190: Yunxi is injured

After sending Liu Ruyan away, Chen Jun was lounging lazily on the lounge chair, enjoying the "Morning Star Dew" carefully nurtured by Lin Wei using her Star Arm Level power...

Feeling the power within him, vast as a sea of stars, life's Perfection could be nothing more than this...

Suddenly, a rapid sound of air being torn apart approached from afar, carrying undisguised panic and anxiety!

"Father! Aunt Lin!"

The figure of Yun Qinglan tore through space and appeared in the courtyard. Her usually cold and ethereal face was now filled with panic, and those eyes—inherited from Chen Jun but appearing even more clear and ethereal—even held a faint glimmer of tears.

Chen Jun and Lin Wei stood up simultaneously.

"Qinglan, what happened?" Lin Wei stepped forward quickly, supporting the breathing-labored Qinglan. She had never seen Qinglan so distraught.

Qinglan grabbed Lin Wei's hand, her voice trembling as she looked at Chen Jun: "Father! Please... please go see Mother! She... she tried to achieve a Breakthrough to the Galaxy Level and was severely injured!"

"What?!" Lin Wei exclaimed.

Chen Jun's pupils constricted slightly, and the leisurely, lazy expression on his face vanished instantly.

He stood up. Although his movements still seemed slow, an invisible, heavy aura had already permeated the area.

Yun Xi... was severely injured?

That woman who was rational to the point of being cold, yet had carried the weight of the entire civilization for one hundred thousand years?

That foolish woman who, as her lifespan neared its end, still attempted to use her own body as a torch to ignite the Nirvana Starburst and perish together with the threat posed by the Tristan Empire?

In Chen Jun's mind, countless images flashed by—

In Jingsi Hall, Yun Xi recounting her regrets about being unable to achieve a Breakthrough to the Star Arm Level; facing the Ten Venerables, her resolute yet helpless figure; and in daily life, those strange eyes that saw through the world's affairs, yet still retained a hint of gentleness toward her students and civilization...

And of course... that passionate night...

"Explain in detail." Chen Jun's voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable power.

Qinglan fought back her tears and said quickly: "Ever since the battle of the Yaoqiong Divine Kingdom, Mother felt that her strength was insufficient to protect the Federation and the Family during true crises. Relying on the resources accumulated from the Yaoqiong Divine Kingdom, she attempted a Breakthrough to the Galaxy Level..."

Her voice choked up: "But Father, the barrier to the Galaxy Level is so solid! Even I, with my Innate Radiant Body, faced life-threatening dangers when I forced an early Breakthrough, and I only succeeded after sustaining light injuries. Mother... she only has an Acquired Sun Body!"

"She was too impatient! Her Foundation had not yet been polished to Perfection, and her Aptitude was far from sufficient... She mistakenly believed that the Opportunity for a Breakthrough had arrived and drew the power of the galaxy to infuse her body. As a result... the Law backfired, and her Origin was damaged! Now... now the situation is very bad!"

By the end, Qinglan was sobbing uncontrollably.

Although she was already a Galaxy Level expert, in the face of the terrible news of her mother's severe injury, she reverted to being that helpless daughter.

Lin Wei turned pale as she listened, gripping Qinglan's hand tightly.

Although she didn't have much personal affection for Yun Xi, she knew the significance of this leader to the Federation, to Chen Jun, and to all the daughters.

Chen Jun was silent for a moment.

He could imagine the scene—

Yun Xi alone in the secret chamber, facing the vast yet violent Galaxy Level barrier, with the Aptitude of an Acquired Sun Body, resolutely drawing upon power capable of tearing apart stars... How... resolute and tragic was that?

She didn't have to be in such a rush.

With him here, the Federation was as stable as Mount Tai.

With him here, the Family was as secure as a rock.

Perhaps in her eyes, he was still the "Mortal" who needed to be protected, the "Mortal" who had "self-sealed" his power.

She still firmly carried the responsibility of protecting the civilization on her seemingly strong shoulders...

"Lead the way." Chen Jun said to Qinglan without any extra words.

"Brother Jun..." Lin Wei looked at him with worry.

Chen Jun patted her hand and gave her a reassuring look: "I will return soon, don't worry."

...

Yun Xi's place of seclusion, deep within the Secret Realm of Jingsi Hall...

This place should have been filled with starlight and active Laws, an excellent place to Cultivate.

But at this moment, the entire Secret Realm was filled with an aura of decay and chaos.

The spatial barriers were covered with tiny cracks, as if they could collapse at any moment.

The originally docile star power had become violent and disorderly, darting randomly through the air.

What was most alarming was the center of the Secret Realm—

There floated a lotus platform crafted from a source heart, and upon the lotus platform, Yun Xi's figure was curled up, her aura weak to the extreme.

She was still wearing that simple white dress, but now the dress was stained with pale golden blood—the life essence that had overflowed after her Origin was damaged.

Her face, which usually maintained the appearance of a young girl, had lost all color, pale to the point of transparency, with immense pain gathered between her brows.

Her eyes, originally clear and filled with the vicissitudes of life, were tightly closed, and her long eyelashes trembled incessantly...

Around her, the Laws were as chaotic as a storm, sometimes condensing into illusory galaxy vortexes, and sometimes collapsing into destructive energy, constantly impacting her broken body and Soul.

Wisps of black destructive aura, representing the Law's backlash, were like maggots on a bone, winding around her core Origin and constantly eroding her vitality.

Mo Heng, Shi Yue, Li Qingshan, and other core high-level members of the Federation were all gathered around the lotus platform, their faces grave, constantly casting various healing auras and runes to stabilize the Laws, but the effect was minimal...

The injuries caused by the Galaxy Level Law backlash were far beyond their capabilities.

"Teacher's Origin is continuously dissipating! At this rate, I'm afraid..." Mo Heng looked at the data constantly dropping on the monitoring instrument, his voice heavy.

"Damn it! Damn it all!" Shi Yue punched into the Void Realm, causing space to ripple, his face full of annoyance and helplessness.

Li Qingshan gripped his sword hilt tightly until his knuckles turned white, yet he did not know where to strike.

When Chen Jun stepped into the Secret Realm under the guidance of Qinglan, this was the scene he saw.

His arrival caused the anxious crowd to instantly find their backbone.

"Ancestor Chen!"

"Ancestor Chen, you're here!"

Everyone bowed, hope igniting in their eyes.

Chen Jun ignored them, his gaze falling directly on the curled-up figure on the lotus platform.

Looking at Yun Xi's miserable appearance, feeling the flame of life within her flickering like a candle in the wind, and the power of the Law backlash that was constantly eroding her...

In Chen Jun's heart, an emotion named "heartache" arose for this woman...

This foolish woman...

She always carried everything on her own shoulders.

It was like this before she was one hundred thousand years old, and it was still like this after she was one hundred thousand years old.

He walked slowly to the side of the lotus platform, and the crowd automatically cleared a path.

He extended his finger and gently tapped Yun Xi's forehead.

"Ancestor Chen, be careful! That backlash power is extremely domineering! You have self-sealed your cultivation!" Mo Heng hurriedly reminded him.

Chen Jun's finger did not pause in the slightest, as if he hadn't heard.

The moment his fingertip was about to touch Yun Xi's forehead, the entwined black destructive aura, like an enraged venomous snake, suddenly lunged forward, intending to erode along his finger!

However, at that very instant—

"Hum..."

An invisible and intangible, yet seemingly superior to all Laws, subtle fluctuation rippled gently out from the center of Chen Jun's fingertip.

That incomparably domineering destructive aura, the moment it came into contact with this fluctuation, was like ice and snow meeting a scorching sun, emitting a silent wail, and instantly dissolved and disintegrated, leaving no trace behind!

Not only that, but the violent and chaotic Law power around Yun Xi was also as if smoothed out by an invisible giant hand, quickly becoming docile and orderly.

The suffocating pressure in the entire Secret Realm lifted!

"This..."

Mo Heng and the others were dumbfounded, simply unable to believe their eyes!

The Law backlash that they couldn't suppress even when working together, Ancestor Chen had resolved it with just a gentle tap of his finger...?!

Is this... the Foundation of an ancient existence?

Even with his cultivation "self-sealed," his physical body's mysteries are still unimaginably high?!

Chen Jun paid no attention to their shock.

His Divine Sense, like the most delicate spring rain, quietly permeated into Yun Xi's body, investigating her injuries.

The situation was even worse than he had expected...

Her life Origin was severely depleted, her Soul was injured, and the most troublesome part was the Dao injury caused by the failed Galaxy Level Breakthrough, which had almost damaged her Cultivation Foundation.

If not for her rich accumulation over one hundred thousand years and the support of the resources from the Yaoqiong Divine Kingdom, she would have likely already perished in body and Soul.

Ordinary healing methods were simply ineffective.

Chen Jun was silent and withdrew his finger.

"Father, Mother, she..." Qinglan stepped forward eagerly, her eyes full of expectation.

Chen Jun looked at his daughter, then at Yun Xi on the lotus platform, whose aura was still weak but at least temporarily stabilized, and spoke slowly, his voice carrying an unquestionable calmness:

"You all leave."

Everyone was stunned.

"Ancestor Chen?" Li Qingshan hesitated.

"Leave." Chen Jun repeated, his tone still flat but carrying an irresistible majesty, "Qinglan, stay."

Mo Heng and the others looked at each other, and in the end, not daring to disobey, they bowed respectfully and exited the Secret Realm.

In the Secret Realm, only Chen Jun, Qinglan, and the unconscious Yun Xi remained.

"Father, you have a way to save Mother, right?" Qinglan grabbed Chen Jun's sleeve, as if grabbing the last straw of hope.

Chen Jun did not answer directly but asked in return: "Qinglan, you also sustained light injuries when you attempted a Breakthrough to the Galaxy Level before?"

Qinglan nodded: "The Law torrent contained within the Galaxy Level barrier is too vast. Although I succeeded, because I broke through early, I was injured in my Meridians by the impact force before the Breakthrough."

Chen Jun's gaze flickered slightly.

Even Qinglan, with her Innate Radiant Body, was injured; for Yun Xi to survive after forcefully attempting a Breakthrough with an Acquired Sun Body was already a miracle.

The gap between Innate and Acquired Aptitude is simply too great. If not for a Heaven-Defying Opportunity, it is as difficult as ascending to heaven for someone with Acquired Aptitude to achieve a Breakthrough to a higher Realm!

He turned his gaze back to Yun Xi.

Save her—he definitely had to save her.

Publicly, she was the leader of the Federation and indispensable.

Privately, she was Qinglan's mother, and between her and him, there was a complex, indescribable past and tacit understanding.

More importantly, deep in his heart, Chen Jun did not want to see a woman who had given everything for the civilization end up in such a state.

He slowly raised his hand...

This time, it was not just a finger, but his entire palm, gently hovering in the air above Yun Xi's forehead...