Chapter 815

Chapter 815: Every Step a Struggle

After wandering for about two hours, Ye Yun gradually spotted a massive cave emerging in the distance. Yet he refrained from rashly descending. Even the Ancestor’s expression shifted slightly, warning Ye Yun to avoid lingering here. Any sudden danger arising from this cavern would prove too perilous unless Ye Yun regained his peak strength.

"Unlucky. I’d hoped to finish this quickly, but it seems the road ahead remains long," Ye Yun muttered irritably. The Ancestor sighed. They both knew the beings here were beyond their capabilities. He’d once mocked Ye Yun’s weakness, but now the same taunt mirrored his own helplessness.

"Futility upon futility," Ye Yun sighed again, pausing to rest after the arduous trek. The Ancestor scanned the area with his spiritual sense, finding nothing but barrenness for ten thousand miles. Confusion gnawed at him—Ye Yun’s chosen path shouldn’t have been this empty. Aside from the colossal cave, no landmarks existed.

As Ye Yun turned to retreat, the Ancestor questioned sharply, "Seeking death? Whatever sleeps there could crush us both effortlessly."

"But it’s still an opportunity. Would abandoning it not be wasteful?" Ye Yun countered, impatience thinning his resolve. His absence from Lingyao Continent weighed on him—if the Demon Race attacked now, could humanity endure?

"Without the magic source crystal, a Tenth Level Earth Immortal Demon Emperor’s threat is unimaginable. Even at my prime, I could only rival Ninth Level Earth Immortals. The Tenth Level surpasses mortal limits. If Grand Elder Mu Zhi remains in closed-door cultivation…"

"Then may fortune favor you," the Ancestor sighed, recognizing Ye Yun’s determination. Though reckless in his eyes, he couldn’t dissuade the youth. Weariness clouded his thoughts—he who once scorned caution now trembled at risks.

Pride stung as the Ancestor acknowledged his decline. Without physical form, his soul clung to Ye Yun as the key to rebirth. To perish here would shatter his ambitions. Yet time had eroded his boldness, leaving only bitter resignation.

"Persevere, brat. This Ancestor remains by your side," he forced out, masking unease. To rekindle his fading spirit, he’d dance again on death’s edge—the cultivator’s ceaseless path. All roads ended in oblivion, but he refused to fade forgotten.

Ye Yun raised an eyebrow at the Ancestor’s rare solemnity. "If you’re resolved, I’ll gamble everything."

Shattering the Deceptive Array binding him, Ye Yun unleashed spatial laws. The Celestial-Demon battlefield trembled as space fractured for miles. His eyes bloodshot, he channeled insights from the Time and Space Hall, the Heart of Immortals and Demons feeding him sealed mental energy.

Darkness engulfed his consciousness—countless orbs floating in void. Two dominated: a blazing sun and glacial moon. Ye Yun recoiled as comprehension flooded him—too vast, too alien. The Heart unsealed more power, revealing a crack of light in the abyss. He barely reforged his mental barriers before collapse.

"A fraction of spatial laws… enough." Though exhausted, triumph flickered. Accumulated fragments might one day form whole truths. His Thunder Spirit power thrummed, echoing destructive epiphanies from lightning-scarred memories.

White light erupted—the battlefield convulsed. Ye Yun teleported without hesitation. The Ancestor tensed, sensing wrongness in the cave’s emanating aura—not demon god remnants, yet oppressive.

Reappearing at the cave’s edge, Ye Yun grimaced. Demonic energy here dwarfed the Celestial Tower’s upper floors in volume if not purity. Black mist writhed below, corrosive to mortals. His Earth Immortal physique offered scant protection.

"Ancestor! Any plans before I’m devoured?"

"Crush top-tier Immortal Spirit Stones. Their energy will shield you."

Ye Yun laughed, summoning mountains of radiant stones from his Thunder Sound Metamorphosis ring. They disintegrated into swirling Immortal spirit energy, repelling the encroaching darkness. Lightning arced around him as he plunged into the abyss, the cave’s maw swallowing his radiance.

"Faster," he urged, watching his protective aura erode alarmingly. What horrors awaited in the depths mattered less than the crystal’s retrieval—humanity’s fate hung in the balance.