Zhang Ruochen activated the Sundial and started his self-cultivation behind a closed door in the palace. He had only three days before the Infernal Court attacked True Dragon Island. There was no time to waste.
Fortunately, he did not use up all the Godstones he had collected earlier. Otherwise, he would have a big headache now.
Zhang Ruochen manifested both the Saint Aspects of Time and Dimensions with just the churn of a thought. These two Saint Aspects were the most special—they were invisible and formless, and no one else except him could see them.
The two Saint Aspects would join forces with Blackie to combine the Time and Dimensional Arrays with the Ninth Stratum Array to form a powerful defense.
Meanwhile, Zhang Ruochen was getting ready to refine the Five Element fetishes. It was a challenging task.
Even many Path’s Anterior cultivators would find it extremely difficult to refine the top-grade Five-Element fetishes, let alone doing that in three years.
But at the moment, Zhang Ruochen had no other choice. Desperate times call for desperate measures. He had to improve his strength as quickly as he could.
His mind churned, and five sealed brocade boxes appeared in front of him. They were exactly what Emperor Ji Mie gave him. Each brocade box contained a top-grade Five-Element divine artifact.
All five brocade boxes opened with the wave of his hand. Lights of various colors shone out of the boxes, and the vitality of the Five-Element fetishes spread in the air. It was so rich that it condensed into liquid. Had this happened in the outside world, it would be an amazing vision.
Seeing the Five-Element fetishes in the brocade boxes, Zhang Ruochen’s eyes brightened up. Had he not captured Zhou Yu and Mosheng, and held the Heavenly Realm to ransom, he would not have gotten any top-grade Five-Element fetish, let alone five.
Any top fetish was extremely precious. Even immortals kept it as a treasure and would not easily give it to others.
The two Five-Element fetishes that Zhang Ruochen had gotten from Cang Long were run-of-the-mill, not in the same league as the five top-grade Five-Element fetishes in front of him.
The most important thing for a Saint King cultivator to attain Supreme Sainthood was to forge an immortal saint body. The materials used directly affected the strength of the immortal saint body and how far one’s self-cultivation could go in the future.
Everyone wanted the best materials, but getting one was extremely difficult. Few could get their hands on the ordinary fetishes to forge immortal saint bodies, let alone using top-grade ones. Most of them could only find average sacred artifacts.
“The Primordial Water and the Primordial Stone of Merits are rare fetishes. I hope they will surprise me in a good way.” There was an expectant look in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes.
He once saw the Primordial Stone of Merits at the Grand Terminal of Merits. It was exchangeable for 50 billion Merit Points apiece.
That meant to exchange for five top-grade fetishes like these would cost 250 bullion Merit Points, which was simply impossible to get.
To put things in perspective, the Merit Points of the number one person on the Saint King Merit List were only in the tens of billions.
“Let’s start with the Primordial Water,” whispered Zhang Ruochen.
A ball of Primordial Water the size of a fist flew out from the brocade box as he stretched out his hand and grabbed remotely at the box. The Primordial Water appeared like mercury. It was not too much by volume but was incredibly heavy, exceeding one hundred thousand catties.
The Primordial Water was relatively mild and the least dangerous as it could nourish the body. Refining the Primordial Water would enhance the adaptability of the physical body, after which refining other fetishes would become easier.
With the Empyrean Emperor Ming’s Scripture activated, Zhang Ruochen shook off every distraction from his mind and focused on refining the fetishes.
As mild as the Primordial Water was, it was also overpoweringly strong, which Zhang Ruochen had not expected. It nearly overwhelmed him and hurt his flesh and bones as he took in a small amount of the Primordial Water.
He had no choice but to slow down the refinement speed. This thing required patience.
“It is difficult, but at least it is doable. I don’t have to refine all the Five-Element fetishes this time. A small part of it will be enough to improve my Five-element Chaotic Body tremendously,” thought Zhang Rouchen to himself.
It was simply impossible to refine enough fetishes to forge an immortal saint body at one go. It needs to be done gradually, slowly accumulating, just like cultivating a Five-element Chaotic Body.
Blackie observed for a while. After making sure that Zhang Ruochen was all right, Blackie calmed down and started to study how it would combine the Time and Dimensional Arrays with the Ninth Stratum Array.
The Thirty-six Flags Array was in front of Blackie. Each flag was engraved with mysterious array inscriptions.
These array flags were Blackie’s brainchild, which could lay the more complex and mysterious Ninth Stratum Array. Once the array was formed, it could kill Saint Kings like slaughtering chickens, and even gave powerful beings like Zhou Yu and Mosheng a hard time.
But this was obviously not good enough to handle the Seven Top Killers of the Nether Fane. It needed a power upgrade.
“There are twelve million array inscriptions engraved on each array flag. If you are thinking of trapping the Seven Top Killers of the Nether Fane, you would have to double the number of array inscriptions and combine it with the Time and Dimensional Arrays. This massive project is going to break my back.”
Blackie felt the pressure when it thought of the magnitude of the things it had to accomplish in the next three years.
The time was too short, and Blackie could not guarantee that it could complete it in time. But since things had come to such a pass, it had to take chances.
But even if Blackie could finish upgrading the flags array, there were still many challenges ahead. The stronger the array, the more energy is needed to drive, and the higher the level of difficulty of control.
The real Ninth Stratum Array was often powered by the Godstones and assisted by a huge number of saint stones, and needed to be imbued with Supreme Saint-level array spirit. After all, the Ninth Stratum Array was originally used to fight Supreme Saint-level beings.
“First, get the flag array done. Let Zhang Ruochen figure out the rest.”
Blackie shook its head vigorously. It stopped worrying about it and concentrated on engraving the array inscriptions.
Worrying was pointless if it could not even upgrade the flags array.
While Zhang Ruochen and Blackie were in a retreat, the situation in the Ying Yang Sea was turning even more perilous as an increasing number of Infernal Court cultivators poured out from the dimensional rift.
Unlike the armies in other Battlefields of Merit, those who gathered in the Yin Yang Sea were mostly Saint King-level cultivators, and many were Nine-Step Saint Kings.
Almost the entire Yin Yang Sea had been under the blockade of the Infernal Court army. Accessing the Ying Yang Sea became difficult.
In the secret sea area near True Dragon Island, five massive battleships were moored and quietly observing the situation on True Dragon Island.
Strangely, a large group of Infernal Court cultivators were patrolling in the surrounding waters, but they had not spotted these five battleships. There was only one explanation: these battleships were extremely good at concealing themselves.
“The Son of Darkness has come as expected. His aura of Darkness is powerful, completely different from that of the ordinary cultivator of Darkness.”
Maiden of a Thousand Stars watched with a grave expression at a battleship of the Infernal Court in the far distance with her Divine Eye of Origin.
There were seven large battleships of the Infernal Court anchored in the waters of True Dragon Island. One top cultivator was on each ship, some even having more than one.
The one that Maiden of a Thousand Stars was watching was the largest among them. A mighty power of Darkness was shrouding it. So even with her Divine Eye of Origin, she could not see the ship clearly.
“The Son of Darkness is a rare genius of the Fane of Darkness in a thousand years. When entered the Abyss of Darkness, he not only survived but also, by serendipity, infused a dark matter into his body. Not only that, an ancient of the Fane of Darkness had taught him some skills. No one knew how powerful he had become,” said Dazun with a frown.
“The Son of Darkness is ranked in the top-three non-Supreme Saint cultivators of the Nether clan in terms of strength. The Fane of Darkness has sent him, and this shows that they are determined to get the Key of the World Gate.”
Few in the Celestial Court and Infernal Court were unafraid of the Son of Darkness.
“The Son of Darkness, the Seven Top Killers of the Nether Fane, the Three Emperors and Twelve Reverends of the Bone Clan are all nasty characters. It is going to be a tough fight to snatch the Key to the World Gate from them. Some of us might die on True Dragon Island,” said Beidou Tianzi solemnly.
The Infernal Court was banking heavily on this excursion to seize the Key to the World Gate. It had mobilized nearly all the elite forces of the Nether Clan and Bone Clan.
Under normal circumstances, the Son of Darkness, the Seven Top Killers of the Nether Fane, and the Three Emperors and Twelve Reverends of the Bone Clan were unlikely to appear in the same place. Any of them was powerful enough to dominate a Battlefield of Merits.
“In fact, there is no need to be so high-strung. We have nothing to lose even if we can’t get the Key to the World Gate. Instead, the Kunlun Realm should be the one worrying about it.”
“After this, we can also attack Golden Dragon Island and Silver Dragon Island, which are the habitats of the Pentaclaw Golden Dragon and the Pentaclaw Silver Dragon. The Divine Dragons store the treasures they have collected on these two islands. Head or tail, we still gain.”
Sunshine Tianzi chuckled. He did not look like he was under pressure.
Apparently, he had been laying his eyes on Golden Dragon Island and Silver Dragon Island from the very beginning. In any case, he did not want to leave empty-handed.
Especially if the Kunlun Realm were to fall. He should take this opportunity to loot more instead of letting the Infernal Court plunder everything.
Fairy Linglong shot a faint look at Sunshine Tianzi. “Golden Dragon Island and Silver Dragon Island are not as simple as you think. The Kunlun Realm’s Divine Dragons—both Pentaclaw Golden Dragons and Pentaclaw Silver Dragons—have powerful beings among them. You had better not set foot on their habitats. Otherwise, you could get yourself killed.”
As a Divine Dragon, Fairy Linglong knew the Divine Dragon of the Kunlun Realm well.
Before leaving the Celestial Dragon Realm, the elders of the clan had told that, except for True Dragon Island, she must never set foot on other islands in the Yin Yang Sea.
What is a hegemonic powerhouse? It is a being that rules the roost among the immortals and masters the Canon.
Whether an immortal masters the Canon or not has an absolute difference in its strength.
Just as Yueshen had only recovered 50% of her divine power but mastered the Canon back then, she could still easily defeat the Yanshen, who did not master the Canon.
Usually only those immortals who have mastered the Canon possess the ability to kill immortals.
Sunshine Tianzi’s heart skipped a beat, but he appeared nonchalant. “The hegemonic powerhouse was no doubt powerful. But he is dead. How many things could he leave behind? Don’t be overly cautious, Fairy.”
Fairy Linglong said nothing more. It was a waste of breath talking to someone not on the same wavelength.
“That’s strange. The Infernal Court is about to attack True Dragon Island soon. Why hasn’t Zhang Ruochen come? Has he left the Yin Yang Sea? Where are the other cultivators from the Kunlun Realm?” Maiden of a Thousand Stars looked puzzled.
“Those who are wise would have fled the Ying Ying Sea. With the current situation of Yin Yang Sea, even if Zhang Ruochen were here, it would not make a difference. Instead, he could get himself killed. He might be known as the god of war of the Kunlun Realm, but facing the Son of Darkness and the Seven Top Killers of the Nether Fane, he is just a clown.” Sunshine chuckled.
Anyone could feel that Sunshine Tianzi disdained Zhang Ruochen.
“As a tianzi of an ancient civilization, he is so shallow-minded and lacks discernment. After Zhang Ruochen returned to the Kunlun Realm, he had fought countless brutal battles and won them all, defeating countless powerful beings, including smashing the avatar of an Emissary Vigilant. I can’t believe that this tianzi is underestimating him. If Sunshine Tianzi was to become Tianzhu, the future for the Sunshine Civilization would be bleak.” There was a hint of a sneer in the eyes of Maiden of a Thousand Stars.
“Be prepared, as the change between day and night will come soon. As soon as the Infernal Court successfully takes True Dragon Island, we are to make the landing and move toward the Dragon Temple in the center of the island, where the Key to the World Gate is,” said Beidou Tianzi with a serious expression.
It was going to be a tough fight for the Key of the World Gate. But they had four major ancient civilizations and the Celestial Dragon Realm, which were equally powerful, gathering in the Yin Yang Sea. They might stand a chance against the Infernal Court.
The Celestial Dragon Realm was the most powerful among them. It was a hegemonic superpower since ancient times, one of the top ten superpowers in the world, second only to the four dominant worlds. One hundred thousand years ago, none of the three superpowers of the Western Universe—the Heavenly Realm, Kunlun Realm, and Western Buddha Realm—was no match for the Celestial Dragon Realm. At that time, Saint Monk Xumi, Lord Wentian of the Ten Tribulations, Dragon Lord Jiwang, and others were based in the Kunlun Realm.
Of course, after the Sundial was activated, the Kunlun Realm entered the era of ‘one day in heaven, one year on Earth’, its strength advancing by leaps and bounds, leaving the Heavenly Realm, Western Buddha Realm, and Celestial Dragon Realm in the dust. It could almost establish a new universal order at that time. It was so near yet so far, though, as things fell through. Decline quickly set in following its glory, and only ruins remained of it.
Today, the Celestial Dragon Realm was even more powerful than it was 100,000 years ago. The Kunlun Realm today was pale in comparison.
The Thousand-Star Civilization, Sunshine Civilization, Beidou Civilization, and Wushen Civilization were the four superpowers of the ancient civilizations in the universe.
The coming of these five superpowers pointed to a massive, sinister plan.
In the Palace of Silver Dragons, Ao Xinyan, the Destiny Corpse Emperor, and Patriarch Dead Zen gathered with over a dozen other powerful cultivators. Saint King Zixin of Three-Eyed Ancients was also among them.
The dozen figures and Ao Xinyan were seen as equals. They all exuded dragon- and phoenix-like aura, totally composed, full of vigor with ancient rhymes in them, literally the characters straight out of the ancient history books. Saint King Zixin was among them, but just sitting in the last seat.
“Why hasn’t the captain come out? The change between day and night will come soon. If we don’t depart toward True Dragon Island now, you will not only have no chance to save the Dragons of Mount Zulong but also cannot stop the Infernal Court from taking the Key to the World gate,” said Ao Xinyan anxiously.
“Time’s wastin! We have got to move now,” said the Destiny Corpse Emperor.
Patriarch Dead Zen sat on the back of an elaphure and suddenly uttered, “No rush. Mister Zhang is here.”
Zhang Ruochen and Blackie appeared in front of the four of them before his voice trailed off.
“I am sorry we are late. I am ready now and may depart at any time,” said Zhang Ruochen.
The Destiny Corpse Emperor took a closer look at Zhang Ruochen, and lights flashed in his eyes. He felt the enormous change in Zhang Ruochen compared to three days ago.
And this change was not superficial but inner, as if he had been reborn.