Chapter 1537 - A Princess in Distress

“Eternal… Calamity… of… Darkness…”

He muttered those words in a low voice as he took off a black stone that he wore on his right hand.

The Ni Yuan Stone!

The Ni Yuan Stone was the biggest reason why he was able to enter the Northern Divine Region without any surprises or danger despite being hotly pursued by three different Divine Regions. As long as he wore it, the change in his aura coupled with his perfect disguise meant that even a Divine Master would not be able to recognize him, even if that Divine Master was standing only ten steps away from him.

His aura returned to normal and he still remained seated on the ground. He slowly opened his arms and once he closed his eyes, a pitch-black world spread out in front of him. The laws of darkness unique to the 【Eternal Calamity of Darkness】 floated within that pitch-black world along with the Devil Emperor’s own divine art.

Jie Yuan had told him before that if a person wanted to perfectly cultivate the Eternal Calamity of Darkness, they had to be assisted by the Devil Emperor’s origin blood. His first step however, was not to merge his body with the origin blood, but to directly try to comprehend the Eternal Calamity of Darkness.

This was the Devil Emperor profound art that Jie Yuan had personally told him that only she could cultivate, the profound art that even the Heretic God could not cultivate! 

A thin layer of black energy slowly started to form over his body. This layer of black energy was very chaotic, as if it was comprised of countless dark shadows struggling to break out of their cage with all of their might.

Time slowly flowed by and this layer of black energy continued to accumulate as it grew denser and denser. It gradually rose to a height of over a hundred meters but it was becoming more agitated and its struggles grew more violent.

The surrounding area, which was already dark and silent in the first place, grew even more dreary and quiet and one could not hear the cry of any beasts for a very long period of time.

In the surrounding fifty kilometer radius, all of the profound beasts were fleeing in fear… As profound beasts belonging to this dark world, their temperaments were far more violent and irascible than the profound beasts found in other worlds, and none of them feared death. However, an odd terror that only continued to grow larger was birthed in the deepest depths of their hearts and souls. Their only recourse was to flee in the opposite direction and they did not dare take even a single step back. 

They continued their flight until several days later, when the aura that had terrified them had started to recede.

The agitation of the black energy rising up from Yun Che’s body started to weaken as it started to gradually dissipate.

Seven days later, the black-colored mist-like energy that was rising from his body had completely disappeared. Gradually even his own aura and breathing started to weaken before they completely disappeared as well.

Yun Che had sat under that withered tree throughout this entire process. He had not moved a single inch the entire time, resembling a corpse that had undergone rigor mortis.

One day, two days, three days… He continued in this auraless state and he still had not moved an inch.

A thick layer of sand and dust had already accumulated over his body, mixing with dead leaves that had come out of nowhere.

On this day, the air, which had remained heavy and stagnant for a very long period of time, suddenly started to quake abnormally. These unusual vibrations had originated from a long distance away.

In the distant horizon, two human figures swiftly approached.

One was a black-robed elder whose hair had already turned half white. The aura of the Divine Spirit Realm rippled across his body. The person beside him was a girl clothed in purple. The black-robed elder’s power allowed them to move very quickly, but the trajectory of their flight had started to sway… Upon closer examination, one would discover that the black-robed elder’s body was actually completely stained in blood and his eyes had suddenly started to go slack mid-flight.

Following that, his body swayed violently before he and the young girl abruptly dropped from the air, causing the young girl to let out a startled scream of terror.

BANG!!

The old man’s body crashed into the ground, leaving a long trail of blood behind it and it came to a stop less than twenty steps in front of Yun Che. The dark dirt that had been thrown up by his fall fell on Yun Che’s body but he still did not react.

“Grandfather Qin!” The purple-clothed girl landed on the ground and started to stumble towards the fallen black-robed old man.

The girl had an exquisitely beautiful face. Her long hair was a mess and that jade face was stained with flying dust and fear, but it still could not conceal what was undoubtedly an inborn air of nobility. Even the purple clothes she wore radiated an uncommon luxuriousness. 

“Grandfather Qin… How are you feeling?” Streaks of tears stained the girl’s face as she sensed the elderly man’s extremely chaotic and weak aura. Her heart suddenly felt like it was hanging over the edge of a cliff and she was at a complete loss for what to do.

She knew that he had been forcing himself to endure for the entire journey.

The black-robed old man fiercely bit down on the tip of his tongue and his slackened eyes managed to recover some of its clarity. He said in a weak and frail voice, “Your Highness… Do not worry about me. Hurry up and… leave.”

“No.” Tears coursed down the young girl’s face as she shook her head. “If it wasn’t for the fact that Grandfather Qin had used his life to save me time and time again, I would have long ago… How can I abandon you just like that?”

As she said these words, she started to move forward to carry the old man… She possessed cultivation that was at the level of the Divine Soul Realm and she definitely lorded over the rest of her peers in terms of power. But at this moment, she was exceptionally weak and frail and she was nearly completely spent.

She looked ahead, noticing the unmoving human that was sitting under a withered tree with a single glance. However, she did not spare him a second look and she was not shocked either… In the Northern Divine Region, there was nothing more common than corpses.

The black-robed old man’s face contorted as he tried his best to struggle free of the profound energy the girl had covered him with. He gave a low roar, “Your Highness… You must not let your emotions affect you! This old slave’s life is petty and if anything were to happen to Your Highness, this old slave would feel ten lifetimes worth of guilt and shame towards the king… Hurry up and leave… Leave!!”

“Leave? Hehe, you still think you can leave?”

The old man’s shrill cry was still ringing in her ears when a dark and cold voice accompanied by a mocking chuckle rang out in the air above them.

Upon hearing that voice, the pupils of the purple-clothed girl’s eyes shrank and she turned around in fear and terror. The black-robed old man’s face instantly turned deathly white and a look of despair appeared in his eyes.

Five figures unhurriedly descended from the sky and they were all clothed in gray robes. Even though there were only five of them, four of the five people were releasing an aura that was at the Divine Spirit Realm. In this star realm, this was absolutely considered a shocking display of power.

The young man who stood in the middle of them had just entered the Divine Tribulation Realm but he was undoubtedly the leader of the five. As he gazed upon the purple-clothed girl who was filled with fear and hatred, the corner of his mouth curled up into a mocking, sinister smile, a smile one displayed when facing one’s prey. “Princess Hanwei, you really did lead me on a wild chase.”

“Ming… Yang!” The purple-clothed girl gritted her jade teeth and a thin sword that flickered with purple light had already appeared in her hand. The body of the sword coursed with both cold energy and darkness profound energy, but her body, and the hand that held the sword, had already started to shake violently.

“Tsk tsk.” As he looked at the hate-filled expression on the girl’s jade face, Ming Yang licked the corner of his lips as he slowly drew near. “You are indeed worthy of being called the number one beauty of the Eastern Frost Nation, even your enraged appearance is still so moving. Heh… If I had truly let you escape, how big of a loss would that have been? Even if I flattened the entire Eastern Frost Nation, it still wouldn’t make up for it.”

He eyed the fallen elder, his gaze turning dark. “Old Man Qing, you’ve spoiled my plans time and time again. It’s about time for you to suffer the consequences!”

“You…” The black-robed old man struggled to stand as his body, a body which was heavily injured and on the brink of collapse, was filled with the power of despair. “Even if I die, I still won’t allow you to touch a single strand of Her Highness’ hair.”

Ming Yang laughed as he said, “Good! Then you can go right ahead and die!”

He waved a hand and a strange blade of wind that was mixed up with black energy instantly slashed the old man’s body.

“Ouu!”

The black-robed old man let out a low groan as he was sent flying, leaving an arrow of blood in his wake… He was a distinguished Divine Spirit Realm profound practitioner but in his current condition, he could not even endure a casual blow from someone of the Divine Tribulation Realm.

The direction flew in was precisely where Yun Che was located… With a deep thud, his body heavily smashed into Yun Che’s body, instantly shattering the withered tree behind them. Yun Che’s body, which had remained still for more than ten days, was sent flying along with the old man as he rolled on the ground.

“Grandfather Qin!”

With a sorrowful cry, the young girl rushed towards the old man’s side. This time, the old man was no longer able to stand up. Foamy blood continued to gush out of his trembling mouth and he could not make a single sound.

The purple-clothed girl’s eyes fell and her heart was filled with boundless grief and sorrow. She knew that there was no way for her to escape today’s calamity. She slowly drew back the purple sword in her hand before placing it against her snowy neck… She would rather die than be humiliated.

But Ming Yang had already anticipated her actions long before they had happened. At nearly the same instant, the gray-robed man on his right shoved his arm out and immediately, a huge energy current fiercely enveloped the girl and pressed down on her body.

How could she, a profound practitioner of the Divine Soul Realm, be able to resist or struggle against suppression that had come from a profound practitioner of the Divine Spirit Realm? In an instant, she felt as if ten thousand mountains were pressing down on her body as she fiercely fell to her knees, the sword tumbling out from her hand… This suppression was not merely limited to her body, even her profound energy had been completely suppressed and she was not be able to destroy her own life vein even if she wanted to.

“You…” Her entire body shook and she clenched her teeth so hard that they nearly cracked, but she was unable to break free at all. Only a despair that resembled a deep abyss steadily approached her. “Ming Yang… You definitely… won’t die a good death!”

“You want to die? Even if you could bear to, how could I?” Ming Yang started to slowly saunter over towards her with an avaricious and lustful dark light radiating from his eyes that had already narrowed into two long and narrow slits.

But it was at this moment that his gaze suddenly turned away.

A human figure… The human they had all thought was a corpse started to slowly climb to his feet.

“Mn?” Ming Yang frowned and everyone’s eyes had unconsciously turned towards that man as well.

As Yun Che, whose cultivation had been interrupted, stood to his feet, he did not brush off the dirt on his body, nor did he turn around to look at any of the people behind him either. He simply started moving forward as he prepared to find a quiet place to cultivate once more. Perhaps it was because his body had been still for too long that his footsteps were rather stiff and heavy.

Ming Yang frowned once more… Seeing a “corpse” suddenly come to life was also not anything new in this corpse-strewn Northern Divine Region. But after this person had gotten up, he had not even spared them a single glance. In this region, who would dare to ignore him in such a manner!?

This feeling of being ignored made him extremely unhappy. The corners of his mouth curled up as he issued the most idiotic command he would ever issue in his entire life, “This eyesore of a brat… Cripple him.”

To him, killing a random passerby was no different from killing a dog or a chicken.

The gray-robed man beside him did not even move his body. He merely moved his arm causing a pitch-black wind blade which vibrated with faint spatial ripples to slash toward Yun Che… In an instant, it collided against Yun Che’s back.

The purple-clothed girl closed her eyes. She was unwilling to see the miserable scene of this innocent person’s annihilation, an innocent person who she had dragged into her own circumstances by complete accident… However, what rang in her ears was actually a “thunk”.

As the dreadful blade of dark wind collided against Yun Che’s back, the sound that rang out was actually the sound of something hitting metal. The wind blade was instantly deflected, leaving a long furrow in the ground beside him. But his back… Even his outer clothes had not been harmed, much less his body.

Yun Che’s footsteps ground to a halt before he started to slowly turn around. One pair of dark and gloomy eyes looked towards five pairs of eyes that had instantly constricted in fright and shock.

“Ah… This…” The face of the gray-robed expert who had just attacked went completely stiff and he could barely believe his own eyes.

Yun Che raised an arm and slowly extended a finger, pointing it at the person who had attacked him. After that, he spoke in a dark and low voice, “Was being alive… not good enough?"

Bang!

A beam of fiery light exploded in front of everyone.

Within that fiery light, the Divine Spirit expert who had attacked instantly burst into countless fiery fragments, and in the next instant, those fiery fragments transformed into drifting ash… He did not struggle at all, nor did he even have time to let out a cry of misery.

Divine Spirit Realm profound practitioners were considered the absolute powerhouses in this region. But one of them had just been instantly annihilated by an attack launched from this man’s finger. It was as if he had butchered a small dog.