In a hidden cave, bursts of golden light flickered, now bright, now dim, as if a rare treasure was emerging.
On a large bluestone within the cave, a figure sat cross-legged, radiating an exceptionally vibrant life force. Golden blood energy surged from their body, forming a sea of golden divine light.
This was none other than Little Sun King, who had escaped alone.
Since fleeing here, Little Sun King had entered seclusion, consuming vast amounts of precious holy medicines and pills, doubling the strength of his life force. The immense blood energy he generated coalesced into the golden divine sea before him.
Moreover, Little Sun King employed an extraordinary secret technique, generating tens of millions of holy path rules identical to his own, an effect even more astonishing than refining the Five-Element Imperial Flower.
These tens of millions of holy path rules intertwined, forming a golden sun that floated within the golden divine sea.
As time passed, the golden divine sea gradually shrank until it transformed into a human shape.
The figure formed from the golden divine sea was identical to Little Sun King, exuding vibrant vitality, with an aura indistinguishable from his own.
“Swoosh.”
The figure before Little Sun King suddenly opened its eyes, radiating a sharp, piercing gaze, with a thick murderous intent gathering between its brows.
“Big Brother, don’t get agitated. This body has just been formed and isn’t stable yet,” Little Sun King quickly soothed.
Big Sun King, who had supposedly self-destructed, had reappeared in the world. If Zhang Ruochen and others knew, they would be utterly shocked.
The reason lay in the unique ability of the Golden Sun Twin Kings: shared life. As long as one survived, the other could be resurrected.
This was why Little Sun King had unhesitatingly fled with the Golden Crow Ancient Cauldron.
However, while shared life allowed Big Sun King’s resurrection, his strength was greatly diminished, with a fragile body and holy soul. It would take considerable time and vast resources to restore his former power.
Big Sun King, aware of his current state, quickly calmed down, retracting his aura to prevent his fragile body from collapsing.
“We planned so meticulously, yet this is the result. Our brothers have never suffered such a humiliating defeat,” Little Sun King sighed.
A cold glint flashed in Big Sun King’s eyes as he exhaled softly, “No rush. We’ll have a chance to make Zhang Ruochen pay. My strength is greatly reduced, so I’m not suited to confront him directly for now. We’ll endure and focus on finding the Dragon God Temple’s treasures and the Key to the World Gate. If we fail, we’ll have no way to answer to the Old Heavenly Lord.”
“Zhang Ruochen and the others don’t know our ability. They likely think you’re dead, Big Brother. This is our chance to catch them off guard at the right moment,” Little Sun King said, his eyes gleaming.
Big Sun King nodded, “Next time, I’ll give them a big surprise.”
With that, he sat cross-legged, circulating his technique to familiarize himself with and strengthen his new body, without which he couldn’t fight.
Little Sun King also sat, both guarding Big Sun King and recovering his own depleted energy.
On a ruined battlefield, Zhang Ruochen immersed himself in cultivation, refining the eight petals of the Five-Element Imperial Flower one by one, increasing the holy path rules in his Tongtian River.
In no time, his total holy path rules reached 29,999,999, on the verge of breaking through to the Near-Path Realm. One more rule would push him into it.
The Five-Element Imperial Flower was extraordinary, adding only major and supreme holy path rules.
As a result, minor path rules made up just over twenty percent of Zhang Ruochen’s total, nearly disrupting the balance of his Tongtian River.
If not for the flower’s remarkable properties, tightly binding all rules in the river, it might have collapsed.
Cultivation is like building a tower: the foundation must be solid, and minor path rules are essential.
Per the wisdom of predecessors, no matter the opportunity, minor path rules should never fall below twenty percent.
Normally, minor path rules making up thirty to forty percent is most reasonable, balancing cultivation difficulty.
For most cultivators, keeping minor path rules below fifty percent is unimaginable, achievable only by the most exceptional geniuses.
The higher the realm, the truer this is. After reaching the Near-Path Realm, adding holy path rules becomes extremely difficult, and no one can afford to be picky about the type.
Though Zhang Ruochen’s minor path rules were just over twenty percent, later on, forty to fifty, or even sixty percent, would be normal.
At a certain moment, the flow of his Tongtian River surged, like a celestial river, unstoppable and majestic.
Surrounding heaven and earth energy rushed toward Zhang Ruochen, and the rules of heaven and earth grew active.
Without hesitation, he took out vast amounts of holy stones, absorbing their contained holy energy.
Breaking through to the Near-Path Realm required immense energy. Absorbing it directly from the environment was too slow; holy stones saved time.
Battles at Sword Tomb, Immortal Machine Mountain, and Blood God Sect had amassed Zhang Ruochen a fortune in holy stones, rivaling many Great Saints.
Soon, the Tongtian River calmed, its holy path rules exceeding thirty million.
As Zhang Ruochen prepared to end his cultivation, he faintly sensed something.
His right hand’s finger twitched slightly, releasing a strand of spatial power that formed an invisible thread, silently extending in one direction.
In an instant, the thread stretched hundreds of miles away.
Beneath a rock hundreds of miles away, a figure crouched, stealthily observing Zhang Ruochen and Little Black.
This was a short, thin old man, barely one and a half meters tall, with dark skin, a wrinkled face, and small, beady eyes that gleamed with cunning.
He hid perfectly, blending seamlessly with the environment, undetectable even up close.
“This guy’s incredible, condensing holy path rules into a river without limitations, mostly from major and supreme paths, including three supreme paths. What’s his background?” the old man muttered, his small eyes darting.
He didn’t notice an invisible spatial thread appearing beside him.
Before he could react, the thread swiftly bound him, wrapping hundreds of times.
“How? How could he detect me?” the old man’s eyes widened in shock.
As he struggled to break free, Zhang Ruochen tugged the thread.
“Boom.”
The rock was flung aside, and the old man was yanked out, hurtling toward Zhang Ruochen.
In an instant, he appeared before Zhang Ruochen, bound tightly by the invisible thread, unable to move.
Little Black looked at the old man in surprise, “Where’d this old guy come from?”
“I sensed a faint disturbance over two hundred miles away during my breakthrough, aligning with heaven’s rules. I sent out a spatial thread and got a catch,” Zhang Ruochen said with a faint smile.
The old man cursed his luck inwardly. miscarried; he’d been so cautious, yet Zhang Ruochen’s keen senses caught a mere hint of disturbance.
Had he known, he’d have stayed farther away.
Little Black’s claw grabbed the old man, lifting him with a menacing glare, “Old man, who are you? Why were you spying? Speak clearly, or I’ll eat you.”
The old man shivered, his small eyes darting nervously, “Don’t eat me! My meat’s tough, not tasty. I’m just a wandering cultivator seeking treasure on True Dragon Island. I saw you fighting and hid out of fear, not spying.”
“You? Passing by? The battle’s long over, and you’re still hiding. Plotting something?” Little Black’s eyes gleamed, baring sharp teeth.
The old man wailed, “The fight was terrifying! I was too scared to move, that’s why I stayed. No schemes, I swear—look at my pure, innocent eyes!”
Disgusted, Little Black dropped him, “Never seen a Saint King so cowardly. No fun.”
Turning to Zhang Ruochen, Little Black said, “This guy’s a coward. Probably not a threat.”
The old man’s eyes flashed with hope, thinking he might escape.
But Zhang Ruochen tightened the spatial thread instead.
While Little Black questioned him, Zhang Ruochen observed closely. The old man’s aura was strange, faint yet perfectly aligned with the surrounding rules, which shifted with his emotions.
This was highly unusual, as if the rules were his creation.
This proved the old man was no ordinary wandering cultivator.
“Who are you, really? How have you survived on True Dragon Island so long?” Zhang Ruochen’s expression grew stern.
Little Black looked puzzled, “The island’s barrier was just broken. How could he have lived here long?”
“Sense him closely. His aura is thick with True Dragon Island’s essence, perfectly aligned with its rules, revolving around him. That’s impossible without living here for ages,” Zhang Ruochen said gravely.
Little Black sensed it and gasped, “You old trickster! Lying to me? Time for a lesson!”
Feeling insulted, Little Black flared its wings, unleashing a burst of Undying Divine Fire onto the old man.
“You can’t bully an honest man… ah, help!” the old man screamed.
Zhang Ruochen meant to stop it, wanting information from the old man.
But he noticed the old man, despite his cries, was unharmed, even his coarse clothes unburned, made of unknown material.
Little Black noticed too. Though not at full power, the fire should have hurt him.
Unconvinced, Little Black intensified the flames, determined to break him.
“Hot! I’m roasting! Stop, you can’t treat a defenseless old man like this!” the old man wailed louder.
The surrounding rules grew wildly active.
Little Black’s eyes gleamed oddly. Even at full power, the fire didn’t harm the old man, not even singeing a hair.
With a wing flap, Little Black sent a fireball at Zhang Ruochen.
“Boom.”
Zhang Ruochen punched it away, glaring, “Have you lost it?”
Little Black looked embarrassed, “I just tested if the fire was faulty. His aura’s only at one or two-step Saint King level. He shouldn’t withstand my fire.”
The anomaly stunned Little Black, making it doubt its fire’s power.
Suddenly, the old man broke free of the spatial thread, diving into the ground and vanishing.
“What? Is he a mole?” Little Black’s eyes widened.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes flashed. He lunged, releasing a powerful spatial force that formed a transparent silver chain, piercing the rock into the ground.
“Boom.”
The rock shattered, the ground split for miles.
As the chain tightened, the old man was yanked from the earth.
The silver chain wove into a spatial cage, trapping him inside.
“Bang.”
Zhang Ruochen pulled the chain, and the cage crashed to the ground.
The impact dazed the old man, disoriented.
Zhang Ruochen’s expression grew grave, fully recognizing the old man’s prowess. Breaking free of a spatial thread, escaping underground, and moving miles in an instant—no ordinary Saint King could do that.
