Chapter 693

Chapter 693: Runes

"Finally, an island." A flicker of white light vanished as Ye Yun hovered above the newly emerged landmass. The dense forest below eased his tension.

"First, recover my lost true qi and spiritual power." Landing at the island’s heart, he surveyed the stillness. He asked the Ancestor of the Sword Path to deploy a Deceptive Array around him, ensuring solitude.

"The third layer’s opened. Why linger here instead of seizing the advantage?" The Ancestor questioned Ye Yun’s choice to train on this remote island. Though the third layer of the Xumi Treasure was accessible, Ye Yun prioritized rest over haste. While the Sun and Moon Dual Souls within him required attention, he could have checked them while traveling.

"I’ve glimpsed the Fourth Level of the Thundercloud Lightning Sword—the Sword of the Thunder God. I can unravel it fully." As Ye Yun circulated the Cleansing Immortal Heart Technique, he pushed his Thunder Spirit Qi to its limits, attempting to deduce the sword’s fourth level. Yet a final piece eluded him.

He refrained from forcing the breakthrough. A reckless push might destabilize his Fire and Ice Spirit Qi, inviting chaos. Caution ruled—he’d first master the thunder sword before enhancing the other elements.

Earlier, the Ancestor had preserved the True Roaring Four-Tailed Flower’s spiritual energy. After obtaining his soul’s origin, Ye Yun used secret techniques to channel its power into his body, boosting his Ice Spirit Qi. During the Dragon Gate’s final trial, he’d fully refined the flower’s remaining medicinal effects, securing the soul-storing Dragon Pearl. Without it, his physique alone would’ve crumbled in the last hundred trials.

This understanding stayed his hand. The third layer’s dangers were unknown. Though he possessed the prized Sun and Moon Dual Souls, their automatic body refinement’s timing remained unclear. With such uncertainties, charging ahead seemed unwise.

In the first layer, weaker cultivators had already hidden themselves, their luck spent. Beyond the fourth layer lay true battles among experts—a free-for-all where standing out meant becoming a target. The third layer, however, posed its own peril: everyone would clash for entry to the fourth.

Currently, only Zhang Yanhua and Jun Ruolan of the Moon Goddess Palace, plus Du Jianyin, knew of Ye Yun. Their combat power nearly matched his, the gaps negligible. Thankfully, their pride made alliance unlikely—each would fight alone. Still, Ye Yun braced for the worst. If all three attacked, he’d fight. Defeating Zhang Yanhua might scar the man’s cultivation path permanently.

"What if he breaks through to the pinnacle of the Nascent Soul stage?" the Ancestor prodded. "That boy’s talent is rare."

"Leaping two levels would worry me, but without heaven-defying pills, it’s impossible." Talent mattered, but time and resources decided cultivation. Immortal Spirit Stones, techniques, pills, treasures—all were essential.

Zhang Yanhua likely lacked nothing in the Moon Goddess Palace, but here in the Xumi Treasure, his storage pouch probably held fewer than two thousand top-tier Immortal Spirit Stones. Ye Yun, however, possessed enough to sustain a major sect. A first-rate sect rivaled even the prosperous Moon Dynasty. That a Golden Core cultivator like him could bankroll a dynasty defied belief—were he an Earth Immortal of the Seventh Level, it’d make sense.

This wealth, if exposed, would draw Earth Immortals hunting him. They’d seize his spirit stones, scour his soul, and erase him. Thus, he hid his tracks. Envy alone could doom him—lesser cultivators, bitter over their fates, would swarm like locusts, demanding why fortune favored him.

Top-tier Immortal Spirit Stones fueled cultivation, anchoring sects. Their greed was inevitable. Yet if Ye Yun reached unfathomable heights, their jealousy would turn to fear.

"Once I surpass their imagination, they’ll kneel in awe, not resentment." Thunder crackled around him as he opened his eyes, lightning sigils flickering in his gaze.

"Time to go." Becoming a lightning bolt, he soared toward the sky’s black vortex, matching Jun Ruolan’s moonlit speed.

"Should’ve left earlier." He grimaced. "Meeting them now would be awkward."

"Unlikely," the Ancestor chuckled. "Those two youngsters won’t catch up so fast."

"Perhaps. Better to keep our encounter as a memory." Ye Yun sighed. Golden Ling’er and Jin An were mere footnotes in his journey—melodies to ponder in distant years.

"Don’t be so gloomy, as if you’ll live alone from now on. Am I not here with you?" The Ancestor of the Sword Path huffed, noticing the melancholy in Ye Yun’s eyes. He understood the youth’s feelings – as cultivation levels grew, the gap between Ye Yun and Jin An would widen. How many meetings remained when ascending to higher realms? Perhaps none.

"Compared to you, I was quite the lively fellow in my youth," the Ancestor joked, seeing Ye Yun’s lingering sorrow. "But worry not. What if you meet them in the third layer? That’d be fate’s doing."

"If heaven grants such fortune, I’d be truly blessed." Ye Yun smiled at the translucent ancestor.

"Since you met me, stranger things could happen," the Ancestor boomed with laughter.

"Let’s hope not." Ye Yun exhaled slowly. The Thunder Spirit Qi in his meridians surged faster, transforming into lightning that carried him through the sky like shooting stars.

"Look at these ants on a hot pan." Countless black specks swarmed the sky-rending chasm marking the third layer’s entrance – all anxious Nascent Soul cultivators.

"Have the natural nine great tribulations not manifested?" Ye Yun frowned at the unsettling calm.

"Who knows? This realm’s treasures might remain buried. You’ve only claimed the Sun and Moon Dual Souls and Essence of Thick Earth – the rest are trivial." The Ancestor shrugged.

"What use are these coral-like things?" Ye Yun’s mental intent brushed against the colorful growths in his Thunder Sound Metamorphosis ring. His eyes suddenly sharpened.

"You don’t know?" The Ancestor raised an eyebrow.

"You knew and didn’t tell me?" Ye Yun glared.

"You never asked! I thought you disliked them." The Ancestor chuckled until Ye Yun’s stare intensified. "Fine. These coral husks contain runes with power matching a Sixth Level Nascent Soul’s self-destruct. Useless for you, I assumed."

"Sixth Level self-destruct?" Ye Yun’s fingers tightened. "Forget that. How do I extract the runes?"

"Peel the coral away."

Nodding, Ye Yun sent a soul-bound sword slash through the Ancestor’s spectral form before shattering every coral.

"Why keep this simple method secret?" Twelve crimson-gold runes glowed where corals crumbled. Ye Yun lifted one. "These rival Sixth Level self-destruction?"

"Blood reveals their use. Some Heavenly Immortal’s scribbles." The Ancestor waved dismissively.

Blood droplets split into twelve threads merging with the runes. Memories flooded Ye Yun’s mind, his expression sobering. These surpassed Sixth Level explosions – their might equaled his full-powered Ice Spirit Divine Palm.

"Good haul from Xumi Treasure’s second layer." Ye Yun’s rare smile appeared as he sorted the runes.

"Others found fortunes too." His gaze tracked cultivators entering the third layer. Few bore supreme Immortal artifacts, but many clutched top-quality ones.

"Countless challengers, countless sacrifices." The Ancestor watched the rushing crowd.

"Just marveling at their madness." Most here had gained treasures yet craved more. Every Nascent Soul cultivator had advanced at least one level; lucky ones jumped two.

But those double-leapers were early-stage weaklings. True geniuses would ascend from Fifth to Seventh Level.

Ye Yun’s cultivation hovered at mid-seventh-level Golden Core stage. Though unmatched in true qi and spiritual power, his body couldn’t yet sustain breaking through. When the Sun and Moon Dual Souls activated, his alchemy pill would shatter, reborn into Nascent Soul – but not yet. The Cleansing Immortal Heart Technique demanded stronger flesh first.