Zhang Ruochen was now at the peak of the Xuanji Realm Grand Circle, and the purpose of taking the Sacred Liquid was not to break through the realm, but rather, he intended to use the Sacred Power contained in the Sacred Liquid to quench his fleshly body.
“Boom!”
The Holy Liquid entering the body was like a bomb exploding in the body.
In just an instant, the qi lakes, meridians, and blood veins in Zhang Ruochen’s body were all filled with Saint Force, squeezing from the inside out as if it was going to burst Zhang Ruochen’s body.
Wisps of Saint Force surged out from Zhang Ruochen’s pores, turning into a white Saint River that flew around Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen endeavoured to control the True Qi in his body and injected it into his Soul Vein to stimulate his Martial Soul.
The Martial Soul, which was like a substantial soul shadow, hovered above Zhang Ruochen’s head, looking exactly like Zhang Ruochen.
The Martial Soul was also breathing in and out, absorbing Saint Force and nourishing itself.
Holy power was the best tonic for a martial soul.
With Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation level, it was impossible for him to completely absorb a single drop of Holy Liquid with just his physical body, which was why he released his martial soul, allowing it to absorb the Holy Force as well.
Under the impact of the Saint Liquid’s Saint Force, Zhang Ruochen’s Qi Lake was actually slowly expanding outwards, becoming larger and larger. In the Qi Lake, the amount of Saint Force contained, was also increasing.
Normally, the Qi Lake could only expand when one was breaking through a realm.
In just a quarter of an hour, Zhang Ruochen’s Qi Lake’s capacity expanded by double, and, it continued to grow.
Two times, three times ……
A whole day passed, and Zhang Ruochen’s Qi Lake expanded seven times before it finally stopped.
The expansion of the Qi Lake also meant an increase in cultivation.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he hadn’t attracted the resonance of the gods, Zhang Ruochen would have even thought that he had already reached the Supreme Extreme Realm of the Xuan Extreme Realm.
Zhang Ruochen’s mood was calm as he continued to refine the Holy Liquid’s Holy Power, causing it to integrate into his bones, muscles, organs, meridians, and blood veins. It was as if his physical body had transformed into a Sacred Light Treasure Body, with every inch of his skin radiating white light.
A month later, Zhang Ruochen completely refined the holy energy from that drop of holy liquid, and with the true qi in his body, he perfectly fused it into one.
“The realm has risen again, with my current strength, I should be able to burst out at a speed of eighty metres per second. If I cultivate the Royal Wind Flying Dragon Shadow, to the Grand Completion Realm, my speed will definitely increase again, and I might be able to reach eighty-one metres per second.”
The Royal Wind Flying Dragon Shadow was a Spirit Grade Upper Grade Martial Skill, it was not something that could be cultivated to the Grand Completion in an instant, and it would take a lot of time to practice.
“Zhang Ruochen, all sixty-six basic inscriptions in the Sinking Abyss Ancient Sword have been renewed, reaching the level of a Ninth Grade True Martial Treasure Weapon.” Little Black held the four-foot long broken sword and handed it to Zhang Ruochen.
“That’s really great!” Zhang Ruochen’s heart was overjoyed.
Zhang Ruochen pinched the hilt of the Sinking Abyss Ancient Sword and stepped out of the inner space of the Space-Time Crystal Stone, arriving in the middle of the empty compound.
Standing in the centre of the compound, he carefully felt this familiar sword, a feeling as if a loved one had returned to his side.
A warm current flowed into Zhang Ruochen’s body.
The person and the sword, like bloodlines were born from each other, fused into one.
“Clang!”
The Sinking Abyss Ancient Sword emitted a sword chirping sound, gently trembling as if it had come to life.
Zhang Ruochen forced his eyes, incomparably intoxicated, and gradually, the fingers that were originally pinching the hilt of the sword slowly loosened.
The Sinking Abyss Ancient Sword did not fall to the ground, it remained suspended in mid-air, motionless.
Xiao Hei stood in the distance, his whole body exploding, his eyes wide, exclaiming, “Sword Heart Tong Ming!”
“Fly!”
Zhang Ruochen’s mouth spat out a single word.
Suddenly, the Sinking Abyss Ancient Sword flew out, holding a long sword shadow that pierced the wings of a flying mosquito a hundred metres away in a flash.
“Swoosh!”
The Sinking Abyss Ancient Sword immediately flew back again and landed in Zhang Ruochen’s hand.
“Haha! Finally reaching the realm of Sword Mind Enlightenment, Sinking Abyss, in the future, still follow me in battle.”
Having never been able to reach the Sword Mind Passage, it did not occur to him that after regaining control of the Sinking Abyss Ancient Sword, he would instantly break through the realm.
Zhang Ruochen held the four-foot broken sword, closed his eyes, and felt the shadow of a rice grain sized sword in the Qi Lake at the centre of his eyebrows.
That was the “Heart of Sword Intent” that could only be formed when one reached the Sword Heart Realm.
The reason why Zhang Ruochen was able to reach the Sword Heart Understanding Realm at the Xuanji Realm was because he had once been at the Sword Heart Understanding Realm, so naturally, he could easily cultivate back to the realm.
If he were another martial artist, at the Xuanji Realm, being able to reach the intermediate realm of Sword Follows Heart would already be very good. The realm of Sword Heart Understanding was nothing short of a legend to them.
By reaching the realm of Sword Mind, one could control the battle sword through the Heart of Sword Intent and kill the enemy a hundred miles away.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen’s realm was still very low right now, and his true qi wasn’t thick enough, so at most, he could only control his battle sword to fly within a hundred metres.
With the breakthrough in realm, Zhang Ruochen’s aura had also undergone some changes, even if he just stood there casually, he gave off a faint pressure, as if he was a young sword god.
If Zhang Ruochen were to launch an attack, even just a single glance would be able to break the soul of a Yellow Extreme Realm martial artist, scaring the opponent into fleeing.
“Only ten days should have passed outside, Kong Xuan probably hasn’t fully transformed his gongfu yet.”
Zhang Ruochen first went to Zhang Shaochu’s residence and handed him the seven drops of Half Sacred True Liquid, then, he went to Zixi’s residence.
Zi Xi was cultivating the Royal Wind Flying Dragon Shadow and had already reached the introductory realm.
Speed, which was originally her strength, was naturally quick to comprehend.
Her feet stepped on the nine footsteps and she was extremely fast, like a beautiful phantom, and in just an instant, she rushed in front of Zhang Ruochen.
“Swish!”
Without warning, a sword light flew out from her sleeve, emitting an icy cold aura as it stabbed at Zhang Ruochen’s neck.
Zhang Ruochen didn’t move his feet, just slightly deviated his neck, easily dodging Zixi’s fish intestinal sword in her sleeve.
“Swish swish!”
Zi Xi stabbed out eighteen swords in a row, leaving behind eighteen sword shadows, but all of them were easily dodged by Zhang Ruochen, not even hurting the corner of Zhang Ruochen’s coat.
Zixi retracted her sword back into her sleeve, lightly biting her teeth, she asked, “You really haven’t broken through the Earth Extreme Realm?”
Zhang Ruochen shook his head.
After coming out from the Red Sky Secret Mansion, Zixie had obtained a large amount of cultivation resources, and her cultivation and physique had risen by a large margin, but in front of Zhang Ruochen, the gap was still huge, so naturally, her heart was a bit discouraged.
As if Zhang Ruochen could see through Zixi’s mind, he said, ”You are actually already very good, even if you go to challenge the Xuan Ranking now, you will still be able to enter the top eight hundred of the Xuan Ranking. If you were to settle down and accumulate for another two years, it wouldn’t be difficult to enter the top one hundred of the Xuan Ranking.”
Zixi said, “But the gap with you is still too big!”
Zhang Ruochen said, “Your main problem is that the technique you are cultivating is not profound enough, and the meridians that have opened up in your body are not enough, so naturally, you can’t compare to me.”
The meridians in Zixi’s body, only seventeen, might have been quite excellent compared to other martial artists, but compared to Zhang Ruochen, there was naturally a huge gap.
Zixi said, “Could it be that having a small number of meridians in one’s body must be inferior to a martial artist with a large number of meridians in their body?”
“Not really.” Zhang Ruochen said, “The potential of a martial artist is endless, there is no factor that can absolutely determine the fate of a martial artist, one can only say that one is more dominant. I am just more dominant right now, that’s all.”
Zhang Ruochen helped Zixi correct some more mistakes in her footwork, and left her alone to continue her cultivation.
Zixi decided that she would cultivate the Royal Wind Flying Dragon Shadow to a small level of success before she would go to the Martial Market Fighting Arena to challenge her, preparing to break into the top 500 of the Xuan Ranking in one fell swoop.
Liu Chengfeng called out to Zhang Ruochen from afar and chased after him, saying, “Eldest Senior Brother, someone wants to see you.”
“Who?” Zhang Ruochen said.
“The number one in The Xuan Ranking, Yan Lixuan.” Liu Xifeng said with some excitement.
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly and asked curiously, “Why is he meeting me?”
Liu Xifeng said, “Eldest Brother, don’t you know? During the time you were in seclusion, that fight between you and Xun Guihai has spread throughout the entire Heavenly Demon Martial City, and everyone is saying that you already possess the strength of being number one on the Xuan Ranking. Yan Lixuan, as the number one in the Xuan Ranking, naturally came to challenge you.”
Zhang Ruochen laughed and said, “What’s the point of him challenging me? He is already the number one in The Xuan Ranking, so even if he defeats me, it won’t increase his reputation. On the contrary, if he were to lose at my hands, wouldn’t his reputation be ruined.”
Liu Xifeng laughed, “Who knows what he is thinking? Perhaps he feels that he has stayed at the number one position in the Xuan Ranking for too long and wishes to be defeated instead.”
Zhang Ruochen thought about it and nodded lightly, it wasn’t impossible.
With Zhang Ruochen’s current realm, he had already lost interest in a martial artist of Yan Lixuan’s calibre, and did not want to meet him at all. However, since he had personally paid a visit, Zhang Ruochen, as a junior, naturally still had to go and meet him.
To be able to become the number one in the Xuan Ranking, there must be something outstanding about him, and perhaps there would be unexpected gains.
Yan Lixuan was an old man in his sixties, wearing a plain cloth coat, and although his face was already wrinkled and slightly aged, his hair was still turquoise and not a single white hair could be seen.
His arms were thick, his body was tall, and he was full of spirit, just standing there casually, yet he gave off a feeling of being completely integrated with nature, and not the slightest flaw could be found.
“The peak realm of following one’s heart.”
Zhang Ruochen perceived the height of Yan Lixuan’s realm at the first sight of him.
No wonder he was able to become the number one in the Xuan Ranking, he really did have real talent.
After decades of cultivation, although his martial realm was still the Xuan Extreme Realm Grand Circle. However, above the realm of martial skill usage, he was more powerful than many Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artists.
If he was allowed to break through to the Earth Extremity Realm, he would soon become a powerhouse in the Earth Extremity Realm, and it was even possible for him to reach the Heavenly Extremity Realm in a short period of time.
When Yan Lixuan saw Zhang Ruochen, his eyes lit up brightly as he slightly arched his hand and smiled, “I had thought that in the Xuan Extreme Realm, I was the only one who was able to reach the pinnacle of the Follow Your Heart realm. I didn’t realise that you had also reached this realm, truly a newborn.”
Zhang Ruochen had hidden the realm of Sword Heart Understanding. That was why Yan Lixuan thought that Zhang Ruochen was only at the peak of Sui Xin realm.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Senior is very curious, with Senior’s realm, it shouldn’t be difficult to break through the Earth Extreme Realm. Why haven’t you broken through that realm even now?”
Yan Lixuan’s eyes darkened slightly as he said, “There is a break in my Martial Dao Heart, the knot in my heart can’t be untied, and I will never be able to break through at the Martial Dao Realm.”
The knot in a martial artist’s heart was something quite subtle, not only would it affect the martial artist’s state of mind, but better yet, it would affect the martial artist’s cultivation.
For example, if a martial artist had once done something wrong, a knot would appear in his or her heart, causing the martial dao realm to stop moving forward.
Another example, if a martial artist had once sworn an oath, but then broke his or her oath, a knot would also form in his or her heart.
Or, if the martial artist had done something wrong, leading to an irreparable tragedy, an intense guilt would arise in his or her heart. This was also a type of heart knot!
Heart knots, there were many kinds.
There were heart knots that could be easily undone, and there were heart knots that were very difficult to undo. There were heart knots that had a small impact on the martial dao, and there were heart knots that had a rather large impact on the martial dao.
Obviously, Yan Lixuan’s heart knot belonged to the kind of heart knot that was quite large, and if he couldn’t unravel it, he would never be able to break through in the martial dao realm.
