Chapter 275: A Tremendous Favor
In the blink of an eye, two days had passed since the top ten sects from the ranking battle entered the Heavenly Pond Secret Realm.
On the empty grounds behind the Tian Jian Villa, dozens of people were anxiously waiting. They were the ones from each sect who had not been able to enter the Heavenly Pond Secret Realm. The secret realm was another completely isolated world, and no information from within could be communicated out, so they had no idea what had happened inside during those two days.
Cang Yue and Xia Yuanba were undoubtedly the most anxious. Yun Che had entered not only still recovering from serious injuries but also with his profound strength not yet restored, greatly increasing the danger factor in that unknown place. For the past two days, Cang Yue had hardly been able to eat or sleep. She had come here early, staring intently, waiting for Yun Che's figure to appear.
Ling Kun stood in the middle of the grounds, silently gazing ahead.
Zheng!
With the light brought by the spatial vortex, a figure in white robes was ejected. His hair was slightly disheveled, his clothes occasionally torn, as if he had just been through a fierce battle... The first to come out was none other than Ling Yuefeng.
Ling Kun opened his eyes and said indifferently, "Any gains?"
Ling Yuefeng exhaled slightly and frowned. "This time luck wasn't on my side. I encountered the harsh winter of the Heavenly Pond Secret Realm. Everything was frozen and covered in snow, so there weren't many gains. However, I did make a startling discovery... this secret realm actually has an Overlord Xuan Beast!"
"Oh?" Ling Kun's gaze flickered. "What kind of Overlord Xuan Beast?"
Ling Yuefeng shook his head. "I only sensed its presence from afar and didn't dare approach. Perhaps someone unluckily provoked it."
"Hmm..." Ling Kun pondered. "To think there's an Overlord Xuan Beast here. If I had known earlier, I should have gone in two days ago as well. Finding an Overlord Xuan Beast isn't easy."
Although the Heavenly Pond Secret Realm was mysterious, the things inside were too low-level for Ling Kun. After entering once, he had no further interest in it, including this time.
Zheng, zheng, zheng, zheng...
Following Ling Yuefeng, with flashes of light, more and more people were ejected. Ling Yun and Ling Jie both looked tattered in their clothes, but they were unharmed and had made some gains.
Members of various sects appeared one by one. Soon, the Xiao Sect members were all present, and the Fen Tian Gate members slowly emerged... but in the end, only four came out.
When Fen Molie appeared, he carried with him a monstrous murderous aura. The moment he appeared, he let out a furious roar: "Mu Tianbei!! You beast, get the hell out here! You actually killed our Second Young Master... I'll annihilate your entire sect!"
Fen Molie's rage and the words he shouted made everyone from the Tianqiang Leihuo Fort tremble with fear, and also shocked everyone else... Mu Tianbei killed Fen Juebi? No one had ever heard of any enmity between the Tianqiang Leihuo Fort and Fen Tian Gate. Why would Mu Tianbei attack Fen Juebi? Killing the Second Young Master of Fen Tian Gate... was Mu Tianbei insane?!
"Grand Elder!" Fen Juecheng immediately went to Fen Molie and pulled him aside, gritting his teeth and speaking in a low voice.
People came out one after another. With each person that appeared, Cang Yue's heart clenched tighter. Xia Yuanba kept comforting her on the side: "Senior Sister, rest assured. Brother-in-law is so powerful, he'll definitely be fine."
Zheng...
With the final flash of spatial light, Yun Che and Xia Qingyue appeared at the same time, standing side by side.
"Junior Brother Yun!" Cang Yue cried out in surprise. The heart that had been hanging finally fell. She let out a long breath and rushed hurriedly toward Yun Che.
At that moment, a furious roar suddenly exploded like a thunderclap: "Despicable brat... die!!"
Amid the roar, Fen Molie charged over like an enraged lion. His entire right arm burned with deep purple flames, aimed directly at Yun Che.
Everyone present was mostly discussing their gains from the Heavenly Pond Secret Realm, and no one expected such a turn of events. Qin Wushang was greatly alarmed. Chu Yueli and Chu Yuechan's faces also changed drastically... because Xia Qingyue was right beside Yun Che. Under Fen Molie's attack, she was very likely to be caught in the blast. How could two juniors withstand the assault of a Half-step King Xuan powerhouse?
But everything happened too suddenly. By the time they reacted, Fen Molie had already pounced in front of them. There was no time to stop him; they could only shout, "Stop!!!"
Cang Yue, who was about to reach Yun Che, suddenly felt a scorching wave of heat behind her. The dangerous sensation made her face pale. Fen Molie struck with extreme fury, fast and ruthless, intending to kill Yun Che outright. And by the direction he was charging, Cang Yue would be the first to be caught in the blast.
Yun Che's brows sank deeply. Instead of retreating, he flashed forward, appearing beside Cang Yue and wrapping his arms around her tightly. In an instant, he activated "Cloud-Sealing Sun-Locking."
Meanwhile, Xia Qingyue, to everyone's astonishment, took the initiative to meet the enraged Fen Molie. Her right hand, wreathed in blue light, pushed forward with a single palm to collide with Fen Molie's purple flames.
"Qingyue!" This scene made Chu Yueli's face turn pale with horror, but she could only watch helplessly as their forces collided...
With a dull thud, a massive ice lotus bloomed between them. As the lotus spun, the purple flames on Fen Molie's arm were completely extinguished in an instant. Before Fen Molie could even change his expression in shock, the giant ice lotus suddenly split into nine smaller ice lotuses, striking him in the face, neck, chest, ribs, and limbs...
Although Xia Qingyue and Chu Yuechan were both at the King Xuan Realm, if they fought, Xia Qingyue would almost certainly lose, because in combat experience and manipulation of the Ice Cloud Art, she was far inferior to Chu Yuechan. But in terms of pure profound strength, she had already surpassed Chu Yuechan by a full level, surpassing all the Ice Cloud Seven Immortals as well. In a direct collision like this, even Chu Yuechan would be at a disadvantage, let alone a Fen Molie... Half-step King Xuan might be only half a step from the King Xuan Realm, but that half step required crossing a chasm!
The scene everyone had anticipated did not play out. Instead, they saw Fen Molie flying backward amidst the scattering ice crystals. Upon landing, he let out a muffled grunt, his eyes bulging and his face pale. He stared wide-eyed at Xia Qingyue, his throat convulsing. Finally, his whole body trembled, and with a "thud," he dropped to his knees, his entire body twitching in agony.
Xia Qingyue casually withdrew her arm. Throughout the entire process, she had stood there without moving. The residual force from her clash with Fen Molie was naturally terrifying, but under the protection of Cloud-Sealing Sun-Locking, Yun Che and Cang Yue were only pushed far away without being harmed at all. He quickly released Cang Yue and checked her anxiously. "Senior Sister, are you all right?"
Cang Yue's face had turned pale from the sudden turn of events. Bathed in the power of a King Xuan and a Half-step King Xuan with her True Xuan Realm profound strength, it felt like falling into an abyss of death. Seeing that Yun Che was safe, she smiled in relief. "I'm fine..."
After she said those three words, she noticed the surroundings were eerily silent... All eyes were fixed on Xia Qingyue. Whether it was the young disciples or the powerful masters who ruled their regions, every face was twisted with shock.
"King... Xuan... Realm!" Ling Kun frowned as he looked at Xia Qingyue, a flicker of unreadable emotion in his eyes. The three words he spoke struck everyone's ears like three thunderbolts.
"This is... impossible..." Ling Yuefeng muttered in a daze, his shock beyond words. Chu Yuechan stepping into the King Xuan Realm had surprised him, but it was acceptable since she was already at Half-step King Xuan. But Xia Qingyue... a seventeen-year-old King Xuan? In the Cang Feng Empire, it was more fantastical than a myth, so unbelievable that even seeing it with their own eyes, they couldn't accept it.
Everyone was completely dumbfounded. A seventeen-year-old King Xuan was a level they simply couldn't comprehend or accept.
"Qingyue, you... you actually..." Chu Yueli walked over, looking at Xia Qingyue with eyes full of shock and disbelief. As her master, she should have been delighted at her disciple's breakthrough, but Xia Qingyue's breakthrough was too exaggerated, too terrifying. What she felt first was fear.
Standing in front of Xia Qingyue, sensing the King Xuan aura emanating from her, Chu Yueli, her own master, felt a deep sense of oppression.
Xia Qingyue stepped forward gracefully, performing a disciple's salute, and spoke softly in front of everyone. "Master, I encountered a fortuitous opportunity in the Heavenly Pond Secret Realm. I consumed a fully bloomed Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus... I never expected the effects of the lotus to far surpass the legends. It allowed me to directly break through to the King Xuan Realm in just one day."
The intelligent Xia Qingyue knew she had to say this in front of everyone. Her breakthrough was too astonishing, shaking not only the Cang Feng Empire. If she didn't explain, many people or forces—even those outside the empire—would desperately try to investigate the cause, hoping to gain something for themselves, bringing unpredictable trouble. By openly revealing the reason, she eliminated that risk. Also, since she had already consumed the lotus, it wasn't a case of "harboring a treasure that brings disaster." Others might be envious and jealous, but even if they coveted it, there was no way to obtain it.
"I see... So that's it! So that's it!"
The name Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus was well-known to the top ten sects present. It was the only sacred relic recorded in the history of the Cang Feng Empire! For hundreds of years, rumors had persisted that a Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus might exist in the Heavenly Pond Secret Realm. Hearing the reason, the "fear" in Chu Yueli's emotions naturally dissipated, replaced by extremely joyful excitement. "Four hundred years ago, a senior who fell in the Heavenly Pond Secret Realm left a message that there was a Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus in the secret realm. For centuries, countless seniors have tried to find it. Never did I expect this immense fortune to fall upon you... This truly is a blessing from the heavens."
The members of other sects listened to their conversation, their shock, envy, and jealousy almost materializing and escaping their bodies... Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus, the legendary sacred relic! No wonder it allowed a young girl to leap straight to the King Xuan Realm. This was Xia Qingyue's fortune, and even more so, the fortune of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace! In the face of such a tremendous fortune, they deeply felt that all their sects' accumulated fortunes over centuries combined were no match for this one Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus that had descended upon the Bing Yun Fairy Palace!!
They could scarcely imagine what realm Xia Qingyue would reach in the future, having stepped into the King Xuan Realm at seventeen. But it could be predicted that once she fully matured, as long as she existed, the Tian Jian Villa would no longer be able to hold onto its thousand-year unshaken supremacy!
But Xia Qingyue shook her head and said softly, "Master, this is not my fortune. That Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus was not discovered by me, but rather..." She glanced at Yun Che with her eyes and continued, "It was discovered by Young Master Yun. At that time, I encountered a fierce beast in the secret realm and was on the verge of death. To save me, Young Master Yun gave me the Bodhi Emperor Heart Lotus to consume... If not for Young Master Yun's rescue, I would not only have failed to break through, but would have also lost my life in the Heavenly Pond Secret Realm."
Xia Qingyue's words caught Yun Che off guard... because with these few light words, she had just made the Bing Yun Fairy Palace owe him an enormous favor!!