Chapter 1177: Returning to Zhou Tian Realm
Within just two or three hours, the first wave of the Qiankun Five Jade Pill's core medicinal power was completely refined. The entire process was not only uneventful, but Yun Che instead felt as though he had been in an indescribable state of comfort throughout, as if drifting among clouds, as if wandering through a dream.
With the medicinal energy refined, the Qiankun Five Jade Pill fell into a temporary silence. That dreamlike mysterious coldness also, unnoticed by Yun Che, merged on its own into his body. Even the injuries on his body had completely healed.
Yun Che gathered his concentration again and began to steadily consolidate his newfound power.
However, this calm did not last long. The second wave of the Qiankun Five Jade Pill's core medicinal power suddenly erupted. Although it was slightly weaker than the first wave, it still caused Yun Che to plummet once again into an abyss.
But this time, before Yun Che could struggle for long, that gentle, mysterious aura surged into his body once more. Like a gentle spring rain, it moistened his entire being, silently and seamlessly merging with his body and power, jointly suppressing and refining the new medicinal energy.
Most of the Qiankun Five Jade Pill's power was hidden in its core. It erupted in waves, and Yun Che refined it wave by wave. Each time the medicinal energy erupted, just when Yun Che could no longer bear it, that icy aura, as if from a dream, would timely flow into his body.
Time and again, after dozens of repetitions, the overflowing medicinal power of the Qiankun Five Jade Pill became extremely weak. And the dreamlike aura entering his body each time was also subtly diminishing.
No one knew how long passed—perhaps a few days, several months, or even years... After a hundred cycles, the Qiankun Five Jade Pill's power was finally fully released. The five-colored strange light that had been covering Yun Che faded away completely.
Yun Che's heart and soul finally relaxed, but he felt no fatigue—instead, there was an unprecedented clarity.
Without bothering to sense his current profound energy, Yun Che released his perception and quietly opened his eyes... The Time Wheel Pearl's barrier still existed, proving that less than "one month" had passed. But he was alone within it; Mu Xuanyin was no longer there, and neither was her aura around him.
At that moment, a faint phoenix cry suddenly came from the depths of his soul.
The wisp of soul bestowed upon him by the Ice Phoenix Maiden shone with an icy radiance within his heart.
Mu Xuanyin had once told him that the Divine Tribulation Realm was the most special realm of the divine path, with only nine minor levels and no qualitative transformation—only pure profound energy enhancement. Thus, the Divine Tribulation Realm was the most suitable realm for "forced elevation." It was the easiest to adapt to and had the least side effects.
This was also one of the reasons Mu Xuanyin had not allowed Yun Che, who was at the Divine Soul Realm, to take the Qiankun Five Jade Pill.
Yun Che refocused his mind and touched that wisp of Ice Phoenix soul. Attached to that soul was a power that, to him, was incomparably strong—one that would allow his profound energy to surge again.
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Zhou Tian Realm, Feng Shen Platform, the third day of the Feng Shen Battle.
Yesterday, in the Feng Shen Battle, eight people fell from the sealing group to the loser group, and eight people were eliminated from the loser group.
Today, only the loser group's matches would be held—a total of eight matches, and another eight people would be eliminated from the Feng Shen Platform.
In other words, after today's battles, only sixteen would remain on the Feng Shen Platform. Breaking into the top sixteen from the thirty-two divine sons of the Feng Shen selection was already an achievement worthy of glory.
And the remaining eight in the sealing group were the focus of the entire Eastern Divine Region.
As soon as dawn broke, the star realm seats of the Feng Shen Platform were all fully occupied. Those who fell in the sealing group still had a sliver of hope, but once someone in the loser group lost, they were directly eliminated, with no chance of recovery. Hence, the matches in the loser group were even more tense and nerve-wracking.
However, although there were supposed to be eight matches today, in the eyes of many, there were actually only six.
On the light curtain of the Feng Shen Platform was engraved today's battle list:
First Match: Yin Xue Realm [Yun Che] – vs. – Saint Universe Realm [Luo Chang'an]
Second Match: Divine Martial Realm [Wu Guike] – vs. – Thunderclap Realm [Li Jianming]
...
...
"That Luo Chang'an really has good luck. He was originally the weakest in strength, but he encountered Yun Che in his first match and got a free pass into the sealing group. Yesterday, he lost to Huo Poyun of the Flame God Realm in the sealing group, and now his opponent in the loser group is Yun Che again... Looks like he's going to make it into the top sixteen."
"He only ran into Yun Che again because Yun Che's match yesterday was a bye. Otherwise, how could he have such a weak opponent? The one who should have been eliminated long ago got a free win and stayed until now. I really feel sorry for those divine sons who fought hard and were eliminated."
"Yun Che didn't come to the Feng Shen Platform yesterday. I heard someone saw him sneak out of Zhou Tian Realm alone. He probably fled back to Yin Xue Realm."
"It seems even he doesn't have the face to stay and embarrass himself... Tch! Running back like that is even more shameful. I heard he’s even the personal disciple of the Yin Xue Realm King. This is basically dragging the entire Yin Xue Realm’s face through the mud. If I had such a personal disciple, I’d just kill him with one palm strike!"
Among the seats, those from Yin Xue Realm and Flame God Realm had already arrived. Their ears were filled with all kinds of harsh discussions.
Mu Bingyun remained silent throughout. Mu Huanzhi and the others felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles, regretting having come. On the Flame God Realm side, Yan Juehai and Huo Rulie both sighed inwardly. Huo Poyun wanted to ask several times but never voiced his question.
The time was nearly up. As the barrier of the Feng Shen Platform rose, Quhui Zunzhe's figure floated into the air. The Feng Shen Battle of the day finally began.
"Today is the second round of the loser group battles. Victory means advancing to tomorrow's third round of the loser group and entering the top sixteen. Defeat means being eliminated from the Profound God Convention!"
"First match of the second round of the loser group: Yin Xue Realm's Yun Che vs. Saint Universe Realm's Luo Chang'an. Enter the Feng Shen Platform immediately!"
As soon as Quhui Zunzhe's voice fell, Luo Chang'an gracefully rose into the air and landed gracefully at the center of the Feng Shen Platform. His gaze shot straight toward the Yin Xue Realm seats, a leisurely smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
In the Yin Xue Realm seats, there was no trace of Yun Che.
The eyes of the entire audience swept across the Yin Xue Realm seats, half in contempt, half in mockery. Some even shook their heads and sighed inwardly, as if feeling shame for Yin Xue Realm. Under countless gazes, the people of Yin Xue Realm dared not lift their heads, sitting in discomfort.
"That kid... he wouldn't really have become a deserter, would he?" Huo Rulie shook his head, sighed heavily, and his face was full of frustration and disappointment.
On the first day of the first match, although he had directly surrendered, at least he was present and had spoken the words himself in public... After all, in terms of strength, he had no chance of winning. Admitting defeat directly did damage a profound practitioner's dignity, but that was that.
Yesterday, in the first round of the loser group, he had no opponent and directly advanced to the next match. Since he wasn't there, there was nothing to say.
But today... if he really had fled back to Yin Xue Realm, then there really was no reason for him not to be looked down upon.
A long time passed after Quhui Zunzhe's words, but only Luo Chang'an remained on the Feng Shen Platform. Since there was no sign of Yun Che in the seats, it was obvious he wasn't even present. The outcome was clear for all to see.
"Alas, he cheated through all three preliminary rounds. Zhou Tian Realm, with a heart as vast as the sky, still allowed him to enter the Feng Shen Battle. And the result... tch!"
"This will definitely go down in history as a disgrace to the Profound God Convention."
"Yun Che ran away long ago. There's no need for Quhui Zunzhe to waste time. He should just announce the result. For such trash to sneak into the Feng Shen Battle is a stain on the entire Profound God Convention."
Quhui Zunzhe's eyes were indifferent, his expression blank. According to the rules of the Feng Shen Battle, if a person did not arrive at the Feng Shen Platform within fifteen breaths, they could be directly judged as losing. Since Yun Che hadn't even made it to the venue, let alone the platform, the result was already obvious. But, given his nature, he would still strictly wait for fifteen breaths before making the announcement.
At that moment, from the eastern seats, the Zhou Tian God Emperor suddenly spoke: "Quhui, announce the result directly. There is no need for the Profound God Convention to waste time on a coward who has no dignity in the profound path."
Quhui Zunzhe nodded. He no longer even deigned to mention Yun Che's name and said in a deep voice: "First match of the second round of the loser group, Luo Chang'an... Oh?"
Just as the word "wins" was about to leave his mouth, Quhui Zunzhe's brow suddenly twitched. He turned his head to look upward. At the same time, more than half of the audience's gazes also turned in one direction.
An ice boat, like a shooting star streaking across the sky, arrived swiftly from the east and in an instant was above the Feng Shen Platform. From the ice boat, a figure plummeted down, landing in front of Luo Chang'an. The ice boat also vanished.
"Yun Che!" The people of Yin Xue Realm exclaimed in unison.
"Finally..." Mu Bingyun let out a long breath, her expression softening.
"Hah! This kid, I knew he wasn't the type to flee without a fight." Huo Rulie also let out a huge sigh of relief, then stood up and roared, "Good to see you, Yun kid! Even if you know you're no match, we lose with dignity... Hmm?"
Suddenly, Huo Rulie's brow furrowed. He sensed something was off. After a moment of concentration, his eyes widened, revealing an expression of disbelief.
Yun Che was wearing a freshly changed Ice Phoenix snow robe, his hands clasped behind his back, his head slightly raised, his eyes as calm as still water, a faint smile on his face. And the spot he had landed on... was less than ten steps away from Luo Chang'an directly in front of him.
Quhui Zunzhe cast a sidelong glance at Yun Che, his brow also twitching noticeably. In the seats, many Star God powerhouses also showed startled expressions. Even the various God Emperors in the eastern seats had a strange light flickering in their eyes.
What startled them was not Yun Che's sudden arrival.
It was his profound energy aura... It had completely changed!
The day before yesterday, his profound energy had clearly been at the first level of the Divine Tribulation Realm, as everyone knew.
But now, the Yun Che standing before them—the profound energy emanating from him was unmistakably at the eighth level of the Divine Tribulation Realm!
After repeated confirmation, it was indeed the eighth level of the Divine Tribulation Realm, no doubt!
In just less than two days, he had actually... increased by seven entire minor levels!
"Divine Tribulation Realm... eighth level? This... this is Yun Che?" Mu Huanzhi's mouth hung wide open, unable to believe his own spiritual perception.
Deep disbelief also flickered in Mu Bingyun's eyes.
Mu Bingyun had always known about the "Qiankun Five Jade Pill" that Yun Che had swallowed. She had even assisted Mu Xuanyin in fusing it. She knew that due to the special materials used, this "Qiankun Five Jade Pill" would certainly have far greater medicinal power than what was recorded.
An ordinary Qiankun Five Jade Pill could forcibly raise a profound practitioner at the Divine Origin Realm to the Divine Tribulation Realm. But the increase of minor levels within the Divine Tribulation Realm required a vast amount of power, far beyond what the Divine Origin Realm or Divine Soul Realm could compare to. Even with the great potency of this Qiankun Five Jade Pill... Mu Xuanyin had personally said that if Yun Che refined it after reaching the Divine Tribulation Realm, due to the special nature of his profound veins, he would probably increase by about three minor levels, at most four.
She knew the purpose of Yun Che's return to Yin Xue Realm—it was definitely to seek out this Qiankun Five Jade Pill.
But an increase of seven entire minor levels was genuinely shocking.
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[Today is the last day of the seventh month. At least I didn't miss a day in the latter half. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Tomorrow will be August, hahahahahaha...]