Chapter 1764: Let Chi Yao Come and Get It Herself

Chi Kongyue wiped her tears away and said, “I’ll go and get Big Brother.”

“Don’t.”

Zhang Ruochen stopped her and said, “Do not let him know about this yet.”

“Why?”

Chi Kongyue was puzzled but seemingly able to guess something as she immediately said, “Actually, he hates you so much only because he regards you as the enemy. If he knows the truth, his attitude toward you will definitely change.”

“Then, what?” Zhang Ruochen asked.

Chi Kongyue said, “Then…”

Zhang Ruochen folded his hands and added, “Then, will both of you follow me, or will you stay with Chi Yao?”

Chi Kongyue hesitated.

She and Chi Kunlun had been brought up by Empress Chi Yao ever since she could remember. Although the empress was extremely strict with them, she cared for them in every possible way.

From a young age, they trained in the best techniques, as well as the most exquisite martial arts and Saint techniques. They also consumed the purest sacred pills and elixirs. Not to mention, she would often personally guide and instruct them on their cultivation.

Even the empress’ direct disciples never got one-tenth of the treatment that the two of them received.

Chi Kongyue could truly feel the love, and it was definitely not fake.

It could be said that the empress was the person Chi Kongyue respected and trusted the most.

While the empress had lied to her, Chi Kongyue believed that there had to be something hidden within the lie. The fact that it was a huge secret was highly possible. The secret was probably the reason for Zhang Ruochen’s unwillingness to tell her the truth now.

If it meant leaving the empress and leaving the Kunlun Realm with Zhang Ruochen, Chi Kongyue was not yet mentally prepared to do it.

Zhang Ruochen continued, “Since you are unwilling to leave with me, then what is the point of telling your brother about it? With his personality, if he continues to stay in the Kunlun Realm after he finds out that I am his father, who knows what will happen.”

“No, it’s not like that… It’s not that I am unwilling to leave with you. It’s just.. Father, can you give me some time?” Chi Kongyue said.

Zhang Ruochen could understand Chi Kongyue’s feelings. She was just a child after all. It was difficult for her to suddenly leave with a stranger of a father. Furthermore, her father was the person she had hated as a nemesis for many years.

“Your brother’s character is just too frank and direct. Besides, he is rather impulsive as well. It will be difficult to change things once he makes up his mind. Even if I tell him that I am his father, he will never believe it,” Zhang Ruochen said.

Obviously, Chi Kongyue knew Chi Kunlun’s personality the best. He was much more impulsive, naive, and rebellious than the person Zhang Ruochen had described—totally immature.

“Do you intend to keep hiding this from him?” Chi Kongyue asked.

“The truth always comes to light; it will never be hidden for too long.”

“Both of you want to know the truth, so why would I not want to know as well?” Zhang Ruochen then said thoughtfully.

The ancient temple became quiet as Chi Kongyue and Zhang Ruochen began to contemplate.

A moment later, Zhang Ruochen asked, “Do you have the Shenwu Mark of Time?”

“Yes.”

“How is your cultivation in the Path of Time?”

Chi Kongyue said. “The Empress once gave me a tome to cultivate the Path of Time, but since the Path of Time is just too arcane and full of countless variables, its requirements for spiritual power are rather high. With the current strength of my spiritual power and cultivation, I have only managed to learn a little.”

“Let me see that tome,” Zhang Ruochen said.

Without any hesitation, Chi Kongyue took out the tome and handed it to Zhang Ruochen.

He flipped through the tome for a bit before he shook his head and returned the tome to her. “Well, for the Path of Time, aside from you, even I have only managed to scratch its surface. But I have mastered a set of swordsmanship techniques that will allow you to comprehend time through it. When the two are combined, their power is limitless. Do you want to learn it?”

Chi Kongyue’s eyes lit up, and she quickly nodded.

“For the next few days, I will stay in Xumi Dojo. I will teach you the Swordsmanship of Time in the evening,” Zhang Ruochen said.

After Chi Kongyue left, Zhang Ruochen finally let out a long sigh as a smile appeared on his face. It was gratifying with a touch of sadness.

Immediately after, Zhang Ruochen took out the lusterless lotus and held it in his hand as he mobilized his spiritual powers to inspect it.

The lotus was just too mysterious. It could, in just mere moments, strengthen Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation, spiritual power, physical body, and Saint Soul by over ten times. He felt like he had been reborn.

If it could also strengthen other cultivators, Zhang Ruochen would be able to train a large number of powerful cultivators in a short period of time.

“What?!”

An unexpected look of surprise appeared on Zhang Ruochen’s face. “It really is a treasure of time and space! Incredible!”

After some investigation, Zhang Ruochen found out that the flow of time inside the lotus was twelve times slower than the flow of time outside.

Hence, a single year of cultivation within the lotus would only be one month outside.

It was much stronger than the Sacred Qiankun Wooden Picture Scroll.

Zhang Ruochen counted and noticed that there were twelve petals on the lotus in total. He wondered if there was a connection between the two.

If more petals grew on the lotus, would the ratio of time flow be greater?

Zhang Ruochen did not, however, find the reason why the lotus had greatly helped in improving his cultivation.

At the moment, the lotus was no different from any ordinary lotus. His spiritual power that had been infused into it had yet to show any growth.

Many Inscriptions of Dimensions were interwoven with the lotus petals, and there were numerous light spots that looked similar to the Mark of Time.

Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen had an idea, and he walked straight out of the dojo.

“Saint Monk Xumi left a lot of Inscriptions of Dimensions and Marks of Time in the dojo. Even the disciples of the Fane of Time and the Fane of Dimension would come here to study and enlighten themselves. I should do so as well.”

In the battle with Gong Ziyan, Zhang Ruochen had understood the terrible power of time and space. With the mastery of just one of them, he had managed to easily kill enemies across the boundaries like it was child’s play.

Take Gong Ziyan for instance; his strength had become comparable to that of Nine-step Saint Kings after he had mastered the power of space.

Yet, with the ability to control time, even a Four-Step Saint King like Zhang Ruochen had been able to kill him.

Of course, Zhang Ruochen did not use the Mark of Time to cut off Gong Ziyan’s hundred-year lifeforce. It was no easy task, after all, to cross three realms to kill him.

Even so, Zhang Ruochen had mastered the power of time, so in the end, Gong Ziyan ended up dead instead of him.

In the night, some of the Kunlun cultivators were arranging defensive matrixes, some were cleaning the battlefield, while some were healing their wounds.

Zhang Ruochen walked around the dojo, squatting down at times to press the ground with his palm and study the Inscription of Dimensions on the ground. Other times, he would lift his finger and make a Mark of Time appear as he studied it carefully.

Whenever the Kunlun cultivators saw Zhang Ruochen, they would do the fist and palm salute with respectful and reverential expressions.

Obviously, the battle tonight had changed the attitude that a majority of the Kunlun cultivators had toward Zhang Ruochen, and they admired him from the bottom of their hearts.

As he walked, Zhang Ruochen arrived at the edge of Xumi Dojo, and a woman’s cry traveled into his ears from afar.

Looking over, Zhang Ruochen saw Wan Huayu and The Nine-heavens Maiden. They were stunning ladies with absolute grace, and their beauty was well-known across the Kunlun Realm.

They had come from afar, and Wan Huayu was holding a wooden box with tears in her eyes.

Wan Zhaoyi had fallen in battle, and his godly form had been destroyed, so his body had been reduced to blood-colored sand mixed with soil. Wan Huayu used the wooden box and filled it with dirt as she prepared to bring it back to the Kunlun Realm, allowing Wan Zhaoyi to “return home”.

When they saw Zhang Ruochen, Wan Huayu and The Nine-heavens Maiden walked over.

Klop.

Wan Huayu knelt directly before Zhang Ruochen as she kowtowed to him and said in a cold voice, “I beg you to kill all of the Saint Kings held within the dojo… Kill them all… and leave none alive…”

Zhang Ruochen hurriedly stepped forward and helped her up. “My hatred is no less than yours, but this group has an influential background. If everyone behind them were to unite, even the Celestial Court would be shaken. I cannot kill them.”

“Are… you afraid?”

Wan Huayu was extremely disappointed, and her heart wailed in sorrow.

A look of contempt appeared in the eyes of The Nine-heavens Maiden as she said, “If you are afraid of death, hand them to me, and I will kill every one myself. I will bear all of the consequences.”

Zhang Ruochen shook his head and said, “The number of Heavenly Realm Saint Kings who have died by my hand is already too many to count. Why would I be afraid of killing another group? I plan to hand them over to someone else to deal with them. After such a massive event, I cannot bear all of the consequences myself. Plus, how can she stay out of it?”

“Who are you planning to hand them to?” The Nine-heavens Maiden had a rough idea of what he was doing to do.

“That does not concern you!”

The Nine-heavens Maiden snorted and spat, “That temple belongs to me. Return it to me at once.”

“I will give it back to you if you can defeat me, but unfortunately for you, you are not my match even if I just use one hand,” Zhang Ruochen said indifferently.

Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual power and Saint Qi had mostly been restored, and he did not fear The Nine-heavens Maiden.

She ground her teeth with hatred because she really had the urge to fight Zhang Ruochen.

However, she recalled the terrifying sight of Zhang Ruochen using the lotus and killing more than a hundred Heavenly Realm Saint Kings in an instant. When that came to mind, she realized that she was definitely no match for Zhang Ruochen in Xumi Dojo, so she endured it.

“Zhang Ruochen, hand over the lotus!” The Nine-heavens Maiden widened her eyes and hissed angrily.

“Why?” he asked.

The Nine-heavens Maiden continued, “That lotus is a treasure left behind by Saint Monk Xumi for the Kunlun Realm. The Kunlun Realm has paid a huge price to take Xumi Dojo. You are not a cultivator of the Kunlun Realm, so what right do you have to take it? You need to understand one thing: you are just an outside help that the Kunlun Realm invited. Since the war is over now, you should hand it to me.”

Zhang Ruochen clenched his hand slightly. Turning around, he spoke with a bitter smile as he shook his head and walked toward the dojo, appearing a little lonely. “If you want the lotus, ask Chi Yao to come and get it herself. If she really comes in person, I will give it to her.”

The Nine-heavens Maiden frowned as she realized that she had been overly aggressive earlier and had probably hurt Zhang Ruochen. She felt deep feelings of guilt in her heart, but to immediately catch up to him and apologize was not something she could do.

“That bastard sure is haughty. He actually asked the Empress to come and meet him.” The Nine-heavens Maiden bit her lip as she stomped the ground in a fit of anger.