CHAPTER 749: CHAPTER 616: SECOND LAYER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH TRIBULATION

Yan Jiu never expected Feng Xun not to blame him.

For Yan Jiu, it was like releasing a longstanding guilt that had been suppressed deep in his heart, feeling a sudden sense of relief, as if a heavy stone bearing down on his chest had been lifted, easing his mind greatly.

Perhaps, as Feng Xun said, everything should be left to time to decide.

"I’ll accompany you to the Dragon Roaming Land," Yan Jiu dubiously wiped the corner of his eye.

"You stay here, take care of Lan Cai’er. Now that you’re a husband, you might as well learn how to be a father. As for Ling Yue, cover for me and say I’ve gone to the Underworld Yama Palace to gather materials. I’ll be back in at most half a month," Feng Xun was still somewhat uneasy about leaving Mercenary City.

Feng Lan had already left, and if he were to leave with Yan Jiu, there would only be a group of the old, weak, women, and children left in Mercenary City.

Yan Jiu knew that Feng Xun was considering his best interests, but with Feng Xun’s condition being unstable, how could he rest assured letting him go alone?

Yan Jiu still wanted to say something, but was silenced by a stern look from Feng Xun.

Feng Xun was becoming more and more like Wu Zhong; or rather, had he always been "him"...

Unable to object, Yan Jiu could only carry out Feng Xun’s instructions, but he made a special point to warn him.

"In the year you were six, you once used your internal power, causing a tiny crack in the sealing. Remember, do not use that power again at will, otherwise, even I don’t know what might happen."

By the time Ye Lingyue got the news, Feng Xun had already begun his departure from Mercenary City.

"Why not let someone else go? How can your body endure such a long journey?" Ye Lingyue complained.

"It’s nothing, haven’t you noticed I haven’t been sick lately? Take good care of yourself, wait for my return," Feng Xun embraced Ye Lingyue, then got on the carriage.

The north wind was still biting cold, and as she watched Feng Xun walk further and further away, a strange premonition rose faintly in Ye Lingyue’s heart.

It was as if once Feng Xun left this time, he might never return.

She suppressed the weird feeling in her heart and strolled back into the city.

At the moment when Ye Lingyue and Feng Xun embraced, a pair of envious, red eyes glared at them.

Ye Lingyue and Feng Xun seemed to be more inseparable than ever.

That wretched woman.

Xue Pianran bit her lip hard.

Feng Xun had never been so intimate with her.

"He is indeed Feng Xun, truly a fine figure of a man."

Elder Ying, disguised as a mercenary, noticed her daughter’s envious gaze.

"Mother, Feng Lan has already left, and now Feng Xun has also left the city on business. When do we make our move?"

Snow Pianran, wearing someone else’s face, felt tormented every time she thought about how hideous she looked beneath this borrowed visage.

"Don’t be impatient, let me first figure out the situation in the City Lord’s Mansion before we make a move. Rest assured, Ye Lingyue’s flesh will definitely be yours," Elder Ying confidently proclaimed.

Half a month quickly passed by.

In the Earth Evil Prison, suddenly, a thunderous roar that could move mountains and overturn seas was heard.

From the twenty-fifth to the forty-eighth layer of the Earth Evil Prison, evil Qi surged like raging waves, intertwining to form a massive black vortex.

Upon closer inspection, in the center of the vortex sat a black dot.

That black dot was Ye Lingyue.

At this moment, her eyes were tightly closed.

The evil Qi was dense and continuously pouring into Ye Lingyue’s body.

Under the influence of the Evil Qi, her entire being was like a bottomless black hole, constantly absorbing the Evil Qi into her Dantian.

It transformed into countless tadpole-shaped droplets, seeping into Ye Lingyue’s skin, muscles, and viscera.

A vast amount of Evil Qi poured into her body.

Within the Qian Cauldron, dark mists billowed like raging waves, and the Black Cauldron Breath, originally weaker than the White Tripod Breath, rapidly expanded.

Ye Lingyue felt her Dantian being washed over by the Evil Qi time and again.

With a thunderous boom, a black halo suddenly burst forth from within her body.

Ye Lingyue suddenly opened her eyes, her already pitch-black eyes now seemingly unfathomably dark.

"Ice Seal the World."

In the sky, a giant finger descended from the heavens.

With a gentle press, when it fell, it split into thirty-six shadows.

In the sky, the rolling Evil Qi was instantly frozen over.

Wherever the finger shadows passed, everything was frozen solid, reduced to deathly stillness as countless Earth Evil beings howled in ghostly misery, retreating like tides, hiding in the Earth Evil Prison, shivering with fear, each looking up with reverence at the female Human Clan figure in the sky.

"At last, I’ve broken through the Second Layer of the Heaven and Earth Tribulation."

Ye Lingyue expelled a breath of muddied energy, and her form suddenly plummeted downward.

A white beastly shadow flashed by, catching Ye Lingyue squarely—it was Little Zhiyo after the Blood Transformation.

The pair, like gliding, landed on the ground.

In front of an imposing Earth Evil Palace, stood twenty-three Earth Evil Monarchs.

Leading them was the Die Mei Monarch, with twenty-two other Earth Evil Monarchs, apart from the Mu Gui Monarch, following her.

It had been half a month since Feng Xun left. During this time, Ye Lingyue, in alliance with Die Mei, swiftly conquered multiple Earth Evil Prisons with lightning speed.

With the help of Gray Fire, these Earth Evil Monarchs had become an increasing number of captives, serving her purpose.

If previously the Die Mei Monarch still harbored a sliver of doubt about Ye Lingyue being able to defeat the Earth Evil King, after witnessing that recent move by Ye Lingyue, her confidence was much strengthened.

"Congratulations, Master, on breaking through the Second Layer of the Heaven and Earth Tribulation. What was that Martial Arts technique you used just now? It was destructively powerful yet carried the force of Ice Seal."

Die Mei came forward to congratulate her, also very curious about that incredibly powerful move of Ye Lingyue.

"That move is a unique Martial Arts technique I created after fusing the Little Infinite Finger of the Buddhist Sect with the acupuncture technique of my sect. The effect turned out to be surprisingly good, beyond my expectations."

That finger was the first time Ye Lingyue had combined the Ghost Sect Thirteen Needles with the Little Infinite Finger’s Devil Suppression.

Not only did it possess the power of Devil Suppression, but it also incorporated the "Ice Freeze Three Feet" effect from Ye Lingyue’s understanding of the fifth needle of the Ghost Sect Thirteen Needles.

Its attack range reached about a mile and carried the Ice Seal effect.

But Ye Lingyue knew that such a breakthrough was still not enough.

"Die Mei, tell me the truth," she asked, "with my current strength, do I stand a chance against the Earth Evil King?"

Ye Lingyue now controlled two-thirds of the Earth Evil Prison, and the combined power of the twenty-three Earth Evil Monarchs was equivalent to the national strength of a great Daxia Country on the Qing Province Continent.

"Still not enough," sighed Die Mei, "even if we all joined forces, we are far from enough to match the Earth Evil King."

"What about adding the Yi God’s Void-breaking Bow to the equation?" It was then that Ye Lingyue realized the terrifying power of the Earth Evil King.

"If it were the Yi God’s Void-breaking Bow in its heyday, certainly it would be possible. But ever since the Yi God fell, the Yi God’s Void-breaking Bow is no longer as formidable as it once was. It is still not enough to kill the Earth Evil King, but if the Master could possess a Spiritual Artifact comparable to the Yi God’s Void-shattering Bow at its prime, maybe we could have a chance," spoke Die Mei candidly.