Chapter 286: Desperate Gamble
Yun Che was not unaware of how formidable the dragon blood of a King Xuan Flame Dragon was. Back when he was at the Initial Xuan Realm, the Dragon Blood Treasure Pills he refined had only four drops of dragon blood blended in, and through the influence of various rare herbs, the energy was suppressed to be very gentle. Even so, after consuming one pill, he needed at least a day or two to refine it.
Now, he was directly drinking the dragon blood. As the blood poured down, within just a few breaths, several hundred drops of flame dragon blood had unknowingly entered Yun Che's mouth, flowing into his abdomen with a stream of scorching air. The hunger in his stomach vanished instantly, and even his previously languid spirit became invigorated.
Because Yun Che possessed the Evil God Fire Seed, he was naturally immune to all flames. Yet at this moment, he still felt as if a blazing inferno had exploded in his abdomen. This wave of heat, like mercury seeping into every crack, crazily surged through his entire body—limbs, internal organs, blood, marrow… It was as if every part of him, every cell, had been drenched in boiling oil. Soon after came a pain that pierced bone and soul…
An excruciating agony that made his whole body feel as if it were about to shatter and explode entirely.
The dragon tail in Yun Che's hand fell to the ground. Sweat poured from his forehead like rain, but in an instant, it was completely evaporated. His body staggered backward, and he collapsed to the ground, convulsing in pain, his face grotesquely twisted.
*Hoo!*
All of Yun Che's clothing turned to charcoal and scattered away, revealing his naked skin, which was now a vivid red. This red continued to deepen, gradually turning into a terrifying blackish-red. A series of alarming "crack, crack, crack" sounds came from all parts of his body…
The sounds of his bones cracking and being calcined!
"Boy… are you tired of living?!"
The Demon's gaze pierced through the tangled white hair at Yun Che. With his abilities, he could easily tell that the dead dragon was a King Xuan-level fire dragon. When that dragon first appeared, he was surprised that someone with Yun Che's meager profound force would possess the corpse of a King Xuan dragon. But he never expected Yun Che to actually drink its blood!
Even an Earth Xuan Realm cultivator at the late stage, if they dared to directly gulp down a King Xuan dragon's blood like that, would be no different from courting death!
This was something only a true madman would do!
After shouting, his eyes grew more and more astonished. He watched as Yun Che's skin and flesh gradually turned blackish-red, splitting open like fish scales, and heard the sounds of bones cracking and calcining… The agony involved was unimaginable, enough to make even someone as powerful as him shudder. He was absolutely certain that even a mighty Overlord Emperor with Overlord Xuan Realm profound force would find it extremely difficult to bear such pain.
Yet, from Yun Che's mouth, there was not a single scream! His face was twisted beyond recognition, and his eyes had turned bloodshot, but in that fiercely wide stare, besides endless pain… there was unmistakable clarity!
Such pain… even I would howl and scream… but this youth… not a single sound!
What terrifying willpower does this require?!
Impossible! A mere seventeen-year-old youth cannot possibly possess such willpower!
The Demon lifted his head, his eyes full of shock. He had been calling Yun Che a freak because his power was completely unaffected by the sealing formation, and with the strength of a Spirit Xuan Realm, he could unleash combat power rivaling Earth Xuan Realm. Only now did he realize that this youth's terrifying willpower was an even greater freakishness, one that forced him to be deeply astonished.
But no matter how strong one's willpower and endurance were, it didn't mean he could survive the ravages of King Xuan dragon blood. The Demon sighed regretfully, "Truly overestimating yourself! Instead of watching you turn into a pile of charcoal, I might as well have killed you with one palm strike back then, clean and simple!"
"Shut… up!!"
To the Demon's shock, Yun Che actually spoke out loud… In this terrible state, not only was there no scream, but he calmly uttered words. His voice was hoarse and grating, like that of an old man on his deathbed, yet the syllables were remarkably clear: "I… will… not… die… before… I… kill… you… I… absolutely… will… not… die!!!!"
The Demon's eyes narrowed. He saw that Yun Che's skin had completely turned charcoal black, and the "crackling" sounds of bone breaking were as dense as hundreds of shattering glass panes. Yun Che's horrifying state even involuntarily stirred a trace of fear in the Demon. He roared, "Fine! Then let me see… how you come back to life!!"
By now, Yun Che's teeth were almost completely ground to pieces. He felt his flesh, bones, even marrow being roasted over fire and deep-fried in an oil pan—an agony beyond any words to describe. He could no longer breathe, his limbs couldn't move, his internal organs were either shattered or failing. His only remaining sensation was countless wild energies rampaging through his body. His skin had turned pitch black and was covered in fine cracks, oozing streams of nearly dried blood.
His body at this moment was as fragile as thin paper ready to tear at the slightest touch. Almost all bodily functions had decayed. All that remained was a soul infused with his entire will and obsession.
Yun Che used every ounce of willpower to maintain a relatively stable sitting posture. He closed his eyes and severed all five senses and six faculties. The cracks on his body increased rapidly, and the blackening of his skin deepened gradually. Apart from these changes, Yun Che remained motionless, like a weathered statue.
Is he dead?
Not yet… The Demon could still detect a faint breath of life from him.
If it were anyone else in such a state, they would be long dead. But Yun Che still retained that wisp of life force. As time passed, that breath stubbornly clung to him, refusing to fade.
The Demon shook his head and sighed. Even if he still had a breath left, what use was it? In this state, there was no hope of survival. Once King Xuan dragon blood enters the body, its formidable energy would destroy his organs, bones, blood, and flesh… and before all that, the first thing to be destroyed would be the profound vein!
Even if he stubbornly clung to that breath, what good would it do?
But what the Demon absolutely could not imagine was that although Yun Che's body was nearly ninety percent destroyed, his profound vein was completely intact!
Because it was a profound vein from a true god! How could a few drops of King Xuan dragon blood's power destroy it?
Moreover, the Evil God's Profound Vein and the Great Dao Pagoda Art were precisely the foundation of Yun Che's desperate gamble when he crazily drank the flame dragon blood!
He would use his will to sustain life, use his profound vein to refine the dragon blood, and after refinement, use the Great Dao Pagoda Art to restore his body…
Succeed, and live; fail, and die!!
With his five senses and six faculties cut off, no sound reached his ears, and the pain on his body was no longer felt. In his world of will, only the Evil God's Profound Vein remained, flickering with alternating red and blue light, along with streaks of flame dragon energy from the dragon blood rampaging through him…
Time, for Yun Che, became unbearably long.
Two hours passed…
Four hours passed…
Six hours passed…
Throughout this period, the Demon's gaze was fixed on Yun Che's motionless body. But after a full six hours, that final breath of life still stubbornly persisted—it had neither strengthened nor weakened.
The only word that came to his mind was "unfathomable."
And then, a change finally occurred on Yun Che's body. Above his head, a strange vortex formed. It spun slowly at first, then faster and faster… until finally, a small silver pagoda shadow materialized!
"What is that?" The Demon, who had lived over three hundred years, was seeing such an anomaly for the first time. That peculiar energy pagoda seemed to be some kind of profound art… but he had never seen anything like it.
Wait… profound art!!
Could it be… he is actually operating a profound art!?
This realization shocked the Demon so much that his whole body jerked forward, sending his chains clattering. He should have been long dead, yet a breath of life had stubbornly lingered. After hanging on for six full hours without dying, he was now showing signs of activating a profound art!
How is this possible!
The Demon now desperately wanted to break free of his chains and get close enough to see what state Yun Che was really in!
At this moment, even a corpse rising from the dead would not have shocked him as much as Yun Che did.
The small silver pagoda began to spin slowly above Yun Che's head, gradually expanding. After another six hours, it had grown to a full three feet in height. When it reached its maximum size, it transformed from a mere shadow into something solid—a real little pagoda hovering above Yun Che's head. Then, without warning, the pagoda vanished.
At that very moment, Yun Che's faint breath of life suddenly blazed up like a wildfire, spreading rapidly. In less than four hours, it went from a tiny spark to a life-fire flooding his entire body!
The Demon: "…"
After a full sixteen hours since drinking the dragon blood, Yun Che finally opened his eyes. The moment his eyes opened, a faint flicker of firelight flashed across his pupils.
Not only did he open his eyes, but he also slowly stood up.
As he stood, the charred black layer covering his body fell away in flakes, revealing skin as tender as a newborn's, smooth and flawless. He straightened up, spread his arms wide, and gave a light shout. A burst of profound energy erupted, shaking off all the blackened crust from his body, leaving him completely unharmed, without a single scar. Even his hair had fully regenerated, growing back to its original length.
"You…………"
This supreme powerhouse, who shook the world in the Illusion Demon Realm, second only to one other—now stood dumbfounded, staring at a mere seventeen-year-old youth.
Because everything his eyes were seeing completely overturned his understanding.
Not only that, but he could distinctly sense that Yun Che, who should have been dead, was not only perfectly fine—his profound force had even risen to Level 2 of the Spirit Xuan Realm!!
Returned miraculously from the abyss of death, Yun Che didn't say a word to the Demon. He picked up the dragon tail from the ground, held it in his hand, ignited a profound fire in his palm, and kept burning it until he deemed it cooked. Then he raised the tail to his mouth and began gnawing, tearing off chunks of half-cooked dragon meat with his teeth and swallowing them. He was too hungry—his ferocious eating manner was like a starving ghost who hadn't eaten for centuries.
Soon, nearly three kilograms of dragon meat were devoured by Yun Che in a whirlwind. He licked the corners of his mouth and let out a satisfied breath. While the energy density in dragon meat wasn't as high as dragon blood, it wasn't far off. In that instant, the sensation of a boiling oil pan exploding in his stomach struck again, turning his body red all over in the blink of an eye.
Showing no panic, Yun Che remained terrifyingly calm. He quickly sat down, closed his eyes, and his face, which began to show cracks, stayed utterly silent.
The Demon stared fixedly at Yun Che, listening to the renewed sounds of bones breaking. His mind echoed with a single thought…
This monster!!
This madman!!
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[Even "eight or nine" gets censored, what does that mean!!]