Chapter 774: Half-Blooming Netherworld Brahma Flower (Part 2)
Yun Che spun around like lightning, only to see Zi Ji, Xia Yuanba, and Feng Xue'er, who had been staring at the distant purple light, all with blank faces, dazed eyes, and pupils that were sometimes dilated and sometimes contracted, as if they had all lost their souls.
Yun Che's heart jolted with alarm. He swiftly rushed over and pulled Feng Xue'er into his chest, while simultaneously striking out with his left hand. A blast of air sent Xia Yuanba and Zi Ji flying far away. He shouted loudly, "Fall back! Don't look at that purple light!!"
All three of them trembled at the same time, as if waking from a dream. Feng Xue'er immediately hugged Yun Che tightly, burying her head in his chest, not daring to look up. Yun Che could clearly feel that her heartbeat was several times faster than usual. Zi Ji and Xia Yuanba quickly retreated, deep fear written on their faces.
"This Netherworld Brahma Flower truly lives up to its reputation… No! It is far more terrifying than the legends say." Zi Ji pressed his hand to his chest, his face pale, his mind unable to calm for a long time. That purple light was at least thirty zhang away, yet at such a distance, it had so easily brought him such a nightmare.
"Something so terrifying actually exists in this world…" Xia Yuanba said with lingering fear. "Is it really just a flower?"
"What did you all feel just now? Or what did you see?" Yun Che asked with furrowed brows. He had also been staring at the purple light, but aside from a slight blurriness before his eyes, he hadn't felt anything too abnormally intense.
"Never mind that for now!" Zi Ji said in a deep voice. He leaned his back against the wall behind him, not daring to look at the Netherworld Brahma Flower again. Even so, he vaguely felt as if a pair of demonic eyes were watching him from somewhere, his heartbeat so wild it felt like it might burst at any moment. "Yun Che! We only have a hundred breaths of time, and nearly half of that has passed! You were incredibly lucky to actually find this terrifying Netherworld Brahma Flower, and in its blooming state at that! Collect it as quickly as possible! If we don't leave within a hundred breaths, we will be trapped here to die! And there will be no chance of survival!"
"Understood!" Yun Che nodded, pushing Feng Xue'er behind the wall and quickly instructing, "Xue'er, Yuanba, keep your backs to the wall and don't turn around. I'll pick the Netherworld Brahma Flower right away!"
"Brother Yun… please be careful!" Feng Xue'er called out with deep worry. She had heard many tales about the Netherworld Brahma Flower from Yun Che before, but after just a short look, she realized that its terror far exceeded her imagination.
"Don't worry. Since I dared to come, of course I have a foolproof plan!"
As he spoke, Yun Che turned around the wall, took a dozen quick steps toward the Netherworld Brahma Flower, then stopped. Just as he was about to call out to Mo Li to pick the flower, he heard her stern voice: "Did you not hear what I said? Leave this place immediately! Forget about the Netherworld Brahma Flower!"
Yun Che was taken aback: "But…"
"No buts!" Mo Li's voice carried a gravity he had never heard before. "Have you not noticed? That Netherworld Brahma Flower has bloomed, but not completely!"
Yun Che was startled. He looked up and focused his gaze on the swaying purple light.
In the utter darkness, the full shape of the Netherworld Brahma Flower was as clear as if it were right before his eyes. It was about one zhang tall, with dark purple stems and leaves. Amidst the dreamlike brilliant purple light, a single bewitching flower had bloomed. Each petal was like flowing purple jade, but the bud was slightly closed, the petals somewhat curled. Though it was already enchantingly beautiful, it had not fully opened.
The Slay Moon Demon Cave was dead silent, without a hint of a breeze. The half-bloomed bewitching flower swayed slowly, releasing faint purple mist that seemed to come from the underworld, occasionally emitting a terrifying sound like crying or laughing, so sinister it made one's soul tremble.
Indeed, as Mo Li had said, it had not fully bloomed!
But based on Yun Che's knowledge of vegetation, although this Netherworld Brahma Flower was not in full bloom, its shape indicated it had opened over seventy percent! Perhaps in a few more days, or even just a few hours, it would fully open!
At that moment, the purple glow in Yun Che's sight suddenly wavered, and the scene before him became hazy, transforming into a world of pure purple.
An endless purple world, like stepping into a dreamlike fairyland, intoxicated his heart and soul. All the tension, caution, and anxiety in his mind… all emotions and feelings completely vanished. His whole being became incredibly relaxed, his body as light as a feather, making him involuntarily want to float lightly upward, flying deeper into the purple world until he completely merged with that dreamlike realm…
The daze lasted only an instant before Yun Che snapped back to reality. The purple world before him instantly shattered, leaving only a pitch-black world with a single eerie purple light.
What a terrifying spiritual erosion… Yun Che's forehead broke out in a cold sweat, and his heart was filled with dread. At nearly thirty zhang away, and with the Netherworld Brahma Flower not yet fully bloomed, it had caused even him, with the Dragon God's Soul, to briefly lose himself!
If he got closer, he couldn't even imagine it!
Mo Li had said that if he approached within ten zhang, he would be in unbearable pain, and within five zhang, he would be courting death… He was now certain that was no exaggeration.
"Although it hasn't fully bloomed, it's about seventy to eighty percent open! Is the effect really that different from a full bloom?" Yun Che averted his gaze and asked in a low voice.
"It's like the difference between heaven and earth!" Mo Li said sternly. "Only a fully bloomed Netherworld Brahma Flower can allow my soul body to perfectly merge with a reconstructed physical body. An incompletely bloomed Netherworld Brahma Flower doesn't have enough power; even if you picked ten thousand of them, perfect fusion would be absolutely impossible. If forced to fuse, you would end up like Fen Juechen, suffering constant pain from the rejection between body, power, and soul, and you would die within a few short years!"
Yun Che: "…"
"No…" Yun Che clenched his fists, gritting his teeth in unwillingness. "We finally found traces of the Netherworld Brahma Flower… It's right before us now, and it's only a little short of fully blooming…"
"If we miss it, we'd have to wait a full twenty-four years for its next bloom… And this Slay Moon Demon Cave can only be entered again after five hundred years!"
How could he let go of the Netherworld Brahma Flower that had taken him seven whole years to find?
"Yun Che, listen to me carefully!" Mo Li said in a deep voice. "More than anyone, I want to obtain a complete Netherworld Brahma Flower! But not only has that flower not fully bloomed, even if it had fully opened, we would be utterly unable to obtain it! What you need to do now is leave this place as quickly as possible!"
"…Why?" Yun Che asked in confusion, making no move to retreat. He could hear the unwillingness in Mo Li's voice, and he felt the same!
"The terror of this place far exceeds what you can imagine! The level of darkness here is low in intensity, but its realm is something I have never seen before. If I had a complete body and soul, this darkness wouldn't affect me at all. But right now, I only have a soul body without a physical form to support it. I have no resistance against this level of darkness corroding my being! If I manifest my soul here, I will be severely wounded in a short time, and even my soul source will suffer great damage!"
Yun Che: "…"
"My soul body was corroded by demon poison for several years. Though I have now completely shaken off the poison, I am still several times weaker than my complete state. Only after reconstructing a body can I slowly recover. If my current soul body were to be further corroded by the dark force… the consequences would be that I could never recover my completeness, and I might even dissipate entirely!"
Every word Mo Li spoke was filled with gravity, and Yun Che was completely stunned.
"So, even if that were a fully bloomed Netherworld Brahma Flower, I couldn't manifest to pick it, and you are even less capable." Mo Li's voice grew heavier. "Not a single word I have said is an exaggeration! For it to be able to release this level of dark force for ten thousand years, somewhere in this Slay Moon Demon Cave, there must be something hidden that is far more terrifying than you can comprehend! Even now, within the Heavenly Poison Pearl, I feel a coldness I have never experienced before. Even my spiritual sense is suppressed to only…"
Mo Li's voice suddenly stopped, and Yun Che's heart trembled. Then, Mo Li shouted sharply, "Go now!! Directly above the Netherworld Brahma Flower, there is a living thing hidden… Its gaze is on you right now! Leave immediately!!"
"What?" Yun Che's heart jolted, and he instinctively looked up at the cave ceiling directly above the Netherworld Brahma Flower, but saw only pitch blackness.
Just then, Zi Ji's shout came from behind him: "Yun Che! What are you doing! There are less than thirty breaths left! If you don't leave now, it'll be too late!"
Yun Che didn't hesitate any longer. He quickly turned around and rushed back, shouting at the same time, "Let's go!"
"But that Netherworld Brahma Flower…" Xia Yuanba hesitated. The purple light was still there, meaning Yun Che hadn't picked it.
"Never mind that for now! Move!!" Yun Che pushed Xia Yuanba far away with one palm, grabbed Feng Xue'er's hand, and using the light of the Phoenix Flame, moved as quickly as possible toward the cave entrance.
"Is that 'monster' following us?" Yun Che asked urgently. Since they had just come from the entrance to the depths, they were still familiar with the path, so they were able to retreat much faster than they had advanced.
"No," Mo Li replied.
"…" Yun Che breathed a slight sigh of relief, thinking to himself: A living thing hidden in this Slay Moon Demon Cave… could it be the legendary Slay Moon Demon Lord?
But didn't the Slay Moon Demon Lord die over six thousand years ago? A Overlord Xuan beast couldn't possibly have survived from ten thousand years ago to now!
Moreover, the urgency in Mo Li's tone indicated that this monster hidden in the darkness was far too powerful for him to contend with… which made it even less likely to be that Slay Moon Demon Lord, who was only at the Overlord Xuan realm.
What was it!?
"What kind of monster is it? Did you detect its power level?" Yun Che asked.
"Its body is much larger than a human's. As for its power… roughly at the Lord Xuan Realm, Level 6! This is assuming my spiritual sense isn't distorted by the suppression!" Mo Li's words were somewhat uncertain.
Lord Xuan Realm, Level 6… Yun Che's pace quickened, a complex glint flashing in his eyes.
"Ten breaths left. Don't worry, we'll make it in time." Zi Ji's voice relaxed a little, but his heart was still filled with lingering fear. He had told the Sea Emperor that he would forcibly drag Yun Che out when time reached fifty breaths, but they had ended up in such a precarious situation. If they failed to leave within a hundred breaths, all four of them would die here.
"It's just that brother-in-law didn't get the Netherworld Brahma Flower," Xia Yuanba said dejectedly.
"That can be considered only natural. Given the terror of the Netherworld Brahma Flower, even if the Four Sacred Masters joined forces, it would be absolutely impossible for them to pick it alive." Zi Ji sighed. Although Yun Che had not achieved his goal this time, the Sea Hall had fulfilled what it promised Yun Che.
Just as the last few seconds before the barrier gap closed, a dim light finally appeared before them.
"The exit is right ahead. Hurry out!" Zi Ji, in the lead, called out in a low voice, and his figure flashed as he rushed out.
"Brother-in-law, hurry!" Xia Yuanba followed closely behind Zi Ji, his body passing through the barrier exit while he anxiously turned around to look behind him, fearing that Yun Che might be too slow.
The exit was right before them. Once they left, they would have to wait at least five hundred years to enter again.
And even if they came in again after five hundred years, they might not be as fortunate as today to see the Netherworld Brahma Flower.
Yun Che's steps slowed. He placed his hands on Feng Xue'er's shoulders and gave her a hard push, sending her flying far through the barrier gap, while he himself stopped just before the exit.
"Yun Che! What are you doing… Get out now!" Mo Li immediately guessed his intentions, and her small face paled in horror.
"Brother-in-law!!"
"Brother Yun!!"
After a breath, Yun Che still hadn't come through the barrier gap. Xia Yuanba and Feng Xue'er both sensed something wrong. Xia Yuanba's face changed drastically, and Feng Xue'er's complexion turned ashen. The two of them simultaneously rushed toward the gap.
"Don't worry about me!" Yun Che roared, thrusting both arms, filled with all his strength, toward the barrier exit. The sudden blast sent the unprepared Xia Yuanba and Feng Xue'er flying a hundred zhang away.
"I'm going to wait for the Netherworld Brahma Flower to fully bloom, so I need to stay inside for a few days… Don't worry about me. Remember, I have the 'Mystic Ark'!"
"Brother Yun… no!!" Outside the barrier came Feng Xue'er's tearful voice.
"Go now!!" Mo Li's anxious and even furious voice shook Yun Che's heart and soul. "The spatial laws here have long been twisted by the dark force. Even the Primordial Mystic Ark would…"
Hiss!!!
A sound like thunderclap and lightning screech. The barrier gap, which had been open for a hundred breaths, closed completely in an instant. The entire barrier flowed with blue light, seamless and whole, without even the slightest crack. It divided the inside and outside into two completely isolated worlds.
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