# Chapter 283: Surviving the Calamity
Where... is this...
Am I... still not dead?
Yun Che's eyes struggled to open a thin slit. This was a stifling space filled with a foul odor. Faint rays of light seeped in from unknown sources through the darkness, allowing him to vaguely make out his surroundings. His entire body was heavy and wracked with excruciating pain, especially his back—the pain was piercing to the bone.
Yet this intense pain brought him a surge of joy through his daze. Because the fact that he could still feel pain in those areas at least proved they weren't completely crippled yet.
"You're finally awake."
Mo Li's relieved voice came through, but even though Yun Che had just narrowly escaped death, her resentment still burst forth directly: "Have you ever counted how many times you've 'died' in these past two years? You always act recklessly, completely disregarding your life for your own goals, forcing me to pay a huge price every time to keep you alive! I thought that by sealing my power away and making you lose your sense of dependency, you would be careful in everything. But I never expected that instead of others hurting you, you would deliver yourself to death! If it weren't for the protection of the Great Dao Pagoda Art and the tempering of Dragon God's Blood, you would have been dead long ago!"
"Do you even know how to cherish your own life? I reforged your profound veins for you, taught you divine arts, saved your life time and again while bearing the consequences of poison eruption, and placed all my hopes on you! Is this how you treat your own life, and how you repay me!?"
The more Mo Li spoke, the angrier she became. All the worry, fear, and resentment from the past few days surged forth because of Yun Che's awakening, and she scolded him relentlessly. Yun Che, who had barely crawled back from death's door, didn't dare to utter a word for a long time. Only when she had tired herself out from scolding did he weakly say, "Mo Li, I was wrong. I know I shouldn't have been impulsive, but when I saw Yuanba in trouble, I simply couldn't control myself... Hiss! It hurts so much... Hoo... If it had been you in danger back then, even knowing I would die... I would still... do the same thing."
"Hmph!" Mo Li sneered disdainfully. "Half-dead and you still haven't forgotten to use your sweet-talking tricks to deceive girls! Don't speak anymore. Immediately hold your breath, don't use any profound energy, and focus all your effort on mobilizing the Dragon God's Blood and circulating the Great Dao Pagoda Art to heal your injuries! This demon knows you haven't stopped breathing, but he hasn't killed you in these past few days either. He seems bored and wants to see if you can wake up. If he finds out you're awake, there's a high chance he'll kill you... So before he discovers you've woken up, you must suppress the injury on your back and accumulate enough power to execute Star God Remnant Shadow once!"
Yun Che understood immediately upon hearing Mo Li's words. He suppressed his breathing, shifted his gaze slightly, and looked at the barrier at the edge of the Heavenly Might Soul-Suppressing Formation. If he could execute Star God Remnant Shadow once and instantly escape outside the barrier, then even if this demon wanted to kill him, it would be impossible.
If he used even a trace of profound energy, it would likely worsen his severe injuries and also alert the demon. But the Great Dao Pagoda Art was activated by the mind, without releasing any aura, and mobilizing the Dragon God's Blood went without saying.
Yun Che closed his eyes again, his entire body motionless, and his breathing suppressed to the extreme. Though his body was in excruciating pain, such agony was not enough to make him utter any sound.
His initial injuries were indeed extremely severe. Even with the protection of the Great Dao Pagoda Art and Dragon God's Blood, he was only a hair's breadth away from death. Five days of coma would have caused an ordinary person's injuries to deteriorate rapidly. They wouldn't have lasted five hours, let alone five days, before dying for sure. But with the Great Dao Pagoda Art originating from the Desolate God, Yun Che's injuries not only didn't worsen over these five days but actually recovered slowly. The presence of Dragon God's Blood also greatly accelerated the speed of recovery.
At this point, Yun Che's injuries were no longer life-threatening but at a severe level. Even his broken spine had reconnected during the five days of silent repair.
Now that Yun Che had awakened, with the urging of his will, the circulation of the Great Dao Pagoda Art naturally became faster, and in utter silence, his internal and external injuries recovered at an even quicker pace.
Since I've been given another chance at life... then... I will do everything in my power to live well... I absolutely cannot die!!
Time flowed slowly in the silence. Apart from the sound of his own heartbeat, Yun Che heard nothing. There was no movement from the demon behind him, as if he was the only one in this dark space. Yet in his extreme weakness, he could still faintly sense the demon's terrifying gaze occasionally sweeping over his body.
Finally, a hoarse voice sounded: "What a strange fellow. To take such injuries and still not die after a full five days! I want to see if he can wake up in the end... But even if he does wake up, he can't possibly live!"
The demon's muttering to himself proved he hadn't yet discovered Yun Che's awakening. Yun Che's mind relaxed slightly. He readjusted his breathing, concentrated his focus, and with a strong will to live, rapidly circulated the Great Dao Pagoda Art.
One day...
Two days...
On the third day, Yun Che's injuries were still severe, but they had healed to the point where moving a little profound energy wouldn't cause them to split open. His body was no longer so heavy, and enough profound energy had accumulated in his profound veins. He opened his eyes and saw the layer of yellow-glowing barrier. His hands silently clenched.
"The timing is about right! Rush through it!"
The moment Mo Li finished speaking, Yun Che took a deep breath and instantly activated Star God Remnant Shadow. After lying motionless for eight days like a corpse, he shot forward like a bolt of lightning, piercing through the barrier with a "swoosh" sound, and heavily fell outside the barrier. He rolled a good distance from the momentum before finally stopping. Lying on the ground, he panted heavily while occasionally grimacing in pain.
This was Yun Che's true survival from the calamity. Although he had woken up before, he had always been under the shadow of the demon. If the demon had merely moved a thought to kill him, he would have been dead for sure. But now, not only had his injuries improved, he had also completely escaped the demon's control.
The demon abruptly lifted his head, his eyes flashing with a terrifying sharp light in the darkness. Suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed loudly: "Hahahaha! I never thought I'd accidentally bring in such an interesting brat. To take such heavy injuries and not only survive eight days but also completely deceive me into healing your wounds, and even outsmart me in the end! Apart from those mongrel dogs of the Tian Wei Sword Domain, you're the first person to outsmart me!"
One Star God Remnant Shadow had drained Yun Che of all his strength. He panted heavily for a good while before muttering in a low voice, "Demon... I'm... not that easy to kill!"
"Hmph, you really don't know your place. Do you think you can relax now?" The demon tugged at his chains and growled in a terrifying voice: "This place is suppressed by the Heaven Punishment Sword and can only be opened once every twenty years! So what if you've regained consciousness? So what if your injuries are fully healed? There's no food here, no water either. With your level of profound cultivation, do you naively think you can survive for twenty years here?"
"No! I don't need to wait twenty years... There's one way for me to get out!" Yun Che stared at the demon and said through gritted teeth: "That is to kill you! That Heaven Punishment Sword is suppressing your body and soul. As long as you die, the Heaven Punishment Sword will automatically lift its suppression, and I can get out of here!"
Of course, Yun Che hadn't figured this out himself—Mo Li had told him. The demon wasn't trapped by the Starfall Chains. The Starfall Chains were only there to restrict his limbs. What pinned him there was the Heaven Punishment Sword!
The demon was startled, then laughed again: "Hahahaha! What an interesting brat. You're absolutely right. As long as you can kill me, you can get out of here. Unfortunately, you won't live long enough to kill me."
"I will... kill you!" Yun Che said through clenched teeth, a sinister look in his eyes as he glared at the demon with hatred. This demon had gone mad under Ling Kun's provocation, nearly killed Xia Yuanba, and almost sent Yun Che plummeting into purgatory. Though he hadn't died, he was now trapped here, his life and death beyond his control. All of this was caused by this demon, and Yun Che hated him to the marrow!
He could imagine that everyone outside must think he was dead. The consequence would be grief for his loved ones and joy for his enemies—all thanks to this demon!
"Then let me see how you plan to kill me!" The demon laughed wildly. Beneath his gray-white hair, his withered face revealed a kind of ferocious excitement. Only the monotony of darkness—the terror of solitude—was comparable to purgatory. For Yun Che, this place was like falling into an abyss, but for the demon, having an extra person here was nothing less than heaven compared to hell. Now, if he could reach out and touch Yun Che, he might not even be willing to kill him.
"You seem to hate me... That's right! How could you not hate me! Then go ahead and hate me to your heart's content. Let me see if your hatred can kill me. Let me see how long you can survive here. Hahahaha..."
The demon's excited laughter carried a hint of madness. In this dark underground space, his voice was extremely sinister and terrifying. Yun Che stopped talking to him. Grinding his teeth, he slowly sat up from the ground. His injuries were concentrated mainly on his back. Every movement brought unbearable pain. By the time he was completely sitting cross-legged, his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He closed his eyes, placed his hands on his knees, and before long, his mind achieved unity, his expression and breathing becoming calm and steady.
He sank his consciousness into the Heavenly Poison Pearl. As soon as he entered, he saw Mo Li's gaze filled with deep murderous intent. He quickly gave an awkward smile, then made a bunch of various promises before beginning to rapidly pick out dozens of medicinal herbs. Finally, gritting his teeth, he took out the Purple Vein Heavenly Crystal that Xia Qingyue had given him.
The Purple Vein Heavenly Crystal could bestow extremely strong regenerative abilities on injured areas, including flesh, bones, and even internal organs. Absorbing its power could also directly enhance one's profound cultivation, so its value was immeasurable in monetary terms. If Yun Che wanted to recover from his injuries at the fastest speed, he had to use the Purple Vein Heavenly Crystal.
Under the refinement of the Heavenly Poison Pearl, in less than half an hour, Yun Che had prepared all the medicines he needed... Before his consciousness left the Heavenly Poison Pearl, he thought of something and quickly checked inside the pearl. His heart sank to rock bottom.
The food and water that had originally been stored in the Heavenly Poison Pearl... were all gone! Not a trace remained!
They had been transferred to the purple space ring he had set aside for Su Ling'er, who was far away on the Cang Yun Continent!
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