Chapter 625

Chapter 625: The Ethereal Void

Spatial laws were not uncommon. All cultivators who achieved mastery in the Golden Core stage could comprehend and wield them to some degree.

Yet truly grasping spatial laws proved immensely challenging. While entry-level understanding came easily, deeper mastery grew increasingly arduous. To detect spatial fluctuations with precision, one required not mere familiarity but purity in their comprehension—the purer the laws, the sharper the perception.

Ye Yun had cultivated remarkably pure spatial laws. Even late-stage Nascent Soul Ancestors paled in comparison to his sensitivity, placing him arguably unmatched beneath the Earth Immortal realm in certain aspects.

This purity was Ye Yun’s unique edge.

He stepped forward, peering into the pitch-black spatial rift. Narrowing his eyes, he released a strand of mental intent—a fusion of spatial laws and Ice Element Law—directing it as a concentrated beam into the void. With a flick of his hand, he channeled true qi into the rift.

*Crack!*

A faint sound echoed. The small rift erupted with a streak of black light that exploded outward, morphing into a dark shroud enveloping Ye Yun. In that fleeting moment before blindness took hold, he glimpsed identical shrouds descending over the distant landscape.

“They actually opened it too… Unbelievable,” Ye Yun muttered, stunned.

“Master Hei Xu and his group are peak Nascent Soul experts—their insights into laws differ from yours but remain formidable. Their entry isn’t surprising,” remarked the Ancestor of the Sword Path calmly.

“But if treasures tied to you lie within that rift, their intrusion complicates matters,” Ye Yun countered, frowning.

“Destiny dictates outcomes, not mere desire. This Secret Vault has lingered for millennia. Why did no predecessor fully unlock it? It isn’t due to weaker cultivation or intellect—it’s *fortune*. In this world, fortune reigns supreme. With it, all barriers crumble,” the Ancestor replied.

A flicker of understanding crossed Ye Yun’s eyes.

Fortune defied logic. Some prodigies, born privileged with boundless resources and elite cultivation methods, perished prematurely. Others, rising from obscurity with mediocre talent and no resources, survived harrowing trials, seized serendipitous opportunities, and ascended to greatness. History brimmed with such tales—all chalked up to fortune’s whims.

Take Ye Yun: a nobody from a border town, overlooked for years in the Heavenly Sword Sect. Yet a chance encounter with the Heart of Immortals and Demons reshaped his destiny. In mere years, he reached the sixth level of the Golden Core stage—no ordinary Golden Pill master, but one rivaling Nascent Soul experts. To outsiders, this would sound ludicrous, yet it was irrefutable.

Such was the power of fortune—a blessing from the heavens. In a sense, Ye Yun was a child chosen by destiny. Though whether the Heart of Immortals and Demons stemmed from virtue or the Demon Realm’s corruption remained unclear.

The black shroud clung relentlessly, plunging everything into abyssal darkness. Time itself grew imperceptible. Ye Yun inhaled sharply, only to find spiritual energy utterly absent.

No energy. No senses.

The shroud’s eerie vastness seemed infinite. How to break free?

Time blurred—an hour? Half a day? A full day? Impossible to gauge.

“Old Ancestor, thoughts on this shroud?” Ye Yun asked.

After a prolonged pause, the Ancestor responded, “No spiritual energy. Severed senses. Blocked spirit perception. Familiar… reminiscent of an array I once encountered.”

“Which array?”

“The Ethereal Void Breaking Array. A creation of the Demon Race’s Lord of the Ethereal Void, exclusive to his lineage. It nullifies spiritual energy and restricts combat to pure physicality.”

Ye Yun stiffened. “But this is the Ice Master’s Tomb. Why would a Demon Race array exist here?”

“Not so strange. Millennia ago, the slumbering Demon Race still roamed freely. The Ice Master might have collaborated with the Lord’s descendants to forge this vault. If this *is* the Ethereal Void Breaking Array, it favors you,” the Ancestor noted.

Ye Yun grasped the implication instantly. His cultivation of the Cleansing Immortal Heart Technique demanded both internal and external refinement. His true qi already surpassed most Golden Core masters, rivaling early Nascent Soul Ancestors. But his true strength lay in his physique—his body and soul could overpower even Fourth or Fifth Level Nascent Soul experts. In this array, where physicality reigned supreme, he’d thrive.

Even Master Hei Xu, a pinnacle Nascent Soul expert, relied on cultivation depth, not bodily might. Physical training demanded grueling endurance—agony few could withstand.

“How do we escape?” Ye Yun pressed.

“Only two ways: shatter the array with overwhelming force or locate its core. No alternatives,” the Ancestor replied, his tone unshaken.

Ye Yun frowned. Master Hei Xu’s forces numbered in the hundreds. What if they harbored physical powerhouses? Even Master Hei Xu, a Devil Race descendant, might possess formidable strength.

“This *is* the Ethereal Void Breaking Array. True qi is sealed, elemental power bound. Only raw physicality remains… or breaking the array entirely,” the Ancestor added, a sly undertone seeping into his voice.

“You have a plan,” Ye Yun stated.

The Ancestor chuckled. “Simple. Though senses are deadened here, I sense… something tied to me.”

“What?” Ye Yun’s pulse quickened.

The Ancestor’s voice trembled faintly. “Something vital. A treasure of immense value to me. Perhaps… a sliver of my own soul.”

*A soul fragment?*

Ye Yun froze, eyes blazing with realization.