# Chapter 991: Celestial Pool Goddess (Part 2)
Ten chi...
Twenty chi...
Thirty chi...
Yun Che was diving at a constant speed, directly plunging to a depth of thirty chi under the shocked gazes of everyone.
In the Celestial Pool, Yun Che's eyes were closed. The chilling air so heavy it was beyond imagination was, for him, a refreshing coolness that comforted him from body to soul. He spread his arms, greedily feeling countless strands of cool air surging into his body, letting himself sink freely in the Celestial Pool, so comfortable that he almost wanted to fall asleep.
Sure enough, this feeling was exactly the same as when he had immersed himself in the Sea of Death in the Illusion Demon Realm back then, only much stronger.
After all, the power level of Minghan Heavenly Lake far surpassed that of the Sea of Death.
Moreover, as he gradually descended, the cold intensified.
The cold of the Celestial Pool was a nightmare for others, but for Yun Che, this extreme elemental environment, combined with the Great Dao Pagoda Art, was like paradise.
In such an environment, even if he did nothing, his profound strength would grow rapidly!
As he reveled in it, he had already unhurriedly sunk to a depth of fifty chi. Reflected on the light screen, it caused mouths to gape wider and wider in shock.
The unusual atmosphere and sounds around him made Mu Hanyi, who had been dispelling the cold, open his eyes. In a single glance, he saw that the depth Yun Che had reached, as shown on the light screen, had reached fifty chi.
Although the speed was very slow and a far cry from Mu Hanyi's thousand chi, it had already completely shattered their imagination.
"What... is happening? This is impossible!" The disciples looked at each other in bewilderment.
While they were still stunned, Yun Che continued to descend at a constant speed...
Sixty chi...
Eighty chi...
One hundred chi!!
"This..." The elders and palace masters also began exchanging bewildered glances.
Mu Bingyun had been staring fixedly at the light screen. If not for the earlier sound transmission, she too would have been shocked. Now, though she had some idea, her heart still could not calm down.
One hundred twenty chi...
One hundred forty chi...
Mu Hanyi's expression finally showed signs of turbulence. His breath, which he had just steadied, became noticeably disordered. Whether it was him or Mu Yunzhi beside him, both were beginning to feel a deep unease in their extreme shock.
One hundred fifty chi... At this point, Yun Che finally stopped.
The halt of the light screen made Mu Hanyi take a sharp, deep breath, but his whole body was already drenched in cold sweat.
None of them could imagine that Yun Che, who had only just entered the Divine Way and had previously been unable to even step into the waters of the Celestial Pool, could actually reach such a depth... The shock and disbelief brought by this scene was no less than that of Mu Hanyi's earlier dive to a thousand chi.
A first-level Divine Origin Realm profound strength, yet able to dive to such a depth. Could his talent, physique, and law comprehension be... this strong?
In the Celestial Pool, Yun Che had indeed stopped, but of course not because he could no longer dive. He didn't even know what depth he was at. He was hesitating about something.
The deeper he went, the heavier the cold. And since he possessed the Water Spirit Evil Body, no amount of cold could harm him; instead, it would allow him to absorb it to a greater extent... So, if he reached the deepest point, where the cold was greatest...
Would it be possible for him to reach the Divine Tribulation Realm before the Xuan Shen Assembly by relying solely on this extreme cold, without even needing to cultivate?
But...
Yun Che's hesitation lasted only a few breaths. Finally, he gritted his teeth fiercely and, with unwavering determination, plunged downward.
Zheng!!
On the light screen, the blue light that had paused for a few breaths suddenly surged violently, shooting upward like a ray of light. In an instant, it leaped from one hundred fifty chi to three hundred chi... and in the next moment, it had already reached five hundred chi!
"Wh... what!?!?"
Mu Huanzhi, standing before the light screen, felt as if someone had struck him directly with a heavy hammer. His body swayed violently in shock, and his hair stood on end.
At the edge of the pool, a roar of voices erupted as if throats were being torn. Countless jaws hit the ground hard, and everyone's eyeballs nearly flew out of their sockets along with the surging light beam.
Mu Hanyi, who had been sitting on the ground, stood up as if shocked by electricity, his face stiff, his gaze vacant... as if he had suddenly fallen into the most absurd dream.
Yun Che continued to descend, not slowing down but instead growing faster and faster...
Seven hundred chi!
One thousand chi!!
Before the crowd could recover from the shock of the light beam's surge, it had already reached a thousand chi, then shot straight up, instantly surpassing Mu Hanyi's originally stunning achievement.
Two thousand chi...
Four thousand chi...
Seven thousand chi...
One thousand zhang!!!
Above the Ice Dragon, a beam of blue light suddenly shot down, striking the light screen. The entire light screen instantly shattered into blue fragments, leaving only two Soul Crystals floating in the air, emitting a faint blue glow.
Minghan Heavenly Lake fell into dead silence once more. Everyone felt as if they had suddenly fallen into a dream. Mu Huanzhi turned around, his pupils visibly contracting continuously, his voice trembling with extreme shock: "Sect Master, this... this this..."
"The outcome is decided. There is no need to watch the rest," Yinxue Realm King spoke coldly, her voice carrying a majesty that pierced the soul, telling everyone that everything just witnessed was real, not a dream.
Mu Hanyi plopped down on the ground, his face pale, his lips trembling, lost in a daze for a long time. If he had lost to Mu Feixue from the start, he would not have been too disheartened, might even have shown composure... But now, it was as if he had suddenly fallen from heaven into the deepest hell, the disparity so cruel.
Beside him, Mu Yunzhi was as if petrified, her lips trembling violently just like Mu Hanyi's, unable to stop for a long time, unable to say a word.
"But... but..." Mu Huanzhi wanted to say something but couldn't form words.
"But what!" Yinxue Realm King's voice suddenly grew heavier, startling everyone: "The result of this supplementary test is clear. Since Yun Che has defeated Mu Hanyi, the earlier offense is pardoned. He is approved to become this king's personal disciple. In seven days, a full sect assembly will be held at the Holy Temple to conduct the master-disciple ceremony!"
"Huanzhi, you are to take charge of arranging this matter. There must be no mistakes!"
What had happened earlier was something no one had truly processed or accepted yet. Yinxue Realm King had already directly announced her decision. Mu Huanzhi was stunned for several breaths before hurriedly bowing his head: "Yes."
"Bingyun, Yun Che will remain in the Ice Phoenix Thirty-Six Palaces for the next few days."
"Yes." Mu Bingyun responded softly. Behind her, Mu Xiaolan was already as dumbfounded as a wooden post.
Just as Mu Bingyun responded, a voice filled with anger... and deep helplessness reached her ear: "This kid, he just got a lesson and yet he's being so reckless again. I really want to slap him to death!"
Mu Bingyun gave a gentle smile and replied via sound transmission: "Innate nature is not something that changes easily; if it were, it wouldn't be innate nature. 'Evil God' means a god of strangeness and anomaly. If he truly carries the inheritance of the Evil God's power, then his personality might also be related to that."
"Enough. Since fate has brought us to this point, I will follow the heavens' will and take him as my disciple. I wonder... whether his power and his temperament will bring fortune or disaster to my Yinxue Realm."
The entire Minghan Heavenly Lake was filled with an atmosphere of bewilderment. The culprit who had caused all this was still inside the Celestial Pool. At this moment, Mu Yunzhi suddenly stepped forward, trembling as she spoke: "Sect Master, Yunzhi has something to say... That Yun Che's victory over Hanyi is simply too... too suspicious. Moreover..."
No one had ever dared to defy Yinxue Realm King's decision. Mu Yunzhi speaking these words was practically using up all the courage she had accumulated in her entire life: "Moreover, in two years, it will be the Xuan Shen Assembly. If Hanyi becomes a personal disciple and is trained by the Sect Master, he will surely bring glory to our Yinxue Realm at the assembly. But Yun Che... he... his profound strength is far too low. Not only will he be ineligible to participate in the Xuan Shen Assembly at that time, but I'm afraid... it might also invite... criticism from outsiders..."
After saying these words, Mu Yunzhi was drenched in sweat, nearly collapsing. For this last chance, she was practically risking everything.
"Oh? Are you saying that this king's decision is foolish?"
Yinxue Realm King's voice was very calm, with no trace of anger, but it startled Mu Yunzhi into dropping to her knees, her whole body trembling: "No... Yunzhi wouldn't dare... Yunzhi spoke too much, please forgive me, Sect Master."
"Very well." Yinxue Realm King spoke lightly. Every time she spoke, everyone below held their breath, not daring to take a big gulp: "I thought you were tired of living!"
Mu Yunzhi's body swayed, almost going limp. The surrounding crowd all deeply lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound.
"Since the result is clear, today's Celestial Pool Gathering should come to an end."
The heaven-majestic command descended like a canopy: "Fengshu, Sushan, you two will wait outside the Celestial Pool. Without my order, you are not to leave. Everyone else, withdraw completely and do not linger."
"Additionally, regarding this king's recent acceptance of a disciple, it is not to be disclosed until the master-disciple ceremony seven days from now!"
Mu Fengshu and Mu Sushan both showed looks of surprise. They were rarely summoned by Yinxue Realm King even once in hundreds of years, yet now she had left both of them behind...
Could it be for some major matter concerning the Cold Snow Hall?
Neither dared to ask, and in trepidation, they both bowed their heads in acknowledgment.
In the silence, this unexpected Celestial Pool Gathering ended in a strange atmosphere. The disciples of the Holy Temple and the Ice Phoenix Palace withdrew orderly from Minghan Heavenly Lake under the guidance of the elders and palace masters.
The barrier of Minghan Heavenly Lake slowly closed, leaving only Mu Fengshu and Mu Sushan anxiously waiting outside.
Above Minghan Heavenly Lake, Yinxue Realm King did not leave. She stood silently, gazing at the calm surface of the Celestial Pool, and no one knew what this majestic and ruthless Yinxue Realm King was thinking.
Beneath Minghan Heavenly Lake...
Fifteen hundred zhang...
Two thousand zhang...
Three thousand zhang...
Four thousand zhang...
Five thousand zhang!!
The underwater world, which had been completely devoid of light, suddenly began to shimmer with a faint blue glow. Yun Che's spirit jolted, and he quickly steadied himself to look downward... Less than a hundred zhang below, there was a strangely shaped blue light arc.
That was...
The Cold Vein!!
The Cold Vein at the bottom of the Celestial Pool that Mu Bingyun had mentioned!!
He had reached the bottom of the Celestial Pool!!
Yun Che's speed immediately slowed down.
At five thousand zhang beneath Minghan Heavenly Lake, miraculously, there was no sense of water pressure. But the cold here had become so terrifying that it couldn't even be described as "heavy." After all, this Cold Vein, which appeared to be less than three hundred zhang long, had created the severe cold of the entire Yinxue Realm.
Cold profound energy surged into his body like a storm. His Evil God's Mysterious Vein, combined with Desolate God's Power, naturally had an upper limit to the absorption of profound energy. At five hundred zhang, his absorption speed had already reached its limit. After that, as he continued to dive, the absorption speed remained at that limit, unchanged.
The pool water was clear, and with the blue light of the Cold Vein, everything around was perfectly visible. Apart from the shimmering blue Cold Vein, there was nothing else in sight—pure and untainted.
"Even if I do nothing here, one year here equals ten years of bitter cultivation elsewhere. But..." Yun Che sighed inwardly. "At this level, it's still impossible to reach the Divine Tribulation Realm in two years."
The only possibility he could think of now... was Yinxue Realm King, whose strength was terrifyingly at the Divine Lord Realm.
With this thought, Yun Che no longer lingered and was about to shoot upward. But at that moment, a strange glint of light caught the corner of his eye.
What was that... Yun Che's movement halted, and he turned his gaze toward the source of the reflection.
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[Tomorrow I have to go out to avoid the cold, so I probably won't have time to write. That's why I'm forcing two updates today... for now.]
(End of this chapter)