Chapter 775 - 776: Someone in the Cave

"Since you’ve come all this way, why the rush to leave? Let’s have a nice chat. You’ve been chasing me for so many days, but we haven’t had a proper talk yet."

Ye Xuan sneered. His Devouring Martial Soul instantly appeared, and a black vortex violently swallowed the Blood Fox Martial Soul.

"AH!"

Intense pain shot from his Martial Soul, causing the Ghost Ruler Emperor to scream. His spatial escape technique was instantly interrupted. Before the Ghost Ruler Emperor could even recover, Ye Xuan had already struck him with a palm.

BOOM!

With a thunderous roar, the Ghost Ruler Emperor was sent plunging directly into the depths of the Jueyin River.

"No!"

The Ghost Ruler Emperor let out a bloodcurdling scream as his body was instantly frozen solid. BAM—in that same instant, his very soul froze over. His eyes, wide with shock and anger, solidified, and a trace of deathly gray gradually bloomed from within.

A mighty Tier Nine First Layer Peak Martial Emperor had died just like that, silently, in the depths of the Jueyin River.

On the surface of the pitch-black river, the Ghost Ruler Emperor’s corpse slowly sank.

THWACK!

Ye Xuan, forming his palm into a blade, chopped off the Ghost Ruler Emperor’s finger and took his Storage Ring. He then watched as the Ghost Ruler Emperor’s corpse sank bit by bit, finally vanishing from sight.

"Hmph. Chasing me for so long, only to die such a simple death."

Ye Xuan snorted coldly.

A faint, warm aura emanated from the surface of his body, keeping him warm in the Jueyin River.

Meanwhile, inside his body, a faint, ethereal flame burned slowly, gradually expelling the yin-cold energy from the Jueyin River.

Ye Xuan even felt pleasantly warm all over.

’I never thought a Celestial Fire would have such a terrifyingly powerful effect in the Jueyin River.’

Ye Xuan was secretly amazed.

He had chosen the Jueyin Cave to escape the Ghost Ruler Emperor’s pursuit precisely because he had experience from his previous life. He knew that a powerful flame could resist the yin-cold power of the Jueyin Water in the Jueyin River.

In his past life, relying on the Heart Marrow Fire—ranked third on the Earth Fire List—he had reached a depth of two thousand meters in the Jueyin Cave with his Tier Eight Triple Peak cultivation, going even deeper than several Tier Nine Second Layer Martial Emperors who had come to protect him.

In this life, Ye Xuan possessed two great flames, the Purple Wound Flame and the Endless Molten Flame, which was why he had the confidence to enter the Jueyin River. And just as he’d planned, he successfully tricked the Ghost Ruler Emperor and killed him here.

What Ye Xuan hadn’t expected, however, was the terrifying power of the Endless Molten Flame.

In fact, when he had reached fourteen hundred meters, the heat released by the Purple Wound Flame was already struggling to resist the Jueyin River’s cold. After all, his cultivation in this life was a bit too low. He estimated that he would be forced to stop after reaching fifteen hundred meters at most.

So, he had secretly released the Endless Molten Flame. To his surprise, the moment he did, the yin-cold chill of the Jueyin Water within his body was gradually driven out.

’A Celestial Fire is a Celestial Fire, after all. It’s so much stronger than the Purple Wound Flame. This isn’t just a quantitative improvement; it’s a qualitative change. Even the Jueyin Water of the Jueyin River can’t withstand its heat.’

Ye Xuan put away the Ghost Ruler Emperor’s Storage Ring. Instead of leaving right away, he continued deeper into the Jueyin River. He was eager to see just how far his Celestial Fire could take him.

Fifteen hundred meters...

Eighteen hundred meters...

Two thousand meters.

An hour later, Ye Xuan had reached the two-thousand-meter mark.

Only now did he begin to feel a faint trace of cold from the Jueyin River.

In his past life, with his Tier Eight Triple Peak cultivation and the power of the Heart Marrow Fire, he had struggled just to reach this point.

SPLASH!

Ye Xuan took out a jade basin and collected some Jueyin Water. The water, originally pitch-black, became incredibly clear once it was in the basin.

An icy chill emanated from the jade basin.

Ye Xuan knew very well that the Jueyin River water at two thousand meters could be refined into Tier Eight Jueyin Water. In other words, this basin of water was equivalent to a Tier Eight treasure.

Of course, since the Jueyin Water from the river still needed to be refined, its value wouldn’t be quite so high without an Eighth Grade Alchemist to process it.

’In my past life, I only stopped here. If I go a little deeper, might I be able to obtain Tier Nine Jueyin Water?’

Ye Xuan felt a stir of excitement; he knew better than anyone how rare Jueyin Water was.

Tier Nine Jueyin Water could not only be integrated into Alchemy, Soul Refining, and Artifact Refining, but it was also of immense benefit to Martial Artists who cultivated Water or Ice Element Cultivation Techniques. If it ever appeared on the continent, it would be absolutely priceless.

Its importance was nearly equivalent to that of an Earth Fire to an Alchemist.

"Let’s see just how far I can get in this Jueyin River with the help of the Endless Molten Flame."

Having come this far, Ye Xuan was not about to give up easily.

He continued forward into the pitch-black Jueyin Cave.

As far as the eye could see, it was pitch-black ahead. His vision could only penetrate about ten meters, and beyond that was a deep, silent void. Wisps of yin-cold power permeated the air, striking fear into one’s heart.

Ye Xuan proceeded cautiously, one small step at a time.

Twenty-one hundred meters.

Twenty-three hundred meters.

Twenty-five hundred meters.

Three thousand meters.

By the time he reached three thousand meters, Ye Xuan could clearly feel that the Endless Molten Flame’s power was no longer sufficient. Wisps of cold, like needles, continuously pierced his body, causing him to ache with a freezing pain. If not for the Endless Molten Flame’s protection, he would have long been frozen into pieces by this chill.

But it still wasn’t enough.

Ye Xuan could feel that the quality of the Jueyin Water here was still not pure enough. It had likely reached the Tier Eight Peak, but it had not yet crossed into Tier Nine.

SPLASH!

He continued forward.

Thirty-one hundred meters.

Thirty-three hundred meters.

Thirty-five hundred meters.

At thirty-five hundred meters, Ye Xuan’s body was already trembling uncontrollably. To his pleasant surprise, however, he could clearly feel a startling change in the aura of the Jueyin River.

’Tier Nine Jueyin Water! This is definitely Tier Nine Jueyin Water!’

Ye Xuan collected a basin of the river water. It was crystal clear, like the coldest void in the cosmos, or like ten-thousand-year-old ice that would never melt, filled with a bone-chilling cold.

Furthermore, the water was surprisingly heavy. A single basinful weighed almost as much as a house-sized iron boulder; it was so heavy that Ye Xuan could barely lift it.

"This Jueyin Water probably doesn’t even need refining. If you just splashed it on someone, it would be enough to severely injure an ordinary Tier Nine First Layer Martial Emperor, wouldn’t it?"

Ye Xuan exclaimed in amazement. The frigid chill contained within it was like countless ice blades continuously seeping into his mind, causing his thoughts to become sluggish and freeze.

SPLASH! SPLASH!

Ye Xuan took out all the jade basins from his Storage Ring and, without hesitation, began to greedily fill them with the Jueyin River’s water, his excitement palpable.

As the chill radiated outward, Ye Xuan moved quickly. He could feel that the longer he stayed in the Jueyin River, the weaker his Endless Molten Flame became.

At the same time, however, Ye Xuan felt his physical body slowly improving from the prolonged exposure to the Jueyin River. Even his Profound Veins had been slightly purified.

’Jueyin Water is a type of rootless water, containing the ultimate power of ice and cold. Ordinary Martial Artists can’t absorb it at all. But the Nine Revolutions Sacred Body I cultivate is most fearless against physical harm. To think I can actually use this Jueyin Water to cultivate... This is truly...’

Ye Xuan marveled inwardly. He never expected such a windfall in the Jueyin River.

He couldn’t help but think: ’If I could absorb this Jueyin Water into my body and make its power my own, then in the future, I’d have some ability to resist even a Nine Heavens Martial Emperor.’

But he knew it was impossible. Even true Martial Emperor experts could only resist Tier Nine Jueyin Water, not endure it. To say nothing of a mere Tier Eight Martial Sovereign like himself. If not for the resistance from his Endless Molten Flame, he would have frozen to death long ago.

"Forget it. What’s the point of thinking so much? I should just hurry up, collect the Jueyin Water, and leave," Ye Xuan said, exasperated with himself.

Having obtained the Tier Nine Jueyin Water, he didn’t want to go any deeper. He knew that with his current cultivation, he could only go another one or two hundred meters at most, and the quality of the Jueyin Water inside wouldn’t change much.

"To think that after so many years, someone has finally come here again." An ancient, desolate voice echoed in the pitch-black cavern.

Ye Xuan was instantly terrified. His movements, as he was collecting the Jueyin Water, came to a sudden halt. He scanned his surroundings in horror and asked in a shocked voice, "Who’s there?"

’There’s someone else in this cavern, but I can’t even tell where the voice is coming from? This person’s cultivation is too terrifying, isn’t it?’

"Who I am is not important. What’s important is that you were able to make it here. I have waited for several thousand years, and in all that time, you are the first person to come this deep." The ancient voice spoke again. It seemed to be right beside Ye Xuan, yet also sounded as if it were coming from an extremely distant place.

"Where are you?" Ye Xuan calmed himself and scanned his surroundings. Here, both Profound Sense and Soul Sense were severely restricted. Even with his Eighth Grade Soul Sense, he could only scan an area of a few dozen meters.

But aside from the pitch-black river water, Ye Xuan couldn’t see anyone at all.

"Young man, stop looking. You cannot see me. However, if you can walk a little further, you should be able to. As long as you can make it over here, I will grant you a great fortune," the ancient voice said faintly.

’A little further?’ Ye Xuan hesitated for a moment, then continued walking forward.

After walking for nearly a hundred meters, Ye Xuan finally saw what was speaking.

A hundred meters ahead of him, a stone platform extended from the cavern wall. Half of the platform was submerged in the water, while the other half was above the surface. And on that platform sat a skeleton.

The ancient, desolate feeling was emanating from that very skeleton.

’This person actually managed to get here... Just what kind of being was he?’

Ye Xuan was inwardly astonished. This was a depth of nearly four thousand meters! According to Ye Xuan’s knowledge, even a Peak of Tier Nine Second Layer Martial Emperor could generally only reach about two thousand meters. To reach four thousand meters, one would have to be a Tier Nine Triple Peak Martial Emperor at the very least.

And even then, Ye Xuan couldn’t guarantee that a Tier Nine Triple Peak Martial Emperor could actually make it this far.