Five Years Gone, Winds Rising (4K)

Time flies. Since Di Tian, with Yu Yuanchen's scheme, ventured alone into the Demon Realm to meet the Demon God Emperor Feng Xiu, another five years have quietly passed.

These past five years have been a period of apparent calm but turbulent undercurrents for the Saint Demon Continent.

Under the unseen protection and enlightenment brought by the "communication" of Yu Yuanchen and his group of five, the Temple Alliance gained a precious respite.

A new generation of geniuses emerged like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, and the traditions of the Six Great Temples were revitalized through exchange and interaction, resulting in a steady increase in their overall strength. Although they were still unable to confront the Demon Race race head-on, their ability to protect themselves had improved considerably.

Yang Zhou, Han Tao, and other high-ranking members of the alliance became increasingly respectful to Yu Yuanchen and his group, granting their every request. The alliance's Library Pavilion and Secret Realm were almost entirely open to them.

On the Demon Race side, the offensive continued, but its scale and intensity were clearly controlled within a certain range, more like a routine matter to maintain pressure.

Since his battle with Yu Yuanchen six years ago, Demon God Emperor Feng Xiu has lived a secluded life, rarely appearing in public. Most of the internal affairs of the Demon Race are handled by the Moon Demon God Agares and the Star Demon God Vassago. An eerie calm hangs over the two major powers.

However, those top figures who truly understand the situation know that beneath this calm lies a far more dangerous undercurrent. The information that Yu Yuanchen had Di Tian bring back back then, like a stone thrown into a deep pool, has already stirred up ripples that are difficult to quell in the hearts of the highest levels of the Demon Race.

The Temple Alliance, the core Forbidden Zone, Yu Yuanchen's exclusive cultivation retreat.

The space here is shrouded in layers of Thunder Law Runes, and the flow of time inside is slightly different from that outside. The concentration of vital Origin Qi is more than ten times that of the outside world. It is a sacred cultivation ground created by Yu Yuanchen using the Law Power with his own God Level strength.

At the summit of a Lone Peak shrouded in the Thunder Power, Yu Yuanchen sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed. There was no earth-shattering aura emanating from him; instead, his aura was extremely restrained, as if he had merged with the entire Secret Realm and even with the vast world outside.

Only with each breath he exhaled would subtle ripples appear in the void around him, faintly revealing countless fine, dust-like runes of law arising and Life and Death, possessing the ferocity of thunder, the heat of flames, the suppleness of flowing water, the weight of the earth, the holiness of light, the profundity of darkness, the transformation of space, the burgeoning of Life... encompassing all things, yet ultimately returning to a wisp of Purple-Gold Lightning that governs all laws and judges all heavens.

After five years of Secluded Cultivation, drawing on the essence of the six major systems of the Temple Alliance and integrating them into his understanding, his Cultivation Level had long been firmly established at the Mid Spirit-level (around level 104). However, due to his comprehension of the God Position, his realm had reached the level of Third-level Deity. His understanding of the Thunder Law had also reached a new height. It was just that because the Saint Demon Continent was not in the Divine Realm, there was no large amount of Immortal Spiritual Qi for him to improve his Cultivation Level.

He even began to try to integrate and sublimate other laws and mysteries, using thunder as a guide, exploring a broader path that belonged to him.

More importantly, his adaptability to the laws of the Saint Demon Continent Plane Law greatly increased, and the suppression he previously suffered has been reduced to negligible levels, allowing him to unleash almost his full strength! If he were to fight the Demon God Emperor Feng Xiu again at this moment, he could easily defeat Feng Xiu, even if Feng Xiu had Super Divine Artifact protecting him, he would not last ten rounds against him.

Not far from him, Ye Zhilan stood quietly beneath the illusory image of Sacred Heart Immortal Begonia, exuding a powerful Life Aura. She held a Jade Slip inscribed with an ancient priest's prayer, and her body radiated a gentle and pure milky-white light, which complemented the illusory image of the Immortal Crab.

Over the course of five years, she has deeply integrated the healing, Purification, and enhancement methods of the Priest System with her own understanding of the divine God Position of the Plant God. Her Life Divine Power has become increasingly pure and powerful, and she has a clearer understanding of the Eighth Trial of "Repair Divine Position". Her Cultivation Level steadily moving towards the threshold of level 100.

Suddenly, at the edge of the Secret Realm realm, in an area shrouded in dense elemental energy, space slightly distorted, and a slender silver figure quietly emerged.

It was Gu Yuena.

She still maintained her aloof and detached demeanor, but the aura surrounding her had undergone a dramatic transformation.

The Silver Dragon King Pressure has now transformed into a more vast, profound, and supreme Divine Might, as if it were in control of the Elemental Origin.

Between the opening and closing of her amethyst-like eyes, one could see the changing scenes of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind.

Three years ago, deep within this Secret Realm, she triggered Seven-Colored Heavenly Tribulation!

That Heavenly Tribulation was no less powerful than Yu Yuanchen's Godhood Tribulation, and it was also extremely dangerous.

With her profound background as the Silver Dragon King and her absolute control over the Elemental Law, Gu Yuena overcame numerous difficulties and successfully entered the Spirit-level Domain, becoming the second true Spirit-level Expert in the team after Yu Yuanchen.

"Congratulations, Sister Gu Yue, your Cultivation Level has improved again." Ye Zhilan sensed Gu Yuena's aura, put away the Jade Slip, and looked at her with a smile.

Gu Yuena nodded slightly, a rare, faint smile appearing on her usually aloof face, "I've gained some insights. The various Elemental Magic of this world, in their basic construction and combinations, hold a unique depth, giving me a new understanding of the Elemental Essence."

Her gaze shifted to Yu Yuanchen atop the Lone Peak peak, a subtle glint of something extraordinary flashing in her eyes. Even as a god, she still sensed that Yu Yuanchen's aura was unfathomable, like a bottomless abyss.

Just then, two other powerful auras also shot up from different directions within the Secret Realm, rapidly converging towards the center.

A holy and radiant figure, like the sun in the sky, appeared—it was Qian Daoliu. He was bathed in pure Angel Holy Light, his six wings on his back became increasingly solid, and he held a phantom of a two-handed greatsword formed from the Light Divine Power, radiating an unparalleled will to judge evil and Purification the world.

The other, domineering and brutal, with Blood Essence like a dragon, was Tang Chen. The force field around him distorted space, and magma seemed to flow beneath his bronze skin. His muscles were bulging, full of explosive power. Although he did not have the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand, his terrifying battle intent, which was unstoppable and capable of crushing everything, was as solid as a tangible substance.

Five years had passed, and Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen had not wasted a single moment.

Drawing upon the Belief Condensation Method of the Knight System and the concept of the God Seal Throne, Qian Daoliu combined this with his own cultivation path and finally took a crucial step, completely transforming his Soul Power into a higher level of Divine Power.

After reaching level 100, his already Divine Power- level Soul Power underwent another transformation, advancing even further. However, his Spiritual Power and physical body did not reach the God Level level before reaching level 100, nor were they able to transform on the basis of the God Level after reaching level 100. They only barely reached the God Level, so he did not trigger the Godhood Tribulation. However, his realm did indeed reach level 100. In terms of combat power, he was no less than an ordinary True God (slightly stronger than the Demon Empress in Dou San).

Tang Chen took a different path. He frantically honed his physical body, fusing the Warrior System's Blood Essence bursting secret technique with the Clear Sky Hammer Technique, actually proving the Dao with strength, and pushing his physique into the Divine Body level before reaching level 100! With his physical strength alone, he could shake mountains! Similarly, his Soul Power and Spiritual Power had not yet fully caught up, and his realm was also at level 100, but his close combat ability was terrifyingly unparalleled.

Although the two had not yet undergone the Godhood Tribulation, it was not insurmountable for them. If it were only the Four-Colored Elemental Tribulation, they could easily overcome it. They simply wanted to challenge the Seven-Colored Heavenly Tribulation after filling in some gaps, so as to achieve a stronger transformation. However, their strength had already undergone earth-shattering changes, enough to roam freely in this realm.

Yu Yuanchen slowly opened his eyes, a fleeting image of the Cosmic Birth and Death flashing in them. He looked at the four people gathered there, a satisfied smile on his face.

"After five years of Secluded Cultivation, everyone has made great progress. Congratulations!"

His gaze lingered on Gu Yuena for a moment, secretly praising her. The Silver Dragon King's talent was indeed heaven-defying; upon the Divine Realm, he had almost reached the peak of Third-level Deity, only one step away from him, and his potential was enormous.

"Now, we have two True God and two Level 100 experts, and Zhilan is not far from Level 100. With such strength, we finally have enough capital to compete in this realm," Yu Yuanchen said in a deep voice.

For the past five years, he has not relaxed his monitoring of the Demon Race's movements. Through the Evil Emperor's hidden network, he vaguely knows that the Demon Race Clan's high command is by no means indifferent to the information brought by Di Tian back then.

The various investigations, deductions, and even some secret spatial experiments secretly conducted by the Moon Demon God Agares and the Star Demon God Vassago could not escape the Evil Emperor's perception.

And all of this was within his plan. What he needed was a powerful enough ally to carry out that audacious plan—to hunt down the Planar Spirit!

This idea stemmed from his own needs on his path of cultivation. Yu Yuanchen aimed to condense the God Position of God King, and relying solely on the damaged Thunder God Position and the Power of Faith from the Douluo Continent was far from sufficient.

He needs a much larger and more fundamental resource. And the Saint Demon Continent, this "Planar Spirit" that has become sentient, after assimilating countless native gods, is undoubtedly the best target due to its abundant resources and complete laws.

Of course, this was extremely risky, akin to snatching food from a tiger's mouth. Therefore, he needed to plan and leverage resources. The inherent conflict between the Demon Race and the Planar Spirit was the "blade" he had chosen.

Five years ago, he sent Di Tian to the Demon Emperor Palace, ostensibly to show goodwill and warn, but in reality to sow the seeds of suspicion and lead the Demon Race down a path of conflict with the Planar Spirit.

He knew that with the wisdom and suspicious nature of Demon God Emperor Feng Xiu, he would never easily believe Di Tian's one-sided story. However, the hint that the Planar Spirit coveted the Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars (the very foundation of the Demon Race's survival) was enough to plant deep doubts in his heart.

Over the past five years, through the occasional fragmented information transmitted back by the Evil Emperor's secret network, Yu Yuanchen knew that the Demon Race's higher-ups had secretly conducted numerous meticulous investigations and verifications. They used various secret methods and even invited the Star Demon God Vassago, who was skilled in divination, to try to glean clues about the Plane Will.

The result, naturally, was nothing. The Planar Spirit was far more cunning and shrewd than anyone; how could it leave behind any obvious evidence? But this "lack of concrete evidence" did little to dispel the Demon Race ' suspicions—after all, it involved the Plane Origin will; if something truly happened, how could it be so easily discovered?

The Demon Race weren't fools either. Although they hadn't found any clues, they were certain of one thing: the Plane Law were indeed extremely powerful. This made things seem very strange.

The Demon Race's final verification method was the step Yu Yuanchen had anticipated—constructing Planar Passage to leave the Saint Demon Continent!

The Demon Race were not without a plan for retreat. Although the Saint Demon Continent was desirable, if, as Di Tian had implied, the Planar Spirit harbored malicious intentions and sought to eradicate them completely, then preparing a way out as soon as possible, considering defeat before victory, would be the act of a wise person.

However, constructing a stable Planar Passage capable of accommodating large armies and even transferring Super Divine Artifact like the Demon God Pillar is extremely resource-intensive and involves considerable disturbance, making it highly susceptible to detection by the Planar Spirit.

There is also great controversy within the Demon Race regarding this matter. The Radical Faction among the high-ranking members believes that this move would be a waste of resources and manpower, undermine morale, and may not even succeed; while the Conservative Faction among the high-ranking members believes that it is better to be safe than sorry and that it is best to prepare in advance.

Ultimately, it was Demon God Emperor Feng Xiu who overruled all objections and made the final decision: to secretly prepare and attempt to build a small-scale experimental channel, firstly to verify the technical feasibility, and secondly... to ultimately test the truth of the matter.

Yu Yuanchen had been waiting for this very moment! He knew that the Planar Spirit would never sit idly by and watch the Demon Race leave with "its" Seventy-Two Demon God Pillars.

Once the Demon Race begin to seriously construct the portal, the Planar Spirit will inevitably intervene! At that time, the truth will be revealed, and a conflict between the Demon Race and the Planar Spirit will be unavoidable!

"After five years of dormancy, the Wind and Clouds is about to break." Yu Yuanchen's gaze pierced through the barrier of the Secret Realm realm, looking towards the direction of the Demon Race realm, and he murmured to himself.

Just then, his mind stirred slightly, and an extremely subtle message, carrying an eerie spiritual fluctuation, entered his Sea of Consciousness through the distant space. The message came from the Evil Emperor, and its content was brief yet Sky Breaker:

"The Demon Race... has officially launched the ' Abyss Corridor ' project... Location... beneath the heart of the Demon Capital Heart City... Vassago personally set up the formation... Agares as protector... The Demon God Emperor... is suspected of secretly monitoring the situation..."

A chilling glint suddenly flashed in Yu Yuanchen's eyes! "The Demon Race has made their move."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuena, Qian Daoliu, Tang Chen, and Ye Zhilan all tensed up. They knew that the storm that Yu Yuanchen had been waiting for and had been pushing forward was finally about to begin.

"What is our plan?" Gu Yuena asked in a cool tone.

"Observe the situation and wait for the right opportunity." Yu Yuanchen's lips curled into a cold smile. "The Planar Spirit will never sit idly by and watch the Demon Race leave with its 'dowry.' Once it personally intervenes to intercept them, that will be the time for the Demon Race to face reality and completely break with it."

"When the time comes, two tigers fight, and one will surely be injured. And we..." Yu Yuanchen's gaze swept over the four people, "Are the last oriole to pounce on."

He paused, then continued, "I've already sent a message to Di Tian, instructing him to act according to the circumstances and to appear at crucial moments, conveying our 'goodwill'—preserving the bloodline of the Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon Clan —to the Demon God Emperor. Whether he believes it or not is irrelevant; as long as he doesn't regret it, that's all that matters."

In fact, this was another reason why Yu Yuanchen sent Di Tian to make contact with the Demon God Emperor. When Di Tian saw the Demon God Emperor again, he had some thoughts in his mind. It wasn't that he wanted to betray them, but that he wanted to win over this few Black Dragon bloodlines.

That's right, the Demon God Emperor's Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon Clan is a descendant of the Black Dragon, and their bloodline is extremely pure. They are not weak among True Dragon, but it is unknown why they ended up here.

As the son of the Dark Dragon King, Di Tian would naturally have the intention to win him over, and Gu Yuena would probably feel the same way.

Since Yu Yuanchen's cooperation with them went relatively smoothly, and out of respect for Di Tian and Gu Yuena, it wouldn't hurt to spare the surviving Heaven-Defying Demon Dragon Clan after the great battle.

As for the Demon God Emperor, it is well known that Yu Yuanchen is the least vengeful.

"When shall we set off?" Tang Chen rubbed his hands together, his fighting spirit soaring.

"No rush." Yu Yuanchen shook his head. "The construction of the passage is not something that can be done in a day, and the reaction of the Planar Spirit also needs time."

We need to wait until they reach a crucial moment before reappearing to clean up the mess. Until then, we must continue training and maintain our peak condition."

Everyone nodded, suppressing the turmoil in their hearts, and immersed themselves back in their cultivation. However, the atmosphere within the Secret Realm had quietly become heavy and filled with a chilling atmosphere.

The storm is no longer brewing.

The wind has already begun to stir from the tip of a blade of grass.