Chapter 634: Purple Vein Divine Crystal
Yun Qinghong restrained his aura, lightened his footsteps, and prepared to leave the secret chamber. Just as he reached the exit, a dazzling purple light suddenly flickered, accompanied by a sharp, piercing screech.
Yun Qinghong instinctively turned around and saw that around Yun Che's body, more than a dozen twisted, flickering purple thunderbolts had appeared. These thunderbolts multiplied at an alarming rate. In no time, they reached a hundred... then several hundred... then over a thousand, immersing Yun Che entirely in a chaotic, raging sea of lightning.
At that moment, Yun Che slowly extended his hand, palm upward. A spherical ball of lightning rapidly took shape in his palm, growing to the size of a fist. It was a deep, profound purple, its released aura both violent and ethereal, but it didn't feel like a pure power construct—instead, it felt like a living being.
"Thunder... Spirit!?" Yun Qinghong was so shocked he lost his voice on the spot.
Yun Qinghong had cultivated the Purple Cloud Art for a full thirty years before successfully nurturing his first Thunder Spirit with his own profound energy. That achievement had shaken the entire Yun family... and even all of Yao Huang City. Because in the entire history of the Yun family, thirty years was an unprecedented miracle.
But Yun Che had only just come into contact with the Purple Cloud Art today. Forget thirty years—it hadn't even been three-quarters of an hour!
This wasn't a miracle... it was outright fantasy!
Could it be that he had cultivated other thunder-based profound arts before, so his profound veins already had an extremely high affinity for lightning elements? But... the profound energy he had displayed in previous battles had clearly contained not a trace of thunderous aura! He himself had said he had never practiced any thunder-type profound art. Moreover, his main profound attribute was fire. Fire and thunder oppose each other; they should inherently repel one another... Even giving him the benefit of the doubt and assuming he had indeed trained in such an art, and had started from the womb... at most, he would have only a little over twenty years of experience.
Yun Qinghong's heart surged violently. He stood there dumbfounded for a very long time before finally snapping out of it, leaving the secret chamber, and setting up a barrier at the entrance that allowed exit but not entry.
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With the downfall of Huai Wang Manor, the storm of bloodshed in Yao Huang City finally passed. The city walls were covered with densely packed blood letters, each signature belonging to names that had once been renowned, even shaking the entire Huan Yao Realm. The Guardian Clans and princely manors that had been punished by Xiao Yaohou all became docile. Especially those clan heads and commandery princes on whom Xiao Yaohou had placed slave marks—pledging loyalty to Xiao Yaohou and the Demon Emperor Clan became their only purpose for the rest of their lives.
Yao Huang City calmed down. Under Xiao Yaohou's orders, all major powers and territories in the Huan Yao Realm began searching for traces of Ming Wang. Yun Che would regularly treat Yun Qinghong's body during the day and contemplate the Purple Cloud Art in the secret chamber at night... Apart from that, his daily routine included one essential task: going to "provoke" Xiao Yaohou. Although he was always thrown out in various ways, he never missed a day, rain or shine.
That day, when Yun Che emerged from the secret chamber, the sun was already high in the sky. As soon as he stepped out, he sensed an extremely high-level, rich, and dense spiritual energy. Just coming into contact with this energy swept away the slight fatigue from his body, his senses became unusually clear, and even the profound energy in his profound veins, which had been dormant, awakened and became excited.
"It's the aura of Purple Vein Divine Crystals," Mo Li said. "And a huge amount of Purple Vein Divine Crystals."
A huge amount... Purple Vein Divine Crystals!?
Yun Che had visited the Medicine Pavilion several times but had never found any Purple Vein Divine Crystals there. After all, for the past hundred years, the Yun family's high-level profound crystals had been insufficient to meet their needs. Now, suddenly, such a dense aura of divine crystals appeared. Could it be...
Following the aura, Yun Che arrived at the family's main meeting hall. He saw Yun Qinghong and several elders inside. At the center of the hall were neatly arranged more than a dozen Black Mysterious Jade boxes. Even the finest Black Mysterious Jade could not completely block the overwhelmingly dense power aura emanating from them.
"Che'er, you've come at the right time," Yun Qinghong said with a smile. "These are the Purple Vein Divine Crystals sent by those seven clans. Five jin each, exactly, totaling thirty-five jin. In addition, we found a full twenty-five jin of Purple Vein Divine Crystals in Huai Wang Manor's secret chamber. Xiao Yaohou granted all of them to our Yun family. Together, that's sixty jin."
"Sixty jin... and they're Purple Vein Divine Crystals! Even if our Yun family only stored them and never used them, it would take us several hundred years, even nearly a thousand years, to accumulate this much!" an elder of the Yun family said excitably.
"It feels like a dream," another elder standing closer said, his hands trembling.
Everyone in the hall was flushed, their excitement lingering for a long time. They belonged to the most top-tier families of the Huan Yao Realm, the highest echelon of existence here, but even they had never seen so many Purple Vein Divine Crystals in their entire lives.
Sixty jin—not a huge number by weight, but when it came to "Purple Vein Divine Crystals," it was an exaggerated, almost astronomical figure that could stun even a profound practitioner into a faint! Throughout the entire Huan Yao Realm, for over ninety-nine percent of profound practitioners, Purple Vein Divine Crystals were legendary treasures that they could only hope to see in their wildest dreams.
It was also Yun Che's first time witnessing these legendary Purple Vein Divine Crystals. Black Mysterious Jade had an extremely strong insulating ability; even when storing Purple Vein Heavenly Crystals, it could prevent any aura from leaking out. But Purple Vein Divine Crystals, even sealed inside, emitted such rich spiritual energy. It was easy to imagine how immense and dense the power within them was. Now that he was close, the energy was so thick it felt like he was surrounded by an ocean of spiritual energy... He had no doubt that this aura had completely enveloped the entire Yun family.
And this was still with the Purple Vein Divine Crystals sealed inside the Black Mysterious Jade!
"Those seven clans have been dragging their feet for months. Not making them pay interest is already generous to them. But... why not put so many Purple Vein Divine Crystals into the Medicine Pavilion right away? Leaving them here, leaking spiritual energy—it's a bit of a waste," Yun Che said.
"Hehehe," Yun Duanshui chuckled lightly and said, "Young Master, our Yun family suddenly obtaining so many divine crystals is all thanks to you. If not for you, Young Master, our family wouldn't have these divine crystals, and it's uncertain whether we would still exist in Yao Huang City. Therefore, including the family head, we all believe that only you, Young Master, have the right to decide the disposition of these Purple Vein Divine Crystals. If you, Young Master, do not speak, none of us have the authority to act."
"Exactly." The other elders nodded in agreement, looking deeply convinced.
When Yun Che had originally proposed Purple Vein Divine Crystals as the wager, it wasn't a random request. He genuinely needed a large amount of these crystals. Stepping forward, he said, "In that case, I won't stand on ceremony. For an important reason, I do indeed need a large quantity of Purple Vein Divine Crystals. So... from these sixty jin of Purple Vein Divine Crystals, I would like to take thirty jin. The remaining thirty jin will go to the family. I wonder if you all... can agree?"
"Hahahaha!" Yun Waitian laughed loudly: "Young Master, what are you saying? Even if you took all sixty jin, it would be perfectly justified and deserved. Everyone in our family, from top to bottom, would have not a single word of objection. But you only take thirty jin, leaving a full half for the family... this is an immense blessing for the entire clan. How could we possibly disagree?"
"What Grand Elder says is exactly what we think," the other elders chimed in with laughter. To them, Yun Waitian was absolutely right. Even if Yun Che took it all, it would be deserved. Leaving half behind was a level of magnanimity that commanded respect.
"Then I won't refuse," Yun Che said, stepping forward and taking exactly thirty jin of Purple Vein Divine Crystals. To prevent Hong'er from sneaking a bite, he first placed the thirty jin of Purple Vein Divine Crystals into his space ring, then stored it inside the Heavenly Poison Pearl.
"Also, regarding these thirty jin of Purple Vein Divine Crystals, I have a proposal," Yun Che addressed everyone. "Take twenty jin and divide it into four portions of five jin each, then send them to the Mu family, the Tianxia family, the Su family, and the Yan family."
"Ah? This..." Yun Che's proposal left the elders stunned, their faces showing reluctance. Fourth Elder tactfully said, "Young Master, you have every right to dispose of these Purple Vein Divine Crystals as you see fit. We have no authority to interfere. However, giving away a full twenty jin of Purple Vein Divine Crystals to others for nothing... that seems a bit..."
"I agree with Che'er's proposal," Yun Qinghong said, breaking into a smile after a brief moment of thought, unlike the startled elders. "Back when we fought against the forces of Huai Wang Manor, the Mu family, the Tianxia family, the Su family, and the Yan family all fought on the same side as us. They also sent their most outstanding younger generation to participate in the battle. That battle was about the honor and survival of our Yun family. So, in a sense, they fought for us. These Purple Vein Divine Crystals were the stakes of that battle. Therefore, even though it was agreed they would go to the Yun family if we won, giving them a share is only fitting."
"But of course, that's not the main reason," Yun Qinghong continued. "After all the upheaval of this period, in the eyes of the world, the Yun family's prestige now far surpasses that of other Guardian Clans, unmatched by any. Especially now that we have obtained sixty jin of Purple Vein Divine Crystals—I believe the entire Yao Huang City is currently discussing this. With these divine crystals, coupled with Xiao Yaohou's favor, anyone can foresee that before long, our Yun family will far outshine the other Guardian Clans in prestige, strength, and status. However, being too outstanding might create a rift and invisible barriers between us and the families we once stood shoulder to shoulder with."
The elders began to catch on: "Do you mean, Patriarch and Young Master..."
"Exactly. Purple Vein Divine Crystals are the highest-grade divine treasures in heaven and earth. Anyone who obtains them would cherish them as life itself. But by sharing them with these families, we clearly demonstrate that although our Yun family has returned to glory, we are not arrogant, conceited, or self-important. We still value our bond with them. At the same time, these five jin of Purple Vein Divine Crystals are so precious that, moved by our gesture, they will surely refuse to accept them. In the end, the crystals will return to our Yun family."
Yun Qinghong smiled faintly: "In this way, we won't lose any Purple Vein Divine Crystals, but we will have fully conveyed our attitude. All it takes is a few trips, but it is extremely important for the future development of our Yun family."
Yun Che nodded slightly, and father and son exchanged a knowing smile.
Yun Qinghong's words made all the elders' eyes light up with sudden understanding. Yun Waitian said admiringly, "As expected, the Patriarch and Young Master have thought this through thoroughly. This matter is indeed very necessary. We will personally go now."
Given that it involved Purple Vein Divine Crystals, they certainly couldn't trust just anyone to deliver them.
The four elders acted immediately, each carrying five jin of Purple Vein Crystals, heading to the Tianxia, Yan, Su, and Mu families respectively. As Yun Che had anticipated, the Tianxia, Su, and Yan families, though deeply grateful and moved, all refused to accept them. However, at the Mu family, something unexpected happened...
"Hahaha! Since it's a gift from my son-in-law and grandson, of course I have to accept it!" Mu Feiyan's face lit up with delight as he laughed heartily. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Third Brother, take the gift and put it in my courtyard. Five jin of Purple Vein Divine Crystals—this is the greatest gift I've ever received in my life. Once I've warmed it up, I'll put it in the Medicine Pavilion... Not in vain did I marry my daughter to the Yun family, and not in vain did she give birth to a young master that the Yun family couldn't have begged for in eight hundred lifetimes. Hahaha!"
Mu Feiyan accepted it cleanly and promptly. The Yun family's Second Elder, Yun Duanshui, who had come to "deliver the gift," was instantly dumbfounded...