaped, so be it! Even Feng Chengdao was driven off, I reckon petty troublemakers won’t dare stir chaos in Yunwu Commandery anymore, sparing me the effort of dealing with them.”
Ji Fanxin said, “Feng Chengdao is strong, but in the Nether God Hall, he’s only a third-rate figure, the truly formidable ones are Nether God’s direct disciples, Cang Long and Ruan Ling, if they came themselves, all of Yunwu Commandery would sink into the earth, you’d have no power to resist them.”
Zhang Ruochen asked, “That strong? Have they already condensed a Dao Domain?”
Ji Fanxin nodded lightly, adding, “Perhaps even more.”
Zhang Ruochen drew a sharp breath, it seemed his enemies were far more terrifying than he’d imagined.
Ji Fanxin continued, “However, Cang Long and Ruan Ling have more pressing matters, they likely can’t spare attention for you right now, after all, in their eyes, you’re a minor figure, easily dealt with by sending a few lackeys, no need to waste their time personally.”
“What pressing matters?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Ji Fanxin’s gaze deepened, “Kunlun Realm is awakening, many peerless treasures and ancient legacies will emerge, Cang Long and Ruan Ling naturally want to seize this chance to advance further, forging stronger physiques, laying a solid foundation for an immortal saintly body, the deeper their foundation, the rarer the treasures they claim, the more powerful the immortal saintly body they’ll forge.”
“Moreover, Hell Realm is pressing hard, Cang Long and Ruan Ling must prepare actively, or when Hell Realm’s rival figures descend on Kunlun, they’ll face tough days.”
A sense of urgency gripped Zhang Ruochen’s heart.
At Sixth-Step Saint King, guarding Yunwu Commandery was already a struggle, to compete with the prodigies of Heaven and Hell Realms, he needed far greater cultivation.
At least Seventh-Step Saint King, then, even if he couldn’t match Dao Domain cultivators, he’d likely have the ability to retreat calmly.
“Did Fairy bring divine stones this time?” Zhang Ruochen asked.
Ji Fanxin shook her head lightly, “At our cultivation level, we’ve no need for divine stones, how could I bring them to Kunlun Realm? But don’t be disappointed, I’ve sent someone back to Thousand Pistil Realm, they should fetch a few.”
She added, “Actually, I’m curious, the Moon Goddess seems to favour you highly, making you her envoy at Saint King realm, getting divine stones from her shouldn’t be hard, right?”
“But she hasn’t given me a single one.”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head with a smile, “The minds of gods are unfathomable, perhaps the Moon Goddess wants to temper me, test my abilities.”
Ji Fanxin and Zhang Ruochen walked side by side into King Mountain’s depths, like a pair of divine lovers.
Wherever they passed, grass and trees flourished wildly, even saint herbs bloomed with brighter radiance.
Ji Fanxin said, “Since arriving in Kunlun Realm, I’ve heard much about your exploits, I didn’t expect someone as rational as you to have a moment of fury for a beauty.”
Zhang Ruochen smiled, “What else have you heard?”
“I heard you and Kunlun Realm’s Empress were once lovers, later turned enemies, honestly, your life is quite a legend.”
Ji Fanxin paused, gazing at Zhang Ruochen, continuing, “I also heard you possess a world, and Kunlun Realm’s spiritual root, the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree, wasn’t truly severed—it grows in your world.”
Zhang Ruochen didn’t deny it, knowing Ji Fanxin’s visit was for the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree.
“The Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree was indeed severed, what’s in my world is just a new sprout grown from its roots,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Ji Fanxin’s fairy-like eyes lit up, “Can you introduce me? I’d like to consult it on some questions about the Way of Life.”
Zhang Ruochen sighed lightly, “The new sprout of the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree is still growing, much of its memories and insights lost, it may not be able to teach you.”
“As a being that once walked furthest in the Way of Life, even as a sapling now, its understanding of the Way of Life is beyond ordinary imagination,” Ji Fanxin said.
Zhang Ruochen considered, “Alright, we’re allies, refusing such a small request might offend you, Fairy, but what’s the price for those divine stones?”
“If you introduce me to the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree, I’ll give you three divine stones,” Ji Fanxin said readily.
“Deal.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “You want to enter that world, I can bring you in, but I’ll warn you upfront, in that world, even with your cultivation, I could easily suppress you.”
“You trust me, so naturally I trust you,” Ji Fanxin replied.
This woman was indeed captivating, not just stunningly beautiful, but a joy to be around, evoking no trace of rejection or displeasure.
No wonder so many prodigies willingly trailed after her.
Ji Fanxin turned into a speck of light, entering Zhang Ruochen’s brow.
Simultaneously, Zhang Ruochen stood still, as if petrified.
His mental power and saint soul formed a figure, appearing with Ji Fanxin beneath the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree.
The tree was lush and towering, its trunk thicker than a mountain, each leaf like a green cloud, shimmering with crystalline dots, breathing in the saint qi of heaven and earth.
Ji Fanxin marvelled, bowing to the tree, then began communing with its consciousness.
Both pursued the Way of Life, sharing much common ground.
Zhang Ruochen stood at a distance, waiting a while, seeing no end to their exchange, he left a mental power clone behind, his saint soul and consciousness returning to his body.
Using the Spring of Life, Zhang Ruochen healed Evil Chengzi’s wounds.
Elephant-Swallowing Rabbit and Demon Ape bound the Nether God Hall captives, bringing them before Zhang Ruochen, asking how to handle them.
There were twelve captives, all above Fourth-Step Saint King.
Zhang Ruochen said, “The Nether God Hall is teeming with experts, they won’t let this go and will return with force, lock these captives up for now, they might prove useful later.”
The Saint Devourer Flower retrieved dozens of war corpses, most still largely intact.
With Venerable Hidden Heart dead, these war corpses lost consciousness, no different from ordinary corpses.
“These war corpses pack quite a punch, especially War Dragon and War Tiger, their strength rivals Ninth-Step Saint Kings, pity no one in King Mountain has studied corpse-control secrets, just destroy them,” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Master.”
Evil Chengzi stepped forward, bowing, “I’ve cultivated a secret corpse-control technique, may I try handling them?”
Zhang Ruochen agreed, “If you can control them, your strength could multiply several times, that’d be a boon.”
True Wonder Little Taoist hauled back the black sacrificial platform the Nether God Hall cultivators had wielded.
The platform was no ordinary treasure, resisting time and space forces, even supreme power struggled to breach it, though now it lay split in two, heavily damaged.
Zhang Ruochen asked, “Can it be repaired?”
“It can, though it’s tricky, if we could enlist a saint weapon refiner to assist me, I’m confident not only in repairing it but enhancing its power further,” True Wonder Little Taoist said.
“Saint weapon refiner.”
Zhang Ruochen looked thoughtful, murmuring softly, then said, “Set the black platform aside for now, the priority is strengthening King Mountain’s defences, I’ve prepared all the materials you need, now it’s up to you—can you set up a ninth-grade array?”
“Really? Heh, a true ninth-grade array, with my current cultivation, I probably can’t manage, but a prototype ninth-grade array? That’s no trouble,” True Wonder Little Taoist grinned.
Zhang Ruochen handed all the materials for a ninth-grade array to True Wonder Little Taoist.
Meanwhile, he went to King Mountain’s perimeter, setting up more intricate spatial mazes and temporal arrays, aiming to turn King Mountain into an impregnable stronghold, a safe haven for more people in the future.
