Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
On the other side, Blackie and the King Thousand-elephant were in a heated fight.
Blackie's strength was on par with Zhang Ruochen's, but was still less than King Thousand-elephant's.
Yet as Blackie unleashed 36 half-saint battle corpses in a row, all the powers from the battle corpses were absorbed by him.
That was the reason why Blackie managed to stall King Thousand-elephant from saving Hai Min.
King Thousand-elephant growled loudly, brandis.h.i.+ng a superior-cla.s.s Ghost Level fist. He broke 7 Half Saint Battle Corpses into bones with a single punch.
Zhang Ruochen s.h.i.+fted his gaze toward Blackie. “The cultivation power of the Military Half Saint is too powerful. Even if we battle him together, the chances of us winning are still very low.”
Li Min replied, “He might be the leader of Thousand-elephant County, Gu Yishen. He was given the t.i.tle King Thousand-elephant by the imperial court. Rumour has it that his cultivation was one of the top among the 36 counties in Yuan Mansion.”
Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment, then said, “Since Blackie is keeping him busy, we should leave now.”
“What about Blackie?” Elephant-swallowing Rabbit asked.
“Don't worry, he can easily escape from the King Thousand-elephant.”
Zhang Ruochen, Li Min, Monster Ape and Elephant-swallowing Rabbit quickened their pace, leaving the Ancient Forest of the Elephant King.
After that, Zhang Ruochen put Monster Ape and Elephant-swallowing Rabbit back into the Scroll World. He then carried Li Min and leapt on to the clouds at the speed of Luan Phoenix Deity Print.
Once they escaped, and had travelled for almost ten thousand miles, Zhang Ruochen stopped.
Not long after, Blackie caught up with them.
Zhang Ruochen released his Spiritual Power to check for King Thousand-elephant's trail.
“Don't worry, I ditched him, he can't find us at the moment.”
Blackie shook his head, “Zhang Ruochen, now that you own the elephant blood, you have to cultivate the Ninth Palm of Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm as soon as possible, in order to make a breakthrough, achieving the Tenth Change of Fish-Dragon Realm.”
“Your increased cultivation will be better for my revenge against the Military Half Saint. He destroyed my hard work! 20 battle corpses at the very least. I have never suffered such a great loss.”
Zhang Ruochen replied, “King Thousand-elephant knows the direction we escaped in. He must have delivered the message to the ten elites in Qingli County. If we headed back to Qingli County now, we'd be arrested.”
“What you're saying is…?” Blackie asked.
“Let's find a spot to establish a hideout, and I can train for the Ninth Palm.” Zhang Ruochen suggested.
Li Min overheard their conversation, and she was shocked. “Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm is the most powerful palm in the Way of Buddha. Only a few have managed to cultivate the Seventh Palm, and you are already on the Ninth?”
She continued asking, “The Ninth Palm is known as Draconic Transformation, once you have mastered the move you can transform yourself into a dragon and command the sea. Is this true?”
Li Min was always a source of headache for Zhang Ruochen. He realized it was a bad decision to have brought her along.
Zhang Ruochen ignored her question and ordered Blackie, “Help me seek for an unused altar, and catch some beast oblations. I might need them when I cultivate for the Tenth Change.”
“You are planning to cultivate the legendary Tenth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm - G.o.d's Destiny?”
“How is this possible?”
“Ever since the middle ages, no one could cultivate the skill successfully…even the Empress failed. Zhang Ruochen, don't tell me you are bluffing?” Li Min stared at Zhang Ruochen from the side, in disbelief of his ability.
Zhang Ruochen's face darkened. “Do you believe that I can shut your mouth literally?”
Li Min was only a teenage girl after all, and she backed off a few steps after seeing Zhang Ruochen's glare.
She had seen his destructive moves against his rival, which made her terrified of him.
“Why are you being so fierce?” Li Min tapped her foot while pouting, “Actually, I do know there is an unused altar nearby, but with your att.i.tude, I might need to reconsider telling you the location.”
She was really scared of Zhang Ruochen, which was why, when she spoke, her voice got softer and softer. Zhang Ruochen stared at her, and grabbed a fist sized red bead from the Spatial Ring. “Do you know what is this?”
Li Min stared at the red bead sitting on Zhang Ruochen's palm, and her eyes glowed. “The crown that grows on the head of Fiery Cloud Cobra, also known as Red Crown Mushroom. It is used as the elevation remedy of spiritual power.”
Red Crown Mushroom was something Zhang Ruochen gained from the Thousand Void World battleground. To him, it did not serve much purpose.
However, to Li Min, Red Crown Mushroom was very valuable, especially since she was a first timer. It could probably elevate her spiritual power a level up, perhaps even two levels up.
“Tell me, where the unused altar is and this Red Crown Mushroom shall be yours.”
Zhang Ruochen swirled the mushroom in front of her, as if a perverted man luring a teenage girl into taking the poisonous apple.
Li Min pursed her lips, and although she tried to contain her excitement, she could not resist the temptation of Red Crown Mushroom. She grabbed the red bead with her small hand and held it tightly, afraid that Zhang Ruochen might s.n.a.t.c.h it back.
“I will bring you to the altar now. According to the books, we are nearby.”
Li Min walked up to Zhang Ruochen, wrapping her arm around his. She knew Zhang Ruochen was going to use the Holy Qi to wrap around her again to fly.
Zhang Ruochen looked at her for a second, and released the Holy Qi to unsheathe the Abyss Ancient Sword. He then performed Sword Defending Technique and off they flew.
Flying using a sword was far more stable than flying with Luan Phoenix Deity Print Speed.
Li Min pointed at an abandoned ancient city.
It used to be a prosperous and flouris.h.i.+ng city, yet the war that had happened 800 years before transformed the whole city into a dumpster, killing every citizen. There was only an altar left in the middle of the city.
“800 years ago, this was the border town of the Sacred Central Empire, with a size bigger than Qingli County.”
“During the war between Sacred Central Empire and Qingchi Central Empire, a saint from Qingchi Central Empire used evil sorcery and killed all the citizens and militants in one attempt.”
“The power of the sorcery has not faded until today, which is why this ancient city is left abandoned,” Li Min explained.
In the city, there was a strong evil Qi that turned the surrounding area into a desert without any living things.
As Zhang Ruochen was standing underneath the entrance of the city, he felt sorry for the past. He took a deep breath to calm himself.
It was easy to imagine how disastrous the war was, which led to the deaths of many innocent citizens of the Sacred Central Empire.
“Let's go!”
Zhang Ruochen sighed and suppressed his emotions. He took the lead and entered the city.
The toxicity of the evil Qi had been diluted through natural weathering over the years, so it did not affect Zhang Ruochen.
Once he entered the city, he entered the Scroll World and extracted the blood of the Silver Moon Dragon-Elephant into a Ruyi Treasure Bottle.
He also took out three drops of the Dragon Emperor's blood, and laid it in front of himself.
He then picked up the Ruyi Treasure Bottle and started drinking the elephant blood, along with one drop of the dragon blood.
The blood was like lava spreading fire inside Zhang Ruochen's body. It fueled his organs from inside to the outside of his body, to his muscles, bone, and skin.
Zhang Ruochen's body was like a burning tripod vessel.
The dragon and elephant blood were the fire it contained.
As the flame got bigger, the energy in him increased exponentially, so much so that he could feel his body expanding.
“Rawrrrr!”
Zhang Ruochen let out a deep long growl as dragon scales started forming on his skin. He transformed into a fire dragon and rose up into the sky.
While flying, the dragon claws swiped through the air, blasting out a series of claw marks followed by explosions.
The Ninth Palm of the Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm was called Draconic Transformation. If he succeeded, his palm strike would advance to superior-cla.s.s Ghost Level.
The strike could also be close to a saint spell when one had mastered it completely. The strength of it was indeed powerful.
Other than a saint spell, any other martial arts could easily be defeated with a single palm.
It was because Zhang Ruochen owned a dragon marble that he could transform into a dragon even before he succeeded with his cultivation of the Ninth Palm.
Transforming into a dragon prior to completion would ease the cultivation process.
Meanwhile, King Thousand-elephant delivered the message of Zhang Ruochen's appearance in the Ancient Forest of Elephant King to Qingli County.
The five elites departed as soon as they heard the news. They went separate ways towards Thousand-elephant County, spreading across the county into a web, waiting for Zhang Ruochen to be trapped inside.
Besides, the commander-in-chief of the four surrounding counties had led an army of trained soldiers into Qingli County to search for Zhang Ruochen.
All the troubles for one person: Zhang Ruochen.
The news of his appearance in Qingli county quickly spread into the Central region, garnering attention from all parties.
Taichi Sect, the Crypt of Sacred Central, the four sects from the Way of Confucius, the Ancient Ghost Cultivation race, the Ancient Necromancer race, etc. All the parties sent their best men to Yuan Mansion.
Each of them had different purposes; some wanted Zhang Ruochen's treasures, some wanted to use Zhang Ruochen to go against the Wan Family, and some were Zhang Ruochen's enemies, who were here to kill him.
