Chapter 170: Death Wasteland
Yun Che casually found an inn to stay at, but he did not sleep. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the bed and placed the last Dragon Blood Pill into his mouth.
Along the journey from Cangfeng Imperial City to this place, he had already consumed two Dragon Blood Pills. Each pill required a day or two to refine and absorb, but with Xiao Xiannü secretly protecting him, he had no need to worry.
The moment the Dragon Blood Pill entered his body, it was like a flame suddenly exploding within him. Yun Che's face flushed red, and his body trembled. However, under the operation of the Great Dao Pagoda Art, his discomfort lasted less than half an incense stick's time. His complexion quickly returned to normal, and his breathing became steady.
Four drops of dragon blood from a King Xuan Flame Dragon could never compare to the blood of a Phoenix Divine Beast. But the invasion of Flame Dragon blood was far more dangerous than Phoenix blood. Phoenix blood would merge into a person's bloodline, becoming part of it, rather than being eliminated... with Yun Che's abilities, he absolutely could not completely destroy Phoenix blood. But Flame Dragon blood was different—it needed to be refined, its contained power transformed into Yun Che's own strength. Once refined, it would disappear forever. This process was far more difficult and dangerous than merging Phoenix blood. Therefore, Yun Che had to first blend it into a medicinal pill, making it gentle enough, before daring to refine it.
A flash of ice light drifted, and Xiao Xiannü appeared silently before Yun Che, gazing at his calm expression with a flicker of complexity in her eyes. She had personally examined the Dragon Blood Pill; it contained pure King Dragon blood, as many as four drops. Although the power within the dragon blood had become very gentle after being incorporated into the pill, refining it would require at least Spirit Xuan Realm profound strength. Forcibly taking it at the True Xuan Realm would carry great danger.
Yet Yun Che had consumed three Dragon Blood Pills in succession, each time refining them with extreme smoothness, without much pain or struggle. The entire process could be described as calm and natural, which made her unable to suppress her astonishment.
By the time Yun Che came out of his meditation, it was already dawn of the third day. When he opened his eyes, he felt no hunger at all, only a refreshing lightness. With the refinement of three Dragon Blood Pills, his profound strength had risen to the peak of True Xuan Realm, Level 4, just half a step away from breaking through to True Xuan Realm, Level 5. But the benefits of the three Dragon Blood Pills were not limited to the increase in profound strength; his body and meridians had also been greatly strengthened.
With the aid of one Golden Scale Dragon Transformation Pill and three Dragon Blood Pills, Yun Che's profound strength had risen two levels in half a month. However, while advancing with pills was the fastest method, it had a major drawback—unstable profound strength. After all, these two sudden levels of power were not obtained through normal cultivation. To stabilize them, he would need a large amount of combat.
Yun Che left the guest room, purchased enough dry provisions, and when the innkeeper saw the purple space ring on his hand, he hesitated for a long time before leaning in and speaking in a low voice: "Young man, are you also a profound practitioner going to train in the Death Wasteland?"
"Yes," Yun Che could see kindness in the innkeeper's eyes. "Do you have any advice, boss?"
"Hehe," the innkeeper sized him up a few times and said admiringly, "At such a young age, you already have True Xuan Realm profound strength—truly remarkable. I’d guess you’re a genius disciple from some great clan or sect. And from your clothes and the purple ring on your hand, you’re clearly not short on money, so you’re definitely not here to hunt for treasures to sell."
Yun Che glanced at the purple ring on his hand but said nothing. He had the Heavenly Poison Pearl on him, so he had no need for a space ring. This purple space ring was the one he had stripped from Feng Baiyi, worn on his hand to throw others off the scent.
"But..." The innkeeper looked around at the people nearby and lowered his voice: "The people who come to the Death Wasteland are a mixed lot. Some come for training, others for money. For profit, they not only hunt profound beasts but also hunt profound practitioners entering the Death Wasteland. That purple ring on your hand is far too eye-catching. You’ll easily be targeted. On top of that, you’re young and alone—it’s really dangerous. I suggest you take off the ring, carry a shabby backpack, and dress more plainly. That way, at least you won’t be targeted by those greedy people."
The innkeeper’s words made Yun Che nod. He showed a hint of gratitude and said, "I understand. Thank you for the reminder."
"Also, while your profound strength is not weak, the intensity and number of profound beasts in the Death Wasteland far exceed your imagination. Within the first hundred li, there are low-level profound beasts and True Xuan beasts. Beyond a hundred li, there are Spirit Xuan beasts. The deeper you go, the higher the grade of profound beasts. Although the distribution of these beasts is clearly defined, it’s not absolute. Within a hundred li, Spirit Xuan beasts often appear. So I advise you not to go deeper than fifty li. Training is about improving yourself—don’t throw your life away. Sigh, how many profound practitioners overestimate their abilities and never walk out of the Death Wasteland."
"Rest assured, I’ll act within my limits."
Yun Che thanked the innkeeper, left the inn, and headed toward the Death Wasteland. Along the way, many people stared at him—because of the giant sword on his back. The sword was the king of all weapons, and many profound practitioners used swords, so carrying a sword on one’s back was common. But carrying one this large was truly rare.
Half an hour later, Yun Che officially stepped into the territory of the Death Wasteland.
The wasteland—a barren plain. The wind here howled with a sinister chill, and the distant roars of profound beasts made one’s heart pound. Looking far ahead, the entire wasteland was covered with withered grass and jagged rocks, stretching endlessly without visible borders. Faintly, one could see groups of profound practitioners; those coming alone like Yun Che were extremely rare. At least within his line of sight, he was the only one.
Before him, ice light drifted, and Xiao Xiannü's immortal form floated down from above, landing in front of Yun Che. She said coldly, "You’re going to spend the next half year here?"
"Yes!" Yun Che nodded. "There’s no better place for training than this. I also want to know, in this deathly place that everyone speaks of with dread, what is the deepest limit I can reach."
He looked at Xiao Xiannü and suddenly said, "Xiao Xiannü, are you unwilling to follow me inside?"
"It’s true that I’d rather not set foot in a place like this. But since I promised to protect you for three months, I will certainly follow through. I wouldn’t break my word to a junior like you."
With the cool, gentle voice fading, Xiao Xiannü rose into the air and vanished from Yun Che’s sight in the blink of an eye.
"Junior..." Yun Che twitched the corner of his mouth, utterly speechless.
"Young friend, are you alone?"
A somewhat hesitant voice came from behind. Yun Che turned around and saw a team of about a dozen people looking at him. The speaker was the one leading them. These people were all young, the oldest about twenty-four or twenty-five, with profound strength ranging from late Xuan Entry Realm to early True Xuan Realm. Most of them showed both nervousness and excitement on their faces—clearly their first time entering the Death Wasteland.
Seeing Yun Che turn around, the speaker quickly said, "If you’re alone, how about joining us? With more people, whether we encounter profound beasts or villains, we can look out for each other—much safer. If we get any prey or treasures, we’ll split evenly, no favoritism."
The reason they so eagerly invited Yun Che was obviously his True Xuan Realm, Level 4 profound strength. Yun Che turned back and said indifferently, "No need."
With that, he walked forward alone, stepping deeper into the wasteland.
"Tch, going into the Death Wasteland alone—no wonder so many people die here every year," muttered a youth carrying a longsword in the team.
"He looks at most seventeen or eighteen, and he’s already at True Xuan Realm, Level 4. He must be from some big sect, right?"
"So what if he’s from a big sect? In the Death Wasteland, the profound beasts and villains don’t care where he comes from. And the more likely he is from a big sect or clan, the more likely he carries lots of profound coins, pills, and treasures—he’ll only be more targeted by those villains. I bet he won’t survive until sunset today."
"Enough, we don’t need to mind other people’s business. Make all the preparations, and once we have twenty people, we’ll set out."
Yun Che continued forward, encountering three waves of adventure teams wanting to invite him, including a small mercenary group. He refused them all.
After traveling three li, everything was calm. But beyond that, as Yun Che walked, he suddenly stopped and turned his gaze to the right. At that moment, behind a black rock twice a person’s height, a gray shadow dashed out with a fierce roar, leaping toward him, its sharp claws and fangs gleaming with cold light.
It was a low-level profound beast—a Dire Wolf.
"Looking for death!"
Yun Che remained still. As the Dire Wolf pounced, he swung his right arm and struck its head with his palm. With a *crack*, the wolf’s neck bone snapped cleanly. With a miserable howl, it was sent flying far away, twitching violently for a moment before going still.
Behind the black rock, another Dire Wolf about to pounce seemed intimidated by the scene. It stepped back in fear, its fur bristling like steel needles. Then, suddenly raising its head, it howled long and loud. In response, howls erupted all around, and within moments, over a dozen Dire Wolves charged from all directions, straight at Yun Che.
Yun Che’s expression didn’t change. He let the wolves come, then struck out with his hands and feet, Phoenix Flames dancing. Every wolf that touched his fists, feet, or the Phoenix Flames died instantly. Wolf carcasses flew everywhere, miserable howls filled the air, and in just a few breaths, more than a dozen Dire Wolves lay scattered around Yun Che in twisted, mutilated corpses.
"Too weak. Training here would be pointless—just a waste of time."
Yun Che patted the back of his hand, glanced at the sinisterly dark path ahead, then quickened his pace, dashing deeper into the Death Wasteland.
[I ordered a floor cabinet online, and it finally arrived today. I used all my strength to move it to the bedroom... The countertop of the cabinet is marble, terribly heavy. I nearly lost half my life moving it. After successfully reaching the bedroom, I let out a long sigh of relief, then loosened my grip... *smash* *sigh*... I won’t say more. That’s life.]