Chapter 795: Mysterious Black Jade

In the world within the Sky Poison Pearl, Jasmine stood with her back to him, her face cold. On the small bed beside her, Hong'er, now full, was sound asleep.

A faint purple light, however, was exceptionally striking in this emerald world.

The four Netherworld Udumbara petals were completely intact, enveloped by a thin layer of green light, floating quietly. Despite this, their purple radiance still shone brightly, yet it caused no spiritual reaction in Yun Che.

"It seems its soul-severing power has been sealed by the Sky Poison Pearl," Yun Che murmured, approaching with relief.

"Hmph, what does that have to do with the Sky Poison Pearl! Once the Netherworld Udumbara Flower is picked, its Netherworld energy seals itself, no longer overflowing," Jasmine retorted, turning around but averting her gaze.

"Hmm?" Yun Che, however, fixed his gaze on Jasmine's small face, his expression filled with surprise and doubt. "Jasmine, your eyes seem a little strange. How come they look... like you've been crying?"

"Non... Nonsense!" Jasmine reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Me? Cry? What a joke!"

Jasmine's unusually strong reaction filled Yun Che's eyes with suspicion. He turned his attention back to the Netherworld Udumbara petals and spoke seriously, "Two profound pellets from Monarch Profound Beasts, over seventy catties of Purple Veined Divine Crystal, and now the Netherworld Udumbara Flower... Jasmine, everything you need is here. Can you begin reforming your body directly now? Or do you still require other conditions, like a specific environment or external force?"

"No need! With these gathered, I can start immediately!" Jasmine shook her head, then gave Yun Che a deep, annoyed look. "Your ability to retrieve these four Netherworld Udumbara petals truly exceeded my expectations. But don't you ever do something like that again... Forget it, you wouldn't listen anyway!"

"I will begin reforming my body now!" Jasmine's gaze became resolute. "I cannot go outside at the moment, and while the Sky Poison Pearl can accommodate a soul body, it cannot accommodate living beings. Performing it here would risk some kind of mutation. Therefore, the best, and arguably only, option is the Primordial Profound Ark."

"That's what I was thinking too," Yun Che immediately nodded.

"Once I regain my body, the demonic energy of the Demon Imperial Hall will be completely harmless to me. As for that sealing barrier..." Jasmine sneered, "I can tear it open with a mere wave of my hand."

She glanced sideways. "You deliberately stayed despite the barrier seal, didn't you? You were counting on me easily tearing open the barrier after I reformed my body, weren't you?"

"Exactly," Yun Che said, gazing at the Netherworld Udumbara petals, his hand on his chin as if in thought. "But before that... Jasmine, if you're reforming your body, how long will the entire process take?"

Jasmine pondered for a moment, her eyes deep. "Though I know the method, I've never attempted it. However, according to records and considering my strength, it shouldn't take too long. Perhaps around a dozen hours, it could be longer or shorter, but it shouldn't deviate too much."

"I see." This duration was much shorter than Yun Che had anticipated. Indeed, things at Jasmine's level were beyond his comprehension and measurement.

Silently calculating the time he had spent in the Demon Imperial Hall, he suddenly asked, "Jasmine, your soul body can't stay away from me for too long. What if we were inside the Primordial Profound Ark? After all, I can keep it within my body."

Jasmine instantly understood Yun Che's implication and decisively shook her head. "Of course not! The Primordial Profound Ark is a world unto itself. If I were inside the Ark and you weren't, even if you kept the Ark within your body, it would still be like being separated by two worlds! If too much time passed, my soul would dissipate before I could even reform my body."

"Are you saying you can't wait for me to reform my body and want to leave the Demon Imperial Hall earlier?"

"Something like that," Yun Che nodded. "I've already been here for three days. If my time estimation isn't far off, the Demonic Sword Convention will begin in about six or seven hours. If I can get out now, I can make it to the convention."

"Without a physical body, I can't appear in the Demon Imperial Hall! And how would you get out?" No sooner had she spoken than Jasmine realized something. "Are you going to..."

"At the very least, I can try!" Yun Che rubbed his hands together, his expression filled with anticipation. "If it works, that's great; if not, it's not a big deal. My primary goal in coming to the Supreme Ocean Palace has already been achieved, and the Demonic Sword Convention isn't something I absolutely must attend."

Yun Che's consciousness left the Sky Poison Pearl. Opening his eyes, he ignited his Golden Crow flames and slowly walked forward, guided by the searing light.

Suddenly, a sound came from behind him, like stones falling. It was a faint noise, but in this incredibly silent, dark world, it was crystal clear, causing Yun Che to instantly halt. His previously relaxed nerves tensed as if he'd received an electric shock.

Thump... thump... thump-thump-thump...

The sound of hard objects hitting the ground continued, growing faster and faster. Just as Yun Che turned around, a colossal crash suddenly resounded.

CRASH!!

"Don't be nervous," Jasmine said indifferently. "It's the innermost stone wall collapsing. When you obliterated the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon, a large portion of your power struck that wall. Although it didn't collapse then, many cracks appeared. I hadn't expected it to collapse at this moment."

"So that's what it was," Yun Che secretly sighed in relief.

"Go take a look!" Jasmine suddenly urged. "That's the innermost wall of the Demon Imperial Hall, and for it to collapse like this... It's very possible there's another realm beyond it!"

Yun Che obeyed, stepping forward with extreme caution and slowness, while intensifying the Golden Crow flames to slightly expand his field of vision.

With a soft crunch, his foot landed on a pile of loose, hard material. Yun Che quickly focused his gaze downwards, realizing he had stepped on a heap of black ashes.

The remains of the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon, incinerated by the Golden Crow flames!

Only a portion had turned to ash; the rest, unyielding even to the Golden Crow flames, remained hard as rock.

Yun Che paid them no mind and continued forward. Soon, in the glow of the flames, he saw a scattering of jet-black rubble.

Yun Che flung his arm, directly throwing the Golden Crow flames forward. The flames landed, erupting into a larger blaze that illuminated the entire scene ahead... The jet-black stone wall, which had marked the end of the Demon Imperial Hall, had largely collapsed, leaving shattered stone strewn everywhere.

Where it had collapsed, a black hole, like an abyss, was revealed!

The Golden Crow flames he had thrown landed at the edge of the collapse, illuminating the entire outline of the "black hole" with exceptional clarity. Yet, inside the black hole, there was a dreadful, absolute darkness; not a speck, not a glimmer, not a trace of anything could be seen. Even with the Golden Crow flames so close, they could not penetrate an inch.

It was as if the strongest light, upon touching the world beyond the stone wall, would be instantly swallowed.

"That... behind there, it really seems like there's another space!" Yun Che whispered, then instinctively held his breath. He suddenly thought that he could, in his extreme state, blast open this wall with a single sword strike. And with the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon's strength... perhaps it would take longer, but he surely had the ability to break it open.

Yet, before he himself blasted it open, this wall was clearly intact.

Could it be that for ten thousand years, the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon never discovered another world beyond the wall?

Or... did he know but refrained from breaking it open for some reason?

Or perhaps... this wall was originally constructed by the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon himself!?

Massive questions and curiosity arose in Yun Che's heart. He lit another wisp of Golden Crow flames in his hand, then stepped forward, wanting to approach the "black hole" and investigate what kind of world lay beyond the stone wall.

But before his foot even landed, Jasmine suddenly shrieked, "Don't go near it! Retreat immediately!"

Yun Che froze, then quickly retreated several steps backward.

"Jasmine, what's wrong? Is there some danger inside?" Yun Che asked cautiously.

"More than just danger!" Jasmine's voice was incredibly heavy. "I finally know where the dark demonic energy here comes from!"

"...It's coming from in there?" Yun Che's brow furrowed.

"Exactly! It's beyond that stone wall! To release such high-level dark energy, whatever is hidden inside must be unimaginably terrifying!" Jasmine's voice grew increasingly low and deep. Whether it was his imagination or not, Yun Che felt that Jasmine's tone at this moment sounded as if she were terrified. "And, when I just extended my divine sense into it..."

Jasmine's voice trailed off. After a long moment, she exhaled slowly and continued, "I can't describe the feeling, but whatever it is, get away immediately, and absolutely do not go near it again!"

Yun Che acknowledged her words and continued to retreat, though this time his steps were much lighter, as if fearing to disturb the unknown, terrifying entity beyond the wall.

He had risked his life multiple times for the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, but that certainly didn't mean he would be brainless enough to take risks for irrelevant curiosity!

After retreating seven or eight steps, Yun Che turned around... but just halfway through his turn, a faint glint of light flickered in the corner of his eye.

"Hmm? Light!?"

"How could there be a reflection here?"

Yun Che hesitated for a moment, then suddenly strode forward.

"What are you doing!?" Jasmine exclaimed in alarm, thinking he was about to force his way into the world beyond the stone wall.

At the approximate location where the reflection appeared, Yun Che stopped and slowly squatted down.

Before him was a pile of ashes, remnants of the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon after being incinerated. This ash pile had scattered due to his inadvertent step. Beneath the dispersed ashes, an unusual jet-black object was revealed, reflecting a strong, clear light under the Golden Crow flames.

Yun Che reached out, grasped the reflective object, and pulled it directly from the ashes.

It was a perfectly round black jade, palm-sized, cold and heavy to the touch, entirely flawless and jet-black, incredibly smooth, and identical on both sides, with no markings or patterns whatsoever.

"What is that thing?" Jasmine asked, her voice filled with surprise and doubt.

"I don't know, I was just about to ask you," Yun Che replied, examining it repeatedly but finding nothing unusual. Jasmine's words indicated that even she had no idea what it was.

However, it was certainly something belonging to the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon. He had remained dormant here for ten thousand years without discarding it, and evidently always kept it on him... Therefore, it absolutely could not be just an ordinary black jade!!

Even the Demon Monarch's flesh had been incinerated to cinders by the Golden Crow flames, yet this object remained perfectly intact. This alone was enough to prove it was no ordinary item.

However, it had no patterns, no inscriptions, not even a trace of energy! Judging solely by its aura, it seemed to be just the most common piece of jade, inferior even to low-grade profound jade.

"Jasmine, do you notice anything special about it?" Yun Che brought the black jade closer to his eyes, trying hard to discern something.

"...Try injecting profound energy into it," Jasmine suggested.

"Alright!"

Yun Che slightly gathered his breath and gently infused a stream of profound energy into the black jade. But immediately, a look of profound astonishment appeared on his face. He then flipped his palm and injected an even stronger stream of profound energy... and his surprise deepened.

"What's happening?" His expression caused Jasmine's brow to furrow, and she immediately asked.

"It disappeared!?" Yun Che stared at his palm, still somewhat disbelieving. The two streams of profound energy he had injected into the black jade vanished without a trace, like clay oxen entering the sea. Yet, the reflective black jade remained completely devoid of aura!

It was as if the two infused streams of profound energy had been entirely swallowed by an unseen abyss, vanishing forever from existence.

"Disappeared?" Jasmine's face showed the same surprise as Yun Che's. She pondered for a moment, then whispered, "Since it came from the Demon Monarch of Slaughtering Moon, it's highly likely to be something from the 'demonic' level! Its profound mystery cannot be fathomed by ordinary power."

"Don't worry about it for now. Put it away; perhaps it will be useful in the future. For now, focus on how to get out of here!"