Chapter 1526: Nethersky Divine World
"Be careful!"
The middle-aged scholar exclaimed. He could sense the terrifying energies contained within the black star. At the instant the explosion happened, the world went silent. The mist that blanketed the Frost Ice Sandsea's sky perennially was swept away by the terrifying energies. The skies turned clear for thousands of kilometers out!
Even the black winds that filled the Frost Ice Sandsea all year round were blown away by the terrifying energy surge!
"Everyone come near me! Don't go far! Thousand Ice Array!" The middle-aged scholar shouted.
He expended his vital potential and, in a second, condensed infinite black ice crystals around his body, forming a huge crystal barrier in front of him! His strength increased by more than ten times!
"Ka-cha!"
The middle-aged scholar expended his strength to keep the barrier up while withstanding the blast, but it began to shatter. Infinite fine cracks began to appear on its surface!
"Puah!"
The middle-aged scholar spat out a mouthful of blood as his entire person knelt down on the ground.
He held himself up with both hands, his eyes filled with blood strands. He heaved heavily. Heavens, what sort of power was this? He was only withstanding a tiny aftershock from an explosion five hundred kilometers away. It was such a terrifying blast! It felt like the Apocalypse.
"Martial Uncle! Are you alright!? Martial Uncle!"
All the young disciples present ran over and helped him up. The eyes of a girl dressed in pale yellow clothes were welling with tears. Although she was young and had a weak cultivation level, she knew that those few seconds had damaged the middle-aged scholar greatly. If he did not encounter any huge opportunities, he would probably never make a breakthrough to the next realm.
He had given it up to protect them. If he had been alone, he would not have suffered so much.
"Martial Uncle, quickly dispel the barrier. The black winds are gone!" a young man said hurriedly.
As the black winds had been swept away by the blast, there was indeed no need for them to use the barrier. But now, they were situated very far from Frost Sand Valley. Typically, their trials were led by an Elder. Now that their Martial Uncle who was leading them was so heavily injured, how were they to return?
"What was that thing!?"
As the young man spoke, he looked into the distance with both horror and bafflement. He saw that most of the vast icy sand had melted as a result of the huge explosion. From afar, he could see a stormy sea.
The Frost Ice Sandsea which had been still for ten thousand years had turned into this?
Could it be that it was the appearance of some rare treasure? But in this present situation, were they able to seek it even if there was one?
"Return… We return to the valley! Quick! These icy sand storms have only been temporarily blown away by the blast… They will reform sooner or later… If that happens, we will not be able to escape…"
The middle-aged scholar struggled to speak. And at that moment, he could already see a blurry gray fog forming far into the horizon. The gray fog looked like a horde of locusts that was swarming towards them.
It was the Frost Ice Sandsea's black winds making a resurgence.
"We are doomed…"
The middle-aged scholar smiled wryly. In his present situation, how was he to continue protecting these juniors?
"Martial Uncle, I'll carry you!"
The young man carried the middle-aged scholar. The other disciples rushed over as they hurriedly raised a barrier. However, when they saw the black winds surge over, together with thunderous rumbling, the expressions on their faces changed.
The might of the black winds was far stronger than before!
The black winds prior to this had turned violent because of the injection of spatial storm's energies. And now, the black winds had been compressed by the explosion's blast, concentrated into a deadly force. It contained the explosion's energy and was now releasing all the explosions energy. It was a roaring tsunami, and they were like simple boats in the line of that tsunami!
"Frost Sand Valley, Thousand Ice Array!"
Although they were in a perilous situation, the young man roared again. He expended his vital potential and barely raised up an ice crystal barrier, but at that moment, something inexplicable happened. The roaring black winds seemed to have a mind of their own, splitting up and going around them. It was as though a wall had been erected, causing the black winds to make way for the Frost Sand Valley disciples.
"What's going on?"
The young man, who had expended his potential and planned to risk his life to use the Thousand Ice Array again, had already gathered his energy. He was about to release it, as if he had raised a giant hammer that was beyond his strength to carry. By not being able to deliver the strike, he immediately knelt down to the ground.
"Martial Uncle, this black wind…" The pale yellow-dressed girl's beautiful eyes watched in a daze.
The middle-aged scholar was baffled, but regardless, they were saved.
"Was someone around to saved us?" the middle-aged scholar mumbled.
The black tsunami lasted for a full fifteen minutes before it slowly weakened to its normal strength. The middle-aged scholar took this opportunity to meditate and recover some of his strength. Having it gave him more certainty in preserving his life after all.
At a certain point in time, the middle-aged scholar opened his eyes after sensing something.
He could see a hazy figure gradually appear in the howling winds. It was walking towards them.
The figure was in tattered clothes and his body was covered in injuries. Many of his wounds were so deep that his bones could be seen. An average person would have succumbed to such injuries, but this person continued emanating a vibrant life force. Besides, he had an invisible and indescribable disposition about him. It left others feeling awe and reverence for him.
The middle-aged scholar quickly stood up. Although he was feeling weak, he bowed and said, "Senior, thank you for saving us!"
The black stormy winds were not dispersed by him, so the only person that could have done so was this mysterious man. However, why was he so heavily injured? Could it be that he was seeking out opportunities in the Frost Ice Sandsea, but encountered the explosion of unknown origin?
From the direction in which the person came from, it looked like he was at the center of the explosion. How powerful was this person? He could even survive that…
"Save?"
The man smiled wryly. These people did not know that if it wasn't for of his tumbling out of the spatial rift, they would not have been thrown into the ferocious storm.
The man was none other than Yi Yun who had escaped from the primeval universe.
Back when the Ancestor God suddenly appeared, although Yi Yun had just broken through to the Divine Lord realm, he was still no match for the Ancestor God. With the Spear of Primordial Chaos, he managed to find an opportunity to escape the primeval universe through a spatial rift. Yi Yun never imagined that, despite His injuries, the Ancestor God would still able to strike within the spatial rift!
To guarantee a hit on Yi Yun, the Ancestor God had delivered a huge area-of-effect attack. Even if His attack was dispersed, it was still enough to heavily injure Yi Yun.
Thankfully, the black spear had injured the Ancestor God once again. All Yi Yun heard was a loud bellow from the Ancestor God across space but He did not continue pursuing him.
He hid inside the Ascending Dragon Cauldron, and used the Azure Lamp of Time to spend ten years recuperating and consolidating his realm.
These ten years were not a long time outside. Following that, Yi Yun exited the Azure Lamp of Time's time warp, but when he found the entrance to the Sinkhole, he had a huge headache.
One had to know that the primeval universe in the Ancient Ruins world was separated by the Sinkhole by numerous layers of space. Each layer of space was extremely robust. Back when those people entered the Ancient Ruins world's ancient battlefield, they had used special teleportation jade slips. To enter the Ancient Ruins world without one? Difficult, to say the least!
Yi Yun spent a few decades traveling through the spatial storms before finally finding an exit!
Although he had wasted quite a bit of time, Yi Yun still reaped great benefits in his few decades of distress.
In the primeval universe's spatial storms, Yi Yun was constantly withstanding the spatial storms that were hundreds, if not thousands of times more terrifying than ordinary spaces. He was constantly injured as he used the Dragon Emperor Technique's powerful recovery strength to heal his body.
If he really could not take it, he would hide in the Ascending Dragon Cauldron and eat some pills to recover. Once he completely recovered, he would leave the cauldron and seek an exit. To get a better sense of the spatial dimension laws, he needed to exit the cauldron to seek out a spatial node.
As this continued on, Yi Yun's foundation was constantly tempered. The terrifying spatial storms were like countless grinding stones that sharpened Yi Yun's cultivation level.
To warriors, the best way of raising their strength was through combat. For decades, Yi Yun could be said to be constantly in battle. Every time he gained new insights, he would enter seclusion within the Azure Lamp of Time.
However, this was only possible for Yi Yun. If others fell into a spatial storm—even a mighty figure that was a step short of being a Godly Monarch—they might not be able to press on. Ignoring the fact that they lacked the Ascending Dragon Cauldron to catch their breath, just the energy expenditure was not something they could withstand. And amid the spatial storms, there was no Heaven Earth Yuan Qi to absorb.
As for Yi Yun, he had entered the Chaos Gem mineral vein. With the aid of the Purple Crystal, Yi Yun had been able to absorb vast amounts of nebulous Primordial Chaos essence. The energy he possessed seemed infinite in amount. He had also inherited a lot of natural treasures from Primordial Chaos Daolord.
Having steeled himself for decades, Yi Yun had completely fused the nebulous Primordial Chaos essence into his blood and bones. When Yi Yun exited the spatial storms, his strength had undergone a qualitative leap. This harrowing experience had benefited him in ways that exceeded his expectations.
Yi Yun was interested in knowing where in the world he was, but he could not ask directly. It was possible for these people to guess that the black star that flew out of the spatial rift was actually him. After all, this involved the secret of the primeval universe. Yi Yun did not wish to let others know of this backdoor.
Therefore, Yi Yun said, "I have been cultivating in seclusion here for decades. I never expected to undergo a tribulation today. Have the ancient battlefield trials ended? How did our geniuses do?"
"Senior, the ancient battlefield trials have ended. As for our results, Fairy Yourou left a name more than one feet across. The Nethersky Divine Hall has already organized a banquet to celebrate this feat!"
"Oh? Fairy Yourou?" Upon hearing this name, Yi Yun felt somewhat wistful. Back then, he had to abandon her and Nanxuan Luoyue in the Fey God Tomb. Who knew that he would be gone for nearly fifty years? Upon hearing that she was fine, Yi Yun heaved a sigh of relief.
"So this is the Nethersky Divine World…" Yi Yun muttered to himself. Fairy Yourou came from none other than the Nethersky Divine World!