"Did he... just break through?"
"Golden Core?"
Watching Ye Chuan's cultivation realm continuously ascend as effortlessly as drinking water, the elders and Qin Tianya found it hard to believe.
"Impossible! Just days ago, he was only at the Foundation Establishment stage! How could he reach Crystallization and then achieve Golden Core in such a short time?!" Elder Ziyun, already severely injured by the heavenly lightning, could no longer hold himself together. After coughing up several mouthfuls of blood and shouting in fury, he collapsed amidst the rubble.
"Master!"
After breaking through to Golden Core, Ye Chuan sensed the spiritual energy within his body and silently surveyed the surrounding ruins—the heavenly lightning had been blocked by the Qingyun Sect's protective formation.
But the power had exceeded his expectations. After all, this was the Qingyun Sect's life-saving formation, yet even it had been shattered by the lightning. Ye Chuan could already imagine how terrifying the heavenly tribulations would be with each major breakthrough in the future.
And this was just the Golden Core tribulation.
Not far away, seeing Zi Ning'er weeping, Ye Chuan hesitated for a moment before turning away. "Time to leave."
"Where do you think you're going?!" A furious roar echoed as if from the heavens.
Ye Chuan was stunned to find his teleportation magic failing!
He realized the entire space had been sealed with restrictions!
Though Ye Chuan himself wasn't affected by the restrictions, his techniques weren't immune to magic suppression. As his spell failed, he barely had time to react before a flying sword shot toward him!
So fast...
His hand barely twitched.
The sword was impossibly quick—in the blink of an eye, it pierced straight through his chest!
"Ugh—" Ye Chuan spat out a mouthful of blood, crimson droplets splattering onto the sword embedded in his chest.
His consciousness began to blur instantly.
Lifting his gaze weakly, he saw an elderly man slowly emerging from the ruins, his golden eyes seeming to pierce through heaven and earth.
"Ancestor!" Qin Tianya immediately bowed in reverence, and the other elders followed suit.
"Hmph. How long have I been in seclusion?" The old man snorted coldly, his gaze settling on Ye Chuan. "And now the Qingyun Sect has been reduced to this wretched state!"
Qin Tianya didn't dare speak, silently lowering his head.
"Who are you?" The old man looked down at Ye Chuan, his voice filled with authority.
Ye Chuan's expression remained calm, though his eyes narrowed slightly. "Heh."
The old man suddenly spoke again, "I see no fear of death in your eyes. Do you have some means of cheating death?"
He continued indifferently, "If so, you're mistaken. I will imprison your soul."
"Death will not grant you release!"
Hearing this, Ye Chuan fell silent, staring at the old man with uncertainty. Those sharp eyes seemed to see right through him.
The next moment, Ye Chuan suddenly smiled, his aura surging violently as if compressing all his spiritual energy within.
"He's going to detonate his soul!" One sharp-eyed elder cried out in alarm.
"Hmph. No one dies without my permission." The old man unleashed his divine sense, but when it touched Ye Chuan, it dissipated like mud sinking into the sea.
What...?
The old man frowned, but before he could react, golden light erupted from Ye Chuan's body, followed by a violent explosion of energy!
"BOOM!"
With a deafening blast, Ye Chuan's body was utterly obliterated.
......
......
[Adventure concluded. Retrievable items: 477]
[Due to prolonged survival, all tenants have received realm advancements]
[...]
Ye Chuan felt as if his body had sunk into quicksand, his consciousness fading further.
He didn't know how much time had passed before he gradually regained awareness. Opening his eyes, he was met with a familiar ceiling—
"......"
Staring at the ceiling of his room, Ye Chuan instinctively touched his chest, where a phantom pain lingered.
"I thought I might make it out alive," he murmured, though deep down, he had never truly believed he could escape the Qingyun Sect unscathed. After all, a single physical attack was enough to finish him.
"Ugh..." Slowly sitting up, Ye Chuan's face was pale.
Compared to the deaths in text-based adventures, the full immersion of this experience made it feel as though he had genuinely died once.
"Next entry is in two weeks." He checked the revival timer for the Tianxuan Continent. Perhaps because he had reached the Golden Core realm, dying now required a two-week cooldown before resurrection.
"That old man... the Ancestor..."
Leaning back against the headboard, Ye Chuan felt dizzy and nauseous.
He sat there motionless for a full hour before finally recovering.
"Finally at late-stage Golden Core. Caught up to Qian Shuang's progress." He marveled at his rapid advancement before turning his attention to his spoils.
His inventory was packed with flying swords—likely part of the sect leader's collection.
"These are all high-quality." Ye Chuan examined them one by one. Most were at least mid-grade weapons, suggesting the sect leader had spent considerable time gathering them.
His gaze eventually settled on one particular sword—not the one Qin Tianya had wielded.
It must have been taken along when he stripped the man of his belongings.
[Item: Qingyun Sword (Gold)
Supreme-grade artifact
The ancestral sword of Qingyun Sect leaders. Doubles the effectiveness of Qingyun Sword techniques.]
A treasure indeed!
But what truly interested Ye Chuan wasn't the swords. Soon, he found an icon resembling a mirror.
[Item: Heavenly Water Divine Mirror (Red)
Peerless artifact
A divine relic capable of glimpsing past and future. Accidentally fell into Qingyun Sect's possession. Currently damaged.
Repairable.]
Peerless?!
"That stab was worth it—another peerless-grade item." Though unsure of its exact effects, anything involving time manipulation couldn’t be useless.
But repairing it...
"It’s unusable in this state. How do I fix it?"
After searching fruitlessly for repair methods, Ye Chuan stored it away and closed his eyes.
For now, sleep was the priority.
He was utterly exhausted.
The night passed without incident.
......
"Ye Chuan! I bwoke thwough!" A voice jolted him awake after what felt like an eternity. Something cold and soft pressed against him.
Opening his eyes, Ye Chuan was met with a pair of massive mounds nearly blocking his vision. Lan Xiaoke shook him vigorously. "Wake up, Ye Chuan! I think I’ve reached late-stage Foundation Establishment! I’m gonna break through!"
"Late-stage Foundation Establishment, huh?" Ye Chuan, still groggy, pulled Lan Xiaoke down and buried his face into her like a water pillow.
"Stop bothering me. Let me sleep."
Lan Xiaoke blinked, her cheeks flushing as he held her tightly. "I’m not a pillow, you know."