Chapter 479: So Close
Primordial Mystic Ark.
Yun Che sat upright in front of the stone door, staring intently at the large hole in it. Through this hole, he could already clearly see the outside scene.
This was the result of six months of continuously fusing the Ice God's power and Phoenix Flame. After over six hundred Ice Flame destructions, the hole in the stone door had expanded to be larger than an adult's head. However, after trying several times, it still wasn't enough for him to escape... still a little short.
The Ice God's power and Phoenix Flame in Yun Che's hand had once again successfully merged together. Compared to the first few times, this fusion took a very short time, and the process was even somewhat casual. After half a year and over six hundred repetitions without rest day or night, merging Ice Flame was no longer as difficult as it had been initially. From another perspective, his understanding of this inverse law had quietly become deeper and deeper through this process.
“This time, I will definitely succeed!”
Yun Che muttered softly and blasted the Ice Flame in his hand at the edge of the destroyed hole in the stone door.
The destruction of the Ice Flame was silent and traceless. As the ice-blue eerie flame faded, the width of the hole stretched slightly, visible to the naked eye. After estimating the current width of the hole, Yun Che took a deep breath and was about to stand up when suddenly the profound energy in his profound veins became turbulent.
Is this... another breakthrough!?
Yun Che quickly steadied himself, focused his mind, and slowly guided the profound energy in his body. Each time he merged Ice Flame, it consumed a huge amount of profound energy. Thus, every successful fusion was a significant refinement of his profound strength. At the one hundred and fortieth fusion, his profound strength broke through to the ninth level of the Heavenly Xuan Realm. Now, only four months later, his profound strength was once again facing a breakthrough.
This breakthrough, like the last one, was extremely smooth and natural. In less than half a quarter of an hour, the profound energy in his profound veins completely calmed down, and the aura emitting from Yun Che's body underwent a noticeable change.
The profound energy at the Earth Xuan Realm was like white mist, the profound strength at the Heavenly Xuan Realm was thick like white pulp. Now, having crossed to the peak of the Heavenly Xuan Realm, the profound energy in his profound veins was so dense it seemed about to solidify. Red and blue lights intertwined, making the entire profound vein space seem like a dreamlike world.
Yun Che opened his eyes, looked at his hands, and murmured to himself, “It seems I’m not very far from the King Xuan Realm... give me less than a year, and I will definitely achieve the King Throne!”
Yun Che stood up, fixed his eyes on the large hole in the stone door, and then plunged headfirst into it.
As before, his head passed through without any pressure, but his shoulders still got stuck on the inner edge, unable to pass. Yun Che stretched his neck, straightened his body, pulled his arms in as much as possible, then kicked off with his back leg and exerted force... Suddenly, with a ‘pop’ sound, his shoulder, which had been blocked inside, suddenly squeezed into the hole.
Suc... succeeded!!
Although being stuck was very painful, Yun Che showed joy on his face. He moved his body forcefully, straightened his arms, and slowly inched his upper body forward through the hole, struggling until he was grimacing, face red and neck swollen. If there was anyone else on the Primordial Mystic Ark, Yun Che would rather wait another half a month than make such an undignified move in front of others.
I don’t believe I can’t get out...
After struggling for a long time, Yun Che managed to get about half of his shoulder out. He widened his eyes, took a deep breath, and exerted force with his whole body. With a ‘ripping’ sound, the clothes on Yun Che’s body were completely torn, and his whole body shot out of the hole like a cannonball, then crashed into the wall not far ahead.
Yun Che stood up holding his head, turned around, and saw the stone door with the large hole... and that stone door was already a full ten zhang away from him!
“I’m out... I’m finally out!!” Although his head was throbbing from the impact, Yun Che cheered for himself with extreme excitement. From the certain death he had believed in initially, to surviving through tremendous hardship, and now escaping the place that had trapped him for a full two years... it was hard for him not to be excited.
“Don’t celebrate too early!” Mo Li’s voice suddenly rang out. “You’ve only left a small stone chamber! You’re still inside the Primordial Mystic Ark! Do you know how to leave this Primordial Mystic Ark!”
Mo Li’s words quickly cooled Yun Che’s emotions. After pondering for a moment, he said, “No matter how big this Mystic Ark is, it must have an edge. As long as I find the edge, and then blast it open bit by bit with Ice Flame like I did with the stone door, I can get out eventually.”
“Hmph, how naive.” Mo Li sneered. “A small stone door took you a full six months to blast open. The thickness of the outer wall of the Primordial Mystic Ark is at least ten thousand times that of the stone door, and its toughness far exceeds that of an ordinary interior door. What are you going to use to blast it open?”
“Well... I know it’s not realistic. But there’s not only one way to leave,” Yun Che continued. “The Primordial Mystic Ark appears on the Tian Xuan Continent once every three hundred years. Every time people enter, they are expelled by the Primordial Mystic Ark’s energy field when they leave.”
Yun Che said with a grave expression as he thought, “According to past records, the Primordial Mystic Ark usually stops for half a year, then opens its doors on the last day of that half year, and expels everyone inside at the very last moment. From the time the Primordial Mystic Ark suddenly stopped until now, it’s also about half a year. Perhaps that energy field will arrive soon. As long as I leave this ancient castle and wait for that energy field to come, I can leave.”
“What you said might indeed come true,” Mo Li said indifferently. “But do you know where the Primordial Mystic Ark is now? Since you know that the Primordial Mystic Ark only appears on the Tian Xuan Continent once every three hundred years, then the place it is now is certainly not the Tian Xuan Continent! If you leave with the energy field, you will be taken to an unknown place! On the Tian Xuan Continent, there seem to be no records of the Primordial Mystic Ark appearing in any other nearby space. That means the place you will be taken to is most likely completely unrelated to the Tian Xuan Continent, extremely far away, and you may never be able to return to the Tian Xuan Continent.”
“!!” Yun Che’s body stiffened suddenly.
“Clearly, this Primordial Mystic Ark does not only stop at the Tian Xuan Continent. It seems to follow some pattern of spatial travel, stopping at fixed places for fixed periods, with a cycle of three hundred years,” Mo Li said slowly. “The vast world, the chaotic space, contains trillions of galaxies, trillions of star realms, and countless spaces. The Lan Ji Star you were on before is just one of the most ordinary and unremarkable. The Primordial Mystic Ark has traveled through space for a full eighteen months. This time is enough to bring it to a place so far that you cannot imagine or understand. So far that even if you achieve the Divine Xuan Realm and spend your entire life, you cannot return to the Tian Xuan Continent!”
“...Then, do I have to wait here for three hundred years, until it returns to the Tian Xuan Continent, and then leave with the energy field?” Yun Che said blankly after a long silence. In fact, he had thought about what Mo Li said in the past few months, but he found it hard to accept this fact.
If he left the Primordial Mystic Ark now, he would appear in a completely different world, and might never be able to return to the Tian Xuan Continent.
But if he waited here for three hundred years...
Three hundred years — with his Dragon God's Body and the protection of the Great Dao Pagoda Art, even without profound energy, he could live another three hundred years without any problem, and not even feel a trace of aging.
But he had lived less than fifty years across two lifetimes. How could he face such a long span of three hundred years? What would the Tian Xuan Continent be like in three hundred years? Three hundred years later, the people he cared about... Grandfather, Little Aunt, Cang Yue, Yuanba, Qingyue... would they still be alive? If they were, would they still remember him? If they remembered, how would he face them...
Mo Li sensed that Yun Che’s mood and aura were becoming somewhat chaotic. She spoke indifferently, “Forget it. You don’t need to be so pessimistic. Give me a few years to completely eliminate the poison on my body, and then you help me fulfill the four conditions I need. Let me reshape my body. No matter where you are, I can take you directly back to the Tian Xuan Continent.”
The four conditions Mo Li wanted Yun Che to fulfill were: reach the Sovereign Xuan Realm within thirty years, three profound pills of Overlord Xuan Beasts, seventy jin of Purple Vein Divine Crystal, and one Netherworld Brahma Flower.
“These items cannot only be collected on the Tian Xuan Continent. In fact, it seems impossible to find them all on the Tian Xuan Continent. Especially seventy jin of Purple Vein Divine Crystal. Hmph, I’m afraid even if you gathered all the Purple Vein Divine Crystal in the entire Tian Xuan Continent, it wouldn’t add up to seventy jin. You might as well go with the energy field of this Mystic Ark to the world it is now staying in. Perhaps in that world, it will be easier to find what I need.”
Mo Li’s words immediately cleared the clouds in Yun Che’s heart, and he saw the light again. Yun Che had no doubt that Mo Li could take him back to the Tian Xuan Continent after reshaping her body, because Mo Li originally came from a world outside the Tian Xuan Continent... and not only was it extremely far away, but its level was also extremely distant.
“Alright!” Yun Che slowly nodded, temporarily putting aside all his worries. “If it really stays exactly half a year in each place, then time-wise, it should be about right! I will leave the castle now and wait for the energy field to expel me... I hope it doesn’t send me to a dead world.”
Saying that, Yun Che no longer hesitated. His body soared into the air, and he quickly found the stone staircase leading down. He jumped directly from the top of the staircase and landed on the circular stone platform on the first floor of this mysterious ancient castle. He was about to take off again when suddenly a voice came to his ear...
“Please... find her...”
Yun Che’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt. This voice, he had heard many, many times since the first day he entered the Primordial Mystic Ark and during the six months after breaking through the stone door. Basically, it sounded once every two or three hours.
But this time, it was different from every previous time.
Before, the voice he heard was faint and indistinct; if he didn’t concentrate, it was almost difficult to hear, as if coming from an extremely faraway place.
But this time, it was right at his ear!