Chapter 31

Finally, I have broken through to the Middle Stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, and indeed, only nineteen meridians have been opened!

After cultivating for three days, Zhang Ruochen consecutively opened eight meridians, finally breaking through to the Middle Stage of the Yellow Apex Realm.

The thick true qi rapidly circulated through the nineteen meridians, filling his entire body, making him a cohesive whole. An unprecedented powerful force emanated from the meridians.

The Fifth Prince, who cultivated to the Great Stage, had only opened twelve meridians.

Zhang Ruochen, at the Middle Stage, had already opened nineteen meridians, indicating that his martial body was already quite powerful.

However, in his previous life, when he was at the Middle Stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, he had opened twenty meridians, one more than he had now.

"Although I cultivated once in the Savage God Pool and absorbed a large amount of blood essence, which greatly enhanced my physical strength, it still doesn't match my physical strength from my previous life. Of course, I also have advantages that I didn't have in my previous life. That is, I now possess powerful mental strength and rich cultivation experience."

"If I want to catch up with or even surpass Chi Yao in martial cultivation, I must do better than in my previous life and open more meridians. Therefore, I must make my physical body even stronger, more resilient than in my previous life, and open all thirty-six meridians on the 'Meridian Map' of the 'Nine Heavens Bright Emperor Scripture.'"

Zhang Ruochen walked out of the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal and washed away the impurities expelled from his body when he opened the meridians. Then, he began practicing palm techniques in the courtyard.

"Bang! Bang!"

Each palm strike caused the air to explode.

Now, even without using the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, he could strike with the force of sixteen oxen.

If he used the Dragon Elephant Prajna Palm, leveraging the explosive power of the palm print, he could achieve a terrifying force of twenty-five oxen.

With his current strength, he only needed three palm strikes to defeat Situ Linjiang. Even if he encountered a martial artist at the Great Perfection Stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, he would still have the strength to fight.

In just a few short days, Zhang Ruochen's combat power had reached a new height.

After moving back to the Jade Washing Palace, Lin Fei and Zhang Ruochen naturally had many more palace maids and eunuchs around them.

Since Zhang Ruochen had already revealed his martial talent during the year-end assessment, he no longer hid it and practiced palm techniques directly in the courtyard of the Jade Washing Palace.

"The Ninth Prince is truly remarkable. It's said that even the Fifth Prince and Sixth Prince are not his match. Now, everyone in the entire palace says that the Ninth Prince is a martial genius, comparable to the Seventh Prince." A palace maid, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a rather beautiful appearance, stared at Zhang Ruochen practicing in the courtyard, her snow-white cheeks tinged with a faint blush of shyness.

A strong person naturally earns the respect of others.

A genius, of course, also becomes the idol of many young girls.

Seeing Zhang Ruochen practicing, a slightly older palace maid's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, and she quietly left the Jade Washing Palace, heading to the back of a rockery in the palace.

"Report to Miss Han, the Ninth Prince has emerged from seclusion! His cultivation should have already broken through to the Middle Stage of the Yellow Apex Realm!" The palace maid knelt on the ground, respectfully said.

The girl standing opposite her was also dressed as a palace maid, wearing a light green palace uniform, looking about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a tall and slender figure and slender waist and legs.

Her name was Han Qingluo, one of the four close female guards of the Empress.

The four close female guards were also the four major disciples personally trained by the Empress. They specialized in killing techniques, were powerful in cultivation, and ruthless in their methods, helping the Empress eliminate her enemies.

The Empress had assigned the task of assassinating the Ninth Prince to Han Qingluo.

Han Qingluo, with her hands behind her back, smiled slightly and said, "During the martial competition, his cultivation had already reached the peak of the Lesser Stage of the Yellow Apex Realm. With the blood essence he absorbed in the Savage God Pool, given his talent, it would be strange if he hadn't broken through to the Middle Stage of the Yellow Apex Realm!"

Han Qingluo's eyes carried a faint killing intent, and she continued, "Continue to keep an eye on him. As soon as he leaves the palace, report to me immediately."

The palace maid replied, "Understood, Miss!"

After saying this, the palace maid retreated and returned to the Jade Washing Palace.

After finishing his palm technique practice, Zhang Ruochen returned to his room and entered the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal.

Sitting cross-legged in the center of the inner space, he took out a Qi-Gathering Pill, swallowed it, and began to refine it.

With his current cultivation, he could completely absorb the pill energy of the Qi-Gathering Pill without wasting any of it.

It only took him an hour to fully absorb the pill energy of one Qi-Gathering Pill and convert it into true qi.

However, when he broke through to the Middle Stage, the capacity of his qi pool increased tenfold. The true qi in his qi pool did not increase much from the pill energy of one Qi-Gathering Pill.

He only had two more Qi-Gathering Pills left, and he spent another two hours refining these two pills.

After refining a total of three Qi-Gathering Pills, the true qi in his body had only increased by one-fifth. To fully fill his qi pool, he estimated he would need to take over a hundred Qi-Gathering Pills.

"The effect of Qi-Gathering Pills on me is becoming weaker. By the time I reach the Great Stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, they will likely be completely ineffective. I must buy higher-grade pills."

Qi-Gathering Pills and Body-Strengthening Powder are both first-grade pills, and their effects are naturally very significant for lower-realm martial artists.

As a martial artist's cultivation increases, the effect of first-grade pills will gradually diminish, and they must take second-grade pills to maintain a rapid cultivation speed.

Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to leave the inner space of the Time-Space Crystal to buy higher-grade pills, his gaze suddenly fell on a stone platform in the inner space.

On the stone platform, there was a scroll and a silver iron book, the "Time-Space Secret Canon."

"My cultivation has reached the Middle Stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, so I should be able to open the scroll now!"

The scroll was very heavy, and at the Early Stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, Zhang Ruochen could not even lift it.

According to the first page of the "Time-Space Secret Canon," as long as Zhang Ruochen's cultivation reached the Lesser Stage of the Yellow Apex Realm, he could open the scroll.

Zhang Ruochen gathered his true qi in his right arm, grabbed the scroll, and slowly lifted it.

"What a heavy scroll, at least eight hundred pounds!"

Controlling his strength, Zhang Ruochen held the scroll and laid it flat on the ground, slowly opening it.

The scroll depicted a grand and majestic scene of a primeval wilderness, with towering mountains, surging ancient rivers, and steep cliffs. In the center of the scroll stood a massive ancient tree.

The ancient tree was taller than the clouds, with each root resembling a coiled dragon, as large as a mountain peak. Each leaf could cover an entire lake.

"How can there be such a tall tree in the world?" Zhang Ruochen smiled slightly and shook his head.

Suddenly, a voice sounded, "Who says there isn't? You really lack knowledge. You don't even recognize the 'Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree' that supports the Kunlun Realm. This is truly disappointing."

Zhang Ruochen was slightly startled and looked around the inner space but saw no one.

Where did the voice come from?

"Who is speaking?" Zhang Ruochen became cautious and asked in a deep voice.

The voice sounded again, "Don't you see me in the painting?"

"In the painting?"

Zhang Ruochen was even more surprised and asked, "Are you the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree? But historical records state that the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree was cut down in the Middle Ancient Era."

"Middle Ancient Era?" The voice sounded again.

Zhang Ruochen nodded and said, "The Middle Ancient Era was over a hundred thousand years ago. Are you really the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree? Is the legendary Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree really real?"

The owner of the voice sighed and said, "How could that be? You said it yourself, the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree was cut down. How could I be a tree?"

"Then who are you?" Zhang Ruochen asked, staring at the scroll.

"I am not a person!" the voice said.

Zhang Ruochen was speechless.

The voice sounded again, "I am a cat!"

Then the voice continued, "Don't underestimate me. I have a famous title, the 'Heaven-Slaying Earth-Killing Emperor.' A great powerhouse like me cannot be erased by time. Even after a hundred thousand years, I will still leave a significant mark in history. Young man, you must have heard of my name, right?"

"No!" Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment and then shook his head.

Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen noticed something on the scroll. Below the Heaven-Connecting Divine Tree, there was indeed a tiny black cat, no bigger than a grain of rice. If he didn't look closely, he wouldn't have seen it.

"Are you really a cat, or are you just a painting?" Zhang Ruochen felt a sense of unease.

The voice sighed, "I told you, I am the Heaven-Slaying Earth-Killing Emperor. I did some wrong things in the past, so I was sealed in the painting world. Now, only you can release me."

"Why only me?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

"Because you have awakened the Time-Space Divine Martial Mark, which allows you to use spatial power and open the seal of the painting world. You should know that throughout history, only a few people have awakened the Time-Space Divine Martial Mark. Young man, you are very lucky!" the voice said.

Zhang Ruochen understood the situation and smiled, "But why should I release you from the painting?"