Chapter 1063: Dragon Soul Explosion
“Yun… Yun Che!?”
“How did he get there?”
On the projection of the Vermilion Bird, the figure of Yun Che clearly appeared. But what made them even more stunned was that the area was filled with the power of a rampaging Divine Master—even characters like Yan Wancang and Yan Juehai would be severely injured or even killed within a short time if they went there… yet Yun Che was alive and present there.
Before anyone could even begin to react to what was happening, they saw Yun Che raise his sword to meet the Ancient Flood Dragon charging at him with furious dragonflame.
This scene was like a tiny ant raising its arm to face the collapsing heavens.
As for the power of the Ancient Flood Dragon, even Mu Xuanyin alone could no longer withstand it head-on, let alone while protecting Yun Che. The outcome would either be both of them dying together, or she would have to withdraw her power and barely escape alone… But when faced with Yun Che, who had desperately rushed to her side, her blurred consciousness instinctively poured even more power into protecting him.
The deathly dragon's might drew closer and closer… Yet, just an instant before it was about to completely envelop them, all the power, aura, pressure, and even the intense heat vanished in a single moment—completely disappeared, without a trace.
It was as if they had been transported to another, peaceful world.
“ROAR!!!”
A furious, and clearly pained, dragon roar shook the skies. Mu Xuanyin immediately turned her head, and saw that the Ancient Flood Dragon, which had just been attacking an instant ago, was now somersaulting through the air, countless wounds on its body bursting open wildly, raining down dragon blood all over the sky.
“AHHHHH!?”
“What… what was that!?”
“AH!?”
Before the projection of the Vermilion Bird, everyone—from sect masters to disciples—was struck as if by heavenly thunder, letting out screams that tore their throats. Their eyes widened to an unprecedented degree, almost bursting.
Each and every one of them saw it clearly: as the Ancient Flood Dragon's claw, carrying the power to destroy heaven and earth and enough to grind even a Divine Sovereign to ashes, touched the giant sword in Yun Che's hand, the dragon suddenly flipped over and scattered blood all over the sky amid a mournful roar… It had been severely wounded in an instant!!
Yet Yun Che and the dying Mu Xuanyin… were completely unharmed!!
“This… this… this…”
Never before had they been so utterly unable to believe their own eyes. Many of them had lived for over ten thousand years, but all the most absurd rumors they had ever heard and the most absurd scenes they had ever witnessed, combined, could not compare to even a fraction of this moment.
That was an Ancient Flood Dragon at the Divine Master Realm, the strongest existence in the entire Flame God Realm's hundreds of thousands of years of history. Even the strongest human in the entire realm, Yan Wancang… even ten Yan Wancangs could absolutely, absolutely never accomplish such a feat… yet they had watched Yun Che severely wound the Ancient Flood Dragon with a single sword strike.
Su… succeeded!!
Yun Che roared inwardly.
The power of the Evil God Art was most intuitively reflected in the terrifying amplification of profound energy after opening its realm gates. This was also Yun Che's greatest reliance for defeating opponents far stronger than himself. But its truly formidable aspect, its core ability, lay in ignoring—or even reversing—the laws of nature.
Such an exaggerated amplification of profound energy itself already exceeded the normal boundaries of the laws. The terrifying ice-flame formed from fire and ice was also a power beyond the laws.
Falling Moon and Sinking Star of the Evil Soul Realm, Cloud-Sealing Sun-Locking of the Heart Incineration Realm, and Annihilation of Heaven and Earth of the Purgatory Realm—though all extremely powerful—had not yet reached the level of defying heaven.
But the "Moon-Pulling Star-Return" of the fourth realm, Heaven-Shattering, finally revealed the first traces of law-defying power!
Once Moon-Pulling Star-Return took shape, the law of force order within the space it enveloped would be completely reversed. All power that touched it would be instantly reflected!
In other words… instantaneous rebound!
And this rebound was complete. Because it was a disruption of the law of force order, it had nothing to do with the intensity or form of the attacking power. As long as Moon-Pulling Star-Return successfully took shape, it would completely reverse any power—regardless of the level of that power, no matter its form!
Unless the opponent could also twist the laws like the Evil God's power.
However, precisely because the Evil God's fourth technique severely violated the laws of nature, it was equivalent to defying the Heavenly Dao. Forcibly using it would inevitably incur the wrath of heaven. Therefore, once Yun Che forcibly activated it, he would suffer extremely severe consequences…
Massive loss of lifespan, a sharp reduction in his life expectancy!
That was also why, although Yun Che had been able to barely open the fourth realm, Heaven-Shattering, for a long time, he had never used Moon-Pulling Star-Return.
The moment the destructive power of the Ancient Flood Dragon, rolling with dragonflame, touched the Heaven-Defying Sword, all that power was like light hitting a mirror—instantly reflected back onto the Ancient Flood Dragon itself.
A profound practitioner at the Divine Origin Realm had rebounded the attack of a Divine Master beast… This was a miracle that only the Evil God's power could create in the entire vast history of the Chaos.
In its rampage, the Ancient Flood Dragon had poured all its fury into every attack, holding nothing back. And it was already covered in wounds from its bitter, hours-long battle with Mu Xuanyin. The power reflected back onto it was undoubtedly a nightmare of its own making.
And this instantaneous rebound was not simply a matter of injuring itself with its own power!
No matter the creature, at the instant of a full-powered attack, its profound energy defense and conscious defense are undoubtedly at their weakest. To have its own power reflected back at the very moment it was unleashed meant not only that it was impossible to defend against, but the damage it suffered was also far greater than under normal circumstances!
An extremely uncomfortable sensation flooded Yun Che's entire body… a feeling as if his life was being severed. He didn't have time to catch his breath, and shouted with all his might, “Master! The Dragon Gate!”
The Ancient Flood Dragon's miserable roar shook the heavens. Nearly half of its wounds had burst open from the reflected power, and the exploding dragon blood rained down like a storm. But it wasn't just its wounds that collapsed—its defensive dragon power also crumbled. As its body flipped and lost balance, the Dragon Gate on its belly was clearly reflected in Yun Che's pupils…
That spot had previously been where its greatest defensive dragon power was concentrated, but under the completely unexpected and undefendable rebound, it had completely collapsed.
Though Mu Xuanyin was on the verge of death, her consciousness was far beyond Yun Che's. She didn't need his reminder at all. Her arm shot out like lightning, and the blood-stained Snow Princess Sword, carrying the last of her Divine Master power, transformed into a streak of white light that pierced the sky, shooting straight at the Ancient Flood Dragon's Dragon Gate.
Ding!
The Snow Princess Sword accurately struck the Ancient Flood Dragon's Dragon Gate… Under normal circumstances, the result would have been the sword being directly knocked away. But at this moment, this only and extremely fatal weak point of the Ancient Flood Dragon, under the dazzling light of the Snow Princess Sword… was pierced through!
The blade sank in up to the hilt!
“AH!?”
“The Dragon Gate… it's the Dragon Gate!”
“It's been pierced through!”
Another wave of horrified shouts rang out. The people of the Three Flame God Sects had not yet recovered from the immense shock of Yun Che flipping the Ancient Flood Dragon with a single sword strike, and the scene that followed instantly nearly made their hearts leap out of their chests.
For a flood dragon, the Dragon Gate is equivalent to a human's life pulse.
Once the Dragon Gate was pierced, it was like a human's life pulse being severed… Even if it were completely unharmed otherwise, it would soon perish, let alone this Ancient Flood Dragon, which had already expended most of its dragon power and was covered in wounds.
The moment the Snow Princess Sword pierced its Dragon Gate… the Ancient Flood Dragon's destruction was sealed!
“ROAR… ROOOOAR!”
The dragon roar, already filled with immense pain, suddenly became several times more agonizing, carrying a deep bitterness and despair.
Bang!
The Snow Princess Sword was shaken out, and dragon blood gushed out like a massive fountain from the Dragon Gate area… It wasn't just dragon blood; it was the Ancient Flood Dragon's rapidly dispersing power and life.
“Su… succeeded!” Yun Che said in a trembling voice.
This was the best outcome he could have imagined… the only faint glimmer of hope he had thought of—no, it should be called a miracle.
He had lived to reach Mu Xuanyin's side, successfully unleashed Moon-Pulling Star-Return, which he had never used and had no confidence in, and Mu Xuanyin, in that instant afterward, had pierced its Dragon Gate with the Snow Princess Sword…
Together, he and Mu Xuanyin had created a miracle.
“ROOOOAR——”
But it wasn't over yet. Amid the earth-shaking, miserable dragon roar, the massive tail swept toward Yun Che with the power of despair…
The tail of the Ancient Flood Dragon, plunging into the abyss of death, no longer carried dragonflame. This was its final, hateful counterattack before death… still terrifying Divine Master power!
BOOM!!!!
Mu Xuanyin threw herself over Yun Che, forming an extreme ice crystal on him. The dragon tail slammed heavily onto her back.
“Mas… Master!” In that instant, Yun Che felt as if ten thousand arrows had pierced his soul.
Puh!
A cloud of hot blood splattered across Yun Che's shoulders and back. Mu Xuanyin's already weak and chaotic aura seemed to be completely scattered. For a split second, Yun Che was horrified to sense that her aura had disappeared.
“ROAR!!!”
The Ancient Flood Dragon's struggles and roars grew weaker and weaker, and the dragon blood gushing from its Dragon Gate had begun to show a terrifying pitch-black color. But its eyes, filled with hatred and despair, were fixed on Yun Che and Mu Xuanyin. Desperate power surged again, and it lunged horizontally at the two of them.
Even if it was going to die, it would take them with it to the eternal abyss!
Yun Che's pupils dilated, then dilated further… and suddenly released a deep blue light. A cyan dragon shadow appeared in the air.
I stake all my will… even if it tears my soul apart!!
Dragon—Soul—Domain!!!
“ROAR——————!!!”
The shadow of the azure dragon let out an ancient roar that tore through the sky and the earth, completely drowning out the despairing roar of the Ancient Flood Dragon… This was Yun Che instantly unleashing all his mental power, the most extreme Dragon Soul Domain! As the fire prison suddenly boiled, the roaring cyan dragon shadow exploded with a bang…
“WAH!”
Yan Wancang let out a miserable cry, suddenly crouching down, both hands tightly clutching his head… In front of him, the Vermilion Bird projection that had persisted for several hours suddenly shattered. All images, sounds, and auras completely dissipated.
“Ah? Sect Master!”
Everyone in the Vermilion Bird Sect was greatly alarmed and hurried forward.
“Has your mental energy reached its limit?” Yan Juehai asked, frowning, but inwardly puzzled: Strange, with just a Vermilion Bird projection, it shouldn't have exhausted itself so quickly…
Yan Wancang was still holding his head with both hands, seeming not to hear the sounds around him at all. His eyes were vacant, and he muttered in a lost voice, “What was that… what was that…”
As the cyan dragon shadow burst apart, Yun Che's last conscious thought was that his soul seemed to have shattered.