Chapter 991 - Heavenly Lake Goddess (2)
Ten feet...
Twenty feet...
Thirty feet...
Beneath everyone’s dumbstruck gaze, Yun Che directly dove down to thirty feet at a constant rate.
Inside the heavenly lake, Yun Che closed his eyes. The inconceivably heavy cold energy made him feel extremely comfortable and refreshed. He spread his arms and greedily felt the countless strands and cool currents pour into his body, allowing his body to freely sink. He was so comfortable that he nearly wanted to fall asleep right there.
As he had expected, this feeling was the same as what he had felt when he sank into the Illusory Demon Realm’s Sea of Death. It was just a bit more intense.
After all, the power level of the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake far surpassed that of the Sea of Death.
And following his gradual submergence, the cold energy also gradually became heavier.
To others, the heavenly lake’s cold energy was a nightmare. However, this kind of peak elemental environment was compatible with the Great Way of the Buddha. To Yun Che, it was paradise.
In this kind of environment, even if he didn’t do anything, his profound strength would quickly increase!
While enjoying himself, he had already casually sunk down fifty feet. This was also reflected upon the light screen, causing multiple mouths to gape in astonishment.
The peculiar atmosphere and sounds in his surroundings made Mu Hanyi, who was currently dispersing the cold energy from his body, to open his eyes. In a single glance, he saw that the depth to which Yun Che had submerged had already reached fifty feet on the light screen.
Even though the speed was extremely slow and was the difference between the heaven and earth compared to Mu Hanyi’s one thousand feet, it had already completely torn apart their imaginations.
“W-what’s this? This isn’t possible!” Many disciples looked at each other in dismay.
Amidst there shock, Yun Che still continued to steadily go down...
Sixty feet...
Eighty feet...
One hundred feet!
“This…” The various elders and palace masters also began to look at each other.
Mu Bingyun stared fixedly at the light screen the entire time. If not for the sound transmission she had received earlier, she would’ve also been in shock. Even though she knew what was coming, the tides in her heart were still hard to quell.
One hundred twenty feet...
One hundred forty feet...
Turmoil finally appeared within Mu Hanyi’s eyes. His aura, which he had just managed to stabilize, now showed signs of disorder. Whether it was he or the Mu Yunzhi beside him, both began feeling uneasy due to their immense shock.
One hundred fifty feet… at this time, Yun Che finally stopped.
The light screen stopped, causing Mu Hanyi to fiercely suck in a huge breath; his entire body was already covered with cold sweat.
None of them would’ve imagined that Yun Che, who had just entered the divine way and previous didn’t even dare step into the heavenly lake, would be able to reach such a depth… The shock and incredulity brought about by this scene was not inferior to when Mu Hanyi had reached one thousand feet.
With profound strength at the first level of the Divine Origin Realm, he was actually able to dive to such a depth. Were his innate talent, constitution and attainments in the laws… actually this strong?
Yun Che did indeed stop inside the heavenly lake. But it wasn’t because he was unable to go down any further. In fact, he didn’t even know how far down he was at the moment and was just hesitating.
The deeper he went, the heavier the cold energy got and to his Water Spirit Evil Body, even if the cold energy was heavier, it still wouldn’t be able to harm him. Instead, it was able to allow him to absorb even more energy… In that case, if he went to the deepest part of the lake, which was where the cold energy was the heaviest...
Was it possible for him to not need to cultivate… and only rely on this extreme cold energy to reach the Divine Tribulation Realm before the Profound God Convention!?
Except...
Yun Che continued to hesitate for several breaths but in the end, he fiercely gritted his teeth and suddenly dove.
Clang!!
The blue light atop the light screen which had stilled for several breaths suddenly increased sharply, flying upward like a ray of light. In an instant, it flew to three hundred feet from one hundred fifty feet… and in the next instant, it reached five hundred feet!
Mu Huanzhi, who was standing before the light screen, felt as though someone had hit him with a heavy hammer. He swayed beneath his shock as all the hairs on his body stood on end.
The lakeside had exploded into a field of throat ripping clamor. Numerous chins fiercely dropped to the floor, as the eyeballs of everyone present nearly shot out of their sockets, with the same speed of that beam of light.
Mu Hanyi, who was currently sitting on the ground suddenly sat up, as though he had gotten electrocuted. His complexion stiffened and his gaze became dazed… it felt as though he had suddenly fallen into an incredibly absurd dream.
Yun Che continued his dive and not only did he not slow down, he had instead sped up, becoming faster and faster...
Seven hundred feet!
One thousand feet!!
Before everyone regained their senses after seeing the light beam’s drastic increase, it had yet again risen to a thousand feet before diving even deeper, immediately surpassing Mu Hanyi’s previous outstanding achievement.
Two thousand feet...
Four thousand feet...
Seven thousand feet...
Ten thousand feet!!!
A streak of blue light suddenly shot downward from above the enormous Frost Dragon, striking the light screen. The entire light screen instantly scattered into blue colored fragments and only left behind two floating soul crystals that emitted a blue light.
The Heavenly Netherfrost Lake was once more a field of silence. It was as though everyone had fallen into a dream. Mu Huanzhi turned around. His pupils were still contracted in shock and his voice also trembled slightly amidst his shock. “Sect Master, t-t-this…”
“The winner has already been decided. There is no need to watch any further,” the Snow Song Realm King said coldly. Her sharp might, which pierced through the souls of others, told them that everything they had seen was not a dream but reality.
Mu Hanyi sat on the ground with a deathly white face and trembling lips, feeling at a loss for a long time. If he had been defeated by Mu Feixue at the very start, he wouldn’t have been this lost. In fact, he might have even been able to display enough calmness… but at this time, it was as though he had suddenly been dropped from heaven into hell. The disparity was so great that it was cruel.
Mu Yunzhi, who was standing beside him, looked petrified. Like Mu Hanyi, her lips were also trembling violently and didn’t stop for a while. She was unable to say anything out loud.
“B-but…” Mu Huanzhi wanted to say something but he couldn't seem to say it out loud.
“What but!?” The Snow Song Realm King’s voice suddenly grew louder, startling everyone into trembling. “The result of this additional exam is already clear. Yun Che has already defeated Mu Hanyi so he is exempt from his previous offense and is allowed to become this king’s direct disciple. Seven days from now, the entire sect will gather at the divine hall, thus commencing the discipleship ceremony!”
“Huanzhi, you will be in charge of arranging all this and not a single error is permitted!”
Before anyone truly regained their senses and accepted what had happened earlier, the Snow Song Realm King had already directly declared her decision. Mu Huanzhi was stunned for several breaths before he hurriedly replied, “Yes.”
“Bingyun, have Yun Che stay in the Thirty-sixth Ice Phoenix Palace for the next few days.”
“Yes,” Mu Bingyun gently replied. Behind her, Mu Xiaolan had long been stunned so badly she resembled a block of wood.
Just as Mu Bingyun replied, an angry… and also deeply grudging voice sounded beside her ears. “This brat, he had just been taught a lesson yet he still behaves this unrestrainedly. I seriously want to slap him to death!”
Mu Bingyun smiled lightly and transmitted back. “If something like nature was able to be changed that easily, it wouldn’t be nature anymore. ‘Heretic God’ means an indiscriminate god. If he truly did inherit the Heretic God’s power, then his nature may perhaps be related to that.”
“Forget it, since fate has decreed it so, I will abide by heaven’s will and accepted him as my disciple. I just wonder… whether his power and temperament is a blessing or a calamity to our Snow Song Realm.”
The entire Heavenly Netherfrost Lake filled with a dumbstruck atmosphere, yet the main offender of it all was still within the heavenly lake. At this time, Mu Yunzhi suddenly stood out and said while trembling, “Sect Master, Yunzhi has something to say… The matter of Yun Che winning against Hanyi is just too… too odd. Furthermore…”
No one had ever dared to go against the Snow Song Realm King’s decisions. Mu Yunzhi saying all that directly overdrafted all the courage she possessed in her lifetime. “The Profound God Convention is in two years. If Hanyi becomes the direct disciple and receives Sect Master’s instruction, he will definitely bring glory to our Snow Song Realm. As for Yun Che… h-his profound strength is just too low. Not only will he not qualify to participate in the Profound God Convention when the time comes, I’m afraid… afraid that it might attract criticism from outside…”
After Mu Yunzhi said all this, she was covered with sweat and nearly collapsed. She was practically risking her life for this last chance.
“Oh? Are you saying that you feel that this king’s decision was foolish?”
The Snow Song Realm King’s voice was extremely indifferent without any trace of anger yet it shocked Mu Yunzhi so much that she fiercely kneeled. She said with a quaking body, “No… Yunzhi wouldn’t dare… Yunzhi has said too much, I ask Sect Master for forgiveness.”
“Then that’s good,” the Snow Song Realm King indifferently answered. The crowd below her held their breaths every time she spoke, not daring to breathe at all. “And here I thought that you’d gotten tired of living!”
Mu Yunzhi’s body swayed, almost as if she was going to crumple to the ground. Everyone deeply lowered their heads, not daring to utter a single sound.
“Since an outcome has already been decided, then today’s heavenly lake gathering should now end.”
A sky covering command filled with heavenly might then came down. “Fengshu, Sushan, you two wait outside the heavenly lake. Without this king’s order, you are not permitted to leave. As for the rest, you will all leave. No one is allowed to remain.”
“In addition, the matter of this king accepting a disciple is not to be spread outside before the discipleship ceremony in seven days!”
Both Mu Fengshu and Mu Sushan revealed shocked expressions. They were rarely summoned by the Snow Song Realm King, perhaps once in several hundred years, yet this time, both of them were told to stay...
Could it be for some great Freezing Snow Hall matter?
Terrified, the duo naturally did not dare to ask about it as they agreed with lowered heads.
Amidst the silence, this heavenly lake gathering, that had progressed outside of everyone’s expectations, came to an end within a strange atmosphere. Disciples of the divine hall and ice phoenix palace neatly departed from the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake with their elders and palace masters in the lead.
The Heavenly Netherfrost Lake’s barrier slowly closed with only Mu Fengshu and Mu Sushan restlessly remaining outside the barrier.
The Snow Song Realm King remained in the skies above the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake, having not left yet. She silently watched the calm surface of the heavenly lake and no one knew what this mighty and merciless Snow Song Realm King was thinking.
Below the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake...
Fifteen thousand feet...
Twenty thousand feet...
Thirty thousand feet...
Forty thousand feet...
Fifty thousand feet!!
A crystalline blue light suddenly appeared in the underwater world which was supposed to be completely devoid of light. Yun Che’s mind jolted. Then, he quickly composed himself as went down for a look… No less than a thousand feet beneath his feet was astonishingly the imprint of a strangely shaped blue colored arcing light.
That’s...
The cold vein!!
The cold vein Mu Bingyun had said to be at the bottom of the heavenly lake!!
He had already reached the bottom of the heavenly lake!!
Yun Che’s speed instantly slowed.
It was fifty thousand feet beneath the Heavenly Netherfrost Lake, yet he somehow miraculously couldn’t sense any water pressure. The cold energy here was also terrifying to the point where it couldn’t be described with the word “heavy”. After all, this cold vein, which didn’t seem to even reach a thousand meters, brought severe coldness to the entire Snow Song Realm.
The cold spiritual energy flowed into his body like a windstorm. The rate at which his Heretic God’s Profound Veins and Rage God’s power absorbed it was naturally at his upper limits. When he reached five thousand feet, his absorption speed had already reached its limits. On the way down, his absorption speed continued to maintain that limit, without the slightest hint of change.
The lakewater was clear and borrowing the blue light of the cold vein, everything in the surroundings became visible. Aside from the crystalline cold vein, nothing else was present in his line of sight. It was incomparably pure.
“Down here, even if I don’t do anything, one year is able to beat ten years of other people’s hard working cultivation. It’s just that…” Yun Che sighed inwardly. “Wanting to reach the Divine Tribulation Realm in two years is still impossible like this.”
The only person who was able to think of a way… was the Snow Song Realm King who was in the terrifying Divine Master Realm.
Once he had this thought, Yun Che no longer stayed and intended to ascend upward. But it was at this time that he saw an odd light suddenly flash from the corner of his eyes.
What’s that… Yun Che stopped to a halt, as his gaze shifted toward the source of the light.