Chapter 1173: Jasmine's Voice

"This... this... this is... Dark Profound Energy?" A Phoenix disciple trembled uncontrollably in fear."It's far more terrifying than the legends describe... Hiss." Huo Poyun also drew in a sharp breath."Jianming... Jianming!!" Watching his most beloved and proud son, who was about to bring him lifelong glory on this very stage, turn into two halves of a corroded corpse, the drastic contrast between heaven and hell caused the King of this realm to collapse mentally, wailing uncontrollably on the Conferred God Stage.It all happened too suddenly. From the sudden anomaly to the desperate self-sacrifice, everything occurred in an instant. By the time anyone reacted, the horrific tragedy had already unfolded.

"How... is... this... possible!" The Heaven Smiting God Emperor's face darkened. A devil person had infiltrated the Conferred God Battle, not only deceiving everyone, including himself, but also unleashing vile demonic blood on this most sacred stage, watched by countless profound practitioners in the Eastern Divine Region, taking a Conferred God Disciple down with him...His fury was unimaginable."Quhui, immediately destroy everything related to this devil person! Do not let his vile demonic blood defile the Conferred God Stage!" the Heaven Smiting God Emperor roared.Reverend Quhui swiftly acted. Where his profound energy reached, the demonic blood spilled by Wei Hen's sacrifice quickly vanished, taking with it Wei Hen's last traces of existence, reducing everything to nothing.But looking at Li Jianming's tragic corpse, Reverend Quhui sighed faintly, frowning deeply as he said, "This matter... I failed to detect it and intervene in time. The fault lies with me. After the Conferred God Battle, I will personally give an explanation to the King of the Startling Thunder Realm.""No... no... how can this be Reverend's fault? It's all this devil person... this devil person!!" The King of the Startling Thunder Realm roared skyward, "My Startling Thunder Realm... will forever be irreconcilable with the devil people of the Northern Region!!"

"Everyone," the Heaven Smiting God Emperor sighed heavily, his solemn voice silencing all commotion. His words were then transmitted through the Star Monument to countless corners of the Eastern Divine Region: "Heaven Smiting Realm failed to conduct thorough checks, allowing a vile devil person to infiltrate the Conferred God Battle. This is Heaven Smiting Realm's fault, and Heaven Smiting Realm is deeply ashamed. We never imagined these wicked devil people of the Northern Region would be so audacious.""These vile devil people not only possess extremely sinister and terrifying power, but they are also devoid of humanity and utterly deranged. They are an abomination to heaven and earth, provoking the wrath of both gods and mortals. I, the Heaven Smiting Emperor, hereby vow that after the Profound God Convention, I will dispatch enforcers to thoroughly purge the devil people. All who are tainted by dark profound energy will be utterly annihilated. The Eastern Divine Region will absolutely not allow devil people to have even the slightest foothold!"The Eastern Divine Region inherently had no place for "devil people," and this incident further ignited the Heaven Smiting God Emperor's genuine rage.The Heaven Smiting God Emperor's declaration elicited a wave of furious responses from across the Eastern Divine Region.

"This devil person certainly had some skill, managing to deceive even us," the Star God Emperor murmured."No, he clearly isn't a pure devil person," the Dragon Emperor said. "Listening to what he shouted earlier, he was likely originally from the Eastern Divine Region. Later, due to immense hatred, he journeyed to the Northern Divine Region, exchanging almost his entire lifespan for dark profound energy and then locking this power within his body using special methods. Since he was fundamentally human and acquired this power not long ago, it's not surprising that we didn't detect him."However, there was one exception who had sensed it beforehand: Yun Che.Bearing the Evil God's dark seed, and with extremely potent dark profound energy similarly contained within his profound veins, Yun Che's sensitivity to dark profound energy was arguably unmatched in the current era. The moment he noticed Wei Hen, he vaguely detected the presence of dark profound energy on him.He had sensed that Wei Hen came with immense hatred and had clearly arrived with a death wish, but he never imagined the outcome would be so tragic.

"Wei Hen was a devil person from the Northern Region and has now been reduced to ashes. His name is not qualified to remain in the Profound God Convention, and all his achievements are hereby annulled!""Although Li Jianming unfortunately perished at the hands of a devil person, his name shall remain in the Conferred God Battle. He is considered a victor and shall enter the Conferred God Group!"Following Reverend Quhui's pronouncement of judgment, "Li Jianming" entered the Conferred God Group on the light screen, while the name "Wei Hen" vanished directly from it.The thirty-two Conferred God Disciples effectively became thirty-one.Thus, in tomorrow's first match of the Conferred God Group, one person would win without a fight. In the first match of the Losers' Group, one person would receive a bye, directly advancing to the second match without even a formal announcement."Wei Hen" had disappeared. His life, body, blood, and even his name, completely vanished from the world, leaving not a single trace. Yun Che quietly stared at the spot where Wei Hen had stood, lost in thought for a long time.

"Yun Che, that chilling aura you just felt was dark profound energy," Mu Bingyun said. "From now on, if you encounter anyone or any beast with such an aura, you must absolutely stay far away... However, it's not easy to come across them. Devil people only reside in the Northern Divine Region; other divine regions have no place for them.""...He wasn't a devil person himself. He must have done this for revenge, to gain sufficiently powerful strength in a short period. Essentially, he was a very pathetic person," Yun Che murmured."Even so... you saw how terrifying someone tainted by dark profound energy can be," Mu Bingyun said solemnly. "Our Ice Phoenix Sect's scriptures also contain a sect rule: 'Upon encountering a devil person, kill them with full force.'"Yun Che remained silent.Compared to the "devil person," weren't those who forced him to become one more wicked and terrifying? Yun Che sighed inwardly.

Due to the "devil person" incident, the Conferred God Battle was suspended. At this point, Yun Che stood up and transmitted a message to Mu Bingyun: "Palace Master Bingyun, I need to leave here first."Mu Bingyun turned her gaze. "Why?""I just realized that with Yuluo present, even if she (the person Yun Che wants to meet) came to the Heaven Smiting Realm, she wouldn't come to the Profound God Convention venue. On the contrary, she would exert all effort to avoid Yuluo's detection... Otherwise, her sudden arrival might make Yuluo begin to suspect that I am the Yun Che she 'killed' back then.""Before, I was hoping she would see me, but I forgot that this place is actually the least suitable for her to find me. Right now, everyone's attention is focused here, so any other place would be much more suitable than this."Mu Bingyun did not stop him, and Yun Che flew away.A Conferred God Disciple suddenly leaving should have been noticeable, but due to the recent "devil person" incident, not many people paid attention... Or perhaps, Yun Che simply wasn't worth their attention?

The Heaven Smiting Divine Realm was exceptionally quiet.The incredibly dense spiritual energy, the buildings emanating sacred aura, the ubiquitous light screens and profound formations, and even the sky, which held an invisible oppressive might that deterred one from looking up – all contributed to its profound tranquility.This was a King Realm, the highest plane of existence in the entire Primal Chaos. It was a place that, when he was on the Azure Cloud Continent, he couldn't even dream of reaching. Yet, in just a few short years, he was here. Thinking about it now, it all felt like a dream.Yun Che carried the badge of a "Conferred God Disciple," granting him significant freedom of movement within the Heaven Smiting Realm. Wherever he went, the Heaven Smiting guards did not obstruct him, at most giving him a sidelong glance.The incident with Wei Hen had a profound impact on Yun Che. The fear, hatred, and disgust displayed by the crowd on the Conferred God Stage when confronted with "dark profound energy" were vivid in his memory. The words "devil person" they shouted were like screaming the name of a demonic fiend from hell.Yun Che himself possessed dark profound energy; in fact, it could even be said to be his strongest power... because his source of dark profound energy was not only the Evil God's profound veins but also the Devil Source Pearl, an ancient true devil's artifact that had been continuously growing on its own.This meant that Yun Che was, in the perception of the Eastern Divine Region, a complete devil person—an existence that was "an abomination to heaven and earth, provoking the wrath of both gods and mortals.""It seems I absolutely, completely must not reveal any trace of dark profound energy here. Otherwise... I wouldn't even need others to act; Master and Palace Master Bingyun might just slap me to death."Back then, the Devil Source Pearl inside him grew much faster than Jasmine had anticipated. After Jasmine left, it broke free from the seal she had placed, frequently spiraling out of control. However, after he obtained the Evil God's dark seed, he gained complete mastery, so unless his profound energy completely lost control, he didn't have to worry about the leakage of dark profound energy.

Unconsciously, Yun Che had returned to his lodging from the previous night.It was an elegant small courtyard with several independent training spaces. Guests from middle-rank star realms were arranged nearby, but each space was separated by an invisible barrier that blocked auras and sounds, ensuring mutual privacy.Yun Che went to the pondside, sitting quietly on a green stone, lost in thought as he gazed at the verdant lotuses in the water. Three years in the God Realm, and his profound energy had advanced multiple times. On the Conferred God Stage, everyone secretly mocked his low profound energy, yet no one knew that he had only taken three short years to progress from the Sovereign Profound Realm to the Divine Tribulation Realm.If he were to return to the Azure Cloud Continent now, Feng Xue'er and Huan Caiyi, even combined, would certainly not be able to defeat him. There, he could command stars and moons, dominate everything with a single hand, and even ten thousand Xuanyuan Wentians wouldn't be enough for him to crush with a single pinky finger.Yet, he still hadn't managed to see Jasmine."Jasmine, where are you exactly? Did you hear my name at all?" Yun Che muttered, his eyes unfocused and lost in thought.Just then, the calm surface of the water suddenly rippled slightly."Hmph! You recklessly came to the God Realm; are you perhaps here to find me?"A soul voice echoed in Yun Che's mind without any warning. It was a girl's voice, yet it was cold and deeply mocking.This very voice, however, struck Yun Che's soul like a bolt of heavenly lightning. He trembled violently and suddenly stood up. "Jasmine... Jasmine!? Where are you... Where are you?"It was the voice that had appeared countless times in his hazy dreams, a voice he could never forget even a single trace of in his entire life. Her voice, her cold tone, hadn't changed at all.He quickly looked around. In his overwhelming excitement, his vision became somewhat blurry, but he couldn't find the petite figure he longed for."Hmph," came the emotionless cold snort in response. "You don't need to look. With your current abilities, even if you scour the entire Heaven Smiting Realm, you won't find me."