by Mars Gravity
“The three great sect masters?” Yun Che asked doubtfully, “Then, what about their Realm King?”
“Of course there are no Realm Kings in the Flame God Realm.” Mu Xiaolan curled her lips in great disdain.“They set up a rule that states that anyone who can reach the bottom of God Burying Inferno Prison would become the Flame God Realm’s Realm King. That’s why the Flame God Realm never had a Realm King although hundreds of thousands of years had passed by. As a result, internal strife and conflicts for power often happen whenever they’re discussing important matters. Hmph, serves them right.”
“Oh… it seems that their obsession to conquer God Burying Inferno Prison is almost faith-like,” Yun Che said, touching his chin. There was no doubt that their obsession ran deep considering that they weren’t willing to break this rule even though they hadn’t had a Realm King for hundreds of thousands of years. “So, what’s with that horned dragon?”
“It’s an ancient horned dragon that lives inside the God Burying Inferno Prison!”
“Ancient?” This word jolted Yun Che and caused some level of comprehension to enter his mind.
“The Flame God Realm’s earliest records on this ancient horned dragon date back six hundred thousand years. This also means that it has lived for at least six hundred thousand years! You can just imagine that even its beard must be an ultimate treasure one is hardpressed to find even in a hundred lifetimes. Whoever hunts it will gain unimaginable profit.”
“I see.” Yun Che nodded slowly.
“So you’ve understood the situation roughly?” Mu Bingyun looked back and asked.
“Mm.” Yun Che nodded, “The fact that this horned dragon has a lifespan over six hundred thousand years old means that it must be unbelievably powerful. The Flame God Realm couldn’t kill it at all even if they were to employ all their strength. Also, the Flame God Realm all cultivate fire attribute profound art and this ancient horned dragon could only be a flame dragon since it lives inside the God Burying Inferno Prison. Although the Flame God Realm had a great advantage when they defend themselves against this ancient horned dragon’s attacks, their own flame powers would be largely ineffective on this ancient horned dragon too.”
“The most effective power against a flame type living being like this is naturally ice. That is why Flame God Realm wishes to borrow Snow Song Realm’s power.”
Mu Bingyun smiled faintly, “You are as smart as I thought.”
“However,” wrinkles appeared on Yun Che’s forehead, “since that ancient horned dragon lives inside the God Burying Inferno Prison, it absolutely can slip back into the prison if it encounters any danger…”
“You are correct. It is an invincible entity inside the God Burying Flame Prison,” Mu Bingyun explained. “Normally, it almost never leaves the God Burying Flame Prison but it is a dragon after all. Every one thousand years, it would shed its old scales and grow new ones. During this period, it has to move out from the God Burying Inferno Prison and so this is the one and only chance for us to kill it in a thousand years.”
“After understanding that they will never manage to hunt down the dragon with their own strength, Flame God Realm thought of borrowing Snow Song Realm’s power and promised to split half the spoils with the Snow Song Realm after the hunt succeeded.”
Mu Bingyun recalled something and sighed quietly when she said this.
“Hmph! Those despicable bastards! How dare they show their faces a second time!?” Mu Xiaolan said angrily, “Back then, the Great Realm King and master had gone over to help them out in goodwill but… but… those bastards! I can’t believe that they dare show their thick faces in the Snow Song Realm again! The Realm King will definitely teach them a lesson.”
Yun Che looked moved… The ancient horned dragon of the God Burying Fire Prison was said to change its scales once every thousand years. The fact that Flame God Realm’s people had sought out the Snow Song’s Realm King meant that it was about to change its scales again. This also meant that the last attempt to hunt it was one thousand years ago.
The time Mu Bingyun had suffered from the fatal flame poison and escaped to the Profound Sky Continent was also a thousand years ago…
“In that case, the flame poison and ambush Fairy Mu suffered from happened a thousand years ago when you went to the Flame God Realm to aid them in hunting down the ancient horned dragon?” Yun Che asked.
“Yeah!” Mu Xiaolan’s face was red all the way down to her neck when she thought of the pain her master had suffered all these years.
“This matter cannot be explained in one sitting.” Mu Bingyun’s eyes were deep.
Yun Che had always noticed that Mu Bingyun was never grudgeful about her misfortune during the time he purified the flame poison in her. Even when the matter was brought up now, he still couldn’t see anything resembling hatred in her eyes. It was instead filled with indescribably complex emotions.
Mu Xiaolan was the one who looked like she had met her father’s murderer instead.
“After all, it is elder sister’s fault for severely injuring his son by accident…” Mu Bingyun’s voice was cool as she muttered seemingly to herself.
Yun Che, “…?”
Sounds pretty complicated… but it is pretty exciting to hear this as an insignificant and complete outsider.
Anything is fine as long as the battle of gods does not affect the lives of little mortals like us.
“That ancient horned dragon is extremely dangerous. Its breath is extremely poisonous and its blood is extremely toxic. It is almost certain death to come in contact with either of them. That dragon is very dangerous.” Mu Bingyun paused for a moment before continuing, “The flame poison I was inflicted with was in fact the poison in the horned dragon’s breath. However, although the horned dragon was scary, it wasn’t impossible to hunt it down. Last time… if it wasn’t for that incident, we may have succeeded already. That is why I wasn’t surprised that the Flame God Realm has come to look for us again. The Great Realm King wouldn’t be surprised either. Furthermore, I doubt that the Great Realm King would turn them down since the ancient horned dragon is pretty tempting…”
Apparently feeling that she had said more than she should, Mu Bingyun shook her head slightly and stopped talking. The large palace made from ice crystals in front of them was close right now and the cold air and world spirit energy in this place was at least twice as thick than it was at Freezing Snow City.
“We have arrived at our Ice Phoenix Palace. Let’s go down.”
Mu Bingyun changed her hand gesture slightly and took Yun Che and Mu Xiaolan down to the ground.
* * *
Author’s Note
Dragon Breath: Dragon’s breath, specifically the breath that a dragon spits out. Mainly divided into air and a dragon’s saliva… alright, in fact, it’s just a dragon’s saliva.
Chapter 964: Thirty Sixth Ice Phoenix Palace
The area within Ice Phoenix City was especially vast, it looked boundless at first glance. The thirty six Ice Phoenix Palaces towered here, each and every one of them different. The atmosphere was silent; the ice cold spiritual suppression seemed to have completely frozen everything in the world.
The thirty sixth palace was located at the heart of Ice Phoenix City’s southern district. Although it was a palace, its interior was as large as a lower realm city.
Once he entered, Yun Che still sensed the same coldness and spiritual suppression. It was also extremely desolate as well.
“This is the thirty sixth palace you’ll be living in from now on,” Mu Bingyun said to Yun Che. “It is one hundred fifty kilometers wide and around twenty kilometers tall but the space within is far larger than what you see here.”
The space within is far larger than what I see here? That phrase confused Yun Che.
“Since you are now a disciple of Ice Phoenix Palace, you may freely travel within Ice Phoenix City, Freezing Snow City and Snowfall City. You are also able to use any teleportation formation available. How
ever, Ice Phoenix Palaces are relatively independent of one another so unless you have obtained their permission, you are not allowed to enter them at will.”
“Oh.” Yun Che nodded.
“Hey! What kind of response is that!” Mu Xiaolan asked in dissatisfaction. “In our Snow Song Realm, just being able to enter an Ice Phoenix Palace is something countless profound practitioners wouldn’t even dare dream about. Even if their innate talent is high, those who are qualified to enter still have to undertake a really hard examination. Someone like you who has been directly appointed an Ice Phoenix Palace disciple by an Ice Phoenix Palace Master is really really rare, you know. It’s good luck that you can’t even cultivate using ten thousand lifetimes! And you actually… actually act like it’s only right for you to get in!”
Yun Che looked at her, then nodded again. “Oh, got it.”
“…” Mu Xiaolan couldn’t breathe for a moment as her face flushed red from anger.
Mu Bingyun had long since gotten accustomed to them fighting with each other so she just ignored them. “Those who enter Ice Phoenix Palace can be bestowed the surname ‘Mu.’ Since you are now an Ice Phoenix Palace disciple, you naturally have that right as well. The surname Mu is exclusive to our Divine Ice Phoenix Sect. Taking Mu as your surname will give you great benefits and make it easier for you inside the Ice Phoenix Realm and even the entire Snow Song Realm.”
Mu Bingyun turned around. “Xiaolan’s original name was Situ Lanlan, Mu Xiaolan was the name I personally bestowed upon her. In that case, what do you think about me giving you the name Mu Xiaoyun?”
Mu… Xiao… Yun…
“~！#￥%…” Even though Yun Che did his best to restrain himself, he couldn’t control the muscles in his forehead, his veins and the corner of his mouth as they continuously twitched. He lowered his head, maintaining a respectful pose and said with a resolute voice, “I thank Fairy Mu for the name but I still like my current name, so… so…”
“That’s fine.” Mu Bingyun didn’t exactly push for it, nor did she think it strange as she nodded her head.
“A stupid idiot who doesn’t know what’s good for him,” Mu Xiaolan muttered in disdain. Being granted the surname “Mu” was a supreme honor within the Snow Song Realm. Even if a country’s emperor were to be bestowed the surname Mu, they would be overwhelmed by the favor. Yun Che, a country bumpkin from the lower realms… actually rejected it!
Yun Che rolled his eyes at Mu Xiaolan as he complained inwardly: Even though Fairy Mu Bingyun is so beautiful, possesses an ice lotus’ elegance and has such a high status and divine power in the God Realm, her naming sense is just… simply tragic…
Mu Xiaolan… Mu Xiaoyun… they sounded like pet names for children no matter how he heard them!
Don’t tell me that the other disciples here are this disgusting?
Hm? Other disciples?
Yun Che earnestly tried to sense the auras in the surroundings and then asked, “Fairy Mu, why is it this quiet here? Where are the other disciples?”
“How could there be any other disciples?” Mu Xiaolan curled her lips. “It has only been me and Master here. Now, we have an additional baddie in our midst.”
“No other disciples?” Yun Che was stunned at first but he then thought about Mu Bingyun’s state during all these years and slowly understood.
“Xiaolan has been the only disciple in the Thirty Sixth Ice Phoenix Palace these past years. You are the second and I have not taken in any disciples for several hundred years before this,” Mu Bingyun gently sighed. “With my body afflicted with poison, my health slowly deteriorated during these thousand years. I passed every day knowing that I could possibly lose my life so I simply didn’t have the strength to support an Ice Phoenix Palace. However, the Great Realm King was not willing to let me lose my status as an Ice Phoenix Palace Master and stubbornly helped me retain my position. It was also from then on that the thirty sixth palace no longer recruited any disciples. As a result, in all these years, though there were still thirty six Ice Phoenix Palaces in name, the truth was that there were actually only thirty five. Even me accepting Xiaolan as a disciple was an accident.”
“The other Ice Phoenix Palaces all have around three thousand disciples, two Vice Palace Masters and a dozen or so instructors but I don’t envy them one bit.” Mu Xiaolan’s gaze flickered. “Because I was able to always be by Master’s side and have Master all to myself. The other Ice Phoenix Masters are all cold and stiff and they’re all so scary but Master is always this nice and gentle… Hmph, Yun Che, let me say this, you… you… you aren’t allowed to take Master from me. You can’t possibly win against me because the relationship between Master and I has existed for so many years!”
Yun Che, “…”
Mu Bingyun smiled as she shook her head.
“Fairy Mu, now that you are free from the flame poison, your profound strength and vitality will completely recover after a while. At that time, are you going to receive new disciples to revive the thirty sixth palace?” Yun Che asked.
Mu Bingyun actually shook her head. “At the moment, I don’t have that kind of plan. My temperament has become mild after all these years and I have become accustomed to quiet. Let’s see in a few more years.”
Yun Che had long sensed that Mu Bingyun’s temperament was exceptionally mild. He possessed a ton of odd, to the point of incomprehensibility, things. For example, his profound arts, his ice and fire combination, the Heaven Smiting Sword he revealed today and even the fact that he possessed the Sky Poison Pearl… all these would cause any ordinary person’s desire to investigate into further detail. Yet Mu Bingyun had never asked about them. If she ever asked any question, as long as Yun Che showed even the slightest of hesitation, she would never pursue any further.
This was definitely not the temperament any normal person would possess.
Or this was perhaps caused by her circumstances during those thousand years which made her indifferent and able to see through many things.
“Yun Che, I have already talked to the Great Realm King about your situation.”
Once the reason why he had come to the God Realm was mentioned, Yun Che’s mind instantly focused.
Mu Bingyun slowly said, “The Great Realm King has agreed to bring you to the Profound God Convention’s meeting area. However, she explicitly stated that bringing you to the area is already the limits of what she can do. Whether or not you are able to see that person will depend on your good fortune.”
“Alright.” Yun Che nodded somewhat excitedly, “I thank Fairy Mu and the Great Realm King for your assistance.”
“No need for thanks,” Mu Bingyun gently shook her head. “You saved my life so it is only right for the Great Realm King to consent to this. At the moment, there are still thirty months until the Profound God Convention begins. What do you plan on doing during this period of time? The reason why I have accepted you as a disciple of Ice Phoenix Palace is mainly so that it’s easier for me to help you without restricting your freedom.”
Yun Che pondered, then said calmly, “This world’s spiritual energy far surpasses my previous world’s. I won’t waste the chance to cultivate here during the thirty months I have to wait until the Profound God Convention. I will leave after that. Thus, during the period of time that I’m here, I will be concentrating on my cultivation and will not make contact with the outside world as much as possible, lest… some more trouble appears.”
Mu Xiaolan opened her mouth and was about to say something but then hesitated.
“That’s good too.” Mu Bingyun nodded. “There are five thousand cultivation rooms and five thousand living rooms. Aside from Xiaolan’s room, all of them are unused, available for you to pick at will.”
“Everything that you’ve done today will surely travel fast. At that time, there will be many people who will come over to check you out. Since you don’t want to make contact with outsiders, I will help you obstruct them so don’t hesitate to cultivate in peace.”
“Alright,” Yun Che immediately replied.
Mu Xiaolan dazedly looked at Mu Bingyun with an opened mouth.
“There are a few palaces at the city’s center. You can select all sorts of ice attribute profound arts to comprehend in Sacred Scripture Palace but I suppose you aren’t interested in those. Sacred Artifact Palace is where you can pick a weapon of your choice and Sacred Jade Palace is where you can go obtain your allocation of five thousand purple stones and natural resources every month just using your Ice Phoenix Engraved Jade.”
“Ah?”
“Purple stone? What’s that?” Yun Che asked.
“Profound Power Stone.” Mu Bingyun explained, “Based on the levels of strength and purity, they are separated into purple stones, purple crystals and purple jade from bottom up. Absorbing power from these Profound Power Stones can assist you in your cultivation. However, due to their low level, there is no way for them to help you make a breakthrough. They are mostly used to make profound formations, profound talismans, profound arks, profound ships and similar type power sources. At the same time, they are also the type of currency the God Realm uses.
Common currency! Yun Che instantly understood.
“These types of Profound Power Stones all weigh fifty grams. One thousand purple stones can be exchanged for one purple crystal. One thousand purple crystals can be converted into one purple jade.” Mu Bingyun glanced at Yun Che. “You probably have never heard of purple jade but you definitely have seen purple stones and purple crystals before.”