Chapter 990: The Goddess of the Heavenly Lake (Part 1)
Mu Huanzhi, leading Yun Che and Mu Hanyu, floated at the center of the Heavenly Lake. He reached out and pressed his hands on the crown of their heads. When he lowered his palms, an ice-blue crystal had appeared in each of his hands.
Soul crystals that had absorbed the soul force of Yun Che and Mu Hanyu!
Mu Huanzhi turned around and swept his hand, spreading a huge blue light curtain in front of him. At the same time, the two soul crystals were embedded side by side on the light curtain, one on the left and one on the right.
"These are your soul crystals, connected to your souls. Your soul state and the depth of your dive will be manifested on the profound formation through the soul crystals."
Mu Huanzhi moved back: "Which of you goes first?"
This was a major sect matter that would determine the ownership of the Sect Master's personal disciple, but apart from the three of them, everyone else remained at the poolside, with not a single person approaching the Heavenly Lake to watch.
Because to them, this was not a competition at all; it was entirely a one-man show for Mu Hanyu. As for the outcome, they didn't even need to watch or think about it. The only thing they cared about was whether Mu Hanyu, who was about to become the Sect Master's personal disciple, would have an even more stunning performance next.
Mu Hanyu said modestly, "Let Junior Brother Yun Che go first."
Yun Che also refused without hesitation: "I only need to reach two-tenths of Senior Brother Hanyu's depth to win. Since my result is to be referenced against Senior Brother Hanyu's, naturally Senior Brother Hanyu should go first."
"Hanyu, you go first," said Mu Huanzhi. In anyone's eyes, Yun Che was clearly afraid... and moreover couldn't possibly dare.
"Yes."
Mu Hanyu respectfully complied. He stepped forward, took a long, slow breath, and closed his eyes. In an instant, a thin layer of blue light floated around his body, quickly deepening in color.
The Minghan Heavenly Lake remained terrifyingly quiet. All eyes were focused on Mu Hanyu, and when they occasionally shifted to Yun Che, there was only pity.
The blue light on Mu Hanyu's body had become extremely dense, forming rings of gorgeous halos. At this moment, he suddenly opened his eyes, and his body quickly descended, plunging straight into the Heavenly Lake.
On the light curtain, Mu Hanyu's soul crystal began to shine, projecting a rapidly increasing light shadow...
Ten feet...
Thirty feet...
Fifty feet...
One hundred feet!!
The speed was so fast, as if passing through ordinary water. In the blink of an eye, he had already plunged a hundred feet deep.
"So... so fast!"
Although they had long known that Mu Hanyu would surely perform astonishingly, the disciples who had just personally experienced the waters of the Heavenly Lake were still stunned dumbfounded.
The cold at a hundred feet seemed to have no effect on him at all!
One hundred fifty feet...
Two hundred feet...
Three hundred feet...
All the disciples were utterly astonished. After reaching three hundred feet, Mu Hanyu's speed finally slowed down, but only slightly; it was still incredibly amazing.
Mu Huanzhi looked at the light curtain, nodding continuously. Although Mu Hanyu had surpassed his own granddaughter, he still couldn't suppress the admiration in his heart.
Yun Che's eyes were lightly closed. From start to finish, he didn't look at the light curtain once. His expression was blank, and no one knew what he was thinking.
At the poolside, Mu Bingyun also closed her eyes. Her profound aura carried a soul voice, transmitting it to the distant sky above.
"Sister, you couldn't possibly be angry over something like this. What really happened? Just now, were you really going to kill Yun Che?"
In this world, she was the one who understood her best.
"Hmph! He saved your life, so of course I wouldn't kill him. But my anger is real."
In Mu Bingyun's mind, an echo as heavy as thunder came. This voice made Mu Bingyun's heart relax for a moment, but then she became even more puzzled: "Then why are you angry?"
"This brat is full of flaws. He exposed the Star God Remnant Shadow first, and then the Evil God's inheritance. If it weren't me who discovered all this, but someone else, he would have died ten thousand times already, and even the planet he came from would have suffered a catastrophic disaster. Yet he himself is completely unaware, still flaunting his pride and acting insolent in front of people he can't afford to provoke. He's simply at the peak of stupidity! Does he really think he's still in the lower realm? How could I not be angry!"
Mu Bingyun's face changed dramatically, and she jerked her head up: "Evil God... inheritance? Sister, what are you saying?"
The Evil God... the supreme deity of the ancient age of gods, possessing the boundless divine power at the level of a Creation God, a god among gods of unmatched strength. His inheritance...
At this moment, Mu Bingyun suddenly thought of something, and her ice-blue pupils contracted for an instant: "Could it be..."
"No need to ask further; just watch and see," the heavy voice still carried undiminished anger. "Hmph, meeting me is his good fortune. Otherwise, he wouldn't even know how he died. This is also... the first lesson I'm giving him!"
Mu Bingyun's mind was in turmoil, hard to calm. The Evil God's inheritance... a Creation God-level inheritance that had never existed in the God Realm. In the records about the Evil God, it was mentioned that he once had the divine title "God of Elements."
And the most recent rumor about the "Evil God" was as recent as eight years ago... The Tiansha Xingshen of the Star God Realm seemed to have obtained some kind of Evil God power...
Star God Remnant Shadow... Tiansha Xingshen... Evil God Force... Yun Che... Lan Ji Star... Godslayer Desolation Poison... Heavenly Poison Pearl... Eight years... Alien talent... Cultivating the Ice Phoenix God-Sealing Canon without the Ice Phoenix bloodline... Possessing both ice and fire divine power in his body...
So this is it...
No wonder... no wonder...
"In that case, are you really going to take him as your disciple? You should know that he won't stay long in the Yin Xue Realm."
"..." After Mu Bingyun asked, she received no reply.
The profound light projected on the light curtain was still increasing rapidly, accompanied by bursts of exclamations.
Five hundred feet...
Six hundred feet...
Seven hundred feet...
Eight hundred feet!!
When the projection on the light curtain reached eight hundred feet, the exclamations at the poolside exploded. The disciples who had been sitting on the ground all stood up, staring at the light curtain with wide eyes.
Eight hundred feet — such a length was merely the distance of a single breath for profound practitioners of the divine path, but for the depth of the Minghan Heavenly Lake... it was an extremely terrifying number!
Although all those present were the most outstanding disciples of the Ice Phoenix God Sect, it was no exaggeration to say that nearly half of them, if they were to come into contact with the cold at this depth, would die instantly, without even a struggle.
Yet Mu Hanyu was still continuing downward, with no sign of stopping.
Eight hundred twenty feet...
Eight hundred fifty feet...
Eight hundred eighty feet...
Nine hundred feet!!
The shouts completely ceased. All disciples' eyes were wide open, holding their breath completely. The various elders and palace masters also revealed deeply shocked expressions. Only Mu Yunzhi showed a smile... because she knew that Mu Hanyu's limit was still far from this.
At this point, Mu Hanyu's speed had become extremely slow, but he was still diving deeper.
Nine hundred twenty feet...
Nine hundred forty feet...
Nine hundred fifty feet...
...
Every foot he descended, his speed slowed a bit, but he never truly stopped. All eyes were locked onto the light curtain... They were witnessing history created by a disciple! And starting from nine hundred feet, every moment was new history!
Nine hundred seventy feet...
Nine hundred eighty feet...
Nine hundred ninety feet!!
Mu Hanyu's descent speed was already extremely slow; every inch seemed like crossing a heavenly moat. Everyone's heartbeat also slowed down, their wide-open eyes afraid of missing any single moment.
One thousand feet!!
The shock at this moment was so intense that it felt like a heavy hammer had struck everyone's soul. Even Mu Huanzhi, who was closest to the light curtain, gaped for a long time.
Below a thousand feet, Mu Hanyu finally reached his limit. He only stayed at the thousand-foot depth for half a breath before struggling to ascend. However, his ascent speed was very slow, and on the light curtain, the light released by Mu Hanyu's soul crystal began to become chaotic.
"Quickly save Hanyu!" Mu Yunzhi shouted urgently.
Without needing her to speak, Mu Huanzhi had already acted like lightning. His vast profound aura pierced through a thousand feet of lake water, enveloping Mu Hanyu and quickly bringing him out.
The lake surface broke open, and Mu Hanyu's figure was flung far away, landing on the poolside. His face was as pale as paper, his breath weak, and his whole body was violently shivering. But he still struggled to get up, kneeling to Mu Huanzhi and saying, "This disciple... thanks the Grand Elder for saving my life..."
Mu Yunzhi moved like lightning, placing her hand on his back to dispel the cold.
"Hahahaha," Mu Huanzhi laughed heartily instead: "As expected of the most outstanding disciple of this generation... one of them, to actually reach a thousand feet. Thinking back to our generation, under sixty years of age, those fortunate enough to enter the Heavenly Lake, none ever reached a thousand feet deep. Truly gratifying and admirable!"
"Congratulations, Senior Brother Hanyu."
"Hanyu becoming a personal disciple is indeed most fitting."
Mu Hanyu had exerted himself so desperately, obviously to show off in front of the Realm King. And he had done so stunningly. His talent, his physique, and his profound ice cultivation were so deep that everyone present was deeply amazed.
And the elders were all casting envious glances at Mu Yunzhi.
"Hanyu, don't get distracted. First, focus on dispelling the cold. Soon you will pay respects to the Sect Master again; you must not be the slightest bit discourteous." Mu Yunzhi did not hesitate to mobilize her entire profound force to restore Mu Hanyu to a sufficient state in the shortest time.
"Yes, Master." Mu Hanyu also closed his eyes, suppressing his extreme excitement, and began to focus on dispelling the cold. In his heart, he had already started thinking about what to say when he paid respects to the Sect Master later.
All attention was focused on Mu Hanyu, who was radiating a dazzling aura, while Yun Che, still standing at the center of the Heavenly Lake, seemed to have been forgotten.
"Yun Che, it's your turn." Mu Huanzhi spoke, which finally reminded people that this "duel" still had another person. "Hanyu dived a total of a thousand feet into the Heavenly Lake. You only need to reach two-tenths of that, which is two hundred feet."
As Mu Huanzhi finished speaking, there was a burst of snickers from the poolside. Two hundred feet? A joke! Even seven feet would already be the limit!
Because Yun Che's height was just over seven feet.
Everyone could imagine that the only outcome of him entering the Minghan Heavenly Lake would be that his body and profound force would be frozen immediately, making it impossible for him to dive even a single inch further.
Yun Che stepped forward. Without speaking, and without even circulating his profound energy, he simply fell straight into the Heavenly Lake.
In everyone's eyes, he was clearly giving up directly, because no matter how much he struggled, it would be useless. As he fell, Mu Huanzhi had already reached out simultaneously, preparing to save him after he was frozen by the lake water... After all, he had angered the Sect Master. Though he was bound to die, it should be the Sect Master who personally judges him.
But his outstretched hand, along with his expression, froze at the same time.
Yun Che, who had fallen into the Heavenly Lake, did not freeze and stop as expected. Instead, he dove downward. Although his descent speed was far slower than Mu Hanyu's, it was not slow either.
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[Sigh! As of today, the heating still hasn't come on. I've even gained a few pounds from the cold. Absolutely infuriating!]
(This chapter ends)