Chapter 773 - Half-bloomed Udumbara 1 (1/2)
Chapter 773 - Half-bloomed Udumbara (1)
Yun Che turned around and spoke to his two companions, “Yuanba, Xue’er, this place is extremely dangerous. I think it’s best that neither of you accompany me in and wait outside. And no matter whether this place has the thing that I am looking for or not, I will also leave as soon as possible.”
“That’s enough, Brother-in-Law.” Xia Yuanba shook his head as all of his muscles bulged fiercely and his body was surrounded by a peerless and domineering profound energy aura, “Since we have already come here, how can I not go in and have a look?”
“Big Brother Yun, if I am not by your side to protect you, all the Junior and Senior Masters will definitely blame me.” Feng Xue’er said in a soft voice, her expression completely devoid of fear.
“Alright.” Yun Che said as he grabbed Feng Xue’er’s tiny hand, “Xue’er, you mustn't let go of my hand. Yuanba, you must be careful as well! If anything happens, remember that the first thing you should do is to run away!”
Sssss!!
A sound like thunder ripped through the air, as both the barrier and the Ocean Emperor Seal simultaneously emitted a glaring blue light. In the next instant, Zi Ji retreated swiftly as he gripped the Ocean Emperor Seal tightly while the a square-shaped hole that was two meters wide and long appeared in the barrier.
Tendrils of ebon darkness crazily gushed out from inside the barrier.
This was…
“We only have a hundred breaths, hurry up and go in!” Zi Ji shouted as he swiftly put away the Ocean Emperor Seal and rushed through the gap in the barrier.
“Be extremely cautious!” Yun Che did not have the leisure to think anymore, he pulled Feng Xue’er along as he rushed inside as well, with Xia Yuanba hot on his heels.
When they entered the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, it felt as if they had stepped into a desolate, icy abyss. A chill washed through them, body and soul. All of the hairs on their bodies instantly stood on end. Yun Che felt Feng Xue’er’s hands tightly grip onto him as she pressed herself against him.
The sun was shining really brightly over the South Ocean, and a hole that was two meters in length and width was big enough for the daylight to shine through and illuminate a large portion of the abyss. But, after they had taken three steps forward, they were thrust into the inky darkness once more; they could scarcely see even a glimmer of light.
When they turned around, all they could see of the entrance was a hazy white outline.
“The daylight is unable to penetrate this darkness!?” Xia Yuanba exclaimed in shock.
“This is darkness energy.” Yun Che said as his brows knit together. When he had fought Fen Juechen, he had used profound energy of this exact element, “This darkness energy will swallow all light while restricting your spirit perception at the same time… it may even affect your five senses!”
“That’s right!” Zi Ji’s voice rang out in the darkness, “This is only the entrance of the Devil Nest, the further you venture inside, the thicker the aura of darkness will be. Your spirit perception will be suppressed to barely a tenth of its normal strength! And your five senses will be similarly restricted! When you have reached the deepest parts of the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, even your profound strength will be suppressed to the Emperor Profound Realm.”
“I am already beginning to feel… my profound strength being restricted.” Xia Yuanba said through gritted teeth as he raised an arm, “It feels as if my profound veins are being constricted by something, and I find it far harder to circulate my profound energy than normal.”
“…Senior Zi, we only have the space of a hundred breaths, so we need you to immediately bring us to the location where the Netherworld Udumbara Flower was last seen.” Yun Che said calmly.
“Yes!” Zi Ji replied.
Within the darkness, Feng Xue’er raised her arm and a scarlet cluster of Phoenix flames began to burn on top of her tender and white palm. The Phoenix flames that she had conjured were far purer than Yun Che’s Phoenix flames, so the light that these flames released would shine brightly over large distances. But within this Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, they could only illuminate the space that was within ten steps of them.
Furthermore, they were still only at the entrance.
Under the light of the Phoenix flames, Yun Che could see the floor that was still pitch-black despite being illuminated by the Phoenix flames. But he could not see the walls or the ceiling of the Devil Nest. It was clear to him now that this nest was far more spacious than he had expected it to be.
“Don’t worry, the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest only has one passageway, the path doesn’t fork or branch. As long as you follow the path, you will reach the end of the nest. Furthermore, this nest isn’t very deep. Given your current speed, you should be approaching the end of the nest in around thirty breaths.” Zi Ji was in front of them and he was moving at a respectable speed. Even though it was the first time he had entered the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, he had heard and read the records that the Supreme Ocean Palace had kept of this place so many times that he had practically committed it all to memory
“So that is to say that the Netherworld Udumbara Flower that was discovered one thousand three hundred years ago was located at the very end of the Devil Nest?”
“That is right.” Zi Ji replied as he nodded his head, “Ten thousand years ago, the seven Ocean Palace Ancestors who discovered the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest also plumbed its deepest reaches. The weakest among them was at the eighth level of the Sovereign Profound Realm, but once they had reached the deepest part of the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, all of their profound strengths had dropped to the middle of the Emperor Profound Realm and their vitality was being drained away swiftly as well. Afterwards, they ran into the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign who was only at the initial stage of the Tyrant Profound Realm and they were massacred. Only one of the ancestors managed to escape with his life… After that, this ancestor established a law for us. The law was that we were forbidden from entering the deepest parts of the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest unless we could confirm that Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign was already dead.”
Zi Ji was steadily increasing his speed, but the profound energy aura he was releasing was growing weaker and weaker.
The radius of the light given off by the Phoenix flames were swiftly shrinking as well.
“So has the death of the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign been confirmed?” Yun Che asked gravely.
“It’s only a Tyrant Profound beast after all.. Even the most powerful Sovereign Profound beasts only have a lifespan of a few thousands years. So no matter how strong a Tyrant Profound beast is, it will definitely not have a lifespan that extends past ten thousand years. Even though we have yet to discover its corpse… it should have long ago turned into dust within the darkness.” Zi Ji replied.
“Are there any clues as to where this yin energy is originating from?” Yun Che asked, his brows furrowing together as he looked ahead. At the same time, he checked his own profound veins.
The profound energy auras of Zi Ji, who was in front of him, Feng Xue’er, who was beside him, and Xia Yuanba, who was behind him, were all steadily growing weaker with each passing second. Zi Ji’s profound energy aura was weakening at the fastest rate, Xue’er’s aura weakened the second-fastest, while Xia Yuanba’s aura weakened at the slowest pace. Now that they had reached the middle of the Moon Slaughter Devil Nest, Zi Ji’s profound energy aura had already dropped to roughly the eighth level of the Tyrant Profound Realm.
Feng Xue’er and Xia Yuanba had both dropped to around the third level of the Sovereign Profound Realm.
And the reason why he could so clearly feel the change in their profound strength was because…
His profound veins had not been affected in the slightest!