Chapter 2183: Rise From Destruction
The Heart of Truth rotated slowly. The 129,600 facets refracted a strange light. The patterns carved on them became visible. Their forms kept changing, looking obscure and profound. It was as though they were living things.
Even with Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation rank at Saint Kinghood, he still felt these patterns were too profound to comprehend. Even when he used his spiritual power to the extreme, he could only decipher very little of them.
In his opinion, a Supreme Saint or even a deity could not easily decipher the mysteries contained in the Heart of Truth.
Fortunately, refining the Heart of Truth did not require thorough comprehension of all the mysteries it contained. Instead, it only required some enlightenment. The key was to be compatible with the Heart of Truth.
Zhang Ruochen had completely relaxed. He was not in a hurry, so he communicated with the Heart of Truth at a slow pace. The 100 million Precepts he had cultivated gradually wrapped around it.
Even so, Zhang Ruochen’s stream of Precepts had been shaken by the power of the Heart of Truth many times.
If it weren’t for the fact that the Precepts he had cultivated were extremely solid and
resilient, many of them would have been wiped out.
The lord of the Fane of Truth stood at the side. He spoke from time to time, helping Zhang Ruochen avoid many detours and dangers.
In this world, perhaps no one understood the Heart of Truth better than the lord of the Fane of Truth.
After an unknown amount of time, the stream of Precepts released by Zhang Ruochen finally completely enveloped the Heart of Truth. A special connection seemed to have been established between the two.
“He is teachable that he can comprehend the key so quickly. With such comprehension, no wonder he was chosen by saint monk Xumi as the successor.” The lord of the Fane of Truth nodded secretly.
Although she had offered guidance, Zhang Ruochen could only rely on his own ability to comprehend the Heart of Truth.
If Zhang Ruochen’s comprehension was too poor, it would be a waste of effort no matter how much guidance she offered.
Buzz
At a certain moment, the void shook. The Heart of Truth finally trembled.
Although it was only the size of a fist, it was as heavy as a huge realm. It was so steady that even a Supreme Saint could not do anything about it if they were not compatible with it.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes suddenly brightened. He put his hands together and formed a seal. Boundless Five-element Chaotic Qi surged out of his body.
At the same time, a million Precepts of Truth flew back and combined with the Five-element Chaotic Qi. They quickly formed a hazy illusory realm of Chaos that contained a vast sea of stars, as if it was about to evolve into a universe.
As soon as the Realm-frame of Truth was formed, Mountain of Truth resonated. Endless Precepts of Truth appeared, weaving a brilliant and vast starry sky. It looked real.
“Withdraw.”
Zhang Ruochen growled.
Suddenly, the other 99 million Precepts moved together and slowly dragged the Heart of Truth.
Zhang Ruochen’s expression was very serious. He did not dare to relax at all. He tried his best to mobilize the Precepts.
However, everything did not go as smoothly as he had imagined. Before it could go far, the Heart of Truth trembled slightly. The Precepts couldn’t restrain it.
‘Saint Aspects!’
With a thought, Zhang Ruochen released all six Saint Aspects.
The six Saint Aspects suppressed the sky, earth, east, south, west, and north. Their powers connected as one, locking the Heart of Truth.
At this time, the advantage of having six Saint Aspects was well demonstrated.
“Six Saint Aspects? As expected, like Yan Wushen, he is extraordinary. Since the ancient times, it has been a long time since such a being was born. Now, two of them have appeared at the same time. Does this mean something?” A glint of light flashed in the eyes of the lord of the Fane of Truth.
She could not help but fall into deep thought. With her status, the secrets she could come into contact with were unimaginable. She could usually foresee an important event that would happen.
Under the suppression by the six Saint Aspects, the Heart of Truth finally stabilized again. Hence, the Precepts could drag it a little faster.
Doing this consumed a lot of mental and spiritual power.
Even Zhang Ruochen’s mind and spirit were almost unable to bear it.
When the Heart of Truth was dragged close, a black hole emerged on the Realm-frame of Truth, releasing a powerful devouring force that sucked the Heart of Truth.
Buzz
At this moment, the Heart of Truth suddenly released a slight fluctuation.
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes suddenly turned grim. His Realm-frame of Truth was trembling and showing signs of collapsing.
At the same time, a strange force entered his body. It instantly harmed his Five-element Chaotic Body. Many fine cracks appeared on the surface of his body, and Saint blood seeped out of his skin.
Fortunately, this force was not too strong. It disappeared quickly and did not cause further damage.
‘What a terrifying Heart of Truth. It almost destroyed my body even before I could refine it for real.’ Zhang Ruochen was shocked.
It seemed that the lord of the Fane was not lying. Refining the Heart of Truth was extremely dangerous. If he let his guard down, he would be doomed.
If he wanted to give up, he still had a chance.
But once he put the Heart of Truth into the Realm-frame of Truth, he would not be able to retreat anymore.
Looking at the Heart of Truth in a short distance, Zhang Ruochen did not hesitate at all. He was extremely determined. He would never regret what he had chosen to do.
After regaining his composure, Zhang Ruochen activated the Realm-frame of Truth with all his strength so that it would hold onto the Heart of Truth closely.
Even though the s.p.a.ce here was extremely stable, it distorted at this moment.
Crash
In one go, the Heart of Truth was finally absorbed into the Realm-frame of Truth.
Zhang Ruochen’s expression became more serious. He knew that the next moment would be the most dangerous.
There were only two outcomes he would face. He would either successfully refine the Heart of Truth or die from body explosion.
“You can only rely on yourself when refining the Heart of Truth. You cannot use external support. Do keep that in mind,” the lord of the Fane reminded him seriously.
She knew that Zhang Ruochen had many items. Nevertheless, if he used them now, it would only backfire.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. “Thank you for your reminder.”
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Ruochen sat down cross-legged. He was not in a hurry to refine the Heart of Truth. Instead, he circulated Empyrean Emperor Ming’s Scripture over and over again to relax his body and mind completely.
It was a matter of life and death. No matter what, he could not afford to be careless.
After a long time, Zhang Ruochen’s body and mind became ethereal. He put aside all distracting thoughts and completely immersed his mind in the Realm-frame of Truth. He began to refine the Heart of Truth.
What he needed to do was to merge the Heart of Truth and the Realm-frame of Truth into one.
Once he succeeded, his Realm-frame of Truth would become stronger. At the same time, it would become more profound, and he could gain fruit beyond imagination.
Under Zhang Ruochen’s control, the Realm-frame of Truth began to vibrate rhythmically. Billions of stars slowly revolved around the Heart of Truth.
One of his greatest advantages was that his cultivation in the Path of Truth had reached Great Perfection, which could greatly increase the success rate of refining the Heart of Truth.
The lord of the Fane of Truth stood quietly on the side. If Zhang Ruochen failed to refine the Heart of Truth, she would make her move and try her best to save his life.
After all, it would be a pity if a peerless genius like Zhang Ruochen died here.
However, even if she took a move, she could not guarantee she could save Zhang Ruochen.
Turning her eyes, the lord of the Fane of Truth looked at the sh.o.r.e of Sea of Truth. Although it was clouded by golden haze, she could still see it clearly.
“Moon G.o.ddess, WarG.o.d Bian Zhuang, Mandala G.o.ddess, Jiatianxia… There are quite a few deities here. They all seem to care about this reward from the Fane of Truth.”
“If Zhang Ruochen can successfully refine the Heart of Truth, he’ll probably face more troubles that even Moon G.o.ddess might not be able to protect him, but…”
The lord of the Fane of Truth looked through the void s.p.a.ce. As soon as she locked her gaze on the Weak Water Giant who was guarding Celestial River, there was a change in her expression.
However, it was just a moment. Immediately, she withdrew her gaze and looked back at Zhang Ruochen.
Even she could not tell how long Zhang Ruochen would take to refine the Heart of Truth.
It was something unpredictable. It could take one day or one year. The key was how compatible Zhang Ruochen was with the Heart of Truth.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the Realm-frame of Truth shook. A large number of stars near the Heart of Truth were destroyed instantly.
Ptui!
Zhang Ruochen spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body trembling.
For a moment, his breath became very chaotic. The Qi and blood in his body surged. His radiant Yang Qi, which was hundreds of thousands of times potent than that of an ordinary person, almost broke out of his body.
Zhang Ruochen did not panic. Instead, he became calmer. He immediately executed Empyrean Emperor Ming’s Scripture to comb his energy.
At the same time, Zhang Ruochen confined himself with Profound Spatial Dimension. It was as if he wanted to make his surroundings fall into a state of eternal stillness.
Once he had started to refine the Heart of Truth, he could not stop halfway. He had to persist no matter how big the problem was.
A large number of stars approached the Heart of Truth again. They released unique waves of energy and carefully permeated it.
There were hundreds of millions of stars in the Realm-frame of Truth that Zhang Ruochen had formed, and the number was still increasing. They would not be annihilated easily.
Not long after, the Heart of Truth showed signs of movement again. Again, it destroyed a large number of stars, making Zhang Ruochen suffer even more serious injuries.
Just like that, Zhang Ruochen repeatedly adjusted his condition and suffered serious injuries. Even though his body had a very strong recovery ability, it gradually began to be overwhelmed, and his recovery speed became slower.
As time pa.s.sed, more than half of the starry sky in the Realm-frame of Truth had been destroyed. As a result, the Realm-frame of Truth became unstable and showed signs of collapsing.
It was not easy to condense the Realm-frame of Truth. Once it was destroyed, it would be ten or a hundred times more difficult to re-condense it.
Crack
Suddenly, a crack appeared in the Realm-frame of Truth. It was the first crack. Correspondingly, a clear crack appeared on Zhang Ruochen’s body too.
What’s worse was that there was even a crack on Zhang Ruochen’s Saint Soul.
Even if he used the essence Qi of Sacred Seven-star Lingzhi’s Sun Leaf, he could not repair the crack, let alone stop the loss of his essence, Qi, and spirit.
“Every time when there’s a crack appears on your Realm-frame of Truth, the same thing will happen to your body and Saint Soul. When the Realm-frame of Truth is completely broken, you will explode and die.” The voice of the lord of the Fane of Truth rang in Zhang Ruochen’s ears.
When he heard that, his heart sank, and he felt a strong sense of urgency.
However, he understood that he must remain calm at this critical point. Instead of being anxious, he should think about countermeasures.
However, the power of the Heart of Truth was too overbearing; new cracks continued to form on the Realm-frame of Truth.
Zhang Ruochen’s injuries became heavier and heavier. His body was full of cracks, like a porcelain bottle that was about to break.
“Huh? How did Zhang Ruochen’s aura become so weak?”
Moon G.o.ddess’s eyes narrowed.
Moon G.o.ddess could vaguely sense Zhang Ruochen’s condition through the Staff of the Divine Envoy.
Unfortunately, her divine power and divine spirit could not reach Mountain of Truth, so she could not figure out what was going on with Zhang Ruochen.
Although Moon G.o.ddess knew that the Fane of Truth’s reward was not easy to obtain, she did not expect the process to be life-threatening.
Apart from Moon G.o.ddess, Empress Chi Yao’s expression also changed. She seemed to have sensed that Zhang Ruochen was in bad condition.
In the square, the lord of the Fane of Truth frowned slightly. In front of her, Zhang Ruochen had become a man covered in blood. The Saint blood in his body was almost running out.
The Realm-frame of Truth behind Zhang Ruochen was already filled with cracks, yet the number continued to increase. Large amounts of Five-element Chaotic Qi spilled out. In other words, the Realm-frame of Truth was on the verge of collapse.
“Did he fail?”
Disappointment appeared in the eyes of the lord of the Fane of Truth.
Even Zhang Ruochen could not succeed despite being so outstanding and talented. His failure implied that it was impossible to find a Saint King who could refine the Heart of Truth.
“I must not fail. If I die, who will save Kunlun? Who will protect Kongyue? Who will rebuild Shengming? I have too many things to do. I can’t afford to die here?”
A strong will emerged in Zhang Ruochen’s heart. He was unwilling to give in.
He had a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.
There was no way he would allow himself to fall like this, no way!
Driven by his strong will, his Realm-frame of Truth collapsed and contracted rapidly. It was going to return to the primordial state.
The lord of the Fane of Truth was about to make a move, wanting to remove the Heart of Truth from Zhang Ruochen’s Realm-frame of Truth. However, as soon as she sensed the change, she stopped.
“What a powerful spiritual will. He still refuses to give up?” The lord of the Fane of Truth was surprised.
Under normal circ.u.mstances, after suffering such great pain, one’s spiritual will would inevitably collapse, and it would be difficult to regain it.
But Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual will was highly condensed at this moment as if it had undergone some kind of qualitative sublimation.
The Realm-frame of Truth collapsed at an extremely fast speed. In the blink of an eye, it was not much bigger than a fist. It only wrapped around the Heart of Truth, and there were no traces of stars in it. It was in the primordial state, like a realm that had yet to be born.
As a result, the Heart of Truth fell into complete silence. The situation did not get worse.
Zhang Ruochen himself fell into silence too. Strands of the Five-element Chaotic Qi gathered together like strands of silk, wrapping around his body and turning him into a giant coc.o.o.n.
The lord of the Fane of Truth sensed that Zhang Ruochen’s signs of life had become extremely weak. They were almost non-existent.
“The most critical moment is coming. I hope he can survive,” said the lord of the Fane of Truth.
At this point, she could not interfere at all. Whether Zhang Ruochen would live or die, it depended on his luck and fate.
At this moment, Mountain of Truth had become very quiet. The strange phenomenon in the sky had completely disappeared, giving off an extremely oppressive feeling.
Here, the concepts of time and s.p.a.ce became very vague.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a powerful force erupted like a volcano that had been silent for hundreds of millions of years.
The coc.o.o.n that wrapped Zhang Ruochen shattered. Behind him, the small Realm-frame of Truth expanded rapidly. Countless stars were born, and the Heart of Truth had disappeared without a trace.
To be precise, the Heart of Truth and the Realm-frame of Truth had finally merged into one.
The newly created Realm-frame of Truth was more vast than before. Each star was dazzling.
The vast starry sky appeared in the sky again. It was much more magnificent than before.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Powerful heartbeats sounded, Zhang Ruochen’s body emitting vigorous vitality.
His body, which had previously dried up due to great blood loss, regained its healthy form at speed visible to the naked eye.
Hundreds of millions of Precepts of Truth appeared in between heaven and earth, revolving around Zhang Ruochen. It was as though he had become the Master of Truth.
“He managed to rise from destruction after returning to primodial state. He is indeed an extraordinary talent.”
Seeing these changes, the lord of the Fane of Truth laughed and praised him.
Of course, all the deities by the sh.o.r.e of the Sea of truth heard her words. Instantly, some of them smiled, and some of them looked grave.