Chapter 974: Grudge

This self-destructive cultivation method was extremely brutal. Yet, each time he recovered from the brink of death, it brought about a rebirth and breakthroughs for his physique and profound veins. When he recovered for the ninth time and found he had enough strength to unleash the eighth sword, a ray of dawn seemed to ignite in his soul, driving him into an even deeper frenzy. Even the intense pain of each session appeared to become negligible.

Immersed in this brutal yet astonishing cultivation, Yun Che completely lost track of time. Again and again, his body suffered severe injuries, and his profound energy was depleted, only for him to fully recover. Each recovery subtly increased the number of times he could wield the Heaven Smiting Sword, progressing from seven strikes to eight, then to nine...

Three months flew by swiftly. Yun Che spent the vast majority of this time intensely focused on recovery, making it feel as if only a few days had passed.

Over these three months, through more than two hundred sessions of desperate cultivation, he could now unleash the Heaven Smiting Sword with full force fifteen times while in "Heaven Smiting" mode! Furthermore, this was not merely a quantitative increase; the power of each strike far surpassed its previous might.

During this process, his body and profound veins were also undergoing subtle changes that even Yun Che himself couldn't perceive.

Yun Che sat calmly on the Star Picking Stone. Though covered in blood and injuries, his expression was incredibly serene. After maintaining this posture for nearly four hours, he opened his eyes, his body and profound energy fully recovered once again.

Beneath him, the starlight emanating from the Star Picking Stone was considerably dimmer than it had been three months prior.

If another profound practitioner were to use this Star Picking Stone, it would last for ten years, even with continuous day and night use. However, Yun Che possessed the power of the Heretic God, absorbing and utilizing the world's spiritual energy dozens of times faster than ordinary people. In just three months under Yun Che, its power had been depleted by a full seventy percent! Yet, Yun Che, completely engrossed in his cultivation, did not notice this.

As Yun Che opened his eyes, a chilling glint flashed within them. He extended his arm, and the Heaven Smiting Sword, weighing millions of jin, was instantly drawn into his hand. Just as he was about to forcefully activate Heaven Smiting mode again, his Sound Transmission Jade suddenly vibrated with profound energy.

Yun Che's movements stalled. Ice Phoenix Divine Sect members communicated through Ice Phoenix Engraved Jades, and it was impossible for anyone from the Blue Pole Star to transmit to the Snow Song Realm. Even Mu Bingyun and Mu Xiaolan were unaware of his transmission imprint. Since arriving in the Snow Song Realm, he had only given his transmission imprint to one person...

Three months ago, it was Feng Mo, the only one from the lower realm who dared to speak up for him in front of Mu Fengshu! That day, Feng Mo had passed the final assessment of the Snowfall Palace and became an official disciple, but he had openly contradicted the Snowfall Palace Master! Mu Fengshu's demeanor hardly suggested generosity, and she had been furious at the time, making it highly probable she would later cause trouble for Feng Mo because of this. So, out of gratitude, he had given Feng Mo a transmission imprint then, thinking he might be able to repay the favor someday. After all, he was an Ice Phoenix Palace disciple and under Mu Bingyun's protection.

Taking out the Sound Transmission Jade, the voice that emerged was indeed Feng Mo's: "Senior Brother Yun Che... save me..." Feng Mo's voice was extremely weak and clearly pained. Yun Che's brow furrowed, and he quickly replied, "Where are you!?"

After clarifying Feng Mo's location, Yun Che quickly put away the Heaven Smiting Sword and leaped down from the Star Picking Stone. He then released his profound energy, expelling the tattered clothes and bloodstains from his body, and changed into a complete training uniform. Just as he took a step to leave the cultivation chamber, he suddenly froze, then doubtfully raised his hands.

"This feeling..."

"Sovereign Profound Realm... Tenth level!?"

Sensing his profound energy aura at that moment, he was momentarily stunned.

"What's going on? After taking the Jadefall Ice Soul Pill, my profound energy clearly broke through to Sovereign Profound Realm Level Eight... So why is it Sovereign Profound Realm Level Ten now, and when did I break through?"

As the pinnacle realm of the Nine Mortal Stages, every minor breakthrough in the Sovereign Profound Realm is accompanied by a qualitative change in profound energy. During this process, profound energy transitions from flowing and surging to becoming more solidified. It can be said that at this realm, each breakthrough is like a rebirth—a difficult, lengthy process accompanied by high risks.

Yet Yun Che had not perceived his breakthroughs at all—and it was a breakthrough of two minor levels. His profound energy seemed to have transitioned directly and seamlessly to the next realm in complete silence, so quietly that he hadn't noticed it at all.

Yun Che stood there stunned for a while, still completely bewildered. Although his mind was entirely focused on cultivation—exerting full power in "Heaven Smiting" mode and then immediately concentrating his spirit and will on recovery, where even a slight oversight could lead to instant death—it still shouldn't have been possible to completely miss a profound energy breakthrough. This was the Sovereign Profound Realm!

"Could it be related to the cultivation method I'm currently using? And in such a short time... I'm already at Sovereign Profound Realm Level Ten!? On the verge of the Divine Dao!"

Astonishment, confusion, and then ecstasy washed over him. Although he didn't know what strange changes had occurred in his profound veins, his profound energy had genuinely advanced to the highest level of the Sovereign Profound Realm. This was an almost miraculous advancement, far exceeding his expectations, and it also meant that the brutal cultivation method he had chosen truly brought astonishing results!

From Sovereign Profound Realm Level Eight to Level Ten, Xuanyuan Wentian took over six hundred years, while Yun Che only took three months! This was purely through self-cultivation, without relying on any external forces or spiritual medicines. Such speed would be enough to astonish everyone, even in the Divine Realm.

Yun Che raised his right hand and silently activated the power of the Devil Source Orb. A mass of black energy condensed in his palm, and instantly, the surrounding space rapidly dimmed, and the air grew eerie and cold.

"The Devil Source Orb's power is growing even faster," Yun Che murmured to himself. "At this rate, it might even surpass my profound veins' power someday..." The Devil Source Orb was completely integrated with his profound veins, essentially another independent power source hidden within them. Coupled with the dark Heretic God's seed within him, he had no worries about the Devil Source Orb's power going out of control. The Devil Source Orb's power existed independently, completely unaffected by his cultivation, and had been continuously growing on its own. As it grew stronger, it would undoubtedly become an increasingly great temptation for Yun Che, urging him to use its power... but once exposed, the consequences would be extremely severe.

"Jasmine said that after the Northern Chaos was assimilated by the Southern Chaos, dark profound energy became a 'heretical' existence in the Divine Realm. Now that I'm here, I absolutely must not expose it... It seems best to try and forget the Devil Source Orb even exists."

Yun Che murmured to himself for a moment, then pushed open the door of the cultivation chamber, his profound energy fully unleashed as he rushed toward the teleportation array closest to the Thirty-Six Palaces.

Outside the Ninth Snowfall Palace in Snowfall City, in an unnoticed corner.

Crack!!

With a sharp crack of bones, a somewhat thin figure was sent flying and landed far away on the snowy ground. Crimson blood quickly stained the snow beneath him. His broken left arm hung limply, while his right arm struggled to prop up his body. His gaze, stubborn and fierce, fixated on the two figures in front of him. Although his face was twisted in pain and blood stained his lips, he refused to utter even a single groan.

"Oh, your bones are really tough," said a young man in blue with a sinister expression, who slowly walked over and looked down at Feng Mo, who was barely able to stand. "Tsk, tsk. I've seen many stubborn people from the lower realms over the years, but this is the first time I've seen someone so unyielding."

"Heh, no matter how tough your bones are, they'll just break with a little more force." Another young man, arms crossed, stood still, his gaze filled with disdain and pity as he looked at Feng Mo. "It's just one Snow Silk Fruit. Wouldn't it have been better to hand it over obediently? Why insist on suffering so much? You trash from the lower realms are not only more useless than the last, but your brains are also dumber than the last."

The Snow Silk Fruit was the most valuable spiritual medicine among the resources distributed to official Snowfall Palace disciples, with only one granted every three months. The one Feng Mo possessed was the only one he had received since entering the Snowfall Palace.

"Liu Hang, Di Kui!" With his left arm broken and over a dozen injuries on his body, the immense pain made Feng Mo's face pale and sweat pour down his forehead. He gritted his teeth and said, "Our Snowfall Palace explicitly forbids private duels, and maliciously seizing resources is an even graver crime... If you have the guts, kill me, otherwise... every injury on my body will be your incriminating evidence!"

"Oh?" Liu Hang and Di Kui exchanged glances, then burst into roaring laughter simultaneously. Di Kui kicked out, sending Feng Mo flying, and laughed loudly, "Evidence of crime? What evidence? Did we inflict your injuries? Who saw it? Did anyone see it? We've known the Snowfall Palace's disciplinary elder for over twenty years and have been paying our respects for just as long. Do you think he'll believe you, or us? Oh, by the way, Senior Brother Liu, I recall that malicious slander is also a serious crime in the Snowfall Palace."

"You... you! *Cough*..." Feng Mo lay on the snow, coughing up several mouthfuls of crimson blood in a fit of rage.

"Tsk, tsk. It seems this pathetic lower realm worm still doesn't understand the situation," Liu Hang said, narrowing his eyes. "We've always been very fond of new junior brothers. Even if they're disobedient, we just teach them a little lesson. But you, on your very first day in the Snowfall Palace, dared to offend the Palace Master, even speaking up for someone who injured her nephew right in front of her. For an ungrateful idiot like you to live until today is practically a miracle."

"What status does the Palace Master hold? Of course, she wouldn't bother to quarrel with a lowly idiot from the lower realm like you. But if someone were to 'take issue' on her behalf, I'm sure her mood wouldn't be bad. Don't just talk about injuring you; even if we cripple you, or even kill you, the Palace Master is fair and strict, so punishment is certain... but behind the scenes, she might even reward us, hahahaha!"

Di Kui sauntered closer to Feng Mo again, placing his right foot directly in front of Feng Mo's head, and leisurely said, "Junior Brother Feng Mo, let me remind you of something else: Senior Brother Liu Hang's paternal cousin and paternal older female cousin are both disciples of the Ice Phoenix Palace. Especially Senior Brother Liu Hang's paternal cousin Liu Yizhou... oh no, Mu Yizhou—he's the Chief Disciple of the First Ice Phoenix Palace, do you understand what a Chief Disciple is? With Senior Brother Yizhou's protection, even without your offense against the Palace Master, killing you today wouldn't be a big deal."

"..." Feng Mo gnashed his teeth, but he couldn't speak. Having come alone from the lower realm, enduring countless hardships and tribulations to reach the Divine Realm, how could he possibly compare or contend with someone born in the Divine Realm? Other newly ascended disciples from the lower realms chose to swallow their anger, even resorting to flattery. Only he, with his inherent stubbornness, was incapable of being a coward—even though he knew the consequences.

"I've told you everything that needed to be said. Think about what's more important: a small Snow Silk Fruit, or your future and your life. Don't try to test our limited patience any further. This is your last chance, otherwise... it'll be your right hand's turn!" Towards Feng Mo's right arm, Di Kui slowly raised his foot.

"Then try laying a hand on his right arm."

No sooner had Di Kui's words fallen than a cold voice suddenly resounded above him, making his entire body freeze in a chill.