Chapter 1041: Buddha Heart Divine Vein

Blue Pole Star, Illusionary Demon Realm.

“Sister Ling’er, quick… hurry! Auntie has fainted again!”

The urgent cry of Number Seven Under Heaven came through the sound transmission jade. Su Ling’er immediately put down the medicine she was about to finish preparing and hastily replied, “I’ll be right there.”

In Floating Cloud City, on the Profound Sky Continent, within the Xiao Sect. Xiao Lingxi lay quietly on her familiar soft bed. She had already woken up, but her face was covered with a veil of weakness. Su Ling’er’s small hand gripped her wrist, then placed her fingers on Lingxi’s chest, her brows subtly furrowed.

“Ling’er, I’m fine. Perhaps I’m just a little unaccustomed to Little Che not being around.”

Around them, Xiao Lie and the others looked tense, but Xiao Lingxi offered a faint smile, half-jokingly reassuring them.

Su Ling’er withdrew her hand, then turned and smiled at Xiao Lie and the others. “Don’t worry, Sister Lingxi’s physical condition is not serious; she’s just a little weak.”

“Lingxi possesses profound energy, after all, and she never does anything to harm her vitality. How could she collapse repeatedly…” Xiao Lie’s expression showed a hint of panic. Su Ling’er’s words did not calm his anxiety.

“Hehe, I used to not believe that lovesickness could make one ill, but looking at Sister Lingxi now, I have to believe it. After all, Sister Lingxi and Brother Yun Che grew up together, and their bond is so strong it makes people jealous,” Su Ling’er said with a grin, contrasting Xiao Lie’s worried look. “Sister Lingxi, rest assured, Brother Yun Che won’t need five years. He might even come back suddenly tomorrow. If he saw you like this, he’d be heartbroken.”

“Grandpa, since Sister Ling’er said so, you shouldn’t worry. I’ve always thought that Auntie is ill from missing him. If my Yun Ge also left my son and me for so long, I might end up like Auntie too.”

After saying this, Number Seven Under Heaven grumbled quietly, something she had repeated hundreds of times: “Big Brother Yun is truly heartless to be able to stay away for so long. It must be that place called… the God Realm, full of fairies, and he doesn’t want to come back.”

“Big Brother isn’t like that,” Xiao Yun softly defended Yun Che.

“I’ll just sleep for a bit, really, no need to worry. And don’t tell Xue’er or the others.” As Xiao Lingxi spoke, her complexion had already improved significantly.

Xiao Lie’s expression finally relaxed a little. “Alright then, you rest well. The weather is getting cold, so don’t go out lately. As for Che’er’s courtyard…”

“I’ll take care of cleaning it,” Su Ling’er quickly interjected.

“Mmm.” Xiao Lingxi gently assented and serenely closed her eyes.

Stepping out of Xiao Lingxi’s room, the smile on Su Ling’er’s face instantly vanished, replaced by deep worry. She left Floating Cloud City via a teleportation array, returned to the Illusionary Demon Realm, and headed straight for the Yun Family’s side courtyard. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw Yun Gu walking towards her.

Seeing Su Ling’er’s expression, Yun Gu stopped. “Did that girl faint again?”

“Yes.” Su Ling’er nodded lightly. “Her pulse is the same as before; it’s abnormally fast for a period after she faints, more than ten times that of a normal person, but then it quickly returns to normal. This is the ninth time in the past six months. Master, do you have no idea what’s causing it either?”

Yun Gu shook his head. “Though I don’t know the cause, there are no ill effects, so that’s a blessing.”

Su Ling’er had been Yun Gu’s disciple for over half a year. She had heard Yun Gu say that for the past century, there had been no pulse he couldn’t understand, except for Xiao Lingxi’s…

“Her first abnormal fainting spell was on the day Brother Yun Che left. Perhaps it really is related to him; if he comes back, maybe… she’ll be fine.”

Su Ling’er whispered, then looked up at the boundless sky, seemingly yearning to see the figure that haunted her dreams. “Both of you must be safe; please don’t let anything happen.”

In Floating Cloud City, Xiao Lingxi, who was lying in bed, had fallen asleep, but her sleep was not peaceful. In her dream, the black jade from Yun Che reappeared, along with the strange characters refracted from it—characters she had never seen but somehow recognized completely…

After each fainting spell, she would have the same dream.

She vaguely felt that her repeated abnormal faints were not after Yun Che left, but after she saw that black jade.

Because of that black jade, something deep within her body, or perhaps her soul, seemed to be quietly awakening from a profound slumber…

Cang Cloud Continent, beneath the Cliff of Absolute Cloud.

After the Netherworld Udumbara Flower blooms, it quickly withers. However, the Netherworld Udumbara Flowers blooming here seemed to never fade, a vast sea of flowers spreading a rich, dreamlike netherworld purple light across the dark world.

A girl with shimmering silver long hair stood silently amidst the sea of Netherworld Flowers. The purple light, so intense that it was impossible to look directly at, could not obscure her four-colored pupils, which dotted the deep purple world like colorful starlight.

She gazed indifferently into the distance, her eyes radiating an unusually beautiful light, yet devoid of any emotional expression.

Her only companions were the perpetually blooming sea of Netherworld Flowers and the occasional roars of demonic beasts from afar.

Long periods of solitude are the cruellest torment for living beings, especially for humans, who are the most emotional; it is akin to the greatest torture in the world. Yet, she had long grown accustomed to it. Since the day she gained consciousness and memory, all she had known were darkness, purple light, and loneliness—perhaps for tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even tens of millions of years…

She did not know why she existed; she simply existed…

Bang!!Ping!!

The sound of shattering ice vibrated Yun Che’s eardrums. His figure shifted like an illusion, the lingering power of the ice disturbing his body and attack trajectory. Yet, there was no panic in his tightly furrowed brows, nor did his body lose balance. With another instantaneous flash, a meteor-like cold light brushed past him.

What is tactile perception?If the pinnacle of spiritual perception is conscious precognition and pre-judgment,Then the pinnacle of tactile perception is the body’s precognition and pre-judgment.

The subtle flow of air, the opponent’s spiritual perception and gaze, the momentary changes in their eyes and profound energy… When far away, everything relies on spiritual perception. But when in close proximity, tactile perception can precede spiritual perception!

This was more like an incredibly wondrous instinct, combining body and soul, something that could not be cultivated, or even explained and described, but only comprehended and grasped.

When Mu Xuanyin’s attacks consistently hit his landing spot after his instantaneous movement… after dozens of consecutive times, he finally, in a certain moment, vaguely grasped the concept of tactile perception.

On that same day, his Phantom Asunder successfully entered the ‘Lingering Shadow’ realm.

From then on, he finally escaped the situation of being ‘instantly killed’ by Mu Xuanyin. Gradually, Mu Xuanyin began to increase the number of times she struck: once… twice… thrice… four times…

The most significant instance was when it took her six strikes to force Yun Che to his knees.

Yun Che moved instantly several times. Although somewhat disheveled, he had approached within five paces of Mu Xuanyin. His gaze flickered, and the Heaven Smiting Sword suddenly flew from his hand… But at the same instant, a subtle sensation came from the left side of his body. Without any thought, his entire body instinctively flipped away.

With a muffled thud, a surge of cold air swept past his side. Though it didn’t hit him squarely, it completely unbalanced his body. At the same time, his arms quickly spread open.

“Cloud Sealing, Sun Locking!!”

Bang!!

Yun Che, protected by the Heretic God Barrier, was sent flying. An ice cone pierced through the void from behind him, then pierced through his Heretic God Barrier… At the very last moment, Yun Che barely dodged a vital spot, but it still savagely impaled his left shoulder.

The ice cone jammed directly into the bone seam, then violently burst. The rampaging cold energy instantly made the left half of his body lose consciousness. He crashed to the ground, his body askew. The Heaven Smiting Sword he had thrown also flew back, landing by his side.

Yun Che painfully knelt up. The left side of his body gradually regained sensation, bringing with it nightmarish agony. Yun Che gritted his teeth, but a satisfied smile appeared through his pain. “Disciple… can now… take seven of Master’s moves.”

“Hmph, you’re still far from it!”

Amidst the stern, cold words, Mu Xuanyin pointed a finger, and a tiny blue light instantly burst open on Yun Che’s chest—in an instant, all of his meridians shattered.

Only Mu Xuanyin herself knew that the profound energy she used to break Yun Che’s meridians was dozens of times greater than the first time.

And the pain of shattered meridians was also dozens of times greater than before.

Yun Che’s pupils sharply contracted, and all the blood vessels in his body instantly bulged. Every line of his skin was completely twisted.

This extreme pain, originating from every part of his body, was refining Yun Che’s tactile perception, and at the same time, tempering his mental strength. Even though it felt like falling into purgatory, his whole body trembled madly as it convulsed, yet apart from an initial grunt, not a single scream escaped him… nor did he pass out from the pain as he had before.

A faint blue light flickered in Mu Xuanyin’s eyes, reflecting in Yun Che’s faded pupils.

Om—

Yun Che’s mind instantly boomed, and his consciousness collapsed, causing him to pass out.

“This is the last time. Since you now know what tactile perception is, I will spare you some pain.”

Grabbing Yun Che, Mu Xuanyin returned to the center of the Divine Hall.

In the pool of water, the Nine-Revolving Buddha Heart Lotus, which had previously bloomed majestically with eighty-one petals, now had only its last petal remaining.

Tossing Yun Che into the pool, Mu Xuanyin lightly twirled her jade fingers. The last Buddha Heart Lotus petal drifted between them. On the crystalline, jade-like stem, only jade-colored lotus leaves remained.

Its next bloom would be nine thousand years later… or perhaps, it would never bloom again.

As the last lotus petal covered Yun Che’s chest and her palm rested upon it, a hint of complexity appeared in Mu Xuanyin’s eyes.

This boy’s comprehension was truly unparalleled. In just a few months, he had cultivated Phantom Asunder to mastery, and the Ice Phoenix God Conferring Art had also reached the ‘Ice Yi God Conferring’ realm.

Such an abstruse existence as tactile perception, even for profoundly gifted profound practitioners, is only gradually understood after transcending the Divine Tribulation and achieving the Divine Spirit Realm, as their spiritual perception undergoes a transformation. Yet, he… managed to comprehend it to such an extent in just three months.

It was a pity he originated from the lower realm; if he had been born in the Snow Song Realm, he would likely already be renowned throughout the God Realm by now.

Blue ethereal light filled the Divine Hall. Under the power of Mu Xuanyin’s Divine Master energy and the Buddha Heart Lotus petal, Yun Che’s meridians underwent their final tempering. The meridians, which Mu Xuanyin had forcibly shattered eighty-one times, slowly reformed and merged amidst the intertwining blue light. Though incredibly slow, the light emanating from each meridian was astonishingly bright, even through his body.

The Dragon God’s Marrow had made Yun Che’s bones incredibly tough and continuously concentrated his Dragon God bloodline. And today, his entire network of meridians, under Mu Xuanyin’s ruthless methods and the immensely mysterious power of the Nine-Revolving Buddha Heart Lotus, underwent a complete and thorough metamorphosis.

When Yun Che awoke, he was already in the Netherfrost Heavenly Lake. The very first thing he felt upon waking was the enormous change in his entire network of meridians.

He quickly focused his mind inward. His meridians were several times thicker than three months prior. Each meridian had completely lost its previous form, becoming crystal clear, as if sculpted from the most flawless ice crystals, covering every part of his body.

With a thought, profound energy circulated, and the speed at which it suddenly released shocked even him, despite his prior mental preparation.

“Are these truly… my meridians?” Feeling the profound energy flowing through his meridians, Yun Che muttered to himself, still somewhat disbelieving.

Amidst his excitement and disbelief, Yun Che grabbed the Heaven Smiting Sword, furrowed his brows, and let out a loud roar:

“World Extinguishing Slash!”

Profound energy raged in a furious boil. As the Heretic God’s third style, World Extinguishing Slash consumed an immense amount of energy. In his Purgatory state, even with sufficient mental focus, it used to take him nearly two breaths to condense profound energy. But this time, in just half a breath, the destructive power was ready, erupting violently with the swing of the Heaven Smiting Sword.

Boom!!!

A thunderous roar shook the Netherfrost Heavenly Lake, sending ripples everywhere. But immediately after, a second “World Extinguishing Slash” was already unleashed…

Boom!!!

The nearby surface of the lake directly exploded, and the splashing Heavenly Lake water rained down on Yun Che. Yun Che gripped the Heaven Smiting Sword with both hands, suspended in mid-air, his eyes trembling violently.

Although the “World Extinguishing Slash” possessed immense power, he did not use it frequently because its energy condensation time was too long, making him easily exposed. Moreover, after unleashing it, there would be a considerable period of power depletion. If it didn’t hit or was blocked by the opponent, the consequences would undoubtedly be severe.

But now, he could complete the energy condensation simply by raising his sword. After unleashing a full-powered strike, his profound energy surged back almost instantly, allowing a second World Extinguishing Slash to follow closely, its power no weaker than the first….

This was a magical, dreamlike sensation and state, something he had never even imagined before.

His profound strength remained at Level One of the Divine Origin Realm, with no progress.

However, with the metamorphosis of his meridians, he clearly felt that he now stood in a completely different realm compared to his self three months ago.

To defeat his past self from a month ago, with the same profound strength, would be as easy as flipping a hand!