The transformation of his body didn’t end there, the flow of blood in Zhang Ruochen’s veins quickened further, producing a sound like the tolling of a great bell.
Gradually, his skin became as lustrous as white jade, while his hair and pupils turned blood-red, and the nails on his hands grew rapidly.
More strikingly, two sharp fangs sprouted in his mouth.
Coupled with the eight golden wings on his back, Zhang Ruochen’s appearance was now nearly indistinguishable from that of the Immortal Blood Race. Though still strikingly handsome, he exuded an eerie, otherworldly aura.
He had once despised the Immortal Blood Race above all, yet now he had become one of them, a cruel irony.
The only consolation was that Zhang Ruochen felt no craving for blood, proving the Blood Empress’s words true, she had indeed resolved this major issue for him.
Otherwise, he might truly have been unable to accept himself like this, he would rather die than become a blood-drinking monster.
Gradually, Zhang Ruochen steadied his emotions, a resolute glint appearing in his eyes, “Whether human or Immortal Blood Race, I am always Zhang Ruochen.”
No matter how his body changed, as long as his heart remained true, everything would be as it was.
As for how others viewed him, Zhang Ruochen didn’t care, he had never intended to live as others expected.
He sat cross-legged again, circulating his cultivation technique to suppress his blood energy. Soon, his skin and nails returned to normal, and his fangs vanished.
Just as he prepared to retract his golden wings, he suddenly felt a strange sensation.
Stimulated by the power of a Great Saint, the mysterious patterns on his golden wings emerged, beginning to absorb the holy energy of heaven and earth, even drawing in the rules of the world.
In that moment, the rejection Zhang Ruochen felt from the rules and holy energy of heaven and earth diminished greatly, replaced by a sense of affinity.
“It seems that with these eight golden wings, I can more quickly align with the rules and holy energy of the Hell Realm,” Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
From this perspective, growing wings wasn’t entirely a bad thing, in fact, it was immensely helpful at his current stage.
The wings of the Immortal Blood Race were far from mere decoration, they greatly enhanced speed, could manipulate the rules and holy energy of heaven and earth, could be used directly in attacks, and had many other wondrous functions.
The more wings one had, the greater their utility.
Typically, the Immortal Blood Race was born with only one pair of wings, only after reaching the Saint Realm and increasing their blood energy might more wings grow.
Most Immortal Blood Race wings were blood-red, with a few being silver. Those with silver wings possessed extraordinary physiques, far surpassing the average human Saint body.
Zhang Ruochen had encountered many Immortal Blood Race members, including geniuses with silver wings, the earliest being Xuanji Elder’s fourth disciple, Feng Han, who, though not yet a Saint, had four silver wings and an exceptionally powerful physique.
Then there were the Underworld King and Qi Sheng, born with six wings, true prodigies.
Yet among all the Immortal Blood Race he had met, none had golden wings like his.
He surmised that golden wings were likely rare among the Immortal Blood Race, at the very least, far superior to blood-red wings.
“If I can fully master this body’s power and push the demigod body’s bloodline to its limit, the number of wings should increase further,” Zhang Ruochen said.
His physique was extraordinarily powerful, surpassing even that of Great Saint Qing Sheng.
When he reached the same cultivation realm as Qing Sheng, his wing count would at least match, if not exceed, Qing Sheng’s.
Since the wings aided his cultivation, Zhang Ruochen chose not to retract them, continuing to circulate his technique, absorbing as much holy energy and rules of heaven and earth as possible to refine himself.
With the aid of the Sun-Moon Dragon Spring, his progress in mastering his physical power accelerated significantly.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen began attempting to manipulate his Saint Path rules.
Limited by his demigod body, though he possessed two hundred million Saint Path rules, most were unusable, he could only barely wield some time, space, and truth rules.
In comparison, the constraints on the Eternal Paths were far less severe.
After considerable time, Zhang Ruochen gained preliminary control over his physical power, and most of his Saint Path rules could now be drawn from within.
This allowed him to cultivate normally at last.
“It’s time to use this treasure!”
With a wave of his hand, Zhang Ruochen took out an object.
It was a stone chamber, carved from a single massive rock, with a stone dragon coiled around it, each scale vivid and lifelike.
The surface of the stone chamber was engraved with numerous ancient, intricate patterns, seemingly containing the profound truths of heaven and earth, exuding an obscure charm of the Path.
“Legend has it that the Dragon God Enlightenment Chamber can multiply a cultivator’s efficiency in comprehending the Saint Path, while subtly nourishing the body and holy soul, even strengthening mental resolve. I wonder if it truly has such miraculous effects,” Zhang Ruochen said, a trace of anticipation in his eyes.
The Dragon God Enlightenment Chamber was one of the most renowned treasures of the Dragon God Hall, coveted by all.
Though Zhang Ruochen had defeated Mu Zu and Dan Huang and subdued Dragon Sha Emperor and Stone Emperor, he hadn’t obtained a Dragon God Enlightenment Chamber, otherwise, he would have used it long ago.
This chamber came from the Sword Emperor, a gift from him, and now it was finally time to put it to use.
With a flicker, Zhang Ruochen entered the Dragon God Enlightenment Chamber and began to comprehend the Saint Path.
The interior was smooth as jade, adorned with dragon patterns, with wisps of dragon energy transforming into dragon shapes that danced within, occasionally passing through his body, giving him an extraordinary sensation.
On True Dragon Island, Zhang Ruochen had acquired a vast array of treasures, though he used some to nurture the remnants of Saint Ming, he still retained many, almost all of them rare.
Having broken through to the Great Saint Realm, he could now make better use of these treasures.
Cultivation in the Great Saint Realm differed from the Saint King Realm, each minor realm advancement required immense time and the support of numerous treasures.
Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen lacked for nothing, with a large number of divine stones in hand, he had ample resources to significantly boost his cultivation in a short time.
After twenty-seven years of seclusion, Zhang Ruochen fully mastered his physical power, his holy soul perfectly aligned with his body. He also became familiar with the Hell Realm’s rules and holy energy, able to wield them freely without any hindrance.
Yet, he didn’t emerge from seclusion, choosing instead to continue cultivating, immersing himself fully in comprehending the Saint Path rules.
With a foundation far beyond ordinary cultivators, having two hundred million Saint Path rules upon becoming a Great Saint, only Yan Wushen could compare in the current era.
On this foundation, doubling his Saint Path rules would allow him to reach the mid-stage of the Immortal Realm, and doubling them again while condensing Saint Intent would bring him to the late stage.
In a sense, the stronger one’s foundation, the harder it was to break through in the Great Saint Realm.
But correspondingly, the strength gained after a breakthrough would be greater.
In other words, for Zhang Ruochen to reach the mid-stage of the Immortal Realm, he needed at least four hundred million Saint Path rules, a number most late-stage Immortal Realm powerhouses didn’t possess.
Even with a Great Saint’s rapid pace of comprehending Saint Path rules, far surpassing a Saint King, accumulating two hundred million rules would take centuries of relentless effort.
Yet, in just ninety-five years of seclusion, Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation reached the cusp of a breakthrough.
In less than a century, he had comprehended nearly two hundred million Saint Path rules.
This was, of course, thanks to the treasures from True Dragon Island, especially the Dragon God Enlightenment Chamber, which tripled his efficiency in comprehending the Saint Path.
No wonder even the Dragon God Hall had only ten such chambers.
Such a heaven-defying treasure was beyond the Dragon Clan’s ability to produce in large numbers.
Zhang Ruochen opened his eyes, halting his cultivation.
In his hand was a massive crystal, radiating dazzling divine light.
This crystal was left behind after Dragon Sha Emperor’s death, containing the mysteries of time, space, origin, and darkness—four Eternal Paths.
After years of refining and comprehension, Zhang Ruochen had exhausted the time and space powers within the crystal, greatly advancing his mastery of time and space.
“Still just short of breaking through to the mid-stage of the Immortal Realm, perhaps I need more accumulation,” Zhang Ruochen realized with a flash of insight.
He had tried several times without success, clearly hitting a bottleneck.
Rather than forcing it, he relaxed, knowing that the opportunity for a breakthrough might come unexpectedly.
With dozens of divine stones still in hand, he had plenty of time and no need to rush.
Since he was no longer focused on advancing his cultivation, Zhang Ruochen shifted his efforts elsewhere.
To increase his strength, raising his cultivation was only one aspect, he could also practice Saint Techniques and refine battle weapons.
Now a Great Saint, he could elevate the Saint Techniques he had mastered to higher levels.
For instance, he could attempt the thirteenth palm of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, further develop the twelfth layer of the Luoshui Fist Technique, or cultivate the fourth level of the God-Demon Suppression Prison.
The Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm was one of the first Saint Techniques Zhang Ruochen practiced, always highly valued, into which he had poured vast resources and endured great hardships.
“The thirteenth palm, Dragon-Elephant World Destruction, is the most domineering, with extremely high demands on physical strength and mental resolve. A single misstep could destroy the body or lead to cultivation deviation.”
“Mastering it to a minor level can rival a high-tier Hundred Shackle Realm Saint Technique, to a major level, it can match a high-tier Thousand Questions Realm Saint Technique, and at perfection, it can compare to a high-tier Ten Thousand Deaths Realm Saint Technique.”
“Legend has it that breaking the limit and cultivating Dragon-Elephant World Destruction to the supreme realm could make it a supreme high-tier Saint Technique. But in the Way of Ten Thousand Buddhas, no one has reached that level since the Middle Ages.”
Common high-tier Saint Techniques were mostly at the Immortal or Hundred Shackle Realm, with Thousand Questions Realm techniques being rare and Ten Thousand Deaths Realm techniques even rarer. As for supreme-level techniques, they likely existed only in the legacies of gods.
Even supreme-realm powerhouses rarely mastered supreme high-tier Saint Techniques, cultivating one or two Ten Thousand Deaths Realm techniques was already impressive.
At this stage, Zhang Ruochen didn’t dare aim too high, mastering the thirteenth palm to a minor level would suffice.
This was, in theory, simple, refine two dragon souls and two elephant souls at the Hundred Shackle Realm.
Of course, it also required an immense amount of yang energy, at least a million times that of an ordinary person.
Zhang Ruochen’s advantage was his demigod body, which could withstand the power of Hundred Shackle Realm dragon and elephant souls without issue.
“First, I’ll buy dragon and elephant souls.”
With that, Zhang Ruochen decided to end his seclusion.
Though Hundred Shackle Great Saint-level dragon and elephant souls were rare, the Hell Realm had long waged wars against the Heavenly Dragon Realm and Ten Thousand Demon Realm, naturally slaying Great Saints of the dragon and elephant clans.
Through Gusheng Pavilion, Zhang Ruochen acquired dragon and elephant souls.
Just as he prepared to return and resume seclusion, he encountered the Blood Empress.
“How is Kong Le doing now?” Zhang Ruochen asked with concern.
Chi Kong Le was recovering in a special secret area of the Xue Jue family, a place Zhang Ruochen couldn’t easily enter. His few visits had been spent waiting outside.
The Blood Empress said, “Rest assured, I’ll do everything I can for Kong Le. Her condition is steadily improving.”
Relieved, Zhang Ruochen asked, “Mother, you’re waiting here in person, is there something important?”
The Blood Empress led Zhang Ruochen into a garden of Blood Sorghum Nether Flowers within the Xue Jue family.
Blood Sorghum Nether Flowers, comparable to holy medicine, each plant containing blood energy equivalent to a human Saint, only the Xue Jue family’s genius disciples or top powerhouses could enter this garden to observe and cultivate.
As they passed, the servants knelt, and the genius cultivators and top powerhouses dropped to one knee, none daring to raise their heads.
“You’ve been in the Hell Realm for some time, are you adapting?” the Blood Empress asked, her dignified and divine aura naturally radiating an otherworldly majesty.
Zhang Ruochen replied, “It’s fine.”
“Do you have any regrets?” she asked.
“None.”
The Blood Empress asked again, “Your Immortal Blood Wings have grown, haven’t they? Can you show them to me?”
“Alright.”
A radiant golden glow appeared on Zhang Ruochen’s back, and the next moment, eight golden wings unfurled. Simultaneously, the aura of a Great Saint erupted, sweeping through the Blood Sorghum Nether Flower garden.
The cultivators in the garden trembled.
Some powerful ones glanced up, seeing Zhang Ruochen standing tall and majestic, his eight golden wings like eight golden clouds, covering the sky.
“Golden, and eight wings, good, very good.”
The Blood Empress didn’t hide her emotions, her face beaming with approval and joy.
Zhang Ruochen retracted his wings, and his saintly aura dissipated.
“In a month, the family will hold a God-Ascension Banquet. All Blood Heaven Tribe gods in the Hell Realm, unless occupied with major matters, will attend. The elites of the Blood Heaven Tribe heading to the Hunting Heaven Feast will also gather at the Xue Jue family, you’ll need to be present,” the Blood Empress said.
A glint flashed in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes, though the God-Ascension Banquet was grand, gathering all the Blood Heaven Tribe’s gods seemed exaggerated.
He suspected there was more to it.
As if sensing his thoughts, the Blood Empress explained, “The Blood War God is about to become the new Grand Clan Leader of the Blood Heaven Tribe.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen understood, the Grand Clan Leader held the greatest authority in a tribe, who would dare slight them?
To gain benefits from the Immortal Blood Temple, one relied on the Grand Clan Leader.
The Blood Heaven Tribe once had a powerful Grand Clan Leader, but they fell in the catastrophic divine war a hundred thousand years ago.
Though the Immortal Temple appointed a new Grand Clan Leader, their strength was lacking.
Now, with the Blood War God ascending to the position, most Blood Heaven Tribe gods supported it, seeing it as a chance for the tribe’s resurgence.
The gods might seem to be congratulating the Blood Empress and Underworld King’s ascension, but in truth, they came for the Blood War God.
“I’ll be there,” Zhang Ruochen nodded.
As the Blood Empress’s only heir, he couldn’t be absent at such a significant event.
After a moment’s thought, the Blood Empress said, “Chen’er, you’ve awakened your Immortal Blood Race bloodline and grown wings, you can undergo the Blood Spring Baptism to better control their power.”
Zhang Ruochen paused, then said, “I’ll follow Mother’s arrangements.”
The wings were a fact he couldn’t change, rather than dwell on it, he should focus on becoming stronger.
“The Xue Jue family has a Blood Spring from the Nether Ancient Era, it can give you the most thorough baptism, awakening your primal bloodline power,” the Blood Empress said.
She had prepared the best for him.
