Chapter 603: Ice Cloud Crisis

In the common knowledge of all profound practitioners, the ultimate land of fire is undoubtedly a volcano. Violent volcanoes contain rolling magma and are often surrounded by boundless seas of fire. Such extreme fiery locations occasionally give birth to rare fire-elemental treasures, making them favored cultivation grounds for some high-level fire profound practitioners.

Both the Illusory Demon Realm and the Azure Cloud Continent possess numerous volcanic regions of varying sizes. However, it is no exaggeration to say that all the volcanoes in the world combined cannot compare to even a corner of this Death Sea.

This is because it is a death zone that even mighty Emperors turn pale at the mention of, daring not to approach.

The activity level of fire elements here far exceeds the wildest imagination of any profound practitioner.

After checking on the Little Demon Empress's condition, Yun Che immediately let out a great sigh of relief. Under normal circumstances, even with his full activation of the Great Way of the Buddha, he would struggle to suppress the Little Demon Empress's life force drain. But now, the Heaven and Earth Aura, several tens of times more potent, was not only rapidly healing her injuries but also firmly protecting her vital life breath. Although her life meridian was severed, as long as his supply of this Heaven and Earth Aura remained constant, her last vestiges of life force would not vanish.

Concerns about whether he and the Little Demon Empress could survive no longer plagued him. However, they couldn't leave the Death Sea yet, as King Ming and King Huai were likely still waiting at its edge. Yun Che began to concentrate on sensing his surroundings. It was as if he had entered a world of only fire, with nothing but extremely dense and active fire elements all around him.

Possessing the Evil God Profound Veins and the Evil God's Fire Seed, Yun Che had an extremely perfect affinity for fire elements. No matter how powerful pure flame energy was, it could not harm him, and he could quickly master even the most profound fire-elemental profound arts. However, this was the first time he had encountered such an extreme fire environment since obtaining the Evil God's Fire Seed.

To others, this was the Death Sea.

But for Yun Che, with his extreme affinity for fire, it was a nearly dreamlike world.

Yun Che extended a hand, passing it through the isolating barrier and into the sea of fire. Immediately, not only Heaven and Earth Aura but also an extremely concentrated fire essence surged into his arm, drawn in by his palm and his affinity for fire elements. Then, under an attraction from his Evil God Profound Veins, it spontaneously flowed into his profound veins.

It was an incredibly subtle sensation, almost impossible to describe in any language.

What surprised Yun Che was that the fire essence flowing into his profound veins did not dissipate or get lost. Instead, it seemed unwilling to leave, slowly accumulating within his profound veins, and then directly merging into them, causing a slight, yet entirely discernible, increase in his profound energy.

The fire essence here... it could actually be absorbed... and directly converted into his own profound energy!?

Refining and absorbing fire spirits could enhance one's profound energy. Regardless of how rare fire spirits were, a profound practitioner would expend vast effort and resources, and even face considerable danger, to refine one. Yet, Yun Che was merely absorbing the fire essence here, and his profound energy was actually increasing... This was simply inconceivable! It was something that all profound practitioners in this world would be utterly unable to comprehend.

Furthermore, there were no risks or side effects whatsoever involved, not even a trace of pain or difficulty.

Yun Che focused the isolating power solely on the Little Demon Empress, then immersed half of his own body into the sea of fire. Instantly, the dense fire essence, as if drawn by an irresistible attraction, surged towards Yun Che's body from all parts, like thousands of streams, flowing through his every meridian and every drop of blood. He guided this fire essence to circulate through every corner of his body. Gradually, he felt his entire body, even his soul, enveloped and permeated by an extremely gentle sensation, as if every drop of blood, every cell within him, had ignited.

It was as if his entire being had transformed into a spirit of fire.

Despite having possessed the Evil God Fire Seed and the Phoenix Flame for so many years, he had never experienced such a subtle sensation.

And eventually, all this fire essence obediently surged into his profound veins, where it circulated and merged...

Yun Che's mood at this moment was undoubtedly one of extreme delight and surprise. He allocated one part of his mental energy to shield the Little Demon Empress from the flames, and another part to maintain the flow of Heaven and Earth Aura into her body. The remaining eight parts of his mental energy were dedicated to absorbing and guiding the scorching, concentrated, and endless fire essence from the Death Sea...

This extremely high-level fire essence, which would be an aura of death even to a powerful profound practitioner looking down upon the world, had now become a top-grade tonic, being greedily absorbed by Yun Che. Streams of fire essence began their second circulation within his body, then a third... By the third circulation, Yun Che's profound energy had been amplified by a full ten percent, and he himself was completely immersed in the process.

The increase in profound energy was secondary; Yun Che vaguely sensed that his understanding of fire laws also seemed to be undergoing some subtle changes.

Yun Che's actions and state naturally did not escape Jasmine's notice. She focused on observing Yun Che, her eyes constantly flickering with astonishment deep within them. After a long while, she murmured to herself, "The legends were indeed true... this Death Sea, an extreme land that should fundamentally not exist on this plane, has actually triggered this heaven-defying ability of the Evil God Profound Veins..."

"It's simply the most shameless and enviable cultivation method in this world."

"The reason it hasn't been triggered before must be because the level of those flames simply wasn't high enough..."

"If he ever reaches the Blazing Heaven Realm and enters the Ancient God Burying Fire Prison one day..."

Jasmine did not voice her thoughts to disturb Yun Che but silently observed every minute change in his body. The Evil God, a unique deity from the ancient Era of Gods, was said to belong to no faction and be unbound by any god, not even respecting the Ancient God Emperors, and unwilling to conform to the Laws of Chaos. Its lingering power was said to be extremely illusory, and when it finally manifested, it caused countless individuals to frantically compete for it... ultimately falling into her hands.

At the same time, she almost paid with her life.

Yet, ultimately, it was inherited by Yun Che.

And in just a few short years, the immense power of the Evil God and its 'heaven-defying' attribute of disregarding Heaven and Earth Laws had begun to initially reveal themselves—for instance, being completely immune to elemental power, being able to merge the entirely opposing forces of ice and fire, and now, being able to directly absorb elemental power and convert it into his own strength.

Perhaps, his ability to easily bear the inheritance of so many divine powers was also due to the Evil God's unique ability to disregard laws!

***

Azure Cloud Continent, North of Blue Wind Nation.

"Is this the Frozen Cloud Snow Region?" A middle-aged man in green robes, appearing to be around fifty years old, looked at the boundless world of white snow before him. "The scenery is quite good."

"You must be visiting the Blue Wind Nation for the first time, correct?" an old man in purple robes beside him said indifferently.

"Hmph!" The man in green robes snorted faintly, a deep arrogance and disdain flashing in his eyes. "If not for the Young Master's command, why would I set foot in such an inferior place? Still, for such scenery, it doesn't seem like too much of a loss to come."

This was a group of twelve, led by the man in green and the old man in purple. They were all dressed in tight-fitting clothes of a uniform color, with no discernible features or markings on their attire.

What was astonishing was the terrifyingly powerful profound energy aura emanating from all twelve individuals. Especially from the man in green and the old man in purple, who distinctly exuded the aura of the Tyrannical Profound Realm, already nearing the mid-Tyrannical Profound Realm. Even their ten subordinates were all Overlords of rank eight or higher!

Ling Tianni, the Blue Wind Nation's strongest practitioner, was a rank six Overlord, yet any one of these twelve individuals surpassed him! All of them were powerful enough to be invincible throughout the entire Blue Wind Nation. As for the two Tyrant Emperors, they were terrifying existences akin to gods in Blue Wind, capable of single-handedly dominating the Blue Wind Profound Realm with ease.

"If you wish to enjoy the scenery, there will be plenty of time after the mission is complete," the old man in purple said indifferently. "Frozen Cloud Asgard is located within this snow region. Find the woman named Xia Qingyue, and then we can return to report to the Young Master."

The man in green looked straight ahead, his gaze pointing directly towards the location of Frozen Cloud Asgard. The vast snow region was devoid of human presence, and with a Tyrannical Profound Realm spiritual sense, pinpointing Frozen Cloud Asgard in such an open area was certainly not difficult. He chuckled, "I hear this Frozen Cloud Asgard is one of the Blue Wind Nation's four major powers, second only to Heavenly Sword Villa. But it seems their strongest practitioners are only at the Monarch Profound Realm, and even those are just two or three at most. An inferior place is an inferior place, after all. I truly can't understand why the Young Master would send the two of us for such a trivial matter."

"Stop complaining," the old man in purple said sternly. "The Young Master clearly stated that the woman named Xia Qingyue is extremely important to him. If not for a sudden loosening in a bottleneck of his demonic cultivation, which requires immediate seclusion, the Young Master would have even acted personally. This alone shows how much importance he places on this matter!"

"Moreover, this mission is far from as easy as you imagine!" The old man in purple's expression turned grave. "The Young Master only told us that Xia Qingyue is twenty-two years old but appears to be only sixteen or seventeen, and is known as the Blue Wind Nation's number one beauty. Beyond that, we know nothing. Frozen Cloud Asgard has two to three thousand disciples, all said to be breathtaking beauties. If they insist on not revealing who Xia Qingyue is, distinguishing her will be quite difficult."

"Furthermore, the Young Master sternly stated that Xia Qingyue must be alive, preferably without even a scratch! If Xia Qingyue dies, we'll have to return with our heads on a platter! Before confirming who Xia Qingyue is... we cannot strike hard at any female disciple, which makes our actions quite restricted."

"Hahahahaha!" The man in green burst into laughter. "A fierce tiger pouncing on wolves still carries some risk, but a fierce tiger hunting sheep? Is there any chance of stumbling? If we can't touch the young ones, we'll start with the older ones. Kill those Palace Masters and Elders one by one, forcing Xia Qingyue to reveal herself. It's utterly simple. At worst, we'll knock them all unconscious and take them back. Three thousand ice beauties – the Young Master will surely be very pleased to see them."

"Speaking of which, I hear the Divine Phoenix Empire's army is already less than a thousand li from the Blue Wind Imperial City. It's estimated that in a few more months, this Blue Wind Nation will be completely finished. Heh, I wonder what's wrong with the Divine Phoenix Nation, to mobilize such a large force and be so anxious to conquer this low-tier, resource-scarce small nation, while signing non-aggression pacts with the other five nations. Is it because Blue Wind made them lose face in the Seven Nations Ranking Tournament, and they're enraged?"

"That is not our concern," the old man in purple said, wiping a hand across his face. Instantly, his face was obscured by a layer of white mist. "Frozen Cloud Asgard is within five hundred li ahead. Let's begin our operation. I repeat: do your best not to expose our identities. This is also the Young Master's command."

"Yes!" the subordinates behind them responded in unison, then all reached up and wiped their faces, using profound energy to conceal their appearances.

The man in green also covered his face, and said with a look of disdain, "I hope this Frozen Cloud Asgard can at least offer some surprise, even if it's just deploying some treasured artifact to ruffle my clothes... Otherwise, it will be too boring."

Before his words even faded, the twelve individuals had already soared into the air, heading directly for Frozen Cloud Asgard's location, and soon vanished into the vast snowy expanse.