Chapter 291: Golden Pagoda

Yun Che felt as if his body was soaring through space, light and buoyant, floating aimlessly. Everything around him seemed to vanish, and all his five senses could perceive was his own existence. Wisps of power, whose origin was unknown, continuously surged into every pore of his body, rapidly healing his injuries and tempering his physique. These were the purest energies of heaven and earth.

Even the most powerful beings inherently hold a sense of awe for heaven and earth. No matter how strong a creature becomes, it remains insignificant before the vastness of the cosmos. However, the energies of heaven and earth flowing into Yun Che’s body subtly carried a sense of reverence—a reverence for Yun Che himself.

The power of heaven and earth differs from profound energy. Profound energy is the power of living beings, while the power of heaven and earth belongs to nature, naturally surpassing profound energy in its essence. When a being's profound energy reaches a sufficient level, they can, to some extent, harness the power of heaven and earth, though doing so requires an immense expenditure of profound energy.

With Yun Che's current profound energy, trying to harness the power of heaven and earth would be wishful thinking. His strength was far from reaching the level where he could communicate with heaven and earth; he could only perceive its existence to a certain extent. Yet, simply by activating the Great Way of the Buddha, the pure primordial energy generated between heaven and earth would spontaneously, even eagerly, surge into Yun Che's body, requiring no comprehension of the power of heaven and earth on his part, nor the expenditure of even a tiny bit of his own energy.

This was a heaven-defying ability that no one on the entire Profound Sky Continent could possibly comprehend!

Unfortunately, these energies of heaven and earth could only be used for healing injuries and tempering the body, not for offense.

As the Pagoda of the Buddha above Yun Che's head suddenly changed from silver to light gold, the heaven and earth energies surging into his body became several times denser. Yun Che opened his senses, savoring the marvelous sensation of his body being tempered once more, and clearly perceived his injuries healing at an incredibly rapid pace, far surpassing his previous recovery speed.

Although the Great Way of the Buddha was a profound art, it did not rely on profound energy for its existence, but rather on the soul and the power of heaven and earth. Its cultivation was not achieved through combat, but through comprehension. Over the past six months, by forcibly consuming dragon meat and blood, Yun Che had put himself in a state of severe injury hundreds of times, even nearing death over a hundred times. Each time, he relied on his indestructible profound veins to absorb the Flame Dragon energy, then used the Great Way of the Buddha to heal his body. It could be said that for more than half of this period, the Great Way of the Buddha was operating at its limit, which deepened his understanding of it repeatedly. Triggered by his breakthrough to the Earth Profound Realm and the sublimation of his soul, his comprehension of the Great Way of the Buddha finally reached a new level.

The Great Way of the Buddha successfully broke through to the third realm!

The Great Way of the Buddha at its third realm granted Yun Che a full twenty thousand jin of physical strength, a body as tough as refined steel, and a recovery ability beyond ordinary comprehension. At this moment, even if Yun Che were to lose all his profound energy, his physical strength alone would be enough to contend with a Spirit Profound practitioner!

"Excellent! Your self-abusive training during this period truly allowed the Great Way of the Buddha to break through to the third realm in such a short time. Your current strength should now be sufficient to contend with an ordinary Sky Profound practitioner!"

Jasmine's aged voice echoed in his mind: "Within the Azure Wind Empire, you can already be considered a powerhouse! On the Profound Sky Continent, you are barely in the upper-middle tier. However, the next breakthrough for the Great Way of the Buddha will not be as easy as before. This is because every three realms of the Great Way of the Buddha represent a watershed! The first three can be considered the initial realms; starting from the fourth realm, it enters the middle realms. For a mortal body to reach the fourth realm is as difficult as ascending to heaven! And if one day you truly manage to break through the Great Way of the Buddha to the fourth realm... the power it grants you, just in terms of raw strength, will be a hundred thousand jin!"

Yun Che: "..."

After rotating for two hours, the golden Pagoda of the Buddha vanished from above Yun Che's head. At the same time, Yun Che opened his eyes, and a faint golden light flashed within his pupils.

He stood up, extended his hand, and the Dragon Fault, which had fallen within the barrier, was drawn into his grasp. With an additional twenty thousand jin of arm strength, the eight-thousand-plus-jin Dragon Fault now felt as light as nothing in his hands. His body showed no outward changes; his skin, after the third tempering by heaven and earth energies, was even fairer and smoother, devoid of any visible power. Yet, only Yun Che could feel every inch of his body brimming with explosive power.

The demon's gaze remained fixed on Yun Che. When Yun Che stood up, he vaguely sensed a change in him, yet he couldn't pinpoint what it was. At least Yun Che's appearance and profound energy aura remained unchanged.

"Try taking another one of my sword strikes!"

His familiar body, now imbued with unbelievable power, made Yun Che eager to unleash it in his excitement. He roared, leaped with his sword in hand, and delivered a heavy aerial slash towards the demon.

The impending sword force made the demon frown deeply. Yun Che's profound energy aura hadn't changed, but the oppressive feeling this sword strike gave him was nearly double that of before!

And only a mere two hours had passed between the two instances!

As the sword descended, phoenix flames danced and a storm raged, showcasing the true might of a heavy sword! The demon's eyes widened. He suddenly reached out and firmly gripped the tip of Dragon Fault, instantly dispersing the sword's momentum. However, the phoenix flames surged forward, enveloping the demon's entire arm and igniting his ragged half-sleeve.

"...So it's Phoenix Flame!"

The demon finally began to understand why Yun Che's profound flame was so dominant. He shook his arm, dispelling all the phoenix flames, just as Yun Che's second sword strike swept in. The demon casually waved his arm, grabbing at Dragon Fault once more. Simultaneously, another massive azure hand appeared in the void, reaching for Yun Che's back. Both "hands"—one gripping Dragon Fault, the other striking Yun Che's back—passed through an illusion.

"Hiss... that bizarre movement technique again!" the demon growled.

Unable to move, the demon had no way to restrain Yun Che's Star God Broken Shadow. After his palm missed, Yun Che's heavy sword swept directly across his neck, causing a slight indentation. The demon's eyes widened, and a green light suddenly flashed for an instant on his left arm, which was sealed by the Starfall Chain. Immediately, a massive azure palm, as tall as a man, materialized before the demon and violently clawed at Yun Che...

Bang!!

Dragon Fault collided head-on with the massive azure hand, and the outcome was predictable. Yun Che felt as if a great hammer had struck his chest, sending him tumbling backward through the air before he landed awkwardly outside the barrier. He plunged his heavy sword into the ground to halt his retreat, yet a wild grin spread across his lips: "Heh heh... At first, I was utterly defenseless against you, but in just half a year, I can now last three moves against you! Originally, a casual palm strike from you would almost take my life. Now, it only gives me a minor injury... Give me two more years, at most, and I'll definitely kill you!"

"Hahahahaha!" The demon burst into laughter as well. "You truly are a strangely wicked young man! But having such a wicked and peculiar fellow like you for company is incredibly interesting! I am now truly eager to see how far you will grow in those two years you speak of."

"I absolutely... will not... disappoint... you!" Yun Che declared with utmost certainty.

He sat down, and in less than an hour, the injuries he had sustained from the demon's strange palm completely healed. Another day without food brought a familiar pang of hunger. Now, Yun Che naturally had no need to worry about food; the immense body of the Flame Dragon was enough to sustain him for years. With a flip of his left palm, a piece of dragon meat, weighing a full ten jin, appeared in his hand. He took out a large bowl, drained the dragon blood, then ignited a flame and patiently began to roast the meat.

With the Phoenix Flame awakened, roasting dragon meat became significantly more efficient. Before long, the unique aroma of the dragon meat wafted into his nostrils, gradually filling the entire underground space. Yun Che extinguished the Phoenix Flame, licked his lips, and happily began to devour the dragon meat.

Not until he had consumed a quarter of the dragon meat did a strange sensation arise from within his body, but it was quickly suppressed. With his major breakthrough in profound energy realms, the Great Way of the Buddha's advancement, and the awakening of the Phoenix Flame, coupled with the adaptation developed after hundreds of exposures, Yun Che's body was now capable of withstanding the impact of the Flame Dragon's flesh and blood. Although he couldn't completely suppress it, and his body still experienced continuous spasms from the countless surging power currents, compared to the beginning, it was merely a negligible drizzle.

It was estimated that soon, as Yun Che's strength continued to improve, these discomforts would entirely vanish.

As he savored the delicious dragon meat, his profound channels were fully open, his entire profound energy mobilized, and he dedicated himself to refining the power within the meat. It was then that Yun Che suddenly heard an extremely faint "gul" sound beside his ear.

It was the sound of someone swallowing.

Yun Che's arm, holding the dragon meat, paused for a split second, but he immediately resumed devouring it, as if he hadn't heard anything at all.

At that moment, the demon almost wished he could die.

A person who had been hungry for a full century was now faced with the world's most delicious dragon meat. Every time Yun Che ravenously ate dragon meat, it was the demon's most unbearable moment. However, as a revered demon king with unyielding pride, he could never beg for food from a junior, nor could he show any signs of craving in front of Yun Che. So, each time Yun Che munched on the dragon meat, he would either turn his head away or remain perfectly still, feigning disinterest, while in reality, he was enduring torment every single second, showing not the slightest hint of it for an entire half-year.

But no matter how strong one's power or how good one's ability to conceal, it's impossible to remain flawless forever. This time, in a moment of carelessness, he actually made a swallowing sound. Although extremely faint, he was certain it was loud enough for Yun Che to hear.

At the same time, he saw Yun Che's movement briefly pause when the sound occurred. Yet, Yun Che didn't mock him or even turn his gaze; he simply continued to eat the dragon meat, feigning complete deafness.

The demon's turbulent emotions settled, and a look of gratitude appeared on his face. Faced with this demon, who was infamous across the Profound Sky Continent and had dragged him into this abyss, Yun Che did not mock him or gloat. Instead, he unhesitatingly chose to preserve his dignity.