Chapter 1039: Nine Turns Buddha Heart Lotus

The Netherfrost Heavenly Lake.

The lake’s water was as still as a mirror, with only ice spirits gracefully dancing within it. On the lake’s edge, Mu Xuanyin and Yun Che stood facing each other from a distance. Both wore snow-white robes, but beneath Mu Xuanyin’s silent aura, Yun Che’s presence and power seemed as insignificant as dust.

Yesterday had been the final day of rest. Today marked the beginning of their arduous training.

“Let me see your ultimate state. Hold nothing back.”

As Mu Xuanyin’s icy voice fell, Yun Che’s profound energy erupted. The Evil God Realm’s Evil Soul, Burning Heart, and Purgatory were instantly activated. His profound energy’s color shifted from colorless to light red, and after a brief pause, Heaven Smiting was powerfully engaged. The profound energy underwent a sudden transformation, becoming a vivid crimson like fresh blood. What was previously a stable profound energy suddenly became as wild as an enraged beast.

Equally wild were Yun Che’s eyes.

Mu Xuanyin’s icy brows subtly twitched, and she spoke with detached coldness: “Attack.”

“Haa!”

Yun Che let out a roar, drawing the Heaven Punishing Sword. His rampaging profound energy surged, and both Golden Crow Flame and Phoenix Flame ignited simultaneously, unleashing a several-meter-long fiery sword aura from the Heaven Punishing Sword. A strike of “World Annihilation” blasted towards Mu Xuanyin amid his furious roar.

The air currents of the Heavenly Lake were thrown into chaos, and startled ice spirits quickly flew away. Yun Che himself was like a suddenly erupting volcano… However, just as the Heaven Punishing Sword was still ten zhang away from Mu Xuanyin, this terrifying explosion of profound energy suddenly vanished without a trace in an instant.

Both Yun Che and his sword froze in mid-air. The power he had just unleashed seemed to have been completely absorbed by an invisible black hole, vanishing without a trace or even the slightest sound.

In front of him, Mu Xuanyin stood quietly, her gaze frigid, her snow-white robe still. From beginning to end, she had not made a single move, nor had she released any profound energy.

Yun Che numbly descended from the air, remaining stunned for a good while.

His ultimate power, before Mu Xuanyin, was truly like dust before the vast ocean; it wasn’t even worthy of being called insignificant.

“Acceptable.” Mu Xuanyin’s icy gaze remained undisturbed, yet she gave Yun Che a seemingly approving assessment. Then, her right hand slowly lifted.

Stunned, Yun Che suddenly felt a deadly sense of danger. His body instinctively reacted, instantly displacing with Star God Broken Shadow… However, five streaks of cold light, undetectable to the naked eye, shot out as if from thin air, striking his body directly after his instantaneous movement. Not one of them penetrated the five illusory afterimages he had created.

The five streaks of cold light instantly froze upon touching his body, then silently dissipated. But Yun Che’s heart spasmed, and cold sweat poured down his body, for any one of those five streaks of cold light would have been enough to kill him instantly.

He had only perceived the approach of one cold aura, but in the very next instant, he was touched by five simultaneously—and this was after instantly moving with Star God Broken Shadow.

Yun Che took a deep breath and looked up, only to find that Mu Xuanyin’s figure was no longer in front of him. He quickly turned, his gaze sweeping around, but found only emptiness. When his eyes returned to their original position, he immediately saw that Mu Xuanyin was directly in front of him, less than ten paces away.

“The density of your profound energy far surpasses those of your level, and your explosive power is acceptable. This must be thanks to the Evil God’s power.” Staring into Yun Che’s eyes, Mu Xuanyin said coldly, “But your most crucial sense, your perception, is still far from adequate.”

“Perception?” Yun Che was slightly stunned.

“Come with me to a place.” Mu Xuanyin casually waved her palm, and the space in front of them silently tore open. Before Yun Che could react, his body was drawn into the spatial rift.

His vision blurred then brightened, and he found himself in another world.

Looking out from a low altitude, he saw only a thick, misty expanse in front and behind him. It was an incredibly pale yet dense fog. Ordinary fog wouldn't obstruct Yun Che's vision, but this dense fog limited his visibility to less than a hundred zhang. Even straining his eyes, he could only faintly discern groups of undulating ice mountains in the distance.

Less than ten zhang directly ahead was a massive profound sealing array, emitting a cold, crystalline light.

“This place is called the Mist Vanquishing Valley. It’s where the sect punishes disciples who commit grave mistakes. If any disciple commits an unpardonable error, they are thrown into this valley to fend for themselves. The result, without exception, is a swift and tragic death within it.”

The cold here naturally couldn't compare to the Netherfrost Heavenly Lake, but the howling cold wind carried an eerie chill that sent shivers down one's spine.

Yun Che's heart skipped a beat, and he cautiously asked, “Master, have you brought this disciple here to…”

Since it was called a “Vanquishing Valley,” it was certainly not a good place.

“The Mist Vanquishing Valley is home to a large number of Divine Profound Beasts, but they are completely different from the profound beasts you've seen in the Ice Phoenix Realm. Profound beasts living in the environment of the Mist Vanquishing Valley are all incredibly ferocious; they will even kill their own kind, let alone other species. Every profound beast you encounter there will try to take your life. The weakest of these profound beasts are the Ice Howling Wolves you've encountered before, while the strongest can rival profound practitioners of the Divine Tribulation Realm.”

“...” Yun Che's eyes widened in alarm. After hearing this, how could he not guess Mu Xuanyin's intentions?

“Furthermore, it’s not just profound beasts. There are also some former Ice Phoenix disciples who were banished there not long ago and haven't yet died at the claws of the ferocious profound beasts. Those who survive have profound energy at least in the mid-to-late stages of the Divine Soul Realm, and some are even Divine Tribulation Realm disciples. As condemned individuals, they will resort to any means to cling to life, making them far more terrifying than the savage profound beasts. If you encounter any of them head-on, you will undoubtedly die.”

“Master, are you planning for this disciple to… train in the Mist Vanquishing Valley?” Yun Che asked nervously.

“Indeed, but not yet. If I were to throw you in now, you would be dead without a burial place within fifteen minutes.”

Upon hearing this, Yun Che let out a heavy sigh of relief. He was certainly not someone who cowered in the face of danger, but based on Mu Xuanyin’s description of the Mist Vanquishing Valley, entering it with his current strength would be nothing short of pure suicide.

“I will give you six months,” Mu Xuanyin said coldly. “After six months, I will throw you into this Mist Vanquishing Valley. If you don’t want to die too quickly in there, or if you wish to walk out alive, then train diligently during these six months, without the slightest slack.”

Her voice paused, then her tone suddenly turned chillingly merciless: “You will not have the opportunity to be lax.”

“Six months?” After his profound energy entered the Divine Origin Realm, he clearly felt how difficult it was to improve Divine Profound Energy. Up until now, his profound energy had barely changed since he first broke through to the Divine Origin Realm. In six months, whether he could break through to Divine Origin Realm Level 2 was unknown, and even if he could… entering the Mist Vanquishing Valley, which was fraught with dangers and roamed by numerous ferocious profound beasts and practitioners of the Divine Soul Realm, and even the Divine Tribulation Realm, would still be nothing but pure suicide.

Yun Che looked up, wanting to say something, but as soon as his gaze met Mu Xuanyin's, a chill ran through him, and he dared not speak further. He lowered his head and said, “Yes, this disciple will give his utmost.”

“That would be for the best.” A snowflake drifted down lightly, landing on Mu Xuanyin's fingertip. With a casual flick of her finger, the snowflake seemed to be carried by a gentle breeze, floating towards Yun Che.

A wave of chilling energy, carrying an oppressive force that instantly suffocated Yun Che, surged towards him. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, who could have imagined a single snowflake could become so terrifying?

Yun Che's reaction was extremely swift. The Heaven Punishing Sword was instantly in his hand, his body ignited with raging flames, and he unleashed a sword strike at the gracefully approaching snowflake.

His greatest strength lay in the frontal explosive power of his heavy sword. Back on the Azure Cloud Continent, a single sword strike could flatten mountains and astound oceans.

As the snowflake neared, with a muffled thud, the full power he unleashed was instantly shattered. That thin snowflake tore through his heavy sword storm and surged unimpeded straight towards his chest.

Yun Che's face drained of color. Ignoring his body's imbalance and the severe pain in his arms, his profound energy erupted again, and he swiftly unleashed Cloud-Sealing Sun-Locking.

Bang!!!

The Evil God Barrier lasted only for an instant before it shattered, and a colossal icy force slammed heavily into Yun Che's right arm.

“Ugh!” Yun Che let out a shriek, and the Heaven Punishing Sword flew from his grasp. The terrifying power that struck his arm, upon impact, instantly severed all the meridians in his right arm.

Yun Che stumbled backward. His right arm showed no wounds or blood, and no bones were broken, yet it hung limply.

Yun Che gripped his right arm, still unsteady on his feet, when his pupils suddenly constricted violently… Mu Xuanyin's attack had not ceased. As she lightly flipped her palm, the space in front of Yun Che suddenly caved in…

Boom—

Yun Che had no time to react. In that instant, he felt as if a star had exploded within his body. An utterly terrifying torrent of power surged into him, radiating to every corner of his body, every single meridian…

In just one instant, all the meridians throughout his body ruptured, and even his consciousness felt as if it had been struck by a massive hammer.

Yun Che's eyes instantly lost focus, and like a puppet whose strings were suddenly cut, he collapsed stiffly.

There was no blood, no visible wounds on his body, yet not a single meridian remained intact. They were all shattered beyond repair.

Back on the Azure Cloud Continent, he had several times suffered ruptured meridians due to fierce battles, severe injuries, or the backlash of the Evil God's power. At his worst, nearly half of his meridians had been severed… but never before had they all ruptured like this.

The profound energy circulating within his meridians had also undoubtedly completely dispersed.

In his last moments of consciousness, Yun Che felt as if Mu Xuanyin had come to his side. Her voice was vague and ethereal, like a dream, yet it still conveyed a chilling, heartless ruthlessness that pierced him to the bone.

“It hurts, doesn’t it? Then let your body remember this pain well.”

Having all his meridians severed was undoubtedly a hundred times more painful than breaking every bone in his body. Yun Che’s lips twitched, and his consciousness finally went completely blank, but his body continued to convulse under the extreme agony.

Watching the unconscious Yun Che, Mu Xuanyin’s snowy face bore only indifference. She reached out, grasped Yun Che’s body, and with a flicker, reappeared inside the Divine Ice Phoenix Sacred Hall.

This was the center of the Divine Ice Phoenix Sacred Hall, a world of ice. At its heart was a pool of water, only ten zhang square, its surface like a mirror. In the center of the pool, a snow lotus bloomed proudly.

This snow lotus was several times larger than an ordinary one, its petals layered, each the size of a palm, extraordinarily pure and flawless, and exuding a faint blue, crystal-like luminescence.

Its roots and petals were like ice crystals condensed from pure water, shimmering brilliantly. At first glance, no one would believe it had grown naturally; it appeared to be carved from ice.

Mu Xuanyin tossed Yun Che's body into the pool with a flick of her arm. Her gaze fell upon the snow lotus in the pool, and her snow-like finger lightly tapped.

Instantly, an invisible profound array encircling the snow lotus lit up, then slowly dissipated with the slight movement of Mu Xuanyin’s finger.

“Ah.” For some reason, Mu Xuanyin let out a soft sigh. She approached the pool, delicately pinched her fingers, and a single snow lotus petal gently detached, landing in her palm. She then placed it over Yun Che’s chest.

Flash!!

Intense profound light, like a sky-blue evening glow, illuminated the entire sacred hall, for Mu Xuanyin had, in an instant, mobilized nearly seventy percent of her profound energy. Power from the highest level of chaos merged into the snow lotus petal, then slowly permeated into Yun Che’s body… In an instant, the snow-white petal emitted an incredibly dazzling icy radiance. Under this light, Yun Che’s body was illuminated in an icy white, and then, faint icy glows suddenly appeared on his own body, growing in number until, in the blink of an eye, they covered his entire form.

And what was emitting these icy glows were precisely the ruptured meridians within his body.

However, the light from the snow lotus petal grew progressively weaker, eventually vanishing completely as if turning into mist.

Mu Xuanyin’s profound energy quickly retracted, and her palm moved away from Yun Che’s chest. Meanwhile, the icy glows that had originated from Yun Che’s meridians and clearly seeped out began to connect and merge at a visible rate…

When these icy glows completely vanished, Yun Che’s recently ruptured meridians had, astonishingly, fully recovered without the slightest damage… In fact, if one’s gaze could penetrate his body, it would be clear that his entire meridian system was distinctly flowing with a strange, crystalline luster, like frozen essence.