In the dim passage, the Starlight Sacred Chariot lay overturned on the ground, its surface covered with cracks, its lustre completely faded.
Not far from the Starlight Sacred Chariot, Zhang Ruochen sat leaning against the stone wall, his aura extremely weak, his body surrounded by blood.
The final attack launched by those divine power monsters was truly terrifying. Despite using various means to defend himself, he still suffered severe injuries.
If he were to remove the Fire God Armour, it would be revealed that Zhang Ruochen was covered in wounds, with the power of four Eternal Paths continuously eroding his physical body.
For anyone else, they likely would have been unable to endure, unable to preserve their body, and even their sacred soul would have perished.
Zhang Ruochen was different. He had cultivated three Eternal Paths—Time, Space, and Truth—and possessed the Five Elements Chaos Body, giving him exceptional resistance.
“Swish.”
As his cultivation technique circulated, leveraging the three Eternal Paths, Zhang Ruochen was able to quickly expel the terrifying forces that had invaded his body.
Although the divine sun formed by the Seven-Star Divine Lingzhi’s “Sun Leaf” continuously released vital energy to heal his injuries, to speed up recovery, Zhang Ruochen still swallowed a sacred healing pill.
Having defeated numerous powerful enemies, Zhang Ruochen had acquired a vast amount of treasures, naturally including a variety of high-grade sacred pills, even some heavenly-grade ones.
While Zhang Ruochen was healing, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden emerged from the Starlight Sacred Chariot. Though she was also injured, her condition was clearly not as severe as his.
At the last moment, though half-destroyed, the Starlight Sacred Chariot had blocked most of the attack.
“Swoosh.”
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes, his gaze locking onto Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden, a faint trace of vigilance in his eyes.
“Zhang Ruochen, how are you?” Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden approached and asked.
Zhang Ruochen slowly stood up, coughed lightly, and said, “I’m fine, I won’t die!”
“It seems our luck isn’t too bad. We’ve temporarily avoided those monsters. I wonder what’s in here that makes even those monsters afraid to enter,” Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden said, her eyes filled with deep curiosity.
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen didn’t show any joy; instead, his expression grew solemn. If even the monsters didn’t dare approach, this passage they were in was likely not a safe place.
But in that earlier situation, if they hadn’t entered this passage, they would probably have been torn to pieces by the hundreds of monsters.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Though they haven’t come in, we’re not out of danger. This passage can only serve as a temporary shelter. If a large amount of divine power surges in from outside again, we may not be able to withstand it.”
“Doesn’t that mean, no matter how we struggle, we’re doomed to die?” Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden said.
Zhang Ruochen’s gaze was resolute as he said, “While it’s relatively safe now, we should do our best to improve our cultivation. Every bit of strength we gain increases our chances of surviving and escaping. I’ll never give up hope, no matter the circumstances.”
As he spoke, Zhang Ruochen took out numerous sacred pills and herbs, all of exceptional quality, each one enough to make a Sacred King envious.
Finally, he took out the Five Elements Imperial Flower, which had only one flower left.
In truth, the large pile of sacred pills and herbs was all preparation for refining the Five Elements Imperial Flower.
There was no other way—Zhang Ruochen’s minor path rules were too few. If he added another five million major path and supreme sacred path rules, the minor path rules wouldn’t even account for twenty percent of the total, and at that point, the Tongtian River would surely collapse.
These sacred pills and herbs primarily increased minor path rules, with a small number of major path rules. In the past, he naturally wouldn’t have been willing to use them, as relying mainly on minor path rules from the start would severely slow cultivation speed and affect future achievements.
But now, things were different. He urgently needed to increase his minor path rules, or his cultivation wouldn’t progress.
“My cultivation has been stuck at the peak of the Dao Domain Realm for some time. I need to find a way to break through, or the gap between me and this guy will only widen. I can’t lose to him.”
Inspired by Zhang Ruochen’s “never give up” spirit, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden also took out a large pile of sacred pills and herbs to enhance her cultivation.
As the Heavenly Maiden of Thousand Star Civilization, she naturally didn’t lack treasures for improving cultivation.
She hadn’t used them before due to some reservations, but now, with life and death at stake, how could she afford to hold back?
Zhang Ruochen glanced at Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden and, with a flip of his hand, took out the Sundial. This was a powerful tool to aid his cultivation, and now was undoubtedly the time for it to shine.
Seeing the intricate patterns and ancient aura of the Sundial, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s eyes flashed with suspicion. Then, realizing something, her eyes widened, and she said, “Oh? Is this the legendary… Time Treasure, the Sundial?”
Zhang Ruochen wasn’t surprised that Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden recognized the Sundial. After all, Saint Monk Xumi had deep ties with Thousand Star Civilization. Even if they didn’t have a replica, they would certainly have images of the Sundial.
The next moment, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden showed a look of realization and smiled, “No wonder your cultivation and strength have skyrocketed since returning to Kunlun Realm. So, you obtained the Sundial. Aren’t you afraid I’ll try to seize this treasure by revealing it to me?”
“Then why don’t you first consider how much longer you have to live? If I killed you here, even with the supreme cultivation of Thousand Star Civilization’s leader, they wouldn’t be able to deduce it was me, would they?” Zhang Ruochen said coldly.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s face instantly paled, but then she smiled again, “If you wanted to kill me, why save me earlier? Have you fallen for me but are too shy to admit it? I’ve been wondering why you forced me to write that marriage contract. Is it because you want to marry me but couldn’t say it outright, so you resorted to such underhanded tactics?”
“You’re too full of yourself! Even the fairies in the Nine Immortals Beauty Portrait might not catch my eye,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Hearing this, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden was quite annoyed and said, “What do you mean by that? It sounds like you’re implying something. Am I, the Heavenly Maiden, inferior to them? Zhang Ruochen, you’d better explain yourself clearly. In terms of beauty, cultivation, status, or intelligence, how am I lacking compared to them?”
“Unreasonable.”
Zhang Ruochen couldn’t be bothered to argue with her. Experience told him that debating with a woman was just a waste of time. He embedded a divine stone into the Sundial, activating its time power.
Without further delay, he grabbed a handful of earth-grade sacred pills and swallowed them as if they were candy.
Seeing this, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s eyes widened. She had never seen anyone consume pills like Zhang Ruochen. Those were earth-grade sacred pills, with potent medicinal power that wasn’t easy to refine.
“What a monster.”
Muttering softly, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden also took a sacred pill.
Her physical body wasn’t as strong as Zhang Ruochen’s, so she could only refine and absorb it gradually.
The Sundial covered a radius of two hundred zhang, and clearly, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden also benefited from its time power. Zhang Ruochen only wanted to improve his strength quickly and didn’t mind her taking advantage.
The passage became extremely quiet, with no more divine power surging in from outside, providing an excellent environment for Zhang Ruochen and Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden to cultivate.
As the Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture circulated, the pills were quickly refined. Most of the potent medicinal power merged into the Tongtian River, generating sacred path rules, while a small portion integrated into his flesh, muscles, and bones, strengthening his body.
To meet the requirements for refining the Five Elements Imperial Flower, Zhang Ruochen refined hundreds of earth-grade and heavenly-grade sacred pills, along with a large number of high-grade sacred herbs.
As a result, the minor path rules in the Tongtian River increased by over six hundred thousand, totaling more than seven million.
Without hesitation, Zhang Ruochen placed all five petals of the Five Elements Imperial Flower into his mouth.
Compared to the others, refining the Five Elements Imperial Flower was much easier, with no risks involved.
The poor Five Elements Sacred King was left with no flowers, reduced to its original form. Without great fortune, it would likely take centuries, even millennia, to recover.
Zhang Ruochen felt no pity for it. Merely taking the petals instead of refining the entire plant was already merciful.
“Rumble.”
Powerful blood energy surged from Zhang Ruochen’s body, manifesting astonishing phenomena.
As his cultivation improved, his injuries healed, and his spirit and energy reached a new peak.
The Tongtian River widened further, containing thirty-five million seven hundred thousand sacred path rules, each one solid and resembling chains of order.
Zhang Ruochen could clearly feel his strength had risen significantly.
In terms of the number of sacred path rules, he still couldn’t compare to many top Near-Path Realm experts, but in terms of their quality, few could surpass him.
Over twenty-eight million sacred path rules cultivated from major paths, supreme sacred paths, and Eternal Paths—an astonishing number that even top experts with sixty to seventy million sacred path rules couldn’t match.
After all, as cultivation progresses, the proportion of minor path rules increases, rarely falling below fifty percent.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen sensed a powerful aura erupting nearby. He opened his eyes and turned to look at Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden.
“It seems this ordeal has been quite beneficial for her. Her mental state has improved greatly, allowing her to break through her bottleneck in one go.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s flawless, jade-like face. Every inch of her skin was like divine crystal, her features delicate and perfect, without any flaws.
He had to admit, she indeed had the qualifications to rival the nine fairies in the Nine Immortals Beauty Portrait. With her identity as a Source Controller, she even surpassed them.
Unfortunately, her mental state’s shortcomings would be her greatest challenge.
His mind involuntarily drifted to the marriage contract, and Zhang Ruochen suddenly felt that his actions might have been inappropriate, that he shouldn’t have used such a method to threaten her.
Upon reflection, aside from the unresolved conflict over the Truth Mystery, he and Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden had no real enmity. In fact, she had helped him more often.
Under immense pressure, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden finally broke through, smoothly entering the Heaven-Connecting Realm, able to draw heaven and earth’s energy into her body to prepare for forging an immortal sacred body.
It didn’t take long for her to stabilize her cultivation.
Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly and said, “Congratulations on reaching the Heaven-Connecting Realm.”
In other circumstances, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden would have been delighted, but now she couldn’t smile. Rolling her eyes, she said, “Heaven-Connecting Realm? So what? I still can’t defeat those monsters.”
“Be optimistic. At least we’re still alive, aren’t we?” Zhang Ruochen comforted.
Hearing this, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden looked deeply at Zhang Ruochen. Many times, she felt she couldn’t see through him at all.
For some reason, his words calmed her heart, giving her an inexplicable sense of security.
“Yu Chenjing, what are you thinking? If it weren’t for this annoying guy, would you be in such a miserable state? It’s all his fault,” Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden thought to herself.
Zhang Ruochen said, “Let’s continue cultivating. While it’s calm now, we should refine the divine power crystals we’ve collected.”
Those divine power crystals were deeply connected to this place. Refining them might yield unexpected gains.
A glint flashed in Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s eyes as she realized she had nearly two hundred source divine power crystals.
If she refined them all, her Source Path would surely improve significantly.
And with a deeper understanding of the Source Path, she might find a way out.
Regardless of whether it would work, they had to try.
Immediately, both took out the divine power crystals they had collected and began refining them.
Zhang Ruochen had fewer divine power crystals, but he had a particularly special one obtained from killing a divine power monster, which should be more effective.
Refining divine power crystals wasn’t too difficult; the challenge was extracting the essence of the Eternal Paths from them, which was no easy task.
Fortunately, both Zhang Ruochen and Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden were controllers of Eternal Paths, and both possessed the Truth Mystery, giving them significant advantages.
As time passed, their understanding of the Eternal Paths deepened, and they cultivated more rules of the Eternal Paths.
Zhang Ruochen could clearly feel that using divine power crystals to comprehend the Space Path was more effective than using the divine power left by Saint Monk Xumi in the Spacetime Codex.
The reason was that the Space and Time Paths in Saint Monk Xumi’s divine power were too profound, while the Space Path in the divine power crystals was much simpler.
However, divine power crystals were consumable, and each one used was one less.
Unfortunately, Zhang Ruochen only had space divine power crystals and none for time, so he couldn’t improve both simultaneously.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes, his gaze sharpening as he said, “The spatial vibrations are getting stronger. Soon, a large amount of divine power will surge in from outside again.”
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden immediately opened her eyes and mused, “If all the residual divine power outside is absorbed here, the seal on this place might lift, and we could have a chance to escape.”
“That’s a good idea, but the prerequisite is that we can withstand the repeated divine power surges. This passage may lack monsters, but it’s where the most divine power flows in. Get ready to brace for it,” Zhang Ruochen said, his expression growing more serious.
They had two choices: endure the divine power surges or go out and fight the monsters again.
Though their cultivation and strength had improved significantly, going out would likely lead to a bad outcome.
“You control Time and Space, and I control Source. The divine power gathered here includes three of our attributes, leaving only Dark divine power. If we work together, we might be able to hold out,” Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden said.
In their current situation, only perfect cooperation gave them a chance to survive.
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Ruochen put away the Sundial and took out the Spacetime Codex, summoning the Hidden Mountain Demon Mirror.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden took out her Source Pearl, which could be used for both defence and attack, similar to the Spacetime Codex.
Feeling the spatial vibrations intensify, both instinctively pressed against the wall, positioning themselves in a multi-dimensional space.
“Rumble.”
Divine power from outside began pouring in, and as before, most of it surged toward the passage where Zhang Ruochen and Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden were.
Zhang Ruochen handled Time and Space techniques, guiding the time and space divine powers.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden used Source secret arts to repel the source divine power.
As for the Dark divine power, they had to face it together, unable to fully resist it.
“Source Separation.”
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden pointed, and invisible source power surged out, infiltrating a large mass of Dark divine power.
“Buzz.”
The mass of Dark divine power vibrated, instantly splitting into dozens of smaller clumps.
Ultimately, these Dark divine powers were remnants from battles of gods ten thousand years ago, lacking vitality and only a fraction of their original strength. As long as their essence could be understood, there was a way to counter them.
Clearly, after refining a large number of source divine power crystals, Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s mastery of the Source Path had grown profoundly, and her Source Divine Eyes had become even more mysterious, able to peer into the essence of all things.
“Space Annihilation.”
Zhang Ruochen extended a hand and clenched it fiercely.
“Rumble.”
The space within a few zhang shattered and completely annihilated, turning into nothingness.
The dozens of Dark divine power clumps that Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden had broken apart were also annihilated, leaving no trace.
Space Annihilation was an extremely profound space secret art, typically only mastered by Great Saint-level space cultivators. It had three levels, and Zhang Ruochen had only just mastered the first, but its power was already terrifying.
The strong spatial suppression here made it less noticeable, but outside, this technique could easily annihilate space within a hundred li, reducing everything to ash.
Even top experts like Mo Sheng or Zhou Yu would be severely injured if hit by this move.
Time was too short; Zhang Ruochen had only refined twenty-some divine power crystals, but the benefits were immense. His space rules increased by over ten thousand, and more importantly, his understanding of the Space Path deepened significantly.
Without this, he wouldn’t have mastered the first level of Space Annihilation so quickly.
If he could refine more divine power crystals, his comprehension of the Space Path would deepen further, and he might perfect the first level of Space Annihilation. Then, even first-tier powerhouses below Great Saint would struggle against it.
Both Zhang Ruochen and Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden were highly intelligent, their techniques complementing each other, their powers amplifying one another. Over time, their coordination became increasingly seamless, understanding each other’s intentions without words, almost as if they were in sync.
This state felt strange even to them. After all, they were not friends but enemies, yet they trusted each other completely and cooperated flawlessly.
If someone unaware of their relationship saw the marriage contract, they would absolutely believe in their bond.
Relying on their seamless coordination, they avoided wave after wave of terrifying divine power surges, allowing their tense minds to relax slightly.
“Perhaps we really have a chance to walk out of here alive,” Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden suddenly thought.
She couldn’t help but glance at the striking figure beside her. That man remained calm and composed, like a peerless master. Yet, there was also an unshakable, domineering aura about him, as if an emperor’s will resided within.
“Zhang Ruochen has truly grown. In terms of cultivation and mental resolve, perhaps only a man like him can be called one who stands tall between heaven and earth.”
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden thought of what Zhang Ruochen had done since returning to Kunlun Realm. He seemed to fight battles everywhere, killing countless enemies, but who knew the dangers he faced? He was desperately holding up a world doomed to collapse, fighting against fate itself. If that wasn’t standing tall, what was?
“What are you looking at?” Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze, meeting her eyes.
Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden’s heart inexplicably quickened, and she hurriedly looked away, adjusting her emotions.
“Roar.”
At that moment, a deafening beastly roar echoed from deep within the passage.
“Not good, there are monsters in here too.”
The faces of both Zhang Ruochen and Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden changed.
The next moment, a terrifying suction force emerged from deep within the passage, pulling them in.
The force was too powerful, and they couldn’t resist, their bodies involuntarily flying toward the depths.
Not only Zhang Ruochen and Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden, but even some divine power monsters guarding outside the passage were caught. In the blink of an eye, over ten divine power monsters were sucked into the passage, unable to resist no matter how they struggled.
