According to the map of Omen Ridge, Death Reach covered a water area 5,000 kilometers in radius. It was nearly twice as large as the Yunwu Commandery.
This water area was inhabited by many ferocious savage beasts. It even had fifth-level beasts, which were capable of tearing the Fish-dragon Realm warriors into pieces with their terrifying power.
Therefore it was a risky move for Zhang Ruochen to choose Death Reach. But staying on the water was the only way to hide his scent, making it easier to elude the Black Market.
Now he just needed to stay away from the aquatic formidable savage beasts.
It took half a day for Zhang Rouchen to recover from most of his injuries and regain his power.
Moreover, he felt his martial cultivation had improved; he was just one step away from the Completion of the Earth Realm. He could reach the next realm at any minute.
Zhang Ruochen looked at the paddling Greedy Rabbit and smiled. He called, "Guoguo, come here!"
Hearing his call, Guoguo immediately dropped the twig, hopped two times in the dugout canoe and then groveled at Zhang Ruochen's feet like a puppy.
Zhang Ruochen stroked its head. Then he took out a jade box, fetched a chunk of Spiritual Brawn weighing more than 10 kilograms and gave it to Guoguo.
Guoguo almost slavered over the Spiritual Brawn. It promptly leaped up to catch the Spiritual Brawn with its teeth, dragged it to the other end of the canoe, and then indulged itself in eating.
Zhang Ruochen took out another chunk of Spiritual Brawn, cut it into pieces and ate it slowly.
Spiritual Brawn was conducive to supplement a warrior's energy and promoting their cultivation.
After finishing the Spiritual Brawn, Zhang Ruochen felt the energy inside his body increasing rapidly. Though it did not help him reach the Completion of Earth Realm, it was comparable to half a month's worth of hard practice.
Guoguo ate up its Spiritual Brawn too. It stood frozen in place once again from the Icing air contained in the meat.
Through the Ice Crystals all over its body, Zhang Ruochen saw its mouth and eyes opening wide in content, it was extremely adorable.
"It's a worthy variation of Greedy Rabbit. What a strong digestion! It's able to consume the Spiritual Brawn of a medium-level, fourth-level savage beast in its juvenile stage. Even the Yellow-Realm warriors can't do that." Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
If a warrior in the Yellow Realm had eaten the Spiritual Brawn of a medium-level, fourth-level savage beast, he might lose his life, rather than improve his cultivation.
CRASH!
Huge bubbles abruptly rose to the originally calm surface of the water, some as small as fists, others larger than basins.
It looked like the whole water was boiling, causing a heat wave.
"What's happening?" Zhang Ruochen became vigilant.
He stood up quickly, but only found a blaze of dark-red light spreading from the bottom of the water hundreds of meters away.
The dark-red light, growing stronger, emerged through the water.
It turned out to be a ball of bright, crimson flame, floating spectacularly on the black water.
An exotic flower the size of a millstone opened from within the flame. It had 12 glittering translucent petals and released strong whiffs of a rare fragrance.
Zhang Ruochen watched the flame with an ecstasy of delight. "It's a Twelfth-Class Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower! Who would have thought of such a treasure living in Death Reach!"
Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower was a Spiritual Dose to improve a warrior's cultivation. It had a fire nature and only grew in exceedingly cold waters.
A new petal indicated a higher class.
A Twelfth-Class Spirit Flower meant that this flower had lived here for 1,200 years.
Most Spiritual Doses might have changed the potency after 1,000 years, just like warriors elevated themselves from the Earth Realm to the Heaven Realm.
A 900-year-old Spiritual Dose could be considered a remarkable treasure for warriors.
Yet the potency was far from the 1,000-year-old ones.
The difference was more than tenfold.
Thus, a 1,200-year-old Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower was extremely a Spirit Treasure. Even warriors at the Completion of the Heaven Realm could not resist the lure of such a spirit treasure.
Zhang Ruochen thought, "Just one petal from the Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower would help me reach the Completion of the Earth Realm."
Thrilled with excitement, he immediately paddled the canoe towards the Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower.
The appearance of the Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower had created such a loud sound that all the savage beasts living in this area of the water were startled. They flocked towards it.
"GRRR!"
A savage beast growled beneath the water.
Great waves were rolling in one after another. A huge claw, formed by black water droplets, was stretching out to capture the Spirit Treasure.
"What a horrible savage beast!"
Just one step away from the Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower, he had no choice but to stop. He grasped frozen Guoguo, released the internal space of the Time and Space Spinel and jumped into it without hesitation.
A Twelfth-Class Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower was indeed priceless, but it was not worth it to risk his life.
The savage beast was so fierce; Zhang Ruochen could not even withstand one blow. So he decided to hide inside the internal space of Time and Space Spinel.
It certainly did not mean that Zhang Ruochen had given up on the flower. He released a Space Domain to keep a close watch on the outside world as soon as he entered the Time and Space Spinel.
Meanwhile, he put on the Flying Fish Armor, ready to rush out and snatch the treasure at the first opportunity.
The aquatic savage beast was about to grab the Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower when another growl echoed beneath the water.
The second powerful Aquatic Savage Beast emerged.
BOOM!
It was a Silverlight Shark, 12 meters long, covered with silver scales. It leaped out of the water, as fast as a silver arrow.
The first Aquatic Savage Beast, like a black island, also surfaced. It was a hundred times larger than the Silverlight Shark and extended eight tentacles— a gigantic octopus!
Both beasts had terrifying power. They engaged in a fierce battle stirring the whole water area.
BANG!
The Silverlight Shark's tentacle penetrated the surrounding flames of the Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower and smashed it. It broke into 12 petals, scattering in 12 different directions.
The 12 petals looked like flame crystals, floating in a water area 333 meters in the surrounding area. Each petal was two meters long, as thick as five joining fingers.
Every petal was potent enough to match a 900-year-old Spiritual Dose.
For Zhang Ruochen, even just one petal would help him reach the Completion of the Earth Realm.
"It's divided into 12 parts!"
Zhang Ruochen looked out of the Time and Space Spinel and found that one petal was just within his reach, only 13 meters away.
But the two powerful Aquatic Savage Beasts would surely spot him if he dared to fetch the petal of Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower.
To try or not to try?
Just do it!
Zhang Ruochen carefully controlled the Space Domain to encircle the petal and then used the power of space to draw it towards the Spiritual Crystal slowly.
SWOOSH!
A ring of pale white light emerged from the surface of the Spiritual Crystal and drew the petal into the internal space in the blink of an eye.
Standing in the internal space, Zhang Ruochen was overjoyed to have caught the petal.
"Awesome!"
With the help of this Spirit Flower Petal, he could reach the Completion of Earth Realm in one stroke. His cultivation would mount a new step before he entered the Underwater Dragon Palace.
The Silverlight Shark was still fighting with the giant octopus over the Spirit Flower Seed, the most precious part of the Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower. They did not notice that one petal was missing.
Wrapped by 12 petals, the seed contained most of the Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower's potency.
When all the petals scattered, the seed was exposed. It suspended 10 meters above the water, emitting a fiery brilliance.
It looked like a basin-sized ball, crimson and sparkling. It radiated intense heat that boiled the surrounding water area.
Ordinary people would vanish like smoke in an instant if they got close to it.
The two Aquatic Savage Beasts suddenly became vigilant. They realized that a thief had been hiding and taken three petals on the sly. When Zhang Ruochen was to get the fourth Spirit Flower Petal...
The two Aquatic Savage Beasts suddenly became vigilant. They realized that a thief had hidden in this water area and taken three petals on the sly.
They were the dominators of this area! Who dared to steal the spirit treasure right before their eyes?
They stopped fighting and began to search for the shameless thief.
They soon noticed a dugout canoe drifting in the water. It had not drawn their attention earlier because it showed no signs of life.
After careful probing, they found faint Spiritual Qi fluctuation over the canoe.
"Damn! I've been made! I shouldn't have underestimated these savage beasts— they are both powerful and intelligent." Zhang Ruochen thought to himself.
He stood inside the Spinel's internal space and furrowed his brow as he racked his brain for a counterplan.
SWOOSH!
The Silverlight Shark swam to the canoe. It didn't find anyone, just a tiny spinel.
Just a spinel?
The Silverlight Shark gave a furious cry then opened its giant jaws wide. It bit the canoe in two, swallowing the spinel.
Thus Zhang Ruochen entered its belly with the spinel.
"So I've actually overestimated its wisdom. Swallowing the Time and Space Spinel? It's willfully taking the path to its doom."
He was no match for the Silverlight Shark face-to-face. But right now, its defensive power was weakest with Zhang Ruochen inside its body. Killing it would now be child's play for him.
Yet Zhang Ruochen was not quite ready to kill the Silverlight Shark. He was going to use its power to snatch the seed and the remaining petals of the Nirvana Fire Spirit Flower.
He decided to take advantage of this favorable situation and refine one petal. It was time to reach the Completion of the Earth Realm.