Chapter 1061: A Flash of Firelight
Swish——
The blue light scattered completely, and the space turned crimson once more as the churning sea of flames reclaimed the world.
But everyone staring at the Vermilion Bird projection was dumbfounded, their eyes wide and unblinking. For a long while, no one could snap back to reality.
“Dead...?” Yan Juehai murmured.
They had actually witnessed with their own eyes... an ancient flood dragon being... shattered!!
Not the one covered in injuries, but the one that appeared later, with full dragon power and an unscathed body—the only mark being a wound on its Dragon Gate from a thousand years ago!
And it was... dead!?!
Even though the air here was scorching hot, they felt an ice-cold chill pouring into their nostrils and lungs.
The Ice Phoenix God Sect’s reputation for “Moon-Breaking Devastation” had long been recorded in the Flame God Realm, but no one had ever seen it. Yet none of them could have dreamed that its power would be so terrifying... Even with severely diminished profound strength, heavy poisoning, and serious injuries, Mu Xuanyin had actually frozen the Fire Prison in an instant and shattered an ancient flood dragon possessing the dragon power of a Divine Lord!!
The shock of this scene surpassed even the appearance of the other ancient flood dragon.
Hunting flood dragons had been a dream of the Flame God Realm for generations. And now, it had been vividly presented before their eyes in a way they could never have imagined. But among them all, not a single person showed even a hint of joy...
The countless ice crystals formed from the shattered ancient flood dragon by the miraculous “Moon-Breaking Devastation” fell into the churning sea of flames, were swallowed by the Fire Prison in an instant, and vanished without a trace.
Sinking to the bottom of the endless Fire Prison.
And without a source of power, these fragmented dragon remains would soon be devoured by the Fire Prison, disappearing completely.
In other words, though this ancient flood dragon was dead... they couldn’t even touch a single scale. They could only watch helplessly as it was buried forever in the sea of flames.
“ROAR!!!!!!”
“WU ROAR!!!!!!”
A dragon roar filled with endless fury, pain, and grief jolted everyone’s convulsing souls awake. The surviving ancient flood dragon roared again and again, shaking the Burial God Fire Prison into towering waves: “You... you actually killed it... you actually killed it!!”
“Vile humans! I will make you die! I will turn you into the most insignificant ashes!! AWO ROAR!!”
The ancient flood dragon went nearly mad with extreme rage and hatred. Roaring into the sky, it pounced at Mu Xuanyin, instantly gathering dragon flames that locked onto her aura, sealing off all her positions and escape routes.
Mu Xuanyin was drenched in blood, her face sometimes as pale as paper, sometimes as red as blood. In her desperate decision to use “Moon-Breaking Devastation,” she had poured out her Ice Phoenix Source Blood, losing a vast amount of vital blood... and allowing the flood dragon poison to invade straight into her soul.
Her profound strength was not exhausted, but it had dwindled to less than ten percent. As the Ice Phoenix Source Blood subsided, the ice she released would no longer carry the Ice Phoenix’s divine power, greatly diminishing its might... Facing the surviving ancient flood dragon, death was already a foregone conclusion.
But she did not resign herself to death. Her gaze remained as cold as an abyss. Her arm lifted weakly, and Snow Princess Sword flew back into her hand, carrying her final remaining strength and the light of her life as it rushed to meet the enraged ancient flood dragon.
Ding!!
The ice crystals touched the flames and melted instantly. Mu Xuanyin was forced back dozens of miles in an instant, her entire body engulfed and swallowed by the blazing dragon flames, which also devoured the last light of her life.
Yun Che stared blankly, his vision gradually blurring.
Eight years ago, in the north of the Cang Feng Empire, on the Death Wasteland, he and Chu Yuechan had encountered a pair of male and female flood dragons. Chu Yuechan had been pushed to her limit and, at the cost of destroying her own profound veins, used the Ice Cloud forbidden technique [Zero Blossom], killing one of them... and then waited quietly for death.
This scene was so similar to that time.
Back then, just like today, he could only watch helplessly because of the vast gap in strength, unable to do anything... But fortunately, Mo Li was by his side then. At his plea, Mo Li ended the other flood dragon at the cost of spreading her demonic poison, saving Chu Yuechan.
That was also the day that irrevocably planted the seeds of “ill-fated love” between him and Chu Yuechan.
“Sect Master Huo...”
Yun Che spoke weakly, but before he could finish, Sect Master Huo shook his head and sighed. “You don’t need to say it. It can’t be saved. Even though that flood dragon is in bad shape and covered in wounds, this is still a fight at the Divine Lord level. Don’t mention you—even if it were me, approaching would mean certain death. Trying to rescue her is even more absurd.”
“If there were even a sliver of hope, we would not be standing by like this... But there really is no saving her. Even if all of us charged in together, we couldn’t save her—only throw away our lives.” Yan Juehai shook his head helplessly too.
Yun Che couldn’t grasp the gap between the Divine Sovereign realm and the Divine Lord realm, but what Huo Rulie and Yan Juehai said was no lie.
Yun Che said nothing more, but in his eyes, the image from the Vermilion Bird projection flickered.
Snow Princess Sword was still swinging. The blue light grew fainter and fainter. He could already smell the scent of death coming from Mu Xuanyin, yet where the sword danced, it still sliced through the dragon flames that engulfed her layer by layer...
Master... is still trying!
Even at this point, she hasn’t given up and waited for death!
Yes, with Master’s pride, even if she were to fall, she would choose the most brutal path. As long as she had even a shred of strength left, she would never submit to death.
Yun Che bit down hard on the tip of his tongue. The taste of blood and sharp pain spread through his mouth, seeping straight into his heart and soul.
No! Master is still struggling with her last strength and life—and I, her disciple, how can I just stand here and watch...
Among everyone here, the only one who could truly risk everything to save Master is me! No matter how strong or high-ranking the others are, they can’t be relied upon... The only one I can rely on is myself!
Calm down... I have to calm down! Master is still alive now... There has to be hope, there has to be some way!
With faith, I’ve done so many things that even Mo Li thought impossible...
There has to be some way!!
Yun Che’s breathing gradually steadied. His once-chaotic mind strained to quiet itself. He even closed his eyes and shut off his hearing, leaving only the sound of his own breath and heartbeat in the world.
Think carefully... Combine everything I have...
I must find some way... Even if it’s just a tiny shred of hope or possibility!
I have to find it... I must find it!!
In just a few breaths, Yun Che forced his wildly disordered thoughts into a clear emptiness.
The Flame God Realm, with tens of thousands of years of history and a host of Divine Sovereign and Divine King-level experts, could only tremble helplessly before the Burial God Fire Prison they knew best.
But Yun Che, who had arrived in the God Realm less than a year ago and whose profound strength was only at the lowly Divine Origin realm, was now focusing all his heart and mind, searching for a hope to save Mu Xuanyin from a power at the Divine Lord level...
Anyone would think it a joke.
No one would believe he could find any hope—just as they didn’t believe a grain of sand could drown the ocean.
But Yun Che was straining with all his soul and will.
Just like that time, he had gambled everything—his entire soul and will—to pick that Netherworld Brahma Flower for Mo Li.
Around him, the Flame God people were either crestfallen, anguished, or sighing. That sudden switch from heaven to hell was something none of them would ever forget. All the beautiful visions that had already taken shape were now shattered into dust.
And the Yinxue Realm King was going to die because of this... Without a doubt, from now on, the Yinxue Realm would be at odds with them like fire and water.
“Poyun, before the Mysterious God Convention, you don’t have to push yourself too hard. Ahh.” Huo Rulie let out a heavy sigh, filled with deep helplessness. “This is fate.”
“Master, even if I don’t get to enter the Zhou Tian Divine Realm, Poyun will definitely achieve the Divine Lord realm through hard work in the future. It’ll just take a little longer!” Huo Poyun’s eyes remained clear and resolute.
“Good child.” A forced smile appeared on Huo Rulie’s face—it was the only comfort he had at the moment. He averted his gaze, no longer looking at the Vermilion Bird projection. Mu Xuanyin’s final resistance had become feeble, and with every passing moment, her injuries worsened.
Over the past thousand years, he had hated Mu Xuanyin bitterly and couldn’t suppress it. If such a scene had occurred back then, he might even have felt a little satisfaction. But now, Huo Ye had been saved, and by Yun Che, Mu Xuanyin’s disciple. As for the matter of the ambush on Mu Bingyun out of uncontrollable madness back then, he had already secretly regretted it. Now, he truly did not wish to see Mu Xuanyin buried under the claws of a flood dragon.
ROAR!!
AWO ROAR!!
The ancient flood dragon’s furious roars shook the heavens. Driven mad by the brutal death of its companion, the surrounding Fire Prison had become a cataclysm of disaster under its power.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM——
Mu Xuanyin’s figure flew sideways. The moment she touched the Fire Prison, a layer of ice crystals formed with difficulty on her body. Then, hugging the Fire Prison, she sped away, breaking free of the dragon flames and floating into the air. But at that instant, the ice crystals shattered completely. Mu Xuanyin coughed out three mouthfuls of blood, and her whole body flushed a glowing red like the dawn... Even her long hair had lost its icy blue luster.
Those who inherit the Ice Phoenix blood are not born with blue hair. It is a state formed after reaching a very high realm—both a state of profound strength and... a state of life.
But now, her blue hair had completely darkened. Nearly half had turned back to the black of her origin...
This was not only the complete exhaustion of her profound strength, but also the countdown of her life’s light... The moment her hair fully returned to black would be the moment of her death.
“The poison has fully entered her body,” Yan Juehai said absently. He turned to look at Yan Wan Cang: “Sect Master Yan, what can we still do now?”
Yan Wan Cang did not move, as if he hadn’t heard. After a long pause, he muttered to himself: “The Yinxue Realm King is unfathomably deep. Severe injuries... burning divine blood... massive vital blood loss... and yet she still forcibly holds on until now...”
“But in such a state, she is bound to burn out completely. Even if a miracle happens and she escapes... she will surely die. Ahh.”
At that moment, Yun Che suddenly opened his eyes. Deep in his unnaturally alert pupils, a flash of crimson firelight flickered.
“Sect Master Huo, please do me a favor.” He stared straight ahead and said in a low voice.
“What?” Huo Rulie turned his head.
“Please, Sect Master Huo, take me to Master’s side.” Yun Che’s tone was unusually calm, as if he were saying something trivial.
“What did you say!?” Those words gave Huo Rulie a huge fright. “Are you insane? I’ll say it again: with your little body, within a thousand miles—no, two thousand miles of them—you’ll be reduced to nothing but bones in an instant. Approaching? Impossible!”
“I know.” Yun Che nodded. “That’s why I need Sect Master Huo’s power to protect me.”
“I can’t do that!” Huo Rulie turned fully towards him, leaving no room for argument. “I don’t have the ability either. Don’t mention you—even if I approach, I will surely die... let alone exerting force to protect you at the same time.”
“And what can you accomplish by going over there? To be buried with your Master!?”
He would never forget that day a thousand years ago, when his son Huo Ye had gotten hot-headed and wanted to get close to feel the power of the Divine Profound realm. He sneaked close... and when about a thousand miles away, he was grazed by a remnant wave of Mu Xuanyin’s cold air...
And that year, Huo Ye had just passed his Heavenly Tribulation not long ago, with a cultivation level at the Divine Spirit realm... It was this breakthrough and the swelling confidence from his soaring power that led to the tragedy.