Chapter 1047: Deadly Cloud Butterfly

The legendary grand completion of Duan Yue Fu Ying… the Concealed Shadow Realm!

The reason it was a legend was because it existed in ancient records and profound arts, yet no one had ever witnessed it.

Even Mu Xuanyin, who had cultivated Duan Yue Fu Ying for ten thousand years, had never been able to reach the Concealed Shadow Realm.

Duan Yue Fu Ying was left behind by the ancient Ice Phoenix, and it was much harder to comprehend and cultivate than the Ice Phoenix God Sealing Arts. Because very few people in the history of the Snow Song Realm had successfully cultivated it, and no one had ever reached the grand completion stage, Mu Xuanyin had once believed that the legendary Concealed Shadow Realm was a state utterly impossible for a mortal body to achieve.

But at this moment, right before her eyes, she clearly watched Yun Che’s figure vanish without a trace. Even the aura that still remained there became incredibly faint. At least, the gigantic Ice Scale beast that walked very close past him did not sense his presence at all.

And from the time she taught Yun Che to cultivate Duan Yue Fu Ying until now… only a mere three months had passed!

“Concealed Shadow Realm… three months…” she murmured softly to herself, her eyes undulating with an unresolvable complexity. “No matter how gifted a prodigy, his comprehension shouldn’t be so terrifying. What exactly is he…?”

The world fell silent once more. After a long while, in the corner of the ice rock, Yun Che’s figure slowly materialized, instantly shifting from a vague outline to a clear form. Following this, his eyes slowly opened, and he stood up, looking at his own body with a face full of astonishment.

“Is this what Master called the highest realm of Duan Yue Fu Ying?” Yun Che muttered to himself, his face filled with disbelief, and even more, an irrepressible excitement. “It can actually completely conceal one’s physical form…”

As he mumbled to himself, Yun Che focused his mind once more. As the Ice Phoenix power circulated, his presence quickly blended with the surrounding elements. Gradually, his figure blurred again, and after only four breaths, he had completely vanished, significantly faster than his previous concealment.

Yun Che raised his hand, and with this simple action, the concealed state instantly disappeared. He clenched his fists, saying with some excitement, “This is just scratching the surface. The power of Concealed Shadow is definitely far more than this… If I can master it, I should be able to achieve concealment within one or two breaths, and perhaps… even move slowly while in the concealed state!”

“…” Mu Xuanyin, high in the sky, heard Yun Che’s murmuring clearly.

In his excitement, Yun Che completely disregarded the dangers of Mist Despair Valley. He closed his eyes again, and soon, his body occasionally blurred, occasionally vanished, and occasionally reappeared…

The profound secret of Concealed Shadow lay in the blending of one’s aura with the surrounding environment. It consumed very little profound energy but required considerable mental power. Moreover, while concealed, if one slightly moved their profound energy, or if they were hit by another’s profound energy, the perfect blend would be disrupted, and the concealed state would naturally vanish instantly.

Even though the mental burden was significant, and one could not release profound energy or be interfered with by others’ profound energy, the sheer ability to make one’s figure vanish into thin air was absolutely a heaven-defying skill capable of shaking the entire God Realm!

And what was concealed in the Concealed Shadow state was not just the physical form; even the aura was hidden to an extreme degree… This was entirely comparable to the Flowing Light Thunder Concealment!

Although one could not release profound energy while in the Concealed Shadow state, the Flowing Light Thunder Concealment, which was used to suppress one’s aura…

With a thought, Yun Che quickly entered the Concealed Shadow state again, then cautiously activated the Flowing Light Thunder Concealment…

High above, Mu Xuanyin’s gaze suddenly shifted, for this time, not only Yun Che’s figure, but even his aura, had suddenly vanished from her spiritual perception!

Mu Xuanyin slightly focused her mind, and only then did she manage to re-perceive his presence where his aura had vanished. And his aura was actually several times fainter than his usual concealed state!

A hint of astonishment once again flashed across Mu Xuanyin’s serene face.

Although they were far apart, given the level of Mu Xuanyin’s profound energy, Yun Che was actually able to briefly evade her spiritual perception!

Divine Origin Realm… evading a Divine Master Realm’s spiritual perception!! Although it was only for a brief moment from a distance, this was absolutely something no one, under any circumstances, could believe.

“Whoosh!”

Yun Che’s figure reappeared, a contented smile on his face. Having just performed Flowing Light Thunder Concealment while in the concealed state, further suppressing his hidden aura, he felt as if he had vanished from between heaven and earth upon success… and the concealed state had not dissipated because of it!

“Excellent!” Yun Che exclaimed excitedly. The combination of Concealed Shadow from Duan Yue Fu Ying and Flowing Light Thunder Concealment could achieve a double concealment of aura. If he could master it… he would undoubtedly gain another incredibly powerful life-saving charm!

And currently, if he could maintain this state—concealing both his figure and his aura—the profound beasts here would find it extremely difficult to detect his presence.

This meant that enduring three days here, which had instantly seemed as difficult as ascending to heaven, had now become as easy as turning over his hand!

The prerequisite was that he could use Concealed Shadow with complete proficiency.

Concealed Shadow was inherently a heaven-defying skill. Even someone as powerful as Mu Xuanyin, who had cultivated Duan Yue Fu Ying for ten thousand years, had failed to comprehend it. To quickly master it after an initial understanding was simply impossible for ordinary people.

However, Yun Che, who had just glimpsed the path of Concealed Shadow, felt in his heart… that it didn’t seem difficult at all!

This was because he possessed the Heretic God’s profound veins, whose communication with elements was already strong enough to disregard laws. Furthermore, the Great Way of the Buddha allowed him to freely control the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. These two points were crucial for achieving Concealed Shadow, and also the most difficult factors for ordinary profound practitioners. Yet, for him, they were effortlessly manageable, coupled with his utterly unconventional comprehension ability…

It truly seemed to be nothing difficult…

Yun Che remained in his original spot, breathing steadily, and began practicing concealment repeatedly.

For others, such an extremely high-level manifestation of laws would require years of meditation and cultivation for even tiny progress; it wouldn't be strange to make no headway for thousands of years. But Yun Che, after only a few dozen attempts, had more than doubled the speed at which he could achieve complete concealment!

In the end, he completed the transformation from his true body to a phantom, and then to complete disappearance, in just two breaths.

During this time, several profound beasts passed near him, and not one detected his presence.

“…” Mu Xuanyin remained silent for a long time. She recalled how, when she first taught Yun Che Duan Yue Fu Ying, he had successfully performed a rudimentary form of it on his very first attempt, which had greatly astonished her. But compared to what she was witnessing now… that day was practically nothing.

“Sigh.”

Unsure what she was sighing about, Mu Xuanyin averted her gaze, turned, and instantly vanished into the vast sky.

With the Concealed Shadow state combined with Flowing Light Thunder Concealment, Yun Che seemed to have vanished into a spatial crevice. Moreover, the place he had fled to was surprisingly safe; the frequency of profound beast appearances was far lower than in other areas. Yun Che stayed there for an entire day, yet not a single profound beast detected him.

Compared to the first day’s disarray and perilous situations, the second day was calm and peaceful, incredibly comfortable.

And in this short day, Yun Che’s newly comprehended Concealed Shadow ability had made tremendous progress. By the end, he no longer needed to fully concentrate his mind; he could quickly achieve it with three parts of his consciousness external and seven parts focused. Furthermore, as he grew more proficient, the consumption of mental power was greatly reduced.

“The world is truly vast and full of wonders. Such an astonishing cultivation technique actually exists. It seems, then, that the previously incomprehensible Star Concealment Grass must operate on a similar principle.”

“If that’s the case, as long as I’m not exposed by accident, even a Divine Tribulation Realm practitioner shouldn’t be able to detect my presence from ten zhang away.”

Yun Che mumbled to himself.

The wind whispered lonely, but it no longer brought Yun Che the initial tension and chill. However, he dared not rashly leave his current spot, as any slight movement while in concealment would instantly reveal him. Although he felt there should be a way to remain concealed while moving, he couldn’t achieve it yet; he only had a sensation that was both clear and vague.

After prolonged hesitation, Yun Che ultimately chose not to take risks and continued to dutifully remain huddled in his spot. As long as he endured through today, Mu Xuanyin would no longer try to kill him… The unexpectedly comprehended Concealed Shadow Realm had firmly granted him another life.

“There are very few traces of profound beasts in this area; it should be much safer.”

In the distance, a voice, clearly trying to keep itself low, suddenly drifted over. Yun Che, who had been meditating with full concentration, swiftly opened his eyes.

“There’s never been a safe place here!”

This was another person’s voice, and it made Yun Che’s gaze sharply shift.

This voice… Mu Yizhou!?

He’s actually not dead!?

Duan Yue Fu Ying and Flowing Light Thunder Concealment activated simultaneously. Yun Che’s figure instantly disappeared like dispersing mist, slowly vanishing from his spot.

Soon, from within the dense mist, two figures emerged, walking together.

Both were covered in wounds, but judging by their aura and condition, they were not seriously harmed. Especially the person on the right, who, despite still being far away, instilled in Yun Che a powerful sense of pressure and danger.

And that face… was none other than Mu Yizhou!

It was hard to say whether he was incredibly lucky or simply too powerful. The Ashes of the Netherworld that Yun Che had unleashed as a last resort had not caused Mu Yizhou to die under the claws of the rampaging profound beasts; he evidently wasn’t even gravely injured.

He had been banished here because of the many disgraceful deeds he had committed, yet he cast all his resentment onto Yun Che.

“We’re all going to die eventually, so what difference does it make when!” Mu Yizhou said viciously. “I just regret… not being able to personally kill Yun Che before this!!”

Hearing his words, Mu Yizhou let out a low chuckle. “Heh, you’re not wrong about that.”

The two walked carefully and slowly, treading on the snow without leaving a single footprint.

Kill me? Yun Che narrowed his eyes, a cold sneer forming in his heart.

Thinking of how he had been nearly pushed to despair by him just the day before, a murderous intent surged in Yun Che’s heart.

In a direct confrontation, he was definitely no match for Mu Yizhou.

However, recalling the Soul White Wolf whose body had been easily severed, a dangerous cold glint flashed in Yun Che’s pupils, and in his hand, he quietly gripped the Cloud Butterfly Blade.

“Senior Brother Yizhou, are we really just… just going to die here?”

“What else? Do you still dream of leaving here alive?” Mu Yizhou gnashed his teeth.

“No… I just can’t accept it. There must be a way, there must be a way out. Senior Brother Yizhou, we’ve lasted this long… there has to be a way!”

The two gradually approached, heading directly towards the ice rock where Yun Che was hidden. Yun Che stood right in front of the ice rock, precisely in the center of their field of vision, yet despite their internal vigilance and not daring to relax for a moment, neither of them detected Yun Che’s presence in the slightest.

The crevice between the ice rock and the thick tree was indeed an excellent hiding spot. The two quickened their pace slightly, getting closer and closer to Yun Che, gradually approaching within ten zhang… five zhang… yet still completely failed to notice that someone was standing directly there.

With the Cloud Butterfly Blade clutched tightly, Yun Che’s heartbeat did not quicken with their approach; instead, it became even steadier.

There was only one chance!

Mu Yizhou grew closer in his line of sight, and in a blink, he was within ten steps. Yun Che’s fingers tightened slightly again, still forcing himself to hold back… And just as Mu Yizhou stepped within seven paces, Yun Che’s deeply hidden profound energy completely erupted in an instant. His now visible body shot out like a streak of light, suddenly flashing past Mu Yizhou’s front.

An incredibly fast streak of light flashed before them, carrying a faint, almost imperceptible chill. This streak of light was like something that had burst from a suddenly torn rift in space, without any warning, moving so fast that he had no time to react at all.

The shock was immense; both Mu Yizhou and his companion’s hearts seized, and they spun around in alarm: “Who’s there!!”

Yun Che steadily stopped ten zhang away, leisurely turned around, a peculiar faint smile on his lips. “Junior Brother Yizhou, to repay your warm hospitality, I’ve come to personally see you off!”