Chapter 1558: Eastern Ruins Crown Prince
The five realms of the Eastern Ruins had grown increasingly unsettled in recent times.
More and more Xuan adepts began advancing toward the Middle Ruins Realm, because during the period of the Middle Ruins Battle, the Middle Ruins Realm would be opened to all Xuan adepts. Some came to spectate, while others sought opportunities that only came once every fifty years.
Thirteen days later.
Within an isolated space in the Eastern Cold Country of the Eastern Ruins Realm, a black radiance deeper than an endless abyss shimmered upon two figures simultaneously. They opened their eyes at the same time, gazing into each other's completely ink-black pupils.
And there was also the clearly qualitative transformation of their auras.
Qianye Ying'er slowly raised her hand. Her pure white skin gently wafted black vapor, and her brilliant golden hair and brows had also turned a jet-black like the dark night... She lowered her arm, her aura retracted, and only then did her pupils and hair return to their golden hue.
But her perception of the world, her perception of dark aura, had undergone an eternal change.
The source demon blood of Jie Yuan—demon emperor source blood that could never, under any circumstances, fuse into a mortal body—had, within just one month, achieved initial fusion within Yun Che, this absolute freak, and within Qianye Ying'er, this finest of cauldrons.
Yun Che already possessed the profound veins of a Creation God; the changes from the initial fusion of demon emperor blood were not as earth-shattering for him. But for Qianye Ying'er, a mortal who had obtained the bloodline of a demon emperor—though it was merely an extremely faint trace—the qualitative transformation in her body and perception... was far beyond heaven and earth being turned upside down.
"This is... demon emperor blood." Qianye Ying'er spoke slowly. "Even when I stood at the peak of the Divine Lord Realm back then, I never felt this sensation of being somehow above heaven and earth. No wonder you, with the Evil God's profound veins, once drew the ninefold heavenly tribulation!"
"That was never the so-called 'birth of a Heavenly Dao Son' as the Three Old Ones of the Heavenly Mechanism claimed, but rather... the Heavenly Dao's fear of you!"
"So what?" Yun Che said coldly. "No matter how good the foundation, without sufficient power and a sufficiently ruthless heart, one will still end up... like this!"
He reached out, a finger pointing at Qianye Ying'er's brow, a black light flashing past.
Qianye Ying'er furrowed her brows, then slowly recited: "Eternal... Night... Illusion... Demon... Scripture."
"This is a dark demonic art from the ancient 'Eternal Night Demon Race,'" Yun Che said. "The level of demonic arts left by Jie Tian Mo Di is too high for you to cultivate in the short term. But this Eternal Night Illusion Demon Scripture, given your current state and Xuan path comprehension, you can definitely achieve some success in a short time, so as to prepare for the Middle Ruins Battle half a month from now."
This Eternal Night Illusion Demon Scripture was once used by Fen Juechen and Xuanyuan Wentian, inscribed in the Eternal Night Demonic Sword. Later, the Eternal Night Demonic Sword fell into Yun Che's hands. At that time, he had considerable repulsion toward dark profound force and dark demonic arts, so he only gave the Eternal Night Illusion Demon Scripture inscribed within a cursory glance, with absolutely no intention of cultivating it.
But even that cursory glance had invisibly engraved it deep in his heart, so that he could not forget it even if he wanted to.
"Alright." Qianye Ying'er responded lightly. With her current state of initial demon emperor blood fusion, cultivating the slightly lower-level Eternal Night Illusion Demon Scripture would indeed be a piece of cake.
Yun Che said no more. He closed his eyes, and a blue light flashed on his body, then became extremely dense, while the temperature of the space began to drop at a very rapid pace.
A long cry, like a divine sound from the heavenly gates, appeared as a massive Ice Phoenix shadow manifested on Yun Che's body, releasing a divine majesty that made Qianye Ying'er's heart tremble deeply.
With the demon blood initially fused, Yun Che finally began to refine the final divine power bestowed upon him by the Ice Phoenix God Spirit.
Back then, the Ice Phoenix God Spirit had given Mu Xuanyin divine power, and even after ten thousand years, she had not managed to refine half of it. But Yun Che... he was confident he could perfectly refine it within half a year!
This was also his greatest reliance for a massive burst in strength in the short term!
"..." Qianye Ying'er watched silently, sensing Yun Che's Xuan path aura rapidly rising beneath the Ice Phoenix shadow. The speed of elevation was astonishing, yet still so peaceful.
Yun Che's body held too many things that were difficult for others to understand. Every time, she could not help but be shocked by them.
She quickly collected her thoughts and began focusing on cultivating the Eternal Night Illusion Demon Scripture.
If it were the her from before today, cultivating this ancient demonic art would have taken no short amount of time. But now, with the demon emperor blood fused into her body, the dark laws contained in the Eternal Night Illusion Demon Scripture were, whether in understanding or controlling them, truly as easy as turning over her hand. In less than a day, she had already perfectly cultivated the first realm.
Opening her eyes, Yun Che's position had not moved at all, not stirring in the slightest, yet his Xuan path realm was already at Divine King Realm Level 2.
On the third day, she completed the second realm of the Eternal Night Illusion Demon Scripture, and Yun Che's cultivation had reached Divine King Realm Level 3.
On the seventh day, she completed the third realm. When she opened her eyes, Yun Che was already at Divine King Realm Level 4.
On the fifteenth day, she completed the fifth realm. Meanwhile, Yun Che had just broken through to Level 5 Divine King.
In just half a month, spanning four small realms of the Divine King Realm! This was no longer something that could be described as shocking the world; it was something fundamentally impossible within the cognition of the Xuan path!
"It's time to set out." Qianye Ying'er said. No wonder he had been so confident about plundering earlier... He actually still had such a trump card!
She just didn't know where the limit of this trump card lay, or to what realm it could ultimately elevate him.
Clang!
The divine shadow vanished, the light dispersed. But Yun Che did not open his eyes. He said in a low voice, "There's no need to be so hasty. I need some time to adapt and stabilize."
"So you weren't planning to go to the Eastern Ruins Sect after all?" Qianye Ying'er said thoughtfully.
"Hmph, what qualifications does a mere Eastern Ruins Sect have to make us obey their commands?" Yun Che said. "We'll go directly to... the Middle Ruins Realm!"
The Middle Ruins Realm, located at the center of the Five Ruins Realms, was a land of disaster and opportunity.
The Middle Ruins Realm had always been under the control of the four great Realm King Sects, each with their own controlled territories. And the allocation of territories was determined by the Middle Ruins Battle held every fifty years. One of the rewards other sects in the Five Ruins Realms could receive from the Realm King Sects was the qualification to explore the Middle Ruins Realm.
During the Middle Ruins Battle, the Middle Ruins Realm was open to all Xuan adepts. Thus, this period was the most lively time in the Middle Ruins Realm. A small number of Xuan adepts who deemed themselves sufficiently strong would take the opportunity to venture deep into the Middle Ruins Realm in search of opportunities, while most Xuan adepts gathered toward the Middle Ruins North Region.
The battlefield of the Middle Ruins Battle was precisely the Middle Ruins North Region.
As time passed, wave after wave of powerful auras rapidly converged toward the Middle Ruins North Region... At this moment, there were only twenty hours left before the start of the Middle Ruins Battle.
The Middle Ruins Realm was filled with incredibly dangerous disaster storms. The border areas were the safest, but they were still perpetually swept by wind and sand.
Amidst the raging wind and sand, two figures walked side by side. At this moment, Xuan adepts from all realms were flooding into the Middle Ruins North Region every moment, yet these two figures, even half-hidden in the sandstorm, still made people unable to help but turn their heads.
"For the Middle Ruins Battle, participants must not exceed an age of fifty Jiazi. An age restriction is perfectly normal, but why is there a cultivation restriction?" Yun Che asked in a low voice. His voice was not disturbed by the wind and sand at all, reaching Qianye Ying'er's ears clearly.
"In middle-level star realms, Divine Sovereigns are the peak," Qianye Ying'er said slowly. "Divine Kings, while few, are not rare. Do you know how many Divine Kings have come to a halt at the peak of the Divine King Realm, unable to advance even half a step for a hundred years, a thousand years, or even their entire lives?"
Yun Che had little contact with other star realms. But in the Yin Xue Realm... beneath Mu Xuanyin were two great Divine Sovereigns, Mu Bingyun and Mu Huanzhi. But beneath those two Divine Sovereigns, all the other temple elders and Ice Phoenix Palace masters were at the peak of Divine King, with no more Divine Sovereigns.
Yun Che's profound veins were special; his path of cultivation had almost never felt the existence of bottlenecks—whether small realms or large ones. But he also understood that for other Xuan adepts, crossing a major realm was a chasm every time.
"The Middle Ruins Battle has always been a battle of peak Divine Kings. One purpose is to allow these Divine Kings, who are still young in lifespan and have great potential, to find some opportunity to achieve the Divine Sovereign Realm through such battles, while also not hindering their display of power... At the same time, it can also create invisible suppression."
Among equal peak Divine Kings, the victor would undoubtedly have a higher chance of reaching the Divine Sovereign Realm in the future, while the defeated might leave a shadow in their hearts, making it even harder to advance.
Let alone the fact that the final outcome determined the resource allocation for the next fifty years!
Having a bearing on both prestige and resources, there was no doubt that the four Ruins Realms had always placed great importance on the Middle Ruins Battle.
"Peak Divine King? Hah..." The corner of Yun Che's mouth twitched, a sound of extreme disdain.
"If you participate in the battle at the Level 5 Divine King Realm, you'll certainly be an outlier." Thinking of the scene of Yun Che entering the Seal God Battle at the Divine Tribulation Realm back then, Qianye Ying'er's gaze momentarily blurred.
At that time, Yun Che was like bathed in the flames of a blazing sun, so blazing and dazzling... Even she, then the Fandi Shennü, found it dazzling.
And now, he was shrouded in endless darkness, chilling to the soul at a glance.
The same person... just a few years...
The inconstancy of fate was embodied in him to the extreme.
"An outlier? Where am I not an outlier?"
Yun Che's indifferent words contained a cruelty that others might never comprehend in ten thousand lifetimes.
Qianye Ying'er: "..."
Just then, Yun Che suddenly stopped in his tracks, raised his head, and slowly focused his gaze.
"What's wrong?" Qianye Ying'er asked.
"The wind here... is somewhat strange," Yun Che said.
"Strange?" Qianye Ying'er instantly released her spiritual sense, then retracted it. "It is indeed unusual that the wind element here far surpasses the dark aura, even though this is the Northern Divine Region."
"That's not what I mean." Yun Che's expression had subtly changed. He turned his head to look into the distance and said slowly, "Setting aside the mixed dark aura, the storm force here... is far too pure."
"Pure?" Seeing Yun Che's clearly altered expression, Qianye Ying'er frowned, then fell into thought. But immediately, she suddenly looked up ahead. In the distance of her sight, several unhurried figures appeared. She said in a low voice, "Peak Divine King. Their life and profound force auras are very similar to that little girl who came the other day. They must be participants from the Eastern Ruins Realm... and likely from the Realm King's bloodline."
Just as Qianye Ying'er noticed them, their voices came from afar.
"Young Master, there's no need to be angry over an outsider."
"Hmph! Father specifically left me behind, ordering me to wait for him personally. That's already giving him tremendous face! And he dares not show up! This is not just bullying me, but bullying and insulting our entire Eastern Ruins!"
"I heard that Elder Jiukui praised Yun Che highly, which is why the Sect Master took him so seriously. But such an ungrateful person is indeed rare. When the Sect Master finds out, he will surely demand an accounting. After the Middle Ruins Battle, the Sect Master will definitely have him punished."
"Young Master..." Qianye Ying'er murmured. "This person is likely the eldest son of the Eastern Ruins Realm King, Dong Xueci, the Young Master of the Eastern Ruins Sect, also known as the Eastern Ruins Crown Prince. You didn't go to the Eastern Ruins Sect, so you've already angered this Eastern Ruins Crown Prince."
"What does his anger have to do with me?" Yun Che said coldly.
A gust of wind and sand swept by. When it settled, the three figures had gone from distant to near.
At the front was a rather tall young man, his eyes carrying an innate arrogance and a hint of gloom, his body overflowing with the aura of a peak Divine King. This man was precisely the Eastern Ruins Crown Prince, Dong Xueci.
Beside him followed two middle-aged men, both with Xuan path auras at the Divine King Realm.
The Middle Ruins Battle never restricted the search for outside help; being able to find powerful aid was itself a skill. Every Middle Ruins Battle, the Eastern Ruins Sect would seek out peak Divine Kings from outside the sect, even from outside the star realm, to bolster their forces. This time was no exception.
Yun Che was one of them.
When Dong Xueyan had gone to find Yun Che, Dong Jiukui had been by her side. He thought highly of Yun Che, and given his strength and status in the sect, his evaluation was naturally not taken lightly by the Eastern Ruins Realm King.
But, with the Middle Ruins Battle approaching, all the outside help had arrived early with reverence and fear, but Yun Che was nowhere to be seen.
In the Eastern Ruins Realm, who dared deceive or defy the Eastern Ruins Sect!? Although the Eastern Ruins Realm King was angry inside, he still listened to Dong Jiukui's words. Before setting out for the Middle Ruins Realm, he specifically ordered the Eastern Ruins Crown Prince, Dong Xueci, to stay behind and wait for Yun Che for one more day.
Having to show such regard for an outside helper, and even leaving him, the mighty Eastern Ruins Crown Prince, to personally wait, had already made Dong Xueci extremely displeased. But after a day passed, Yun Che still hadn't come, making him even more furious.
The anger in his heart was clearly written on his face.
As the two sides drew near, Dong Xueci's gaze casually swept over Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er... But that single glance made his gaze freeze, and his footsteps stopped instantly.
Not because he had seen the man who enraged him—he had never met Yun Che before—but because his gaze locked firmly onto Qianye Ying'er.