Zhang Ruochen used his Eye of Truth and saw a cluster of purple light flickering within the “majestic divine mountain,” surrounded by arcs of lightning. It seemed to be nurturing some kind of treasure.
Worried that Little Black might encounter unknown dangers and get stuck inside, Zhang Ruochen did not follow.
He surveyed the surroundings. It was very quiet, with no dangerous aura detected.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen spotted a black vortex in the blood river nearby. The area around the vortex brimmed with powerful dark forces, along with intense spatial and temporal fluctuations.
Zhang Ruochen was extremely familiar with this power. A joyful expression appeared on his face as he released his Time Saint Aspect, which approached the black vortex.
The Time Saint Aspect was also in a vortex state, invisible to the naked eye.
The two vortexes soon overlapped. Under Zhang Ruochen’s control, they flew out of the blood river and returned to his side.
At the center of the vortex was a pigeon-egg-sized black crystal that could devour light, space, and time.
This was solid dark spacetime substance!
Back then, inside the Dark Star, Zhang Ruochen had obtained dozens of drops of dark spacetime substance.
The dark spacetime substance he got at that time was all in liquid form.
Even a single drop of liquid dark spacetime substance had the power to kill a great saint.
Now, this black crystal in the Time Saint Aspect was solid dark spacetime substance. Though only pigeon-egg-sized, the dark, spatial, and temporal power it contained was likely hundreds or thousands of times greater than liquid dark spacetime substance.
This was a true supreme treasure!
If detonated, the destructive force it unleashed would probably be no less than a god self-destructing their divine source.
But precisely because of its terrifying power and difficulty to control, Zhang Ruochen became even more cautious. If he accidentally set it off, he would die on the spot first.
Half a day later, Little Black returned.
It held a crystalline, translucent purple stone grass in its paws, displaying it proudly as it said, “Who says there’s no great opportunity in the Desolate Ancient Ruins City? There are treasures, but at least you need to be a true god to harvest them.”
“This Corpse-Turned-Stone Dendrobium is something that only grows on the corpses of god-venerable level powerhouses. It’s been growing for at least five yuan hui. It’s an unparalleled material for refining divine pills. With it, this emperor’s cultivation will advance by leaps and bounds!”
“There should be other rare treasures too. This Desolate Ancient Ruins City is dangerous, but the opportunities are huge. This emperor doesn’t want to leave at all now. I’m getting more and more excited about what other good things we’ll encounter next.”
Zhang Ruochen showed no envy on his face, which disappointed Little Black greatly.
“What are you fishing for?” Little Black asked curiously.
Zhang Ruochen held a bone whip in his hand and sat by the divine river, looking like he was angling.
“I’ve been waiting for you half the day. Let’s go!”
He lifted the bone whip upward, and at the other end, a massive bronze coffin flew up.
Only then did Little Black realize that Zhang Ruochen wasn’t fishing for something, but filling the bronze coffin with divine blood.
“You’re actually using the divine blood here to raise God-Devouring Insects?” Little Black said in surprise.
Zhang Ruochen replied, “The divine blood in this blood river all flows from the god corpses. When these god corpses were alive, each one shook the heavens and earth. Their divine blood must contain boundless power. It should be enough to cultivate the God-Devouring Insects to the fourth generation.”
Little Black licked its lips, tempted beyond measure. It really wanted Zhang Ruochen to share half the God-Devouring Insects with it.
It had witnessed the terror of a God-Devouring Insect swarm. Even at the third generation now, they could threaten true gods’ lives.
If cultivated to the fourth generation, how horrifying would they be?
But this time, Little Black truly couldn’t bring itself to ask.
Because back then, Zhang Ruochen had already given it a nest of Three-Legged Corpse Eaters, but it had raised them to death itself!
The Three-Legged Corpse Eaters ranked highly in the “Thousand Insects Collection,” though not as high as God-Devouring Insects. If it hadn’t killed them off, they would probably have become a powerful swarm by now.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen commanding such a swarm comparable to a saint army of God-Devouring Insects now, Little Black could only feel envious in its heart.
They continued sneaking westward.
Half a month later.
Zhang Ruochen, sitting cross-legged in the eye socket of a bony god corpse, sensed powerful divine power fluctuations from far away. The air currents and rules of heaven and earth were rapidly gathering toward a certain direction.
“Someone has broken through to become a god!”
Zhang Ruochen abruptly stood up, flew to the top of the god corpse, and gazed into the distance.
This was the powerful surge of energy from martial dao becoming divine, when a new god absorbed the power of heaven and earth.
Who was it?
Currently, almost all the supreme realm great saints who entered the Abyss of Darkness were from the Yan clan of the Abyss of Darkness.
Zhang Ruochen felt both joy and worry in his heart. Joy that Yan Wushen and the others hadn’t met with mishap, that at least some were still alive. Worry that the fluctuations from becoming divine were too strong and could easily draw out the taboos of the Desolate Ancient Ruins City.
Little Black had sensed another treasure a day ago and entered a god corpse mountain ridge over thirty thousand li long. It still hadn’t come out yet.
Zhang Ruochen left it a line of words, then put away the sun dial, leaped down from the god corpse, and hurried toward the direction of the divine power fluctuations.
