Chapter 285: Unexpected Trials and Divine Ascents

Is it really you?!

Li Che froze, his face etched with shock.

Something was amiss.

Lü Taibai transmitted a message directly into his ear—only Li Che could hear it. The other party had retrieved some resources and was taking it very seriously; otherwise, when a Divine Nucleus Cultivator returns to break through with a single sword of the Martial Saint, even Lü Taibai’s skills would struggle to dispatch him. Lü Taibai looked at Li Che with a half-smile. “The structure of Lie Shen Pavilion is rather complex. It even has self-destruct mechanisms—after all, where there are people, there’s always someone eager to seize resources, and the price to pay is never cheap. Besides, Lie Shen Pavilion is simply very convenient—”

“Besides, it ranks third on the bounty list…” Lü Taibai continued in a cheerful tone.

“Huh? Not impressed by a Four Supreme Divine Crystal? Well, if it were a top-grade one,”

“…then it would be different, but this one is subpar.”

Lü Taibai’s calm transmission was met by Li Che’s silence. As expected…

After downing his drink and spitting it out, Li Che continued, “Sect Master… what if there’s a Lie Shen Pavilion Assassin among the seniors?”

Li Che hurriedly poured more wine.

Lü Taibai remarked, “Kill—kill as you please. Killers remain strangers to one another; the Star Killer’s mask, born from Ren Bai Ya Mountain, speaks for itself.”

Those indifferent words sent a chill through Li Che’s body.

The Hunter King… could it be that he’s truly a professional?

Within the Pavilion, could it be that they harbor a band of professional rebels?!

Li Che’s eyes flashed and his heart stirred. Who could believe it?

Lü Taibai remained unconvinced. Judging by Li Che’s unwavering gaze, he mused, “What kind of man could you possibly be? Rest assured, XiXi is safe with me.”

“Come on, I’ll hold them off as well.”

Lü Taibai did not press further. Instead, he smiled and said:

With Lü Taibai and the Sect Master’s Wife, Xuan Qisha, by his side, Li Che felt a great sense of relief. Li Che and Zhang Ya glanced back as they saw Jin Taisui standing next to XiXi—a girl abandoned by her parents on Witch God Mountain, who never knew the warmth of family.

Following behind XiXi, Li Che almost imagined having parents like Zhang Ya. At last, XiXi had returned to Grand Plaza, now being guided by Lü Taibai’s personal swordsmanship.

Emperor XiXi was working hard!

Li Che strolled along the rainy mountain path with Zhang Ya.

Occasionally, as they passed a peculiar temple on the mountainside, Zhang Ya—arm in arm with Li Che—would look up at her husband with tender eyes, “Darling, let’s stay like this forever.”

In the Divine Sect’s mountain ranges, they watched the rain fall and blossoms bloom. “Sounds wonderful,”

Li Che laughed.

“Then promise me a pinky swear!” Zhang Ya said earnestly, her damp, silky hair clinging to her face.

Zhang Ya smiled softly and replied, “Oh, darling, you’re such a fool. Who can live for ten thousand years?”

Li Che extended his hand; his slender fingers brushed her deep, drifting gaze.

“Who said we can’t live for ten thousand years?”

Their exchanged words hinted at an unspoken promise.

Zhang Ya urged, “You must strive harder!”

“Elder Jiao, please make sure to instruct me in cultivation,” Li Che pleaded, as Elder Jiao Shaoqiu—who even trained children using bent wooden poles—paused in surprise.

Then Elder Jiao Shaoqiu smiled and said, “Very well. From now on, you shall teach nothing further to the children.”

Elder Jiao Shaoqiu chatted idly with Li Che in the courtyard, “I hear tomorrow you’ll be with the Sect Master…”

“Is that so?” Elder Jiao, watching water pour over tea in the stove, added, “Give it a try; it’s never a loss.”

?

“The wager between me and the Sect Master’s Wife—she’s also XiXi’s teacher—is merely a practice in wood carving. There’s absolutely no loss.”

After a brief pause in practice by Zhang Ya, Li Hua told Nie Yang to stay behind. Li Che then returned alone to the Elders’ Court, with Li Qingshan accompanying Mu Po Chunyu.

After bidding farewell to them, Li Che moved on.

Li Che shifted his stance once more.

H

1 –>

A powerful divine essence began to surge forth, accompanied by roughly fifteen Golden Pills—

“The Seven Emotions and Six Desires, Fa Tian Xiang Di, and the Exorcism of Evil…” Li Che’s eyes widened, his gaze filled with the brilliance of the Fatai Xiangdi Lingzhen True Ape Technique—the pinnacle of the Three Pure Ones in ranked supremacy.

Ganshidandan Blood and associated power surged.

“Though my primordial spirit has yet to transform and my Golden Pills remain intact, their abundance—even if lacking in quality—ensures no shortfall,”

“And though I lack a Heavenly Soul and haven’t suffered rank suppression, the cohesion of the Cosmic Chessboard combined with an alternative Divine Nucleus…”

Li Che felt that, in any case, he was edging closer to something extraordinary.

A smile played on Li Che’s lips as his mood lifted. “The Wanxiang Seal merges with my divine power,” he declared as he stood up.

One

The Mud Pellet on his brow trembled as his Divine Seal Technique activated two brilliant Golden Pills—one black, one white—that shimmered with an aura.

The void itself seemed to crack with splintering fissures!

“So powerful!”

Li Zi’s eyes widened for a moment, overcome with awe.

>

In doing so, he had acquired a fragment of Divine Nucleus Cultivation—the Wanxiang Seal—and might one day master all nine forms of the Wanxiang Nine Gods Seal. If only I grew stronger…

For divine cultivators, mastering the Divine Secret Technique is the final challenge. Li Che also struggled to consolidate his Divine Seed Martial Arts. Despite his limited innate talent, as his martial cultivation advanced, it felt as though his journey in martial arts was nearing its end.

After changing into clean clothes, Li Che entered and found that the carving knife gifted by Su Huai Ming—the Divine Eagle Master of the Su Family—moved slower than before.

The following day.

Spring rain fell continuously as dark clouds piled in the sky. Li Che donned the ancient divine attire of the Shendiao Ridge elder.

“What is this concept of the Three Evenings and Ten Kings?”

It has practically shattered the records of the Qianyuan Divine Sect!

Unimaginable!

Not many believed in Li Che’s ‘Endless Night Tale.’

They dismissed it as nothing more than a wager between Li Che and the Sect Master’s Wife over wood carving. Even Old Chen acknowledged that Li Che had reached an extraordinary level in this art.

Sure enough—this world of geniuses is beyond ordinary mortals. Li Che need not worry; even failure wouldn’t allow anyone to attain his heights.

Old Chen remarked.

An official carriage had just left Daocheng, racing along the main road. Today, one after another, carts moved from Daocheng toward Shendiao Ridge.

They were all Divine Eagle Masters from various families—Zhou Tianshui from the Zhou Family and Yun Family elders, among others—all greeting Li Che warmly.

+

Li Che, engaged in a wager with the Heavenly Person of the Gods, knew they had to confront each other at least once. After all, if Li Che became a Divine Eagle Semi-Saint, he’d have a chance to progress even further.

In this day and age, who doesn’t want to improve?!

After a harsh winter, Shendiao Ridge now flourished with lush greenery as Li Che’s carriage came to a stop at Grand Plaza.

Drizzling spring rain, umbrella in hand, Li Che stepped out, dressed in his now distinctive attire—

Gongshu Jingjun took a deep breath.

Suddenly, a pure sword light tore through the sky, slicing through Lü Taibai’s white robe. His silver hair flowed wildly as streams of sword light erupted around his feet. In response, Gongshu Jingjun, Tang Xiejia, and the others bowed deeply, with Li Che following suit.

XiXi, standing beside Lü Taibai, leaped excitedly into Li Che’s arms.

“Dad, keep it up!”

With her chubby little fists, XiXi looked up at the Sect Master’s Wife, Xuan Qisha, who shot her a warning glance:

Xuan Qisha immediately raised her hand dismissively and said:

Lü Taibai:

…

Women truly are wondrous beings.

Whoosh! Suddenly, a slicing sound shattered the air, and everyone felt the surge of an overwhelmingly powerful Heavenly Soul!

Ding Riren

I

“Monitors… do they all have a fetish for oddities?”

Monitor Hu Yingyue from Jin Guang Mansion always goes out accompanied by the monitors from Daocheng, carrying a chessboard—

Planning to smash foes with that chessboard?

But—

Li Che, possessing the 【Chess Sage】 Dao Fruit, remarked with a smile, “I know a bit of chess art.”

After a brief commotion, he entered the Shendiao Ridge Workshop, where most of the woodcarvers

watched Li Che with fervor.

Li Che’s Divine Eagle Technique was unquestionable.

Even if his attempt at becoming a Divine Eagle Semi-Saint failed this time,

the Sect Master’s Wife, Xuan Qisha, stated bluntly.

She had always been straightforward. Li Che smiled gently and said,

“Rest assured, Sect Master’s Wife,”

“after all, my Divine Eagle Technique… is fully inherited,” Li Che murmured.

The wind and waves began to stir.

The old soak had dried up.

Li Che grabbed a wooden block from the pile—

It appeared to be the most ordinary piece of wood. Even as Elder Sun had once reached enlightenment, Lü Taibai stood with his hands behind his back, silver hair streaming, while Monitor Hong Shifo carried a chessboard and smiled. Li Che’s eyes scanned his surroundings; the Mud Pellet on his brow trembled slightly. In the next moment—

“This is it!”

Elders like Fang Han Shu and Zhao Fangzhou in the inner sect were stunned—Li Che’s rising energy at that moment surpassed them all!

Li Che’s cultivation had shockingly broken through to Divine Essence!

No wonder Li Che was so confident!

A breakthrough in cultivation was his true strength?!

He gripped a divine weapon engraving knife with his five fingers,

under everyone’s gaze.

Executing his technique with utmost precision!

Li Che’s heart settled completely, his spirit fully immersed within him.

The 【Xiangong】 Dao Fruit pulsed violently,

as if cheering for Li Che’s state with the fall of his ninth strike.

In an instant, the rough form of a masterpiece took shape!

Throughout the Shendiao Ridge Workshop, all the woodcarvers watched in awe.