Chapter 19
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Chapter 19: Desire
“A Golden Core expert? Immortal artifacts? Senior Brother Qu, you’re exaggerating.”
“Coming from a remote place, it’s no surprise you’ve never heard of the Blazing Sun Emperor. You’ll learn in time.”
Qu Yiping smirked coldly and stopped engaging with those around him.
“Not your average servant disciple. Even the spiritual power within him is unusually concentrated. No wonder his aura stood out earlier. My judgment was correct.”
Though Duan Chenfeng kept his haughty demeanor, inwardly he remained composed as he observed Ye Yun’s unscathed state.
“You’re tougher than I expected. Can’t finish you off easily,” he suddenly laughed, his tone clashing with his calm thoughts. “Seems you’re not like the thousands of ants crowding Tian Zhu Peak.”
Ye Yun remained oblivious to Duan Chenfeng’s true intentions. To him, Duan Chenfeng was just an arrogant fool who’d soon meet his doom, even if he passed this trial.
“If neither can defeat the other, let’s stop wasting effort,” Ye Yun said flatly, suppressing his murderous intent. “We’ll settle this after leaving the Hall of Refining the Heart.”
“Fine. Outside it is.” Duan Chenfeng chuckled and stepped aside.
Ye Yun paused, surprised by Duan Chenfeng’s sudden compliance.
“This cliff isn’t what it seems.”
Duan Chenfeng’s arrogant gaze pierced through Ye Yun’s doubts. “You might not even survive the climb. No need for me to lift a finger.”
Ye Yun frowned and brushed past him, approaching the cliff wall. Channeling spiritual power into his fingers, he struck the stone. No chips fell—only sharp pain shot through his hand.
“Who designed this? Softening rock with blood? Absurd.” Without hesitation, Ye Yun slashed his palm on a jagged edge. Blood dripped onto the stone.
He clawed at the blood-smeared spot, only to feel his fingers slam against unyielding crystal. Agony flared as his bones nearly cracked. The blood had failed.
“Impossible!” Ye Yun stared. Another disciple’s blood had worked earlier—why not now?
Without handholds, even servant disciples like him couldn’t scale this hundred-zhang cliff. Not even Duan Chenfeng would succeed.
Duan Chenfeng’s warning echoed in his mind, making his heart pound. Had Duan Chenfeng foreseen this?
Yet Ye Yun refused to glance back. Their cultivation levels were nearly equal, and the mysterious black and white lights within him nullified the Golden Core’s pressure. If Duan Chenfeng noticed something, he should too.
He studied the sheer wall. No cracks. No ledges. How to ascend?
Blood softened the descent—what trick governed the ascent? The earlier disciple had climbed using blood, but now it failed. Was there a time limit?
For a moment, Ye Yun couldn’t figure it out; this was truly beyond his understanding.
"I’ll go first."
A melodious voice sounded beside Ye Yun as a faint fragrance drifted past. A graceful girl in violet robes stood at his side.
Jun Ruolan, the girl with the purple spiritual vein, stood motionless like a pristine lotus.
Ye Yun’s pupils narrowed. The violet-robed girl struck him as profoundly mysterious. He’d personally witnessed her treating the irresistible whirlpools as mere stepping stones, casually descending through them as they solidified into stone steps.
Under the mountain wind, Jun Ruolan’s fluttering violet robes gave her an immortal-like detachment in the eyes of the onlookers.
"Jun Ruolan, don’t get careless and court death," Duan Chenfeng’s voice rang out again, his face maintaining its arrogant expression even when addressing her.
"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother." Jun Ruolan’s gentle voice held no anger, only polite gratitude.
"Where are you really from?" Duan Chenfeng demanded irritably.
Jun Ruolan’s bearing alone confirmed she wasn’t from any common family. Her origins couldn’t be ordinary.
The girl’s exquisite face remained impassive, her starry eyes as fathomless as deep pools.
On the other side, Qu Yiping narrowed his eyes at Duan Chenfeng, a strange glint flashing in his gaze.
"None of your concern," came the soft reply.
"Keep talking like that and I’ll make you my servant!" Duan Chenfeng brandished his folding fan arrogantly.
The crowd inhaled sharply. Many had witnessed Jun Ruolan’s cultivation level when she descended through the whirlpools. Duan Chenfeng’s royal arrogance might prove fatal against such power.
"What a fool," Qu Yiping muttered with thick sarcasm, his brow furrowed. "Waste of my time watching him."
Ye Yun snorted coldly. Was Duan Chenfeng trying to antagonize the entire sect?
"If you ever reach such cultivation, perhaps."
To everyone’s surprise, Jun Ruolan’s voice remained utterly calm, showing neither anger nor concern.
"Just wait! I might form an alchemy pill someday!" Duan Chenfeng laughed boisterously as if receiving a promise.
Jun Ruolan’s sudden radiant smile preceded her leap. Violet petals bloomed midair as she ascended, each skirt-twirling rotation carrying her dozens of zhang upward. Her feet barely grazed the cliff face between ascents.
Within moments, she became a distant violet speck before vanishing entirely.
The violet spiritual vein bearer had scaled the thousand-zhang cliff effortlessly. Neither Ye Yun, Duan Chenfeng, nor Qu Yiping could achieve this even at the peak Comprehending Qi Stage of body refinement.
Had Jun Ruolan reached Qi refining stage?
Impossible!
Ye Yun’s face froze as shock surged through him. What background enabled such power?
The mountain wind pressed violet silk against Jun Ruolan’s curves as she stood beneath the Heavenly Sword Sacred Path stone tablet’s golden glow. The dispersing clouds left only that soul-stirring violet hue dominating the world.
Gazing upward, Ye Yun felt fighting spirit kindle in his heart. Beside him, Duan Chenfeng’s habitual arrogance vanished as he stared at the mountain peak. His newly clear eyes burned with desperate longing – pure, unadulterated hunger for power.
