Chapter 260 - Ling’er
The name that sounded in his ears instantly caused a stir in his heart. The face and figure of a girl uncontrollably surfaced in his mind.
Su Ling’er, the girl who was his heaviest pain, the girl whom he was the most sympathetic for, who was also the biggest regret in his lifetime, was engraved deeply in his heart. Her eyes were forever that gloomy, as she had forever been silently caring, keeping watch, spending all efforts, and waiting for him… However, even after all the efforts that she had spent, until the moment she died, she never managed to wait for his return.
He knew that she carried a blood feud, yet, in the end, he never knew what her past was. She refused to tell him, and even until her death in his arms, she was unwilling to tell him whose deadly hands she died under… Because she was unwilling to pass on another layer of vengeance to him, who had long lost himself in his own vengeance. However, the more important reason, was still himself… If he could have cared for her more, and was more persistent in knowing about her past, he could have definitely known of her enemies much earlier.
That bamboo grove, that small, simple and crude bamboo house, that small creek that was forever so clear, the girl who stayed there, who would only wait and keep watch for him… formed all of the memories of him and Su Ling’er. She had gave her everything for him, truly, without any regrets, from the bottom of her heart. Yet he had never done anything for her, not even the simplest of promises. When he embraced her for the last time, his heart was so broken that he cried and wailed loudly. No matter how he hatefully smashed his head repeatedly against a rock, he was unable to get back the chance to repay her in the slightest.
Whenever the memories regarding Su Ling’er surfaced, he would always suffocate for a moment from the pain in his heart.
He turned his gaze and looked towards the little girl who fell on the ground, who was about to land in the hands of those three black-clothed men.
She too, was called Su Ling’er, and had exactly the same name as the Ling’er he had already lost… Yun Che stood up. Facing this little girl who had the same name as her, he was destined to not just ignore the scene. Because the name “Su Ling’er”, had toggled that forever most sensitive, and weakest nerve of his. If he had the opportunity to repay her even the slightest bit, even if he had to sacrifice half of his life, he would not hesitate in the slightest.
After the black-clothed man grabbed onto the little girl’s clothes, he instantly picked her small body up, and said with a sinister smile. “This sure is a stubborn little brat, to actually be able to run so far… Hehe, now that his daughter has landed in our hands, I really want to see if old man Su Huangshan will still be as obstinate!”
“You… You bad people! Papa will definitely save me, and then beat all of you down!” Even though the little girl’s eyes were filled with fear, she did not cry. Stubbornly holding back her tears, she struggled and shouted in the black-clothed man’s hands.
“Hahahaha!” The black-clothed man laughed out wildly. “Then that will really be the best outcome, I really hope to have him here! I really want to see if that Su Huangshan…”
Before the black-clothed man’s words fell, a violent wind suddenly struck from behind.
At the most, the strength of these three black-clothed men were at the mid-level of the Spirit Profound Realm. To Yun Che, they were barely any threat. However, to protect the little girl’s safety, Yun Che still decided to silently approach them, and instantly unleash his strength once he had reached a sufficient distance. Like an eagle suddenly diving straight down to catch its prey, he charged towards the black-clothed man who was holding onto Su Ling’er, and heavily smashing the defenseless black-clothed man away. At the same time, he snatched over the little girl who was in his hands, and carried her in his arms.
“Ah——” The frightened little girl let out a shriek, and subconsciously hugged onto Yun Che’s arms tightly.
Very quickly, Yun Che steadied his body. With his back facing the three black-clothed men, he gently placed the little girl down, and then said with a smile. “Little sister, do not be afraid. I’m here to save you. With me here, you will definitely not be abducted by these bad people.”
The little girl was frightened repeatedly, and was still in a little state of shock. But, when she saw Yun Che’s warm eyes and his kindest smile, it was as though a clear wind had swept away the fear in her heart. A huge degree of the fear had dispersed in an instant, and her eyes had become watery as well. She looked at Yun Che, and strongly nodded. With her two small hands, she tightly grabbed onto the corner of Yun Che’s clothes, and hid behind his back.
“Where did this random brat come from? To actually dare to step into our Blackwood Stronghold’s business, I think you’re tired of living!!”
When he was silently attacked by Yun Che from the back at such close proximity, the black-clothed men were initially frightened, as they thought they had encountered a strong enemy. However, after inspecting and finding out Yun Che’s profound energy was only at the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm, his heart completely calmed down as his voice became low and ruthless.
Yun Che grabbed onto the little girl’s small hand and shielded her behind his back. Then, he turned his head over, and coldly laughed. “In front of a child, I don’t wish to see blood. I will give you five seconds… Scram, immediately!!”
Yun Che’s words stunned the three black-clothed men. Then, as though they had heard a funny joke, all three of them began to laugh out wildly, to the point where they could not even stand straight.
“He’s telling us to scram! He’s actually telling us to scram!? Ahahahaha!”
“Yo! This kid is actually at the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm at such a young age, it’s no wonder he’s so arrogant…”
“His talent is pretty good, but as for his brain, he’s basically not even comparable to an idiot. Death is at his footsteps, yet he’s actually telling us to scram, hahahaha…!
The three of them wilfully laughed out with ridicule, and their gaze on Yun Che was as though they were looking at a pitiful idiot. And as to how Yun Che was looking at them, it was filled with even more disdain and pity.
The black-clothed man on the left twisted his hand, took a step forward, and kicked towards Yun Che. His eyes were filled with scorn. “Come! Let this granddaddy teach you some morals!”
Yun Che narrowed his eyes. Like a flash of lightning, he greeted the black-clothed man’s kicking right leg with a smashing fist.
Bang!!
The loudness of the sound of this exchange, was completely out of the three black-clothed men’s predictions. Following that, an incomparably clear “crack” resounded, and the black-clothed man’s wild laughter stopped as his face distorted completely. His entire body was sent flying far away, as though he was a scrap bag being blown away by a hurricane, and accompanying it was an incomparably sharp scream that went further and further away…
Yun Che’s arm strength was that freakish. If not for the need to mind about the little girl behind him, if he had used more of his strength as a pushing force, that black-clothed man’s right leg would have shattered into fragments on the spot.
Seeing that terrifying black-clothed man actually being sent flying away like a huge bird, the little girl’s mouth was wide open in an “O” shape, and she even let out a subconscious “Waah” sound.
With this single exchange, the wild laughter of the two other black-clothed men were completely stucked in their throats as well. Their eyes sank inwards, their expressions paled in aghast. Even if they were idiots, they should be able to realize how terrifying that one strike Yun Che threw out earlier was. The strength of the youth in front of them, was unimaginably stronger than what they had thought by several times; he was someone whom they were not even worthy of offending.
The two people’s gaze on Yun Che changed from that of scorn, to fear. At the same time, they began to retreat. Seeing that Yun Che did not have the intention to chase after them, without even daring to utter another word, they ran far away for their lives, and very quickly, they disappeared from Yun Che’s sight.
He did not know what identities these people held, so naturally, he would not have the intention to ruthlessly slaughter them. Since they fled, Yun Che did not bother to chase after them. He turned around, looked at the little girl who had the same name as Su Ling’er, only to realize that she was currently raising her small face and looking at him with her watery eyes that were filled with little stars.
Yun Che had originally wanted to say something, but when he looked at her small face, the words that he was about to let out were suddenly sealed in his throat, as his entire being stood there in a daze…
The little girl looked about ten years old. Her little face was snow-white and refined, her make-up made her look even more beautiful and cute, and her pair of pupils sparkled like the stars in the night sky. It could be expected that when she grew up, she would definitely be a beauty at a catastrophic level.
And what made Yun Che absent-minded was that this little girl’s features, were filled with… Su Ling’er’s reflection!
Her contours, eyebrows, nose, lips, chin… all of them were so very similar to Su Ling’er’s. When they were joined together, she looked so much like a smaller and younger version of Su Ling’er. Only her eyes were evidently not the same. Because, the eyes of his Su Ling’er were always so dim, and were always filled with sadness that could cause one’s heart to ache. While this little girl’s eyes were sparkling even brighter than a gem, and even more spirited than a stream, as though they had gathered the purest of spiritual energy between the heaven and earth.
“Ling… er…”
Su Ling’er’s face surfaced in front of him. Within his blurry vision, it slowly overlapped with the little girl’s. He subconsciously reached out his hand, and gently stroking the girl’s tender cheeks with quivering fingers and soul. This action of his did not incite the little girl’s rejection. She looked at Yun Che strangely, blinked her eyes, and politely said. “Big brother, thank you for saving me… Big brother, you’re so incredible, you instantly sent the bad guy flying towards the sky, just as… you’re just as incredible as my Papa!”
The little girl’s words woke Yun Che up from his hallucination. Realizing his loss of decorum, he hurriedly regained his senses and revealed a smile on his face. “There is no need for thanks, bad people should always receive punishment… You’re called… Su Ling’er, right?”
“Mn!” The little girl nodded. She was stronger than Yun Che had imagined. Seeing her current expression, it seemed that her fear earlier had completely disappeared, and she no longer needed him to console her. She tilted her head. “Big brother, how do you know my name?”
“I heard it when they shouted for you. Then… little sister, how old are you this year?” Yun Che asked with a smile.
“Ten years old!” The little girl reached out her two hands, stretched her ten fingers, and said with a huge grin. It seemed as though, to her, reaching ten years old was a very incredible achievement. She then asked him back. “Then, big brother, what’s your name?”
“Me? I’m called Yun Che.” Yun Che answered directly without hiding anything.
“Yun… Che?” The little girl blinked her eyes, and said softly. “Such a strange name… Uuu… Why does it sound strange…”
After Yun Che reported his name, the little girl suddenly entered into a state of deep thought. With her finger pressing on the side of her chin, she tilted her head as she looked at Yun Che, as though she was trying hard to recall something.
“What is it? Is my name that strange?” Yun Che laughed.
The little girl strongly blinked her eyes again, and then, with thirty percent confusion, and seventy percent seriousness, she asked. “Big brother, have we met before in the past? Why do I feel as though I have met big brother somewhere… Even big brother’s name, has a little… sense of familiarity to it.”
“Haha!” Yun Che laughed, he could not help but hold onto the girl’s little face with his hands. “Me too! Not only is little Ling’er’s name the same as someone who is very important to me, you even look very similar. This sort of very mysterious feeling, is called fate. It means that little Ling’er and I have a strong fate, and we will become very good friends.”
“Fate?” The little girl mulled over this word very seriously, and following after, her thin eyebrows smiled into two slender crescents. “Mn! As long as big brother doesn’t hate me, I’m willing to become very good friends with big brother!”
……………………………………
Author Note: In the initial story settings, Azure Cloud Continent and Illusory Demon Realm each had their own unique division of their profound strength levels. When comparing their big realms and small realms with Sky Profound Continent, only their names are different. In the earlier parts of the story, it had been casually mentioned as well… But after thinking about it later, so as to not cause confusion to everyone and myself (the key point is myself), it’s still best to use one universal set of names!! Everything is: Elementary, Nascent, True, Spirit, Earth, Sky, Emperor, Tyrant, Sovereign, Divine, Saint!
Chapter 261 - Azure Cloud Dream
“Ling’er, I shall first bring you over to get to know a big sister before sending you back home, alright?”
Yun Che’s attention had never left Xia Qingyue. Holding on little Ling’er’s hand, they arrived next to Xia Qingyue.
As expected, when Su Ling’er saw Xia Qingyue, her eyes instantly shone, and she let out a soft cry. “Waah! Such a beautiful big sister! She’s more beautiful than any other big sister I have met before… But why is she lying here? Is she injured?”
“Mn!” Yun Che nodded. Walking over next to Xia Qingyue, he once again pressed his hand on her chest. “But she will get better really soon.”
Xia Qingyue’s temperature had gradually returned to normal. However, her breathing was still really weak, and she did not show any signs of waking up any time soon. As a doctor, he was extremely clear about Xia Qingyue’s current situation… After transferring all of her profound energy over to his body, her own body was completely devoid of spiritual energy, and under this state of depletion, an ice-cold chill completely entered her body… Including her blood, heart, and every corner of her body… Not only was her vitality injured, her meridians had suffered a considerably large damage, it might even be possible for her entire body to be paralyzed because of this.
What Jasmine said was right. If not for the Frozen Cloud Arts she was cultivating that allowed her body to adjust to the cold to a certain degree, it would have been certain death for her long before Yun Che woke up back then.
With her body’s current degree of weakness, all Yun Che could do was to use the most gentle of methods to disperse the cold chill in her body. He did not dare to make any other movements.
Little Ling’er squatted at the side. Her two hands held on to her cheeks, as she stared unblinkingly at his heavy and serious look. She kept looking at him like this for a very long time, as though she was trying to figure something out.
After a good while, Yun Che’s hand finally left Xia Qingyue’s chest. He heaved a long sigh of relief, and raised his hand to rub off the warm sweat from his forehead. At this time, he finally realized that Little Ling’er, who did not interrupt him throughout the entire process, was looking at him without turning away. That cute and focused look could not help but cause him to laugh. “Why do you always keep looking at me?”
“Because big brother Yun Che is very good-looking.” Little Ling’er answered without any hesitation.
“Good-looking?” To be praised by a naive and blooming young girl who did not have any sort of subtlety, Yun Che could not help but feel proud in his heart. He laughed cheerfully. “Even though I am indeed really good-looking, good-looking people might not all be good people. Ling’er, aren’t you afraid that I’m a bad person as well?”
“I’m not afraid!” Ling’er shook her head, and firmly said. “Big brother Yun Che is definitely not a bad person!”
“Why?”
“Because…” Ling’er did not even think for a single moment, and hastily gave an explanation for Yun Che. “Because, not only did big brother Yun Che save me, with just a single glance, you look like a very, very good person. Uuu… Papa taught me not to approach strangers since I was young, and since I was young, I have always hidden far away whenever I see living people. But, it’s not the same for big brother Yun Che at all. When I see big brother Yun Che, I’m not afraid in the slightest, and I feel very close to you… even closer than a real brother! It’s like… I have known big brother Yun Che a long, long time ago. When I see big brother Yun Che, my mood also becomes very happy.”
While she said that, little Ling’er smiled, revealing two little pearl-like canine teeth.
Yun Che smiled as well. Actually, in his heart, he felt the same as little Ling’er as well. Just by quietly looking at her like this, his mood would become especially cheerful, as though he had actually seen his Ling’er return to his side. Even the heartache he got from the state of Xia Qingyue’s body had watered down quite a bit.
Currently, Xia Qingyue was no longer in danger of losing her life. What he needed to do next, was to recover her vitality bit by bit, and quietly wait for her to wake up. After she wakes up, there was still a need to slowly recover her vigor, and this process would require a very, very long time. After that, he needed an even longer time to condition her body, so as to not leave any sequela. As for completely recovering her profound energy, it might not even be possible to do so within half a year.
It was good that he was in front of her. Otherwise, if he was not by her side, with Xia Qingyue’s current state, she might have been paralyzed for life.
“Is beautiful big sister not well yet? When is she going to wake up?” Little Ling’er looked towards Xia Qingyue, who was not showing any signs of waking up, and asked worriedly. At the same time, she was silently thinking in her heart: When I grow up, it would be great if I’m as good-looking as beautiful big sister…
“Don’t worry. She’s already fine, she just needs to rest for a period of time.” Yun Che said with a very relaxed tone.
Xia Qingyue’s current state was momentarily stable, and at the moment, he did not dare to do anything excessive either. It was about time he officially started to find out what this place, where the Evil God sent him and Xia Qingyue to, actually was. He looked at the little girl in front of him that he saved, who stimulated the depths of his soul. Just based on the same name she had with Su Ling’er, and the similar appearance she had, it was destined that he was unable to leave her alone like this.
He asked Su Ling’er. “Ling’er, where’s your home? Is it far away from here? Why were those people trying to capture you?”
Ling’er’s small hand moved away from her cheek, and she pointed to the north. “My home is over there. It’s not too far away from here. At first, Papa was suppose to bring me out to play today but while we were walking, a lot of black-clothed people suddenly appeared. Papa began fighting with those black-clothed people, and told me to quickly run away… So I kept running, and after running quite far away, suddenly, those three bad people from earlier appeared and chased after me together… If big brother did not save me, I might have already been captured by them. Uuu… I don’t know what happened to Papa either, but since Papa is so strong, he’s definitely able to beat up all those bad people.”
When she spoke of her “Papa”, little Ling’er’s eyes were filled with adoration, and did not carry too much worry. Evidently, she trusted her ‘Papa’ very much.
Because of sprinting for a long time, and even tripping down heavily in the end, little Ling’er’s shoes were already completely filled with dirt. The corners of her skirt were dirtied by a large amount, and there was even a big bruise on her small leg as well. Earlier, Yun Che had been concerned about Xia Qingyue’s situation the entire time, and only now did he realized that. Instantly, he felt his heart ache. Walking next to Ling’er, he picked up her small slim leg, and gently asked. “Ling’er, did you fall and injure yourself? Does it hurt?”
“A little… But it’s already not that painful anymore.” When Yun Che picked her small leg up, pain clearly flashed through her expression. However, it was hurriedly replaced with a smile that could move everyone’s hearts. It was as if she was trying to console Yun Che instead.
“Come, let me take a look at it. I’m a very incredible genius doctor, you know. No matter what injury it is, I’m able to cure it well.” Yun Che sat beside Ling’er, and as he said that, he carefully took out her shoes because he had to check if her ankles were injured.
As Yun Che held onto her shoes, he asked. “Ling’er, can you tell me where I am? I came a from a place very far away, so I don’t even know where this place is.”
“A place very far away?” The little girl had an expression of astonishment, but then, she excitedly said. “It’s no wonder big brother Yun Che is not the least bit old, yet is as incredible as Papa. You and this beautiful big sister must have came from those incredible places in those legends, right? Papa told me, in those incredible places, there are many very incredible people, and there are people that are even more incredible that Papa… Ah! Oh right, I almost forgot to answer big brother Yun Che’s question…”
Ling’er stretched out her hand and pointed to the distance. “My home is called the ‘Grandwake Clan’, and it’s at the bottom of the tallest mountain over there. That mountain is called ‘Grandwake Mountain’. Big brother Yun Che, have you ever heard of that mountain? Papa told me that our home’s mountain is very famous in the Azure Cloud Continent, you know.”
“Mn, of course I have heard of it.” Yun Che nodded, and smiled. “My master once told me, Grandwake Mountain is a divine mountain, and is one of the thirteen divine mountains. There was a period of time when I yearned to see it. I did not expect that this place is… actually…”
Yun Che’s voice suddenly slowed down, and then, it was completely stuck in his throat. Abruptly, his body trembled, and even his pupils had severely shrunk for a moment. His voice, began to tremble. “Grandwake Mountain… Azure Cloud… Azure Cloud… Azure Cloud Continent? You’re saying… this place is… is… Azure Cloud Continent?”
“That’s right, this place is obviously Azure Cloud Continent.” Yun Che’s sudden strange reaction caused Ling’er to feel puzzled.
Yun Che was completely stunned in place. His mind was in a state of chaos, and only after a good while, did he finally calm his state of mind down. Azure Cloud Continent… A place that had been sealed within his memories, a place where he had stayed in his past life, a place where his life had ended at. A place where he thought it was no longer possible for it to appear again in his life, and had thought his fate with this place had forever been severed then and there.
In the Blue Wind Empire, he had once tried to inquire information about the Azure Cloud Continent, however, basically no one there knew about the name “Azure Cloud Continent”, and Azure Cloud Continent was not even mentioned in any of the various records. Hence, he knew that Azure Cloud Continent and Sky Profound Continent belonged to two completely different worlds, and there was essentially no sort of intersection between them. From then on, he had forever kept it within his memories, and, in the Sky Profound Continent, it was a place that only he knew of.
He completely did not expect that, the place that the Evil God sent him to, was actually here!
The Phoenix’s Spirit had once said, he had three lifetimes. Indeed, he truly did have three lifetimes. In his first lifetime, he grew up in the Xiao Clan of Sky Profound Continent’s Blue Wind Empire. When he sixteen years old, on the day of his marriage with Xia Qingyue, he was poisoned to death by Xiao Yulong, and his life ended there. In his second lifetime, he was born in Azure Cloud Continent, and was picked up by the Medical Saint. He spent half his life learning medical techniques, saving the ill and aiding the injured. He then spent the other half of his life with a heart filled with hatred, slaughtering countless of people. And when he was twenty seven years old, he was forced off Cloud’s End Cliff and died.
In his third lifetime, he brought all of his memories in his first and second lifetimes, and awakened in his first lifetime’s dead body…
His knowledge told him that his own experiences were so strange and shocking, to the point of that they could shock the world.
He had once suspected that everything about the Azure Cloud Continent was actually just a dream as well… Otherwise, how would he have awaken in his own body that should have died at least twenty seven years ago… There was a possibility for everything in this world to be turned over, however, only time could not be turned back. If his lifetime in Azure Cloud Continent was not a dream, then, excluding every other possibilities, based on time, at least twenty seven years were turned back.
However, currently, the name “Azure Cloud Continent” had once again appeared in his world, and it was telling him with a thundering voice… Everything about the Azure Cloud Continent was not a dream at all, and it was impossible for it to be a dream.
“Big brother Yun Che, what happened to you? Your expression looks really strange? Ow…” Su Ling’er cried out painfully. It seemed like, when Yun Che was lost in a daze, he accidentally pressed on the bruise on her ankle.
Yun Che regained his senses, and hurriedly held onto her small leg carefully, gently taking off her socks. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking of some matters earlier, did I hurt you… Right, Ling’er, can you tell me, which country are we in?”
Grandwake Mountain was located in Supwake, a country that was situated furthest east in Azure Cloud Continent. Yun Che very clearly knew of this point, he simply wanted to use this girl’s answer to make a clearer confirmation that he had indeed returned to the Azure Cloud Continent.
“Of course, it’s the Country of Supwake!” Ling’er answered clearly.
“Then… What profound year is it this year?”
“Azure Cloud’s 1999 Profound Year!” Ling’er blurted out, answering with complete confidence.
Yun Che’s movements instantly paused…
Azure Cloud’s 1999 Profound Year?
When he leapt off Cloud’s End Cliff, it was clearly the Azure Cloud’s 2014 Profound Year, and now, time had past a year and a half since then, the time here should have been Azure Cloud’s 2015 Profound Year!
If time had really turned back by twenty seven years, then this year should have been the Azure Cloud’s 1987 Profound Year!
Why was it Azure Cloud’s 1999 Profound Year?
On the day of Azure Cloud’s 1999 Profound Year, he was still in the Azure Cloud Continent, and had just reached twelve years old. Su Ling’er was two years younger than him, and had just reached ten years old. Back then, they had yet to meet, and he always followed his master to different places, learned more and more complex medical techniques while testing out all of the herbs on earth. At the same time, he had only just found out the existence of the Sky Poison Pearl…
Could it be, the place the Evil God said he would send him to, was just a dreamscape he created? After all, the Evil God’s residue soul read his memories, and would believe that this was the place that he would wish to be in the most.
His thoughts were once again in a state of chaos, and the movements with his hands became slow as well. On Ling’er’s leg, that dirtied sock was finally taken off. On her leg which was as tender as milk, two dots of hazel-colored scar marks were incomparably eye-catching…
Yun Che’s entire body once again trembled, as though he was struck ruthlessly by a bolt of lightning.
This scar…
It was at the same position… as his Ling’er’s. The same shape. The same size. The same color… The exact same scar!!
In his mind, the image of him first seeing this scar surfaced… Back then, Ling’er told him. “This was bitten by a very cute little snow mink when I was seven years old. But, it can’t be blamed, as I was the one who accidentally stepped on its tail. Oh right, that little snow mink is called Ling Ling, we even became very good pals.”
After that, he had used a type of medical cream that he mixed himself and completely removed the scar by applying it on her leg, allowing her leg to once again return to being as flawless as white jade.
Seeing Yun Che suddenly looking at the scar on her leg in a daze, little Ling’er blinked her eyes, and said cheerfully. “This was bitten by a very cute little snow mink when I was seven years old. But, it can’t be blamed, as I was the one who accidentally stepped on its tail. Oh right, that little snow mink is called Ling Ling, we even became very good pals.”
“…!!!”
Yun Che slowly raised his eyes and stared blankly at the little girl who had a charming smile, as his vision began to spin…
Chapter 262 - Su Hengshan
“What happened? Why is your mind fluctuating so violently?” Jasmine suddenly asked. She felt that Yun Che’s mind was in an unprecedented level of turmoil, so much that she could even distinctly hear the violent “badump” “badump” sounds of Yun Che’s heart beating.
Azure Cloud Continent… 1999 Profound Year… 10 years old… Su Ling’er… the scar… the same name… similar complexion… and the style of speech that’s exactly the same…
All of this weaved within Yun Che’s mind chaotically, causing his spirit to tremble incomparably violently. This was because everything that happened pointed towards one possibility… Without caring whether or not he would frighten the girl, he suddenly reached out and lifted her dress and undergarments. On the upper end of her delicate right knee, he saw two small, crimson birthmarks side-by-side…
“Ling’er… you’re Ling’er… you’re Ling’er… you’re Ling’er… YOU’RE LING’ER!!”
The instant he saw those two birthmarks, Yun Che’s last emotional barrier completely collapsed. The blood in his body bubbled up, golden stars lined his vision, and he almost fainted on the spot! The things in the deepest recesses of his mind and spirit began to stir violently: grief, bitterness, pain, sorrow… All these feelings milled forward, and his eyes instantly grew hazy with tears. The moment his emotions crumbled, he suddenly hugged the girl, and held on firmly, as if he were embracing his entire world.
“Ah…” The girl, who was completely unaware of the raging waves of emotion in Yun Che’s heart, was startled by Yun Che’s sudden action and change of heart. However, as for Yun Che’s sudden tight embrace, for some reason, she didn’t feel any rejection at all. After quite a while, she said feebly: “Big Brother Yun Che, it hurts, you’re hugging me too tightly, uu…”
Right now, every single one of this girl’s words was like heavenly music from his dreams to him. Every aspect of her tightly linked to his spirit and lifeline. Hearing her voice, Yun Che loosened his arms practically in fright, then grew afraid that this would scare her, and hurriedly released his arms. But his hands still lightly rested on her thin shoulders, seeming as though he was afraid that if he didn’t hold on to her, she would disappear right in front of him.
She’s Ling’er… My Ling’er…
Then… All of this, is indeed a dreamscape brought by the Evil God?
A dreamscape is alright! As long as I can see my Ling’er again, even if it’s a dreamscape, I’m willing to stay asleep forever…
“Big Brother Yun Che, why did you cry all of sudden?” The girl’s heart was filled with bewilderment, but seeing the tear stains on Yun Che’s face, her eyes filled with pity. She reached out, met his gaze, and lightly wiped off the teardrops on his face. She definitely didn’t know how extremely precious every one of Yun Che’s tears was, and that they had gushed for her.
“I’m… I’m alright. Only… only, some sand got in my eyes.” Yun Che shook his head and gave a clumsy excuse as he tried to hold his tears back. In this world, the only thing that could cause his state of mind to go out of control so thoroughly was Su Ling’er… even though everything in his awareness right now was an illusion. Su Ling’er could never actually appear in front of his eyes again, because his Ling’er perished in his arms back then, and he had personally buried her within that bamboo forest.
“Eh? Does it hurt a lot? Uuu… I’ll help blow into Big Brother Yun Che’s eye, alright? Once, when I was really young, some sand got in my eyes. But after Mother blew into my eye, I was completely alright.”
As the girl spoke, her pink and tender lips puckered… The Su Ling’er in front of him was so innocent and unaffected, so carefree and without worry, and her eyes were so bright and clear. Yes, the current her was still situated under the care and pampering of her close relatives. She hadn’t gone through any great changes, and still didn’t understand what sadness was, what sorrow was, what enmity was, what pain was… The Su Ling’er in his memories, with that eternally distressed and detached expression in her eyes, caused his heart to fill with needle-like pain every time he thought of her.
“It’s alright, the sand’s already gone. Look, I’m fine.” Yun Che firmly blinked at her, and his mouth formed an extremely warm smile: “What’s most important now, are the injuries on Ling’er’s leg… Everything’ll be okay in a flash, and it won’t hurt at all.”
Yun Che once again covered his hands over the girl’s bruised leg. Accompanied by a warm profound energy, the Sky Poison Pearl’s purifying force gently entered her bruise and slowly nourished it… Then, he took out a medicine bottle and delicately applied the ointment on her calf, ankle… He then swapped to her other leg, and applied the ointment on the two symmetrical scars there.
In the entire process, Yun Che’s actions were very light, as if he was touching a beautiful and frail crystal doll. With Yun Che’s medical expertise, this little injury could not even be injury, but in order for Su Ling’er to not even feel a sliver of pain, he used his all to focus his mind. Painstaking effort was concentrated within every one of his movements. After the entire process, he looked even more exhausted than a patient nearing death. However, he gladly suffered through it.
In not even half a quarter of an hour, the bruise on Su Ling’er’s ankle and calf had miraculously disappeared completely. Even the scar on her leg had also lightened by a lot. In at most three days, it would also completely disappear. Su Ling’er shook her leg a little, and then cried out in surprise: “Wah! It doesn’t hurt anymore! Not even a little! Big Brother Yun Che, you’re seriously too awesome!”
The girl looked in his eyes with a gaze full of brilliantly shining stars. The admiration she felt for Yun Che had sharply risen by a substantial amount.
Yun Che used his profound energy to drive away the dirt on Su Ling’er’s shoes and socks. Then, he carefully put them back on Su Ling’er’s legs. Su Ling’er did not resist, nor did she refuse. She didn’t even feel embarrassed at all. In her heart, there contained a type of warm happiness and an odd sort of feeling that she could not say out loud… Even she herself, did not understand why that was the case.
“Ling’er! Ling’er… Where are you? Ling’er…”
Suddenly, anxious shouts sounded in the distance. And what was being shouted, was surprisingly Su Ling’er’s name.
Yun Che heard it before Su Ling’er. With a twitch of his brow, his gaze swept over, and saw a middle-aged man hastily run over. He was in a panic, his hair was disheveled, and the clothes on his body were rather worn out. However, there was a type of calm and mighty upper class feeling could be captured on his bearing.
He’s… Su Ling’er’s father?
The middle-aged man’s footsteps were lightning-fast, and he traveled over in a short time. Having heard his voice, Su Ling’er’s eyes shined as she spoke excitedly: “Papa, it’s Papa’s voice!”
She stood up suddenly, and ran over in the middle-aged man’s direction. However, after running a few steps, she turned around and looked at Yun Che, and stopped again. Standing at her former place, she beckoned at the middle-aged man: “Papa! I’m here, I’m here!!”
“Ling’er!” The middle-aged man became overjoyed, and rushed over with his fastest speed. He grasped Su Ling’er’s shoulders at once, and spoke with an extremely anxious tone: “Thank god thank god… Ling’er, why did you run to such a faraway place? Are you injured anywhere? Did anyone try to kidnap you?”
“Papa relax, even though there were bad guys, but… Big Brother Yun Che saved me. Big Brother Yun Che is really amazing. Not only did he smack those bad guys running all at once, he also made the place I fell and hurt myself not hurt at all.”
The middle-aged man’s entire heart was full concern about Su Ling’er’s safety, and when he saw her, all his attention was even more so focused on her. He had only now noticed Yun Che’s existence. He took a step forward, and said with immense gratitude: “This little brother, thank you for rescuing my daughter, this Su really is eternally grateful.”
With Yun Che’s arrogant bones, let alone middle-aged man, even if it’s a highly respected elderly person, he would ordinarily just deal with them with a straight face. But the one before his eyes was Su Ling’er’s father, which was an entirely different matter. He hastily greeted back: “Senior Su is too polite. Ling’er is kind and cute, anyone would come to her rescue if they saw her. This junior also just merely lent a hand.”
From the middle-aged man’s complexion, what Yun Che saw was the deep care and concern for Su Ling’er. At least, his fatherly love toward Su Ling’er wasn’t the least bit impure.
Yun Che’s modesty, gave the middle-aged man a very good impression. He smiled and said: “To receive such a praise from little brother here, my little girl here must be thrilled.” At this time, he noticed Xia Qingyue, who was laying there without a sound. Even though she was only silently laying there, there still remained the goddess-like beauty that would drive one into ecstasy. The middle-aged man went blank for a bit, then immediately recovered and asked: “Little brother, is this one your friend? Looking from her complexion, is she haunted by a severe illness?”
Yun Che nodded: “This is my wife. Her body has been affected by the cold, and her vitality has been severely injured. Perhaps she will remain unconscious for a very long time.”
“So that’s how it is…” The middle-aged man nodded, and inside his heart he exclaimed: The man is otherworldly handsome, the woman is as beautiful as a goddess; what a fine-looking pair! Their background definitely isn’t ordinary. Especially this woman, how can a normal family raise up such a goddess-like girl. This man’s age looks only to be seventeen or eighteen, yet his profound energy aura has already reached Spirit Profound Realm. He ought to be some disciple or even a heir of some top level sect…
As he thought till here, the middle-aged man spoke: “Little brother, you ought to have come from a foreign place, right? Do you currently have any place to stay? If you aren’t unwilling, how about staying for a few days at our Grandwake Clan? It’ll also allow this Su to express his gratitude.”
The inside of Yun Che’s heart moved. He took a glance at the unconscious Xia Qingyue, then took another glance at Su Ling’er, and said: “This junior does indeed need a place of settlement to treat my wife’s injuries… If that’s the case, then this Junior will gratefully receive Senior’s hospitality.”
“Hahahaha, do not be so modest little brother. Compare to your great kindness of saving my daughter, this isn’t considered to be much.” The middle-aged man started to laugh warmly: “Oh right, this one’s surname is Su, with the name Hengshan. Come, Little Brother Yun.”
“Big Brother Yun Che will go home together with us? That’s great that’s great that’s great!!” Su Ling’er was excited to the point of jumping. That exceptionally happy appearance made Su Hengshan feel somewhat inexplicable. He made a spoiling smile: “Not only is Little Brother Yun our benefactor, he is also our guest now. You’ll have to learn some manners, shouting and yelling like this doesn’t make you good girl, okay?”
“Heee! Papa really is naggy. Big Brother Yun Che is the bestest person, he wouldn’t complain about me.” As she spoke, Su Ling’er ran over and grabbed Yun Che’s hand and said while grinning: “Big Brother Yun Che, you promised to come back home with us, you can’t escape halfway okay?”
“Okay!” Yun Che extended his hand pushed Su Ling’er’s little nose tip with a faint smile… He really wanted to know just what kind of family was Su Ling’er born and raised in.
Su Hengshan felt somewhat puzzled for a moment. Calculating from the time, Ling’er and Little Brother Yun at most have met for half an hour at most, how did they become so close already? Moreover, looking at Ling’er’s manner, she, who usually didn’t like to meet with strangers, was exceptionally fond of Little Brother Yun… How curious.
Yun Che carried Xia Qingyue, followed behind Su Hengshan, and walked towards the “Grandwake Clan” that Su Ling’er had grown up in.
Chapter 263 - Grandwake Mountain, Grandwake Clan
On the way, Yun Che conversed with Su Hengshan. He ascertained once more than this place was indeed Azure Cloud Continent from Su Hengshan’s own mouth, and the year was in fact 1999! When Su Hengshan asked them where they came from, he responded without thinking that him and Xia Qingyue left their sect to experience the outside world, but not long ago, they had an unlucky encounter with a vicious profound beast, and Xia Qingyue lost consciousness from a heavy injury.
During his past life, Yun Che was already sure that Su Ling’er had an extraordinary family background. Although she normally wore the simplest of clothing to do his laundry, bathe him, mend his clothing, cook, pick his medicine, season his medicine and treat him… She did everything more skillfully than how a girl from an ordinary family background would have done, but her instinctive grandeur and grace was not something an ordinary family could have raised. He only figured through his conversations with Su Hengshan, that Su Hengshan was an incumbent sect master of the Grandwake Clan! And Su Ling’er, was precisely the princess of the Grandwake Clan. East of the Supwake Country’s river, Grandwake Clan was without a doubt the number one sect, as well as the biggest power. Their status was similar to New Moon City’s Xiao Sect’s Branch Sect, and they relied on Grandwake Mountain for its incredibly generous amounts of natural resources and minerals.
From the estimates of Su Hengshan’s profound energy aura and the encounter with the three men in black earlier, this Grandwake Clan’s power level should be higher than New Moon City’s Xiao Sect’s Branch Sect by a level or two, but it absolutely wasn’t at the level of the Four Major Sects’ level.
However, even in the east of the Grandwake River, Grandwake Clan still had enemies: the Blackwood Stronghold!
As sect master, Su Hengshan had the dignity and might of a sect master, but he had an even more cultured and refined personality. When he was facing a junior, he did not show the pride of the number one sect master east of the river. Not a hint of falsehood or reservation hung on his face as he showed his appreciation and thanks for Yun Che. If he didn’t hear it from his own mouth, Yun Che wouldn’t even have believed that he was a sect master at all!
Having a father like that, it was no wonder that Su Ling’er was raised to be so honest and elegant.
He wanted to learn about the matters concerning Su Ling’er as much as possible. When he asked the father daughter duo why they would encounter such aggression, Su Hengshan let out a long sigh. His face exposed a deeply angry look: “They’re all just some sect grudges. If I say it, we would just be mocked, Little Brother Yun… Except I didn’t think that they’d take action against Ling’er! This kind of insulting behavior is utterly unforgivable!”
Yun Che muttered to himself a bit and said: “Senior Su, forgive this junior for talking too much. You and Su Ling’er just came out together to have some fun for a little while, but encountered such an obviously calculated ambush. It’s clear that someone exposed your and Su Ling’er’s whereabouts.”
“Sigh!” Su Hengshan sighed: “How can I not know about all this. It’s just that I really don’t want to suspect anyone on my side.”
Grandwake Clan was far larger than Yun Che could imagine. At the very least, the size of this clan was far greater than the Xiao Sect Branch Sect he had once went to. For a clan of this size, there would be at least a few tens of thousands of disciples.
“Big Brother Yun Che, look, this is my home! It’s big isn’t it! This huge mountain behind us is also our home!”
As they approached Grandwake Clan’s main entrance, Su Ling’er happily and pridefully introduced everything to Yun Che. Su Hengshan’s brows were constantly tight and his mind was occupied the entire way, but Su Ling’er was actually being a bit too carefree considering she almost encountered a great disaster. A naive and adorable smile constantly hung on her face like she had already forgotten all the events prior to this… Looking at her fairy-like smile, Yun Che’s line of sight was constantly confused and dazed… Ling’er, how wonderful would it be if you could be this carefree without worries your entire life…
“Father! Ling’er, you’re back!” A barely twenty year old young male welcomed them from afar and emotionally yelled: “I heard rumors that you guys encountered an ambush from the Blackwood Stronghold. Seeing you guys without any problems is wonderful… Father, Ling’er, you two aren’t hurt right?”
“No problem, just a bit of a scare and luckily, this little brother helped.” Su Hengshan nodded and introduced Yun Che: “Little Brother Yun, this is my son, Su Haoran. I am forty six this year and only have a pair of son and daughter like this. Even saying such things is a bit shameful, hehe… Haoran, this is Little Brother Yun Che. If he didn’t save Ling’er, Ling’er might have been captured by those bastards from Blackwood Stronghold. Little Brother Yun’s wife suffered a few minor injures, and requires our help for a few days. You have to thank and take care of them for your father.”
“What! Blackwood Stronghold’s people took action against Ling’er? That’s lower than low! Utterly heartless!” Su Haoran’s entire face was filled with anger and he cupped his hands toward Yun Che: “Brother Yun, thank you for saving Ling’er…”
When he spoke to this point, he shot glance toward Xia Qingyue being carried by Yun Che within his arms. Suddenly, His gaze was completely fixated and was unable to move away anymore. His face became imbecilic and foolish like he had lost his soul all of a sudden.
Yun Che remained calm and collected, and embraced Xia Qingyue closer to his chest to hide her face away Su Haoran’s line of sight, then gently smiled: “It only took a bit of effort. Brother Haoran is too courteous.”
“Big brother.” Su Ling’er who stood by Yun Che’s side crisply shouted at Su Haoran with her emotionless voice and joyless face. This felt a bit strange to Yun Che because he distinctly felt Su Ling’er wasn’t intimate toward her brother. It almost seemed like there was a slight bit of alienation.
And this Su Haoran’s look towards Xia Qingyue also made him very uncomfortable.
Su Haoran just recollected his thoughts and half lowered his head and with an unnatural expression, he said: “Father, the clan already knows the matter about you being ambushed. Second and Sixth Uncle are in the conference room waiting for you.”
Su Hengshan nodded: “I’ll go then. Haoran, you go and arrange residence for Little Brother Yun and his wife… Oh, just set them up in the Dragon Perching Pavilion.”
He turned around and said to Yun Che: “Little Brother Yun, I have some matters to attend to, excuse me. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to tell my son. Please don’t be too polite. Ling’er, come and follow papa.”
Su Hengshan brought Su Ling’er and left quickly. Su Ling’er looked back once in awhile; the fact that she didn’t want to leave Yun Che was written all over her face. Under Su Haoran’s guidance, Yun Che carried Xia Qingyue to the Dragon Perching Pavilion that Su Hengshan mentioned and gently placed Xia Qingyue on the only huge bed there.
Grandwake Mountain’s atmosphere was incredibly grand since it was one of the twelve divine mountains in the Azure Cloud Continent. There were countless spirit medicine and spirit stones within the mountains. The rich resources gave birth to the powerful Grandwake Clan. The room that Su Hengshan personally appointed for Yun Che was extremely luxurious. The name “Dragon Perching Pavilion” wasn’t pointless. On top of all kinds of red hardwood decorations, sculptures in all shapes and forms depicted a majestic five clawed flying dragon. This place should be where Grandwake Clan received their most honored guests. It goes to show just how grateful Su Hengshan was towards Yun Che for saving Su Ling’er.
“Brother Yun and this lady are… husband and wife?”
“That’s right.” Yun Che nodded. Then, he saw a hint of jealousy within Su Haoran’s eyes.
“Heheh.” Su Haoran forced a smile and said: “Brother Yun is truly fortunate to actually be wedded with such a beautiful fairy-like bride. Oh, Brother Yun doesn’t lack natural talents either. You actually stepped into the Spirit Profound Realm, not bad not bad.”
These words from Su Haoran contained the arrogant tone of the strong talking to the weak. He complimented Yun Che’s natural talents, but his demeanor was in fact proud and aloof. He was twenty years old this year, and his profound strength was already at the fourth level of the Spirit Profound Realm. He was at the peak level within the younger generation east of the river. Just comparing profound strength, he was stronger than Yun Che who was only at the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm… but that was merely profound strength.
“Brother Haoran is wrongfully praising.” Yun Che spoke without thinking.
“Except, Brother Yun, it’s not that I’m criticizing you. Although your natural talents aren’t bad, you came out just like that to experience the world together with your wife. You’re just making too much trouble for yourself. In this world, there are many people with better natural talent than you. Arrogance, complacency, and ignorance aren’t good things. Before you have the strength to properly protect your family, it’s better to to not do as you please. Otherwise, when you encounter an actual disaster and you don’t have the strength to protect your family, harming your fairy-like wife’s life would be terrible.
When Su Haoran spoke, he peeked at Xia Qingyue from time to time. Every time he glanced towards her, his fingers would tremble a bit… In his entire life, he had never seen a girl as beautiful as Xia Qingyue; furthermore, he could never imagine it was possible for a girl to be beautiful to such a degree. There were even several times when he couldn’t resist losing control to knock Yun Che out, and then enjoy this sleeping beauty however he liked.
Yun Che faintly smiled and said: “Thank you Brother Haoran, for your reminders. I’ll remember it.”
Su Haoran extended his right hand and had difficulty enduring making a grabbing motion: “This lady is in a coma and isn’t waking up. Looks like her injuries aren’t light. I just happen to have some medical expertise. Let me examine a bit, then grab some spirit medicine, and she’ll be awake in no time.”
After he finished talking, Su Haoran casually walked forward and approached Xia Qingyue’s bedside.
Yun Che took a step forward and impolitely blocked Su Haoran’s way and calmly said: “No need, I can’t be any more certain of my wife’s condition. There is no need to for Brother Haoran to feel troubled. Thank you Brother Haoran, for your warm reception, I won’t waste your time any longer. You may leave.”
Su Haoran’s expression changed and he didn’t have a reason to stay anymore. He stared at Yun Che a bit and said: “Very well then. I won’t bother you two. If you need anything, you can tell my servants outside anytime.”
After Yun Che saw Su Haoran leave, he tightly shut his room’s door. He coldly smiled and muttered: “He dares to lust after my wife… humph! You can think all you want, but if you think about anything else, even if you are Ling’er’s brother, I won’t go easy on you!”
Xia Qingyue was sleeping soundly, and had no idea that she already came to another world. Yun Che kept close and guarded by her side. Every eighth of an hour, he would check her inner vitality, and see that her internal energy became increasingly calm, which finally put his mind at ease.
“Jasmine, do you have any way to help her recover a bit faster?” Yun Che asked. Although Xia Qingyue’s condition had temporarily stabilized, the injuries in her profound vein were too severe. To completely restore Xia Qingyue would take a long time even for him. Him and Xia Qingyue could only stay here for a day. After returning to Heaven Basin Secret Realm, they could stay a maximum of half a day. When they leave the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, the people of Frozen Cloud Asgard would never let Yun Che see her again. Yun Che believed they wouldn’t be able to completely restore Xia Qingyue if she was brought back to Frozen Cloud Asgard.
“Of course!”
Yun Che was only casually asking, but he didn’t think Jasmine would decisively answer with certainty: “It’s precisely the thing that you found with her, the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus!”
“This lotus flower’s effectiveness is far greater than you can imagine! After using the Sky Poison Pearl to perfectly refine the essence of the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, if you give it to her afterwards, her entire body would recover shortly and her profound strength would step into the Sky Profound Realm right away… in your Blue Wind Empire, she would be considered the first person under twenty to step into the Sky Profound Realm… Only, the premise of everything is that you’d have be willing!”
Chapter 264 - Qingyue Awakens
“Really?” Yun Che’s mind shook, and stood up while shouting: “Whether or not she could breakthrough is secondary. If the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus could make her completely recover within a short period of time, then why would I not be willing!”
“You have to think it through clearly.” Jasmine warned: “The Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus being considered a sacred object in your Blue Wind Empire is not an exaggeration at all! After using this Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, an object of the same level might not appear in Blue Wind Empire for the next thousand years. In other words, if you use this Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus on her, then it equates to you forever losing an enormous opportunity.”
“Furthermore! You have all kinds of divine beast bloodlines and primordial god arts within your body. Every time your profound strength rises by a level, your increase in strength is not something another person could compare to! If you used the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus on yourself, the rise in strength it would bring would far surpass her! In my eyes, if you truly gave it up, it would be a stupid and wasteful move!”
Yun Che took two steps back. Then, with a thought, he was already cupping that huge Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus between his two hands. Even though the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus had been exposed to the air, it was wrapped under the powerful aura of the Sky Profound Pearl, so its essence did not leak at all. He said without the slightest hesitation: “Raising strength is certainly important, but she is my lawfully wedded wife. Her recovery is by far, much more important than raising my own power!”
“…If the person who laid in front of me is you, I’d pick you just the same!”
Jasmine originally wanted to say something, but after hearing this from Yun Che, she was suddenly speechless and did not say another word for quite a while.
The Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus was quickly wrapped up by the green light that the Sky Poison Pearl emitted. All the essence it contained was quickly refined. Flakes of faint blue and red powder gently floated down, and finally landed in Yun Che’s palm. What remained was a round bead the size of a dragon’s eye that emitted a faint blue radiance.
An intoxicating fragrance assailed his nostrils. After Yun Che gently breathed in a breath of air, he immediately felt his entire body relax, and even his blood circulation mildly sped up quite a bit. As an existence that was at the level of a sacred object, the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus was incredibly precious, but the difficulty of refining this was also incredibly high as well. If it was in anyone else’s hands, retaining a third of its full effectiveness was the limit. However, in the hands of Yun Che, he could perfectly do what no one else could possibly believe, one hundred percent effectiveness!
Therefore, the effect of this “Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet” in Yun Che’s hands was much stronger than what was recorded! Perhaps twice or three times, maybe even more!
The records had shown that one pellet would allow someone at the early stage of the Earth Profound Realm to break through into the Sky Profound Realm, but the one in Yun Che’s hands… even he himself had no idea what level Xia Qingyue’s profound strength would raise up to after she wakes up.
Only by smelling its fragrance, one’s entire body would feel as if it had been baptized. It was simply impossible to imagine what kind of transformation it would bring if it was consumed. Its attractiveness is something that all profound practitioners even those elderly experts who had great experience would hardly be able to resist it. Yun Che silently looked at it, but his expression was unexpectedly ordinary. He didn’t even have a hint of hesitation. If it wasn’t for Xia Qingyue saving his life, he would have been a dead man long time ago, so how could he not be willing to save her!
He moved forward and gently parted Xia Qingyue’s delicate lips. Then, he put the “Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet” that could cause the entire Blue Wind Empire to tremble into her mouth. With a gentle push of his profound energy, he guided it into her body.
Jasmine did not say anything to stop him.
Clank…
Without even needing Yun Che to his profound strength as a catalyst, the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet had practically instantly entered her body. Xia Qingyue’s body blossomed with a layer of splendorous moon-white sheen. This layer of light was incredibly gentle and did not have a trace of violent energy. In most situations, a medicinal pellet that contained a lot of power would generally take a very long time to refine and the process would be brimming with danger. When swallowed, it would usually exploded like a flame inside the body. If it wasn’t controlled and refined well, this flame would be enough to harm the whole body, or could even be fatal. However, when this “Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet” entered the body, the strength it contained was as mild as a ripple; slowly and gently, it spread into every part of the body and bestowed all the power it contained to Xia Qingyue.
Under the moon-white sheen, Xia Qingyue’s breathing became more and more relaxed. Yun Che quickly and pleasantly discovered that all her meridians, which were damaged by the cold, were miraculous healing at a rapid pace. The circulation of her blood also quickly calmed down as well. Then, a slight rosy blush started to appear on her pure white face. Afterwards, under Yun Che’s careful gaze, she slowly opened her eyes.
From the time Xia Qingyue took the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet to when she woke up, it took only an eighth of an hour. The miraculous effects of the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet made Yun Che feel as if he was dreaming.
“Where… is this?” Xia Qingyue looked all around in a daze. With a misty expression, she felt as if she was in a dream. According to her memories, they were still in Heaven Basin’s enormous beast’s darkness and cold.
She felt a gentle source of power within her body and a layer of warm power continuously rushed into every part of her body.
“Don’t get up.” Yun Che promptly reached out, pressed her shoulders down, and gently said: “This is a very safe place… don’t worry, you’re not dreaming. We’ve already escaped. I am already alright, and you will also be better soon.”
Then, he gave a simple account of the events that had occurred to Xia Qingyue; about everything that happened after escaping the enormous beast in the Heavenly Basin to arriving at this place. But his version of the events had a slightly deviation from what actually occurred. He told Xia Qingyue that he inadvertently found a space attribute treasure within the Heaven Basin enormous beast’s stomach and had escaped to here. He did not tell Xia Qingyue that this place was in fact a “fantasy world”.
As Yun Che gave his explanation, the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet was still steadily releasing its power within Xia Qingyue’s body, restoring her originally completely exhausted profound strength at an astonishing pace. With this speed, perhaps in less than two hours, her body and profound strength would have completely recovered.
“You gave me… the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus?” After sensing the warm power within her body, that was the only possibility that Xia Qingyue could think of.
“Mn, I was still a bit worried before. Luckily, it was like what you had said, its medicinal strength is incredibly warm. There’s no risk at all.” Yun Che said with a slight smile.
“But…”
“No buts.” Yun Che interrupted her words and lightly shook his hand. Then he reached out and grabbed her delicate hands: “For the sake of saving my life, you were willing to give up your own. Why would an Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus matter. Besides, we’re a married couple, we don’t need to distinguish ourselves separately.”
Suddenly, the heart of Xia Qingyue, who had her hands gripped tightly by Yun Che, trembled slightly. She unconsciously wanted to struggle her hands free, but they were being firmly held by Yun Che. She continuously struggled several times, but she lost due to her powerlessness. She could only let him hold her hands, and her heart rate gradually increased. Even though she secretly used the Frozen Heart Arts, she was not able to suppress it.
The two had been married for a long time, but this was the first time they had held their hands together so ambiguously. Xia Qingyue’s hands were ice cold and soft; they were as tender as soft jade, so soft that they seemed to be boneless. After Yun Che held her, he was not willing to let go. The two remained silent for quite a while and both of them were afraid of talking, in fear of breaking this special mood.
Knock knock knock…
Graceful footsteps approached from the outside, and then a knock was heard. Not wanting to let go of Xia Qingyue’s hands, Yun Che asked: “Who is it?”
“Big Brother Yun Che, are you inside? It’s Ling’er.”
Su Ling’er’s free-spirited voice that seemed like a nightingale echoed through. Yun Che promptly opened the door, and saw Su Ling’er, who changed into a mild green colored chiffon, charmingly stand outside. When she saw Yun Che, she happily smiled: “Big Brother Yun Che!”
__________________
Author’s Note: This chapter is a bit short… allow me to think for a while, prepare for a fight!!
A main character who doesn’t fight cannot be the main character… How much do you think the main character’s wife could evolve?
Chapter 265 - Mutual Hostility
“Ling’er.” After seeing Su Ling’er’s delicate little face, Yun Che brimmed with warmth and joy. This joyous feeling that struck the depth of his soul was a joy that nothing else could replace. Just by calmly looking at Ling’er, he felt that his life was already perfect.
He didn’t know that when Su Ling’er saw him, she had the exact same change of emotions as he did. Yun Che had it because him and Su Ling’er were bound by their past life. As far as Su Ling’er was concerned, it was merely the simple feeling, simple joy and the feeling of being near, without any other reason or cause. She said: “Heh, Big Brother Yun Che, father told me to tell you that at dusk, there will be many people coming to the clan and some bad things are going to take place. When it’s time, Big Brother Yun Che has to shut his room door tightly and should not leave for any reason.
“Oh?“ Yun Che’s brows moved slightly. Then, he nodded and answered with a slight smile: “Okay, I understand.”
“Mn! Then… Big Brother Yun Che, I’m going back now. You and beautiful big sister have to rest well.” Su Ling’er said while beaming. She took a little step back, but didn’t leave right away. A pair of liquid diamond eyes clung on to Yun Che for awhile and had an expression that couldn’t bear to leave.
“Ah? Why do you need to leave so quickly? I still want to talk with Su Ling’er for awhile.”
Su Ling’er pouted and said: “Father said that you guys should have traveled quite a distance, and must be exhausted. Additionally, the beautiful big sister is ill and needs to rest as well, so he told me to leave as soon as I passed on the information, so that I won’t bother you… Big Brother Yun Che, when beautiful big sister wakes up, can you play with me? Oh there’s more… Big brother Yun Che came from very far away, I want to listen to Big Brother Yun Che tell stories about the place from far away.
Su Ling’er was still naive, and carefree with smiles. It made Yun Che feel a dizzying joy so extravagant that Yun Che felt as if he was in a dream. He gently smiled, then slowly and carefully nodded his head: “Okay! When it’s time, I’ll play with Su Ling’er for sure and I’ll tell Su Ling’er many stories… It’s a deal!”
“Mn! Hehe…” Su Ling’er tilted her head then ran away happily like an oriole that was set free.
After closing his room door, Yun Che’s expression quickly turned severe.
There was going be a group of people that would come in the evening? What kind of bad things were going to happen? Could it be…
On top of the bed, Xia Qingyue’s eyes were lightly shut and was in a meditative state. She calmly absorbed and guided the strength of the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet, except her five senses really weren’t completely sealed. She heard the entire conversation that Yun Che had with Su Ling’er.
Their time limit in this place was only a short twenty four hours. He naturally couldn’t spend each and every second with Ling’er, but at the moment, Xia Qingyue definitely needed someone to guard her side and Grandwake Clan wasn’t really a place they considered calm and stable. In addition, there was the Su Haoran who harbored evil intentions, so he absolutely did not want to leave Xia Qingyue’s side.
“Yun Che, have you been here before?” Jasmine suddenly said.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Then why are you acting so special towards that little girl? You just met her today, but when you saw her completely lose control of her emotions earlier, your emotional reactions became out of the ordinary! What is going on here?” Jasmine said with a serious tone. Even though “that little girl” coming out of the mouth of another little girl was a bit strange…
“…” Yun Che raised his head and lightly said: “That, is truly an unspeakable secret.”
Jasmine: “…”
During the entire afternoon, Yun Che always guarded Xia Qingyue’s side as Xia Qingyue laid there motionlessly. The moon-white sheen beside her never waned, and this layer of light magically isolated the aura of Xia Qingyue’s profound strength, inhibiting Yun Che from finding out the state of her profound strength. But this was fine as well, if the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet was actually as astonishing as the legends said they were, then perhaps Xia Qingyue would be able to breakthrough into the Sky Profound Realm! If the aura of the profound strength breaking through startled the Grandwake Clan, then it might attract unnecessary attention instead.
The sky gradually dimmed and it was already nightfall. At this moment, the sound of urgent footsteps suddenly echoed in from outside, as if many people were rushing to a certain place right now. The sound of footsteps continued on for a long while until the sound of disorderly and abnormal clamor started transmitting from afar. With Yun Che’s hearing abilities, he faintly heard the sound of callous laughter and angry rebuke from time to time.
Yun Che took a glance at Xia Qingyue’s state, and then walked to the window. He carefully opened a slit in the window and looked towards the place where the sound originated from.
There were already many people gathered to the brim in front of Grandwake Clan’s Conference Hall. On one side were Grandwake Clan’s leaders and a group of disciples headed by Su Hengshan, who had a pair of angry eyes. Across from them stood a group of three hundred men in black. Under the escort of the men in black were over ten middle-aged people dressed in different attire. There was also an elder with a swagger, who was sitting in a rattan chair that seemed came out of nowhere. His eyes were half closed and he was unrestrained like an old deity with a proud attitude that didn’t put anyone else in his eyes.
“Su Hengyue! I always respected you as my second brother. Even though you had opposed me when we were fighting for the position of Clan Master in the past, I still put the matter behind me and never mentioned it! These past years, the clan’s resources were all prioritized for you! I can understand that you want our late ancestor’s treasure as well, but you actually unhesitantly collaborated with Blackwood Stronghold and made these ambitious moves! How can you face our deceased father, how can you face our Grandwake Clan’s ancestors!!
Su Hengshan’s face was brimming with anger and his gaze shifted to another person: “And you! Li Yunji, when you met certain doom back then and your life was hanging by a thread, who was it that saved you? And who was it that gave you over ten years of peace? Is this how you repay my father and my Grandwake Clan’s kindness?”
The middle-aged man, Li Yunji, who was pointed out by Su Hengshan took a slight step back and an unnatural expression flashed on his face. But he immediately answered with a cold snort: “The late Clan Master’s kindness will naturally always be kept in my heart! It’s also because of the late Clan Master’s great favor, that I could not bear to see Grandwake Clan get destroyed in your hands! Resign as Clan Master and hand over the treasure key! If not for your obstinate behaviors, Grandwake Clan would have already had a shockingly powerful expert a long time ago! Grandwake Clan would have leapt to become a peak sect! And not the completely fruitless one like it is now!”
“Hehe, everything Yunji said is true.” Su Hengyue said while laughing: “Our late father handing over the position of Clan Master to you, was really the greatest mistake of his life! If you handed over the treasure key sooner and collaborated with Blackwood Stronghold, everything east of the river would have been ours a long time ago! Your stubbornness only burdened the entire Grandwake Clan!” He looked towards the elder who sat there and grimly smiled: “Even the elders who never questioned you about being Clan Master could not stand by idly and watch you any longer! Just obediently hand over the Clan Master position. Be at ease and just become a teaching elder! The position of Clan Master doesn’t suit you at all!”
“Load of bullshit!” Su Hengshan angrily laughed: “Blackwood Stronghold’s behaviors were always despicable. They have an extremely poor reputation outside and had also always coveted our Grandwake Mountain resources. If we collaborated with Blackwood Stronghold, we would be working with the tiger and destroy our Grandwake Clan’s hundreds of years of clean reputation! As for our clan’s treasure, our late ancestors clearly explained that we could only take it out when an extremely stunning talent, who is able to shock the world, appeared in our clan; otherwise, we’d be recklessly wasting it and pointlessly destroying our clan’s greatest opportunity! If I took it out right now, that would be the real disgrace towards our ancestors.”
“Clan Master Su’s words are too harsh to listen to.” A middle-aged man in black slowly walked forward: “Our Blackwood Stronghold genuinely and sincerely wants to cooperate with the Grandwake Clan. You give me medicine and precious stones, and I’ll give you divine weapons. It’s profitable for both sides. By comparison, Brother Hengyue’s knowledge and insight is much more powerful than yours. It’s no wonder that your Grandwake Clan has stagnated and become lifeless during these past years.”
“Heimu Qingya!” Su Hengshan’s anger directed towards black attired man who had just spoken: “You despicable little man! I still haven’t repaid you regarding the matter that you intended to seize my daughter this morning, yet you still had the guts to personally come yourself! As the mighty Hold Master of Blackwood Stronghold, you had unexpectedly let your disciples take action on a little ten year old girl. Are you really worthy of your title as the Blackwood Stronghold’s Hold Master?!”
“Heheh!” Heimu Qingya wasn’t the least bit resentful when being cursed in rage by Su Hengshan: “Clan Master Su is misunderstanding. This Hold Master only wanted to invite your daughter as a very important guest. The word “seize” isn’t very appropriate.”
“Really?” Su Hengshan clenched both his fists. He wasn’t a person who got angry very easily, but the people of Blackwood Stronghold taking action against Su Ling’er touched his absolute bottom line. He coldly said: “Heimu Qingya, I know how you are. If you don’t give me an explanation after we sort out our clan’s matters today, then don’t even think about leaving alive!”
Heimu Qingya grinned and smiled, but didn’t say anything as he took two steps back. Both his hands were over his chest in a leisure posture… That’s right, he was here to passively watch the great battle within the clan. No matter what the outcome was, it was all favorable.
The elder who had continuously sat upright in place, opened his eyes and heedlessly said: “Hengshan, I don’t care who succeeds the position of Clan Master. I won’t make trouble for you if you aren’t willing to collaborate with Blackwood Stronghold either, but the key to the clan’s greatest treasure must be taken out today!”
The speech from Grandwake Clan’s most senior elder naturally contained an extraordinary influence. Su Hengshan’s expression suddenly transformed and then unhesitantly said: “Absolutely impossible!”
The mood at the scene became increasingly tense. Grandwake Clan’s disciples all rushed over, as more and more people filled the scene. If they were only facing Blackwood Stronghold, they could unanimously confront them, but Blackwood Stronghold had the attitude of spectators. The two sides who had mutual hostility were all people of the Grandwake Clan… Only, the other side was a person who had left not long ago, who then entered the Blackwood Stronghold!
From the intense conversation between the two sides, Yun Che finally understood everything.
In the region east of Supwake’s river, Grandwake Clan and Blackwood Stronghold were the two most powerful sects. Behind Grandwake Clan was Grandwake Mountain, medicine, as well as countless precious minerals and resources. Blackwood Stronghold was situated in the Blackwood Mountain Range and had huge amounts of metal and strange stones as their resource. The natural resources of the two sects really complemented each other, and Blackwood Stronghold had always wanted to collaborate with the Grandwake Clan many times for the purpose of sharing their resources, but Blackwood Stronghold’s actions were despicable and they also had a horrible reputation. Although the elders of the Grandwake Clan wanted to collaborate with them for the most part, the successive Clan Masters all disagreed profusely.
Until Su Hengshan’s generation, Blackwood Stronghold, which was originally more than a half level lower, suddenly had an explosive development, and quietly reached the point where they could fight on even terms with the Grandwake Clan. This also made the elders want to support Blackwood Stronghold. The people in favor of ruling the river east by force nowadays, increased up to the point where it had exceeded more than half, and gradually increased the pressure on Su Hengshan everyday.
But these weren’t the main reason for the confrontation today. The real reason was an item that the late ancestors of Grandwake Clan had left behind —— the clan’s mystical treasure!
From a place called the “Southern Border Holy Land”, a late elder of the Grandwake Clan obtained a valuable treasure, rumored to be at the “sacred object” grade!
Chapter 266 - Disruption
Yun Che didn’t hear what this valuable clan treasure was, but looking at the degree of importance they placed on it to the point that they started a big fight over it, it was probably something incredible. Perhaps, it really was an item of the “sacred object” grade like the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus.
Since the clan’s treasure was precious to the point that it could be the hope Grandwake Clan was looking for to become a peak sect of Azure Cloud Continent’s Supwake Country, the decision of who to use this precious treasure on was of the utmost importance! If they used it on an ordinary disciple, it would undoubtedly be a waste. Due to the incredible precaution this matter required, they still never used the clans’s treasure up until this generation, but had hidden it in an unknown place instead. Additionally, that hidden place could only be opened by a special key, and that special key was always in the hands of the next Clan Master.
In this generation, it was in Su Hengshan’s hands.
Su Hengyue was an extremely ambitious person. He had coveted the clan’s most valuable treasure ever since he was young, but although his aptitude was incredibly good, it still wasn’t stunningly good. However, he still reached a high prestige within Grandwake Clan, and all these years, he had been enticing an ample amount of assistants, and was also making an extreme effort towards collaborating with the Blackwood Stronghold. All the elders in the Grandwake Clan who shared these thoughts naturally gravitated towards him.
Right now, the reason why Su Hengyue resolutely wanted Su Hengshan to hand over the treasure key to the point that he didn’t care about Su Hengshan turning hostile or borrowing Blackwood Stronghold’s power was all because of his son, Su Haoyu!
This year, Su Haoyu was a full twenty years old and his profound strength was already at eighth level of the Spirit Profound Realm! In all of Grandwake Clan’s history, this had never happened before! He believed that with his son’s natural talents, he was completely qualified to obtain the clan’s most valuable treasure. He mentioned this to Su Hengshan over and over again, and even encouraged those in the clan to pressure him together, but Su Hengshan never agreed. Although Su Haoyu’s natural talents were astonishing, he was absolutely not at the level of “World Stunning” that their late ancestors mentioned. Furthermore, Su Hengyue was always ambitious. If he actually gave the clan’s most valuable treasure to Su Haoyu, in the future, the authority of the Grandwake Clan would also completely fall into Su Hengyue’s bloodline… For his own selfish desires, he discriminated against the Grandwake Clan and relied on Blackwood Stronghold’s strength. If the Grandwake Clan fell into his hands, their future would be utterly inconceivable.
“Su Hengshan, if you took out the clan’s most valuable treasure a bit earlier, then my son Haoyu would have soared into the skies a long time ago, and in less than ten years, he would have taken our Grandwake Clan to a height that we could only dream of right now!” Su Hengshan callously laughed and said: “Don’t believe that we don’t know what you’re thinking. You’re envious of my son’s natural talents and want to personally consume our clan’s treasure. Heh, people being selfish and envious is completely normal. However, you want the entire Grandwake Clan to be dragged by you. As one of Grandwake Clan’s elders, I’ll never agree to that!”
“Bullshit!” Su Haoran angrily roared: “It’s obvious that you’re the one who’s selfish. For the sake of getting your hands on the clan’s most valuable treasure, you actually slander us in reverse. You have no sense of shame at all!”
“Yoh!” Su Hengyue said coldly: “Before an elder finished talking, your son has already lost his cool. Could it be that this Clan Master’s own son is more qualified to use the clan’s treasure than my family’s Haoyu? That’s right, if you can win against my Haoyu, then you will naturally be more qualified than Haoyu. Haoyu, come and compare your moves against your brother Haoran.”
“Yes, father.”
A youth around twenty year old completely dressed in white walked out from behind Su Hengshan. Although his expression was completely calm, his gaze exposed all of his pride: “Brother Haoran, no matter how much nonsense you say, it is useless. If you beat me, then I’ll have no face to use the clan’s most valuable treasure, and we would not have any dissent with the Clan Master regarding this matter from now on. Please.”
“You!!” Su Haoran’s restrained his facial expressions until it was red all over; nevertheless, he didn’t dare to walk forward. Even though Su Haoyu was half a year younger than him, his profound strength already reached the eighth level of the Spirit Profound Realm. Su Haoran wasn’t his match at all. If they really fought, the only outcome would him being oppressed into the dirt, and losing all his face.
Su Hengshan’s chest puffed up, and then viciously huffed out.
“What? Could it be the Brother Haoran doesn’t dare? Heh… Brother Haoran doesn’t need to be so tense. We’re only comparing moves, that’s all. I certainly won’t hit you too hard. Besides, just in case you beat this little brother, would you not have gotten what you wished for?” Su Haoyu pointed his fingers at Su Haoran with a face full of ridicule as a sneer appeared in the corner of his mouth.
“That’s enough, don’t argue anymore.”
An old voice sounded. Grand Elder Su Wanji, who sat on the chair, opened his eyes. His slow voice was serious and awe-inspiring: “For this matter, Hengyue was indeed a bit improper, but it is still a misunderstanding. Oh Hengshan, although our late ancestors told us to wait for a world shaking disciple to appear before using the clan’s most valuable treasure, our ancestors’ “world-shaking” could have meant many things. Haoyu is a genius that’s hard to come by even in a hundred years. He is only twenty years of age, yet he has already stepped into the eighth level of the Spirit Profound Realm. In the Country of Supwake, he could already live up to the word “world-shaking”. It seems to me that Haoyu definitely has the qualification to use our clan’s most valuable treasure. I can guarantee that in the following century, it is practically impossible for a disciple with greater talents than Haoyu to appear within the Grandwake Clan.
All of Su Wanji’s words were clearly biased towards Su Hengyue’s side, but these words were irrefutable. He stared toward Su Hengshan and quietly said: “This year, Haoyu is twenty years old. He is not young anymore. If he grew up a bit more, using the clan’s most valuable treasure would naturally be much less effective. Hengshan, if you still obstinately do not understand, and is willing to die guarding the clan’s most valuable treasure before releasing it, then what if a so-called “world-shaking” genius never emerges within our Grandwake Clan, will the clan’s treasure be forever sealed? Our clan could have soared into the sky a long time ago, but had been stagnant for a long time because of this. If the day comes that our clan encounters a calamity, using the clan’s most valuable treasure at that time, would be far too late!”
The harder Su Hengshan tried to restrain his eyebrows, the tighter it became… if Su Hengyue was a dutiful elder and Su Haoyu had a kind-hearted nature, then if enough people recommended him to offer out the clan’s treasure, even if Su Hengshan felt that it was somewhat inappropriate, he wouldn’t be so determined like this. Since Su Hengyue’s line made these series of actions for the sake of obtaining the clan’s most valuable treasure, this matter was completely uncompromisable!!
Him enticing the clan could be forgiven. But to pressure them by using the strength of the Blackwood Stronghold was essentially an action that betrayed the clan!!
To these avaricious and unscrupulous people, even if he were to die, he would never agree on giving the clan’s treasure!!
“How’s this?” Su Wangji squinted and slowly said: “Hengshan, If you can find a disciple under twenty in our clan that can defeat Haoyu; then Hengyue will never raise the matters regarding the clan’s treasure ever again!”
Everyone among Su Hengyue and Su Haoran’s group began to laugh. Su Hengyue sternly said: “Very well! If there is anyone under twenty in my Grandwake Clan that can defeat Haoyu and prove that his natural talents aren’t the greatest, then I’ll immediately slap my ass and leave. I’ll never mention a word regarding the clan’s treasure ever again and I’ll apologize to the Clan Master for my inappropriate behaviors today… But, what if no one can defeat Haoyu?”
“Then please Hengshan, give the key to the clan’s treasure to Haoyu. I believe none of the elders and the members of the clan present here want see this matter be dragged out or bickered over.” Su Wanji said very slowly.
Su Hengshan clenched both his fists tightly and his fingers began to make popping sounds. Suddenly, right before he wanted to angrily reprimand them, an arrogant young man’s voice came from his side.
“Good idea! Truly a good idea! Worthy of being the Grand Elder, even your ideas are so fair. Such a good idea, I will approve by raising both my hands!”
A smile hung over Yun Che’s face as he slowly and relaxingly walked over. On his hands, he dragged a nervous faced Su Ling’er who tightly leaned on Yun Che’s body.
When Yun Che absolutely could not watch this any further, he left the Dragon Perching Pavilion and happened to find a peeping Su Ling’er who hid behind a tree. Seeing him leave his room, Su Ling’er ran over with her little steps right away and urgently said: “Big Brother Yun Che, Papa said you can’t go over there! It’s really dangerous over there.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be in any danger.” Yun Che smiled and said: “Ling’er, you stay here. You can’t go near there no matter what… Once this matter is settled, I’ll play with you.”
Once Yun Che finished talking, he continued forward. Just as he took a step, he stopped once again and said to Su Ling’er: “Ling’er, do you believe that I can protect you?”
Looking at Yun Che eyes, Su Ling’er unhesitantly and nodded with all her might: “Mn!”
“Then, let’s go over there together! No one can hurt you as long as you’re by my side!” Yun Che lightly said and then took Su Ling’er’s hand. Because in his heart, the safest place Su Ling’er could stay at, was by his side. He wouldn’t be relieved if she was anywhere else.
Once Yun Che’s pridefully arrogant voice transmitted outwards, he suddenly became the focal point of the scene. Su Hengshan suddenly turned pale in great alarm: “Little Brother Yun, and Ling’er… Why are you here! Quickly, leave this place. The matter here is unrelated to you, and it is not a place you should have come to!”
Earlier when Yun Che saved Su Ling’er, if he was recognized by the Blackwood Stronghold as the one who destroyed their important plan, then they might have gazed at him. As far as Su Ling’er was concerned, it was even more dangerous for her to be here. Once the plain and honest words were said, he had already lost all of his anger and bitterness, and planned to stop them right there. This was a place they absolutely should not be in.
“Papa, I… I’m not afraid. I’m here to cheer Papa on.” Su Ling’er sweetly smiled towards Su Hengshan; nevertheless, she neared Yun Che even more and held onto Yun Che tightly with both of her little hands.
“It was me who wanted to bring Ling’er here, because I won’t be at ease if Su Ling’er was anywhere else but by my side.” Yun Che stood upright, and said in a low voice: “But I implore Senior Su to be at ease. Even if I were to die, I won’t let a single strand of hair on Ling’er be hurt.”
“…” When Su Hengshan looked at the expression in Yun Che’s eyes, he was stunned for a while… Through the tens of years of his trials and hardships, he had heard those similar words many many times, but none of those times could have moved him as emotionally as this time’s. That statement “even if I were to die, I won’t let a single strand of hair on Ling’er be hurt” wasn’t only spouted out from Yun Che’s mouth, it was something that originated from his will and his soul… Looking at the expression in Yun Che’s eyes, he felt the determination contained in his words. He was extremely convinced that if the price to protect Ling’er involved a life, he would absolutely sacrifice himself without any hesitation.
He lightly grasped Su Ling’er’s hand. That kind hazy imposing feeling was precisely the same as if he was protecting his entire world.
And Su Ling’er was also firmly grabbing and hugging him. Even though he arrived in front of the father, she still remained by his side and did not rush to his side. Her eyes contained her worries for him, but they were fearless… It seemed like as long as she cuddled by his side, she had nothing to fear.
Yun Che and his daughter had clearly only met today. He was incapable of understanding how these two were able to form such an intimacy to this degree. He believed that even two people who were inseparable for more than a dozen years could not achieve such a pure dependence and protection.
Could it actually be some sort of heavenly fate?
Chapter 267 - Tyrannical Might
The moment Yun Che appeared, one of the people among the Blackwood Stronghold widened his eyes. He hurriedly stepped forward, and whispered into Heimu Qingya’s ears. “Hold Master, it’s him… It was him who sabotaged our plans when we were about to abduct Su Hengshan’s daughter!”
Heimu Qingya swept his gaze at Yun Che. Suddenly, he slapped onto that person’s face, growling. “A bunch of trash! You people actually allowed someone who had only entered the Spirit Profound Realm to sabotage our plans, what’s the point in having you bunch of trash then!?”
The Blackwood Stronghold disciple’s slapped face swelled up heavily. He timidly retreated, and did not dare to utter another word.
Heimu Qingya stared at Yun Che with sinister eyes, and said towards Su Hengyue in front of him with a low voice. “Brother Hengyue, this is the kid who hindered us from abducting that little girlie! Hmph, he sure sabotaged our great plans. If the little girlie was currently in our hands, then there wouldn’t be a need for such trouble!”
“It’s him?” Su Hengyue’s eyes which were staring at Yun Che instantly turned dark and ruthless, as he coldly laughed. “And here I was wondering where I was going to find this kid, but he actually does not know any fear and popped out himself!”
Su Hengyue sound transmitted to Su Haoyu. “Haoyu, find an excuse, and give this kid a ruthless lesson! Even if your ‘hand slips’ and ‘accidentally’ kill him, it doesn’t matter either!”
Su Haoyu immediately responded. He inspected Yun Che’s level of profound strength, and following after, he revealed a disdainful expression. He took a step forward, and blew up at Yun Che. “Where did this wild brat come from? From the looks of it, you’re not one of our Grandwake Clan’s people either, heh! This is a place where our Grandwake Clan is having a discussion regarding an important matter, it’s not a place where a wild brat like you who comes from god knows where can step into, hurry and scram! If you don’t wish to scram yourself, this young master can send you off himself!”
When Su Haoyu voiced out these words, everyone on site gave out a different atmosphere. Because these words by Su Haoyu, were evidently purposefully used to shame and anger his target. It seemed like they had a certain conflict between them.
However, Yun Che was not even the least bit angry. He used his gaze to size up Su Haoyu, and while he was sizing up, he nodded for a moment, and then disappointedly shook his head. The next moment, he actually looked as though he was sizing up a cattle that was being sold. He held his chin with his hand, and leisurely said. “Mn, so you’re Su Haoyu, the one who is proclaimed to have the best talent in Grandwake Clan? Your appearance is still passable. Compared to this young master, you’re still far off by a hundred thousands miles, but your appearance could still be looked at. However, it’s a pity that your mouth is too smelly, it smells so much, it’s nauseating.”
“Hahahaha!” Su Haoyu laughed out wildly. “And here I was thinking why a wild brat like you would come here for, so you’re actually here to seek death!”
“No no no no!” Yun Che waved his finger. “I have grown so big, yet, I have yet to know how the two words ‘seeking death’ are written. Earlier, I simply heard that you’re the so-called genius disciple with the best talent in Grandwake Clan, so I came over to see if you look like a human or a dog, and while I’m at it…” Yun Che reached out his right hand, and flexed his wrist. “I’m here to seek advice from you, the so-called number one genius.”
When Yun Che said these words, a couple of people at the scene began to laugh out loud. Su Haoyu had profound strength at the Eighth Level of the Spirit Profound Realm, in Grandwake Clan, or even the entire river east, he was unparalleled among those who were under twenty years of age. While Yun Che, who was merely at the First Level of the Spirit Profound Realm, actually dared to “seek advice”! Yun Che’s looked to be around seventeen or eighteen years old; to enter the Spirit Profound Realm at such an age, his talent was considerably decent as well. However, in front of Su Haoyue, it was basically not even worth mentioning. The eyes of many people began to carry ridicule, and there were even some that were looking at Yun Che as though he was an idiot.
“Heheh, he really doesn’t know any fear.” Su Hengyue and Heimu Qingya coldly laughed at the same time.
Su Hengshan’s eyebrows moved, and was about to voice out and stop Yun Che, however, just when he was about to let out his voice, he swallowed it back in. He deeply looked at Yun Che’s expression, and no longer said another word. Although he and Yun Che had only known each other just earlier, from the short interactions he had with him, he felt that Yun Che had a maturity which far surpassed his age, at the very least, he should not be someone who was reckless and ignorant… There might be a deep meaning in his current actions.
The reason why Su Haoyu angered Yun Che, was to agitate him into a fight with himself in the first place, and then, he would take the opportunity to teach Yun Che a ruthless lesson. However, he never expected that, with only a few sentences, Yun Che would want to fight himself already. Su Haoyu coldly laughed in his heart. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he said disdainfully. “With your qualifications? You’re still not worthy to fight with me!”
“Hahahaha!” Yun Che laughed out loudly. “I have seen cattle blowing hot air before, but I never thought that a smelly worm knows how to blow hot air as well. And not only is this air so funny, it’s so smelly, it’s hard to breath.”
“You… you’re seeking death!!”
Yun Che was not angered, and it was Su Haoyu who had flared up. With a cling, he pulled out his longsword, and pointed it towards Yun Che. “Reveal your weapon. You don’t know how the two words ‘seeking death’ are written, do you? Today, this young master shall properly teach you then!”
Yun Che released the hand he was holding onto Su Ling’er with, and gently pushed her next to Su Hengshan. However, he did not bring out his weapon, and his two hands actually swinging playfully in front of him, as he casually said. “The fact that I’m seeking advice from you, is already giving you a huge amount of face. You actually still wish that I reveal my weapon? If it’s just you, you don’t seem to have the qualifications yet.”
“Pfft…” Quite a number of people on-site snorted.
“Hmph! This idiot, is simply making a fool out of himself!” Su Haoran silently scolded in his heart. Recalling Xia Qingyue, who was beautiful as a fairy, his heart uncontrollably trembled. At the same time, he silently said hatefully: Such a beautiful person, actually married to an idiot like this, the heavens are simply blind!
“Good… Very good.” Su Haoyu suddenly felt that his status would drop just by standing together with this kid in front of him, and he instantly roared out. “Then, go to hell.”
Su Haoyu stabbed out his longsword. As his profound energy surged, the thin long sword disrupted the air in the surroundings, sweeping up circles of spatial ripples. Momentarily, there were a couple of elders at the scene who nodded in praise at the might contained in this sword.
The corner of Yun Che’s eyes inclined upwards. His right hand casually swung out and grabbed towards Su Haoyu’s longsword.
“The hell! This kid is seeking death!”
“To actually dare to use his hands to take on Su Haoyu’s sword, doesn’t he want his hand anymore? Let’s not talk about him who’s just at the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm, even if it’s someone at the tenth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, he’s simply seeking to be crippled if he does something like this!”
“Little brother, be careful!!” When Su Hengshan, whose heart was ill at ease in the first place, saw Yun Che’s action, he momentarily could no longer stay calm, and shouted out of shock… However, Yun Che’s palm was already almost half a foot away from Su Haoyu’s sword. He could only helplessly watch Yun Che’s palm make contact with Su Haoyu’s longsword.
With a “pu” sound, Yun Che’s right hand grabbed onto Su Haoyu’s sword just like that. It could no longer move a single inch, and the profound energy on the sword completely extinguished instantly. Before waiting for Su Haoyu to react, Yun Che’s hand had already left at lightning speed. Forming a fist, he ruthlessly smashed onto the blade of the sword with a single punch.
BAM!!!
Yun Che’s arm strength was exceptionally terrifying. Under this heavy blow, Su Haoyu’s thumb and forefinger was instantly spread apart. His longsword had flew out of his hand, and while it was flying away, it shattered into numerous pieces…
“Wha… What?”
This was a scene which everyone would never even dreamed of. Every single one of them paled out of shock. Even Su Hengshan, Su Hengyue, Heimu Qingya, and even the Grand Elder, were all completely dumbfounded.
Su Haoyu took two steps back. His pupils contracted, his right palm was bleeding profusely, and was incomparably painful. This unexpected change caused his mind to instantly go into a half-insane state. Before he could even gasp, Yun Che’s figure had already rushed right in front of him. An ice-cold face appeared right in front of his eyes, and a solid punch smashed onto his chest.
“CRUNCH!!”
With a dull sound, Su Haoyu’s entire chest sank inwards. His bones cleanly broke, and like a rolling calabash, his entire body rolled far away, pulling out a long trail of blood on the ground.
“Haoyu!!” Su Hengyue was so shocked, it was as though his soul flew out of his body as he swooped towards Su Haoyu’s side. Beside him, the middle-aged man called Li Yunji leapt out, and pierced towards Yun Che’s chest with a sword. “You dare to harm my young master, give me your life!!”
For Su Haoyu, who was proclaimed the number one genius in Grandwake Clan, not only was his sword stopped by Yun Che’s empty hand, he was actually heavily injured in a blink of an eye as well. This caused Su Hengshan to feel shocked and overjoyed at the same time. Suddenly, when he saw Li Yunji moving towards him, he quickly charged over, roaring out loud at the same time. “Li Yunji, you dare!! Little brother Yun, be careful!”
A pressure of the Earth Profound Realm pressed towards him. This time, Yun Che no longer dared to behave haughtily. With a swing of both his hands, Dragon Fault had already been grabbed within his hands, and without even looking at the person attacking him, he temporarily activated “Burning Heart”, and directly smashed towards him with a single “Falling Moon Sinking Star”.
Bang!!!!
This loud bang caused everyone’s eardrums to ring for a very long time. When Yun Che stepped into the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm, under the “Burning Heart” state’s activation, his peak strength was comparable to a normal practitioner at the mid-stage Earth Profound Realm, so how could it be blocked by Li Yunji, whose profound strength was only at the second level of the Earth Profound Realm? Within the loud bang, Li Yunji who leapt out, as though he was a kite with a broken string, was sent flying back. When he landed, he took dozens of steps back, and then, with his sword as a support, he knelt onto the ground, and a large amount of blood splurted out from his mouth… The tyranny of that one sword strike from Yun Che, caused him to feel as though his organs had been completely shattered.
Su Hengshan, who had rushed out initially to save Yun Che, stopped. Looking at Yun Che whose hands were holding onto a gigantic sword, his two eyes were filled with astonishment.
Everyone’s eyes on Yun Che, were stricken with shock as well.
This youth who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, actually defeated Su Haoyu in a blink of an eye, and then, he injured Li Yunji who had the profound strength at the Earth Profound Realm with a single strike as well… Even if they had personally seen it, they still did not dare to believe this was actually real.
“Waaaaao!!” Su Ling’er’s two hands held onto her little face. The number of little stars in her eyes were even more than the stars in a clear night sky. “Big Brother Yun Che is so incredible! Big brother Yun Che… is so handsome!!”
With a “bang”, Dragon Fault was stabbed deeply into ground by Yun Che. He coldly looked at Li Yunji, and said with ridicule. “From what Clan Master Su said earlier, your life was saved by the previous Clan Master, and he even took you into the Grandwake Clan for a few dozen years. In the end, not only do you not know how to repay his kindness, you’re actually helping those with ill intentions to coerce his descendants and make things difficult for them… Heh! A dog that was brought up still knows how to be loyal, you’re really worse than a dog. With that one sword strike I smashed into you earlier, I even fear that I have dirtied my hands.”
Whenever Yun Che scolded people, he had always been incomparably harsh. These words were like daggers stabbing into Li Yunji’s heart. He, whose internal injuries were not light in the first place, instantly paled as his eyes roundly widened. Under the extreme anxiety and grief in his heart, he instantly fainted.
Su Hengyue peremptorily stuffed dozens of medicinal pellets into Su Haoyu’s mouth, and then, continuously inserted profound energy into him to dissolve the medicinal strength, stabilizing his injuries. He fiercely turned his head, and stared at Yun Che, it was as though his eyes were daggers coated in blood. “You damn junior! You actually dare to harm my son, I will definitely have you die a dog’s death!!”
“Tch!” Yun Che curled his lips in extreme disdain. “You actually spout such nonsense when your son’s skills are inferior. I kindly stepped out and helped you teach him a lesson. I don’t mind if you don’t give me the proper thanks, however, you’re actually still making such a fuss. I really wonder where you get the courage to say such shameful words in front of such a large audience… If you want to blame, then blame your son’s incapabilities. And what genius this is… This is simply a joke!”
“You!!” Su Hengyue’s eyes widened roundly, and his lungs almost exploded out of anger. If not for the need to insert profound energy into Su Haoyu, he would have already acted against Yun Che, without regard for his status.
“This… oh, Grand Elder.” Yun Che no longer bothered with Su Hengyue anymore, and his gaze turned towards Grand Elder Su Wangji, whose expression was extremely terrible. “Elder, earlier you said that, as long as you’re able to find a disciple who is under twenty years old in the Grandwake Clan that is able to defeat Su Haoyu, then, Clan Master Su will have full authority to decide about the matter regarding the clan’s treasure. This Su Hengyue father and son pair is also not allowed to once again bring up the matter about the clan’s treasure, and must give their respects to Clan Master Su as well. This was something Su Hengyue had agreed to in front of everyone here… Grand Elder, these words that you said, you shouldn’t have forgotten about it so quickly, right?”
“Hmph!” Su Wangji let out a cold snort. “What this elder has said, I will naturally keep my promise. Unfortunately, you’re not a disciple of our Grandwake Clan! Even if you enter our clan now, it’s no use! Grandwake Clan has never taken in any disciples from outside! And Li Yunji is nothing but half a servant as well!”
“Heheh, looks like Grand Elder isn’t well informed of the news.” Yun Che narrowed his eyes, and said smilingly. “Clan Master Su has already betrothed his daughter Su Ling’er to me, I am currently Clan Master Su’s son-in-law… Tell me then, am I not someone of the Grandwake Clan now!?”
Chapter 268 - Engagement
Yun Che’s words suddenly blanked everyone’s minds. Whispers began to sound from every direction and there were many that constantly shook their heads to show that they knew absolutely nothing about this matter. Everyone’s expressions were especially strange since Su Ling’er was after all, still young. She was only ten years of age this year. If the two unsuspecting people were betrothed before they were even adults, that would still have been quite normal, but Yun Che was a full grown adult! There certainly was something wrong with that…
Looking at the situation in front of them, no matter who it was, they thought it was extremely likely that this was just a fabricated excuse to thwart Su Hengyue’s ambitions.
Su Hengshan was caught in a daze as well, but he quickly reacted. He took a quick glance at Yun Che and without changing his expression, he said: “That’s right, Yun Che is the number one genius of the younger generation amongst the ones I’ve seen. I quite admire him, since, in terms of natural talent he is at least ten times better than Su Haoyu! You have seen this fact with your own eyes; additionally, he also saved my daughter’s life, so I have arranged for my daughter to marry him. When my daughter reaches sixteen years of age, they will marry!”
Su Ling’er blinked her innocent watery eyes. She had a look of confusion all over her face. After all, she was already ten years old this year and not some two or three year old little kid. She already knew what “marriage” meant. Even if she didn’t understand it completely, she was aware of what it basically meant. She looked at her father and then at Yun Che. Her heart was beating wildly as she was at her wit’s end.
“Bunch of crap!” Su Hengyue clenched his teeth and angrily said: “Su Hengshan, don’t treat everyone like an idiot! This child is only someone who recently helped you. This marriage thing, is just an excuse! Otherwise, how can there not be a single person here who knows about it!”
“Hehe, that’s only because I haven’t publicly announced yet. Don’t tell me that my own daughter’s marriage requires the consent of others?” Su Hengshan said indifferently. He looked at the crowd and then calmly continued: “Looks like, all of you aren’t too convinced. That’s fine. I, Su Hengshan, will publicly announce this matter right now…”
He looked at Yun Che, and Yun Che also looked at him… Su Hengshan’s expression was incredibly complicated, but Yun Che’s expression was incredibly unwavering and tranquil. This was the meeting of eyes between two men who loved the same girl dearly. From the expression in their eyes, one of them had the pure love of a father, and the other had an expression that shook one’s heart… undying determination.
After seeing the look in Yun Che’s eyes, Su Hengshan’s heart and mind also calmed down. All of his nervousness became the feeling of wonderful calmness.
His mood before was always immersed in the shock that Yun Che instilled. Although he loathed the Su Hengyue father and son pair, he had no choice but to recognize them. Su Haoyu’s natural talents were incredible, and no one in Grandwake Clan could reach him. But this kind of genius, had actually suffered a crushing defeat in front of Yun Che, who was two or three years younger than him. And his following strike was able to severely injure Li Yunji who was in the Earth Profound Realm. He was only at this age, but he already had such frightening strength. Within his cognition, this could only be described as unimaginable.
A young man who possessed such a strength must have been born in a top top notch sect in the Country of Supwake… wrong! The sect he was born in must be top notch even in the Azure Cloud Continent!
Although Grandwake Clan controlled the everything east of Supwake River, he wasn’t delusional that such a disciple like this could appear within their younger generation. The sect that he belonged to was an existence that Grandwake Clan could only kneel to and worship. He was absolutely certain about this point without a trace of doubt. The same opinions also emerged within the hearts of practically everyone present.
Now, the only concern was if Su Ling’er was suitable for him, since he was completely suitable for his daughter.
Yun Che’s looks were one in ten thousand. His personality, as well as his deep and unfathomable expressions, was something no one could reach up to… These things were all secondary within Su Hengshan’s heart, but the love and protection that he showed to Su Ling’er came from the depths of his soul and bones. The unwavering determination to protect her life that he showed once before made him unable to feel anything but emotional. Although he and Su Ling’er had obviously just met this morning, the sensation that he felt was so incredibly clear that amazed him from the bottom of his heart.
And to a father, was there anything more relieving than entrusting his own daughter to a person who was willing to protect her with his life?
At the same time, Su Ling’er also clearly displayed an unreasonable amount of trust and dependence towards Yun Che.
He was incapable of determining what Yun Che’s morals were like. Today, in a situation where he could have absolutely avoided from the start, he unhesitantly showed his power, and put himself in a dangerous situation. This was also a kindness that he had towards Su Hengshan and the Grandwake Clan, but he felt the reason why Yun Che acted like this was entirely because of Ling’er.
In conclusion, if he could entrust his daughter’s future to this kind of person, he could feel at ease about his daughter’s entire life. If he had to find a blemish, it would be that Yun Che was already married. If his daughter were to marry Yun Che in the future, she could only become a concubine.
The mood of Su Hengshan, who had never thought about the matters concerning Su Ling’er’s marriage before today, became incredibly calm. His face contained a slight smile and he used an ample voice to declare: “Today, I’ll formally declare that my daughter, Su Ling’er will be betrothed to Yun Clan’s son, Yun Che. The girl is still young right now, but when she is sixteen, they will set a date for marriage! Everyone here shall now bare witness!”
Every one of Su Hengshan’s words were resounding. No one was able to hear a strand of falseness or reluctance at all. Once he finished talking, he lightly nodded towards Yun Che with a smile on his face and warmth in his eyes… That was the expression of a daughter’s father who was closely examining his son-in-law. Even the most vicious person there could not see a strand of fake acting.
Yun Che quickly walked forward, knelt on one knee, and sincerely said: “Son-in-law Yun Che, thanks father-in-law for his consent!”
“Yun Che, you must think it through clearly. The girls of our Grandwake Clan will never marry outsiders. If you want to marry my daughter, then you will become a member of my Grandwake Clan!”
Yun Che nodded without the slightest bit of hesitation: “I understand! From today, I, Yun Che will become a disciple of the Grandwake Clan! I will share both the honors and disgrace the Grandwake Clan!”
Yun Che raised his head and looked towards the stunned Su Ling’er. He gently smiled… Ling’er, during those times, I had never given you the tiniest amount of commitment. I owe you way too much. This is a dreamscape, but it is also a beautiful dream. Let me give you everything that I can within this dream.
“Hahahaha, good!” Su Hengshan walked forward and helped Yun Che up. He let him and Su Ling’er stand together, then faced Su Wangji and Su Hengyue and said: “Grand Elder, Yun Che is my son-in-law now and is also a son-in-law of the Grandwake Clan. Naturally, he is now a member of my Grandwake Clan. In terms of age, he is younger than Su Haoyu. In terms of natural talent, hehe, Elder must have surely seen it clearly. Grand Elder had just suggested it, and everyone here heard it clearly. I believe with the Grand Elder’s seniority and prestige, you certainly will not go back on your words. So now, I’ll have full authority regarding the matters regarding the clan’s treasure in the future. I believe that you, elder, will certainly not have any objections.”
Su Wanji’s old face was rigid and extremely ugly all over; he was speechless. His words before were completely for Su Hengyue to get his way. He never could have imagined that in the blink of an eye, it had become the big pit that he was jumping right into.
“Su Hengyue, do you have anything else to say?” Su Hengshan asked with raised eyebrows.
“Hmph!!” Su Hengyue’s gaze was gloomy. His hands, which were pressed against Su Haoyu’s chest, were trembling.
“Hehehehehe!” An unpleasantly cold laughter sounded. Heimu Qingya, who had always been watching by the side, slowly walked forward towards Su Hengshan. Two elders of the Blackwood Stronghold closely followed from behind him. Heimu Qingya didn’t stop until he was less than three steps away from Su Hengshan, then he raised his hand toward Su Hengshan: “I sincerely congratulate Clan Master Su in finding such a wonderful son-in-law. Not only did you solve a lifelong problem for your daughter, you even have completely handled of the matter regarding your clan’s valuable treasure.
“Heimu Qingya, our Grandwake Clan’s valuable treasure concerns the prosperity of my clan. It doesn’t belong to anybody else but our Grandwake Clan. Hmph! If you wish to talk about my Grandwake Clan’s matters again, before the matters regarding you outsiders’ ulterior motives, I still haven’t paid my debts for the matter regarding the fact that you tried to do something to my daughter! I’d like to see just what kind of explanation you’ll give me today.” Su Hengshan said sternly.
“Heh, Clan Master Su does not need to be so angry. I’ll certainly have an explanation for you. However, before that, I have something to remind Clan Master Su.” Heimu Qingya’s eyes were half squinted and a dangerously cold light radiated from between the cracks of his eyes: “The reason you can be so happy go lucky right now is because of this son-in-law of yours that came out of nowhere. As long as you have this son-in-law, the number one disciple of your generation can never be Su Haoyu, but what if he were to suddenly die…”
When Heimu Qingya spoke to here, his figure suddenly flashed and charged like a streak of black lightning towards Yun Che. A fist imbued with violent surges of profound energy grabbed toward Yun Che’s chest.
“Qingya old bastard, you dare!!”
Su Hengshan’s expression transformed into great anger. Just as he was about to take action, the two elders behind Heimu Qingya were already facing him to completely block his attack, to prevent him from hindering Heimu Qingya during this exact moment.
Heimu Qingya possessed strength of the Sky Profound Realm. There were only already only a few people within Grandwake Clan who could contend against him. Additionally, since Heimu Qingya was already closeby before he suddenly took action, Grandwake Clan’s experts of the elder class were all too far away, and were unable to block it in time. All of them could only look on helplessly as Heimu Qingya directly charged at Yun Che’s front.
Heimu Qingya was an extremely despicable and immoral person, but no one could have imagined that he’d be despicable to this degree. Even with the identity of a Hold Master, he actually went as far as to sneak attack a junior in front of everyone’s eyes!
When Heimu Qingya was talking with Su Hengshan, Yun Che had already placed Su Ling’er behind him to protect her and strengthened his awareness at the same time. Perhaps Su Hengshan could not sense it, but he was extremely perceptive to things like killing intent; he had sensed that Heimu Qingya had a desire to kill him with one strike. During Heimu Qingya’s charge, Yun Che’s brows lowered and Burning Heart opened. Along with a loud shout, “Sealing Cloud Locking Sun” instantly activated.
Bang!!
Heimu Qingya’s palms struck against the barrier of “Sealing Cloud Locking Sun” and a stuffy noise sounded. A huge shock wave transmitted from ahead and caught him off guard, causing him to retreat several steps.
But Yun Che and Su Ling’er, who was behind him, were in fact unmoved and completely unharmed. However, “Sealing Cloud Locking Sun” was directly shattered by Heimu Qingya’s single palm.
Heimu Qingya was greatly shocked. He never could have imagined that he would be shocked into retreat by this youngster. He was shocked and angry. Following a low roar, he mobilized all the profound energy in his body and blasted towards Yun Che with his palm again: “Junior… die!!”
Yun Che was not frightened, nor was he in a panic. He quickly grabbed Su Ling’er and prepared to escape with Star God’s Broken Shadow… He only needed to dodge this single strike from Heimu Qingya. By then, the elders and disciples of the Grandwake Clan would catch up, and Heimu Qingya also would never be able to think about harming him and Su Ling’er ever again.
But at this moment, an ice cold beeze suddenly blew past. Within the cold wind were many pieces of floating snowflakes. A long white ribbon followed the wind and snow to lightly meet Heimu Qingya’s fist; it was as light as breeze.
Boom!!!!
The moment this white ribbon that was as light as a feather brushed against Heimu Qingya’s fist, an explosion erupted. It was in fact an earth-shattering power that caused Heimu Qingya to cry out loudly. All five of his fingers were broken and his entire body flew far away. A breeze of cold wind followed behind him and blew away all the Blackwood Stronghold disciples who were currently trying to rush over. Instantly, black figures filled the air, and like the transit of dense locusts, their wretched screams were unceasing.
This sudden turn of events stunned everyone at the scene. Those who were fighting also unanimously stopped… A white figure followed by icy spirits that fluctuated up and down in the sky slowly descended in front of Yun Che.
Chapter 269 - Steamrolled
The appearance of an absolute beauty, would always attract the gazes of an extremely large number of people in a short period of time. However, Xia Qingyue was different. What she attracted were not just mere gazes with her every appearance, she could, even more so, cause the souls of everyone present to leave their bodies at that one moment.
Xia Qingyue gently floated down, and stood next to Yun Che. She wore completely white dress, her snowy complexion was dream-like, and her icy eyes glittered like the stars as a long white ribbon gently fluttered, while encircling around her body. Instantly, everyone had completely lost their voices, every single one of them stared blankly at Xia Qingyue, and their gazes were misty, as though they had suddenly fallen into a dream, and saw the legendary fairy from the moon palace descend onto the mortal realm…
Heimu Qingya continuously took a number of steps back. His right hand was trembling out of extreme pain; all five of his fingers were broken, and they were twisted beyond unsightly. He raised his head and looked towards Xia Qingyue, and after being stunned for a moment, the shock in his heart reached an extreme degree… He was actually struck injured by a girl who looked only about seventeen or eighteen years of age! The density of the profound energy contained in that strike earlier, caused him to tremble in fear. And the icy profound aura being emitted out from Xia Qingyue, had even more so, caused the nerves in his entire body to tense up… Because that was a type of strength that completely suppressed him in terms of level!
Behind him, the hundreds of Blackwood Stronghold disciples who were blown away by the cold wind, fell onto the ground one after another like a bunch of cooked dumplings. However, none of them stood up, as all of them screamed out and grimaced in pain. Because, on all of their bodies, large or small amounts of ice crystals had formed. The parts covered by the ice crystals would freeze up in the short time of a few breaths, and they would even force them to completely lose consciousness, instantly causing them to basically become unable to stand up.
Heimu Qingya’s brows trembled wildly. Raising his left hand, he pointed towards Xia Qingyue. “Who… Who… Who are you!?”
The tremor in Heimu Qingya’s words were evident. After taking Xia Qingyue’s hit earlier, he was once again locked on by her power, he was thus the one who could feel the terrifying amount of strength Xia Qingyue possessed to the greatest extent. At such an age, coupled with such profound strength, it was enough to cause the Blackwood Stronghold Master’s spiritual world to be turned upside down out of shock.
Xia Qingyue looked at Heimu Qingya with cold eyes, and did not say a single word. Yun Che’s eyes shone brightly, carrying Su Ling’er, with a whoosh, he went to her side. “Qingyue my wife, you’re finally here. If you had not come over, you would have been a widow for the rest of your life!”
Yun Che said, and even put out a frightened look. Xia Qingyue’s eyes slightly moved, as she felt completely helpless. Others were not clear of Yun Che’s strength, however, she knew of it clearly enough… With his Star God’s Broken Shadow, even if it was Heimu Qingya whose strength had reached the Sky Profound Realm, he should not even think of touching his figure that easily.
When Yun Che uttered the words “Qingyue my wife”, one after another, those male disciples who were slightly obsessed with her, felt as though a dagger had stabbed into their chests as they cast gazes of extreme jealousy and envy at Yun Che… All of their attention were firmly attracted by Xia Qingyue’s fairy-like appearance, and did not have time to comprehend just how terrifying of a strength she possessed. And probably, the first instance they saw Xia Qingyue, subconsciously, they would never connect her with the two words “strong expert”. Because, with a beauty of such degree, with just a smile, she was capable of dominating the world, there’s simply no need for her to possess such great strength.
“Beautiful big sister, you’re awake… That’s great… My name is Ling’er.” Being carried so tightly by Yun Che’s chest in front of so many people, Su Ling’er seemed to be a little embarrassed. Her little face was flushed red, and she greeted Xia Qingyue with a very soft voice.
Xia Qingyue turned her gaze to the side, and gently nodded towards Su Ling’er. Her lips slightly moved, however, she was unable to smile… Perhaps, she had already forgotten how to smile. At least, Yun Che had never seen her smile before.
To those elders who had great strength, what they were amazed by were not just Xia Qingyue’s looks. When she pushed Heimu Qingya back with only a single strike earlier, it caused none of their expressions to not change in agitation, and their entire faces were filled with shock and disbelief… However, immediately after, they quickly consoled themselves. A little lady who was just seventeen or eighteen years old, no matter how monstrous she was, it was basically impossible for her to push back an expert at the Sky Profound Realm. It must have definitely been luck, or, Heimu Qingya must have simply used only a very small portion of his strength in that strike of his…
Although they auto-suggested this to themselves, when Heimu Qingya moved earlier, their senses, however, clearly told them that not only did he not hold back with that strike, rather, he had used a hundred percent of his strength!
Su Hengshan stepped forward. When facing Xia Qingyue, his demeanor actually had a small amount of respect. “This miss, I’m Su Hengshan. Earlier, miss was injured and was in a coma, it seems like you’re completely fine now, nothing is really better than this. Thank you for lending out a hand earlier, to save… my little girl.”
Yun Che nodded. “Mn, Qingyue my wife, this is my father-in-law whom I have just admitted to. This time, it’s all thanks to father-in-law for taking us in, only then did we have a place to settle in.”
As he called her “Qingyue my wife”, he introduced her to his “father-in-law”. This scene caused a large number of people to stare with their tongues tied. However, unfortunately, this astonishingly beautiful girl did not even have a hint of jealousy and discomfort on her face. She turned around, and gently bowed towards Su Hengshan. “This junior, Xia Qingyue, thanks Clan Master Su for the hospitality.”
“It’s nothing much, you’re too courteous.” Su Hengshan hurriedly waved his hand to reply. Although he was already middle-aged, when facing Xia Qingyue, his eyes still did not dare to make contact with hers. He silently sighed in his head. Then, as he turned his gaze towards Heimu Qingya, anger instantly spread throughout his face. “Heimu Qingya! You little man! I have long known of your despicable name, however, I never expected that you could actually be despicable and shameless to this extent! Our Grandwake Clan’ fame being on par with your Blackwood Stronghold in these recent years, is basically a huge humiliation!”
Su Hengshan then switched his gaze again, looked towards Su Wangji, and said. “Grand Elder, the incident earlier, you have seen it clearly yourself as well. Su Hengyue had associated with such a person. Not only is he suspected for betraying our clan, he’s even more so a mockery to all of us! And you, as our Grand Elder, actually stands on his side. Even though I am Clan Master, I am also your junior. I have endured time and time again. Even when Su Hengyue had censured me time and time again, I have never retaliated! However, today… back then, when Blackwood Stronghold held the intention to abduct Ling’er, I can still tell myself that you people do not have any idea of this matter. However, just now, when Heimu Qingya suddenly moved to attack my son-in-law, not only did you guys not stop him, you people still looked calm and behaved leisurely… Grand Elder, Su Hengyue, although I really did not wish to see an internal conflict within our Clan, and have people with ill intentions to make a joke out of us, I am not a fangless tiger either! In the current Grandwake Clan, ultimately, I still call the final shots!”
“Enough!” Su Wangji’s expression was extremely ugly. He glanced at Heimu Qingya whose right hand was still trembling, and Su Haoyu who had fallen on the ground due to heavy injuries. He then patted on the armrest and stood up. “The incident today shall end here… Hengyue, bring Haoyu away!”
Su Hengyue’s expression twitched. He glared maliciously at Su Hengshan and Yun Che, had the disciples behind him carry Su Haoyu who was out cold, and without saying a single word, he began to leave hatefully. Su Hengshan’s words were right, ultimately and currently, he still made the final calls in Grandwake Clan. The reason why he dared to come here so aggressively today, was due to his largest reliance on Su Haoyu’s incomparable talent. On this point alone, he had gained the support of a large amount of people in the clan. Added with Blackwood Stronghold’s strength, it was enough to give Su Hengshan a huge amount of pressure. However, he never expected that, while this was going on, a random Yun Che would actually charge right in!
Su Hengshan’s eyebrows twitched. He stretched out his right arm, however, after stretching it out halfway, he retracted it again. While containing his boiling anger, he allowed them to make preparations to leave. And at this moment, a cold snort suddenly resounded.
“Wait a minute!!”
Yun Che took a step forward, and coldly stared at Heimu Qingya who had a stiffened expression. “This place is not my territory, so it’s not really suitable for me to say words like ‘you guys think you can come and go as you please’, however… Blackwood Stronghold Master, the fact that you tried to kill me earlier, could it be that you’re thinking it will end just like this?”
Heimu Qingya’s eyes narrowed, and began to laughed coldly. “What? You’re still thinking of keeping me here?”
At the moment, although Heimu Qingya was laughing coldly from his lips, his body did not feel the least bit comfortable. His back was even covered entirely in cold sweat since earlier. His five fingers on his right hand were not just simply broken, he could feel wisps of extremely ice-cold energy flowing in his entire right hand. These wisps of cold energy were like ice daggers; for every second they flowed, it was as though a dozen daggers gouged in and out of his hand, causing him to feel a heart-piercing pain. However, even when he used all of his strength, he was still unable to force out a single strand of these wisps of cold energy.
He was the one who wished to immediately leave the most, because, facing Xia Qingyue, a deep fear had already grown in his heart.
“Keep you here? Hahahaha, you’re thinking too highly of yourself. Just by your ugly and sinister face, despicable and shameless soul, I would even fear that it’s too dirty to keep you here as food for the houseflies. I simply wish to have you pay the proper debt you owed me earlier!” Yun Che turned his head, and sternly said. “Of course, this is just a personal grudge between Heimu Qingya and I, and it has completely nothing to do with the Grandwake Clan…”
After saying till here, Yun Che suddenly raised out his hand, pointed it at Heimu Qingya, and said with a furious expression. “Qingyue my wife! It’s him! Earlier, he actually moved to kill me! This hatred for his attempt to kill your husband, even if I’m able to endure it, you can’t endure it, right!?”
Xia Qingyue’s eyelashes slightly raised, her pair of cold eyes had already locked onto Heimu Qingya. Before Heimu Qingya could speak up, the Ice Phoenix Snowflower Ribbon on her body suddenly swung out at lightning-speed, and directly brushed against Heimu Qingya’s chest.
Heimu Qingya’s pair of eyes sank, and growled. “Arrogant junior! You think I’m afraid of you!?”
Heimu Qingya’s palm moved. With a black iron spear grabbed in hand, his spear spun out a gigantic black vortex in the midst of his growl, taking on the seemingly powerless Ice Phoenix Snowflower Ribbon.
This was a might coming from a Sky Profound expert, and those nearby, who were slightly near to him, all suffered a shortness of breath due to the pressure, and some were even suffocating.
Ssssss!!
The moment the Ice Phoenix Snowflower Ribbon made contact with the black metal spear, an ear-piercing tearing sound rang. That vortex which carried a gigantic amount of energy was like a piece of tissue being torn apart, a blooming ice lotus suddenly smashed away the spear while heading straight towards Heimu Qingya.
Heimu Qingya’s expression paled greatly from shock, and hurriedly retreated. The surrounding people looked even more dumbfounded… Heimu Qingya’s strike earlier, he had completely used his full strength, however, this girl actually… blasted it away with a single blow!
“I shall aid you!!”
Seeing that the situation was getting bad, Su Hengyue quickly bent his body, and pierced his sword towards the Ice Phoenix Snowflower Ribbon… The two powers who were among the top ten Sky Profound experts in the river, were actually working together to fight against a teenage girl who was only seventeen years old. Everyone had never seen, nor heard of such a scene before, and it could only be depicted as inconceivable.
Yet, Xia Qingyue’s expression did not moved a single bit, and only her hand movements had slightly changed.
Instantly, The spiraling ice lotus split in two, and smashed towards Heimu Qingya and Su Hengyue respectively…
Ping!!
Su Hengye’s block was not of the slightest use. The moment his longsword made contact with the ice lotus, even his arm was sealed in ice as well. Of the two ice lotuses, one of them pressed onto Heimu Qingya’s chest, while the other pressed onto Su Hengyue’s chest, and then, they exploded at the same time.
The two of them screamed at the same time and flew in opposite directions, smashing into seven or eight Blackwood Stronghold disciples, and caused them to faint on the spot.
Their bodies were completely stabbed with shattered ice flower that caused countless piercing wounds. Half of their bodies were sealed in ice, and they were basically unable to move for a brief moment. As they laid on the ground, their expressions were completely lifeless. They were basically unwilling to believe everything that had happened… Not just them, Su Hengshan, Su Wangji… and even Yun Che, were staring with dumbfounded expressions.
Two experts at the Sky Profound early stages, the pinnacle of strength in the entire river east, were actually, by a teenage girl… defeated terribly with a single move!!
With just a single move!!
When Xia Qingyue pushed Heimu Qingya earlier, Yun Che had already determined that after she finished refining the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet, her strength had definitely surpassed Heimu Qingya’s! Not only could she have entered the Sky Profound Realm, she might have leapt into the mid-stages of the Sky Profound Realm…
However, he definitely had never expected that, when facing the combined attack of two experts at the Sky Profound Realm, Heimu Qingya and Su Hengyue, she actually simply used a single move to defeat them!
Even if it was someone at the mid-stages of the Sky Profound Realm, it would basically be impossible to do something like this!
Could it be, the current Xia Qingyue, was already… at the late-stages of the Sky Profound Realm?
“Jasmine, what’s the level of Xia Qingyue’s current profound strength?” Yun Che asked with a slight tremble.
“…As expected of the Sky Poison Pearl, ranked fifth among the Heavenly Profound Treasures, such perfect refinement to an extreme degree. In all of the large thousands of worlds, only the Sky Poison Pearl is capable of doing this.” Even Jasmine’s voice carried a hint of shock. “Her current profound strength, has already stepped over the Sky Profound, and is ranked in the Realm of the Emperor Profound! She has even surpassed Chu Yuechan, and has reached the second level of the Emperor Profound Realm!”
“Currently, these two at the second level of the Sky Profound Realm are no different from infants who have just learnt how to walk in front of her! If she had not held back, these two people would have already become ice particles!”
Yun Che: “……”
Yun Che: “……”
Yun Che: “What… did you…………… say!?!?”
Chapter 270 - Borrowing Power to Induce Fear
According to Jasmine’s earlier words, the usage of the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus allowed an expert of the Earth Profound Realm to directly leap into the Sky Profound Realm. However, the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus that Xia Qingyue consumed was refined by the Sky Poison Pearl; its effectiveness must be several times more powerful than the legends stated. Yun Che thought about the possibility that she might directly leap into the mid stage of the Sky Profound Realm… and perhaps even the mid to late stage…
He absolutely did not imagine that she could crossed two whole realms from the Earth Profound Realm into the realm whose very name caused people to tremble, the Emperor Profound Realm! She became an identity that countless people looked up to, a Throne!
A female Throne who was only seventeen years old!
“This… is… too… ridiculous… right!” Yun Che groaned to himself.
What kind of concept was the Emperor Profound Realm? In the entire Blue Wind Empire, the number of Thrones combined did not exceed ten people, but these ten were existences who were at the peak, peak realm within the Blue Wind Empire. Every one of them had a reputation that far exceeded the Blue Wind Emperor. And among these Thrones, the youngest was originally Heavenly Sword Villa’s Ling Yuefeng; then, due to some coincidence, the one who originally had at least ten more years until breaking through, Chu Yuechan, directly broke through because Yun Che gave his Dragon Yang to her, thus replacing Ling Yuefeng as the youngest Throne.
But Xia Qingyue was only seventeen and a half!!
This was far beyond an exaggeration, it might as well be a fantastical story! In the Blue Wind Empire, this was completely completely unprecedented… perhaps even impossible.
And in the east river region of Supwake Country, a Throne… was god! A god that could crush everything! Although the east river region of the Supwake Country didn’t have the highest levels of profound realms, it absolutely wasn’t low either; however, there had been three hundred years before the appearance of the previous Throne. In history, the one that appeared before was over seventy years old.
“The power it takes to go from the Sky Profound Realm to the Emperor Profound Realm requires ten times the amount that it would take to go from the Earth Profound Realm to the Sky Profound Realm. Her astonishing breakthrough, is perhaps related to her Nine Profound Exquisite Body.” Jasmine thought out loud, but this wasn’t heard by Yun Che.
The experts on the side of the Blackwood Stronghold and Su Hengyue, including Su Wangji, originally wanted to take action, but after seeing Heimu Qingya and Su Hengyue get defeated instantaneously, it was same as if their heads had been smashed. Their eyes stared wide open and they severely trembled all over. That look of exaggeration was like they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
Su Hengshan’s mouth gaped open, he was also shocked until his brain became stupid. After a long while, he lightly muttered to Yun Che: “Little brother Yun, may I ask about this lady’s… current cultivation level?”
“Oh!” Yun Che raised his eyebrows. Using a loud enough voice, he answered with incomparable casualness: “My wife’s talents are so-so. She’s already seventeen this year, but she had only drifted into the second level of the Emperor Profound Realm. Even saying this might make everyone mock us.”
“Wu… Wu… WUT!”
Yun Che’s words were like a thunderclap that exploded beside everyone’s ears and made them shudder all over. A terrified expression was birthed within their gazes that glanced at Xia Qingyue. Su Wanji was shocked so much that his butt fell back down to his chair.
Normally, if one said that a seventeen year old girl had the cultivation level of the Emperor Profound Realm, everyone would treat them like a lunatic. However just then, they clearly saw the simultaneous defeat of two strong experts at the Sky Profound Realm by her hands, with their own eyes… This was a strength that was only possible within late stages of the Sky Profound Realm!
This girl perhaps was a genuine seventeen year old Throne!
The atmosphere at the scene changed quickly. Everyone’s attention focused on Xia Qingyue. The shock that she brought shrouded everything else. All kinds of grudges that happened earlier in the face of this huge shock were practically negligible.
Seeing the reaction of the people in the surrounding, Yun Che’s heart began to lament… This was the benefit of absolute power. When there was absolute crushing power, there was absolute crushing control. People will fear, dread, respect, worship and serve… No one would dare to bully, shout, persecute, nor assassinate…
To genuinely achieve self-protection and protected the people by your side, possessing absolute power is the only solution. Everything else was bravado.
This was something that Yun Che always strived for with all his might.
If he didn’t use that Emperor Awakening Heart Pill on Xia Qingyue and used it on himself instead, then the power he possessed today might have been… at the Emperor Profound Realm. At the time, when he was originally at the Elementary Profound Realm, the strenuous effort, cultivation, and breakthrough time made this realm an absolute fairytale, he didn’t even think about this realm back then. Today, before two years had even passed, he was already standing beside an actual Throne, and at the same time, had a brief encounter with that kind of power.
Looking at Xia Qingyue at his side, Yun Che’s heart moved slightly, but he didn’t have a speck of regret, and didn’t think the least about what he might have gained and lost. The fact that Xia Qingyue was his wife was completely enough.
Looking at Heimu Qingya was being helped up by his two guards, Yun Che’s gaze sank, and he callously laughed: “Heimu Qingya, the debt of capturing my fiancee, Su Ling’er, and trying to kill me, have you thought well about how you would pay me and my father-in-law?”
Heimu Qingya breathed in a large breath of air. The cold energy circulating within his body made him wish that he was dead. He gritted his teeth and replied angrily: “Payment? Heh… if you have the guts, just kill me!”
“Kill you? You think I wouldn’t dare?” Yun Che’s face immediately clouded: “My father-in-law is a venerable Clan Master, he must consider everything from a greater perspective. Even if you took action against Su Ling’er, he will probably be apprehensive toward your matter. However, I’m different… you’re just a teeny weeny Blackwood Stronghold Master. Killing you is no different that killing a dog! Qingyue my wife, kill him!”
These words of Yun Che ruthlessly reminded everyone, and made them simultaneously think: To be able to foster such a power at such a young age, there must be some terrifying power backing them up! The sects they came from, the levels they were at, were so high up that they didn’t even have the qualifications to look up to them.
Then for their level, perhaps killing a Blackwood Stronghold Master really was no different than killing a dog!
The awakened Xia Qingyue was especially obedient towards Yun Che. When Yun Che spoke those words, cold energy rushed forth from her body and a delicate lotus bloomed in the middle of her palm. Then, with a dance of her fingers, it suddenly flew towards Heimu Qingya.
Followed by a bone chilling killing intent, a stream of cold energy assaulted his face. This strike caused Heimu Qingya’s soul to leave him. Those words that he said earlier were just spiteful words that he said without thinking. After he finished, he realized that he wasn’t facing the Grandwake Clan at all, but a Throne that didn’t belong to the Grandwake Clan at all! If a Throne wanted to kill him, what did they have to fear!
The chilling light of the dancing ice lotus looked incredibly gorgeous, but as it approached, all the hairs on his body stood up. He didn’t have the slightest doubt that if he touched that ice lotus, he would undoubtedly die with no chance for flukes.
Under the threat of death, Heimu Qingya shouted out weirdly. Under his serious condition, he used more power than ever before to escape backwards at an incredible speed as if a grasshopper, to dodge the ice lotus that came from Xia Qingyue; however, he landed on the ground like a dead dog, and wasn’t able to stand up even after a long while… As the Hold Master of the Blackwood Stronghold, he was an expert of the Sky Profound Realm. Perhaps he never thought about the possibility that one day he might be in such a miserable state.
Xia Qingyue’s brows moved slightly. As she turned her snow white hands over, another ice lotus blossomed from her palm. That ice lotus from earlier clearly told everyone that for even the Blackwood Stronghold Master, who ruled the river east, she could kill them as long as she wanted to without the slightest bit of doubt. When the second ice lotus blossomed, all the faces of those who belonged to the Blackwood Stronghold had a huge change. Su Wangji ferociously stood up and roared with his old voice: “Stop! Don’t do things that are so absolute, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?” Yun Che raised his eyebrows and stared at him while coldly saying: “When he wanted to kill me, you watched from the sides. When we want to kill him, you come out grumbling? Ah, my father-in-law and my fiancee, Su Ling’er, are all people of the Grandwake Clan. Looking at their faces, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear you earlier. If you dare to speak another word, I’ll have my wife kill you immediately! Do you want to try it!”
Su Wangji’s eyes stared wide open and his body trembled all over. A stutter came out of his throat, but in the face of Yun Che’s cold and harsh gaze, he nevertheless, forcefully swallowed the word “you” which almost came out of his mouth. Then, he heavily sat back down on his chair and did not dare to speak anymore. A fear of death was instinctual, as Grand Elder, he usually rode roughshod over people and indulged in his aloof position. He never experienced an actual death threat; this was an absolute and genuine first time. Facing such a threat of death, that so called backbone and courage, all became the coldest fear. He shuddered all over and didn’t dare to speak another half a word.
Honestly speaking, Su Hengshan could be said to be extremely relaxed and pleasurable right now. Heimu Qingya was his mortal enemy, and he could never do anything about him. As the Grand Elder, Su Wangji never paid any attention to him. Even if he was angry, the only thing he could do was endure. Right now, looking at Heimu Qingya and Su Wangji, who had kept quiet out of fear, he had an incredible pleasure in his heart. However, with his nature, he naturally didn’t want to see things go to such an extreme. He came up and patted Yun Che’s shoulders, shaking his head to say: “Little brother Yun, let it go. Even though Heimu Qingya is despicable, he still has an outstanding reputation in the river east. If he’s killed just like this within the Grandwake Clan, it would eventually be somewhat troublesome. He has suffered a severe injury now, and it looks like he has no chance of recovering even within half a year. Let him pay a price, and then let him go.”
Yun Che didn’t feel that it was unusual at all for Su Hengshan to say something like this. He bitterly smiled and said: “Father-in-law, Su Ling’er and I announced our betrothal in front of everyone. Why are you still calling me ‘Little Brother Yun’, it’s too undeserving… If you don’t like calling me son-in-law, Father-in-law can call me Yun Che directly, or ‘Che’er’.”
Su Hengshan stared blankly. Looking at Yun Che’s appearance, he obviously put today’s ‘betrothal’ completely and genuinely into his heart. He began to laugh: “Look at me, with only the betrothal on my mind, I actually forgot to change the way I address you… Che’er, my words earlier, what do you feel about them.”
Yun Che smiled and said: “Since Father-in-law has spoken, Che’er will naturally comply. Only, what kind of price does Father-in-law want him to pay?”
Heimu Qingya’s mind had already been stretched to the limit and cold sweat dripped down from his forehead. Hearing their conversation, his mind shook. He rapidly took out a spatial ring and threw it to Su Hengshan without saying a word in the process… In order to live, he had no choice to soften up, and hand over the ‘price’ in front of everyone. Under this disgrace, his chest wanted to break apart, but he still couldn’t say anything.
Su Hengshan took the spatial ring and swept it with his profound strength. There were three whole stacks of Purple Cloud Profound Iron in there. With the rarity of the Purple Cloud Profound Iron, this was practically an entire year’s worth of Blackwood Stronghold’s harvest. He nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand toward Heimu Qingya: “Since Blackwood Stronghold Master is so gracious, then this Su won’t be impolite either… Have a nice trip, I won’t be sending you off!”
Heimu Qingya’s chest violently heaved up and down. Then, his eyes flipped, and he immediately fainted. His two guards promptly helped him up and looked at Xia Qingyue with terrified gazes and didn’t dare to stay any longer. The disciples of Blackwood Stronghold who accompanied them all followed behind and left dejectedly.
Yun Che secretly let out a sigh a relief in his heart. Then, he looked at Xia Qingyue with grateful eyes.
At the time when he met Su Ling’er, her entire world was filled with melancholy and murk… and combined with Su Ling’er’s status, one could imagined that she, at the time, must have encountered a huge change within her family and all kinds of desperation.
Yun Che never knew from start to finish just what kind of disaster her family encountered. However, looking at the busy, unrestrained and carefree Su Ling’er today, he never wanted her to repeat the life he had in the past. As a result, he borrowed Xia Qingyue’s absolute strength today and used his tyrannical words and actions to help the Grandwake Clan establish a terrifying might, creating the facade of a might supporter for all those who held malicious intent towards the Grandwake Clan… Although counting on a short-term facade in hopes that the Grandwake Clan would not fall into its previous fate was bit too naive, this was the only thing that Yun Che could do…
Even though… this was only a dream world… After twenty four hours, everything would turn into nothing… but he did all that he could for Ling’er only because of his love for Su Ling’er, and the shame in the depths of his heart.
Chapter 271 - The Bamboo Forest Phantasmagoria
A clan dispute that had exploded after being pent up for a long time finally reached a conclusion that no one could have expected. Yun Che didn’t actually know how Su Hengshan was going to treat the Su Hengyue and his son, as well as the elders and disciples that always supported him. He didn’t really care about it. When Blackwood Stronghold left, he took Su Ling’er and left.
During this matter, Yun Che had roughly gained an understanding of Su Hengshan’s nature. Evidently, this was an upright, honest, modest person, and he put a great deal of affection in his heart, but this wasn’t such a good clan leader… because he wasn’t fierce and determined enough with the way he did things. Otherwise, a person, such as an elder, wouldn’t go rampant like that. Although it reached this step and Su Hengyue had already betrayed the clan, Yun Che could imagine the way he’ll treat this matter still wouldn’t be very decisive. Afterall, Su Hengyue was his elder brother. Also, it wasn’t just him, there were many elder characters who supported him.
From the matters today, Yun Che was able to see the potential crisis that Grandwake Clan was in.
“Big brother Yun Che, you and Papa said that I’m already a… fiancee, what’s a fiancee?” Su Ling’er grasped Yun Che’s hands with a confused gaze and asked. She had a faint idea of what the word fiancee meant, but she wanted to hear the answer from Yun Che’s mouth.
Yun Che smiled and said: “It means that when Su Ling’er grows up, you will marry me and become my wife… like your beautiful big sister.”
Xia Qingyue slanted her eyes at him with a peculiar expression.
“Wi… fe… What does that mean?” Su Ling’er mouth was slightly agape, this form of address made her even more puzzled.
“This means that only I can call you Ling’er. After Ling’er becomes my wife, we’ll be together forever to accompany each other, take care of each other, and make each other happy and do all the things that make us happy together.” Yun Che lightly said. These words were really simple to say, but Su Ling’er at that time, until she disappeared and withered, wasn’t able to hear it from his mouth.
Su Ling’er’s footsteps immediately became a lot slower, as if Yun Che’s words made her stupid.
Yun Che lowered his head and carefully asked: “Ling’er, then when you grow up, do you want to become my wife?”
Su Ling’er raised her snowy tender cheeks, then nodded with all her might. She laughed sweetily: “Mnn! I like being with big brother Yun Che!”
Yun Che held Su Ling’er’s little hand even tighter. His heart was filled with warmth… mixed together with the pain.
Finally, Xia Qingyue could no longer remain silent. She slanted her gaze towards the tender little Su Ling’er, instantly guessed her age, and furrowed her brows and asked him: “Are you serious?”
Yun Che knew what Xia Qingyue was thinking. Anyone who saw him actually be so serious and determined for a ten year old girl to become his wife would only have one word in their heart: “beast”. He stuck up the corner of her mouth and helplessly said: “I’m actually serious… But, I have my own reason. Besides…” Yun Che’s expression was slightly painful: “This is only a dream, isn’t it? Since it’s only a dream, then let it… become as as beautiful as a fantasy.”
“…” Xia Qingyue had absolutely no idea what he meant, but looking at the sincerity and melancholy in his eyes, she turned her cheeks around and didn’t ask again.
“Qingyue my wife, today you…” Yun Che very carefully asked: “Why are you that… Umm… obedient.”
Xia Qingyue lowered her eyes and lightly said: “The strength that I have now should have originally belonged to you. If you wanted to use it, I wouldn’t have refused.”
Yun Che stared blankly, pinched his nose a bit, and didn’t continue with this topic: “From the Earth Profound Realm all the to the Emperor Profound Realm, this progress is too frightening. However, if the progress is too great, then there might be realm instability issues. Qingyue, it’d be good if I’ll accompany you back to the Dragon Perching Pavilion to harmonize your aura for a bit to avoid any backlash that might be left behind.”
Xia Qingyue nodded: “It’s enough if I return myself. You can play with Ling’er.”
Yun Che did not keep insisting. After warning her to be on guard, he brought Su Ling’er and left. After all, he promised Ling’er that after Xia Qingyue woke up, he’ll keep on playing with her.
After Yun Che walked far away, Xia Qingyue turned around to look at Yun Che’s figure from behind. Her mood was blank as she absent-mindedly soliloquized: “Is it because… we’re husband and wife… ?…”
………………………………
“Ling’er, where do you want to go and play?”
“Hehe… when I’m together with big brother Yun Che, my mood will turn especially good. It’ll be fine to go anywhere and play… Oh… let me think! That’s right, let’s go to the bamboo forest in the back, and play, okay?”
“Bamboo… Forest?” These two words touched upon some of Yun Che’s nerves.
“Mnn! At the foot of the mountain, there’s a big big bamboo forest. I like the wind in there the most. Only, Papa said that many dangerous profound beasts might appear there, and he never lets me go there by myself. Papa is always so busy too, so he rarely brings me there to play.”
“Bamboo forest… bamboo forest… okay, then let’s go to the bamboo forest and play.”
South of the Grandwake Clan, was a huge area covered with a bamboo forest that extended all the way to the foot of the mountain in the distance; dense emerald green color flooded that entire area. Along with the rustling of bamboo leaves, dense bamboo branches and the waves of unceasingly refreshing wind that brushed by, made people incredibly relaxed and carefree.
“Wow! So relaxing!” Standing in the middle of the bamboo forest, Su Ling’er closed her eyes and extended both her arms, and raised her little nose to sniff the refreshing air from the bamboo forest with all her might.
The bamboo forest in front of them wasn’t as dense as the one where Yun Che and Su Ling’er lived before, but after seeing that same emerald green, the same delightful refreshment, and feeling the brush of the oncoming wind, it felt like his spirit was being lightly rinsed. Looking at the bamboo forest, then looking at Su Ling’er, Yun Che became silly for a moment… At the time, that beautiful bamboo forest and that beautiful Ling’er, that beautiful world with two people, why was the only thing he saw hatred…
Su Ling’er was always that melancholic, she always told him to let go of his hatred… Perhaps, at that time, she had already let go of her past and only wanted to stay together with him. The melancholy she had later, wasn’t from her past at all, but had probably came from him instead…
“Big brother Yun Che, it’s really beautiful here right?” Su Ling’er smiled and said: “This is my favoritest place ever. Every time I come here, it feels like I’ve become a fairy, and I’ll forget all the unhappy things. I like everything here… I often think, if I grew up in the future, I’ll certainly place my family within a bamboo forest… Oh! Just thinking about it makes me so happy.”
Yun Che’s heart violently shook.
No wonder… no wonder when master died, she dragged his unconscious and heavily injured self for several days, and stopped within a patch of bamboo forest. At that time, he only believed that Su Ling’er felt it was safe and concealed… As it turns out, she was sincerely fond of bamboo forests and had a dream about bamboo forests since young.
In the bamboo forest, her heart could calm down, she could imagine herself as a fairy… and only within a bamboo forest, could she overcome her loneliness, worries, fears, depression and problems… Day after day, year after year, when forever waiting for his return.
Yun Che clenched both his fists tightly, and his heart sored like a pincushion. Shame filled his soul like a tide. He realized more and more that he wasn’t worth of Ling’er, that he wasn’t able to make it up to her even after ten lifetimes…
“Ling’er, let’s build a home here okay?” Yun Che lightly asked.
“Huh? Build a home… here?” Su Ling’er was full of astonishment.
“Mn!” Yun Che smiled and nodded: “Didn’t Ling’er always dream of living in a bamboo forest? Then let’s build a little bamboo house in the midst of these bamboos. This way, Su Ling’er can live here as long as she wants to.”
“Bamboo… house?” After Su Ling’er was startled for a while, her starry eyes immediately became incredibly bright: “Can we… really? But if the bamboo here gets hurt, isn’t that a bit too unfortunate…”
“Haha!” Yun Che began to laugh. He lightly comforted Ling’er’s cheeks and lovingly said: “There are so many bamboos here, and there are only a few that can be part of a little house. If these bamboos knew that they could be made into a house for an adorable Ling’er, then they would definitely be very happy.”
“Mn!!” Su Ling’er let her inner worries go and yelled with incomparable happiness.
Yun Che pointed his fingers out and directed his profound strength like a knife. With a sweep of his finger, over ten bamboos were neatly severed. Not long after, a huge pile of bamboo stalks that were thick enough stacked up by their sides, and a large enough open space was cleared up in this dense bamboo forest.
With Yun Che’s profound strength, this engineering feat wasn’t too difficult, but it wasn’t relaxing either. However, with Su Ling’er excitedly cheering him on by his side as he wiped his sweat from time to time, even though sweat rolled down his back, he didn’t feel the least bit exhausted.
The sky gradually dimmed and a simple little bamboo house finally took shape. This little bamboo house was much smaller and cruder than the one Su Ling’er and him lived in. It wasn’t even enough to shield them from the wind and rain, but this delicacy certainly had a clean and refreshing feeling. Also, this wasn’t just a small bamboo house, there was a little bed and a little chair inside as well.
After the bamboo house took shape, Yun Che’s ears were filled with Su Ling’er’s excited cheers. She excitedly ran around the little bamboo house. Her free spirited and beautiful voice reached his ears from very far away… She was actually like a carefree fairy.
“Big brother Yun Che, let’s just live in here today, okay? This was my dream before… also, with big brother Yun Che keeping me company, I won’t be afraid at all.”
“Mnn, okay!”
In the middle of the bamboo forest, they played from the afternoon all the way until the moon hung in the night sky. The laughter that came from Ling’er today was more than what Yun Che had heard from her during those times. This afternoon, the cheers and laughs that came from Ling’er became his entire world. Today, he belonged only to Ling’er.
The bright moon hung high up in the sky, and Ling’er, who ran around all afternoon, was finally tired. She and Yun Che slept shoulder to shoulder on the bamboo bed they built together… The bamboo house was very simple and very stiff… moving just a little would cause it to creek all over. However, laying on top on it, breathing in the fresh air, sniffing the odor of the emerald green bamboo, and feeling the breeze that slipped through the cracks from time to time, the two were were incredibly content. Of course, the thing that was even more important was that they were by each other’s sides.
“Big brother Yun Che, I really want to… be together with you forever… Oh… If I say it like that, would it make big brother Yun Che feel weird… Obviously, we’ve only just met today, but I liked big brother Yun Che from the first moment I saw you… Am I a really strange girl?”
The little bed was incredibly narrow. Su Ling’er lightly leaned against Yun Che’s body and asked in a little voice.
“No.” Yun Che began to smile: “Because it’s the same when I saw Ling’er. During an entire lifetime, it’s very difficult for a person to inexplicably like someone during the first time they see each other. If two people felt the same way about each other, then, perhaps they are destined by the heavens to be together, or perhaps… have lingering affection from a previous life.”
Chapter 272 - The Dream-Waking Hour
Ling’er turned around, and rested her head on Yun Che’s arm. Her eyes were hazily looking at the moonlight shining down between the gaps of the bamboo trees. A long time later, she gently said. “If I can sleep in a bamboo forest, while under the moonlight, it will definitely be a very beautiful, beautiful thing.”
Yun Che gazed upwards, and gave a gentle and natural smile. Pushing out his palm, with a “bang” sound, the bamboo ceiling above revealed a large enough hole. A full moon, completely appeared within Ling’er’s line of sight. A huge amount of moonlight took the opportunity to pour down as well, lighting up every corner of the bamboo house.
“Wa!” Su Ling’er let out a tender cry. Looking at the full moon in the sky, and feeling the atmosphere coming from the man beside her, this was the first time she ever experienced the sort of feeling where even her heart was intoxicated.
“Big brother Yun Che, can I really become your wife, like beautiful big sister, and be with you together forever?” Su Ling’er asked sillily. The current her, still did not really understand the relationship between a man and a woman. However, she really purely, really strongly, liked and wished to be together with him.
Yun Che held onto her small hand, and gently said. “Of course! Your papa, had already betrothed you to me in front of so many people. When the day I return comes, and Ling’er is grown up, we can then marry, and then, be together forever…”
Su Ling’er first laughed lightly, and then, reacted over something, as she instantly grabbed onto Yun Che’s arm. “When you… return? Big brother Yun Che, you’re… you’re going to leave?”
This was an illusory realm created by the Evil God’s soul. Things like illusory realms, Yun Che was not foreign to them. Within the Phoenix’s trials and the Dragon God’s trials, the places that he had been to, were all illusory realms. The people that appeared in illusory realms, would not know they were actually illusions either. However, illusory realms were, after all, illusory realms. He could only only stay here for twenty four hours, and after he leaves, everything here, would all disappear as well.
Sensing the panic in Su Ling’er’s voice, his heart stifled, and said. “Ling’er, I’m not someone that belongs to this place. My home is in a place that’s very far, far away. Even though I don’t wish to leave, I still have to return, and I must leave, by tomorrow… But, Ling’er, don’t worry, when you’re grown up, I will definitely return… I will return to marry you, and then, bring you away, and stay together with you… alright?”
These were all lies that could not be fulfilled. Because, after the end of twenty four hours, every single thing here would disappear. No matter was it Su Ling’er of the past, or the current Su Ling’er, both of them could never appear again in his world. However, this promise of his, actually came from his soul, and did not have any hint of falsehood. If Su Ling’er was still alive in this world, then, no matter how heavy the price, he would definitely fulfill it, and never would he allow her to painfully wait for him again.
The night instantly became very quiet. The moonlight no longer shone, and even the intoxicating night wind had seemingly disappeared without a trace. When the information of Yun Che leaving tomorrow, and was even for a long period of time, entered Su Ling’er’s mind, she realized everything she was currently feeling revelled about, had quietly turned into reluctance and sadness… She and her father had come to this bamboo forest many times, and every single time, she would always be happy. However, she definitely had not felt as blessed as tonight. What she liked the most was not the bamboo forest, but the person who was currently accompanying her in watching the bamboo forest together…
Su Ling’er threw herself onto Yun Che’s body. She did not cry, she simply closed her eyes tightly, and said gently, as though she was sleep-talking. “Big brother Yun Che… You must come back. I will properly, and obediently grow up. I will wait for you to come back and marry me, no matter how long, I will always be waiting… I will continue to wait till you come back and marry me…”
Although these words of infatuation that came from a ten year old girl were filled with innocence, it was more refreshing than a mature woman’s emotional words. Because, the words from a girl at such a young age would not carry even a hint of falsehood, purposefulness and deliberateness, but only the purest and simplest of emotions, feelings and desires.
————————————
On the second day, when Yun Che carried Su Ling’er back to the Grandwake Clan, it was already noon. Based on the time, the twenty four hours stated by the Evil God’s soul, they were only left with less than an hour.
Last night, they slept in each other’s embrace, and in the morning, when the sky was still dark, Yun Che carried her and climbed up Grandwake Mountain, where they watched the sunrise together, and ate the wild fruits that came from Grandwake Mountain. They left many of their voices and footprints on Grandwake Mountain… And just like that, unknowingly, the deadline had approached.
“Che’er, are you really not considering to stay for a few more days? Ling’er isn’t the least bit willing to see you go, you know.”
Seeing Su Ling’er who was lying on Yun Che’s back, and refused to get down at all, Su Hengshan helplessly said with a smile. To Yun Che and Xia Qingyue, he was naturally grateful in his heart, however, before he could even accommodate them, they actually come forward to say their farewells.
“I really wish to stay as well, however, I really do have a reason which I have no choice but to leave for. I seek Father-in-law for your forgiveness…” He turned his head and glanced at the girl he was carrying. With the calmest voice he could possibly use, he said. “I’m unwilling to let Ling’er go as well.”
Su Hengshan nodded. He had already firmly believed that Yun Che and Xia Qingyue must be disciples born from a Sacred Ground-level Sect. Their actions and decisions, even with his title as ‘Father-in-law’, he basically did not dare to interfere either. Glancing at the girl who was quietly lying on Yun Che’s back, with her two hands strongly hugging onto his neck, he silently sighed, and said. “Are you going to leave now?”
“Yes…”
“Have Ling’er take my place to send you two off then.”
The one who sent off Yun Che and Xia Qingyue, was only Su Ling’er. Because, Su Hengshan knew that the person Yun Che cared about was only Ling’er, and even if he were to personally send them off, it would simply be excessive.
After leaving Grandwake Clan, Su Ling’er accompanied Yun Che and walked a very far distance, where they could not even see the silhouette of the Grandwake Clan. The time left from the full twenty four hours, had finally reached its final countdown as well.
Su Ling’er tightly grabbed onto Yun Che’s hand. She was filled with sweet laughter while they walked, and did not even reveal a depressed look in the slightest. Walking up to here, Yun Che’s feet stopped, and he gently said. “Ling’er, you can stop sending us off from here. If we go any further, I’m worried for the safety of your return journey.”
Su Ling’er did not have the slightest resistance, as she nodded, and said with a grin. “Mn! I shall listen to big brother Yun Che’s words. You and beautiful big sister must be careful on the road… Uuu, big brother Yun Che, can you give me something… something… something that will allow me to feel big brother Yun Che is always by my side…”
As she smiled… a teardrop that she did not control well, actually fell from the corner of her eye, a long tear mark drew down her tender face.
Yun Che’s heart trembled, and then, he was instantly filled with a complicated sourness. He squatted down, and gently took off Su Ling’er’s outer clothing. Then, he took off the Dragonscale Armor from his body, and under Xia Qingyue’s surprised gaze, he put it onto her body. The Dragonscale Armor could automatically adjust itself according to the wearer’s figure, so, even if Su Ling’er’s figure was very slim and small, it was still very compatible. “Ling’er, this clothing is called the Dragonscale Armor, and it can protect you very well. You must wear it frequently, just like how I will be by your side, protecting you.”
Taking off the incomparably valuable Dragonscale Armor, and giving it to Su Ling’er who was within a illusory realm, this seemed to look utterly ridiculous, however, Yun Che simply could not control himself at all… Because this was the best protection he could give Su Ling’er after leaving her.
He took out a purple spatial ring, and transferred all of the various food and water stored in the Sky Poison Pearl into it. Then, he took out the various medicinal pellets that he had usually refined himself, and put them into the ring as well, as he taught her the usage of each one. “These are Small Heaven Returning Pellets, use it when you’re injured… These are Green Dew Pellets, when you’re accidentally poisoned, eat one of these… These are Profound Recovering Pellets, when you do not have any energy left, eat one of these… In the future, if… I’m saying if there comes a day that you have no choice but to leave your home, and constantly encounter danger, you must definitely remember the items inside here. You must use the items here, to protect yourself well, alright…”
Su Ling’er listened to his words, constantly nodded, and nodded…
Yun Che did not wear this spatial ring on Su Ling’er’s hand, because that would be too easily eyed by people, after all, purple rings which have a gigantic space and a long shelf life were still considered to be rather valuable treasures even in the Grandwake Clan. He passed a gold silkworm thread through the ring, hung it on Su Ling’er’s neck, and had the spatial ring that was sparkling with purple light enter under clothes.
Within Su Ling’er’s pair of eyes, teardrops were currently falling. Patapata. Every single teardrop, fell into the deepest part of Yun Che’s soul. He carried Su Ling’er in his arms, and gently said. “Ling’er, don’t be sad. We’re not going to be separated forever, after all. Once you grow up, I will then return… return to marry you! So, you must grow up happily, and cheerfully, so that when I return, I will be able to see the most beautiful Ling’er… If in the future, you were to encounter some difficulty, you must not be afraid, and you must not despair either. You have to forever remember that, in this world, there will be a person who, even if he can’t see you, he will still forever think of you, and miss you…”
“Mn… Mn!!” Su Ling’er strongly nodded, and struggled to suppress her crying voice. Her thin teeth, had already bit rows of deep teeth marks into her small red lips…
The time left, had begun to enter the end of the end. Yun Che released Su Ling’er, held her face with his two hands, and gently kissed on her forehead. Then, he turned around, gritted his teeth, and walked forward, step by step… further and further away from Su Ling’er’s line of sight…
Su Ling’er did not chase after him. Her two hands hugged the front of her chest, and she hugged onto the Dragonscale that came from Yun Che, which still carried his lingering scent. Within her blurry vision, she stared at his gradually disappearing figure. Finally, she could no longer hold it in any longer, and her tears poured out. Loud shouts accompanied by crying voices resounded through the entire large open patch of land…
“Big brother Yun Che! I will wait for you… I will wait for you to return and marry me…”
“Big brother Yun Che, you must think of me… you definitely have to think of me… You can’t not think of me…”
“Big brother Yun Che… I will grow up quickly… You must return… You must… You must… You must return…”
“Big brother Yun Che… I’m unwilling to see you go… Uuuu… Uuuuuuuu….”
Yun Che’s figure went further and further away, and finally, at a certain moment, he disappeared completely from her line of sight. She gently knelt on the ground, held onto her face, and began to cry out loudly… Her big brother Yun Che had left, and even her soul, had been brought away as well…
Su Ling’er’s loud cries entered Yun Che’s ears through the wind, causing his every step, to become incomparably more difficult than the previous one. His expression was painfully bitter, yet, he did not dare to turn back. Because, he was afraid that if he were to turn, he would no longer be able to take another step.
“The relationship between you two, is very strange.” Seeing Yun Che’s expression, Xia Qingyue softly said. She was unable to understand how a grown man and a girl who was only ten years old, create such a strong bond in just a short period of time of a single day.
Yun Che raised his head, and looked towards the sky. “Qingyue, do you believe in… past lives?”
Xia Qingyue was slightly startled. She silently looked at Yun Che for a moment, and gently nodded. “I do.”
At this moment, in Xia Qingyue and his surroundings, a ripple of spatial distortion suddenly appeared.
“We’re finally about to return.” Yun Che closed his eyes, and softly whispered. “Good bye… My Ling’er…”
As he whispered, his and Xia Qingyue’s figure had already disappeared within the spatial distortion at the same time. Following after, the feeling of a spatial shuttle assaulted over, and then, in a flash, it disappeared again. Within that moment, a cold wind blew over.
When opening his eyes, his vision was filled entirely with white snow… He and Xia Qingyue, had returned to the Heavenly Basin Secret Realm, however, their position was not at the top areas of the Heaven Basin.
“Huu…” Yun Che heaved a long sigh. Even though that was just a young Su Ling’er from an illusory realm, and only an illusion constructed by the Evil God’s powers, even if that was the case, his separation with Su Ling’er still caused his chest to sink, as though it was about to explode.
“No matter how the beautiful the dream, eventually, there will come a time when one still has to wake up from it.” Yun Che looked in front of him, and said with melancholy. Right after, he entered his subconsciousness, and said to Jasmine. “Jasmine, why did the Evil God’s soul use the last of its powers to send me to such an illusory realm? Could it be, after reading my memories, it helped me resolve some of my regrets?”
“Illusory realm?” Jasmine’s voice sounded. “So you’re saying, you have been thinking the entire time that the world you stayed in for a single day earlier, was just an illusory realm?”
“… That’s obviously an illusory realm.” Yun Che powerlessly said. If it was not an illusory realm, then how would Su Ling’er, who had long passed away, appear? And she was even Su Ling’er who was still at a young age.
“Heh…” Jasmine suddenly began to laugh out strangely, as though she had found out something interesting, as she slowly said. “I see, it’s no wonder your emotions and actions were so unusual. You actually treated that place as an illusory realm… But, I can very responsibly tell you this. That world you were at earlier, definitely… wasn’t… an… illusory… realm!!”
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Author note: This chapter is finally done, I’m tired as hell… I really hate writing these sort of difficult, unrewarding, yet unavoidable scenarios!!
TL note: Now imagine me translating this difficult, unrewarding, yet unavoidable scenario…
Chapter 273 - The Sudden Truth
“Not an… illusory realm?” Even though these were Jasmine’s words, Yun Che was still shaking his head: “Impossible! I’m very certain that can’t possibly be the real world. It’s only an illusory realm!”
Jasmine faintly said: “Although I’m not sure why you are so sure that was an illusory realm, I am even more sure that it was the real world. Also, in deciding whether or not a world is real or not, I’m much more qualified than you! With your current strength, you’re also absolutely unqualified to determine whether or not it’s an illusory realm.”
Yun Che: “…”
He was certainly incapable of determining whether or not that was an illusory realm… Even in realms of the Phoenix Trial and the Dragon God Trial, apart from them being incredibly dangerous, he felt that they were no different than the real world. If he hadn’t entered them during a trial, but had entered them under different circumstances, he wouldn’t have even believed that they were illusory realms.
But Jasmine wasn’t the same. The realm she was in was something that Yun Che had absolutely no way of comprehending. Her understanding of the elemental laws and her comprehension and understanding of spatial laws was something that Yun Che had completely no chance of reaching up to. When they entered the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, Jasmine could immediately tell the time that the Secret Realm was in and the fact that this was something that wasn’t created by the people of this plane… Finally, with the confirmation from the Evil God’s soul, he found that that it indeed wasn’t something created with human strength, but something that the Evil God had created.
“The place we were in before that you believed to be the Azure Cloud Continent, had complete and stable elemental laws, natural laws and order laws. These laws are the basic laws that are absolutely impossible to create instantly in an illusory realm! Also, from the completeness of the laws, that was a continent that had existed for several billion years!! It’s absolutely impossible for it to be some illusory realm… Even if the True Gods still existed, it’s still impossible to create an illusory realm that has more stable and complete laws than a continent that had existed for several billion years!”
Yun Che: “!!!!”
“It’s absolutely impossible even for the Evil God… let alone a soul fragment of the Evil God. That piece of soul you conversed with was already extremely weak. Using its final strength to be able to complete a round trip teleportation is already its absolute absolute limit. It’s absolutely impossible to create an illusory realm! Even a most simplest of spirit realms is impossible!”
Jasmine’s words were like one strike of shocking lightning after another that exploded in Yun Che’s brain. It turned his entire brain into utter chaos, as if it was a huge wave that crashed into heaven…
That wasn’t an… illusory realm?
That was… the real world? A real world that actually exists? It was the Azure Cloud Continent that he was so familiar with?
Then Su Ling’er… and time…
No! Impossible! Ling’er had obviously already passed away. She passed away in my arms and I personally buried her. How could that have been the real her… and also the time. If they were actually in the Azure Cloud Continent, it shouldn’t be that time at all…
“There’s more…” Jasmine’s voice continued during this moment: “Not only is that Azure Cloud
Continent an actual existence, its distance from the Sky Profound Continent shouldn’t be too far, because its laws of elements, nature, and order have many similarities with the Sky Profound Continent. It and the Sky Profound Continent might actually be on the same planet. Only…”
Jasmine stopped for a bit. Her voice had a little doubt to it: “Azure Cloud Continent’s fundamental laws are the same as Sky Profound Continent’s laws, but the temporal law which should have the most similarities are actually a bit different… Hmph! Although interfering with the time law is fundamentally impossible, for these sort of lower planes, it’s absolutely impossible for my perception to be wrong! Perhaps, Azure Cloud Continent’s temporal law has been tampered with, or maybe Sky Profound Continent’s temporal law has been tampered with, or maybe both have been tampered with!”
Jasmine’s words have been filtered time and time again within Yun Che’s head, making his originally impatient and disorderly brain even more chaotic… Now, he suddenly raised his head as if lightning struck his brain…
He suddenly remembered that in the realm of the Phoenix Trial, the Phoenix spirit told him something very strange…
“…It seems that the girl whom you call Ling’er must have really been very important to you. And also because of her, your inner self holds heavy regret. However, you don’t have to suppress this regret in the depths of your soul. You have passed through the reincarnation cycle due to the Heavenly Profound Treasure and it has tampered with this world’s karma. Under the butterfly effect, time, dimension, and planes will also change as well. Your regret and debt, you may have not yet lost your chance to make up for them.”
“…”
“…”
Heavenly Profound Treasure…
Passing through the reincarnation cycle…
Butterfly Effect…
Tampering with karma…
Interfering with time…
These words rampaged within Yun Che’s brain until they finally slowed down. With his unimaginable rebirth, with Jasmine’s words, with Su Ling’er in the Azure Cloud Continent within the “illusory realm”… Everything began to slowly make sense…
Passing through the reincarnation cycle… after he died in the Azure Cloud Continent, he woke up in a dead body in the Sky Profound Continent…
Isn’t this precisely going through the reincarnation cycle… Since after a person’s death, all of their memories and life should have been washed away, since they reincarnate into a completely brand new next life. But for himself, he retained all of his memories from his previous reincarnation…
If the Azure Cloud Continent that he was in wasn’t an illusory realm, then the Su Ling’er he met wasn’t an illusion… Then, wasn’t it precisely… karma and time that had changed…
Him “passing through the reincarnation cycle” was a fact, because it was his most genuine and strange experience, then… then… Azure Cloud Continent’s time interference, Ling’er’s existence… were real too!?
However, even Jasmine had said interfering with time was fundamentally impossible… Also, he didn’t have the so called Heavenly Profound Treasure that was able to “pass through the reincarnation cycle” on his body. The only Heavenly Profound Treasure that he had was the Sky Poison Pearl, and its powers were concentrated in poison, medicine, refinement, containment and finding things; they had nothing to do with “reincarnation” at all. Apart from the Sky Poison Pearl, he had no other Heavenly Profound Treasures at all. If he really had one he didn’t know about, how could Jasmine not sense it?
“Jasmine…” Yun Che breathed a deep breath and quietly asked: “Within the Heavenly Profound Treasures, is there anything that allows… passage through the reincarnation cycle, and tampering with karma?”
“…I just said, temporal laws are fundamentally impossible to be tampered with, but I never said that it’s absolutely impossible to tamper with them, precisely because among the seven Heavenly Profound Treasure, there exists a heaven opposing item that can cause time to flow in reverse. It’s precisely the seventh treasure of the Seven Heavenly Profound Treasures, the “Mirror of Samsara ”. The power of the Mirror of Samsara is precisely ‘tampering with cause and effect and transmigration’! After the complete destruction of the True Gods, there hasn’t been another power that was sufficient enough to tamper with time and dimensions. Apart from the ‘Mirror of Samsara’ that is able to interfere with time, there’s also the sixth treasure of the Heavenly Profound Treasures that could interfere with dimension, the ‘World Needle’.”
“The abnormalities of the temporal laws within the Azure Cloud Continent made me precisely thinking about the possibility that someone used the ‘Mirror of Samsara’… this is an extremely interesting discovery since at least this shown that the ‘Mirror of Samsara’ once manifested on the Azure Cloud Continent! If ‘those people’ knew about this fact, then perhaps a terrifying wave of carnage would sweep through this plane!”
Mirror of Samsara… Mirror?
Yun Che’s heart suddenly throbbed, and he subconsciously held the pendant that he always wore.
Could it be…
“Jasmine,” Yun Che calmly said: “If the Mirror of Samsara actually manifested, then you can probably sense its existence with your power right?”
“No,” Jasmine denied: “Amongst the seven Heavenly Profound Treasures, the Mirror of Samsara’s abilities are the most heaven opposing, but the reason it’s ranked last is because every time it activates, it must hibernate for twenty years. Within these twenty years, it does not have a shred of power. It’ll become the same as most ordinary mirrors.”
“…”
Yun Che’s heart rate accelerated. He held his pendant tightly… In his memories of the Blue Wind Empire, he wore a pendant since young and never took it over. Similarly, in the Azure Cloud Continent, he had always worn it. In two different continents, two different lives, he had a pendant that he always wore with him.
After opening this pendant, there was a little mirror… A little mirror that could not possibly be more ordinary.
But according to Xiao Lie, the reason his birth parents were chased and killed was because of an item known as a… “Heavenly Profound Treasure”!
Could it be that it actually is… one of the seven Heavenly Profound Treasures, the Mirror of Samsara?
If it really was the Mirror of Samsara, it would explain why he went from the Sky Profound Continent to the Azure Cloud Continent and the period from the Azure Cloud Continent back to the Sky Profound Continent…his memories, his life’s transfer, without any breaks! All the questions could have a correspond explanation…
If it really was the interference from the Mirror of Samsara, then… then… the Azure Cloud Continent that he just went to… the Su Ling’er he had personally embraced…
Were also real!!!
His life in the Azure Cloud Continent, disruption in reincarnation, disruption in space and time… everything was real!!
Su Ling’er… is still in this world! Still on the Azure Cloud Continent that he was familiar with and grew up in!
Then, his master… perhaps with the reverse flow of time, might still be alive! After all, when Su Ling’er was ten, he was only twelve. At the time, he was still traveling the world with his master!
“That was Ling’er… that was Ling’er… that was actually Ling’er… She didn’t die… she’s really Ling’er…”
The sudden facts exploded Yun Che’s brain. All the blood in his body practically began to boil. He looked at both his hands and violently trembled all over… He always thought the Ling’er that he had obviously seen and closely embraced was nothing but an illusion created by the Evil God. Jasmine’s words, combined with his experience with the voice of the Phoenix spirit made him hear the morning bell. His Ling’er had just been in front of his eyes, by his side. He treated her like an illusion and then left just like that…
Yun Che growled from the bottom of his throat, then fiercely reached out and pounded his head. He was occasionally mad with joy and then occasionally had a nervous breakdown… the Ling’er he was madly in love with was still alive. In his anger and regret, he treated her like an illusion, and didn’t bring her back at all…
All of Yun Che’s weird reactions had finally started to make Jasmine understand them. Looking at the pendant that he had been grabbing onto in his hand, she suddenly said: “So that’s how it was, no wonder you went to that continent and lost control when you saw that little girl… It’s also no wonder why Sky Poison Pearl fused together with your body…”
“Don’t tell me, the one who activated the Mirror of Samsara’s power… was you!?”
Chapter 274 - Leaving Heaven Basin Secret Realm
“I don’t know.” Yun Che didn’t refute Jasmine, but he was unable to confirm it either. After a slight hesitation, he frankly said: “But I actually did transmigrate because I was originally poisoned to death in the Sky Profound Continent, and in the Azure Cloud Continent, I fell off a cliff when I was twenty seven… After waking up, I returned to the Sky Profound Continent, and awoke under the condition in which I had been poisoned to death… All the way until now. And Ling’er, was my most important person in the Azure Cloud Continent, but she had obviously died!”
Jasmine: “…”
“These sorts of things actually happened to you!?” Jasmine was truly startled. She had heard of the legends concerning the Mirror of Samsara, but she hadn’t seen the Mirror of Samsara and its powers at all. If what Yun Che said was true, then it would fit perfectly with the Mirror of Samsara’s “passing through the reincarnation cycle” in the legends! Only the Mirror of Samsara could achieve these things!
“Then, in your memories, was there an item that was always on your body… If I’m guessing correctly, it should be the pendant that you’ve always worn on your neck? I remember when you opened it, there was only a mirror inside…” Jasmine slowly said: “Then, apart from the Sky Poison Pearl, there was actually another Heavenly Profound Treasure on your body! Except, where did you get this Heavenly Profound Treasure from?”
“I don’t know… it had always been on me. I always thought that reason that I kept wearing it was because it was the only evidence to find my birth parents.” Yun Che shook his head: “The only thing that I want to know now is: since the Azure Cloud Continent is real, then where is it? How do I return there… That was the real Ling’er… I must find her again!”
“…If I can leave your body and move as I wish, then I can find where the Azure Cloud Continent is within three days, but it’s completely impossible for me right now. Azure Cloud Continent shouldn’t be too far away from the Sky Profound Continent. When my powers reach a certain height, I can naturally see a wider portion of the world… For you, this is the only way to return to that Continent.
Not too far away… This was in regards to Jasmine’s power level! If it was actually not too far away, how could there be no records of the Sky Profound Continent in the Azure Cloud Continent. Even if Jasmine’s guess was correct, and the Azure Cloud Continent and the Sky Profound Continent were on the same planet, then the distance between the two would certainly be impossibly far, a distance that’s even harder to reach than the sky.
Jasmine’s final words also tapped Yun Che’s confused brain heavily and suddenly made him clear-headed.
Right… That’s right! No matter how much I think about it right now, it’s useless! At least the conclusion is that Su Ling’er is still in this world. This was an incredibly pleasant surprise. To meet Ling’er again, the only way was to become strong. As long as he was stronger, strong until the point that he could shun the heavens and earth, then Azure Cloud Continent would appear in his sights, and he could find Ling’er again!!
Yun Che’s mood became incredibly calm. He breathed in a breath of air and suddenly asked: “Jasmine, if it’s really because of the Heavenly Profound Treasure’s interference that made Azure Cloud Continent’s time flow backwards, then on the Azure Cloud Continent right now, could another Sky Poison Pearl appear?”
“This is unlikely.” Jasmine faintly said: “There’s also something you’re mistaken about. If the power of the Mirror of Samsara really activated, then the reverse flow of time would be a small part of it. The thing it’s most suited to interfere with is ‘karma’ and ‘reincarnation’. Right now, not only would you and the Sky Poison Pearl not be on it, it’s possible that… they’ve never existed.”
Yun Che: “…”
“Karma”, “Reincarnation”… these were illusory and mythical words. They were things that were impossible to touch no matter what. Yun Che never thought that such incredibly illusory things could actually be interfered with. He spread his palm out, looked at the dim pendant, and quietly asked: “If this is really the Mirror of Samsara, then what kind of person… could actually create such an item…”
“This fact is impossible to trace back to.” Jasmine said: “But the only thing that’s certain is that interfering with ‘karma’ and ‘reincarnation’ is tens of millions times harder than interfering with ‘dimension and ‘time’. When the True Gods existed, there were certainly powers that could interfere with the flow of time, but not one True God had the ability to interfere with ‘karma’ and ‘reincarnation’. Since they were the most fundamental laws since universal order, they should absolutely be untamperable; otherwise, there would be chaos beyond the control and expectation in the universal order. However, the Mirror of Samsara could actually tamper with the most fundamental universal laws… The Sky Poison Pearl fusing with your body, is completely because of the ‘karma’ interference. It made what should have been impossible, possible. No one knew who created it, and what power created it.
“There are many legends that involved the Mirror of Samsara. In its history, it fell into many people’s hands until it finally fell into somewhere unknown… But in all these years, I’ve never heard of anyone being able to activate its power. And for the Heavenly Profound Treasures, what was even more unimaginable was that you… You are clearly an inferior human, but you possess two Heavenly Profound Treasures… If it wasn’t for the fact that I have to rely on the Sky Poison Pearl, and the Sky Poison Pearl is fused with your body, I’ll unhesitantly choose to kill you and seize both of your Heavenly Profound Treasures.”
“Yun Che, what happened to you?”
A deeply doubtful voice arose from the crisp and cool air beside Yun Che’s ears. He gripped his palms, didn’t put the pendant back around his neck, and stored it into the Sky Poison Pearl. Then, he smiled bashfully at Xia Qingyue: “Nothing’s wrong, I just have some sudden regrets.”
After swallowing the Evil God’s Water Seed, Yun Che was feeling very intimate with water element right now, and it far surpassed Xia Qingyue. He didn’t feel the slightest bit cold in this world of ice and snow. He gazed at Xia Qingyue all over with a strange expression and said: “I really want to take a look at how surprised your master and everyone else would be when they find out that you entered the Emperor Profound Realm.”
Without a doubt, after they leave the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, once Xia Qingyue’s profound strength was exposed, there would be huge indescribable commotion. A seventeen year old at the Emperor Profound Realm, that was truly an achievement on a level of the Four Great Sacred Grounds… For a Sacred Ground-class disciple to emerge from a little Blue Wind Empire, perhaps the entire Sky Profound Continent would be shaken.
Xia Qingyue looked deeply at Yun Che, and suddenly said: “Thank you.”
“…Why thank me?”
“Formidable power is very important to me, and it’s something that I’ll chase after for my entire life. If not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to reach my current height. So, thank you…” Xia Qingyue said lightly as she controlled her gaze. Back then, when he was in Floating Cloud City, he was powerless and helpless, so he was always being bullied until he was eventually expelled from his clan with no power to resist the other youths. If it wasn’t for her assistance, his most beloved relatives would encounter hardships… After meeting again, he had already matured into a tree that pierced the heavens. The help that he had given her at the time was ten of millions times more than she had given him.
“Heh, we’re married, we don’t need to thank each other.” Yun Che grinned and laughed: “If you really want to thank me, hmm… let me see you smile. We’ve known each other for so long, but I’ve never see you smile before.”
Xia Qingyue lightly shook her head: “It’s impossible for me. Ever since I was four years old, I had already forgotten how to cry, and how to smile…”
Yun Che was immediately stunned. He saw a dismal confusion flash past both of Xia Qingyue’s eyes. He thought for a while and said: “Then can you tell me why you’re so persistent on seeking power?”
When he was young, he was full of curiosity about his fiancee Xia Qingyue. When he played together with Xia Yuanba, he would often ask about Xia Qingyue, but Xia Yuanba had the same response every time… she was cultivating.
Practically all of her time was devoted to cultivating profound strength. Until Yun Che was sixteen years old, he had only seen her a couple of times, and they were all fleeting glances. She had an attachment to profound strength that was incomprehensible for other people to understand.
Xia Qingyue stayed silent for a while. She reached out her jade hands, cupped some flying snow and gently replied: “Aren’t you the same as me… You, why are you so attached?”
“For myself, and for all the people I care about to not be mistreated.” Yun Che said without the slightest hesitation.
“Not be mistreated…” Xia Qingyue’s eyelashes softly closed as she answered with a voice as gentle as fluttering snow: “I only seek… to reunite my family.”
Yun Che’s heart was moved as he looked at Xia Qingyue with shock. He silently pondered about the meaning of her words for a while then asked: “This ‘family’, does it include me? If you talk about a family, then as your husband, I should be your… most intimate of family on paper.”
Ice and snow slowly accumulated on Xia Qingyue’s palm, and didn’t melt for a long while. Her jade hands moved slightly and the white snow scattered into all four directions in the frigid wind. She touched the indescribable and bleak pain in her heart that was silently spreading out: “I am a person who’s not fit to have a husband… because I might never be able to fulfill the responsibilities of a wife… There will be a day when I will leave here to go to a distant place, and it might be impossible to return anymore…” She shut her eyes and softly spoke as if she were in a dream: “Once, you were as ordinary as sand and only made me occasionally worry about you. Now, you are as dazzling as diamond, and makes me, who is destined to have no future, feel more and more terrified…”
Rumble Rumble…
A deep and distant rumbling noise sounded, and slight vibrations began to arise from the ground. Two rapidly expanding spatial whirlpools individually appeared beside Yun Che and Xia Qingyue.
“It looks like we’re returning…”
Before Yun Che even finished his sentence, the two were simultaneously sucked into the spatial whirlpools.
Chapter 275 - Gargantuan Favor
In the blink of an eye, two days had passed since members of the ranking tournament’s top ten entered the Heaven Basin Secret Realm.
Several tens of people anxiously stood waiting on the vacant space in Heavenly Sword Villa’s rear mountains. These were precisely the members of the various sects who could not enter the Heaven Basin Secret Realm. Heaven Basin Secret Realm was a completely isolated world, and news of anything that happened in there could not be transmitted, so they had absolutely no idea as to what happened in there during these two days.
Cang Yue and Xia Yuanba were undoubtedly the most worried of persons there, because not only did Yun Che enter with serious injuries that had not fully healed, his profound strength had not even fully recovered either, which meant that the danger of him entering this unknown area was increased exponentially. In these past two days, Cang Yue could barely eat and could barely sleep. She had long since been waiting in this spot, and anxiously waited for Yun Che’s figure to appear.
Ling Kun stood in the middle of the open space and silently looked on ahead.
Zzzt!
In the wake of the brilliant radiance brought along by the spatial vortex, a person dressed in white was tossed out. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were worn out, as if he had recently fought a fierce battle… The first person to come out, was surprisingly Ling Yuefeng.
Ling Kun opened his eyes, and faintly asked: “Any finds?”
Ling Yuefeng slightly exhaled, and answered with knitted brows: “We were not lucky this time, and encountered Heaven Basin Secret Realm’s harsh winter. Everything was sealed in ice and covered by snow, so there weren’t any great gains.But, I made an astonishing discovery, inside this Heaven Basin Secret Realm, unexpectedly dwells a Tyrant Profound Beast!”
“Oh?” Ling Kun’s gaze flashed: “What kind of Tyrant Profound Beast?”
Ling Yuefeng shook his head: “I have only perceived its sound force and did not dare to approach it. Perhaps someone had the misfortune of angering it.”
“Hmm…” Ling Kun muttered: “There was actually a Tyrant Profound Beast inside. If I knew that, I would’ve went in together with you. Wanting to find a Tyrant Profound Beast, is not that easy.”
Although Heaven Basin Secret Realm was mysterious, the things that could be found inside were too inferior to Ling Kun. After he had entered once, he had no interest entering again, which was why he didn’t go this time.
Zzzt Zzzt Zzzt Zzzt…
After Ling Yuefeng, were the flickering of many rays of light. More and more people were being tossed out. Even though Ling Yun and Ling Jie were both in tattered clothing, they were both perfectly fine, and also had some findings.
Members of the various large sects appeared one after another. Very quickly, Xiao Sect’s members were all present, and Burning Heaven Clan’s members were appearing one after another… but in the end, only four had come out.
Fen Moli appeared with a murderous aura that filled the sky. The moment he appeared, he loudly roared with extreme rage: “Mu Tianbei!! You brute, come out right now!! To actually have murdered my Second Young Master… I will exterminate your entire clan!!”
Fen Moli’s anger and shout instantly made the members of Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress tremble with fear, and also stunned everyone present… Mu Tianbei killed Fen Juebi? Nobody had heard that there were any grievances between Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress and Burning Heaven Clan. Why would Mu Tianbei kill Fen Juebi… To have killed Burning Heaven Clan’s Second Young Master, had Mu Tianbei gone crazy!?
“Great Elder!” Fen Juecheng immediately went to Fen Moli’s side, pulled him to the side, and said whispered something with gritted teeth.
More and more people were coming out, and every time one came out, Cang Yue’s heart would tightly squeeze a little. Xia Yuanba incessantly comforted her on the side: “Senior Sister, rest assured. Brother-in-law is so strong, so he definitely be fine.”
Zzzt…
The last rays of light flashed in the empty space, and Yun Che simultaneously appeared with Xia Qingyue. They stood side by side.
“Junior Brother Yun!” Cang Yue shouted out with pleasant surprise and immediately let go of all her worries. She sucked in a long breath of air, and hurriedly dashed at Yun Che.
And at this time, an angry roar suddenly exploded like a clap of thunder: “Despicable junior… Die!!”
In the midst of the roar, Fen Moli immediately pounced like an angry lion. His entire right arm ignited with deep purple flames, as he directly burst towards Yun Che.
Everyone present were all basically discussing their findings and gains within the Heaven Basin Secret Realm. No one would ever think that the situation would change in this way. Qin Wushang immediately turned pale with fright. Chu Yueli and Chu Yuechan’s complexions had also abruptly changed… because Xia Qingyue was standing right next to Yun Che. Under this attack from Fen Moli, it was extremely possible for Xia Qingyue to be harmed as well. How could two juniors possible withstand an attack from an expert half a step into the Emperor Profound Realm?
But since everything was so unexpected, once they had time to react, Fen Moli had already flown in front of them. There was simply no time for them to block it, and they could only simultaneously yell out: “Stop!!!”
Cang Yue, who had almost arrived at Yun Che’s side suddenly felt an incomparably scorching air current come from her rear, and the dangerous feeling made her rosy complexion lose color. Fen Moli’s attack in extreme rage was fast and ferocious. He wanted to instantly kill Yun Che, and judging by the direction in which he had charged at, Cang Yue would be the first to be affected.
Yun Che’s brows immediately sank. Instead of withdrawing, his figure flashed forward, and he rapidly sound transmitted to Xia Qingyue: “Help me cripple him!!”
After leaving behind an afterimage, Yun Che had already flashed beside Cang Yue, tightly embraced her, and activated “Sealing Cloud Locking Sun”…
In the midst of everyone’s surprised gazes, as if mad, Xia Qingyue confronted Fen Moli’s attack. Blue light curled around her right hand as she extended one hand forward and met Fen Moli’s purple flame.
“Qingyue!!” This scene made Chu Yueli turn pale in horror, as she could only helplessly watch the two people’s attacks collide…
A muffled sound echoed as an enormous ice lotus instantly blossomed between the two people. Under the swiveling of the ice lotus, the purple flames on Fen Moli’s arms instantly extinguished completely. Without even having time to be bewildered, the enormous ice lotus suddenly split open, transforming into nine smaller ice lotuses that separately smashed onto Fen Moli’s face, neck, body, ribs, and limbs…
Though they were both at the Emperor Profound Realm, if Xia Qingyue had to go against Chu Yuechan, she would be defeated without question, because in terms of battle experience and mastery of the Frozen Cloud Arts, she was far inferior compared to Chu Yuechan. However, in regards to pure profound strength, she had already completely surpassed Chu Yuechan by one level, and had surpassed all of the Frozen Cloud Seven Fairies. In this kind of direct collision, even Chu Yuechan would be at a disadvantage, let alone a Fen Moli… Even though half a step into the Emperor Profound Realm only had half a step of distance from the Emperor Profound Realm, this half step was a tremendous chasm!
The scene that everyone had expected to happen did not appear. What they saw, was actually Fen Moli being thrown backwards outside of the fluttering ice crystals. He landed with a groan, and his eyes protruded outwards. His complexion was pale as he widened his eyes and firmly fixed his gaze at Xia Qingyue. His throat surged with movement, until finally, his entire body trembled all over. With a thump of his heart, he knelt on the ground as his entire body twitched in pain.
Xia Qingyue casually withdrew her arm. During this entire course of events, she had not moved from her current location. The profound energy produced by the exchange between her and Fen Moli was obviously incomparably frightening, but under the protection of Sealing Cloud Locking Sun, Yun Che and Cang Yue had only been thrown into the distance, and was not even the slightest bit injured. He promptly released Cang Yue and worriedly looked her up and down: “Senior Sister, are you alright?”
Cang Yue’s little face had turned pale from the change of events earlier. With her profound strength at the True Profound Realm, being immersed in the collision between one at the Emperor Profound Realm and one half step into the Emperor Profound Realm was a sensation similar to dropping down the abyss of death. When she saw the safe and sound Yun Che, she laughed in relief: “I’m alright…”
After she said those two words, she discovered that their surroundings had become frighteningly quiet… Everyone’s gaze were focused upon Xia Qingyue. Regardless of whether it was the young disciples or those imposing experts, all of their faces had suddenly warped into that of shock.
“Emperor… Profound… Realm!” Ling Kun looked at Xia Qingyue with sinking eyebrows, and an elusive tint flashed in his eyes. The three words he had said aloud resonated like three claps of thunder beside everyone’s ears.
“This isn’t… possible…” Ling Yuefeng absent-mindedly murmured. The shock in his heart was indescribable. Although Chu Yuechan stepping into the Emperor Profound was surprising, it was still completely acceptable. After all, she was originally half a step into the Emperor Profound Realm. But Xia Qingyue… a seventeen year old Throne. In Blue Wind Empire, this was practically even more fantastical than myth! Even if one were to personally witness this, they were incapable of believing it.
Everyone had become completely dumbstruck. A seventeen year old Throne, this was a concept that they were fundamentally unable to comprehend, and also something they were simply unable to accept.
“Qingyue, you… you actually…” Chu Yueli walked over. She looked at Xia Qingyue with beautiful eyes filled with shock and incredibility. Since a disciple had made a breakthrough, she ought to be happy, but the breakthrough Xia Qingyue had made this time was just too exaggerated, and too terrifying. What she first felt, was actually terror.
Standing in front of Xia Qingyue, and sensing the aura of a Throne coming from her, even as her Master, Chu Yueli, still felt a deep oppression.
Xia Qingyue walked forward, gently made a disciple’s courtesy, and softly explained in front of everyone’s gazes: “Master, disciple had a fortuitous encounter within the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, and consumed a fully bloomed Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus… Only, this disciple never thought that the effectiveness of the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus far surpassed the rumors. In the span of one day, it unexpectedly allowed this disciple to directly break into the Emperor Profound Realm.”
The intelligent Xia Qingyue knew that she had to explain this matter in front of everyone present. The breakthrough she had this time was too world-shocking. Those shocked, were not only a little Blue Wind Empire. If she did not explain it properly, there would inevitably be many people or forces… outside of Blue Wind Empire that would do their utmost to investigate the reason behind it in attempts to reap some profit. It was extremely possible for this to attract unexpected trouble, so she simply publicized the reason behind it, cutting off any sort of future troubles. At the same time, since she had already consumed the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, others would obviously not covet any remaining surplus. Even if they longed for it, it would still lead to nowhere.
“So that’s… it… So that’s it!”
The name, Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus pierced like thunder through the ten large sects’ ears. That was the sacred object written about in Blue Wind Empire’s records! Rumors of the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus’ existence being within the Heaven Basin Secret Realm had also been there for several hundred years. After hearing the cause of this change, a portion of the terror within Chu Yueli’s mind naturally dissipated, and was replaced by extremely pleasant surprise and excitement: “Four hundred years ago, a late senior who had fallen within the Heaven Basin Secret Realm had left behind news of an Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus within the Secret Realm. In these several hundred years, numerous seniors had also attempted to find it. I didn’t expect that this great opportunity had actually fallen onto you… This is truly a blessing from Heaven.”
As the other sects’ members listened in on their conversation, the shock, admiration, and jealousy in their eyes were practically leaking out of their body… The Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, a sacred object from legends! No wonder why a young girl had reached the Emperor Profound Realm in one step. This was Xia Qingyue’s good luck, and was also Frozen Cloud Asgard’s good luck… In front of this heaven-sized great luck, they seriously felt that even with their several hundred years of luck added together, it would not even reach this Frozen Cloud Asgard that had recently obtained an Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus!!
They simply could not imagine what sort of realm the seventeen year old Xia Qingyue, who had entered the Emperor Profound Realm, would reach in the future… But what they did expect, was that when Xia Qingyue fully matured, as long as she was there, it was impossible for Heavenly Sword Villa to maintain their stable and unmoving, millennium long, number one position!
Xia Qingyue actually shook her head, and softly replied: “Master, this actually isn’t disciple’s good luck. The Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus wasn’t actually found by this disciple. And was instead…” She used her eyes to hint at Yun Che, and continued: “And was instead discovered by Sir Yun. At that time, disciple had encountered a gigantic beast within the Secret Realm, and was bound for death. To save me, Sir Yun allowed me to consume the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus… If not for Sir Yun’s rescue, not only would it be impossible for me make a breakthrough, even my life would remain inside Heaven Basin Secret Realm.”
Xia Qingyue’s words were even a bit unexpected to Yun Che… because the few sentences she said to play it down, had actually made Frozen Cloud Asgard owe him a gargantuan favor!!
Chapter 276 - “Demon” (1)
Everyone used an incredibly amazed expression to look at Yun Che. Each and every one of them truly found it difficult to believe that someone would freely give away an item that was hard to come by even in a millennia, to someone else. If he did that under the state in which he clearly knew that it was the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, then this boldness, and this sort of sensibility could both be said to be larger than the heavens.
Chu Yueli lightly nodded towards Yun Che: “Yun Che, this favor of yours, our Frozen Cloud Asgard will remember it. From today onwards, you are our Frozen Cloud Asgard’s most important friend! If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask our Frozen Cloud Asgard.”
“This idiot… just for the purpose of gaining a beauty’s favor, he actually gave away the legendary Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus!! The Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus!!” Xiao Kuangyu murmured while gritting his teeth. Even though he said that, he was extremely clear in his heart that the seventeen year old Yun Che, who was able to obtain first place in the ranking tournament, was not an idiot no matter what!
What they saw were only two people lucky enough to find the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, and simply did not know of the fatal calamity that had befallen them when they found it.
What Chu Yueli had said was not out of anyone’s expectations. If Yun Che had willingly given the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus to them, no matter which sect it was, they would all be willing to treat him like an ancestor. This kind of favor was truly too great. Not only did he save Frozen Cloud Asgard’s most outstanding disciple since their founding, he had also allowed Frozen Cloud Asgard’s level to greatly increase.
Yun Che originally did not care about some Frozen Cloud Asgard’s favor, but once Chu Yueli had said those words, his heart moved as he asked: “Chu fairy is too courteous. With the friendship between me and Qingyue, this isn’t really that much… But, erm, can I really ask for anything?”
When he said those words, his gaze shifted towards Chu Yuechan. Sensing his gaze on her, Chu Yuechan’s looked to the side with a face full of coldness.
Chu Yueli’s eyelashes softly fluttered, and she simply answered with elegance: “This great kindness that you have given our Frozen Cloud Asgard is too difficult for us to repay. If you have any requests, as long as we can accomplish them, as long as they don’t violate our Frozen Cloud Asgard’s principles, we would certainly not refuse.”
“Okay!” Yun Che nodded. That being the case, he no longer had to be modest with Frozen Cloud Asgard: “I hope that the noble Asgard would remember today’s words. If this junior requires any help from the noble Asgard in the future, then this junior would definitely not hold back.”
“Our Frozen Cloud Asgard would never go back on its word. It is only right for us to do this because of the great kindness you have bestowed upon Qingyue.” After finished speaking, Chu Yueli shifted her gaze towards the extremely ugly sight of Fen Moli. At this time, her eyes became as cold as ice crystals: “Fen Moli! My Frozen Cloud Asgard and your Burning Heaven Clan have no grudges nor grievances, yet you, with your status as your clan’s Great Elder, had the nerve to actually dare attack our disciple with a deadly strike! If Qingyue did not have such heavenly luck, then she would’ve died by your hands! Do you, Burning Heaven Clan, wish to become mortal enemies with our Frozen Cloud Asgard?”
In Fen Moli’s previous explosive rage inducing strike, he used around seventy percent of his strength. As for Xia Qingyue’s counterattack, she used at least ninety percent of her strength. In that one exchange, Fen Moli’s internal injuries could be said to be extremely severe. If not for his unwavering profound strength that firmly suppressed it, he would have already fainted long ago. With fury written all over his face, he took in a large mouthful of air and pointed at Yun Che: “That… That brute! He killed… our clan’s Second Young Master!”
Following the last flickering lights from midair, Heaven Basin Secret Realm had completely closed. But two people had not come out. One was precisely Fen Juebi, and the other, was Mu Tianbei.
“I killed your clan’s Second Young Master?” The corner of Yun Che’s mouth slanted. That disdainful expression looked as if he had heard an amusing joke: “Elder Fen, with which eye did you see me kill your Second Young Master? Hmph, in fact, it was your Burning Heaven Clan’s Fen Juecheng and Fen Juebi who plotted to take advantage of me when I had not fully recovered my strength in Heaven Basin Secret Realm. Not only that, they did not even hesitate to involve Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress’ Mu Tianbei! If it weren’t for Xia fairy’s rescue, I would’ve already died in your Burning Heaven Clan’s two despicable people’s hands!”
“What?” Qin Wushang’s expression changed into that of fury.
“Bullshit!!” Fen Moli angrily replied: “Why would our great Burning Heaven Clan target a nameless junior like you! It was obviously you who had evil intentions and plotted against my Second Young Master!!”
His words “nameless junior”, made many secretly laugh to themselves. Before the ranking tournament, Yun Che was indeed a nameless junior. But now, Yun Che’s overall strength and fame, had far surpassed every member of Burning Heaven Clan’s younger generation. If he was still considered to be a “nameless junior”, then wouldn’t it mean that his Burning Heaven Clan disciples were not even worthy of being called “nameless”?
“Hahahaha!” Yun Che laughed wildly: “Your Burning Heaven Clan’s despicable shamelessness, distorting of facts, and ability to blame the victim first as the guilty, has truly opened my eyes. Fen Juebi did indeed die, but he had clearly died by Mu Tianbei’s hands! At that time, Xia Qingyue and your Young Clan Master were present. Furthermore, I have also heard your Young Clan Master say that you had planted some kind of special soul imprint on Fen Juebi’s body. If he had been killed, then you would immediately know who had killed him… Do you swear on your Burning Heaven Clan’s thousand years of honor, that the person you saw, who killed Fen Juebi, was truly me?!”
“You…” Fen Moli was suddenly at a loss for words, as his faced turned purple. His reaction, had also let everyone clearly understand the truth. They were not at all unfamiliar with such a thing like a dying imprint. But seeing Fen Moli’s reaction, the person he saw, who had killed Fen Juebi, was definitely not Yun Che. Due to that, it was clear that Burning Heaven Clan had shifted this crime on Yun Che’s head. As for everything else Yun Che had said, they ought to be true as well.
Chu Yueli’s crescent brows tightened slightly while asking: “Qingyue, you were really present at that time? What exactly happened?”
Xia Qingyue calmly replied: “Reporting to Master, at that time, disciple was indeed nearby and had heard about the Burning Young Clan Master resenting Sir Yun because of Princess Cang Yue. After he entered the Heaven Basin Secret Realm with Fen Juebi, they had continuously tailed behind Sir Yun together. Furthermore, they had also brought along Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress’ Fort Master Mu, who wanted to put Sir Yun to death. But when they took action, Fort Master Mu had accidentally killed Fen Juebi. With the support of the concealment of ice and snowy weather, disciple took Sir Yun and helped him escape that life-threatening situation. Elder Fen saying that Fen Juebi had died by Sir Yun’s hands… are completely false.”
Xia Qingyue had said the complete truth, but her narration was extremely ingenious. Mu Tianbei accidentally killing Fen Juebi was true, but the one who concocted the “accident” was Yun Che.
Xia Qingyue was like a fairy in snow. With her incomparably beautiful complexion and extraordinary temperament, it was impossible for anyone to doubt her words. Once her words fell, a hissing sound immediately echoed from the surroundings. All kinds of contemptuous gazes lowered onto the six Burning Heaven Clan members and pressured them. They had recently suffered a crushing defeat in the ranking tournament, angered Frozen Cloud Asgard, and now they were held in contempt in everyone’s eyes. If this were to go out, it would very negatively affect their Burning Heaven Clan’s prestige.
Fen Juecheng’s expression continuously changed. He finally clenched his teeth and said with complete discomfort: “Yun Che! You are well aware of how my Second Brother died! This grudge, our Burning Heaven Clan will make you pay in blood!”
Yun Che laughed coldly. Just when he was about to counterattack, a low voice suddenly sounded: “Enough!!”
Ling Kun swept the crowd with a gaze full of coldness. His gaze possessed an incomparably heavy oppression. Everyone who was swept past had all stopped breathing instantly. He spoke with indifference: “Wait until you leave Heavenly Sword Villa to settle whatever grudges and grievances you have with one another. How you want to settle it, is none of anyone’s concern. But this Heavenly Sword Villa, is not a place for you to resolve your resentments! I don’t want to know who killed who, or who wants to kill who. What had happened earlier, I can pretend that they did not happen. But after we return to the Villa, if anyone takes action or continue to bring up past grievances, don’t blame me for being impolite!”
The incomparable might brought along by Ling Kun’s words made everyone shut their mouths. As for Burning Heaven Clan’s side, they had also breathed in a sigh of relief. Ling Kun said to Ling Yuefeng: “Yuefeng, I have stayed here long enough. I must leave tomorrow, so the Demon Sealing Ritual should start right now.
Ling Yuefeng nodded: “Everything will be as Elder Ling has planned.” After he finished speaking, he turned to face the crowd: “All of you have already heard what Elder Ling said previously. Everyone has only recently left the Heaven Basin Secret Realm and had spent quite a large amount of their profound energy, so much that some of you still retain injuries. But this is the first time that the Demon Sealing Ritual became open to the public. This ‘demon’ had also used to be an enormous secret. To be able to personally see this demon, as well as the Sealing Ritual, is an extremely rare and valuable experience. I ask everyone to follow Elder Ling and I to the Sword Management Terrace. If you do not wish to come, you may return to your courtyards to rest. Everything is up to you.”
Sealed under Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace was a mysterious “demon”. All the various sects had heard of this matter, and were all curious as to what kind of “demon” it was since the start. It was only natural for them to not want to miss this kind of opportunity. As a result, everyone neatly followed Ling Kun and Ling Yuefeng, and headed for Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace.
But not everyone was interested.
“Qingyue.” Chu Yuechan stopped Xia Qingyue: “Are you interested in this so-called ‘demon’?”
Seeing Chu Yuechan, who was like an icy moon, Xia Qingyue immediately understood why she had stopped her. She slightly shook her head: “Disciple isn’t really that interested.”
“If that’s the case, then follow me. The range of your profound strength’s increase is too large, it would easily cause your profound strength to become unstable and harm your profound veins. It must be stabilized as quick as possible.” After speaking, Chu Yuechan rose in the air and flew in the direction of the courtyards.
“Yes, Senior Master.” Xia Qingyue informed her master Chu Yueli, then followed Chu Yuechan.
Members of the ten large sects quickly returned to Heavenly Sword Villa, and then headed towards the Sword Management Terrace. The assembly of Blue Wind Profound Palace’s four, were undoubtedly conspicuous. Qin Wushang was at the front. Following right behind him were Yun Che, Xia Yuanba, and Cang Yue. Yun Che and Cang Yue were constantly whispering on the way, and Xia Yuanba’s eyes glittered as he eagerly rubbed his hands in anticipation. It was obvious that he was looking forward to see the rumored “demon”.
“Fen Juecheng and them really wanted to kill you?” Cang Yue tightened her brows as she asked while holding back her rage.
“Mn. But don’t worry, a mere Fen Juecheng is no longer a threat to me anymore. But…” Yun Che secretly sighed: “Senior Sister, I probably can’t return to the Blue Wind Profound Palace with you anymore. After we leave Heavenly Sword Villa, Burning Heaven Clan will definitely make their move. I have to escape their notice and then leave alone. They definitely won’t do anything to you, Palace Chief Qin, or Yuanba. Burning Heaven Clan will be hunting me down. I probably cannot return to Blue Wind Profound Palace for a long time, but don’t worry Senior Sister, I have never been afraid of things like people hunting me down. If there is someone chasing me from behind, it would force me to become even more powerful.”
Yun Che’s words immediately tightened Cang Yue’s heart… Burning Heaven Clan firmly believed that Yun Che was Fen Juebi’s cause of death. The death of the mighty Burning Heaven Clan’s Second Young Master would inevitably invoke the sky filling fury of the entire Burning Heaven Clan. The result, would precisely be an unceasing hunt for blood…
That was an assassination from one of the Four Major Sects that the Blue Wind Imperial Family had always been deeply afraid of!!
Even though he had said those words with the most relaxed of tones, he still sensed that Cang Yue’s breathing had momentarily stopped. Her complexion had also become slightly pale, and a pair of small hands firmly grabbed onto him. He immediately comforted: “Senior Sister, there really is no need to worry. Don’t forget, I also have the protection of Frozen Cloud Asgard. If worst comes to worst, I’ll go hide in Frozen Cloud Asgard.”
Chapter 277 - Demon (2)
“But, I’m worried… it’s still the Burning Heaven Clan… How about… How about you hide in the Imperial Palace? Even if they know that you’re in there, they definitely won’t dare to make trouble there.” Cang Yue said in a panic as she tightly gripped Yun Che’s hands.
Yun Che shook his head with a slight smile: “Even though Fen Juecheng was the one who started it, if you carefully think about it, I never avoided these conflicts, and had instead intensified them so far, that Fen Juebi died… Perhaps I had subconsciously planned to make the Burning Heaven Clan chase me… After all, being hunted is…” Yun Che let out a small breath of air. He was well familiar and accustomed to a life of being hunted.
“Senior Sister,” Even though the tone in his voice had changed, it was still gentle: “After all these disturbances are over, I’ll bring you home, okay?”
“Bring me… home?”
“Mn!” Yun Che nodded, and raised his head, as if looking into the future: “Although I had been driven out of my clan, it is still the place where I grew up in. The most important thing is that my Grandfather and Little Aunt are there; wherever they are, is my home. It has already been a long time since I have left and there has not been a time that I wished to return… I want to bring Senior Sister home. They would probably be scared out of their minds if they knew that I actually brought home a princess for a wife.”
Just thinking about that possible scene made Yun Che chuckle. Grandfather and Little Aunt’s figures, had also clearly flashed before him… Grandfather, Little Aunt, are you two still well… Unknowingly, I had already left for this long… Did you two get bullied there… After being locked in that desolate rear mountain, have you gotten thinner… You know, I think about you every day…
The current me, finally has enough power to return. I can now beat anyone from Xiao Sect. I will return the continuous misery you two have suffered back, a hundredfold!!
Cang Yue stared blankly for a long time. Her eyes immediately softened to the point that it almost melted. Her heart rate, had also accelerated by several-fold. Her heart that she had been keeping calm, suddenly welled up in nervousness and joy. She quietly lowered her head and answered in an extremely soft voice: “Mn.”
The Sword Management Terrace, was now just up ahead.
Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace was several times larger than the ranking tournament’s Sword Discourse Arena. As far as the eye could see, as many as ten thousand swords flew in the sky above the Sword Management Terrace, stirring up an even greater vortex of sword energy. When walking up the Sword Management Terrace, waves and waves of sword energy would occasionally flit by. The sharp energy dully ached, as if knives were cutting into their face.
Various kinds of swords also covered the entire surface of the Sword Management Terrace, and a few heavy swords were also included among them. Though their numbers was extremely low, it they were definitely not of common grade. Even the most inferior weapon there was at least a Spirit Profound Artifact.
In the middle of the Sword Management Terrace, a pitch-black sword as large as the heavens was halfway into the ground and halfway into the sky. The incomparably enormous sword body released an ancient and heavy aura, making the hearts of the ones who looked at it go silent.
Ling Kun was walking at the very front and stopped in front of the enormous sword. He turned around and said: “This sword, is called ‘Heaven’s Punishment’, and is the suppressed demon’s sword. The demon arrested several hundred years ago, is precisely sealed beneath this sword.”
“The demon is incredibly strong, but inside the sealing formation, his strength has greatly been suppressed, so he should never think of escaping. However, since it is a sealing formation, its power would naturally diminish through time. Every twenty years, Mighty Heavenly Sword Region would always send one person here to strengthen the seal formation.
“The Demon’s existence, was originally a secret. Because the things that are related to him, may possibly affect the life and death of the entire Sky Profound Continent. The reason why we have allowed everyone to witness his true appearance is because not long after last time’s seal strengthening, his relatives used a special method to avoid the Four Great Sacred Grounds’ blockade, and entered the Sky Profound Continent. They asked all over about this demon’s location with the intent to rescue him. At the very end, they had still discovered Blue Wind Empire. If not for our Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s detection, the consequences would have been unthinkable.”
“Oh! Listening to what he said, that demon seems to have come from outside of the Sky Profound Continent… Could it be those non-humans of legends?” Xia Yuanba asked with wide eyes.
“Very likely.” Yun Che carefully nodded. At the same time, he silently thought to himself: The Four Great Sacred Grounds ought to have frequently come in contact with people not from Sky Profound Continent, then doesn’t it mean that they… have come in contact with people from the Azure Cloud Continent!? And know of Azure Cloud Continent’s existence?
Ling Kun’s gaze swept across and then said: “Today, everyone should open their eyes wide and clearly look at the appearance of a demon. In the future, if anyone asks you about people who look similar, you have to inform the Heavenly Sword Villa. Don’t be lazy or negligent by any means! Because that could possibly be another demon! That matter over ten years ago was enough to prove that they found some way to enter the Sky Profound Continent without the Four Great Sacred Grounds being aware of it! If this demon was rescued accidentally and its powers are restored, it would bring a great calamity to the Sky Profound Continent!”
“Bring about a great calamity to the Sky Profound Continent”… These words had undoubtedly shakened everyone’s heart. What kind of an existence was this demon, to actually be this terrible?
Rum… Rumble…
Following Ling Kun’s bizarre hand gesture, an enormous profound formation flashed from under the huge sword. In the profound formation’s rotation, that huge sword as large as the sky slowly rose. Underneath the platform, was the lower half of the sword’s body that had not seen night or day for twenty whole years.
The sword’s body rose higher and higher, gradually reaching a height of several hundred meters. And just at this moment, a voice that sounded like it came from an evil spirit came from below:
“GRR… AAHH!!!! Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, you old dogs! Have you come to visit this granddaddy again… HAHAHAHAHAHA… You pack of shameless, despicable, and treacherous dogs! If you have guts, hurry up and kill me already! I want to become a malicious spirit, tear the skin off your flesh, drink your blood, bite your bones into mush, pulverize your organs… and drag you all down to the eighteenth level of hell , to suffer the penetration of ten thousands of blades for all eternity, and feel the pain of burning in hellfire!!”
This was the most resentful voice they had ever heard and the most malicious of curses. It was even more frightening than the wails of evil spirits in hell… The hair of everyone who had heard this voice stood erect, and chills unceasingly crept up their spine. They had no way of imagining just how large of a resentment it would have to be able to release such heaven frightening earth startling grievances…
The enormous Heaven’s Punishment Sword continued to rise for a little while longer until it had finally stopped. The tip of huge sword moved a similarly sized surface which appeared at the previously empty space.
What appeared in front of the people’s eyes was a huge light yellow half sphere barrier. Within the barrier, was the huge Heaven’s Punishment Sword with several tens of chains on the tip of it firmly sealing a person with a full set of white hair. His hair had reached the ground a long time ago and covered half his body and face. His body was as thin as a match and had a face that was as wrinkled as an evil spirit, but his pair of eyes was as frightening as the sharpest knives in the world and radiated a resentment that was like the abyss of hell.
“That’s… a demon?”
“Being sealed in the profound formation for over a hundred years without eating, drinking or dying. It’s practically an old demon! Sssss… what a terrifying demon, he glanced at me for a moment, and my entire body went cold.”
“So… so scary.” Cang Yue nervously pressed closer to Yun Che, with half her body hidden behind him.
This “demon’s” expression was quite terrifying, and his fury was great. It could even be said that to be the greatest that Yun Che had seen all his life. When he looked at him, even he, was a bit afraid, let alone Cang Yue.
“Jasmine, what kind of person is this? Can you tell?” Yun Che probed.
Jasmine answered with extreme disdain: “Demon? It’s only just a more powerful than the usual human. Hmph, what a joke. A real demon of the demon race is even scarier than what you can imagine!”
Yun Che: “…”
Regarding the “demon” with his incredibly malicious curses and gaze, Lin Kun didn’t alter his expression at all as he calmly and collectedly said: “You want to curse, curse as much as you like. Heh, you think I don’t dare to kill you? If it wasn’t for you still having some uses, being a bargaining chip for exchange at some necessary moments, you would have died several hundred times by now! Why would we go through the trouble of keeping you alive for a hundred years?”
“Fooey!” The demon sneered: “Despicable old dogs, you’re dreaming. Don’t think you can exchange me for anything! I was never willing to die because I wanted to personally see the the great Demon Emperor slaughter your entire family. That day won’t take too long to come… hahahaha!”
“Hahahaha!” Ling Kun laughed madly as well: “It looks like you’re truly unclear on who is actually dreaming. It’s no harm for me to tell you again that your Demon Emperor had already died a long time ago. Died under hands of our Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s Sword Master and the Sun Moon Divine Hall’s Heavenly Monarch. Your pitiful Demon Emperor who had just ascended to the throne, overestimated his own abilities and wanted to take revenge for his father. Tsk tsk… his cries were so pitiful when dying. Right now, the entire Illusory Demon Realm is supported by a little demon empress. Unfortunately, though the pitiful little demon empress has imperial blood, your Illusory Demon Realm doesn’t seem to be willing to let a woman become Emperor. She doesn’t even have time to look after herself… slaughter our whole family? Hahaha, simply an enormous joke.”
“Utter bullshit!” The demon madly howled with rage. Those words of Ling Kun had obviously provoke him and made him completely lose control of his emotions as he violently struggled all over. He moved those chains while clamoring: “How can you bunch of inferior old dogs even compare to our Illusory Demon Realm’s great Demon Emperor! The great Demon Emperor can never die… NEVER! There will be a day when he will personally slaughter everything!!”
Illusory Demon Realm… Demon Emperor…
These strange words repeatedly came out of the two’s conversation, causing Yun Che to become baffled. He looked all around, and noticed that bewilderment was written on everyone’s faces. The only one different, was soley Ling Yuefeng, whose expression could still be regarded as calm.
It seemed like the “Illusory Demon World” and the “Demon Emperor”, were things that only
Sacred-Ground level forces had qualifications to touch upon. It was obvious that there was an enormous animosity between them and the “Illusory Demon World”.
“Hahahaha, then just keep on dreaming!”
During his ridiculous laughter, Ling Kun wiped the spatial ring in his hands and several ten lumps of light yellow crystals hovered in front of his body. The top of every crystal released a power so dense that it made people shake in fear. Along with a wave of Ling Kun’s arm, these several tens of crystals all separately flew towards a corner of the imprisoned “demon’s” light yellow barrier, slowly submerged into the barrier, and became part of the barrier’s power.
Suddenly, the color of the entire barrier became even deeper, causing the tint to become sparkly, it looked as if the yellow light filled its entirety. Those several tens of yellow crystalline objects all contained an incredibly power sealing force. Along with their merging, a once in every twenty years of barrier stabilization was completed at this moment.
Chapter 278 - Frightening Change of Events
“The profound formation used to seal this demon is called the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation.” Ling Kun pointed his finger at the continuously flashing light from the profound formation beneath them, and said: “No matter who it is, in this Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation, their profound strength would be suppressed to the maximum limit. When this demon is being locked under Heaven’s Punishment, he shall never even think of ever escaping this Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation.”
Ling Kun said expressionlessly: “This demon’s outer appearance is completely the same as us, and profound strength is also what he cultivates, yet he possess a type of special ability called ‘Profound Handle’. However, amongst the demons, those who possess ‘Profound Handles’ are also few in number.”
“And now, you have already seen what you all ought to have seen. Remember what I had said previously.” Ling Kun’s gaze swept across the entire audience. Then, he took a step forward and coldly smiled as he stood in front of the barrier: “Demon, you must be really thankful to me since I have allowed you to see sunshine for this long, right? Before sending you back, I have another piece of news that I wish to tell you about… Heh, your son, and your daughter-in-law overestimated themselves and charged straight into Mighty Heavenly Sword Region twenty years ago to save you. But alas, they didn’t know that you had been transferred here a hundred years ago. Hahahahaha.”
The demon trembled all over. Fiercely raising his head, he roared like a madman: “You… What did you do to my son!! What did you do to him! If you harm a hair on my son’s head, I wouldn’t forgive you even if I become a ghost!”
“Tsktsk.” Ling Kun coldly laughed as he shook his head: “Your son was quite crafty, and had actually escaped our Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. He had almost found this place too, but alas, we found them first. What was even more unfortunate is that they thwarted us again, and escaped back to the Illusory Demon World. However, both of them were seriously injured, and had been fleeing for several months, so their life force were pretty much burnt out. Even if they ran back to the Illusory Demon World, they practically had one foot in the grave. I’d reckon that they had already died more than ten years ago.”
The demon’s eyes grew wider without wavering. An endless sadness, anger, and despair crazily erupted from his body. He struggled hysterically, and shouted frantically: “You’re lying!! You’re lying! My son would never die! AHHH!!! Mighty Heavenly Sword bastards… You guys are the ones who deserve to die!! AHH!!”
In the midst of his roar, a hand suddenly extended from the crack within the sealed demon’s chains. Bringing about a boundless hatred, the hand shot straight for where Ling Kun was standing, and a beam of profound energy shot forward.
Cries of shock immediately sounded from the surroundings. Everyone had all subconsciously retreated backwards. Ling Kun had also revealed traces of astonishment, but he was not scared, nor was he in a panic as he stood completely still. The profound energy beam struck the barrier, but did not pass through it. After a light “bang”, it disappeared completely.
“Everyone, fear not. Even though this profound formation barrier cannot prevent others from entering, it can completely keep all kinds of power from going out. The demon cannot harm us.” Ling Yuefeng explained. However, he was not at all calm, because he was well aware of how powerful this Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation was. It was strong enough to suppress someone’s profound strength down to not even one percent of their true strength. But under this suppression, the profound energy aura that came from the attack this demon activated under his rage, was actually not the least bit inferior to his all out strength!
To still be able to unleash an early-stage Emperor Profound strength after being sealed an entire hundred years, and it was even under the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation… his complete strength in a normal situation was simply unimaginable! He was at least, stronger than Ling Kun by who knows how many times.
“Hmph!” Ling Kun coldly snorted in disdain: “To have allowed one of your hands to break through, looks like the previous seal was not tight enough. But no matter, you aren’t that naive to think that you could escape the Meteorite Chain’s seal and Heaven’s Punishment Sword’s suppression, right?”
“You despicable mongrels, I want to kill you… kill you all… AHHHH!!”
Ling Kun’s words from earlier had obviously upset the “demon” greatly, because perhaps to this “demon”, what had kept him going all along without giving in to death, was not the Demon Emperor, but his family. His roar was full of resentment and despair. He waved the only arm he could move, and lines and lines of profound light crazily smashed towards Ling Kun. The shouts he released were no different than that of a wild beast’s. The sounds of his struggles as he twisted and turned within his shackles were ear-piercing.
“Tsktsk, how pitiful.” Ling Kun shook his head: “The former Demon Emperor’s guardian angel, the ‘King’ of Illusory Demon World’s millions of inhabitants, has now become a pitiful mad dog. Even I, am not willing to see such a sight. I guess it’s best to let me… send you down!!”
With a flip of his palm, a strange profound formation crystal was pinched between his fingers. A small scaled profound formation appeared before his body. Subsequently, the profound formation underneath the Heaven’s Punishment Sword began to flicker again in response. Then, it slowly rotated, and gradually moved the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, and the area in which the demon was sealed, downwards.
Even though Ling Kun was strong, he absolutely did not have the power to move this huge seal formation, nor did he have the power to steadily move it. Only with the profound formation made by over ten of Heavenly Mighty Sword Region’s top experts and the sealing power within that heavenly crystal, could he do that. As for Ling Kun himself, frankly speaking, he was just an errand boy and nothing more.
“This demon is really scary.” Cang Yue said with a small voice.
“He really is scary. I wonder what kind of great hatred exists between his Illusory Demon World and Heavenly Mighty Sword Region to have made him be sealed here within a world of no daylight for a full hundred years. There’s not many in this world that could go through that. Even though it looks as if he’s a bit mad, he actually has not truly gone insane. The strength of his spirit, is truly astounding.” Yun Che lamented.
“I also think… that he’s really pitiful, and don’t think that he’s bad person.” Xia Yuanba said carefully in a low voice.
“The grudges and grievances within such a plane like the Sacred Grounds, are things that we can never touch. As such, we even more so, do not have the qualifications to judge whether or not this demon is a bad person… We can only look from afar.” Qin Wushang said.
As the Heaven’s Punishment Sword slowly lowered, the demon’s figure was also beginning to gradually fade from their line of sight. But he still howled like an evil spirit, and the sound resonated past everyone’s ears. His hysterical attacks had also not stopped as chaotic profound streams of light smashed against the barrier: “I will definitely kill you… ALLL!!! I will definitely kill you all!!”
In the midst of his crazed roar, he suddenly stopped his assaults. He stretched his arm out in front of him and fiercely pulled inwards.
Whoosh!!
A burst of wild wind suddenly blew out from within the barrier. Then, it weakly expanded as it passed through the barrier while bringing along a magnetic force. It was obvious that in his extreme rage, this half crazy demon wanted to kill someone, and wanted to drag someone inside to kill them. As long as he could suck them into the barrier, no matter who it was, even if it was Ling Kun, once inside the “Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation”, they were bound for certain death, because even if it was someone stronger than Ling Kun, once inside the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation, their profound strength would also be suppressed down to at most the Spirit Profound Realm.
It was just that after passing through the barrier, the attraction force was extremely feeble, and those currently present were Blue Wind Empire’s strongest experts. This gravitational force was simply too weak to affect them.
“AHHH!!! GRAHHHH!!!”
The Heaven’s Punishment Sword continued to descend, and the demon’s voice had begun to become gloomy. At this time, the nonthreatening attraction force stopped… Two breaths later, an energy current suddenly narrowly centralized outwards, and ferociously charged outwards… And the direction in which the energy current surged towards, was surprisingly… the spot where Yuanba was standing at!!
Everyone present could easily resist the energy current the demon had released with all his strength. This included Cang Yue, who was only at the True Profound Realm. But there was one exception…
Which was the Yuanba with the lowest level profound strength, who was only at the Elementary Profound Realm!
Beneath the energy current, Xia Yuanba was suddenly, and fiercely, sucked in and flew towards the barrier. It was only up until the instant his body touched the barrier, did he let out a frightened cry.
No one had expected this sudden, misfortunate turn of events. None of them would have anticipated that the demon, who was about to be sealed back into the ground, would actually go frenziedly latch onto a youngster who was only at the Elementary Profound Realm. With the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation and the barrier in place, the demon was not suppose to bring them any harm in the first place. But these super strong practitioners that transcended strength, had all subconsciously forgotten about the existence of a super weak practitioner, and did not even think that the demon would use all his strength to take action on a weakling that wasn’t suppose to be there anyway.
“Yuanba!!!”
This was an event that Yun Che totally had not foreseen. They were suppose to be mere spectators here. With numerous experts around them, how could they possibly anticipate that such a disaster would suddenly arrive and target them? As he watched Xia Yuanba get sucked into the barrier, Yun Che paled in fright, and then fiercely charged over in the midst of his explosive roar.
“Don’t go over there!!”
Qin Wushang immediately reached out to pull Yun Che back, but with the swift and mystical movements of “Star God’s Broken Shadow”, Qin Wushang’s lightning fast hands could only grab at his afterimage.
Sss!!!
Yun Che’s speed at this time, had greatly surpassed all of his previous peak speeds. The flashing of his figure had unexpectedly raised the sound of an ear-piercing spatial friction. At the speed of light, he had finally chased towards Xia Yuanba’s rear, and grabbed at his left ankle… But at this instant, both he and Xia Yuanba were sucked into the barrier at the same time, inside the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation!!
Without the barrier’s obstruction, energy current that had been aimed at Xia Yuanba was immediately a thousand times stronger, and quickly dragged them towards the demon at an extremely fast speed… What accompanied them, was the demon’s deranged laughter: “Hahahahaha… Kill! I’m going to kill you all! Kill you all!!”
“Junior Brother Yun!”
“Yun Che!”
“Boss!!”
“Don’t go over there!!”
Cang Yue was firmly locked in place by Qin Wushang. The startled Ling Jie was slapped backwards by Ling Yuefeng. As they watched Yun Che and Xia Yuanba get sucked deeper and deeper into the barrier, everyone’s face had changed color. Ling Kun had previously explained what the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation did to them, and they were incomparably clear about what it meant to be sucked into the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation.
Ling Kun’s expression had also changed greatly. In his eyes, he had undoubtedly lose a large amount of face because this kind of event happened under his watch. But even if he was given ten times more courage, he would not enter the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation to rescue them… And even if he did go in, it was simply impossible for him to rescue them. Instead, it would’ve been like setting himself up for suicide. He could only look on helplessly as the two youths continued to get sucked towards the demon.
“Br… Brother-in-law!!” Xia Yuanba screeched out loud. His face had turned deathly white when he looked behind him and saw Yun Che, who had firmly grabbed onto his ankle.
An incredibly huge suppression surged forth from every direction and firmly locked onto Yun Che’s profound veins, making him feel as if his profound strength was being frozen by a force that he was unable to expel… But this feeling of suppression could only last for a short period of time… The Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation could indeed maximally suppress any human’s profound strength at will, but at this moment, Yun Che had become Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation’s sole exception, because his profound veins were not any ordinary person’s profound veins, but rather profound veins that came from a True God!!
As for a True God’s profound veins, how could a mere Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation from the mortal world possibly suppress it?!
“AHHHH!!!”
Following the rays of flashing red light from the Evil God’s Profound Veins, that feeling of suppression immediately dissipated without a trace. After releasing an explosive roar, his entire body surged with a blood-red radiance. It was also at this time, that his eyes had instantly changed into a scarlet color.
“Purgatory!!”
In this moment between life and death, Yun Che had no reservations whatsoever to forcefully open the third gate. Under the explosive surge in profound strength, he concentrated all his strength on his right arm and suddenly flung Xia Yuanba backwards…
In this split second, he forcibly broke out from the demon’s irresistible gravitational force, and flung Xia Yuanba far behind him. Then, he shouted once more as he turned around in midair and used all his strength to continuously push at Xia Yuanba…
“Yuanba… leave!!”
Whoosh!!
Following Yun Che’s loud roar, all of his strength transformed into a surging storm, struck at Xia Yuanba, and rapidly sent him flying far away, outside the barrier… As for he, himself, under the rebound and the demon’s magnetic force, he flew towards the demon at an even faster pace.
“Br… other-in-law!!”
Xia Yuanba’s flying body flew further and further away… Until he finally arrived at the edge of the barrier… At the instant in which his body separated itself from the barrier, he saw Yun Che flash a faint smile that brimmed with satisfaction before he closed his eyes…
Bang!!
After Xia Yuanba fell out of the barrier, he heavily smashed onto the ground. He, who was bound for certain death had actually been miraculously thrown outside the barrier. His head was spinning in circles and his body ached all over with extreme pain. Before he even had time to breathe, he got up and threw himself at Yun Che while releasing a heart breaking, lung rendering wild cry: “Brother-in-law… Brother-in-law!!”
It was also at this time that Yun Che’s back landed onto the demon’s palm. With a loud sound, his back was immediately burst open. His flesh was broken into pieces as his bones scattered everywhere. A bloody arrow around six meters in length spurted forth from his mouth. Subsequently, as if a broken puppet, his entire being was tossed aside into the distance and no longer moved. A large pool of blood rapidly spread from underneath his body… the final thing he heard with his last bit of consciousness, was the demon’s wild laughter, which contained an incomparable elation.
Boom!!
The Heaven’s Punishment Sword suddenly dropped down at an extremely fast rate. Then, in the midst of a loud sound, it completely fell down, sealing the demon, as well as the already deceased Yun Che, into an unimaginable depth under the Sword Management Terrace.
“Junior Brother Yun!!” Cang Yue released a desperate blood-curling scream. Then, both her eyes turned over as she fainted.
Chapter 279 - The Fallen Genius
“Brother-in-law… Brother-in-law… Brother-in-law!!”
Xia Yuanba rushed forward as if he was insane, and threw himself under the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. Both of his hands smashed the platform under the Heaven’s Punishment Sword with *bang* sounds, until the skin between his thumb and index finger bursted open with blood. But the suppression of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword couldn’t be shaken in the slightest even if all the power of the whole Heavenly Sword Villa were combined together. Let alone one Xia Yuanba, even ten million Xia Yuanbas would not be able to cause the slightest bit of damage.
Everyone’s faces were filled with shock. They never would have thought that Yun Che, who defeated the core disciples of several major sects at the age of seventeen, who took first place in the ranking tournament, whose name that shook the continent, would so quickly perish in this kind of unexpected manner in front of them right after he had obtained such a extremely dazzling aura.
And the reason why he perished, was not due to an accident from the hands of the demon, but was due to trying to save a person who was not even worthy of being called “trash” in their eyes. As they sighed, they didn’t know whether to commend him for his loyalty, or to lament at his foolish behavior.
“How did it end up like this….” Qin Wushang was shocked silly. Standing there for a long time and not knowing what to do, his eyes enlarged the longer he looked on. Glory and pride were brought to Blue Wind Imperial City, but a nightmare happened so suddenly, just like that. He raised his head, and heavily gasped for air. He felt so depressed, as if his chest was about to explode. Clasping on a trace of hope, he took incomparably heavy strides towards Ling Kun, stood in front of him, and lifelessly asked: “Elder Ling, is it possible to lift the Heaven’s Punishment Sword?… Maybe Yun Che… Maybe he…”
Halfway through his sentence, Qin Wushang could no longer continue speaking due to grief. So what if they lifted the Heaven’s Punishment Sword? In that one strike from the demon, everyone could clearly see the horrible sight of Yun Che. That kind of heavy wound, let alone a person in the early levels of the Spirit Profound Realm, even a strong profound practitioner at the Sky Profound Realm would undoubtedly be dead… with no possible sliver of hope that they could be alive.
Qin Wushang’s words startled the Xia Yuanba, who was sobbing in desperation. He abruptly threw himself at Ling Kun. With a loud plop, Yuanba knelt firmly in front of Ling Kun, and grabbed his legs with his freshly bloodied hands. “Elder Ling… Elder Ling I beg you… I beg you to please be merciful and lift the Heaven’s Punishment Sword… Brother-in-law… he wouldn’t die so easily… please… please… I beg you to save Brother-in-law!!”
Xia Yuanba’s voice was hoarse and filled with desperation, letting those who heard him tremble in their hearts. Ling Kun’s face was quite unsightly, as he was ultimately the main cause of this incident. If it wasn’t because he suddenly had an idea before the ranking tournament to let the top ten sects to observe the Demon Sealing Ritual, this would not have happened. If it was Xia Yuanba who died, this incident would have been a small matter that would have been forgotten really quickly…. That’s right! No one would remember weaklings, not to mention a dead weakling. This was the true reality of the situation.
But Yun Che; he was the champion of the ranking tournament! More importantly, he was sectless, did not belong to any faction, and fought with the identity as the sole disciple that represented the Profound Palace’s Imperial Family. This achievement of his stimulated and excited countless sectless youths who dreamt of becoming a strong person. The uproar he incited by winning the tournament this time exceeded every ranking tournament. Those in Heavenly Sword Villa had no idea, but within the borders of the Blue Wind Empire, Yun Che had already caused a huge storm. Especially in the Blue Wind Imperial City; the whole city was already in a celebrative atmosphere, and were preparing to welcome Yun Che’s return. Even Blue Wind Emperor, Cang Wanhe, was glowing pink with happiness while awaiting their triumphant return every day.
Yun Che’s perfect control of the heavy sword, had even made Ling Kun feel like bringing him to Heavenly Mighty Sword Region.
But such a person, had perished just like that.
If this incident were to be leaked, the wave of terrible public opinion that it would bring along, would be no different than an enormous wave that could lift the entire Blue Wind Empire into the sky.
Ling Kun took a deep breath, and spoke with a heavy voice: “Preposterous! The suppression of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword can’t be released on a mere whim. The profound formation that I just activated required the cooperation of more than a dozen Heavenly Mighty Sword Region’s elders and it also took a long time to finish…. Sigh! Even if it was possible to release it, so what? The wound he received just now… he has to be dead. He caused it himself… you all should… just give up.”
Every word that Ling Kun said was the truth and everyone agreed. Even within the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation, this demon was still able to release a profound strength at the level of the Emperor Profound Realm. That one attack was not something that Yun Che could possibly withstand. When they saw the injury Yun Che received under that one palm had caused their entire body to shudder all over. That type of injury, if it were inflicted on any other person, even if they had mountains of spiritual pellets and miracle herbs, it would still be impossible for them to survive that..
Even in an optimistic scenario, even if he didn’t die and had one breath of air left, he was still in the directly provoked and crazed demon’s grasp. How could he possibly still live!
Even in the most optimistic scenario possible, even if the demon decided to not kill him, and he miraculously lives… Heaven’s Punishment Sword’s suppression could only be released once every twenty years. Because of the demon’s great strength, even without eating and drinking for a hundred years, he wouldn’t die. But at Yun Che’s level, one to two months was the absolute maximum. After that, he would die to hunger and thirst.
No matter what, Yun Che was bound for certain death.
“Sigh!” Qin Wushang sighed, shut his eyes, as his heart filled with grief.
Xia Yuanba stopped moving. He knelt there, frozen still, as if he suddenly died.
“Yuanba, stand up, you have to properly live on. Only with that, would you be worthy of this life that Yun Che sacrificed his to save.” Qin Wushang said dejectedly. After he finished speaking, there was no response at all from Xia Yuanba. He lowered his head, and wanted to pull Yuanba back up, but he suddenly saw two very distinct long streaks of blood on Xia Yuanba’s face.
Tears of blood!! Only when a person was in extreme grief, extreme pain, and when their spirit was on the verge of collapse, with their soul in endless lamentation, would they bleed out tears of blood!!
Qin Wushang’s heart was violently shocked. In this moment, he could understand that he had continuously underrated Yun Che and Xia Yuanba’s bond and feelings. He would not have known that when Yun Che’s profound veins were crippled, Yun Che had suffered under the extreme coldness and ridicule from others. Apart from his Grandfather and Little Aunt, only Xia Yuanba had constantly stood beside him, encouraging and comforting him, time and time again fought until bloodied against the people who mocked him. When Yun Che was young, Xia Yuanba was half of Yun Che’s mental support, and was this lifetime’s one and only true brother who he had engraved deep into his heart. As Yun Che became more powerful and brilliant, there would always be different kinds of “friends” around him. But the relationships with those kinds of friends would never ever be able to compare to the time when he was at his lowest, when everyone looked at him with contempt, when he was seen to have no future. Would never be able to compare with Xia Yuanba’s pure and authentic feelings.
That was why when Yun Che became strong, he could not stand a single instance where Xia Yuanba had been bullied. Whoever hurt Xia Yuanba, he would make the other party pay the greatest of prices. When he saw Xia Yuanba encounter a crisis, he would have no hesitation trading his own life for his… because Xia Yuanba was completely worth it for him to do so.
Qin Wushang hurriedly crouched in front of Xia Yuanba, and consolingly said: “Yuanba, are… are you okay? Sigh… if you want to cry, then loudly cry it all out. After crying, you must live well, live to prepare Yun Che’s funeral, and even more so, live to help Yun Che finish the things he had not finished…”
Qin Wushang’s comforting words had no effect on Xia Yuanba at all. He knelt there, unmoving, with a face so pale there was no shred of color. His eyes were empty without a trace of life, and the two streams bloody tears on his pale face made it incomparably chilling…
“Yuanba!” Qin Wushang loudly shouted.
This loud shout startled Xia Yuanba, as if shocking him awake from a nightmare. He suddenly screamed “ah”, stood up, and charged towards the north in a crazed manner. That lung piercing and heartbreaking scream resolutely piercing into everyone’s heart like countless needles filled with endless grief and sadness. No one stopped him. Their eyes filled with complex expressions as they watched him run out of their line of sight.
“Yuanba!!” Qin Wushang shouted. He wanted to chase, but he could not leave the unconscious Cang Yue. He sighed deeply, and his heaviness in his heart could even crush a mountain
“Villa Master Ling, please find someone to look after my disciple Yuanba.” Qin Wushang said helplessly, not willing to speak with any other person. He picked up Cang Yue, and flew towards their courtyard with a back that looked extremely lonely and desolate.
“How could this happen… How could this happen…” Ling Jie sat down on his butt, and blankly looked at the enormous Heaven’s Punishment Sword as his heart instantly chaotically tangled like hemp rope.
“The heavens are truly jealous of such outstanding talent.” Ling Yun shut his eyes, and said sympathetically.
“Elder Wugou, send someone to closely follow the one called… Xia Yuanba, don’t let him get into any accidents. Furthermore, let Grandmother Jiumu go to Princess Cang Yue to check up on her. Don’t let her body and spirit get hurt. Sigh.” Ling Yuefeng finished his instructions and sighed deeply. The achievement of becoming the champion of the ranking tournament with profound strength at the True Profound Realm was unprecedented, but just like this, a peerless genius seen once in a thousand years, had fallen. There was no way that anyone would not feel regret.
“Yes.” Ling Wugou’s said in a dignified tone as he left.
“We should leave too.” Chu Yueli eyes fluctuated with a complicated expression as she took Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin, and silently left. She felt a bit a regret at Yun Che’s death, and a bit of pity. At the same time, she also felt a hint of rejoice that she should not have… because since this had happened, Xia Qingyue would be completely free of worldly bindings, and could focus on meditation in Frozen Cloud Asgard, until the day she takes over as the Asgard Mistress, and lead Frozen Cloud Asgard to stand at the very peak of Blue Wind Empire. The gargantuan favor that Frozen Cloud Asgard owed to Yun Che, had also disappeared into thin air.
Most of the people were in lamentation, but there were also some people who rejoiced in other people’s misfortune. For Fen Juecheng, this result was simply a gift sent from the heavens. He laughed coldly to himself and thought: “Idiot! He gave up his life to save a piece of trash… A complete idiot! But you should still be considered lucky to have you died so cleanly. If it was up to me, don’t even think about dying so easily!”
The crowd gradually began to disperse. They could imagine the huge storm that would be stirred due to Yun Che’s sudden death within the Blue Wind Empire.
Ling Kun stood at his original spot and looked at the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. He tightly knitted his brows as he pondered: Odd! After Yun Che entered the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation, the power he released clearly did not weaken compared to what he had before he entered… Why was he not affected by the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation? Is it because of some special circumstance, or maybe it’s because the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation has a loophole?
But the guy was already dead. There was no point if he continued to think about these things. With a flick of his sleeve, he became a stream of light and disappeared from the Sword Management Terrace.
……………………
“Wh… at? What did you say… What did you say!?”
When Chu Yueli told the complete incident of Yun Che’s fall to Xia Qingyue, without even hearing Xia Qingyue’s response, she had instead first heard Chu Yuechan’s trembling voice that was similar to a lotus leaf in a fierce wind.
Chu Yuechan stood up, and ice spirits around her entire body became hysterical. Chu Yueli looked at her with a confused expression. Not understanding, she asked: “Elder sister, what’s wrong? You……”
“You said, he died… He… died…?”
In this moment, Chu Yuechan’s voice was as weak as if it had floated from the clouds. Her eyelashes, gaze, ice spirits, and entire body… shivered and trembled… Chu Yueli was shocked. She understood her sister better than anyone in this world. There was practically nothing in this world that could shake her heart. But now, her feelings were obviously out of control… and they were completely out of control! Out of all her memories, this was through and through, the first time ever. She took a few steps forward, stood in front of Chu Yuechan, and anxiously asked: “Elder sister, what happened? You… You wouldn’t have heard something wrong right? I said the person who died was Yun Che. He tried to save Xia Yuanba who came with him, and died at the hands of the demon. His corpse is also with the demon, suppressed beneath the Sword Management Terrace…”
Chu Yueli hadn’t finished speaking, but Chu Yuechan had already flew out, leaving behind an unequaled desolate freezing gust of wind.
“Elder sister!” Chu Yueli exclaimed, and hurriedly chased after her.
Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
As for Xia Qingyue… She sat there unmoving. Her gaze was even more thoroughly stationary, without a single tint of color and focus as she looked forward. Even her breathing and heartbeat had completely stopped. In an instant, her entire person had become a lifelessly beautiful, ice statue…
Chapter 280 - The Siblings Part Ways
Chu Yuechan took to the skies and flew swiftly with a pair of beautiful eyes that were misty yet expressionless. As if she had lost her soul, she didn’t respond in the slightest to the urgent shouts from Chu Yueli.
In the end, she landed on the Sword Management Terrace, and stood in front of that huge Heaven’s Punishment Sword. She looked at that tall and erect sword shape, and the aura that was as boundless as the sea. Her usually ice-cold eyes, cheeks, and cherry blossom lips began to tremble: “Dead…dead… you’re actually dead…dead…”
“Elder sister!” Chu Yueli finally caught up. Chu Yuechan’s never before seen strange behavior sent her heart into a state of turmoil. She held onto Chu Yuechan’s arm and panickly said: “Elder sister, what’s wrong? What exactly is going on here? Tell me quickly…”
Chu Yuechan didn’t have the slightest reaction to her arrival and voice. She foolishly looked at that Heaven’s Punishment Sword and muttered in a daze: “Why are you dead… Why… Why!!”
Bang!!
A frantic icy cold power dispersed from Chu Yuechan’s body and shocked Chu Yueli far away. She charged toward the Heaven’s Punishment Sword and countless ice lotuses crazily exploded on the Heaven’s Punishment Sword as she produced waves of shattering grief. Every single one of her attacks contained her utmost possible strength. The power that a frantic Throne released contained an incredibly frightening might. Cold air roiled around the entire Sword Management Terrace as ice crystals filled the sky…
“Why… Why are you dead…”
“I don’t believe it… Come out for me… Come out!!”
“Why are you dead… Why… Did you forget what you said… You clearly told me that you were a true man… How can you die… Come out… Come out!!”
“Weren’t you going to conquer me… Didn’t you want to go to Frozen Cloud Asgard to find me… Then why did you die… Come out…”
“…Please come out… As long as you come out… I’ll do… whatever you say… Come out… come out…”
Like a furry of rain, countless ice crystals crazily struck the Heaven’s Punishment Sword; however, let alone shaking it, not even a single scratch remained on the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. The sound of every collision was deafening, but the cold roiling winds contained an incomparable grief. Chu Yuechan’s voice went from desperation and heartbreaking to resentment and anger… Until finally, it became the most mournful cries and pleading…
At this moment, she wasn’t the Fairy of Frozen Beauty that the men of the world could only dream of admiring, but didn’t dare to look at. She was now an emotionless and soulless ordinary woman…
“Elder… sister…” Looking at Chu Yuechan’s actions, she felt her grieving emotions. When she heard her voice, Chu Yueli became completely dumbfounded. No matter how unbelievable it was, she had no choice but to imagine an absurd possibility… When this possibility appeared in her brain, she almost had a nervous breakdown.
The huge trembles on the Sword Management Terrace quickly drew in people from the Heavenly Sword Villa. Ling Yuefeng and several elders who weren’t that far away rapidly rushed over. They simultaneously stared at the situation before their eyes.
When the others arrived, Chu Yueli’s heart tightened. She rapidly advanced, and tenaciously embraced Chu Yuecan while: “Elder sister, stop hitting. That’s the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, it’s impossible to move… Yun Che is already dead… already dead!!”
Chu Yuechan’s body stiffened and suddenly halted all her movements… Chu Yueli’s words were like the final straw that turned her last hopes into completely despair.
“Plop…”
Streaks of bloody arrows spouted out from Chu Yuechan’s mouth onto the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. Her eyes shut, and all of her consciousness changed into a blank despair as her entire body slowly fell backwards.
“Elder sister!!”
Chu Yueli cried out in alarm. After a brief period of dazzlement, she quickly held the unconscious Chu Yuechan and flew towards the direction of the courtyards.
“Fairy of Frozen Glass, what’s going on?” Ling Yuefeng quickly asked.
Chu Yueli seemed to not hear him. She flew away with Chu Yuechan without talking to anyone, and quickly disappeared from their sights.
Seeing the scarlet pool of bloodstains on the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, Ling Yuefeng’s heart suddenly lurched and he urgently said: “Quickly! As soon as Grandmother Jiumu heals Princess Cang Yue, tell her to leave for the courtyard where the Fairy of Frozen Beauty is staying!!”
Yun Che’s death made a majority of people feel regret, but that was only regret. However, his death stirring up a series of chain reactions was something they never could have thought of.
Chu Yuechan overestimated herself. She originally thought that Yun Che’s wrongful binding made her restricted and helpless. She believed with her temperament, she could completely sever all emotions regarding Yun Che. She believed that her original reason for coming to the Heavenly Sword Villa was to see Yun Che one last time, settle all of her gratitude and resentments, and then be rid of any earthly thoughts.
But she truly didn’t understand herself, and truly didn’t understand her womanly feelings.
In the realm of the Dragon God Trial, those five months of close embrace, five months of being taken care of, those five months of him always being in front of her and defeating all that posed risks to her body, five months of rather being bruised and scarred than her receiving the slightest bruise… All those, were enough to melt any woman’s stone heart.
Let alone, Chu Yuechan, who never had a heart of stone. In this world, apart from the dead and the undead, there could never be anyone who was completely emotionless. She just happened to live within the icy cold Frozen Cloud Asgard, and had her emotions frozen by the environment and her sect’s profound arts. However, when these frozen emotions were released after melting, the blazing passion that came forth would far surpass any ordinary person, and far surpass her own imagination…
The moment she heard news of Yun Che’s death, she finally realized this fact, after feeling her soul suddenly get strangled by the attacks of pain and despair. However, it was already too late…
“Junior Sister Xia, are you alright? Are… you alright?”
Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin accompanied Xia Qingyue at her side and asked with concern. Because after hearing news of Yun Che’s death, Xia Qingyue had practically lost her soul, and just stared in front of her without moving for a long time. They originally thought the reason why she married Yun Che was to repay a debt of gratitude and fulfil her father’s wishes. They didn’t think she would have any feelings for him, and thought that even if she heard the news of his death, she would feel a bit regretful. However, Xia Qingyue’s reaction right now, completely went beyond their expectations.
Under their unceasing shouts, Xia Qingyue’s beautiful eyes finally focused somewhat. Her towering chest began to violently move up and down for a long time, until she gently shook her head: “I… I’m fine.”
She slowly stood up. Her movements were stiff, as if she was a marionette. The moment she stood up, her foot staggered and she almost toppled to the ground. Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin promptly supported her with eyes full of concern and complexity.
“What Master said… are they all true?” Xia Qingyue opened her mouth and asked with a voice as light as smoke.
The two nodded simultaneously and Shui Wushuang said: “For the sake of rescuing your little brother… he pushed your brother back and personally landed into the hands of the demon. WIth a single palm from the demon… his body was practically penetrated and he died right away. Even his corpse, is with the demon….”
“Don’t say anymore.” The last color of rosiness Xia Qingyue’s face ultimately faded completely and went so pale that it was as if she had fallen seriously ill. She held the corners of her dress with both her hands and each her delicate jadelike fingers were deathly pale. A feeling of desperation and powerlessness filled her entire body, and her heart felt like it had been pierced by an uncountable number of needles more painful than death.
How could it be like this…
Is it because I’m truly unqualified to be a wife…
Why didn’t I choose to go to the Sword Management Terrace together…
She muttered within her heart and gently shrugged off the two people’s hands who were supporting her. With light steps, she slowly advanced. With an expressionless gaze, she said: “I want to go by myself… to the Sword Management Terrace.”
Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin looked at each other and saw the peculiar expression in each other’s faces. They didn’t stop her and didn’t go with her either. They stayed far behind Xia Qingyue. Wu Xuexin lightly sighed: “Looks like, the elders aren’t wrong about this. The emotions between men and women, we really can’t touch any of it… it’s too harmful. This could possibly become the inner devil within Junior Sister Xia’s heart.”
Shui Wushuang said: “I never thought that Junior Sister Xia would truly develop feelings for that Yun Che. Sigh, but this is good as well. Once Yun Che dies, the emotional roots she shouldn’t have, should completely be severed…”
After leaving the courtyard, Xia Qingyue staggeringly walked a while. She suddenly saw the figure of Xia Yuanba in front of her eyes. He lowered his head and mechanically walked forward like a zombie. On his face, hung two streaks of undried bloody traces. When Xia Qingyue saw him, he saw Xia Qingyue as well. Every time he had seen her in the past, he would run to her with a face full of joy and shout “big sister”; however this time, his face only displayed terror, as he panickedly retreated. He roared in a low voice, and then turned around to run.
“Yuanba!”
Xia Qingyue’s gaze trembled, and then she flew after him. She landed in front of Xia Yuanba, and Xia Yuanba stopped his footsteps. Both his hands blocked his front, and shouted with his coarse voice: “Don’t… don’t come over here… don’t come near me!!”
“Yuanba, what happened to you?” Xia Yuanba’s current appearance made Xia Qingyue’s heart even more painful. She knew that because of Yun Che’s death, the most heartbroken one would inevitably be Xia Yuanba. Not only did he have to bear the pain within his heart, he also had a guilt and remorse which were countless times more painful.
“Don’t come near me!” Xia Yuanba fell back as his tears gushed out: “I already killed Brother-in-law, I don’t want to kill big sister too. I beg you, don’t come, don’t come near me!”
“Yuanba, don’t be like this. It’s not your fault…”
“No! It is my fault! It is my fault!” Xia Yuanba knelt on the ground and painfully wept: “It was me, the trash, that killed Brother-in-law… it’s all me… it’s all me… Why wasn’t the one who died me… Why couldn’t I have died earlier! AHHH!!”
He cried painfully and raised his fist to viciously pound at his own head. Every strike was incredibly heavy. Xia Qingyue took a step forward: “Yuanba, don’t…”
“Don’t come over here!!” Xia Yuanba frantically tried to escape backwards with both hands blocking in front of him. Tears fiercely rushed down his face, his voice was coarse and filled with sorrow: “You’re my older sister, my close relative. Brother-in-law is my brother and also my close relative… Brother-in-law became increasingly stronger and turned into someone that I admire. He brought me, this trash, to the Blue Wind Profound Palace that I yearned for day and night and brought to to the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament that I didn’t even dare dream of being at… When I was bullied, no matter how powerful the opponent was, he would viciously beat the opponent and made them not dare to bully me again…”
“I fearlessly enjoyed everything that brother-in-law brought. His glory is also my glory because he is my most intimate Brother-in-law… But… but what did I do for brother-in-law… what did I do… I killed Brother-in-law… I killed brother-in-law… AHHHH… I’m trash… trash that’s lower than a dog… A trash who killed Brother-in-law… trash!!!”
“Yuanba…” Xia Qingyue bit her lips and didn’t know how to comfort Xia Yuanba, whose spirit was so extremely shattered right now.
Xia Yuanba’s pain continued for a very long time as he cried like a child in despair. His unceasing tears quickly drenched a large portion of the ground. Xia Qingyue didn’t say much anymore, and quietly watched him cry… Crying in pain is fine, at least he could expel some of the pain and sorrow within his heart…
The sound of wind whistled through the air. After some time had passed, Xia Yuanba finally stopped his painful crying, and gradually, his sobs had begun to disappear as well. He knelt on the ground with his hair hanging down. After being calm for a long time, he slowly stood up from the ground and all of a sudden, said gently: “Elder sister, I’m leaving.”
“Leave? Where are you going? Returning home?”
“No, I’m not returning home. I don’t have the face to return home…” Xia Yuanba bitterly smiled: “Even if a trash like me does return home, I would have to live under Father’s protection. Perhaps there will be a day, where I’ll cause even father to die as well… I don’t want to be trash anymore. I don’t want to kill the intimate people beside me anymore…”
“I need to leave… I need to search for a power that won’t make me trash anymore… I need to become stronger… I don’t want to be trash anymore…”
Xia Yuanba raised his hand and wiped the tears off his face. Then, he determinedly exposed a smile: “Elder sister, don’t worry about me. I promise you that I won’t die… because the life that I have now is a life that Brother-in-law traded for with his own. No matter what, I won’t allow myself to die… I only ask for Elder sister to not stop me and not look for me either… I will return one day… Wait for the day I return, when I’ll use my own power to protect Elder sister, protect Father… protect everyone that I want to protect…”
Xia Qingyue: “…”
Xia Yuanba left with his back facing Xia Qingyue. His pace was unusually slow, but they were incredibly firm and unwavering. He didn’t bring anything; he didn’t even bring a single yellow profound coin. No one knew where he was going, perhaps he, himself, did not know either. Even less people knew and understood the sadness, pain, blame, and remorse that filled this sixteen year old youth’s heart… as well as his thirst for power…
Xia Qingyue didn’t chase after him, and only dazedly stared at Xia Yuanba’s parting figure. Through her hazy gaze, she saw the usually cheerful, carefree, little brother who was always full of passion, unyieldingly grow up.
“Yuanba, take care of yourself. I’ll wait for you to return.” Xia Qingyue lightly whispered. She pressed her hand to her chest and closed her eyes: “Yuanba… thank you for teaching me how to be strong…”
Chapter 281 - A Great Disturbance (1)
Floating Cloud City, Xiao Clan’s rear mountain, Reflection Gorge.
Returning from hunting, Xiao Lie was carrying a skinny wild rabbit in one hand. His face revealed mild happiness. As he sat down to prepare the prey he had caught, he heard the sounds of his daughter practicing swordsmanship.
At the start of their imprisonment, the Xiao Clan would send them food everyday. He was still able to occasionally obtain some information about how the Xiao Clan was from the disciples that delivered food. After some time, the frequency of the delivery of food became lesser and lesser and eventually, three months later, nobody sent them food anymore. Obviously, being imprisoned for twenty years and having no close relatives to rely on would mean that no one in the clan would bother to care about them. In the beginning, people had still somewhat pitied them. Eventually, they left them to their own demise in the rear mountain.
Luckily, the rear mountains were not completely barren. In the area that they were allowed in, they could obtain some vegetables and occasionally were able to capture one or two delicious low ranked profound beasts. Just like this, the parent and child survived. Xiao Lie had also thought about escaping with Xiao Lingxi. After all, he could not let the most beautiful time of her daughter’s life be wasted like this, trapped in the gorge. However, once he escaped, he would not doubt that they would be hunted by the Xiao Clan… After all, they were imprisoned under orders of the fourth young master of the Xiao Sect. He was not afraid of being punished or even being labelled as a traitor who betrayed his sect. However, he was worried about Xiao Lingxi.
All this time, Xiao Lingxi spent more of her time each day concentrating on training. After all, there was nothing much she could do besides that. Having no distractions, her progression was quite fast. She had already broken through to the ninth level of the Elementary Profound Realm.
“AHHH!!!”
The young girl’s cries were suddenly heard coming from the outside. Xiao Lie immediately stopped what he was doing and immediately sprinted out. Outside, he saw Xiao Lingxi sitting on the floor with her hands to her chest. The sword that already had rust on it had been thrown to one side.
“Xi’er, what’s wrong?” Xiao Lie rushed forward and anxiously asked.
Although Xiao Lingxi’s clothes were clean, they had already turned pale with age. Her skin did not become dry and rough under the constant blowing of the wind in the rear mountain. Instead, she was now even more graceful and pretty. Even the old clothes that she was wearing seemed to give off a special aura. However, compared to before, she had become visibly thinner. Within her pair of beautiful eyes, one could see the worry that she attempted to conceal. She seemed like an injured fairy, and would cause one’s heart to ache in pity for her.
“I don’t know…” Xiao Lingxi gently shook her head, her hand still clutching her chest. Her brows trembled uncontrollably: “My chest suddenly felt very very painful just now… Wuuuu… It really hurts…”
“Chest?” His daughter’s appearance made Xiao Lie’s heart ache. He thought for a while and said: “Don’t stand up yet. Perhaps you are just too tired from sword practice. Rest a while and it should be fine.”
“Mn.” Xiao Lingxi replied obediently. Her eyebrows knitted tightly, for the pain seemed to have come from her soul. The pain was bone-piercing and with it, numerous thoughts of Yun Che floated into her heart and mind. She suddenly cried out loud: “Father… I’m not afraid of this pain… But… I miss Little Che… Where is he now… When he left, he didn’t have much money. Also, he was so weak, would he be bullied by others? Would he have enough food? Would he even have a proper place to sleep? Would he… Would he… Wuu… uuu… I miss him… I’m so worried about him.”
Xiao Lingxi covered her face and started sobbing. Since young, before that incident happened, she had always been with Yun Che. There were nearly inseparable. She also would never have thought that she would be separated from him one day… However, fate was cruel. They were separated due to circumstances, and had been separated for a very long time. Separation for such a long period of time was an immense torture for her. Her thoughts about him increased day by day, and she could only rely on hardcore training to divert her attention.
The sudden heartache caused all the longing that she desperately tried to hold back to blow out of control. It was sudden, as though water was gushing out of a broken dam, and fiercely eliminated any bit of control she might have over her feelings. She broke. Her feelings poured out of her along with loose tears that gushed out from her eyes.
Xiao Lie let out a long sigh and gently comforted her: “Xi’er, Che’er has already grown up. He is already a real man. Perhaps, leaving the Xiao Clan was beneficial for him. Outside, he would undergo hardships and grow up. Even if he had to suffer a little and get injured, it would still be worth it.”
“Xi’er, don’t cry. He will become stronger outside. As his little aunt, you should be stronger than him. When he comes back, you need to show him a more energetic you. That would no doubt make him the happiest… Che’er has said before, he would be back within three years. As a man, I believe he would fulfill his promise and do what he said.”
Xiao Lingxi still continued to cry, but after hearing Xiao Lie’s words, she fiercely nodded her head before wiping off the tears on her face. However, the sudden gush of longing and heart-piercing pain within her could not be stopped…
Little Che… Where are you… I really miss you… I don’t need you to come back to see us in three years… I just want you to be safe… You have to be safe…
Heavenly Sword Villa, in front of the Sword Management Terrace.
Xia Qingyue was dressed completely in white as she stood silently in front of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. The wind above the Sword Management Terrace constantly blew at her, and unceasingly raised her hair and sleeves. However, it was unable to shift her gaze. She stood alone for a very long time, with only the flying swords in the sky as companions.
The sky started to turn dark as dusk slowly arrived. The wind from the swords had also begun to carry some coldness. A sudden gust caused her long hair to be gently blown into her face. Suddenly, deliberately gentle footsteps approached her from behind some distance away. The footsteps startled Xia Qingyue’s silent thoughts.
Her gaze shuddered a little as she continued to look forward as she muttered softly: “Husband… Let Qingyue be your wife in your next life as well… Is, that okay… That Qingyue will be a… proper wife… okay…?”
Her soft muttering disappeared within the sounds of the wind. No one could hear what she had said. She turned around, and behind her, was a dashing young man standing in place.
Seeing Xia Qingyue’s goddess-like appearance, Ling Yun’s aura became slightly chaotic. He smiled slightly and performed a courtesy: “Xia fairy, are you sending your friend off as well?”
“No.” Xia Qingyue shook her head and replied softly: “I’m here to… send off my husband.”
Ling Yun’s entire body quaked as he jerked his head upwards to look at Xia Qingyue. Just as he was about to ask whether he had heard wrongly, he suddenly saw a black cloth wrapped around Xia Qingyue’s left arm…
“Xia fairy, wh… what did you just say? Husband? Did I hear wrongly, or is Xia fairy joking with me?” Ling Yun said in the calmest voice he could muster. However, both his hands were trembling and his inner self was in turmoil.
Xia Qingyue did not answer him and merely extended her white hand to sweep it across her hair. As her left hand gently swept across, a segment of her hair silently broke off. She opened her jade hand, and scattered her hair towards the center of the Sword Management Terrace. In an instant, the hair was swept away by the swords’ wind and circled around the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, as if it yearned for something, and wanted to accompany it.
Xia Qingyue closed her beautiful eyes and flew off after a while, disappearing from Ling Yun’s sight.
Ling Yun’s entire body was stiff. He lost the strength in his body and knelt onto the ground. His pupils continuously dilated. This Heavenly Sword Villa’s Young Villa Master, who had once been the strongest of the younger generation, seemed to have lost his soul right there…
“They’re husband and wife… Yun Che… is her husband… She is already… She is already married… Impossible… Impossible… It must be a lie… Impossible…”
Ling Yun kept on muttering to himself. His expression became lifeless, as though all of his beliefs had been shattered.
At the same time, his father, Ling Yuefeng was also very confused. He was pacing back and forth outside the courtyard in which the Frozen Cloud Asgard members were staying at, worrying about Chu Yuechan’s injuries, and also wondering why she would have such a huge reaction. He would never have thought that Chu Yuechan, who was as cold as snow, as icy like a frozen profound lotus, would lose control of her emotions and vomit blood.
Knowing Chu Yuechan’s temperament, even if Frozen Cloud Asgard’s number one disciple, Xia Qingyue, were to suddenly fall, her most appropriate reaction would be a suffocating coldness… There should not be anyone in this world that could cause her to have such a reaction.
Could it really be because of the fallen Yun Che… No! Impossible! Absolutely impossible! There must be some other reason.
While he was under the emotional turmoil, he did not realize that his wife, Xuanyuan Yufeng, was not too far away. She had been coldly staring at every one of his emotional changes. Her gaze was turning colder and colder as she became more and more disappointed.
Just then, Ling Yuefeng’s patience seem to have reached its peak and could not stand it any longer. He gritted his teeth and entered the courtyard. He then opened Chu Yuechan’s room, and entered.
Chu Yuechan was still lying on the bed, and her face was still as white as sheet. Chu Yueli stood beside her bed with a face of worry and uneasiness. A skinny old lady who looked aged and weak was pressing her finger on Chu Yuechan’s hand to read her pulse.
Grandmother Jiumu was already more than a hundred and ninety years old this year. Based on seniority, she was several times more senior than Villa Master Ling Yuefeng. When comparing medical skills, she was not below Blue Wind Empire’s number one doctor Gu Qiuhong. However, she did not desire fame and had not stepped out of Heavenly Sword Villa all her life. There were not many within the empire, who had heard of her name.
“Grandmother Jiumu, how is the Fairy of Frozen Beauty’s condition?” Ling Yuefeng asked with concern. Facing Grandmother Jiumu, his actions were obviously more respectful.
Grandmother Jiumu removed her dry finger from Chu Yuechan’s snow white wrist and picked up her walking stick. She walked forward a few steps before speaking in a hoarse voice that sound like rubbing sandpaper: “She is fine. She fainted only because she received a huge emotional trauma, and the sadness that attacked the heart caused her blood to flow in reverse. She will wake up after a while.”
“Then that’s great…” Ling Yuefeng nodded. However, he still appeared to be in an emotional turmoil.
“However, she has practiced ice attribute profound arts for many years, so her five organs are all exceptionally cold. If this goes on, I fear it would be fatal for the baby that she is bearing.” Grandmother Jiumu said faintly.
The last sentence seemed like a landmine that triggered beside Chu Yueli and Ling Yuefeng’s ears. Chu Yueli hastily said: “Impossible! Grandmother Jiumu, you must be wrong. My sister has never interacted with any man before. How could she have a baby!”
“That’s right. Granny Jiumu, you must be wrong. The fairies of Frozen Cloud Asgard stay single for all their lives. It is impossible for the Fairy of Frozen Beauty to have a baby.” Ling Yuefeng also immediately continued.
“Hmph!” Facing the two people’s questioning, Grandmother Jiumu’s face turned angry. She strongly stamped her walking stick on the floor, and said hoarsely: “I have practiced medicine for the past hundred and eighty nine years and have seen all sorts of weird illnesses and strange sicknesses. I have treated more patients than people you have seen in your entire lives. Do you really think I will make a mistake on something as simple as whether a woman is pregnant! HMPH!”
Chapter 282 - A Great Disturbance (2)
For a person like Grandmother Jiumu, this kind of thing couldn’t be anymore simpler, and to doubt her on this matter was a huge insult to her medical knowledge and dignity. She couldn’t be bothered to say anymore. Supported by her walking stick, she walked out, leaving behind the dumbstruck Chu Yueli and Ling Yuefeng.
“Impossible… absolutely impossible. How can Elder sister… ah? Elder sister… You… you’re awake!”
In her panic, Chu Yueli suddenly saw that Chu Yuechan, who was on the bed, had already opened her eyes some time prior. She hurried to the side of the bed and asked: “Elder sister, are you fine? Are you hurt anywhere… Just now, Grandmother Jiumu said that… you are pregnant…”
Facing Chu Yueli’s words, Chu Yuechan had a startled look, and was completely reactionless. When Grandmother Jiumu took her pulse, she was already awake and she had heard everything that was said. In a daze, she slowly extended her hand, and softly put it on her lower abdomen.
This action was what almost every woman would subconsciously do when they heard that they were pregnant.
Her gaze, and her action was an undeniably clear tacit approval of her pregnancy. As if struck by lightning, a buzzing sound rang through Chu Yueli’s head. Ling Yuefeng directly staggered a step back. His entire body shook, as he had been struck by a thunderbolt on a sunny day.
“Elder sister… you…” Chu Yueli was completely breathless. Seeing Chu Yuechan’s hand on her lower abdomen, her heart almost jumped out from her chest.
“Don’t ask me anything!” Chu Yuechan breathed in deeply, with her voice sounding incomparably cold: “Immediately depart from here, return to Frozen Cloud Asgard!”
“Alright… alright!” The extremely confused Chu Yueli could only nod.
“Fairy of Frozen Beauty… you… who does the child in your stomach belong to… whose child are you carrying!” Ling Yuefeng panted a course breath, repeating the same question twice consecutively, his heart had clearly been flipped upside down. According to Grandmother Jiumu’s experience, she could not possibly be wrong about this kind of thing. In addition to Chu Yuechan’s reaction, there was no need for him to question whether or not if she’s actually pregnant anymore. The thing he desperately wanted to know to the point of insanity at the moment, was who the child belonged to! Who exactly was this person, that actually made Chu Yuechan…
During those years he bitterly loved Chu Yuechan while lowering his figure, losing his dignity, and followed Chu Yuechen for dozens of years, yet he still had never even seen her face once. In the end, he returned to the Villa, and married Xuanyuan Yufeng, who had an amazing background. But in his heart, he had never forgotten Chu Yuechan’s figure.
In his heart, Chu Yuechan became an extremely beautiful, but impossible dream.
And this impossible dream was infinitely beautiful because this dream would never come true for anyone. This way, the dreams about Chu Yuechan would forever, perfectly exist deep inside his heart.
But today, this dream was completely shattered.
When he was young, he was the publicly recognized number one genius of the young generation, and could not be compared to anyone. To this day, he was the leader of the number one sect in Blue Wind Empire, worthy of being number one in the whole Blue Wind Empire! In countless profound practitioners’ eyes, he was an unreachable height, and was a godlike existence. Even if the emperor saw him, the emperor would have to be respectful towards him! The thing he spent his whole life’s effort on and pouring all his emotion in, was his attempt to pursue Chu Yuechan, which ended in a crushing defeat. Originally, he felt an infinite amount of regret at this result, but didn’t feel too sad, because Frozen Cloud Asgard’s disciples never married. Even the woman he could not pursue, could not be pursued by anyone in all of Blue Wind Empire… But today, he heard with his own ears, saw with his own eyes, that she was pregnant!
The blow in that moment was like lightning from the Nine Heavens that struck his heart, causing all of his fantasies, his yearning, his dignity, his arrogance to completely shatter into pieces.
Chu Yuechan did not look at him. With an icy voice like snow that sounded the same from the past, she said: “This is my matter, Villa Master Ling has no right to question it! This is my residence, not a place that you should be… get out!”
Along with Chu Yuechan’s attitude that refused people from a thousand miles, Ling Yuefeng was also incomparably familiar with Chu Yuechan’s voice that was icy and void of emotion. He recalled Chu Yuechan’s abnormal reaction at the Sword Management Terrace, which caused him to feel an extremely preposterous feeling in his heart. He lost his voice and said: “Could it be… could it be that you and Yun Che… No! Impossible! Absolutely impossible… It absolutely can’t be like that…”
The two words “Yun Che” caused a deep stabbing pain in Chu Yuechan’s heart, and made her body suddenly explode with a bone piercing coldness: “Whoever’s child I carry, is none of your business! Get out of here immediately!!”
Ling Yuefeng’s inner heart was shocked. His heart filled with an ice-cold sorrow, and amidst the confusion, his brain had almost lost the ability to think. He sighed deeply, turned around, and left in an infinitely lonely and desolate manner. When he stepped out of the door, Chu Yueli hurriedly said: “Villa Master Ling, this incident today, is tied with the reputation of my sister and Frozen Cloud Asgard, please be sure to be tight-lipped! Please.”
Ling Yuefeng’s footsteps stopped. Then, he slowly nodded and walked out.
In the courtyard, Ling Yuefeng restlessly walked for a good while. His state of mind was finally calming down. He stopped walking, looking up at the sky, and silently sighed. He was very clear that this incident was probably was the heaviest blow he had ever taken in his entire life. This blow completely shattered the most beautiful fantasy in his heart, causing him to feel the strongest sense of failure in this lifetime. There was even an indescribable sense of humiliation.
“Hahahaha! This is really ridiculous, you painstakingly chased after Chu Yuechan for more than a dozen years, yet you never even saw her face once. Dozens of years have passed, yet you still could never forget her and constantly thought about her, but she never even looked you once in the eye. She’d rather have illicit sexual relationships with a junior, and got pregnant too! This is a joke as large as the heavens! Ling Yuefeng, don’t you feel that you’re hopelessly stupid!?
The ear-piercing sound came from behind him. Ling Yuefeng turned around with a face full of surprise and wrath as he looked at his wife, Xuanyuan Yufeng. He was surprised that his usually gentle wife had spoke such ear-piercing and ugly words. His heart was desperately suppressing his fury, but due to her words, his fury increased several times over.
“Silence!” Ling Yuefeng angrily said: “You actually overheard our conversation! This incident… this incident and I, I have absolutely nothing to do with it! Her being pregnant is not necessarily true, and with Yun Che… that is even more completely ridiculous! Forget what you heard, you’re not allowed to talk about it with anyone!!”
After Ling Yuefeng finished roaring, he felt that his tone was a bit too harsh, but with rage filling his heart, he didn’t want to speak anymore. With a cold snort, he flipped his sleeves and left.
Xuanyuan Yufeng’s face turned purple. Her entire body trembling due to anger and said: “Ling Yuefeng… at this stage, you’re still protecting her!! Your attitude towards her… really is… filled~deep~with~affection!! You really… dare to do this to me!!”
“You don’t want people know about this… then I will deliberately let people know! I will let everyone under the sky know!!”
While still in her anger, Xuanyuan Yufeng suddenly saw Ling Yun walk towards her. His footsteps were slow, and seemingly restless.
She twitched her eyebrows. Suppressing her anger, she walked towards him and asked: “Yun’er, what’s wrong? Why do you look so dispirited?”
“Mother…” Ling Yun called out, then smiled with loneliness: “From a young age, I was madly focused on the sword, with no distractions in my heart, and thought that in this life, I would never have feelings for a girl. But I recently fell in love with a girl. I think about her day and night, and cannot stop thinking about her.”
As a mother, Xuanyuan Yufeng could easily tell what was wrong with Ling Yun at a glance. She silently sighed, and comfortingly said: “The one you like, should be Xia Qingyue right? If you really do like her, and won’t marry unless it’s her, then in a few days, Mother will go to Frozen Cloud Asgard to propose a marriage! Who cares about Frozen Cloud Asgard’s rule of disciples not marrying! My Yun’er has no woman that he isn’t worthy of! If Frozen Cloud Asgard does not agree, Mother will forcefully bring her here. I won’t let you be like… hmph, be as hopelessly stupid as your father!”
Ling Yun bitterly raised his head and said: “It’s already too late, she is… already married.”
“What?” Xuanyuan Yufeng was astonished in her heart: “How can it be? Frozen Cloud Asgard’s women never marries, how can she be married!”
“Mother, do you remember one year ago, Xiao Sect spread a message that a new female disciple who entered Frozen Cloud Asgard had a wedding in Floating Cloud City? At that time, because it was a normal female disciple who was a new recruit, no one put it in their hearts… But, I now know that female disciple, was actually Xia Qingyue… the person she married… is the recently fallen Yun Che… She is mourning for him, and is broken-hearted because of him, and would not accept anyone else in her heart.”
As Ling Yun spoke, he painfully shut his eyes. If he had been a promiscuous person, this moment would at most, squeeze his heart, and it wouldn’t take long for it to disappear like the clouds. But for a person who had been madly in love with the sword, the first time having feelings for another person, was too hard. And in his life, the first time he truly fell in love was only this one time…
“Unexpectedly… this actually happened…” Looking at Ling Yun’s face, Xuanyuan Yufeng felt a deep heartache: “Yun Che… it was actually Yun Che again, this Yun Che, really has countless tricks up his sleeve… and Frozen Cloud Asgard, you didn’t stop at hurting my husband… now you actually hurt my son as well…”
——————————————————
After the incident at the Sword Management Terrace, Ling Kun left Heavenly Sword Villa at nightfall. Frozen Cloud Asgard had also left without bidding anyone farewell. The next day at dawn, Blue Wind Imperial Family had also left early in the morning, and also without bidding anyone farewell. It wasn’t that they lacked etiquette, but they were just not in the mood to bid farewell to anyone within Heavenly Sword Villa… When they came, the four were filled with hope. The strength of Yun Che alone, allowed the Blue Wind Imperial family’s name to again and again be heard in the battlefield of the ranking tournament. But at the time of departure, there were only two people left, and what they brought back, was honor contaminated with endless sadness.
When they left, Cang Yue did not cry anymore. Without sadness, without tears, she was frighteningly calm, as if her whole heart followed Yun Che and left together with him, leaving behind an emotionless shell. What comforted Qin Wushang was she did not do anything extreme, and did not say any extreme things, because she had to return to protect her father, who was on his last leg.
If her father also makes his final departure, then she would truly have nothing else to care for on this world.
However, what anyone couldn’t anticipate, was that after the ranking tournament ended, the sensation that both Yun Che and Xia Qingyue’s name caused in Blue Wind Empire had not subsided. An even larger storm of sensation was going to befall Blue Wind Empire, leading to an unprecedented large disturbance that would cause the name “Yun Che” to become a household name, where everyone would know this name.
“… When the Fairy of Frozen Moon, Xia Qingyue, exited the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, her profound strength was unexpectedly at Emperor Profound Realm! Right… it really was the Emperor Profound Realm. This was confirmed information by the ten large sects! My heavens… I heard she is not only called the number one beauty, but in the future, she would undeniably become an unmatchable powerhouse in the Blue Wind Empire.”
“I’m questioning whether if she is an incarnation of a fairy. She’s unbelievably beautiful. Her talent and luck is indescribably high!”
“Did you guys hear! On the day when Yun Che exited the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, he actually died at the Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace.”
“Sigh! Who wouldn’t know this. He actually died for a reportedly Elementary Profound Realm piece of trash. Sigh, the heavens are truly jealous of this talent. There finally appeared a genius with a sectless background that would let us blow off some steam, and he died just like that. For the next one to appear, who knows how many years later it would be.”
“What!? Frozen Cloud Asgard’s Fairy of Frozen Beauty is pregnant!? Th-th-this….”
That’s right, this thing has been spread everywhere. It is said to have come from Heavenly Sword Villa, so it shouldn’t be fake. I also heard, that it is the Fairy of Frozen Beauty and Yun Che’s child!! Reportedly, after Yun Che fell at the Sword Management Terrace, the Fairy of Frozen Beauty went completely crazy, and vomited blood on the spot… If it wasn’t for everyone saying this, I wouldn’t dare believe this!”
“There’s even more explosive news! The Fairy of Frozen Moon, Xia Qingyue, unexpectedly married at the age of sixteen, and the one she married, was Yun Che! The final battle of the ranking tournament, was a showdown between this pair of husband and wife… This fact, is completely true!”
“Last year, there was news about a new female disciple from Frozen Cloud Asgard breaking the rules and marrying, and Xiao Sect confirmed it. The name of the female disciple who married was Xia Qingyue! The one she married is Yun Che… Reportedly, at Heavenly Sword Villa, someone saw with their own eyes that she mourned for Yun Che…”
“The number one beauty from back then, and the current number one beauty, unexpectedly one became pregnant due to Yun Che, and another is his wife… Holy f*ck!”
“Back then, many people had bitterly loved the Fairy of Frozen Beauty, Chu Yuechan. This also included Heavenly Sword Villa’s Villa Master Ling Yuefeng and Xiao Sect’s Sect Master Xiao Juetian, but no one could catch her eyes, yet she became pregnant from Yun Che. And the Fairy of Frozen Moon, surprisingly is even more beautiful compared to the Fairy of Frozen Beauty… Ah ah ah! I want to replace Yun Che and go die instead!”
“This isn’t all, even our Blue Wind Imperial Family’s only princess, Princess Cang Yue was also taken by him! At Heavenly Sword Villa, if one wasn’t blind, it could be clearly seen. I heard that Fen Juecheng wanted to assassinate Yun Che in the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, but did not succeed.”
“This Yun Che is so amazing that he defies heavenly justice! I guess even the Gods couldn’t continue watching, which was why they destroyed him!”
“It’s completely like a demon in the human world, the scourge of the common people! Ahhhh… why am I not Yun Che!!”
Yun Che’s name incited an explosive sensation in the Blue Wind Empire. In almost every ten steps in every street in the city, one could hear the name “Yun Che” at least seven or eight times. If he had simply fallen, the people would deeply regret and feel pity, and even infinitely admire and wail for the young profound practitioner. But with the addition of rumors regarding Princess Cang Yue, the Fairy of Frozen Beauty, and the Fairy of Frozen Moon, their nature had completely changed instantly. At that time, people, especially when men discussed him, their voices would contain worship, envy, jealousy, shock, resentment… and countless other things.
At this time, Under the Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace, in a dark space, under Blue Wind Empire’s focal point, Yun Che, who was completely still as if he had been dead for a few days, finally opened his eyes with great difficulty.
————————————
Author’s Note
Under this is Ling Yuefeng’s inner monologue:
The only woman I have fallen for that I spent my entire life pursuing without getting, had unexpectedly become pregnant from a junior! My son finally fell for a woman with great difficulty, and is even deeply in love, but she was actually his wife. In regards to women, the number one father and son pair in Blue Wind Empire, had actually, completely lost to this kid… I really got f*cked!
Chapter 283 - New Lease of Life
Where… is this…
I’m… not dead yet?
It was difficult enough for Yun Che to barely open his eyes. This was a gloomy place filled with a stale and rotten smell. In the darkness, there were small streaks of light that came fom an unknown place, but it allowed one to roughly see the surroundings. Yun Che’s whole body was heavy and painful, especially his back. The pain on his back was excruciating.
Under such pain, his half conscious self felt a surprising sense of happiness. This was because he could still feel pain, which meant that at the very least, he was not disabled.
“You’re finally awake.”
Jasmine’s relieved voice rung. Although Yun Che had just barely escaped from death, the anger in Jasmine still exploded: “Have you ever counted how many times have you ‘died’ within these two years! You are always so reckless. For your objective, you would not care about your own life. Every single time, I have to make a huge sacrifice just to save you. I thought that once I sealed my own powers, it will make you more cautious, as you no longer have anything to rely on. However, I would never expect you to give up your own life even though no one is trying to hurt you. If not for the protection of the Great Way of Buddha and the strong body granted by the Dragon’s blood, you would have already been completely destroyed.”
“Do you even know how to appreciate your own life! I helped you rebuild your profound veins,
granted you Divine Arts, and had to save you even though I knew my poison would relapse after that. I entrusted all my hopes onto you! And this is how you treat your life, and this is how you repay me!?”
The more Jasmine said, the angrier she became. All her worries, her frights and anger that she had been holding in for the past few days had swarmed up with Yun Che’s awakening. She scolded him ferociously and Yun Che, who had barely gotten back his life, did not dare to utter a word. Only until she had finished scolding did he weakly say: “Jasmine, I was wrong. I know that I shouldn’t have been so rash. But when I saw Yuanba in trouble, I didn’t care about myself… Sss! So painful… huu… If it were you who got into trouble that time, I would do the same for you… Even if… I know that I’ll die…”
“Hmph!” Jasmine replied coldly as though she did not care: “Already half-dead and yet you still remember to flaunt your skills in sweet-talking girls. Stop talking. Control your breathing. Don’t use any profound strength. Immediately concentrate on activating the power of your dragon’s blood and the Great Way of the Buddha to recover your injuries! The demon knew you were not dead but did not come and take your life these few days. He is probably wondering whether or not you are able to regain consciousness out of boredom. If he knew you’re awake, it’s highly likely he’ll come for your life… Therefore, before he finds out that you’re awake, you need to control the injury on your back and gather enough strength to use Star God’s Broken Shadow once!”
Yun Che immediately understood Jasmine’s words. He controlled his breathing as his gaze moved slightly, looking towards the space beyond the borders of the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation. As long as he could execute the Star God’s Broken Shadow once and instantly escape beyond the barrier, even if the demon wanted to kill him, it would still be impossible.
If he were to use the slightest bit of profound strength, he would most likely aggravate the already serious injury on his back and alert the demon. However, the Great Way of the Buddha was something that could be activated with just thought, and would not be detected. Needless to say, the activation of the dragon blood was the same as well.
Yun Che closed his eyes again and his entire body kept still. He controlled his breathing to an extreme point. Although his body was in great pain, the pain was still insufficient to cause him to make a sound.
His initial injury was no doubt extremely serious. Even with Dragon Blood and the Great Way of the Buddha, he was merely one step away from death. For a normal person, five days of unconsciousness would speed up the worsening of the injury. A normal person might not even last five hours. However for Yun Che, he had the Rage God’s Great Way of the Buddha; instead of his injuries worsening, they had instead slowly recovered. The presence of Dragon’s Blood also sped up the process of recovery to a large extent.
Yun Che’s current injuries could no longer be considered fatal, but only seen as serious. His broken spine had reconnected by itself in the past five days of resting.
As Yun Che awoke, following his mind spurring it on, the Great Way of the Buddha activated at an even faster rate. In the silence, it also quickly recovered his external injuries.
Since I’m able to escape death… Then… I’m going to use all my might to survive… I absolutely cannot die!!
Time passed by slowly in the silence. Other than his own heartbeat, Yun Che could not hear anything else. Behind him, there were no sounds that signified the presence of the demon. However, even his significantly weaker self could sense the occasional scary gaze of the demon scanning pass his body.
Finally, a hoarse voice sounded: “He’s such a weird fellow. Suffering such injuries but still not dying after five days! I really want to see whether he is able to wake up in the end… However, even if he were to wake up, it’s impossible for him to live!”
The demon muttering to himself meant that he still had not realized that Yun Che had woken up. Yun Che felt slightly relieved in his mind as he controlled his breathing again and concentrated again, focusing solely on survival, quickly activating his Great Way of the Buddha.
One day…..
Two days…
On the third day, Yun Che’s injuries were still very severe. However, he recovered to the extent where he would not die from using a bit of his profound strength. Furthermore, his body was no longer so heavy. Within his profound veins, he could now muster enough profound strength. He opened his eyes and saw the shiny yellow borders of the barrier as his fist started to clench together tightly.
“It’s about time! Go now!”
Just as Jasmine had finished talking, Yun Che took in a large breath and instantly activated Star God’s Broken Shadow. Having laid down for nearly eight days, his corpse-like body suddenly rushed forward like a bolt of lightning. With a ripping sound, he rushed out and fell heavily outside the barrier and rolled instinctively for some distance before finally stopping. He laid on the ground, taking in deep breaths while grimacing in pain.
The Yun Che now, had finally, truly escaped death. Previously, he was under the gaze of the demon. If the demon were to ever have the intention to kill him, he would definitely die. Now however, not only did his condition improve, he had also finally escaped from the clutches of the demon.
As the demon looked up, a pair of frightening eyes flashed pass in the darkness. Looking upwards, he suddenly started laughing: “HAHAHAHA! I never expected that I had unintentionally brought such a weird kid in. Not dying after suffering such serious injuries for eight days and is actually able to recuperate without me knowing. In the end, you were still able to obtain an advantage over me! Other than those mongrels from the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, you’re the first person who is actually capable of doing so!”
One Star God’s Broken Shadow used up all of Yun Che’s strength. He gasped for air for a while before replying: “Demon, I… won’t die so easily!!!”
“Hmph, you’re truly overestimating yourself. Do you really think you have nothing to worry about anymore?” The demon pulled along his steel chains, shouting back with a frightening voice: “This place is being suppressed by the Heaven’s Punishment. It can only be activated once every twenty years! So what if you have regained consciousness! Even if your injuries were to recover, what can you do? There is no food nor water here. With your profound level, are you really that naive to think that you can live for twenty years?”
“No! No need to wait twenty years… There’s one way that I can get out!” Yun Che stared at the demon, gritted his teeth, and said: “And that is to kill you! The Heaven’s Punishment Sword is here to seal your soul. As long as you’re dead, the Heaven’s Punishment Sword would deactivate automatically! Then, I’ll be able to get out!”
This was of course not observed by Yun Che but instead, told to him by Jasmine. What was trapping the demon was not the Meteorite Chain. Although the Meteorite Chain existed to restrict his movements, what actually trapped him there was the Heaven’s Punishment!
The demon was surprised for a moment, then he laughing loudly once again: “HAHAHAHA! Such an interesting kid. What you said is absolutely right. As long as you kill me, you’ll be able to escape from this place. However, it’s a pity that you wouldn’t live till the day that you’ll kill me.”
“I will definitely… kill you!” Yun Che said viciously as he clenched his teeth while looking at the demon with eyes filled with hatred. The demon went crazy under the Ling Kun’s provocation, nearly killed Xia Yuanba, and almost caused him to enter the afterlife. Although he had survived, he was trapped here, unable to control his own life and death. All of these were caused by the demon, which simply made him hate the demon to the bone!
He could predict that the people outside must have thought that he had already died. In the end, his close ones suffered while his enemies were happy! This was all also due to the demon!
“Then, I want to see how exactly you are going to kill me!” The demon laughed wildly. A savage form of excitement was revealed under his grey white hair and dried face. The prison only had dull darkness and frightening loneliness to accompany it. To Yun Che, this was like dropping into a deep abyss. However, to the demon, having one extra person made it seem like heaven in this hell. Even if he was able to touch Yun Che now, he might not even want to kill him.
“You look like you really hate me… That’s right! How can you not! Go ahead and hate me all you want. Let me see whether your hatred can kill me. Let me see how long you can survive here! HAHAHAHAHA…”
The demon’s excited laughter carried a slight craziness. In the dark space here, his voice seemed eerily frightening. Yun Che stopped talking to him, gritted his teeth, and slowly sat up. His injury was mainly on his back and every inch he moved brought along great pain that was nearly unbearable. When he had finally sat down cross-legged, his whole forehead was drenched in cold sweat. He closed his eyes and placed his fists onto his knees. Before long, his mind and body had calmed down. His face was no longer pale and his breathing returned to normal.
His mind entered the Sky Poison Pearl. Once inside, he saw Jasmine gazing at him with a strong killing intent. He laughed awkwardly before making a large number of promises to her. Then, he started to quickly look for numerous medicinal herbs before taking out the piece of Purple Veined Heaven Crystal that Xia Qingyue had given him.
The Purple Veined Heaven Crystal was able to provide strong recuperating strength to an injured part of the body, such as skin, bones or even organs. Drawing on the power within the crystal could even increase one’s profound strength. This was why its value could not be measured using money. If Yun Che wanted to recover in the quickest time possible, he would have to use the Purple Veined Heaven Crystal.
Under the refinement of the Sky Poison Pearl, Yun Che was able to complete the preparations of all the required medicine within an hour… Just when his mind was about to leave the Sky Poison Pearl, he seemed to have thought of something and examined around, which caused his heart to sink to the bottom.
All the food, water that he originally stored… were all gone! Not one bit was left!
It was all inside the purple spatial ring he had given to Su Ling’er, who was in the distant Azure Cloud Continent!
Chapter 284 - Ice Heart of the Moon Beauty (Yuechan)
North of Blue Wind, Snow Region of Extreme Ice, Frozen Cloud Asgard.
With the existence of something like the Sound Transmission Talisman, the speed at which information traveled was naturally faster than people. As the buzz about Yun Che were passed along all over the place in the Blue Wind Empire, another hot topic also dwelled in everyone’s discussions… And that was Frozen Cloud Asgard!
To people of Blue Wind Empire, Frozen Cloud Asgard was an peerlessly sacred existence. Its mysteriousness and sacredness even surpassed Heavenly Sword Villa. In the knowledge of the masses, everyone within the Frozen Cloud Asgard were all goddess-like beings; otherworldly, and as flawless as ice and snow. The fairies of Frozen Cloud Asgard, were all the more so, a fantasy that no men had ever dared wish to touch.
But now, a fairy within Frozen Cloud Asgard… Moreover, the head of the Frozen Cloud’s Seven Fairies whose name shook the world, had actually gotten pregnant! Furthermore, the pregnancy was rumored to be with a junior!
One could imagine just what kind of public opinion’s extremity this would push Frozen Cloud Asgard toward. To the thousand years of Frozen Asgard’s serene reputation, this was a “blemish” that could never be erased. It was not even an exaggeration to call it a great humiliation.
When Chu Yuechan’s group of five returned to Frozen Cloud Asgard, the Mistress of Frozen Cloud Asgard was already personally waiting there.
Gong Yuxian was already over one hundred-seventy this year, yet she only looked to be thirty or forty. Wearing a snow embellished ella dress whose hem dragged onto the floor, her face was like condensed ice, and her eyes were like a cold blade. Her expression was entirely still, without any hint of the fluctuation of emotions. However, the cold light that unceasingly flashed through the depth of her eyes, showed the fury inside her heart.
Beside her, five women who were also in snow-white attire accompanied her on both sides. Every single one of them had skin of ice and snow and features beautiful as snow lotuses; their charm could ruin cities. It could be said that placing any random disciple picked out from Frozen Cloud Asgard in a region would be able to shock an entire city with their beauty. These five, were precisely the other five people of the Frozen Cloud Seven Fairies juxtaposed with Chu Yuechan and Chu Yueli.
Chu Yueli’s group of five returned, only to find that it was actually the Mistress who personally came to “greet” them. Her heart jumped with a thump. Glancing at the Chu Yuechan who was beside her, she stepped forward and spoke first: “Disciple Yueli pays respect to Master.”
Gong Yuxian slowly nodded. Her expression was still ice-cold, yet did not pay attention to her any longer. Her gaze fell upon Xia Qingyue, and her expression finally displayed a hint of ease: “Qingyue, come over here.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
Xia Qingyue came before Gong Yuxian. On her arm, there still wrapped that black-colored silk strap.
Gong Yuxian reached out her hand and pressed onto the center of Xia Qingyue’s chest. After a short while, she revealed a slight smile: “Very good. At the tender age of seventeen, yet already into the early stages of the Emperor Profound. This is your fortune, and also the fortune of our Asgard. Looks like there is no longer need to worry about who should be next candidate for the Asgard Mistress. In the coming six months, you must cultivate behind closed doors at the core of the Snow Region of Extreme Ice, and stabilize the greatly increased profound energy in your body.”
“Yes, Mistress.” Xia Qingyue responded faintly. Toward Gong Yuxian explicitly telling her that she would be the next Asgard Mistress, she did not refuse or panic, nor did she display any sort of surprise and joy; she was indifferent, as if she had heard a sentence that couldn’t be any more uninteresting.
The atmosphere was immensely frigid. Amongst five fairies beside Gong Yuxian, none of them had yet spoke, and were all looking at Chu Yuechan with complicated gazes. At this time, Gong Yuxian’s gaze finally fell beside Chu Yuechan. After a short glance, she turned around: “Yuechan, follow me.”
Chu Yuechan fell silent, and followed behind Gong Yuxian without a word.
“Elder sister…” Chu Yueli cried out, her heart full of worry.
This was an ice palace filled with candle fire and spirit tablets . Every single one of the names on the spirit tablets all had previously shook the world; and these names, were naturally of Frozen Cloud Asgard’s predecessors.
“Kneel!” Standing in the center of the ice palace, facing the spirit tablets of many predecessors, Gong Yuxian’s chest undulated as she coldly yelled.
Chu Yuechan kneeled down to the ground; her eyes were like ice, yet also like mist: “Master…”
“You actually still have the face to call me Master!’ Gong Yuxian turned around, and spoke furiously: “Do you know, that Frozen Cloud Asgard’s thousand years of serene reputation, were all ruined because of you! You are the disciple I was the most proud of in these hundred years; no matter Frozen Cloud Arts nor Frozen Heart Formula’s grasping and comprehension, you far surpassed the others. I prepared against disciples breaking the taboo at all times, Qingyue’s marriage that was only in form, was already my limit… But I never ever expected that the first one to break the taboo would actually be you! Moreover, you’ve even casted down a blunder known by the entire world that brought the Asgard to shame!”
Chu Yuechan closed her eyes, and spoke with misery: “This disciple acknowledges her faults… The faults that this disciple committed, she will definitely bear the responsibility with all her strength.”
“Bear the responsibility? How will you bear the responsibility? Even if you were to apologize by suicide in front of the predecessors, you still wouldn’t be able to make up for your immense blunder!” Gong Yuxian’s eyebrows stood on their ends; Her fury had clearly reached its limit: “Speak! Just exactly… who’s bane of existence is that!”
Chu Yuechan’s eyes suddenly became hazy, but she did not hesitate, and instead lightly shouted out that name: “Yun Che!”
Gong Yuxian’s body wavered, and was furious to the point of her whole body shaking: “Devil’s spawn! Truly the devil’s spawn! You actually… really, with a junior… you… you….”
Gong Yuxian was so angry that she became speechless. Even though according the rumors, she was pregnant with Yun Che’s child, Gong Yuxian absolutely refused to believe it! With Chu Yuechan’s disposition, to have done this kind of thing was already inexplicable. But no matter what, it wouldn’t be possible to be with a junior. She did not expect in any way, that the rumor was actually not false in the slightest!
Gong Yuxian pointed at spirit tablets with her finger, and harshly spoke: “Kneel before the predecessors and swear right now, that you will immediately abort this child and shall never leave Frozen Cloud Asgard again for the rest of your life!”
“No…” Chu Yuechan shook her head. She placed her jade hand on her abdomen, and shook her head with strength; her face, revealed the expression of begging that Gong Yuxian had never seen before: “This child is mine and his. This disciple is at thousands of faults, but the child is innocent. Master, please spare this child. If Master is willing to let this disciple give birth to the child, this disciple is willing to never oppose even half a sentence from Master… I beg master for her consent!”
“You!” Gong Yuxian’s body swayed as she started shaking from all the anger: “Having reached this point, you are actually still so unrepentant! This disciple of mine whom I’ve been most proud of all my life, actually… actually…. Fine! Do you really think that you can successfully birth the child if I don’t make you abort it? Do you know why our Frozen Cloud Asgard had never allowed disciples to marry? The so-called falling in love will affect the Frozen Cloud Art’s cultivation, is purely an excuse. The most important reason, firstly, is that it would transfer the Frozen Cloud Art to others! Secondly, cultivating Frozen Cloud Arts will chill the internal organs within the body. Even though one could conceive, within two months at most, the fetus would die in the abdomen! Furthermore, this place is located in the extreme north of Blue Wind Empire, and the chilling cold seeps through the bones all year long. Even if you don’t have Frozen Cloud Arts, the fetus would still die from the chill! Whether you abort the fetus or not, the result would be the same!”
Chu Yuechan froze there, and became dazed for a long time. All of a sudden, she extended both hands. One finger pressed onto her Dantian, and the other finger pressed onto the center of her chest. Two balls of ice-cold luminescence suddenly flared up, and right after, a great amount of cold aura poured out from within Chu Yuechan’s body, bringing up a large field of ice mist.
Gong Yuxian was greatly shocked, and instantly rushed in front of Chu Yuechan. However, it was already too late to for her to obstruct… At this time, Chu Yuechan’s upper body was swaying and looked like it would collapse at any moment. Her face was extremely ghastly, yet her expression was full of relief. Gong Yuxian’s eyes trembled as she watched the dispersing ice mist, knowing that everything was already too late. While furious and shocked, there were more perplexion and heartache. She spoke with a painful tone: “Yuechan, why do you treat yourself so… That Yun Che, just what kind of bewitching soup did he feed you!”
Chu Yuechan’s lips slightly lifted; that was as if an expression of wanting to smile. She spoke faintly: “He didn’t feed me any bewitching soup, but… he allowed me to have a memory that I could never forget, and also allowed me to turn back into a real woman during that period of time….”
“During those five months, I had lost all my strength, and my entire body was crippled. It was supposed to be my darkest, most helpless and despairing moment. However, he made everything change, far away from all my expectations. I couldn’t walk, so he took me in his arms; no matter how great the danger he faced, he refused to put me down. I couldn’t eat, so he fed me; every single spoon was adjusted to be just right for me, not allowing it burn nor chill me. I lost my strength, so he protected me with one hand, and swept away all obstacles with the other, sheltering me from weather… For an entire five months, he never had a hint of impatience, and never for a moment had the thought to put this burden down. Unwittingly, I started to enjoy this feeling, and completely depended on him. It was clearly my most helpless and hopeless moment, yet I was wishing that this kind of situation would never end…”
“Within the Frozen Cloud Asgard, ten days are like one day, ten years are like one day, dozens of years are like one day… There is only eternal ice, snow and the Frozen Cloud Art. Every single day was passed under repetition. But during that period of time, he let me understand the happiness of living, and made me truly feel like I was a woman for the first time… The reason why I asked to go to the Ranking Tournament on my own initiative, was because after I left him, my heart was filled with his silhouette during every single hour and moment. I convinced myself that I was going to meet him one last time, and sever the bond of affection once and for all. But in reality, I just wanted to see him… I wanted to see him…”
Gong Yuxian’s chest fiercely rose and fell. She let out a long sigh and lamented: “A sinful fate, truly a sinful fate! The predecessor saying that the romance between men and women is the most acute poison in this world… truly wasn’t mistaken in the slightest. It is precisely this passion between man and woman that made you defy the rules for a junior, and shame the Asgard… Even making you unhesitantly self-abolish the Frozen Cloud Art you had bitterly cultivated for tens of years! You… you…”
“I do not regret… I will never regret.” Chu Yuechan spoke with misty and tearful eyes: “I only regret that only after he was gone, did I finally, truly understand some things… He is already dead, and this is his last bloodline he left in this world, the continuation of his life. As his woman, even if it is to repay the everything he gave me during those five months, let alone Frozen Cloud Arts, even if I must pay the price of death, I will still definitely let this child live on… I beg Master for her consent… I beg Master for her consent!!”
Gong Yuxian powerlessly fell back onto the chair behind her; her complexion suddenly seemed to be many times older. Looking at Chu Yuechan who knelt there emitting mournfulness and resolution from her entire body, the agony in her heart couldn’t be intensified any further. She reached out her hand, and after it stalled in space for a long time, did she finally said with an extremely powerless voice: “Stand back up… stand back up… Just pretend that I, Gong Yuxian had never accepted you as a disciple… From now on, you are no longer a disciple of Frozen Cloud Asgard. Leave this place right now, leave the Snow Region of Extreme Ice, forget everything here, go wherever you wish to go. From now on, you no longer have anything to do with Frozen Cloud Asgard…”
Chu Yuechan’s tears flooded out all at once. She knelt before Gong Yuxian, made a kowtow with force, and sobbingly spoke: “Master raised me, nurtured me, like my birth mother… Yet I committed a serious sin, saddened and angered you, and shamed the sect. I am aware myself that my sins are unforgivable… Master’s benevolence of raising me, and the Asgard’s favor of raising me, Yuechan… can only repay it in the next life!”
“No need to say anymore.” Gong Yuxian turned her face away: “Go… For every moment further you remain here, an extra hint of cold aura would invade your body… If you don’t want to damage the fetus in your womb, then quickly go… You also need to leave secretly, without alerting anyone. The farther you go, the better… I don’t want to see you ever again.”
“I thank Master for consenting.” Chu Yuechan kowtowed once again, stood up, and slowly retreated a step: “Master, please take care of yourself, Yuechan… won’t be able to accompany you by your side anymore…”
As her voice fell, Chu Yuechan retreated back a few steps with difficulty. Then, after forcefully clenching her teeth, she exited the ice palace with brisk steps, and her snow-white silhouette quickly disappeared amidst the world of ice and snow.
Gong Yuxian’s face finally turned back around, and looked toward the direction Chu Yuechan had left. Below her eyes, there lied two deep lines of tear marks.
After a long while, she finally managed calmed her heart as her expression returned to indifference. She sound transmitted with a heavy voice: “Hanxue, come in.”
As her voice transmitted out, very soon, a woman that appeared to be twenty-five or twenty-six walked in. Feng Hanxue, ranked seven of the Frozen Cloud’s Seven Fairies, at Sky Profound Realm rank six, was at the same time the youngest of the Frozen Cloud Seven Fairies.
“Inform all disciples to gather at Frozen Cloud Hall, I have a few major matters to announce!”
“Yes, Mistress.”
There were a total of three major matters Gong Yuxian wanted announce: Number one: To announce that Chu Yuechan had been exiled from the Frozen Cloud Asgard; Number two: Xia Qingyue will enter the ranks of Frozen Cloud Seven Fairies, replacing Chu Yuechan as first place; Number three: Recall all the disciples outside of the Frozen Cloud Asgard, close the Asgard’s gates starting from this day for three years, disallow visitors as well as recruiting of new disciples. No one will be allowed to exit the Asgard.
Chapter 285 - Cutting Off All Means of Retreat
In the dark space, there was no night and day. Thus, there was no way to tell time. Yun Che didn’t know how long he was stuck in there, and in his heart, there was only the thought of trying to get out of here with all his might. The first step was to completely recover from his injury.
He concocted medicine, and with Purple Veined Heaven Crystal in addition with Great Way of the Buddha’s recovery power, Yun Che’s recovery rate was extremely quick. Within half a month, his wounds were completely healed. In this type of surrounding, Yun Che’s originally life threatening wounds did not even worsen to cause his death, but instead rapidly recovered. Within everything he has seen and heard, and within all his experiences, it was the first time he was secretly shocked… This could not simply be called a recovery… but a rebirth!
His back that was originally struck into a bloody skeleton, and his backbone that nearly snapped, was now perfectly fine, without even a spot of scarring left behind, which was completely unbelievable!
“What an interesting fellow, unexpectedly fully recovering from this kind of wound in such a short period of time. This was mostly unrelated to medical skill, it looks like you trained in some type of miraculous Profound Art! But I have lived for a few hundred years, and I have never heard of such an amazing level of Profound Art existing! “ the demon said with a low voice. Looking at the killing intent starting to gather in Yun Che’s eyes, he laughed loudly and said: “You think you can kill me just because you recovered from your wounds and that I can’t move? Even though my profound strength has been greatly suppressed because of this formation, with just your miniscule Spirit Profound Realm, you shouldn’t even think about killing me. You can’t even hurt a strand of my hair!”
His wounds had fully recovered, and his profound strength had also recovering to around ninety percent. Yun Che grabbed Dragon Fault, and said with a heavy face while standing at the edge of the enchantment: “In this place, if it’s not you who dies, then it’s me who dies! Since I actually managed to survive, then I definitely wouldn’t let myself die again… the one who’s going to die is only you!”
“His profound strength is being suppressed, but looking at the aura he emitted before at the Sword Management Terrace, he could probably release the strength of an early stage Emperor Profound Realm. Even though you’re not suppressed by the formation, the distance between you and him is too too far, killing him is simply just a dream. But his body is tied up, and he can only move one hand, so he can’t chase after you. With Star God’s Broken Shadow and Sealing Cloud Locking Sun, keeping your life when attacking him isn’t a hard thing to do… If you want to know whether or not there’s a possibility of killing him, then you can try and see.” Jasmine lightly reminded. But clearly, she didn’t believe Yun Che could actually kill this demon.
“Without trying, how could I know!”
Yun Che’s brows sank. He swung Dragon Fault, activated Burning Heart, and quickly charged within the boundary. The feeling of suppression suddenly hit him, but then instantly disappeared. He gazed at the demon’s only movable right hand, tightly focusing with his whole body, but surprisingly, after he charged into the boundary, the demon didn’t attack him. Under his long white hair, he stared at Yun Che with those gloomy eyes that contained no hostility.
Until he got close in front of the demon, the demon still did not move a single bit.
“Haah! Overlord’s Fury!”
Yun Che growled, and Dragon Fault brought along a shocking wave of pressure that perilously pounded towards the demon. Yun Che’s only goal was to kill this demon, so his attack contained no mercy. This strike, smashed straight for the demon’s head… Under the heavy locus of Dragon Fault, the demon still did not move, allowing the extremely heavy Dragon Fault to severely smash against his head.
Bang!!!!
Yun Che’s profound strength was only at the early Spirit Profound Realm, but his overall strength absolutely could not be measured by just profound strength alone. The threat of this one slash was enough to shatter a small mountain, not to mention a person’s head. The slash brought along an oppressive huge boom. The surrounding air was forcefully pushed away, creating a temporary yet horrifying vacuum.
Yun Che was stunned… because the demon actually didn’t dodge, and didn’t block.
Dragon Fault smashed on the demon’s head, but from the head to the whole body, the demon did not even budge one bit. Under Dragon Fault, he slowly raised his head, smiled and softly said: “You really are a freak, to not be suppressed inside the formation! And with the strength of a Spirit Profound realm unleashing a battle power of such a level, even in the Illusory Demon Royal Families, there aren’t many that can do this. I am suddenly interested in your cultivation and Profound Arts!”
With such a violent slash that could hack mountains and shatter rocks hitting the demon’s head, not even a strand of hair was hurt. Yun Che felt shocked in his heart, quickly reversed his body and swung Dragon Fault downwards even more violently.
“Falling Moon Sinking Star!”
This time, the demon moved, welcoming Yun Che’s Dragon Fault. The demon bent his arm with a speed so fast that it was unseeable, placing his palm diagonally, with his middle finger and ring finger that was difficult to exert a force on, and pinched the heavy blade of Dragon Fault.
All of the power Yun Che poured into Dragon Fault, was instantly like a clay ox entering the ocean, and disappeared completely. It was followed by a terrifying power that came from the sword, causing him to feel an extremely dangerous and shocking feeling. Yun Che didn’t even think twice. He withdrew his hands in a flash, but he was still hit with a storm of profound strength from the sword and flew away with a groan. When he landed, Yun Che quickly moved sideways and retreated to the outside of the boundary. After retreating out of the barrier, he squatted while panting, and his eyebrows locked up stubbornly.
An extremely scary demon!
He couldn’t even hurt a strand of hair with a strike that contained all his strength. And the demon only used two fingers of strength to directly snatch away my weapon, and even forced me away… Jasmine was right, with my strength, killing him was essentially an idiot’s dream!
Dragon Fault, weighing more than four thousand kilograms, was easily pinched between the demon’s fingers as if pinching one’s chopstick. Feeling the weight of this sword, a touch of shock flashed across the demon’s face. He shook his fingers and said: “A pretty good sword. To be able to release such a power like that with this sword, you’re quite unusual! This sword, I’ll return to you!”
The demon moved his fingers a bit, Dragon Fault suddenly became a gray shooting star, and shuttled through the boundary. With a “ding”, it deeply embedded into the floor in front of Yun Che.
“Why didn’t you kill me?” Yun Che asked as he coldly stared.
“Why should I kill you?” The demon asked in return: “In my life, even though I’ve killed countless people, I’ve never killed an innocent person. Truthfully speaking, looking back at it, by bringing you in here, it’s the first time in my life that I’ve hurt an innocent! That is due to Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s despicable junior angering me, causing me to lose my reason. Now that you actually survived, I have no reason to kill you again. If I kill you, apart from increasing my crimes, there is no benefit whatsoever. If I keep you here, at least before you die, I’ll have someone to accompany me… In the end, you are just a pitiful victim!
Yun Che’s ability to know people well was very strong. Frankly, he couldn’t find a bit of cruelness or savageness from the demon. In this period of time, what he felt the most from the demon was sadness, resentment and longing. But these feelings could not be reasons that would cause him to not kill this demon. Because this demon had brought him here, only by killing him could Yun Che leave this place. He coldly smiled and said: “If you have really never killed an innocent person, if you don’t want your sins to increase, then kill yourself, let an innocent person like me leave this place! Or else, don’t spout any grand and lofty bullshit.”
“Hahahaha…” The demon laughed out loud, and said: “Junior, you don’t have any qualifications to speak to me like that, because my life is worth way more than your life!” He opened his eyes widely, his pupils shooting out a frightening anger and hatred. His voice had also became hoarse: “I was never afraid of death. Being alone in the darkness for a hundred years, this type of loneliness and despair is a thousand times more painful than a quick death! But I’m not willing to die pointlessly like this, as I still haven’t personally annihilated the mongrels from that Mighty Heavenly Sword Region! They won’t let me die, then I’ll just live well until the day I can leave this place and destroy their whole sect! I won’t kill you, but you shouldn’t even hope to kill me!”
Yun Che clenched both his hands tightly, and panted a coarse breath as his gaze sharpened, but did not speak for a good while.
The air in this place was extremely turbid, the rate of exhaustion of the body was much faster than outside. Half a month without drinking, in addition to his heavy injuries, Yun Che’s body revealed a weakness; his stomach was making noises due to the obvious feeling of hunger.
“If you still had the Phoenix Flames, then there’s a chance of burning him. But the current you has no chance of hurting him. No matter how you attack, there’s no chance of success, and it would instead exhaust your stamina quicker. You’d best take a calm posture, and wait for the Phoenix blood to awaken. That way, you might still have a small chance of hope!”
“But the precondition is that you have to live until then!”
After thinking back to leaving all the food within the Sky Poison Pearl with Su Ling’er, he came to a realization that even though he managed to survive, he was still in the abyss of despair, and was falling even deeper into the abyss.
With profound strength at the Sky Profound Realm, it was not a problem to not eat and drink for a year. At the Emperor Profound Realm, there was basically no need for food and drink. At that level, delicacy was only for the enjoyment of the taste, and not for sustenance.
But for Yun Che, the distance to that level was at an impossible distance! An unreachable distance to the stage of not drinking and eating.
Time passed day by day. The feeling of hunger grew stronger, his body became weaker and weaker, until the feeling of hunger was akin to a nightmare. At this time, he was searching in a craze in the Sky Poison Pearl, yet he could not find anything edible. He even ate those dried miracle medicinal herbs, but to refine them used even more profound strength and body strength…
A month later, Yun Che completely could not feel the existence of hunger. It seems as if he couldn’t even feel the existence of his body. His head felt dazed sometimes, felt absent-minded sometimes, his body was as light as a goose feather, and even moving was particularly difficult. Without the Dragon God’s blood preserving his life, without his life threatening injury healing, without eating and drinking for more than a month, and being stuck in an incomparably turbid and vile environment, he would have starved to death long ago.
“In my first life, I was poisoned to death by someone.”
“In my second life, I jumped off Cloud’s End Cliff, and committed suicide…”
“I can… die a tragic death, or even die miserably… but how can I possibly… starve to death!”
Yun Che mused dejectedly. His eyes were half open, his rate of breathing extremely slow, and his upper body rocked, shook, as if he would fall to the ground at any moment. In this period of time, he spent most of his time sleeping, and after sleeping a long while, waking up every time was getting harder than the last. He had no idea whether or not if he would wake up from his slumber the next time he fell asleep.
I can’t die….
Even if I die… I can’t just die hopelessly from starvation… Definitely cannot…
Yun Che extended his left hand, and the Sky Poison Pearl flashed a green light. In front of Yun Che suddenly appeared a hundred foot tall, huge crimson red dragon! Only, this supposedly immensely strong dragon had no signs of life. Even the corpse was split perfectly into four pieces.
Yun Che grabbed the Tiger Soul Sword, and walked to the Flame Dragon’s tail end while panting. He activated Burning Heart and slashed downwards with all his strength. He cut off the peak of the Flame Dragon’s massive tail bloodily, and grabbed it in his hands. The dead Flame Dragon did not have profound strength reinforcing its body, so even though the corpse was still extremely tough, it was enough for Yun Che to cut open. If it was a living Flame Dragon, even if Yun Che’s profound strength was ten times stronger, there would be no chance of hurting its body in the slightest.
Things stored in the Sky Poison Pearl wouldn’t have a qualitative change. Even though this Flame Dragon had been dead for over a year, it was still preserved at the state when it had just died. Fresh blood quickly streamed down from the part of the tail that was cut off, and that, was completely pure dragon blood!
Looking at the pouring dragon blood, Yun Che’s eyes shone with a deep greed and longing… At this time, Jasmine’s voice came out from his heart and helpless said: “Did you think this through? You should know that this is an Emperor Profound Dragon, and the power contained within its blood and flesh is not something that you can handle. If you really eat it as food… you could very likely die immediately!”
“I… have no other choice! I believe… I can handle the power! Even if… even if I can’t handle it, I’d rather die from my body exploding, rather than dying from starving to death!
After speaking, Yun Che raised his arms quickly, and brought the dragon tail to his lips. The drops of dragon blood dripped into his mouth… The dragon blood’s fishiness, for Yun Che at this moment, was as good as honeydew from the heavens.
Chapter 286 - Desperate Struggle
Yun Che wasn’t sure of just how much power was contained within the blood of the Emperor Profound Flame Dragon. Yun Che was at the early stages of True Profound Realm when he refined the Dragon Blood Pellet, and one pellet was infused with only four drops of dragon blood. Only under the suppression of a variety of miraculous medicine was the power made gentle, and even then, after eating one pellet, it took at least one to two days to refine.
And today, he directly drank the dragon blood. In a short few breaths, with the dragon blood quickly dripping all over, more than a few hundred drops of Flame Dragon blood flowed into Yun Che’s mouth, and with it a fiery heat of energy flowed into his stomach. The hunger in his stomach vanished in an instant, and even his originally empty spirit was roused.
Yun Che had the Evil God’s fire seed within him, thus making him immune to any flames. But right now, he still felt as if an incomparably hot flame had exploded within his stomach. This heat wave was like spilled mercury that pervaded every pore as it wildly surged through his whole body… four limbs, internal organs, blood stream, bone marrow… As if every part of his body, every single cell, had scorching oil poured into them. In addition to this, his bones and his soul was thoroughly in pain…
It was an extremely excruciating pain where his whole body seemed to completely crack apart and completely explode.
The dragon tail in Yun Che’s hand fell to the floor as the sweat on his forehead rained down. In an instant, this sweat had completely evaporated, and his body staggered backwards, falling onto the ground. His body spasmed from the pain, and his face distorted greatly.
Whoosh!
The clothes on Yun Che’s body were burnt to a crisp and was sent flying away, revealing crimson red skin. This crimson red was deepening in color, eventually becoming a frightening dark red color. A frightening “pa pa pa” snapping sound rang out from every part of his body…
That sound of his bones cracking apart, being calcined!
“Kid… are you tired of living?!”
The demon gazed at Yun Che through his dirty white hair. With his level of strength, he could easily see that the massive dead dragon was a flame type Emperor Profound dragon. When the huge dragon appeared, he was shocked about how Yun Che, with his miniscule profound strength, could even come to possess a corpse of an Emperor Profound dragon. He also had never thought that Yun Che would actually drink its blood!
Not to mention he was merely only in the early stages of Spirit Profound Realm, even if a person in the late stage Earth Profound Realm dared to take a large gulp of blood from an Emperor Profound Realm dragon, he would be courting death!
This was something only a true madman would do!
After his exclamation, the expression in his eyes filled with more and more surprise. He stared wide-eyed at Yun Che’s skin slowly becoming dark red. Then, it burst apart with a fish scale pattern, and heard the sound his bones exploding and calcining… This kind of pain was simply unimaginable. Even with his strength, he still trembled with fear. He completely understood that even an Overlord at the Tyrant Profound Realm would find it extremely difficult to withstand this kind of pain.
But not a single trace of a scream emerged from Yun Che’s mouth! His face was already completely distorted, his pair of eyes became a crimson red, but within the widely forced open eyes, apart from infinite pain… he was still undeniably wide awake!
That kind of pain, even if it was himself, he would definitely howl or scream, but this youngster… did not even let out a sound!
How much terrifying willpower did this require!
Impossible! This cannot possibly be the amount of willpower a youngster would possess!
The demon raised his head with eyes filled with shock. He had always been calling Yun Che a freak because his power was not suppressed by the formation, and with profound strength at the Spirit Profound Realm, he could actually release power rivalling the battle strength of an Earth Profound Realm. But at this moment, he was shocked about this youth’s terrifying amount of willpower. He was a freak amongst freaks, causing him to be incapable of not being deeply shocked.
But even if his willpower and endurance was stronger, it did not mean that he could live through the erosion of the Emperor Profound dragon’s blood. He regretfully said with a low voice: “You really overestimated yourself! Seeing how you’re being destroyed and burnt to a crisp, I really should have killed you cleanly in one strike instead!”
“Shut… up!!”
What caused the demon to be shocked was that Yun Che actually spoke… and in this terrifying condition, he didn’t give out a blood-curdling scream, and instead he had let out a cold, calm voice. His voice was incredibly hoarse and displeasing to hear, as if it came from a dying elderly, but his pronunciation was exceptionally clear: “I… will not… die… before… killing… you… I… definitely… will not… die!!!!”
Both of the demon’s eyes narrowed. He saw that Yun Che’s skin was completely burnt black, the bones’ crackling sounds were concentrated, as if a few hundred pieces of glass were broken at the same time. Yun Che’s current miserable condition couldn’t help but make the demon have a sense of horror. He howled: “Good! Then let me see… just how you plan on staying alive!!”
Yun Che’s teeth were nearly completely chewed until shattered at this moment. He could feel his flesh, bones… even his bone marrow felt like it had been put on top of a fire and burned, being fried as if immersed into boiling oil. This kind of pain, absolutely could not be described with any kind of words. He basically couldn’t breathe. His four limbs were immobilized, his organs exhausted or even broken down. He could also feel a countless streams of irritable energy in his body thrashing around. The surface of his body was already completely pitch-black, filled with detailed cracks leaking out countless streams of blood.
His body in this instant was as weak as a tissue that could be ripped apart with one tear. His bodily functions had nearly decayed completely. What was left was only his willpower and obsessed soul.
Yun Che used every single bit of willpower to keep himself in a stable sitting posture. He shut both of his eyes, closing off his five senses and consciousness. The cracks on his body rapidly increased, and the burnt black body gradually deepened. Apart from this, Yun Che was completely still, like a weathered sculpture.
Did he die?
Not yet… from his body, the demon still felt a slight trace of life.
If it was any other person at this stage, they would have definitely passed away long ago. But on Yun Che’s body, there was still a trace of life. As time passed, unwilling to disappear, this trace of life continued to hang onto Yun Che.
The demon shook his head and sighed. So what if there’s still a breath left? In this condition, there was basically no hope of surviving. With the Emperor Profound dragon blood entering his body, the tyrannical power would destroy his organs, bones, blood, physical body… and before this, the first thing to be destroyed, were the profound veins!
Even if he stubbornly has a breath of life left, what could he even do?
But the demon had no way of knowing that even though Yun Che’s body was ninety percent destroyed, his profound veins at the moment, were completely fine!
Because the profound veins came from a True God! How could it be destroyed from the strength that came from merely a few drops of an Emperor Profound dragon’s blood!
And it was exactly the Evil God’s Profound Veins and Great Way of the Buddha that Yun Che relied on when he crazily drank the Flame Dragon’s blood when he had no other choice!
He supported his life with his willpower, refined the dragon’s blood with his profound veins, and after refining, recovered his body with the Great Way of the Buddha…
Life through success, death through failure!!
With his five senses and consciousness shut off, he could not hear anything, and he already could not feel the pain on his body. Inside his mind, the only thing that remained were the alternatively twinkling red and blue lights inside the Evil God Profound Veins, and a weaving stream of power from the Flame Dragon blood…
Time, for Yun Che, became endlessly long.
Two hours passed…
Four hours passed…
Six hours passed…
In this period of time, the demon’s gaze was locked onto Yun Che’s unmoving body. A whole six hours had passed, and that last trace of life was still tenaciously clinging on, neither increasing nor decreasing.
The only word he could think of right now was: “incredible”.
At this time, Yun Che’s body finally showed some movement. A strange cyclone appeared on top of his head. The cyclone originally spun around slowly, then started spinning faster and faster… until it reflected a shadow of a small and delicate silver pagoda!
“What is that?” The demon had lived for over three hundred years, but it was the first time he had seen something like this. That pagoda contained a bizarre power, as if it was some kind of profound art… but he had never seen this type of profound art before.
Wait… profound art!!
Was… he actually using a profound art!?
This discovery caused the demon’s body to shake in shock. He suddenly moving forward, causing his chains to brawl loudly. He obviously should have died a long time ago, but while clinging onto his last breath, he clung on for six hours and had yet to die. Instead, a sign of him using profound arts had appeared!
How is this possible!
At this moment, the demon desperately wanted to break free from his chains to get closer to Yun Che and find what kind of condition he was in!
Even if a dead person suddenly started moving, that would still be nowhere as close as the shock Yun Che brought him at this time.
The silver pagoda on top of Yun Che’s head started to spin slowly, and started to expand whilst it was spinning. After six hours, it expanded until it was around three foot tall, and when the silver pagoda reached its size limit, it turned from a ghostly image into something substantial, as if a real, small pagoda was actually suspended above Yun Che’s head. Then, the small pagoda disappeared without warning.
At this time, Yun Che’s life force suddenly burned as if a prairie fire, quickly combusted, and the combustion becoming more and more exuberant. Within four hours, that small trace of life became flames of life that filled his entire body!
Demon: “…”
Sixteen hours after drinking the dragon blood, Yun Che finally opened his eyes. The instant his eyes opened, there was a faint stream of fiery light flashing within his pupils.
Not only did he opened his eyes, he also slowly stood up.
The moment he stood up, the pitch-black crust that wrapped around his body suddenly rustled and fell, revealing a baby-like tenderness, and flawlessly smooth rebirthed skin. He stood up straight, spread both his arms, and lightly gulped. A surge of profound energy had suddenly released, causing the burnt crisp on his body to completely burst open, showing a perfect and flawless body without a trace of injury. Even his hair was completely rebirthed, growing to the length it was previously at.
“You……”
This powerful being who shook entire Illusory Demon Realm, who stood at the peak while looking down at millions of people, was shocked, and stared dumbfoundedly, tongue-tied at this seventeen year old teenager.
Because everything he saw in this moment completely overturned everything he knew.
Not only this, he could also clearly feel that Yun Che, who should have been dead, was not only perfectly fine. In fact, even his profound strength… had increased to the second level of the Spirit Profound Realm!!
Yun Che, who miraculously survived from the abyss of death, did not say a word to the demon. Picking up the piece of dragon tail from the floor, he grabbed it in his hands as his palms blazed with profound fire, burning the tail until Yun Che thought was cooked well enough. He brought the tail up to his face and started to chew, eating large chunks of half cooked dragon flesh with his teeth. He was way too hungry, and that exaggerated face of eating was like a hungry demon that had been starved for several hundred years.
In a short while, around three kilograms of dragon flesh was eaten cleanly by Yun Che like a tornado. He licked his lips and burped out with satisfaction. The power density within the dragon flesh was not as much as the dragon blood, but there wasn’t too much difference. At this time, that feeling of immersion in oil exploded within his stomach, causing his body to once again burn crimson red in a blink of an eye.
Without panicking at all, Yun Che was calm to a terrifying degree. He quickly sat down and closed his eyes. His face, that had begun to show signs of emerging cracks was nevertheless a field of silence.
The demon unwaveringly stared at Yun Che. Hearing sounds of his bones cracking once more with his ears, his brain continuously vibrated with these same words…
This monster!!
This madman!!
Chapter 287 - Extreme Training
Yun Che succeeded, but the pain and danger included in the process was something only Yun Che himself knew. Even though Yun Che had the Evil God’s profound veins and the Great Way of the Buddha, drinking so much fresh Emperor Profound dragon blood with the body of a Spirit Profound Realm, and live through that while even refining a great majority of the energy within the dragon blood, it could still be considered to be a miracle. And if not for this miracle, the only ending for Yun Che was a thorough death.
But as if he had gone mad, once he escaped the abyss of pain and death, he placed himself in this kind of abyss once more.
There were only a few minutes of time between the intervals before Yun Che’s bones and body bursted once again. In the blink of an eye, the surface of his body had changed into an dreadful charred black. His life force had also been diminished to its last wisp, but like before, it was exactly this wispy flame of life that was unwilling to die no matter what.
That strange little silver colored pagoda appeared again… This entire process, was almost exactly the same as before.
The different was that this time, Yun Che only took six hours to stand up again. He shed the black from his whole body, and his entire body rebirthed for the second time!
His profound strength, had also rapidly risen to the early stages of the third level of the Spirit Profound Realm!
The Demon stared fixedly at Yun Che, and spoke with a shocked tone: “How… did you do that!?”
The mighty Demon King of the Illusory Demon World had unexpectedly used such a shocked tone to ask a mere seventeen year old youth “how did you do that!?”
Before today, forget about others, even he himself would never believe that there would come a day in which he would ask a junior this kind of question.
But what Yun Che had shown him at this very moment, flooded his heart with raging waves that were incapable of settling down.
A high ranked profound beast’s flesh and blood were definitely not something that could be consumed carelessly on a whim. Even if it was a Throne who wished to consume a Emperor Profound Beast’s flesh and blood, they would have be cautious. And to a Throne, the flesh and blood of a Emperor Profound Beast was undoubtedly a kind of extremely good supplement, enough to let their profound strength progress noticeably. Even though this kind of progress wasn’t too exaggerated, it came without a need to go through bitter cultivation. At the same time, if a Throne wanted to single-handedly slay a Emperor Profound Beast of the same level, it would be basically impossible. Even if it was a peak level Throne facing the lowest level Emperor Profound Beast, defeating the beast would be easy, but slaying it would also be extremely difficult.
Therefore, even in a Throne’s entire lifetime, they would have few chances to get to enjoy a treasure from an Emperor Profound Beast.
But Yun Che, who was merely at the Spirit Profound Realm, who drank a dragon type Emperor Profound Beast’s blood, who ate a dragon type Emperor Profound Beast’s flesh… had actually miraculously lived! This kind of freakish, unimaginable situation’s outcome was obviously incredibly ridiculous. Within this short period of time that had not even taken a day, Yun Che’s profound strength had directly shot up by two levels!
As he looked at the standing Yun Che and the incredibly enormous giant Flame Dragon, the demon’s heart could not help to have a crazy thought… He could not possibly want to slowly eat this entire Flame Dragon and turn it into his own power, right?
Two major crises, two rebirths after being on the edge of death. Yun Che felt that not only did his flesh not become weak because of rebirth, it was instead filled with even more strength. And his bones had also become more resilient after the impact and refinement of the Dragon’s flesh and blood. His own blood slightly became viscous, and even his heart had an odd feeling of strength.
The nightmarish starving feeling he experienced earlier had completely disappeared. While looking at this rebirthed body, feeling the explosively increased strength, Yun Che grinned and started to laugh. It seemed as if the heavens were looking after him at every moment; every single time he gambled with his life as wager, they all concluded with his victory. And this kind of victory, under the heavens, could only happen to him… If it were some other person with similar profound strength as him, at this moment, they would have become a pile of charcoal long ago.
He looked at the demon and said in a low voice: “I have no obligation to answer your question. Let me say it again, in order for me to leave this place, I will definitely… kill you!”
Seeing Yun Che’s cold and resolute expression, the demon was silent for a while. Then, he started to chuckle: “Good! I am suddenly beginning to look forward to that day! Currently, my profound strength has been suppressed down to the Emperor Profound Realm. Do you really think that the gap between the Spirit Profound and Emperor Profound can be so easily made up for!?”
Yun Che did not speak again. He withdrew the Flame Dragon’s carcass, and picked up Dragon Fault while his entire body exploded with profound energy. His vigorous swings gave conjured many winds as every strike contained an ear-splitting howl and an peerless might.
The incomparably heavy Dragon Fault conjured a sandstorm in Yun Che’s hands, and a long, unceasingly storm began to fill this underground suppression space. The best way to solidify a dramatic increase in profound strength was to continuously release it. It was also at this instant that Yun Che set a goal for himself —— Leveling his profound strength was the only thing he could do, and was also the only thing he had to do.
After two hours, Yun Che was already huffing and puffing. He put Dragon Fault back on his back and sat down. Very quickly, he entered a meditative state. All of his fifty four profound entrances in his profound veins completely opened as the powerful current of his profound energy rapidly moved within his body.
While in his meditative state, time went by really quickly. Unwittingly, sixteen hours had passed when Yun Che opened his eyes. His body was now abundant in profound energy, but the rumblings of hunger could be heard from his stomach.
“I’m hungry again.” Yun Che said as he rubbed his belly. Under the demon’s watchful gaze, he summoned the Flame Dragon again, and sliced another huge chunk of flesh from its enormous tail. It dripped with dragon blood as he held it in his grasp, and then began to cook it with profound fire. However, this time’s hunger obviously could not compare to yesterday’s. His roasting unhurried, not quick nor slow; it didn’t take a while for the sweet aroma of cooked meat to permeate the area and make Yun Che gulp.
The deliciousness of dragon flesh was world-famous, and other profound beasts could not possibly compare with it. But in the entire Profound Sky Continent, those who were fortunate to sample dragon flesh could only amount to a few. The cooked dragon meat’s indescribable aroma lightly floated towards the demon, making the tip of his nose tremble and all ten of his fingers twitch… To this demon who had not eaten in a hundred years, the fragrance from the most extravagant meat in this world was undoubtedly a huge attraction, enough to make him go out of control.
But as the majestic Demon King, how could he possibly beg a junior for food? He bit the tip of his tongue, turned his face the other way, and sealed his sense of smell. But immediately afterwards, he heard the sounds of Yun Che’s teeth tearing and chewing the dragon meat. All of his fingers shook so much that they had nearly flown away from his joints.
The side effect had subsequently neared. Yun Che was once again, immediately confronted a baptism filled with endless pain and danger. But this time, not only was Yun Che incomparable resolute like before, he seemed to appear even more calm… Under the dragon flesh’s explosive power, he had even smoothly drank the bowl of dragon blood that had bled out…
The Flame Dragon that had been instantly killed by Jasmine existed within the Sky Poison Pearl for over a year, and was almost forgotten by Yun Che. Yet not only did it pull Yun Che back from the danger of starving to death, it also let him find a way, although incomparably painful, to rapidly increase his profound strength. Like the demon expected, after the first and second times of success, the third time his body burst apart from the energy’s impact, Yun Che only used eleven hours to finish absorbing the dragon’s power and repair his body. Then, he started to crazily train with his sword, meditate, train with sword, meditate… Eat the dragon meat when hungry, and drink the dragon blood when thirsty; repeating it again and again in a unthinkable fashion.
During this process, Yun Che’s profound strength was increasing at such a rapid pace that it might even anger the heavens.
Just in terms of raising his strength, this was an excellent place for Yun Che. In the outside world, it was simple impossible for him to achieve complete concentration. There would always be various people and matters distracting and tying him down. But in here, it was gloomy and silent. It was severed from the world, and no one would come to distract and obstruct him. The only person with him here, was also deprived of freedom. And everyone related to him in the outside world, all became his motivation to increase his strength as fast as possible in order to walk out from this place!
Thus, he spent all of his time training… crazily training! Killing the demon in the shortest time possible and then leaving this place, was currently his sole objective. In addition to this, he suppressed any worries and longing he had, and didn’t bother to think about anything else.
————————————————
Azure Cloud Continent, Grandwake Clan’s rear mountain.
The little bamboo house they built together in the emerald green bamboo forest was Su Ling’er’s most favorite place. Even though Su Hengshan had always told her that she could not run here by herself, she could not help but always secretly come here to sit in front of the little bamboo house all afternoon… She only sat there, bathing in the bamboo forest’s wind, and always thought back to the time when she was with him that night with a face full of happiness.
This afternoon, was the same as all the previous afternoons. She secretly came here by herself. Leaning on the bamboo house with both hands on her cheeks, her watery eyes stared at the swaying green bamboo as she giggled from time to time. It was not known what she was thinking about.
Time passed by slowly, and night was gradually approaching. It was around the time that she should start leaving. Su Ling’er stood up and lowered her head to look at her… little hands, little legs, delicate body, and her chest that had yet to begin blossoming… She flattened her lips and grieved: “Wuu… when am I going to grow up… I really wish I could grow up tomorrow so Big Brother Yun Che would come marry me.”
Carrying a little girl’s dreams, Su Ling’er was mixed with worry and happiness. At this time, an ear-piercing voice suddenly sounded:
“Oh? Isn’t this my dear beloved little sister? Why did you come here all alone? Oh, I know why, you probably came here to think about your, uh… Big Brother Yun Che again?” Su Haoran came out of nowhere and walked over to Su Ling’er at a leisure pace with a face full of smiles.
“Big brother…” Su Ling’er wasn’t that close with Su Haoran, to the point of rejection, but she still gave the proper polite courtesy and even obediently answered: “Mn! I come here everyday to think about Big Brother Yun Che, hoping that he’ll return sooner.”
“Hahahahahaha!” Seeing Su Ling’er’s appearance, Su Haoran started to laugh out loud as though he had heard a funny joke: “Oh boy, my foolish little sister, your appearance really makes me unable to hold back my laughter… Sigh! Fine, even though there are some things that other people understand, but nobody was willing to tell you this. But I am of course, your older brother, so I ought to think about your own good. Therefore, I might as well be that villain… I’d advise you to let go of those unnecessary delusions. That big brother Yun Che of yours will never come back to find you. The only reason why he told Father that he wanted to marry you was because that was how he went against Second Uncle Su Hengyue. It was a temporary excuse he made up at that time, and nothing more.
Su Ling’er immediately raised her head as her little face flushed red in anger: “You’re lying! Big Brother Yun Che told me that when I grow up, he’ll come marry me… You’re lying! You’re lying!”
“Heh, only a stupid little girl like you would believe that kind of lie.” Su Haoran curled his lips in disdain: “That Yun Che’s background is even more prestigious than our Grandwake Clan by several times. That wife of his… Hmph!” Su Haoran clenched his teeth in envy: “No only does she look like a goddess, she’s even more powerful than our great-grandfather! Which part of you could possibly compare to her? He has such an extremely perfect partner by his side, so why would he even like a ten year old little girl like you! Forget about him, even if you replace him with another person, they would never, in only one day, want to marry a little girl like you. What he said at that time, was only made up to help Father settle Second Uncle’s matter, and only you would believe that.”
“As for why he did that, hrm, it’s probably because Father offered them shelter to recuperate from their wounds when that beautiful girl was in her coma. And this kind of person born from such a great family, would obviously not want to owe anything to us, who are from an inferior clan in their eyes. Thus, they took action to help us out, and regard it as returning the favor. But you actually deluded yourself to think that he would truly come back to marry you. I’m assuming that he has already forgotten the two words “Grandwake Clan” by now, let alone remember you.”
Chapter 288 - Inflated Ambition
The longing Su Ling’er had for Yun Che was a bit baffling to outsiders, so much that it seemed somewhat unreasonable. Even Su Ling’er herself wondered why his figure had filled her mind and heart ever since she met him. Waiting for his return, had almost become everything that she wished for. And what Su Haoran had said to her, was undoubtedly the cruelest words in the world, because every one of his words was like a poisonous steel needle that stabbed at her most beautiful and happiest dream.
“You’re lying… you’re lying!” Su Ling’er forcibly shook her head and yelled angrily: “Big Brother Yun Che said that he likes me. He said that he’ll come marry me when I grow up. Big Brother Yun Che won’t lie to me… You’re the liar! You can’t lie like that!”
“Oh, really?” Su Haoran began to grin: “If he really liked you, why didn’t he bring you along with him at that time? Since he likes you that much, then did he tell you where he lived, and which sect he was born in?”
Su Ling’er’s little face paled instantly: “That’s because… that’s because…”
“That’s because he never even liked a little girl like you, so why would he bring you with him? He was scared that you might go looking for him, which was why he didn’t tell you about his birthplace. Also, the others have said that aside from his name, what else do you know about him? Perhaps, even his name was made up too.” Su Haoran laughed as he said this, without caring about how cruel those words were to Su Ling’er.
“You’re lying… You’re lying! They’re all lies! Big Brother Yun Che would never lie to me, he will definitely come for me.” Su Ling’er used both hands to cover her ears and fiercely shook her head. She powerlessly defended as her eyes began to water.
Su Haoran spread out his hand: “Then just continue on with your delusion. But what a pity, my good little sister, as Grandwake Clan’s great princess, you would have your pick of men in the river east in the future, yet you want to stupidly wait for a person who played you for a fool. If this matter were to be spread, tsk tsk, I’m afraid that our entire Grandwake Clan would be made fun of.”
“You’re lying… Everything you say is a lie, I hate you!!”
Still covering her ears, Su Ling’er ran far away into the refreshing bamboo forest, and the faint sounds of her suppressed weeping could be heard.
“Why was Su Hengshan’s little girl here?” Not far from Su Haoren’s rear, a middle-aged dressed in black walked over. It was actually Su Hengyue!
“Ignore her.” Su Haoran casually curled his lips as he turned around: “I heard that you had something important to tell me. What is it?”
“With Haoran’s great intelligence, how could you not be able to guess it out?” Su Hengyue faintly laughed: “Of course it’s to help you get the clan treasure earlier, and become the Clan Master!”
The two looked at each other for a while, and then began to laugh at the same time.
……………………………………
It was only until nightfall that Su Ling’er finally arrived back to the Grandwake Clan. On the entire journey back, she had been completely spaced-out. She was unwilling to believe what Su Haoran had said, but that nightmarish voice continued to swim in her mind, making her unable to forget it.
Big Brother Yun Che would not not come for me, right…
No! Big Brother Yun Che would definitely not lie to me… He’s so nice to me, and when he looks at me, his gaze is as warm as the bamboo forest’s moonlight.
But, why didn’t he bring me with him that day, why didn’t he tell me where he lived…
I only know… his name… and don’t know anything else…
If he really forgets about me, if he doesn’t like me any more… What do I do… What do I do…
Su Hengshan walked out from the Training Room and immediately saw Su Ling’er’s light, powerless footsteps. He hurriedly rushed forward and asked: “Ling’er, where did you go? Why did you return so late?”
Su Ling’er lifted her tear-filled eyes. While trying really hard to not cry, she asked pitifully: “Papa, is Big Brother Yun Che… really not coming back to marry me? Was he… was he only casually saying that, has he already forgotten me?”
A few teardrops were already hanging from Su Ling’er’s cheeks, and it was obvious that she had already cried earlier. Su Hengshan stared blankly for a while before squatting down and answering with a slight smile: “Ling’er, tell me what you feel, do you think he liked you?”
Su Ling’er gently blinked her eyes and then nodded: “Big Brother Yun Che… definitely likes me.”
“Then that’s the case.” Su Hengshan nodded with a slight smile: “If other people’s words and your feelings are in conflict, you obviously have to believe in your own feelings. It’s not only Ling’er, even I feel that your big brother Yun Che really likes you. When he looks at you, it was like he was looking at his life. Especially on the day he was leaving, I could tell that he really wanted to take you away with him… but it was just that you were too young. If he took you away now, or marry you now, it would definitely bring about many criticisms. That’s why he wanted you to wait for him, and when you grow up, he will definitely come back and marry you… Even though he’s not by your side now, you two are already engaged, and even had so many witnesses. This fact, absolutely cannot be severed.”
Su Hengshan understood that after Yun Che had left, everyone believed that he would never come back, and that his and Su Ling’er’s engagement was randomly brought up just to settle the dispute with Su Hengyue. But Su Hengshan didn’t believe that. The way Yun Che looked at Su Ling’er, and the way he treated her so well… was not something that could be completely faked.
Her father’s words were as warm as the spring breeze, and immediately dispersed all of Su Ling’er’s worries and fear. She nodded happily: “Papa, I understand! I knew it, Big Brother Yun Che definitely likes me… I’ll quickly grow up, and wait every day for him to come back and marry me.”
“Haha,” Su Hengshan laughed somewhat helplessly. This ten year old daughter of his, who was originally an innocent and carefree little pixie at a tender age that should not know how to love yet, had actually begun to be immersed in love-sickness all day long after meeting Yun Che, and even thought about marriage every single day. This made him, as the father, really not know whether to laugh or cry. He asked on a whim: “Did someone say something to you that hurt your feelings?”
Su Ling’er lightly nodded: “Uu.. It’s elder brother, when I was in the bamboo forest, he also came there, and told me that everything Big Brother Yun Che told me were lies, so… so…”
“You said… your elder brother went over to the bamboo forest area?” Su Hengshan twitched violently.
“Mn! Papa, what’s wrong? Why did you suddenly become so serious?”
“Oh, nothing.” Su Hengshan hurriedly made a smile. He took a glance at the Dragonscale Armor under Ling’er outer garments, tightened Su Ling’er’s collars up, then once again exhorted seriously: “Ling’er, do well to remember what I said before. This dark golden colored clothing of yours, you have to wear it at any time, and you must also properly hide it and not let anyone see. That includes the brother and sisters in the clan who regularly plays with you. If it were to be accidentally found out by others, it’s highly possible for it to be snatched away. Do you understand?”
Su Ling’er subconsciously tightened her outer garment, and nodded very seriously: “I understand Papa, this was given to me by Big Brother Yun Che, I’ll definitely properly keep it safe.”
Su Ling’er finally opened the knot in her heart and ran away happily, while Su Hengshan’s heart became weighed with worry.
Only after the curtains of the night complete fell, did Su Haoran finally sneakily return to the Grandwake Clan. The moment he returned to his room, he discovered that his father Su Hengshan was actually standing in there. His heart suddenly throbbed, and he hastily spoke: “Father, why are you here?”
“I have something to talk to you about…” Su Hengshan gave him a sideways glance, and said indifferently: “Where did you go this afternoon?”
“I trained too long this afternoon and was a bit tired, so I went for a walk in the rear mountain’s bamboo forest, and even met Ling’er. I wonder what important matters Father needs to speak to me about?” Su Haoran respectively spoke without a change in expression.
“Other than Ling’er, did you not meet anyone else in the bamboo forest?” Su Hengshan’s expression became faintly overcast, and his voice also became a little menacing.
Su Haoran lifted his head, his face revealing surprise: “The rear mountain’s bamboo forest had always been secluded. I indeed had only met Ling’er, and spoke a few words with her. Other than that, I did not meet anyone else. Why is Father asking me this?”
After Su Hengshan stared him in the eyes for a long while, he moved his gaze and spoke lightly: “Haoran, it’s not a bad thing for a mature man to have ambition. Without ambition, one would never reach the top. Cruelty, ruthless, sinister and cunning, are often necessary things for a successful person of power. But these, are only fit to be used on enemies. If they were used on one’s dearest family, then this person cannot be called a person, but a swine. This, you must remember.”
Su Haoran’s eyebrows jumped, then he immediately nodded forcefully and spoke sincerely: “Haoren shall bear Father’s teaching in mind.”
Su Hengshan turned his face toward him, and lightly nodded: “It’s important for one to know their limitations. Whether your father here was a successful Clan Master or not, I very well understand in my heart. Many times, I wasn’t decisive enough, not ruthless enough, not unyielding enough. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be someone running wild and rampant in front of this Clan Master’s face here. However, I, Su Hengshan had never done anything of guilty conscience in my entire life. Even though I am mediocre, I can still face the heavens and earth, face the sect, and face our ancestors… You are my, Su Hengshan’s only son. I hope that in the future… you will never disappoint me.”
“Yes… This child will not forget Father’s words, and definitely won’t do anything that would disappoint father.”
“Mm!” Su Hengshan uttered a slight confirmation, and walked out with a slow pace without saying anything else.
Watching Su Hengshan leave, Su Haoran’s expression slowly darkened, and then revealed a sinister smile: “Even though I have the identity as the Clan Master’s son, in terms of aptitude, my position really is too dangerous, so I can’t help but to plan ahead for myself… Dearest family? Heh, if I am to be so pedantic and irresolute, then this Grandwake Clan will never have a spot for me. When that happens, it’ll really be over for me. As your son, how would I let you be disappointed…. Hehehehe…. HAHAHAHA…”
Chapter 289 - Double Breakthrough
Unknowingly, Yun Che had already “fallen” for half a year already, but the subjects and rumors regarding Yun Che was still spreading throughout every corner of the Blue Wind Empire and the versions of them were becoming more and more exaggerated. It was even compiled into books by some meddlesome people who sold it and spread it like crazy wildfire.
The Blue Wind Emperor’s condition had slowly deteriorated. The first and third princes’ secret battle had formally turned into a clear battle. All of the princes were involved; none of them were able to stay out of it, and none of them were able to take care of the Blue Wind Emperor whose life force was becoming dimmer and dimmer. The only person who accompanied the Blue Wind Emperor was the Blue Moon Princess.
The entire Blue Wind Imperial Family was enveloped within an increasingly dark and gloomy cloud. Behind the dark cloud were the Xiao Sect and the Burning Heaven Clan who were already beginning to expose their fierce teeth. Under the Xiao Sect and the Burning Heaven Clan’s accentuation of this enormous maelstrom, the Blue Wind Imperial Family practically had no defensive capabilities.
Heavenly Sword Villa had always kept silent and showed zero signs of intervention. The matter regarding Chu Yuechan half a year ago shocked Ling Yuefeng, so he was not in the mood to care about anything else, and Frozen Cloud Asgard had already completely sealed themselves away in order to completely ignore all the unstable situations of the outside world.
Heavenly Sword Villa, under the Sword Management Terrace.
Yun Che carried Dragon Fault on his back while sitting cross-legged on the ground. He had already maintained this position for over six hours. At this moment, strands of profound energy which were visible through the naked eye began to rise and white smoke above his head.
“Oh… breaking through again?” Looking at the white smoke above his head, the demon quietly said.
Yun Che’s looked extremely calm on the exterior, but a storm was surging within his interior.
After he trained in his sword style until he was completely exhausted, he sat cross-legged on the ground and channeled his profound energy within his body for over a hundred days while simultaneously pondering deeply about the images of the Sirius’s second sword style which Jasmine mentioned during the ranking tournament. Only, that image only showed the motions of Sirius’ second sword technique and the most important profound arts and the Prison God Sirius’ profound skill. Even if he put all his heart into it in order to discover the real essence behind the second sword style from only seeing the movement of the heavy sword, it was simply impossible.
However, Yun Che never thought this was “impossible”. He was pondering deeply about it every single day for the last half year and that image had also been recreated tens of thousands of times within his brain.
After two hundred days of channeling profound energy within his body, all of his profound energy suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Yun Che’s entire body shuddered and this shock was no small matter. His entire body suddenly emitted sweat, but he immediately tenaciously calmed down… what is going on? Could it be…
During the moment when his profound strength suddenly disappeared and he was in a trance, his profound veins suddenly radiated as brightly as the red and blue radiance of stars. After that, incredibly thick profound energy swarmed out from the depth of his profound veins like a rapid flood, surging toward every muscle. His profound vein and channels started to rapidly relax and expand under the influence of his profound energy as if they were dancing in excitement.
Beneath the Earth Profound Realm, profound energy was formless and shapeless, and one could only capture it when channeling their strength; however at this moment, Yun Che was able to clearly see this surging profound energy appear before him in a thin white color! They were like strands of smoke and its thickness was many times stronger than it was previously!
They were simply two things that could not be mentioned in the same sentence.
The radiance of his profound veins also became much brighter and the red and blue color also became increasingly clearer. Yun Che still had his eyes shut as he sensed the surge of profound energy within his profound veins. He slightly extended both his hands and opened them up as a joyous smirk slowly appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He was very aware what this meant.
This meant his profound strength had already broke through the Spirit Profound Realm and entered the Earth Profound Realm!
In just half a year, he went from the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm and stepped into the first level of the Earth Profound Realm!
In just six months!
Furthermore, due to the fact that all the profound entrances in his profound veins were open, there wasn’t even a bottleneck from the Spirit Profound Realm to the Earth Profound Realm and he broke through as easily as water forming a canal through time!
This kind of breakthrough speed could be said to be impossible since the dawn of the Blue Wind Empire!
Indeed, the reason his profound strength could increase this fast was mainly because of the large amounts of dragon flesh he ate and the large amounts of dragon blood he drank. Until today, the Flame Dragon’s entire tail had been completely swallowed within Yun Che’s stomach and turned into his eternal strength. Nevertheless, being able to crazily consume dragon flesh and blood in the Spirit Profound Realm and not die, and instead absorb it in order to refine it into his own strength was already an abnormal strength that made one’s hair stand on end.
The surge of profound energy within his body stopped at this moment and that kind of abundant power made Yun Che feel as if his body was in the clouds. He opened up his eyes , stood up and spread his arms. All the pores within his body opened as he sensed everything around him as much as he wanted to. Every large breakthrough between realms would be followed by an improvement to the soul as well as an improvement to the perceptive strength by several folds. The range where he could sense things had already extended to several times of what he was capable of before to the point that he could faintly hear the sounds of all kinds of elements’ moving within the air and their mutual interactions.
Yun Che excitedly grabbed the Dragon Fault and let out a carefree shout. His gaze suddenly locked onto the demon and in the blink of an eye, his entire body charged into the barrier like lightning. He opened Burning Heart, and smashed down onto the demon’s head with his sword.
When Burning Heart opened, there wasn’t even the slightest emergence of burden on his body. This also signified that he entered the Earth Profound Realm and was now like the Evil God, able to completely adapt to the state of Burning Heart, and could ordinarily maintain the Burning Heart state at will without any pressure at all.
When facing against Yun Che who just entered the Spirit Profound Realm, the demon had once easily used his head to meet Yun Che’s heavy sword.
However, facing against Yun Che who was at the initial stages of Earth Realm and had the strength of a Sky Profound Realm, the demon did not dare to forcefully take it with his head because Yun Che’s strength already started to put a little pressure on him… Although it was extremely trivial, it was still a genuine oppressive strength!
“Breaking through into the Earth Profound Realm so fast is truly astonishing, but you’re still far from able to kill me!” The demon disdainfully muttered and grabbed Dragon Fault with one hand, but when he went to grab the Dragon Fault, all he caught was an afterimage.
The real Dragon Fault followed the strange movements of Yun Che’s body as he ruthlessly smashed down on the demon’s shoulders.
Crash!!
The Meteorite Chains began to emit an ear-splitting crashing sound. This strike of Yun Che’s fell upon the indestructible profound steel and shook his arms until they were numb. However, on the demon’s shoulders, let alone an injury, even the weak clothes that he protected with his profound strength was not damaged in the slightest.
Even though he achieved the Earth Profound Realm, the difference between his strength and the demon’s strength was as different as mud and sky!
The demon raised his hand and a surge of matchless profound strength was released, making the entire interior of the barrier roil with an incredibly frightening storm. After one breath’s time, Yun Che was thrown over three hundred meters away by the storm as he embarrassingly fell onto the ground. He immediately got up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and fiercely said: “There will be a day when I’ll kill you!”
“Wait until that day, then you can make these arrogant remarks! Claiming that you’ll kill me right now is still a joke!” The demon answered disdainfully.
“Whether or not it’s a joke is not something you have a say in!” Yun Che picked up Dragon Fault and did not go to heal himself. Instead, he suddenly charged into the barrier while continuously swinging Dragon Fault. Accompanied with the resonant sounds of phoenix cries, over ten streaks of phoenix flames flew towards the demon.
Phoenix Break!
The phoenix flames which had been still for a long time had also finally awoken once more at this moment.
“Oh?” The demon did not receive Yun Che’s profound flame, but instead charged into the flames which clearly was incomparably hot and powerful. He flung his palms and shattered all the phoenix breaks, but the back of his hands were thoroughly burnt red, which made his eyebrows wrinkle.
However at this moment, Yun Che who was over thirty meters away, suddenly charged over in a split second with his entire body wrapped up in scorching hot phoenix flames.
“Empyrean Dance of the Phoenix Wing!!”
Boom!!
Dragon Fault ruthlessly smashed onto the demon’s chest and a frantic phoenix flame exploded on his chest, burning with incredibly high temperature and oppressive might which stifled the demon for an instant. Yun Che somersaulted backwards and landed as an enormous and dark blue wolf howled toward the sky behind him. Dragon Fault fell and a streak of a wolf’s silhouette charged out, ripped the air apart, and collided directly with the demon.
RIIIP!!
Sky Wolf Slash accurately struck onto the completely immobile demon’s body, slashed open a hole that was half a feet long on his clothes, and then unrelentlessly struck towards his stomach… as a sharp pain transmitted all over. Though it was only a sharp pain, a red scar that did not even rip his skin appeared over his stomach, but it was still able to greatly shock the demon.
He was not able to deliberately activate the protection of his profound strength, but he still had the defense from his naturally existent profound strength that even a sneak attack from an expert at the initial stages of the Sky Profound Realm would have a hard time ripping through. His clothes were also under the protection of his naturally existent profound strength, but they were unexpected cut open by a slash from Yun Che which made him feel a sharp pain.
This clearly signified that he could forcefully release the power only achievable from the Sky Profound at the early stages of the Earth Profound Realm!!
Battle strength that surpassed the profound strength, this fact was not a rarity in the demon’s knowledge. Nascent Profound Realm having the battle strength of the True Profound Realm, True Profound Realm having the battle strength of the Spirit Profound Realm were all common occurrences to him, he had even seen quite a few in the True Profound Realm with battle strength at the Earth Profound Realm. However, with the advancement of realm, the disparity between each large realm increased multiplicatively and bottlenecks were harder and harder to overcome. Spirit Profound Realm to the Earth Profound Realm was considered to be the first true bottleneck, but overcoming that really wasn’t too difficult. However the Earth Profound Realm to the Sky Profound had a bottleneck that was hundreds to thousands of times harder than what the Earth Profound Realm had! Similarly, exhibiting battle strength at the Sky Profound Realm while in the Earth Profound Realm was fundamentally impossible.
However, Yun Che was only at the first level of the Earth Profound Realm yet the power of his sword had the genuine power of a Sky Profound Realm! Although this was perhaps the best strike that Yun Che could use, even using it for just a moment was already world shocking.
Under the demon’s astonishment, he was also starting to get angry… He was a glorious Demon King, but his clothes were harmed by a junior at the Earth Profound Realm. This was an extraordinary shame and humiliation that he could never have imagined. His expression became overcast and he grabbed out with his five fingers. An enormous deep cyan palm suddenly appeared beside Yun Che, then ruthlessly grabbed toward Yun Che’s chest… But during the moment that enormous palm appeared, the demon suddenly began to regret; however, it was too late to take it back. He angrily spread his five fingers and attacked Yun Che’s chest.
Boom~~~~
Like a thunderclap suddenly exploding within his chest, Yun Che’s eyes bulged outwards as he discarded Dragon Fault. His palms pushed forward with all his strength and used the resulting shockwave to rapidly fly backwards to land outside the barrier. As soon as he landed, he had already shut his eyes and went into a proper sitting position with the Great Way of the Buddha rapidly activated in the next instant.
This strike from the demon was extremely tyrannical and was far stronger than what Yun Che had imagined. He felt that his five visceras and six organs had been completely displaced and his ribs all shattered as well, along with more than ten broken meridians… but after experiencing hundreds of “baptisms” from the dragon flesh and blood, this injury, which should have been far more severe, was “nothing much” for him anymore.
With the activation of the Great Way of the Buddha, that little silver pagoda appeared above his head.
The demon withdrew his palm and silently stared at Yun Che. After quite a while, he muttered to himself: “I don’t know how this child trained his body. That strike a moment ago should have taken half a life from even a person of the Sky Profound Realm, but he is actually able to sit still and tend to his wounds!
As soon as the demon spoke, a sudden change occurred. A sudden streak of gold light suddenly flashed past the corner of the demon’s eyes. He subconsciously raised his head, and saw that little silver pagoda above Yun Che’s head, had unexpectedly turned into a light gold color!
Chapter 290 - Golden Buddha
Yun Che felt as though his body had traveled into outer space. He lightly floated like a feather, as everything around him had practically disappeared. The only thing his five senses could feel was his own existence. Strands of powerful aura rushed into his pores from out of nowhere and rapidly healed all of his injuries and refined his body… These, were the purest of nature’s essence.
Even the strongest of creatures had an instinctive reverence toward nature. Since even if those creatures were at the peak of strength, they were only a tiny existence in the face of nature. However, the nature’s essence rushing within Yun Che’s body had a slight reverence… a reverence towards Yun Che!
The difference between nature’s strength and profound strength was that profound strength were the power of living being, but nature’s strength was power that belonged to nature; on the surface, it would naturally crush profound strength. However, when a living being’s profound strength is powerful to a sufficient realm, it could utilize the force of nature to a certain degree; naturally, the consumption of profound strength necessary to utilize the force of nature is enormous.
With Yun Che’s current profound strength, utilizing the force of nature was undoubtedly a crazy dream. His strength was completely unable to reach the realm where he could connect with nature, and only sense the existence of natural strength to a certain point. However, as long as he was channeling the Great Way of the Buddha, the pure essence of between heaven and earth would spontaneously and competitively charge into Yun Che’s body without him understanding any natural strength at all or even consume the slightest bit or strength.
This was a heaven opposing power that no one would be able to comprehend within the Profound Sky Continent!
But regretfully, this natural strength could only be used to heal and refine the body; it was impossible to use it to attack.
Following the the sudden change of silver to gold from the pagoda above Yun Che’s head, the natural essence that charged into Yun Che’s body suddenly became several times more dense. Yun Che extended his five senses and his body felt that wonderful refined sensation again as he clearly felt that his body’s injuries healing at an inconceivable pace that far surpassed his previous recovery rate.
Although the Great Way of the Buddha was a profound art, it did not rely on the existence of profound strength, and relied on the strength of the soul and nature instead. Its cultivation was absolutely not from battle, but from comprehension. During the past half year, because he forcefully consumed dragon flesh and blood, Yun Che had put himself in a condition of serious injury hundreds of times and faced death’s doors over a hundred times. Every time, he relied on his indestructible profound veins to absorb the Flame Dragon’s strength and the Great Way of the Buddha to restore his body… It could be said that during this period of over half a year, the Great Way of the Buddha, that was at the state where it was being activated at its limits, had also deepened his comprehension of the Great Way of the Buddha bit by bit. When breaking through into the Earth Profound Realm, his soul went under the excitement of evolving, and his comprehension of the Great Way of the Buddha finally reached an entirely new level.
The Great Way of the Buddha had successfully broken through to the third realm!
The third stage of the Great Way of the Buddha bestowed a strength of ten thousand kilograms, a body that was as strong as pure steel, and a healing capability that no ordinary person could possibly understand. Right now, even though Yun Che had completely exhausted all of his profound strength right now, he could still rival a profound practitioner at the Spirit Profound Realm while relying only on the strength of his body!
“Very good! Your oppressive kind of self-cultivation during this short amount of time had indeed allowed the Great Way of the Buddha to breakthrough into the third stage in such a short amount of time. Your strength right now should be evenly matched with normal people at the Sky Profound Realm!”
Jasmine said within his head using a wise elderly voice: “Within the borders of the Blue Wind Empire, you are already considered an expert! In the Profond Sky Continent, you could barely be considered to be middle-upper level. Except, the next breakthrough in the Great Way of the Buddha will not be as simple as before. Because the third stage of the Great Way of the Buddha is a divide! The first three realms could be considered the initial stage, but from the fourth realm onwards, it becomes the intermediate stage. With a normal human body, wanting to attain the fourth stage could be said to be as difficult as stepping onto heaven! If there comes a day when you can truly breakthrough into the fourth level… it will bestow you a bodily strength of fifty thousand kilograms!”
Yun Che: “…”
The golden colored Buddha Arts channeled for over four hours until it disappeared into Yun Che’s head. He also opened his eyes at that moment as a light gold ray of light flashed past his pupils.
He stood up, extended his hands, and the Dragon Fault which he dropped within the barrier gravitated towards his hands. With his newly added ten thousand kilograms of arm strength, the four thousand or so kilogram Dragon Fault was simply as light as nothing in his hands. His body did not look like it had changed in the slightest and his skin appeared even more white and tender after being refined by nature’s powers for the third time.
The demon’s gaze was always fixed on Yun Che’s body. When Yun Che stood up, he faintly sense that Yun Che had somewhat changed, but he was not able to pinpoint what had exactly changed. At least, his outer appearance and the aura of his profound strength were still the same as before.
“Try receiving my sword again!”
His familiar body was strengthened by an unbelievable power which made Yun Che so excited that he wished to quickly release it. He shouted loudly while leaping with his sword and heavily chopped down towards the demon from the air.
The power of the sword which came at him made the demon’s eyebrows wrinkle… Yun Che’s profound strength did not change at all, but the pressure that this sword brought was practically doubled that of before!
And at this moment of change had only been separated by four hours!
With the sword chopping downwards, phoenix flames began to dance and stormy winds began to spring up from everywhere. This was a might that only belonged to the heavy sword! The demon’s eyes widened as he suddenly reached out with his hands to grab the tip of Dragon Fault firmly within hands. But the sword force had completely vanished during that moment. However, the phoenix flames seized this opportunity and advanced to completely wrap around the demon’s entire arm and burnt half of the messy clothes he wore on his body.
“…So it’s actually phoenix flames!”
The demon finally understood why Yun Che’s profound flames were so tyrannical. He shook his arms and expelled all the phoenix flames, but Yun Che’s second strike had already swept over. The demon arbitrarily waved his hand and grabbed towards Dragon Fault again; simultaneously, another large cyan hand appeared out of thin air and grabbed towards Yun Che’s back. There were “two hands”. One was constantly grabbing at Dragon Fault while the other struck towards Yun Che’s back… but they all passed through an empty image.
“Ssss… it’s that strange movement skill again!” The demon lightly roared.
The demon had no ways of moving and had absolutely no way of restraining Yun Che’s Star God’s Broken Shadow. After his palm struck nothing, Yun Che’s heavy sword directly swept across his neck and made a slight dent appear on his neck. The demon’s eyes widened and a cyan light suddenly flashed above his left arm that had been sealed by the Meteorite Chains. Suddenly, a cyan hand as tall as a man spread open by the demon’s sides and ruthless grabbed towards Yun Che.
Bang!!
Dragon Fault and the large cyan hand collided, and the result was as one could imagine. Yun Che felt as if his chest had been smashed by a large sledgehammer as he tumbled in midair and flew outwards. Afterwards, battered and exhausted, he landed outside the barrier. His heavy sword struck into the ground and stopped his fall. An insolent smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: “Hehe… at first, I could not stand a single blow from you, but in half a year, I can already endure three of your moves! At the start, an arbitrary wave of your hand would take a large chunk of my life away, but now, you can only make me feel an injury that isn’t heavy nor weak… give me a maximum of two more years, and I’ll kill you for sure!”
“Hahahaha!” The demon began to laugh loudly as well: “You brat, you’re truly a strange one! However, being able to drag a little strange monster down to accompany me is still incredibly interesting! Right now, I truly want to see what stage you can mature to in the two years that you speak of.”
“I absolutely… won’t… let you… be disappointed!” Yun Che said in an extremely determined tone.
He sat down, and in less than two hours later, the injury he received from the demon’s strange hand had completely healed. As another day passed by without having eaten anything, his stomach began to transmit a hungry feeling. The Yun Che now did not need to worry about food anymore; the enormous body of the Flame Dragon was enough for him to eat for several years. He flipped his left hand, and a five kilogram chunk of dragon flesh appeared within his hands. He took out a large bowl, filtered out the dragon blood, then ignited a flame and patiently waited for it to roast.
After the phoenix flames had awakened, his efficiency in roasting dragon flesh had increased by a lot. After a short while, the fragrance of the meat that only dragon flesh could have assailed his nostrils and gradually spread throughout the entire underground area. Yun Che withdrew the phoenix flames and licked the corner of his mouth. He grabbed the dragon meat and happily took large bites of it.
Until he had stomached a quarter of the dragon flesh, a strange sensation transmitted from his interior, but this sensation was quickly subdued once again… Following his increase in profound strength, the breakthrough of the Great Way of the Buddha and the awakening of the phoenix flames, in addition to the hundreds of times that he had to adapt, Yun Che’s body already reached a point where it could endure the Flame Dragon’s battering after consumption. Although he could not completely suppress it, and his insides was still battered by countless powerful auras which sharply pained him constantly. Compared to what it was originally, this was a practically ignorable little drizzle.
Perhaps in the near future, following the continual increase of Yun Che’s strength, these uncomfortable sensations would completely disappear.
He enjoyed the delectable taste of dragon meat with all his profound entrances open. His profound strength was shifting all over his body to completely refine all the power the dragon meat contained. At this moment, an extremely faint gulping sound suddenly echoed beside Yun Che’s ears.
That was the sound of saliva being swallowed.
The hand which Yun Che used to hold the dragon meat became stagnant for a split second, but then he immediately began to devour it again, and acted as if he simply did not hear anything.
And at the moment, the demon almost had the will to die.
A person who had been starving for a whole hundred years, yet had to face one of the best delicacies in the world, dragon meat… Every time Yun Che madly devoured the dragon meat was the most difficult moment for the demon. However, he had a respectable position as the dignified Demon King, so he was absolutely not going to beg for food from a junior, and he should expose even less of his gluttonous desires in front of him. Therefore, every time Yun Che ate dragon meat, he would either turn his head around or remain motionless. He had the attitude that he did not feel like watching, but in reality, every moment was painfully hard to endure. He did not show a trace of desire for an entire half a year.
But no matter how powerful he was and no matter how well he hid it, it was impossible for him to never make a mistake. Under an inattentive moment, he actually produced the sound of gulping down saliva. Although the sound was extremely light, he was certain that it was enough for Yun Che to hear.
At the same time, he saw that at the moment when that sound was transmitted outwards, Yun Che’s movements also stagnated for a brief moment… However, he did not mock him, and did not even shift his gaze towards him, as he continued to bite down on the dragon meat as if he had heard nothing at all.
The demon calmed down as he exposed a gratified expression. Facing against the demon who was notorious within the Profound Sky Continent, who brought him into this abyss, Yun Che did not mock him when he was down and chose to let him retain his dignity without the slightest hesitation.
Chapter 291 - Profound Handle
After swallowing a large chunk of dragon meat within his mouth and drinking a mouthful of dragon blood, Yun Che stood up and slashed with his fingers to cut the large chunks of dragon meat into two evenly sized pieces, then leisurely strolled into the barrier until he arrived in front of the demon. He stood a step away from the demon at a place where he could flee at any time from a life-threatening attack.
“After eating the dragon meat, I found out how absolutely incomparable the meat from other beasts are compared to the tastiness of dragon meat. However, enjoying it by myself is rather dull. Senior, do you want some?” Yun Che picked up a large piece of the sliced dragon meat and presented in front of the demon.
The demon turned his head around and said indifferently: “Are you pitying me? Only one person could survive between you and I. To be this close to me, are you not afraid of me trying to suddenly kill you?”
Yun Che’s entire body had absolutely zero defense from his profound strength and his expression did not contain a trace of precaution as he gently said with a smile: “Even though there’s not a moment where I don’t think about killing you, the reason why I want to kill you is only for the sake of my survival and freedom, and not because I resent or loathe you. On the contrary, I am very certain that you’re not a bad person, and even less of a scoundrel! If you think I am pitying you… hrm, that’s true. Except, this kind of pity is one I would have for a fellow sufferer. As for our situation, how are we any different? Only, the restraint on you is a bit more than the ones on me.”
The demon’s expression shifted as he fixedly gazed at Yun Che for a while. Then, he suddenly began to smile: “Haha… good! Fellow sufferer indeed! Then I’ll accept your ‘pity’!”
Once he stopped talking, he grabbed the dragon meat within Yun Che’s hands, put it at the side of his mouth, and wildly bit at it. Although there wasn’t any oil or salt, for a demon who had eaten nothing for a hundred years, this was nothing other than a delicacy from heaven. Once the dragon meat entered his mouth, he was unable to stop. His fierce eating and ferocious biting, as if he was ravenously devouring his food, did not fall short of Yun Che when he was hungry to the point that he almost died. Yun Che lightly smiled and grabbed his own dragon meat and bit, but in comparison, he ate much more elegantly than the demon did.
In the blink of an eye, the large chunk of dragon meat in the demon’s hand had vanished cleanly and all entered into his stomach. A hundred years of being empty made the demon’s face, which was as pale as limestone, appear a bit red. He sucked on his five fingers and began to loudly laugh: “Delightful! Truly delightful! I’ve never had such a delightful meal in my life! Hahahaha… little brother, I, Yun Canghai had never owed anybody in my life! Although you’ve only given me a meal, to me, it’s still a great favor! Your kindness, I will remember it! Unfortunately, this is only meat and there’s no wine. Otherwise, with you preserving my face and believing that I’m not a lowly scoundrel, I should have drank a large cup with you!”
“Eh? Senior, your surname is also Yun?”
The demon widened his eyes, “What’d you say, your last name is Yun as well? Even after being locked up here for half a year, you, a little mad kid, wouldn’t even tell me what your last name is. After doing all these things, looks like we are unexpectedly from the same clan, hahahaha!”
When he did not consider the demon to be a mortal enemy that he must kill, not only did the demon’s aura not make people disgusted or afraid, there was even a feeling of intimacy. Yun Che gently smiled and said, “This junior’s family name is Yun and his name is Che.”
“Yun Che… as free as the clouds, as clear as water, a very good name! Looks like when your father named you, he wished that you could live a carefree life without worries and not be caught up in this mundane world. But unfortunately, being such a thoroughly monstrous little kid, you’re definitely not destined to be a little creature in the pond. I’m afraid your parents will be greatly disappointed.”
Yun Che stared blankly with disappointment and frustration in his heart. In the Azure Cloud Continent, his master named him “Yun Che” precisely because he wanted Yun Che to live a carefree life without worries, with fate as clear as water and not participate in any worldly disputes. However in the end, his life took another extremely opposite turn… with a hatred filled heart, he massacred countless numbers…
In the Profound Sky Continent, his own biological parents should have had the same wishes as his master.
Yun Che held up the large bowl of dragon blood, poured half of the dragon blood inside into another bowl and put it in front of the demon while saying: “Senior, you and I being sealed up in here together and both being called Yun is truly a fantastic fate. For the sake of the same suffering and a similar fate that allows us to empathize with each other, we ought to drink a bowl… even though we don’t have delicious wine, the smell and taste of dragon’s blood and its flavor is absolutely not inferior to the strongest wines. I’ll treat this dragon blood as wine and toast senior with a bowl! I hope that after we drink this ‘blood wine’, when the day comes that I have to kill senior, senior will not resent me on his road into the netherworld.”
The demon cupped the dragon blood and raised his eyes to look at Yun Che. Suddenly, his eyes seemed to contain something more inside: “You and I are not from the same family, so we don’t need to differentiate between seniority. If we’re drinking this blood wine, it should be me who toasts you… if you want to toast me, then you have to acknowledge me as your master right now!”
“Huh??” Yun Che eyes widened and his mouth was agape, as if he was caught a bit unprepared. Although there were no animosity to speak of between the two, frankly speaking, these two were in an awkward situation where only one could survive. Yun Che voluntarily sharing his dragon meat to eat was his natural instinct and he wasn’t looking for anything in the slightest. He never could have thought that a meal of dragon meat could have evoked such a situation… Even if the demon was grateful towards him, wasn’t this step still a bit too large?
Acknowledge him as master? What did he want to teach? Was he going to teach me how to kill him? This is truly a bit… wait a second! Could he actually be…
“What? You don’t want to?” The demon’s expression was wary and lacked any playful ideas: “My entire life, apart from guiding my son in his early years, I have never officially accepted any disciples. You’re an astonishing person with immeasurable potential, but with my power, I’m more than enough to be your master. Within the Illusory Demon Realm, many people wanted to acknowledge me but was denied at my door!”
With the importance the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region placed on this demon, it was imaginable just how terrifying a person he was in the Illusory Demon Realm. Yun Che did not doubt his words in the slightest. If he could acknowledge this terrifying expert who could display the power of the Emperor Profound Realm while being sealed under this formation as master, for a young profound practitioner, this was an absolutely irresistible attraction and pleasant surprise; it was the same for Yun Che. But unfortunately, he carried a master with him, a master who raised him into a freakish level. If he acknowledged another master in front of her, then…
The consequences would undoubtedly be extremely dire!
“No no, absolutely not!” Yun Che waved his hand then earnestly said, “Senior can be so powerful while still inside the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation, then surely senior’s actual strength is at a level where I have absolutely no way of comprehending. Being able to acknowledge an expert like senior as my master is my honor and it’s absolutely not because I am unwilling. Except… I already have a master. If I acknowledge senior as my master, it would be quite inappropriate.
“What’s wrong with that!” The demon waved his hand: “Could your master be even stronger than I am?”
The demon’s words had a completely strong sense of arrogance to it, and his arrogance was absolutely not madness. It was impossible for Yun Che to know what kind of existence the Demon King was within the Illusory Demon World; he was second only to the Emperor, and above ten thousand citizens.
But for this demon, it was even more impossible for him to imagine what kind of concept Yun Che’s current master was.
Yun Che thought for a bit and used a mild tone such that he might not hurt his counterpart’s self-esteem and said, “My master might indeed be a bit more powerful than senior…”
“Hahahaha! What a joke!” The demon madly laughed: “In your Profound Sky Continent, there’s less than five people who could match me! Could it be that your master is stronger than Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s Sword Master?
Yun Che did not know what the heck a Sword Master was. However, the terrifying power that Jasmine showed and the disdain she showed when mentioning the words Profound Sky Continent was enough to infer that even the Sword Master could not even compare to a poke from Jasmine’s little finger.
Of course, if these words were spoken, the demon still wouldn’t believe it even if he was beaten to death.
Yun Che no longer explained and directly said: “I know that senior has good intentions, but I am unable to accept. I cannot let down my current master.”
Once Yun Che finished, he held the bowl with the remaining dragon blood and finished it in one gulp. Then, he used the empty bowl to hint towards the demon: “This bowl of blood wine, treat it as my apology before I have to kill senior… Senior, please.”
The demon moved his brows slightly and didn’t speak again. He raised his bowl and similarly drank it all down. Then, he returned the bowl to Yun Che and said: “If you don’t acknowledge me as your master, I had no authority to pressure you. But I cannot eat this dragon meat and drink this dragon blood for nothing. No matter how extremely fast your profound strength’s improvement is, you don’t have any opportunity to strengthen and stabilize your achievements in battle. When you fought with me, it was just all out attacks that finished in within a spark’s time and that is absolutely of no use… From today onwards, I will formally become your sparring partner.”
Evidently, the demon still wanted to guide his cultivation… Guide the cultivation of a person who wanted, who had to kill him. Even hearing this was a bit strange. However, Yun Che could faintly understand his intentions. He retreated a step and said: “Senior, your body is locked up, even if you want to be my sparring partner, it seems…”
“Hehe…” The demon faintly smiled: “You think that just because I’m locked up, I can’t train you well?”
Once he stopped talking, the demon’s left hand suddenly flickered with a cyan light as huge cyan palm appeared in front of him, and instantly flew towards Yun Che.
This was the strange palm that struck him earlier, but at this moment, the strength of this hand was evidently being suppressed by the demon. Although it still had an incredibly oppressive strength, it was not enough to completely crush Yun Che. His body rapidly retreated as he grabbed Dragon Fault to face it straight on. As his sword smashed downwards… what went out of his expectations was that this cyan palm which should have been created through an ability suddenly changed directions and shifted as though it was intelligent as it dodged his sword. Afterwards, its shape also changed, changed into the exact shape of the Dragon Fault in his hands. Only, this heavy sword was cyan as it fiercely smashed towards his shoulders.
During this half year, Yun Che had attempted to risk his life to kill this demon many times and had encountered this strange cyan light that appeared out of nowhere several times. He would face the demon at most one to two times when they were fighting and this cyan light often appeared only for an instant, so he had always believed that was an offensive profound strength light beam.
And after the profound light beam left his body, it would weaken as it extended outwards during its trajectory. But now, he shockingly discovered that not only was this cyan light able to take on any shape, it was also incredibly fast and its aura did not weaken in the slightest from start to finish… Just like a strange creature that existed independently!
It could become a palm, sword, shield or spear… Become bigger or smaller, become slower or faster. Even though the demon meticulously suppressed his power, it still suppressed Yun Che to the point that he became flustered and overwhelmed. It was many times more difficult than going up against an expert of the same level. He loudly shouted and a Falling Moon Sinking Star pushed the cyan light aside. Then, he rapidly retreated backwards and anxiously asked: “What the heck is that thing?”
This demon faintly smiled. With a flash of his left arm, the thing which turned into a heavy sword changed back into a cyan light and went back into his arm: “This… is my Profound Handle! It’s created using the profound veins and the blood vessels, and is controlled with my soul. It’s a special power form that could exist independently from my soul. It could change into a countless number of things and could completely make use of my fighting style… it’s an ability bestowed by the heavens to only my Illusory Demon Royal Family!
Chapter 292 - Information about the Azure Cloud Continent
“Profound Handle?” Yun Che suddenly remembered when Ling Kun talked about the demon, he once mentioned that the demon had a special ability called the “Profound Handle”.
He never could have thought that the Profound Handle was such a powerful and weird thing. It seemed to apparently be a profound art, but it didn’t belong to any type of profound art Yun Che knew of. Through his battle with the Profound Handle just before and the demon’s simple explanation, the power of the Profound Handle could be said to be mystical and freakish. Its origin wasn’t just from the profound veins, it also came from one’s own lifeline. Just this fact was seemingly incomprehensible for people. It was obviously a form of energy, but it inconceivably had its own life force and it could exist independently, attack freely, and change into many different things. Even if the demon’s freedom had been restricted, his Profound Handle could move for him instead. Through combat with the demon… when he released the Profound Handle, it was undoubtedly equivalent to fighting two enemies at the same time!
In this huge world, there were indeed many mysteries! Ling Yun’s Sword Spirit Doppleganger was already astonishing, but the strength of this Profound Handle was several times more powerful than Sword Spirit Doppleganger!
If he could use this kind of Profound Handle himself, wouldn’t his own battle power achieve a great improvement!?
He probed: “Senior, you say this Profound Handle is an ability the heaven bestowed to only your family… so does that mean it’s your personal profound art that you guys can absolutely not teach others, or is it… your people’s own special innate ability that’s impossible for others to possess through cultivation?”
“Of course it’s the latter!” The demon… who was also named Yun Canghai, had a deep arrogance within his voice as he said: “Illusory Demon Realm has twelve large families protecting it and my Yun family is the strongest! And it’s precisely because of this innate Profound Handle! It doesn’t need any cultivation, and it’s naturally within our clan’s bloodline. When our profound strength breaks through into the Sky Profound Realm, it will immediately awaken.”
As the demon said that, his sealed left hand started to flicker with a cyan radiance: “In the records that the ancestors left behind, it once talked about our noble Yun Family being the descendant of some Primordial True God’s bloodline! And this Profound Handle, is precisely an ability that only a True God could possess!”
As he talked about the Profound Handle, Yun Canghai’s face displayed ample arrogance. Because in legends, this was an ability a True God bestowed onto them, and it was also the strongest reason they stood at the top of the Illusory Demon Realm. He slowly said: “The Profound Handle you see now is cyan, but for different people of my clan, the color of their profound handle is different based on whether or not their innate gifts are powerful enough. From weak to strong, the color of the profound handles are red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, and gold. The strength of the Profound Handle is determined when it awakens and this is an innate gift that will never change throughout your entire life. Within my clan, ninety percent of the clansman have red to yellow profound handles. Ones who awaken with a green profound handle would be a hard to comeby genius. With a green profound handle, one could display forty percent of their own battle power! And ones who awaken with a cyan colored Profound Handle…
Yun Canghai’s arms started to flicker with an arrogant cyan light: “In my family, it could be said that there isn’t one in ten thousand who could achieve it! For it could display fifty power their own battle power! I, for example, with my cyan profound handle, if compared to someone else with the same cultivation, who put in the same effort, consume the same resources, and stepped into the same realm, I would have more than fifty percent of their overall power just because I possess this cyan profound handle… This is the power that my clan’s Profound Handle possesses! Within the same level, the people of my clan could be said to be beyond compare! Even with the lowest level red profound handle, they could easily defeat an opponent of the same level!”
Yun Che’s heart shook… What Yun Canghai said was not wrong. The existence of the profound handle, allowed their total battle power to far surpass and crush others of the same level. This was the power of the Profound Handle; it was simply a golden finger given by god. Facing an opponent with the power of the profound handle, when you were clearly fighting one opponent, you would have to simultaneously deal with two people!
Yun Che’s heart was suddenly overcome with an unrestrainable envy… He possessed all kinds of secret abilities from gods and two divine beast’s blood so he could display battle power that far surpassed profound practitioners of the same level, but if he possesses this kind of divine handle himself, then let alone the same level, he’d reckon that even if the opponent possessed power that surpassed him by an entire realm, he would still be able to easily crush them.
Unfortunately, this was not an ability that could be obtained through cultivation, and existed within a bloodline.
“Then what about a blue profound handle? Is it even more powerful?” Yun Che asked.
“Naturally!” Yun Canghai nodded: “But to be able to awaken the blue profound handle, one had to be a genius among geniuses; it’s hard to find even one in a million. The blue profound handle, could display sixty percent of their original battle power! As far as being able to able to display the seventy percent purple profound handle, that is a mythical existence. In the history of my clan, only one would appear within eight thousand years on average. One who awakens the blue profound handle would naturally be considered the number one expert of the Illusory Demon Realm!”
“Then… what about the gold profound handle?” Yun Che asked.
A deep yearning appeared within the demon’s eyes. His voice lowered as he slowly said: “That’s a legend among legends. It is a divine profound handle that would never appear within my clan. The gold profound handle could display one hundred percent of one’s total power, and it is said that it possesses some special abilities that other profound handles do not have, but this profound handle was something that only the legendary Primordial True God possessed. It could only belong to the True God, and it could never awaken within the people of our clan. Therefore, that’s only just an extremely remote dream, a legend that could never be realized.”
“Oh…” Yun Che consciously nodded. It became completely different after eating, and in addition to Yun Che’s active friendship, the demon talked about all of this stuff with him non-stop. What he explained wasn’t just the power of the Illusionary Demon Realm’s Profound Handle, he also explained their pride in protecting the royal family. Yun Che thought for awhile and suddenly said: “Since you claim you are a human, then why do the people of the Mighty Sword Region call you ‘demon’? Why is the place you came from called the ‘Illusory Demon Realm’?”
“I am obviously human, but our Illusory Demon Realm is different from your Profound Sky Continent!” The demon faintly said: “As far as I know, in your Profound Sky Continent, forty percent are humans and sixty percent are beasts, and the combination of other species would not even account for one. However in my Illusory Demon Realm, thirty percent are humans, demons, and beasts. The ten other percent of the population are fairies. Included among the demons are all different kinds of flora, birds, fish, spirits and beasts. Humans and demons coexisted peacefully and never made any distinctions with each other. Even the discrimination between races were extremely dull. The two races were never scared or jealous of each other. In fact, apart from the Demon Emperor’s clan and newly formed Demon Spirits, it’s practically impossible to find a pure demon or pure human within the Illusory Demon Realm.
“The Illusory Demon Realm is ruled by the Demon Emperor and twelve clans existed for the sake of protecting the Demon Emperor’s noble family. There are six human clans and six demon clans and my Yun Family is the strongest within the twelve guardians. That place has never had any disputes before. Although I am human, I was born in the Illusory Demon Realm and had the honor of protecting the Demon Emperor’s bloodline my entire life. Calling me a demon is not inappropriate.”
In the Profound Sky Continent, “demon” would naturally have a negative connotation, and people who were called this would certainly be extremely uncomfortable. However, Yun Canghai showed no reactions towards being called that; on the contrary, he gave Yun Che a “it’s suppose to be like this” kind of feeling.
Before hearing rumors of “demons”, Yun Che had never heard the name “Illusory Demon Realm” and had never seen any records or legends regarding them. Clearly, that was an existence that one would only find out after reaching a certain level. But today, he vaguely knew what kind of world it was from the demon’s mouth. It seemed to be a neighbor of the Profound Sky Continent, but it was also separated by an immeasurable distance, and the composition of its life forms were also largely different from the Profound Sky Continent’s.
Then… what about the Azure Cloud Continent?
“Senior, I have something to ask you.” Turmoil began to fill the inside of Yun Che’s heart and his voice also contained an unsuppressable longing and nervousness: “Have you heard of… the Azure Cloud Continent?”
Yun Canghai looked at him and his expression made Yun Che’s heart bulge… Then, he heard him slowly say: “The planet that we are on is called ‘Blue Pole Star’. It is ninety seven percent water and three percent land, with three separate landmasses classified as three continents… The first is the Profound Sky Continent that we are on, the second is the Illusory Demon Realm, and the third, is precisely the Azure Cloud Continent that you just mentioned.”
Yun Che’s heart shook, because this was the first time in his life that he heard the name “Azure Cloud Continent” from someone else’s mouth. The demon’s words not only proved the existence of the Azure Cloud Continent, it had confirmed what Jasmine had said, that it existed within the same little world as the Profound Sky Continent. He immediately asked excitedly: “Then, do you know how to get to the Azure Cloud Continent?”
“Between these three continents, there are oceans that are greater than you can imagine separating them. However, relatively speaking, the Profound Sky Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm are very close. The peak level experts of both continents are clear about each other’s positions; therefore, with enough strength, they could traverse the ocean between these two continents. But as for the Azure Cloud Continent, I have only heard of its name. It existed within the ancient records of the Illusory Demon Realm. If the records aren’t wrong, it certainly exists, but I’ve never heard of anyone reaching that continent, and I have heard of even less people who knows where it is… because this world is truly too large. This boundless blue ocean would make anyone who tried to navigate it lose their bearings and exhaust all of their strength until they become a corpse. But what is certain is that its distance from the Illusory Demon Realm and the Profound Sky Continent is extremely far. Perhaps it is located in the most remote place within this little world.”
Yun Che’s excitement had suddenly been extinguished by a lot. This powerful Demon King from the Illusory Demon Realm knew about the existence of the Azure Cloud Continent… but he only knew of it, and even he, did not know where it was located.
“Why did you suddenly ask me about a place that exists only in legends?” Yun Canghai asked with a strange expression.
Yun Che was unable to openly answer and only said: “I have reasons that I must go there for.”
Yun Canghai did not question him anymore and expressionlessly said: “If you have enough power, let alone crossing a little world, you could even travel the vast and endless mysterious space at will. Whether a small world, big world, or a mysterious star world, you can travel back and forth at will… If you truly have that kind of reason, then become stronger. Life belongs to the world, and the world, belongs to the strong!”
Chapter 293 - Rapid Progress
Winter stealthily became spring. Along with the first wisps of warm breeze, another year had quietly passed by.
Spring left and autumn arrived, and dead leaves have dried to become yellow. It had already been a full sixteen months since Yun Che’s “fall”.
Even the brightest of sparkles would grow dim under the flow of time. Although Yun Che’s radiance was a cactus that bloomed only once, the influence it left behind was nevertheless long-lasting. Even though it couldn’t compare to the initial enthusiasm, the name “Yun Che” still echoed often within every corner of the Blue Wind Empire. And to those young profound practitioners without sectoral background, it was a beautiful fantasy. It was as if his existence had become a religion.
Heavenly Sword Villa.
At four in the morning, the sky had just begun to brighten. In the dim illumination, a youth attired in lightweight clothing stepped up onto the Sword Management Terrace. The moment his foot touched the Sword Management Terrace’s first brick, a captivating sword radiance was released as a longsword fell from the sky, landed in his hands, and danced gaily in the breeze.
Ling Jie was now already a seventeen year old youth. There was less of an immaturity on his face and more of a resoluteness. His gaze that was as sharp as a sword had become even more sharper than before, and his profound strength was now at the ninth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, only one step away from the peak of the Spirit Profound Realm. As for his sword intent and sword mind, they were getting closer and closer to perfection.
The Celestial Yang Sword drew chaotic flowing streams of light in his hands. Following the swinging movements of his arms, air currents that covered a large amount of space in his surroundings grew disordered. A notable change had also appeared in the trajectory of the flying swords above the Sword Management Terrace. It was publicly acknowledged that his innate talent surpassed Ling Yun’s. At the same time, he was even more hardworking that Ling Yun. After the ranking tournament, he had never left Heavenly Sword Villa. He started his everyday practicing the sword, and ended his everyday practicing the sword, and step by step, came closer to Ling Yun.
By comparison, in this period of time, ever since he was trapped by his inner demons, his progress was very slight.
As for his inner demons, a large half of that came from Xia Qingyue and a small half of that came from Yun Che.
In the midst of the whistling sword energy, the sky above the Sword Management Terrace grew brighter and brighter, until finally, the first rays of sunlight shot came from the east. It was also at this time that the Celestial Yang Sword became a streak of burning light that broke through the sky, conjuring up a vacuum of more than thirty meters wide. Then, it rapidly flew down, falling into his scabbard.
“Whoosh!”
Ling Jie let out a long breath of air as he sat down onto the ground. He wiped away the sweat that filled his forehead, and as he looked at the Heaven’s Punishment Sword that shot straight into the sky, he immediately went into a daze. After a long while, he expelled a mouthful of turbid energy and casually spoke to himself: “Boss, for you to become that powerful when you weren’t a part of any sect, you must have worked unimaginably hard. I heard that before the ranking tournament, you were even in the extremely dangerous Wasteland of Death, and stayed there for a full half year… Sigh, after the ranking tournament, I originally wanted to secretly look for you. Even if you were being chased by the Burning Heaven Clan, I was willing to escape with you. That kind of experience would’ve definitely been really awesome, thrilling, and exciting. It could’ve even allowed me to truly grow up. I didn’t expect that right after I acknowledged you as my boss, I didn’t even have an opportunity to learn anything from you… Sigh! The gods are truly unfair.”
Ling Jie turned his head around and said in a low voice while looking west towards Blue Wind Imperial City: “I wonder how Princess Sis is doing now…”
Blue Wind Imperial City, Moon Embracing Palace.
“Princess, word has been transmitted from Burning Heaven Clan’s side. Young Clan Master Fen Juecheng has already set a date for Your Highness’s engagement. In seven days at three quarters past eight in the morning, Young Clan Master Fen Juecheng shall come to the Moon Embracing Palace to escort the princess to the wedding ceremony. The third prince has already told people to begin the preparations.”
Cang Yue motionlessly stood next to the lotus pond in the courtyard, and her beautiful eyes continued to stare at the withering lotus petals. At her side, a palace maid respectfully reported to her in a deferential manner.
After the palace maid finished speaking, Cang Yue’s expression was still a field of calm. She nodded, and said faintly: “Alright, you may go now… Wait! The wedding date’s decision, does my royal father know of this yet?”
“Reporting to Princess, the Emperor has not awakened yet, so he has not been informed yet.”
“Don’t disturb my royal father, let him rest well. Tell me about it after he wakes up.” Cang Yue said in a soft voice.
“Yes, this servant shall withdraw now.”
After the palace maid left, a cheerful laughter sounded: “Hahahaha! My royal sister, congratulations, congratulations!”
Cang Yue turned around and faintly smiled at Third Prince Cang Shuo, who was walking forward in a sloppy manner: “It seems as if you’re even happier than I am about the wedding between me and Fen Juecheng.”
“That’s only natural!” Cang Shuo beamed while smiling: “Juecheng is completely worthy of being called a dragon amongst humans. Within the Blue Wind Empire, there are few that could compare to him. With your beauty that could overturn nations and exquisite body, you two could even be said to be a perfect match made by the heavens. Juecheng is my dear friend, and you are my only sister. I would naturally be really happy about a union between you two, hahahaha.”
Cang Yue’s petal lips gently raised as she said with a slight smile: “Since you’re this happy about it, then I’ll let you handle the wedding matters here, I’d assume that elder brother would be thrilled to do so.”
Since returning from Heavenly Sword Villa, there was an enormous change in Cang Yue’s personality, and everyone around her could distinctly feel this change. Yun Che’s death didn’t seem to have given her any psychological blows. After she returned to the palace, a large majority of her time was spent accompanying Cang Wanhe. As for how she acted, it was as if she had been switched with another person. No more did she retreat, escape, or try to compromise. In fact, she had become incomparably hard and decisive. She used Cang Wanhe’s name to forcibly gather a majority of the neutral parties against Cang Lin and Cang Shuo’s stirring movements. Even though she herself could not stop Cang Lin and Cang Shuo’s struggle and the ambitions of the Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan, she had at least obstructed a large extent of the fighting within the Imperial Family. This, was already an extremely amazing outcome.
During this more than just a year, Cang Yue’s character had become even more hard and unyielding. In fact, her gaze would sometimes bring about a cold light that caused one’s heart to palpitate.
“Of course I have no objections!” Cang Shuo immediately replied.
“Since that’s the face, then I’ll be troubling elder brother with everything… In addition, I’d like to ask elder brother to remind Fen Juecheng a few more times that the ‘Burning Soul Flower’ has to be within the betrothal gifts he brings on the day he comes to the imperial palace. Tell him that if I don’t see the Burning Soul Flower, he should not even think about me following him back to the Burning Heaven Clan.” Cang Yue’s delicate brows focused as she spoke with resolute determination.
“You do not have to worry at all about this point. With the devotion Juecheng has for you, forget about a mere Burning Soul Flower, even if it’s all the stars in the sky, he would gladly give it to you without hesitation.” Cang Shuo said that as he gently chuckled. It seemed as if his mood was rather good today.
“I hope everything is as you have said. I am about to go see father, if you are interested in this Moon Embracing Palace, you may stay around as long as you like.”
After Cang Yue finished speaking, she didn’t bother to pay attention to Cang Shuo anymore, and directly walked out.
After stepping out of the Moon Embracing Palace, Cang Yue’s footsteps slowed. She raised her head towards the sky with her hands covering her chest. The hard sharpness in her gaze immediately faded away to become as misty as fog. She lightly muttered to herself: “Junior Brother Yun, I am so sorry, to have let you be all alone by yourself for such a long time… Wait a few days for me, okay… after another seven days, I can go and accompany you…”
——————————————————
Under Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace, an intense battle was already approaching its conclusion.
Boom! Bang! Ding! Clang! Slash…
The sound of collisions, explosions, and slashes… Under this sealed space, each and every sound was deafening.
The swings of Yun Che’s heavy sword were wide, and each rotation would conjure up an shocking profound energy storm. The sharpness of the ever changing cyan profound handle was incomparably endless, and the intensity of its attacks was no less inferior to that of Yun Che’s heavy sword. After more than a thousand collisions, Yun Che’s entire body had already been covered in injuries. But every time they fought, he became even more courageous, as if he was a fierce beast that had been excited.
Yun Canghai had been watching Yun Che and the Profound Handle’s battle from the start. He unceasingly nodded with a gaze filled with amazement.
In these sixteen months of being in here, Yun Che’s cultivation of profound strength had made rapid progress.
At the moment, his profound strength had already reached the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm!
At that time, Ling Yun took two years to break through the Earth Profound Realm’s first level to the third. And this progress, had never been surpassed by anyone of the same age, aside from Xia Qingyue.
And Yun Che had only used not even a year to go from the first level of the Earth Profound Realm to the third!
If Ling Yun were to know of this, perhaps he would be so ashamed that he might even suicide on the spot.
In terms of cultivation rate, Yun Che had fully surpassed Ling Yun by even more than ten times!
Of course, the fundamental reason behind this growth was still the Flame Dragon’s blood and flesh. To the profound practitioners within Blue Wind Empire, even if it were profound practitioners at the highest peak, an Emperor Profound Dragon’s flesh was an heavenly grade treasure. Obtaining even a little piece of it would be extremely difficult. But for Yun Che, he had treated it like a normal meal!
And he had eaten it for over a year.
What Yun Che improved during this time was not just his profound strength. After knowing about Yun Canghai’s Profound Handle, Yun Che had spent at least twelve hours every day battling with the Profound Handle. His actual combat strength had also crazily soared during his close quarter combat.
Yun Che had lived two lives, so his combat experience was already naturally plentiful, but no matter how plentiful it was, it was impossible for it to compare with Yun Canghai, who had lived for for several hundred years. Even though Yun Canghai was probably no match for Jasmine, just based experience alone, Jasmine simply could not compare to Yun Canghai. The few instructions he gave to Yun Che had all allowed him to benefit greatly from them.
When Yun Che and the Profound Handle had first fought, Yun Canghai still defeated Yun Che even when he suppressed its power into one portion. But in not even a month’s worth of time, Yun Che had already tied with that portion of the profound handle’s power. As a result, he increased the profound handle’s strength by a second portion, then a third portion…. fourth… fifth… and now, Yun Che was currently facing up against his sixty percent of his profound handle’s power!
Sixty percent of his profound handle’s power was comparable to the strength of a late stage Sky Profound Realm!
And now, it had already been fought into a tie again by Yun Che. After several thousands of exchanges, he had still not yet defeated yet.
“Haa!!”
After a loud roar, Yun Che soared into the sky, and transformed into four silhouettes that looked exactly the same… That’s right! Four of them! Under the countless battles, his Star God’s Broken Shadow that had been used a countless number of times had also advanced into its third stage, where it could materialize three mirages!
Forget about human perception and sight, the mirages that Star God’s Broken Shadow materializes could even confuse the Profound Handle into not knowing which was the true image. It was exactly this delayed response that gave Yun Che an opening to narrow his eyes and open Evil God Art’s third realm, “Purgatory”.
Two streaks of scarlet colored brilliance covered Yun Che’s eyes. The profound energy aura on his body had also become incomparably berserk… During the ranking tournament, when he forcibly opened Purgatory, even though it was only a short instant, he still had almost lost half his life, and was unconsciousness for a good few days. With his current state now, forcibly opening Purgatory would naturally not have such a dire side effect anymore. However, it still felt extremely unpleasant, and if it were to only be activated for a few breaths of time, he could still manage to support that.
“Sky Wolf Slash!”
The azure wolf howled as its terrifying power completely enveloped the profound handle, blocking off all of its potential movements. Then, an enormous silhouette of a wolf emerged upon Dragon Fault’s long range assault, and ruthlessly struck the profound handle. The attack completely morphed it… and in the short period of a second, as if it was a dead leaf whipped up by a hurricane, the profound handle flew away, changed into a streak of cyan light, and flew into Yun Canghai’s arm.
Crash!!
Dragon Fault fell to the ground and Yun Che’s entire being had also met the ground. He heavily panted as sweat poured down all over his body. The long fierce battle had exhausted nearly all of his strength. Added with huge burden after his opening of “Purgatory”, he could only spare enough energy to pant heavily, and couldn’t even move a single little toe.
“This little monster’s future accomplishments are simply unimaginable!” Yun Canghai lowly uttered. His profound handle that held back at sixty percent of its strength, had actually been defeated by him this quickly!
Back then, when Yun Che had said that he would kill him within two years, he still thought that it was really funny. But now… his words from before were not excessive in the slightest!
Chapter 294 - What is that in your hand!
Only after Yun Che rested for a long while, did he finally recover his strength. He sat up from the ground and patted his chest with a face full of satisfaction. Defeating the profound handle that held back at sixty percent of its strength, was unquestionably another enormous breakthrough.
“HAHAHAHA…” The demon looked at him, and suddenly wildly laughed out loud.
“What are you laughing at?” Yun Che asked.
“I’m laughing at myself for doing what could be considered the most laughable and contradictory thing in this world.” The demon said as he howled with laughter: “The me who was more dead than alive, yet was still unwilling to die for a hundred years, is actually teaching a junior to kill me quicker. If it were someone else doing this, I would definitely believe that he is a madman. And it just so happens, that I am actually such a madman. Moreover, I actually can’t feel any regrets doing so; seeing you breaking through day by day, I actually felt gratified… HAHAHAHA! Could it be that I really have gone crazy?”
“No, you aren’t crazy, of course you aren’t crazy.” Yun Che faintly smiled: “I can understand why you would do this. Because you aren’t a bad person, and neither am I. You and I both, more so, aren’t like those despicable people whom we both hate. We suffer from the same fate… and most importantly, I am someone worthy of your entrustment.”
Yun Che’s last sentence, made Yun Canghai’s hearty laugh suddenly stop.
Yun Che calmly spoke: “Even though I am respecting you more and more, and am feeling increasingly grateful to you, I will unquestionably kill you the day I obtain the ability to do so. Because that would grant me freedom, and also liberate you… At the same time, the matter you wished to entrust me with, I’ll definitely use all my power to finish the task as well!”
Yun Canghai’s entire body shook, and his gaze that looked at Yun Che started to slightly tremble. He slowly nodded, and said with a slightly shuddering voice: “Good! Good! This word of yours, was what I waited, and always wished for! I believe, that if you willingly spoke those words, then you’ll definitely achieve them! Good… Good!!”
Yun Che spoke in a firm tone: “Even though you and I had not gone through the ritual of master and disciple, during this period of time, you are already half of a master to me. Even if it’s to fulfill my filial duty as disciple, I’ll still definitely complete your entrustment.”
“Haha… Hahahaha…” Yun Canghai started laughing once again; his laughter was filled with exhilaration and gratification: “The Heavens… have finally given me a little pity, to have sent you to me. I have been suppressed here for a hundred years, and was more dead than alive since long ago. With the Heaven’s Punishment Sword’s suppression and the Heaven’s Might Soul Sealing Formation’s Seal, added to the fact that this is the Profound Sky Continent, I’ve actually already accepted my fate, that it was simply impossible for the day of my escape to come. Living, would instead become a concern and burden for my clan’s people. The Mighty Heavenly Sword Region keeping me, is also just to use my life as a bargaining chip at the right time… However, I still have something important on me, something critically important to the entire Illusory Demon Realm. So I can’t die… I can’t die no matter what. Now, I finally found someone I can entrust it to… And finally, I can go accompany his royal highness.”
As Yun Canghai spoke, his eyes were already vaguely tearful.
“Something extremely important to the Illusory Demon Realm? You want me to give it to Illusory Demon Realm?” Yun Che spoke in astonishment. His gaze swept through the demon’s entire body, as he felt surprised in his mind… The demon only had a piece of tattered clothing, and there simply wasn’t anywhere to store things. Even if he was strong to the extent of being able to open up space himself, the things inside would definitely be forcefully seized by Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s people. For such an important object, there was no way that people of the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region would let it remain on him… But from what he said, that object was still on him. If so, then just where did he hide it?
“Not yet!” The demon shook his head: “You are still too weak. Only till the day you are strong enough to kill the current me, will I pass it to you! So, if you want to obtain freedom after killing me, then do not slack off! Even though your progress is extremely fast, you are still too weak, and don’t have the power to head to the Illusory Demon Realm at all.”
“I know.” Yun Che nodded. Then, he held up a huge chunk of dragon flesh, cut it in half, and started roasting it in his hand: “Speaking of which, Senior, just how did you fall into the hands of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region? From what I heard, you seemed to have been… plotted against?”
The demon’s eyes narrowed as an incomparable hatred flashed past his eyes. He made a sneer, and spoke: “My understanding toward your Profound Sky Continent’s Four Great Sacred Grounds, is far greater than your lot. From my knowledge, these so-called Four Great Sacred Grounds, had always publicly declared their mission of protecting the Profound Sky Continent to the outside. Under this seemingly incomparably noble mission’s halo, they were called ‘Sacred Grounds’, and gathered beings of the strongest plane within the entire Profound Sky Continent. And the enemies they ‘protected’ against… is our Illusory Demon Realm!”
“HAHAHAHA! What an enormous joke. In terms of size, the Illusory Demon Realm surpasses the Profound Sky Continent. In terms of resources, Illusory Demon Realm wins even further! Even though the Illusory Demon Realm discovered the Profound Sky Continent long long ago, we never had any wild ambition, and never had any reason to give birth to such ambition either. It was instead those despicable fellows who carried the name of “Sacred Ground Guardians” to put us Illusory Demon Realmers as villains who desired to swallow the Profound Sky Continent, and then conducted themselves in the way of bandits! In order to obtain our Illusory Demon Realm’s greatest treasure, they stopped at no expense and invaded my Illusory Demon Realm. The Demon Emperor went missing afterwards, and even though I didn’t want to admit it, it was highly likely that the Demon Emperor had already encountered their malicious wrath. To search for the Demon Emperor, I single-handedly went toward the Profound Sky Continent, yet I carelessly stepped into Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation set by the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region and was heavily wounded by Sword Master Xuanyuan Wentian, and sunk to this place… My Illusory Demon Realm’s grudge and hatred with the Four Great Sacred Grounds, is already to the extent of unwilling to exist under the same sky!”
Yun Che silently listened, and spoke: “I am someone of the Profound Sky Continent after all; your words, I cannot completely trust. Moreover, in the Profound Sky Continent, the Four Great Sacred Grounds had always been holy existences, like fairy tales. Their strength is unbeatable, and their prestige was not allowed to be tainted. Even if these words of yours were to be told to the entire Profound Sky Continent, there would almost be no one who’d believe you. After all, many people have the ingrained belief that the Profound Sky Continent was only peaceful because there is the protection of the Four Great Sacred Grounds. There are also no notorious rumors of the Four Great Sacred Grounds oppressing the weak and such…”
As he spoke till here, Yun Che suddenly recalled that those so-called upright and honest clans with excellent reputation and fame in the Azure Cloud Continent had hounded his Master to death for the Sky Poison Pearl. He deeply sucked in a breath, and continued: “But I don’t completely doubt your words either. After all, I am not familiar with the Illusory Demon Realm that you belong to, and I am even more so unfamiliar with the Four Great Sacred Grounds. How the real situation is, I’ll see it with my own eyes the day I become strong enough to touch the Four Great Sacred Grounds and Illusory Demon Realm.”
“Nice! Well said!” Yun Canghai nodded with admiration: “What you said, really doesn’t seem like words from a young man who has yet to reach twenty. Then, aren’t you afraid that because of my affairs, that you’ll be swept into the resentment between the Four Great Sacred Grounds and the Illusory Demon Realm? That is an even bigger vortex so huge that you can’t even imagine.”
“Of course I’m afraid!” Yun Che said honestly: “At least to the me right now, whether it is the Four Great Sacred Grounds or the Illusory Demon Realm, they all are behemoths that I can only look from afar; the top most of the food chain in this world we belong in. But dread, does not mean I would breach my word and faith. Since you have already decided to grant my freedom with your life, then no matter what, I would still finish your entrustment. It’s just that the time in which it’ll take may take somewhat longer.”
“HAHAHAHA!” Yun Canghai howled with laughter: “It’s actually the first time I’ve ever heard someone speak the word ‘afraid’ so resonantly and heroically. If you had straightly spoken that you are not afraid, even though I would be more grateful, I would also be a little disappointed. Because if you were to not know fear, then you would overestimate yourself, underestimate your enemies, and perhaps meet your downfall very early someday. But with these words of yours, I am even more at ease now.”
Yun Che smiled, and passed the already roasted dragon meat into Yun Canghai’s hands. The two of them, one standing one sitting, started gobbling down at the same time. The dragon meat’s deliciousness, became their only enjoyment in this dark and gray space.
The two of them filled their stomachs up at the same time. Yun Che sat on the ground, closed his eyes and recovered his profound energy. Next, he’ll be trying to challenge the profound handle of seventy percent strength.
Yun Canghai also closed his eyes, and low mutters came from his mouth non-stop…
“It’s been a hundred years, and no news of his Royal Highness have been heard… Is he really already dead…”
“If it’s the Sun Moon Divine Hall’s Heavenly Monarch Ye Meixie and Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s Sword Master Xuanyuan Wentian together, then they indeed have the ability to kill his Royal Highness… No… Impossible.. I do not believe….”
“The Prince ought to have finished his wedding… That person from Mighty Heavenly Region said that the Prince had already succeeded as the Little Demon Emperor… then impulsively rushed in the Four Great Sacred Grounds to kill on the succession day… and also died…”
“Illusory Demon Realm… the one dictating the whole picture is Little Demon Empress…”
“Little Demon Empress… Could it be.. her… Perhaps it’s her… The Crown Prince did not fear heaven and earth, and only feared her. The Crown Prince ascended the throne with her as Empress… Even though she is a woman, she does indeed have the ability to dictate… sigh…”
Yun Che ears were full of Yun Canghai’s mutters to himself, but he did not have much of a reaction. Because these words, Yun Canghai would recite them many times every day, to the point that his ears grew calluses when hearing them a long time ago. Every single moment he was here, he had always thought about the Illusory Demon Realm. His loyalty toward the Illusory Demon Royal Family, could even be testified by the heaven and earth itself. Yun Che could also tell, that he and the Demon Emperor were half as king and subject, and half as brothers.
Quickly recovering profound strength, Yun Che’s breath and mind had also completely calmed down. He opened his eyes, watched the pitch-black darkness ahead of him as dreamily figures emerged in his mind one after another… Amongst those he cared about, he wasn’t worried about Xia Qingyue and Chu Yuechan, since with their strength it could be said that no one in the Blue Wind Empire could hurt them. But he could not help but worry about Cang Yue and Xia Yuanba… They must all think that he was already dead. The Imperial Family was under unrest, he could not imagine how Cang Yue should hide and protect herself. Yet at this most important and helpless moment that she needed him the most, he, who had promised her, could not accompany her by her side.
Xia Yuanba would definitely deeply fall into self-blame. He could only hope for him to walk out from this kind of self-blame, and then truly grow up.
Grandfather and Little Aunt as well… From the promise of three years he had made before, there was only one month left.
Being trapped here, there was no way that he would have the power to kill Yun Canghai within a month. The promise he had made when he first left, was already destined to be impossible to fulfill.
Yun Canghai was very pitiful. Being suppressed for a hundred years while in despair for a hundred years, he suffered all the misery there was. But at least he has had several hundred years of glory, had the past of looking down at the Illusory Demon Realm together with the Demon Emperor, had his own enormous family, had his own family members. Even if they couldn’t meet in a hundred years, he could still think of his dearest family, and there were also family that thought of him… Yet Yun Che, till this day, still didn’t even know who his birth parents were.
“Haah…” Yun Che silently sighed, and subconsciously touched toward his neck with his hand, wanting to touch the only thing left to him by his birth parents. Only after the moment his finger touched his skin, did he finally remember that he had put it away in the Sky Poison Pearl after coming back from the Azure Cloud Continent and realizing it was extremely likely to be the Mirror of Samsara.
Yun Che took out that petite necklace from the Sky Poison Pearl, put it on his hand and silently stared at it… Fantasizing about just what kind of people his birth parents were, and if they were still alive and healthy in this world.
Yun Canghai was also in a half-absentminded condition within his mutters. As he lifted his head, his gaze inadvertently fell onto the copper colored pendant in Yun Che’s hands… Instantly, it was as if he had been struck by a profound thunderbolt from the nine heavens. His entire body abruptly shook as both eyes fixedly stared wide open in an instant. Released from his mouth was a shout that was as intense as a beast’s roar…
“What is that in your hand… What is that in your hand!!!!”
Chapter 295 - Blood Relative (1)
Yun Canghai’s sudden roar scared Yun Che and caused him to jump. He immediately turned around, and surprisingly saw Yun Canghai’s whole face distort, his eyes were so excited that a frightening layer of crimson red covered it. His right hand clawed forward and his whole body desperately struggled, which brought about rushing sounds on the chain.
This exaggerated reaction caused Yun Che to suddenly ask: “You’ve seen this thing before?”
As he spoke, he hurriedly held up the pendent before Yun Canghai’s eyes. Then, he opened up the pendant, exposing the extremely ordinary small mirror within the pendant.
Yun Canghai’s eyes focused extremely hard on that mirror. Both eyeballs trembled, as if they were going to fall out from his eye sockets. After a brief moment of silence, his struggling body became more severe, as he fiercely roared: “Where did you get this thing!! Why would it be with you… speak! Why is it with you! Speak!!”
Yun Canghai’s reaction completely showed that he knew what the thing in his hand was. Not only did he recognize it, it seemed extremely important to him. His heart was excited due to this, and he took a step back, hung it around his neck, and used the calmest voice he could muster to answer: “When I was born, it was already with me. It was the only thing my birth parents, whom I’ve never seen, left for me… Since you recognize it, can you tell me what it actually is? Who is the original owner of this item? The two who put it on me… are most likely to be my birth parents!”
The air instantly coagulated.
The two were both excited, as both stared at the other with wide eyes… Yun Che longed for his answer. This pendant was the one and only hope of knowing his past, and was the key to finding his parents. Today, he finally found someone who recognized it, and in front of him, Yun Canghai’s gaze went from intense to dull… more and more dull…
“This is… what your parents… left for you?” He looked at Yun Che and asked with a slow, hoarse voice that had difficulty speaking.
“Yes!” Yun Che nodded, lifting up the pendant. Breathing in deeply, he said: “Not long after I was born, my parents were being hunted down, and an intimate friend of my birth parents, who was my adoptive father, secretly swapped his son with me to protect my life… After my parents left, there were no more messages, and the only thing they left with me was this pendant! Since I was young, I wore it with me, because it is the only proof that I have to find my parents! Since you recognize it, then, do you know who left it with me… Who my biological parents are?”
Yun Che, who urgently desired to know the answer said as much as he could possibly know. His eyes open wide open expectantly, waiting for the news he wanted from Yun Canghai’s mouth. As he narrated what he knew, the expression in Yun Canghai’s eyes trembled more and more violently. So much that… more and more tears flashed around.
Yun Canghai’s extended right hand was stiff in the air and he spasmed for a while without putting his hands down. Or maybe… under the extreme excitement, he forgot how to control his own body. He stared at Yun Che, not blinking for the whole while. After Yun Che finished speaking, his lips were agape, but he didn’t make a noise. It wasn’t until a long time later that his trembling voice said incomprehensibly: “Child… you… you… this year… how… how old are you?”
“Nineteen.” Yun Che replied. He just had his birthday this time last month. He was exiled from his family at sixteen, and it had nearly been three years since he’d been forced away from Grandfather and Little Aunt.
“Nineteen… Nineteen… Nineteen…” Yun Canghai murmured, and each time, the expression in his eyes became more and more uncertain. His stiff arm in the air moved, and his fingers becoming a relatively soft posture: “You… come here… show me your left hand… don’t be scared, I won’t hurt you, and won’t snatch your stuff… show me your left hand…”
Yun Canghai’s expression became incomparably strange, surprising Yun Che for a bit. But from Yun Canghai’s gaze, he could not find any malice or chill. He only hesitated for a moment, then took two steps forward and extended his left hand.
Yun Canghai extended his hands and grabbed Yun Che’s wrist. Suddenly, Yun Che felt a bizarre and gentle hint of power come upwards from his wrist, which quickly wrapped around his whole left arm. He was just about to ask about it, when he suddenly saw a little finger sized, bright white sword shaped marking slowly appear atop the back of his left hand.
“What is… this?” Seeing this imprint suddenly appear from his body, Yun Che asked with astonishment.
And in the moment Yun Canghai saw the marking, he suddenly teared up. He looked at Yun Che through his misty eyes filled with tears… that was a gaze that Yun Che could not understand. The “om” sound he let out from his lips… was a type of weeping tone caused by his emotions that had gotten out of control: “This is my Yun Family’s… mark of an unawakened Profound Handle! It… It proves that you are a descendant of my Yun Family… my… Yun Canghai’s… biological grandson!!”
The last few words thundered and exploded next to Yun Che’s ears, and caused his heart to be shocked: “Wh… wh… what did you say?”
“That white Profound Handle imprint is the Yun Family bloodline’s proof… The thing you wore since you were young is our Yun Family’s treasure that we protect for the Demon Emperor’s Family! I normally wear it on me, and it had never left my body. When we left for Profound Sky Continent to find the Demon Emperor, I entrusted it to my son… and my son entrusted it to you… You are the son of my son… I am your… biological grandfather!”
Yun Che’s mouth opened, eyes went wide open, and this message from the sky stunned him. He wobbled and took two steps back, then soullessly shook his head: “Impossible… impossible… how can you be my grandfather… how can there be such a coincidence… impossible… impossible…”
The “impossible” was said unconsciously under his muddled condition. After he knew Xiao Lie wasn’t his biological grandfather, the words “Blood Relative” became an incomparably distant and ethereal notion. The pendant that had always hung around his neck became the only link between him and his blood relatives.
And now, under an completely unguarded state, Yun Canghai, who brought him into this abyss, who coexisted with him for over a year, who became someone who he had to kill… suddenly told him that he was his family, and even his biological grandfather. His brain subconsciously could not accept this, causing him to fall into a chaotic state of mind, nearly completely losing the ability to think.
“Yes… in this world there unexpectedly can be this type of coincidence…” Yun Canghai’s face was filled with tears as his excited voice became completely indistinct: “Your Profound Handle marking and the pendant on your body is indisputable proof… Do you remember the day I brought you down here, the junior from Mighty Heavenly Sword Region once said, that twenty years ago, in order to find me, my son and his wife intruded into the Profound Sky Continent, and eventually found somewhere close to this place… Afterwards, they were hunted and chased by Mighty Heavenly Sword Region… time, experience, area… coincides completely! You are the descendant my son, within those two to three years in Profound Sky Continent…. left behind!”
Yun Che: “!!!!”
“If… you really do not believe, then we can use the blood paternity test to prove familial relationships… that is the most direct, impossible to falsify and question, way of proof!
Yun Canghai said excitedly. At the same time, turned over his right hand, and drops of fresh blood fell from the tip of his index finger.
The blood paternity test was the most authoritative way to prove family relations. Two drops of blood mixed together, with the most basic profound energy. If it was a lineal blood relative, it would fuse even more completely, and if it wasn’t a lineal blood relative, it would instantly separate… there was no exception!
What Ling Kun said that day was obviously heard loud and clear by Yun Che. Thinking back at this moment, the timing did surprisingly coincide.
Don’t tell me…
Don’t tell me…
Don’t tell me it’s really…
Seeing Yun Canghai’s blood drop that had dripped from his fingertips, Yun Che was so nervous that he nearly suffocated. He clenched his jaw tightly, allowing his mind to be as calm as possible. He didn’t speak, took a step forward and extended his finger, profound strength surged and broke through his fingertip. A drop of blood slowly agglomerated and drew downwards, then touched Yun Canghai’s drop of blood.
Yun Che squatted while holding his breath. He extended his palm towards the two drops of blood that were touching… His palm moved ever so slowly, the distance that should have been crossed in an instant, but he felt as if a whole century had passed by. Finally, a strand of the most basic profound energy was released from his palm, enveloping downwards…
The two drops of blood vibrated at the same time, then practically, instantly… fully and completely, merged together…
Yun Che’s brain felt a wave of dizziness…
Yun Canghai’s body trembled as an endless grief and happiness swarmed within his heart, causing him to not know whether to cry or to indulge in laughter. He waved his only movable arm, and shouted with a hoarse voice that even he could not hear clearly: “Ahhh… My grandson… you are my grandson… my biological grandson… biological grandson….”
The two completely merged drops of blood were deeply branded within Yun Che’s eyes and soul. He raised his head,looked at Yun Canghai, and absentmindedly whispered: “You really are.. my… grandfather… my… grandfather…”
“Yes… Yes I am!!” Yun Canghai extended his head towards the sky, not knowing whether to cry or laugh, and howled: “The heavens are not unkind to me, not only did they let me have a grandson, they sent him to my side, and he’s even so outstanding… The only young person I have admired in my life, is actually my biological grandson… haha… hahahaha! The heavens are not unkind to me, the heavens really are not unkind to me!!”
Chapter 296 - Blood Relative (2)
“You really are… my… grandfather?”
Even with all the proof clearly laid out in front of him, those merged drops of blood, an indisputable, irrefutable evidence, he gave off a questioning sound. It wasn’t that he did not believe it, but the blow from such a shocking truth caused his brain, which was in chaos, to find it difficult to accept.
“Child… my child…” Yun Canghai said with a face full of tears: “I really did not think that I actually had a grandson since nineteen years ago… You inherited our Yun Family’s bloodline, yet suffered from such miserable hardships… Since birth, you were separated from your parents and haven’t seen them since. Grandfather never gave you a hint of care, and the first day I met you, I nearly killed you… I really am the most incompetent, the most shameful grandfather in this world… The heavens saw this wretchedness and has allowed us to reunite as grandfather and grandson in this lifetime. These hundred years, I was constantly scolding the heavens, but now… in my life, I’ve never been as grateful to the Gods as I am today…”
“You really are… my grandfather?” Yun Che was still murmuring soullessly.
“I know I don’t have the qualifications to be your grandfather. I never gave you even a bit of care and brought you into this disastrous place. However much you hate me, blame me, it is completely deserved…” Yun Canghai, this powerful Demon King whose might shocked the Illusory Demon Realm and the Four Great Sacred Grounds, was tearing up with each word at this moment. Perhaps all the tears he had let out in his couple hundred years when added up, would not be as numerous as today.
Yun Che stood up a little, looked at the ragged old man who had dirty and messy white hair, and a wet bony face full of tears. His nose was suddenly swarmed with a heavy wave of sorrow and grief… family! In front of his eyes was his family, his grandfather, the most beloved family… his first true family member in his two lives!
“Grand… father…”
The incomparable familiarity of the word that he had said countless of times in this world, was extremely choppy when cried out at this instant… it was difficult… yet involuntarily left his mouth… Because in Yun Canghai’s eyes, he saw exactly the same content in Grandfather Xiao Lie’s eyes. That type of love and affection deep in their blood that would not hesitate to give their whole world to him…
Yun Canghai’s whole body was stiff, his whole body felt as if he was floating inside the clouds… He and Yun Che lived together for sixteen months, enough for him to have the most basic understanding of Yun Che. His amazing talent and potential was impossible to estimate. His perseverance also caused him to be deeply aghast. His temperament was arrogant, and he would at times, show insolence. His dignity and honor were not allowed to be touched. Yun Canghai simply did not have any extravagant hopes that he would be called “grandfather” from such a person, because Yun Canghai only felt guilt, and thought that he owed him too much. But he never thought that he would address him the way a blood relative would from this close of a distance.
The happiness and fulfillment in that moment, allowed him to feel that even if he were to instantly perish now, he would be a million times willing.
“You’re willing to recognize me… you don’t… blame me?” Yun Canghai asked with a trembling voice.
Yun Che shook his head extremely slowly and said: “You are my grandfather. Without you, how would I be in this world… You are my grandfather, so how could I blame you… finally… I finally found my family… grandfather, these years, you’ve suffered…”
Yun Che walked forward after the words died down and hugged Yun Canghai fiercely. He hugged the first family member he had found… they had no relationship of fostering between them, and even had past resentment and hostility, but this was not important anymore. He would not be cold and too prideful to reject this familial love. He would not blame his grandfather for not fulfilling even a day of a grandfather’s responsibility… They were family, they had the same blood flowing within their bodies. This single fact, was enough.
After separating with Xiao Lie and Little Aunt, his heart was broken. In his two lives, he completely understood that familial love was something worth everything, was something that was worth using his whole life to protect and cherish.
“Good child… my good child!” Tightly hugging the grandson that the heavens sent him, Yun Canghai’s mood had finally completely collapsed. Not caring about his image, he started to cry loudly…
“Your father is named Yun Qinghong. Even though I am already a few hundred years old, I only have one son which is your father. His talents are not too bad, and he had awakened the same cyan profound handle I have. Your mother is named Mu Yurou and is also from a Guardian Family of the Demon Emperor, and is the daughter of the Mu Family’s leader. The Twelve Guardian Families exist to protect the Demon Emperor and there are no estrangements between them. The relationship between our Yun Family and Mu Family have always been the best, and your father and mother were childhood friends who grew up together. A hundred years ago, when I left the Illusory Demon Realm alone, they had just gotten married.”
“Sigh, these hundred years, they must have been extremely worried. The reason they would bear such a huge risk to come to the Profound Sky Continent was probably due to them hearing from somewhere that I haven’t died… I just did not think that during the time they were in Profound Sky Continent to search for me, they would actually have you… Perhaps even they had not expected you.”
Grandfather and grandson stood across each other, and after calming down, they mutually told each other about their own experiences and stories.
“The only thing I don’t know, is how they are doing right now. The person called Lin Kun said that they escaped from Profound Sky Continent, but the long period of time in escaping with heavy wounds had nearly extinguished their life force… Sigh!” Yun Canghai sighed deeply with a face filled with worry and a sense of loss… as well as a hidden deep hatred.
Yun Che did not speak.
Until now, he still had not yet recovered from the truth about his birth.
He was actually not someone from the Profound Sky Continent.
His homeland, was actually another world where demons ruled the world.
Even though his soul was sufficiently strong, in such a short period of time it was difficult to completely accept the truth.
“Even though your father didn’t find me, not only did he have you in the Profound Sky Continent, he had actually made a true friend. That could be said to be an enormous accomplishment.” In order to protect a friend’s son, he exchanged his own son into a situation of inevitable death. Towards the person who fostered Yun Che, Yun Canghai was deeply grateful and asked: “Your foster father and foster mother, are they still healthy?”
Yun Che shook his head, closed his eyes and said: “Foster father Uncle Xiao was hunted and asked about where my parents were by a mysterious person after a short period of time. Then, he was murdered by the mysterious person. Foster mother died soon after due to grief… After Grandmother gave birth to Little Aunt, due to missing her son, she fell ill and eventually died. I still haven’t clearly seen what they looked like… it was grandfather who took care of me and protected me when I grew up. He treated me as if I was his own grandson, because I withstood countless grievances and ridicule silently…”
Yun Canghai violently moved, and then said with a heavy voice: “Che’er, we can never forget this huge kindness! Your Grandfather Xiao Lie, you must treat and respect him as if he is your biological grandfather… And you must get revenge for this great hatred!”
Yun Che slowly nodded and silently tightened both hands, thinking back to three years ago when he left, and what he had said in front of Xiao Ying’s grave. He said to himself silently in his heart: “Uncle Xiao, I finally know who killed you… There will be a day I will offer you their blood in front of your grave!”
Yun Che held up the strap on his neck and asked: “Grandfather, what exactly is this thing?”
“It is called the Mirror of Samsara.” Yun Canghai replied.
This name caused Yun Che’s heart to be fiercely shocked… It actually was what Jasmine had said it was, one of the seven great heavenly profound treasures, the Mirror of Samsara. Then, the two lives worth of incredible experiences was really due to that!
If it really was the Mirror of Samsara, then it was enough to fully explain Yun Che’s large amount of questions and doubt. But Yun Canghai’s expression was calm when he said the words “Mirror of Samsara”. Yun Che suppressed his emotions and asked probingly: “Then what does it do?”
“I don’t know.” Yun Canghai shook his head: “I only know of its name. It was the Demon Emperor Family’s treasure that they found a long time ago. The Demon Emperor Family says that in legends, it could completely change a person’s luck and even destiny. If the Demon Emperor Family one day declines, it could even help the family rise once again. But nobody knows how it should be used, and more so don’t know the real use of the item. It was entrusted by the Demon Emperor Family to our Yun Family to protect, and under my protection for all these years, I’ve never seen any reaction or power from it… But somehow this treasure got found out by the Four Great Sacred Grounds. They seem to call it a ‘Heavenly Profound Treasure’ and attempted to possess it. It was the reason behind the hatred between the Illusory Demon World and Four Sacred Grounds.”
Yun Che grasped the Mirror of Samsara and felt a wave of absentmindedness. He had no idea how to use the Mirror of Samsara. But from his two lives, he had completely released its heaven opposing ability, bringing him back from death twice, and changed his life.
After being poisoned to death by Xiao Yulong in the Profound Sky Continent… the Mirror of Samsara released its power for the first time, allowing him to reincarnate into the Azure Cloud Continent, but was reincarnated without his memories.
After he jumped to his death from the cliff in Azure Cloud Continent… the Mirror of Samsara released its power for the second time, allowing him to return to the Profound Sky Continent, waking up from the supposedly dead body, and this time, he was brought back with all his memories. In the Profound Sky Continent, his death was interspersed, but there were no signs of fault. As for his life in Azure Cloud Continent, his memories were branded into him like a dream.
According to Yun Canghai’s description, after the Demon Emperor Family acquired the Mirror of Samsara, they seemed to have never used its power.
Then what exactly causes it to use its power? Could it be death?
Or maybe it must be on a specific person?
“Before I came to the Profound Sky Continent, I entrusted it to your father. I never thought that when he came to search for me, he actually brought it with him… maybe he thought it could be used as exchange for my life. He really underestimated those so called “saints”, and how despicable they are!”
Yun Canghai raised his head; his gaze became incomparably sharp and cold. He looked at Yun Che and said each word sonorously: “Che’er! As your grandfather, I should convince you to let go of the hatred, to forget it all and live a peaceful life… but I cannot do that. Our Yun Family is a royal family of the Illusory Demon World. A member with the name Yun can be weak, but none of us are cowards! I need you to keep in mind, just who harmed your foster parents that saved your life; who harmed your birth parents, making them go through an experience of being hunted, and not knowing whether they were dead or alive; who made your Grandfather suffer a hundred years of torment, and who separated you from your birth parents right after your birth, to the point where you haven’t even met them to this day… You have to firmly carve this hatred into your heart. Unless you exterminate Heavenly Mighty Sword Region, don’t ever erase it from your heart!”
Yun Che didn’t speak and slowly nodded.
_______________
Author’s Note: The matter about Yun Canghai being Yun Che’s grandfather… Lots of people guessed it right, so it wasn’t anything special… In the chapter where the demon appeared, that was why I had Ling Kun specifically say out the details of his son and daughter-in-law’s matter. The time matched perfectly, just so you guys can guess it! If I didn’t specifically hint it explicitly, if you guys had guessed it like that, then that’s just too clever. As expected, you guys don’t like it when I make explicit hints ahead of time, and instead like that sort of misleading method that suddenly explodes into a hole… Since that’s the cause, activating Mars Style ultimate aoe attack of face slaps! If you’re brave enough, bring it on!
Chapter 297 - Profound Handle Awakens
In an unexpected turns of events, Yun Che had finally found the first ever blood relative in his life. This undoubtedly was destiny playing a joke on him… However, Yun Che was unable to determine if this was a joke filled with good intentions, or a joke filled with evil intentions.
Although he found a blood relative, that person had suffered a hundred years of misery. If this sort of situation happened on an outsider, Yun Che would only pity that person. However, this was happening on his blood relative, and what he was feeling was a soul-piercing heartache. Originally, killing this demon, was his only way of getting out of here. However, now, this demon had turned out to be his grandfather, so how could he act against his blood relative whom he had finally managed to find, just for the sake of his own freedom?
Yun Che stood up, grabbed and raised Dragon Fault. Activating Burning Heart, he swung a Phoenix Break up above with all his strength.
The phoenix flames whizzed as they soared upwards, striking ruthlessly up above… After that, with a gentle “ding” sound, the Phoenix Break dispersed in the air, while up above, forget about any damage appearing, not even a speck of sand or dirt fell.
“It’s no use.” Yun Canghai shook his head. “The suppression of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, is much stronger than you imagine it to be. Even if you grow ten times stronger, it will still be impossible to deal a single inch of damage to it.” He revealed a kind smile, and waved towards Yun Che. “Come, come to my side. Let us grandfather and grandson have a good chat. I have many things that I wish to tell you.”
After recognizing each other as kin, the atmosphere they had built between them had naturally turned upside down as well. Along with the passage of time and the calmness in his heart, Yun Che became even more clear of his grandfather’s identity within his consciousness. He stood in front of Yun Canghai, and listened to his every word.
The Illusory Demon Realm’s terrain, structure, customs… The rise of the Yun Family and its present state, and the origin of the Demon Emperor’s family… The friendship between him and the Demon Emperor back then… The Little Demon Empress who might be the current ruler of the Illusory Demon Realm… The rivalries between the twelve guardian families… the grudges between the Illusory Demon Realm and the Four Great Sacred Grounds… The basic situation of the current Four Great Sacred Grounds and their strength…
Yun Canghai constantly explained to Yun Che, and similarly, he wanted to know what Yun Che experienced in these few years, and his well-being. Yun Che told him his childhood, explained the years of ridicule, scorn and low self-esteem he experienced. He told him that he had already gotten married… He told him that when he was sixteen, he met a very strong master, and his destiny began to change then… Yun Canghai listened very attentively, fearing that he might miss even a single word. His expression occasionally revealed ecstasy, occasionally, it was sadness. At times, it was fury, and sometimes, it was filled with smiles… Within Yun Che’s voice, he seemed to have exhausted every single one of his emotions.
Yun Canghai took him, and chatted for three whole days and nights, wishing that he could tell Yun Che everything he knew of.
“Grandfather, don’t worry. There’s no definite path of demise in this world, we will definitely find a way to flee from here.” Yun Che looked at the black hole up above, and said with a tight frown.
“Hoho, that’s of course.” Yun Canghai calmly laughed. In these few days, under extreme joy, his expression had reddened quite a bit, and his spirits were several times much better than before. His eyes especially, were no longer as cold as stagnant water, rather, it had turned especially gentle. He placed his hands on his chest, and slowly said. “Che’er, I have something that I wish to hand to you.”
As he said that, he applied a strong force with his hand. His profound energy surged, and immediately after, he let out a suppressed groan, and pain flashed past his face. A white mass of light, which was the size of a fist, spat out from his mouth, and landed in Yun Canghai’s hands.
This mass of white light was a layer of protective profound energy, and it securely enveloped the thing inside it. Yun Che took a few steps closer, this mass of protective light was extremely dense, and was emitting an extremely high level aura which Yun Che was unable to comprehend. Clearly, this was something Yun Canghai had set up before he was suppressed. He asked. “Could it be that this is… the thing you wish for me to hand to the Illusory Demon Realm earlier?”
Earlier, he was still wondering just where the thing Yun Canghai wanted to entrust to him was placed at… So it was actually swallowed into his belly after he protected it with his profound energy!
“Correct!” Yun Canghai took a deep breath. “Take this, do not try to inspect what is inside. If there’s one day that you get the ability to head to Illusory Demon Realm, then hand it over to the current ruler of Illusory Demon Realm… into the Little Demon Empress’ hands. You must definitely hand it over to her personally, do not allow others to touch it.”
Yun Che took the thing that was enveloped by mass of white light, instantly stored it into his Sky Poison Pearl, and then, nodded cautiously. “Grandfather, don’t worry. Before meeting the Little Demon Empress, even if I die, it will not land in anyone’s hands.”
“Good, naturally, I believe in your words.” Yun Canghai gave a comforting smile, and then once again, raised his right arm. “Come, give me your left hand.”
Yun Che obediently stretched out his left hand. “Grandfather, you’re?”
“Your current strength is still too weak. It’s a pity that profound energy cannot be passed on, otherwise, I would not hesitate to pass down all of my energy to you… My current strength is being suppressed by a large degree, the only thing I can help you with, is to awaken… your Profound Handle prematurely.”
When Yun Canghai’s words fell, a wave of profound energy, like a raging sea, suddenly entered the left arm, and brought along severe pain that felt as though his entire hand would explode. At the same time, that white sword-shaped mark resurfaced on the back of his hand.
“Grandfather…” Just when Yun Che was about to ask, Yun Canghai’s eyes suddenly closed tightly. His expression was heavy and firm. He instantly closed his mouth, and did not say another word. At the same time, he suppressed his energy as far as possible, allowing his entire body to be in a completely defenseless state.
Yun Canghai had said this. The Profound Handle in their Yun Family, would naturally awaken when one’s profound energy reached the Sky Profound Realm.
Currently, Yun Che was only at the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm… From Yun Canghai’s words, he planned on directly awaken Yun Che’s Profound Handle while he was still at the Earth Profound Realm!
Yun Canghai’s profound handle was released, turning into a long ray of cyan flowing light, which circled and danced around Yun Che’s arm. The sense of pain on his arm became even heavier, as though it might burst apart at any moment. Yun Che slightly clenched his teeth, and did not let out a single groan. Looking at Yun Canghai, his teeth was even clenched tighter than Yun Che’s, his forehead was already filled with warm sweat, and his entire body was slightly trembling, as though he was exhausting his profound energy unreservedly, and was enduring pain that was even much greater than Yun Che’s.
What Yun Che did not know was that awakening one’s Profound Handle prematurely was a very difficult task. With Yun Canghai’s current strength, he could only barely do it… And almost all of his strength in his body would be used up as a consequence.
The circling of the cyan profound handle became even faster, and the sense of expansion in Yun Che’s left hand began to become even more severe, as though it could explode in the very next second. At this moment, accompanying Yun Canghai’s growl, the sleeves on Yun Che’s left hand suddenly burst out, revealing his entire left arm… On his arm, a crimson red light that was about fifteen centimeters long clearly shone.
The moment this crimson red light appeared, Yun Che’s mind and profound veins shook severely, as though he sensed that there seemed to be something had been added within his arm. Something that, even though it was unfamiliar, was tightly connected to his blood vessels and profound veins.
The bloodline of the Yun Family he carried, the Profound Handle which belonged to him, was prematurely awakened at this instant!
“Urgh!”
Yun Canghai groaned out of relief, and released his grip from Yun Che’s arm, his entire body was quivering from extreme exhaustion. While at this moment, the sense of unfamiliarity in Yun Che’s arm completely disappeared, and he hurriedly stepped forward to support Yun Canghai. “Grandfather, are you alright?”
“I’m fine… I’m fine.” Yun Canghai waved his hand, and gasped heavily for air. He raised his head, and looked towards Yun Che’s arm. When he saw that crimson red profound handle mark, he was stunned. “How could it be… red…”
Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple… Among the seven colors of the Profound Handle, red was the weakest! Within the Yun family, nine out of ten of the Profound Handles were in the range of red, orange, and yellow, these three colors. And, within them, another nine out of ten were orange and yellow, red profound handles only made a very small ten percent of them, and the probability of it appearing was about the same as the green profound handle. Because red profound handles were the shame of Yun disciples, practitioners who awakened red profound handles, were instantly regarded as downright trash. They could only end up as servants or handymen for the Yun family. Forget about within the Yun family, even if they were to head outside, they would still be looked down by others.
Yun Canghai, as the master of the Yun family, he and his son Yun Qinghong both awakened the overwhelming cyan profound handle… And in Yun Canghai’s eyes, with Yun Che’s talent, he who had inherited their blood, Yun Canghai had firmly believed that his Profound Handle would at least be cyan as well, or it might even be blue. And no matter how bad it would be, it should still be green, yet, he definitely did not expect that, what he awakened was actually the trashiest red profound handle which was seen as a humiliation by the Yun family!
The surprise and disappointment on Yun Canghai’s face was clearly caught by Yun Che. He glanced at the red mark on his left arm, and gently said. “The red profound handle, should be the weakest Profound Handle, right… I’m sorry, grandfather, I disappointed you.”
Not growing up within the Yun family, he was not entirely sure what Profound Handles meant to the Yun disciples, so, even it was the weakest red profound handle, he was not really too disappointed. After all, with an additional red profound handle, to him, it would simply increase his strength, and was not really a loss. He could more or less understand Yun Canghai’s feelings… He had once said that, the Profound Handle was the greatest glory of the Yun family, and when he struggled with all his strength to prematurely awaken Yun Che’s Profound Handle, naturally, he was carrying great expectations. That red-colored mark, had undoubtedly turned all of high expectations completely into disappointment.
“It’s… It’s fine…” Yet, Yun Canghai shook his head, and then, gave a casual smile. “It’s good enough to have successfully awakened your Profound Handle, so what if it’s a red profound handle? My grandson has such a formidable talent, and had even inherited the divine beast Phoenix’s blood. Forget about it being just the red profound handle, even if you did not have the Profound Handle at all, you will definitely still not be worse than anyone else!”
Yun Canghai’s disappointment had only last for that short moment before it completely disappeared. His words was resounding, and came from deep in his heart. It was definitely not forceful in the slightest, rather, he became the one consoling Yun Che. Yun Che felt his heart warmed, and strongly nodded. “Grandfather, don’t you worry. I will definitely not be weaker than anyone else, and if I were to return to the family in the future, I will definitely excel over everyone that came from the same generation as well. I will definitely not put grandfather’s reputation to shame!”
“Good… good! I believe my good grandson!” Yun Canghai patted on Yun Che’s shoulder, his face revealed a pleased smile. “But, the reason why you have the red profound handle, is definitely not because of your lack of talent. The power of the Profound Handle, half it comes from one’s blood vessels, while the other half, comes from one’s profound veins. Earlier, you had said that, not long after you were born, your profound veins had been crippled, and your mysterious master had only reforged your profound veins when you were sixteen years old… Newly born profound veins, they are after all, not your innate profound veins, which means, it’s basically unable to spawn a strong Profound Handle, and there might be a possibility that your Profound Handle could not even spawn. Otherwise, with your talent, Yun’er, how could it just be a red profound handle!”
“But, it doesn’t matter. While I’m still alive, to have reunited with my grandson, and even lived together for so long, I’m already deeply grateful to the heavens. What is there to be unsatisfied about… Hahahaha!”
Yun Canghai laughed out loud. His laughter was filled with fatigue, yet, it was filled with incomparable satisfaction as well.
Chapter 298 - Dissipating Soul
“Come, try to release your profound handle. When your Profound Handle awakens, you will naturally understand how it is to be used.” Yun Canghai said while chuckling.
Yun Che nodded. Indeed, the moment his Profound Handle awakened, another spirit connection appeared within his soul… and the spirit connection from the Profound Handle brought about a strength that didn’t feel foreign at all. In fact, it was just like a new organ inside of his body. When he willed it to move, a red light above his left arm flashed. Afterwards, a crimson light noiselessly flew outwards and floated beside his body. Following his will, it transformed into the shape of Dragon Fault… Aside from the difference in color, its exterior appearance was exactly the same as that of Dragon Fault’s.
Seeing the Profound Handle next to his body, although its power was far from that of Grandfather’s, an indescribably excited feeling arose in Yun Che’s heart. Watching his expression, Yun Canghai smiled contently: “Believe in your feelings. Not only is it your power, it is a part of your body and soul. Although it is the lowest class among Profound Handles, the red color has its own benefits. Similarly, the power of the Profound Handle arises from the owner of the Profound Handle’s body, so when it is released, it will also speed up the rate of consumption of profound energy as well as mental energy. The stronger the Profound Handle, the greater the rate of consumption. Accordingly, the red profound handle has the smallest rate of consumption.”
Yun Canghai’s words were naturally only words of comfort. As the lowest level of Profound Handles, this so-called “advantage” of the red profound handle could only be considered extremely laughable. The red profound handle began to change into various forms under Yun Che’s will: occasionally, it was a sword; occasionally, it was a spear; occasionally, it was a long damask. Sometimes, it was a leaf, the shape of a water droplet, and even a man’s silhouette. Yun Canghai continued: “The Profound Handle isn’t only a type of special strength form. It can also be a pure soul form, and invade opponents’ souls or conduct mental attacks.”
“Mental attacks?” Yun Che was astounded. After, he concentrated his will speedily; almost instantly, his Profound Handle rapidly transformed until it was completely traceless and formless, becoming a pure soul form.
Once again, the might and mysticality of the Profound Handle exceeded Yun Che’s expectations. Subsequently, his heart wavered, as if he had thought of something.
“Heheheheh…” Watching the incessant excitement on Yun Che’s face as he operated the newly-awakened Profound Handle, Yun Canghai nodded his head continuously, and thought back to his youth, when he had just awakened his Profound Handle. As he smiled, his field of vision gradually became blurry. He was once so powerful and proud, capable of looking down on everything. He was the “king”, only below the “emperor”, yet now, he was in such miserable and dire straits. His son had been harmed trying to save him, and he had no idea whether he was still alive. He had also unintentionally brought his grandson into this abyss… His grandson was nineteen right now, yet to this day, he had never assumed the responsibilities of a grandfather. The only thing he could do was consume his own origin strength, and help him awaken his Profound Handle earlier.
In the last hundred years, he had suffered through loneliness and hardship, distress and humiliation, yet since the very beginning, he had never been willing to die. He didn’t want such an important object for the Demon Emperor to be lost, and even more so, didn’t want to die here without any contribution.
Yet today, he had already entrusted that important object to his own grandson. He could finally end his own wretched life with some value…
“Che’er, come over here.”
Yun Che withdrew his Profound Handle, and walked to the front of Yun Canghai.
“Back then, when I left the Illusory Demon Realm in search of the Demon Emperor, I had tentatively left the heavy burden of the Family to your father, but I didn’t tell him an enormous secret. Only the Demon Emperor bloodline and my Yun family knows of this secret. Also, this secret is passed down orally by the Demon Emperor or master of the Yun family; absolutely no one else knows about it. If the Demon Emperor has actually died, then the only person in the world that knows this secret is me. As I have been trapped here, I will never be able to see the light of day again. Only you will be able to succeed me… Che’er, move your ear closer to me.”
Only the grandfather-grandson pair was here in this place, and it was impossible for anyone else to have heard them speaking. But Yun Canghai remained extremely cautious, so it was evident just how important this secret was. Yun Che didn’t say anything more, complied to Yun Canghai’s request and moved closer. Then, Yun Canghai, using an extremely soft voice, said something to his ear.
“Ah? Is this for real?” After hearing Yun Canghai’s words, Yun Che revealed a deeply startled expression.
“This issue concerns the future of the entire Illusory Demon Realm. You must keep this in your heart, and inform the Little Demon Empress, who currently dominates the Illusory Demon Realm, and you definitely must not let anyone else know.”
Yun Che nodded: “I will remember all of grandfather’s words in my heart. Grandfather, you don’t have to be too pessimistic either; we’ll definitely be able to find a way to get out of here. I will prudently safeguard this secret grandfather has told me, but as for the matter of informing the Little Demon Empress about it, it doesn’t necessarily have to be me; it’d be best if grandfather were to do so personally.”
“Ha ha ha ha!” Yun Canghai began laughing with gratitude: “I’m very happy to hear you say these words. My Yun family owes you nineteen years, and Grandfather was the one that trapped you here, yet you didn’t display even the slightest bit of complaint. Not only were you willing to recognize me as your grandfather, you even looked out for me… To have such a grandson, my Yun family is truly fortunate, and it is also the greatest compensation I, Yun Canghai, have received from the Heavens in these hundred years of bleakness. I also believe that if you’re ever to meet your biological parents, you definitely won’t blame them for not protecting you well back then. Although your body carries thick killing intent, your innate disposition is yet especially kind; it looks like the Grandfather Xiao who raised you must’ve been a good-natured man.”
Yun Che nodded lightly: “He is a… very noble grandfather.”
Yun Canghai looked upwards, and said sorrowfully: “I really want to thank him personally. In the hundreds of years I’ve lived, I’ve never been so grateful towards someone before… Che’er, remember my words from before. One day, you must pay him filial respects as if he was your biological grandfather in order to repay his kindness and grace in raising you.”
Yun Che nodded repeatedly.
“Alright… I’m tired, and I need to rest a while. Go outside the barrier and carefully study your newly-awakened Profound Handle. Only studying it closely will allow you to gradually discover its infinite subtleties.” Yun Canghai said as he closed his eyes.
“Yes, Grandfather.” Yun Che nodded, and walked outside of the barrier. In order to awaken his Profound Handle, it looked like Yun Canghai had consumed an extremely large amount of energy. Before, when he was speaking, he had been gasping for breath the entire time.
After walking outside the barrier, Yun Che sat down. He closed his eyes, yet didn’t think about the Profound Handle; rather, he thought hard about how to leave this place.
Yun Canghai had been bound to that Heaven’s Punishment Sword with what was known as the “Meteorite Chain”. Once, Yun Che had tried to attack the “Meteorite Chain” with Dragon Fault, but it was unable to cause even the slightest amount of damage, let alone sever it.
Jasmine had told him before that the suppressive force of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword was linked to Yun Canghai’s heart and soul. As long as Yun Canghai didn’t die, this suppressive force would always exist. Conversely, if he died, the suppressive force would disappear. This was also the reason he was so determined to kill Yun Canghai before. Now that he knew Yun Canghai was his grandfather, he obviously couldn’t make a move against him anymore. In that case, if he wanted to leave by himself…
…………
Yun Che opened his eyes forcefully, and his brain felt as if it had been pierced by an electric current.
There was no way Yun Canghai had a method to leave this place, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been trapped here for a hundred years. Other than killing Yun Canghai, he had no other way of leaving… However, the fact that the couldn’t attack Yun Canghai didn’t mean that Yun Canghai wouldn’t kill himself in order to set him free!
The Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation was ineffective towards oneself. Then why did Yun Canghai still want him to study the Profound Handle outside of the barrier?
And his words from before… informing him of that enormous secret…
“Grandfather!!”
Yun Che roared. He jumped up abruptly, and charged into the barrier; the instant his feet entered the barrier, he froze in place…
Yun Canghai’s head dangled in front of his chest. Even under his frightened scream, he was not in the least responsive, and Yun Che could no longer feel even a shred of life from his existence.
“Grandfather… GRANDFATHER!!”
The nightmare-like thought that had suddenly appeared in his mind suddenly drew closer to reality. Yun Che’s entire body shuddered, and charged forward as if he was mad, pouncing in front of Yun Canghai’s body.
Yet what responded wasn’t Yun Canghai’s voice, but the sound of the Meteorite Chains falling.
The Meteorite Chains that were wrapped around Yun Canghai’s body suddenly loosened completely, and fell to the ground powerlessly. This was because the lock for the Meteorite Chains was similarly connected to the heart and soul of the person being bound; when the person being bound died, the Meteorite Chains would automatically loosen.
The imposing aura of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword also dissipated without a trace at this time. Not a single shred of that heavy and boundless suppressive power remained, and it was as calm as a dead sword.
Yun Canghai’s body, which had been shackled there for an entire century, finally obtained its freedom at this moment, falling forward slowly into Yun Che’s embrace. Yun Che held his grandfather’s body and slowly knelt to the ground. He looked forward expressionlessly, without any sound, without any movements, even without any tears, as if his soul had left his body that instant.
“He severed his own heart veins… For him to make this choice, I’m not surprised at all.” Jasmine said lightly.
Yun Che: “…”
Yun Canghai had died, and just as Jasmine had said, he had died by severing his own heart veins.
He died very serenely, and his expression was tranquil. A slight smile still hung on the corners of his face, and it was a kind of pleased and satisfied smile. This was the only thing that could comfort Yun Che… behind his smiling expression silently lay deep feelings of reluctance and concern.
At this time, Yun Canghai’s last words sounded besides Yun Che’s ear… Before he died, he had left behind a few lingering words from his soul:
“Che’er, in this period of time, Grandfather can see that within your heart rests many people, many issues, and you long to leave this place all the time… It’s Grandfather that has let you down, and this is also the last thing Grandfather can do for you. Don’t feel sad; although Grandfather has passed, to Grandfather, this is a relief I have yearned for day and night. To have met you, and entrusted something I am incapable of putting down to you, Grandfather no longer has any regrets and concerns. I can be at ease and go accompany the Demon Emperor contently… Besides, there’s still you as the continuation of your grandfather’s life and bloodline.”
“Che’er, my good child, Grandfather hadn’t taken care of you well in this life. In another world, Grandfather will pray for you with all his time and energy. The Profound Sky Continent is your home, but the Illusory Demon Realm is your true homeland. Grandfather hopes that one day, you can return to the Illusory Demon Realm, and back to our Yun Family, and let your parents know that you are still living in this world safe and sound… Don’t blame your parents, they have definitely already torn their hearts and ripped their lungs worrying about you, longing for you these nineteen years… Grandfather’s last desire is not vengeance, nor the Demon Emperor race, but the wish to see all of you… reunite as a family…”
Yun Canghai’s last words faded away, and two streaks of tears finally rolled down Yun Che’s face… Above his head, wisps of sand began rumbling and falling, which signified that the suppressive power of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword had already disappeared completely. But Yun Che didn’t move for a long time, embracing Yun Canghai’s dead body… embracing the kin he lost after he had just met. His entire person seemed to have become a sorrowful statue.
——————————————
At the same time, Heavenly Sword Villa.
Ling Jie, who had just finished training, was walking back to his courtyard with a body full of heat. Just as he was about to enter his room, a Heavenly Sword disciple who wore clothes adorned with swords, rushed in hurriedly: “Second Young Villa Master!”
“Senior Brother Yun Peng… What matter is this urgent?” Ling Jie turned his face, and heaved a breath of air.
“Second Young Villa Master, congratulations on breaking through to the tenth level of the Spirit Profound Realm at such a lightning speed. You have overtaken Young Villa Master from back then.” The Heavenly Sword disciple said with a smiling face. Ling Jie had shaken the entire Heavenly Sword Villa yesterday when he broke through, because, when Ling Yun was seventeen, he was only at the ninth level of the Spirit Profound Realm.This time around, Ling Jie’s breakthrough signified that his innate talent completely surpassed that of Ling Yun’s. He retrieved an invitation inlayed with fiery lines from his bosom: “This is an invitation issued by the Burning Heaven Clan. In four days, the Young Burning Heaven Clan Master will leave for the Blue Wind Imperial City to escort Princess Cang Yue for marriage. In seven days, they will complete the marriage at Burning Heaven Clan’s Fiery Sun Hall. By chance, the Villa Master has something to do seven days from now, and is asking Second Young Villa Master to represent him there. He says it has already been two years since Second Young Villa Master left the Heavenly Sword Villa, and that you should take advantage of the fact that you just broke through to travel outside for a bit.”
“Fen Juecheng… and Princess Sis!?” Ling Jie quivered, and snatched the invitation from the disciple’s hands with a “whoosh” sound. He swept over it after opening it, and his brow sunk: “How could it be like this… this isn’t right! This definitely wasn’t Princess Sis’s real intention; Princess Sis is Boss’s…”
He looked over the invitation many times. Finally, his eyes stopped for a while on the date. He scrunched his brow, seeming to have come to a decision. He put the invitation away, and said with an earnest expression: “Senior Brother Yun Peng, inform father that seven days from now, I will go to the Burning Heaven Clan in his stead.”
Chapter 299 - Seeing the Light of Day Again
In the dusky space underground, Yun Che knelt for an entire three days and three nights.
To Yun Canghai, death was indeed a form of relief. In these past hundred years, he had longed to die countless times, yet couldn’t die because his body carried the important object from the Illusory Demon Realm and the enormous secret. Now, he had entrusted everything to Yun Che, and it was finally time for him to obtain relief. Besides, his own relief could trade for Yun Che’s freedom.
Furthermore, this wasn’t only to let Yun Che obtain his freedom, but also the best way to guarantee his safety. The Heaven’s Punishment Sword and Meteorite Chains both contained soul imprints set by the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, so if Yun Che forcefully escaped from the suppressive power of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region would certainly discover him and investigate how he got out of the suppressive power of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. If he had escaped with Yun Canghai, then the consequences would be even more unimaginable. With Yun Che’s current strength, he couldn’t even be considered an ant in the face of the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. Only Yun Canghai committing suicide, allowing the Heaven’s Punishment Sword and Meteorite Chains retract their power after not having an objective anymore, was the best method to allow Yun Che to escape safely.
Yun Che understood all this, but to him, this was just too cruel. Because Yun Canghai was his first blood-related kin he had found in both worlds, he had yet to completely experience the feeling of warmth and connection of blood that only blood relatives could have. But now, he was right in front of him, forever gone from this world.
Yun Che, who had originally desired to leave this place, chose not to leave immediately after obtaining his freedom. Rather, he knelt in front of Yun Canghai’s body for three whole days… to keep watch beside him for three days, and also to use three days’ time to calm his heart of all its ripples and sorrow.
At the same time, a name had been firmly engraved within his sea of consciousness over these three days.
Mighty Heavenly Sword Region!!
Three days passed, and Yun Che finally moved. He opened his eyes, and got up incomparably slowly. He carefully shifted Yun Canghai’s body into the Sky Poison Pearl, and said gently in a low voice: “Grandfather, you’ve suffered through a century of hardship; you must’ve longed to return to your homeland. Wait for the day I have the capability to set out for the Illusory Demon Realm; I will bring you back to the clan you have missed and worried about for this entire time. I will let you sleep peacefully on the soil of your homeland… Wait for when I have children; I will bring my wife and children, and visit you every year. I won’t let you be lonely…”
Amidst his low words, Yun Che also stood up straight and looked up at the sky… Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, regardless of whether you are evil or not, right or wrong, virtuous or vicious, just because you hounded my Grandfather to death and killed Uncle Xiao who saved me, the day I have sufficient capability, I will definitely force you to pay the heaviest price in order to offer a sacrifice to the spirits of my Grandfather and Uncle Xiao in heaven!
Yun Che’s temperament was much stronger than that of an ordinary person’s. After three days of endless mourning and following his placement of Yun Canghai into the Sky Poison Pearl, the expression in his eyes became a field of ice. His heart was also empty and alert. He raised his head to look up, drew a small breath of air, and jumped up.
Bang!!
With a trembling noise, Yun Che directly blew away the land above, which no longer had any suppressive power…
…………………………
Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace, a quarter past five in the morning.
At the first glimmer of light in the morning, Ling Jie arrived at the Sword Management Terrace for his morning exercises as usual. But these past few days, he always trained absentmindedly because his head was filled with thoughts about Fen Juecheng and Princess Cang Yue’s marriage.
RIP!
The Celestial Yang Sword flew out of his hands, causing waves of light to ripple like waves before flying back to his hand. And at this time, an unusual rumbling suddenly spread over from downwards diagonally. This unusual sound caused him to stop his actions for a moment. Just as he was about to concentrate and listen attentively to the sound, the surface in front of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword suddenly ruptured, and a black silhouette flew out from within.
“AHHH!!”
Ling Jie was startled by this sudden unforeseen change, and retreated in panic whilst screaming involuntarily. That human silhouette flew upwards for several tens of feet before dropping down rapidly and landing heavily in front of Ling Jie. Under the great pressure brought by Dragon Fault, a large area of the land underneath him shattered.
“You…” Ling Jie took another step back, and subconsciously held the Celestial Yang Sword horizontally in front of his body. After shouting out one word, his eyes suddenly stared wide, and gave another startled cry involuntarily: “B… boss!!”
Ling Jie’s appearance simply looked like someone who had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
Someone who had been presumed to be dead for a year had suddenly appeared in front of him from underground. If it wasn’t a ghost, what could it be? In that instant, Ling Jie truly believed he had encountered a zombie from the myths.
“Little Jie?” Yun Che looked at him with amazement. He never would’ve thought that the first person he would see after coming out was Ling Jie. After sixteen months of no contact, Ling Jie had already grown a lot, and although his expression still contained hints of his childish nature, on the most part, it was as sharp as the tip of a sword.
Having heard his voice and felt the aura of strength emitted from him, Ling Jie, as if he had awoken from a dream, revealed an enormous expression of pleasant surprise. He retrieved the Celestial Yang Sword, charged over, and said incomparably excitedly: “Boss, y-y-you… you didn’t die? You actually didn’t die… You really didn’t die?”
“Nonsense. If I died, would I be standing here right now?” Yun Che smiled, but also sighed in his heart. Without a doubt, in this period of time, everyone believed that he had died. For those that cared about him, how sorrowful and heartbroken they must be…
“But, the day you were struck by that demon and sealed together underground, there was basically no chance you would survive…” Ling Jie said as he subconsciously swept over the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. Suddenly, he noticed that the formless suppressive force of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword had disappeared. These past several days, when he was training at the Sword Management Terrace, he had felt that something wasn’t right all along, but never considered the Heaven’s Punishment Sword.
Ling Jie stared wide, and said: “Could it be that you didn’t die after receiving such a grave injury that day, and the demon didn’t try to attack you anymore… after, you survived, and ended up killing the demon in return? Wahahaha! That’s right, that’s must’ve been what happened. Only after that demon died would there be some chance of escaping the suppressive force of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword! Boss, you’re truly too awesome… ahhhh! Worthy of being this Ling Jie’s boss; there’s simply nothing you can’t do in this world. I really am stupid to have thought that this Ling Jie’s boss would’ve died that easily… Hahahaha! Boss, did you know, you’re currently an unsurpassable legend in the Blue Wind Empire. When the news that you survived spreads, you’ll become an even greater legend!!”
“Wow! Your current profound strength aura is actually even stronger than my Big Bro’s. Could it be that your profound strength is above the fourth level of the Earth Profound Realm?” After detecting the richness of Yun Che’s profound strength aura, Ling Jie cried out in shock again. Sixteen months ago, Yun Che’s profound strength was only at the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm, yet now, his profound strength aura’s richness already surpassed that of Ling Yun’s, who was currently at the fourth level of the Earth Profound Realm! This was so startling that Ling Jie almost dropped his jaw in shock.
Yun Che, when he was at the tenth level of the True Profound Realm, was already capable of defeating Xia Qingyue, who was at the Earth Profound Realm. Now, Yun Che must be above the fourth level of the Earth Profound Realm; his fighting capability was simply impossible to estimate!
“I’m currently at the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm… I didn’t kill the demon; he severed his own heart veins in order to allow me to obtain my freedom.” Yun Che said with incomparable tranquility.
“Earth Profound Realm… sixth level?” The corner of Ling Jie’s eyes twitched as he swallowed forcefully. To have advanced from the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm to the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm in sixteen months’ time, and underground with no resources, this speed was simply legendary. In contrast to this enormous shock, the later half of Yun Che’s words were basically unimportant. He stared wide at Yun Che, and said blankly: Boss, you’re simply an omnipotent god. My admiration and reverence towards you can no longer be described with any language… Although I’ve worked really hard this past year, I’m currently only at the tenth level of the Spirit Profound Realm… Will you still accept me as your little brother?”
A seventeen year old at the tenth level of the Spirit Profound Realm who had crushed Ling Yun, who was the former number one of the younger generation, shaking the Heavenly Sword Villa, and Blue Wind Empire in turn. Ling Jie was also once immensely pleased with himself when he did that, but he suddenly discovered that this achievement of his, in the face of Yun Che, who had advanced from the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm to the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm, was simply a plate of pure slag.
Yun Che smiled casually, and said: “I used a very special method to get to the Earth Profound Realm; in fact, there really isn’t anything extraordinary about it. In the time I was suppressed, a lot must’ve happened in the Blue Wind Empire…”
“Mn, mn, mn, mn!” Ling Jie immediately nodded: “Boss, you didn’t know, after you died… ah, pooh, pooh, pooh! After you had been pulled down by the demon, your achievements had also widely spread across the entire Blue Wind Empire. In that time, every single part of the Blue Wind Empire were talking about you, especially those young profound practitioners that have no sectoral backing; almost all of them had made you into a religion. Because of you, the Blue Wind Imperial Family had also obtained supreme honor and glory. It has been said that in this year’s Blue Wind Profound Palace and other Profound Palace branches’ registration, there had been an increase of seven times the amount of disciples! That little courtyard you stayed in when you were in the Blue Wind Profound Palace’s Inner Palace is also being independently safeguarded. In front of the Inner Palace’s Supreme Profound Hall, there’s even a sculpture of you! I heard that the words on the sculpture’s description also stated that you were Blue Wind Profound Palace’s most outstanding disciple in all of history! Even until now, there are still stories about you everywhere in the Blue Wind Empire. That being said… Boss! You’re just too awesome! Those things that you did… just how did you do them?”
“…” Yun Che had a face full of amazement. Didn’t he just obtain first place in the ranking tournament? Causing a sensation was just typical, but it shouldn’t be so impactful to such a degree, right?
He still was not fully aware of the fact that ranking first in ranking tournament was only secondary when it came to causing a sensation within the Blue Wind Empire. The main reason, was because he had no one supporting him in the rear. An unknown individual that practically nobody knew of, had actually married the publicly recognized number one beauty, the younger generation’s current number one, Xia Qingyue, and even had gotten the number one beauty in the past, whom many sect masters could only dream of, the Fairy of Frozen Beauty, pregnant! He had even made plans with Blue Wind Empire’s only princess, who had the most noble of identities, to marry him…
Such a fellow could only be described with three words… Cool as f*ck!
As long as it was a man, they would admire him to the point of worship, or be jealous to the point of wanting him to go down all eighteen levels of hell.
“Is it really that exaggerated?” Yun Che muttered in a low voice, and then cautiously asked: “After I was supressed by the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, how were Princess Cang Yue, Yuanba, and them? What happened afterwards?”
When Yun Che mentioned Princess Cang Yue, Ling Jie’s expression stiffened. All of his excitement had also cooled off. The sudden change in his expression tugged at Yun Che’s heart as he promptly asked: “What? What happened afterwards?”
Ling Jie drew a breath of air, and said evasively: “Boss, there is something… uh… after I say it, you must not get angry… it definitely wasn’t Princess Sis’s real intention… uh… Princess Sis… she… she… she’s about to marry… Fen Juecheng…”
“Wh…at!!” Yun Che’s body distinctly shook, and his complexion sunk immediately.
“Boss, don’t worry about right now; Princess Sis definitely didn’t consent to it. Perhaps she was coerced, or because she was forced to do so as a last resort…”
“Tell me. When will they be married, and where will it be?”
Yun Che coldly interrupted Ling Jie with an incomparably calm voice… So calm that it made Ling Jie break into cold sweat, and subconsciously replied: “Burning Heaven Clan’s procession is already headed towards the Imperial City to escort the bride. The latest that they arrive would be tomorrow at seven to nine in the morning. They will be getting married at Burning Heaven Clan’s Fiery Sun Hall…”
Just as Ling Jie’s words fell, Yun Che had already charged out like a gust of violent wind, traveling tens of feet in the blink of an eye.
“Wait! Boss!!”
Ling Jie quickly ran to catch up, and simultaneously extended his left hand. Following a flashing streak of light, an approximately six meter long large bird, that brought about a gust of wind, charged at Yun Che: “This is my contracted profound beast, the Fierce Zephyr Bird. With its speed… you might might make it in time!”
The Fierce Zephyr Bird was a high level Earth Profound Beast. In terms of speed, it was no way inferior to that of the Fierce Storm Hawk, and had even more than ten times the endurance. Yun Che turned around and leapt high, then landed on the Fierce Zephyr Bird’s back. In the wake of the Fierce Zephyr Bird’s long cry, it broke into the sky and directly flew in the direction of the Blue Wind Imperial City.
“Phew… definitely have to make it in time!” Ling Jie tightly clenched his fist. Then, at this time, he suddenly thought about the discovery about Chu Yuechan being pregnant sixteen months ago, and immediately shouted: “Boss! Wait, there’s another very important thing…”
With the Fierce Zephyr Bird’s extreme speed, it had already become a little black dot in his line of sight. It was already impossible for his voice to be heard… and even if Yun Che, who was currently burning with anxiety, heard the sound of his voice, he would still not turn back.
Chapter 300 - The Princess Marrying
The dawn has just arrived, and the Blue Wind Imperial City was already rowdy everywhere. Streets of various sizes were all filled with the masses, lifting their chin and looking into the distance. Because today, was the day for the Imperial Family’s only princess to be wed. And at this moment, the bridal escort party of Burning Heaven Clan had already entered the city gate, and was parading forth toward the direction of Blue Wind Imperial Palace in a mighty formation.
That’s right, the bridal parade of Burning Heaven Clan, was indeed worthy of the word “Mighty”. Carrying a smile on his face, Fen Juecheng rode on top of a enormous fire-like maned horse and looked forward placidly. Behind him, was a huge eight poled palanquin carved with dancing phoenixes of fire. Around them, more than two thousand Burning Heaven Clan disciples wearing flame-red clothing formed a very long rank. Looking from a high place, they were like a fire dragon that moved slowly toward the Imperial Palace. All of these Burning Heaven Clan disciples had been meticulously selected, and every single one of them was extremely extraordinary. Even the ones weakest in profound strength were at the Spirit Profound Realm. Ones with high profound strength, were already at the mid Earth Profound Realm. This kind of lineup, was extremely rare even in the entire Blue Wind Empire, and could even be deemed as frightening. Clearly, Burning Heaven Clan who had lost a great deal of face because of their failure in the Ranking Tournament, seemed to have wanted to take advantage of this chance of being the princess’s bridal escort, and once again display the prowess of the Burning Heaven Clan to the world.
In accordance to the custom, Fen Juecheng’s father, Fen Duanhun, naturally would not come along, but the elder level experts that came along, not one didn’t inspire awe throughout the land. Just for experts of the Sky Profound Realm, there were already eight. Moreover, the two leading were more so already at the later ranks of Sky Profound Realm, and were two of Burning Heaven Clan’s ten strongest experts. These eight people wore flame red clothing that were even more eye-catching, and floated evenly dispersed in the air space above the bridal escort ranks… The entire echelon emitted a kind of imposing air that made one’s heart palpitate. Even from far away, it made one feel an almost suffocating pressure.
Even if one were to say this was a echelon that could flatten the entire Blue Wind Imperial City, it wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration.
“Look! The bridal escort party of Burning Heaven Clan is here!”
Following someone’s large shout, the crowd started to stir. Everyone went onto their tiptoes, and looked toward the Burning Heaven Clan’s bridal escort party that gradually neared from the distance.
Normally, when onlooking a bridal procession, the crowd would be incredibly clamorous. But at this moment, under that incomparably shocking pressure of the Burning Heaven Clan, no one had actually dared to shout loudly. When the parade walked past their front, that kind of unparalleled feeling of pressure almost made their heart jump out. Even ones who were proud of their strength, and had enough guts, also only dared to secretly whisper.
“The legendary Profound Floating Technique… And it’s even eight of them! Don’t tell me that these eight, are all of the Sky Profound Realm?”
“Of course that’s the case. Of the two leading, the one on the left is Feng Duancang, the younger brother of the same womb with Burning Heaven Clan’s Clan Master Feng Duanhun; it is rumored that his profound strength has already reached the eighth level of the Sky Profound Realm! The one on the right is the Burning Heaven Clan’s thirteenth elder, his profound strength is at the seventh level of the Sky Profound Realm! Even in the Burning Heaven Clan, they are beings of extremely high administrative level. I’d have never thought the Burning Heaven Young Clan Master’s procession, would have them as company!”
“Fen Juecheng is the future Burning Heaven Clan Clan Master, you know. Having this kind of line-up, isn’t exaggerated at all.”
“Sky Profound Realm of the legends, I have only seen one in my entire life… which is the Blue Wind Profound Palace’s Palace Chief Qin. Eight of them have actually popped out at once today! My heavens… as expected of the Burning Heaven Clan!”
“Fen Juecheng courting the Blue Moon Princess, I had already heard about it many years ago. But wasn’t Blue Moon Princess won over by Yun Che later…”
“Too bad Yun Che has fallen, otherwise… otherwise, Yun Che still wouldn’t be able to outcompete Fen Juecheng. No matter how amazing Yun Che is, he is only a single person without any supporting forces behind his back. Behind Fen Juecheng, is the enormous Burning Heaven Clan, you know.”
“You can’t be so sure! Even though Fen Juecheng is a dragon amongst men, but what kind of being is Yun Che? He’s a dragon amongst dragons, the legend of our Blue Wind! Fen Juecheng’s daddy Fen Duanhun had also sought after Chu Yuechan before, yet he couldn’t even see her face; but didn’t Yun Che win her over anyway! If Yun Che had not died and Feng Juecheng wanted to out-compete him, the only method would be to assassinate him using the Burning Heaven Clan’s powers. But Yun Che has Frozen Cloud Asgard behind him! Both of his women are of the Frozen Cloud Asgard. One of them is the head of the Frozen Cloud Seven Fairies, and the other is the future Asgard Mistress. If Burning Heaven Clan wanted to act, even if they had one hundred thousand percent confidence to succeed, they would still need to weigh the consequences. Even if Fen Juecheng dared to, Fen Duanhun may not even have that kind of courage.”
Amidst the crowd’s onlooking and whispering, the Burning Heaven Clan’s bridal escort party came closer and closer. The moment it was seven o’clock in the morning, they accurately stepped before Blue Wind Imperial Palace’s palace gates. After going through simple conversations, the bridal escort party continued forward as gongs and drums sounded and eight lions danced, straight toward the Moon Embracing Palace that Princess Cang Yue resided in.
In the Emperor’s Chambers.
“Reporting to your majesty, Burning Heaven Clan’s bridal escort party has already entered the palace gates, and will arrive at the Moon Embracing Palace in half a quarter of an hour.” Cang Wanhe’s personal eunuch reported to him in a respectful manner.
The complexion of the current Cang Wanhe was bad to the point that almost a trace of human color couldn’t be seen. His eyes were embedded deep into their sockets, his hair was half white, and wrinkles filled his face. If Yun Che saw him right now, he definitely wouldn’t have recognized him as the Cang Wanghe he had met two years ago. In two years of time, it was as if he had grown a few tens of years older. Even his every breath were difficult, like a soon to be dead elderly man that could stop breathing entirely at any given moment.
The flames of his life, had already reached the brink of immediate extinguishment.
Cang Wanhe stayed up all night. Hearing the eunuch’s voice, he opened his eyes with difficulty and said with a hoarse voice: “Support us up, prepare the imperial chariot. We will personally visit… the Moon Embracing Palace… Cough cough… Cough cough cough cough….”
Just after speaking a few sentences, Cang Wanhe was already coughing horrendously, and his complexion became even more frightening as well.
“This… “ The eunuch hastily started patting Cang Wanhe’s back. A pained expression on his face: “Your Majesty, the day is still early right now, and the wind is still chilly. Your honored body really can not handle the toss and turns. Her Highness had also especially instructed, that after the Burning Heaven’s bridal escort party arrives, she will directly go with the palanquin, and would not go through some complicated ceremonies; Your Majesty also does not need to be there at all.”
“No… We, must go.” Cang Wanhe shook his head, slightly struggled, and assumed a posture of getting off the bed: “To escape from Fen Juecheng back then, Yue’er had even gone far away from the Imperial City at all costs, so how could she… willingly be wed to him… Yue’er had always been obedient, and only for this matter, had she always refused to tell us the reason… We have a feeling… if We do not go this morning, maybe… We won’t ever see her again… Quickly… carry Us over.”
“Sigh!”
A long sigh came from above. Right after, a middle-aged man in a grey robe with refined features who emitted the air of a scholar from his entire being descended: “Since Your Majesty has already decided, then let this old subject accompany Your Majesty forward.”
“Palace Chief Dongfang!” Seeing this refined young man who had suddenly appeared, the eunuch hastily took two steps back, but did not reveal any surprise and said with respect: “With Palace Chief Dongfang accompanying personally, His Majesty will definitely be fine… This old servant will go prepare the imperial chariot right now.”
………………………………
The Moon Embracing Palace was fully lit with lamps; flower lamps and red carpet filled one’s eyes. Even within the pond, there lied red colored ribbons everywhere. These were all prepared by the Third Prince Cang Shuo’s personally appointed people. He awaited Fen Juecheng’s marriage with Cang Yue, and looked forward to this day for many years; he naturally dedicated his all regarding this matter.
For Burning Heaven Clan’s bridal procession this time, Cang Shuo had more so started waiting a long time ago in front of Moon Embracing Palace. The moment he saw Burning Heaven Clan’s group arrive, he immediately scuttled over to greet them. After greeting Fen Juecheng, he personally started leading at front of the party.
Fen Juecheng was completely attired in red. A red flower was on his chest, with flames embedded in the robe’s shoulder and a scarlet red flame feather crown on his head; He could be said to be extremely handsome with an extraordinary atmosphere, and even triumphed far over the Cang Shuo who was the prince, making the hearts of those palace maids speed up just from looking.
Burning Heaven Clan’s bridal procession parted in front of the Moon Embracing Palace, and all of the guests that the Moon Embracing Palace invited were also present. However, the guests were very few in terms of numbers. With a glance, other than a few dozen palace maids and over a dozen of eunuchs, there were only a few people of the Blue Wind Profound Palace… Qin Wushang and Qin Wuyou were both in there. And another, had come from the Black Moon Merchant Guild, a elderly person surnamed Mu who was in charge of medicinal material trade.
Under Cang Yue’s instructions, Moon Embracing Palace did not prepare any complex greeting ceremony. The Burning Heaven Clan’s group had already arrived, so then the preparation was over. Next, was to wait for Princess Cang Yue’s appearance.
“His Majesty arrives!”
Accompanying a sharp and long shout, a golden dragon imperial chariot slow came under the surrounding protection of a few dozens golden attired bodyguards, and descended in the front of the Burning Heaven Clan’s group. Fen Juecheng immediately dismounted with a jump, came before the imperial chariot with a brisk pace, and said while bowing: “Juecheng greets father.”
“Hmph!” Cang Wanhe did not open the curtain, and made a faint sneer: “Today is only the bridal procession, you and Yue’er have not gone through the wedding ceremony. This word father, was called rather early.”
Fen Juecheng wasn’t angry in the slightest, and smiled with without any impatience: “Father’s scolding is correct. It is Juecheng who have acted rashly.”
Right at this time, the Moon Embracing Palace’s main entrance slowly opened. Princess Cang Yue wore a phoenix coronet and shawl with the aurora’s color. Under the supporting hand of two palace maids, she slowly walked out. She, who was in a completely red attire, was as if the newly risen tender moon, and in a moment, stole all of the colors in this world while also attracting every stunned gaze.
“Hahahaha!” Seeing Cang Yue appear, Cang Shuo started to laugh first and laid his hands at Fen Juecheng: “Young Clan Master Fen, please.”
Fen Juecheng nodded. With a smile on his face, he walked toward Cang Yue with a handsome posture, stopped before her, and extended a hand in her direction.
Since it was a bridal escortment, then Fen Juecheng definitely needed to support Cang Yue by the arms into the carriage. Yet Cang Yue had no response, as if she didn’t see his extended hand at all, and asked coldly: “Where’s the Burning Soul Flower I wanted?”
Fen Juecheng made a slight smile, clapped his hands, and said: “Present the betrothal gift.”
Over thirty Burning Heaven Clan disciples came forward simultaneously. Every single one of them carried a huge chest in their hands. The chests were gracefully lined up, and then opened simultaneously. Instantly, the marvelous luster of jewelry and the medicinal scent of high grade medicinal materials filled the entire Moon Embracing Palace’s airspace above. A large wave of exclamation resounded, and even personages at the level of Qin Wushang revealed odd colors in their eyes… This betrothal gift, could be said to be worth as much as a few cities! Even if it was to marry the princess of the Imperial Family, it appeared somewhat exaggerated.
The name that sounded in his ears instantly caused a stir in his heart. The face and figure of a girl uncontrollably surfaced in his mind.
Su Ling’er, the girl who was his heaviest pain, the girl whom he was the most sympathetic for, who was also the biggest regret in his lifetime, was engraved deeply in his heart. Her eyes were forever that gloomy, as she had forever been silently caring, keeping watch, spending all efforts, and waiting for him… However, even after all the efforts that she had spent, until the moment she died, she never managed to wait for his return.
He knew that she carried a blood feud, yet, in the end, he never knew what her past was. She refused to tell him, and even until her death in his arms, she was unwilling to tell him whose deadly hands she died under… Because she was unwilling to pass on another layer of vengeance to him, who had long lost himself in his own vengeance. However, the more important reason, was still himself… If he could have cared for her more, and was more persistent in knowing about her past, he could have definitely known of her enemies much earlier.
That bamboo grove, that small, simple and crude bamboo house, that small creek that was forever so clear, the girl who stayed there, who would only wait and keep watch for him… formed all of the memories of him and Su Ling’er. She had gave her everything for him, truly, without any regrets, from the bottom of her heart. Yet he had never done anything for her, not even the simplest of promises. When he embraced her for the last time, his heart was so broken that he cried and wailed loudly. No matter how he hatefully smashed his head repeatedly against a rock, he was unable to get back the chance to repay her in the slightest.
Whenever the memories regarding Su Ling’er surfaced, he would always suffocate for a moment from the pain in his heart.
He turned his gaze and looked towards the little girl who fell on the ground, who was about to land in the hands of those three black-clothed men.
She too, was called Su Ling’er, and had exactly the same name as the Ling’er he had already lost… Yun Che stood up. Facing this little girl who had the same name as her, he was destined to not just ignore the scene. Because the name “Su Ling’er”, had toggled that forever most sensitive, and weakest nerve of his. If he had the opportunity to repay her even the slightest bit, even if he had to sacrifice half of his life, he would not hesitate in the slightest.
After the black-clothed man grabbed onto the little girl’s clothes, he instantly picked her small body up, and said with a sinister smile. “This sure is a stubborn little brat, to actually be able to run so far… Hehe, now that his daughter has landed in our hands, I really want to see if old man Su Huangshan will still be as obstinate!”
“You… You bad people! Papa will definitely save me, and then beat all of you down!” Even though the little girl’s eyes were filled with fear, she did not cry. Stubbornly holding back her tears, she struggled and shouted in the black-clothed man’s hands.
“Hahahaha!” The black-clothed man laughed out wildly. “Then that will really be the best outcome, I really hope to have him here! I really want to see if that Su Huangshan…”
Before the black-clothed man’s words fell, a violent wind suddenly struck from behind.
At the most, the strength of these three black-clothed men were at the mid-level of the Spirit Profound Realm. To Yun Che, they were barely any threat. However, to protect the little girl’s safety, Yun Che still decided to silently approach them, and instantly unleash his strength once he had reached a sufficient distance. Like an eagle suddenly diving straight down to catch its prey, he charged towards the black-clothed man who was holding onto Su Ling’er, and heavily smashing the defenseless black-clothed man away. At the same time, he snatched over the little girl who was in his hands, and carried her in his arms.
“Ah——” The frightened little girl let out a shriek, and subconsciously hugged onto Yun Che’s arms tightly.
Very quickly, Yun Che steadied his body. With his back facing the three black-clothed men, he gently placed the little girl down, and then said with a smile. “Little sister, do not be afraid. I’m here to save you. With me here, you will definitely not be abducted by these bad people.”
The little girl was frightened repeatedly, and was still in a little state of shock. But, when she saw Yun Che’s warm eyes and his kindest smile, it was as though a clear wind had swept away the fear in her heart. A huge degree of the fear had dispersed in an instant, and her eyes had become watery as well. She looked at Yun Che, and strongly nodded. With her two small hands, she tightly grabbed onto the corner of Yun Che’s clothes, and hid behind his back.
“Where did this random brat come from? To actually dare to step into our Blackwood Stronghold’s business, I think you’re tired of living!!”
When he was silently attacked by Yun Che from the back at such close proximity, the black-clothed men were initially frightened, as they thought they had encountered a strong enemy. However, after inspecting and finding out Yun Che’s profound energy was only at the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm, his heart completely calmed down as his voice became low and ruthless.
Yun Che grabbed onto the little girl’s small hand and shielded her behind his back. Then, he turned his head over, and coldly laughed. “In front of a child, I don’t wish to see blood. I will give you five seconds… Scram, immediately!!”
Yun Che’s words stunned the three black-clothed men. Then, as though they had heard a funny joke, all three of them began to laugh out wildly, to the point where they could not even stand straight.
“He’s telling us to scram! He’s actually telling us to scram!? Ahahahaha!”
“Yo! This kid is actually at the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm at such a young age, it’s no wonder he’s so arrogant…”
“His talent is pretty good, but as for his brain, he’s basically not even comparable to an idiot. Death is at his footsteps, yet he’s actually telling us to scram, hahahaha…!
The three of them wilfully laughed out with ridicule, and their gaze on Yun Che was as though they were looking at a pitiful idiot. And as to how Yun Che was looking at them, it was filled with even more disdain and pity.
The black-clothed man on the left twisted his hand, took a step forward, and kicked towards Yun Che. His eyes were filled with scorn. “Come! Let this granddaddy teach you some morals!”
Yun Che narrowed his eyes. Like a flash of lightning, he greeted the black-clothed man’s kicking right leg with a smashing fist.
Bang!!
The loudness of the sound of this exchange, was completely out of the three black-clothed men’s predictions. Following that, an incomparably clear “crack” resounded, and the black-clothed man’s wild laughter stopped as his face distorted completely. His entire body was sent flying far away, as though he was a scrap bag being blown away by a hurricane, and accompanying it was an incomparably sharp scream that went further and further away…
Yun Che’s arm strength was that freakish. If not for the need to mind about the little girl behind him, if he had used more of his strength as a pushing force, that black-clothed man’s right leg would have shattered into fragments on the spot.
Seeing that terrifying black-clothed man actually being sent flying away like a huge bird, the little girl’s mouth was wide open in an “O” shape, and she even let out a subconscious “Waah” sound.
With this single exchange, the wild laughter of the two other black-clothed men were completely stucked in their throats as well. Their eyes sank inwards, their expressions paled in aghast. Even if they were idiots, they should be able to realize how terrifying that one strike Yun Che threw out earlier was. The strength of the youth in front of them, was unimaginably stronger than what they had thought by several times; he was someone whom they were not even worthy of offending.
The two people’s gaze on Yun Che changed from that of scorn, to fear. At the same time, they began to retreat. Seeing that Yun Che did not have the intention to chase after them, without even daring to utter another word, they ran far away for their lives, and very quickly, they disappeared from Yun Che’s sight.
He did not know what identities these people held, so naturally, he would not have the intention to ruthlessly slaughter them. Since they fled, Yun Che did not bother to chase after them. He turned around, looked at the little girl who had the same name as Su Ling’er, only to realize that she was currently raising her small face and looking at him with her watery eyes that were filled with little stars.
Yun Che had originally wanted to say something, but when he looked at her small face, the words that he was about to let out were suddenly sealed in his throat, as his entire being stood there in a daze…
The little girl looked about ten years old. Her little face was snow-white and refined, her make-up made her look even more beautiful and cute, and her pair of pupils sparkled like the stars in the night sky. It could be expected that when she grew up, she would definitely be a beauty at a catastrophic level.
And what made Yun Che absent-minded was that this little girl’s features, were filled with… Su Ling’er’s reflection!
Her contours, eyebrows, nose, lips, chin… all of them were so very similar to Su Ling’er’s. When they were joined together, she looked so much like a smaller and younger version of Su Ling’er. Only her eyes were evidently not the same. Because, the eyes of his Su Ling’er were always so dim, and were always filled with sadness that could cause one’s heart to ache. While this little girl’s eyes were sparkling even brighter than a gem, and even more spirited than a stream, as though they had gathered the purest of spiritual energy between the heaven and earth.
“Ling… er…”
Su Ling’er’s face surfaced in front of him. Within his blurry vision, it slowly overlapped with the little girl’s. He subconsciously reached out his hand, and gently stroking the girl’s tender cheeks with quivering fingers and soul. This action of his did not incite the little girl’s rejection. She looked at Yun Che strangely, blinked her eyes, and politely said. “Big brother, thank you for saving me… Big brother, you’re so incredible, you instantly sent the bad guy flying towards the sky, just as… you’re just as incredible as my Papa!”
The little girl’s words woke Yun Che up from his hallucination. Realizing his loss of decorum, he hurriedly regained his senses and revealed a smile on his face. “There is no need for thanks, bad people should always receive punishment… You’re called… Su Ling’er, right?”
“Mn!” The little girl nodded. She was stronger than Yun Che had imagined. Seeing her current expression, it seemed that her fear earlier had completely disappeared, and she no longer needed him to console her. She tilted her head. “Big brother, how do you know my name?”
“I heard it when they shouted for you. Then… little sister, how old are you this year?” Yun Che asked with a smile.
“Ten years old!” The little girl reached out her two hands, stretched her ten fingers, and said with a huge grin. It seemed as though, to her, reaching ten years old was a very incredible achievement. She then asked him back. “Then, big brother, what’s your name?”
“Me? I’m called Yun Che.” Yun Che answered directly without hiding anything.
“Yun… Che?” The little girl blinked her eyes, and said softly. “Such a strange name… Uuu… Why does it sound strange…”
After Yun Che reported his name, the little girl suddenly entered into a state of deep thought. With her finger pressing on the side of her chin, she tilted her head as she looked at Yun Che, as though she was trying hard to recall something.
“What is it? Is my name that strange?” Yun Che laughed.
The little girl strongly blinked her eyes again, and then, with thirty percent confusion, and seventy percent seriousness, she asked. “Big brother, have we met before in the past? Why do I feel as though I have met big brother somewhere… Even big brother’s name, has a little… sense of familiarity to it.”
“Haha!” Yun Che laughed, he could not help but hold onto the girl’s little face with his hands. “Me too! Not only is little Ling’er’s name the same as someone who is very important to me, you even look very similar. This sort of very mysterious feeling, is called fate. It means that little Ling’er and I have a strong fate, and we will become very good friends.”
“Fate?” The little girl mulled over this word very seriously, and following after, her thin eyebrows smiled into two slender crescents. “Mn! As long as big brother doesn’t hate me, I’m willing to become very good friends with big brother!”
……………………………………
Author Note: In the initial story settings, Azure Cloud Continent and Illusory Demon Realm each had their own unique division of their profound strength levels. When comparing their big realms and small realms with Sky Profound Continent, only their names are different. In the earlier parts of the story, it had been casually mentioned as well… But after thinking about it later, so as to not cause confusion to everyone and myself (the key point is myself), it’s still best to use one universal set of names!! Everything is: Elementary, Nascent, True, Spirit, Earth, Sky, Emperor, Tyrant, Sovereign, Divine, Saint!
Chapter 261 - Azure Cloud Dream
“Ling’er, I shall first bring you over to get to know a big sister before sending you back home, alright?”
Yun Che’s attention had never left Xia Qingyue. Holding on little Ling’er’s hand, they arrived next to Xia Qingyue.
As expected, when Su Ling’er saw Xia Qingyue, her eyes instantly shone, and she let out a soft cry. “Waah! Such a beautiful big sister! She’s more beautiful than any other big sister I have met before… But why is she lying here? Is she injured?”
“Mn!” Yun Che nodded. Walking over next to Xia Qingyue, he once again pressed his hand on her chest. “But she will get better really soon.”
Xia Qingyue’s temperature had gradually returned to normal. However, her breathing was still really weak, and she did not show any signs of waking up any time soon. As a doctor, he was extremely clear about Xia Qingyue’s current situation… After transferring all of her profound energy over to his body, her own body was completely devoid of spiritual energy, and under this state of depletion, an ice-cold chill completely entered her body… Including her blood, heart, and every corner of her body… Not only was her vitality injured, her meridians had suffered a considerably large damage, it might even be possible for her entire body to be paralyzed because of this.
What Jasmine said was right. If not for the Frozen Cloud Arts she was cultivating that allowed her body to adjust to the cold to a certain degree, it would have been certain death for her long before Yun Che woke up back then.
With her body’s current degree of weakness, all Yun Che could do was to use the most gentle of methods to disperse the cold chill in her body. He did not dare to make any other movements.
Little Ling’er squatted at the side. Her two hands held on to her cheeks, as she stared unblinkingly at his heavy and serious look. She kept looking at him like this for a very long time, as though she was trying to figure something out.
After a good while, Yun Che’s hand finally left Xia Qingyue’s chest. He heaved a long sigh of relief, and raised his hand to rub off the warm sweat from his forehead. At this time, he finally realized that Little Ling’er, who did not interrupt him throughout the entire process, was looking at him without turning away. That cute and focused look could not help but cause him to laugh. “Why do you always keep looking at me?”
“Because big brother Yun Che is very good-looking.” Little Ling’er answered without any hesitation.
“Good-looking?” To be praised by a naive and blooming young girl who did not have any sort of subtlety, Yun Che could not help but feel proud in his heart. He laughed cheerfully. “Even though I am indeed really good-looking, good-looking people might not all be good people. Ling’er, aren’t you afraid that I’m a bad person as well?”
“I’m not afraid!” Ling’er shook her head, and firmly said. “Big brother Yun Che is definitely not a bad person!”
“Why?”
“Because…” Ling’er did not even think for a single moment, and hastily gave an explanation for Yun Che. “Because, not only did big brother Yun Che save me, with just a single glance, you look like a very, very good person. Uuu… Papa taught me not to approach strangers since I was young, and since I was young, I have always hidden far away whenever I see living people. But, it’s not the same for big brother Yun Che at all. When I see big brother Yun Che, I’m not afraid in the slightest, and I feel very close to you… even closer than a real brother! It’s like… I have known big brother Yun Che a long, long time ago. When I see big brother Yun Che, my mood also becomes very happy.”
While she said that, little Ling’er smiled, revealing two little pearl-like canine teeth.
Yun Che smiled as well. Actually, in his heart, he felt the same as little Ling’er as well. Just by quietly looking at her like this, his mood would become especially cheerful, as though he had actually seen his Ling’er return to his side. Even the heartache he got from the state of Xia Qingyue’s body had watered down quite a bit.
Currently, Xia Qingyue was no longer in danger of losing her life. What he needed to do next, was to recover her vitality bit by bit, and quietly wait for her to wake up. After she wakes up, there was still a need to slowly recover her vigor, and this process would require a very, very long time. After that, he needed an even longer time to condition her body, so as to not leave any sequela. As for completely recovering her profound energy, it might not even be possible to do so within half a year.
It was good that he was in front of her. Otherwise, if he was not by her side, with Xia Qingyue’s current state, she might have been paralyzed for life.
“Is beautiful big sister not well yet? When is she going to wake up?” Little Ling’er looked towards Xia Qingyue, who was not showing any signs of waking up, and asked worriedly. At the same time, she was silently thinking in her heart: When I grow up, it would be great if I’m as good-looking as beautiful big sister…
“Don’t worry. She’s already fine, she just needs to rest for a period of time.” Yun Che said with a very relaxed tone.
Xia Qingyue’s current state was momentarily stable, and at the moment, he did not dare to do anything excessive either. It was about time he officially started to find out what this place, where the Evil God sent him and Xia Qingyue to, actually was. He looked at the little girl in front of him that he saved, who stimulated the depths of his soul. Just based on the same name she had with Su Ling’er, and the similar appearance she had, it was destined that he was unable to leave her alone like this.
He asked Su Ling’er. “Ling’er, where’s your home? Is it far away from here? Why were those people trying to capture you?”
Ling’er’s small hand moved away from her cheek, and she pointed to the north. “My home is over there. It’s not too far away from here. At first, Papa was suppose to bring me out to play today but while we were walking, a lot of black-clothed people suddenly appeared. Papa began fighting with those black-clothed people, and told me to quickly run away… So I kept running, and after running quite far away, suddenly, those three bad people from earlier appeared and chased after me together… If big brother did not save me, I might have already been captured by them. Uuu… I don’t know what happened to Papa either, but since Papa is so strong, he’s definitely able to beat up all those bad people.”
When she spoke of her “Papa”, little Ling’er’s eyes were filled with adoration, and did not carry too much worry. Evidently, she trusted her ‘Papa’ very much.
Because of sprinting for a long time, and even tripping down heavily in the end, little Ling’er’s shoes were already completely filled with dirt. The corners of her skirt were dirtied by a large amount, and there was even a big bruise on her small leg as well. Earlier, Yun Che had been concerned about Xia Qingyue’s situation the entire time, and only now did he realized that. Instantly, he felt his heart ache. Walking next to Ling’er, he picked up her small slim leg, and gently asked. “Ling’er, did you fall and injure yourself? Does it hurt?”
“A little… But it’s already not that painful anymore.” When Yun Che picked her small leg up, pain clearly flashed through her expression. However, it was hurriedly replaced with a smile that could move everyone’s hearts. It was as if she was trying to console Yun Che instead.
“Come, let me take a look at it. I’m a very incredible genius doctor, you know. No matter what injury it is, I’m able to cure it well.” Yun Che sat beside Ling’er, and as he said that, he carefully took out her shoes because he had to check if her ankles were injured.
As Yun Che held onto her shoes, he asked. “Ling’er, can you tell me where I am? I came a from a place very far away, so I don’t even know where this place is.”
“A place very far away?” The little girl had an expression of astonishment, but then, she excitedly said. “It’s no wonder big brother Yun Che is not the least bit old, yet is as incredible as Papa. You and this beautiful big sister must have came from those incredible places in those legends, right? Papa told me, in those incredible places, there are many very incredible people, and there are people that are even more incredible that Papa… Ah! Oh right, I almost forgot to answer big brother Yun Che’s question…”
Ling’er stretched out her hand and pointed to the distance. “My home is called the ‘Grandwake Clan’, and it’s at the bottom of the tallest mountain over there. That mountain is called ‘Grandwake Mountain’. Big brother Yun Che, have you ever heard of that mountain? Papa told me that our home’s mountain is very famous in the Azure Cloud Continent, you know.”
“Mn, of course I have heard of it.” Yun Che nodded, and smiled. “My master once told me, Grandwake Mountain is a divine mountain, and is one of the thirteen divine mountains. There was a period of time when I yearned to see it. I did not expect that this place is… actually…”
Yun Che’s voice suddenly slowed down, and then, it was completely stuck in his throat. Abruptly, his body trembled, and even his pupils had severely shrunk for a moment. His voice, began to tremble. “Grandwake Mountain… Azure Cloud… Azure Cloud… Azure Cloud Continent? You’re saying… this place is… is… Azure Cloud Continent?”
“That’s right, this place is obviously Azure Cloud Continent.” Yun Che’s sudden strange reaction caused Ling’er to feel puzzled.
Yun Che was completely stunned in place. His mind was in a state of chaos, and only after a good while, did he finally calm his state of mind down. Azure Cloud Continent… A place that had been sealed within his memories, a place where he had stayed in his past life, a place where his life had ended at. A place where he thought it was no longer possible for it to appear again in his life, and had thought his fate with this place had forever been severed then and there.
In the Blue Wind Empire, he had once tried to inquire information about the Azure Cloud Continent, however, basically no one there knew about the name “Azure Cloud Continent”, and Azure Cloud Continent was not even mentioned in any of the various records. Hence, he knew that Azure Cloud Continent and Sky Profound Continent belonged to two completely different worlds, and there was essentially no sort of intersection between them. From then on, he had forever kept it within his memories, and, in the Sky Profound Continent, it was a place that only he knew of.
He completely did not expect that, the place that the Evil God sent him to, was actually here!
The Phoenix’s Spirit had once said, he had three lifetimes. Indeed, he truly did have three lifetimes. In his first lifetime, he grew up in the Xiao Clan of Sky Profound Continent’s Blue Wind Empire. When he sixteen years old, on the day of his marriage with Xia Qingyue, he was poisoned to death by Xiao Yulong, and his life ended there. In his second lifetime, he was born in Azure Cloud Continent, and was picked up by the Medical Saint. He spent half his life learning medical techniques, saving the ill and aiding the injured. He then spent the other half of his life with a heart filled with hatred, slaughtering countless of people. And when he was twenty seven years old, he was forced off Cloud’s End Cliff and died.
In his third lifetime, he brought all of his memories in his first and second lifetimes, and awakened in his first lifetime’s dead body…
His knowledge told him that his own experiences were so strange and shocking, to the point of that they could shock the world.
He had once suspected that everything about the Azure Cloud Continent was actually just a dream as well… Otherwise, how would he have awaken in his own body that should have died at least twenty seven years ago… There was a possibility for everything in this world to be turned over, however, only time could not be turned back. If his lifetime in Azure Cloud Continent was not a dream, then, excluding every other possibilities, based on time, at least twenty seven years were turned back.
However, currently, the name “Azure Cloud Continent” had once again appeared in his world, and it was telling him with a thundering voice… Everything about the Azure Cloud Continent was not a dream at all, and it was impossible for it to be a dream.
“Big brother Yun Che, what happened to you? Your expression looks really strange? Ow…” Su Ling’er cried out painfully. It seemed like, when Yun Che was lost in a daze, he accidentally pressed on the bruise on her ankle.
Yun Che regained his senses, and hurriedly held onto her small leg carefully, gently taking off her socks. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking of some matters earlier, did I hurt you… Right, Ling’er, can you tell me, which country are we in?”
Grandwake Mountain was located in Supwake, a country that was situated furthest east in Azure Cloud Continent. Yun Che very clearly knew of this point, he simply wanted to use this girl’s answer to make a clearer confirmation that he had indeed returned to the Azure Cloud Continent.
“Of course, it’s the Country of Supwake!” Ling’er answered clearly.
“Then… What profound year is it this year?”
“Azure Cloud’s 1999 Profound Year!” Ling’er blurted out, answering with complete confidence.
Yun Che’s movements instantly paused…
Azure Cloud’s 1999 Profound Year?
When he leapt off Cloud’s End Cliff, it was clearly the Azure Cloud’s 2014 Profound Year, and now, time had past a year and a half since then, the time here should have been Azure Cloud’s 2015 Profound Year!
If time had really turned back by twenty seven years, then this year should have been the Azure Cloud’s 1987 Profound Year!
Why was it Azure Cloud’s 1999 Profound Year?
On the day of Azure Cloud’s 1999 Profound Year, he was still in the Azure Cloud Continent, and had just reached twelve years old. Su Ling’er was two years younger than him, and had just reached ten years old. Back then, they had yet to meet, and he always followed his master to different places, learned more and more complex medical techniques while testing out all of the herbs on earth. At the same time, he had only just found out the existence of the Sky Poison Pearl…
Could it be, the place the Evil God said he would send him to, was just a dreamscape he created? After all, the Evil God’s residue soul read his memories, and would believe that this was the place that he would wish to be in the most.
His thoughts were once again in a state of chaos, and the movements with his hands became slow as well. On Ling’er’s leg, that dirtied sock was finally taken off. On her leg which was as tender as milk, two dots of hazel-colored scar marks were incomparably eye-catching…
Yun Che’s entire body once again trembled, as though he was struck ruthlessly by a bolt of lightning.
This scar…
It was at the same position… as his Ling’er’s. The same shape. The same size. The same color… The exact same scar!!
In his mind, the image of him first seeing this scar surfaced… Back then, Ling’er told him. “This was bitten by a very cute little snow mink when I was seven years old. But, it can’t be blamed, as I was the one who accidentally stepped on its tail. Oh right, that little snow mink is called Ling Ling, we even became very good pals.”
After that, he had used a type of medical cream that he mixed himself and completely removed the scar by applying it on her leg, allowing her leg to once again return to being as flawless as white jade.
Seeing Yun Che suddenly looking at the scar on her leg in a daze, little Ling’er blinked her eyes, and said cheerfully. “This was bitten by a very cute little snow mink when I was seven years old. But, it can’t be blamed, as I was the one who accidentally stepped on its tail. Oh right, that little snow mink is called Ling Ling, we even became very good pals.”
“…!!!”
Yun Che slowly raised his eyes and stared blankly at the little girl who had a charming smile, as his vision began to spin…
Chapter 262 - Su Hengshan
“What happened? Why is your mind fluctuating so violently?” Jasmine suddenly asked. She felt that Yun Che’s mind was in an unprecedented level of turmoil, so much that she could even distinctly hear the violent “badump” “badump” sounds of Yun Che’s heart beating.
Azure Cloud Continent… 1999 Profound Year… 10 years old… Su Ling’er… the scar… the same name… similar complexion… and the style of speech that’s exactly the same…
All of this weaved within Yun Che’s mind chaotically, causing his spirit to tremble incomparably violently. This was because everything that happened pointed towards one possibility… Without caring whether or not he would frighten the girl, he suddenly reached out and lifted her dress and undergarments. On the upper end of her delicate right knee, he saw two small, crimson birthmarks side-by-side…
“Ling’er… you’re Ling’er… you’re Ling’er… you’re Ling’er… YOU’RE LING’ER!!”
The instant he saw those two birthmarks, Yun Che’s last emotional barrier completely collapsed. The blood in his body bubbled up, golden stars lined his vision, and he almost fainted on the spot! The things in the deepest recesses of his mind and spirit began to stir violently: grief, bitterness, pain, sorrow… All these feelings milled forward, and his eyes instantly grew hazy with tears. The moment his emotions crumbled, he suddenly hugged the girl, and held on firmly, as if he were embracing his entire world.
“Ah…” The girl, who was completely unaware of the raging waves of emotion in Yun Che’s heart, was startled by Yun Che’s sudden action and change of heart. However, as for Yun Che’s sudden tight embrace, for some reason, she didn’t feel any rejection at all. After quite a while, she said feebly: “Big Brother Yun Che, it hurts, you’re hugging me too tightly, uu…”
Right now, every single one of this girl’s words was like heavenly music from his dreams to him. Every aspect of her tightly linked to his spirit and lifeline. Hearing her voice, Yun Che loosened his arms practically in fright, then grew afraid that this would scare her, and hurriedly released his arms. But his hands still lightly rested on her thin shoulders, seeming as though he was afraid that if he didn’t hold on to her, she would disappear right in front of him.
She’s Ling’er… My Ling’er…
Then… All of this, is indeed a dreamscape brought by the Evil God?
A dreamscape is alright! As long as I can see my Ling’er again, even if it’s a dreamscape, I’m willing to stay asleep forever…
“Big Brother Yun Che, why did you cry all of sudden?” The girl’s heart was filled with bewilderment, but seeing the tear stains on Yun Che’s face, her eyes filled with pity. She reached out, met his gaze, and lightly wiped off the teardrops on his face. She definitely didn’t know how extremely precious every one of Yun Che’s tears was, and that they had gushed for her.
“I’m… I’m alright. Only… only, some sand got in my eyes.” Yun Che shook his head and gave a clumsy excuse as he tried to hold his tears back. In this world, the only thing that could cause his state of mind to go out of control so thoroughly was Su Ling’er… even though everything in his awareness right now was an illusion. Su Ling’er could never actually appear in front of his eyes again, because his Ling’er perished in his arms back then, and he had personally buried her within that bamboo forest.
“Eh? Does it hurt a lot? Uuu… I’ll help blow into Big Brother Yun Che’s eye, alright? Once, when I was really young, some sand got in my eyes. But after Mother blew into my eye, I was completely alright.”
As the girl spoke, her pink and tender lips puckered… The Su Ling’er in front of him was so innocent and unaffected, so carefree and without worry, and her eyes were so bright and clear. Yes, the current her was still situated under the care and pampering of her close relatives. She hadn’t gone through any great changes, and still didn’t understand what sadness was, what sorrow was, what enmity was, what pain was… The Su Ling’er in his memories, with that eternally distressed and detached expression in her eyes, caused his heart to fill with needle-like pain every time he thought of her.
“It’s alright, the sand’s already gone. Look, I’m fine.” Yun Che firmly blinked at her, and his mouth formed an extremely warm smile: “What’s most important now, are the injuries on Ling’er’s leg… Everything’ll be okay in a flash, and it won’t hurt at all.”
Yun Che once again covered his hands over the girl’s bruised leg. Accompanied by a warm profound energy, the Sky Poison Pearl’s purifying force gently entered her bruise and slowly nourished it… Then, he took out a medicine bottle and delicately applied the ointment on her calf, ankle… He then swapped to her other leg, and applied the ointment on the two symmetrical scars there.
In the entire process, Yun Che’s actions were very light, as if he was touching a beautiful and frail crystal doll. With Yun Che’s medical expertise, this little injury could not even be injury, but in order for Su Ling’er to not even feel a sliver of pain, he used his all to focus his mind. Painstaking effort was concentrated within every one of his movements. After the entire process, he looked even more exhausted than a patient nearing death. However, he gladly suffered through it.
In not even half a quarter of an hour, the bruise on Su Ling’er’s ankle and calf had miraculously disappeared completely. Even the scar on her leg had also lightened by a lot. In at most three days, it would also completely disappear. Su Ling’er shook her leg a little, and then cried out in surprise: “Wah! It doesn’t hurt anymore! Not even a little! Big Brother Yun Che, you’re seriously too awesome!”
The girl looked in his eyes with a gaze full of brilliantly shining stars. The admiration she felt for Yun Che had sharply risen by a substantial amount.
Yun Che used his profound energy to drive away the dirt on Su Ling’er’s shoes and socks. Then, he carefully put them back on Su Ling’er’s legs. Su Ling’er did not resist, nor did she refuse. She didn’t even feel embarrassed at all. In her heart, there contained a type of warm happiness and an odd sort of feeling that she could not say out loud… Even she herself, did not understand why that was the case.
“Ling’er! Ling’er… Where are you? Ling’er…”
Suddenly, anxious shouts sounded in the distance. And what was being shouted, was surprisingly Su Ling’er’s name.
Yun Che heard it before Su Ling’er. With a twitch of his brow, his gaze swept over, and saw a middle-aged man hastily run over. He was in a panic, his hair was disheveled, and the clothes on his body were rather worn out. However, there was a type of calm and mighty upper class feeling could be captured on his bearing.
He’s… Su Ling’er’s father?
The middle-aged man’s footsteps were lightning-fast, and he traveled over in a short time. Having heard his voice, Su Ling’er’s eyes shined as she spoke excitedly: “Papa, it’s Papa’s voice!”
She stood up suddenly, and ran over in the middle-aged man’s direction. However, after running a few steps, she turned around and looked at Yun Che, and stopped again. Standing at her former place, she beckoned at the middle-aged man: “Papa! I’m here, I’m here!!”
“Ling’er!” The middle-aged man became overjoyed, and rushed over with his fastest speed. He grasped Su Ling’er’s shoulders at once, and spoke with an extremely anxious tone: “Thank god thank god… Ling’er, why did you run to such a faraway place? Are you injured anywhere? Did anyone try to kidnap you?”
“Papa relax, even though there were bad guys, but… Big Brother Yun Che saved me. Big Brother Yun Che is really amazing. Not only did he smack those bad guys running all at once, he also made the place I fell and hurt myself not hurt at all.”
The middle-aged man’s entire heart was full concern about Su Ling’er’s safety, and when he saw her, all his attention was even more so focused on her. He had only now noticed Yun Che’s existence. He took a step forward, and said with immense gratitude: “This little brother, thank you for rescuing my daughter, this Su really is eternally grateful.”
With Yun Che’s arrogant bones, let alone middle-aged man, even if it’s a highly respected elderly person, he would ordinarily just deal with them with a straight face. But the one before his eyes was Su Ling’er’s father, which was an entirely different matter. He hastily greeted back: “Senior Su is too polite. Ling’er is kind and cute, anyone would come to her rescue if they saw her. This junior also just merely lent a hand.”
From the middle-aged man’s complexion, what Yun Che saw was the deep care and concern for Su Ling’er. At least, his fatherly love toward Su Ling’er wasn’t the least bit impure.
Yun Che’s modesty, gave the middle-aged man a very good impression. He smiled and said: “To receive such a praise from little brother here, my little girl here must be thrilled.” At this time, he noticed Xia Qingyue, who was laying there without a sound. Even though she was only silently laying there, there still remained the goddess-like beauty that would drive one into ecstasy. The middle-aged man went blank for a bit, then immediately recovered and asked: “Little brother, is this one your friend? Looking from her complexion, is she haunted by a severe illness?”
Yun Che nodded: “This is my wife. Her body has been affected by the cold, and her vitality has been severely injured. Perhaps she will remain unconscious for a very long time.”
“So that’s how it is…” The middle-aged man nodded, and inside his heart he exclaimed: The man is otherworldly handsome, the woman is as beautiful as a goddess; what a fine-looking pair! Their background definitely isn’t ordinary. Especially this woman, how can a normal family raise up such a goddess-like girl. This man’s age looks only to be seventeen or eighteen, yet his profound energy aura has already reached Spirit Profound Realm. He ought to be some disciple or even a heir of some top level sect…
As he thought till here, the middle-aged man spoke: “Little brother, you ought to have come from a foreign place, right? Do you currently have any place to stay? If you aren’t unwilling, how about staying for a few days at our Grandwake Clan? It’ll also allow this Su to express his gratitude.”
The inside of Yun Che’s heart moved. He took a glance at the unconscious Xia Qingyue, then took another glance at Su Ling’er, and said: “This junior does indeed need a place of settlement to treat my wife’s injuries… If that’s the case, then this Junior will gratefully receive Senior’s hospitality.”
“Hahahaha, do not be so modest little brother. Compare to your great kindness of saving my daughter, this isn’t considered to be much.” The middle-aged man started to laugh warmly: “Oh right, this one’s surname is Su, with the name Hengshan. Come, Little Brother Yun.”
“Big Brother Yun Che will go home together with us? That’s great that’s great that’s great!!” Su Ling’er was excited to the point of jumping. That exceptionally happy appearance made Su Hengshan feel somewhat inexplicable. He made a spoiling smile: “Not only is Little Brother Yun our benefactor, he is also our guest now. You’ll have to learn some manners, shouting and yelling like this doesn’t make you good girl, okay?”
“Heee! Papa really is naggy. Big Brother Yun Che is the bestest person, he wouldn’t complain about me.” As she spoke, Su Ling’er ran over and grabbed Yun Che’s hand and said while grinning: “Big Brother Yun Che, you promised to come back home with us, you can’t escape halfway okay?”
“Okay!” Yun Che extended his hand pushed Su Ling’er’s little nose tip with a faint smile… He really wanted to know just what kind of family was Su Ling’er born and raised in.
Su Hengshan felt somewhat puzzled for a moment. Calculating from the time, Ling’er and Little Brother Yun at most have met for half an hour at most, how did they become so close already? Moreover, looking at Ling’er’s manner, she, who usually didn’t like to meet with strangers, was exceptionally fond of Little Brother Yun… How curious.
Yun Che carried Xia Qingyue, followed behind Su Hengshan, and walked towards the “Grandwake Clan” that Su Ling’er had grown up in.
Chapter 263 - Grandwake Mountain, Grandwake Clan
On the way, Yun Che conversed with Su Hengshan. He ascertained once more than this place was indeed Azure Cloud Continent from Su Hengshan’s own mouth, and the year was in fact 1999! When Su Hengshan asked them where they came from, he responded without thinking that him and Xia Qingyue left their sect to experience the outside world, but not long ago, they had an unlucky encounter with a vicious profound beast, and Xia Qingyue lost consciousness from a heavy injury.
During his past life, Yun Che was already sure that Su Ling’er had an extraordinary family background. Although she normally wore the simplest of clothing to do his laundry, bathe him, mend his clothing, cook, pick his medicine, season his medicine and treat him… She did everything more skillfully than how a girl from an ordinary family background would have done, but her instinctive grandeur and grace was not something an ordinary family could have raised. He only figured through his conversations with Su Hengshan, that Su Hengshan was an incumbent sect master of the Grandwake Clan! And Su Ling’er, was precisely the princess of the Grandwake Clan. East of the Supwake Country’s river, Grandwake Clan was without a doubt the number one sect, as well as the biggest power. Their status was similar to New Moon City’s Xiao Sect’s Branch Sect, and they relied on Grandwake Mountain for its incredibly generous amounts of natural resources and minerals.
From the estimates of Su Hengshan’s profound energy aura and the encounter with the three men in black earlier, this Grandwake Clan’s power level should be higher than New Moon City’s Xiao Sect’s Branch Sect by a level or two, but it absolutely wasn’t at the level of the Four Major Sects’ level.
However, even in the east of the Grandwake River, Grandwake Clan still had enemies: the Blackwood Stronghold!
As sect master, Su Hengshan had the dignity and might of a sect master, but he had an even more cultured and refined personality. When he was facing a junior, he did not show the pride of the number one sect master east of the river. Not a hint of falsehood or reservation hung on his face as he showed his appreciation and thanks for Yun Che. If he didn’t hear it from his own mouth, Yun Che wouldn’t even have believed that he was a sect master at all!
Having a father like that, it was no wonder that Su Ling’er was raised to be so honest and elegant.
He wanted to learn about the matters concerning Su Ling’er as much as possible. When he asked the father daughter duo why they would encounter such aggression, Su Hengshan let out a long sigh. His face exposed a deeply angry look: “They’re all just some sect grudges. If I say it, we would just be mocked, Little Brother Yun… Except I didn’t think that they’d take action against Ling’er! This kind of insulting behavior is utterly unforgivable!”
Yun Che muttered to himself a bit and said: “Senior Su, forgive this junior for talking too much. You and Su Ling’er just came out together to have some fun for a little while, but encountered such an obviously calculated ambush. It’s clear that someone exposed your and Su Ling’er’s whereabouts.”
“Sigh!” Su Hengshan sighed: “How can I not know about all this. It’s just that I really don’t want to suspect anyone on my side.”
Grandwake Clan was far larger than Yun Che could imagine. At the very least, the size of this clan was far greater than the Xiao Sect Branch Sect he had once went to. For a clan of this size, there would be at least a few tens of thousands of disciples.
“Big Brother Yun Che, look, this is my home! It’s big isn’t it! This huge mountain behind us is also our home!”
As they approached Grandwake Clan’s main entrance, Su Ling’er happily and pridefully introduced everything to Yun Che. Su Hengshan’s brows were constantly tight and his mind was occupied the entire way, but Su Ling’er was actually being a bit too carefree considering she almost encountered a great disaster. A naive and adorable smile constantly hung on her face like she had already forgotten all the events prior to this… Looking at her fairy-like smile, Yun Che’s line of sight was constantly confused and dazed… Ling’er, how wonderful would it be if you could be this carefree without worries your entire life…
“Father! Ling’er, you’re back!” A barely twenty year old young male welcomed them from afar and emotionally yelled: “I heard rumors that you guys encountered an ambush from the Blackwood Stronghold. Seeing you guys without any problems is wonderful… Father, Ling’er, you two aren’t hurt right?”
“No problem, just a bit of a scare and luckily, this little brother helped.” Su Hengshan nodded and introduced Yun Che: “Little Brother Yun, this is my son, Su Haoran. I am forty six this year and only have a pair of son and daughter like this. Even saying such things is a bit shameful, hehe… Haoran, this is Little Brother Yun Che. If he didn’t save Ling’er, Ling’er might have been captured by those bastards from Blackwood Stronghold. Little Brother Yun’s wife suffered a few minor injures, and requires our help for a few days. You have to thank and take care of them for your father.”
“What! Blackwood Stronghold’s people took action against Ling’er? That’s lower than low! Utterly heartless!” Su Haoran’s entire face was filled with anger and he cupped his hands toward Yun Che: “Brother Yun, thank you for saving Ling’er…”
When he spoke to this point, he shot glance toward Xia Qingyue being carried by Yun Che within his arms. Suddenly, His gaze was completely fixated and was unable to move away anymore. His face became imbecilic and foolish like he had lost his soul all of a sudden.
Yun Che remained calm and collected, and embraced Xia Qingyue closer to his chest to hide her face away Su Haoran’s line of sight, then gently smiled: “It only took a bit of effort. Brother Haoran is too courteous.”
“Big brother.” Su Ling’er who stood by Yun Che’s side crisply shouted at Su Haoran with her emotionless voice and joyless face. This felt a bit strange to Yun Che because he distinctly felt Su Ling’er wasn’t intimate toward her brother. It almost seemed like there was a slight bit of alienation.
And this Su Haoran’s look towards Xia Qingyue also made him very uncomfortable.
Su Haoran just recollected his thoughts and half lowered his head and with an unnatural expression, he said: “Father, the clan already knows the matter about you being ambushed. Second and Sixth Uncle are in the conference room waiting for you.”
Su Hengshan nodded: “I’ll go then. Haoran, you go and arrange residence for Little Brother Yun and his wife… Oh, just set them up in the Dragon Perching Pavilion.”
He turned around and said to Yun Che: “Little Brother Yun, I have some matters to attend to, excuse me. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to tell my son. Please don’t be too polite. Ling’er, come and follow papa.”
Su Hengshan brought Su Ling’er and left quickly. Su Ling’er looked back once in awhile; the fact that she didn’t want to leave Yun Che was written all over her face. Under Su Haoran’s guidance, Yun Che carried Xia Qingyue to the Dragon Perching Pavilion that Su Hengshan mentioned and gently placed Xia Qingyue on the only huge bed there.
Grandwake Mountain’s atmosphere was incredibly grand since it was one of the twelve divine mountains in the Azure Cloud Continent. There were countless spirit medicine and spirit stones within the mountains. The rich resources gave birth to the powerful Grandwake Clan. The room that Su Hengshan personally appointed for Yun Che was extremely luxurious. The name “Dragon Perching Pavilion” wasn’t pointless. On top of all kinds of red hardwood decorations, sculptures in all shapes and forms depicted a majestic five clawed flying dragon. This place should be where Grandwake Clan received their most honored guests. It goes to show just how grateful Su Hengshan was towards Yun Che for saving Su Ling’er.
“Brother Yun and this lady are… husband and wife?”
“That’s right.” Yun Che nodded. Then, he saw a hint of jealousy within Su Haoran’s eyes.
“Heheh.” Su Haoran forced a smile and said: “Brother Yun is truly fortunate to actually be wedded with such a beautiful fairy-like bride. Oh, Brother Yun doesn’t lack natural talents either. You actually stepped into the Spirit Profound Realm, not bad not bad.”
These words from Su Haoran contained the arrogant tone of the strong talking to the weak. He complimented Yun Che’s natural talents, but his demeanor was in fact proud and aloof. He was twenty years old this year, and his profound strength was already at the fourth level of the Spirit Profound Realm. He was at the peak level within the younger generation east of the river. Just comparing profound strength, he was stronger than Yun Che who was only at the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm… but that was merely profound strength.
“Brother Haoran is wrongfully praising.” Yun Che spoke without thinking.
“Except, Brother Yun, it’s not that I’m criticizing you. Although your natural talents aren’t bad, you came out just like that to experience the world together with your wife. You’re just making too much trouble for yourself. In this world, there are many people with better natural talent than you. Arrogance, complacency, and ignorance aren’t good things. Before you have the strength to properly protect your family, it’s better to to not do as you please. Otherwise, when you encounter an actual disaster and you don’t have the strength to protect your family, harming your fairy-like wife’s life would be terrible.
When Su Haoran spoke, he peeked at Xia Qingyue from time to time. Every time he glanced towards her, his fingers would tremble a bit… In his entire life, he had never seen a girl as beautiful as Xia Qingyue; furthermore, he could never imagine it was possible for a girl to be beautiful to such a degree. There were even several times when he couldn’t resist losing control to knock Yun Che out, and then enjoy this sleeping beauty however he liked.
Yun Che faintly smiled and said: “Thank you Brother Haoran, for your reminders. I’ll remember it.”
Su Haoran extended his right hand and had difficulty enduring making a grabbing motion: “This lady is in a coma and isn’t waking up. Looks like her injuries aren’t light. I just happen to have some medical expertise. Let me examine a bit, then grab some spirit medicine, and she’ll be awake in no time.”
After he finished talking, Su Haoran casually walked forward and approached Xia Qingyue’s bedside.
Yun Che took a step forward and impolitely blocked Su Haoran’s way and calmly said: “No need, I can’t be any more certain of my wife’s condition. There is no need to for Brother Haoran to feel troubled. Thank you Brother Haoran, for your warm reception, I won’t waste your time any longer. You may leave.”
Su Haoran’s expression changed and he didn’t have a reason to stay anymore. He stared at Yun Che a bit and said: “Very well then. I won’t bother you two. If you need anything, you can tell my servants outside anytime.”
After Yun Che saw Su Haoran leave, he tightly shut his room’s door. He coldly smiled and muttered: “He dares to lust after my wife… humph! You can think all you want, but if you think about anything else, even if you are Ling’er’s brother, I won’t go easy on you!”
Xia Qingyue was sleeping soundly, and had no idea that she already came to another world. Yun Che kept close and guarded by her side. Every eighth of an hour, he would check her inner vitality, and see that her internal energy became increasingly calm, which finally put his mind at ease.
“Jasmine, do you have any way to help her recover a bit faster?” Yun Che asked. Although Xia Qingyue’s condition had temporarily stabilized, the injuries in her profound vein were too severe. To completely restore Xia Qingyue would take a long time even for him. Him and Xia Qingyue could only stay here for a day. After returning to Heaven Basin Secret Realm, they could stay a maximum of half a day. When they leave the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, the people of Frozen Cloud Asgard would never let Yun Che see her again. Yun Che believed they wouldn’t be able to completely restore Xia Qingyue if she was brought back to Frozen Cloud Asgard.
“Of course!”
Yun Che was only casually asking, but he didn’t think Jasmine would decisively answer with certainty: “It’s precisely the thing that you found with her, the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus!”
“This lotus flower’s effectiveness is far greater than you can imagine! After using the Sky Poison Pearl to perfectly refine the essence of the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, if you give it to her afterwards, her entire body would recover shortly and her profound strength would step into the Sky Profound Realm right away… in your Blue Wind Empire, she would be considered the first person under twenty to step into the Sky Profound Realm… Only, the premise of everything is that you’d have be willing!”
Chapter 264 - Qingyue Awakens
“Really?” Yun Che’s mind shook, and stood up while shouting: “Whether or not she could breakthrough is secondary. If the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus could make her completely recover within a short period of time, then why would I not be willing!”
“You have to think it through clearly.” Jasmine warned: “The Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus being considered a sacred object in your Blue Wind Empire is not an exaggeration at all! After using this Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, an object of the same level might not appear in Blue Wind Empire for the next thousand years. In other words, if you use this Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus on her, then it equates to you forever losing an enormous opportunity.”
“Furthermore! You have all kinds of divine beast bloodlines and primordial god arts within your body. Every time your profound strength rises by a level, your increase in strength is not something another person could compare to! If you used the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus on yourself, the rise in strength it would bring would far surpass her! In my eyes, if you truly gave it up, it would be a stupid and wasteful move!”
Yun Che took two steps back. Then, with a thought, he was already cupping that huge Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus between his two hands. Even though the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus had been exposed to the air, it was wrapped under the powerful aura of the Sky Profound Pearl, so its essence did not leak at all. He said without the slightest hesitation: “Raising strength is certainly important, but she is my lawfully wedded wife. Her recovery is by far, much more important than raising my own power!”
“…If the person who laid in front of me is you, I’d pick you just the same!”
Jasmine originally wanted to say something, but after hearing this from Yun Che, she was suddenly speechless and did not say another word for quite a while.
The Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus was quickly wrapped up by the green light that the Sky Poison Pearl emitted. All the essence it contained was quickly refined. Flakes of faint blue and red powder gently floated down, and finally landed in Yun Che’s palm. What remained was a round bead the size of a dragon’s eye that emitted a faint blue radiance.
An intoxicating fragrance assailed his nostrils. After Yun Che gently breathed in a breath of air, he immediately felt his entire body relax, and even his blood circulation mildly sped up quite a bit. As an existence that was at the level of a sacred object, the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus was incredibly precious, but the difficulty of refining this was also incredibly high as well. If it was in anyone else’s hands, retaining a third of its full effectiveness was the limit. However, in the hands of Yun Che, he could perfectly do what no one else could possibly believe, one hundred percent effectiveness!
Therefore, the effect of this “Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet” in Yun Che’s hands was much stronger than what was recorded! Perhaps twice or three times, maybe even more!
The records had shown that one pellet would allow someone at the early stage of the Earth Profound Realm to break through into the Sky Profound Realm, but the one in Yun Che’s hands… even he himself had no idea what level Xia Qingyue’s profound strength would raise up to after she wakes up.
Only by smelling its fragrance, one’s entire body would feel as if it had been baptized. It was simply impossible to imagine what kind of transformation it would bring if it was consumed. Its attractiveness is something that all profound practitioners even those elderly experts who had great experience would hardly be able to resist it. Yun Che silently looked at it, but his expression was unexpectedly ordinary. He didn’t even have a hint of hesitation. If it wasn’t for Xia Qingyue saving his life, he would have been a dead man long time ago, so how could he not be willing to save her!
He moved forward and gently parted Xia Qingyue’s delicate lips. Then, he put the “Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet” that could cause the entire Blue Wind Empire to tremble into her mouth. With a gentle push of his profound energy, he guided it into her body.
Jasmine did not say anything to stop him.
Clank…
Without even needing Yun Che to his profound strength as a catalyst, the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet had practically instantly entered her body. Xia Qingyue’s body blossomed with a layer of splendorous moon-white sheen. This layer of light was incredibly gentle and did not have a trace of violent energy. In most situations, a medicinal pellet that contained a lot of power would generally take a very long time to refine and the process would be brimming with danger. When swallowed, it would usually exploded like a flame inside the body. If it wasn’t controlled and refined well, this flame would be enough to harm the whole body, or could even be fatal. However, when this “Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet” entered the body, the strength it contained was as mild as a ripple; slowly and gently, it spread into every part of the body and bestowed all the power it contained to Xia Qingyue.
Under the moon-white sheen, Xia Qingyue’s breathing became more and more relaxed. Yun Che quickly and pleasantly discovered that all her meridians, which were damaged by the cold, were miraculous healing at a rapid pace. The circulation of her blood also quickly calmed down as well. Then, a slight rosy blush started to appear on her pure white face. Afterwards, under Yun Che’s careful gaze, she slowly opened her eyes.
From the time Xia Qingyue took the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet to when she woke up, it took only an eighth of an hour. The miraculous effects of the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet made Yun Che feel as if he was dreaming.
“Where… is this?” Xia Qingyue looked all around in a daze. With a misty expression, she felt as if she was in a dream. According to her memories, they were still in Heaven Basin’s enormous beast’s darkness and cold.
She felt a gentle source of power within her body and a layer of warm power continuously rushed into every part of her body.
“Don’t get up.” Yun Che promptly reached out, pressed her shoulders down, and gently said: “This is a very safe place… don’t worry, you’re not dreaming. We’ve already escaped. I am already alright, and you will also be better soon.”
Then, he gave a simple account of the events that had occurred to Xia Qingyue; about everything that happened after escaping the enormous beast in the Heavenly Basin to arriving at this place. But his version of the events had a slightly deviation from what actually occurred. He told Xia Qingyue that he inadvertently found a space attribute treasure within the Heaven Basin enormous beast’s stomach and had escaped to here. He did not tell Xia Qingyue that this place was in fact a “fantasy world”.
As Yun Che gave his explanation, the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet was still steadily releasing its power within Xia Qingyue’s body, restoring her originally completely exhausted profound strength at an astonishing pace. With this speed, perhaps in less than two hours, her body and profound strength would have completely recovered.
“You gave me… the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus?” After sensing the warm power within her body, that was the only possibility that Xia Qingyue could think of.
“Mn, I was still a bit worried before. Luckily, it was like what you had said, its medicinal strength is incredibly warm. There’s no risk at all.” Yun Che said with a slight smile.
“But…”
“No buts.” Yun Che interrupted her words and lightly shook his hand. Then he reached out and grabbed her delicate hands: “For the sake of saving my life, you were willing to give up your own. Why would an Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus matter. Besides, we’re a married couple, we don’t need to distinguish ourselves separately.”
Suddenly, the heart of Xia Qingyue, who had her hands gripped tightly by Yun Che, trembled slightly. She unconsciously wanted to struggle her hands free, but they were being firmly held by Yun Che. She continuously struggled several times, but she lost due to her powerlessness. She could only let him hold her hands, and her heart rate gradually increased. Even though she secretly used the Frozen Heart Arts, she was not able to suppress it.
The two had been married for a long time, but this was the first time they had held their hands together so ambiguously. Xia Qingyue’s hands were ice cold and soft; they were as tender as soft jade, so soft that they seemed to be boneless. After Yun Che held her, he was not willing to let go. The two remained silent for quite a while and both of them were afraid of talking, in fear of breaking this special mood.
Knock knock knock…
Graceful footsteps approached from the outside, and then a knock was heard. Not wanting to let go of Xia Qingyue’s hands, Yun Che asked: “Who is it?”
“Big Brother Yun Che, are you inside? It’s Ling’er.”
Su Ling’er’s free-spirited voice that seemed like a nightingale echoed through. Yun Che promptly opened the door, and saw Su Ling’er, who changed into a mild green colored chiffon, charmingly stand outside. When she saw Yun Che, she happily smiled: “Big Brother Yun Che!”
__________________
Author’s Note: This chapter is a bit short… allow me to think for a while, prepare for a fight!!
A main character who doesn’t fight cannot be the main character… How much do you think the main character’s wife could evolve?
Chapter 265 - Mutual Hostility
“Ling’er.” After seeing Su Ling’er’s delicate little face, Yun Che brimmed with warmth and joy. This joyous feeling that struck the depth of his soul was a joy that nothing else could replace. Just by calmly looking at Ling’er, he felt that his life was already perfect.
He didn’t know that when Su Ling’er saw him, she had the exact same change of emotions as he did. Yun Che had it because him and Su Ling’er were bound by their past life. As far as Su Ling’er was concerned, it was merely the simple feeling, simple joy and the feeling of being near, without any other reason or cause. She said: “Heh, Big Brother Yun Che, father told me to tell you that at dusk, there will be many people coming to the clan and some bad things are going to take place. When it’s time, Big Brother Yun Che has to shut his room door tightly and should not leave for any reason.
“Oh?“ Yun Che’s brows moved slightly. Then, he nodded and answered with a slight smile: “Okay, I understand.”
“Mn! Then… Big Brother Yun Che, I’m going back now. You and beautiful big sister have to rest well.” Su Ling’er said while beaming. She took a little step back, but didn’t leave right away. A pair of liquid diamond eyes clung on to Yun Che for awhile and had an expression that couldn’t bear to leave.
“Ah? Why do you need to leave so quickly? I still want to talk with Su Ling’er for awhile.”
Su Ling’er pouted and said: “Father said that you guys should have traveled quite a distance, and must be exhausted. Additionally, the beautiful big sister is ill and needs to rest as well, so he told me to leave as soon as I passed on the information, so that I won’t bother you… Big Brother Yun Che, when beautiful big sister wakes up, can you play with me? Oh there’s more… Big brother Yun Che came from very far away, I want to listen to Big Brother Yun Che tell stories about the place from far away.
Su Ling’er was still naive, and carefree with smiles. It made Yun Che feel a dizzying joy so extravagant that Yun Che felt as if he was in a dream. He gently smiled, then slowly and carefully nodded his head: “Okay! When it’s time, I’ll play with Su Ling’er for sure and I’ll tell Su Ling’er many stories… It’s a deal!”
“Mn! Hehe…” Su Ling’er tilted her head then ran away happily like an oriole that was set free.
After closing his room door, Yun Che’s expression quickly turned severe.
There was going be a group of people that would come in the evening? What kind of bad things were going to happen? Could it be…
On top of the bed, Xia Qingyue’s eyes were lightly shut and was in a meditative state. She calmly absorbed and guided the strength of the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet, except her five senses really weren’t completely sealed. She heard the entire conversation that Yun Che had with Su Ling’er.
Their time limit in this place was only a short twenty four hours. He naturally couldn’t spend each and every second with Ling’er, but at the moment, Xia Qingyue definitely needed someone to guard her side and Grandwake Clan wasn’t really a place they considered calm and stable. In addition, there was the Su Haoran who harbored evil intentions, so he absolutely did not want to leave Xia Qingyue’s side.
“Yun Che, have you been here before?” Jasmine suddenly said.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Then why are you acting so special towards that little girl? You just met her today, but when you saw her completely lose control of her emotions earlier, your emotional reactions became out of the ordinary! What is going on here?” Jasmine said with a serious tone. Even though “that little girl” coming out of the mouth of another little girl was a bit strange…
“…” Yun Che raised his head and lightly said: “That, is truly an unspeakable secret.”
Jasmine: “…”
During the entire afternoon, Yun Che always guarded Xia Qingyue’s side as Xia Qingyue laid there motionlessly. The moon-white sheen beside her never waned, and this layer of light magically isolated the aura of Xia Qingyue’s profound strength, inhibiting Yun Che from finding out the state of her profound strength. But this was fine as well, if the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet was actually as astonishing as the legends said they were, then perhaps Xia Qingyue would be able to breakthrough into the Sky Profound Realm! If the aura of the profound strength breaking through startled the Grandwake Clan, then it might attract unnecessary attention instead.
The sky gradually dimmed and it was already nightfall. At this moment, the sound of urgent footsteps suddenly echoed in from outside, as if many people were rushing to a certain place right now. The sound of footsteps continued on for a long while until the sound of disorderly and abnormal clamor started transmitting from afar. With Yun Che’s hearing abilities, he faintly heard the sound of callous laughter and angry rebuke from time to time.
Yun Che took a glance at Xia Qingyue’s state, and then walked to the window. He carefully opened a slit in the window and looked towards the place where the sound originated from.
There were already many people gathered to the brim in front of Grandwake Clan’s Conference Hall. On one side were Grandwake Clan’s leaders and a group of disciples headed by Su Hengshan, who had a pair of angry eyes. Across from them stood a group of three hundred men in black. Under the escort of the men in black were over ten middle-aged people dressed in different attire. There was also an elder with a swagger, who was sitting in a rattan chair that seemed came out of nowhere. His eyes were half closed and he was unrestrained like an old deity with a proud attitude that didn’t put anyone else in his eyes.
“Su Hengyue! I always respected you as my second brother. Even though you had opposed me when we were fighting for the position of Clan Master in the past, I still put the matter behind me and never mentioned it! These past years, the clan’s resources were all prioritized for you! I can understand that you want our late ancestor’s treasure as well, but you actually unhesitantly collaborated with Blackwood Stronghold and made these ambitious moves! How can you face our deceased father, how can you face our Grandwake Clan’s ancestors!!
Su Hengshan’s face was brimming with anger and his gaze shifted to another person: “And you! Li Yunji, when you met certain doom back then and your life was hanging by a thread, who was it that saved you? And who was it that gave you over ten years of peace? Is this how you repay my father and my Grandwake Clan’s kindness?”
The middle-aged man, Li Yunji, who was pointed out by Su Hengshan took a slight step back and an unnatural expression flashed on his face. But he immediately answered with a cold snort: “The late Clan Master’s kindness will naturally always be kept in my heart! It’s also because of the late Clan Master’s great favor, that I could not bear to see Grandwake Clan get destroyed in your hands! Resign as Clan Master and hand over the treasure key! If not for your obstinate behaviors, Grandwake Clan would have already had a shockingly powerful expert a long time ago! Grandwake Clan would have leapt to become a peak sect! And not the completely fruitless one like it is now!”
“Hehe, everything Yunji said is true.” Su Hengyue said while laughing: “Our late father handing over the position of Clan Master to you, was really the greatest mistake of his life! If you handed over the treasure key sooner and collaborated with Blackwood Stronghold, everything east of the river would have been ours a long time ago! Your stubbornness only burdened the entire Grandwake Clan!” He looked towards the elder who sat there and grimly smiled: “Even the elders who never questioned you about being Clan Master could not stand by idly and watch you any longer! Just obediently hand over the Clan Master position. Be at ease and just become a teaching elder! The position of Clan Master doesn’t suit you at all!”
“Load of bullshit!” Su Hengshan angrily laughed: “Blackwood Stronghold’s behaviors were always despicable. They have an extremely poor reputation outside and had also always coveted our Grandwake Mountain resources. If we collaborated with Blackwood Stronghold, we would be working with the tiger and destroy our Grandwake Clan’s hundreds of years of clean reputation! As for our clan’s treasure, our late ancestors clearly explained that we could only take it out when an extremely stunning talent, who is able to shock the world, appeared in our clan; otherwise, we’d be recklessly wasting it and pointlessly destroying our clan’s greatest opportunity! If I took it out right now, that would be the real disgrace towards our ancestors.”
“Clan Master Su’s words are too harsh to listen to.” A middle-aged man in black slowly walked forward: “Our Blackwood Stronghold genuinely and sincerely wants to cooperate with the Grandwake Clan. You give me medicine and precious stones, and I’ll give you divine weapons. It’s profitable for both sides. By comparison, Brother Hengyue’s knowledge and insight is much more powerful than yours. It’s no wonder that your Grandwake Clan has stagnated and become lifeless during these past years.”
“Heimu Qingya!” Su Hengshan’s anger directed towards black attired man who had just spoken: “You despicable little man! I still haven’t repaid you regarding the matter that you intended to seize my daughter this morning, yet you still had the guts to personally come yourself! As the mighty Hold Master of Blackwood Stronghold, you had unexpectedly let your disciples take action on a little ten year old girl. Are you really worthy of your title as the Blackwood Stronghold’s Hold Master?!”
“Heheh!” Heimu Qingya wasn’t the least bit resentful when being cursed in rage by Su Hengshan: “Clan Master Su is misunderstanding. This Hold Master only wanted to invite your daughter as a very important guest. The word “seize” isn’t very appropriate.”
“Really?” Su Hengshan clenched both his fists. He wasn’t a person who got angry very easily, but the people of Blackwood Stronghold taking action against Su Ling’er touched his absolute bottom line. He coldly said: “Heimu Qingya, I know how you are. If you don’t give me an explanation after we sort out our clan’s matters today, then don’t even think about leaving alive!”
Heimu Qingya grinned and smiled, but didn’t say anything as he took two steps back. Both his hands were over his chest in a leisure posture… That’s right, he was here to passively watch the great battle within the clan. No matter what the outcome was, it was all favorable.
The elder who had continuously sat upright in place, opened his eyes and heedlessly said: “Hengshan, I don’t care who succeeds the position of Clan Master. I won’t make trouble for you if you aren’t willing to collaborate with Blackwood Stronghold either, but the key to the clan’s greatest treasure must be taken out today!”
The speech from Grandwake Clan’s most senior elder naturally contained an extraordinary influence. Su Hengshan’s expression suddenly transformed and then unhesitantly said: “Absolutely impossible!”
The mood at the scene became increasingly tense. Grandwake Clan’s disciples all rushed over, as more and more people filled the scene. If they were only facing Blackwood Stronghold, they could unanimously confront them, but Blackwood Stronghold had the attitude of spectators. The two sides who had mutual hostility were all people of the Grandwake Clan… Only, the other side was a person who had left not long ago, who then entered the Blackwood Stronghold!
From the intense conversation between the two sides, Yun Che finally understood everything.
In the region east of Supwake’s river, Grandwake Clan and Blackwood Stronghold were the two most powerful sects. Behind Grandwake Clan was Grandwake Mountain, medicine, as well as countless precious minerals and resources. Blackwood Stronghold was situated in the Blackwood Mountain Range and had huge amounts of metal and strange stones as their resource. The natural resources of the two sects really complemented each other, and Blackwood Stronghold had always wanted to collaborate with the Grandwake Clan many times for the purpose of sharing their resources, but Blackwood Stronghold’s actions were despicable and they also had a horrible reputation. Although the elders of the Grandwake Clan wanted to collaborate with them for the most part, the successive Clan Masters all disagreed profusely.
Until Su Hengshan’s generation, Blackwood Stronghold, which was originally more than a half level lower, suddenly had an explosive development, and quietly reached the point where they could fight on even terms with the Grandwake Clan. This also made the elders want to support Blackwood Stronghold. The people in favor of ruling the river east by force nowadays, increased up to the point where it had exceeded more than half, and gradually increased the pressure on Su Hengshan everyday.
But these weren’t the main reason for the confrontation today. The real reason was an item that the late ancestors of Grandwake Clan had left behind —— the clan’s mystical treasure!
From a place called the “Southern Border Holy Land”, a late elder of the Grandwake Clan obtained a valuable treasure, rumored to be at the “sacred object” grade!
Chapter 266 - Disruption
Yun Che didn’t hear what this valuable clan treasure was, but looking at the degree of importance they placed on it to the point that they started a big fight over it, it was probably something incredible. Perhaps, it really was an item of the “sacred object” grade like the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus.
Since the clan’s treasure was precious to the point that it could be the hope Grandwake Clan was looking for to become a peak sect of Azure Cloud Continent’s Supwake Country, the decision of who to use this precious treasure on was of the utmost importance! If they used it on an ordinary disciple, it would undoubtedly be a waste. Due to the incredible precaution this matter required, they still never used the clans’s treasure up until this generation, but had hidden it in an unknown place instead. Additionally, that hidden place could only be opened by a special key, and that special key was always in the hands of the next Clan Master.
In this generation, it was in Su Hengshan’s hands.
Su Hengyue was an extremely ambitious person. He had coveted the clan’s most valuable treasure ever since he was young, but although his aptitude was incredibly good, it still wasn’t stunningly good. However, he still reached a high prestige within Grandwake Clan, and all these years, he had been enticing an ample amount of assistants, and was also making an extreme effort towards collaborating with the Blackwood Stronghold. All the elders in the Grandwake Clan who shared these thoughts naturally gravitated towards him.
Right now, the reason why Su Hengyue resolutely wanted Su Hengshan to hand over the treasure key to the point that he didn’t care about Su Hengshan turning hostile or borrowing Blackwood Stronghold’s power was all because of his son, Su Haoyu!
This year, Su Haoyu was a full twenty years old and his profound strength was already at eighth level of the Spirit Profound Realm! In all of Grandwake Clan’s history, this had never happened before! He believed that with his son’s natural talents, he was completely qualified to obtain the clan’s most valuable treasure. He mentioned this to Su Hengshan over and over again, and even encouraged those in the clan to pressure him together, but Su Hengshan never agreed. Although Su Haoyu’s natural talents were astonishing, he was absolutely not at the level of “World Stunning” that their late ancestors mentioned. Furthermore, Su Hengyue was always ambitious. If he actually gave the clan’s most valuable treasure to Su Haoyu, in the future, the authority of the Grandwake Clan would also completely fall into Su Hengyue’s bloodline… For his own selfish desires, he discriminated against the Grandwake Clan and relied on Blackwood Stronghold’s strength. If the Grandwake Clan fell into his hands, their future would be utterly inconceivable.
“Su Hengshan, if you took out the clan’s most valuable treasure a bit earlier, then my son Haoyu would have soared into the skies a long time ago, and in less than ten years, he would have taken our Grandwake Clan to a height that we could only dream of right now!” Su Hengshan callously laughed and said: “Don’t believe that we don’t know what you’re thinking. You’re envious of my son’s natural talents and want to personally consume our clan’s treasure. Heh, people being selfish and envious is completely normal. However, you want the entire Grandwake Clan to be dragged by you. As one of Grandwake Clan’s elders, I’ll never agree to that!”
“Bullshit!” Su Haoran angrily roared: “It’s obvious that you’re the one who’s selfish. For the sake of getting your hands on the clan’s most valuable treasure, you actually slander us in reverse. You have no sense of shame at all!”
“Yoh!” Su Hengyue said coldly: “Before an elder finished talking, your son has already lost his cool. Could it be that this Clan Master’s own son is more qualified to use the clan’s treasure than my family’s Haoyu? That’s right, if you can win against my Haoyu, then you will naturally be more qualified than Haoyu. Haoyu, come and compare your moves against your brother Haoran.”
“Yes, father.”
A youth around twenty year old completely dressed in white walked out from behind Su Hengshan. Although his expression was completely calm, his gaze exposed all of his pride: “Brother Haoran, no matter how much nonsense you say, it is useless. If you beat me, then I’ll have no face to use the clan’s most valuable treasure, and we would not have any dissent with the Clan Master regarding this matter from now on. Please.”
“You!!” Su Haoran’s restrained his facial expressions until it was red all over; nevertheless, he didn’t dare to walk forward. Even though Su Haoyu was half a year younger than him, his profound strength already reached the eighth level of the Spirit Profound Realm. Su Haoran wasn’t his match at all. If they really fought, the only outcome would him being oppressed into the dirt, and losing all his face.
Su Hengshan’s chest puffed up, and then viciously huffed out.
“What? Could it be the Brother Haoran doesn’t dare? Heh… Brother Haoran doesn’t need to be so tense. We’re only comparing moves, that’s all. I certainly won’t hit you too hard. Besides, just in case you beat this little brother, would you not have gotten what you wished for?” Su Haoyu pointed his fingers at Su Haoran with a face full of ridicule as a sneer appeared in the corner of his mouth.
“That’s enough, don’t argue anymore.”
An old voice sounded. Grand Elder Su Wanji, who sat on the chair, opened his eyes. His slow voice was serious and awe-inspiring: “For this matter, Hengyue was indeed a bit improper, but it is still a misunderstanding. Oh Hengshan, although our late ancestors told us to wait for a world shaking disciple to appear before using the clan’s most valuable treasure, our ancestors’ “world-shaking” could have meant many things. Haoyu is a genius that’s hard to come by even in a hundred years. He is only twenty years of age, yet he has already stepped into the eighth level of the Spirit Profound Realm. In the Country of Supwake, he could already live up to the word “world-shaking”. It seems to me that Haoyu definitely has the qualification to use our clan’s most valuable treasure. I can guarantee that in the following century, it is practically impossible for a disciple with greater talents than Haoyu to appear within the Grandwake Clan.
All of Su Wanji’s words were clearly biased towards Su Hengyue’s side, but these words were irrefutable. He stared toward Su Hengshan and quietly said: “This year, Haoyu is twenty years old. He is not young anymore. If he grew up a bit more, using the clan’s most valuable treasure would naturally be much less effective. Hengshan, if you still obstinately do not understand, and is willing to die guarding the clan’s most valuable treasure before releasing it, then what if a so-called “world-shaking” genius never emerges within our Grandwake Clan, will the clan’s treasure be forever sealed? Our clan could have soared into the sky a long time ago, but had been stagnant for a long time because of this. If the day comes that our clan encounters a calamity, using the clan’s most valuable treasure at that time, would be far too late!”
The harder Su Hengshan tried to restrain his eyebrows, the tighter it became… if Su Hengyue was a dutiful elder and Su Haoyu had a kind-hearted nature, then if enough people recommended him to offer out the clan’s treasure, even if Su Hengshan felt that it was somewhat inappropriate, he wouldn’t be so determined like this. Since Su Hengyue’s line made these series of actions for the sake of obtaining the clan’s most valuable treasure, this matter was completely uncompromisable!!
Him enticing the clan could be forgiven. But to pressure them by using the strength of the Blackwood Stronghold was essentially an action that betrayed the clan!!
To these avaricious and unscrupulous people, even if he were to die, he would never agree on giving the clan’s treasure!!
“How’s this?” Su Wangji squinted and slowly said: “Hengshan, If you can find a disciple under twenty in our clan that can defeat Haoyu; then Hengyue will never raise the matters regarding the clan’s treasure ever again!”
Everyone among Su Hengyue and Su Haoran’s group began to laugh. Su Hengyue sternly said: “Very well! If there is anyone under twenty in my Grandwake Clan that can defeat Haoyu and prove that his natural talents aren’t the greatest, then I’ll immediately slap my ass and leave. I’ll never mention a word regarding the clan’s treasure ever again and I’ll apologize to the Clan Master for my inappropriate behaviors today… But, what if no one can defeat Haoyu?”
“Then please Hengshan, give the key to the clan’s treasure to Haoyu. I believe none of the elders and the members of the clan present here want see this matter be dragged out or bickered over.” Su Wanji said very slowly.
Su Hengshan clenched both his fists tightly and his fingers began to make popping sounds. Suddenly, right before he wanted to angrily reprimand them, an arrogant young man’s voice came from his side.
“Good idea! Truly a good idea! Worthy of being the Grand Elder, even your ideas are so fair. Such a good idea, I will approve by raising both my hands!”
A smile hung over Yun Che’s face as he slowly and relaxingly walked over. On his hands, he dragged a nervous faced Su Ling’er who tightly leaned on Yun Che’s body.
When Yun Che absolutely could not watch this any further, he left the Dragon Perching Pavilion and happened to find a peeping Su Ling’er who hid behind a tree. Seeing him leave his room, Su Ling’er ran over with her little steps right away and urgently said: “Big Brother Yun Che, Papa said you can’t go over there! It’s really dangerous over there.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t be in any danger.” Yun Che smiled and said: “Ling’er, you stay here. You can’t go near there no matter what… Once this matter is settled, I’ll play with you.”
Once Yun Che finished talking, he continued forward. Just as he took a step, he stopped once again and said to Su Ling’er: “Ling’er, do you believe that I can protect you?”
Looking at Yun Che eyes, Su Ling’er unhesitantly and nodded with all her might: “Mn!”
“Then, let’s go over there together! No one can hurt you as long as you’re by my side!” Yun Che lightly said and then took Su Ling’er’s hand. Because in his heart, the safest place Su Ling’er could stay at, was by his side. He wouldn’t be relieved if she was anywhere else.
Once Yun Che’s pridefully arrogant voice transmitted outwards, he suddenly became the focal point of the scene. Su Hengshan suddenly turned pale in great alarm: “Little Brother Yun, and Ling’er… Why are you here! Quickly, leave this place. The matter here is unrelated to you, and it is not a place you should have come to!”
Earlier when Yun Che saved Su Ling’er, if he was recognized by the Blackwood Stronghold as the one who destroyed their important plan, then they might have gazed at him. As far as Su Ling’er was concerned, it was even more dangerous for her to be here. Once the plain and honest words were said, he had already lost all of his anger and bitterness, and planned to stop them right there. This was a place they absolutely should not be in.
“Papa, I… I’m not afraid. I’m here to cheer Papa on.” Su Ling’er sweetly smiled towards Su Hengshan; nevertheless, she neared Yun Che even more and held onto Yun Che tightly with both of her little hands.
“It was me who wanted to bring Ling’er here, because I won’t be at ease if Su Ling’er was anywhere else but by my side.” Yun Che stood upright, and said in a low voice: “But I implore Senior Su to be at ease. Even if I were to die, I won’t let a single strand of hair on Ling’er be hurt.”
“…” When Su Hengshan looked at the expression in Yun Che’s eyes, he was stunned for a while… Through the tens of years of his trials and hardships, he had heard those similar words many many times, but none of those times could have moved him as emotionally as this time’s. That statement “even if I were to die, I won’t let a single strand of hair on Ling’er be hurt” wasn’t only spouted out from Yun Che’s mouth, it was something that originated from his will and his soul… Looking at the expression in Yun Che’s eyes, he felt the determination contained in his words. He was extremely convinced that if the price to protect Ling’er involved a life, he would absolutely sacrifice himself without any hesitation.
He lightly grasped Su Ling’er’s hand. That kind hazy imposing feeling was precisely the same as if he was protecting his entire world.
And Su Ling’er was also firmly grabbing and hugging him. Even though he arrived in front of the father, she still remained by his side and did not rush to his side. Her eyes contained her worries for him, but they were fearless… It seemed like as long as she cuddled by his side, she had nothing to fear.
Yun Che and his daughter had clearly only met today. He was incapable of understanding how these two were able to form such an intimacy to this degree. He believed that even two people who were inseparable for more than a dozen years could not achieve such a pure dependence and protection.
Could it actually be some sort of heavenly fate?
Chapter 267 - Tyrannical Might
The moment Yun Che appeared, one of the people among the Blackwood Stronghold widened his eyes. He hurriedly stepped forward, and whispered into Heimu Qingya’s ears. “Hold Master, it’s him… It was him who sabotaged our plans when we were about to abduct Su Hengshan’s daughter!”
Heimu Qingya swept his gaze at Yun Che. Suddenly, he slapped onto that person’s face, growling. “A bunch of trash! You people actually allowed someone who had only entered the Spirit Profound Realm to sabotage our plans, what’s the point in having you bunch of trash then!?”
The Blackwood Stronghold disciple’s slapped face swelled up heavily. He timidly retreated, and did not dare to utter another word.
Heimu Qingya stared at Yun Che with sinister eyes, and said towards Su Hengyue in front of him with a low voice. “Brother Hengyue, this is the kid who hindered us from abducting that little girlie! Hmph, he sure sabotaged our great plans. If the little girlie was currently in our hands, then there wouldn’t be a need for such trouble!”
“It’s him?” Su Hengyue’s eyes which were staring at Yun Che instantly turned dark and ruthless, as he coldly laughed. “And here I was wondering where I was going to find this kid, but he actually does not know any fear and popped out himself!”
Su Hengyue sound transmitted to Su Haoyu. “Haoyu, find an excuse, and give this kid a ruthless lesson! Even if your ‘hand slips’ and ‘accidentally’ kill him, it doesn’t matter either!”
Su Haoyu immediately responded. He inspected Yun Che’s level of profound strength, and following after, he revealed a disdainful expression. He took a step forward, and blew up at Yun Che. “Where did this wild brat come from? From the looks of it, you’re not one of our Grandwake Clan’s people either, heh! This is a place where our Grandwake Clan is having a discussion regarding an important matter, it’s not a place where a wild brat like you who comes from god knows where can step into, hurry and scram! If you don’t wish to scram yourself, this young master can send you off himself!”
When Su Haoyu voiced out these words, everyone on site gave out a different atmosphere. Because these words by Su Haoyu, were evidently purposefully used to shame and anger his target. It seemed like they had a certain conflict between them.
However, Yun Che was not even the least bit angry. He used his gaze to size up Su Haoyu, and while he was sizing up, he nodded for a moment, and then disappointedly shook his head. The next moment, he actually looked as though he was sizing up a cattle that was being sold. He held his chin with his hand, and leisurely said. “Mn, so you’re Su Haoyu, the one who is proclaimed to have the best talent in Grandwake Clan? Your appearance is still passable. Compared to this young master, you’re still far off by a hundred thousands miles, but your appearance could still be looked at. However, it’s a pity that your mouth is too smelly, it smells so much, it’s nauseating.”
“Hahahaha!” Su Haoyu laughed out wildly. “And here I was thinking why a wild brat like you would come here for, so you’re actually here to seek death!”
“No no no no!” Yun Che waved his finger. “I have grown so big, yet, I have yet to know how the two words ‘seeking death’ are written. Earlier, I simply heard that you’re the so-called genius disciple with the best talent in Grandwake Clan, so I came over to see if you look like a human or a dog, and while I’m at it…” Yun Che reached out his right hand, and flexed his wrist. “I’m here to seek advice from you, the so-called number one genius.”
When Yun Che said these words, a couple of people at the scene began to laugh out loud. Su Haoyu had profound strength at the Eighth Level of the Spirit Profound Realm, in Grandwake Clan, or even the entire river east, he was unparalleled among those who were under twenty years of age. While Yun Che, who was merely at the First Level of the Spirit Profound Realm, actually dared to “seek advice”! Yun Che’s looked to be around seventeen or eighteen years old; to enter the Spirit Profound Realm at such an age, his talent was considerably decent as well. However, in front of Su Haoyue, it was basically not even worth mentioning. The eyes of many people began to carry ridicule, and there were even some that were looking at Yun Che as though he was an idiot.
“Heheh, he really doesn’t know any fear.” Su Hengyue and Heimu Qingya coldly laughed at the same time.
Su Hengshan’s eyebrows moved, and was about to voice out and stop Yun Che, however, just when he was about to let out his voice, he swallowed it back in. He deeply looked at Yun Che’s expression, and no longer said another word. Although he and Yun Che had only known each other just earlier, from the short interactions he had with him, he felt that Yun Che had a maturity which far surpassed his age, at the very least, he should not be someone who was reckless and ignorant… There might be a deep meaning in his current actions.
The reason why Su Haoyu angered Yun Che, was to agitate him into a fight with himself in the first place, and then, he would take the opportunity to teach Yun Che a ruthless lesson. However, he never expected that, with only a few sentences, Yun Che would want to fight himself already. Su Haoyu coldly laughed in his heart. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he said disdainfully. “With your qualifications? You’re still not worthy to fight with me!”
“Hahahaha!” Yun Che laughed out loudly. “I have seen cattle blowing hot air before, but I never thought that a smelly worm knows how to blow hot air as well. And not only is this air so funny, it’s so smelly, it’s hard to breath.”
“You… you’re seeking death!!”
Yun Che was not angered, and it was Su Haoyu who had flared up. With a cling, he pulled out his longsword, and pointed it towards Yun Che. “Reveal your weapon. You don’t know how the two words ‘seeking death’ are written, do you? Today, this young master shall properly teach you then!”
Yun Che released the hand he was holding onto Su Ling’er with, and gently pushed her next to Su Hengshan. However, he did not bring out his weapon, and his two hands actually swinging playfully in front of him, as he casually said. “The fact that I’m seeking advice from you, is already giving you a huge amount of face. You actually still wish that I reveal my weapon? If it’s just you, you don’t seem to have the qualifications yet.”
“Pfft…” Quite a number of people on-site snorted.
“Hmph! This idiot, is simply making a fool out of himself!” Su Haoran silently scolded in his heart. Recalling Xia Qingyue, who was beautiful as a fairy, his heart uncontrollably trembled. At the same time, he silently said hatefully: Such a beautiful person, actually married to an idiot like this, the heavens are simply blind!
“Good… Very good.” Su Haoyu suddenly felt that his status would drop just by standing together with this kid in front of him, and he instantly roared out. “Then, go to hell.”
Su Haoyu stabbed out his longsword. As his profound energy surged, the thin long sword disrupted the air in the surroundings, sweeping up circles of spatial ripples. Momentarily, there were a couple of elders at the scene who nodded in praise at the might contained in this sword.
The corner of Yun Che’s eyes inclined upwards. His right hand casually swung out and grabbed towards Su Haoyu’s longsword.
“The hell! This kid is seeking death!”
“To actually dare to use his hands to take on Su Haoyu’s sword, doesn’t he want his hand anymore? Let’s not talk about him who’s just at the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm, even if it’s someone at the tenth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, he’s simply seeking to be crippled if he does something like this!”
“Little brother, be careful!!” When Su Hengshan, whose heart was ill at ease in the first place, saw Yun Che’s action, he momentarily could no longer stay calm, and shouted out of shock… However, Yun Che’s palm was already almost half a foot away from Su Haoyu’s sword. He could only helplessly watch Yun Che’s palm make contact with Su Haoyu’s longsword.
With a “pu” sound, Yun Che’s right hand grabbed onto Su Haoyu’s sword just like that. It could no longer move a single inch, and the profound energy on the sword completely extinguished instantly. Before waiting for Su Haoyu to react, Yun Che’s hand had already left at lightning speed. Forming a fist, he ruthlessly smashed onto the blade of the sword with a single punch.
BAM!!!
Yun Che’s arm strength was exceptionally terrifying. Under this heavy blow, Su Haoyu’s thumb and forefinger was instantly spread apart. His longsword had flew out of his hand, and while it was flying away, it shattered into numerous pieces…
“Wha… What?”
This was a scene which everyone would never even dreamed of. Every single one of them paled out of shock. Even Su Hengshan, Su Hengyue, Heimu Qingya, and even the Grand Elder, were all completely dumbfounded.
Su Haoyu took two steps back. His pupils contracted, his right palm was bleeding profusely, and was incomparably painful. This unexpected change caused his mind to instantly go into a half-insane state. Before he could even gasp, Yun Che’s figure had already rushed right in front of him. An ice-cold face appeared right in front of his eyes, and a solid punch smashed onto his chest.
“CRUNCH!!”
With a dull sound, Su Haoyu’s entire chest sank inwards. His bones cleanly broke, and like a rolling calabash, his entire body rolled far away, pulling out a long trail of blood on the ground.
“Haoyu!!” Su Hengyue was so shocked, it was as though his soul flew out of his body as he swooped towards Su Haoyu’s side. Beside him, the middle-aged man called Li Yunji leapt out, and pierced towards Yun Che’s chest with a sword. “You dare to harm my young master, give me your life!!”
For Su Haoyu, who was proclaimed the number one genius in Grandwake Clan, not only was his sword stopped by Yun Che’s empty hand, he was actually heavily injured in a blink of an eye as well. This caused Su Hengshan to feel shocked and overjoyed at the same time. Suddenly, when he saw Li Yunji moving towards him, he quickly charged over, roaring out loud at the same time. “Li Yunji, you dare!! Little brother Yun, be careful!”
A pressure of the Earth Profound Realm pressed towards him. This time, Yun Che no longer dared to behave haughtily. With a swing of both his hands, Dragon Fault had already been grabbed within his hands, and without even looking at the person attacking him, he temporarily activated “Burning Heart”, and directly smashed towards him with a single “Falling Moon Sinking Star”.
Bang!!!!
This loud bang caused everyone’s eardrums to ring for a very long time. When Yun Che stepped into the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm, under the “Burning Heart” state’s activation, his peak strength was comparable to a normal practitioner at the mid-stage Earth Profound Realm, so how could it be blocked by Li Yunji, whose profound strength was only at the second level of the Earth Profound Realm? Within the loud bang, Li Yunji who leapt out, as though he was a kite with a broken string, was sent flying back. When he landed, he took dozens of steps back, and then, with his sword as a support, he knelt onto the ground, and a large amount of blood splurted out from his mouth… The tyranny of that one sword strike from Yun Che, caused him to feel as though his organs had been completely shattered.
Su Hengshan, who had rushed out initially to save Yun Che, stopped. Looking at Yun Che whose hands were holding onto a gigantic sword, his two eyes were filled with astonishment.
Everyone’s eyes on Yun Che, were stricken with shock as well.
This youth who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, actually defeated Su Haoyu in a blink of an eye, and then, he injured Li Yunji who had the profound strength at the Earth Profound Realm with a single strike as well… Even if they had personally seen it, they still did not dare to believe this was actually real.
“Waaaaao!!” Su Ling’er’s two hands held onto her little face. The number of little stars in her eyes were even more than the stars in a clear night sky. “Big Brother Yun Che is so incredible! Big brother Yun Che… is so handsome!!”
With a “bang”, Dragon Fault was stabbed deeply into ground by Yun Che. He coldly looked at Li Yunji, and said with ridicule. “From what Clan Master Su said earlier, your life was saved by the previous Clan Master, and he even took you into the Grandwake Clan for a few dozen years. In the end, not only do you not know how to repay his kindness, you’re actually helping those with ill intentions to coerce his descendants and make things difficult for them… Heh! A dog that was brought up still knows how to be loyal, you’re really worse than a dog. With that one sword strike I smashed into you earlier, I even fear that I have dirtied my hands.”
Whenever Yun Che scolded people, he had always been incomparably harsh. These words were like daggers stabbing into Li Yunji’s heart. He, whose internal injuries were not light in the first place, instantly paled as his eyes roundly widened. Under the extreme anxiety and grief in his heart, he instantly fainted.
Su Hengyue peremptorily stuffed dozens of medicinal pellets into Su Haoyu’s mouth, and then, continuously inserted profound energy into him to dissolve the medicinal strength, stabilizing his injuries. He fiercely turned his head, and stared at Yun Che, it was as though his eyes were daggers coated in blood. “You damn junior! You actually dare to harm my son, I will definitely have you die a dog’s death!!”
“Tch!” Yun Che curled his lips in extreme disdain. “You actually spout such nonsense when your son’s skills are inferior. I kindly stepped out and helped you teach him a lesson. I don’t mind if you don’t give me the proper thanks, however, you’re actually still making such a fuss. I really wonder where you get the courage to say such shameful words in front of such a large audience… If you want to blame, then blame your son’s incapabilities. And what genius this is… This is simply a joke!”
“You!!” Su Hengyue’s eyes widened roundly, and his lungs almost exploded out of anger. If not for the need to insert profound energy into Su Haoyu, he would have already acted against Yun Che, without regard for his status.
“This… oh, Grand Elder.” Yun Che no longer bothered with Su Hengyue anymore, and his gaze turned towards Grand Elder Su Wangji, whose expression was extremely terrible. “Elder, earlier you said that, as long as you’re able to find a disciple who is under twenty years old in the Grandwake Clan that is able to defeat Su Haoyu, then, Clan Master Su will have full authority to decide about the matter regarding the clan’s treasure. This Su Hengyue father and son pair is also not allowed to once again bring up the matter about the clan’s treasure, and must give their respects to Clan Master Su as well. This was something Su Hengyue had agreed to in front of everyone here… Grand Elder, these words that you said, you shouldn’t have forgotten about it so quickly, right?”
“Hmph!” Su Wangji let out a cold snort. “What this elder has said, I will naturally keep my promise. Unfortunately, you’re not a disciple of our Grandwake Clan! Even if you enter our clan now, it’s no use! Grandwake Clan has never taken in any disciples from outside! And Li Yunji is nothing but half a servant as well!”
“Heheh, looks like Grand Elder isn’t well informed of the news.” Yun Che narrowed his eyes, and said smilingly. “Clan Master Su has already betrothed his daughter Su Ling’er to me, I am currently Clan Master Su’s son-in-law… Tell me then, am I not someone of the Grandwake Clan now!?”
Chapter 268 - Engagement
Yun Che’s words suddenly blanked everyone’s minds. Whispers began to sound from every direction and there were many that constantly shook their heads to show that they knew absolutely nothing about this matter. Everyone’s expressions were especially strange since Su Ling’er was after all, still young. She was only ten years of age this year. If the two unsuspecting people were betrothed before they were even adults, that would still have been quite normal, but Yun Che was a full grown adult! There certainly was something wrong with that…
Looking at the situation in front of them, no matter who it was, they thought it was extremely likely that this was just a fabricated excuse to thwart Su Hengyue’s ambitions.
Su Hengshan was caught in a daze as well, but he quickly reacted. He took a quick glance at Yun Che and without changing his expression, he said: “That’s right, Yun Che is the number one genius of the younger generation amongst the ones I’ve seen. I quite admire him, since, in terms of natural talent he is at least ten times better than Su Haoyu! You have seen this fact with your own eyes; additionally, he also saved my daughter’s life, so I have arranged for my daughter to marry him. When my daughter reaches sixteen years of age, they will marry!”
Su Ling’er blinked her innocent watery eyes. She had a look of confusion all over her face. After all, she was already ten years old this year and not some two or three year old little kid. She already knew what “marriage” meant. Even if she didn’t understand it completely, she was aware of what it basically meant. She looked at her father and then at Yun Che. Her heart was beating wildly as she was at her wit’s end.
“Bunch of crap!” Su Hengyue clenched his teeth and angrily said: “Su Hengshan, don’t treat everyone like an idiot! This child is only someone who recently helped you. This marriage thing, is just an excuse! Otherwise, how can there not be a single person here who knows about it!”
“Hehe, that’s only because I haven’t publicly announced yet. Don’t tell me that my own daughter’s marriage requires the consent of others?” Su Hengshan said indifferently. He looked at the crowd and then calmly continued: “Looks like, all of you aren’t too convinced. That’s fine. I, Su Hengshan, will publicly announce this matter right now…”
He looked at Yun Che, and Yun Che also looked at him… Su Hengshan’s expression was incredibly complicated, but Yun Che’s expression was incredibly unwavering and tranquil. This was the meeting of eyes between two men who loved the same girl dearly. From the expression in their eyes, one of them had the pure love of a father, and the other had an expression that shook one’s heart… undying determination.
After seeing the look in Yun Che’s eyes, Su Hengshan’s heart and mind also calmed down. All of his nervousness became the feeling of wonderful calmness.
His mood before was always immersed in the shock that Yun Che instilled. Although he loathed the Su Hengyue father and son pair, he had no choice but to recognize them. Su Haoyu’s natural talents were incredible, and no one in Grandwake Clan could reach him. But this kind of genius, had actually suffered a crushing defeat in front of Yun Che, who was two or three years younger than him. And his following strike was able to severely injure Li Yunji who was in the Earth Profound Realm. He was only at this age, but he already had such frightening strength. Within his cognition, this could only be described as unimaginable.
A young man who possessed such a strength must have been born in a top top notch sect in the Country of Supwake… wrong! The sect he was born in must be top notch even in the Azure Cloud Continent!
Although Grandwake Clan controlled the everything east of Supwake River, he wasn’t delusional that such a disciple like this could appear within their younger generation. The sect that he belonged to was an existence that Grandwake Clan could only kneel to and worship. He was absolutely certain about this point without a trace of doubt. The same opinions also emerged within the hearts of practically everyone present.
Now, the only concern was if Su Ling’er was suitable for him, since he was completely suitable for his daughter.
Yun Che’s looks were one in ten thousand. His personality, as well as his deep and unfathomable expressions, was something no one could reach up to… These things were all secondary within Su Hengshan’s heart, but the love and protection that he showed to Su Ling’er came from the depths of his soul and bones. The unwavering determination to protect her life that he showed once before made him unable to feel anything but emotional. Although he and Su Ling’er had obviously just met this morning, the sensation that he felt was so incredibly clear that amazed him from the bottom of his heart.
And to a father, was there anything more relieving than entrusting his own daughter to a person who was willing to protect her with his life?
At the same time, Su Ling’er also clearly displayed an unreasonable amount of trust and dependence towards Yun Che.
He was incapable of determining what Yun Che’s morals were like. Today, in a situation where he could have absolutely avoided from the start, he unhesitantly showed his power, and put himself in a dangerous situation. This was also a kindness that he had towards Su Hengshan and the Grandwake Clan, but he felt the reason why Yun Che acted like this was entirely because of Ling’er.
In conclusion, if he could entrust his daughter’s future to this kind of person, he could feel at ease about his daughter’s entire life. If he had to find a blemish, it would be that Yun Che was already married. If his daughter were to marry Yun Che in the future, she could only become a concubine.
The mood of Su Hengshan, who had never thought about the matters concerning Su Ling’er’s marriage before today, became incredibly calm. His face contained a slight smile and he used an ample voice to declare: “Today, I’ll formally declare that my daughter, Su Ling’er will be betrothed to Yun Clan’s son, Yun Che. The girl is still young right now, but when she is sixteen, they will set a date for marriage! Everyone here shall now bare witness!”
Every one of Su Hengshan’s words were resounding. No one was able to hear a strand of falseness or reluctance at all. Once he finished talking, he lightly nodded towards Yun Che with a smile on his face and warmth in his eyes… That was the expression of a daughter’s father who was closely examining his son-in-law. Even the most vicious person there could not see a strand of fake acting.
Yun Che quickly walked forward, knelt on one knee, and sincerely said: “Son-in-law Yun Che, thanks father-in-law for his consent!”
“Yun Che, you must think it through clearly. The girls of our Grandwake Clan will never marry outsiders. If you want to marry my daughter, then you will become a member of my Grandwake Clan!”
Yun Che nodded without the slightest bit of hesitation: “I understand! From today, I, Yun Che will become a disciple of the Grandwake Clan! I will share both the honors and disgrace the Grandwake Clan!”
Yun Che raised his head and looked towards the stunned Su Ling’er. He gently smiled… Ling’er, during those times, I had never given you the tiniest amount of commitment. I owe you way too much. This is a dreamscape, but it is also a beautiful dream. Let me give you everything that I can within this dream.
“Hahahaha, good!” Su Hengshan walked forward and helped Yun Che up. He let him and Su Ling’er stand together, then faced Su Wangji and Su Hengyue and said: “Grand Elder, Yun Che is my son-in-law now and is also a son-in-law of the Grandwake Clan. Naturally, he is now a member of my Grandwake Clan. In terms of age, he is younger than Su Haoyu. In terms of natural talent, hehe, Elder must have surely seen it clearly. Grand Elder had just suggested it, and everyone here heard it clearly. I believe with the Grand Elder’s seniority and prestige, you certainly will not go back on your words. So now, I’ll have full authority regarding the matters regarding the clan’s treasure in the future. I believe that you, elder, will certainly not have any objections.”
Su Wanji’s old face was rigid and extremely ugly all over; he was speechless. His words before were completely for Su Hengyue to get his way. He never could have imagined that in the blink of an eye, it had become the big pit that he was jumping right into.
“Su Hengyue, do you have anything else to say?” Su Hengshan asked with raised eyebrows.
“Hmph!!” Su Hengyue’s gaze was gloomy. His hands, which were pressed against Su Haoyu’s chest, were trembling.
“Hehehehehe!” An unpleasantly cold laughter sounded. Heimu Qingya, who had always been watching by the side, slowly walked forward towards Su Hengshan. Two elders of the Blackwood Stronghold closely followed from behind him. Heimu Qingya didn’t stop until he was less than three steps away from Su Hengshan, then he raised his hand toward Su Hengshan: “I sincerely congratulate Clan Master Su in finding such a wonderful son-in-law. Not only did you solve a lifelong problem for your daughter, you even have completely handled of the matter regarding your clan’s valuable treasure.
“Heimu Qingya, our Grandwake Clan’s valuable treasure concerns the prosperity of my clan. It doesn’t belong to anybody else but our Grandwake Clan. Hmph! If you wish to talk about my Grandwake Clan’s matters again, before the matters regarding you outsiders’ ulterior motives, I still haven’t paid my debts for the matter regarding the fact that you tried to do something to my daughter! I’d like to see just what kind of explanation you’ll give me today.” Su Hengshan said sternly.
“Heh, Clan Master Su does not need to be so angry. I’ll certainly have an explanation for you. However, before that, I have something to remind Clan Master Su.” Heimu Qingya’s eyes were half squinted and a dangerously cold light radiated from between the cracks of his eyes: “The reason you can be so happy go lucky right now is because of this son-in-law of yours that came out of nowhere. As long as you have this son-in-law, the number one disciple of your generation can never be Su Haoyu, but what if he were to suddenly die…”
When Heimu Qingya spoke to here, his figure suddenly flashed and charged like a streak of black lightning towards Yun Che. A fist imbued with violent surges of profound energy grabbed toward Yun Che’s chest.
“Qingya old bastard, you dare!!”
Su Hengshan’s expression transformed into great anger. Just as he was about to take action, the two elders behind Heimu Qingya were already facing him to completely block his attack, to prevent him from hindering Heimu Qingya during this exact moment.
Heimu Qingya possessed strength of the Sky Profound Realm. There were only already only a few people within Grandwake Clan who could contend against him. Additionally, since Heimu Qingya was already closeby before he suddenly took action, Grandwake Clan’s experts of the elder class were all too far away, and were unable to block it in time. All of them could only look on helplessly as Heimu Qingya directly charged at Yun Che’s front.
Heimu Qingya was an extremely despicable and immoral person, but no one could have imagined that he’d be despicable to this degree. Even with the identity of a Hold Master, he actually went as far as to sneak attack a junior in front of everyone’s eyes!
When Heimu Qingya was talking with Su Hengshan, Yun Che had already placed Su Ling’er behind him to protect her and strengthened his awareness at the same time. Perhaps Su Hengshan could not sense it, but he was extremely perceptive to things like killing intent; he had sensed that Heimu Qingya had a desire to kill him with one strike. During Heimu Qingya’s charge, Yun Che’s brows lowered and Burning Heart opened. Along with a loud shout, “Sealing Cloud Locking Sun” instantly activated.
Bang!!
Heimu Qingya’s palms struck against the barrier of “Sealing Cloud Locking Sun” and a stuffy noise sounded. A huge shock wave transmitted from ahead and caught him off guard, causing him to retreat several steps.
But Yun Che and Su Ling’er, who was behind him, were in fact unmoved and completely unharmed. However, “Sealing Cloud Locking Sun” was directly shattered by Heimu Qingya’s single palm.
Heimu Qingya was greatly shocked. He never could have imagined that he would be shocked into retreat by this youngster. He was shocked and angry. Following a low roar, he mobilized all the profound energy in his body and blasted towards Yun Che with his palm again: “Junior… die!!”
Yun Che was not frightened, nor was he in a panic. He quickly grabbed Su Ling’er and prepared to escape with Star God’s Broken Shadow… He only needed to dodge this single strike from Heimu Qingya. By then, the elders and disciples of the Grandwake Clan would catch up, and Heimu Qingya also would never be able to think about harming him and Su Ling’er ever again.
But at this moment, an ice cold beeze suddenly blew past. Within the cold wind were many pieces of floating snowflakes. A long white ribbon followed the wind and snow to lightly meet Heimu Qingya’s fist; it was as light as breeze.
Boom!!!!
The moment this white ribbon that was as light as a feather brushed against Heimu Qingya’s fist, an explosion erupted. It was in fact an earth-shattering power that caused Heimu Qingya to cry out loudly. All five of his fingers were broken and his entire body flew far away. A breeze of cold wind followed behind him and blew away all the Blackwood Stronghold disciples who were currently trying to rush over. Instantly, black figures filled the air, and like the transit of dense locusts, their wretched screams were unceasing.
This sudden turn of events stunned everyone at the scene. Those who were fighting also unanimously stopped… A white figure followed by icy spirits that fluctuated up and down in the sky slowly descended in front of Yun Che.
Chapter 269 - Steamrolled
The appearance of an absolute beauty, would always attract the gazes of an extremely large number of people in a short period of time. However, Xia Qingyue was different. What she attracted were not just mere gazes with her every appearance, she could, even more so, cause the souls of everyone present to leave their bodies at that one moment.
Xia Qingyue gently floated down, and stood next to Yun Che. She wore completely white dress, her snowy complexion was dream-like, and her icy eyes glittered like the stars as a long white ribbon gently fluttered, while encircling around her body. Instantly, everyone had completely lost their voices, every single one of them stared blankly at Xia Qingyue, and their gazes were misty, as though they had suddenly fallen into a dream, and saw the legendary fairy from the moon palace descend onto the mortal realm…
Heimu Qingya continuously took a number of steps back. His right hand was trembling out of extreme pain; all five of his fingers were broken, and they were twisted beyond unsightly. He raised his head and looked towards Xia Qingyue, and after being stunned for a moment, the shock in his heart reached an extreme degree… He was actually struck injured by a girl who looked only about seventeen or eighteen years of age! The density of the profound energy contained in that strike earlier, caused him to tremble in fear. And the icy profound aura being emitted out from Xia Qingyue, had even more so, caused the nerves in his entire body to tense up… Because that was a type of strength that completely suppressed him in terms of level!
Behind him, the hundreds of Blackwood Stronghold disciples who were blown away by the cold wind, fell onto the ground one after another like a bunch of cooked dumplings. However, none of them stood up, as all of them screamed out and grimaced in pain. Because, on all of their bodies, large or small amounts of ice crystals had formed. The parts covered by the ice crystals would freeze up in the short time of a few breaths, and they would even force them to completely lose consciousness, instantly causing them to basically become unable to stand up.
Heimu Qingya’s brows trembled wildly. Raising his left hand, he pointed towards Xia Qingyue. “Who… Who… Who are you!?”
The tremor in Heimu Qingya’s words were evident. After taking Xia Qingyue’s hit earlier, he was once again locked on by her power, he was thus the one who could feel the terrifying amount of strength Xia Qingyue possessed to the greatest extent. At such an age, coupled with such profound strength, it was enough to cause the Blackwood Stronghold Master’s spiritual world to be turned upside down out of shock.
Xia Qingyue looked at Heimu Qingya with cold eyes, and did not say a single word. Yun Che’s eyes shone brightly, carrying Su Ling’er, with a whoosh, he went to her side. “Qingyue my wife, you’re finally here. If you had not come over, you would have been a widow for the rest of your life!”
Yun Che said, and even put out a frightened look. Xia Qingyue’s eyes slightly moved, as she felt completely helpless. Others were not clear of Yun Che’s strength, however, she knew of it clearly enough… With his Star God’s Broken Shadow, even if it was Heimu Qingya whose strength had reached the Sky Profound Realm, he should not even think of touching his figure that easily.
When Yun Che uttered the words “Qingyue my wife”, one after another, those male disciples who were slightly obsessed with her, felt as though a dagger had stabbed into their chests as they cast gazes of extreme jealousy and envy at Yun Che… All of their attention were firmly attracted by Xia Qingyue’s fairy-like appearance, and did not have time to comprehend just how terrifying of a strength she possessed. And probably, the first instance they saw Xia Qingyue, subconsciously, they would never connect her with the two words “strong expert”. Because, with a beauty of such degree, with just a smile, she was capable of dominating the world, there’s simply no need for her to possess such great strength.
“Beautiful big sister, you’re awake… That’s great… My name is Ling’er.” Being carried so tightly by Yun Che’s chest in front of so many people, Su Ling’er seemed to be a little embarrassed. Her little face was flushed red, and she greeted Xia Qingyue with a very soft voice.
Xia Qingyue turned her gaze to the side, and gently nodded towards Su Ling’er. Her lips slightly moved, however, she was unable to smile… Perhaps, she had already forgotten how to smile. At least, Yun Che had never seen her smile before.
To those elders who had great strength, what they were amazed by were not just Xia Qingyue’s looks. When she pushed Heimu Qingya back with only a single strike earlier, it caused none of their expressions to not change in agitation, and their entire faces were filled with shock and disbelief… However, immediately after, they quickly consoled themselves. A little lady who was just seventeen or eighteen years old, no matter how monstrous she was, it was basically impossible for her to push back an expert at the Sky Profound Realm. It must have definitely been luck, or, Heimu Qingya must have simply used only a very small portion of his strength in that strike of his…
Although they auto-suggested this to themselves, when Heimu Qingya moved earlier, their senses, however, clearly told them that not only did he not hold back with that strike, rather, he had used a hundred percent of his strength!
Su Hengshan stepped forward. When facing Xia Qingyue, his demeanor actually had a small amount of respect. “This miss, I’m Su Hengshan. Earlier, miss was injured and was in a coma, it seems like you’re completely fine now, nothing is really better than this. Thank you for lending out a hand earlier, to save… my little girl.”
Yun Che nodded. “Mn, Qingyue my wife, this is my father-in-law whom I have just admitted to. This time, it’s all thanks to father-in-law for taking us in, only then did we have a place to settle in.”
As he called her “Qingyue my wife”, he introduced her to his “father-in-law”. This scene caused a large number of people to stare with their tongues tied. However, unfortunately, this astonishingly beautiful girl did not even have a hint of jealousy and discomfort on her face. She turned around, and gently bowed towards Su Hengshan. “This junior, Xia Qingyue, thanks Clan Master Su for the hospitality.”
“It’s nothing much, you’re too courteous.” Su Hengshan hurriedly waved his hand to reply. Although he was already middle-aged, when facing Xia Qingyue, his eyes still did not dare to make contact with hers. He silently sighed in his head. Then, as he turned his gaze towards Heimu Qingya, anger instantly spread throughout his face. “Heimu Qingya! You little man! I have long known of your despicable name, however, I never expected that you could actually be despicable and shameless to this extent! Our Grandwake Clan’ fame being on par with your Blackwood Stronghold in these recent years, is basically a huge humiliation!”
Su Hengshan then switched his gaze again, looked towards Su Wangji, and said. “Grand Elder, the incident earlier, you have seen it clearly yourself as well. Su Hengyue had associated with such a person. Not only is he suspected for betraying our clan, he’s even more so a mockery to all of us! And you, as our Grand Elder, actually stands on his side. Even though I am Clan Master, I am also your junior. I have endured time and time again. Even when Su Hengyue had censured me time and time again, I have never retaliated! However, today… back then, when Blackwood Stronghold held the intention to abduct Ling’er, I can still tell myself that you people do not have any idea of this matter. However, just now, when Heimu Qingya suddenly moved to attack my son-in-law, not only did you guys not stop him, you people still looked calm and behaved leisurely… Grand Elder, Su Hengyue, although I really did not wish to see an internal conflict within our Clan, and have people with ill intentions to make a joke out of us, I am not a fangless tiger either! In the current Grandwake Clan, ultimately, I still call the final shots!”
“Enough!” Su Wangji’s expression was extremely ugly. He glanced at Heimu Qingya whose right hand was still trembling, and Su Haoyu who had fallen on the ground due to heavy injuries. He then patted on the armrest and stood up. “The incident today shall end here… Hengyue, bring Haoyu away!”
Su Hengyue’s expression twitched. He glared maliciously at Su Hengshan and Yun Che, had the disciples behind him carry Su Haoyu who was out cold, and without saying a single word, he began to leave hatefully. Su Hengshan’s words were right, ultimately and currently, he still made the final calls in Grandwake Clan. The reason why he dared to come here so aggressively today, was due to his largest reliance on Su Haoyu’s incomparable talent. On this point alone, he had gained the support of a large amount of people in the clan. Added with Blackwood Stronghold’s strength, it was enough to give Su Hengshan a huge amount of pressure. However, he never expected that, while this was going on, a random Yun Che would actually charge right in!
Su Hengshan’s eyebrows twitched. He stretched out his right arm, however, after stretching it out halfway, he retracted it again. While containing his boiling anger, he allowed them to make preparations to leave. And at this moment, a cold snort suddenly resounded.
“Wait a minute!!”
Yun Che took a step forward, and coldly stared at Heimu Qingya who had a stiffened expression. “This place is not my territory, so it’s not really suitable for me to say words like ‘you guys think you can come and go as you please’, however… Blackwood Stronghold Master, the fact that you tried to kill me earlier, could it be that you’re thinking it will end just like this?”
Heimu Qingya’s eyes narrowed, and began to laughed coldly. “What? You’re still thinking of keeping me here?”
At the moment, although Heimu Qingya was laughing coldly from his lips, his body did not feel the least bit comfortable. His back was even covered entirely in cold sweat since earlier. His five fingers on his right hand were not just simply broken, he could feel wisps of extremely ice-cold energy flowing in his entire right hand. These wisps of cold energy were like ice daggers; for every second they flowed, it was as though a dozen daggers gouged in and out of his hand, causing him to feel a heart-piercing pain. However, even when he used all of his strength, he was still unable to force out a single strand of these wisps of cold energy.
He was the one who wished to immediately leave the most, because, facing Xia Qingyue, a deep fear had already grown in his heart.
“Keep you here? Hahahaha, you’re thinking too highly of yourself. Just by your ugly and sinister face, despicable and shameless soul, I would even fear that it’s too dirty to keep you here as food for the houseflies. I simply wish to have you pay the proper debt you owed me earlier!” Yun Che turned his head, and sternly said. “Of course, this is just a personal grudge between Heimu Qingya and I, and it has completely nothing to do with the Grandwake Clan…”
After saying till here, Yun Che suddenly raised out his hand, pointed it at Heimu Qingya, and said with a furious expression. “Qingyue my wife! It’s him! Earlier, he actually moved to kill me! This hatred for his attempt to kill your husband, even if I’m able to endure it, you can’t endure it, right!?”
Xia Qingyue’s eyelashes slightly raised, her pair of cold eyes had already locked onto Heimu Qingya. Before Heimu Qingya could speak up, the Ice Phoenix Snowflower Ribbon on her body suddenly swung out at lightning-speed, and directly brushed against Heimu Qingya’s chest.
Heimu Qingya’s pair of eyes sank, and growled. “Arrogant junior! You think I’m afraid of you!?”
Heimu Qingya’s palm moved. With a black iron spear grabbed in hand, his spear spun out a gigantic black vortex in the midst of his growl, taking on the seemingly powerless Ice Phoenix Snowflower Ribbon.
This was a might coming from a Sky Profound expert, and those nearby, who were slightly near to him, all suffered a shortness of breath due to the pressure, and some were even suffocating.
Ssssss!!
The moment the Ice Phoenix Snowflower Ribbon made contact with the black metal spear, an ear-piercing tearing sound rang. That vortex which carried a gigantic amount of energy was like a piece of tissue being torn apart, a blooming ice lotus suddenly smashed away the spear while heading straight towards Heimu Qingya.
Heimu Qingya’s expression paled greatly from shock, and hurriedly retreated. The surrounding people looked even more dumbfounded… Heimu Qingya’s strike earlier, he had completely used his full strength, however, this girl actually… blasted it away with a single blow!
“I shall aid you!!”
Seeing that the situation was getting bad, Su Hengyue quickly bent his body, and pierced his sword towards the Ice Phoenix Snowflower Ribbon… The two powers who were among the top ten Sky Profound experts in the river, were actually working together to fight against a teenage girl who was only seventeen years old. Everyone had never seen, nor heard of such a scene before, and it could only be depicted as inconceivable.
Yet, Xia Qingyue’s expression did not moved a single bit, and only her hand movements had slightly changed.
Instantly, The spiraling ice lotus split in two, and smashed towards Heimu Qingya and Su Hengyue respectively…
Ping!!
Su Hengye’s block was not of the slightest use. The moment his longsword made contact with the ice lotus, even his arm was sealed in ice as well. Of the two ice lotuses, one of them pressed onto Heimu Qingya’s chest, while the other pressed onto Su Hengyue’s chest, and then, they exploded at the same time.
The two of them screamed at the same time and flew in opposite directions, smashing into seven or eight Blackwood Stronghold disciples, and caused them to faint on the spot.
Their bodies were completely stabbed with shattered ice flower that caused countless piercing wounds. Half of their bodies were sealed in ice, and they were basically unable to move for a brief moment. As they laid on the ground, their expressions were completely lifeless. They were basically unwilling to believe everything that had happened… Not just them, Su Hengshan, Su Wangji… and even Yun Che, were staring with dumbfounded expressions.
Two experts at the Sky Profound early stages, the pinnacle of strength in the entire river east, were actually, by a teenage girl… defeated terribly with a single move!!
With just a single move!!
When Xia Qingyue pushed Heimu Qingya earlier, Yun Che had already determined that after she finished refining the Emperor Awakening Heart Pellet, her strength had definitely surpassed Heimu Qingya’s! Not only could she have entered the Sky Profound Realm, she might have leapt into the mid-stages of the Sky Profound Realm…
However, he definitely had never expected that, when facing the combined attack of two experts at the Sky Profound Realm, Heimu Qingya and Su Hengyue, she actually simply used a single move to defeat them!
Even if it was someone at the mid-stages of the Sky Profound Realm, it would basically be impossible to do something like this!
Could it be, the current Xia Qingyue, was already… at the late-stages of the Sky Profound Realm?
“Jasmine, what’s the level of Xia Qingyue’s current profound strength?” Yun Che asked with a slight tremble.
“…As expected of the Sky Poison Pearl, ranked fifth among the Heavenly Profound Treasures, such perfect refinement to an extreme degree. In all of the large thousands of worlds, only the Sky Poison Pearl is capable of doing this.” Even Jasmine’s voice carried a hint of shock. “Her current profound strength, has already stepped over the Sky Profound, and is ranked in the Realm of the Emperor Profound! She has even surpassed Chu Yuechan, and has reached the second level of the Emperor Profound Realm!”
“Currently, these two at the second level of the Sky Profound Realm are no different from infants who have just learnt how to walk in front of her! If she had not held back, these two people would have already become ice particles!”
Yun Che: “……”
Yun Che: “……”
Yun Che: “What… did you…………… say!?!?”
Chapter 270 - Borrowing Power to Induce Fear
According to Jasmine’s earlier words, the usage of the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus allowed an expert of the Earth Profound Realm to directly leap into the Sky Profound Realm. However, the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus that Xia Qingyue consumed was refined by the Sky Poison Pearl; its effectiveness must be several times more powerful than the legends stated. Yun Che thought about the possibility that she might directly leap into the mid stage of the Sky Profound Realm… and perhaps even the mid to late stage…
He absolutely did not imagine that she could crossed two whole realms from the Earth Profound Realm into the realm whose very name caused people to tremble, the Emperor Profound Realm! She became an identity that countless people looked up to, a Throne!
A female Throne who was only seventeen years old!
“This… is… too… ridiculous… right!” Yun Che groaned to himself.
What kind of concept was the Emperor Profound Realm? In the entire Blue Wind Empire, the number of Thrones combined did not exceed ten people, but these ten were existences who were at the peak, peak realm within the Blue Wind Empire. Every one of them had a reputation that far exceeded the Blue Wind Emperor. And among these Thrones, the youngest was originally Heavenly Sword Villa’s Ling Yuefeng; then, due to some coincidence, the one who originally had at least ten more years until breaking through, Chu Yuechan, directly broke through because Yun Che gave his Dragon Yang to her, thus replacing Ling Yuefeng as the youngest Throne.
But Xia Qingyue was only seventeen and a half!!
This was far beyond an exaggeration, it might as well be a fantastical story! In the Blue Wind Empire, this was completely completely unprecedented… perhaps even impossible.
And in the east river region of Supwake Country, a Throne… was god! A god that could crush everything! Although the east river region of the Supwake Country didn’t have the highest levels of profound realms, it absolutely wasn’t low either; however, there had been three hundred years before the appearance of the previous Throne. In history, the one that appeared before was over seventy years old.
“The power it takes to go from the Sky Profound Realm to the Emperor Profound Realm requires ten times the amount that it would take to go from the Earth Profound Realm to the Sky Profound Realm. Her astonishing breakthrough, is perhaps related to her Nine Profound Exquisite Body.” Jasmine thought out loud, but this wasn’t heard by Yun Che.
The experts on the side of the Blackwood Stronghold and Su Hengyue, including Su Wangji, originally wanted to take action, but after seeing Heimu Qingya and Su Hengyue get defeated instantaneously, it was same as if their heads had been smashed. Their eyes stared wide open and they severely trembled all over. That look of exaggeration was like they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
Su Hengshan’s mouth gaped open, he was also shocked until his brain became stupid. After a long while, he lightly muttered to Yun Che: “Little brother Yun, may I ask about this lady’s… current cultivation level?”
“Oh!” Yun Che raised his eyebrows. Using a loud enough voice, he answered with incomparable casualness: “My wife’s talents are so-so. She’s already seventeen this year, but she had only drifted into the second level of the Emperor Profound Realm. Even saying this might make everyone mock us.”
“Wu… Wu… WUT!”
Yun Che’s words were like a thunderclap that exploded beside everyone’s ears and made them shudder all over. A terrified expression was birthed within their gazes that glanced at Xia Qingyue. Su Wanji was shocked so much that his butt fell back down to his chair.
Normally, if one said that a seventeen year old girl had the cultivation level of the Emperor Profound Realm, everyone would treat them like a lunatic. However just then, they clearly saw the simultaneous defeat of two strong experts at the Sky Profound Realm by her hands, with their own eyes… This was a strength that was only possible within late stages of the Sky Profound Realm!
This girl perhaps was a genuine seventeen year old Throne!
The atmosphere at the scene changed quickly. Everyone’s attention focused on Xia Qingyue. The shock that she brought shrouded everything else. All kinds of grudges that happened earlier in the face of this huge shock were practically negligible.
Seeing the reaction of the people in the surrounding, Yun Che’s heart began to lament… This was the benefit of absolute power. When there was absolute crushing power, there was absolute crushing control. People will fear, dread, respect, worship and serve… No one would dare to bully, shout, persecute, nor assassinate…
To genuinely achieve self-protection and protected the people by your side, possessing absolute power is the only solution. Everything else was bravado.
This was something that Yun Che always strived for with all his might.
If he didn’t use that Emperor Awakening Heart Pill on Xia Qingyue and used it on himself instead, then the power he possessed today might have been… at the Emperor Profound Realm. At the time, when he was originally at the Elementary Profound Realm, the strenuous effort, cultivation, and breakthrough time made this realm an absolute fairytale, he didn’t even think about this realm back then. Today, before two years had even passed, he was already standing beside an actual Throne, and at the same time, had a brief encounter with that kind of power.
Looking at Xia Qingyue at his side, Yun Che’s heart moved slightly, but he didn’t have a speck of regret, and didn’t think the least about what he might have gained and lost. The fact that Xia Qingyue was his wife was completely enough.
Looking at Heimu Qingya was being helped up by his two guards, Yun Che’s gaze sank, and he callously laughed: “Heimu Qingya, the debt of capturing my fiancee, Su Ling’er, and trying to kill me, have you thought well about how you would pay me and my father-in-law?”
Heimu Qingya breathed in a large breath of air. The cold energy circulating within his body made him wish that he was dead. He gritted his teeth and replied angrily: “Payment? Heh… if you have the guts, just kill me!”
“Kill you? You think I wouldn’t dare?” Yun Che’s face immediately clouded: “My father-in-law is a venerable Clan Master, he must consider everything from a greater perspective. Even if you took action against Su Ling’er, he will probably be apprehensive toward your matter. However, I’m different… you’re just a teeny weeny Blackwood Stronghold Master. Killing you is no different that killing a dog! Qingyue my wife, kill him!”
These words of Yun Che ruthlessly reminded everyone, and made them simultaneously think: To be able to foster such a power at such a young age, there must be some terrifying power backing them up! The sects they came from, the levels they were at, were so high up that they didn’t even have the qualifications to look up to them.
Then for their level, perhaps killing a Blackwood Stronghold Master really was no different than killing a dog!
The awakened Xia Qingyue was especially obedient towards Yun Che. When Yun Che spoke those words, cold energy rushed forth from her body and a delicate lotus bloomed in the middle of her palm. Then, with a dance of her fingers, it suddenly flew towards Heimu Qingya.
Followed by a bone chilling killing intent, a stream of cold energy assaulted his face. This strike caused Heimu Qingya’s soul to leave him. Those words that he said earlier were just spiteful words that he said without thinking. After he finished, he realized that he wasn’t facing the Grandwake Clan at all, but a Throne that didn’t belong to the Grandwake Clan at all! If a Throne wanted to kill him, what did they have to fear!
The chilling light of the dancing ice lotus looked incredibly gorgeous, but as it approached, all the hairs on his body stood up. He didn’t have the slightest doubt that if he touched that ice lotus, he would undoubtedly die with no chance for flukes.
Under the threat of death, Heimu Qingya shouted out weirdly. Under his serious condition, he used more power than ever before to escape backwards at an incredible speed as if a grasshopper, to dodge the ice lotus that came from Xia Qingyue; however, he landed on the ground like a dead dog, and wasn’t able to stand up even after a long while… As the Hold Master of the Blackwood Stronghold, he was an expert of the Sky Profound Realm. Perhaps he never thought about the possibility that one day he might be in such a miserable state.
Xia Qingyue’s brows moved slightly. As she turned her snow white hands over, another ice lotus blossomed from her palm. That ice lotus from earlier clearly told everyone that for even the Blackwood Stronghold Master, who ruled the river east, she could kill them as long as she wanted to without the slightest bit of doubt. When the second ice lotus blossomed, all the faces of those who belonged to the Blackwood Stronghold had a huge change. Su Wangji ferociously stood up and roared with his old voice: “Stop! Don’t do things that are so absolute, otherwise…”
“Otherwise what?” Yun Che raised his eyebrows and stared at him while coldly saying: “When he wanted to kill me, you watched from the sides. When we want to kill him, you come out grumbling? Ah, my father-in-law and my fiancee, Su Ling’er, are all people of the Grandwake Clan. Looking at their faces, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear you earlier. If you dare to speak another word, I’ll have my wife kill you immediately! Do you want to try it!”
Su Wangji’s eyes stared wide open and his body trembled all over. A stutter came out of his throat, but in the face of Yun Che’s cold and harsh gaze, he nevertheless, forcefully swallowed the word “you” which almost came out of his mouth. Then, he heavily sat back down on his chair and did not dare to speak anymore. A fear of death was instinctual, as Grand Elder, he usually rode roughshod over people and indulged in his aloof position. He never experienced an actual death threat; this was an absolute and genuine first time. Facing such a threat of death, that so called backbone and courage, all became the coldest fear. He shuddered all over and didn’t dare to speak another half a word.
Honestly speaking, Su Hengshan could be said to be extremely relaxed and pleasurable right now. Heimu Qingya was his mortal enemy, and he could never do anything about him. As the Grand Elder, Su Wangji never paid any attention to him. Even if he was angry, the only thing he could do was endure. Right now, looking at Heimu Qingya and Su Wangji, who had kept quiet out of fear, he had an incredible pleasure in his heart. However, with his nature, he naturally didn’t want to see things go to such an extreme. He came up and patted Yun Che’s shoulders, shaking his head to say: “Little brother Yun, let it go. Even though Heimu Qingya is despicable, he still has an outstanding reputation in the river east. If he’s killed just like this within the Grandwake Clan, it would eventually be somewhat troublesome. He has suffered a severe injury now, and it looks like he has no chance of recovering even within half a year. Let him pay a price, and then let him go.”
Yun Che didn’t feel that it was unusual at all for Su Hengshan to say something like this. He bitterly smiled and said: “Father-in-law, Su Ling’er and I announced our betrothal in front of everyone. Why are you still calling me ‘Little Brother Yun’, it’s too undeserving… If you don’t like calling me son-in-law, Father-in-law can call me Yun Che directly, or ‘Che’er’.”
Su Hengshan stared blankly. Looking at Yun Che’s appearance, he obviously put today’s ‘betrothal’ completely and genuinely into his heart. He began to laugh: “Look at me, with only the betrothal on my mind, I actually forgot to change the way I address you… Che’er, my words earlier, what do you feel about them.”
Yun Che smiled and said: “Since Father-in-law has spoken, Che’er will naturally comply. Only, what kind of price does Father-in-law want him to pay?”
Heimu Qingya’s mind had already been stretched to the limit and cold sweat dripped down from his forehead. Hearing their conversation, his mind shook. He rapidly took out a spatial ring and threw it to Su Hengshan without saying a word in the process… In order to live, he had no choice to soften up, and hand over the ‘price’ in front of everyone. Under this disgrace, his chest wanted to break apart, but he still couldn’t say anything.
Su Hengshan took the spatial ring and swept it with his profound strength. There were three whole stacks of Purple Cloud Profound Iron in there. With the rarity of the Purple Cloud Profound Iron, this was practically an entire year’s worth of Blackwood Stronghold’s harvest. He nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand toward Heimu Qingya: “Since Blackwood Stronghold Master is so gracious, then this Su won’t be impolite either… Have a nice trip, I won’t be sending you off!”
Heimu Qingya’s chest violently heaved up and down. Then, his eyes flipped, and he immediately fainted. His two guards promptly helped him up and looked at Xia Qingyue with terrified gazes and didn’t dare to stay any longer. The disciples of Blackwood Stronghold who accompanied them all followed behind and left dejectedly.
Yun Che secretly let out a sigh a relief in his heart. Then, he looked at Xia Qingyue with grateful eyes.
At the time when he met Su Ling’er, her entire world was filled with melancholy and murk… and combined with Su Ling’er’s status, one could imagined that she, at the time, must have encountered a huge change within her family and all kinds of desperation.
Yun Che never knew from start to finish just what kind of disaster her family encountered. However, looking at the busy, unrestrained and carefree Su Ling’er today, he never wanted her to repeat the life he had in the past. As a result, he borrowed Xia Qingyue’s absolute strength today and used his tyrannical words and actions to help the Grandwake Clan establish a terrifying might, creating the facade of a might supporter for all those who held malicious intent towards the Grandwake Clan… Although counting on a short-term facade in hopes that the Grandwake Clan would not fall into its previous fate was bit too naive, this was the only thing that Yun Che could do…
Even though… this was only a dream world… After twenty four hours, everything would turn into nothing… but he did all that he could for Ling’er only because of his love for Su Ling’er, and the shame in the depths of his heart.
Chapter 271 - The Bamboo Forest Phantasmagoria
A clan dispute that had exploded after being pent up for a long time finally reached a conclusion that no one could have expected. Yun Che didn’t actually know how Su Hengshan was going to treat the Su Hengyue and his son, as well as the elders and disciples that always supported him. He didn’t really care about it. When Blackwood Stronghold left, he took Su Ling’er and left.
During this matter, Yun Che had roughly gained an understanding of Su Hengshan’s nature. Evidently, this was an upright, honest, modest person, and he put a great deal of affection in his heart, but this wasn’t such a good clan leader… because he wasn’t fierce and determined enough with the way he did things. Otherwise, a person, such as an elder, wouldn’t go rampant like that. Although it reached this step and Su Hengyue had already betrayed the clan, Yun Che could imagine the way he’ll treat this matter still wouldn’t be very decisive. Afterall, Su Hengyue was his elder brother. Also, it wasn’t just him, there were many elder characters who supported him.
From the matters today, Yun Che was able to see the potential crisis that Grandwake Clan was in.
“Big brother Yun Che, you and Papa said that I’m already a… fiancee, what’s a fiancee?” Su Ling’er grasped Yun Che’s hands with a confused gaze and asked. She had a faint idea of what the word fiancee meant, but she wanted to hear the answer from Yun Che’s mouth.
Yun Che smiled and said: “It means that when Su Ling’er grows up, you will marry me and become my wife… like your beautiful big sister.”
Xia Qingyue slanted her eyes at him with a peculiar expression.
“Wi… fe… What does that mean?” Su Ling’er mouth was slightly agape, this form of address made her even more puzzled.
“This means that only I can call you Ling’er. After Ling’er becomes my wife, we’ll be together forever to accompany each other, take care of each other, and make each other happy and do all the things that make us happy together.” Yun Che lightly said. These words were really simple to say, but Su Ling’er at that time, until she disappeared and withered, wasn’t able to hear it from his mouth.
Su Ling’er’s footsteps immediately became a lot slower, as if Yun Che’s words made her stupid.
Yun Che lowered his head and carefully asked: “Ling’er, then when you grow up, do you want to become my wife?”
Su Ling’er raised her snowy tender cheeks, then nodded with all her might. She laughed sweetily: “Mnn! I like being with big brother Yun Che!”
Yun Che held Su Ling’er’s little hand even tighter. His heart was filled with warmth… mixed together with the pain.
Finally, Xia Qingyue could no longer remain silent. She slanted her gaze towards the tender little Su Ling’er, instantly guessed her age, and furrowed her brows and asked him: “Are you serious?”
Yun Che knew what Xia Qingyue was thinking. Anyone who saw him actually be so serious and determined for a ten year old girl to become his wife would only have one word in their heart: “beast”. He stuck up the corner of her mouth and helplessly said: “I’m actually serious… But, I have my own reason. Besides…” Yun Che’s expression was slightly painful: “This is only a dream, isn’t it? Since it’s only a dream, then let it… become as as beautiful as a fantasy.”
“…” Xia Qingyue had absolutely no idea what he meant, but looking at the sincerity and melancholy in his eyes, she turned her cheeks around and didn’t ask again.
“Qingyue my wife, today you…” Yun Che very carefully asked: “Why are you that… Umm… obedient.”
Xia Qingyue lowered her eyes and lightly said: “The strength that I have now should have originally belonged to you. If you wanted to use it, I wouldn’t have refused.”
Yun Che stared blankly, pinched his nose a bit, and didn’t continue with this topic: “From the Earth Profound Realm all the to the Emperor Profound Realm, this progress is too frightening. However, if the progress is too great, then there might be realm instability issues. Qingyue, it’d be good if I’ll accompany you back to the Dragon Perching Pavilion to harmonize your aura for a bit to avoid any backlash that might be left behind.”
Xia Qingyue nodded: “It’s enough if I return myself. You can play with Ling’er.”
Yun Che did not keep insisting. After warning her to be on guard, he brought Su Ling’er and left. After all, he promised Ling’er that after Xia Qingyue woke up, he’ll keep on playing with her.
After Yun Che walked far away, Xia Qingyue turned around to look at Yun Che’s figure from behind. Her mood was blank as she absent-mindedly soliloquized: “Is it because… we’re husband and wife… ?…”
………………………………
“Ling’er, where do you want to go and play?”
“Hehe… when I’m together with big brother Yun Che, my mood will turn especially good. It’ll be fine to go anywhere and play… Oh… let me think! That’s right, let’s go to the bamboo forest in the back, and play, okay?”
“Bamboo… Forest?” These two words touched upon some of Yun Che’s nerves.
“Mnn! At the foot of the mountain, there’s a big big bamboo forest. I like the wind in there the most. Only, Papa said that many dangerous profound beasts might appear there, and he never lets me go there by myself. Papa is always so busy too, so he rarely brings me there to play.”
“Bamboo forest… bamboo forest… okay, then let’s go to the bamboo forest and play.”
South of the Grandwake Clan, was a huge area covered with a bamboo forest that extended all the way to the foot of the mountain in the distance; dense emerald green color flooded that entire area. Along with the rustling of bamboo leaves, dense bamboo branches and the waves of unceasingly refreshing wind that brushed by, made people incredibly relaxed and carefree.
“Wow! So relaxing!” Standing in the middle of the bamboo forest, Su Ling’er closed her eyes and extended both her arms, and raised her little nose to sniff the refreshing air from the bamboo forest with all her might.
The bamboo forest in front of them wasn’t as dense as the one where Yun Che and Su Ling’er lived before, but after seeing that same emerald green, the same delightful refreshment, and feeling the brush of the oncoming wind, it felt like his spirit was being lightly rinsed. Looking at the bamboo forest, then looking at Su Ling’er, Yun Che became silly for a moment… At the time, that beautiful bamboo forest and that beautiful Ling’er, that beautiful world with two people, why was the only thing he saw hatred…
Su Ling’er was always that melancholic, she always told him to let go of his hatred… Perhaps, at that time, she had already let go of her past and only wanted to stay together with him. The melancholy she had later, wasn’t from her past at all, but had probably came from him instead…
“Big brother Yun Che, it’s really beautiful here right?” Su Ling’er smiled and said: “This is my favoritest place ever. Every time I come here, it feels like I’ve become a fairy, and I’ll forget all the unhappy things. I like everything here… I often think, if I grew up in the future, I’ll certainly place my family within a bamboo forest… Oh! Just thinking about it makes me so happy.”
Yun Che’s heart violently shook.
No wonder… no wonder when master died, she dragged his unconscious and heavily injured self for several days, and stopped within a patch of bamboo forest. At that time, he only believed that Su Ling’er felt it was safe and concealed… As it turns out, she was sincerely fond of bamboo forests and had a dream about bamboo forests since young.
In the bamboo forest, her heart could calm down, she could imagine herself as a fairy… and only within a bamboo forest, could she overcome her loneliness, worries, fears, depression and problems… Day after day, year after year, when forever waiting for his return.
Yun Che clenched both his fists tightly, and his heart sored like a pincushion. Shame filled his soul like a tide. He realized more and more that he wasn’t worth of Ling’er, that he wasn’t able to make it up to her even after ten lifetimes…
“Ling’er, let’s build a home here okay?” Yun Che lightly asked.
“Huh? Build a home… here?” Su Ling’er was full of astonishment.
“Mn!” Yun Che smiled and nodded: “Didn’t Ling’er always dream of living in a bamboo forest? Then let’s build a little bamboo house in the midst of these bamboos. This way, Su Ling’er can live here as long as she wants to.”
“Bamboo… house?” After Su Ling’er was startled for a while, her starry eyes immediately became incredibly bright: “Can we… really? But if the bamboo here gets hurt, isn’t that a bit too unfortunate…”
“Haha!” Yun Che began to laugh. He lightly comforted Ling’er’s cheeks and lovingly said: “There are so many bamboos here, and there are only a few that can be part of a little house. If these bamboos knew that they could be made into a house for an adorable Ling’er, then they would definitely be very happy.”
“Mn!!” Su Ling’er let her inner worries go and yelled with incomparable happiness.
Yun Che pointed his fingers out and directed his profound strength like a knife. With a sweep of his finger, over ten bamboos were neatly severed. Not long after, a huge pile of bamboo stalks that were thick enough stacked up by their sides, and a large enough open space was cleared up in this dense bamboo forest.
With Yun Che’s profound strength, this engineering feat wasn’t too difficult, but it wasn’t relaxing either. However, with Su Ling’er excitedly cheering him on by his side as he wiped his sweat from time to time, even though sweat rolled down his back, he didn’t feel the least bit exhausted.
The sky gradually dimmed and a simple little bamboo house finally took shape. This little bamboo house was much smaller and cruder than the one Su Ling’er and him lived in. It wasn’t even enough to shield them from the wind and rain, but this delicacy certainly had a clean and refreshing feeling. Also, this wasn’t just a small bamboo house, there was a little bed and a little chair inside as well.
After the bamboo house took shape, Yun Che’s ears were filled with Su Ling’er’s excited cheers. She excitedly ran around the little bamboo house. Her free spirited and beautiful voice reached his ears from very far away… She was actually like a carefree fairy.
“Big brother Yun Che, let’s just live in here today, okay? This was my dream before… also, with big brother Yun Che keeping me company, I won’t be afraid at all.”
“Mnn, okay!”
In the middle of the bamboo forest, they played from the afternoon all the way until the moon hung in the night sky. The laughter that came from Ling’er today was more than what Yun Che had heard from her during those times. This afternoon, the cheers and laughs that came from Ling’er became his entire world. Today, he belonged only to Ling’er.
The bright moon hung high up in the sky, and Ling’er, who ran around all afternoon, was finally tired. She and Yun Che slept shoulder to shoulder on the bamboo bed they built together… The bamboo house was very simple and very stiff… moving just a little would cause it to creek all over. However, laying on top on it, breathing in the fresh air, sniffing the odor of the emerald green bamboo, and feeling the breeze that slipped through the cracks from time to time, the two were were incredibly content. Of course, the thing that was even more important was that they were by each other’s sides.
“Big brother Yun Che, I really want to… be together with you forever… Oh… If I say it like that, would it make big brother Yun Che feel weird… Obviously, we’ve only just met today, but I liked big brother Yun Che from the first moment I saw you… Am I a really strange girl?”
The little bed was incredibly narrow. Su Ling’er lightly leaned against Yun Che’s body and asked in a little voice.
“No.” Yun Che began to smile: “Because it’s the same when I saw Ling’er. During an entire lifetime, it’s very difficult for a person to inexplicably like someone during the first time they see each other. If two people felt the same way about each other, then, perhaps they are destined by the heavens to be together, or perhaps… have lingering affection from a previous life.”
Chapter 272 - The Dream-Waking Hour
Ling’er turned around, and rested her head on Yun Che’s arm. Her eyes were hazily looking at the moonlight shining down between the gaps of the bamboo trees. A long time later, she gently said. “If I can sleep in a bamboo forest, while under the moonlight, it will definitely be a very beautiful, beautiful thing.”
Yun Che gazed upwards, and gave a gentle and natural smile. Pushing out his palm, with a “bang” sound, the bamboo ceiling above revealed a large enough hole. A full moon, completely appeared within Ling’er’s line of sight. A huge amount of moonlight took the opportunity to pour down as well, lighting up every corner of the bamboo house.
“Wa!” Su Ling’er let out a tender cry. Looking at the full moon in the sky, and feeling the atmosphere coming from the man beside her, this was the first time she ever experienced the sort of feeling where even her heart was intoxicated.
“Big brother Yun Che, can I really become your wife, like beautiful big sister, and be with you together forever?” Su Ling’er asked sillily. The current her, still did not really understand the relationship between a man and a woman. However, she really purely, really strongly, liked and wished to be together with him.
Yun Che held onto her small hand, and gently said. “Of course! Your papa, had already betrothed you to me in front of so many people. When the day I return comes, and Ling’er is grown up, we can then marry, and then, be together forever…”
Su Ling’er first laughed lightly, and then, reacted over something, as she instantly grabbed onto Yun Che’s arm. “When you… return? Big brother Yun Che, you’re… you’re going to leave?”
This was an illusory realm created by the Evil God’s soul. Things like illusory realms, Yun Che was not foreign to them. Within the Phoenix’s trials and the Dragon God’s trials, the places that he had been to, were all illusory realms. The people that appeared in illusory realms, would not know they were actually illusions either. However, illusory realms were, after all, illusory realms. He could only only stay here for twenty four hours, and after he leaves, everything here, would all disappear as well.
Sensing the panic in Su Ling’er’s voice, his heart stifled, and said. “Ling’er, I’m not someone that belongs to this place. My home is in a place that’s very far, far away. Even though I don’t wish to leave, I still have to return, and I must leave, by tomorrow… But, Ling’er, don’t worry, when you’re grown up, I will definitely return… I will return to marry you, and then, bring you away, and stay together with you… alright?”
These were all lies that could not be fulfilled. Because, after the end of twenty four hours, every single thing here would disappear. No matter was it Su Ling’er of the past, or the current Su Ling’er, both of them could never appear again in his world. However, this promise of his, actually came from his soul, and did not have any hint of falsehood. If Su Ling’er was still alive in this world, then, no matter how heavy the price, he would definitely fulfill it, and never would he allow her to painfully wait for him again.
The night instantly became very quiet. The moonlight no longer shone, and even the intoxicating night wind had seemingly disappeared without a trace. When the information of Yun Che leaving tomorrow, and was even for a long period of time, entered Su Ling’er’s mind, she realized everything she was currently feeling revelled about, had quietly turned into reluctance and sadness… She and her father had come to this bamboo forest many times, and every single time, she would always be happy. However, she definitely had not felt as blessed as tonight. What she liked the most was not the bamboo forest, but the person who was currently accompanying her in watching the bamboo forest together…
Su Ling’er threw herself onto Yun Che’s body. She did not cry, she simply closed her eyes tightly, and said gently, as though she was sleep-talking. “Big brother Yun Che… You must come back. I will properly, and obediently grow up. I will wait for you to come back and marry me, no matter how long, I will always be waiting… I will continue to wait till you come back and marry me…”
Although these words of infatuation that came from a ten year old girl were filled with innocence, it was more refreshing than a mature woman’s emotional words. Because, the words from a girl at such a young age would not carry even a hint of falsehood, purposefulness and deliberateness, but only the purest and simplest of emotions, feelings and desires.
————————————
On the second day, when Yun Che carried Su Ling’er back to the Grandwake Clan, it was already noon. Based on the time, the twenty four hours stated by the Evil God’s soul, they were only left with less than an hour.
Last night, they slept in each other’s embrace, and in the morning, when the sky was still dark, Yun Che carried her and climbed up Grandwake Mountain, where they watched the sunrise together, and ate the wild fruits that came from Grandwake Mountain. They left many of their voices and footprints on Grandwake Mountain… And just like that, unknowingly, the deadline had approached.
“Che’er, are you really not considering to stay for a few more days? Ling’er isn’t the least bit willing to see you go, you know.”
Seeing Su Ling’er who was lying on Yun Che’s back, and refused to get down at all, Su Hengshan helplessly said with a smile. To Yun Che and Xia Qingyue, he was naturally grateful in his heart, however, before he could even accommodate them, they actually come forward to say their farewells.
“I really wish to stay as well, however, I really do have a reason which I have no choice but to leave for. I seek Father-in-law for your forgiveness…” He turned his head and glanced at the girl he was carrying. With the calmest voice he could possibly use, he said. “I’m unwilling to let Ling’er go as well.”
Su Hengshan nodded. He had already firmly believed that Yun Che and Xia Qingyue must be disciples born from a Sacred Ground-level Sect. Their actions and decisions, even with his title as ‘Father-in-law’, he basically did not dare to interfere either. Glancing at the girl who was quietly lying on Yun Che’s back, with her two hands strongly hugging onto his neck, he silently sighed, and said. “Are you going to leave now?”
“Yes…”
“Have Ling’er take my place to send you two off then.”
The one who sent off Yun Che and Xia Qingyue, was only Su Ling’er. Because, Su Hengshan knew that the person Yun Che cared about was only Ling’er, and even if he were to personally send them off, it would simply be excessive.
After leaving Grandwake Clan, Su Ling’er accompanied Yun Che and walked a very far distance, where they could not even see the silhouette of the Grandwake Clan. The time left from the full twenty four hours, had finally reached its final countdown as well.
Su Ling’er tightly grabbed onto Yun Che’s hand. She was filled with sweet laughter while they walked, and did not even reveal a depressed look in the slightest. Walking up to here, Yun Che’s feet stopped, and he gently said. “Ling’er, you can stop sending us off from here. If we go any further, I’m worried for the safety of your return journey.”
Su Ling’er did not have the slightest resistance, as she nodded, and said with a grin. “Mn! I shall listen to big brother Yun Che’s words. You and beautiful big sister must be careful on the road… Uuu, big brother Yun Che, can you give me something… something… something that will allow me to feel big brother Yun Che is always by my side…”
As she smiled… a teardrop that she did not control well, actually fell from the corner of her eye, a long tear mark drew down her tender face.
Yun Che’s heart trembled, and then, he was instantly filled with a complicated sourness. He squatted down, and gently took off Su Ling’er’s outer clothing. Then, he took off the Dragonscale Armor from his body, and under Xia Qingyue’s surprised gaze, he put it onto her body. The Dragonscale Armor could automatically adjust itself according to the wearer’s figure, so, even if Su Ling’er’s figure was very slim and small, it was still very compatible. “Ling’er, this clothing is called the Dragonscale Armor, and it can protect you very well. You must wear it frequently, just like how I will be by your side, protecting you.”
Taking off the incomparably valuable Dragonscale Armor, and giving it to Su Ling’er who was within a illusory realm, this seemed to look utterly ridiculous, however, Yun Che simply could not control himself at all… Because this was the best protection he could give Su Ling’er after leaving her.
He took out a purple spatial ring, and transferred all of the various food and water stored in the Sky Poison Pearl into it. Then, he took out the various medicinal pellets that he had usually refined himself, and put them into the ring as well, as he taught her the usage of each one. “These are Small Heaven Returning Pellets, use it when you’re injured… These are Green Dew Pellets, when you’re accidentally poisoned, eat one of these… These are Profound Recovering Pellets, when you do not have any energy left, eat one of these… In the future, if… I’m saying if there comes a day that you have no choice but to leave your home, and constantly encounter danger, you must definitely remember the items inside here. You must use the items here, to protect yourself well, alright…”
Su Ling’er listened to his words, constantly nodded, and nodded…
Yun Che did not wear this spatial ring on Su Ling’er’s hand, because that would be too easily eyed by people, after all, purple rings which have a gigantic space and a long shelf life were still considered to be rather valuable treasures even in the Grandwake Clan. He passed a gold silkworm thread through the ring, hung it on Su Ling’er’s neck, and had the spatial ring that was sparkling with purple light enter under clothes.
Within Su Ling’er’s pair of eyes, teardrops were currently falling. Patapata. Every single teardrop, fell into the deepest part of Yun Che’s soul. He carried Su Ling’er in his arms, and gently said. “Ling’er, don’t be sad. We’re not going to be separated forever, after all. Once you grow up, I will then return… return to marry you! So, you must grow up happily, and cheerfully, so that when I return, I will be able to see the most beautiful Ling’er… If in the future, you were to encounter some difficulty, you must not be afraid, and you must not despair either. You have to forever remember that, in this world, there will be a person who, even if he can’t see you, he will still forever think of you, and miss you…”
“Mn… Mn!!” Su Ling’er strongly nodded, and struggled to suppress her crying voice. Her thin teeth, had already bit rows of deep teeth marks into her small red lips…
The time left, had begun to enter the end of the end. Yun Che released Su Ling’er, held her face with his two hands, and gently kissed on her forehead. Then, he turned around, gritted his teeth, and walked forward, step by step… further and further away from Su Ling’er’s line of sight…
Su Ling’er did not chase after him. Her two hands hugged the front of her chest, and she hugged onto the Dragonscale that came from Yun Che, which still carried his lingering scent. Within her blurry vision, she stared at his gradually disappearing figure. Finally, she could no longer hold it in any longer, and her tears poured out. Loud shouts accompanied by crying voices resounded through the entire large open patch of land…
“Big brother Yun Che! I will wait for you… I will wait for you to return and marry me…”
“Big brother Yun Che, you must think of me… you definitely have to think of me… You can’t not think of me…”
“Big brother Yun Che… I will grow up quickly… You must return… You must… You must… You must return…”
“Big brother Yun Che… I’m unwilling to see you go… Uuuu… Uuuuuuuu….”
Yun Che’s figure went further and further away, and finally, at a certain moment, he disappeared completely from her line of sight. She gently knelt on the ground, held onto her face, and began to cry out loudly… Her big brother Yun Che had left, and even her soul, had been brought away as well…
Su Ling’er’s loud cries entered Yun Che’s ears through the wind, causing his every step, to become incomparably more difficult than the previous one. His expression was painfully bitter, yet, he did not dare to turn back. Because, he was afraid that if he were to turn, he would no longer be able to take another step.
“The relationship between you two, is very strange.” Seeing Yun Che’s expression, Xia Qingyue softly said. She was unable to understand how a grown man and a girl who was only ten years old, create such a strong bond in just a short period of time of a single day.
Yun Che raised his head, and looked towards the sky. “Qingyue, do you believe in… past lives?”
Xia Qingyue was slightly startled. She silently looked at Yun Che for a moment, and gently nodded. “I do.”
At this moment, in Xia Qingyue and his surroundings, a ripple of spatial distortion suddenly appeared.
“We’re finally about to return.” Yun Che closed his eyes, and softly whispered. “Good bye… My Ling’er…”
As he whispered, his and Xia Qingyue’s figure had already disappeared within the spatial distortion at the same time. Following after, the feeling of a spatial shuttle assaulted over, and then, in a flash, it disappeared again. Within that moment, a cold wind blew over.
When opening his eyes, his vision was filled entirely with white snow… He and Xia Qingyue, had returned to the Heavenly Basin Secret Realm, however, their position was not at the top areas of the Heaven Basin.
“Huu…” Yun Che heaved a long sigh. Even though that was just a young Su Ling’er from an illusory realm, and only an illusion constructed by the Evil God’s powers, even if that was the case, his separation with Su Ling’er still caused his chest to sink, as though it was about to explode.
“No matter how the beautiful the dream, eventually, there will come a time when one still has to wake up from it.” Yun Che looked in front of him, and said with melancholy. Right after, he entered his subconsciousness, and said to Jasmine. “Jasmine, why did the Evil God’s soul use the last of its powers to send me to such an illusory realm? Could it be, after reading my memories, it helped me resolve some of my regrets?”
“Illusory realm?” Jasmine’s voice sounded. “So you’re saying, you have been thinking the entire time that the world you stayed in for a single day earlier, was just an illusory realm?”
“… That’s obviously an illusory realm.” Yun Che powerlessly said. If it was not an illusory realm, then how would Su Ling’er, who had long passed away, appear? And she was even Su Ling’er who was still at a young age.
“Heh…” Jasmine suddenly began to laugh out strangely, as though she had found out something interesting, as she slowly said. “I see, it’s no wonder your emotions and actions were so unusual. You actually treated that place as an illusory realm… But, I can very responsibly tell you this. That world you were at earlier, definitely… wasn’t… an… illusory… realm!!”
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Author note: This chapter is finally done, I’m tired as hell… I really hate writing these sort of difficult, unrewarding, yet unavoidable scenarios!!
TL note: Now imagine me translating this difficult, unrewarding, yet unavoidable scenario…
Chapter 273 - The Sudden Truth
“Not an… illusory realm?” Even though these were Jasmine’s words, Yun Che was still shaking his head: “Impossible! I’m very certain that can’t possibly be the real world. It’s only an illusory realm!”
Jasmine faintly said: “Although I’m not sure why you are so sure that was an illusory realm, I am even more sure that it was the real world. Also, in deciding whether or not a world is real or not, I’m much more qualified than you! With your current strength, you’re also absolutely unqualified to determine whether or not it’s an illusory realm.”
Yun Che: “…”
He was certainly incapable of determining whether or not that was an illusory realm… Even in realms of the Phoenix Trial and the Dragon God Trial, apart from them being incredibly dangerous, he felt that they were no different than the real world. If he hadn’t entered them during a trial, but had entered them under different circumstances, he wouldn’t have even believed that they were illusory realms.
But Jasmine wasn’t the same. The realm she was in was something that Yun Che had absolutely no way of comprehending. Her understanding of the elemental laws and her comprehension and understanding of spatial laws was something that Yun Che had completely no chance of reaching up to. When they entered the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, Jasmine could immediately tell the time that the Secret Realm was in and the fact that this was something that wasn’t created by the people of this plane… Finally, with the confirmation from the Evil God’s soul, he found that that it indeed wasn’t something created with human strength, but something that the Evil God had created.
“The place we were in before that you believed to be the Azure Cloud Continent, had complete and stable elemental laws, natural laws and order laws. These laws are the basic laws that are absolutely impossible to create instantly in an illusory realm! Also, from the completeness of the laws, that was a continent that had existed for several billion years!! It’s absolutely impossible for it to be some illusory realm… Even if the True Gods still existed, it’s still impossible to create an illusory realm that has more stable and complete laws than a continent that had existed for several billion years!”
Yun Che: “!!!!”
“It’s absolutely impossible even for the Evil God… let alone a soul fragment of the Evil God. That piece of soul you conversed with was already extremely weak. Using its final strength to be able to complete a round trip teleportation is already its absolute absolute limit. It’s absolutely impossible to create an illusory realm! Even a most simplest of spirit realms is impossible!”
Jasmine’s words were like one strike of shocking lightning after another that exploded in Yun Che’s brain. It turned his entire brain into utter chaos, as if it was a huge wave that crashed into heaven…
That wasn’t an… illusory realm?
That was… the real world? A real world that actually exists? It was the Azure Cloud Continent that he was so familiar with?
Then Su Ling’er… and time…
No! Impossible! Ling’er had obviously already passed away. She passed away in my arms and I personally buried her. How could that have been the real her… and also the time. If they were actually in the Azure Cloud Continent, it shouldn’t be that time at all…
“There’s more…” Jasmine’s voice continued during this moment: “Not only is that Azure Cloud
Continent an actual existence, its distance from the Sky Profound Continent shouldn’t be too far, because its laws of elements, nature, and order have many similarities with the Sky Profound Continent. It and the Sky Profound Continent might actually be on the same planet. Only…”
Jasmine stopped for a bit. Her voice had a little doubt to it: “Azure Cloud Continent’s fundamental laws are the same as Sky Profound Continent’s laws, but the temporal law which should have the most similarities are actually a bit different… Hmph! Although interfering with the time law is fundamentally impossible, for these sort of lower planes, it’s absolutely impossible for my perception to be wrong! Perhaps, Azure Cloud Continent’s temporal law has been tampered with, or maybe Sky Profound Continent’s temporal law has been tampered with, or maybe both have been tampered with!”
Jasmine’s words have been filtered time and time again within Yun Che’s head, making his originally impatient and disorderly brain even more chaotic… Now, he suddenly raised his head as if lightning struck his brain…
He suddenly remembered that in the realm of the Phoenix Trial, the Phoenix spirit told him something very strange…
“…It seems that the girl whom you call Ling’er must have really been very important to you. And also because of her, your inner self holds heavy regret. However, you don’t have to suppress this regret in the depths of your soul. You have passed through the reincarnation cycle due to the Heavenly Profound Treasure and it has tampered with this world’s karma. Under the butterfly effect, time, dimension, and planes will also change as well. Your regret and debt, you may have not yet lost your chance to make up for them.”
“…”
“…”
Heavenly Profound Treasure…
Passing through the reincarnation cycle…
Butterfly Effect…
Tampering with karma…
Interfering with time…
These words rampaged within Yun Che’s brain until they finally slowed down. With his unimaginable rebirth, with Jasmine’s words, with Su Ling’er in the Azure Cloud Continent within the “illusory realm”… Everything began to slowly make sense…
Passing through the reincarnation cycle… after he died in the Azure Cloud Continent, he woke up in a dead body in the Sky Profound Continent…
Isn’t this precisely going through the reincarnation cycle… Since after a person’s death, all of their memories and life should have been washed away, since they reincarnate into a completely brand new next life. But for himself, he retained all of his memories from his previous reincarnation…
If the Azure Cloud Continent that he was in wasn’t an illusory realm, then the Su Ling’er he met wasn’t an illusion… Then, wasn’t it precisely… karma and time that had changed…
Him “passing through the reincarnation cycle” was a fact, because it was his most genuine and strange experience, then… then… Azure Cloud Continent’s time interference, Ling’er’s existence… were real too!?
However, even Jasmine had said interfering with time was fundamentally impossible… Also, he didn’t have the so called Heavenly Profound Treasure that was able to “pass through the reincarnation cycle” on his body. The only Heavenly Profound Treasure that he had was the Sky Poison Pearl, and its powers were concentrated in poison, medicine, refinement, containment and finding things; they had nothing to do with “reincarnation” at all. Apart from the Sky Poison Pearl, he had no other Heavenly Profound Treasures at all. If he really had one he didn’t know about, how could Jasmine not sense it?
“Jasmine…” Yun Che breathed a deep breath and quietly asked: “Within the Heavenly Profound Treasures, is there anything that allows… passage through the reincarnation cycle, and tampering with karma?”
“…I just said, temporal laws are fundamentally impossible to be tampered with, but I never said that it’s absolutely impossible to tamper with them, precisely because among the seven Heavenly Profound Treasure, there exists a heaven opposing item that can cause time to flow in reverse. It’s precisely the seventh treasure of the Seven Heavenly Profound Treasures, the “Mirror of Samsara ”. The power of the Mirror of Samsara is precisely ‘tampering with cause and effect and transmigration’! After the complete destruction of the True Gods, there hasn’t been another power that was sufficient enough to tamper with time and dimensions. Apart from the ‘Mirror of Samsara’ that is able to interfere with time, there’s also the sixth treasure of the Heavenly Profound Treasures that could interfere with dimension, the ‘World Needle’.”
“The abnormalities of the temporal laws within the Azure Cloud Continent made me precisely thinking about the possibility that someone used the ‘Mirror of Samsara’… this is an extremely interesting discovery since at least this shown that the ‘Mirror of Samsara’ once manifested on the Azure Cloud Continent! If ‘those people’ knew about this fact, then perhaps a terrifying wave of carnage would sweep through this plane!”
Mirror of Samsara… Mirror?
Yun Che’s heart suddenly throbbed, and he subconsciously held the pendant that he always wore.
Could it be…
“Jasmine,” Yun Che calmly said: “If the Mirror of Samsara actually manifested, then you can probably sense its existence with your power right?”
“No,” Jasmine denied: “Amongst the seven Heavenly Profound Treasures, the Mirror of Samsara’s abilities are the most heaven opposing, but the reason it’s ranked last is because every time it activates, it must hibernate for twenty years. Within these twenty years, it does not have a shred of power. It’ll become the same as most ordinary mirrors.”
“…”
Yun Che’s heart rate accelerated. He held his pendant tightly… In his memories of the Blue Wind Empire, he wore a pendant since young and never took it over. Similarly, in the Azure Cloud Continent, he had always worn it. In two different continents, two different lives, he had a pendant that he always wore with him.
After opening this pendant, there was a little mirror… A little mirror that could not possibly be more ordinary.
But according to Xiao Lie, the reason his birth parents were chased and killed was because of an item known as a… “Heavenly Profound Treasure”!
Could it be that it actually is… one of the seven Heavenly Profound Treasures, the Mirror of Samsara?
If it really was the Mirror of Samsara, it would explain why he went from the Sky Profound Continent to the Azure Cloud Continent and the period from the Azure Cloud Continent back to the Sky Profound Continent…his memories, his life’s transfer, without any breaks! All the questions could have a correspond explanation…
If it really was the interference from the Mirror of Samsara, then… then… the Azure Cloud Continent that he just went to… the Su Ling’er he had personally embraced…
Were also real!!!
His life in the Azure Cloud Continent, disruption in reincarnation, disruption in space and time… everything was real!!
Su Ling’er… is still in this world! Still on the Azure Cloud Continent that he was familiar with and grew up in!
Then, his master… perhaps with the reverse flow of time, might still be alive! After all, when Su Ling’er was ten, he was only twelve. At the time, he was still traveling the world with his master!
“That was Ling’er… that was Ling’er… that was actually Ling’er… She didn’t die… she’s really Ling’er…”
The sudden facts exploded Yun Che’s brain. All the blood in his body practically began to boil. He looked at both his hands and violently trembled all over… He always thought the Ling’er that he had obviously seen and closely embraced was nothing but an illusion created by the Evil God. Jasmine’s words, combined with his experience with the voice of the Phoenix spirit made him hear the morning bell. His Ling’er had just been in front of his eyes, by his side. He treated her like an illusion and then left just like that…
Yun Che growled from the bottom of his throat, then fiercely reached out and pounded his head. He was occasionally mad with joy and then occasionally had a nervous breakdown… the Ling’er he was madly in love with was still alive. In his anger and regret, he treated her like an illusion, and didn’t bring her back at all…
All of Yun Che’s weird reactions had finally started to make Jasmine understand them. Looking at the pendant that he had been grabbing onto in his hand, she suddenly said: “So that’s how it was, no wonder you went to that continent and lost control when you saw that little girl… It’s also no wonder why Sky Poison Pearl fused together with your body…”
“Don’t tell me, the one who activated the Mirror of Samsara’s power… was you!?”
Chapter 274 - Leaving Heaven Basin Secret Realm
“I don’t know.” Yun Che didn’t refute Jasmine, but he was unable to confirm it either. After a slight hesitation, he frankly said: “But I actually did transmigrate because I was originally poisoned to death in the Sky Profound Continent, and in the Azure Cloud Continent, I fell off a cliff when I was twenty seven… After waking up, I returned to the Sky Profound Continent, and awoke under the condition in which I had been poisoned to death… All the way until now. And Ling’er, was my most important person in the Azure Cloud Continent, but she had obviously died!”
Jasmine: “…”
“These sorts of things actually happened to you!?” Jasmine was truly startled. She had heard of the legends concerning the Mirror of Samsara, but she hadn’t seen the Mirror of Samsara and its powers at all. If what Yun Che said was true, then it would fit perfectly with the Mirror of Samsara’s “passing through the reincarnation cycle” in the legends! Only the Mirror of Samsara could achieve these things!
“Then, in your memories, was there an item that was always on your body… If I’m guessing correctly, it should be the pendant that you’ve always worn on your neck? I remember when you opened it, there was only a mirror inside…” Jasmine slowly said: “Then, apart from the Sky Poison Pearl, there was actually another Heavenly Profound Treasure on your body! Except, where did you get this Heavenly Profound Treasure from?”
“I don’t know… it had always been on me. I always thought that reason that I kept wearing it was because it was the only evidence to find my birth parents.” Yun Che shook his head: “The only thing that I want to know now is: since the Azure Cloud Continent is real, then where is it? How do I return there… That was the real Ling’er… I must find her again!”
“…If I can leave your body and move as I wish, then I can find where the Azure Cloud Continent is within three days, but it’s completely impossible for me right now. Azure Cloud Continent shouldn’t be too far away from the Sky Profound Continent. When my powers reach a certain height, I can naturally see a wider portion of the world… For you, this is the only way to return to that Continent.
Not too far away… This was in regards to Jasmine’s power level! If it was actually not too far away, how could there be no records of the Sky Profound Continent in the Azure Cloud Continent. Even if Jasmine’s guess was correct, and the Azure Cloud Continent and the Sky Profound Continent were on the same planet, then the distance between the two would certainly be impossibly far, a distance that’s even harder to reach than the sky.
Jasmine’s final words also tapped Yun Che’s confused brain heavily and suddenly made him clear-headed.
Right… That’s right! No matter how much I think about it right now, it’s useless! At least the conclusion is that Su Ling’er is still in this world. This was an incredibly pleasant surprise. To meet Ling’er again, the only way was to become strong. As long as he was stronger, strong until the point that he could shun the heavens and earth, then Azure Cloud Continent would appear in his sights, and he could find Ling’er again!!
Yun Che’s mood became incredibly calm. He breathed in a breath of air and suddenly asked: “Jasmine, if it’s really because of the Heavenly Profound Treasure’s interference that made Azure Cloud Continent’s time flow backwards, then on the Azure Cloud Continent right now, could another Sky Poison Pearl appear?”
“This is unlikely.” Jasmine faintly said: “There’s also something you’re mistaken about. If the power of the Mirror of Samsara really activated, then the reverse flow of time would be a small part of it. The thing it’s most suited to interfere with is ‘karma’ and ‘reincarnation’. Right now, not only would you and the Sky Poison Pearl not be on it, it’s possible that… they’ve never existed.”
Yun Che: “…”
“Karma”, “Reincarnation”… these were illusory and mythical words. They were things that were impossible to touch no matter what. Yun Che never thought that such incredibly illusory things could actually be interfered with. He spread his palm out, looked at the dim pendant, and quietly asked: “If this is really the Mirror of Samsara, then what kind of person… could actually create such an item…”
“This fact is impossible to trace back to.” Jasmine said: “But the only thing that’s certain is that interfering with ‘karma’ and ‘reincarnation’ is tens of millions times harder than interfering with ‘dimension and ‘time’. When the True Gods existed, there were certainly powers that could interfere with the flow of time, but not one True God had the ability to interfere with ‘karma’ and ‘reincarnation’. Since they were the most fundamental laws since universal order, they should absolutely be untamperable; otherwise, there would be chaos beyond the control and expectation in the universal order. However, the Mirror of Samsara could actually tamper with the most fundamental universal laws… The Sky Poison Pearl fusing with your body, is completely because of the ‘karma’ interference. It made what should have been impossible, possible. No one knew who created it, and what power created it.
“There are many legends that involved the Mirror of Samsara. In its history, it fell into many people’s hands until it finally fell into somewhere unknown… But in all these years, I’ve never heard of anyone being able to activate its power. And for the Heavenly Profound Treasures, what was even more unimaginable was that you… You are clearly an inferior human, but you possess two Heavenly Profound Treasures… If it wasn’t for the fact that I have to rely on the Sky Poison Pearl, and the Sky Poison Pearl is fused with your body, I’ll unhesitantly choose to kill you and seize both of your Heavenly Profound Treasures.”
“Yun Che, what happened to you?”
A deeply doubtful voice arose from the crisp and cool air beside Yun Che’s ears. He gripped his palms, didn’t put the pendant back around his neck, and stored it into the Sky Poison Pearl. Then, he smiled bashfully at Xia Qingyue: “Nothing’s wrong, I just have some sudden regrets.”
After swallowing the Evil God’s Water Seed, Yun Che was feeling very intimate with water element right now, and it far surpassed Xia Qingyue. He didn’t feel the slightest bit cold in this world of ice and snow. He gazed at Xia Qingyue all over with a strange expression and said: “I really want to take a look at how surprised your master and everyone else would be when they find out that you entered the Emperor Profound Realm.”
Without a doubt, after they leave the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, once Xia Qingyue’s profound strength was exposed, there would be huge indescribable commotion. A seventeen year old at the Emperor Profound Realm, that was truly an achievement on a level of the Four Great Sacred Grounds… For a Sacred Ground-class disciple to emerge from a little Blue Wind Empire, perhaps the entire Sky Profound Continent would be shaken.
Xia Qingyue looked deeply at Yun Che, and suddenly said: “Thank you.”
“…Why thank me?”
“Formidable power is very important to me, and it’s something that I’ll chase after for my entire life. If not for you, I wouldn’t have been able to reach my current height. So, thank you…” Xia Qingyue said lightly as she controlled her gaze. Back then, when he was in Floating Cloud City, he was powerless and helpless, so he was always being bullied until he was eventually expelled from his clan with no power to resist the other youths. If it wasn’t for her assistance, his most beloved relatives would encounter hardships… After meeting again, he had already matured into a tree that pierced the heavens. The help that he had given her at the time was ten of millions times more than she had given him.
“Heh, we’re married, we don’t need to thank each other.” Yun Che grinned and laughed: “If you really want to thank me, hmm… let me see you smile. We’ve known each other for so long, but I’ve never see you smile before.”
Xia Qingyue lightly shook her head: “It’s impossible for me. Ever since I was four years old, I had already forgotten how to cry, and how to smile…”
Yun Che was immediately stunned. He saw a dismal confusion flash past both of Xia Qingyue’s eyes. He thought for a while and said: “Then can you tell me why you’re so persistent on seeking power?”
When he was young, he was full of curiosity about his fiancee Xia Qingyue. When he played together with Xia Yuanba, he would often ask about Xia Qingyue, but Xia Yuanba had the same response every time… she was cultivating.
Practically all of her time was devoted to cultivating profound strength. Until Yun Che was sixteen years old, he had only seen her a couple of times, and they were all fleeting glances. She had an attachment to profound strength that was incomprehensible for other people to understand.
Xia Qingyue stayed silent for a while. She reached out her jade hands, cupped some flying snow and gently replied: “Aren’t you the same as me… You, why are you so attached?”
“For myself, and for all the people I care about to not be mistreated.” Yun Che said without the slightest hesitation.
“Not be mistreated…” Xia Qingyue’s eyelashes softly closed as she answered with a voice as gentle as fluttering snow: “I only seek… to reunite my family.”
Yun Che’s heart was moved as he looked at Xia Qingyue with shock. He silently pondered about the meaning of her words for a while then asked: “This ‘family’, does it include me? If you talk about a family, then as your husband, I should be your… most intimate of family on paper.”
Ice and snow slowly accumulated on Xia Qingyue’s palm, and didn’t melt for a long while. Her jade hands moved slightly and the white snow scattered into all four directions in the frigid wind. She touched the indescribable and bleak pain in her heart that was silently spreading out: “I am a person who’s not fit to have a husband… because I might never be able to fulfill the responsibilities of a wife… There will be a day when I will leave here to go to a distant place, and it might be impossible to return anymore…” She shut her eyes and softly spoke as if she were in a dream: “Once, you were as ordinary as sand and only made me occasionally worry about you. Now, you are as dazzling as diamond, and makes me, who is destined to have no future, feel more and more terrified…”
Rumble Rumble…
A deep and distant rumbling noise sounded, and slight vibrations began to arise from the ground. Two rapidly expanding spatial whirlpools individually appeared beside Yun Che and Xia Qingyue.
“It looks like we’re returning…”
Before Yun Che even finished his sentence, the two were simultaneously sucked into the spatial whirlpools.
Chapter 275 - Gargantuan Favor
In the blink of an eye, two days had passed since members of the ranking tournament’s top ten entered the Heaven Basin Secret Realm.
Several tens of people anxiously stood waiting on the vacant space in Heavenly Sword Villa’s rear mountains. These were precisely the members of the various sects who could not enter the Heaven Basin Secret Realm. Heaven Basin Secret Realm was a completely isolated world, and news of anything that happened in there could not be transmitted, so they had absolutely no idea as to what happened in there during these two days.
Cang Yue and Xia Yuanba were undoubtedly the most worried of persons there, because not only did Yun Che enter with serious injuries that had not fully healed, his profound strength had not even fully recovered either, which meant that the danger of him entering this unknown area was increased exponentially. In these past two days, Cang Yue could barely eat and could barely sleep. She had long since been waiting in this spot, and anxiously waited for Yun Che’s figure to appear.
Ling Kun stood in the middle of the open space and silently looked on ahead.
Zzzt!
In the wake of the brilliant radiance brought along by the spatial vortex, a person dressed in white was tossed out. His hair was disheveled and his clothes were worn out, as if he had recently fought a fierce battle… The first person to come out, was surprisingly Ling Yuefeng.
Ling Kun opened his eyes, and faintly asked: “Any finds?”
Ling Yuefeng slightly exhaled, and answered with knitted brows: “We were not lucky this time, and encountered Heaven Basin Secret Realm’s harsh winter. Everything was sealed in ice and covered by snow, so there weren’t any great gains.But, I made an astonishing discovery, inside this Heaven Basin Secret Realm, unexpectedly dwells a Tyrant Profound Beast!”
“Oh?” Ling Kun’s gaze flashed: “What kind of Tyrant Profound Beast?”
Ling Yuefeng shook his head: “I have only perceived its sound force and did not dare to approach it. Perhaps someone had the misfortune of angering it.”
“Hmm…” Ling Kun muttered: “There was actually a Tyrant Profound Beast inside. If I knew that, I would’ve went in together with you. Wanting to find a Tyrant Profound Beast, is not that easy.”
Although Heaven Basin Secret Realm was mysterious, the things that could be found inside were too inferior to Ling Kun. After he had entered once, he had no interest entering again, which was why he didn’t go this time.
Zzzt Zzzt Zzzt Zzzt…
After Ling Yuefeng, were the flickering of many rays of light. More and more people were being tossed out. Even though Ling Yun and Ling Jie were both in tattered clothing, they were both perfectly fine, and also had some findings.
Members of the various large sects appeared one after another. Very quickly, Xiao Sect’s members were all present, and Burning Heaven Clan’s members were appearing one after another… but in the end, only four had come out.
Fen Moli appeared with a murderous aura that filled the sky. The moment he appeared, he loudly roared with extreme rage: “Mu Tianbei!! You brute, come out right now!! To actually have murdered my Second Young Master… I will exterminate your entire clan!!”
Fen Moli’s anger and shout instantly made the members of Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress tremble with fear, and also stunned everyone present… Mu Tianbei killed Fen Juebi? Nobody had heard that there were any grievances between Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress and Burning Heaven Clan. Why would Mu Tianbei kill Fen Juebi… To have killed Burning Heaven Clan’s Second Young Master, had Mu Tianbei gone crazy!?
“Great Elder!” Fen Juecheng immediately went to Fen Moli’s side, pulled him to the side, and said whispered something with gritted teeth.
More and more people were coming out, and every time one came out, Cang Yue’s heart would tightly squeeze a little. Xia Yuanba incessantly comforted her on the side: “Senior Sister, rest assured. Brother-in-law is so strong, so he definitely be fine.”
Zzzt…
The last rays of light flashed in the empty space, and Yun Che simultaneously appeared with Xia Qingyue. They stood side by side.
“Junior Brother Yun!” Cang Yue shouted out with pleasant surprise and immediately let go of all her worries. She sucked in a long breath of air, and hurriedly dashed at Yun Che.
And at this time, an angry roar suddenly exploded like a clap of thunder: “Despicable junior… Die!!”
In the midst of the roar, Fen Moli immediately pounced like an angry lion. His entire right arm ignited with deep purple flames, as he directly burst towards Yun Che.
Everyone present were all basically discussing their findings and gains within the Heaven Basin Secret Realm. No one would ever think that the situation would change in this way. Qin Wushang immediately turned pale with fright. Chu Yueli and Chu Yuechan’s complexions had also abruptly changed… because Xia Qingyue was standing right next to Yun Che. Under this attack from Fen Moli, it was extremely possible for Xia Qingyue to be harmed as well. How could two juniors possible withstand an attack from an expert half a step into the Emperor Profound Realm?
But since everything was so unexpected, once they had time to react, Fen Moli had already flown in front of them. There was simply no time for them to block it, and they could only simultaneously yell out: “Stop!!!”
Cang Yue, who had almost arrived at Yun Che’s side suddenly felt an incomparably scorching air current come from her rear, and the dangerous feeling made her rosy complexion lose color. Fen Moli’s attack in extreme rage was fast and ferocious. He wanted to instantly kill Yun Che, and judging by the direction in which he had charged at, Cang Yue would be the first to be affected.
Yun Che’s brows immediately sank. Instead of withdrawing, his figure flashed forward, and he rapidly sound transmitted to Xia Qingyue: “Help me cripple him!!”
After leaving behind an afterimage, Yun Che had already flashed beside Cang Yue, tightly embraced her, and activated “Sealing Cloud Locking Sun”…
In the midst of everyone’s surprised gazes, as if mad, Xia Qingyue confronted Fen Moli’s attack. Blue light curled around her right hand as she extended one hand forward and met Fen Moli’s purple flame.
“Qingyue!!” This scene made Chu Yueli turn pale in horror, as she could only helplessly watch the two people’s attacks collide…
A muffled sound echoed as an enormous ice lotus instantly blossomed between the two people. Under the swiveling of the ice lotus, the purple flames on Fen Moli’s arms instantly extinguished completely. Without even having time to be bewildered, the enormous ice lotus suddenly split open, transforming into nine smaller ice lotuses that separately smashed onto Fen Moli’s face, neck, body, ribs, and limbs…
Though they were both at the Emperor Profound Realm, if Xia Qingyue had to go against Chu Yuechan, she would be defeated without question, because in terms of battle experience and mastery of the Frozen Cloud Arts, she was far inferior compared to Chu Yuechan. However, in regards to pure profound strength, she had already completely surpassed Chu Yuechan by one level, and had surpassed all of the Frozen Cloud Seven Fairies. In this kind of direct collision, even Chu Yuechan would be at a disadvantage, let alone a Fen Moli… Even though half a step into the Emperor Profound Realm only had half a step of distance from the Emperor Profound Realm, this half step was a tremendous chasm!
The scene that everyone had expected to happen did not appear. What they saw, was actually Fen Moli being thrown backwards outside of the fluttering ice crystals. He landed with a groan, and his eyes protruded outwards. His complexion was pale as he widened his eyes and firmly fixed his gaze at Xia Qingyue. His throat surged with movement, until finally, his entire body trembled all over. With a thump of his heart, he knelt on the ground as his entire body twitched in pain.
Xia Qingyue casually withdrew her arm. During this entire course of events, she had not moved from her current location. The profound energy produced by the exchange between her and Fen Moli was obviously incomparably frightening, but under the protection of Sealing Cloud Locking Sun, Yun Che and Cang Yue had only been thrown into the distance, and was not even the slightest bit injured. He promptly released Cang Yue and worriedly looked her up and down: “Senior Sister, are you alright?”
Cang Yue’s little face had turned pale from the change of events earlier. With her profound strength at the True Profound Realm, being immersed in the collision between one at the Emperor Profound Realm and one half step into the Emperor Profound Realm was a sensation similar to dropping down the abyss of death. When she saw the safe and sound Yun Che, she laughed in relief: “I’m alright…”
After she said those two words, she discovered that their surroundings had become frighteningly quiet… Everyone’s gaze were focused upon Xia Qingyue. Regardless of whether it was the young disciples or those imposing experts, all of their faces had suddenly warped into that of shock.
“Emperor… Profound… Realm!” Ling Kun looked at Xia Qingyue with sinking eyebrows, and an elusive tint flashed in his eyes. The three words he had said aloud resonated like three claps of thunder beside everyone’s ears.
“This isn’t… possible…” Ling Yuefeng absent-mindedly murmured. The shock in his heart was indescribable. Although Chu Yuechan stepping into the Emperor Profound was surprising, it was still completely acceptable. After all, she was originally half a step into the Emperor Profound Realm. But Xia Qingyue… a seventeen year old Throne. In Blue Wind Empire, this was practically even more fantastical than myth! Even if one were to personally witness this, they were incapable of believing it.
Everyone had become completely dumbstruck. A seventeen year old Throne, this was a concept that they were fundamentally unable to comprehend, and also something they were simply unable to accept.
“Qingyue, you… you actually…” Chu Yueli walked over. She looked at Xia Qingyue with beautiful eyes filled with shock and incredibility. Since a disciple had made a breakthrough, she ought to be happy, but the breakthrough Xia Qingyue had made this time was just too exaggerated, and too terrifying. What she first felt, was actually terror.
Standing in front of Xia Qingyue, and sensing the aura of a Throne coming from her, even as her Master, Chu Yueli, still felt a deep oppression.
Xia Qingyue walked forward, gently made a disciple’s courtesy, and softly explained in front of everyone’s gazes: “Master, disciple had a fortuitous encounter within the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, and consumed a fully bloomed Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus… Only, this disciple never thought that the effectiveness of the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus far surpassed the rumors. In the span of one day, it unexpectedly allowed this disciple to directly break into the Emperor Profound Realm.”
The intelligent Xia Qingyue knew that she had to explain this matter in front of everyone present. The breakthrough she had this time was too world-shocking. Those shocked, were not only a little Blue Wind Empire. If she did not explain it properly, there would inevitably be many people or forces… outside of Blue Wind Empire that would do their utmost to investigate the reason behind it in attempts to reap some profit. It was extremely possible for this to attract unexpected trouble, so she simply publicized the reason behind it, cutting off any sort of future troubles. At the same time, since she had already consumed the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, others would obviously not covet any remaining surplus. Even if they longed for it, it would still lead to nowhere.
“So that’s… it… So that’s it!”
The name, Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus pierced like thunder through the ten large sects’ ears. That was the sacred object written about in Blue Wind Empire’s records! Rumors of the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus’ existence being within the Heaven Basin Secret Realm had also been there for several hundred years. After hearing the cause of this change, a portion of the terror within Chu Yueli’s mind naturally dissipated, and was replaced by extremely pleasant surprise and excitement: “Four hundred years ago, a late senior who had fallen within the Heaven Basin Secret Realm had left behind news of an Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus within the Secret Realm. In these several hundred years, numerous seniors had also attempted to find it. I didn’t expect that this great opportunity had actually fallen onto you… This is truly a blessing from Heaven.”
As the other sects’ members listened in on their conversation, the shock, admiration, and jealousy in their eyes were practically leaking out of their body… The Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, a sacred object from legends! No wonder why a young girl had reached the Emperor Profound Realm in one step. This was Xia Qingyue’s good luck, and was also Frozen Cloud Asgard’s good luck… In front of this heaven-sized great luck, they seriously felt that even with their several hundred years of luck added together, it would not even reach this Frozen Cloud Asgard that had recently obtained an Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus!!
They simply could not imagine what sort of realm the seventeen year old Xia Qingyue, who had entered the Emperor Profound Realm, would reach in the future… But what they did expect, was that when Xia Qingyue fully matured, as long as she was there, it was impossible for Heavenly Sword Villa to maintain their stable and unmoving, millennium long, number one position!
Xia Qingyue actually shook her head, and softly replied: “Master, this actually isn’t disciple’s good luck. The Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus wasn’t actually found by this disciple. And was instead…” She used her eyes to hint at Yun Che, and continued: “And was instead discovered by Sir Yun. At that time, disciple had encountered a gigantic beast within the Secret Realm, and was bound for death. To save me, Sir Yun allowed me to consume the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus… If not for Sir Yun’s rescue, not only would it be impossible for me make a breakthrough, even my life would remain inside Heaven Basin Secret Realm.”
Xia Qingyue’s words were even a bit unexpected to Yun Che… because the few sentences she said to play it down, had actually made Frozen Cloud Asgard owe him a gargantuan favor!!
Chapter 276 - “Demon” (1)
Everyone used an incredibly amazed expression to look at Yun Che. Each and every one of them truly found it difficult to believe that someone would freely give away an item that was hard to come by even in a millennia, to someone else. If he did that under the state in which he clearly knew that it was the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, then this boldness, and this sort of sensibility could both be said to be larger than the heavens.
Chu Yueli lightly nodded towards Yun Che: “Yun Che, this favor of yours, our Frozen Cloud Asgard will remember it. From today onwards, you are our Frozen Cloud Asgard’s most important friend! If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask our Frozen Cloud Asgard.”
“This idiot… just for the purpose of gaining a beauty’s favor, he actually gave away the legendary Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus!! The Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus!!” Xiao Kuangyu murmured while gritting his teeth. Even though he said that, he was extremely clear in his heart that the seventeen year old Yun Che, who was able to obtain first place in the ranking tournament, was not an idiot no matter what!
What they saw were only two people lucky enough to find the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus, and simply did not know of the fatal calamity that had befallen them when they found it.
What Chu Yueli had said was not out of anyone’s expectations. If Yun Che had willingly given the Emperor Awakening Heart Lotus to them, no matter which sect it was, they would all be willing to treat him like an ancestor. This kind of favor was truly too great. Not only did he save Frozen Cloud Asgard’s most outstanding disciple since their founding, he had also allowed Frozen Cloud Asgard’s level to greatly increase.
Yun Che originally did not care about some Frozen Cloud Asgard’s favor, but once Chu Yueli had said those words, his heart moved as he asked: “Chu fairy is too courteous. With the friendship between me and Qingyue, this isn’t really that much… But, erm, can I really ask for anything?”
When he said those words, his gaze shifted towards Chu Yuechan. Sensing his gaze on her, Chu Yuechan’s looked to the side with a face full of coldness.
Chu Yueli’s eyelashes softly fluttered, and she simply answered with elegance: “This great kindness that you have given our Frozen Cloud Asgard is too difficult for us to repay. If you have any requests, as long as we can accomplish them, as long as they don’t violate our Frozen Cloud Asgard’s principles, we would certainly not refuse.”
“Okay!” Yun Che nodded. That being the case, he no longer had to be modest with Frozen Cloud Asgard: “I hope that the noble Asgard would remember today’s words. If this junior requires any help from the noble Asgard in the future, then this junior would definitely not hold back.”
“Our Frozen Cloud Asgard would never go back on its word. It is only right for us to do this because of the great kindness you have bestowed upon Qingyue.” After finished speaking, Chu Yueli shifted her gaze towards the extremely ugly sight of Fen Moli. At this time, her eyes became as cold as ice crystals: “Fen Moli! My Frozen Cloud Asgard and your Burning Heaven Clan have no grudges nor grievances, yet you, with your status as your clan’s Great Elder, had the nerve to actually dare attack our disciple with a deadly strike! If Qingyue did not have such heavenly luck, then she would’ve died by your hands! Do you, Burning Heaven Clan, wish to become mortal enemies with our Frozen Cloud Asgard?”
In Fen Moli’s previous explosive rage inducing strike, he used around seventy percent of his strength. As for Xia Qingyue’s counterattack, she used at least ninety percent of her strength. In that one exchange, Fen Moli’s internal injuries could be said to be extremely severe. If not for his unwavering profound strength that firmly suppressed it, he would have already fainted long ago. With fury written all over his face, he took in a large mouthful of air and pointed at Yun Che: “That… That brute! He killed… our clan’s Second Young Master!”
Following the last flickering lights from midair, Heaven Basin Secret Realm had completely closed. But two people had not come out. One was precisely Fen Juebi, and the other, was Mu Tianbei.
“I killed your clan’s Second Young Master?” The corner of Yun Che’s mouth slanted. That disdainful expression looked as if he had heard an amusing joke: “Elder Fen, with which eye did you see me kill your Second Young Master? Hmph, in fact, it was your Burning Heaven Clan’s Fen Juecheng and Fen Juebi who plotted to take advantage of me when I had not fully recovered my strength in Heaven Basin Secret Realm. Not only that, they did not even hesitate to involve Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress’ Mu Tianbei! If it weren’t for Xia fairy’s rescue, I would’ve already died in your Burning Heaven Clan’s two despicable people’s hands!”
“What?” Qin Wushang’s expression changed into that of fury.
“Bullshit!!” Fen Moli angrily replied: “Why would our great Burning Heaven Clan target a nameless junior like you! It was obviously you who had evil intentions and plotted against my Second Young Master!!”
His words “nameless junior”, made many secretly laugh to themselves. Before the ranking tournament, Yun Che was indeed a nameless junior. But now, Yun Che’s overall strength and fame, had far surpassed every member of Burning Heaven Clan’s younger generation. If he was still considered to be a “nameless junior”, then wouldn’t it mean that his Burning Heaven Clan disciples were not even worthy of being called “nameless”?
“Hahahaha!” Yun Che laughed wildly: “Your Burning Heaven Clan’s despicable shamelessness, distorting of facts, and ability to blame the victim first as the guilty, has truly opened my eyes. Fen Juebi did indeed die, but he had clearly died by Mu Tianbei’s hands! At that time, Xia Qingyue and your Young Clan Master were present. Furthermore, I have also heard your Young Clan Master say that you had planted some kind of special soul imprint on Fen Juebi’s body. If he had been killed, then you would immediately know who had killed him… Do you swear on your Burning Heaven Clan’s thousand years of honor, that the person you saw, who killed Fen Juebi, was truly me?!”
“You…” Fen Moli was suddenly at a loss for words, as his faced turned purple. His reaction, had also let everyone clearly understand the truth. They were not at all unfamiliar with such a thing like a dying imprint. But seeing Fen Moli’s reaction, the person he saw, who had killed Fen Juebi, was definitely not Yun Che. Due to that, it was clear that Burning Heaven Clan had shifted this crime on Yun Che’s head. As for everything else Yun Che had said, they ought to be true as well.
Chu Yueli’s crescent brows tightened slightly while asking: “Qingyue, you were really present at that time? What exactly happened?”
Xia Qingyue calmly replied: “Reporting to Master, at that time, disciple was indeed nearby and had heard about the Burning Young Clan Master resenting Sir Yun because of Princess Cang Yue. After he entered the Heaven Basin Secret Realm with Fen Juebi, they had continuously tailed behind Sir Yun together. Furthermore, they had also brought along Heavenly Spear Thunderfire Fortress’ Fort Master Mu, who wanted to put Sir Yun to death. But when they took action, Fort Master Mu had accidentally killed Fen Juebi. With the support of the concealment of ice and snowy weather, disciple took Sir Yun and helped him escape that life-threatening situation. Elder Fen saying that Fen Juebi had died by Sir Yun’s hands… are completely false.”
Xia Qingyue had said the complete truth, but her narration was extremely ingenious. Mu Tianbei accidentally killing Fen Juebi was true, but the one who concocted the “accident” was Yun Che.
Xia Qingyue was like a fairy in snow. With her incomparably beautiful complexion and extraordinary temperament, it was impossible for anyone to doubt her words. Once her words fell, a hissing sound immediately echoed from the surroundings. All kinds of contemptuous gazes lowered onto the six Burning Heaven Clan members and pressured them. They had recently suffered a crushing defeat in the ranking tournament, angered Frozen Cloud Asgard, and now they were held in contempt in everyone’s eyes. If this were to go out, it would very negatively affect their Burning Heaven Clan’s prestige.
Fen Juecheng’s expression continuously changed. He finally clenched his teeth and said with complete discomfort: “Yun Che! You are well aware of how my Second Brother died! This grudge, our Burning Heaven Clan will make you pay in blood!”
Yun Che laughed coldly. Just when he was about to counterattack, a low voice suddenly sounded: “Enough!!”
Ling Kun swept the crowd with a gaze full of coldness. His gaze possessed an incomparably heavy oppression. Everyone who was swept past had all stopped breathing instantly. He spoke with indifference: “Wait until you leave Heavenly Sword Villa to settle whatever grudges and grievances you have with one another. How you want to settle it, is none of anyone’s concern. But this Heavenly Sword Villa, is not a place for you to resolve your resentments! I don’t want to know who killed who, or who wants to kill who. What had happened earlier, I can pretend that they did not happen. But after we return to the Villa, if anyone takes action or continue to bring up past grievances, don’t blame me for being impolite!”
The incomparable might brought along by Ling Kun’s words made everyone shut their mouths. As for Burning Heaven Clan’s side, they had also breathed in a sigh of relief. Ling Kun said to Ling Yuefeng: “Yuefeng, I have stayed here long enough. I must leave tomorrow, so the Demon Sealing Ritual should start right now.
Ling Yuefeng nodded: “Everything will be as Elder Ling has planned.” After he finished speaking, he turned to face the crowd: “All of you have already heard what Elder Ling said previously. Everyone has only recently left the Heaven Basin Secret Realm and had spent quite a large amount of their profound energy, so much that some of you still retain injuries. But this is the first time that the Demon Sealing Ritual became open to the public. This ‘demon’ had also used to be an enormous secret. To be able to personally see this demon, as well as the Sealing Ritual, is an extremely rare and valuable experience. I ask everyone to follow Elder Ling and I to the Sword Management Terrace. If you do not wish to come, you may return to your courtyards to rest. Everything is up to you.”
Sealed under Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace was a mysterious “demon”. All the various sects had heard of this matter, and were all curious as to what kind of “demon” it was since the start. It was only natural for them to not want to miss this kind of opportunity. As a result, everyone neatly followed Ling Kun and Ling Yuefeng, and headed for Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace.
But not everyone was interested.
“Qingyue.” Chu Yuechan stopped Xia Qingyue: “Are you interested in this so-called ‘demon’?”
Seeing Chu Yuechan, who was like an icy moon, Xia Qingyue immediately understood why she had stopped her. She slightly shook her head: “Disciple isn’t really that interested.”
“If that’s the case, then follow me. The range of your profound strength’s increase is too large, it would easily cause your profound strength to become unstable and harm your profound veins. It must be stabilized as quick as possible.” After speaking, Chu Yuechan rose in the air and flew in the direction of the courtyards.
“Yes, Senior Master.” Xia Qingyue informed her master Chu Yueli, then followed Chu Yuechan.
Members of the ten large sects quickly returned to Heavenly Sword Villa, and then headed towards the Sword Management Terrace. The assembly of Blue Wind Profound Palace’s four, were undoubtedly conspicuous. Qin Wushang was at the front. Following right behind him were Yun Che, Xia Yuanba, and Cang Yue. Yun Che and Cang Yue were constantly whispering on the way, and Xia Yuanba’s eyes glittered as he eagerly rubbed his hands in anticipation. It was obvious that he was looking forward to see the rumored “demon”.
“Fen Juecheng and them really wanted to kill you?” Cang Yue tightened her brows as she asked while holding back her rage.
“Mn. But don’t worry, a mere Fen Juecheng is no longer a threat to me anymore. But…” Yun Che secretly sighed: “Senior Sister, I probably can’t return to the Blue Wind Profound Palace with you anymore. After we leave Heavenly Sword Villa, Burning Heaven Clan will definitely make their move. I have to escape their notice and then leave alone. They definitely won’t do anything to you, Palace Chief Qin, or Yuanba. Burning Heaven Clan will be hunting me down. I probably cannot return to Blue Wind Profound Palace for a long time, but don’t worry Senior Sister, I have never been afraid of things like people hunting me down. If there is someone chasing me from behind, it would force me to become even more powerful.”
Yun Che’s words immediately tightened Cang Yue’s heart… Burning Heaven Clan firmly believed that Yun Che was Fen Juebi’s cause of death. The death of the mighty Burning Heaven Clan’s Second Young Master would inevitably invoke the sky filling fury of the entire Burning Heaven Clan. The result, would precisely be an unceasing hunt for blood…
That was an assassination from one of the Four Major Sects that the Blue Wind Imperial Family had always been deeply afraid of!!
Even though he had said those words with the most relaxed of tones, he still sensed that Cang Yue’s breathing had momentarily stopped. Her complexion had also become slightly pale, and a pair of small hands firmly grabbed onto him. He immediately comforted: “Senior Sister, there really is no need to worry. Don’t forget, I also have the protection of Frozen Cloud Asgard. If worst comes to worst, I’ll go hide in Frozen Cloud Asgard.”
Chapter 277 - Demon (2)
“But, I’m worried… it’s still the Burning Heaven Clan… How about… How about you hide in the Imperial Palace? Even if they know that you’re in there, they definitely won’t dare to make trouble there.” Cang Yue said in a panic as she tightly gripped Yun Che’s hands.
Yun Che shook his head with a slight smile: “Even though Fen Juecheng was the one who started it, if you carefully think about it, I never avoided these conflicts, and had instead intensified them so far, that Fen Juebi died… Perhaps I had subconsciously planned to make the Burning Heaven Clan chase me… After all, being hunted is…” Yun Che let out a small breath of air. He was well familiar and accustomed to a life of being hunted.
“Senior Sister,” Even though the tone in his voice had changed, it was still gentle: “After all these disturbances are over, I’ll bring you home, okay?”
“Bring me… home?”
“Mn!” Yun Che nodded, and raised his head, as if looking into the future: “Although I had been driven out of my clan, it is still the place where I grew up in. The most important thing is that my Grandfather and Little Aunt are there; wherever they are, is my home. It has already been a long time since I have left and there has not been a time that I wished to return… I want to bring Senior Sister home. They would probably be scared out of their minds if they knew that I actually brought home a princess for a wife.”
Just thinking about that possible scene made Yun Che chuckle. Grandfather and Little Aunt’s figures, had also clearly flashed before him… Grandfather, Little Aunt, are you two still well… Unknowingly, I had already left for this long… Did you two get bullied there… After being locked in that desolate rear mountain, have you gotten thinner… You know, I think about you every day…
The current me, finally has enough power to return. I can now beat anyone from Xiao Sect. I will return the continuous misery you two have suffered back, a hundredfold!!
Cang Yue stared blankly for a long time. Her eyes immediately softened to the point that it almost melted. Her heart rate, had also accelerated by several-fold. Her heart that she had been keeping calm, suddenly welled up in nervousness and joy. She quietly lowered her head and answered in an extremely soft voice: “Mn.”
The Sword Management Terrace, was now just up ahead.
Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace was several times larger than the ranking tournament’s Sword Discourse Arena. As far as the eye could see, as many as ten thousand swords flew in the sky above the Sword Management Terrace, stirring up an even greater vortex of sword energy. When walking up the Sword Management Terrace, waves and waves of sword energy would occasionally flit by. The sharp energy dully ached, as if knives were cutting into their face.
Various kinds of swords also covered the entire surface of the Sword Management Terrace, and a few heavy swords were also included among them. Though their numbers was extremely low, it they were definitely not of common grade. Even the most inferior weapon there was at least a Spirit Profound Artifact.
In the middle of the Sword Management Terrace, a pitch-black sword as large as the heavens was halfway into the ground and halfway into the sky. The incomparably enormous sword body released an ancient and heavy aura, making the hearts of the ones who looked at it go silent.
Ling Kun was walking at the very front and stopped in front of the enormous sword. He turned around and said: “This sword, is called ‘Heaven’s Punishment’, and is the suppressed demon’s sword. The demon arrested several hundred years ago, is precisely sealed beneath this sword.”
“The demon is incredibly strong, but inside the sealing formation, his strength has greatly been suppressed, so he should never think of escaping. However, since it is a sealing formation, its power would naturally diminish through time. Every twenty years, Mighty Heavenly Sword Region would always send one person here to strengthen the seal formation.
“The Demon’s existence, was originally a secret. Because the things that are related to him, may possibly affect the life and death of the entire Sky Profound Continent. The reason why we have allowed everyone to witness his true appearance is because not long after last time’s seal strengthening, his relatives used a special method to avoid the Four Great Sacred Grounds’ blockade, and entered the Sky Profound Continent. They asked all over about this demon’s location with the intent to rescue him. At the very end, they had still discovered Blue Wind Empire. If not for our Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s detection, the consequences would have been unthinkable.”
“Oh! Listening to what he said, that demon seems to have come from outside of the Sky Profound Continent… Could it be those non-humans of legends?” Xia Yuanba asked with wide eyes.
“Very likely.” Yun Che carefully nodded. At the same time, he silently thought to himself: The Four Great Sacred Grounds ought to have frequently come in contact with people not from Sky Profound Continent, then doesn’t it mean that they… have come in contact with people from the Azure Cloud Continent!? And know of Azure Cloud Continent’s existence?
Ling Kun’s gaze swept across and then said: “Today, everyone should open their eyes wide and clearly look at the appearance of a demon. In the future, if anyone asks you about people who look similar, you have to inform the Heavenly Sword Villa. Don’t be lazy or negligent by any means! Because that could possibly be another demon! That matter over ten years ago was enough to prove that they found some way to enter the Sky Profound Continent without the Four Great Sacred Grounds being aware of it! If this demon was rescued accidentally and its powers are restored, it would bring a great calamity to the Sky Profound Continent!”
“Bring about a great calamity to the Sky Profound Continent”… These words had undoubtedly shakened everyone’s heart. What kind of an existence was this demon, to actually be this terrible?
Rum… Rumble…
Following Ling Kun’s bizarre hand gesture, an enormous profound formation flashed from under the huge sword. In the profound formation’s rotation, that huge sword as large as the sky slowly rose. Underneath the platform, was the lower half of the sword’s body that had not seen night or day for twenty whole years.
The sword’s body rose higher and higher, gradually reaching a height of several hundred meters. And just at this moment, a voice that sounded like it came from an evil spirit came from below:
“GRR… AAHH!!!! Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, you old dogs! Have you come to visit this granddaddy again… HAHAHAHAHAHA… You pack of shameless, despicable, and treacherous dogs! If you have guts, hurry up and kill me already! I want to become a malicious spirit, tear the skin off your flesh, drink your blood, bite your bones into mush, pulverize your organs… and drag you all down to the eighteenth level of hell , to suffer the penetration of ten thousands of blades for all eternity, and feel the pain of burning in hellfire!!”
This was the most resentful voice they had ever heard and the most malicious of curses. It was even more frightening than the wails of evil spirits in hell… The hair of everyone who had heard this voice stood erect, and chills unceasingly crept up their spine. They had no way of imagining just how large of a resentment it would have to be able to release such heaven frightening earth startling grievances…
The enormous Heaven’s Punishment Sword continued to rise for a little while longer until it had finally stopped. The tip of huge sword moved a similarly sized surface which appeared at the previously empty space.
What appeared in front of the people’s eyes was a huge light yellow half sphere barrier. Within the barrier, was the huge Heaven’s Punishment Sword with several tens of chains on the tip of it firmly sealing a person with a full set of white hair. His hair had reached the ground a long time ago and covered half his body and face. His body was as thin as a match and had a face that was as wrinkled as an evil spirit, but his pair of eyes was as frightening as the sharpest knives in the world and radiated a resentment that was like the abyss of hell.
“That’s… a demon?”
“Being sealed in the profound formation for over a hundred years without eating, drinking or dying. It’s practically an old demon! Sssss… what a terrifying demon, he glanced at me for a moment, and my entire body went cold.”
“So… so scary.” Cang Yue nervously pressed closer to Yun Che, with half her body hidden behind him.
This “demon’s” expression was quite terrifying, and his fury was great. It could even be said that to be the greatest that Yun Che had seen all his life. When he looked at him, even he, was a bit afraid, let alone Cang Yue.
“Jasmine, what kind of person is this? Can you tell?” Yun Che probed.
Jasmine answered with extreme disdain: “Demon? It’s only just a more powerful than the usual human. Hmph, what a joke. A real demon of the demon race is even scarier than what you can imagine!”
Yun Che: “…”
Regarding the “demon” with his incredibly malicious curses and gaze, Lin Kun didn’t alter his expression at all as he calmly and collectedly said: “You want to curse, curse as much as you like. Heh, you think I don’t dare to kill you? If it wasn’t for you still having some uses, being a bargaining chip for exchange at some necessary moments, you would have died several hundred times by now! Why would we go through the trouble of keeping you alive for a hundred years?”
“Fooey!” The demon sneered: “Despicable old dogs, you’re dreaming. Don’t think you can exchange me for anything! I was never willing to die because I wanted to personally see the the great Demon Emperor slaughter your entire family. That day won’t take too long to come… hahahaha!”
“Hahahaha!” Ling Kun laughed madly as well: “It looks like you’re truly unclear on who is actually dreaming. It’s no harm for me to tell you again that your Demon Emperor had already died a long time ago. Died under hands of our Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s Sword Master and the Sun Moon Divine Hall’s Heavenly Monarch. Your pitiful Demon Emperor who had just ascended to the throne, overestimated his own abilities and wanted to take revenge for his father. Tsk tsk… his cries were so pitiful when dying. Right now, the entire Illusory Demon Realm is supported by a little demon empress. Unfortunately, though the pitiful little demon empress has imperial blood, your Illusory Demon Realm doesn’t seem to be willing to let a woman become Emperor. She doesn’t even have time to look after herself… slaughter our whole family? Hahaha, simply an enormous joke.”
“Utter bullshit!” The demon madly howled with rage. Those words of Ling Kun had obviously provoke him and made him completely lose control of his emotions as he violently struggled all over. He moved those chains while clamoring: “How can you bunch of inferior old dogs even compare to our Illusory Demon Realm’s great Demon Emperor! The great Demon Emperor can never die… NEVER! There will be a day when he will personally slaughter everything!!”
Illusory Demon Realm… Demon Emperor…
These strange words repeatedly came out of the two’s conversation, causing Yun Che to become baffled. He looked all around, and noticed that bewilderment was written on everyone’s faces. The only one different, was soley Ling Yuefeng, whose expression could still be regarded as calm.
It seemed like the “Illusory Demon World” and the “Demon Emperor”, were things that only
Sacred-Ground level forces had qualifications to touch upon. It was obvious that there was an enormous animosity between them and the “Illusory Demon World”.
“Hahahaha, then just keep on dreaming!”
During his ridiculous laughter, Ling Kun wiped the spatial ring in his hands and several ten lumps of light yellow crystals hovered in front of his body. The top of every crystal released a power so dense that it made people shake in fear. Along with a wave of Ling Kun’s arm, these several tens of crystals all separately flew towards a corner of the imprisoned “demon’s” light yellow barrier, slowly submerged into the barrier, and became part of the barrier’s power.
Suddenly, the color of the entire barrier became even deeper, causing the tint to become sparkly, it looked as if the yellow light filled its entirety. Those several tens of yellow crystalline objects all contained an incredibly power sealing force. Along with their merging, a once in every twenty years of barrier stabilization was completed at this moment.
Chapter 278 - Frightening Change of Events
“The profound formation used to seal this demon is called the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation.” Ling Kun pointed his finger at the continuously flashing light from the profound formation beneath them, and said: “No matter who it is, in this Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation, their profound strength would be suppressed to the maximum limit. When this demon is being locked under Heaven’s Punishment, he shall never even think of ever escaping this Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation.”
Ling Kun said expressionlessly: “This demon’s outer appearance is completely the same as us, and profound strength is also what he cultivates, yet he possess a type of special ability called ‘Profound Handle’. However, amongst the demons, those who possess ‘Profound Handles’ are also few in number.”
“And now, you have already seen what you all ought to have seen. Remember what I had said previously.” Ling Kun’s gaze swept across the entire audience. Then, he took a step forward and coldly smiled as he stood in front of the barrier: “Demon, you must be really thankful to me since I have allowed you to see sunshine for this long, right? Before sending you back, I have another piece of news that I wish to tell you about… Heh, your son, and your daughter-in-law overestimated themselves and charged straight into Mighty Heavenly Sword Region twenty years ago to save you. But alas, they didn’t know that you had been transferred here a hundred years ago. Hahahahaha.”
The demon trembled all over. Fiercely raising his head, he roared like a madman: “You… What did you do to my son!! What did you do to him! If you harm a hair on my son’s head, I wouldn’t forgive you even if I become a ghost!”
“Tsktsk.” Ling Kun coldly laughed as he shook his head: “Your son was quite crafty, and had actually escaped our Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. He had almost found this place too, but alas, we found them first. What was even more unfortunate is that they thwarted us again, and escaped back to the Illusory Demon World. However, both of them were seriously injured, and had been fleeing for several months, so their life force were pretty much burnt out. Even if they ran back to the Illusory Demon World, they practically had one foot in the grave. I’d reckon that they had already died more than ten years ago.”
The demon’s eyes grew wider without wavering. An endless sadness, anger, and despair crazily erupted from his body. He struggled hysterically, and shouted frantically: “You’re lying!! You’re lying! My son would never die! AHHH!!! Mighty Heavenly Sword bastards… You guys are the ones who deserve to die!! AHH!!”
In the midst of his roar, a hand suddenly extended from the crack within the sealed demon’s chains. Bringing about a boundless hatred, the hand shot straight for where Ling Kun was standing, and a beam of profound energy shot forward.
Cries of shock immediately sounded from the surroundings. Everyone had all subconsciously retreated backwards. Ling Kun had also revealed traces of astonishment, but he was not scared, nor was he in a panic as he stood completely still. The profound energy beam struck the barrier, but did not pass through it. After a light “bang”, it disappeared completely.
“Everyone, fear not. Even though this profound formation barrier cannot prevent others from entering, it can completely keep all kinds of power from going out. The demon cannot harm us.” Ling Yuefeng explained. However, he was not at all calm, because he was well aware of how powerful this Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation was. It was strong enough to suppress someone’s profound strength down to not even one percent of their true strength. But under this suppression, the profound energy aura that came from the attack this demon activated under his rage, was actually not the least bit inferior to his all out strength!
To still be able to unleash an early-stage Emperor Profound strength after being sealed an entire hundred years, and it was even under the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation… his complete strength in a normal situation was simply unimaginable! He was at least, stronger than Ling Kun by who knows how many times.
“Hmph!” Ling Kun coldly snorted in disdain: “To have allowed one of your hands to break through, looks like the previous seal was not tight enough. But no matter, you aren’t that naive to think that you could escape the Meteorite Chain’s seal and Heaven’s Punishment Sword’s suppression, right?”
“You despicable mongrels, I want to kill you… kill you all… AHHHH!!”
Ling Kun’s words from earlier had obviously upset the “demon” greatly, because perhaps to this “demon”, what had kept him going all along without giving in to death, was not the Demon Emperor, but his family. His roar was full of resentment and despair. He waved the only arm he could move, and lines and lines of profound light crazily smashed towards Ling Kun. The shouts he released were no different than that of a wild beast’s. The sounds of his struggles as he twisted and turned within his shackles were ear-piercing.
“Tsktsk, how pitiful.” Ling Kun shook his head: “The former Demon Emperor’s guardian angel, the ‘King’ of Illusory Demon World’s millions of inhabitants, has now become a pitiful mad dog. Even I, am not willing to see such a sight. I guess it’s best to let me… send you down!!”
With a flip of his palm, a strange profound formation crystal was pinched between his fingers. A small scaled profound formation appeared before his body. Subsequently, the profound formation underneath the Heaven’s Punishment Sword began to flicker again in response. Then, it slowly rotated, and gradually moved the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, and the area in which the demon was sealed, downwards.
Even though Ling Kun was strong, he absolutely did not have the power to move this huge seal formation, nor did he have the power to steadily move it. Only with the profound formation made by over ten of Heavenly Mighty Sword Region’s top experts and the sealing power within that heavenly crystal, could he do that. As for Ling Kun himself, frankly speaking, he was just an errand boy and nothing more.
“This demon is really scary.” Cang Yue said with a small voice.
“He really is scary. I wonder what kind of great hatred exists between his Illusory Demon World and Heavenly Mighty Sword Region to have made him be sealed here within a world of no daylight for a full hundred years. There’s not many in this world that could go through that. Even though it looks as if he’s a bit mad, he actually has not truly gone insane. The strength of his spirit, is truly astounding.” Yun Che lamented.
“I also think… that he’s really pitiful, and don’t think that he’s bad person.” Xia Yuanba said carefully in a low voice.
“The grudges and grievances within such a plane like the Sacred Grounds, are things that we can never touch. As such, we even more so, do not have the qualifications to judge whether or not this demon is a bad person… We can only look from afar.” Qin Wushang said.
As the Heaven’s Punishment Sword slowly lowered, the demon’s figure was also beginning to gradually fade from their line of sight. But he still howled like an evil spirit, and the sound resonated past everyone’s ears. His hysterical attacks had also not stopped as chaotic profound streams of light smashed against the barrier: “I will definitely kill you… ALLL!!! I will definitely kill you all!!”
In the midst of his crazed roar, he suddenly stopped his assaults. He stretched his arm out in front of him and fiercely pulled inwards.
Whoosh!!
A burst of wild wind suddenly blew out from within the barrier. Then, it weakly expanded as it passed through the barrier while bringing along a magnetic force. It was obvious that in his extreme rage, this half crazy demon wanted to kill someone, and wanted to drag someone inside to kill them. As long as he could suck them into the barrier, no matter who it was, even if it was Ling Kun, once inside the “Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation”, they were bound for certain death, because even if it was someone stronger than Ling Kun, once inside the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation, their profound strength would also be suppressed down to at most the Spirit Profound Realm.
It was just that after passing through the barrier, the attraction force was extremely feeble, and those currently present were Blue Wind Empire’s strongest experts. This gravitational force was simply too weak to affect them.
“AHHH!!! GRAHHHH!!!”
The Heaven’s Punishment Sword continued to descend, and the demon’s voice had begun to become gloomy. At this time, the nonthreatening attraction force stopped… Two breaths later, an energy current suddenly narrowly centralized outwards, and ferociously charged outwards… And the direction in which the energy current surged towards, was surprisingly… the spot where Yuanba was standing at!!
Everyone present could easily resist the energy current the demon had released with all his strength. This included Cang Yue, who was only at the True Profound Realm. But there was one exception…
Which was the Yuanba with the lowest level profound strength, who was only at the Elementary Profound Realm!
Beneath the energy current, Xia Yuanba was suddenly, and fiercely, sucked in and flew towards the barrier. It was only up until the instant his body touched the barrier, did he let out a frightened cry.
No one had expected this sudden, misfortunate turn of events. None of them would have anticipated that the demon, who was about to be sealed back into the ground, would actually go frenziedly latch onto a youngster who was only at the Elementary Profound Realm. With the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation and the barrier in place, the demon was not suppose to bring them any harm in the first place. But these super strong practitioners that transcended strength, had all subconsciously forgotten about the existence of a super weak practitioner, and did not even think that the demon would use all his strength to take action on a weakling that wasn’t suppose to be there anyway.
“Yuanba!!!”
This was an event that Yun Che totally had not foreseen. They were suppose to be mere spectators here. With numerous experts around them, how could they possibly anticipate that such a disaster would suddenly arrive and target them? As he watched Xia Yuanba get sucked into the barrier, Yun Che paled in fright, and then fiercely charged over in the midst of his explosive roar.
“Don’t go over there!!”
Qin Wushang immediately reached out to pull Yun Che back, but with the swift and mystical movements of “Star God’s Broken Shadow”, Qin Wushang’s lightning fast hands could only grab at his afterimage.
Sss!!!
Yun Che’s speed at this time, had greatly surpassed all of his previous peak speeds. The flashing of his figure had unexpectedly raised the sound of an ear-piercing spatial friction. At the speed of light, he had finally chased towards Xia Yuanba’s rear, and grabbed at his left ankle… But at this instant, both he and Xia Yuanba were sucked into the barrier at the same time, inside the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation!!
Without the barrier’s obstruction, energy current that had been aimed at Xia Yuanba was immediately a thousand times stronger, and quickly dragged them towards the demon at an extremely fast speed… What accompanied them, was the demon’s deranged laughter: “Hahahahaha… Kill! I’m going to kill you all! Kill you all!!”
“Junior Brother Yun!”
“Yun Che!”
“Boss!!”
“Don’t go over there!!”
Cang Yue was firmly locked in place by Qin Wushang. The startled Ling Jie was slapped backwards by Ling Yuefeng. As they watched Yun Che and Xia Yuanba get sucked deeper and deeper into the barrier, everyone’s face had changed color. Ling Kun had previously explained what the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation did to them, and they were incomparably clear about what it meant to be sucked into the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation.
Ling Kun’s expression had also changed greatly. In his eyes, he had undoubtedly lose a large amount of face because this kind of event happened under his watch. But even if he was given ten times more courage, he would not enter the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation to rescue them… And even if he did go in, it was simply impossible for him to rescue them. Instead, it would’ve been like setting himself up for suicide. He could only look on helplessly as the two youths continued to get sucked towards the demon.
“Br… Brother-in-law!!” Xia Yuanba screeched out loud. His face had turned deathly white when he looked behind him and saw Yun Che, who had firmly grabbed onto his ankle.
An incredibly huge suppression surged forth from every direction and firmly locked onto Yun Che’s profound veins, making him feel as if his profound strength was being frozen by a force that he was unable to expel… But this feeling of suppression could only last for a short period of time… The Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation could indeed maximally suppress any human’s profound strength at will, but at this moment, Yun Che had become Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation’s sole exception, because his profound veins were not any ordinary person’s profound veins, but rather profound veins that came from a True God!!
As for a True God’s profound veins, how could a mere Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation from the mortal world possibly suppress it?!
“AHHHH!!!”
Following the rays of flashing red light from the Evil God’s Profound Veins, that feeling of suppression immediately dissipated without a trace. After releasing an explosive roar, his entire body surged with a blood-red radiance. It was also at this time, that his eyes had instantly changed into a scarlet color.
“Purgatory!!”
In this moment between life and death, Yun Che had no reservations whatsoever to forcefully open the third gate. Under the explosive surge in profound strength, he concentrated all his strength on his right arm and suddenly flung Xia Yuanba backwards…
In this split second, he forcibly broke out from the demon’s irresistible gravitational force, and flung Xia Yuanba far behind him. Then, he shouted once more as he turned around in midair and used all his strength to continuously push at Xia Yuanba…
“Yuanba… leave!!”
Whoosh!!
Following Yun Che’s loud roar, all of his strength transformed into a surging storm, struck at Xia Yuanba, and rapidly sent him flying far away, outside the barrier… As for he, himself, under the rebound and the demon’s magnetic force, he flew towards the demon at an even faster pace.
“Br… other-in-law!!”
Xia Yuanba’s flying body flew further and further away… Until he finally arrived at the edge of the barrier… At the instant in which his body separated itself from the barrier, he saw Yun Che flash a faint smile that brimmed with satisfaction before he closed his eyes…
Bang!!
After Xia Yuanba fell out of the barrier, he heavily smashed onto the ground. He, who was bound for certain death had actually been miraculously thrown outside the barrier. His head was spinning in circles and his body ached all over with extreme pain. Before he even had time to breathe, he got up and threw himself at Yun Che while releasing a heart breaking, lung rendering wild cry: “Brother-in-law… Brother-in-law!!”
It was also at this time that Yun Che’s back landed onto the demon’s palm. With a loud sound, his back was immediately burst open. His flesh was broken into pieces as his bones scattered everywhere. A bloody arrow around six meters in length spurted forth from his mouth. Subsequently, as if a broken puppet, his entire being was tossed aside into the distance and no longer moved. A large pool of blood rapidly spread from underneath his body… the final thing he heard with his last bit of consciousness, was the demon’s wild laughter, which contained an incomparable elation.
Boom!!
The Heaven’s Punishment Sword suddenly dropped down at an extremely fast rate. Then, in the midst of a loud sound, it completely fell down, sealing the demon, as well as the already deceased Yun Che, into an unimaginable depth under the Sword Management Terrace.
“Junior Brother Yun!!” Cang Yue released a desperate blood-curling scream. Then, both her eyes turned over as she fainted.
Chapter 279 - The Fallen Genius
“Brother-in-law… Brother-in-law… Brother-in-law!!”
Xia Yuanba rushed forward as if he was insane, and threw himself under the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. Both of his hands smashed the platform under the Heaven’s Punishment Sword with *bang* sounds, until the skin between his thumb and index finger bursted open with blood. But the suppression of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword couldn’t be shaken in the slightest even if all the power of the whole Heavenly Sword Villa were combined together. Let alone one Xia Yuanba, even ten million Xia Yuanbas would not be able to cause the slightest bit of damage.
Everyone’s faces were filled with shock. They never would have thought that Yun Che, who defeated the core disciples of several major sects at the age of seventeen, who took first place in the ranking tournament, whose name that shook the continent, would so quickly perish in this kind of unexpected manner in front of them right after he had obtained such a extremely dazzling aura.
And the reason why he perished, was not due to an accident from the hands of the demon, but was due to trying to save a person who was not even worthy of being called “trash” in their eyes. As they sighed, they didn’t know whether to commend him for his loyalty, or to lament at his foolish behavior.
“How did it end up like this….” Qin Wushang was shocked silly. Standing there for a long time and not knowing what to do, his eyes enlarged the longer he looked on. Glory and pride were brought to Blue Wind Imperial City, but a nightmare happened so suddenly, just like that. He raised his head, and heavily gasped for air. He felt so depressed, as if his chest was about to explode. Clasping on a trace of hope, he took incomparably heavy strides towards Ling Kun, stood in front of him, and lifelessly asked: “Elder Ling, is it possible to lift the Heaven’s Punishment Sword?… Maybe Yun Che… Maybe he…”
Halfway through his sentence, Qin Wushang could no longer continue speaking due to grief. So what if they lifted the Heaven’s Punishment Sword? In that one strike from the demon, everyone could clearly see the horrible sight of Yun Che. That kind of heavy wound, let alone a person in the early levels of the Spirit Profound Realm, even a strong profound practitioner at the Sky Profound Realm would undoubtedly be dead… with no possible sliver of hope that they could be alive.
Qin Wushang’s words startled the Xia Yuanba, who was sobbing in desperation. He abruptly threw himself at Ling Kun. With a loud plop, Yuanba knelt firmly in front of Ling Kun, and grabbed his legs with his freshly bloodied hands. “Elder Ling… Elder Ling I beg you… I beg you to please be merciful and lift the Heaven’s Punishment Sword… Brother-in-law… he wouldn’t die so easily… please… please… I beg you to save Brother-in-law!!”
Xia Yuanba’s voice was hoarse and filled with desperation, letting those who heard him tremble in their hearts. Ling Kun’s face was quite unsightly, as he was ultimately the main cause of this incident. If it wasn’t because he suddenly had an idea before the ranking tournament to let the top ten sects to observe the Demon Sealing Ritual, this would not have happened. If it was Xia Yuanba who died, this incident would have been a small matter that would have been forgotten really quickly…. That’s right! No one would remember weaklings, not to mention a dead weakling. This was the true reality of the situation.
But Yun Che; he was the champion of the ranking tournament! More importantly, he was sectless, did not belong to any faction, and fought with the identity as the sole disciple that represented the Profound Palace’s Imperial Family. This achievement of his stimulated and excited countless sectless youths who dreamt of becoming a strong person. The uproar he incited by winning the tournament this time exceeded every ranking tournament. Those in Heavenly Sword Villa had no idea, but within the borders of the Blue Wind Empire, Yun Che had already caused a huge storm. Especially in the Blue Wind Imperial City; the whole city was already in a celebrative atmosphere, and were preparing to welcome Yun Che’s return. Even Blue Wind Emperor, Cang Wanhe, was glowing pink with happiness while awaiting their triumphant return every day.
Yun Che’s perfect control of the heavy sword, had even made Ling Kun feel like bringing him to Heavenly Mighty Sword Region.
But such a person, had perished just like that.
If this incident were to be leaked, the wave of terrible public opinion that it would bring along, would be no different than an enormous wave that could lift the entire Blue Wind Empire into the sky.
Ling Kun took a deep breath, and spoke with a heavy voice: “Preposterous! The suppression of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword can’t be released on a mere whim. The profound formation that I just activated required the cooperation of more than a dozen Heavenly Mighty Sword Region’s elders and it also took a long time to finish…. Sigh! Even if it was possible to release it, so what? The wound he received just now… he has to be dead. He caused it himself… you all should… just give up.”
Every word that Ling Kun said was the truth and everyone agreed. Even within the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation, this demon was still able to release a profound strength at the level of the Emperor Profound Realm. That one attack was not something that Yun Che could possibly withstand. When they saw the injury Yun Che received under that one palm had caused their entire body to shudder all over. That type of injury, if it were inflicted on any other person, even if they had mountains of spiritual pellets and miracle herbs, it would still be impossible for them to survive that..
Even in an optimistic scenario, even if he didn’t die and had one breath of air left, he was still in the directly provoked and crazed demon’s grasp. How could he possibly still live!
Even in the most optimistic scenario possible, even if the demon decided to not kill him, and he miraculously lives… Heaven’s Punishment Sword’s suppression could only be released once every twenty years. Because of the demon’s great strength, even without eating and drinking for a hundred years, he wouldn’t die. But at Yun Che’s level, one to two months was the absolute maximum. After that, he would die to hunger and thirst.
No matter what, Yun Che was bound for certain death.
“Sigh!” Qin Wushang sighed, shut his eyes, as his heart filled with grief.
Xia Yuanba stopped moving. He knelt there, frozen still, as if he suddenly died.
“Yuanba, stand up, you have to properly live on. Only with that, would you be worthy of this life that Yun Che sacrificed his to save.” Qin Wushang said dejectedly. After he finished speaking, there was no response at all from Xia Yuanba. He lowered his head, and wanted to pull Yuanba back up, but he suddenly saw two very distinct long streaks of blood on Xia Yuanba’s face.
Tears of blood!! Only when a person was in extreme grief, extreme pain, and when their spirit was on the verge of collapse, with their soul in endless lamentation, would they bleed out tears of blood!!
Qin Wushang’s heart was violently shocked. In this moment, he could understand that he had continuously underrated Yun Che and Xia Yuanba’s bond and feelings. He would not have known that when Yun Che’s profound veins were crippled, Yun Che had suffered under the extreme coldness and ridicule from others. Apart from his Grandfather and Little Aunt, only Xia Yuanba had constantly stood beside him, encouraging and comforting him, time and time again fought until bloodied against the people who mocked him. When Yun Che was young, Xia Yuanba was half of Yun Che’s mental support, and was this lifetime’s one and only true brother who he had engraved deep into his heart. As Yun Che became more powerful and brilliant, there would always be different kinds of “friends” around him. But the relationships with those kinds of friends would never ever be able to compare to the time when he was at his lowest, when everyone looked at him with contempt, when he was seen to have no future. Would never be able to compare with Xia Yuanba’s pure and authentic feelings.
That was why when Yun Che became strong, he could not stand a single instance where Xia Yuanba had been bullied. Whoever hurt Xia Yuanba, he would make the other party pay the greatest of prices. When he saw Xia Yuanba encounter a crisis, he would have no hesitation trading his own life for his… because Xia Yuanba was completely worth it for him to do so.
Qin Wushang hurriedly crouched in front of Xia Yuanba, and consolingly said: “Yuanba, are… are you okay? Sigh… if you want to cry, then loudly cry it all out. After crying, you must live well, live to prepare Yun Che’s funeral, and even more so, live to help Yun Che finish the things he had not finished…”
Qin Wushang’s comforting words had no effect on Xia Yuanba at all. He knelt there, unmoving, with a face so pale there was no shred of color. His eyes were empty without a trace of life, and the two streams bloody tears on his pale face made it incomparably chilling…
“Yuanba!” Qin Wushang loudly shouted.
This loud shout startled Xia Yuanba, as if shocking him awake from a nightmare. He suddenly screamed “ah”, stood up, and charged towards the north in a crazed manner. That lung piercing and heartbreaking scream resolutely piercing into everyone’s heart like countless needles filled with endless grief and sadness. No one stopped him. Their eyes filled with complex expressions as they watched him run out of their line of sight.
“Yuanba!!” Qin Wushang shouted. He wanted to chase, but he could not leave the unconscious Cang Yue. He sighed deeply, and his heaviness in his heart could even crush a mountain
“Villa Master Ling, please find someone to look after my disciple Yuanba.” Qin Wushang said helplessly, not willing to speak with any other person. He picked up Cang Yue, and flew towards their courtyard with a back that looked extremely lonely and desolate.
“How could this happen… How could this happen…” Ling Jie sat down on his butt, and blankly looked at the enormous Heaven’s Punishment Sword as his heart instantly chaotically tangled like hemp rope.
“The heavens are truly jealous of such outstanding talent.” Ling Yun shut his eyes, and said sympathetically.
“Elder Wugou, send someone to closely follow the one called… Xia Yuanba, don’t let him get into any accidents. Furthermore, let Grandmother Jiumu go to Princess Cang Yue to check up on her. Don’t let her body and spirit get hurt. Sigh.” Ling Yuefeng finished his instructions and sighed deeply. The achievement of becoming the champion of the ranking tournament with profound strength at the True Profound Realm was unprecedented, but just like this, a peerless genius seen once in a thousand years, had fallen. There was no way that anyone would not feel regret.
“Yes.” Ling Wugou’s said in a dignified tone as he left.
“We should leave too.” Chu Yueli eyes fluctuated with a complicated expression as she took Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin, and silently left. She felt a bit a regret at Yun Che’s death, and a bit of pity. At the same time, she also felt a hint of rejoice that she should not have… because since this had happened, Xia Qingyue would be completely free of worldly bindings, and could focus on meditation in Frozen Cloud Asgard, until the day she takes over as the Asgard Mistress, and lead Frozen Cloud Asgard to stand at the very peak of Blue Wind Empire. The gargantuan favor that Frozen Cloud Asgard owed to Yun Che, had also disappeared into thin air.
Most of the people were in lamentation, but there were also some people who rejoiced in other people’s misfortune. For Fen Juecheng, this result was simply a gift sent from the heavens. He laughed coldly to himself and thought: “Idiot! He gave up his life to save a piece of trash… A complete idiot! But you should still be considered lucky to have you died so cleanly. If it was up to me, don’t even think about dying so easily!”
The crowd gradually began to disperse. They could imagine the huge storm that would be stirred due to Yun Che’s sudden death within the Blue Wind Empire.
Ling Kun stood at his original spot and looked at the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. He tightly knitted his brows as he pondered: Odd! After Yun Che entered the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation, the power he released clearly did not weaken compared to what he had before he entered… Why was he not affected by the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation? Is it because of some special circumstance, or maybe it’s because the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation has a loophole?
But the guy was already dead. There was no point if he continued to think about these things. With a flick of his sleeve, he became a stream of light and disappeared from the Sword Management Terrace.
……………………
“Wh… at? What did you say… What did you say!?”
When Chu Yueli told the complete incident of Yun Che’s fall to Xia Qingyue, without even hearing Xia Qingyue’s response, she had instead first heard Chu Yuechan’s trembling voice that was similar to a lotus leaf in a fierce wind.
Chu Yuechan stood up, and ice spirits around her entire body became hysterical. Chu Yueli looked at her with a confused expression. Not understanding, she asked: “Elder sister, what’s wrong? You……”
“You said, he died… He… died…?”
In this moment, Chu Yuechan’s voice was as weak as if it had floated from the clouds. Her eyelashes, gaze, ice spirits, and entire body… shivered and trembled… Chu Yueli was shocked. She understood her sister better than anyone in this world. There was practically nothing in this world that could shake her heart. But now, her feelings were obviously out of control… and they were completely out of control! Out of all her memories, this was through and through, the first time ever. She took a few steps forward, stood in front of Chu Yuechan, and anxiously asked: “Elder sister, what happened? You… You wouldn’t have heard something wrong right? I said the person who died was Yun Che. He tried to save Xia Yuanba who came with him, and died at the hands of the demon. His corpse is also with the demon, suppressed beneath the Sword Management Terrace…”
Chu Yueli hadn’t finished speaking, but Chu Yuechan had already flew out, leaving behind an unequaled desolate freezing gust of wind.
“Elder sister!” Chu Yueli exclaimed, and hurriedly chased after her.
Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
As for Xia Qingyue… She sat there unmoving. Her gaze was even more thoroughly stationary, without a single tint of color and focus as she looked forward. Even her breathing and heartbeat had completely stopped. In an instant, her entire person had become a lifelessly beautiful, ice statue…
Chapter 280 - The Siblings Part Ways
Chu Yuechan took to the skies and flew swiftly with a pair of beautiful eyes that were misty yet expressionless. As if she had lost her soul, she didn’t respond in the slightest to the urgent shouts from Chu Yueli.
In the end, she landed on the Sword Management Terrace, and stood in front of that huge Heaven’s Punishment Sword. She looked at that tall and erect sword shape, and the aura that was as boundless as the sea. Her usually ice-cold eyes, cheeks, and cherry blossom lips began to tremble: “Dead…dead… you’re actually dead…dead…”
“Elder sister!” Chu Yueli finally caught up. Chu Yuechan’s never before seen strange behavior sent her heart into a state of turmoil. She held onto Chu Yuechan’s arm and panickly said: “Elder sister, what’s wrong? What exactly is going on here? Tell me quickly…”
Chu Yuechan didn’t have the slightest reaction to her arrival and voice. She foolishly looked at that Heaven’s Punishment Sword and muttered in a daze: “Why are you dead… Why… Why!!”
Bang!!
A frantic icy cold power dispersed from Chu Yuechan’s body and shocked Chu Yueli far away. She charged toward the Heaven’s Punishment Sword and countless ice lotuses crazily exploded on the Heaven’s Punishment Sword as she produced waves of shattering grief. Every single one of her attacks contained her utmost possible strength. The power that a frantic Throne released contained an incredibly frightening might. Cold air roiled around the entire Sword Management Terrace as ice crystals filled the sky…
“Why… Why are you dead…”
“I don’t believe it… Come out for me… Come out!!”
“Why are you dead… Why… Did you forget what you said… You clearly told me that you were a true man… How can you die… Come out… Come out!!”
“Weren’t you going to conquer me… Didn’t you want to go to Frozen Cloud Asgard to find me… Then why did you die… Come out…”
“…Please come out… As long as you come out… I’ll do… whatever you say… Come out… come out…”
Like a furry of rain, countless ice crystals crazily struck the Heaven’s Punishment Sword; however, let alone shaking it, not even a single scratch remained on the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. The sound of every collision was deafening, but the cold roiling winds contained an incomparable grief. Chu Yuechan’s voice went from desperation and heartbreaking to resentment and anger… Until finally, it became the most mournful cries and pleading…
At this moment, she wasn’t the Fairy of Frozen Beauty that the men of the world could only dream of admiring, but didn’t dare to look at. She was now an emotionless and soulless ordinary woman…
“Elder… sister…” Looking at Chu Yuechan’s actions, she felt her grieving emotions. When she heard her voice, Chu Yueli became completely dumbfounded. No matter how unbelievable it was, she had no choice but to imagine an absurd possibility… When this possibility appeared in her brain, she almost had a nervous breakdown.
The huge trembles on the Sword Management Terrace quickly drew in people from the Heavenly Sword Villa. Ling Yuefeng and several elders who weren’t that far away rapidly rushed over. They simultaneously stared at the situation before their eyes.
When the others arrived, Chu Yueli’s heart tightened. She rapidly advanced, and tenaciously embraced Chu Yuecan while: “Elder sister, stop hitting. That’s the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, it’s impossible to move… Yun Che is already dead… already dead!!”
Chu Yuechan’s body stiffened and suddenly halted all her movements… Chu Yueli’s words were like the final straw that turned her last hopes into completely despair.
“Plop…”
Streaks of bloody arrows spouted out from Chu Yuechan’s mouth onto the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. Her eyes shut, and all of her consciousness changed into a blank despair as her entire body slowly fell backwards.
“Elder sister!!”
Chu Yueli cried out in alarm. After a brief period of dazzlement, she quickly held the unconscious Chu Yuechan and flew towards the direction of the courtyards.
“Fairy of Frozen Glass, what’s going on?” Ling Yuefeng quickly asked.
Chu Yueli seemed to not hear him. She flew away with Chu Yuechan without talking to anyone, and quickly disappeared from their sights.
Seeing the scarlet pool of bloodstains on the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, Ling Yuefeng’s heart suddenly lurched and he urgently said: “Quickly! As soon as Grandmother Jiumu heals Princess Cang Yue, tell her to leave for the courtyard where the Fairy of Frozen Beauty is staying!!”
Yun Che’s death made a majority of people feel regret, but that was only regret. However, his death stirring up a series of chain reactions was something they never could have thought of.
Chu Yuechan overestimated herself. She originally thought that Yun Che’s wrongful binding made her restricted and helpless. She believed with her temperament, she could completely sever all emotions regarding Yun Che. She believed that her original reason for coming to the Heavenly Sword Villa was to see Yun Che one last time, settle all of her gratitude and resentments, and then be rid of any earthly thoughts.
But she truly didn’t understand herself, and truly didn’t understand her womanly feelings.
In the realm of the Dragon God Trial, those five months of close embrace, five months of being taken care of, those five months of him always being in front of her and defeating all that posed risks to her body, five months of rather being bruised and scarred than her receiving the slightest bruise… All those, were enough to melt any woman’s stone heart.
Let alone, Chu Yuechan, who never had a heart of stone. In this world, apart from the dead and the undead, there could never be anyone who was completely emotionless. She just happened to live within the icy cold Frozen Cloud Asgard, and had her emotions frozen by the environment and her sect’s profound arts. However, when these frozen emotions were released after melting, the blazing passion that came forth would far surpass any ordinary person, and far surpass her own imagination…
The moment she heard news of Yun Che’s death, she finally realized this fact, after feeling her soul suddenly get strangled by the attacks of pain and despair. However, it was already too late…
“Junior Sister Xia, are you alright? Are… you alright?”
Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin accompanied Xia Qingyue at her side and asked with concern. Because after hearing news of Yun Che’s death, Xia Qingyue had practically lost her soul, and just stared in front of her without moving for a long time. They originally thought the reason why she married Yun Che was to repay a debt of gratitude and fulfil her father’s wishes. They didn’t think she would have any feelings for him, and thought that even if she heard the news of his death, she would feel a bit regretful. However, Xia Qingyue’s reaction right now, completely went beyond their expectations.
Under their unceasing shouts, Xia Qingyue’s beautiful eyes finally focused somewhat. Her towering chest began to violently move up and down for a long time, until she gently shook her head: “I… I’m fine.”
She slowly stood up. Her movements were stiff, as if she was a marionette. The moment she stood up, her foot staggered and she almost toppled to the ground. Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin promptly supported her with eyes full of concern and complexity.
“What Master said… are they all true?” Xia Qingyue opened her mouth and asked with a voice as light as smoke.
The two nodded simultaneously and Shui Wushuang said: “For the sake of rescuing your little brother… he pushed your brother back and personally landed into the hands of the demon. WIth a single palm from the demon… his body was practically penetrated and he died right away. Even his corpse, is with the demon….”
“Don’t say anymore.” The last color of rosiness Xia Qingyue’s face ultimately faded completely and went so pale that it was as if she had fallen seriously ill. She held the corners of her dress with both her hands and each her delicate jadelike fingers were deathly pale. A feeling of desperation and powerlessness filled her entire body, and her heart felt like it had been pierced by an uncountable number of needles more painful than death.
How could it be like this…
Is it because I’m truly unqualified to be a wife…
Why didn’t I choose to go to the Sword Management Terrace together…
She muttered within her heart and gently shrugged off the two people’s hands who were supporting her. With light steps, she slowly advanced. With an expressionless gaze, she said: “I want to go by myself… to the Sword Management Terrace.”
Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin looked at each other and saw the peculiar expression in each other’s faces. They didn’t stop her and didn’t go with her either. They stayed far behind Xia Qingyue. Wu Xuexin lightly sighed: “Looks like, the elders aren’t wrong about this. The emotions between men and women, we really can’t touch any of it… it’s too harmful. This could possibly become the inner devil within Junior Sister Xia’s heart.”
Shui Wushuang said: “I never thought that Junior Sister Xia would truly develop feelings for that Yun Che. Sigh, but this is good as well. Once Yun Che dies, the emotional roots she shouldn’t have, should completely be severed…”
After leaving the courtyard, Xia Qingyue staggeringly walked a while. She suddenly saw the figure of Xia Yuanba in front of her eyes. He lowered his head and mechanically walked forward like a zombie. On his face, hung two streaks of undried bloody traces. When Xia Qingyue saw him, he saw Xia Qingyue as well. Every time he had seen her in the past, he would run to her with a face full of joy and shout “big sister”; however this time, his face only displayed terror, as he panickedly retreated. He roared in a low voice, and then turned around to run.
“Yuanba!”
Xia Qingyue’s gaze trembled, and then she flew after him. She landed in front of Xia Yuanba, and Xia Yuanba stopped his footsteps. Both his hands blocked his front, and shouted with his coarse voice: “Don’t… don’t come over here… don’t come near me!!”
“Yuanba, what happened to you?” Xia Yuanba’s current appearance made Xia Qingyue’s heart even more painful. She knew that because of Yun Che’s death, the most heartbroken one would inevitably be Xia Yuanba. Not only did he have to bear the pain within his heart, he also had a guilt and remorse which were countless times more painful.
“Don’t come near me!” Xia Yuanba fell back as his tears gushed out: “I already killed Brother-in-law, I don’t want to kill big sister too. I beg you, don’t come, don’t come near me!”
“Yuanba, don’t be like this. It’s not your fault…”
“No! It is my fault! It is my fault!” Xia Yuanba knelt on the ground and painfully wept: “It was me, the trash, that killed Brother-in-law… it’s all me… it’s all me… Why wasn’t the one who died me… Why couldn’t I have died earlier! AHHH!!”
He cried painfully and raised his fist to viciously pound at his own head. Every strike was incredibly heavy. Xia Qingyue took a step forward: “Yuanba, don’t…”
“Don’t come over here!!” Xia Yuanba frantically tried to escape backwards with both hands blocking in front of him. Tears fiercely rushed down his face, his voice was coarse and filled with sorrow: “You’re my older sister, my close relative. Brother-in-law is my brother and also my close relative… Brother-in-law became increasingly stronger and turned into someone that I admire. He brought me, this trash, to the Blue Wind Profound Palace that I yearned for day and night and brought to to the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament that I didn’t even dare dream of being at… When I was bullied, no matter how powerful the opponent was, he would viciously beat the opponent and made them not dare to bully me again…”
“I fearlessly enjoyed everything that brother-in-law brought. His glory is also my glory because he is my most intimate Brother-in-law… But… but what did I do for brother-in-law… what did I do… I killed Brother-in-law… I killed brother-in-law… AHHHH… I’m trash… trash that’s lower than a dog… A trash who killed Brother-in-law… trash!!!”
“Yuanba…” Xia Qingyue bit her lips and didn’t know how to comfort Xia Yuanba, whose spirit was so extremely shattered right now.
Xia Yuanba’s pain continued for a very long time as he cried like a child in despair. His unceasing tears quickly drenched a large portion of the ground. Xia Qingyue didn’t say much anymore, and quietly watched him cry… Crying in pain is fine, at least he could expel some of the pain and sorrow within his heart…
The sound of wind whistled through the air. After some time had passed, Xia Yuanba finally stopped his painful crying, and gradually, his sobs had begun to disappear as well. He knelt on the ground with his hair hanging down. After being calm for a long time, he slowly stood up from the ground and all of a sudden, said gently: “Elder sister, I’m leaving.”
“Leave? Where are you going? Returning home?”
“No, I’m not returning home. I don’t have the face to return home…” Xia Yuanba bitterly smiled: “Even if a trash like me does return home, I would have to live under Father’s protection. Perhaps there will be a day, where I’ll cause even father to die as well… I don’t want to be trash anymore. I don’t want to kill the intimate people beside me anymore…”
“I need to leave… I need to search for a power that won’t make me trash anymore… I need to become stronger… I don’t want to be trash anymore…”
Xia Yuanba raised his hand and wiped the tears off his face. Then, he determinedly exposed a smile: “Elder sister, don’t worry about me. I promise you that I won’t die… because the life that I have now is a life that Brother-in-law traded for with his own. No matter what, I won’t allow myself to die… I only ask for Elder sister to not stop me and not look for me either… I will return one day… Wait for the day I return, when I’ll use my own power to protect Elder sister, protect Father… protect everyone that I want to protect…”
Xia Qingyue: “…”
Xia Yuanba left with his back facing Xia Qingyue. His pace was unusually slow, but they were incredibly firm and unwavering. He didn’t bring anything; he didn’t even bring a single yellow profound coin. No one knew where he was going, perhaps he, himself, did not know either. Even less people knew and understood the sadness, pain, blame, and remorse that filled this sixteen year old youth’s heart… as well as his thirst for power…
Xia Qingyue didn’t chase after him, and only dazedly stared at Xia Yuanba’s parting figure. Through her hazy gaze, she saw the usually cheerful, carefree, little brother who was always full of passion, unyieldingly grow up.
“Yuanba, take care of yourself. I’ll wait for you to return.” Xia Qingyue lightly whispered. She pressed her hand to her chest and closed her eyes: “Yuanba… thank you for teaching me how to be strong…”
Chapter 281 - A Great Disturbance (1)
Floating Cloud City, Xiao Clan’s rear mountain, Reflection Gorge.
Returning from hunting, Xiao Lie was carrying a skinny wild rabbit in one hand. His face revealed mild happiness. As he sat down to prepare the prey he had caught, he heard the sounds of his daughter practicing swordsmanship.
At the start of their imprisonment, the Xiao Clan would send them food everyday. He was still able to occasionally obtain some information about how the Xiao Clan was from the disciples that delivered food. After some time, the frequency of the delivery of food became lesser and lesser and eventually, three months later, nobody sent them food anymore. Obviously, being imprisoned for twenty years and having no close relatives to rely on would mean that no one in the clan would bother to care about them. In the beginning, people had still somewhat pitied them. Eventually, they left them to their own demise in the rear mountain.
Luckily, the rear mountains were not completely barren. In the area that they were allowed in, they could obtain some vegetables and occasionally were able to capture one or two delicious low ranked profound beasts. Just like this, the parent and child survived. Xiao Lie had also thought about escaping with Xiao Lingxi. After all, he could not let the most beautiful time of her daughter’s life be wasted like this, trapped in the gorge. However, once he escaped, he would not doubt that they would be hunted by the Xiao Clan… After all, they were imprisoned under orders of the fourth young master of the Xiao Sect. He was not afraid of being punished or even being labelled as a traitor who betrayed his sect. However, he was worried about Xiao Lingxi.
All this time, Xiao Lingxi spent more of her time each day concentrating on training. After all, there was nothing much she could do besides that. Having no distractions, her progression was quite fast. She had already broken through to the ninth level of the Elementary Profound Realm.
“AHHH!!!”
The young girl’s cries were suddenly heard coming from the outside. Xiao Lie immediately stopped what he was doing and immediately sprinted out. Outside, he saw Xiao Lingxi sitting on the floor with her hands to her chest. The sword that already had rust on it had been thrown to one side.
“Xi’er, what’s wrong?” Xiao Lie rushed forward and anxiously asked.
Although Xiao Lingxi’s clothes were clean, they had already turned pale with age. Her skin did not become dry and rough under the constant blowing of the wind in the rear mountain. Instead, she was now even more graceful and pretty. Even the old clothes that she was wearing seemed to give off a special aura. However, compared to before, she had become visibly thinner. Within her pair of beautiful eyes, one could see the worry that she attempted to conceal. She seemed like an injured fairy, and would cause one’s heart to ache in pity for her.
“I don’t know…” Xiao Lingxi gently shook her head, her hand still clutching her chest. Her brows trembled uncontrollably: “My chest suddenly felt very very painful just now… Wuuuu… It really hurts…”
“Chest?” His daughter’s appearance made Xiao Lie’s heart ache. He thought for a while and said: “Don’t stand up yet. Perhaps you are just too tired from sword practice. Rest a while and it should be fine.”
“Mn.” Xiao Lingxi replied obediently. Her eyebrows knitted tightly, for the pain seemed to have come from her soul. The pain was bone-piercing and with it, numerous thoughts of Yun Che floated into her heart and mind. She suddenly cried out loud: “Father… I’m not afraid of this pain… But… I miss Little Che… Where is he now… When he left, he didn’t have much money. Also, he was so weak, would he be bullied by others? Would he have enough food? Would he even have a proper place to sleep? Would he… Would he… Wuu… uuu… I miss him… I’m so worried about him.”
Xiao Lingxi covered her face and started sobbing. Since young, before that incident happened, she had always been with Yun Che. There were nearly inseparable. She also would never have thought that she would be separated from him one day… However, fate was cruel. They were separated due to circumstances, and had been separated for a very long time. Separation for such a long period of time was an immense torture for her. Her thoughts about him increased day by day, and she could only rely on hardcore training to divert her attention.
The sudden heartache caused all the longing that she desperately tried to hold back to blow out of control. It was sudden, as though water was gushing out of a broken dam, and fiercely eliminated any bit of control she might have over her feelings. She broke. Her feelings poured out of her along with loose tears that gushed out from her eyes.
Xiao Lie let out a long sigh and gently comforted her: “Xi’er, Che’er has already grown up. He is already a real man. Perhaps, leaving the Xiao Clan was beneficial for him. Outside, he would undergo hardships and grow up. Even if he had to suffer a little and get injured, it would still be worth it.”
“Xi’er, don’t cry. He will become stronger outside. As his little aunt, you should be stronger than him. When he comes back, you need to show him a more energetic you. That would no doubt make him the happiest… Che’er has said before, he would be back within three years. As a man, I believe he would fulfill his promise and do what he said.”
Xiao Lingxi still continued to cry, but after hearing Xiao Lie’s words, she fiercely nodded her head before wiping off the tears on her face. However, the sudden gush of longing and heart-piercing pain within her could not be stopped…
Little Che… Where are you… I really miss you… I don’t need you to come back to see us in three years… I just want you to be safe… You have to be safe…
Heavenly Sword Villa, in front of the Sword Management Terrace.
Xia Qingyue was dressed completely in white as she stood silently in front of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. The wind above the Sword Management Terrace constantly blew at her, and unceasingly raised her hair and sleeves. However, it was unable to shift her gaze. She stood alone for a very long time, with only the flying swords in the sky as companions.
The sky started to turn dark as dusk slowly arrived. The wind from the swords had also begun to carry some coldness. A sudden gust caused her long hair to be gently blown into her face. Suddenly, deliberately gentle footsteps approached her from behind some distance away. The footsteps startled Xia Qingyue’s silent thoughts.
Her gaze shuddered a little as she continued to look forward as she muttered softly: “Husband… Let Qingyue be your wife in your next life as well… Is, that okay… That Qingyue will be a… proper wife… okay…?”
Her soft muttering disappeared within the sounds of the wind. No one could hear what she had said. She turned around, and behind her, was a dashing young man standing in place.
Seeing Xia Qingyue’s goddess-like appearance, Ling Yun’s aura became slightly chaotic. He smiled slightly and performed a courtesy: “Xia fairy, are you sending your friend off as well?”
“No.” Xia Qingyue shook her head and replied softly: “I’m here to… send off my husband.”
Ling Yun’s entire body quaked as he jerked his head upwards to look at Xia Qingyue. Just as he was about to ask whether he had heard wrongly, he suddenly saw a black cloth wrapped around Xia Qingyue’s left arm…
“Xia fairy, wh… what did you just say? Husband? Did I hear wrongly, or is Xia fairy joking with me?” Ling Yun said in the calmest voice he could muster. However, both his hands were trembling and his inner self was in turmoil.
Xia Qingyue did not answer him and merely extended her white hand to sweep it across her hair. As her left hand gently swept across, a segment of her hair silently broke off. She opened her jade hand, and scattered her hair towards the center of the Sword Management Terrace. In an instant, the hair was swept away by the swords’ wind and circled around the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, as if it yearned for something, and wanted to accompany it.
Xia Qingyue closed her beautiful eyes and flew off after a while, disappearing from Ling Yun’s sight.
Ling Yun’s entire body was stiff. He lost the strength in his body and knelt onto the ground. His pupils continuously dilated. This Heavenly Sword Villa’s Young Villa Master, who had once been the strongest of the younger generation, seemed to have lost his soul right there…
“They’re husband and wife… Yun Che… is her husband… She is already… She is already married… Impossible… Impossible… It must be a lie… Impossible…”
Ling Yun kept on muttering to himself. His expression became lifeless, as though all of his beliefs had been shattered.
At the same time, his father, Ling Yuefeng was also very confused. He was pacing back and forth outside the courtyard in which the Frozen Cloud Asgard members were staying at, worrying about Chu Yuechan’s injuries, and also wondering why she would have such a huge reaction. He would never have thought that Chu Yuechan, who was as cold as snow, as icy like a frozen profound lotus, would lose control of her emotions and vomit blood.
Knowing Chu Yuechan’s temperament, even if Frozen Cloud Asgard’s number one disciple, Xia Qingyue, were to suddenly fall, her most appropriate reaction would be a suffocating coldness… There should not be anyone in this world that could cause her to have such a reaction.
Could it really be because of the fallen Yun Che… No! Impossible! Absolutely impossible! There must be some other reason.
While he was under the emotional turmoil, he did not realize that his wife, Xuanyuan Yufeng, was not too far away. She had been coldly staring at every one of his emotional changes. Her gaze was turning colder and colder as she became more and more disappointed.
Just then, Ling Yuefeng’s patience seem to have reached its peak and could not stand it any longer. He gritted his teeth and entered the courtyard. He then opened Chu Yuechan’s room, and entered.
Chu Yuechan was still lying on the bed, and her face was still as white as sheet. Chu Yueli stood beside her bed with a face of worry and uneasiness. A skinny old lady who looked aged and weak was pressing her finger on Chu Yuechan’s hand to read her pulse.
Grandmother Jiumu was already more than a hundred and ninety years old this year. Based on seniority, she was several times more senior than Villa Master Ling Yuefeng. When comparing medical skills, she was not below Blue Wind Empire’s number one doctor Gu Qiuhong. However, she did not desire fame and had not stepped out of Heavenly Sword Villa all her life. There were not many within the empire, who had heard of her name.
“Grandmother Jiumu, how is the Fairy of Frozen Beauty’s condition?” Ling Yuefeng asked with concern. Facing Grandmother Jiumu, his actions were obviously more respectful.
Grandmother Jiumu removed her dry finger from Chu Yuechan’s snow white wrist and picked up her walking stick. She walked forward a few steps before speaking in a hoarse voice that sound like rubbing sandpaper: “She is fine. She fainted only because she received a huge emotional trauma, and the sadness that attacked the heart caused her blood to flow in reverse. She will wake up after a while.”
“Then that’s great…” Ling Yuefeng nodded. However, he still appeared to be in an emotional turmoil.
“However, she has practiced ice attribute profound arts for many years, so her five organs are all exceptionally cold. If this goes on, I fear it would be fatal for the baby that she is bearing.” Grandmother Jiumu said faintly.
The last sentence seemed like a landmine that triggered beside Chu Yueli and Ling Yuefeng’s ears. Chu Yueli hastily said: “Impossible! Grandmother Jiumu, you must be wrong. My sister has never interacted with any man before. How could she have a baby!”
“That’s right. Granny Jiumu, you must be wrong. The fairies of Frozen Cloud Asgard stay single for all their lives. It is impossible for the Fairy of Frozen Beauty to have a baby.” Ling Yuefeng also immediately continued.
“Hmph!” Facing the two people’s questioning, Grandmother Jiumu’s face turned angry. She strongly stamped her walking stick on the floor, and said hoarsely: “I have practiced medicine for the past hundred and eighty nine years and have seen all sorts of weird illnesses and strange sicknesses. I have treated more patients than people you have seen in your entire lives. Do you really think I will make a mistake on something as simple as whether a woman is pregnant! HMPH!”
Chapter 282 - A Great Disturbance (2)
For a person like Grandmother Jiumu, this kind of thing couldn’t be anymore simpler, and to doubt her on this matter was a huge insult to her medical knowledge and dignity. She couldn’t be bothered to say anymore. Supported by her walking stick, she walked out, leaving behind the dumbstruck Chu Yueli and Ling Yuefeng.
“Impossible… absolutely impossible. How can Elder sister… ah? Elder sister… You… you’re awake!”
In her panic, Chu Yueli suddenly saw that Chu Yuechan, who was on the bed, had already opened her eyes some time prior. She hurried to the side of the bed and asked: “Elder sister, are you fine? Are you hurt anywhere… Just now, Grandmother Jiumu said that… you are pregnant…”
Facing Chu Yueli’s words, Chu Yuechan had a startled look, and was completely reactionless. When Grandmother Jiumu took her pulse, she was already awake and she had heard everything that was said. In a daze, she slowly extended her hand, and softly put it on her lower abdomen.
This action was what almost every woman would subconsciously do when they heard that they were pregnant.
Her gaze, and her action was an undeniably clear tacit approval of her pregnancy. As if struck by lightning, a buzzing sound rang through Chu Yueli’s head. Ling Yuefeng directly staggered a step back. His entire body shook, as he had been struck by a thunderbolt on a sunny day.
“Elder sister… you…” Chu Yueli was completely breathless. Seeing Chu Yuechan’s hand on her lower abdomen, her heart almost jumped out from her chest.
“Don’t ask me anything!” Chu Yuechan breathed in deeply, with her voice sounding incomparably cold: “Immediately depart from here, return to Frozen Cloud Asgard!”
“Alright… alright!” The extremely confused Chu Yueli could only nod.
“Fairy of Frozen Beauty… you… who does the child in your stomach belong to… whose child are you carrying!” Ling Yuefeng panted a course breath, repeating the same question twice consecutively, his heart had clearly been flipped upside down. According to Grandmother Jiumu’s experience, she could not possibly be wrong about this kind of thing. In addition to Chu Yuechan’s reaction, there was no need for him to question whether or not if she’s actually pregnant anymore. The thing he desperately wanted to know to the point of insanity at the moment, was who the child belonged to! Who exactly was this person, that actually made Chu Yuechan…
During those years he bitterly loved Chu Yuechan while lowering his figure, losing his dignity, and followed Chu Yuechen for dozens of years, yet he still had never even seen her face once. In the end, he returned to the Villa, and married Xuanyuan Yufeng, who had an amazing background. But in his heart, he had never forgotten Chu Yuechan’s figure.
In his heart, Chu Yuechan became an extremely beautiful, but impossible dream.
And this impossible dream was infinitely beautiful because this dream would never come true for anyone. This way, the dreams about Chu Yuechan would forever, perfectly exist deep inside his heart.
But today, this dream was completely shattered.
When he was young, he was the publicly recognized number one genius of the young generation, and could not be compared to anyone. To this day, he was the leader of the number one sect in Blue Wind Empire, worthy of being number one in the whole Blue Wind Empire! In countless profound practitioners’ eyes, he was an unreachable height, and was a godlike existence. Even if the emperor saw him, the emperor would have to be respectful towards him! The thing he spent his whole life’s effort on and pouring all his emotion in, was his attempt to pursue Chu Yuechan, which ended in a crushing defeat. Originally, he felt an infinite amount of regret at this result, but didn’t feel too sad, because Frozen Cloud Asgard’s disciples never married. Even the woman he could not pursue, could not be pursued by anyone in all of Blue Wind Empire… But today, he heard with his own ears, saw with his own eyes, that she was pregnant!
The blow in that moment was like lightning from the Nine Heavens that struck his heart, causing all of his fantasies, his yearning, his dignity, his arrogance to completely shatter into pieces.
Chu Yuechan did not look at him. With an icy voice like snow that sounded the same from the past, she said: “This is my matter, Villa Master Ling has no right to question it! This is my residence, not a place that you should be… get out!”
Along with Chu Yuechan’s attitude that refused people from a thousand miles, Ling Yuefeng was also incomparably familiar with Chu Yuechan’s voice that was icy and void of emotion. He recalled Chu Yuechan’s abnormal reaction at the Sword Management Terrace, which caused him to feel an extremely preposterous feeling in his heart. He lost his voice and said: “Could it be… could it be that you and Yun Che… No! Impossible! Absolutely impossible… It absolutely can’t be like that…”
The two words “Yun Che” caused a deep stabbing pain in Chu Yuechan’s heart, and made her body suddenly explode with a bone piercing coldness: “Whoever’s child I carry, is none of your business! Get out of here immediately!!”
Ling Yuefeng’s inner heart was shocked. His heart filled with an ice-cold sorrow, and amidst the confusion, his brain had almost lost the ability to think. He sighed deeply, turned around, and left in an infinitely lonely and desolate manner. When he stepped out of the door, Chu Yueli hurriedly said: “Villa Master Ling, this incident today, is tied with the reputation of my sister and Frozen Cloud Asgard, please be sure to be tight-lipped! Please.”
Ling Yuefeng’s footsteps stopped. Then, he slowly nodded and walked out.
In the courtyard, Ling Yuefeng restlessly walked for a good while. His state of mind was finally calming down. He stopped walking, looking up at the sky, and silently sighed. He was very clear that this incident was probably was the heaviest blow he had ever taken in his entire life. This blow completely shattered the most beautiful fantasy in his heart, causing him to feel the strongest sense of failure in this lifetime. There was even an indescribable sense of humiliation.
“Hahahaha! This is really ridiculous, you painstakingly chased after Chu Yuechan for more than a dozen years, yet you never even saw her face once. Dozens of years have passed, yet you still could never forget her and constantly thought about her, but she never even looked you once in the eye. She’d rather have illicit sexual relationships with a junior, and got pregnant too! This is a joke as large as the heavens! Ling Yuefeng, don’t you feel that you’re hopelessly stupid!?
The ear-piercing sound came from behind him. Ling Yuefeng turned around with a face full of surprise and wrath as he looked at his wife, Xuanyuan Yufeng. He was surprised that his usually gentle wife had spoke such ear-piercing and ugly words. His heart was desperately suppressing his fury, but due to her words, his fury increased several times over.
“Silence!” Ling Yuefeng angrily said: “You actually overheard our conversation! This incident… this incident and I, I have absolutely nothing to do with it! Her being pregnant is not necessarily true, and with Yun Che… that is even more completely ridiculous! Forget what you heard, you’re not allowed to talk about it with anyone!!”
After Ling Yuefeng finished roaring, he felt that his tone was a bit too harsh, but with rage filling his heart, he didn’t want to speak anymore. With a cold snort, he flipped his sleeves and left.
Xuanyuan Yufeng’s face turned purple. Her entire body trembling due to anger and said: “Ling Yuefeng… at this stage, you’re still protecting her!! Your attitude towards her… really is… filled~deep~with~affection!! You really… dare to do this to me!!”
“You don’t want people know about this… then I will deliberately let people know! I will let everyone under the sky know!!”
While still in her anger, Xuanyuan Yufeng suddenly saw Ling Yun walk towards her. His footsteps were slow, and seemingly restless.
She twitched her eyebrows. Suppressing her anger, she walked towards him and asked: “Yun’er, what’s wrong? Why do you look so dispirited?”
“Mother…” Ling Yun called out, then smiled with loneliness: “From a young age, I was madly focused on the sword, with no distractions in my heart, and thought that in this life, I would never have feelings for a girl. But I recently fell in love with a girl. I think about her day and night, and cannot stop thinking about her.”
As a mother, Xuanyuan Yufeng could easily tell what was wrong with Ling Yun at a glance. She silently sighed, and comfortingly said: “The one you like, should be Xia Qingyue right? If you really do like her, and won’t marry unless it’s her, then in a few days, Mother will go to Frozen Cloud Asgard to propose a marriage! Who cares about Frozen Cloud Asgard’s rule of disciples not marrying! My Yun’er has no woman that he isn’t worthy of! If Frozen Cloud Asgard does not agree, Mother will forcefully bring her here. I won’t let you be like… hmph, be as hopelessly stupid as your father!”
Ling Yun bitterly raised his head and said: “It’s already too late, she is… already married.”
“What?” Xuanyuan Yufeng was astonished in her heart: “How can it be? Frozen Cloud Asgard’s women never marries, how can she be married!”
“Mother, do you remember one year ago, Xiao Sect spread a message that a new female disciple who entered Frozen Cloud Asgard had a wedding in Floating Cloud City? At that time, because it was a normal female disciple who was a new recruit, no one put it in their hearts… But, I now know that female disciple, was actually Xia Qingyue… the person she married… is the recently fallen Yun Che… She is mourning for him, and is broken-hearted because of him, and would not accept anyone else in her heart.”
As Ling Yun spoke, he painfully shut his eyes. If he had been a promiscuous person, this moment would at most, squeeze his heart, and it wouldn’t take long for it to disappear like the clouds. But for a person who had been madly in love with the sword, the first time having feelings for another person, was too hard. And in his life, the first time he truly fell in love was only this one time…
“Unexpectedly… this actually happened…” Looking at Ling Yun’s face, Xuanyuan Yufeng felt a deep heartache: “Yun Che… it was actually Yun Che again, this Yun Che, really has countless tricks up his sleeve… and Frozen Cloud Asgard, you didn’t stop at hurting my husband… now you actually hurt my son as well…”
——————————————————
After the incident at the Sword Management Terrace, Ling Kun left Heavenly Sword Villa at nightfall. Frozen Cloud Asgard had also left without bidding anyone farewell. The next day at dawn, Blue Wind Imperial Family had also left early in the morning, and also without bidding anyone farewell. It wasn’t that they lacked etiquette, but they were just not in the mood to bid farewell to anyone within Heavenly Sword Villa… When they came, the four were filled with hope. The strength of Yun Che alone, allowed the Blue Wind Imperial family’s name to again and again be heard in the battlefield of the ranking tournament. But at the time of departure, there were only two people left, and what they brought back, was honor contaminated with endless sadness.
When they left, Cang Yue did not cry anymore. Without sadness, without tears, she was frighteningly calm, as if her whole heart followed Yun Che and left together with him, leaving behind an emotionless shell. What comforted Qin Wushang was she did not do anything extreme, and did not say any extreme things, because she had to return to protect her father, who was on his last leg.
If her father also makes his final departure, then she would truly have nothing else to care for on this world.
However, what anyone couldn’t anticipate, was that after the ranking tournament ended, the sensation that both Yun Che and Xia Qingyue’s name caused in Blue Wind Empire had not subsided. An even larger storm of sensation was going to befall Blue Wind Empire, leading to an unprecedented large disturbance that would cause the name “Yun Che” to become a household name, where everyone would know this name.
“… When the Fairy of Frozen Moon, Xia Qingyue, exited the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, her profound strength was unexpectedly at Emperor Profound Realm! Right… it really was the Emperor Profound Realm. This was confirmed information by the ten large sects! My heavens… I heard she is not only called the number one beauty, but in the future, she would undeniably become an unmatchable powerhouse in the Blue Wind Empire.”
“I’m questioning whether if she is an incarnation of a fairy. She’s unbelievably beautiful. Her talent and luck is indescribably high!”
“Did you guys hear! On the day when Yun Che exited the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, he actually died at the Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace.”
“Sigh! Who wouldn’t know this. He actually died for a reportedly Elementary Profound Realm piece of trash. Sigh, the heavens are truly jealous of this talent. There finally appeared a genius with a sectless background that would let us blow off some steam, and he died just like that. For the next one to appear, who knows how many years later it would be.”
“What!? Frozen Cloud Asgard’s Fairy of Frozen Beauty is pregnant!? Th-th-this….”
That’s right, this thing has been spread everywhere. It is said to have come from Heavenly Sword Villa, so it shouldn’t be fake. I also heard, that it is the Fairy of Frozen Beauty and Yun Che’s child!! Reportedly, after Yun Che fell at the Sword Management Terrace, the Fairy of Frozen Beauty went completely crazy, and vomited blood on the spot… If it wasn’t for everyone saying this, I wouldn’t dare believe this!”
“There’s even more explosive news! The Fairy of Frozen Moon, Xia Qingyue, unexpectedly married at the age of sixteen, and the one she married, was Yun Che! The final battle of the ranking tournament, was a showdown between this pair of husband and wife… This fact, is completely true!”
“Last year, there was news about a new female disciple from Frozen Cloud Asgard breaking the rules and marrying, and Xiao Sect confirmed it. The name of the female disciple who married was Xia Qingyue! The one she married is Yun Che… Reportedly, at Heavenly Sword Villa, someone saw with their own eyes that she mourned for Yun Che…”
“The number one beauty from back then, and the current number one beauty, unexpectedly one became pregnant due to Yun Che, and another is his wife… Holy f*ck!”
“Back then, many people had bitterly loved the Fairy of Frozen Beauty, Chu Yuechan. This also included Heavenly Sword Villa’s Villa Master Ling Yuefeng and Xiao Sect’s Sect Master Xiao Juetian, but no one could catch her eyes, yet she became pregnant from Yun Che. And the Fairy of Frozen Moon, surprisingly is even more beautiful compared to the Fairy of Frozen Beauty… Ah ah ah! I want to replace Yun Che and go die instead!”
“This isn’t all, even our Blue Wind Imperial Family’s only princess, Princess Cang Yue was also taken by him! At Heavenly Sword Villa, if one wasn’t blind, it could be clearly seen. I heard that Fen Juecheng wanted to assassinate Yun Che in the Heaven Basin Secret Realm, but did not succeed.”
“This Yun Che is so amazing that he defies heavenly justice! I guess even the Gods couldn’t continue watching, which was why they destroyed him!”
“It’s completely like a demon in the human world, the scourge of the common people! Ahhhh… why am I not Yun Che!!”
Yun Che’s name incited an explosive sensation in the Blue Wind Empire. In almost every ten steps in every street in the city, one could hear the name “Yun Che” at least seven or eight times. If he had simply fallen, the people would deeply regret and feel pity, and even infinitely admire and wail for the young profound practitioner. But with the addition of rumors regarding Princess Cang Yue, the Fairy of Frozen Beauty, and the Fairy of Frozen Moon, their nature had completely changed instantly. At that time, people, especially when men discussed him, their voices would contain worship, envy, jealousy, shock, resentment… and countless other things.
At this time, Under the Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace, in a dark space, under Blue Wind Empire’s focal point, Yun Che, who was completely still as if he had been dead for a few days, finally opened his eyes with great difficulty.
————————————
Author’s Note
Under this is Ling Yuefeng’s inner monologue:
The only woman I have fallen for that I spent my entire life pursuing without getting, had unexpectedly become pregnant from a junior! My son finally fell for a woman with great difficulty, and is even deeply in love, but she was actually his wife. In regards to women, the number one father and son pair in Blue Wind Empire, had actually, completely lost to this kid… I really got f*cked!
Chapter 283 - New Lease of Life
Where… is this…
I’m… not dead yet?
It was difficult enough for Yun Che to barely open his eyes. This was a gloomy place filled with a stale and rotten smell. In the darkness, there were small streaks of light that came fom an unknown place, but it allowed one to roughly see the surroundings. Yun Che’s whole body was heavy and painful, especially his back. The pain on his back was excruciating.
Under such pain, his half conscious self felt a surprising sense of happiness. This was because he could still feel pain, which meant that at the very least, he was not disabled.
“You’re finally awake.”
Jasmine’s relieved voice rung. Although Yun Che had just barely escaped from death, the anger in Jasmine still exploded: “Have you ever counted how many times have you ‘died’ within these two years! You are always so reckless. For your objective, you would not care about your own life. Every single time, I have to make a huge sacrifice just to save you. I thought that once I sealed my own powers, it will make you more cautious, as you no longer have anything to rely on. However, I would never expect you to give up your own life even though no one is trying to hurt you. If not for the protection of the Great Way of Buddha and the strong body granted by the Dragon’s blood, you would have already been completely destroyed.”
“Do you even know how to appreciate your own life! I helped you rebuild your profound veins,
granted you Divine Arts, and had to save you even though I knew my poison would relapse after that. I entrusted all my hopes onto you! And this is how you treat your life, and this is how you repay me!?”
The more Jasmine said, the angrier she became. All her worries, her frights and anger that she had been holding in for the past few days had swarmed up with Yun Che’s awakening. She scolded him ferociously and Yun Che, who had barely gotten back his life, did not dare to utter a word. Only until she had finished scolding did he weakly say: “Jasmine, I was wrong. I know that I shouldn’t have been so rash. But when I saw Yuanba in trouble, I didn’t care about myself… Sss! So painful… huu… If it were you who got into trouble that time, I would do the same for you… Even if… I know that I’ll die…”
“Hmph!” Jasmine replied coldly as though she did not care: “Already half-dead and yet you still remember to flaunt your skills in sweet-talking girls. Stop talking. Control your breathing. Don’t use any profound strength. Immediately concentrate on activating the power of your dragon’s blood and the Great Way of the Buddha to recover your injuries! The demon knew you were not dead but did not come and take your life these few days. He is probably wondering whether or not you are able to regain consciousness out of boredom. If he knew you’re awake, it’s highly likely he’ll come for your life… Therefore, before he finds out that you’re awake, you need to control the injury on your back and gather enough strength to use Star God’s Broken Shadow once!”
Yun Che immediately understood Jasmine’s words. He controlled his breathing as his gaze moved slightly, looking towards the space beyond the borders of the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation. As long as he could execute the Star God’s Broken Shadow once and instantly escape beyond the barrier, even if the demon wanted to kill him, it would still be impossible.
If he were to use the slightest bit of profound strength, he would most likely aggravate the already serious injury on his back and alert the demon. However, the Great Way of the Buddha was something that could be activated with just thought, and would not be detected. Needless to say, the activation of the dragon blood was the same as well.
Yun Che closed his eyes again and his entire body kept still. He controlled his breathing to an extreme point. Although his body was in great pain, the pain was still insufficient to cause him to make a sound.
His initial injury was no doubt extremely serious. Even with Dragon Blood and the Great Way of the Buddha, he was merely one step away from death. For a normal person, five days of unconsciousness would speed up the worsening of the injury. A normal person might not even last five hours. However for Yun Che, he had the Rage God’s Great Way of the Buddha; instead of his injuries worsening, they had instead slowly recovered. The presence of Dragon’s Blood also sped up the process of recovery to a large extent.
Yun Che’s current injuries could no longer be considered fatal, but only seen as serious. His broken spine had reconnected by itself in the past five days of resting.
As Yun Che awoke, following his mind spurring it on, the Great Way of the Buddha activated at an even faster rate. In the silence, it also quickly recovered his external injuries.
Since I’m able to escape death… Then… I’m going to use all my might to survive… I absolutely cannot die!!
Time passed by slowly in the silence. Other than his own heartbeat, Yun Che could not hear anything else. Behind him, there were no sounds that signified the presence of the demon. However, even his significantly weaker self could sense the occasional scary gaze of the demon scanning pass his body.
Finally, a hoarse voice sounded: “He’s such a weird fellow. Suffering such injuries but still not dying after five days! I really want to see whether he is able to wake up in the end… However, even if he were to wake up, it’s impossible for him to live!”
The demon muttering to himself meant that he still had not realized that Yun Che had woken up. Yun Che felt slightly relieved in his mind as he controlled his breathing again and concentrated again, focusing solely on survival, quickly activating his Great Way of the Buddha.
One day…..
Two days…
On the third day, Yun Che’s injuries were still very severe. However, he recovered to the extent where he would not die from using a bit of his profound strength. Furthermore, his body was no longer so heavy. Within his profound veins, he could now muster enough profound strength. He opened his eyes and saw the shiny yellow borders of the barrier as his fist started to clench together tightly.
“It’s about time! Go now!”
Just as Jasmine had finished talking, Yun Che took in a large breath and instantly activated Star God’s Broken Shadow. Having laid down for nearly eight days, his corpse-like body suddenly rushed forward like a bolt of lightning. With a ripping sound, he rushed out and fell heavily outside the barrier and rolled instinctively for some distance before finally stopping. He laid on the ground, taking in deep breaths while grimacing in pain.
The Yun Che now, had finally, truly escaped death. Previously, he was under the gaze of the demon. If the demon were to ever have the intention to kill him, he would definitely die. Now however, not only did his condition improve, he had also finally escaped from the clutches of the demon.
As the demon looked up, a pair of frightening eyes flashed pass in the darkness. Looking upwards, he suddenly started laughing: “HAHAHAHA! I never expected that I had unintentionally brought such a weird kid in. Not dying after suffering such serious injuries for eight days and is actually able to recuperate without me knowing. In the end, you were still able to obtain an advantage over me! Other than those mongrels from the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, you’re the first person who is actually capable of doing so!”
One Star God’s Broken Shadow used up all of Yun Che’s strength. He gasped for air for a while before replying: “Demon, I… won’t die so easily!!!”
“Hmph, you’re truly overestimating yourself. Do you really think you have nothing to worry about anymore?” The demon pulled along his steel chains, shouting back with a frightening voice: “This place is being suppressed by the Heaven’s Punishment. It can only be activated once every twenty years! So what if you have regained consciousness! Even if your injuries were to recover, what can you do? There is no food nor water here. With your profound level, are you really that naive to think that you can live for twenty years?”
“No! No need to wait twenty years… There’s one way that I can get out!” Yun Che stared at the demon, gritted his teeth, and said: “And that is to kill you! The Heaven’s Punishment Sword is here to seal your soul. As long as you’re dead, the Heaven’s Punishment Sword would deactivate automatically! Then, I’ll be able to get out!”
This was of course not observed by Yun Che but instead, told to him by Jasmine. What was trapping the demon was not the Meteorite Chain. Although the Meteorite Chain existed to restrict his movements, what actually trapped him there was the Heaven’s Punishment!
The demon was surprised for a moment, then he laughing loudly once again: “HAHAHAHA! Such an interesting kid. What you said is absolutely right. As long as you kill me, you’ll be able to escape from this place. However, it’s a pity that you wouldn’t live till the day that you’ll kill me.”
“I will definitely… kill you!” Yun Che said viciously as he clenched his teeth while looking at the demon with eyes filled with hatred. The demon went crazy under the Ling Kun’s provocation, nearly killed Xia Yuanba, and almost caused him to enter the afterlife. Although he had survived, he was trapped here, unable to control his own life and death. All of these were caused by the demon, which simply made him hate the demon to the bone!
He could predict that the people outside must have thought that he had already died. In the end, his close ones suffered while his enemies were happy! This was all also due to the demon!
“Then, I want to see how exactly you are going to kill me!” The demon laughed wildly. A savage form of excitement was revealed under his grey white hair and dried face. The prison only had dull darkness and frightening loneliness to accompany it. To Yun Che, this was like dropping into a deep abyss. However, to the demon, having one extra person made it seem like heaven in this hell. Even if he was able to touch Yun Che now, he might not even want to kill him.
“You look like you really hate me… That’s right! How can you not! Go ahead and hate me all you want. Let me see whether your hatred can kill me. Let me see how long you can survive here! HAHAHAHAHA…”
The demon’s excited laughter carried a slight craziness. In the dark space here, his voice seemed eerily frightening. Yun Che stopped talking to him, gritted his teeth, and slowly sat up. His injury was mainly on his back and every inch he moved brought along great pain that was nearly unbearable. When he had finally sat down cross-legged, his whole forehead was drenched in cold sweat. He closed his eyes and placed his fists onto his knees. Before long, his mind and body had calmed down. His face was no longer pale and his breathing returned to normal.
His mind entered the Sky Poison Pearl. Once inside, he saw Jasmine gazing at him with a strong killing intent. He laughed awkwardly before making a large number of promises to her. Then, he started to quickly look for numerous medicinal herbs before taking out the piece of Purple Veined Heaven Crystal that Xia Qingyue had given him.
The Purple Veined Heaven Crystal was able to provide strong recuperating strength to an injured part of the body, such as skin, bones or even organs. Drawing on the power within the crystal could even increase one’s profound strength. This was why its value could not be measured using money. If Yun Che wanted to recover in the quickest time possible, he would have to use the Purple Veined Heaven Crystal.
Under the refinement of the Sky Poison Pearl, Yun Che was able to complete the preparations of all the required medicine within an hour… Just when his mind was about to leave the Sky Poison Pearl, he seemed to have thought of something and examined around, which caused his heart to sink to the bottom.
All the food, water that he originally stored… were all gone! Not one bit was left!
It was all inside the purple spatial ring he had given to Su Ling’er, who was in the distant Azure Cloud Continent!
Chapter 284 - Ice Heart of the Moon Beauty (Yuechan)
North of Blue Wind, Snow Region of Extreme Ice, Frozen Cloud Asgard.
With the existence of something like the Sound Transmission Talisman, the speed at which information traveled was naturally faster than people. As the buzz about Yun Che were passed along all over the place in the Blue Wind Empire, another hot topic also dwelled in everyone’s discussions… And that was Frozen Cloud Asgard!
To people of Blue Wind Empire, Frozen Cloud Asgard was an peerlessly sacred existence. Its mysteriousness and sacredness even surpassed Heavenly Sword Villa. In the knowledge of the masses, everyone within the Frozen Cloud Asgard were all goddess-like beings; otherworldly, and as flawless as ice and snow. The fairies of Frozen Cloud Asgard, were all the more so, a fantasy that no men had ever dared wish to touch.
But now, a fairy within Frozen Cloud Asgard… Moreover, the head of the Frozen Cloud’s Seven Fairies whose name shook the world, had actually gotten pregnant! Furthermore, the pregnancy was rumored to be with a junior!
One could imagine just what kind of public opinion’s extremity this would push Frozen Cloud Asgard toward. To the thousand years of Frozen Asgard’s serene reputation, this was a “blemish” that could never be erased. It was not even an exaggeration to call it a great humiliation.
When Chu Yuechan’s group of five returned to Frozen Cloud Asgard, the Mistress of Frozen Cloud Asgard was already personally waiting there.
Gong Yuxian was already over one hundred-seventy this year, yet she only looked to be thirty or forty. Wearing a snow embellished ella dress whose hem dragged onto the floor, her face was like condensed ice, and her eyes were like a cold blade. Her expression was entirely still, without any hint of the fluctuation of emotions. However, the cold light that unceasingly flashed through the depth of her eyes, showed the fury inside her heart.
Beside her, five women who were also in snow-white attire accompanied her on both sides. Every single one of them had skin of ice and snow and features beautiful as snow lotuses; their charm could ruin cities. It could be said that placing any random disciple picked out from Frozen Cloud Asgard in a region would be able to shock an entire city with their beauty. These five, were precisely the other five people of the Frozen Cloud Seven Fairies juxtaposed with Chu Yuechan and Chu Yueli.
Chu Yueli’s group of five returned, only to find that it was actually the Mistress who personally came to “greet” them. Her heart jumped with a thump. Glancing at the Chu Yuechan who was beside her, she stepped forward and spoke first: “Disciple Yueli pays respect to Master.”
Gong Yuxian slowly nodded. Her expression was still ice-cold, yet did not pay attention to her any longer. Her gaze fell upon Xia Qingyue, and her expression finally displayed a hint of ease: “Qingyue, come over here.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
Xia Qingyue came before Gong Yuxian. On her arm, there still wrapped that black-colored silk strap.
Gong Yuxian reached out her hand and pressed onto the center of Xia Qingyue’s chest. After a short while, she revealed a slight smile: “Very good. At the tender age of seventeen, yet already into the early stages of the Emperor Profound. This is your fortune, and also the fortune of our Asgard. Looks like there is no longer need to worry about who should be next candidate for the Asgard Mistress. In the coming six months, you must cultivate behind closed doors at the core of the Snow Region of Extreme Ice, and stabilize the greatly increased profound energy in your body.”
“Yes, Mistress.” Xia Qingyue responded faintly. Toward Gong Yuxian explicitly telling her that she would be the next Asgard Mistress, she did not refuse or panic, nor did she display any sort of surprise and joy; she was indifferent, as if she had heard a sentence that couldn’t be any more uninteresting.
The atmosphere was immensely frigid. Amongst five fairies beside Gong Yuxian, none of them had yet spoke, and were all looking at Chu Yuechan with complicated gazes. At this time, Gong Yuxian’s gaze finally fell beside Chu Yuechan. After a short glance, she turned around: “Yuechan, follow me.”
Chu Yuechan fell silent, and followed behind Gong Yuxian without a word.
“Elder sister…” Chu Yueli cried out, her heart full of worry.
This was an ice palace filled with candle fire and spirit tablets . Every single one of the names on the spirit tablets all had previously shook the world; and these names, were naturally of Frozen Cloud Asgard’s predecessors.
“Kneel!” Standing in the center of the ice palace, facing the spirit tablets of many predecessors, Gong Yuxian’s chest undulated as she coldly yelled.
Chu Yuechan kneeled down to the ground; her eyes were like ice, yet also like mist: “Master…”
“You actually still have the face to call me Master!’ Gong Yuxian turned around, and spoke furiously: “Do you know, that Frozen Cloud Asgard’s thousand years of serene reputation, were all ruined because of you! You are the disciple I was the most proud of in these hundred years; no matter Frozen Cloud Arts nor Frozen Heart Formula’s grasping and comprehension, you far surpassed the others. I prepared against disciples breaking the taboo at all times, Qingyue’s marriage that was only in form, was already my limit… But I never ever expected that the first one to break the taboo would actually be you! Moreover, you’ve even casted down a blunder known by the entire world that brought the Asgard to shame!”
Chu Yuechan closed her eyes, and spoke with misery: “This disciple acknowledges her faults… The faults that this disciple committed, she will definitely bear the responsibility with all her strength.”
“Bear the responsibility? How will you bear the responsibility? Even if you were to apologize by suicide in front of the predecessors, you still wouldn’t be able to make up for your immense blunder!” Gong Yuxian’s eyebrows stood on their ends; Her fury had clearly reached its limit: “Speak! Just exactly… who’s bane of existence is that!”
Chu Yuechan’s eyes suddenly became hazy, but she did not hesitate, and instead lightly shouted out that name: “Yun Che!”
Gong Yuxian’s body wavered, and was furious to the point of her whole body shaking: “Devil’s spawn! Truly the devil’s spawn! You actually… really, with a junior… you… you….”
Gong Yuxian was so angry that she became speechless. Even though according the rumors, she was pregnant with Yun Che’s child, Gong Yuxian absolutely refused to believe it! With Chu Yuechan’s disposition, to have done this kind of thing was already inexplicable. But no matter what, it wouldn’t be possible to be with a junior. She did not expect in any way, that the rumor was actually not false in the slightest!
Gong Yuxian pointed at spirit tablets with her finger, and harshly spoke: “Kneel before the predecessors and swear right now, that you will immediately abort this child and shall never leave Frozen Cloud Asgard again for the rest of your life!”
“No…” Chu Yuechan shook her head. She placed her jade hand on her abdomen, and shook her head with strength; her face, revealed the expression of begging that Gong Yuxian had never seen before: “This child is mine and his. This disciple is at thousands of faults, but the child is innocent. Master, please spare this child. If Master is willing to let this disciple give birth to the child, this disciple is willing to never oppose even half a sentence from Master… I beg master for her consent!”
“You!” Gong Yuxian’s body swayed as she started shaking from all the anger: “Having reached this point, you are actually still so unrepentant! This disciple of mine whom I’ve been most proud of all my life, actually… actually…. Fine! Do you really think that you can successfully birth the child if I don’t make you abort it? Do you know why our Frozen Cloud Asgard had never allowed disciples to marry? The so-called falling in love will affect the Frozen Cloud Art’s cultivation, is purely an excuse. The most important reason, firstly, is that it would transfer the Frozen Cloud Art to others! Secondly, cultivating Frozen Cloud Arts will chill the internal organs within the body. Even though one could conceive, within two months at most, the fetus would die in the abdomen! Furthermore, this place is located in the extreme north of Blue Wind Empire, and the chilling cold seeps through the bones all year long. Even if you don’t have Frozen Cloud Arts, the fetus would still die from the chill! Whether you abort the fetus or not, the result would be the same!”
Chu Yuechan froze there, and became dazed for a long time. All of a sudden, she extended both hands. One finger pressed onto her Dantian, and the other finger pressed onto the center of her chest. Two balls of ice-cold luminescence suddenly flared up, and right after, a great amount of cold aura poured out from within Chu Yuechan’s body, bringing up a large field of ice mist.
Gong Yuxian was greatly shocked, and instantly rushed in front of Chu Yuechan. However, it was already too late to for her to obstruct… At this time, Chu Yuechan’s upper body was swaying and looked like it would collapse at any moment. Her face was extremely ghastly, yet her expression was full of relief. Gong Yuxian’s eyes trembled as she watched the dispersing ice mist, knowing that everything was already too late. While furious and shocked, there were more perplexion and heartache. She spoke with a painful tone: “Yuechan, why do you treat yourself so… That Yun Che, just what kind of bewitching soup did he feed you!”
Chu Yuechan’s lips slightly lifted; that was as if an expression of wanting to smile. She spoke faintly: “He didn’t feed me any bewitching soup, but… he allowed me to have a memory that I could never forget, and also allowed me to turn back into a real woman during that period of time….”
“During those five months, I had lost all my strength, and my entire body was crippled. It was supposed to be my darkest, most helpless and despairing moment. However, he made everything change, far away from all my expectations. I couldn’t walk, so he took me in his arms; no matter how great the danger he faced, he refused to put me down. I couldn’t eat, so he fed me; every single spoon was adjusted to be just right for me, not allowing it burn nor chill me. I lost my strength, so he protected me with one hand, and swept away all obstacles with the other, sheltering me from weather… For an entire five months, he never had a hint of impatience, and never for a moment had the thought to put this burden down. Unwittingly, I started to enjoy this feeling, and completely depended on him. It was clearly my most helpless and hopeless moment, yet I was wishing that this kind of situation would never end…”
“Within the Frozen Cloud Asgard, ten days are like one day, ten years are like one day, dozens of years are like one day… There is only eternal ice, snow and the Frozen Cloud Art. Every single day was passed under repetition. But during that period of time, he let me understand the happiness of living, and made me truly feel like I was a woman for the first time… The reason why I asked to go to the Ranking Tournament on my own initiative, was because after I left him, my heart was filled with his silhouette during every single hour and moment. I convinced myself that I was going to meet him one last time, and sever the bond of affection once and for all. But in reality, I just wanted to see him… I wanted to see him…”
Gong Yuxian’s chest fiercely rose and fell. She let out a long sigh and lamented: “A sinful fate, truly a sinful fate! The predecessor saying that the romance between men and women is the most acute poison in this world… truly wasn’t mistaken in the slightest. It is precisely this passion between man and woman that made you defy the rules for a junior, and shame the Asgard… Even making you unhesitantly self-abolish the Frozen Cloud Art you had bitterly cultivated for tens of years! You… you…”
“I do not regret… I will never regret.” Chu Yuechan spoke with misty and tearful eyes: “I only regret that only after he was gone, did I finally, truly understand some things… He is already dead, and this is his last bloodline he left in this world, the continuation of his life. As his woman, even if it is to repay the everything he gave me during those five months, let alone Frozen Cloud Arts, even if I must pay the price of death, I will still definitely let this child live on… I beg Master for her consent… I beg Master for her consent!!”
Gong Yuxian powerlessly fell back onto the chair behind her; her complexion suddenly seemed to be many times older. Looking at Chu Yuechan who knelt there emitting mournfulness and resolution from her entire body, the agony in her heart couldn’t be intensified any further. She reached out her hand, and after it stalled in space for a long time, did she finally said with an extremely powerless voice: “Stand back up… stand back up… Just pretend that I, Gong Yuxian had never accepted you as a disciple… From now on, you are no longer a disciple of Frozen Cloud Asgard. Leave this place right now, leave the Snow Region of Extreme Ice, forget everything here, go wherever you wish to go. From now on, you no longer have anything to do with Frozen Cloud Asgard…”
Chu Yuechan’s tears flooded out all at once. She knelt before Gong Yuxian, made a kowtow with force, and sobbingly spoke: “Master raised me, nurtured me, like my birth mother… Yet I committed a serious sin, saddened and angered you, and shamed the sect. I am aware myself that my sins are unforgivable… Master’s benevolence of raising me, and the Asgard’s favor of raising me, Yuechan… can only repay it in the next life!”
“No need to say anymore.” Gong Yuxian turned her face away: “Go… For every moment further you remain here, an extra hint of cold aura would invade your body… If you don’t want to damage the fetus in your womb, then quickly go… You also need to leave secretly, without alerting anyone. The farther you go, the better… I don’t want to see you ever again.”
“I thank Master for consenting.” Chu Yuechan kowtowed once again, stood up, and slowly retreated a step: “Master, please take care of yourself, Yuechan… won’t be able to accompany you by your side anymore…”
As her voice fell, Chu Yuechan retreated back a few steps with difficulty. Then, after forcefully clenching her teeth, she exited the ice palace with brisk steps, and her snow-white silhouette quickly disappeared amidst the world of ice and snow.
Gong Yuxian’s face finally turned back around, and looked toward the direction Chu Yuechan had left. Below her eyes, there lied two deep lines of tear marks.
After a long while, she finally managed calmed her heart as her expression returned to indifference. She sound transmitted with a heavy voice: “Hanxue, come in.”
As her voice transmitted out, very soon, a woman that appeared to be twenty-five or twenty-six walked in. Feng Hanxue, ranked seven of the Frozen Cloud’s Seven Fairies, at Sky Profound Realm rank six, was at the same time the youngest of the Frozen Cloud Seven Fairies.
“Inform all disciples to gather at Frozen Cloud Hall, I have a few major matters to announce!”
“Yes, Mistress.”
There were a total of three major matters Gong Yuxian wanted announce: Number one: To announce that Chu Yuechan had been exiled from the Frozen Cloud Asgard; Number two: Xia Qingyue will enter the ranks of Frozen Cloud Seven Fairies, replacing Chu Yuechan as first place; Number three: Recall all the disciples outside of the Frozen Cloud Asgard, close the Asgard’s gates starting from this day for three years, disallow visitors as well as recruiting of new disciples. No one will be allowed to exit the Asgard.
Chapter 285 - Cutting Off All Means of Retreat
In the dark space, there was no night and day. Thus, there was no way to tell time. Yun Che didn’t know how long he was stuck in there, and in his heart, there was only the thought of trying to get out of here with all his might. The first step was to completely recover from his injury.
He concocted medicine, and with Purple Veined Heaven Crystal in addition with Great Way of the Buddha’s recovery power, Yun Che’s recovery rate was extremely quick. Within half a month, his wounds were completely healed. In this type of surrounding, Yun Che’s originally life threatening wounds did not even worsen to cause his death, but instead rapidly recovered. Within everything he has seen and heard, and within all his experiences, it was the first time he was secretly shocked… This could not simply be called a recovery… but a rebirth!
His back that was originally struck into a bloody skeleton, and his backbone that nearly snapped, was now perfectly fine, without even a spot of scarring left behind, which was completely unbelievable!
“What an interesting fellow, unexpectedly fully recovering from this kind of wound in such a short period of time. This was mostly unrelated to medical skill, it looks like you trained in some type of miraculous Profound Art! But I have lived for a few hundred years, and I have never heard of such an amazing level of Profound Art existing! “ the demon said with a low voice. Looking at the killing intent starting to gather in Yun Che’s eyes, he laughed loudly and said: “You think you can kill me just because you recovered from your wounds and that I can’t move? Even though my profound strength has been greatly suppressed because of this formation, with just your miniscule Spirit Profound Realm, you shouldn’t even think about killing me. You can’t even hurt a strand of my hair!”
His wounds had fully recovered, and his profound strength had also recovering to around ninety percent. Yun Che grabbed Dragon Fault, and said with a heavy face while standing at the edge of the enchantment: “In this place, if it’s not you who dies, then it’s me who dies! Since I actually managed to survive, then I definitely wouldn’t let myself die again… the one who’s going to die is only you!”
“His profound strength is being suppressed, but looking at the aura he emitted before at the Sword Management Terrace, he could probably release the strength of an early stage Emperor Profound Realm. Even though you’re not suppressed by the formation, the distance between you and him is too too far, killing him is simply just a dream. But his body is tied up, and he can only move one hand, so he can’t chase after you. With Star God’s Broken Shadow and Sealing Cloud Locking Sun, keeping your life when attacking him isn’t a hard thing to do… If you want to know whether or not there’s a possibility of killing him, then you can try and see.” Jasmine lightly reminded. But clearly, she didn’t believe Yun Che could actually kill this demon.
“Without trying, how could I know!”
Yun Che’s brows sank. He swung Dragon Fault, activated Burning Heart, and quickly charged within the boundary. The feeling of suppression suddenly hit him, but then instantly disappeared. He gazed at the demon’s only movable right hand, tightly focusing with his whole body, but surprisingly, after he charged into the boundary, the demon didn’t attack him. Under his long white hair, he stared at Yun Che with those gloomy eyes that contained no hostility.
Until he got close in front of the demon, the demon still did not move a single bit.
“Haah! Overlord’s Fury!”
Yun Che growled, and Dragon Fault brought along a shocking wave of pressure that perilously pounded towards the demon. Yun Che’s only goal was to kill this demon, so his attack contained no mercy. This strike, smashed straight for the demon’s head… Under the heavy locus of Dragon Fault, the demon still did not move, allowing the extremely heavy Dragon Fault to severely smash against his head.
Bang!!!!
Yun Che’s profound strength was only at the early Spirit Profound Realm, but his overall strength absolutely could not be measured by just profound strength alone. The threat of this one slash was enough to shatter a small mountain, not to mention a person’s head. The slash brought along an oppressive huge boom. The surrounding air was forcefully pushed away, creating a temporary yet horrifying vacuum.
Yun Che was stunned… because the demon actually didn’t dodge, and didn’t block.
Dragon Fault smashed on the demon’s head, but from the head to the whole body, the demon did not even budge one bit. Under Dragon Fault, he slowly raised his head, smiled and softly said: “You really are a freak, to not be suppressed inside the formation! And with the strength of a Spirit Profound realm unleashing a battle power of such a level, even in the Illusory Demon Royal Families, there aren’t many that can do this. I am suddenly interested in your cultivation and Profound Arts!”
With such a violent slash that could hack mountains and shatter rocks hitting the demon’s head, not even a strand of hair was hurt. Yun Che felt shocked in his heart, quickly reversed his body and swung Dragon Fault downwards even more violently.
“Falling Moon Sinking Star!”
This time, the demon moved, welcoming Yun Che’s Dragon Fault. The demon bent his arm with a speed so fast that it was unseeable, placing his palm diagonally, with his middle finger and ring finger that was difficult to exert a force on, and pinched the heavy blade of Dragon Fault.
All of the power Yun Che poured into Dragon Fault, was instantly like a clay ox entering the ocean, and disappeared completely. It was followed by a terrifying power that came from the sword, causing him to feel an extremely dangerous and shocking feeling. Yun Che didn’t even think twice. He withdrew his hands in a flash, but he was still hit with a storm of profound strength from the sword and flew away with a groan. When he landed, Yun Che quickly moved sideways and retreated to the outside of the boundary. After retreating out of the barrier, he squatted while panting, and his eyebrows locked up stubbornly.
An extremely scary demon!
He couldn’t even hurt a strand of hair with a strike that contained all his strength. And the demon only used two fingers of strength to directly snatch away my weapon, and even forced me away… Jasmine was right, with my strength, killing him was essentially an idiot’s dream!
Dragon Fault, weighing more than four thousand kilograms, was easily pinched between the demon’s fingers as if pinching one’s chopstick. Feeling the weight of this sword, a touch of shock flashed across the demon’s face. He shook his fingers and said: “A pretty good sword. To be able to release such a power like that with this sword, you’re quite unusual! This sword, I’ll return to you!”
The demon moved his fingers a bit, Dragon Fault suddenly became a gray shooting star, and shuttled through the boundary. With a “ding”, it deeply embedded into the floor in front of Yun Che.
“Why didn’t you kill me?” Yun Che asked as he coldly stared.
“Why should I kill you?” The demon asked in return: “In my life, even though I’ve killed countless people, I’ve never killed an innocent person. Truthfully speaking, looking back at it, by bringing you in here, it’s the first time in my life that I’ve hurt an innocent! That is due to Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s despicable junior angering me, causing me to lose my reason. Now that you actually survived, I have no reason to kill you again. If I kill you, apart from increasing my crimes, there is no benefit whatsoever. If I keep you here, at least before you die, I’ll have someone to accompany me… In the end, you are just a pitiful victim!
Yun Che’s ability to know people well was very strong. Frankly, he couldn’t find a bit of cruelness or savageness from the demon. In this period of time, what he felt the most from the demon was sadness, resentment and longing. But these feelings could not be reasons that would cause him to not kill this demon. Because this demon had brought him here, only by killing him could Yun Che leave this place. He coldly smiled and said: “If you have really never killed an innocent person, if you don’t want your sins to increase, then kill yourself, let an innocent person like me leave this place! Or else, don’t spout any grand and lofty bullshit.”
“Hahahaha…” The demon laughed out loud, and said: “Junior, you don’t have any qualifications to speak to me like that, because my life is worth way more than your life!” He opened his eyes widely, his pupils shooting out a frightening anger and hatred. His voice had also became hoarse: “I was never afraid of death. Being alone in the darkness for a hundred years, this type of loneliness and despair is a thousand times more painful than a quick death! But I’m not willing to die pointlessly like this, as I still haven’t personally annihilated the mongrels from that Mighty Heavenly Sword Region! They won’t let me die, then I’ll just live well until the day I can leave this place and destroy their whole sect! I won’t kill you, but you shouldn’t even hope to kill me!”
Yun Che clenched both his hands tightly, and panted a coarse breath as his gaze sharpened, but did not speak for a good while.
The air in this place was extremely turbid, the rate of exhaustion of the body was much faster than outside. Half a month without drinking, in addition to his heavy injuries, Yun Che’s body revealed a weakness; his stomach was making noises due to the obvious feeling of hunger.
“If you still had the Phoenix Flames, then there’s a chance of burning him. But the current you has no chance of hurting him. No matter how you attack, there’s no chance of success, and it would instead exhaust your stamina quicker. You’d best take a calm posture, and wait for the Phoenix blood to awaken. That way, you might still have a small chance of hope!”
“But the precondition is that you have to live until then!”
After thinking back to leaving all the food within the Sky Poison Pearl with Su Ling’er, he came to a realization that even though he managed to survive, he was still in the abyss of despair, and was falling even deeper into the abyss.
With profound strength at the Sky Profound Realm, it was not a problem to not eat and drink for a year. At the Emperor Profound Realm, there was basically no need for food and drink. At that level, delicacy was only for the enjoyment of the taste, and not for sustenance.
But for Yun Che, the distance to that level was at an impossible distance! An unreachable distance to the stage of not drinking and eating.
Time passed day by day. The feeling of hunger grew stronger, his body became weaker and weaker, until the feeling of hunger was akin to a nightmare. At this time, he was searching in a craze in the Sky Poison Pearl, yet he could not find anything edible. He even ate those dried miracle medicinal herbs, but to refine them used even more profound strength and body strength…
A month later, Yun Che completely could not feel the existence of hunger. It seems as if he couldn’t even feel the existence of his body. His head felt dazed sometimes, felt absent-minded sometimes, his body was as light as a goose feather, and even moving was particularly difficult. Without the Dragon God’s blood preserving his life, without his life threatening injury healing, without eating and drinking for more than a month, and being stuck in an incomparably turbid and vile environment, he would have starved to death long ago.
“In my first life, I was poisoned to death by someone.”
“In my second life, I jumped off Cloud’s End Cliff, and committed suicide…”
“I can… die a tragic death, or even die miserably… but how can I possibly… starve to death!”
Yun Che mused dejectedly. His eyes were half open, his rate of breathing extremely slow, and his upper body rocked, shook, as if he would fall to the ground at any moment. In this period of time, he spent most of his time sleeping, and after sleeping a long while, waking up every time was getting harder than the last. He had no idea whether or not if he would wake up from his slumber the next time he fell asleep.
I can’t die….
Even if I die… I can’t just die hopelessly from starvation… Definitely cannot…
Yun Che extended his left hand, and the Sky Poison Pearl flashed a green light. In front of Yun Che suddenly appeared a hundred foot tall, huge crimson red dragon! Only, this supposedly immensely strong dragon had no signs of life. Even the corpse was split perfectly into four pieces.
Yun Che grabbed the Tiger Soul Sword, and walked to the Flame Dragon’s tail end while panting. He activated Burning Heart and slashed downwards with all his strength. He cut off the peak of the Flame Dragon’s massive tail bloodily, and grabbed it in his hands. The dead Flame Dragon did not have profound strength reinforcing its body, so even though the corpse was still extremely tough, it was enough for Yun Che to cut open. If it was a living Flame Dragon, even if Yun Che’s profound strength was ten times stronger, there would be no chance of hurting its body in the slightest.
Things stored in the Sky Poison Pearl wouldn’t have a qualitative change. Even though this Flame Dragon had been dead for over a year, it was still preserved at the state when it had just died. Fresh blood quickly streamed down from the part of the tail that was cut off, and that, was completely pure dragon blood!
Looking at the pouring dragon blood, Yun Che’s eyes shone with a deep greed and longing… At this time, Jasmine’s voice came out from his heart and helpless said: “Did you think this through? You should know that this is an Emperor Profound Dragon, and the power contained within its blood and flesh is not something that you can handle. If you really eat it as food… you could very likely die immediately!”
“I… have no other choice! I believe… I can handle the power! Even if… even if I can’t handle it, I’d rather die from my body exploding, rather than dying from starving to death!
After speaking, Yun Che raised his arms quickly, and brought the dragon tail to his lips. The drops of dragon blood dripped into his mouth… The dragon blood’s fishiness, for Yun Che at this moment, was as good as honeydew from the heavens.
Chapter 286 - Desperate Struggle
Yun Che wasn’t sure of just how much power was contained within the blood of the Emperor Profound Flame Dragon. Yun Che was at the early stages of True Profound Realm when he refined the Dragon Blood Pellet, and one pellet was infused with only four drops of dragon blood. Only under the suppression of a variety of miraculous medicine was the power made gentle, and even then, after eating one pellet, it took at least one to two days to refine.
And today, he directly drank the dragon blood. In a short few breaths, with the dragon blood quickly dripping all over, more than a few hundred drops of Flame Dragon blood flowed into Yun Che’s mouth, and with it a fiery heat of energy flowed into his stomach. The hunger in his stomach vanished in an instant, and even his originally empty spirit was roused.
Yun Che had the Evil God’s fire seed within him, thus making him immune to any flames. But right now, he still felt as if an incomparably hot flame had exploded within his stomach. This heat wave was like spilled mercury that pervaded every pore as it wildly surged through his whole body… four limbs, internal organs, blood stream, bone marrow… As if every part of his body, every single cell, had scorching oil poured into them. In addition to this, his bones and his soul was thoroughly in pain…
It was an extremely excruciating pain where his whole body seemed to completely crack apart and completely explode.
The dragon tail in Yun Che’s hand fell to the floor as the sweat on his forehead rained down. In an instant, this sweat had completely evaporated, and his body staggered backwards, falling onto the ground. His body spasmed from the pain, and his face distorted greatly.
Whoosh!
The clothes on Yun Che’s body were burnt to a crisp and was sent flying away, revealing crimson red skin. This crimson red was deepening in color, eventually becoming a frightening dark red color. A frightening “pa pa pa” snapping sound rang out from every part of his body…
That sound of his bones cracking apart, being calcined!
“Kid… are you tired of living?!”
The demon gazed at Yun Che through his dirty white hair. With his level of strength, he could easily see that the massive dead dragon was a flame type Emperor Profound dragon. When the huge dragon appeared, he was shocked about how Yun Che, with his miniscule profound strength, could even come to possess a corpse of an Emperor Profound dragon. He also had never thought that Yun Che would actually drink its blood!
Not to mention he was merely only in the early stages of Spirit Profound Realm, even if a person in the late stage Earth Profound Realm dared to take a large gulp of blood from an Emperor Profound Realm dragon, he would be courting death!
This was something only a true madman would do!
After his exclamation, the expression in his eyes filled with more and more surprise. He stared wide-eyed at Yun Che’s skin slowly becoming dark red. Then, it burst apart with a fish scale pattern, and heard the sound his bones exploding and calcining… This kind of pain was simply unimaginable. Even with his strength, he still trembled with fear. He completely understood that even an Overlord at the Tyrant Profound Realm would find it extremely difficult to withstand this kind of pain.
But not a single trace of a scream emerged from Yun Che’s mouth! His face was already completely distorted, his pair of eyes became a crimson red, but within the widely forced open eyes, apart from infinite pain… he was still undeniably wide awake!
That kind of pain, even if it was himself, he would definitely howl or scream, but this youngster… did not even let out a sound!
How much terrifying willpower did this require!
Impossible! This cannot possibly be the amount of willpower a youngster would possess!
The demon raised his head with eyes filled with shock. He had always been calling Yun Che a freak because his power was not suppressed by the formation, and with profound strength at the Spirit Profound Realm, he could actually release power rivalling the battle strength of an Earth Profound Realm. But at this moment, he was shocked about this youth’s terrifying amount of willpower. He was a freak amongst freaks, causing him to be incapable of not being deeply shocked.
But even if his willpower and endurance was stronger, it did not mean that he could live through the erosion of the Emperor Profound dragon’s blood. He regretfully said with a low voice: “You really overestimated yourself! Seeing how you’re being destroyed and burnt to a crisp, I really should have killed you cleanly in one strike instead!”
“Shut… up!!”
What caused the demon to be shocked was that Yun Che actually spoke… and in this terrifying condition, he didn’t give out a blood-curdling scream, and instead he had let out a cold, calm voice. His voice was incredibly hoarse and displeasing to hear, as if it came from a dying elderly, but his pronunciation was exceptionally clear: “I… will not… die… before… killing… you… I… definitely… will not… die!!!!”
Both of the demon’s eyes narrowed. He saw that Yun Che’s skin was completely burnt black, the bones’ crackling sounds were concentrated, as if a few hundred pieces of glass were broken at the same time. Yun Che’s current miserable condition couldn’t help but make the demon have a sense of horror. He howled: “Good! Then let me see… just how you plan on staying alive!!”
Yun Che’s teeth were nearly completely chewed until shattered at this moment. He could feel his flesh, bones… even his bone marrow felt like it had been put on top of a fire and burned, being fried as if immersed into boiling oil. This kind of pain, absolutely could not be described with any kind of words. He basically couldn’t breathe. His four limbs were immobilized, his organs exhausted or even broken down. He could also feel a countless streams of irritable energy in his body thrashing around. The surface of his body was already completely pitch-black, filled with detailed cracks leaking out countless streams of blood.
His body in this instant was as weak as a tissue that could be ripped apart with one tear. His bodily functions had nearly decayed completely. What was left was only his willpower and obsessed soul.
Yun Che used every single bit of willpower to keep himself in a stable sitting posture. He shut both of his eyes, closing off his five senses and consciousness. The cracks on his body rapidly increased, and the burnt black body gradually deepened. Apart from this, Yun Che was completely still, like a weathered sculpture.
Did he die?
Not yet… from his body, the demon still felt a slight trace of life.
If it was any other person at this stage, they would have definitely passed away long ago. But on Yun Che’s body, there was still a trace of life. As time passed, unwilling to disappear, this trace of life continued to hang onto Yun Che.
The demon shook his head and sighed. So what if there’s still a breath left? In this condition, there was basically no hope of surviving. With the Emperor Profound dragon blood entering his body, the tyrannical power would destroy his organs, bones, blood, physical body… and before this, the first thing to be destroyed, were the profound veins!
Even if he stubbornly has a breath of life left, what could he even do?
But the demon had no way of knowing that even though Yun Che’s body was ninety percent destroyed, his profound veins at the moment, were completely fine!
Because the profound veins came from a True God! How could it be destroyed from the strength that came from merely a few drops of an Emperor Profound dragon’s blood!
And it was exactly the Evil God’s Profound Veins and Great Way of the Buddha that Yun Che relied on when he crazily drank the Flame Dragon’s blood when he had no other choice!
He supported his life with his willpower, refined the dragon’s blood with his profound veins, and after refining, recovered his body with the Great Way of the Buddha…
Life through success, death through failure!!
With his five senses and consciousness shut off, he could not hear anything, and he already could not feel the pain on his body. Inside his mind, the only thing that remained were the alternatively twinkling red and blue lights inside the Evil God Profound Veins, and a weaving stream of power from the Flame Dragon blood…
Time, for Yun Che, became endlessly long.
Two hours passed…
Four hours passed…
Six hours passed…
In this period of time, the demon’s gaze was locked onto Yun Che’s unmoving body. A whole six hours had passed, and that last trace of life was still tenaciously clinging on, neither increasing nor decreasing.
The only word he could think of right now was: “incredible”.
At this time, Yun Che’s body finally showed some movement. A strange cyclone appeared on top of his head. The cyclone originally spun around slowly, then started spinning faster and faster… until it reflected a shadow of a small and delicate silver pagoda!
“What is that?” The demon had lived for over three hundred years, but it was the first time he had seen something like this. That pagoda contained a bizarre power, as if it was some kind of profound art… but he had never seen this type of profound art before.
Wait… profound art!!
Was… he actually using a profound art!?
This discovery caused the demon’s body to shake in shock. He suddenly moving forward, causing his chains to brawl loudly. He obviously should have died a long time ago, but while clinging onto his last breath, he clung on for six hours and had yet to die. Instead, a sign of him using profound arts had appeared!
How is this possible!
At this moment, the demon desperately wanted to break free from his chains to get closer to Yun Che and find what kind of condition he was in!
Even if a dead person suddenly started moving, that would still be nowhere as close as the shock Yun Che brought him at this time.
The silver pagoda on top of Yun Che’s head started to spin slowly, and started to expand whilst it was spinning. After six hours, it expanded until it was around three foot tall, and when the silver pagoda reached its size limit, it turned from a ghostly image into something substantial, as if a real, small pagoda was actually suspended above Yun Che’s head. Then, the small pagoda disappeared without warning.
At this time, Yun Che’s life force suddenly burned as if a prairie fire, quickly combusted, and the combustion becoming more and more exuberant. Within four hours, that small trace of life became flames of life that filled his entire body!
Demon: “…”
Sixteen hours after drinking the dragon blood, Yun Che finally opened his eyes. The instant his eyes opened, there was a faint stream of fiery light flashing within his pupils.
Not only did he opened his eyes, he also slowly stood up.
The moment he stood up, the pitch-black crust that wrapped around his body suddenly rustled and fell, revealing a baby-like tenderness, and flawlessly smooth rebirthed skin. He stood up straight, spread both his arms, and lightly gulped. A surge of profound energy had suddenly released, causing the burnt crisp on his body to completely burst open, showing a perfect and flawless body without a trace of injury. Even his hair was completely rebirthed, growing to the length it was previously at.
“You……”
This powerful being who shook entire Illusory Demon Realm, who stood at the peak while looking down at millions of people, was shocked, and stared dumbfoundedly, tongue-tied at this seventeen year old teenager.
Because everything he saw in this moment completely overturned everything he knew.
Not only this, he could also clearly feel that Yun Che, who should have been dead, was not only perfectly fine. In fact, even his profound strength… had increased to the second level of the Spirit Profound Realm!!
Yun Che, who miraculously survived from the abyss of death, did not say a word to the demon. Picking up the piece of dragon tail from the floor, he grabbed it in his hands as his palms blazed with profound fire, burning the tail until Yun Che thought was cooked well enough. He brought the tail up to his face and started to chew, eating large chunks of half cooked dragon flesh with his teeth. He was way too hungry, and that exaggerated face of eating was like a hungry demon that had been starved for several hundred years.
In a short while, around three kilograms of dragon flesh was eaten cleanly by Yun Che like a tornado. He licked his lips and burped out with satisfaction. The power density within the dragon flesh was not as much as the dragon blood, but there wasn’t too much difference. At this time, that feeling of immersion in oil exploded within his stomach, causing his body to once again burn crimson red in a blink of an eye.
Without panicking at all, Yun Che was calm to a terrifying degree. He quickly sat down and closed his eyes. His face, that had begun to show signs of emerging cracks was nevertheless a field of silence.
The demon unwaveringly stared at Yun Che. Hearing sounds of his bones cracking once more with his ears, his brain continuously vibrated with these same words…
This monster!!
This madman!!
Chapter 287 - Extreme Training
Yun Che succeeded, but the pain and danger included in the process was something only Yun Che himself knew. Even though Yun Che had the Evil God’s profound veins and the Great Way of the Buddha, drinking so much fresh Emperor Profound dragon blood with the body of a Spirit Profound Realm, and live through that while even refining a great majority of the energy within the dragon blood, it could still be considered to be a miracle. And if not for this miracle, the only ending for Yun Che was a thorough death.
But as if he had gone mad, once he escaped the abyss of pain and death, he placed himself in this kind of abyss once more.
There were only a few minutes of time between the intervals before Yun Che’s bones and body bursted once again. In the blink of an eye, the surface of his body had changed into an dreadful charred black. His life force had also been diminished to its last wisp, but like before, it was exactly this wispy flame of life that was unwilling to die no matter what.
That strange little silver colored pagoda appeared again… This entire process, was almost exactly the same as before.
The different was that this time, Yun Che only took six hours to stand up again. He shed the black from his whole body, and his entire body rebirthed for the second time!
His profound strength, had also rapidly risen to the early stages of the third level of the Spirit Profound Realm!
The Demon stared fixedly at Yun Che, and spoke with a shocked tone: “How… did you do that!?”
The mighty Demon King of the Illusory Demon World had unexpectedly used such a shocked tone to ask a mere seventeen year old youth “how did you do that!?”
Before today, forget about others, even he himself would never believe that there would come a day in which he would ask a junior this kind of question.
But what Yun Che had shown him at this very moment, flooded his heart with raging waves that were incapable of settling down.
A high ranked profound beast’s flesh and blood were definitely not something that could be consumed carelessly on a whim. Even if it was a Throne who wished to consume a Emperor Profound Beast’s flesh and blood, they would have be cautious. And to a Throne, the flesh and blood of a Emperor Profound Beast was undoubtedly a kind of extremely good supplement, enough to let their profound strength progress noticeably. Even though this kind of progress wasn’t too exaggerated, it came without a need to go through bitter cultivation. At the same time, if a Throne wanted to single-handedly slay a Emperor Profound Beast of the same level, it would be basically impossible. Even if it was a peak level Throne facing the lowest level Emperor Profound Beast, defeating the beast would be easy, but slaying it would also be extremely difficult.
Therefore, even in a Throne’s entire lifetime, they would have few chances to get to enjoy a treasure from an Emperor Profound Beast.
But Yun Che, who was merely at the Spirit Profound Realm, who drank a dragon type Emperor Profound Beast’s blood, who ate a dragon type Emperor Profound Beast’s flesh… had actually miraculously lived! This kind of freakish, unimaginable situation’s outcome was obviously incredibly ridiculous. Within this short period of time that had not even taken a day, Yun Che’s profound strength had directly shot up by two levels!
As he looked at the standing Yun Che and the incredibly enormous giant Flame Dragon, the demon’s heart could not help to have a crazy thought… He could not possibly want to slowly eat this entire Flame Dragon and turn it into his own power, right?
Two major crises, two rebirths after being on the edge of death. Yun Che felt that not only did his flesh not become weak because of rebirth, it was instead filled with even more strength. And his bones had also become more resilient after the impact and refinement of the Dragon’s flesh and blood. His own blood slightly became viscous, and even his heart had an odd feeling of strength.
The nightmarish starving feeling he experienced earlier had completely disappeared. While looking at this rebirthed body, feeling the explosively increased strength, Yun Che grinned and started to laugh. It seemed as if the heavens were looking after him at every moment; every single time he gambled with his life as wager, they all concluded with his victory. And this kind of victory, under the heavens, could only happen to him… If it were some other person with similar profound strength as him, at this moment, they would have become a pile of charcoal long ago.
He looked at the demon and said in a low voice: “I have no obligation to answer your question. Let me say it again, in order for me to leave this place, I will definitely… kill you!”
Seeing Yun Che’s cold and resolute expression, the demon was silent for a while. Then, he started to chuckle: “Good! I am suddenly beginning to look forward to that day! Currently, my profound strength has been suppressed down to the Emperor Profound Realm. Do you really think that the gap between the Spirit Profound and Emperor Profound can be so easily made up for!?”
Yun Che did not speak again. He withdrew the Flame Dragon’s carcass, and picked up Dragon Fault while his entire body exploded with profound energy. His vigorous swings gave conjured many winds as every strike contained an ear-splitting howl and an peerless might.
The incomparably heavy Dragon Fault conjured a sandstorm in Yun Che’s hands, and a long, unceasingly storm began to fill this underground suppression space. The best way to solidify a dramatic increase in profound strength was to continuously release it. It was also at this instant that Yun Che set a goal for himself —— Leveling his profound strength was the only thing he could do, and was also the only thing he had to do.
After two hours, Yun Che was already huffing and puffing. He put Dragon Fault back on his back and sat down. Very quickly, he entered a meditative state. All of his fifty four profound entrances in his profound veins completely opened as the powerful current of his profound energy rapidly moved within his body.
While in his meditative state, time went by really quickly. Unwittingly, sixteen hours had passed when Yun Che opened his eyes. His body was now abundant in profound energy, but the rumblings of hunger could be heard from his stomach.
“I’m hungry again.” Yun Che said as he rubbed his belly. Under the demon’s watchful gaze, he summoned the Flame Dragon again, and sliced another huge chunk of flesh from its enormous tail. It dripped with dragon blood as he held it in his grasp, and then began to cook it with profound fire. However, this time’s hunger obviously could not compare to yesterday’s. His roasting unhurried, not quick nor slow; it didn’t take a while for the sweet aroma of cooked meat to permeate the area and make Yun Che gulp.
The deliciousness of dragon flesh was world-famous, and other profound beasts could not possibly compare with it. But in the entire Profound Sky Continent, those who were fortunate to sample dragon flesh could only amount to a few. The cooked dragon meat’s indescribable aroma lightly floated towards the demon, making the tip of his nose tremble and all ten of his fingers twitch… To this demon who had not eaten in a hundred years, the fragrance from the most extravagant meat in this world was undoubtedly a huge attraction, enough to make him go out of control.
But as the majestic Demon King, how could he possibly beg a junior for food? He bit the tip of his tongue, turned his face the other way, and sealed his sense of smell. But immediately afterwards, he heard the sounds of Yun Che’s teeth tearing and chewing the dragon meat. All of his fingers shook so much that they had nearly flown away from his joints.
The side effect had subsequently neared. Yun Che was once again, immediately confronted a baptism filled with endless pain and danger. But this time, not only was Yun Che incomparable resolute like before, he seemed to appear even more calm… Under the dragon flesh’s explosive power, he had even smoothly drank the bowl of dragon blood that had bled out…
The Flame Dragon that had been instantly killed by Jasmine existed within the Sky Poison Pearl for over a year, and was almost forgotten by Yun Che. Yet not only did it pull Yun Che back from the danger of starving to death, it also let him find a way, although incomparably painful, to rapidly increase his profound strength. Like the demon expected, after the first and second times of success, the third time his body burst apart from the energy’s impact, Yun Che only used eleven hours to finish absorbing the dragon’s power and repair his body. Then, he started to crazily train with his sword, meditate, train with sword, meditate… Eat the dragon meat when hungry, and drink the dragon blood when thirsty; repeating it again and again in a unthinkable fashion.
During this process, Yun Che’s profound strength was increasing at such a rapid pace that it might even anger the heavens.
Just in terms of raising his strength, this was an excellent place for Yun Che. In the outside world, it was simple impossible for him to achieve complete concentration. There would always be various people and matters distracting and tying him down. But in here, it was gloomy and silent. It was severed from the world, and no one would come to distract and obstruct him. The only person with him here, was also deprived of freedom. And everyone related to him in the outside world, all became his motivation to increase his strength as fast as possible in order to walk out from this place!
Thus, he spent all of his time training… crazily training! Killing the demon in the shortest time possible and then leaving this place, was currently his sole objective. In addition to this, he suppressed any worries and longing he had, and didn’t bother to think about anything else.
————————————————
Azure Cloud Continent, Grandwake Clan’s rear mountain.
The little bamboo house they built together in the emerald green bamboo forest was Su Ling’er’s most favorite place. Even though Su Hengshan had always told her that she could not run here by herself, she could not help but always secretly come here to sit in front of the little bamboo house all afternoon… She only sat there, bathing in the bamboo forest’s wind, and always thought back to the time when she was with him that night with a face full of happiness.
This afternoon, was the same as all the previous afternoons. She secretly came here by herself. Leaning on the bamboo house with both hands on her cheeks, her watery eyes stared at the swaying green bamboo as she giggled from time to time. It was not known what she was thinking about.
Time passed by slowly, and night was gradually approaching. It was around the time that she should start leaving. Su Ling’er stood up and lowered her head to look at her… little hands, little legs, delicate body, and her chest that had yet to begin blossoming… She flattened her lips and grieved: “Wuu… when am I going to grow up… I really wish I could grow up tomorrow so Big Brother Yun Che would come marry me.”
Carrying a little girl’s dreams, Su Ling’er was mixed with worry and happiness. At this time, an ear-piercing voice suddenly sounded:
“Oh? Isn’t this my dear beloved little sister? Why did you come here all alone? Oh, I know why, you probably came here to think about your, uh… Big Brother Yun Che again?” Su Haoran came out of nowhere and walked over to Su Ling’er at a leisure pace with a face full of smiles.
“Big brother…” Su Ling’er wasn’t that close with Su Haoran, to the point of rejection, but she still gave the proper polite courtesy and even obediently answered: “Mn! I come here everyday to think about Big Brother Yun Che, hoping that he’ll return sooner.”
“Hahahahahaha!” Seeing Su Ling’er’s appearance, Su Haoran started to laugh out loud as though he had heard a funny joke: “Oh boy, my foolish little sister, your appearance really makes me unable to hold back my laughter… Sigh! Fine, even though there are some things that other people understand, but nobody was willing to tell you this. But I am of course, your older brother, so I ought to think about your own good. Therefore, I might as well be that villain… I’d advise you to let go of those unnecessary delusions. That big brother Yun Che of yours will never come back to find you. The only reason why he told Father that he wanted to marry you was because that was how he went against Second Uncle Su Hengyue. It was a temporary excuse he made up at that time, and nothing more.
Su Ling’er immediately raised her head as her little face flushed red in anger: “You’re lying! Big Brother Yun Che told me that when I grow up, he’ll come marry me… You’re lying! You’re lying!”
“Heh, only a stupid little girl like you would believe that kind of lie.” Su Haoran curled his lips in disdain: “That Yun Che’s background is even more prestigious than our Grandwake Clan by several times. That wife of his… Hmph!” Su Haoran clenched his teeth in envy: “No only does she look like a goddess, she’s even more powerful than our great-grandfather! Which part of you could possibly compare to her? He has such an extremely perfect partner by his side, so why would he even like a ten year old little girl like you! Forget about him, even if you replace him with another person, they would never, in only one day, want to marry a little girl like you. What he said at that time, was only made up to help Father settle Second Uncle’s matter, and only you would believe that.”
“As for why he did that, hrm, it’s probably because Father offered them shelter to recuperate from their wounds when that beautiful girl was in her coma. And this kind of person born from such a great family, would obviously not want to owe anything to us, who are from an inferior clan in their eyes. Thus, they took action to help us out, and regard it as returning the favor. But you actually deluded yourself to think that he would truly come back to marry you. I’m assuming that he has already forgotten the two words “Grandwake Clan” by now, let alone remember you.”
Chapter 288 - Inflated Ambition
The longing Su Ling’er had for Yun Che was a bit baffling to outsiders, so much that it seemed somewhat unreasonable. Even Su Ling’er herself wondered why his figure had filled her mind and heart ever since she met him. Waiting for his return, had almost become everything that she wished for. And what Su Haoran had said to her, was undoubtedly the cruelest words in the world, because every one of his words was like a poisonous steel needle that stabbed at her most beautiful and happiest dream.
“You’re lying… you’re lying!” Su Ling’er forcibly shook her head and yelled angrily: “Big Brother Yun Che said that he likes me. He said that he’ll come marry me when I grow up. Big Brother Yun Che won’t lie to me… You’re the liar! You can’t lie like that!”
“Oh, really?” Su Haoran began to grin: “If he really liked you, why didn’t he bring you along with him at that time? Since he likes you that much, then did he tell you where he lived, and which sect he was born in?”
Su Ling’er’s little face paled instantly: “That’s because… that’s because…”
“That’s because he never even liked a little girl like you, so why would he bring you with him? He was scared that you might go looking for him, which was why he didn’t tell you about his birthplace. Also, the others have said that aside from his name, what else do you know about him? Perhaps, even his name was made up too.” Su Haoran laughed as he said this, without caring about how cruel those words were to Su Ling’er.
“You’re lying… You’re lying! They’re all lies! Big Brother Yun Che would never lie to me, he will definitely come for me.” Su Ling’er used both hands to cover her ears and fiercely shook her head. She powerlessly defended as her eyes began to water.
Su Haoran spread out his hand: “Then just continue on with your delusion. But what a pity, my good little sister, as Grandwake Clan’s great princess, you would have your pick of men in the river east in the future, yet you want to stupidly wait for a person who played you for a fool. If this matter were to be spread, tsk tsk, I’m afraid that our entire Grandwake Clan would be made fun of.”
“You’re lying… Everything you say is a lie, I hate you!!”
Still covering her ears, Su Ling’er ran far away into the refreshing bamboo forest, and the faint sounds of her suppressed weeping could be heard.
“Why was Su Hengshan’s little girl here?” Not far from Su Haoren’s rear, a middle-aged dressed in black walked over. It was actually Su Hengyue!
“Ignore her.” Su Haoran casually curled his lips as he turned around: “I heard that you had something important to tell me. What is it?”
“With Haoran’s great intelligence, how could you not be able to guess it out?” Su Hengyue faintly laughed: “Of course it’s to help you get the clan treasure earlier, and become the Clan Master!”
The two looked at each other for a while, and then began to laugh at the same time.
……………………………………
It was only until nightfall that Su Ling’er finally arrived back to the Grandwake Clan. On the entire journey back, she had been completely spaced-out. She was unwilling to believe what Su Haoran had said, but that nightmarish voice continued to swim in her mind, making her unable to forget it.
Big Brother Yun Che would not not come for me, right…
No! Big Brother Yun Che would definitely not lie to me… He’s so nice to me, and when he looks at me, his gaze is as warm as the bamboo forest’s moonlight.
But, why didn’t he bring me with him that day, why didn’t he tell me where he lived…
I only know… his name… and don’t know anything else…
If he really forgets about me, if he doesn’t like me any more… What do I do… What do I do…
Su Hengshan walked out from the Training Room and immediately saw Su Ling’er’s light, powerless footsteps. He hurriedly rushed forward and asked: “Ling’er, where did you go? Why did you return so late?”
Su Ling’er lifted her tear-filled eyes. While trying really hard to not cry, she asked pitifully: “Papa, is Big Brother Yun Che… really not coming back to marry me? Was he… was he only casually saying that, has he already forgotten me?”
A few teardrops were already hanging from Su Ling’er’s cheeks, and it was obvious that she had already cried earlier. Su Hengshan stared blankly for a while before squatting down and answering with a slight smile: “Ling’er, tell me what you feel, do you think he liked you?”
Su Ling’er gently blinked her eyes and then nodded: “Big Brother Yun Che… definitely likes me.”
“Then that’s the case.” Su Hengshan nodded with a slight smile: “If other people’s words and your feelings are in conflict, you obviously have to believe in your own feelings. It’s not only Ling’er, even I feel that your big brother Yun Che really likes you. When he looks at you, it was like he was looking at his life. Especially on the day he was leaving, I could tell that he really wanted to take you away with him… but it was just that you were too young. If he took you away now, or marry you now, it would definitely bring about many criticisms. That’s why he wanted you to wait for him, and when you grow up, he will definitely come back and marry you… Even though he’s not by your side now, you two are already engaged, and even had so many witnesses. This fact, absolutely cannot be severed.”
Su Hengshan understood that after Yun Che had left, everyone believed that he would never come back, and that his and Su Ling’er’s engagement was randomly brought up just to settle the dispute with Su Hengyue. But Su Hengshan didn’t believe that. The way Yun Che looked at Su Ling’er, and the way he treated her so well… was not something that could be completely faked.
Her father’s words were as warm as the spring breeze, and immediately dispersed all of Su Ling’er’s worries and fear. She nodded happily: “Papa, I understand! I knew it, Big Brother Yun Che definitely likes me… I’ll quickly grow up, and wait every day for him to come back and marry me.”
“Haha,” Su Hengshan laughed somewhat helplessly. This ten year old daughter of his, who was originally an innocent and carefree little pixie at a tender age that should not know how to love yet, had actually begun to be immersed in love-sickness all day long after meeting Yun Che, and even thought about marriage every single day. This made him, as the father, really not know whether to laugh or cry. He asked on a whim: “Did someone say something to you that hurt your feelings?”
Su Ling’er lightly nodded: “Uu.. It’s elder brother, when I was in the bamboo forest, he also came there, and told me that everything Big Brother Yun Che told me were lies, so… so…”
“You said… your elder brother went over to the bamboo forest area?” Su Hengshan twitched violently.
“Mn! Papa, what’s wrong? Why did you suddenly become so serious?”
“Oh, nothing.” Su Hengshan hurriedly made a smile. He took a glance at the Dragonscale Armor under Ling’er outer garments, tightened Su Ling’er’s collars up, then once again exhorted seriously: “Ling’er, do well to remember what I said before. This dark golden colored clothing of yours, you have to wear it at any time, and you must also properly hide it and not let anyone see. That includes the brother and sisters in the clan who regularly plays with you. If it were to be accidentally found out by others, it’s highly possible for it to be snatched away. Do you understand?”
Su Ling’er subconsciously tightened her outer garment, and nodded very seriously: “I understand Papa, this was given to me by Big Brother Yun Che, I’ll definitely properly keep it safe.”
Su Ling’er finally opened the knot in her heart and ran away happily, while Su Hengshan’s heart became weighed with worry.
Only after the curtains of the night complete fell, did Su Haoran finally sneakily return to the Grandwake Clan. The moment he returned to his room, he discovered that his father Su Hengshan was actually standing in there. His heart suddenly throbbed, and he hastily spoke: “Father, why are you here?”
“I have something to talk to you about…” Su Hengshan gave him a sideways glance, and said indifferently: “Where did you go this afternoon?”
“I trained too long this afternoon and was a bit tired, so I went for a walk in the rear mountain’s bamboo forest, and even met Ling’er. I wonder what important matters Father needs to speak to me about?” Su Haoran respectively spoke without a change in expression.
“Other than Ling’er, did you not meet anyone else in the bamboo forest?” Su Hengshan’s expression became faintly overcast, and his voice also became a little menacing.
Su Haoran lifted his head, his face revealing surprise: “The rear mountain’s bamboo forest had always been secluded. I indeed had only met Ling’er, and spoke a few words with her. Other than that, I did not meet anyone else. Why is Father asking me this?”
After Su Hengshan stared him in the eyes for a long while, he moved his gaze and spoke lightly: “Haoran, it’s not a bad thing for a mature man to have ambition. Without ambition, one would never reach the top. Cruelty, ruthless, sinister and cunning, are often necessary things for a successful person of power. But these, are only fit to be used on enemies. If they were used on one’s dearest family, then this person cannot be called a person, but a swine. This, you must remember.”
Su Haoran’s eyebrows jumped, then he immediately nodded forcefully and spoke sincerely: “Haoren shall bear Father’s teaching in mind.”
Su Hengshan turned his face toward him, and lightly nodded: “It’s important for one to know their limitations. Whether your father here was a successful Clan Master or not, I very well understand in my heart. Many times, I wasn’t decisive enough, not ruthless enough, not unyielding enough. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be someone running wild and rampant in front of this Clan Master’s face here. However, I, Su Hengshan had never done anything of guilty conscience in my entire life. Even though I am mediocre, I can still face the heavens and earth, face the sect, and face our ancestors… You are my, Su Hengshan’s only son. I hope that in the future… you will never disappoint me.”
“Yes… This child will not forget Father’s words, and definitely won’t do anything that would disappoint father.”
“Mm!” Su Hengshan uttered a slight confirmation, and walked out with a slow pace without saying anything else.
Watching Su Hengshan leave, Su Haoran’s expression slowly darkened, and then revealed a sinister smile: “Even though I have the identity as the Clan Master’s son, in terms of aptitude, my position really is too dangerous, so I can’t help but to plan ahead for myself… Dearest family? Heh, if I am to be so pedantic and irresolute, then this Grandwake Clan will never have a spot for me. When that happens, it’ll really be over for me. As your son, how would I let you be disappointed…. Hehehehe…. HAHAHAHA…”
Chapter 289 - Double Breakthrough
Unknowingly, Yun Che had already “fallen” for half a year already, but the subjects and rumors regarding Yun Che was still spreading throughout every corner of the Blue Wind Empire and the versions of them were becoming more and more exaggerated. It was even compiled into books by some meddlesome people who sold it and spread it like crazy wildfire.
The Blue Wind Emperor’s condition had slowly deteriorated. The first and third princes’ secret battle had formally turned into a clear battle. All of the princes were involved; none of them were able to stay out of it, and none of them were able to take care of the Blue Wind Emperor whose life force was becoming dimmer and dimmer. The only person who accompanied the Blue Wind Emperor was the Blue Moon Princess.
The entire Blue Wind Imperial Family was enveloped within an increasingly dark and gloomy cloud. Behind the dark cloud were the Xiao Sect and the Burning Heaven Clan who were already beginning to expose their fierce teeth. Under the Xiao Sect and the Burning Heaven Clan’s accentuation of this enormous maelstrom, the Blue Wind Imperial Family practically had no defensive capabilities.
Heavenly Sword Villa had always kept silent and showed zero signs of intervention. The matter regarding Chu Yuechan half a year ago shocked Ling Yuefeng, so he was not in the mood to care about anything else, and Frozen Cloud Asgard had already completely sealed themselves away in order to completely ignore all the unstable situations of the outside world.
Heavenly Sword Villa, under the Sword Management Terrace.
Yun Che carried Dragon Fault on his back while sitting cross-legged on the ground. He had already maintained this position for over six hours. At this moment, strands of profound energy which were visible through the naked eye began to rise and white smoke above his head.
“Oh… breaking through again?” Looking at the white smoke above his head, the demon quietly said.
Yun Che’s looked extremely calm on the exterior, but a storm was surging within his interior.
After he trained in his sword style until he was completely exhausted, he sat cross-legged on the ground and channeled his profound energy within his body for over a hundred days while simultaneously pondering deeply about the images of the Sirius’s second sword style which Jasmine mentioned during the ranking tournament. Only, that image only showed the motions of Sirius’ second sword technique and the most important profound arts and the Prison God Sirius’ profound skill. Even if he put all his heart into it in order to discover the real essence behind the second sword style from only seeing the movement of the heavy sword, it was simply impossible.
However, Yun Che never thought this was “impossible”. He was pondering deeply about it every single day for the last half year and that image had also been recreated tens of thousands of times within his brain.
After two hundred days of channeling profound energy within his body, all of his profound energy suddenly disappeared without a trace.
Yun Che’s entire body shuddered and this shock was no small matter. His entire body suddenly emitted sweat, but he immediately tenaciously calmed down… what is going on? Could it be…
During the moment when his profound strength suddenly disappeared and he was in a trance, his profound veins suddenly radiated as brightly as the red and blue radiance of stars. After that, incredibly thick profound energy swarmed out from the depth of his profound veins like a rapid flood, surging toward every muscle. His profound vein and channels started to rapidly relax and expand under the influence of his profound energy as if they were dancing in excitement.
Beneath the Earth Profound Realm, profound energy was formless and shapeless, and one could only capture it when channeling their strength; however at this moment, Yun Che was able to clearly see this surging profound energy appear before him in a thin white color! They were like strands of smoke and its thickness was many times stronger than it was previously!
They were simply two things that could not be mentioned in the same sentence.
The radiance of his profound veins also became much brighter and the red and blue color also became increasingly clearer. Yun Che still had his eyes shut as he sensed the surge of profound energy within his profound veins. He slightly extended both his hands and opened them up as a joyous smirk slowly appeared at the corner of his mouth.
He was very aware what this meant.
This meant his profound strength had already broke through the Spirit Profound Realm and entered the Earth Profound Realm!
In just half a year, he went from the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm and stepped into the first level of the Earth Profound Realm!
In just six months!
Furthermore, due to the fact that all the profound entrances in his profound veins were open, there wasn’t even a bottleneck from the Spirit Profound Realm to the Earth Profound Realm and he broke through as easily as water forming a canal through time!
This kind of breakthrough speed could be said to be impossible since the dawn of the Blue Wind Empire!
Indeed, the reason his profound strength could increase this fast was mainly because of the large amounts of dragon flesh he ate and the large amounts of dragon blood he drank. Until today, the Flame Dragon’s entire tail had been completely swallowed within Yun Che’s stomach and turned into his eternal strength. Nevertheless, being able to crazily consume dragon flesh and blood in the Spirit Profound Realm and not die, and instead absorb it in order to refine it into his own strength was already an abnormal strength that made one’s hair stand on end.
The surge of profound energy within his body stopped at this moment and that kind of abundant power made Yun Che feel as if his body was in the clouds. He opened up his eyes , stood up and spread his arms. All the pores within his body opened as he sensed everything around him as much as he wanted to. Every large breakthrough between realms would be followed by an improvement to the soul as well as an improvement to the perceptive strength by several folds. The range where he could sense things had already extended to several times of what he was capable of before to the point that he could faintly hear the sounds of all kinds of elements’ moving within the air and their mutual interactions.
Yun Che excitedly grabbed the Dragon Fault and let out a carefree shout. His gaze suddenly locked onto the demon and in the blink of an eye, his entire body charged into the barrier like lightning. He opened Burning Heart, and smashed down onto the demon’s head with his sword.
When Burning Heart opened, there wasn’t even the slightest emergence of burden on his body. This also signified that he entered the Earth Profound Realm and was now like the Evil God, able to completely adapt to the state of Burning Heart, and could ordinarily maintain the Burning Heart state at will without any pressure at all.
When facing against Yun Che who just entered the Spirit Profound Realm, the demon had once easily used his head to meet Yun Che’s heavy sword.
However, facing against Yun Che who was at the initial stages of Earth Realm and had the strength of a Sky Profound Realm, the demon did not dare to forcefully take it with his head because Yun Che’s strength already started to put a little pressure on him… Although it was extremely trivial, it was still a genuine oppressive strength!
“Breaking through into the Earth Profound Realm so fast is truly astonishing, but you’re still far from able to kill me!” The demon disdainfully muttered and grabbed Dragon Fault with one hand, but when he went to grab the Dragon Fault, all he caught was an afterimage.
The real Dragon Fault followed the strange movements of Yun Che’s body as he ruthlessly smashed down on the demon’s shoulders.
Crash!!
The Meteorite Chains began to emit an ear-splitting crashing sound. This strike of Yun Che’s fell upon the indestructible profound steel and shook his arms until they were numb. However, on the demon’s shoulders, let alone an injury, even the weak clothes that he protected with his profound strength was not damaged in the slightest.
Even though he achieved the Earth Profound Realm, the difference between his strength and the demon’s strength was as different as mud and sky!
The demon raised his hand and a surge of matchless profound strength was released, making the entire interior of the barrier roil with an incredibly frightening storm. After one breath’s time, Yun Che was thrown over three hundred meters away by the storm as he embarrassingly fell onto the ground. He immediately got up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and fiercely said: “There will be a day when I’ll kill you!”
“Wait until that day, then you can make these arrogant remarks! Claiming that you’ll kill me right now is still a joke!” The demon answered disdainfully.
“Whether or not it’s a joke is not something you have a say in!” Yun Che picked up Dragon Fault and did not go to heal himself. Instead, he suddenly charged into the barrier while continuously swinging Dragon Fault. Accompanied with the resonant sounds of phoenix cries, over ten streaks of phoenix flames flew towards the demon.
Phoenix Break!
The phoenix flames which had been still for a long time had also finally awoken once more at this moment.
“Oh?” The demon did not receive Yun Che’s profound flame, but instead charged into the flames which clearly was incomparably hot and powerful. He flung his palms and shattered all the phoenix breaks, but the back of his hands were thoroughly burnt red, which made his eyebrows wrinkle.
However at this moment, Yun Che who was over thirty meters away, suddenly charged over in a split second with his entire body wrapped up in scorching hot phoenix flames.
“Empyrean Dance of the Phoenix Wing!!”
Boom!!
Dragon Fault ruthlessly smashed onto the demon’s chest and a frantic phoenix flame exploded on his chest, burning with incredibly high temperature and oppressive might which stifled the demon for an instant. Yun Che somersaulted backwards and landed as an enormous and dark blue wolf howled toward the sky behind him. Dragon Fault fell and a streak of a wolf’s silhouette charged out, ripped the air apart, and collided directly with the demon.
RIIIP!!
Sky Wolf Slash accurately struck onto the completely immobile demon’s body, slashed open a hole that was half a feet long on his clothes, and then unrelentlessly struck towards his stomach… as a sharp pain transmitted all over. Though it was only a sharp pain, a red scar that did not even rip his skin appeared over his stomach, but it was still able to greatly shock the demon.
He was not able to deliberately activate the protection of his profound strength, but he still had the defense from his naturally existent profound strength that even a sneak attack from an expert at the initial stages of the Sky Profound Realm would have a hard time ripping through. His clothes were also under the protection of his naturally existent profound strength, but they were unexpected cut open by a slash from Yun Che which made him feel a sharp pain.
This clearly signified that he could forcefully release the power only achievable from the Sky Profound at the early stages of the Earth Profound Realm!!
Battle strength that surpassed the profound strength, this fact was not a rarity in the demon’s knowledge. Nascent Profound Realm having the battle strength of the True Profound Realm, True Profound Realm having the battle strength of the Spirit Profound Realm were all common occurrences to him, he had even seen quite a few in the True Profound Realm with battle strength at the Earth Profound Realm. However, with the advancement of realm, the disparity between each large realm increased multiplicatively and bottlenecks were harder and harder to overcome. Spirit Profound Realm to the Earth Profound Realm was considered to be the first true bottleneck, but overcoming that really wasn’t too difficult. However the Earth Profound Realm to the Sky Profound had a bottleneck that was hundreds to thousands of times harder than what the Earth Profound Realm had! Similarly, exhibiting battle strength at the Sky Profound Realm while in the Earth Profound Realm was fundamentally impossible.
However, Yun Che was only at the first level of the Earth Profound Realm yet the power of his sword had the genuine power of a Sky Profound Realm! Although this was perhaps the best strike that Yun Che could use, even using it for just a moment was already world shocking.
Under the demon’s astonishment, he was also starting to get angry… He was a glorious Demon King, but his clothes were harmed by a junior at the Earth Profound Realm. This was an extraordinary shame and humiliation that he could never have imagined. His expression became overcast and he grabbed out with his five fingers. An enormous deep cyan palm suddenly appeared beside Yun Che, then ruthlessly grabbed toward Yun Che’s chest… But during the moment that enormous palm appeared, the demon suddenly began to regret; however, it was too late to take it back. He angrily spread his five fingers and attacked Yun Che’s chest.
Boom~~~~
Like a thunderclap suddenly exploding within his chest, Yun Che’s eyes bulged outwards as he discarded Dragon Fault. His palms pushed forward with all his strength and used the resulting shockwave to rapidly fly backwards to land outside the barrier. As soon as he landed, he had already shut his eyes and went into a proper sitting position with the Great Way of the Buddha rapidly activated in the next instant.
This strike from the demon was extremely tyrannical and was far stronger than what Yun Che had imagined. He felt that his five visceras and six organs had been completely displaced and his ribs all shattered as well, along with more than ten broken meridians… but after experiencing hundreds of “baptisms” from the dragon flesh and blood, this injury, which should have been far more severe, was “nothing much” for him anymore.
With the activation of the Great Way of the Buddha, that little silver pagoda appeared above his head.
The demon withdrew his palm and silently stared at Yun Che. After quite a while, he muttered to himself: “I don’t know how this child trained his body. That strike a moment ago should have taken half a life from even a person of the Sky Profound Realm, but he is actually able to sit still and tend to his wounds!
As soon as the demon spoke, a sudden change occurred. A sudden streak of gold light suddenly flashed past the corner of the demon’s eyes. He subconsciously raised his head, and saw that little silver pagoda above Yun Che’s head, had unexpectedly turned into a light gold color!
Chapter 290 - Golden Buddha
Yun Che felt as though his body had traveled into outer space. He lightly floated like a feather, as everything around him had practically disappeared. The only thing his five senses could feel was his own existence. Strands of powerful aura rushed into his pores from out of nowhere and rapidly healed all of his injuries and refined his body… These, were the purest of nature’s essence.
Even the strongest of creatures had an instinctive reverence toward nature. Since even if those creatures were at the peak of strength, they were only a tiny existence in the face of nature. However, the nature’s essence rushing within Yun Che’s body had a slight reverence… a reverence towards Yun Che!
The difference between nature’s strength and profound strength was that profound strength were the power of living being, but nature’s strength was power that belonged to nature; on the surface, it would naturally crush profound strength. However, when a living being’s profound strength is powerful to a sufficient realm, it could utilize the force of nature to a certain degree; naturally, the consumption of profound strength necessary to utilize the force of nature is enormous.
With Yun Che’s current profound strength, utilizing the force of nature was undoubtedly a crazy dream. His strength was completely unable to reach the realm where he could connect with nature, and only sense the existence of natural strength to a certain point. However, as long as he was channeling the Great Way of the Buddha, the pure essence of between heaven and earth would spontaneously and competitively charge into Yun Che’s body without him understanding any natural strength at all or even consume the slightest bit or strength.
This was a heaven opposing power that no one would be able to comprehend within the Profound Sky Continent!
But regretfully, this natural strength could only be used to heal and refine the body; it was impossible to use it to attack.
Following the the sudden change of silver to gold from the pagoda above Yun Che’s head, the natural essence that charged into Yun Che’s body suddenly became several times more dense. Yun Che extended his five senses and his body felt that wonderful refined sensation again as he clearly felt that his body’s injuries healing at an inconceivable pace that far surpassed his previous recovery rate.
Although the Great Way of the Buddha was a profound art, it did not rely on the existence of profound strength, and relied on the strength of the soul and nature instead. Its cultivation was absolutely not from battle, but from comprehension. During the past half year, because he forcefully consumed dragon flesh and blood, Yun Che had put himself in a condition of serious injury hundreds of times and faced death’s doors over a hundred times. Every time, he relied on his indestructible profound veins to absorb the Flame Dragon’s strength and the Great Way of the Buddha to restore his body… It could be said that during this period of over half a year, the Great Way of the Buddha, that was at the state where it was being activated at its limits, had also deepened his comprehension of the Great Way of the Buddha bit by bit. When breaking through into the Earth Profound Realm, his soul went under the excitement of evolving, and his comprehension of the Great Way of the Buddha finally reached an entirely new level.
The Great Way of the Buddha had successfully broken through to the third realm!
The third stage of the Great Way of the Buddha bestowed a strength of ten thousand kilograms, a body that was as strong as pure steel, and a healing capability that no ordinary person could possibly understand. Right now, even though Yun Che had completely exhausted all of his profound strength right now, he could still rival a profound practitioner at the Spirit Profound Realm while relying only on the strength of his body!
“Very good! Your oppressive kind of self-cultivation during this short amount of time had indeed allowed the Great Way of the Buddha to breakthrough into the third stage in such a short amount of time. Your strength right now should be evenly matched with normal people at the Sky Profound Realm!”
Jasmine said within his head using a wise elderly voice: “Within the borders of the Blue Wind Empire, you are already considered an expert! In the Profond Sky Continent, you could barely be considered to be middle-upper level. Except, the next breakthrough in the Great Way of the Buddha will not be as simple as before. Because the third stage of the Great Way of the Buddha is a divide! The first three realms could be considered the initial stage, but from the fourth realm onwards, it becomes the intermediate stage. With a normal human body, wanting to attain the fourth stage could be said to be as difficult as stepping onto heaven! If there comes a day when you can truly breakthrough into the fourth level… it will bestow you a bodily strength of fifty thousand kilograms!”
Yun Che: “…”
The golden colored Buddha Arts channeled for over four hours until it disappeared into Yun Che’s head. He also opened his eyes at that moment as a light gold ray of light flashed past his pupils.
He stood up, extended his hands, and the Dragon Fault which he dropped within the barrier gravitated towards his hands. With his newly added ten thousand kilograms of arm strength, the four thousand or so kilogram Dragon Fault was simply as light as nothing in his hands. His body did not look like it had changed in the slightest and his skin appeared even more white and tender after being refined by nature’s powers for the third time.
The demon’s gaze was always fixed on Yun Che’s body. When Yun Che stood up, he faintly sense that Yun Che had somewhat changed, but he was not able to pinpoint what had exactly changed. At least, his outer appearance and the aura of his profound strength were still the same as before.
“Try receiving my sword again!”
His familiar body was strengthened by an unbelievable power which made Yun Che so excited that he wished to quickly release it. He shouted loudly while leaping with his sword and heavily chopped down towards the demon from the air.
The power of the sword which came at him made the demon’s eyebrows wrinkle… Yun Che’s profound strength did not change at all, but the pressure that this sword brought was practically doubled that of before!
And at this moment of change had only been separated by four hours!
With the sword chopping downwards, phoenix flames began to dance and stormy winds began to spring up from everywhere. This was a might that only belonged to the heavy sword! The demon’s eyes widened as he suddenly reached out with his hands to grab the tip of Dragon Fault firmly within hands. But the sword force had completely vanished during that moment. However, the phoenix flames seized this opportunity and advanced to completely wrap around the demon’s entire arm and burnt half of the messy clothes he wore on his body.
“…So it’s actually phoenix flames!”
The demon finally understood why Yun Che’s profound flames were so tyrannical. He shook his arms and expelled all the phoenix flames, but Yun Che’s second strike had already swept over. The demon arbitrarily waved his hand and grabbed towards Dragon Fault again; simultaneously, another large cyan hand appeared out of thin air and grabbed towards Yun Che’s back. There were “two hands”. One was constantly grabbing at Dragon Fault while the other struck towards Yun Che’s back… but they all passed through an empty image.
“Ssss… it’s that strange movement skill again!” The demon lightly roared.
The demon had no ways of moving and had absolutely no way of restraining Yun Che’s Star God’s Broken Shadow. After his palm struck nothing, Yun Che’s heavy sword directly swept across his neck and made a slight dent appear on his neck. The demon’s eyes widened and a cyan light suddenly flashed above his left arm that had been sealed by the Meteorite Chains. Suddenly, a cyan hand as tall as a man spread open by the demon’s sides and ruthless grabbed towards Yun Che.
Bang!!
Dragon Fault and the large cyan hand collided, and the result was as one could imagine. Yun Che felt as if his chest had been smashed by a large sledgehammer as he tumbled in midair and flew outwards. Afterwards, battered and exhausted, he landed outside the barrier. His heavy sword struck into the ground and stopped his fall. An insolent smile appeared at the corner of his mouth: “Hehe… at first, I could not stand a single blow from you, but in half a year, I can already endure three of your moves! At the start, an arbitrary wave of your hand would take a large chunk of my life away, but now, you can only make me feel an injury that isn’t heavy nor weak… give me a maximum of two more years, and I’ll kill you for sure!”
“Hahahaha!” The demon began to laugh loudly as well: “You brat, you’re truly a strange one! However, being able to drag a little strange monster down to accompany me is still incredibly interesting! Right now, I truly want to see what stage you can mature to in the two years that you speak of.”
“I absolutely… won’t… let you… be disappointed!” Yun Che said in an extremely determined tone.
He sat down, and in less than two hours later, the injury he received from the demon’s strange hand had completely healed. As another day passed by without having eaten anything, his stomach began to transmit a hungry feeling. The Yun Che now did not need to worry about food anymore; the enormous body of the Flame Dragon was enough for him to eat for several years. He flipped his left hand, and a five kilogram chunk of dragon flesh appeared within his hands. He took out a large bowl, filtered out the dragon blood, then ignited a flame and patiently waited for it to roast.
After the phoenix flames had awakened, his efficiency in roasting dragon flesh had increased by a lot. After a short while, the fragrance of the meat that only dragon flesh could have assailed his nostrils and gradually spread throughout the entire underground area. Yun Che withdrew the phoenix flames and licked the corner of his mouth. He grabbed the dragon meat and happily took large bites of it.
Until he had stomached a quarter of the dragon flesh, a strange sensation transmitted from his interior, but this sensation was quickly subdued once again… Following his increase in profound strength, the breakthrough of the Great Way of the Buddha and the awakening of the phoenix flames, in addition to the hundreds of times that he had to adapt, Yun Che’s body already reached a point where it could endure the Flame Dragon’s battering after consumption. Although he could not completely suppress it, and his insides was still battered by countless powerful auras which sharply pained him constantly. Compared to what it was originally, this was a practically ignorable little drizzle.
Perhaps in the near future, following the continual increase of Yun Che’s strength, these uncomfortable sensations would completely disappear.
He enjoyed the delectable taste of dragon meat with all his profound entrances open. His profound strength was shifting all over his body to completely refine all the power the dragon meat contained. At this moment, an extremely faint gulping sound suddenly echoed beside Yun Che’s ears.
That was the sound of saliva being swallowed.
The hand which Yun Che used to hold the dragon meat became stagnant for a split second, but then he immediately began to devour it again, and acted as if he simply did not hear anything.
And at the moment, the demon almost had the will to die.
A person who had been starving for a whole hundred years, yet had to face one of the best delicacies in the world, dragon meat… Every time Yun Che madly devoured the dragon meat was the most difficult moment for the demon. However, he had a respectable position as the dignified Demon King, so he was absolutely not going to beg for food from a junior, and he should expose even less of his gluttonous desires in front of him. Therefore, every time Yun Che ate dragon meat, he would either turn his head around or remain motionless. He had the attitude that he did not feel like watching, but in reality, every moment was painfully hard to endure. He did not show a trace of desire for an entire half a year.
But no matter how powerful he was and no matter how well he hid it, it was impossible for him to never make a mistake. Under an inattentive moment, he actually produced the sound of gulping down saliva. Although the sound was extremely light, he was certain that it was enough for Yun Che to hear.
At the same time, he saw that at the moment when that sound was transmitted outwards, Yun Che’s movements also stagnated for a brief moment… However, he did not mock him, and did not even shift his gaze towards him, as he continued to bite down on the dragon meat as if he had heard nothing at all.
The demon calmed down as he exposed a gratified expression. Facing against the demon who was notorious within the Profound Sky Continent, who brought him into this abyss, Yun Che did not mock him when he was down and chose to let him retain his dignity without the slightest hesitation.
Chapter 291 - Profound Handle
After swallowing a large chunk of dragon meat within his mouth and drinking a mouthful of dragon blood, Yun Che stood up and slashed with his fingers to cut the large chunks of dragon meat into two evenly sized pieces, then leisurely strolled into the barrier until he arrived in front of the demon. He stood a step away from the demon at a place where he could flee at any time from a life-threatening attack.
“After eating the dragon meat, I found out how absolutely incomparable the meat from other beasts are compared to the tastiness of dragon meat. However, enjoying it by myself is rather dull. Senior, do you want some?” Yun Che picked up a large piece of the sliced dragon meat and presented in front of the demon.
The demon turned his head around and said indifferently: “Are you pitying me? Only one person could survive between you and I. To be this close to me, are you not afraid of me trying to suddenly kill you?”
Yun Che’s entire body had absolutely zero defense from his profound strength and his expression did not contain a trace of precaution as he gently said with a smile: “Even though there’s not a moment where I don’t think about killing you, the reason why I want to kill you is only for the sake of my survival and freedom, and not because I resent or loathe you. On the contrary, I am very certain that you’re not a bad person, and even less of a scoundrel! If you think I am pitying you… hrm, that’s true. Except, this kind of pity is one I would have for a fellow sufferer. As for our situation, how are we any different? Only, the restraint on you is a bit more than the ones on me.”
The demon’s expression shifted as he fixedly gazed at Yun Che for a while. Then, he suddenly began to smile: “Haha… good! Fellow sufferer indeed! Then I’ll accept your ‘pity’!”
Once he stopped talking, he grabbed the dragon meat within Yun Che’s hands, put it at the side of his mouth, and wildly bit at it. Although there wasn’t any oil or salt, for a demon who had eaten nothing for a hundred years, this was nothing other than a delicacy from heaven. Once the dragon meat entered his mouth, he was unable to stop. His fierce eating and ferocious biting, as if he was ravenously devouring his food, did not fall short of Yun Che when he was hungry to the point that he almost died. Yun Che lightly smiled and grabbed his own dragon meat and bit, but in comparison, he ate much more elegantly than the demon did.
In the blink of an eye, the large chunk of dragon meat in the demon’s hand had vanished cleanly and all entered into his stomach. A hundred years of being empty made the demon’s face, which was as pale as limestone, appear a bit red. He sucked on his five fingers and began to loudly laugh: “Delightful! Truly delightful! I’ve never had such a delightful meal in my life! Hahahaha… little brother, I, Yun Canghai had never owed anybody in my life! Although you’ve only given me a meal, to me, it’s still a great favor! Your kindness, I will remember it! Unfortunately, this is only meat and there’s no wine. Otherwise, with you preserving my face and believing that I’m not a lowly scoundrel, I should have drank a large cup with you!”
“Eh? Senior, your surname is also Yun?”
The demon widened his eyes, “What’d you say, your last name is Yun as well? Even after being locked up here for half a year, you, a little mad kid, wouldn’t even tell me what your last name is. After doing all these things, looks like we are unexpectedly from the same clan, hahahaha!”
When he did not consider the demon to be a mortal enemy that he must kill, not only did the demon’s aura not make people disgusted or afraid, there was even a feeling of intimacy. Yun Che gently smiled and said, “This junior’s family name is Yun and his name is Che.”
“Yun Che… as free as the clouds, as clear as water, a very good name! Looks like when your father named you, he wished that you could live a carefree life without worries and not be caught up in this mundane world. But unfortunately, being such a thoroughly monstrous little kid, you’re definitely not destined to be a little creature in the pond. I’m afraid your parents will be greatly disappointed.”
Yun Che stared blankly with disappointment and frustration in his heart. In the Azure Cloud Continent, his master named him “Yun Che” precisely because he wanted Yun Che to live a carefree life without worries, with fate as clear as water and not participate in any worldly disputes. However in the end, his life took another extremely opposite turn… with a hatred filled heart, he massacred countless numbers…
In the Profound Sky Continent, his own biological parents should have had the same wishes as his master.
Yun Che held up the large bowl of dragon blood, poured half of the dragon blood inside into another bowl and put it in front of the demon while saying: “Senior, you and I being sealed up in here together and both being called Yun is truly a fantastic fate. For the sake of the same suffering and a similar fate that allows us to empathize with each other, we ought to drink a bowl… even though we don’t have delicious wine, the smell and taste of dragon’s blood and its flavor is absolutely not inferior to the strongest wines. I’ll treat this dragon blood as wine and toast senior with a bowl! I hope that after we drink this ‘blood wine’, when the day comes that I have to kill senior, senior will not resent me on his road into the netherworld.”
The demon cupped the dragon blood and raised his eyes to look at Yun Che. Suddenly, his eyes seemed to contain something more inside: “You and I are not from the same family, so we don’t need to differentiate between seniority. If we’re drinking this blood wine, it should be me who toasts you… if you want to toast me, then you have to acknowledge me as your master right now!”
“Huh??” Yun Che eyes widened and his mouth was agape, as if he was caught a bit unprepared. Although there were no animosity to speak of between the two, frankly speaking, these two were in an awkward situation where only one could survive. Yun Che voluntarily sharing his dragon meat to eat was his natural instinct and he wasn’t looking for anything in the slightest. He never could have thought that a meal of dragon meat could have evoked such a situation… Even if the demon was grateful towards him, wasn’t this step still a bit too large?
Acknowledge him as master? What did he want to teach? Was he going to teach me how to kill him? This is truly a bit… wait a second! Could he actually be…
“What? You don’t want to?” The demon’s expression was wary and lacked any playful ideas: “My entire life, apart from guiding my son in his early years, I have never officially accepted any disciples. You’re an astonishing person with immeasurable potential, but with my power, I’m more than enough to be your master. Within the Illusory Demon Realm, many people wanted to acknowledge me but was denied at my door!”
With the importance the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region placed on this demon, it was imaginable just how terrifying a person he was in the Illusory Demon Realm. Yun Che did not doubt his words in the slightest. If he could acknowledge this terrifying expert who could display the power of the Emperor Profound Realm while being sealed under this formation as master, for a young profound practitioner, this was an absolutely irresistible attraction and pleasant surprise; it was the same for Yun Che. But unfortunately, he carried a master with him, a master who raised him into a freakish level. If he acknowledged another master in front of her, then…
The consequences would undoubtedly be extremely dire!
“No no, absolutely not!” Yun Che waved his hand then earnestly said, “Senior can be so powerful while still inside the Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation, then surely senior’s actual strength is at a level where I have absolutely no way of comprehending. Being able to acknowledge an expert like senior as my master is my honor and it’s absolutely not because I am unwilling. Except… I already have a master. If I acknowledge senior as my master, it would be quite inappropriate.
“What’s wrong with that!” The demon waved his hand: “Could your master be even stronger than I am?”
The demon’s words had a completely strong sense of arrogance to it, and his arrogance was absolutely not madness. It was impossible for Yun Che to know what kind of existence the Demon King was within the Illusory Demon World; he was second only to the Emperor, and above ten thousand citizens.
But for this demon, it was even more impossible for him to imagine what kind of concept Yun Che’s current master was.
Yun Che thought for a bit and used a mild tone such that he might not hurt his counterpart’s self-esteem and said, “My master might indeed be a bit more powerful than senior…”
“Hahahaha! What a joke!” The demon madly laughed: “In your Profound Sky Continent, there’s less than five people who could match me! Could it be that your master is stronger than Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s Sword Master?
Yun Che did not know what the heck a Sword Master was. However, the terrifying power that Jasmine showed and the disdain she showed when mentioning the words Profound Sky Continent was enough to infer that even the Sword Master could not even compare to a poke from Jasmine’s little finger.
Of course, if these words were spoken, the demon still wouldn’t believe it even if he was beaten to death.
Yun Che no longer explained and directly said: “I know that senior has good intentions, but I am unable to accept. I cannot let down my current master.”
Once Yun Che finished, he held the bowl with the remaining dragon blood and finished it in one gulp. Then, he used the empty bowl to hint towards the demon: “This bowl of blood wine, treat it as my apology before I have to kill senior… Senior, please.”
The demon moved his brows slightly and didn’t speak again. He raised his bowl and similarly drank it all down. Then, he returned the bowl to Yun Che and said: “If you don’t acknowledge me as your master, I had no authority to pressure you. But I cannot eat this dragon meat and drink this dragon blood for nothing. No matter how extremely fast your profound strength’s improvement is, you don’t have any opportunity to strengthen and stabilize your achievements in battle. When you fought with me, it was just all out attacks that finished in within a spark’s time and that is absolutely of no use… From today onwards, I will formally become your sparring partner.”
Evidently, the demon still wanted to guide his cultivation… Guide the cultivation of a person who wanted, who had to kill him. Even hearing this was a bit strange. However, Yun Che could faintly understand his intentions. He retreated a step and said: “Senior, your body is locked up, even if you want to be my sparring partner, it seems…”
“Hehe…” The demon faintly smiled: “You think that just because I’m locked up, I can’t train you well?”
Once he stopped talking, the demon’s left hand suddenly flickered with a cyan light as huge cyan palm appeared in front of him, and instantly flew towards Yun Che.
This was the strange palm that struck him earlier, but at this moment, the strength of this hand was evidently being suppressed by the demon. Although it still had an incredibly oppressive strength, it was not enough to completely crush Yun Che. His body rapidly retreated as he grabbed Dragon Fault to face it straight on. As his sword smashed downwards… what went out of his expectations was that this cyan palm which should have been created through an ability suddenly changed directions and shifted as though it was intelligent as it dodged his sword. Afterwards, its shape also changed, changed into the exact shape of the Dragon Fault in his hands. Only, this heavy sword was cyan as it fiercely smashed towards his shoulders.
During this half year, Yun Che had attempted to risk his life to kill this demon many times and had encountered this strange cyan light that appeared out of nowhere several times. He would face the demon at most one to two times when they were fighting and this cyan light often appeared only for an instant, so he had always believed that was an offensive profound strength light beam.
And after the profound light beam left his body, it would weaken as it extended outwards during its trajectory. But now, he shockingly discovered that not only was this cyan light able to take on any shape, it was also incredibly fast and its aura did not weaken in the slightest from start to finish… Just like a strange creature that existed independently!
It could become a palm, sword, shield or spear… Become bigger or smaller, become slower or faster. Even though the demon meticulously suppressed his power, it still suppressed Yun Che to the point that he became flustered and overwhelmed. It was many times more difficult than going up against an expert of the same level. He loudly shouted and a Falling Moon Sinking Star pushed the cyan light aside. Then, he rapidly retreated backwards and anxiously asked: “What the heck is that thing?”
This demon faintly smiled. With a flash of his left arm, the thing which turned into a heavy sword changed back into a cyan light and went back into his arm: “This… is my Profound Handle! It’s created using the profound veins and the blood vessels, and is controlled with my soul. It’s a special power form that could exist independently from my soul. It could change into a countless number of things and could completely make use of my fighting style… it’s an ability bestowed by the heavens to only my Illusory Demon Royal Family!
Chapter 292 - Information about the Azure Cloud Continent
“Profound Handle?” Yun Che suddenly remembered when Ling Kun talked about the demon, he once mentioned that the demon had a special ability called the “Profound Handle”.
He never could have thought that the Profound Handle was such a powerful and weird thing. It seemed to apparently be a profound art, but it didn’t belong to any type of profound art Yun Che knew of. Through his battle with the Profound Handle just before and the demon’s simple explanation, the power of the Profound Handle could be said to be mystical and freakish. Its origin wasn’t just from the profound veins, it also came from one’s own lifeline. Just this fact was seemingly incomprehensible for people. It was obviously a form of energy, but it inconceivably had its own life force and it could exist independently, attack freely, and change into many different things. Even if the demon’s freedom had been restricted, his Profound Handle could move for him instead. Through combat with the demon… when he released the Profound Handle, it was undoubtedly equivalent to fighting two enemies at the same time!
In this huge world, there were indeed many mysteries! Ling Yun’s Sword Spirit Doppleganger was already astonishing, but the strength of this Profound Handle was several times more powerful than Sword Spirit Doppleganger!
If he could use this kind of Profound Handle himself, wouldn’t his own battle power achieve a great improvement!?
He probed: “Senior, you say this Profound Handle is an ability the heaven bestowed to only your family… so does that mean it’s your personal profound art that you guys can absolutely not teach others, or is it… your people’s own special innate ability that’s impossible for others to possess through cultivation?”
“Of course it’s the latter!” The demon… who was also named Yun Canghai, had a deep arrogance within his voice as he said: “Illusory Demon Realm has twelve large families protecting it and my Yun family is the strongest! And it’s precisely because of this innate Profound Handle! It doesn’t need any cultivation, and it’s naturally within our clan’s bloodline. When our profound strength breaks through into the Sky Profound Realm, it will immediately awaken.”
As the demon said that, his sealed left hand started to flicker with a cyan radiance: “In the records that the ancestors left behind, it once talked about our noble Yun Family being the descendant of some Primordial True God’s bloodline! And this Profound Handle, is precisely an ability that only a True God could possess!”
As he talked about the Profound Handle, Yun Canghai’s face displayed ample arrogance. Because in legends, this was an ability a True God bestowed onto them, and it was also the strongest reason they stood at the top of the Illusory Demon Realm. He slowly said: “The Profound Handle you see now is cyan, but for different people of my clan, the color of their profound handle is different based on whether or not their innate gifts are powerful enough. From weak to strong, the color of the profound handles are red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, and gold. The strength of the Profound Handle is determined when it awakens and this is an innate gift that will never change throughout your entire life. Within my clan, ninety percent of the clansman have red to yellow profound handles. Ones who awaken with a green profound handle would be a hard to comeby genius. With a green profound handle, one could display forty percent of their own battle power! And ones who awaken with a cyan colored Profound Handle…
Yun Canghai’s arms started to flicker with an arrogant cyan light: “In my family, it could be said that there isn’t one in ten thousand who could achieve it! For it could display fifty power their own battle power! I, for example, with my cyan profound handle, if compared to someone else with the same cultivation, who put in the same effort, consume the same resources, and stepped into the same realm, I would have more than fifty percent of their overall power just because I possess this cyan profound handle… This is the power that my clan’s Profound Handle possesses! Within the same level, the people of my clan could be said to be beyond compare! Even with the lowest level red profound handle, they could easily defeat an opponent of the same level!”
Yun Che’s heart shook… What Yun Canghai said was not wrong. The existence of the profound handle, allowed their total battle power to far surpass and crush others of the same level. This was the power of the Profound Handle; it was simply a golden finger given by god. Facing an opponent with the power of the profound handle, when you were clearly fighting one opponent, you would have to simultaneously deal with two people!
Yun Che’s heart was suddenly overcome with an unrestrainable envy… He possessed all kinds of secret abilities from gods and two divine beast’s blood so he could display battle power that far surpassed profound practitioners of the same level, but if he possesses this kind of divine handle himself, then let alone the same level, he’d reckon that even if the opponent possessed power that surpassed him by an entire realm, he would still be able to easily crush them.
Unfortunately, this was not an ability that could be obtained through cultivation, and existed within a bloodline.
“Then what about a blue profound handle? Is it even more powerful?” Yun Che asked.
“Naturally!” Yun Canghai nodded: “But to be able to awaken the blue profound handle, one had to be a genius among geniuses; it’s hard to find even one in a million. The blue profound handle, could display sixty percent of their original battle power! As far as being able to able to display the seventy percent purple profound handle, that is a mythical existence. In the history of my clan, only one would appear within eight thousand years on average. One who awakens the blue profound handle would naturally be considered the number one expert of the Illusory Demon Realm!”
“Then… what about the gold profound handle?” Yun Che asked.
A deep yearning appeared within the demon’s eyes. His voice lowered as he slowly said: “That’s a legend among legends. It is a divine profound handle that would never appear within my clan. The gold profound handle could display one hundred percent of one’s total power, and it is said that it possesses some special abilities that other profound handles do not have, but this profound handle was something that only the legendary Primordial True God possessed. It could only belong to the True God, and it could never awaken within the people of our clan. Therefore, that’s only just an extremely remote dream, a legend that could never be realized.”
“Oh…” Yun Che consciously nodded. It became completely different after eating, and in addition to Yun Che’s active friendship, the demon talked about all of this stuff with him non-stop. What he explained wasn’t just the power of the Illusionary Demon Realm’s Profound Handle, he also explained their pride in protecting the royal family. Yun Che thought for awhile and suddenly said: “Since you claim you are a human, then why do the people of the Mighty Sword Region call you ‘demon’? Why is the place you came from called the ‘Illusory Demon Realm’?”
“I am obviously human, but our Illusory Demon Realm is different from your Profound Sky Continent!” The demon faintly said: “As far as I know, in your Profound Sky Continent, forty percent are humans and sixty percent are beasts, and the combination of other species would not even account for one. However in my Illusory Demon Realm, thirty percent are humans, demons, and beasts. The ten other percent of the population are fairies. Included among the demons are all different kinds of flora, birds, fish, spirits and beasts. Humans and demons coexisted peacefully and never made any distinctions with each other. Even the discrimination between races were extremely dull. The two races were never scared or jealous of each other. In fact, apart from the Demon Emperor’s clan and newly formed Demon Spirits, it’s practically impossible to find a pure demon or pure human within the Illusory Demon Realm.
“The Illusory Demon Realm is ruled by the Demon Emperor and twelve clans existed for the sake of protecting the Demon Emperor’s noble family. There are six human clans and six demon clans and my Yun Family is the strongest within the twelve guardians. That place has never had any disputes before. Although I am human, I was born in the Illusory Demon Realm and had the honor of protecting the Demon Emperor’s bloodline my entire life. Calling me a demon is not inappropriate.”
In the Profound Sky Continent, “demon” would naturally have a negative connotation, and people who were called this would certainly be extremely uncomfortable. However, Yun Canghai showed no reactions towards being called that; on the contrary, he gave Yun Che a “it’s suppose to be like this” kind of feeling.
Before hearing rumors of “demons”, Yun Che had never heard the name “Illusory Demon Realm” and had never seen any records or legends regarding them. Clearly, that was an existence that one would only find out after reaching a certain level. But today, he vaguely knew what kind of world it was from the demon’s mouth. It seemed to be a neighbor of the Profound Sky Continent, but it was also separated by an immeasurable distance, and the composition of its life forms were also largely different from the Profound Sky Continent’s.
Then… what about the Azure Cloud Continent?
“Senior, I have something to ask you.” Turmoil began to fill the inside of Yun Che’s heart and his voice also contained an unsuppressable longing and nervousness: “Have you heard of… the Azure Cloud Continent?”
Yun Canghai looked at him and his expression made Yun Che’s heart bulge… Then, he heard him slowly say: “The planet that we are on is called ‘Blue Pole Star’. It is ninety seven percent water and three percent land, with three separate landmasses classified as three continents… The first is the Profound Sky Continent that we are on, the second is the Illusory Demon Realm, and the third, is precisely the Azure Cloud Continent that you just mentioned.”
Yun Che’s heart shook, because this was the first time in his life that he heard the name “Azure Cloud Continent” from someone else’s mouth. The demon’s words not only proved the existence of the Azure Cloud Continent, it had confirmed what Jasmine had said, that it existed within the same little world as the Profound Sky Continent. He immediately asked excitedly: “Then, do you know how to get to the Azure Cloud Continent?”
“Between these three continents, there are oceans that are greater than you can imagine separating them. However, relatively speaking, the Profound Sky Continent and the Illusory Demon Realm are very close. The peak level experts of both continents are clear about each other’s positions; therefore, with enough strength, they could traverse the ocean between these two continents. But as for the Azure Cloud Continent, I have only heard of its name. It existed within the ancient records of the Illusory Demon Realm. If the records aren’t wrong, it certainly exists, but I’ve never heard of anyone reaching that continent, and I have heard of even less people who knows where it is… because this world is truly too large. This boundless blue ocean would make anyone who tried to navigate it lose their bearings and exhaust all of their strength until they become a corpse. But what is certain is that its distance from the Illusory Demon Realm and the Profound Sky Continent is extremely far. Perhaps it is located in the most remote place within this little world.”
Yun Che’s excitement had suddenly been extinguished by a lot. This powerful Demon King from the Illusory Demon Realm knew about the existence of the Azure Cloud Continent… but he only knew of it, and even he, did not know where it was located.
“Why did you suddenly ask me about a place that exists only in legends?” Yun Canghai asked with a strange expression.
Yun Che was unable to openly answer and only said: “I have reasons that I must go there for.”
Yun Canghai did not question him anymore and expressionlessly said: “If you have enough power, let alone crossing a little world, you could even travel the vast and endless mysterious space at will. Whether a small world, big world, or a mysterious star world, you can travel back and forth at will… If you truly have that kind of reason, then become stronger. Life belongs to the world, and the world, belongs to the strong!”
Chapter 293 - Rapid Progress
Winter stealthily became spring. Along with the first wisps of warm breeze, another year had quietly passed by.
Spring left and autumn arrived, and dead leaves have dried to become yellow. It had already been a full sixteen months since Yun Che’s “fall”.
Even the brightest of sparkles would grow dim under the flow of time. Although Yun Che’s radiance was a cactus that bloomed only once, the influence it left behind was nevertheless long-lasting. Even though it couldn’t compare to the initial enthusiasm, the name “Yun Che” still echoed often within every corner of the Blue Wind Empire. And to those young profound practitioners without sectoral background, it was a beautiful fantasy. It was as if his existence had become a religion.
Heavenly Sword Villa.
At four in the morning, the sky had just begun to brighten. In the dim illumination, a youth attired in lightweight clothing stepped up onto the Sword Management Terrace. The moment his foot touched the Sword Management Terrace’s first brick, a captivating sword radiance was released as a longsword fell from the sky, landed in his hands, and danced gaily in the breeze.
Ling Jie was now already a seventeen year old youth. There was less of an immaturity on his face and more of a resoluteness. His gaze that was as sharp as a sword had become even more sharper than before, and his profound strength was now at the ninth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, only one step away from the peak of the Spirit Profound Realm. As for his sword intent and sword mind, they were getting closer and closer to perfection.
The Celestial Yang Sword drew chaotic flowing streams of light in his hands. Following the swinging movements of his arms, air currents that covered a large amount of space in his surroundings grew disordered. A notable change had also appeared in the trajectory of the flying swords above the Sword Management Terrace. It was publicly acknowledged that his innate talent surpassed Ling Yun’s. At the same time, he was even more hardworking that Ling Yun. After the ranking tournament, he had never left Heavenly Sword Villa. He started his everyday practicing the sword, and ended his everyday practicing the sword, and step by step, came closer to Ling Yun.
By comparison, in this period of time, ever since he was trapped by his inner demons, his progress was very slight.
As for his inner demons, a large half of that came from Xia Qingyue and a small half of that came from Yun Che.
In the midst of the whistling sword energy, the sky above the Sword Management Terrace grew brighter and brighter, until finally, the first rays of sunlight shot came from the east. It was also at this time that the Celestial Yang Sword became a streak of burning light that broke through the sky, conjuring up a vacuum of more than thirty meters wide. Then, it rapidly flew down, falling into his scabbard.
“Whoosh!”
Ling Jie let out a long breath of air as he sat down onto the ground. He wiped away the sweat that filled his forehead, and as he looked at the Heaven’s Punishment Sword that shot straight into the sky, he immediately went into a daze. After a long while, he expelled a mouthful of turbid energy and casually spoke to himself: “Boss, for you to become that powerful when you weren’t a part of any sect, you must have worked unimaginably hard. I heard that before the ranking tournament, you were even in the extremely dangerous Wasteland of Death, and stayed there for a full half year… Sigh, after the ranking tournament, I originally wanted to secretly look for you. Even if you were being chased by the Burning Heaven Clan, I was willing to escape with you. That kind of experience would’ve definitely been really awesome, thrilling, and exciting. It could’ve even allowed me to truly grow up. I didn’t expect that right after I acknowledged you as my boss, I didn’t even have an opportunity to learn anything from you… Sigh! The gods are truly unfair.”
Ling Jie turned his head around and said in a low voice while looking west towards Blue Wind Imperial City: “I wonder how Princess Sis is doing now…”
Blue Wind Imperial City, Moon Embracing Palace.
“Princess, word has been transmitted from Burning Heaven Clan’s side. Young Clan Master Fen Juecheng has already set a date for Your Highness’s engagement. In seven days at three quarters past eight in the morning, Young Clan Master Fen Juecheng shall come to the Moon Embracing Palace to escort the princess to the wedding ceremony. The third prince has already told people to begin the preparations.”
Cang Yue motionlessly stood next to the lotus pond in the courtyard, and her beautiful eyes continued to stare at the withering lotus petals. At her side, a palace maid respectfully reported to her in a deferential manner.
After the palace maid finished speaking, Cang Yue’s expression was still a field of calm. She nodded, and said faintly: “Alright, you may go now… Wait! The wedding date’s decision, does my royal father know of this yet?”
“Reporting to Princess, the Emperor has not awakened yet, so he has not been informed yet.”
“Don’t disturb my royal father, let him rest well. Tell me about it after he wakes up.” Cang Yue said in a soft voice.
“Yes, this servant shall withdraw now.”
After the palace maid left, a cheerful laughter sounded: “Hahahaha! My royal sister, congratulations, congratulations!”
Cang Yue turned around and faintly smiled at Third Prince Cang Shuo, who was walking forward in a sloppy manner: “It seems as if you’re even happier than I am about the wedding between me and Fen Juecheng.”
“That’s only natural!” Cang Shuo beamed while smiling: “Juecheng is completely worthy of being called a dragon amongst humans. Within the Blue Wind Empire, there are few that could compare to him. With your beauty that could overturn nations and exquisite body, you two could even be said to be a perfect match made by the heavens. Juecheng is my dear friend, and you are my only sister. I would naturally be really happy about a union between you two, hahahaha.”
Cang Yue’s petal lips gently raised as she said with a slight smile: “Since you’re this happy about it, then I’ll let you handle the wedding matters here, I’d assume that elder brother would be thrilled to do so.”
Since returning from Heavenly Sword Villa, there was an enormous change in Cang Yue’s personality, and everyone around her could distinctly feel this change. Yun Che’s death didn’t seem to have given her any psychological blows. After she returned to the palace, a large majority of her time was spent accompanying Cang Wanhe. As for how she acted, it was as if she had been switched with another person. No more did she retreat, escape, or try to compromise. In fact, she had become incomparably hard and decisive. She used Cang Wanhe’s name to forcibly gather a majority of the neutral parties against Cang Lin and Cang Shuo’s stirring movements. Even though she herself could not stop Cang Lin and Cang Shuo’s struggle and the ambitions of the Xiao Sect and Burning Heaven Clan, she had at least obstructed a large extent of the fighting within the Imperial Family. This, was already an extremely amazing outcome.
During this more than just a year, Cang Yue’s character had become even more hard and unyielding. In fact, her gaze would sometimes bring about a cold light that caused one’s heart to palpitate.
“Of course I have no objections!” Cang Shuo immediately replied.
“Since that’s the face, then I’ll be troubling elder brother with everything… In addition, I’d like to ask elder brother to remind Fen Juecheng a few more times that the ‘Burning Soul Flower’ has to be within the betrothal gifts he brings on the day he comes to the imperial palace. Tell him that if I don’t see the Burning Soul Flower, he should not even think about me following him back to the Burning Heaven Clan.” Cang Yue’s delicate brows focused as she spoke with resolute determination.
“You do not have to worry at all about this point. With the devotion Juecheng has for you, forget about a mere Burning Soul Flower, even if it’s all the stars in the sky, he would gladly give it to you without hesitation.” Cang Shuo said that as he gently chuckled. It seemed as if his mood was rather good today.
“I hope everything is as you have said. I am about to go see father, if you are interested in this Moon Embracing Palace, you may stay around as long as you like.”
After Cang Yue finished speaking, she didn’t bother to pay attention to Cang Shuo anymore, and directly walked out.
After stepping out of the Moon Embracing Palace, Cang Yue’s footsteps slowed. She raised her head towards the sky with her hands covering her chest. The hard sharpness in her gaze immediately faded away to become as misty as fog. She lightly muttered to herself: “Junior Brother Yun, I am so sorry, to have let you be all alone by yourself for such a long time… Wait a few days for me, okay… after another seven days, I can go and accompany you…”
——————————————————
Under Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace, an intense battle was already approaching its conclusion.
Boom! Bang! Ding! Clang! Slash…
The sound of collisions, explosions, and slashes… Under this sealed space, each and every sound was deafening.
The swings of Yun Che’s heavy sword were wide, and each rotation would conjure up an shocking profound energy storm. The sharpness of the ever changing cyan profound handle was incomparably endless, and the intensity of its attacks was no less inferior to that of Yun Che’s heavy sword. After more than a thousand collisions, Yun Che’s entire body had already been covered in injuries. But every time they fought, he became even more courageous, as if he was a fierce beast that had been excited.
Yun Canghai had been watching Yun Che and the Profound Handle’s battle from the start. He unceasingly nodded with a gaze filled with amazement.
In these sixteen months of being in here, Yun Che’s cultivation of profound strength had made rapid progress.
At the moment, his profound strength had already reached the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm!
At that time, Ling Yun took two years to break through the Earth Profound Realm’s first level to the third. And this progress, had never been surpassed by anyone of the same age, aside from Xia Qingyue.
And Yun Che had only used not even a year to go from the first level of the Earth Profound Realm to the third!
If Ling Yun were to know of this, perhaps he would be so ashamed that he might even suicide on the spot.
In terms of cultivation rate, Yun Che had fully surpassed Ling Yun by even more than ten times!
Of course, the fundamental reason behind this growth was still the Flame Dragon’s blood and flesh. To the profound practitioners within Blue Wind Empire, even if it were profound practitioners at the highest peak, an Emperor Profound Dragon’s flesh was an heavenly grade treasure. Obtaining even a little piece of it would be extremely difficult. But for Yun Che, he had treated it like a normal meal!
And he had eaten it for over a year.
What Yun Che improved during this time was not just his profound strength. After knowing about Yun Canghai’s Profound Handle, Yun Che had spent at least twelve hours every day battling with the Profound Handle. His actual combat strength had also crazily soared during his close quarter combat.
Yun Che had lived two lives, so his combat experience was already naturally plentiful, but no matter how plentiful it was, it was impossible for it to compare with Yun Canghai, who had lived for for several hundred years. Even though Yun Canghai was probably no match for Jasmine, just based experience alone, Jasmine simply could not compare to Yun Canghai. The few instructions he gave to Yun Che had all allowed him to benefit greatly from them.
When Yun Che and the Profound Handle had first fought, Yun Canghai still defeated Yun Che even when he suppressed its power into one portion. But in not even a month’s worth of time, Yun Che had already tied with that portion of the profound handle’s power. As a result, he increased the profound handle’s strength by a second portion, then a third portion…. fourth… fifth… and now, Yun Che was currently facing up against his sixty percent of his profound handle’s power!
Sixty percent of his profound handle’s power was comparable to the strength of a late stage Sky Profound Realm!
And now, it had already been fought into a tie again by Yun Che. After several thousands of exchanges, he had still not yet defeated yet.
“Haa!!”
After a loud roar, Yun Che soared into the sky, and transformed into four silhouettes that looked exactly the same… That’s right! Four of them! Under the countless battles, his Star God’s Broken Shadow that had been used a countless number of times had also advanced into its third stage, where it could materialize three mirages!
Forget about human perception and sight, the mirages that Star God’s Broken Shadow materializes could even confuse the Profound Handle into not knowing which was the true image. It was exactly this delayed response that gave Yun Che an opening to narrow his eyes and open Evil God Art’s third realm, “Purgatory”.
Two streaks of scarlet colored brilliance covered Yun Che’s eyes. The profound energy aura on his body had also become incomparably berserk… During the ranking tournament, when he forcibly opened Purgatory, even though it was only a short instant, he still had almost lost half his life, and was unconsciousness for a good few days. With his current state now, forcibly opening Purgatory would naturally not have such a dire side effect anymore. However, it still felt extremely unpleasant, and if it were to only be activated for a few breaths of time, he could still manage to support that.
“Sky Wolf Slash!”
The azure wolf howled as its terrifying power completely enveloped the profound handle, blocking off all of its potential movements. Then, an enormous silhouette of a wolf emerged upon Dragon Fault’s long range assault, and ruthlessly struck the profound handle. The attack completely morphed it… and in the short period of a second, as if it was a dead leaf whipped up by a hurricane, the profound handle flew away, changed into a streak of cyan light, and flew into Yun Canghai’s arm.
Crash!!
Dragon Fault fell to the ground and Yun Che’s entire being had also met the ground. He heavily panted as sweat poured down all over his body. The long fierce battle had exhausted nearly all of his strength. Added with huge burden after his opening of “Purgatory”, he could only spare enough energy to pant heavily, and couldn’t even move a single little toe.
“This little monster’s future accomplishments are simply unimaginable!” Yun Canghai lowly uttered. His profound handle that held back at sixty percent of its strength, had actually been defeated by him this quickly!
Back then, when Yun Che had said that he would kill him within two years, he still thought that it was really funny. But now… his words from before were not excessive in the slightest!
Chapter 294 - What is that in your hand!
Only after Yun Che rested for a long while, did he finally recover his strength. He sat up from the ground and patted his chest with a face full of satisfaction. Defeating the profound handle that held back at sixty percent of its strength, was unquestionably another enormous breakthrough.
“HAHAHAHA…” The demon looked at him, and suddenly wildly laughed out loud.
“What are you laughing at?” Yun Che asked.
“I’m laughing at myself for doing what could be considered the most laughable and contradictory thing in this world.” The demon said as he howled with laughter: “The me who was more dead than alive, yet was still unwilling to die for a hundred years, is actually teaching a junior to kill me quicker. If it were someone else doing this, I would definitely believe that he is a madman. And it just so happens, that I am actually such a madman. Moreover, I actually can’t feel any regrets doing so; seeing you breaking through day by day, I actually felt gratified… HAHAHAHA! Could it be that I really have gone crazy?”
“No, you aren’t crazy, of course you aren’t crazy.” Yun Che faintly smiled: “I can understand why you would do this. Because you aren’t a bad person, and neither am I. You and I both, more so, aren’t like those despicable people whom we both hate. We suffer from the same fate… and most importantly, I am someone worthy of your entrustment.”
Yun Che’s last sentence, made Yun Canghai’s hearty laugh suddenly stop.
Yun Che calmly spoke: “Even though I am respecting you more and more, and am feeling increasingly grateful to you, I will unquestionably kill you the day I obtain the ability to do so. Because that would grant me freedom, and also liberate you… At the same time, the matter you wished to entrust me with, I’ll definitely use all my power to finish the task as well!”
Yun Canghai’s entire body shook, and his gaze that looked at Yun Che started to slightly tremble. He slowly nodded, and said with a slightly shuddering voice: “Good! Good! This word of yours, was what I waited, and always wished for! I believe, that if you willingly spoke those words, then you’ll definitely achieve them! Good… Good!!”
Yun Che spoke in a firm tone: “Even though you and I had not gone through the ritual of master and disciple, during this period of time, you are already half of a master to me. Even if it’s to fulfill my filial duty as disciple, I’ll still definitely complete your entrustment.”
“Haha… Hahahaha…” Yun Canghai started laughing once again; his laughter was filled with exhilaration and gratification: “The Heavens… have finally given me a little pity, to have sent you to me. I have been suppressed here for a hundred years, and was more dead than alive since long ago. With the Heaven’s Punishment Sword’s suppression and the Heaven’s Might Soul Sealing Formation’s Seal, added to the fact that this is the Profound Sky Continent, I’ve actually already accepted my fate, that it was simply impossible for the day of my escape to come. Living, would instead become a concern and burden for my clan’s people. The Mighty Heavenly Sword Region keeping me, is also just to use my life as a bargaining chip at the right time… However, I still have something important on me, something critically important to the entire Illusory Demon Realm. So I can’t die… I can’t die no matter what. Now, I finally found someone I can entrust it to… And finally, I can go accompany his royal highness.”
As Yun Canghai spoke, his eyes were already vaguely tearful.
“Something extremely important to the Illusory Demon Realm? You want me to give it to Illusory Demon Realm?” Yun Che spoke in astonishment. His gaze swept through the demon’s entire body, as he felt surprised in his mind… The demon only had a piece of tattered clothing, and there simply wasn’t anywhere to store things. Even if he was strong to the extent of being able to open up space himself, the things inside would definitely be forcefully seized by Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s people. For such an important object, there was no way that people of the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region would let it remain on him… But from what he said, that object was still on him. If so, then just where did he hide it?
“Not yet!” The demon shook his head: “You are still too weak. Only till the day you are strong enough to kill the current me, will I pass it to you! So, if you want to obtain freedom after killing me, then do not slack off! Even though your progress is extremely fast, you are still too weak, and don’t have the power to head to the Illusory Demon Realm at all.”
“I know.” Yun Che nodded. Then, he held up a huge chunk of dragon flesh, cut it in half, and started roasting it in his hand: “Speaking of which, Senior, just how did you fall into the hands of Mighty Heavenly Sword Region? From what I heard, you seemed to have been… plotted against?”
The demon’s eyes narrowed as an incomparable hatred flashed past his eyes. He made a sneer, and spoke: “My understanding toward your Profound Sky Continent’s Four Great Sacred Grounds, is far greater than your lot. From my knowledge, these so-called Four Great Sacred Grounds, had always publicly declared their mission of protecting the Profound Sky Continent to the outside. Under this seemingly incomparably noble mission’s halo, they were called ‘Sacred Grounds’, and gathered beings of the strongest plane within the entire Profound Sky Continent. And the enemies they ‘protected’ against… is our Illusory Demon Realm!”
“HAHAHAHA! What an enormous joke. In terms of size, the Illusory Demon Realm surpasses the Profound Sky Continent. In terms of resources, Illusory Demon Realm wins even further! Even though the Illusory Demon Realm discovered the Profound Sky Continent long long ago, we never had any wild ambition, and never had any reason to give birth to such ambition either. It was instead those despicable fellows who carried the name of “Sacred Ground Guardians” to put us Illusory Demon Realmers as villains who desired to swallow the Profound Sky Continent, and then conducted themselves in the way of bandits! In order to obtain our Illusory Demon Realm’s greatest treasure, they stopped at no expense and invaded my Illusory Demon Realm. The Demon Emperor went missing afterwards, and even though I didn’t want to admit it, it was highly likely that the Demon Emperor had already encountered their malicious wrath. To search for the Demon Emperor, I single-handedly went toward the Profound Sky Continent, yet I carelessly stepped into Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation set by the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region and was heavily wounded by Sword Master Xuanyuan Wentian, and sunk to this place… My Illusory Demon Realm’s grudge and hatred with the Four Great Sacred Grounds, is already to the extent of unwilling to exist under the same sky!”
Yun Che silently listened, and spoke: “I am someone of the Profound Sky Continent after all; your words, I cannot completely trust. Moreover, in the Profound Sky Continent, the Four Great Sacred Grounds had always been holy existences, like fairy tales. Their strength is unbeatable, and their prestige was not allowed to be tainted. Even if these words of yours were to be told to the entire Profound Sky Continent, there would almost be no one who’d believe you. After all, many people have the ingrained belief that the Profound Sky Continent was only peaceful because there is the protection of the Four Great Sacred Grounds. There are also no notorious rumors of the Four Great Sacred Grounds oppressing the weak and such…”
As he spoke till here, Yun Che suddenly recalled that those so-called upright and honest clans with excellent reputation and fame in the Azure Cloud Continent had hounded his Master to death for the Sky Poison Pearl. He deeply sucked in a breath, and continued: “But I don’t completely doubt your words either. After all, I am not familiar with the Illusory Demon Realm that you belong to, and I am even more so unfamiliar with the Four Great Sacred Grounds. How the real situation is, I’ll see it with my own eyes the day I become strong enough to touch the Four Great Sacred Grounds and Illusory Demon Realm.”
“Nice! Well said!” Yun Canghai nodded with admiration: “What you said, really doesn’t seem like words from a young man who has yet to reach twenty. Then, aren’t you afraid that because of my affairs, that you’ll be swept into the resentment between the Four Great Sacred Grounds and the Illusory Demon Realm? That is an even bigger vortex so huge that you can’t even imagine.”
“Of course I’m afraid!” Yun Che said honestly: “At least to the me right now, whether it is the Four Great Sacred Grounds or the Illusory Demon Realm, they all are behemoths that I can only look from afar; the top most of the food chain in this world we belong in. But dread, does not mean I would breach my word and faith. Since you have already decided to grant my freedom with your life, then no matter what, I would still finish your entrustment. It’s just that the time in which it’ll take may take somewhat longer.”
“HAHAHAHA!” Yun Canghai howled with laughter: “It’s actually the first time I’ve ever heard someone speak the word ‘afraid’ so resonantly and heroically. If you had straightly spoken that you are not afraid, even though I would be more grateful, I would also be a little disappointed. Because if you were to not know fear, then you would overestimate yourself, underestimate your enemies, and perhaps meet your downfall very early someday. But with these words of yours, I am even more at ease now.”
Yun Che smiled, and passed the already roasted dragon meat into Yun Canghai’s hands. The two of them, one standing one sitting, started gobbling down at the same time. The dragon meat’s deliciousness, became their only enjoyment in this dark and gray space.
The two of them filled their stomachs up at the same time. Yun Che sat on the ground, closed his eyes and recovered his profound energy. Next, he’ll be trying to challenge the profound handle of seventy percent strength.
Yun Canghai also closed his eyes, and low mutters came from his mouth non-stop…
“It’s been a hundred years, and no news of his Royal Highness have been heard… Is he really already dead…”
“If it’s the Sun Moon Divine Hall’s Heavenly Monarch Ye Meixie and Mighty Heavenly Sword Region’s Sword Master Xuanyuan Wentian together, then they indeed have the ability to kill his Royal Highness… No… Impossible.. I do not believe….”
“The Prince ought to have finished his wedding… That person from Mighty Heavenly Region said that the Prince had already succeeded as the Little Demon Emperor… then impulsively rushed in the Four Great Sacred Grounds to kill on the succession day… and also died…”
“Illusory Demon Realm… the one dictating the whole picture is Little Demon Empress…”
“Little Demon Empress… Could it be.. her… Perhaps it’s her… The Crown Prince did not fear heaven and earth, and only feared her. The Crown Prince ascended the throne with her as Empress… Even though she is a woman, she does indeed have the ability to dictate… sigh…”
Yun Che ears were full of Yun Canghai’s mutters to himself, but he did not have much of a reaction. Because these words, Yun Canghai would recite them many times every day, to the point that his ears grew calluses when hearing them a long time ago. Every single moment he was here, he had always thought about the Illusory Demon Realm. His loyalty toward the Illusory Demon Royal Family, could even be testified by the heaven and earth itself. Yun Che could also tell, that he and the Demon Emperor were half as king and subject, and half as brothers.
Quickly recovering profound strength, Yun Che’s breath and mind had also completely calmed down. He opened his eyes, watched the pitch-black darkness ahead of him as dreamily figures emerged in his mind one after another… Amongst those he cared about, he wasn’t worried about Xia Qingyue and Chu Yuechan, since with their strength it could be said that no one in the Blue Wind Empire could hurt them. But he could not help but worry about Cang Yue and Xia Yuanba… They must all think that he was already dead. The Imperial Family was under unrest, he could not imagine how Cang Yue should hide and protect herself. Yet at this most important and helpless moment that she needed him the most, he, who had promised her, could not accompany her by her side.
Xia Yuanba would definitely deeply fall into self-blame. He could only hope for him to walk out from this kind of self-blame, and then truly grow up.
Grandfather and Little Aunt as well… From the promise of three years he had made before, there was only one month left.
Being trapped here, there was no way that he would have the power to kill Yun Canghai within a month. The promise he had made when he first left, was already destined to be impossible to fulfill.
Yun Canghai was very pitiful. Being suppressed for a hundred years while in despair for a hundred years, he suffered all the misery there was. But at least he has had several hundred years of glory, had the past of looking down at the Illusory Demon Realm together with the Demon Emperor, had his own enormous family, had his own family members. Even if they couldn’t meet in a hundred years, he could still think of his dearest family, and there were also family that thought of him… Yet Yun Che, till this day, still didn’t even know who his birth parents were.
“Haah…” Yun Che silently sighed, and subconsciously touched toward his neck with his hand, wanting to touch the only thing left to him by his birth parents. Only after the moment his finger touched his skin, did he finally remember that he had put it away in the Sky Poison Pearl after coming back from the Azure Cloud Continent and realizing it was extremely likely to be the Mirror of Samsara.
Yun Che took out that petite necklace from the Sky Poison Pearl, put it on his hand and silently stared at it… Fantasizing about just what kind of people his birth parents were, and if they were still alive and healthy in this world.
Yun Canghai was also in a half-absentminded condition within his mutters. As he lifted his head, his gaze inadvertently fell onto the copper colored pendant in Yun Che’s hands… Instantly, it was as if he had been struck by a profound thunderbolt from the nine heavens. His entire body abruptly shook as both eyes fixedly stared wide open in an instant. Released from his mouth was a shout that was as intense as a beast’s roar…
“What is that in your hand… What is that in your hand!!!!”
Chapter 295 - Blood Relative (1)
Yun Canghai’s sudden roar scared Yun Che and caused him to jump. He immediately turned around, and surprisingly saw Yun Canghai’s whole face distort, his eyes were so excited that a frightening layer of crimson red covered it. His right hand clawed forward and his whole body desperately struggled, which brought about rushing sounds on the chain.
This exaggerated reaction caused Yun Che to suddenly ask: “You’ve seen this thing before?”
As he spoke, he hurriedly held up the pendent before Yun Canghai’s eyes. Then, he opened up the pendant, exposing the extremely ordinary small mirror within the pendant.
Yun Canghai’s eyes focused extremely hard on that mirror. Both eyeballs trembled, as if they were going to fall out from his eye sockets. After a brief moment of silence, his struggling body became more severe, as he fiercely roared: “Where did you get this thing!! Why would it be with you… speak! Why is it with you! Speak!!”
Yun Canghai’s reaction completely showed that he knew what the thing in his hand was. Not only did he recognize it, it seemed extremely important to him. His heart was excited due to this, and he took a step back, hung it around his neck, and used the calmest voice he could muster to answer: “When I was born, it was already with me. It was the only thing my birth parents, whom I’ve never seen, left for me… Since you recognize it, can you tell me what it actually is? Who is the original owner of this item? The two who put it on me… are most likely to be my birth parents!”
The air instantly coagulated.
The two were both excited, as both stared at the other with wide eyes… Yun Che longed for his answer. This pendant was the one and only hope of knowing his past, and was the key to finding his parents. Today, he finally found someone who recognized it, and in front of him, Yun Canghai’s gaze went from intense to dull… more and more dull…
“This is… what your parents… left for you?” He looked at Yun Che and asked with a slow, hoarse voice that had difficulty speaking.
“Yes!” Yun Che nodded, lifting up the pendant. Breathing in deeply, he said: “Not long after I was born, my parents were being hunted down, and an intimate friend of my birth parents, who was my adoptive father, secretly swapped his son with me to protect my life… After my parents left, there were no more messages, and the only thing they left with me was this pendant! Since I was young, I wore it with me, because it is the only proof that I have to find my parents! Since you recognize it, then, do you know who left it with me… Who my biological parents are?”
Yun Che, who urgently desired to know the answer said as much as he could possibly know. His eyes open wide open expectantly, waiting for the news he wanted from Yun Canghai’s mouth. As he narrated what he knew, the expression in Yun Canghai’s eyes trembled more and more violently. So much that… more and more tears flashed around.
Yun Canghai’s extended right hand was stiff in the air and he spasmed for a while without putting his hands down. Or maybe… under the extreme excitement, he forgot how to control his own body. He stared at Yun Che, not blinking for the whole while. After Yun Che finished speaking, his lips were agape, but he didn’t make a noise. It wasn’t until a long time later that his trembling voice said incomprehensibly: “Child… you… you… this year… how… how old are you?”
“Nineteen.” Yun Che replied. He just had his birthday this time last month. He was exiled from his family at sixteen, and it had nearly been three years since he’d been forced away from Grandfather and Little Aunt.
“Nineteen… Nineteen… Nineteen…” Yun Canghai murmured, and each time, the expression in his eyes became more and more uncertain. His stiff arm in the air moved, and his fingers becoming a relatively soft posture: “You… come here… show me your left hand… don’t be scared, I won’t hurt you, and won’t snatch your stuff… show me your left hand…”
Yun Canghai’s expression became incomparably strange, surprising Yun Che for a bit. But from Yun Canghai’s gaze, he could not find any malice or chill. He only hesitated for a moment, then took two steps forward and extended his left hand.
Yun Canghai extended his hands and grabbed Yun Che’s wrist. Suddenly, Yun Che felt a bizarre and gentle hint of power come upwards from his wrist, which quickly wrapped around his whole left arm. He was just about to ask about it, when he suddenly saw a little finger sized, bright white sword shaped marking slowly appear atop the back of his left hand.
“What is… this?” Seeing this imprint suddenly appear from his body, Yun Che asked with astonishment.
And in the moment Yun Canghai saw the marking, he suddenly teared up. He looked at Yun Che through his misty eyes filled with tears… that was a gaze that Yun Che could not understand. The “om” sound he let out from his lips… was a type of weeping tone caused by his emotions that had gotten out of control: “This is my Yun Family’s… mark of an unawakened Profound Handle! It… It proves that you are a descendant of my Yun Family… my… Yun Canghai’s… biological grandson!!”
The last few words thundered and exploded next to Yun Che’s ears, and caused his heart to be shocked: “Wh… wh… what did you say?”
“That white Profound Handle imprint is the Yun Family bloodline’s proof… The thing you wore since you were young is our Yun Family’s treasure that we protect for the Demon Emperor’s Family! I normally wear it on me, and it had never left my body. When we left for Profound Sky Continent to find the Demon Emperor, I entrusted it to my son… and my son entrusted it to you… You are the son of my son… I am your… biological grandfather!”
Yun Che’s mouth opened, eyes went wide open, and this message from the sky stunned him. He wobbled and took two steps back, then soullessly shook his head: “Impossible… impossible… how can you be my grandfather… how can there be such a coincidence… impossible… impossible…”
The “impossible” was said unconsciously under his muddled condition. After he knew Xiao Lie wasn’t his biological grandfather, the words “Blood Relative” became an incomparably distant and ethereal notion. The pendant that had always hung around his neck became the only link between him and his blood relatives.
And now, under an completely unguarded state, Yun Canghai, who brought him into this abyss, who coexisted with him for over a year, who became someone who he had to kill… suddenly told him that he was his family, and even his biological grandfather. His brain subconsciously could not accept this, causing him to fall into a chaotic state of mind, nearly completely losing the ability to think.
“Yes… in this world there unexpectedly can be this type of coincidence…” Yun Canghai’s face was filled with tears as his excited voice became completely indistinct: “Your Profound Handle marking and the pendant on your body is indisputable proof… Do you remember the day I brought you down here, the junior from Mighty Heavenly Sword Region once said, that twenty years ago, in order to find me, my son and his wife intruded into the Profound Sky Continent, and eventually found somewhere close to this place… Afterwards, they were hunted and chased by Mighty Heavenly Sword Region… time, experience, area… coincides completely! You are the descendant my son, within those two to three years in Profound Sky Continent…. left behind!”
Yun Che: “!!!!”
“If… you really do not believe, then we can use the blood paternity test to prove familial relationships… that is the most direct, impossible to falsify and question, way of proof!
Yun Canghai said excitedly. At the same time, turned over his right hand, and drops of fresh blood fell from the tip of his index finger.
The blood paternity test was the most authoritative way to prove family relations. Two drops of blood mixed together, with the most basic profound energy. If it was a lineal blood relative, it would fuse even more completely, and if it wasn’t a lineal blood relative, it would instantly separate… there was no exception!
What Ling Kun said that day was obviously heard loud and clear by Yun Che. Thinking back at this moment, the timing did surprisingly coincide.
Don’t tell me…
Don’t tell me…
Don’t tell me it’s really…
Seeing Yun Canghai’s blood drop that had dripped from his fingertips, Yun Che was so nervous that he nearly suffocated. He clenched his jaw tightly, allowing his mind to be as calm as possible. He didn’t speak, took a step forward and extended his finger, profound strength surged and broke through his fingertip. A drop of blood slowly agglomerated and drew downwards, then touched Yun Canghai’s drop of blood.
Yun Che squatted while holding his breath. He extended his palm towards the two drops of blood that were touching… His palm moved ever so slowly, the distance that should have been crossed in an instant, but he felt as if a whole century had passed by. Finally, a strand of the most basic profound energy was released from his palm, enveloping downwards…
The two drops of blood vibrated at the same time, then practically, instantly… fully and completely, merged together…
Yun Che’s brain felt a wave of dizziness…
Yun Canghai’s body trembled as an endless grief and happiness swarmed within his heart, causing him to not know whether to cry or to indulge in laughter. He waved his only movable arm, and shouted with a hoarse voice that even he could not hear clearly: “Ahhh… My grandson… you are my grandson… my biological grandson… biological grandson….”
The two completely merged drops of blood were deeply branded within Yun Che’s eyes and soul. He raised his head,looked at Yun Canghai, and absentmindedly whispered: “You really are.. my… grandfather… my… grandfather…”
“Yes… Yes I am!!” Yun Canghai extended his head towards the sky, not knowing whether to cry or laugh, and howled: “The heavens are not unkind to me, not only did they let me have a grandson, they sent him to my side, and he’s even so outstanding… The only young person I have admired in my life, is actually my biological grandson… haha… hahahaha! The heavens are not unkind to me, the heavens really are not unkind to me!!”
Chapter 296 - Blood Relative (2)
“You really are… my… grandfather?”
Even with all the proof clearly laid out in front of him, those merged drops of blood, an indisputable, irrefutable evidence, he gave off a questioning sound. It wasn’t that he did not believe it, but the blow from such a shocking truth caused his brain, which was in chaos, to find it difficult to accept.
“Child… my child…” Yun Canghai said with a face full of tears: “I really did not think that I actually had a grandson since nineteen years ago… You inherited our Yun Family’s bloodline, yet suffered from such miserable hardships… Since birth, you were separated from your parents and haven’t seen them since. Grandfather never gave you a hint of care, and the first day I met you, I nearly killed you… I really am the most incompetent, the most shameful grandfather in this world… The heavens saw this wretchedness and has allowed us to reunite as grandfather and grandson in this lifetime. These hundred years, I was constantly scolding the heavens, but now… in my life, I’ve never been as grateful to the Gods as I am today…”
“You really are… my grandfather?” Yun Che was still murmuring soullessly.
“I know I don’t have the qualifications to be your grandfather. I never gave you even a bit of care and brought you into this disastrous place. However much you hate me, blame me, it is completely deserved…” Yun Canghai, this powerful Demon King whose might shocked the Illusory Demon Realm and the Four Great Sacred Grounds, was tearing up with each word at this moment. Perhaps all the tears he had let out in his couple hundred years when added up, would not be as numerous as today.
Yun Che stood up a little, looked at the ragged old man who had dirty and messy white hair, and a wet bony face full of tears. His nose was suddenly swarmed with a heavy wave of sorrow and grief… family! In front of his eyes was his family, his grandfather, the most beloved family… his first true family member in his two lives!
“Grand… father…”
The incomparable familiarity of the word that he had said countless of times in this world, was extremely choppy when cried out at this instant… it was difficult… yet involuntarily left his mouth… Because in Yun Canghai’s eyes, he saw exactly the same content in Grandfather Xiao Lie’s eyes. That type of love and affection deep in their blood that would not hesitate to give their whole world to him…
Yun Canghai’s whole body was stiff, his whole body felt as if he was floating inside the clouds… He and Yun Che lived together for sixteen months, enough for him to have the most basic understanding of Yun Che. His amazing talent and potential was impossible to estimate. His perseverance also caused him to be deeply aghast. His temperament was arrogant, and he would at times, show insolence. His dignity and honor were not allowed to be touched. Yun Canghai simply did not have any extravagant hopes that he would be called “grandfather” from such a person, because Yun Canghai only felt guilt, and thought that he owed him too much. But he never thought that he would address him the way a blood relative would from this close of a distance.
The happiness and fulfillment in that moment, allowed him to feel that even if he were to instantly perish now, he would be a million times willing.
“You’re willing to recognize me… you don’t… blame me?” Yun Canghai asked with a trembling voice.
Yun Che shook his head extremely slowly and said: “You are my grandfather. Without you, how would I be in this world… You are my grandfather, so how could I blame you… finally… I finally found my family… grandfather, these years, you’ve suffered…”
Yun Che walked forward after the words died down and hugged Yun Canghai fiercely. He hugged the first family member he had found… they had no relationship of fostering between them, and even had past resentment and hostility, but this was not important anymore. He would not be cold and too prideful to reject this familial love. He would not blame his grandfather for not fulfilling even a day of a grandfather’s responsibility… They were family, they had the same blood flowing within their bodies. This single fact, was enough.
After separating with Xiao Lie and Little Aunt, his heart was broken. In his two lives, he completely understood that familial love was something worth everything, was something that was worth using his whole life to protect and cherish.
“Good child… my good child!” Tightly hugging the grandson that the heavens sent him, Yun Canghai’s mood had finally completely collapsed. Not caring about his image, he started to cry loudly…
“Your father is named Yun Qinghong. Even though I am already a few hundred years old, I only have one son which is your father. His talents are not too bad, and he had awakened the same cyan profound handle I have. Your mother is named Mu Yurou and is also from a Guardian Family of the Demon Emperor, and is the daughter of the Mu Family’s leader. The Twelve Guardian Families exist to protect the Demon Emperor and there are no estrangements between them. The relationship between our Yun Family and Mu Family have always been the best, and your father and mother were childhood friends who grew up together. A hundred years ago, when I left the Illusory Demon Realm alone, they had just gotten married.”
“Sigh, these hundred years, they must have been extremely worried. The reason they would bear such a huge risk to come to the Profound Sky Continent was probably due to them hearing from somewhere that I haven’t died… I just did not think that during the time they were in Profound Sky Continent to search for me, they would actually have you… Perhaps even they had not expected you.”
Grandfather and grandson stood across each other, and after calming down, they mutually told each other about their own experiences and stories.
“The only thing I don’t know, is how they are doing right now. The person called Lin Kun said that they escaped from Profound Sky Continent, but the long period of time in escaping with heavy wounds had nearly extinguished their life force… Sigh!” Yun Canghai sighed deeply with a face filled with worry and a sense of loss… as well as a hidden deep hatred.
Yun Che did not speak.
Until now, he still had not yet recovered from the truth about his birth.
He was actually not someone from the Profound Sky Continent.
His homeland, was actually another world where demons ruled the world.
Even though his soul was sufficiently strong, in such a short period of time it was difficult to completely accept the truth.
“Even though your father didn’t find me, not only did he have you in the Profound Sky Continent, he had actually made a true friend. That could be said to be an enormous accomplishment.” In order to protect a friend’s son, he exchanged his own son into a situation of inevitable death. Towards the person who fostered Yun Che, Yun Canghai was deeply grateful and asked: “Your foster father and foster mother, are they still healthy?”
Yun Che shook his head, closed his eyes and said: “Foster father Uncle Xiao was hunted and asked about where my parents were by a mysterious person after a short period of time. Then, he was murdered by the mysterious person. Foster mother died soon after due to grief… After Grandmother gave birth to Little Aunt, due to missing her son, she fell ill and eventually died. I still haven’t clearly seen what they looked like… it was grandfather who took care of me and protected me when I grew up. He treated me as if I was his own grandson, because I withstood countless grievances and ridicule silently…”
Yun Canghai violently moved, and then said with a heavy voice: “Che’er, we can never forget this huge kindness! Your Grandfather Xiao Lie, you must treat and respect him as if he is your biological grandfather… And you must get revenge for this great hatred!”
Yun Che slowly nodded and silently tightened both hands, thinking back to three years ago when he left, and what he had said in front of Xiao Ying’s grave. He said to himself silently in his heart: “Uncle Xiao, I finally know who killed you… There will be a day I will offer you their blood in front of your grave!”
Yun Che held up the strap on his neck and asked: “Grandfather, what exactly is this thing?”
“It is called the Mirror of Samsara.” Yun Canghai replied.
This name caused Yun Che’s heart to be fiercely shocked… It actually was what Jasmine had said it was, one of the seven great heavenly profound treasures, the Mirror of Samsara. Then, the two lives worth of incredible experiences was really due to that!
If it really was the Mirror of Samsara, then it was enough to fully explain Yun Che’s large amount of questions and doubt. But Yun Canghai’s expression was calm when he said the words “Mirror of Samsara”. Yun Che suppressed his emotions and asked probingly: “Then what does it do?”
“I don’t know.” Yun Canghai shook his head: “I only know of its name. It was the Demon Emperor Family’s treasure that they found a long time ago. The Demon Emperor Family says that in legends, it could completely change a person’s luck and even destiny. If the Demon Emperor Family one day declines, it could even help the family rise once again. But nobody knows how it should be used, and more so don’t know the real use of the item. It was entrusted by the Demon Emperor Family to our Yun Family to protect, and under my protection for all these years, I’ve never seen any reaction or power from it… But somehow this treasure got found out by the Four Great Sacred Grounds. They seem to call it a ‘Heavenly Profound Treasure’ and attempted to possess it. It was the reason behind the hatred between the Illusory Demon World and Four Sacred Grounds.”
Yun Che grasped the Mirror of Samsara and felt a wave of absentmindedness. He had no idea how to use the Mirror of Samsara. But from his two lives, he had completely released its heaven opposing ability, bringing him back from death twice, and changed his life.
After being poisoned to death by Xiao Yulong in the Profound Sky Continent… the Mirror of Samsara released its power for the first time, allowing him to reincarnate into the Azure Cloud Continent, but was reincarnated without his memories.
After he jumped to his death from the cliff in Azure Cloud Continent… the Mirror of Samsara released its power for the second time, allowing him to return to the Profound Sky Continent, waking up from the supposedly dead body, and this time, he was brought back with all his memories. In the Profound Sky Continent, his death was interspersed, but there were no signs of fault. As for his life in Azure Cloud Continent, his memories were branded into him like a dream.
According to Yun Canghai’s description, after the Demon Emperor Family acquired the Mirror of Samsara, they seemed to have never used its power.
Then what exactly causes it to use its power? Could it be death?
Or maybe it must be on a specific person?
“Before I came to the Profound Sky Continent, I entrusted it to your father. I never thought that when he came to search for me, he actually brought it with him… maybe he thought it could be used as exchange for my life. He really underestimated those so called “saints”, and how despicable they are!”
Yun Canghai raised his head; his gaze became incomparably sharp and cold. He looked at Yun Che and said each word sonorously: “Che’er! As your grandfather, I should convince you to let go of the hatred, to forget it all and live a peaceful life… but I cannot do that. Our Yun Family is a royal family of the Illusory Demon World. A member with the name Yun can be weak, but none of us are cowards! I need you to keep in mind, just who harmed your foster parents that saved your life; who harmed your birth parents, making them go through an experience of being hunted, and not knowing whether they were dead or alive; who made your Grandfather suffer a hundred years of torment, and who separated you from your birth parents right after your birth, to the point where you haven’t even met them to this day… You have to firmly carve this hatred into your heart. Unless you exterminate Heavenly Mighty Sword Region, don’t ever erase it from your heart!”
Yun Che didn’t speak and slowly nodded.
_______________
Author’s Note: The matter about Yun Canghai being Yun Che’s grandfather… Lots of people guessed it right, so it wasn’t anything special… In the chapter where the demon appeared, that was why I had Ling Kun specifically say out the details of his son and daughter-in-law’s matter. The time matched perfectly, just so you guys can guess it! If I didn’t specifically hint it explicitly, if you guys had guessed it like that, then that’s just too clever. As expected, you guys don’t like it when I make explicit hints ahead of time, and instead like that sort of misleading method that suddenly explodes into a hole… Since that’s the cause, activating Mars Style ultimate aoe attack of face slaps! If you’re brave enough, bring it on!
Chapter 297 - Profound Handle Awakens
In an unexpected turns of events, Yun Che had finally found the first ever blood relative in his life. This undoubtedly was destiny playing a joke on him… However, Yun Che was unable to determine if this was a joke filled with good intentions, or a joke filled with evil intentions.
Although he found a blood relative, that person had suffered a hundred years of misery. If this sort of situation happened on an outsider, Yun Che would only pity that person. However, this was happening on his blood relative, and what he was feeling was a soul-piercing heartache. Originally, killing this demon, was his only way of getting out of here. However, now, this demon had turned out to be his grandfather, so how could he act against his blood relative whom he had finally managed to find, just for the sake of his own freedom?
Yun Che stood up, grabbed and raised Dragon Fault. Activating Burning Heart, he swung a Phoenix Break up above with all his strength.
The phoenix flames whizzed as they soared upwards, striking ruthlessly up above… After that, with a gentle “ding” sound, the Phoenix Break dispersed in the air, while up above, forget about any damage appearing, not even a speck of sand or dirt fell.
“It’s no use.” Yun Canghai shook his head. “The suppression of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, is much stronger than you imagine it to be. Even if you grow ten times stronger, it will still be impossible to deal a single inch of damage to it.” He revealed a kind smile, and waved towards Yun Che. “Come, come to my side. Let us grandfather and grandson have a good chat. I have many things that I wish to tell you.”
After recognizing each other as kin, the atmosphere they had built between them had naturally turned upside down as well. Along with the passage of time and the calmness in his heart, Yun Che became even more clear of his grandfather’s identity within his consciousness. He stood in front of Yun Canghai, and listened to his every word.
The Illusory Demon Realm’s terrain, structure, customs… The rise of the Yun Family and its present state, and the origin of the Demon Emperor’s family… The friendship between him and the Demon Emperor back then… The Little Demon Empress who might be the current ruler of the Illusory Demon Realm… The rivalries between the twelve guardian families… the grudges between the Illusory Demon Realm and the Four Great Sacred Grounds… The basic situation of the current Four Great Sacred Grounds and their strength…
Yun Canghai constantly explained to Yun Che, and similarly, he wanted to know what Yun Che experienced in these few years, and his well-being. Yun Che told him his childhood, explained the years of ridicule, scorn and low self-esteem he experienced. He told him that he had already gotten married… He told him that when he was sixteen, he met a very strong master, and his destiny began to change then… Yun Canghai listened very attentively, fearing that he might miss even a single word. His expression occasionally revealed ecstasy, occasionally, it was sadness. At times, it was fury, and sometimes, it was filled with smiles… Within Yun Che’s voice, he seemed to have exhausted every single one of his emotions.
Yun Canghai took him, and chatted for three whole days and nights, wishing that he could tell Yun Che everything he knew of.
“Grandfather, don’t worry. There’s no definite path of demise in this world, we will definitely find a way to flee from here.” Yun Che looked at the black hole up above, and said with a tight frown.
“Hoho, that’s of course.” Yun Canghai calmly laughed. In these few days, under extreme joy, his expression had reddened quite a bit, and his spirits were several times much better than before. His eyes especially, were no longer as cold as stagnant water, rather, it had turned especially gentle. He placed his hands on his chest, and slowly said. “Che’er, I have something that I wish to hand to you.”
As he said that, he applied a strong force with his hand. His profound energy surged, and immediately after, he let out a suppressed groan, and pain flashed past his face. A white mass of light, which was the size of a fist, spat out from his mouth, and landed in Yun Canghai’s hands.
This mass of white light was a layer of protective profound energy, and it securely enveloped the thing inside it. Yun Che took a few steps closer, this mass of protective light was extremely dense, and was emitting an extremely high level aura which Yun Che was unable to comprehend. Clearly, this was something Yun Canghai had set up before he was suppressed. He asked. “Could it be that this is… the thing you wish for me to hand to the Illusory Demon Realm earlier?”
Earlier, he was still wondering just where the thing Yun Canghai wanted to entrust to him was placed at… So it was actually swallowed into his belly after he protected it with his profound energy!
“Correct!” Yun Canghai took a deep breath. “Take this, do not try to inspect what is inside. If there’s one day that you get the ability to head to Illusory Demon Realm, then hand it over to the current ruler of Illusory Demon Realm… into the Little Demon Empress’ hands. You must definitely hand it over to her personally, do not allow others to touch it.”
Yun Che took the thing that was enveloped by mass of white light, instantly stored it into his Sky Poison Pearl, and then, nodded cautiously. “Grandfather, don’t worry. Before meeting the Little Demon Empress, even if I die, it will not land in anyone’s hands.”
“Good, naturally, I believe in your words.” Yun Canghai gave a comforting smile, and then once again, raised his right arm. “Come, give me your left hand.”
Yun Che obediently stretched out his left hand. “Grandfather, you’re?”
“Your current strength is still too weak. It’s a pity that profound energy cannot be passed on, otherwise, I would not hesitate to pass down all of my energy to you… My current strength is being suppressed by a large degree, the only thing I can help you with, is to awaken… your Profound Handle prematurely.”
When Yun Canghai’s words fell, a wave of profound energy, like a raging sea, suddenly entered the left arm, and brought along severe pain that felt as though his entire hand would explode. At the same time, that white sword-shaped mark resurfaced on the back of his hand.
“Grandfather…” Just when Yun Che was about to ask, Yun Canghai’s eyes suddenly closed tightly. His expression was heavy and firm. He instantly closed his mouth, and did not say another word. At the same time, he suppressed his energy as far as possible, allowing his entire body to be in a completely defenseless state.
Yun Canghai had said this. The Profound Handle in their Yun Family, would naturally awaken when one’s profound energy reached the Sky Profound Realm.
Currently, Yun Che was only at the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm… From Yun Canghai’s words, he planned on directly awaken Yun Che’s Profound Handle while he was still at the Earth Profound Realm!
Yun Canghai’s profound handle was released, turning into a long ray of cyan flowing light, which circled and danced around Yun Che’s arm. The sense of pain on his arm became even heavier, as though it might burst apart at any moment. Yun Che slightly clenched his teeth, and did not let out a single groan. Looking at Yun Canghai, his teeth was even clenched tighter than Yun Che’s, his forehead was already filled with warm sweat, and his entire body was slightly trembling, as though he was exhausting his profound energy unreservedly, and was enduring pain that was even much greater than Yun Che’s.
What Yun Che did not know was that awakening one’s Profound Handle prematurely was a very difficult task. With Yun Canghai’s current strength, he could only barely do it… And almost all of his strength in his body would be used up as a consequence.
The circling of the cyan profound handle became even faster, and the sense of expansion in Yun Che’s left hand began to become even more severe, as though it could explode in the very next second. At this moment, accompanying Yun Canghai’s growl, the sleeves on Yun Che’s left hand suddenly burst out, revealing his entire left arm… On his arm, a crimson red light that was about fifteen centimeters long clearly shone.
The moment this crimson red light appeared, Yun Che’s mind and profound veins shook severely, as though he sensed that there seemed to be something had been added within his arm. Something that, even though it was unfamiliar, was tightly connected to his blood vessels and profound veins.
The bloodline of the Yun Family he carried, the Profound Handle which belonged to him, was prematurely awakened at this instant!
“Urgh!”
Yun Canghai groaned out of relief, and released his grip from Yun Che’s arm, his entire body was quivering from extreme exhaustion. While at this moment, the sense of unfamiliarity in Yun Che’s arm completely disappeared, and he hurriedly stepped forward to support Yun Canghai. “Grandfather, are you alright?”
“I’m fine… I’m fine.” Yun Canghai waved his hand, and gasped heavily for air. He raised his head, and looked towards Yun Che’s arm. When he saw that crimson red profound handle mark, he was stunned. “How could it be… red…”
Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple… Among the seven colors of the Profound Handle, red was the weakest! Within the Yun family, nine out of ten of the Profound Handles were in the range of red, orange, and yellow, these three colors. And, within them, another nine out of ten were orange and yellow, red profound handles only made a very small ten percent of them, and the probability of it appearing was about the same as the green profound handle. Because red profound handles were the shame of Yun disciples, practitioners who awakened red profound handles, were instantly regarded as downright trash. They could only end up as servants or handymen for the Yun family. Forget about within the Yun family, even if they were to head outside, they would still be looked down by others.
Yun Canghai, as the master of the Yun family, he and his son Yun Qinghong both awakened the overwhelming cyan profound handle… And in Yun Canghai’s eyes, with Yun Che’s talent, he who had inherited their blood, Yun Canghai had firmly believed that his Profound Handle would at least be cyan as well, or it might even be blue. And no matter how bad it would be, it should still be green, yet, he definitely did not expect that, what he awakened was actually the trashiest red profound handle which was seen as a humiliation by the Yun family!
The surprise and disappointment on Yun Canghai’s face was clearly caught by Yun Che. He glanced at the red mark on his left arm, and gently said. “The red profound handle, should be the weakest Profound Handle, right… I’m sorry, grandfather, I disappointed you.”
Not growing up within the Yun family, he was not entirely sure what Profound Handles meant to the Yun disciples, so, even it was the weakest red profound handle, he was not really too disappointed. After all, with an additional red profound handle, to him, it would simply increase his strength, and was not really a loss. He could more or less understand Yun Canghai’s feelings… He had once said that, the Profound Handle was the greatest glory of the Yun family, and when he struggled with all his strength to prematurely awaken Yun Che’s Profound Handle, naturally, he was carrying great expectations. That red-colored mark, had undoubtedly turned all of high expectations completely into disappointment.
“It’s… It’s fine…” Yet, Yun Canghai shook his head, and then, gave a casual smile. “It’s good enough to have successfully awakened your Profound Handle, so what if it’s a red profound handle? My grandson has such a formidable talent, and had even inherited the divine beast Phoenix’s blood. Forget about it being just the red profound handle, even if you did not have the Profound Handle at all, you will definitely still not be worse than anyone else!”
Yun Canghai’s disappointment had only last for that short moment before it completely disappeared. His words was resounding, and came from deep in his heart. It was definitely not forceful in the slightest, rather, he became the one consoling Yun Che. Yun Che felt his heart warmed, and strongly nodded. “Grandfather, don’t you worry. I will definitely not be weaker than anyone else, and if I were to return to the family in the future, I will definitely excel over everyone that came from the same generation as well. I will definitely not put grandfather’s reputation to shame!”
“Good… good! I believe my good grandson!” Yun Canghai patted on Yun Che’s shoulder, his face revealed a pleased smile. “But, the reason why you have the red profound handle, is definitely not because of your lack of talent. The power of the Profound Handle, half it comes from one’s blood vessels, while the other half, comes from one’s profound veins. Earlier, you had said that, not long after you were born, your profound veins had been crippled, and your mysterious master had only reforged your profound veins when you were sixteen years old… Newly born profound veins, they are after all, not your innate profound veins, which means, it’s basically unable to spawn a strong Profound Handle, and there might be a possibility that your Profound Handle could not even spawn. Otherwise, with your talent, Yun’er, how could it just be a red profound handle!”
“But, it doesn’t matter. While I’m still alive, to have reunited with my grandson, and even lived together for so long, I’m already deeply grateful to the heavens. What is there to be unsatisfied about… Hahahaha!”
Yun Canghai laughed out loud. His laughter was filled with fatigue, yet, it was filled with incomparable satisfaction as well.
Chapter 298 - Dissipating Soul
“Come, try to release your profound handle. When your Profound Handle awakens, you will naturally understand how it is to be used.” Yun Canghai said while chuckling.
Yun Che nodded. Indeed, the moment his Profound Handle awakened, another spirit connection appeared within his soul… and the spirit connection from the Profound Handle brought about a strength that didn’t feel foreign at all. In fact, it was just like a new organ inside of his body. When he willed it to move, a red light above his left arm flashed. Afterwards, a crimson light noiselessly flew outwards and floated beside his body. Following his will, it transformed into the shape of Dragon Fault… Aside from the difference in color, its exterior appearance was exactly the same as that of Dragon Fault’s.
Seeing the Profound Handle next to his body, although its power was far from that of Grandfather’s, an indescribably excited feeling arose in Yun Che’s heart. Watching his expression, Yun Canghai smiled contently: “Believe in your feelings. Not only is it your power, it is a part of your body and soul. Although it is the lowest class among Profound Handles, the red color has its own benefits. Similarly, the power of the Profound Handle arises from the owner of the Profound Handle’s body, so when it is released, it will also speed up the rate of consumption of profound energy as well as mental energy. The stronger the Profound Handle, the greater the rate of consumption. Accordingly, the red profound handle has the smallest rate of consumption.”
Yun Canghai’s words were naturally only words of comfort. As the lowest level of Profound Handles, this so-called “advantage” of the red profound handle could only be considered extremely laughable. The red profound handle began to change into various forms under Yun Che’s will: occasionally, it was a sword; occasionally, it was a spear; occasionally, it was a long damask. Sometimes, it was a leaf, the shape of a water droplet, and even a man’s silhouette. Yun Canghai continued: “The Profound Handle isn’t only a type of special strength form. It can also be a pure soul form, and invade opponents’ souls or conduct mental attacks.”
“Mental attacks?” Yun Che was astounded. After, he concentrated his will speedily; almost instantly, his Profound Handle rapidly transformed until it was completely traceless and formless, becoming a pure soul form.
Once again, the might and mysticality of the Profound Handle exceeded Yun Che’s expectations. Subsequently, his heart wavered, as if he had thought of something.
“Heheheheh…” Watching the incessant excitement on Yun Che’s face as he operated the newly-awakened Profound Handle, Yun Canghai nodded his head continuously, and thought back to his youth, when he had just awakened his Profound Handle. As he smiled, his field of vision gradually became blurry. He was once so powerful and proud, capable of looking down on everything. He was the “king”, only below the “emperor”, yet now, he was in such miserable and dire straits. His son had been harmed trying to save him, and he had no idea whether he was still alive. He had also unintentionally brought his grandson into this abyss… His grandson was nineteen right now, yet to this day, he had never assumed the responsibilities of a grandfather. The only thing he could do was consume his own origin strength, and help him awaken his Profound Handle earlier.
In the last hundred years, he had suffered through loneliness and hardship, distress and humiliation, yet since the very beginning, he had never been willing to die. He didn’t want such an important object for the Demon Emperor to be lost, and even more so, didn’t want to die here without any contribution.
Yet today, he had already entrusted that important object to his own grandson. He could finally end his own wretched life with some value…
“Che’er, come over here.”
Yun Che withdrew his Profound Handle, and walked to the front of Yun Canghai.
“Back then, when I left the Illusory Demon Realm in search of the Demon Emperor, I had tentatively left the heavy burden of the Family to your father, but I didn’t tell him an enormous secret. Only the Demon Emperor bloodline and my Yun family knows of this secret. Also, this secret is passed down orally by the Demon Emperor or master of the Yun family; absolutely no one else knows about it. If the Demon Emperor has actually died, then the only person in the world that knows this secret is me. As I have been trapped here, I will never be able to see the light of day again. Only you will be able to succeed me… Che’er, move your ear closer to me.”
Only the grandfather-grandson pair was here in this place, and it was impossible for anyone else to have heard them speaking. But Yun Canghai remained extremely cautious, so it was evident just how important this secret was. Yun Che didn’t say anything more, complied to Yun Canghai’s request and moved closer. Then, Yun Canghai, using an extremely soft voice, said something to his ear.
“Ah? Is this for real?” After hearing Yun Canghai’s words, Yun Che revealed a deeply startled expression.
“This issue concerns the future of the entire Illusory Demon Realm. You must keep this in your heart, and inform the Little Demon Empress, who currently dominates the Illusory Demon Realm, and you definitely must not let anyone else know.”
Yun Che nodded: “I will remember all of grandfather’s words in my heart. Grandfather, you don’t have to be too pessimistic either; we’ll definitely be able to find a way to get out of here. I will prudently safeguard this secret grandfather has told me, but as for the matter of informing the Little Demon Empress about it, it doesn’t necessarily have to be me; it’d be best if grandfather were to do so personally.”
“Ha ha ha ha!” Yun Canghai began laughing with gratitude: “I’m very happy to hear you say these words. My Yun family owes you nineteen years, and Grandfather was the one that trapped you here, yet you didn’t display even the slightest bit of complaint. Not only were you willing to recognize me as your grandfather, you even looked out for me… To have such a grandson, my Yun family is truly fortunate, and it is also the greatest compensation I, Yun Canghai, have received from the Heavens in these hundred years of bleakness. I also believe that if you’re ever to meet your biological parents, you definitely won’t blame them for not protecting you well back then. Although your body carries thick killing intent, your innate disposition is yet especially kind; it looks like the Grandfather Xiao who raised you must’ve been a good-natured man.”
Yun Che nodded lightly: “He is a… very noble grandfather.”
Yun Canghai looked upwards, and said sorrowfully: “I really want to thank him personally. In the hundreds of years I’ve lived, I’ve never been so grateful towards someone before… Che’er, remember my words from before. One day, you must pay him filial respects as if he was your biological grandfather in order to repay his kindness and grace in raising you.”
Yun Che nodded repeatedly.
“Alright… I’m tired, and I need to rest a while. Go outside the barrier and carefully study your newly-awakened Profound Handle. Only studying it closely will allow you to gradually discover its infinite subtleties.” Yun Canghai said as he closed his eyes.
“Yes, Grandfather.” Yun Che nodded, and walked outside of the barrier. In order to awaken his Profound Handle, it looked like Yun Canghai had consumed an extremely large amount of energy. Before, when he was speaking, he had been gasping for breath the entire time.
After walking outside the barrier, Yun Che sat down. He closed his eyes, yet didn’t think about the Profound Handle; rather, he thought hard about how to leave this place.
Yun Canghai had been bound to that Heaven’s Punishment Sword with what was known as the “Meteorite Chain”. Once, Yun Che had tried to attack the “Meteorite Chain” with Dragon Fault, but it was unable to cause even the slightest amount of damage, let alone sever it.
Jasmine had told him before that the suppressive force of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword was linked to Yun Canghai’s heart and soul. As long as Yun Canghai didn’t die, this suppressive force would always exist. Conversely, if he died, the suppressive force would disappear. This was also the reason he was so determined to kill Yun Canghai before. Now that he knew Yun Canghai was his grandfather, he obviously couldn’t make a move against him anymore. In that case, if he wanted to leave by himself…
…………
Yun Che opened his eyes forcefully, and his brain felt as if it had been pierced by an electric current.
There was no way Yun Canghai had a method to leave this place, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been trapped here for a hundred years. Other than killing Yun Canghai, he had no other way of leaving… However, the fact that the couldn’t attack Yun Canghai didn’t mean that Yun Canghai wouldn’t kill himself in order to set him free!
The Heaven’s Might Soul Suppressing Formation was ineffective towards oneself. Then why did Yun Canghai still want him to study the Profound Handle outside of the barrier?
And his words from before… informing him of that enormous secret…
“Grandfather!!”
Yun Che roared. He jumped up abruptly, and charged into the barrier; the instant his feet entered the barrier, he froze in place…
Yun Canghai’s head dangled in front of his chest. Even under his frightened scream, he was not in the least responsive, and Yun Che could no longer feel even a shred of life from his existence.
“Grandfather… GRANDFATHER!!”
The nightmare-like thought that had suddenly appeared in his mind suddenly drew closer to reality. Yun Che’s entire body shuddered, and charged forward as if he was mad, pouncing in front of Yun Canghai’s body.
Yet what responded wasn’t Yun Canghai’s voice, but the sound of the Meteorite Chains falling.
The Meteorite Chains that were wrapped around Yun Canghai’s body suddenly loosened completely, and fell to the ground powerlessly. This was because the lock for the Meteorite Chains was similarly connected to the heart and soul of the person being bound; when the person being bound died, the Meteorite Chains would automatically loosen.
The imposing aura of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword also dissipated without a trace at this time. Not a single shred of that heavy and boundless suppressive power remained, and it was as calm as a dead sword.
Yun Canghai’s body, which had been shackled there for an entire century, finally obtained its freedom at this moment, falling forward slowly into Yun Che’s embrace. Yun Che held his grandfather’s body and slowly knelt to the ground. He looked forward expressionlessly, without any sound, without any movements, even without any tears, as if his soul had left his body that instant.
“He severed his own heart veins… For him to make this choice, I’m not surprised at all.” Jasmine said lightly.
Yun Che: “…”
Yun Canghai had died, and just as Jasmine had said, he had died by severing his own heart veins.
He died very serenely, and his expression was tranquil. A slight smile still hung on the corners of his face, and it was a kind of pleased and satisfied smile. This was the only thing that could comfort Yun Che… behind his smiling expression silently lay deep feelings of reluctance and concern.
At this time, Yun Canghai’s last words sounded besides Yun Che’s ear… Before he died, he had left behind a few lingering words from his soul:
“Che’er, in this period of time, Grandfather can see that within your heart rests many people, many issues, and you long to leave this place all the time… It’s Grandfather that has let you down, and this is also the last thing Grandfather can do for you. Don’t feel sad; although Grandfather has passed, to Grandfather, this is a relief I have yearned for day and night. To have met you, and entrusted something I am incapable of putting down to you, Grandfather no longer has any regrets and concerns. I can be at ease and go accompany the Demon Emperor contently… Besides, there’s still you as the continuation of your grandfather’s life and bloodline.”
“Che’er, my good child, Grandfather hadn’t taken care of you well in this life. In another world, Grandfather will pray for you with all his time and energy. The Profound Sky Continent is your home, but the Illusory Demon Realm is your true homeland. Grandfather hopes that one day, you can return to the Illusory Demon Realm, and back to our Yun Family, and let your parents know that you are still living in this world safe and sound… Don’t blame your parents, they have definitely already torn their hearts and ripped their lungs worrying about you, longing for you these nineteen years… Grandfather’s last desire is not vengeance, nor the Demon Emperor race, but the wish to see all of you… reunite as a family…”
Yun Canghai’s last words faded away, and two streaks of tears finally rolled down Yun Che’s face… Above his head, wisps of sand began rumbling and falling, which signified that the suppressive power of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword had already disappeared completely. But Yun Che didn’t move for a long time, embracing Yun Canghai’s dead body… embracing the kin he lost after he had just met. His entire person seemed to have become a sorrowful statue.
——————————————
At the same time, Heavenly Sword Villa.
Ling Jie, who had just finished training, was walking back to his courtyard with a body full of heat. Just as he was about to enter his room, a Heavenly Sword disciple who wore clothes adorned with swords, rushed in hurriedly: “Second Young Villa Master!”
“Senior Brother Yun Peng… What matter is this urgent?” Ling Jie turned his face, and heaved a breath of air.
“Second Young Villa Master, congratulations on breaking through to the tenth level of the Spirit Profound Realm at such a lightning speed. You have overtaken Young Villa Master from back then.” The Heavenly Sword disciple said with a smiling face. Ling Jie had shaken the entire Heavenly Sword Villa yesterday when he broke through, because, when Ling Yun was seventeen, he was only at the ninth level of the Spirit Profound Realm.This time around, Ling Jie’s breakthrough signified that his innate talent completely surpassed that of Ling Yun’s. He retrieved an invitation inlayed with fiery lines from his bosom: “This is an invitation issued by the Burning Heaven Clan. In four days, the Young Burning Heaven Clan Master will leave for the Blue Wind Imperial City to escort Princess Cang Yue for marriage. In seven days, they will complete the marriage at Burning Heaven Clan’s Fiery Sun Hall. By chance, the Villa Master has something to do seven days from now, and is asking Second Young Villa Master to represent him there. He says it has already been two years since Second Young Villa Master left the Heavenly Sword Villa, and that you should take advantage of the fact that you just broke through to travel outside for a bit.”
“Fen Juecheng… and Princess Sis!?” Ling Jie quivered, and snatched the invitation from the disciple’s hands with a “whoosh” sound. He swept over it after opening it, and his brow sunk: “How could it be like this… this isn’t right! This definitely wasn’t Princess Sis’s real intention; Princess Sis is Boss’s…”
He looked over the invitation many times. Finally, his eyes stopped for a while on the date. He scrunched his brow, seeming to have come to a decision. He put the invitation away, and said with an earnest expression: “Senior Brother Yun Peng, inform father that seven days from now, I will go to the Burning Heaven Clan in his stead.”
Chapter 299 - Seeing the Light of Day Again
In the dusky space underground, Yun Che knelt for an entire three days and three nights.
To Yun Canghai, death was indeed a form of relief. In these past hundred years, he had longed to die countless times, yet couldn’t die because his body carried the important object from the Illusory Demon Realm and the enormous secret. Now, he had entrusted everything to Yun Che, and it was finally time for him to obtain relief. Besides, his own relief could trade for Yun Che’s freedom.
Furthermore, this wasn’t only to let Yun Che obtain his freedom, but also the best way to guarantee his safety. The Heaven’s Punishment Sword and Meteorite Chains both contained soul imprints set by the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, so if Yun Che forcefully escaped from the suppressive power of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region would certainly discover him and investigate how he got out of the suppressive power of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. If he had escaped with Yun Canghai, then the consequences would be even more unimaginable. With Yun Che’s current strength, he couldn’t even be considered an ant in the face of the Mighty Heavenly Sword Region. Only Yun Canghai committing suicide, allowing the Heaven’s Punishment Sword and Meteorite Chains retract their power after not having an objective anymore, was the best method to allow Yun Che to escape safely.
Yun Che understood all this, but to him, this was just too cruel. Because Yun Canghai was his first blood-related kin he had found in both worlds, he had yet to completely experience the feeling of warmth and connection of blood that only blood relatives could have. But now, he was right in front of him, forever gone from this world.
Yun Che, who had originally desired to leave this place, chose not to leave immediately after obtaining his freedom. Rather, he knelt in front of Yun Canghai’s body for three whole days… to keep watch beside him for three days, and also to use three days’ time to calm his heart of all its ripples and sorrow.
At the same time, a name had been firmly engraved within his sea of consciousness over these three days.
Mighty Heavenly Sword Region!!
Three days passed, and Yun Che finally moved. He opened his eyes, and got up incomparably slowly. He carefully shifted Yun Canghai’s body into the Sky Poison Pearl, and said gently in a low voice: “Grandfather, you’ve suffered through a century of hardship; you must’ve longed to return to your homeland. Wait for the day I have the capability to set out for the Illusory Demon Realm; I will bring you back to the clan you have missed and worried about for this entire time. I will let you sleep peacefully on the soil of your homeland… Wait for when I have children; I will bring my wife and children, and visit you every year. I won’t let you be lonely…”
Amidst his low words, Yun Che also stood up straight and looked up at the sky… Mighty Heavenly Sword Region, regardless of whether you are evil or not, right or wrong, virtuous or vicious, just because you hounded my Grandfather to death and killed Uncle Xiao who saved me, the day I have sufficient capability, I will definitely force you to pay the heaviest price in order to offer a sacrifice to the spirits of my Grandfather and Uncle Xiao in heaven!
Yun Che’s temperament was much stronger than that of an ordinary person’s. After three days of endless mourning and following his placement of Yun Canghai into the Sky Poison Pearl, the expression in his eyes became a field of ice. His heart was also empty and alert. He raised his head to look up, drew a small breath of air, and jumped up.
Bang!!
With a trembling noise, Yun Che directly blew away the land above, which no longer had any suppressive power…
…………………………
Heavenly Sword Villa’s Sword Management Terrace, a quarter past five in the morning.
At the first glimmer of light in the morning, Ling Jie arrived at the Sword Management Terrace for his morning exercises as usual. But these past few days, he always trained absentmindedly because his head was filled with thoughts about Fen Juecheng and Princess Cang Yue’s marriage.
RIP!
The Celestial Yang Sword flew out of his hands, causing waves of light to ripple like waves before flying back to his hand. And at this time, an unusual rumbling suddenly spread over from downwards diagonally. This unusual sound caused him to stop his actions for a moment. Just as he was about to concentrate and listen attentively to the sound, the surface in front of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword suddenly ruptured, and a black silhouette flew out from within.
“AHHH!!”
Ling Jie was startled by this sudden unforeseen change, and retreated in panic whilst screaming involuntarily. That human silhouette flew upwards for several tens of feet before dropping down rapidly and landing heavily in front of Ling Jie. Under the great pressure brought by Dragon Fault, a large area of the land underneath him shattered.
“You…” Ling Jie took another step back, and subconsciously held the Celestial Yang Sword horizontally in front of his body. After shouting out one word, his eyes suddenly stared wide, and gave another startled cry involuntarily: “B… boss!!”
Ling Jie’s appearance simply looked like someone who had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
Someone who had been presumed to be dead for a year had suddenly appeared in front of him from underground. If it wasn’t a ghost, what could it be? In that instant, Ling Jie truly believed he had encountered a zombie from the myths.
“Little Jie?” Yun Che looked at him with amazement. He never would’ve thought that the first person he would see after coming out was Ling Jie. After sixteen months of no contact, Ling Jie had already grown a lot, and although his expression still contained hints of his childish nature, on the most part, it was as sharp as the tip of a sword.
Having heard his voice and felt the aura of strength emitted from him, Ling Jie, as if he had awoken from a dream, revealed an enormous expression of pleasant surprise. He retrieved the Celestial Yang Sword, charged over, and said incomparably excitedly: “Boss, y-y-you… you didn’t die? You actually didn’t die… You really didn’t die?”
“Nonsense. If I died, would I be standing here right now?” Yun Che smiled, but also sighed in his heart. Without a doubt, in this period of time, everyone believed that he had died. For those that cared about him, how sorrowful and heartbroken they must be…
“But, the day you were struck by that demon and sealed together underground, there was basically no chance you would survive…” Ling Jie said as he subconsciously swept over the Heaven’s Punishment Sword. Suddenly, he noticed that the formless suppressive force of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword had disappeared. These past several days, when he was training at the Sword Management Terrace, he had felt that something wasn’t right all along, but never considered the Heaven’s Punishment Sword.
Ling Jie stared wide, and said: “Could it be that you didn’t die after receiving such a grave injury that day, and the demon didn’t try to attack you anymore… after, you survived, and ended up killing the demon in return? Wahahaha! That’s right, that’s must’ve been what happened. Only after that demon died would there be some chance of escaping the suppressive force of the Heaven’s Punishment Sword! Boss, you’re truly too awesome… ahhhh! Worthy of being this Ling Jie’s boss; there’s simply nothing you can’t do in this world. I really am stupid to have thought that this Ling Jie’s boss would’ve died that easily… Hahahaha! Boss, did you know, you’re currently an unsurpassable legend in the Blue Wind Empire. When the news that you survived spreads, you’ll become an even greater legend!!”
“Wow! Your current profound strength aura is actually even stronger than my Big Bro’s. Could it be that your profound strength is above the fourth level of the Earth Profound Realm?” After detecting the richness of Yun Che’s profound strength aura, Ling Jie cried out in shock again. Sixteen months ago, Yun Che’s profound strength was only at the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm, yet now, his profound strength aura’s richness already surpassed that of Ling Yun’s, who was currently at the fourth level of the Earth Profound Realm! This was so startling that Ling Jie almost dropped his jaw in shock.
Yun Che, when he was at the tenth level of the True Profound Realm, was already capable of defeating Xia Qingyue, who was at the Earth Profound Realm. Now, Yun Che must be above the fourth level of the Earth Profound Realm; his fighting capability was simply impossible to estimate!
“I’m currently at the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm… I didn’t kill the demon; he severed his own heart veins in order to allow me to obtain my freedom.” Yun Che said with incomparable tranquility.
“Earth Profound Realm… sixth level?” The corner of Ling Jie’s eyes twitched as he swallowed forcefully. To have advanced from the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm to the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm in sixteen months’ time, and underground with no resources, this speed was simply legendary. In contrast to this enormous shock, the later half of Yun Che’s words were basically unimportant. He stared wide at Yun Che, and said blankly: Boss, you’re simply an omnipotent god. My admiration and reverence towards you can no longer be described with any language… Although I’ve worked really hard this past year, I’m currently only at the tenth level of the Spirit Profound Realm… Will you still accept me as your little brother?”
A seventeen year old at the tenth level of the Spirit Profound Realm who had crushed Ling Yun, who was the former number one of the younger generation, shaking the Heavenly Sword Villa, and Blue Wind Empire in turn. Ling Jie was also once immensely pleased with himself when he did that, but he suddenly discovered that this achievement of his, in the face of Yun Che, who had advanced from the first level of the Spirit Profound Realm to the sixth level of the Earth Profound Realm, was simply a plate of pure slag.
Yun Che smiled casually, and said: “I used a very special method to get to the Earth Profound Realm; in fact, there really isn’t anything extraordinary about it. In the time I was suppressed, a lot must’ve happened in the Blue Wind Empire…”
“Mn, mn, mn, mn!” Ling Jie immediately nodded: “Boss, you didn’t know, after you died… ah, pooh, pooh, pooh! After you had been pulled down by the demon, your achievements had also widely spread across the entire Blue Wind Empire. In that time, every single part of the Blue Wind Empire were talking about you, especially those young profound practitioners that have no sectoral backing; almost all of them had made you into a religion. Because of you, the Blue Wind Imperial Family had also obtained supreme honor and glory. It has been said that in this year’s Blue Wind Profound Palace and other Profound Palace branches’ registration, there had been an increase of seven times the amount of disciples! That little courtyard you stayed in when you were in the Blue Wind Profound Palace’s Inner Palace is also being independently safeguarded. In front of the Inner Palace’s Supreme Profound Hall, there’s even a sculpture of you! I heard that the words on the sculpture’s description also stated that you were Blue Wind Profound Palace’s most outstanding disciple in all of history! Even until now, there are still stories about you everywhere in the Blue Wind Empire. That being said… Boss! You’re just too awesome! Those things that you did… just how did you do them?”
“…” Yun Che had a face full of amazement. Didn’t he just obtain first place in the ranking tournament? Causing a sensation was just typical, but it shouldn’t be so impactful to such a degree, right?
He still was not fully aware of the fact that ranking first in ranking tournament was only secondary when it came to causing a sensation within the Blue Wind Empire. The main reason, was because he had no one supporting him in the rear. An unknown individual that practically nobody knew of, had actually married the publicly recognized number one beauty, the younger generation’s current number one, Xia Qingyue, and even had gotten the number one beauty in the past, whom many sect masters could only dream of, the Fairy of Frozen Beauty, pregnant! He had even made plans with Blue Wind Empire’s only princess, who had the most noble of identities, to marry him…
Such a fellow could only be described with three words… Cool as f*ck!
As long as it was a man, they would admire him to the point of worship, or be jealous to the point of wanting him to go down all eighteen levels of hell.
“Is it really that exaggerated?” Yun Che muttered in a low voice, and then cautiously asked: “After I was supressed by the Heaven’s Punishment Sword, how were Princess Cang Yue, Yuanba, and them? What happened afterwards?”
When Yun Che mentioned Princess Cang Yue, Ling Jie’s expression stiffened. All of his excitement had also cooled off. The sudden change in his expression tugged at Yun Che’s heart as he promptly asked: “What? What happened afterwards?”
Ling Jie drew a breath of air, and said evasively: “Boss, there is something… uh… after I say it, you must not get angry… it definitely wasn’t Princess Sis’s real intention… uh… Princess Sis… she… she… she’s about to marry… Fen Juecheng…”
“Wh…at!!” Yun Che’s body distinctly shook, and his complexion sunk immediately.
“Boss, don’t worry about right now; Princess Sis definitely didn’t consent to it. Perhaps she was coerced, or because she was forced to do so as a last resort…”
“Tell me. When will they be married, and where will it be?”
Yun Che coldly interrupted Ling Jie with an incomparably calm voice… So calm that it made Ling Jie break into cold sweat, and subconsciously replied: “Burning Heaven Clan’s procession is already headed towards the Imperial City to escort the bride. The latest that they arrive would be tomorrow at seven to nine in the morning. They will be getting married at Burning Heaven Clan’s Fiery Sun Hall…”
Just as Ling Jie’s words fell, Yun Che had already charged out like a gust of violent wind, traveling tens of feet in the blink of an eye.
“Wait! Boss!!”
Ling Jie quickly ran to catch up, and simultaneously extended his left hand. Following a flashing streak of light, an approximately six meter long large bird, that brought about a gust of wind, charged at Yun Che: “This is my contracted profound beast, the Fierce Zephyr Bird. With its speed… you might might make it in time!”
The Fierce Zephyr Bird was a high level Earth Profound Beast. In terms of speed, it was no way inferior to that of the Fierce Storm Hawk, and had even more than ten times the endurance. Yun Che turned around and leapt high, then landed on the Fierce Zephyr Bird’s back. In the wake of the Fierce Zephyr Bird’s long cry, it broke into the sky and directly flew in the direction of the Blue Wind Imperial City.
“Phew… definitely have to make it in time!” Ling Jie tightly clenched his fist. Then, at this time, he suddenly thought about the discovery about Chu Yuechan being pregnant sixteen months ago, and immediately shouted: “Boss! Wait, there’s another very important thing…”
With the Fierce Zephyr Bird’s extreme speed, it had already become a little black dot in his line of sight. It was already impossible for his voice to be heard… and even if Yun Che, who was currently burning with anxiety, heard the sound of his voice, he would still not turn back.
Chapter 300 - The Princess Marrying
The dawn has just arrived, and the Blue Wind Imperial City was already rowdy everywhere. Streets of various sizes were all filled with the masses, lifting their chin and looking into the distance. Because today, was the day for the Imperial Family’s only princess to be wed. And at this moment, the bridal escort party of Burning Heaven Clan had already entered the city gate, and was parading forth toward the direction of Blue Wind Imperial Palace in a mighty formation.
That’s right, the bridal parade of Burning Heaven Clan, was indeed worthy of the word “Mighty”. Carrying a smile on his face, Fen Juecheng rode on top of a enormous fire-like maned horse and looked forward placidly. Behind him, was a huge eight poled palanquin carved with dancing phoenixes of fire. Around them, more than two thousand Burning Heaven Clan disciples wearing flame-red clothing formed a very long rank. Looking from a high place, they were like a fire dragon that moved slowly toward the Imperial Palace. All of these Burning Heaven Clan disciples had been meticulously selected, and every single one of them was extremely extraordinary. Even the ones weakest in profound strength were at the Spirit Profound Realm. Ones with high profound strength, were already at the mid Earth Profound Realm. This kind of lineup, was extremely rare even in the entire Blue Wind Empire, and could even be deemed as frightening. Clearly, Burning Heaven Clan who had lost a great deal of face because of their failure in the Ranking Tournament, seemed to have wanted to take advantage of this chance of being the princess’s bridal escort, and once again display the prowess of the Burning Heaven Clan to the world.
In accordance to the custom, Fen Juecheng’s father, Fen Duanhun, naturally would not come along, but the elder level experts that came along, not one didn’t inspire awe throughout the land. Just for experts of the Sky Profound Realm, there were already eight. Moreover, the two leading were more so already at the later ranks of Sky Profound Realm, and were two of Burning Heaven Clan’s ten strongest experts. These eight people wore flame red clothing that were even more eye-catching, and floated evenly dispersed in the air space above the bridal escort ranks… The entire echelon emitted a kind of imposing air that made one’s heart palpitate. Even from far away, it made one feel an almost suffocating pressure.
Even if one were to say this was a echelon that could flatten the entire Blue Wind Imperial City, it wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration.
“Look! The bridal escort party of Burning Heaven Clan is here!”
Following someone’s large shout, the crowd started to stir. Everyone went onto their tiptoes, and looked toward the Burning Heaven Clan’s bridal escort party that gradually neared from the distance.
Normally, when onlooking a bridal procession, the crowd would be incredibly clamorous. But at this moment, under that incomparably shocking pressure of the Burning Heaven Clan, no one had actually dared to shout loudly. When the parade walked past their front, that kind of unparalleled feeling of pressure almost made their heart jump out. Even ones who were proud of their strength, and had enough guts, also only dared to secretly whisper.
“The legendary Profound Floating Technique… And it’s even eight of them! Don’t tell me that these eight, are all of the Sky Profound Realm?”
“Of course that’s the case. Of the two leading, the one on the left is Feng Duancang, the younger brother of the same womb with Burning Heaven Clan’s Clan Master Feng Duanhun; it is rumored that his profound strength has already reached the eighth level of the Sky Profound Realm! The one on the right is the Burning Heaven Clan’s thirteenth elder, his profound strength is at the seventh level of the Sky Profound Realm! Even in the Burning Heaven Clan, they are beings of extremely high administrative level. I’d have never thought the Burning Heaven Young Clan Master’s procession, would have them as company!”
“Fen Juecheng is the future Burning Heaven Clan Clan Master, you know. Having this kind of line-up, isn’t exaggerated at all.”
“Sky Profound Realm of the legends, I have only seen one in my entire life… which is the Blue Wind Profound Palace’s Palace Chief Qin. Eight of them have actually popped out at once today! My heavens… as expected of the Burning Heaven Clan!”
“Fen Juecheng courting the Blue Moon Princess, I had already heard about it many years ago. But wasn’t Blue Moon Princess won over by Yun Che later…”
“Too bad Yun Che has fallen, otherwise… otherwise, Yun Che still wouldn’t be able to outcompete Fen Juecheng. No matter how amazing Yun Che is, he is only a single person without any supporting forces behind his back. Behind Fen Juecheng, is the enormous Burning Heaven Clan, you know.”
“You can’t be so sure! Even though Fen Juecheng is a dragon amongst men, but what kind of being is Yun Che? He’s a dragon amongst dragons, the legend of our Blue Wind! Fen Juecheng’s daddy Fen Duanhun had also sought after Chu Yuechan before, yet he couldn’t even see her face; but didn’t Yun Che win her over anyway! If Yun Che had not died and Feng Juecheng wanted to out-compete him, the only method would be to assassinate him using the Burning Heaven Clan’s powers. But Yun Che has Frozen Cloud Asgard behind him! Both of his women are of the Frozen Cloud Asgard. One of them is the head of the Frozen Cloud Seven Fairies, and the other is the future Asgard Mistress. If Burning Heaven Clan wanted to act, even if they had one hundred thousand percent confidence to succeed, they would still need to weigh the consequences. Even if Fen Juecheng dared to, Fen Duanhun may not even have that kind of courage.”
Amidst the crowd’s onlooking and whispering, the Burning Heaven Clan’s bridal escort party came closer and closer. The moment it was seven o’clock in the morning, they accurately stepped before Blue Wind Imperial Palace’s palace gates. After going through simple conversations, the bridal escort party continued forward as gongs and drums sounded and eight lions danced, straight toward the Moon Embracing Palace that Princess Cang Yue resided in.
In the Emperor’s Chambers.
“Reporting to your majesty, Burning Heaven Clan’s bridal escort party has already entered the palace gates, and will arrive at the Moon Embracing Palace in half a quarter of an hour.” Cang Wanhe’s personal eunuch reported to him in a respectful manner.
The complexion of the current Cang Wanhe was bad to the point that almost a trace of human color couldn’t be seen. His eyes were embedded deep into their sockets, his hair was half white, and wrinkles filled his face. If Yun Che saw him right now, he definitely wouldn’t have recognized him as the Cang Wanghe he had met two years ago. In two years of time, it was as if he had grown a few tens of years older. Even his every breath were difficult, like a soon to be dead elderly man that could stop breathing entirely at any given moment.
The flames of his life, had already reached the brink of immediate extinguishment.
Cang Wanhe stayed up all night. Hearing the eunuch’s voice, he opened his eyes with difficulty and said with a hoarse voice: “Support us up, prepare the imperial chariot. We will personally visit… the Moon Embracing Palace… Cough cough… Cough cough cough cough….”
Just after speaking a few sentences, Cang Wanhe was already coughing horrendously, and his complexion became even more frightening as well.
“This… “ The eunuch hastily started patting Cang Wanhe’s back. A pained expression on his face: “Your Majesty, the day is still early right now, and the wind is still chilly. Your honored body really can not handle the toss and turns. Her Highness had also especially instructed, that after the Burning Heaven’s bridal escort party arrives, she will directly go with the palanquin, and would not go through some complicated ceremonies; Your Majesty also does not need to be there at all.”
“No… We, must go.” Cang Wanhe shook his head, slightly struggled, and assumed a posture of getting off the bed: “To escape from Fen Juecheng back then, Yue’er had even gone far away from the Imperial City at all costs, so how could she… willingly be wed to him… Yue’er had always been obedient, and only for this matter, had she always refused to tell us the reason… We have a feeling… if We do not go this morning, maybe… We won’t ever see her again… Quickly… carry Us over.”
“Sigh!”
A long sigh came from above. Right after, a middle-aged man in a grey robe with refined features who emitted the air of a scholar from his entire being descended: “Since Your Majesty has already decided, then let this old subject accompany Your Majesty forward.”
“Palace Chief Dongfang!” Seeing this refined young man who had suddenly appeared, the eunuch hastily took two steps back, but did not reveal any surprise and said with respect: “With Palace Chief Dongfang accompanying personally, His Majesty will definitely be fine… This old servant will go prepare the imperial chariot right now.”
………………………………
The Moon Embracing Palace was fully lit with lamps; flower lamps and red carpet filled one’s eyes. Even within the pond, there lied red colored ribbons everywhere. These were all prepared by the Third Prince Cang Shuo’s personally appointed people. He awaited Fen Juecheng’s marriage with Cang Yue, and looked forward to this day for many years; he naturally dedicated his all regarding this matter.
For Burning Heaven Clan’s bridal procession this time, Cang Shuo had more so started waiting a long time ago in front of Moon Embracing Palace. The moment he saw Burning Heaven Clan’s group arrive, he immediately scuttled over to greet them. After greeting Fen Juecheng, he personally started leading at front of the party.
Fen Juecheng was completely attired in red. A red flower was on his chest, with flames embedded in the robe’s shoulder and a scarlet red flame feather crown on his head; He could be said to be extremely handsome with an extraordinary atmosphere, and even triumphed far over the Cang Shuo who was the prince, making the hearts of those palace maids speed up just from looking.
Burning Heaven Clan’s bridal procession parted in front of the Moon Embracing Palace, and all of the guests that the Moon Embracing Palace invited were also present. However, the guests were very few in terms of numbers. With a glance, other than a few dozen palace maids and over a dozen of eunuchs, there were only a few people of the Blue Wind Profound Palace… Qin Wushang and Qin Wuyou were both in there. And another, had come from the Black Moon Merchant Guild, a elderly person surnamed Mu who was in charge of medicinal material trade.
Under Cang Yue’s instructions, Moon Embracing Palace did not prepare any complex greeting ceremony. The Burning Heaven Clan’s group had already arrived, so then the preparation was over. Next, was to wait for Princess Cang Yue’s appearance.
“His Majesty arrives!”
Accompanying a sharp and long shout, a golden dragon imperial chariot slow came under the surrounding protection of a few dozens golden attired bodyguards, and descended in the front of the Burning Heaven Clan’s group. Fen Juecheng immediately dismounted with a jump, came before the imperial chariot with a brisk pace, and said while bowing: “Juecheng greets father.”
“Hmph!” Cang Wanhe did not open the curtain, and made a faint sneer: “Today is only the bridal procession, you and Yue’er have not gone through the wedding ceremony. This word father, was called rather early.”
Fen Juecheng wasn’t angry in the slightest, and smiled with without any impatience: “Father’s scolding is correct. It is Juecheng who have acted rashly.”
Right at this time, the Moon Embracing Palace’s main entrance slowly opened. Princess Cang Yue wore a phoenix coronet and shawl with the aurora’s color. Under the supporting hand of two palace maids, she slowly walked out. She, who was in a completely red attire, was as if the newly risen tender moon, and in a moment, stole all of the colors in this world while also attracting every stunned gaze.
“Hahahaha!” Seeing Cang Yue appear, Cang Shuo started to laugh first and laid his hands at Fen Juecheng: “Young Clan Master Fen, please.”
Fen Juecheng nodded. With a smile on his face, he walked toward Cang Yue with a handsome posture, stopped before her, and extended a hand in her direction.
Since it was a bridal escortment, then Fen Juecheng definitely needed to support Cang Yue by the arms into the carriage. Yet Cang Yue had no response, as if she didn’t see his extended hand at all, and asked coldly: “Where’s the Burning Soul Flower I wanted?”
Fen Juecheng made a slight smile, clapped his hands, and said: “Present the betrothal gift.”
Over thirty Burning Heaven Clan disciples came forward simultaneously. Every single one of them carried a huge chest in their hands. The chests were gracefully lined up, and then opened simultaneously. Instantly, the marvelous luster of jewelry and the medicinal scent of high grade medicinal materials filled the entire Moon Embracing Palace’s airspace above. A large wave of exclamation resounded, and even personages at the level of Qin Wushang revealed odd colors in their eyes… This betrothal gift, could be said to be worth as much as a few cities! Even if it was to marry the princess of the Imperial Family, it appeared somewhat exaggerated.
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