After storing away the battleship, Zhang Ruochen and the others followed Ao Xinyan. Then they landed on the Silver Dragon Island, which looked more like a continent.
Tens of millions of Divine Dragon Halfling were now living on Silver Dragon Island. With the help of the self-cultivation resources of the Divine Dragon, their strength had improved by leaps and bounds.
As a descendant of Pentaclaw Silver Dragons, staying on Silver Dragon Island was undoubtedly very helpful for the Divine Dragon Halflings to awaken their Divine Dragon bloodline.
When the bloodline was fully revived, the body of the Divine Dragon fully developed, they would be not much different from the real Divine Dragons.
Just like Ao Xinyan, who now belonged to the Divine Dragons and was comparable to a real Pentaclaw Silver Dragon in all aspects. She was named Princess Shenlong by that taboo figure.
Soon, they came to a magnificent palace, where silver light was shining, and dragon Qi rose and turned into lifelike Pentaclaw Silver Dragons that flew in the sky.
“What a rich saint qi of heaven and earth! This place is a holy land for self-cultivation,” whispered Zhang Ruochen.
“There are three holy veins under the Palace of Silver Dragons. It is one of the places with the highest level of saint Qi on Silver Dragon Island. I spend most of my time practicing self-cultivation here,” said Ao Xinyan.
She waved her hand, and the thick dragon Qi dispersed automatically to form a passage leading to the Palace of Silver Dragons.
“Everyone, please.” Ao Xinyan beckoned.
Everyone followed her into the holy palace with no hesitation.
The Palace of Silver Dragons was a shrine of the Pentaclaw Silver Dragons in the past. Several Pentaclaw Silver Dragons had lived in it in the past. There was still a powerful aura of the Divine Dragons lingering around now.
The Palace of Silver Dragons comprised several palaces and looked massive from the outside. But once inside, one would find that it was an entirely different world. It was much more massive than what it appeared to be on the outside.
Zhang Ruochen and the others felt they were so insignificant in front of these palaces as if they had come to the world of the giants.
With Ao Xinyan leading the way, Zhang Ruochen and others went past several palaces and entered the most magnificent one.
Once inside, a person immediately attracted Zhang Ruochen’s attention.
The person was a teenager, sixteen or seventeen at most, wearing white, extremely good-looking, like a typical boy-next-door. Despite his age, there was a sense of depth in his eyes, as if he had experienced the vicissitudes of life. He had that authoritative aura in him, just like that of an emperor who ruled an immortal dynasty.
“The Destiny Corpse Emperor!” A light flashed in Zhang Ruochen’s eyes.
Zhang Ruochen had crossed paths with the Destiny Corpse Emperor when the Destiny Corpse Emperor was first resurrected.
First, it was Patriarch Dead Zen. Now, it was the Destiny Corpse Emperor. Zhang Ruochen was impressed. It goes to show how influential Ao Xinyan was—so much so that she could invite these two characters to the Yin Yang Sea at once.
These two figures were legends. One had created the mysterious Dead Zen Dharma that could effortlessly control the dead. This technique was absolutely useful on the battlefield.
The other was the emperor who established the Central Empire and unified humanity after ancient times. He defied nature by changing his fate, getting a second life after tens of thousands of years.
The key was, his chance of getting a second life seemed to have something to do with Bi Luozi, a god-level being in ancient times. In the old days, Bi Luozi and Kong Chengzi were always together. They shared the same fame as Lord Wentian of the Ten Tribulations and Saint Monk Xumi when they joined hands. They were absolutely a pair of taboo figures.
Few characters throughout the Celestial Court and Infernal Court could rival figures like Zhang Ruochen, Patriarch Dead Zen, and the Destiny Corpse Emperor.
But both Patriarch Dead Zen and the Destiny Corpse Emperor were extremely low profile. Zhang Ruochen had never heard of any news about them although they had returned to the Kunlun Realm for such a long time. He once thought that they had attained Supreme Sainthood and could not join the War of Merits in the Kunlun Realm.
He did not expect to meet them in the Yin Yang Sea.
Both of them were shrouded in secrecy; no one could see through them and know how far their strength had gone.
Given the secrecy of Patriarch Dead Zen and the Destiny Corpse Emperor, probably no one in the Celestial Court and Infernal Court knew their existence.
Zhang Ruochen took a close look and found that the corpse aura on the Destiny Corpse Emperor’s body had become so faint that it was hardly perceivable. Perhaps when the corpse aura completely went away, he would appear to be no different from ordinary people.
He used to be the supreme emperor who possessed many incredible powers. In terms of self-cultivation, he had practiced ten or even a hundred times longer than Zhang Ruochen had.
The Destiny Corpse Emperor turned his head around and looked at Zhang Ruochen, saying in a flat voice, “I didn’t know you were here too, Zhang Ruochen.”
Zhang Ruochen sat down opposite the Destiny Corpse Emperor. As young as he was, his aura was as powerful as a young emperor, not less powerful than that of the Destiny Corpse Emperor and Patriarch Dead Zen.
“I thought you wouldn’t want to get involved in any trouble. I am surprised that you have come so early. This is completely out of your character,” said Zhang Ruochen with a meaningful look.
“Emotions determine the character of a person. When you reach the height of us, emotions can no longer influence you. I came because this concerns the Key to the World Gate,” said the Destiny Corpse Emperor.
Patriarch Dead Zen clapped his hands together with a solemn expression and uttered some Buddhist phrases. “Life is like being in the thorns; when the heart is not moving, the person does not move and will not get hurt. But if a person’s heart moves, the thorns will hurt him to the bones and the person will feel all the pains in the world.”
Knowing the meaning behind the words, the Destiny Corpse Emperor’s expression was as calm as a millpond. “Dead Zen, it’s true that I am looking to keep the Key of the World Gate. It is just in case. But as long as it does not fall into the hands of the Infernal Court and the World Gate is not opened, everything remains on the table. I never have second thoughts.”
Just then, the other cultivators had also entered the hall, looking for a place to sit down. Being the host there, Ao Xinyan was sitting in the host’s seat in the hall.
“First tell us about the Key to the World Gate, Ao Xinyan. As far as I know, the Key to the World Gate is missing since the Divine Sky-connecting Tree was chopped down. Why does it appear again now?” Blackie’s eyes were filled with doubts.
“The existence of the Key to the World Gate is actually related to the state of the Spirit of the World,” said Ao Xinyan with a solemn face.
“The Spirit of the World?” Zhang Ruochen’s heart missed a beat upon hearing the name.
No wonder Ao Xinyan said that it was a matter of life and death for the Kunlun Realm. It turned out that things actually involved the Spirit of the World.
Zhang Ruochen was no stranger to the Spirit of the World. He had been in contact with the Black Dragon Ruins Realm back then.
The so-called Spirit of the World was something that could control everything in this world because its Qi of Origin was so strong that it had formed wisdom. It could be called the law of nature, to which all the orders and rules were related.
As an immortal macroworld, the Kunlun Realm possessed an extremely powerful Spirit of the World.
As everyone knew, the Spirit of the World that the Kunlun Realm used to have was the Divine Sky-connecting Tree. It existed when the Kunlun Realm existed. The relationship between the two was symbiotic.
At the end of ancient times, a wicked being cut down the Divine Sky-connecting Tree, causing great harm to the Qi of Origin of the Kunlun Realm. Since then, the Kunlun Realm declined gradually, laws broken, the self-cultivation environment going bad, and there had been no more beings that could attain immortality. Even those who attained Supreme Sainthood were few.
It was not until Empress Chi Yao attained immortality that this shackle was broken.
The Kunlun Realm started to recover and produce many precious training resources.
“All of you know that before ancient times, the Spirit of the World in the Kunlun Realm has always been the Divine Sky-connecting Tree. But it was not just the only one. As an immortal macroworld, the Qi of Origin of the Kunlun Realm was so powerful that it surpassed that of the ordinary macroworlds,” said Ao Xinyan. “The Qi of Origin of the Kunlun Realm was divided into two from the beginning. One part was combined with the Realm Root, and the other part was hidden in a mysterious dimension. In other words, the Kunlun Realm has always had a Spirit of the Dual World. It needs a special key to access that dimension, and that special key is the Key to the World Gate. Back then, when the Divine Sky-connecting Tree was cut down, it caused great harm to the Qi of origin of the Kunlun Realm. The other half of the Qi of Origin fell into silence, and the Key of the World Gate disappeared.”
This secret startled everyone as they had never heard about it before this.
According to Ao Xinyan, the Kunlun Realm possessed the Spirit of Dual Worlds, and what was hidden in that mysterious dimension should be even more important. It was the foundation of the Kunlun Realm, and from which the Divine Sky-connecting Tree was born.
“Why does the Key to the World Gate reappear, and how did the Infernal Court know about it?” asked Zhang Ruochen curiously.
He had made his own conjecture in his mind, but he still wanted to hear the answer from Ao Xinyan.
“The reappearance of the Key to the World Gate means that the Qi of Origin hidden in that mysterious dimension has recovered. The reason is that a new Realm Root has appeared and fits well with the Origin of the Kunlun realm,” said Ao Xinyan.
“The Fane of Darkness has always been eyeing the Origin of the Kunlun Realm. With a special method, they had detected the Key of the World Gate the moment it reappeared.”
Ao Xinyan could not help but sighed when she talked about this. The Fane of Darkness indeed had some powerful means to know the whereabouts of the Key of the World Gate, even if it was stored in the Ying Yang Sea.
“If the Infernal Court gets the Key to the World Gate, using it to open that mysterious dimension and take away the Spirit of the World that is the most fundamental to Kunlun Relm, then the Kunlun Realm will be done for. We must not let them succeed,” said Blackie with emotions.
Immediately Blackie looked at Ao Xinyan again. “Why didn’t your master take the Key to the World Gate with him?”
“The Key to the World Gate is very special. It is closely connected with the Spirit of the World Gate and cannot be taken out of the Kunlun Realm, or even out of the Yin Yang Sea,” said Ao Xinyan, shaking her head.
Blackie’s heart sank.
“The army of the Infernal Court has completely sealed off the sea area around True Dragon Island. Many powerful beings are guarding the area. Stopping them from taking the Key to the World Gate will be difficult once True Dragon Island is breached,” said Patriarch Dead Zen with a frown.
He had scouted True Dragon Island before and fought against four of the Nether Fane’s Seven Top Killers. He knew firsthand how powerful the Infernal Court army was.
It was apparent that there was no way they could fight the Infernal Court with so few of them.
“Why hasn’t the Infernal Court army attacked True Dragon Island?” asked Zhang Ruochen was in bewilderment.
The Infernal Court was crazy about the Key to the World Gate; their calmness made no sense.
“True Dragon Island has the most powerful forbidden array in the Yin Yang Sea. A brute-force attack is not going to work. So the Infernal Court army is waiting for an opportunity. The change between day and night is the time when the forbidden array is at its weakest,” said Ao Xinyan.
The Yin Yang Sea was unique in that the change between day and night differed from that in the outside world. A change of day and night only happened once in half a month.
That meant a cycle of day and night in the Yin Yang Sea was equivalent to a month in the outside world.
“How long is it before the next day and night change?” asked Zhang Ruochen immediately.
“Three days,” said Saint King Zixin, the three-eyed Ancient.
Everyone’s heart sank upon hearing the answer. Three days were too short.
“The Infernal Court has captured all the dragons of Mount Zulong. Will they use this to bring forward their attack?” The Heaven-devourer Dragon looked worried.
Tens of thousands of dragons in Mount Zulong had fallen into the hands of the Infernal Court army. If they could not save the dragons, then Mount Zulong would decline. No one could tell how many years it would take for Mount Zulong to recover with just a few of them.
But they were still too weak in terms of strength. They could not even protect themselves, let alone save other dragons.
“Before the change between day and night, it is useless for the Infernal Court to sacrifice the dragons of Mount Zulong. They will not be so stupid. But it is not easy to rescue those dragons either,” said Ao Xinyan, shaking her head.
The Heaven-devourer Dragon said nothing more. After all, he could not force Zhang Ruochen and the others to fight for it.
Zhang Ruochen looked at Ao Xinyan after a moment of thought. “Can you get me a quiet place? I need to make some preparations.”
“No problem,” said Ao Xinyan.
With no delay, Zhang Ruochen got up and left with Blackie.
As Ao Xinyan said, many of the buildings in Silver Dragon Palace were vacant.
With little time to waste, Zhang Ruochen entered one of the palaces, and then sealed it off with a dimensional array. He did not want anyone to disturb him.
“Why did you bring me here, Zhang Ruochen?” asked Blackie in puzzlement.
“There will be a fierce battle in three days. The Infernal Court has so many powerful beings, I’m not so confident of beating them. I have to improve my strength further,” said Zhang Ruochen with a serious face.
“There are only three days left. Even with the help of the Sundial, you can only practice for three years. It is impossible for you to increase your cultivation base significantly. Do you have any shortcut to increase your strength?” Blackie looked worried.
The higher the cultivation base gets, the more difficult it is to improve it further. Thirty years were not enough to make any significant breakthrough, let alone three years.
“I plan to refine five top-grade Five-Element divine artifacts, cultivating my Five-element Chaotic Body to its limit. Hopefully It will significantly improve my strength. Besides, I need you to do something for me; lay out an even more powerful Time and Dimensional Arrays. It would be better to combine them with the Ninth Stratum Array as a means to counter the Seven Top Killers of the Nether Fane,” said Zhang Ruochen.
He alone might not be able to beat the Seven Top Killers of the Nether Fane.
But if he could get the Time and Dimensional Arrays in place in advance, he could probably put up a good fight, at least trap them at the critical moment.
“Is it too early to refine the Five Element Fetishes? The risk is high.” Blackie looked worried.
Cultivators who had just attained the level of Heaven’s Reach, and whose body had not been toughened to perfection by the power of heaven and earth, refining the Five-element fetishes could harm them gravely, even if they possessed the Five-Element Chaotic Body.
“Nothing is absolutely safe in self-cultivation. Besides, this is the best option at the moment. Don’t worry, I am confident I can refine the Five-element fetishes with my existing physical strength,” said Zhang Ruochen.
Blackie nodded since Zhang Ruochen insisted. “Well, you may try it. But don’t force yourself. Meanwhile, I will help you with the arrays.”
Not that it had choices. It just could not think of a better way except for letting Zhang Ruochen take the risk.
Besides, as dangerous as refining the Five Elements Fetishes was, if everything went well, it would greatly help Zhang Ruochen in his subsequent self-cultivation practice.
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