Chapter 671 - 635: Still Alive

Chapter 671: Chapter 635: Still Alive

In a Flash of Thunder, suffused with world-destroying might, a nine-colored pillar of lightning crashed down, piercing straight through Mu Chen’s body! The sky was instantly bleached white, as if it were day! Everyone lost consciousness in that moment! But, in the second before Wan Xian’Er’s world went dark, she realized one thing with stark clarity...

She had lost... him...

...

’Where is this?’ In a bizarre, pale white world, Mu Chen’s figure slowly descended, eventually landing softly on the ground. He could feel the ground beneath him, but when he looked down, he discovered it was still a blank void.

"So this is the real hell," Mu Chen said with a self-deprecating smile. "Heh... this enhanced Nine Venerable Thunder Tribulation is much gentler than I imagined. At least I don’t feel a shred of pain."

As he spoke, Mu Chen tried to get up, but discovered his body didn’t have a shred of strength. His Spirit was also utterly depleted, just as it had been before he died.

He was stunned for a moment, then a bitter smile crossed his face. "So it seems the body maintains its condition from before death, huh? But is this really hell...? Ugh, my body’s getting heavier and heavier. Have I reached my limit? Might as well... I’ll just take a nap for now..."

"Miss, look! It’s the Young Master!"

"Mu Chen! Mu Chen! No! Don’t die! *sobbing*... Mu Chen!"

...

’Strange... Why does that voice sound so familiar...? Heh... Forget it. No need to pay it any mind anymore...’

’This is probably the most relaxed I’ve ever been in my life. No worries, no misgivings. I just want to have a good, long sleep... That’s all... nothing more...’

His eyes finally squeezed shut. Just as they closed, he thought he saw a face streaked with tears. ’Who is it? I don’t know... I don’t have any energy left to even think about it.’

Mu Chen didn’t know how long he slept. It felt like centuries, yet it also felt like a single instant. In that slumber, he had an incredibly long dream. He dreamed of so many people: his parents, his grandfather, his brothers and kinsmen, and his lovers—Bing’Er, Xian’Er, Qing’Er, Ying’Er, Chu Aoqing, Mu Junwu, even the Lei Sisters and Qin Wu from Frost Cold Town. He also dreamed of the most important people in his life, his Master and his teachers: Profound Old Ghost, Di Cang, Dilaka, and Feng Chaoming.

Everything that had happened over the years replayed from beginning to end as if on rewind, with Mu Chen weaving through the memories. However, just as his entire life finished its playback, a mass of golden Fire Flame suddenly materialized within his dream, right before his eyes.

Within the dream, Mu Chen stared blankly at the golden Fire Flame before him. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he could feel an indescribable sense of intimacy emanating from it.

"What is this?"

As he spoke, Mu Chen suddenly reached out and touched the golden Fire Flame. The very next instant, a horrifying scene unfolded before his eyes! The mass of golden Fire Flame was like a bomb that had Burst; in a flash, it transformed into a vast and endless Golden Flame Sea within his dream, incinerating the world he had woven from his memories.

Standing at the center of this dream world, Mu Chen watched in horror as the vast Flame Sea, like the apocalypse itself, raged around him. His pupils shrank violently, and he stared until... until he saw a figure at the heart of the Golden Flame Sea. It was an imposing figure with long hair like a golden Fire Flame, a figure that seemed like a Divine Mansion!

However, just as Mu Chen strained to see the figure’s face, the entire scene before him dissolved. It was replaced by utter darkness, his fading consciousness, and a voice—a voice that was ancient, ethereal, and yet impossibly gentle.

"My child..."

Before his consciousness faded completely, those were the only two words Mu Chen heard. They were followed immediately by a sharp pain lancing through his mind and a beam of light piercing his closed eyelids.

"Ugh..."

He let out a painful groan. He tried to open his eyes but squeezed them shut again, unable to adjust to the surrounding light. He struggled to raise his right hand and rub his temples. An emptiness in his Sea of Souls made him nauseous, and he only felt a sliver of relief after keeping his eyes closed for a long moment.

Once his eyes finally adjusted to the surrounding brightness, Mu Chen could see his surroundings. He was in an extremely spacious and well-lit room. The interior was almost completely empty; aside from the couch-like bed beneath him, there was nothing else. The bed itself was positioned squarely in the center of the entire room, which looked a bit odd.

’They have rooms like this in hell?’

He slowly propped himself up, but as soon as he sat upright, an unbearable wave of dizziness washed over him. The world spun, and with a THUD, he tumbled off the bed. The fall knocked him unconscious again, though this time for only thirty minutes.

Thirty minutes later, Mu Chen staggered up from the floor again. But as he opened his eyes and looked down, his expression froze.

Inscribed on the floor of the room was a massive, milky-white Array. He turned his head to look back, and his eyes widened in astonishment. He murmured, "Is that... the Spirit Nourishing Couch?"

That was it. The only bed in the room was none other than the Spirit Nourishing Couch, incredibly familiar and identical to the one in his memory!

"The Spirit Nourishing Couch is here! And this room! Does that mean... I’m not dead?"

A shocking suspicion surfaced in Mu Chen’s mind. He looked down at his hands, his expression one of utter bewilderment. If his memory served him right, the Nine Venerable Thunder Tribulation had clearly pierced right through him. Faced with a power that transcended time and space, not even experts like Bingli and Nameless could have survived, let alone him! But why was he...?

However, just as Mu Chen was lost in confusion, the door opened with a CLICK. He looked toward the sound and saw a woman, slightly gaunt but still stunningly beautiful, appear in the doorway. The sight made his expression freeze completely.

"Xian... Xian’Er?"

This woman was none other than Wan Xian’Er...

CRASH!

With a sharp crack, the bowl and spoon Wan Xian’Er was holding shattered, splashing brown medicinal soup all over the floor! She stared, stunned, at Mu Chen sitting on the ground. One hand flew to her mouth as she leaned heavily against the doorframe, the corners of her eyes twitching until, finally, tears began to fall once more.

"Mu Chen!"

Her cry confirmed his suspicion. ’I’m alive! I’m really alive!’

"Xian’Er!"

As he felt her warm, delicate body embracing him, a wave of ecstasy surged through Mu Chen’s heart. The shock was too much for his barely-recovered consciousness, and he promptly fainted again.

This time, however, he passed out with a blissful smile on his face. He knew that it wasn’t over yet!

"Mu Chen! Mu Chen!"

Wan Xian’Er cried out in alarm. She extended a wisp of Primordial Power to probe his body and was finally able to relax when she found his heartbeat and breathing were both normal.

After carrying Mu Chen back to the Spirit Nourishing Couch and tucking him in, a hint of color and a faint smile finally returned to Wan Xian’Er’s haggard face. Ever since that terrifying celestial phenomenon two months ago, Mu Chen’s body had been trapped in a near-death state. He was barely breathing, his Life Aura hovering on the very precipice between life and death. His situation was the perfect example of being one thought from hell, and one thought from the mortal realm.

She never knew when that fragile wisp of Life Aura might dip below the critical point, so caring for him day and night had been an unending agony for her.

But there was something strange. Despite being pierced by that pillar of lightning, Mu Chen’s body didn’t have a single wound. In fact, even his clothes were in perfect condition, without a scorch mark to be seen. According to Grandpa Wan’s deductions, Mu Chen’s coma wasn’t caused by that terrifying power from the sky. Rather, it was because he had completely depleted his Spiritual Power, which had ultimately damaged his Soul Origin, leading to his near-death state. For him to recover, he first had to overcome this trial on his own. Now, that trial was over, and she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Gently stroking Mu Chen’s cheek, Wan Xian’Er said softly, "This time, I’ll never let you leave me again, my love..."

With that, Wan Xian’Er turned to clean up the shattered bowl, then opened the door and left. She glanced back one last time at Mu Chen on the couch before gently closing the door. She had to hurry and tell Grandpa Wan, her father, and Xiao Ying’er the good news.

Two hours after Wan Xian’Er left, Mu Chen awoke again. This time, his headache had subsided significantly; at least he didn’t fall to the floor when he sat up again.

In fact, this last fainting spell had cleared his head considerably. He had snatched his life back from the jaws of death, but now his mind was swarming with questions. Why?

"Right!" Mu Chen suddenly exclaimed. "If I’m not dead, then Master must still be alive!"

’Master! Master?’

He called out twice in his mind, but there was no response. Mu Chen froze. A terrible premonition instantly washed over him. ’In a flash, it all became clear. The reason I survived the Nine Venerable Thunder Tribulation... it was because...’

"Because of what?"

Suddenly, a familiar, ancient voice echoed from within his mind, interrupting his train of thought. A dumbfounded look appeared on Mu Chen’s face as he asked in disbelief, "Master?"

"Aaaaaah..." Profound Old Ghost let out a massive yawn and said languidly, "Oops. Slept in a little."

As he spoke, the Profound Old Ghost’s figure emerged from the Extreme Spirit Pearl with a WHOOSH. He flopped nonchalantly onto the Spirit Nourishing Couch, gave Mu Chen a blissful look, and asked teasingly, "You didn’t actually think I sacrificed my soul to save you, did you, kiddo?"

Mu Chen nodded sheepishly. "That’s exactly what I thought."

The Profound Old Ghost shrugged. "If I had the power, I would have. But a Nine Venerable Thunder Tribulation of that intensity is something I can no longer stop. Even if I had sacrificed myself, it would have been pointless."

Mu Chen’s expression sobered, and he frowned. "But I clearly endured the Venerable Thunder Tribulation. Why am I still alive? That’s not normal."

"Not normal? There’s nothing abnormal about it," the Profound Old Ghost said nonchalantly, smiling as he crossed his legs.

"Why?" Mu Chen asked urgently.

"Because the Thunder Tribulation never actually came down."