Chapter 1176: Hell and Heaven
Yun Che was within the Time Wheel Barrier, but he felt nothing unusual about it.
"The Qiankun Five Jade Pill contains extremely powerful energy that can drastically increase a low-level divine profound force, but it also carries high risks. The reason for fusing the 'Wood Spirit Pearl' was to balance the medicinal power."
Mu Xuanyin waved her hands, and thin layers of ice mist rose around Yun Che: "The Wood Spirit Pearl you obtained has preserved all its spiritual energy in an extremely rare manner. However, the Ancient Dragon's Heart came from a Divine Lord-level Qiu Dragon, the Royal Immortal Herb's aura is intact, and the Qilin Horn also contains heavy cold energy. Thus, despite the presence of a perfect Wood Spirit Pearl, the medicinal force is still explosively potent—there is no way you can refine it on your own."
"Even with my assistance, there is still a risk of losing control. Therefore, you must be extremely cautious, understand!"
"Disciple understands." Yun Che nodded. He picked up the Qiankun Five Jade Pill and, under Mu Xuanyin's gaze, carefully swallowed it.
A cool aura entered his body and then slowly faded away, leaving no sensation. Yun Che closed his eyes and began to circulate his aura, preparing to refine the medicinal power. But before his profound force had even touched the Qiankun Five Jade Pill, his entire body suddenly shook violently.
In that instant, it was as if countless volcanoes and countless glaciers had simultaneously erupted and exploded within him, unleashing a mad torrent of raging floods that burst upward. Half of these floods were icy cold, and half were scorching hot. Even the tiniest strand among them contained a power far beyond Yun Che's expectations.
To forcibly raise his profound force, Yun Che had often relied on his special constitution to swallow extremely potent pills—such as the Jin Lin Hua Long Dan in the lower realm, or the Yu Luo Bing Hun Dan when he first arrived at Yin Xue. But if those were as fierce as a raging river...
The force released by this Qiankun Five Jade Pill was like a boundless ocean that wanted to swallow the heavens and cover the earth.
Yun Che didn't even have time to guide or control it before he felt as if he had been swept into a skyward tempest. Endless pain drowned his entire body. Every bone and every cell in his body trembled madly, as if they might burst at any moment...
As an incomparable shock surged in Yun Che's heart, a cold and gentle aura suddenly pressed in from the surface of his body. Under this cold energy, the originally violent medicinal tide quickly calmed down, eventually becoming remarkably docile, flowing slowly through his entire body and meridians.
The terrible pain quickly subsided. Yun Che could once again sense his body and profound veins. He instantly understood where this cold energy that had suppressed the medicinal power came from. He hurriedly composed his mind, fully released his profound energy, and simultaneously began to circulate the Great Dao Pagoda Art.
The medicinal force, far beyond anything he had anticipated, made Yun Che truly realize the terror of this "Qiankun Five Jade Pill." How could he dare to slack off even slightly? He completely sealed off his external senses, slowly guided his profound energy and heaven-earth spiritual energy, and cautiously refined the now-tamed medicinal power.
Within the Time Wheel Barrier, in Mu Xuanyin's sight, Yun Che's violently trembling body gradually calmed, and his entire body was covered in sweat. If he had opened his eyes and looked at his body at that moment, he would have been greatly startled... because on the surface of his body, five colors were brilliantly interweaving—red, blue, cyan, jade, and white swirling chaotically, their light sometimes intense, sometimes faint.
Mu Xuanyin was sitting right in front of Yun Che, one finger pointing out, a mass of ice mist constantly enveloping him. Her cultivation was already at the peak of the Shen Realm, yet her gaze was deeply solemn.
Pills that forcibly raise profound force, even if only by a minor realm, are extremely rare and carry great risks. And the Qiankun Five Jade Pill... Mu Xuanyin had personally said back then that it could allow Yun Che, who was then only at the Divine Origin Realm, to directly enter the Divine Tribulation Realm—what a concept that was!
The corresponding medicinal power and risk were equally imaginable.
Moreover, because the "Ancient Dragon's Heart" came from a Qiu Dragon with tens of thousands of years of lifespan and at the Divine Lord realm, the "Qilin Horn" came from an ancient Qilin, the "Wood Spirit Pearl" was a nearly impossible-to-find perfect Wood Spirit Pearl, and the "Royal Immortal Herb"—under the special power of the Heavenly Poison Pearl—had not lost a single trace of its spiritual energy.
The result was obvious: the medicinal power of this "Qiankun Five Jade Pill" was far greater than all the known records Mu Xuanyin had about it.
The medicinal power and the risk... even Mu Xuanyin could not predict them.
She had to help Yun Che suppress the force of the Qiankun Five Jade Pill, but her power was far too immense for Yun Che. One misstep—if the medicinal force got out of control, it would severely injure him; or if her power directly harmed him... Compared to Yun Che, who could now calmly refine the medicinal force, she was far less at ease.
If Mu Xuanyin had not been there to assist him, and Yun Che had taken the pill on his own, even with his Desolate God's Power and Dragon God's Body, he would have died without a doubt—there would have been no other outcome.
That was why, when Yun Che had fled from the Yan Shen Realm and started trying to find materials to refine the "Qiankun Five Jade Pill" on his own starting from the Heiya Realm—let alone whether he could succeed—even if he had succeeded and forcefully swallowed it... the result would have been nothing short of outright suicide.
Inside the Time Wheel Barrier, time flowed slowly.
One day... two days... five days... seven days...
The medicinal power of the Qiankun Five Jade Pill continued to release and was gradually refined. On the surface of Yun Che's body, the five colors continuously swirled.
All Mu Xuanyin could do was help suppress the medicinal force; she could not assist in its refinement. Over these days, roughly every few hours, the medicinal power would go berserk. Yun Che's entire body would tremble, and he would be in unbearable pain, but it was quickly suppressed by Mu Xuanyin's power, so it was mostly uneventful.
Although Yun Che had sealed off his external senses and focused all his perception on refining the medicinal force, he could still clearly feel his profound force rapidly growing stronger. The refinement of the medicinal power also became smoother as his profound force increased.
His mind and soul also completely settled down, no longer having the initial shock and worry.
But as the surface layer of the Qiankun Five Jade Pill's medicinal power was gradually refined, it finally began to touch the core.
The long-calm sea, which had only occasionally stirred ripples, suddenly and without warning raised sky-covering waves.
"AHHH!!!"
Yun Che felt as if ten thousand blades were piercing his soul; he let out a painful cry. In that instant, it was as if tens of thousands of abyssal beasts were roaring inside him. Every drop of blood, every meridian, every cell of his body was filled with explosively violent power. Yun Che desperately tried to use his profound energy to guide the suddenly erupting medicinal force, but it was like an ant trying to shake a tree.
The medicinal power that suddenly exploded within Yun Che made Mu Xuanyin's eyes flash with blue light. She sent down a blanket of ice mist... but after only suppressing it for a few moments, the too-ferocious medicinal power broke free layer by layer and rampaged wildly.
"This is…"
The core medicinal power of this Qiankun Five Jade Pill was bound to be extremely strong—Mu Xuanyin had prepared for that. But even she had never imagined it could be this ferocious.
Mu Xuanyin's brows furrowed. She turned her jade wrist, changing from a finger to a palm, and a deeper blue light descended... Immediately, Yun Che's expression began to ease. But this relief lasted less than half an hour before it started to turn into an increasingly profound pain.
Soon, Yun Che's face was as pale as paper, and his body was drenched in sweat like a torrential rain.
"..." Her icy brows knitted tighter and tighter. Mu Xuanyin turned her wrist again, her snow-white fingers gleaming like ice crystals under the gradually intensifying blue light. But this blue light gathered between her fingers, hovering in midair, never descending.
The violence of the core medicinal power of the Qiankun Five Jade Pill had completely exceeded her expectations. Had she known this earlier, she would never have chosen to let Yun Che take it at this time.
With such medicinal power, Yun Che absolutely could not withstand it.
Although even a hundred times more violent power could be instantly suppressed by her strength... she knew perfectly well that the force required to suppress this medicinal power was equally unbearable for Yun Che—it would severely injure him before even suppressing the medicinal force.
But if she did not suppress it...
Like countless abyssal beasts breaking free from their cages and wreaking havoc inside his body, Yun Che's expression grew more and more pained. His body twitched incessantly, and every texture of his skin and muscles twisted sharply.
Mu Xuanyin's palm hovered over Yun Che's chest... Time quickly passed. Gradually, her fingers began to tremble slightly, but the ice light gathered in her hand still could not descend.
"Ugh... ah... aahhh..."
Even though his senses were sealed off, Yun Che still let out painful groans—these were the cries of his very soul. The multicolored light flowing along his body surface had become so dense it was almost blinding. As these lights flickered chaotically, Yun Che's body would sometimes bulge, sometimes shrink sharply... accompanied by the continuous "crack crack" sounds of bones colliding.
If not for his Dragon God's Marrow, at least half of his bones would have been shattered by now.
Even though he was falling into a desperate abyss, the painful expression on Yun Che's face testified to his will, refusing to break.
Mu Xuanyin's breathing gradually became rapid, her high chest heaving more and more violently. Watching Yun Che's face twisted in extreme pain and his body on the verge of being destroyed, her gaze had long since become chaotic... and then gradually turned into one of struggle.
"Ugh... aahhh..."
A trace of bloody red dripped from the corner of Yun Che's mouth.
This streak of red blood was like a red needle piercing Mu Xuanyin's heart and soul, shattering all the struggle in her eyes.
The hand that had been hovering over his chest for a long time finally slowly lowered.
At this moment, Yun Che was like a small boat caught in the raging waves of a vast ocean, his struggle becoming increasingly pale and feeble. He held on with all his willpower, waiting for that force that could suppress the medicinal power to arrive, but it never did.
"Master..." His soul screamed endlessly. He felt himself getting closer and closer to the abyss, but the power he so desperately desired never came.
Just as his power, will, and body were all on the verge of total collapse, a wave of icy cold aura suddenly surged toward him...
This cold energy was completely different from the cold energy that had previously suppressed the medicinal power. It did not come from outside his body, but suddenly appeared from within his body. Since his senses were sealed, he couldn't accurately tell where it came from, but it certainly surged from the inside of his body.
This cold energy was not strong, but it was supremely pure, and carried a mysterious aura of a very high level... In his haze, it also gave Yun Che a vague sense of familiarity.
This... is...
The pure aura quickly spread throughout Yun Che's body, brightening his soul, which had been on the verge of collapse. The wild, beast-like energy calmed down within just a few breaths under the cold energy.
Not only that, this cold energy spontaneously merged with Yun Che's profound energy and began to refine the medicinal power together. It was as if when that icy aura surged into Yun Che's body, it had already started to become his own power.
As the cold energy continued to pour in, the pain that had filled Yun Che's heart and soul completely disappeared, replaced by an indescribable, ultimate sense of comfort. It felt as if his entire body was soaking in a cool, pure pool of water, gently caressed by the softly flowing water, causing even his soul to tremble with pleasure and ease.
In the end, all the medicinal power lay still as if frozen, letting Yun Che refine it bit by bit.