Chapter 1605: Barbaric Divine Essence

The treasure vault of an Upper Realm King Sect was, as one could imagine, exceptionally well-guarded.

The treasure vault was not only the most crucial place for storing the sect's resources, but also a hidden refuge in case of major emergencies. Therefore, one of its entrances was located within the Crown Prince's bedchamber.

The Thousand Desolation Divine Sect's treasure vault had no guards, but it was sealed by six layers of barriers. Each barrier could only be opened by a direct blood descendant of the Sect Master's lineage, and it required fresh blood. The final defensive profound array, however, necessitated accurately stepping on ninety-nine array nodes; missing or incorrectly stepping on even one would instantly trigger the profound array, alerting the entire sect.

Unfortunately, this formidable defense, utterly impenetrable to outsiders, was as nothing to Yun Che. Using the Thousand Desolation Crown Prince's blood and following his memories, Yun Che effortlessly made his way deep inside and opened the treasure vault's main door.

An incredibly dense spiritual energy, mixed with an equally potent darkness, assailed them.

The treasure vault was dozens of miles wide, housing countless spiritual stones, profound crystals, precious jades, medicinal herbs, spiritual pills, profound artifacts, materials, weapons, cultivation techniques, and more.

"After all, it's an Upper Realm King Sect; it's at least a bit grander than the Nine Luminaries Heavenly Palace," Qianye Ying'er remarked. "Though, compared to the reserves of the Brahma Monarch God Realm, this was utterly insignificant."

All the resources within sight were covered by dark barriers of unknown age. These dark barriers weren't strong and weren't difficult to break, but once any one of them was shattered, the dissipating dark aura would instantly alert a considerably large area.

Moreover, Yun Che clearly sensed that extremely subtle soul imprints had been carved onto these barriers; once touched, the owner of the soul imprint would immediately detect it. And this person was most likely the Thousand Desolation Sect Master.

Unfortunately, to Yun Che, these were merely decorations. Controlling such dark barriers with the power of the Eternal Night Calamity was incredibly simple.

He walked directly forward, swept his hand, and a dark barrier before him, along with the soul imprint on it, was slowly erased without a sound or any aura spilling out. The profound crystals beneath the barrier were also directly swept into his Sky Poison Pearl.

The dark barriers, which should have been foolproof, were erased by Yun Che like mere bubbles. The resources the Thousand Desolation Divine Sect had plundered from the Thousand Desolation Realm over the years quickly flowed into the Sky Poison Pearl. At this moment, as one barrier was wiped away, a pile of exceptionally volatile dark jade appeared before them.

"These are very high-grade energy jades," Qianye Ying'er said. "They are more suitable as a power source than for aiding cultivation."

Yun Che reached out, felt the aura of the dark energy jades, and whispered, "Excellent. With these, we have enough to complete a long-distance transit."

Qianye Ying'er's eyebrow twitched. "The Primordial Profound Ark?"

"Yes," Yun Che said, grasping them all into the Sky Poison Pearl. "The Primordial Profound Ark's spatial traversing ability was imprinted by the Heretic God with the Universe Piercer back then. Therefore, as long as there's enough energy, it can achieve instant teleportation without leaving any traces, just like a Void Illusion Stone.

"However, traversing the God Realm's space in this manner requires an immense amount of energy. These energy jades, which could power an ordinary profound ark for several centuries, would only be enough for the Primordial Profound Ark for... perhaps one or two ultra-long-distance transits."

Qianye Ying'er wasn't surprised. If it could indeed achieve the same effect as a Void Illusion Stone, then even one or two uses would absolutely be worth it.

"He Ling, have Hong'er consume all these energy jades now."

Yun Che instructed via soul sound, then said aloud, "This way, our only potential trouble will be gone. Let's thoroughly clear this place out."

Yun Che's various unique abilities genuinely made him very suitable for being a thief.

Places that others could never even approach a single step were, to him, as easy as boiling water melting snow. Soon, the vast treasure vault, containing the Thousand Desolation Divine Sect's diligent accumulation of ten millennia, was essentially emptied by Yun Che; its fate identical to that of the Nine Luminaries Heavenly Palace.

"Good," Qianye Ying'er said. "This haul should be enough for you to squander for a while."

"Let's go." What remained were mostly useless items to him. Just as he was about to leave, He Ling's voice suddenly sounded in his ear: "Master, there's a very high-grade aura hidden beneath the right-hand corner."

He raised his left hand, and the Sky Poison Pearl pulsed with a faint light of detection.

"What's going on?" Noticing Yun Che's abnormality, Qianye Ying'er's gaze sharpened. "Have we been discovered?"

Yun Che didn't answer. He leisurely walked to the right-hand corner, crouched down, and, following He Ling's directions, gently tapped with his finger.

With a soft click, the black jade floor beneath his feet cracked, revealing an invisible barrier. This barrier was extremely high-grade and special, emitting no aura itself and isolating all other auras. It was clearly generated by some special profound artifact. Though invisible, it was utterly impossible to discern what was sealed within.

"A Dustless Barrier!?" Qianye Ying'er walked over. "This item is exceedingly rare; it's a barrier that can be described as 'absolutely aura-less.' It can only be deployed by a Dustless Stone, and the preciousness of such a stone is not far from that of a Void Illusion Stone, even if it doesn't quite surpass it.

"A small Thousand Desolation Divine Sect actually possesses such a barrier. I'm very curious about what could be hidden inside." At this point, she suddenly frowned slightly. "Strange, the presence of a Dustless Barrier is almost impossible to detect with spiritual perception. How did you find it?"

Yun Che still didn't answer. He stretched out his hand, then drew it back just before touching the "Dustless Barrier," and asked, "How do I open it?"

"With your current power, you can't open it," Qianye Ying'er stated directly. "If it were that easy to open, it wouldn't deserve to be called a 'Dustless Barrier.'"

"..." Yun Che remained still, his gaze gradually sharpening. After a brief silence, he slowly extended both hands, one wreathed in flame, the other in ice.

Qianye Ying'er: "?"

The flame and ice slowly drew closer, then touched each other. One breath... two breaths... ten breaths...

The laws of the surrounding space suddenly inverted. Qianye Ying'er's body was half scorching hot, half chillingly cold. Her beautiful eyes shifted slightly, and she swiftly retreated, staring in astonishment at Yun Che's hands, where a profoundly malevolent cerulean-blue flame, simultaneously releasing both searing heat and biting cold, the Flame of Disorder, was visible.

"What is that...?" she asked. This time, what she witnessed shattered not only her perception and common sense, but also the most fundamental elemental laws!

Yun Che remained silent as the ice-flame in his hands slowly descended. The instant the ice-flame touched the Dustless Barrier, the barrier, which Qianye Ying'er had deemed "impossible to break," vanished silently like a layer of thin ice melting instantly, then dissipated into nothingness.

Qianye Ying'er: "!!"

Yun Che covered it with his palm, and the ice-flame disappeared. A not-so-intense, yet incredibly pure, purple light shone forth, reflecting on Yun Che's face.

This purple light instantly captivated Qianye Ying'er's gaze. She stepped forward, her golden eyes fixed for a long moment, and from her lips escaped an utterly strange murmur: "Desolate... God... Marrow!"

"You actually recognize it," Yun Che said, his gaze still fixed on the purple light.

What lay before them was indeed the "Desolate God Marrow," a name that came from the teachings of Shen Xi and the memories of the Wood Spirit Royal Orb.

"This is a true divine object containing Primal Chaos Qi! How could I not know about it!" Qianye Ying'er's golden eyes gleamed with an exceptionally strange light. "Although I've never seen it, this wisp of Primal Chaos Qi, which seems to contain the entire world, makes it impossible to mistake!"

Primal Chaos Qi... anything remotely connected to these four words is an absolutely supreme and sacred object.

Although Qianye Ying'er recognized it at a glance, she claimed never to have seen it. Clearly, even an existence like the Brahma Monarch God Realm only had records of it, never the fortune to obtain one.

"The Primal Chaos Qi in the Primal Chaos Realm is almost extinct, and divine objects like Desolate God Marrow have, to our knowledge, long since vanished. How could something like this exist here, in a mere Upper Star Realm, within a small Upper Sect...? This is fundamentally not something the Thousand Desolation Divine Sect could possess!"

"The Thousand Desolation Divine Sect's power couldn't possibly open this Dustless Barrier either," Yun Che's eyes flickered slightly. "This means that the Thousand Desolation Divine Sect, 'placed' here by the Burning Moon Royal Realm, served more than just its superficial purpose of 'sanctioning and replacing the Sky Asura Cloud Clan.' It was also to... secretly hide this Desolate God Marrow!"

"This truly is a heaven-sent unexpected gain!" Qianye Ying'er murmured, her eyebrows furrowed, deep excitement and fervor hidden in the depths of her golden eyes. Just as when she learned of the Heretic God's divine power within Yun Che years ago. If this supposedly extinct divine object was truly as powerful as recorded, then by finding the "correct" way to use it, one's strength could receive a "miraculous" improvement.

Yun Che extended his hand with extreme care, a wisp of profound energy descending. The Desolate God Marrow was then completely transferred into his Sky Poison Pearl.

The purple light in his pupils vanished, but Qianye Ying'er's gaze remained fixed. She slowly said, "It seems you've heard of Desolate God Marrow. Then, have you perhaps heard the name... 'Primordial God Fruit'?"

"I have," Yun Che replied. This name also came from Shen Xi. "It only exists in the Primordial God Realm and is guarded by the Primordial Dragon Clan. I also know that fusing Desolate God Marrow and the Primordial God Fruit can forge something that shouldn't exist in the current world..."

"The Desolate World Pill!" Qianye Ying'er slowly stated, her gaze shifting sideways. "The Dragon Queen told you this, didn't she?"

"She is Shen Xi!" Yun Che's voice was slightly cold.

"Hmph!" Qianye Ying'er let out a low, cold laugh. "A piece of Desolate God Marrow existing in the Northern Divine Region, and it actually fell into our hands so easily. I'm truly afraid you've used up all your luck for the next few millennia!

"However, if the Burning Moon Royal Realm were to find out about this," her voice turned cold, "they would surely hunt us to the ends of the earth! At that point, even the Northern Divine Region would offer us no refuge."

Currently, they were far from being able to contend with a Royal Realm.

"Time to leave." Despite obtaining the Desolate God Marrow, Yun Che showed no excitement or hesitation. "Before we go, while the most troublesome person isn't here, let's also turn this place upside down."

"No," Qianye Ying'er said. "Since we've obtained the Desolate God Marrow, which was very likely hidden here by the Burning Moon Royal Realm, we should escape as far as possible, as quickly as possible. If you're worried about the Thousand Desolation Divine Sect targeting the Sky Asura Cloud Clan, why not send them a grand gift first?"

A grim light flashed in Qianye Ying'er's eyes. "Today is that idiotic Crown Prince's birthday, and all the influential figures from the major top sects in the Thousand Desolation Realm are here... If all these people die here, in addition to their treasure vault being emptied, do you think the Thousand Desolation Divine Sect will still have the time and spare energy to deal with a Sky Asura Cloud Clan?"