Chapter 383 - 201: Insta-killing the Elder, Vajra Jade Soul

At these words, Gu Yun sighed to himself. ’I really was holding back with that finger. I never thought he’d be so fragile, unable to even withstand a light tap. If I had used my full power, I’m afraid I would have completely annihilated him.’

"When facing an Elder, I dared not be careless and chose to go all out. I never expected to injure you, Elder. I’m truly sorry," Gu Yun said apologetically.

"Enough, enough. I was simply outmatched. You don’t have to be modest." Lin Zhenyue waved a hand dismissively. ’His calm and effortless air... how could that possibly have been his full strength? If he had really gone all out, would I even be alive right now? He’s only saying that to let me save some face. Still, a loss is a loss.’

"Gu the Kid, I have urgent matters to attend to, so I’ll be taking my leave," Lin Zhenyue said flatly. With a flicker, his form vanished from sight.

Gu Yun stood with his hands clasped behind him, watching the direction the Elder in the Dao Patterned Robe had disappeared. He shook his head gently. His gaze then swept over the Celestial Thunder Hall as he muttered to himself, "Central Earth..."

His figure then flickered, moving like a bolt of lightning. He tore through the void at incredible speed, landing before his cave residence in an instant.

"Hm?"

Gu Yun raised an eyebrow. His cave residence was spotless and immaculate, as if someone had been coming regularly to clean it. A faint, sweet fragrance even lingered in the air.

’Could it be her...?’ An image surfaced in Gu Yun’s mind, and he muttered the words aloud before gently shaking his head, deciding not to dwell on it.

With a gentle wave of his hand, a fruit wreathed in fiery mist and containing boundless energy materialized in mid-air. Swirling clouds surrounded it, and within them, the faint, illusory image of a tiny phoenix could be seen coiling. This was the Phoenix Feather Vermilion Fruit, something he had stumbled upon in the Silent Extinction Abyss.

Legend had it that the Phoenix Feather Vermilion Fruit was a Vermilion Fruit that had been touched by Phoenix Essence Blood. It grew in a land of extreme yin, forming over countless ages under a perfect alignment of time, place, and various other special conditions. The energy it contained was so immense that even an average Tongxuan Realm Cultivator would be green with envy.

Ever since he’d obtained this Vermilion Fruit, he’d never had the chance to consume it.

He had truly been letting it down.

Since he was free now, he prepared to consume it to temper his body, raise his Cultivation, and refine his Divine Sense.

With that, Gu Yun hesitated no longer. Boundless Magical Power surged through him. He raised a hand, setting up an Array before his cave residence. Then, he sat cross-legged in the void, focusing his mind and calming his qi to bring himself into a peak state.

...

「Meanwhile, on Celestial Thunder Dao Peak.」

In a courtyard pavilion rich with Spiritual Qi, blooming flowers were artfully arranged amidst swirling mist, creating a scene like a celestial paradise.

"Reporting, Young Lady. There’s been activity at the cave residence you asked us to watch. Someone has moved in." Outside the courtyard, a powerfully built, middle-aged man in black robes with a stern expression and a formidable aura spoke respectfully, his fist clasped in his hand.

"Oh?" A voice as crisp and clear as a celestial melody sounded from within the courtyard. A figure came into view, clad in a long white dress that clung to her exquisite figure. She had bright eyes, pearly teeth, a face of breathtaking beauty, and an ethereal temperament, like a lotus emerging from the mud, pure and unstained.

"I understand. You are dismissed." A gleam flashed in Shangguan Yinling’s beautiful eyes as she spoke softly.

"Yes!" The stern-faced, black-robed man clasped his fist. Acknowledging the order, his figure flickered and vanished on the spot.

A joyful thought seemed to cross her mind. "Senior Brother," she murmured, her voice filled with delight, "you’re finally back."

...

「In another location.」

Amidst a range of towering peaks and floating white clouds, an incredibly majestic palace exuding a primordial aura hung high in the heavens.

Within the main hall stood three figures. One was a powerfully built man with a square face and a majestic air, dressed in a purple-gold Nether Robe. His Magical Power was immense, and a terrifying Dao Rhythm emanated from his body.

Beside him stood an old man in a white Daoist Robe, his hair as white as snow. His face was ancient, and his eyes were profound, as if he had weathered the ages and seen through the nature of all things. And yet, he emanated no aura whatsoever, appearing as plain as a mortal, in perfect harmony with nature.

The third was a man in a white robe, his figure tall and straight as a pine. He was handsome, with sharp brows and starlit eyes. His body contained an immensely vast Magical Power, and his Heaven-Reaching Sword Intent gave off a supremely terrifying pressure. He was like a sharp sword aimed at the heavens.

Ye Xuantian spoke in a heavy tone. "Sect Leader, Elder Qin, Junior Brother Gu’s talent is in no way inferior to my own."

"His Cultivation is already at the Tongxuan Middle Stage, but his true strength is comparable to at least... Tongxuan Mastery Peak!"

"What?!"

"Tongxuan Mastery Peak!" The pupils of the middle-aged man in the purple-gold Nether Robe contracted. He cried out in astonishment, his eyes filled with shock. This man was the Sect Leader of the Profound Celestial Sect, Wu Tianhua.

Even the pupils of the old man beside him—the one in the white Daoist Robe with the ancient face, salt-and-pepper beard, and eyes that seemed to have seen millennia—contracted.

"Good, good, good!"

"Xuantian, I never thought that in the last thousand years, our Sect would produce another with such monstrous talent besides you!" the old man in the white Daoist Robe exclaimed, stroking his beard.

This man’s name was Qin Mulong. He was a Supreme Elder of the Profound Celestial Sect, and a supremely powerful titan of the Unity Realm!

"Alright, Xuantian, I’ve summoned you to discuss the situation in Central Earth," Qin Mulong said in a low voice, stroking his salt-and-pepper beard. "The battlefield situation has become extremely grim. Central Earth can no longer fend off the otherworldly invasion on its own. The Dao Alliance wishes to unite all the powers under heaven to fight the invaders together. As the leading power of the Eastern Profound Domain, our Sect cannot shirk this responsibility."

"Elder Qin, what is our Sect’s plan of action?" Ye Xuantian asked.

"Dispatch all Inner Sect Disciples at the True Martial Realm or higher, along with the Peak Masters and Elders, to participate in this world-spanning war," Qin Mulong said after a moment of thought.

Ye Xuantian and Wu Tianhua nodded slightly. Spiritual Martial Realm Cultivators would be of almost no use in Central Earth’s calamity. Sending the Sect’s Outer Sect Disciples would be a pointless sacrifice.

"Very well. Tianhua, go and make the arrangements," Qin Mulong then said softly to Wu Tianhua.

...

On Celestial Thunder Dao Peak, inside a cave residence thick with Spiritual Qi and bathed in a fiery glow, Gu Yun floated in mid-air, his mind calm and focused. He then opened his eyes, a sharp light flashing within them.

"It’s time."

As the words left his lips, he waved his hand. The Phoenix Feather Vermilion Fruit appeared in the air before him, emitting a hazy glow, wreathed in mist, looking as if a phoenix were soaring within it.

With a pulse of Magical Power, he swallowed it. The Vermilion Fruit dissolved the instant it entered his mouth, turning into a liquid that flowed down his throat like a river of magma. An intensely scorching sensation erupted, as if his entire throat was being incinerated by celestial flames. It was unbearably hot.

Yet, even as his throat burned like a raging fire, Gu Yun’s brow didn’t furrow in the slightest.

’Back in the True Martial Realm, Jiang Qingfeng had blasted him until he was nearly ground to dust. That was far more brutal than this, and he had endured it just fine.’

Once the magma-like liquid flowed down to his Dantian, Gu Yun activated the Nine Tribulations Thunder Gang Decision. He began a full circulatory cycle, guiding the potent liquid essence, which contained boundless energy, into his Four Meridians and Eight Vessels to temper his muscles and bones and strengthen his Physique.

Simultaneously, a crimson glow emanated from within him, accompanied by coiling, crackling Thunder Arcs. His entire being radiated an incredibly terrifying pressure!!

As time slowly passed, Gu Yun’s aura climbed steadily higher.

「One month later.」

BOOM!!

Accompanied by a heaven-shattering rumble, the surrounding space trembled violently, as if struck by a boundless, raging flood.

Gu Yun snapped his eyes open. A terrifying bolt of lightning flashed within them, like a crack of lightning tearing through a darkened sky. It emitted a brilliant light that momentarily illuminated the entire cave residence.

"Hoo!"

Gu Yun took a deep breath, sensing the vast, ocean-like Magical Power within him. Consuming the Phoenix Feather Vermilion Fruit had greatly advanced his Cultivation. Although he hadn’t broken through to the Tongxuan Realm Late Stage, his Physique had made a breakthrough, reaching the level of ’Vajra Jade Soul’.

A faint golden light could now be seen flashing within his very blood, exuding a ferocious power. He was like a humanoid dire beast: unassuming when still, but world-shaking in motion!