God Emperor

Refining a ninth drop of divine blood was far more difficult than the eighth drop. Even with Zhang Ruochen’s Five Elements Chaotic Body, he still found it taxing. His face alternated between red and pale.

Qi of the Five Elements Chaotic Body surged out of him. It spread out, covering the entire ravine. One could see the five-colored light burst from the ravine even from hundreds of miles away.

Following that, Zhang Ruochen continuously absorbed the divine blood’s power into him. His saint soul and physical body both started changing slightly. He was subtly evolving.

His saint soul was more consolidated. It hovered in the sky, radiating like the sun. There were even bits of starry light rotating around the saint soul. It seemed to have become one with the sky.

Hundred-meter-long tentacles of Holy Qi sprouted from Zhang Ruochen’s body. Like tree roots, they dug into the dirt and connected with the ground. His saint soul had become the sky while his body had become the earth.

This strange feeling grew stronger. The deity prints in his Sea of Qi grew more active.

Whoosh!

The deity prints had absorbed enough spiritual power. They peeled off of the sea’s wall and flowed out along the meridian like fireballs. Finally, the two deity prints reached the bottom of Zhang Ruochen’s feet and stopped. They were above the two meridians on the soles of his feet.

Just as Zhang Ruochen wanted to do it in one fell swoop and reach a higher cultivation plane, he discovered that he’d completely refined the ninth drop of divine blood.

Thus, he immediately took out a tenth drop. He wanted to take advantage of the momentum. However, this time it failed.

Zhang Ruochen’s body was already filled. When he started absorbing the tenth drop, he couldn’t withstand the strong spiritual power anymore. His skin and muscles ripped and tore.

His body was about to explode.

Thankfully, Zhang Ruochen quickly cut off the connection with the divine blood and stopped, saving himself.

So risky.

Zhang Ruochen let out a long breath. He immediately swallowed a healing pill. He used Holy Qi to refine the pill and heal his internal injuries.

After completing the Five Elements Chaotic Body, Zhang Ruochen’s physical body became extremely strong. He also had strong healing powers. A while later, the injuries caused by the spiritual power were all healed.

I’m very close to the Tenth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm. If I refine the tenth drop, I might enter it.

Zhang Ruochen was disappointed. He was only one step away, but he still couldn’t cross over it.

It could be said that he was the closest Monk to the Tenth Change since the middle ages. However, even the Five Elements Chaotic Body couldn’t refine the tenth drop of divine blood. How could he raise his physique to take that last step?

Zhang Ruochen sank into deep thought. There were two ways that could help him refine the tenth drop.

The first was to cultivate the ninth palm of the Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm. This was the top martial technique for Buddhist Monks. Cultivating it to the highest level could definitely boost his body’s strength.

Using pills and medicine could only fortify his strength. It was “nurturing” one’s body. But cultivating palm techniques was “training” one’s body.

Zhang Ruochen had taken many pills, allowing him to cultivate the Five Elements Chaotic Body. However, he was still a bit weak on the aspect of “training” his body.

If he could make up for this deficit, his body would be even more perfect. However, the difficulty of the Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm increased exponentially after the seventh palm. He had to use multiple times more Yang Qi.

Cultivating the ninth palm of the Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm was comparable to cultivating a divine spell. It required immense energy and time.

The second was to use a god’s power through a ritual.

Zhang Ruochen had always been using his own power to refine the divine blood. He rarely used outside help. However, the other Monks of the Fish-Dragon Realm all had to use a god’s power in a ritual to succeed.

Thus, Zhang Ruochen wanted to try it too. Perhaps the god’s power could give him the boost he needed to enter the Tenth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm.

He decided to undergo both methods at once.

First, he obviously had to cultivate the ninth palm of the Dragon and Elephant Prajna Palm and transform into a dragon.

However, he also needed many outside forces to help him succeed. He needed to drink a lot of dragon and elephant blood. Zhang Ruochen could use the dragon emperor’s blood, but elephant blood wasn’t as easy to find.

The blood of regular elephants obviously wouldn’t meet his requirements. It should at least be from the Silver Moon Dragon-Elephant or the Celestial Divine Elephant.

The saint stores by those old clans should sell elephant blood. I can go look after I reach the Central Region.

The Silver Moon Dragon-Elephant and Celestial Divine Elephant were all sixth level beasts—equal to a Half-Saint.

Zhang Ruochen would have to spend a lot of time if he had to search for them by himself. Sixth level beasts were also foxy and could escape much faster than a human Monk. Even if he found one, he might not be able to capture it.

Thus, Zhang Ruochen didn’t hurry to go look for elephant blood. Instead, he worked on fortifying his newly improved cultivation.

The Central Region had more resources than the Eastern Region. It would be much easier to find high-level elephant blood there.

Zhang Ruochen didn’t reach the Tenth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm, but refining two drops of divine blood was still extremely rewarding.

Firstly, there were 18 new Ways in his saint soul—the rules of three Major Ways and 15 Minor Ways. Furthermore, four deity prints on the wall of his Sea of Qi had peeled off and gathered at his two ears and feet.

Zhang Ruochen hadn’t checked the functions of these four deity prints, but they must be powerful.

There was something else. The divine blood’s strength had pushed his spiritual power to the 46th level. One must know that upgrading one level of spiritual power was harder than reaching the next martial level. It was a bigger difference in ability as well.

Now, Zhang Ruochen could counter a third level Half-Saint by using only his spiritual power. He didn’t even cultivate it purposefully. Spiritual power was only an auxiliary tool for him.

Next, Zhang Ruochen started testing the power of the four deity prints at his ears and feet.

The two by his ears weren’t very significant. They’d only improved his hearing a bit. Even the vision formed by his spiritual power was more sensitive than his hearing.

However, the two by his feet had surprises for him.

Zhang Ruochen moved his Holy Qi to his feet. The two deity prints hovered in the air and started spinning quickly.

They formed a blue luan bird and a phoenix. They were ancient divine beasts that were known for their speed.

With a flare, hot flames surged out from Zhang Ruochen’s feet, transforming into two fireballs. He flew into the air as if he had two divine birds under his feet.

Whoosh

Next, Zhang Ruochen disappeared in the ravine with impossible speed.

By the time he stabilized himself, he was already at the Flame Mountain where Blackie was working on the battle corpse. The flames on his legs gradually died down.

With these deity prints and the boost from the Shooting Star Invisibility Cloak, my speed can probably be equal to that of a ninth level Half-Saint.

Zhang Ruochen was quite excited.

With these two deity prints by his feet, it meant that he could escape from powerful figures like Wan Ji even without winning or using a saint decree. Speed was capital for staying alive.

“Luan Phoenix Deity Print Speed,” Zhang Ruochen named this physical technique.

Now, he’d only started grasping this extreme speed. He had to continue trying it and practicing to perform the technique to its full potential.

In the following month, Zhang Ruochen continued to practice the Luan Phoenix Deity Print Speed. At the same time, he also deepened his cultivation of the Saintly Ways, palm techniques, and swordsmanship. He could reach the Half-Saint Realm with a single thought.

However, he repressed his realm. He wanted to accumulate more and reach the Tenth Change of the Fish-Dragon Realm.