Chapter 1209, The Opportunity to Break Through

Translator: Silavin

  

At this moment, Qin Yichen looked worse for wear. His robes had been torn apart by the explosions of the Yuan Burning Lightning, exposing the solid, chiselled contours of his muscles in considerable abundance.

 

“He!”

 

The Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon’s enormous eyes contracted sharply at the sight of that tall figure reappearing so suddenly. From the moment Qin Yichen had vanished to now, less than an hour had passed, and yet it could already sense that his aura seemed to have grown several degrees more formidable.

 

“Can it be that he actually used those things as cultivation resources?”

 

The Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon could not help but draw in a deep breath. For reasons it could not quite pin down, it found itself feeling a trace of wariness toward the young man before it, even something approaching apprehension, and this despite the fact that it had already entered the Half-Saint Realm.

 

“I didn’t deceive you, did I? Did you obtain the Ten Thousand Year Old Earth Vein Liquid?”

 

After a long pause, the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon’s somewhat cautious voice finally drifted out.

 

“Ten Thousand Year Old Earth Vein Liquid?”

 

Qin Yichen’s brow lifted slightly. Reading the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon’s expression, he could detect no trace of deception. It was clear that the creature had never set foot inside the Heaven Burning Array, and had no notion of the horrors lurking within.

 

“That was nothing more than an illusion. Had I not been lucky, I would have met my end there.”

 

Qin Yichen shook his head, his voice tinged with lingering unease.

 

“How can that be? With all those methods of yours, you still couldn’t get through?”

 

The Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon’s expression shifted at once upon hearing this. Though it had half-anticipated this outcome, or rather had simply assumed from the start that Qin Yichen would die there. The youth’s many remarkable abilities had left it genuinely astonished.

 

He even had that terrifying suit of armour that even the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon could not shatter, yet Qin Yichen had nearly lost his life in there?

 

And furthermore, according to what Qin Yichen said, there was no Ten Thousand Year Old Earth Vein Liquid at all. Surely its own eyes couldn’t be deceiving it?

 

Yet the young man’s bearing did not resemble that of someone lying.

 

“If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to try it yourself.”

 

Seeing the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon’s expression, Qin Yichen smiled lightly. His mood was quite good after having obtained such unexpected fortune below, and after a brief pause he added, “I would advise you, though, that even if you reach Saint Realm, going in there would be a journey with no return.”

 

A Saint was already a figure of considerable renown even within the Myriad Beasts War Domain. Those words were unpleasant to hear, but they were not empty.

 

The Yuan Demonic Burning alone was enough to give a Saint a tremendous headache, to say nothing of the magma field beneath the Heaven Burning Array, which was even more terrifying.

 

More critically, Qin Yichen had an intuition that the blackness within that sealed lower region was no ordinary entity. Even if one managed to clear both trials and reach the very bottom, whether that would prove a blessing or a disaster remained entirely unknown.

 

The Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon’s expression grew unusually grave at Qin Yichen’s rather weighty words.

 

It had originally planned to wait for the Sacred Energy Fruit to ripen, draw upon the fruit’s power to break through to Saint Realm, and then venture below to see if it could get its claws on the Ten Thousand Year Old Earth Vein Liquid.

 

But looking at Qin Yichen now, it began to feel somewhat uneasy in its heart.

 

Could it be that the Ten Thousand Year Old Earth Vein Liquid below was truly nothing more than a trap?

 

“About that, my Beast Core and the Sacred Energy Fruit…” In the end, the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon shook its head and brought its thoughts back to the most pressing matter at hand.

 

If Qin Yichen did not return its Beast Core, it would not even be able to hold its own territory, let alone speak of anything so lofty as breaking through to Saint Realm.

 

“The Beast Core, I can return to you.” Qin Yichen considered briefly, then smiled and said, “The Sacred Energy Fruit has yet to ripen, so it isn’t of much use to you right now. I’ll hold on to it.”

 

A Beast Core of a Half-Saint, though precious, was not something Qin Yichen was unwilling to part with.

 

More importantly, there was still a considerable secret lurking below this place. The Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon had already glimpsed some of its formidable nature, and would not be so reckless as to gamble its life blindly barging in.

 

Leaving the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon here as a guardian was, in fact, a rather sensible arrangement. At the very least, it would keep others from blundering in carelessly.

 

Though the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon was a little displeased upon hearing this, for it, recovering its Beast Core was already more than satisfactory.

 

“So you’re leaving? There are a few worms waiting outside for you. I don’t expect they’ll let you go without a fuss.”

 

After a pause, the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon remarked.

 

“Heh, I’ll break through first before going out to deal with them.”

 

A cold gleam flickered in Qin Yichen’s eyes, and he smiled. “Help me stand guard while I cultivate. Once I’ve broken through, I’ll naturally return your Beast Core.”

 

Were he to invoke the Myriad Dao Divine Armour, Qin Yichen would have no fear of Zhao Xueqi and Zhang Heng whatsoever. Even if they joined forces, he could move freely against them both.

 

However, Qin Yichen had no wish to draw a relentless tide of powerful pursuers the very moment he entered the Myriad Beasts War Domain. To avoid revealing his identity, he had no choice but to elevate his own strength, so that even without borrowing the power of the Myriad Dao Divine Armour, he would possess the means to protect himself.

 

He had been at the Late Stage Martial Ancestor Realm for quite some time now. In the eyes of most, that amount of time would barely be enough to stabilise one’s foundations, yet having been refined and tempered, hardened further through the massive battle in the Thunderous Blessings Mountain Range, Qin Yichen’s foundations were already as solid as could be.

 

In the Yuan Burning Lightning tempering he had endured just moments ago, he had felt the very opportunity for a breakthrough stir to life. All he needed now was time for quiet cultivation, and the breakthrough to the Peak Stage Martial Ancestor Realm would come naturally, as water found its course.

 

Once he had finished speaking, Qin Yichen drew a deep breath, closed his fist, and several Beast Cores appeared in his palm at once.

 

In his time within the Myriad Beasts War Domain, he had encountered no shortage of ambushes, yet not a single one of those assailants had succeeded. They had all been stripped of everything they possessed instead.

 

From those would-be killers, he had also pried loose quite a few fine things, including these Beast Cores, every last one of which had been taken from those who had come hunting him.

 

Without further delay, Qin Yichen sat cross-legged and, as though the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon simply ceased to exist, hovered quietly within the lake. The Beast Cores in his hand dissolved at once into pure energy and came flooding into his body in a surging torrent.

 

“You…” The Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon’s pupils contracted sharply at the sight of the Beast Cores in Qin Yichen’s hand. It could tell perfectly well that while those Beast Cores were far inferior to its own, they were still unmistakably from Peak Stage Martial Ancestor Demonic Beasts.

 

While Qin Yichen was in the midst of cultivation and breaking through, he would surely be at his most vulnerable. If it launched a surprise attack at that moment, there was a chance it could cut him down.

 

Yet as it stared at the faint, composed smile on the young man’s face, the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon hesitated.

 

Since Qin Yichen dared to break through right here before its eyes, could it be that he had never even considered this possibility?

 

If it struck now and succeeded, all would be well. But if it failed, the consequences, even imagining them, made the Azure Sky Demonic Flood Dragon feel a chill creeping through its very bones.