Another three years have passed.
The sword spirit of the Chenyuan Ancient Sword, having reached the Saint King realm, successfully passed the second Monarch Heavenly Tribulation, transforming into a Dual Monarch Saint Artifact.
The number of king-level inscriptions within the sword body has reached over 250,000.
Next, it only needs to continuously refine and absorb weapons to keep improving.
Meanwhile, Zhang Ruochen refined and absorbed forty of the fifty top-grade Saint Pills, “Tiansha Pills,” purchased from the Star Sea World, bringing his mental strength to the peak of the sixtieth tier.
At this moment, Zhang Ruochen sat inside an independent palace within the Seven Star Emperor Palace, holding a king-grade Saint Pill obtained from the Dragon God Hall in his palm, carefully sensing the pill’s soul.
The pill’s soul took the form of a five-clawed silver dragon. Though sealed, its mental energy fluctuations were still powerful, comparable to an early-stage sixtieth-tier Great Saint of mental strength.
In the past, Zhang Ruochen would not have dared to consume it.
If this Saint Pill were placed on a planet, its released mental energy could influence billions of beings on that planet, effortlessly becoming the planet’s ruler.
“With my current mental strength, I should be able to refine it and break through to the sixty-first tier with ease.”
White Nether Extinguishing Divine Fire surged from Zhang Ruochen’s palms, enveloping the king-grade Saint Pill.
The sealing power on the pill’s surface gradually melted away.
“Hiss.”
As the seal dissipated, a deafening dragon roar echoed from within the king-grade Saint Pill.
The five-clawed silver dragon burst out from the pill, its body growing larger, coiling within the hall, and lunging at Zhang Ruochen with its claws.
“Swish.”
Zhang Ruochen remained seated, unmoving, as 8,000 mental strength thoughts flew out from his body.
Each thought took the form of his exact likeness, standing in 8,000 positions within the palace. Their hands, in a pinching gesture, drew strands of silver light from the five-clawed silver dragon, absorbing them into their mouths.
Soul Devouring.
The five-clawed silver dragon sensed danger, realizing this young man was not someone it could provoke. It whipped its tail and rushed toward the hall’s entrance.
“Trying to escape now?”
Zhang Ruochen pressed down with a palm, suppressing it within a five-coloured chaotic space. Its soul body could no longer move, nor could its mental energy escape.
With two fingers, he picked up the king-grade Saint Pill and swallowed it.
“Rumble.”
His body was illuminated by the light radiating from the king-grade Saint Pill, releasing a fragrant pill aroma that condensed into a pill cloud, completely enveloping Zhang Ruochen.
Refining a top-grade Saint Pill to enhance mental strength would typically take one or two months.
However, refining this king-grade Saint Pill took Zhang Ruochen half a year to fully absorb.
His mental strength successfully broke through to the sixty-first tier.
The number of mental strength thoughts reached 12,300.
“Withdraw.”
Zhang Ruochen recalled the dense swarm of mental strength thoughts into his Saint Heart, opening a pair of bright eyes. His pupils, like divine jade stones, seemed capable of seeing through the hearts of all living beings.
“With sixty-first-tier mental strength, can I contend with an early-stage Hundred Shackle Realm Great Saint?” Zhang Ruochen wondered to himself.
The five realms of a Great Saint each represent a vast gap.
Having only advanced one tier in mental strength, Zhang Ruochen felt it was unrealistic to challenge a Hundred Shackle Realm Great Saint. He had never systematically cultivated his mental strength, so he resolved to dedicate more time to studying it.
“Over these past few years, through practicing the Heavenly River Saint Intent and the Blood Yang Ten Shock Saint Intent, combined with this major breakthrough in mental strength, my control over power and Saint Intent has become more refined. I should be able to fuse them.”
Zhang Ruochen took out the Purple Gold Gourd and flew inside.
The process of fusing Saint Intents encountered some setbacks.
However, after three failures, with the assistance of the Qiankun Realm and the Purple Gold Gourd, Zhang Ruochen successfully fused the Heavenly River Saint Intent and the Blood Yang Ten Shock Saint Intent, evolving them into a more powerful third-grade Saint Intent.
Even among third-grade Saint Intents, there are varying levels of strength.
Zhang Ruochen judged this newly formed Saint Intent to be stronger than his previous ones because, after integrating the Heavenly River Saint Intent, the intent’s shock force gained an additional layer, reaching eleven layers.
An extra layer of shock force meant a significant increase in power.
When using the Saint Intent, whether executing palm techniques, fist techniques, or water-based Saint Arts, the unleashed power would be greatly enhanced.
However, upon closer inspection, Zhang Ruochen discovered that his Saint Intent was still unstable.
After integrating the Heavenly River Saint Intent, it had indeed suppressed the million-fold yang energy in his body.
But it had gone too far.
The Palm Path Saint Intent leaned toward ferocity and dominance, following a path of utmost yang and strength.
In contrast, the Water Path Saint Intent and Fist Path Saint Intent were its opposites. The fusion of these three made Zhang Ruochen’s Saint Intent soft and continuous, with strong staying power but lacking explosive force.
“Perhaps… I need to incorporate all five elemental Saint Intents to balance the yin and yang attributes of the Fist Path and Palm Path, achieving the most complete Saint Intent.”
Vaguely, Zhang Ruochen felt he had found a Saint Path unique to himself.
However, the biggest issue was that the five elements, plus the Palm Path and Fist Path, totaled seven Saint Paths.
Could seven Saint Intents truly be fused into one?
There was a second issue.
A Great Saint could only cultivate nine Saint Intents at most. If he cultivated these seven, what about the Sword Path, Time Path, Space Path, and Truth Path? How should he choose?
Was it truly limited to only nine Saint Intents?
To address this, Zhang Ruochen entered the Qiankun Realm to consult the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree.
After hearing his account, the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree spoke, “A Great Saint can indeed only cultivate nine Saint Intents. Generally, fusing five Saint Intents is already the limit. Fusing seven Saint Intents has never been achieved by any being since ancient times.”
“You’ve only fused three Saint Intents so far. When you attempt to fuse a fourth, you’ll find it incredibly difficult.”
Zhang Ruochen stood beneath the tree, nodding slightly.
When fusing the Heavenly River Saint Intent, he had already noticed the increased difficulty, which led to three failed attempts.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen had relied on the Qiankun Realm and the Purple Gold Gourd.
For other Great Saints without such conditions, fusing a third Saint Intent would be ten or even a hundred times harder.
The Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree continued, “Of course, nothing in this world is absolute. Just as the first Great Saint cultivated a ninth Saint Intent, and the first fused five Saint Intents, they wouldn’t have succeeded without a heart that surpassed their predecessors and the courage to challenge the impossible.”
“With your Five Elements Chaotic Immortal Saint Body, you have a significant advantage in cultivating a unified Five Elements Saint Intent, far easier than for other Great Saints. If successful, the power unleashed would be far greater.”
“Historically, the Great Saint who fused five Saint Intents followed the path of the unified Five Elements. Their Five Elements Saint Intent was among the top second-grade Saint Intents.”
“If you can fuse the Five Elements, Palm Path, and Fist Path—seven Saint Intents—into a perfectly balanced yin-yang and Five Elements Saint Intent, you might break the rules of heaven and earth, becoming the first being in history to cultivate a first-grade Saint Intent.”
“Zhang Ruochen, this path is not impossible, but it is extraordinarily difficult, almost unattainable. Once you embark on it, there’s no turning back. It will determine your life’s success or failure, and the risk is immense. I don’t recommend taking this chance.”
The Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree laid out the pros and cons, leaving the choice to Zhang Ruochen.
Success would make him unparalleled through the ages.
Failure could ruin his Saint Path, dimming his future.
It was a momentous decision.
Facing this life-altering choice, Zhang Ruochen did not waver, saying, “Before consulting you, I had already made up my mind. Since you believe there’s a possibility of success, I want to try!”
“To be the strongest, mediocrity cannot change this chaotic world. Mediocre strength cannot achieve what I wish to do in the future.”
“From now on, I’ll call this Saint Intent the ‘Yin-Yang Five Elements Saint Intent.’ Whether I succeed or fail, it is the direction I’ve set, and I will walk it unwaveringly.”
Leaving the Qiankun Realm, Zhang Ruochen sent a mental message to Great Saint Qingsheng, “I need the mystery seals for the Fire Path, Wood Path, Metal Path, and Earth Path of the Five Elements. I hope Uncle can help me find them.”
While Great Saint Qingsheng might not have the means, he would surely report to the Blood Absolute War God.
With the Blood Absolute War God’s status and connections, obtaining these four mystery seals would be no challenge.
Zhang Ruochen took out a Tiansha Pill and swallowed it, but this top-grade Saint Pill seemed to have lost its potency, offering negligible improvement to his mental strength.
There was no need to spend one or two months refining it. After five days, the pill’s effects completely dissipated, adding only two mental strength thoughts.
It was negligible.
“How could this be? This is a top-grade Saint Pill.”
“Could it be that consuming too many of the same pill has rendered Tiansha Pills ineffective for me?”
“Or perhaps, after reaching the sixty-first tier of mental strength, relying solely on Saint Pills makes further improvement difficult?”
Zhang Ruochen was about to consult the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree again when he heard a transmission from Emperor Yu. He set the matter aside for now and stepped out of the Seven Star Emperor Palace.
Years had passed, and Emperor Yu’s cultivation had seen astonishing progress.
She had broken all the shackles in her body, reaching the Great Perfection of the Hundred Shackle Realm, her body radiating powerful blood-fiend energy, with her fifth pair of silver wings fully solidified.
She stood gracefully beneath the Sun Dial, her ten wings spread, her beautiful eyes fixed on Zhang Ruochen on the palace steps, saying, “Zhang Ruochen, do you dare to fight me?”
Her clothes fluttered in the wind, ethereal as an immortal.
In her life, Emperor Yu had faced countless defeats, but her loss to Zhang Ruochen was the one she found hardest to accept.
After all, from childhood, she had always defeated opponents across realms.
Her battle with Zhang Ruochen was the first time an opponent had defeated her across realms.
Now, having reached the Great Perfection of the Hundred Shackle Realm, she naturally saw Zhang Ruochen as her first challenge.
The Seven Star Emperor Palace had a hundred steps. Zhang Ruochen stood at the top, his long sleeves swaying in the wind, his gaze calm as ever, saying, “Good. I also want to test how strong a Great Saint at the Great Perfection of the Hundred Shackle Realm truly is.”
In recent years, Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation had also seen tremendous growth.
He could use Emperor Yu to test his newly formed third-grade Saint Intent.
All the cultivators in Hanhai Manor stopped their practice, watching curiously.
“Does Cousin Ruochen not know that Emperor Yu has reached the Great Perfection of the Hundred Shackle Realm? Her combat strength has surged several times in a short period, far beyond what it was at the God-Ascension Banquet,” Xue Ningxiao said in surprise.
Xue Chen said, “Since Zhang Ruochen dares to accept the challenge, he must have some confidence. Don’t forget, he wields a Supreme Saint Artifact.”
Xue Ningxiao stuck out her small tongue, saying, “True. If he uses the Supreme Saint Artifact, the outcome of this battle is hard to predict.”
Lianxi and Zhou Zhen remained silent, but both found it unbelievable.
With Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation at the Neverwither Realm, was he worthy of such a serious challenge from a Great Saint at the Great Perfection of the Hundred Shackle Realm?
In their view, Zhang Ruochen only received such respect from the Immortal Blood Clan’s Hundred Shackle Realm Great Saints because of his grandfather, the Blood Absolute War God.
In terms of combat strength, a Neverwither Realm Great Saint could not possibly match a Hundred Shackle Realm Great Saint.
The five realms of a Great Saint were the hardest to bridge.
Luo Ji muttered to herself, “Emperor Yu’s cultivation is formidable, majoring in the Blood Sea Heavenly Path and condensing a fourth-grade Saint Intent. Combined with her status as an Array Master and Talisman Master, her combat strength among Great Saints at the Great Perfection of the Hundred Shackle Realm likely ranks in the top thirty. Without using a Supreme Saint Artifact, I wonder how many rounds Zhang Ruochen can withstand against her?”
In Luo Ji’s view, Zhang Ruochen would not use the Supreme Saint Artifact in this battle.
Using it would render the fight meaningless.
With his right index finger as a brush, Zhang Ruochen drew a circle of holy light in the air.
“Swish.”
The holy light circle spun rapidly, transforming into a circular independent space, a hundred miles in diameter, floating three feet above the ground, occupying a hundred-zhang area.
It became an inner spatial world, like a massive bubble.
Emperor Yu glanced at it coldly, saying, “Can this space you’ve created withstand my power?”
“We need a battlefield. What if we destroy Hanhai Manor again?”
Zhang Ruochen summoned the Jungle Small World, merging a corner of it with the independent space, forming a hundred-mile desert battlefield.
“No need for such trouble. Take my finger first.”
Emperor Yu leapt off the ground, Nine Nether Soul-Devouring Flames surging from her body. The chilling flames swirled around her graceful form, converging at her fingertip.
“Boom.”
A circular flame orb appeared before her, radiating divine light.
At its centre, a sharp Soul-Devouring Flame pillar shot out, moving as fast as light, reaching Zhang Ruochen in an instant.
Zhang Ruochen did not retreat. Three dragon souls and three elephant souls surged from his body, appearing on his left and right. Then, a raging river manifested, encircling him.
One hand formed a fist, the other a palm, striking simultaneously.
Two forces, one yin and one yang, one cold and one hot, erupted from his fist and palm, rapidly intertwining and clashing with the Soul-Devouring Flame pillar.
“Bang.”
The force wave formed by the fist and palm shadows was instantly pierced and shattered.
A mocking glint appeared in Emperor Yu’s eyes as she said, “Zhang Ruochen, use your time and space powers directly. With just your Fist Path and Palm Path, you’re still…”
Suddenly, her words faltered.
After the fist and palm shadows shattered, a second layer of energy quickly emerged.
The fist and palm shadows reformed, more solid and larger, drawing closer to her.
