158: A divine eye? A blind man? (Forty-three)

At the end of the spatial tunnel, the light distorted.

Jun Yun and You Chen stepped out, and the sensation beneath their feet was no longer nothingness.

An incredibly dense Spiritual Qi, far surpassing that of the Northern Plains, rushed toward them.

You Chen's body shook violently.

He raised his head and looked around.

As far as the eye could see, there was a vast and boundless wilderness.

The sky was exceptionally high and distant, with white clouds layered like massive mountain ranges.

In the distance, massive floating islands were suspended among the clouds, with jade palaces and pavilions faintly visible.

From time to time, streaks of rainbow light streaked from one end of the horizon to the other.

Each streak of rainbow light represented a powerful expert with a cultivation base at least above the Guiyi Realm.

In the Northern Plains, such a figure would be enough to serve as the Foundation of a power, presiding over a region.

But here, they seemed to be just ordinary travelers.

“This is... the Central Continent?”

You Chen's voice was somewhat dry.

He was once the Great You Divine Lord, ruling over the Northern Plains, believing he stood at the peak of the world.

It wasn't until his journey with the Ancient Saint Clan that he learned there were heavens beyond heavens.

But only now, personally stepping onto this land, did he truly understand what it meant for things to be as fleeting as “passing clouds.”

The Hegemon of the Northern Plains.

Before this true center of the world, he appeared insignificant.

Jun Yun's expression did not change in the slightest.

To him, the sights of the Central Continent were merely a revisit to an old place.

Deep within his Double Pupils, countless memory fragments belonging to Si Yun from his past life were rapidly flashing and reassembling.

“Big Brother Jun, where are we going next?”

You Chen retracted his thoughts and looked at Jun Yun with eyes full of trust.

Jun Yun's gaze turned toward the distant southern horizon.

“To find something,”

He spoke calmly.

“My Pill Dao has reached a Bottleneck.”

“To achieve a Breakthrough to the Pill God realm, I must find a flame of divine fire from heaven and earth to temper my Origin.”

You Chen understood upon hearing this.

He had personally witnessed Big Brother Jun's attainments in the Pill Dao.

For something to be called a Bottleneck by him, the required divine fire must be no ordinary object.

“I need a flame called the Nine-Colored Divine Fire.”

As his words fell, Jun Yun said no more. With a movement of his body, he flew toward the south.

You Chen did not hesitate for a second and immediately followed.

The two of them turned into two streaks of light, merging into the sky of the Central Continent, where experts were as numerous as clouds.

The vastness of the Central Continent exceeded You Chen's imagination.

They headed south, flying for tens of thousands of miles.

The land below was sometimes continuous immortal mountains, shrouded in spiritual mist with cranes flying about.

Sometimes it was massive cities, with Cultivators coming and going like threads, and those with powerful auras everywhere.

On the way, they also encountered some trial teams from Central Continent Sects.

Those young Disciples each had steady auras and solid Foundations; a few even had cultivation bases no weaker than the top Prodigies of the Northern Plains Divine Dynasty.

After several more days of travel.

The scenery ahead began to turn desolate.

Spiritual Qi was still dense, but a violent and scorching aura permeated the world.

The ground appeared charred and glassy, with not a single blade of grass growing.

In the air floated some fine, shimmering Law fragments.

“We've arrived.”

Jun Yun stopped and hovered in mid-air.

His Double Pupils swept over the deathly silent forbidden land ahead.

“Something is wrong.”

Jun Yun's brow furrowed slightly.

He saw at a glance that the Restriction he had set in his past life as Si Yun with a Guiyi Realm cultivation base had been forcibly broken.

Those Law fragments floating in the air were the remains of the destroyed Restriction.

You Chen also sensed the anomaly.

The Void Realm ahead was extremely unstable, as if it could collapse at any moment.

A presence that made his heart race faintly came from the depths of the forbidden land.

“BOOM—”

Just then.

A loud explosion suddenly erupted from the depths of the forbidden land.

A cluster of incredibly brilliant nine-colored light soared into the sky, dyeing the entire heavens in magnificent colors.

Within that light was a terrifying flame, as if it could burn all things to ash.

At the same time, several equally powerful spiritual energy fluctuations intertwined and clashed around the light.

Clearly, someone was in an intense confrontation with the Nine-Colored Divine Fire.

Jun Yun's Double Pupils narrowed slightly.

He saw through the layers of energy storms and saw the true form of the divine fire.

It was far more violent and powerful than when Si Yun had encountered it in his memories.

Currently, several parties were surrounding it tightly from different directions.

“Let's go take a look first.”

Jun Yun signaled You Chen to conceal his aura, and the two of them silently slipped into the entrance of the forbidden land.

They hid behind a massive charred rock, secretly observing the situation at the center of the battlefield.

The center of the battlefield.

The Nine-Colored Divine Fire had transformed into a hundred-zhang-tall Nine-Colored Fire Phoenix. Every time it flapped its wings, it kicked up a violent firestorm.

There were three main forces besieging it.

One side was the Old Man in Dan Robe; he held a Purple-Gold Gourd, constantly spraying black divine water from it in an attempt to douse the divine fire's power.

Another side consisted of two middle-aged Cultivators, a man and a woman. Together, they were activating a massive ice-blue array map, raining down endless cold Qi, wanting to freeze the divine fire.

The final side was a group of Cultivators wearing crimson battle armor. They formed a battle array, their auras linked, transforming into a massive fire giant. They seemingly wanted to counter fire with fire and forcibly devour the divine fire.

The cultivation bases of the three forces were all extremely powerful; the leaders were all experts of the Grotto-Heaven Realm.

But they were also full of wariness toward each other.

None dared to strike with full force, fearing that the other two parties would take advantage of them.

The Nine-Colored Divine Fire was also extraordinary, able to use the conflict between the three forces to constantly find openings to counterattack.

For a time, the entire battlefield fell into a strange stalemate.

Jun Yun took everything in.

“The timing is perfect.”

He made a judgment in his heart.

Waiting any longer would only allow these three forces to slowly reach some kind of understanding, or the divine fire would find an opportunity to escape.

Intervening now was the best time to break the situation.

“Let's go.”

Jun Yun no longer hid.

He said a single word to You Chen and then led him out from behind the rock.

The two of them did not conceal their presence, walking straight toward the center of the battlefield and the besieged Nine-Colored Divine Fire.

This sudden development instantly shattered the balance on the field.

The three parties of experts who were in the middle of a fierce battle almost simultaneously stopped their actions.

Dozens of gazes all turned toward Jun Yun and You Chen.

Those gazes were filled with shock, confusion, anger, and a hint of contempt.

“Who are you?”

The Old Man in Dan Robe was the first to speak, his voice cold.

“Two reckless juniors actually dare to covet the divine fire?”

The middle-aged man activating the ice-blue array let out a cold laugh.

“Get out. This isn't a place where you should be.”

The leader of the crimson-armored group directly shouted a reprimand, his voice booming.

The strength Jun Yun and You Chen displayed was merely at the Three Origins Realm.

Such strength was not worth mentioning in their eyes.

Jun Yun turned a deaf ear to these warnings and threats.

His footsteps did not pause for a moment.

From beginning to end, his target was only that Nine-Colored Divine Fire.