Chapter 1354: Unforeseen Circumstances
Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon
"Haha, congratulations Kid! With this revitalization, you can now be considered quite a figure!"
If Yi Yun's initial attainment of the Purple Blood realm was the first step onto the long path of cultivating martial arts, then the Supremacy realm was reaching a formal milestone. It was a realm that spoke volumes.
At the Supremacy level, one could become an Elder even in mighty sects and be revered by others.
Yi Yun spent nearly a hundred and twenty years going from the eighth-storey Dao Palace realm to the Supremacy realm.
There was no need to take so long but due to Yi Yun's fast cultivation speed in the past, he never had the chance to forge and temper his foundations. As such, he spent the first eighty years just fortifying his foundations.
In cultivation, going out into the world for different experiences and engaging in life-and-death struggles would increase one's cultivation level quickly, but entering seclusion to fuse with the laws was not something that could be ignored.
A hundred and twenty years was long and it was nearly double Yi Yun's present age. But in fact, due to the River of Forgetfulness's water, Yi Yun's true bone age had only increased by five years. It was as though time had stopped acting on Yi Yun's body over the hundred plus years.
Such an opportunity left Old Snake extremely envious. He was already advanced in age and his vital potential had long been expended. Even if he drank the River of Forgetfulness's water, the slowing of time would have zero effect for him. He was incomparable to Yi Yun, whose vital potential was in its greatest abundance at that moment.
Drinking the River of Forgetfulness's water during such a period allowed Yi Yun's vital potential to burn exuberantly for a hundred and twenty years. This left Old Snake extremely envious.
"Kid, this Nine Li Magus Empire has truly given you a great opportunity. This is much more useful than any unique pill or treasure. The effects are compounded when used on you. At your present age, this cultivation level of yours just makes an attempt at the Godly Monarch realm only a matter of time," Old Snake said sincerely.
When he first met Yi Yun, all he did was to answer Huan Chenxue's request of taking care of Yi Yun. But with time, and after interacting with him and seeing his growth, Old Snake began to see Yi Yun as a true junior under his care. He never had children his entire life and it was destined that no miracle would happen for his remaining lifespan. He decided to place all his hopes on Yi Yun. If he could see Yi Yun mature into a Godly Monarch, it would be quite gratifying.
"Senior, I understand. This River of Forgetfulness's water is truly miraculous."
"It's more than miraculous. The effects are equivalent to giving you an additional hundred and twenty years of cultivation. If you continue drinking it, wouldn't that be ludicrous?" Old Snake felt wistful. He was beginning to fantasize about the boon it would have given him if he obtained a few jars of water from the River of Forgetfulness back in his youth.
Yi Yun said, "Senior, the River of Forgetfulness's water has a limit to its effectiveness. When I first drank it, I experienced time about thirty times faster but the second time I drank it, I experienced time at a slower speed. I imagine it will constantly decrease as I drink more."
"Is that so…" Old Snake faltered for a moment before he nodded. "That makes sense. If one could keep drinking without any reduction in effect, wouldn't finding the River of Forgetfulness mean eternal life? That would be a violation of the Heavenly Dao. Even the River of Forgetfulness, one of the twelve Fey Gods that controls time, would probably not have the ability to defy the Heavenly Dao…"
Old Snake muttered to himself. Yi Yun agreed wholeheartedly. Eternal life was also something the divine alchemist was pursuing back in his day. He wanted to use pills to achieve that but he had also failed.
There were legends that the peak of martial arts could break the shackles of eternal life. However, he had not heard of anyone that had actually achieved that state since ancient times.
"I have already broken through to the Supremacy realm. It's about time to leave seclusion," said Yi Yun.
He was now greatly indebted to the Nine Li Magus Empire. He naturally wanted to refine the pill for the Nine Li Magus Empire as soon as possible to repay the debt.
Old Snake returned to the God Advent Tower while Yi Yun looked around. The Nine Transformations Celestial Silkworm was trying to coil and sleep soundly in the emptied pool but its body was too short. Even though it had tried its best to coil itself, all it did was manage three-quarters of a coil.
As though it sensed something, the Celestial Silkworm slowly opened its eyes and looked at Yi Yun.
It clearly noticed Yi Yun's breakthrough. It opened its eyes wide happily and flew to Yi Yun. It dawdled on Yi Yun's shoulders.
Yi Yun's Dragon Emperor bloodline became thicker after he broke through to the Supremacy realm; therefore, the little fellow became even closer to him.
Of course, Yi Yun also did not discount the possibility that the little fellow was simply in a good mood after enjoying the South Li Fire meal.
"Follow me. Since I've promised you, I'll try to seek out treasures for you," said Yi Yun.
The Celestial Silkworm nodded and obediently coiled on Yi Yun's shoulder. Following that, Yi Yun walked out of the valley and arrived at the teleportation array.
The moment Yi Yun walked onto the teleportation array, it automatically lit up. Following that, there was a flash as Yi Yun's figure vanished from the array.
Nine Li Magus Empire—
Yi Yun returned to the teleportation array situated in the palace but he did not see signs of Aged Blackrock or Nine Li Magus Maiden.
"Aged Blackrock should know that I've returned but he did not send me a voice transmission…"
Yi Yun believed that the commotion created by the teleportation array was something Aged Blackrock would definitely sense. Since Aged Blackrock did not send him a voice transmission, Yi Yun had no way of finding him either. After all, there were many places in the Nine Li Magus Empire to which he was not permitted entry. It was not easy for him to wander around and seek out Aged Blackrock and Nine Li Magus Maiden.
Since that was the case, Yi Yun was in no hurry to meet them. Although he had become a Supremacy, restoring the Herb Nurturing Array was not something that could be done in a day or two. He still needed to spend plenty of time to complete the Fate Changing Pill.
Yi Yun still remembered the path towards the Herb Nurturing Array so he walked towards it with the Celestial Silkworm.
The Celestial Silkworm hid in Yi Yun's sleeve and curiously peeked out its tiny head to study its surroundings. The Nine Li Magus Empire's palace was silent and they did not encounter anyone at all. The hex imprints left the Celestial Silkworm apprehensive and the way it hesitantly peeked its head out amused Yi Yun.
Soon, Yi Yun came to the Herb Nurturing Array. He did not see a single person on the vast desolate lands. Odd. There were more than ten thousand alchemists gathered there before.
This took Yi Yun by surprise. Where did everyone go? It had only been five years or so. Even if the alchemists failed to figure out anything, they would not waste such an opportunity. At the very least, they would not leave so soon, not to mention the stubborn old fogies like Patriarch Pillheart and Ouming Yin. They would definitely cherish every moment to study the array.
Just as Yi Yun thought to command Ling Xie'er to open the array's entrance, he frowned. He extended his arm and waved.
A blast of Yuan Qi struck the array as the spot beneath Yi Yun's feet suddenly lit up. Following that, an entrance appeared out of thin air.
"What's going on…" Yi Yun narrowed his eyes. How could the Herb Nurturing Array be that easily opened? A simple probe at the entrance made him immediately discover that there were changes made to the array.
Could it be that Patriarch Pillheart and company had tampered with the array?
However, Yi Yun immediately rejected such a possibility. The divine alchemist's array was not so easily tampered with. Yi Yun once thought that as an alchemist sage, Patriarch Pillheart could enter the array's interior if he spent a considerable amount of time seeking out the entrance. However, changing the array would be too difficult.
Furthermore, Yi Yun had instructed Ling Xie'er to watch over the array before he left. She should have prohibited the others were from entering…
"Xie'er!" Yi Yun strode into the Herb Nurturing Array.
Yi Yun's expression changed slightly when he entered the Herb Nurturing Array.
The place was originally filled with rich fire-elemental laws but now, the Heaven Earth Yuan Qi was in chaos. The fire-elemental laws turned extremely violent and there were burning flames everywhere. Lava streams were everywhere, burning the array's grounds red.
"What's going on…"
Yi Yun's brows turned increasingly knitted. "Xie'er, where are you?"
Yi Yun called out. About eight minutes later, a blurry figure appeared in front of Yi Yun.
The moment the figure appeared, it pounced into Yi Yun's embrace, "Brother Yi Yun!"
"Xie'er!" Yi Yun immediately pulled Xie'er away and noticed that she had turned a lot weaker!
Although Xie'er looked unharmed aside from being weakened, Yi Yun felt secretly enraged. "Xie'er, what's going on? Why are you this weak?"
Ling Xie'er lifted her head from Yi Yun's embrace. Her eyes were filled with guilt. "I do not know either… In the beginning, I followed your instructions to keep the baddies outside. They couldn't even figure out the entrance. But three years ago, the array suddenly became unstable for no good reason…"
"Due to the array's instability, I had to fight to constantly maintain the array's stability. But the longer it took, the more demanding it became. It resulted in me expending a lot of my strength…"
"Now, my control over the array is very weak so I'm in this state."
When Ling Xie'er said this, she felt guilt-ridden. Yi Yun had left her an important task but she had failed to do it well.
Yi Yun was taken aback. He never expected any unforeseen circumstances from the array. What exactly happened?
"Xie'er, don't be sad. You have already done very well. It was my fault for being thoughtless." Yi Yun tenderly stroked Xie'er's head and lamented. According to Xie'er, it had been three years. During this period, she was constantly working hard at maintaining the array's stability. She had already expended a lot of energy and Yi Yun blamed himself for it.
Ling Xie'er shook her head. "It's all my fault. Due to the array's instability, those people found the entrance. In addition, I was preoccupied and couldn't stop them. After they entered, they did not listen to my advice and even mocked me. Later on, more and more people entered…"
Yi Yun was taken aback when he heard that. He made the connection with the empty desolate plains outside. He was completely astounded. "Did everyone enter?"
Ling Xie'er nodded.
"What… How could this happen? Didn't Aged Blackrock and Her Highness stop those people?" Yi Yun found it unbelievable. The Herb Nurturing Array was an important place. Even if the alchemists could not destroy it, Aged Blackrock would not have allowed the riffraff to enter.
Logically speaking, he would, at most, permit Ouming Yin and Patriarch Pillheart entry.