by Mars Gravity
“Eighty-three thousand nine hundred and forty-seven.” After exterminating the thirteen Murderous Kingcrabs, the numbers in Yun Che’s mind also refreshed. After seeing the ground covered dead crabs whose legs lifted into the air, Yun Che pinched his chin and muttered: “I wonder if I could make these huge crabs into soup…”
Yun Che finally gave up this tempting thought and returned to Chu Yuechan’s side with the fish in hand. Then, he set up a pot rack and put in the creek’s water along with the fish before boiling it with fire… If the divine beast, the Phoenix, knew that Yun Che had used phoenix fire to mostly cook food after obtaining its blood, it was not known if it would be angry enough to torch Yun Che into burnt slag.
Once the fire was raised, trouble followed shortly after. The grassland beneath his foot abnormally shifted. Not waiting for the underground thing to surface, Yun Che suddenly thrusted his hands into the ground and forcibly clutched at the Spirit Profound Armor Plated Earthworm that was about to attack. After two or three strikes that had beaten it into tight knots, it was then thrown away into the distance… It was sad that this Armor Plated Earthworm was only a low level Spirit Profound Beast. Although its body was as hard as fine steel, in Yun Che’s hands, it was no different than an ordinary hemp rope. Even though Yun Che’s profound strength was inferior, his arm strength was something that not even a high level Spirit Profound practitioner could match.
The Armor Plated Earthworm that had been coiled into tight knots chaotically twitched about on the grass. But after losing too much blood for a long while, it was no longer capable of movement.
“Eighty-three thousand nine hundred and forty-eight.” Yun Che said aloud in a low voice. Right after he finished counting out loud, his arm suddenly swung up and Phoenix Flame shot outwards at the two Fierce Storm Hawks overhead that were about to dive down, making them fall after an explosion.
After these five months of comprehensive mastery, he no longer needed the heavy sword to unleash Phoenix Break, and could also activate it with a wave of his arm, because even his arm, could be treated as a heavy sword.
With the scorching heat of the phoenix flame, it didn’t even take sixty breaths of time for the fish soup to be ready.
After ladling the fish soup, Yun Che carefully blew at it to keep it cool and arrived at Little Fairy’s side. Supporting her upper body, he lifted the little bowl against her lips: “Here, it’s not hot anymore.”
Chu Yuechan opened her beautiful eyes and parted her soft lips. Using what little strength she had, she lightly sipped and drank the fish soup. Right as she swallowed her first mouthful of soup, an unearthly cry came from up above. Six extremely long tailed dark green monstrously large birds dove down from six different directions at Yun Che.
Without raising his head, Yun Che swung his left hand upwards and clutched Dragon Fault between his fingers. After locking onto the positions of the six Verdure Great Birds, Yun Che continuously swung Dragon Fault six times in two breaths of time. On the third breath, he had already withdrawn Dragon Fault and placed it back on his back.
Scree Scree Scree Scree…
Amongst the chaotic Phoenix cries, six Phoenix Breaks soared into the sky, accurately blasting onto the Verdure Great Birds that were in the midst of their attack, and exploded on them one by one. During this entire process, not a single drop of the fish soup in the little bowl spilled out. Chu Yuechan was also not startled, and her snowy lips never left the little bowl. When all six of the Great Birds dropped down, half of the fish soup in the little bowl had already been devoured.
Since they had encountered this type of situation everyday for the past five months, she had long become accustomed to it, and was even more certain that Yun Che could perfectly hold them off.
In this five month period, they were subject to all kinds of profound beast attacks at nearly every moment. The period in-between varied, but it never stopped. The “never be able to sleep soundly or eat in peace” that the Primordial Azure Dragon had said was not the least bit exaggerated or made up in order to scare them.
The difficulty level of this stage of the trial was more than ten times harder than the first. What was scary, was not that the level of profound beasts were too high, nor was it the shockingly quantity of the profound beasts. It was rather the unceasingly barrage of assaults! They came from the ground, underground, in the water, from the skies, and any profound beast could attack at anytime. If one relaxed his mind for even a second, it was possible for him to lose his life. In this sort of situation, it was perhaps likely to persevere through two days. Even three or four days could be endured, but when the period of time continued to lengthen, even if one’s body could handle the pressure, the collapse of one’s mind was also possible… If another person with profound strength that was stronger than Yun Che’s by one-fold was swapped in, it was still nearly impossible for them to continue on.
Yet just for Yun Che, this trial’s difficulty level wasn’t that much higher than the first stage’s.
Because in his past life, he precisely spent his time being hunted down. Being hunted down by this endless plain’s profound beasts was undoubtedly terrifying, but in his past life, he had actually been subjected to being hunted down by the most supreme of sects, clans, and strongest experts! Moreover, that persisted for an entire seven years. Within those seven years, his alertness, perception, reaction speed, and counter attack abilities were also refined to an extremely frightening level.
After reincarnating, there was no chance for those abilities to surface. But being hunted by this endless plain’s endless amount of profound beasts, his abilities were aroused once more.
Chapter 190: Killed by Poison
Under Yun Che’s recuperation, although Chu Yuechan’s meridians were still not recovered, the state of her body was already much better. Her face, which was originally as white as a sheet of paper, had already recovered some of its original color. However, her entire body was still paralyzed, and only her right arm and right hand could move a little. In this extremely dangerous place, for Yun Che to protect her well, he had to stay right by her side.
For each meal, Chu Yuechan could not eat much and a small bowl of fish soup would already suffice. Chu Yuechan, who had finished drinking the fish soup, closed her eyes gently and lay on Yun Che’s chest with a peaceful expression….. Even she herself did not realize, that this ease she felt, surpassed what she had felt when she was meditating in seclusion in her sect.
In these five months, a large part of her time was spent in slumber. The only thing she spent more time in other than sleeping, was in Yun Che’s arms. From the first rejection, to gradual acceptance, and finally completely accustomed. After she was used to it, she would unknowingly come to hate to leave him….. But this concept of “wanting to stay near” was completely foreign to Chu Yuechan, because before Yun Che, she had never lived alone with any man before, let alone come into contact intimately. But this time, they had actually lived inseparably and close to each other for almost five months. To Chu Yuechan, this was absolutely unimaginable.
Nobody knew what frame of mind she had in interacting with Yun Che, and even she herself did not know.
“Sleep peacefully for a while. Soon, we’ll be able to leave this place. And by then, all your strength will be recovered.” Yun Che patted Chu Yuechan’s pale back lightly, his voice soft, like he was coaxing a baby to sleep.
Not too long after, Chu Yuechan’s breathing became light and even, and she had fallen asleep.
Yun Che kept the thing by his hand, and stood up while carrying Chu Yuechan. Looking forward, he spoke, “Jasmine, how long have we been here?”
“Today is the hundred and forty first day.” Jasmine answered precisely.
“…That means, it’s less than a month away from the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament.” Yun Che furrowed his eyebrows as his heart grew slightly impatient. He had promised Lan Xueruo that he would return within half a year. By now, more than five months had already passed, but he was
still trapped in this trial area. After five months had passed, he had already become accustomed to this place. To complete this trial, what he needed was merely time. But to leave this place, he still had to kill ten thousand more profound beasts. These profound beasts could not be killed as he pleased, because any one of them were all genuine Spirit Profound Beasts.
Also, after the second stage of the trial, there was still the third stage.
After exiting the trial grounds, it would still take a long time to walk out of the Wasteland of Death, and after walking out of the Wasteland of Death, even if he traveled day and night, it would still take at least five days’ worth of time to return to Blue Wind Imperial City…
If he didn’t leave this place as soon as possible, he would be unable to make it to the Blue Wind Ranking Tournament, and he would be unable to fulfill his promise towards Xueruo.
“It looks like I’ll have to speed up. Even if I die, I still have to finish killing the profound beasts here within ten days!” Yun Che frowned and said.
“Ten days? Hmph, what joke are you cracking! To complete this trial, you still have to kill sixteen thousand profound beasts. If you want to finish it in ten days, you’ll need to kill at least a thousand and six hundred of them every day! In these five months, you’ve only killed an average of six hundred profound beasts each day, and this is already your maximum speed after you’d gone all out. Killing sixteen thousand profound beasts in ten days is absolutely impossible….. If you get ahead of yourself in your impatience and lose your cool, you might get reverse killed by profound beasts instead.” Jasmine warned.
Yun Che had no way of countering that.
“ROAR!!”
Suddenly, and ear-splitting growl came from far behind him. This sound made Yun Che frown, and then mutter darkly, “Damn! Why is it this guy again, it’s practically like a lingering spirit that won’t leave!”
At that, without even thinking, Yun Che ran. Not long after, a gigantic single horned profound beast rampaged past the spot he had been at, bringing a berserk aura as it rushed towards him.
Even though he had stayed here for the past five months, and had been surviving by killing profound beasts which far surpassed him in levels every day, Yun Che’s profound strength had still stayed at the fourth level of the True Profound Realm. It wasn’t that his profound energy had not shown any signs of breaking through, but rather that he kept pushing it down forcefully, not allowing it to break through. This was because, when profound strength made a breakthrough, he would be incapable of moving for a short period of time, and could not be disturbed by anything, or else his meridians would be easily damaged. In this endless wilderness that was fraught with dangers, not only could he not be guarded by anyone when he was breaking through, but Chu Yuechan would also be exposed to the same dangerous environment. Therefore, the breakthrough in his profound strength had forcibly been suppressed all this time.
Otherwise, with how he was killing far above his level every day and night, and how all fifty four of his profound veins were open, in five months, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration if his profound strength could rise to the eighth level of the True Profound Realm.
Although he had not broken through all this while, his profound energy grew progressively, and even if he did not have the power of four great gods, his profound strength far surpassed the average practitioner in the fourth level of the True Profound Realm.
This profound beast that was chasing him was named Overlord Single-Horned Beast, and it was a profound beast of the sixth level of the Spirit Profound Realm. It had great strength and an extremely tough body. That, in addition to its strong and solid profound defense made it difficult for Yun Che to harm it even with Dragon Fault. If Chu Yuechan hadn’t been at Yun Che’s side, he could still deal with it, but with one arm around Chu Yuechan, he could only hold the sword with one hand and it was impossible for him to even be a match for the Overlord Single-Horned Beast.
That was why Yun Che would run every time he met this guy.
Star God’s Broken Shadow was a single instance profound movement skill and not a long term speed increase type of profound skill, so it would not cause Yun Che’s speed to increase by much. However, Yun Che would usually be carrying a sword that weighed four thousand kilos. Therefore, when he needed to escape, all he had to do was to throw the sword into the Sky Poison Pearl, and his body would feel as if it were floating. Escaping would also be as fast as lightning, and shaking off this Overlord Single-Horned Beast would only be a matter of minutes.
Yun Che ran forward with all his might and the dirt underneath his feet were sent flying back as he increased the distance between him and the Overlord Single-Horned Beast. At this time, Jasmine’s warning suddenly came from his mind, “Careful, there’s a cliff up front!”
Just as Jasmine’s voice fell, a cliff appeared in front of Yun Che’s line of sight. His brows furrowed and his speed suddenly decreased as both his feet planted onto the ground firmly. After sliding for a short distance, he finally stopped dangerously at the edge of the cliff. But instantly, he let out a silent breath of relief.
Because looking down, the cliff was actually not high and it wasn’t even one hundred fifty meters tall, so he could easily leap down. There wasn’t any place dangerous below the cliff either, it was only extremely dense woods… Perhaps forest would be a better term for it, because before his eyes, each tree was joined to the next, and even though he was standing at a high vantage point, he still couldn’t completely see the edge of it.
“It’s a field area, why would there be forests.” Yun Che muttered and was about to jump down, when suddenly, a sliver of dangerous, strong wind came from his right side.
Yun Che glanced to the side and his right arm stretched out like lightning as two fingers pinching forcefully onto a thin, cold and slippery thing.
It was a Black Thread Snake that wasn’t very long and was only as thick as half of his finger. Seven inches of it was grabbed onto tightly by Yun Che and it struggled in pain, spitting blackness.
“Emperor Black Thread Snake!” Yun Che, who was proficient in all poisons that existed in the world, recognized the poisonous snake in an instant.
The Emperor Black Thread Snake was very thin and short, and its body was very weak. Even if a normal child were to accidentally step on it, it would also be stomped to death. But such a small and weak snake like this was crowned an “Emperor”, and was actually an expensive Spirit Profound Beast! This was because it had an extremely frightening toxicity and speed despite its size. All that come into contact with its poisonous fangs, as long as they were below the Spirit Profound Realm, would undoubtedly die within ten breaths of time. Even if those in the Spirit Profound Realm were to be bitten by it, they would not be able to live for longer than an hour without the antidote. Also, because of its small size, it was very hard to discover. When it moved, it resembled a streak of black lightning, so people had no chance of guarding against it. All Spirit Profound Beasts, and even Earth Profound Beasts that encounter it would have to take a detour, lest they’re too late.
With the Sky Poison Pearl in him, even if Yun Che were to be bitten by it, he would still not be affected in the least. Staring at this Emperor Black Thread Snake, he suddenly turned around to face the Overlord Single-Horned Beast that was already chasing towards him. Shifting the Emperor Black Thread Snake from his right hand to his left, he used the Sky Poison Pearl to instantly suck out all its poison, and then, throwing it away, he took out the Tiger Soul Sword he had not used in a long while and wiped the poison onto the blade of the Tiger Soul Sword.
“…It seems to be the first time you’re using poison after the Sky Poison Pearl’s poison had vanished.” Looking at the tip of the Tiger Soul Sword, the tragic scene of the massive area of corpses that had been resulted from releasing the poison onto the entire city that year flashed across his mind. His gaze quietly darkened by a tad, and he subsequently rushed toward the Overlord Single-Horned Beast like a gale.
> Seeing that this human who normally ran away the moment he saw it unexpectedly rush up to it this time, the Overlord Single-Horned Beast paused in confusion for a bit, and then, with a roar, it exposed its fangs and pounced towards Yun Che
Whoosh!
The Overlord Single-Horned Beast’s claws streaked across one of Yun Che’s illusionary shadows, while Yun Che’s moved horizontally from where it had been. Rushing up to it from its right side, he gathered his profound strength onto the Tiger Soul Sword and ruthlessly slashed at its right side, leaving a streak of two inches of so, leaving an injury that was enough to draw blood.
Yun Che stopped and the Tiger Soul Sword in his hands had already been kept, and swapped for Dragon Fault.
With the Overlord Single-Horned Beast’s large size, this small injury didn’t even count as an injury at all. The Overlord Single-Horned Beast, which had leapt into the sky, turned around and opened its large mouth as its body pounced towards Yun Che again. But midway, its front leg suddenly twisted, and its entire body fell onto the ground firmly. After that, it began to twitch, and its four limbs began to stamp on the ground, yet it was able to stand back up no matter what. Gradually, waves of pained yells came from its mouth… From that tiny wound, drops of pitch-black blood flowed out slowly.
Yun Che rushed up, and with a single blow, crushed its profound defense that had already been weakened under the extremely poisonous corrosion. After which, he continually rained seven to eight blows on its head, until it no longer made a sound.
“We don’t know either when the Sky Poison Pearl’s toxicity will recover.” Yun Che couldn’t help but sigh. Relying on just a little poison, he had practically finished off this Overlord Single-Horned Beast that he could only escape from previously without sparing much effort. On how formidable poison was, he was clearer than anyone else. That year, he hadn’t even been thirty yet, but he lived for a full seven years in the midst of all the chasing and killing throughout the entire continent. What he relied on, was the Sky Poison Pearl’s toxicity. Under the Sky Poison Pearl’s heavenly poison, countless of experts whose strength far surpassed Yun Che’s by many times over, and even the exceptionally strong all died under his hands.