Chapter 725: Mishap in the Sea of Suffering

Chapter 725: Chapter 725: Mishap in the Sea of Suffering

Xu Yunfan glanced at the information on his interface.

’Xu Yunfan (Golden Core Early Stage)

Daoist Cultivation: 3608

Skills: Divine Sky Nine Heavens Profound Vault Undying True Scripture - Perfection, Profound Capital Eight Sceneries Celestial Refining Creation Cloud Scripture - Perfection...’

As he comprehended the Light Leaving Flame Burning Red Sun Dao Fruit and the Divine Sky Dao Fruit to achieve the Thunder and Fire Dual Dao, his Daoist Cultivation also continuously increased, having yet to reach its limit.

This Red Sun Dao Fruit had truly allowed his power to take another step forward.

The power levels among Cultivators in the Golden Core Early Stage varied greatly.

At the very least, Xu Yunfan felt he could now take on three of his former self.

Thirty years passed quietly amidst the roar of thunder and the dense Spiritual Qi of Divine Sky Mountain.

On this day, deep within the Divine Sky Palace.

A surging, earthen-yellow Spiritual Light pulsed around Ye Yan. His aura was as solid as a mountain, and the faint sound of wind and thunder echoed within his bones and blood.

A Profound Yellow Spirit Pill, exuding a thick, earthy aura, floated before him. It was the key resource for breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Flames burned in his eyes as he looked at Xu Yunfan on the Cloud Platform, his voice tinged with suppressed excitement.

"Master, I have reached the Qi Cultivation Extreme Realm. My Magical Power is perfected and my Divine Thought is clear. Today, I wish to solidify my Dao Foundation and knock upon the Gate of the Earthly Mountain! I ask for Master’s protection as my Dharma Protector!"

Almost at the same time, Xiao Fan on the other side also bowed respectfully. His aura was calm and deep, with a faint, cyan Sword Intent flowing around him—a burgeoning vitality that concealed a sharp edge.

In his palm rested a Wood Spirit Jade, so vibrantly green it seemed about to drip, containing immense vitality. He said calmly, "I also feel that the opportunity has come. I wish to borrow the concept of the green wood’s longevity to build my Dao Foundation. I ask for Master’s protection."

Xu Yunfan sat cross-legged on the Cloud Platform, his Purple Gold Daoist Robe fluttering without a breeze. His gaze swept over his two disciples, who had shed their immaturity and were beginning to reveal their true potential.

’Thirty years of teaching are finally bearing fruit.’

He nodded slightly, his voice even.

"There is no need to worry. The Dao Foundation is the first step in ascending to the heavens. Concentrate your spirits, calm your qi, and activate your Origin."

"I am here. I will ensure no external forces disturb you. As for the quality of your Dao Foundation, that will depend entirely on your own destiny."

Deep within the Divine Sky Palace, the pure Thunder Spiritual Qi seemed to be drawn in, growing even more active.

The earthen-yellow Spiritual Light around Ye Yan and the cyan radiance of vitality from Xiao Fan surged upwards. Two completely different yet equally immense auras began to brew, marking their official first step in the crucial process of solidifying their Dao Foundations.

Xu Yunfan focused his Divine Thought, enveloping the two of them to shield them from all external interference as he quietly observed.

Xu Yunfan wasn’t paying much attention to the advancement of the two disciples before him. Deep within his Heart and Spirit, the plots concerning the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation and the view from his Clone Han Stone occupied most of his focus.

Moreover, once Ye Yan and Xiao Fan solidified their Dao Foundations and became Foundation Establishment Daoist Masters, True Monarch Pu Du would surely make a move.

Under his watch, with their combined Destiny and the Merit they had accumulated, their breakthrough to Foundation Establishment was a matter of course.

Suddenly, Xu Yunfan’s expression shifted. He left behind a clone formed from Spiritual Qi while his true body concealed itself within his residence.

***

Deep within the Yin Nether Cloud Qi, Han Shi was like an unmoving reef, his aura perfectly blended with the churning Death Qi.

Through the core of the Shadow Escape Banner array that Xu Yunfan had laid, his vision was clearly locked onto the center of the White Bone Island.

He saw the thousand-zhang skeletal Qiu Long coiled beneath a twisted, grotesque tree, and the just-appeared White-haired True Monarch.

After thirty years of lying in wait, Xu Yunfan’s main body remained on Divine Sky Mountain, steady as a rock. While he was teaching his two Direct Disciples, Ye Yan and Xiao Fan, his Heart and Spirit had never left this perilous deadland within the Sea of Suffering.

At this moment, through Han Shi’s senses, he observed the White-haired True Monarch’s condition, continuously using the array to probe silently.

’He couldn’t hold out any longer, after all...’

In the Divine Sky Palace, Xu Yunfan’s fingertips tapped lightly on the edge of the Cloud Platform.

True Monarch Pu Du had not been heard from in these thirty years. For a Golden Core True Monarch like him, this was but the snap of a finger, but for the White-haired True Monarch, whose lifespan was nearly exhausted, every breath was an agony.

At this very moment, the White-haired True Monarch stood upon churning waves of blood, his profound black robes, which seemed capable of absorbing souls, now looking even more faded.

He stared at the scar-covered Qiu Long before him, his expression complex and unreadable.

The wounds Xu Yunfan had inflicted thirty years ago—by secretly extracting its Yin Evil Death Qi with the Nine Nether Profound Evil Slaughter Immortal Thunder Array—were still gruesome and gaping on the Qiu Long’s massive skeletal body. The splintered bones remained stark white, and its healing was abnormally slow.

’Something’s wrong. Very wrong.’

’With the Qiu Long’s power, its wounds shouldn’t be healing this slowly.’

What made his heart sink even further was the strange emptiness that permeated the area.

There was neither pure Spiritual Qi nor the dense Death Killing Qi unique to the Sea of Suffering.

Faced with such a bizarre phenomenon, the White-haired True Monarch only needed a moment of thought to guess who stood to gain the most from maintaining this state of affairs.

"Xu Yunfan, oh, Xu Yunfan... what a Divine Sky True Monarch you are."

The White-haired True Monarch’s hoarse voice echoed in the dead silence, filled with an emotion he had suppressed for thirty years.

"Hiding away on Divine Sky Mountain, using an array to drain my resources from afar, ruining my plans... you truly have incredible patience."

He had plotted for many years, using the heavily injured Qiu Long and the Dao Fruit as bait, setting a Life and Death Reincarnation trap just waiting for the Divine Soul of a living Dao Fruit like Xu Yunfan to step into it.

Who would have thought that the other party would set up an array right under his nose, forcefully turning this area into a cage designed to wear down the Qiu Long.

He had assumed that since Xu Yunfan had experienced a meteoric rise—achieving the rank of Golden Core True Monarch and attaining a Fruit Position within a single lifetime of just a few hundred years—he would naturally be arrogant and conceited.

But he never expected that his opponent would be so unhesitatingly cautious when the situation called for it.

Just like that, he was stuck in a war of attrition.

The completely unaware Qiu Long lifted its mountain-sized skeletal head. Two points of blood-red flame flickered in its eye sockets as it let out a cold laugh that sounded like metal grinding on stone.

"Old ghost, you covet the Dao Fruit, and you want to use me as a resource to extend your life?"

"After waiting thirty years, all I get is this crumbling bag of bones. It seems that junior from the Primordial Sect is even more patient than you are."

Although its recovery had been slowed by Xu Yunfan’s array, its intelligence remained. However, the array had warped its perception, making it believe that a secret life-and-death technique left behind by the White-haired True Monarch was hindering its recovery. As a result, it saw the True Monarch’s schemes with perfect clarity and wished for nothing more than to devour his flesh and drink his blood.

As the Fierce Beast born alongside the Taiyin Nether Dragon Fruit, it was especially sensitive to the Qi of Life and Death. The nearly dissipated aura of impending death emanating from the White-haired True Monarch made it feel an instinctual excitement.

If it could swallow and refine him in an instant, perhaps it could become a true Innate Divine being.

"It seems I can wait no longer."

The White-haired True Monarch tilted his head back and scanned the area. He knew in his heart that Xu Yunfan was hiding nearby, but what made him feel helpless was that he had no way to flush him out.

A dark light flared in the White-haired True Monarch’s eyes. The obscure aura around him suddenly turned dangerous as he looked at the Qiu Long.

’The only chance of survival is here.’

"A mere creature evolved from a Dao Fruit, possessing only the brute force of a Golden Core with no understanding of the Great Dao’s mysteries, dares to bark before me? Today, I will rip out your dragon bones and refine your remnant soul! I will use this Dao Fruit as a catalyst to forcibly extend my path!"

Before his voice had faded, his withered hands fiercely formed a seal.

"Life and Death Reincarnation, Defying Fate and Seizing the Essence!"

VMMM!

Strange, greyish-white Runes spread from his palms, instantly branding themselves onto the void.